AN: In my opinion this first chapter took me way too long to write, started on a Saturday and finished on a Wednesday. Also throughout a lot of this chapter the main character goes without a name. This is intentional as wanted him to remain fairly anonymous right till the last scene. Also the writing isn't great in the first couple of chapters, but it has improved in the chapters following these first few.
Lastly I don't own RWBY...unfortunately. Just my OC's.
Prologue.
Someone once said to me...
"Heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers they are graced with."
And if you live in a world where people maintain a conspiracy of silence, then one word of truth will sound like a gunshot.
What they fail to realize is that anyone can be ordinary.
Anyone can be boring.
Anyone can be spectacular.
Anyone can be spectacular.
Anyone can be shy.
Anyone can be bold.
Anyone can be helpless.
Anyone can be a hero.
It all depends on that one momentous day and what you choose to do with it.
The city of Vale could be considered a metropolis by some with its multiple districts catering to every need of any resident, tourist or even just a passing visitor; or perhaps its prestigious academy overlooking the city from the nearby cliffs nestled behind the industrial and commercial districts. This of course was Beacon academy. A school established to train young men and women who aspire to be Huntsman and Huntresses, who's sworn duty is to defend and uphold peace across the world of Remnant.
It was said academy's illuminating central spire for which It was so aptly named that provided the only prominent light source for miles in the dead of night with the streets essentially deserted bar a few wandering denizens. The industrial districts factories closed down for the night after a long day and the ports were as silent as a tomb with only the sound of the gentle slosh of the sea against ship hulls. All in all the night in Vale was calm and peaceful
The only thing disturbing this silent night would be that of a column of smoke and the loud blare of sirens emanating from a flaming four story apartment block down in the residential district on the outermost parts of Vale of course. Compared the rest of the city, the scene on the ground at the front of the structure could have been compared to a warzone. The police that were present were doing everything they could to hold back civilians gathered in the street in front of the building. Residents clad in cinged and burned clothing were fighting to get past to get to family and neighbours still trapped inside the burning and very quickly collapsing structure. Despite the fire department valiant efforts, the blaze was edging them out nonetheless and it wouldn't be long before the structure came down under its own weight.
As the surrounding apartments had been evacuated due the severity of the blaze a rather large crowd had quickly gathered behind the hastily erected barricades. a few offered any aid they could, while the majority were merely looking on at the inferno before them and payed no mind to the perils of the residents still trapped inside.
Amongst the trails of hoses, frantic firefighters, police officers and paramedics; a weathered looking firehouse chief was pacing back and forth. He was desperately trying to safely coordinate his men through a deadly ever changing maze that could come down on them at any moment.
"What's the hold up in there, Foley?" the chief spoke into his radio mounted on his shoulder.
"we've just finished clearing the second floor, but the staircase leading up to the next floor has collapsed and we can hear movement through the ceiling. We can't get to them!" The firefighter on the other end of radio quickly replied in a panicky tone over the radio built into his helmet.
The chief quickly walked over to the hood of a nearby police car. Sprawled out on the hood of the car were the floor plans for the apartment building. After a quick observation of the layout he looked back at the building itself, "There should be a fire escape on the west side of the building."
After a short pause, Foley came back over the radio. "we just tried that chief. That whole side is in flames and we can't even get near it!"
"Montydammit," The chief cursed. He paced around a couple of times before throwing his helmet at the police car in frustration. After a long pause he slowly reaches back up to his radio with a shaky hand. "Foley, get out there. There's nothing more we can do here, we've...we've lost control of the fire".
"But...but chief we can't those people behind!"
"NOW DAMMIT!" The chief screamed into his radio.
Meanwhile, behind the crowds and barricades, in a nearby alley; a shadow was listening intently to the Chief's conversation. "Ok, third floor. Should be easy enough." Thought the shadow as it retreated back into the alley and approached a fire escape.
Not long after on the roof of the adjacent building only just reaching up to the third story of the apartment drawing every eye in the local area, a tall lone male figure was slowly backing all the way up the edge of the roof furthest from the tall inferno.
The shadowy figure turned out to be a young man looking no older than eighteen. He had dark brown near shoulder length hair in a swept back fashion, brown eyes with a golden fleck in each one and an ever so slightly pale complexion. His face had a few visible scars, most prominently one running diagonal across his brow and one on his jaw going upwards just short of his mouth. He is donned in a russet brown leather long coat with moulded leather spaulders attached to the coat via straps sewn in to the shoulders, he also had on his hands cowhide leather fingerless gloves with built in hard knuckles. Underneath the coat he is wearing a simple white shirt loosely hugging his form, dark grey pants with a couple of minor tears around the shins, a pair of raggedy and muddy combat boots. Going across his body was a simple strap with a sheath on his back. In the sheath was a metal rod around 2ft in length. It looked relatively plain, with the exception of minor detailing and a metal talon on each end. Alongside all of that, he wore leg holsters. each one holding a nickel plated Hardballer pistol with two spare clips per gun secured alongside them.
He lined up with the only window that didn't have flames licking up against it, indicating at least some form of safety from certain incineration. Not a second later after deducing this, the figure takes off sprinting at full speed and straight at the chosen window. As he closed within twenty feet of the ledge, he draws the metal rod from its sheath on his back.
The rod could now clearly be seen. It had intricate designs covering the majority of the casing, a leather wrapped grip and a metal talons also had detailing on them as well. He quickly extends the rod to three times its own length with a simple push of a button in the hilt, as it did this, the talons retracted into its inner workings. Once his weapon had finished its transformation, he planted the tip at the edge of the building, the stave flexed and vaulted the young man up almost effortlessly. into the air and sent him sailing across the street. At this distance the light from the flames illuminated ambitious daredevil to the crowd below, and a very audible gasp of awe and surprise could be heard from them.
Before he gets even halfway across the street and to the building, he draws one his pistols and immediately puts two rounds into the window fracturing the glass and thus weakening it. After a timely holster of both the stave and the pistol, he tucked in his arms and legs before crashing through the window. He landed in a crouched stance and quickly observed his surroundings. The room turned out to be a small bathroom, but something else about the room had his attention. The room wasn't only filled with smoke but also a large number of grey specks mixed in with it.
"Asbestos!? That explains it." He concluded as to why the fire had barely touched the room. He promptly brought a white scarf hidden behind the collar of his coat and covered his nose and mouth. After tying the scarf in the back, he then cautiously opened the bathroom door and advanced into a bedroom.
He moved through the rooms quick and efficiently taking down already crumbling doors that wouldn't open initially. He cleared the first few rooms and found them completely empty.
He exited out into a smoke filled hallway and looked over the bannister of the stairwell. The walls of the stairwell were already on fire in some places and most of the floors below were almost completely ablaze. Down on the second floor landing below were two defiant firefighters that obviously refused to abandon their rescue efforts or didn't hear the call altogether. They were arguing over ways to gain access to the floor the young man was on. One of them was throwing a rope up the stairwell and trying to get up into the ceiling. "Just gotta get it across this over that beam, and then we're in business." One muttered.
"You're not even getting close. We need someone up there too as well to secure it even if you do manage to get it over the beam." The other countered.
"Well unless you've got any better ideas? No? Well then this all we've got!" The first one responded, sounding more panicked than angry.
This argument between the two was abruptly stopped by a sharp and loud whistle from the third floor. the firefighters look up to see the brown haired teen and they both shared a confused look. "Throw me the rope." the teen calmly told them, whilst outstretching his hand down to them.
"Who the hell are you?" the first one asked.
"Doesn't matter. Now, the rope if you please." The teen replied in the same calm demeanour but with a subtle hint of agitation.
"But, you're just a kid." the other argued.
"Look, we can discuss ageism in the workplace later, but right now." the teen replied with clear agitation and whilst motioning for them to make with the rope.
"…..Alright." The first firefighter agreed after a moment's hesitation.
They hastily threw an end along with a good bit of slack up to the third floor and the teen expertly set up a simple SRT system with a Klemheist knot he ahd fashioned using a small separate length of rope that he already had on his person.
"All set up here. You guys just be ready!" he shouted down the stairs on his way to the doors further down the hall.
"We'll be here, apparently." One if the still dumbfounded firefighters responded.
"What just happened?" The other asked slack jawed.
"I don't know. But right now, he's the best chance those people have got."
"Did you see the look in his eye? He wasn't even fazed by the blaze around him. Kid's gotta be a huntsman or something with those kinds of balls."
The teen made his way down a hallway away from the stairwell. As the density of the smoke increased, the boy could no longer rely on his vision to effectively look for people trapped or lost in the smoke. He had to pray that his calling out would be enough, and that's if the residents were even conscious to reply.
"Call out!" He shouted, and almost immediately he was answered.
"IN HERE!" The last two doors on the floor simultaneously called back.
The teen quickly moved to the first door. "stand back!"
He proceeded to kick the door down. It instantly turned to splinters due to the force and its already weakened state. Inside was a young faunus woman with short brown hair with a pair of ears poking out of them, and a bushy tail the same colour as her hair. She was wearing simple pyjama outfit of a pair of short shorts and a babydoll top, and she looked no older than he was.
He took her hand and led her out of her apartment. "Head to the stairs and wait there while I get the last door." He ordered.
"O-okay." she frantically acknowledged and hurried down the hallway to the stairwell.
Continuing to the last door, the boy started to hear soft whimpers in numerous tones coming from behind the door. upon hearing this he doubles his efforts and sets to work on getting in the room. First by trying to kick the door, which failed. He tried shoulder bashing it down, it still doesn't budge. Ultimately he tries unloading a round from one his pistols, only to have it ricochet off the lock housing and ping multiple times around the hallway and thankfully not causing any damage other than the boy's pride. He was quickly running out of ideas and each were getting more drastic than the last. His train of thought was broken by a desperate sounding voice coming from the other side of the door.
"It's no use! The ceiling came down in front the door, we can't get out!" The whimpering and sobbing continued from behind the door.
After learning this, the teen takes a step back to and weighs out his options; none of which involved leaving these people to die, especially by such slow and horrible means. "Okay, okay, think; door is solid, frame is reinforced, and a collapsed ceiling is the icing on the cake."
He shifted his attention around the door and he noticed a small handful of very noticeable cracks in the wall as well as numerous hairline cracks to accompany them. "That'll do." He muttered running a hand over one of the cracks. "Okay, what I want you to do is back away from the wall next to the door. Once I'm through, move fast. I don't know how this'll last after this stunt, you got that?" After a brief silence from the other side he gets his answer.
"O-Okay, we understand" a voice hesitantly replied.
He takes a deep breath and takes a step back from the wall. "Okay, not too much, or too little; unless you wanna end up with a concussion."
He faced the wall, he then flares his aura and a faint blue glow forms around his body. Once he was done channeling most of his aura into his legs and arms, he launches himself directly at the wall stopping immediately on the other side.
"MOVE, HURRY!" He yelled once the dust had cleared from the impact.
Finally able to put owners to the voices and to his genuine surprise he was able to see it was a whole family. Mother, father, a couple of kids; a boy and a girl, grandparents, even the family dog.
As soon the last of them had filed out, a section of the roof along from the doorway started to give way. acting on pure instinct, the teen dived back out through the doorway and scurried further down the hallway in case anymore fell, none did in the end. Instead however a large portion fell under its own weight and slanted down creating a crude ramp up to the fourth floor.
Ignoring that for now, the young man carried on back to the stairwell and found the larger than expected group in a rather panicked state due to the intensifying fires and billowing smoke from the floors below. He didn't stop to calm them down and instead went straight for the rope he had left resting against the bannister.
He looked down at the firefighters still waiting patiently for his return. "Your belts, quick!" He called down to them.
It wasn't long until a couple of riggers belts from the firefighters kits were chucked up to the third floor. The now ragged looking teen quickly rigged one up to the rope, while the other is handed to the father of the children.
"Take this and put it on one of them. They're going first." The brown haired boy explains to him, referring to the man's two young children.
He instantly obliges and puts the belt around his son while the mother brings the daughter towards the stairwell and proceeds to do the same with the belt already attached to the rope. As they were doing this, the oddly calm teen was busy setting up an ordered system with the receivers on the second floor.
Once children were secure in the belts and attached to the ropes; they hoisted up and lowered to the waiting men below. Despite the scared and worried faces of both the parents and the children, the kids reached the second floor without a hitch. After reeling the rope back up, the grandparents were harnessed next. Even with them initially refusing to leave each other's grasp and their own children, they wisely accepted the riggers belts and began getting themselves ready. While this went on, the still amazingly stoic young man looked around in response to an alarming creak and squeak of the wooden support beams above and floor below. They were getting weaker by the second and if they went, the whole building would almost certainly go with it.
"Pick up the pace!" He exclaimed over to the old couple. He did feel a little bad for having to yell at the old couple, but there was really no time to waste on manners.
Once the children were secure in the belts and attached to the ropes; they hoisted up and lowered to the waiting men below. Despite the scared and worried faces of both the parents and the children, the kids reached the second floor without a hitch. After reeling the rope back up, the grandparents were harnessed next. Even with them initially refusing to leave each other's grasp and their own children, they wisely accepted the riggers belts and began getting ready. While this went on, the still amazingly stoic young man looked around in response to an alarming creak and squeak of the wooden support beams and floor. They were getting weaker by the second and if they went, the whole building would probably go with it.
"Pick up the pace!" He exclaimed over to the old couple, he did feel bad for having to yell at the old couple but there was no time to waste on manners.
Seconds later they were ready and hoisted up and then lowered towards the outstretched arms of the firemen below. However once they were unharnessed, the third floor quickly degraded with the loss of a sizeable chunk. The floor space was getting smaller by the second, and it wasn't helped with the stress placed upon it from the constant moving about and shifting of weight. The third floor occupants repeated the process of retrieval and harnessing. The mother and father were next, with the only difference this time was the father was cradling the family dog in his arms and the harness being wrapped around the both of them.
Things were starting to look dire with the ever encroaching flames and the quickly decaying floor. Thankfully there was just one person to rescue before himself. The seemingly calm adolescent hastily pulls up the rope that is soon starting to fray from the friction as it ran along the splintering overhead beam. Realizing this, the teen that was starting to panic on the inside but still maintaining his calm demeanour on the outside. Ignoring his desire for self-preservation momentarily, he began the routine of harnessing up the young faunus woman from the first room he cleared.
"A-are we gonna be okay?" She asked, fear clearly evident in her voice.
"We will be." He calmly replied. "Just stay calm and keep your eyes on me, okay, can you do that?" He looked her dead in the eye as he finished up with her riggers belt.
"O-okay. I can do that." The look from his eyes almost seemed to have an instantly calming effect on her, as she managed to say the last part fairly confidently.
What they hadn't realize that with the time they took preparing, was that the fire had managed to catch a length of the rope and was gradually working its way through the fibres. As the girl swung out and over the stairwell, she maintained eye contact with the smoke blackened teen just like he had told her to. However, their individual calm was very quickly broken by a very audible snap from above.
Everything seemed to go by in slow motion from that point. The long coat wearing teen quickly glanced up in reaction to the noise. The rope had inevitably succumbed to the flames and the sudden loss of a counterweight had made the young man fall to the floor. What transpired next almost made his heart stop. He recovered in time to see the girl disappear from his vision past the edge of the floorboards accompanied by a short but sharp scream. But, when the scream abruptly stopped; it was followed by very panicked and very much alive breaths. Breaking out of his stunned state, the teen quickly hopped to his feet and spied that the still flaming end of the line had snagged on a jagged plank jutting out from the floor.
He acted fast and dove towards the edge of the floor. He blindly threw his arm over the edge to grab any section of the rope that wasn't in flames. He could now see that the girl was in fact fine. She was a little shaken up and huddle up into a ball at the end of the rope, but otherwise unharmed.
"You okay?" He asked with a grunt. The heat was only just now becoming bothersome and the constant strain being put upon his body since entering the building in the first place was starting to show.
"Oh yeah, I'm peachy." she replied sarcastically followed by a nervous chuckle.
He couldn't help but smile at her reply. The girl's attitude was admirable despite her near death experience. He looked over to his right to the still vigilant firefighters.
"I'm going to swing her over. Be ready to catch her, got it!"
"Got it!" They quickly acknowledged and one leaned out while the other anchored him.
Slowly, the brown haired teen began to drift the rope left to right and into a gentle swing towards the remains of the second floor landing. After a couple of well executed swings, the girl was close enough to the firemen for them to get a good grasp as she reached out to them. Bringing her safely onto the second floor and getting her out of the harness, she was escorted along with the rest of the group by one of the two firefighters and taking what only route they could which was hardly safe enough as it is.
The only occupant remaining now on the upper two floors was a barely standing teenager who was quickly being overcome by the unreal heat. Believing himself to be the last to leave he surveyed the platform below and deemed safe enough to withstand his weight as he landed. As he was about drop down to the second floor, he heard a sound. It was the worst sound he could hear at a time like this, he almost thought he was imagining it. The sound was faint at the most but he could easily pick it up. It was the sound of a baby crying and it sounded like it was coming from the next floor up.
"You've gotta be kidding me." He thought.
Without a moments hesitation he dashed back down the hallway towards the urgent crying, leaving the firefighters below without saying another word and leaving them utterly bewildered.
"Hey where ya goin, what's happening!?" the fireman yelled up at him only to be answered with silence on the boy's end.
Suddenly a rather large segment of the ceiling came loose and taking out part of the floor in front of the oblivious firefighter, the sudden jolt of the floor shook him out of his daze and he was now forced to retreat to the lower floor lest he be crushed by falling rubble.
Meanwhile back on the third floor, the now reinvigorated hero had more work to do. Quickly scurrying up the newly formed ramp from the ceiling of the family's apartment and homing on the infant's cries, which brought him to a door at the end of the hall. This door was already on fire and crumbling upon his arrival and was promptly cleared with a few swift swipes from his stave. Moving into the room that was falling apart around him every second, advancing straight towards the now very prominent cries and approaching a relatively untouched crib. Inside was the baby, still covered up in a couple of blankets and wearing a babygrow.
"Hey there little guy" he said in a cheery manner, only to be answered with more incessant crying.
"What say we get out of here, eh?" He was saying this mainly to urge himself on. He reached down and cradled the baby in his arms and wrapped him with the blankets from the crib to shield him from the heat.
Choosing to quickly vacate the room sooner rather than later proved a sound plan as the room dramatically collapsed in on itself and dropped onto the apartment below upon leaving. He made his way back to the recent third floor access still carrying the baby carefully and quickly, only to be met with a sudden wall of flames erupting from the hole he came through. Taking a few paces back from the blazing wall, he looked around for any escape he could possibly use to not only save himself; but the young life in his arms as well.
After a momentary scan around the hall yielding no results; an old fire extinguisher that had fallen into neglect over the years ruptured and momentarily suppressed the flaming gauntlet long enough for the now noticeably worried teen to see a somewhat clear hallway and a window peering into the night's sky at the end of it. Taking another couple of paces back and taking a few deep breaths. "This may be the dumbest thing I've ever attempted...I think." He looks down at the baby who has been consistently crying out this entire time and moves a part of the blanket covering his face.
"You ready for this?" the boy asks in a calm voice followed by a chuckle, the babies crying only intensifies which he truly thought would be impossible at this point.
"Yeah, me neither." As if he understood the baby's thoughts on the matter and covered his face back up.
Being as prepared as he could be for this insane situation. He got into a stance ready to run, tucked the baby on the inside of his coat and waited for the fire extinguisher on the opposite wall to hopefully explode just like its counterpart had moments before. "Any day now!" he thought angrily in his head. As if reading his mind the canister ruptured, spewing its contents as a haze to the fire below and for a short moment suppressing the flaming torrent yet again.
Seeing his moment he took off running at full speed towards the blaze that was quickly renewing itself and would soon cut off his only hopes of escape. Coming up to the gap, he sprang into a long jump and only just clearing the 6 metre gap to small section of floor overlooking what could only be described as hell. After regaining his balance from nearly overshooting the platform, he quickly hopped from beam to beam that was the remains of the floor that he so wishes was present. After sticking the landing on the final remnants of the hallway and the inferno engulfing the hall behind him; he continued his mad dash to the window at the end of the hall.
With each door he passed exploding with built up pressure from their each individual firestorm, he was forcefully blown forward from the combined concussive blasts and launched towards the window he had been chasing this entire time.
As he tucked himself into a ball and crashed through window, his hearing was welcomed by the sound of the still whirring sirens of the emergency vehicles alongside an audible combined gasp of the crowd below. Thinking fast as he descended to the ground below, he turned in midair so that his back faced the ground to protect the child still tucked in his coat and held tight against his chest. Then everything went black.
(1st person)
I was in total darkness, a dull and distant sound of a child crying in the background that was essential silent, looking around there was no source of light and yet looking at myself; I was illuminated clear as day. I remembered being blasted out of a window but not much after that.
"Hey kid...hellllllooooooo, get up sleepyhead." An elegant yet stern voice called out, seemingly out of nowhere and now being the only sound present.
"M-mom?" I hesitantly called out.
"Who're ya expecting, Monty himself?" The voice exclaimed in a more upbeat manner before a figure appeared before me.
The figure was my mother, still looking like she did all those years ago and she was around thirty-two years old then if I remember correctly. She had long black hair tied in a braided ponytail reaching down just past her hips, as well as pale blue eyes that were always stunning every time you looked into them, she was wearing a simple beige long skirt stopping just above her ankles so that you could just make out a pair of black leather boots; she was also wearing a simple plain white tank top with a blue denim jacket over the top of that.
"Well for a second I actually was, I take it I'm not dead then?" I asked casually as this is not the first time this has happened.
"No such luck there I'm afraid" she said still in her upbeat way as I slowly approach her and I sigh heavily before asking my next question.
"So, how are they?" I ask my mother whilst managing to smile weakly. She puts a hand on my shoulder and looks me in the eye with a soft expression on her face.
"They're fine, and they always will be." Her expression quickly turns back to a more cheery one. "Well besides Ish' missing her favourite brother."
"Heh, she has others?" I ask with a stronger smile now.
"Well, I did do a lot travelling both as a huntress and when I was working for that company; so who knows" she said with a very sly and evil grin plastered on her face.
"That's not funny ya know." I say as I half-heartedly glare at her.
"Ok, ok enough fun." she chuckles out whilst shaking her head. "Now I believe you have somewhere to be?" she knowingly asks whilst pointing with a thumb while her arms are folded.
I take in a deep long breath. "A hero's work is never done someone once told me." I tell her before moving past her.
She looks over her shoulder at me with confused look on her face. "That wasn't me that said that was it? Because there is no way I would come with something that cliché."
I throw and head and laugh for moment. "No that wasn't you, but good guess." I look back to see her tensed up in a sulky pout. "Despite her age, she was always the most childish and yet still the greatest parent there ever was."
"Hey, mom" I call back to her instantly make her come out of the sulk and turn to face me with a now curious expression.
"Hmm, what's up?" she asks coming up next to me.
"I, I miss you, all of you." I softly say in a shaky voice.
"We miss you to kiddo, we know you'll do use proud." She says in an almost motherly voice which is very out of character for her.
"I haven't forgotten, I will ave-." I'm stopped mid-sentence when she firmly punches me in the shoulder.
"No, no, no. Makes us proud by living your life, find yourself a nice girl, start your own family and all that jazz." She half scolds me and advises me while I rub where she hit me, who knew ghosts could hit that hard.
"I'll think about it, how's that?" I say trying to reach a compromise, in turn she very audible groans in exasperation.
"Why did you have to get your stubbornness from me, why couldn't you be more like your boring sensible father." she complains in a very childlike whiny tone.
"Well then parenthood would have been a breeze then wouldn't it and I know how you like a challenge." I retort back with a big grim slapped on my face as result of her reaction to my earlier suggestion. She quickly gathers herself and we shoot each other loving smiles.
"I'll see ya around kid" and with that she bid me farewell, the last thing I see is her signature two finger salute/wave before she faded into the darkness.
"See ya around." I say to the now empty space she was occupying.
With that the dull and distant sound of the child crying returned, which was soon accompanied by the low and staggered whir of sirens, soon muffled panicked yells followed each as inaudible as the next;
Then in an instant every previous sound became as clear as day. Slowly opening my eyes, I was greeted by the night's sky. "Not the worst thing to wake up to is suppose." I slowly looked down and moved back my coat slightly and what I should have guessed earlier was of course the baby still crying away like there was no tomorrow; plus the staggered siren noise was coming from right beside me as I appeared to have landed on top of a police cruiser, crushing the roof along with part of the siren as well.
In an attempt to block out the light coming from the police sirens that were right in my face, I tried to raise my right arm only to have excruciating pain shoot straight up it. To investigate this I sit up very slowly whilst still clutching the baby in my one arm that worked and hanging my legs over the edge of cars roof. Before I could inspect my right arm, a crowd of EMT's with firemen and policeman flanking them quickly move in on myself and the police cruiser upon which I sat. They stop a few feet short of the cruiser hesitantly when I look at them. Only when I move the arm holding the baby forward does a woman push past the crowd of emergency workers.
"Please let me through!" she yells out with tears streaming down her face as she rushes towards me. But like the paramedic she also stops a few feet before me, it's only then do I fully take notice of her. She is in a slightly charred dressing gown with her hair tied up in a bun and wearing slightly cracked glasses.
"Here." I croak out in a very raspy voice, at this she leaps forward and snatches the baby from my arm.
"Thank you, thank you so much." She says with tears still flowing and shakily happy tone.
I shoot her a nod and a smile before she retreats back into the crowd reunited with her child. Only after do take a slow look around me at the medics, who were still looking on in awe of what had just transpired. Following a short and slightly awkward silence did they traverse the final few feet to the cruiser and proceed to help me down from my perch as carefully as they could manage.
Moments later I am sitting in the back of ambulance with one of the EMT's tending to my arm as it had been fractured in two places, both the ulna and radius had completely broken. Truth is though I didn't need the attention as my aura, or what's left of it had been working overtime ever since I woke up from the fall. With my coat off and revealing my arms, the paramedic got a clear look at the numerous scars running up and down them.
(mention not wanting to be hooked up to an EKG for fear of the paramedics wanting to be keep him here fro his own safety.)
"How'd you get these?" he asks me curiously whilst setting my bones back into place.
"Protecting a friend of mine." I respond cryptically without responding to the pain in my arm.
"Well, I hope they were worth It." he says as he finishes up with the sling and splint.
"More than you know." I mutter under my breath.
After he finished the treatment, he moved on to the other residents from the building that needed medical attention. As I sat in the ambulance people kept approaching the ambulance to give their thanks; including the girl from before who gave me a peck on the cheek in appreciation and I found it very difficult to suppress even the slightest blush.
The highlight though was when the fire chief approached me with the two firefighters that were in the building on either side of him. "Heck of a stunt you pulled there son." He said as he sat down next to me while the other two remained standing.
I remain silent and instead pull my stave out of my holster that is sitting next to my coat that's bundled up on the gurney docked in the ambulance and I begin to look it over for any damage; as I do this the chief continues.
"I also hear that if it wasn't for you, these two knuckleheads would've been toast." He tells me while he point towards the two firemen before me.
Satisfied that my primary weapon seems to have come out of the whole ordeal relatively unscathed I chose to finally answer him. "They showed the kind of fortitude and resolve that tends to decide who lives and who dies, you should be proud of them" I tell the chief.
"Oh believe me, I am. But even these guys have to know their limitations." He countered.
"But not you man, your something else." One the firefighters complimented.
"Hey with those kinds of skills you must be a huntsman, right?" the other inquired.
I hang my head low and look down at the floor. "Something else, yeah that's one way of putting it, and huntsman? With the things I've done and experienced; I don't even deserve to look upon one." I thought solemnly.
"Huntsman or not, you're a hero no matter how you look at it." The chief said whilst clapping me on my shoulder and getting up to stand with his men.
"Stick around would ya, I think the police commissioner who just showed up wants a word with you." He tells me before talking with his men.
"Sorry but that's my cue to exit then." I thought as I looked around for any quick exit nearby and grabbing my coat with my stave tucked inside.
"So where's this so-called hero vigilante that's being squawked all over the radios for last few moments!" asks the police commissioner to no one in particular in a booming, authoritative voice.
"He's right over here!" the fire chief calls out and waves over the police commissioner.
However when the chief turns back towards the ambulance, all he can see is a discarded sling and the splints, with the teenager nowhere in sight. "He...he was just here, I swear he was." he said in a flustered tone as the commissioner came up behind him and looked over his should at the empty vehicle.
(back to 1st person)
Moments later a few blocks away from the scene, the wailing sirens were barely audible. The flames, the crowd, the cascade of questions and everything in-between was now a distant memory as far as the boy was concerned. He ran down a dark alley with his coat tucked under his arm. It's not that he hated the police, but every time he had an encounter with them they always tried recruit him as some form of unofficial employment and that really wasn't his modus operandi...not any more anyway. Exiting out onto an empty street he threw his coat on and slung his stave now back in its holster over his shoulder and taking a moment to adjust the strap. As he walked down the street he was desperately trying to find somewhere peaceful just to sit down and rest for a moment, Monty knows he's earned at least that much. However the night had other use for the boy's time as he heard a fast paced running behind. Acting on pure instinct he whipped round drawing one of his pistols and shoving it into the face of what he thought was a simple, lowly mugger.
What it actually turned out to be was a very surprised looking boy, who had stopped dead in his tracks and his hands were quickly raised in reaction to the gun; he looked probably no less than four years younger than the tired trench coat wearing teen. This boy who clearly had a death wish was also sporting a rather unnerving toothy smile despite having a gun barrel pointed straight at his forehead. The younger boy had ginger spiky hair with a pair of goggles resting on top of his head. He was also wearing a leather jacket that looked too big for him and a grubby white vest underneath. Lastly he was wearing a pair tan cargo shorts and a pair of red converse trainers.
"Wow! You're fast. You're the guy that rescued all those people and jumped out of that flaming building right; well aren't ya?" he asked me without skipping a beat and completely ignoring the threatening situation. I can't help but give him an incredulous look and a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, I'm James btw." He introduced as he extended his hand towards me. "This guy actually uses texts speak in everyday speak, good Monty what has the world come to?" The brown haired boy thought as he cautiously lowered his pistol, holstering it and deeming the kid harmless. Completely ignoring the grubby boy's gesture, he continued on his way down the street.
Before he could even walk five paces he was stopped in his stride with the now named James jumping in front of him. "But my friends just call me Jimmy." He said continuing on as if the conversation, if that's what it could be called had never ended. The tired teen tried to sidestep him only to be blocked in every attempt by the annoying boy who incredibly was still talking, trying to get some form of reaction out of him.
"Hey! You found him." A voice called out form back down the street and quickly approaching the two.
Looking over his shoulder the teen could see a girl running up to them looking around the same age as the boy blocking his path. The girl now at James' side just about equalled said boy's height. She had dyed pink hair tied up in pigtails; she was wearing a yellow buttoned up shirt, a short plaid pattern skirt and a pair of what looked like girls school shoes.
"I told you he went this way." James told the girl as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, he looks back towards the teen. "Oh, this is my girlfriend, Amy; Amy this is...uh; actually I never got your name."
"Didn't give it." The brown haired boy responds as he forcefully pushes past the both of them. Taking the rude gesture in their stride and shrugging it off, the couple quickly catch up to him.
"So anyway, we've been kind keeping track of your exploits around vale and I just gotta say. YOU. ARE. AWESOME!" James exclaims as the couple moving in front of the slowly but surely agitated teen, who was again hindered in his journey.
"We're probably your biggest fans." Amy chimes in whilst hugging James' arm and bouncing on the balls of her feet. The teen only responded with a very visible glare that showed his annoyance at the two before continuing on his way.
"We couldn't but notice that you're doing this all alone, and we were wondering if you could benefit from a couple accomplices or sidekicks if you prefer." James suggested to the adolescent as he chased the tails of his coat.
After not getting a response James tried to push his point further. "Come on, if you keep this up your just gonna end up dead; ya gonna need people at your back, ya gonna need a team!" he virtually yelled out in excitement.
The hazel eyed boy suddenly stopped in his tracks and surprising the couple from the abrupt halt. "That does it. I've had enough of this." He thought to himself.
Without any warning, he whipped around and struck James with a backhanded slap, which was strong enough to knock him flat on his back and sending a loud echo reverberating up and down the street. Amy quickly rushed to his and helped him to sit up. "Wtf man!" he yelled out while rubbing the side of his face.
"Again with the text speak." He thought as he adjusted his coat collar.
"The only thing you will get if you team up with me is a quick death and leading up to that a life of nothing but misery and loss!" he yells down at the two now cowering on the floor and points at them to further emphasise his lecture.
"Are you willing to put yourself through that?! Are you willing to put her through that?!" he growled as he nodded towards the girl who remained silent shock with James sharing the sentiment.
"What if you had to watch her die in front of you?! What if she had to watch you die in front of her?!" he rounded off as he lowered his arm and somewhat easing the tension but only by a microscopic amount.
"Neither of you should have to go through what I went through, you aren't ready and you never will be." With that he turned around and left the couple on the pavement to nurse their wounds.
However Amy quickly rose to her feet and ran after the quickly departing teen for a short while. "Why'd you do what you do then, huh!? What's your problem!?" she yelled at him as he turned a corner, hell hat no fury like a woman scorned after all.
After walking for another few blocks he spied something that made smile more than he had that entire night; a bench sitting in the middle of an empty square with another one resting at its back. Wearily shuffling over to the seat, he collapsed onto it, sprawled his arms across the back of the bench and let out a heavy sigh. He hung his head back and let the cool night air wash over his face, which felt like the greatest sensation in the world after spending what felt like an eternity inside the blazing building only moments ago. Slowly letting his eyes close he thought back the girl's words. "What is my problem?" He pondered with another long exhale. "Why'd I do it, the easy answer would be to protect them. but then I'd be lying to myself, most of what I've done has been out some sense of guilt or trying to hold onto some small scrap of Honour if I even had that to begin with."
"Why do I do what I do?" with that thought he began to think back over the years and the many people he had met, fought, befriended, loved and lost throughout those years.
"Are you serious about this Aero Gainsborough?" a gruff voice asked in his head.
"What do you hate most Aero?" another voice asked, this one stern and monotonous.
"Congratulations mister Gainsborough!" a proud, booming and somewhat regal voice said.
"You're a great fighter and a true hero if there ever was one." a friendly and insouciant voice said.
"Aero, what do you love most in this world?" a sweet and innocent voice asked.
"You're still young Aero, you don't have to bear your burdens alone." claimed a stoic and affable voice.
"What do you fight for most in this world Aero?" Asked a cool, calm and sensual voice.
"Aero." the collective voices called.
"Aero?" they called out again this time with more volume.
Seven years ago...
"Aero!" an elegant voice called out to a young boy looking over his shoulder to the one calling his name as he sat in a grass field with a backpack on and mountains in the background.
Authors notes:
Ha! Cliffhangers! I hate them as much as the next person and yet there so fun to do when you're writing them.
The majority of this chapter was frustrating to write, what with having to keep referring to him by using his features or something similar just to maintain his anonymity and it quickly started to grate on me. Also I can't help but think that the whole burning building backdrop may have dragged on a bit, so give me your thoughts on that if you want.
Also if you have any queries or concerns about my choice in character name that some people have already addressed, I suggest you read the authors note a couple parts over.
Anyway tell me what you guys thought of the prologue as a whole of course, and if you spy any errors or mistakes let me know and I will address them ASAP. I should have the next chapter out relatively soon as I will have a lot of time on my hands in the coming weeks.