Another day, another chapter. Review response time first. Guest; don't worry, I was well aware that most of the Guest reviews weren't serious. Noob6; you won't find out this chapter as it will refocus more on a character I have neglected recently. Zer0the0mega108; though I sent a PM to you to clarify, I'll mention it here now. My DeviantArt account, for those of you who are interested, is RagingArchon. Guest; I'm thinking of maybe putting Genji in. He's already had a cameo in a past chapter but I think if anything he'll appear in a potential sequel. MachineDog90; you'll find out just what Winston and Jack found out this chapter! OutlastTheDark; thanks for that compliment, wanted to do something original and that came to mind. Warenscape The Squishy; that's putting it lightly, yes. And finally Chroma The Harvester; hope you enjoy the rest of this fic. Now, on with the show!
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Chapter 18- Behind the Mask
Ruby trudged through the streets of Vale's Old Town, kicking a stray tin can carelessly down the road. For a place called Old Town, it actually didn't look that old. Sure, a few derelict buildings here and there but nothing a bit of elbow grease couldn't fix! Well, maybe not the buildings that had collapsed on themselves, but still.
Ruby had taken every precaution she could think of to ensure the rest of her Team wouldn't follow her. She told no one she was headed for the old Overwatch Academy and she had left her Scroll behind so they couldn't track her that way. Was it a smart idea? In hindsight, probably not. For all she knew she could end up in an even dicier situation then she had anticipated, with no one knowing where she is or anything. What if Overwatch Academy wasn't actually abandoned? Or worse, Reaper's Headquarters?
"Okay Rube's...deep breaths..." Ruby whispered to herself, taking in huge gulps of air in order to compose herself. "Keep it together..."
Gripping Crescent Rose, Ruby continued on her journey through the streets of Old Town. She was just over reacting, as if anyone would actually choose to live in an abandoned Academy!
She continued through the streets until she came across a large spacing, which was what she assumed used to be a road. Before her was a large, circular building that reminded Ruby somewhat of Beacon in terms of size and design. A stone plinth sat near the decrepit entrance of the building, the letters that spelt out the name of the building having been removed long ago. The only thing that remained untouched was a circular symbol, covered in dust. Ruby didn't need to brush the dust away to discern the colours however, as she recognised it regardless.
"Overwatch..." Ruby whispered, looking up at the large building with a silent gasp of appreciation.
She remembered every bit of information she had gathered on the closure of the Academy, she knew the story behind it. The Academy was considered corrupt by a number of government officials, but there was no evidence to suggest such a thing. Then one of its critics was assassinated by a member of the Shimada, seemingly under orders of Overwatch. With all evidence suggesting Overwatch to be corrupt to the point of assassinating people, the government officials of Remnant established the 'Petras Act', disbanding Overwatch and citing all actions done in Overwatch's name to be illegal and punishable by prosecution. Overwatch was shut down, and all the Huntsman and Huntresses that had graduated were discredited, turning to Mercenary work while those that had been training were sent to other Academies to restart training.
But Ruby didn't care about any of that. She was here for one reason and one reason only. Reaper. All evidence pointed to a link between Reaper and Overwatch, and if she was going to find anything it would be here.
Slowly, Ruby entered the abandoned Academy, stepping through the shattered glass door. The inside was a tip to say the least, walls had been torn down and wires hung haphazardly from the ceiling. She navigated her way through the corridors, taking note of the discarded robotic parts littered around the area. Someone had been fighting here, recently as well judging by how clean the robots looked. Scavengers maybe, but surely the robots should have been all dusty and stuff, not to mention inactive after all these years.
Some one was here, perhaps they still were.
She continued to traverse the corridors, entering a large amphitheatre of sorts, where the signs of a recent skirmish were more apparent, including a human like robotic foot. As Ruby continued through the corridors, she couldn't help but shake the feeling that she was being watched. Whilst she was positive it was just her being paranoid, she decided to keep a firm grip on Crescent Rose should she need to suddenly use it.
She soon came across a split in the corridor, with one leading down a passageway to the left whilst the other led straight ahead. Following her gut, she turned left where there were a number of room entrances that led into what looked like classrooms, the walls cracked and the desks covered in discarded books. She then entered a circular room with a stairwell that led to an upper level. It was then that the lights suddenly went out, causing Ruby to raise Crescent Rose, shifting it into its Sniper form and loading a fresh ammo cartridge into the weapon. Peering silently through the scope, she looked around the room, checking her corners as she slowly moved forward.
SPLAT!
Ruby turned sharply at the sound of something wet hitting the floor. She looked down in front of her to find...a banana peel?
Confused, Ruby looked around the room to try and discern where the peel could have come from. That was when she decided to look up. She gasped silently before using her Semblance to dash forward, dodging the gargantuan form that had been above whilst also nearly slipping on the banana peel in the process. When she turned around, she saw herself standing face to face with a large Gorilla Faunus, who looked less then pleased with her presence.
Ruby fired a few shots at the Faunus, who raised his arm to shield his face, the bullets instead glancing off his armour. The Faunus then roared at her, yellow electricity arcing off his form as his eyes glowed the same colour and his skin turned red. Note to self, don't anger people with a strength based Semblance.
The Faunus leapt over to her, his arms raised over his head ready to be brought down on top of her. Ruby used her Semblance to dodge the impending attack, zipping towards the stairwell as the Faunus landed with a loud crash. When Ruby turned around, the Faunus was grabbing at the air in front of him, as if dumbfounded by the lack of her presence. The Faunus then turned and locked eyes on Ruby, snorting loudly in anger as he charged forward again. Ruby sprinted up the stairs, the Faunus attempting to grab onto her cape only to grasp one of the Rose Petals created by her Semblance.
Ruby reached the top of the stairwell and rushed to the door on the opposite side, only to skid to a halt when the Faunus landed right in front of her, their arms out wide either side as it once again roared at her. Ruby fired a few more rounds at the Faunus, who once again opted to shield his face from the incoming barrage, swinging wildly with his arms whenever possible. Ruby continued to fire Crescent Rose, only to pause when she realised with dread she was out of ammo.
"Oh no..." Ruby whimpered as she observed the rifle. The Faunus chuckled triumphantly as it then grasped a hold of Crescent Rose's barrel, causing Ruby's eyes to go wide with shock as she realised what was going to happen next.
The Faunus then swung Crescent Rose to his left, Ruby still grasping onto the weapon, letting go as he did a full 180 turn. Ruby was sent flying towards the wall, landing with a loud crash before slowly sliding down the wall. Shakily getting up, Ruby shook her head quickly as she then observed the Faunus charge forward, leaping into the air with an upraised fist. At the last second, Ruby dashed forward, causing the Faunus to instead crash into the wall, causing the wall to crack before giving way completely.
Ruby wasted no time as she chose to dash to the door that she had attempted to get to before. She heard the sounds of rubble shifting followed by an animalistic roar, indicating that the Faunus had recovered from his earlier embarrassment. Ruby skidded around the corner as she heard the Faunus approaching quickly from behind. Ruby passed through another door, powered by a motion detector. As she passed through it, she slashed Crescent Rose above her head, disabling the motion sensor.
The door slammed shut seconds later, just as the Faunus charged forward. Ruby jumped back as she heard the Faunus attempt to break his way through the door, roaring in annoyance as the door didn't give in. Ruby remained silent as she heard the Faunus then grunt in annoyance as she heard them get further and further away from the door, no doubt attempting to find another way into the room. Ruby sighed in relief when she could no longer hear the Faunus, turning her attention instead to getting out of here before the Faunus found a way inside.
That was when Ruby felt the barrel of a weapon resting gently on the back of her neck, followed swiftly by the sound of a weapon's safety being switched off.
"Don't move a muscle..." a gruff voice behind her warned. "Do exactly as I say, and I won't blow your brains out. Drop your weapon and put your hands where I can see them!"
Ruby obliged, dropping Crescent Rose loudly on the floor before raising her arms above her head. She then felt the weapon barrel leave her neck as she heard footsteps moving slowly around her. Glancing to her right, she saw an imposing figure wearing a mask slowly making his way in front of her. In their hands was a rifle that seemed to match the colour scheming of his clothing, indicating either one or both were custom made. The figure then planted their boot on Crescent Rose, dragging it away whilst his eyes were still trained on her.
"Who are you?" the man asked, cocking his weapon up at Ruby slightly as he spoke.
"My name is Ruby Rose," Ruby replied, staring directly at the man who tilted his head slightly at the reply. "I'm looking for information on the Reaper."
"Ruby Rose? Wait a minute..." the man mumbled, turning away slightly before looking back at Ruby. "You're Qrow's niece, aren't you?" Ruby merely nodded in reply, a sad look on her face, something that did not go unnoticed by the man. "I heard what happened, I'm sorry. He was a good man. But what makes you think coming here will give you answers on the Reaper?"
"Me and my Team have been looking into the case and we found sources that linked the Reaper with this Academy." Ruby explained, watching closely as the man slowly backed away from her, though the weapon was still trained on her. "I think there might be a link with some guy called 'John Morrison' or something. Do you know where I can find him?"
Ruby watched as the man then backed away from her, lowering his weapon as he eyed her up and down. "Well kid, you found him..."
Ruby's eyes narrowed in confusion as the man then holstered the weapon onto his back and lifted his hand to his face, grasping a hold of the mask covering his face. There was a loud hiss of compressed air as the man then removed the mask from his face. Hidden behind the mask was a face that looked to be in their mid or late forties, with sharp distinct features. The most notable features were the scars, with one that looked like a burn mark on the left side of his jaw whilst another was a long diagonal cut that travelled from just above his left eyebrow to his right cheek. Ruby also took into account the similarities between him and the picture she had seen of John Morrison.
"You're...you're John Morrison?" Ruby stuttered, lowering her eyes when she saw that the man was no longer holding her at gun point. "Wh-what do you know about the Reaper?!"
"Enough," John replied, placing the mask back onto his face with an audible click. "But I'm not telling you anything."
"What? Why?" Ruby pleaded, clasping her hands together as John simply watched on, his head tilted slightly.
"Because it's too dangerous. Besides, Reaper is my responsibility." John sternly replied, turning to walk away from Ruby only for the red hooded Huntress to intercept him.
"Why is he your 'responsibility'?" Ruby questioned, folding her arms across her chest, an action that John Morrison mirrored.
"Because I made him what he is!" John retorted, more sternly then before.
"He killed my Uncle!" Ruby retorted, attempting to match John Morrison's tone.
"He killed my friends!" John then shouted, causing Ruby to back away slightly. "So tell me, what makes you think you can help?"
"It's not about whether I can help take him down!" Ruby responded quickly, causing John to tilt his head back slightly. "It's about doing the right thing!"
John looked at Ruby, dumbfounded at her response. The sounds of footsteps rapidly approaching caught his attention, and he turned as Winston suddenly crashed through one of the decrepit walls, shaking the dust off of him before he noticed both John and Ruby in the room.
"Jack! You got her did you? Want me to throw her out?" Winston asked, gesturing to Ruby as he spoke.
"Jack? I thought it was John?" Ruby asked, tilting her head questioningly.
John sighed as he shook his head, leaning down to grasp hold of Crescent Rose. "It's complicated, technically I'm Soldier 76 but..." John, or Soldier 76 as he seemingly wanted to be called, then threw Crescent Rose at Ruby who quickly caught the weapon. "It doesn't matter. Winston, she can stay for now."
"All right then..." Winston muttered, though he kept a watchful eye on Ruby regardless.
"Come on," Soldier 76 muttered, silently gesturing for Ruby to follow him. "I'll show you what we've got so far."
Ruby nodded, following Soldier 76 and Winston through the hole the latter had made. Ruby followed the pair into a room, where a large number of monitors were on display, all of them about Reaper.
"The Reaper is..." Soldier 76 hesitated, sighing to himself before continuing. "...was a Huntsman once. He was called Gabriel Reyes."
Soldier 76 then clicked a button that connected to one of the monitors, the screen switching instead to a picture of a Huntsman Ruby immediately recognised as Gabriel Reyes. Come to think of it, Ruby thought she had seen Reaper's weapon's before, now she saw they were nearly identical to the ones Gabriel used.
"He was your Team-mate..." Ruby murmured, turning to face Soldier 76. "Your friend..."
"Yeah..." Soldier 76 sighed, shaking his head slowly. "But that was a long time ago. Gabriel is dead, and Reaper rose from the ashes."
"What happened?" Ruby asked, turning to face Soldier 76, who's head was hung low.
"Gabriel and one of our other Team-mates were convinced Ozpin had something to do with Overwatch's shut down." Soldier 76 explained, turning to face Ruby. "He was certain, but I disagreed with him. It was...explosive to say the least. He and his partner, Amélie, went on a killing spree, killing Beacon students left right and centre. Me and my partner, Reinhardt, tracked them to a Dust Factory. There was an explosion and...Amélie and Reinhardt were killed. I was lucky to have survived. I thought Gabriel was dead, but clearly I was wrong..."
"How'd he survive?" Ruby asked, tilting her head slightly. "Shouldn't he have died?"
"I've been looking into that." Winston replied, moving forward as he opened a file showing what looked to be a medical report of sorts. "According to research I've done, the Dust facility was also experimenting on a healing serum of sorts. My guess, Gabriel found it and drank it and...it didn't go exactly as intended. I'm not sure, but I believe he's become an 'Energy Vampire' of sorts, draining the life of his victims in order to sustain himself, making him effectively immortal."
"Wait, so he can't die?" Ruby asked, her eyes narrowing in worry.
"Not exactly, he CAN regenerate wounds, but he can't regenerate immediately." Winston explained, pushing his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. "He can be killed, but not easily."
"Recent footage I've collected shows Reaper alongside this group." Soldier 76 explained, bringing up a number of pictures of a large number of armoured soldiers in strange armour, Reaper amongst them. "We think they're planning something."
"Who are they?" Ruby asked, tilting her head as she looked at the soldiers. They wore Navy blue armour that was similar to SWAT armour, covering their torso and legs. Under the armour was a deep blue shirt and trousers with black gloves covering their hands. Their heads were covered by skull like helmets fitted with respirators, the eye sockets glowing blood red. "Are they White Fang?"
"Worse..." Winston growled, his hands clenching and unclenching repeatedly. "They're called Talon, a human extremist group."
"Why is Reaper working with these guys?" Ruby asked, leaning forward as she observed the Talon operatives, who seemed to be taking orders from Reaper.
"No idea, but he seems to be preparing for something...something big." Soldier 76 replied. "They've been gathering a lot of resources. We think they're building something."
"Building something?" Ruby asked, tilting her head to the side slightly. "What do you think they're building?"
"Honestly kid," Soldier 76 muttered, turning to face Ruby as he spoke. "I have no idea..."
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Yes, Talon is in the story now. And just what are they building with Reaper? Find out soon enough. Liked it? Leave a review and constructive criticism is welcomed. Any questions? Either leave in your review or PM me.
Raging Archon out.
