AN: Merry Christmas everyone! Here's my little gift to everyone. An update to the story many of you lie the most (thanks for that by the way).
I'm sure that many will be confused upon seeing this chapter all of a sudden, along with wondering what happened to the previous two chapters. Well, I'll explain.
Simply put, I read back over the story and the chapters involving the volatile Aura. I knew where I wanted to go with it, but now I'm not too happy with it. It was just not to my liking and I felt that I could do so much better. As such, I decided to go back to my original idea for this story arc. I didn't go for it because I wasn't as confident with my writing, but now I am. So, I made the bold decision to change the story around.
For those who were looking forward to the story with the volatile Aura story, as I'm calling it, I'm going to leave that concept for later in the story. I now have something much better planned for it. Hope you look forward to it.
Right, onto this new story arc. Hope you enjoy it.
Young Ellie ran as quickly as her small gets could allow, holding a blood-stained doll in her hands.
She darted into an alley, hoping that she could find a safe space to hide and wait out the attack. It was then that she saw a large pile of wood and scattered barrels close towards the end of the alley. Even if she was cornered, she believed that she would be able to keep herself well-hidden.
She eventually reached it, fitting herself well between the barrels. She sat on the ground, keeping the doll in her grip. The fabric, cotton-filled figure was close to becoming damaged by the grip from the girl. Her grip became more intense as she thought more about what happened. The image of everything and everyone she knew…
All of it… suddenly taken from her like that.
What little peace of mind she had left was shattered when the walls at the end of the alley were suddenly blown to pieces, sending her and the scrap wood flying through the air. She tumbled to a stop, screaming out as her skin scraped against the concrete street.
It was nothing compared to the sounds that suddenly hit her ears.
"Hold your ground! Don't give this piece of shit a chance!"
Ellie pushed herself off the ground, looking to where the voice came from. Her eyes saw a battle that was continuing to wage throughout the town. Various people, mostly civilians of the town armed with whatever weapons they could find, to professional Huntsman giving it their all, armed with their advanced weapons and Semblances. They were all working together, braving against the threat against their home.
And they were dying one by one.
The threat to their town was more than they could handle. It was a monster that showed no mercy. Each time someone tried to attack, it would strike ten-fold, instantly grabbing a hold of a doomed victim before quickly tearing it apart, leaving them to die, the hope visibly dying in what was left of their life.
Despite their efforts to adapt to this creature's attacks, it was proving too difficult. It was fast to the point that not even the Hunters weren't able to see it. They were able to get a few lucky shots in, splatters of blood appearing on the walls, houses and roads. In these brief moments, they were able to see a brief visage of the monster.
What they saw were the night-black fur and bone plate across its body. The tell-tale signs of the Grimm. In situations like this, Grimm wouldn't be much of an issue. However, they have never come across a Grimm this powerful before.
The speaker yelled at the top of his voice. "The next time it tries to attack, fire at the ground with Ice Dust to trap-"
He didn't get to finish. His torso was pierced with several blade-like claws, followed by him being lifted into the air. It was at this point that the creature finally came to a standstill. The speaker's blood trailed down its arm, captivating it to a degree that it didn't care for its surrounding. The sight of the creature alone was enough to paralyze the humans. Yet somehow, its gaze on the corpse and blood shook them further to their core.
To their horror, the Grimm came out of its euphoria, setting its sights on the humans again. It vanished from sight. Followed by this, one by one, people were either sliced to pieces or bring robbed of large portions of their body that more than likely ended up in the monster's stomach.
The ones that remained tried their best to fight against it. Some remembered their leader's words, firing the Ice Dust they had on hand at the ground. The air close to the ground became beyond freezing cold as they continuously shot the ground. The surface quickly froze over, freezing anything on top of it. They began to hope that the Grimm would be slowed down, or even trapped.
Instead, the ice on the ground was pulverized, large beast-like footprints appearing in many places too quickly.
The Grimm then went back to killing the fighters. One Huntsman took a chance and threw a large cluster, as much as he could hold in his arms, and threw it into the air, shooting it in hopes of a large area attack to injure the creature.
Instead, the creature slammed its whole form down on both him and the crystals. The person in question was crushed with a sickening squelch, followed by the Dust exploding beneath the creature's figure, showing no signs of damage to the monster.
The young girl watching from the alley, was too scared to even move. The doll fell from her grip, the object lightly landing on the ground. She looked down at the toy. She looked worryingly at the object before rushing to pick it up, losing her view of the massacre before her briefly.
She looked up again, seeing the creature before her.
It was coated in a dark smog, traces of bone-plate on the outline of the creature, A pair of red eyes glowing from within, focusing on the child. The creature was stationary, almost as still as a statue as it kept its gaze on her.
The girl kept still for a moment before braving a step backward. Upon doing so, the Grimm didn't move in the slightest in its spot. She took another… and another…. She then turned around and started running away from the Grimm. She didn't hear the faintest sound behind her. She continued to run, looking for another place to hide from it.
She then came across one of the bars, seeing that there was very little done to the building, the worst being blood spatters across the windows and outer walls. She rushed over, finding the door unlocked. She rushed in, closing the door behind her, running and climbing over the counter and hiding beneath it.
Minutes passed. As time went by, a smile slowly formed on her lips. Tears began to stream down her face. What little hope in her heart started to grow again. She let out a light laugh, looking into the pseudo eyes of the doll.
"We're going to be okay." She said to the doll. "We can go away… we-"
Her heart froze when she heard the sound of the door to the bar opening, a prolonged creaking of the door being opened. There was no other sound after that. Elle was unable to move, afraid of what caused the noise.
She somehow worked the courage to move. She raised her head up above the top of the counter, curious but afraid of what she might find.
Her eyes then met those same glowing, crimson eyes.
The girl clutched her doll closer to her chest. Her hope finally died.
"… Wh… Why?"
The smog-coated Grimm opened a fang-lined mouth. She couldn't even let out a scream as it charged towards the town's final victim.
….
"AAHH!"
Ruby and Yang were both sent flying backwards, landing with harsh-sounding thuds as they did so. The young reaper landed harshly on the ground, but she was able to quickly push herself off the ground. She was clearly dazed, her eyes spinning uncontrollably. It took her a rapid amount of time to recover before looking to her sister. Unlike Ruby, Yang had managed to quickly get herself back in position, slamming her fists together and readying herself to attack again.
"C'mon, Ruby! We can take him!" Yang said, still full of energy.
Ruby looked at her sister, clearly unconvinced by her words.
"… I… think I need a minute…" Ruby managed to say, finding that she was still out of breath from what they were doing before.
Yang looked down at Ruby, seeing that Ruby was indeed no shape to fight right now. She was about to tell her that she needs to rest when someone else spoke up.
"Is Ruby okay?"
Yang looked to see Vergil quickly walking up to them, a sheathed Yamato in hand. Yang looked back at Ruby, seeing that she was still out of breath. She was glad to see her sister was alright. Although, that didn't really mean that Ruby could go back to training either. She flopped Ruby's arm over her neck and lifted her off the ground.
"I think she needs to rest for a bit." Yang said. "… Think you lightened up a little, bro?"
"I think you know the answer to that, Yang."
The Golden-haired teen rolled her eyes at this response. "Come on, Vergil. We're not that tough. I'm starting to think you're actually trying to kill us with these sessions."
Vergil shook his head. "I believe I already told you that I wouldn't be holding back in training. It's best to ready yourself for battles like this early on rather than becoming a victim later in your career."
"… I guess." Yang relented.
Yang looked around, the ground carved and scarred with cuts, blasts and bullet holes. The clearing that the three of them trained in when they had the chance clearly showed evidence of their efforts, but recently there was much more than usual. She looked around at the trees, surprised that not a single one was also damaged in the process.
She knew that this kind of stuff would be common in what she was training for. In all honesty, she wanted to put it out of her mind. That said, it seemed that Vergil wasn't going to let her get away with that kind of thinking.
Vergil nodded towards the collection of logs near the clearing exit. "Let Ruby rest there."
The two went over to the logs and placed Ruby against the largest one. As Ruby took her time to recover, Vergil and Yang still continued to talk.
"Still, that stuff is tougher than anything Dad or the teachers a Signal threw at us. Did you have to train like that? Yang asked.
Vergil gave her a grin. "I guarantee you, sister. That was just light training compared to what I had to do." He said. He then grinned before speaking again. "It was nice to have a cool-down session, admittedly."
Yang rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I'm serious. You attack so quickly that we can barely see you coming, if at all. Not to mention that you don't hold back with your strikes either." She told him, rubbing her upper arm as she did. "Kinda feel sorry for the shmucks you fight on your missions."
"… I suppose you have a point." Vergil admitted, knowing full well how harsh a trainer he could be. "Keep in mind, many of my targets are the kind that would cause too much damage if they aren't dealt with soon."
"… Uh… right." Yang said. "Come to think of it, you do go for the kind of stuff other Hunter's wouldn't be willing to go for."
Vergil chose to sit down before speaking again, dispelling the Yamato as he did. He looked up at the sky, not bothered by the sunlight shining on his face. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, savoring the peace and serenity that came with this area. He was lucky that there were almost no Grimm attacks around here.
"To answer your question, though… I did have to go through some harsh regimes to become strong. It was something I needed and wanted to do." Vergil said to her.
"Wanted, huh?" Yang said "… Well, I guess I can understand that. Being a Hunter means you gotta be prepared for anything, but none of the Huntsmen Academies are as tough as you. Not even Shade Academy."
"And that's why it takes four, slow years for future Hunters to become professionals in those institutions." He stated.
Yang laughed at the swordsman's statement, but not all that surprised that Vergil would say that. From what she could gather, he wasn't too fond of the big Academies for some reason. He never really told her or Ruby why, though. She thought of asking, but decided that there wasn't any point. Knowing him, he probably felt that since whatever training he went through made him as strong as he was, it was miles out of the Academies' league.
"C'mon, they're not that bad."
Yang and Vergil turned to Ruby, who seemed to be doing better. Having gained their attention, Ruby continued to speak.
"I mean, Mom, Dad and Uncle Qrow went to Beacon, and their super pros. So the Academies are more than able to make super tough fighters for the people." She said. "Plus, there are some people there who could have AMAZING weapons with super cool features on them. It would be great to see them for myself."
"What about the people who wield them?" Yang asked.
"Nah." Ruby responded quickly. "That'd be boring, right bro?"
"Don't use me as an excuse." Vergil quickly said. "I don't need a scolding from Summer for setting a bad example for your social life."
Yang looked back at Vergil, smirking at him. "So, you admit you've been stuck in a rut in that department." Yang stated with an exaggerated tone. "So, no hot dates in between missions then?"
"Would there be any point?" Vergil stated.
Yang shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, bro. You might not want romance now, but you might take an interest later, and it could help to learn these skills now rather than… becoming a victim in that particular battlefield."
Vergil sighed. "… At least some of my advice sunk into that brain of yours." He said with a grin.
Yang and Ruby grinned at this, followed by some laughter from all three.
When they had finished, Ruby clapped her hands and said. "Well, on that note, let's get back to train-"
"Don't even think about it, Ruby." Vergil said, stopping Ruby from standing up. "You took a strong blow to the head. Aura or not, you'd best take it easy for now." He told her.
Yang grinned. It was ironic that he was talking about taking it easy all things considered, but at least he had enough sense to think about their health. She stood up and stretched her muscles, an eager smile on her face.
"So, how about another spar with me?" she asked. "I'll be more than ready for you this time."
"… We'll see."
Vergil stood back up, summoning the Yamato as he did. He and Yang walked away from the seating logs, making their way over to the center of the clearing. Vergil stood as still as possible, waiting for Yang to make the first move.
Yang indeed moved first. She raised her fists before slamming them together, the yellow bracelets on her wrists expanding and changing shape. The bracelets soon became gauntlets that covered her forearms and knuckles. She readied herself, her stance and fists ready to go.
"Bring it on, Verg." She said to him.
"After you." Vergil said with an amused, slightly mocking tone.
With that, Yang made the first move. She pointed her fist behind her, a large blast firing from the gauntlets that propelled her forward. When she was close enough, she threw a fist directly at Vergil's head. The swordsman easily dodged it without moving his feet. Vergil took the opportunity to strike the pommel of the Yamato into Yang's stomach, the force sending her flying back. She landed with a roll and quickly got back on her feet.
Yang charged towards her brother once again, pulling both fists back and shot her firsts out. As she did, orbs of fire Dust were fired towards Vergil. They proved less than fruitful as Vergil spun the sheathed Yamato, whacking away the blasts with ease. They landed on either side of him, creating small explosions behind him.
"Is that all?" Vergil asked her.
As if to answer the question, Yang charged towards him again. She jumped into the air and was about to strike, but saw Vergil about to thrust the sheathed blade at her. Using her gauntlets, she propelled herself back to the ground and dodged the strike. She rolled underneath and appeared behind him, shooting a leg at his upper back. Vergil brought the Yamato back and blocked her kick, but Yang aimed her gauntlet at Vergil again and fired.
Vergil warped out of the way of the blast, appearing a few meters away from Yang. As Yang quickly got back on her feet, Vergil smiled as he walked around her.
"Your reaction time has improved. You also seem to be more willing to use evasion." Vergil noted. "… Didn't think you had it in you."
"Well, now you do." Yang said, shaking her hands-on instinct. "Trying to bash through with you is like hitting a steel wall without Ember Cecilia."
Vergil came to a stop. "… that said…" Vergil's grip on the Yamato tightened. "Let's see how far it will take you."
With that, several summoned swords appeared on either side of Vergil. They were all fired one at a time, but at a ridiculously fast firing rate. Yang was put on her toes as he now had to move out of the sword's way. She used her gauntlets to launch herself out of the way, each time just barely managing to avoid the ethereal weapons.
Vergil noticed that she was indeed moving very quickly. "Impressive." He said to himself. "Now see if you can land a hit while trying evading."
Yang landed on the ground, quickly running for her life as she avoided more of the blades. She stopped for a brief moment and used both gauntlets to fire herself forward, lowering herself and sliding towards Vergil. When she saw an opening, she fired a shot towards Vergil, the blast hitting the swords and shattering all the ones he had ready to go.
"It's over, Verg!" Yang said, throwing her other fist and was about to fire off another shot.
Before she could though, Vergil caught her fist, twisting her arm and throwing her up into the air. He then warped up after her, whacking her with the sheathed Yamato twice before spinning in the air, rapidly striking Yang with each rotation before landing an overhead attack, sending her back down to the ground. Before she hit the ground, Vergil warped back towards the ground and tried to attack again.
Despite appearances, Yang was ready and fired another shot at the Yamato, sending it flying out of Vergil's grip. Vergil was surprised, but didn't let it show as Yang swung her leg at Vergil. He blocked the kick with his forearm and jumped back, grabbing the Yamato as he did.
Yang landed safely on her feet. As she stood up, she seemed a bit shaky. The force of Vergil's attacks now showing their effects.
"Wanna… keep going?" she asked him.
Vergil shook his head. "No. You've done enough." He answered before dispelling the Yamato.
Hearing that was Music to Yang's ears as she plopped onto the ground, sighing in relief.
"Whoa… I thought I was gonna die." She said.
Vergil walked up to her and offered her a hand up. She took his hand and stood back up. She rolled her shoulder, feeling the pain slowly fade away. She was thankful that she had an Aura, else she would be in pain for a very long time. She turned over to Ruby, seeing that she was staring at them wide-eyed.
"… Sweet chocolate chip…" Ruby said. "That… was SO awesome!"
She jumped off of the log and ran up to them, using her Semblance so as to not waste time. She practically had stars in her eyes as she looked at Yang.
"Yang you were AMAZING! You actually managed to keep up with him that time! You even managed to knock the Yamato out of his grip! It was so cool!"
Yang was happy with the praise that Ruby was giving her. A smug expression appeared on her face, folding her arms and standing up straight. "Yeah, I'm all kinds of awesome, aren't I?" Right Vergil?"
"…"
"Vergil?"
Yang and Ruby looked to the swordsmen. Yang looked baffled, and slightly offended, when she saw that Vergil was ignoring the conversation completely, instead reading the book he always carried. She fully faced him and looked at him angrily.
"Hey! Bookworm!" she exclaimed.
Vergil eyed Yang without turning his head. "Are you done boasting?" he said.
This only served to make Yang angrier, highlighted by the strands of hair on her head suddenly emitting smoke. Ruby, on the other hand, was busy trying to hold back her laughter at the situation. Seeing that Yang was going to blow a fuse, she decided to step in.
"Well, you still did great Yang." Ruby told her. "But you'd better watch out, since I'll be the first of us to beat him in a fight."
"Dream on." Yang countered.
Meanwhile, Vergil continued to read the book, but this time listened to what was being said by his siblings. As they spoke, a grin appeared on his face. It was good to see that they weren't put off by the training, especially since his methods proved to be more fruitful than anticipated.
"Glad to see that neither of you are giving up." he said at last. "After all, 'The fool who persists in his folly will become wise'."
"Yep, you said it." Ruby said. However, she quickly caught on to the other meaning of that statement. "HEY!"
Vergil closed the book and placed it back in his jacket. "That's it for today. Let's head back."
"Sounds good to me." Yang said. "By the way, you're in for a treat this evening, Verg."
This caught Vergil's attention. "How so?"
"Well, Mom's maki-"
"YANG! DON'T!" Ruby interrupted, jumping onto Yang and slapping both hands over her mouth. "Don't spoil the surprise! It was meant to be a secret!"
Whatever Yang was saying in response was indecipherable, thanks to Ruby's surprisingly successful attempt to muffle her. Vergil merely shook his head and walked ahead of them. Ruby saw Vergil walk away and spoke up.
"Hey Vergil, how about a shortcut?" Ruby said with a hopeful look. "I'll make you some cookies. Extra chocolate chip!"
"Hmph. Think again." Vergil said to her. "If you have the energy to restrain Yang, you can walk."
Vergil was about to continue onwards when he stopped. He looked back at the two, a cunning grin appearing on his face. "Of course, I may consider it in the future… if you one of you makes it back to the house first."
Vergil instantly took off in a sprint, putting both Ruby and Yang on alert.
"What the-A RACE! Ruby yelled worryingly as she jumped off Yang. "QUICK YANG! WE SHALL NOT LOSE AFTER MAKING IT THIS FAR TODAY! ONWARD!" Ruby added as she took off with her Semblance.
Yang raced after them both, showing impressive speed despite how tired she was after her sparring session. "Shortcut or not, I ain't losing!" she said before using her gauntlets to launch herself forward. "This Fireball won't be losing to either of you now!"
…
Back in the Rose/Xiao-Long household, all was surprisingly peaceful.
Tai was out front, attending to the window boxes. He saw that most were alright, aside from the last one that seemed to have the best health. He sighed, seeing that he had forgotten to move it to a place with more sunlight. He looked at the plants with a slightly saddened look on his face. he wasn't happy that he had been inattentive like that.
Luckily, the plants still looked like they had a chance of survival. He picked them up and moved them to where the rest of the plants were, knowing that the sun would be shining more near the front left side of the house.
"There you go little guys." He said to the plants. "You'll get more nutrients here, and you'll be with your friends. No point being alone, right?"
He looked at the soil, seeing that it was starting to dry. He added a bit of water and some flower food packets he got at the gardening shop in Vale. Within a couple of days, they'll be in good health once more. Seeing that the plants were now in order, he decided to go back inside. As he entered, he saw Summer in the living room, staring at a sheet of paper.
"Summer?" Taiyang said. "What you looking at?"
Summer looked up from the paper and greeted Tai with a smile. "Hey you." She said before standing up. She walked over to him and pecked him on the lips. "How's my favorite florist this evening?"
"Happy before, now ten times happy after seeing you." Taiyang said before pulling her into a light embrace. After they separate, he looked back at the piece of paper. "What you got there?"
Summer looked down at the piece of paper. "Ah… yeah." She said, her tone slightly deflated. "It's something I got from Ozpin. I was going to discuss it with Vergil when he and the girls get back."
Taiyang looked interested. "Ozpin, huh? Is it a mission?"
"… Not quite."
The blond Huntsman looked baffled at this. Summer handed hm the paper, to which Taiyang looked at it in detail. He was confused by what he was looking. He looked at his wife, still looking baffled.
"Uh… what am I looking at?" he asked.
Summer rubbed her arm, looking nervous. "… You know the creatures that Vergil described to us when Vergil was younger?"
"…" Taiyang's expression became more serious. In the early days when the swordsman lived with them as a child, Vergil had opened up to them more about the Demons that attacked him. The Demons his father had… encountered and would have worked with said attackers. Animals, humanoids, horrifically disfigured and powers that were more amazing and puzzling than any kind of Semblance. A short summary of the extreme detail Vergil went into.
He and Summer were unsure if it was true or not, having never encountered or heard of such monsters. That said, given the strange things they came across, they came to accept that such a thing was possible. It also served to make them more worried about what would happen if they were to come across them.
Taiyang looked at the picture again, trying to find any of the features Vergil told them about. Two things stuck out. A Robe that looked old and tattered, and skin that looked dulled in the dark. It was hard to really make out what it was given the lighting, but he knew what Summer was implying.
"You think that this is one of the creatures Vergil came across?" he asked.
"… I don't know." Summer said honestly. "Ozpin sent it to us, saying that it could be a lead… if Vergil wanted it."
Taiyang looked worried. He knew full well what would happen if Vergil saw something like this. Considering that it looked so close to the monsters he described, he could become too engrossed in looking for it. It happened a number of times. In those situations, the parents became more concerned for Vergil than the target… how far he might go to learn more about it."
"I see why you're worried." Tai said to her. "So, Ozpin's asking us to look into it?"
"Yeah… but…" Summer sat down on the couch, now looking nervous. "I was thinking that we should keep it from Vergil for now."
"… Ah." Taiyang said. "Are you sure about that? He might want to know."
"That's the problem." Summer pointed out. "You know he puts himself through too much hardship when doing this. Plus, with it coming from Ozpin…"
Both of them knew that there was tension between Vergil and Beacon's Headmaster. They could never figure out why, but Vergil was always reluctant to talk to the man even as a child.
"Well, I think Vergil has the right to know about this. It wouldn't be fair to keep it from him. Plus, it could be a genuine lead this time. It wouldn't be right to keep him from getting answers if that was the case, right?"
"… I guess you've a point." Summer said. "Plus, we can still back him up if we need to."
"You got that right." Taiyang stated. "We'll show these guys how the grown-ups do thing around here."
"Now you make me feel old." Summer said half-jokingly with a grin.
Taiyang sat down with her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He tilted his head back so that he could see the ceiling. Summer did the same, both feeling their worries wash away, albeit briefly, and were able to feel a sense of calm and serenity. The silence together lasted for half a minute before Summer spoke up.
"You know… the kids are still out training…" Sumer started.
"Yeah." Tai said.
"… And we've got a bit of time before we have to respond to Ozpin…"
"… Yeah…" Taiyang was now wondering where Summer was getting at.
Summer stood up from the couch and slowly walked over to the staircase. As she did, Taiyang noticed the she swaying her hips from side to side, all the while keeping her gaze on him with a soft, but eager expression.
"I'm up for a round if you are." She said before winking at him. "Care to come upstairs."
With that, Summer made her way up to the next floor with a particular destination in mind. Finding her suggestion appealing, Taiyang followed her up the stairs, a trying his best to hide the look of anticipation on his face.
"Hopefully the kids'll take their time getting-"
The two suddenly heard a knock on the door. Summer and Taiyang both looked surprised, but Taiyang suddenly looked a little downcast.
"Dang… they were too quick." He lamented.
Summer walked to his side. "Later, sweetie." She said before giving him a peck on the cheek. She walked over to the door, opening it to greet whoever was at the door. She was gout off-guard when she saw who it was.
"… Um… can I help you?" Summer asked.
Standing in the doorway was a woman Summer had never seen before. White hair tied into a bun, blue eyes and dressed in a military uniform. She looked at Summer sternly.
"Hello, Summer Rose." She said. "I'm here to speak with your son."
…
"YAHOO! Look at me go!"
Ruby was proving to be successful in the race so far, weaving around a grouping of trees that blocked her path. Her Semblance has always been great for helping her move quickly, but thanks to the extra training she was able to move much more quickly than before. She kept looking forward, as she didn't want to risk getting distracted by her opponents.
She felt assured of victory until she heard some more rustling from behind. She soon found that she didn't need to look back to see her opponents, as Vergil was now passing her out.
"It seems this victory is mine." Vergil said as he continued to sprint forward.
As he was running up to more trees in his path, he jumped into the air and pushed himself off of the towering plants, aiding in his maneuvering and speed. The second he landed on the ground again, he lost no speed as he once again sprinted.
"No you don't!" Ruby exclaimed as she pushed herself to move more quickly.
Vergil looked over his shoulder at the young rose with a grin. "I'd suggest taking you surroundings into account more." He said to her.
Ruby wasn't sure what Vergil meant until it was too late, as the third participant blasted her way through the two of them. The surprise nearly caused Ruby to lose control of her Semblance, but she was able to regain control as she looked forward to see Yang ahead of them both. The Older sister looked back, a pair of aviator sunglasses over her eyes as she grinned back at them.
"Sorry. This is MY win, slow-pokes!" Yang yelled as she continued to blast forward.
Ruby frowned and gritted her teeth. "Not on my watch! Victory is MINE!"
With that, Ruby worked to try an overtake Yang. As they did, Vergil watched the two compete against each other, almost forgetting Vergil completely. The swordsman was impressed how the two of them were able to push themselves, moving more quickly than before. IT looked like all their training was continuing to bear fruit.
In reality, if Vergil wanted, the Dark Slayer could move much more quickly and win the race by a landslide. However, this was another opportunity to encourage their training. To him, there was no better form of motivation for them than friendly rivalry, so instigating a competition was the perfect way to ignite their fire.
Of course, he had to move much more quickly than the average man to make it more believable. No doubt any other Hunter that sees them would be shocked at how fast they all were moving.
Vergil focused on the path ahead of them. He saw that there was more light weaving it's way through the trees above them. He grinned, knowing that they would be out of the forest soon. He looked to the side, seeing the two girls still trying to out-do each other.
"We're near the end, be sure not to damage the trees and flora again!" Vergil exclaimed. "I don't want to be the receiver of complaints from your neighbours!"
"'Kay!" Ruby yelled.
Vergil looked back in front of him. As soon as he did, his face changed from a calm grin to a sudden look of surprise.
"STOP!"
Ruby stopped her Semblance, rolling roughly to a stop. Yang deactivated her gauntlets and landed on her feet, skidding to a stop. Yang quickly checked to see if Ruby was okay, while Vergil warped to their side.
Yang looked at her brother, ow frustrated. "Vergil! What the hell!? I thought you wanted to race!"
"…"
Vergil didn't respond, instead keeping his gaze focused on an area near the exit of the forest. Yang saw this, her frustration slowly fading when she saw her brother's expression. She only saw this serious expression when there was something very troubling on the horizon. She looked to see what he was fixating on, struggling in vain.
Ruby was also quick to notice the change in Vergil. "What's wrong?" she asked.
Vergil summoned the Yamato, slowly raising his other hand towards Ruby and Yang. "Stay close; ready your weapons."
They followed Vergil's words. Yang readied her gauntlets and Ruby pulled out her own weapon. A red, rectangular box that was reshaped into a hand-held cannon. Vergil quickly moved forward, walking towards the direction he was looking in. The further they went in that direction, the more Vergil could hear an odd noise. The sound of animalistic growling.
"Grimm." Vergil simply stated.
At this, Ruby and Yang became much more serious. They pulled out their weapons. Ruby used her Semblance to rush up a nearby tree. Vergil noted that she was surprisingly silent as she did so. She came back down, a triumphant look on her face.
"Ursai." She said. "No Usra Majors in sight. We can take them out now with a surprise attack."
"…" Vergil was silent for a moment. He then grinned at the young rose. "Might I recommend facing them head-on?"
Ruby was surprised to hear this. "Huh?"
"You were disappointed at not being able to continue with training at the clearing. You can make up for it with this, if you like." He explained.
The young Rose was silent for a moment before a large smile slowly grew on her face. She pulled out her weapon, keeping it in its firearm form.
"I'm ready to go." She said.
Vergil nodded. He then looked over to Yang. "Stand ready in case she needs help." He said to her.
Yang gave him a thumbs up. She looked over to Ruby. "Knock'em dead, Rubes."
At this, Ruby charged into the area where the Ursai were. There were five of them. Ruby was quick in examining the Grimm and the area they were in, gaining an advantage in knowing the environment. She decided to take them by surprise.
"Eat this, bad teddies!"
She dashed to the closest Ursa, firing several bullets through the Ursa's neck. Its hide was surprisingly tough, but its neck was a vulnerable area as it had the softest flesh, easy to cut through or tear through with bullets.
The sound of the shots fired alarmed the remaining Ursa, who were distracted. They looked at their dying group member, before looking around for the attacker. One of them found her too late, when a large blade hooked around its neck, the blade digging in before another shot was fired.
Ruby was sent flying into the air, the Ursa's head flying into the air. Ruby was in the air, holding a large, red scythe, looking too large for her to handle. However, she wielded the large weapon with ease. She pointed the weapon away from the group, pulling a trigger on the handle that fired another shot. The recoil was strong enough to send her flying towards the group. She used her Semblance to circle around them before reforming behind her third victim, swinging the scythe at its hind legs. The Ursa fell to the ground, vulnerable to a decapitation from the young reaper.
She looked at the two remaining Ursai. She turned the scythe back into its firearm form, firing several rounds at the Grimm. Upon impact, the two Grimm were hit with strong currents of electricity. While in pain, the Ursai were still able to move. Angered, they charged towards Ruby, who stayed stationary.
Seeing this, Yang was ready to charge in and help Ruby. Before she could, Vergil stopped her. She was going say something, but he placed a finger over his mouth, signaling her to stay quiet else the Ursai aim for them instead.
"Just wait." Vergil said quietly.
They looked back at Ruby, smiling confidently as they approached her. She morphed the weapon into a scythe again. One of the Ursai swiped at her, to which Ruby swung with the opposite side of the scythe, successfully blocking the attack. She spun the scythe firing several rounds into the tough hide. The force of the shot made the Grimm stumble back, knocing into the other Grimm.
Upon making contact with one another, the two were hit with much stronger surges of electricity. They both roared out in pain, their skin scorched and tearing up from the lightning Dust. It wasn't long before the Grimm faded away, finally gone.
Yang looked in awe at the sight, while Vergil kept a blank expression. The two walked over to her, seeing the triumphant look on her face.
"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about. Huntress extraordinaire, Ruby Rose!" she exclaimed. "You guys agree?"
Vergil spoke first. "It was quick and efficient. That said, I don't know why you had to jump into the air like that. It was unnecessary." He stated.
Ruby sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "I figured it wouldn't hurt to get another bird's eye view of the place, just in case." She admitted.
Vergil sighed. "You had the chance to look at the area before attacking. You were too eager to jump into the action, weren't you?"
"…" Ruby was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Well, I was confident I-"
"You can't just jump in when you're not wholly sure on what's happening. There could be a trap or part of the environment that could catch you off-guard and get the better of you. While you took the time to look at it, if you have to look again in the heat of battle, then I recommend on putting more effort in scouting the first time."
Vergil was stern but calm un his explanation. He wanted to emphasize the importance of not rushing into a fight like she kept doing. She was improving, but her impulsive nature could get the better of her if she wasn't careful.
Ruby sighed. "Yeah… I guess." She admitted. "I'll try to improve. I swear on my-"
There was a loud roar from behind them. Ruby turned around, seeing another Ursa quickly charging towards them. Ruby was about to bring out her weapon, ready to end the Grimm before it got too close.
She lost the chance when a blade pierced through its neck, right through the spine. This shocked Ruby, making her stumble back, tripping over her feet and falling on her backside. She looked up to see the Grimm fade away, the owner of the blade appearing behind it.
Vergil looked shocked upon seeing who it was. He placed a hand on Yang's shoulder.
"Yang, take Ruby home." Vergil said.
The golden-blond looked back at her adoptive brother curiously. "Really? But what about-"
"Just go. I'll catch up soon."
At this, Yang looked at the new arrival with great suspicion. Nevertheless, she knew Vergil would be alright. She helped Ruby off the ground, following which the two made their way back to the house.
With the sisters gone, Vergil kept his focus on the new arrival on Patch.
"Hellp again, Miss Schnee."
Winter sheathed her sword, a sliver of a smile appearing on her face as she regarded her former opponent. However, that smile soon faded, a serious expression on her face. She took out her scroll, holding it up at the Dark Slayer.
"We need to talk."
AN: And that's that for that chapter. Honestly, I'm glad I was able to rework this chapter. I feel more eager to continue with this story now. I don't know when I'll be able to update the next chapter, but hopefully, it will be soon. We'll have to wait and see.
Also, I posted the first chapter of my rewrite for 'Fairy Tail: Dark Void', in case anyone is interested.
Well, that's all from me now. Hope you all have a great Christmas, and a happy new year to you all. See you later. ;-)