Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction based on multiple existing anime/manga series. The characters and settings used in this story belong to their respective owners and creators, and no copyright infringement is intended. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and is not intended to infringe upon any existing intellectual property. I do not own any of the original works that inspired this fanfiction, and I fully support the original creators and their works.
I'm also exceedingly rarely chilling in JaxWolf4's (Author of Nah, I'd Adapt and Zenin Days) Discord Server. It's a chaotic lobotomy mess. Not for the faint of heart.
Here's the link:
Disc: HrPrTeam
I would say Kokusen, but I'm really busy rn, so this might be like a delayed Kokusen Streak
-Story Start-
Within the bullhead enroute to Beacon Academy, lively chatter filled the air. Almost as if they had not just attended a funeral.
Nevertheless, the situation with a fully-packed bullhead with the entire 1st year student body couldn't help but feel awfully familiar to Alex.
Well, the sense of deja vu wasn't exclusive to him.
"Ah... doesn't this remind you of our Initiation?" Ruby echoed wistfully, as the two teams of JRNY & RAWP stood before one of the railings on the bullhead, gazing upon the beautiful scenery outside of the vehicle.
Pyrrha agreed with a nod. "It feels like it's been ages since then... though we've just finished the first semester."
"It's as... uncomfortably packed in here as it was back then." Weiss features tightened in discomfort.
"Don't be a stranger! Weiss!" One of their fellow first years barked out with a tease.
Rolling her eyes, Weiss shook her head, to which Nora mentioned. "The main difference is we're all buddy buddies with each other! Isn't that right, Sleep Neighbor?!" She yelled that part particularly loudly as she pointed to Alex, who didn't stand much farther than the rest of his team.
He was currently indulging in a cup of coffee alongside two fellow addicts among the 1st years.
"Prestige Bullheads got it all, don't they?" One of them mentioned.
"Preach, brother. I really need this shit before today's exam." The other nodded.
"As long as it's better than what I had on the field." Alex nodded, sipping his cup with an expression of a calm, satisfied man.
He conveniently ignored that nugget of information regarding an 'exam'.
"Oh, speaking of which. How are things looking like out there, Andrite? Can't be trusting the news nowadays."
"Couldn't you just ask our seniors?"
"I ain't got any friends among the seniors, dude."
"Same." The other added to Alex's inquiry.
Alex's lips pursed for a moment, then he voiced his opinion. "I wouldn't know. Hard for me to tell the difference, but it's looking better if Ozpin's recalling the 2nd and 3rd years."
""He is?""
Alex blinked, momentarily wondering if that was something he was supposed to say or not, as he gave one last satisfactory sip of his cup and threw out the paper cup to the nearest trash bag. "Talk to you later."
"...Yeah, cya, White Fangs' Champion!" One of them sneered, pointing at the newest headline appearing on one of the many TV's of the bullhead.
"Don't remember signing up for that one." Alex retorted indifferently behind his shoulder before returning to his teammates within a few steps.
His very teammates, who were strangely fascinated by... Jaune?
As Alex approached, adhering to his sheep instincts, his gaze wandered to where their eyes settled.
"What's wrong with him?"
There he was, his entire upper body leaning on the railing, his features hardened and unreadable.
His gaze, directed at the distant horizon, held something greater within the depths of his dark-blue eyes.
His hands folded to hold up his chin in a state of complete and utter focus and sheer determination.
Alex's inquiry wasn't met with empty air - Nora answered his ignorance without meeting his look. "He's..."
Alex blinked.
"He's...!"
Alex was a second away from walking away.
"HE'S...!"
Nodding to himself, Alex turned around and began to walk away-
"TRYING NOT TO VOMIT!" Nora practically screeched, announcing the situation at hand to all those present.
Raising an eyebrow, Alex noticed that Jaune had a bag hanging just under the railing where he leaned on; nevertheless, he valiantly fought his urge to hurl his breakfast with the concentration of a man preparing for war.
"Nice." Alex nodded, walking forward and leaning on the railing, conveniently far enough away from any splash range if Jaune were to lose his war.
As he did so, his eyes shifted towards the scenery before him, and much like the rest of his teammates, the sense of deja vu had grown further.
Without even shifting his gaze, the differences were all too easily discerned.
As he leisurely watched the city of Vale shrinking within his sight, being exchanged with the hills, forests, and mountainous areas that led to Beacon, a voice called out to him.
It came from his left, whilst on the right, his teammates were currently running illegal bets on whether or not Jaune would lose his breakfast - surprisingly, even Weiss was participating.
His head turned slightly to the left, to be graced with Yang's small, awkward smile.
Though the only thing that slightly disoriented him was her significantly shorter hair. "Hey... is this a bad time for that conversation?"
Alex hummed. "I don't mind. But, shouldn't you be helping out your teammate-"
"He won't puke. He's been working hard, I'd know... it'd be unfair to win a bet like that~" She smirked confidently.
Shaking her head, she mentioned. "If you're trying to avoid this conversation, just give it to me straight-"
"I'm not. Just making sure you're not forcing this, for no good reason." He shrugged in response.
Pointing a thumb at his mesmerized teammates and the many 1st years likely engrossed in their own conversations. "If you don't mind some people listening in accidentally, I don't mind."
She nodded gratefully, leaning into the rail further, smiling with an almost... liberated air to it. "I've got nothing to hide... or to be ashamed of."
"That so?"
She huffed, getting to the point. "Look, I... want to make things right between the two of us, okay?"
His lips parted to respond, but she pressed on, "What I'm trying to say is-" Her face tightened in slight hesitation and discomfort, almost cringing at her own words.
Nevertheless, the words came out genuine, honest. "Sorry."
...
It was silent for a moment, as Yang's lilac eyes were searchingly looking into Alex's own amber gaze.
He met her eyes head-on and answered. "As far as I'm concerned. I told you all that had to be said back in the hospital."
His words grew sharp, resolute. "Apology accepted. But I never wanted a sorry-"
She cut him off, answering with a tiny uplift of her lips. "I'm... trying to be better."
He paused, his eyes slightly widening at her words.
Then, his expression mirrored her own. "So am I. We're cool."
She exhaled a sigh of relief, her features softening. "Thank goodness..."
Lifting his head, Alex admitted. "Could've done this a while ago instead of the whole weird silent treatment you had going on up to now with me."
Folding her arms, she frowned slightly. "You didn't seem all too bothered about it."
"I wasn't. If you wanted to talk to me, you could've all this time."
A slight look of disbelief and discomfort crossed her features, "How... how could I talk to you after... all that?"
"All I had to say was already said back then. From there, we're cool unless you decide to keep up being a rash cretin."
"And what, you're saying this talk of ours was unnecessary?"
"It's nice, and I appreciate it, but it wasn't really necessary. Though it did get me to raise my approval of you a bit more." He gave her a slightly encouraging thumbs-up.
She sighed in resignation, shaking her head. "You really don't understand girls, do you?"
"Sure."
Thus, their conversation slowly drifted into a comfortable, peaceful silence, to which Yang slightly pushed herself off at the sight of Jaune's expression growing pale.
"Thanks, Alex, I needed this."
He hummed appreciatively. "Owning up to using me to make yourself feel better?"
She hadn't answered his accusation with outrage or anything of that manner.
Rather...
She nodded with a wide grin, "Mhm! I am a selfish gal, aren't I?"
"That you are." Alex shrugged, turning to keep staring at the scenery, Beacon Academy already within close proximity.
His words came out indifferent, but his tone was respectful.
With that, she directed her attention and smile towards her newest teammate, leaving Alex alone, deciding to hold out on the betting.
Actually... "Yang, put 3,000 Lien on John not puking, for me."
She snickered before waving at him behind her back, "Heh, alright."
...
[I would have expected you to gloat at me by now.]
'People are not something you use half-heartedly to prove a point. That's something you do. Not me.'
[Now that's just wrong, isn't it?]
'Something wrong can be right.'
And with that, they finally landed back at their beloved Beacon Academy.
-----------------------------
Apparently, Alex came back to an Exam, but with the power of deployment protection or whatever it was Ozpin set him up with, he avoided it, whilst his dear teammates, eager for a retelling of his 'adventures', had to go through with it.
The day turned into noon, and noon turned into afternoon, as Alex lazed about in the dorm room that he so dearly missed, with a cup of his favorite, expensive, and exclusive blend in the palm of his hands.
Excalibur lay at the top of his bed, illuminating the room as the news on the TV showed the upcoming public execution of...
"Adam Taurus... are they finally putting the dumbass out of his misery?" Alex arched an eyebrow, took a sip, and mentioned with a hint of dismissal and distaste - particularly at the fact it was being done in front of a crowd.
[Does your memory need to be fixed? You do not need a reminder on how death sentences work, right?]
His lips pursed as he witnessed a wheelchaired man being pushed towards a guillotine, a Faunus whose face was fully wrapped, hiding the lack of anything functional underneath, and his entire body was being pumped with fluids and IV's.
"Wouldn't just doing it quietly and announcing it be better?" Alex wondered absentmindedly.
[Not if a particular individual is responsible for an onslaught of negative emotions. Fury, hatred, rage. It's better to remove the problem at its root. Display it to the vindicated, and set an example.] The System lectured patiently.
Of which, Alex ignored completely as he directed his attention to a sudden text message notification.
Setting down his cup on the railing of his bunk-bed, he withdrew his scroll and gave it a read:
[Ozpin - I apologize for the late check. It has only come to my attention now regarding Mr. Belladonna's insensitive act of designating Teams JRNY and RAWP as allies of their new faction. Feel free to deny and ignore any inquiries regarding that presented to you, and I will personally handle this issue one-on-one with Mr. Belladonna and his colleagues. I ask that you pass this message on to your team and JRNY. Thank you, and good day.]
"...Alright." Without much care, Alex forwarded the message to their group chat.
With that settled, he retook his cup, and his amber gaze locked onto the image of Adam's head being barbarically shoved into the opening.
He wasn't moving of his own will, let alone functioning - a corpse in all but pulse.
The news reporter rang out, "We advise all parents to change channels in this very moment, and, while it will be censored on live, the uncensored version will be available on the website, once again, no one over 17 is allowed to view-"
The reporter's words were barely audible; the sound of outrage, fury, and loud chanting drowned out all other noise.
The camera zoomed out, allowing Alex to see that more than half of those present were Faunus with flags of the White Fang, or more specifically, an adjusted one with a new emblem to call on their name, while the rest were curious or otherwise vindicated humans.
Then, it zoomed right back in - showing the stage and the guillotine, to the side of Adam stood Blake's parents as they both held the tight rope, that, when pulled-
"Oh."
It was immediate, without warning, not even a speech.
The sheer snarl on Ghira's face was all the forewarning one could get, as the blade of the guillotine separated Adam's head from his shoulders.
The censorship was immediate and impressive, though if one were to slow down the recording fast enough, for a few split seconds, one could see the sheer... ugliness of it.
With Alex's eyesight, he got to see it all.
With a visible look of disgust, regret was etched onto his stoic expression with a light frown. "Damn... Hope it makes things better, I guess." With that half-hearted hope murmured into the wind, he changed channels into something less... morbid.
In any case, he truly wanted nothing to do with the White Fang, regardless of faction.
The fight between factions, moderates, and extremists... that was their battle.
[Well, with the latest debacle, wouldn't you say the extremists are off on the backfoot?] The system curiously inquired.
'Probably.' He shrugged in dismissal.
If he were to give any opinion, it's probably that the White Fang, at least the one under Sienna's leadership in Vale, is...
-----------------------------
"Toast? If only not for this test... I wish I could've seen it." Weiss murmured her opinion.
The three girls of RAWP had headed straight back to the dorm after the exam, finding Alex in a strange state of meditation... or his usual state of stillness.
Though his excessive Aura was fluctuating strangely.
"Weiss!? Eww... who would want to see something like that?" Ruby chastised loudly, with a shiver going down her spine and a visible cringe.
"A lot of people, apparently. The crowd was really big." Alex mentioned.
"And you too, seeing as you were watching it live! You're all sadistic!" Ruby frowned, pointing both her hands at Weiss and Alex, respectively.
"I was just keeping an eye on things. But I can't speak for Weiss."
"Oh, no doubt. I truly wanted that animal gone, only shame is Alex hadn't finished the job."
"Careful, Weiss," Pyrrha warned as she headed to grab a coffee herself, ignoring Alex's hawk-like glare following her.
Weiss responded with a click of her tongue, "Please, I mean no offense to the Faunus, but what else do I call a person like Adam Taurus and the faction he led, hmm? I've lost family friends to those barbarians."
The sound of the coffee machine thrumming with brew drowned out the momentary silence, to which Weiss shook her head.
Her gaze then turned towards Alex, her features donning a more somber and serious expression. "As a more pressing matter than a terrorist dog being put down, I think it is about time we heard it from you - what happened in your mission?"
Pyrrha and Ruby's easygoing expressions froze for a moment as they turned to look at each other, then at Weiss and Alex, noticing the serious, almost uncomfortable air enveloping the room.
And it grew almost suffocating at Alex's next move.
Before he had even responded to them, he immediately moved to slowly grasp the hilt of his semblance.
It was something that would raise alarmbells in most people's heads. But in their case, having known him for a while... it raised them for completely different reasons.
"That cannot be healthy, Alex." Weiss chastised.
"It is." He denied immediately.
To which Ruby murmured sadly, "Why can't good things happen? Why do things just have to go wrong with you?"
He didn't even tell her what happened.
And he didn't have to.
His face, his movements, told them all they had to know.
Pyrrha approached, having not taken her cup to hold onto Ruby's shoulders with a similarly distraught frown.
Ruby asked again, "Tell me why, Alex? You... You're this strong... yet things still go wrong? Why?"
She was not blaming him for anything.
In fact, the only thing her tone expressed was...
Pity.
"I'll just do better." His lips were tight, but he met her gaze head-on, offering no answer to her turmoil.
Seeing it, he still asked. "Do you still want to know what happened?"
Ruby took a few furious steps forward, looking at Alex, who sat on his bed above her.
She stood below the bunk bed, Alex looking down on her, "It hurts you even consider that to be something you should question!"
He considered that for a moment before shaking his head. "My bad." He hopped out of the bed, Excalibur in hand, as he stood before his shorter partner.
He met her gaze, then turned to meet the eyes of Weiss and Pyrrha, as he tiredly sighed. "This'll take a while."
"We've got time, but this time go into detail... not... a short, dismissive spat," Weiss emphasized the point with a glare.
"Then it'll take a real while."
"Alex, do not minimize your issues. Doing that does neither you nor us any favors... please?" Pyrrha requested with a tiny, pleading smile.
"What good does it do to give it in full detail, when you won't believe me?"
"We don't have to."
It was irrational; he didn't get it, he truly didn't.
Nevertheless, he couldn't help but... appreciate it.
Thus... he regaled them with the tale of his mission.
What he had done, both intentionally and accidentally.
What had appeared before his eyes when he heard the screams of agony.
How he had tried to slice apart the abominations before him, intent on perverting his soul and separating the sins from him.
Before, he was accused of being ill.
Now, he himself couldn't argue that he was indeed ill, but not quite as described.
Even so, it... concerned him.
To Be Continued!
-Author Note Start-
BRUZZAAAAAAAAS
I am happy to announce we have 1 chapter left before we jump into, you guessed it! A timeskip!
Not a large one, but a substantial one, since not many relevant things are happening that I must show.
Apologies for dragging this arc on for as long as it had, but it seemed necessary in my eyes.
Anyway We'll be skipping straight into the Vytal Festival preparations and the Festival itself.
As for Cinder, her lackies, and Roman Torchwick (He's alive and escaped just to jog up your memory since this updates once a blue moon). I am wondering whether I should even show what they are plotting or just let the lack of things or other things happening tell you what you need to know.
I think not showing is advantageous if the reader is aware of RWBY's Canon, that way when they do make a showing, it isn't THAT much of a surprise but an expected inevitability.
As for showing... well, it'll help those without RWBY canon to get a fix on who they should keep any eye on. (If there are any Non-Canon RWBY aware readers here).
Decisions, decisions.
A few things will be important: the new head of security, Virdian (OC! CURSES!), you should keep an eye on him, and the White Fang debacle will be taking a backseat for a while until it does its thing.
Also, a thing I must admit - the timeline of this fic (Major events, so to speak) will be drastically different than the Canon RWBY. Since you know, the butterfly effect and whatnot, and considering a character like Alex merely existing.
Power center of gravity whatever the fk.
I wonder which kingdom Alex finds himself in after Vale (Is Fall of Beacon even happening?! Lmao)
Anywho!
Love you and hope the chapter's been to your enjoyment!
Bu Bye!
Next chapter within a week, I'm pretty busy rn.