Dimension Travelers RWBY
Yang's POV
I guess it's my turn to narrate how everything went down. I'm really not looking forward to this. I did some…less than flattering things. But I know the truth will come out no matter what I try to hide, so there's really no point to trying to hide it. So let me take you back to that fateful entrance ceremony, what seems like a lifetime ago.
I wasn't surprised when Ruby skirted into the assembly hall just moments before the entrance ceremony began. Everyone else had already been there for almost 15 minutes, getting to know their new classmates. I'm just gonna come out and admit I don't even remember half their names anymore, outside of our two teams and Cardin's goons. What I was surprised by, however, was that she was in the company of not one, but two cute guys.
Cute guys… One was Trouble with a capital T and the other a goofball who had no idea who he was or what he wanted. Neither of them was even supposed to be at Beacon to begin with. Don't tell Pyrrha I said this, but Jaune still has that dweeb-ish charm to him he had way back when. If the chips had fallen another way…
Jaune grew into a great man. He and Pyrrha have something special. I wouldn't dream of coming between them. But even if I could have foreseen how Jaune would evolve, I likely would've been too preoccupied by the one standing beside him.
David… he has a talent for inspiring strong emotions in people. I hate him. Without his interference, I wouldn't have known my best frenemy Neo. I love him. He helped bring my broken family back together. I'm jealous of him. He has a zest for life, even after everything he's seen. I wish I could have that kind of fortitude.
Right, I'm getting sidetracked. This is supposed to be about the entrance ceremony. When I spotted my little sister, I naturally went over to see how she had survived my throwing her into the deep end.
"Hey, Ruby, who are your friends?" I asked, sauntering up to them and favoring the boys with a flirty look as I eyed them up.
"Yaaaang," Ruby moaned at my antics as she clutched at her skirt in embarrassment. Jaune, for his part, just blushed and spluttered incoherently. You'd think a guy who grew up with so many sisters would have at least some defense against a pretty girl. Although Pyrrha assures me the fact he can still go all blushy is one of her favorite things about him.
"Name's David Thomas and this poor guy is Jaune Arc," David introduced them both, his dark purple eyes meeting my lilac. I have to admit, between his name having no color connection I knew of and the fact his eyes went to mine instead of my tits, he intrigued me.
"I'm Yang Xiao Long," I replied, placing a hand on my hip and nodding over towards Ruby, "Thanks for looking after my kid sister."
"Oh, um, it was nothing," Jaune was still blushing adorably as he dared not look directly at me. If I was feeling particularly egotistical, I might say that at that moment, my beauty was like that of the sun I was named after, rendering men who gazed upon me blind.
"Yang!" Ruby suddenly shouted and instead of the embarrassment I expected to hear, her voice was full of urgency has she grabbed me by the shoulders, "David's weapon, I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT!"
"What do you mean you don't understand it?! That's your whole thing!" I shouted back at her, completely unaware that this was only the first in what was going to be a series of world shattering revelations taking place in the next few days. Sometimes I almost wish for that simple innocence back.
"I KNOW! IT'S REALLY WEIRDING ME OUT!" Ruby started shaking me. Growing up with Ruby had taught me a few valuable things. Stopping one of her freak outs was not one of those things. That had always been Dad's specialty. Super Mom probably would've been amazing at it too, had Ruby been old enough before she went missing.
"Will you lunatics quiet down?!" Weiss yelled at us with her usual grace and decorum. I honestly don't know how she picked up the ice queen moniker other than her name making it a good pun. Our little Weiss cream cone was and still is just as emotional as any of us.
"Ahh! Angry Heiress!" Ruby squeaked, flinching away from the glaring Schnee. As if Weiss was actually, truly angry in that moment. We wouldn't learn what a furious Weiss looked and sounded like until later on. But for the moment, Ozpin stepped onto the stage and gave his welcoming speech to us unruly first years.
"I'll…keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. Some will fail in this venture. Others will learn things beyond their wildest dreams. Yet as of this moment, you all share a single goal: To serve and protect the people of Remnant. I look upon you all and I see potential. Tragically, much of that potential will be wasted, squandered. But for a few of you, you will kindle that potential and use it to fuel you to greatness. It is up to you to take that first step," With those ominous words, Ozpin stepped down. I almost didn't hear Goodwitch dismiss us as I chewed on Ozpin's words.
"He seemed kinda…off," I noted to the others.
"You don't get to be as old as him without picking up a few eccentricities," David quipped. Boy, if I could go back in time, I'd smack him upside the head for that line. I'd say David knows a thing or two about going crazy with age, but I'm not convinced he was ever sane to begin with!
Anyway, we were led to the cafeteria by the teachers where we found a bunch of sleeping mats rolled out for us. The girls and boys were broken into smaller groups so they could go to the bathrooms and change into sleepwear in an 'orderly fashion'. More fool them for thinking a bunch of 17 year olds could do anything 'orderly'.
"Why can't this day just end already?" Weiss groaned as she stared down Blake. Somehow the three of us had ended up in a changing group together and where Weiss' glare was more of exasperation, Blake's glare was much more cold fury.
"I was just thinking the same thing," Blake replied, the barest hint of a growl in her voice. I had no idea what was going on at the time and truthfully none of us knew the whole scope of each other's situations. Blake thought Weiss was just some stuck up heiress who daddy spoiled with dirty money. Weiss thought Blake was just a 'ruffian' looking to pick a fight with her due to her name.
Regardless of what was going on under the surface, I knew a fight brewing when I saw one. A quick glance at the other girl in our group, Ashley something, told me she wasn't about to get involved in the catfight. That left me on conflict resolution duty. So I got physically between the two girls before they could escalate.
"Girls, girls, you're both beautiful, but can we not fight on our literal first day here?" I asked, taking a firm stance. I wasn't about to get bowled over if one decided to get physical.
"Butt out!" Both girls snapped, but at least they were now glaring at me instead of each other.
"Sorry, no can do. I have a strong aversion to watching people kill each other in bathrooms. Strange thing to get hung up over, I know, but please bear with me," I said jokingly, my most winning smile on my face. My words had more of an impact than I had intended, on Blake at least.
"I wasn't going to kill her…" Blake murmured, looking away. I wonder what kind of face she made just then. If I had been paying more attention to her instead of dividing half of my focus onto Weiss, I might have noticed how serious her words were. Why wouldn't they be? Blake had just walked away from everything she had known because of a certain someone threatening civilians and, for all her father's sins; Weiss was still a civilian in her mind.
"Good, then get in a stall, Bubble Butt, and get changed. Angry Snow Leopard, you'll get changed after Bubble Butt leaves. Am I clear?" I ordered, pointing Blake at the furthest stall. Have you ever been proud of yourself for something you said but didn't realize it at the moment? Calling Weiss a snow leopard in front of Blake was a stroke of unintentional genius. You go past me!
"B-bubble butt?!" Blake blushed horribly, visibly taken aback. I'd make a joke about Blake never getting compliments like that before, but given what I know of her history, that might be a little close to home.
"What do you mean 'Snow Leopard'?!" Weiss shrieked and her voice had a lot more indignation in it, her fists clenched at her sides.
"It's not like I know either of your names, Snow Leopard," I replied as I waved Blake off to the stall.
"My name is Weiss Schnee, not 'Snow Leopard'!" Weiss exclaimed, her attempts at an angry face just coming across as an adorable pout.
"I don't know, I think Snow Leopard suits you," Blake's voice was full of dry amusement and I didn't need to see her face to know she was smirking as she closed the stall door.
"Oh, shut up Bubble Butt," Weiss groused, but her tone was significantly less hostile as she folded her arms. As far as I was concerned, it was mission accomplished.
"Blake Belladonna," Blake corrected and Weiss noticeably stiffened.
"Belladonna?" Weiss echoed. Like it had never left, the tension was back in the bathroom.
"It's not the most uncommon name in the world," Blake pointed out mildly. At least she didn't try and outright lie but saying she wasn't the daughter of the man who created the White Fang. A lie like that would've probably made things a lot worse down the line.
"Oh, right, sure, and I was born yesterday," Weiss said coldly. The stall opened to reveal Blake in her sleepwear.
"Believe what you want," Blake told her as she walked out of the bathroom, cutting off any further argument. Weiss, thankfully, chose not to pursue her and instead changed into her own sleepwear in record time before leaving me and Ashley a little shell shocked.
"What just happened?" Ashley wondered.
"I wish I knew," I replied, totally ignorant myself at the time.
"You were gone for quite awhile," Ruby noted as she doodled in her notepad. Yes, I know it isn't doodling and Ruby would kill me if I didn't clarify. She usually used her notepad as both journal and for writing down the latest upgrades that had popped into her head. Naturally, that second part included a lot of schematics drawings.
"There was just a little bit of drama, nothing major," I assured her as I leaned to look over her shoulder. Even if I almost never understood what Ruby was jotting down, I still like being involved with her interests. There's even been a time or two when my input has helped Ruby. This time she was drawing a strange key-shaped blade. The Keyblade was a weapon that would become the bane of her existence for a few months.
"Thinking of giving up Crescent Rose?" I asked teasingly, a wide grin on my face as Ruby turned over to glare at me.
"Ha ha, that was so funny I almost forgot to laugh. No, this is the impossible weapon I was yelling about earlier. I thought writing down what I saw and stuff would help, but I think my only option is to get answers from the horse's mouth," Ruby grumbled as she shut her notebook in disgust. It was certainly a novel experience for me to hear Ruby complain about something related to weapons or technology or the like. It's become marginally more common in recent years, but the first time will always stick out in my memory.
"Hey, you seemed friendly with those two earlier. Maybe this'll be your chance to go out and make new friends here at Beacon? Who knows, you might even end up on a team with one or both of them," I said encouragingly as I lay down on the bedroll next to Ruby's.
"But I want to be on your team," Ruby replied in a small voice. I was torn between my two strongest sisterly instincts. One was to push Ruby out of the nest so she could fly on her own and the other to keep her close and safe. I'm sure this will come as a shock to no one, but keeping Ruby close and safe almost always won with me… sometimes to a smothering degree.
"Ruby, even if we're on different teams it's not like we'll never see each other," I said placating as I rolled onto my back to get ready to sleep.
"That's not what I'm worried about Yang! I'm worried about sharing a dorm room with three strangers for four years! What if I say something dumb and they all hate me forever?!" Ruby asked with panic flaring in her voice. It really is incredible how much she grew up.
"Ruby, you're a lot of things, but I don't think 'dumb' is one of them," I tried joking to distract her.
"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Ruby's tone had gone from panicked to exasperated, which was good enough for me.
"Do I? I'm sorry I'm not as clever as my super genius baby sister," I snickered as Ruby whacked me with a pillow.
"Good night, Yang!" Ruby huffed as she slipped her sleeping mask over her eyes and flopped down onto her bedroll. I smiled affectionately at Ruby before deciding to go to sleep myself.
The next day was the vaunted Beacon Initiation. There was nothing quite like getting thrown into a forest full of Grimm to prove your mettle. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself.
That morning we were woken up, took care of our morning routines in groups that thankfully did not lump Blake and Weiss together again, and ate breakfast. After breakfast, we were all taken to our assigned lockers where we retrieved our weapons.
Looking back, that morning in the locker room planted a lot of seeds for the next few months. Nora and Ren were being their usual adorable selves, Jaune was trying and failing to flirt with Weiss, Pyrrha was trying and failing to flirt with Jaune, Ruby was trying and succeeding in flirting with Crescent Rose, I was worrying over Ruby, and Blake and David were discussing literature in a corner.
For the sake of everyone's dignity, I won't disclose exactly how bad they were at flirting, nor the exact nature of the 'literature'. I'm sure you fine folks can make some educated guesses. However, I will say this. To this day I maintain 'Snow Leopard' is a better nickname for Weiss than 'Snow Angel'. Jaune, if you read this, I will fight you over this.
Anyway, Glynda eventually called all first years over the PA system to gather at Beacon Cliff. Once there, Ozpin clarified what we were expected to do, that being find the relics to the north of the forest and kill any creatures that got in our way. Once the relics were in hand, we were supposed to return to the top of the cliff.
The actual important detail was that, once we had all been launched, the first person we made eye contact with would be our partner for the next four years. Poor Ruby started freaking out when we learned that tidbit. To think any of us were worried about who our partners were going to be, given everything that happened. Perspective is certainly something.
"Are there any questions?" Ozpin asked at the end of his instruction. Jaune and David both raised their hands, but were promptly ignored, "Good! Now, take your positions."
"Um, sir, I've got a question," Jaune tried to speak up as the first of the students got catapulted into the air.
"I've got one too," David, who was further up the queue than Jaune, told Ozpin, "There are an odd number of students."
"A not unforeseen circumstance," Ozpin replied neutrally, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. What David thought of this response he didn't get a chance to say. His platform fired, sending him flying…directly into an invisible wall a few feet out from the cliff edge. Those of us still on the cliff watched in shock as he fell down like a bird that had just hit clear glass.
"MOTHERFUCKER!" Was the angry roar from the bottom of the cliff.
"Sounds like he's fine," Ozpin said nonchalantly. To this day that's one thing about Ozpin that can really piss me off. He just acts so aloof all the time, like nothing can ever touch him. We've all seen him break down, so I don't know why he insists on keeping up the act.
Well, whatever, seeing what happened to David, Jaune's question about 'landing strategies' had been answered. We had to fend for ourselves and there were certainly no parachutes. Soon enough all the first year students had been launched and honestly, I was having a blast.
I was, am, and will always be a speed demon. So soaring through the air at high speeds and using Ember Celica to make me go even faster was absolutely my idea of a good time. Aside from David and Jaune, everyone else actually had some pretty cool landing maneuvers too. As much as I hate to admit it, Pyrrha's plan of using that shield of hers, Akoúo, to meteor her way through a bunch of trees was cooler than my landing.
After landing, I spent a good ten minutes walking north and looking for a partner. What I found instead were a pair of Ursa. Getting a good look at them, I saw they were kinda runty looking. I could only assume Beacon's staff kept the older and stronger Grimm out of the Emerald Forest as much as possible. An assumption I would soon learn was just me blowing hot air.
Deciding the two Grimm weren't a threat, I thought I could play around with them in hopes the noise would bring someone to me. Ultimately, my plan worked. Unfortunately, Blake didn't show up until after I noticed one of the Ursa had cut off a strand of hair and I kinda lost it. I killed one of the Ursa all on my own and Blake backstabbed the second for her kill with Gambol Shroud.
"Mind telling me what that was about?" Blake asked as the second Ursa started evaporating in death. I sighed as I felt my rage quickly bleeding out.
"I'm kinda sensitive about my hair," I told her as I ran my fingers through my pride and joy to check for further damage. I was telling the truth. It wasn't the whole truth, but Blake seemed willing to accept my answer.
"So, I guess we're partners now," Blake noted idly as we started walking north.
"I hope we can get along, bathrooms notwithstanding," I said playfully, my hands clasped behind my head. To my satisfaction, I got Blake to smile.
"Yes, let's keep clear of any troublesome bathrooms," She snarked, getting a chuckle from me.
"Oh, uh, just so you know, I don't know why your last name means so much to that Schnee girl and I won't ask. I know what it's like to have a…difficult family," I offered, thinking of Raven. I was more than a little off the mark, but Blake took the kind words for what they were.
"Difficult family? I suppose that's one way of looking at it," She sighed, her 'bow' going flat and looking back with what I know now, I think she was referring to herself as the difficult one. How I was ever fooled by that bow when it drooped like that in time with her emotions is beyond me.
It didn't take us except a minute or two after that to find the abandoned temple that had the 'relics'. Those relics actually being chess pieces, of course, and there were only a three left. Blake and I were far from the first ones here. I said as much out loud.
"I would've been surprised if we were the first, but I wasn't expecting us to almost be last," Blake agreed as we surveyed the remaining pieces. Personally, I would've liked to take a queen, but since those were both gone, I decided on the next best thing; a knight.
"Hey Blake, how about a cute pony?" I asked teasingly as I waved the knight around. Blake rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless.
"Sure," She agreed and I pocketed it. Before we could start heading back to the cliff, we heard a very effeminate sounding scream of terror I would later learn belonged to Jaune.
Before Blake or I could decide to do anything, Ruby came falling from the sky. She then was met midair by Jaune who had been hurled by a Death Stalker and they both crashed into a nearby tree.
A moment later, Nora and Ren stumbled out of the woods right behind a dead Ursa that was at least twice the size of the ones Blake and I had dealt with. Nora, being Nora, wasted no time in seizing a rook and prancing about with it, declaring herself 'queen of the castle'.
As if that weren't enough, Pyrrha came bolting out of the trees with the Death Stalker hot on her heels. A Death Stalker that looked particularly old at that, I noted as Ruby and Nora came up beside me. I exploded.
"WOULD EVERYONE JUST CALM DOWN FOR TWO SECONDS BEFORE SOMETHING ELSE CRAZY HAPPENS?!" I yelled, my Semblance flaring and eyes going red.
"Yang Xiao Long, when was the last time you took your medicine?" Ruby asked, her eyes full of accusation as she pointed a damning finger at me. I wilted immediately.
Alright, confession time I guess. I have IED or Intermittent Explosive Disorder. After our Super Mom, Summer vanished; I was in a bad place. Hell, our whole family was in a bad place. At first everyone thought I was just a kid acting out in grief. Then I almost got me and Ruby killed when I was eight.
After that, I went to therapy and everyone thought it was gonna be hunky dory. For awhile it was, until I was eleven. Ruby had just started coming into her own as the super genius inventor, taking apart and remaking anything in the house if me or Dad weren't watching her like a hawk.
One day I came home from school and found Ruby had taken apart an old toy of mine to build some kind of automaton. It wasn't even one of my favorite toys or anything and until I saw it that day, I had completely forgotten it existed. That didn't matter, in the end. I exploded. I smashed the thing Ruby had built and made her cry.
Initially I was diagnosed with bipolar, but over a year of observation later and my diagnosis was changed to IED. I was put on a prescription of antipsychotics and mood stabilizers and that seemed to do the trick. Unfortunately I was a selfish 13 year old brat and hated taking my medicine. I thought it made my Semblance weaker, so I raised unholy hell.
Somehow or another, Raven of all people got word of what was going on. One day, a few weeks after my 14th birthday, Raven just strolls up to our house in Patch like she fucking owns the place. She didn't even bother to knock, like she had just gone out to buy a gallon of milk or something.
I won't tell you what she said to me, not right now. Just know that she made damn sure I'd be diligent in taking my medicine until I shipped off to Beacon. She said after that I'd be an adult and it'd be my own problem. Honestly, I don't know which is worse, a Raven that abandons her home, her family, and never looks back or a Raven who cares just enough to keep tabs on her kid and shows up to give one of the most hypocritical speeches I've heard in my life.
So I took my medicine like a good little girl for three years and got this idea in my head that I wouldn't need it after I got to Beacon. Having two back to back explosions during initiation disabused me of that notion real quick, I'll tell you that. That realization didn't stop Ruby's look of disappointment and betrayal from stinging me.
"Almost two weeks," I admitted quietly, looking at the ground. I couldn't look Ruby in the eye.
"Am I the only one who suddenly feels lost?" Blake wondered as she, Ren, and Nora shuffled about awkwardly.
"Dammit Yang!" Ruby shouted with frustration. When a potential outlet for that frustration presented itself in the form of the Death Stalker, my baby sister pounced on. Using her Semblance, she got to it before any of us could try and stop her trying t an older Grimm. The scales were further tipped when the Nevermore Ruby and Weiss had flown here decided to join in and pinned Ruby by impaling her cloak with its feather storm attack.
"RUBY!" I cried out in terror as the Death Stalker's tail came down to impale her. By some miracle, Weiss appeared to freeze the tail in place with a combination of her Semblance and Ice Dust.
"You are the most childish, immature, dim witted, and hyperactive girl I've ever know," Weiss huffed, looking angrily at Ruby before sighing, "And I suppose I can be…somewhat abrasive. But regardless of that, we're partners now, so I guess we're going to have to learn to work together over the next four years. That means I can't very well let you go get yourself killed, understand?"
Ruby mutely nodded while I caught her in a bone crushing hug, "I'm sorry! And don't you ever do that again!" I apologized and rebuked in the same breath.
"Looks like I pulled a Yang," Ruby said sheepishly, an impish smile on her face.
"Why won't you and Dad let that die already?!" I cried. Oh, how I long for those more innocent times.
"Maybe if you hadn't launched a one woman assault on a bar a couple of weeks ago?" Ruby shot back and as much as I hate to admit it, I still don't have a comeback for that line. So instead I turned to Weiss.
"Thanks for having Ruby's back," I said to her with a grateful smile. Weiss scoffed.
"I can't very well prove my superiority if I was weak enough to let my partner die in initiation," Weiss replied in her best haughty rich girl impression.
"You know something, Snow Leopard, you're alright," I smirked as I took some of the wind out of her sails.
"I am never going to get rid of that nickname, am I?" Weiss sighed as her arms flopped to her side.
"Uh, guys, as great as this is, I don't think that ice is gonna hold forever and that Nevermore is circling around," Jaune pointed out and we all turned to look at the Nevermore.
"Right, let's get our relics and get out of here. All we need to do is get to the cliff safely," Ruby instructed and looking back, I can't say enough how proud of her I was when she first started showing those embers of leadership.
Ruby and Jaune took the last two pieces, a knight and a rook respectively. That was about when David stumbled out of the forest all on his lonesome. At the time, I felt bad for the guy for getting screwed so hard at the start. I would later realize he'd mostly been taking the scenic route by choice, after someone who hates him and he hates in return decided to pull that hard air stunt on him.
"You all look like you're having fun," He said as he looked at the struggling Death Stalker and the approaching Nevermore.
"Not the word I would use, but I'm not a bloodthirsty savage," Blake countered smoothly as David walked towards the temple.
"You wound me, Belladonna! Just because I like my play a little rougher doesn't mean…there are no more relics. That might be problematic," David sighed.
"What's the worse they can do, kick you out? Oh my gosh, they might kick you out! That would be so unfair! We all saw what happened at the launching platforms! They can't kick you out!" Nora babbled worriedly, hopping about in her usual energetic way.
"Whatever happens, I'll just have to deal with the hand Fate dealt me," David shrugged as we started heading back towards the cliff. Little did we know he was being literal. That was about when we heard the ice start to crack around the Death Stalker's tail and decided to pick up the pace.
It was just our bad luck that the Nevermore decided to get between us and the cliff, effectively sandwiching us between the two Grimm.
"Well that's just great," I grumbled as the Death Stalker came tearing through the trees behind us, "We need a new game plan!"
"One game plan, coming up!" David reported and charged the Death Stalker, jumping over its head before latching onto its tail and we could only stare in shock as he opened his mouth wide and took a big bite out of the Grimm. A few more bites followed until the tip of the tail was dangling uselessly by a thread of what passes for sinew in Grimm.
"ARE YOU INSANE?!" We all shouted as the Grimm shrieked in pain. For those not in the know, Grimm flesh is considered about as edible as arsenic. Sure enough, the lunatic flops off the Death Stalker and we were all sure he was dead.
The Death Stalker decided it wanted to make sure his suicide attempt was successful and brought down its pincers to try and smash him. Its pincers landed on nothing, as David had somehow slipped away at the last moment, clutching his stomach and looking ill.
"That may not have been my brightest idea. I'm never complaining about Akane's cooking again," He groaned piteously, but we were all in shock that he was even still alive.
"Were you intending to eat the whole thing?!" Weiss exclaimed as the Death Stalker started moving again, pushing us towards the Nevermore.
"That was the plan, yes," David admitted as we dodged another feather storm from the Nevermore.
"Wow, and I thought I was crazy," Nora said in appreciation as she shot a few of her custom grenades with Magnhild at the Death Stalker to give us a little more breathing room. While Nora was doing that, Pyrrha and Ruby were trying to keep the Nevermore off our backs with their longer ranged weaponry.
"Can anyone see a way around the Nevermore?" Ren asked as David pulled out a bottle of something brown before downing it and perking up. I'd later learn it was a panacea to neutralize the poison of the Grimm flesh in his stomach.
"We might be able to outrun the Death Stalker now that it's wounded, but that Nevermore is going to chase us down regardless and the further we run the more likely we are to run into more Grimm," Pyrrha pointed out as she ducked from a stray feather.
"Looks like our only option is to fight. I say our best bet is to all turn and take out the Death Stalker before focusing on the Nevermore. Does that sound good to everyone?" Jaune asked. We all agreed with his plan, Jaune quickly laying out the specifics, and shifted from stalling tactics to all out offense, my favorite kind of offense.
I took point, using the shotgun function of Ember Celica to build speed for that extra oomph in my punch. The Death Stalker tried to guard, but I was strong enough to blow open its defenses. This let Nora immediately follow up with Magnhild in hammer form, catching the Death Stalker under the chin. Blake and Ruby were up next, using Crescent Rose and Gambol Shroud to cleave off both pincers.
The Nevermore chose that moment to interfere in our attack. Flying overhead, it started raining down the most concentrated feather storm yet. It was far too late to save the Death Stalker, but the thing was probably too stupid to realize that and there were far too many feathers for us to dodge.
Thankfully Weiss and David were on the case. With her Semblance and Ice Dust, Weiss created as much of an ice dome as she could manage and what she couldn't protect us from David incinerated with what I believed to be Fire Dust at the time.
With the Death Stalker wide open, Pyrrha set Miló into its spear mode and using her Semblance to give it that extra thrust, stabbed the Death Stalker clean through one of its many eyes. To finish it off, Nora came back around to smash Milό deep into the Death Stalker's head, killing it.
"Good work, everyone! Now we've gotta get that Nevermore out of the air!" Jaune instructed, "Ruby, how good of a shot are you?"
"It'd be an insult to my baby if I couldn't even hit what I aimed at," Ruby replied confidently, setting Crescent Rose to DMR mode and patting it gently.
"If you can hit an eye, it's almost certain to come crashing down. Do you need a vantage point?" Jaune asked.
"A little extra height wouldn't hurt and some cover would be appreciated, please and thank you!" Ruby answered, "I can set up on that tower," Ruby pointed to the highest structure of the ruins.
"Pyrrha, Weiss, Ren, David, and I will get you there safely. Nora, Yang, and Blake, see if you can't distract it," Jaune ordered and Nora grew a wicked grin.
"Yang, how do you feel about becoming a living projectile?" Nora wondered and I felt a grin growing on my own face.
"I'm willing to try anything once!" I exclaimed and as the first group headed out for the tower, I hoped on the head of Magnhild and Nora threw me at the Nevermore. With as much force as I could muster without my Semblance charged up, I plowed into the Nevermore.
The birdlike Grimm reeled from impact and as I headed back down to earth, Blake was propelled upwards via the Nora Express. She was able to briefly ride the Nevermore and tried to slice into it, but its feathers were like plate armor, keeping her blades from doing real damage before she was dislodged.
The Nevermore launched another feather storm at the main group, but they had enough firepower to shoot all the feathers out of the air. Blake and I had another round with the thing before Ruby was finally in position. Naturally if she had just used her Semblance, she would've been up there almost instantly, but she also would've been terribly exposed as she lined up the shot.
A few moments later, Ruby's shot rang out and her confidence was proven well founded when the Nevermore screeched in pain and the black mist that counted as blood for them began pouring out of its now missing eye. True to Jaune's prediction, the Nevermore came down and without its aerial advantage the bird brain was fried chicken in no time.
We were all riding the after battle high as we turned in our relics to Ozpin. Not even the ever stoic Ren was safe from sporting a slight happy smile. Then life got in the way.
"So I have neither a partner nor a relic," David informed the Headmaster.
"I know," Ozpin replied, "This was not unexpected. It not even unprecedented. I also feel it would be quite disingenuous of me to penalize you for things beyond your control, even more so after you all preformed so admirably. Run along to the auditorium and all will be taken care of."
Even with his assurances, something about it all made me slightly uneasy. Much later I would learn Ozpin has specifically set things up so our year would have one odd duck student in the hope of this very outcome. Stuff like that really makes you stand back and appreciate how much of your life can be just out of your control. Still, that's no reason to turn over like a dog and accept it.
Anyway, we headed to the auditorium and the teams were all announced, CRDL and JNPR being two of the last and two of the most important during our time and Beacon. Given all the other first years had been called up, there was no point denying it any longer.
"Looks like you got your wish, Rubes," I whispered to Ruby as Pyrrha sent Jaune flying after it was revealed he was their team leader. Bless her, she was trying not to look too happy, but I saw right through her.
"Someone has to make sure you take your meds," Ruby whispered back just before Blake, Weiss, Ruby, David, and I were all called up.
"Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, David Thomas, Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long… by collecting and in one case, escorting, the white knights, from this day forth you will be known as Team RWBY-D, Rose Dark, lead by Ruby Rose," That announcement sent quite a few waves through both the student body and our newly formed team. As much as I wasn't thrilled to be on the same team as Ruby, I was also very proud of her for being made leader and let her know it with a hug.
Blake's a lot better at emotions and stuff than I am, so I'll let her take over from here. There's also someone else who somehow weaseled his way into telling his part of the story…
Roman Torchwick's POV
I'm sure I need no introduction, but for those of you who've been living under a rock, the name's Roman Torchwick and crime is my game. I'm also the best goddamn thief on Remnant; I don't care what certain punks try to claim. But you're here to hear all about my side of the story, the seedy underbelly of the war with Salem and eventually the brother gods.
While the so-called heroes were being assigned to their dorms, I was gazing out a window at the shattered moon, a lit cigar in my mouth. One of the faceless White Fang minions had just dropped off a delivery of Dust and I was contemplating our next move.
"Good evening, Mr. Torchwick," Not expecting him, I started and fumbled my cigar. Needless to say I was in a very foul mood when I turned to see who had intruded.
People like to say your eyes can play tricks on you. When dealing with David Thomas, all your senses can be made liars, not that I knew that at the time. I just thought some cocky, Beacon age boy had somehow wandered into my warehouse. I grabbed Melodic Cudgel and aimed it at him.
"Look, kid, I don't know how you got here or who you think you're dealing with, but I suggest you leave before you end up in a shallow grave," I threatened.
"You and I both know you're not going to shoot what's basically a flare gun in a warehouse full of volatile Dust," He countered calmly and to make a point, leaned up against a crate of that very Dust.
"Alright kid, I'll give it to you that you're slightly more clever than most. You get two minutes to explain yourself before I kick you out," I said as I put down Melodic Cudgel and folded my arms.
"Well, I've been here for about two weeks and what kind of master thief would I be if I didn't at least say 'hello' to the biggest game in town?" He asked rhetorically, a sardonic smile on his face I would quickly learn to hate.
"'Master thief'? You're 17, the only thing you're a 'master' of is jerking off," To my surprise, instead of getting angry at my jab, his smile turned genuine and he started chuckling.
"That was good, Roman!" I will never understand how he can be so easily amused.
"What are you really doing here? Did one of your little friends dare you or something?" I was quickly losing patience with his flippant attitude.
"I meant what I said. I'm here to say hello. I have enough people looking to put knives and worse in my back. I figure I might as well make friends where I can," He shrugged.
"You expect me to believe that?" I frowned at him. Who wouldn't think he was delusional?
"To believe or not believe, the choice is yours, but word on the street is you've been desperate for money recently. If I had to guess, I'd say it has something to do with your deathly ill sister in the back room. That's something no one talks about when talking about starting a life of crime: The health insurance sucks. You can't exactly go into see a regular doctor and those back alley doctors… they'll keep your secrets and they'll do a good job, but damn if they don't charge you a king's ransom for it," He replied casually, as if I hadn't been doing everything in my power to keep her sickness a secret. I had to fight to keep my composure.
"Who are you?" I ground out. I was sorely tempted to try and kick him out then and there, but I needed to know how he found out. I should've tried to kick him out.
"Name's David Thomas and I'm not your enemy Roman. As a gesture of good faith, I'll look over Neo and see if I can't fix her up, free of charge. If you let me, of course," After getting to know him, I strongly doubt he would've left Neo to die even if I had said no. He would've just come back later, self-righteous do-gooder that he is.
In the moment, I weight my options. He hadn't been kidding when he said the docs charged you an arm and a leg. Given my position in the underworld, I was charged even more than that. I had tapped every resource available to me and Cinder's money wasn't coming fast enough. So in the end my only options were turning to crimes unbecoming someone of my stature or trusting a lunatic who somehow knew too much. My pride answered for me.
"Fine, you can see her. But if you pull anything funny I will make the rest of your very short existence a living hell," I promised him as I dug the key to the back room out of my pocket.
"Duly noted," He said, utterly unconcerned as he pushed off the crate and followed me.
I opened the door and stepped inside, David behind me. Neo was lying on her bed, the same place she'd been for the past week and a half. A month ago she had gotten sick with what we had thought was just the flu or some stomach bug. When a week had past and she was only getting worse, that's when I knew it was serious.
Neo tilted her head slightly towards me and I knew even that was an effort. Her eyes drifted towards David.
"He says he might be able to help you," I answered her unasked question. She didn't exactly have the energy to sign anything and hadn't for weeks. David was at her side in a moment.
"How long has she been sick?" He asked as he pulled some sort of handheld device out of his pocket.
"A month now, steadily getting worse the whole time," I answered.
"Over the past, oh, five years have you noticed any changes to her diet? Eating more or less food, favoring saltier foods, things like that?" He asked as he held the device over Neo, sweeping her over with it.
"What kind of question is that?" I demanded to know.
"The kind that leads me into telling you your sister has a nasty tapeworm infection. Going off what I know, I'd say she's had it for about five to seven years now," He replied as he showed me the screen of his device. On it was an X-ray of what I could only assume were Neo's intestines and there was certainly something in them that didn't belong.
"Tapeworm?! This is Vale, not Menagerie!" I exclaimed in disbelief, "And why hasn't she had symptoms before if she's had them for years?!"
"To your first question, it doesn't matter where you are, eating any kind of undercooked beef or pork or fish puts you at risk. Maybe you stopped at a hole-in-the-wall sushi place you shouldn't have. To the second point, tapeworms can live for decades with almost impossible to detect impact on the host, but all it takes is one bad infection to send the house of cards falling," David explained calmly.
"Well can you heal her?" I asked impatiently.
"Sure, simplicity itself," He answered as he drew what looked like a long stick out of his pocket, "This is gonna feel weird, Neo," He warned. Neo's only response was a weak groan.
"What are you doing with that?" Rather than answer my question with words, he did so with action. Placing the tip on Neo's abdomen, it glowed a gastly pale blue before he started withdrawing it and with it came a few long, white, flat things. They kept coming and coming until finally they were all out, the longest being about 8 meters by my estimation.
"Tapeworms," He said simply to my horrified expression. A moment later he incinerated them, leaving not so much as ash behind. Cinder didn't tell me shit, but I was able to figure out that half of what she claimed was her Semblance was something else. Now I had what could only be called magic being shoved in my face.
"Why are you doing this?" Was the only thing I could think to ask at the time. Every child on Remnant grew up on tales of the impossible things magic could do. The fact an apparent wizard was healing a criminal, even one as exceptional as my sister, was baffling to me.
"Like I said, I prefer making friends to making enemies. If you want a somewhat more selfish motivation to put your paranoia at ease, I'm a master thief. Sure I'll clean out a corrupt business man, but there's no honor, no challenge, no fun in stealing from regular people. Matching wits with a master criminal, however? That's my idea of a good time. If those criminals just so happen to be attractive enough to flirt with? Even better," He smirked at me as he began digging in his pockets for something.
"Kid, we're way out of your league and too young besides," I shook my head at what I thought was him being facetious. I would learn all too soon he was serious.
"Haven't you heard that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover? I did just pull those tapeworms out of Neo with magic. Are you sure you want to be making assumptions about my age?" He laughed as he turned back to Neo to cast more magic on her and feed her something or other from his pocket. For the first time in far too long, her cheeks gained some color to them.
"Then how old are you?" I asked sarcastically. As soon as I finished my sentence, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became oppressive. Cinder on her best day wishes she could make an aura even a fraction as intimidating. The worst part? For as crushing as the feeling was, it didn't feel hostile. It simply was, as if my existence was too insignificant for it to even consider.
"I am 7,003,345 years old. I have watched stars spin into existence; I have borne witness to civilizations crumbling to dust. But for all my age, I'm a simple being. All I want is good food, great friends, a fun scrap every now and again, and love," His aura vanished as if it had never been, "I'd like to be friends with both of you. If our relationships might evolve beyond that, well, only time will tell. For now, all Neo needs is a good night's sleep and a big breakfast and she'll be back to her usual self. Better, I dare say, given she won't have that parasite draining her anymore. See you both on the flipside."
And just like that, he was gone.
Psychicshipping: I am phenomenally pleased with the reception so far! Hopefully it'll survive this chapter. Yang having IED? Neo and Roman possibly getting more screen time? Raven pretending to be a good mother and/or being even more of a bitch?! Oh what a tangled web we weave~
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