Pyrrha walked into her dorm dejected. Her attempt to talk to Ruby was a complete failure. Despite her best efforts she couldn't get Ruby to say a single word.
Nora looked at the saddened look on her teammate's face. "Nothing today either huh?"
Pyrrha shook her head. "It's been three days already."
"It might take some time for her to come around. Anyone would be shaken by what she witnessed," Ren said.
"Ruby's not like me and Ren. I can't imagine what she must be going through," Nora said.
Nora and Ren were no strangers to death, but even they abstained from taking lives unless they absolutely had to. That Ruby had killed two people whose only crime was being caught in the clutches of a demon must be weighing on her heavily.
Nora sighed and leaned back on her bed. "Nothing we can do now except wait until she's ready. I just wish we had something to take our mind off of things."
Right on schedule Jaune burst through the door.
"This is terrible!" he shouted.
"What's the matter Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.
"So me and Cardin were down in the forest fighting demons"
"Jaune, you know the forest is restricted"
"That's not the problem right now"
"Since when do you hang out with Cardin?" Nora asked.
Jaune grew exasperated. "Are you gonna let me finish or not?"
His three teammates went silent.
Jaune continued. "Right, like I was saying me and Cardin were down in the forest fighting demons. After a while I noticed my sword strikes weren't doing as much damage as they should, and then I noticed this."
He dramatically drew his sword. At a glance there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it.
"What's wrong with it?" Ren asked.
"What's wrong with it?" Jaune said as he shoved the blade closer. "Look at it!"
Upon closer inspection they noticed that the blade was covered in nicks and scratches. There were pieces missing along the edge as well.
"How did that happen?" Nora asked.
Jaune started pulling at his hair. "Probably a demon, I don't know. What am I supposed to do? My dad loves this sword, if I go home with it looking like this he's gonna beat me with the toaster again."
"What?" Ren said, dumbfounded.
"Why don't you take it to a smith?" Nora asked. "It's a simple weapon so it shouldn't be that hard to fix."
Jaune seemed to calm down upon hearing that. "You're right Nora. I can fix this."
He turned and went towards the door.
Pyrrha stuck an arm out and blocked his way. "Maybe we should go with you. It's dangerous out there after all."
Jaune nodded in agreement. "True. You guys grab your weapons and we can all head out together."
Jaune left the room with Pyrrha following close by.
Nora sighed. "I have a bad feeling about this."
Ren placed a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be fine."
XxX
Down in the city Team JNPR traveled to the smith's shop.
"The shop isn't too far from here," Jaune said looking at his scroll.
There weren't as many people on the streets as there normally were. After what happened at Junior's the citizenry spent as little time outside their homes as possible.
Jaune looked at his scroll. "According to the map the shop should be right here." He looked up at the building where the smith was located and then turned and kept walking.
Pyrrha grabbed him by the arm. "Jaune, this is the place."
"No it isn't! Does that look like a smith's shop to you?"
Jaune pointed at the building, or rather, what used to be a building. Where Ivory's Ironworks used to be now stood a mass of writhing greyish tentacles.
Nora walked up and placed a hand on one. They pulsed in her hand, but they were cold to the touch.
"What is this?" Nora asked.
In response Pixie appeared from Jaune's scroll.
"It's a domain."
"A what?" Jaune asked. "And who said you could come out?"
"A domain. Some demons can change the landscape of where they are. The more powerful the demon, the bigger the domain. There are some really strong demons that control entire dimensions."
Ren took in the sight. The domain only occupied the single building. The shops on either side were completely untouched.
Something crossed Jaune's mind. "What happened to the people inside?"
Pixie shrugged. "If the demon didn't kill them first then who knows. The place should turn back to normal if you take out the demon at the center of it."
"Then there's only one thing for us to do," Jaune said.
He and his team went inside the shop.
The inside of the domain was a series of winding corridors. The walls, floor, and ceiling were covered with the same tentacles that they saw outside. The way they constantly shifted made the four teens feel nauseous. The floor's incessant movement made it impossible to get even footing no matter where they stood.
Nora clamped a hand over her nose. "It stinks in here."
Jaune felt sick. "I know, but we need to keep going."
As they kept walking a trio of demons appeared before them. One was a small demon with red skin, another was a circular demon with short arms and legs and two swirl patterns on its front, and the last was a mass of green slime with glowing red eyes.
Jaune stepped back. "I think this is a good opportunity to for you guys to get demons of your own."
"Are you sure?" Nora asked.
"Yeah. These demons aren't going anywhere, and we need to get stronger."
Pyrrha slowly walked up to the small red demon. She waved and smiled at it. "Hello."
The demon waved back. "What do you want?"
"I was wondering if you could join me."
"Hmmm maybe. You got any Macca?"
Pyrrha shook her head. "Sorry, I don't."
"Then why am I talking to you?" the demon said as it turned and left.
Jaune held in his laughter. "That was awful. You gotta do it like this."
He walked up to the small circular demon. "Hey little guy, how'd you like to become my demon."
The small demon floated up towards Jaune. "Lemme get bit of your spirit."
Jaune rubbed the back of his head. "I'd love to, but I just ate. You know you're supposed to wait at least two hours after a meal before sharing your spirit with anyone. That's common sense."
The demon gasped. "I had no idea. You're really smart mister. I want to learn more things. I'm Sudama the Jirae. Pleased to meet you."
The Sudama flowed into Jaune's scroll.
A new demon has been acquired.
Sudama
Jirae race
A spirit of the mountains and forests in Japanese folklore. They aren't evil, but have a knack for causing mischief.
Jaune looked at Sudama's stats. "Zan and Pulinpa, not bad." He turned to Pyrrha. "See, it's all about knowing the right things to say."
Pyrrha nodded and went to the last demon. She tried not to gag at the rancid smell coming off of it. The demon smelled of rotting meat.
"Hello," she said with a grimace.
The demon made strange groaning noises before oozing away.
This time Jaune couldn't hold in his laughter. He slouched over clutching his stomach.
Pyrrha fell to her knees and punched the ground in frustration.
Ren sighed. "Don't be too upset. Jaune is just a natural at this."
Nora nodded. "Yeah, I think this is the first time I've seen Jaune beat you in anything."
Jaune tried not to look proud hearing Nora's words. "You've got plenty of time to improve, Pyrrha. For now let's just keep moving."
They traveled deeper into the domain. After a while they stood in front of a large door that looked like it was covered in bones.
"There's a demon in there," Jaune said.
His teammates drew their weapons as Jaune forced the door open.
Inside the room floating in the center was a single demon. It was a woman with blue skin and blue hair wearing a white leotard and a belt adorned with blue teardrop shaped jewels. She was dancing to music with words that none of them could understand. Jaune took a step forward, but Ren stuck his arm out and stopped him.
Jaune looked at Ren. Ren held up one finger. Jaune nodded, and the rest of them watched the demon dance until she was done.
All four of the young hunters were captivated by the demon's performance. She moved like a natural. The translucent white sash in her hands made her seem light as a cloud. Not even the girls could bring themselves to interrupt.
Once the demon finished dancing she looked over at Jaune and his teammates.
"What reason do you have for intruding upon my home?"
"This isn't your home," Jaune responded.
The demon waved dismissively. "It is mine now. I wanted it so I took it. I'm sure you humans are familiar with the concept."
Pyrrha drew her weapon. "What happened to the people that were here?"
The demon shrugged. "Who knows?"
Pyrrha lunged at the demon and slashed at the demon's neck. The demon jumped back to avoid it and shot a spear of ice from her hand. Pyrrha raised her shield to block it and was sent sliding back by the impact.
Pyrrha blinked. It hit hard, but not as hard as the demon that she fought in the forest.
Pyrrha grinned at the demon. "Is that all you've got?"
The demon floated toward Pyrrha and grabbed her by the face. She opened her mouth and an otherworldly sound came out. Pyrrha's eyes came unfocused, her arms went slack, and she fell to the ground.
"Pyrrha!" Jaune shouted. He grabbed his scroll and summoned his demons. Three demons appeared from his scroll. The Pixie he met in the forest, the Sudama he met in the domain, and a third demon none of his teammates had seen before. It was a man with no legs whose body was pierced with multiple swords. He had a sword in his right hand, which was covered in blood.
Jaune put the demons on autopilot for the time being and engaged the enemy personally. The demon stepped back and avoided the swing. The Sudama waved its hands and a powerful gust of wind blew the demon into a wall. The sword wounded demon took the opportunity to run the demon through. The demon screamed in pain and disappeared. There was a small pile of coins on the ground.
Nora knelt down and picked one up. There was a strange symbol on it. "Wonder what this is?"
Ren grabbed another coin. "I think it's supposed to be money."
Jaune picked up the rest of the coins and slipped them into his pocket. "I think we should hang onto them."
The room suddenly filled with a blinding white light. When the light faded they were standing in the smith's shop. The shop's owner was leaning on the counter like nothing had happened.
"You guys need something?" he asked.
Jaune remembered why he had come here. He handed the smith his sword. "I need this touched up."
The smith examined the blade. "No problem." He looked down at Pyrrha, still asleep on the floor. "Is your friend okay?"
The other three fighters looked at Pyrrha. She was laying on her side snoring softly. Even asleep Pyrrha was still the image of beauty. Nora took out her scroll and snapped a picture. After that she went to wake Pyrrha up.
Nora gently shook Pyrrha. "Pyrrha, wake up."
The red headed warrior slowly sat up. There was a line of drool running down her cheek. She stretched out and yawned. "What time is it?"
Both Ren and Jaune were doubled over with laughter.
Nora laughed nervously. "Don't you remember? We were fighting that demon and you fell asleep."
Pyrrha's eyes widened and she jumped to her feet. She hastily wiped the spit off of her face. She looked from Nora, to Jaune and Ren, and then to the shopkeeper. Her cheeks started burning.
The smith wrote up an invoice and handed it to Jaune. "Your sword should be ready tomorrow."
Jaune placed the paper in his pocket. "Thank you."
"Hey, what happened to that blue chick? She was hot."
Ren nodded in agreement. "She was."
There was a pause as Ren's teammates gave him a strange look. Nora looked especially annoyed.
Jaune shrugged. "No idea."
Team JNPR left the smith's shop. As they were leaving the man behind the counter called out to them.
"You guys be careful. It's getting dangerous out there."
XxX
Yang sighed and placed her head in her hands. "I'm glad you guys made it out okay."
Once they were back at the school the members of Team JNPR met with the other members of Team RWBY to tell them about what happened in the city. Unfortunately Ruby was still in her bed refusing to talk to anyone. No one could get her to say a word. Not her friends, her sister, or any of the teachers.
Jaune sighed. "I wish there was something we could do for her."
Weiss looked at her scroll. She hadn't once yet used the Program. Something about it rubbed her the wrong way.
"I think this is going to get a lot worse," she said.
Nora stood up with a wide smile on her face. "Come on, guys. We've been through worse than this and come out fine haven't we? As long as we stick together there's nothing we can't do."
The others seemed to lighten up after hearing that. The oppressive atmosphere that filled the room seemed to disappear.
"You're right Nora. We can definitely do this," Jaune said.
The students found themselves filled with a newfound resolve. If the world truly was in danger, then they didn't have time to waste caught in the grips of despair.
AN: Design wise Apsaras has always been one of my favorite demons. I was in love the first time I saw it.
As long as you're reading this I want to clarify something. This isn't a crossover with a specific SMT game, so if you're reading this hoping to see Ruby get boned by the Demi-Fiend then I'm sorry to disappoint you. However as the story progresses it'll be obvious which particular game I'm drawing the most inspiration from.
If you like it then feel free to drop a review. Or even if you don't. I would really appreciate it.