A/N: I'm writing this mainly for my own enjoyment, though I thought I should post it. I'm trying to be historically accurate, but I'm not an expert. Forgive any mistakes. I'm still learning.
With that said, please enjoy the chapter and if you would be so kind as to leave a review, I would be grateful.
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any franchise. I make no money from this and all rights go to Roosterteeth.
The Great War
6th of June, 1916
Fort Vaux
[Hans Vogel - 17 Years Old, German Stormtrooper]
"Cover me, Hans!"
The German soldier nodded to his comrade, shooting his Gewehr 98 down the narrow corridor. The long rifle was rather cumbersome in the small hallway, especially with his bayonet fixed as it was, though there was no need to be accurate.
As Hans poured shot after shot at the French defenders, his best friend Erwin stepped from behind the corner and raised his Flammenwerfer M.16. Like a hose of death, fire burst from the weapon incinerating everything in its path. Hans could hear the screams of Frenchmen from afar.
"Well done, Erwin!" The two charged forth, stepping over the dead bodies of fellow Germans and enemy French alike. The walls were blackened by the fire and smoke filled the bunker making it hard to see. Luckily, they both had their gas masks on which allowed them to breathe.
"Vive la France!" Hans was pushed up against the concrete wall as a French soldier tried to stab him in the stomach with a dagger. The young German caught his wrist before he could be stabbed and grit his teeth.
Kicking the French soldier in the groin, Hans had just enough time to push the man off of him and run him through with his rifle's bayonet. The dying man gasped in pain and shock, staring one last time into the soulless gas mask that belonged to his killer.
Hans stabbed him one more time to be thorough.
"Hans!" Erwin ran toward him, crouching behind a make-shift barrier in the hallway. Bullets whizzed millimeters from their heads. Further up ahead, there was another group of French soldiers who had taken refuge behind hastily built stone barricades; nothing at all like the magnificent bunker they were defending.
Fort Vaux was a nightmare. Every hallway was a brutal struggle over life and death. This whole war seemed less like a glorious conquest and more like an endless nightmare.
Nonetheless, Hans swore an oath, and by God and by his Kaiser, he would keep it to the end.
[Charles Auguste - 17 Years Old, French Defender]
Charles ran to his defenses that he had helped construct not days earlier. Despite their shoddy material, they held well against the overwhelming tide of German stormtroopers.
A bullet hit a man beside him, tearing through his blue overcoat and ripping apart his chest. Poor man was dead before he hit the floor. As was his duty, Charles took the fallen soldier's place and returned fire.
"Für den Kaiser!"
"Fuck you, Kraut!" He shot back with his rifle, scoring a hit on a flametrooper German's fuel tank. A massive explosion lit up the underground fort; luckily, he took cover behind the stone barricade.
"Erwin! Nein!" Charles heard a voice from beyond the devastation. Before the smoke could get to his lungs, he frantically attached his gas mask onto his face.
Charles ducked just in time as a shovel went right over his head. He had a brief second where he could sigh in relief. If he wasn't wired from the constant war, he'd probably be dead. The French soldier had to back away from another vicious swing but they both tripped over a dead body.
Hans leapt at Charles' throat, dropping his shovel to choke the life from the man who killed Erwin.
Charles tried to pry the hands from his throat but to no avail. He was sputtering and making all sorts of unpleasant sounds beneath his gas mask. There was a knife at his belt however, and if he could just reach it-
Hans kneed him in the stomach violently as the two wrestled on the floor. They fought for what seemed like hours and yet it was probably only a minute or two. This wasn't just a war between two nations: now it was personal.
Charles picked up the German's shovel and weakly bludgeoned the trooper's head but the Stahlhelm prevented such a weak blow from doing anything other than staggering Hans.
Just as they were about to go at it again and put the other down for good, a flash of light caused both soldiers to pause. Rapidly, the light grew bigger and bigger until the radiance engulfed Hans and Charles and both soldiers disappeared.
What was left was a hallway of dead soldiers. Presumably, the firefight would restart soon enough.
"Nora Valkyrie is the winner." Glynda Goodwitch announced to the class. It was midday and their scheduled combat class was almost over. They'd have time for one last match and then she could run off to her office and have a nap.
Last night was rather stressful, what with the Vytal Festival a few months around the corner. And unfortunately for her, the headmaster seems allergic to paperwork, leaving it all to the only capable employee in this school.
Her…
"Well done, you two; though Miss Valkyrie, I'd advise against such an aggressive approach. Especially against your fellow team member…" She looked over at Lie Ren who was hunched over in pain.
'Poor boy,' she thought.
"Alright, class. We have time for one more-" A glow appeared from the center of the arena which caught the eye of herself and many other students. As the glow became brighter, anyone who didn't notice it initially also curiously stared.
For a moment, all was silent. You could hear a pin drop from the room next over. Nobody knew where this strange light came from.
Then, shouting.
"You fucking French piece of shit!"
"Kraut dog! I'll put you in the dirt just like your friend!"
From the light, two men materialized. They were rolling on the ground, wrestling each other and trying to reach for the other's weapon.
The gray one pushed the blue one off him, grasping a shovel - which was a weird thing to use as a weapon - and took a swing. He caught the blue man in the arm and went on to bash his skull in before he was surrounded in a purple light.
What…?
Hans looked over and saw the Frenchman also trapped in the same purple light.
"What is the meaning of this?!" A blonde woman shouted at them. She held a riding crop in her hand, holding it up as if she was the cause of this purple glow. Hans narrowed his eyes.
"Release me from this Wunderwaffe right now!"
Charles struggled against his confinements. "This is your damn fault, German scum!"
Hans glared underneath the mask's lenses. "I'll kill you as soon as I find a way out of this… This wonder weapon!"
"Enough!" Glynda yelled, glaring at the two soldiers. She had so many questions. The professor rubbed her forehead and sighed. And she was so looking forward to that nap…
"Who are you and what are you doing in my arena?" She simmered down her temper and decided to take a more calm approach.
Hans and Charles ignored her, continuing to spit insults at the other.
"I didn't even know Frenchmen could learn German. I always assumed your brains were too small for our superior language." The German threw at the blue soldier.
"You're speaking French, you stupid Kraut! I wouldn't be caught dead speaking your disgusting dialect!"
Team RWBY watched this happen with mouths agape. This was not at all how they expected combat class to go today.
Ruby spoke to the other three girls, "Who are they?"
"Obviously Professor Goodwitch is trying to find that out." Weiss checked her nails with an eye roll.
Yang seemed excited. "Maybe they're time travelers and they've come back in time to warn us!"
Now it was Blake's turn to roll her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, Yang," Blake leaned back on the bench and crossed her arms. Something didn't seem right about those two newcomers. "They look like they'd rather kill each other than warn us of our impending doom."
The classroom began whispering wild theories about the two strange-looking soldiers - and they were clearly soldiers, for there was no other word to describe their state of dress. There was a gray one with an intimidating mask that glared in the light. Then, the blue, who wore a rather interesting brown mask that functioned like the man-in-gray's.
How did they get here and why are they fighting…? The class eyed them with unbridled curiosity.
Glynda Goodwitch glowered at the two individuals that continued to struggle against her semblance. She was getting really irritated at the brash behavior. The least they could do is acknowledge her and answer her questions.
"Listen to me!" she began, marching up to the men with hands on her hips. They stopped yelling at each other for the moment and watched her warily.
"Who are you and how did you get here?!"
They stayed silent, regarding her with slight confusion. It was then that they noticed their surroundings. The arena. The students. And the bright lights and advanced technology.
At first, Hans had thought this was all a trick. Or perhaps he was suffering from some psychological damage from the brutality of war. He wouldn't be the first soldier to hallucinate or go crazy.
It was strange then that the French animal also had the same look of wonder and surprise. Oh, he could tell even behind the enemy's gas mask that he was feeling the same shock that he was. After wearing it for so long, you learned a thing or two about reading body language.
Charles shook his head in disbelief. "Sacré bleu…" the man whispered, "Where am I?"
Glynda snapped her fingers to get their attention, "Hey!" the teacher grumbled, "Are you huntsmen?"
The Frenchman suddenly barked at her, "Ma'am, this is no place for a woman!" He gestured to the German, "Why have you not evacuated along with the rest of the non-combat personnel?"
She raised her eyebrow at the man. "Evacuated…?"
Hans yelled at her, "This French dead-man means that if you do not leave the area, you will face the heat of a thousand suns! German artillery will soon bring this pitiful fortress to its knees."
Her head went back and forth, clearly trying to fit the puzzle together although it was proving impossible. With a sigh, she facepalmed and said, "Ozpin better deal with this."
The woman walked calmly to the two men who were still stuck in her semblance. The one in gray was still holding up his shovel as if to bludgeon the blue man to death with it.
"You two need to come with me. As far as I know, dealing with foreign affairs isn't a part of my job description." Looking them up and down she stared uncomfortably into the lenses of the German. "If I let you out, do you promise to be peaceful?"
She shifted back and forth, fidgeting unnoticeably as she saw the man stare blankly at her. He seemed to be contemplating the request. Hans eyed the Frenchman out of the corner of his eye and tried to wiggle his arm. No luck. It was still stuck.
Reluctantly, he nodded to the blonde woman. "For now…"
She frowned at that but nodded. "And you…?" She said, turning to Charles.
"Damn. Fine!" Charles yelled, "Just let me out of this, damn it!"
Tentatively, she let the two out of their frozen state and tensed. Both German and Frenchman stood with their hands on their weapons but did not make a hostile move. They had made a promise after all, as short lived as it might be.
"Come." Glynda motioned, "Ozpin will want to ask some questions."
"No need to search for me." Ozpin walked into the arena, sipping calmly on a mug of coffee. The man seemed unperturbed, even as the students watched the spectacle like drama-fiends.
He stopped in front of the duo and pounded his caine on the floor.
"So these are our new arrivals…" He sipped once more, taking a good look at the soldiers. Very interesting, he thought.
"I've never seen uniforms such as yours." He told them, "Are you soldiers?"
Hans snapped to attention, hands forced down at his sides, with his heels clicking together. "Sir, I serve our most glorious Kaiser!" His chin lifted a little bit at that, "Surely, you must have seen a German unit I can return to once this French dog is dead."
Charles bristled at that, turning around to give the German his due, "You couldn't beat us at Vaux and you won't beat me any time soon, Kraut."
"Gentlemen, gentlemen…" Ozpin raised his hands up and lowered the tension. "Now that we've calmed down, I understand that you are French and German?"
They nodded to him.
"Well, I don't suppose you could tell me where you come from."
Hans tilted his head. "I told you, I'm from Germany."
Ozpin closed his eyes and gave a smile, "And where would that be?"
Both soldiers looked stunned. Was this man a lunatic? Or was he playing a joke on them? Well, Hans wasn't about to take it. "I have no time for your games, old man."
'Old man?' Ozpin thought. "I assure you, I am playing no game."
'Not with you anyway.' He thought about a particular white-haired woman before focusing on the new arrivals. "I consider myself an expert on geography but I'm afraid I've never heard of either Germany or French-"
"It's France!"
"-And I sincerely doubt you've heard of Vale."
They stared blankly at him. This was all too much. What a joke. What a lie. Vale? Hans would have scoffed if he were less disciplined.
Charles meanwhile ranted to the Headmaster, "Am I supposed to simply believe you?"
"Oh, you will believe me very, very soon. In fact, I have the sneaking suspicion the light show we all saw was what brought you here."
It made sense but it was just too hard to accept. However as they looked around at the room and at the various students - some of which had animal parts - the German and French soldiers realized they were NOT in Europe. Maybe even Earth.
"Where am I?" Charles repeated his earlier question. Hans stood bone-still.
"Now," Ozpin suddenly captured their attention, "Allow me to welcome you to Beacon Academy. For now, I'd like to separate the two of you so you don't kill each other when I leave."
The Headmaster turned to the eavesdropping students. He called out, "Teams RWBY and JNPR, come here if you would."
Jaune and Ruby led their teams nervously to their Headmaster. "Y-yes, Headmaster?" Jaune spoke.
The man gestured to Charles, "I would like you to chaperone this man for the foreseeable future."
He looked to Ruby and gestured to Hans, "Your team I assign to him."
"See to it that they are shown around campus and treated with respect. I will have no fighting between the two and should I hear that they fought under your supervision, I'd be most… displeased." He raised an eyebrow at Ruby's sheepish smile.
"They'll be housed in your dorm respectively, so treat them as you would another teammate."
Ruby waved at Ozpin, "Don't worry, sir! We won't let you down!" Her voice was cheery and she had a beaming smile on her face.
"Good. Now, I won't stop you if you want to leave, however I will make it clear to you." His voice became serious as he spoke to Hans and Charles, "I promise to do my best to find a way to send you home. My one request is that you two don't fight each other while you are under my roof, as it were."
The men took a second or two to ponder the request, their eyes wandering to all the new sights and technology they never saw before and accepted.
"Alright, I will stay here for now and refrain myself from fighting the French dog."
"Yes, on my honour, I will not take physical action against the Kraut."
Ozpin narrowed his eyes at the answers. He guessed that was the best he was going to get.
"Alright. Glynda."
Glynda spoke loudly to the students, "Class dismissed!"
(With Hans)
"Welcome to our room!" Ruby screamed into his ear though the ringing he felt was nothing compared to the constant shelling he had to endure for the last two years.
The door opened and the first thing Hans saw was the beds. The beds! How did they stay like that…?
Moreover, The walls were covered in coloured graphics, advertising some band, and a painting that was beautifully done. He would have to get a better look later.
"Ugh, that class took forever," Yang complained, jumping violently on her bunk bed.
Weiss checked her nails, snarking at the brawler, "Glynda dismissed us earlier than normal."
"Aw, come on Yang." Ruby pouted as Blake silently slinked off to her bookshelf, "It wasn't so boring. After all, we have a real life soldier in our room!"
Hans stood there like a statue.
"Speaking of which," Weiss marched up to the man. She faltered slightly when that scary mask turned her way but made it a point to not break eye contact, "We still don't know who this man is. All Ozpin told us was to chaperone him before he dropped him off onto us."
The woman narrowed her eyes.
"Don't be like that, Weiss. Maybe the Headmaster will give us extra credit!" Ruby was the voice of reason, clearly.
"Weiss…?" Hans spoke softly.
"Hm?" the girl-in-white responded.
"Your name is Weiss?"
"Yes, Weiss Schnee." She curtsied politely, though her eye twitched at the lack of recognition.
"GWHAHAHAHA~!" The German guffawed, putting a hand up to his masked mouth.
Weiss angrily put her hands on her hips and snapped, "And what exactly is so funny?!"
"N-nothing, nothing… Snow White." He calmed himself down. "Your name fits."
She looked quizzically at him. "And what's that supposed to mean?"
Indeed, she certainly was the 'most beautiful and fairest of them all'. Not that he would tell her. He was probably going to die soon enough. Why have hope for a family or relationship when it will all come crashing down in an instant. A single bullet or stray shell would destroy any chance he would have of making a life.
No, he would not hope.
"Perhaps I will tell you another time."
Weiss pouted at that. The face she made stirred some emotion in his hardened heart before he quickly squashed it. Looking to change the subject, he spoke to the four girls.
"You may call me Hans Vogel. As I am to be stationed here for the time being, I see it pertinent that I introduce myself."
"Why do you talk so funny?" Ruby asked.
"RUBY!" Yang called out aghast.
"Excuse me?" He turned to the hooded girl.
"I mean, it's a nice accent! And I think it suits the big bad tough soldier thing you've got going on, I was just wondering why you talked like that as I've never heard anyone else-" Yang put a hand over Ruby's mouth to stop her rambling.
Hans nodded, "Indeed. I am German and so our beautiful language is rather harsh. That is represented in how you hear my voice sonically."
He reached up to unclasp his gas mask, "Though I'm sure you could hear me more clearly once I take this thing off…"
What surprised all four of them when they saw his face was just how young he was. He couldn't be a year older than them, and if it wasn't for his dead eyes and the rough scar on his cheek, he could be just a regular student at Beacon.
"You're young!" Blake pointed out the obvious.
"Well, of course." Hans spoke as if it was the most normal thing in the world, "You don't see many old soldiers, do you?"
Weiss herself was rather taken aback. She thought he would look like some brute but instead he was quite handsome. With high cheekbones, blue eyes - though lacking in the emotional department - and blond hair, he would fit in with the aristocrats from back home.
Her eyes lingered on that scar of his.
She couldn't help but think of her own scar over her left eye. It was nearly in the same place as his, though his covered more of his cheek and didn't at all touch near his eye.
It looked good.
"Nice scar, big guy!" Yang rested an arm around Hans' shoulders, "How'd you get it?"
"Yang…" Weiss warned.
"Ah, it is a dueling scar," the man went to explain, "It is custom back home to duel a friend with a rapier and eye protection and stuff the wound with horse hair to make the scar more pronounced."
His hand went up to touch the scar with a smile, "My friend Erwin got me good, though I gave it right back."
Yang reeled at the brutal description, "That's… Nice."
"Barbaric more like." Blake rolled her eyes.
"Wow, Weiss! That's like yours!" Ruby burst from Yang's grip.
Hans curiously glanced over at the white-haired woman, immediately setting his sights on the pretty little scar over her eyes.
She brushed some hair over her left eye self-consciously. "...Ruby."
"The scar only adds to your beauty, ma'am." Hans felt he had to lift her spirits. It seemed to work as she perked up and gave a small smile.
"Lover-boy's got game!" Yang said cheekily, her face turning into a sly grin.
In response, the German brushed her arm off his shoulder and went to lay down on the floor. He had a rather long day fighting for his life and he wasn't in the mood to fool around with words. "If it isn't any bother, I'd like to get some sleep now. Wake me in three hours and I'll take watch."
With orders given, he put his helmet over his eyes and instantly passed out.
The girls looked around at one another. "Sooo~... Who's gonna take watch?" Ruby asked. They all narrowed their eyes warily at each other.
"Not it-"
"Not it-"
"Not it-
"Not- Drat~!" Weiss swore. She was sure it was just a joke but she still didn't like losing. She especially didn't like it when the rest of the team gave her a mock salute before they hopped off to bed. Imbeciles.
As she curled up on her own bed she looked at the rigid soldier who laid on their very floor. Weiss thought that looked uncomfortable but Hans didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to think nothing of sleeping on the hard surface.
Perhaps she would keep watch after all. Just to make sure that 'French' soldier didn't try anything of course. Definitely not to watch anyone in particular.
Definitely NOT.
A/N: Review, Follow, Favourite.
Again, I'm writing this for my own enjoyment, mainly. I don't really know where I'm going with this story. I just kind of wrote it.