Trailer 2: L: Opportunity Cost
"The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people, but the silence over that by the good people." –Martin Luther King
Kingdom of Mistral
In an apartment situated in one of the poorer Faunus neighborhood, a hand removed a pair of scissors from a medicine cabinet before shutting, revealing a mirror. It showed a Faunus girl of 5 foot 3 around 17 years old, with an earthy skin tone, bright reddish-orange eyes, and lilac purple hair that fell down her back. Adorning her ears was a pair of purple ferret-like ears. At the moment, she wore a tank top and sweatpants, a bushy purple tail poking out from a hole in the waist of the sweatpants. The girl began using the scissors to cut her hair, soon being left with hair that fell a little past her shoulder, leaving her bangs untouched. However, just as she was about to put the scissors down, her eyes fixed on her ears, memories coming back.
"Faunus scum!"
"We don't serve your kind here! Get out of here, you filthy animal!"
"Hey, its one of those Faunus freaks! Get her!"
Hands shaking, she opened the scissors, placing one ear between the blades, and was about to cut…
"Do not hate them for nature, Veronica. It is human nature to fear and hate what they view as abnormal. This extends to us, the Grimm, differing sexuality…in a world with as many differing wills and views such as her, it is often the norm for the majority to lash out at those viewed as abnormal. However, it is up to us, the minority, to rise above the hatred, to take pride in our differences, and to change their minds by showing them we are not the animals they think we are."
Veronica paused as the blade was about to cleave through the ear, hands shaking as she recalled the words spoken to her oh so long ago. She tried cutting again, but each time she tried, she just…couldn't. A look of self-disgust appeared on her face, before throwing the scissors onto the bathroom counter, her head sinking as tears began forming in her eyes. "Ronnie, hurry up and get ready! You can't be late today!" A female voice called from the living room, snapping Veronica out of her episode.
"Got it, mom!" She called back, and began to get dressed. Soon, her lilac purple hair was tied in a small bun, soft bangs covering her forehead, and two long strands framing her face that reached her shoulders.
She dressed herself in a dark black high collared shirt underneath a lilac flak jacket with pouches containing ammo clips, dark black pants, lilac leg guards and knee pads, with dark black combat boots. On her arms she slid on long gloves that reached her elbows underneath lilac arm guards, with three sniper rounds on each arm guard, and wore a long black scar with a lilac line in the middle wrapped around her neck with the ends going down her back, serving as a combat muffler. Now standing completely dressed, 17-year old Veronica Lilac exited the bathroom into the living area of her family's small apartment. Her mother, a middle-aged deer Faunus with black hair with antlers sticking out of it, sat on the couch in her pajamas, watching the news. "There's some toast on the counter." Taylor Lilac said to her oldest daughter , one eye on the news and another eye on Veronica.
"Thanks, mom. Where're Zack and Liv?" Veronica asked, taking the toast from the counter of the kitchen just adjacent to the living area, glancing at the TV.
"School's closed today, so I'm letting them sleep in this morning. News says the school got vandalized again, and they don't want the kids jeopardized until they know there's no threat." Taylor said, and Veronica clenched her teeth. Unfortunately, this was all too common in the area of the capital they lived in, known to the residents of Mistral as "The Farm" due to the large number of Faunus neighborhoods. Oftentimes, humans would come in harboring some sort of grudge against the Faunus, be it from the Rebellions, bred-in hatred, or just straight up human supremacy, and treat the neighborhood as their own personal playground. The police always said they were looking for culprits behind it, but always 'found no evidence pointing towards the culprits,' meaning they had sat on their asses and let the trail go cold.
"Well, tell them I said bye. Love you, mom." Veronica said, kissing her mother's head before exiting the apartment. 'Damn humans… why can't they just leave us alone?' She thought, descending the stairs of their apartment complex towards her destination.
Sanctum Academy
Veronica, now with what appeared to be a black sniper rifle with an axe shaped bayonet with a sharp spike on the tip on her back, was now on a Bullshark travelling towards one of the swamps that were all throughout the kingdom, with two other students around her age and a teacher. One was Cardin Winchester, the scourge of every Faunus at Sanctum Academy; the other was Pyrrha Nikos, a prize winning Tournament fighter that had won several championships, who Veronica had only seen around the academy a few times. "Alright, listen up! For your graduation exam, we're dropping you in Ramsey Swamp, an area crawling with all kinds of Grimm. You'll have 30 minutes to survive and eliminate as many Grimm as you can. You will be graded on both number of kills and technique. Failure to pass means you will remain here next year. Understood?"
"Got it, sir. Though, how're you going to tell the Grimm apart from the animals?" Cardin said, jerking a thumb at Veronica, who simply ignored him.
"Stow that attitude, Winchester! Your drop point is coming up!" The teacher said, the doors of the bullshark opening to reveal a swamp marshland. Cardin smirked, before jumping off into the swamp.
"Don't let him bother you. Just do your best!" Pyrrha said to Veronica, who was taken slightly offguard by the redhead's cheery attitude.
"Er, thanks." The young Faunus replied, unsure of how to respond.
"Nikos, your turn!" The teacher said once they were a mile away from Cardin, and Pyrrha shot Veronica two thumbs up, before leaping out into the swamp. "Lilac, get out there!" The teacher said a mile later, and Veronica nodded, leaping out of the airship. She fell through the trees, landing on a thick branch and leaping off each branch until she hit the ground. ( Play this: youtube. Com?= -5fAz4rmOQ4) Taking her rifle from her back, before she heard twigs snapping around her, and soon four Beowolves emerged from the trees, bonelike protrusions and white masks leering at her, before one leapt at her.
Veronica fired her rifle, sniper round piercing the Grimm's skull and dropping it. Another swiped at her, only for her to sidestep it, impaling on the spike of her bayonet and firing, blowing a hole in its chest. The remaining Beowolves howled, and soon ten additional Grimm, ranging from Beowolves, Ursi, and a Boarbatusk or two. They surrounded her, and Veronica simply smirked. Pressing on her rifle, she began to spin it as it unfolded into a voulge, the axe-bayonet of the rifle form turning into the head with a spike set along the backface, a small hole appearing in the tip of the spike at the end, and an additional spike at the end. She expertly twirled it around her, hefting it as if it weighed nothing at all, before landing in a combat pose. The Grimm and her ran at each other, Veronica taking the first move by swinging her weapon, the axe cleaving straight through a Beowolf, before swinging back the other way and using the back face spike to stab another Beowolf in the head. A Boarbatusk charged at her from behind, but Veronica simply jabbed backwards, impaling it on the rear spike. Pulling the weapon from the dissolving Grimm, it quickly folded back into its rifle form, and Veronica quickly took aim and fired at the Grimm. Some managed to dodge, but not before she cut down three more Ursi. Now only six Grimm, consisting of a Boarbatusk, three Beowolves, and two Ursa Minors, and Veronica unfolded her weapon back into voulge mode, leveled the front at the remaining Grimm, and charged. She expertly spun the weapon, limbs flying as the spikes on both ends skewered the remaining Grimm, and soon a panting Veronica was left surrounded by dismembered and dissolving Grimm. She planted her weapon on the ground, leaning on it as she tried to catch her breath…only for a massive roar to originate from behind her.
Turning towards the source, the young Faunus was greeted with a most unwelcome site: an Ogre, a massive, humanoid Grimm twice the size of an average sized human, with a large black belly, clawed hands that hit like hammers, bony spikes all along the arms, and club-like fists, and a fanged maw situated below the Grimm's signature mask. It leered at the much smaller girl, its body language saying "Get out of my swamp!" It roared at Veronica, and ran at her, each monstrous footstep shaking the ground, and swung its club at Veronica. She back flipped away just before the club impacted the ground, before firing on it with her sniper rifle. It shrugged off the bullets effortlessly, and ran at her faster than it did before. It swung its fist, and was about to connect…only for the club to pass right through Veronica as if she was never even there. Veronica took advantage of the Ogre's confusion to run between its legs, slashing its right knee as she ran under it, causing it to stagger, and ran to a position a few feet away, before charging once more. Just before reaching the Ogre, she stabbed her weapon into the ground and used her momentum to vault onto the Ogre's back and tried to drive the spear end of her Voulge into the creature's neck, only for it to reach behind it and grab her off its back. It roared in her face, before throwing her into a tree, with Veronica barely having enough time to condense her aura to soften the impact, but she still impacted with enough force that her head was ringing, blood streaming down her forehead as she fell to the ground.
'Damn, shouldn't have used my semblance so early…should've waited until the right moment.' Veronica thought, unable to convince her body to move as the Ogre lumbered towards her. Veronica's semblance, which her younger sister had nicknamed Fade, allowed her to phase through solid objects as if they weren't there. It had proven useful for weeks when her mother didn't make enough to both pay bills and buy food, but the downside was that it required so much concentration to use that, during combat, Veronica could only stay intangible for a second, maybe two, without jeopardizing the battle. 'So, this is the end, huh? Guess I shouldn't be too surprised, anyway…' Veronica thought, the Ogre savoring her terror. 'Mom, Zack, Liv… I'm sorry. I guess in the end, I just wasn't good enough to-'
"Do not surrender! You are stronger than you know, daughter, and so this world will go out of its way to tear you apart, but you mustn't let it! No matter how hard it may seem, no matter your opponent, and no matter if it's the easy way out, you must rise above it all!"
Veronica's eyes widened, her thoughts of preparing to meet her end being replaced with words she had not thought on in a long time, and her left arm twitched, before her hand balled into a fist. A lilac glow surrounded her body as she slammed one hand to the ground and picked up her weapon with the other, slowly rising. The ogre was visibly startled by the fact she was still alive, and she stared right into its red eyes. "Well? Come on!" She yelled, and rushed the monster. It swung its club, but the Faunus easily phased through it, before dropping down and sliding under the beast's legs yet again. However, this time, she held up the voulge horizontally instead of slashing, and both spikes sliced through the ogre's ankles, slicing tendons and causing the massive beast to fall to its knees. Leaping onto its back, she used a bony spike on its back as leverage to finally reach the back of its neck, and with a mighty yell, drove the spear end of her weapon right through the back of the Ogre's neck. It spasmed slightly, before slumping to the ground and beginning to dissolve. Veronica, hair matting from the blood from her head wound, slumped against her weapon, blood and sweat mixing as a beeping originated from the scroll in her back pocket, signifying her 30 minutes were up, and stared up at the sky through the trees of the swamp.
'Heh…guess nothing can keep you from getting on my ass, huh dad?' Veronica thought, hearing the whine of Bullshark engines, as images of an older male Faunus with ferret features and a hair color similar to hers appeared before her. 'You stupid old man…did you really think you could change things between human and Faunus? That you could just…change things with your words?' Veronica asked, tears welling as she offhandedly acknowledged the instructor telling her she'd passed. 'Did you ever think your family would rather have you here, rather than your words?' Veronica was now on the Bullshark, ignoring Pyrrha's congratulations and Cardin's insults, shutting her yes to keep the tears from falling, only for her scroll to vibrate with a new message. Quickly opening her mobile device, she read the message:
Ms. Veronica Lilac, congratulations on passing your exam. We look forward to monitoring your career as a Huntress. Your father, though ultimately having a different world view than us, proved very inspiring to our cause. We would be honored if you would consider joining us, and strive towards making a difference.
Veronica read the message, and scrolled all the way down to the bottom, eyes widening when she saw the signature at the bottom: a red wolf's head in front of three red claw marks.
Next time: E: The Emerald Knight