Finished finals for the quarter and now I'm off to enjoy winter break. For everyone else going on break I hope you all have a good time. You know, the more I think about this chapter the more I realize that until Vale is done, this entire arc should take place over the course of a single day. This has really put the story into perspective for me along with the timeframe of Bloodborne. One night to fight against impossible odds, come face to face with gods, stave off the growing temptation of instinct, and become something more than human.
In other news this chapter marks the story finally passing the 100k threshold for words. Thank you once again to all of you who read, follow, or favorite this story. Seeing all of you show up on the traffic chart is really inspiring whenever I post a new chapter. With all of you here we can get this party started.
Now let's celebrate with the longest chapter to date at just over 7k. I hope you all enjoy it.
"You killed a student." Cinder said almost angry over her pawns' rash decisions.
"No one saw us and the body won't be found for a while anyways. What's the big deal? It's not like they'll bother running forensics in the middle of a war." Mercury defended understanding that no one would investigate a death in the middle of a battlefield.
"It's not about the death, it's about disobeying orders." She sighed over the loss of a potential show of power. "Who did you kill?"
"Ruby Rose, she didn't even see it coming. I took out her legs as Mercury landed a few hits on her chest. She was down before the fight even started." Emerald recalled remembering the look of betrayal on the young Huntress' face.
"Once her body is found her sister will be heart broken and her partner weakened due to the loss of a friend. That takes care of some of Beacon's most prominent rising stars. If you have an opportunity, capture Arc. He may not have any value as a warrior, but he can work as bait to lure in Nikos. I feel a public execution may be in order before we leave." Cinder said as Mercury and Emerald made their way out of the room in search of their target.
Sneaking out of the dorms the two of them had to make sure to avoid the professors wandering around campus. They knew Arc had a tendency to practice atop the student dorm's rooftops with his partner and that occasionally one would leave while the other continued to practice. Even with the lockdown present they may still be running drills. The perfect time to knock the Arc unconscious and prep for his partner.
The entrance to the dorm was only a block away when Mercury was catapulted forward a few yards, hitting the ground to the sound of what seemed like an artillery cannon going off from behind them. Glancing over at her partner Emerald saw a silver stain blasted across his entire back from whatever the projectile left behind.
Quickly grabbing her partner she dove behind a pillar in an attempt to break line of sight with whoever was taking shots at them. Mercury had half his aura already drained from the sneak attack and was still shaking off the impact leaving Emerald the only person capable of combat at the moment. The pillar they were hiding behind suddenly erupted as another bullet shattered through it. The shrapnel pelting Emerald who quickly darted to the next pillar, leaving Mercury in the hope that the sniper would focus on her.
Looking towards where the shots should have been coming from she saw a bright light far off in the distance from the muzzle flash. Leaping sideways the spot where she was stood had a crater as the shot echoed through the school. Seeing that each shot had about 5 seconds in between them Emerald continued forward using the timing between shots to dodge from cover to cover. The last stretch of ground between her and the assailant was completely empty meaning she would have to avoid 3 shoots before reaching the front door. Taking a peak around the corner she couldn't see the light and brought her head back awaiting the bullet to blast by. When none came she rushed the building hoping the sniper was making his exit. Looking back at her destination she saw an individual in a red cloak standing atop the building.
Emerald nearly froze at the sight of the ghost, but kept enough of a level head to leap out of the way of the next bullet. As her feet touched the ground another shot struck her left leg causing her to fall to the ground. Trying to stand up she felt another impact her chest knocking the wind out of her. Gasping for air as she hit the ground she quickly rolled out of the way of another bullet aimed for her head.
She baited me by timing her shots. She wanted me to think I could make it through this open area by understanding her weapon's fire rate. I was played by a kid.
Emerald looked up in defeat, her leg still numb from the impact. She knew she'd never be able to escape in her current condition. Being in open ground and unable to move was a death sentence and Emerald could almost feel the smirk the sniper was giving off even if they were too far away to see their features. For the first time since Cinder took her in, she felt fear, as her final moments would be spent looking down the barrel of the gun that would claim her.
Just as the final bullet approached she was pulled out of the way by a green haired speedster. Pulling out his transformed thermos he pointed the weapon to the building's roof only for a cloud of mist to be where the shooter was. Looking around for any possible sign of the attacker he sighed and put his weapon away to tend to Emerald.
"Are you okay Miss?" Oobleck asked seeing the exchange student recovering from whatever shocked her.
"I'm fine, just need to check on Merc."
"Your partner is being escorted to the Medical ward and I insist you go to. What were you thinking wondering the school grounds during a lockdown?"
"I was going to check up on team RWBY to see if they were okay." She quickly lied in an attempt to advert the professor from their real reasons.
"While I admire your devotion to another team I have to advise you listen to the broadcasts Ozpin is sending through Beacon. There may be some specialty Knights on school grounds that Ironwood failed to mention when he was stationing them here. I'll have to inform the others of a possible sniper. Now come along you should be there for your teammate." Oobleck said as he guided Emerald to the Medical wing.
Walking into a room she found Mercury stuck in bed with bandages going around his chest and back. A look of anger etched onto his face over the situation. Being wounded was one thing, but someone got the better of him and no one lives after getting the better of him. He slammed his fist against the wall in anger causing the wall to crack under the force.
"Well, you look happy." Emerald said sarcastically after seeing Mercury fuming.
"I'm going to kill the cowardly bastard that shot me."
"You got sucker punched Merc. Taking a shot like that without knowing it was coming would have taken most people here out of the fight." Emerald rubbed her sore leg feeling her aura trying to relieve the bruising.
"In case you haven't realized Emerald we aren't exactly normal. We are supposed to better than everyone here and someone got the drop on us."
"It was her." She said under her breath in disbelief over the situation.
"What do you mean by, her?"
"It was that damn brat we killed." Emerald nearly yelled before remembering where they were.
"We both know she couldn't have survived after I pumped her chest full of shells and you made sure she couldn't walk. She was already halfway gone by the time we left."
"What if someone found her and managed to save her."
"Even if Goodwitch came across her the moment we left, she wouldn't have been able to save her. With her aura gone and that many wounds she would have died of shock from the faintest attempt to move her. Why do you even think it was her?"
"Because I saw her, she was on top of a building taking shots at me. She wore that stupid red cloak and had a sniper."
"Are you sure it was the same weapon?"
"It seemed darker than what I remember her using before she got suspended. The color was off, it looked like dried blood."
"Are you sure you're not remembering what she looked like after we got her? I mean she was covered in a lot of blood after we were through."
"I know what I saw. It was the same weapon she was always toting around on her back." Emerald said working herself into a frenzy.
"Look all we have to do is go see the body and we can put all this behind us. We have a job to finish and I can't have you jumping at ghosts while we do it."
"You'd feel the same way if you saw her Mercury. The people we've killed have never come back to haunt me until this brat happened."
"And when we see the body you can move past this nonsense." Mercury said as he got up from the bed and started to put his shirt back on.
"You sure you can walk?"
"I'm hurt not dead, I'll manage." Opening the window they looked out finding no professors circling the building and made a break back to the crime scene.
"Where the hell is the body?" Emerald asked some fear in the back of her voice.
"Someone must have found her after we left. I guess this explains your ghost, someone wants revenge and is using the cloths and a similar weapon to spook you. So all we have to deal with is some vengeful bitch. If they're fighting angry that means they're fighting stupid and will mess up at some point."
"If that's the case why did they bother to clean up all the blood in the area?" Emerald asked running her fingers across the ground finding not a trace left of Ruby.
"Probably just to make sure no one knows who died here and interrupts their plan. Which means she already took care of the body for us and she's the only loose end here at Beacon, lucky us." Mercury stated hoping to get the chance to make the mysterious sniper suffer before ending them.
"Right behind you." A voice whispered.
Emerald drew her revolver and fired a shot back at the alley's entrance only to find no one standing there. Mercury was just as on edge getting ready to strike at anything that made a move. When all they heard was silence they both began slowly walking out of the alley. Both of them ready for anything that could be waiting for them outside.
As they cleared the entrance they found the streets quiet and completely empty of life. Hearing the pull of a trigger Mercury turned right as the cannon like explosion was heard. Time seemed to slow down as the end of scythe blade was already trying to pierce his chest. Using a crescent kick he tried to swat the blade away only to find it already gone and the girl he killed standing at the end of the alley with the scythe still in her hands. Seeing her partner backing off Emerald unloaded her revolvers down the narrow passage. Once she stopped firing both of them found the alley empty. Quickly turning around they scanned their surrounding while against each other's backs.
"Do you see her?" Emerald asked as she started looking at the roof tops half expecting to see a red cape fluttering in the wind.
"No, she's still around here somewhere though." Mercury knew he was no help in a sniper battle, but he could still block the first shot and give Emerald a chance in reaching the target.
"Think she's setting up somewhere?"
"There's nowhere around here that would let her snipe us as long as we stay between these buildings."
"There she is!" Emerald yelled as she burst into a nearby building to flush Ruby out into the open.
Mercury waited in front of the house for Ruby to be ejected from the house. It was a standard play where Emerald flushes them out and the target would fall onto his next attack. They knew Ruby's limitations from her previous bouts and despite being good she was still just a little girl. She lacked the strength to overpower them and the experience to outsmart them. Sure whatever she did to her weapon certainly gave it enough kick to stun a Huntsman, but that was all she had going for her.
Flashes of light illuminated the windows as Emerald fired away inside the house alerting Mercury to what was about to happen. Mercury heard the sniper fire and Emerald crash through the second story window. Her blade was stuck into the edge of the building just outside the window as she held on. He knew Ruby would have to come up to the window too deal the next blow so he lowered himself and got ready for her appearance.
Mercury saw a flash of movement and was about to leap through the window to begin his attack only to yell out in warning instead. "Let go Emerald!"
Without a second thought the blade on her weapon withdrew just in time as segments of Ruby's scythe blade shot out the window and whipped backwards, cleaving through the windowsill and flying back into the darkness. Mercury could see that each segment was held together through wires and seemed capable of retracting at blinding speeds.
"Get out here you bitch and face us like a real Huntress!" Emerald yelled in frustration over being bested by someone who should be leagues below her.
"So you can kill me like you did last time?" Ruby's voice echoed from the building.
"We'll make sure it sticks this time."
"No you won't, no one can anymore. Though I am thankful for this ability even if it means I had to experience death. Without it I wouldn't have been able to see Yang, Weiss, and Blake again. Everything would have ended for me in that alley without it. Not to mention all of Dunstan's lessons make a lot more sense now. The body is just another tool to test your adversaries and feel their weapon's embrace. I've learned so much thanks to the both of you."
Emerald couldn't believe she was listening to the same little girl that ate cookies like they were the last source of food on the planet. The same girl who would cry at sad fairy tales and drank milk with all her meals. That same girl had somehow turned into the monster hiding underneath their beds. The beast that lurked just out of sight in the edge of your vision.
"Don't worry though, even if you can't kill me that doesn't mean I can't kill you." Ruby said cheerfully as a gust a wind blew past Emerald taking Mercury with it.
"Mercury!" Emerald yelled looking around for any trace of where her partner was taken. "Answer Me!"
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" The scream replied as Emerald ran towards the source of the noise.
Rounding a corner she saw her partner on the ground with his back against a wall to keep himself upright. A single stab wound going through his thigh that had soaked the sidewalk in his blood. Emerald quickly ripped part of his shirt off and used it as a bandage to wrap the wound. She could hear him murmuring something, but found closing his wound more important.
"Don't worry Merc I've got you. She missed your arteries thankfully so you won't lose your leg." Emerald said almost happy over the good news.
Mercury used his free arm to push Emerald away from him as he barely managed to stand on his own. His standing was uneven as his injured leg seemed to be shaking from the amount of pressure that was being put on it. Throwing his good leg up then slamming it onto the ground while firing off a shot to create a small smoke screen. As Emerald was about to grab her partner a bullet pierced the smoke missing her.
"Retreat." He barely managed to cough out.
"We can't let her leave here alive."
"We're compromised. Send out the signal and evacuate with Cinder." Mercury slammed his foot into the ground again trying to keep their cover up.
"What do you plan on doing? It's not like you can outrun her in your current state."
"I'll do the one thing I'm best at, I'll annoy her to death."
"Your death or hers?" Emerald joked knowing her partner didn't stand a chance against Ruby.
"Doesn't matter at this point. Take the syringe in my pouch and inject it into my leg." Mercury asked with his damaged leg about to give out on him.
"What's in this anyway?" Emerald saw the syringe filled with a silver liquid.
"Something to keep my body moving when what's left of my aura fails. Stims to help me keep up with her and a little something to numb the pain."
"You want me to shoot you up with this cocktail of a drug? The crash alone will probably cripple you once it's ran its course. This thing is as likely to kill you as Rose is."
"And without it I'm dead weight and an easy target. Come on Emerald let me have one last fight."
"At least try to take her out with you." Emerald said slamming the syringe into his leg as the fluid was pumped into his leg.
"That I can do." Mercury said in confidence as he stood up and Emerald bolted out of the cloud.
Mercury could hear Ruby taking shots at his partner and started to hand spin while firing off his greaves. The dust cloud was blown away by his projectiles forming a tornado around him causing Ruby to refocus on him. She couldn't even see Mercury behind all the white wisps circling him. Firing into the tornado Ruby destroyed some of the projectiles her bullet passed through, missing Mercury. Seeing the impact Mercury unleashed his torrent of explosives towards Ruby's hiding spot.
The building Ruby was sniping from was bombarded as shell after shell smashed into it, some flying through windows and striking against the walls. Ruby could hear the ceiling and walls begin to creak as they strained to hold the building up. Choosing not to overstay her welcome she jumped out the back as the ceiling began to collapse inwards. Landing outside she heard a gust of wind and brought her weapon up just in time to block a kick thrown by Mercury. The hit causing her to stagger backwards as he continued to press forward.
Ruby couldn't find a moment to retaliate with the flurry of blows being thrown at her. All she could manage to do was continue to dodge his blows, knowing that the moment she blocked one she'd be caught up in his flow. The point blank range Mercury was fighting at was also preventing her from in a full swing of her scythe and even if she got one off the blade would miss. Ruby was surprised by the fact he was even standing let alone how he somehow managed to continue fighting. The wound she left was meant to cripple him and he was managing to push her back. That along with his calm appearance while in the face of death only served to infuriate her more.
"How are you still fighting!?" Ruby yelled in frustration blocking a blow as Mercury's next attack swept her legs throwing Ruby to the ground.
A single green flare flew into the sky in the distance as Mercury brought his heel down atop Ruby's stomach. Stunned from the impact she couldn't even respond when a swift kick threw her into a lamppost. Having some distance between them Ruby leveled her weapon at Mercury as the blade realigned itself in front of the barrel. Pulling the trigger launched the blade forward at blinding speeds as it began to segment into 10 pieces. As one piece reached its limit of thread the next piece would continue forward each following the last until it shot past Mercury in an instant.
As the blade was reeled in it curved around and sliced into Mercury's right shoulder causing the arm to hang lifelessly at his side. Seemingly unaffected by the attack he ducked the next strike and closed the distance wanting to avoid any more of Ruby's tricks.
Tired of being unable to use any of her skills Ruby jumped slightly into the air and leveled her weapon towards the ground letting the recoil launch her high above Mercury. Even if midair combat wasn't her forte it was something she had experience in and many lacked. Ruby was about to unload on her target when she saw him leap onto the wall of a building and use his greaves to launch himself skyward right at her.
"Come on!" Ruby screamed as the blow she blocked forced her onto a nearby rooftop.
"This is the part where you die." He mocked walking towards Ruby either failing to acknowledge or feel his injuries.
"Just give up. You don't even have enough aura to protect your body. It's only a matter of time before I hit something vital."
"That's all I need to finish you." Mercury lobbed a sphere at Ruby who quickly shot it out only causing it to explode into cloud of smoke.
Bringing her sights away from the explosion she saw Mercury had vanished from his spot when a kick hit her in the back along with a blast from his weapon. He quickly grabbed her arm to prevent her from being thrown further away from him. Realizing she couldn't get away immediately she brought her free arm up to protect her face only for a knee to slam into her gut.
Twirling her scythe Ruby smashed Mercury's arm with the staff portion and a audible crack could be heard from the impact. His hand loosened just enough for Ruby to break out of his grasp while her scythe ran through his other arm severing it. Ruby stood shocked at how easy the blade passed through him, the thought of killing someone who was still human was brought to the forefront of her mind.
Mercury saw the hesitation on her face and tried to rush her when his right leg finally gave out from the stress it was placed under. Ruby saw him topple over and approached him cautiously, worried about the chance of a surprise strike. As she got closer she could see the bandage around his leg was soaked with blood and did little over the course of the fight to stem the tide of blood. That along with the missing forearm led to his now pale complexion.
"Tell me what you were doing at the CCT." Ruby threatened, hoping to pull any useful information on why she was killed.
"You've never done this before, that's for sure. You can't threaten someone whose on their deathbed."
"I can make your passing be a lot more painful if you don't answer me."
"You still don't get it Rose. You lost as soon as you decided to go after me instead of Emerald. So I'll give you a consolation prize instead, a warning." He managed to say despite his strength already failing him. Ruby leaned in to hear the man's last words, his voice hushed either from exhaustion or lack of blood flowing through him. With one arm missing, another shattered, and his leg injury she felt confident in him lacking any tools left to fight with. "I hope you're ready for our revolution." The thought of their fates along with Vale's brought a small grin to Mercury as his heart slowed its pace until coming to a stop.
Ruby reappeared in Beacon's garden next to the lantern with some of the mist from her travel still rolling off her. As she stood up she knew she'd have to sneak back to the dorms if she didn't want to be caught. She knew Emerald wouldn't return and upon visiting their room found it completely empty. Making her way back to her own room she felt the building shake as an explosion occurred somewhere on campus. Reaching out she pulled the door open and walked into her room.
"Are you okay?" Ruby asked finding her team staring out the dorm room window.
"We're fine, but it looks like something exploded around the storage building." Yang said as the smoke was just starting to bellow into the sky.
"And you're not going to investigate because?"
"Didn't you hear Ozpin's announcement? Anyone found outside their room will be detained while the teachers investigate the explosion." Yang finished clearly unsettled by not being able to help.
"There's enough chaos out there already, they don't need us to add to it." Blake summarized knowing that if the students swarmed the campus anyone would be able to blend into the crowd and escape.
"Where were you anyways Ruby?" Yang saw her sister began to fidget at the question.
"Visiting Cardin." She replied honestly while Yang's brow furrowed at the mention of the bully.
"Well at least you're with us now. Did you get Crescent Rose working again?" Yang asked seeing the weapon on her sister's back.
"Yeah I did. Talked it over with Dunstan and he had me go see Miss Doll to see what I needed to get Crescent Rose firing again. Even gave me some items to help improve her since I can't modify her using my usual tools anymore."
"I thought Dunstan was the only person Ozpin brought into Beacon. If she helped you how come she's not working here at Beacon?" Blake asked wondering what this person could be like when she had Dunstan as the baseline for all Hunters.
"She's not technically at Beacon, though I do visit her occasionally for checkups."
"Is she a doctor?" Weiss asked wondering who could possibly understand Ruby's condition.
"No, but she helped Dunstan when he was starting out as a Hunter. She seems she appreciates the solitude her home offers too. I even caught her singing to herself one time before she realized I was around. Though there is one thing." Ruby paused wondering if it was her place to mention the limb replacements.
"Aren't you going to tell us what it is?"
"I don't think I should talk about her injuries." Everyone starting thinking of the possible scars that ran across Doll's body and face.
"As long as she's not hurting you I guess it's fine." Yang relented knowing that Ruby would need help from people who actually understood what was happening to her.
"Come on, it's not like I'm leaving you. As long as I'm leader of this team I promise nothing will separate us." Ruby said expressing the solidarity they all shared.
"Would Ruby Rose please wait in her room until a Professor can come along to escort you to the headmasters office?" Port said over the intercom.
"And there goes that idea." Blake said as Ruby's enthusiasm came to an abrupt halt.
"Wonder if they spotted you wandering around campus." Weiss added speculating on what their leader could have done this time.
Ruby collapsed on her bed exhausted over the thought of having to talk to any of the professors about what happened. She couldn't even begin to imagine how she would explain everything she went through. How would the law even cover her situation, was she fighting in self-defense, did it even count as self-defense when she was already killed?
"You going to be okay Rubes?" Yang asked seeing her sister bothered by the announcement.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just not excited to have to see the professors and talk to them."
"I wouldn't worry about it. After all it's not like we've ever been in any serious trouble." The laid back attitude emitting from Yang almost calmed Ruby down, letting her forget about what was to come.
The knock that came from the door immediately brought it all back. Ruby didn't seem willing to go to the door and open so Weiss got it instead. Opening the door she saw Dunstan wearing another variation on his usual attire likely due to the fact his last one was shredded by Nora's grenade going off just above him. She paused for a moment wondering if slamming the door on the Hunter would have any consequences on her grade. Realizing that he would just come through the window if she denied him entrance she relented and stepped out of the doorway to let him in.
"Ruby, it's good to see you're alright along with your team. I'm surprised none of you have run off to try to save Vale."
"In case you can't tell the whole school is on lockdown. Even if we could leave the dorms all the bullheads are grounded." Weiss answered angrily.
"That didn't stop you from crashing a bullhead in my front yard last time. I can't blame you for wanting to sit this one out though. Fighting against monsters is one thing, fighting against your fellow man is another."
"What's going on Dunstan?" Ruby asked unsure of how Vale was actually faring against the knights.
"Ozpin says the White Fang have made their move, but I smell the blood of beasts down below in that city." The room was silent as they all took in the information on the happenings occurring just below their school.
"What do you mean the White Fang are making their move? They lack the power to take an entire city by themselves." Blake argued against her worst fears coming to pass.
"In case you couldn't tell, they aren't alone. Those soulless knights are attacking everyone in sight. I doubt it's a coincidence that this is happening at the same time. Can you imagine the devastation that an already stationed garrison can cause once they turn sides? They would have been guarding locations critical to the city's infrastructure."
The realization of just how bad Vale was hit started dawning on them. The knights had been everywhere from police stations to power plants. The moment they turned the entire city would be thrown into chaos with law enforcement being the first thing eliminated. Beacon had its own generators separate from the city since it was an independent project at the time of construction so they wouldn't have to worry about power. The only thing Beacon lacked in terms of necessities was a means to produce enough food to feed the school without having to supplement it with shipments from Vale.
"Oh god." Yang murmured to herself picturing the inevitable darkness that would descend upon the city come night.
"Not yet, but I wouldn't be surprised at this point if some showed up." Dunstan thought back to his first encounter with the terrifying beings that clung to the side of building and each large enough to crush a carriage in their hand.
"Are we even supposed to know what's going on?" Weiss said furious that the entirety of team RWBY now had to deal with such knowledge.
"Probably not since Ozpin hasn't told you anything yet, but I feel you have the right to know what's become of your city."
"I'll be back as soon so please don't do anything without me. We can think this over as a team once I get back." Ruby said before following after Dunstan out the door.
"You wanted to see me sir." Ruby said stepping into the office.
"Yes, would you please tell me why you felt the need to assault students visiting from Haven?" Ozpin asked the young Huntress seeing her flinch at the mention of the students.
"How do you even know about that?"
"Not all our cameras rely on the CCT to transfer the data to our servers. Some still use a hardline and we do have people monitoring the campus in case anything happens. A red blur followed by falling petals was seen leading to the sniper's position. Now back to the topic at hand, why did you feel the need to attack them?"
"They started it!"
"And you feel that an attempt on their life was a proper form for retaliation."
"They deserved it for everything they did to me. For every cut, bruise, bullet, and broken bone they gave me I planned on returning it in full." Dunstan silently sighed to himself upon hearing her tale, fully understanding the finale it was building to.
"Miss Rose If you simply told us we could have intervened and helped you through the situation." Glynda said slightly annoyed by her student's reaction to the exchange students.
"Situation! Where were you when I was bleeding to death in alleyway? My legs so cut up I couldn't stand while I choked on my own blood. What good is talking when they wanted me dead?" Ruby was almost hysterical, yelling at everyone present.
"Your first dip wasn't a quick one then? That moment when you feel yourself fading, but right before you leave it pulls you back." Dunstan said walking up next to Ruby as she clutched her chest remembering the feeling of her heart beginning to give up.
"Do you mean to tell me that Ruby had a near death experience?" Ozpin asked seeing her begin to calm back down.
"Not near death, actual death. Looks like this school isn't as kind as I first thought it was if you've got students killing each other. At least she's coping well from what she told us so far."
"She said she wanted to repay them. That's a death threat Arkwright." Glynda warned seeing the Hunter brush off her attempt.
"Wanting to kill what killed you is a perfectly healthy response. It's the first thing I wanted to do whenever it happened to me." An eye for an eye never seemed right to Dunstan, but on the scale of your own killing he always felt satisfied with his killers' usual end.
"Are you saying you and Miss Rose are immortal?"
"In my case no, since I was severed from the dream upon killing its true maker. Ruby on the other hand is in the thick of it. She still dreams and until the hunt ends she will continue her role as a Hunter. Not even death can stop a Hunter from completing their task."
"Do you have any proof?" Glynda asked, skeptical over the entire concept of immortality.
"Well the usual method of testing immortality or revival is a little barbaric so unless you want to brain your own student, no I don't have proof." Ruby backed away behind Dunstan worried if she was going to have to experience another death.
"I would never harm one of our students."
"Then you don't get to see her party trick. Now if you'll excuse me I have some exchange students to Hunt down." Dunstan began walking back towards the elevator.
"They aren't here anymore." Ruby said stopping her teacher.
"Well that explains the explosion then." Dunstan looked outside as the fires were beginning to die down. "When a siege is happening the most valued target is the food and water stores. Without it you have to leave the defenses and open yourself up to an attack."
"We were infiltrated months ago then. Who knows what they could have done with all that time." Glynda started thinking back to every time she saw them in class and how each of them rarely fought.
"And the snakes vacated the moment one of their prey escaped. Smart on their part otherwise they'd have been swarmed by faculty the moment Ruby came back. I can't condone you going after prey like that on your own though so next time bring some back up or tell me. I've been itching for a real fight and my cane hasn't been used since our last excursion." Ruby felt slightly better knowing he wasn't directly mad at her for the choices she made.
"Putting aside Miss Rose's reasons we do have bigger problems to deal with."
"Yes, the assault happening in Vale. I'm sending out three teams to check on the shelters and evacuate as many people as possible to Beacon. Without our scrolls we'll have to rely on more archaic forms of communication until an alternative can be found. For now both of you head down to the dock and meet your partners for the mission." Ozpin said as he began going over old files on Vales construction.
"Think you can find your way back without me?" Dunstan joked as the three of them entered the elevator.
"I'll be fine. Just have to talk my team out of doing anything too insane while all of you are gone." Ruby answered knowing team RWBY had a tendency of showing up to dangerous situations.
"Holding down the forts a big job. I do need to come back here eventually so try not to let the place fall to shambles while I'm away."
"I'll try, no promises though." As they left the tower Ruby started walking towards the dorms before vanishing in a flurry of rose petals leaving him alone with Glynda.
"Hope you know what you're doing. Beasts are not like the creatures of Grimm and we'll be going into the heart of it just too possibly save some people." Dunstan remarked thinking of all the risks going into the rescue operations.
"Our job is to protect the people. If you can't follow that code then you shouldn't be with us when we go in." Glynda said, seeing Dunstan thinking over the concept.
"Would you be willing to kill those you're ordered to protect if it meant restoring peace to the kingdom?"
"I'd find another way."
"Well at least Ruby isn't as narrow minded as you. The next generation might actually be worth something if they ever crawl out from your school's shadow."
"Don't encourage them. Such actions will not be tolerated while she's a student of this school." She threatened knowing Dunstan would actually try to tempt some students away from the path of Huntsman and Huntresses.
"Then she can drop out and join mine. It's not like she has learned anything of value here and there's no better teacher than actual experience. Testing your mettle against another's in a duel to the death was how the best Hunters forged their path."
"You monster, the fact that you'd even suggest such methods for a child no less shows how cruel you are."
"I never said I was nice and sometimes casualties can't be avoided. If you want the best of the best then you're going to break a few eggs trying to find the good ones. Being a Hunter just helps circumvent that process."
"You'd willing throw a child to her death just so she might get stronger." Glynda said in disgust over the man's methods.
"In case you haven't noticed we Hunters aren't the knights in shining armor who've come to save the day. We're the people who do the jobs too dirty for those so called heroes just so they can keep their hands clean. The Citizens run from us and lock their doors as we pass in fear of us judging them infected. Our presence alone can mark a village for destruction along with its people. So forgive me for not meeting your illustrious standards."
"The standard is not killing innocents. What about that is difficult for you?"
"If you could throw yourself at any insurmountable beast until you came out victorious wouldn't you take the opportunity? Any battle you'd take part in wouldn't have the consequence of death. You could fight to your hearts content learning things about every monster that no single being could." Dunstan said in confidence remembering everything he went through to reach the presence behind it all.
"If I had any doubt about what you were before you've cleared it away. That human skin you wear can't hide what lurks beneath its surface, a monster who's forgotten what it means to be human. I don't know if your travels are what changed you or whether you were born that way, but I can't leave one of our students in your care."
"You want to take away my student?"
"She's not your student, she's a Huntress. She was going to grow into a hero that stood as a beacon to others. Not what you're twisting her into. Some sickly dagger used to carve away at beasts in the dead of night."
"We Hunters are made broken by design. If we weren't we couldn't fight horrors so alien most people refuse to see them. Ruby was going to break at some point in her journey. The only question was when and it turns out it came early for her. Be thankful she's still herself and abides by some of the codes you set forth. She's unique in the fact she still retains most her old views."
"You'd abandon your own ethics."
"Most people give up any vows they made previous to becoming a Hunter for fear they would interfere or cause hesitation. Mine was 'do no harm' you can see how that would be a problem in my field. Ruby's chosen the harsher path for reasons I can't fathom and perhaps never will, but never tell me I am perverting a student of mine. I would sooner die than warp another person's mind."
The Bullheads opened up as they each stepped into a separate vehicle. Dunstan walked into the compartment and could see the pilot going over his instruments so he decided to grab a seat. Looking across he saw his partner for the operation the green haired academic fiddling with his thermos. Noticing the new arrival he stretched out his hand in greeting and Dunstan took the gesture.
"Ready to go below and rescue the people of Vale?" Oobleck asked Dunstan enthusiastically while shaking his hand with extraordinary speed.
"Depends on what you're bringing to help." Oobleck wasted no time, his weapon extending into a staff with fire flickering atop the barrel.
"Just because I'm a history teacher don't mistake me for someone incapable of fighting. After all we're trained Huntsman first and foremost."
"We're going to do just fine." Dunstan remarked at seeing one of the most effective weapons against the beasts still in use among the huntsman.
As the Bullhead lifted off from the ground Dunstan secured the flare gun on his side and made sure it was loaded, while Oobleck was doing the same to his. The small fleet of bullheads on Beacons docks could never mount a rescue for every person in every shelter, but they could try to save as many as they could. Dunstan got one last look at the sun as he descended down into Vale.
Beta Reader: 5 Coloured Walker
Well now we have our first real totally legit not coming back from the dead, character death. Mercury Black the assassin or whatever he was is the first big name casualty of this fic. I blame sneak attacks along with guerrilla warfare tactics for his defeat. Remember people, always heal up before embarking on a quest, especially after your party is injured.
As for Crescent Rose 2.0, think Piercing Rifle with Evelyn scaling and way higher base damage for the gun. As for the blade portion think of the Beast Cutter or Threaded Cane as to how the scythe separates. I know a lot of people won't be alright with me giving Ruby a modified weapon, but with this being a Bloodborne crossover I felt it was important for her weapon to evolve into something new. So what are your thoughts on the weapon and chapter?