Inspiration: Meet the Sniper [Team Fortress 2 (TF2)]


I was alerted that this series may be stepping on the Guidelines, which caused some delays as I scrambled to backup all of my chapters in case.

Let me get to the bottom of this. In the meantime here is the promised chapter.

Pardon my grammar.


Meet Team RWBY - Ruby Rose


"Before we begin our scheduled viewings, please enjoy this short viewing. There is no particular order in which we show these."

"Let me guess. It's similar to the one where I wrecked the entire school?" Coco inquired, feeling the entirety of Beacon's staff looking at her. "For the record! I do not approve of other-Me's actions. Just putting that out there."

No way was she risking detention or extra assignments for something she didn't do. The best way to handle this is to denounce it.

"That is correct. At least, for the time being."

Tai set his seat back and rested his arms behind his head. "I wonder who it'll be this time?"

The theater darkened, signaling that the viewing is starting.

The scene starts off on a wide-open and crumbling paved road surrounded by pockets of trees, buildings, billboards and street signs on the far sides of the horribly maintained road. The sun was shining brightly overhead, brightening the dreary-looking scenery.

Suddenly, the sound of a car accelerating and tires screeching could be heard behind the camera shot. A red car bounced through the crumbling road, swiveling a bit to maintain a respectable position within its lane despite the fact that there are no cars nearby for miles to see. Inside the car, a small, snarling Beowolf bobblehead was attached to the dashboard.

"Ah. I remember those bobbleheads back when I was a young, handsome lad." Port still has a small collection of Grimm bobbleheads back in his living quarters.

His colleagues looked at each other in regard to Port's description of his younger self.

Tai and Qrow, on the other hand, sat up from their seat.

"Hang on, is that red car… Is that Zippy?" The red car, Zippy, was the Xiao Long Household car. And unless Zippy was stolen, only three people are known to have ever taken Zippy out for a drive. "Are we going on a road trip?"

"That's some awful driving right there." Qrow narrowed his eyes. "I hope I'm not the one driving."

"I suppose even you have standards." Winter quietly remarked.

A small, dedicated finger came into the shot and flicked the bobblehead.

"Boom. Headshot."

"Hey, that sounds like me." Ruby leaned closer from her seat.

Tai, Qrow, and Yang suddenly started sweating.

Yang gulped, "Don't tell me."

The opening fanfare started up, transitioning to a well-detailed screen card displaying Ruby Rose's emblem in the background. Her weapon, Crescent Rose was displayed in its grandest form, propped up against an invisible wall, along with a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk.

A crossed-ax logo, representing Beacon Academy was stamped at the bottom center of the screen card. On the bottom right corner, a small scribble crediting Velvet as the creator was printed in cursive.

The scene cuts back to Ruby steadying the car in an unwieldy manner.

"I'm driving Zippy?" Ruby looked happy. None of her family members would ever let her drive Zippy. "Look, dad, I can drive Zippy no problem."

Tai paled even more. "I… Don't think. I think you might need a little bit more practice before you can drive Zippy."

"Your driving is horrible, little Red." Roman bluntly said, ignoring the fierce glare from her.

"Don't worry sis." Yang placed an arm around her, "You'll get to learn how to drive one day."

Ruby pouted, "I feel like you guys are still treating me like a child. I'm practically an adult now."

"Being a huntress is a great job, Oscar! Huntsman in your case." She sharply made a right turn, tires screeching. Oscar could be heard whimpering in fear of Ruby's horrid, and inexperience driving skills. "Sorry, Oscar." Another sharp right turn was made, again. "Anyway! Being a huntsman is challenging work, a lot of outdoors… I guarantee you'll won't go hungry!"

"You left out fighting Grimm and criminals."

Ruby waved a hand at him. "I'm getting there."

"Even Oscar thinks your driving is horrible." Weiss flatly pointed out. "And it seems that all of this is taken from his perspective. I wonder why that is." She turned to him. "Not that it is a problem, of course."

"I wonder why as well." He nodded. How can he, a farm boy, living in a near isolated area in Mistral be involved with a Huntsman Academy all the way at Vale? "It sounds like I'm trying to become a huntsman here."

"Are you?" Ruby curiously asked.

Oscar looked uncertain. "I'm not sure."

The scene cuts to Ruby brushing her teeth in her dorm's bathroom, already dressed in her combat attire. On the side of the sink's mirror were three photographs vertically taped; depicting unique looking Grimm, two of which were already crossed out in bright red markers. There was only one that was uncrossed, a pair of leering Beowolves.

The words 'Taijitu Beowolves' were inscripted at the bottom of the photos. True to the nickname, they were a pair of opposing colored Beowolves; white and black. The white Beowolf had a grayish, red marking mask while the black Beowolf had the standard white and red marking mask. They were similar in appearance, color-wise, to the Creature of Grimm known as a King Taijitu.

"Hello, what is this?" Cinder hastily wrote something down in her notebook. "I'd never seen those kinds of Grimm before." She may have spent extensive time in Salem's domain and saw many types of Grimm there. But the ones shown on the photographs on-screen were new to her.

"Taijitu Beowolves? They are not conjoined like a King Taijitu. The name implies the coloration and pairing." Professor Port furrowed his brows while humming. "I believe we saw another Beowolf colored entirely white before. Miss Scarlatina, would you be so kind as to photograph this?"

"Of course, professor." Velvet pulled up her camera and snapped a photo of the unique Grimm. "This is ironic, taking a picture of a picture."

Ozpin and his inner circle paid close attention to the details.

"It appears that Miss Rose and her team have already dealt with two of whatever Grimm was on those photographs. Unfortunately, I am unable to make out what the crossed-out ones are." Ozpin said, "In any case, it doesn't appear that these Beowolves are regional variants."

A Beowolf appearance in Vale is comparatively different from a Beowolf from Atlas. The reasoning behind this is their environment. The cold forces the Beowolves prowling near Atlas or Mantle to have a thicker coat in order to protect itself against the cold climate. This theory has been greatly supported by the scientific community.

Port nodded, "Indeed. This certainly piques my interest."

"What was I about to say? Oh yeah! Because at the end of the day, as long as the Creatures of Grimm exists, someone is going to want them dead."

The scene switches over to Ruby scoped in on her weapon, watching the Taijitu Beowolves prowling on a scaffold in an abandoned mining facility. She quickly pulled the trigger, shooting the white Taijitu Beowolf in the head, killing it instantly. The bullet continued to pass through the deceased Beowolf's skull and shattered a boulder behind it, sending sharp fragments everywhere.

Several of those stone fragments stabbed into the black Taijitu Beowolf's eyes, causing it to howl in pain. It frantically lashed out at everything around it before stumbling back, falling over the rail and into a pile of containers labeled 'EXPLOSIVES'.

Ruby lowered her weapon and drew in a sharp breath as she watched the Beowolf fell into the explosive containers. "Ooh…"

Upon contact, the entire section of the mining facility exploded, making her flinch. She hoped that this collateral damage doesn't affect the rewards of her commission.

"That was surprisingly easy." Ruby raised her fist to cheer her other-self. "But where's the rest of my team?"

"I was wondering about that as well." Weiss flinched a bit at the exploding mine. It reminded her too much of the news of mine collapsing from a Dust explosion or a White Fang attack went wrong.

"Those 'Taijitu Beowolves' aren't any different than a regular Beowolf," Port noted, doting down quick notes. "However, judging by how they move together. It would appear that these pairs of Beowolves are much more coordinated." It was his previous experiences, research, and careful observation from their movement alone, that the Grimm Studies professor could make a few educated guesses on these Taijitu Beowolves. "But that's just a baseless assumption as of now. It's a shame we don't have more to see of those Taijitu Beowolves to observe."

"Miss Rose," Glynda spoke up, catching Ruby's attention. "The Creatures of Grimm can be extremely unpredictable. One must always put their surroundings into account when making a move. I will not judge or critique what has occurred on-screen as I am unaware of the situation or capability of those Beowolves, but please be cautious of your surroundings for future references. If your teammates were on the ground there, they would have been at risk of being in the blast range. That goes for all of you."

"Yes, Professor Goodwitch." They all chimed.

The next scene shows Ruby on her scroll, talking with her father, Taiyang.

"Dad. Dad, I'm not your… Ye- Dad! I'm not your little girl anymore." Ruby sheepishly glanced over at Oscar, making pleading eyes at him. He awkwardly turned around and placed his hands behind his back, pretending he's not there. "I'm a huntress, an adult! Well, huntress-in-training… What the difference be? One is a job and the other is you being overprotective!"

Ruby smiled, despite knowing how annoying her father can be. After the death of her mother, she could understand the precaution he has for them. "Dad is still being dad there."

Weiss couldn't help but feel a little bit jealous of Ruby. Neither of her parents was this caring to her. Not even her siblings, though Winter is okay, somewhat.

"Really, Tai?" Oobleck flatly looked at his friend.

Tai sheepishly chuckled. "Hey, I gotta check up on my little girls."

"Dad, you literally drag our conversation for hours and hours if you can." Till this day, they still get those pestering calls from him. No matter how many times Yang assured him, the man will not budge on the matter. "And the weekends don't count."

"But I miss my little girls."

"Daaad!" His daughters groaned, embarrassed.

To the side, Raven simply facepalmed.

The scene snaps back to Ruby driving and Oscar filming.

"They don't approve of you being a huntress?"

"I'll be honest with you. My dad and uncle really do care for it. It's just that they often get these sudden episodes of overprotectiveness and that really bugs me and Yang."

"Yeah, that sounds like dad and uncle Qrow." Ruby nodded.

"Words spoken any truer." Yang snorted.

Qrow whistled in denial.

Ozpin smirked. "Embarrassed, Qrow?"

"Yeah, yeah. Keep it to yourself, Oz. I'm their cool uncle. I ain't a worrywart like Tai."

The camera cuts to Ruby climbing up an empty watchtower belonging to an old fortress, taking up position on a metallic rail.

"… I think those flock of Nevermores saw me." She said, glancing briefly away from her scope to address Oscar. Two black feathers ricochet off the ledge. "Yup! Yup, they did!"

Several more unnaturally sharp feathers quickly shot by and intensified into a flechette storm forcing Ruby and Oscar to abandon their position. Ruby compressed Crescent Rose into its miniature scythe form, while Oscar extended his collapsible staff that looks identical to Ozpin's cane. Together, they met the Nevermores flechette attack, blocking and reflecting their sharp-tipped feathers.

Cinder and Ozpin's group zeroed in on Oscar's collapsible cane.

'Don't tell me… He's my next incarnation?' Ozpin rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Cinder also came to the same conclusion but didn't say anything.

"That's my weapon?" Oscar asked.

"Most likely," Pyrrha answered while taking note of his weapon is identical to the Headmaster. "It looks identical to Professor Ozpin's cane if I were, to be honest."

Coco nodded. "Yeah. It really does."

"Hey! It's me working on Crescent Rose!" Ruby interrupted everyone's train of thought.

The next scene was a time-lase image of Ruby repairing and upgrading her weapon. A large plate of chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk were placed to the side of the workbench, quickly being depleted and replenished three times during the duration of the time-lapse.

Tai sighed, "Ruby, what did I say about bringing food and drink to the workshop?"

"Uhhh…" Ruby stuttered, feeling the gaze of her family and Glynda Goodwitch. There is a 'no eating and drinking' policy in the workshop after all. Especially at Beacon. "I didn't bring food to the workshop. I swear."

"And the number of cookies you ate there! That's not healthy for you!"

"We can discuss proper meals later." Maria snapped, shutting down the blond man. "Now pay attention to the screen."

As the sun sets, Ruby happily wiped a few sweats from her brow and heaved Crescent Rose, pointing it at a target dummy behind her. She tilted her head, lining up her sight into Crescent Rose's scope and took her shot.

In conjunction with the sharp gunshot, the scene transitions to an Alpha Beowolf getting impaled by a large scythe from behind. The Alpha Beowolf was brutally sliced in two, sliding apart and revealing Ruby Rose as its slayer. She watched the disintegrating Grimm with a satisfied expression and twirled her scythe.

"Yikes." Jaune gulped. "That was brutal"

"I doubt Grimm has any feelings." Vernal snarked, "And they themselves are the embodiment of brutality itself."

"I can't argue with that…"

"Hey, good job taking care of an Alpha." Qrow complimented his niece. "Sucker never knew what's coming for it."

"Thanks, uncle Qrow."

The scene cuts back to the red car front seats.

"Feelings? I dunno about their feelings, but you know who has a lot of feelings?" Ruby grinned, steering the conversation away from parental figures to her sister. "Yang bludgeoning people with their golf trophy because they made fun of her hair."

Oscar stifled a laugh. "She did what?"

"She did what?"

"I did what?"

"Yang did what?"

"I'm so proud of you." Raven grinned.

Yang looked at her mother with an uncertain expression. "Thanks. I think? Also, no one disses my hair."

"Oh yeah. Funny story actually." Ruby giggled, "I'll tell you about it later."

"Sure."

"Anyway. A huntress and huntsman are a profession, and professionals have standards. Three standards, Oscar."

The camera cuts to a moment in Ruby's life at Beacon, showing her teammates a poor sketch of Professor Port with stink lines coming off of him. She grinned brightly, then blew raspberries, making a 'pbbt' sound.

"Be polite."

"Now that's politeness right there." Roman slapped his knees and laughed.

Team RWBY started sweating profusely, remembering the first day of Grimm Studies. Ruby started to look more and more guilty by what she did in the past. As for Qrow, he spat out his drink and started laughing with Tai, while Glynda pinched her brows in annoyance.

"My word! Why I never…!" Port humph.

"That never happened, Professor Port!" Ruby was quick to deny it. She made a mental note to destroy the drawing or give it to Zwei to eat. "I, uh… I would never do something like that!"

The next scene shows Ruby keeping track of a rolling Boarbatusk, trying to escape by launching itself off a rock and into the air. The crosshairs steadily stayed on the wild movement of the Boarbatusk. Locking in on her target, Ruby pulled the trigger, shooting the rolling Grimm out of the air.

Ruby than switched Crescent Rose into scythe mode and spun around, cutting through several Grimm lunging at her from behind with a single stroke.

"Be efficient."

Glynda nodded and hummed in approval.

"Whoa," Oscar said in awe at the swift death Ruby brought to the Creatures of Grimm. Some of them were bulkier and taller than the girl, yet she easily killed them without pausing. "And you guys are just huntresses-in-training?"

"Yup! Just wait till we become licensed huntresses!"

Qrow grinned and pointed at Oscar with a pinky. "Kid, you have yet to see anything with us."

"We still have a long way to go." Pyrrha glanced at Jaune and smiled, "Even then, there's so much for every one of us to learn."

The final scene shows the entirety of Team RWBY bringing down a large Ursa Major. The fearsome bear-like Grimm angrily roared and barreled towards them in a final attempt to bring Team RWBY down with it. Something flared up from a cliff hundreds of meters away, catching the Ursa Major's attention. It was Ruby Rose aiming at the Ursa Major with her scope.

She grinned.

The Ursa Major's head reflecting off of the lens of her sniper rifle scope. Her finger tugged on the trigger and fired directly at the camera shot.

"And have a plan to kill every Grimm you meet."

The screen blacks out.

A valiant ending fanfare started playing as it cuts to Team RWBY posing in front of an ancient temple in Emerald Forest.

"Glad to see us working together in a single scene at least." Yang stretched her arms and winked at Oscar. "I was beginning to think that we were replaced by Oscar."

"There's no way I can replace either of you…" Oscar sheepishly said.

"Yang quit teasing him… Hang on, it's not over yet?"

The scene then cuts back to Ruby still talking on her scroll with her Tai, looking fed up with her father's overbearingness.

"Dad… Dad… P-, yeah… Put… Put Uncle Qrow on the phone!"

The theater dimly lit up as the screen turned black, ending the viewing.

"Tai." Qrow flatly told his friend. "We have got to work on your check-up calls."

Tai smiled shakily while rubbing the back of his neck.

Ironwood leaned closer and whispered. "Ozpin. That boy…"

"I know. I'll see what I can do. Glynda?"

"I'll look into it, Professor Ozpin."

"As will I." Ironwood leaned back and nested himself in his seat.

"Moving onto the next viewing."


Pardon my grammar.