To Live On
A RWBY One Shot by AndrewJTalon
DISCLAIMER: This is a fan based work of prose. RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth and ViZ. Please support the official release.
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I wrote an origin for May Zedong that could fit into RWBY canon. I hope you like it.
Several years ago...
Twelve year old May Zedong had been happy. Maybe she wasn't rich like the girls she saw on Scroll broadcasts, with their many dresses and fancy cars, but she was happy. Her mother and father, Parvati and August Zedong, were farmers in their little village in Vacuo. They worked their tiny patch of land with a tractor and animals, grew and sold vegetables in the market, raised hogs and chickens. She had known nothing but a simple but comfortable house, laughter and joy. Her mother was a wonderful mechanic who fixed other machines in town for good pay, while her father, when not working the fields, would hunt wild game and make her clothes out of the furs.
She would laugh and play with other children her age when she wasn't doing chores or doing to the village school. They had been so happy.
This night though... Everything had changed.
She woke up to shouts and clanging alarm bells. She peeked out her window: She could see fires on houses nearby their farm. She saw dark figures roaming the streets, and coming towards their home. Her eyes widened in horror as red eyes glared back.
Grimm...
The door to her room burst open. Her father and mother stood there, both armed with rifles and axes.
"Come on May, we need to get to the shelter," her mother said, already holding up a jacket. May got dressed quickly, and pulled on the jacket. Her father handed her one of the rifles, the best looking one, which she took with shaking hands. It had a strap, so she slid it securely over her shoulders onto her back.
There were crashes and smashes and snarls from downstairs. Her father cursed.
"Damnit... Roof! Out the window!"
They dashed to the window in her parents' bedroom. Outside and below them was the connecting roof, a sheltered walkway that led to the barn. There was a storm cellar there, filled with food and provisions just in case of a disaster. They sprang out onto the roof, and ran.
Inhuman shrieks filled the night air. May looked and screamed: Nevermores dove for them. Her father and mother opened fire on the flock, their rifles shooting them down.
"MAY!" Her father shouted, "FIRE! USE THE GUN!"
May trembled. The monsters swarmed, their red eyes burning in the night. Her arms twitched, as though trying to obey the order... But she couldn't. She fell to her knees and shook like a leaf.
"MAY!" Her father shouted.
"I-I can't!" She cried. "I can't-I can't!"
August's face... Was filled with guilt and regret. He glanced to his wife. She nodded grimly, and turned to May.
"MAY!" Her mother screamed. "GO!"
"Wait-MOM-!"
Parvati shoved May off the roof. She fell in a tumble, shakily getting to her feet. She looked up in horror as her parents kept firing. Her father waved a flashlight around, deliberately drawing more attention to himself.
"GO! GET TO THE SHELTER!" Her father bellowed. "WE'LL BE RIGHT BEHIND YOU! RUN! STAY ALIVE, NO MATTER WHAT!"
May, shaking, still managed to turn and run. She knew the path by heart, dark or day... But as she turned the corner, she saw several Beowulves snarling and clawing at the shelter entrance. They turned and roared at her.
No... Nononono...!
She turned and fled. She hopped the fence, fleeing into the nearest field. She heard the Grimm follow her, their padded feet loud against the grass and brush. She wept as she fled, running for her life, her heart pounding in her ears.
Gotta get away... Gotta get away...!
She tried to circle back, head back towards the farm house. She caught sight of the waving flashlight and gunfire again. She hopped the fence and ducked into the bushes. She saw her parents still fighting, her mother using an axe and her father wielding twin guns in his hands.
She saw a Beowulf lunge... And her father went down, his head grasped in its jaws. There was a splash of red and...
May's jaw dropped. Her mother screamed.
"AUGUST!"
Two Beowulves brought her down, and she fell silent. Only the growls of the Grimm and the wet crunching of bone and flesh could be heard. Flames ignited somewhere in the house, and tongues of fire erupted from the windows. Smoke began to blot out the stars overhead as the farmhouse burned.
May collapsed onto all fours. She looked at the ground, silent, her tears falling like waterfalls to the dirt ground. She heard growls. She shakily looked up.
The blood stained Grimm were stalking towards her, their red eyes gleaming.
For a moment... May did nothing. She stared back at her death, and did nothing.
Get up,
a voice whispered in her head. Still she did nothing as the Grimm advanced.
Get up...
They licked their jaws. May's fingers gripped the dirt.
Get up... AND RUN!
She found her will. She stood up, turned and ran. She hopped over the fence, the entire pack of Grimm now after her. She ran through the trees, taking scratches onto her arms. She climbed over another wall, and another, goats fleeing in terror. The Grimm paid them no mind, only focused on her.
The moon peeked out of the clouds, and she skidded to a halt with a cry. Below her was a huge expanse of nothing. She could hear running water, faintly hear the river in the gully below.
She looked back over her shoulder, panting hard: The Grimm were still advancing, still hungry for her. Hungry for her soul.
Jump, the voice whispered again.
I'll die! May thought.
You'll die if you stay, the voice whispered again, but you might live if you jump. So jump...
She turned back towards the river. The Grimm were seconds away.
JUMP! NOW!
She leaped, feeling jaws snapping at her body as she fell. She dove towards the river. Her eyes were wide open as she screamed.
I don't want to die... I DON'T WANT TO DIE... I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I'LL STAY ALIVE!
She shut her eyes tightly.
I WON'T DIE!
She fell, fell... Before she was jerked violently and stopped. She panted frantically, looked behind her.
The rifle, the rifle she had forgotten, had mechashifted into an axe. An axe that had snagged onto a tree branch. Said branch creaked ominously, but it held.
Desperately, May reached up and grabbed onto the branch. It was agonizing having to hold on like this. She pulled herself, slowly, painfully, to the cliff face. Her waving feet found footing, solid rock, and she struggled free. She landed hard, shaking. She fell to her knees... But the stone outcropping held. She clung to the side of the cliff, weeds in the rocks her anchors. She looked up. The Beowulves snarled distantly overhead, their red eyes glowing...
But they did not advance.
She bowed her head, breathing hard. Her heart pounded in her ears. She turned and sat down. She reached behind herself, and pulled the axe free. She held it tightly, and stared out into the night. Her mind was a blank.
She must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing she knew it was light and the sound of an airship's engines filled her ears. She looked up, startled, as a Vacuoan gunship flew in the bright blue sky overhead.
For a moment, she hesitated. She was cold. She was alone. The farm... The farm would be gone by now.
She had nothing...
Stay alive... Stay alive...
May squeezed the mechashift weapon in her hands. Clumsily, she groped the weapon for the shift mechanism. It transformed into the rifle, a little dirty but functional.
She pointed the gun up at the sky, and pulled the trigger. The loud retort of the gun echoed through the canyon.
I won't die...
She pulled the trigger again, firing another shot. The airship began to turn.
I won't die...
She fired again, and now the airship was definitely flying towards her. She fired again.
I won't die... I'll stay alive... I don't know why yet but...
May Zedong looked up, face grim, as the airship descended towards her. The hatch opened, and a Huntsman in black military gear reached out to her. Shakily, she lifted her hand to take his.
But I'll stay alive until I find out why.