Ruby slid back, leveling harbinger, and evaded one of the hands, then leaped into the air, avoiding the next hand, flipping back through the air; she landed lightly as the beast began to sweep its limbs at Ren and Pyrrha; she watched as Ren started to glow blue as his rage reached its peak, he dived at the creature but was quickly snatched out of mid-air and slammed into a building, Ruby acted quickly rushing towards its extended limb and slashed causing it to release Ren swiftly and retract it's the arm as it roared, it's rage burning towards her.
"Ren, you okay?" she asked, turning towards the monster as it reared up and charged them; both quickly leaped out of the way of the limb. Rens' eyes were fixed solely on the creature.
"Ren!" Ruby shouted, causing his eyes to dart to her for a few seconds. "I'll make an opening for you." she offered, earning a nod from the man. The two rushed forward, Ruby leading the way knocking one of the limbs off course and catching the next one with her blade, quickly sliding to a halt with a groan of effort. Ren quickly dodged past her, dashing towards the beast as it reared back and roared trying to break free from the blade currently buried into its claw, as Ren closed the distance he felt a powerful surge of energy. Still, before acting with it, the creature reared back and stomped at him, sending him back with a shockwave. He landed next to Ruby, who growled, her mako-infused eyes burning with anger.
"I'm starting to hate this thing too," she commented as Ren hung his head with a sigh.
"We still have to fight!" he growled as he reasserted his anger, causing the blue glow around him to grow as he and Ruby prepared to attack again. Ruby rushed forward and leaped into the air; much to her surprise, she flew a much greater distance into the air than she expected; angling the weapon behind her, she clicked the blade down and fired, throwing her back down towards the beast as it launched a limb at her as she spiraled towards the beast cutting the stem to pieces as Ren dashed towards it as well the second limb getting taken down by Pyrrha as Ren dived up and stabbed the beast in the chest after a second the blue energy flashed brightly as the creature of Grimm turned gray and faded to dust.
"Woah..." Ruby muttered as she fell from the sky. Looking down at the ground, she let out a yelp and rolled around to her feet, and landed rather harshly; turning toward Jaune and Nora, she dashed towards the two of them and began to help fight off the steadily increasing number of Grimm the three of them were now steadily cleaning them up.
(o)
After a minute of fighting two air ships came from the sky raining bullets down on the creatures, Ruby sighed and quickly leapt up and landed next to one of the gunners
"Hey, who are you guys?" Ruby asked grabbing onto one of the handles to keep her from falling, the gunner looked over to her for a moment before continuing to shoot
"We're the 4th air patrol from Mistral, with the Grimm concentration in this area no one really comes out here so the massive amount of smoke really gave us a scare as to... you know a fire out this way can really grow out of control and cause some major damage, so what'd you guys do?"
"We killed a Nuckelavee, mind if we get a lift to the city?" she answered looking over her shoulder down at the battlefield and the steadily shrinking number of Grimm "We've been at this for a few weeks."
"Yeah, we couldn't just leave you five out here." he agreed as Ruby released the bar and dropped down onto the back of a Beowolf stabbing it killing the creature, yanking the blade free she spun cutting down the four around her as the creatures began to retreat, after another few moments one of the airships comes down and landing, a few soldiers leapt out and began to take a look around
"I assume you five are Huntsman." the gunner said walking over to Ruby who sighed and collapsed Harbinger and slung it over her shoulder into it's sheath "What gave it away?" Ruby questioned walking past him and climbed into the airship without another word, Pyrrha on the other hand bowed to the man and spoke
"Sorry, she's been the driving force to keep us all moving at a fast pace so finally getting a chance to relax is probably overwhelming." Pyrrha explained with another bow which he waved off and gestured for her to join the others on the airship. Climbing into the airship she looked over to Ruby who crossed her arms sat in one of the corners of the airship her eyes staring at the floor of the ship as they started to rise into the air and jetting away towards Mistral.
(o)
Yang couldn't help but think on what her mother had said... was she really the only one able to fight Sephiroth? What was she doing here then? Why wasn't she with Ruby why is she here... she and Blake should be... with a sigh
"Yang, you should return to the household before your girlfriend comes looking for you." Raven said after she finished another round of attacks and sheathed her blade
"She's not my girlfriend." Yang quickly shot back as she looked over to the older woman who she now noted wasn't paying her any attention
"uh-huh." the woman muttered as she walked back to where she started and lowered herself into a stance again and begin to attack again
"Hey! You heard me right! She's not my girlfriend!"
"Whatever you said." Raven waved off again as she finished her motions, again she turned and walked back to the start
"What are you doing?" Yang asked after watching her do that two more times
"Practice, the faster you memorize a string of attacks the faster you can deploy said attacks, repetition makes you faster but predictable, it is why you memorize a wide variety of attacks and string of attacks to mix and match as you see fit, though I suppose throwing punches wildly has worked for you in the past, perhaps you should give repetition a shot." she explained with her own design of snark and icy tones, Yang just sighed and walked away, her mother wasn't that good at expressing her emotions so she kinda had to read in between the lines quite frequently.
Entering the house she was greeted by the smell of fish, and boisterous laughter, entering the dining room she watched as Ghira and Kali laugh at the stories being told by Blake, who seemed uncomfortable with the situation but still held a smile on her face, she was more than happy to have this time with her family, watching the scene she couldn't help but feel a twinge of pain shoot through her heart, this was a scene that she never thought she'd have, and now that her father was dead it was made clear that she will never get the chance of that either
"Hey guys." Yang said awkwardly scratching the back of her head as she made her way towards the table
"Oh good, I'm glad that you've finished training, come sit down!" Kali quickly said patting the spot next to her, Yang walked over and sat down next to her it was still rather awkward, and she didn't want to intrude
"Thanks..."
"Blake here was telling us all about your time at Beacon, how you and your friends fought against all the odds and came out on top."
"No, no we did not. Adam got the jump on Blake and I got my arm handed to me, we've lost Beacon and now... now we're sitting here, while my fifteen year old sister is hunting down the man who murdered my father and our uncle!" Yang growled her fury growing rather quickly as she spoke, quickly blinking the red from her eyes, and shaking the flames from her hair she spoke again "I'm sorry... I'll just... see myself out." Yang quickly said getting to her feet and began to walk towards the backdoor but felt a strong hand on her shoulder, looking over Ghira hand caught her
"Come now, sit." he said guiding her back gently towards the table as he spoke "I can't even pretend to understand your troubles, but I know the look of a warrior when I see them."
"I've been training to be a huntress for a while."
"Not a huntress, but a warrior. Huntresses serve the world, a warrior fights for their friends, as you walk through this world you will see Huntsman sacrifice themselves for those they don't even know, fools I say. But warriors will protect their friends and allies, they fight with purpose."
"And what about heroes?"
"Ha ha ha! Heroes fight for the world, they do not serve it, nor do they sacrifice for it, they raise their weapons for the world to continue turning as it always has so other people can play the role of huntsman. Institutionalized 'heroes' as I call em." he explained without a shred of malice in his voice, he seemed to genuinely believe that he was right in his line of thinking, Yang just frowned and crossed her arms, she saw Ruby as a hero but in this mans eyes a hero isn't a huntsman... it seems her and Rubys' upbringing left many things as broad topics, with a frown Yang uncrossed her arms
"I... hm..." Yang began but quickly quieted down, she couldn't quite think of anything to disputed his words... she still needed to learn more from her mother, and it seemed she still needed to learn about normal peoples views on the world. With a frown she looked over her shoulder towards Raven who she could see sitting on the windowsill watching them
(o)
On a dry dock sat a woman she watched as other refugees conversed with each other, cried, or comforted each other, pulling her hood farther over her head, watching as a few teenagers sat looking horrified, PTSD most likely... she herself probably had some trauma too, given what she somehow lived through
"Excuse me miss?" a voice came from her left looking over she felt a light pounding in her head as her ears began to ring, when the woman saw her face her eyes widened briefly "Sasha? Sasha Gray?" she muttered as a memory bubbled to the surface of her mind, this girl, no, Victoria is an old childhood friend
"It's Vernal now." she replied quietly, after answering Victoria sat down next to her and pulled her into a hug, the girl began to sob as her arms tightened around her, the girl began to stutter and attempt to explain herself, within her own mind Vernal couldn't feel anything for this girl... but that was true for her whole life. After a few minutes Victoria spoke up again
"Sash- I mean... Vernal, I'm... going to Vale after our village was destroyed, mom and dad... I just need to get away from Mistral... can I ask that... would you be willing to..."
"Fine, I'll go with you. Not that it matters but I need to get out of here too so..." she trailed off with a huff as Victoria released her and smiled through her tears
"So tell me Vernal, after you ran away from home where did you end up?" the black haired girl asked as she cleaned her glasses, clearly attempting to avoid a painful memory for herself
"... I ended up finding a tribe, they understood me better than the villagers so I ran with them for a while... what about you?"
"Oh, I took over the bookstore! Mom... and dad were happy that I took an interest in their lives work, We could open another one in Vale! With how things are right now books are probably going to become far more popular than before! It'll be great!" she quickly explained earning a hum from Vernal who lowered her hood and pulled her legs close
"I guess... I've only been to Vale a few times so... keep close, lots of criminals around there."
"Got it!" she continued to seem excited about the future, Vernal on the other hand couldn't quite remember why she liked this woman, she was... pretty sure when she lived nearby that she hated this girl, she was too smart for her own good... and would never leave her alone... but no... that wasn't true, they spent a lot of time together as kids, and they had fun... right?
"Vernal? We're going to board now, come on!" she quickly said pulling her to her feet as they began towards the ship, with a smile Victoria quickly got the two of them onto the ship, there were very few people traveling to Vale it seemed given the fact that there was about thirty or so people who boarded the ship while many more quickly got off
(o)
Ruby watched as the city of Mistral grew closer her stomach lurching at the view, she could practically see the city in flames, but luckily Sephiroth had yet to act and do such a thing as of yet, so as it stands things are looking rather bright... well mostly.
"Miss, we'll be landing over at Haven Academy, apparently there's someone there who wants to meet you." one of the gunners said removing her helmet and leaning out "I'll be honest with you... we've lost a lot of huntsmen around here, their casualty rate has gone from fifty to ninety." she informed causing Ruby to quickly do a double take
"What!? How many do you have on hand? And who's accounted for?"
"I got no idea, we've just been told to tell every huntsman or huntsman group we run across that info, I'm sure Lionheart could tell you more, considering their in his care." she explained dropping down with a sigh "But now all their work is getting forced onto the army which is already spread thin enough, we may control the largest territory but our army has always been lacking in number and advancement, so as things stand you'll be on your own, so do me a favor and don't die, we need you all." she spoke again in a tired voice, Ruby just nodded and as she felt the ship tremble as they landed, stepping off she looked to the circling airship as Ren and Nora leapt and landed on the landing pad as Jaune and Pyrrha walked out after Ruby
"Come on guys, apparently someone wants to meet with us here." she informed as they began to walk into the school, it was pretty and open campus the pathways guiding to each of the separate buildings were more spiraled shaped as the campus itself was a large circular area with builds forming an inner and outer circle with the CCT at the very center, walking past said tower they made their way towards what appeared to be the only person within the school, a somewhat tall man with gray hair and beard, he was dressed in a brown vest over an off-white dress shirt, a pair of dark brown slacks and dress shoes, over his left shoulder hung a greatcoat, with a smile he looked over them
"Greetings greetings! It's a pleasure to met you all. I'm Professor Lionheart, the headmaster of this school, so tell me, what brings you all to Mistral?" he asked in a warm tone
"Well... there was a student at Beacon named Sephiroth. Long white hair, slit eyes similar in color to my own, black leather clothes and a massive Katana, he... is the most likely reason that Beacon was destroyed." she explained gesturing to her face with a grimaces "He cut off Pyrrhas' hand, and killed my father and uncle." she added "I have a bit of a vendetta against him, apparently he is here, within the city, if there's anything you can do to help, I ask that you do so." she explained with an awkward laugh earning an equally awkward laugh from the man
"Of course, if such a threat is within the city then we should do all we can to contain such a threat." he agreed, but Ruby was surprised, it seemed that he already heard about Sephiroth, which didn't make any sense, he was pretty much known to Professor Ozpin, and teams RWBY and JNPR... thinking about it Ozpin probably told him, considering most of the Headmasters were on a first name basis so it was probable that they talked about him
"Here actually, I can help a bit more." he said pulling his coat from his shoulder and began to dig through it's pockets eventually he pulled his scroll from it and pressed a few buttons "There!" he finally said as Ruby felt her own scroll vibrate, reaching into her coat she pulled it free and opened it she found access to a staff housing unit for Haven Academy
"That should help you along, no need to search for housing. My treat."
"Thank you Professor... is there anything we can do to repay this kindness?"
"Well... I have some... associates that would like to speak with you about this Sephiroth fellow, they've had a few... casualties due to him as well." he said earning a nod from Ruby as she turned away
"Well you have our address, send 'em our way." she agreed as she began to walk away soon followed by the other four members of her group
"So when we get there we're getting nice warm beds to sleep in right?"
"Yep."
"Thank the gods!" "Thank you!" "I wanna sleep in a bed!" everyone but Ren cheered as the five of them walked towards the elevator that led down to the sanctioned floor for the teachers, riding the lift down they came to a landing with a few dozen houses, walking to the end they came up to their house, upon entering Nora quickly dragged Ren off to find their beds while Pyrrha and Jaune trudged off to find theirs, Ruby shut and locked the door then sat down on the couch and placed Harbinger next to her hand resting on the hilt of the blade her eyes resting on the door a frown held on her face, she didn't like this, it was really too calm.
(\_/)
Staring at the door she had a frown, the calm air around her did nothing to ease her mind, her focus was unmoved she knew as soon as she relaxed he would come for them, she needed to keep awake, a loud knock caused her to jump, rising to her feet she walked towards the door her grip on Harbinger tightening as she clicked the blade down and aimed at the door, slowly opening the door she was greeted by-
Staring at the door she had a frown, the warm air around her did nothing to ease her mind, her focus was unmoved she knew as soon as she relaxed he would come for them, she needed to keep awake, a loud knock caused her to jump, rising to her feet she walked towards the door her grip on Harbinger tightening as she clicked the blade down and aimed at the door, slowly opening the door she was greeted by-
Staring at the door through the smoke she frowned, the scolding air around her caused her to lose her breath, her focus was all over the place, she couldn't breath, and she couldn't relax, he was coming for them, she needed to stay awake to fight, a loud knock caused her to jump, rising to her feet she felt the flames began to lick at her feet, as her flesh began to char as she walked to the door, her grip on the Harbingers hilt tightened as she clicked the blade down and aimed at the door, her fingers closing around the hot metal handle of the door her flesh melting to it pulling the door open she was greeted by-
(o)
Her eyes snapping open Ruby quickly jumped to her feet her rapid breath echoing through the dark and cold house grabbing her wrist her hand slowly stopped shaking, grabbing Harbinger she walked towards the front door and quickly pulled open the door and sat down on the front steps staring up at the moon her eyes drifting down to the walkway leading to the door and resting just at her feet was a black feather which quickly vanished into dust that blew away in the wind leaving no trace as her breathing became uncontrollable as she leapt to her feet and drew her weapons as she dashed away to search the surrounding area.
A/N So if any of you do read these I would like to ask if you have played Elden Ring what are your thoughts? feel free to PM me if you're interested in a discussion, currently, I've done two endings thus far 'Age of Fracture' and 'Age of the Stars' I'm currently working on a third, probably 'Age of the Duskborn' I've not done Fias' questline yet, as to not make a whole novel worth of gushing I'll end my Elden Ring talk here.
So this chapter was mainly focused on getting volume 4 stuff done and over with, I wanna have a much lower stakes chapter next with everything settling down, Weiss doin' her thing and getting to Mistral or perhaps I'll have Vernals' story continue, I'm a little invested in showing off Vale after things have gone to shit, and from there move into Volume 5 perhaps my least favorite of the after Beacon stuff, but it has potential... somewhere... I think.