Interlude 2: Plant of Chaos
The group of 8 teenagers made of Rwby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren have made their way to the ruined cliff, and are currently finishing their battle with the elder Deathstalker & elder Nevermore respectively.
"Haaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiii-Yaaaaaaaaaa!" Yelling at the top of her lungs. One Ruby Rose sprinting all the way to the top of the cliff, her trusty & precious weapon in hand, dragging the giant Nevermore by the neck; One Nora Valkyrie lifted her trusty hammer all the way back, and smashed down onto the gold stinger that had been stuck on the Death Stalker's back like a nail.
*BAM!* *SNIP!* With the loud and clear gunshot, followed by a clean crushing crunch and a clear snappy snip right behind. The giant Grimm scorpion's back caved in, its inner being destroyed by its own sting, the massive kinetic energy with the overwhelming force behind Nora's attack travels all the way from the bug's exoskeleton back to the bottom tip of its legs, the force causing by the sudden increasing weight and gravity crumbles the floor underneath the scorpion, bringing the Grimm bug straight down to the deep end of the chasm; on the other vertical side of the battlefield, the powerful pressure on the Grimm bird's neck finally reached its climax, and the bird head separated from the neck in a clean-cut, signaling its death.
Doing a flip, one Ruby Rose landed perfectly on the top of the cliff, the giant creature of darkness's headless body falling toward the chasm below, joining its fallen insect kin.
Mission: Obtain the relic and defeat the Grimm. [Success]
Down below the cliff, the other 7 companions watched the falling and dissolving giant Grimm corpse with awe and satisfaction, they had done it, they had succeeded in fighting off the elder Grimm that was hunting them. They had made it through the entrance exam.
Looking down, Ruby saw Yang give her a big thumbs up and a toothy smile, she was talking at the girl in black with a black ribbon, no doubt bragging about something like her being her proud lil' sis.
Moving her gaze, Ruby saw Weiss giving a nod of approval. Aww Yeah, capability proving? [Checked]
This day may start a bit rough, but in the end, everything turns out to be awesome!
All that is left to do is regroup and return to the launch cliff, hand over the relic to the instructor, and wait for the result of their exam.
Ohhh, she can't wait for the awesome year to start already.
If not for the fate to have a different idea in store for her...
"Bravo! Bravo!" Coming from nowhere, a voice Ruby never heard before exclaimed, stopping her from leaving the cliff.
Adrenaline still running high, she looked at their surroundings furiously as she held Crescent Rose close alertly. "Wha- Who… who said that?" Who said that indeed, as there's no one here other than her.
"That would be me of course!" The unfamiliar voice answered & announced its presence once more, this time much more direct, clear, and location certain.
- Playing music: Super Paper Mario OST - Dimentio, Charming Magician -
"Comment allez-vous?" ("How are you?" in French) Looking at the direction of the voice with a language she never heard of coming from, Ruby quickly turned around and pointed Crescent Rose's gun barrel toward the… empty air?
Glancing around nervously, Ruby keeps her guard on… Until a guy suddenly flips into existence like a 2D cardboard, in the air, floating there while clapping his hand to her, catching the red hood girl off guard. "So very nice to meet you... and your red hood." Said the newcomer very amusingly.
Circling around Ruby, the strange man's gaze glued onto Ruby as he inspected the red hood intensely and spoke. "That certainly was a splendid performance! Yes? Hmmm? The way you served that giant Nevermore's head into a real headless chicken, with that deadly oversized weapon that is the best trustworthy companion of Death, my, my, I'm still having the goosebumps just from the sheer cruelty you performed back there." The owner of the voice is a man, that is for certain, floating there in the air as if there's nothing wrong with the gravity, with a height of 5'7'', dressed like a Jester.
An attention gluing mask on his face, which was divided into black and white sides, the white portion of it had a pitch-black eye and the black portion had a glowing yellow eye. His outfit is a bright yellow and purple outfit with a black under that has puffy sleeves and trousers, a pair of black shoes that curl up at the tip, and a matching jester hat made of yellow and purple.
Seeing the red hood frozen up at his...unique... praise, the man continues speaking, while chuckling at his own little joke. "Ahh, the face of utter confusion because unable to compromise the situation at hand, ahh haha! It never gets old."
"Ummm, who... are you?" Her social awkwardness finally kicked in, Ruby meekly speaks, confusion, worry, and confusion in her voice. Okay… this is the second time she finds herself in company with weird people in the following week. First was that ghostly white man, then the bossy Weiss, and now it's a yellow & purple jester?
Her confused attitude only seems to improve the stranger's amusing mood even more. "Yes yes, I suppose the little magical me has confused you enough with my vivid & magical presence, perhaps I do owe you an explanation, hmmm? Yes?"
With a swift flip that somehow generated shiny sparkles trails effect behind the movement, the dazzling jester vanished from view, startling & confused Ruby.
Without giving her a chance to question, the mysterious man's voice started talking.
"The charming~ The dazzling~ The crowd's all-time favorite~ I am-." Then, flipped into existence once again, spinning with his hand spread wide, he announced with confidence and cool. "Dimentio, master of the dimensions." He then bows to the red hood girl politely. "Please remember that name well."
His dramatic style seems to confuse Ruby even more, as the girl does nothing but stare at him awkwardly. "Ummmmm..."
Seeing his new companions doesn't know how to respond to his entrance, the jester chuckled to himself again. "Ahh yes, yes, I suppose just name alone isn't enough for you to know me, after all, strangers can't become friends unless you know them well enough... Well then, fear not, my losing little lamb, for I have always had a self-introduction monologue prepared just in case. But..." He paused abruptly, freezing all his movement.
...
"But?..." The sudden silence somehow provoked Ruby's curiosity as she questioned unconsciously.
"For the sake of repeating myself again because I see that you're currently a bit away from your comrades. Let me just-" He holds his hand up, and then with a snap.
Ruby suddenly found her world going white and flipping. In a blink of an eye, she was back with her partner and sister.
And for some reason… the separate groups were teleported together.
"Wha?!"
"Gah!?"
"Woah! What? Ruby?!"
"Huh?!"
"What the?"
"Ohhhh~ Cool! Renny Renny, did we just get teleported somehow?"
"..."
This sudden development sure took all 8 teenagers by surprise, but they certainly were not prepared for what would come next.
"AHEM! May I have your attention? O' dear listeners?" The strange Jester asks loudly, getting everyone's attention.
"Whenever there's peace, I'll spark some chaos; in a land of harmony, I'll plant the seed of discord; if there's hope, I will bring in despair. To crush! To kill! To destroy! To snuff out the light of the world!-"
Then, in front of the 8, flipping into existence, the yellow & Purple jester comes into view, politely bowing to everyone. "-And bringing in... absolute chaos. That is me, yours truly, Dimentio. The magical jester of chaos. Please make your acquaintance."
Hearing enough and a lot of worrying flagging words, the teenagers load up their weapons as well as raise their guard, immediately identifying the newcomers aren't good-natured by any means.
"What do you want?" Point the gun barrel of Gambol Shroud at the jester, Blake was the first one to take the defense action. Her past experience and her instinct yelling at her that this person is dangerous, and really… really bad news, that something about him is very… very wrong.
As if confirming her theory, and making her further uncomfortable, the jester ignored her question, unfazed by the weapon pointed at him, rubbing his hands together in excitement, acting like a child that's about to open up a birthday gift. "Now the players are at the position, we can get this play started."
"Play? What play?" Come to her sharp sense. Weiss narrowed her eyes, there were few questions she demanded answers from this instant.
"Ladies & Gentlemen, I, Dimentio, master of the dimensions, entertainer of the stages, present to you..." With a simple lifting of his hand above head. "The tragic death of an honest soul, by the cruel, bloody jaw of Grimms!" As he snaps his finger at the end, a group of Grimm made of Beowolf, Ursa, Creep, and Boarbatusk are summoned, surrounding the group from all sides. Earning a small "Eep'' from Jaune.
Seeing they're surrounded by Grimm, they ready their weapon, despite having just finished a battle, they're determined to fight their way out. (A not so sure answer from Jaune.)
"I don't care who the heck you think you are, or what trick you're up to, but I'll say this. You're a terrible comedian if this is your idea for fun." Bumping her fist together, Yang cracked her knuckles. They may have just met, but Yang's instinct is telling her to punch this guy right in the face.
Continuously ignoring the teenagers, the jester moves his attention to the Grimms. "Hold your claws, boys, everyone will have plenty of chances to feast." As if obeying his order, the Grimms hold on standby, waiting for further instruction. Earning a surprised glare from the teens.
Irritating for the stand-offish attitude, Yang sneered. "If you think a bunch of Grimms are enough to kill us, then you're severely wrong."
Finally addressing the question, Dimentio's mask fixed its gaze on Yang, the emotionless smiling eye holes met lilac orbs. "At here? in the normal open space? I agree, they stood no chance against you all. But of course, this is the part where I shall disagree. Behold!" Holding his finger up and snapped. The space around then suddenly faded away, transforming into a green dimension full of geometric lines, taking all teens by surprise.
"Voila! Welcome to Dimension D, Version 2.0! A dimension created by yours truly."
Checking their surroundings, not a single trace of nature's lush green remains, replaced by the eerie and inhospitable lifeless green with a digital-like atmosphere.
Musing at his own work, the jester spoked. "In this mind-bending dimension, my power will be multiplied by 256 times more, that also applies to these lovely servants of darkness, as long as they're in here, they'll be 256 times more dangerous and deadlier than you'll ever see." Chuckled very dangerously, Dimentio asked. "Now then… still feeling tough and mighty?" Seeing them showing looks of uncertainty and fear, Dimentio hummed.
"They're all yours, O' dear terrible dark beasts! Wipe the floors with their blood, fill your claws with their viscera, and don't forget to treat your mouth with their crunchy bones! But, be sure to leave some remains for evidence to tell the world their death! Hahahahaha! Ciao!"
With that, the jester takes his leave, leaving the teenagers to their approaching death.
At the man's word, the Grimms gritted their teeth, black saliva of uncontainable excitement and aggression dripping down from their jaws.
Finally summoning his nerve, Jaune asks. "Ok… what now?" In the back of his mind, he began to regret trying to fake his way into a Huntsman Academy. What exactly is going on?!
"We fight our way out. Here they come!" Ruby answered, confusion and uncertainty present in her face and voice, but her eyes remained determined to the object at hand.
- With Petey Piranha.
"BLURRRRRRRGGGGGGGG!" Puking like a water hose, Petey mimicking his way like a certain Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device. The water generated from his stomach was enough to put out the fire a certain Ice Queen accidentally caused.
As the last bit of fire was extinguished, wiping his mouth, if we take a closer look, our favorite Piranha Mutant friend's costume had its color scheme changed, from the iconic red head and white spot to light-blue head and very faint-blue spot, his green leaf changed to yellow with light green inner hue. (The 8th alt custom blue color from Piranha Plant in Smash Bros.)
Apparently, consuming Dust not only alters his elements, but also his color scheme just like power-ups. Not that is a bad thing, but it could be a big giveaway for the enemy of what element he's using.
Dusting his hands in satisfaction to admire his work, Petey was about to go slacking by taking another nap under a tree, when the phone-like object in his waist pouch rings on.
"?" Picking up the device thingy, a confused Petey brought it to the ears. "GLA?" (Yes?)
[Petey, to your south immediately, some kids are in danger!] From the other side, Bob-omb's voice was urgent, a rare emotion the ever calm bomb monarch displayed.
"GLOP? GLAP GLARP GLOP?" (Danger? What do you mean?)
[Our culprit had shown up, and he had made contact with the students, you're the closest one to them. I'll buy you whatever you want! Just hurry!]
Hearing the promising blank-check of the food ticket, Petey hung up, immediately flapped his arms, and took flight.
His other workmates have also been on their way to the area the soon-to-be Team RWBY & JNPR were at, but it would seem that they won't be able to make it in time...
- Back in Dimension D. Version 2.0
One Dimentio in a good mood flipped back into his own personal playground, fully expecting to see the dead corpse of 8 children, only to see the Grimms had been slain, the direction of this play had gone haywire.
Unable to hide his surprise, a face of :^0 appeared on Dimentio's mask. As he slowly raises a finger in utter confusion. "Che?" ("What?" in Italian.)
Noticing their enemy is back, the teens point their weapon at him, an unspoken aura of smugness and amusement present in their body language. Expression in the case of a certain blondie and hyperactive ginger head.
"Hey hey! Weird clown man! You said this place makes everything stronger, so… basically... if by that rule, doesn't that include us too?" One peppy Nora waved her raised arm as she questioned.
Seeing the lost look on the jester's face, one Yang Xiao Long smugly taunts aback. "Not only do you have a terrible sense of fun, your trick also sucked. Guess you really… make a clown of yourself. Eh?"
…
…
Ignoring the facepalming the others are doing at the terrible joke attempt, Dimentio pinches the nose bridge of his mask and draws a long exhaust. "Okay… I specifically remember I had gotten rid of that issue. Oh well, guess being in a different universe had altered things… Sigh… all back to square one..." He mutters the last part with slight disappointment, which didn't go unnoticed by Blake's sharp sense of hearing. 'Being in a different universe?'
Clapping his hand and rearranging his mood, Dimentio went back to his unnerving cheering self. "Oh well, just a little technical issue over the performance. I guess I'll be just using the old trick then." With another snap, everyone was sent back to the real world, back to the cliffside. Immediately, another new wave of Grimms has dropped around them again.
Stretching her arms, Yang chucked as she raised an eyebrow. "Alright… whatever spacetime trick of semblance that you used, it obviously didn't work, and now you think trying the same thing again without it in the original reality is going to work?"
Her taunt however does nothing to even raise an ire from the jester. "Oh please, you think I'm not aware of that issue? I know for a fact these poor animals stand no chance to you all." The smile on his mask then widened in an unsettling manner. "That's why I'll keep sending them one after another, until you can no longer fight and collapse."
He then dropped his playful attitude suddenly. "After all, you're just a bunch of flimsy humans, humans that could die from tiredness." The way he addressed them, the malice carried behind his words, it was unlike anything they ever encountered before.
They're facing a real madman.
Hearing his true intention, they readied their weapon, preparing to fight their way out. Weiss narrowed her eyes. "If you think we're going to let you do just that? Then you must have a loose screw in your head."
Soon as she finished her sentence, a glyph appeared underneath Dimentio, an iceberg erupting from the snowflake rune, trapping Dimentio inside the ice prison.
"Nice! You got him! Way to go, partner!" Seeing their enemy trapped, Ruby exclaimed excitedly.
Hearing the praise, Weiss automatically had her nose pointed up as she leaned her head back in pride. "Hmmm, of course. I'm the best partner anyone could ever ask for."
Her soon-to-be future teammate, however, doesn't seem to think so as Blake warned. "Wait, something is not right..." The hair on the back of her neck stands up, her animal instinct screams to her that the danger isn't over yet.
To prove her fear to be correct. Dimentio suddenly teleported out from the iceberg, as if he was never trapped, the jester staring at them bored through the emotionless mask. With a simple motion of his head. "Get them." He ordered.
Immediately, the Grimms he summoned followed his order, with a howl from the Alpha Beowolf as the signal, they sprint toward the target in front of them.
Quickly to act, Ruby dashed forward to meet the Beowolves that tried to pounce on them, with rose petals trails behind her, Ruby twirling her waist and arms, and slashed horizontally like a beyblade, killing the front wave of beowolves. Following behind, Ren struck his weapon at an Alpha Beowolf's stomach with a palm strike, paralyzing the Grimm, before Nora jumping front and nailing Magnhild on the beast's head.
Splitting shadow clones left & right, Blake focuses on creating distractions for her range weapon comrades, as they try to hold their ground by gunning down the advancing Creep, Ursa, and Boarbatusk.
"Hooah!" Jaune, finally bottoms down his nervousness, manages to squeeze out a trace of courage he never know he had, the Arc knight comes forward to engage a group of Boarbatusk, holding onto his shield dearly, he manages to stand his ground by blocking the spinning strike of the curling boar, despite being scared to death on the inside.
Soon as he blocks one strike, Pyrrha comes forward to finish the Grimm with great flexibility and grace with her javelin, she and her instant secret crush work like a pair of dancers following a rhythm. And occasionally switch Miló to rifle mode to help gun down a few Grimm distracted by Blake.
They were doing rather well, yes. However, some of them soon notice an unsettling sign.
They're literally just fighting waves and waves of Grimm deployed by Dimentio.
The man just does nothing but send waves and waves of common Grimms at them, as if testing them.
The sharper minds like Weiss, Blake, Pyrrha, and Ren soon realize they had been doing this for minutes, and they're starting to feel the fatigue building up at a slow, but surely rate.
As if reading their mind, Dimentio spoke as he stopped sending Grimms. "There was once a wise man who said: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Tilted his head innocently, the jester continued. "And wouldn't you know? I guess I AM a bit insane."
Really fed up by the weirdo's nonsense, Yang roared as she fired a shot of fire Dust at Dimentio's face. "Hey, jerk. Would you SHUT your crap!"
Simply tilting his head to the side, Dimentio dodged the shot with great flexibility and precision, as it went past his cheek by just an inch close. The monochrome happy mask's unsettling smile twirls up at the end, as the jester brings up a finger to point at the goldilocks. "Ahh Uhh Uhhh~ A Huntress like you shouldn't get your emotions riled up like that, you'll only attract more Grimm. Not to mention, a lady shouldn't run their mouths like that." Shaking his head as he shrugged with a fake pity, Dimentio added. "But that's totally fine by me, after all, it makes my job easier!"
Somehow the man really knows how to push all the right buttons. Yang was pissed off by this man's pompous, defiant attitude, as her hair burst into glowing flames. "Why you..."
"Ohhhh. Such temper! Your hair, they flare out like the fire over a pile of corn! Is this supposed to be the attitude of the warrior that protects the peace? Sweetie, leave the sarcasm and insult to the pros, you're gonna hurt yourself and get burned. Go play with the big bad Grimms if you want a faster and safer way to get hurt."
Striking a pose like reading a poem, Dimentio continues his impromptu work. "Roses are red, violets are blue, a face like you belong in a zoo. But don't you worry, for I will be there too, not in the cage, but laughing at you. With a bag of popcorn in hand too."
Yang's boiling anger was soon put to a stop as Ruby quickly warned her of the risk of doing so. "Yang, No! The Grimms!"
Hearing the rational voice of her sweet sweet sister, the worry and fear from Ruby's voice was enough of a wake-up call to Yang's sense, she quickly deactivates her Semblance, and drew a deep breath, suppressing all the negative emotion at the moment. "Sorry, sis, he's just really getting under my skin."
"On behalf of everyone, I say that he really IS getting under everyone's nerves." Weiss adds, fighting down the urge to twitch her brows and eyes, the heiress feeling just the same annoyance as her fellow brawner.
Dimentio however, seems to take that as a compliment. "That's what I do. I get in and under everyone's skin and all that stuff. But by the end, you WILL remember me- and that's all that matters."
Seeing that their enemy really knows his way around words, and they are getting nowhere, Blake decides to cut to the business. "What do you want? What are you trying to accomplish?"
"Oh? I thought I already made myself clean and clear enough? What's difficult to understand? Was it wrong to remove an out-of-place red rose that was in a black rose garden?"
Hearing the sensitive word, Yang moves in front of Ruby, her fist clenched tight from all the anger in her mind. "Listen, asshole, if you think I would let creeps like you lay a finger on my sis, then you're in an absolute world of pain."
Her brows twitch from the swear word, Weiss joins the conversation as she steps forward with Myrtenaster point forward. "The impudent vocabulary aside. We won't let an evildoer like you do as you pleased and walk away!"
Dimentio however, seems to really enjoy this, as he lowers his head in snicker. "Why am I doing this? Ohhhh hohohoho! Yes, dear red hood and I have no history, we never met each other. But why? Why would I do such a cruel and unreasonable thing to her? Why you native child? It's very simple. For you see..." Then, he slowly lifted his face up, the ever-smiling mask losing all the happiness as it dropped into a look of pure madness, the pitch-black & glowing yellow eye holes widened up. "I despise the very existence of the likes such as her."
The second Dimentio finished his outburst, the world around them died down.
The sudden drastic shift of Dimentio's personality has put whatever reply they had in mind dead in their throat, none of them dare to make a sound or reply, the maniac looks in the hollow eyes of the mask strikes a fear that cannot be grasped. The deafening silence makes even the simple sound of grass rustling sounds like a sharp knife.
And then as if nothing ever happens, the jester switches back to his lighthearted persona. "Ohhh please, what kind of world would we live in, if everyone is all so nice to each other all the time?"
He then tries to mimic Ruby's high-pitched voice as he makes a poor attempt of mocking. "Everyone would be happy, what is wrong with that?"
"Wrong, people would get comfortable, cozy, and unfulfilled and there will be only pointless happily ever after. Yada yada, not to mention it would be insufferably boring. Living in a world where everyone danced around all day, singing merry songs and drinking elderberry juice? Bleh, nooOOOOOooo, no no, no no no nonononono! I would rather be trapped in a white void where everything is eradicated from existence for eternality."
"That's why… pure soul such as you must die, so that chaos and destruction can swallow everything as a whole." Dimentio brought up his finger, and snapped once more.
Immediately, another Giant Nevermore was summoned in front of the in-training-Huntsman.
Seeing as this mad man was able to just summon an elder Grimm from none just like that, the teenagers took a fearful step back. This is bad, super bad.
Thankfully, their help has arrived.
"GLORP GLAP GRAP GLARK! GLORP GLOK!" (Here comes the Giant Fist! Piranha CRUSH!) When suddenly, a guy dropped down from the sky, his landing crushed directly on top of the Giant Nevermore's skull head plate, bringing the giant bird down to the land below him, embedding the Grimm's head and causing spider-web-like cracks on the floor. And sending the nearby tiny Grimm flying with the impact shockwave. Killing the elder Grimm in one single punch.
The newcomer is none other than Petey Piranha, who has done his hardest to fly all the way here at the fastest pace he could manage. Star Heaven, flying surely was tiresome. How do those Para-type minions manage to float in the air all the time? Anyway... BLANK-CHECK FOOD TICKET! Here he comes!
Focus on the job. Petey does his best, roaring toward the sky, his loud war cry causing all presenting men & Grimm to cover their ears in pain. And Blake, being the most unfortunate victim.
"ROAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRR!" Pro tip from Big Boss Bowser, always asserting your very own dominance whenever you're facing an enemy or making an entrance, that's the number 1 rule as a Boss Minion. Showing them who's the big boss around the town.
Being the first to recover from the shock, Nora goes super fangirling. "OH MY GOD! Did you guys see THAT? Did you guys SEE THAT? WHA! BAM! He defeated the giant Nevermore just like that! That's sooooooooo COOLLLLLL!"
Their brains finally register what had transpired, they each hold a different expression on their face.
Ruby had stars in her eyes as she entered Huntsman fangirling mode. "Sooo… Awesome!"
Weiss had her jaw hanging. She had heard or read some pretty tall tale of Huntsman as she worked her way on being a Huntsman, but never in her life had she thought such absurdity could be real. To finish an elder Grimm in one punch?!
Blake's sensitive ear was still ringing, but she could easily make out what the ginger hair girl probably was talking about. After all… she is having a hard time accepting what she's looking at. A man wearing a mascot suit had defeated an elder Grimm… in one punch… One Punch! ! !
Yang was perhaps the one that took it the hardest, after all, she had a rather… complex history with the people in front of them, while they're not enemies or anything, Yang doesn't have the nicest first impression with them. Those five men, not only are they Huntsman Professor at Beacon, but apparently, they're absurdly strong, stronger than both Dad and Uncle Qrow? ? ? And this guy was the one that was drinking himself to death back at Junior's club?
Suddenly, a reasoning voice whispers in the back of her mind. Maybe not fighting them back at Junior's club was the wisest decision I ever made, you could get seriously beaten… And Yang finds herself shivering with goosebumps. This… this… this just doesn't seem possible. no. No.
Jaune was literally trying his best to not faint from shock, wha.. What in the name of Dust is going on?! Yes, what the guy just did is downright badass, but also super terrifying. Oh god, what have I gotten myself into?
Pyrrha was really shocked, as the champion girl brought both hands to her face. She knows that some have considered her as capable as an actual Huntsman, while she may disagree as she knows she has a long way to go before actually becoming a real Huntsman, but this… is… is this the actual standard for Huntsman? This… this can't be, right? It just… it just seems too surreal.
As expected, Ren's usual stoic persona was no exception as it had been severely broken by the sheer bizarreness. His mouth was unconsciously hanging as he's having difficulty finding his voice like the rest of his comrades.
Nora is… well, Nora.
Anyway…
This guy, the guy that looked so out of place in Beacon, The guy that looked more like a personnel that worked in some weird theme park as a mascot, took down an elder Grimm in one punch.
The same question appeared in their mind: WHO IS THIS GUY?
Finally recovering from the shock, Dimentio tries to recover his sharp-witted vocabulary.
"O-ohh, what is this? An enthusiastic volunteer that wants to be part of the play? I'm terribly sorry, but today's performance does not include audience interaction. Although..."
"As a master of entertainment, a performancer, stage adaptability is the most important skill to own. So… as a Bonus Act, I present you..." Dimentio then motioned his arm.
Immediately, a green force field surrounded Petey, boxing him like a Mime actor trapped in a box.
"Dimentio's One Way Vanishing Trick!" Holding his right hand up and proudly declaring, Dimentio acted as if he's on a stage and a spotlight was showering him.
"GLA?" Confused at the sudden situation he finds himself in, Petey tries to knock the glass-like forcefield in curiosity. Totally unaware of the twist that's about to come.
With a twisted smile, Dimentio simply phrases his favorite word. "Ciao!"
What came next was an absolutely horrible sight. As the box that trapped Petey exploded.
*BOOM*
The blind flash, followed by a loud explosion, and a powerful shockwave, stunned the teenagers, as they held up their hands to block the blinding flash.
At where he once stood, his whole body covered in soot and burnt, eyes rolling up, smoke escaping from his hanging jaw, Petey dropped to his knee, and with his whole body went limp, he face-planted unconsciously on the ground, not moving anymore.
When they recovered, the horrible truth registered in their mind…
Someone just got murdered.
Eyes widen with horror. "Wha… what have you done..." Disheartened & disbelieving, Weiss weakly questioned, this sight in front of her isn't real...
Pyrrha had her hand over her mouth, her very own stomach feeling sick, by the sheer cruelty and disrespect over life this psychopath just displayed. "Wha… wha..." Her very voice had betrayed & died in her throat.
Staring at the unmoving body, Blake's whole body was trembling in fear and anger, her hand had unconsciously clenched very hard, her nail digging deep into the flesh, as red liquid slowly dripped down from her fist. No matter where she goes, there are just never short of horrible people. This person… she… she can't let him get away, not again. She can't let a guy like this take another life.
Around the three serious-minded ladies, their others aren't doing any better.
Ruby looked… lost, she knows terrible things happen, but never had she witnessed it in front of her very eyes, by the hands of a man. And… there's a suffocating force in her chest… was it… guilty? She was too far away from him, even if she knew what that crazy jester was about to do, she couldn't make that distance… so in reality, there's nothing she could do at that moment, right? So… so why… Why is her heart telling her that it's her fault? That it's her fault of being powerless as a to-be Huntsman, that her failure that indirectly caused the guy's death...
Face green, Jaune wanted to faint, but for some reason, a part of him refused, a voice reasoned within him, that he can't faint right here, even when his legs are trembling from fright, his whole body sweating in fear, his brain screaming danger to him, despite all that, a part of him persisted.
Nora's peppiness had vanished as soon as the idea of death by murder hit her. Her body unconsciously moves to Ren's side, holding onto Ren for comfort, both really unsure how to react to the event that happens before their very eyes.
Dimentio however, was not looking amused at the result of his trick. "Hmmm… so very weird. Yes, yes. Usually he should be erased from existence, yet the body manages to remain." Was this another alter effect this universe had on my magic? How curious...
"STOP MESSING AROUND WITH US, YOU FUCKING SICKO!" Unable to contain her anger anymore, Yang loses it, lilac orbs turn into glowing red, her hair bursts into glowing flames. She's really ready to punch this guy six feet under.
Brought his hand to his chest, Dimentio bows as he explained. "Woah, language. And messing around? Oh, no. My dear listener. Magic is no laughing matter. I am always deadly serious. And I have decided."
Snapping his finger again, the green force fields appear around the teens, caging them each respectively. "It would be so very DULL if your journey ended so easily... Instead, it ends with...magic!"
"Ah ha ha. Yes, you all have been a very good listener, and that's why I decided to give you all a consolation prize..."
Realized what this mad man was implying, a terror they never felt before hit them in full force. And one emotion took over them. Panic. Massive panic.
"No no no! No! NO!"
"Oh god! Oh god!"
"Errrng! Hrngh! Why! Won't! This! Thing! Broke!"
"Please! Don't do this!" Ruby pleaded, a look of terror in her eyes.
Her plea, however, met the deaf ear. As the smile on Dimentio's mask is grinning from ear to ear. "It's time for you to take your final bow, child… show is over."
"No… no… NO! This can't be happening!"
"Ren! Ren! Help me!"
"Nora!"
The sound of their cry being his ultimate pleasure, Dimentio laughed. "Ah ha ha ha ha! Shhhhh. Don't worry. It won't be so bad, you won't be feeling much longer, I promise."
If Dimentio didn't let himself basket in the despair of the teenager, then maybe, maybe he'll notice an object advancing toward him at high speed. And before he knew it, a fist was connected to his face.
*BAM!*
*REWINDS*
In the very instant right before everything escalate, a very pissed-off Petey Piranha was beside Dimentio, and his fist right on a collision course to the side of his face.
"GLORP… GARP… GLARKA BARBORKA!" (Blank… check… FOOD TICKET!)
*BAM!* (Replay.)
Then, everything playing like a slow-motion, the smile on Dimentio's mask shifts into confusion, then panic, and then, pain.
When everything goes back to normal speed, Dimentio was sent flying like a cannonball, into the cliff where Ruby killed the Giant Nevermore. The sheer power that transfers from Petey's own brutal force carries through Dimentio's body, and results in the destruction of the cliff.
With the performance interrupted, the green force field disappeared. Our teenagers drop in massive relief.
Landing on the ground, Petey huff in annoyance.
"GLEB. GLORP. BOK. GLEKA BABOKA?" (Dude, what, was, your problem?) Who the hell blows somebody up during Boss Introduction? That's Rude, super rude. No respect for rules and classics.
Making his way to the teenagers, Petey gets a good look at them. A red hood, an Ice princess, a black ribbon, a goldilocks, another blondie, flakes box girl, pinky hammer girl, and green dude.
Seeing that they're fine, Petey takes out his scroll and dials a number.
[Petey! Statue report, what of the children? The enemy?] Coming through the speaker immediately, the anxious voice of King Bob-omb sounded.
"GORP GLAP, GERP GLORK GLAK GLEP GLA. GARP GLABARKORP… GLA GLOP." (Crisis over, I punch the guy into oblivion. And nobody is hurt… save for me.) The Piranha-man answered, a little bit annoyed at the end.
[Well, that's good to hear, escort the kids back to the cliff.]
"GLEP." (Roger.)
You probably could imagine, the teenagers were looking at Petey with utter confusion. Not a single word that escaped from his mouth made any sense to them. It's almost like he's speaking gibberish. And… the guy on the scroll seems to understand him just fine… Actually… there's one I missed.
"Is that some sort of secret agent code for conversation? Are you a special agent? How did you get so strong? What's with the costume color change?" Nora was zooming around Petey, studying the Piranha Plant mutant with great interest, her weird quirk of shuttling back and forth in an instant was starting to make Petey dizzy as he couldn't keep up with the girl.
Luckily for Petey, Ren was there to keep Nora in check. "Nora, mind the personal space."
Finally, calm down from the craziness that occurred in her life just a moment ago, Weiss approached Petey. "Ahem, I think I say on behalf of everyone that we owe you a thank. Mister?"
Seeing that Weiss is asking for his name, Petey picks up his scroll and dials something, then he starts typing text on it.
- Meanwhile, with Ozpin & King Bob-omb
The two were looking at the group with the nearby camera feed, Ozpin himself is looking at the early footage of the incident. The jester dressed in purple and yellow was yet another enigma to him, as he never saw a person like him before, nor had he heard someone with a Semblance that could mess with dimension.
So the question is very simple. Is this man from Remnant? Or is he from the same world as his new employee & students? If so, what does that lead to?
Looking at the bomb monarch, Ozpin asked. "Do you by any chance recognize this man?" Behind his usual stoic expression, Ozpin is severely stressed, no matter what answer the bomb-man said, it's going to be a huge problem in this secret war of his.
Staring at the screenshot of the jester, King Bob-omb shook his head in negative. "I'm afraid not, while I know that our world has had few memorable evildoers over the years, I don't think I ever read any report regarding a man dressed in purple & yellow like a jester. I was, fortunately & unfortunately enough to never at present when someone attacked his highness' kingdom. If his royal highness is here, then he would be able to answer that for you, as our Lord always takes matters into his own hand."
Stroking his mustache, Bob-omb added. "More importantly, since he obviously isn't our comrade nor any part among his highness's allies, how does he get into your world? I think that's the real problem." That's a rational question, as far as King Bob-omb understands, the teleport magic incident should, by Sir Kamek's definition and calculation, involve only members of Bowser Kingdom, that any outsider shouldn't be mixed up in this incident.
…
Looks like we have some serious matters we need to take into account regarding the future conquest. Thinking in the back of his mind, it would seem that their arrival on this world isn't just an accident, perhaps some higher beings had planned this, or some form of powers were behind this development of their situation. It would seem that regrouping with their lord is the urgent priority they must take in the foreseeable future.
"I really don't understand how or why, but one thing is certain, someone else from our world is here on your planet, I fear that something must be going on beyond our eyes & ears."
Solemnly, Ozpin massaged his temper. "I see, that certainly makes our situation much more complex." At this point, Ozpin realizes the situation had just gone in the worst direction he estimated, the worst hypothesis he imagined ever since their special guest arrived on Remnant had become true. That someone, someone who wields magic, raw pure magic, from another world, with unknown ill-intention, had entered their world too, and they might have already made contact with Salem.
Drawing a long sigh, Ozpin massages his forehead in distress. Looks like finding the rest of the scattered otherworldly kingdom and individuals is a race against the clock. I just hope that James' men could make it in time.
Recalling the request he made a week ago, Ozpin prayed, that they'll be able to find this Bowser Kingdom before Salem does.
- someone's pov?
"Oww, oww oww owww owww ouch..." His mind finally functioning once more, a dizzy jester slowly rises up from the cater he's inside.
Holding his cracked mask, Dimentio kept up his usual cheerfulness, but the expression on his mask tells that he's in much pain. "Ok… that's a mean punch… I'll give you that."
Seeing that his attacker is still around, tho not paying attention to him. Dimentio casts a careful look at his assaulter.
Imagine his surprise when he finally realized not who, but what attacked him.
"Hmm? Do my eyes actually deceive me? But isn't that the head of a Piranha Planet?"
Indeed, despite the silhouette of a human, that round-shaped head with spots, only a species of sentient flytrap plant looks like that. To think that he would make such a mistake of not recognizing such a common type of nuisance.
Hold on.
Stroking his chin. Dimentio queried. Why is a Piranha Plant on this planet? Shouldn't this planet be separated dimension from Mushroom World?
"!"
Understanding what this means, Dimentio let out an unsettling grin. Things had just got a thousand times more interesting.
Well, guess he should cherish this chance and make the most of it.
- Back with Petey and the teenagers.
It wasn't easy, but Petey had managed it, using the power known as text typing. The teens had learned his name… well, fake name in this world anyway: Petey Venus. Still don't get why we had to use a fake name tho… it's just a hassle, and makes things complex.
Anyway, they have been asking Petey all kinds of questions, mainly revolving around the topic of his strength, anyway, these kids are a weird bunch.
Red hood was depressed because he doesn't use weapons. What's the problem with fighting with bare fists? On the other hand, the peppy pinky that wields a hammer is becoming more and more likable the more Petey learns about her.
For some reason, the Ice princess thinks his incapability to talk normally is absurd. Rude.
Anyway, focus back on the job, he just needs to escort them back to the launching cliff right?
Gesturing them to follow him, Petey makes his way to the south. Only to be stopped by Blake's calling. "Wait, aren't you going to take that jester back? We obviously can't let him be just like that."
She made a point, a really good point. The earlier near-death experience was enough of a statement that they mustn't let a nutjob like Dimentio be free and unpunished.
Sadly for them, the simple mind of Petey really doesn't understand the reason why they must bring this guy back and send him in a dungeon, prison, jail, or whatever, back in their world, just punching the troublemaker super hard that'll make them explode into stars or sends them to oblivion is enough to take care most problem. Or by general definition, kicking their ass to the next week is always the answer.
But sadly for the teens, that chance had already passed.
"Is that concern I'm sensing in your voice? How nice of you, I'm just doing fine, thanks for worrying." Because Dimentio is up and just floating a few steps away across them. "Although my cheek hurts, no thanks to you."
Immediately Yang punched a shot at his face, only for him to warp out suddenly, evading the attack.
"Hundred of terrible pardons, good sir!" Despite no longer being there, Dimentio's voice echoes around them. Making the teens tense up and on edge.
As they looked around, trying to locate Dimentio, the jester continued speaking. "You, yes, you, the one with that ridiculous garden weed creature for a costume, you're not from this world, are you?"
If Dimentio wasn't able to get Petey's attention other than the method of murder attempt, he had just achieved his goal.
"GLA?" (What?)
The same question could be said for the teens. What nonsense is this madman spouting now?
"Ahh, save your energy, my fellow oversized fly-eating-plant friend. I can't speak your language, I may recognize the accent, but I understand none, because to me, your kind only speaks in gibberish." Hearing this, Petey gritted his mouth, no one bad mouth his species, Piranha Plant was in Smash for a reason.
"Alright, as much as I would love to stay and bring more fun and awe, I'm afraid I must cut today's performance short, as I have places I need to be."
"You think we're going to let a dangerous lunatic like you roam freely around the Kingdom?" Weiss holds Myrtenaster in alert, if they had to fight with this lunatic, then so be it, she refuses to let her chance of studying at Beacon & staying at Vale be ruined by this clown, after all the hardship she had experienced, she will crave her future with her own hands.
Not even bothering with Weiss, Dimentio goes on with his monologuing. "So, as a parting gift, I give you… THIS!"
It was then a Piranha Pod was summoned in front of them. A round red seed with the iconic Piranha white lips and white thorn-like spike around the body.
"See this thing? It's called a Naval Piranha Pod, and I will be infesting it with Grimm energy."
"What?!" Was the reaction the teens from Remnant had.
"How? You may ask? Why you native child, with Magic of course~" Soon as Dimentio finished his word, a black tar-like substance was summoned and poured onto the Piranha seed.
Playing music: Yoshi's Island - Big Boss Theme (Remastered Music) By Miguexe Music
The seed was then dropped on the ground. Immediately, black ominous thorny stalks with blood-red thorns emerge from the cracking seed, taking roots on the ground.
"I shall name this bad boy Grimmal Naval Piranha! Don't be shy, Grimmal Naval Piranha! Introduce yourself!"
The thorny roots spread around like a wildfire, soon causing the ground to be destroyed due to the rapidly growing rate of the stalks.
"ROAR!" Then, a monstrous shirk that no man on Remnant ever heard of, roared from the center of the chaos. Causing the teens to take a retracting step in worry and fear.
Four stalks with a bud-like head emerge from the sea of thorny stalks, each harbors the pouty lips the normal Naval Piranha Bud would have. What was once the red head with white spots had changed to black heads with blood-red spots, only the white lips bear the only remaining resemblance.
Then, rise from the center, a giant head attached to the thorny stalks, a head that bears the resemblance to Petey's costume's head, save for the flower petals, the giant Piranha head too had its origin red turned pitch black, its white spots dyed blood red, and the mouth, it's gritting its white teeth, black saliva drip down through the interdental, indicating the beast to be hungry.
"ROAR!" The monster sneered at them, seemingly noticing their presence and identifying them as prey.
"Ah ha ha. Simply adorable isn't he? Now remember, kids: eat your vegetables to grow big! Except in this case, a veggie will eat YOU! Have fun, now! Ciao!~" And with that, Dimentio seemingly takes his leave for real this time, leaving the teens and Piranha man to the Grimm plant.
Eyeing them hungry, the Grimmed Naval Buds lunged forward at them like a hungry beast. Without hesitating, Petey swung his arms forward to create a wall of small tornadoes, providing just enough resistance to prevent the Bud head from advancing closer.
Using his natural language, Petey tries to tell the berserk beast to calm down. Only to have the monster roaring back at all his attempts at negotiation. The thing was impossible to reason with. This really leaves him no other choice.
"Ummm, I don't want to be that guy, but this really does not look good, does it?" Summoning up his courage once more, Jaune weakly asks, are they seriously going to fight… that thing?
"Alright, do we fight or flight?" Cracking her fists, Yang asked with bravery, but her face betrayed her as fear and anxiety mixed with her piling up anger were written on her face. A never-seen kind of Grimm? Even she isn't that reckless to jump in and fight something like that. Not to mention, she's low on ammo.
The plant Grimm raised one Bud head up, and swung it down like a whip toward the group. Without much choice and option, the group backed off to avoid the attack. That's when they notice more and more black thorny stalks pop up on the ground around them, the monster is expanding its territory like an unstoppable exotic plant, and is trying to circle around to trap them.
Petey suddenly spoke, his voice sounded serious, the usual cheerfulness & vibing vibe gone. "GLEP, GLORK GLOK GLARP." (No, you kids will run.)
Walking to the front, the Piranha man turned his head to face them with a confident grin. "GARP GLOP GEPOGAR." (I'll handle this.)
He then took out a raw Fire Dust ore from his waist pouch, and wolfed down the whole ore like a starving man, swallowing the whole thing. This action of course caught the teens off guard.
Immediately, fire emitted around Petey's body, and soon the man's whole body was on fire.
Raising both arms up, with another warcry, Petey brought down both arms to his waist as the flames dispelled with a powerful force. His whole costume's color had changed again, from light-blue head to black head, faint-blue spots to burning-red spots, the flower petals & leaf arms changed to yellow with red edges like burning flames, and the yellow body changed to deep-red. (Think of Fiery Dino Piranha's color scheme.)
What's perhaps the most eye-catching part is his face, fires are emitting from his now glowing yellow eyes and mouth, making him look like some sort of messenger from hell. His color change & cool appearance earns him a round of awes from Ruby and Nora.
In the simplest and easiest way, Petey points at them then to the direction where the initiation cliff is at, then he points at himself then to the Plant-monster Grimm, then punches his fists together with a grin, without another word he runs toward his Grimmed relatives. Engaging a fight between the plant-Man & plant-Grimm.
Taking in all the chaos, Blake finally asks. "Is he trying to tell us he'll handle that thing, while we run back to the school?" Part of her is saying to run, but another part is saying to stay and help, and Blake hadn't felt this stressed ever since coming to Vale, and she's thought she's through with running.
Hearing this they looked among each other, still unsure whether or not they should stay and help, after all, their objective is to bring the relic back to the school ground, this however, seems too much for them. This feels out of their league.
But even with these uncertainties, despite the presenting fear of the unknown, one voice cut through the fear and answered.
"I-I am staying, it's the right thing to do!" Loading up her trusty Crescent Rose, Ruby gives her answer, despite anxiety and nervousness in her voice, her determination was unwavering. She wants to become a Huntsman because she wants to help people, to make the world better, so if she were to run now, what would that make her?
Seeing the resolve of Ruby, the rest 7 say nothing, looking at each other, before reaching a conclusion.
"Ok, how do you supposed us do... to help him fight that… that thing?" Calming her nerves down, Weiss tries to stay civil and reasonable, Ruby may be childish, but her admirable desire & determination to help is something she can't deny as a soon-to-be Huntress.
- with Fire Petey & Grimmed Naval Piranha.
The now fire-wielding Piranha mutant man hopped back as a Piranha Bud head tries to flick at him, with the advantageous fire element, Petey tries to throw fireballs at the Grimm Piranha, the main head use the Bud heads to block the attack, while continuing to advance it's hunting, sneaking a Bud head behind Petey, the Grimm Piranha slammed it down like a mallet, almost caught Petey off guard, the Piranha-man quickly evade the strike, which cracking the ground where it struck.
Not gonna let its corrupted kin continue the advance, Petey lit his leafy hands on fire as he took a quick spin in place, creating a small burst of flaming tornado. The heat immediately causes the plant Grimm to hiss in pain, and back away from Petey.
Using the chance, Petey hopped with a leap that seemingly mimicked a certain plumber in red, the Fire wielding Piranha man threw a hook jab combo at the plant Grimm's main head. Landing the first strike.
As Petey was about to continue his assault with another power punch to the face, his hand was halted by the flexible wiggly stalks of the other Naval Buds, preventing him from attacking and getting closer.
With the prey gripped in a hanging hold, the plant beast does the most logical things, using the other free vines to tie up the prey, as Petey was quickly imprisoned in a thorny cocoon bind, while his puffy costume prevents the thorns from stabbing his body, he can feel the pressure around the waist is getting stronger, if he doesn't break out quickly, he might had his breakfast forced out from his belly. Not wanting to have another forced throw-up, Petey drew a deep breath, and spat out a fireball at his predator's face.
It immediately gets him a favorable result, as the Grimmed Piranha monster is still, by definition, a plant. And unlike its other relatives, Lava Piranha, it was not immune to fire, the direct hit to the face with flames caused the plant monster to screech in pain.
Still, despite landing a hit, it was a short victory for Petey, his Grimmed kin isn't that easy to take down, and attacking it with fire had definitely annoyed the Piranha monster. Petey soon regretted his action. As he had his world rocked violently, and got dirt in his mouth, by being slammed left and right rapidly on the ground like the hammer in a whack-a-mole game.
Not done with its prey, the Grimmed Naval Piranha then holds Petey up and starts spinning him like a lasso above its head. Making Petey dizzy and his stomach funny.
Swallowing down his disgust and dizziness, Petey tries to set his body on fire like his dino-kind relatives, fire combust from his hands and mouth, and soon the flame covers his whole body. The sudden increase of heat made the vulnerable beast let go of him, as the heat became too much for the flammable organic plant to withstand. Earning Petey his freedom.
But… There is just a small mistake Petey failed to take into account, he was released… under the state of high velocity and kinetic energy, with his body on fire also. In simple words, he was flying like a damn man-size volcano rock. His only saving grace is that this isn't the first time he ever had his head down, legs up in the dirt, as he slammed into the ground, leaving a trail of freshly dug groove, fires, and an impacting impression for the teens.
Quickly rushing to his side, Pyrrha asks. "Mr. Venus! Are you okay?"
A thumb-up shot out from the dirt is the reply she received.
- 3rd pov.
Let's focus on the others, Ruby, Blake, and Ren rush forward to engage the plant Grimm, the three of them experts in speed fighting, as they scatter around to distract the beast. One moves too fast to keep up; One suddenly disappears with its essence that makes it hard to track; that leaves the Grimmed Piranha to the one that was slower enough for it to catch up.
Direct its other heads attention on Blake, the plant monster blocked her path in advance, and sent the Naval Buds to maw on the cat Faunus, this of course, would be the end of Blake, if not for the fact that her Semblance is particularly the perfect counter for the multi-head monster. Soon as their teeth sink into the prey, her body vape into a cloud of purple mist, leaving a sense of loss behind.
Despite the lack of eyes, the twisted and frowning line their lips are making perfectly indicates their utter confusion and disappointment. Using the distraction created by Blake, the three open fire on the heads, effectively dealing damage to the plant beast.
Angered by being tricked, the Grimmed Piranha uprooted multiple thorn stalks from the earth around itself, effectively creating a protection field and forcing the teens to back away.
"No good, we can't get close to that thing without being pierced by the spikes!" Ren exclaimed as he cut down a vine that tried to grab onto him.
"Then how about we just burn down the garden weed!" Yang claimed as she shot a round of fire Dust at the root of the plant monster.
"Screech!" The combusting fire caught the flammable body of the plant on fire, making the monster howled in pain, it tried to use its other free vines to put out the fire, only to get the other parts ignited, seeing itself in no condition to fight, it quickly retreated back to the underground.
"Hey! It's getting away! Let's pursue it!" Nora declared, only for Jaune to stop her in place.
"Hold on! Something's not right!" Something not right indeed, the plant may have fled underground, but did it really fleed? Or…?
The answer clicked in his mind, Jaune yelled at the top of his lungs. "Scatter!"
Soon as they did, the ground underneath them cracked and crumbled, the planet Grimm emerged from the depth, traces of scorching burnt and heat smoke around its body, it had retreated to the underground to endure the feel of smoldering till the flames died due to not having enough oxygen to burn. Unlike the normal mindless Grimm, and also an unknown to the teens, this Piranha monster is sentient and intelligent, and now pissed, the flytrap monster gritted its sharp teeth to show that it wanted to slaughter them in a bloodbath.
Weiss, being the unfortunate soul of the day, tripped as her footing was disturbed by the earth-shattering rumbles, as she tried to get back on her feet, something latched onto her leg.
The feeling of dread and terror enters her mind as she stares at the vines that gripped tightly onto her leg, not even able to utter out a cry, the flytrap monster dragged her toward one of its vice heads. "Nononono NO!" Her rhythm shattered, Weiss panicked hard as she dug her fingers in the ground in hopes to stop the dragging. It was sadly proven to be a futile attempt.
Just as the heiress thought this was going to be the end...
*SNIP!* A red blur zoomed past her and the vine, immediately, the head that was about to maw on her was cut down like a harvest fruit, leaving a pruned stubble.
"You stay away from my partner!" Ruby angrily declared, her weapon had proven to be the most fitting and efficient weapon at fighting against the plant-based Grimm.
Spare a glance at Weiss, Ruby asks. "You okay? Partner? That must have been terrifying."
Signing in relief, Weiss forms a rare smile on her lips. "Could be better." Getting back on her feet, Weiss quickly turned her face around to hide a blush. "A-and, well, you saved me, that makes us even now."
Her eyes lit up at the compliment, Ruby teased. "I thought we're already even?"
"W-well, you still jumped and left me hanging alone on the Nevermore."
Sweating, Ruby forced a weak smile. "Ehh hehe? I'm sorry?"
Reading her weapon, Weiss shook her head. "Dolt, let's focus on taking care of this overgrown garden weed first."
Changing the focus on the other, Blake continues to drive the attention of the Grimmed plant, her continually dodging & escaping seemingly increasing the flytrap monster's frustration & desire to maw on her. With the bud heads distracted, the other tries to finish the job by slaying it, smash it, pluck it, any method they could, whenever they kill one head, the main-head would cry in pain, but only for a moment, because the plant's ability to regenerate it's served head is both absurd and astonishing at the same time. It, just, keeps, growing!
To top it up, whenever they try to get close to the main-head, it would shoot out walls of thorny stalks to prevent them from advancing further. Petey Piranha was the only one that wasn't fazed or bothered by the spiky wall, as he continuously threw fireballs and plucked the stalks to make a way to the main-head.
"Damn it! No matter how we kill it, this damn thing just keeps growing back!" Yang pants in frustration as she plucks yet another bud head off the stalk.
Even Pyrrha, the 4 times champion girl is starting to grow tired due to the non-stop fighting events they had encountered during the entire day. Her muscles are starting to show signs of building fatigue, and her attack is getting weaker with each strike.
All in all, although they may have a number advantage, none of them is in the condition to continue the fighting.
"Watch out!" Getting behind Pyrrha, Jaune brought up his shield to block yet another stalk whipping for the day, his hands finally starting to get used to the feeling of enduring the paralyzing feel of vibration whenever something bashes against his shield. So far, he had been doing very little to contribute to the whole deal of fighting, mainly because he literally had no idea how to properly swing his sword, let alone actual intense fighting.
Spearing a quick glance, Pyrrha mouths Jaune a thanks, before going back into cutting vines.
If anything, Jaune's saving grace is the Aura pool of his own, if what Pyrrha said is correct, he must really have an impressive amount of energy inside him, as he is yet to feel tired or exhausted in any way.
But he can't fight for crying out loud! And the others had been unknowingly picking up his slack. Damn it! There had to be something he could use for the situation, the monster had to have a weakness aside from flames.
Getting too emotional and caught up in his own problem, Jaune left himself wild and open, and a stalk had sneaked up on his leg, and when he noticed, it was already too late.
"Aww craaaaaaaa-" Not even able to finish his curse, Jaune found his world upside down.
"Jaune!" Seeing that her totally not immediate crush is in danger, Pyrrha tries to save him by directing her shield to cut down the stalk vine that was holding him. If this was the usual Pyrrha, her plan would be successful by now, but seeing her totally not immediate crush in danger had put her mind in slight panic, and it had distracted her. And for that single moment of mistake, the invincible girl paid the price.
She missed the vine by a few centimeters, leaving her shield open like a frisbee to be caught by the maw of the Piranha Bud, and since she's distracted, she failed to notice a vine that sprouted right beside her leg.
The result of multiple misfortunate events that piled up from the beginning reached its tipping point, and with the balanced loss, everything came crashing down. And Pyrrha found herself being caught up by the overwhelming amount of thorny stalks that gripped her tightly, leaving no room for her to even move her javelin.
Seeing two of their companions get caught, the rest automatically come to rescue them, only for the plant monster to root up another wall of thorny stalks to block them from getting closer.
Now finally having caught something, the Grimmed Piranha licked its watering mouth in hunger, it's hungry must be satisfied, now.
Without any other time waste and delay, the main head bites down onto Jaune's legs. Causing the young blonde to scream in fear. "Ahhhrrrrrrggg!"
All of the teens helplessly cried at the terror happening in front of their eyes.
The Piranha Grimm closed off its jaw tightly, chewed hard on Jaune's leg, aiming to sever his lower limb off from the body... Only to feel like it's chewing on a rock.
The anticipating pain never came, Jaune hesitantly opened one eye, believing himself to be dead and is now in some sort of afterlife limbo, only to see that he is still within the mortal world, and a monster is currently… still chewing on his lower body. Despite lacking visual eyes, Jaune believes the monster must have been staring at him with the same confusion as himself.
As Jaune experiences this indescribable sensational rubbing against his legs, something that feels like a dulled edge grinding against his flesh. And it's starting to feel like tickles. A very uncomfortable tickle to be precise.
An awkward silence passed, and neither side budged, the Piranha Grimm grinding its teeth on Jaune's body again, only to yield the same result. For whatever weird reason, its sharp teeth cannot serve this prey's limb, as if some sort of force is preventing it from doing so. The other watches the plant monster continuously attempting to bite on Jaune, which ends in a result that looks like Jaune was a human-sized chewy bone, which no one knows how to properly react to.
Using the chance of confusion, one Petey Piranha who happens to finally get rid of the taste of dirt in his mouth returns to the battle, he jumps onto the main head of the Grimm Piranha from behind, hanging onto the monster like a parasite, and starts hitting the monster with a barrage of punches.
Suddenly being interrupted in its feast, the Piranha Grimm starts shaking violently to get rid of its assaulter, the whole body of the monster squirming around furiously and swinging aimlessly, the deadly thorny stalks smashing around violently, forcing the teenagers to back away from the danger. Leaving only the Piranha-man & the Piranha Grimm to wrestle for the place of superior.
The sudden shift of its priority caused the stalks that were holding onto Jaune and Pryyha to loosen, albeit not much, but enough to give both of them space to move their arms. Using the chance, Pyrrha started using the blade of her javelin to cut down the thick stalks that were holding her legs.
On the other hand, currently hanging upside down by the monster, Jaune tries to relocate his center and sense (and pushes down the disgusting feeling of nausea.), he continually scans his surroundings trying to get a better or any understanding of the bizarre situation he's in, until he notices one particular little thing.
One particular little thing that stands out from the overwhelming body of the Grimm plant.
Near the root of the body, covering underneath a layer of thorny protection web of vines, an out sticking, swelling, pulsing, red thingy… that kinda looks like… an outie belly button? With a crossed medical tape covering it? Was located on the monster's main body. It was surrounded and covered by other stalks, so a viewpoint from the horizontal side made it hard to be detected, but now on the vertical side, Jaune can see it clearly as the day.
"Wha?" Staring at the particular object, questions run through Jaune's mind at a crazy speed. What is that thing? Why does it look like a belly button? Why does it look like it's protected? Why does it look fragile?
Then, the answer clicked into his mind.
Could that be his weakness? The vulnerable part? It couldn't be that simple… right? But… what if...?
Not really having much choice to pick, Jaune chose the straightest answer at present.
"GUYS! THIS THING HAS A WEAKNESS! IT'S RIGHT AT THE NEAR BOTTOM OF ITS ROOT!" Yelling at the top of his lungs, Jaune makes his gamble.
His words immediately caught Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Ren, and the other's attention.
"THE RED BELLY BUTTON THING! HIT IT!"
What Jaune just suggested would later prove to be the critical info that saved them, but before that, there's one problem, the Naval Piranha may have been corrupted by the Grimm essence, but it was still a sentient creature in the origin, not mindless like the Grimms.
And It was aware these preys are onto its weakness.
Roaring as if to express its denial, the Grimm plant uproots its thorny roots, going fully offensive, desperately not wanna letting them have any chance to attack its navel. Feast on them can wait, for now, it must trap them tightly so they can't do anything.
The number of vines suddenly multiplied and surged, taking over everything in sight as if it was a parasite that tried to take over the world.
Seeing as they are running out of space to back off, Weiss uses the last bit of her fire Dust to draw out a defense line of fire to hold their ground. The walls of flames are the only thing protecting them from the overgrowing man-eating plant.
The others that heard Jaune's order was searching furiously at the thick bush of thorny stalks. And Blake spotted the object emitting a faint glowing light of red. "I see it! It's right there!"
Knowing what she must do, Ruby immediately shifts Crescent Rose to the gun mode, eyes on the scoop. Following the direction Blake pointed, she found just what she was looking for. The pulsing red thingy was covered underneath a thick layer of vines.
She was about to pull the trigger, only to have her target disappear from the sight of her scope, as another layer of vines rose up to protect the weakness.
Panicking and frustrated, Ruby tries to search for her target, only to have one stalk striking down near where she's standing. Forcing the girl to back off.
With the vines surrounding them finally taking an offensive advance, the situation becomes worse as it's either now or never.
Cursing in her own mind, Yang rushes forward to tearing an opening for Ruby, as she knows the firepower of Crescent Rose is no joke, Compared to her shotgun bullet, the sniper bullet wins the game of piercing, so all she had to do is give her sis the opening she needs.
Using her remaining Ice Dust rounds, Yang does her best to tangle up the stalks around in ices, gritting her teeth through the sharp texture of the vines, and using her remaining strengths, she pulls away the first layer of the stalks. Burning through her remaining Aura.
"Hurry! Ruby! Shoot this thing with your gun!" Yang yelled at the top of her lungs.
Inspired by the blonde brawner's resolve, the rest gave their final stand, moving forward to engaging the stalks, using their remaining Ice Dust, and grabbing onto whatever stalks that could grab, they forced an opening that led directly to the pulsing core.
Seeing the pests trying to expose its weakness, the Piranha monster was about to up its roots to bury them in the sea of spiky death, only to be forcefully distracted by a head-spinning punch from Petey. The Piranha-man persists in being an obstacle it cannot get rid of. But the monster is not going to yield here, it tries to pull back the stalks that were being held back by the pests.
"Oh no you don't!" Pushing her semblance to the limit, Weiss summoned as many Glyphs as she could ever manage, emptying her Gravity & Stone Dusts, casting her Glyphs directly pm the stalks, slowing it down with her Time Dilation Glyph, and pinning it with her solid surface Glyph. The heiress never feels this much intense stress over her own power.
It was at this moment time seemed to slow down for Ruby, seeing that everyone is putting their trust in her, the struggling expression on everyone, the chaos around herself. She closed her eyes, drawing a long breath to steady herself, Ruby holding CR up, a flame of burning confident resolve within her as she opened her silver eyes.
*BAM!* Without any sort of hesitation, Ruby pulls the trigger, the sound of deafening gunshot ringing through the forest, the steel bullet travels from the barrel through the air, and lands on its destination.
*POP* The wet sound of something exploding came from the near bottom of the plant Grimm's body was heard.
"SCREECH!" The monster's whole body suddenly starts spasming, the vines the teens were holding cramped up, the stalks body start twisting, and the monster lets out a cry that's even more devastating than before. As if the pain was too much to bear, the vines that were holding Jaune and Pyrrha loosen up, letting go and dropping them down.
Watching what just transpired in front of his eyes, Petey shuddered and grimaced, getting your navel destroyed is a pain worse than anything ever. Brutal and downright heartless, but a super effective method of dealing with Piranha species.
Note to self, don't get on these kids' bad side.
Backing away from the plant monster, the teens regroup with their respective partners. Now unsure what their next move should be.
Thankfully, really thankfully, they're done with the battle for the day, as their future teacher is bringing this overstaying welcome of a battle to an end.
Tightening his fist, and lighting it on fire, Petey brought up his hand all the way above head, with another mighty war cry, he struck down on the Grimm Piranha's main head.
The Grimmed plant howled in pain again, before its whole body went limp, and collapsed on the ground, tongue sticking out, foaming bubbles escaping the gaping mouth, defeated.
- Music end -
Then, rainbow-like aura emitted from the collapsed body, and white light shot out from all over the body, before star-shape-like energy bits in various colors burst out all over the place. The blinding light forces the teens to cover their eyes.
When everything quiets down, the body of the defeated Grimm has disappeared into nothingness, leaving no trace behind, the vines that were occupying their surroundings disappeared too.
Seeing that the danger is finally over, the teens collapse on the ground, the Adrenaline in their body stops producing, followed by the build-up tiredness flowing back into their whole body.
"Oh thank god, it's finally over." Laying on his back, Jaune silently thanks whatever god that is out there and protects them secretly.
Walking to his side, Pyrrha sat down and looked at Jaune with a grateful smile, and a light blush heated up her cheek. "Well, I guess we owe you thanks." Me especially.
Confused, Jaune answered honestly. "Huh? But… I didn't do anything… It was Ruby who dealt that lethal blow to the Grimm."
Shaking her head, Pyrrha replied. "It was you who noticed the weakness of that beast, if you didn't, I don't know if we can walk away without being seriously harmed." She then looked down. "Or worse..." The unsaid message was easily picked up and understood.
Not really sure how he should have replied to that, Jaune scratched his head. "Ummm, you're... welcome?"
The shiny arc knight's dorky answer brings an amusing reaction from Pyrrha, as she giggles.
Not far away from the two, Nora was latching onto Ren like a sloth. Grateful for surviving a crazy battle, with the green ninja petting her head to calm her down and bringing her comfort.
Landing on her butt, Yang sighs gratefully. Looking at her sis playfully, Yang said. "Hack of an entrance exam ehh? Normal Knees?"
Seeing that everyone walked away unharmed, and hearing her sis' playful jest, Ruby let out an exhausted sigh, and gave her sis the best smile she can measure. "You bet it is!"
Sitting on the dirty ground, Weiss was too tired to be bothered by a soiled combat skirt. "While I'm grateful for surviving a crazy day, I hope our time at Beacon Academy can be less... intense like this." Little did she know, she may have jinxed them all, but that is a story for another day.
Everyone was relaxed to enjoy this valuable moment of survival, when one Piranha-man was looking at the place where its fallen kin drew its last breath. A look of unfitting solemn occupied his usually happy expression.
How is this possible? He may not be the smartest, but there really shouldn't be any other native Piranha plant around this world, even if that Naval Piranha was somehow a member among the Bowser Kingdom that somehow got transformed back to the seed phase, the thing should be the very least, able to form basic communication with him. Yet, when he was attempting to reason with it, all it did was yell like an angry infant, that signature it as a purely newborn. So that begs the real question. Who was that guy? And how did he get a raw Piranha Pod? When there shouldn't be any?
*Growl*
Looking down at his own belly, the tiring work of thinking can wait, as now Petey just wants to grab some snacks before lunch. After working up an appetite, he could really check in the food ticket Bob-omb promised.
"Yoooooooo! Petey!" Looking up, a familiar silhouette of a certain ghost king flew his way toward the group.
- Time Skip -
"I see that you all have performed exceedingly in today's exam." Says the Bomb King, who was facing the group that looked like they would collapse at any moment.
The group of Beacon staff made of Headmaster Ozpin, and the five henchmen were facing the exhausted group of teens, they have been escorted back to the launching cliff, and are undergoing the final phase of the test.
"Assuming that you all have successfully collected your object of the day, the chess pieces, if you would." The Bob-omb monarch instructed, holding out both hands to receive the final submit of the day.
Tired, but happy nevertheless, they submit their chess piece. With Ruby & Yang hand over the White Knight pieces, and Jaune & Nora hand over the White Rook pieces.
After that is done, the bomb king gives them a content and reassuring smile. "Congratulations, the test is over. And we're happy to announce that you all have passed."
Following his announcement, the henchmen clapped their hands in congrats.
Hearing his words, the group's eyes lit up, and they shot their hands up in the air, cheering out loudly, unable to contain their excitement. "Yaaaaaaaaa...eeee..." And then immediately drop down because of the tiredness and no energy left in their body.
The henchmen chuck at their expense, as they remind them of the behavior of the new minions when they passed the conscription test of Bowser kingdom.
Then, Ozpin moves toward the groups, a look of serious presence on his face. "Students. While I wish I could simply congratulate you all for passing the test. There's something I must do first." His attitude makes the teens get back on their feet, knowing they should behave when the headmaster is about to give a speech.
Only for Ozpin to suddenly bow down in apology.
"I'm terribly sorry for what transpired today, had we known that someone was planning to sabotage today's exam, we would've immediately canceled the whole test."
The sudden confession from the headmaster took them by surprise.
Following his word, King Bob-omb bows down as he too needs to apologize for today's disaster. Their first day on the job and this happened. "It was truly a regrettable and unprofessional day, we're supposed to ensure no students were put in real danger, and yet this happened."
One by one, the henchmen bow down toward the teens, albeit that King Boo and Petey had their heads pressed down by Goomboss. (Due to one not wanting to, and another not being familiar with common etiquette.)
"That being said, while I would love nothing more than to let you get some well-deserved rest, I feel that we need to address the Goliath in the room." Rising up, Ozpin asked the question of the day. "I will need you all to tell us about your encounter with our mysterious attacker."
- Time Skip -
After finally returning to the school ground, the exhausted teens were instructed to gather their luggage, and return to the sleeping hall to wait for the result of their performance of the day. While their talk with the staff takes a bit longer than comfortable, the professors insist on recording this whole incident while the memories are fresh. As they were all asked to describe everything as they could.
Combining their description of the appearance, a sketch of the jester was made, their mysterious assaulter, Dimentio, a name as the jester himself claimed, targeted them after they finished disposing of the chasing Grimm. The man seems to target Ruby for a reason that's beyond what a normal mind could compromise (A red flag in Ozpin's mind, had this man known the secret of Silver Eyed?), behaving like a psychopath, his ability to alter the space around was something the teens never seen or heard of, and what's even more puzzling is the fact that he can command the Grimms, or the Grimms are following his command for some reason.
The part that came as surprise is the part of the Grimmed Piranha Plant, a piece of info that takes both the headmaster and the henchmen off guard. When the teens ask what that beast is, the henchmen make it off as a supposedly extinct race of fly-trap plants. Some gave their benefit of doubt, but did not question further.
But when Weiss pointed out that Dimentio had apparently transformed the beast with the actual essence of Grimm. It resulted in an uproar with the teens that were unfamiliar with such insane concepts. Something that the heiress of SCD is too familiar with as she subconsciously touched her scar as she explained, Weiss only briefly informed them that Atlas had successfully copied the method and process of a Geist Grimm, and created an artificial Grimm that mimicked the possessed behavior of Geist.
This part of revealing put a huge concern to everyone, the mad man, Dimentio, had somehow got his hand onto the method to produce artificial Grimm. A concept that should be top-secret to the world, a concept that could threaten the whole Remnant immediately.
In the end, Ozpin reveals and reassures the teens that he's a close friend with Atlas, Vacuo, and Heaven Academy's headmasters, he will bring today's info to General Ironwood of Atlas Military's attention, so the teens shouldn't be worried about the matters too much.
They then spend some time discussing what to do next, the students were told to continue their school life as they have planned and carry on in normal, this of course immediately gets a protest reaction from the teens.
"Are you saying that we should act as if nothing happened? While it's clear that this psychopath is out there doing whatever atrocious act as he pleases?!"
"Calm down Miss. Schnee, I never said we won't take action, we'll be sure to put on a high alert to look out for this man, but as for now, no one knows where he went or where he is, issuing blind research could cause this man to be on guard and hide around more carefully, beside… if this man is as dangerous as all of you protest, cornering him now would be a bad move on our part."
"Have you kids ever heard of this saying known as a cornered beast? A cornered beast is the most dangerous kind, cause you never know what it might do. And a desperate man is something you don't deal with recklessly."
"But we can't just wait till he makes his next move, not only would that be too late, who knows what kind of sick idea he had in mind."
"It certainly was a regrettable situation, but tell me, Miss. Belladonna. What can you do about the situation? What could you possibly do? Do you know where to find him? Even if you do successfully hunt him down, do you think you can take him?"
"..."
"We're extremely grateful and happy that you kids are so eager to help make the world a better place, but you have to understand, things won't always go your way."
"Thou art still youthful, still inexperience, that's why thou art here, to learn, and we will teach you anything we can, but for now, we have to take our step slowly and carefully. A wrong step and we could trip and crumble."
"It's difficult to be patient, but to waste the rewards of patient is worse. Please understand that."
"..."
"Welp, that should be all, you're dismissed, return to gather your personal belongings and wait for us to evaluate your final score. It's gonna take a while for us to process, in the meantime, you may wanna get some food and rest, stars know that you've earned it."
Stars?...
"Ahem, it's a dialect of speech, an old one. Now, Petey, since you have been doing the heavy lifting for the day, you may go grab some food and rest. We'll handle the paperwork."
And so here they are, the group of 8 teenagers following the man in a mascot suit was on their way to the cafeteria, Petey's out-of-place look certainly made them the center of attention. And the timing happens to be lunchtime, which is not helping.
Since the exam of the day is over, and they're the last batch to return to the school ground, most participant students are already here to have their lunch and wait for the result of their test, but their attention was immediately stolen the moment a certain ridiculous mascot dresser entered the cafeteria.
Seeing so many eyes landing on them, Ruby meekly hides behind Yang out of social awkwardness, while Yang puts up a straight face and shifts uncomfortably under the overwhelming attention. Jaune and Blake tried their best to avoid making eye contact with any looking eyes, with the former purposely lowering his head, and the latter quickly pulling out a book and pretending to be reading. Ren was perhaps the mixed bag of lucky or unlucky, depending on how you look at his situation, as Nora is occupying his attention by demanding some pancakes for the latter of today.
And the more experienced pair of minor celebrities of Weiss and Pyrrha were just too tired to even be bothered by the unwanted attention.
As they moved through the long hall of the cafeteria, gossiping whispers were detected by their ears.
"Wasn't that weird guy the rumored new staff? Why is he wearing that mascot suit all the time?"
"Weren't they the teams that were chased by the Giant Nevermore and the Death Stalk?"
"Wasn't that the heiress of SDC? What's she doing here? Don't tell me she's attending Beacon? Why not stay in Atlas?"
"Wasn't that the crazy ginger-head girl that was riding that Ursa like a horse?"
"Come to think of it, this year's Grimm number was a bit much, wasn't it? There certainly was an increasing rate of Grimm encounters in Emerald Forest."
"That scythe finish move was kind of genius. That girl certainly knows her stuff."
"Oh damn, it really is Pyrrha Nikos, the champion girl is going to study here?"
"Who was that guy that was paired with Pyrrha?"
"What's the deal with that big ribbon tie?"
Hearing the gossiping, Ruby whispers to her new friends. "Why are they aware of our encounter in the forest?"
Pyrrha put a finger to her chin as she recalled a certain piece of info her agent told her before coming to Beacon. "Apparently, senior students can watch the monitoring of every year's initiation, and I supposed our performance was seen by them."
Hearing this, Yang raised an eyebrow at that. "So does that mean they saw our encounter with that crazy clown?"
Raising her head up from the book, Blake joins the conversation. "I don't think so, considering the nature of our particular encounter, there should be a bigger reaction instead of this casual atmosphere. Perhaps the staff purposely cut out that part of the monitor feed from being shown."
Finally voicing his opinion, an act the green ninja rarely does, Ren speaks. "Perhaps it is for the best, if words of a dangerous criminal trying to sabotage the biggest Huntsman Academy were to get out, it would raise some concern and worry among the kingdom, which would be a bad thing." The general public morale is considered a big crucial part of the defense system of the kingdom, if there were to be a massive scale of negative occurrence in the public morale, it would cause the Grimm to try gathering around the Kingdom. Which would lead to some big problems.
Besides, if anyone were to see Jaune being devoured by a Grimm on a live stream, it would immediately cause massive panic on the school grounds. Opposite to the current casual relaxed atmosphere in the cafeteria.
The group of 8, after getting their preferred meal, under an unsaid tacit agreement, choose a table that's around the corner of the cafeteria, sit down and eat in silence, using the remaining strength to regain their strength through the meal. Not even have enough energy to have a conversation due to how crazy, dramatic, and tiring their day has been.
That is, until one uninvite guest sat down at their table.
Dropping a tray with a pile of towering foods, one gluttony Petey Piranha sat down with them.
Staring at the impossible amount of food, Yang weakly raised an eyebrow. "That's… a lot of food you got there."
Not even bothered by the weird look, Petey grabbed a burger and maw down on it. His unfine table manner earned a nasty look from Weiss.
"Are you actually going to eat all of these?" A weiden eyes Jaune asked in concern.
A confirming head nodding from Petey was his answer.
"Damn, you really worked up an appetite, didn't you?" Another uninvited guest made his presence known, as one King Boo appears beside their table, a cup of cappuccino in his hand.
Shooting him a quick glance, Petey shrugged and went back to focus on his food.
Seeing one of the professors was in attendance, Weiss tries to be polite, but realizes they never properly learned their future teacher's name. "Oh, Uhm, Mr..."
"Name's Boo, Boo Teresa. But call me Boo, that's the name I go by, you may add any title you see fit, I honestly don't really care." The ghastly man answered without a care, then down his coffee in one gulp. "Ahhhhhhhh, that's the stuff." He then massaged his eyes. "I really hate days, night is always better."
Really not sure what kind of self-introduction that is, but decide to be respectful regardless, Weiss asked. "Well… Professor Boo. Aren't you supposed to be evaluating our performance with the others?"
Raising an eyebrow at the heiress, King Boo answered. "That boring scoring stuff? Nan, ain't my stuff, I've learned what I need to learn with you kids, and I prefer to evaluate through real combat. Which reminds me, we'll be kicking your arse on daily basis."
Hearing this, they stop whatever they were doing, and stared at the floating ghastly man.
"Pardon?"
- Omake -
- ? ? ? ? -
It was the time of night, in a warehouse located somewhere, a figure made his way inside the building.
"And here I am, returning as a whole piece. What an eventful day it is." Dimentio, the chaos jester enters the inside as he rubs his still cracked mask, he would need to have that check soon. But before that, he would need to get something done first…
"So you finally returned." Until a female voice interrupts him and his plan.
Across him, at the corner of the room, a silhouette of a female made its presence, the glowing amber eyes and the burning red of the dress being the only thing illuminated by the faint light of the warehouse.
"Ahh, Miss. Spitfire, are you perhaps waiting for my return? My my. How kind of you. You didn't have to." Acting surprised, Dimentio put both hands on his mask as he blushed bashfully, such unneeded & unexpecting affection.
"Where have you been if I may ask?" The lady, however, was having none of his drama, as she raised her voice slightly, the tone of a depleting patient and growing upset became a bit more clear this time.
Waving his hands incorrectly, Dimentio excused himself. "Ahh you know, familiarize myself with this new world, after all, I'm an outsider, and our goal was to bring ruins and lay waste everywhere, hmm? yes? So I thought... Maybe little me needs to be prepared. Consider how deadly seriously you're taking this whole plan. Wouldn't want me to be a deadweight of the team now, would we?"
"And just where. might you have been… exactly. today?" The lady asked once more, this time a demanding tone present in her voice.
"Why? Beacon Academy of course."
Immediately, a fireball flew past Dimentio's face, purposely missing his mask by an inch.
"Excuse me? I don't believe I heard you correctly, would you kindly repeat that again?" The lady raised one hand up, a dimming glow of orange flames cracking within her fingertips.
"Ahhh don't be so dramatic, it's not like I actually killed someone, even if it's by my hand, well… not directly that is."
"You have 10 seconds to explain yourself."
"Sweetheart, ever heard of the saying: hit it where it hurts most? I'm just doing us a favor, besides, it's a good thing I did."
"4 seconds."
"There are other people from OUR world, that are currently living, and helping your enemy, which I'm fairly certain that no one here is aware of."
"Come again?"
"Hey hey hey. I'm just as surprised as you, I mean, what are the chances? That some other magic user from our world is somehow here. When it isn't supposed to be possible."
"... what, exactly, happened?"
Hearing this, Dimentio smirked. "I think this warrants a meeting with our partners, don't you think so?" With that, Dimentio snapped his finger, teleporting both people away to somewhere.
To Be
Continued...
One thing I need to point out is that, Yang may have an encounter with the henchmen, but Petey doesn't remember Yang, as during that day he was drunk as Yang entered the club (Dude just freaking chugging down a bucket worth amount of alcohol.), he was totally wasted when Yang entered the dance floor.