Mantle
8:45 AM
3 Years to the fall
Y/n pov
Weiss: My name is Weiss Schnee. Its a pleasure to finally meet the boy in the red mask.
My mind grinded to a halt. How could I even begin to process this turn of events? The girl of my dreams, literally, is standing before me. Not only that but she KNEW me. Does that meant that she also dreamed of me? I couldn't fathom it.
Y/n: ...My name is Y/n Todd, The pleasure is mine... Did you have the dreams too?
Weiss looked a bit taken aback at my question. I assumed that she did. I was a nobody and she a heiress. how could she possibly know me?
Weiss: I have. I take it you have them too?
Y/n: Yeah. I've wondered for years if you were real or if I would ever meet you.
Weiss giggled.
Weiss: I wondered the same thing. Though, you do look a little different than in the dream.
Y/n: Really? How so?
Weiss: For starters, the mask is different.
She gestured to the mask hanging on my hip.
Y/n: Its broken, so I'm using this until its repaired.
Weiss: You also had a scar that ran from your left eye down your cheek.
Y/n: Funny you should mention scars. In my dreams you had a scar that ran from above your left eye and down your cheek.
Klein: Ahem, if I may, from what I've heard. Can I assume that your this dream boy she's been so enamored with?
Weiss: Klein! *Blush*
I laughed a little at that. Her face was as red as my mask. It looked absolutely adorable. She turned back to me with a pout which made it even harder to keep a straight face.
Weiss: I'm not enamored with you, I'm just curious why you kept showing up in my dreams, you dolt.
....I'm absolutely sure that's all it is...
Y/n: *Chuckles* Yeah, I guess I am. I've been dreaming of her too.
Kleins eyes then turn green, which shocked the hell out of me. It was like he was a completely different person. Not gonna lie, it was a bit unnerving. Maybe it was part of his semblance or something.
Klein: Then its a pleasure to meet you, young man. We were just speaking of you.
Weiss just blushed even deeper. It was frankly amazing that someone could even get to that shade of red. I wondered if this was ok, talking to her. What if the wrong people saw us speaking. My plan to save her and her family would fail before it would really start.
Y/n: ...Why don't we sit and talk over our cake. There's actually something important that I need to tell you. But before we get to the heavy stuff, why don't we get to know each other a bit.
Weiss: Of course!
Fuck it, I'm already in this deep. I should warn her. Maybe if her and Klein knows about the circumstances, they can come up with proper countermeasures. Or at the very least, a plan to buy time while I work. I just hope that this isn't a mistake.
As we sat at the booth, Weiss started to ask me questions about myself while I did the same with her. She was so excited to talk that all of her "Proper training" went out the window. She seemed like a normal girl instead of a heiress. I avoided some of the darker elements of me, like the whole dying thing, and being a bandit. I was honestly scared that she would outright reject me because of that stuff.
Weiss: So where did you grow up?
Y/n: All over, really. I was born in Vale though. How about you? Live here all your life?
Weiss: Yes. I've never been to any of the other kingdoms. How did you get your mask?
Y/n: ....It was a coming of age present from my Au-...Guardian...
My hesitance did not go unnoticed both Weiss and Klein. Klein seemed perfectly fine to leave it be, but Weiss seemed a bit disheartened at my seeming lack of trust. That couldn't have been further from the truth though. I did trust her a hell of a lot more than I should've since this was our first meeting. I quickly changed gears to get on with the more pressing matters.
Y/n: We should probably move on to the more important information.
Weiss snapped out of her funk and focused solely on me, as if the information could possibly save her life. Haha, little does she know.
Y/n: Weiss... the reason I'm here is because someone put a contract out on your family.
Weiss: What kind of contract?
Y/n: The kind that typically leaves the people in question six feet under.
Weiss tried to keep a neutral face but failed miserably. She paled; I didn't think it would be possible to be any paler. Kleins eyes turned red. Guess I really got his attention.
Klein: Whos the bloke who placed it?!
Y/n: Cant say, but this is the part where I tell you the next bit.... I took the contract t-
Weiss and Klein bolted out of the booth. Weiss looked completely in shock and hurt. Klein on the other hand looked ready to kill. It was genuinely intimidating. It had hurt me to see the look on Weiss' face too. I probably could have had a bit more tact there.
Y/n: WAITWAITWAIT! I only took it because we're planning to sabotage the contract that's out on you. There is absolutely NO way that I will harm you!
Klein held his ground for a moment with Weiss doing the same. Oum, I already fucked this up. I should never have even tried to reveal this. What was I thinking? Not only that, the first thing their going to do is blow the whistle on the whole thing and be in even more danger. I'm such a fool!
Weiss stepped out from behind Klein, catching my attention. We held eye contact for what felt like hours. I desperately pleaded for them to believe me. Klein was the first to speak up.
Klein: All the information you have. Nothing withheld.
Weiss: I believe that you mean my family or myself no harm. But Klein is right. We need the truth.
That was understandable. I had afforded Pietro the same courtesy when I met him. Weiss is no exception. Especially since I've already revealed the plot on her family's life. I nodded my head. This was going to take a bit...
Roy pov
Opposite side of Mantle
Same time
I was sticking to the alleyways to the best of my abilities. Had a few close calls with Atlas patrols, but overall, its been a cake walk. I wonder how Red is doing. Atlas is quiet and I don't hear anything resembling gunfire so I assume he's good.
Random Bum: Goddamn Faunus bastards! Should just exterminate every last one of them!
I started feeling sick. All I could think about was my family and their ways. How absolutely unwavering their belief that humans were superior to faunus. Or how they tried everything they could to get me to conform to them. It seemed that Atlas and Mantle was just like everywhere else.
Roy: 'Of course it is. Why would I ever think that there would be a place on this world that truly accepted faunus?'
I knew there was Menagerie, but that didn't count for obvious reasons. None of the kingdoms would ever see them as equals or even living beings. The Winchesters had robbed me of any hope of that ever happening. Atlas was by far the worst. The Schnee family would use faunus for slave labor in their Dust mines. It was sickening that we were protecting Jacques. But as Red pointed out, the contract is on the whole family, not just him.
I remembered the night the Winchesters threw me to the curb. I couldn't help but associate my former family with the Schnees. Only difference is Jacques is to much of a coward to kill outright. He likes to use until there's nothing left. The Winchesters... Well there's one less fox faunus in the world now because of them....
I continued on my way for about 20 or so minutes, before I bumped noticed movement at the end of the alleyway. I also heard movement behind me. I slowly pulled my bow and notched a blunt-tipped arrow. I sat there scanning the alley, waiting for the fireworks to kick off.
I heard shuffling behind me and quickly turned and came face to face with a woman of small stature with long black hair. She looked completely uninterested in the arrow that was now pointed directly at her forehead.
Woman: So, this is how you greet your leader?
She had some balls, I'll give her that. Not a lot of folk out there who would be ok with having a weapon shoved in their face. Another woman stepped out from behind cover revealing herself to be a dark skinned woman with green hair. I noticed that unlike the black haired woman, she was actually armed. Finally the movement behind me. I was surrounded and now a bit concerned.
Green hair woman: Put your weapon down before you get hurt.
Man: Yeah, or don't. I would like to have a little fun.
I noted that the one behind me was a man who was maybe the same age as Red. Wouldn't really be much help but its good to notice the minor details. I kept my bow up, not giving them a inch.
Roy: Leader...? Your the people we were supposed to meet with?
Black haired woman: Of course. But since you and your friend couldn't handle a simple task such as going where you were supposed to go, we had to come looking for you instead.
Roy: Not our fault Atlas has a tree stuck up their asses.
Black haired woman: Perhaps, But you still failed regardless. Now what do you think that looks like to us?
Man: I'll tell ya. Looks like you cant be trusted to do simple job.
Green haired woman: And if you cant do simple things, how are you supposed to complete important tasks?
Roy: Simple, Me and Red both have the training to get the job done. Even when things don't go to plan, we still come out on top. That looks like something you three know nothing about though.
Man: What was that?!
The black haired woman laughed and held her hand up. The man behind me shifted his weight but still held his ground. Good, because if he took even one step towards me, it would have been on. The green haired girl looked like she wanted nothing more than to take a swipe at me but followed orders, just like the one behind me.
Roy: Wow, I didn't know you could train mutts that well... Tell me your tricks~
Black haired woman: *Light laughing* Maybe some other time, after you have proven yourself to me. For now, you may call me Cinder Falls.
Roy: ....What kind of name is that....?
Weiss pov
Same time
Y/n: And that about covers it.
He had just finished explaining the situation. It was so complicated that I was having trouble wrapping my head around it. The why of it was what was really getting me. I wasn't naïve enough to believe that my family didn't have enemies. The White Fang for starters, but I had thought it was only them that wanted my family dead.
Klein: You still have not revealed who placed the contract in the first place.
Y/n: I cant say. I'm already putting you all at risk just by revealing all of this to begin with. If her father finds out, who knows what he'll do.
He was right. Father was someone who didn't like to be obstructed in any way. I genuinely feared for what he would do if he learned of this. I mean, I feared this whole thing to begin with, but adding Father to the mix only made it worse.
Weiss: Who is the person you came here with? Can we trust him?
Y/n: Absolutely. Roy's been with me through thick and thin and I've never met someone more dependable than him. I'd even call him my brother.
I felt relieved that he trusted Roy so much. If he did, then we can too. Y/n didn't have to warn us of the dangers that are coming so that alone earns my trust. Klein seemed to be thinking along the same lines but still didn't budge. It was endearing to see him step up in place of my Father.
Klein: So you have told us all of this... why.
Y/n: Because much like Weiss has with me, I've got a bit of an attachment to her. Even if this was the first time we've met. Not only that, lets just say that I have a very strong moral compass.
Klein continued to look at Y/n, trying to discern if he was lying or not. Much to my relief and Y/n's judging by the exhale of breath he was holding, Kleins eyes changed back to green.
Klein: Well then, what should we do now then.
Y/n: Stay under the radar and don't speak a word of this to anyone. If it gets back to Ironwood or Jacques, it'll complicate things.
Weiss: Why not tell my sister, she's a specialist and a Huntress but I don't think she would say anything.
Y/n: No, Especially if she's a Huntsman. You cant trust those bastards...
I was shocked that he thought so negatively about Huntsman. They protect people and uphold the law. There's no reason to be so wary of them unless your doing something wrong. So why is he so against having a Huntsman help us? He seemed to catch on to what I was contemplating but didn't say anything. He seemed like he was thinking about something.
Y/n: I should be going. I cant keep Roy waiting. We need to figure out what to do next.
Y/n got up and began moving to the door but before he could exit I bolted up to him faster than I thought I could and asked him one last thing.
Weiss: Will we meet again?
Y/n turned to me and smiled warmly.
Y/n: Of course, Princess. After all these years of dreaming, I finally get to see the real thing. Wont just willingly give that up!
I smiled and hugged him. My face felt like it was on fire. I wasn't scared that he would reject it given what he had just said. I felt his arms gently wrap around my back and hold me closer. I don't think I could have been any happier in that moment. We separated from each other and both noticed Klein smiling at us. I only just remembered that we were in public and that Klein was here too. My face turned red at how embarrassed I was.
Y/n: *Soft laughing* You know, I'm called Red, But your redder than my mask.
Weiss: Hush, you dolt!
He laughed and nodded at Klein, who nodded back. After taking one last look at me, he smiled and walked out of the shop, putting on his mask as he disappeared down the alleyway.
Y/n pov
It sucked having to leave her like that. I wanted nothing more than to stay there with her, or to turn and go back. But that wouldn't keep her safe. Killing Sionis and whoever is working the contract with them will. Even more so if we can expose the League. It was a very dangerous game I was playing but I didn't have a choice if I wanted Weiss to survive what was coming.
It just occurred to me that civilians will also be caught up in the crossfire. I couldn't let that happen. I needed to find a way to keep them out of the way. Maybe force the plan of attack to be in a isolated location. I'd have to see what I'm working with when I get the chance. For now, I needed to head back to Pietros workshop.
I made the trip rather quickly, I wanted out of the cold. I was careful of patrols primarily but I needed to watch out for the citizens on the streets. Now that the sun was high in the sky now, everyone was out and about. I'm telling ya, these people are built different.
10 minutes into the trip, my lovely stroll was interrupted by the sound of a scream. I quickly grappled up to the roof and listened. After a few seconds of waiting, I heard it again and followed it to the next alley over. I saw a young boy surrounded by grown men who were beating the poor kid. I observed a bit more so I could come up with a proper plan. I noticed that the kid was a wolf faunus that was maybe 10 or 11 years old.
Y/n: 'So this is a race crime... why cant people just get along....'
in total, there was 5 men who were beating the kid. They wore protective equipment that looked like it belonged in a mine. What do they want with a faunus boy? I then noticed the embroiled text on the back "SDC". This is getting more interesting by the second. The men finished beating the poor kid and tried to haul him to his feet and began trying to drag him out of the alley and towards what looked like a company truck. Guess its time to step in.
(A/n: Great song, haven't heard it in a minute. If you couldn't tell by now, I am a metal head :) )
I pulled a flashbang from my belt and pulled the pin; I wasted no time dropping it into the alley. The men all looked back to see the flash bang land and subsequently explode. Unfortunately, the kid also was blinded but he'll be fine. The other guys not so much. I dropped down using the fire escape and drain pipe on either side of the alley to make the descent smoother. At about 10 feet above them, I dropped fully and pulled my combat knife.
I landed on top of the first man, using him to break my fall. Upon steadying, I wasted no time inserting the knife into his throat and yanking to the right, severing his windpipe, Jugular vein, and carotid artery. He has about 20 seconds before he loses consciousness and 2 minutes before he bleeds out. Quick, but dirty. Blood sprayed out from the neck wound, coating my hand in it.
I quickly dashed to the next guy who had his back turned to me. I simply kicked him in the back of the knee and put him in a chokehold. It was about now that the others were starting to recover. One man who had a large bushy beard, His name is Bushy now, was the first to recover and realize what was happening. Right as Bushy screamed out for his buddy, I yanked his head to the side violently and dropped him after hearing a loud and sickening crack.
The last two beside Bushy were now in the fight. One stayed back with the kid and Bushy and The second dude, who had glasses so guess what I'm calling him, Glasses got ready to brawl. I tilted my head to the left and released a crack from my neck. Oh, I was ready to go. Glasses charged first, I sent a forward front kick at him just to get him to slow down and took a swipe at him with my knife.
Glasses leaned back but still took a cut to his cheek, his aura already repairing the damage. That's why I always go straight for the kill with these guys. Aura is a pain in the ass to deal with, much easier to just take these guys out with fatal strikes. Especially since these guys are trying to abduct the kid. I pressed my attack but Bushy got in the way. Unlike Glasses, this guy knew how to fight.
Bushy sent a jab at me which I ducked, only to have to block the knee he tried to send into my face. I quickly straightened myself and found that Glasses had gotten brave. He sent a straight aimed at my face while Bushy tried to do a spinning power kick. I sidestepped and pivoted to the left putting my back to the alley wall. Glasses turned to look at me as I thrust my knife into his abdomen. He gasped out in pain and I then reeled back my foot and sent it into his kneecap. He screamed in agony as it completely shattered.
Bushy saw what I just did to his friend and decided that since I had a knife, he wanted one too. I reached into his pocket and pulled out a switchblade. I paused and looked at this dumb fuck. He had the knife but is only pulling it out after I killed two of his friends and maimed a third. Yeah, now I'm just purifying the genepool at this point. He tried to swipe at me but I leaned back and grabbed his arm by the wrist before using the handle of my knife to snap his arm like a twig.
He screamed before I grabbed him by his beard. I slammed his head into the wall to shut him up and jabbed the knife into the base of his skull. He was dead instantly. I turned to the guy with the kid who was now loaded into the truck. He was hanging half out the truck when I sprinted out to him. By this point, we had quite the crowd. Atlas patrols will be here soon, had to hurry this up.
He slammed the truck door and started it. I wouldn't make it in time on foot and I couldn't use my semblance, too many people. So I did the next best thing. I pulled out a small marble like device and threw it into the bed of the truck with the kid. I hit a small button on the side of my helmet and a HUD popped up. I had a clear indicator of where the truck was and where it was going. I'd get him after I finish with Glasses and make it back to Roy. I made my way back to the alleyway, the sea of people parting, trying to get away from me, as if I had the plague. In fairness, I was covered in blood and there was a half dead man in the alley who was still screaming.
I had to make this next bit quick, I cant imagine that Atlas is too far away now. I stepped over to Glasses and kneeled down placing my knife against his neck.
Y/n: Who are you and why did you want the boy?!
Glasses: M-my name is Norman Sing... W-w-we were sent out to get any f-faunus who was alone and b-bring them back to the m-mine...
Y/n: What mine?!
Norman: Schnee dust m-mine.... Location 13...O-out in the tundra.
Y/n: Last question, and this is the important one... Why take the faunus you find there?!
Norman: The mine u-uses forced faunus labor to run i-it. Jacques Schnee ordered it.
Well holy shit. This just got ten times worse. The family I'm trying to protect is exploiting slave labor from faunus, and the OK came straight from Jacques himself. Does Weiss know about this? Oum, I hope not. Why hasn't Ironwood cracked down on him for this. Does he know too? I had more questions than I had before but I wasn't going to be getting the answers from this guy. Atlas personnel was here. I looked down and considered finishing him off.
Atlesian knight: Halt, and drop your weapon!
Well, they just made the decision for me. I quickly yanked out my grapple gun and fired. As I ascended, the knights began to fire at me. I made it to the rooftop and sheathed my knife but kept the grapple gun out. I needed to get the fuck out of here and fast. I began to sprint over the roof and jumped. The crowd noticed and the knights got into firing positions. I shot the grapple out and zipped to the building on the other side of the street.
The bullets whizzing past me were only encouraging me to go faster. I made it to the other side and palmed the ledge causing me to twirl, pulling my hook from the building and me to essentially do a canted front flip. I hit the ground running and didn't stop until I made it back to Pietros....
3rd person pov
Same time
Ironwood was filling his academy paperwork. A quite dull job that was more exhausting than any physical task ever could be. Despite his dislike for the paperwork aspect of running both a academy and a military power, he still loved his job, his duty. It was fulfilling to to him. Knowing that he was aiding in protecting the world by training and coordinating forces. It was so gratifying to him that it overruled any negatives he could find in his job.
But it was also moments like this that gave way to a inevitable headache. It was a quiet morning. Too quiet. Just him and his paperwork. That was always a sign that things were not going to go well today. For someone in a position such as this. Any downtime was a bad omen. A omen that proved to be correct when his right hand burst through the door.
The woman had snow white hair, done up in a bun and had piercing eyes. Eyes that were now showing distress. A rare sight to see from her. She is normally quite steadfast and immovable. Ironwood knew that this had to have been a particularly bad event.
Ironwood: Report, Specialist Schnee.
Winter: Sir... our Atlesian knights had a encounter with a unknown individual who had classified Atlesian technology.
Ironwood was expecting something bad but not that bad. Atlas was very secretive when it came to their scientific endeavors, so security was very tight when it came to their R&D department. Having a unknown individual with prototype tech was a disaster. Ironwood would focus on the leak had the next bit of information not left him more confused of the situation.
Winter: We are currently searching the R&D lab for any information regarding the Suit but so far we've had nothing to show for it. The technology looks like something Dr. Polendina would work on.
Ironwood: Do we have any images of the individual in question?
Winter: We do, Sir.
Winter linked her scroll to the screen on Ironwoods desk and played footage from Y/ns fight with the SDC mine personnel. The video started in the middle of the fight with Bushy and the man named Norman. The fight was quick and viscous. The only one to survive the ordeal was Norman Sing and another man who had a faunus child who looked to be about 10 years of age.
After the footage of the fight ended, it switched to a live feed of a drone trying to track the man in the red hood. Ironwood and Winter both realized that the man was a skilled combatant and acrobat. Winter wondered why and how he just appeared out of thin air. No one remotely like him was on their watchlist as far as she knew. Ironwood was Impressed at the mans abilities, but to him, he was already worth too much trouble. The three corpses and maimed mine worker was evidence of that.
Ironwood then remembered that there was a couple of individuals from the yesterday that were caught on camera jumping from a bullhead. The bullheads pilot was immediately detained but held his silence. claimed he didn't know he had stow-aways. Ironwood didn't believe those reports but he couldn't prove otherwise. The most he could do is force the man into a early discharge.
Ironwood split the screen and pulled up a image of the individual from last night and compared it to the live footage. Winter caught on to what he was thinking and observed both herself. The drone had lost sight of Y/n and was searching around in a alleyway. He seemingly just disappeared. But as it turned around, it caught clear sight of Y/n. It was indeed one of the two individuals caught on camera last night. Ironwood and Winter realized just how serious the situation was given the gear he was wearing, and even more so since the drone was then destroyed by a single high-powered bullet. The last image transmitted before the feed died was one that would truly mark the beginning of troubled times for Atlas....
And with this, the legend of the Red Hood would begin in earnest...