Hello, Welcome to Chapter 4 of Stranded in Remnant!
In this chapter, You will see the Agent and Ruby preparing for Initiation, Causing some ruckus..
And Ruby has Nightmares.
Foreshadowing? Maybe just a coincidence..
Anyway, Please enjoy!
Ruby opened the door that lead to her garage.
She saw Carol, Collapsed on the table, Probably asleep.
"Hey, Carol?" Ruby asked as she slightly shook Carol, Trying to wake her up.
She got worried when she didn't even move.
"Carol? Hey, Wake up."
Ruby shook her again, This time only harder.
Carol's body turned over due to the force, And she met it's empty, Dead eyes.
Ruby gasped and fell back.
Where was Carol's right hand? Why was she not moving? W-Was she-
Dead?
She noticed now.
There were blood splattered all over the floor and wall, And the walls were painted with blood.
Ruby read the letters painted on the wall with horror in her eyes.
"The Hunt Continues"
Ruby screamed.
Carol was shaken awake by someone, It looked like she fell asleep trying to craft some more things yesterday.
"..Carol?" Ruby's shaky voice asked her.
"..What is it, Ruby?" She replied as she stretched her arms on the seat, Joints making a satisfying crack.
"...I, I had a nightmare."
Carol had a concerned gaze on Ruby's stained face when she said that, But she silently listened.
Well, For now.
"You were sleeping in the same spot, Just collapsed over a table.."
"But you weren't.. hic- sleeping."
Ruby sobbed as she continued explaining how her dream was like to her.
"hic- Your right hand was missing, A-And.. hic there was blood all ovsr the wall.. and I-" couldn't do anything.
Ruby finally broke down.
"..What if I'm just a failure? I just want to help everybody, But I seem to always get it wrong!"
"I just wanted to see you- See you and Yang get along!"
"You tried to save my life and- hic- even put up with my bad behaviour."
"I already- I- I know that people don't like me because-"
Ruby cut herself off for a moment to sob, But began again.
"Because I would just carelessly talk about things people didn't like!"
"And you were one of the few people to put up with me..."
"But.. But Yang."
"I already talked to her, But she just wouldn't stop worrying about you hurting me, Just because I brought you here!"
"And I know she already said some rude things to you, And I hate it because I-I can't-" control it.
Ruby's words got caught in her throat.
Carol's gaze softened.
"Ruby." Ruby flinched as she called her name, Putting her hands on Ruby's shoulder.
"I'm not good at this sort of thing.." She quietly had mumbled out, And she was serious.
She admitted that she sucked at comforting people.
"But I'll try my best."
"It's going to be fine, I know you're strong enough to recover from whatever's thrown in your way."
"Though I only knew you for two days, I think you're not the type to trip down and give up just because of some nightmare."
"..No, I know you'd spring right back up."
"And don't even get me started on How you're not a failure."
"You stopped a Dust Robbery."
"Not everyone has the guts to stand up to them, You know?"
Ruby slightly relaxed at that, Her tense body loosening up.
"And after all, You know I can take a beating before I go down."
"You don't have to worry about me."
"Also, Yang and I just had a little talk, No harmful things or anything."
"So you don't have to worry about everything, Sometimes it's good to take a break from worrying about anything and everything."
As Ruby heard that, She gave Carol a small laugh, Despite her tear-stained face.
"You're really cool, Carol."
She smiled when she heard that.
"And you won't be missing me once you go to Beacon."
"Huh?" Ruby was confused when she heard that.
Carol gave her a smile as she pulled Ruby by her arm, Taking her inside.
"Come on, I'll bring something for you to chew on and calm down."
"Then, I'll explain what happened."
The entire time, Both of them were not aware of a pair of lilac eyes silently watching them.
Ruby greedily chowed down on a bunch of Chocolate Carol had given her.
"These are good, mm- Where did you get them?"
Carol had given her a soft smile as she replied, "Let's just say I keep ahold of some sweets for myself as I travel."
Carol searched inside her backpack.
"Alright, I should have kept a powder of Cocoa somewhere over here..."
"Do you have a pack of milk in the fridge?" Carol asked, Ruby nodding to reply.
"I see, I hope you're still ready for some Hot Chocolate."
"I'm always ready for Hot Chocolate!" Ruby cheerfully replied.
Then somebody entered the kitchen.
"Oh, Hey, Yang!" Ruby had greeted her.
"Hey, Rubes. Glad to see you're feeling better."
"Yeah, Carol helped me out!" Ruby replied, Moving over to poor Carol and dragging her towards Yang.
"Hello, Yang."
"Hey."
They had both awkwardly greeted each other, Carol being the one to force a smile first.
"How are you doing, Anyway? I talked with my sis, But I didn't really check up on you.." Yang had muttered.
"It's fine, Ruby treated me well enough." Carol cracked a smile as she saw Ruby bounce up and down as she was handed the drink.
Carol watched Ruby chug the drink, Resulting in a very happy and sugar-high Ruby.
Then, Ruby decided to run off with her semblance, Leaving rose petals in her way.
Carol turned her attention back to Yang as she chuckled.
"Cheerful as always, I like her."
"Yeah, That's the little charm my lil' sis has." Yang agreed with her.
"Anyway, I saw how Ruby got worried for you, Said you were in trouble, Or something.." Yang had said.
"But when I saw you comforting her, I knew you had it in the bag." And she finished, Giving Carol a smile.
"Thanks for cheering my little sis' up, By the way."
"She really appreciates it, And I do too."
Yang had thanked her, And Carol smiled in return.
"She helped me out before, So I'm just returning the favor."
"What, Let you sleep on that bench? You did look comfy there." Yang had jokingly said, Laughing a little as she nudged her.
"Thank you for helping my sister out, Though."
"I'm worried for her safety, And I don't want my little sister getting hurt in any way." Yang admitted, Carol nodding to show that she understood.
"We have one day left until we have to leave, So I'll try to keep her safe and sound."
Carol was honest when she said that, Ruby was one of the most cheerful and pure person she had ever met.
And just like everything else, She had to protect her anyway.
"Aw, That's the spirit! Any more and I might even give you an award."
Carol chuckled, Nodding her head.
"Now, as much as I would like to talk more, I need to leave before Ruby can knock over another bookshelf." Carol said, Walking out of the room to chase the rose petas Ruby left in her path.
What she didn't notice was her HUD lenses to flicker and glitch for a moment.
He was watching.
And he would strike soon enough.
After all, A good hunter was a patient hunter.
Carol managed to catch Ruby attempting to get even more cookies, And somehow stopped her.
Ruby was fairly angry at her, But she explained that Ruby didn't need another crash when she was going to Beacon tomorrow.
Ruby had sort of understood, Which let her take a break.
Carol sighed and sat down on the Couch, Checking the internet for anything interesting.
She found out stuff about those White Fang people, Apparently they had attacked yet again.
The White Fang could be a problem later on, So she decided to keep them in her mind.
Those bastards seemed like a real problem, Making those "Faunuses" look bad to everyone else..
She'd make them pay for what they've done..
Later.
Right now, She had her own problems to deal with.
What had been inside Ruby's nightmare?
She mentioned that her right hand was missing, The exact same hand that she had put her SHD watch on.
But Ruby didn't know of the Hunters.
How? Was it just a coincidence?
She had read something about "Semblances", And Ruby's one was definitely not about reading minds, Or predicting the future.
Or was it? Ozpin had mentioned her eye being silver, And that sounded like something special.
"God damn it, Too many things to worry about."
She was broken out of her thought as Ruby nudged her, Trying to get her attention.
"What is it, Ruby?" She asked to Ruby.
"Well, um, I wanted to ask you if you could come to the garage with me." Ruby sheepishly asked.
"And why would that be?" Carol wondered, Standing up from her seat anyway.
"We go to Beacon tomorrow, So I wanted all the help I can get maintaining my baby, Cresent Rose!"
"And I thought it would be a good idea to spend some time, And cheer you up?" Ruby told her, Looking to the side a little. It seemed like she had something in her mind.
"You were looking stressed there, So I was worried."
Oh, So that was why.
"Sure thing, Just wait for me there, Would you? I need to think about a few things." Carol asked Ruby, A soft, reassuring smile on her face.
And of course, The smile wasn't all that bright.
She had so many things to worry about on her mind.
As Ruby left to enter the garage, She sighed out and fetched a notepad and a pen, Which she had gotten to write down from the moment she arrived in Remnant.
Place is called Remnant
Dust is classified as many diffrent things and types, May be useful for future upgrades
Aura unlocked, Ozpin unlocked it for me
Maybe it has to do something with Dust, Maybe not
Place is crawling with something called The Grimm (BAD and big black monsters, shoot one until it dies)
Apparently these things get drawn to emotions, How?
Beware of the White Fang, Peaceful protesters turned violent.
Do not be racist against Faunus people
Anyway, Main objective right now: Blow up some Grimm, Save this place from breaking down like Earth had... Somehow
She went ahead and wrote something on the note.
Ruby knows about something related to the Hunters. How?
Then she put the notepad and pen back inside her backpack.
That should do for now, And it was time to follow Ruby into the garage.
"How does thing not break or jam from physical impacts? It has so many parts inside it."
"I know, But I keep her perfectly conditioned, And she's a work of art!"
"I can see that the frame is tough, Carbon fiber?"
"Reinforced."
"Impressive, And you said you crafted this yourself?"
"Yeah! It's my baby, And mine alone!"
"I can see why you think it's so important."
After awhile of chatting with Ruby, She had decided that Cresent Rose was an awesome weapon, Just like how Ruby described it as.
None of her guns fired something that big, And she made use of the recoil to boost her swings!
Maybe she should make something like that, After all, Javier Kajika had used a melee weapon too.
An idea popped into her head.
She had a lot of Carbon Fiber scraps and Polycarbonates, And a Crafting Kit stored inside her God-knows-how-big backpack.
And even metal scraps!
How did the Hunters even make it like that?
Anyway, She decided to make herself a "Mecha-Shifting" weapon, Just because she had Aura now.
And it had boosted her physical capabilities a lot.
Still, It didn't make her into some kind of a Super Soldier with insane strength like that one movie she had watched.
Damn, She missed those action movies.
Kelso would always insist on watching those old military documentaries she had looted, And Carol had liked them too, But...
They just weren't as exciting as some action movies had been to her!
Maybe Remnant had them, She was missing them a lot.
Maybe she was already homesick.
Anyway, She turned her attention back to the bench as she pulled out the materials.
She spent a lot of time getting those, And now was the time they had seen some light.
She had cut, Hammered, And heated the materials into the shape she wanted.
It was an axe head, With the other side of the blade being curved like a hook.
She could use that to climb on hard surfaces along with the grappling hook.
And now, She had to build a Main frame for the Axe head to be holstered, Then it would mecha-function to a Pistol.
But how, Exactly?
"Hey, Ruby."
"Hmm? What is it, Carol?" Ruby had been watching, So she replied right away.
"Think you can give me a help in designing this? It's supposed to be a Pistol-Axe hybrid."
"Of course, With an Ice axe function added in."
"Oh, I'd love to! Gimmie, Gimmie!"
Ruby had ran up to her parts and the axe head, And she excitedly bounced up and down as she waited for her.
"What are you going to name it? What kind of rounds would it shoot? What kind of grip, And sights, And Oh, So many possibilities, Gosh!"
Ruby's cute excitement made Carol chuckle as she showed her the blueprint she had drawn up for the weapon earlier.
"Oh, You made the Head fold below the barrel, And the grip would adjust the angle like a pistol!" Ruby had exclaimed after seeing her complex blueprint.
"That's cool! How'd you think of that?"
Carol had thought of the Tomahawk Axes Hunters used, She did manage to loot one of them, But never had a chance to make use of their design.
But now, It would be very helpful.
And with Ruby by her side, Carol started crafting the weapon she had designed all by herself.
It broke down a few times, But she enjoyed it regardless.
"Okay, Just a little tighter, And-"
Crack!
"Woah!"
"It worked! Carol, Your weapon folded down into a Pistol form!"
Carol flinched as she heard Ruby shout out loud, But gave her a smile nontheless.
Indeed, Her new weapon was now folded into it's Pistol form.
She had equipped it with a Revolving cylinder so it would be more reliable, And easier to change the calibers.
It had a capacity of eight rounds, Odd for a revolver, But very useful.
But it was indeed fairly bulky, Making it hard to fit into her holster.
But she somehow managed to put it in, Anyway.
After a few times of folding it down and unfolding it into it's Axe form, She had already gotten used to it.
"This surely feels satisfying, Thanks for the help."
"No problem!" Ruby happily anwsered back.
"Now, It sure is almost time for bed.."
"And you surely wouldn't want to be late, Now should you?"
Ruby pouted at that, But nodded anyway.
"I want to be ready for initation."
"Then let's get you to bed before your sister gets angry at me."
"And trust me, I don't like angry Yang." Carol joked as she chuckled.
As they exited the garage, A shadowy figure they did not notice moved outside.
He had seen enough.
If he wanted to take down this damn Agent, He would have to take that girl as a hostage.
It looked like she had gotten close to the Red girl enough.
Or, Maybe he could strike early...
He was itching for a fight.
Carol had been trying to sleep, But found out that she was not tired at all.
Surprising considering how long she was awake for, But somewhat understandable, Since she was technically inside a world diffrent from the one she knew.
That was why she decided to take a walk outside, Trying to get relaxed and think about things she had been going through.
She did feel happy, But..
Could this place truly be a home to her?
She was shaken out of her thoughts as her HUD lenses flared to life.
It was detecting movements behind her.
She pulled out her CMMG Banshee.
But there was nothing behind her when she looked back.
"W̶̝̊a̵̘̕r̷̮̔n̸͓̐ǐ̶͖n̷̡͂g̵̪̽,̷̥͋ ̵̜͘H̵̒ͅi̸̹͠g̷͙̓h̷̟̎ ̷̡͗T̵̩͊ḥ̷̌ȑ̷̤ē̵̡a̷͖̿t̵̠̆ ̵̺͘Ḩ̴̕o̵͜͠s̶̻̊t̸̅͜i̵͔̔ĺ̸̳e̸͉͠ ̸̤̔í̶̠n̸͉͐ ̶̛͚P̷̡̽r̴͎̀o̵̤̊x̴̯̄i̶̪͝m̵̤͗ḯ̸͉t̷͎̀y̵͔̓.̴͚̅"
ISAC alerted her with a distorted voice.
Shit.
Sorry for the Cliffhanger.
Anyway, In this chapter, Ruby gets a nightmare about the Hunters.
Perhaps it's related to their sudden appearnce in Remnant.
Now the Agent knows that she's not alone.
I see Carol as a unwavering, Yet also caring and polite person.
She cares a lot about loot, Cute animals, And people with sad stories.
And she would do whatever to get them to feel better.
That was why she said "yes" to becoming a Division Agent.
And I see Ruby as a cheerful child.
But deep inside, She has her mature yet soft side that she almost never shows.
And she's been well, Almost without friends for quite a while.
So she can be quite childish and well, She hides a lot of her discontent.
That's how I see Ruby and Carol as, And they go along fairly well.
Characters aside, Now we'll talk about Carol's new weapon.
It's inspired from the Hunter's Tomahawk, However it transforms into a Revolver.
Simple as it is, It is very reliable.
I haven't named it yet, Maybe suggestions could be good.
Anyway, In the next chapter, A Hunter strikes its Prey.
See you all soon!