Chapter 5: The Mission

Solito Plains, Vacuo

The scorching sun shone over the pale, yellow grasslands, crying out for hydration after weeks of heat with nary a drop of rain. A hot wind blew through the fields, rustling the weary leaves of the few trees still standing in the area. With such inhospitable conditions, unfit for most human settlements, the appearance of mankind's natural predator, the Grimm, was a rare sight indeed. But the lawless and primitive Kingdom of Vacuo was the perfect place for rare things to happen.

The Beowolf walked briskly through the plains, its feet making loud crunch noises as they stepped over the grass beneath them. Its brethren walked alongside it, all their savage minds focused on one goal, some distance ahead of them. Though its belly could feel no hunger, its mouth salivated at the thought the prey that awaited it. Suddenly, the creature's ears perked up. Something had caught its attention. Growling, the Beowolf attempted to call to its brethren in warning.

A piercing bang shot through the air, bursting the creature's head like a bubble. With muddy black ooze leaking from its neck, the Beowulf crumpled to the ground as its body disintegrated. The other Grimm paused momentarily to search for the source of the noise, but soon turned and resumed their ominous march.

From atop her perch in the nearby tree, Marguerite Scarlet looked through the scope of her sniper rifle to confirm the kill.

"So how is it, Marge?" Her leader asked, his voice resonating through her earpiece.

"Not looking good, Latte," she muttered, taking in her surroundings. Five Creeps to the right, three more Beowolves dead ahead, and at least one Griffon out somewhere in the sky. "There's few enough that we can take 'em out, but the worrying thing is...they all seem to be headin' for the village. With all these ugly mugs showing up, something real bad must be happening. Hate to say it, but we could be too late."

"It's never too late till it's over, Marge! And Team LIME is going to teach those bandits a very valuable lesson!" Latte shouted passionately. "Keep a close eye on the area until the place is clear, got it?"

"No problem, boss,"

Several kilometres away, Latte Adel stretched out his arms and yawned, wincing as the sharp blades of grass cut into his tanned skin. Kneeling down, he turned to his two other teammates. "On my mark, we'll make our move," he whispered. "Esther, make us a nice thunderstorm-just try not to kill Marge while you're at it."

"Alright!" Esther jumped up eagerly. The young mage put her hands together, activating one of her Forsaken artes. Immediately, a thick soup of dark clouds began moving over the sunlit horizon, and Latte could feel the temperature drop. "I just need to concentrate for a minute," she muttered.

Latte nodded approvingly. "Okay Isa," he said, turning back to his partner. "Provide cover for Esther while I make a mad dash for the village. Use that Arctic Arm of yours and show those Grimm what a real hero is worth!"

Isa Teal stared at him disapprovingly. Her ice-blue eyes bore into him with their usual stern coolness. There was just a tinge of concern in there, however, that made it more difficult to mistake the stoic young Huntress for a robot. "You?" she asked quietly. "Please don't tell me you're going to do this alone."

"Haha, relax. It's me, remember!" Smiling, Latte patted her on the head reassuringly. The two of them had gotten rather close during their years together at Atlas Academy, and hearing Isa show genuine worry for him was something he found rather sweet. "Don't worry, this'll be no problem for us."

"...If you say so," Isa responded, sounding ever-so-slightly happy.

The stormclouds had covered the whole sky now. Thunder rumbled across the terrain as the first few droplets of rain fell upon the thirsting land. "Alright Marge," said Latte into his Scroll. "Shoot up a flare when you see an opportunity!" Putting the Scroll back into the pocket, he loaded a fresh round of shotgun pellets into his Pyroburst Cannon. Just as he finished, the bright red spark flew across the sky with a whoosh.

"Showtime!" Latte yelled, leaping out from the grass, running at full speed in the direction of his destination. Sneaking a glance behind him, he saw that Isa was methodically clearing out nearby Grimm with concentrated ice beams, while Esther summoned lightning bolts to fry any that got too close.

A few Ursas up ahead had noticed his presence. Turning around, they were greeted by the sight of Latte revving up Pyroburst Cannon's flamethrower, sending a wave of fire in their direction. While Grimm had been observed to being immune from burning, they still feared fire like all rational creatures. Hissing in disgust, they fled from Latte as he ran toward them. Firing an explosive shell from his weapon, the projectile burst into a fiery spectacle as it impacted the ground, disintegrating the Grimm. Latte had no time to pause, as a large Nevermore swooped down at him from seemingly nowhere. Pressing a switch on Pyroburst Cannon, a set of sharp blades protruded from the edges of the weapon, and he swung it as the avian Grimm approached him, mouth wide open.

"Hiya!" With a single powerful stroke, he split the bird's jaw open, sending it flying back into the air while screaming in agony. Flailing its wings around in distress, it was unable to react in time to avoid the powerful lightning bolt that struck it and turned it into ash. Latte pushed himself to run even faster. More Grimm lunged at him as he ran past, and the few that got too close for comfort were blasted into oblivion.

As he approached his destination, Latte reflected again on their current assignment. The Vacuo Security Branch (or the closest the Kingdom had to one) had received a distress call from Aggro Village, one of Vacuo's largest independent settlements, and the only colony in the hostile environment of the Solito Desert. The call was cut off, but it seemed they were being under attack by a group of bandits. While there wasn't anything suggesting that these bandits were connected to the Brotherhood, Team LIME certainly weren't going to just abandon some people in need.

Latte noticed a plume of smoke rising from somewhere in the distance. His heart sank. Oh no, he thought, fearing the worst. As he got closer, he saw the village-or rather, what was left of it. Buildings were smashed up, debris was strewn everywhere, and thick black smog poured out from the centre of the colony. It looked like he'd been too late after all. But maybe he could still save whatever survivors were left.

A figure emerged from the wreckage, slowly walking towards Latte. From the foreign symbol on his chest, and the bloodied helmet he wore on his head, it was clear that he was a bandit. On guard, Latte raised Pyroburst Cannon and yelled at him: "Stop right there! If you attack I'll have to take you in by force!"

The bandit continued to approach him, as if he hadn't heard. Gradually, Latte began to take note of his awkward, stumbling gait, and his ghostly-pale complexion. As the man opened his mouth, a small stream of blood trickled down his chin. "What happened here?" Latte asked cautiously. "Who...did this to you?"

"A...m-m-m…" the bandit gasped, his mouth trembling with the effort. "A mons….ter…." He collapsed to the ground, revealing the gruesome stab wound in his back. Within seconds, a group of flies were hovering around the sweet, mangled flesh, eager for a bite. Latte didn't even need to check to know he was dead.

Feeling significantly more concerned now, Latte continued onward, clutching his weapon tightly. The rest of Aggro Village was no better off than the little preview he had gotten. It seemed like every single structure had been wrecked beyond repair. Bloodied corpses of civilians and soldiers were scattered all over the ground, side-by-side with those of the bandits that had killed them. The occasional Grimm could also be found, lying motionless as their bodies faded into nothingness. At some point, Latte gave up on searching for survivors.

Suddenly, he heard a sound from somewhere nearby. While Latte couldn't quite make out the whole thing, it was unmistakably someone's voice. "...did good...Headmaster….happy with..." Quietly, he made his way toward the direction of the voice, keeping close to the walls.

He soon found himself in what had been the central square of the village. The pieces of a beautiful marble fountain were scattered among bits of charred bricks and cement. A large smoldering crater stood as the centerpiece of it all, as if the village had been struck by a meteor. Amidst it all, observing the grotesque scenery, was an unfamiliar figure.

It was a girl, with bright pink hair tied up in a long ponytail, and wearing what appeared to be a mix between a lab coat and an aristocratic suit. Approaching her from the back. Latte saw that she was holding something in her left hand, and was speaking out loud in a casual voice:

"Nothing we could've done, I guess. Still, I'd say that was a successful test, wouldn't you? C'mon, we should go. Storm and Moss are gonna be worried sick if-"

"Hey," Latte greeted her abruptly. "Who are you?"

"Geh-!?" The girl turned around in a panic. In her hand, she clutched a small baby eagle-a very rare animal in Vacuo territory. Looking more closely, Latte could see that it was actually made of metal, and its head's movements were awkwardly stiff.

An artificial construct, huh? "Look, sorry if I alarmed you," Latte said, dropping his weapon. He raised his arms in the air, and gave the mystery girl an amicable look. "But mind telling me what you're doing here?"

"None of your business," she said immediately, turning up her nose as if disgusted by him. "Who do you think you are, anyway? Sneaking up on me like that?"

Latte felt a tinge of annoyance. "Name's Latte Adel. I'm a Huntsman-in-training from Atlas," he explained. "My team and I were sent to Vacuo for an assessment, and this morning we heard about a distress signal coming from this village. So we came as fast as we could…"

The girl just looked up in the air, a look of boredom on her face. The robot bird in her hand let out a metallic chirp. "Well, you sure weren't fast enough," she said snobbishly.

Latte was starting to lose patience with her. "Look, I've told you who I am," he said as calmly as he could. "I think it's common courtesy for two people to be on equal terms when they talk. Wouldn't you agree, Miss….?"

"...Psycha."

"Well, Psycha, what's a young woman like yourself doing here? You're not going to tell me you caused all this, are you?"

The girl laughed, glancing at him with newfound intrigue. "I might have contributed just a bit," she said with a smirk. "I did get here before you though, so I might know a bit more about what happened here."

"Really?" Latte asked hurriedly. "Well, what'd you find out?"

Psycha visibly paused for several seconds before answering, as if trying to torment him. "Well, I got here on my own," she began. "It was just me and Bubble-" she lifted up the bird in her hand, who chirped happily at the sudden movement, "-and by the time we got here the place was already screwed. Bodies everywhere. Some bandits were still alive, so naturally I asked them what happened. And they told me a pretty interesting story. Apparently they were being driven back by the villagers until someone showed up and started slaughtering them! They thought reinforcements had arrived-but then they started killing the bandits, too! "

"Did they say who?" Latte inquired. The Brotherhood, maybe?

"...Sort of. One guy said it was just two perps-one man and one Grimm. But some of the others corrected him! They swore it was just one guy-who transformed into a Grimm and back and just wiped out their whole squad! Crazy, huh?"

"That's ridiculous," said Latte without hesitation. He wondered if Psycha was pulling his leg-the idea of Grimm shapeshifters was a concept found only in the wildest of fairy tales. "And what exactly happened to them?"

Psycha gestured vaguely towards the giant crater behind her. "You'll find them somewhere in there. They won't be in any mood to talk, though," she added smugly. Shocked, Latte opened his mouth to respond, but she continued. "Hey, you said your name was Latte Adel, right? And you're from Atlas? I think I know you-you're the leader of Team LIME, right? The academy's little celebrities."

Chirp, chimed Bubble.

Latte was taken aback. "Yeah, that's right," he replied. "Gotta admit, I didn't realize we were this well known."

"Well that's just great," Pyscha smiled. "Because I just happen to be Shade Academy's star pupil. Remember this, Adel, because Team PLSM is the strongest in all of Remnant, and at next year's tournament you're going to see it for yourself!" From her pocket, she drew a small blue orb, and flung it straight at Latte. The device exploded into a cloud of tear gas that left him blinded and coughing. A loud mechanical buzz rang through his ears as he desperately tried to regain his bearings. When he finally opened his eyes and looked around, Psycha was gone.

"Latte!" Isa, Marguerite and Esther were running toward him as he stumbled to his feet. "Are you alright?" Esther asked anxiously.

"Yeah...mostly…" he muttered. Once the nausea faded from his body, Latte briefly explained to his teammates what had (allegedly) happened to the village.

Marguerite shook her head. " That's bullshit...one person did all this?"

"It's not unprecedented," Esther pointed out. "Something similar happened back during the Faunus War. One soldier went rogue and wiped out an entire village by himself."

"But that was a peaceful village," Marguerite reminded her . " They couldn't defend themselves-and it happened while everyone was asleep! This was in broad daylight, and Aggro's been strong enough to fend for themselves for years! They practically had their own military!"

Isa seemed lost in thought. "Team PLSM? Strange...I don't think I've heard of them," she murmured to herself.

Latte just sat on the ruined cement, a bit overwhelmed. It wasn't just that the mission had been a total failure. From his encounter with Psycha, and what she'd said to him, he had a feeling that there was much more to all this than it seemed. He stood up abruptly.

"Call the headmaster," he told Isa.

Brotherhood of Gehenna, Temporary Base

It was around dusk when Rok arrived at the encampment. The place was wonderfully barbaric, filled with crudely built idols of Grimm, and hundreds of people wearing all sorts of bizarre garments wandering around spewing vulgarities and gorging themselves on freshly-cooked meat. There was also the occasional "accident" where some man had been a bit too eager to play with his spear, or was just roaring drunk, and someone else had paid a heavy price.

It would've been entertaining had it not been so tasteless. Rok ignored the bizarre spectacle all around him, as his real objective lay directly ahead of him in a large tent. Maybe he'll be in a good mood today, he thought to himself.

The two men guarding the tent were dressed differently from the others. Both wore white-and-red mask carved out of bone, and had donned black leather vests with scarlet highlights. "Out of my way," Rok told them bluntly. The man on the right stared at him for a second. "The young master isn't here right now, I'm afraid," he said. "If you have business, come back-"

Rok told him his name. Normally he would have simply snapped the man's neck, but right now he was in a bit of a hurry. Hastily, the two guards moved to the sides, and Rok walked in.

There were only two things in the large tent. One was an enormous suit of black armour, forged out of the rarest and most expensive jewels and Dust crystals in Remnant. It shone like the darkest obsidian, with gleaming red glints that looked like it could be blood, or streams of molten lava. The other was the suit's owner, a mountain of a man with dark hair and a rigid, sturdy body that made him look more like a wolf than a human. As Rok entered, the giant looked up at him with his blue-gray eyes.

"Hey Fenrir," said Rok, smiling.

The giant did not return the greeting. "You are not welcome here," he growled in an inhumanly low voice. "You should have never come back after you left."

Rok ignored him. "Have you gotten more...compassionate since I last saw you?" he asked, glancing behind him. "Were it up to me, I'd have left those Brotherhood morons to die ages ago. Since when does the guy they call the 'Dreadnaught' show mercy?"

"I am not you," replied Fenrir. "And they have their uses to us. Those fools should thank the gods for their stroke of luck."

"Personally, I'd wait to see how long that luck lasts for them," said Rok ominously. "And what about people like those do-gooders from Aggro Village? Are you so hard up even they're allowed into your little posse?"

"Some of them were strong," Fenrir shrugged. "They could not have expected what happened. The village fought honourably, but they lost. I saw to that personally."

Rok chuckled. "So you did. Well, I'm sure they'll be sooo pleased that they're working for savages like you. I mean, it's better than living in some boring town your whole life...but that's beside the point. I'm just a messenger today, telling you that the first phase of the plan is almost complete."

"Ah, of course. Mountain Glenn...in Vale, was it not?" Fenrir asked with some curiosity.

"Yep. The rest has been left in old Merlot's hands. I'm kinda skeptical, yeah, but Lady Salem seems to trust him. Now theoretically, I've got no reason to be there as far as the plan's concerned, but…."

There was a heavy pause. Fenrir stood up, his blue eyes flashing blood-red for a split second.

"You found them," he snarled. "They're there, aren't they?"

"Bingo!" Rok grinned gleefully, clapping his hands together in mock congratulation. "Qrow and Raven...oh, it's been so long, I don't know if they'll even recognize me! And as for you...you really want to meet them, don't you? Hmmm?"

"Of...course I do." Fenrir sat down again, closing his eyes. "Father will be relieved to hear they are still alive," he murmured.

Suddenly, Rok's smile faded. He leaned forward until he was right in Fenrir's face. His boyish face was curled up in a scornful, spiteful sneer, and beneath his glasses his eyes were filled with contempt. "You shouldn't be saying that, you know," he said softly. His tone had completely changed. "You know full well who your real father is."

"Luka Branwen is a traitor!" Fenrir growled. His demeanor had changed too. His stoicism had been replaced by a blind, violent rage. His eyes turned molten red again, as scarlet veins began to develop across his face. His teeth seemed to grow, sharpening into large fangs. "He spat in the face of everything our clan stood for, destroyed our home, and would have seen us all wiped out! That..person...is no father of mine," he snarled. "But I remained loyal to my family, Ragna, while you continue to blindly obey his heresy, like a mindless sheep following a false shepherd!"

Another long pause followed, as the two boys stared each other down with intense glares. Finally, Rok leaned back, his expression returning to normal. "That's not my name right now," he said coolly. "I'm just Rok, a humble messenger, here to spread good news to all who need it. And that includes you...brother."

"Just...leave." Fenrir let out a heavy sigh. The veins had disappeared from his face, and his eyes were their usual blue again. "I shall remain in Vacuo for a while longer...until I have fulfilled my duty. I assume you will return to Vale now...to see the two of them?"

"Yes...and no." Rok held out his hand to the side, and a portal of black smog materialized in front of it. "See, family matters can wait. Right now….there's one other person I'd like to see." Before Fenrir could reply, he stood up, walked into the darkness ahead of him, and was gone.

Next Chapter: Fateful Encounter

A/N: PLSM is spoken as "plasma". No, it's not a Pokemon reference.

Hope you don't mind a chapter focusing entirely on OCs. Next few chapters will be 99% Summer and co. and will have plenty of action, so don't worry.

Merry late Christmas!