7 years before the events of RWBY: Darkfall.
North Vacuo High school, Vacuo
The classroom was silent as Alexander Gregorsky diligently worked on his algebra homework. He was a slender kid with sleek, black, hair and purple eyes, which were behind a pair of glasses. He was an academic prodigy and had a promising future in front of him, he could even see himself working in Atlas.
A piece of paper landed on his desk, tearing him from his thoughts. He looked over to his right and saw his older brother Steven glance over to him with a worried expression on his face. Alex was confused;and opened the note.
"Where is Michelle?" It said.
Michelle was Alex's best friend and also the girl he had a fairly large crush on. He quickly wrote down a response and tossed it back over to Steven.
"I don't know. She's probably sick. It is autumn after all and we know how weak her immune system is." He wrote.
Michelle was never a healthy person. She was an asthmatic and often was dealing with a cold or allergies; and the only time she really had any relief from either of them was during the summer. This made Alex feel sorry for her and even started their friendship.
Michelle was a skinny girl who had chocolate brown eyes that played nicely with her dark brown hair; that she always wore in pigtails. She always wore a big smile even though she wasn't the luckiest of people.
Steven looked back over to Alex and nodded to him just as the bell rang. Alex quickly packed his stuff and exited the classroom, his older brother following close behind. The rest of the day went by relatively quickly and now Alex was on his way to Michelle's house.
The streets that lead to his destination were oddly quiet; but he thought nothing of it. The most important thing for him right now was seeing if Michelle was okay. He arrived in front of the girl's house and immediately his purple eyes started to observe it. The house was a one story cottage that was half covered in vines and the other side was covered in peeling white paint. The house had two windows on either side of the door; the blinds were closed. Alex walked up to gate and opened it before walking up to the door. He rang the doorbell several times, but never got an answer.
"Mrs. Abernathy!" He yelled.
No response.
"Michelle!" He yelled.
No response.
"Mr. Abernathy." He yelled; whilst knocking on the door.
There was a response this time, however he could only hear the sound of breaking glass.
He quickly ran down the steps and went around to the back sliding door; which was always unlocked. He rounded the corner and stopped once he saw that the door had been opened and was stained with blood. He slowly walked up towards the door and with a shaky hand stuck his head through the opening.
Inside it was dark and held a vile stench, like rotting meat. He heard snarling and the sound of bones snapping, as well as the squishing sound of meat being devoured, ravenously. His eyes adjusted to the dark and what he saw next made him want to vomit. There on the living room floor was an Alpha Beowolf eating Mrs. Abernathy's head; her lifeless body ripped to shreds on the floor a few feet from Alexander. He shifted his gaze to the right and saw Mr. Abernathy sitting in the corner of the kitchen; half his head removed. There was no sign of Michelle anywhere. Alexander took step back. However, his arm hit one of Mrs. Abernathy's potted plants and sent it crashing to the ground. The Beowolf jerked up, dropping its meal, and turning towards him it snarled. It's red eyes glowing with intense hate.
Alex froze up as he saw an eyeball hanging from the Beowolf's teeth; its iris was the same color as Michelle's. Alex screamed as he shut the door with lightning fast speed. However, the glass door did little to stop the Beowolf as it just crashed its way through the door. Alex was thrown into the backyard, his body covered in sharp glass. He looked up to see the black, blood stained, mass of the Beowolf blackout the sun as it prepared to end the young boy's life with one swipe. "This is it I'm done for. All my work down the drain; and in the end I couldn't even save the one I love." He thought as he waited for the claws to destroy him. It never got that far as the Beowolf was suddenly cut in two by a silver scythe.
The ground was coated in black blood as the user spun the scythe before returning it back to its sword form and placing it on his back. Alexander looked over to him; but before he could see his face he passed out; the stress too much for his young mind. The Huntsmen picked him up and took him to the authorities for help. At the end of the day the total body count was three; the entirety of the Abernathy family.
Alexander woke up the next day in his bed. His room was adorned in everything a standard ten year old boy would be interested in, however, there were significantly more flowers in his room than what is typical. He sat up in a haze and rubbed his eyes before putting his glasses on. He looked over to his clock and found that it was half past ten, and from this he deducted he would not be going to school today. Suddenly he heard the door open and watched as his mother enter the room.
She was in her early forties; and had golden brown hair which accented her purple eyes. While she was clearly older she had aged nicely and even retained some of her youthfulness in her face. On her body she wore a white T-shirt that descended down to a grey skirt that she was really fond of wearing.
"Morning, Alex. How are you feeling?" She asked; opening the curtains to his room.
"Tired, but more or less okay. Hey Mom, did the man who saved me come by?" He asked.
"No, he didn't; but I'm sure he knows that you're okay." She replied; sitting next to him and putting her arm around him.
Alex nodded.
"Come on, go get washed up. Breakfast is waiting for you down stairs." His mom said; standing up.
He stood up with her and walked out of his room and into the bathroom. A few minutes later he came down the stairs, dressed and freshened up.
He said, "Morning." to his brother before quickly eating his breakfast. His father had left earlier in the morning as he worked at a butcher shop and had the morning shift. Alex quickly finished his breakfast and headed outside. The Gregorsky house was located inside of a small woodland that was well within the city's defenses; however, the defenses themselves were under scrutiny after the "Beowolf Incident" as it had been called. Alex ran into the woods until he found a small cliff that allowed him to oversee a large majority of Vacuo. He looked across the tops of the buildings. From the suburban houses; to the factories that were pouring steam into the sky; and finally the skyscrapers that were centered around the SDC building, the symbol of Atlysian power.
As he looked over the land he imagined the lives that were living here; and then his thoughts slowly drifted over to the memories of the last time he saw Michelle alive. The wind blew from behind him and sent a wave of brown leaves flying off the cliff, along with a few tears. He crouched down and covered his eyes as he sobbed.
"Are you going to be okay?" A male voice behind him asked.
Alex turned around to see his older brother standing behind him, his blond hair blowing in the wind. He took his glasses off and wiped his eyes before answering.
"Yes, I'll be fine." Alex said; taking a breath.
Steven walked over to Alex and joined in his looking over the city. Silence enveloped both of them before Alex eventually spoke up again.
"I've decided to become a Huntsmen." He said; bluntly.
Steven turned toward his brother, eyes as wide as dinner plates. He then smiled and turned back to the view in front of them.
"You know, Mom, will be mad." He said.
"Yeah, I know; but I also understand the consequences involving my decision." Alex said; his eyes firm.
Steven laughed as he ran his fingers through his hair, "I know and it's that know it all attitude that will get you killed; so I'm left with no choice but to join you."
"You're not serious right? I mean you could have a normal life." Alex said; trying to reason with him.
"Heh, I know; but I'd feel a lot better knowing that you weren't getting yourself killed." Steven said.
Both turned to each other and grabbed each other's right and left arm.
"Then we have work to do." Alex said.
7 years and 11 months later
Hidden Treasures Bookstore, Downtown Vacuo
It was a busy day at Hidden Treasures Bookstore as world famous author, Amy Feldspar, was doing a book signing there; and luckily for Alex Gregorsky he was one of the first people in line. He had picked up her newest horror novel, "Beyond the Black Wolves Eye", just a few months back and was so captivated by it that he had to read her other works almost immediately afterward. He got up to her table and was immediately intimidated by what he saw.
In front of him was a woman who he read was about twenty three years old at this point; but she looked to be about fourteen. She was very short and had shoulder length, metallic, red hair that looked have been dyed black at one point. Her eyes were blood red and were encased behind a pair of round frame glasses. The outfit she wore showed that she had very little sense in the way of "fashion", but then again she was the popular one and he was not.
"What's your name, sweety?" Amy asked; accepting the copy of the book he had.
"Alexander, Mrs. Feldspar." He said; somewhat shakily.
Amy giggled, "You don't have to be so stiff. I don't bite."
She licked her lips when she said this.
In this instance Alex noticed two things. The first one was when she was accepting his book he noticed that she had quite the grip; and could probably beat the strongest guy in the building at an arm wrestle any day of the week. The second was that she had some impressively long K9s in her mouth; much like the kind you would see in animals. He dismissed the notion that she could be a Faunus since she showed no other signs of her being one.
"I'll try it's just I'm a huge fan of your work. The way you right is masterful." He said; loosening up a bit.
She laughed again, "Oh, stop it you're going to make me blush."
She reached her hand to the side of the table and withdrew a calligrapher's pen. Over the years she had been notorious for autographing her work with the same gold and black calligrapher's pen; which collector's favored because it made her signature all the more intricate as well as making it extremely easy to spot a fake.
"To my number one fan, Alex. How does that sound?" Amy asked; before she started writing.
Alex blushed and tensed up, "That would be lovely, ma'am."
Amy wrote down the intended sentence with a firm and steady hand; before handing the book back to him.
"Thank you for coming." She said; with a sincere smile on her face.
Alex nodded, before leaving. Amy braced her head up with her hand and watched him walk out.
"Al-ex-zan-der, huh?" Amy mumbled; as another blissful smirk overtook her.
Alex walked out of the store and proceeded to meet Steven outside. Steven had grown a lot; as a matter of fact both of them had. Steven was now very muscular as he had to use a greataxe most of the time. Alex was himself a bowman who could use his eyes and mind to influence the battlefield.
Steven had changed his wardrobe in the time since they were kids as well. He now wore a sleeveless, leather chest piece that was molded to the shape of his musculature. On his lower half he wore a pair of armorer pants that fit well with his armored boots. All of this was covered in orange dye.
Alex was almost the polar opposite of Steven. For his shirt he wore a black, sleeveless, chest plate that was made of high-strength carbon fiber. His pants were black, military style, cargo pants, that weren't as good as the standard issue Sequoia Tree ones; but they would work. His boots were actually Sequoia Tree grade and were purple; he always got sick to his stomach when he thought of how much he paid for them. On his hands he wore a pair of archer's gloves what were dyed lilac. Finally over all of this he wore a black cloak that went down to his waist.
"Yo, you ready?" Steven asked; pushing himself off the wall.
"Yep, everything is taken care of." Alex replied.
With that they left go train in the woods just outside of town.
The cold fall air sent chills down his spine as Alex took aim at the tree in front of him. His recurve bow, Spade, was jet black and very futuristic for such an old weapon. The handle was made out of aluminum, and the upper and lower limbs were made of carbon fiber. The bow string itself was made from a "hard light" composite where, when the bow was activated, it would shoot a beam of purple light that was hard enough to be grabbed by the user and drawn.
Now Alex had done just that and was fixated on the target in front of him. With a deep breath he let go of the string and watched the arrow get stuck dead center in the tree. He waited for a few moments before the trunk of the tree exploded.
"Man, I love high explosives." Steven said; as the tree fell over.
Alex nodded, " I agree wholeheartedly. Shall we go again?"
"Actually, I just looked at the time and I'm getting kind of hungry." Steven admitted.
Alex smirked, "Okay, we'll head back into town and grab something."
He deactivated, Spade and hid it underneath his cloak. Both brothers started to walk back to the road, their stomachs guiding them all the way.
Meanwhile, in a large hotel in downtown Vacuo, Ruby, was looking at a wall in her room; her mind in deep thought. The wall that she was staring at was covered in a big map of Vacuo that was covered in sticky notes and pictures. Stuck into the wall were a set of five push pins that had a red string tied to them. What Ruby was doing was obvious; she was hunting a killer. A serial killer to be exact; who had been plaguing Vacuo for the last few months.
Ruby swished the whisky around in her glass, the ice having melted a long time ago. She smirked to herself as she took a drink of the watered down whisky, "Whoever this person is they're obviously military; but not a trained criminal. The pieces are coming together nicely." Ruby thought. Suddenly the bathroom door was flung open, which tore Ruby away from her thoughts. Saffeara emerged from a steamy bathroom, drying her hair with a white towel. Ruby had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she had forgotten that Saffeara was showering. She watched as Saffeara went over to the second bed in the room before dropping her towel to the floor; giving Ruby an excellent view of her backside. Even though they had been working together for almost two years now, Ruby, could still not believe that Saffeara had warmed up to her enough to change in front of her.
She watched as Saffeara slipped a pair of purple, lace, panties up her slender yet short legs. She then grabbed a matching bra from her bag and steadily, and skillfully clasped it around her back. She ran her hand through her messy hair before catching Ruby's gaze.
She smirked, "Like what you see, Ruby?"
Ruby rolled her eyes and smiled as she went into the bathroom and dumped her whisky in the sink. Saffeara went over to the bathroom and leaned on the door frame.
"So found anything new?" She asked.
"Well, whoever this person is they're military; but very sloppy so it shouldn't be long now." Ruby replied; walking past Saffeara.
She set the glass down on a tray and then went over to her bed and layed down on it. Saffeara quietly moved over to her bed and sat down looking at Ruby.
"Hey Saffeara? If I were to die would you take care of Weiss?" Ruby asked.
Saffeara was caught off guard by the question, "O-Of course, Ruby. We all would."
Ruby turned her head toward Saffeara, "That's not what I meant. I mean if I were gone could you love her as much as I do?"
Saffeara smiled, "I don't think anybody could ever love her as much as you do; but if worse comes to worst I'll love her as much as I love you."
"That's good." Ruby laughed.
Silence overcame the two women for but a minute before Ruby spoke up again.
She started to chuckle, "Okay, so you've been in the Tree longer than I have. So answer me, what is the most embarrassing thing you've had to do?"
Saffeara smiled whilst laying back on her bed, "Oh, do I have the story for you."
Ruby smiled at her and cocked an eyebrow.
"Since I'd rather not scar you for the rest of eternity let's just say it involved actions that caused me to sleep for at least 14 hours the next day." Saffeara explained; hoping that Ruby would get the hint.
However, Ruby just looked at her with confusion.
"You're kidding right?" Saffeara facepalmed. "It involves masturbation, Ruby."
Ruby's cheeks went red, "Oh, wait why?"
"I had to infiltrate a strip club, and let's just say the owner had a few kinky tricks up his sleeve. I guess on the bright side though I have much stronger legs because of it." Saffeara explained.
"Wait so does that mean…" Ruby trailed off.
Saffeara winked at her, "Does it, Ruby?"
Ruby sat up and shifted uncomfortably.
"Have to use the bathroom?" Saffeara asked; wiggling her eyebrows.
Ruby didn't say a word; instead she just got up and went into the bathroom with her head down; rosy cheeks still visible even with her head down. After the bathroom door shut, Saffeara couldn't help but laugh. "Sometimes you're just too easy, Ruby." Saffeara thought as she turned off the light. She then crawled under the covers of her bed and slowly slid a hand down her body until it reached her desired destination. "But then again I'm not the strongest person either."
Around an hour went by before Ruby emerged from the bathroom in a much better frame of mind. When she was in there she also took the time to change into a black tank top and a pair of white panites; she was ready for bed and her body felt it. However, when she walked out she noticed that thunderstorm had blown in and Saffeara was watching it with all the focus she possessed. Ruby thought she would have went to bed ages ago; but she'd seen weirder things. Lightning appeared with a thunderous crack that made Saffeara flinch in her sitting position on her bed. Ruby took a few additional steps forward until the floor creaked, alerting Saffeara to her presence.
The older girl turned and smirked when she saw Ruby.
"I was starting to get worried about you. I guess you have a considerably long fuse." Saffeara chuckled.
Ruby laughed, not naive to the unusually, soft nature of Saffeara's voice.
"Well, I was actually done a lot sooner; but I had to change and wash up as well." Ruby admitted; sitting next to Saffeara.
Saffeara chuckled, "Sure, are you certain you didn't go for another round?"
"Positive." Ruby replied.
Saffeara turned back to watching the thunderstorm outside.
"I love watching thunderstorms they're just so cool." Saffeara admitted; flinching as another bolt of lightning struck.
Ruby had heard this small talk before and knew exactly what Saffeara wanted; or well, needed.
Ruby went behind her and circled her arms around her. She steadily lifted her up in her lap and cradled her.
"Am I getting that easy to read?" Saffeara asked.
"Heh, I'm just smart." Ruby replied.
She slowly started to rock, Saffeara, back and forth whilst quietly singing in her ear.
The lullaby she softly sang was one her mother used to sing to her in order for her to fall asleep. Ruby watched as Saffeara's eyes slowly started to flutter before shutting. Her breathing changing over to small snores. Ruby finished the song before slowly laying Saffeara down on the bed. She then gingerly pulled the covers over her; before kissing her head for good measure. "So this is what it feels like to be Yang… I kind of like it." Ruby thought as she crawled into her own bed. It only took a couple of minutes for Ruby to fall asleep; her mind exhausted.
The next day came and with it new challenges appeared for Ruby and Saffeara. Overnight another murder had been committed and set them back at least one step. Unfortunately for Alex and Steven they saw the police parameter and decided to investigate. There they saw the police cordoning off an alley. Alex looked around and found a nearby officer and went up to him.
"Hey what's going on?!" He asked.
The officer stopped him, "Son this is an active crime scene I'm going to have to ask you to stand back."
"I'm a Huntsman and I demand to know what's going on." He said; pulling his license from his pocket.
The officer looked at the license and then the two brothers, "There's been a murder; but that's the only thing I know so far."
Alex nodded and was about to walk towards the crime scene; but stopped when he saw a woman seemingly appear from a cloud of rose petals. Her shapely figure was covered by a jet black trench coat that was torn apart on the bottom. On her right hand she appeared to where what looked like a black glove; but from this distance they couldn't tell what was on her hand. Her silver eyes shot towards them for a moment before returning them to the direction ahead of her.
"Hey look at that patch." Steven said; pointing to the woman's shoulder.
Alex looked and saw that she was from the Sequoia Tree; and an extremely high ranking member to boot.
"What's the Tree doing here?" He asked.
Steven just shrugged his shoulders as he continued to watch the woman.
Ruby shifted her gaze to the roof tops and found Saffeara sitting on the edge of a nearby building surveying the area below. She looked back down in time to see herself passed the alleyway entrance and into the land of death. Her boots echoed off the walls until she saw a large opening in the corridor. She entered and found a detective looking over the evidence and body.
"Is it the same?" Ruby asked; her form still half hidden by the darkness.
The detective stood up, "Yes and much more sloppy this time. Whoever this is they must know you're close."
Ruby went over to the body, "Not close enough."
Suddenly both of them heard a clang from above and saw figure cloaked in black falling towards them. The detective drew his gun and started firing at the figure; but failed to hit him since he spun out of the way. He landed on top of the detective, knocking him unconscious; before turning to Ruby and continuing his assault. She skillfully dodged the assailant's incoming attacks whilst not giving up any ground of her own. Her attack began to get increasingly more frustrated; and finally he tried to kick, Ruby. She nimbly dodged and grabbed the attacker's foot and spun him around before grabbing the back of his head and slamming him to the ground. She quickly placed his hands behind his back and tied them with a wire tie. A red light flashed and Saffeara appeared in front of her; the black ribbon falling from her robe.
She immediately went over to the detective and gave him a good once over.
"He'll live." She announced; before turning her attention to Ruby's attacker.
She withdrew Evercaster and pointed it at him.
"Now who the hell are you?" Saffeara asked; pulling the hood and ski mask off in one go.
The mask fell to reveal a girl who looked to be around 16 years of age. She had peach colored hair and red eyes. He face was scratched up from the beating she just took from Ruby.
Saffeara backed off, "She's not the killer, Ruby. She's not a guy and most definitely not military."
"I agree; but the question still stands as to who exactly she is." Ruby said; getting off of the girl.
"My name's Xinia; and I know who you are Reaper." The girl said; in an accent Ruby had never heard before.
"Talk, who's committing these murders?" Ruby asked; grabbing the back of the girl' head.
"Heh, you won't stop him and I won't tell you." She laughed.
Ruby smacked her head into the ground, "Well, then we'll just have to make you talk."
She then punched Xinia in the head and knocked her out. Ruby then picked her up and carried her out of the alleyway. Saffeara put her hood up and made sure to cover her face.
Alex's eyes widened as he saw Ruby carrying a girl out of the alleyway. She was now accompanied by a woman; her chin and mouth were only visible. He watched as Ruby went over to an officer and started informing him of the situation. He watched as the shorter woman turned her half covered face towards him; and her lips curled into a smile when she noticed him. However, before anything could happen Ruby tapped her on the shoulder and motioned for them to leave. In a flash of rose petals and ribbons the duo disappeared; the unknown girl still unconscious in the back of a police car.
"So who do you think that was?" Steven asked.
Alex shook his head, "I don't know; but I have a hunch she has something to do with these murders that have been happening lately."
Steven nodded, "I see what you mean; but we still shouldn't stay here for long."
Alex nodded and followed his older brother down the street.
When they were around halfway home his brother stopped in front of him.
"Hey I gotta take a leak." He said; walking into a nearby alley.
"You couldn't wait until we got home?" Alex said.
"Relax I'll only be a minute." He said; disappearing behind the wall.
Alex swung his arms back and forth; before leaning on the wall. Suddenly he heard his brother scream. He quickly grabbed Spade and ran into the alleyway.
"Steven!" He yelled; before he was hit from behind.
His attacker knocked him unconscious and drug him away.
When he woke up he found himself in yet another alleyway; however this time he had guns drawn on him and was holding a bloody knife. In front of him was the dead body of a prostitute who had clearly been stabbed by the knife he was holding. He was tackled to the ground and immediately felt handcuffs being put on him.
"No! Stop! I didn't do this!" He protested.
"Shut the fuck up." The officer said; leading him to his car.
The next thing Alex knew he was thrown inside of a holding cell with no lights. The air was stale and he could just barely make out from the echo that it was not very big. He groped around blindly in the darkness until he heard a noise behind him. It was the laughter of what sounded like a little girl. He turned toward the laughter and was met with a mass of black ribbon that fell to the floor and disintegrated. He then heard another bit of giggling behind him and turned to see a pair of glowing red eyes looking at him before blinking away; more ribbon fell to the ground.
He heard a third noise; but this time it was the striking of a match. Alex turned to see none other than Amy Feldspar standing across from him; a candle in her hand. The orange light filled the room and momentarily blinded Alex.
"Amazing isn't it? You've only been here for a few minutes; but your eyes have become used to the darkness, and long for it." She said; coming closer to him.
Alex noticed she was wearing the same eared robe as the woman from the crime scene; he also noticed that the ribbon followed her like serpents on the walls.
"You're not Amy from the bookstore are you?" Alex asked.
"I am she." Amy removed her glasses. "But if you're asking if that's my real name then I would have to say no. My real name is Saffeara Vain, Red Star II of the Sequoia Tree."
Alex went white, he had been deceived so easily; even though he had been trained not to.
"And you are Alex Gregorsky; a boy whose early life was suddenly soaked with blood that made him set on a quest of vengeance. It's almost poetic. However, I believe that getting trapped in here was not your plan." Saffeara said; her smile mocking in a way.
"Why are you here?" He asked; choosing to ignore her statement.
"My friend and I know that you didn't commit that murder Al-ex. However, the good for nothing's here are dead set on it. So what do you say I let you escape to find the person who framed you?" Saffeara offered; her smile seeming to hide a detail.
"Why would you do that?" Alex asked.
Saffeara deadpanned, "Are you really going to give away an opportunity to go free?"
Alex thought about it, "No, I'm not."
"Good." Saffeara blew the candle out.
The lights came on in the room and Saffeara was gone. Alex looked for her until he heard the door open and when he went out he found his weapons and other garments. He quickly put them on and went down the deserted hallway to find an open door. The cool night wind blowing threw it sent his hair into a wild mess. He went out the door and found himself standing atop a barren roof that looked over a dilapidated part of Vacuo.
Suddenly he heard a scream from down below and withdrew Spade before jumping off the roof. Behind him on top of a much taller building sat Saffeara, who had Ruby standing next to her.
"I-za-na-mi." She giggled; watching him run towards the scream.
Alex threw his hands behind him as his sprint lead him into an opening amongst the buildings. There he found the body of a young girl who couldn't have been more than five. He moved over to the girl and made note of how her neck was slashed and blood had pooled beneath her.
"Back so soon, brother?" A male voice said; from the darkness to his left.
He turned to see Steven walking towards him; blood on his clothes and axe.
"You Steven? Hmm, now that I think about it I can't say I'm surprised; you were acting strange at the crime scene." Alex said; the light string on Spade forming.
Steven ran his hand through his hair; soaking half of it with the girls blood, "You don't get it do you? You think this is the first time I've killed, no, I was the one who let that Beowolf into the kingdom after all."
"Tsk. You're sick, if only I would have noticed sooner." Alex said; taking aim at Steven
"You didn't though; and it's going to look even sweeter when your entrails decorate that girl's corpse!" He yelled; activating his semblance.
Suddenly there were at least twenty Stevens standing around Alex; who looked at each of them. They all shifted their axes into naginatas and then ran at Alex who jumped into the air. He fired an explosive arrow into the ground and blew up over half of them in one go. Alex then jumped off a wall and took aim at the real Steven and shot an arrow at him. The remaining clones formed in front of him and took the explosive arrow; thus keeping Steven safe. He ran threw the smoke cloud and switched back to his axe.
Alex saw this and switched over to Spade's close combat form, which split the bow into two daggers. When Steven's axe came down he blocked it with both daggers and sent a few kicks into Steven's sides. This only served to piss him off because of the armor he was wearing. He grabbed Alex's collar and threw him over his shoulder. Alex's back hit the ground hard; yet he banished the pain from his mind and went on the attack again. He locked Steven's axe with his left dagger and stabbed his right one into Steven's side and then his shoulder, then his other side. As Steven yelled out in pain Alex climbed his body and wrapped his legs around Steven's neck; and he then fell backwards. Using his body weight he threw Steven using his legs. He hit his back on the wall and coughed blood; and spit out one of his molars.
"My goodness, he's gotten much stronger." Saffeara said.
Alex stood up and started to walk over to his brother. However, he stopped when he heard a blade draw above him. He looked up and saw a black hooded figure falling from the sky. He tried to block the katana with his daggers; but the blade was much more nimble than an axe. The result was him getting stabbed in both the arms and once in the leg, which sent him falling to the ground. His attacker took her hood off and revealed that she looked exactly like the girl he saw being carried out of the alleyway.
"That was easy." She said.
Suddenly they heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming towards them and when all of them looked they saw the woman who had carried the previous girl out of the alleyway. From the mask she was wearing, Alex, finally recognized her as the Sequoia Tree's reaper, Ruby Rose. The girl smiled and started to move towards her; but stopped with a gasp. Ruby held up her human hand and was doing something to the girl; but Alex couldn't tell what it was. He quickly found out when the girl let out a blood curdling scream as her semblance was ripped from her body and absorbed into Ruby's body. She fell to the ground as stiff as a board and her eyes were clouded and lifeless. Alex suddenly felt a tap on the shoulder and turned to see Saffeara standing behind him.
"Well done, Alex. You've caught a murderer. Now about getting your name cleared." Saffeara said; her eyes glowing slightly more red.
One month later
Alex stood in the middle of an open field; in the first row of three.
"Cadet's look alive and give it your best show, Red Star Vain is watching." The Sequoia Tree commander yelled.
Everyone of them saluted.
"My name is Alexander Gregorsky. I am Saffeara Vain's pupil. My brother's dead, my family abandoned me, and my friends are dead. The Sequoia Tree is my only family now, and I will protect my family."