RWBY Heroic Demons
Chapter 13: The Stray
(Hi everyone here is the newest chapter of RWBY Heoric Demons, it took a lot of time and effort and I hope all you readers enjoy it. Anyway on with the show. As always Like and comment. RWBY as always was created by Monty Oum and is owned by Viz media, and former Roosterteeth)
The sun shone bright in downtown harbour of Vale, the streets being decorated in time for the Vytal Festival. Red, yellow, and green streamers and balloons are proudly on display, and teams RWBY and DMON stroll through it all with an awed Weiss Schnee in the front, a smile on her face.
"The Vytal Festival, oh this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss chimed with shining glee.
"I don't think I've honestly seen you smile this much Weiss. It's kind of weirding me out." Ruby said, concerned with her hand firmly on hip.
Weiss turned to Ruby. "How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!" she said with a sense of excitement as they resumed walking
Yang sighs, crossing her arms. "You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring."
"Quiet, you!" Weiss snaps at Yang, offended.
Iskandar puts a hand on Yang's shoulder. "Everyone enjoys the Vytal festival in their own way. "Some people enjoy bureaucracy. Other people enjoy what people bring to the festival." The dragon faunus turned to his teammates "have any of you seen the Vytal festival before? Like in the stands as a kid, or something?"
Francesca smiled whimsically "I did. We came every other year when I was young. I remember wanting to go there so we could try all the goods. I remember bringing a jar full of money just so I could spend it all on the food there."
"… Do you have that jar with you now?" Leonidas asked.
Frannie frowned. "No, I… didn't think to bring it when I left home."
"Well stores are open, maybe we can find a new jar…. I mean I understand the sentimental value but no reason you can't make new ones with your teammates" Leonidas offered.
"Aaaaaawwww, aren't you a sweetheart?" Naomi said, making a small blush appear on Leonidas' face.
"Um. Um…. What about you, no sentimental memories?" Leonidas asked quickly.
"Yeah, me and my folks love going to the Vytal festival. A huge party full of song and dance, and you get to meet people from all four kingdoms" Naomi smiled and did a joyful spin.
"You guys sound excited about this," Iskandar said.
"Well yeah I mean could you blame them? It's a good excuse to celebrate and cut loose, that being said…." Yang stated as they stop near the docks and the sounds of foghorns are heard. "Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks?" she asked.
"Ugh, they smell like fish!" Ruby said pinching her nose
"I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And, as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom!" Weiss starts walking away again.
"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament." Blake deadpanned.
"You can't prove that!" The heiress remarked defensively.
"And here I thought you Schnee's were all about class" Francesca snarked.
Weiss turned to the girl with a scowl, "More class than you."
"Whoa." Ruby's voice of awe stopped the argument before it could begin. The team looks at a shattered window down the street and a door full of yellow caution tape of the Vale Police Force.
"Come on, let's check it out," Naomi suggested, before walking over to two detectives in front of the ruined building, taking statements from the Shopkeeper.
Iskandar's eyes widened. This was the D2D dust store. The store where he and Team CRST fought the White Fang the night before.
'Crap!' Iskandar thought to himself as he tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible..
"What happened here?" Ruby asked.
One of the detectives turned to Ruby. "Fighting broke out in the dust shop, some vigilantes stopped the White Fang from robbing this place." He sighed and shook his head. "I'm telling you they're turning this place into a damn jungle."
Iskandar tried his best not to sweat 'Of course Weiss had to drag me back here' he thought, lamenting his luck.
"Hmph. The White Fang. At least someone's putting them where they belong." Weiss said.
"What's your problem?" Blake asked.
"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane." Weiss said.
"The White Fang are hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided Faunus." Blake said, crossing her arms with a serious expression.
"Misguided? These police officers just said they were trying to rob this Dust store! They want to wipe Humanity off the face of the planet!" She said accusingly.
Blake sheepishly glanced at the damaged dust store. "So then they're very misguided. Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale!" Blake responded.
"Hmm... It is a bit weird. What about that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago... Maybe they were working for him?" Ruby said
Blake turned to Ruby with a glare. "The White Fang don't work with humans, and even if they did they certainly wouldn't work with criminals like Roman Torchwick."
"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal" the heiress said, oblivious to Blake's growing anger.
Yang elbowed Weiss in the ribs.
"Oww what was that fo-" Yang points to Iskandar, the blonde's lilac eyes now very red. "Oh gods, I'm so sorry Iskandar, I'm sure you're one of the good faunus" the Ice Princess said ashamed.
"Yeah," Iskandar said, not looking her in the eye.
"No, No, Princess, go ahead. Tell Him how you really feel!" Francesca's glare matched Yang's.
"Yeah just because the White Fang were a part of this mess doesn't mean all faunus are crooks." Naomi said.
Before Weiss could think of a way to diplomatically resolve this someone shouted, "Hey! Somebody stop that faunus!"
The two teams rush to the docks to see a golden haired boy with an open white shirt showing off his abs, a gold tail poking out of his denim jeans, red boots and bracers on his arms as he ran off the deck of a cargo ship.
"Thanks for the ride guys" he said as he perched on the railing and jumped from the ship landing on a lamppost hanging by his tail.
"You no good stowaway!" A shipmate yelled out.
"Hey, you guys never found me the entire trip! I'm a great stow away!" the monkey faunus said as he was unpeeling a banana.
"Get down here right now young man!" The seaman ordered as they walked towards the lamppost only for a banana peel to hit his face much to the officers ire. The monkey faunus leapt off and ran onto the streets of Vale as the police gave chase, running by the two teams. But not before giving a wink to Blake.
"Well Weiss, you wanted to see the competition and there he goes." Yang said.
"Quick, we have to observe him!" she said as she began giving chase. Team RWBY and DMON shortly followed after
Iskandar watched his friends before joining in the chase. Team RWBY and DMON rush after the monkey faunus but as they turn the corner…
"Ooph!"
Weiss ran into a curly orange haired girl with a pink bow, black stocking, and a grey and tan dress with green vertical highlights sending both careening to the floor.
The Heiress looked up to see the Monkey Faunus jumped onto a roof. "No! He's getting away!"
"No he's not!" Leonidas blitzed passed the downed females and activated his semblance, teleporting to a nearby rooftop after the blonde haired stowaway.
"Leo, wait!" Iskandar said as he spread his wings and flew to his teammate's location.
"Uh Weiss?" Yang said, pointing to the girl on the ground.
"Salutations!" The orange haired girl greeted the girls, oddly cheerful for being knocked down.
"Um… Hello." Ruby said.
"Are you okay?" Yang asked.
"I'm wonderful, thank you for asking!" She exclaimed as she rightened herself up.
Naomi looked down at the girl getting a good look at her. "Damn right you are, I can work with this" she smirked.
"Should we go after the stowaway?" Franceska asked, clearly desperate to escape the creepy social anomaly before them.
"Nah the big boys can handle themselves." Naomi shrugged, checking out the new girl.
"STOP IN THE NAME OF THE LAW!" Leonidas announced as he kept teleporting. Both members of DMON were able to quickly close the gap between them and the monkey faunus.
"Sheesh, you guys sure are persistent!" The monkey boy said as he pulled out a banana and gave it a hard squeeze, launching the fruit into his mouth and dropping the peel behind him. As Leonidas teleported behind him, he moved to grab the back of the stowaway's shirt only to miss as his foot stepped on the peel launching him into the air. He desperately tried to find his footing, slamming his other foot onto the ground…. Only for another banana peel to cause that foot to slide backward and bring the teleporter into a hard split on the ground.
Leonidas let out a high pitched squeal of pain that slowly petered into whimpers.
Iskandar winced in sympathy and hissed through his teeth. Iskandar flew down to Leonidas' side, "Dude, are you okay?"
"Don't worry… about me…get the stowaway" Leonidas said in a high pitched voice from the pain. Iskandar turned to see the monkey faunus snickering.
"Nice Air time! 10/10 on the landing too! Hope you get better! Sun Wukong out!" he introduced himself as he jumped off the roof with a back flip.
Iskandar turned to Leonidas who was struggling to get to his knees "Come on, let's get you looked at."
"I am perfectly fine." Leonidas said before groaning in pain.
"Yeah, I think you're going to need a second opinion. Come on." Iskandar said as he picked up Leonidas by his shirt and flew back to the others.
It didn't take long for the Dragon Faunus to reunite with his friends. The orange haired girl from before leaning into Ruby, getting into her face while he poor girl was awkwardly leaning back. The rest of the girls were behind the ginger shaking their heads and giving off various signals for "NO".
But for whatever reason, Ruby said "Um… Yeah, Sure!… why not?" Causing the girls to face plant. Penny, however, was ecstatic pumping her hands into the air.
"Sensational! We can paint our nails and try on clothes and talk about cute boys!" Penny listed off the various activities she had planned. Yang darts her eyes in Iskandar's direction with a smirk on her lips.
"Hey boys. Welcome back" Naomi acknowledged.
"Did you catch that Faunus?" Weiss asked.
"And what's with him?" Francesca asked, gesturing to a still hunched over Leonidas.
"He escaped. He was ….. more cunning than I anticipated" Leonidas replied blushing.
"Our monkey friend threw some banana peels at our teleporting friend. Leonidas slipped on a couple of them and landed in the splits" Iskandar explained as Francesca struggled to contain her laughter.
"Ooh so that's what that scream from earlier was." Naomi nodded trying to hold in her laughter.
Francesca however had no such reservations, laughing her ass off.
"SHUT UP!" Leonidas yelled. "I DIDN'T SEE YOU TRYING TO CATCH HIM!"
"Oh… snrk… of course not… I would've probably fallen to the Mighty Banana Peel" Francesca tried to contain her laughter.
"So…" Iskandar gestured to the ginger."….I'm sorry, who's this?" he asked.
"My name is Penny, what is your name?" Penny introduced herself.
"Iskandar, the guy who's trying not to throw up is Leonidas," Iskandar gestured to a groaning Leo. "Anyway, are you okay?" Iskandar asked.
"I'm feeling Sensational!" The Girl chirped.
"Well, you certainly are a chipper one." he replied.
"Was this what it was like when you met me?" Ruby whispered to Weiss
"No, she seems far more coordinated," Weiss whispered back.
"So what are you doing in Vale?" Yang asked.
"I'm here to fight in the tournament!" Penny announced.
"Wait, you're fighting in the Vytal Festival?" Weiss asked, bewildered.
Penny responded with a salute "I'm combat ready."
"Says the girl wearing a dress," Blake snarked.
"It's a combat skirt," Weiss rebutted.
Ruby and Naomi rushed to her side
"Yeah" Ruby said
"Skirt squad!" Naomi added as Weiss held out her hand as the two low-fived her.
"I guess," Weiss said before her eyes lit up with a new idea. "Wait, if you're here for the tournament would you know that monkey tailed rapscallion?"
"His name. Is Sun. Wukong." Iskandar growled at the tone in Weiss' voice.
"No. I'm afraid I do not know this 'Sun Wukong'. Can you describe him?" Penny asked.
"The filthy monkey faunus from the boat!" Weiss yelled as she quickly drew a crude picture of Sun.
The rest of her team and team DMON looks at her shocked for a few seconds before.
"Why do you keep saying that?!" Blake asked. "Stop calling him a rapscallion, stop calling him a degenerate, he's a person!"
"Yeah Weiss, come on you know not all faunus are like that I mean there are so many other faunus at Beacon" Naomi shouted.
"Oh I'm sorry would you like me to stop calling a trash can, as a trash can, or a lamp post as a lamp post" Weiss referred to the objects.
"STOP THAT!" Blake said.
"Why? He clearly broke the law. Give him time, he'll probably join the other faunus in the White Fang." Weiss said.
Iskandar clenched his teeth and the veins on his neck became visible.
"You Ignorant little brat!" Blake clenched her fist, turned around and walked off.
"How dare you! I am your teammate" Weiss said as she walked after her.
"You are a judgemental little girl," Blake said.
"I think we should go," Yang said as they looked at the scene.
"Where are we going? Penny asked.
Iskandar takes a breath to calm himself. "Yes, I'm feeling a bit drained." Iskandar said as he turned around.
"Are you sure you don't want me to talk to her?" Francesca said, pissed off.
Iskandar turns to them "I don't have anything to say to her."
Meanwhile at Junior's Bar
The doors burst open, Raku entered with a goon with a bloody nose being dragged in his left hand.
A bouncer came up to him. "Hey buddy, we don't open 'till 5, could you please-"
Before he could finish his sentence, his face was swiftly smashed by a fist, his collar grabbed before he could even process the pain, dragging the poor bouncer alongside with the other poor sap he was carrying.
As he stomped across the club floor. Yinsen records the spectacle from start to end on the catwalk above. He looks at his men looking ready to scrap.
"I DEMAND TO SEE YINSEN CARNATION!" The soldier demanded
"I don't think it'll look good for someone of your rep to start brutalizing ignorant bartenders." Yinsen announced from his place on the rafters.
Once he was sure that he had the soldier's attention, Yinsen flipped down and roughly landed on his feet. Getting up, he played the recently recorded video on his scroll showing Raku walking into the bar. "One press of a button and this goes to the cops. Now get out of here before I really get mad."
"Really, you're sure you want to do that, the cops will be doing a thorough search. They may find things they shouldn't" Raku said
"Like what, a fuck ton of cocaine? Please." Yinsen scoffed.
"Or illegal weapons, thanks to Xiong's halfwit son" He glanced to the bearded man
Yinsen laughed and gestured to the entire bar. "by all means. Look for yourself, save the good boys in blue the trouble."
"Very well. Carolina." he said as he took a look around as his A.I. began scanning the area as Yinsen checked his nails, crystalizing them in various patterns.
Finally the scan stopped with a beep.
"I checked their computer systems and there are no firearms or explosives beyond what is registered in the Vale Weapon Registry Database within one thousand feet of the area."
"Okay you're clean, for now. However I do have some follow up questions." The Atlasian commando stated.
"You get one." Yinsen glared. "Don't push your luck, Raku. You're the aggressor in this situation here. Not me."
Raku scoffed "Oh really? So then what would you call this?" as he pulls out his scroll and shows a video of team CRST and Iskandar suiting up before the brawl at the dust shop.
Yinsen's eyes widened and his face tried to keep its indifferent glare 'From the angle of that footage it had to come from a drone. Sloppy of me. Yinsen chided himself.
Yinsen regained his composure and looked directly at Raku "What do you want?"
"Is this Iskandar Drakon in the White Fang?" Raku asked.
"It could be… that's all you're getting until you give me an actual answer. I ask again. 'What do you want'?"
"I want the head of the bastard who murdered my wife. Is that answer good enough for you?" He spat venomously.
Yinsen's eyes widen and begin to glow pink '… interesting'
He stared intently at Raku with this new glow in his eyes, making the latter uncomfortable.
"Fascinating. Very well. Far be it for me to interfere with a man on a mission for his woman… You clearly know who that is. Why go to me?" The pink haired man said.
"I need confirmation before I can bring him to justice." The Altasian soldier responded.
Yinsen snorted, "What, the wings and tail aren't enough?"
"I know dragon faunus are rare but I need concrete evidence otherwise Iskandar could somehow turn this on me." He replied.
"Well now. You put me in a difficult position. You're doing this to avenge your lost love… and yet whom you speak of is also working on gaining love. And apparently rebuilding his life."
"Hmm… well. Looks like you finally have your excuse. Pity. The dragon was coming along nicely. '
"No. I need the whole story. Just let me work.' …
"Come to this bar tomorrow night… and I'll bring him to you. But first… your scroll" he asked as sticks his hand out
"Fine", Raku said begrudgingly handing him his scroll
Yinsen began fiddling with it, checking every corner and crevice within its storage and connections to cloud servers. After texting the location of the cloud servers to junior he pulled out his own scroll and deleted the video on Raku's phone.
He then makes a show of deleting his own video in front of the soldier.
"Now then. If you would please pay for the damages" as he tossed Raku the scroll who caught it with little effort.
"You will have your money in a few days. just be patient". Raku walked out of the bar.
Once Yinsen was absolutely sure he left, picked up his scroll and dials Iskandar's number "Come on, you overgrown iguana."
Iskandar picks up his phone and sees the call from Yinsen 'Seriously dude, I am in no mood for you to yell at me some more.' he thought as he put his scroll away in his pocket. Evening had already set in at Beacon, the hallways were dim and silent as Team DMON entered their dorm.
"Well that was certainly a day," Francesca said.
"Yeah, man that fight between Weiss and Blake was nuts, I hope they can work it out." Naomi said.
"I'd say that they have a 16% chance of reconciling," the green ninja estimated as he had a bag of ice pressed against his inner thighs.
"Funny. That's about the same odds as a certain smart mouth getting water spilled on his nanobots." Francesca threatened, shaking a thermos bottle of water..
"PLEASE DON'T! IF YOU DO THE ROOM WILL GO UP IN FLAMES!" Leonidas shrieked, flailing his arms defensively, desperately shielding his project away from Francesca.
"Relax, I'm just kidding, anyway, any plans for the weekend? 'Cause I was either thinking of making new recipes and have you try them or a gaming session." she asked.
"Ah can't. My mom wants me back home to teach me dust runes" Naomi replied
"Dust runes? as in magic?" Francesca replied
"Oh please, there is no such thing as magic it was just a term coined by our ancestors that didn't know anything about science" The scientist ninja scoffed
"Oh really and how would you explain it scientifically?" Francesca asked.
"'Magic' is the phenomenon of dust reacting to external stimuli such as elements, kinetic force, or even aura. Many people use their aura and semblance to interact with dust to create 'magical' effects," Leonidas said using the air quotes gesture at the end.
"...Look if people want to believe in magic that's fine, you don't need to be a jerk about it" Francesca said.
"And If you two want to stubbornly cling to a storybook phenomenon, that's fine. But it doesn't make you any more correct." Leonidas snarked back.
"You're talking a lot of shit for someone who couldn't catch a single stowaway. How're your legs by the way?" Francesca smirked.
Leonidas' eye twitched "It will be better once that criminal is brought to justice."
"Come on it's not his fault you teleported on his banana peel," Francesca said.
"It's not that. he broke the law and has to face the consequences" Leonidas said Iskandar gulps a bit.
"You're starting to sound a lot like Weiss," Francesca accused.
"Don't twist my words. I'm not a racist. But we are here to learn to be guardians of the world and uphold justice are we not?" Leonidas said. "Whatever his reasons, the fact remains that this individual boarded a passenger ship and used their services without paying for them. Regardless of the severity of the crime, we need to bring him to justice in accordance with the laws of Vale."
"But what about Iskandar? He was part of a gang?" Naomi said.
"Oh I haven't forgotten," Leonidas shrugged. "I simply choose to reserve judgement until I learn just what it was he did in this gang."
"I need some air" Iskandar said as he rose from his seat and exited the room "Come on Iskandar. Man up! You got to tell them"
As Iskandar was calling on the nerve something slammed into him he looked down and saw Blake Belladonna "Whoa, Blake what's wro-"
"They know" Blake said before she continued running down the hall leaving a shocked expression on Iskandar's face.
"Blake, wait!" he called out to her but she wouldn't stop. He was about to give chase but then turned to the sounds of footsteps coming his way.
Ruby and Yang were running after her but as they turned the corner, the black haired girl was gone.
"W-What happened" he asked.
"Blake bolted," Yang panicked.
"What?" Iskandar was in disbelief.
"And she's a member of the White Fang," Weiss said, trotting down the halls.
Naomi and the others head out into the hall.
"What is going on?" Leonidas asked.
"Blake is a traitor! She's been a White Fang spy this entire time!" Weiss growled. "How Ozpin could allow such filth into the school is beyond-" she said.
"ENOUGH!" Iskandar yelled. Commanding the attention of the others. "Library, now!" He ordered.
The moonlight peered into the Beacon library as the fellow students had their scrolls out to use as flashlights.
"I don't think we should be here, Ms Elderberry would be furious to find us here" Yang said.
"Yeah for a librarian she can scream her head off" Naomi added with a chill down her spine.
"What are we doing here? We should be looking for Blake." Ruby said.
"In due time, but first I have something I need to get off my chest, and given the timing should help give an understanding of Blake's actions" Iskandar said.
"What is it?" Naomi asked.
Iskandar sighed, looked at Yang steeled himself "That I lied about my origin,"
"So you weren't part of a gang?" Francesca asked.
"No…..I was also a member of the White Fang." He admitted.
"What!?" Leonidas yelled in disbelief only to be shushed.
"Are you joking?" Weiss exclaimed furiously. "You were in that collection of psychopaths too!?"
"FORMERLY, I'm not with them anymore."Iskandar exhaled, taking a moment to collect himself. "Just.. let me explain. Blake isn't with them anymore either. She left the group before I did."
"So she's no longer a member?" Ruby asked anxiously for his answer.
"No, she is not, she left a few weeks before me because she couldn't support our commander's vendetta against the entire human race."
"See, I told you they wanted to wipe out all of humanity!" Weiss said.
"No, that isn't our objective at all!" Iskandar said.
"I don't understand. If they were so… violent, why did you guys even join in the first place?" Naomi asked.
"THEY TOOK US IN WHEN NO ONE ELSE DID!" Iskandar shouted. The dragon faunus took deep breaths to calm down. After a quick glance to ensure everyone was paying attention, he continued.
"SHHHHHHHH!" Ruby shushed reminding them they were in the library
"Sorry" he said in a whispered tone.
"After our parents died, my brother and I were alone, traversing the Vacuoan desert for weeks, scrounging for food, avoiding Grimm. Even after getting to Vacuo we still had to live off scraps. It was just us against the world. If the White Fang hadn't found us during one of their rallies, I would've died on the street of hunger."
Iskandar took a minute to let the sentence sink in.
"So they were the ones to take you in after your folks died," Naomi said.
"They took us in and raised us. They gave us a home, food, an education, and even taught us how to fight. How could we not have anything but gratitude for the White Fang? It didn't feel right to just leave after everything they did for us, So we joined the White Fang to repay our debt..
"So you felt you owed them to justify your actions. I assume Blake wasn't any different?" Weiss said with a cold demeanor.
"Well not exactly. You can practically say she was born into the White Fang the same way you were born into the Schnee Dust Company"
"How dare you compare my family to those maniacal terrorists!" Weiss said angrily.
"They're not terrorists!… at least not at first. The White Fang was founded to bring about change and better living for Faunuskind. When Blake's father was Chieftain, the only amount of violence we engaged in was in self defense! We held political protests, and spread awareness to organizations that mistreat Faunus."
"Wait, Blake is the daughter of the leader of the White Fang? Ruby asked.
Iskandar shook his head. "Ghira Belladonna was our first leader. He led non-violent protests and boycotts against companies that mistreated faunus workers or denied them the right of service. He believed in peaceful negotiations, even with those that wanted to see us mounted on a wall. It was only until 5 years ago when Big Si-when Sienna Khan took over the White Fang's values shifted."
"After years of protests with nothing to show for it, he was voted out of leadership and replaced with Sienna Khan, who wanted to take the fight directly to the oppressors. But even then, Sienna Khan only uses violence against those that would abuse our people. She would never raise a hand against humans willing to help us.
"And yes, there were the occasional extremist who took things too far. The leader of the Vale branch was something else entirely. Adam Taurus revels in violence against humans. Guilty, innocent, It never mattered to him. It was his actions that drove Blake away from the Fang in the first place. She left because she couldn't stand to see innocents die under the White Fang banner. She left for a fresh start, just like me.
Weiss' expression softened a bit. "Well… I suppose it's good that she saw reason if nothing else…. And you as well." she said the last part reluctantly.
"So you were a grunt working for the White Fang guerrillas?" Francesca asked.
"Well I wasn't exactly a regular grunt. Like Blake, I was one of the more powerful fighters in the White Fang because we have access to Aura and our semblances. Before I knew it, I became the leader of my own unit just as I turned 15: The Predators."
Weiss' eyes widened. "You were part of the White Fang's Hitman squad!?"
Iskandar scowled. "That is a gross oversimplification of our role! We were Black-ops. Infiltration, espionage, asset acquisition. We weren't JUST killers."
"Wait, you were Black-Ops at age 15? Man they must have been really lacking in man power." Francesca raised an eyebrow.
"Not everyone was able to use semblances. Anyone who was a half decent fighter was a blessing." Iskandar continued explaining. "I know people's views on the Fang are polarised but all we wanted was the right to exist without persecution. To not be labelled a criminal or monster just by simply existing."
"Are you seriously playing the victim card?! The Predators were the worst scum amongst the White Fang" Weiss snapped.
"Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed at her teammate's remark.
"No Ruby, you don't get what The Predators have done! What they did to my family!" Weiss said.
"And what about your family!?" Iskandar roared. "I have seen firsthand what your father has done! Have you ever been down in your family's mines?"
Try as Weiss might, she could only reply with a shake of a head in negative.
"Well let me give you an inside scoop. Your father has my people locked up in cages crammed with barely any room to move or breath, whenever they weren't being worked to the bone. They. Were. Slaves"
"Wait… but slavery is abolished. It goes against the Vytal Peace Accord. He shouldn't be getting away with that." Naomi chimed in.
"Legally, he calls them 'interns'" Iskandar responded. "A shell company takes out a number of faunus from villages scattered across Atlas as "contracted workers". who are rented out to the SDC under a "workers compensation policy" that all but states they have to work or die in barely comprehensible legalese. But they're not documented citizens under Atlasian law, so no one but us cared about what happened to them. This is what your father does. This is why we're at war with him."
"I-I don't believe you" Weiss stammered.
"Then don't." Iskandar said. "But that doesn't change the fact that it's the truth. I'm not arguing this anymore. Like I said before. I quit the White Fang so I could get a fresh start. I didn't join Beacon Academy just to pick a different fight with a younger Schnee. Enough people have died.
"….How many?" Leonidas asked.
"….What?" Iskandar looked at him
"How many people have died by your hands?" Leonidas repeated his eyes burning with righteous anger.
"….52" He answered. The rest of team DMON and RWBY were taken back by his answer, looking at him with a sense of fear in their eyes.
"Look, I didn't want to kill them but I had my orders and-"
"Murder 'under orders' is still murder!" Leonidas shouted.
"Look, I know how it sounds, but I thought that what I was doing was the right thing. That was until they let my brother join my unit." Iskandar responded.
"Your brother was a Predator too?" Ruby asked.
Iskandar sighed. "Yeah. I was against it at first, but his skills were unmatched as a prodigy in combat. But as he took more and more field missions, he changed. He was more aggressive, more reckless. And with each mission, he became less and less focused on the mission objectives. He just wanted to hurt humans just like Adam. Seeing him get like that, I had to stop and look at just what it was we were being asked to do. In the end, every mission or combat situation we fought was narrowed into two categories. We attacked the humans, or the humans hurt us. And more often than not. It wasn't because we were faunus, but because we hurt the humans first. It was just one endless repetitive cycle."
Iskandar sighed as he sank back down into his seat.
" I had to get my brother away from that life, I couldn't be a part of that anymore. But no matter what I said, my brother told me I was being selfish. That I was being ungrateful for the home they have given us. "
"So that's your excuse, you stayed because your brother was becoming a psycho?" Weiss sneered.
"NO, Hephaestion was a good kid, he just trusted the wrong people. I tried to convince him and also trying to keep my team on the honourable path"
"Honourable path?! After everything you said you still talk about honour, the White Fang has been targeting my family. Last year they Killed my Uncle!"
Iskandar looked down defeated "I'm sorry, but I really had no choice"
Weiss was whiter than any sheet as she backed away into the bookshelf "You.. It was you…..YOU KILLED MY UNCLE!"
Shock was plastered on all their faces. Weiss backed up…
"Weiss, please I tried to reason with him. Tried to get him to stop abducting faunus. I didn't want it to end in bloodshed."
"Get away from me you monster, you didn't have to kill him, He was the only man I could confide in when my father-!" Her voice trembled.
"IF I DIDN'T PEOPLE WOULD HAVE DIED! I extended a hand towards peace and he told me 'it wasn't about the money, it is about keeping us animals in the dirt!' I know what I did was wrong and I am" Iskandar was interrupted by a throwing star hitting him in the shoulder. Everyone turned to see Leonidas bow in hand
"Iskandar Drakon, as a huntsman in training I am placing you under arrest"
"LEONIDAS, WHAT THE FUCK!" Francesca swore.
Yang quickly rushed the archer, putting him into a Full Nelson. "Hey! hey! Let's all just calm down! He's still your team leader!"
"HE'S A MURDERER!, NO LEADER OF MINE!" Leonidas yelled.
"Guys stop it, people are going to hear us" Ruby tried to broker peace.
"She's right, Iskandar still needs to explain himself." Naomi tried to reason.
Iskandar's ears were ringing as he saw his team and the remnants of team RWBY at each other's throats. Leonidas and Weiss were squabbling at Yang and Francesca, Ruby and Naomi were trying to break it up. This was what he was afraid of that his friends would tear each other apart…..over him.
Iskandar rose to his feet and ran straight for the window as he ran through it glass shattered as he spread his wings and took off into the night, Everyone stopped as they turned to see the dragon faunus escape. "ISKANDAR!" Yang let go of Leonidas screamed out, Iskandar could only fly off with a tear streaming down his cheek.
"I've got a sho-" Leonidas was stopped as he felt his entire body felt like it was held by an invisible force.
""You better have a good reason to be pointing your weapon at a student." Glynda said with her signature authoritative tone as she approached.
Yang ran in front of her "Miss Goodwitch, we know about Iskandar, he told us everything!"
Glynda's shock made her release Leonidas from her telekinesis. As she regained composure "All of you, Ozpin's office, NOW!"
"But the criminal is getting away!" Weiss stated.
"I said now! Miss Schnee!" she responded harshly.
With that command the students hesitantly left for the headmaster's office leaving Glynda to look out the window with a sorrowful expression.
Iskandar landed far away from the school, he grabbed his swords from his locker before heading off. He looks back at the school in the distance and remembers the faces of his friends. All those bitter feelings as tears begin to well up he gets a call on his scroll. He looks and sees it's Yinsen again. Islandar sighed.
"Better get this over with. It's not like this day could get any worse."
"Look Yinsen, now is not a-"
"FINALLY, YOUR DUMBASS PICKS UP!" Yinsen's voice erupted from the scroll, causing Iskandar to recoil from the noise. "Look I need you to get to my bar ASAP. Someone from your past is trying to hunt you down. I'm going to help you out.."
"And why the hell should I trust you?" Iskandar asked bitterly.
Yinsen sighs "Because Ebon's upset with me as it is, and being nice to you helps get me back on her good side. And before you give me any snark, yes, her opinion actually does matter to me."
Iskandar sighed "I'll meet you at the bar, Just get ready to pour me a drink, it's been a hell of a night" Iskandar replied.
"Are you of drinking age?" Yinsen asked, his only response being the telltale sound of a dial tone. Yinsen shrugged. "… eh, he's a dragon Faunus he'll be fine."
A/N: And this is the end of the chapter, I'm sorry for being away for so long, I have been busy with work. Also 2024 has been the worst. Roosterteeth's shutdown has hurt…..A lot. But being a RWBY fan has had its own challenges. But succumbing to the darkness is never the answer…I'll follow Monty's words and "Keep Moving Forward"
Also I just learnt this or possibly CRWBY just made this canon, but I thought it was a funny coincidence, this chapter was released after Pyrrha Nikos Birthday. Happy Birthday Pyrrha, sorry you weren't in this chapter.