"I find myself at the brink of a scientific discovery today.
My research into those anomalous Hunters and Huntresses that were so generously… provided to me by my benefactor has borne new fruit. Where once I thought that their unique abilities were the result of exceptionally rare or powerful Semblances, I now know the truth.
It is not a Semblance or Aura or anything related to the will. Their abilities are purely physical.
This is groundbreaking work. I shudder to think about the possibilities this presents. What if we could give these abilities to other human beings? Without the threat of a Citrine-esque massacre, we could empower more people to Hunt!
We could finally turn back the tide of the Grimm for good!
I will continue my research. My superiors will be pleased to see the potential in this work, I'm sure."
From the Recovered Pages of Professor Argen's Journal.
The cool autumnal air blew in through the open door. Through it stepped a man with a bowler hat, a cane and several large goons behind him. He walked with an easy air of confidence before he smiled, teeth bared, at the shopkeeper.
"Good evening!" The man with the cane widened his arms in flamboyant fashion.
"Please, the money's in the machine. Just don't hurt me…" The old man behind the counter held his hands in front of his face.
"Good to know." The other man gestured. He turned to face one of his suited minions and sneered. "Get the Dust. Leave nothing behind."
The goons walked over to the massive tubes that lined the walls in various vibrant colours of the rainbow and slammed in their thieving tubes. The rush of Dust burst into life through the store.
None of this mattered to Ruby Rose, who flicked through her magazine while her music blasted in her ears.
Vale Hunting's really gone downhill recently. Maybe I should take a look at Mistali Warriors News…
"Hey, kid!" One of the minions shouted at the red dipped hair girl. "Put your hands in the air!"
Ruby just continued to bob her head in time with her music, which did little to draw her attention from the articles.
Oooooh! New Dust enhanced weaponry!
"Hey!" The minion stomped over and gently tapped Ruby on the shoulder with the flat of his cleaver.
Ruby removed her headphones. "Yes?"
"Gimme your wallet, kid." The goon slurred out.
"Wait. You're robbing me?" Ruby asked while her hands drifted behind her back. The familiar comforting weight of her hand built weapon slowed her pulse.
"Boss's orders." The keen edge of the blade flicked close to her cheek.
"Oooooh…" Ruby nodded as understanding dawned.
The glass barely had time to shatter. The man skidded across the rough concrete ground before being kicked straight in the face with a steel capped boot. Ruby felt her Aura flow easily through her, the familiar feeling of speed and power rushing through her veins.
She turned and faced the now broken window only to find it now filled with the looming figures of other suited goons with weaponry. Their bright red shades gave the men an odd sense of uniformity even as their suits and fancy clothes seemed to separate them.
C'mon. Let's show 'em what we can do, sweetheart…
Ruby spun her hand around and unleashed the full length of Crescent Rose. For a moment, the only noise that could be heard up or down the street was the clicking and whirring of the mighty weapon's transformation. As the weapon fully revealed itself, Ruby half-smiled towards the window and slammed.
The man with the bowler hat looked mildly impressed. "Well that's new…" He looked at his minions for a moment. None of them moved. "Go get her!"
That penetrated the thick skulls of the gathered criminals. In a startling lack of tactical thinking, all four of the men decided to bull rush the girl.
Perfect.
The first one raised his arm high and slashed down with all his weight behind the blow. Dodging easily, Ruby hefted her small frame up onto the shaft of the sniper-scythe and kicked straight into the minion's face. His body flew back into the wall as another slid in past him with his sharp cleaver raised high above his head.
Not waiting for the inevitable strike, Ruby leapt up into the air and hammered the heavy blunt end of Crescent Rose's scythe into the man's head. The small plastic shades clattered against the ground in small twinkling pieces before Ruby's boot crushed them. The two remaining men, clearly the intellectual core of their band of malcontents, decided that the best course of action was to try and bull rush the girl with a combat sniper-scythe who had just beaten their comrades with nary a breath of effort.
The resulting blows to the face, along with their broken jaws from the damage, were their own fault entirely.
"Fantastic. Worth every penny, you were." The man in the bowler hat sighed. "Well, Red, it's been great. Really, big fan of the whole scythe thing. But…" He flicked up his cane, revealing the small tube hidden within. A small popping noise and a click preceded a small smile from the bowler hat man. "I'm sorry to say, this is where I leave you."
The blinding firework erupted from the end of the cane. Raising Crescent Rose into a defensive position, Ruby felt a strange tingle ripple over her. Feeling the world slow, Ruby Rose closed her eyes and lowered her weapon, not seeing the point in blocking.
Instead, she looked around. The missile was still coming towards her but far slower than it should. Air rippled around the bright object as a single small bird seemed to hover in mid air above her. The world in its' entirety seemed to be moving as if it were covered in molasses.
Not now! She thought even as the firework slid past her. Please, not now! Her eyes followed it as it slammed into the dull concrete of a building behind her.
Abruptly, the world lurched back into full speed. The bowler hat man was a couple of steps into a full sprint. Ruby felt her Aura pulse as she surged forward into his path. The rose petals swirled around her, almost became her, while she held out Crescent Rose in a blocking gesture.
"You're not going anywhere!" She said defiantly. The mighty scythe slammed into the ground, a spiderweb of cracks expanding out from the base.
"I think I am." A flash of Aura from the bowler hat man enhanced his speed into a rapid flurry of movement. The cane handle wrapped around her ankle before Ruby slammed into the ground. "Nice try, Red!" The sound of leather against pavement was like thunder in Ruby's ears.
She sprung to her feet. Looking around frantically, she saw the bright white coat of the man ascending the fire escape of a nearby building. She could feel his Aura speed his movements still with his hands rapidly propelling him up into the skyline.
Ruby closed her eyes and felt the slight shift of wind behind her. She turned for an instant. "You okay if I go after him?" She said.
Before the old man had even finished nodding, Ruby launched herself towards the ladder and pulled the trigger on Crescent Rose. The recoil flung her high into the air as she landed easily on the roof. The man stood alone, his white jacket providing stark contrast to the black backdrop of night. His cane rested easily in his hands.
"Why can't they ever just let it go?" The bowler hat man muttered to himself. He turned to face Ruby, his deep green eyes piercing in the moonlight. The elegant suit jacket he wore fluttered gently as he stretched his arms out to his sides. He smiled as a rush of displaced wind burst up behind him. A huge metal construct burst up, soaring into the night sky, with its' blades whirring rapidly.
The great roaring of a bulkhead might have taken her attention off of the criminal leader for only a split second but it was enough. With a casual backflip, the bowler hat man launched himself into the now open bay of the bulkhead. His Aura wrapped gently around him like a well worn blanket, forming a protective shield around him. The high calibre bullets from Crescent Rose did little as they whirred through the air, warped by that same field.
Holding up a hand, the bowler hatted man revealed a single gleaming crystal of red Dust.
"Good try!" He shouted. "But this ends here." He threw the twinkling crystal out of the flying behemoth he stood in and, before it could touch the ground, he fired another missile straight at it.
Ruby could feel the world slow, feel that strange wrongness come over her. She took a small moment to see-
Who's that?!
Landing in slow motion was a figure in a white suit of plate armor. The slight gold detailing across both armor and shield gave the person a royal impact even as the shield was batting away the Dust crystal. Their broad frame was a clear indication of some form of training if the speed at which they moved, even to her rapid perception, hadn't tipped her off. Her mind put together the pieces even as her face stared in wonder.
A Hunter!
The world sped up again. The heavy slam of boot against roof echoed heavily in her ears.
"Miss Rose," The figure said, their helmet showing only their piercing blue eyes. "I'm going to ask that you stand back a little."
The figure drew out a pistol. A flicker of fire later, the bulkhead started to wobble and awkwardly shift in mid air.
"Mind shooting at the blades?" The figure asked. Ruby could only pull out Crescent Rose and begin laying down fire. The figure, however, began to glow brightly.
What're they doing? Their Aura is pooling but they can't make that-
A roaring fire of Aura ripped through the air and crashed into the side of the bulkhead, sending it spinning. The rotating blades started to slow as the heavy vehicle started to dip.
"Yeah!" The figure shouted in joy. "Keep it- Oh no."
Ruby stared at the bulkhead as a tall woman in a bright red dress stalked into view. With an almost dismissive gesture, a roaring bolt of fire tore through the air back at the armored figure. The shield they wielded batted it away.
Then they started to rain down from the bulkhead. A literal firestorm collided with the roof top.
"Move!" The figure cried out. Pointlessly, as it turned out. Ruby was already weaving in and out of the fiery projectiles.
The figure responded with their same white hot blasts of Aura. The bolts of energy blasted back and forth with the armored figure having to dance around. With a mighty roar, they unleashed a huge blast straight at the side of the bulkhead.
The metal flying behemoth just tilted away from the worst of the damage. The bullets from Crescent Rose peppered the hull. A dim orange glow pulsed out of the middle of the ship. The ground below Ruby and the strange figure began to rapidly heat up.
"Move, Ruby!" The figure began to shout. Once again, the world slowed.
Ruby, shaking her head, stepped easily out of the glowing circle of potential death and stood easily waiting for the world to catch up with her.
The figure, however, had no such ease. They dived out of the way just before a tower of blinding hot fire burst straight up from the ground. The warbling sound of the slowed bulkhead rippled through the air even as the world sped up.
Ruby started to fire Crescent Rose again. She was stopped, a little too easily she felt, by the figure in armor.
"Don't." They said. "Won't do any good. Regular rounds won't do anything." They sighed heavily before sliding their shield back to their hip and closing the wings of the shield.
"Who are you?" Ruby said wonder creeping into her voice.
The figure looked around before chuckling slightly and removing their helmet. Their blond hair ruffled in the wind as their strong chin and piercing blue eyes. A man, although a young one, stood before her. An easy smile was painted on his features even as a single scar marred his right cheek.
"Jaune Arc." He said. "Pleasure's mine. Now, you'll need to come with me."
"Are you a Hunter?" Ruby asked.
The figure shook his head and chuckled slightly. "I wish. Been in training for the last year though. Nah, I'm just like you. Minus the fancy speed trick."
"Oh, you mean the Rose Walk? Yeah, I've had it for a while-"
"No, no." The words cut through the conversation like a knife. "I mean the other thing. The trick you did without Aura."
The world lurched underneath Ruby as thoughts rushed through her head.
Oh no! He knows! They're gonna lock me up! He's not even a Hunter! Oh no oh no oh no… I could escape. I could just run and no-one would ever need to know about this and-
"Ruby?" Jaune asked. "You okay?"
Okay, maybe I can play it off.
"I don't know what you mean." She said.
Jaune simply raised an eyebrow. "Sure. Just like you would know absolutely nothing about how you managed to dodge that rocket at point blank range."
Okay, new strategy. Maybe he's friendly?
"How'd you find out about that?"
Jaune chuckled again. "Reports of a reddish blur on the outskirts of Signal Academy. People got worried that it was some kind of Grimm. I thought differently. You'd be surprised how many people there are with your sort of tricks. How long've you had it?"
"A year or so."
"Huh." Jaune replied, stroking his chin in thought. "Alright, well, the sooner we can get you in, the sooner we can get this whole thing sorted out."
"Where do you want to take me?" She pulled Crescent Rose closer.
Jaune sighed. "I just need to debrief you. It's not often that people get involved in-"
"Why do you need to debrief me?!" Ruby shouted. "There were bad guys, I stopped them, crazy people got away! What else is there?"
Jaune placed his palm to his face. "Listen-"
"How did you even find me!? The street was completely empty! I would have felt some sort of Aura, especially if you'd had to dash up the building like I did!"
"Please, just-"
"What did the guy with the bowler hat want with all that Dust? Why couldn't we shoot the bulkhead after that weird fire lady showed up?! What about-" The words flurried out of Ruby's mouth.
"Just! Shhhh!" Jaune shouted, sounding surprisingly childish as he did so. "I'm trying to explain here. Can you just calm down for like five minutes?!"
The two stood on the cool rooftop awkwardly, letting the wind blow between them. "Good." Jaune said taking a deep breath. "Never goes smoothly. Why do these things never go smoothly…" he muttered before composing himself.
"My name is Jaune Arc. I… work for the Prism Foundation. It's my job, among others, to investigate people who might be able to help our goals. Your name popped up."
"Prism? You mean the medical patch people? Why are they interested in me?"
Jaune looked a little confused before slowly answering. "Did you not just see what happened there? The whole kicking ass thing? You don't even use your gift and-"
"It's not a gift." Ruby muttered.
"Huh?"
"It's not a gift." Ruby said louder. "It's weird and it's creepy and it feels all sorts of wrong and I can't control it and-"
"That's what Prism can help with. At least," He hummed for a moment. "We have facilities to help." He shook his head once again. "Listen, that's not important right now. What is,is that performance of combat skill that you just showed down there. Not many fifteen year olds can do that."
Ruby felt her chest rise with pride before nerves slammed it back down. "You're gonna take me to a lab to dissect me, aren't you?"
"No." The word was like a great stone dropping between them. "I can't tell you what's going to happen but I can tell that there's no way that Prism would do anything like that to you. What're you so afraid of?"
"You haven't felt it!" Ruby shouted suddenly to Jaune's surprise. "It's not like Aura. It feels wrong to be moving when the world around you is all slow. It activates at all the wrong times. Like this one time, I was running for cardio training and it activated and I'd managed to dig a trench on the training field from running in circles!" She puffed as she vented. "It's weird! I don't want to be weird!"
Jaune stood there, face an impenetrable mask. His eyes boring into her, he took a single step towards Ruby.
Then he burst out laughing.
"It's not funny!" Ruby protested.
"I'm sorry!" Jaune laughed. "It's just…" He laughed again. "Man, I wish I'd had your problems."
"Huh?"
"Nothing, nothing." Jaune waved her off. "Anyway, come with me. I promise, it's just a quick chat with someone from Prism."
Ruby's thoughts began to speed up once again.
What's going to happen? I mean, Dad'll probably kill me once he finds out what happened here even if it's not all bad… Jaune seems nice, little weird, feels different in Aura than he should…
It can't be that bad can it?
What about the weirdness? Some dark part of her mind whispered. No way they'll just let you leave.
Jaune said…
You're really trusting the guy you just met? C'mon.
But he leapt in to protect us!
Ruby just stood stock still as her mind warred with itself. Eventually, she looked at Jaune with a new fire in her eyes.
"Alright." She said. "Where are we going?"
"Prism building, a couple blocks from here." Jaune smiled back. "We'd better not use Aura. Police aren't exactly keen on us using it in the city for non-emergencies."
"What?" Ruby said, letting the Aura flow out of her.
"Don't ask me why. Just recently they've been real touchy about it and I don't want to have to deal with my boss if we do."
The two leapt off the building with casual ease, both landing with a dull thump against the pavement.
"Cool weapon by the way." Jaune said, a knowing smile on his face.
"Really?!" Ruby cheered before composing herself. "I mean, yeah. Crescent Rose is pretty cool and all. Worked really hard on it. What's your weapon?"
Jaune flicked out Crocea Mors to full shield as he drew the sword. "Meet Crocea Mors. Been upgraded a little since I first used it."
"What's the long range attack?"
"I throw it. Hard."
Ruby chuckled. At Jaune's straight face, she replied. "Oh, wait you're serious!?"
Jaune laughed back. "Yeah. I mean, I have Tribune as a backup but the sword and shield do well enough."
"But doesn't it get tiring switching between them?"
"Doesn't it get tiring carrying a sniper-scythe around with you at all times?"
Ruby just whispered back. "Good point."
(I'm back. Did you miss me?
As always, many thanks to rwbyfan5 for his beta reading. Keep on kicking butt! Expect updates every Saturday with the occasional update on a Wednesday.
Feel free to leave a review! I'm always interested to hear from readers.
Until next time!)