Time for the first mission! Thank you guys for the support!
To Rift D: Maybe someone would do that before me XD If not, welp, I will do it.
Also, for clarification: This version of Yang still has both her arms, so for now: No mentions of her missing arm in the original until a specific condition can be reached.
June 15. 05:20 AM
M01 NERO
The demon king Urizen's strength was beyond all expectations. Dante was forced onto the back foot and yelled at Nero to get out while he still could. As a strange demonic infestation climbed ever higher towards the surface, V and Nero fell back in defeat, unable to do a thing to stop it. What fate lies in store for Dante, beaten and left behind?
"One month has passed." Blake reads the timeline. "Dante might have been used as some sorts of power source."
"Or he has escaped." Yang theorizes. "If his power is used against human, combined with this new demon's power… I doubt there is someone who could stop them."
"That's… true." Weiss takes a moment to think before saying her agreement.
"We didn't know why Urizen cut Nero's arm…"
"Probably his target is the Yamato." Ren answers Ruby's question. "That sword is very strong, remember?"
"But where was the sword back in the fight?" Nora asks. "I didn't see him using it."
"…Maybe the demon destroyed it when the sword became useless?" Pyrrha theorizes. "He could effortlessly destroy Rebellion."
"I'm more curious of V." Jaune has a different interest. "Agnus back then called out those demon armors to fight for him, and this V also summoned demons. Do you think they have connections?"
"I doubt he would dare stay anywhere near Nero if that's the case."
"Except that Nero lost his arm, Yang."
"Red Queen is not for show, Blake."
…
15 June, 04:24 AM
The cutscene shows an empty road with multiple cars being left there without their owners nearby. Lights are still working, but the town looks pretty much like a ghost town.
Then, a white van appears, driving in a high speed ahead, pushing the empty cars out of its way.
Yang almost bursts out a laugh, but holds back and then says: "Is that really necessary? Being left behind doesn't mean it can't be used."
"Say that to the ones flipped by Roman." Blake reminds her partner of a certain chase they had a lifetime ago.
"They're still being used when that happened! And the situation was different!"
The camera shows that Nero is in the passenger seat of the van, the window on the door having a 'Nico' written on it. The driver is a girl with black wavy hair and a headband, wearing a pair of red-rimmed glasses. There are some tattoos on her right arm, and she seems to wear some sorts of yellow sleeveless shirt…
"Red Grave and its surrounding cities have ceased to function as a result of the mysterious tree that apparently attacked the city approximately one month ago."
While the radio's reporter is reading some news, the camera shows who the driver is:
The Artisan of Arms, Nico.
"I feel a vibe of the twin in her."
"I actually see you in her, Sis."
"Real… maybe?" Yang now considers Ruby's imagination.
"In light of this incident, the government has now~"
"They're demons! I've seen them with my own eyes! Red Grave is completely taken over!" A voice of possibly a survivor of the town shouts.
A new voice speaks up as Nero changes the channel: "Let us pray for mercy. This is a trial from the heavens above… The end~"
"A trial from Hell, to be exact." Weiss deadpans.
"Depends on whose point of view." Winter adds.
"Same crap, different day." With that, Nero turns off the radio and goes to the back of the van. "So, tell me."
"Tell you what?" The girl then replies with a very heavy tone in a mocking manner.
"Yeah, now I can see what you mean Ruby."
Nero starts looking for a song in the jukebox and picks one. "How's it feel to be rescuing the guy that killed your father?"
"…What?" Everyone asks, not understanding the implication.
"Hey, I'm glad we're gettin' personal." The girl answers, still with a mocking tone. "Well, he abandoned my mother and I and left us for dead… So, I feel nothin'." Though she ends with a disdain voice.
"…Well that's not like me."
"That would be us." Winter immediately says, followed by a nod of agreement from Weiss.
"Now now girls, I know that he did do those bad things…"
"It's best to not say about it now." The voice from the Scroll interrupts Willow.
Nico starts smoking as Nero returns back to his seat. "Well he's not exactly going up for a Father of the Year award, now is he?"
"His research wasn't half bad. Came in handy. Mildly thankful for that."
"…Guys." Jaune calls for the two team's attention. "They are probably heading to save Dante, since V won't go ahead for sure. But Nero said Dante killed her father… and said guy had researches…"
"No no no." Weiss shakes her head, trying to deny it. "There is no way that guy can seduce anyone."
"But…"
"My father knew how to do so, Ruby. Not him."
"…Maybe another one in his team?" Pyrrha guesses. "He couldn't do everything on his own, right?"
"…Maybe?"
Nero notices the smoke in the closed van so he immediately pulls down the window and pokes his head out. "You have to do that in here? It already smells like ass."
"That's you!" Nico instantly counters.
"That's me." Yang chuckles.
Nero then notices the Empusas up ahead…
Just in time for the disc record to start placing in its place, and the music starts kicking up.
'Oh now we're talking.'
Willow notices that the Huntsmen suddenly shift almost at the same time with each other while some of them rub their hands like they're expecting something. She sends a look of curiosity to Winter, and the daughter replies with a headshake and a smile, already manages to know what's going to happen next.
"Hey, Nico." The beat starts kicking up.
"Don't lose your tits. I see 'em." Nico steps hard on the gas pedal, running on the demons without a second thought of stopping. The Empusas get crushed under the wheels or get pushed aside by the head of the van. And she makes sure to hit EVERY SINGLE ONE directly on the road.
"Hey, you have to hit every single bump in the road? Gonna ruin my groove!" That earns Nero a chuckle from his partner, as he pokes out and shoots the demons using Blue Rose.
A demon manages to crawl on the left side of the van and plans to bites Nico, but she just picks her cigarette and pushes the hot ashes towards its face and pushes the Empusa out of the van without losing her sight on the road. She then crashes into two, which are thrown away by her using the windshield wipers.
"Oh she's part of the crew alright!" Yang and Nora shouts in excitement, as everyone starts to move with the music.
The Hunter Duo then notices the road is being blocked ahead of them. Nero gives Nico a glance, and the driver instantly knows. She turns the wheel and flips the van completely around, shooting Nero out of the van.
"GOTTA LET IT OUT, GOTTA LET IT OUT!"
Everything turns into slow motion. The actions begin.
Nero shoots an Empusa while he's still flying in the air, quickly lands on a flying car then shoots another in front of him. He then turns Blue Rose over his back and shoots a road sign that is flying to him away, retracts the revolver and aims it properly to kill another Empusa.
He jumps away and does a cartwheel spin then aims Blue Rose at another demon trying to crap him with its claws. In the van, Nico quickly grabs a cigarette by her mouth when the van is upside down, with Nero on the background killing the Empusa he's pointing at.
Quickly using the under of the van as a platform to step on, Nero makes another jump and points Blue Rose at a demon behind him without looking back and shoots it. He then somehow flips around and kills two more Empusas before making himself align to the passenger's window. Something ahead then explodes, the heat could have affected Nero if he hasn't already quickly jumped back into the van.
When Nero is back in the van, time resumes normally. The van now lands on its four wheels and continues its run, leaving the demons dead on its track.
"PULL MY DEVIL TRIGGER!" Yang, Ruby and Nora repeats the last sentence of the song with high enthusiasm, which causes the others to chuckle at them.
"So that's how you fight if our eyes can catch up with your moves, then." Willow comments. "You sure have a lot of funs doing your job."
"A normal Grimm hunting would be like that, Mother." Winter successfully hides her smile away. "We need to be serious if there are people around."
"That's where the Tournaments come in play."
"Did you guys notice that there is something on Nero's right arm?" Weiss changes the conversation. "Maybe it's something that's to attach the arm we saw in the opening screen?"
"…RIGHT!" Ruby shouts. "I almost forgot about it!"
Once it's over and Nero is sitting comfortably in the van, he notices Nico trying to find the lighter. Nero helps her and lightens the cigarette, but pokes his head out again when he sees the smoke.
…
15 June, 05:02 AM
Despite their bests to stop the demons, the Military soldiers of Red Grave City start falling one after other as the Empusas keep going towards and mowing them down. The last one, heavily wounded, tries to push himself on his back away from the demons while wondering what's going on. He then watches in fear as one Empusa raises its claws on him, and he raises his left arm up to block the attack, which might cause him said arm…
Only for it to stay intact as Nico's van somehow goes over him and crashes into the Empusa, squashing it in the process. Much to his surprise, the van AGAIN somehow makes a drift that kills a few more Empusa before going right behind him.
"…Now I want a race with her."
"No, Yang…"
"In a proper race, Blake! Not on a road!"
Nero jumps out of the van and talks to the downed soldier: "You look like you need a hug, but you're not gonna get one from me. Better get lost." He then heads straight to the bridge…
"Hey! Who are you!? Hey, you're gonna get yourself killed!"
The soldier tries to stand up to stop Nero, but stops as Nico goes out and says: "Don't crap yourself. He likes to kill demon things. Let him do his thing."
Not very convinced, the soldier shouts again: "You hear what I said, you dumb one-armed son of a bitch!? You're gonna die!"
"…So, remember that one time in Vacuo, Ruby?"
"Yeah Weiss. It's a bit embarrassing…"
"Oh! You mean the time the guys treated her like a kid?"
"Don't say that out loud Yang!"
"Cheer up, crew cut." Completely unaffected, Nero briefly turns back and says it to the soldier. His right arm then reaches towards a gauntlet strapped on his belt and connects itself to the weapon. "You takin' notes?"
He quickly turns back and pushes an Empusa away, causing it to push others away before hitting a car and flying away. Nero then sees a demon above of him jumps out, so he activates the gauntlet which emits electricity. He jumps over the demon and pushes it down to the ground, executing it with electricity.
"All right, time to kick some ass."
"Time to kick ass, indeed." Team RWBY repeats the words from his mouth.
Everyone then sees the weapon being called 'Devil Breaker', and it's the same button team RWBY uses for Nero's previous Devil Bringer. And it has a charge power move but it will get destroyed.
Weiss makes a test by Lock-on an Empusa and presses it. However, the game responds by doing a Snatch instead and pulls the demon to her. She releases the Lock-on and uses the current Devil Breaker, which means she pushes the arm front and releases an electricity charge towards the demon, pushing it away.
"We got the pull back!" Ruby shouts. "No more flying demons!"
"That arm looks rad! It's like a weaker version of Devil Breaker!" Yang says in excitement. "And it has a charged move! Do it Weiss!"
"Calm down girl." Weiss shakes her head, but she's also interested at how the new arm works. "Maybe a bit later. These ones don't deserve a waste of an arm."
A new group of Empusas appears, and one of them jumps on Nero who jumps up to avoid the slash. He then launches Snatch's tip through a demon and connects to the one behind it. He starts pulling the wire, which causes the demons to collide to each other, and spins them around and hits the other ones, before getting the tip back. He then rides on an Empusa and starts smacking the others in a comical way, before slamming/sliding the ride on the road then kicks it to the rest, throwing them out of the bridge.
"…" While the others are very excited seeing Nero's performance, Winter is slowly seeing a certain someone doing the exact same thing if he has a chance. "If that maniac actually…"
"Want a record?"
"Want…" She immediately pulls out her own Scroll and sees a smiley face on it. "Don't you dare."
"I will if I have one." It's followed by a laugh, and a scowl on Winter's face.
"Yeah, he's a real pro at smackin' demons around." Seeing Crew Cut's surprised face, Nico kneels down and talks to him. "That's why I built him that well-functioning arm… To kick demon ass." She then takes a smoke… only to shout up when she sees Nero's arm getting messed up: "HEY, PSYCHO! Watch the merchandise!"
"Hey! Stop bitchin' and take cover!" Smashing the broken arm away and connecting to a new one, Nero returns his attention back to the bridge.
A hint about Wire Snatch appears, causing team RWBY and JNPR to chuckle as they have already known it. Though they see that they can actively destroy the arm to avoid some damages.
"Don't use that." Ruby pouts. "Don't break it."
"Not planning to."
Weiss then Lock-on… to a barrel. Surrounded by demons. The result…
"EXPLOSION!" Said by a certain hyper-energetic smasher.
After killing more Empusas and the 'roots', Nero stands on the broken edge of the bridge. He looks down and sees a Bloodgorged scavenger Red Empusa, which runs away after noticing him staring at it.
Weiss jumps down and finds it, she starts attacking the demon but it's not staggering at all while his health doesn't go down much. She decides to charge up Overture and uses it… only for the thing to attack on the demon while beeping and not doing any damage…
She then remembers about the barrel. And the result happens again. But this time she earns a lot of Red Orbs, so no one complains.
"A walking Big Red Crystal, then." Ren summaries the demon's 'use'.
After grabbing the Blue Orb Fragment under the bridge, Weiss continues her run and kill the demons…
"Why are they collecting human blood? It's not just about feeding… There's something else."
"…Salem?" Jaune says out loud accidentally.
"Who?" Willow asks back, confused.
"Just someone we met back in the days of school." The one from the Scroll quickly lies.
'Thank you!' Everyone else sighs in their heads in relief.
Weiss then notices a different arm on the ground not being Overture. She detonates the recently picked-up Overture (which makes Ruby sulk) and picks the arm up, which is Sweet Surrender. She activates it… only for it to move in-and-out while making a scratching movement and glowing green. Which confuses everyone in the room.
Nero reaches to the boss on the bridge, Blood-slicked vegetation Qliphoth Roots.
"So the tree is called Qliphoth, then." Pyrrha says. "But, that root looks…"
"Hideous." Both Yang and Nora say at the same time, then they high-five.
"What a lovely house plant." Nero says in sarcasm, agreeing with the Huntresses.
One of the root's tendrils attacks him, he dodges and stabs Red Queen to it and hangs on the tendril. He then revs up, burning the tendril that causes the pain to the root as it tries to swat him away. Nero jumps off and slashes the tendril but it turns to be more durable than he thought. Though he has a plan: "Oh I get it… Who brought the marshmallows? 'Cause I'm bringin' the fire."
That causes team RWBY and JNPR to groan, except Yang who laughs.
The first boss is just like a tutorial so there's nothing to say much about. Except a two Overture charges stacked and exploded which causes the boss' health to lose about a third in one go is satisfying.
The boss is dead and turned into dust, giving Nero and Nico a clear way ahead. The van arrives and Nico then informs: "Hey, tough guy. That'll keep 'em, but not for long."
"Whattaya mean?"
"Soldier boy said city's goin' to hell and back, taken over by the underworld. Not just here, but everywhere."
Looking down to his missing arm, Nero says: "Yamato did this…"
"It's more of 'Urizen did this', but I can see his point." Blake understands.
…
Two months ago. 30 April, 05:45 PM
In a garage, Nico and Nero are fixing the van. The girl then starts complaining: "Why do I feel like your pet mechanic? Don't get used to it…"
"Nico, I showed you those Order docs. So you still owe me, remember?"
"Is this before…"
"Probably it, Jaune." Ren answers.
"Hey, you two! Dinner's ready!"
"It's Kyrie!" Nora says happily. "So the two are living together!"
"Be right there!" Nero answers, then says to Nico: "Hey, why don't you go ahead? I'm gonna finish up here."
Nico accepts it and gets out of the under of the van, then says: "I'll try to save you some… Not."
Everyone chuckles at the banter as they see her leave.
Nero, with his right arm intact, is putting some engine stuffs back together when he notices a shadow heading to him. He turns back to see someone in a robe standing outside of the garage, his face is covered by the rolling door.
"That… can't be Urizen, right?" Pyrrha asks in fear and concern, but curious as well.
"Maybe that guy's his subordinate? Like the Order?" Ruby guesses.
"You uh… You need something?" Nero asks, but no answer. Though he hears the moaning sound from the man, so he guesses: "What is it, you hungry?" He chuckles and starts collecting his stuffs. "Well, you're in luck pal, 'cause food's ready and Kyrie always makes too much." The man starts approaching him. "Hope you like loud talkers, too, 'cause we got a pair of those upstairs."
Even though they know what will happen next (not in details but they can guess), they can't help but holding the breath in fear.
Nero turns back and sees the person dangerously close to him, so he asks again: "You see something you like?" Only at this moment his Devil Bringer shines up, noting a demon is nearby… "What the hell?" Nero looks back to the stranger and asks again: "You a demon?"
Tension gets higher and higher…
"Nero! The food's getting cold! What's go…"
"KYRIE! Get back inside, NOW!"
One moment of turning his attention away is the biggest mistake Nero makes, as the stranger grabs his demon arm and swings him away, slamming him into the shelves. Slightly staggered due to the unexpected event, Nero tries to stand up…
"I'm taking this back."
"…With only…" Weiss asks in disbelief.
"A single throw?" Winter finishes, sharing the same sentiment. "Who is this guy?"
Due to the pain of the throw, Nero didn't immediately notice that his arm is gone. Now that he sees where it is, he looks down to his empty arm and roars in pain, as now his body finally registers what happens and pours out blood from the wound.
The devil arm turns into Yamato, then the stranger lowers his upper body like he's in pain and coughs. "I'm running out of time…" He then cuts open a portal, flaring out a familiar blue, and walks inside, despite Nero trying to call the person back.
That's the memory Nero remembers before he's starting to lose conscious due to the shock and blood lose. He can barely hear Kyrie and Nico's shout to him before his world turns dark.
"…" Team RWBY and JNPR now have the idea of who this person could be, but…
"That's horrible." Willow says quietly. "I know it will be gruesome… but it's…"
"…Evil man cares not of people around him." Winter replies in a quieter tone. "I'm sure he will pay."
Back to the present. Nero's now in the van with Nico driving it. "V's waiting for us up ahead. Try not to get us killed on the way there." After saying it, his expression turns sour after remembering the humiliation event that happened before everything started…