-Y/n's POV, Several Months Later-

It's been several months since I got into Signal and it's been fun as hell. I'm finally able to curse without my parents breathing down my neck, and I was able to learn about how to build and forge weapons. I had made new friends, a couple girlfriends, okay, I lied about that one; but, so far, my first year has been exceptional. I've been making perfect grades in my other studies and life was good.

"...Dude, didn't you hear? I think we're gonna start making our new weapons today." A friend of mine sat next to me while I was eating lunch in the cafeteria. I almost spat out my food in excitement. I quickly finished chewing what I had and spoke up.

"No way! You're Joking!"

"I'm not kidding! After lunch, we're supposed to go to the forging classrooms. I'm super hyped."

"You have a weapon idea in mind?" I asked him.

"I was thinking of a Bow-like weapon that can be used as a glider and twin blades."

"That sounds sick. High mobility, can be stealthy, that works out. I'm assuming it's gonna match your style?"

"Yep. That's the plan. And what about you? What are you thinking for yours?" He rested his hand on his chin and his elbow on the table. "I bet it's gonna be kickass."

"I talked to my dad about it a while back before I got here. I was thinking about having a large sword, but with some fiery aspect to it."

"You're gonna have some sort of dust compartment?"

"I'm still thinking about that. I don't know yet."

"You gonna have a range component?"

"Still thinking on that too."

"Dang man, you really haven't put that much thought into it, have you?"

"Nope. It'll come to me when it does." I shrugged at his question, taking a sip out of my tiny milk carton.

"It's gonna take several days to finish our weapons anyways, then we have to get them tested to move on to the next year. After that, it's combat training for the next three years. You think you'll be ready for that?"

"Damn straight. If I'm going to Beacon, I'm gonna have to make sure my weapon is perfect and that I train hard with it."

"I hope I get Professor Branwen, He's so badass!"

"I've heard he's pretty cool. I've seen him in the halls a couple times. There are several different combat teachers, so you have a one in a bunch chance of getting him."

"I'll take that chance!"

"Pshh, Alright." I rolled my eyes with a smile on my face. He and I sat there, talking about our weapons until the bell rang. We got up and I threw my food away and went straight the forging classrooms. When I walked in, I was instantly hit with excitement. The room was big and filled with a bunch of stations for forging. There was a table in the middle of the classroom with a lot of materials that the students could use. The class sat about ten to fifteen people. I had time before the rest of the class came in to think about what I truly wanted.

Soon, the other students walked in the classroom as well as the teacher.

"Good afternoon, Y/n. Good to see you're here early." The teacher went up to the front of the room.

"As always. Plus, I heard that we're starting our weapon making today."

"That's correct. Now students, as I just said to Y/n, you will start making your weapons today and it will take several days to complete them. Now, I'm going to give you some tips. It is recommended, but not mandatory, to have a close range and long range component to your weapon which could include a gun or some sort of dust compartment. Make the weapon special to you, but make it work. Remember, it has to pass all of the tests for you to move on to the combat classes starting next year. With all that I've taught you about forging different weapons with different materials, I think you have what it takes. On the table, there are plentiful amounts of material at your disposal. After you are finished with your weapon, do not toy with it. I believe in you. Make me proud. You may begin." The students and I all went up and grabbed the materials and went back to the forge stations.

...

...

...

It took several days to complete, just like the teacher said. It was hard, because at first, I didn't know exactly what I wanted. I knew I wanted it to be a sword, but there were hundreds of different sword types with different lengths and styles. I also had to figure out what to do about the 'fiery' part of the sword I wanted. In the end, the weapon turned out to be amazing. I was personally impressed with myself. It was exactly what I wanted:

(I know this is Nero's Red Queen from DMC 5, but I thought it looked and worked perfect for a RWBY weapon)

I loved it. I almost loved it too much. I loved the dark-red accents, to the exhaust pipes, to the brake lever, to the blade itself. I felt like a genius after making it. To sum it up, It's a large sword with a small combustion engine attached to it. Its most unique feature is that it has been specially customized with a motorcycle-like hilt which, when twisted/revved, sprays a flammable fuel across the blade, greatly increasing the power of its strikes. I decided to call this system 'Exceed'. The hilt could be revved up to three times, and it could be released either in one incredibly powerful strike, or three separate stinging blows. I added six pairs of exhaust pipes for propulsion. When I attack while having the fire go through the pipes, It'll propel the sword and increase the speed and force of my swings. The brake lever was used for canceling the exceed if I didn't need to use it. It was my masterpiece, I had made sure that everything was up to code and that when tested, it would pass with flying colors.

"Now, that your weapons are finished, it's time to name them. I'll be going to each of you individually so you can give me the name of your weapon." The teacher went down the line of students as they told him the name of their weapons. I didn't have too long to figure out a name. It had to be something catchy, something cool sounding, and something that could match my weapon. I thought and thought.

"Motorcycle.....fire....sword....engine...." I said quietly to myself. Just as the teacher got to me, I finally had the name of my weapon in my head.

"Alright, Y/n. What will you be naming your weapon?" He asked me.

"Trailblazer..."

...

...

...

-Y/n's POV, Age 15-

"Alright, Y/n. Let's see your weapon in action." The combat teacher instructed. I was in my second year of Signal Academy and I was currently in my combat class. The students were told to show off their weapons capabilities one by one. My lucky friends ended up with Professor Branwen. I ended up with another professor. He was cool, but not Qrow cool. Everyone in the school loved Professor Branwen. They thought he was badass and strong and kind of a rebel in some cases. I shook my head and went forward into the open area in the training room.

"Alright then." I reached my hand behind my back and grabbed the hilt of Trailblazer. I took it off of my back and spun it around vertically before stabbing the tip of it into the floor. I twisted the grip and the motor started running and flames came out of the first two pipes closest to the hilt. I could hear some of the students gasps and oohs and aahs.

"Nice, nice." The teacher nodded. "Now, hit the training dummy a couple times."

He pressed a button and a training dummy came out of the wall. I dislodged my sword from the ground and lunged at the dummy. The exceed caused the sword to have more momentum in its strike. Trailblazer's blade slammed into the training dummy, cutting it clean in half and setting both parts ablaze. The flames from the pipes went out after the attack. I then put Trailblazer on my back. That was just from revving the grip once. I wondered how much power it would have if I were to rev it at its max of three times. The teacher clapped as well as some of the students.

"I like it. I like that weapon a lot. The fire from the exhaust seemed to have really made your weapon pack a bigger punch." The teacher stated.

"Yeah. I wanted to add something a bit extra to my weapon to add more power."

"I'm super surprised that you added a small combustion engine to the weapon instead of just adding a compartment for dust."

"I wanted something different than dust I guess." I shrugged.

"Very well. Good job." He pressed the button and the bottom half of the dummy went back into the wall. Alright, class. "Now that everyone's showed what their weapons are capable of, I can train you all based on them. Y/n, let's start with you...."

...

...

...

-Y/n's POV, Age 17-

"DUUUUUDE!" I turned around and was immediately tackled by one of my friends.

"AGH!!" I fell to the ground in shock as he landed on top of me. He got up quickly. "What the hell, man?"

"Sorry dude. I'm just in the greatest mood right now." He cheered as he jumped up and down in excitement. I slowly got up and held my forehead.

"Look, even if we've graduated, that doesn't give you a reason to just tackle me out of nowhere." I said in a frustrated manner.

"C'mon, Y/n! Lighten up! We graduated and we get to go to huntsman academies now."

"That's true." I giggled. My friend and I were talking at the bullhead station at Signal. We had just graduated and were about to go back our homes for the summer. It was a shame that I wasn't able to unlock my semblance during my time at Signal, but I didn't worry too much about it.

"See?! You should be raising the roof in happiness!"

"I am excited. I'm more excited just to go home and see my parents again and show them everything I can do."

"Yeah, same here. I can't wait to go home and be able to sleep all day and night again."

"Haha. Yeah. Are you gonna enroll at Beacon?" I asked him.

"Nah.. I'm gonna shoot for Haven probably. I like Mistral. It's very pretty."

"I've heard about Mistral. Hope I get the chance to visit someday."

"Hey, can you do that thing again where you rev your weapon and it flames up?" He asked. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"It's called Exceed. I've told you this like a million times now."

"C'mon do the thing!"

"Ugh... fine." I groaned. To be honest though, it was fun as hell to do it every time. I grabbed Trailblazer from behind me and stabbed it into the ground, revving the handle, fire building up at the first, second, and third pair of pipes.

"Oh my gosh!! Sis! Look!! His sword can catch on fire when he twists the handle!! It's so cooooool!!" I heard a younger girl scream about my weapon, gushing over it. I looked and she was small, had red/black hair, and young looking.

"That is pretty cool. I like how the handle twists like a motorcycle handle. The exhaust pipes are also pretty sick. It reminds me of Bumblebee. I can't wait till we get home so I can give her a ride." The older girl said. She was taller, older, and blonde.

"We're not too far from home. Dad will just take us back."

"We'll have to wait for him though. He's probably still inside talking to some of the students." The blonde one sighed before they both walked inside the school. I pressed the brake lever to extinguish the Exceed flames and put my sword on my back.

"That's so freaking cool! Every time I see it, I get pumped."

"Same here. Your weapon is sick as hell too. I mean look at that thing! It's a bow that can shoot different types of arrows, It can turn into twin blades that are good for close quarters, and you can turn it into wings on your back to help you glide. That's kickass."

"Hell yeah it is. Remember the last time we sparred? We were almost equally matched."

"Pfft, yeah, almost." I rolled my eyes with a smile.

"If you didn't throw your weapon at me while I was in the air, I would've won."

"Riiiiiiight." We both laughed, which soon turned to silence.

"Well.. I'm probably gonna head home." I said to him, breaking that silence.

"Ah, man. It's been a fun four years hasn't it?"

"Damn straight it has. Sucks we're not going to the same huntsman academy."

"Yeah.."

"Hey, if we don't see each other again in the future, I want you to live a good life."

"You the same." We both shook hands firmly, looking into each other's eyes.

"Godspeed." I said, turning around.

"Godspeed." We both walked away. I hopped into the bullhead that was going to drop me off at my village. It took a bit for a lot more students to get on. When the bullhead was full enough, it closed its doors, lifted into the air and, started its journey as the sun set.

-Meanwhile, at the Village, D/n's POV-

My wife and I were happily sitting on the couch, watching the television. We knew Y/n was coming home from Signal soon and we were excited, his mother especially. When he came home for summer vacation after his first year, he showed me his weapon and I was shocked at it. It looked badass. I was impressed with what he came up with. He and I sparred a bit with it and it, in my opinion, he might have scared me a little. His weapon almost caught the house on fire one time. During the time he was away, I was finally able to finish repairing the shed. I stored my old huntsman gear in there from when I was in Beacon and a while after. I also kept Axel in there. Either way, we were both super happy that he graduated from Signal and I know that he's going to want to go to Beacon.

"Oh... I can't wait till I see him again. You think he's on his way back by now?" She asked me. I looked down at my watch.

"Honey, it's already evening. He's probably on the bullhead now, heading here. Be a bit calmer."

"Sorry... I'm just so excited. He graduated and it's a huge step in his life. Not to mention, you didn't let me go to the ceremony." She crossed her arms and pouted a bit.

"We didn't go, because you would embarrass him if we did go."

"I would not. I would have taken a lot of pictures and cheered for him."

"Exactly." A couple moments later, we both heard a bunch of screaming and glass breaking outside, which startled us. Nothing really big ever happened here, so it came as a surprise to us to hear people scream. I looked at the window and saw that It was somewhat bright, though the sun was already below the horizon. I got up and went over to it to look through. I was a bit in shock as I saw a couple houses burning.

"What's going on out there? What's all the screaming about?" My wife asked, concerned.

"I don't know, but I'm going to go figure it out."

"Be careful."

"I will." I walked outside and saw people a ways down, on the ground. There was blood. They were dead, their houses on fire. I saw a bunch of figures walking down the main street of the village, some breaking off into peoples houses with screaming following them afterwards. We were being attacked.

*BOOOOM!!!*

An explosion went off, destroying two to three houses. Suddenly, M/n ran outside in terror.

"What the hell was that?!" She asked, severely confused and terrified.

"The village is being attacked." I didn't know who would do such a thing. I looked to my right and saw a White Fang member about to strike me. I quickly reacted by pushing my wife back, dodging and grabbing the back of the guys head before slamming it into the ground, killing him. She screamed. "It's the White Fang. Get inside!"

She did as she was told and ran inside. I had no clue why they were here. We havent done anything to any Faunus or The White Fang. I was so confused as to why they were attacking the village. I quickly ran over to the shed, opening the door. I went in and grabbed Axel, walking out and closing the door behind me. Several more goons ran up to me, some of them stopped and two of them came at me. I quickly slashed and stabbed the two who were coming at me and shot the rest around me down. Some of the other residents of the village were trying to fight back as well. Some were doing well while others perished to the White Fang.

*BOOOOM!!!*

A couple more houses were caught in an explosion. Someone must've had a weapon that caused huge explosions. I went around taking down more of the White Fang while I heard the screams of more people go silent.

"Does anyone need help?!" I yelled out. I looked over a couple houses down to find a couple in danger. There was a larger White Fang member holding a Claymore-like weapon. "HEY!! Leave them alone!"

The man turned his attention from the cowering couple over to me. We were about the same height. I knew my sword wasn't going to fare well with his larger sword, so I transformed my sword to its Claymore mode. Our swords clashed, we pushed each other back a bit, little by little. We seemed pretty equal in strengths, but little did he know, I had my semblance to back me up. I quickly activated it and I was able to make him slide backwards due to the amount of force I was putting on my weapon. I then used my other hand to grab his head. I squeezed hard, cracking and breaking the Grimm mask he had on. I then smashed my head into his, before kicking him into the couple's house. I deactivated my semblance, breathing heavily afterwards. My semblance lets me increase my overall strength and speed for a short amount of time.

*BOOOOM!!!*

I looked around to find the next houses that blew up... My eyes widened in fear and my heart stopped.

"M/n!!!!!!!" I yelled. I saw my house go up in flames. I ran as fast as I could over to the house seeing a huge gaping hole in the side of it. I hoped to the gods that she was okay. I jumped inside the house and searched frantically for my wife. There was so much rubble and debris after the explosion, I couldn't find her at first glance. I lifted up rocks and wood and everything around until I saw her foot. She was trapped under the bookcase. I quickly lifted it up seeing her burned and bruised body. It was a horrifying sight. She was still conscious, and struggling to breathe. She never had an aura, nor a semblance. She wasn't a fighter... She had a large, sharp chunk of wood stuck in her side, there were cuts and bruises everywhere, and she was bleeding out. "No no no. You... No please. M/n."

I kneeled down on both of my knees and put her head in my lap. I started to cry. I was losing her. Her eyes looked up at me as her arm reached up to my cheek.

"H...Ho..ney. I...m... So...rry.." She could barely speak without taking short and sharp breaths.

"No... dear.. please don't leave me... I don't want to lose you..." I cried harder as I heard her say one more thing.

"I... lo...ve..." She wasn't able to finish her last sentence before her breath disappeared. Her arm fell from my cheek, onto the floor. All the life and color from her body were gone. She was.... Gone.... My wife was gone... She died right in front of my eyes... I cried harder than I have in my life. I put her head into my chest, holding her tight as I bawled my eyes out over her passing. After a while, I laid her head down on the ground softly. I was going to finish off the rest of the White Fang, then give her a proper burial.

*BANG!*

I turned my head to the hole in the wall and my face was met with the hilt of a sword that was shot at me. I flew back through the house to the outside, creating another hole opposite to the other hole. When I landed, I looked up and through the large holes of the house to see a man in a black blazer with a red undershirt, black pants and a Grimm mask. He had red hair with streaks of auburn. I noticed he had horns as well. He walked slowly and went into the house through the hole. He purposely stepped on my wifes corpse, getting closer to the hole closest to me. I was absolutely livid. I got up as he stepped through the second hole.

"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" I asked, yelling at the man. "WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!"

"It's you humans that are the cause of all this. You hate the Faunus. You give us unfair treatment. You treat us like we are lower than you. You put us in lousy jobs with no pay, you use us for slaves, you beat us if we don't do things right, and all we do is suffer for it. Now, it's your turn."

"WE DID NOTHING TO YOU! WE WERE LIVING HERE PEACFULLY!! WE'RE INNOCENT, DAMNIT!!!!"

"Peaceful is no longer a word in my vocabulary. Peaceful doesn't work for us anymore. The only way to show you that the Faunus are people too, is to do it by fear, and violence. Then, we will get the respect we deserve." He spoke in a serious tone. I grabbed Axel and fired quick shots at him. He brought his weapon in front of him, unsheathed his blade slightly, and blocked each of the shots. His sword, his hair, his outfit, and his mask glowed a bright red when each bullet hit. He ran at me, fast. He went on a flurry of strikes. I was able to block a lot of them, but I was backing up because of his speed. I kicked him back a bit and went on my own striking frenzy. My blows were heavier than his and it seemed to push him back a bit every time. We moved around the entire village, striking each other again and again and again. He got faster and faster as we fought. It felt like he was holding back at the start. I activated my semblance once more to match his strength and speed. We went faster around the village, going on rooftops and fighting inside ruined houses, and destroying anything around us. He fired shots from his scabbard, which were rifle rounds. I managed to block a couple, but a couple more hit me, though my aura was able to block them. I held my side where he shot me. We were in front of the house next to mine.

"I'm tired of this." He sheathed his weapon and waited. I ran at him as fast as I could, ready to strike, then... I felt pain... A lot of pain... My breathing became short and my heart started to race. I looked down to see his sword through the left side of my chest. I was shocked as to see my entire aura was depleted with that one attack. Blood started leaking out as I started coughing up blood. The man pulled the sword out and wiped the blood off of his blade before sheathing it once more. I fell backwards against the wall of the neighbors house and blacked out. The last things I heard were:

"Are they all dead?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Taurus."

"Good..."

-Back to the Bullhead, Y/n's POV-

I looked out the window and saw the stars shining in the sky and the shattered moon come up from the horizon. It was very pretty. I knew I was close to home. The bullhead was getting lower and lower to the ground and then I noticed it... I looked down at where my village was... I saw fires... Ruined buildings... My eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing. Some of the other students put their hands to their mouths in awe, some gasped. Something was definitely wrong. I had to get down there, quick. I ran over to the manual hatch button and the side hatches to the bullhead opened.

"YOU NEED TO CLOSE THE DOORS!! I'M NOT GOING TO LAND HERE!" The pilot yelled to me as he started pulling up. He must have also noticed the situation. I ignored him as I took a couple steps back. The students had looks of fear on their faces, knowing what I was about to do. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath before opening them. I sprinted and jumped out the bullhead, freefalling down to the village. I decided to aim for the trees to have a softer landing. I took Trailblazer from my back and held it out. I put most of my aura on my right arm and shoulder and stabbed the tip of the sword into a tree and held on as hard as I could as it started splitting the tree down the middle to slow my fall. I reached the ground and dislodged my weapon, putting it on my back. I ran into the village to see everything in ruins. The houses were destroyed and in flames. My eyes widened as I saw bodies, a lot of them. Adults... Children... Pets... Some of them were White Fang members, the rest were the people who lived here. Then, the next thing that came to my mind was...

"MOM! DAD!" I ran all the way to my house, only to see it have two large holes through it. It was also on fire. I fell to my knees with my hand over my mouth as I was completely struck with sadness. My home.. the place I grew up in... was gone. I got up and walked over. I looked inside the house. I couldn't find any source of my mother or father until... I saw her... on the ground next to the bookcase that fell over. I stepped in and kneeled down next to her... My mother. Her body was lifeless... colorless... Tears welled up in my eyes. "M...Mo....M......Mom..."

I reached out for her... No response.. I rested my head on her stomach and cried quietly.. I didn't want to be loud.. I couldn't... It hurt.... My mother was gone... I'll never see her again. I cried there for several minutes before lifting my head. I heard a cough from not too far away. I looked through the other hole and saw my father sitting against the neighbors house. I quickly got up and ran over.

"Dad! Oh my god, you're alive! What the hell happened?!" I looked at his body, he had several bruises and cuts, but he also a stab wound through the chest that was profusely bleeding. The wound looked fatal... "Oh... No..."

He slowly opened his eyes and looked at me.

"Son...." He started to say before having to cough again. "L-Listen to me... I need you... to get away from here. Go to the city.... Go to Beacon.."

"No! I have to help you! I-"

"I'm not going to make it..."

"I'm going to get you to a hospital."

"I'll die before...then."

"Damnit!!!!" I yelled. "Don't talk like that! I'm getting you out of here and that's final!"

"Shut up!" He mustered enough strength to yell at me. He coughed hard, holding his chest wound. "Leave me... and your mother here... And get out.... We were attacked... by the White Fang... and one of their bigshots... You won't.. stand a chance against him... Not with your type of training... Just... Go... and... I want you to know... Your mother and I... love you...."

"No... No... no no no no no. Not you too. I'm not letting you go. Not like mom... I'm going to get you out of here." Tears started coming down my cheeks once more."

"Son..." He raised his arm and grabbed my shoulder. "You're the best thing that's happened... to your mother and I..."

"..."

"One day... you'll be just like me... A huntsman... A hero... All you gotta do.... Is... Believe in yourself... And keep... Mo...ving...... F....Forward...." His hand slipped off of my shoulder as I watched his body go limp and his breath cease.

"......" My heart shattered at that place, at that moment. My parents were gone... the ones who raised me from birth... are dead...

...I screamed...

I screamed to the top of my lungs in anger and sadness. There were no words to describe what I was feeling at the second. I screamed and cried for what seemed like minutes.

Then, suddenly... every fire in the entire village went out at once. I stopped screaming and looked around, seeing the extinguished flames. I was confused, but then I felt It. I looked down at my hands and saw that they were glowing dark blue. Was... This my semblance? I didn't know what it was, but at the second... I didn't care.

"What was that scream?"

"What happened to the fire?"

I turned to hear two voices not too far from where I was. I got up, walked over, and peeked around the corner of my own home and saw two White Fang members as well as another guy. He was tall and had reddish hair with horns. He had a mask and a black blazer with a red undershirt and black pants. He looked like trouble, but I knew by looking at him, he was the one who organized all of this. He's the bigshot dad talked about. I couldn't just sit by and let them get away with what they've done. to my town... my home... my family.. I walked out from behind the corner proceeded to go towards the two White Fang members.

"HEY!" One of them yelled, noticing me. He held up his machine gun and started firing. I quickly grabbed Trailblazer and held it in front of me to block all the incoming bullets. I revved the grip twice and four of the exhaust pipes burst into flames. When he was reloading, I swung my sword back and then, with all my might and the propulsion of the Exceed, I swung it horizontally in front of me, creating a wave of fire that flew through the air at the two goons, burning them and knocking them to the ground, dead. The tall man with the red wilted rose emblem on the back of his black blazer turned around. I stood there with my blade in my hands... Furious.

"You... What's your name?" I asked him, giving him the death glare. He didn't respond. He just looked at me, holding his scabbard. I yelled angrily at him, "ANSWER ME!!!"

"Why does it matter?" He answered with another question. "I'll let you live if you leave now, human."

"After all you and your lackeys have done here? I don't fucking think so. Who. The hell. Are you?" I pointed the tip of my sword at him. He wasn't but about several yards from me.

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me? You look like you've just graduated from a combat school. You are not even close to my level. I don't even think you're worth the trouble to kill, let alone fight." As he spoke, I revved my hilt not once, not twice, but three times. All six pipes were burning hot with hatred.

Without a word, I lunged forward, letting the Exceed flames from the exhaust propel me towards him. He quickly got out his weapon and blocked as my sword clashed with his with monumental force. I heard his grunts as he was trying to keep his balance while also trying to equalize the force of my weapon. I started yelling out and my body started glowing dark blue again. The fires from my exhaust grew bigger and brighter, putting down even more force. The man wasn't able to hold it and he was launched and thrown through several different buildings at super fast speeds before landing in another house. The building toppled on him. My sword smashed into the ground from the momentum of that attack, creating a large crater. The fires from Trailblazer extinguished. I started breathing really heavily. I waited a couple seconds. I knew he wasn't dead. It would take a lot for someone like him to be killed so quickly.

*BANG!!*

I was suddenly hit in the gut with the hilt of a blade and sent back a bit. The blade bounced off of me and returned to where it came. I saw the man walk slowly towards me from down the street. I went over and grabbed the machine gun off one of the members I killed and started shooting at him. He blocked every attack with his sword. Each bit of red accent on him started to glow brighter. I threw down the gun and revved Trailblazer again and swung, sending a flame wave at him. He blocked that too and glowed more. Something wasn't right. In almost the blink of an eye, he was in front of me. He shot his blade out of his scabbard and grabbed the sword quickly to strike. It was too fast. I blocked it and it pushed me back. His attacks became stronger and faster. He tried striking again as I revved once to match the speed and power. Every time he were to attack, I'd rev once to match him and block successfully, but he got faster and faster to the point I couldn't rev and swing fast enough to block him in time. He then struck my blade and caused me to fly back into the wall of a house that hadn't been destroyed, creating a crater against it.

I was breathing heavily, I was tired. I couldn't take much more. I had room for one more... one more attack. I got myself out of the crater and revved three times. I ran up to him, and just before he was about to attack, I dodged him. I swung upwards with my sword, propelling him and I into the air with a cut. I then spun several times, slashing him in the process before pointing my sword downwards. The propulsion sent him and I down to the ground, in which he was met with a large explosion of fire and was sent away. I dislodged my sword from the ground and got ready for him to get back up. Through the smoke of the explosion, I saw the red glow get closer and closer until I saw his red glow dim and disappear.

I started to feel pain, tremendous pain across my torso. I slowly looked down and saw that there was a large, deep cut from my right shoulder to the left side of my stomach. His single strike stripped me of my aura and cut through my skin like a knife through butter.

"My..... Aura.....How...." Was the only thing I was able say before my eyesight started to blur a bit as I fell to my knees. My breath shortened and it turned sharp. The pain was unbearable. When the smoke cleared, the man stood there with his sword out, covered in blood, my blood. He swung his sword outwards, the blood flying off the blade. I fell to my stomach, looking up at him. He then sheathed it before turning around. He started walking away before he said:

"My name is Adam Taurus.. I represent the Faunus and the White Fang. I will become high leader and show every human what fear is, so they can show us the respect that we Faunus deserve." I watched him walk away until I was unable to see him anymore. Everything then went black.

...

...

...

After a while, I could hear something or someone around me. I could feel them move me.

"...It's okay kid. Don't die on me. I'm... Sorry this all happened to you...." He sounded... a bit familiar...

"P......Pr.....Profes...sor.... Bran...wen?" I could barely speak..

"Don't talk. Just rest. I cant stay unfortunately, but I'll fix you up enough so your aura can heal you when it recharges." Soon, I heard the flaps of bird wings and a caw of a crow before I passed out again.

...

...

...

-After Several Long Hours-

I woke up to a late morning sky. My body ached, but I was generally okay. I sat up and looked at my body. It was bandaged up. I looked to my right to see my weapon lodged into the ground. It took me a second to stand up, but I managed pretty well. I looked around the village.... it was in ruins.... dead bodies were everywhere. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't. It felt like all of my tears left my body after last night. I spent most of the day burying everyone I could. I made special graves for my parents. They rested in the small field next to the house where my dad and I trained all the time. I went into the woods and picked flowers to put on their graves. Again.. I wanted to cry... but I couldn't.. I sighed and kneeled at the graves before speaking.

"I want to thank you both... for getting me this far. Without you two, I guess I wouldn't exist, huh.... Thank you both for everything you've done for me. I love you both. I'm gonna do what dad said... and move forward. I'm going to Vale... I'm going to attend Beacon.. and I'm gonna become a huntsman and take revenge on the man who took your lives, not just your lives... but the lives of everyone here, and the village itself. I promise." I stood up. "I'll make you guys proud. Goodbye... I'll visit sometime."

Once I said my goodbyes, I went to the nearest bullhead station and took one to the city of Vale.

...

...

...

-One Night, A Couple Months On-

I have been living in the city for a while now. There was an old dust shop owner that let me sleep in the back at night. I helped him with the shop to earn a little Lien. I used the lien to get better clothing and food during the day. It was the end of summer and Beacon admissions were right around the corner. I had learned more about my semblance after practicing it a little more. I was able to control fire, but not in the way you'd think. I couldn't ignite anything. I could only control the intensity of an already burning fire as well as put it out and reignite. The thing is, the fire had to be already present for it to work. I first trained on some small candles. I was able to make the flame larger, or burn more intensely. I was able to put it out and relight it. There was a time limit on the relight though. I then understood what my semblance entailed. I realized that my semblance and Trailblazer would work well together.

At the time, I was reading a book on the balcony above the shop. It was about a man with two souls. Funny enough, dad never did finish reading the book to me as a child. The night was calm and warm. The sky was clear with the stars twinkling and the shattered moon brightly glowing in the dark. Besides the couple pedestrians walking around, nothing was really wrong.... until.....

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a group of five figures walking down an alley. Four of them had black and red suit and tie getups and the one in the front was different. He had orange hair covering his right eye. He wore a red-lined white suit with long black pants and black shoes. He had a small gray scarf, black gloves with buckled sleeves, and a black bowler hat with a small feather tucked into its red band. He was also smoking a cigar. Looking at these people, I knew that they were probably bad guys. I sighed and groaned a bit.

"You've gotta be kidding me. They literally look like they're about to rob something." I scoffed and decided to not judge a book by its cover and watch what they're gonna do before I took action. I watched them as they entered 'From Dust Till Dawn' the dust shop I worked at. I waited several minutes before holding three fingers up. I had a feeling something was gonna happen, so I decided to count it down. "Three.... Two.... One."

Then suddenly the window to the shop busted open. A henchmen flew out into the street with a girl right after him. She had red/black hair with the same color outfit. She looked very familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I could barely hear the music coming from her headphones that she took off. She then quickly brought out what looked to be a sniper rifle which then transformed into a huge scythe.

"Daaaaaaamn that's cool. Scythes are cool." I said to myself quietly. I watched her take out each of the henchmen that came at her fairly easily. "Seems she can hold her own."

The guy in the bowler hat walked out.

"Well, Red. I guess we can all say that it's been an eventful evening, and as much as I'd love to stick around, I'm afraid this.." He raised his cane and the bottom of it opened up. "...is where we part ways."

He then shot a flare-like explosive projectile at the girl. She used her weapon to propel herself into the air. I watched as the guy in the white suit ran over to another building and start climbing a ladder. She then found him and followed him up the building. I hopped down off the balcony and accidentally surprised the Shopkeeper.

"Hey, let me help you clean up." I said. He gave me a smile as I helped him clean up the place. I boarded the broken window so no one could get in to steal more dust. Afterwards, I went in the back and went straight to bed, for I knew I was going to Beacon Academy in the next couple days. This was the true start of my adventure as a growing huntsman.