Chapter 4: Cornered Wolf
I do not own RWBY, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (R.I.P.) nor do I own any media that may appear in the story. I only own the OCs. Enjoy!
Carmine woke to the sound of birds chirping outside his window, the sun barely coming over the horizon. He got out of bed and started his morning stretches, popping his shoulder joints and cracking his knuckles. He peered outside at the dark horizon, what little light that was showing was blocked by fog, giving off an ominous vibe. As Carmine stared at the ghostly fog, something caught his eye and made him do a double take 'Weird, I could have sworn I just saw someone standing in the fog. It was like a silhouette of a person.' He thought to himself, walking to the bathroom to start his day.
Carmine got dressed after showering, putting on a pair of baggy black jeans, black t-shirt, and slipping on his black high top sneakers, tying the laces. Next he put his dogtags on around his neck, letting them fall onto his chest, by the time he was done the rest of his team was awake and getting ready for the day. Celadon spoke up "Seeing how far you can go before Ozpin calls you out, Carmine?" Carmine looked at him and smiled "You fucking know it!" Carmine said with laughter in his voice, grabbing his scroll and slipping it into his pocket along with his wallet and headphones. With everyone dressed, they left to meet up with Team RWBY and JNPR to go to Oobleck's class.
"Yes! Yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution-more popularly known as the Faunus War, humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie." He said pointing to a map on the wall and continued to speak. "Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events! Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day! Now! Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?" Many people raised their hands at Ooblecks question, including Velvet who was hesitant at first. Oobleck continued "Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence! I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to White Fang! Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the War?"
Weiss's hand shot up the same time as Carmine's but she was faster at getting the answer out "The battle of Fort Castle." She said knowingly, Oobleck began lecturing again after that "Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?" At the same time, Cardin had made a paper football and flicked it at Jaune, who was asleep and it hit him in head, waking him up from his slumber. Carmine watched this and couldn't help but grit his teeth, clenching his fists but relaxed when Regalia put her hand on his shoulder and whispered to him "Not here, he's not worth it. Just let Jaune deal with it." Her tone was calm and reassuring, which eased Carmine's anger.
"You're right. Thank you, Regalia." Carmine said back to her, adjusting his hat. Oobleck had confronted Jaune "Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?" The sudden question had left Jaune confused "Uhhhh... The answer... The advantage... that the Faunus...had over that guy's stuff…was" Jaune looked to Pyrrha for an answer and she simply cupped her eyes with her hands, Jaune continued "Was Binoculars!" Jaune said confidently, Cardin busted out laughing while Oobleck glared at the both of them "Very funny, Mr. Arc! Cardin! Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject!" Oobleck said, putting the light on Cardin who spoke "Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." That was enough, Carmine stood up and confronted Cardin "You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?" This caused Cardin to get up and stand toe to toe with Carmine "What? You got a problem?" Carmine just laughed and turned around "Yea you, mother fucker. You call yourself a huntsman in training, yet you bully people, belittle an entire race, and make plans to hurt your fellow huntsmen. Oh yea, I know about your plan."
Carmine continued "So one of two things can happen here: One, you apologize to Jaune and everyone in this room for being an ignorant, racist piece of shit and a waste of space, then sit down and shut up. Or two, I smoke you right here and now, cause frankly I have had enough of your shit and I told you not to cross me again. So, what's it gonna be? Make my mother fucking day!"
Cardin was visible scared, he took an audible gulp, walking to the front of the class and facing the class " I'm sorry for being an ignorant, racist piece of shit and a waste of space. I beg your forgiveness." Cardin said, before going back to his seat. Carmine looked at him "You better take a good look at yourself and who you are, cause if you think you're gonna make it as a huntsman like you are now, then you are sadly mistaken. Change before it's too late, you can still redeem yourself." Carmine said to him in a deep, serious voice before going back to his seat but stopped before his chair "Oh, and Oobleck, the answer is night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark. That is also why scout units are made up of mostly Faunus. One of my best snipers was a Faunus, he was a damn good sniper too." Carmine told Oobleck and the rest of the class before sitting down.
Oobleck was quiet for a moment, partially still processing what just happened "Uhh, right yes! You are correct Carmine, and it was because of General Lagune inexperience that he made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. Now moving on." Oobleck said, going back to his lecture, Celadon tapped Carmine on the shoulder "Uh, what the fuck was that? I'll smoke you right here? You weren't serious, were you?" Celadon asked him, kinda concerned. Carmine chuckled "No, I wasn't gonna waste him, but a key part of getting someone to stop and change is intimidation. The threat of death from someone who promises to deliver can change a person. But we'll see if my strategy worked."
Celadon exhaled a sigh of relief, Regalia spoke to Carmine "I think it's admirable of you to stand up for your friends and even an entire race like that. It took guts and I'm glad to have you as a leader." Celadon and Laurel both nodded in agreement of the last part, Carmine couldn't help but smile. The class ended and Team CRCL exited the classroom, Carmine casually walked with his team and the others to the next class which was Aura Training with Miss Goodwitch, Celadon seemed surprised at how calm Carmine was. "You don't seem nervous at all, I mean you're not in your uniform at all and we're going to class with Miss Goodwitch, who is super strict." Celadon said obviously a little nervous, Carmine chuckled "Eh, I'll be fine. Shit, Ozpin is so laid back he probably won't care."
They entered the arena style room and took their seat at the back, as usual with RWBY and JNPR sitting in front of them. Miss Goodwitch began "Good morning class, today we will be training for the Vytal …." She stopped mid sentence and stared at Carmine "Uh, Mr. Sable, why aren't you in your uniform?" Carmine just looked back at her "I wasn't feeling it today, also it's so constricting and restricting." Glynda glared at him in anger "Like I was saying, training for the Vytal festival. Up first because he wants to defy the rules, Carmine "Titan" Sable and Team RWBY. "What!" All three teams yelled out, Carmine laughed "Oh, you know what, I'll take on JNPR too!" He called out to Miss Goodwitch "Alright, Carmine vs Teams RWBY and JNPR. May this be a lesson to you about defying me." She said with confidence.
Carmine and the two teams went to the locker rooms to change, Carmine threw on his gear and prepped his weapons, putting fresh mags in the front of his Heavy IBA. He put three dust grenades in their pouch on his side and three more in a pocket on his KVA Tactical cargo pants. He pulled out his shoulder knife and clicked it into its sheath. Carmine pulled out his Scar and MP7, checking the sights then placing the Scar on his back and the MP7 on his side. Putting on his gloves, Carmine punched his fists together making the metal clang, the sound echoing throughout the locker room. He pulled out three brick looking objects and put them in his pocket, finally attaching his Gas Mask and pulling the hood over it, the light gleaming off the visor. He was ready and headed toward the exit but not before talking to the teams "Hey guys, don't be afraid to no hold back, I can take it." Carmine said in a calm manner, Yang chuckled "Oh buddy, we aren't gonna hold back and I wanna bet you." Carmine took a step back "Oh, and what are the terms to your bet." He asked questioningly, she grinned "If we win, you tell us your back story." Carmine laughed "Alright, and if I win I get your dorm room door." Everyone looked at him with questioning looks "Why, what would you want with a door?" Weiss asked, no one could tell but under the mask, Carmine had an evil grin "Oh, I don't need the door but You do." He said walking away. Their eyes grew large "That evil mother fucker." Yang said wide eyed
(A/N: Words in bold will be the lyrics to Ladies and Gentlemen by Saliva.)
The two teams took their place in the arena but Carmine was no where to be found suddenly the lights went out except for two pointing toward the locker room, music started playing through the Speakers. Ladies and gentlemen please, would you bring your attention to me? For a feast for your eyes to see, an explosion of catastrophe Carmine started walking out Like nothing you've ever seen before. Watch closely as I open this door, your jaws will be on the floor, After this you'll be begging for more. He took his spot across from the two teams, cracking his knuckles. He pulled out his scroll and turned the music off, Miss Goodwitch was dumbfounded "How did you do that?!" She yelled out, Carmine looked at her "Oh, I hacked the lighting and audio system. You guys need a better firewall, my encryption got through with no problem." She glared at him, furious then looked to the two teams "Please, teach him a lesson he won't forget." She said, angry at Carmine, the two teams nodded.
Carmine clapped his hands together "So how you wanna do this, one at a time or all at…" before he could finish his sentence they charged at him "All at once it is." He said running at them, Carmine lowered his body and drove his shoulder into Ren's gut; the initial blow knocked the wind out of him as the rifleman tossed him across the arena. Jaune ran up behind him and raised his sword before Carmine kicked him square in the jaw, the blonde man stumbled backward as he held his jaw while Ren ran back toward him and slashed at him with his bladed SMGs. Carmine swiftly dodged one of the slashes and spun around before he charged a Supernova in his right hand and punched the young man in the back. The explosion blew the black-haired man across the arena and into the wall, the young PDW wielder's aura began to flash as the screen flashed red "Lie Ren has been eliminated." Miss Goodwitch announced as Carmine bounced around, he lowered his body as he took off in a full sprint and jumped toward the blonde swordsman, Carmine turned his body and hit Jaune with a flying side kick that knocked him across the arena. Carmine pulled out his Five-Seven as he walked past Jaune who tried to push himself up, but Carmine shot him once with his suppressed pistol and shattered his aura. "You held your own against me, I'll give you that." Carmine said as he helped Jaune to his feet and patted him on the back "Jaune Arc has been eliminated." Miss Goodwitch said as she watched on.
"Man, this is fucked up." Laurel said as he, Regalia, and Celadon watched on, Regalia chuckled "I mean, I know what you mean: a highly trained mercenary vs eight huntsmen & huntresses in training. But, how else are they gonna get a taste of what real combat is, I mean I can tell he's holding back based on the legends and stories about the Wolf Pack." Regalia said as she leaned forward. Nora swung her hammer down as Carmine leapt out of the way, the hammer hit the ground with tremendous force as Carmine regained his balance, Carmine was about to sprint toward the hammer maiden but found his feet were stuck to a black glyph; the glyph dragged him across the arena toward Yang who stood there ready. Yang cocked her fist back as Carmine was dragged toward the busty blonde rapidly, Carmine pulled a frag from the pouch on his side and ripped the pin from the grenade before he threw it in Weiss's general vicinity; the swordstress deactivated the glyph around Carmine's feet in order to put one up to block the grenade.
Carmine ducked down as Yang threw a superman punch toward the rifleman, Carmine spun around and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close; the sudden contact caused her to yelp in surprise as he held her close. Yang started to blush as she felt her body heat up "C-Carmine, wha... what are you doing?" Yang asked nervously, Carmine pulled her closer and whispered into her ear "Surprise." Carmine said before he suplexed her into the ground, Carmine leapt to his feet and readied his stance again as the remaining fighters surrounded him, Yang growled in anger as she tried to shake the blush from her cheeks. Carmine withdrew his Scar and raised it slightly as the students seemed to close in on him, Carmine glanced up at the screen to monitor aura levels and saw Yang's was the lowest; his attention snapped back to the fight as Nora charged at him.
Carmine side stepped her attack before he kicked her in the back of the knee and caused her to drop to one knee as he opened fire at Pyrrha, the redhead raised her shield to block the incoming fire; Pyrrha switched her weapon into its spear form and hurled it toward the rifleman who stood over her teammate. The spear flew past the rifleman who narrowly missed it as it dug into the wall, the spear started to glow black before it was ripped from the wall and flew back into Pyrrha's hand; Carmine tilted his head as he pulled another grenade from his pouch and pulled the pin from the grenade. He held the spoon down as he cooked the grenade while he counted to himself 'One. Two. Three.' Carmine thought before he threw the grenade at Pyrrha, she held her hand up as the grenade glowed black but exploded in midair; the explosion blew her back as fire swallowed the area.
Pyrrha sprinted toward one side of the arena while Nora stood on the other side of the rifleman, Carmine placed his Scar on his back and clenched his fist as he charged a Supernova in his right hand; Yang cocked her gauntlets and sprinted at him with burning red eyes, he kept his hand tightened as he neared the blonde bombshell. Yang fired off multiple rounds from her gauntlets as Carmine closed the gap, he leapt into the air and brought down a devastating superman punch that blew Yang across the arena and slammed her into the wall. "Yang Xiao Long has been eliminated." Miss Goodwitch announced, Nora panted heavily as she lifted her hammer once more "Are you holding back?!" Nora asked, Carmine nodded "Well of course I am, I don't want to kill you guys." Carmine said as he bounced around on his feet, Weiss scoffed "The least you could do is take this seriously." Weiss said as she readied her rapier again.
Ruby spun her scythe around before she planted the blade into the ground, Nora sprinted forward and swung the hammer at the rifleman; Carmine dropped to his knees and slid past her as he fired multiple rounds at her, the rounds hit their mark and caused her aura to shatter "Nora Valkyrie has been eliminated." Miss Goodwitch said as Carmine stood up as he transformed his rifle into its sword form. Carmine sprinted toward the gladiator who readied herself, he swung his blade down as she raised her shield and blocked his strike; he swiftly withdrew his MP7 and unloaded on the gladiator until her aura shattered "Pyrrha Nikos has been eliminated." Miss Goodwitch said as her demeanor changed from annoyed to shocked. Carmine stood up and placed his rifle on his back as the three girls circled him, Carmine focused his gaze on Blake as he reached up and unlatched the straps on his gas mask.
The rifleman pulled the gas mask from his head and latched it onto his tactical belt before he exhaled a cloud of hot steam that rose into the air, his crimson red eyes locked with her amber colored eyes as he slowly stepped closer to her; she raised her sword slightly as he closed the gap between them. As she gazed into his red irises, her pupils dilated as if she was able to see everything about him, his past and all the hardships he had been through.
*Inside Blake's Mind*
The world around Blake fell away as she found herself standing in a literal hellscape, fire rained down from the heavens and hit the ground with ferocity that shook the ground she stood on. Buildings were reduced to rubble as large armored vehicles climbed over the horizon and fired at her, Blake flinched as bullets hit the ground around her; she reached for her weapon but found it was gone, she turned around to see a familiar sight. Carmine stood atop the rubble with fourteen other men with various weapons in hand, a man with a flat brimmed hat and bandana took a knee next to Carmine while he rested a strange weapon on his shoulder.
"What is this? Where am I?" Blake asked as she looked around terrified until a familiar presence surrounded her "Vale, three years ago. The guys over there, that's the Wolf Pack, the Devil's Disciples, Viper Legion, and the 184th Mistral Militia." Present day Carmine said as he watched an old battle rage on, gunfire was exchanged from either side as a projectile leapt from the weapon on the crouched man's shoulder and flew through the air until it hit the side of one of the smaller armored vehicles and reduced it to a burning heap of twisted metal. Suddenly, Blake and Carmine were transported to the top of a large building as the battle below raged on "What is this? What did you do to me?" She asked confused, Carmine shook his head with a chuckle "The eyes of a cat can see into the soul of man." Carmine said as he watched the combat rage on, Blake was speechless for a moment until she looked up at him.
"I... I can feel it. Your pain, your sorrow, your anger. Your... heartache." Blake said as she looked around, she looked back at Carmine but he was gone "Wait! How did you know!?" Blake yelled as her vision turned white.
*Back in the fight*
Blake stared at Carmine for what seemed like ages until she came back to reality, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the young mercenary "I'm so sorry... about everything. If you want to talk, I'll be here for you..." Blake said before she held up her hand "Miss Goodwitch, I forfeit." Blake said as she left the arena and sat next to Yang. Carmine spun around in time to dodge a slash from Ruby's scythe, Carmine ran forward as a pillar of fire erupted from the area where he was standing; Carmine changed his rifle's rate of fire from full auto to semi-automatic before he raised it to his shoulder and fired away, Ruby spun her scythe around as she deflected the shots that were directed toward her. He pulled three silver canisters from the pouches on his vest and ripped the pins from them before he tossed the canisters across the arena; two canisters began to spew out a thick grey smoke that covered the area while the third canister sprayed out a vapor that seemed to burn the eyes and caused the fighters to cough uncontrollably.
Weiss closed her eyes to try and block out the vapor as she stumbled around, the sound of boots slammed around her as a black shadow darted past her vision "Ruby?!" Weiss called out as she tried to find her leader, the crowd watched on as a glass shield had come down to keep them from being affected by the vapors. As Weiss stumbled around, the sound of multiple gunshots rang out from the smoke "Ruby Rose has been eliminated." Miss Goodwitch said as she announced the fight status. Voices echoed around her as she tried to regain her barrings, a mysterious object slashed at her back and damaged her aura before she turned around and stabbed into the ether. Another slash hit her on the upper arm before she slashed at an unknown entity, Weiss felt anger well up inside her as she raised her blade "Enough!" Weiss yelled as she used her rapier and wind dust to blow the smoke and vapors away. As the smoke cleared, Weiss came face to face with the barrel of Carmine's Scar "Checkmate." Carmine said as he squeezed the trigger and hit her once in the abdomen, a loud horn rang out as the glass wall lifted up.
Goodwitch gritted her teeth as she watched Carmine walk toward her "So, about my uniform." Carmine said with a sly smirk under his gas mask. "What the hell was that?!" Weiss asked as the redness in her eyes slowly dissipated as her aura returned, Carmine chuckled "Tear Gas. It's a nasty little trick we mercenaries use to clear rooms." Carmine said as he pulled out three separate canisters: a thick grey can, a silver can, and a thin grey studded can. "Smoke grenade, Tear Gas, and a Flashbang." Carmine said before he put them back into the pouches on his vest.
"Well, I'm gonna go take my gear off, but before I do that." Carmine said as he closed his eyes, the crowd watched as his aura level rose from 46% to 94%. "What the fuck was that?!" Yang asked in disbelief, Carmine chuckled "A little trick a good friend taught me, it comes in handy in the battlefield and in close quarters survival tactics." Carmine said before he headed for the locker rooms. The rifleman threw open his locker and placed his gear back inside: He put his Scar into a vertical wall mount that was on the wall of the locker, he placed the MP7 onto the top shelf next to a box that held his grenades. He placed his vest into the locker via a hanger that held his heavy IBA, Carmine changed into his regular clothes and kept his Five-Seven holstered in his waistline. He held his gas mask in his hands and slowly rotated it in his hands as he inspected the nicks and scratches on the black reflective visor, Carmine sighed before he placed it into the locker and closed the door.
Carmine left the locker room in his new "uniform", his hat cocked back a bit. He took his seat next to his "companion" who wrapped her arm around him. "Man, that little psychological warfare trick may not be the best tactic to use against students. It'll probably be a couple hours before it wears off. When it does, she'll remember everything that happened but she might have a headache." He said giving them a warning, he spoke again "So, Lunch?" He asked, everyone nodded in agreement before they left for the cafeteria, Blake held on to Carmine as they entered the cafeteria and found a large table to sit at.
They got their food and sat together talking and eating, Velvet showed up at the table "Hey guys! Carmine, awesome fight! Some people streamed it on Beacon Live! A lot of people saw it, they're making up all kinds of nicknames for your team, it's amazing." She said, showing them the fight on her scroll, she spoke again "Oh, and this is my best friend, Coco Adel." Coco spoke "Hey guys, and hello tall, dark, and handsome." She said looking at Carmine, tipping her sunglasses down a bit. Carmine winked at her, causing her to smile and blush as she took a seat next to Velvet.
Their conversation was interrupted by Ozpin who wanted to address Carmine. "Mr. Sable, congrats on your new uniform. In all honesty, this suits you a whole lot more and to the rest of you. Good Job, you showed great courage and determination when you were fighting. I hope to see that type of fighting during The Vytal Festival, especially from you Carmine "Titan" Sable" He said, addressing Carmine with a chuckle.
Ozpin was about to leave but stopped "Oh, and good job using your surroundings but know you won't be able to do this during the Vytal Festival." Carmine nodded his head as Ozpin left. 'Well, aren't you in for a surprise then.' He thought to himself, looking at his scroll that had the image of a skull with red x's over its eyes. He put his scroll away and ate his lunch, Blake still resting her head on his shoulder. Weiss spoke up "So, what emotions did you make her feel when you did your mind game thing?" Carmine looked down for a bit then spoke up "I let her feel my pain, I didn't force it on to her. She could have closed her eyes and broke the link but she dived into the emotions. Pain, heartache, feeling like a burden to others, years of being alone because you're afraid to get too close to someone in fear of them dying because of your past. She felt it all and this is the result, she's trying to show me that she'll always be here for me, no matter what. She's trying to show me that I can be loved and not feared." He said, his voice low and solemn.
Ruby spoke up "Carmine, that's so sad. We're all here for you so you don't have to fear losing anyone else. We all love you, maybe not as much as Blake does right now but we do, you have protected us because we're your friends and not because of a contract. We appreciate everything you've done." Everyone nodded in agreement, Carmine started to tear up "Man, I need to go fight an Ursa bare handed to counteract these emotions with manliness." Everyone laughed as they continued their conversations, Carmine hugged Blake and let go of her, this time she didn't try to latch on to his arm. "You all better now?" Carmine asked her, she nodded "Yea, thanks for opening up like that. Hey, if you're not doing anything this weekend, would you want to go into Vale with me?" She asked Carmine, which caught him off guard "Wha- Yea, uh I mean, er. Yea totally. I'd love to." He said to her, she giggled at his stammering "It's a date." She said, pecking him on the cheek. Carmine went wide eyed 'What did I do to her!?' He thought to himself, internally screaming.
After lunch, Carmine strolled through the courtyard by himself, admiring the scenery until he heard someone behind him. He pulled out his Five-Seven that he had hidden in his waistband and pointed it at the sound, but was surprised when it was Coco who was on the other end of the barrel "Easy there, killer." She said with her hands up, Carmine lowered his pistol and put the safety back on, tucking it back into his waistband holster. He admired her features, her long brown hair, a lock of her hair dyed caramel, her curvaceous figure, which her uniform didn't hide at all. She noticed Carmine looking and decided to tease him a bit "You like something you see, big boy?" She asked as she sashayed over to him, running her finger under his chin. She placed her hand on his chest and pushed him against the wall "Well, if you want some of this then you're gonna have to work for it." She spoke seductively to him, she got close to his ear and whispered "I'm worth it and I'll rock your world." She kissed him on the cheek and strutted off, making sure to put more pop in her steps.
Carmine stood there speechless, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. "Wow, I have two girls who have fallen for me. Damn I'm good." He said to himself, mentally high-fiving his ego. Carmine left for his dorm, he needed to rest after that nova stunt he pulled earlier. He entered his dorm and threw his hat on the desk before he collapsed into his bed, passing out immediately.
(A/N: Thanks for reading, let me know what you thought in the reviews. Remember to Favorite, Follow, and Review. See you next time on RWBY: Titan Rising Chapter 5: Titan's Big Day Out. Sorry if this seems half assed or lazy, I was tired when I was finishing it up.)
