A RWBY plot bunny I will get to later.
In a dusty little alleyway, a blond woman took yet another drag of her cigarette, before she gestured towards the men behind her aimlessly. They followed behind her dutifully, scaring away any who would get close to them. As they passed, civilians gasped and scrambled out of their way in fright, their children hidden behind their parents.
A small ringing sound clinked over the shop as the unknown blond woman entered the small building, the men behind her fanning out to observe the shop. The quiet click of heels signified her moving closer to observe the Dust behind the counter. One of the men pressed a hand against the cool glass, as he eyed the high-quality crystals. She flicked a bit of ash off of her cigarette, and spoke, in a bored drawl.
"Well, it looks like we've finally found the Dust Shop we were looking for," The woman said dryly, green eyes observing the man as he cowered. "You'd be surprised how difficult it is to find one open after sunset these days." The shopkeeper looked up to find himself nose to barrel with a gun. He put his hands up reflexively.
"Please," The old man mumbled, eyes closed fearfully, "Just take my Lien and leave!" The woman answered him with a snort.
"We don't want your money," She said dismissively. After a moment, she looked over her shoulder. "Grab the Dust." The men behind her nodded, opening a black case to reveal several black cylinders, each of which was passed to his comrades. Another case was opened, and the shopkeeper swallowed reflexively.
"Crystals," The man said coldly. "Frost, Uncut." His wavering hand carefully pulled out the icy blue crystal, depositing it carefully into the container.
One of the men moved to fill a container, before his eyes caught sight of a girl in a cloak facing away from him. He blinked at her fluttering cape, before dismissing it as the AC and unsheathing a glowing red blade.
"Alright kid, put your hands where I can see 'em." There was no response, and the man became aggravated, advancing on the diminutive girl. "Hey, I said hands in the air! You have a death wish or something?" He grabbed her shoulder, startling the girl as her hood fell off, revealing a pair of headphones.
"Huh?" She blinked, watching him point at his ears, compliantly lowering them. "Yes?"
"I said put your hands in the air, now!" He sounded aggravated, and the girl blinked again.
"Are you . . . robbing me?" Her voice was incredulous. He growled in irritation. Was this girl stupid?
"Yes!" He snapped. A sudden, not so nice smile crossed her face. It was more of a smirk.
"Ooohhh," She nodded sagely, her smirk widening.
The blond woman admired the blue crystal in her hand as she waited when two sudden noises caught her attention. The mook that flew past her was just a added bonus. A scowl crossed pretty features as she tilted her head in the general direction of where he had flown from. The next man obediently ran up to the girl, gun in hand.
"Freeze!" The second one snapped at her, raising a gun to her face.
Outside, the glass to the Dust shop shattered, unveiling yet another unconcious mook and the young, red-headed girl as she stood up, unfurling her weapon and striking it into the ground. A small click, and the music was quiet. The blond woman stared blankly at her, before sighing.
"Well? Get her," She said, unenthusiastic about the entire thing. The three remaining men scrambled out of the shop to attack her. The girl grinned, lifting herself up off of the ground to spin clockwise, her feet striking the face of the first mook to approach. She Cartwheeled backwards on the narrow pole of her rifle to dislodge her weapon from the ground, the black metal spun around to allow it to hit the next man in the stomach, smashing him into the floor. She twisted it slightly, and fired a single gunshot at the ground, propelling her down the street. Another twist of the scythe and she fired twice more to avoid the shots of the smartest of the trio. As she bypassed him, she dug her weapon into the ground and spiraled around to catch him under the chin and send him up into the air. Another cartwheel backwards let the barrel of the gun hit the floor and she fired another round point-blank into the floor to propel herself up high enough to hit him with the broad side of her weapon, sending him to the ground next to the woman. The woman sighed, looking incredibly disappointed.
"You were worth every cent, truly you were," She said, boredly. She glanced up, her riding crop twitching. "Well, that was exciting," She said, deadpan, as she deposited her cigarette on the ground and crushed it under a single heel. "As much as I'd love to stick around, Red, I'm afraid this is where we must part ways." The woman summoned a glyph of bright purple, firing it point-blank at the freshly-named Red. Unable to dodge without harming civilians, Red closes up her scythe, using it as an impromptu shield, the impact sending her skidding back several feet. A simple clink makes her look around, and she catches sight of the woman advancing up the ladder.
The shopkeeper stumbled out, concerned for his young customer.
"You okay if I go after him?" She asked him quietly, pointing at the unconscious men. He nodded in return.
"Uh-huh," He agreed easily, and Red ran after the woman, leaving him to shackle the five unconscious goons on his own.
On the rooftop, the blond woman continued to run, reaching the end of the first roof as Red launched herself onto it.
"Hey!" She called. The woman sighed, rolling her eyes at the sky.
"Persistent …" She muttered, as a large Bullhead plane flew up into the air, its large strobe lights focusing on the woman as the door opened. "End of the line, Red!" She called gleefully, tossing the crystal at her, following it up with yet another blast of purple. Just as it was about to hit, a white and red blur appeared before her. The woman gave a laugh, the most animated she'd been all evening, before it faded.
Red peeked up, her eyes going wide at the sight of the man standing before her. He was dressed relatively high-class, in black slacks and a white suit jacket, a black hat on his head. The man gave a small scowl, tilting his head to the left briefly before he fired directly at the hold with his odd weapon. A beautiful, three-pronged blue star flew out, exploding alongside the side of the plane and making the woman stumble. She fought to keep steady, before running into the cockpit.
"We've got a Huntsman!" She told the pilot, the woman sitting there abandoning the controls to hurry into the hold. Meanwhile, the man twisted an unknown dial on his cane, firing a single round of bright, sparkling lights around the entire aircraft. The fading embers suddenly glowed bright red, snapping and popping loudly, hitting the ends of the plane hard. A quiet clink of heels, and the woman stepped into view. The Huntsman tilted his head back, smiling wryly. She sent a burst of fire at him, and the man lifted his cane slightly, letting it embed itself into the barrel before firing it back as another bright gold firework, this time the fire bursting in bright display before Red's wide silver eyes.
He fired off another two to counter her strikes, before the woman growled, casting a ring of bright yellow fire in a half-circle around the Huntsman and Red. The man glanced around briefly before he called his own power into play, a series of sparkling red dots moving Red out of the way as he easily rolled out of it. Red glanced briefly at him, seeing his nod before she lifted her weapon up to fire at the red-robed woman. He added his own firepower to the mix, and the plane tilted sideways yet again before the hatch closed and the Bullhead flew off. As it left, the two turned to face each other.
"You're a Huntsman," Red's voice was full of awe, even as the man hiked up an amused eyebrow. "Can I have your autograph?" She asked him delightedly.
Red sat in an interrogation room, silently filling out paperwork as the Huntsman from before (who had introduced himself as Roman Torchwick) did the same. Her excitement is dulled down to mere silence, and she reluctantly passes her finished report over to him. He reads it over, humming approvingly.
"Well then Miss Ruby Rose, this is a good report." His voice is warm and oddly attractive. "Just a few questions. What were you doing there so late?" Ruby looked up, seeing nothing but faint curiosity.
"I was going to do a fact-check on the weapons review in an article," She mumbled slightly. He tilted her head up with a black-gloved hand, smiling at her slightly when she gave him a miffed look.
"Speak clearly," He admonished gently, before he put a note of it on the report. "And why did you not comply with the robbery? It would have been cheaper and safer." Ruby swallowed.
"The old man had just gotten a shipment of Pyrotechnic crystals that afternoon," Ruby admitted sheepishly, while Roman's hand stilled in surprise, "If they had kept going, they would have found the safe."
"Crescent or Schnee Pyrotechnics?" He asked quietly, and Ruby swallowed again.
"Crescent." He released a slow breath, nodding to himself.
"That explains quite a bit about what you were doing then," He murmured to himself, before straightening. "Listen to me young lady," His voice was firm and gentle. "What you did today will not be taken lightly. You acted within the best interests of both the shopkeeper and the city at large, but you still put yourself and others in great danger. Normally, if it were up to me, I'd send you home with a pat on the back …" He saw her hopeful expression, before reaching a single hand out to rap sharply against her wrist, making her give a wounded squeak. "… And a slap on the wrist. But, someone here would like to meet you." Leaving his seat, Ruby caught sight of a man with silver hair, holding a cup of what smelled like coffee in one hand and cookies in the other. The silver-haired man leaned in, lips pressed together.
"Ruby Rose. You have . . . silver eyes." Roman merely smiled, looking amused at the statement, while Ruby flicked her eyes at him in a desperate plea for help.
"Ah . . . Um . . ." Ruby swallowed nervously. Roman picked up his tablet and tapped a few buttons.
"So, where did you learn to do this?" He asked genially, as a replay of the fight from earlier scrolled across the screen.
"S-Signal Academy," She answered nervously again. The man looked unconvinced, and raised an eyebrow.
"They taught you how to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?" Ruby nodded shyly.
"Well, one teacher in particular," She admitted.
"I see . . ." He slid the plate in front of her, and she picked one up. Seeing no rebuke from either of them, she tentatively nibbled on it, not really wanting to see Roman give her that sadly disappointed look again. "It's just that I've only seen one other scythe-wielder of that skill before. A dusty, old crow …" Ruby nodded, swallowing her bit of cookie before answering.
"That's my uncle Qrow," She admitted, blushing shyly. "I was absolute garbage before he took me under his wing!" She said eagerly, though she toned it down at Roman's faintly scolding expression. He was scary! "And now, I'm almost good enough for Beacon." Ruby said cheerfully. The man looks even more amused.
"So I've noticed," He told her, as amber eyes danced with amusement. "And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?" Ruby was quiet for a moment.
"I want to be a Huntress," She admitted quietly. Roman and the man shared a glance.
"You want to fight monsters." It was a statement, not a question. Ruby blushed again.
"Well, that too. I only have two more years of training left at Signal, and then I'm going to apply to Beacon!" Ruby nodded emphatically. "You see, my sister's starting there this year, and she's trying to become a Huntress, and I'm trying to become a Huntress because I wanna help people. My parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, 'Hey, I might as well make a career out of it!' I mean the police are alright, but Huntsmen and Huntresses are just so much more romantic and inspiring, you see?" Both men study her briefly, before sharing another glance.
"Do you know who I am?" The man asked her patiently. Ruby nodded, shrinking in again at Roman's amused stare.
"You're Professor Ozpin, Headmaster at Beacon." At that, a more genuine, sweet smile crosses his face.
"Hello."
"Nice to meet you," Ruby answers shyly.
"You want to come to my school?" Ozpin asked her with another disarming smile.
"More than anything," Ruby admitted passionately. Ozpin looked back at Roman with a small smile, and Roman chuckled slightly, waving his hand in a 'go on' gesture.
"Well, okay." Ruby's eyes grow wider in surprise.
"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!" Yang squealed, squeezing the life out of Ruby, who was starting to turn blue.
"Please … stop," Ruby moaned slightly, feeling her ribs creak dangerously.
"But I'm so proud of you!" Yang exclaimed as she released her sister, quivering in place with barely concealed excitement.
"Really Sis, it was nothing." Ruby answered tiredly, rubbing her ribs, wincing. Yep, bruises for sure.
"What do you mean? It was incredible! Everyone at Beacon is going to think you're the bee's knees." Yang pointed out happily, ignoring the snickering onlookers.
"I don't want to be the 'bee's knees', okay? I don't want to be any kind of knees! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees." Ruby complained unhappily, scuffing her foot on the ground. Yang's smile faded, and she drew her sister closer.
"What's with you? Aren't you excited?" Yang asked in honest confusion. Ruby scuffed her foot again, even more depressed.
"Of course I'm excited … I just …" Ruby sighs, "I got moved ahead two years. I don't want people to think I'm special or anything." Yang gently took her sister into a one armed hug, smiling even more softly.
"But you are special." Thankfully for Ruby, they were distracted by a mug shot of the woman who had attacked the Dust shop last night.
"The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Glynda Goodwitch, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on her whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you Lisa."
As the woman spoke, their attention drifted away to a flickering screen, displaying Roman, dressed much like he was last night.
"Hello, and welcome to Beacon Academy." He was standing straight, his lips curved into an inviting smile.
"Who's that?" Yang mumbled, along with several other students.
"My name is Roman Torchwick."
"Oh." Ruby giggled quietly.
"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." The image faded, and they turned their attention to the view as they passed the.
"You can see Signal from up here!" Ruby said excitedly. "I guess home isn't too far after all." Yang sighed again, standing next to another blond who was reading a book.
"Beacon's our home now." Right on cue, the boy with the book glanced out the window, shuddered, and returned to his book, breaking the moment.
Rewriting Chapter nine is really getting to me. I have so much stuff I need to add that it's absolutely insane. It will briefly touch base with canon again soon, but until I actually get my newest chapter up and running, here is one of the many little plot bunnies that came up during 'Chapter Nine Part Two'. This will remain incomplete until I finish 'ABRR NVWL Die Out' up to the end of the first Volume.
Lots of love,
KJ