Hello yes I'm alive.
Barely.
Scrape, Scrape, Scrape.
Rexus slowly, and agonizingly, drew a sharpening rod across one of the serrations on a Blackcat.
He stopped his movements for a moment and gently placed the rod down on the bench he occupied. The serration was once again sharp. Excellent.
He set to work on actually sharpening the edge.
He'd rather be out working. Or just taking a stroll around town. Hell, he'd settle for just getting off of this campus for a moment. But he was currently under house arrest. Campus arrest? Whatever.
This was under the order of Joey, and enforced by the family. Some family that kept him locked up.
His lingering feeling of betrayal aside, Rexus understood why they had clamped the metaphorical ball and chain onto his ankle. He had eviscerated a couple of squad's worth of men. Covering up mass death like that was hard, doubly so when all that's left to cover up is a red paste covering an entire dockyard. Rexus' little outburst had cost a lot of capital. His unsanctioned use of the family's men was also a complete no-no. He could count his lucky stars that he wasn't pulled back to Atlas for punishment by Don.
So now, he was here.
Beacon's weapon workshop was hotter and stuffier than he was accustomed to, which was weird considering how much bigger and ventilated the building was. Unreachable windows let natural light into the room, which was also weird to Rexus. What else…Oh yeah, the room had pictures of hunters hung around it like they wouldn't just break if dropped. Beacon sure was different from Atlesian facilities. Less utilitarian, more uselessly complex and fancy. Not at all like the cramped and dark forges of Atlas.
At this rate, Rexus ran the risk of getting used to all this stuff.
A forge roared away in his peripheral, and hammers struck anvils. Classes taught kids how to reforge weapons of various makes. Some students ran to and fro in attempts to secure different types of materials for themselves. Others reloaded casings under the supervision of teacher's aids. Others still saw to their own weapon's repairs and modifications. Teachers policed the various workbenches for any "Black modifications." Meaning you couldn't put any military attachments or other modifications on your weapon that are meant solely to take someone out of the genepool.
But Rexus had no such lofty ambitions for his weapons. He was just here to clean them up in preparation for later.
He had finally finished his sharpening, and now he would polish.
He placed his tools to the side and retrieved a small piece of cloth from the bench. A small dab of polish later, he began to clean.
This process. Sharpening, cleaning, and eventually admiring, was a process that Rexus loved. It was a sort of stress reliever for him. It helped him to calm down and think. Here it was just him and cold steel. Nothing could go wrong. And if the rare event of him cutting himself happened, he took it as a sign of his own good work.
He removed the cloth and smiled at the metal. A smiling reflection gleamed back. Rexus marveled at the silver color, the curve of the edge, the serrations, everything. Anytime he pulled his Blackcats from their hilts, he was in awe at their construction. Every other weapon paled in comparison to them.
Rexus gently placed his weapon down and sat stared out the high windows at the blue sky. Light washed over his face, and enjoyment ran through his mind.
This was nice.
Was nice until Luka walked in.
She looked around, probably trying to find an empty workspace. There wasn't any.
And he wasn't about to share with her.
Rexus slid his blade back into its sheath and put his feet up on the desk. Anger slowly tugged at the corners of his mind. He was still nursing a rather large piece of unhappiness over his leader's comment about his family. That and the fact that she seemed to like those terrorists. At least Blake had the sensibilities to disavow herself from them.
Rexus counted down in preparation for this little event.
Three
Luka looked around for empty space she could taint.
Two
She talked to a teacher, who listened intently to her little story about how she was a fanus and needed some personal workspace.
One
The Teacher pointed to Rexus and probably said something along the lines of, "Your great teammate is over there. Good luck you dumb fuck." Probably
Zero.
Luka turned on her heels and glared at Rexus with hostile eyes. Rexus stuck his tongue out at her and rested his hands behind his head.
She quickly walked over, her arms never leaving her sides. Rexus re-folded his arms in front of him and analyzed the situation. Luka looked mad.
Good.
She reached him, and then greeted him with great difficulty. "...Rexus."
"Bitch." He responded.
Her less than iron will having been broken, Luka slammed the table. "What was that?" She demanded. Other students around them stopped their work in order to look on.
"What?" Rexus removed his feet from the table and slouched in his chair, "That's the name of a female dog. I feel like you of all people should know this, considering you are one." Rexus said with an absent expression as he fiddled with a few tools.
"Oh we can go right now!" Luka yelled, a choleric temper spilling out over everyone in the room.
"What? No foreplay?" Rexus tossed a sharpening rod up and down in his hand. "Gotta have some foreplay before I take you behind the shed. That's the only way to make it fun." He was enjoying this.
"Screw your fun!" She smacked the rod out of his hands.
A sanguine expression slowly spread across Rexus' face. "Sure, screw my fun." He stood and glared down at Luka. "And Screw your ability to walk." This would be fun. The entire room would watch Rexus declaw this hound. After he was done, Menagerie was going to have to chalk up another dead moron who fucked with an Atlesian.
"LYAR!" Two familiar teachers screamed. Both belligerents turned their heads to the left only to see Mr. P and Ms. Goodwitch. Man, and they were just getting to the good part.
Pius stepped closer and said, "Please Separate yourselves," with a rehearsed and even tone. Both the students glared darkly at the other before stepping back, the wolf adding an additional growl and the Atlesian adding a crude gesture that only made cultural sense to other Atlesians.
Goodwitch stomped forward, having already donned her traditional scary boogeyman face. But that trick didn't seem to faze the students. They were too focused on their own disagreement to even pay attention to her. "You'd both better explain what you're doing!" She stopped a foot away from the two, riding crop drawn.
"Teaching him some respect." Luka declared. She leaned towards Rexus with a fire in her eyes.
Rexus laughed, "You know, I was thinking the same thing." He leaned over the workbench and glared at his leader.
As the tension between the two ramped back up, Rexus reached towards the blade on his back. He slowly tightened his grip on Butcher Pete's hilt.
Hero, Luka's weapon, was securely fastened to her back. She reached a hand up towards it and found the hilt of the sword. Both stood still, not wanting to take the first shot. Both heard the faint noise of Ms. Goodwitch trying to de-escalate the situation. She was drowned out by the cacophony of rushing blood the students heard in their heads. A crowd began to gather.
The sound of weapons slowly beginning to be drawn emitted from the teammates.
Pius stepped forward. Both Glynda and him were ready to take control of the situation.
"This is all a bit more exciting than necessary, isn't it?" A silver haired man with a cane walked in.
"Headmaster." Pius and Glynda greeted in unison. Both teachers kept their attention firmly on the students.
Ozpin noted the volatile situation in front of him and decided to douse the flames before they could grow any larger. With a confident stride and a sip from his mug, the green-eyed man walked into the two's peripheral. He watched with an expectant gaze as the two noticed him. They spent a moment more locked in the standoff while they attempted to process his sudden appearance.
Rexus slid his weapon fully into its sheath and stepped back. After a moment of deliberation, Luka begrudgingly followed his example. "Now, what seems to be the problem." Ozpin began. Pius and Goodwitch went around and shooed the bystanders.
Rexus immediately began the standard protocol for avoiding a superior's punishment, a skill Atlesians seemed to know from birth. He stood up straight, looked forwards and past Luka, placed his hands behind is back, and spoke both clearly and slowly. "It was nothing but a small misunderstanding, Headmaster."
"Mhm, and Luka, was it truly only a misunderstanding?"
"No." Luka blatantly said, her anger held back by a dam of toothpicks. The scowl that walked onto Rexus' face because of that word was very visible.
"Ah, would you like to tell us the problem?" He motioned to himself and his compatriots that had returned to his side after they finished evicting the onlookers.
"No." Luka replied again. She still wasn't going to trust school staff with fixing any problems.
"Young lady, you will tell us what is-." Glynda began her spiel only to be stopped by Ozpin.
"No, you won't get anything out of them. This problem is clearly one they need to work out between themselves." The students turned away from each other to look at the headmaster, still making sure the other was in sight. "I think they need a spar." Declared Ozpin.
"Ozpin, I don't believe that's wise. They clearly need to discuss their problem in a civilized manner. Violence will just exacerbate this problem." Pius objected, his concern almost approaching that of a father.
"Come now, Tarturus. These are Hunters-in-training. Surely working off steam in a spar would be more effective than a sit down over tea." Ozpin replied with an amused tone.
"Still, I must protest." Pius continued.
"Then perhaps we should ask them?" Ozpin said to the teacher. "Ms. Caniem, Mr. Gallant, would you two like-."
"Yes." Both exclaimed in unison.
Both the usually stoic Glynda and the kind faced Tarturus went bug eyed. Ozpin just smiled, "Then to an arena we go."
Rexus, in his excitement, had put on all his combat gear extremely quickly. Now he stood in an arena alone. This was one of the low ground arenas. The combat area being a large circle, and the stands above acting as both a barrier and...well, stands. The teachers would ref the little match from said stands. They got front row seats to a titanic beatdown.
Lucky dogs.
Course he got to actually do the beating, so he was pretty lucky too.
He fiddled with his vest and stared intently at the three teachers. The two seemed to be having a bit of a disagreement with the Headmaster. Rexus couldn't see why they would. Seems like he was a pretty smart guy. He knew exactly how to handle a disagreement.
Rexus gripped Butcher Pete and felt his soul do a somersault in joy. He knew how to handle a disagreement, too.
And here came that disagreement.
Luka had already drawn her weapon, Hero, and was marching into the arena from the long corridor that connected it to the locker rooms. Her movement towards him caused the shield she carried and the bandelier she wore to clang together. Rexus briefly thought about uttering an insult or some type of comedic bite, but didn't. He was already going to turn her teeth into dust.
He whistled loudly in an attempt to break up the little argument the teachers were having. It worked, "Ah, have you two been waiting very long?" Ozpin asked. Pius and Glynda fell to his side with worried faces.
"Nope." Luka said.
"Come on Luka, give the man a bit more respect than one-word answers, would ya?" Rexus said with a lackadaisical way. She didn't respond. "Guess that's a no." He drew Butcher Pete with a violent slash and prepared to fight. Luka brought her shield to bear and bent down behind it, her sword obscured.
"Well then, I believe we should get this started. Glynda, if you would." Ozpin said with a sip of his mug.
For her part, Glynda looked very unhappy with this course of events. But she really had no choice. "This is a standard match. The opponent will be defeated when their aura falls below the twenty percent threshold or when otherwise stated. Mr. Pius and I will be the referees for this match." She looked to the second teacher. He was also not looking very excited. Then she looked at Ozpin. He was watching the two fighters with interest. "Fighters ready."
Rexus' smile widened as his stance dropped low, mimicking a predator.
"Fighters steady." Mr. Pius added.
Luka hunkered down behind her shield and connected her sword to it.
"Begin!" Ms. Goodwitch announced.
It has long been said that bullets move faster than an ass. Rexus could say for certain that this was very much the case. As soon as Ms. Goodwitch opened her mouth, Hero spit out a thunderous volley of rifle caliber hate. About 8 rounds collided with Rexus' chest, halted by the reactive dust plates in it. He was thrown from his feet and onto his back, sliding towards the back wall. He used the few seconds without pressure that brought him to plan.
Rexus stole a look at his scroll and noted how his aura was almost completely intact. Dust plates really were great. With this type of protection, he could rush down her little position and not even dodge. But he didn't really want to get shot more than he had to.
The last bit of speed the slide had was cannibalized and turned into a roll. In a blink Rexus had gotten off of the ground and was running to the left and towards his enemy.
Luka noted this and moved her weapon accordingly. Another burst of fire leapt from the barrel towards Rexus. But he must've been planning this, as a quick jump into and off of the wall put him far out of her kill zone. She swore in Menagin and adjusted the entire setup to the right. The Faunus had planned on completely swiss cheesing Rexus before he could move, but hindsight scolded her.
Rexus watched as Luka's weapon once again turned towards him. Time seemed to slow as he planned out his next few steps. He was too far away for a frontal charge. She'd deal far more damage to him than he was comfortable brawling with. Butcher Pete's own onboard weapon was far too close range to fire now, plus the fact she had a shield. He needed a diversion.
It's a good thing he visited the workshop earlier. And that he was close with Weiss.
In two lightning quick moves, Rexus drew a blueish knife from a strap on his forearm and threw it at the small vision slit on Luka's shield while simultaneously entering into a slide. A misty blue trail followed the thin metal as it soared. The barrel of Luka's weapon dropped farther in order to get a bead on him. There wasn't much more time until that gun had him sighted.
Thunk
The blade impacted with Luka's vision slit and did nothing for a split second. But the trained ear could hear it. The blade cracked, and as the fracture grew bigger, the temperature around Luka dropped. Then all at once the loud sound of frozen metal tearing could be heard. The sound, like glass breaking, was a sign of Rexus' plan working just in time.
The blade disgorged it's complement of unstable ice dust. Luka's visor froze over and became opaque, the air around her suddenly froze down to the negative teens, and metal fragments from the blade flew in every direction with just enough force to bruise. All this came together in an explosion with enough force to completely lift the sword and shield off of the ground and throw Luka's bullets wildly off into the ceiling. And his attack was far from over.
As soon as he was in range, Rexus kicked the bottom of Luka's shield, which was still in the air. With Luka now stumbling back as she attempted to hold onto her shield, Rexus stood and began to cut and slice at her back. A few precise slices caused enough pain to force Luka into another stumble. And then that cycle repeated a few times.
Excitement and joy bounced around inside Rexus' stomach. This was easy, and really damn fun. Luka was pretty much screwed since she insulted his family. Now she'd just have to sit there and take all he dished out until his anger subsided. How long that would take though...That was up for discussion.
Glynda watched the fight with eagle eyes. Partly because she was worried about the anger between the two teammates, and partly because Ozpin had allowed projectile weapons to be utilized. She had already dodged that wild burst of fire from Luka and failed to dodge a frozen shard of metal from Rexus.
She rubbed a bruise and tore her eyes away from the fight in order to focus on the headmaster. He stood below her a bit, watching the fight closely. Ozpin had been acting strange ever since Luka and Rexus began their little dispute, and that was days ago. He had banned the two teachers, Tarturus and herself, from intervening in the feud, but also refused to sort out the situation himself. He said it was because they needed to "Sort it out themselves," or some such thing. His reason was different each time she brought it up.
He was either trying to force the team apart, or hoping that adversity would bring them together with a stronger bond than before.
Whatever his reason, Glynda just hoped they'd stop fighting soon. This was all a massive headache.
She turned her attention back to the fight.
Slaughter, more like. Rexus was pretty much just toying with Luka now. His movements were slow enough for his leader to pick up on, but just fast enough so she couldn't react to them. She had no chance.
And if what she had read on Rexus was true…
She never did.
Another slash to her back pissed Luka off. Another swing of her shield in order to block missed and pissed her off. Another slash to her back…
So continued that damn pattern. Her back hurt, her head spun, and she barely saw Rexus anymore. He always seemed to be behind her with another swing of his damn knife. She was sick of this. Resigning to the pain, Luka stopped swinging herself around and opened her back up to attack. Rexus took this time to carve her up like a steak. But Luka had a plan that would give her some space.
She quickly twisted her sword out of lockup and freed it from the slot in her shield. A heavy exhale came as her skin was perforated by Rexus for the millionth time, but she was ready to pay back the pain. "YA!" She screamed and swung the blade, using the momentum to augment her strength.
Unfortunately, Rexus blocked it. Fortunately, he stumbled due to the force. Luka took a second to breath before launching into her own counter offensive.
Her eyes began to glow.
She swung left, and then right. He blocked each strike. She could sense she was gaining the advantage.
Her eyes glowed brighter.
Luka swung up and charged into Rexus with her shield, knocking his weapon from his hands. The blade skittered off.
Her eyes blazed a bright blue.
Each swing was deft in its precision. Each slam of her shield into his chest forceful and planned. She watched in glee as his eyes lost their amusement and became cautious, worried even. Now on the defensive, Rexus could only panic as she disarmed each blade he pulled out. She had control now. Luka would run him ragged with her shield. And then she'd tear him into ribbons with the sword.
She forced him back with a shield bash, and then used hero's weapon function to send a wall of bullets into him.. Rexus fell to a knee and was completely unprepared for the follow up kick to the face. She'd enjoy maiming this killer.
Tarturus was stationed behind Ozpin and far up in the stands. From here he had a good view of the changing battle. Where Rexus had once controlled the fight, he was now at the mercy of a very angry and hungry wolf.
Being a Faunus himself, Tarturus believed he understood the source of Luka's ocean of rage. Rexus, her own teammate, was an Atlesian. They weren't exactly hailed as heroes of Faunus rights and freedom. And if Tarturus could see how chummy he was with the Heiress, he was sure Luka knew.
This was all the more reason to separate the two for a bit. But the Headmaster was being obtuse. He refused more diplomatic means to solve this and is instead just letting them kill each other.
Tarturus stole a look at the Headmaster. He stood near the edge of the arena, keen eyes watching the fight. For a split second, Tarturus worried for the safety of the enigmatic man. But after watching him dodge a steam of bullets, the worry dissipated.
It turned into dissent.
The Headmaster was seemingly pitting a team against itself for nothing more than personal enjoyment. When he explained that to Glynda, however, he was rebuked. "The Headmaster has a plan to help this team. This is just his first part of that plan." But that little speech from Glynda carried an undertone of uncertainty. She was just as worried about this as him, but she wouldn't just admit it. She was his secretary, afterall.
For his part, Tarturus wanted to put his faith in the silver haired man. He wanted so badly to just write this off as a multi-faceted plan and leave it up to the man. But Tarturus couldn't help but worry about his two students.
More importantly, he worried for Rexus.
Based on what Luka had told Tartarus about her own past, she seemed to be partial towards those misled souls in the White Fang. It was clear to all that Rexus wasn't.
Tarturus turned his attention back to the fight. Luka was currently pummeling a disarmed Rexus
That type of disagreement could hurt.
Bloodied and bruised, Rexus was again thrown to the floor. A stolen look at his scroll revealed a horrible truth.
Luka was taking chunks out of him.
But he got a look at hers, too. She was much better off, but that was after only a few hits. All Rexus needed to do was even the playing field. As much as he hated doing it when compared to a full on frontal assault, it was time to think.
A quick survey of the now battered arena led him to a quick conclusion.
His fucking blade was all the way over there, and he was all the way over here.
Undeterred, Rexus set about thinking up a new plan. Butcher Pete was unreachable at the current moment, so that wasn't going to work. His blackcat blades were still in their sheaths, but those things were for killing, not sparing. He had a few of his special darts like the one he used earlier. Ah, but that cat was out of the bag. What to do.
He looked to Luka from his spot on the floor. The angry bitch with blue eyes was taking a nice stroll over to him, shield ready to block any thrown weapons, and sword ready to skewer him. But there were a few more milliseconds to think about this.
A kick connected with his face and stood him up. He held his nose and stumbled back.
Fuck it.
"Gah!" Rexus shook his head violently and rushed forward, a hastily designed plan being constructed with each step.
Luka got defensive and brought up her shield but faltered as he stopped a foot away from her not attacking. She got over this though and remained defensive. Rexus' initial plan being a failure, he moved to plan B. He reached for his left Blackcat in a really exaggerated and slow manner. Luka, sensing an opening, struck out with a slash. Unfortunately for Rexus, she only moved her sword. Her shield remained right in front of her. Fortunately for the Atlesian, that one foot distance was much too far.
Her blade came slowly, and he could reach his weapon faster. With a lightning quick draw, Rexus pulled the blade only a few inches from its scabbard and waited. Luka, at the final moment, noticed Rexus' plan. She was sadly powerless to stop her own momentum.
Hero collided with Blackcat and rang out like a bell. Sparks flew, light flared, but both knew that this wasn't the apex of Rexus' plan. With a precise strike to the inside of Luka's forearm, she dropped her blade.
The issue of her still remaining shield was simple. Just repeat the process with a few minor modifications. With Luka now off balance from his previous strike, Rexus simply pulled the shield away from her body and got around it. He struck her knuckles with a knee and forced her to drop the shield or brave the sub-zero metal. And as a cherry on top, he slammed his forehead into hers for some breathing room.
He took a split second breather and looked around for his weapon. Not behind him, not to his left, or right. Where could it be?
Uh oh.
As soon as he turned his head forward, he caught the sight of Luka leaping onto the ground for it. While she probably didn't know how to discharge the weapon, it didn't take a genius to figure out. Looking around for something to help him, he realized that Luka had dropped his salvation. Her shield would do nicely. A single stomp brought the metal vertical and provided enough cover to hide behind. A second of fumbling from Luka later, Pete went off.
Through a small barrel in the front, a vial's worth of flame dust shot out towards Rexus. This dust then proceeded to smash against itself as the pressure forced it together and ignited. A fireball roughly the size of a man engulfed Rexus and the shield, heating the air around him to uncomfortable levels. The burst of heat seared hair without direct flame and smelt like sulfur. It was a thoroughly un-fun combination.
But Rexus knew his own blade, especially its weaknesses.
After having discharged it's ammunition and after a brief delay put in place for safety reasons, the weapon began the lightning quick process of reloading. The very bottom of the hilt slid open and ejected a glowing hot dust cartridge with some small amounts of force. It was just enough to shoot out and impact Luka's forehead.
Luka, who was dumbly using the spine of the weapon as an improvised sight, caught the burning cartridge in the forehead. She flinched as it left a sizable burn on her face. Rexus sensed his moment and charged. She barely had enough time to say "Ow" before Rexus was on top of her. There was no defensive tactic she could use to prevent him from slamming the shield into her hands and freeing the knife from them.
Aiming to end the fight, Rexus brought the shield high above his head and aimed to slam it back down into her beltline. Sadly for him, Luka had no intention of being bisected. A quick roll to the side served to both trip Rexus as she slammed into his leg and to free her shield from his grasp. That and it allowed her to gain the advantage once again.
Luka rolled back onto the knife and grabbed its hilt. But before she could even blink, Rexus twisted on the ground and kicked the blade from her hands before launching at her with nothing but his fists.
Ozpin watched the brawl with increasing interest. It seemed he didn't even need to wait for the first missions to be assigned in order to continue on with his little plan.
Little, hah, he sounded like a scheming goblin. The reality was far greater than he gave credit for.
Oh, but that was not of concern for the moment. Now he had the pleasure of just watching a bout between two very unhappy students. One angry over the dignity of butchered freedom fighters, and one over how the other cared about dignity of terrorists.
It was no secret to Ozpin what had happened during the weekend excursion. Rexus wasn't the only one with eyes everywhere.
He had seen the butchery Rexus had used on the White Fang. Brutally efficient, just as Ozpin had come to expect from the boy. His former trainers should be awarded.
And Luka, oh poor Luka. She had been forced to watch another tragedy, just as when she was little. It was truly a shame that such a nice girl should witness such horror.
Truly.
"Stop, the winner is-!" Glynda began. Ozpin placed his hand up in order to stop her. "S-sir?" He heard a bewildered breath leave her lips.
"Let them continue on." He said, eyes never leaving the fight.
"Headmaster, I must urge you to reconsider!" Pius yelled as he rushed to Ozpin's side.
"It is fine. So long as they don't kill each other, they can continue to tire themselves out." Pius was shocked.
"Ozpin, I agree with Tarturus. This is barbaric." Glynda also walked to the Headmaster's side.
"Ye both of little faith." He stepped closer to the fight as it neared the barrier. "These two have been at odds with each other for a long while now. The entire team has." He watched as Luka put Rexus against the wall, only for her face to be smashed by his fist in return. "But this fight will allow them to get out all their anger, which, in turn, will allow them a measure of peace with each other." He turned to face his colleagues. "And in turn, allow them to produce a measure of peace within the team." He turned back again. "You must trust me."
Each punch by Rexus landed and depleted Luka's aura. Rexus needed no weapon to be effective. The only reason she wasn't out yet was because she was small, and Rexus became sluggish in anger.
Luka kept stealing knives from Rexus' vest and straps in order to turn them on their owner. Every hit he got on her, she got ten or so slashes on him in order to even the playing field.
The fight was balanced at the moment. Each pain was repaid, each cut earned a bruise. But that balance was precarious. One change introduced would tip the scales in the favor of one or the other.
As both Aura's ran dry, scales tipped.
Two birds fluttered by the windows of the arena and peered in. Each watched their chosen warrior, and the other. The White one that looked like a dove believed the other to be one of the last of its pitiful species, just buying time. The Black one that looked like a crow believed the other to be as arrogant and idiotic as it had always been, and always will be. But they cared not for the other now.
The fight was now in the crow's favor. The bigger man smashed another fist into the small girl. It gave what passed for a smile.
The dove sensed it's loss and set out to aid it's chosen. A loud coo was emitted at the boy in the hopes that the woman would gain an advantage. The ploy worked and caused the boy to lose focus just long enough for the woman to grab another knife and jam it into his chest. Sadly, the armored plate in his vest stopped it. The dove fluttered her wings in pride and excitement.
Fighting the urge to caw indignantly, the crow stared at the dove with anger in his eyes. Truly this animal had no honor, but he had expected it. Now he could lose his without worry. He pecked the glass, sending a loud noise through the room that only the girl seemed to pick up on. Her extra ears twitched, and she looked up at the bird. The Crows champion, in turn, smacked the ears and uppercutted her. She landed a foot away holding her head. The crow beat its wings against itself and cawed with cheer.
The dove cawed too, but not with cheer. She was angry. The crow cawed back, mirroring her anger with a bit of his own annoyance. They conversed in ancient tongues, white telling black that its time was forever over, and black telling white that it was on the ascendancy even if she would oppose it. Not being able to reach a verbal understanding, the two launched at each other much the same way the champions did. Talons and beaks struck at the other in a bloody attempt to force their point across. But just as their champions, no victory was won over the other. Stalemate.
But the two were more tempered than the young ones down below, and so they retreated from each other. Each now content to just watch the fight without interruption.
The two Champions launched at each other again, the fight now moments from being over.
The Pieces of the broken arena swirled around the two before quickly running between them in order to separate the combatants. It was all surrounded in a brilliant purple. Into the new space created by the swirling stone jumped the two instructors. The woman blocked Black's champion, while the man blocked White's champion. "Stand down, Mr. Gallant!" Shouted the woman.
"Calm yourself, Ms. Caniem." Shouted the man.
But both children did not heed the advice. Gallant drew his two blades, finally done with all the mucking about. Caniem had slid back to her weapons and now drew them, finally ready to end this once and for all.
Only the timely intervention of the headmaster stopped this new battle. After a brief congratulations, he sent them both back to the changing rooms. After they were gone, the three teachers entered into a furious debate over whether or not it was right to let aura get down to one percent.
Seeing as the important event had passed, the birds turned back to each other. They shared a poker face. Regardless of who won this fight, it was interesting to watch. With nothing to say, Black departed first. White watched him for a few moments longer before also taking her leave.
Rexus held his chest and continuously wiped blood from his eyes. Luka had cut him right above the eye in a way that was surely an accident but bled like a girl around that time of the month.
Man, that was a bad joke.
Eh but Rexus felt like joking right about now. It had been a long time since he had that much fun in a fight. Most of the time he just kinda wiped the floor with people. But Luka gave him a run for his money. Granted, it was because he was sloppier than a kid in the presence of his crush in there, but he was still impressed.
Rexus looked over at his vest, which he had taken off in order to more effectively rub the painful bruises on his chest and marvel at the damage. The knives Luka had turned against him had done significant damage to the fabric, and even managed to slightly puncture the reactive dust plates. He took that as a sign of how well he had sharpened the blades. His thoughts were roughly torn from that and placed onto the massive pain in his chest. "Oww."
"She hits rather hard, doesn't she?" Ozpin said from the door.
A slightly startled Rexus turned to face Ozpin, before realizing it was just Ozpin and laying down on the bench. "Aye, Sir. Hits like a bi-… Female dog." He narrowly avoided cursing in the Headmaster's presence.
"Hm, clearly." Ozpin walked closer and sat on the bench opposite him. "But she could've hit harder than she did."
Rexus laughed, "I don't mean to doubt you headmaster, but she's a stick. I really doubt she could hit harder than that."
"Oh, sure. She certainly couldn't strike at you harder than she did. But she doesn't need to strike at you to hurt."
Rexus had placed a hand over his face in order to shield his eyes from the light above him, but now he removed it in order to get a better look at the man. "Excuse me?"
"Oh come now, Mr. Gallant. You've played your hand too early." Rexus sat up and stared at the man. "Your little weekend trip allowed her to see exactly who you cherish."
Rexus bent over his knees and rested on them, a neutral expression taking over his once tired and bloody face. "What."
"Joey, Mr. Gallant, you let her see Joey. Now all she has to do is inform her friends in a little terrorist organization of who he is." He crossed a leg over the other and took a sip from his cup. "But I suppose there's no trouble as long as you didn't say his name to her. You did keep his name a secret, didn't you?" Ozpin asked quizzically.
Rexus didn't respond, but instead thought back to then. He had walked away from the scene with Joey before being chewed out, but he hadn't said his name to anyone. He was safe, right?
But he told Blake, and Luka was right there.
Joey
Ozpin nodded at the now bloody faced boy and wiped away some of the red before standing and leaving. "Don't do anything rash, or that can't be fixed." And with that he went onto his next stop.
Luka gently placed the bag of ice to her head and flinched at the cold. Rexus had given her a few bruises and shiners, and since her aura was so low, they'd stick around for a while.
And that brought her to the topic of Rexus.
She still hated what he had done, and who he was to a certain extent, but that fight had helped her to vent her anger. Now she could at least stand to be in the same room as him. Maybe they could talk. It would make living with him for the better part of four years better. The pain that event caused was still too noticeable to even entertain forgiving him right now, but this was a start.
She looked at her shield. From where it leaned against the bench, Luka clearly saw the damage down to it's visor. Rexus' exploding knife, no doubt. She was still slightly in shock from the blast and sudden cold it produced. It was no exaggeration to say that the weapon achieved its purpose. Now she needed to replace that component. Maybe she'd get Ruby to help.
"He did quite the number on it, didn't he?" A man said to her left. Luka immediately swung her body to face that way and covered herself. It was an unneeded action, as she hadn't taken off any article of clothing, but the changing room made it an automatic thing.
"Headmaster! This is the women's locker room!" She exclaimed.
He looked entertained. "Yes, Glynda told me the same thing. Rest assured, I'm not that type of teacher. I only wish to speak with you about a matter I deem important." He sat down across from her and inspected Hero. "Yes, he did quite the number."
After getting over the initial shock of seeing the Ozpin in the female changing rooms, she resumed a comfortable position and relaxed a bit. "Yes, he did."
"Ah, but it could've been worse. After All, you've recently seen what he's capable of." Ozpin said without looking up from the damaged weapon. Luka slowly recoiled. She was unable to hide her confusion at his words. He knew about the weekend? He knew about Rexus? How did he…? He smiled, "Oh, please. Did you really think anything would get away from me? I'm one of the four headmasters." Luka continued to recoil. "Oh, and while I'm here, I'd like to thank you for dealing with CRDL."
He stood and walked to an open locker. He peered inside. "Though, I suppose that wasn't you, was it?" His tone was bored, like he didn't care that they'd assaulted another student. "It was Rexus, correct?"
"Yes." She said, unable to figure out if she was in trouble or not.
"It was efficient, what he did to him. Same as what he did with the White Fang." She looked up at the headmaster as he said this, a spark of anger in her eyes. "Do you not feel afraid of him? An Atlesian with a dislike for the White Fang and the facilities to effectively eliminate them." He turned away from the locker to face the student. "Does that not scare you, being a Faunus?"
It did, by the gods it did. She was terrified of Rexus. He hurt Cardin so easily, like it was second nature. She should've known then that he was…
But then she waited until he killed all those Faunus. She was responsible for their deaths. If only she had reported Rexus to the staff before.
Seeing as the girl was so consumed with emotions ranging from rage to terror, Ozpin nodded and moved to leave. "Do play nice, Ms. Caniem."
Luka moved as if she was a zombie, aimlessly shambling through the halls.
Well, aimless may have been a lie. She was attempting to head for RWBY's dorm. She wanted to see Blake. But her mind had retreated inside of itself and left her automatic functions to carry her. So, she was taking longer than needed.
Would Rexus really do it? Hunt down the White Fang for nothing but sport?
That was the only thing that raged through her head. She knew the answer, of course he would. He was on the Schnee Dust Company's payroll, so they'd probably reward him for it. He was part of Ares family or whatever it was that Blake had called them. They didn't seem very friendly. And worst of all, he was a criminal. He worked for the Atlesian mob. They weren't known to have morals. He had no reason to not hunt them down and kill them like dogs.
Oh Gods there had to be a reason.
There had to be something to stop him. There has to be a way for her to just go back and forget. A way to just go back and not have to worry about the White Fang.
But there wasn't.
Luka could go to the White Fang and try to warn them. Maybe they could get out or otherwise protect themselves. But she didn't know where they were. And even if she found them, would they trust her enough to take action?
Luka's feet finally stopped moving and allowed her to stand motionless. The Faunus' mind began the laborious process of dragging itself back into conscious control of its own actions. Wherever she was, it was quiet. As a last gift to its master, Luka's body opened the door directly in front of her.
Several telltale signs, including the ramshackle construction of a bunk bed, informed Luka as to her current location. RWBY's dorm. But there were sadly no souls inside. "Hey, Blake! I was just, um, looking over your homework for-." From the top left bunk in the room emerged Ruby, Luka's fellow team lead. "Luka?"
"Hi."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I just saw your ears and I assumed-." Ruby began to explain herself.
Luka put up a hand and sat on the bed under her. "It's alright."
They both sat for a moment before Ruby broke the silence. "Are you… alright? You seem…"
"Yeah, I just wanted to talk to Blake. But as you can see," She motioned around the room, "She isn't here."
"Oh yeah, she said she had to go do something."
"When will she get back?" Luka rested her chin on her hand.
"I don't know…I wasn't really listening." Ruby said with a tinge of embarrassment. Luka nodded and slouched. Silence reigned.
"Ruby?"
Said girl leaned over the edge of her bunk and stared expectantly at Luka. "Yeah?"
"Can I talk to you about something?" Luka found it hard to make eye contact with her.
Oh, sure!" She began to get down from the bunk.
Luka put up another hand to stop her. "No, stay up there."
"Oh…Ok." Ruby seemed a bit unsure of why Luka wanted space but climbed back up regardless. "So…what did you want to talk about?"
"How did you guys…react to Blake? When you found out?" Luka asked.
"Oh, well, we just kinda ignored it?" Ruby half confidently answered.
"Ignored it? You weren't worried that she'd go after you in your sleep? Or that she'd go for your friends and family?" Luks asked, blankly staring ahead.
"No, of course not!" Ruby sounded offended. "I mean, Weiss probably did at first, but she probably thought that way about me and Yang too." She searched for words. "But like I said, after that day it was just something we knew. Like a…uh, ice cream cone melting in the heat. Or how you don't go near Yang's hair."
Luka nodded. "Just ignored it." She whispered to herself.
"Why do you ask?" Ruby inquired.
"I'm having the same…," Clusterfuck, upset, shock, affront, tension, a million words could describe it, "Situation in my team."
Ruby gasped. "There's another secret Faunus? Who is it? I bet it's Yossif! Tellmetellmetellmetellme!"
"No, not that."
"Oh…" Ruby's childish excitement disappeared. "Then what?"
Luka nodded to herself and composed a sentence. "One of my teammates, he's a bit…" Luka trailed off in an attempt to not hurt the Rose's sensitive ears.
"Rexus?" Ruby asked.
Luka hummed. "He's…"
"He's…?"
"A damn psychopath." Luka could only dance around her own meaning for so long.
Another gasp from Ruby. "Why would you say that?"
Right, Ruby hadn't seen what Rexus did that night. She was there in the aftermath. "He just is! Haven't you seen him recently?"
"Have you? You guys don't seem very close for people who live together." Ruby said in a sharper manner than anyone thought possible of her.
It made it all the more brutal to Luka. "What?"
"I'm sorry, I just got… Rexus helped me."
Luka was once again surprised. "What?"
"Do you remember at the beginning of the school year, when Weiss fought that boartusk?" Ruby waited a few seconds for Luka to gather her thoughts. "After that, Weiss yelled at me. Told me that I wasn't fit to be her leader. I believed her." Luka nodded. She did indeed remember that. "But then Rexus told me that he led people once."
Luka Laughed. "Who?" She asked, already knowing the answer was criminals.
"I don't know, but he said that they hated him. He said that they hated his guts. Not even Weiss hated my guts. Because my teammates didn't hate me, he said I'd be fine. It wasn't much, but it helped."
Luka was a bit annoyed at this departure. "Touching. What does this have to do with my current situation?"
"I know I wasn't there for the whole event that night. I can tell that what happened was… not good for you two. But I can also tell that Rexus is someone with a lot of secrets. None of us, probably Weiss too, know much about him. Whatever caused this rift between you two has another side of the story that only he knows." Ruby looked down over the bed and at the girl. "Just like with Blake."
Luka nodded instinctively, weighing her own words and finding none to quite compete with the now serious Rose. "Just like with Blake?" She quietly added.
"Just give him a chance to explain himself. Maybe you guys are just fighting because you don't understand each other?" Ruby's eyes were soft as she said that sentence, like an adult talking to a child.
Luka's rage stirred with her stomach and threatened to boil up into her mouth. But her semblance finally decided that the stress she felt was at a tipping point and needed to be contained. Her eyes lit up blue, and pros and cons of Ruby's argument were weighed. Should Ruby be wrong, and Rexus could not be reasoned with, many would die. A preemptive strike now might avoid that.
But if she was right…
A bladed tornado was certainly a good force multiplier and teammate.
Luka stopped nodding and stood. All the questions that flew from Ruby's mouth were greeted with nothing but silence. Luka walked out.
Luka peeked into the room from around the corner and focused on the young leader. "Ruby?"
The girl stared back from atop her bunk bed. "Ye…yeah?" She faltered a tad under the intense blue eyes of the Faunus.
"Thank you." Luka smiled and left, unsure of her next actions, but somewhat prepared to make a choice.
Rexus had retrieved a sandwich from somewhere. He didn't know where since his auto brain kicked on and did it for him, but he had one. So he naturally just went somewhere to eat it. That place happened to be on a bench outside with a clear view of the Atlas warships landing.
This was all very interesting, but he didn't have time to admire the situation he found himself in. His head pounded and his mind rode along at mach speeds.
Rexus could understand why Luka liked the White Fang. She was a Faunus, and from Menagerie at that. She was also old enough to have remembered when the White Fang were good people wanting for change. He could even understand why she continued to like them after the change. Some ties ran deep enough for a person to ignore actions.
Rexus immediately thought of Blake. She was still rooting for the White Fang. She believed they 4could be turned away from the path of terrorism, that they were just "Misled." But she wasn't about to follow the White Fang into oblivion and cut her ties with them. Now she worked from the outside to help her guys. Rexus admitted that it was a valorous set of actions. No matter how much he disliked her for actually committing terrorist acts and hurting the ones he loved, he respected her.
But Luka.
Luka.
The Headmaster had exposed her plan to Rexus, and called out Rexus' own stupidity. Luka held Rexus by the…
Well, you know.
She could, at any point, go tell all her terrorist friends who Joey was. And they could, at any point, go find and kill him. And it would all be Rexus' fault.
It would all be Rexus' fault.
Even though his two options for handling this situation were obvious, that didn't make picking the right one easy.
Rexus could tell Joey that he let slip his name to a potential terrorist. This would cause an immediate ramping down of ARES Group operations inside of Vale. This would lose money, clout, and opportunities for the Family. Without their enforcers roaming the streets at night, unorganized crime would undoubtedly rise sharply. As well as those concerns, Rexus also worried for his own punishment. Though physical consequences would be bad within themselves, that was a secondary concern. He would be pulled from the school for his own protection. This would make getting his hunters license harder and therefore make it harder for him to help the Family later.
His second choice is to just pretend like no breach of info happened. This would eliminate the immediate consequences. There would be no ramp down, no monetary loss, no crime rate explosion, and no ship back to Atlas for Rexus. He'd just continue on his path. It seemed like a great idea. Except for the part where he'd put one of his guardians at risk of death, as well as the rest of the regional Family if any role rosters get into the wrong hands. And if the wrong documents somehow managed to get into the worst hands, the entire family might be put in danger. And the SDC, and Atlas Businesses in general that've had some type of beneficial dealings with the Family. That was the "Sky is Falling" scenario, but it was still a potential outcome.
Obviously, the best thing to do would be to tell Joey. Making sure he and his men stay safe is the only important thing. If he was hurt, Rexus wouldn't be able to live with himself. But that would mean Rexus wouldn't become a hunter, and might not ever. He had built his entire life up to this point. Seeing his plans come tumbling down because of one stupid mistake would be too much to handle.
It was selfish and stupid, but Rexus couldn't decide on what option to pick. He hated himself for that.
For now, he'd give her the benefit of the doubt.
Now somewhat unstuck from that mental impasse, Rexus sat on his bench and procrastinated. He inspected the Atlesian Ships from a distance, taking in all of the markings and designs. But what had once fascinated him only weeks ago now produced no mental strain. His mind numbly noted all the exits, entrances, bulkheads, rooms, armor compartments, chow hall, bridge. Every scratch on the side of the vessel was expertly cataloged into his mind without so much as a second of deliberation aside from a quick profile into the categories of either parking error or small arms damage. He nodded at the various hardpoints on the vessel that housed guns ranging from 12.7X108mm machine guns to the massive 18-inch three barreled cannon on the main deck. For the sake of not causing mass panic in the populous of Vale, the smaller guns had been retracted into the hull of the ship, while the main battery had a tarp laid over it.
A look at the support vessels still failed to stimulate Rexus' brain. As he had often seen them in his life, Atlas gunships and the like were nothing but old news to him. Of course, he still appreciated what they brought to the table in terms of pure "Brrrrrt" potential. Each and every gunship was a VTOL, being based off of the Bullhead chassis, and was allotted a massive carry weight as a result. On each craft, where the hull and engines were connected by wings, hardpoints carried an expensive and deadly armament. The one Rexus was looking at had two twenty round rocket pods, one on each side, eight specialty missiles for hard targets like fortifications and tanks, four on each side, and a crown jewel.
On the front, directly under the pilots, was the famous weapon. A single, 30mm rotary cannon. "The Brrrttt Bringer," as Rexus had once heard it called by an Atlesian infantryman. But seeing as that guy was your average boot fucked second lieutenant and no one liked him, Rexus usually went with its more famous namesake. The Warthog. Named after a particularly ingenious Faunus, this little weapon had been pink misting fools since before Rexus was even a twinkle in his father's eyes. And it'd probably go on ending familial lines even after Rexus left this mortal coil.
Rexus would go on describing vehicles, but there was nothing really left. The complement of the Atlesian Air force that most definitely escorted the big flying boat here weren't around, and lightly armed bullheads weren't all that interesting. Sure, he could think about the Atlas Marines that came on the airship for a while, but they weren't really that visually impressive.
That and the fact that they were some scary motherfuckers.
That compliment to the Corp now completed, Rexus set about locating a new source of amusement and distraction from the important matters at hand.
Luckily for the young Second Lieutenant, an O-9 would show himself.
For a long while, some of the more cultured connoisseurs of battle tech had been crowding the landing pads and harrying the marines with constant questions. The men had held back against the tide of students for about half an hour at this point and seemed to be nearly exhausted. Rexus smiled to himself. He wondered if those boys would hop back on the airship and scoot on back to Atlas at this rate. Probably be easier to be court martialed than try to answer questions about the big flying boat behind you when you barely understood what it was yourself.
But this nexus of activity suddenly silenced itself. Rexus glanced sideways at it from his seat.
The man he was waiting for parted a sea of students and waded towards him.
General James Ironwood had set his boots on Valanian soil. "May the Gods help us all." Muttered Rexus.
Second Lieutenant Rexus Gallant stood up from the bench and waited for the General to make the thirty or so foot journey to him. Around him stood a guard of elite picked men. And around them a sea of timid students too shocked and intimidated to ask anything. With how quickly the soldiers moved added to their unwillingness to acknowledge the few questions asked, many of the students bled off back to the landing pads to further torture the marines about who had just gone by.
With the few onlookers now left, The General finally reached the boy. Rexus stood at attention but did not salute. He felt like pushing his luck. "Evening General, no specialist Schnee today?"
"Morning Second Lieutenant, no, the Specialist is currently handling something back in Atlas. That and nursing a hefty bruise to her pride at your promotion. Congratulations, by the way."
With a compliment received, Rexus had no choice but to salute. "Thank you, General."
Specialist Winter Schnee, otherwise known as the girl who had insulted him upon their first meeting, had grown to be both Rexus' rival and close friend. She was the one who really educated him on the inner workings of the military, and she was the one through which he ran all of his ideas and occupational plans.
She was also the one against whom he measured his success.
And seeing as Second Lieutenant was a higher rank than Specialist, Rexus figured that he was pretty successful.
Of course, she'd counter by saying that they're in different branches and that it was an unfair comparison. And then he'd counter by pointing and laughing.
Rexus lowered his arm after a small lull in words and looked at the entourage following the man. "You've brought shocktroopers, General?" Rexus asked while looking to and from the marines and aforementioned shock troops.
These men were undoubtedly shocktroopers. Special forces shocktroopers, to be exact. Rexus knew these guys pretty well. So well, in fact, that he actually questioned Ironwood's wisdom in bringing them along. These specific troops existed solely to be suicidally thrown against a heavily fortified position and completely eviscerate anything not bearing their own colors. That is to say that they weren't a very well-balanced group. Utilizing them in a guard role and placing them near civilians that might not take too kindly to them was a recipe for disaster.
James saw the signs of doubt on Rexus' face and quickly set about banishing it. "If you're worried about large scale "incidents", worry not. I've only brought these twenty men to act as my personal guard. They will almost constantly be with me. The rest of the Atlesian forces here are marines that came along Blue-1." He pointed back at the massive airship hovering in the air a ways off.
Rexus nodded. "Can never be too protected, Sir."
"Very true, Ulf." The older man nodded back. "Speaking of, I believe you have something for me."
"Aye, Sir." The Second Lieutenant reached back and grabbed a file that had been hidden in his vest. "The brief of current affairs, Sir."
Ironwood briefly thumbed through the modest stack of papers before holding it out to a man behind him. "Ulf, hold this."
Another Ulf, this one being one of the two that Rexus knew in the column, grabbed and deftly stored the folder in his own vest without a word. Both Rexus and the Ulf shared a small nod for greeting. "Well then, time to go see what Ozpin has to say."
The column began walking towards the Headmaster's tower in silence, save for Rexus quietly imitating said man. "Ohhh, this display of force was unnecessary, ohhhh, the big metal man is going to scare everyone, oohhh-."
"Stow it, Second Lieutenant."
"Aye, Sir."
…
"Hah, big metal man."
The walk to the elevator was completely uneventful. The only thing that happened was every student stopping to ogle at the twenty-two on their little journey.
Now as they all stood in front of the lift, a very real concern reared its head.
They wouldn't all fit in the elevator.
"Hmmm." The general pondered. "Lance Corporal Lago, Lance Corporal Vi, Second Lieutenant Gallant, you three will come with me. The rest of you, do not leave this lobby and do not allow any person up the elevator."
A resounding "Sir yes Sir" rang out as the four entered the vertical sarcophagus staircase and began to ascend.
After just a breath long amount of time, Lago spoke up. "Permission to speak freely, Sir."
"Granted."
"Rexus, you are a bumbling hippopotamus who doesn't know how to tie his shoes. That is all."
A resounding silence echoed through the small elevator. Like many times before this, Rexus was unsure of how to greet his friend. "Thanks…Valk."
"You guys are both stupid, and I hate you." Said the other man.
Rexus offered a sigh of defeat. "Says the one who nearly failed out of the aptitude test for handling ROCKS." Rexus countered the less than creative insult.
Valk chimed in and turned towards Lilo. "Dude, your insult was so uninspired that it sounds like Winter came up with it."
Lilo wasted no time going on a counter-offensive. "You named your knife after Plane! You really think you should talk about inspiration?"
"It's actually named after two planes technically so you can shove that inspiration shit up your ass. Stick that in your throat and suck on it… "
A few seconds of silence passed, "Bitch." A contemplative silence drowns out all thoughts in the elevator. At once Lilo and Rexus turned towards Valk and stared. He had the dignity to at least look surprised at himself.
Rexus shook his head and turned back around. He had somewhat missed these guy's pea brain stupidity. From incessant insults to thoughts on how the Prime Minister of Mistral probably got pegged by his wife, these guys had all the fixings. It was only natural that they were Rexus' first real friends in the Ulfhednar.
Oh yeah, the Ulfhednar. That would take some explaining.
Later though, that story was a bit on the longer side.
The elevator came to a stop. The doors opened to a very familiar room filled with blah blah blah. As he'd already taken in the decor of this room, Rexus just tuned it all out and followed James. "Rexus, you and your men can catch up in here. I'll go talk to the man of the house."
"Go get 'em, Sir." Guess Rexus wouldn't follow James. "Take a load off, boys." The three moved to sit on some of the waiting chairs around the room.
"Man, these chairs are ass." Said Lilo as he got comfortable.
"Well, they're for your ass." Said Valk as he relaxed into the leather.
"You both look pretty comfortable for being in such ass chairs." Rexus criticized.
Lilo glared. "Fuck you. You just ruined it."
Rexus could only put his hands up in defeat. "Well seeing as you two still have all your limbs, how's the rest of the guys?"
Valk laughed. "Alright, so Romanov got his legs blown off by an IED last week in Mistral, right?"
"Right." Rexus confirmed.
"So, listen to this, the Mistralin Army commander comes into his hospital room and tells him how he was, "Such an inspiration to his men," and that "He should receive the Heroes Cross for what happened to him."
"Yeah." Rexus nodded with interest.
"So then Romanov fucking headbutts this guy, calls him a prick, and tells him to fuck off." Rexus smiled widely and laughed. "Atlas techs just put some bot legs on him today. Say he's gonna be back to marching next month."
"Fucking A. I'll give that man a kiss when I see him next." Rexus' lips threatened to rip from how wide his smile grew.
"Eyy, how about we go and find all the pieces of his legs littering that road and glue 'em back together for him. It'd be a nice souvenir." Lilo half sarcastically and half seriously threw out an idea.
It suddenly occurred to Rexus that this conversation might cause an outsider to question his sanity. A perfectly justifiable leap, but one that could be explained away. And seeing as he had some extra time now, he could at least start.
In the beginning, there was nothing. And then…
James let himself in.
Of course, Ozpin sat at his desk with Glynda beside him. They always seemed to expect him. "Ozpin!" He greeted his fellow headmaster cordially.
"Hello, General." Greeted back Ozpin in his usual neutral tone.
"Please, drop the formalities!" James asked in a loud and amused tone. "It has been far too long for such things. And Glynda! It has certainly been too long since we last met."
"Oh, James!" She gave a personable and warm smile before dropping all of it in favor of a light scowl and harsh tone. "I'll be outside."
"Well, she hasn't changed one bit." The general felt bad for his men sitting outside.
Ozpin began pouring James a mug of what he hoped was coffee. "So, what in the world has brought you all the way down from Atlas? Headmasters don't typically travel with their students for the Vytal Festival." He handed the mug to James.
"Well, you know how much I love Vale this time of year." James took a sip from the mug to confirm the contents. Though he burnt his mouth a bit, he confirmed the mug's contents. "Besides, with you hosting, I thought that this might be a good opportunity for us to catch up." Ozpin turned around in his chair in order to gain a good view of the outside world. This presented Ironwood with the perfect opportunity to pull a small flask from his jacket and add a little liquid courage to his breakfast. Though he wouldn't need the boost in bravery, it never hurt.
His friend rose and came around the desk, stopping to pour himself a cup and to sit on the edge of the fine wood. "I can certainly appreciate the quality time between friends, however, a small fleet outside my window has me concerned."
"Well, concern is what brought them here."
"I understand that travel between kingdoms has become increasingly difficult."
Ironwood's tone fell lower than, gaining a cold and metallic edge. "Oz, you and I both know why I brought those men."
Ozpin took a long sip of his drink. "We are in a time of peace. Shows of power like this are just going to give off the wrong impression."
"But if what Qrow said is true…"
"If what Qrow said is true, then we will handle it tactfully. This is no job for soldiers, but for the protectors of Remnant herself."
Ironwood scoffed at Ozpin's solution. "You think school children can stop anything more than Grimm? Half of them don't even have the stomach to complete their homework in its entirety."
"But you think your men can do any better? Your Marines are trained to fight other men with guns and swords. They'd be less than unprepared to deal with anything of the more… Natural variety."
Ironwood dismissively waved. "The Marines are a fine fighting force, but today they are just a formality. The contingent of Ulfhednar is what will see us through any event."
Ozpin leaned back and pondered his cup. "The Ulfhednar. They're the container for the key, aren't they?"
And then king Derhart said "You can stick it" and killed them all. Anyways, that was a bit of a tangent. Now after a literal eternity of lore, history, myth, and actual time, we finally arrive at the Ulfhednar.
In their original state, the Ulfhednar were a berserker tribe occupying the northern part of Solitas, along with a few others. They hold the honor of being one of the oldest tribes in the world, going back to almost the beginning of human history and maybe even history in general. Now you might be wondering, uncle Rexus, how do we know that they are that old? Well, it's pretty simple. Along with being one of the oldest tribes in existence, they also utilized one of the oldest languages known to man. Cave paintings.
The oldest one ever found predates all languages by several hundred years. And as a little present to the archeologists and scientists, it was in immaculate condition. Why? Because all the paint was actually blood.
Now, anyone as versed in blood as the Ulfhednar would've known that blood turns brown when it dries. For that Reason, they mixed it with earth dust and the freezing conditions in Solitas. This produced a very beautiful reddish brown paint that stayed on what it got on almost permanently.
A word of caution, however. This paint might've actually been from one of the nearby tribes that the Ulfhednar ate up in its constant warring. Modern day Ulfhednar vehemently deny this claim.
And that brings us nicely into the modern period of the Ulfhednar. Pronounced ULF-hena-A-R and often shortened just to Ulf, this tribe was eaten up by an expanding mantle. But after Mantle lost the Great War, the Ulf were slaughtered to a man in a final action to defend the King of Mantle. Luckily, Ulfhednar men liked the pleasures of the flesh just as much as the rush of battle. For every man that fell in battle, ten children stood ready for training. And with this glut of ready trainees, the newly Minted Atlas government reformed the Ulfhednar as a special forces branch. The last true Ulfhednar was appointed the leader and given whatever he needed to turn children into the next generation of weapons.
He did a damn good job.
"So, I was railing this chick, right?" Lilo said with pride.
"I think you meant to say, "So I was getting railed by a guy."" Valk replied.
"Fuck you!" Lilo flipped off his friend.
And that brings us to the Ulfhednar themselves. Being in a branch that focuses exclusively on using berserker rage to achieve victory, the Ulf are just as you imagine. They have a vocabulary entirely consisting of curse words, sentences that are created from insults alone, and a mind so warped with rage that sunny and beautiful fields might scare them.
That last one was a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea. The only thing most people see from the average Ulf was a dead silent and neutral expression, or an ultra-violent man with a psychotic smile. They were conditioned to turn a battlefield into a human smoothie and take a truck's worth of lead without stopping.
Glynda Goodwitch entered the room and glanced over at the three.
Lilo took in her height with an emotion very close to fear in his eyes. "Ehhhh, big, too big."
Valk, on the other hand, drank in as much of her as he could. "Wow."
From that little example we can see that, just as their forefathers, modern Ulf fear things and crave the flesh just as much as violence
But fear, lust, and rage aren't all they have. Every Ulf, regardless of what some might say or think, are human. It is only with each other and in private that they became almost normal. They laugh, eat, and make merry. But in order to keep the veneer of being devils and monsters, all who weren't Ulf almost never see this side of them. And when they did, it was only the rookies that showed it.
Kinda like Rexus and his two friends.
"Eyy, you still alive in there, bro?" Valk asked Rexus.
"No man, this place turned him into an individual. Next time we see him he'll be having thoughts and shit." Lilo answered for Rexus.
"Bite me." Rexus spoke up and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do you guys have any stories that don't involve lying about sex and why you didn't show up to formation?"
"Come on, it was one ti-." Valk attempted to defend himself.
"Shut the hell up." Rexus shut him down.
Lilo thought for a moment. "Alright so I was developing the battlefield this one time, right?"
"You gave the Key to me, James." Ozpin stated, an analyzing gaze fixed onto the general.
"For safekeeping, not to change." Ironwood clarified, the same gaze he received from Ozpin plastered over his own face.
The two now sat across from one another, a verbal spar boiling between them.
"Why wouldn't I change the teeth of the only key that can unlock our adversary?" Ozpin asked with interest.
"Because without those teeth, that key turns from a useful tool to a hunk of metal only good as a paperweight." James laid his hands on the table. "Don't tell me you hit your head and can't understand that anymore."
"I understand that point clearly, and I haven't tried to change the key, I owe you that much as a friend." Ozpin took a drink from his mug. "But the question still stands. Why not change it?"
"Why not take the firing pin from a rifle? Why not take the explosive compounds from a grenade? Why not take the weapon from Huntsman?" Ironwood poured some more coffee into his mug, as well as more inebriating liquid. "I'll tell you why, because it completely removes the purpose of said thing." He took a strong swig.
"What purpose does the key have other than causing mass death and panic?" Ozpin calmly reasoned.
"The same as it always has, to destroy our adversary." Ironwood held a frown only a general could. The type that made you want to impress him and follow his every order.
Of course, Ozpin was immune. "Come now James, you and I both know that not all fairytales are quite as fairy as they are made out to be, but the key destroying the Adversary is just plain fantasy."
"That's fantasy, but not the rest?"
"The key will not destroy the Adversary, as they are one in the same."
Ironwood pointed at Ozpin in an exacerbated manner. "Exactly, that is exactly why it will work. The best weapon against anyone is one made of their own person."
Ozpin breathed in heavily and sighed for longer than what James thought physically possible. "And you think you can exert enough force over the Key for it to do that? Even if the Adversary is to call to it?"
"Of course." James replied confidently. "It owes no allegiance to the Adversary. They've never met."
"And if it joins the Adversary?" Ozpin questioned.
"It won't." James stated.
"How can you be sure?"
"It. Won't." James affirmed and stood. "Now, I've burnt up too much time. "I'll see to it that my men stay in localized spots around campus and the city. And the Ulfhednar will stay by my side at all times, minus Rexus, as he is your student." James put the mug on the table and made to leave.
"You had better be right about the Key, James. If you aren't…" Ozpin neglected to finish his sentence, but James caught the meaning.
"The Key is loyal and will do as is needed of it." James exited the office and continued towards the elevator. Without even beckoning for them, the three Ulfhednar followed their commander closely.
The Ulfhednar would keep the Key in check.
Alllllrrightttt.
I had originally planned to get this out around Christmas.
I clearly failed.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter will probably be more entertaining
I mean, unless you don't like fights atop moving objects, in which case you can skip it.
And for the guy who commented last time I thank you for your criticism. The reason the story was tagged humor was because I didn't feel any of the other tags fit, and that there would be more humor. Sorry for the unintentional deception. I changed the tag to fantasy instead.
Oh God now elves are going to randomly appear.
...
I'm joking.
As always, have a good day!
Don't die!
Peace!