The air was cold and thick. Mist covered the streets of the city, surrounding the alleyway in a somber, smothering gloom. Beneath the sound of the pouring rain, two gunshots echoed out, followed by the screams of a desperate child, barely old enough to grasp what had just happened. As the killer ran, the child gave chase, relentlessly but pointlessly.

I don't know what I expected to do that day. I don't know what possessed me to run after him. All I know is that I wasn't fast enough. Next time, I won't fail. I'll never be left behind again.

Chapter 1: Wes

The sound of armor clanking was almost deafening as man after man ran down the distinctive red stairs of the traditional pagoda! A continuous stream of soldiers dressed head to toe in samurai armor rushed out like a flood of water, some indistinctly shouting things such as "Intruder!" "They're outside!" and "Spotted on the first floor!" After the room began to clear out, only three men were left, all with spears drawn as they took their positions around the northern-most door.

"Great job, U'la. I've got it from here."

One of the armored guards glanced back a second before a mysterious figure broke through the window on the opposite side of the room! The man's bright crimson roller blades skidded sideways to a stop as a black wolf tail swirled behind them, debris bouncing off of their dark baggy cargo pants as the man's short red coat rustled, just extending down to his midsection with a wool inner lining, over his top, a zipped up black jumpsuit. Their arm extended, pointing at the guards with the intruder's red fingerless gloves standing out next to their dark skin. However, what really drew the guard's attention was the mask he wore, a stylized wolf-shaped white mask covered in red markings, similar to that worn by the White Fang but clearly more inspired by actual Grimm, with a set of short dreadlocks extending out the back to complete the look.

"Hope you're ready!" The intruder announced with absolute confidence. "The name's Wes. Let's make this flashy!" A smile crossed his exposed mouth as he turned his hand, now motioning for the guards to come after him with his finger.

Slowly, one of the samurai put his hand against the side of his helmet. "Another intruder spotted." He said. "Second floor, subject is a wolf Faunus in a white mask. Caution advised."

The smile left Wes's face as he realized what just happened. Suddenly, another sound, a familiar woman's voice, blasted in his ear! "Wes, you idiot! How many times do I have to tell you to cool the showmanship! Now they know we can- And poor Fang might-! I can't believe you!"

"It's fine!" The faunus shouted back, responding to U'la's call. "I'll apologize later. For now, we improvise."

"Impro- What?!" The woman screamed back. "But the intel says-"

The wolf simply pressed a button on the side of his mask, ending the call before letting out a heavy sigh. "Well, hard mode it is, then." Suddenly, the three guards charged the intruder, all thrusting with their weapons as Wes was forced to dodge and weave out of the way of their strikes before he suddenly swung his right foot up, swiping all three spears to the side in one kick! "Always been hot-headed!" Wes admitted before twisting his body around to deliver a sweeping kick at the guard to his left. The samurai stumbled back to dodge the attack, but as he did, he raised his weapon, now leaving himself completely open. "But this-" The faunus continued before launching himself in the air to knee the guard in the face! "This is what I live for."

One of the armored men slammed against the ground, seemingly unconscious with their faceguard completely cracked open. The intruder's sly grin returned. "One down already? Disappointing."

The two remaining guards looked at each other for a moment before both dropping their spears and each drawing their ow katana. Against their opponent's mobility, longer reach wasn't going to help, what they needed was speed. However, before they could approach, Wes kicked his left foot forward, shooting around the right side of the duo before swinging at the rightmost opponent! The samurai stumbled forward to dodge the attack before his ally immediately turned around to protect his blind spot, swinging down at the faunus and forcing him to swing his other foot up to kick the weapon away.

"Nice, but-!" Wes quickly said as he stopped his fall by pushing his hands against the ground. "I'm better." The ma quickly swung his legs around, changing the placement of his hands, before swinging a flurry of kicks at both of the samurai, swiftly overwhelming their attempts to parry his attacks before he swiped his left foot low, knocking one of his targets over! Before the other guard could react, the faunus had already returned to his feet, twisting his body around to attack with another sweeping kick! The samurai quickly leaned back to avoid the hit, but then Wes's assault continued as he managed to kick off of the ground, launching himself into a full forward flip before quickly smashing the back of his skate into their head in a vicious ax kick that split their helmet clean open!

The intruder exhaled sharply as he landed, hopping from one skate to the other to keep his adrenaline up until the last samurai could start getting up. And, as expected, before they could even fully stand, Wes launched a quick sweeping kick to knock them off-balance before finishing them off with a sudden blow to the base of their neck. A clean, easy, takedown.

With a click, the faunus pressed the button on the side of their mask again. "Took a bit longer than I thought, but nothing unexpected." Wes briefly mentioned. "What now?"

"You're the worst!" U'la shouted back as the sound of clashing steel rang out in the background. "Lyn cleared floor 1 and I've got the guards. Help Fang on 4, okay? I'm sure it's on-" a series of loud metallic clangs interrupted her for a moment. "Let me talk, damnit! Go to 5! They've got to be holding it there! U'la out!"

A sharp static noise sounded to signal the end of the call. Probably for the best, anyways. It seemed like she had her hands full with her part of things. It was then that another sound caught his attention. As Wes looked over, the northernmost door burst open as a man in an elaborate robe stepped out, stomping his foot on the ground as he let loose a loud "YOOOHHHHHhh!" His expression contorted, distorting the red lines going down his white face paint before he swung a large two-handed curved greatsword above his head a few times, finally pointing it at his presumed target.

Sorry, Fang. You'll have to wait just a bit longer for help to arrive.

The man in makeup stomped his sandal on the ground a few times before speaking. "I... Ammmm... Jirrrooouuuu-! Annnddd... I... Shaaaaallll-!"

Before he could finish, a howling noise roared out as Wes was launched forward in a powerful flying kick aimed directly at the newcomer's chest! "I don't have time to play!" The faunus exclaimed before a surprised gasp escaped him. Despite using his Semblance to catch them off-guard, the swordsman had actually managed to block his attack with the edge of his blade! Reflexively, the intruder kicked off of the weapon, doing a backflip before landing and circling around the room. His own Semblance, Wild Wind, wasn't a power to be taken lightly. Its effect was simple. It allowed Wes to launch himself forward at high speed in a single quick burst, making a loud noise as it did so. Stopping something so fast would take a lot of skill and incredible reflexes, but if someone could predict it then it could lead Wes completely defenseless to a counter, making it a dangerous double-edged sword.

"Sorry, but I'm in a hurry." The faunus muttered. "Guess now's as good a time as ever. U'la, I really hope you built these things right! It's time for a test drive!" Without hesitation, the intruder circled around to the swordsman's right before quickly turning to circle to his left side. As expected, Jirou readied his sword to swing to intercept him, but as he did Wes launched a kick, aiming his skate right at the sword! The axel seemed to extend as the wheels, themselves, suddenly began to swing rapidly until they began sparking, causing them to suddenly catch fire as the kick blasted through Jirou's guard in a flaming slashing attack! Time almost seemed to slow down as the man in robes' eyes widened in shock while a new cocky grin appeared on the faunus's face. While landing, a thick dark smoke escaped his skate for a moment as both fighters reeled from the impact of the hit.

"U'la..." Wes slowly muttered. "I give you crap, but you're the best at what you do!"

The faunus quickly darted off with a howling noise as they circled the room for another attack, forcing his opponent to ready to block again as he slid underneath them between their legs. "Now!" The intruder shouted before beginning to stand back up, another howling sound screeching through the room while he swung a second flaming kick at the swordsman! Reflexively, the man in face paint just barely managed to block the attack, only for Wes to continue spinning through the air, allowing him to violently twist his body to launch another surprise kick, not from behind the man aimed at his back!

"Over here!" The intruder shouted as he managed to land a clean direct-hit on the sword user's shoulderblade, a blast of fire searing out in a blazing arc as it launched the enemy across the room, sending them crashing face-first into one of the pillars supporting the staircase! "And now-!" Wes shouted, swiftly landing as another howl roared out! The faunus shot forward, their body spinning at high speeds as sparks and smoke blasted out from behind them until they were close enough to strike! For a brief second true fear crossed the painted man's face as Wes swung at him with an intense spinning roundhouse kick, his skates burning with a sudden explosive strike that smashed against him before he could even raise his weapon! A burning wave of fire blasted through the faunus's target, lasting for just a second before cutting through the pillar and dissipating the man's protective Aura in a single swing! A heavy-sounding gasp of pain escaped the guard as he dropped his weapon and fell to his knees.

A second after landing his decisive blow, Wes buckled over, now also gasping for air as he breathed an exhausted breath, sweat clearly dripping down what was visible of his face. "It's over... you can't take hits like that without Aura. If I even swing at you, I win."

Suddenly, an unexpected smile crossed the man with the painted face. "Well done... Weeellll done indeeeeedd!" He gasped before he began clapping his hands. "I applaud you! Well done! Weeeellll doooneeee! I see I was right to target you!" The man let loose a hoarse, defeated, laugh as he carefully leaned back, resting himself against what remained of the stone pillar. "Now... how do you plan to deal with the other guards after how much I've tired you out? HMMmmmmmm?"

Wes slowly turned around to see multiple armed samurai start to fill the doorway behind him, shouting indistinctly about trying to corner something. A frustrated sigh escaped the faunus as he slowly began to move away from the newly arriving samurai. Reluctantly, he raised his arm and pushed the button on the side of his mask twice.

"Hey, Lyn?" The skater slowly began. "I've got a problem on my end. It's up to you now. Apologize to Fang for me, okay? This is gonna take a bit."