A/N: Hey all. I took a while between the last chapter and this one, so as of writing this, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a day out from releasing, just to date when this chapter was put out.
That aside I'm back, and I've been thinking about Jojo's Bizarre Adventure again. I'm probably gonna try my hand at it again, probably doing it a little better because I'm not friggin' 14 anymore, and my writing isn't dictated by "oh shit that was cool I wanna do that" (proceeds to write shittily because he is blinded by the cool shit). You need that big brain to write Jojo, which I may or may not have developed over the years.
For those of you worried that I am a liar, and that I won't go forward with my promise to do a RWBY/MHA story, don't worry, I don't think I'm a liar. I might actually try and write chapters in turns (as in, one story is released in rotation with another, which might actually help me focus on what the hell goes on in each story separately).
Ruby could have said she had absolute confidence in the plan that morning.
She could have.
What Ruby did say was much different.
"Okay, everyone. I know I'm going to sound like a raving lunatic, but here goes. So, I met this guy who apparently jumps timelines, and accidentally jumped into ours, and we got to talking. I had some minor worries about the plan to kill Salem, so I called him up the only way I know how: I don't know how. We discussed the plan, and this is the way things are gonna pan out. Team JNPR and the rest of Team RWBY, as well as pretty much everyone else, including my mother, say hi, Mom-"
"Hello-"
"So everybody's gonna be outside fighting off a horde of Grimm, whatever Salem throws at you, and I'll be inside dealing with Salem. To be completely honest, I have next to no confidence in this plan whatsoever, and we're probably all going to die. Any questions?"
Almost all of the group raised their hands. Except Nora. Of course. Nora looked as though she was being given the keys to all four kingdoms at once with the expression she was wearing.
"Good. Plan starts now."
"WHAT?"
Ruby had thought she was missing something as she ran through the halls of the hidden castle Summer had shown her. It turned out, she was lacking experience in motivational speaking. That was probably for the best, she thought, They wouldn't want me to sugarcoat a turd if all it's gonna do is blow up in their faces.
This was not a good last thought for her at that moment, as her confused running through the labyrinthine layout of the stronghold had her run straight into a brick wall. Who the hell puts a brick wall in the middle of a ha-
"Oh…" Ruby said simply, looking up from her position, butt firmly planted on the ground.
"Get up," commanded the brick wall in a deep voice that sounded like someone gargling on geodes.
As it turned out, the brick wall was not a brick wall, and was in fact, a rather burly man of far above average height, with a physique that would make most bodybuilders weep. That man, Ruby had ventured a guess, was Hazel, one of Salem's henchmen she had only heard of by name.
"Why aren't you attacking me yet?" Ruby asked, still very not 'up,' and defiantly sat exactly as she was when she had bashed into the man.
"Because you aren't ready. Contrary to most of Salem's lackey's, I have a sense of honor and self-respect. I won't take an opening just because I have it. I don't have a reason to even engage in a fight with you. Here," Hazel said, extending a hand to Ruby.
Not thinking for a second, Ruby grabbed his hand. She somehow felt that he had no ill meaning in helping her onto her feet. For some reason, she felt strangely at ease.
"It's nice not to have to fight for your life on second one of meeting someone," she remarked as she was pulled up.
"It's nice when two people can have a fair fight with rules. It's not every day you get that. Nowadays, every fight's a fight to the death. That gets kind of played out after a while," Hazel responded wearily.
Strangely enough, Ruby felt that she could empathize with him. Every fight she'd had since Beacon fell was a matter of life and death. It got very stressful. Maybe it was like that for him too?
"I can see in your eyes that you want a breather from it all too. Whaddya say we set a time? You and me, hand-to-hand, no semblances or eye tricks for ten minutes. Just a good, old-fashioned fight," Hazel offered.
Ruby considered his proposition. On one hand, he had been nothing but a gentleman. On the other hand, he may also have been buying time for Salem to pull together a plan to stop them.
Hmmm. A nice, fair fight, or a mad dash for the finish line with a man-and-a-half built like a freight train chasing me? Jack, I think I'd like Door Number One, please.
Ruby managed to talk them into this mess.
Jaune had no idea how she did it. It was like she had a natural talent for it! Damn, she was good. He'd need to compare notes with her if they all survived, he decided.
Currently, Jaune had much more important matters to attend to. At that time, he was worried that the Nuckelavee he was sharing a ride into battle with wasn't going to turn around and schwomp his damn head off. Roman was off his rocker for sure, but could he really blame the guy? If Ruby was good, Roman had surely wrote the book. He gave a speech to the Grimm, a single speech in human language, and they almost immediately fell in line, no questions asked.
"I don't understand how we keep getting called in at just the right time for all the shit that's been building up to hit the fan all at once. Sure, this is what we get, being huntsmen, but still, you'd think we'd at least get some kind of reason for it. Nope, just ramblings about time travel and a group of alternate-universe Rubies being able to kill Salem. Sometimes I wonder if there are gods up there laughing at us, because they surely must think this is funny somehow," Jaune mumbled to himself, the only thing in earshot being his stretchy-armed companion.
"Well, everybody," Jaune shouted to the rest of the group he had been unceremoniously appointed to lead, "I'm starting to see what Ruby was telling us! We have a horde on our 12! Hunters! Let's go to work!"
*Ten minutes remaining.
Ruby and Hazel had just started the timed match. Since it was to be a fair fight, each fighter had a read of the other's aura, though Ruby didn't need it much, what with her new sense of sight. They had picked right then and there to be their arena. A wall on either side of them, with nothing to use to their advantage. What the match came down to was pure skill, and what Hazel had over Ruby in experience, she made up for in sheer will.
At that point, they had been standing there, waiting for each other to make the first move.
Tensions were high.
The stakes were higher.
Then…
It started.
They both ran at each other, but while Hazel was expecting to meet in the middle and lock in a grapple, Ruby had given him the runaround. She had taken to dodging his attacks, since she clearly couldn't take them.
It was then clear he would have to catch her. He gave chase, swinging hard as he went, while Ruby nimbly dodged over, under, and around his wild punches, delivering swift but small precise strikes.
Ruby was sure she was wearing his aura down, so it was odd that he continued his unbridled assault. Ruby took steps back to get a read on the situation as she continued to outmaneuver his berserk style.
His aura is falling. So why is he still attacking? He should be going on the defensive and changing his tactic… unless… he doesn't know that his aura is dropping? How would he not know, though?
At this, Hazel began to allow a small smirk onto his expression.
*Nine minutes remaining.
"You're wondering why my tactics aren't changing," he said plainly.
"Huh?"
"I said, you're confused about why I'm continuing to attack. That's why you stopped attacking, right?"
The two of them dropped their guards for a moment and talked sparsely.
"Well, yeah. Normally you'd-"
"Switch to the defensive and wait for your turn to gain the advantage again."
"Right," Ruby confirmed, "so am I crazy, or are you just doing that to throw me off?"
"No, I'm not. Sadly, my semblance isn't one I can turn off. It doesn't allow me to feel pain, so I can keep attacking without concern for my well-being."
"But your semblance doesn't make you invincible, it just makes you unaware of the danger you're in!"
"I suppose that's one way to look at it. You catch on pretty quick. Most people would only figure that out halfway through, when I've already worn them down enough to beat them easily. I'm looking forward to this…" Hazel said with an excited grin on his face.
"Funny… I think I am too," Ruby said, smiling.
Glad I got to know that not all of Salem's henchmen were bad people.
*Eight minutes remaining.
All things considered, the battle outside the hideout had been going fairly well up to a point.
Team JNPR had been dealing with the attacking Grimm forces fairly handily. Jaune had really come into his own as a strategist, Nora was, well, Nora, Pyrrha had trained her powers as the fall maiden for her remaining years as a student in Haven, and Ren had developed special techniques for taking down entire herds of Grimm at a time.
The rest of Team RWBY, Sans, Chara, Asriel, Frisk, and Summer had all simply dealt with their problems as they had been. Taking it as it came at them, which had gotten them as far as they were.
The Grimm they were fighting off, however, seemed to be fighting in teams as well. The Beowulves were in packs like normal, but more solitary Grimm like Ursai and Deathstalkers were fighting together, when normally they would be hotly contesting their prey.
Regrouping, Team JNPR talked strategy with the other group.
"They're co-operating. This is uncharted territory for us," Jaune reported to the rest of the group, "It must be because of Salem. She could be controlling them! We have to think like the enemy is on our level or even higher in terms of intelligence and strategy. Think of ways to throw them off, or if that fails, something crazy or over-the-top to confuse them. Something that, normally, would never work."
Regrettably, this new turn for the Grimm had started to push them back. The team had begun to tire, and they started getting desperate. Each Grimm killed only led to more Grimm taking their place.
That is, until the cavalry arrived.
"Did someone say 'something that would never work?' Because, ladies and gentlemooks, something that would never work is my specialty!" a boisterous voice shouted from on high.
The tired and beat-up huntsmen and huntresses looked up, and saw a terrifying dragon, and an unexpectedly friendly pair standing atop it.
"ROMAN!" they cheered.
*Seven minutes remaining.
*You can feel his aura dwindling, a sign you're winning, but not by enough to make it a blowout. He's got some good hits in.
*He says he could do this all day, knowing very well that he couldn't. In a simple war of attrition, you'd beat him out eventually. It's still a hard-fought fight either way.
*You continue fighting for some time. It feels like ages. In reality, though...
*Six minutes remaining.
"You… giving up yet?" Hazel asked, struggling to keep himself up as he panted out those words.
"I don't know about you, but I've still got a full tank, and more than half the battle left. Unless you're asking because you're thinking about giving up," Ruby taunted.
Hazel smiled, his competitive spirit flaring up as he said, "You'd have better odds of getting struck by lightning than holding out hope that I'd let you off easily. Let's keep going."
Ruby mumbled to herself, "Well, it's your loss…"
*Five minutes remaining.
"I think it's about time we ended this," Hazel said, his voice somehow deepening.
"I couldn't agree more," Ruby said, anticipation building.
Just then, a spike of glowing hot glass sped through the air and lanced straight through Hazel. He hit the ground fast and hard. He was dead.
"I have to say, I was also partial to ending that farce soon. I didn't think you of all people would agree with me on that."
A woman with black hair and a red dress walked out from the shadows behind Hazel, a bow made of glass in one hand, and a drooping sleeve around her other arm. She looked to be a shadow of her former self, half of a stolen fall maiden's power barely fizzling in her eye. She knew as well as anyone else that she was worthless to Salem as she was, and it was plain to see in her appearance.
"Cinder."
...
"Ruby."
...
"I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you, and it will be slow and painful."
...
"You took the words right out of my mouth."
The two of them readied their weapons.
*Cinder approaches! Doomed to death of KARMA!
