It is time!
The Volume I finale is at hand! There's no better intro I need then that, after all its not been another five months since the last update!
…hopefully.
A-Anyway! Let's get things rolling, let the action begin and let the finale begin! It's show time!
}Episode 23: The V1 Incident (Volume 1 Finale Part 2){
There's a lot of things you could say about anger.
I've heard people describe it as a means of getting more powerful, how a person's anger can drive them to further their strength in order to destroy the object of their ire. How rage against something or someone can literally be the only thing driving them to keep on living, and that the angrier they got the more powerful and ferocious they become.
There have also been times where I've been told that anger and rage is something that should be feared. How it can turn you into the monster, blinded and oblivious to the truths around you. How you should never give in lest you reap what you've sown.
Given the amount of shows and movies I've watched, I've seen plenty of examples of both views, sometimes simultaneously. In my own personal view though, I've always seen anger as both a strength and a weakness.
Out of control blind rage is great for hitting someone that much harder, but at the same time there's no planning or conscience thought which can get you hurt. Take Yang for instance, her Semblance and her anger issues have caused her to mess up on more than one occasion. But sometimes there's not kill like overkill, just ask the Hulk, Kratos or Asura from Asura's Wrath. Sometimes anger is the only tool you have to take down the gods themselves.
I am generally not an easy person to piss off. I get annoyed as hell a lot, sure, and I'll get mad at some idiot messing up my plans, absolutely, but getting to the point that my blood boils in rage? Honestly, not very often.
…
…
…
You know, I don't appreciate all the disbelieving stares you're all giving me. I may have some paranoia and panicking problems, but I do not have anger issues! As much as my eccentricities may prove otherwise, I am a rather laidback person when the world isn't conspiring against me. Losing myself in a berserker rage only occurs when someone truly crosses the line with me, and that's happened so rarely I could count the number of incidents on two hands, and that's including my charge against Grunt.
Like when my older sister sold off my senior year high school science fair project to help feed her habit the day before the science fair! Suffice to say, I didn't get that scholarship and I screamed myself ragged and broke a few things of hers in retaliation. The rest of my family treated me like a ticking time bomb the days following that, that's for sure.
Then there was that time at college I got thrown in jail for a night because I had the audacity to try and make my own fireworks for me and my friends for the freaking Fourth of July! Oh no, let's not do anything about the rowdy frat guys down the street, let's just listen to the overly offended hippie pricks that call in a god damn bomb threat on me even though they knew that wasn't the case! AGH!
Oh and don't get me started on the last few episodes of Volume III. First Penny got axed, and sure, fine, you need your drama to show how serious things have gotten, I could accept that through my anger. But then Blake gets stabbed by her asshat ex-partner who then proceeds to cut off Yang's arm! This pushed me into outrage mode, but when Pyrrha got disintegrated moments after confessing her feelings to Jaune, I lost it.
Maybe I do obsess too much over fictional characters, but many people do. Sometimes those characters are more real to us than any live human being. So when someone forces those characters to go through drastic changes all for the sake of making things gritty and dark when the past had a more lighthearted, comedic tone, then of course I was pissed. Those characters didn't have a choice in the matter, and it was just used to slap us in the face with edginess for the sake of edginess at the cost of plot threads and character arcs.
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…
…
But yeah, those are just three examples. And with their wide range, it's no surprise that Grunt made the list. It wasn't just the beating he'd given me that night, but because he was essentially the one who ruined everything for me.
If he hadn't of blown up Ye Old Dust Shop, I wouldn't have been homeless, I wouldn't have run into Foxy and been put on the White Fang's hit list, I never would have been forced into the job at Beacon, and I never would have become entangled with the story. Because of him, I had been beaten, bruised, blown up, cut, starved, kidnapped, and stressed beyond measure. I was only in that position, drastically changing the canon, because he existed.
And that's how I failed to avoid the plot, because of the actions of one yellow toothed, ugly son of a bitch. Him getting off scot free without a scratch, and with my axe no less, just pushed me over the edge, as all of this realization hit me at once.
Now, generally, I don't sit around planning killings and maimings like some psychopath. If I had though, I probably wouldn't have gotten myself into that mess, but I still strived to be a good guy for better or for worse. But since blind rage does not a sound mind make, I decided to kill him with a forklift.
Clearly, this was the perfect time for my common sense and planning skills to sit in the backseat while my emotions took over and made me act like an irrational mess.
"GRUUUUNNNNNTTTTTT!"
Such as shouting your enemy's name at the top of your lungs when you're ten feet from him. And as you all know, letting someone know you're about to shishkabob them doesn't usually work out.
He turned around at that, and his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as I bore down on him. He had not heard me till my shout due to the roaring fire and the battle ahead, but I ruined that element of surprise.
"OH HELLS!" he shrieked and dove to the side, the prongs missing him by inches. Now, when rationality returned to me later, I was thankful I didn't skewer him since I didn't want to be a murderer, but even then, I still took comfort that I didn't miss him completely.
*THWUMP*
"AAAAAHHHHH!" Grunt cried out in pain as the forklift tires ran over his left foot.
I smiled maliciously as I quickly hit the brakes and looked back at him.
"You damned little shopkeep!" he roared as he struggled to a standing position, using my axe as a crutch. "You brokes my foot!"
"Good!" I shouted as I spun the wheel while reversing, leading to a sharp and fast spin.
"OOF!" With only one good leg, Grunt couldn't dodge as the prongs swung into his midsection like a baseball bat and hurtled him towards a non-burning warehouse.
"Oh Yous Bastard!" he bellowed after he stopped rolling and held his chest.
"Now you know how I feel!" I screamed as I aimed the prongs at him and shifted back into drive. It wasn't completely true because I still felt ten times worse with my burning stomach and pounding head that just screamed at me to sleep it off, but I intended to correct that. That's the beauty of heavy machinery, it does the work your broken body can't.
Just as he staggered his way back to his one good leg, I hit the gas. He let out a gasp of fright and began limping towards the warehouse, but my speed was faster. But before I could ram him into the wall, he turned back around and turned sideways, right between the fork. The prongs hit the brick wall, and I was rattled a bit from the impact as my vehicle stopped abruptly.
"Damn it!" I groaned as I held my head. If I hadn't been concussed before, I sure was now. With my vision swimming, I looked over my steering wheel at Grunt who had wedged himself into relative safety. He still had some cuts along his gut since he wasn't skinny enough to avoid all damage, and the bricks that fell from the wall did a number on his head, but he was still stuck between me and the wall and not dead.
"Yous crazy bastard! I'ms gonna makes you pays for this!" he yelled at me defiantly as he tried to wriggle out.
"Oh Shut Up!" I responded as I tried to reverse and push forward but the forklift would not budge. This only caused the moron to struggle faster.
"I'ms gonna mount yours head ons a pike!" he threatened, but his promises of decapitation just flew in one ear and out the other as I let out another enraged scream.
"You know what! To hell with it!" I said as pulled my gun up. "You can't move, so just be a good little fish in a barrel, will you?"
I then aimed my pistol right at his struggling form and fear surged through his eyes.
My finger was on the trigger, ready to pull back and finally test out my modified ammunition…but I choked and paused. It's one thing driving in a blind rage towards the person you hate the most, it's another thing entirely when they're trapped and you're aiming your gun at their head as they look into your eyes.
Call me weak, or spineless, or a pansy, but I couldn't pull the trigger. My more rational side was coming through, and it let me know one thing. I was not a murderer.
What the hell am I doing? I thought to myself in horror. Sure he was an asshole and probably deserved it, but I had just had a psychotic episode and tried to kill a person with heavy machinery and was now aiming a gun to his head. That decidedly was not something I would be okay in letting myself go through with. And so, shakily, I lowered the gun. But then again, it's because of that stupid bit of human decency that I almost got killed.
"I…" I started before I grit my teeth. "Just drop the axe and I'll let you live, which is more than I can say about your friends back there."
Now that I wasn't immediately going to blow his brains out, the fear dropped from his face as he became more defiant.
"Yous costs me some of mys bests mens, you breaks my foot, try to runs me through, and nows yous wants this axe?" he growled, motioning to my property in his outstretched hand.
"That's right. Now drop it, or I swear I'll put a hole in your face!"
"What's so special abouts this axe? I just picked it ups because it was ons the gr-" his eyes then flickered with recognition as he saw the pulsating purple glow coming off of the head. "Gravity Dust?" he asked with a smirk.
Oh Shit!
I started to raise my gun again, but the damage was done, he brought the axe down on the front of the forklift and unleashed the unspent Gravity payload inside. It was only a quick and weak swing, but the force still jettisoned the vehicle backwards fast, freeing him from his snare. Because I had been leaning over the wheel to aim at him the jolt back actually caused me to tumble head over heels forward out of the lift and onto the ground back first.
"Oooooooohhhhhhh," I groaned as my body once more screamed that I was just a normal human being and not meant to take such physical punishment. I heard the crash behind me of my stabby chariot hitting something, but what snapped me back to reality more was the panting and groaning coming not five feet from in front of me.
Grunt looked a bit more hurt thanks to the jettisoning of my ride, and he was leaning over my axe like a lifeline, but unlike me, he was standing.
Oh Crap, Oh Crap! I panicked as I felt around for my gun, but it was nowhere in sight. NOOO!
It was then that Grunt looked to my sprawled form and sneered. Still panting heavily, he turned to face me better.
Crap! Gotta get out of here before Grunt murderizes me! Come on you stupid body, move!
Apparently falling out of a moving vehicle while already being injured makes it kinda difficult to get back on your feet, as I found out when my body refused to get back up. So instead I started to crawl.
"Wheres yous think yous going?" he groaned as she slowly limped after me.
I didn't answer as I struggled to crawl away from him across the course, rough concrete.
"You knows you little shopkeep, yous are a lots more troubles then yous worth," Grunt grunted as he started to close the distance. "Yous ruined everything…My boss is gonnas kills me for sures, ands that's if the Fang don'ts guts me first!"
Oh God! He's giving the cliched 'villain monologue on the cusp of defeat' speech!
"We's was gonnas make a pretty lein by selling yous and the Schnee to the White Fang, but thanks to yous nows that's overs!"
I only managed to move a few more feet before he gripped the back of my coat and flipped me over to face him, and I'm not going to lie, the look of bloodlust on his face was the most terrifying thing I'd seen in Remnant yet. My phobias of Cinder and Neo could not compare to the snarling viciousness of that gorilla then and there. I felt like I was staring at the face of death itself, a very, very, very ugly face with rancid breath, but of death none the less.
"Aws…there's no needs to be so scareds shopkeep. I'm justs gonnas brutally murders ya is all!" he said in malicious glee as his grubby hand wrapped around my throat.
"UGK!" I gasped out as he closed my windpipe once more, the only difference this time was there was no one around to stop him.
Not like this! I panicked as I kicked my leg at his broken foot.
"AAAHHH!" he cried out in pain as his leg gave out and he fell on top of me.
"OOF!" I gasped as he stopped choking me, and I started wrestling my arms around his arms holding my axe. "You heavy bitch let go!"
"Yous little bastard!" he insulted right back as he struggled against me. I may have had all of my limbs functional, and he wasn't choking me, but he still had a good 200 lbs on me or so. So despite my struggling, and our tossing and turning, he of course got the upper hand. We ended up with me on the bottom on my stomach, as he put his knee into the middle of my back.
"Aaaaaggghhh!" I cried out as he began twisting his knee into my spine.
"That's right, keep struggling. It's the leasts yous could do for this mess yous caused," he said gleefully, all but salivating. He then gripped the back of my hair and jolted my neck up making me look toward the burning wreck of the warehouse. "Look at yous accomplishments…"
"Your own men did that!" I growled through gritted teeth as I still uselessly struggled.
"Bullshits!" he growled as he brought the axe blade near to my face. "Yous and the Schnee escaped, and alls my mens is dead. I knows it was yous."
He wasn't exactly wrong. Even though it was ultimately all the idiots inside that blew themselves up, none of them would have done that had Weiss and I not triggered it with our escape. I did indirectly lead them to their deaths, which is still something that eats at me some nights…but in that moment, that little guilty voice at the back of my head was overshadowed by the threat of my impending death.
"For whats yous dids to thems, and whats you dids to me, I's will pays yous back a hundred folds," he said turning my face sharply to look into his crazed eyes.
I responded by hawking a bloody loogie into his eye, because I figured I was already dead, so why not? He took it about as well as you'd expect.
"RRRRAAAGGHH!" he pushed my upper half back to the ground, ringing my bell once again, which brought tears to my eyes.
"Alrights yous little pricks! Times To Die!" he roared as he turned me back over onto my back. Even on his knees he towered over me as he raised my axe above his head.
And in that moment, I had no thoughts of anger, fear, or defiance. I just cried as sorrow and defeat took over me, as I realized beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was about to die, and nothing could stop it. I had brought this on myself by letting my irrational hatred take over. I would never see my family or friends back on Earth ever again, and it was all my own damn fault.
"I…I just want to go home," I blubbered uselessly, which caused Grunt to smile.
"Heh, then yous should have killeds me whens you hads the chance. But don'ts worry shopkeep, I's be sending yous home. It's closing time after alls," he quipped as he hit the switch and the axe thrummed with more Gravity energy. And with a battle cry, he brought it down towards my face.
Just like with Cardin's shield attack, time seemed to slow for me as the axe made its way towards my head. My life flashed before my eyes, and all I felt was regret. There was no way for me to dodge, no awesome Matrix move I could make or turn the table. I was dead. No ifs, ands or buts. And so I closed my eyes, not wanting the last thing I ever saw be the ugly ass face of my murderer.
I don't-
*KRAKOOM*
"AAAAHHH!" Grunt yelled as his voice got some distance from me and an explosive thunder rattled my head.
I snapped my eyes open, my ears still ringing and my head swimming, to see a shimmering field of purple energy inches above my face. Right above my temple, with a crack in its field.
"What the Hell?" I managed to cough in surprise as the shield flickered. I didn't know where it came from, but my body and mind was more than jubilated at not being dead.
Disorientated, and more than a little rattled, I sat up and looked around. Grunt lay about 15 feet away sprawled on his back, and my axe sat in the middle of us.
The axe must have kicked back when it hit that shield instead of me, I reckoned. But where did it even co-
I stopped as I spied a figure near the wrecked remains of my forklift. A White Fang member, holding a purple tinged hand out in my direction.
"What the…?" I began, just as the Fang grunt lowered their hand and the shield disappeared from around my head. Before I could question anything though, Grunt began to groan and my eyes shifted to him.
"Oh, whats was that's?" he mumbled deliriously as he started to sit up. The minute his eyes focused on me, we both looked at the axe and then back at each other, and then almost simultaneously, we both began to move.
"NO! Not this time!" I cried as adrenaline pumped me to my knees and I began crawling for my life. Grunt shambled upon his knees as well, but was hampered due to his broken foot, but he was still less off than I was. All in all, the mad dash ended with my hand reaching my axe a half second just before his meaty paw did.
"Gotcha!" I cried triumphantly as I held it out of his reach and scrambled backwards.
"GYAH! Just give ups already!" he bellowed as he tried to flop on me like a walrus and pin me again. But this time, I was in a more advantageous position. As he flopped, I rolled to the side, and when he tried to get back up, favoring his right leg, I kicked my foot out towards a critical place he left open.
"AAAAIIIIEEEE!" Grunt sang in soprano as he curled into the fetal position. That's right, I pulled off a Sullivan Signature and kicked him where the sun don't shine. God I love that move.
As he continued to scream in a high pitch tone, I used my axe as a cane to get to my feet and look down upon my tormentor.
"Yous…bastard! Whens I cans feels my legs again, I's gonnas kills yous!" he threatened as he looked at me towering over him, the tables having completely flipped.
"You know what Grunt? Maybe you will," I panted. "Maybe tomorrow, or next week, or next year…but it's not going to be tonight!"
I then touched the dial on my axe, and instead of a measured payload of Dust, I allowed for it to be overloaded. The glow from the axe head became even brighter and it began to vibrate even more intensely, and I held it over my shoulder.
"Yous better kills me then this times," he threatened as he started to uncurl himself.
"Maybe it will…but I doubt it since you're so freaking tough," I told him as I adjusted my grip so that the flat side of the axe was facing outwards. "But either way, this is going to hurt a lot."
He started to snarl as I stood sideways from him and held the axe to my side.
"By the way, I'm not a shopkeep anymore. I'm a janitor…and janitors take out the trash."
After my quip, he attempted to jump at me, but I was already in the process of swinging. And so, with a mighty golf swing, I struck him with the flat side of the axe head and the gravity pulse released.
Unlike with the wall, the amount of energy actually threw me back to the ground, but that's nothing compared to what happened to Grunt. He launched into the air at an angle and disappeared over the dark open waters in true Team Rocket fashion.
Once I no longer heard his screaming, all around me became blessed silence…aside from the crackling of flames and the sounds of battle just down the road.
"I…I…" I panted as I stared up at the sky. "I almost fucking died!" I began to cry and giggle uncontrollably as the last few minutes cemented themselves as reality.
"What am I even doing? What is happening with me? Why am I so damned stupid and crazy now?" I sobbed, surrounded by the destruction. I was alive, but barely. I ached all over, I wanted to sleep, and I just wanted all the madness to be over.
I'm not a warrior, what was I thinking? Why do I keep ending up in these situations? What force or god did I piss off this badly? If that White Fang grunt hadn't shielded my head, it would have been mush. It was then that I even thought about that anomaly and opened my teary eyes.
Standing above me was said White Fang member, holding a pistol in their hand. Before despair could overwhelm me again though, they turned the gun around and held it out to me grip first, and that's when I noticed it was my Dust Gun.
"Uhhhh…" My brain and emotions still a mess, I reached out and took the gun from my mysterious savior. They let it go without a fuss. "Who…who are you?" I asked as I tried to take in any details about them, but their uniform hid a lot.
They didn't answer me though, but instead, they crouched down, put my arm around their neck and pulled me to my feet.
"Ooohhhhh," I groaned as I was forced to stand again, but the White Fang soldier took most of my weight on themselves.
What is happening here? I thought in confusion as they carefully and gently walked me away from my battlefield.
My gun was still clutched in my free hand, while the Dust Axe hung loosely from my grip in the arm around their shoulder.
"If you're taking me to your friends, please don't," I pleaded with my silent rescuer. "I don't want to go to the White Fang higher ups, please…"
They said nothing, but they tilted their head a bit to look at me through their mask, and I saw ocean blue eyes in the slits.
"I'm not a bad person, I swear. Please don't hand me over to them," I stammered, too weak to do anything else.
Again, they said nothing and just adjusted their hold on me and led me closer and closer to the sounds of battle.
"I don't want to go there, please," I begged. "You shielded me so there must be some good in you or something. Please just drop me so I can-"
The Fang just let out a grunt of exasperation as they shook their head and turned down a pathway between the warehouses and the shipping containers, heading back towards the city. Away from the battle.
I couldn't believe it, I literally couldn't believe how this was turning out. Not only had I been saved by someone from a group of people that hated my guts, but they had also given me back my weapons and was carrying me to safety.
"Thank you…whoever you are," I said in gratitude as they dragged me.
But why are you going out of your way for The Creeper? Have we met before?
*BOOM*
Both me and my escort stopped as suddenly several of the shipping containers were rocked by an explosion. Looking up, they began to teeter and fall in our direction. Before I could even think to act, the Fang grunt all but picked me up and zig zagged through the falling debris.
"AAAAHHH!" I contributed by yelling as heavy hunks of steel missed us by inches.
After so many quick sudden jumps, scurries and leaps, the Fang was clear of the falling wreckage…but in the process we were now on the cusp of the battlefield.
"Oh Christ, please get us away from here," I begged fearfully as I saw the action up close. Aside from the countless unconscious White Fang grunts all over the ground, I saw Blake and Weiss dealing with their own group of the terrorists, and Sun facing off against Torchwick by himself.
Okay, Okay, things have changed slightly due to Weiss being involved, but things might still be Okay, I thought in panic as my guardian picked me back up and began leading me along the sides, trying to find a path out.
Any minute now, Ruby and Penny are going to fly in and put everything right, I told myself as the combatants did fantastically choreographed moves. I looked above the containers and the battle, looking for any sign of the two teens.
Any minute now…
*BLAM*
"UGHK!"
"SUN!"
Hearing the grunt of pain and Blake's fearful shriek, I looked back over my shoulder, and I paled.
There, on his knees, was Sun, holding a bleeding wound in his stomach courtesy of Torchwick who lorded over him.
"WHAT?!" I shouted in alarm as Torchwick raised his cane up and shot Sun in the chest, making him sprawl backwards onto the ground.
"NOOOOO!" Blake screeched as Sun now bled from two gunshot wounds and was wriggling on the ground helpless. My helper stiffened and froze as their eyes caught sight of this as well. My jaw had dropped, I struggled to breathe, to think, to even comprehend what I was seeing. Torchwick had beaten Sun, and for all I knew, he was dying.
"I…I…" I stammered as Torchwick began a slow, taunting walk towards his beaten foe, like a true villain would. Further away, Blake and Weiss struggled against their combatants, but they were too far away to do anything.
This…this isn't supposed to happen! He's not supposed to die here! I mentally screamed. Sure Rooster Teeth may have forgotten him, but this was a major departure. It wasn't supposed to go down like this, and the only reason it was happening was because of my actions.
As Torchwick neared the downed Sun, I looked up to the sky, desperately wishing for reinforcements, but they didn't come.
"You're not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you kid?" Roman taunted the wounded teen, who despite his injuries, glared defiantly at his enemy.
Roman smiled and raised his cane to Sun's face.
*BLAM* *BLAM* *BLAM*
Three shots rang out, louder than the ones before, which got everyone's attention. The shots didn't come from Torchwick however. They came from me.
}Line Break{
All eyes turned towards me, my smoking barrel in the air, before I aimed my pistol at Torchwick and shouted,
"PUT DOWN YOUR GOD DAMN WEAPON NOW!"
It wasn't shouted in confidence, or anger, but desperation. As I gained everyone's attention, I wrapped my arm holding my axe around the throat of my White Fang rescuer and got behind them, which caused them to gasp in shock. Torchwick was confused at first, but once recognition hit him, he smiled smugly at me, still not taking his cane off of Sun.
"Shopkeep, is that you?" he asked playfully, "My my, the months have not been kind to you."
"I said drop the god damn gun! Now!" I ordered, not playing his game. My hand shook and ached from the kickback, with the hair on the back of it burned off. The dust ammunition had made a much louder boom than was normal, and he knew that. So, despite his smug demeanor, he lowered his cane from Sun's face.
"Now back up! Do It!" I waved the gun at him, and playfully he did so, smiling the whole time.
What am I doing, What am I doing?!
As he did though, the attention of the White Fang members landed squarely on me, and gasps of outrage were aplenty.
"It's the Creeper!"
"What's that bastard doing to our sister!?"
"Shit! He must have been the one that helped the Schnee escape!"
As more and more of them stopped fighting a surprised and befuddled Weiss and Blake, I waved my gun at them too.
"J-Just all of you stand down! Or I'll…" I faltered, before putting the gun against my rescuers head, which made her whimper. "Or I'll blow her head off!"
"Hahahahahaha! Oh isn't this just precious! The hostage has become the captor, what a weird way the world works eh shopkeep?" Roman laughed in amusement while some of the alarmed Fang lowered their weapons.
"I'm so sorry about this…I won't shoot you I promise, just go with it" I whispered to my hostage in her black canine ears now that I was behind her. I felt guilt beyond measure about how I'd just betrayed her, but it's all I had. If I hadn't done something, Sun would have died, and I'd have completely destroyed canon for good. As it was, a pool of blood was forming underneath him which made my anxiety increase tenfold.
"Let her go you filth!" a White Fang man ordered, and I glared at him wildly.
"I'll let her go alive and well if you just stand down and let us all leave! If not, I'll kill her I swear!" Despite my reassurances earlier, she still shuddered in my grip.
He looked uncomfortable at this demand, but despite this, the majority of the Fang still had their guns drawn on Weiss and Blake, who were still in defensive stances.
"You're not going to get out of this shopkeep," Torchwick said confidently, causing my eyes to snap back to him. "Or should I say Creeper? Hahaha, what a very shameful moniker I must say."
"Sh-Shut Up! It's not true anyway!"
"Well seeing as how even right now you're preying upon a young Faunus woman, I would have to say otherwise," he chuckled and I grit my teeth.
Just stall for time. For cops, for Ruby, for anyone! Just stall so Sun doesn't die!
"Y-Yeah, well then I should have figured you'd be dumb enough to believe rumors and lies. So, I guess I should believe the rumor about you being sterile now right?"
His eye twitched as I brought up our last encounter and he frowned a bit.
"Oh right…that dreadful incident. You know, I don't usually make things personal with the saps I 'borrow' from, but that little incident made it difficult for me to keep my personal feelings aside."
"Borrow my ass. Now tell everyone to stand down, or things will get messy!"
He sighed in dejection at my order.
"And here I was trying to have a civil conversation. Guess that's what I get for trying to speak reason with a homeless peon."
"IM NOT A HOBO DAMN IT!" I shouted, causing my hostage to squirm a bit, but that got Torchwick to smile again.
"Ah yes, the conditioned response I've heard so much about," he chuckled and my face whitened.
How did he get that info about me? I've mostly said that at Beacon! Emerald!? Cinder!?
"Well no matter, at least you saved me the hassle of having to track you down myself, but I can't help but wonder, where did Grunt run off to?" he asked, as his eyes scanned around the battlefield. "Since you and the Schnee are here, I'm assuming the worst?"
"H-He's Dead! All of them in that warehouse are! And I'll kill all of you too if you don't back down!" I stretched the truth, trying to instill some sort of modicum of fear. And while the idiots that started the race war were most assuredly dead, Grunt's fate was literally up in the air.
"Well, I suppose I should congratulate you shopkeep! You managed to take care of one of my best lackies, bravo!" he mock clapped as the White Fang goons looked at me with anger and unease. "Then again, he was a lughead who didn't have the intelligence of a baby Beowolf, but still quite an accomplishment for someone so scrawny."
"Yeah, well I'm full of surprises," I tried to boast as I sent helpless looks to Blake and Weiss. Though all they gave me were equal looks of confusion and helplessness to the situation I'd made.
Torchwick's chuckling continued for a few more moments as he shook his head, before he suddenly gained an inquisitive look and put his non-weapon holding hand under his chin in thought.
"But if what you say is true, then you've cost me quite a lot of effort with that warehouse…I suppose I'll just have to make it up with yours and the Schnee's bounties," he said as if he was completely in control of the situation. I kept quiet at that, not rising for the bait. As much as he was a smug asshole, he was a main villain for a reason. He was a smooth talker that could recruit anyone and had the brains to have a nationwide smuggling ring, and I wasn't going to win against him in a battle of wits.
Seeing as how I wasn't reacting, he just let out a disappointed sigh.
"Now listen well shopkeep, I am what you would call a gentlemen thief. I have a status and image to uphold with this title, and your little stunt with Red put quite a dent into it. Now these other brats are interrupting another one of my jobs, and now so are you."
"Trust me, I don't want to be here at all, now quite monologuing and tell everyone to stand down!"
"Oh? Why would I do that?" he asked rhetorically.
"Because I'm a deranged maniac at the end of his rope!" I grunted in exasperation, his taunting aggravating my swimming head even more.
"Oh please, Monkey Boy here is more dangerous looking than you, and he's dying," he chuckled, and my eyes glanced to Sun who's gasps were becoming less frequent.
Shit! No No No! I began to sweat as I glared right back at the son of a bitch.
"Yeah, well you don't have to be scary to put a bullet through one of your people's heads!"
"She's not my people," he dismissed which turned some heads. "What do I care if you waste her? Besides, I hear dying for their cause all the rage with these Fang fanatics."
That got plenty of growls from the surrounding Fang grunts, and a scathing glare from Blake. I even grit my teeth at his casual dismissal of another life, but it only spurned me onward.
"Yeah, well I'm sure they think otherwise!" I nodded towards the other White Fang. "Now if you punks want your friend to live, you'll point your guns at that white coated asshole and let the Schnee and the cat girl through to the bleeding kid!"
At first nobody moved and Torchwick smirked his shit eating grin.
"Did you really think that was going to work? They know what they signed up for," he said raising Melodic Cudgel towards me. "Now let's stop fooling around and get to your retribu-"
He was interrupted as all the nearby Fang aimed their weapons at him. To say his face was dopey in shock would be an understatement. Hell, I probably looked the same.
"Lower It Now!" a male Fang ordered the completely bewildered Torchwick.
"What are you stupid animals doing?! I'm not paying you to listen to some hairy bum!"
"You're not paying us to needlessly die on your command either, now lower it!" another Fang grunted.
Torchwick just looked left and right dumbfounded before he grit his teeth and lowered his cane gun.
Holy Shit, it actually worked, I thought with happiness. Now don't let it be said that I don't have great negotiating skills, especially when I'm bargaining someone's life. Torchwick only had himself to blame though for being flippantly racist at the wrong time. Though if Adam had been here, he probably would have shot through both of us…
Shaking off that mental horror, I looked back at Torchwick with my own smug grin.
"Who's in control now bitch? Now, put the cane on the floor. Weiss! Blake! Get to Sun now!"
As Weiss and Blake made their way unmolested through the crowd towards the injured Sun, Torchwick glared at a White Fang member who insisted he follow my orders. With a huff, he dropped Melodic Cudgel to the ground and raised his hands behind his head.
"You, are going to severely regret this shopkeep," he threatened with hatred in his eyes.
I already am, I thought with a shiver.
"Now kick it over here! Chop Chop!" I said as I emphasized, pushing the gun closer to my betrayed rescuer's head. She let out another gasp of fear, and her breath sounded ragged.
"It's going to be okay, just stay calm. I'm so so sorry about this," I whispered, trying and failing to soothe her nerves.
Roman grunted and slid the cane closer to me, just as Weiss and Blake reached Sun.
"Sun! Sun! Oh my god!" Blake shrieked as she leaned over him.
"Is he still breathing?" asked Weiss.
"Yes, but barely!" Blake said hysterically as she looked in anger at all of the other Fang members.
"I can stop the bleeding, but it won't be pleasant!" said Weiss as she held up her weapon.
"Do It!" Blake ordered.
Nodding, Weiss placed the tip of her sword to one of his wounds, and ice began to form around him, causing Sun to spasm and groan in pain.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Weiss apologized as she did the same to his other wound. And while Blake held him to stop his spasms, she looked at me and asked,
"Mr. Sullivan, do you have a way out of this?"
"K-Kind of," I admitted as I looked nervously at the entire enemy looking at the first aid.
I can barely walk as it is. Oh please don't let them see how weak I am right now, I prayed as I coughed to get the Fang's attention.
"Alright, now, we will all leave here, with my hostage. When we're safely away, I'll release her, but if anyone attempts to block our passage, she's dead. Got It?!"
Several of the Fang growled, but they acquiesced.
"Blake, Weiss, grab Sun and follow me," I ordered. With no other options, they followed my advice and grabbed him by the shoulders and legs.
Nodding, I whispered back to my hostage. "Alright, just back up slowly, I'm going to be leaning on you and-"
I trailed off because suddenly, Torchwick was smiling again, when only seconds before he was scowling. It was as if he had nothing to worry about.
This doesn't make any sense. Why is he suddenly so calm? What does he think that I don't think he knows?
"You know, despite all the annoyance you've caused me, that was almost a pretty good plan." Blake, Weiss and I grew weary at his change in demeanor.
"Almost?" I asked.
"Oh yes, but you've made a critical mistake."
He's bluffing! He's got nothing…Right?! I wavered as my eyes darted around.
"And what's that?!" Blake asked angrily, but his eyes never left mine as he answered.
"A Gentlemen Thief never works alone…" he all but sang and my eyes widened in fear.
From the corner of my eye, a flash of pink, brown and white appeared.
"Shield!" I quickly yelled to my hostage. Instinctively, she did as she was told, and a purple glow emanated around us, and not a moment too soon. For the second time that night, a sharp object had been stopped mere inches from my face, only this time, it was a familiar looking umbrella.
NO NO NO NO NOOOO! I mentally screamed as me and my hostage stumbled from the impact. And then in the blink of an eye, my leverage was gone.
"HOOMPH!" she cried out as my assailant literally kicked her out of my grip, leading her to fly into the arms of her comrades and for me to fall flat on my ass.
"Well done my dear, and quite fashionably as well. Fashionably late that is," Torchwick chuckled as I raised my hands to uselessly defend myself.
No! She's here! I'm Dead! I'm So Fucking Dea-
I stopped cold as I saw the coy smile and bloodthirsty eyes of the one holding the umbrella.
"…Who the hell are you?" I asked dumbly as my nervous system went into overdrive. Instead of seeing the triple ice cream threat of Neo, I was looking at a small girl with teal hair, white pasty skin, and cruel purple eyes. Even if my brain hadn't have been scrambled, that still would have left me in a land of confusion.
The girl with the umbrella…winked at me, scooped up Torchwick's weapon, and leapt to his side.
"Thank you my dear," he applauded as he took Cudgel back from her. "Nice look by the way, new dress?"
"I…I…" I gasped as Blake and Weiss looked around at all the White Fang who were now re-aiming their weapons back at us now that the hostage was freed.
"That's more like it you dogs," Roman chuckled. "Now I vote we put that unpleasantness behind us. Ah, just in time."
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted three Bullheads heading our way, because of course that had to be the one consistent thing that happened this whole night.
"I told you you weren't getting out of here shopkeep," Torchwick smiled cruelly as the White Fang snarled and growled and bore down on me.
Opening and closing my mouth like a fish, I looked to the concerned faces of Blake and Weiss as the sharks moved in.
God…Damn It…it was such a good plan too.
"Now, you can play with him and the Schnee as much as you like later," Torchwick ordered as his not-Neo smiled at our predicament. "But first we have a job to finish. So get your heads in the game and-"
"FOR X-BOMB!"
And then the world exploded as Nora happened.
}Line Break{
For the next good chunk of minutes, my consciousness would go in and out in a daze. I only heard tidbits of people talking before the waves of black would swallow me again.
These, are those tidbits:
"Oh great, more brats to deal with."
"Mr. Sullivan! Mr. Sullivan can you hear me!?"
"Quick, help me get Sun over here!"
"-ang!? Where are the oth-"
"YOU BASTARD!"
"Get away from him!"
"I'm going to make you all blow up even more!"
"I am combat ready!"
"Don-get aw- Dam-"
"I have multiple data units on medical knowledge. Please, allow me to help!"
"-stabilized! Now help Mr.-"
"Unlock his Aura damn it!"
"Wha-how is that…"
"Wake Up!"
Around here is when I eventually came fully too. Of course fully is subjective as the world was far too bright. My head and stomach still hurt, I was sluggish, my mouth felt like cotton, and I just wanted to sleep, but someone wouldn't let me. "Oooohhh," I groaned as my eyes found purchase on four faces above me, who all decided to speak at the same time.
"Mr. Sullivan!"
"Boxman!"
"Friend Hobo!"
"X-plod!"
"Ugh…too many names and voices!" I moaned and tried to close my eyes.
"Nuh Uh, cut that out! Falling asleep now is bad news," Yang ordered me and shook my shoulders.
"Ugh, stop it," I complained, but she didn't as I was pulled into a sitting position.
"Take care, his diagnosis is fragile," Penny advised.
"Yes, he is most likely concussed with possible internal bleeding," Weiss added.
"Was that before or after I brought the hammer down?" Nora asked nervously.
"Before, though I doubt your destructive rescue helped…thank you by the way," Weiss said meekly.
"No Prob!"
"Well if he is concussed, he needs to stay awake. Come On!" Yang "gingerly" slapped at my face, which from her was still jarring.
"Okay, Okay," I groaned as I forced my eyes open again…and was met with quite the sight.
Two crashed and burning Bullheads, at least six destroyed shipping crates with (somehow) unexploded dust and other supplies, craters as far as the eye could see, and lots and lots of unconscious White Fang grunts. Like, no joke, probably a decent chunk of the Vale cell lay on the ground. And there were flashing police lights everywhere.
"Holy crap…what'd I miss?"
"The ass kicking of a lifetime, brought to you by the one and only me of course!" Yang bragged haughtily.
"What do you mean only you? Me and Penny did the most damage," Nora pouted standing next to the robot girl.
"Yeah, well I finished up all the stragglers," Yang said, still cocky.
"Okay, let's stop with the bragging already and get him to the paramedics," Weiss harrumphed. As she said that, I looked right at her and noticed the lack of two certain Faunus.
"Weiss! Where's Sun?! Where's Blake?! Did-"
"Mr. Sullivan, easy now. They're alright. They're at the ambulances right now," she reassured me and pointed to the cacophony of way too bright lights.
Through the haze, I saw Sun on a stretcher, loaded into the back of an ambulance as Blake watched in worry.
"Oh cruel, cruel universe, let him be alright," I mumbled drunkenly.
"I'm sure he will Mr. Sullivan. Your stunt may have just saved his life," Weiss smiled at me. If I hadn't of been so dazed, I would have appreciated that more.
"Yes, Friend Nora here insisted that I drop her from the air right into the middle of everything to rescue you," Penny said excitedly.
"And it worked! Oh man was it awesome! Oh by the way, I'm gonna hang onto your gun and Axe till you're better" Nora giggled and Yang rolled her eyes.
"You and Penny?" I mumbled, not registering that sugar rush had my gear. "Where's Ruby?"
"She, Jaune and Ren went looking for Weiss a few hours ago after she stopped returning our calls after she said she'd found you," Yang explained looking to her teammate, who looked away sheepishly.
"Well, I did. But suffice to say, we were captured by these brutes. I'll explain more later, but let's get him some help for now."
Nodding, Yang effortlessly picked me to my feet and I winced.
"Would have figured you'd be more immune to explosions after everything," Yang chuckled, but I didn't answer as I leaned into her shoulder.
A part of me filed away how completely wrecked the finale had gotten. Like how Sun was critical, it was Nora instead of Ruby that had been the cavalry, and literally everything else wrong, but an even bigger part of me was just thankful I was alive. I had escaped death not once, not twice, but three times in only a few hours. So, what wasn't wracked by pain in my body was cheering in gratitude. Only one of the instances had been by my design, the other two had been blind luck and seemingly divine intervention.
"Come on, keep your head up!" Yang ordered as she jostled my head off her shoulder.
"For Pete's sake Yang, can you please treat Mr. Sullivan a little carefully? We don't want his injuries getting worse than they already are!"
"Pfft! Please Weiss-cream, Boxman over here tanked an explosion and is still semi-okay. He can take a shoulder to lean on."
"Yeah, you're much stronger than her…" I drabbled before concern hit me. "Where is she?"
"I'm right here," Nora chirped.
"No, the faunus girl," I grunted.
"She is attending the paramedics as they-" I interrupted Penny.
"No, the White Fang girl! My hostage!" I emphasized as my rolling eyes looked over all the downed terrorists. With so many, and knowing so few characteristics about her, I couldn't tell if she was amongst them.
"Oh yes, her," Weiss said looking a little apprehensive at me. "When Nora dropped, I lost sight of her in the ensuing fight."
"You took another White Fang girl hostage?" Yang asked in surprise.
"Another?" Nora inquired, but I ignored her.
"Yes…she saved my life and I…" I trailed off feeling shameful about how I'd treated her, whoever she was.
"What are you talking about?" asked Weiss but I just shook my head. I was far too drained to even try to explain.
"Easy now, conserve your energy Hobo Friend," Penny said soothingly.
I nodded weakly as Yang started carrying me out of the remains of the battlefield, towards the paramedics.
As we got closer and Sun's ambulance sped away, I noticed a figure running towards us past the police line. It took a bit for my eyes to adjust, and when they did, I felt raw panic shoot through me.
Running towards us was Emerald. And while Yang smiled and waved at the concerned and happy expression on her face, I didn't see that. All I saw was how she just so happened to show up at the same place Neo did, or at least who I thought was a disguised Neo. Hell, it could have been an entirely different girl for all I knew, but I know only one person who uses a umbrella as a weapon in this world. And that's Neo, who was supposedly Emerald's friend who literally just tried to kill me. In my tired mind, that's all I could really focus on.
"No, No!" I spasmed as she closed the distance, and the others looked at me in confusion.
"Whoa, hey what are you-" I ignored Yang as I tried to get out of her grip and run. All I succeeded in doing though was ending up back to back with her momentarily which caused an even worse pain to strike my chest.
"Calm down, it's just Zatanna," Yang huffed as she turned around and grabbed me by the shoulders. She then turned me back around to face her, with her back to the approaching Emerald. "Now get ahold of your…"
Yang cut herself off as look of shock sprang to her face. Weiss, Nora and Penny all shrieked in panic and Emerald…Emerald stopped and cupped her mouth in her hands as her eyes widened in horror.
"Chris…Oh My God, Chris!" somebody, I can't remember who shouted.
What…are they…staring at? I thought deliriously as I followed Yang's line of site to my chest…and that's when I saw it. Oh…
Between me and Yang, sticking out of my chest like I was a pin cushion, was an arrow. Not just any arrow mind you, an arrow made of pure fire. The type of arrow only one person was cable of firing. By the time that fact registered…that's when the burning started.
It felt like a horde of fire ants spreading through my body, biting every piece of skin they could find. My insides felt like they were melting and that my skin was going to fall off my bones. There was no screaming coming from me, hell I doubt I was even cable of saying anything. What was only a few seconds, felt like an eternity as the burning pain spread until the arrow seemingly melted into my chest leaving only charred flesh and the smell of cooked skin.
I had done well till that point to stay awake, but as I found myself upon my back once more, the darkness came for me at unrelenting speed as my consciousness ran from me. I felt many hands upon my body and I faded away, and I realized, if this was it, if I was going to die after all of this, then the least I could do was get even with the world I'd tried so hard to correct.
So, with a tongue as heavy as concrete, and my ears deaf to the outside world, I uttered one last 'Fuck You' to the plot that'd gotten me killed.
"F-Fall…Ma…Maiden…Stop…Cin…"
That's all I got out before I thought no more.
And that was the first time I died…
}Episode End{
Angst! Get your fresh angst here! Dead man walking and some angst, get it while its hot!
Remember when I told you guys I tend to mix dark themes and situations in my comedies, well if you guys didn't believe me then, whoaaa boy. I hope I managed to surprise you all with that ending, and I am looking forward to all the outrage reviews!
To be honest, I'm just looking forward to all you guy's general reaction to how this whole episode went. Should be pretty interesting hehehehe…
Just how much has Chris suffered? Who was the mysterious White Fang Grunt who (temporarily) saved our hero? Was that really Neo with Torchwick, and how will Chris's words and actions effect Volume II? Find out in the next chapter folks!
Now, if you all think I've got a nice lighthearted Omake for you all to help balance out this whole chapters darker mood, wellll….
It's time for a canon Omake, and considering what just happened in the episode? Hehehehe, time for some POV switch! Roll the clip and start the show!
}Omake 8: It Happened Too Fast [Canon]{
"F-Fall…Ma…Maiden…Stop…Cin…"
It happened too fast.
One second she was goofing around with her bud after he took a nasty explosion to the face, and the next he was just laying there, with a hideous burn across his chest.
Yang didn't even fully comprehend it, and it had happened right in front of her as the others clamored over him.
"CHRIS!"
"MR. SULLIVAN!"
"MEDIC! I REQURIE A MEDIC IMMEDIATELY!"
The others cried out, desperately trying to handle the situation. That weird Penny girl was getting the attention of the on-sight medics, Nora was frozen in shock and Weiss and Zatanna were trying to do something, anything for him.
Move! Don't just stand there, help him!
"Chris! Oh My God Chris! Stay with me damn it! Shit! Shit! Someone get a medic already damn it! He's Not Breathing!" Zatanna shouted clearly panicking as her own breathing became ragged and she cradled his head, as if it would help.
Why aren't you moving?! That's your friend lying there dying! Why aren't you helping?!
"Did…Did anyone see where that shot came from?!" Weiss asked in worry as she began to look around.
"The trajectory must have come from the back," Penny said analytically. "He turned around briefly and when he was facing forward again, the projectile was in him."
Not that it mattered much, as whoever shot her friend was probably long gone by now.
Stop gawking like an idiot and do something! He saved your life! Don't let him die!
Yang's eyes blinked owlishly at that as the paramedics and Blake arrived.
"What Happened?!" Blake shrieked in horror.
"He Was Shot!" Zatanna bellowed as the paramedics pushed her aside and began to work on him. "He was shot and he's not breathing! He's Not Breathing!"
Blake just looked at the distraught woman in shock as Nora came out of her stupor and silently hugged the woman, tears in both of their eyes.
"But…but who?" Blake stammered to Weiss.
"We don't know," she said sullenly. "But whoever they were, they were aiming for Yang…"
He…saved my life? Yang concluded as she remembered him shouting 'No' and squirming behind her.
Yes you idiot! That arrow was going to hit you in the back! He knew it was coming!
Yang's eyes looked at where her friend was laying as the paramedics started using aura to treat the burn away, while another one began using CPR.
That…would have been me?
Yes! He saved you! Your friend saved you! And you're just standing there watching AS HIS ASS DIES!
Yang's fists began to tighten as her thoughts started pounding in her mind.
Several more paramedics arrived, and with them, they carried a defibrillator. Upon getting the paddles out, they charged it up and placed them against his burnt chest.
"Clear!" they called out and a thump of energy made his body convulse.
"Do it again!" Zatanna ordered as nothing happened.
"We have to wait till it charges!" the paramedic answered tersely.
"I can help with that!" Penny said as she merely touched the machine, and suddenly it was primed and ready again.
"…Okay then, Clear!"
They repeated the process three more times as all gathered looked on in worry and sadness, and numbness in Yang's case.
"I've got a pulse! It's weak, but it's there!"
"Oh thank goodness," Weiss exclaimed as Blake and Zatanna let out breaths of relief, while the silent Nora became less tense.
"He's not out of the woods yet! We need to get him to the ER yesterday! Back the ambulance up!"
"There's too many Faunus in the way!" the driver said from further away.
My friend…saved me…
FOR FUCK'S SAKE, YES! This is probably the third time he's saved your ass, and you're still just standing aside while he dies! DO SOMETHING!
A fierce, determined look sparked in Yang's eyes as she looked to the ambulance, so far away.
THAT'S RIGHT! NOW MOVE THAT HOT ASS OF YOURS, YOU'VE GOT A BOXMAN TO SAVE!
Before anyone could stop her, Yang scooped Chris's lithe form into her powerful arms and made a mad dash towards the ambulance, ignoring everything and everyone she stomped on to get there.
"Yang!" several voices called out for her, but she ignored them as she carried her broken friend to salvation. In a sprint that would make her sister proud, she arrived at the other medical staff who were only just in the process of bringing out the stretcher. At their surprised faces, she laid him down upon the gurney and turned to them with her eyes glowing red.
"There! Now hurry up and save him, or you'll have me and my sis kicking your asses!"
The medics stuttered a bit before quickly nodding, before they loaded him into the back and began driving away with haste. As they did Yang only had one thought left.
You better make it Boxman, Ruby won't forgive you if you don't. I won't forgive you…I'll drag your ass back just to kick it if I have to!
And as the flashing lights disappeared into the distance, she was joined by four others, who said nothing in their grief, as two of them put their hands on her shoulders in comfort.
You Better Make it…
}End Omake{
Ah, the sweat taste of depression and desperation. I wonder which of the girls reactions will spark you guy's rants, can't wait to find out!
But seriously, I hope you all enjoyed that little dive into Yang's head and the other's reactions to Chris's shooting. I wonder who feels more distraught over it through? The distraught Emerald? The shocked to silence of Nora (which is saying something since it's Nora)? Yang's whole 'going into shock and out of it' trauma? The other's reactions? You make the call!
I had a blast writing this chapter! I've had this finale planned from day one, and to see it finally published is just…amazing. Now if only it didn't take my lazy ass three years to finish off volume one….oh crap I'm going to be 85 by the time this story is finished aren't I!?
In all seriousness, I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It may not be as funny and light as they usually are, but I hope you all still had fun reading it!
Anyway, enough yapping from me. Time to move onto my favorite segment, lets get to calling you guys out!
proiu: Glad that your still reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
PasiveNox: Hmmmmmmmm…indeed
GEStorm: I think what I enjoy the most of this fic is finding new ways for Chris to blow something up. I should set up a white board and just diagram future explosions or something…but yeah, glad you enjoyed the talk with Weiss and I hope you also enjoyed this ep!
ubivashka-kun: I'm glad you have such a high opinion of my fic, and yes you don't see many hobo fics in the RWBY fandom, much less explosive ones. As for your question, well as a future archeologist once said 'Spoilers.'
point: Bringing up the deep philosophical question huh? Personally, I feel like Grunt beating anyone up is just the symbolism of how all grunts beat up someone, personified as one human being. One very dumb, very ugly human being. Hope you enjoyed rereading the fic!
travisck: Well I didn't spear him, but I did punt him across the ocean ala Team Rocket. Hope that works out just as well for you. As for the whole near-death thing…well you read the chapter. As for aura, 'Spoilers.'
TheBioshockRwbyFan4life: No, your awesome! And the fic has continued!
TM Calypso: I'm glad so many people are liking that scene, I was honestly pretty nervous about it when I first wrote it since I wrote Weiss's character the least of team RWBY. I was scared I got her character wrong but looks like I was worried over nothing. And if that was your favorite part of last chapter, I can't wait to see what you liked about this one. Not a lot of talking…well nice talking at least hehehehe.
Prestige Productions: Hahahaha freaking love that last line! And as for cliff hangers, oh man you probably hate me for this chaps huh?
splithaven: …You know I can kinda see it. Not all the time maybe, but when he's going nut or in the Zone I can picture it.
Stryker: Welp, now you know how he handled it! Hope it met up with your expectations!
As usual, thank you all for reviewing! Seeing what you guys like about the episode or just general questions or jokes always brings a smile to my face!
Don't forget, there's no shame in leaving ideas for the fic or Omake request/ideas either! I always appreciate the extra inspiration and jokes, as well as whatever the Omakes turn. Don't forget to leave some feedback either so I can continue making this fic awesome!
All logic used in this fic is completely head-canon, especially in relation to dust and the physics behind it. If you don't agree that's okay, its just how I see things.
Since last episode, our follow count has jumped up to 633! As for our favorite count has pushed past the halfway point and reached 467! Thank you all so much for continuing to support the story, and I hope you guys continue to enjoy reading this!
This has been LightDusk16, signing off!