Text
"Speech"
Lux speaking mentally
"Lux speaking externally"
"Tenebris speaking with her reverb voice"
~Mindscape scene~
::Computer voice::
The grey-clad boy walked slowly down the darkened street, his face obscured by the shadow of his pointed hood. His cloak billowed around him in a wind which only he could seemingly feel, revealing the gunmetal-grey backpack attached to his back. As he walked, a shop caught his eye - the only one still open on the street. A single glance at the sign told him everything he needed to know. From Dust Till Dawn, the sign read. A dust shop. He glanced in the window, seeing the group of men dressed in black, with red sunglasses and swords. Clearly, there was a robbery in progress. He was about to walk in when he heard a very familiar voice.
"Are you... Robbing me?"
"Yes!" the thug was quite clearly frustrated with the owner of the voice.
"Ohhh..." The next minute, the thug had been thrown across the room and a red blur had shattered the window at the front of the store, halting side-on to the thugs with her scythe/sniper rifle, Crescent Rose, resting on her shoulder. The boy simply couldn't resist calling out to his friend and only classmate.
"Hey, Ruby!" He exclaimed as he drew Reaper, his own, much more bulky scythe, and stood back-to-back with her. "Need a hand?"
"Garrett!" She squealed. "I haven't seen you in ages!" The scythe wielders spun their weapons around their heads and drove the blades into the asphalt in perfect unison, a clear challenge to the twenty-odd men. At their boss's urging, they all swarmed the two scythe wielders. Garret blocked a sword and spun Reaper, thumbing a control. Another blade sprang from the other end of the scythe. He continued to block as he thumbed two more controls, compressing the scythe's shaft and rotating the blades ninety degrees. He twisted the handle and it split in two. He now had two very sharp swords, which he proceeded to obliterate the ten thugs Ruby had yet to reach. The scythe wielders searched for the leader, who was climbing a fire escape to the roof of a building. Garrett grinned, returning Reaper to scythe form, then to storage form and proceeding to climb the wall faster than his quarry climbed a ladder. When he reached the top, the leader was already standing in a bullhead. He said something and raised his cane, firing something very dangerous at Garrett and Ruby. Then the blonde stepped in, appearing out of nowhere and throwing the bullhead occupants off by casting a series of glyphs. Ruby tried to help with Crescent Rose, and Garrett pulled out the big gun. No really, he turned Reaper into a six-barreled, 300 round per minute instrument of death with three different ammunition types: High-Velocity Armor-Piercing (HVAP), High-Explosive (Hi-Ex), and Incendiary. For this scenario, he turned the dial to setting two, and the minigun spun up, proclaiming in a computerized voice:
::Hi-Ex::
A feral grin appeared on Garrett's face as he squeezed the trigger.
"Yippee ki-yay, motherf-" the remainder of the sentence he was about to speak was drowned out by the continuous firing of the massive weapon. Small explosions popped up everywhere around the bullhead, almost destroying the engines before the pilot managed to get out of range. Feeling slightly let down, Garrett pulled a lever, transforming Reaper into its standard scythe mode then folding it into its sheathed mode in half a second. He knew Reaper's guided missile launcher mode was too destructive for an urban area.
"You're a Huntress!" Ruby exclaimed. Garrett sighed - Ruby only ever spoke in that tone of voice when the subject was weapons or Hunters and Huntresses - her two obsessions. He braced himself, gripping his right hand, desperately hoping the girl wouldn't ask the question he knew she was going to ask...
"Can I get your autograph?" His right hand burst free of his left - or rather, he let it go - and met his face in a perfectly executed facepalm.
"If it were up to me, you'd be sent home... With a pat on the back..." she noticed Ruby's smile as she sat up straighter. "And a slap on the wrist." She demonstrated with her riding crop, hitting the table near Ruby's hand. Ruby jerked her hand back, her eyes wide.
"But... there is someone here who would like to meet you." She stepped aside to reveal a middle-aged man with tousled gray hair and thin brown eyes. He wore shaded glass spectacles and a dark-green scarf with a small, purple, cross-shaped emblem on it. He also wore an unzipped black suit over a black-buttoned vest, with a green undershirt underneath. In his left hand was a mug of coffee, and in his right was a plate piled high with chocolate chip cookies.
"Ruby Rose," he began. "You..." he leaned over the table. "...have silver eyes."
Wow, said Lux from his portion of Garrett's mind. How observant.
Privately, Garrett agreed. The man, whom he had identified as professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy, turned to face him.
"And Garrett Grey. I must say, your presence at the scene was... Odd to say the least."
"Not at all, he had run out of dust canisters after target practice. That shop happened to be the nearest dust shop." Lux created a glowing white avatar floating above Garrett's right shoulder. The avatar resembled Garrett, with a few key differences. Where Garrett's hair was untidy to the point of scruffiness, Lux's was styled with the fringe to the right and not a single strand out of place. Garrett was sitting with his arms hanging by his chair and a pronounced slouch in his posture. Lux sat on Garrett's shoulder with his back ramrod straight and his hands folded on his lap. A pair of swords, each with a blade suspiciously similar to Reaper's, hung sheathed at his hips. Most importantly, he glowed with a soft white light which extended for about an inch past the edge of his body. Ruby gasped - she had never seen Garrett's semblance before.
"Greetings, sir. My name is Lux. I am the alpha consciousness of the lighter half of Garrett's semblance. I speak for all that is good in his soul, from compassion to loyalty and from friendship to love. My duties are usually limited to providing useful information and moral support to Garrett. However, if needs be I am able to exist in my own corporeal form outside of Garrett's body, allowing the utilisation of my four physical abilities: regeneration, flight, speed and shielding."
"I see. Anyway, back to my purpose for my presence. Where exactly did you learn this?" He indicated the woman's scroll, which was currently showing a replay of the fight on the ground.
"Signal Academy," Garrett answered. Ozpin glanced at him before responding.
"They taught you how to use two of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?" Privately, Garrett was beaming. Reaper was his pride and joy - a thirteen-mode scythe capable of using the same dust canister to fire four different types of dust round, and containing two nigh-indestructible razor-sharp blades capable of felling an ancient oak in a single swipe. He had designed it, built it, and fine-tuned it into the lethal instrument of death it was today over the course of half a year, and he was still adding capabilities whenever he got the time.
"One teacher in particular," Ruby answered for him.
"I see," Ozpin mused. He placed the cookies on the table in front of Ruby. Hesitantly, she ate one. When Ozpin did not react, she proceeded to shovel the rest into her mouth.
"It's just that I've only seen one other scythe-wielder of that skill before. A dusty, old crow..."
"Mmmh! Thas ma unkul!" Lux shook his head disappointedly as Ruby swallowed and wiped her mouth sheepishly. "Sorry. That's my uncle, Qrow! I was complete garbage until he took me under his wing, and now I'm all like hoooowah! Witchaaa!" She proceeded to make various karate style poses and sounds. Garrett proceeded to reintroduce his face to his palm while Lux held out his hands, creating a circular disc from the same substance that made up his body before slamming his head into it thrice and dissipating it. Ozpin chuckled softly.
"So I see. So what is an adorable young girl, such as yourself, doing at a school designed to train warriors?"
"Well... I want to be a Huntress."
"You want to slay monsters?"
"Yeah! I only have two more years of training left at Signal! And then I'm going to apply to Beacon! You see, my sister's starting there this year, and she's trying to become a Huntress, and I'm trying to become a Huntress 'cause I wanna help people. My parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, Hey, I might as well make a career out of it!" She giggled before continuing. "I mean the police are alright, but Huntsmen and Huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting and cool and really, gosh, you know!"
Garret groaned internally. Could she not just act her age? She was fifteen, for dust's sake!
"Do you know who I am?" Ozpin asked.
"You're professor Ozpin. You're the headmaster of Beacon Academy." Ozpin smiled.
"Hello."
"Pleased to meet you," Ruby replied.
"So, you want to go to my school?" He asked.
"More than anything," Ruby sighed. Ozpin glanced at the female Huntress, who rolled her eyes and looked away.
"Well, okay." Garrett was confused now. Was Ozpin actually...
"And what of you, Garrett?" Garrett looked straight at him.
"You want to advance two fifteen-year-olds by two years based on their prowess in a single ten-to-one fight?" Ozpin nodded.
"Your skills are above those necessary for entrance into Beacon already. I see no need to force the two of you to wait another two years."
Garrett looked to Lux.
"I see the reasoning behind his decision," The glowing white apparition stated. Garrett shrugged. Garrett shrugged as Lux disappeared.
"I'll accept your offer, professor."
The black and grey motorcycle pulled up outside a small mechanic's shop. Grease and Gears was Garrett's home. He had built Reaper there, had customised his motorcycle there, and continued to upgrade and modify his already over-the-top thirteen-form scythe within those four walls. Tonight, however, he simply pushed the bike inside, locked up and went to bed.
~"Tenebris, I cannot allow you to simply roam free in Garrett's mind!" Lux and Tenebris were arguing again. Tenebris, Lux's sister and the darker half of Garrett's nature, wanted to be free instead of trapped in a cage of Lux's energy. Lux wanted her to stay where she was.
"Lux! Calm down! I can see Tenebris's point of view here! A mind needs balance, and locking away my hatred for the Grimm will just weaken me when we eventually fight them! Bottling up emotions is bad, and even more so when said emotions are sentient! So please, just let her out. I need to be whole, not a half-man."
"...I see. Well, if you insist, I will release her."
The cage melted away, allowing Tenebris to stretch herself again. Her dark purple catsuit perfectly matched her skin tone, making the only way to tell she was wearing anything the inspection of her neckline and feet, as the suit had a stiff collar and sturdy, knee-high boots. A pair of lupine ears grew from the crown of her head, and her sharp nails resembled a wolf's claws.
"Finally. Why did you even get my dear brother to imprison me in the first place?" She asked.
"I didn't, he did it himself, and can you please not reverberate your voice like that? It creeps me out."
"Fine," she muttered.
"Thank you. Now, ground rules: no taking over my body. No manifesting outside without being called. No general bitchiness. And NO REVERB VOICE!" Tenebris sighed at the last rule.
"Fine, whatever. I'm not a bitch on principle, either, but brother dear has had me confined so much that I could barely twitch a finger, so I think I'm justifiably pissed off with him. I can't manifest without permission anyway, and total takeover will never happen. I never want to be in a guy's body."
Garrett nodded.
"Lux, I'm gonna need a wakeup call in the morning, and would you mind explaining to my boss the whole Beacon thing? Term does start tomorrow, so I'm gonna need to move it in the morning."
"Of course. See you in the morning, Garrett."~
"Garrett! Up and at 'em! You've got to catch the shuttle to beacon, and it leaves in ten minutes!" Garrett fell out of bed, swearing profusely.
"Lux!" Lux appeared in his human-size form, picking up Reaper and throwing it to Garrett. Garrett thanked him and Lux explained that he had already informed Gears - Garrett's boss - of the new arrangement. Garrett tore down the stairs, fastening his cloak with a pair of gold G-shaped clips as he did. Lux pressed the door opener as Garrett leaped onto his bike and started it up. He raced out of the garage, roaring down the road on full throttle as his light side closed the garage and dissipated. He rocketed through Vale, weaving between cars and defying gravity by driving up the sides of buildings to avoid traffic. He locked his motorcycle to a stand at the dock and pocketed the key before sprinting down the dock and just making it into the airship before the door closed. He placed his hands on his knees, panting heavily.
"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!" Garrett heard a familiar voice exclaim. He looked over to see Ruby being crushed in a very enthusiastic hug from a blonde-haired girl. Wait wait wait, back it up a little. Ruby Rose... Was Yang Xiao Long's sister? Lux gave a mental shrug as Garrett realised this.
Logic.
"Please, stop..." Ruby managed to gasp out.
"But I'm so proud of you!" Yang exclaimed as she released her sister.
"Really Sis, it was nothing."
"What do you mean? It was incredible! Everyone at Beacon is going to think you're the bee's knees!"
"I don't want to be the "bee's knees", okay? I don't want to be any kind of knees! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees."
"Well, your knees are pretty normal, Ruby, but you gave up on being a normal girl when you chose "Huntress" as your future vocation," Garrett told her as he walked over, catching his breath at last. He pretended to have only just noticed Yang.
"Yang? Yang Xiao Long? You're going to Beacon as well? What a coincidence!" Yang and Ruby both stared at Garrett, confused.
"Garrett? I haven't seen you in ages!" Yang exclaimed.
"You two know each other?" Ruby asked. Garrett chuckled.
"I've fixed her motorbike about five times to date! She keeps blowing holes in the fuel lines!"
"Hey! I like to go fast! Plus, I haven't busted a fuel line in months!" Garrett chuckled at the blonde's response. He'd installed an extra-strong fuel line last time it had happened.
"Anyway, it's a surprise to me that the two of you know each other! And sisters? How does that work?"
"It's complicated. Same father, my mother's missing and Ruby's is... Well... Not around anymore."
"Hello, and welcome to Beacon!" The three turned to see a hologram of the female Huntress from the night before.
"Who's that?" Yang asked the others.
"My name is Glynda Goodwitch," the woman continued as if she had heard the question.
"Oh."
"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."
With that, the hologram disappeared. Lux and Tenebris manifested their six-inch-tall small avatars rested upon Garrett's shoulders as they all looked out the large windows.
"Who'd have thought we'd be going to Beacon two years early, huh?" Tenebris asked. Lux remained silent - most likely committing the entire scene to memory so he could paint it later or something, so Garrett answered instead.
"I don't think anyone would have thought it. It still hasn't really sunk in for me really. What about you , Bris?"
"Did you just... Give me a nickname?" Tenebris asked, astonished.
"Yeah, but if you'd rather I called you Tenebris all the time, I can do that too..."
"No, no, I kind of like it. Bris. Nice ring to it, don't you think?" Garrett simply nodded.
"Wait, when did you get two tiny shoulder people?" Yang asked.
"Part of my semblance. This is Lux," he indicated Lux, who had torn his gaze from the view to make eye contact with Yang, "and Tenebris, although apparently she'd rather just be called Bris. They're basically the light and dark sides of my mind, and I can send them out to do stuff. Lux is great at support - he can heal, shield, and even fly - while Bris is... Aggressive to say the least. Honestly, I can't trust her in a fight unless there's Grimm involved. Otherwise, she could go nuts on anyone." Yang nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer for now.
"Hey! I'm not that bad!"
"Not when you're being passive. When you start fighting, you just don't stop 'till you pass out from aura exhaustion." Bris shrugged, though her face betrayed the fact that she understood and agreed.
They heard a gagging noise from nearby as a blonde-haired boy with various articles of armor on his body sprinted past, desperately trying to find a receptacle for the puke dripping from his mouth.
"I guess the view ain't for everyone, huh?" Bris commented.
"Ew! Yang, you have puke on your shoe!" Ruby screamed. Garrett backed away swiftly as Yang began to hop on one foot, shaking the puke off.
"Gross gross gross gross gross gross gross gross!"
"G-get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me!"
Lux finally spoke for the first time since the airship left the port.
"Well, it was a good moment while it lasted, right?" Garrett nodded in agreement.