(Welcome, one and all, to Revved Up Chapter 7! Lots of new characters today! Woohoo!)
(RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth. Otherwise Neo would be 19.)
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I woke up, still a little foggy. I glanced over at my alarm clock, which also showed the date, and was met with the word "Friday."
It was Friday! Tomorrow was the weekend, and I couldn't be more excited.
I hopped out of bed, and made a PB&J sandwich for breakfast. It was awesome, because the jelly was thick enough that you could get a nice juicy bite every time, and the juicy bites were why I ate PB&J.
I fed Zwei, and sat next to Blake at the dining room table, as I always did, and she was eating a waffle.
"Enjoying your waffle?" I asked her, trying to start a conversation.
"It's ok, I guess." she shrugged.
"Why just ok?" I asked her, concerned.
"Well, I was going to make pancakes for you, me, and Ilia, but all the pancake mix I brought to school disappeared from the cabinet for some reason." she pondered.
"I like pancakes!" Weiss called out.
"Well it couldn't have been you who stole the mix, since you kinda live here." Yang explained
"Well as far as I know, no-one in this dorm other than you and Weiss likes pancakes." I said, thinking hard.
"Same here." Ilia commented, sipping her coffee. "Kinda fluffy for my tastes."
"Maybe someone from the JNPR dorm took it." Yang proposed.
"Nah, they wouldn't do that." I shook my head.
"Let's go ask, though." Blake nodded.
So we did. As soon as Blake and I walked in, Jaune, Pyrrha and Ren pointed at Nora. Jaune did mention she liked pancakes, after all.
"...What?" Nora looked around, trying to avoid blame.
"The 'stuff' you took?" Ren questioned her.
"Oh fine, that was me. But… you didn't NEED it, did you?" she laughed nervously.
"...Yes?" I said, a little concerned.
"It's in the kitchen cabinet." Ren explained calmly. "She's trying to stall you."
"Ok, thanks!" I smiled.
I dashed to the cupboard, grabbed the boxes of pancake mix, ran across the hall back to the RWBY dorm, and put the boxes back where they were.
"The mix has been returned!" I beamed. Everyone applauded.
"So it was someone from JNPR?" Yang guessed.
"Yep, it was Nora." Blake explained. "She loves pancakes that much."
"Speaking of JNPR, actually," I brought up, "we don't really hang out with them often."
"Yeah, I'm gonna go chill at their dorm until classes, because right now it's like 7:40." Blake agreed.
"That's what I was thinking!" I acquiesced.
"I'm just gonna chill here and finish my bagel for now. I have priorities." Weiss bragged coolly.
"Well if you're staying, I'm staying, because you're gonna be lonely without me." Yang teased.
"I will NOT, it's just… I really love you and I get concerned for you sometimes…" Weiss blushed.
"Well I might as well stay, to keep these two in check." Ilia accepted.
"Alright then, see you later, guys." Blake waved.
Back at the JNPR dorm, Jaune greeted us at the door, a little confused. "You're back…?"
"Oh, we just wanted to hang out." I explained.
"Well, you picked the right day to do that, then." Jaune grinned. "Ruby, Blake, meet my sister, Saphron."
I looked over to my left, and noticed a blonde girl, who looked to be in her early twenties, holding a GameDepot6 controller in her hands. She looked over at me, smiled, and waved. She the turned to Jaune. "Ooooh, Jaune, this your girlfriend?"she teased.
"SAPH YOU DOLT HER GIRLFRIEND'S RIGHT THERE" Jaune whispered at her angrily, clearly trying to keep a good image.
"Nah, I don't even like boys." I grinned. "I like her already," I thought.
"Same, gurl!" she laughed, leading me into the living room, where I noticed a woman with darker skin and red-framed glasses, entertaining a two-year old boy who looked similar to her. "Ruby, this is my wife Terra and our beautiful baby boy, Adrian." Terra looked up, and smiled. "Hi, you must be Ruby. Adrian, go say hi!"
The small child toddled up to me, and in the sweetest voice ever, babbled "Hewwo!"
It was the cutest thing I had seen this week, not counting, Blake, Penny, Ilia, or Zwei.
"Aww, hello there little guy! So sweet!"
Blake and I had small chats with the Cotta-Arc about things like the Speedy the Porcupine fandubs, the beauty of the BeakerLegs OST, and the difficulty of finding the right music to listen to while working on something. This went on for a few minutes, until I checked my watch as I always do, and realized it was 8:10. "Oh, it's time we went to class. It was nice talking to you! See you soon!"
"Have fun, you guys! See ya later, Jauney!" Saphron called out.
We ran to Combat and Grimm Studies 202, and made it just in time for attendance, which is boring. After that, Oobleck began.
"Welcome back to Combat and Grimm Studies. Today will be unlike most days, in that you will actually have bonding time after lunch today. But for now, it is time for you to learn! Back to learning about Grimm!"
Everyone was tense. This would be valuable for our survival.
"First, the Apathy!"
Oobleck pulled up a slide, showing a humanoid, zombie-like Grimm.
"The Apathy is about ten feet tall, with arms the length of a school bus, and has a skeletal appearance. Take note of that, because it is one of the most powerful Grimm on this planet, and for one reason. Comparatively, it is weak and slow, so it travels in packs. Its attacks are very easy to predict, and could be avoided with ease, if not for the fact that anyone who goes near it becomes drowsy and apathetic. In fact, our researchers captured a pair in order to study it, which normally would take around a week. Instead, it took exactly seven years, due to the Apathy's draining scream."
Alright, be afraid of skeletons. Gotcha.
"Next, the King Taijitu!"
Oobleck pulled up a slide showing a giant snake, with a head on each end of its monochrome body.
"The King Taijitu is an incredibly large serpentine Grimm, with two to eight heads, and a long, smooth body that is eighty feet from head to head. Each head has razor-sharp fangs, each containing 5 gallons of deadly venom that can kill in an instant. And as if that wasn't enough, it can crush a Motorized hunter, making it twice as deadly. One thing to note, though, is that the two heads technically share a brain, located in the middle of the body, which is protected by armor-hard scales. A way to defeat this vile creature, then, is to break off its scales, cut through its flesh, and then puncture its brain! Keep that in mind when traveling through the Emerald Forest, because the place is swarming with them!"
Good thing I never saw that… thing… then, because snakes scare me.
"And here we have… the Geist!"
Oobleck pulled up a slide, showing a ghostly Grimm with a one-eyed mask.
"The Geist is a feisty creature, to be sure. It resembles a ghost, and is in fact what inspired the ghost stories you may have heard around the campfire."
Yeah, none of those scare me.
"Like most popular depictions of ghosts, the Geist has the odd ability to fuse into inanimate objects, creating a new creature known as a Gigas. The Petra Gigas, for example. It is a Geist which has taken control of a pile of rocks and boulders, and is now able to float, as is usual for a Geist, but is also extremely heavy, having been seen smashing through bridges just by standing on them. This exists in rock and ice varieties, the only major difference being that the ice version can be melted, as ice does. A similar manifestation exists in the Arma Gigas, which takes control of a suit of armor. In this form, the Geist has all the proficiencies of an expert swordfighter, as well as its usual floating ability. The Geist has even possessed trees, giving it a leaf-shooting ability, and houses, allowing it control of everything inside, including its residents."
Right, so if the armor moves suspiciously, then don't trust it.
"Then, there is the Beringel!"
Oobleck pulled up a slide, showing a giant gorilla with wings.
"The Beringel is quite the powerful opponent. It takes on the form of a massive ape, with pitch-black fur, and huge knuckles on which it walks. It has incredible strength, and can tear open buildings with ease. In fact, the Beringel uses its strength to assert dominance over other Grimm, squashing those who wrong it with a single fist. Now, what has puzzled our researchers about this humongous hominid, is that a group of huntsmen known as Team STRQ reported seeing packs of winged Beringel!"
"Wait, Dad was part of Team STRQ!" I realized. "How come he never told this story?"
"Yes, these four heroes were off in search of adventure, when, as they walked along the shore, they saw several winged Grimm flying towards the coast! In the incident, they assumed the creatures to be Nevermore, and prepared as such, but were taken by surprise when the malicious monkeys landed onshore! They managed to fend off the beasts, but the team's leader, Summer Rose, was lost in the attack."
"Oh." I realized. "That solves a lot."
I raised my hand. "Yes, Ruby?" Oobleck addressed me.
"Summer Rose… you know, it's funny, because… she was my mom." I explained.
"Well, in that case… I apologize for your loss, and I hadn't intended on bringing any memories back, if that's what you're implying." he apologized.
"Oh, no, it's alright. That whole thing happened when I was like, two years old, and I never really learned how she passed on, so this actually helps me a little." I reassured him.
"That's good to hear." he sighed, relieved. "Moving on, the Nuckelavee."
Oobleck pulled up his final slide for tonight, a large Grimm resembling a man riding a black horse. I turned to my left and saw Ren, who was… shocked, to say the least.
"The Nuckelavee is a mysterious Grimm, and this is because it has only ever been seen once in modern history, in the isolated village of Kuroyuri, in the forests of Anima. Legends have been told, however, of an ancient demon named Naklavii, no doubt based off of this horrific beast, who rode in on his black horse, destroying crops and taking the lives of innocents. For ages, its existence was thought to be a mere myth, made to set the basis of a holiday known as Nuck-Levy Day, which is celebrated in mid-spring. These allegations were proven wrong, however, when the Nuckelavee itself rode into Kuroyuri on May 5, the day Nuck-Levy Day was to be celebrated, and began destroying huts and slaying villagers. Despite the best efforts of Team LAVA, the local huntsman team, the heinous beast left unscathed, having orphaned most of the children of Kuroyuri, as well as leaving several family pets either up for adoption or dead."
"It… left unscathed?!" I thought to myself, shocked. "Does… Does that mean… it's still alive?"
"Nuck-Levy Day was once a day of revelry, of excitement for having triumphed over this wicked beast. But that day… now it is a day of remembering those who were lost in the Attack of the Nuckelavee."
"Well, now Nuck-Levy Day isn't boring anymore, like it used to be." I thought, pensively. "Dad makes us eat just rice on that day, so I guess that's out of respect."
"And on that somber note, it's about time you kids ate lunch. I hope you have a good weekend, and I shall see you next week."
We all strolled to the lunchroom, because we were hungry for something happy. While enjoying some calamari, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. It was Ren. "Hey, Ruby, can I pull you aside for one moment?" he whispered.
"We can talk here." I reminded him.
"I don't want Nora to hear us." he expressed his concern.
"Well, she doesn't talk to you ALL the time, does she?" I asked.
"That's… true." he accepted. "So… about… Team LAVA."
"What about them?" I continued.
"Well… one half of that team was my parents, Li and An Ren." he explained, worriedly.
"So why don't you want Nora to know that?" I wondered.
"The other half were her parents, Verde and Allister Valkyrie, both of whom she never met," he clarified. "All four of them died during the Nuckelavee attack. I saw it happen."
"That's… terrible." I gasped.
"I know. And Nora never can. So please, don't tell her we spoke of it, ok?" he pleaded.
"You have my word, Ren, She'll never know." I promised.
"Thank you… so much." he said, almost crying.
The girls asked me what he said, but I didn't tell them. I couldn't betray Ren, then and there.
And after a few minutes of idle chatting, it was time to head for the dorms. Or so we thought. We were stopped by Glynda, who told us to "Report to Headmaster Ozpin's office immediately. You have a mission."
At the office, with its windowed walls, Ozpin was waiting for us. "Hello, girls." he greeted us.
"Good evening, Headmaster." Weiss spoke, always one for formal greetings. "We have been told you have a… mission for us?"
"Yes, exactly, Ms Schnee," he nodded. "You see, Professor Oobleck has told me of your success in battle against a 'Roman Torchwick,' or, if I may, a foot soldier of his?"
"Ah yes, Wednesday." Blake reminisced. "We were suddenly attacked by a woman known simply as 'Neo,' who was swiftly defeated by our leader in combat."
"Exactly," Ozpin smiled. "And because of your collective combat prowess, I am sending you four on a mission to defeat another wanted criminal."
"Give us their description, Ozpin, and we'll do our best." Yang promised.
"Alright, then." he agreed. "Their names are Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black. Emerald, a woman with dark skin, red eyes and green hair, is able to Motorize, but Mercury, a tall young man with gray hair and two prosthetic legs, is not. Look for a green vehicle, any green vehicle, being driven by a man matching Mercury's description. There is a plane waiting to fly you to where they were last seen. Good luck!"
"Ok, let's go!" I cheered. "See you by bedtime, Headmaster!"
"Oh, and one more thing. Mrs Amitola is allowed to assist in this mission, and any further missions you may be sent on." he reminded.
"Well in that case, let's go pick her up from the dorm!" I beamed.
And so we did, after Ilia grabbed her lance, which she called Lightning Lash. Team RWBYA, as we called ourselves, flew out to a bustling city center. I Motorized, and the rest of the team hopped inside, to drive around undercover. We cruised for a few minutes, passing malls, markets, and various establishments, until Blake noticed something.
"Hostile skater spotted! At arms, girls! Bogey on my six!" she said, softly.
And sure enough, we spotted a man, matching Mercury's description perfectly, riding a green skateboard. I unmotorized, and we hit the sidewalk, where Ilia punched Mercury in the back.
"Mercury Black, you are under arrest!" I yelled at him.
"Em, we got the Brat Quintet on us. Let's beat their asses." he muttered to his longboard accomplice.
"Fuhgeddaboutit, Merc." Emerald sneered. "They're just a bunch of kids. I won't even have to summon decoys for this!" she laughed, as a pair of revolvers emerged from her wheels.
The guns aimed at me, and I tried to dodge, when suddenly, Mercury kicked me in the chest. As he did, I felt a bullet pressing in between my breasts. I thought quickly, though, and pushed his leg aside. Unfortunately, the bullet ended up flying towards Ilia, who, using nothing but her blade and her quick reaction time, sliced the shell in half.
Yang Motorized, and began strafing through the street, which was now emptied of civilians, due to the people not wanting to get caught up in a fight. Now, Yang had just enough room to dodge every shot made towards her, firing her pistols from every angle. After they had sustained enough damage, though, Emerald and Mercury fled the scene, sailing away smoothly.
Seeing an opportunity, Weiss Motorized and chased after them, and I did the same. Weiss sped past them, creating an ice ramp ahead of us, and I activated my turbo to urge the miscreants forward. I let them hit the ramp, tricking on which required them to turn back around. And they did so, right into my shotgun fire.
They swerved past me, and acting on instinct, I held them to the ground with my scythes. And at that moment, I had an idea. The longboard still skewered on my blades, I launched Emerald in the air, Mercury going with her. There, high in the air, they were met with Blake's fuselage, as well as lots of mini-gun fire followed by a forward ram.
The two criminals lay next to each other on the ground, in a daze. Ilia ran up to them, gazing in their eyes. "Em… Merc… I don't know what to tell you, but… it doesn't have to be this way. And I don't want you two running around causing trouble, just because she tells you to. She will do anything for her boss, just like you'd do anything for her. But the things she wants you guys to do… that time could be spent in much better ways. You might call me a traitor, but just know that I'm fine with that. Because I'd rather be a traitor than a slave to Adam, who in turn is a slave to her."
"Illy…" Emerald groaned, still in pain. "...you have a point."
"You are NOT siding with that lizard bitch." Mercury ordered. "We're leaving."
"Well, fine, then. Bye, Illy." Emerald Motorized, and glided away.
"Bye, Em. See you when I see you." Ilia waved.
Team RWBYA boarded the return plane, and flew back home. It was getting late already. We reported back to Ozpin of our successes.
"Have you defeated them?" he asked us.
"Yes, Headmaster." we nodded.
"Very well. You five head off to bed now, it's getting rather late." he instructed.
"Alright, then! Goodnight, Headmaster!" I called.
As usual, I brushed my teeth, changed into jammies, and got into bed. Tonight I had another one of those dreams. I saw a bunch of gangster bugs, a huge cow poking its head out of a building, a dog flying a plane, a mountain with a face, an ice wizard, and a bunch of living chess pieces.
I was dreaming about BeakerLegs, wasn't I?
—-
(Well, that was fun! We met Longboard Em, cute baby Adrian, and that gods damned Nuckelavee! Wonder what'll come next!)
(Chapter 8 coming very soon! Leave a good review, read, enjoy, and stay tuned for more!)