Okay, as for the upload schedule... its probably gonna be closer to one chapter per week than I originally thought. That's okay, just a little disappointing on my end. Oh well.
Buuut because of labor day, I got this chapter out while still getting everything else done. Anyways, on with the show!
Edited for clarity and/or minor fixes 3/27/19.
Chapter Five – The Dance of Red and Silver
/-\ Ruby Rose; Vale /-\
"I still don't see why you think we need secondary weapons, Ruby." My partner stated as we walked the streets of Vale. Now that it was daylight, I could finally assess the architecture of the city proper. Its layout looked to be an amalgam of different styles, with older sections being host to narrow streets that were shared by both pedestrians and motorists alike, the hallmark of a historic European city. Newer sections were built much like 21st century American cities with wide streets and narrow sidewalks, promoting separation between people and cars. The actual architecture was also an amalgam, and I was able to identify every type of building from the medieval plaster and timber houses of the Holy Roman Empire all the way up to towering, glass-lined skyscrapers commonly seen in the classical United States.
"Heh, says the girl that got disarmed in class." I joked.
She looked away in embarrassment. "That was… a miscalculation..." My partner said as we walked into a local weapons shop.
"Welcome! How can I help you fine young ladies?" The shopkeeper asked. I slid him a rather crude drawing of an MA5B that I made, rough dimensions included, with specifications written on the back. "Hmm… I see… Well, this is certainly an interesting design. We don't get many requests for bullpups, and I do believe that you are first to request an ammunition counter be installed… Not to fear, though, I can have it ready by the end of the week."
"Perfect," I said, grinning. "I'd also like an additional three copies made, though without the… special features."
He nodded. "Ah, would you still like the ammo counter on the copies?"
I turned to my team. "Well, what do you guys think? They'll be your sidearms, after all."
They all shared a look between themselves. "Uhh, sis… I don't know about you buuuut… we're not really fond of assault rifles."
I waved her off. "Nah, I'm sure you'll come around! At close range, you can unload 15 rounds a second into an enemy. If you're at mid-range, the 7.62x51mm FMJ rounds are more than enough to put down smaller Grimm using short, controlled bursts. Plus, its got a built-in flashlight."
Weiss was the next one to voice her concerns. "Don't people usually carry something… smaller as a sidearm?"
"Usually, yes. But, me being me, I like to have something I can really rely on as a backup." They all looked unconvinced. "I said I was paying for your sidearms, so what's the hang-up?"
"Huntsmen usually make their own weapons," Blake explained. "its to learn their intricacies and their oddities. But we often form bonds with them that are very difficult to sever. I think I speak for everyone when I say that having a 'sidearm' be just as effective at doing its job as our main weapon kinda feels like… betrayal…" The other two nodded in agreement.
"I may not have made Myrtenaster myself, but I have had her for years and she has seen every second of my training."
"And I… uhh… actually used some help from the weapon magazines you used to read to build Ember Celica."
"My parents helped me build Gambol Shroud. With my mom assisting me with making the ribbon and my dad helping me at the forge."
I blinked. "I… uhh… didn't consider that…" I stood there silently while thinking of a solution. "Well, if you guys like building your own weapons, why don't we do that?" Blake raised her eyebrow. "And besides, they're sidearms, as in, only use them when you need to. Like, out of ammo or disarmed. All I want is for you guys to be proficient in their use, you don't have to fully substitute your main weapon for them."
A tense silence reigned for several minutes while they thought it over. Eventually, Weiss sighed. "I… suppose you make some logical points." She thrust her finger up to my face. "Though I'll not have some common blacksmith make me a weapon!" She said, earning a scowl from the shopkeeper. "It's time I made my own equipment."
I nodded and turned to the rest of my team.
Blake's shoulders slumped, and she muttered something under her breath. "I… agree with Weiss." She said, the strain obvious in her voice. It looked as if I was the only one that noticed, though.
We all turned to my sister, who had yet to voice her decision. "I've uhh... always wanted to help you build your own weapon, I guess this is the next best thing." She said, giving me a slight, but genuine grin.
I nodded and turned back to the shopkeeper. "Well, I guess its settled. We won't be needing the three copies, though I'd still like my weapon as I originally described it."
He nodded and pressed a few buttons on his cash register. "Alright, ma'am, I'll need to see some ID before I can sell you this weapon, though." I flashed him my Beacon ID and he smiled. "Alright, everything seems to be in order, that'll be… 1,879 Lien." I nodded and paid him in full. Ozpin had given me a lump sum of around three-thousand Lien to get me started, though he expected it to be re-paid when I was able. "Pleasure doin' business with you, ma'am, your order will be ready by this coming Friday."
I nodded and lead the team out of the store. "Geez sis, what'd ya put in that thing?"
"I'm guessing that was expensive for a weapon?" She nodded. "Hehe… you'll see…" I said, a grin plastered on my face. I started leading my team towards the clothing store when I heard Blake's stomach rumble. She reflexively grabbed it and her face reddened in embarrassment. "Hungry?" I asked, receiving a hesitant nod. "Alright, well… I'm just fine, how's everyone else?"
"I could go for a burger." My sister answered.
Weiss rolled her eyes shortly before her stomach growled too. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. "I suppose I may be a bit peckish..."
With that, I lead the way to a reasonably rated café nearby. We placed our orders before a question suddenly popped into my head. "Oh, by the way, are Beacon students allowed to take on missions in their free time?"
"It depends." My partner answered. "Before our first official mission during the second semester, we are only allowed to take on tier zero missions, and only as a full team. Depending on our grade during the official mission, students are usually allowed to take up to tier two missions as a full team, though exceptions have been made."
A smirk grew on my face. "Well team RWBY," I started, throwing one of my arms around an empty chair next to me. "how do ya guys feel about goin' on a mission next weekend?"
Blake crossed her arms. "Tier zero missions are generally just patrols to supplement a local police force, maybe along the city wall if you're lucky."
"Damn." I responded. "That changes things…" A few seconds passed before a smirk showed itself on my face. "Well… how's about an 'unofficial' mission, then?" I said, throwing up some air quotes.
They all shared another look. "W- What'd you have in mind?"
"Well, dear sister, I may or may not have discovered some less than moral people doing some less than noble things both within and without the city of Vale." I giggled. "I think its about time we 'liberated' some of their… less-than-legally-obtained possessions."
Blake and Yang looked unsure whereas my partner merely raised an eyebrow. "And why would I want to join you? I'll have you know that I come from a very wealthy family."
I smiled. "Well, aside from the fact that some of said possessions include some Schnee Company munitions-grade dust… It's a fact that you can never have too much combat experience to draw upon."
Weiss perked up at the thought of 'liberating' what in her mind belonged to her, though she politely waited until I was finished to voice her opinion. She virtually shot out of her seat. "Well, I for one, believe that it is our solemn duty as huntresses-in-training to apprehend these scoundrels and bring them to justice."
I smirked, knowing that my partner would now do anything to make sure that the mission went on as planned. There were far worse criminals in Vale to deal with, and we would get to them, in time, but first I needed to make sure my team was up to the task. I was put in charge of these three girl's well-being, and I'll do my best to make sure they can survive anything; be it Covenant, Grimm, bandit, or whatever else Remnant has to offer.
I was brought out of my thoughts by a pink and silver blur rushing past our table before turning back and stopping. "Oh-hey-that's-the-Beacon-uniform!Do-you-go-there?I-go-there-too!what-year-are-you-let's hang out and… do… …stuff…" She said, her eyes gradually growing more tired before she collapsed onto the floor.
Seconds later, a dark-haired man in a green stylized coat and white pants approached. "I apologize on behalf of my partner," He said with a slight bow. "She gets that way when she is given caffeinated beverages." He produced a low-powered tazer and shocked the unconscious girl.
She shot up. "Pancakes!" She shouted before looking around. "Oh, heeeeeyyyyy Reeeeennnnn." She said with a smile. I finally got a good look at the girl and noted her… odd apparel. She wore a white sleeveless t-shirt with a heart-shaped hole just above the chest. Over said tee, she wore some kind of weird semi-armored corset paired with a pink skirt. On her arms rested a pair of white detached sleeves and she also donned a pair of pink fingerless gloves.
"Hello, Nora." He turned to face us. "I don't believe we have been introduced. Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie of team JNPR."
I nodded. "Ruby Rose, leader of team RWBY."
"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."
"Blake."
"And I guess I'm Yang, Ruby's older/younger sister." Everyone besides me eyed her curiously, but she waved them off. "It's uhh... kind of a long story…"
Just then, two more people, a man and a woman, approached. I immediately recognized the semi-armored blonde as the one I nicknamed 'Vomit Boy' and I thought I recognized the redheaded girl, though I couldn't place a name to her face.
She wore a bronze colored armored corset with a matching gorget and armored high-heeled boots. 'Seriously, what is it with Remnant and heels?' I idly thought while examining the rest of her outfit. She also wore a blood-red sash that hung to about calf height from her dark red miniskirt. To round it all off, she wore a bronze crown and bicep-length dark red gloves.
The blonde looked like he was slightly exhausted from running here. "Nora… only decaf from now on…"
"I'm sorry!"
He facepalmed. "Pyrrha, you don't need to apologize for anything, I gave her coffee…"
"Oh, sorr err-." She scanned the area, obviously looking for any distraction. Her eyes settled on us. "Oh, hello! I'm Pyrrha Nikos, of team JNPR."
Vomit Boy looked towards us. "Oh! Uhh, hey… Jaune Arc." We all introduced ourselves in the same order that we did previously. "So uhh, mind if we join you guys? Y'know, get to know our new classmates and all?"
I shrugged. "Fine with me, how 'bout you guys?"
"Sure."/"Uhh, yeah, go ahead."/"I see no problem with this development." Were my teammates' responses.
I smirked. "Well, guess that settles it. Grab a seat, guys."
"Well, I think they're nice." My sister said as we re-entered our dorm room.
Blake hummed in agreement. "I wonder how we never noticed them. They live right across from us, after all."
I shrugged. "I dunno, bad luck?"
-thunk-
We all whipped around to see a red-eyed crow creepily staring at me as it slid down our dorm room window. "Well… that was a thing…" My sister said.
"Uhh… yeah…" I trailed off. "Anyways, sidearms! Let's get 'em sorted!"
"Ugh, this again?" My partner pinched her nose.
"Well… I realized that giving everyone an MA5B probably isn't the best idea… so I wanted to know what kinda rifle would suit everyone."
I quickly started drawing diagrams of various UNSC firearms, namely the MA5B, BR55, and M392, listing their advantages and disadvantages. Before I could finish, Blake raised a concern of hers. "Why does it need to be a rifle?"
"Well," I started, not looking away from my drawings. "our team is sorely lacking in ranged capabilities at the moment. I had a sniper, but its incompatible with dust-based ammunition aaand I used up all the 14.5mm ammo that I brought with me." I paused for a moment. "Right now, Yang has the best ranged capabilities, and she uses single shot, slow moving projectiles that could be easily dodged."
"I think you're forgetting about me," my partner started. "Myrtenaster has a theoretically unlimited range."
"Heh, yeah… but it can be just as easily dodged as Ember Celica. Also, your fancy rapier eats through dust like a friggin' vacuum cleaner." She deflated a little at my comment, but I had just finished my drawings and quickly presented them to everyone. "Obviously, we can modify these designs since we're making them, but they serve as good base weapons to start with."
They thought everything over for a minute before Weiss spoke up first. "I don't have very much experience with guns, though Myrtenaster is already an excellent close-range weapon. Perhaps the BR55 would be a good choice for me."
"I grew up outside the kingdoms and, for a time, I was the designated hunter for my… group. A high precision rifle would be best for me." Blake stated.
"Well…" Yang sighed. "guess I'm takin' the assault rifle."
"You don't have to choose that one if it doesn't suit you, sis."
"Oh, I thought we could only have one of each on the team. The Battle Rifle would probably be good for me."
I shot her a smile. "Good, now let's talk modi-" There was a knock on the door. And we all looked at each other.
My sister shrugged and moved to the door, since she was the closest. It opened with a click, though I couldn't see who was on the other side due to the angle. "U- Uncle Qrow?" She asked in a questioning tone. "What're you doing here?"
"Hey, Firecracker." A gruff voice responded. "How'd your first week at Beacon go?"
She involuntarily glanced over to me. "…Not what I expected, that's for sure." She paused. "But in a good way." I saw a genuine smile cross her face. "A very good way."
"That's great, kiddo." He gave out a single laugh. "I don't think I've seen you smile like that in years, and your eyes are even back to normal, too." He said, commenting on how her eyes were now a deep shade of lilac instead of the almost navy blue that they were when I first met her. "I'd tease you about finally getting a boyfriend, but I think we both know why you're smiling." He paused for a moment. "Can I come in? I'd like to see my nieces." He said, his tone slightly more somber.
Catching his hidden meaning, I spoke up. "Hey, Weiss, Blake, why don't cha go to the library or something."
They nodded and filed out the door, with Yang standing aside to let my uncle through. A red-eyed, dark haired man strode into the room. He wore an off-white button-up dress shirt with a wide, grey stripe down the middle. The collar, pockets, and the inside of the sleeves, which were rolled up to his forearms, were black, matching his dress pants, shoes, and watch. He had a a necklace adorning a cockeyed silver cross and, lastly, a tattered red cape sat upon his shoulders. His eyes widened. "Whoa." The door clicked behind him. "I did not expect you to be tall."
I gave him a smirk. "Heh, the first thing you say to your niece that cha haven't seen in ten years is about her height?" I said, jokingly.
He returned my smirk. "Well, your mom's nickname was shortstack for a reason." We shared a quick laugh before we hesitantly embraced each other. "It's good to see ya again, kiddo."
"Heh, good to see you too, Birdman." We broke the embrace and he looked at me questioningly for a second before shrugging. "Hey, just curious… you obviously knew I was here, how'd ya find out?"
"Funny story actually, I was just getting back from a mission from Oz and I asked about Yang. Standard stuff really, 'Is she causing trouble?' 'How're her grades?' kinda stuff. Imagine my surprise when he says my nieces, as in both, ended up not only on the same team, but also in my old dorm room."
"Wait, you went here too?" I asked.
"Yeah. Me, your dad, and Yang's mom were all on a team. Funnily enough, your mom was the leader, Ruby." He ruffled my hair. I winced at first, but after a split second, decided that it was nice, and I gave him a smile. "Like mother like daughter, I guess."
"Yeah…" I said, averting my eyes. "What was she like?"
"Summer?" I nodded, and he sighed. "She… well, she was the most kind-hearted person I've ever known. She always managed to find the best in people and constantly stood up for those who couldn't do it themselves… Got us in more than one sticky situation if you ask me, but she always managed to get us out again." He paused for a moment while looking away. "Listen, kiddo, if you're anything like her, you'll be a great leader."
I gave him a genuine smile. "Thanks."
"No problem, now…" He started as he crashed on one of the beds. "how'd initiation go?"
"Heh, well as far as Omega Three's go, I'd say it went pretty well."
"Pretty well?!" Yang shouted. "You went missing at the end and I thought you were dead! Again!"
"Sis, really, it wasn't that ba-"
"Wasn't that bad?! You came back with bloodstains on your clothes and said you did field surgery on yourself! In Grimm territory!" At this point, I noticed her eyes were blood red. "And that's after you randomly collapsed in the middle of a field!"
Qrow's eyes widened. "Whoa whoa whoa… what?"
I sighed before I had an idea. "Alright, if you guys really won't believe me, I'll just show you what happened." I said as I moved over to my helmet. "My armor records everything that I do while wearing it." I quickly explained while I extracted the recording chip. "Now, is there somewhere private where we can watch this? It gets pretty gory with the Giant Nevermore and Ancient Deathstalker…"
I watched in amusement as both my uncle and sister finished watching the video. Qrow reached into his shirt and pulled out a flask while Yang just stared at me. My uncle finished drinking and stowed his flask. "Ruby… I've only known you're alive for, what, an hour? And you're already makin' me drink." We shared a laugh, but my sister still looked stern.
I barely noticed when she walked over to me, that is until she slapped me. Just as I was about to ask 'what the fuck?' she hugged me. "Don't ever do that again. Got it?"
"Heh, no promises, sis." She glared at me. "But I can promise that I'll come back home, alright?"
Her gaze softened as she sighed. "…Alright."
My uncle cleared his throat and we both turned our attention to him. "Now that you two are done with your sisterly moment…" He cracked his knuckles and smirked. "I wanna see just how good my niece really is in a fight."
I returned his smirk. "Oh, you're on, Birdman."
I stood in the courtyard, opposite my opponent. We fought at this location for two reasons: it would allow my classmates to see what an actual huntsman fight would look like… and all the training arenas were booked for the next three hours… Instead of fighting in my Beacon uniform, I elected to try out my new combat outfit, for use during sparring matches and the like. It was fairly plain compared to my classmates', but it certainly got the job done. I wore an olive-green pair of cargo pants with a matching tank top adorning the letters 'UNSC' in a black font. On my feet were a pair of tan combat boots and a matching pair of fingerless gloves adorned my hands. The black leather belt I wore provided me with a place to hang both Lisette's and Kat's dog tags as well as mom's silver rose. Both sides of my waist adorned a black leather knife sheath, each holding one of my preferred weapons for close quarters combat. All of this was worn on top of my, now signature, black bodyglove.
My sister stood off to the side, monitoring each of our auras, as I drew my knives. "Ya ready, Birdman?"
He crossed his arms and allowed a smirk to climb its way onto his face. "Whenever you are, Tinman."
I gave a slight chuckle at his comment. "If I was wearing my armor, that'd be pretty good." I said as I started to circle him, though he didn't move a muscle. I raised an eyebrow and he mirrored me. I started walking towards him and he still remained perfectly stationary, aside from his head following my movements, that is.
As I got to within three meters of him, I sheathed my knives, eliciting an amused smile from him. I closed the distance, still at walking speed, and threw a wild, half-hearted punch at him. As expected, he dodged, though didn't retaliate. I threw another one, same lack of power, and same recklessness. He dodged again, though I used the follow-through to spin myself around and throw a probing kick at him. Once again, he dodged, though the margin was much smaller than before.
He smirked as my most recent punch sailed right past his head, I quickly reciprocated his gesture. Before he could figure out why, I had already grabbed his hair with the hand that missed my previous strike and threw him into a knee strike. Still holding on with my left hand, I dove over his back, grabbing his shirt with my right hand in the process and throwing him onto the ground.
He recovered with a roll and stood up, spitting onto the ground afterwards. "I like your style." He said with a smirk.
"Heh, think we're done with the formalities?"
"Took the words right outta my mouth, kiddo." He said, drawing his sword.
I responded by reequipping my knives and charging before he had a chance to react. My first blade barely grazed his aura while my second swatted away a hasty counterstrike. He responded by sweeping my legs, though I just barely avoided it. By this time, I had brought my right knife around and aimed to plunge it into his gut. He lept backwards, though not before my blade pinged off his aura.
He tilted his head to the side slightly and the blade of his weapon lowered… …only to reveal a gun barrel. I dodged the resulting blast and swapped one of my knives for my pistol. We exchanged bursts for a couple seconds before his blade reformed and he swung it about in a circle to block my shots. I charged in after him in a flurry of rose petals, catching him off guard momentarily. I managed to get a shot off on his torso before he brought his blade around and swung for me.
I was ever so slightly too slow, and the blade pinged off the aura protecting my shoulder. He brought his blade back around, though I was able to arch my back and duck out of the way. I translated the motion into a kick to his jaw and he stumbled back. I pressed my magnum into his stomach and let off three shots before I was forced to retreat by his blade.
Knowing I was low on ammo, I quickly swapped my gun for the other blade and brought it up just in time to deflect my uncle's blow. I spun around and kicked him in the midsection, though he responded in turn and we both disengaged.
We circled each other again, both wearing smirks. He pressed a lever on his weapon and the blade started to shift. Each section separated and the blade itself warped to one side before producing a red edge. The handle elongated to several times its original size. What was once a greatsword had become a giant scythe.
His smirk grew to a full smile, one which I returned. "Heh, bringin' out the big guns, eh? Too bad I left my energy sword stuck in an Elite." I said as I sheathed my knives, knowing they would be completely and utterly useless against a scythe.
We both charged, and I easily sidestepped his first swing… …only for his scythe to rake itself across my back with a follow-up. I recoiled slightly and just barely had enough time to duck under yet another swing. His strikes came much faster than they did before, and I was barely able to dodge most of his swings; with some even pinging off my aura.
Finally, I got into a position to grapple him. I grabbed his left arm and threw it over his shoulder, knocking him off balance. He recovered and gave me a firm punch with his right hand. I dodged and responded with a series of knees and kicks, seeing as my hands were occupied. He sent me away with a headbutt, though it didn't stun me for long.
I charged in, hoping to end this fight with a disarm… …and proceeded to trip over a stone that sank under my weight. I was thrown off balance for just long enough for my uncle to kick me onto my back. When I tried to get back up, I found my his greatsword at my throat.
A smirk crossed my face. "Heh, I yield."
He stowed his weapon and offered me a hand. "Good match, kiddo."
"Heh, yeah, you too." I looked over at my sister. "How'd our auras hold up?"
"Qrow's ended at 23% with yours at 38%" My sister said.
At this point I noticed that we had attracted quite the crowd of spectators… including several Beacon professors… one of which was a very angry Goodwitch. "Break it up everyone!" She commanded, and many obeyed. She strode over to us, practically vibrating in anger. "Just what do you think you're doing, Miss Rose?"
"Heh, a girl can't spend some quality time with her uncle on a weekend?" I said with a knowing smirk. She responded with a death glare, one which was promptly ignored. "Plus, it wasn't my idea to fight in the courtyard…" I walked up to her, feigning a dejected mood. "Just between you and me, I think he's a bad influence."
We both looked over to my uncle, who was drinking again. "Glynda." We heard from behind us. "Let it go." We turned around to see Professor Ozpin standing there. "Come, we have other things to attend to."
Glynda hesitantly nodded and followed the Headmaster away from us and I turned back to my uncle, who was standing directly behind me. "Ya did good, Ruby. I actually thought you had me there."
"Heh, yea. I would've won if it weren't for that stupid brick." We shared a laugh. "By the way, I'm kinda thinkin' of getting into swords, mind showing me a few tricks?"
He ruffled my hair. "Sure, kiddo. Though I won't be around all that much."
I waved him off. "That's fine, I'm kinda busy too."
"Why the sudden interest, though?"
"Hmm? Oh, well… my knives really aren't suited for fighting huntsmen… or most Grimm for that matter."
He raised an eyebrow. "Why are you concerned with fighting huntsmen? I mean, sure there's the tournament next year, but other than that you won't be fighting humans."
I gave him a sad smile. "Not everyone thinks that way." I shook my head. "Anyways, let's go grab some food. That way I can introduce you to the rest of the team."
(A/N) An entirely Ruby-centric chapter? Weird...
With the whole 'giving them all MA5Bs', that was actually my original, and lazy, idea. When I dismissed it, i decided to keep it in to show that Ruby can and does make judgmental errors, though she does her best to correct them when she realizes it. Also, they did stop at the clothing store, just nothing interesting happened so I decided not to write it.
Qrow's introduction originally started as a gag in my head, but I think I made it work reasonably well. Just like "Someone mentioned bad luck? Oh, Qrow must be around somewhere." Speaking of him, about the fight... yea, Ruby would have won that if something unfortunate didn't happen. Also, knives are genuinely shit against literally anything other than an unarmed fighter... I speak from experience (I used to be an SCA fighter).
Also, in case anyone was confused by the title, it was a reference to Qrow and Ruby's eye colors, respectively... No Mercury vs. Ruby just yet.
Anyways, on to the reviews!
Mecharic - I actually never considered that. Yea, knowing him as 'A betting man who knows that some bets are not worth taking', he might actually flip sides. And where he goes, Neo goes, too... Hmm, noted.
seraphimnight - Thanks! And i was going to have Ruby explain what every part of her armor does in-story, but its not a spoiler, obviously, so I'll just say what she wears. So far its been stated that she wears a Recon helmet, I'm not sure if i mentioned her silver visor or HUL module, but those are also present. Its been implied that she wears the tactical recon chest from Halo: Reach (All of her armor is from there). Her shoulders are both Recon, on one leg she wears a medkit and on the other is a tactical soft case. She has the FJ/Para knees. On right wrist sits a tacpad whereas her left has a modified version of the assault/breacher, where instead of shotgun shells, it holds 60 round MA5B magazines (She really likes that gun). Her color scheme kinda breaks from the way Reach handles its versions, with the whole thing being red and a black stripe running down the back of both her arms and legs with her back being solid black.
Guest 1 - Pretty much... I'ma just chalk it up to Remnant being weird and/or incompetent. As for the aura situation, I'm kinda ripping off Unicorn of War's idea and saying that most people don't have enough aura to matter in a fight, and thus, many don't even unlock theirs... which explains why one of the goons in ch1 had three bullet holes in his head from a pistol that couldn't reliably do the same to a beowolf.
Guest 2 - Nope, Crescent Rose will be in this universe (at some point, probably a sequel or something) but Ruby will not be its(her?) creator(mother?). As for Tai and Qrow... you got half your answer, lol. Tai, meanwhile, is on Patch watering his flowers and bird watching. At first he'll be like "Fusion? What's that?" (In my headcannon, Remnant has done nothing with nuclear science and doesn't even know about the atom.) but yea, he'll flip when he finds out just how much power its capable of generating.
evevee - Yea, again, no nukes = flood going rampant... and i don't even know if i can even make Ruby OP enough to deal with an entire flood infested planet by herself without blowing it up... however the hell she'd manage that when no star ships are around... Well, i could, buuut then whats stopping her from marching right up to Salem and flicking her in the forehead, causing a 15 megaton explosion?
kjr250 honda - Thanks for the offer, but no. I know now that i don't know Halo lore as well as i used to (or thought i used to at least) and I'm pretty much looking up everything Halo related before i write it.
Guest 3 - Romance? Yes. Who? No comment. Though it won't take over the story, there'll be a few segments of some chapters dedicated to it, but after it gets established, it'll kinda fade into the background except for a few nickname changes. Also, yes, Ruby is sincerely trying to build the best team she possibly can... meaning no heels (Sorry, Weiss and Blake [No, i haven't forgotten about you]) and lots of constructive criticism. With the emotions... even Spartans aren't truly machines... no matter how much ONI tried for the contrary.
raw666 - Thanks! I certainly plan on it.
Guest 4 - That's... probably exactly what she'd do. Ozzy probably wouldn't let Salem slide, though not for lack of effort on Ruby's part.
That's all for today, hope you enjoyed! And stay tuned for the next chapter, which is simply titled- "Ink".
