(A/N)
I feel like it'll probably be better if I just address the Reviews that I receive during the following chapter that I upload, so without further ado lemme do that real quick like!
Freddielebron:
- 'Every fucking chapter is a god damn history lesson. Cool world building but the pacing is so off. Action and romance are ridiculously fast paced but everything else is slow' I can definitely understand how the story comes across that way. A ton of the beginning of the story, and throughout the fic as well, is just exposition and I think that's one of the issues that I have as a writer. I think I try to over explain things instead of having the MC learn about the world in a more natural way and because of that, the majority of chapters, especially early on, are just entire exposition dumps without substances. The pacing of the entire story as a whole is super-slow and that is also something that I have to learn more about when writing. I know the action scenes go by super fast because I hate drawn out fights and I didn't like focusing so much on romance that I couldn't progress the story, so I literally just sped past those bits which ended up hurting the story as a whole. I'll try my best to address that in the rewrite!
-'It's cause the white fang decided to go the Malcolm X way instead of continuing the MLK way. There's a difference between protesting, rioting, and terrorism and they went all the way to the right. They collaborated with the Grimm to assault a school full of children. That's like if a group of blacks, got together with alien invaders and helped attack a high school. Tell me how doing the extreme version of a school shooting is gonna help their cause? Of course they got demonized. They did demon shit. I'm saying this as a half black half white man who's seen both sides of the spectrum fyi. What they did was stupid asf. If they were successful and rewrote history than there's nothing to do but since we got to see how bad they were in the present, it shows them as bad people. They weren't successful. They didn't get to stop their oppressors with acts of terrorism. The white fang became a terrorist organization. They went extreme and failed. Ofc they would get demonized.' I guess I wasn't really clear in my reasoning so its my B for explaining the shit wrong. I never meant that I don't understand why they were demonized, I fully understand the logical reason, in canon, why they were the bad guys in the show. The issue I had with it is less that there was a logical flaw, and more the fact that they made them the clear evil in the show in the first place. It just rubs me the wrong way that the writers of the show created a group of wrongfully treated minorities, wrote a group that fights for their equality, and then turns them into extremists so they can be the villains of the story. Like, that doesn't seem a bit odd to you? On top of that, they just made the 'leader' of the entire group essentially defect because a girl left him. Wtf. I understand your point tho and I know that your right, I'm just saying that the shit rubbed me completely wrong and it turned me off to the show.
-'Why's he surprised that they would make an exception to enroll him when they moved Ruby up 2 years to attend Beacon? It should've been his goal to impress them to get that special enrollment' Nova didn't know that he did anything special yet, so to him Glynda randomly met him in an isolated part of the building, walked him to the right spot, and decided to enroll him off of a simple conversation. He has no knowledge of cracking the wall being a seriously impressive feat or the fact that Glynda and Ozpin were actively looking for him, but he had suspicions after she suddenly appeared in that part of the building. Doing something special to be enrolled would've been a thought, but he already heard about the entire application process from Nix and Neyah, and it sounded like transcripts take precedent over feats since even if the Faunus were stronger they were still put in the lower Ranks. I didn't make a lot of that thought process clear so that is something that I need to improve upon in my writing!
-'"AND BRING THAT SWEET ASS OVER HERE!" Is so fucking cringe. The fact that all throughout your novel, there's been not one outside thoughts or dialogue of the surrounding people makes it seem like there's no one around. People murmuring or stuff like that doesn't count. Dialogue is important and not just between important people but the surrounding people to keep the immersion successfully and realistic. There are people in a stadium, who just watched a girl cause a massive commotion by entering the gym. No mixed reactions? Nothing? That needs improvement' I agree whole heartedly! Thank you so much for pointing that out! If I'm being completely honest it literally just lazy writing. While creating reactions and stuff I definitely just breeze over surrounding people without much care since I felt like its pointless to go into the thoughts and dialogue of random people, but knowing that it really matters to the immersion shows me that its something else I need to improve upon. Btw, that line was supposed to be cringey asf lol.
Thank you so much Freddielebron for all the reviews! I really appreciate the assist and I can't wait to eventually go through and make all those changes to improve the story at a later date! If you have any other questions or anything like that feel free to as, and Thx for taking the time to write the reviews, you are the best!
daneanderson2011:
-'Since the last time I made a review I was asked to leave any inconsistencies I find or things to improve on I've looked over the last few chapters and complied some thoughts on what could be improved.' Thank you so fuckin much for all the feedback! This entire thing was lit asf to read and I'm glad that you actually compiled all the shit that could be changed in the story! You are the G.O.A.T.
-'The Grimm transformation for Byakko was good however she still has a soul and shouldn't lose her aura as aura is soul power. I also remember you mentioning aura being connected to END in the system which makes no sense since, again, its soul stuff so it would make more sense to be connect to either a soul stat, the intelligence stat or the MC's level.' The fact that Byakko doesn't have Aura in her Grimm form is something that I lightly address at a later date, but even then the explanation is sort of wishy washy and vague so either way it is something needs further details. I did think it through when I originally wrote it but I don't know if the reasoning is really good enough, but that'll be something that you'll have to judge for yourself when it does eventually appear down the road. Aura being connected to END is not because it's connected to the Soul nor does it disregard that fact. The reason it's connected/entrenched in END is because of how it is utilized in the world. Aura is mainly used as a protective barrier against incoming attacks, so naturally in order to protect someone it needs to have high endurance (END), therefore it is connected to END. Also, Aura is described as the manifestation of the soul, not necessarily 'soul power' per-say. That's the reasoning I went with when deciding to entrench Aura in END instead of anything else. Also, MP is already in INT so I didn't wanna put them in the same spot since it'd be lame.
-'The MC's never uses observe on anything useful. The receptionist was ultra suspicious and instead of referring to his system map/using observe on her he just completely ignores it which makes no sense since he knows beacon can and will be infiltrated as well as Ozpin being a possible problem.' The reason Nova never uses Observe on anything useful is literally because I was a shitty, lazy, piece of shit writer and I didn't feel like going through the extra effort to create an entire new stat sheet for another one off character. I think I wrote it before, but I calculate all of the System values and stuff like that, so it takes a bit of extra effort whenever I need to observe another character especially the random ones, so I chose to rarely ever do it. I know that is awful and it makes me shit, but that is what I did a lot of early on in the story and its something that I want to change in the rewrite! You are 100% correct and I will try and make that shit better later!
-'I don't get how Ozpin came to the conclusions he did since he's over 1000 years old he managed to come up with some bullshit that makes no sense when he should be smarter. I especially don't like all the random nonsense misunderstandings but that's more dude to person preference than quality of writing (I hate misunderstanding based plots and humor). I'm also pretty sure that Glynda Goodwitch as Ozpins right hand and an accomplished huntress and combat instructor and dep of the school is really well know in vale and is also somewhat know in other kingdoms but she is surprised when the MC recognizes her.' The conclusion that Ozpin came to and told Glynda when they were leaving the Arena was complete and utter Cap, and its something that is gone over lightly waaaaaaaayyyyy later in the story. I didn't really make it very obvious, nor did I really leave any hints for it to be the contrary, so I need to improve upon that fact, but overall I guess I can say that it was intentional. Random nonsense and misunderstandings is an easy way to create conflict and almost immediately solve the problem. Its super lazy and its something I used a lot so I gotta improve on that as well. Glynda being surprised was lowkey just bullshit writing, but after rereading it I think that she was more surprised that he sounded like he was expecting her rather than him just knowing her name, but that was something that her thoughts didn't reflect so I need to change that as well.
-'You are correct that Ozpin would focus on him as having absolutely no ID would be strange and he's quite strong but it feels blown out of proportion. I find it a bit weird that he tells Glynda the actual species of Byakko. The MC apologizes a weird amount and is too nice that it comes off strange and he seems to act like a bit of a pushover(He should have told His "partners" that he had things he must do instead of just sneaking out as they love him and would understand. When people ask him things he just kind of folds like wet tissue paper and tells them whatever they want even though some information could be used against him or is simply private and they have no reason to ask). The last thing I've noticed is your use of malicious intent and how most characters apologies over nothing. I've never in my life had someone say malicious intent to me before, although I've heard ill intent, all the character interactions feel very "Japanese-ish" with the way they act.' I think that it was something blown out of proportion simply because the fact that he was in the company of other students so the assumption was that a student aged person was the one who did it. Especially after there had seemingly been so many years of nothing happening at the academy, but that is again something that I didn't describe well enough in the story. The only real hints that I included for you to draw that conclusion was the monotony of Ozpin doing paperwork and wanting an escape from it, the security measures for civilians to enter the school, and the assumed amount of time since the great war, but you'd kinda have to read super deeply to draw conclusions like that. I fucked that up, my B. Nova folding like wet tissue paper (lmao) is mostly just because he feels like he has no reason to lie to people about shit that they won't understand anyway. Like Byakko being a Celestial White Tiger, to literally anyone but Nova that information holds literally 0 value since they have no clue what the fuck it is. The MC literally just doesn't lie, like ever, so I think that it may come across as him being a push over, but its just how he is I guess. Him not telling his partners about him sneaking out at night is just because he knows that they would wanna come with and that would fuck up his nightly activities since they can't enter/see the dungeons so they'd be wasting their night, but you are 100% correct in that he should just tell them. I checked my entire story and I used the phrase 'Malicious Intent' twice and I used the word 'Malicious' twelve times, soooo idk, I guess its a phrase that sounds weird to read lol. I can make sure I sharpen up my diction when I rewrite the story! The Japanese acting is probably happening because I watch too much fucking anime (lmao), so I'll definitely make sure I fix that in the rewrite.
'Byakko cheering was cute. Byakko best character. Make Byakko pov.' I actually really wanna write that but I keep focusing so much on the MC that by the time I figure I can write a chapter for it something important in the story happens so I just opt to continue the plot in the same way I've been doing. Imma definitely do it tho, I promise, at some point.
Everyone that's reviewed the story thus far I want to give you an honest thanks from me! I love you all, you've helped me a bunch, and I really, really, really want to rewrite this goddamn story instead of just feeding you stuff that I already know is kinda booty. Every time I read these reviews they keep making me look more and more forward to rewriting the story! But, unfortunately for you and for me I already said that I was going to rewrite the entire thing in bulk whenever I finished Remnant which isn't going to happen for another fucking century. I don't wanna fuck the whole thing up by speeding through the end, but at the same time I don't wanna start my Senior Year of college with an ongoing Rwby story on my mind. If I'm super lucky, focused, and on crack then I may be able to complete this story by the end of the summer, but honestly I highly doubt I'll be able to which sucks since it was my goal since the beginning of the Summer, but well oh well.
Thanks for the reviews and now you may read this cringe fest of a chapter! See you in the Reviews maybe!
Chapter 20: Ozma
As Glynda looked down at the seated Headmaster, her thoughts raged in her mind, "What is Ozpin doing! Students don't have to reveal their Semblances to the school, it's their personal right. I am going to kill this man by the time Nova is fully enrolled!" That's right, students don't have to tell the school what their semblances are, however most students choose to at least name them to register it on their Hunters ID. What Ozpin was implying to Nova was that he needed to name and explain his Semblance to him and everyone else in the room.
Pyrrha looked at the scene with more confusion, "I didn't need to register my Semblance in anyway. Why would Nova need to?" The thought swam through her mind, but she never had a chance to say it allowed as the conversation continued.
Nova looked at Ozpin in suspicion for a moment, but right after that he figured that there was no reason not to. After all he had numerous other abilities that people don't know about, and Overtime was a rain drop in an ocean in comparison to some of the other things he could do. "Of course, my Semblance is called Overtime and it essentially adds a follow up attack after any physical attack that I do."
As he explained his Semblance, Ozpin looked at him in disbelief, "That doesn't explain Goodwitch or Pyrrha's behaviors. Maybe he is lying to save face. Uhm, do you believe you could show us an example? It would help us register a more descriptive and accurate bio of your ability."
"Uhh sure, Pyrrha could you come a bit closer for a moment?" Pyrrha look a bit confused at his request, but she obliged and closed the distance between them. Nova then gently placed his hand on the top of Pyrrha's soft red hair, and slowly began stroking it with his fingers. The group then watched/felt, as a ghostly hand made from Aura followed his real hand's movements. "See, it kinda just does this. So, when I punch or kick something its like I do it twice. I've never tried enhancing it with dust, but I'd imagine that it would just add an elemental effect to the ability." As he continued to stroke Pyrrha's hair, her face body started to heat up, and with every further stroke she leaned further into his touch, moaning quietly all the while.
Glynda watched as Pyrrha enjoyed Nova's touch and she couldn't help but become jealous at the attention she was receiving. However, as soon as it started, it ended as Nova removed his hand from her long, beautiful hair, much to the dismay of Pyrrha Nikos. Ozpin watched the demonstration with more confusion, "I guess that is his Semblance then. It explains the indentation of the destroyed wall, and its not exactly the most out of this world, insane ability. However, that doesn't explain why Glynda and Pyrrha are acting this way. Could it be that they actually just like him that much?" Ozpin considered the thought that this young man in front of him was not as malicious as he thought he was and the more he thought about it, the more credibility it gained. Throughout his orientation he had been incredibly charismatic, happy, intelligent, and overall, a phenomenal person to be around. He soon conceded the idea that Nova was a malicious figure, and because of it he decided to apologize for his actions. "I apologize for the needed detail; you have been very cooperative, and I thank you for it."
"It's no big deal, anything to help the process along, or ease your stress in anyway is something that I'll gladly take. I know you got a lot of weight on his shoulders already so there is no reason for me to add anymore."
"Thank you, Mr. Nova I very much appreciate the sentiment. But with that you are all finished. Your uniform will be shipped to your temp room within a few days so look out for that. I look forward to watching your growth as a huntsman in training, and if you ever need anything from me feel free to ask." Glynda looked over at Ozpin's sudden change in how he was treating her Nova with confusion. She already had a bone to pick with him, because of all the things he had done that day, and especially because he made him disclose information about his semblance, but now she had additional ammunition to use against him when she addressed his treatment of Nova.
"Alright Pyrrha lets go," Nova and Pyrrha made towards the elevator door opposite from the one they entered through, walking side by side all the while. As they hit the singular button and the doors opened, Nova turned to the beautiful women, and surprisingly young-looking legend and gave them one last goodbye. "Well while I'm up here, I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a quick look at these two's stats. It'll give me a good idea of the top tiers in this world, so I have an idea of how strong ill need to be when the invasion happens." Nova harped back to the original idea of him being in Remnant in the first place, the Awakened were a group of people that sought out worlds that couldn't protect themselves, meaning that is he wasn't stronger than the strongest people in Remnant then he wouldn't be able to protect them. "Observe!"
Name: Glynda Goodwitch
Age: 42
Race: Human
Titles: Top Huntress, Beacon's Lead Professor, The Disciplinarian, Etc.
LVL: MAX
HP: 16200/16200
AU: 26900/26900
Attributes:
STR; 255
END; 1510
DEX; 505
VIT; 760
INT; 3775
LUK; 755
*Telekinesis (Semblance)*- Glynda's complete mastery over this Semblance allows her to move and control objects with the utmost skill and ability. She is so proficient with her Semblance that she can use it offensively and defensively as easily as she breaths.
Name: Ozma, Ozpin
Age: 65, (3489)
Race: Human
Titles: Beacons Headmaster, The Wizard, The Infinite Man, Etc.
LVL: MAX
HP: 43240/43240
MP: 72800/72800
Attributes:
STR; 2115
END; 1511
DEX; 2112
VIT; 2112
INT; 4520
LUK; 1210
"Jesus Christ! I knew the shit was gonna be high, but it's still surprising to see stats like this. It may take me a while to get there, but we gotta do it ASAP. I almost forgot about Ozpin's whole reincarnation plotline with Salem, didn't he create the maidens? Does that mean that right now he's weaker than he was before? Guess that means I have to shoot for at least quadruple Ozpin, or Ozma rather. Damn, Ozma is old as fuck! And Glynda is hot as fuck for her age, I mean God damn!" After finishing up his quick thoughts about the information that he saw regarding the two heads of Beacon academy, he entered into the elevator beside Pyrrha, and said his goodbyes.
"I'll be seeing you later Glynda, you gotta teach me some things about being a Huntsman." The woman smiled in response to his comment, waving him goodbye as the doors began closing. "And thanks for everything headmaster Ozma!" Those were the last words the headmaster heard as the sturdy elevator doors closed shut, leaving Ozpin and Glynda in the office alone.
Ozpin was stunned, he couldn't believe the name he had been called by Nova, after all no one other than a very select few individuals should know about his past, or even the less the true state of Remnant. As soon as he recovered from his shock, he made to get up and chase down the young man for answers, but he was stopped by a strong force that glued him to his seat.
Glynda Goodwitch was far too focused on her anger towards Ozpin to even properly register what Nova called the silver haired man. Ozpin, now stuck to his seat by a powerful force, turned to Glynda who was glaring at him while angrily tapping her forearm with her black riding crop. "Headmaster" she hissed in an aggressive tone, "you have some explaining to do!" That day Ozpin learned to treat Nova Pollux with absolute fairness, respect, and kindness as Glynda Goodwitch tore him a new one. Let's just say that she truly earned the title The Disciplinarian.
On the other side of the shut elevator doors. riding down in the metallic box, Nova was mentally cursing himself for the slip up, "Shit! How did I screw up and call Ozpin, Ozma!" He held his hand to his forehead and let out a long sigh. "I really fucked up now. Ozpin's gonna question the fuck outa me cause I know shit I'm not supposed to, but there's nothing I can really do about it now. All I can really hope for now is that he either didn't hear me or disregards the mistake, but both of those are very unlikely. I guess I gotta come up with a plan for this shit too. Ugh, its just one thing after another with this place."
Pyrrha watched Nova with interest as he let out an exasperated sigh, "Nova, what's wrong? Are you alright?"
Nova exited his thoughts and turned to Pyrrha, "Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired as all, it's been a long day." He couldn't actually feel tired, in fact he wasn't even sure if it was possible for him to get mentally exhausted either, but he lied to cover up his mental anguish at his slip up.
Pyrrha's look of concern didn't leave her face as she approached the young man, "its not good to push yourself too hard, even the strongest of people need to rest on occasion. Here," as she spoke, she gently wrapped her arms around his head and pulled his head into her clothed bosom, "use me to rest for a moment. I know its not much, but I will do anything I can to assist you in relieving your stress."
Nova was going to attempt to refuse the action, but as soon as his head touched her chest all arguments left his mind. He sunk into the cushioned softness that was her breast and rested silently in her embrace as they slowly descended in the elevator. The woman couldn't help but stare down at the resting boy as he laid in her breasts with her hands wrapped around him, "He's so cute! And super cuddly! I wouldn't mind if we could stay like this forever." The last thought amused her as she cuddled into the resting boy in her arms. Every second she spent holding him felt like an eternity of pure bliss, but as the elevator slowed to a stop, she realized that the eternity was not nearly long enough.
The group exited the elevator with Byakko retaking her place in Nova's arms. They continued walking out of the special elevator area and turned back towards the way they came. "Where exactly are you heading Nova? I thought that you would want to check out your room first and foremost."
Turning to Pyrrha he explained, "Nah, first I gotta go get Nix and Neyah and tell them about how I got enrolled. And then we'll probably go back to see our new temp room and go occupy a training room to do a little evening training before bed. Your free to tag a long for the ride if you wish."
Her face lit up at the invitation, "Of course I'd love to come with you! However, I wouldn't want to interrupt whatever you have going on with the Nix and Neyah figures you were speaking about. If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is your relationship with them?"
As the three of them walked to the Battle Arena, Nova explained his relationship with Nix and Neyah, including a little description of both Faunus women. After hearing the news, for some reason she got a bit depressed as it felt like she had just lost something extremely valuable to her, but Nova then included that they were fine with the idea of an open relationship, and suddenly the feeling went away again. He continued to explain how he didn't exactly know the details of the whole thing, but Pyrrha remained with a determined look on her face at the news.
The continued walking and talking as they entered the arena, and Nova used his mental map to find the location of the two girls. He then led Pyrrha through the winding hallways of the endless practice rooms until they eventually stopped at one. "Alright, they should be in here" he said as he knocked 'lightly' on the black door. The group waited for a moment, until the door slowly rose from the ground and a tall woman with bandages around her chest leaped out of the room, and ferociously tackled Nova to the ground.
Pyrrha watched as the girl pelted his face with kisses while saying 'I love you' and 'I missed you' repeatedly. Her attention was suddenly overtaken by another smaller girl with fluffy ears slowly walking towards her. The shorter girl reached out her hand in a shake while saying, "hello it is very nice to meet you. My name is Nieva Panthera, but you may call me Nix."
The scarlet haired woman took the girls hand and shook it gently, "It is very nice to meet you Nix, I am Pyrrha Nikos." As soon as she introduced herself, the girl that was straddling Nova's waist suddenly stopped her incessant kissing.
She slowly rose to her feet and approached the red-haired woman in an intimidating manner. "So, your Pyrrha Nikos. I heard that you were pretty strong."
Pyrrha could sense the woman sizing her up, and since she was not one to back down from a fight, she took one strong step forward enforcing her height advantage over the Faunus. "Yes, that is correct, I am Pyrrha Nikos. And I am known for my strength in battle, do you have an issue with that?"
Neyah stared up at the woman, Pyrrha wasn't much taller than her, only a few inches at best, but when they were face to face like this the difference was very noticeable. "I aint got no problem with that, I just wanna know what you're doing snoopin around MY man."
Pyrrha could feel the aggression in her voice when she added emphasis to the 'my' in her statement. She couldn't exactly refute the girls claim of ownership over Nova, but she felt that she couldn't back down or she would lose her opportunity to grow closer romantically with him. "I was with him for the past hour, helping him find his way around the campus. If you have an issue with me assisting and supporting YOUR man, then we can settle it in the arena, Neyah." The instant she said it she couldn't believe she was so straight forward and aggressive with her threat, but her confidence didn't waver even for a moment. For some reason whenever Nova's involved she finds the confidence to say and do whatever she truly feels, and this was a prime example of that fact.
Neyah gripped her fist, glared intensely, and flashed her fangs at the taller women, but Pyrrha didn't waver in the slightest. The tension in the air continued to rise as the two refused to back down from each other. As Nova looked up and saw the girls close to fighting, he was about to move to separate them, however when he looked at Nix, he noticed that she watched on at the scene passively. Seeing how calm she looked, he decided to allow the scene to play out.
Neyah started growling aggressively as she quickly reached for her spear and pulled it from her back. Pyrrha didn't show any reaction as Neyah pulled out the spear, but instead of attack Pyrrha, she maneuvered the blade to create a quick stabbing motion aimed directly at Nova's head. In that instant Pyrrha moved into action, quickly swiping Neyah's armed hand upward while hooking her leg around the woman's and pushing hard. In that one fluid motion, Pyrrha disarmed and pinned Neyah to the ground, holding her forearm nightly against her throat.
Nix exhaled slightly at Neyah's antics, walking up behind Pyrrha and taping her slightly on the shoulder. "Excuse me Miss Nikos, please forgive my sister's belligerent actions. Trust me when I say Nova's not in any danger whatsoever."
Pyrrha turned her head around and looked at the calm sister and questioned her, "what do you mean? She clearly tried to hurt him! She tried to hurt MY Nova! I felt her intent, that was not a feint or a fake out, or anything of the sort! She tried to hurt him!"
Nix looked at Neyah who was still pinned to the floor, and as their eyes met, they had a silent conversation through the gazes. The silent communications quickly ended with Nix flaring her eyes at the pinned girl, and Neyah rolled her eyes in return. "You pass Pyrrha, I was testing you. I promise I wasn't going to hurt the most important thing in my life. Think about it, even if I wanted to, he could've dodged if he wanted to. I also just projected the intent, I wasn't actually gonna do it, now please get the fuck off me!"
As she heard the explanation from Neyah, she turned her head to Nova looking for confirmation, and he motioned her to get up. The instant she saw the motion, she removed her forearm from her neck and stood up, standing in between Neyah and Nova. "I apologize for my harshness, but I believed you were going to hurt him. Do you think that you could help me understand what you were 'testing' and the rest of what just transpired?"
Neyah quickly hopped up from the floor, cracking her neck slightly as she rose. Nix decided to start the explanation, "In simplest terms, Neyah decided it would be a good idea to test your love and loyalty for Nova."
"This seemed like the fastest way to do it, and plus it worked so I don't know why you're complaining."
Pyrrha's face blushed up as she heard the word love being used to describe her feelings towards Nova. "Love? I don't know about that; I mean how did you even know I felt that way?"
Neyah chose to respond, "What do you mean how? It's so obvious! The instant the door opened you tried to prevent me from tackling Darling, what you thought I didn't notice? I can smell it coming off you in waves."
"And your eyes give you away Miss Pyrrha, you are verry clearly enthralled by Nova the same way we are. You may not love him as deeply as we do, but the love is still there, and you passed the test. So, you are welcome to become a sister in love with me and my sister."
Before anyway else could respond or ask any more questions Nova shot up and interrupted their conversation. "Alright! All that is great, fine, and dandy, but I would like to announce my admission into Beacon! We can talk and sort the rest of that shit out on the way back to Hope! Now, follow me please."
Nova gave them no room to argue or celebrate as he immediately began walking his way out of the building, with the three girls trailing behind him. And as he said before, the girls then talked and figured the rest of their shit out on the way there. Nix and Neyah gave him kisses on the cheek in response to his admission, and were extremely proud, yet not surprised, at his S-Ranking. Pyrrha decided that she would like to be a lover of Nova's considering her seemingly instant attraction to him, even though she was reluctant to share him. However, she had to concede that since she wasn't his first lover in the first place. Neyah and Pyrrha began discussing a possible spar, training regimens, and battle strategy with Nova and Nix talking about the events that led up to that moment. Including his encounter with Goodwitch and the events at Ozpin's office. Nix mumbled something under her breath about another love rival that Nova chose to ignore not wanting to deal with another test. And soon enough they entered into their brand-new temporary room that was much bigger than the last one.
They didn't give the room a thorough examination as Neyah was starting to get antsy about wanting to spar, so the group, led by Pyrrha, headed to the training rooms. When they arrived, they quickly entered into the room, and found that it was much bigger than the ones at the Battle Arena. There was also a console that they could use to alter the environment slightly, but they didn't explore that much as they immediately started to bare hand spare in the room. Nova took part in some of the training session, mostly acting as an observer, helping any time he thought he could.
Time quickly passed and the group got tuckered out a tired from the constant battling, so they quickly headed back to the room for some much-needed sleep. The girls told Pyrrha that she was welcomed to sleep with them, but she politely refused, saying that she still had other things that she needed to attend to. So, the original three stripped and cuddled up into one another for a night of rest.
After the girls fell asleep, Nova and Byakko left the room again in the same fashion they did the night before, and they ran back into the city to accomplish their nightly activities. Nova continued to absorb a ton of Grimm, and Byakko continued to brutalize a lot of Ursa, with them both gaining little to no loot in the process. They quickly headed back as the sun began to rise over the horizon, making it just in time to swap places with his Aura clone.
The rest of the next day was more of the same things, they woke up, got ready, found their way to the cafeteria, debriefed on the day's activities, met up with Pyrrha on the way to the Arena, and cheered as they watched Nix decimated her opponents yet again and be declared the champion of the 26th pool. Pyrrha was impressed with her speed and strength, and they discussed a lot of that as they walked back to the Hope building to let off some energy from the unsatisfactory matches.
The rest of the week was much of the same, waking up, finding Pyrrha wherever she was, and training or exploring the expansive building. As long as Nova or Pyrrha were with them, they could literally go anywhere they wanted to. So, they enjoyed the library, weight room, science centers, special guest speakers, and a whole heck of a lot more. Nix and Neyah even allowed Pyrrha to go on a little private date with Nova, while the two of them watched Byakko, and the tall woman and savior of earth grew a lot closer that day. Even though they weren't actually alone, Nova just didn't have the heart to tell Pyrrha that they were being followed by Nix and Neyah the entire time. When he got back to the room, they pounced on him asking why he didn't 'make a move' and 'assert his dominance' on Pyrrha during their date. He ignored their comments and instead 'asserted his dominance' on them in the bedroom with aggressive oral, that they couldn't get enough of. Of course, Nova and Byakko's nightly exploits continued and at the end of the week they finally managed to clear out the Dungeons in the industrial district, the Boss of the District was an Ursa Major which, according to Nova, was pretty cool, but he watched as Byakko shredded it with ease which made it not as cool. Also, he was incredibly close to having the egg hatch which was a big plus.
A whole helluva lot more shit happened during the week that I am sure any person would have loved to hear about in excruciating detail, but maybe that story will be told another day. However, that time is not now, as Nova, Nix, and Neyah have just jumped into bed after a long day of enjoying one another's company.
Nix cuddled up on the right side of Nova's body, shifting herself to become more comfortable, and whispered a question into his ear. "I wonder why Pyrrha doesn't want to sleep with us. Do you think we make her uncomfortable with our showings of affection?"
On his left side, Neyah followed up with similar comments of her own, "yeah, I wonder why. We spend all day together, she damn near shows up at the door every morning, but whenever we offer a simple sleep over, she declines with some bullshit excuse. I really like her too. Do you think that she maybe doesn't like us?" For the first time in a while, maybe ever, he saw a look of true disgruntled sadness on both girls faces.
He hugged the girls tighter into himself, exerting his comforting warmth across them, "I know that she enjoys being around you both a ton, hell she may like you even more then me. I'm sure that sleeping together is just a large step for her. She is fairly self-conscious so that could be apart of it as well. Either way, she is probably not comfortable making this step right now. I'll tell you what, I'll talk to her about it tomorrow, alright."
In response, Nix gave him a small kiss on the cheek, and Neyah nibbled on his ear, "I would like that very much." Nix whispered with a little giggle.
"That would be pretty cool of you Darling" Neyah said quietly as she nibbled on his ear.
"Don't worry about Pyrrha I'll handle it. Now, both of you need some rest, good night my loves."
"Goodnight Darling/ Goodnight, Baby!" Withing minutes, the girls who were seemingly so awake, and considered had their worries instantly remedied by their lover's words, and soon after they fell back into a deep sleep. Nova sat in the embrace of his female companions for a moment longer, just enjoying their presence and making sure that they were actually asleep.
After about ten minutes of waiting, he began his nightly routine, "Call Off, Devil's Step" in one smooth moment, a body double replaced his position, and he teleported to the center of the large room. Byakko immediately jumped into his arms as he activated Devils Step again, sending the pair out the room and free falling through the sky as they fell quickly towards the ground. The pair remained completely calm throughout the fall, and Nova activated Devils Step again teleporting them softly to the ground. He quickly activated his Demonic Speed that allowed him to zoom through the main campus to the large gate, down the massive hill, and into the city that he was now so familiar with. Instead of running immediately towards the next district to conquer, he leaped on top of one of the taller buildings in the commercial district and sat down on one of the ventilation units on the roof.
He let go of Byakko and allowed her to sit down in front of him, so he could begin his speech. "Okay Byakko, we are about to do some shit that we have yet to do in our time in Vale yet. We are about to become criminals and in doing so, we'll probably be on a lot of bad peoples radars you feel me? So, we are going to need to be extra inconspicuous and by that, I mean, we cannot let people know who we really are. So, Imma need you to switch it up completely, no more adorableness Imma need you to give me aggression, rage, you know, just overall really bad vibes at all times. Can you do that?"
As he gave the order, Byakko shifted into her Grimm form and bore her fangs at Nova. She then began growling heavily, rumbling the floor as she did so. "GRRRRRRRRRR, ARHKKGGGHH" the bark like roar rumbled the entire building.
Nova was unfazed by the aggressive noise, "aww, your still so cute!" He exclaimed as he pet her masked head softly. "However, that'll do, just keep that same energy for the rest of the night, unless we find someone who you don't need to do that too. You know what I mean, of course you do." He didn't really explain the situation to her completely, and that was because he didn't actually have to explain anything. He naturally felt everything she did, and it worked vice versa, so he didn't need to explain any of this he kinda just needed the theatrics to pump himself up. "You also need a nickname because I can't exactly call you Byakko. Hm, you got any ideas?"
"Mwrah Mwrah"
"That's a little on the nose don't you think?"
"Grrrragh!"
"It can't be Grimm; I already named the Scythe Grimm."
Byakko sat for a moment in thought before a lightbulb went off in her head, "Hrrrwwaaghrrrr!"
Nova reviewed the name for a moment, thinking about its general effectiveness and ease of use, "I really like the name Champawat, and I understand the vibe you're going for, but I don't know if it's that threatening considering this is Remnant and I don't think they know about the man-eating tiger that killed like 450 people. Hm, this is way harder than it should be. How about I throw out a bunch of names and you tell me if you fuck with them or not." Byakko agreed to his preposition.
"Alright, Tao Wu, Hades, Nidhogg, Ravager, Malice, Uhhhh Hostile, Animus, Venom, Poison, Vicious, Uhhhhh fuck, Champ, Scylla, Hel, Sin, Evil, Death, Darkness, Abyss, fuck I'm running out of decent names. Do you like any of these?"
"Mwgrah! Grrwah!"
"So, you like Scylla, and Hela. Fuck it we'll go with Scylla, we can always just change it later, and anyone who questions the name change will be killed on sight as an example!"
"MWRAH!"
"Hella yeah! Glad you like the name, but now it is time for me to change into my new fit. Meta, can you turn on my Appearance please."
[Of course, Partner!]
The change was instant, not poof of black smoke, no gradual color change, no nothing. One moment he was wearing his classic outfit jacket and all, and then the next he was dressed head to toe in an eerie black and red with the Aura of death itself. He had played around with the appearance throughout the week, and he found that he could still easily use the jacket's special ability, Magic Hat, from anywhere on the Appearances clothing which he found amazingly useful. The Oni Mask also changed his voice to a much more demonic tone that didn't sound like a voice changer at all. It made his voice naturally sound incredibly horrifying by nature, when he spoke, he felt he sounded eerily similar to the Devil he fought on Earth which was interesting to him. The last special quality about the Appearance was the fact that he couldn't feel it at all, it was like he was wearing his normal clothing, but the entire outfit look completely different. This included the mask, so it felt as if nothing was covering his face, and it didn't skew his vision in the slightest bit which was awesome.
As he settled into his Appearance and the qualities that came with it, he walked to the edge of the building in the black of the night. Scylla followed beside him as he perched his foot up on the edge of the roof, looking down over the dark. Cold, empty streets of Vale. He then reached towards his chest and slowly pulled out a long black Scythe that drooled black shadows with every movement. He swung and twirled the blade in the air for a moment, before leaning it over his right shoulder as he started at his various targets. He took a deep inhale of the cool night air and spoke his first words of the night, "I Have Arrived! It Is Time For The Grimm Reaper To Take What He's Due."
Chapter 21: Thief in The Night
The Grimm Reaper and his companion leaped from the edge of the building and landed softly against the ground. The streets were dark, and quiet, only being lit by the dim streetlights that lined the street. The only sounds that could be heard were the echoing foots steps of the ever-approaching Reaper and the demonic beasts that accompanied him. As the duo continued to walk down the empty street, they looked around and recognized the desolate buildings with all of their lights turned black, however along the long street there were a few stores with dim lights shining from there interiors. It was these stores that The Reaper and his pet came to claim, and they wasted no time in doing so.
As they slowly approached the first Dust shop, they came across, Nova took hold of Scylla's long black tail and in a silent red streak, he entered the lit store. Peeking out from the back was an old man, short in stature, with grey hair that was caused by aging. He watched, frighteningly, as the manifestation of his fears inexplicably teleported into his shop that he had worked so hard to build up. His mind went blank with fear, and he could only watch as the demonic figure stared holes into his soul through his masked face. The man took one large gulp, and willed his body to take a single, nervous, fearful, shaky step out from his hiding place. After his first step, he couldn't make another move out of fear of getting too close to the deadly entity, so instead he chose to stand back and begin the exchange.
"I-I-did a-as you-a-asked, Mr. Grimm Reaper Sir." After his first words, he took a moment to calm himself before beginning again. "All of the Dust that you requested is in those crates stacked in front of the store. Please take whatever you want, just don't hurt me or my establishment." The Reaper slowly tilted his head sideways creepily, which frightened the old man to the core. He quickly searched his mind for what he did wrong, and he quickly found his mistake and apologized for it. "I-I am so sorry Mr. Grimm Reaper! I meant to say your Dust is in those crates, they all belong to you! Please forgive my blunder!"
The Reapers head titled from right to left and he quietly spoke his first words of the exchange, "Value."
"Huh?"
At the man's ignorance, the Reaper took one step forward, causing the old man to fall on his back in fear. The pure shock and terror from the Reapers single step forced all of the card's information back into his brain. "Value!" The Reaper spoke much louder this time.
The sound of his demonic voice boomed through the vacant store, forcing the old man's response, "of course! The retail value of all of your Dust is $26,872 Lien, but we order it from the Schnee Company at about a third of the cost."
The Reaper stopped for a moment, before he reached into his chest and pulled out a single black card with silver lining across it. He then placed the card in between his index and ring fingers and sent it soaring through the air. The card made its stop as it shallowly cut itself into the wall next to the scared shop owner. The Reaper then smoothly turned around and quietly spoke, "Pleasure." That was all the owner heard as the Reaper walked into the crates, absorbing them into his body, and vanished without a trace.
The old man slowly stood from his position on the cold floor, and he pulled the black card from the slot in the wall. He examined the weird object for a moment not exactly understanding the purpose of it, but as he checked the back, and thoroughly looked at the card's designs, his eyes widened in shock. He quickly pulled out his scroll and placed the camera over the card. What appeared on his screen left him in shock, "$30,000 Lien?!" For a moment he thought that it must have been fraudulent, so he added attempted to add it to the stores cash deposit up front, and sure enough it was real. As he slowly slouched down to the floor in shock and exhaustion, "The Grimm Reaper, what is your goal?" He suddenly recounted the card that had been left in his store one week prior. "Abiding by my Rules will bring you fortune beyond belief. I guess this is what they meant by that."
All across the district, The Reaper walked into various dimly lit Dust stores and committed the same actions. Some provided more materials, some chose to test his patience, and some couldn't even speak in his presence. However, the encounter's results remained the same, the people that he encountered were all stricken by terror as he entered but were shocked and confused as he left. He had given those that listened a massive pay day and for that a weird form of twisted respect and admiration had crept its way into their hearts.
Across the district, two women sat in a small office room, patiently waiting for a special guest to appear in their store. One of the women was incredibly calm, sitting at her desk, sipping on her coffee and typing away on her computer. On the other hand, across the desk was someone who was fidgeting with her fingers, and twirling around in her spiny chair, as she nervously waited for the inevitable. "Hey Boss Scarlet, do you think the Reaper is actually coming? It has been a while, maybe he forgot about us" the girl said shakily.
The much more mature woman turned from her computer to face her nervous right-hand women, "we know that the 'Reaper' is coming. One week ago, today we found that letter, meaning that they are coming tonight at some point. Who would create such an elaborate calling card just to not show up on time to collect what the asked for? Nobody professional, that's who, and this person is clearly at least thoughtful." As soon as the mature woman explained why the Reaper was coming, the younger woman shivered and slouched down in her chair. "Rouge, calm down. Nothing bad is going to happen, we did everything they instructed us to do and we avoided all the things the Grimm Reaper told us not to do."
Rouge rose from her spiny chair, and let out a long exhale, "yeah sure, but you think their gonna like the fact that you screwed them over? You are literally giving them like 2 pieces of gum, a used condom, and pocket lint in comparison to what we should be. You don't think that they'll notice?"
The Boss looked at Rouge with a proud face, seeing as she was able to properly assess their current position without her giving her any hints. Throughout the week, just as she predicted, Dust stores all around Vale closed down for the week, causing demand for Dust Items to skyrocket. And because of her stores already known popularity, and increase in demand for the products, Scarlet was able to almost completely sellout of all her products. In addition to that, she cancelled this week's product shipment which would've come in the day before, meaning she had absolutely nothing to give the Grimm Reaper. If the Reaper had any intellect whatsoever, then they would be able to tell that they were being scammed. "You are completely right miss Rouge; however, you are not taking into account one simply idea. I believe that our Reaper is an honorable figure and will adhere to the rules that they set for themselves."
"And how do you know that?"
"A little bit of intuition and some basic word analysis." Rouge looked at Scarlet with confusion, but she managed to accept her conclusion regardless. It wasn't often that Boss Scarlet was wrong after all, her intellect far exceeded her own, or at least that is what she believed.
Even thought she accepted the conclusion, that didn't mean she wasn't going to ask for an explanation. "But like, how do you actually know? Give me evidence, not intuition! I know you well enough to know you have a reasoning."
Scarlet was about to begin explaining, but then she turned to the large, multi-screened monitor that was mounted on the wall of her office. On the screens were security camera's that covered every surface of the building, minus of course the bathrooms. And dead center on the largest of the screens was an eerie figure, standing tall and still in the center of the store. Next to the figure was a large beast that looked like a Grimm, but one she had never seen before. She then turned back to her partner, and with a bit of excitement in her voice she said, "it seems that our guest as arrived! Let's not keep them waiting!"
Scarlet then made for the door, but she was suddenly stopped by a terrified Rouge. "Miss Scarlet, there is a Grimm downstairs! That Reaper thing brought a Grimm into the city! Its too dangerous, we have to leave now!"
Scarlet exhaled slightly, and wrapped Rouge in a small embrace. "Listen Rouge, you will never be able to ascend to your full potential without taking a few risks in life. You are free to remain in this room where it is safe, but I encourage you to watch our conversation. It'll be a great learning experience for you! You won't be able to take over the store after me if you keep this attitude up!" Scarlet released the hug and moved her to the side, allowing her to freely walk through the door of her office.
Rouge stood still for a moment with shock on her face, "damn near none of that speech is applicable right now! You're risking your life, not a couple Lien! But I'll be damned if I can't take this store from the hag if I don't participate in this stupid exchange! Hold up Boss Women! I'm coming too!"
The two red haired women slowly walked down the steps leading to the first floor of the building they owned. As they reached the entry into the main store, Scarlet took a moment to fix herself before taking her first step into the opening of the Dust shop. "Welcome to 'From Diamonds to Dust', I am the owner of this store! My name is Scarlet Vermillion, and this is my associate Rouge Cardinal, it is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Grimm Reaper." The Boss Women smoothly introduced herself, the store, and her partner with a bright enthralling smile. She bowed slightly in respect, as she fearlessly approached the glowing red and black figure with her hand extended looking for a handshake. "You may call me Scarlet, and if you would, please treat my partner Rouge with the same amount of respect you would me."
Nova couldn't help but notice the mature beauty of the woman in front of him. She had wonderfully tanned skin, and very soft facial features giving her a natural air of elegance. Her Scarlet hair was long and glowing, flowing in a curly spiral over her left shoulder. She wore an extranigral expensive looking red dress that hugged her curvaceous from and accentuated her bountiful breasts and wide hips. The woman behind her was very similar to her except she had a much more childish air about her. Her hair was tied up in a very long ponytail that draped endlessly down her back. She wore a much shorter red dress that stopped just short of her thighs, showing off the black stockings that covered her legs.
The Reaper looked at her extended hand for a moment and Nova's mind began moving rapidly behind the hard mask. "This woman is not scared at all! Should I shake her hand? Wouldn't that kinda ruin the entire vibe I've been rocking with up until this point? Fuck it, I guess we'll be going with a different approach this time around." The Reaper reached out his gloved hand, much to the nervousness of Rouge, and gently shook her hand. At the same time, Nova decided to lower his mask into its half form, revealing his red eyes to the red-haired woman. "You May Call Me Reaper. This Is My Companion Scylla, It Is Nice To Meet You Both As Well."
Rouge was shocked at the politeness of the Reaper, he gently shook her boss's hand, and introduced himself in a very respectable manner. Scarlet shook the man's hand in return, and turned to the Grimm by his side, "It is very nice to meet you as well Scylla."
In response, Scylla let out another one of her 'adorable' cries, "Mwrgrawh!" The rumble from the growl shook the entire room and shot fear into the woman in front of them.
The previous fearless Scarlet, flinched hard backwards, taking a few steps away from the Grimm like beast. Internally Nova chuckled a bit at their reaction to the adorable screech, but he recognized the fear status that emancipated from her voice. "It Seems That This Is Where Your Fearlessness Ends Scarlet. Do Not Worry, That Was Just A Friendly Greeting, She Means You Or Your Partner No Harm."
Scarlet soon recovered from her fearful state walking confidently back up to the pair, "I apologize for that unsightly showing, there should be no reason for me to be fearful of two guests in my store." The woman bowed with her apology, and she soon raised her head once more. "Please, follow me to my office, we can talk there about your Dust."
Nova considered her offer for a moment, he didn't exactly understand why they needed to go up to her office to discuss it, but he figured that it had to do with the extreme lack of supplies prevalent in the store. He had noticed it when he first walked in, the entire store was completely empty, void of almost anything that held any value. He probably would've started threatening them for hiding stuff if he hadn't already used his map to check for any items, of which he found none. They had simply sold out of everything, and as he began conversing with the beautiful woman Scarlet, he thinks that he figured out why. "Lead The Way." He said calmy.
Nova and Byakko then followed behind the two red heads as they walked up the stairs and into the small office. Rouge stood beside her boss behind the desk, and The Reaper sat down with Scylla quickly taking the opportunity to leap into his lap. Scarlet and Rouge took a deep breath as they were about to begin the discussion that should lead to the end of their lives, but Scarlet remained as confident and charismatic as she was before. "So, Mr. Reaper, there is a small issue regarding your Dust. You see, throughout the week demand was very high for our products, and since we had no idea whether or not your calling card was too be taken as an absolute priority, and you didn't request a specific amount of Dust, we figured that it would be alright if we continued business as usual until you made your presence known. However, we ended up selling out most of our products, and this leaves us with tonight's issue." Scarlet then pulled a small lockbox out from under her desk and placed in gently on top of the table in front of the reaper.
"For an occasion such as this, we set aside as much Dust as we could and kept it safe up here in this lockbox. Its retail value is approximately $1000 Lien. Trust me when I say we wish we could give you more, but our product shipments have been delayed heavily, and I am unsure of when we will be in stock of any of our Dust products again. I apologize for the-"
"Don't Bullshit Me Scarlet!" He spat her name out with venom, and even though he only raised his voice slightly, it rang like a roar and put fear in the hearts of the two women. "There Are Few Things I Hate In This World More Than A Lier! I Understand You Are An Incredibly Intelligent Woman, So Do Not Lie to Me About Your Plans."
Scarlet and Rouge were stunned by fear, completely unable to respond to his accusation. The Reaper chose this opportunity to follow up his statement with an explanation of what he thought was going on. "You Chose To Remain Open and Sell As Many Of Your Dust Products As You Could To Ensure That You Would Benefit From My Threat To The Surrounding Stores. You Also Intentionally Canceled Your Shipment To Ensure That You Would Have Nothing To Sell Me, Because You Were Afraid Of A Potential Loss. Lastly, You Left Me This To Make Me Believe That You Tried To Do Right By Me, But The Expected Value I Got From Your Shop Was A Hundred Times Greater Than What You Have Offered Me. Am I wrong, Miss Scarlet?"
The women were stuck in shock at his deductive ability, he somehow figured out every step of her plan in the short while that he conversated with them. It was awe inspiring, but for both of them in that moment, it was terrifying. Scarlet slowly recovered from her shock and managed to calmy respond to the Reaper. "Yes, that is correct. It was my intention to swindle you and capitalize on your threat, to make the most profit possible. You were even right about the stores value, as if both shipments had managed to come in, and expected sales were to be believed, then the retail value of all the Dust products that we would've had left over would have been about $97,000 Lien. Do you mind me asking how you knew?"
The Reaper looked the distressed woman in her eyes as he responded, "There Were A Lot Of Things That Gave It Away, But If I Were To Identify One Main Reason It Would Be Simply," he took a small breath before revealing his method, "I Would Have Done The Same Thing."
Scarlet looked at the Reaper with a smile and started giggling. "Of course, I am sorry Mr. Reaper, I didn't give you not nearly enough credit for your knowledge and intellect" she said as she finished up her little laugh. "Well, the only thing I wish is that you spare Rouge of any punishment you feel like dishing out. She had nothing to do with this, it was all me."
As soon Scarlet said it, her right-hand woman tried to speak up in defiance at the idea, but she was shut off by a hand raised by the Grimm Reaper. "Punishment? I Explained That I Would Have Done The Same Thing. I Was Not Angry That You Did What You Did, I Was Angry That You Lied About It. No One Will Be Punished For What Has Transpired Today. In Fact, I Was Looking For Someone Like Yourself To Find A Way To Profit From A Scenario Like This." Scarlet looked at him in confusion, she had fully expected to have her life forfeit after he discovered her motive.
"What exactly do you mean, Mr. Reaper?" Scarlet asked, clearly interested in his objective.
The Reaper let her question sit in the air for a moment, thinking deeply on how to answer her question. The two-woman watched with bated breath, waiting for his response. "I Have A Goal. And In Attempting To Complete This Goal, I need Trustworthy Individuals To Work With Me As Partners. I Believe That You And, Possibly Your Right-Hand Women, Could Be One Of Them."
Scarlet and Rogue shared a glance before Scarlet turned back to the man in front of them, "your answer just provided me with more questions than answers. What exactly is this 'Goal' you speak of? And why would I want to help you with that goal? As far as I know your just another gangster that wants to run this city dry of all its resources."
Nova smiled slightly underneath his appearance, "I Cannot Tell You The Specifics Of My Goal, However I Will Tell You That It Is Noble In Cause. For Starters, I Wish To Take Over, And Thus Eliminate, All Criminal Organizations In Vale." At his declaration, the woman reeled back in shock. That was quite the goal, especially considering the fact that the Mafia and various other criminal rings essentially ran the city. But before they could question him, he started again, "Before You Ask Any More Questions, Allow Me To Answer Your Other Inquiry. I Believe That You, Miss Scarlet, Have A Far Greater Calling Then Quietly Running A Business Of This Caliber. The Reason You Will Join Me Is Because You Already See The Potential Profit Of Working With Me. However, The Truth Is You Would Never Work With Anyone That Is Overly Selfish, Or Greedy."
Scarlet interrupted his explanation, "I don't understand what you're talking about Reaper. You sent a calling card out to various shops and then robbed them of their Dust products. You think that I would ever assist anyone who would do such a thing?"
The Reaper took a deep inhale, "Got her! It seems you misunderstand the purpose of the card and what I have been doing to Businesses tonight so allow me to explain." Scarlet seemed interested in his quick change of tone. His new tone of voice made her much more comfortable than before, and she slightly relaxed in her chair to listen to his reasoning. "Firstly, I have not stolen a single cent of Lien, or Dust, during tonight's activities." Rogue audibly gasped, but Scarlets eyes only narrowed slightly as he continued. "What I have been doing is buying all the Dust that the Stores provide me, that was the purpose of providing the retail value of the Dust in the first place. I wasn't going to steal it and then sell it at the value that they presented me with."
As he said it, the pieces then began to fall into place in Scarlet's mind, "that makes a lot more sense. Most gangs will just steal the Dust to increase their own arsenals power. And plus, they wouldn't need a retail value anyway since selling it on the black market changes the price dramatically and if anyone sold black market Dust at retail value nobody would buy it."
Nova paused for a moment, allowing the information to settle into Scarlet's mind, before continuing his reasoning, "Secondly, the reason I needed Law enforcement not to be contacted is because I need to know who can be trusted." A look of confusion made its way across Rouge's face, but one of understanding carried across Scarlet's. "The Police in Vale are essentially owned by the Xiong Family's Crime Syndicate. If any shop owner felt comfortable telling the police about my coming, then they are either in bed with them, or they are ignorant to this fact. Either way, I cannot trust them." It was a known fact that the criminal syndicates in Rwby were very powerful and had control over the cops in Vale. He naturally assumed that it was the same in the real Vale, and based on Scarlet's reaction, his assumption was correct. "The threat of death was necessary to make everyone take The Grimm Reaper seriously, and it also works as a warning against going against me."
After absorbing the information, the Reaper had laid out for her, she came back with yet another question. "It seems as though you have all this figured out completely Mr. Reaper, but that allows one question to remain. Why do you need a partner?"
The Reaper sat back into his chair, relaxing into it, "I will answer this question because I trust the both of you. The reason I need a partner of great intelligence and loyalty is for a few reasons. The main reason being that I cannot be The Grimm Reaper at all times. There are times when I will not be able to uphold this persona and be the terrorizing entity that I have created. The other reason is because I have little knowledge about the interworking's of Vales business and criminal world. I know enough to get in, but I need someone who truly knows the ins and outs and is capable of using that information to their advantage. And you are that person."
The room fell silent for a moment, allowing the red headed duo to fully absorb the information that the Reaper had supplied them. Scarlet quickly analyzed her current situation and made a decision that would alter the trajectory of her life immensely. "I will support you in accomplishing your goal, Reaper. What do you need from me right now?"
"Damn that was kinda quick, thank God for her work ethic. Tonight, I am going to complete my rounds of the businesses that I sent my card to. After that, there are a few plans that I will need to discuss with you before we get started. As far as tonight, I don't need anything from you, just ensure that you are ready for me to come knocking on your door at any time."
After he finished his explanation, Rouge took a step forward from behind Scarlet, "I will help you as well."
Scarlet quickly followed up with, "no you will not."
"But why?"
"You are far too inexperienced in this field, and plus I need someone to take over the store while I focus on this." Scarlet explained to her protégé with a smile. Rouge seemed sort of conflicted by the comment, but she remained quiet for the rest of the exchange. After seeing her reaction, Scarlet turned back to the Reaper, "I'm coming with you. I would like to see how you operate and implicate myself as an accomplice to your escapades. If I will be handling this venture when you are unable to then I need my presence to be known at least as much as yours."
Nova couldn't exactly argue with her, and he didn't see anything wrong with her coming with him, so he obliged. "If you're going to come with me, then you will need a new identity. Meta, can you whip up an Appearance for Scarlet really quick? Even just a mask would be fine."
[Meta can do that! But it will not function the same way as your Appearance works. Are you okay with that?]
Nova took a moment to think about it, but he soon decided that the only real difference would be that the Appearance would simply function as normal clothing instead of a visual change of appearance that changed nothing about his actual form. "That's fine, go ahead and make it."
[Meta has made the Appearance using the same materials you used to make your Appearance! What would you like to name it?]
"Scarlet is fine since she'll be the one wearing it."
[Scarlet has been placed in your inventory and is ready for deployment!]
"Great job Meta!" The mental exchange was incredibly fast allowing very little time to pass in between Nova's comment about the new identity, and the creation of her new Appearance. As soon as Meta alerted him that it was finished, he reached into his chest, allowing him entry into his inventory, and inexplicably pulled out a neatly folded red outfit. "Here, wear this and come up with an alias."
Scarlet watched in awe as she saw the man in front of her reach into his chest and pull an outfit from seemingly nowhere, but she accepted his gift without question. "I'll be ready in a moment, but I'll need a moment with my replacement before we go, if that's alright."
Nova rose from his chair, allowing Scylla to jump from his lap to the ground, and turned towards the exit. "That's fine, take as much time as you need. I'll be waiting for you downstairs."
"Wait, before you go, this may be a stupid question, but do you still want the Dust in the lockbox? It is not that important to the company, and I figure it's the least I could do" Scarlet asked.
The Reaper smirked under his mask, "No, that won't be necessary. I have already gotten what I wanted from this establishment." As he finished his sentence, he lightly held onto Scylla's tail and used his Devil's Step to teleport through the ground, and into the main floor of the store. His sudden disappearance left the women in shock yet again, but Scarlet remained composed as she turned back to her companion.
Before Rouge could even speak the Boss, Woman's arms were wrapped around her in a warm embrace. "Listen Rouge, you are more than capable at running this business. You have far more knowledge and experience than I did when I first opened this store, and I won't be far if you ever need me. For some reason I feel incredibly drawn to this Reaper figure and I think that I can accomplish great things by working with him. I won't be leaving you in the slightest, just think of me as your consort or advisor. Whenever you need me, I'll be there."
In response to her declaration, Rouge hugged Scarlet back tightly, "alright boss! I promise I'll make this store far more successful that it ever was! Just, promise me that you'll be careful. I may not know much about the criminal syndicates in Vale, but I do know how dangerous they are to get involved with. So, please don't die."
Scarlet broke the long embrace and looked into Rouge's eyes, "I won't be dying anytime soon so don't worry about that. And please, don't call me Boss anymore, you're the boss. Call me Scarlet."
A small tear formed in Rouge's eye as she spoke, "understood Boss Scarlet!"
Scarlet couldn't help but smile at her usual antics, "alright call me whatever you want. You should probably head home and get some rest since tomorrows your fist day as the CEO of Diamonds to Dust. And I have to put on this interesting looking red outfit that the Reaper pulled from his chest. I'll be seeing you soon Rouge."
"You to Scarlet!" Rouge gave one more quick hug to the women who taught her so much, and walked out of the office doors, and into the night. At the same time as Rouge's exit, Scarlet started getting dressed in her brand-new outfit.
"Now, how exactly do I get this on?" Scarlet picked the Appearance up in her hands and attempted to unfold the clothing to no success. "Huh? How am I supposed to put this thing on if I can't even unfold it? Matter a fact, I don't even know what this thing is supposed to look like!" In frustration, she moved to full length standing mirror she had in her office and stood in front of it looking at herself. She placed the cloth that she had been given in front of her chest as if she were checking to see if it would fit her. "I wish the Reaper would have at least given me some instructions on how to put this damn thing on." She continued looking at the cloth through the mirror, letting her mind wander as she stood there. "What if this is another test to see if I can figure this out as well? Maybe this clothing is special in some way that only a certain caliber of person can where it? If that's the case, then there is absolutely no way I am failing to put this thing on." After her declaration, her mind began moving rapidly, completely analyzing the clothing in front of her and the entire interaction that led up to her obtaining it.
"If I can't unravel it, but it is clearly more than a single thick cloth then maybe its special in some way that I am not understanding. The Reaper casually said wear this after pulling it from his chest and handing it too me. So, he clearly was overstating the ease of putting it on to throw me off and leave me thinking that the task would be simple. He said that I could take my time, but what if he plans on leaving without me after a certain amount of time passes?"
Scarlet let the thought sit for a moment, "no he would never do that especially not after his speech on hating liars. I guess he plans on waiting downstairs until I am able to put this thing on and if he's waiting on me, then I can't keep him for long." The former boss took a moment to think before putting her hypothesis to the test. "He pulled the outfit from his chest in a very casual manner, maybe that was the hint he was providing me on how to put this thing on. So, I guess I'll try replicating his action except in reverse." At that thought, Scarlet began carefully pressing the scarlet cloth into her chest while thinking about how casual and natural it would be if the cloth just fazed inside of her. As soon as the cloth contacted the center of her chest, it began being absorbed into her, and, to her, the process felt as naturally as breathing.
The instant it had been absorbed in full, her entire appearance changed completely, and she looked in awe at her new figure. "Damn, I guess The Grimm Reaper doesn't play around when it comes to hiding an identity." After looking at herself in full, she quickly ran out of the room, down the stairs, and into the lobby of the store where the Reaper was waiting patiently for her.
Nova turned around at the sound of the approaching clicking of heels against the floor, and he was incredibly surprised at the figure he saw before him. She was extremely demonic in figure and form with a bloody aura that radiated from her deadly physique. Her hair remained long, but the color changed from a bright Scarlet to a bloodshot red, and her eyes were now pitch black with red irises. On her face was a mask that depicted a wide permanently open mouth filled to the brim rows of razor sharp, jagged edged teeth that filled anyone who saw it with terror. Her neck, chest, and shoulders were covered in a black, thin, Spanx like cloth that hugged tightly to her skin allowing the cleavage underneath to still slightly show through. On top of that, she wore a short silky red dress that barely covered her plump ass, and a black scarf with intricate designs along it tied to her waist holding everything together. On her legs covering most of her soft tanned skin were long black boots that went all the way up to the center of her thighs, stopping short of the length of her dress allowing her thighs to show through. The bottom of the boots was long six-inch heels that gave her an incredible increase in height, making her that much more intimidating. Silky cloth draped over her shoulders that flowed through the air with every movement, and long black gloves that went up to her biceps covered most of her arm's length. The tips of these gloves depicted long nail like claws that were colored in such a way that they seemed to be dripping endlessly with blood.
Nova watched intently as the tall demonic women approached him, "you look phenomenal Miss…"
Scarlet quickly picked up on his meaning and finished his sentence with, "Hel. That is what you may call me."
"Well Hel, you finished up much faster than I expected you to."
"I couldn't exactly leave my partner waiting for me now could I. However, you have quite an interesting way of showing a woman how to dress Honey."
Nova's thoughts stopped for a moment, "Honey? I guess that's the backstory was going with then, the Devil, his loyal pet, and his Mistress. That'll work then I guess. Alright then my Mistress, let's not squander the extra time you have allotted us in here. We have work to do."
"Of course, Honey!"