Beta: ShadowMester234
"Now, the moment you've all be waiting for, introducing Blooming Rose!" Ruby struck a pose while her partner held out his new weapon.
"Wow, you made a stick. I'm sure the grimm will quake in fear thanks to such advantage technology," Russel piped in.
Nearly everyone at the BRYL/RSTT lunch table burst out laughing.
"It is not a stick!" Ruby vehemently denied, failing her arms up and down. "It's a collapsible staff."
"So, a slightly bigger sick?" Yang said. Another round of laughter moreover how flustered Ruby was getting than the actual joke.
"Fine," Rube huffed, crossing her arms in an attempt to look stern. "I guess you don't have to know what it does."
"Works for me," Russel said, resuming his meal. Everyone else was soon to follow. Even Sulfur took a seat.
Now, not being interested in a weapon was sacrilege to Ruby, so it didn't take long before she cracked. "Alight, I'll tell you. Sulfur put Blooming Rose on the table and I'll explain." Sulfur did as he was told with a smile that Yang recognized as the exact same one her dad would give her and Ruby when they begged for extra sweets after dinner.
The weapon he and Ruby had crafted was a completely grey staff, about four feet tall, with a sharp point at the bottom and a rosebud at the top. It was also divided into three sections, each one smaller than the last, so its length could easily be shorted. That's was all Yang could get from looking at it, but knowing Ruby it could probably turn into a tank if it needed to.
"So, if you push right here, the bottom will pop open where there's a chamber that can fire dust bombs. Then if you tap here the rose as the top will bloom, hence the name, it's serrated on the edges and will start spinning like a saw blade cutting through any grimm like mincemeat." Ruby said, giving her version of a maniacal laugh and catching the attention of some the nearby tables.
When she was finished, she watched the table probably looking for some praise. All she got were blank looks. "Is that all?" Sky dared to say.
"What! Are you saying it's not cool?"
"No, I'm not saying that. It just seems a little simple especially coming from you."
"See Sulfur, I knew it. We should have made it much more complicated. It would've been so cool. I could have made it shoot flying saw blades or break into two different weapons, but you kept turning me down. At least let me turn it into a gun."
"I already have two guns," Sulfur replied, "and I told you I would prefer a simpler weapon. I wouldn't have a clue how to handle anything as crazy as Crescent Rose and I don't want to worry about having to perform constant maintenance."
"What are you saying? Your weapon is your child. Maintenance isn't a chore it's reaffirming your bond, and my baby deserves the best care I can give it."
"Doesn't just deserve it, your weapon needs it. How many times do you take it to the workshop? Three times a week? And that's when it's only brought out in Miss Goodwitch's class. What are you going to do when you're out on a mission, away from the fancy tools and advanced machines, battling the element alongside the grimm. Crescent Rose isn't going to last. If you insist on using it you're going to be confined to the city. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I thought you wanted to be a hero, facing the grimm head on, and saving people who don't already have a fortified city protecting them."
"I do," Ruby whispered.
"Then you probably need to put in a bit more thought on how you're going to do that."
Ruby drop into her seat at the now silent table, and only poked at her food with a somber expression. Yang would have punched him right then and there if they hadn't already gone through this situation a couple of times now. Sulfur was nice enough normally, but when it came to being a huntsmen's he was a cold pessimist and more than a little strange on top of that. Maybe it could be forgiven since he came from a small frontier town that none of them had heard of. He probably knew what he was talking in this regard, and unfortunately, it was something Ruby probably needed to hear. She had never been far away from a weapons workshop with Signal on patch and Beacon now. She probably hadn't ever considered what would happen when she didn't have access to them.
Yang loved her sister, but she did have to admit, Ruby had a tendency to let her head float in the clouds. If her prized baby ever malfunctioned on a mission she would be in serious trouble since she couldn't use unarmed combat to save her life, literally in this case. Yang just wished Ruby's partner could be a little kinder with his words.
Still, this wasn't the first time he had dropped some harsh wisdom onto Ruby, so Yang knew she would bounce back soon enough. Ruby just had to think things over for a little bit.
"So, the school dance is coming up, who's excited for that," Yang said in an effort to lighten the mood.
No one voiced their excitement.
"Oh, come on. Don't any of you have someone special you're looking to take." Yang turned to her partner who had been too silent for Yang's liking. "What about you Blakey? Planning on making the dreams of that blond boy, who's been hitting on you since he got here, come true?"
"You mean Sun?" Blake said, mostly because she knew what would happen if she didn't.
"On a first name basis with him already? You've been talking to him."
"I don't think learning someone's name qualifies as a romantic interest."
"Hey, you've got to start somewhere," Yang hit back.
"If that's you're starting point then I think everyone at this table needs to be on guard," Blake replied, actually making a joke. Yang was so proud, but it was time to give the rest of her team the attention they deserved.
"Russ, what are your plans?"
"Don't have any. I'm not going to the dance."
"No, that's not going to work. Blake and I volunteered—"
"I did not volunteer. I was dragged into to it," Blake amended.
"—since CFVY got dragged off on a mission., so I expect all of you to be there to appreciate our hard work. That means you too, Ruby."
"But Yangggg—"
"No buts!"
"Then I guess I'm going to have to ask someone," Sky said, a piece of bacon hanging from his mouth. "Maybe that transfer student, Cinder, she's pretty hot."
"Speak of the devil and she will appear," Sulfur said, smiling as the woman in question walked by.
She hadn't seemed to have heard Sky's comment, and since his face was now buried in his breakfast that was probably a good thing, but that didn't stop her and Sulfur from locking eyes. They didn't say anything then and Cinder even seemed a little surprised she was doing it.
Finally, Sulfur broke the silence with a light chuckle. "How are you doing today?"
"Fine, thank you," Cinder said rather awkwardly and then immediately walked off.
"Do you two know each other?" Ruby asked.
"No, that was the first time I've seen her. It was just that I felt a connection with her." He put his hand to his chest. "Maybe it's love at first sight. Sorry Sky, I think I'm going to have to take your girl. Is that okay with you?"
"It's fine," he muttered, face still flush.
Everyone laughed, the odd scene completely forgotten.
Cinder Fall supposed it could have gone worse. It should've gone better, but in the end, Ruby, or Red as Roman like to call her, was nothing more than an annoyance. An annoyance Roman really should have killed, but that fool couldn't do anything right.
Cinder tore off her mask, "changed" into her dress and entered the dance hall. She eyes scanned for Mercury, but before she could find him a different person grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a dance. She was a second away from eviscerating the person who dared touch her without her permission, but then she saw who it was. It was Red's strange partner.
After the incident, in the cafeteria, a week ago, she had made sure to look into him. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to look into. He was a nobody whose only records came from a small town that had been destroyed recently under unusual circumstance. It was the perfect place to implant some fake history, but even if it really was his hometown, it didn't make him any less mysterious.
Mysteries were a bad thing in her line of work, and she had considered removing him entirely, but killing one of Ozpin's students right under his nose was too much a risk. Better to just wait this man out and see if he was actually a threat to her plan.
"You're watching me rather intensely. Am I that desirable to you?"
He didn't know how to dance, Cinder realized after coming out of her thoughts. He was just awkwardly shuffling her around. Taking advantage of that she suddenly pulled some fancy footwork. His legs became tangled and he crashed to the floor, drawing the attention of some nearby onlookers. It was more gratifying than she was willing to admit, and yet it hadn't looked quite right. Not that he hadn't fallen because he clearly had, but his expression hadn't changed to surprise or embarrassment. He'd even gasped for air on the way down, and yet the condescending look never left him. It was like it was painted on his face. Was it even possible to keep a calm expression when one's equilibrium was so completely destroyed?
"I probably deserved that," the teen laughed, getting up from the floor and dusting off his rental suit. "Perhaps a more courteous approach is needed."
Cinder spotted Mercury a couple people down just as Sulfur extended his hand. Cinder accepted the offer, knowing this would be her best chance to pry some information out of him. Mercury was shooed away with her eyes, letting me know he was free to do as he pleased. Likely to go back to their room to play video games or some other nonsenses.
"You shouldn't dismiss your friend like that so easily. Might break the poor guy's heart," Sulfur said showing that he noticed her little signal.
Cinder led him into a nice easy rhythm that even a child could follow. There would be no stepping on toes tonight, and if he somehow did, she would boil him alive right here. "If you recall, you were the one to force yourself on me. You need to be more respectful of the people around you."
"You know, my partner tells me the exact same thing."
"Speaking of partners, where is she? You should be accompanying her as a friend if nothing else."
"I was but she disappeared a little bit ago. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
"I'm afraid I wouldn't, why do you ask?"
"It's just you weren't present until a few minutes ago, and when you did arrive you came through the back entrance just a few moments before two Atlas soldiers did. Also, General Ironwood and about half the teachers suddenly decided to leave like there was some sort of problem."
Cinder narrowed her eyes. This man was observant, absurdly so, and he was making a show out of it. Who was he? One of Ozpin's spies. No, he wouldn't be so open if that were it. Perhaps he worked for some third party. She'd have to ask Roman if there was any criminal organization that could possibly have an interest in Beacon.
"Are you suggesting I was causing some sort of trouble?" She asked sweetly.
"I don't need to suggest anything. I know you were."
"Is that so. Do you have any evidence to back up your assertion?"
"No, nothing like that. I don't really know all that much despite what it might seem. It's just that to get ahead in life all you really need is confidence."
"You certainly have plenty of that." Far too much, Cinder believed. If he really didn't have any solid evidence of her misdeeds, confronting her was reckless at best and deadly at worst. She was still deciding which way it would go for him.
Was he lying about what he knew, and if so how much did he really know? Surely, nothing about the maidens, but it was possible he knew her involvement with the dust heists happening all over Vale. Operations like that were massive ventures, and although she tried to keep her affliction as quiet as possible by filtering everything through Roman and using the White Fang whenever possible, leaks still happened.
She needed to dig into him a little more. Find out what his plans were and why he wanted this conversation in the first place. "Why did you decided to come to Beacon?"
"You know I feel like I'm the only one that's been grilled," her dance partner said looking at the ground like he was disappointed in her. "I think I would like to ask the same question. Why did you come to Beacon?"
"I came to be a huntress just like everyone else."
"Liiiarr," Sulfur said, dragging out the syllables.
"You can tell?" Cinder asked not surprised he saw through it, obvious as it was.
"I'm not so clever that I'm capable of acting as a lie detector, but I do have a talent for spotting fakes. You might act like a student, but it's clear to me that you're nothing of the sort. That cover might be good enough to fool everyone else, but let's just say, I have a lot of experience seeing through that stuff, practically my only pastime growing up. It's not like knowing that gives me any knowledge about who you really are, though, hence the question."
What an arrogant guy. His action, words, and even his expression were all in conflict with each other. The way he presented all these skills only to walk them back like they were nothing was infuriating. It reminded her of the way Watts always talked like he was the smartest man in existence only to end with a line like "but there is a lack of hard data" or "however this is only me theorizing" just to cover his ass in case he was wrong. Anything that reminded her of that bastard was something to be destroyed.
Heat built up in her hands, where she was grasping her dance partner, and the distress on his features made her feel a little better. Proved he really was just a human and not some mannequin come to life.
"Fine, if you must know I'm here to retrieve something that was stolen from me." She searched his eyes for any sort of recognition but found none even if he'd be fully capable of hiding it.
"Ah, an answer to my question that tells me nothing. Whatever, I'll accept it."
"So why are you here?" Cinder asked again.
"There's no particular reason. I only enrolled because I thought interesting things would occur here. Sadly, nothing much has happened yet. I know the seeds are already planted, but it seems they just don't want to sprout. It's honestly a little disappointing."
"You're only here because you were bored!" Cinder hissed. She summoned her semblance again, but this time Sulfur took a step back, disconnecting them and ending their dance.
"You make it sound so simple, but if you saw what I did, I don't think you could ignore it either. All I want is for exciting things to take place, and if they refuse to happen on their own, then I'll manufacture them myself." That last line was left hanging in the air, not as a threat or even a warning. He framed like it was just some homework he was oddly enthusiastic about doing.
"Thank you for the dance," Sulfur said after the silence settled, "I appreciate it." Then, he was off, walking into the crowd not caring who he bumped into or who bumped into him. He ultimately found a seat along the wall and took it.
He wouldn't get up from it until the dance concluded.
Cinder used that time to recollect herself. It hadn't gone perfectly, nothing on this night had, but she had gotten enough of a feel for Sulfur to be satisfied. He was an enigma to be sure but not someone incomprehensible. Basically, he was just a nutcase like Tyrian although with far better control over himself. In that way, he was closer to Adam; a man with intelligence aimed at a worthless obsession.
Normally he might have posed a danger to her, but fate was kind to her, and she already had experience in dealing with his type. She only had to play towards his desires, and he'd be easy to manipulate. If he wanted to create a stimulating event, then maybe she could help him. Team missions were just around the corner, after all.
Team RSTT was suddenly given a new member when Yang brought over a package sent from her and Ruby's father. What popped out was not the normal care package of food and treats. No, it was a small corgi and an absurd amount of dog food.
Ruby had immediately screamed Zwei's name and pick him up so he could lick the bottom of her chin. Her partner, however, was more focused on the cylindrical package he came in, examining it from every angle. Yang didn't blame him. She didn't know how her dad did it either.
"Oh, Zwei I'm so happy to see you," Ruby baby-talked. "We're going to have so much fun."
"Why did your dad send him?" Sulfur asked Yang, having given up on the dimensional breaking package.
"He has to go off on a mission, so he needed someone to watch Zwei," Yang explained, happily watching Ruby, adorably, give Zwei a tummy rub.
"He does know that we'll be on our own missions soon, right? Besides does Beacon even allow pets?"
"They have to!" Ruby exclaimed. "They would be worse than grimm if they forced poor Zwei out. Just look how cute he is." She practically shoved him into Sulfurs face, but before Sulfur could comment on his cuteness, Zwei began to growl and even bark at him, swinging his little legs in an effort to break free from Ruby's grasp.
"Bad Zwei," Ruby gasped, pulling him back. "That's my partner. Don't be mean." Zwei stopped barking but continued to fix Sulfur with a low growl.
"Speaking of missions," Yang said, trying to alleviate Ruby's embarrassment, "what one did your team choose?"
"It's a search and destroy mission in quadrant five," Ruby said. "A really nice transfer student from Haven helped us pick it out. She said it would be a good mission for first years to take on."
"That's nice, we got stuck with a protection job guarding a convey of dust shipments. Real exciting stuff, but Blake was really insistent for some reason."
"I'm sure it will be fine."
"Only if you consider dying from boredom a good way to go. That being said I expect you to be careful out there. Don't do anything crazy."
"I'm not a child. I know what I'm doing." Ruby huffed.
"You got into a fight with an intruder last night when you were supposed to be enjoying the dance."
"For the record. General Ironwood told me that I made the right decision." Yang tilted her head showing just how much she cared for General Ironwood's opinion. "Okay, so maybe it was a little hasty, but that was different. This is just grimm hunting, something we've been doing since Signal. I know what to expect."
"In signal, we dealt with small packs under strict supervision. This is much bigger."
"We're still going to have a professional huntsman guiding us. It will be fine."
"Just promise me you'll be careful."
"I promise."
That was all Yang wanted. "Alright then, have fun on your mission, but if things get dangerous, make sure to run away and get help."
"I already said I would." Ruby shouted, "Geez, you really need to stop worrying about me. Nothing is going to go wrong, right Sulfur?"
Her partner shrugged. "I'm sure it will all work out."
And it certainly had although that was dependent on your perspective. Sulfur imagined that his team weren't as thrilled with these turns of events. Too bad for them.
Approaching that woman, who was clearly up to no good, had been a good idea. He would have to thank her for pushing them here. He wasn't exactly sure why'd she'd done it. Maybe it was because she knew that since a team was going to be assigned this mission regardless, it might as well be the inexperienced team RSTT. Maybe she thought he'd keep the team from interfering or maybe she expected him to die.
In the end, it didn't really matter what Cinder's motives were. Sulfur just knew that this was what life was meant to be: wind in his face, explosions and grimm in the distance, a speeding train below him and stakes that affected everyone in Vale.
But, backing up a bit, he'd known this mission was going to be deeper than it seemed the second they stepped on the bullhead. Dr. Oobleck had seemed surprised to see them, but just like with most things with that man, he quickly accepted their presence before moving on.
They arrived at Mt. Glenn, Oobleck giving them history lesson along the way, and killed some grimm. He tried to please Ruby by using his new weapon, but neither him or the weapon were the right fit for fighting grimm directly. Instead, he held off, offering support and shooting at grimm that got a little too close.
Then Oobleck found out that Ruby had brought the mutt along and gave her praise for her "genius" thinking for some reason. After that, they split up for a bit which he was happy for, but before he could explore the good doctor ambushed him and questioned him on why he became a huntsman.
Sulfur provided the same answer he gave Cinder just much more toned down. Oobleck was clearly dissatisfied and said something along the lines of "the duty of a huntsman shouldn't be taken on by someone with only a passing interest."
Sulfur couldn't agree more. Pursuits should be given 100% investment, anything less made you inconsequential trash, but the "huntsmen's duty" wasn't something he was striving for. It was just that all the necessary components for being a huntsman and his ideal were the same.
Later, when the sun was close to setting, they set up camp. Ruby offered to take first watch and no one challenged her for it. He only pretended to go to sleep, so he saw the moment Ruby left to follow her dog. Of course, he followed knowing that devils played in the darkness and not wanting to miss a single one.
Turns out the dog had only need to relieve itself, but it was okay since it led to the discovery of the White Fang's presence which led to Ruby following which eventually led to her falling after the road collapsed beneath her. Someone also must have cursed his partner or something because she lost her weapon in the process.
Sulfur went to go check the newly formed hole when the dog was thrown back out. Obviously, the dog immediately recognized his presence and returned to snarling at. "Sorry buddy, I tried my best to save her."
The dog wasn't buying it, as weird as that was to say, and looked absolutely murderous. Sulfur's hand dropped to his rugged revolver while Zwei bared his teeth ready to tear into his flesh.
Ruby's voice mixed in with someone's else stopped them. "See, she's still alive." A girly grunt and very fleshly sounding crack soon followed. "Maybe not for much longer though."
The dog was apparently reasonable enough to recognize that fighting here would be pointless and instead ran off likely to the wake the rest of the team and Dr. Oobleck. Sulfur for his part continued on and looked down the hole his partner fell down.
It was shocking to see an entire city below the surface and even more so to see the brief flashes of activity. The White Fang had certainly made a home down there, and poor Ruby had fallen straight in.
Sulfur backed away to a safe distance, his lips parted and eyes shining. Things were set to escalate at this rate, and conflict was all but assured, yet things could be better. Both sides would be given the chase to prepare and treat the situation with caution, but the best action happened in the spur of the moment. It was the difference between a controlled fire and a blazing explosion. Both were fun to look at, but one was clearly better. All it needed was a sudden spark.
Sulfur pointed the weapon his partner made for him in the air, upside down. The bottom popped open and a dust bomb was shot into the air. It was much more than a flare. When it exploded, it was better equated to a firework, and it alerted everyone: the White Fang, Dr. Oobleck, the back half of team RSTT, and; of course, the grimm.
He quickly made his way down into the underground just in time to witness the chaos taking place between the White Fang and the sudden invasion of grimm. Guns were fired, swords were swung, and faunus were torn to pieces. It was a gory mess.
Eventually, the remainder of the Beacon's search-and-destroy team joined the fray. They tried to be noble, focusing on the grimm and helping the White Fang where they could, but the kindness was not returned as the White Fang did their best to sabotage the grimm extermination effort by way of gunfire.
Sulfur would have loved to stay and watch, but there was a lot more he could be doing especially when he spotted a train that seemed oh so very important. He hopped on, ignoring the calls of his team looking for him a Ruby.
Unfortunately, the commotion outside didn't stop a White Fang member from notice the uninvited passenger. He was quick to pepper Sulfur with rife fire, who didn't have much choice but to take it all on his aura. He probably lost a majority of it before his foe ran out of ammo.
The masked assailant seemed to panic when Sulfur didn't go down after an entire clip and stumbled through the reload process. Sulfur took that time to pulled his cheaply manufactured pistol, that Ruby had once called a soulless weapon, and fired. The bullet only grazed the faunus, but the second and third hit center mass punching through his skin and muscles. The man collapsed but was still breathing, so Sulfur walked up and put a round in the back of his head.
It was a good thing the faunus didn't have aura, and was more likely than not just a barely trained civilian tired of being discriminated against, or things might not have ended in his favor. Beacon had made him better but not that much better. Even now he was hunched over gasping for air. None of the bullets had gotten passed his aura but he still felt the impact of each and every one. He'd be lucky if his entire chest and stomach weren't black and blue after that abuse.
While he was catching his breath, the train began to move, and the radio attached to the hip of the man he'd just killed sputtered to life. "I think they're on the—" Then it cut out.
Sulfur was glad his team had made it onboard, or at least some of them. It would be a detriment if they couldn't see the whole thing through. On the other hand, the show wasn't quite done. He still didn't what this train was supposed to do.
Well, clearly it was transporting something to Vale, but what exactly?
He needed to know if he had to tweak anything. Triggering the start so abruptly had been good, but it wouldn't matter if the ending wasn't satisfying. Maybe it would be fine if he didn't intervene, but he didn't what to risk the final act flatlining. Nothing was worse than a boring conclusion to a fascinating premise.
While he was contemplating his plan of attack, an explosion rocked the train car causing him to stumble into a wall. Just what the hell could that be about? Honestly, it was getting a little frustrating just how far the situation was getting from him, but things only got worse when he heard what sounded like shattering glass behind him.
There should have been no reason for it, but a chill crept down his spine and his blood ran cold. In the time it took one to blink, everything had changed. Sulfur imagined it must be similar to how a rabbit felt when it discovered it had been eyed by a hawk. He didn't like that feeling, so he crushed it, salvaging his slipping expression.
He pushed off the wall, his hand no longer shaking, and turned around with a nice lackadaisical smile. The predator was a small tri-colored. She would have been cute if it were any other situation.
"Can I help you?"
Faster than he could see the girl cartwheeled over him, swept his legs from under him, batted his head with her umbrella, pinned him to the ground, and held a sword that she had pulled from her umbrella to his throat.
Sulfur held up his hand his surrender. "Any chance I can convince you not to kill me?" He got his answer when her weapon broke through his aura and stabbed right through his shoulder.
Sulfur chuckled through the pain. "Okay, not one for conversations, but what if I tell you, Cinder was the one to send me. I'm actually here to make sure your plan succeeds; in fact, I'm desperate to make sure it's as affected as it can possibly be."
The girl tilted her head and harshly ripped the blade from his body before literally kicking off his stomach.
Sulfur groaned but got to his feet knowing that continuing to lie on the ground would just invite more abuse. "So, you and Cinder are allies?" He asked more just to say something than anything else.
The girl shook her head like he had just asked a particularly stupid question.
"Okay, acquaintances then?"
This time she shook her hand in a "sort of" gesture before going through many more hand motions that he didn't understand at all. She finished up by placing her hands on her hip like she expected an answer.
"Sure, I'll think about it," he provided vaguely, not about ready to admit his ignorance.
His answer seemed to be good enough, however, because the girl smiled, saluted him goodbye, and disappeared as quickly as she had appeared, like a ghost. If it wasn't for the hole in his shoulder, he might have really believed she was a ghost.
Sulfur spent the next few minutes trying to settle down from the encounter. He knew he should be moving, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. His heart was still beating like a battle drum even so long after her departure. That girl was a monster like none he had ever seen. He couldn't remember the last time he had been afraid of anything, but she had elicited it with her presence alone.
What an amazing person.
This was everything he had been looking for. A world that defies expectations. People that exist beyond convention. The perfect setting for an adventure.
Before he could lose himself in ecstasy, the door behind him open and in came Ruby and the rest of team RSTT. "Sulfur you're here!" his partner cried. "What happened to you?"
Sulfur was still holding his bloody shoulder since his little remain aura was doing a poor job of helping it. "I'll be okay," he tried reassuring. "More importantly do you know what's going on?"
Ruby did not look convinced but spilled what she knew anyways. "The train is strapped with bombs. They're trying to blow holes in the tunnel to lead grimm in the city. We're trying to get the front of the train to stop it."
"I see, then you three should go on ahead. I'll stay behind and see what I can do."
"We're not leaving you!" Ruby argued.
Sulfur placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. "Don't worry about me. I'll be safer back here then if I were to go with you. My aura has taken some serious damage, so I'd only be a hindrance in a fight." Ruby's eyes drifted to the dead man on the floor then back up to him. She didn't say anything. "I have a little bit of knowledge of explosives, so I'll see if I can deactivate the bomb, but it's going to be up to you to stop the train. I doubt we have that much time left."
Ruby looked back at the other two members of the team, who were clearly hesitant but nodded nonetheless. "Alright we'll do it," she said. "Just be careful. Oobleck is back there somewhere so ask him for help."
"I will," he lied along with his knowledge of explosives.
That was enough for Ruby as she sped off into the next car with the other two leaving him behind. He waited a few seconds to make sure they wouldn't come back for any reason. Once he heard the sounds of battle, he headed on his way, finding a hatch on the roof and climbing up.
There was nobody on top that he could see, but he did catch the back car detaching itself and exploding a few seconds later. The cavern shook and part of the ceiling collapse. Grimm tumbled in to join the already extensive horde.
Sulfur made his way to the second the last car and watched them. There were a lot of them alright and they looked pissed enough, but would something like this really be enough? Sure, it would be a surprise and people would die, but there was an Atlas fleet guarding the city and Vale had capable people of its own. It just didn't feel like something that was going to leave an impact.
A tragedy to be sure, but only one that was covered on the nightly news and then forgotten about the next day as people return to their normal lives only thinking how glad they are that nobody they knew was hurt. That wasn't right. A disaster should be felt by all. If only a portion of the population are directly affected then it really isn't a disaster.
Sulfur thought of a way he might rectify that problem when something bit his leg. Teeth tore open his pants and skin since he hadn't put up any aura. He tried kicking the creature off, but whatever had a hold of him had an iron jaw.
He was only able to finally make it let go after bashing his leg against the train top. What popped off wasn't a creature of grimm but Ruby's damn mutt. The ball of white and black fur growled at him with more ferocious than wild wolves.
Sulfur knew he wasn't in a state where he could outmaneuver a dog, so when it lunged for his neck, he let it have his arm instead. He did put up his aura, but with the measly amount he had left, Zwei broke right through. Teeth ground into flesh once again as the dog seemed intended on hitting bone.
Sulfur grabbed the mongrel by the scruff of his neck and pulled as hard as he could. He had to bite back a scream as the dog and a portion of his arm was ripped free. Blood soaked his jacket on both sides now, but the mutt was firmly in his grasp. His little legs ran and his head thrashed from side to side in an attempt to break free, but with no leverage to use there was no escape.
While Zwei tried to nip him, Sulfur looked to the front of the train where they were quickly approaching the tunnel's end. He wouldn't survive if the train crashed now, so something had to be done.
"Sorry boy, I can't play with you anymore, but don't worry I have some new playmates in mind. Try to get along." Sulfur tossed the dog off the train and into the pack of waiting grimm. The dog seemed almost confused as it flew through the air like it hadn't even thought it was a possibility for him to be thrown away. Did he think his cuteness was enough to protect him from death? If so that was pretty funny.
Zwei's existence came to an end with a painful yelp and a spray of blood, like a balloon bursting open. Sulfur didn't have time to appreciate his victory, however. He had maybe a minute before the train flew head first into Vale's tunnel seal.
"I sure hope this work," Sulfur said to himself as he pulled two dice from his pocket. One was black with glowing red dots and sported edges sharp enough to cut flesh. The other was gold plated with tranquil blue dots and felt warm to the touch.
"The nature of the world it to equal out. Just as one minus one is equal to zero, a calamity paired will a miracle will lead to nothing in the end. The only thing left to chance is the deviation."
He tossed the dice. The black die knocked into the gold die as if trying to push it off the train car, but the gold dice bounced off a rivet and returned. The black die stopped first and displayed a face of four.
Immediately after, the last bomb car detached and fell back. When it exploded, the force was easily five times greater than any that came before. This was not by design but was the result of usual factors suddenly coming into play. Also, not by design was the explosion happen just under Vale proper. A hole opened up under the border and portion of the wall collapsed leaving an opening for the grimm to enter from both below and above.
The gold die finished spinning only after that was done. It too displayed the number four.
The train sped into its destination, cracking the tunnel seal along with itself.
Alarms were sounding all throughout Vale as grimm poured in from two points. People were slaughtered in the streets as what must have seemed like an almost magical appearance of grimm. Atlas was struggling to stem the tide at both locations, and the huntsmen Vale had on hand were spread thin. The breach on in the wall was lager and more severe, but the hole in the center of the city gave the grimm a better chance to reach civilians. Since neither could be ignored, both were undermanned.
The three remaining members of team RSTT were confronting the grimm threat. They were covered in scratches and wounds, but not a single one had come from the train's collusion. Among team RSTT a girl in red fought more frantically than anyone else. She zipped around the battlefield like a bullet and cut down any grimm in her path.
Her speed wasn't enough, however. Grimm still slipped by and attack those who weren't as capable of defending themselves. At first, it was the White Fang members, who also survived the crash unscathed, but soon it was the civilians that either couldn't or didn't run away fast enough.
For Ruby Rose, a girl who always dreamed of being a hero and believed, wholeheartedly, in fairy tales, it was a nightmare like no other. It was understandable why. Her first mission as team leader had ended in abject failure. How bad did one have to screw up for a normal extermination mission to lead to grimm breaking into Vale? Yang would say that she wasn't to blame but that would be a lie. Ruby had been captured which lead to her having to be rescued putting everyone in peril. Her partner had gone missing only to turn up later seriously injured. One of her teammates—one of her friends was dead, cut down by a chainsaw-wielding maniac, while she had been sent to stop to the train, something she had completely failed to do. Now Vale was under siege and it was all her fault.
The only reasons she could stop the tears was because they would get in the way of killing grimm. Her leg and lungs burned as she ran faster than she ever had before. She cut down grimm ten at a time, but that didn't matter when they emerged twenty at a time.
A cry tore her attention backward where a young girl had tripped trying to run away. Her mom went to pull her up, but an ursa was already running towards them.
Ruby ran too.
The child tripped again as soon as she was pulled up having gone stiff from terror. The ursa stood on its hind legs, shadow overcasting the pair. The mom jumped in front of her daughter, arms held out as she faced the creature of darkness.
A silver blade cut through the ursa's neck in one motion, but it was too late. The bear grimm's claws had already torn open the poor woman's chest in four long, bloodied streaks.
The woman was dead before she hit the ground leaving only the sobbing child behind.
Ruby had failed again.
Another person taken by the grimm. Another daughter who would have to grow up without her mother. Another husband who would drink to forget. Another sister forced to forgo her childhood in order to step up.
The dam broke and so did a silver wave of light. All the grimm within sight were turned to stone, some rooted in place in front of the breach, slowing down those trying to get through.
Everyone in the surrounding area took notice, and among them was a man named Sulfur Insure who watched the silver-eyed warrior collapse with rapt fascination.
Jaune Arc was also among those who had witnessed the events, not the exact moment when Ruby had used her silver eyes, but he was one of the people who had fought against the grimm invasion.
He had been out shopping, looking to find the new issues of X-ray and Vav, when the breach had occurred. People had started to panic and make a run for it as the threat became clear, but Jaune told them to stop with calmness that surprised even himself. He told them to barricade themselves inside the store knowing that would give them a better chance of survival than frantic running.
Obviously, people were hesitant to follow the orders of some teenager, but they changed their attitude when he displayed his new trick. Holding out his arm he, shaped his finger into a tube and Crocea Mors shifted into existence. Showing off magic so blatantly probably wasn't the best, but it gave the people the image of authority they needed and they could explain it as a semblance if they had to.
Blade in hand, Jaune stepped outside the store while the customers throw up everything they could find as a barricade. He saw a child in his mother arms looking at him like he was a hero, and he felt it. Standing his ground and protecting the people had always been his fantasy. If Emerald was here, she'd no doubt poke fun at the childlike joy and his face, but she had been too good for X-ray and Vav.
The grimm came in manageable numbers, all the heavy fighting being done at the breach's entrance. He cut down any that came close. His cuts were crude and strenuous, nothing like the quick, clean proficiency of the huntsmen, but they got the job done.
It was right after stabbing a creep through the stomach that the silver light hit. The growls and hisses he had been hearing for a past couple minutes suddenly went quiet. The nearly grimm had turned to what looked to be stone. Prying his sword free from its sudden encasement, Jaune looked around to make sure nothing was going to endanger the people in the store then took off to investigate.
He passed many grimm statues and bloody bodies which only grew more numerous the closer he got to the plaza. When he arrived the grimm were still a threat, but the Atlas military had been able to regain control after the strange phenomenon. Most grimm were shot dead before they left the tunnel. A tunnel that had train wreckage coming out of it. A train that looked very similar to one he had seen back at Mt. Glenn.
All thoughts of discovering what had turned the grimm to stone were forgotten as he stumbled towards the tunnel's entrance. All his previous heroic grandeur fell away like a crumbling mountainside as it dawned on him.
Someone grabbed his shoulder and told him it was too dangerous to go any farther. Jaune would have ignored them, having to see for himself, but the proof presented itself in a different way.
Back and out of the way of the destruction Jaune spotted a small girl. She might have been mistaken for a child, but Jaune knew better. As if sensing his look, Neo turned to face him. He tried to convey his anger, but she just winked at him before vanishing on the spot.
His face drained of color.
This was his fault.
The next thing he knew he was throwing up in a side street trash can. It felt like liquid mashed potatoes coming up and tasted like spoiled milk and Styrofoam. The dry heaving came next which actually felt worse.
Good or bad this is my job, what a lie that had been. What had even been the point of removing the echoes? Nobody had been saved by doing that, but there was certainly a number of people dead because of it.
Jaune reared up and punch a wall. It didn't make him feel any better. Emerald was right, and now he was paying the price for being wrong.
Anger welled up inside of him, more than he'd ever felt before. He ripped his scroll from his pocket and dialed the number of the only person that would have answers for him. Surprisingly the call went through. "ROMAN, YOU LIED TO ME!"
The calm unconcerned reply only infuriated Jaune more. "I don't recall ever lying to you."
"Mt. Glenn! You said you were going there for "excavation" and that I wouldn't be helping to commit a crime."
"And you didn't. Removing the echoes wasn't directly related to any of this. It was just for my peace of mind."
"Roman, you bast—"
"Just shut up, kid! Don't act like you're a victim. You understood what was happening the moment I called you. You knew I wasn't sending you to Mt. Glenn for charity work. You knew people were going to get hurt, so don't go blaming me for everything."
"I didn't know it was going to be like this." Tears rolled down Jaune's cheeks. "I didn't know people were going to die."
"Well, ignorance is a bitch to all of us. Consequence come back to bite you in the ass all the time. You think I wanted this? Bringing grimm to the city I live in and be carted off to General Hardwood's airship as a monstrous terrorist." Jaune almost asked how they were having this conversation if he was in Atlas' custody but clicked his mouth shut, still having enough senses to not waste a question on something like that. "Of course, I didn't, but you have to play along in this world and do things you'd prefer not to. You have to weigh the odds and make the choice that's best for you. Whatever comes after that you just have to live with."
Jaune didn't know if he could. He wanted to crush his phone and throw it on the ground as hard as he could. He wanted to Roman to get on his knees and apologize for everything. He wanted to go back in time and beat himself over the head for agreeing to go to Mt. Glenn, but he wasn't going to get any of those things. "Alright," he told Roman.
"I'm glad you see it my way."
Jaune didn't but he wasn't going to argue.
"Now, what's your question?"
"What?"
"Your question. You called so I'll answer any question to have to the best of my ability."
"That wasn't what this was about."
"That's too bad. Our deal was that you got three calls to ask any question. If you really want to use a call without asking anything that's fine with me, but my advice is you should think of something."
Jaune growled. As satisfying as it would have been to hang up on Roman, it would be a huge waste, something Roman knew. Jaune might have not had a question lined up to ask, but it didn't take long for him to think of one.
"What happened to the grimm?"
Kid, you really hit the mother lode on that one. Explaining that requires some information on a dozen other topics that could have been their own questions. I'm unsure if I should be proud or irritated but a deal's a deal.
Let's start with the gods. I know that might seem out of nowhere, but trust me, it will all be relevant. First thing you need to know is how magic works in relation to gods. For every other being in the universe that uses magic internally, it's a depleting resource bound to run out. Gods, on the other hand, are able to produce magical power themselves as long as they exist, it's what makes them gods. This creates a system where they are more powerful the less they actually use their power.
Which brings us to the brothers, the God of Light and the God of Darkness. Their story isn't that much a secret so I'll be brief. Basically, they fought over Remnant like it was their playpen each using their magic to make toys to destroy the other's. This went on for who knows how long. Now the worshippers would have you believe that the God of Light proposed a deal to put a stop to it, but the God of Light isn't nearly that bright. Instead, it was the oldest of the three brothers, the one that no one talks about, who put a stop to it.
Now there's a reason why no one knows about the eldest brother because while the other two were flinging around their power like it was going out of style, the eldest didn't much care and sat on his magic. Of course, this made him far more power than either of his siblings, even combined.
But like every older sibling, he grew tired of his brothers' endless bricking, so he created something of his own. The eldest wasn't just the most powerful of the three; however, he was the smartness. He didn't create a thing but instead created a law that the whole universe had to follow. He created death.
You have to understand death and destruction are not the same, not even close. When the God of Darkness destroyed one of the God of Light's creations, or the other way around, it wasn't gone. It was just in a different form than it had been before like kicking over a sand castle, the castle is gone but the sand it still there. The gods could still use the building blocks left behind, create some more, and make an even more powerful creation.
I'm sure you can see this would have gotten completely out of hand eventually which is probably why the eldest stepped in. He made it so when beings were gone they were gone forever. You could create something that looked identical and put it through the same thing you did before, but it would never be the same. There is no force in this universe magic or otherwise that can bring the dead back to life.
I imagine the younger brothers threw a trauma. It was now risky business pitting their toys against each other because now even the weakest ants could kill the strongest goliaths if they got lucky and cost the gods possibly centuries of magic power, but they couldn't go against the eldest, after all, the law of death applied to everything, gods included.
Anyways a bunch of time passed, the younger siblings struck a deal, humans were created, civilizations rose and fell and so on. It wasn't until a desperate maiden came asking for a resurrection did things change. For you see while death is irreversible once it happens there are tricks that can be used to evade it. For instance, keeping a human's soul in a separate place after the body gives out, agreed upon by the younger siblings never to touch. It was God of Darkness that broke the agreement and revealed the trick.
The God of Death was not pleased with the circumvention of his decree and put an end to that loophole. To further spite his brothers, he meddled in the destruction of the creations that rebelled against them, protecting some from harm. Although I like to think he had just grown fond of us.
Sometime later, however, the God of Light broke the law of death using a different trick, even using the same soul as before. Once again, the God of Death closed the loophole although, strangely, he did not destroy the one that had befitted from it. However, having his law cast aside for the second time caused him to realize that as long as there were laws there would always be beings trying to break them.
It was impossible to know every possible trick that might be used. It's magic's nature to cause irregularities in the world, so he created something to combat and manage it, and he bestowed that power onto certain members of the humanity he saved.
At first, some thought the power was a gift from the God of Light to protect creation, but the silver light he had used was nothing but a poor imitation of his older brother's power.
Silver-eyed warriors were granted the ability to erase magic wherever they see it.
They are the God of Death's watchful eyes.
An: Sorry to all of those who were hoping to see a vacation chapter with Emerald and Jaune, but that was always intended to be more of a justification for them not to go on any adventures in the one or two months between their journey to Mt. Glenn and this chapter. Never fear though, I promise that Jaune and Emerald will have their moments, and that things did happen off screen. You'll just have to wait a little longer.
In other news, to no one's surprise Sulfur is a bad guy. When I planned this story out I was very hesitant to put an OC in such a prominent role. Many people (myself included) are turned off immediately when they see an OC tag or a story heavily based around them. That's not to say there aren't good, even great, stories with an OC main character, but it's my belief that people come to fanfiction (RWBY especially) to read about the characters they know. Even if the OC is well written and flows naturally into the story, most readers just don't want to see some random person taking up all the spotlight.
So, with all that said, why did I make Sulfur, dedicate nearly an entire chapter to him, and even give him POV? The first reason is that there wasn't any other RWBY character that really fit into what I wanted this character to be in the story. I heavily considered Mercury or Whitley at one point, but as the planning went on, I found other roles for those characters that fit them better.
I guess I could have used Cardin or Sky or even Sun, or one of those characters thrown in during the Vytal like Nadir, but I didn't want to destroy anyone's personality just so I could have them fill the role I needed. In that case, it would've still been a OC. I just would have been trying to hide it with a name and appearance that happened to be canon in the show.
Now, that being said, would anyone have really cared if I diluted the character of Nadir (sorry all you Nadir fans) for all we know he really could be a monstrous dog killer, but that gets me into the other reason Sulfur exists.
Fanfiction is unique in that most of the readership already knows how the story is supposed to go down. Everyone already knew that the breach was going to happen and that Ruby had special eye powers, but in a story about hidden worlds and out of place powers, it makes since to have a villain who is literally out of place. He doesn't belong to the RWBY world and you, as the readers, feel it. His backstory and motives are hidden in a way that other characters just can't be.
Anyways that's my long-winded speech justifying Sulfur Insure. Maybe it was unnecessary for many of you, but I feel like I owed it to you. My goal is to create an enjoyable story, and it's the readers that keep it going. If no one wanted to read this story then I wouldn't have wanted to continue writing it. It's why I read every review and take every suggestion to heart, as long as the person knows what they're talking about. If a lot of readers don't like something, I will do my best to fix it later on (it happened with the fourth wall breaks back in the early chapters), so don't be afraid to voice your opinions positive or negative, and thank you all very much for reading, it really means a lot.
…
…
That being said if there's overwhelming hate for Sulfur than I don't know what I'm going to do. He's pretty solidified at this point.