Chapter 10: Oh Goody! More People!
Ok, so volume 2 came out last Thursday. How will I celebrate? Watching it. Not much else I can do, really. I have to see a couple more episodes until I can really progress this fic. However progress it we will. Why 'we', you might ask? I'd like you to meet someone. Say hi, buddy!
S'up.
That's ShepardisaBOSS. He's my biggest supporter and a fellow Multiverser. He and I cameo/co-star in each others fics. So, he's a new character here. And will also be subject to the originally unintended, but now somewhat integral, running gag of having a multi-dimensional harem. Get used to it. And continue to read the stories, cause we've got a lot planned for you.
And to those of you reading this, you might notice some differences between Duncan's writing and mine. It's to differentiate us, seeing as we're both working on this story now. Though the differences will really only be seen in POV changes.
NOW LET'S GET THIS STARTED RIGHT!
It hasn't been that eventful here for me for a while now. I've said it before, despite having a few classes that involve teaching teens how to use incredibly deadly weapons to hunt and slaughter monsters, Beacon is a pretty normal school.
That doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything, mind you. I manage to keep myself busy doing this and that. Setting up a safe house for my operations here on Remnant. Ordering Dust directly from the Schnees, courtesy of Weiss. And right now, I'm modifying one of my hidden blades into a Phantom Blade. Why?
I'm a slave to trends involving weapons like that, that's why.
On the bright side, I should be getting a visitor soon. I've already got permission for him to stay if he needs to or wishes to join. Ozpin has very generous with my requests. Though I obviously owe him quite a few favors fight now. I'll deal with those later.
Now, where is Michael? That is the question.
POV Change...
"Son of a bitch. I am so freaking lost," I muttered to myself.
Hi, I'm Michael. I am, you guessed it, a Multiverser. I'm one of the few active ones right now. Biggest difference between me and the others is that I'm still receiving training under Duncan.
Recently, he's invited me to join up with him in one of the worlds he occupies to help with combat training and such. Often times, his definition of 'training' ends with pain, humiliation, and $5,000 worth of alcohol that I have to pay for. Even if it's not for me.
Problem is, his 'training' always works.
So here I am, on my way to the world of Remnant. A world featured in the quickly popular internet show, RWBY. But...I took a wrong turn somewhere on the cosmological scale. Because I'm pretty sure, though you can correct me if I'm wrong, this is, well, the "Land of the Dead".
Yeah, I made a bad call.
Duncan briefly told me about this place. While all realities hold their own afterlives, this place is specifically reserved for Multiverser use, created by another Multiverser called Prime Death. Whether Duncan meant it's where Multiversers like us go to when we die or where people we kill go to when they die, he didn't elaborate.
It's dark. It's in black and white (with some gray mixed in). It's gloomy as hell.
And the scariest thing is how full this place is. It's...it's not right to see this many dead.
And none of them have any defining features. They all blur together.
And they all look like they're in pain.
"…H-h-h-help, me…"
"Holy shit!" I exclaimed. One of them got too close when I wasn't looking.
"P-please…" the figure begged. "I-I can't last here much longer."
I could feel an uncomfortable pull in my gut. "I-I'm sorry, but I don't even know who you are. I don't even know where you came from," I said apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I need to find my way to Remnant."
"I know where it is."
"Wait. You do?" I asked, suspicious.
"The place you're looking for is where I'm from," he said. "I may not be able to live again, but at least I can be in a familiar place."
I hesitated. On one hand, I need to get to Remnant. On the other hand, this guys dead, and he's here for some reason. Did he do something terrible, and had to go here for it? But, I look at him, and all I feel is suffering.
My choice is easy to make.
"Okay," I nodded. "Please, take me to Remnant and you can tag along."
"Thank you," He said, the relief coming off him in waves. "This way."
'I hope I won't regret this.'
One Hour Later...
Finally, we arrived. And not without a few scratches, either.
Seriously, who knew that an ostrich could learn to roundhouse kick someone like that?!
"This is the place. If you're like those other guys, it should be easy to imagine us there, or something."
"Yeah," I nodded. "But I need your word, you're not gonna do something that'll warrant me having to send you back here, are you?"
"I won't." He promised, crossing his heart for good measure. "The only ones that can see me are you and the...other guy...here. Nothing I could do, anyway."
"Okay. Here goes nothing."
With a flash of light, the world no longer looks like the dark and dreary, depressing dimension I found myself in for the last few hours. Instead, a much more lively, modern and civilized city. The people, it was my understanding they looked like silhouettes, were here. Human and Faunus alike. And I could see the prestigious Beacon Academy on the cliffs up in the distance, overlooking the city of Vale.
"Hey, we're here! Thanks, man," I exclaimed, gratefully. "I'd have been..."
Turning to the spirit that directed me here, I saw him taking his own form. No longer did he look like a generic blurred human being. Instead, now he looked like a man wearing a white coat with black dress pants and dress shoes. A black bowler cap was atop his orange hair, which was styled to cover one of his eyes. And he was lighting a cigar.
Oh shit...
"Thanks, kid," he said with a smirk. "It feels like forever since I saw this place. At least I've got that going for me."
"You, you're..." I trailed off.
"Yep. Roman Torchwick, at your service," he bowed, turning to leave. "I'll see you around, kid. I owe you quite a bit."
"Hey! Wait a min-!" I tried to catch him.
But once he turned a corner, he was gone.
"Okay...I get the feeling I'm about to be in a lot of trouble," I sighed, turning to make my way to Beacon.
Later...
Well, it took me a while, but I managed to get to Beacon Academy. Let it be known that one should never try using a rocket locker from a trash pile to reach this place.
Less said, the better.
Seriously, though, it is just creepy how most of the people here look like silhouettes. Like they're not even here at all. I mean, its one thing to see that in an episode of RWBY, but its another to see it in real life.
Wonder if I could be able to-
"OOF!"
"OW!"
Well, that's what I get for not looking where I was going. After making sure I didn't break my butt when I fell backward, I said "Sorry, I wasn't-"
I then came face to face with a young girl who looked no older than fifteen. She had short-cut black hair that looked tinged with crimson, framing a youthful, beautiful face that held silver eyes. She was wearing a black one piece dress that cut off half-way above her thighs, held tightly around her slim gut with a black and red corset.
Three things about her instantly made me recognize her. One, her silver eyes.
Two, she was wearing a red cloak with a hood.
And Three...the ginormous scythe/rifle slung across her back.
This individual was, without a doubt, Ruby Rose, the leader of Team RWBY.
And, I have to say, she was CUTE!
"...looking," I finished lamely.
"Uh, sorry about that." I said, shaking my head and standing back up. "I don't seem to be paying attention a lot right now."
"Oh, it's okay," she said nonchalantly. "I do that all the time. Are you one of the foreign students coming for the Vytal Festival?"
"Foreign? Very much so. Student? Not for a school. And the festival? Sure, I guess?" I answered her. "Actually, I'm looking for someone. He invited me here. I think you might know him. He has a tendency to involve himself with important people like yourself."
"I'm important?" she asked as she tilted her head, confused. Her eyes widened in realization. "Oh! You must be talking about Duncan! Yeah, he's the extra member on my team. He sleeps in a room right next to ours. I can take you there."
"Thanks. It's nice to have someone that I know won't be a bad person help me out," I said, remembering what just happened not 20 minutes ago.
She didn't question what that meant. Instead, while we were walking she took notice of my weaponry. "Wait! You know Duncan, you're Foreign, and you have awesome weapons! Are you another Multiverser?!" she asked excitedly.
"Wait! He told you?!" I asked, shocked. 'Motherfucker! I thought secrecy was key!'
"Well, more like we found out and he had to explain," she said scratching the back of her head sheepishly. "I think he was gonna tell us soon though, he told us. But...you are another one?"
I sighed. "Well the cat's out of the bag, so yeah. I am." I said. "Name's Michael. Nice to meet ya."
"Hi, I'm Ruby!" She said, a bright smile on her face. "It's nice to meet you, too. So, what kinda weapons do you have?"
"Heh, I'll show you later," I chuckled. "But I need to check in with Duncan first. Need to figure out where I'll sleep."
Later still...
"We're here," Ruby told me. She's been very good company so far. A definite good sign to stick around. The others I have no doubt will be just as fun to hang out with.
"Thanks. Now let's just see if he'll answer," I said before knocking on the door.
"It's unlocked, you can come in!" we heard Duncan call. Then it was a simple matter of opening and entering.
Duncan himself was sitting at a desk with numerous holographic screens and equipment. It, uh, was way over my head how high tech the stuff looked. I didn't really expect to see Duncan doing... whatever this is.
"Echo squad, ignore the hostiles and proceed to the objective. Project Vanguard, you're budget's about up. You have two weeks before I have to shut you down. Agent Zeta, your report is acknowledged. Return to Base H and prepare for debriefing." Duncan finally turned back to acknowledge us. "Oh, hey Mike! I was wondering when you'd get here. HAL, transfer operations to R-19b. 'My' shift's up," he said to the computer before the screens turned off. "Well my friend, welcome to Remnant. I trust you didn't have too much trouble getting here? Good! Oh, sorry Ruby. Thanks for bringing him here. I was a little occupied."
"Yeah, I'll ask about that later," I said. "Anyways, I'm here and ready for anything."
"Good. Because you'll need to be," he smirked. "Things are finally coming to me, so I have some idea about what's coming up, albeit slowly. And I'd like some more familiar faces to help out."
"What's going on in here?" we heard from outside. It was Weiss, with Blake and Yang following close behind her.
"Hey girls," Duncan greeted, before throwing his arm over my shoulders. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce Michael 'Verser' my now adopted brother and fellow Multiverser."
"Adopted brother?" I asked.
"Might as well consider you a part of my growing family, brotha from anotha motha."
"Okay, as long as you never say that ever again, I'm cool with it," I said while I glared at him.
"So you finally found more like you?" Blake asked. Apparently Duncan keeps them in the loop more than I had thought.
"Yes, a few," He answered her. "They've started popping up now. I've helped train most, if not all, of them. One even actually comes close to rivaling me in power. But Michael here is pretty much my protege. And has opted for the long route when it comes to learning."
"I wouldn't mind having a little brawl later on, if possible," Yang said with a smirk. "If he's still green, it lets me work to try and take you down in a rematch."
"Yeah, you're free to try," Duncan and I deadpanned simultaneously, causing her to pout at our confidence.
Suddenly however, Duncan started sniffing the air.
"I smell sleaze... and poor choice in cigars," he said, his eyes narrowing. His gaze directed itself to me after he released his hold over my shoulders.
"Michael," he started, ice in his voice, which caused me to start breaking out into a cold sweat. "Would you mind telling me why I sense Roman Torchwick's aura coming from you?"
"Ehehehehehehe, funny story, actually," I nervously chuckled, my cold sweat becoming more noticeable. "I, uh, got lost on the way here and wound up in the 'Land of the Dead' you told me about. And Roman-I didn't know it was him at the time I swear!-led me out. Now, he may...possibly...be free and a ghost now."
The room was completely silent for a few moments.
"... Girls," Duncan began in a monotone voice. "Could you please leave us for a couple minutes?" RWBY promptly left and shut the door.
Duncan breathed calmly.
"ARE YOU MOTHERFUCKING KIDDING ME?!" Duncan roared, and I'm pretty sure it caused a mild short earthquake if the tremors are any clue.
"I didn't know-!"
"No, no, no! I'm talking right now!" he said with anger. "Do you have any idea the ramifications of what you did?! When someone is in that realm, it's for a reason! That's why it was made! To punish rogue Multiversers and guys bad enough in our eyes to put there! And you let one of those entities out?! Fuck! Prime's gonna be pissed about this." The last part he said mostly to himself before sighing. "Goddamn it, when I kill someone, usually I don't intend for them to come back. But that's just me, apparently! (Sigh) There's nothing he can really do, though. Still, don't enter that place again or there's gonna be real trouble. We clear?"
"Crystal sir!" I agreed in a very high pitched voice.
"Good," he said with a smile on his face. Like he didn't just freak the fuck out just now.
'Why does my teacher have to be so freaking psychotic?!'
POV Change...
In the city of Vale, an elderly man was putting the finishing touches on the reopening of his small dust shop. A few months ago, he was robbed. Though the robbery itself was halted not even halfway thanks to a young huntress in training who happened to be there at the time.
The store was still damaged however. But after a couple months, everything was finally repaired and restocked. All that was left was this banner that he was putting above the entrance telling all potential customers it was open for business again.
Satisfied, the elder began his descent from the ladder. However, a passerby accidentally knocked into it and he fell off.
"Excuse me. Sorry." She apologized. She was a young woman with dark skin, bright green hair in a bob cut, and red eyes. Her outfit was perfect for warm weather, with a jewel symbol on her back, and she had two pistols at her back. "I'm not really from around here." She said, helping him back up. Then pulling out a slip of paper and presenting it to him. "Would you mind pointing me in the direction of this shop?" She politely asked. The man smiled before nodding and doing so.
She waved her goodbye and proceeded to her destination. However, before she could continue more than three steps, she crashed into a young man, sending them both onto the ground. Groaning, she looked up and was stunned into silence at the man. with a crop of raven black hair, he was wearing a red leather jacket with matching pants. And man, was he CUTE! Cute enough to leave her staring as he regained his bearings and look at her. And was left staring at HER, too.
Coming back to reality, they both said "Oh! Um, uh, sorry about that!"
Realizing they said the same thing, they tried again and said "Oh, uh, no, it's my fault! I, uh, just wasn't looking where I was going."
A moment of silence later, and the two were laughing at the hilarity of the situation. They helped each other up and smiled. "I really am sorry, though." The young man replied. "I was just trying to find my older brother and got lost."
With a sheepish chuckle, Emerald replied "Heh, I guess we're both lost, then. I was looking for my colleague, so I asked the shopkeep over there for directions-"
"Which led to us crashing into each other out of luck?" He finished. The two smiled again. Sticking out his hand, he said "I'm Michael, by the way."
She took it and shook. "I'm Emerald. First day in Vale?"
"Yeah." He replied. "And I just cannot find my way around."
"I could show you later, if you want?" Emerald said without a second thought.
Taking a moment to realize what she said, Michael smiled knowingly and asked "Any places in particular?"
Emerald just then realized what she just offered. Before she could back out, she thought 'Wait, how is this a bad thing? I mean, I haven't gone on a date in YEARS, and the first chance I get to break that streak is with a guy who's cute, nice, and doesn't stare at how I'm dressed like I'm indecent? How could I say no? Besides, he seems harmless enough.'
With a suggestive smile, she replied "I can think of some nice places."
Returning the smile, Michael said "Its a date, then. Meet back here in about, three days?"
She nodded. "8 O'Clock sharp. Don't get lost again, okay?"
With a nod, he ran off to continue his search. "See you then, Em!" Emerald couldn't help but blush at the nickname. With thoughts of the future date, she continued on her way.
Two buildings down, her 'colleague' was waiting for her in the alley. He had messy gray hair and brown eyes. His outfit was darker, consisting of gray, silver, and black colors. His boots held barrels which held a similar purpose to blonde huntress in Beacon.
"I knew you were lost." He smirked.
"Mercury," She groaned, turning back to him and holding up a wallet. "I will seriously pay you to shut up."
"That's not your money." He noticed.
"But it could be yours, for five minutes of silence." She offered, really hoping he'd take her up on it.
"Hmmm… No deal." He shook his head.
"Hnn, fine." She growled slightly, annoyed. Then just pocketed the money and throwing the wallet away. Mercury began to follow her as she walked away.
"Whatever. You want me." He chuckled, taking her lead. "Or do you want that boy in red more?"
She took out one of her pistols and aimed it at his crotch. "Who I decide to go out with is none of your business, Mercury." She said with a false smile and a tone that promised the tortures of hell itself.
With that, he backed off. "Okay, okay, you win."
A few minutes later, and he was bored. "How much farther?"
"A few blocks."
"Ugh, this place is so dull." He groaned.
"Meh, I kinda like it." The girl replied. "Tall buildings, diverse culture…"
"And nice, dopey people who are easy to pickpocket."
"That's every city."
"Ohh, Emerald! Master Thief!" He begged in an overly mocking tone. "Please don't take my money! I barely have enough to get by…"
"Hnn." She growled, deciding it was better to ignore him and just keep on walking.
"(Sigh) You're no fun today." Mercury shook his head and continued on.
Soon enough, they reached the shop they were looking for. 'Tukson's Book Trade'.
Entering the shop, they heard the owner humming a tune from the back. Emerald went to the desk while Mercury started 'browsing'. After ringing the bell on the counter, the call of "Be right there!" was their answer. A moment later, a man came out holding two stacks of books. His back was turned to them.
"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade. Home to every book under the sun." He advertised, setting the stacks down. "How may… uh…" Hesitation was written on his face once he got a look at the two in his store. He quickly hid it as best he could. "How may I help you?"
"Just browsing." Mercury said, closing a book.
"Actually," Emerald began. "I was wondering. Do you have any copies of 'The Thief and the Butcher'?"
"Yes, we do."
"That's great!"
"Would you, uh, like a copy?"
"No." She said. "Just wondering." The background noise of books being slammed closed seemed to get louder. "Oh, oh! What about 'Violet's Garden'? In paper back."
"He's got it." Mercury said. "Hard back, too."
"Ohh, options are nice."
"Ehh, no pictures." He shrugged, dropping it back down. "Hey! Do you have any comics?"
"Near the front." Tukson answered.
"Oh! No, wait!" Emerald suddenly began. "What about… 'Third Crusade'?" She ominously questioned.
"Umm..." The shop owner looked to see both their eyes were on him. "I...don't believe we carry that one."
Another book loudly closed. "Oh."
"What was this place called again?" Emerald asked 'sweetly'. Though the sweetness was an obvious lie.
"Tukson's Book Trade."
"Aaaand you're Tukson?"
"That's right."
"So then I take it that you're the one who came up with the catch-phrase."
"Yes."
"And, what was it again?" Mercury asked.
Tukson sighed. "Tukson's Book Trade. Home to every book under the sun-."
"Except, 'The Third Crusade'." Mercury pointed out.
"… It's just a catch-phrase."
"It's false advertising!"
"You shouldn't make a promise you can't keep, Tukson." Emerald told the shop owner. Another book was loudly closed.
And it was not from Mercury.
"Oh, but haven't you heard?" A new voice asked. They looked to see that another person snuck into the shop, scrolling through the books. He slid the book in his hand back onto the shelf. He wore a black and red hooded jacket. And he slowly turned his head to face the two unwanted criminals in the store. "Those are the best kind." Duncan smirked, a feral grin on his face.
"Crap! It's him!" Mercury shouted, kicking the small shelf he was browsing through at Duncan. Emerald was about to try and take out her pistols and dispose of the runaway White Fang member, but he had already ran to the back of the store.
"We need to get out of here!" She yelled.
"Yeah, you do!" Duncan laughed. He had already thrown Mercury into the counter next to her. He was still in running shape however. Then the Multiverser decided to at least take things outside. Jumping at them both, he grabbed them by their collars and threw'em out the windows. The two quickly shook off the damage and began running into the nearest alley. "Oh, that's just rude!" Duncan complained. "Leaving a guy half-cocked and then running away?! Madness!" He looked back to quickly tell the owner he'd be back to make a purchase then took off after them.
The two gave quite a fight before reaching a two person car for their getaway. For the sake of letting things progress for more fun, I let them go.
Might not next time, though.
"There you are, Duncan! I've been looking everywhere for you!"
I turned around and saw Michael running up to me. Panting, he continued "You decide to show me around the city, then you ditch me. YOU, my 'king,' are an ASSHOLE!"
I shrugged. "I know. Though you don't look too pissed, for some reason."
"Yeah, well, I've got a date." He replied with a smile.
"Really? Not bad. First day here and you're already a lady killer in training. Who is the lucky girl?"
With a warm smile, Michael looked into the sky and answered "Let's just say that she's a real diamond in the rough."
Later...
So, after our walk around Vale, I decided to show Michael around Beacon Academy. We started with introducing the teachers (mainly Oobleck, Port, and Goodwitch). When he met Oobleck, I thought that he would faint from struggling to keep up with what he was saying. He struggled to keep his gaze away from Professor Goodwitch's...well, you know. And Port...
Well, let's just say that Michael learned a valuable lesson that day: never try to cut off Port's mustache.
Mental note: remind Ozpin to repair the classroom wall. And to temporarily confiscate the blunderbuss.
After Michael woke up, I decided to show him around the places I most frequently visit. That eventually led us to Team RWBY in the cafeteria, and to this current discussion.
Though right now, I focused on Blake. Who was looking through her personal journal. It was filled with sketches and notes about the White Fang and her former partner, Adam Taurus.
"You okay?" I asked her, worried.
"Huh?" She responded, startled. "Oh, I'm fine. I'm just going over notes from last semester." I gave her a knowing look.
"Lame.~" Yang teased, listening in on us. She then caught a grape in her mouth that Nora flung at her.
"Wait, wait, wait," Weiss interrupted. "You have what again?"
Michael sighed. "Chronokinesis." He spelled out slowly. "It is also known as the ability to control time. I can use it to either slow down time to a crawl, reverse it for brief moments, or even stop time completely."
Everyone was gaping at that. Except me. I blatantly did that when recruiting him. On that note, maybe I should have him start recruiting newbies? Saves me time I don't really need.
"For the love of dust, what is it with you and Duncan being so overpowered?!" Weiss whined. "It's not fair!"
"Well, to be fair, I'm still new to the powers Duncan and I share," Michael explained. "As such, I still have limitations. take my chronokinesis, for example. I can only stop time if I fully concentrate on it, and it takes a serious toll on my mind. And I can only slow down time for about four minutes tops. Any longer and I risk putting unnecessary strain on myself."
Blake nodded. "I see. And because you just recently acquired this power, you don't really have that much control over it yet."
"True. But I actually like having this power. Especially when I get to use it in training against my favorite training dummies. Thank the lord for introducing the Matrix movies."
As he was explaining this, I couldn't help but notice that Nora kept throwing food at Yang, who kept on eating it. At that moment, Ruby slammed a HUGE stack of papers in a binder titled 'BEST DAY EVER.' "Sisters." Ruby started. "Friends. Weiss."
"Hey!"
"Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream."
"Oh, this ought to be good." Yang said sarcastically.
Realizing what was coming, I mouthed to Michael to get ready for a fight. He nodded, and had his shield/sheath Avalon set for anything.
"A dream where the five of us, as a team, would come together and have the most fun anyone's ever had, ever!" Our team leader cheered.
"Did you steal my binder?" Weiss asked, noticing the large stack of papers.
"I am not a crook." Ruby quickly said.
I am, though.
"What are you talking about?" Blake asked.
"I'm talking about kicking the semester off with a bang." Ruby answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I always kick my semesters off with a Yang!" Yang punned, looking around for laughter. "Eh? Guys? Am I right?" She asked, before an apple (courtesy of Nora) was thrown at her face. Thankfully I caught it before impact was made and just took a bite out of it before placing it down.
"No comment." Was all I said. Though Yang decided to direct her attention to getting back at Nora for trying that.
"Look guys," Ruby started. "It's been a good two weeks, with opening up, more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year. Our second semester's going to be great! But, classes start back up tomorrow. Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today!"
"I don't know whether to be proud, or scared of what you have in store." Weiss remarked at the 'plan' Ruby had in store. Meanwhile Yang prepped a Granny Smith apple to throw at Nora. And did so.
"I don't know." Blake said, hesitant. "I think I might sit this one out."
"Oh no you don't, Blake." I interrupted. "You know how well that'd go down. And how sad I'd be to see you not with us."
"Sit it out or not, I think we should spend this last day together as a team." Weiss said, standing up. Unaware of the danger. Here it comes. "I for one, think that-." And pie in the face, slowly falling off.
Team RWBY flinched. JPR stared. Nora put the blame on Ren. And I and Michael smiled.
This meant war.
Outside…
"Seriously?" A young man accompanying Sun Wukong asked his friend. He had spike electric blue hair, slightly shaved at the sides and deep blue eyes. He wore a red jacket with a white undershirt and tie, and jeans that were padded at the sides. A rifle that was in standby mode was slung over his back.
"I know, right?" Sun rhetorically asked his friend, Neptune. "And there was rock-n-roll, explosions, and all kinds of kick-butt action. It did get a little dark at the end, but still. And that girl I mentioned? She's a Faunus. The guy's some kinda really powerful person from another dimension, or something. I didn't really pay attention. Oh, but it's a secret. The Faunus thing, too. Okay?"
"Got it." Neptune replied, rolling his eyes.
"And not a 'I'm gonna go tell Scarlet the second Sun turns his back' secret." Sun specified. "I mean 'Secret-Secret'."
"Whoa, chill out man. I got it." He promised. "I got it. Not gonna believe the other dimension thing till I see it, though."
"You better." Sun said, making his friend scoff. "I just don't wanna screw this up, ya know?" Unbeknownst to them, as they walked, various food and drinks (And Jaune) were thrown at the windows from inside the building they were walking by. "The people here are the coolest! No offense to you guys."
"None taken."
"Okay, they're just in here." The monkey Faunus gestured to the cafeteria door. "I'm really excited for you to meet them. Soooo, be cool, okay? You're gonna be cool, right?"
"Dude." He smiled charmingly, crossing his arms. Light flickered off his teeth with a 'ding!'.
"… Good point." Sun nodded.
When the duo entered, however, their reactions were different. Sun was ecstatic, while Neptune was shocked. The majority of the cafeteria vacated the building with a few cries of 'Food fight!'. The overly energetic evil laughter of one Nora Valkyrie filled the room. She and the rest of Team JNPR stood atop a quickly thrown together 'castle' of tables and soda machines.
"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" Nora laughed from the top.
On the other side, Team RWBY + two stood.
"Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful!" Ruby cried in righteous fury, crushing the milk in her hand. "It will be delicious!" And the rest of her team war cried with her.
"Give them nothing!" Duncan roared, totally into the situation. "But take from them… everything!"
"That too!" Ruby agreed.
"Off with their heads!" Nora commanded, jumping down from the top of their fort. Ren kicked up a platter with two watermelons at their enemy. Jaune threw one as well. Pyrrha threw two of her own. Then Nora just threw a whole table of them.
"Yang! Turkeys!" Ruby pointed out to her sister. The blonde boxer quickly donned them like gloves and punched the watermelons before they could hit her. Jumping over her partner, Blake grabbed two baguettes to use like swords.
Since they actually worked pretty well as swords, they were probably way past expiration date.
Yang threw the poultry off her hands at Pyrrha. But the Spartan girl dodged, subsequently letting Jaune take both of them instead. Blake attempted to strike at the red head while she was distracted, but the two crossed bread in the end. Spinning, Pyrrha ended the block and forced Blake into defense, but she threw one of her make-shift weapons at her opponent. Only for it to be dodged and for Pyrrha to knock her into the air and throw a barrage of large bread sticks at Yang like spears.
The brawler was only able to break two before being knocked back. In her place, came Ruby and Michael, riding on platters like skate boards across the tables, knocking away everything in their way. The two blocked the bread sticks thrown at them with their boards, and continued on their way to Pyrrha. Jaune however saw that she was about to be overrun. That in mind, he charged to knock Michael off his board. Succeeding at such, the two grabbed nearby bread and platters to use as swords and shields. The two began their own personal duel.
Ruby, who retreated back, dodged an attack from Ren and Nora. Weiss stood at the ready with ketchup, used as oil slick against Ren, who became a living bowling ball for a pile of table. A pile that went airborne. Nora used it to her advantage to jump up high enough to grab and break off a pole to use to quickly stab into a watermelon and create a makeshift war-hammer.
Ruby took the blow for Weiss, allowing the heiress to grab a nearby sword fish and do battle with the heavy weapons girl. She only managed one god strike before she was overpowered by Nora, who slammed her far backwards into a pillar. Which broke.
Ruby grabbed Weiss as she fell, bridal style. "No, Weiss! Don't leave me. Noooooooooo!" She cried out.
Yang took the opportunity to grab another set of turkeys for gauntlets and engaged Ren who sported dual celery sticks. Yang quickly proved the better close combatant, punching him into the air. He wasn't done yet, throwing his sticks at her midair. But she proved too fast and nimble. She was in the air in no time, punching him down into another pile of tables.
But then Nora proved too much for Yang, slamming her melon-hammer into Yang hard enough to send her through the ceiling, avenging her fallen comrade. Blake, in retaliation, grabbed the longest string of sausages as a whip against Nora, knocking her all the way back into the soda machines. But the energetic girl used this to her advantage, and used the cans as grenades! Blake was forced back by her tenacity and throwing arm. Pyrrha, after an arduous baguette fight with Duncan, found herself in the middle of many pop cans. Using her power of polarity, she magnetized all the cans and threw them all at the Faunus-in-disguise.
Duncan, however, placed himself between her and the airstrike. With a chant of "I am the edge of my sword", many kitchen knives appeared floating in the air. With a flick of his wrist, the cans were all cut in half before they could reach them both. But the fruity liquids inside became more like a napalm strike, and forced them to retreat.
Duncan managed to dodge and land right next to Ruby, coincidentally. As did Michael, who had just finished fighting both Jaune and Ren. The three nodded once to each other, before they crouched, and began sprinting down three separate tables. The speed at which they ran collected all the debris, food, and silverware of their epic battle and carried it with them like a horizontal tornado.
Team JNPR was unable to defend themselves once the lightning fast trio began spinning in air around each other, and were swept away by the trashnado. Duncan, Ruby, and Michael stopped before crashing into the wall. The force of the halted kinetic energy created three interlocked craters in the wall. The trashnado and JNPR, however, didn't stop. The two Multiversers quickly grabbed Ruby by her arms and jumped high up into the air.
JNPR made contact with the wall first, but were soon followed by all the cans, liquid, and food that carried them. It coated them and the wall in a mess of soda, condiments, and smashed everything.
Michael and Ruby landed first. Duncan, however, quickly materialized a paintbrush and signed 'RWBY plus two' nest to the piece of modern art thy created. JNPR simply slid off the wall, leaving life size silhouettes of themselves on the wall.
"I love these guys." Sun Wukong said to Neptune, basking in the glory of the fierce food fight. His friend, covered in grape soda (yuck!), just glared at hm.
The door behind the two slammed open and Glynda Goodwitch entered. She was not pleased. For some reason, a couple plates of food were thrown her way. But she flicked them away with her wand and used said stick to rearrange the tables and benches all back into place with another flick.
"Children, please…" She stressed, narrowing her eyes and fixing her glasses. "Do not, play with your food."
The two teams were just silent. Until Nora burped, and Yang fell through the roof to be caught by Duncan. Who then took a piece of debris to his head, but he ignored it. The two groups then just started laughing.
Ozpin entered the room, calming Glynda down. For the time being, these two teams should be allowed to play the part of children. After all, it's not a role they'll have forever. Something he could tell Duncan and quite possibly his new friend also no longer had.
Third Person POV, Elsewhere…
Emerald and Mercury, after licking their wounds, returned to the current base of operations for their organization here in Remnant. Problem is, they weren't really supposed to have been gone. At least, not for what they were doing in the first place.
The warehouse was filled to the brim with dust crystals, powder, and rounds. All boxed and ready for what they were needed for. The White Fang were working diligently to move crates onto vehicles for a new destination. And at the center of it all, was Cinder Falls.
She was also a young woman, with long black hair and luminous amber eyes. Her red dress was covered in fiery orange runes on the sleeves that seemed to glow. And her high heels jingled with small crystals.
"Where were you?" She asked, not bothering to look back at her subordinates.
"Cinder. We, uh, we found the last runaway." Emerald informed the woman in charge. "We decided to take it upon ourselves to kill him before he could make his way to Vachilo. But-."
"But," Cinder interrupted. "Not only did you fail to kill him, you also were seen by the very man I told you to investigate. I had also told you to keep your hands clean while in Vale."
"I'm sorry." Emerald tried to say. "We just thought-."
"Don't think. Obey." Cinder told him. "Thankfully, I've taken control of the situation. The runaway was killed on his way the airport. We don't have to worry about him anymore, and he barely knew much to begin with anyway. On other things, what have you learned about Verser?"
"Nothing." Mercury told her.
"And why, pray tell, is that?"
"Because he literally came out of nowhere!" He said. "His first sighting was at a concert that Schnee brat was performing at. The next, he disrupts a hijacking Adam Taurus and his now traitor partner were in the middle of. And then he helps a blonde beat the crap out of all the goons in Xiong's night club, him included! Nothing else before any of that. No family, no sightings, no friends, nada! This guy, really, shouldn't exist."
"So we know nothing of him, but he knows about us, is what you're telling me?" Cinder said, her eyes narrowed at them. "And now he knows what you two look like."
"He already knew." A new voice called out.
The trio and all the Faunus terrorists in the building stopped what they were doing and looked to where the voice came from. From the shadows, came a man. Dark clothing, mostly black, with a hooded leather jacket. His black jeans were padded, for extra protection or looks, it didn't matter. The open jacket revealed intricate designed body armor, a very dark steel color. And under his black hood, a metal featureless mask that showed nothing of his face. At his side, similar to Duncan's signature sword Bright Shadow, was a katana. This one however, was longer and more traditionally curved. It was more like a Dai-Katana. It was still however, a pistol sword. But the firearm was reversed, with the barrel of the gun at the bottom of the handle, and the bullet chambers built into the tsuba. The sheathe itself, was rather plain however.
"He already knows everything he needs to know about you." The man said, his voice distorted by his mask. "Though he doesn't know what your plan is… Yet."
"Who are you, how did you find this place, and why should I not kill you where you stand right now?" Cinder asked, prepared to order the Fang to begin firing at the intruder.
"One, that is none of your business. Two, you're preparing to move operations so it doesn't matter. And three, I'm here to help you with your only real obstacle." He said.
"So you know things about Verser?"
"I know many things about him." He nodded. "I also know that you'll never have a snowflake's chance in hell at even making him blink. Thus, the reason I'm here."
Cinder stared at him with her eyes narrowed. Emerald and Cinder looked hesitant, but ready. And the Fang were ready to begin shooting. A motion from Cinder made them all lower their weapons.
"What do you know?"
"Knowing about him will not be able to help you." He began. "You won't be able to blackmail him, bribe him, turn him, or anything. Don't even try attacking his friends, it's a pointless endeavor."
"So what would work against him?" She asked, in no mood for games. The man pulled an audio disk from his pocket.
"This, holds the key to making Duncan Verser the most fragile he has ever been in a long time." He told them. "It's also one-use. You only have one chance of using this, so wait to use it."
"What use is a one-time audio disk?!" Mercury complained.
"Phase 2 of your plan involves you being where he cannot afford to fight or expose you. So that is your saving grace, for the time being. I will help in my own way to keep him in the dark about the Fang's movements. When the festival begins, and the place is filled with civilians, play the recording over the whole city. Not only will he break, but everyone in the city will have a 65.78% chance of turning on him, as well." He explained.
It wasn't as high a percentage as one would prefer, but it still favored them. Having their own forces and their enemies direct their fire to their only real threat before finishing what they needed to do was too good to pass up. So she took the disk.
"I'll be in touch." The man said, leaving the building. "Just don't try getting in my way."
Unbeknownst to the people in the building, former crime lord and current phantom Roman Torchwick possessed one of the grunts working in order to gather info. This little grain of information was something that he didn't expect.
"Well, how 'bout that?"
And with that, he left the vicinity in his ethereal form. On his way out, he noticed Michael wandering about aimlessly. "Okay, maybe this was a bit of a bad idea," the young Multiverser said out loud.
"But those can sometimes be the most fun."
Michael jumped upon hearing Roman right behind him. Regaining his composure, he glared and said "What do you want, Torchwick?"
"Oh, I'm hurt." He said in mocking pain. "I come to say hello to the guy who brought me back here, and you give me the cold shoulder? Cruel, my good sir."
Michael sighed. "Sorry, it's just that Duncan really chewed me out for bringing you back from the dead." Then he narrowed his eyes. "The question now, though, is what are you planning to do?"
Roman grinned. "Help you, of course."
To say the Multiverser was dumbstruck would be an understatement.
"Look, despite what I've done, I'm a man who repays my debts. I pretty much owe you a REALLY big debt for bringing me back to my home world. So, consider this the start of me repaying said debt." He stuck out his hand. "What do you say?"
He stared at the hand for a good moment, seriously contemplating whether or not to trust him. But then he thought that this could be an opportunity. An opportunity to actually help someone turn their life around for the better, to actually give them something to live for. He smiled, and clasped hands with the spirit that would become one of his most closest allies and truest friends. "Okay, Roman Torchwick, you have a deal." Slightly scowling, he added "But if you betray my trust, I'm handing you back over to Duncan."
Chuckling, the ghostly gangster said "Deal. Okay, as a start to our partnership, I should let you know that someone gave my old acquaintance Cinder Fall a disc. He said it would pretty much leave Duncan Verser in a fragile state of being, and turn pretty much everyone against him."
Michael looked a bit disturbed at this. "If it can affect a Multiverser like him," He started, "Then it would be logical to assume it would affect me in the same way. *sigh* Troublesome."
"Yeah, you might want to give your friends a heads up on that. Good news, though, is that the disc is a one-time use deal, so she won't use it on him right away."
Michael nodded. "Okay, thanks for the heads up. See you around, I guess."
With a nod, Roman proceeded to walk away before he caught a box Michael threw at him. In the box were Cuban cigars. Smiling, Roman Torchwick waved back and disappeared.
"Oh man, Duncan is REALLY not going to like this." Looking at the time, his eyes bulged out. "Crap! I've gotta get back if I'm gonna get any sleep!" And just like that, he disappeared into the night.
Ominous, eh? Roman's "alive". Michael's got a date with Emerald. Rooster Teeth knows how to make food fights the most epic battle ever. We also have another Multiverser in the world of Remnant. And now someone else with a grudge against Duncan's here to start trouble from the shadows? Ohh, I can just imagine the chills you aren't actually having at this development. It is a little cliché, but it's all, part of the plan. Oh, and people will die. I'm a man of my word.
(Queue Dark Knight's Joker laughter that made almost everyone in the movie theaters crap themselves when they first saw the tape.)
… There is something seriously messed up with you, dude.
Ehhhhhh, shaddup. I'll do what I want. Anyway you know the drill. Read the story, review the story, spot the quotes and references, and then wait for the future overpowered hilarity. Enjoy volume 2! Oh, and Praise Monty!
And on one more note, keep an eye out for the next six Multiverser fics that I'm scheduled to write. All chosen and voted by you! The viewers!