Chapter 1: The Journey Begins
It's been four years since teams RAIN, JNPR and RWBY stopped Operation MoonLight. Although good triumphed over evil that day, it came with a price.
That price was Pyrrha Nikos.
She was killed before the actual fighting started and it broke Ratchet, the leader of RAIN, in more ways than one. After confronting the leader of the Freedom base, who was his own father, Ratchet faked his death for his mission was far from done. Freedom was much larger than him and his friends originally thought and he needed to stop them from trying to wipe out all life on Remnant.
Ruby Rose is the only person that knows Ratchet faked his death. She has accompanied him in the Badlands after graduating Beacon. However she never told anyone she was leaving. Due to her sudden disappearance, all of her friends searched frantically for her but the search was given up eventually. Yang was devastated and became depressed. But she recently heard rumors of a scythe wielding girl in a white hood out in the Badlands and she went to search for her to see if it was Ruby.
Everyone else is relatively fine though and have grown from the four years since fighting Freedom.
But with the rest of Freedom looming somewhere in the Badlands and Ratchet slowly losing his sanity, time is against our hero as he tries to save everyone from certain doom.
The Badlands
It's been a total of four years. Four long years in this hellhole. How people live out here is beyond me but I can't leave, not yet. I still have to stop Freedom and what's worse is that I think we're being hunted.
I know we are being followed but I don't know by who or what and it's driving me crazy. Well…I'm not sure what to say now. That's as much as an update as ever I suppose.
I've heard everyone is doing well back in Vale. That's good…I can't imagine they would be very happy with me and what I've done but it's not like I was given a choice. I'm doing this for them.
For her…
Anyway, I need to get a move on. It's getting dark and that's when it's best to move around.
Ratchet closed the book and sighed to himself. The small journal in his hand was a gift from someone he met out here when he first showed up. Literally on day three, she had found him and gave him this small book. She told him it was best to write down your feelings or thoughts rather than bottle them up.
Slowly, he gets up and pockets the small journal and pencil. He turns toward the other figure in the small cave. She was small and adorable as ever and she was putting on her white cloak with a smile.
"See something you like?" She teases.
Ratchet rolled his eyes. "Hurry up Ruby. We gotta get to Queens before the Paladins do. I don't feel like dealing with them."
Ruby saluted and picked up her sniper. "Aye captain!"
Together they step out of the cave and into the sleeping wastes. Ratchet taught Ruby that moving from place to place at night was better than doing it in the daytime. More Grimm showed up at night but compared to the nightmarish amount of crazies out during the day, Grimm weren't a problem.
The wind was hot. Almost as hot as the sun baking your skin on a nice non cloudy day. The bizarre weather out here was impossible to predict and made surviving harder than it needed to be. Thankfully, humans can adapt to almost all situations. Ratchet lifted his purple scarf up to his nose and put up his hood so his face was partially covered. Ruby only had her cloak but she did put on some goggles that resembled Neptune's and than stood behind Ratchet so he would be like a wall towards the wind coming at them.
"Ready kid?" Ratchet asked.
Ruby pouts and lightly slaps his back. "Come on Ratchet! I'm 20 this year!"
"So you are."
Ratchet starts walking into the storm with Ruby right behind him. The two have a strong bond with each other and have done so much out here as a team. Some good, but mostly all bad.
Ratchet always reminds himself why he does the things he does out here. Ruby holds his hand and he squeezes it tight.
For her… Everything I do is so she can be safe...
A few hours later…
The storm has passed and the shattered moon stills shines bright on Ratchet and Ruby as they reach a sign saying Queens is another 45 minutes away.
"45 minutes? What happened to using miles and kilometers and stuff." Ruby asked.
Ratchet shrugged. "I doubt people out here care. As long as they know where they're going and how long they need to walk then it's ok."
The two took a couple steps forward before they felt a rumbling beneath the cracked earth.
Ruby quickly got away from Ratchet. "I really hate these things!"
Ratchet took in a deep breath and breathed out slowly so he could stay calm and focused. The ground in front of them burst open and out came a creature. The type was unknown but Ratchet called it a Digger. These things were basically fatter and bigger versions of beavers except for the large claws that could crush through any type of rock or metal.
It screeched into the night sky when it saw Ratchet. The ear splitting sound gave Ruby a headache but Ratchet had fought these before, he knew how to deal with them.
Rushing forward towards the Digger, he released a solar wind from his body and made it flinch. As it raised its claws to shield its face from the fire, Ratchet punched it in the stomach hard enough that it coughed out a black heart. Quickly, he grabbed and crushed it making the beast spasm and fall over dead.
Ruby walked over to Ratchet and clapped her hands. "Impressive as always. And you didn't even use your gauntlets!" Ruby kicked the creatures leg. "What are they…Grimm don't have hearts right?"
It was a great question and Ratchet had no answer for it. He never knew what these things were and he may never know. If Ivin was here he could help no doubt.
"The only person…no, the only thing I remember killing with a black heart before coming out here was Liz. She was some sort of demon but these guys can't be the same. At least, I hope not."
"You and me both." Ruby spit on the corpse and the two continued walking to Queens. Ratchet hoped he would finally get the answers that he was looking for but what he didn't want, was more questions.
In the distance, behind Ruby and Ratchet was a figure with glowing red eyes. It smiled and revealed sharp teeth and licked its lips with a long tongue.
"Soon…you'll be mine…"
A/N: Here we are! The first chapter in the new story of the RAIN saga!
...
Chronicles of RAIN?
...
Eh, I'll figure out a name for it at some point.
Welp I can't say much but be ready for secrets, darkness, madness, cuddles and most importantly, combat that is worthy of the RWBY universe! Until next time.
- CLOUD MARIO
