RWBY: A TALE OF TWO SCYTHES

Written by Christopher Rangel

CHAPTER 2: ROSES AND DAHLIAS

Ruby woke up with her arms in the sky, stretched out to release the tension of a good night's sleep into the bright early morning.

"Wow, that was a really good sleep!" Ruby said. She looked at the clock. "I should probably head out now to meet up with that Marluxia guy and… Oh, no, Jaune! I forgot to visit him last night! Oh well, I'm sure he can wait a couple more days or so." She looked around. The rest of Team RWBY was still asleep, but they knew of her plans for the day, so she was fine just leaving.

"Later, girls", she whispered before stepping out of the room and closing the door, quietly.

"You're up early", came a voice from the hallway.

"Ah!" said a startled Ruby. "Oh, it's just you, Cinder." Cinder stood in the hallway, her arms crossed and her face in an amused smirk.

"Sleep well last night?" Asked Cinder Fall.

"Oh yeah, it was great!" said Ruby, starting to walk down the hall. Cinder followed.

"So, where you off to this time of the morning?" Cinder asked.

"Picking up a new scythe!"

"A new scythe?" said Cinder. "What's wrong with Crescent Rose?"

"Oh, well, it's a great scythe and all, but…" Ruby hesitated, "The shaft is a bit sharp, if you know what I mean."

"Ah! Alright. That's a bit TMI, but I getcha", said Cinder, throwing up in her mouth after saying that sentence.

"Yeeeeeah", said Ruby. "Anyways, I'll catch ya later, Cinder!"

"Yep, see you around!" said Cinder, waving Ruby goodbye.

Emerald stepped out from behind a corner. "So what's Goodbye Ruby Tuesday up to?"

"Getting a new scythe, apparently one that's… easier to masturbate with than the one she already has."

"Ew, what the fuck?" said Emerald.

"I know", said Cinder. "Disgusting."

"Aside from… that, how did she seem?" Emerald asked.

"Completely unrepentant", said Cinder.

"Damn", said Emerald. "And I thought we were the most merciless killers at Bacon Adademy."

"Indeed", said Cinder. "Perhaps Ruby's more interesting than we initially thought…"

"Jaune!" said Pyrrha, knocking on his door. "Jaune, it's the morning! Wake up, we have to get going!" Waking up Jaune was Pyrrha's favorite part of the morning; oftentimes, after she knocked on his door, she'd hear him yell in surprise and roll off of his bed, followed by a drowsy "Ow." This morning, however, there was no yell. There were no antics in him getting out of bed. There was just… silence.

"Jaune, is everything alright?" There was no answer. She tried the door handle; it was locked. He was definitely in there. "Jaune, if you don't answer me, I'm going to have to knock down this door!" Still no answer. "In three… two… one…" No answer. Sweat broke across her brow, and she said, "Alright, here I go!" and rammed into the door, shoulder first, bursting it open in a shower of splinters. "Jaune, are you… Oh God!"

Jaune lay there in his bed, eyes staring blankly to the ceiling. His mouth was open, a thin, dry trail of blood coming down the side. His shirt was off, and so were his nipples. There were two scabbed holes where his nipples had been, and his bedsheets were stiff with the dried blood that had poured from the wounds.

"No… no…" said Pyrrha. "NOOOOOOO!" She fell to her knees and began to cry. Gradually other people began to gather around, and all were appalled by what they saw.

"Who could have done this?" Pyrrha asked. Neptune and Sun appeared. They both stood there in shock for a few moments.

"You don't think…" said Neptune.

"It had to have been", said Sun.

"No one's seen her this morning", said Neptune. "Pretty suspicious, if you ask me. Just up and leaving the morning after something like this happens."

"It could have been an accident", said Sun. "This is what he wanted." There was a moment of silence.

"Should we tell her?" asked Neptune.

"I think it's the right thing to do", said Sun. They both walked up behind Pyrrha. Neptune put his hand on her shoulder.

"I think we know who did this", said Neptune.

"Tell me", said Pyrrha. "Tell me, so I can kill them."

Ruby walked through the forest, consulting her map regularly to make sure she was going the right way.

"The crossroads should be right… about… there", said Ruby. She looked up ahead. Indeed, out past the trees and a little ways through the following field, there was indeed a crossroad, and in the middle of that crossroad, stuck in the ground, was the scythe she was looking for. "Yes! Yes yes yes yes!" Ruby said as she started running towards it.

Once she got there, she just stood before it in awe. No picture could do this scythe proper justice. The pink blade shone in the Sun as if producing light on it's own, and the curve of the green shaft made it appear as though it were a flower bending in the wind. Timidly, she reached out to touch it, then drew back as a portal of darkness opened on the other side of the scythe.

"You must be Ruby Rose", said the pink haired man in the dark cloak that appeared before her.

"Uh, yup, that's me!" said Ruby. The man smirked.

"My name is Marluxia", said the man. "I'm the one you contacted to get this scythe."

"Oh, yeah, I should have… should have put that together", said Ruby. "Sorry; wasn't expecting anyone to walk out of a dark portal like that. Kind of threw me off guard."

Marluxia smirked again, then looked down at his scythe.

"She is beautiful, is she not?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, very!" said Ruby. Marluxia looked at her.

"Would you like to know her name?" Marluxia asked. Ruby just nodded excitedly. "Graceful Dahlia", he said, looking back down at the scythe. "One of the finest scythes ever made. Commissioned by Death Emperor Finster himself, and crafted deep in the ancient flames of Mount Doom, meant only for the grimmest of reapers." He picked up the Graceful Dahlia and gave it a swing, smiling in admiration at the sound of splitting air. He looked at Ruby, the loving look his eyes had for his weapon replaced with a glint of determination and anticipation. "Prove your worth and she shall be your's! Fail…" he held out his arms, causing a number of scythes to appear in the air behind him, "…and the scythe you have now shall become a part of my collection."

"You're on!" said Ruby, bringing out Crescent Rose. Marluxia watched with interest as it's different parts shifted into place into the form of a scythe.

"Fascinating", said Marluxia. "What do you call her?"

"Crescent Rose", said Ruby. "And she's about to kick your ass."

"Very well then", said Marluxia. "Let the fun begin!" And with that Marluxia blinked out of existence, but Ruby was experienced enough to know that whenever that happened, the assailant would always be teleporting behind her, so she quickly met Marluxia's blade, deflecting it with her own, the blow sending her flying up into the air. Ruby quickly transformed Crescent Rose into a rifle and started firing away at Marluxia, but he just phased in and out, effortlessly dodging each shot.

"Fascinating", said Marluxia. "I look forward to adding this one to my collection!"

"In your dreams!" said Ruby, and she charged an extra powered shot and fired it right at his position, obliterating the bit of landscape it hit. After the smoke cleared, Marluxia was nowhere to be seen, but a large number of pink petals began floating around the battlefield.

"Dammit!" said Ruby, and she turned Crescent Rose back into a scythe and swung at several of the petals. She cut through each petal with ease, except for the last one she hit, which was met with much resistance, and the instance it hit there was a flash of light, revealing it to be the blade of Graceful Dahlia.

"You're not bad", said Marluxia.

"Same to you", said Ruby. They both jumped backwards and landed on the ground. Marluxia got into a wide stance and held out his scythe. Ruby did the same, and in the next moment both fighters surged forward with all their energy, blades clashing right at the center of the crossroad, and then they stood facing away from each other, standing where the other had been a moment ago. After a moment, Marluxia staggered and held his hand to his side. Ruby sighed and put away Crescent Rose.

"Your skill… could use some work", Marluxia said, suppressing the pain from the wound left from Crescent Rose. "But what you lack in skill… you make up for in sheer determination."

"Thanks!" said Ruby, turning around to face Marluxia. He held out Graceful Dahlia.

"I would be more than honored… to give you my most beloved blade."

"Wow!" said Ruby, taking the scythe. She ran her hands along the shaft; it was so smooth! She couldn't wait to stick it up her…

"I must tell you now that this scythe is entwined with my own soul", said Marluxia. "Therefore, if you do anything like, say, stick it up your pussyhole, I will know. I won't judge, like, you're welcome to do that, but just know that if you do, somewhere out there, I may achieve an erection."

"Oh, yeah, ew, why would I do that", Ruby said, laughing it off as if that wasn't the reason she came all this way for the scythe.

"I'll be around", Marluxia said with a smile. And with that, he stepped back into a portal of darkness.

Ruby looked at her new scythe, Graceful Dahlia. In the sunlight, it was so…

"Ruby!" called a voice, running out from the woods.

"Huh?" said Ruby. She turned around and saw Neptune and Sun running towards her.

"Oh, hey guys!" said Ruby.

"Ruby, did you do it?" Neptune asked, gasping for air as he stopped before her. They had been running a long way.

"Huh? Do what?"

"Jaune", said Sun. "Did you cut his nipples off last night?"

"Oh, no, I straight up forgot and went to bed. I can still do it for him tonight, though!"

"No need", said Neptune. "Jaune's dead."

"What?" said Ruby.

"Nipples cut clean off", said Sun.

"Did you do it, Ruby?!" Neptune yelled.

"What? No way! I would never… not fatally, at least. I'm on your side! I'm trying to find the killer!"

"We believe you", said Sun. "But you might have some more trouble explaining it to them…"

Out of the forest stepped the remaining members of team JNPR: Pyrrha walking at the front with Nora and Ren standing behind her to either side. Ruby met Pyrrha's glare; there was nothing but pure hatred and vengeance in those eyes.

"I should have known sooner", said Pyrrha, standing face to face with Ruby. "I should have known that it was you all along. You're the Niplord, Ruby, and I shall kill you here and now to avenge Jaune!"

TO BE CONTINUED