Chapter 26
Nora cackled as she hefted Magnihild and pushed a button, resulting in an electrical current running through the weapon and into her.
Ruby smiled as she watched Nora experiment with her upgrades. It was a simple upgrade really. A button activated a tiny generator running off of Shock Dust. It created a charge that was then sent down silver wires directly to the handholds where it was transferred into Nora. Simple.
Ruby wiped her forehead. It was about time to get started on her project. She waved to her friends and reentered the smithy. Mikan was splashing water on his face. He gave her a grin. "So you ready?"
"Yes." Ruby said with a nod. She'd already taken off most of her layers. It would be far too hot in here for her full outfit.
"Alright! So you told me the plan, but you left out the metals you want to use."
Ruby pulled up her bag as well as the one they got in Kiku. "Obviously the metal here but I also want to use these." She pulled Gambol Shroud and Myrtanaster from her bag and placed them on the counter.
"You sure? These are very well made weapons…" He gave her an interested look.
"I'm sure." Ruby said confidently.
"Then let's get started."
Jaune hummed a tune to himself. Waiting. As he had been for hours now. It was well into the evening and he was getting tired. But he was determined to wait for Ruby.
So there he was, sitting next to the smithy waiting. This late at night only a few people passed by but none took any notice of him. The others had gone to grab dinner and would probably be back soon.
He had nothing to do but wait and think. So, think he did. This journey has been crazy so far. I never thought a Semblance could alter memories or anything like that. And then there's the fact Pyrrha has actual magic now. It's just… crazy!
Jaune sighed and leaned back, looking up to the shattered moon and the stars. If magic is real, then how many of those fairy tales have truth to them? Are gods real? If so which ones? It can't be all of them can it? Some of the stories are contradictory. What magic is real and what is exaggerated? Too many questions with no way to answer them. If the Headmaster was still around...
Jaune cut himself off as the door opened. The blacksmith Mikan walked out stretching. He saw Jaune and waved before walking over. "Hey there. So you might want to go to the tavern and get a room for the night."
"Why? What's going on?"
"Calm down kid. Your friend wants to get this all finished so we're pulling an all-nighter. Got the first half of her stuff done so we're taking a quick break."
"Right. OK. Sorry, I just-"
"Hey, it's fine. You guys travel and face danger all the time. It's natural to get tense when someone is telling you your friend is staying out all night. You can sit out there all night if you want, it's up to you." Mikan shrugged and walked back to his smithy. "Have a good night kiddo."
Jaune watched him enter his building before he finally stood up. Ruby would be fine, she'd gotten out of worse than a blacksmithy full of weapons.
He left to find his other friends and get some dinner.
The next day JNPR had gathered outside the smithy waiting. They'd brought some extra food for when Ruby was done.
But alas, things didn't like to go their way. Near midday a villager came running up to them, exhausted, as if he had just run a marathon.
"You're… Huntsmen right?"
"We are. What's wrong?" Jaune said quickly.
"A d… Deathstalker… it's coming from the north… hunters saw it and made their way back as soon as…" He paused and wiped his mouth. "As soon as they could."
Jaune shared a look with the rest of his team. "Alright. We'll deal with it. North you said?"
"Yes! By now it'll probably be about half an hour away."
Jaune nodded. "Alright. Let's go and-" Jaune was cut off as the door opened. Mikan stepped out with a curious look at the group.
"Hate to interrupt but your friend is just finishing up. She should probably only be a few minutes."
"We shouldn't wait." Jaune said. He turned to the villager. "Tell her what you told us. Team, let's go."
JNPR rushed off, heading north of the village. They eventually came to a forested valley. Rock rose up on either side forming a miniature canyon.
Weapons were deployed and they fell into formation. Ren at the back, Pyrrha and Nora on the sides and Jaune at the front, leading, shield first.
It took them several minutes to arrive and several more of searching before they saw their opponent.
The Deathstalker must have recently come out of hibernation in a heavily forested area, for it was covered in vines and branches. It was larger than the one they faced in initiation and looked like it had thicker armour. The creature was moving slowly towards the town.
"They won't survive if it reaches town. We have to stop it here." Jaune said, kneeling down behind a tree. "Armour looks tough. Have to break through it… Ren, think you can weaken the tail like you did last time?"
"Maybe. I got lucky last time. It might not work."
"We'll try it. Then we do the same as initiation. Cut the stinger off then nail it into the Grimm." He looked to his friends. "Ready?"
They nodded. Jaune led the charge.
Ruby pulled the gloves tight and wiggled her fingers. They fit well. She smiled and pulled her cloak back on.
She grabbed Crescent Rose and left the building. Her belt jingled as she moved, the extra weight unbalancing her slightly.
She wouldn't have to worry about it for long.
Well… this didn't go as planned. Jaune thought as he blocked another of the Deathstalkers pincer attacks. The damned thing had seemed to understand what they were doing. It had to have battled Huntsmen before.
The fact it still lived told how those fights had ended.
He and Pyrrha were on the defence, maintaining a secure line while Ren and Nora slowly wore down its legs. Ren had managed to cut one of them off but it had reacted quickly. It was practically bouncing around them, moving with a speed that belied its size.
Pyrrha whipped up a gust of wind and tried to flip it over but the bloody thing rolled with it. Once the vines and branches had fallen off they revealed a heavily marked carapace.
It had gone against plenty of blades but worse it must have gone up against someone with similar powers to what Pyrrha was using. There was no other explanation for how it knew how to deal with her abilities.
It was… frustrating to say the least.
Jaune grunted as he blocked another attack. Nora came in, enhanced by her weapon, and tried to break up the armour on the pincer. She managed a glancing blow as it scuttled back, causing the ground to shake violently. They struggled to keep their feet as rocks fell around them. Jaune even saw a crow fall from a nearby tree.
Jaune looked around, trying to find something to use to win this fight. The only thing he saw was the streak of red as it hurtled through the valley.
With a single slash of her scythe, Ruby cut through the tail, causing the stinger to fly up into the air. As the Deathstalker screeched in pain Ruby twisted her body and weapon, firing her scythe to send her flying back to the stinger. As she flew she let go of Crescent Rose. She landed on the golden stinger, took a moment to stabilise and pulled a fist back.
Jaune's eyes widened as he saw metal expand on her arm before she thrust it down. As her fist struck the stinger a shotgun sounded. The force of the enhanced blow sent the stinger straight down, impaling the Deathstalker, just like during initiation. It screeched in pain and crumpled, legs spreading out.
Ruby landed on the stinger and took something from her belt, throwing it to Pyrrha who fumbled for a moment as she dropped her sword to catch the scabbard. Pyrrha's eyes lit up as she drew a new, gold and red, blade from the dark red scabbard. It looked very similar to the original Milo.
"Nora!" Ruby shouted, jumping from the Grimm. Nora reacted quickly, jumping on the still disabled beast. She pulled her hammer back and slammed it down like she was playing whack-a-mole. The Deathstalker screamed one last time before it began to dissolve. As Nora took a step back Ruby activated her semblance and flew up into the air again to catch her falling weapon.
It had all happened so quickly.
Nora and Ruby wandered over as a black cloud rose into the air. "Ruby that was…" Jaune started before he lost the words.
"Amazing!" Nora finished. "What was that?"
"Oh this?" She raised her arm. There on her forearm was a dark grey, almost black, metal bracer with white edging. Leather straps were threaded into a black glove. Another identical one sat on her other arm. With a flick of her wrist the bracer expanded, revealing a pair of barrels. "I based them off of Yang's Ember Celica." She flicked again, reverting them to their normal bracer form.
"And this?" Pyrrha asked, holding up the blade Ruby had thrown.
"You needed something similar to what you had before. I never got to study it so I had to make do with memory. It's still got its old forms. Sword, spear and rifle. Though I added an extendible handle to the spear so with the press of a button you can get a little more reach."
"I… thank you Ruby." Pyrrha said staring down at the sword in awe.
"I didn't think we had enough metal for all this and Jaune's upgrades." Ren wondered aloud.
"I had some other metal. I think Blake and Weiss would have been happy to help."
"You used their weapons?" Jaune asked. Ruby nodded.
"I don't have the training to use a sword. Dad started training me for fighting without my scythe, so I thought to add more power to my fists. Just like Yang."
"Ruby…" Jaune started then stopped. He gave her a big smile. "You didn't need to do an all-nighter you know? We could have waited."
Ruby shrugged. "I didn't want to delay us."
"Well the Deathstalker is dealt with. How about we use the local tailor to get Ruby a new outfit to go with her weapons, then she can sleep while that gets worked on. The rest of us can resupply and get info on the next town." Jaune took command, looking between his friends. None argued though Ruby looked like she might for a moment.
"It's settled then!"
Ruby yawned as she waited. She'd gotten a good rest, that was for sure. They were getting the final things before heading off to the next town. Ruby was waiting for her new attire.
She would be the first to admit that she hadn't really cared about style or comfort after Mountain Glenn. Now was a good chance to rectify that. She gazed down at the gloves that covered her hands.
Ember Emortus. That was what she called these new weapons. The undying embers of her team, made from the remnants of two and combined into the form of the third. The gloves had been Yang's as well. She might not have mastered their use yet, but it would be a big surprise for when she battled Cinder next.
Soon enough the tailor was done and Ruby swapped into her new gear.
A new black corset with red lacing went over top of a long-sleeved white shirt reminiscent of Penny's shirt. The sleeves tucked into her gloves, which reached to just before her elbows. Ruby used a new black and red combat skirt with her emblem emblazoned on the left side in deep crimson red. Black leggings faded into purple as it reached her new boots, which kept her theme as they were primarily black. The laces and sole were red, however. The buckle of her red belt was a metallic version of Weiss' emblem. Ruby pulled on her new white jacket, sleeveless and with a grey interior. The back of it had her and her mother's emblem beautifully emblazoned in red. Her cloak came on last, pinned on her shoulders by metal versions of Yang and Blake's emblems. A chain hung loosely between them, allowing her to pull her cloak around herself if she needed.
Ruby took herself in. She pulled her slightly tattered cloak around herself, pulled her hood up, considered for a moment before pulling it back. She twirled on the spot.
It felt good. Comfortable, at the very least.
It'd do. Ruby smiled and thanked the tailor.
The rest of her friends were coming to meet her as she left. Pyrrha had attacked the sheath to her left hip, making her look a little similar to Jaune's. They'd gone and sold the plain sword Professor Goodwitch had given to Pyrrha.
Ruby gave them a smile. "Ready?"
Jaune returned the smile. "Yup. From what we heard the next town over has been having trouble with a Petra Gigas. We're thinking about giving them a hand."
"Sounds good. Before or after we get you upgraded."
"Well Nora was saying that because I'm the strategist, I should be fine for the fight while the smith there upgrades my sword and makes me some armour."
Ruby quirked an eyebrow. "Well, it's up to you. Shall we set off then?"
"Yea let's get moving. Faster we get there the better."
And so they set off once again, ignorant of the crow that followed them.
A/N: Sorry for the day delay there. So we finally get to something I've been planning since... like a year ago? Ember Emortus and Ruby's new outfit. What to start with? So the outfit has been modified pretty constantly since I started this but here we are! A kind of combo of her Mistral outfit but more modified than her Vale outfit was. I tried to bring in elements from all of her dead friends without being as straightforward as the first time.
Ember Emortus. So obviously it's based on Ember Celica. Name wise I looked at the same origin for Celica, Latin. I sort of derived it from Immortuos, which kind of means undead. So yea she basically named it Ember Undead or Undead Ember. That totally shows that she's in a fine mental state, right? Oh and yeah, she remade Milo for Pyrrha. Next week we rejoin at the start of Volume 4, but this time we don't have a Menagerie arc, or a break-out-of-the-house arc or a stay-at-home arc.
I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time!