AN: Hey everyone, I have the next chapter here. Thank you for all the support you have shown this series. I learned recently that Lost to Dust now has its own Tv Tropes page, which is beyond an honor for me. Again, thank you for all that you have done to make this series so well regarded. This chapter is a little breath of fresh air after the last heavy chapter. It has a lot of cool actions and character moments in it that I liked writing. Hope you enjoy this chapter, leave a review with your comments and questions, and have a nice day.

Chapter 18 – Pursuit

Gray.

Back at Clockwork Academy, the remaining members of Team RAMA and Team MGNP gathered in the arena. Anastasia sat with Viy in her arms. To her right was an empty seat, followed by Penny with Zwei resting on her lap, followed by Neo. The Atlas android petted the corgi as the mute girl reached out her right hand. "Arf!" Zwei barked before biting on Neo's right hand. However, her body shattered like glass as the real Neo was sitting between Penny and Anastasia. She smirked at the corgi, but her eyes turned white as Zwei crewed the glass. After swallowing the shards, he panted with a lovable smile on his face. Neo turned to the grand duchess with her mouth slightly open, but Anastasia just sighed.

Penny spoke up with a smile, "Fascinating," she commented, "He seems to bite everyone but Ruby and I."

"Lucky you," Anastasia commented, "I wonder why he likes you so much?"

In Neo's mind, she imagined Penny extending her hand to pet Zwei with the same result as the other. However, she imagined the teeth shattering at the atlas android metal fingers. The mute girl then let out a small giggle.

Penny then lifted Zwei to look at him at eye level, "Do you wish to be my friend?" She asked the corgi.

"Arf!" Zwei barked.

"Wonderful!" Penny interpreted as a yes, "I like dogs." She said before hugging Zwei. Neo and Anastasia smiled before looking over to the arena, seeing Ruby and Gray conversing.

Gray looked at the red hooded girl load her Crescent Rose, "Your other team is named after you," She asked, "However, it is spelled with a 'w' instead of a 'u' when written out."

"Yeah, well it's more of an acronym than being named after me," Ruby said with a sigh, "I know, it's kind of confusing."

"It's okay, I understand." Gray responded, "Even with my name, a lot of people assume it is spelled with an 'e' for some reason."

"…It's not?" Ruby questioned as Gray looked at her in confusion.

The two then looked over to see Cu Chulainn walking over, "Okay, the two of you will be dealing with a mock horde of Grimm." He said while a massive cage off Beowolves was behind him, each snarling at their prey, "Now, by my count, there are about forty of these guys."

"That's it?" Ruby boasted, "I've taken down that many on my own in the past."

"Okay then, let's make it interesting." Cu Chulainn said with a smirk, "First to take out twenty-one of the Grimms gets the higher grade."

"Deal!" Ruby said with a look of determination.

"W-wait, I didn't agree to a contest?" Gray responded.

Suddenly, a peal of laughter was heard under her hooded garb, "Ihihihihi," She pulled out the laughing Add in his cage, "Come on Gloomy Girl," He said before glancing over to Ruby, "We can beat Red Riding Hood over here." Add said before Ruby noticed him.

The red hooded girl rushed over to the birdcage, her silver eyes gleaming, "Whoa!" Ruby said I awe, "You must be one of the other talking weapons." She said before picking up the cage, "What can you say? What can you turn into? Can you talk with Crescent Rose? Do you use Dust to power yourself? Tell me!" She said while shaking the cage all over the place.

"Ah!" Add screamed, "This girl is too high energy, I feel like I'm gonna vomit!"

"You can vomit?" Ruby asked in wonder, "What do you vomit; nuts, bolts, razor blades, empty shells? Tell me!" She said before Gray took the cage back, the red hooded girl realizing her error, "Oh…sorry."

The two hooded girls then looked over to see the cages started to open, "Okay ladies," Cu Chulainn said before jumping towards the stand, "Enjoy the hunt!" The blue-haired lancer declared as the cages fully opened, unleashing the horde of Beowolves.

Ruby smirked as she spawned her Crescent Rose in its sniper form. Gray ran toward the horde as she held the cage, "Add!" She called to her weapon.

"On it!" Add responded.

"First stage restraint," The grey hooded girl said Add's eyes gleamed purple, "Rescinded!" Suddenly, the cage folded outwards as Add's body began to expand and transform. His frame extended to a long pole with the bulk of his body at one end. At the same end was a large blade that made the red hooded girl smile in envy.

Gray took the newly formed scythe in her hands, watching three Beowolves pounce in front of her. In a rapid succession of horizontal slashed, she diced the Grimm into smoke. The creatures' essence then gathered into the blade of her weapon, "Hihihi, a nice meal to warm up."

"That's so cool!" Ruby gawked from a distance, "It powers up with Grimm it's slain!" She said before seeing two Beowolves rush her. In a quickfire, she blasted both monstered in the center of the skulls. As they turned to smoke, she changed her weapon back to its scythe form, "Can't lose focus." She said before glaring at the horde, "Time to fight." The red hooded girl said before dashing forward, biasing a Beowolf by the stomach.

Gray dived in the center of a pack of five Beowolves. Before they could pile on her, the grey hooded girl slashed their back legs in a full clockwise rotation. The Grimm fell forward as Gray jumped straight in the air. Add's frame changed to that of a bow now, with Gray already have the arrows of blue light aimed downward. She fired each shot into the back of the necks of the Beowolves, silencing their howls. After the creatures turned back to smoke, they flowed back into Add.

Ruby rushed a Grimm with her scythe aimed at its chest. She impaled the ribs of the creature with an upwards slash. Behind the Beowolf, a second one tried to pounce on the red hooded girl. However, Ruby shot through her first target, hitting the second one in the throat. She then glanced back to see another Beowolf flanker her from behind. The hood girl smirked as she adjusted her grip on her Crescent Rose. In a counterclockwise motion, she swung her scythe into through the rest of the first Grimm and into the skull of the third one. Ruby fired a round into the head of the third Grimm, launching her towards a fourth one. She quickly changed her weapon back to a sniper before jamming the barrel in the Beowolf's mouth. After pulling the trigger, the creature's head was no more.

Add's bow frame slightly changed, it's body now sharper as Gray wielded him with one arm. She tossed her weapon like a boomerang, crashing into one Beowolf's face. As another Grimm rushed Gray head-on, the back of its head split open on Add return trip to its master. Once Gray caught her weapon, the frame changed again. Now, Add resembled a massive hammer, which Gray swung into the right hip of a Beowolf. The force tore the Grimm in half at the waistline. As another Grimm lunged towards Gray, she raised the hammer over her head. In one swing, she crushed the back of the Beowolf, ripping off its front legs and head in the process.

Ruby reangled a group of nine Beowolves into the center of the arena. Suddenly, she began circling them at high speed in a counterclockwise motion. The Grimm roared as the red wall around then, but they could not escape as the circle grew small. Like a blend with an open lid, Ruby shredded the Grimm into pieced with the limbs flying out the top.

"Oh, it appears Ruby took the lead." Penny pointed out, "It's now twelve to sixteen." She said before noticing Gray's hood was not over her head anymore. The Atlas android had a look of confusion as her teammate's eyes also turned a goldish yellow.

Gray rushed a Beowolf as Add turned back into ha scythe, "Gray. Rave." The grey hooded girl said in a near-emotionless voice as cut the Grimm in half, "Crave. Deprave." The smoke of the creature flowed into Add as four move Beowolves rushed them from behind. However, the scythe's body nearly quadrupled in size.

Ruby just finished decapitating a Beowolf before seeing the massive weapon, her eyes gleaming with happiness at the sight. She then noticed the four Grimm about the jump on Grey. Before she could warn her, the grey hooded girl swung her massive scythe clockwise. In one swing, all four Grimm were ripped to shreds of smoke. Ruby sighed in relief before noticed a Beowolf rush her from behind. She barely had time to jump away as the claw almost grazed her cape. As the Grimm roared, she shot it in the roof of the mouth with the barrel of her scythe.

Both girls then focused on the remaining five Beowolves. The creatures snarled, but back up as they looked into their opponent's eyes. Ruby rushed in with Crescent Rose in its scythe form, the blade at her left side. While Grey lunged into the air, holding the massive scythe over her head, "Grave me." She chanted as the Beowolves were paralyzed in fear, "Grave for you." Grey declared before slashing downward. The tip of the scythe directly landed on a Beowolf, slitting its body down the middle. As the blade connected the ground, the whole arena floor shook with a quack.

The other Beowolves lost their balance as Ruby rushed one. She caught in on the blade of her Crescent Rose and fired a shot backward, launching her and the creature in the air. After they ascended to a fair height, the red hooded girl repositioned her body before pulling on her weapon. She cut the Beowolf diagonally through the chest and left shoulder, the two chunks quickly turning into smoke.

Gray gritted her teeth at her opponent's nineteenth kill. Quickly, Add shrunk back to a normal-sized scythe before morphing into a hammer. She then whacked an unaware Beowolf over the head, breaking the bone armor instantly. She then changed her weapon back into a scythe before cutting the same Grimm horizontally down the middle. Gray located the two remaining Grimm as Ruby landed back on the ground.

The hooded girls stood between the Beowolves. At the same time, they rushed towards their prey, their scythes reeled back. The Beowolves were trapped as each stared at their imminent demise. The blades bisected the Grimm at a matching moment, the harmonious noise of cut Grimm flesh echoed in the arena. As the Beowolves started to fade away into smoke, Ruby and Grey stood back to back to each other. As the grey hooded girl turned around, her eyes returned to normal. As the red hooded girl looked back as well, a smile on her face to their draw.

"You two did pretty well out there," Cu Chulainn said as he reentered the arena.

"Thank you, Sir," Gray said with a bow as Ruby giggled while scratching the back on her head.

"Okay, you two can take a break now while I sent up for the other three to hunt." The blue-haired lancer said before walking away.

Gray smiled with a nod. Suddenly, she now realized her hood was down. As she frantically pulled it over her head, Ruby looked over in confusion. The grey hooded girl blushed as she looked down. However, she then turned to Ruby, who now pulled her red hood over her head. She smiled as Gray had a look of shock on her face. But slowly, the gloomy girl smiled back with a giggle.

Neo looked down at her teammate's joy, wanting to Mordred to see this as well. The mute girl reached into her front pocket but remembered that nothing was there. Neo then crossed her arms as she pouted, causing Penny to look over in confusion, "Where is your scroll?"

Archer.

Archer laid on his bed, his head facing the ceiling. In his right hand, he held Neo's scroll. In looking at the device, he saw the number that she told him to dial. His right thumb moved to call the number, but at the last second, he stopped himself. He sighed before closing the scroll and shutting his eyes.

Upon opening his eyes, Archer saw Irisviel looking down on him with a smile, "You should call Cinder." She said with him having a look of confusion, "Also, you should already know you can't hide anything from me." The pale-skinned woman took a step back as he sat up, "If anything, let me call her. I do miss our girl talks."

"Mother, you do realize Cinder is not a good person." Archer responded, "The Cinder during transfer program was just an act. She lied and never told us the truth about her past associates." He said with a glare, "And you sending Chloe to with her was a bad idea."

"I disagree," Irisviel responded, "She may not have told us the full story, but Cinder never lied to us." She then crossed her arms, "And I think Chloe is in safe hands."

"Withholding the truth is a lie of omission. After she left, I finally learned what type of person she really was." Archer responded, "The power Cinder had was one of the Season Maidens, which is a power she did not receive naturally." He said before standing up, "She killed the prior holder to gain that power, that's all she cares about. Getting more power."

"I disagree." Irisviel replied, "She cared about you, Shirou." Archer remained silent for a second as his mother smirked, "I'm not going to justify her actions, but her feelings towards you were real." She then tilted her head to the right, "You can choose to deny it all you want, but you feel the same way about her." The pale-skinned woman then stood up.

"Mother…" Archer said as he looked down, "Why are you doing this to me?"

"You're my son, I want you to be happy. And I'll tell you that as many times as it takes." Irisviel responded before walking out of the room, "If you need more time, I understand." Before exiting the room, she looked back with a smile, "But a woman does not like to be kept waiting." Archer sighed again before looking at the scroll.

Cinder.

Walking down the dingy part of a town bordering Vale and Apocrypha, the Fall Maiden wore her robes. As she passed through the crowds of people, few noticed her appearance. Those that did were met with a turned eye as she searched, "It's impossible to tell which one is the Spring Maiden. Unless she reveals her power, this is just a pointless waste of time." Suddenly, Cinder's scroll began to ring. In taking it out, she answered it, "Yes, Chloe."

Traversing the rooftops, the red mantel girl talked with her leader, "This is boring!" Chloe said in a tired voice, "How come the others get to search for intel at bars and hotels while we have to look around this dump?"

"I think your still too young to want to enter a bar," Cinder said with a smirk, "Vitch said we would attract less attention if we split up. And Yu mentioned that the one we are searching for is nearby. Maybe not in this town, but we are close."

Chloe sighed, "Fine," She said with her arms crossed, "But, can we at least get something to eat now?" the red mantle girl said before her stomach growled, "I feel like I'm gonna die of hunger."

"Such a child," Cinder said with a giggle, while Chloe's pout was audible over the call, "Okay, you can meet me down here." She said before looking over the area, "I think I saw a noodle hut around here some-" The Fall maiden was saying until her right shoulder bumped into a blond outlaw, "My apologies."

Yang.

"No problem," Yang said to the robed woman before the two went their separate ways. She then looked through the crowd, spotting Gilgamesh and the others, "Hey, sorry I'm late." The blond outlaw said before looking to Sisigou, "I couldn't find Raven around town. Did you find your guy's clinic?"

"Yeah, he moves around a lot," The necromancer responded, "But I found his hiding hole."

"No sign of your mother though," Kintoki added from his search, "But this guy might have already treated her."

"Then, let's go," Yang responded as Sisigou lead the way. The group walked through the crowd of people. Gilgamesh glanced over to see multiple men glancing at Yang, their faces red as they smirked. However, those smirks turned to gasps of fear as the King of Heroes glared back at them, "Take it easy," Yang said as she patted him on the back, "We don't want to start a fight in the middle of town." She said with smirked, "As much as that does sound pretty fun." The blond outlaw said with Gilgamesh smirked.

Suddenly, Yang noticed a wooden bulletin board in front of one of the establishments. However, what caught her eyes was something else. Her portrait. Rather, an illustration of her from the waist up. "Hey!" She said as she ran over, her group following, "What is this doing here?"

"You haven't seen one of these before have you," Sisigou clarified, "It's a bounty board."

"Wow, those are real?" Yang said with a chuckle of disbelief before turning back to the poster, "Well, it's a pretty good commission if I do say so myself." She said before wanting to check how much she was worth. However, at the bottom of the poster were three stars next to each other, "What does this mean?"

"That's how they rank bounties here. A person's head is placed on a scale of one to five stars." Kintoki responded, "The more stars, the tougher the bounty, but higher the reward will be." Yang nodded before looking back to the bounty board. The Golden Rider then looked back to Sisigou, "You know, if we are this part of Apocrypha. Maybe I can go vis-"

However, Yang cut him off with a revelation, "Hang on!" She said before as she pointed to a poster of Billy, who had an X on his photo, "I beat this guy and also has three stars." She said before looking back to her group, "Shouldn't that bump me up?"

"That's not how it works," Sisigou responded.

"Plus, we want you to have a low profile," Gilgamesh responded.

"I know, but…" Yang responded with a slight pout, "It's the principle." She said before looking at the bounty board, the others sighing. Suddenly, she noticed someone else face, Raven's. In looking at the bottom of that poster, she saw four stars, "Well, I guess Junior did set up the bounty after all." She said with a slight smile, "I'll have to call him up later." She said before scanning the board again. In the far-right corner, the blond outlaw saw a black-haired woman in a red dress. Her face looked somewhat familiar, and that was the only bounty she saw with five stars. However, Yang shrugged before having an idea. She pulled out her scroll and took a picture of her bounty poster, "Heh, wait till I show the others this." She said before looking back to her group, "After all is set and done, of course."

"Why not just take the bounty poster?" Kintoki offered, "You know, then you have a souvenir."

"It would also slow down others from coming after you," Sisigou added on.

"Nah, if another bounty hunter was after me, they would have shown up by now." Yang said as she put her scroll away, "I guess my disguise is just too good." She said before walking away from the bounty board, her group following.

However, a few seconds later, a man walked up to the same bounty board. His hair was a disheveled dirty blond and wore no shirt or shoes. His body and face were covered in battles scars, his shoulders embordered with black markings. He wore black military pants with a matching bel. His hands were bangled under a set of golden shackles. The man picked up the poster of Yang, then turned to see the blond outlaw just turning the corner. A grin then formed on his face as he followed his target.

AN: There you go, Ruby and Gray tie in their little hunting battle. We also learn the Archer is still hesitant on contacting Cinder. Also, we see that Cinder and Yang bump into each other, but neither recognizes the disguise. She finds out that Junior did make the hit out on Raven (before he died). Also, the stars are not power levels, they are just a reference to FGO. It more gives an idea of progression of the challenges Yang will face in the future. Speaking of which, the next bounty hunter on her tail is another punch fanatic. That brawl is coming some, but you'll have to wait and see how it will turn out. That is all for now, thanks for reading, and hope to see you in the next chapter.