Heretic Notes: This chapter will be a bit interesting.
BGM for you to ready:
Castlevania Pachislot OST: Trezire de Spirit
It is... very fitting for the events of this chapter. Ready yourselves for when I tell you to play.
Past...
"Hey, Vlad!"
"Yes?"
Both as children, Luna called Vladimir and he turned around.
Unlike in Vale, neither of them were hiding their faunus traits. Vlad had his bat wings exposed and Luna had her siberian husky ears as well.
Both were donning training robes. Although Luna's seemed a bit too large and Vlad couldn't wear the shirt since it wasn't adapted to his back yet.
"Can you fly?" Asked the girl curiously.
"No" he shook his head.
"Then... glide on the air?"
"If I train more, I think I can".
"Weird... I thought you could do that easily!"
Vladimir shook his head.
"It's strange... it seems my sister inherited the best traits unlike me. These wings aren't that useful in a humanoid body, Luna. It also seems my bones are more fragile since they are a bit more leaned to the flying abilities of bats that I don't have".
"Oh... b-but, you still have good things, right? Like the best night vision in Chimaera!"
He shook his head again.
"I am nearly blind without these glasses due to that. Also, my eyes are very sensitive to light. It doesn't matter much when every faunus has a good night vision... well, at least my hearing is good".
"S-sorry for asking".
Vlad patted Luna on the head.
"Don't worry. I may be weak, but... I'm sure that if I train I can get better".
- Did I really believe in that?
RWBY: Against All Odds
Past...
Newton verified the info Jammer had and informed Vlad:
"It seems Chimaera sent recommendation letters for us".
"What?!" Vlad was surprised. "To begin with, how did they know that we were applying for Jammer?! I made sure to distract them by praising Beacon!"
"It seems it was your sister's intervention..."
"Bathory!" Vlad roared her name in anger. "Once again interfering with my will!"
Luna was lying down on the ground:
"Is there anythung wrong? I mean, it's not like we have much of a choice, right?"
"Luna!" Tracy called her name.
"Look" Luna said her point. "We can't just apply anywhere saying 'we are from outside the kingdoms' or something like that. Schools like Beacon, Jammer and Clockwork are a bit strict. Information is needed and our 'outside' is different from those plebeians 'outside', y'know?"
"No" responded Vladimir. "Taking that way? I can't" His eyes showed fearsome determination. "There is no meaning in it for me if I take such way! I came here to, for once, achieve my acconplishments without their help. I will achieve my dreams with my actions, just like it is supposed to be!"
Luna smiled, Tracy sighed and Newton:
"Very well, then. It will be harder, but I shall remain by your side on that way".
"Me too!" Agreed Luna.
"So will I" nodded Tracy.
Vladimir and Merlina, the director of Jammer stood in front of each other.
The girl asked:
"Are you an idiot?"
And the boy answered:
"That is subjective".
The director smiled:
"A normal person would shut up and enter directly. You went on and tried to hack the systems to erase the recommendation? Hahaha! What was that for?"
"This is a Mercenary School, is it not? Doing anything for our objectives".
"Yes? That is why I would not mind backgrounds or stuff like that at all? This type of goody-two-shoes thingy is for the Hunters and Mechanics, boy".
"Indeed" Vlad nodded. "However, my desire is to win. To reach the top and with my own achievements".
"Yes... and without the letter, you have none, boy" she answered. "Your achievements here are zero..."
Vlad sneered.
"Then let us change that, shall we? I can assure you that my name will not be small in the near future".
Merlina looked at him dead on the eye and...
"Ha! I like your style. I never thought I would find someone like you, but so be it! However... the letters will remain".
"Bu-"
"It's just a formality. I'm accepting you people out of free will, but considering an uncertain future, in which a certain prince suffers an assassination attempt..."
"I understand..."
"Don't worrry. This is your start from zero, boy. Your clean career starts here, but... do not think everyone you find will be just like you. Vale is quite corrupted, you know?"
"Yes".
"No, you don't" answered the girl. "Soon you will realize that the worthy opponent you seek for does not exist here".
Vlade remembered his defeat at the hands of Arc.
'So that is what she meant' he thought. 'An opponent like me does not exist... this truth remains... even now...'
Present...
Pain.
He felt his wings had been burned and his left arm was broken.
When he opened his eyes, he felt the pure and sweet smell of a girl... along with blood.
"Tra... cy?"
"Vlad, rest up a bit... your wings, they..."
Now he remembered.
When he took that fireball to protect her.
And how he was being carried in her arms, trying to flee from an opponent beyond them.
The Atlesian Paladin was following from behind and neither of them would survive.
'This is it... the opponent beyond my strategy and power... I guess...'
"I have a plan" he said.
'It's time to make my choice'.
He looked to the sky again. Tracy's worried face was there, but beyond were the stars and the shattered moon.
'I wonder... where is he right now? I really, really wanted to have a fight with him one last time...'
He remembered that idiot's worried face of concern.
'His expression and personality really contradicted his actions... there was more than what I saw...'
'Hey Arc... you really were not an opponent I could take pride on fighting, so... if we could meet again, would you want to talk? I... really am interested in knowing why you would take the easy way even knowing it was merely a lie. I really... want to know what motivated you. I really... I really... wanted to fight you once more and perhaps we could understand one another... talk about it... become friends...'
'I know it is selfish... but just once I wanted to see your determination... to see you do the inhumane training I did for just a small time... so that next time, you would not cry out of sympathy after defeating me'.
'Hey... Arc... if we could really meet again... could we fight each other? Giving our all just for the sake of the battle?'
'To have us both fight at our full power. Your strongest against my weakest?'
'It is a shame that...'
'Such a dream of mine will not happen... just like all others'.
The War Machine was closer and closer.
The prince knew his time was running out.
An Unforgivable Light
In front of the hospital...
"Wait, Cardin really helped you people?" Ren was surprised.
Ren, Jaune and Ruby encountered themselves in front of the hospital.
Ruby nodded.
"He ran away as soon as he heard you two were coming. Weird, right?"
Turned out that Ruby had been out. The girl explained that she couldn't track down her teammates since the signals disappeared, so she tried to find info on team VLNT meanwhile.
The girl managed to find Arachne's shop, the owner being the faunus that made Tepes' coat.
Ruby explained that Arachne described a different Impaler Vampire than the one from Cardin's theories. As the Vladimir Tepes she knew was a calm and respectful person.
Jaune said:
"Actually, after all that happened today, I don't doubt it. Cardin helping us, and Vladimir being different. Come to think of it, I think it's even gonna be morning soon and we didn't realize it".
"Haha! We were up all night!" She smiled and asked: "Everything went well against the Impaler Vampire? Cardin said he was a noble of Chimaera and according to Arachne, it may have been a misunderstanding".
Jaune thought about it for a while, then smiled:
"Things could have been better, but I think it was the way it was supposed to be. It was all just a big misunderstanding like you said and he apologized for hurting you guys".
"You serious?" Ruby was surprised. "Well, after Cardin turned out like that, I can't be surprised anymore".
Jaune was curious:
"Blake and Yang are going to be okay?"
"Uh..." Ruby averted her gaze. "Yang will be soon, Blake not so soon. It seems her wounds are hard to cure and the medics aren't figuring it out. They said it was similar to Pyrrha's so it may take a while but she may be transferred to Beacon today".
Jaune touched his own chest. Vladimir's spear pierced it ignoring his aura. Even though the injury was healed, if he concentrated, he could feel that pain of the blade.
"Well... we can ask about that later to him."
Ren nodded:
"I doubt he would cause any trouble anymore".
BOOM!
Behind the trio, a lid from the sewers exploded and the water came out like a geyser.
"Speaking of the devil..." muttered Ren.
From the hole, a hand covered in bandages crawled out. The girl of purple hair stepped out with an expression of worry and anger.
"Tracy Khufu?" Ren muttered her name.
"Where am I?" Asked the girl.
"What?" Asked Ruby.
"WHERE AM I?!" Asked her again in anger.
Jaune noticed the wounds accross her body. If she was a healer and was wounded, why wouldn't she heal herself?
"In front of the hospital, what happened?"
"It's none of your..." Tracy bit her lip. "Forget it, there is no other way. You three, I ask for your help to rescue my leader! I shall pay any price for it!"
She finished the phrase by bowing down.
"What happened?!" Asked Jaune deeply concerned. "What happened to Vladimir?!"
"We were attacked".
And Tracy told him the story. She didn't even need to start for Jaune to follow her and Ren and Ruby follow behind. It was serious and help was needed.
Tracy and Vladimir were attacked by an Atlesian Paladin. According to her, if it was a normal one, she could handle two at the same time with no problem.
But it wasn't.
The battle took a turn for the worst when they realized the space near the Paladin somehow disrupted aura. As normal people, they stood no chance and Vladimir was gravely wounded.
When she decided to flee and all hope seemed lost, Vladimir revealed he had a plan to escape.
Tracy knew that even if they ran to the sewers they would be doomed by that weaponry, but Vladimir said his plan was flawless.
And so, she agreed.
"It was when I jumped in the hole that I noticed his intention..."
Vladimir closed the lid to the sewer and Tracy was taken by the current of the polluted waters.
He stayed behind as bait to save her.
And since she still couldn't use aura, she was unable to go back for him.
It was him, a normal person, against a war machine.
The four of them were running.
"It is still a few blocks away. Soon enough-" she stopped. The box in the back of her waist started to shine. "No..."
Beacon...
"Not going to sleep?"
Weiss asked the blue hooded girl.
Luna was sitting in a chair while Newton slept on a bed.
"No" the girl shook her head. "He needs to be under surveillance. In a serious fight using ancient technology, the losing side tends to have dangerous side effects".
The blue-hooded girl puffed her cheeks and, after a few seconds, sighed.
"Sorry"
"What?"
Luna turned around and looked at Weiss:
"Sorry for teasing you all this while. The Schnee Dust Company is sort of a national enemy to us just like the White Fang".
"Just. Like. The White Fang?" Weiss felt anger with that comparison.
"Ahem! Either way, what I meant is: you are not like those ignorants. After all, you went on to personally help your friends and even has a faunus with a dubious background in your team!"
Weiss opened her eyes wide:
"Wait! How did you-"
"That ribbon is a really dumb disguise, you know?"
Luna felt to say: 'she should have used hairclips and a hood instead. So that should anyone wonder, she could take the hood off while the hairclips and the hair hide the ears'.
But she didn't.
"Well, Lycaon" Weiss didn't know what to say. "I guess I can accept your apology".
"Yay! Hugs!"
"No, wai-"
Oobleck didn't say anything, but smirked at their interaction. 'Children' he thought.
However, he soon noticed as Luna's metallic backpack and Newton's sword in the table started to shine.
"Miss Lycaon..."
Luna's orange eyes were wide open as she released Weiss.
"Tracy or Vlad are in danger!" Shouted Luna.
She turned around and...
"Newton?!"
The boy barely opened his eyes and green sparks were emitted from his body.
"Tracy... Vlad..."
Jaune saw while they were running.
When four bandages came out of the box and started to twist and turn in the air like scarab legs.
"Girl?" Weiss called Luna worried.
"I know!" Shouted the hooded girl upon picking her backpack on the table.
The color changed to silver and blue tribal markings started to shine in it.
The backpack seemed to break down, but Weiss noticed that the pieces that fell became armor parts. A gauntlet with sharp claws, a helmet that looked like a wolf's head, and many others as Luna couldn't control it.
At the same time, the black and green whipsword on the table began to extend and twist on its own while releasing green electric sparks like an eel.
Heretic: NOW! Play Trezire de Spirit!
The ground was destroyed and nearby buildings collapsed.
The Atlesian Paladin was on one side, on the other was Tepes.
Running away from the attacks and dodging, the prince, barely stood and shouted:
"Do not get ahead of yourself, peasant! I am the future ruler of the sole exception of this world! The proud and advanced race of warriors that actually live with their differences!"
Vladimir dodged the bullets. Even without aura, even with a broken arm, even with his wings burned he still fought.
"I, the blessed and cursed prince shall never be defeated by the primitive that dare seek war due to race! I, that descend from both humans and faunus shall be your demise!" He shouted. "For I represent the only thing you ignorants never have been able to achieve in centuries: the true bond that transcends race, blood, soul and fate! I am the faith".
Finally, he felt it: the impact of the mechanical punch of that machine.
Spitting blood, he stood once more:
"You may kill... me. You... may win this battle... but... Once you barbarians dare... wage war... once machines such as the one you use fuels both sides... once you savages gets addicted by the sweet taste of constant revenge that ravages this world, you will all fall! The only prize from war is chaos! And after you self destruct as the hatred flows bloodying the skies, my people shall simply walk through the corpses and calmly win, for they will never take part in your triffle conflicts!"
Yes... it was over.
The Impaler Vampire lost.
Tracy was saved and he would die. It was simple as that.
The war machine closed in.
"However" Vladimir Tepes raised his spear. "Do not think your victory shall be easy, fool" he coughed blood again. "I have been standing against all the odds of the very fate during my whole life. 'Impossible' is merely a word crushed by my citizens over and over together for years. And I shall not die before claiming a victory, my own victory with my very powers at least once!"
Luna, Newton and Tracy felt the danger that was happening through their equipment and muttered his name worried, the name of a leader, a friend and a lover:
"""VLAD!"""
Jaune, Ruby and Ren saw it. When Tracy started to shed tears while running and that light far away in the city.
With a thunderous sound, a pillar of light and flames appeared in their visions for many seconds.
They ran and ran, but soon the pillar disappeared and the first rays of sunshine appeared on the sky.
And they knew at that time that it wasn't a light of hope, but calamity.
They ran and ran, unknown to them what happened at that scene... and the consequences the prince's decision had.
...
Heretic Notes:
In the end, he that treats the outside word with scarn, deeply loves his small homeland.
He, whose very existence is a proof of faith between light and darkness, is merely another person.
But also a piece of great value.
Such a tragic character for a tragic start of a new arc. I do not plan to leave you hanging like this. Sunday, 6 O'Clock by PDT, that will be the time I shall release ''A Dawn Reeking of Blood''. Yes, it shall be released by the morning, dawn of the first day of the week to symbolize the chapter itself.
By now you readers must have an idea of what shall happen, the taboo I said would be committed. But, well, stories with happy endings are read so wearily often that something different had to happen.
For an OC such as Vladimir that started as an antagonist and became a deuteragonist mid-way, rivalizing Jaune Arc in such short time, the reality of a martyr really fits him. Jaune represents the wishful view of the world, while Vlad represents the cynical reality.
His speech was meant to symbolize the RWBY music ''Die'' while also serve as a title drop of this fic.
Until sunday, people. Ready your feels, for I shall ready a fitting BGM.
Heretic, out!