Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
Several Years Ago in Atlas
BGM: Snowman (Super Smash Bros Brawl/Wii U/Ultimate)
A young girl wandered around the village, a pleasant smile on her face as the snow crunched underneath her feet. She wasn't even wearing a coat. The cold never really seemed to bother her too much. She would happily wave at the villagers.
"Can you believe that those Grimm killed that poor deer?" A villager asked.
"Ugh, these Grimm are getting ridiculous." Another muttered. "At least we have other things to hunt, but still…"
"Hello!" The young girl waved to them.
"Oh, hi there! Where's your coat?"
"I don't mind the cold!" She giggled as she freely skipped around the village with a hum, flailing her arms around as she did so. She would then approach a hut as she wandered inside, seeing a lone man talking with his wife. "Hi mama! Hi papa!"
"Hmm? Oh hello there Esdeath!" The father spoke. "You look awfully cheery."
"That's because it's snowing! It always makes me happy!"
The father chuckled. "Yes, indeed." He said with a smile.
"Honey, show her what you got for her."
"Ah yes!" He smiled as he approached her. "Esdeath, there's something I want to give you." He said as he knelt down and handed her a present as she curiously took it and unwrapped it, seeing a hunting rifle and a hunting knife.
"Oh wow!" Her eyes sparkled.
"I figured that since it's your birthday today, we'd give you this. You are old enough after all. Eleven years old is quite the number."
"Mhm!" Esdeath smiled.
The father let out a chuckle, ruffling up her hair. "You're growing up so fast. Soon, you'll be old enough to lead the village when I pass on… but for now, you'll be our little girl."
"I don't think I'm ready…"
He let out a chuckle. "I wasn't ready for it either." He said. "Come on, I'll teach you how to hunt."
"Okay!"
"You two be safe out there!" The mother requested.
"We will!" Esdeath smiled.
"We'll be back soon!" The father said as they walked into the snowy mountains as Esdeath walked with a spring in her step as they walked into the forest where they would spot a deer grazing. "There's one." He whispered. "Alright, get into position." He ordered as Esdeath got on one knee, aiming her rifle at the deer. "That's it. Take a deep breath, concentrate… aim… and fire." He said as Esdeath aimed at the deer, taking a deep breath and fired at the deer.
The bullet struck the deer on the side as it tried to run off. "Shoot, I was going for the head…" She pouted.
"That was a beautiful shot." He praised as they followed the blood trail from the deer as they found it lying on the side, breathing heavily as they both knelt down as Esdeath put a hand on the deer.
"I'm sorry I shot you…" Esdeath whispered to it.
"Now, finish it." The father ordered as Esdeath pulled out her knife and placed it on its neck. She would see the pained look in the deer's eye as it made eye contact with her. It made her hesitate.
"I… I don't think I can do it." Esdeath quietly said, nearly tearing up.
The father gently knelt down and firmly gripped his hands on hers. "I know it's difficult, but you can do it." He said as he helped her impale the deer, but Esdeath had to look away as the life faded from the deer's eyes.
"I'm sorry…" Esdeath whispered as her father patted her on the shoulder.
"You did wonderful." He said as he wrapped the deer around in rope and carried it back to the village with Esdeath by her side. "Sometimes you have to make the difficult choice on ending their life. Their eyes are innocent and they did nothing wrong… but they are food, and we must eat to survive. Sometimes the hardest choices require the strongest will. You understand me, daughter?"
"Yes… I understand." She said quietly. "Poor thing…"
"It is the life of a deer. Now come, we must hurry home before the weather gets worse." He said as they walked off, unaware of something watching over them.
"Hmm?" Esdeath turned her head, but saw nothing. She let out a shrug and kept walking.
Later that night…
End BGM
Esdeath was sleeping peacefully in bed after having a delicious meal. Her father and mother were in the other room chatting amongst themselves when suddenly they heard screaming. "Hmm?" The father walked out to see what the commotion was about. "What's going on?"
"A Grimm attack!" One of the villagers shouted.
"Dammit! At this hour?" He growled as he picked up his own rifle. "Honey, get your weapon! We must protect our village!"
"Right!" She nodded, picking up her rapier as she rushed out and closed the door.
"Huh…?" Esdeath woke up from her slumber and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She looked out the window and saw Beowolves and Ursa ravaging the village. "What the… Grimm?!"
BGM: Night of Fate (Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMix)
Esdeath turned to her hunting rifle. She clenched her fists and glared at the Grimm that were attacking everything. She had to protect her village. This was her home! She ran to grab it and then ran out, kicking open the door and then saw a Beowolf charging at her as she started shooting at it as the Beowolf fell limp and slid on the ground, disappearing in front of her. She let out a smirk and then aimed at an Ursa, shooting it in the back of the head. The Ursa turned around with a snarl, glaring at Esdeath. "Uh oh…" She whispered as the Ursa charged at her. She kept shooting at it, but the Ursa got closer as it swiped the hunting rifle off of her and then crushed it underneath its foot. "No! That was my birthday present!" She yelled, but the Ursa swiped at her to knock her down. "Agh!" She yelped.
The Ursa slowly crawled to her and licked his chops, but then her mother came running in and then stabbed at the Grimm repeatedly until it fell limp. "What are you doing out of bed?"
"I wanna help! It's my village too!"
The mother nodded as she picked up her rifle and tossed it to her. "Be careful!"
"I will!" Esdeath nodded as she started shooting at any Grimm that got close to her. It was then that she heard a click from her rifle as her eyes widened in horror. "Out of bullets?!" She said as she heard screaming as she looked in the distance to see Sabyrs rushing at them, along with Megoliaths. Her eyes were filled with fear as she saw these newcomers. "Mama!"
Her mother turned to her. "Quickly, go in the hut! You'll be safer there!" She ordered as Esdeath nodded as she ran into the hut as her mother readied herself as a few Sabyrs rushed at her. Esdeath hid underneath the covers of her bed when she heard a loud scream coming from her mother. It was then that a Sabyr burst through the door of her room, blood dripping off its tusks as it approached the young girl.
"No… no! Stay away!" Esdeath yelled, but the Sabyr crept closer to Esdeath, when suddenly a bullet struck it in the back of the head. It turned around to see Esdeath's father.
"Esdeath! Get out of here!" He yelled as the Sabyr roared at him as there was a large crash near the wall as a Megoliath had crashed through the wall. Esdeath saw this opening and ran through the wall. The Megoliath watched her leave but paid her no mind as it approached her father as did the Sabyr. He simply pumped his rifle with a snarl.
Esdeath ran, trying to avoid the Grimm that was ransacking her village… when suddenly a Teryx landed in front of her, making her fall on the ground as it let out a screech as Esdeath picked up some snow and threw it, hitting it in the eye as it let out a yelp as she tried to run, but was soon cornered by a few Sabyrs and Megoliaths. The Teryx approached her as a Sabyr knocked her over as it let out a roar. She let out terrified screams as her hands were in the snow. She quickly tried to throw snowballs at them, but they simply shrugged it off. "Get away… get away!" She said with terror in her voice. "GET AWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" She screamed, as ice shot out of her hands where a blizzard formed as crystals struck the Grimm as Esdeath kept letting out terrified screams… and then, everything went dark.
End BGM
The next day…
A group of soldiers walked through the Atlesian tundra, led by a young Ironwood. "The Grimm attack occurred around here. That's what the report said." A soldier said.
"Let's just hope there are survivors." Ironwood said as they walked where they would soon find the destroyed village. The group walked through the village where they fanned out to find any survivors.
BGM: Ashes (Halo Reach)
"Market clear!"
"Blacksmith clear!"
"Shops clear!"
"Huts clear!"
Ironwood looked at the state of a hut, looking at it solemnly. "Where there no survivors…?" He wondered.
"Commander! We got something!" A soldier said as Ironwood would approach the source of the voice… where they saw frozen ice statues of the Grimm.
"What in the…" He wondered as he spotted a girl in the middle. He would approach her as he knelt down. The girl hugged herself, her eyes bloodshot as dried frozen tears had fallen from her cheeks. Her eyes looked completely empty. "Hey…" He spoke gently.
"…Gone… they're all… gone…"
"Who's gone?"
"Mama… papa… all of the villagers… the whole village… it's… gone. The Grimm… they took everything…"
Ironwood looked at her with empathy. "What is your name?"
"…Esdeath…"
"Well, Esdeath…" He gently offered his hand. "I think we oughta get you out of this cold, don't you think?"
"What… what is your name?"
"I am Commander James Ironwood." He said as Esdeath stared at his hand, hesitantly reaching for it and touching it but his hand immediately turned to ice. "Ack!"
"I'm sorry… I… I don't how to control it…"
Ironwood simply smiled as he picked her up by the waist, then placed her on his shoulders. "Well, we'll just have to learn how." He said and turned to his soldiers. "Come on, let's go. We're out of here." He said as they walked back where they would get into an airship and flew off, where Esdeath would sit next to him, her eyes still empty.
End BGM
Later…
"Are you serious, James?" His commanding officer asked in shock. "She's just a little girl!"
"I know that, but she has no place to go."
"You could've just put her in an orphanage!"
"And have her freeze everything and everyone? She doesn't know how to control her semblance."
"Oh, so you thought your place would be better? Look at this, your living room is already frozen solid!" He said, as Esdeath was sitting on a frozen couch, drinking hot chocolate from a frozen mug. A warm blanket was wrapped over her. "I don't know about this James…"
"Would you rather have her be in an orphanage and have her be miserable for the rest of her life?"
"I… mmph… alright, but what are you gonna do with her? She's not old enough to go into Atlas Academy."
"I will take her under my wing. She has to learn how to control her semblance. Me and my men will tutor her and maybe she'll fit right into the military."
"Are you nuts?! You're implying you're putting a little girl in the military! The council is not going to like this!"
"Well, if we don't try, she's going to be isolated forever with no control of her semblance. I am not going to lock her into a room and have her be isolated from everyone."
"Mmmph… James, I don't know what you see in this girl… but fine, I'll allow it. However, if she dies, her blood will be on YOUR hands."
"I understand."
"Mmph, it's bad enough that you lost your limbs to a Grimm, but now this? Rrrgh… you are impossible to predict, James."
Ironwood chuckled. "I know." He said as he shut the door on him. He then walked over to Esdeath and sat down next to her. "You okay? How's the hot chocolate?"
"…Cold."
Ironwood let out a sigh. "Yeah, I kinda figured." He said.
"I heard about what you're going to do with me… and my semblance." She looked up at him. "Is… is that true?"
"Yes. We will work through this together. I promise you that… I will never give up on you." He said sweetly. "You can count on it." He said, noticing some light returning into Esdeath's eyes as she leaned her head on his side. He could have sworn he noticed Esdeath softly smiling at him.
A few days later…
Esdeath was in a training room as Grimm pop ups appeared in front of her. "Alright, let's try this from the top." Ironwood said as Esdeath aimed her hand at the Grimm. "Alright, begin!" He said as Esdeath blasted ice at the Grimm stands, freezing them solid and shattering them. Esdeath smiled and lowered her hand, but the ice was still shooting out. "Ah!" She yelped as she tried to shake it off as she accidentally aimed it at Ironwood and the soldiers, but they pulled up protective shields to block the ice as the ice soon stopped. "No… not again…" She whispered.
"You're getting better." Ironwood said. "That time it took fifteen seconds for you to stop it. Massive improvement from yesterday, which was thirty seconds."
"Thirty seconds? I thought it was two minutes." A soldier said.
"Yes, but she's quickly getting the hang of it." Ironwood pointed out.
"Fair point."
Esdeath aimed her hand at the Grimm pop ups again, this time firing another frozen blast at them. "Mmph…!" She winced.
"Concentrate!" Ironwood told her as Esdeath closed her eyes, lowering her hand down as it still fired ice… but it slowly dissipated within eight seconds. "Eight seconds. Not bad." Ironwood said as Esdeath tried it again, this time getting it down to four seconds, then two seconds.
Esdeath then put her hand up, deciding to manipulate the ice in her hand as it slowly started to form a snowflake. "What is she doing?" One of them asked.
"Manipulating the ice." Ironwood said in awe. "So her semblance isn't just Ice Magic… it's Ice Manipulation." He said as the snowflake danced around her hand before melting. She then tried to make a few other snowflakes, but suddenly the ice exploded as the ice shot up into the air.
"Aaaah!" Esdeath yelped as she tried to contain it but couldn't. "Aaaaagh!"
"Quick, get it to stop!" Ironwood exclaimed as they rushed at her with heated gloves as they put them on her hand to stop it.
"Phew…" Esdeath sighed. "I… I don't know what happened."
"You tried to manipulate something big, but… it caused you to lose control." Ironwood said.
Esdeath looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry, James…"
"No no no, it's okay. We just need to work on small things for now before we do anything fancy." Ironwood said, causing Esdeath to smile as they removed the gloves as her hand was back to normal.
Two years later…
A few Grimm popped up in front of Esdeath, now thirteen, as she pulled out a rifle and started shooting at it as a few Grimm started to "come at her", as Esdeath jumped back and shot them before she rolled out of the way and kept shooting. She then glanced at a Grimm pop up near her as she turned around and fired, but she ran out of bullets as she tossed it to the side and then froze the Grmm solid before she rushed at it, summoning an ice sword and slashed through it, then fired a blizzard from her hands to a few other Grimm, shattering them on impact from her sword.
"Hah… hah…" Esdeath panted, seeing the wreckage of the cutouts. She then let out a smirk and dismissed her sword.
"Excellent job." Ironwood said as he approached the teen. "You seem to be getting better with your semblance."
"Well, I have an excellent teacher." Esdeath grinned.
"Indeed." Ironwood chuckled. "Now then, let us resume your training. Then we'll eat dinner."
"Fine by me." Esdeath smirked as he walked away as more cutouts appeared from the Grimm, this time she loaded an AR and started shooting at the Grimm.
One year later…
"Mmmph!" Esdeath fell on her butt, wincing. There was a bruise on her cheek as she stared at one of the soldiers.
"Come on, is that the best you got?" He asked as Esdeath got back up and squared up. She let out a few punches but the soldier blocked this easily as he kicked her in the gut and then delivered an uppercut to knock her down again. She let out a growl as she got back up and shook it off. She would deliver some heavy hooks as the soldier would weave through the punches, but Esdeath then kicked him in the gut to make him hunch over and then delivered an uppercut that knocked him back, only for her to sweep kick the ground to knock him on his back. "Nnngh!"
"Heh…" Esdeath smirked, bouncing her feet. "Come on, big guy. I'm rarin' to go!"
"Ooof… no thanks… that kinda knocked the wind out of me… phew… still, you're definitely improving on your hand to hand."
Esdeath let out a chuckle as she reached her hand out to him. "Only from the best." She said.
Two years later…
"Alright, there is a rebel camp a few miles from Mantle. We have no idea what they are trying to do, but there are rumors suggesting they plan on throwing Mantle into chaos. We need to locate and put a stop to it. No casualties. Are we clear?" Ironwood asked.
"Yes sir, Sergeant Ironwood!" His men, plus Esdeath, saluted.
BGM: Zealous Champion (Halo 2 Anniversary)
The vehicles made their way to the camp where they spotted a crow's nest sitting nearby the camp. "That's not good." Ironwood muttered. "Esdeath?"
"I'm on it." Esdeath said as she jumped out and made an icy cheetah as she started running toward it as the lookout spotted Esdeath.
"Hey… HEY!" He yelled, as he aimed at her and shot her, but she summoned an ice shield to block the attack as she jumped off the cheetah and landed in the nest, quickly punching him in the gut. "Nngh!" He grunted as she delivered a roundhouse kick that knocked him off the nest and into the snow below. She then picked up his gun and walked over to take a look at the camp. Explosives, armored vehicles, and even some Grimm that were locked in cages.
Esdeath scowled at this and aimed at an explosive, aiming the gun at it and pulled the trigger, causing a massive explosion. "What the hell?!" One of them said as Esdeath jumped down and rushed at the group, quickly pelting them with icicles to knock them to the ground as she noticed an RPG as she picked it up and fired at the caged Grimm to immediately destroy them. She then spotted a tent and ran inside, but when she did, she immediately saw a little Faunus kid held hostage. She let out a small gasp as she saw him there. It looked like he had no family as her mind flashbacked to what had happened to her.
"HIYAH!" A man hit her in the head with a shovel.
"Agh!" She grunted, falling to the ground as she looked up and saw the man holding the shovel as he then held a rifle, aiming it at her.
"You got some nerve, bitch." He said. "Any last words?"
"Pull that trigger and I blow your brains out." A voice threatened as the man turned to see Ironwood aiming his pistol at him.
"Ah, Sergeant Ironwood." He smirked. "I wasn't expecting you and your squad here." He said.
"You mind telling me what you plan on doing in Mantle with all this now destroyed stuff?"
"Heh, we were going to cause a civil war there because you Atlesians think you're so superior to Mantle. We thought we would divert your attention so we can hijack a few of your airships and cause mayhem in Atlas! We'll bring Atlas down!"
"So what's with the kid?"
"Use him as bait! Little kids are perfect candidates… especially when they're completely and utterly alone! We were also gonna use the Grimm while we were at it!"
Esdeath's eyes widened and then swiftly got back up, pulling out her rapier as she let out a loud yell and started stabbing him with the rapier. "Gah!" He grunted.
"Commander Esdeath, calm down!" Ironwood ordered as Esdeath kept swinging her blade until she formed an ice dagger. "Commander, no!" Ironwood yelled as Esdeath impaled him in the chest before swinging at his neck. "ESDEATH!" He yelled as blood splashed on her cheek.
End BGM
Back at home…
"You mind explaining to me what the hell that was all about?!" Ironwood yelled.
"Completing the mission, obviously!"
"Yeah, but we weren't going to kill anyone! We explained that in our mission briefing!"
"Yeah, but plans can change!"
"What has gotten into you? You weren't like this before."
"Well, obviously you didn't know what I saw. That faunus kid I saw? The situation he was in reminded me of myself!"
"What, being held prisoner?"
"Completely and hopelessly alone!" Esdeath shot back. "I lost everything that fateful night and seeing that kid seemingly lost everything just… brought back unwanted memories!"
"I can understand that some things bring back unwanted memories, but there was no reason to-"
"You don't even know what it's like being completely alone because you never lost your parents OR your villagers in a single night!" She said and then walked off.
"Don't turn your back on me, young lady. Get back here now, I'm not done talking to you!"
"Shut up!" She yelled.
"You get back here right now or I'll-"
"You'll do what? You're not even my dad!" Esdeath yelled as Ironwood's eyes widened in shock while she slammed the door to her room.
Ironwood took a deep breath and exhaled, letting out a small grumble. "Teenagers…"
Later that night…
Esdeath was lying in bed, sleeping… though she was tossing and turning a bit. "Mmm…" She grunted.
BGM: Remembrance (Halo 2)
A Teryx landed in front of her, making her fall on the ground as it let out a screech as Esdeath picked up some snow and threw it, hitting it in the eye as it let out a yelp as she tried to run, but was soon cornered by a few Sabyrs and Megoliaths. The Teryx approached her as a Sabyr knocked her over as it let out a roar. The Teryx would then lunge directly at Esdeath, opening his jaws.
"AAAAH!" Esdeath shot herself awake, panting as she had a terrified look on her face. Tears also ran down her cheeks. There was a knock on the door shortly after that nearly startled her.
"Hey, you okay?"
"Yeah… just… just had a nightmare."
"I see… may I come in?"
"Uh… sure, I guess…" She said as Ironwood walked in and sat on the bed.
"Hey…"
Esdeath looked away from him, though she did look a bit guilty. "Hey…"
"So, listen, about earlier…"
"I'm sorry…" Esdeath spoke up as Ironwood looked at her. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that… I just…"
"I know. I don't know what you're going through, but I do not blame you for what you did. Using a helpless child for something so horrid probably would have triggered something awful." He would place an arm on her shoulder. "Being a soldier isn't easy. Sometimes the hardest things require the strongest will."
"…My dad used to say something like that to me… the day before the village was slaughtered…" Esdeath said.
Ironwood nodded. "I have a feeling he did. Have these nightmares been frequent?"
"No…"
"Really? Because I would often hear you crying in your sleep for the past year."
"Okay… yeah, these nightmares have been frequent. I try to forget about that horrid day, but… I can't stop it."
"Sometimes when we suppress traumatic experiences, they come back to haunt you at a later time."
"Yeah, I've noticed." Esdeath sighed. "I… I have a confession to make…"
"What is it?"
"I'm terrified of those Grimm. The Sabyrs, Megoliaths and the Teryxes… I… I can't bring myself to face them…"
"They were the Grimm that did massive amounts of damage to your village, weren't they?"
"Yes…"
Ironwood nodded. "That is understandable." He said and then Esdeath hugged him tightly.
"I'm sorry for saying that earlier…"
"Saying what earlier?"
"You know… the 'not my dad' bit."
"Oh…" Ironwood let out a chuckle. "It's alright, kiddo." He said, ruffling her hair as he hugged her back. "We all make mistakes… it's in our blood."
"I know." Esdeath nodded and then fell asleep on her bed. Ironwood watched her fall asleep as he slowly rose up and walked out, turning off the light and closing the door.
Three years later…
"Sergeant Esdeath. Step forward please." Ironwood, now a general, called up as Esdeath walked forward and stepped up. "Over the years, you have showed bravery and courage in the military. It took me several years to get to general, and here you are, showing me up three years later. No one has ever climbed up the ranks that fast." He then pulled out a medal. "From this day forth, you will now be known as General Esdeath."
Esdeath slowly jawdropped, completely in shock as Ironwood placed the General rank on her uniform. She immediately found herself getting choked up, trying desperately to keep her tears in check. She saw Ironwood salute to her with an "I'm proud of you" look on his face. Esdeath saluted back, quietly mouthing "Thank you" as everyone else cheered and shouted "Oo-rah!".
Sometime later…
"James!" Esdeath ran over to Ironwood as he turned around.
"Ah, Esdeath, I see you're in good spirits."
"Yes. I… I need to tell you something."
"And what's that?" Ironwood asked as she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulders.
"Thank you… for saving my life… and for being there for me even when we didn't see eye to eye at times."
Ironwood smiled, wrapping his arms around her. "You're welcome… kiddo." He said, hugging her back.
Five years later, in the present…
Esdeath leaned on a wall, looking at a picture of herself as a little girl doing the peace sign while Ironwood had his hand on her head, both of them smiling. "That… that is a pretty deep story." Winter said.
"Indeed. That man saved my life." Esdeath said. "If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here. Sure, I may do things that some people think that are psychotic and downright questionable, but it's just how I do things. None of us are perfect… believe me, we all do questionable things all the time."
"That's understandable."
"Which is why I laugh at those rumors of me wanting to overthrow Ironwood. Why would I want to do something like that… to a man that was basically a father figure to me? I can't go through with something awful like that. It would be cruel if I were to repay him with maliciousness. I see him as my equal. Nothing more."
Winter smiled. "That… is such a relief to hear."
Esdeath chuckled. "Now then, let's have you meet the Winter-Ops." She said as the two of them walked off together.
Weren't expecting a backstory for Esdeath now, were ya?