Author's note: This serves as the finale for the Season 1 section of this fic. Hopefully, it will give a taste of the things to come. As you'll realize while reading this, a lot of things are going to diverge from RWBY canon in this story. I know that some of you are probably wondering when the "big bads" are going to show up. While I won't spoil anything, I will mention this: a lot of the main challenges Dante is facing and will face in Season 2 have already been revealed. Chapter 8: Rumours of Evil Three Months Ago:
The spherical metal object remained lifeless. The core had not succeeded. Turning, he looked at the body that was to have housed it. It was an artificial creation combining plastic, metal and organic tissue. And it looked as close to an actual human girl as anything without a molecule of human DNA in it could. Yet, it didn't matter how good the cyber body was. Not when the core itself had failed.
Artificially Generated Aura.That was what he had researched. And it was what Atlas had brought him on board to work on. Millions upon millions of lien of funding, was all so that he could make this one creation work. The core was a metallic structure with a synthetic Conductor Dust crystal inside. A material that he had created himself by modifying naturally existing varieties. The resulting substance was something incredibly adaptive, and could generate almost any kind of energy, provided he could input the right frequency.
And that was where he had failed.
In principle, Aura was no different from any other kind of energy. Electricity, or heat, or even kinetic energy. In other words, one should be able to replicate it if one understood it.
But that had not been the case. Thousands upon thousands of samples collected and observed, and all the combinations tried. But the result had simply been electricity.
He'd been able to generate energy. The core was an outstanding success if it was meant to be used as a revolutionary power source that cut costs by many times.
But it was lifeless.
Here, at the edge of human understanding, he had failed.
He was starting to think that this was the barrier humans were not meant to cross.
The creation of life, of Aura, of a soul, it was the domain of gods.
He'd been arrogant to think he could step into that realm.
He sighed.
When he told Ironwood he had failed, what followed would not be pleasant. Perhaps offing himself would be a better idea. It might be gentler than what Atlas might do with someone who had taken their money and had nothing to show for it.
Walking over to the balcony, he stepped past the threshold of the sliding automatic door, and stood outside, taking a moment to admire the bright blue morning sky. It was almost a perfect contrast to his state of mind at the moment. He breathed deeply, then exhaled. This was pointless. If it must end one way or another, then worrying about it would do no good. Feeling a sense of peace and calmness, he prepared to go inside and end it all, when he saw something.
The very sky itself seem to split open, the entirety of it lighting up, as though by the single largest lightning bolt he had ever seen.
And in that brief moment of illumination, he saw a gigantic silhouette that dwarfed Atlas' tallest towers and Remnant's highest peaks.
A massive tree, bigger than he could have imagined possible.
What in hell's name is that?He felt awed, and more than a little afraid.
As a scientist, he did not pay heed to ideas of the supernatural. In science was power. In the ways of understanding, and thinking rationally. Mysticism and superstition were the enemy. Even things like Aura and the Grimm had a basis, rules according to which they functioned. Such had been his firm belief.
Yet now, seeing the tree, just for a moment, that belief was shaken.
I'm seeing things.
Trying to chalk it up to a stress-induced hallucination, he walked back into his lab.
No sooner had he done so than he heard a voice.
You aren't imagining things.His eyes widened and he looked around wildly.
"Who's there? This is a restricted area. Come out immediately or I'll call the guards!"
You won't. You're terrified of them reporting your failure.
"How do you know that? Who are you? Show yourself!"
The panic he was feeling crept into his voice though he tried to sound strong.
I know many things. As for who I am, perhaps I am one who can help.
It was at this moment, that Doctor Agnus, who had been casting his eyes everywhere, trying to find out where the threatening speaker was hiding, realized something.
The voice wasn't coming from anywhere in the lab.
It was inside his head.
I've finally gone insane, haven't I?No, not yet. Though you are on the brink. You are on the verge of ending your life. If you will die anyway, why not hear me out? What have you got to lose?
The unique clarity that only comes from being at the edge of death had seized hold of the doctor, who suddenly felt calm.
"Fine. Show yourself, and I will hear you out."
In response, the air in front of him glowed, and a figure materialized, seemingly out of nowhere.
The doctor's breath caught in his throat for a moment.
The being that had appeared could not be human or Faunus. But she was not Grimm either.
Her figure and face were that of a woman, but her skin was night black. Her toes remained in the air, as she floated a few inches off the ground. A pair of deer-like antlers grew from her head, and her gold eyes glowed slightly.
"Who… what are you?" asked Agnus.
The woman spoke in his mind again.
My name is Iris. I am what your kind would call a demon.
"A demon…"
Incredibly. The doctor stared, barely believing what he was seeing. In the final moments of his life, the world was choosing to reveal to him just how little he knew, just how much more was out there.
I am aware of the difficulty you are facing. I should tell you: the task you are attempting is one many humans have failed at in many worlds. It is one that lies beyond the power of your alchemy. Should you have succeeded, the being you would have brought forth would have been an abomination. Understand this: you were destined to fail. Life cannot be created without life.
The doctor sunk to his knees.
So he had never had a chance at all.
"Are you here to kill me then?" he asked aloud.
It was fitting. Perhaps this demon would do what angels should, and offer him a merciful death.
Quite the opposite. I can ensure that you will live, and avoid the fate your man of tin would put you through.
Man of tin? So she knew about Ironwood.
"How?" he asked aloud.
It is impossible to create life without life. But it is very much possible to place a living soul inside a vessel. And the body you have created would be more than capable of housing one.
The doctor's eyes widened.
"A soul… Are you telling me…"
There is indeed a soul that could take its place within that empty vessel.Agnus knew that what they were talking about went beyond his understanding. Science might one day explain how it worked, but right now, it was a mystery.
And yet, this demon wasn't lying. He could see that much in her eyes.
It terrified him to know that she could simply transpose a soul into a machine as easily as he might install an operating system on a computer.
"Who.. who is this soul?" he asked.
My daughter. The truth is, I am dying. As things stand right now, I cannot give birth to her as I would have liked to. But… I want her to live.
And so it was, that a demon offered a deal to a man who had all but destroyed his own humanity.
Agnus hesitated. Even after how far he had gone, the idea of condemning a living soul to exist in a cyber body just to save his own life… it wasn't something he could go forward with.
Just as he was about to refuse, the demon spoke again.
Please. If not for yourself or me, do it for my daughter. You would be giving her a chance to live. "Couldn't you simply take the cyber body by force, even if I refused?"
Iris shook her head.
I know I am but a visitor here. This is not my world, and I won't be alive to raise her. If I must leave my daughter behind, I would ensure she is welcome here. That this be a home, in case she cannot return where she belongs.Agnus' mind was already made up.
"Ironwood will want to know how I did it. And I won't be able to answer."
Tell him it was a one in a million chance. That the process is not reliable. That his money would be wasted on trying to build more homunculi. He will not execute you, since you would have upheld your end of the bargain, and given him at least one that he believes is functional.
Agnus shook his head.
"You think this is going to be a good life? Being a weapon for that madman?"
She will be strong. I must believe that she will be able to win freedom for herself. Until she is old enough to do that, you must protect her. Do not worry, she will mature far quicker than any human, thanks to the machine brain your alchemy created.
Agnus' eyes flicked over to the Learning Processor he had built. Iris knew what it was? Incredible. Was she reading and interpreting his memories, or simply able to understand the nature of the device directly with her powers?
With no arguments left to make, the doctor simply nodded.
Iris raised both hands, as though to cradle an invisible child, and a circle of runes appeared in front of her abdomen. A matching circle appeared over the artificial core.
Agnus watched in absolute shock as it started to glow.
It was alive.
No, she was alive.
The soul had been transposed into the core.
As he looked on, the core floated over to the cyber body, along with the Learning Processor, and both were assimilated into the compartments built for them, though Agnus hadn't given any commands from his console.
Im-impossible!Her eyes opened.
Agnus almost fell to the ground. Shaking, he took a step forward.
"Incredible…" was all he said. "What is her name?"
In time, she will find her true name within herself. Until then, as she will grow up in your world, you must give her one.
"Then… I'll name her Penny, like I had planned."
Iris nodded.
It is a good name, an honest one.As Agnus looked on, the demon began to fade from view. He had a feeling he was witnessing the last moments of her life.
Before I go, you must know.
Child of this world, abandoned by the Twins who Failed. There is one other, who has arrived. When the time comes, trust in the Shadow. When all hope seems lost, he will protect you all. The one who has inherited the mantle.
"Who?"
The Legendary Dark Knight.
Present Day, Beacon:
Dante felt a vibration in his pocket and fished out his Scroll. The other one, which Beacon didn't know about. Picking up the call, he brought the device to his ear.
"... Yeah."
"Redgrave."
It was Torchwick's voice on the other end. Dante sighed. He didn't particularly dislike the man, which made it annoying that conversations like this had to happen with him.
"What do you want?" he asked, putting on the voice and mannerisms of the Vergil-esque character he played when with the group.
"You make any headway on that mission of yours?"
"I'm working on it," replied Dante.
"Yeah? Well, you better hurry up. Cinder's been getting on my ass about it.""The wench can go die for I care," said Dante, consulting (what he imagined was) his brother's lexicon for the word choices.
"If only things were that convenient," grumbled Torchwick. "Look, can you just speed this up somehow? Earning her trust will be good for you too. You'll be making some real money then.""As I said, I'm working on it."
"She's just one measly student, Redgrave. You're not telling me you couldn't off her with both eyes closed.""The problem isn't her. She is surrounded by the forces of Beacon. Well, be that as it may, I will find a way."
With that said, Dante disconnected the call.
This is turning out to be a bigger headache than I thought.
It had been around two months since he'd gotten the "job" from Cinder Fall. To be honest, it was almost a miracle that the woman was still waiting for him to complete it. Still, he'd wanted to stretch it out as long as he could while he figured out a way to make this work. Obviously, it was out of the question to actually hurt someone. Yet, he also needed to earn the woman's trust in order to know what was really happening on Remnant. If Torchwick's words were anything to go by, then Cinder was finally running out of patience. And if that was the case, he needed a solution.
He opened his Scroll.
Apparently, there was an operation at the docks this evening.
He needed that solution quick.
Meanwhile, Downtown Vale:"So… this is reconnaissance?" said Yang.
"No, we're simply going to greet the new arrivals from the other Kingdoms, and welcome them to Vale", said Weiss, refusing to meet her teammates' eyes.
"Umm… weren't you talking about observing their strengths and weaknesses earlier?" pointed out Ruby.
Weiss pretended like she hadn't heard that.
The rest of the team looked at each other, and shook their heads. For now, they'd go along with this "scheme". Hopefully, they could stop Weiss from making them look too bad.
It was as they were walking down the street that they saw a young man running towards them. Slightly tan, with a lean physique that was on display thanks to his open jacket, he ran straight through them, the girls moving aside to avoid a collision. They did notice something though. He had a blonde tail. The boy was a Faunus.
Right as he was disappearing around the corner, Vale security officers came running, obviously chasing him.
"Stop! Stop, damn it!"
RWBY let them pass, Weiss shaking her head in disapproval as they did so.
"Typical. It's exactly what you might expect."
"What's that supposed to mean?" said Blake, with unexpected sharpness.
Weiss blinked.
"Well, he's clearly a criminal," the heiress replied.
"You don't know that."
"It's right there for all to see. He was running out of the docks, wasn't he? Probably a stowaway on one of the ships here. Maybe one of those illegal White Fang infiltrating Vale. Honestly, there kind should all be locked awa-"
"Their kind? What exactly do you mean by that? Are you talking about the same people the Schnees have been exploiting for centuries?"
"Hey, that's not- that was a long time ago. We follow Atlas' legal guidelines now. It's the White Fang who've been attacking and killing our workers, seizing transports."
"So because of a few extremists, you think they're all the same?"
"The White Fang are criminals. All of them. Why are you so set on defending them anyway?"
"Because I'm one of them!"
The words came from Blake before she could stop them. It took her a moment to realize that in her moment of passion, her ears had twitched.
She registered, as though in slow motion, the looks on the faces of her teammates, as they realized what she really was.
It's over.
There went the trust she had come this far to earn.
Shaking her head, she ran, before any of them could say a word.
"Blake!" shouted Ruby. She tried to reach out and grab her, only for the body she touched to dissipate, revealing itself to be a clone. The real Blake was visible even further down the street, jumping on to a rooftop, before jumping again and disappearing from view.
"We need to find her!" said the young girl, turning to face her teammates.
"Maybe we should call the authorities," suggested Weiss, who still wasn't sure how to react to the revelation of Blake's true identity.
"That's not happening," said Yang. "We'll just have to find her ourselves."
Nodding, Ruby immediately turned and was about to go off in search of the Faunus, when she ran right into what felt like a brick wall on steroids.
"Ouch…" she groaned.
"Are you all right?" asked an unfamiliar voice from above her.
"Yeah, just need the number of that tank that ran me over…"
Looking up, Ruby saw the person she had collided with.
To her surprise, she was a young girl who looked to be around the same size, build and age as herself. She was clad in a white and red dress. Neck length orange hair framed a rather cute face, even as curious red eyes stared at the young huntress.
Something about this girl seemed a little… off. Ruby wasn't quite sure what it was. Still, she seemed harmless enough. Apart from the fact that she wasn't even moved an inch from a full force collision with her when she had her Semblance activated.
"Hey, Ruby, are you okay?"
Yang and Weiss were coming forward, having seen what had just happened.
"Just fine," said the scythe-wielder.
"..."
The mysterious girl she had knocked into said nothing, only watching the new arrivals with mild interest.
"Who's your new friend?" asked Yang.
"Friend?" echoed the girl, as though puzzled by her choice of word.
"Oh!" said Ruby. "This is…"
She stopped as she realized she had no idea who the girl was.
"What's your name again?"
"The one asking should introduce herself first."
Unknown to even herself, this was her instinct at work. For wielders of the supernatural, names had power, and were not to be given lightly.
"Oh. I'm Ruby."
The blonde standing right behind her waved.
"Yang."
The silver-haired one chose a different method of introduction.
"You seem strange."
"Weiss!"
"I am Penny," replied the girl before Ruby could say anything further.
Something about her almost unblinking stare was slightly worrying to the huntress.
But there was no time to stand around and worry about it.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, Penny, but we have to go. We're searching for a friend."
So saying, the trio continued on their way.
As they ran past, the young demon watched them go.
"Friend," she said, trying out the word, examining how it felt.
I like it, she decided.
Though she wasn't sure if it was the right word to describe the three people she had just met.
Perhaps she should follow them, and find out. She should be able to take care of it by curfew.
Her body turned dark, as if becoming a solid shadow, before fading from view entirely.
Elsewhere in town:Blake looked warily at the person in front of her, who nonchalantly ate a banana like he hadn't just escaped from security personnel.
"So… you just going to stare at me, or you gonna speak?"
"Who are you?"
"Finally," said the boy, grinning. "Name's Sun. Sun Wukong. And you are…?"
"Blake."
"Like the poet?"
The cat faunus glared.
The boy who had identified himself as Sun held up his hands in mock surrender.
"All right, all right, I get it. So, is there a reason you're in a sour mood?"
"What are you doing here in Vale? Why were they after you?"
"Me? I'm here from Shade, actually. For the Vytal Festival, y'know."
Blake stared at him in surprise.
"Wait, you're not a stowaway?"
"Eh? What gave you that idea? I just happened to say something one of those guards didn't like."
"Which was…?"
"I told him he looked like dog shit," said Sun with a straight face.
"... I see."
"So. Now that we have that cleared up, you going to finally stop looking at me like I stole your car?"
Blake looked down.
"Sorry. A lot on my mind right now."
"Like hiding who you are from your friends?"
She glared at him again, but ultimately relented. So he'd noticed the "bow". Well, it wasn't strange, given that he was a Faunus too.
"I just wasn't ready for them to know."
"Afraid they'd reject you?"
Her silence was answer enough. They both knew what it was like to live as Faunus outside Menagerie.
"But you know, if they're really your friends, I don't think they'd care. Maybe you should try trusting them."
"And what if they don't accept me?"
"It just means you were never close to begin with. Which means, you wouldn't have any reason to feel bad about it."
"That's… actually true."
Blake had to admit, despite his roguish appearance and demeanour, the boy made sense.
"Maybe," she said. "It's just, so many things here giving us a bad name. You ever hear of the White Fang?"
"Those extremist weirdos? Fuck them," said Sun.
"They weren't always like this," said Blake. "Once upon a time, the White Fang was a peaceful organisation that fought for our rights."
She looked down, briefly allowing herself to remember better days, when she had been able to believe in them.
"How do you know so much about the White Fang?" Sun asked, curiously.
"Well, you could say I was born into it. But, it doesn't matter now. They're planning something, I know it. They've been involved in more Dust robberies than ever before, most of them centred around Vale. It's not random, it can't be."
Sun brought a hand to his chin, thinking.
"Let's see… if I were trying to store a large amount of supplies, I'd use a warehouse. And if I wanted to move it somewhere, it'd be by Bullhead. Meaning, they're most likely at…"
"The docks," finished Blake.
She knew what to do now.
It would be a little risky, but this boy was a Faunus too. At least he wouldn't rat her out to the authorities. Would he turn on her for the White Fang?
She shook her head.
No, that was impossible.
Sun might be roguish, but he didn't seem the least bit malicious, nor the vengeful type. She might be judging him by what she was seeing on the surface, but her instincts told her he wasn't hiding anything, at least not any ulterior motives.
Could she call her team?
No. She wasn't ready for that yet.
She looked at Sun.
"Do you have plans for the evening?"
Vale Docks, later that night:Dante came out of his Devil Trigger, turning back into his human form high up in the sky. As he dropped, he summoned a series of Trickster Circles, stepping casually down till he touched the ground.
Yeah, about that solution.He hadn't been able to find one.
If he approached the girl directly, he might be able to convince her to cooperate. But given what she was like, she'd immediately assault him with a barrage of questions. And he definitely didn't want her getting involved in this.
So, he came up with a different plan.
He looked around at the White Fang members, who had by now gotten used to the grand entrances of Tony Redgrave.
"Hey, you showed up. Nice to see you showing some initiative," called out a voice.
"Torchwick," Dante said, turning to face the criminal.
"Now if only you had gotten rid of that brat too."
"Not easy when she is surrounded by hunters, not to mention a host of security measures."
Torchwick said nothing for a while.
"So, why show up to this little operation? Not that I mind, but this one's already in the bag," he said.
"I had the evening off."
In truth, Dante had planned to stage another performance here, involving his Doppelganger. It wasn't the smoothest plan, but he had to do something to convince them to let him into their inner circle. The Doppelganger could be a legitimate enough threat to their operation that "defeating" him might earn their trust.
Not the smoothest plan, but it would have to do.
Unfortunately, the multiverse had other ideas.
His demonic senses picked up on their presence even before they decided to announce it themselves.
As if in slow motion, he saw Blake Belladonna jump over one of the containers on the wharf, coming down behind Torchwick. She held Gambol Shroud in pistol form, barrel against the criminal's back.
"Call this operation off right now," said the Faunus.
Dante groaned aloud.
Blake's eyes momentarily flicked over to him. From the start, her attention had been on Torchwick, to the point that she hadn't paid any heed to the man in the blue jacket. Now that she finally did, she noticed what she should have earlier.
He had silver hair.
And he smelled familiar.
Also, he was Dante.
Her eyes widened.
As for the devil hunter himself, there was a nanosecond in which he wasn't sure whether to respond to the situation as Tony Redgrave the mercenary, or Dante the Huntsman.
Oh, give me a break, they're both the same thing, aren't they?
"Come on, Blakey. Now of all times?" he said.
The Faunus stared at him in shock.
It was one thing that she already had her suspicions about what he truly was.
But why was he here, of all places?
"P-Professor?"
As for Torchwick, he impatiently tapped his foot.
"Well, Redgrave? Are you planning on helping or not?"
Dante stepped aside, effortlessly avoiding the blow coming at him from behind, while holding out a foot as he did so, causing Sun, who had attempted to blindside him, to trip and almost fall on his face. The youth barely managed to turn the stumble into a front flip, landing on his feet. Turning, he looked at the silver-haired warrior in surprise.
The half-demon sighed.
It was time to improvise.
Shaking his head, he caused his slicked back hair to return to its regular state, bangs covering his forehead.
Taking off his jacket, he flipped it right-side out again, revealing its red colour, before putting it on again.
Finally, he smirked.
"It's showtime."
Blake's expression hardened.
"I knew you couldn't be trusted", she said.
Unfortunately for her, Torchwick picked that exact moment to turn around in one smooth movement, pushing the barrel of her gun to the side so that it was no longer pointed at him. Grabbing one wrist to ensure she couldn't shoot at him, he pulled her closer into an elbow strike to the face, which he followed up with a backfist. He finished off the slick combo by crouching low and hitting her with a full power straight punch to the solar plexus, which caused her Aura to spark and pushed her sliding back on the concrete.
"Blake!" shouted Sun.
"I'm fine! We need to get out of here!"
She had misjudged the situation. Dealing with Torchwick was not a problem. Even with the unexpected fighting skill he had shown, she sensed she could beat him.
But Dante was entirely different matter.
If he was with the White Fang… well, they'd need all the backup they could get. Preferably from every hunter in Beacon.
Before the two Faunuses could escape though, more figures arrived, jumping down from above.
"Had a feeling shit might be going down at the docks. It's what every action movie I've seen has taught me to expect," said Yang.
Dante stared at the new arrivals.
Along with the blonde brawler were also her younger sister, and the Ice Queen.
"Dante?" said Ruby. "What are you doing here?"
"He's obviously here to help us take down the bad guys. Right, teach?" said Yang.
"Yang, be careful!" shouted Blake.
Her warning was barely in time, as Dante leapt into the air.
DMC 3 OST: 7 Hells BattleAs the devil hunter descended, he pulled out King Cerberus in his Fire Staff form.
The pole hit the concrete, embedding itself in it as though it were soft earth. Holding on to it, Dante spun around, kicking Weiss, Ruby and Yang away.
Sorry, kids. Uncle Dante's gotta keep his cover. Think of this as special training.
The three huntresses managed to land on their feet.
"What the hell…"
Dante spun King Cerberus, twirling it with a master's grace before settling into a traditional staff fighting stance.
Boss Battle: The Legendary Devil Hunter, Dante
"He's one of them," said Blake. "He was undercover at Beacon. He was lying to us all along."
He's a demon.
She wanted to say that too, but something warned her not to.
Yang's eyes flashed red.
"... Is that true, teach?"
"So what if it is?" said Dante, smirk still on his face.
"IT REALLY TICKS ME OFF!" exploded Yang, dashing forward with a brutal right cross, firing off her gauntlet's shotgun as she did so.
Unfortunately for her, Dante teleported to avoid it.
Yang blinked.
The devil hunter was no longer in her field of view.
"Tricked ya!"
The blonde's eyes shot upwards, but she couldn't react in time to stop his next move.
Grabbing on to her shoulders, he flipped in mid-air while corkscrewing to add even more momentum.
The resultant throw launched Yang into a tailspin, sending her hurtling through the air too wildly to keep track of direction and correct her orientation.
Dante mentally noted that Yang was still prey to her own temper. As long as that lasted, the brawler would have a hard time against strong opponents.
However, Weiss saved her. Summoning a Glyph, she was able to stop Yang from hitting the ground and suffering a chunk of damage to her Aura.
The devil hunter smiled. Weiss had noticed that Dante had used the same throw he had hit her with during the test on their first class.
The heiress had supported Yang and prevented damage to her. She was finally learning to be a team player.
"Dante, how could you?"
Ruby launched herself forward.
This again?
Dante watched her approach, even the speed from her Semblance something he could react to with ease.
However, instead of attacking, the trail of rose petals separating into two.
The warrior immediately realized what she was trying to do.
The rose petals were a diversion. Ruby was actually using her Semblance to almost fly around, yards away in the air, momentarily materializing at different points to fire off shots from different directions, making them harder to deal with.
Dante already knew something like this was coming. In the nanosecond before Ruby's attack connected, he switched to Balrog, fluidly going into a series of whirling, breakdance-like Capoeira kicks from off his shoulders and back.
As his legs spun, the armoured greaves on them flawlessly deflected the rounds of sniper fire.
The young huntress all but fell out of the air as she witnessed this.
"That's… so unfair!" she wailed.
"Woooooohooooooo! Yeeeeahhhhh!"
The insane scream was from surprisingly close by.
Ruby realized, all too late, that Dante had teleported right above her.
He also had both Ebony and Ivory pointed at her.
What followed was a rain of bullets, as Dante spun his entire body as if to replicate a minigun.
Ruby blocked the first few shots with Crescent Rose, but more immediately got through, and she realized the rate of fire was too high to parry every bullet. She activated her Semblance and dashed away, regaining some distance, and coming to a stop near her teammates.
As for Dante, he landed gracefully on his feet.
Looking at RWBY, he waved them off as he turned away.
"You need more training."
Yang's eyes turned red, and stayed that way.
"You bastard!"
"Yang!" shouted Ruby. "If you rush in, you'll just get beaten down again!"
Yang was about to shout back, before she realized Ruby had a point.
All of her encounters with Dante had ended that way.
The silver-haired warrior was a show-off, but he had peerless skill. Behind each flashy move was a genius martial artist and fighter who knew exactly what the enemy would do, and had planned ahead for it.
Yang finally realized.
Even if she spent the next hundred years rushing right at Dante, she wouldn't win.
Unexpectedly, it was something the devil hunter himself had said that she remembered at that moment.
"You should try these flowy movements sometime. You'd be surprised what they can do."
Yang couldn't instantly replicate the effects of Dante's years of training at Karate, Wing Chun and Judo.
But she could apply the principle he had been trying to teach her.
Learn to go with the opponent instead of against , use their own force against them.
In a broader sense, this could apply to strategy too.
"Fine," said the brawler. "We'll take him together."
Ruby nodded.
"I'm here too," said Blake.
Her team was here, standing by her, against him.
Right now, that was all she needed to know.
"How do we beat him though?" asked Weiss.
"We need a plan. If we can just find an opening…" said Ruby.
"I might be able to help with that," said another voice.
Standing next to them was Sun Wukong, gun-staff in hand.As one, the five teens stared down Dante.
The Son of Sparda yawned, stretching his arms overhead.
"You lot done already?"
"Keep talking, old man," said Yang. "You'll get yours soon enough."
Dante squatted down and gestured at them to bring it on.
"Showdown!" he said.
Meanwhile, in another world:Nero frowned. He wasn't sure why, but some bad memories of his first two meetings with Dante in Fortuna were acting up.
It was almost as if somewhere far away, the same thing was happening to another group of headstrong teens.
He shook his head.
"Good luck," was all he said.
Back in Remnant: OST: Red Like Roses Part II, Epic Metal Version (Little V)
Sun, who had been standing still with his eyes closed and his hands in front of his centre, suddenly had a pair of glowing golden clones burst forth from him.
Together, the two attacked Dante.
The warrior, seemingly surprised by this unexpected ability, was forced on the defensive as he avoided their blows, stepping backwards.
Seizing on the opportunity, Blake attacked as well, summoning a clone of her own as well.
As the four-on-one attack commenced, Dante for the first time had to put in some actual effort to block, parry and dodge their blows.
This was part one of the plan.
With his attention entirely on the melee fight, Ruby and Weiss burst into action.
With Weiss' Glyphs strategically placed around the battlefield in the air, Ruby had launchpads set up that she could zip off of, going even faster than her Semblance would normally allow. Allow the while, she could keep taking shots at Dante, knowing he would have his hands full and be unable to deal with them easily.
And finally, there was Yang, who took advantage of this time to build up her power, activating her Semblance and converting her Aura into stored energy for a single, all-out attack.
"That final attack would have done some damage if it had landed."Stick around, and I'll show you how to connect it one day."
She was going to connect it, right now.
As the sniper shots rained down from all angles, Dante clenched his teeth.
While fending off the clones unarmed, he constantly kept Royal Guard active, his entire body wreathed in an invisible aura of demonic power that blocked the bullets harmlessly.
Even so, these were a lot of enemies to keep track of all at once, and while vastly restricting his powers no less.
I'm going to be asking for a bonus. From Ozpin AND Torchwick.
It was at this time that he felt energy surging from a few metres away.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yang burning as though with flames, and he realized what was coming.
He actually hadn't been kidding. Her full-power, desperation attack could do some damage.
Hmm… actually, that's perfect.There were any number of ways Dante could have ended the fight anytime.
He could use more of his strength and speed and knock them all out in less than a millisecond.
He could Royal Release and destroy all the clones at once.
He could call upon Balrog to wreathe his body in flames.
He could teleport into the air with Trickster and then nuke them all with the two Kalina Anns.
He could summon Cavaliere and baseball-swing them away.
He could freeze them all with King Cerberus.
He could call Orion and shoot them down from the skies.
He could bring out Raijin and stun them with lightning.
But right now, the best way to end this test while maintaining his cover and not hurting anyone, was to simply let Yang land her desperate, angry blow.
"Fine, kid," he said aloud. "Take your best shot."
Blake's eyes widened.
He knew what they were planning?!
Why didn't he counter then?
She realized, finally, that he hadn't been fighting seriously at all.
As Yang was done charging, she yelled out.
"Take this!"
The clones dissipated, and Blake jumped away. As she did so, she briefly turned and saw Dante simply standing still, doing nothing to avoid Yang's strongest attack.
The full power right hook, charged by all of Yang's Semblance, connected. Her fist smashed into Dante's jaw. The half-demon didn't flinch, even as the ground around him shattered from the impact, concrete cracking as though it were thin plywood.
For a second more, Yang pushed, until all the force was dissipated, and she landed on the ground, utterly exhausted.
Breathing hard, she looked up.
Dante's left cheek had an angry welt on it.
That was the extent of damage she had been able to do to him.
"No… way," she muttered.
Right as she was about to fall over from exhaustion, Dante whispered to her.
"Hey, kid. Hang in there a little longer. We've just about sold this. Whatever happens, don't give the game away."
Before Yang could ask what was happening, Dante dropped to one knee with a dramatically exaggerated movement.
Turning, he looked at Torchwick.
"You guys, get the hell out of here! I'll hold them off!"
Roman, who had by now seen enough of the teens' abilities to not want to take them on, was more than happy to let Dante face them by himself while he escaped with the Dust.
As he was about to order his men to do so, however, he noticed.
All of the White Fang present at the docks were unconscious.
And standing over them was a lone girl, with orange hair and red eyes.
"Redgrave," said Roman, with growing horror in his voice. "We've got company!"
Whoever this girl was, she was trouble.
Dante saw her, and for the first time that evening, he was truly surprised.
That girl… she had demonic power. And he hadn't been able to sense it right away.
Immediately getting serious, he launched a summoned sword at her… only for her to destroy it with one of her own.
"What the hell…"
Before the fight could proceed any further though, the mysterious girl left, simply fading away into shadow, and then disappearing.
Torchwick took this as his cue, and ran. The Bullhead with the supplies on it was still intact. Getting on, he took off, escaping before any of the exhausted hunters-in-training could recover and go after him.
With the battle over, Dante shook his head.
Things had almost gone south there.
He looked at his students, who were all staring at him with a mixture of wariness, curiosity, and mistrust.
"... I don't suppose I can make it up to you all with pizza, can I?"