AN: Hello my fellow Fanfic-ers, good morning, good afternoon, & good night (depends on when you're reading this)... my name is Zaden and I am new to the fanfic writing world. I am in no way, shape, or form unfamiliar with the fanfic reading world, though. I have avidly read the works of others for the past 3 years, which are, by no small margin, what inspired me to write my own stories, so I thank you all for showing me the true potential of imagination... Okay enough of my fluffy ramblings, START THE STORY!
P.S: My first story, so an experienced BETA would be a highly welcome help, also don't expect anything even remotely close to regular updates until summer break, *sigh* school is such a pain. This is still just a hobby, though, so until I get used to writing on a regular basis, do not expect a constant flow of updates at any time, just keepin' it real.
(Constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged)
I do not own RWBY, Bleach, Deadpool, or Metal Gear (A small part of me dies as I type this... depressingly true statement); they are owned by RoosterTeeth/Monty Oum (may his soul rest in peace), Tite Kubo, Marvel, and Konami. However, I do own any original characters and concepts that I place in this story. (And yes, that means that this is gonna be a shameless "self"-insert... got a problem you can leave.)
Chapter 1: A World of Bloody Evolution
Five… that is how many worlds I have been a guest in. Not "worlds" in the astronomical sense, however, I mean that in the dimensional sense - my experience with space isn't lacking, though. My name is Jadon Zarhko; and being reborn in different universes is one the perks of my new job: Keeper of the Omniverse.
Most people have at least heard of the term "multiverse" - the existence of infinite universes; But, I'm talking about the "Omniverse", which includes every multiverse, dimension, pocket dimension, plane of existence, so on and etcetera.
But... I'm guessing you want to know about my job now. I am just one of an infinite legion created to maintain balance in the omniverse; but, we're not your typical heroes in shiny white armor. No, we are those who walk the middle. We are not good nor are we evil.
All beings have an inherent energy signature, from the void-like black to the neutral gray, to the radiant white. Sometimes there are events that rip these beings from their home realities; depending on the energy of that being, they are sent to a dimension outside of conventional time: Aurium, Centra, or Malignus. Those whose souls have more positivity end up in The Aurium, the ones with a greater amount of negativity are sent to The Malignus, and those that possess both reside in The Centra.
But what do I mean by maintaining balance, you ask? Well, Centra is responsible for preventing Aurium from overtaking Malignus and vice-versa.
Many people believe that Good is meant to erase Evil. But... they fail to consider one fact; yes, too much darkness can kill, however, too much light can blind. The omniversal consequence of excess, though, is an utter collapse. And that's what The Centra is for, we're the failsafe. We get deployed when the other two try to get uppity and screw with the realities.
This time, though, I think I might have some trouble. Everyone usually becomes a pro after their 3rd mission, and I was no different. Having said that, I got thrown a bit of curveball this time around. You see… on this mission, I have to neutralize a squad of Malignus agents, and usually, they only work in teams of one.
Soooo, the boss saw fit to even the odds. Which means that I have to leave my comfort zone, and be a-
"Hey, fearless leader! Are we there yet!?"
… Team. Player…
Jadon can be seen leaning on a windowsill inside a crowded airship, watching the cityscape of Vale pass by as it flew. Even among the colorfully varied passengers, he seems to stand out quite a bit; his lanky 6' 4" frame making him one the tallest there, for one. He wore a sky-blue, sleeveless hooded jacket, which had a special design on the back - a bellowing yellow dragon, two thunderbolts crossing behind it.
The rest of his body was covered in a skin-tight, cobalt-trimmed, black suit that revealed his lithe muscle-structure. It came with gray armor panels attached to the chest, elbows, abdomen, and knees; his feet being in a pair of steel-toed shoes that were attached to suit itself. A gold band, with what looked like two rectangular cartridges on each side, went around his waist line. He also had a pair of bracers - one on each forearm - the same color as his jacket. Jadon's suit continued up his neck, the back of his head, and around his cheek bones. It stopped at the ears and connected to a pair of round, metal ear cuffs. A metal plate protruded from the cuffs and encompassed his jaw-line.
He wasn't bad looking, either. Bronze complexion, tousled chestnut hair, long chin, full lips; many would say he looked like a male model. A visual that was only further enhanced by his exotic eyes - the right being lightning-yellow, and the left an electric-blue - that seemed to glow with untamed power. Jadon's handsome visage was only marred by one thing; a thick, pink scar over his right eye that went from his above his eyebrow, to just above his mouth.
Overall, he looked like some sort of awesome, sci-fi... space-warrior. Which begs the question: Why is everyone giving him an eight-foot, or more, wide berth and terrified glances every now and then?
Well, it's probably because of the thick atmosphere of murderous intent that he seemed to be releasing in waves.
An irritation that seemed to be majorly caused by the one person who wasn't leaving him alone. A young man - shorter by a couple inches, older by a couple years - with hair a few shades lighter than Jadon's, brown eyes, and olive skin. Square jaw, light stubble, round nose, dirty blond hair in a crew-cut; he was pretty handsome, too. The offender was clad in a red tank-top with a black stripe down the front, army green cargos, fingerless leather gloves, and black combat boots; he could pass for a civilian if it wasn't for the pair of rifle-katanas strapped to his back. His logo was stitched onto the pockets of his pants; a red-stroked black circle with a red line down the middle, and a smaller, white circle on each side of that line.
"Well?"
Jadon sighed at the probing, his threatening aura seeming to dissipate as he did so. He looked at his compatriot pointedly, "No, Wade. For the fifth time. We're still not ther-"
"But it's been hours," the now named Wade pouted, crossing his arms.
"It's only been twenty minutes… why are you so antsy anyway?"
"Cause, from what I've heard, this place makes some awesome chimichangas," was his reasoning; pulling a piece the same food out of nowhere, along with a neon 'awesome' sign, to illustrate his point.
Jadon pinched the bridge of his nose, a rumbling growl emanating from his chest. Why him? There was a literally infinite number of people that he could have been saddled with. But nooo, he had to be assigned Wade - goddamn - Wilson, as one of his squad.
"Careful FL, too much frowning'll ruin your pretty-boy face!"
Before he could lunge at the psychopathic smartass and strangle him, though, a third voice rang from behind them.
"Gomen, Jae-san. But, I'm afraid that your gonna have to wait your turn if you want to kill that one."
They turned to see the new arrival emerge from the crowd. The guy was several inches shorter than both Jadon and Wade, had an orange mop with white streaks on his head, peach skin, and eyes colored a sickly yellow. His face seemed to be set in a permanent, light scowl that contrasted his tone of amusement.
He, like Jadon, was also in a fairly unique outfit. His body was enveloped in a black, shin-length shihakushō with white inner-lining, and a white undershirt beneath it. He also wore a pair of dark gray dress-pants, and brown slippers on his feet. His logo was on the front of his undershirt: a black skull with a diagonal crack through the right eye.
Wade snorted at the claim, "You and fearless leader are welcome to try, Carrot," he brought his hand up to examine his nails, "You won't get very far, though."
"Besides, Ichigo, he's not worth the effort."
"Yea- Hey! I resent that you di-"
"What are you three arguing about now?"
All three fell silent once more as they looked left at the fourth and final member of their squad. He appeared to be the second shortest of the four - a couple inches taller than Ichigo. His platinum white hair was swept back and to the right; complimenting his pale skin - well, the skin you could see, anyway. His eyes were blue with a glacial gaze, almost seeming to be void of life; something that was fairly disconcerting to many.
His dress wasn't nearly as outlandish as Jadon's, or even Ichigo's, but, it was odder than Wade's. A dark gray high-collared trench coat that hid his lower-jaw and covered most of his body. White pants with bandages wrapped around the knees covered his legs, and a pair of gray combat boots were on his feet. A sheathed ninjato could be seen under his coat. His symbol, a silver tanto inside a gear-esque outline, was emblazoned on the jacket's right-breast.
Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the new arrival, "Still going with the 'cold and distant' act, huh?"
Jadon scoffed at Ichigo's bewilderment, "Ichi. This is Raiden you're talking about; That's pretty much his only act."
Wade piped up, "Yeah. Duckbutt here is a really one-dimensional character, unlike muà."
They saw Raiden's eyes briefly flash a blood red as he visibly tensed at their collective criticism. "Count yourselves lucky that we're working together," he glared pointedly at each of them, "you wouldn't have tongues to speak with otherwise."
They glared back with equal intensity, a palpable rolling off the group. It went on for a minute before Wade was distracted by -
"BOOBIES!"
Silence.
… The entire airship looked at him in confusion before following his gaze. He seemed to be staring at a young blonde who indeed had a nice rack. They proceeded to make a path for said blonde when she started sauntering towards the idiot, an undeniably false smile on her face. A simple glance from her smoldering, red eyes was enough to make even the bravest man wet himself. Good thing Wade wasn't brave, just stupid.
(Hey! If you keep flipping me the bird, I'll write you dancing ballet in a tutu, while singing "The Nutcracker"!)
Wade proceeded to slowly lower the finger he had subtly given the author behind his back.
Good choice.
"And what's your name, handsome?"
The young huntress's strained query apparently didn't faze the crimson-clad halfwit. In fact, he stood up a bit straighter and puffed up his chest. An air of severely misplaced bravado enveloping him before he verbally signed his own death warrant.
"The names Wade, Wade Ogaleesha, and I have many titles. Sex god, hero, mercenary, champion skeeball player. But you, sweet cheeks, can call me dad-"
He didn't get to finish that last sentence before a fist buried itself in his face...
...sent him sailing across the room...
...And face first into the opposite wall.
Wade's limp body seemed to stick to the wall for a moment, somehow defying physics. Then, his weight finally took effect; slowly peeling him off the wall to land on his back. It would probably take days to buff out the Ogaleesha-shaped dent he left in the steel.
Yang slowly stood back up from her vicious right hook, a beam of satisfaction sitting on her face. The unnaturally strong woman absently flipped her hair as she sauntered over to Wade's prone form. Once she reached him, she crouched down and gave her own introduction.
"Hello, Wade. My name is Yang Xiao-Long, and I have many titles, too. The badass babe, the human dynamite, matchstick, firecracker, and so on. But, the next time you call me 'sweet cheeks', I'll neuter you. M'Kay?"
She didn't wait for a response, getting up and strolling back towards a small girl in a red cloak. As she walked away, though, Wade weakly raised his hand in a fist, extended his thumb and pinky, then groaned, "Call... me..." Yang was already too far away to hear him.
Dropping his arm, Wade opened his eyes to see his squad standing over him, with varying degrees of glee on their faces. Jadon, who seemed to be enjoying his predicament the most, verbalized the thought on everyone's mind, "Wade... you're an absolute, fucking dumbass. You know that?"
The merc only grinned, "Damn straight…"
Despite that bit of drama, the ship quickly went back to normal. Resulting in a mostly peaceful ride, excluding that sobering announcement about the master thief, Roman Torchwick, - who Wade spitefully called "Drag King" - and when this blonde guy tossed his lunch near the end of the trip.
Jadon could now be seen following the crowd out of the airship with his team, which had docked at his squad's final destination.
Beacon Academy for Huntsmen and Huntresses.
Jadon new from the catalogs that the place was beautiful, but he still had to take a moment to admire the stunning campus. He and his colleagues were currently standing in the overlook plaza, which had a breathtaking view of the land. Being situated on a cliff upriver from Vale, you could not only see the entire city but the surrounding lush forest that the kingdom was famous for. The emerald green of the canopy slowly tapered off to an auburn red as you looked northwest to see the Emerald Forest shift into Forever Fall; home of the tastiest sap in the four kingdoms. But, that was just the beginning.
Jadon turned to the left some more to get a look at the academy itself; he was not let down in the slightest. The school was, really, a grand castle that stood proudly in the afternoon sun; a monumental clock-tower sprouted from the middle of the structure, only adding to the majesty of Beacon's architecture. In short, this was the ideal place to teach the young men and women that are to become Remnant's lights of hope.
Jadon continued to admire the scenery. After he was finally used to the sight, he spun to address his motley crew, "Alright guys, where do we-" only to see three empty spots where they had been standing before.
"You have got to be kidding…"
'That's just great,' he fumed, ' "the team that will help me preserve this world" my scaly ass!' Jadon started quivering in barely contained rage, he had half a mind to track down the three deserters himself; too bad there wasn't enough time between now and orientation to do so. Besides, they'd turn up eventually, like always, so it would be young warrior sighed in exasperation, his anger ebbing as quickly as it had risen, "I guess it's me and only me," a ghost of a smile graced his lips at the thought of peace, however, temporary it may be, "just how I lik-"
*CRASH*
'Oh, come on…'
He turned again, but this time to check out whatever made that noise. After a couple minutes of walking, he saw two girls having heated argument. Well, more like a red-cloaked girl getting a one-sided scolding from a girl in the white bolero and dress.
Jadon would've, normally, dismissed it and kept walking. The thing is, the girl in white was waving a vial of extremely volatile dust around while standing next to over-a-dozen more cases of it. 'Bad idea' was an extreme understatement.
He took a step and blasted forward, not wasting a second. Panic rose in him; the girl-in-red was starting to sneeze! 'Faster… Faster!' With a final push, he shot past them; little more than a black and blue blur.
'Got it!'
He skidded to a stop just past the two students, the vial clutched in his left hand and a potential crisis averted.
The girl-in-white stood there for a second, unsure of what just transpired. She turned to look at him, then back at her hand, then back at him once more. After a couple more repetitions, her eyes widened in realization, "How dare you! Do you not know who I am!? I am Weiss Schn-" Jadon wasn't having it.
"Well, maybe next time, you shouldn't shake about a vial of dust - the most explosive substance on Remnant, mind you - while standing next to a dozen more cases of it." He shook his head at the rising anger that was gradually twisting her features, and made one last jab, "I thought a Schnee would know not to do something that stupid."
If he was to take her explosive response as an indicator, the heiress didn't much care for his shenanigans
"Why you- you- you… CRETIN!" She walked up to him, smacked the dust from his hand, and jabbed a finger into his chest, ignoring his height advantage completely, "I will not stand for such criticism, especially from someone as rude as YOU!"
Jadon glared down at the girl. She just invaded his personal space… she just invaded his personal space…
'Must… kill… slowly.'
"Okay, princess… time t-"
"It's heiress, actually."
Jadon turned his head to the new individual, quickly erasing the look of bloodlust that had taken root on his features when the heiress invaded his personal space. She was lucky that interference had arrived. Blood would have been spilled, otherwise. A raven-haired girl with golden eyes and olive skin was standing a few feet away, a book held in one hand and the same vial of dust that the whiny brat had slapped from his grip in the other.
The girl continued reading her book while she talked, "Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, specifically. Famous for being the largest Dust supplier in the four kingdoms-"
Weiss smirked at the girl, "Finally, some recogni-"
The girl snapped her book closed, "As well as its controversial labor-force, and questionable business partners," The ravenette subtly smirked at Weiss's horrified expression.
The Schnee looked between them, seemingly at a loss how to defend herself from two verbal assailants. So she did the smart thing; retreat.
With a scoff, Weiss turned on her heel and stormed towards the academy; her attendants, who had oddly escaped Jadon's notice, scrambling to gather the dust cases and follow.
Jadon watched the brat for a moment as she stomped away, his hands still itching to throttle her. After determining that she wouldn't return, he began to rotate toward the ravenette to thank her for the assistance; only to find that she was already walking away. Eh, it didn't really matter anyway.
With that little issue out of the way, Jadon went to address the girl-in-red. "Hey, you okay, lady?"
The girl diverted her attention from the Schnee's fading form to him, "Yeah… yeah, I'm okay!"
She fixed Jadon with a surprisingly bright grin, "Thanks for the save, Mr….?" He recognized the hidden question.
"The name's Jadon Chimalis," he flashed a lopsided smirk, "aaannd, you are?"
"Oh, right! I'm Ruby! Ruby Rose," she stuck her hand out for a handshake," It's nice to meet you Jadon!"
He chuckled at her cheer before clasping her hand, "It's nice to meet you too, Ruby."
His smirk turned to an honest smile at meeting someone so kind, 'Maybe… maybe today won't suck after all," he hoped.
"-then my friends ditched me,"
"Well, that's a mean thing to do!"
Ruby was walking down the path to the school with her new friend, Jadon; making friendly conversation along the way. He was actually pretty awesome! Definitely a lot nicer than that mean girl from earlier. What was her problem anyway? Ruby apologized a lot for falling on her luggage, but Weiss wouldn't stop screaming at her!
"Friends are supposed to stick together. Right?"
The young man shrugged at her accusation, "Yeah, but I don't blame them. All four of us have somewhat lone-wolf personalities. In all honesty, I would've been surprised if they hadn't ditched me. They probably just wanted some peace and quiet."
Ruby cocked her head to the side in confusion. That description didn't match his attitude at all, though, "But… you seem friendly enough to me."
He released a deep chuckle, "Only to the people I enjoy being around."
Ruby giggled, ducking under her hood to hide the rosy tint on her cheeks. Why did her new friend have to be so... cool?
"Ahhh, shucks. You're too nice."
He laughed loudly, probably at her awkward, but then his brows furrowed in thought.
"Hey, Ruby. Can I ask you something? It's been bothering me for a bit."
Ruby was still trying to make her face go back to normal, "Hmmm?"
"Weren't you with that blonde girl - Yang, I think her name was - on the airship? I thought I saw her standing with you."
Ruby removed her hood as her smile turned sheepish, and started rubbing the back of her head, "Yep… she's my big sister! The coolest one around, too!" Then she thought about what Yang did as soon as they got off the ship, "Usually," she corrected.
Jadon looked at her as if she had grown two Grimm heads. Was there something on her face? "You're joking... right? Cause, there is no way you two can be related. From what I saw, it's genetically impossible." Ruby 'ohhed' in her head, that made sense. She could see what he meant, though; in fact, it's a pretty common reaction.
Yang was a tall 5'10", well-developed, had a light tan, long blond hair, and lilac - or red, if she was mad - eyes. She didn't seem to care much for modesty, to Ruby's occasional embarrassment; wearing a brown, leather crop-jacket with puffy sleeves. She usually had two golden bracelets over black fingerless-gloves on her hands, which were her dual shot-gauntlets, Ember Celica, in storage mode. The only thing that restrained her assets was a yellow tube-top with a burning-heart emblem on it. Her big sister is almost always in a pair of knee-high, leather platform boots that were the same color as her jacket, and black short-shorts. A leather belt that had a pleated half-skirt attached to it of the same material rested around her waist. Her outfit was never completed without that orange infinity-scarf around her neck, though.
Ruby, on the other hand, was a petite 5'3", had short, black hair that turned crimson at the tips, porcelain skin, silver eyes, and a - while still above-average - much smaller bust. She dressed quite conservatively, too; a black blouse inside a red-laced black corset, black red-trimmed skirt, dark red leggings, black knee-highs, a black belt with her silver-rose emblem as the buckle, and a billowing red cloak.
Nonetheless, she laughed as if he said something preposterous, "Nope! we're definitely related!"
Jadon's features twisted in disbelief, taking second to actually process that, "Uhh… If you say so?"
She laughed at his expense, then stopped walking, remembering something. Hadn't Yang attacked one of Jadon's friends earlier? She started nervously kicking the floor, "By the way, sorry about what she did to Wade," she mirthlessly chuckled, "She has some… anger issues. It's just Yang being... well, Yang."
Jadon stopped and pivoted, apparently giving up on the previous mystery. He looked at her for a second, making her squirm under his blank gaze. Then he just shrugged, again; seeming to not care less, "Eh, he deserved that; he's been through worse, too. Lord knows that I have wanted to do that for years; he's always doing something stupid, reckless, or a combination of the two," he brought a hand to his chin, "Actually, I'll have to thank Yang for that later; made the rest of the ride bearable. " Jadon shook his head, then returned to his original line of query, "So why aren't you with your sis? You seem like the kind of person who would rather stay with the people they know - particularly so while in a new place."
Ruby's face turned stormy, once again visualizing the way Yang left, "Well... let's just say: You weren't the only one ditched today."
'I guess she was right, though. I did actually meet someone pretty cool.'
The heterochromatic nodded in understanding, thankfully. Ruby didn't want to have to elaborate on it, "Gotcha."
They continued once more in companionable silence, a silence that was soon broken by a desperate yell from behind them.
"HEY, YOU TWO! HOLD UP!"
Ruby stopped a couple seconds before Jadon did, giving him a befuddled glance; an expression he returned in full. They faced the voice, only to see a fairly unimpressive blond guy in a black hoodie and blue jeans. On top of that, he had on white plate-armor that looked like it was bought from a back-alley vendor. She then noticed a blue-hilted blade in a white sheathe on his hip. He was running towards them at a shuffle, obviously exhausted. Wait… wasn't he the one who puked his guts out on the ship?
When the guy caught up, he just stood with his hands on his knees as he tried to regain his breath; a single finger raised in the universal sign for 'give-me-a-sec'. Ruby and Jadon stood with a cocked-head and raised-brow, respectively, as they waited.
With his breath finally back, the scraggly young man stood up again, giving an uneasy smile.
"Hi, there! I'm kinda lost, and was wondering if you two would help me get to the auditorium?" The duo he was speaking with turned to one another in consideration.
"Sure," was their unified reply.
Then, a mischievous grin painted Ruby's features, before she added, "Vomit Boy."
The new guy indignantly squawked at the jab, appalled by the nickname.
Jadon looked at her for a second, then turned to the mystery man. After a moment, he finally seemed to recognize him, "Oh… Ooohhh." He adopted a smile similar to hers, "Motion sickness? Dude… really?"
Vomit Boy crossed his arms and huffed, "It's actually a pretty common illness, thank you very little!"
The brunette of the group barked out a laugh, "Hah! Calm yourself, blondie. We're just messing with you. It's not the worst condition to have."
That seemed to placate the other young man, an anxious smile growing on his face, "Oh - heh heh - okay."
Ruby frowned in curiosity. Another possible friend, perhaps? "So… What's your name, anyway?"
'Vomit boy' straightened up, a smirk of obviously false bravado on his face, "The name's Jaune. Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue - ladies love it."
Ruby gave him a flat look. Jadon voiced what they were both thinking, "Do they, Jaune? Do they really?"
Jaune deflated after being so brutally shot down, Ruby almost felt bad for him, "Well, no… But, they will! My dad told me that all I needed was confidence!"
Jadon sighed in what sounded, to her, like pity, "Jaune… the first rule of having a social life: You never, ever, trust dad's advice; under any circumstances." He winced, "Especially yours, apparently." Ruby fully agreed with that sentiment.
Jaune seemed puzzled, but nodded anyway, "Oh, thanks... I guess?" He then decided to get their conversation back to its original, less awkward, direction.
"What are your names, then?"
Ruby took this moment to get involved again, "I'm Ruby Rose." She walked over to her lofty companion and put her hand on his shoulder, "This tall fella is Jadon Chimalis."
Jadon threw up a peace sign, "Sup."
Ruby's eyes trailed down to the sword on Jaune's hip, 'hmmmm...' A light bulb went on in her head. "Hey, guys! I was wondering… what are your weapons? I think the best part of getting to know someone is seeing their weapon." She hoped they were awesome. They're probably not as awesome as hers; but, her baby does set a high benchmark, so she wouldn't judge.
Jaune looked at Jadon for an explanation, but he just shrugged. Well, Jaune didn't see any harm in it, "Ok." He pulled the sheath off his hip before removing the longsword with his right hand, then the sheath abruptly expanded in his left to become a shield. Ruby giggled when he fumbled, having to try and catch the shield. Once he caught it, Ruby listened intently as he began to describe the weapon, "This is Crocea Mors. It's kind of a family heirloom, passed down to every Arc son when they start Hunter training. It belonged to my great-great-gramps; he used it when he fought in the Great War. Not very fancy, but it's tradition."
Ruby was underwhelmed, "Well, I guess you gotta appreciate the classics, heh heh." Her eyes glinted as she took out her weapon, though; at first, it looked like a red and black box… but, then she extended it. Ruby smirked at the awe that played across her audience's' faces as she twirled her monstrous, eight-foot scythe around her back before slamming it into the ground, "This. This is Crescent Rose. My compactable, bolt-action, high-impact sniper-scythe with rifle-mode." She recompacted it and started nuzzling it like it was her child, "She's my beautifully fatal baby."
She looked up from her cuddling to see the two boys looking at her weird. Coughing in a futile attempt to dispel the awkward silence, she returned Crescent Rose to its place on her back before turning to Jadon, "Are you gonna shows us yours, Jadon?"
He smirked at them and clasped his hands behind his head, "Nnnope."
Ruby stood shocked for a moment. 'Did he just say no?' She crossed her arms, a pout on her face, "Oh come on! Why not!?"
Jadon bent down and tousled her hair - darn his tallness - and brought his other hand's finger over his lips, "Nobody's going to see it until initiation. I want a properly badass reveal for my incredibly badass weapon."
Well, that only made her more curious! Ruby decided to use her most potent interrogation method. Something so terrible that not even the most hardened Hunter can resist. A method that has been used to topple kings, and grind kingdoms to dust: The Puppy Dog Eyes!
He opened his eyes, only to be met with the dreadful visage of her unparalleled cuteness. Yet, after extended exposure, he… impossible... he seemed... unfazed!? You could even go as far as to say he looked… annoyed?
An assumption that was soon proven by his reaction, "Ruby… What are you? Like, nine, or something?"
Ruby's jaw dropped. It's impossible. No one can resist. No one! Then she realized what he had just asked. She quickly crossed her arms and humphed at him. "Uh, no. I'm definitely fifteen," was her incensed reply.
He scoffed at her, but then squinted as if he was replaying something in his head. She was about to ask what he was thinking, but he beat her to it.
"Wait… Did you just say fifteen?"
She sighed, but still answered his unnecessary question, "Yeah, uh-duh."
He snorted in surprise, "Here I thought that I would be the youngest student here."
It was her turn to be surprised, "Wai-wha?"
He chuckled in amusement at her expression, "I'm sixteen."
She took a moment to process that. She had become friends with probably the one person that could understand her own position. That's. So- "Awesome!" Ruby began bouncing in excitement, "That means I won't have to deal with being the bee's knees alone anymore! I have someone my age to talk to!"
In her excitement, Ruby was oblivious to the expression on Jaune's face. He looked as if the last light of hope in his life had just been savagely snuffed out. 'I really have no chance, do I? The normal students here are already powerful enough, now there are two young prodigies to compete with!?' He looked toward Jadon, 'And one of them is a damn, male supermodel!' Jaune's shoulders sagged even further as his face was enveloped in shadow. 'Fuck my life…'
Ruby finished her little celebration, still giddy over her salvation from social awkwardness. Then she saw Jaune moping. "Hey, Jaune. You okay?"
Jaune looked at her dazedly for a moment, "Huh?" As soon as he saw her expression, though, he put on a happy face, "Oh, uhh, I'm fine, I just, umm." His eyes started darting around for some reason, then he smiled, "I was, uh, just wondering when we were gonna to get going."
Ruby 'ahhed' in response, before reaching into a pouch on her belt to extract her scroll. She flicked it open and squinted at the time. Her eyes widened drastically when she saw it, then she disappeared. Speeding to each of her companions to drag them along, her only explanation being a hasty, "Come-on-come-on-we-gotta-go-we're-gonna-be-so-late-no-no-no-I-can't- be-late-on-my-first-day-Yang's-gonna-kill-me-" and in a cloud of rose petals, they were off.
Jaune was now dry-heaving into the auditorium's trash can, trying to recover from riding the Ruby Express all the way from the plaza. Jadon was standing behind him while patting his back in sympathy, muttering encouragement; if you looked closely, you could see a bit of green on his face, too. Ruby, however, was zipping through the crowd looking for her sister, calling out randomly while she did.
Jadon walked away from the now recovered - yet, wobbly - Arc; at least a little confident that the poor guy could make it on his own for a bit. He stood at the wall, observing Ruby as she searched, occasionally chortling under his breath. He couldn't fathom how she hadn't noticed Yang standing only five meters down the wall. After a couple more minutes of watching, he got bored.
Raising his arm to point at the voluptuous blond, he informed Ruby of her location, "Hey! Ruru! Yang's right over here!"
It didn't even take two, full seconds for a red blur to viciously tackle its sister to the ground with an astoundingly loud, "YAAANG!"
After they finished tumbling, he could see the younger sister embracing the older; a fluffy feeling tugging at the corners of his mouth at the touching scene. However, that fluffy feeling turned to worry once the smaller girl started tightening her grip around her sibling like a cobra would around its prey. A worry that was only compounded by the malicious leer that was on the petite girl's face. Jadon began to step forward, ready to intervene if things got violent.
He relaxed, though, after Ruby released her now blue-faced sister and stood, "That's, what you get for ditching me," justice appearing to have been served.
Jadon watched as Yang laid there for a moment, taking deep gulps of the life-giving substance known as air, before joining her sister in the act of rising. A lopsided grin of embarrassment split her face, and she raised her hand to rub her scalp, "Hehe. I guess I deserved that one, huh?" Ruby vigorously nodded in confirmation of the claim, making Yang chuckle apologetically.
Jadon walked toward the reunited sisters. He made sure to look completely relaxed and friendly with the threat of conflict now absent. Once he was within a couple feet of the two he prepared to give a greeting and introduction to the woman who had managed to make his trip on the airship worth it. However, he was forced to clamp his mouth shut when he got a white pamphlet on Dust shoved in his face.
"This is a pamphlet on the safe application of Dust in life, combat, and study-"
By all that is good and just in this world, please don't let this be who he thought it was.
"-The SDC takes no responsibility," Dammit, it was who he thought it was, "for any damages or injuries caused during the use of its products and strongly encourages that all customers memor-" He proceeded to tune her out, sitting through her speech with a twitch in his right eye. After what felt like forever, Weiss's unbearably whiny voice stopped. Jadon waited for a moment. Once he was sure she was finished, he responded with a rumbling growl, "Are you done?"
The white-haired heiress seemed taken aback at his hostility, but quickly schooled her features into a mask of neutrality, "Yes," and shoved the pamphlet closer to his face, "now take this. Read it. And never speak to me again."
That was it.
Jadon snatched the pamphlet from her hand. Tore it to shreds so ferociously that you would've thought it was responsible for genocide. Then threw the pieces with all the force he could muster…
Straight into the brat's face.
He took great pleasure in Weiss's expression, frozen in open-mouthed shock. Her disbelief slowly turned to unbridled rage; Jadon relished every moment. The girl started reaching for a fencing blade at her hip. Jadon clenched his hands into fists, small bolts of electricity flashing around them; he was going to enjoy beating the pompous girl to a pulp. Before they could do anything, however, a boisterous voice gave them pause.
"Hey, Weiss-cream!" Jadon was pretty sure it was Yang's voice.
The two stood still, continuing to eye one another with utter contempt, it looked they were still going to fight; but then, they turned towards the one who interrupted, grunting in apparent agreement to save this for later. When they finally stopped giving each other murderous side-eye, they gave the interloper their full attention. As Jadon had inferred, it was Yang.
Now that the literal blonde-bombshell had both his and the Schnee's attention, she took it as her cue to speak and flashed Weiss a disarming smile. "So, Weiss-cream cone. First, my sister tells me about how you were screaming at her in the plaza - for an accident she had thoroughly apologized for, by the way - and nearly got you both blown up. And now," she strolled over Jadon and leaned on his shoulder, "I find you harassing this tall glass of water; who my sister says saved you both from being blown up and became friends with her." The brawler's smile turned a little malevolent as she spoke, "So now I ask you:" she got off Jadon and started leaning over Weiss, "Do we have a probl-"
"Yang! Stop it!"
Yang was quickly pushed aside, and a frantic Ruby took her place.
"Look, Weiss. I'm really sorry about my sister - and earlier -but, I reeaally think we just got off on the wrong foot." The scythe-wielder stuck out her hand in the same gesture of friendship she had given Jadon, "So let's start over! Hi! My name's Ruby Rose! Want to be friends?"
Weiss gave Ruby's hand a flat look that lasted a minute; but then, a smile slowly spread across her face in what looked like actual friendliness. Jadon, however, could tell it was just plain fake.
"Yeah! Sure! We can paint our nails, go shopping, and talk about cute boys," she gestured at an aimlessly wandering and clueless Arc, "like tall, blond, and scraggly over there." Her proposal was laden with spiteful mockery that nearly sent Jadon over the edge.
It saddened him to see the naive, yet genuine, glee that lit up Ruby's face at what she thought was an equally genuine acceptance of her friendship.
"Really!?"
As Jadon predicted, the Schnee was quick to mercilessly crush the young girl's hopes, "No." The bitch then turned on her heel and disappeared into the crowd.
Jadon kept himself from rushing after the brat in favor of staying with Ruby. He was about to comfort her but, Yang beat him to it.
The boxer wrapped her younger sister in one arm, "Don't worry about it, Rubes. Ice Queen over there doesn't deserve somebody as great as you. There are plenty of people here who would love to be your friend."
"Like me," Jadon added with a shrug and smile.
Ruby's downcast eyes brightened a little at the support, "Thanks, you two," she gave them each a grateful smile, "You're both awesome."
A loud feedback screech, followed by a, "Can I get your attention, please," caught their ears. All eyes looked toward the stage to see a gray-haired man with brown eyes and shaded spectacles - probably a professor if the black tux over a green shirt was anything to go by - leaning in front of the mic. Leaning, because of the black cane he was resting his body weight on.
All chatter stopped when the man spoke, "Hello. I am Headmaster Ozpin, and I'll...keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge - to hone your craft and acquire new skills," the speech sounded strange to Jadon, it seemed so… depressing, "And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose – direction," his suspicion grew after that; this is the kind of speech you give to soldiers about to mobilize, "You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."
As soon as the headmaster walked off stage, the mutterings of concern began. Jadon didn't blame them. Hell, he was just as wary as they all were. Why did he give a speech meant for troops to a bunch of college freshmen? It made no sense to the otherworlder.
Jadon pushed that puzzle to the back of his mind for later solving.
A stern-looking, green-eyed, pale-blonde women took the stage; looking, for all the world, like the stereotypical disciplinarian in her white dress shirt with a keyhole neckline, a black pencil-skirt, a purple cape, heels, leggings, and ovular glasses.
She began issuing instructions after the auditorium grew quiet again, "All new students are to report to the ballroom for the duration of the night. Stop in the locker room along the way to drop off your weapons, as well. We expect you to be ready by ten o'clock tomorrow morning to participate in the initiation exams. Dismissed."
And with that order, the crowd of first years exited the auditorium. Ready to turn in after the long day.
Ichigo was tired.
The orange-haired youth had swiftly gotten lost after he wandered away from his leader. The campus was just too damn big! How did anyone find their way around in this freaking place!?
Thankfully, he came across a herd of fellow lost students, after a long stretch of aimless roaming, that were making their way to the auditorium. He followed along as they made their way, regretting the fact that he hadn't stayed with his much more navigationally savvy captain.
Jae-san could be a sarcastic ass sometimes, but Ichigo respected his heart's tendency to be in the right place.
Ichigo emerged from his thoughts as the group of wayward freshmen finally got to the auditorium. It looked like they had missed a majority of orientation, though, as all Ichigo heard before everyone left was a blonde lady telling the crowd to gather in the ballroom for the night.
So once again Ichigo followed the crowd, this time to the ballroom.
Which is where he was now. He was glad to find that all his stuff was neatly stacked against the wall with everyone else's luggage, just meant that he won't have to go looking for it. As he removed his bag from the stack Ichigo turned to see his leader chatting up a pair of girls a little ways away; one of them being the blonde who punched Wade's light's out.
His scowl lightened for a moment, then he raised his hand in the air and waved, "Hey! Jae-san! Over here!"
His leader's head snapped in his direction, his eyes scanning the crowd for a second before they rested on Ichigo. He waited as Jadon turned to his female companions and exchanged quick farewells. Ichigo's young leader began moving towards him at a brisk walk, a frown decorating his features. Ichigo winced under the withering glare Jae gave him.
"You guys ditched me," he stated matter-of-factly.
Ichigo coughed into his fist, before responding; carefully gauging his words to avoid upsetting him, "Gomenasai. I wanted to get one last bit peace before the year got underway, ya know?" Jadon gave him an understanding smile - success - and sighed, "Yeah, I know."
Ichigo nodded. He was ready to set up for bed, so he pointed to ballroom floor, "Why don't we get out there and chose a spot for our stuff." Jadon grunted a confirmation before making his way to the floor. Ichigo remained still for a moment before following.
Wade was having a wonderful time in the ballroom! The world that the author had dropped them in was full of hot babes for him to enjoy! Not only that, but due to a lack of gender separation in their society, the girls were undressing… in the middle of the ballroom!
"Thank you, Author, for sending me to heaven."
(You're welcome, Wade.)
The merc had to restrain from openly drooling as he ogled the many supermodel level beauty's currently changing into their pajamas; he was discreetly taking photos of each lady on his scroll and burning them into his memory. 'That blonde from earlier is wearing a sports-bra and booty shorts. The carrot top over there is in pink, plunge bra and boyshort panties. An- wait… is that redhead in black lace! ...Best. World. Ever…"
As Wade's eyes swept over the crowd of sexy women he caught a glimpse of a familiar yellow dragon. Swiveling his head back towards the area he saw it in, he peered intently in that direction. After a few seconds of searching, he saw them. Carrot and Fearless Leader were camped out in the far corner, also dressed in their pajamas.
"Being a bit heavy-handed with the plot progression there, doncha think, Author?"
(Oh, just get over there Wade! And stop breaking the fourth wa-)
"But... aren't you writing that way in the first pl-"
(Wade!)
"Fine! Fine! Geez, somebody's having a Code Red." And with that, he disappeared.
In the next instant, he was standing behind his two squadmates, undetected. A sly grin spread across his mouth, this would be hilarious. He tiptoed towards them being careful not to disturb anything on the floor, crouching lower as he got closer. Once he was a couple feet behind them, he struck.
"SOO-PRIZE, MOTHAFU-"
*Fwoosh* *CRACK*
"AHH, fuck! You broke me goddamn snoz!"
Wade was writhing on the floor clutching his nose, which was bleeding profusely from the devastating double-backhand that his targets had given him. Said targets were looking at him with annoyance on their faces. Jadon didn't seem to find his act very convincing, "Wade… get up." He glanced at the eyes Wade's screaming was drawing, "You're causing a scene."
With a put out 'awww', he rose, his nose perfectly fine - if a little bloody. "Fuck you both. That actually hurt, dammit."
Wade saw Ichigo narrow his eyes at him before he spoke up, "That was the point, baka. What? You thought we did that by accident? It's what you get for doing dumb shit like that."
"Hey, Carrot," Wade gave the one addressed the bird, "Up yours."
Ichigo sighed at him, "It's too late for this. I'm going to bed," and slipped into his sleeping bag.
Jadon nodded in agreement, "Ichi's right, Wade. We have an early start tomorrow, so we have to get some sleep," then followed Ichigo's lead.
Wade was hoping to mess with them some more, but they were right, they needed to get some sleep before tomorrow. He prepared to get in his own sleeping bag, but then a thought hit him. "Hey, guys? Where's Duckbutt?"
All he got were two noncommittal grunts, "Hmm, whatevs I guess. Night, fellas."
And the lights went out.
Raiden watched from a nearby roof as the lights went out inside the ballroom.
Solitude was no stranger to the cyborg. He was always an outcast in any world he went to; be it because of his body, or because he was a killer.
He slowly unzipped the trench coat around his body, revealing the cybernetics that replaced over ninety percent of his being. He was an anomaly here as well. His squadmates were just as new to this world as he, but even they couldn't fully empathize with him. They could mingle with normal people, he couldn't. He was an outcast among outcasts, as always. However, he was an outcast with a mission. And before he was an outcast, he was a soldier; and like any good soldier, he will accomplish his mission.
It was with these heavy thoughts that the man-machine closed his eyes to await the dawn.
AN: So, what do you all think? Is this a good first chapter to a first story? I think it is. Please leave a review, follow slash favorite my story, etcetera; it'll help reinforce my will to write.
Also, send me your ideas for the four-man villain squad that the guys will be fighting in this story via review; I've chosen two already, but I've run dry on ideas. (No one to overpowered, though. Then they could just blow up Remnant and be done with it. Also, try to mix it up, I think it would be really dry writing if it was just the villains of each franchise) In the meantime: Breathe deep, live long, seek peace, let the Force guide you, and prosper young padawans.
