(Y/n) = Your name
(S/c) = Skin color
(H/c) = Hair color
(F/c) = Favorite color
(N/n) = Nickname
Third Person P.O.V
Somewhere near the bay east of the capital of Mistral, Cara and Maka slowly walked up to the edge of the cliff that looked over the bay to see the largest island in the bay in front of them. It was the location of one of the entrances into the Garden. There was a smile on Cara's face before she began coughing violently causing Maka to rush over to see if she was fine. Cara hasn't been feeling well as she looked more sickly with each passing day. Strange cracks were beginning to appear on her body with some parts of her body began to crumble away and fade away in specks of golden light.
Cara gently pushed Maka away as she pointed down the cliff towards the forest below. Maka's eyes widen when she saw the forest of large sequoia trees. Cara glanced over to Maka and smiled a bit.
Cara: "They really got big since I was little... Now, its time for the last story before we get to mine... it was here. This is the place." she announced.
Maka: "What do you mean?" she asked.
Cara: "This was where we met the girl that charged (Y/n) and my life. When we met our beloved Atalanta, the girl that never betrayed us." she revealed as she began walking down a path on the side of the cliff.
Maka followed behind her looking around and was shocked by how quiet and peaceful the forest was when they arrived at the bottom of the cliff. As Maka looked around, she noticed that Cara was walking through the forest as if she was following a path that didn't exist.
Maka: "Cara? You alright?" she asked.
Cara: "Yeah... it feels nice walking down an old path that doesn't exist anymore." she stated.
Maka: "Doesn't exist? Just how old are you guys? From the stories, you told me, you two have been around for hundreds of years." she pointed out.
Cara burst out into laughter when she said this before having to stop when she began coughing violently.
Cara: "Hundreds of years? More like thousands for me, (N/n) on the other hand is probably a lot older." she told her.
Maka's mouth dropped hearing what Cara said as she quickly increases her pace to catch up with Cara. She walked up right next to her as Cara suddenly stopped making Maka stumble a bit.
Cara: "Here... this was where we met her." she told Maka.
Maka: "Who exactly is Atalanta?" she asked.
Cara: "Atalanta... was the first person we cared about after (N/n) and I became one. It was a dark time for us before we met her. We were still getting used to being fused together. I didn't have a body anymore and (N/n) suddenly had a human body. He hated how small he had become compared to when he's in the Garden. But that wasn't why it was a dark time for us. The reason we had such a hard time was that neither of us trusted humans and Faunus reminded us so much of humans that we were scared of them too." she revealed.
Maka: "Wait, you two were scared of humans and Faunus?" she asked in disbelief.
Cara: "Never said that we still weren't. Humans... are a dangerous bunch and if they didn't know or understand something, they'll do stupid things." she said as she lifted her hand up to her eyepatch.
Cara: "The story of Atalanta... begins hundreds of years after the calamity that swept across Remnant and I was still teaching (Y/n) how to talk." she began telling her.
(Thousands of Years Ago)
Deep within the forest, a young girl looking no older than nine was happily walking through the forest with a skip in her step all while humming a little tone. She has very long, wavy golden hair with curls at the ends that reaches the back of her knees, emerald-green eyes, and a light skin tone. Her attire consists of a simple, dirty white tunic and shorts. Her name is Atalanta.
Atalanta: "They think, that I'm lonely, they think, I'm no one~" she sang.
Atalanta continued walking through the forest as birds sang their own songs. She's been venturing into the forest more frequently curious to the world outside her village. She heard rumors from the adults that strange beasts made of smoke and wrath roamed the forest hunting for people and decided to sneak out to see for herself but she hasn't seen one at all. As she continued to walk, she felt her stomach rumble a bit making her groan. She looked around for anything to eat and spotted a bush full of berries.
She quickly ran over to it and began stuffing her face full of berries until something catches her attention at the corner of her eye. In the distance, she spotted a wooden wagon. After wiping her face with her hand, she began walking over towards the wagon with a large grin on her face. She never met someone that wasn't from her village. But as she got closer, she heard the sound of crunching and when she got close to the trail, she saw several bodies on the ground. They lie like dolls over the grass with their limbs at awkward angles or torn right off. Several of their heads were bent and turn unnaturally with some heads looking as if they were bitten down on. Her eyes slowly looked towards the crunching noise to see several beasts she never saw before.
The beasts had a bone-like mask with red markings as well as bone-like spikes protruding from their arms, back, and knees. Their hands and feet are tipped with long, sharp, white claws. They can vary greatly in size. They were covered in black fur and has glowing yellow eyes that left a visible red trail as they move. An odd thing she noticed was that there was black smoke emanating from their bodies. Beowolfves.
Atalanta watched as they surrounded a person barely alive as they whimpered and crawled backward on the ground. There was nothing for her to do as the Beowolves descended on the person torn them apart. She began to back away quietly before running away as fast as she could. She only managed to get several feet away before the sound of howling was heard from behind her. After a few seconds, she could hear the sounds of bushes rustling and sticks breaking behind her.
She felt her heart pounding against her chest like a drum as the Beowolves quickly caught up to her. There was nothing she could do, she didn't know how to fight them, she didn't even know what they were. And just as she continued to run, a large figure slowly walked in front of her and her foot trip of their foot. She felt a sharp pain in her foot as she fell face first to the ground. As she looked back, she saw a very large suit of black armor with an emblem that looked like a white sun at the center of the chest plate with spikes covering the shoulder plates. A helm with a pair of horns covered their head. The oddest thing was that there was a flower crown on one of the horns almost as if it was there for decoration. This was (Y/n).
(Y/n): "..." he didn't say anything as he slowly looked down at her.
Atalanta, however, looked behind him to see the beasts jump towards (Y/n) only for him to turn around and with his hand out to grab the first Beowolf in front of him. His gauntlet snapped close and it grabbed its face and slammed it on the ground with enough force to create a gust of wind that made Atalanta roll backward along the ground and crash against a tree. She looked up to see the Beowolf motionless in a small crater as it slowly disappeared to dust.
The remaining Beowolves didn't stop their attack as they dogpiled on top of (Y/n) and completely pinned him down only for the spikes of his armor to suddenly shot outward and pierce through some of the Beowolves before he grabbing the leg of another Beowolf and throwing it off of him. He slowly stood up with the Beowolves with the spikes through their bodies dangled off of him as they slowly disappeared. (Y/n) walked over to the Beowolf that he threw against a tree and made quick work of it as he pulled his leg back and slammed it into the skull of the Beowolf. Atalanta heard the sick crunching noise before watching as the body of the Beowolf fell over missing its head.
(Y/n) looked back to Atalanta before he began walking away as if nothing had happened with the spikes on his shoulder slowly retracting back into its regular form. Atalanta sat silently against the tree with her eyes wide open as she stared at (Y/n) walking away. As he was about to walk out of eyesight, Atalanta quickly snapped out of it and stood up. Knowing what was outside the village, she wanted to get back but she felt too scared to go back alone now, so she ran after (Y/n). It wasn't hard to find the large figure or catch up to him, she managed to run up right next to him and just stare at him.
(Y/n): "Go... away... human." he slowly said to her as he kept walking.
Atalanta: "B-But I'm scared! I don't want to be a-alone!" she cried out.
(Y/n): "Go... back... village." he replied.
Atalanta: "I'll die if I go back alone!" she pointed out.
(Y/n) raised his gauntlet into the air as he was about to smack her away only to stop when he stared into her eyes. He found himself captivated by them and his armor slowly began to fade away much to Atalanta's amazement. She watched as the large figure began to shrink down to her height and as the black mist disappeared, it slowly revealed a naked boy with (S/c) skin, (H/c) hair, and a bright red eye. He casually walked up to Atalanta and grabbed her face and pulled it closer to his own face resulting in Atalanta's face being to heat up as she looked at him in surprise. However, he just stared into her eyes feeling a warm sensation in his core. He felt easy and at peace when he stared into her eyes, it felt as if he as in the Garden. A ghost of a smile seemed to have appeared on his face before disappearing as he let go of her face and took a step back.
(Y/n): "Where... village?" he asked.
Atalanta: "O-O-Over there!" she said pointing east.
He only nodded as he began walking east with a quiet Atalanta walking behind him. She looked away from him and to the side.
Atalanta: "Why aren't you wearing clothes?" she asked.
(Y/n): "Uncomfortable... unnatural... feels nice." he replied.
Atalanta: "Really?!" she suddenly asked.
Without skipping a beat, she began taking off her clothing causing (Y/n) to stop and wait for her. It only took a few moments for her to take everything off with her long hair covering her breasts.
Atalanta: "... it does feel nice." she said a bit surprised.
Cara: "She's weird." she told (Y/n).
(Y/n) only nodded as he turned around and continued walking.
Atalanta: "Hey, why were you were that big armor thingy?" she questioned.
(Y/n): "Patrolling. Humans... Faunus... Grimm... territory... too close." he told her.
Atalanta: "You talk funny, ahaha! Wait a second! Why are you out here by yourself?!" she asked.
(Y/n): "Not alone... Cara... Home... there..." he replied pointing to the north which was deeper within the forest.
Atalanta: "You... live out here with those things and you can beat them easily? Can you teach me to fight?!" she suddenly asked.
(Y/n): "...why?" he asked.
Atalanta: "I... don't have anything in the village. I...I just want a friend, someone to play with, talk with, hang with, someone to stay with me. All the other kids think I'm weird because I want to leave and see the world. That's why they don't want anything to do with me... They call me bad and a witch... I'm lonely." she said quietly.
Atalanta: "But! If you teach me to fight those things, I can see what's out there! I can travel to some distant land without a worry in the world and make friends along the way. So please!" she begged.
(Y/n): "...no." he replied.
Atalanta turned to face (Y/n) and try to convince him only to be greeted by (Y/n)'s face right in front of her. The next thing she felt was a sharp pain as (Y/n) punched her in the stomach making her spit out saliva. Everyone was fading to black for Atalanta and the last thing she saw was (Y/n) staring at her with a static expression.
She slumps in his arms as he carefully placed her down on the grass and began putting her clothes back on.
Cara: "Did she really expect us to say yes? One day, she could turn on us and we could die. But we could at least take her back to the village." she told (Y/n).
He nodded as he finished putting on her tunic and the black mist began to surround his body as it slowly reformed his armor. He picked her up as if she was a piece of luggage and began walking to the village. (Y/n) was created by guards who had spears pointing at him as they began yelling at him but he didn't listen as he tosses Atalanta at them. They watched as she rolled on the ground in front of her and some of them recognized her right away. With that, he turned away and began walking away with the sounds of them shouting for him to come back.
As he walked, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach. Looking down, he saw the tip of a spear through his stomach with his blood seeping out. His head slowly looked back to see the guard staring at him in shock with the lack of reaction. The other guards watched as the blood that dripped to the ground suddenly stretched out towards the guards and wrapped around him like a snake and its prey. (Y/n) began to slowly crush the guard with a blood wire as he removed the spear and closed his wounds.
While the guard cried out in pain, (Y/n) slammed his fist over the guards head and sending him down to the ground face first. He placed his foot on the guards back before slamming the guard's spear down and through his stomach resulting in him being pinned down like a nail causing the guard to let out a scream of pain. With that, he walked away with his back turned once again almost daring the other guards to try something again. Nothing. They were too focused on aiding their comrade and friend.
Time has passed and the summer's heat has arrived. (Y/n) found himself patrolling the edge of the land he claims as his territory to keep any trespassers out. He found himself patrolling along a river near the area he first met Atalanta, he was quick to notice a Beowolf looking up a tree. Seeing that it was trespassing, black smoke began forming in his hand forming a black spear and threw it at the Beowolf. The spear went through the back of the head and right out the right eye socket. The body disappeared leaving the spear behind and as (Y/n) walked under the tree where the Beowolf was, a figure jumped down and landed on his back with their arms wrapped around his shoulders.
Atalanta: "Fancy seeing you here!" she said filled with excitement.
(Y/n): "Why... here?" he asked.
Cara: "We really need to teach you how to speak better." she teased.
Atalanta: "Well I came to find you, of course! If you think I was giving up, then you have another thing coming! I've been training so you can teach me, teacher! Look! I have some muscles now!" she told him as she flexed her arm.
Cara: "Teacher? Oh shit, you never told her your name." she suddenly realizes.
(Y/n): "...fine... stay... awake... block." he told her.
He pulled back his large gauntlet preparing to punch Atalanta. She seemed scared at first until her eyes seemed to light up seeing that this was a trial. A smile formed as she got ready to block, once she was ready, she nodded her head. Without hesitation, the large gauntlet slammed into her small body resulting in a loud snapping noise. Her body went flying backward and slammed against the trunk of a tree before falling to the ground motionless. Her arm was clearly broken and a large amount of blood was running down the side of her head.
(Y/n) stood there for a moment and turned around preparing to leave but stopped to look back to see her laying there helplessly. That was when he found himself walking over to her. He began tearing parts of her clothing to bandage her head before ripping of parts the tree to use as a splint and tied it with his blood wire. Once he finished, he carefully picked her up like a princess and carried her back to the village. When he arrived, he was quickly greeted with more guards. This time, he carefully placed Atalanta on the ground before making his leave which confused the guards to why he was more gentle this time.
Soon the summer heat faded away and fall arrived. (Y/n) found himself relaxing in the water of the river in his birthday suit. Cara had been teaching him about hygiene and found himself regularly bathing in the river. Though, he was just floating at the center of the river looking up to the sky. He was enjoying his peace and quiet.
Atalanta: "Teacher!" she yelled happily.
Without warning, Atalanta jumped into the river after throwing off her clothing. She did a cannonball resulting in water being splashed all over (Y/n)'s face. He looked over to see Atalanta giggling as she waved her once broken arm.
Atalanta: "Can't believe I found you this quickly! I was certain that I had to wait a few hours for you to come by but here you are!" she grinned.
(Y/n): "Why?" he asked in confusion.
Atalanta: "Why what?" she asked.
(Y/n): "Arm... broken... you... back?" he questioned in disbelief.
Atalanta: "Duh! I already told you, I want you to train me. Though everyone in the village seems to really not like you! Like, at all! But I don't care! You know why?" she asked.
(Y/n): "Stubborn." he replied as he swam to one of the riverbanks and sat up.
Atalanta however, swam back towards him and floated right next to him. Her green eyes staring up to his face as she reached up to touch it only for him to grab her hand.
Atalanta: "Teacher, you're not a bad person like everyone thinks. You're just a big softy." she said to him.
He was about to go back in the water only for a pair of arms to wrap around his stomach. He felt something press against his chest as Atalanta rested her chin on his shoulder.
Atalanta: "Don't worry, I'll protect you if they try to hurt you again. I promise." she whispered into his ear.
(Y/n): "You... can't... protect... self." he pointed out.
Atalanta: "Geez! Don't kill the moment!" she whined.
Cara: "I'm starting to like her." she laughed.
(Y/n): "Want... trial?" he asked.
Atalanta: "Mhmm... no. Not today, can we just relax and have fun? I also don't want a broken bone yet." she said half-jokingly.
He turned his head back to Atalanta to look into her eyes. She looks a bit desperate and it was then when he remembered that she said that she didn't have any friends. This made him think of Cara and what her life was before. (Y/n) turned away and nodded his head.
Time continued to pass and winter had arrived. The forest was covered in snow and deep within the forest, there at the bottom of a large tree was a small hut. In front of the hut were two people "sparring". Atalanta was wearing a brown fur coat and black pants while (Y/n) was in his armor. As (Y/n) caught Atalanta's fist and sent her flying across the ground before she got buried in a pile of snow. After she was buried, (Y/n) stopped moving to hold himself as he began shivering.
(Y/n): "C-Cold..." he complained.
Cara: "That's winter for you." she told him.
After a few moments, Atalanta's head popped out of the snow pile and looked at (Y/n) pouting.
Atalanta: "Teacher! Why do you like throwing me around so much?!" she asked.
(Y/n): "Easy." he replied.
Atalanta: "Come on, Teacher! Can you show me how to fight properly?! All you ever do it grab my arm or leg and throw me... am I a joke?" she asked.
(Y/n): "Come." he told her.
He walked towards the hut with Atalanta sulking behind him as she followed. The moment, (Y/n) entered the hut, he quickly disperses his armor and appeared in a hooded white cloak and rushed over to the fireplace. He sat right next to it and buried himself in his cloak with Atalanta walking over after closing the door. She sat down next to him.
Atalanta: "Why are we sitting here?" she asked.
(Y/n): "Look." he said pointing at himself.
Atalanta: "Ok?" she replied.
She looked at him a bit confused as he reached into his cloak and pulled out a small red crystal. She looked confused as he placed the gem between his hands and began pressing hard against it until it was crushed. He opened his hands up like a tube and place his mouth on one and pointed it towards the fireplace before blowing into it. Atalanta watched as a burst of flame came out of his hand and towards the fireplace causing it to light up before fading away. (Y/n)'s hands, however, were burnt severely for a few moments before his wounds healed up as if nothing had happened.
Atalanta: "What was that?!" she asked excitedly.
(Y/n): "Heard... merchants... call... Dust." he told her.
Atalanta: "Do you have more? Can you make a weapon with it? Can I have one?!" she began asking question after question.
He didn't say anything as he pulled out a red gem and placed it over Atalanta's forehead. She looks a bit confused as (Y/n) closed his eye as the gem began to glow. Atalanta watched as her body began to glow purple much to her awe and excitement to the unknown. It only took a few moments before it faded away.
(Y/n): "Fight... again." he told her.
Atalanta looked excited as she stood up and ran out the door. (Y/n) followed after her to see her mimicking what he did with the red dust crystal and began blowing trying to breath out a blast of fire with no results.
Atalanta: "What did you do?" she asked confused.
(Y/n): "You... discover." he told her.
Atalanta: "Oh! So I need to fight or something to something cool like your armor thing? That's so cool, teacher! Maybe I'll be super strong or fly!" she said with excitement.
Black smoke engulfed (Y/n)'s body as his armor formed with a large black claymore in his hand causing Atalanta to panic.
Atalanta: "A weapon?!" she yelled.
Before she could say another word, (Y/n) rushed over to her and swung it to hit her on the side. She barely managed to place her hands up to guard before being sent flying and crashing on the ground. This time, Atalanta stood up looking a bit shock to see that she was ok. She was confused until she noticed the purple energy outlining her body as it faded away.
Atalanta: "...so cool." she muttered.
She looked up to see (Y/n) right in front of her about to bring down his claymore on top of her. Out of pure instinct, she lifted her hands up in front of her and closed her eyes. Nothing happened. She slowly opened one eye to see why (Y/n) stopped his attack only to see him covered in purple energy floating in the air unable to move.
Cara: "That's not fair! How come I get blood manipulation while she gets this?!" she complained.
Atalanta began moving her hand to the side to see (Y/n)'s body moving where her hand went and a smile formed on her face. She suddenly thrust her arm forward which sent (Y/n) flying backward at an incredible speed resulting in him crashing through several trees and leaving behind a trail of snow that was kicked up from the speed. (Y/n) crashed down on the ground causing a large explosion of snow to blast up into the air. He found himself laying on his back staring up to the sky as shards of wood pieced through his armor.
(Y/n): "Humans... scary..." he told Cara.
Cara: "So unfair!" she cried out.
He continued to lay there and managed to pull out the shards of wood right as Atalanta came running towards him with a worried look. But the moment she saw (Y/n) sitting up made her let out a sigh of relief as she ran in front of him. She stuck her hand out to him and offered him a hand up.
Atalanta: "Teacher... thank you. And please continued to train me. I'll be in your care." she told him.
(Y/n) looked up to her to see the bright smile on her face and lifted his hand up to meet hers.
(Timeskip brought to you by Atalanta meditating as three large boulders floated around her)
Fifteen years had passed with seasons coming and going. Atalanta had been slowly making a name for herself at her village as a huntress that hunts the Grimm. During that time, Atalanta and (Y/n)'s bond increased as they found themselves inseparable at most times. Atalanta even managed to get (Y/n) to drink with her in the village despite it resulting in (Y/n) becoming a drunken mess. Though, Atalanta wasn't any better as she would become drunk with her teacher almost every time. He was trying to open up to the world so he could be with her more.
During those fifteen years, Atalanta mastered her semblance and was now a person who could forge a legend that would last for eternity. Once she was ready, (Y/n) took her to the island at the bay and showed her the Garden and revealed what he was. This didn't change Atalanta's option of (Y/n) at all. In any case, it only made her more determined to protect him.
Now, (Y/n) found himself sitting peacefully wearing his black armor in the beautiful meadow full of flowers in front of his hut. He was sitting with legs crossed and had his large gauntlet stretched out full of seeds where some birds ate out of his hand. There were other birds sitting on top of his black metal conical hat that replaced his helmet. Atalanta said that the helmet scared people, so showing them that he was a person made them feel a bit more comfortable with him. There was a smile on (Y/n)'s face as he stared at the birds in his hand. He loved nature, it was the peace he loved so much.
?????: "Teacher! Teacher! Teacher! Guess what! Guess! Guess!" he heard a familiar voice call out to him excitedly.
He watched as the birds quickly flew away much to his disappointment. He turns his head only to see a blonde and green blur come crashing into him, resulting in them falling over onto the ground. His beloved peace lasted for a short amount of time. He looked up to see his first ever student sitting on top of his armor staring down at him with a smile. His beloved Atalanta.
Atalanta is a charmingly beautiful young woman with very long, wavy yellow hair with curls at the ends that reaches her knees. Despite all the years, Atalanta's height never changed as her body was still petite. She still shared the same height as (Y/n), which the two seemed to enjoy. She wore short sleeve dark green jacket with a dark brown leather armor underneath the jacket, she had her bow and arrows on her back like usual. She wore dark brown pants with black boots and like always, she's wearing her signature Gavroche cap. Hanging from her hip was a customize pickaxe she used for combat that uses Dust crystals to enhance it but she mainly used it for mining Dust.
(Y/n): "Atalanta...what?" he asked.
Atalanta: "I met a group of wandering adventurers at the pub in the village, right? So I decided to talk with them and found out that they needed a little more muscle. I found out that they go around helping people by defending them from Grimm. Sooooo I volunteered! It's that great?! So let's go go go! I need to meet now! This is the best day ever!" she said as she dragged him to their hut.
Once they were inside, he only watched as she ran around the room gather all her supplies with her smile never leaving her face. She really wanted to see the world and he can't keep her there and protect her forever. (Y/n) felt something strange in his core. The thought of her leaving him and Cara hurts. More than anything injury and unlike a normal injury, he couldn't heal it and make the pain go away. Cara knew what this feeling was.
Cara: "We can't protect her forever, (N/n). We trained her to be the best huntress in the world. She's the first human we seen to be able to fight the Grimm by herself... We have to let her go." she said sadly.
There was a frown on his face as he slowly walked over to a row of shelves at the corner of their hut and reached up. There on the highest shelf was a small box. He grabbed it and pulled it down and slowly walked over to Atalanta all while making his armor disappear into smoke. She noticed this as he emerged from the black smoke in his pure white cloak. He walked in front of her and open the small box to reveal a white hawk feather. She seemed confused as I took it out and placed it on the side of her hat.
(Y/n): "You... not... student... no... more... my... equal... you... free... fly... see... world... please... please... stay... safe... They... call... you... bad... and... witch... but... you... good... Now... you... are... Atalanta... Goodwitch." he told her as tears ran down his eye.
Atalanta only looked at him and smiled as she threw herself at him and pulled him into a tight hug.
Atalanta: "Teacher... You don't have to worry. I'll be fine and I'll come back to you...promise... Teacher, you're not a bad person like everyone thinks. You're still just a big softy. Don't worry, I'll keep my promise and protect you. Promise. Watch! I'llmake you proud!" she told him.
(Y/n) didn't say anything. There was no need. A promise is a sacred bond. Atalanta let him go before grabbing her backpack and began walking out the door, but stopped and turned around to face him one last time. She lifted her hand up and waved goodbye. With that, he watched as Atalanta walked out and into the forest and faded away out of sight. (Y/n) stood at the door for what seemed like forever. It was quiet and peaceful for the first time... since he met Atalanta, but...for some reason he hated it. He loved the peace and quiet yet, it felt as if something was missing. There was no Atalanta to scream out something to him. Just silence. All alone.
Cara: "She's going to die...isn't she?" she asked him.
He stood still before slowly nodding his head. The world was a dangerous place and it wasn't just Grimm she needed to worry about. (Y/n) looked over to the spot she disappeared into the forest and a thought appeared in his mind.
(Y/n): "I... refuse... I... keep... her... safe... even... if... I... die." he stated as he closed the door to the hut.
He quickly formed his black armor and proceeded to walk in the direction where Atalanta went to protect her and watch her from the shadows. He couldn't let her die. He just can't.
Seasons came and went. (Y/n) followed Atalanta from a distance watching as she slew Grimm after Grimm with the adventures she went with. She would go to town after town aiding them and showing them Dust. She would teach them what she learned before going off to the next town. A name was slowly forging and the word of her deeds began traveling from town to town sparking hope for those who cowered in fear of Grimm.
More people began training and began fighting back with the new knowledge they learned from Atalanta. Soon, she found herself leading the group of adventures, which slowly transformed into a large company of hunters and huntresses. They would spread out and help as many people as she could.
Years went by and (Y/n) watched as Atalanta found happiness and love. She married and gave birth to twins. (Y/n) slowly found himself in more pain that he wasn't able to heal. Cara simply said it was heartbreak. He became quiet as he continued to watch over Atalanta.
Despite all this time, she never once returned to their hut in the forest to visit. He hoped that she would remember, to return, but... with each passing day turning to months, then to years, he lost all hope. Unable to bear the pain in his core. Depression. Anger. Fear. Jealously. Sadness. So many negative emotions were radiating off of him like a beacon as he returned to his hut. Grimm began surrounding him, it started out as one, then two, soon, it was a large horde. The horns on his head slowly growing longer as it radiated a red glow like his eye. His body was changing. A new form emerged from him. Black cracks began appearing on his face with parts of his face breaking off to reveal darkness behind it. The black tendrils that sprouted out of his back before morphing into the black version of the King Taijitu that surrounded him. His arms turn into a black vine-like arm with thorns scattered on it with claws as fingers. His once (H/c) hair was radiating a black glow. And the light that once shined in his eye was now gone, all there was now was an eye that looked lifeless and cold.
People began panicking when they saw the horde and sent out messengers to nearby villages. Word got out about the horde and a coalition was formed with the company of adventurers as its vanguard with Atalanta at the front. With all the commotion, someone known as the "sorceress" heard of the Grimm and earning her curiosity. She stayed at a distance and watched as the horde wipe out village after village.
Soon, they arrived near the hut and at the village in the middle of the night. Like before at every other village, the Grimm attacked the village causing chaos. Many ran towards the forest to escape Grimm. But as they ran towards the forest, they were greeted with (Y/n) as he silently stared towards them. His gaze seemed to just go through them and without hesitation, he lifted his arm up and pointed his claw at them.
(Y/n): "Feed." he ordered.
The black snakes around him flew past him and towards the villagers and began killing everyone near him. Woman, man, children, human and Faunus alike. They were torn to bits by the snakes, crushed to death, bitten, or swallowed whole. That was when he noticed many villagers were getting past him and ordered several Grimm to hunt them. That was when he noticed an individual staring at him. He was tanned with platinum blond hair. He wore a white tank top, leather gloves and boots, and brown pants, along with a blue sash tied around his waist and a pendant with a green jewel. His name is Ozma.
There was an aura radiating off of Ozma that was very familiar to (Y/n) and he mindless walked over to him all while picking off any villager that got close to him. There was a look of fear and confusion in Ozma's eyes as he stared at (Y/n). He stumbled backward only to pump into someone.
Atalanta: "Fear not! We have arrived!" she announced.
Ozma looked back to Atalanta with an army at her back. That was when Atalanta looked at (Y/n) and the determine and energetic Atalanta suddenly became still. Dark clouds began forming overhead as rain began pouring down as the fire in the village raged on. The Grimm came up beside (Y/n) and stood at the ready. Atalanta was quiet. Her eyes never looking away from (Y/n) as he stared back.
Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Ozma picked up the sword he threw to the ground earlier.
Atalanta took a step forward and was about to say something only to stop when (Y/n) lifted his arm up towards her and spread his claws.
(Y/n): "Never... came... back... liar!" he yelled out.
His arm moved away from her and suddenly expanded into a larger form that was the size of a small home. It began tearing through the ground as it went by Atalanta and killing dozens of members of the vanguard.
(Y/n): "Kill... not... her." he ordered.
The Grimm charged towards them as (Y/n) retracted his arm. There was panic at first but this wasn't their first fight, they fired Dust infused arrows at the charging Grimm before the vanguard charged forwards yelling out their battle cries. The battle had begun.
An hour has passed and (Y/n) found himself fighting against Atalanta's elite members deep within the woods. They may have been her best members, but they were still nothing compared to her. He killed one member by thrusting his claw through his stomach and using the thorns to expand outward to riddle his inner body full of holes. Another member, he slowly crushed her head as the other members desperately attempted to save her as she screamed for help. She screamed for a few minutes before (Y/n) crushed her head and pushed his foot through her thick skull and crushing her brain.
After a few more minutes, (Y/n) found himself drowning the last member in the river with his snakes. He remembered that this was the spot where he would swim with Atalanta. The last member was her husband, he had no intention of killing him, but that doesn't mean that he'll get away with taking Atlanta from him. He could ask him questions while drowning him before pulling him back out for him to answer. If he didn't answer with something he liked, he would push him down and begin the drowning process again. But as he pulled him out one last time, a figure suddenly appeared and sliced the snakes that were drowning the husband. It was Ozma.
The two would fight a fierce battle with Ozma firing blasts of green energy at him and vaporizing the snakes that emerged from his back only for several more to emerge. (Y/n) would expand his arms and began slamming them down on the forest with the thorns expending out trying to hit the quick hero. The two were nearing the hut as a bloody (Y/n) flew out of the forest and rolled in front of the hut missing his left arm.
Ozma jumped out of the forest with a sword in hand and covered in bite marks, wounds, and blood. He came charging at (Y/n) with more hunters appearing out of the forest as (Y/n) weakly stood up. With his right arm, he moved the hair covering his right to reveal a pitch black eye. As Ozma was three feet away from him, red marking began appearing all over the pitch black eye.
Time seemed to slow down as Ozma saw an impossibly large mouth filled with fangs was engulfing them and was closing quickly. The fangs were tearing apart the hunters as they were in the fangs path. With whatever time Ozma had before the jaw closed, he thrust his blade through (Y/n) chest. The mouth vanished as the red markings his pitch black eye disappeared. With whatever energy he had left, he pulled the blade out of (Y/n)'s chest resulting in him falling back onto the ground facing up to the dark sky.
He laid there unable to heal or move. His body felt only pain physically and mentally. Now, all he and Cara want is death. As he laid there, the sound of footsteps was heard as they stepped on the wet ground. Out of the forest was Atalanta with her husband behind her. There was a look of panic on her face as she saw (Y/n) laying down the ground.
Atalanta: "Teacher! Teacher! Are you ok? Say something!" she cried out.
(Y/n) glanced over to see her running towards him. She was covered in blood and behind her was the group of thirty hunters torn to shreds. Atalanta ran up to (Y/n) and quickly knelt down to him with a scared look in her eyes.
Atalanta: "I don't know what to do? Teacher, tell me what to do to save you!" she cried out to him.
He slowly reached up to her face as a small smile formed on his face.
(Y/n): "No... worry... it... ok." he said to her.
Atalanta: "No! It's not ok teacher! You're dying! ... and it's my fault. You were right, the world is a harsh and cruel place. But I'm worse! I broke my promises to you, I couldn't protect you and I forgot to come back... If only you never met me! If you didn't, then you wouldn't be..." she said as tears ran down her face.
(Y/n): "Happy... together... make... me... happy... you... back... home." he said weakly to her as tears began running down his eyes with the right one crying a black liquid.
Atalanta: "I was happy being with you as well, teacher! I'm happy to be back! So please don't leave me yet. There are still so many things I want to do with you, so many more things I want to do with you. I want you to meet my family. I have been making a list of places to go with you, so we could see the world together with you. I want to... to..." she tried to say only for her grab his claw.
Atalanta: "I want to be with you again! So please... don't go." she cried.
Silence. She looked at his eyes to see them dull. His body began fading away to smoke and Atalanta desperately attempted to grab the dust only for it to slip through her fingers and disappear. (Y/n) had died.
(Present)
Cara and Maka sat on an old wooden boat as they head towards the island. After finishing the story, she knew that it was time for her to tell her tale. But she needed to do one last thing though... she wished it didn't have to be this way.
Cara: "Hey... Maka? Do you have a piece of paper and a pen? I need to write something." she told her with a sad smile.
I was too focused on trying to make him proud and I forgot to keep my promise. I got too distracted while he waited years for me. And after everything, he had the right to kill me, but he couldn't bring himself to do it... I'm sorry, teacher... I'm the worse student ever, huh?
-Atalanta Goodwitch
We arrived at the location where one of the gates to the Garden is! All we have left is one last backstory to tell. Cara's Past.
See you in the next chapter!