AN: Hey everyone, I have the next chapter here. Thank you for all the support this series has gotten here and on Tv Tropes. As the last chapter showed, we are now at the part of the story where things are about to get intense. All I can say is be prepared for the second half here. Hope you enjoy this chapter, leave a review with your comments and questions, and have a nice day.
Chapter 25 – Losing Yourself
Ruby.
Team RAMA walked towards the training arena, the red hooded girl carried her corgi in her arms, "Arf!" Zwei barked with a lovable smile before glancing over to Atalanta. However, the lioness faunus hissed back as Anastasia sighed, "Will you two calm down." The Grand Duchess said before looking to Ruby, "You realize you can't take I'm him into battle. He's just a small dog."
"Hey, Zwei is still tough." Ruby responded with a pout, "I couldn't do it yesterday because Professor Chulainn was still mad at him." Suddenly she had an idea, turning to the long-haired rider, "Wait, what if I made Zwei one of my noble phantasms." She said with Medusa looking back in confusion, "You know, like how I did it with Lobo last year. Come on, you told me you memorized the magic circuit used in the process."
"Ruby, did you forget?" Medusa responded, "The only non-Grimm animals that the process works with are horses." She said before crossing her arms, "If you were to do the process with Zwei, one of three things would happen; nothing, it somehow does work, or you may end up killing Zwei in the process."
"Oh…" Ruby responded with sadness as she held her pet tighter.
"I'm sorry, but that's why the process is normally done with Grimm." Medusa responded before having a smile, "Why don't you let me hold Zwei while you focus on impressing Charlemagne." She said with Ruby slowly smiling back, handing off her corgi. Medusa held Zwei in her arms, who rested with a lovable smile.
"How come he doesn't bite you?" Atalanta commented.
"Maybe I remind him of someone else?" Medusa said as Ruby remembered her own older sister, as well as the fact that dogs are color blind. The long-haired rider then used her right hand to pet Zwei on the head. However, in the sniffing on her hand, the corgi opened his mouth to take a chomp. At the last second, Medusa pulled her hand away as Zwei returned to a calm state. Team RAMA's eyes were all wide as they looked at the corgi yawn, "…Let's just head to the arena." Medusa said as everyone else nodded.
After some more walking, Team RAMA made their way to the training arena. The proctor for this lesson was Archer, who conversed with Charlemagne in the center of the arena. Bradamante and Sakamoto sat in the far-off stands, while Oryou was holding a live green frog in her hands, "Okay, now's your chance." Anastasia said as she looked to Ruby, who nodded with a smile.
The red hooded girl took a deep breath, then exhaled, "Hey!" Ruby called out to the arena as she pointed to Charlemagne, "I c-challenge you to a Grimm h-hunt off!" She said with her face redder than her cape, "W-whoever kill's the most Grimm is…wins! You game?" Ruby said as Anastasia slight sighed.
"Oh, cool. That sounds fun." Charlemagne responded, then turned back to Archer, "Is that okay?"
"Fine by me." Archer said before looking back towards Ruby, "If you're ready, we can start now." He said with Ruby smiling running down to the arena. The rest of her smiled as the moved to their seats.
In the stands, Bradamante gritted her teeth as she watched Ruby enter the arena, "That girl, she thinks that she can beat Charlemagne!?" She said before having a sneer, "Well, too bad for her that nobody can hunt Grimm better than he can. She will lose in front of everyone! Hahahaha!" She laughed with Sakamoto rolling his eyes. He then looked over to Oryou, but the frog was no longer in her hands as she licked her fingers tips.
Now in the arena, Archer addressed both the students. "Okay Ruby," He said before looking back at a massive cage of Grimm, "Now, there are forty Beowolves that will be released." He said before crossing his arms, "Since you want to make this a completion, whoever kills the most Grimm wins with the higher grade."
"Understood," Charlemagne said with a slight bow.
"Okay!" Ruby said before she whistled, causing Lobo to appear to her right, "Now Lobo, we are going to be fight Beowolves. Are you okay with that?" She said with the Wolf of Revenge glancing over to the caged creatures. While he recalled his time in a similar situation, the beasts before him only snared and howled in bloodlust towards the red hooded girl. Lobo looked back to Ruby, bowing his head with a single nod, "Alright, then I want you to practice with this." Ruby said before spawning her Crescent Rose, "I didn't let you use it after the first day we met, but you were pretty good with it." She said before handing it off to her mount, "It is as much a part of you as you are a part of me." She said with a smile a head tilt, "Just, please don't get too much drool on it."
Lobo looked at the weapon in its scythe form, giving his master a chance to reconsider. However, Ruby remained determined in her choice. The Wolf of Revenge then gently look the weapon in his mouth, gripping it near the trigger.
"And don't worry," Ruby said before spawning Harpe in her left hand, "I have a new weapon to practice as well." She then looked over to see Charlemagne draw his longsword in his right hand, which appeared to have dual-sided serrated edges on the blade.
"I assume kills with your mount count towards your score?" The Benevolent King asked, "If that's the case, I don't have to hold back in our little game."
"Well, I'm not going to hold back either." Ruby responded, "I'm good at fighting Grimm, and your about to see when I-"
"Begin!" Archer declared before jumping out of the arena.
"Huh!?" Ruby responded, "B-but I didn't attach the chain thingy yet!" She said before the changes opened, the Beowolves unleashed onto the students.
She then looked over to see Charlemagne repose with his sword, "Ready Joyeuse," He whispered to himself before rushing forward. Approaching him were six members of the horde, the leader of the pack lunging ahead. In a flurry of swings, the Benevolent King dissected the Grimm into chunks of deteriorating flesh. However, his momentum did not stop as he dashed through the body parts. Charlemagne ran his sword into another Beowolf's heart, causing the blade to glow in blue light. A beam of light then erupted out of the same Beowolf's back, impaling into another Grimm. The Benevolent King then jumped his sword, cutting both Grimm down the middle. As the creatures turned to a black mist, the light of the sword changed to a reddish color. The light began to bend into the shape of a massive hammer. Charlemagne swung his weapon into the ground, an eruption of energy obliterating the three other Beowolves. As he landed, the light faded back to the sword.
Charlemagne then assumed a relaxed stance before noticing Ruby's gawking at him, "Did you assumed it was just a sword?" He said with a smile, "But I assure you, Joyeuse is much more." he said as two more Beowolves appeared. Joyeuse then glowed with a red light, the blade radiated flames as it elongated. In an upwards diagonal swing, the two Beowolves were incinerated by the blaze, "It is a multipurpose weapon of a dozen forms."
"You mean it's-" Ruby said in joy.
"It's also eleven other weapons as well." Charlemagne said as four other Grimm were approaching. Joyeuse then glowed in white light before the Benevolent King slightly jumped, stabbing the ground. Suddenly, six red and six blue elaborated swords emerged from the floor, skewering the creatures to halt their movements. Ruby's eyes lit up in wonder as she saw Charlemagne pull out the sword, "Now, are you going to practice with your new weapon?"
"Oh, right!" Ruby said before noticing three more Beowolves running towards her and Lobo. The Wolf of Revenge rushed forwards with a backward shot of Crescent Rose. He then rotated his body, lining up a vertical swing. The tip of the scythe piercing dead center into the skull of the middle Beowolf. As the one fell, the other two continued towards Ruby. The red hooded girl then smirked as she twirled Harpe by the chain, then launched it to the Grimm to her right. The smaller scythe hooked into the Beowolf's left shoulder, but the other creature was within range of its target.
Ruby then aimed her right hand, revealing a type of silver gauntlet. Suddenly, a metal weight attached to a chain shot out. It crashed into one of the creature's mouth, causing the Beowolf to stager. Ruby rushed forward to dodge the lunge, now standing between to the two creatures. The chains began to recoil back to the red hooded girl, launching both Grimm back towards her. At the last second, Ruby jumped, causing the two Grimm to crash into each other at high speed.
The Beowolves faded to smoke as Ruby landed back on the ground, catching the scythe of Harpe as the chain returned to her right arm. She let out a sigh of relief before looking over to Charlemagne, who smiled as he clapped. Ruby's eyes filled with joy as she blushed. However, she then noticed a Beowolf had flanked the Benevolent King, its fangs ready with a sneak attack, "Look-" Ruby tried to warn, but Charlemagne was already moving. He aimed his Joyeuse downward, causing blue light to engulf the area behind him. Suddenly, a pillar of ice-encased the sneaking Grimm. Charlemagne then took the counterweight of his sword and bashed it against the ice, causing the encasement to shatter with the Grimm falling to pieces.
"What were you about to say?" Charlemagne asked as he turned back to Ruby.
"Uh, n-nothing…" Ruby responded, giving a hasty thumbs-up, "Good job."
Charlemagne responded with a thumbs-up as well before focusing on more Grimm approaching. As he locked eyes with five more Beowolves, a smirk formed on his face. Suddenly, three of the blue and three of the red elaborate swords appeared at his sides. As the Benevolent King slashed one Beowolf with Joyeuse, another creature pounce towards him. However, as if acting on its own, one of the red elaborate swords impaled the Grimm in the chest, pinning it to the back wall. Charlemagne downed another Grimm in a single strike, with another one falling prey to one of the blue swords. The remaining Grimm tried to back up, but Charlemagne unleashed the remaining four swords into the creature's arms and legs. As its body was pinned to the ground, the Benevolent King stabbed it in the throat.
"Wow." Ruby watched in awe, "It's like he's invincible. The Grimm can't lay a finger on him." Ruby said before blushing. Suddenly, she realized her situation and shook her head, "I need to focus!" She said before examining the arena, "Okay, I've taken out two, Lobo got one." She said before spotting her mount herding three more Beowolves, "If we finish off those three, it brings out total to six." She said before seeing Charlemagne walk towards a horde of nine more Grimm, "He already has eighteen." Ruby then looked ahead to see six more Grimm approaching her, "Okay, I can still catch up if I…" Ruby said as she noticed something off, "Wait, one's miss-"
Suddenly, Ruby felt the breath of the Grimm on the back of her neck. She turned around just as the creature's fangs lunged down at her. Without time to dodge, all she could do was shift her body out of the way of a vital chomp. Instead, the Grimm down on her right shoulder, "AAAAAA!" Ruby screamed in pain as the Beowolf pushed her to the ground. Lobo heard her master's cries, causing him to fall back towards her. However, the three Beowolves cut off his path. As Ruby struggled on the ground, The Grimm started to thrash. However, Ruby slashed its mouth with Harpe, causing its jaw to loosen. The red hooded girl sped out from the creature's grasp, standing a few feet away. However, while the Grimm snarled with its right eye gouged out, Ruby held her right arm as she fell to one knee.
She tried to repose her weapon as the Beowolf lunged. However, a weapon impaled the monster in the chest. Ruby's eyes widened as she recognized the weapon, a large white lance with gold adornment, "The Trap of Argalia!?" Ruby said as the body of the Grimm faded away faster than usual, "But that's-"
"Astolfo's spear." Ruby turned to see Charlemagne walking over to the weapon, his voice more serious than before, "I inherited it after he died." As he picked up the Trap of Argalia, causing it to become shrouded in blue light, transforming back into Joyeuse, "Though, I would rather have my friend back than this painful memory." He said before turning to Ruby, "Wouldn't you agree?"
"…Yeah, me too." Ruby said before looking down, "Charlemagne-"
"One second," Charlemagne responded, "We appear to be surrounded."
"Huh?" Ruby said before noticing fifteen Beowolves that surrounded them in a circle, "The two groups that went after us combined. When did they-"
"It looks like our competition is over," Charlemagne said as he raised his right hand.
"Wait, are you giving up?" Ruby asked, "But, why would you-"
"Pseudo Knight, Circle!" Charlemagne spoke before a red or blue elaborate sword appeared a few feet over each of the Grimms heads. With the lowering of Joyeuse, so too did all the other swords. The unaware Grimm all had their heads smashed before they could realize they were already dead, "…I'm sorry, what were you saying?" The Benevolent King asked as he turned back to Ruby.
"…N-nothing…" Ruby said before haring another slash. She looked over to see Lobo walking away from the three disintegrating bodies of Beowolves, "Well, that makes it six to thirty-four." Ruby said with a sigh before looking back to Charlemagne, "Looks like you whooped us." She said before looking down, her face slightly red, "And ah…thanks for saving me."
Charlemagne sheathed his sword as he smiles, "It's what any hero would do," He said before walking away, "and it's what Astolfo would have done." He said with Ruby looking back at him, noticing a bit of sorrow both their eyes.
"Ruby!" the red hooded girl looked over to see Anastasia and the rest of the team running over in a panic, "Are you okay?" The Grand Duchess asked.
"Yeah, this is fine." Ruby responded, remembering an event from Grand Order last year, "Trust me, I have had far worse bites taken out of me."
"Still, we heard you scream." Medusa responded in sorrow, "Maybe Harpe isn't that good after-"
"No, I really like it!" Ruby responded, "If I was using Crescent Rose, it would have been too big for me to move after I was pinned." She said with a smile, "Your weapon is what helped me save myself." She said with Medusa starting to smile.
Archer then walked over, "Regardless, you should be more careful. I'll call Irisviel to help expedite your healing." He said as he spoke to Ruby, "You are better off testing a new weapon against dummies first, then moving onto Grimm."
"Yeah, I know." Ruby groaned, "And I had such a long streak without having a Grimm touch me in battle." She said under her breath as Atalanta patted her on the back, while Archer sighed.
Returning to his team, Charlemagne sat down next to Bradamante, who smirked at her leader, "You really embarrassed her." She said before crossing her arms, "But, you could have let the Grimm have a few more seconds before saving that wimp."
"That's very negative." Charlemagne responded, "If you keep having thoughts like those, it will just attract more Grimm to you." He said with the peeved paladin scoffing with a pout. The Benevolent King then had a soft smile before looking back down towards Ruby, "Besides, if she saw the situation as too desperate. That girl could have activated her Reality Marble." Charlemagne thought before the smile faded, "And I never want to step foot in that place."
Ruby was laughing with her friends. However, everyone turned to the sound of a loud crash, "Huh?" The red hooded girl asked, "What was that?"
A few minutes earlier.
Penny.
In Team MGNP's room, the four gathered as Neo pulled out a massive crate from under her bed. In opening it, the group found a large assortment of items, "Wow, you have a lot of junk." Mordred commented with Neo pouting, "Don't worry, I'm sure we can find you something to replace your scroll." She said with Neo about to open her mouth, but the Knight of Rebellion cut her off, "You don't have to force yourself to talk if you don't want to. Fran was on my team back in Chaldea, I know how it is." She said with Neo closing her mouth, a smile forming on her face.
"How did you lose your scroll?" Gray asked the pintsized girl, who responded with half-open eyes, "Oh…I have an idea." The grey hooded girl said before reaching into her pocket, "Why don't you take my scroll for a while?" she said but Neo declined.
"Then, you wouldn't have a scroll when we need to get in contact." Mordred commented as she sifted through the pile, "Neo just needs something to help her communicate with us better." She said before having an idea, "Ah how about this!" Mordred said as she pulled out a blank white sign on a stick.
The Knight of Rebellion paced it to Neo, who smirked as she used her semblance to add a message to the board. To which, Penny read aloud, "This works," the Atlas Android said, "but I can't exactly fit this in my pocket." She said with Neo handing the sigh back to a disgruntled Mordred, "Indeed, some scroll-sized would be perfect." Penny said before noticing something in the crate. After reaching in, she pulled out a scroll communication device.
"Oh, you didn't tell us you had a spare?" Mordred said to Neo, who had a look of confusion. "Why aren't you using that one?" However, the two then looked to Penny, who was transfixed on the scroll, "Penny, you okay?"
"…Neo," Penny said before turning her head to the mute girl, her android eyes somewhat devoid of emotion, "Why do you have BB's scroll?" She said with Neo's eyes turning white, "I knew her design and password." Penny said as she opened the scroll, unlocking it with the correct code, "She was told to never lose it." Penny said before turning to face Neo fully, "She was also my friend, just like you." Penny then took a couple of steps closer to Neo, "Tell me, why do you have her scroll?"
Neo backed up but hit the wall of her room. She then looked in terror as Penny still walked forward. Suddenly, Mordred and Gray stood between the two, "Hey, what's going on?" The Knight of Rebellion said to Penny, "You're starting to scare her."
"Penny, who's BB?" Gray asked with Penny stopping.
"She was like me, another Atlas Android." Penny responded, then looking down at the scroll, "I'm sure she had a photo of herself-" Penny was saying until she saw the last item on the scroll's history.
"...Is it on?" the girl in the video said as Penny watched the video in complete confusion, "Maybe I need to press the button again." The girl in the video said as her arms went out of frame.
"Huh?" Penny responded before noticing the text messages next to the video, "Yes, that's Sakura…. She is dead." The Atlas Android then looked up to Neo, "Did you send this to BB?" She said with the mute girl hyperventilating, "Neo…" Penny said as her expression changed to what her teammates had never seen before, anger, "Did you kill BB?"
Neo shivered as she looked at the Atlas Android. She wanted to lie, every part of her though that was the only way to save her from this situation. However, the mute girl knew that she could not lie to her team, all three members looking at her. Without saying a word, she shut her eyes and nodded her head. Mordred and Gray gasped at the response, while Penny remained frozen.
However, as the Knight of Rebellion turned to Penny. The Atlas Android was changing a laser from her suddenly summon sword, the end aimed right at Neo's head. "PENNY!" Mordred shouted as she spawned Clarent, hitting the sword to knock off its aim.
The green beam fired, Neo opened her eyes in fear, only to discover a hole in the roof of the room. Her breathing became heavy as Penny turned to Mordred, "Why are you defending her!" the Atlas Android responded.
"Look, Penny, I understand you're angry." Mordred responded, "But you can't kill Neo!"
"Why not!? She killed BB!? She was my friend!" Penny shouted back before realizing something, "Is it because she was just an Android? Is it because she wasn't real!?"
"We didn't say that!" Gray responded, "All we're saying is you have to calm down. There's more to this situation, I'm sure of it!" she spoke with remorse in her eyes, "Penny, please-"
"You aren't my friends, you never were." Penny responded, pocketing the scroll, then focusing on Neo, "Especially you!" Penny said before taking the sword in her left head, plunging it towards the mute girl.
In defense, Mordred parried the blade. However, The Knight of Rebellion now saw that she made her stance wide open. With her left hand, the Atlas Android punched Mordred on the right side of her ribs. Mordred was flung into the wall, partly crashing through to the other room. As Gray was about to call Add, Penny unleashed a right-side kick into the grey-hooded girl's ribs. She fell back in pain as she slammed into one of the beds.
With no one standing between them, Penny's eyes gleamed with revenge. Neo's opened her mouth, "P-Pen-" Neo tried to speak, but Penny then locked her left hand around the mute girl's neck. She lifted the mute girl off the ground, who gasped for air as she tried to hold back the Atlas Android. Gray and Mordred recovered to look at the sight, their eyes widening as they head a loud crack.
However, the cracking was not that of bones, but glass. Neo's body broke apart into shards as Penny gritted her teeth. She then noticed the slightly open door to their room. In kicking the door off its hinges, Penny scanned the area. She then looked down the hall to see Neo running away as fast as she could, "Get back here!" Penny declared before blasting off down the hall at her target.
AN: There you go, Penny is pissed. She finally learns the truth that Neo killed BB. Before all of this, Ruby has a little game with Charlemagne. (Now she knows to not challenge a man who debuted in a warriors-style game to a kill-count contest). We got a little more context to how Charlemagne feels about Ruby. The next chapter will focus on Penny going kill-mode on her teammate. But, how can all of this be resolved? And if it can't, who is the next one to meet with a terrible fate. That is all for now, thanks for reading, and hope to see you in the next chapter.