Legends, tales, folklore, myths. Man is quite fond of telling and re-telling such stories about heroes, villains, monsters, and events. It is perhaps because we can look up to such stories, to be encouraged and driven to improve. But, alas, we can never equate to even be a fraction close to those heroes told in fairy tales. For we are but remnants, fragments of a lost time. A time of greatness, but only remembered through these legends and stories passed down through the generations.
Man, born from Dust, was born into a cruel and ruthless world. They are diverse, smart, and resourceful. But not long after they set their first few steps, creatures of darkness, beasts of the shadows.
The creatures of Grimm.
Set their eyes on all of man's creations, pushing them to point of near extinction. When man were at their most desperate moment, with anything they created thus far being not enough to push back the hordes of darkness looming over their heads, they made a lifesaving discovery.
It was not Dust, though it proved great against the beasts but it was not enough. Nor was it any technological advance they could push forth, which has now become impossible when they are now so few.
It was their hearts. Their souls. Their Aura, that they were finally able to push back against the once unstoppable forces of darkness.
With Aura, everything fell into place. Humanity can finally venture out from their safe havens and could finally build their great cities to house their families, create barracks to train soldiers. It was like a shining beacon for all of mankind.
But such times have already long passed, and Man of today is but a mere fragment of a once greater time
Fortunately, not all of that greatness is lost. Even now, there are heroes fated for greatness lurking in the shadows, hidden within the crowd. Some heroes born through hardship, others given the right at birth. Nevertheless, they will come when the times needs them.
One of the greatest mysteries, however, was how Humanity unlocked their hidden potential within their souls. Many theories have risen to explain the most important moment of Mankind, and in fact there are as many of these theories as there are legends.
But the light, the peace, is slowly dimming. And with it, darkness quickly follows…
The radio screeches back into life, playing the Vale City Radio's trademark jingle before following with the evening news, as the cab driver looks up at the top mirror to check on his quite passenger.
The man had a rather hulking figure, and despite him being seated he could easily tell that he was at least over 6 feet tall.
He wore an all white trench coat with folded back collars and cuffs that sport a tessellated pattern. Underneath the coat is a jumper of sorts over a stiff high-collared shirt. There was also this strap that runs diagonally across his chest. He also wore white wide-legged pants held by two belts similarly patterned to his cuffs and simple black pointed shoes.
Covering the top of his head was a white hat with a long visor that seemed to be ripped up at the back to reveal his black hair underneath and on the front of the hat were two metallic emblems colored gold: A large J and an open palm enclosed in a heart.
"It's seems we're almost there, sir.", said the cab driver to his passenger, who still kept silent.
That was, until a few minutes later where he suddenly asked the cab driver out of the blue.
"How's Vale recently.", asked the man with his eyes gazing over the right.
"Well to be honest, sir, the city's seen better days… There's been a sudden rise in robberies all around town. Not just any robberies too. From what a friend of mine has been telling me, it's been only Dust shops that were being robbed. Weird, huh?.", replied the cab driver with a bit of an awkward tone. The sudden question took him off guard, especially considering his passenger has been quiet for the entirety of the ride until this point.
When the cab driver went to glance at the man again to check on him he notices yet another change in his passive attitude up till now.
He was able to catch his passenger taking glances to the left and right in a rather frequent pace, while also having a picture out. From how he acted and with a photo out, the driver didn't take long to realize what he's doing.
But just before he could speak up to confirm his suspicion, the passenger spoke up again. "Have you heard of anything strange happening in the city?"
It was a peculiar question which took him by surprise, but the driver answered nonetheless.
"Hmmm...", he hummed as he tries to remember anything he's heard or seen that'd fit the term "strange", but he gave a small shook. "Besides the recent targeting of Dust shops… no, I don't think so, sir. Nothing out of the ordinary."
He answered as honestly as he could. Nothing he could recollect from memory about anything strange happening to either him nor his buddies.
The moments after that were quiet once again, before the driver asked his passenger where he'll be dropping, to which he quickly answered by saying, "Right beside the Station." With an quick nod, he turns left at an intersection and heading straight for the Airship Station.
Meanwhile, on that same night at the Dust till Dawn shop, a little convenience store plus Dust dealer shop, things were going peacefully. It's a popular spot in the easternmost side of Vale's Commercial District due to it being close to the city's school's airship station.
It was the usual evening routine for the elderly shopkeeper as he does some cleaning to pass the time. Checking the clock on the wall on his right, it was five minutes till 7. It was nearly closing time and he couldn't help but give himself a pat in the back for what happened today. It was quite a surprising rush of customers that he thought he'd run out of Dust to sell.
The whole deal with Dust shops getting raided was a scary premonition for the old shopkeeper. It wasn't just a few, but nearly all of the Dust in Vale is probably stolen as of now. It was weird, and a bad kind of weird.
The shopkeeper believes that someone or some group is organizing these robberies , as some simple answer as all the recent Dust raids are "just coincidences" is now highly unlikely.
What's worse, his shop is probably the next in line.
With his counter looking out the door, if some group of people do decide to rob him he'll be able to warn the cops or even get a hunter to help.
Hope it's a hunter, though.
Though he can't really close down shop until every single customer has left. Unfortunately for him…
A girl wearing a red hoodie is standing quietly in front of the magazine stand reading an issue of that one magazine for those weapon enthusiasts. Apparently from what she said, it's for the "cool kids" to read. Though seeing a girl still in middle school reading books and even wielding a weapon, if that piece of thin metal on her back resembling a sniper rifle has anything else to go by.
Kids these days… one minute they're cute and innocent then the next they're suddenly killing machines out for Grimm blood.
With only 5 minutes left till closing, he puts down his cleaning cloth and attempts to walk up to the girl and tell her that it's closing time.
Oh, but wouldn't you know it. Another customer runs through the front door and just in the nick of a minute before closing.
It was a familiar lad with a peculiar but just as familiar hairstyle. It was one of his regulars. A lad with a purple buttoned-up jacket and wide-legged pants resembling a school uniform with it kept unbuttoned and pinned aside revealing a light green undershirt with a short zippers on both sides of his chest.
Then there was his purple hair styled in a pompadour with two spikes on the back hairline. He never knew why he styled it in that way, but he wouldn't want to offend the boy. He's pretty sensitive when it comes to it, and it's the "beat people senseless" kind of sensitive.
The old shopkeeper gave the man a knowing look, and gestured his hello. He was a silent man, not even willing to speak unless he has to. Josuke raised his hand up, still heaving from the marathon he just ran to get to the shop in time.
"Sorry, gramps! I actually need a lot of Dust for tomorrow!", yelled Josuke exasperatedly between breathes. "Why is the Initiation tomorrow!?", he then said to himself in slight annoyance due to the fact that he didn't knew of the actual day of initiation. The elderly shopkeeper couldn't help but chuckle, which earned a confused look from the soon-to-be first year of the combat school located at the far east of Vale.
Beacon Academy.
He simply waved his hand, as if saying "it's nothing." before quickly snap of his fingers and finishing with a point. He moves quickly to take out a medium-sized Dust canisters and filling them up in the Dust terminals beside him. He then waves his hand over the glass on top of the counter showcasing all the crystal Dust he's got.
"Sorry, but I don't have enough money on me for that...", said Josuke with the waving of his hand. The shopkeeper though shook his head, and gestured his hands clasped together and brought them to him, as if offering him something.
"Oh, really! Thanks, gramps!", joyously cheered Josuke with a clap of his hands as the shopkeeper replied with a simple nod and smile. "You've really helped me out a great lot with my training. I can't thank you enough!", Josuke couldn't help but bow and thank the shopkeeper. He's been helping him with Dust supplies and use ever since he started training to become a huntsman. And with that, he couldn't help to show his thanks to the old geezer. "Oh yeah, grandpa asked if you're free later tonight for a drink at my place.", he then added, to which the shopkeeper answered with a thumbs-up and a confident smile.
Josuke grinned happily at seeing this, "Then I'll see ya later then. Oh right, but first...", he trailed off after remembering what he was doing, and made a thinking pose on the counter.
"Well.. I think I'll need a few reds… hmmm, but I could also go for a couple of yellows.", as Josuke slowly thinks and says the things he needs, the shopkeeper proceeds to take out said colored Dust crystals before placing them in a box made for holding them.
But as the two were distracted a group of men, one in white while the other 3 in black and red, walk straight into the shop.
When the shopkeeper looked up to gesture his hello to his would-be customers he instead froze in shock. Josuke notices this and cautiously looks back to see what's scaring the old man and finds…
"Hey...", Josuke called out to the white-suited, bowler hat wearing, can-holding criminal with a serious stare and tone unlike earlier. "Aren't you Roman Torchwick?"
"And what if I am?", sarcastically replied Roman with a cocky smile and a bow before giving a nod to his henchmen to move.
The black-suits then began to raid the shop from all of it's Dust. One man got into the the counter by jumping over the counter and nearly knocking the old shopkeeper over. This prompted Josuke to turn back and try to catch the man but this left his guard down. A mistake Roman quickly punished with a swift knee to his stomach, which made Josuke lurched and fall down to his knees holding his waist in pain.
Meanwhile, on the magazine stall with the red-hooded girl. She continued to read, oblivious to the fact that the shop where she's reading the magazine is currently being robbed and this is in an exceptionally loud manner too. It was until a black-suit noticed her reading her magazine without a care for the world.
Ths annoyed him for some reason, and prompted him to shout at her from behind. When he gets annoyed that she fails to hear him, he pulls her to face him and he now knows why.
She was listening to music, in full blast too since when he gestures her to remove it, and she does, he could actually hear the lyrics of the song well enough to recognize it.
"How in Remnant did you not hear any of us! We're robbing the store and you're just standing there reading that stupid book all night!?", reprimanded the robber in a manner that would be similar to that of a father to their child after they did something wrong. He was thoroughly ticked off from her ignorance.
It's probably because he has children like this that he's annoyed.
"Wait, what did you say to this magazine?", muttered the red-hooded girl, her head drooped till her eyes were hidden in her bangs, and her hold on the magazine began to tighten.
"What?", said the pissed-off black-suit henchman with his arms crossed and teeth gritted. "That you're reading a stupid boo-"
It was at this moment when the red-hooded girl pulled out her weapon, transformed it into a scythe, and then is propelled out by said scythe out the window.
The abrupt sound of glass breaking brought up the attention of everyone on the counter, turning their heads towards the sound and found a broken window and two people now outside on the dark city streets. A little girl with a red cloak and hood holding what seems to be a large mechanical scythe, and one of Roman's henchmen sprawled on the ground.
The other black-suits notice their teammate knocked out on the pavement and quickly ran out to retaliate and avenge their fallen comrade.
The red-hooded girl made a confident smirk, and began her dance with the two other henchmen. She spun her scythe with surprising grace and form. Not only that, the sound of gunfire could be heard as he propels herself all over the place from the recoil of her weapon.
In no time at all, she easily deals with the reinforcements. But before she could turn to face their leader, she was blown back by an explosion on the ground.
Roman held his cane out like a gun of it's own, and surely enough what fired at the end of it was an explosive cartridge that blew the little girl away.
"Well, well… never would've guessed I'd see a prodigy with my own two eyes!", yelled confidently did the criminal, surely impressed by her little performance. "But don't think that I'm just gonna let you beat me up, now."
Noticing that everyone's taken their attention away by the girl, the old man, who was still on the ground, reached over to the emergency button hidden in the counter. Now, it's all up to the VPD to get here as quickly as possible.
Josuke also notices Roman's focus averted from him and the other goons KO'ed after trying, and failing, to deal with the little girl. It was at this moment that a simple but probably effective plan popped into his mind.
It wasn't elaborate, nor was it really that cunning.
He'll just be using that.
With a small tug on the criminal's pants, he then brought Roman's attention back to him. He made a confused glance at Josuke and with that he points his left hand on him as if he's holding a gun and with one word…
"Dora."
It was Roman's turn to lurched forward as the wind was literally taken right out of him, before flying out the door in great speed. He was sent flying for nearly 3 meters away from the shop before landing, but the criminal was nimble. Evident by his quick recovery from the hit through a back roll which quickly got him on his feet.
All of his henchmen looked in awe at their leader's sudden flight away from the shop, before turning their eyes at Josuke who was standing up slowly with his right arm still clutching his abdomen. Though none of them could find the strength to rise back up for themselves to help their leader.
Roman was taken aback. He didn't see Josuke move to hit him, rather he just got blown at the stomach from a strike out of of thin air. Even with his aura, he definitely felt that. It was a strong hit that even left a bit of his shirt torn from the impact.
"The hell? What hit me?", Roman muttered to himself in disbelief. Was this that boy's semblance? Was it by something else? He didn't know but he didn't like it. It was strange… no, bizarre.
And he doesn't like it.
Not only that, the girl's just finished dealing with his lackeys and is now back to pay him back for nearly blowing her up.
That's also something he doesn't like.
With two dangerous people on both sides, he's pretty much got nowhere to run
So with that, he points his gun firstly at Josuke, who quickly moves forward in an attempt to protect the shop, but he then suddenly turns his aim towards Ruby as she attempts to catch him before he could fire. With another pull of the trigger, another explosive shot was fired and Ruby couldn't do anything but to tank the blow. She flew back yet again and a lot of smoke blew out from the shot unlike the previous shot. She was luckily mostly unharmed thanks to her aura, but sadly when she tried to face Roman he was now gone.
"Wait, where did he-!?", exclaimed Ruby as she tries to find the disappeared criminal.
Josuke on the other was able to just see him move through the smoke from the explosion and moved around her and then into the alley just a block away. There he saw him climb up the side of the building from the emergency exit route.
"There he is!", Josuke yelled as loud as he could towards Ruby direction, and she heard him loud and clear.
With a quick readjustment of her scythe into an underhand stance, she fires a round and propels herself at breakneck speeds towards the alley before flying straight up and just catching the edge with her scythe's blade. Hauling herself up with a flip, she disappears from Josuke's view as she makes chase towards Roman.
Josuke, for now, returns to the elder shopkeeper and immediately asked him if he's alright. The shopkeeper answered with a single nod and a smile, as if trying to remove the worry from Josuke's eyes which luckily did, considering Josuke's quite the caring boy.
"Well, don't worry.", comforted Josuke to the shopkeeper, placing a hand on the old man's shoulder and showing off a warm smile. "Because I'll be fixing you up, and the shop too."
As he said this, a refreshing feeling enveloped the old shopkeeper. It was like a perfect morning after a good night's sleep. The pains from the fall earlier were washed away in an instant, and the shopkeeper knew why.
Josuke was a boy with a special talent. He never really knew how he got it, and the boy himself doesn't really know either. But the talent he had was something really amazing in his eyes. Josuke explained to him about this talent, and he's not sure if it is his semblance or something else entirely due to it being accompanied by a sort of "phantom" that only Josuke can see, but for sure the old shopkeeper knew that it had great potential.
As Josuke walked up towards the shattered glass, he uses this special talent once more. He even gave it a "cool" name.
"Crazy Diamond.", uttered Josuke with his hands over the broken window and a humanoid phantom appears over the glass with it's hands over it, though the phantom invisible to the old shopkeeper.
This was Josuke's [Stand]. Though the term is still unknown to Josuke during this time, he's fully aware of what it is and how it works, since he's had it when he was still around 9 years old. The [Stand's] ability was to fix things. Whether people or objects, it works on almost anything.
Like right now, as all of the shattered pieces of glassing began flying back to the broken glass window, merging together until it was completely fixed. It was as if it were never broken in the first place.
With this he breathes a sigh of relief before taking out a hairbrush from inside his jacket, swiping his hair back with it, and with a smile he says, "Gureito desu ne, koitsu wa?"
With a revitalized vigor for helping the shopkeeper, Josuke then sets out to help the girl. He just hopes he can get to her in time, though finding will be a bother.
But Josuke's a pretty smart guy. He pulls out a small piece of white torn cloth from Roman's clothes, and uses Crazy Diamond's ability on it. The cloth flies away, just fast enough for Josuke to follow it, and he does so in gusto.
Returning to the red-hooded girl, she had finally reached Roman who was now trapped with no other buildings to jump to.
"You're trapped now Roman! Time to put your hands up because the cops will be here at any second!"
Just as she said this, the sounds of police sirens echo out from the streets below. As if on cue that cop cars have arrived and headed right for the Dust till Dawn shop. Now really out of options, for any other criminal stuck in this situation would simply give themselves to the cops.
Not Roman, because he's no ordinary criminal.
"Is that so, Red?"
And besides, he's never out without a plan.
Out of the blue, a Bullhead flew up right beside the edge of where Roman was standing on. The criminal laughed triumphantly at the arrival of his escape before making a jump onto the open hatch of the aircraft.
Ruby, not the one to back down from a prominent criminal's escape tries to stop him or at least get in the Bullhead to take him down there. It wasn't the best of plans but she's got to catch him no matter what, not after what happened to the store.
Meanwhile, a few blocks away from the scene, the cab driver and his passenger both spot the anomaly in the sky. The driver suspected that it was probably a movie shot happening live, but his passenger on the other hand had other ideas.
"Take us to that Bullhead.", he asked the cab driver, who was both surprised and confused but nonetheless he followed his orders and turned at another intersection towards the Bullhead.
Ruby dashes forward at incredible speeds as roses are left from her wake. It was a dazzling display, and it's something Roman's having none of. He fires off multiple shots from his cane in an attempt to stop her advance but unlike before she kept close to the ground to control her direction so she evaded every shot he fired at her.
Roman was impressed of the little girl but he's got no time to play with Red, so he fires a shot to distract her, then he throws a small shard of Fire dust on the ground.
"Well, since my shots probably won't hit her anytime soon. I'll guess I'll try leading her into a little trap.", he stated to himself in mild annoyance at Ruby's persistence. "It's a good thing that the smoke from my shots are mostly covering the ground beneath her, which makes it pretty easy for me to..."
With that pause, he takes aim at Ruby once again but this time he targets the ground to her right.
"You've been going back and forth a lot to dodge my shots, then if I fire here-", he pulls the trigger and sure enough she reflexively dodged to her left and right towards the Dust crystal he threw earlier while she was distracted. "Yup, you fell right for it, Red."
He fires at the location of the Dust crystal. Ruby, unfortunately, expected that it'll be a close call dodge but instead the explosion was stronger than anticipated and she is quickly engulfed in smoke.
"Haha! You did it again, Torchwick.", Roman applauded himself in self-gloating. This was unfortunately short-lived for him because the moment the smoke subsides the little girl is revealed to be unharmed.
And another nuisance enters the fray.
"Well, isn't this great? I was able to reach after all.", said Josuke in a slightly tired but serious tone, with his head low but his eyes staring straight at Roman. He stood right in front of Ruby, who was shocked to find that he not only caught up but was able to defend her.
The newcomer was none other than the boy he got blown away by earlier, evident by his ridiculous hairstyle. Roman couldn't help but curse under his breath, but that doesn't matter anymore.
"Well, well, look at you two heroes trying to stop a criminal like me.", announced Roman with a taunting bow and a sly smile. "But it must feel bad for both of you knowing that the bad guy got away."
It was then that someone spoke up from behind Roman, clearly unamused by his showing off.
"Get this done and over with, Roman! We do not have any more time for this.", a deep voice spoke out to Roman in a loud and annoyed tone. Only his eyes were visible from behind the shadows, with his entire figure hidden but he was someone wearing a suit and tie with short combed-back hair.
"Yes, sir.", sighed Roman with a wave of his hand before going to find a seat in the Bullhead. "Get this tin can flying!", he said prior to closing the hatch.
"You think we're gonna let you run away?", Josuke said under his breath, his glare still stuck on Roman. Ruby stood up from the ground when she heard him and noticed his that his left hand was clutching something. It was then that Josuke looked back at Ruby.
"I'm glad that I was able to reach ya.", joyously admited the purple-haired teen to the red-hooded girl, who replied with a small nod and smile. "Didn't expect you to reach me."
Josuke then reeled his left arm back, as if preparing to throw a baseball. Roman saw him do this just before he was about to close the hatch and wondered in mild amusement, while Ruby was perplexed at what her comrade was doing.
"What do you have planned?", Roman wondered as he paused closing the hatch just to see what he's gonna do to stop them.
"Ummm… what are you doing?", questioned Ruby who had transformed her weapon back into it's rifle form in an attempt to shoot down the Bullhead. But unfortunately her question fell by deaf ears as Josuke simply answered with a question of his own, "How good's your aim?"
Ruby was confused as ever of what Josuke's planning, but she confidently answered, "A pretty good shot if I do say so myself."
With one deep breathe, one last push to reel himself back as far as he could go, he throws the crystal within his left hand and heading straight for the left engine.
When Roman took a closer look at what Josuke threw, he discovered that it was a Fire Dust crystal, that looks almost like the one he threw earlier in fact. Upon realizing what it was, he quickly closed the hatch and held tightly on whatever he could hold onto while shouting at the two inside. "Everyone brace for impact!"
"Ruby, shoot it!", yelled Josuke at Ruby, who now understands what he was planning. She puts her right eye on the scope, takes aim and waits until the crystal was close enough to the jet engine.
The throw was strong enough to fling the crystal and not only reach the engine, but even make contact with it. It was at that moment that Ruby pulled the trigger.
The shot was picture perfect, and hit the crystal dead center.
"Ki-!", yelled the shadowy suited main in desperation but his words were cut off as his position changed in an instant.
Roman braced for the explosion, and brace he did, but after a couple more seconds of nothing he looks over to everyone in the Bullhead and found his Boss standing up from his previously seated position.
"W-Wait, did you do just that, boss?", queried Roman who was only met by a deathly stare from his superior.
"I have prevented the explosion from affecting this have no need to fear, Roman.", his boss proudly explained to his subordinate, who couldn't help but whistle in relief.
Meanwhile, down below on the rooftops, Josuke and Ruby waited for an explosion that never happened. This outright confused both of them, as they were sure that Ruby hit the crystal dead center.
"W-Wait, where's our explosion?", asked Josuke, bewildered by the missing explosion.
"I don't know! I was sure I hit it!", Ruby answered, just as shocked as her ally. She saw the crystal break from getting hit, so there should've been an explosion there.
It was then that the hatch reopened to reveal the shadowy figure in the suit and tie, who tauntingly looked down on the two's failed attempt.
"There is nothing both of you can do to stop this Bullhead, not before my power!", loudly affirmed the Boss towards the two below, his head tilted up but his eyes looking straight down as if to belittle their existences.
The two felt degraded from his words, with Josuke being left to just grit his teeth in despair and frustration and Ruby nearly dropping her weapon from hearing those words.
"I do not want to remember these two nuisances anymore in the future. I will not make that possibility a part of my past!", he then proclaimed while raising his to gesture the pilot to come over, who does so with Roman taking her place to his dismay. "That is why-!"
However, just before he could give the order to exterminate Josuke and Ruby, the aircraft was bombarded by hail from out of nowhere, rumbling the Bullhead and nearly making the Boss fall out from it.
"What!?", was the only thing he could blurt out as he tries to stay on, holding on tightly at the edge of the hatch. Roman struggled to keep the aircraft up from the barrage but luckily was able to do so.
The woman however, with glowing yellow eyes and a red dress with tattoo-like markings decorated around it that glow a similarly bright yellow as her eyes, didn't seem surprised, not even fazed, unlike the two. Rather she smiled contently, for she had been expecting someone and they have finally arrived.
Appearing behind both Ruby and Josuke was a bespectacled lady with short blonde hair and emerald green eyes, circular glasses, and teal earrings hanging on her ears. She wore a long-sleeved pleated top with a keyhole neckline with gauntlet cuffs that flare in pleats at the wrists, and a black high-waisted pencil skirt with bronze buttons and black-brown stockings and boots. Hanging on her back was a distinctive cape that is purple on the inside and black on the outside, with the cut stylized to look like flames at the end with diamond-shaped bronze beads on the back.
The middle-aged woman adjusted her glasses as she looks towards the unstable Bullhead and meeting gazes with the woman on it, before pulling out a riding crop attached to her waist and getting into a stance.
The woman on the Bullhead replied to her opponent's readied fighting pose by making the first move, lobbing off fireballs to hit her and the two youngsters. The bespectacled woman answered her attack by making a large magic circle that shielded both her and the two.
Ruby slowly dropped her weapon upon realizing who it is that's saved her, while on the other hand Josuke made a dumbfounded expression towards their savior.
"P-P-Professor Goodwitch!?", Josuke stammered loudly upon realizing it was one of Beacon's own Professors saving both him and Ruby.
"Hmph.", calmly hummed the huntress before retaliating, firing her own barrage of Dust towards the Bullhead and hitting it in various angles, causing even more chaos inside.
"DEAL WITH THAT HUNTRESS ALREADY!", furiously demanded the Boss, his anger peaking it's limit. "I do not want my presence to be known here! If she realizes who I am, then we are through!"
Oh, how this supposed routine pick-up ended into such a haphazard situation. They have wasted too much time with those two rugrats, and now they're paying the price dearly. If it were just a simple huntsman then this would've been simple, but instead he's subjected to face off against his arch-enemies on the first day in Vale.
"Even with my true enemies in front of me, I will not be found. This is but a "test", and I shall rise above it!", the Boss stated to himself in self-assurance as he tries to hide behind the shadows at the seat right beside Roman's.
The woman facing the huntress nods at his words, and fires off a large and dense fireball, which Glynda defends from yet again by creating a shield in front of her, but what she didn't know was due to the density of the fireball, there was an excess of Dust that spew out from the fireball and scattering all over the ground around her. The glowing-eyed woman in red gestured her index and middle finger in a rising motion, which activated the scattered Dust on the ground and create an explosive pillar of fire from Goodwitch's position, but the huntress was able to evade it by flipping backwards. The explosion caused the cement floor of the roof to break up and litter the area, which Glynda decided to make use of, combining it all into a large spear made of the shards of cement and hurling it right towards the Bullhead.
The red-dressed sorceress countered the attack by destroying the spear through repeated fireballs, but the professor expected her to do this. In the instance it was destroyed, she then created three separate spears from the broken shards to circle and strike the Bullhead in three different directions.
To stop Goodwitch's attack, the sorceress destroys all three by releasing a powerful burst of Fire Dust all around her. Ruby attempts to distract her from the professor by moving forward and doing suppressing fire at the woman but she blocked every strike and, to finally end the fight, she firstly turns the portion of Dust around Glynda to explode which forced her to retreat, then used the last remaining to deal with the Josuke and Ruby.
With all three of them being far enough and Roman regaining control, he flies them all out from the area and disappearing into the clouds, finally escaping the scene.
"Crap!", Josuke cursed as he tries to reach Ruby to defend her, but before he could reach he was pushed back by an explosion appearing right in front of him which made him land painfully on his back.
"Are you okay!?", hastily questioned Ruby, hoping that she's okay but there was no response at first. When he called for her again, however…
"I'm alright, somehow… though I felt like I blacked out for a second there.", he heard Ruby's slightly confused voice but not in front of him, but rather to his right. Darting his head towards Ruby's voice, he is indeed met with the red-hooded girl but behind her was a stranger he's never seen before.
He was a tall man who towered over Ruby and a bit taller than Josuke, guessing at around 10 cm more in height than him. His most striking feature however is his hat with the large pins attached to it, as well as his stare which frightened Josuke.
Ruby tilted her head puzzlingly at Josuke's surprised and somewhat scared expression as she was looking at her, until she realized he wasn't look at her but behind her. So, as curiosity kicked in, she looked behind her and found the towering man looking down on her.
"Wha!", Ruby yelled in surprise herself upon seeing the stranger and backed away a bit to
"Yare yare daze...", sighed the stranger while adjusting his hat, before turning his attention to Josuke.
"Are you Josuke Higashikata?", he asked in a calm deep voice, to which the boy in question answered with a hesitant nod and reply. "Y-Yeah."
Ruby, after taking a moment to breathe, ran up towards the huntress in child-like amusement and asked her a question.
"Are you a huntress?", she asked in awe of the huntress before her who gave a quizzical with a raise of an eyebrow at the little girl, before she followed up with another question.
"Can I have your autograph?", excitedly said Ruby as her face brightened up in glee.