The night brought down heavy rain upon the Emerald Forest and its creatures.
One of which was lying in wait for his prey to pass and the pack to attack.
The Grimm's paws trod carefully over fallen leaves and twigs , not making a sound as it followed the masked faunus through the foliage.
It saw the red eyes of its brethren light up as they closed in on the dozen humanoids.
As the beowolf concentrated on its prey , it failed to notice that the small bird in the tree behind him vanished with a gust of wind.
Its muscles tensed while the claws dug into the ground. And just as it was about to pounce on the groups rear guard, a deer faunus, a large blade pierced its spine and pinning it to the soil.
Before the grimm could react, a thin dagger penetrated its skull.
Graham let the carcass hit the ground softly. The moonlight sword stood still as he drew a few throwing daggers.
Now he was waiting for the other beasts to leave their cover.
Seconds later, the party leader passed a bush. This made the beowolf hiding in it spring forth in an attempt to gouge out the fox-faunus throat.
The knives Graham held shot forward with uncanny force, their blades found a new home in three of the grimm.
The attack send the group into panic. They yelled and began to fire into the forest as pitch black shadows closed in fast until their leader, a alpha beowolf, was stopped mid-jump by a cross-guard sticking out of its head.
Metallic glints coming from the dark made them freeze as the sword's bearer gripped his weapon's blade at two-thirds of its length before it became a streak of shadow, brutally dancing through the oncoming beowolves.
A few moments later, the figure stood still again, resting between the mutilated carcasses.
In the blink of an eye, the shadow turned around and shot towards them, until it was only a few metres away. his tri-corned hat hiding his eyes.
The group took aim at the unknown humanoid as it began to speak.
"Greetings. May I know why you walk through the forest at this ungodly hour? And why you hide your faces?"
His deep,dark tone fell of deaf ears as the fox-faunus breathed out a question in disbelieve.
"What are you?" his trembling voice resonated through the rainy forest.
"That is a very broad question. But I presume you would like to know who I am. My name is Graham Himura, I was a human, now I've stepped down to a hunter. And you are?..." the figure's head was angled downwards, the tri-corned hat hiding his eyes while the rest of his face was covered by a mask.
"A human... YOU ALWAYS THINK YOU'RE SO GREAT" a faunus with her face hidden behind a white boar mask screamed.
Flicking her rifle's safety of, she pulled the trigger "DIE. DIE. DIE YOU BASTARD"
The Bullets pierced Graham, his body shook slightly through the impacts.
Yet after the storm of copper and lead stopped, he remained on his feet.
"What the hell...?" the boar girl let her rifle fall onto the rain-soaked soil.
The hunter's shoulders slumped forwards as he pulled down his scarf, revealing two rows of canine teeth,between which elongated fangs rested.
"Nevermind" his voice ceased to sound human, it sounded as if a grimm learned to speak.
This horrid scene made the fox-faunus scream, yet the only sound he made was a gurgling as a blade opened his throat.
The masked female attempted to run back towards her comrades , who had their backs turned to her as they fled into the forest. Only to feel a sharp pain over her heart. Looking down, she saw a gauntlet protracting from her chest, coated in blood.
And before her body had hid the ground, another volley of knives was send out into her friends. In her last moments , she rotated her head to see who killed her. The figure's eyes were far more wrathful than any grimm, as they shared their red colouration safe for the silver-gold slivers inside of these orbs.
As her life ebbed away, with her on the cold forest ground, she thought back to happier times. When her family was alive, but now, as those who she had known for years were hunted down by this wraith. She would join her family, not wanting to miss them any longer, the girl closed her eyes. To the screams of her comrades, she was reunited with them soon.
Graham ripped the thin dagger, pinning a deer-masked faunus head to a tree, from the bark and sheathed it. The hunter took the mask and stored it inside his coat before hiding their bodies.
Dragging the last corpse away from the pile hidden inside a natural cavern, the hunter bound the feet of a dead female deer-faunus and suspended the body from a high tree, hanging upside down.
Shackling the deer-faunus hand over her head, which fell as a blade severed muscles, ligament and vertebrae, attaching the neck to her torso. resuming his search for the "Hunter's of Beacon", Graham left behind the hunters mark for all to see.
~~~~2110 – Airspace over the Emerald Forest~~~~~
"Urrrgh, why does it have to rain tonight?" Yang let her head fall against the bullheads armoured hull.
Her sister fussed around with her weapon, a large metal contraption she dubbed "Crescent Rose" , to make sure that it was properly functioning and completely waterproof.
The other eight hunters boarding the airship agreed with the blonde. yet Jaune , who always tried to cheer his friends up, stretched his words to "What , not up for a natural Xiao-er? "
This pun proved to be even too much for Yang as she slouched in her seat "You have a long way to go before your on my pun level, Jaune "
"The both of you are horrible at jokes" Weiss pinched her nose as the light illuminating the interior turned from red to green, signalling their arrival.
"10 seconds until drop-off, I'll get you close to the village but their landing sites are full of own crafts. So the lot of you will have to walk 'bout 100 metres" A soothing voice came through the intercom as they felt the aircraft descend until the doors snapped open, letting them exposed to the wind and rain as they jumped onto the road.
As they landed and the roaring engines shot towards beacon, the forest became eerily quiet. Not a single sound could be heard barring the rain hittingleaves and soil. yet the serenity was only on the surface, the second they went outside the VTOL, the hunters felt a pair of eyes on them.
Like a Hound that had chosen its prey.
Dread settling inside the teenagers, they pressed forward through rain and wind towards Sovstgarde's illuminated gate.
With the heavily fortified entrance only seconds away, they took in the entrance. Hesco blocks, sandbags and bremer walls lined the street along with two foxholes with LWMMGs inside. These were lit up by floodlights that shined into the dark forest.
"Ozzy!" One of the three guards watching over the east gate yelled out in a friendly tone.
His head was protected by a large steel dome, its visor had a protrusion over his eyes filled with thick glass. His body was covered by a massive type 4 flak jacket, reaching from his throat over the torso strapped full with magazine pouches to a separate plate over the groin area, under which the distorted black, brown and green blobs of the CADPAT shirt reached over his arms and ended in heavy duty gloves of the same colouration.
The pattern continued over his pants, on which a P227 was holstered, boots and rifle. the larger and heavier cousin of the AR-15,was favoured by the guards as the grimm would fall quickly from the powerful 300WIN-MAG cartridges.
The headmaster studied the figure before replying "Ivory?"
The guard in question went down behind the fortifications to open one of the substantial steel doors.
Walking through the now opened door and towards the hunters, he pulled up his visor.
" 'ello it has been a while , hasn't it? I guess Graham didn't greet you" Ivory held out his right hand. The gesture was returned by Ozpin.
"No , he hasn't. May we get inside? this weather is very unpleasant"
Suddenly, Blake chimed in "I'm sorry but you might have a broken sewage pipe. It reeks. Can anyone else smell that?"
"Don't worry , that's just Graham's smell, in which case you want wanna worry,... we spray him with air fresheners whenever he's 'ere but it doesn't do much" One of the guards in the foxholes answered , his voice coarse from years of smoking.
Weiss took a deep breath and began to dry-heave as the foul odour of old sewage, rot, blood and many more unpleasant notes hit her "By Oum, then make him wash himself. This is ungodly"
"We tried, he said no. And well bugger me, speak of the stinking devil..." a female voice came from the second machine gun.
The group turned around while the floodlights turned to illuminate the wet asphalt.
A massive figure was treading towards them, and as Jaune saw what it carried, he paled and cold sweat let him shudder.
Slowly coming closer was the wisp from his nightmare, the same tri-corned hat, the same dented armour and sword...
there was a pink hue to the water running down the wraith as it stopped. The blade that had slain Ren and Pryyha in its right, a thin sword-bayonet in its left.
Without uttering a word, the figure bowed forward in a grandiose manner with his left gauntlet in front of his torso.
The hunter remained in the position for a few seconds before straightening his back and letting his deep voice rumble out "So, these are the hunters you called? lacking armour and fearing the dark..."
Ivory saw how the huntsmen/huntresses tensed up and as they began to reach for their weapons, he addressed Graham " Evenin' mate. Meet Ozpin, Glynda an' the teams JNPR and RWBY"
"Do I need a spade for them or are they friendly?" The hunter's voice was devoid of any emotion.
Sighing, the guard retorted "Didn't I ask you to treat them nicely?"
"One of 'em is abo't to launch a log through 'is bloody pants. The black and white haired ones look ready to hurl and the rest isn't so much shaking as vibrating since I came 'ere. You requested that I'd not harm the young hunters, but none of this lot is one" His statement was without malevolence.
Weiss did not like a few things, one in particular was people talking over her head, especially if she was mentioned. So she took action by stepping forwards while huffing.
"I demand that you apologize for your uncivilized behaviour and complete lack of manners"
"I will not apologize. I greeted you and even though you did not respond I still was ready to speak with you, if this was Yahrnam then you'd be nothing more than a smear on the pavement by now" Graham's cold eyes focused in her, reacting to the even the smallest of movements.
"You... YOU-"
"In this case you are both the aggressor and the one lacking any manners"
Before the now fuming heiress could retort, Ozpin spoke up "Now ,now. Lets not fight. So you are Graham Himura? My name is Ozpin , I am the headmaster of Beacon , a esteemed school for huntresses and huntsmen. May I ask which academy you graduated?"
"Why are you asking me that? I'm sure Ivory has given you all he knows about me, which includes my lack of any formal education"
The headmaster shook his head "No, it appears that he missed some details"
"So you're uneducated as well as uncivil and a ruffian" Weiss growled.
"Teaching can't save yer sorry arse when shits goes down" Graham's voice was flat while he sheathed the knife into a scabbard on his right gauntlet.
Pacing forwards again, the red mist of anger descended upon her "We'll see about that"
"Ms. Weiss. I suggest you cease to plan an attack, I am a man of my word so I would not like to break the promise that Ivory an' I made"
"Don't worry, I won't be the one getting hurt" the heiress hand wandered towards Myrtenmaster.
"Negative. By studying your actions, the time you would need to draw your weapon is about 1.4 seconds, getting ready for a thrust after roughly another second. If I had made the promise not to kill then I would like to demonstrate it by removing your sword-arm, sadly I already agreed on no harm at all. So , as I said, please stop before I have to break more than my word"
Weiss staggered back at how calm and formal he sounded while he spoke about such a brutal act.
"Thank you for realizing your mistake"
Ivory loudly cleared his throat to gain the hunters attention before he made things worse " A'ight, now that you know each other, mind getting inside? There's a reason why this entrance is a fortress"
"Are you sure you want them inside the Village? There are no Grimm in the vicinity so we can talk or fight outside"
"Just get inside ye wanker!" the coarse voice stemming from one of the guards mounting their LWMMGs rang out in laughter.
Graham looked up towards the voice"Evenin' Tanner, didn't ye want to accompany Häyhason to meet his in-laws?"
The mentioned male shrugged"Only if it became a shit-show, but his wife told him some stories about them. They seemed nice 'nough"
"Well... that's fortunate-"
"Stop stalling and get inside"
Letting out a low grumble, Graham followed the huntresses and huntsmen inside the village walls.
passing through the gate, the female guard saw the emblem on Weiss' back before sneering" 'ang on , you're a Schnee?"
Graham remembered how he came to know that name.
As the first, orange strands of light pierced the windows surrounding the chow-hall on the second floor of the guard tower. a lone figure sat on one of the benches, hunched over something vaguely edible.
The serene atmosphere was broken as a door creaked open, revealing Raine in CADPAT trousers, combat boots and a plain grey shirt. her short, dark-brown hair fell over her left eye, partially hiding it. The right side was tucked behind her ear. Her fair skin showed signs of her life as a solider with some minor scars and her hair combed over other, more gruesome ones. Her muscular body stood at about 1,90 metres.
"Mornin'"
The figure now sat ramrod straight, his face hidden under mask and hat.
After filling a cup with coffee, Raine made her way towards him.
" 'ow can ye eat tha'? whatever that is" she spoke as she sat down on the opposite bench, facing the hunter.
He shrugged "This is quite alright.I ate worse..."
"The bloody 'ell have ya been chowing?" the guard rose an eyebrow before she took a sip of her drink.
Graham patiently waited for her to swallow. Only responding as the cup was placed back on the table "Trash, birds , rodents... everything edible"
Raine's face became stoic "Ye talking outta yer arse"
"Pigeons are fine, but smaller stuff like redbreast are jus' feathers n' bones"
The brunette shivered at the thought before chuckling and shaking her head "No, jus' no ma'e"
Afterwards, the silence resumed, the only sounds were small noises. The chirping of birds from outside combined with Raine's cup softly hitting the table.
A few minutes later, the guard spoke up again "Mind takin' of the mask?"
The reply came quickly. "Yes"
"Why?"
"I like to be unknown. There is a large advantage to remaining faceless"
"Ye sure it's that , an' not that huntin' did a pretty bad number on ya?" Raine's voice held a semblance of warmth as she gestured towards the little space that mask and hat failed to conceal.
"No, no. my scars have nothing to do with this, there are only a few on my face" the hunter calmly responded.
Carefully inspecting the small window of shown skin, the guard responded "Doesn't look like a small amount, so how many are talkin' 'bout?"
"About ten large and many small ones" Graham's eyes followed her every move.
"If you call tha' 'a few' then how the hell does the rest of you look? I mean I too got some scars on me 'ead, but those are just nicks, apart from two" she patted the spots over which her hair was combed.
The hunter's gauntlets contracted, knowing over the state of his body "There is very little of me that hasn't been marred by the hunt. Yours stem from your occupation I presume"
Raine visibly saddened as she continued to stroke the two scars, she did this to herself and never would forgive herself for it "Well, most of 'em. Wanna know why I'm 'ere?
"Sure" letting his hands relax, Graham waited for the brunette guard's story.
"Me maw 'as been a lawyer as long as I could think, dad was a accountant. So I 'ad a good childhood, sure both had a shitton of work, but they always found some time to play with me. But as they both became bigger in the bat'le for equali'y, shit became real. The Schnee Dust Company bought their businesses before sending us on a work trip into one of their dust mines, there we were sacked and forced to dig. Maw had a injury on 'er spine after a few weeks and couldn't walk any-more so I began pullin' me weigh. One day, I was abo't eleven, the dust in the air went off, almost took me soddin' arm wit'it"
Raine pulled up her left sleeve, on which, under a tattoo of a vanishing skull wearing a Corinthian helmet, clutching a bayonet in its teeth, a scar crossed her arm. The scorced skin covered her shoulder and part of her upper arm.
"The only reason it's still there was another inmate , Vlad Bronzavyi , a former doc' who stapled me arm back on and took care of me. He's also the reason why I'm 'ere, because at the time I realized tha' words only get you so far. So I began training in that dirty hole. And after a year, we rose from the 'Gulag' as Vlad called it. The SDC didn't want to let us go without a fight, so we gave 'em hell. There I learned that pressure and gunfire were things I could cope with extremely well. And after we go' out,I wanted to enrol in the Atlas military, but just like in Socie'y, faunus were shat on"
Closing her hands around the warm mug, she stared into the brown liquid as she continued "One day, I got wildly drunk and in me state, pissed outta my mind. I cut of me ears... I'm a lynx faunus and when I woke up on the next day, I cried me fookin' eyes out and swore to never again touch a drop of alcohol. I already knew Herring back then so I called him. He was jus' abo't to enroll, jus' like me. And after he 'eard what I did, 'e basically dragged me into the enrolment office with him. Now I'm 'ere"
Raine sighed, feeling slightly embarrassed at telling someone she hardly knew so much about herself. Looking up to gage Graham's reaction, she was met by the ever-present, steeled red orbs of the hunter.
"Could ya promise me something?..." she began softly "Watch out for those who cannot defend themselves"
"Sure"
While remembering the conversation, Graham calmly addressed Weiss "Ms. Schnee was'it? Are you, by any chance related to the Schnee Dust Company?"
"Yes, my father is the CEO"Her voice held some pride, yet it was shadowed by disgust at something.
"Then, I'm sure you are aware of their actions against faunus" He held no judgement while he scanned the area, the villagers were either openly disgusted or did very little to hide it.
"...yes I am..."her tone switched into guilt and embarrassment.
"Do you support his actions?" he spoke louder than needed, attracting the interest of passer-bys.
Her answer came quickly, holding a conviction "NO, what he did was immoral and wrong"
"Glad to hear tha'"Ivory, content with Weiss' respone, let out a long breath. His hands now uncurling. While he never had any bad encounters with the company, he heard the stories his comrades told him, and those did not bode well for what would happen when the heiress of the SDC arrived. But hearing her shared hate of their methods put his heart at ease.
Slowly, through the heiress answer and Graham silently showing respect towards the other hunters, the mood lightened to the point where Ruby slowed down to walk besides the massive frame following them. And with a spark in her eyes but a timid tone, she spoke. "Can I see your weapons?"
"Why?" his grip on the broadsword's blade tightened.
"You have to excuse her Mr. Himura, she's a weapon nerd"
"Mouu, Weiss. Don't call me a nerd"
"If that's your reason. Then sure. Just the arms on my body or my whole arsenal?" he held out the sword in his hand towards Ruby.
Only for Ivory to push it back against the hunter while pointing in-front of himself "Mind doing that inside? I think you have a lot to talk about with Ozzy"
They stood before a Mansion, its grey stone walls reached two stories high. The steps leading towards the entrance were flanked by two statues, one portrayed a charging unit of soldiers under which a inscribed bronze plate reminded the residents of the price that the soldiers in the great war payed, and that it should not be in vain.
The second statue was a Basilisk. The long, snake like body was covered by what seemed to be thick wooden bark along with scales lining its belly, their form let them look like leaves. Its elongated snout had angled sheets covering the jaw.
"This is the courthouse, I asked Ms. Rowey if she could lend us a room. The guard quarters can't really spare any, so you'll talk 'ere" Ivory walked up to the double doors, pulling one of them open and letting the hunters inside.
They kept following the guard until they arrived on another set of doors, leading into one of the courts. It had high stone walls that transitioned into oak wood two metres above the ground. Three rows of pews created two aisles leading up two opposing half circles consisting of long tables and chairs. Behind the second arc, another gateway led into a smaller chamber.
Entering the room, Ozpin addressed his companions "Mr. Himura, why don't we talk in the office while Ms. Rose explores your weaponry"
The hunter walked between the curved tables "Sure, but if your intent is to attack me unarmed, then that plan will backfire"
"Don't worry, I have no interest in harming you"
Without saying another word, Graham begun laying out weapons while listing, what they only could suspect to be their names.
"These are the holy moonlight sword-" the blade in his hand was placed on the oak-wood, before he continued by drawing the club from his hip "-the beastcutter-" gripping inside his coat, the hunter pulled out a short, twisted sword "-blades of mercy-"
Graham went on until both tables were filled with all kinds of arms, ranging from daggers, knives, axes over ice-picks, swords, spears, viscous looking cleavers, a cane, war-hammers to a wheel, pistols, gatling gun and two hand-mounted cannons.
Walking over to a massive block of stone into which a sword was struck, Jaune looked at the hunter "What is this?"
"As said, this is the Kirkhammer, it can be wielded as a blade or with this mallet. As a hammer, it's sluggish but good against hard targets for singular hits. for instance, those huge fuckin' scorpions that lumber around the forest"
before any more questions were asked, Graham disappeared into the office along with the headmaster.
Picking up the 'saw cleaver' as the hunter called it, Pryyha shuddered, the crude teeth did not seem like they were meant be used against opponents with aura.
Graham addressed Glynda and Ozpin "How fucked are we? There appear to be quite a lot of hunters. I mean you came out here with ten hunters. So the situation seems dire"
Seating himself into the chair at the end of the table, the professor responded "Inside the kingdoms, the grimm are manageable. But may I know something, Ivory said you were born in 'Yahrnam'. where is this city? I have never heard of it nor found anything on Remnant that is called such"
The large hunter grew suspicious of the headmaster as he answered "Yahrnam, the city of blood. Origin of the hunt. Capital of Saxonland. It was ruled by the 'healing church' an institution that showed what mankind can do at its worst, there are only few survivors of the scourge. What strand of blood are we dealing with? Or where do these beast stem from?"
"What is this fixation on blood about?"
"Drop the act, there are no civilans nearby" Graham stood on the other end of the table, hidden behind him was the door.
"I'm not acting, Mr. Himura."
"The shit that enables us to keep on fighting"
"You mean aura?" raising an eyebrow, Ozpin waited for an answer.
"If you want to call it that, then do so. But tell me were up against"
"They're called Grimm, they are the manifestation of malevolence and we have no idea where they come from. Could you please show us your aura?"
Graham drew a crude looking auto-injector filled with a crimson liquid "Why? Does yours have a different colouration?"
Both Glynda and Ozpin recoiled slightly at the sight, as they previously thought that 'blood' just was a weird nickname "Is that real blood?"
"of course it is. So, once again , what strand are we fighting? The locals do not seem to get infected by being wounded from beasts"
"I have never heard of the usage of blood for mending wounds nor of any disease transmitted by Grimm"
"What?..." Graham stumbled backwards slightly before strapping the injector back on his thigh.
"May I have one of those vials? their effect could help thousands"
The situation slowly dawned on the hunter. No blood meant no beastly scourge, no hunt... and so he begged the little ones for his arms. And as they obliged and the weapons sprouted from the walls and ground around him, invisible to the other two people in the room. he let out a demonic growl "No..."
"Why?-" Glynda felt her anger rise at the hunters selfishness "- do you not care about others?"
"Tell me, do you wish to turn this land into something worse than hell?" silently, under the cover of his coat, Graham activated the old hunters bone.
From behind the door, voices rang out, wondering over the weapons that sunk into the tables.
Ozpin rose to his feet, his cane pointed at the hunter as he spoke "What are you talking about?"
"The Blood transforms those who take it into vicious beasts, lusting for more and killing everything in their wake to get it"
"Wait. You said that the blood keeps you able to fight... so you've taken it. Right? Remove your mask this instant" Glynda used her semblance to shred two chairs into sharp splinters.
While Graham's left wandered remained under his coat, his right gauntlet slowly moved towards his face
"Hunters are, as long as they are sane, immune to the scourge"
"I SAID REMOVE YOUR MASK" the blonde flicked her wrist, the wooden projectiles now were beginning to rotate quicker and quicker.
The first thing to fall was the tri-corned hat. Now long, pitch-black hair adorned the hunter's head. And as he looked into the deputy headmistresses eyes, his gauntlet reached for the scarf and pulled it down.
Graham's face had lived through may horrid encounters, five claw marks dragged from his scalp to his chin along with a long branding that ended in two, pincer like extrusions over his left eye. Another set of five scars reached from ear to ear and went from his nose, down until the last one was on the edge of his jaw. Many smaller cuts, burn marks and bullet-wounds were scattered over his face and throat along with a broad slash on his adam's apple.
Under the scars, he appeared unexpectedly young, he was in his late twenties, maybe early thirties. And, if it weren't for the abundance of marks, somewhat handsome.
After taking a few seconds to recompose himself, Ozpin spoke up again "What in Oum's name happened to you? And how have you survived all of that?"
"I didn't-" he pointed towards the large scar on his throat "-this one in from one of the times I got decapitated"
"No, that's impossible, you can't just come back from death-" Glynda aimed all shards at the already marred face, for while he spoke, she saw his teeth. Two rows of long, canine spikes that would be fitting for a wolf and not a human. "-stay back" she warned.
His eyes, still as cold and dead as the second they met, focused on the projectiles aimed at him while he once again pulled up the mask and took his hat.
"I will. Because this will be the last and only meeting, I'll return to Yahrnam" the weapons around Graham sunk back into the walls and floor.
Ozpin called out"Wait, I would like you to accompany us to Beacon. As there are changes occurring since you arrived, and I have yet to grasp why. So please, assist a fellow hunter"
"DO. NOT. call yourself that" the figure stared at the headmaster, the steel inside his eyes cracked only to reveal burning rage.
"Okay, I'm sorry, but as I said. Please come with us"
"...a'ight" Graham shrugged and retracted his left gauntlet from the depths of his coat.
Opening the door, the three went back inside the courtroom. Only to find most if the teenagers sitting in the judges chairs while Ivory listened to a radio-transmission.
"Full copy, I'll bring 'em with me-" The guard looked up to finally see the that they returned from whatever they were discussing"-We'll move out now, over. Alright everyone, there's a large cluster of Grimm moving towards the east-gate, the full program, so everything from boarbatusks up to deathstalkers"
As soon as Ivory began to talk, Graham quickly rearmed himself before rushing out of the court and disappearing into a puff of yellow smoke as he reached the door.
Following the hunter with the others in tow, Ivory cursed with a smile on his lips "Not a mage me arse"
Recommended Music : Sabaton – Aces in Exile
Closing in on the gate, Graham ran towards the guard tower and saw Raine in full combat gear, shouting orders while wielding a box-fed LWMMG "GET SOME GUSTAVS AND MAN THE VADS IF A NEVERMORE COMES"
Turning her head as she slung a backpack filled with three rockets, the guard saw the hunter approaching and threw the knapsack towards him "HERE, Take these to the blokes with the launcher" before running in the same direction.
Catching the pack, he kept on sprinting into the increasingly loud gunfire.
As the gate came into his sight, Graham saw guards piled on the scaffolding behind the Hescos, firing away into the advancing Grimm. Two had large tubes on their shoulders and another soldier behind them, pushing a cylinder into the pipe, securing the payload by rotating a smaller end piece behind it and locking it there. Before tapping the wielder on the arm and crouching to their side as the rocket was send out towards a incoming Deathstalker.
Calling out to one of the fire-teams armed with a launcher, the hunter held up the knapsack " 'ere, new ammo"
Turning his head, Leaden looked down as he took the rockets "Thanks"
Graham walked towards one of the blocks before throwing the moonlight sword over it and pulling himself over as well.
Now standing in-front of the gate, he saw a few Grimm closing in on the defences and shot forward.
The first was a Boarbatusk, charging forward until, in the blink of an eye, a cross-guard slammed into the bone-plate on its head, breaking it and killing it in the process.
Next was a Creep, that suddenly fell over, missing a leg before dying through a blade being thrust into its spine.
And as the fourth Grimm fell, the hunters of Beacon arrived. Looking beyond the wall, they saw Graham darting between the monsters.
Attempting to yell over the gunfire, Ozpin addressed the teams "All who can't engage over distance, keep your head down and keep them from reaching the village"
With the tenth kill, the hunter pinned a Beowolf alpha to the ground with his sword and almost tore its head off while twisting it to the side. Snapping its neck.
Rotating his body to let a Ursa's paw cut through the air, he drew the Beastcutter and let the saw-like teeth rip open its torso.
A few metres away, another Creep had begun charging towards the blocks. Only for its face to strongly dent inwards at the contact with a golden gauntlet and it to fly into the woods.
"Don't have all the fun alone" Yang grinned as she send a Beowolf into his brethren and a red scythe to relive their torsos of their bottom halves.
While they pushed back the monsters, they saw a large Deathstalker storm towards the gate only for a H.E.A.T. round to slam into its head while smaller calibers tore through the bone-plates. Along with all the bullets digging into its flesh, one of its legs snapped as a heavy stone block, attached to a sword-hilt, flew against it.
The falling giant send shock-waves over the battlefield.
Jaune fought before the walls, the Beowolf he faced was already missing a leg that was laying between the two combatans. Moving forward with the intent to end the duel, the knight focused on the beast and failed to notice a Creep charging towards him.
Swinging his blade at the wolf, the young huntsmen suddenly felt his world move to the side considerably. He only noticed the sensation of his ribs straining to hold up against the pressure as he collided with a tree. Rotating his torso, he bashed the creature's head with the swords pommel.
Witnessing the scene, five guards moved in to help the struggling blonde. A volley of copper send into the Creep made it buckle, releasing its prey.
Jaune looked towards the soldiers, his shield-arm clutching his abdomen, they moved quickly, firing short burst at the Grimm behind him.
Reaching him, one of them let go of his weapon, the attached sling catching the weight, and supported him by taking his arm and laying it over his shoulders.
"We'll get you outta here, you seem to have a few ribs fucked up. I'll patch you up when were back inside" the guard tried to calm Jaune down while they went towards and through the gate.
The second the Steel door closed, the soldier put down the blonde. Opening his medical supplies, he set to work surveying the damage and mending the fractured ribs.
All around them, the volleys send out by the machine-guns were joined by the explosions of anti-material rifles and newly arriving mortairs.
Ruby layed between two guards, firing into the lit up night. Pulling her scythes bolt back once more, she tried to stand up, only for a voice to erupt from her side "What's wrong?"
"I have no more rounds-" she began, scratching her head to relive her nervousness, only to be interupted mid-sentence "What do you need?" "-uhh, 12.7 millimeter-" The soldier took two of his own magazines and passed them to her "here, just shout if you need more"
Getting back on her stomach, she fed the bullets into her own magazines while responding "Thank you" and returned to fire into the advancing Grimm.
Ivory saw the guard next to him look up "OH FUCK ME. NEVERMORE!" before grabbing a blockish pair of binoculars and his radio "We've got a Nev, bearing 95. Get it down and send someone to secure air superiority"
Hovering above the other Grimm, the large bird prepared to launch its feathers. It saw a burning streak of light fly towards it. The radiant shards pierced its hide, leaving little to fall to the ground.
Hearing the sound of blades cutting through the air, the guards smiled as their radios all let out a synconized message "Hunter 1-1 is active. Engaging Targests" the statement was followed by a storm of rockets roaring down into the forest.
Slowly,through the hail of gunfire, the Grimm thinned out as tracers and floodlights lit up the night.
Sitting behind the wall, the huntresses and huntsmen-in-training rested. While a few guards scouted the damage and Graham informed Ivory of his departure.
"And what will you do there?" the ram-faunus stood away from the gate.
"I have no idea but whenever you need a hunter, let me know and I'll be here in under ten minutes" he spoke while re-stocking his throwing knives.
Smiling at the offer, he signalled Raine to come closer before excusing himself and dragging his feet towards the tower to sleep and handle the paperwork.
"Ye really goin' te Beacon?-" yawning as she walked towards Graham, she looked up into his eyes. The hunter only nodded "-Then take of yer massive arse-" she had a soft smile on her face. Resting her weapon against a nearby wall. She opened her arms "-and be sure to visit, even if yer off-duty" and attempted to embrace him, only to earn a very confused look from the hunter as he stepped back.
"What are you doin'?"
"Tryin' to hug ye..."
"The fuck's that?"
Sighing, she closed her arms around his torso, feeling the knives and armour-plates press against her.
Graham looked down, puzzled at the act as he held his hands up, not knowing what to do.
After a few seconds, Raine stepped back and took one of her patches off "I've talke' with Ivory and we'd like ya to don this-" she held up the emblem of the 9th FAMASOC "- as you got a good 'ead on yer shoulders, well maybe you tend to go fuckin' mental, but you've been a real help to this village and our battalion"
The hunter bowed forwards as he took the patch "I'd be honoured"
"That's the spirit-" the guard chuckled "- but ye still have to say goodbye to the villagers ye know"
Pocketing the badge, the hunter answered "I will. Ozpin said we'd leave tomorrow"
"Good, now come on. There's still shit to do" Raine slung the machine-gun over her shoulder before walking back towards the wall, Graham in tow.
That night, the hunter returned to the dream, and after the Doll held his hand to let the gained blood echoes strengthen him. They went inside the workshop, the cup of tea she prepared for him still steaming.
"Remnant is devoid of the blood" he spoke up, taking of his scarf to allow the warm liquid into him.
"Then why were you called there?"
the hunter sat on the shop's altar"I have no idea, they have beasts called 'Grimm' they could be another strand of the blood. But then there would be more than one great one, add to that the fact that their wounds do not transmit any illness and they have humans with animal features. This new area has too many new variables to fit into what happened in Yahrnam."
"...And , what now?"
"I don't know-" Graham turned away from her, looking towards the cosmic display above the small island "-but there has to be some reason to why the dream is connected through the Gravestones. I met their 'Hunters', they're just children... so the situation has to be bad, otherwise I'll have a word with the headmaster"
The Doll walked towards him, her soothing voice held a spark of hope "If Remnant really appears to be in such a dire state, then please aid them in their fight"
"I promise I will, but the land is in good condition, they have lush green forest, animals and strangers are welcomed"
"Good hunter-" she her hands his gauntlet "- if there would be any chance, could you take me this place? It sounds beautiful"
"If I was able, then you'd be already. But until you may roam these woods, I'll do what I can to help this new order of hunters" gently removing her warm digits, he put the empty cup down before walking to the new tombstone and returning to Remnant.
Staying behind was, as always, the Doll. Drying the single tear that left her eye with the sleeve of her dress "Thank you... Graham"
Next Morning, Sovstgarde
Yawning, the students and hunters of Beacon boarded the Bullhead, currently standing on one of the village's helipads.
"Dibs on our shower" Yang's tone left no room for debate as she let herself fall onto the thin sheets of red canvas that made up the two rows of seats on the VTOL's sides.
Outside the vessel, laughter could be heard as Graham bid farewell to a few guards and civilians "Goodbye ma'e-" "-Come visit us-" they all waved at the figure,retreating into the ship.
Tanner's coarse voice cut through the mixing goodbyes with a laugh "-Maybe take a shower while ye there"
Without responding, the hunter stepped inside the vessel. Seating himself behind one of the doors, that closed after he entered.
With all passengers on board, the engines roared as the VTOL climbed upwards before tilting the thrusters and setting off towards Beacon.
Inside the Bullhead, few words were exchanged as the students slept while Glynda graded papers and Ozpin studied the reading hunter.
The headmaster wondered what happened to Graham, catching a glimpse of the inside of his coat, he spoke up while his eyes wandered over the abundance of knives, plated armour and some large boxes attached to his sides "What are those packets?"
Flipping another page, the hunter calmly responded "Those are satchel-charges"
"WHAT?" Glynda looked up from stack of papers.
"potent explosives for the demolition of structures. Combined with the metal in my coat, that makes me a massive frag-grenade" dog-earing a page, he let his hand wander inside the coat in the same manner he had last night.
"Why do you have those strapped to you?" Ozpin felt a spark of fear as he realized what the hunter almost did in the office.
"If I lose a fight but have to take my opponent with me, I pull this pin and send both of us all over the arena" his serene tone put the professors on guard.
"You're Insane"
Graham looked up into the blonde's eyes"Why does everybody say tha' ?"
The intercom activated and the pilot's voice rang out " Coz' you are. Landing in ten short, get your kits ready"
Feeling the Bullhead shift, Ozpin stood up and made his way to the hunter "Mr. Himura-" he opened the door, revealing the grand structure known to many "-Welcome to Beacon."
As his feet touched the ground, the hunter scanned his surroundings. The black and white academy stretched high and broad, its gardens filled with life.
His gauntlets angled to draw his shotgun and the Beastcutter at any time, Graham waited for the others to exit the vessel.
"Follow me, I will show you around. And do not worry, no one will attack you." Glynda saw how the hunter let his hands fall to his sides before walking behind her towards the buildings.
Biding farewell to Ozpin, the awake parts of RWBY and JNPR carried their friends into the dorms. The blond knight slowly limped, trying to catch up with his yawning friends, as he felt his weight shift over a third shoulder, looking to his side, he saw his partner assist him.
The headmaster made his way into his office before calling his trusted colleague "Hello Qrow, come to Beacon as soon as possible. We have something important to discuss."
Hello again, I hoped you liked this chapter. I sadly cannot give any date for when the next one's coming out.
If you have any suggestions to improve this story, please tell me.
Thanks for reading,
Darth daver