Hey guys, it's been a while. A real while.
You all must be wonder where the heck I've been or why I haven't posted a new chapter for a long time. Well, you deserve to know the truth. During the spring, about four weeks after the last chapter I posted I completely…burned out. Not just from writing but from school, work, and I guess life in itself. I quit my job, stopped going to classes, and slowly distance myself from family and friends for quite some time. Even considered dropping my stories completely. It felt like I dropped to the lowest point in my life. I was basically done with everything at that point. Depression sank in, I gained weight, got sick a lot, and had too many…thoughts. Heh, it was a terrible time.
But thankfully I had an old friend who was there to help me. He talked to me about getting help, I was hesitant of course but he made me realize my situation. So I went. And slowly but surely, I got better. Over the course of these past 4 months, I've been working on bettering myself with the help of my therapist, my friends, and my family.
I recently started working again about two weeks ago. No school yet, I'll probably return next semester. As for my stories, I'm relighting the writer in me and starting them back up again. This chapter was meant to be a long one, but I saw how long it's been since my last update, and I wanted to give you guys something to enjoy now, but I also don't want to keep you guys waiting long for the next chapter I'm writing, so I'm breaking this long chapter into two chapters. While the next NEXT one is being finished.
I'm going to leave this chapter up for about a week and a half before posting up the next one. The same thing will be done for The Balancers of Mortals.
Okay, I think that about covers everything now. Why don't we get Black Roses started, right?
Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ/DBS or RWBY so please support the official release.
One week later…
The ticking of the clock tower was the only thing making noise. Ozpin sat quietly in his chair, a look of sorrow and mild anger present in his eyes. Glynda Goodwitch, his colleague, standing next to him sharing the same look. Their attention was grabbed by the elevator doors opening. Walking inside was a furious general. "373. 373 people dead!"
"We know James." Glynda says. Ironwood noticed her grip on her scroll. Glancing to his other friend he saw the anger in Ozpin's eyes, a rare sight to see.
"Do we have any leads on who was responsible for it?" Ozpin asks, eyes still glued on the scroll on his desk.
"No. Any surveillance recordings were destroyed during the attacks. The Airship's black box did not survive either. As for the towns, they did not possess any type of surveillance equipment." Ironwood answered. "But I'm sure it was Grimm. Ozpin, she's making her move. We cannot just stay the course anymore. We have to do something." The Headmaster said nothing. "We have the intel Ruby Rose gave us, we could-."
"James, we talked about this. We're not going to send troops down to Mount Glenn." Glynda interjected.
"Then when are you going to send the scouts you said you would send." The General questioned.
Ozpin sighed, "We cannot do that, at least not right now." Ozpin continued before Ironwood could say anything. "If our enemy is truly within our walls, within this school, then we risk having them know our next move. I understand your concern and anger James, but we must be cautious on how we approach this matter. If we let our emotions make decisions for us, then we will lose this battle." "Ironwood let out a sigh. "I have already devised a plan on how to get a team to Mount Glenn. We just need to be a little patience. As for the catastrophe that was discovered two days ago, all we can do is mourn for the lives lost and hope Saiyaman finds a lead."
"Saiyaman?" Ironwood questioned.
"He was spotted not long ago heading into the direction of where the attacks occurred." Glynda explained.
"That's impossible. The three of us and a small squadron of mines are the only ones that know about this."
Ozpin grabbed his mug and took a sip, "Then it would seem that Saiyaman is a lot closer to us than we know."
Gohan stared with shock and despair at the destruction and death left in this town. His eyes found the body of a child alongside who must've been their parents. Falling to his knees Gohan's hand unconsciously reached over but stopped midway as the image of another child flashed before him. Tearing his eyes away Gohan clenched his fist. Standing back up he gave the place another look. Too much. This destruction, this death, it reminded him too much of earth and his early years on Remnant. It seemed no matter where he went or how strong he got, there will always be death. "I'm sorry. I promise you. I will make whoever did this pay."
With a deep breath, he placed his helmet back on, scanning the area with his visor, taking note of the craters around the area before following the destruction from one place to another. He to observe the Atlesian bases from a distance since Atlas soldiers were present in the area. He finally reached the end of the trail when he came to whatever was left of an airship. Looking around his visor began scanning the airship.
There was a lot of torn metal which would make sense since the Airship crashed. But the way some parts looked; it was almost as if something tore through the Airship. He's read cases of Nevermore being able to do that, but this was an Atlesian Airship. A Nevermore couldn't possibly have done this or the other attacks.
His visor picked up claw marks on some pieces of metal. He looked down at the bodies that were torn apart. Same claw marks from all the previous places. This was definitely done by the same Grimm. But not one he's ever seen before. The attacks on the villages would've been easily pointed to a pack of Beowolves or Ursa, but the craters scattered throughout the areas said otherwise. It was like something blasted down the villages. Like Ki blasts were rained down. Images of Android 17 and 18 flashed in his head. Gohan shook the memory away.
The Altesain bases or at least one of them had similar craters as the villages. The second base, there was practically nothing just one massive crater where it once stood. To be able to take out two heavily militarized bases, this Grimm is powerful and very dangerous.
His visor lit up, indicating that he was receiving a call from Penny. "Hey, Penny."
"Gohan. Is everything alright? Did you find the culprit?"
"No. Whatever did all this is long gone by now and I can't sense a trace of it anywhere."
"…This is my fault. If I had paid more attention to distress calls then maybe all those wouldn't have-."
"No. You have no reason to blame yourself for this. We had no way of knowing a Grimm like this existed. Plus, we can't protect everyone on Remnant. No matter how much we want to." Penny fell silent. Gohan let out a sigh. "How's Ironwood taking all this?"
"The General is very distress about this. He's ordered Atlas to be lockdown until further notice." Gohan scowled at the news. That's definitely going to postpone the repairs to the wall. Robyn Hill isn't going to like that. But if he keeps his promise and informs her about his reasoning then maybe she'll understand. He just hopes the Happy Huntresses and the Ace Ops can protect the people of Mantle long enough for the lockdown to be lifted.
"Has there been any reports of Grimm activity nearby?"
"Yes, recent reports said that Grimm were seen north and west of your position." Penny informed.
"Alright. Keep an eye on Atlas' communication and keep me updated on what General Ironwood does next. I'm going to check those Grimm spots out, see if I find anything before classes start." Gohan said.
"Okay. Be careful Gohan." With that, the Saiyan half-breed took to the skies.
People cried out in terror, their faces mixed in anguish and despair. Fathers, Mothers, Children ripped apart. Soldiers blown to smithereens. The images repeating over and over again as craze laughter echoed in the background. Corpses began piling everywhere as unfamiliar blood-covered hands rose in front. The mix of cries and laughter grew louder and louder to the point where it was deafening! More gruesome images played along with new faces appeared.! Adam. Raven. Neo. Roman. Gohan. Lewis. Alli. Weiss. YangBlakeJauneGowasuNoraRenP !GlyndaOzpinAdamRavenEmeraldNeoRomanGohanLewisAlliWeissYangKillHer!BlakeJauneGowasuNoraRenPyhraaGlyndaOzpinYangBlakeJauneGowasuNoraRenPyhraaGlyndaOzpinBulmaAdamRavenNeoRomanGohanLewisAlliWeissYangBlakeJauneGowasuNoraRenPyhraaGlyndaTHEMRubyLetHerDie!OzpinYangBlakeJauneGowasuNoraRenPyhraaGlyndaOzpinBulmaAdamRavenNeoRomanGohanLewisAlliWeissYangBlakeJauneGowasuNoraRenEmeraldPyhraaGlyndaOzpinYangBlakeKILLJauneGowasuNoraRenPyhraaGlyndaOzpinAdamRavenNeoRomanGohanLewisAlliWeissYangBlakeJauneGowasuNoraTHEMRenPyhraaGlyndaOzpinYangBlakeJauneGowasuNoraRenPyhraaGokuGlyndaOzpinAdamRavenNeoRomanGohanALLLewisAlliWeissYangBlakeJauneGowasuNoraRenPyhraaGlyndaOzpinYangBlakeJauneGowasuNoraRenPyhraaGlyndaOzpinAdamRavenNeoRomanGohanLewisAlliWeissYangBlakeJauneGowasuNoraRenPyhraaGlyndaOzpinYangBlakeJauneGowasuNoraRenPyhraaGlyndaALLOzpinAdamRavenNeoRomanGohanLewisAlliWeissGowasuNoraRenPyhraaGlyndaOzpinYangBlakeJauneGowasuNoraRenPyhraaGlyndaOzpinBulmaAdamRavenNeoRomanGohanLewisAlliWeissYangBlakeJauneGowasuNoraRenPyhraaGlyndaOzpinYangBlakeJauneBlackKILLGowasuNoraRenPyhraaGlyndaOzpinAdamRavenNeoRomanGohanLewisAlliWeissYangBlakeJauneGowasuNoraRenPyhraaGlyndaOzpinYangBlakeJauneGowasuNoraRenPyhraaGlyndaOzpinAdamRavenNeoRomanGohanLewisAlliWeissYangBlakeJauneGowasuNoraRenRubyPyhraaGlyndaTHEMOzpinYangBlakeJauneEbyGowasuNoraRenPyhraaGlyndaOzpinBulmaAdamRavenNeoRomanGohanLewisAlliWeissYangBlakeJauneGowasuNoraRenPyhraaRubyGlyndaALLTrunksOzpinEbyYangBlakeJauneGowasuNoraRenPyhraaGlyndaOzpinBlakeKILLTHEMALLPyhraaGlynda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . !
"AAAAGH!" Black shot straight from the bed covered in sweat. He let out shaking breaths before taking a moment to calm himself. Looking around he saw that he wasn't in the dorm. It took him a second to realize where he was. Roman's hideout. One hand gripped his hair while the other rested on his thigh. Another dream.
Forcing himself up, Black walked over to the bathroom, turning the light on he looked at himself in the mirror. Dark circles under his eyes have become remotely noticeable as well as the exhaustion in his eyes. When was the last time he slept? Three days, five days? No, a week he thinks. Damn it.
Black stared at his reflection before moving his gaze to his hands. For a brief second his hands were covered in blood. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath in and out. Opening them back up, his hands returned to normal.
Black rested his hand on the sink's edges. These dreams, they don't seem to ever stop. The voices telling him to kill over and over and over again. As some dark entity claws at his mind, consuming him. Was this some sort of divine punishment for the atrocities he has committed?
His grip around the sink's edges grew stronger. Forced to watch the deaths of his companions over and over again. Forced to watch Ruby and Eby killed every time he closes his eyes!
The sound of the sink shattering brought Black back to reality. Blinking he glanced down at his hand which broke part of the sink. Letting out a sigh he turned the faucet on, washing the dust and pieces of the sink off.
If that were the case, then what of those faces in the beginning. He didn't exactly recognize them. But there was something about them that he felt like he did. Something about those faces that felt real compared to the rest of the nightmare.
Black rubbed his eyes after splashing cold water to his face, when he looked up at the mirror, he saw Henry's corpse standing behind him. Black immediately spun around only to come face to face with nothing. Having realized that it was just a mere hallucination Black let out an irritated sigh. "Fuck."
Black finished cleaning himself up and exited the room. Outside he saw many of the White Fang loading crates of Dust to a nearby truck. Others were inspecting weapons that were stolen from the most recent Atlas convoy. Same old routine, though from what he's heard most of this stuff was now being moved to Mount Glenn for phase 2. What phase 2 was he wasn't sure. Cinder wouldn't tell him and Roman, well he never bothered to ask him.
Black shook his head, feeling the fatigue coming back. "Well, Good Morning sunshine. Have a good night's rest?" Roman asked walking up towards him. Black faced him with a glare. "Oh, guess not." Seeing the dark circles.
"What is it?"
"Just wanted to check on you. You did come here in the middle of the night asking if you could sleep here." Roman explained. "I thought you must've gotten in a fight with your team."
"I didn't. I just… couldn't sleep. Thought a change of place would help. But as you can see, it didn't." Black replied.
Roman stared at the dark circles under his eyes, "Clearly."
The White Fang Lieutenant approached Roman. "The last of the cargo has been hauled. The rest of my men are prepared to leave." He said before glancing at Black. "…You look like shit." His words earning him a growl from ex-kaioshin.
"Okay, okay, easy. Lieutenant, I'll meet you and your men at the base. I got a couple of things to take care of before leaving."
"Whatever you say, just don't bring any problems with you." The Lieutenant warned before leaving.
"I'm a professional, I'd never bring problems to a job." Black gave him a look, thinking back to all the problems that have happened in the past months. "Hey, don't give me that look. Little Red and her batch of cronies were the ones that brought the problems." Roman said as if he knew what Black was thinking. "Speaking of Red, how are things with her?"
Black said nothing, "Oh, come on, you can tell me. Honestly, I don't really care if you have a thing for the enemy. I too was once in a relationship with the enemy, a huntress over in Vacuo. Granted I was mainly interested in her connections to the Kingdom's council members and the criminal underworld. But I did share some fond memories." Roman then wrapped his arm around Black's shoulder. "So don't hold out on me, tell me everything. I got a lot of pointers to give. Though some of them you'll have to wait till you're both older."
Black had no clue what he meant by that and refused to find out. "No thanks." He says, brushing Roman's arm off.
Roman shrugged. "Suit yourself. Just know, my door is always opened." Black showed no indication that he heard him. Turning around the criminal mastermind walked into his "office". "Now then, time to start closing down the store."
Over in Beacon, a match was in session in Glynda's class. Jaune vs Yatsuhashi.
Jaune was sent flying back after blocking a swing from the upper classman's greatsword. Landing on his feet he skidded back a few feet before coming to a halt. Jaune gasped at seeing the large teen coming straight down at him. He dodged the attack with forward roll, quickly turning around he had to skip back as Yatsuhashi swung his blade around the tip leaving a faint scratch to Jaune's chest plate. With a slight skid, Jaune dashed forward ramming his shoulder and shield into Yatsuhashi chest. The older teen grunted from the force he was hit with.
From the spectator seats, Pyrrha blinked with surprised remembering that she had done the same move to Team CRDL before.
Jaune rushed at Yatsuhashi swinging his sword at him. Yatsuhashi twisted his grip blocking the attacks with his own blade. Jaune raised his shield to block a swing from the great sword, raising his shield he let the large blade slide over his shield. He quickly swung his sword back around slashing Yatsuhashi's side, Yatsuhashi gripped his large blade bringing it back around, Jaune predicted this and raised his sword deflecting the large blade. Bringing their blades down they clashed again and again.
"He's improved a great deal." Blake commented.
Yang agreed. "Yea, he's totally different than before."
"Well Pyrrha has been training him quite hard these past couple of weeks." Nora stated. Pyrrha smiled feeling proud of her partner's growth.
Jaune was grabbed by the collar, lifted up, and slammed to the ground. Jaune gritted his teeth, spinning around he swiped the large teen off his feet before flipping back up. Yatsuhashi stood back up, rushing at Jaune once again. Arc jumped back from a swing, Yatsuhashi brought his greatsword around and slammed it down sending dust and chunks of the arena at Jaune. The dust forced Jaune to squint his eyes. Yatsuhashi used the smoke to his advantage, running up he delivered a heavy blow to Jaune's gut causing his eyes to widen. His was body was sent flying out of the dust cloud and crashing down to the arena floor.
Picking himself back up, Jaune raised his head to see Yatsuhashi coming at him again with his sword at his left side. At the last second, after Yatsuhashi swung his blade, Jaune shifted his body to the attack and blocked it with his shield, the clash echoing throughout the Arena. Yatsuhashi with his free hand reached over to grab the younger teen by the head, but before he could Jaune ducked and raised his right leg back up, nailing Yatsuhashi under the chin. Staggering back Yatsuhashi was left wide open, Jaune quickly transformed his shield into its sheath mode and gripped Crocea Mors with both hands. Raising his blade over his head he gave a heavy slash across Yatsuhashi body damaging his Aura significantly.
Yatsuhashi staggered back further and was about to receive another swing from Jaune blade till the bang rang. "And that's the match." Glynda Goodwitch announced walking up to the two students. "Good work Mr. Arc, you have most definitely improved since your last match."
The professor's compliments brought a smile to the young teen's face. "Thank you, Professor Goodwitch, I have been training a lot with my friends." His gaze turned to the stands to Pyrrha who smiled at him, Jaune returned the smile. Yatsuhashi walked up to the younger teen. "That was a good match." Says the 3rd year.
"Thanks, you weren't bad yourself." He replied with a hint of cockiness. A small smile formed on Yatsuhashi lips before giving a nod to the Professor and walking back to the lockers. Jaune's gaze returned to the spectator seats, he saw Ruby smirking with a thumbs up.
"Remember students that any amount of training does show results. That said, I think we have time for one more match." Looking at her scroll Glynda noticed that Jaune's Aura was still in the green. He certainly has a lot of Aura. Her attention was then drawn to the doors to the classroom opening with Black walking inside. "Mr. Son, so glad you could finally join us." Glynda said with an annoyed tone.
All heads turned to the ex-kaioshin. Ruby and the gang all quickly noticed how horrible he looked. "What happened to him?" Weiss whispered to her friends. Lewis and Alli both shrugged. Ruby was the most surprised, having spent a lot of time with the black-haired Faunus this was the first time she has seen him so, terrible.
"I rather had not." Black said.
Glynda's eyes narrowed. "Well, seeing as you've come late after skipping my class several times this week, I think it's fitting that you participate in the final match of today."
"No thanks." He replied. His eyes then shifted to Jaune. It's been a while since he spared with him. The swordsman has been skipping on his training to go train with Nikos these past couple of weeks. He's curious at how the five-star champion's training has been for Jaune.
Glynda was about to say something back but was cut off by Black. "If my match is against Arc then I'll consider participating."
"Mr. Arc has just finished a match." Glynda replied. "I suggest choosing someone else."
"A-Actually, I'm fine going for another round." Jaune said catching the Professor by surprise. She would have thought he would have rather avoid a confrontation with Mr. Son. The last match must've provided him with a sense of self-confidence. Glynda's eyes moved to her scroll. His Aura is still well within the Green. Should she let him fight? Mm.
After a second more of debate Glynda conceded. "Very well. You may fight Mr. Arc." With her voice of approval, Black headed to the locker room.
Glynda exited the stage leaving Jaune alone. "You can do this. You can do this." He silently encouraged himself. The lights dimmed down with Black entering the Arena with Saber Rose well locked on his right wrist. Jaune's eyes blinked with confusion when he noticed the dark circles under Black's eyes. He wanted to ask if he was fine but the main screen switching on stopped him.
Jaune transformed his shield back and steadily raised it in front of him. His other hand gripped his sword tightly. Taking a deep breath Jaune readied himself. A second later, the bell rang signaling the commencement of the match.
Both opponents did nothing but hold their stares. Jaune inched closer while Black remained where he stood, his tired eyes never leaving Jaune.
Ruby and the others sat quietly in their seats waiting for either of them to make a move. Pyrrha watching closely, a bit nervous for her partner as she knows very well how good Black is in combat.
Jaune inched a bit closer. He felt himself sweating a bit. Was he nervous? Of course, he was, he's about to fight Black after all.
Raising his sword next to his face he angled it to point at Black.
Black very slightly tilted his head. Hm. He isn't well knowledgeable in the arts of swordsmanship but that stance of his is better than before. Maybe Pyrrha's training might prove to be more entertaining than he thought. His eyes narrowed at Jaune's blade seeing the light reflecting a bit off of it. An idea formed.
The sound of Saber Rose's blades unsheathing caused Jaune to tense causing his grip on his sword to tighten and slightly turn letting the light reflect onto his eyes forcing him to close them for a second. Black transformed Saber Rose into its gun mode and fired three rounds. Hearing the gunshots Jaune held his shield up stopping the bullets from hitting him. Immediately afterward Jaune felt a strong blow hit his shield sending him skidding back a good distance. Jaune's eyes returned to Black only to seeing already in front of him. Jaune used his shield to protect himself from a slash.
Black raised his left leg up and kicking the shield out the way before switching over to the other leg to kick Jaune in the gut. Jaune winced from strength in that kick. Again, he was sent skidding back. When his attention returned back to Black he was forced to jump to the side as he came flying down with a kick. Having missed, Black turned to stab Saber Rose at Jaune's shield then follow it up with a slash, then a punch. Jaune helplessly blocked each attack not getting a single moment to counter.
That was until he saw an opening in between Black's attacks. With his shield, he parried a right punch, then using his sword he made for a swing. Black caught on and raised Saber Rose blocking the blade from reaching him. Having expected Black to go for block Jaune delivered a direct hit with his shield to Black's chest.
The staggered ex-kaioshin held an expression of complete surprise. Jaune took this short window to run at him with an overswing. Black once again used Saber Rose to block the blade. With the blades sliding off each other Jaune spun around with his shield hit Black in the back of the head sending him tumbling forward. The ex-kaioshin growled at having been hit twice. Seeing the swordsman coming at him again, Black turned back around to deliver a powerful right punch that connected with the shield. The impact causing a loud bell-like sound to echo throughout the entire room. Jaune was sent skidding back, wincing at how his left arm go numb for a second.
After coming to a halt Jaune was immediately put on the defensive as Black dived in with combination slashes and punches.
From the sidelines, everyone continued to watch in silence till Nora opened to comment on something. "Hey, is it just me or do Black's moves seem sluggish to you." After a quick glance at the ginger, everyone's eyes returned to the fight after a couple of seconds of fighting, they all began to notice the same thing. Each of Black attacks was slow and very sloppy as if he was getting tired already from the fight.
Black switched Saber Rose to its gun mode and fired several rounds. Each bullet ricochets off the shield. Having enough with all the blocking Black spun around to kick the shield out the way with his right leg and followed up right hook to Jaune's face. The blond teen skid across the floor again. When he stopped, he raised his shield to defend himself but was stopped by Black's left hand grabbing the edge of the shield. Black with his right fist went to punch Jaune across the face. The disoriented blond teen was left open for Black to pull and remove his shield from the grip. Black used the shield and strike Jaune in the back sending the teen flying and crashing onto the ground. Black unsheathed Saber Rose once again and began making his way to Jaune.
The doors to the class quietly opened sneaking in was Gohan. "Hey, what did I miss?" He quietly whispered to his friends.
"Gohan? Where have been?" Asks Alli.
"Sorry, General Ironwood wanted to speak with me about something." He lied.
"You and the General are quite the buddy buddy." Yang teased.
Gohan awkwardly laughed, "Guess we kinda are."
"Well, you missed the fight between Jaune and Yatsuhash which ended in a tie. Now Jaune is fighting Black right now, surprisingly enough he's doing quite well in keeping up with him." Wiess said.
"And it could be because Black isn't fighting like how always does." Ren added earning a confused look from the half-breed. Looking to the Arena Gohan observed the fight. Like the others, he saw what they were talking about. A narrow expression befell him when he saw those dark circles under Black's eyes.
"Gohan." Alli whispered.
"I know." He responded.
Jaune jerked his head back from the wrist blade before bringing up his sword to block a swing from the wrist blade. Jaune skidded back a bit before sidestepping to the left when Black thrust Saber Rose at him. Black brought his arm around and switched Saber Rose to its gun mode, firing several rounds. Jaune moved his sword to deflect the bullets, not having ever done it before some of the bullets managed to hit him, lowering his Aura down some more.
Black switched back Saber Rose to its primary mode and rushed at the blond teen. Deflecting the last bullet Jaune looked back at Black only to see him already up in front of him. Jaune gasped as a knee hit him in the gut, lifting his body in the process. Black pulled his fist back but stopped mid-throw when he received flashes of his nightmare.
People being ripped apart by Grimm-like hands.
Jaune stumbled back a couple of feet before steadying himself and returning to the fight. Jaune let out a battle cry as he swung Crocea Mors with both hands. The battle cry brought Black back to reality, with quick reflexes Black blocked the blade with Saber Rose. Jaune spun around for another swing with one hand. Black ducked under the second swing but was left open for Jaune to nail him in the face with his free hand. Jaune followed his attack with an upwards swing of Crocea Mors. Black arched his body away from the blade only the tip cutting his gi.
Jaune spun around for a sidekick to Black's chest sending him skidding back. Jaune gave chase. With his body slowly coming to a halt Black looked back up with a mix of anger and annoyance. His expression quickly changed into a surprising look as Jaune came down with Crocea Mors over his head. Black jumped to the side letting the sword hit the ground instead. Jaune gripped Crocea Mors and slashed across his left missing Black just mere inches.
The blond knight continued to pursue the ex-kaioshin with relentless slashes pushing Black further into a defensive take.
All eyes showed great surprise that Jaune of all people was giving Black a run for his money. The ex-kaioshin felt the blade skim his body several times due to him losing his own balance.
Black ducked under a backhand slash aimed to his torso and quickly rose up when he saw Jaune bringing down left his fist. As Black was about to go for a counter a strong sense of dizziness befell him causing his vision to darken and lose his balance again. Jaune lifted his knee up to Black's chin staggering him back. Jaune followed up with a slash down across Black's chest before dashing past Black for a slash to his side.
A little further ahead Jaune saw his shield on the floor. An idea formed in his head. Jaune immediately rolled away from a kick when he felt a strong gust of wind come from behind.
Black mentally cursed at having missed such an easy opening. With both his feet touching the ground Black chased after the swordsman.
Stopping from his roll Jaune grabbed his shield by the edge with his right hand before throwing his shield in a backhand throw. Black's eyes blinked in surprise not expecting the blond teen to just throw his shield. Stopping, Black knocked the shield away with his left hand.
Jaune jumped at ex-kaioshin with Crocea Mors in right, Black saw the attack coming blocked it with Saber Rose. Jaune formed a fist in his right and sent it up to the ex-kaioshin. Black saw the attack coming clear as day and was about to move to intercept but then his eyes caught sight of something shocking. Behind Jaune, up in the seats behind Ruby and the others, smiling, was that man.
"Goku?!"
Black's head snapped to the side from Jaune's fist making contact. The attack sent Black flying back before crashing onto the floor and rolling off the Arena.
There was a moment of silence as everyone including Glynda was trying to process what just happened. The buzzer went off bringing everyone out of their shock. "…The winner of this match is… Jaune Arc." Professor Goodwitch announced. Ruby rushed down to the Arena along with the others.
Jaune stood still, looking down at his hand, not believing he won. His eyes leveled when he heard Black's groans. Making his way to his teacher/friend he grabbed his shield and sheathed Crocea Mors and extended a hand. "Black, you alright?"
Sitting up Black looked between Jaune's hand and the place he was sitting. It took him a moment to realize what had happened. He lost. Jaune beat him. The shock in Black's eyes faded as Jaune spoke up again. "Black?" The ex-kaioshin looked up at him and again to his hand. Anger flowing in, Black smacked the hand away, getting up he made his way to the exit.
From another entrance, Ruby and the others walked inside only catching a brief moment of Black walking out and slamming the door off its hinges.
"Someone's a sore loser." Yang's comment earned her an elbow from Blake. Ruby frowned and chased after him. Pyrrha and the other went up to check on Jaune, congratulating him on his victory.
In the hallway, the ex-kaioshin angrily stomped his way past students. Everyone knew how bad of a temper the teen had, so they all stayed clear of his way. He lost. How could he have lost?! Thinking back to that moment before Jaune punched him. He saw Goku. He saw him there in the stands behind Weiss, Gohan, and Lewis. Why the hell was that Saiyan there?!
Black winced as his head began to hurt. After a brief moment of calming himself, Black began walking again. The lack of sleep he's getting is finally beginning to take its toll on him. That match with Jaune was proof of that. As was seeing that dead Huntsman in the bathroom and Goku in the stands.
Black reached up to rub the dryness off his eyes. "If this keeps up, the others are going to start asking questions. Especially…"
"Black."
Black's shoulders slumped down from hearing the familiar voice. Looking over his shoulder he watched as Ruby ran up to him. "Is everything okay?" The scythe wielder asks.
"Yes."
"You sure? Because that match just now said something else." She gave a good look at his face, noting the redness in his eyes and the clear bag under them. "As does your appearance." Ruby pointed out.
As he stared at the redhead parts of his nightmare flashed before his eyes. Black slightly narrowed his eyes before rubbing them again with an irritated sigh, "I haven't been getting much sleep."
"Yea, I kinda guessed that." Ruby mentally says, remembering how Blake looked when she would pull all-nighters during her obsession with the White Fang investigation. "Is there anything I could do to help?"
"Don't know. Do you know a technique that could instantly put me to sleep?"
"I don't know about that. But I might have a way that can help you get better sleep." At this point, Black was willing to take any idea. "Follow me." Ruby gestured with her hand. The ex-kaioshin followed.
Back inside Beacon, everyone headed to their next period with Team JNPR splitting from the group to head into their history class. Which left the rest of team RWBY and BAGL to wander to their next period together. "So, any idea why Black was the way he was today?" Blake asked.
"Sorry, we don't know." Alli answers.
"Really?" Weiss questions.
"Black might be our teammate, but he rarely talks to us about his problems or anything relating to him." Gohan explained.
"Guess that's to be expected for someone like him." Weiss says.
"He has been avoiding everyone for the past week. But did you see how he looked? It's like he hasn't slept in days." Blake stated. A small frown befell Gohan his eyes dropping to the floor. Alli and Lewis both sharing a concerning expression on their faces.
The trio knew why their leader hasn't been sleeping. His nightmares. They don't know what the dream he's having is, but it must be a horrible one. As he would constantly toss and turn while grunting and mumbling no, before jolting awake with a scream, waking them all up.
They tried questioning him about it but he refused to say anything. Just glared at them and told them to forget what they saw. Which was kinda hard to do since they were awakened by his screams later that night as well as the coming night.
Black must've realized that his sleep terrors were becoming an issue for his team because within the third day he would leave the academy during the night. Gohan and his teammates guessed that Black must be sleeping at a hotel to avoid waking them up at night.
Gohan let out a mental sigh, he should've been pushier on the matter of Black's sleep terrors especially when Black began making himself scarce in the academy during the day.
"Well whatever it is that's wrong with him, we can't do anything about it." Yang spoke. "Not when he keeps avoiding all of us."
"Well everyone except Ru—ow!" Weiss quickly jabbed Lewis's side before he finished his sentence.
Yang glanced behind. Weiss smiled and waved while Lewis held his side in pain. Gohan, Alli, and Blake all sweatdropped at the scene.
Back with Black and Ruby, the scythe had led the older teen to their reading spot under the tree. Black assumed her idea was going to be them reading but thought against it when he realized neither of them had a book with them.
Ruby walked up to the tree and sat down on her knees. Facing him she patted her lap which earned her a raised brow from the older teen. "Lay your head here." She said with a faint blush.
"Why?"
"Because well…" Ruby became increasingly more red-faced as she explained her reasoning. "I read in one of Yang's magazines saying guys feel really nice and relaxed when they lay on girl's lap." At the end of her explanation, Ruby felt too embarrassed to look at him.
Laying on someone's lap to feel relaxed? Who came up with that? This had to be the most absurd idea he has ever heard. Why would laying on someone's lap, a girl's lap, bring him a sense of relaxation? It just doesn't make any sense!
Black wanted to pass up the offer but went against it when he noticed how flustered she was. Offering to do something like this must be quite embarrassing for her. The older teen mentally sighed. He did say he was willing to take any idea at this point.
Approaching the scythe wielder Black sat on the grass with his back turned to her and carefully laid his head on Ruby's lap. The first word to that came to his mind when he laid his head was, soft. Quickly getting over it, Black closed his eyes but immediately opened them with a jolt when he felt a hand on his head. "Ah, s-sorry!" Ruby apologized lifting her hand away. "I didn't know you… sorry."
"It's fine," He assured. "You just surprised me that's all." Black gaze turned away as a faint red blush appeared across his face. "You may continue, I don't mind." He says before closing his eyes once more.
Ruby stared at his face, slowly she brought her hand down and softly stroke his head. The sensation of her hand softly stroking his head was nice. It brought a strange sense of bliss to him which he greatly enjoyed. Odd.
Ruby was surprised at how soft Black's hair was. It was almost as soft as Zewi's fur. Ruby shook away the thought as it was weird comparing her boyfriend and her dog's softness.
With each stroke of her hand, Black felt his eyelids grow heavier and heavier before they finally closed.
10 minutes passed as Ruby continued to stroke his hair in silence. She ceased her actions when she noticed the slow rises of his chest. Taking a peek down, Black was sound asleep. Ruby couldn't help but stare at him with a faint blush. His peaceful and vulnerable expression was just so… cute!
This had to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Very steadily Ruby reached back and pulled out her scroll. Switching it to camera mode she took several photos. She then reviewed each photo she took. "I'm keeping these forever."
Her eyes moved from the photos back to Black's face. Traveling down she stopped to stare at his lips. An action she's only seen couples do, mainly in movies or tv shows came to her. Kissing. She's heard that it's a nice feeling, kissing the person you love. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious about performing the action.
Ruby found herself slowly lowering her head.
Maybe a quick kiss to satisfy her curiosity. He is her boyfriend so it's okay. Right? It's not she's doing anything bad. She's just kissing him. One quick kiss. As he's sleeping. Just one kiss.
Their lips were only a couple of centimeters apart before she jerked her entire body back. Her face was completely red and her eyes were tightly shut. "I CAN'T DO IT!" She mentally yelled. It's too much pressure! What if he wakes up?! What will she do?! She'll definitely die of embarrassment that's for sure.
Her sudden burst of emotion caused Black to stir a bit causing Ruby to freeze in place. After a second or two she slowly returned her attention back to him. She sighed in relief when she saw he was still asleep.
"Heh, I've never seen someone have that big of an internal struggle before."
Ruby gasped loudly and looked behind her. Leaning against the tree was Yang, smirking down at her. "Y-Yang! When did you—how did you—this isn't what it looks like!" Ruby's outburst caused Black to stir in his sleep again, forcing Ruby to freeze in place again.
Yang rose a finger to her lips. "Shh… you're going to wake him if you keep jumping like that. But to answer your question, I've just got here a minute. You never showed up to class, so I decided to go and look for you. Never thought I'd catch you in a position like this though.
Taking her sister's words into account Ruby replied in a whispering tone. "Yang this isn't what it looks like, I promise! I'm just helping Black get some sleep that's—."
Yang raised her hand in a calming manner. "Relax little sis. I know about you and Mr. Broody here."
Ruby stared at her sister with surprised eyes. "You do? Since when?!"
"Since the Beacon Dance. Pretty hard not to miss your sister dancing with someone to a slow song with loving eyes." Ruby's face reddens, quickly averting her eyes from her older sister. The brawler couldn't help but chuckle at her sister's embarrassment.
"Are you… angry?"
"Why would I be?"
"Well, back in Signal my friends would tell me about the many boys you threatened who tried approaching me." Yang turned her gaze away with an awkward chuckle. "So why didn't you now?"
"Hm?"
"Why didn't you chase him away like the others?" Ruby repeated, lifting her eyes to her older sister.
Yang stared at her sister for a moment before moving her gaze to the ground. "It was your eyes and smile. You looked absolutely happy that night." Yang's eyes traveling to the sleeping teen. "Something I haven't seen since mom…" Ruby shifted her eyes away at the mention of their mother. "And it's all thanks to him."
"I'm not going to chase him away like the others. Or tell you to break up with him. Because as much as I hate to admit it. He does seem to make you happy. And my little sister is old and mature enough to choose who she wants to be with." Yang smiled at her sister who return smiled back.
"But that doesn't mean I'm going to completely accept him being your boyfriend!" The older teen strictly clarified with her chin held up high. She then pointed down at the sleeping teen. "I'm going to keep an eye on him. Also, if I catch him hurting you in any way or trying to take you to home base at your age! I'm kicking his ass!" Ruby sweatdrop at her sister's protectiveness.
"Homebase?" She mentally questioned.
Before she could ask her sister what the word meant she felt Black stir in his sleep again. "I'll leave you to take care of him now. Don't worry about class. I'll cover for you."
"Thanks, sis."
Yang flashed a smirk with a thumbs up before walking off. Leaving Ruby along with Black once again. The scythe wielder looked down at the older teen. His peaceful expression bringing a smile to her face. She wondered what he was dreaming. Hopefully, it was something nice.
As seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned to hours, the sun slowly set behind the Kingdom of Vale. Many of its resident's getting ready to turn in for the night. The halls of Beacon becoming quieter. Only a few remained out of their dorms to finish their daily activities.
Over in the Garden, Black groaned as his eyes slowly opened to warm sunset sky. Above him Ruby's face came into view. "Sleep well?"
"How long was I out?" Black asks.
"Mm… about 10 hours."
Black's eyes widen and immediately sat up. "10 hours! I fell asleep for 10 hours!?"
"Yea, and from the looks of it that's just what you needed." Ruby said, referring to how much better Black looked after a long nap.
Still unable to believe ten hours have passed since he closed his eyes Black glanced at the tree above shading them. A realization struck him.
They never moved. She never… "You never left?"
"Of course not." Ruby answered. "We're a couple, remember? We're supposed to take care of one another. And I was taking care of you."
Black wasn't sure what it was, but after hearing those words there brought a strong sense of warmth within him. Looking away, a faint redness crept across his face which caught Ruby completely off guard. "Thank you." He softly said.
Ruby snapped out of her shock and replaced it with a smile. Standing up Black stretched a bit. "I guess we should head back. The others are probably wondering where we've been."
Yea." Ruby replied.
Black took the lead and headed inside. But stopped when he didn't feel Ruby's presence behind him. Turning around he saw her still sitting on her knees with a smile. "…Are you going to get up?"
"Nope." Emphasis on the letter P.
"Why not?"
"Because I can't feel my legs."
"…"
"…"
"Sorry."
"It's okay."
With those words said Black offered to carry Ruby to her dorm which she accepted but not without some embarrassment present upon her features. Being carried bridal style was a whole new experience for her. Her embarrassment only grew when they passed a couple of students in the hall. Black seemed unbothered by their situation and continued onward until they reached the hall which their dorms were located. "You can leave me by the door." Ruby said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yea, I'm starting to get some feeling in my legs again." Ruby replied, swinging her legs a bit. Black nodded and carefully lowered her to her feet. Using Black as support Ruby stood straight up. "See, better. Now go, I'm pretty sure your team is worried about you too."
His team… "Very well, I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Yea, good night." The scythe wielder waved before heading inside. Once she was in, she was met with an annoyed Weiss Schnee. "And where have you been?"
"Uh, I was…with…" Her eyes spotted Blake on her bed reading and Yang snoring in her bed. "I was helping Black all day."
"Helping him?" Weiss questioned.
"Yea, he needed it." Ruby replied. Weiss thought back to this morning, remembering how he was during combat class. "And did it help?" Blake spoke up.
"Yea, he's looking a lot better." Ruby answered with a smile.
Weiss's traveled down to her leader's legs noticing the shaking motion they had. "What's wrong with your legs?"
"My legs? Oh, well I've been helping Black all day that I kinda lost some feeling in them for a bit." She innocently answered.
The room went dead silent as Weiss and Blake stared at her with wide eyes. Suddenly, Yang shot up from her bed with an enraged expression. "HE'S DEAD!"
Ruby: "Yang!?"
Weiss: "You're awake!?"
Yang jumped from her bed and raced to the door but was stopped by her sister and two friends tackling her. "YANG WHY?! YOU SAID-!"
"I SAID NO HOMEBASE!"
Blake: "SHE KNOWS?!"
"WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!?" Ruby cried out. The commotion of the trio wrestling with the blond brawler could be heard outside the door.
Back with the ex-kaioshin Black didn't head to his dorm just yet. Instead, he took a detour to one of the school's balconies. His eyes glued themselves to the night sky and let his mind playback to the dream he had this morning.
It started out like the rest, he found himself on top of a pile of corpses each one belonging to someone he knew. Ruby, Eby, Yang, Weiss, Blake, Gohan, Lewis, Alli, Roman, Neo, Adam, and many others. He felt the same dark power try to overtake his body, his soul, and pull him into the sea of corpses. The red sky darkening as he was slowly pulled down. He tried resisting of course, but like before it was too completely useless. He could not muster any strength.
But just as he was about to be completely pulled into darkness, a bright white light broke through the red sky, a pair of hands grabbed him and pulled him out of the darkness. He could not see who it was but the sensation they brought with him was warm and pure. Black soon found himself in a bright blue sky. Peacefully floating until he felt himself wake.
It was a strange dream indeed but would choose it over the nightmares that plagued him any day. It did make him wonder why did it change? It couldn't possibly be because he slept on Ruby's lap. Could it? Did her presence really help him escape those horrific nightmares? Or was it something else?
Black let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes. It doesn't matter, whatever the reason, he felt as those nightmares won't be returning anytime soon.
50 miles from Vale…
Gunfire and screams of soldiers being slaughter echoed throughout the night sky. A convoy of Atlas supplies was in flames with multiple torn and sliced bodies spread across the ground. Blood splattered on every vehicle.
A soldier ran to one of the trucks and tried to turn the ignition on but was stopped by a white claw piercing through the door and ripping him out of the truck. The soldier fell to the ground and crawled backward in fear. His hand bumped into a rifle which he grabbed and emptied the entire clip into the approaching attacker.
Soon came the silence of an empty rifle. The soldier's eyes filled with terror gazed up at the attacker who sickeningly grinned and giggled at him before pouncing and ripping him to shreds. The soldier's cries were drowned by the sickening sound of flesh tearing and bones snapping.
The killer stood up and let the moonlight reveal their identity. Anubis. Her mouth was covered in blood as was her hands and shirt. "Now that was a fulfilling meal. Though I kinda wished you guys would taste better, kinda bland." She said, nudging one of the corpses.
"It's a good thing I ran into you guys. I was beginning to think I might have to postpone my quest and go hunting for a town." Licking her fingers, she turned to a certain direction. "Now then. I think I kept my master waiting too long." A grin spread across Anubis's face. "It's time to meet him."
There you have it everyone chapter 30. Hope you guys liked it.
As I said at the beginning, I'm going to let this chapter ride out for about a week and a half before posting up the next chapter. And as always, if you wish to present an artwork, or edits for the cover of this story, doesn't matter if it's good or bad, feel free to message me about it and I'll tell you where to send me the art/edit. And of course, if you'd like to be credited or remain anonymous, we can talk about that too.
Well, think that's it for now. I'll see you next chapter. Take care everyone.