Chapter 1

The creature's head moved swiftly but his sword swing was faster.

He was awoken by the loud screeching it made in its final throes. A creature of Grimm (one he could barely make out as an Incubus) had found a comfortable place to rest on his chest. As his vision slowly returned to him, he saw several shadowy imp-like figures whiz over him, mustering the strength of his semi paralysed limbs, he attempted to get back on his feet. Unfortunately, his arms and legs were unresponsive; he had been exposed to the Incubus for far too long. He didn't accept that predicament, and once more he tried to get up, but his body was extremely heavy.

More of the creatures began to swarm around him, drawn in by the negative emotion from the nightmares the first creature had induced. A blood curdling scream came from his travelling companion's sleeping bag, several Incubus had latched on to him and were forcing him to experience the worst things imaginable.

His nightmare became even more violent, causing the Grimm to move away from him to the sleeping bag little by little which he felt grateful for. It allowed him to catch his breath. He could feel the blood rushing through his body and hear his beating in his ears as if a drum solo was being performed in his head by skilled drummer.

Suddenly he heard a voice whispering into his ear in between the rhythmic beating. It was the voice of a weary and wizened man. "Let me handle it." Were the worlds it uttered.

His legs raised themselves, followed by him performing an acrobatic move he believes is referred to as a kip up. "I ask that you forgive me in advance for any injuries you may sustain."

His body charged at the black creatures short-sword in hand, held in a reverse grip. The blade gleamed in the moonlight as it was thrust downwards, perforating the creature. The sword was swung upwards, sending the dissolving Grimm upwards into another and into a tree branch, impaling them both. He charged at the rest of the creatures. He swung his sword, thrust it into the air and he would occasionally shift his body to dodge attacks.

More of the Grimm's eyes cut to him. They had acknowledged him as a threat. He got into a stance, one that felt as though it would be more comfortable with a longer weapon. The Grimm charged at him, and he replied in kind. They attacked him and he slayed them. They tried to assault him, and he made away with them. They thrashed at him, and his sword mowed them down.

Damn it! He thought to himself when he realized he was unable to speak up against the bombardment his body was receiving. The shadows flew towards him ready to end him. Suddenly his previously unresponsive left hand grabbed it by the tail and swung it at the other creatures. decapitating it.

He continued to kill several of the shadowy figures in a fierce and deadly dance till he realized something. His body wasn't moving as he wanted. When he willed himself to slash, he would stab instead? Whenever he attempted to roll, he would sidestep attacks instead. It felt as though something was controlling him.

One of the shadows flew past him, in a futile attempt to attack his sleeping companion. He grabbed it by the tail before it could sink its fangs. The shadow was then repeatedly slammed against the ground before he brought down his boot onto its head.

When the last creature was finally killed, control over his body was returned to him. He slumped to his knees and started gasping for as he felt the adrenaline coursing through him. "Holy shit!" his companion said as he walked towards him. "Vincent are you okay?"

"I'm fine,'' He was not. He was anything but fine. His mind was racing looking for an explanation for what had just happened. "How about you?"

"I'm okay, the incubus didn't get a chance to hurt me thanks to you." Companion said as he stretched. He looked at the disappearing Grimm with a confused look. "Vincent, how were you able to move?"

"I honestly don't know Flynn." Vincent said as he finally got his breathing under control. "I was affected by the paralysis as well."

"Whatever it was that happened saved us." Flynn said as he packed his belongings away. "We can't stay here for long. More Grimm could be nearby "

"There is a village nearby," Vincent said as he packed as well. "We'll spend the night there."

"Good idea." Flynn replied as he lifted his bag.

He estimated that the village may have been twenty kilometres, a trek that would have taken much less time if they had not been forced to kill their steads after the fractured their legs while being chased by a pack of Beowulf. A waste of good money, the horses and the camping equipment.

The sun had been up for the last two hours, but it wasn't any warmer than it was at night. The had finally left the forest, much to Vincent's pleasure; he had grown tired and sick of seeing snow covered trees and the isolating ambience.

They were greeted by a series of shacks built on a flat with not a single tree in sight. The village had seen better days, which was common for villagers that were unfortunate enough to be close to the battlefields of The Great War.

The only visible sign was the one outside the village reading

Welcome to Rouge Rock

Population: 734

The village of Rouge Rock sat within a valley at the base of a nearby mountain. Which would explain why it so cold. The villagers were also just as cold. They stared at Vincent and Flynn with weary eyes, it seems the war had left everyone uneasy. Welcome to Rouge Rock my ass.

''It's not their fault, the village was close to a battlefield the must have lost so much.'' Where did that come from?

"I thought people were nicer in the country." joked Flynn. A ball smacked into the back of his head. The group of children they had seen earlier know stood still behind them, they were ready to run if either of them took a step forward. Flynn picked the ball up and threw it at the nearest boy. A woman, presumably the boy's mother, grabbed the child by its hand dragging them away, while shooting a cautious look at the pair of huntsmen.

"It's been nearly three decades, yet everyone is still uneasy." He added in more serious tone.

The villagers more specifically the older ones, continued to eye them. Some even went as far as to send their children into the houses as they walked by.

"Of course they'd be cautious." Vincent replied. "Last time a group of strangers armed with weapons were here, the village was burnt to the ground."

How did he know that? He hadn't even heard of the village till recently. And why did it he feels so terrible? Was this guilt?

Vincent felt a hand grab onto his shoulder. ''Are you okay?'' Flynn asked.

''Yeah I'm okay.''

''Why are you crying?''

Crying? His brought a hand to his face, encountering a stream of liquid dripping down on of his cheeks. Why was he crying? "It must be the wind" he thought himself.

The duo walked until they reached a tavern, they found one with the words 'DYING DOG' written in bold red letters against what used to be a yellow background but most of the paint had peeled off with a few yellow flakes remaining. The building itself had seen better days, one of the windows was missing glass and wooden board were used as the probably permanent condition.

As they entered the room went quiet. Every head swivelled to look at them, leaving a deafening silence. Just as quickly as they went silent, they went back to their places. Men played blackjack, others drank, and some danced around the fiddle player. Vincent made his way to the bar, ignoring the patrons that had not returned to their previous activities and called for the bartender.

She was a young woman, older than the two of them but younger than many of the women he had already seen so far. She looked at the two, her tawny eyes brightening up at the sight of them and her fierce dour expression lightened up. Her auburn hair was tied into a messy bun,

"You two look like you've been through hell." The bartender remarked while flashing them a warm smile. She was missing a canine and two of her teeth were chipped, but this did not take away from how pretty she was.

"We feel like we've been through hell." Flynn said as he plopped down on a stool next to his.

"Rough trip?"

"And a rough night." Ozpin added. "Some Grimm tried to kill us in our sleep."

"Aah" Sighed the bartender while she nodded knowingly. "Ya ran into our little friends."

Flynn responded with his own exhausted nod.

"Yer ain't from round 'ere?" The bartender said.

"What gave it away?"

"There is only one road that passes through an Incubus nest."

"We're from Vale, I hope that isn't a problem."

"Aah, Vale, yer a long way from home."

"We're looking for work." Vincent stopped to take a sip of his drink. " But for now, we're looking for a place to stay."

"I'm curious, what kind of work would require two hunstman?"

"Grimm slay, bounty hunting, mercenary work anything as long as the pay is good. "

"Yer a huntsman?" a drunk voice asked.

"Yes who wants to know?"

"Me." A giant of man said as he stood up. He lumbered over to Vincent and Flynn, the pungent smell of alcohol coming from all over him. "Last time a huntsman came 'ere he closed of one of the mines, now we can't reach the dust inside!"

"Really now?" Vincent said. Normally he would avoid confrontations like this, but the light weight was already inebriated. "But how does that even involve me?"

"It doesn't," the man said as he cracked his knuckles. "I just feel like beating huntsman because of that."

The man threw a punch at Vincent who ducked under it. Vincent jabbed his elbow into the man's gut causing him to grasp it in pain.

Vincent turned back to enjoy his drink. "Don't bother trying to fight me, it won't end well."

"Vincent look out!" a voice shouted. He moved out of the way as a chair hit where he stood.

"Shit! Jeffrey what are yer doing man?" the barkeep asked.

"You stay out of this!"

One of the chairs smashed into the man's face. He was then grabbed by the scruff of his shirt and slammed into a support beam.

"Have you had enough?"

The man spat blood into Vincent's eyes affecting his vision. He then was punched across face knocking him to the ground. "Yer little tricks aren't gonna help ya here."

Vincent climbed back to his and put his fists up. "Vincent be on guard he might strike at any moment."

"You think?"

"Just keep your aura up I'll tell you when to attack, like now. Duck." Vincent rolled on the ground dodging a punch.

The man threw a heavy punch. "Here comes a right cross." He deflected the punch then followed with a kick to the back of the man's leg bringing him down to his knees. "Don't let up, he's almost down."

Vincent began punching the man's face till he was dizzy. The man then collapsed. "Barkeep can I have a moist cloth."

"Sorry bout Jeffrey he's an idiot."

"No harm done."

"Let me make it up to ya, after all it was my idiot kid brother who started." the barkeep said "How about I offer you and your friend a place to stay."

"I'd appreciate that." Vincent said as he returned the. "Speaking of which, you weren't much help."

"I knew you could handle this on your own." Flynn said as he took a sip from his drink.

"At least you helped me out when he blinded me."

" What are you talking about?"

"When you were giving me directions."

"Vincent, I didn't say anything."

"But I could have swore." Vincent said. "You know what I must have been hearing things."

"In the mean time let's have a drink." The sound of something shattering burst into his head. Suddenly everything went dark.

"- The attacker had been rushed to the hospital immediately. Where he died of blood loss a few hours later." A reporter said as he stood in front of a busy hospital.

"Thank you Louis. I wonder why anyone would want to hurt such a good man." the news reporter said as he put his papers in order. ''In other news...''

"Televisions who would have thought something like this would exist." Said a man who sat at the side of his bed. He was dressed in a black pea coat, underneath it was a green sweater and black cotton pants. He stood up then turned to face him revealing a young male face with a stubble. "You're finally awake."

"What happened?" Vincent asked as he tried to get back up only for his head to start throbbing. The pounding headache forced him back to bed as he started massaging his temples.

"You took a bottle to the head." the man said as he swung his hand. "And I must say it was quite the nasty blow. You're quite fortunate, Mr?"

''Vincent.''

''Vincent, so you're a conqueror.''

Vincent looked around the room with confusion, he took in surroundings. A TV set in the corner, a closet on his left side and a window on the opposite side of the room. "You're in an inn right now, the barkeep offered to give you a place to rest up." the said clearing up some of his confusion. ''She said it was her way of apologizing for what her brother did.''

"Since you know who I am, who are you? and why are you?"

"My name is Otto, I heard there was this hotshot huntsman here and I had to see him." Otto said as he slicked back his brown hair. ''I must say I'm quite disappointed, getting beaten by a civilian.''

"It's not my fault.'' Vincent responded. ''He caught me off guard. Besides I was tired, if I was rested, I would have got him.''

''Doesn't your job require you to be always on guard?'' The Man said as he lounged even deeper on the chair. ''Did every huntsman become complacent after the war or is it just you.''

''Did you come to make fun of me?''

''Not exactly, I came to tell you things are going to change.''

''What?''

''Your life is going to take an unexpected turn.'' Otto said as his face took a sombre expression. ''You're going to be pulled into another man's conflict.''

''I don't understand?''

''Go to Atlas and everything will be clearer.'' Otto said as he walked out of the room.

''Wait, come back!''

The door was then violently opened by Flynn who rushed to his friend's side. ''Ozpin are you okay?''

''Where did he go?''

''Who?

''The man who was just here, were did he?''

''There was no one here.'' Flynn said in a confused tone. ''I was in the hallway I didn't see anyone leave. Maybe it was just a dream...''

''But I could have sworn...It felt so real.''

''Ozpin? Interesting name.''

I wasn't satisfied with this chapter so I uploaded a new version