The Errant Huntsman

Herman dragged himself out of the river and into the assorted garbage thrown by the bank. Coughing, he got to his feet to take his bearings. He was still in Vale no doubt; the clocktower Hassan told him about was three or four blocks to his west, directly south of the HQ/Agricultural district. Robotically, he shuffled a few steps forward before dropping to his knees and clutching his chest while his neck ached dreadfully. Pain spiraled outwards, reaching the very tips of his toes and the top of his head; the adrenaline was subsiding, and he was beginning to remember.

"Why…" He groaned to no one in particular. "…why am I still alive?" Slowly, he got to his feet and walked down rubble-filled road. His mouth was full of a metallic-tasting liquid and there was something loose jangling around the read end of his gums. Reaching in, he gave it a few pulls and yanked out a molar, giving birth to a new pain. He spat out blood and kept moving-the physical pain was good. The tingly feelings it gave him kept the thoughts away.

There was no one in the streets, just him and the shadows of broken homes. In the corners of his eyes, he thought he saw something, and in the distance, he thought he saw someone peeking at him from the bus stop, but he did not feel afraid in the slightest. His friends were dead, he had nothing to live for, and the only person he had something of a connection to wanted to kill him for reasons not entirely unjustified.

He clapped his gauntlet against his head and firmly held onto Nihil's handle. At least he still had his weapons-

"What good does it do you?" A voice in his brain screamed. "Will you fight everything in your way till you die?"

"Shut up." Herman grunted, his vision going blurry. Just had to get to the clocktower, think about his future later.

"You got them killed, just like anyone who trusted you." He saw a few people ahead in work clothes, clearing out the rubble. When they saw him, they quickly cleared out of the way and hid behind their construction vehicles. Their gaze cut right through him, so he quickened his pace. "Now you're all alone."

The edges of his blurred vision went red-hot, rain trickling down his face. Grey ash began to fall from the skies once more, coating his naked body with a layer of modesty.

"This is what you wanted all along, wasn't it? This is what you are." Visions of faceless things spewing their innards at the edge of his sword floated before his eyes. Roaring in anger, Herman smashed his face against a layer of glass, cutting his forehead and sending shards everywhere. Momentarily he looked at his scattered reflection-a bloodied gaunt looking Faunus with sunken pits for eyes, hollow cheeks to match, dirt all over, a shaggy overgrown mane-

He looked away, shouldered his sword, and kept moving. As long he kept moving forward, it would be ok. The clocktower was near now, very near. Invisible claws reached out to tear his skin, peeling away grey away and revealing red.

"You go to your death."

"In the absence of hope, I can face death without fear." Herman muttered, swinging pre-emptively and instantly dropping to his knees. The pain felt like his bones were on fire, and his body screamed at him to rest. But he still got up and made his way forward to the decaying doorway. The remains of the door swung open before he could touch it, welcoming him inside.

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Hassan leaned against the dusty wall, having cleaned his rifle for the fifth time that day. Not that it would do him any good, all his ammo was gone, and Herman Grauer was going to arrive soon. At first, he was not sure if the guy would even show up, but he kept watching the main approaches with his scope and sure enough he saw a nude Faunus with a massive sword and Gauntlet amble down the street, swinging at nothing. Blood and soot covered most of his body, but what parts he could see gave him the impression that the boy's body was thrown into an industrial-grade food processor set to the fastest setting.

So, he sat and waited, wondering why he did not kill the traitor right by the canal. Perhaps in the heat of the moment, escaping the mission scene was important. Then again, Grauer had that crazy look in his eye, the same look he saw before he was short an arm. It would be trivial to go down there now and slit his throat quietly-

The downstairs door creaked open, followed by the squeaking of old wooden steps and the steady thump thump thump of someone heavy ascending the stairs. Hassan immediately leapt up and perched himself on the rafters, his gaze fixated on the entrance.

"Not like this." Hassan thought as he saw the wolf Faunus stagger in, swaying like a drunkard. "It would be too quick if I just shanked him." He dropped from the rafters, directly in front of Grauer, who tried to bring his blade up but could not. Instead, Hassan watched the boy feebly sag to the ground, leaning on his blade for support.

"Let me ask you something, Grauer. Being the Vale government's bitch, was it good for you?" Hassan mocked, stroking his metallic arm.

"Are we going to fight?" Herman snarled, trying to get up. He managed to rise halfway up, before leaning too heavily on Nihil and falling to the ground, much to the Assassin's derision.

"Look at you, boy. You can barely stand, let alone swing a sword. There'd be no honor in killing you." Hassan folded his arms and threw his head back, his brown eye blazing in the darkness. "I'm not afraid of a fight. But I am afraid of the consequences of your actions. The White Fang was the only thing we had-our honor, our pride, our life."

"You're one to talk about honor and pride, after the things you did. At least I tried to redeem myself after doing your dirty work." Herman said defiantly but was taken aback when the assassin laughed.

"Redemption!" Hassan chortled. "That was your motivation all along? Nothing else?" He shook his head and squatted in front of the wolf Faunus, gazing at him with his eye coated in film. "Was murdering countless Faunus weaker than you your idea of redemption?"

"I only targeted the officers, asshole! Those who laid down there arms were spared! You radicals are poisoning the real cause of the White Fang!" Herman shouted, then he began to cough. The floor was splattered with red stains. "Was blowing up a town full of civilians your idea of Faunus freedom? You only perpetuate a cycle of violence."

"Only the officers and those who laid down their arms? Bullshit, I followed your bloodstained trail for a long time. Was Khel 'only the officers'? What about Mountain Glenn, where you threw good soldiers off the train for the Grimm to devour or destroyed their Aura with your blade? Or the many encounters you had with our forces in Vale? Was throwing vehicles at them, or splitting their brains with your sword a case of 'just the officers'? You might not attack an unarmed or helpless enemy-that's your twisted honor-but you fuck them up all the same." Hassan took a breath and sipped some water from his canteen before continuing, "The White Fang was not perfect, sure, but with every member you slaughtered our community fragmented further. We are deemed outcasts, lawbreakers, desperadoes because of our efforts to defend ourselves. Wherever we go, we're hunted, locked up, and killed. There is no better place for us than the Fang."

Herman spat and shot a bloodshot gaze at Hassan, which the assassin returned in kind. There was a pregnant of silence followed by the wolf dropping his gaze. Herman felt his cheeks redden, a shameful fire burning in his chest as he recalled the battles.

"Cycle of violence?" Hassan scoffed and continued with his rant. "Did you ever ask yourself why we used such tactics in the first place? Did you ever learn Faunus history, or did you get a public-school brainwashing, you son of a bitch?"

"My mother was no bitch; she was a human!" Herman shouted, getting to his feet. He tried to pull his sword up but could not bring it up all the way, so he grunted painfully and let his arm fall limp. "You have no right to mock her."

"Having mixed parents is no excuse for betraying your own kind, not even if your human parent was good to you. Your anecdotal experience does not invalidate a history of servitude we suffered. Besides, you're hardly unique; the White Fang is filled with soldiers whose had a human parent-me for instance. We served with pride and distinction, so what was your major malfunction?"

Herman was speechless. He never actually tried to connect with any other soldiers except for Beckendorf and Heidi, and as for Faunus history…. his mother taught him a lot, but his father-

"My…father always said- "he said weakly, grasping at straws. His vision grew dark, and the floor got closer.

"Where is he now? Dead, I suppose, or you wouldn't be with us." Hassan said, noting the light gleam from the traitor's eyes. "We Faunus tried to protest peacefully. I was there, among the crowds, when they sent overwhelming police force against unarmed Faunus men, women, and children. I saw kids running from K-9 units, girls with their eyes shot out by rubber bullets, men being beaten by twelve officers by a time. The rage I felt that day was nothing compared to what I felt after you betrayed us, sweet brother. We took you in, trained you, fed you, clothed you, sheltered you. There's nothing more I hate than a collaborator."

"I never heard of such events. My father never told me…." Herman said quietly, using all the strength he had to manipulate his jaws and tongue. "And you guys only took me open because you could use me. I was just a fresh body in your plans."

"So, your daddy was a fence-sitting centrist, and look where that got him." Hassan said, sitting next to Herman, who had curled up in fetal position. "And you're a butcher. If you believe in this 'cycle of violence' crap, then why did you keep cropping up and fighting our forces? All you wanted was validation for your actions, and the Vale government gave you that. Well, Herman? Do you feel like a hero yet?"

"All I ever knew was how to swing a sword." Herman said, feeling very cold. "It was all my father taught me; all Clyde taught me. All my life I've had nothing but my sword and with it I felt I could face all odds. Whenever I was in the thick of battle, I didn't have to think too hard about my life decisions, so I went from battle to battle…" Realization crept into him like a spark of electricity "…Hassan, I…I don't know anymore. I can't even- "he coughed some more and his body was wracked with spasms, and he lay there with his eyes open and his breathing very shallow.

The Assassin quietly stood over the boy. He still hated him but understanding his opponent's motive made him feel something in his chest he did not quite have words for. At any rate he could not kill him right then and there; the wolf Faunus was already on the verge of death as it was. He turned away and walked over to his backpack.

"Just tell me one thing, Hassan." Herman wheezed. "If you guys fought for the betterment of Faunuskind, why did you expend so much faunuspower trying to take Vale? Even without my involvement, your tactics caused a massacre. Why didn't you just lay low?" He was prevented from speaking further by a fit of coughing spasms.

Hassan thought about what he said as he unwrapped the bundle of blankets in his pack and brought out an amber-colored vial filled with a pale green liquid. It was a good question, and one he didn't have an answer to. He returned to Herman with the ampoule and crouched down. With a clean piece of gauze he broke off the top of the ampoule, used a syringe to extract the fluid and seized one of Herman's broad arms. Before injecting it straight to the boy's veins, he spoke.

"I intend to get to the bottom of that."

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He lay in a verdant orchard, staring at the red skies. Faintly in the distance he could hear something burning and someone was screaming but he remained where he was. Nihil was by his side, the chainsword embedded in the turf such that the lever-handle was in the peripherals of his vision.

"Why do I live?"

Herman blinked; the skies were redder than ever. The roar of the inferno was matched by the high-pitched whistling of artillery shells bursting; the ground felt a lot rougher. Something pressed against his feet. He got up and found himself in a garden filled with blackened trees and barb wire. Seizing Nihil, he held it aloft in the glimmer of the scarlet sun.

Many faces were reflected in the dark metal of the blade, of all shapes and kinds. The crowd blurred before coming into focus, like a camera lens being adjusted. A torrent of casualties; it kept flowing on and on. He lowered the blade and saw a tall dark wolf Faunus standing in front of him, his face obscured by a wide-brimmed hat with slits to let his ears poke out. Herman felt a sense of a familiarity with this man, but before he could speak to him the figure crumbled to embers. A woman stood there exuding a sense of warmth, but her features kept shifting and before he could make out who she was, she crumbled to embers.

Herman wiped his brow and looked around him where many such charcoal figures stood, a broad-shouldered reindeer Faunus, a fox, a panther, a bear, a rabbit-in the blink of an eye they all encircled him, packing in so tightly that he had no room to breathe. Herman felt his vision go faint once more, but on instinct he swung his blade in a 360-degree arc, dropping to his knees in the middle of the motion, cutting them to pieces. Breathing heavily, he got off and walked into the field of flames, letting the bonfire of broken dreams engulf him. It didn't hurt; on the contrary it felt like nothing at all.

"Is this all I'm good for? Am I to be nothing more than a butcher wandering from battlefield to battlefield?"

Once more he looked at Nihil and his gauntlet and sorrow flooded his mind.

He could not bear it, so he willed the flames of hate to grow stronger and banish the grief, but it kept coming in waves, and he stood there like a rock on a beach weathering the tide till it wore him down. He felt so cold, so alone, so hopeless and so he could accept his fate.

"This is no way to live." He said "My life lies beyond this, and with Nihil, I'll battle for what's really worth it-for my future. For myself. I don't want to live like a mindless beast ANYMORE!"

With his last exclamation he held his flaming sword aloft and shoved it right into his chest, crushing his ribcage with east and turning his heart into scraps of muscle with ease.

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He woke up in a dank basement, still as filthy as ever, but feeling less pain. The moonlight shone through the broken windows, and by his side there was Nihil and his Gauntlet. Quickly, he slides the gauntlet on and strapped Nihil to his back before standing up.

"Rest well, Grauer?" Hassan's voice came floating from the rafters. Herman looked up at the panther and snarled.

"Why did you save me?"

The assassin dropped from his resting place without a sound.

"It's simple. Killing you now would be too easy; I want to make you truly suffer for all you've done. Besides, what better way to humiliate you than by sparing your life?"

"What's to stop me from tearing you a new one?"

"Because I can simply melt away, and you'll never find me, but I can find you. Besides, aren't you curious to have your question answered? You know, what you asked me before you passed out? I'm going to where the Commissar is. Also, I have something to show you." The assassin extended his metallic hand, and Herman stepped back. Hassan opened his fist and, in his palm, lay a small metal object.

"Found this embedded in your neck-a tracker. Sure enough, just as I carried you out of the clocktower a few rockets hit it."

Herman frowned, his heart sinking further into his boots.

"Heidi was right after all-hey never intended to give me a fair deal."

"Now you realize that the humans and their pets-like Smoky-used you even worse than we did? At least we didn't deceive you in such a way."

"Quiet." Herman closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he shelved his emotions. Right now he needed to keep moving-the torment could wait till later. "Lead the way. Any tricky business, and I'll kill you."

"Yeah sure, but first find some rags around here to wear. I'm not walking down the moonlight streets with you wearing nothing."

They walked down the shattered streets of Vale, both Faunus thoroughly inured to the sights and smells of the battlefield. Scavengers picked among the remains; police sirens wailed in the distance. Near and far, he heard the voices of people arguing, crying, laughing. Even after all the desolation, Vale remained a bastion of life. The occasional urchin would approach them for alms but would quickly back off after seeing the look in their eyes.

Herman looked behind, but the clocktower no longer cast its profile among the skyline-in its place was a pillar of smoke. He quickly hurried to catch up with Hassan, nearly stumbling over a woman clad in all black sitting at a doorstop and her child who was playing with a Vale Guard helmet. His foot struck a porcelain bowl, shattering at and sending coins everywhere. Saying nothing but feeling the shame, Herman hurried after the assassin.

They slunk through the back alleys, scaled buildings, covered on another's approach as they made their way through the city, almost as if they were part of a unit again. Almost. In the distance the din of heavy machinery grew louder.

Soon they were approaching the outer walls of the city. Harsh floodlights were set up everywhere, completely lighting up the ruins, and there were guard patrols everywhere among the broken bunkers.

"I don't think we should fight our way through. It'll attract too much attention." Hassan whispered to Herman as they crouched behind a pile of sandbags. Due to zoning laws, buildings could not be built within ten kilometers of the wall-that space was reserved for defensive construction.

"What's your plan?"

"When that patrol passes through, we're going to move past those bunkers and climb the water tank there to get on top of that communications building. Then, we'll hitch a ride on one of those supply trucks riding to the very edge, leap out and run."

They moved quickly to the water tank and scarpered to the roof and waited for the supply convoy to pass through. As the vehicles drew closer, Hassan perked up and narrowed his eyes at a line of chained up White Fang soldiers being herded into prison buses.

"Damnit, I can't do a thing to help them." He cursed, shooting an angry glare at Herman, who coolly stared back.

"War's war, Hassan. If you're not strong enough to survive, then that's your fault." He said hollowly. He didn't exactly agree with that sentiment, but he felt like he had to say something.

"I suppose those two chumps following you around weren't strong enough then. What were they called? I remember- "

"Shut it." Herman said through clenched teeth. "You have no right to say their names."

"Shall I tell you all the names of my friends? Flash, Clyde, Warren, 2nd Lt J- "Hassan began to count on his fingers.

"Shut your fucking mouth." Herman snarled. The engines of the approaching trucks grew louder, breaking off their argument. They tensed up, ready to leap onto the last vehicle in the convoy. Wind rushed past their frames as they took their leap of faith-Hassan landed smoothly and quietly, while Herman landed on all fours, denting the metal, and nearly slipping. They lay prone and watched through the wooden slats as the main gates came closer.

Just as they came a little out of the front gate their truck stopped, and the driver got out. Frozen in suspense they watched the rest of the convoy disappear into a cloud of dust.

"I'll catch up with you guys, just heard some thumping in the back of my vehicle. I think some supplies got loose, so I'll check on the equipment."

"Why do we have the worst luck when it comes to sneaking in and out of strongholds in vehicles?" Herman complained to Hassan, but the assassin had already sprang into action by crawling over the roof and sliding into the driver's seat where they keys were still in the ignition.

"OI!" Someone cried out from the battlements. "SOMEONE'S ON THE ROOF OF THAT VEHICLE!" The truck lurched forward, leaving behind a confused driver. Herman took cover behind a few crates as bullets whizzed through the air and slammed into the vehicle.

"Jump out now!" Hassan yelled as the vehicle went over the shoulder of the road and they did, landing in the grass. In the distance klaxons were wailing; there was no getting back that way.

They moved swiftly through the darkness until the sirens faded away and there was but the chirping of crickets. Above them, dozens of stars shone past the dark clouds. Ahead, nestled on the edge of a hill, surrounded by a cluster of overgrown trees was a small cottage.

"There it is." Hassan said. They moved slowly now, taking care not to trip over the thick twisty roots snaking about the ferns, their eyes scanning for movement. The cottage itself was in sorry shape; the door was missing, the roof was filled with holes, and there was no glass in the windows only wood sagging from the moisture.

"In the novels I read, the house crumbles with the soul of the owner." Hassan mused, checking the threshold for tripwires. "A charming fantasy."

"I'm not here to make small talk. Let's get this over with." Herman replied, unsheathing Nihil and stepping in after Hassan. The interior was just as shoddy as the exterior, splintered wood, shattered glass, broken furniture. Down the main hallway, past the staircase, a candlelight flickered casting the shadow of someone or something across the floor. Inching forward, weapons at the ready, they stepped into the room.

Zheeliyony dangled from the ceiling fan, the steel links of his weapon cutting into his pale green scales. His feet pointed downwards at his hat by the chair lying on its side, and his fingers were stained red. Scorched papers and broken bottles lay everywhere.

"Pitiful." Hassan snarled. "We all went into the grinder on your command, and when the final hours of defeat came you could not face it like we did." Yet even as he said so, he sank to his knees, as if some invisible burden had settled itself on his shoulders.

Herman said nothing, and looked at the remains of the commissar, reflecting upon his own life choices. For a moment, his vision grew dark, and the commissar's face was replaced with his own. Once more Herman smacked the hilt of Nihil on his face to clear his mind.

Their attention returned to the body when they heard a wet squelching noise. With revulsion they saw the commissar's face contort, ripples running beneath the skin, and one of the blank eyes began to bulge. With a wet plop it burst and in its place was a single red orb covered in a seeping darkness which began to taint the dead Faunus's skin. It wriggled out and floated away into the darkness of the house quickly leaving behind Zheeliyony's body which continued to swing back and forth on its chain, weeping blood.

"There is a greater power than any of us could have imagined." It suddenly spoke. "One to which I have no choice but to kneel to." The voice was low and raspy, filling both Faunus's stomachs with cold ice.

Hassan and Herman both stared at the proceedings, wide eyed, processing what they were seeing. A Grimm was no issue, but this was something else, something their training never prepared them for.

"To you…. Mistress," It continued, blood trickling down the coat and pooling on the floor. "I offer you these sacrifices- "The voice cut off and the fan creaked, coming loose from its socket and crashing into the floor, smashing the body. A dark puddle spread outward from the impact site, and there was nothing but silence afterwards.

Hassan kneeled, breathing heavily. He pulled off his mask, tore his collar, and scooped up dirt from the floor and threw it over his head before looking up at a gap in the roof and screamed into the night.

"Is this what our efforts were for?" He shouted. "To feed someone…or something?" Fists clenched; he beat himself over the head. "Is this what so many died for? What I sacrificed so much for?"

"Seems like the good cause has been taken over." Herman said, staring at the fan. "Or at least we all have been used." He looked over to the assassin who lay prostate, and he felt his fingers itch. His heart growled for blood.

"I could cut this bastard in half right now, to avenge Heidi and Beckendorf." He thought, but he could not bring himself to operate the lever of Nihil. "What's one more body among the pile?"

"You don't want to live like a mindless beast-like what you used to be." He whispered to himself, trying to shake off the killing urge. "You'll settle the score in due time."

Hassan slowly got up, and leant against the wall, breathing heavily. Herman could still do it-

He cried out and smashed Nihil into the side of the wall, almost entirely obliterating it. Hassan instinctively leapt away and looked up.

"You were thinking of killing me, weren't you?" The panther said, his voice shaking.

"Yeah." The wolf replied, equally emotionless. At this point, he was past caring about anything-even what Zheeliyony said was fading from his mind. Inside his heart he felt something burn, and his flesh tingled. "But I didn't follow through."

"You'll get your chance, and I'll get mine. For now, we need to pull ourselves together and- "

"There's no 'we' here, asshole." The wolf slid Nihil back into its sheath. "I've found out what happened to Zheeliyony, and now I'm going to look for supplies before heading out." He turned away from the assassin.

"Even after what we saw, you're not in the slightest bit interested in finding out more?" Hassan exclaimed in disbelief.

"No. I need time to myself now, time away from other people. You said it yourself, Hassan. I'm a butcher without a dream or a cause." He knelt and picked up a White Fang mask from the floor. "So, I'm going to find it."

"Now you decide to wax poetic. This is serious, beyond any of us, this talk of 'sacrifices' and 'mistresses'- "

"Take it to the concerned authorities-the Hunters-it's none of my business. Besides, I tried playing hero and we saw how well that turned out." Herman pressed the cool steel of the mask against his face. It felt soothing. "I'm leaving now, to find a cause I believe in, one I can join of my own volition and fight for it. Without any family, or friends, or dreams, or hopes, adrift in this cold world, I am free." He threw the White Fang mask aside.

"In that case…" Hassan said "…. I hope you find it, Herman Grauer. And when you do, remember that I'll be coming to exact vengeance." The assassin clenched his fists as a new resolve blossomed in his soul-a desire to seek truth.

"Don't call me Herman Grauer anymore." The wolf Faunus said, rolling up his sleeve and scraping off some dead ash from his arm, exposing the red beneath. "He was a kid thrown into this world with no practical experience. He wandered from battlefield to battlefield, not knowing what he fought for-and it cost him everything he loved. With his mistakes- "he clutched Nihil with one hand and clenched his gauntlet into a fist "-and his tools I will make a new future for myself. They'll need new names as well. I'm starting over-but you're free to come after me, and find your judgement waiting. I know you now."

Hassan raised an eyebrow and shrugged, the shock of the encounter wearing off a little. He said nothing as he saw the wolf Faunus walk out of the front door and into the night, his robes billowing in the breeze, shedding tiny particles of ash.

"In due time, Grauer." Hassan muttered, as his mind began to wander towards the message Zheeliyony's corpse gave. "In due time, you'll learn that you can't escape your past that easy." The assassin commenced his search for clues, his mind burning with questions about the betrayal.

The young Faunus kept walking through the night, thinking about the red orb. It did not sit quite right with him to ignore the issue, but he was not strong enough to do anything about it. Without conviction, he could not hope to accomplish anything. The first step of his new life was to pick a direction. Gazing at the shattered moon setting in the West-Beacon silhouetted in its shine-and the golden red glare in the East-illuminating verdant fields-the Errant Huntsman walked onwards to his dream.

THE END