"Goodbye." Adam remembered, as he sat alone behind his desk inside of his tent deep within the Forever Fall Forest; it was the only time where he could relax, free from the stresses of leadership but even then, he found no rest.
Two of his closest friends, people who had supported him from the beginning, had suddenly left him.
On the table, rested his mask which was used to obscure his eyes and next to it was a copy of the "Third Crusade," a novel which he had written; and was used as the White Fangs manifest.
He eyed the mask, as he remembered that they represented the Faunus' plight and their continued persecution despite equal rights under the law. The idea that they were still somehow considered less than humans.
He examined the features on the mask, which was bony white with red accents which was meant to mimic the appearance of the Grimm. The masks had a second meaning, it was meant to represent how humanity viewed them: as monsters.
So, they wore them as a symbol of irony, that if the humans were to view them as monsters, then they would embody the appearance of a monster, which made Adam grip at the armrests of his seat tightly.
"How could they leave?" He thought, standing up slowly as he paced back and forth behind his table. "Don't they see this was the only way? Peace did not work, our voices ignored and silenced!"
Adam seethed with anger, his nostrils flared and his hands tightened into fists, and would occasionally glance back at the book and his mask.
"So, what if there were a few casualties? It was to be expected, it can't be helped… But we must continue show them our resolve, our commitment! We will not be relegated to second class citizens!"
He stopped and for a moment he glanced back at his mask one more time and it slowly began to lose its irony.
"We are not monsters." He rationalized. "But I understand that sometimes you need one."
There was a calm, and for a moment, Adam cleared his mind as his hand slowly went for his sword. He always preferred surprise, only drawing his sword for a quick cut, but this time he slowly drew it and held it in his hand.
He paused for a moment, his mind blank as he stared at his mask; as if in a trance, he raised his sword into the air and without thinking, he began to bring it down onto the mask.
"Sir!" Adam heard and he froze, his sword stopped just inches away from the mask.
He blinked a few times as he re-emerged from his daze, dizzy, as if he had just woken up suddenly from a really bad dream. He sheathed his sword and turned away from the flaps that acted like doors to his tent.
The only indication that they were opened was the small ray of light that illuminated the tent slightly.
"Torchwick is here." Adam recognized the low voice of his lieutenant, Bane.
"Noted," Adam replied, without turning to face him. Bane nodded lightly, and immediately shut the flaps to the tent and Adam could hear footsteps that began to fade away.
He took a deep breath before he turned to look at the mask one more time, the urge to strike left him but then, another feeling replaced it. He wasn't sure what, but it did not matter to him as he reached forward and picked up the mask; rubbing his thumb over the slits that allowed him to see through it before placing it over his face.
He stepped out of the tent and paused for a moment to take in the sight. All around him were other members of the White Fang, other Faunus that were fed up with their mistreatment and volunteered to join to fight against their oppressors.
Each one working on their respective tasks, but despite them feeling like they were at war, there was a very lighthearted aura around the area. Everyone was among friends and nobody had to hide themselves from one another.
Some laughed as they joked, some enjoying a meal together as they reminisced. However, the happiness seemed to disappear as he again noticed Bane who stood with his arms crossed as he waited for Adam.
"What does he want this time?" Adam asked as he approached Bane.
"He's here to report on their progress; the move to Mountain Glenn is going well," Bane replied.
"He really couldn't wait until later to report?" Adam asked with a scoff.
"There was a minor hiccup, one that he wanted to report to you personally," Bane continued. If it weren't for the mask, he would have noticed Adam roll his eyes before he then shook his head.
"Let's get this over with, I'm not in the mood to tolerate him too long," Adam finished, and with his hand on the sheath of his sword, he began to make his way to Torchwick, who was forced to wait outside the camp. As he made his way through the camp, he began to examine it yet again, noticing that the other tents were small and light. Setting them up was easy, as they had to relocate on a regular basis.
Never making a permanent home anywhere, as they were always being hunted by the other Kingdoms. So far, his operations in the Forever Fall forest has served him well. This far outside of the Kingdoms proved perfect cover, as not much of it was explored and the concentration of Grimm was too high to allocate the army to search for them.
"Sir!" A mesh of voices stopped Adam in his tracks as he turned his gaze to a group of masked grunts; from the looks of it they were fresh recruits and each of them stood straight and saluted him.
"This is not the army, no need to salute me," Adam replied as he waited for them to lower their hands, which they did but slowly. Once they had relaxed, Adam nodded his approval and continued through the camp. Waving and greeting those who stopped to meet him and for a moment he felt pride swell inside him, but it didn't last too long.
The pressures of leadership weighed heavily on him again, the thoughts of their previous leader on his mind; he resented this man, believed that his peaceful protests did nothing to further their cause. Adam eventually challenged his leader on this point alongside two of his 'friends' who would eventually abandon him: Blake and Anders.
Soon enough, their previous leader, a Faunus by the name of Ghira, stepped down from his position and returned to his home Menagerie and from what Adam last heard, is now the chieftain of its people.
Despite his supposed weakness, Adam still felt admiration for Ghira, as he was the one who founded the White Fang. However, his relations with the humans proved fruitless and his continued friendships with them disgusted most of the other Faunus who followed him.
"Sir!" Another voiced called out, this time a small Faunus girl jumped in front of him as she looked up at him gleefully.
"Hey there, Sanuye," Adam said with a smile as he beckoned for her to follow.
"I just wanted to report that the mission was a success." Sanuye replied as she proceeded to follow behind Adam, just to his left. Adam remembered when she first came to them, angry but optimistic, ready to fight for her people.
"I was wary about letting you join us; I don't want to be responsible for sending someone so young out to their death. I'm glad you have proved me wrong," Adam replied, to which the little faunus blushed.
"Thank you, sir, I promise I won't let you down," Sanuye replied.
"I know you won't; go and rest up, you earned it," Adam concluded.
"I was hoping if you were available to chat again sir," Sanuye asked, hopping in front of him and he noticed that her eyes were glistening.
"A little later, ok? I have some business I have to attend to," Adam replied.
"Oh, is it anything to do with those three humans waiting outside?" Sanuye asked.
"Go," Adam replied and simply pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.
"Oh, yes sir. Thank you, sir!" Sanuye replied as she ran past him and out of sight.
"The others look up to you sir," Bane said as he watched her disappear. "Thought you should know that."
Perhaps he did need to know that. For a long time, he had been struggling, the sting of betrayal lingered in him as the thought of how Blake and Anders left him suddenly and seemingly without warning. He questioned himself ever since, if how they were to obtain their goal was right.
However, as he looked onto the many optimistic faces that surrounded him, he found his answer; how they achieved it did not matter, as long as he achieved his goal, and his goal was right, and he would not fail like his predecessor did.
"Wait." Adam stopped and Bane halted as well. "What did she mean by 'three humans'? I know about the mute, but who's the third?"
"That creep from last time," Bane replied with disdain in his voice as he then spat on the ground. Adam gritted his teeth and stalked to the entrance of the camp a bit quicker.
"Ah, finally!" Torchwick exclaimed as Adam came into view; next to Torchwick stood Neo and just a few feet away, stood Ash.
"Is this how you treat your allies? By making them wait outside?" Torchwick continued, clearly frustrated.
"There is a lot of Faunus here with some animosity towards humans; it was for your protection," Adam replied. "Now, what was it that you wanted to tell me?"
"You want to go first?" Torchwick asked Ash.
"I'd rather speak to Mr. Taurus privately, so please, you first," Ash said with a smirk.
"Well," Torchwick said as he twirled the crook of his cane around his finger. "I wanted to report that the move is going well, and the last of the Dust is making its way to Mountain Glenn as we speak."
"Bane has already informed me of that, but I was told there was something else you wanted to tell me," Adam continued, his gaze glued to Torchwick.
"Well, I thought that you should know that that pup… gah- I forget his name, the kid with the orange hair that used to be your entourage was in Vale a few days ago," Torchwick explained, to which Adam quirked a brow, hidden behind his mask.
"How do you know this?" Bane spoke up, disgruntled and angry as his voice reverberated in his mask.
"Well, he came along with some company to say hello as he tried to stop our little shindig," Torchwick continued. "The kid had some spunk, I'll give him that."
"Company," Adam repeated as he thought for a moment. "Did this 'company' have white hair?"
"Oh yeah, he seemed really fond of him," Torchwick replied. "Why? He important?"
"He's a nobody," Adam replied, stalking towards Torchwick, his eyes fixated on him while Torchwick stood unphased. "Did you kill them?"
"Sadly, no, they had the jump on us and made it difficult," Torchwick responded.
"At least we know where he is," Bane commented, his fists tightened. "Send me to Vale; we shouldn't have to deal with deserters and traitors."
"Not now," Adam replied before he gazed at Ash. "Bane, I want you to accompany Torchwick to Mountain Glenn. Make sure there are no more complications, and if there is any unexpected company, I expect you to deal with it."
There was silence, but then Bane replied with a huff and turned to gather his belongings while an entourage of five soldiers followed behind him.
"Thank you, even if you couldn't kill them, this info is useful" Adam said to Torchwick.
"Anytime," Torchwick said with a grin, which disappeared as he turned to face Neo and he rolled his rolls. Neo hooked her arm around Torchwick's and they disappeared from view.
Once they were left alone, Adam turned his attention to Ash, who was already staring at him, smiling.
"Nice to see you again," Ash said whimsically.
"What do you want?" Adam replied with a bit of ice in his voice. Torchwick was someone he could deal with, but his distrust of Ash made dealing with him much less bearable.
"Now, now; I thought we were friends… How about a bit of privacy? I would love to sample your hospitality," Ash insisted, as he beckoned towards the camp, which Adam, with a huff, shook his head and turned back to his tent; with Ash following right behind him.
As they walked through the camp, the jovial and optimistic atmosphere was replaced with emptiness. The camp went quiet as the grunts and soldiers watched as Adam escorted his guest through the camp. Some watched with curiosity, while others watched with hate which Ash noticed, and smiled back at them.
Adam stepped aside, as he opened up the flap to his tent, allowing Ash access and without hesitation Ash stepped inside.
"Impressive," Ash remarked, as he examined the tent. Strangely, it was quite homey, with a rug in the center with ornaments strewn about; a bookshelf and a casing with an ornamental sword. In the center, on top of the rug, was a large table with the map of Remnant and its 4 main continents. Flags pinned to different points on the map, which signified fellow White Fang hideouts, as well as key strategic points to which to attack.
"Speak your peace," Adam said, as he walked past Ash and sat behind his desk; his arms crossed as he kept his gaze on him.
"I was wondering if you'd heed wise counsel on where to attack to start off your new 'Faunus War'," Ash spoke.
"We already have a location selected," Adam replied as he leaned forward in his seat, his finger pointing to a flag that situated outside of Vale. Upon further inspection, Ash noticed that it was set right on top of Mountain Glenn.
"We will use the old transit center in Mountain Glenn, and use the railways to smash our way into Vale," Adam continued. "Explosives around the tunnel to allow the Grimm inside and cause as much chaos as possible."
"Oh, that's good," Ash remarked, as he stepped around the table and examined the map. "But that seems insignificant to what I had in mind."
Adam quirked a brow at this comment.
"And you think you can suggest something better?" Adam asked.
"You want to start this war off with a metaphorical BANG! While attacking Vale is a good way to start, you need to aim higher," Ash continued, his grin grew wider as he spoke and while Adam remained unimpressed, he listened nonetheless. "Beacon."
Adam almost flinched at this suggestion. While he had no love for the Huntsman nor their institutes, he knew that they were vital to securing the well-being of everyone from the forces of the Grimm.
"Beacon? They are of no concern to us. The Councils have practically castrated them with their rules and regulations on how they train their students, as well as their certification," Adam rebutted. "We can attack and we won't have to expect retaliation from them."
"Ah," Ash commented grimly. "But you see, that is where you are wrong."
"Enlighten me," Adam replied, albeit, with a scoff.
"You are aware of what sparked these regulations, yes?" Ash asked.
"The Huntsman fought amongst themselves as they joined sides in the Faunus War," Adam replied quickly and with a bit of ice in his voice. "Do you take me for an idiot?"
"Not at all, I was just now getting to my point," Ash said with a sigh. "See, what the Council would like people to think is that the reason why they took control of the Huntsman academies, is so that they can avoid a situation like this from happening again. The Huntsman are supposed to protect people, a shining beacon of hope for humans and Faunus alike, but to have them fight amongst themselves… it was an embarrassment."
Adam continued to listen attentively, only responding with a wave of his hand.
"But that's not true, they simply don't want the Huntsman to have a will of their own. With these regulations, the Councils and the Huntsman institutes have been effectively made into one entity. You attack Vale, and the Council will instead send their dogs, the Huntsman, after you."
Adam sat silently as he took in this information, the logic seemed sound, but something stuck in the back of his mind that made it seem off.
"While I would like to make a statement, attacking Beacon is not in our best interests; attacking them without provocation will inspire anger from the humans, as well as the Faunus," Adam replied.
"Why do you need provocation?" Ash replied with a laugh, his eyes widened, and a sense of anger and spite that he had kept swelled within him, was suddenly released.
"They were once protectors, but now they are nothing more but glorified mercenaries. Taking odd jobs to satisfy their greed and feeding off the misery of the world," Ash hissed, as he stared into at nothing.
"Now, this is starting to sound personal," Adam remarked; he slowly rose from his seat and began to approach Ash.
"Give me a good reason as to why I should waste the lives of my comrades to attack Beacon," Adam continued. "Why have you come to my camp to suggest an attack on Beacon? What are your reasons for attacking Beacon?"
Ash smiled as he looked at Adam from the corner of his eye, something about him made Adam admire him; his steel resolve, coupled with the ice in his voice made him unlike the other weaker minded people that he has worked with in the past.
He relished the thought of breaking this man.
"My reasons for attacking Beacon are my own," Ash replied.
"Excuse me?!" Adam exclaimed, his hand quickly grasped the handle of his sword, which Ash noticed and the grin on his face gone as he presumed this gesture to be a challenge. "Although little, I trust your allies as they have proven to be an asset to our cause, but you on the other hand just came out of the ether… I have yet to trust you!"
Ash stood silently as he stared into Adam's eyes.
"And now you come into my camp, presume you can tell me anything about strategy and suggest that I willingly throw my men's lives away…" The grip on Adam's sword tightened as he stepped closer and was face to face with Ash. Unphased, Ash just simply looked down at Adam, he did not take this act of aggression lightly, but he simply couldn't strike at Adam; he still had a purpose, and Ash did not want to anger his Master again.
"And when I ask you for your reasons, you keep silent? Every time I meet you, whatever trust I have for you grows less and less," Adam hissed.
Ash closed his eyes and took a deep breath, to which Adam responded by backing away and loosened the grip on his sword, but kept his hand on it.
"Let's just say, that I am tired of people at the top keeping people down and using tragedy for their own gain," Ash replied coldly; the two stared at each other before Adam let out a sigh and back away, his hand fell from his sword.
"At least we have something in common," Adam replied. "Bane!"
The sound of footfall on grass grew closer, and a disgruntled Bane opened the flaps to Adam's tent.
"Sir," Bane said.
"Escort our guest out of the camp," Adam ordered, and with a silent nod, Bane entered and attempted to grab Ash by the shoulder but he simply jerked away and walked past Bane as he turned away.
"No thank you, I can see myself out," Ash said with a smiling face, however, as he stepped out the tent, the smile turned to a frown.
As Ash walked through the camp, he could feel the hateful gazes of the Faunus around him. They so desperately wanted to pounce on him, and Ash really wanted a reason to let loose, and relieve some stress.
He would not be halted, not when they are so close to starting the real phase of their plans and this setback boiled his blood. He desperately needed an outlet…
But then he heard that a special "friend" was on the nearby island of Patch, off the coast of Vale. He smiled, a burning sensation emerged in his eyes and he felt light as he started to run. So, he decided to pay them a visit… the thought of which caused him to go into a laughing fit as he began to run faster and faster.
0-RWBY-0
"So, that's what happened," Celise replied as she leaned forward onto the dining table.
"Zed was devastated, he just ran off and our Captain went after him," Vaughn remarked with a hushed voice. "Neither of them have come back yet."
His sister, Cecilia, slowly picked at her food as she listened, while looking on in disgust as Raine ate messily right next to her. Finally, she pushed her plate aside, only to notice him take it a moment later.
"This explains why he hasn't even called just to say "good morning"," Byeli replied, her ears flattened as she sulked in her seat.
"Don't worry Byeli, I have seen this side of him before. He'll bounce back," Cecilia joined in, as she decided she could no longer eat her food, and simply pushed the dish away. Once again, it was taken seconds later by Raine.
"Besides," Vaughn replied and then sipped from a cup of coffee. "Our Captain is probably with him now."
"Why aren't you with them?" Nadira asked, her soft voice made it almost difficult for anyone to hear her.
"He is not as responsive to us as he is with him," Vaughn continued, as he set the cup down. "It is best that we just let the both of them sort things out."
A silence fell onto the table as everyone thought upon the reveal of HAVCs plans the night before. Their attempt to apprehend Torchwick, which had ultimately failed.
"Anyway," Celise finally spoke up, "on to a new topic: the students from the other Academies have started to arrive."
"I keep forgetting how close we are getting to the Vytal Festival," Byeli replied gleefully as her tail wagged in the air.
"I guess it's time to scout out who are the potential opponents for the tournament are," Cecilia said, as she turned her body to look at the few students who had already arrived; there were certainly more more to follow in the days to come.
"Hey, watch it!" Someone in the dining hall exclaimed, but it went unnoticed by the twins and CNBR.
"Speaking of the tournament, will anyone in HAVC be fighting?" Celise asked, a grin grew on her face as she then cracked her knuckles.
"Every one of us are. We have already sent in our applications," Vaughn replied. "We will be going over strategies soon. Unless we go with the rules from the last Vytal Festival."
"That's right," Cecilia replied. "Either we fight as a team, or we will fight solo. In the end, it will determine who is the best fighter in Remnant."
"Seems like we will have some stiff competition, I have seen a few of the teams from Mistral, and one of the team members was huge! I would say bigger than Yatsuhashi!" Nadira exclaimed, to which Byeli responded with a twitch of her tail.
"Was he wearing black armor?" Byeli asked.
"Yeah, he was. You're from Mistral; do you know who he is?" Nadira asked.
"'Mountain Glenn'," Byeli replied with a shudder.
"Excuse me?" Celise replied, quirking a brow.
"His real name is Gregor; however, he earned that nickname due to how big he was," Byeli replied, but as she continued, she began to cower.
"You sure it wasn't because of how hard he fell?" Raine jumped in, to which everyone responded by glaring at him. "What, it's a reference to how Mountain Glenn fell, you know?"
"No, he is brutal in how he fights. He surprised everyone in his first tournament, since we all thought he would be so slow and sluggish, especially since the sword he carried was just as big as he is," Byeli continued, but was interrupted as a crash from a dish nearby fell to the floor.
"But he was quick," Byeli said, shaking off her interruption. "Every time he hit something with his sword, it almost sent his opponent flying through the air."
"Sounds fun," Cecilia replied with a smirk.
"Please don't play this off, Cecilia," Byeli pleaded. "He always came in at a close second against Pyrrha in their tournaments. Every time."
Cecilia simply shrugged it off, but then a handful of mashed potato struck her in the cheek which made everyone freeze, and not just because the area around suddenly began to go cold.
Cecilia's eyes began to glow an ice blue and she slowly stood up and Byeli flattened her ears.
"Okay, what the hell?" Cecilia screamed, but suddenly, Nora landed in front of her and placed her hands under the table. It was then that Cecilia froze, as she noticed a grin that went from ear to ear on Nora's face; and she knew what that meant.
"Can I borrow this?" Nora asked whimsically, as she then flipped the table over which sent Vaughn and CNBR flying, and knocked Cecilia to the floor.
She got up as quickly as she could, knowing that something fierce was stirring if Nora was in this mood;she ran for the door.
As food began to fly, everyone was fleeing the dining hall, the doors of which were already open as two boys were entering they were clearly taken aback by the oncoming stampede of students that were trying to escape a food fight that was now underway.
0-RWBY-0
Haiiden groaned as he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger and took a deep breath as he stared up at the ceiling.
The haze slowly left his sight as he woke, and he blinked a couple times. He turned his head to look at Zed; he laid on his bed, out cold after his night of rampage just outside of Vale.
He had no trouble finding his friend and teammate, as the falling trees were a telltale sign of where he was; and he burned the brightest when he was like this, making it easier to find him.
He got up and slowly reached for Zed's shoulder and shook him lightly as he stirred, then with a groan, he sat up.
"Ugh, my head," Zed complained as his temples both hands and winced as the morning light shone brightly, blinding him and worsening his headache.
"Yeah, sorry," Haiiden replied as he sat down next to him. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got bulldozed by a Boarbatusk," Zed replied. "I don't remember anything."
Haiiden grimaced lightly.
"You went outside of Vale for a bit. Knocking down trees and stuff," Haiiden replied with a sigh and rubbed his cheek lightly; noticing a bit of soreness from it.
"Did I do that?" Zed asked as he looked on in horror, inching closer to Haiiden.
"Do wha-?" Haiiden replied, but then remembered that when he finally found Zed, he approached him slowly to get his attention. It had turned out to be a bad idea, as Zed immediately went into high alert and swung at Haiiden.
It had been quite a hard hit, which had almost knocked him out right there.
"Oh, umm, don't worry about it. I forgot to never come up from behind when you're like this," he continued.
Zed, winced and hid his face in his hands, rocking back and forth on the bed.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" he whispered, to which Haiiden replied by quickly placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Like I said, don't worry about it. Not the worst hit I have taken," Haiiden said with the best smile he could muster.
"This isn't funny, mate," Zed said as he leaned his head back with a groan. "You are the last person I would want to hurt."
"I know, Zed. You're not the same when you're like that," Haiiden replied, his smile gone.
"It is why I hate this. I get angry and then I become 'that'. I can't help it," Zed finished and hung his head as they both sat silently.
Before long, the door swung open and Cecilia then stomped into the room, covered in chunks of mashed potato, as well as other assorted foods. Haiiden watched curiously as Vaughn likewise entered the room, also covered in lunch.
Vaughn quietly closed the door and was the first to notice Zed and Haiiden, who then gave a silent nod as his sister paced back and forth; oblivious to the two.
"What the hell was that?" Cecilia asked, looking over herself and whimpered slightly as she noticed how dirty her uniform was.
"Seems to me that it was a food fight," Vaughn replied and stood straight and at attention.
"I know what it was, Vaughn! But-" Cecilia replied but then stopped herself, all of a sudden at a loss for words then sighed in defeat. From the corner of her eye, she finally noticed Zed, who was leaning forward and covering his face; Haiiden held him close, but stared at the two with his mouth gapping.
"Shut up," Cecilia said pre-emptively.
"I wasn't going to say anything," Haiiden said defensively as Cecilia then huffed, and stomped towards their bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
Vaughn then joined the two as he sat silently on his bed across from them, the only thing that broke the silence was the shower head running in the bathroom.
After a few minutes, Cecilia stepped out and switched places with Vaughn and began to change silently. Her breaths were audible as her nostrils were still flaring but before long she simmered down.
"How are you, Zed?" Cecilia asked as she put on a fresh uniform.
"I don't want to talk about it," Zed replied bitterly, and Cecilia simply nodded.
"Remember, Zed: today is the day we greet the students from the other Academies, we have to get ready and really, you look like hell," Haiiden said with a chuckle.
"Nah, it's okay, you go first," Zed said under his breath and Haiiden simply patted him in the shoulder lightly before he stood up. Soon after, Vaughn exited the bathroom and took Haiiden's place.
"You smell terrible, Zed," Vaughn commented as he caught on to the scent of alcohol. "Best to wash up really well, or Ms. Goodwitch will not be happy."
"Vaughn?" Zed called after his friend.
"Yes, Zed?" Vaughn replied.
"I'm sorry," Zed said simply.
"For?"
"I'm sorry about before," Zed practically spat, which made Vaughn hesitate again.
"I am confused, Zed. Please, elaborate," Vaughn asked.
"You said to give the manifests to the police. You were right," Zed continued. "I should have given it to Lipesce and let them take care of it and now, because of me, Torchwick got away. There was no justice in what he did," Zed finished.
"It was personal," Cecilia interjected and Zed looked up at her.
"She's right," Vaughn continued. "The White Fang was your life. Everyone can attest that it started out benevolent but then turned into something sinister. To take out the very thing that poisoned it is understandable."
"It doesn't matter now," Zed spat out. "He got away; it no longer means anything. I no longer want to talk about this."
The twins thought on this and they turned to each other, before averting their gaze. Then the door slowly opened, and Haiiden stepped out, refreshed.
"Your turn," Haiiden said calmly, and waited for Zed as he sat quietly for a few moments. Before long, he mustered the nerve to get up, but walked slowly with his shoulders hunched and head low. Once he entered the bathroom, he closed the door shut and locked it.
"Sir, I am worried about him." Zed heard Vaughn's voice clearly from the other side of the door.
"I know, Vaughn. Me too."
"You shouldn't worry about me." Zed thought as he turned the handle on the shower.
Zed stared at himself in the mirror in his team's bathroom. It was him, he thought, and he was a failure. He failed his fellow Faunus in the White Fang, he failed even more when he let them change. He put his friends at risk with a fool hardy mission and then took it out on his friend.
The longer he stared, the angrier he got and his eyes began to flash from its normal green, to his enraged orange.
But then, there was a knock.
"Zed, buddy, come on, it's almost time. We don't want Goodwitch to start telling us off in front of the other students." Zed heard Haiiden say through the door and when he blinked, he noticed that his eyes stayed green. He took a deep breath, and stood straight as he began to look over his appearance. First, his sleeveless jacket, his orange tie and of course his hair, which he ruffled to make it just a tad bit messy.
However, something still felt wrong…
As he looked at himself one more time, he realized what it was, and as he mustered up the strength, he smiled his usual cheesy grin.
"It's as if nothing happened," he thought.
0-RWBY-0
"Ok, so, any idea who we will be looking after today?" Haiiden asked as he walked down the halls of Beacon with his team.
"Hopefully Atlas, I am curious to see what they have in store," Cecilia responded.
"I heard that they will be a bit late," Vaughn replied.
"Ugh…" Haiiden groaned. "For such a high-class society, you'd think they would stick to a schedule."
"Who cares?" Zed replied, which caused everyone to stop and look at him worryingly, but stopped to see a grin on his face. "As long as there are ladies, it shouldn't matter.
He walked past everyone as they stood frozen, watching as he swept by, apparently without a care in the world.
"You sure he's alright?" Cecilia asked, but Haiiden stood silently before he followed behind Zed.
In the school's dining hall, which Glenda had quickly repaired after the recent food fight, were the senior teams awaiting instructions as they were going to greet the arriving students. HAVC entered through the front doors, only to be greeted by an eager Velvet.
"Come on you guys," she said, waving for HAVC to join CFVY at the front of the stage.
"Any idea what we will be expecting?" Vaughn asked.
"Well, if you were here earlier, then you would have heard Professor Goodwitch explain that today, a large bulk of the students will be arriving," Coco replied. "The ones that we met before are nothing compared to the amount coming by today."
"I see," Haiiden replied as he huddled with his team, along with CFVY. "Any specific Academy you want to greet personally?"
"You don't have to worry about that," Professor Goodwitch said, suddenly appearing from a door beside the stage in the dining hall. "Because I will be assigning you which Academies you will be escorting this afternoon."
She stopped in front of CFVY and HAVC, looking over them slowly, which from Haiiden's perspective, looked like she was appraising them.
"You seem nervous, Ms. Goodwitch," Zed said with a grin.
"Hosting the Festival is a privilege," Glynda retorted. "Everything must be in perfect order as we welcome the neighboring Academies. The dorm rooms where the students will be staying have been tidied up, and I made sure of that, as I just got back from inspecting each and every room.
"It shows that we take things seriously," Goodwitch continued, but then narrowed her gaze onto a smiling Zed. "As should you."
"Do you really think so?" another voice interjected, and from behind Glynda, Ozpin stepped into view.
"Most, if not all of the students are still children to some respects. I am sure they will feel more welcome if students who are just like them are the ones who are greeting them, not mindless robots," Ozpin finished and looked over the two teams with a smile. "Just act as you would normally. I am certain they will enjoy your company, and be grateful for showing them hospitality."
"Yes, headmaster," the two teams replied in unison.
"It will be a lot busier today than the other days, students," Glynda said, as she input a few commands onto her Scroll, sending messages and instructions to each individual member of both HAVC and CFVY.
"Your assignments are set. Meet the students as they land."
"So, Haven Academy," Haiiden commented as he and Byeli walked down the hallway leading to the school's main entrance. For such an occasion, the other Academies won't be landing at the school's hover-port. Instead, they would be landing right in front of the school.
"You think there would be anyone you would recognize?" Haiiden asked.
"Maybe not," Byeli replied disheartened. "The only people I know were in show business like me."
Haiiden then pushed open the front doors, only to see the group of students who had already landed. He watched in amazement at the number of students, and he was told more would show up later, but this was the bulk of them.
"Okay, so let's get started. I will see you later then, Byeli," Haiiden called out over the crowd as he walked towards a group led by a dark-skinned woman with dirty blonde hair. He left Byeli standing , nervous and alone, as she pondered what to do next.
"So, you are here." Byeli heard, and she recognized the voice, which sent shivers down her spine. She slowly turned, her eyes closed as she prayed that she was only hearing things, and opened them to see a giant black figure in front of him.
"As someone who was born in Mistral, I thought you would be representing Haven for the tournament." The giant of a man named Gregor 'Mountain Glenn' said as he stood over Byeli, almost twice as big as her; he didn't even lower his head as he glared down at her.
Byeli stammered as she looked up at 'Glenn', reminded of how he got that name.
"Making friends Byeli?"
"Eep!" Byeli squeaked and turned to see the rest of her team, led by Celise, as they came to meet with her. They stopped; Celise looked over 'Glenn' and smirked.
"Why, hey there, big guy," Celise said with a wink.
"Where is Nikos?" 'Glenn' asked as he ignored Celise.
"I-I-I don't know," Byeli quickly stammered, to which Celise noticed her slight discomfort and her smirk vanished.
"Likewise, I see that she didn't have the integrity to represent her homeland either," 'Glenn' replied with a huff, and pushed past the team, leaving Byeli in a crumpled mess as she fell to her knees.
"Wow! he really is something," Celise muttered under her breath, turned to Byeli and picked her back up onto her feet. "You weren't kidding about what you said about him."
"Every time I meet him I feel like I'm going to die," Byeli whimpered.
"Ignore him. They act tough, but he doesn't seem to be all that," Celise said with a huff. "I got your back, okay?"
0-RWBY-0
Haiiden shut the door behind him, a smile played across his face as he made his way down the hall as he remarked upon the team, ABRN. Such a diverse team, from Arslan's stoic nature, to the outgoing Reese but most of all, and perhaps what Haiiden couldn't help but notice, was how brightly they all burned.
It reminded him of a feeling that he had almost forgotten, and maybe it was a good idea to stay in Beacon. Meeting new people who would probably give him new experiences and lessons to allow him to grow.
Haiiden made his way back to the school's courtyard. With the help of Yatsuhashi, as well as other upperclassmen, they had managed to reduce the number of teams to help. However, there was still much to do, and Haiiden steeled himself for the task ahead.
"Ah, the 'soon-to-be-Hero'!" The comment made Haiiden jump as he then looked both ways, before he turned around.
Standing behind him, clad in armor that glistened in the sunlight and wearing a sky-blue dress, as the girl that he had once met and shared a dance with in Mistral looked back at him with a smile.