"How could you let this happen?!" Cinder Fall demanded, pacing around her room, leaving light burn marks with every step. Emerald and Mercury simply let her rant, not commenting for fear of losing important limbs.
Neo, on the other hand, stared at Cinder with bloodshot eyes. "You just let him break up with you?" The half-maiden exclaimed. "Why didn't you stop it?" Neo glared up at Cinder, now by technicality her employer.
"Uh, Cinder." Emerald murmured. "That, isn't really how relationships work." Cinder turn on her heel to stare at the mint haired girl, who withered slightly under her gaze.
"Yeah." Mercury pitched in, redirecting Cinders anger. "If someone says 'it's over' or 'we're through' or 'not happening', not much you can do about it."
"View must be great from that glass house of yours." Emerald muttered. "But he's right. It's not Neo's fault, Crue broke up with her."
The small mute found herself unable to meet Emerald's eyes at that statement. Cinder grit her teeth and growled, before pointing to the door. "Out. All of you." Her lackeys looked at each other confusedly, which only served to anger her further.
"OUT!" The three ne'er-do-wells quickly scattered, leaving Cinder to huff alone. She let out an infuriated cry, the bed nearest to her becoming singed. She took a deep breath, and composed herself.
"We need intel on him." She spoke to no one, reassessing her reasons for Crue and Neo's relationship to herself. "He is an unknown, even the people here don't know about him."
With an aggravated sigh, Cinder walked over to her dresser. She opened a drawer, retrieving a dark and corrupted mirror. She took a breath through her nose, and stared at the reflection of her eyes. "Mirror, Mirror, I need to call, show me the most wrathful of all."
Her face distorted, swirling into a deep black whirlpool. The swirling began to slow down, and an image came into view. It was not Cinder's face, and it was also not what she was expecting.
"Cullen?" She murmured, seeing the Faunus she had just been thinking about in a rather, tame position. He was sleeping, slumped against a wall, with a small dog curled up on his lap. Definitely not the intimidating persona he had been portraying so far.
"What on Remnant?" Cinder breathed, unsure as to why she was currently seeing Crue, and not who she intended to see. She shook her head, raven hair passing briefly in front of her eyes. With a brief flick of her hand, the image disappeared.
"It must be because I was thinking of him and Neo." She dismissed, staring at the mirror once more, the reflection of herself reminding her of the male she just saw. "Damn it." She shook her head, getting the Faunus out of her mind.
She stared at the mirror for quite a while, before sighing. "Why do I need to rhyme to activate it?" A serious design flaw in her mistress' otherwise perfect device.
"Mirror, Mirror, don't be mean. I need to see the Grimm Queen." The mirror swirled once again, the colours becoming darker the longer it changed.
A pale face and black eyes appeared before Cinder. "Cinder." The face spoke slowly, unamused.
"My lady." She bowed her head lightly. "I regret to inform you that my transmission is not one of good news."
Salem's eyes squinted at Cinder, her red pupils narrowing in on the girl. "Oh my! The Princess has made a mistake! What a tragedy!" A voice came from outside Cinder's view from the corrupted mirror.
"Tyrian!" Salem snapped, a whimper originating from the same person. Salem turned back to Cinder, the eyes of the Grimm Queen staring down the half-maiden. "What have you to report?"
Cinder hesitated briefly. "The infection failed." Salem's eyes narrowed, awaiting her explanation. "There was, an unknown." Cinder tried to explain the situation in the same way that she experienced it first-hand.
"An unknown?" Salem questioned, unamused.
Cinder nodded. "Yes. He prevented me from uploading the virus. He stalled for time until General Ironwood arrived."
"And you could not defeat him?" Came another voice, one that sounded as though a stick had been shoved up a certain hole.
"Watts." Salem warned, turning her attention back to Cinder. "Who was he?"
"He called himself, The Wolf." Cinder explained, wincing at how this must appear to her Queen. "There was no way I could have known he would be there. Even Torchwick did not know anything about him."
"And you let him prevent you from uploading the virus?" Salem questioned flatly.
"I did not intend for that." Cinder seethed quietly. "He had information. He knew the General was approaching, and he knew about Emerald's Semblance."
"The hallucinating one?" Salem's eyes narrowed.
"Yes. Between him and Cullen, it seems as though every-" "Who?" Salem cut her off.
Cinder held in a groan. "Crue Cullen. An insufferable Wolf Faunus who I have no information on. I tried to get more by having Neopolitan date him, but he broke up with her!"
"Ah, young love." Tyrian cackled through the magical mirror. Cinder's amber eyes twitched at his words.
Salem stared at Cinder calculatingly. "Where is this, Crue now?"
"Sleeping, with a small dog on his lap." Cinder answered immediately. When she received silence from the other end, she realised how this sounded. "I saw him on the mirror."
"You what?" Salem said, uncharacteristically interested.
"I saw him on the mirror." Cinder repeated, an eyebrow raised at Salem's reaction. "I was trying to contact you, but he showed up instead."
"What did you say to summon him?" Salem questioned, nay, demanded Cinder.
"Uh." Cinder didn't know what caused her Goddess' sudden interest, but she dared not go against her. "Mirror, Mirror, I need to call. Show me the most wrathful one of all."
Salem leaned back into her crystal throne, an unnerving smile on her face. "So, he kept his word." She brought her hands together, fingertips pressing against each other. "He made me a Wrath, and a King."
"Ma'am?" Cinder questioned.
"Thank you for this information Cinder. Do be sure to keep an eye on him. Inform me the next time he is out of the safety of Beacon." Salem said, with a wave of her hand.
"But I-." The connection between the two mirrors broke. Cinder let out an aggravated sigh, as she rested the mirror on her bed. "What is so important about him?"
…
The very same question was asked by Watts. "Ma'am, you seem unusually happy about this man. Who is he? And who kept their word?"
"And you seem unusually inquisitive, Watts." Salem replied coolly. Watts looked back to his scroll, as Tyrian let out a cackle.
"Well, if he's annoying Cinder I like him. Can I hunt him down too? Please, my lady." The psychotic male pleaded.
"He shall not be hunted. He will come to us eventually. And if you must know, Watts," The man in question looked up to his Queen, his moustache bristling. "I made a deal."
"With the Devil?" Tyrian chuckled.
"Not quite." Salem replied, regarding Tyrian with an unamused stare. "He called himself, 'The Author'. And he said he would bring me another piece for my game." She shook her head.
"It appears dear old Ozpin's analogies are rubbing off on me." She mused. "He said he would help my cause, in return, he wanted to write about it, and create some of his own Grimm." The two men at the table exchanged glances of confusion, and a third man, who had been asleep until then, opened his eyes to give his opinion.
"Strange request." He said, his voice deep and gruff.
"Quite, Hazel." Salem agreed. "I must test our new addition. Perhaps an Alpha would suffice." Silence fell over the table, Salem trying to decide what trial she would put this, Crue Cullen, through.
"My lady." Hazel said, his eyes still closed.
"Yes, Hazel?" Salem waved a hand to him.
"Will you tell Cinder she doesn't actually need to rhyme to activate the mirror?" He questioned.
Salem let out a light chuckle. "No, Hazel. A Goddess needs her entertainment, after all. Perhaps after all of this, I shall read the book that The Author is writing. It should be interesting to see our victory from an outside perspective."
"Now, for Crue."
…
"Achoo!" Crue sneezed, waking both himself and Zwei up. The corgi let out a yelp and scurried away from Crue, hiding under Blakes bed. "Excuse me." Crue sniffled, rubbing his nose.
"Ugh." He groaned, standing up and dusting off his trousers. "Wonder what exposition went on while I was asleep." He stopped rubbing, and looked across from where he was sleeping. "That's where I left my glasses."
He walked over, grabbing them and looking at his own reflection. Crue blinked several times, as his eyes appeared to have changed colour. From their usual steely blue, to a dark gold. He closed both eyes and rubbed them.
When he opened them again, they were back to their normal colour. Crue stared at himself for several long moments. "There is some fuckery going on here that I am not aware of."
"Arf!" Zwei barked in agreement, poking his head out from under the bed. Crue looked to the dog, putting his glasses back on and clicking his fingers. Zwei rushed over, as fast as his little legs would carry him.
Crue pet behind the dogs ears, the corgi's tongue lolling out happily. "Yeah, I know how that feels now." He mused, scratching his own ears. He stopped scratching, stretching his back and hearing his joints pop.
"Now, let's go see what the author has in store for me today." He walked to the door, turning and seeing Zwei trying to get onto Blake's bed. The Faunus chuckled. "She is not gonna be happy when she sees that."
He shrugged, and left the dog to his own devices. As he walked, he mulled over what he was thinking beforehand. "I broke up with Neo. I need to come to terms with it." He clenched his fist, and felt the button for his claws.
"Hurting myself isn't the way. I'm not going to give that fucking Regret or whatever the hell his name was another scar." His fists unclenched. "And I'm not giving in just so you can have some more drama for your story."
Crue checked his scroll to see if any messages had popped up. There were two. One from Ruby, and one from… "Ozpin?" Crue muttered. He checked the headmasters message first.
"Mr. Cullen. Please meet me at the Beacon cliff. I have something important I need to discuss with you." Crue read aloud. "Well doesn't that sound fucking ominous." He sighed.
He checked the other message. "Hey Crue! Port is having us all gather in his room for something. Thought you should now." Another message was under it. "*know"
"I'll check that after I talk to Ozpin." He decided, pocketing the device. "As long as it doesn't get me killed."
He stopped walking. "That is entirely likely actually." He shook his head. "No. I'm not gonna die. Don't feel like it." He marched determinedly to the cliffs of Beacon.
He saw the aged professor waiting for him by the cliff, sipping from his omnipresent coffee mug. "Professor!" Crue called. The man coughed lightly on his coffee, causing Crue to wince.
"Crue." Ozpin greeted, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "Thank you for calling out to me."
"Haha. Yeah…" Crue laughed awkwardly. "So, why am I here?" He asked, stepping next to the professor.
Ozpin nodded, taking out a teachers scroll. "Well, Crue. It has come to my attention that we have yet to officially register you in Beacon." To prove his point, he brought up Crue's profile. A blank slate. "That is why you do not have a picture whenever you are chosen to fight."
"Huh." Crue said, not really able to say much else.
"And now, I have a question for you Crue." Ozpin said, typing a bit more on his scroll. "What is your landing strategy?"
"My what?" Crue said, almost afraid of the answer.
"How do you survive a drop from a great height?" Ozpin asked.
"Don't get dropped from a great height." Crue responded instantly. His answer caused Ozpin to chuckle.
"Well, let's see how that works out for you." He pointed downwards. Crue followed the direction, and felt his eyes widen. Underneath him was a metal plate with Beacons insignia. Crue knew it better as the Launchpad that served to initiate the Beacon, initiation.
"YOU MOTHERFUUUUUUUUuuuuuu…" Crue was flung midway through his curse, flying into the distance of the Emerald Forest.
"Hm." Ozpin hummed, swirling his mug. "That'll teach him to make me waste coffee." He walked away, taking out his personal scroll and composing a message to his colleague.
…
"Ah, Ozpin says it has begun." Port chuckled. "Ehem!" He cleared his throat, causing the classroom before him to fall silent. "Huntsman, Huntresses, Ladies." He drawled, winking at an exchange student with raven hair and amber eyes.
The girl in question shuddered at the implication. Port had called for a meeting of the students, both Beacon and beyond. "Now, as for why I've gathered you here. As teachers, we do have a life outside the classroom."
Several mock gasps sounded, causing Port to chuckle. "Yes, yes. Quite unbelievable. But they do exist. And during this life, I have made a bet with our dear headmaster." He pressed a button on his desk, and a screen engulfed the wall Port stood before.
"Ooh! A movie!" Nora exclaimed in glee, grabbing a bucket of popcorn from nowhere and beginning to munch on it.
"Not quite Ms. Valkyrie." Port laughed. "My bet was that a certain student could complete the initiation on their own." A few people gasped, real gasps this time.
"Who did you pick?" Jaune asked the professor.
Port smiled knowingly. "I chose a man who I believe you are all well acquainted with, and has shown the traits valued in all huntsman." The screen showed the calm nature of the Emerald Forest, the leavings blowing gently.
"I chose-" "-KER!" Ports speech was cut off abruptly, and several people winced at what they saw. A person entered the frame, and immediately collided with a tree.
"Not… off to the best start." Port muttered, as Crue slipped from the tree, groaning all the way down to the ground.
…
"Ozpin, I am going to kill you." Crue muttered, standing roughly. "If you fling someone into a forest, MAKE SURE THEY HAVE THEIR WEAPON!" He sighed, and then jumped back to the tree as an explosion erupted next to him.
Once his heartrate was down, Crue saw it was one of the Beacon lockers. "I hate you." He muttered, jumping down from the tree and making his way over to the locker. He opened it up, grabbing his hurl.
He noticed that the weapons he stole from the White Fang were also there. He hummed in thought, before grabbing the pistol. "Nothing that bad should be in the forest. At least, nothing I haven't killed before."
He slammed the locker closed, and jumped onto the nearest tree, using his Semblance and running up it. "Alright, so where's the ruins?" He questioned aloud, scanning the horizon for the ancient building.
"Well, Beacon's that way." He stood on the topmost branch, squinting his eyes. As he examined the skyline, he heard something that made his blood boil. The beating of wings assaulted both sets of his ears, as Crue turned from his place on the tree, seeing a Nevermore flying towards him.
Before he let his Wrath take over, his creative side did. "Hehe." Crue chuckled, as he began jumping up and down on the branch. "Lightbulb." As the Nevermore neared, Crue jumped back, falling from the tree.
He grabbed the branch he had been jumping on, and pulled it down with him, using his Semblance to connect to the one below him. "I've watched enough cartoons to know this'll work." He cancelled out his Semblance, and shot skyward thanks to the branch.
He flew past the Nevermore, the Grimm squawking in surprise. The momentum did not last long, and Crue felt himself falling back to Remnant. However, it was as intended. Crue landed on the back of the Nevermore, and dug Setanta into its back.
The beast cried out in pain, and attempted to shake the Faunus off. "Good luck with that!" Crue taunted, twisting his sword into the dark flesh. The Nevermore screeched, and changed direction of its flight.
"Huh." Crue wondered, twisting his sword another way. The Grimm screeched again, and changed flight once more. "Holy shit I'm piloting a Nevermore." Crue laughed, before the Grimm began to dive-bomb.
"No! Wait! Shit! Shit! Shit!" Crue stabbed further and pulled back, hoping it would cause the birdlike Grimm to pull up. "Wait. Stabbing it won't make it more alive!"
Crue leaped from the bird at the last second, piercing a tree with Setanta to keep off the ground. The Nevermore crashed to the ground, turning up soil and more trees. The Faunus let out a low whistle, and jumped down.
"Damn. It was fun while it lasted. Guess I'm not good at flying." He shrugged, changing Setanta back to its hurley form and swinging it over his shoulder. "So, what else ya got?"
A roar from off to his right answered him. "DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND RHETORIC?!" He exclaimed, sighing and smacking his face with his palm.
"Alright, fuckin' bring it." He said, throwing his arms wide and facing the direction the roar came from, feeling the ground beneath him shake.
Two seconds later, an enormous Grimm burst through the forest, prompting Crue to say the following. "WHAT THE SHIT IS THAT?!" The Grimm, not responding to that question, raised one of its mammoth fists, and swung at Crue.
The Faunus barely had enough time to bring his hurl up to block, when the fist made contact. The force behind the blow was too powerful, and sent Crue flying into a tree. The Faunus coughed roughly when his head bounced off the bark.
"Fucking trees." Crue spat out, shaking his head. The Grimm beat its chest loudly, waiting for the opponent to make a move.
...
"What's a Beringel doing in the Emerald Forest?!" Coco Adel exclaimed, her eyes wide in concern for the first year. Seated next to her, Velvet looked at the screen in silent horror.
The Faunus' expression was matched by the rest of the class, all of them wide eyed and open mouthed at the faceoff between Crue and the Grimm.
"I do not know." Port said. "I should call Glynda." He grabbed his scroll and began to type rapidly.
"Wait! Look!" Ruby shouted, pointing at the screen. All eyes turned, focusing back on the video before them.
...
"I am really, going to kill Ozpin now." Crue growled out, as he stood shakily. He grabbed Setanta and pointed it at the gorilla Grimm before him. "You know what? Fuck this." He changed it into its sword form and swung it once in an arc, before stabbing it into the ground.
He left the sword there, and punched his knuckles together. Cracking his neck, he took a stance. "Alright. Bring it on you DONKEY KONG REJECT!" With that Crue leaped toward the Beringel, arm cocked backwards.
The Grimm did not expect the Faunus to fight weaponless, and so took a haymaker to it's face. It growled in pain, stumbling back a step or two, before swinging its massive arms at Crue. The Faunus placed two hands on an arm, and then leaped back towards the Grimms head, hands intertwined and held high.
Crue slammed them down on the top of the Beringels skull. The beast wavered, before slamming into Crue's side with one of its fists. Crue flew from the beast, crashing through a tree with the force of the blow.
Crue stood, shaking the dizziness from his head. "Fucking King Kong wannabe." He spat, some blood mixing with the saliva. He could sense his Aura was still intact however. He considered grabbing his hurl, but before he could make a move, the Beringel grabbed a tree and ripped it out of the ground, hurling it at Crue.
The Faunus leaped high, soaring over the tree and landing in a crouched position. The Beringel slammed its fists against the ground, then beat his chest and roared at Crue.
For some reason, the action caused Crue's blood to run cold. "You think you're the Alpha?" He cracked his knuckles, and beat his own chest in retaliation. The Grimm roared again, this time at the fact he was being challenged.
"I'm the Alpha here! Let me show you why." With that, the two combatants surged forward while roaring, and arm cocked back on each. "I hope your ready for this."
[Ready For This - All Good Things]
The two punches collided, and sent a shockwave through the small clearing they were fighting in. Neither fighter reacted to the punch, but Crue smiled dangerously. He changed his fist into an open palm, and gripped the Beringel's fist.
He grabbed the arm with his other hand, and then roared. Though no one could see it, Crue's eyes flashed dark gold for a moment. Using every ounce of strength he had, Crue lifted the Grimm by its arm, and then slammed it into the dirt behind him.
...
"Did he just suplex a gorilla!?" Yang exclaimed.
...
Crue slipped the pistol from his pocket and fired into the Beringels burnt skin, causing it to roar in pain. The Grimm flung the Faunus from his fist. Crue spun in the air, and landed feet first against the trunk of a tree.
"Not this time." He sprung forward, above the Beringel as it still struggled to stand. Crue unloaded his magazine into the back, aiming once more for the burnt part of the beasts flesh. The Beringel roared and slumped to the ground, weakly attempting to move.
Crue stood on its back and aimed his gun at the back of the Grimm's head, a fanged smile plastered on his face. "Now who's the Alpha?"
...
*BANG*
The classroom that had been watching Crue's battle was silent. Even Cinder found herself as speechless as Neo, who was also watching the battle. Seeing that mad smile Crue wore made her regret her decision of breaking up with him even more.
Port felt his mouth hanging open, having just witnessed a first year student take down a Class C Grimm with just his fists and a pistol.
The silence was eventually broken, by none other than Ruby Rose. "Holy shit."
An instant cacophony of cheer broke out, started by team RWBY, and then joined in by the majority. Save CMET and Cardin, the latter just realising how many times he could've died.
"I knew I made a good choice." Port smiled.
...
"Take that." Crue panted out, sitting against the decaying body. "You… jumped up, curious George." Crue let himself breathe for the moment. "Ok, not as good as the others but…"
He suddenly felt himself falling backwards, the Beringels body completely disintegrated.
"Gah! Awh! It's in my mouth!" He spat, trying to get the particles of dead Grimm out of his mouth.
"That, was disgusting." He said, wiping his hands on his jeans and pulling his sword from the earth. "If I see another one, I'm using you." He told Setanta. "And now I'm talking to my weapon. Great. Ruby would be proud."
He would almost swear he heard the girl in question groaning about that statement. He shrugged off the feeling and jogged towards his goal, the ruins. "That was one big monkey." Crue mused.
"Why do I get the feeling it wasn't supposed to be there." He frowned at that thought, assuming that the Author had something to do with it.
"I'm gonna pick up the pace before something else shows up." Crue decided, crouching down momentarily and leaping to the treetops, using his Semblance to jump from tree to tree.
"How much farther?" Crue muttered, as he leaped higher than normal to get a glimpse at the ruins. "There!" He exclaimed to himself, seeing the slightly broken building not that far away.
Gravity brought Crue back down, further than intended. Crue glanced down, seeing he had missed a branch. "Sonuvabi-" The impact of the ground cut him off, causing all those that witnessed it to wince.
"How can I be so badass, and so incredibly fucking lame at the same time?" He muffled into the dirt. He pushed against the ground to prop himself up. A quick scan of his surroundings proved there were no Grimm.
He stood up fully, brushing off some dirt and fixing his tie. "Every girls crazy bout a sharp dressed man." He hummed, walking on, swinging his hurl in one hand.
"I can hoof it from here. Sure, it's only a bit of a walk." Crue murmured. A howl sounded behind him, and he quickened his pace. "A fair ol' jog to be sure." He heard several twigs breaking, and turned to look at the source of the noise.
A Beowulf slinked from the bushes, only it was bigger than normal and had larger bone plates. "An Alpha…" Crue trailed off, his eyes flashing gold once more. The Alpha howled, but was cut of midway by a bullet through it's skull. "I'm the Alpha."
He turned, leaving the decaying Grimm and slotting Setanta on the magnetic plate on his back. He sprinted toward the ruins, not wanting to draw any more attention to himself. As he ran, he saw the ruined castle in the distance. He also, saw an Ursa.
The Ursa turned, hearing something approaching. Its eyes locked on the Faunus moving rapidly towards it. It opened its mouth to roar, and found a pistol being shoved in and pointed upwards.
"Not in the mood." Crue said coldy, as he pulled the trigger, and continued running.
...
"Damn. He took down that Ursa like it was nothing." Yang said, impressed at Crue's performance so far.
"I taught him well." Port said, thumbing his moustache.
"But, Professor Goodwitch teaches combat." Ruby said, confused. Port did not reply, instead making sure to not make eye contact with the silver eyed girl.
"Ms. Valkyrie, may I have some of that popcorn?" The large bellied professor requested.
...
"I do not know where to go from here." Crue muttered, peering over the edge of a cliff. "Wait. YOU DIDN'T EVEN TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK I WAS SUPPOSED TO DO!" Crue cursed Ozpin.
"YOU FLUNG ME INTO THE EME-" Crue stopped, breathing deeply. "Tóg go bog é. Tóg go bog é." He looked around, heading to the nearest stone construction. "Looks like fucking Stonehenge." He muttered.
As he approached the ancient building, he saw several artefacts set upon pedestals. He slowed down as got nearer. "Hope I'm not interrupting your chess match!" Crue called out, somehow assured Ozpin would hear him.
He examined the chess pieces, the pieces in question being coloured black and gold. "There's probably meant to be some symbolism here or something, but I really don't care." Crue sighed, reaching out to grab a random piece.
A roar from behind him stopped him from picking the piece up. Turning, Crue saw what could only be considered a small army of Grimm at the treeline. His face turned a rather amusing shade of pale. He was just thankful there were no more Beringels.
"Well. Wouldja look it. A fuckton. Of Grimm." He said, his hand reaching behind him, fondling for a chess piece. He felt his hand grasp one, and gripped it tight. "I will, be leaving now."
Apparently, the Grimm did not agree with that, choosing that moment to all begin sprinting towards Crue. "SHIIIIIIIIIIIIITTT!" Crue exclaimed, running in the opposite direction of the Grimm.
He ran until he saw the same ruins that he had encountered when he first awoke in this world. The sight caused Crue's mind to grind to a halt, and his body to do this same. His heartbeat against his ribs, blood rushing through his veins. His grip on the chess piece in his hand tightened.
He glanced down, seeing what it was he had picked up.
The Black King.
"Well. If that ain't symbolic." Crue muttered, placing the king down on a piece of rubble. He cracked the joints in his neck, grabbing Setanta from its place on his back and switching it to its sword form.
In his other hand, he held the pistol he had stolen but a few days ago from the White Fang. "Kinda wish I had brought the other stuff." He shrugged. Crue turned to face the oncoming army, unflinching.
"If you want to retreat, now is your only chance." Crue said, raising his blade at the Grimm and his gun alongside it. The Grimm did not stop, not caring for the Faunus' words. "Very well. I'll show why I'm the Alpha."
His eyes wandered the chess piece. "Why I'm the King."
...
"Well. It seems I was correct." Port said slowly. Nothing could be said, for the class remained speechless at what they just witnessed. Well, most of the class.
"Seen it." Nora said unashamedly
"Nora." Jaune hushed.
"What? We did. That's where we first met him. Remember?" Nora whacked Jaune roughly on the head. "He was standing on a literal mountain of Grimm. And now look." Nora gestured to the screen, where Crue was currently sitting on the head of an Ursa, the last of the Grimm he defeated to decay.
"He's on a throne of Grimm. He's awesome." Nora's blue eyes lit up excitedly.
"He's done this before?" Ruby asked.
"Yes." Ren spoke, putting a hand over Nora's mouth, wincing as Nora stuck her tongue out. "Although last time was reasonable. Apparently he does not like birds."
There were several decaying Nevermores on the pile Crue was sat on. "What's he got against birds?" Yang questioned Ren.
The members of JNPR all glanced at each other, sharing an unspoken agreement. "We don't know." Ren said casually. "A phobia, perhaps?"
The audience turned their attention back to the screen, where Crue was still sitting on his apparent throne of Grimm.
…
"Maybe, I should take up smoking." Crue panted out, standing up from the dead creatures of darkness. "I mean, with this lifestyle, I'll probably die before cancer could develop." He nodded to himself.
"Yeah, I'm gonna start smo-" That train of thought got cut off as Crue slipped on a decaying Beowulf, and tumbled down the mountain of dead Grimm. "Owww…" Crue breathed out, once he hit the ground.
"Ok. No smoking." He compromised. He shakily stood, walking over to the piece of rubble that he had left the chess piece on. "The Black King." He muttered, picking it up.
"Dark King. That sounds badass." He mused, walking towards the ancient ruins where he knew RWBY and JNPR fought together. "Maybe I should've went with that instead of The Wolf." His Faunus ears twitched in indignation.
"Nah." He decided, jumping onto the side of the cliff, and using his Semblance to run up the vertical drop. "Ok, starting to love this now." He thought, feeling the sensation of his Semblance in his feet. He neared the top of the cliff, and crouched down.
Crue uncoiled himself with a great leap, landing on the edge of the cliff, standing tall. "Sweet." Crue said, a smirk on his face.
"Well do-" "AAH!" Ozpin attempted to greet the boy, but not having made his presence known earlier startled the Faunus. Crue wavered on the edge of the cliff, one hand over his heart, the other pointing his gun at Ozpin.
"Ozpin," Crue panted out. "I swear, I am going to kill you." He reoriented himself, and placed both hands on his knees, breathing heavily.
Ozpin chuckled. "And how will you do that?" He pondered.
"Through inaction." Crue responded snarkily.
"Hm. That may actually work." Ozpin hummed. "Looks like I owe Port twenty Lien."
"What?" Crue spoke, halting the headmaster in his tracks.
"Ah. Well, you see, this initiation happened to coincide with a bet between myself and Professor Port." Ozpin told Crue, backing away all the while.
Crue's eye twitched, briefly flashing gold. "YOU FLUNG ME INTO THE FOREST FOR TWENTY LIEN!?" He exclaimed, gripping his pistol tighter.
"And a months supply of coffee." Ozpin added, as though that fact would remedy the situation.
"FUCK THE COFFEE!" Crue exclaimed, causing Ozpin to gasp and clutch his chest as though Crue had just implied his mother and a pig had gotten to know each other rather intimately.
"Don't you dare sully the name of coffee in this Academy." Ozpin jabbed a finger at Crue warningly.
"IT'S HOT BEAN WATER!" Crue insulted. Ozpin, for all his stone faced demeanour, looked outraged at Crue's words.
"Mr. Cullen." Ozpin said calmly, with a voice that would send chills through most people's spines.
"Professor Ozpin." Crue said, with the exact same voice. The two stared each other down, Crue only now realising that the headmaster was taller than him. The Faunus did not back down however.
"Congratulations on completing initiation. Please go to Professor Ports room. He will be waiting for you there." Ozpin instructed.
"As long as you don't fling me there." Crue grumbled, walking past the aged man back towards Beacon. "I'm guessing there won't be a ceremony." He called back to him.
With several more curses and grumbles, Crue made his way into the halls of Beacon, direct to Ports classroom. "If I go flying one more time. I will stay where I land." He murmured, as he opened the door to Ports class.
An instant surge in noise overwhelmed him, causing him to wince and cover his wolf ears. Crue cracked open an eye, seeing several people cheering at him. "The Hell is going on?" Crue asked, cleaning out his ear as he walked down the stairway.
"That would be my doing, my boy." Port said joyfully. "You see, I was showing the class your initiation. Quite a spectacle, if I do say so myself." The portly man hummed.
Crue's eyes narrowed, but before he could berate the man about the bet, he realised something. "Wait. You showed the school my initiation?"
"Well, not quite the school." Port said, looking behind Crue. The Faunus followed his gaze, seeing several teams of people that he recognised, and some he didn't.
"That is so cliché." Crue muttered. "Showing the class the skill of the new student, establishing them as a strong person. God, you sure my name isn't Mary Sue?"
"Anyway, thanks to you, I am now the winner of the bet!" Port chuckled happily. The mention of the bet caused Crue's ears to twitch.
"About this bet." Crue said, turning around slowly to face the round professor. Everyone in the room could sense the impending storm.
Port could also sense it, and with surprising speed, he announced. "Class dismissed!" And sped from the room. Crue sprinted after him, yelling all the while.
"I AM WORTH MORE THAN TWENTY LIEN AND SOME DAMN COFFEE!" Was all the students inside the classroom heard as they slowly made their exit.
"Always something going on around here." Yang murmured, leaving with the rest of her team and JNPR. "Wonder what'll happen next."
"It'll probably involve Crue somehow." Nora hummed, skipping along back to the dorms.
"What makes you say that?" Weiss questioned the Valkyrie.
"Cause he's become a part of our adventures ever since he showed up." Nora explained, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He's probably had some adventures of his own too."
Said adventuring Faunus appeared just before them, almost crashing into the group of eight due to sprinting around the corner. All eyes widened, as Crue turned back around, pointing from where he came from, and then back to the group.
"I-He-You." He cut himself off, arms hanging limply by his sides. "Port is a slippery bastard." He conceded.
"Crue!" Yang exclaimed, covering Ruby's ears and giving the Faunus a death glare. "You've influenced her enough as it is."
"I have?" Crue said confusedly.
"Well, she did swear in class earlier." Weiss informed him, looking to her leader with an unamused expression.
"You did?" Crue's voice turned stern, as he crossed his arms and stared at Ruby. The young girl gave a sheepish smile.
"Yeah. It was when you killed the Beringel." Ruby explained. "Oh, that's what it's called." Crue realised. "You were like," She pointed her index finger down and raised her thumb. "BANG!"
"Yeah, shame the gunshot covered what you said. It was probably cool." Jaune laughed, recalling the scene in his head.
"Please. It's me. Wherever I go butts are kicked and one liners are said. Of course it was awesome." Crue said with a smirk. "As much as I hate you, you've got some good one liners."
The group talked for a bit more, before Crue felt his scroll vibrate. He glanced down, and frowned. "Ozpin again." Crue muttered, checking the message.
"I need to get my picture taken?" Crue read aloud, confused.
"Oh yeah, we all had to." Yang told him, smiling unnervingly wide. "And I think you'll enjoy it." Crue's face turned into a confused frown, unsure as to what Yang meant.
"Yang." Ruby hissed, grabbing her elder sister by the ear and dragging her head down. Ruby whispered rapidly into her ear, causing the brawlers lilac eyes to widen dramatically.
"Uhh. Never mind." Yang quickly walked past Crue, leaving the Faunus looking to the others in confusion.
"What?" He asked simply.
"You'll see when you get there." Ruby told him, walking by the boy, the rest of the group following her.
"I don't know where there is!" Crue exclaimed once the others were out of sight. He growled. "I could really use some Deus Ex Machina right about now!" He tapped his foot impatiently.
A buzzing in his pocket answered his request. "Thank you." Crue said sarcastically, using muscle memory to unlock his scroll. He checked the message, and promptly screamed, slapping his scroll against the nearest wall.
With wide eyes, he regarded the device, now seeing a reversed image of what was currently on screen. "What the hell!" Crue shouted at the 'Author'.
On screen was a rather, interesting picture. A certain rabbit Faunus, wearing naught but underwear. Rather cute underwear actually, but given the circumstance Crue was a bit too preoccupied not analysing the picture. "What in the name of non-existant God is wrong with you?!" He made sure not to look at the picture as he walked out of the dorm building, straight to the one across it.
"I swear to God I'm going to kill you. I swear to you I'm going to kill you. Don't fuckin' bring Velvet into this you pansy shite." Crue opened the door to the second year dorms, and felt a force crash into him.
Two cries of pain echoed through the courtyard. Crue blearily opened his eyes. "What hit me?" He saw a set of bunny ears bobbing swaying in his vision, and realised who he ran into. "Velvet?"
"C-Crue?!" Velvet stuttered, backing up off the boy and feeling her back hit the wall. "W-What are you doing here?" She asked, in a terrible attempt to be casual.
"Velvet." Crue sighed. "Like a band-aid." "I got the picture." Velvet froze, the hairs on the back of her neck going still.
"And I don'-" "It was an accident!" "Beg pardon?" Velvet was completely red in the face as she stared at Crue.
"I didn't mean to send you that. I meant to send you a different picture, but that one was right next to it." Velvet explained.
"Oh." Crue said slowly. "Phew. Wait. What were you going to send me? And why did you have that?" The Faunus questioned.
"I saw a picture of a wolf toy, and I was going to send it to you. Because of when you sent me that picture of the bunny plush." Crue nodded, recalling the picture in question.
"And why did you have a picture like that?" Crue asked. Velvet looked to the ground, scuffing her foot and murmuring. "What?"
"Body positivity." She said a bit louder, only enough so that Crue with his advanced hearing could make it out.
"Oh." Crue said once more. "Well…" "Don't say it! Don't say it!" "You looked great." "FUUUUUUUUUUCK!" Velvet turned even redder, and Crue had a significant blush on his face. "Here." He said, unlocking his scroll and handing it to Velvet.
The brunette looked to Crue with a confused expression. "So you can delete it." Velvet's eyes widened, as she nodded, opening the message application and deleting the picture from Crue's side of the conversation.
"Thank you. Crue." Velvet said, relief flooding her, and her cheeks returning to their normal shade. As she exited the message, she glimpsed the one Ozpin had sent the boy. "Oh, you need your picture taken. Ozpin put me in charge of that not too long ago."
"You don't say." Crue muttered, glaring at the sky.
"Yep. Come on, I'll get you set up." Velvet nodded to the main academy. "Oh, and, please don't tell anyone about that." She pleaded with Crue.
"Of course I won't." He smiled gently. "If I did, eighty percent sure Yatsuhashi would kill me." Velvet giggled lightly and nodded. "Besides, it'd be a dick move."
Velvet did not agree with the wording, but nodded in thanks. "It's this way." She began walking towards the main hall, Crue jogging after her and falling into line beside her.
"Try something like that again, and I will personally kick you in the fucking balls." Crue thought, glaring balefully at the clouds in the sky. "And F.Y.I., forcing someone into another relationship is not a good way to help them get over their old one!"
He shook his head, talking amiably with Velvet, both straying far from the topic of the accidental picture. Instead, Velvet told Crue about what she thought of his initiation.
"You saw that?" Crue winced, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.
"Yeah, it was quite impressive. Much different to my initiation." Velvet told him.
"Ooh. Lore." "What was yours like?" The Wolf Faunus asked.
"Well we weren't flung off a cliff for one thing." Velvet giggled lightly, while Crue groaned. "Sorry. We were actually sent into a set of caves on the other side of Beacon. We had to travel to tunnels in the dark. Well, the others did. Lucky for us huh."
Crue nodded, knowing Velvet was referring to the ability for Faunus to be able to see in the dark. "Yeah, I forget about that most times actually." He shrugged. Velvet looked at him with surprised wide eyes.
Noticing this, Crue explained. "It's the glasses." He said, taking off his shades. "They sort of cancel it out. A bit weird, honestly." His companion said nothing, the Rabbit Faunus looking intently at his eyes.
"Uh, Velvet?" Crue said, blinking slowly. The action was enough to get Velvet out of her apparent trance.
"Oh! I'm sorry Crue. It's just, you don't actually show your eyes that often. So, I was trying to remember them." Velvet explained.
"That's fair." Crue nodded, looking at the reflection of his eyes in his glasses. Velvets reflection joined his, her deep brown eyes reflecting in the sunglasses.
Crue looked over to Velvet, meeting her eyes. "Are you standing on your tippy toes?" He asked.
"No…" Velvet murmured. Crue gave a hum of disbelief. "Sure." He made to put the sunglasses back on, instead settling for putting them on his head.
"Why aren't you wearing them?" Velvet questioned the taller Faunus.
"Well, I'm having my picture taken, amn't I?" Crue asked rhetorically. "It's rude to wear sunglasses in professional or important photos."
"You should tell Coco that." Velvet laughed. With that, the two Faunus made their way into the main hall, to make Crue an official member of Beacon. As long as Ozpin had no more bets to make that is.
Yo, I gotta say, Writers block hit me like a fuckin truck. Also, HAPPY NEW YEAR. May 2017 be less of a shitstorm than 2016. Also, speaking of 2016, Crue was not there for most of it. He wound up in Remnant in February of 2016, the 29th to be specific. So he knows nothing about what has happened. Kind of a good thing all everything considered.
And, some more detail into how exactly Salem fits into this world. Wrath? Kings? Shifting eye colours? All strange little additions that should not be forgotten. Also, I might start making the chapters shorter, just so that I do more of them. Let me know what you think.
Anyways, hope you enjoyed, if you did let me know, and as always
Until Next Time
-Friday