Hey, UknownHero here and welcome to another chapter of A Simple Mission Rebirth! Now, there has been a lot of complaints about Ruby being weak in this story but there is a reason. It wasn't exactly on purpose but it will be fixed this chapter. Hopefully. If I don't screw up. Anyway, let's do this! Still reminding everyone that I absolutely suck at fight scenes. I can picture them in my head but I can't translate it into words.
Load Game… Start!
Chapter 7: A Simple Unstoppable Force 2
"Ruby, why did you bring your chess set?" Issei asked as they ran down the stairs. They had left the others to deal with Freed only minutes ago and were heading down Underground Assembly Hall where the ritual, and more importantly, and Asia were being held in,
"Just in case." Ruby answered. She wanted to use her Semblance to go faster but for some reason she had trouble stopping now, probably due to her new body. She wanted to be in her best shape and getting a face full of wall wasn't going to help. Issei was going to ask why until he realized what she meant, "We need to hurry. We're running out of time."
"Right." Issei said with a nod. They quickly made their way down and saw a door at the bottom of the stairs. They jumped down the last couple of steps and approached the door, "Is this it?"
"Probably." Ruby said as she took out Crescent Rose and Issei summoned his Sacred Gear, "There's going to be a lot of Fallen Angels and Exorcists. I know it." Ruby quickly took a deep breath, trying to stop herself from shaking. She needed to be brave for Asia. She had to get over being scared of Fallen Angels.
She wasn't going to fail again.
"Are you okay?" Issei asked, putting his armoured hand on her shoulder. Ruby swallowed a bit of her saliva and nodded, "Ready?"
"R-Ready." Ruby said, gripping onto her weapon tightly. She took one more deep breath before they both opened the door and charged in. They saw a few Exorcists, Raynare & Asia in nothing but cloth wrapped around them and symbols on their chests, with Asia being magically attached to a cross,
"ASIA!" Issei & Ruby yelled out,
"We promised we won't leave you alone!" Ruby called out,
"Ruby-san… Issei-san…" Asia said weakly,
"Oh, welcome Devils." Raynare said as she glanced at the two, "Too late." And with that, she touched the symbol on chest. Asia cried out in pain as both the symbols glowed, her Sacred Gear being removed from her body.
Ruby didn't hear anything else. She couldn't hear anything else. She ignored Issei crying out as she dropped her weapon and collapsed to her knees. The world around her shattered into millions of pieces as she just listened to Asia scream. Over and over again in her head. Her eyes just glazed over as she realized what had happened.
She had just failed. Again.
And that's when she finally broke.
(With WBYKK)
To Weiss, Freed was a lot tougher than he looked but he looked just as insane and annoying. He was a lot faster than all of them, even Kiba and Blake. He got a few hits on them but it was nothing really serious. Koneko had opened up by throwing the benches in the Sanctuary at him. When he dodged it, She, Blake and Kiba went in for the attack. Despite the numbers advantage, he was easily outmaneuvering them and getting some scratches on them. Yang was staying back, waiting for an opportunity to strike and to finally use Bloodlust. She wanted to join in but she figured five swords slashing at the "Priest" was enough and she wasn't going to endanger her fellow Devils. They still had no idea what Bloodlust would do. Anyway, after Freed started making fun of Weiss & Koneko's cup size, things started to go in their favour, with Koneko forgoing throwing benches to straight up using it as a weapon and Weiss using some of the magic Akeno taught her and trying to shock the living hell out of the bastard.
Weiss, in the middle of summoning more lightning, wondered if Akeno was going to teach her how to cast ice spells. If she was going to be a magic user, she should at least have a spell that fits with her motif.
"My my. Is this what's called a precarious situation?" Free asked, tired from the fight,
"Oh, shut it! You tried to kill my sister!" Yang called out, "You're outnumbered! It's time to pay for your sins!"
"'My sins'? I don't sin, you do!" Freed shouted back, "You are all born from sin, feed from sin and frankly are basically shitty people!" He then pulled out his gun and detached the clip, "I don't have to deal with you people anymore." He said, closing his eyes and ready for the flash and the bang.
It never came.
"What?" Freed said in surprise, only to see Blake holding the flashbang in her hand,
"You gotta learn how to keep track of your stuff." Blake said as she pocketed the flashbang, "No more tricks. You're not leaving without a fight."
"I can still kill all of you!" Freed yelled out, "I still have the Fallen Angels on my side! By the time Mr and Ms Shitty Devils get to Asia-tan, she'll be dead and so will all of you!"
"Stop trying to resist. It's over." Kiba said as he aimed his swords at the "Priest", "We promise your death will be painless."
"Please be quiet." Koneko said as she cracked her knuckles. Freed knew he was royally screwed now. He was outnumbered and out of tricks. He needed a plan to escape. He looked at all the Devils before settling his eyes on the one he knew was going to be that distraction.
Yang.
"Uh… why are you looking at me like that?" Yang asked, a little creeped out that Freed was eyeing her up, "Stop staring at me!"
"What makes you think you can talk to me like that?" Freed said, "You haven't even thrown a punch and yet you're acting like you've beaten me."
"Ugh, because unlike you, I actually care about the lives of others." Yang retorted,
"And back there, you said the Little Bitch Riding Hood is your sister, right?" Yang was starting to wonder what Freed was planning to do, but ignored it when he called her little sister a bitch,
"Shut up!" Yang yelled out, aiming Bloodlust at Freed,
"You two don't even look alike. What? Did your father whore himself out and created the bastard child I see in front of me?"
"Shut up!" Yang yelled out, her eye turning red and the gem on her Sacred Gear faintly glowing purple,
"Yang, calm down." Weiss said,
"I am calm!" For some reason, Weiss, Blake, Kiba and Koneko weren't convinced,
"Yeah, you and your sister are bastard children of a man-whore!" Freed called out, smiling evilly, "Or… is it the mother who's the whore in the family?" Freed smirked as he saw Yang's hair glowing. He knew he pissed her off. Now, it was time for the little whore to go on a rampage, hopefully kill a few of her Devil friends while he escapes into the night.
He did not expect his neck snapping clean in two though. And the decapitation.
And then Yang kept punching him.
A lot.
Until he was no longer recognized as a sentient being.
And then she started tearing into him.
And eating him.
All while her Sacred Gear glowed a bright red.
Maybe this simple little distraction may have gone awry.
"Y-Yang." Blake said quietly as she slowly approached the apparent angry cannibal. Blake knew the Blonde had a literal hair-triggered temper but this…
This was not Yang.
Suddenly, Yang punched the pile of flesh that was Freed with her Sacred Gear, causing the others to jump back. They saw that it was absorbing, draining the pile of flesh of its blood. Blake saw a gold ring forming around the gem as Yang absorbed more blood, as well as a silver ring slowly appearing underneath the gold ring and something appearing in the gem.
x1
"Guys… that's' not Yang." Blake said quietly,
"What are you talking about?" Kiba asked as everyone was getting ready for a fight,
"THAT'S NOT YANG!" Blake shouted out as Yang turned her head towards them, covered in blood and her red eyes now containing slits, like a lizard or a dragon. She stood up and looked at the Devils and only saw more power, more fuel for her Sacred Gear. She gave an animalistic growl to them before using the last shreds of her mind to realize something before her Sacred Gear gets rid of it in trade for more power.
Everyone needed to die.
And with that, she roared.
(Meanwhile…)
"Issei, leave her to me." Ruby said emotionlessly as she stood up and picked up her weapon,
"What?" Issei asked, wondering why Ruby wanted to face Raynare alone,
"Leave. Her. To me." Ruby growled, her eyes flashing red before flaring her Devil energy. Issei stepped back as he saw a cyan blue energy come off of Ruby. It was starting to suffocate him, but it wasn't powerful enough to send him to his knees. Issei nodded, although a bit nervously, and went into a battle stance,
"I won't allow you to interfere." One of the Exorcists said as he pulled out a holy weapon as Ruby started walking towards Raynare, blocking her way,
"I don't have time for you." Ruby said, unnaturally calm, "Step. Aside."
"Devil! I will destroy you!" Exorcist 1 shouted out as he attacked Ruby,
"Issei." Ruby whispered out, "They're all yours."
"Promotion! ROOK!" Issei shouted out without hesitation, feeling his body change thanks to his ability to promote. He channeled all of his strength into his legs and leaped forward, intercepting Exorcist 1's attack by punching him in the face and sending him straight through a wall. Before he could recover, his head exploded, as Ruby used Crescent Rose's sniper form to finish him off,
"I told you to step aside." Ruby said before continuing towards Raynare. Before the other Exorcists could try and interfere, Issei quickly stopped them and got ready for a serious fight,
"This is it! The power I've been wanting for so long!" Raynare declared proudly as Asia's Sacred Gear slowly and painfully left her body, "If I have this Sacred Gear then I will be loved!"
"You don't deserve it." Ruby growled as she changed Crescent Rose into its scythe form, "That Sacred Gear, life, love, you deserve nothing."
"No, little miss Devil. I've deserved this for years." Raynare said as Asia's Sacred drifted into her hands. She put the orb to her chest and slowly went into her body. From the looks of it, she was getting pleasure from the process, "Finally, I've got it! The ultimate power! With this I'll be able to make those who made fun of me pay! Why would you deny me of that!?" Suddenly, Ruby felt extremely hot as she glared intensely at the Fallen Angel,
"You… killed me." Ruby growled, "You killed my friends. You've killed my sister. You killed Issei. You've killed so many people closest to me and now this!?" A burst of blue Devil energy burst forth from Ruby, "THIS!? All of this… this bullshit for revenge!?" Ruby then threw away Crescent Rose, "You've taught me something. Something very important I haven't learned until now."
"And what will that be?" Raynare asked, though the aura coming off of Ruby was starting to make her feel… uncomfortable,
"You don't deserve to die. You deserve to suffer." Ruby answered, her irises now blood red. Raynare was now actually kind of scared of Ruby. The aura she was giving off was… indescribable. It promised endless torture and suffering for thousands of years, and the intensity of that suffering started to increase as Ruby got closer to her,
"Wh-What about the girl? Don't you care about her?" Raynare asked, hoping to distract Ruby. It worked for Issei as he finished off the last Exorcist a little worse for wear but not for Ruby,
"Asia!" Issei shouted out as he saw the magical bindings on Asia's hands fade, causing her to fall. Issei quickly caught her and set her on the ground, "Asia, we're here. Just hold on!"
"Issei… san… Ruby… san…" Asia said weakly, her eyes becoming heavier by the second,
"No no no!" Just hold on! Hold on!" Issei yelled out. Asia tried to, she really tried. She was using everything to keep her strength and stay awake. Praying to God in her head, holding onto Issei's hand, anything to keep her from fading.
"Give. It. Back." Ruby growled, "Give Asia back her Sacred Gear!"
"What do you mean 'Give it back'? You think I'll just give it back if you ask nicely?" Raynare taunted, though there was subtle bit of stuttering in her voice as she tried to get away from Ruby, "Even if I do, once a Sacred Gear is removed, the former owner dies. Sorry, but your friend is as good as dead." She then created a light spear, "Don't worry, you'll join her in just a few sec-" Raynare didn't finish her sentence as Ruby quickly dashed up to her and kneed her in the stomach and punched her in the head,
"If you're not going to give it back, then I'll make you give it back." Ruby said, tears flowing down her face as the blue Devil energy coming out of her started to become more intense, "Even if I have to rip it out of you." Raynare glared at Ruby as she used her new Sacred Gear to heal the bruises on her stomach and cheek and created a light spear in each hand. Ruby only responded and using her Semblance to retrieve her weapon,
"Well, I guess it's time to finish what I started." Raynare said as the two glared at each other,
"Ruby…" Issei said before he saw that there were a few more Exorcists coming towards them. He looked at Asia and knew he had to get her out of danger, "Asia, just hold on for a bit longer."
"Issei… san…" Asia whispered out, feeling weaker with each word,
"Ruby! I need to get Asia out of here!" Issei said as he lifted her up bridal style, "You think you can-" Issei was cut off by a red blur slicing all the heads off of all the Exorcists' bodies in a flash,
"Get Asia out of here now! She's mine!" Ruby called out, only to see Raynare trying to make her escape, "Oh no you don't bitch!" Ruby yelled out before using her Semblance to tackle the Fallen Angel down. Issei nodded before he made his way, making sure to be mindful of the bodies that now littered the ground. He really didn't want to be in the middle of this cat fight, no matter how potentially sexy it was probably going to be. Plus, Asia needed somewhere to be put safely before he helped Ruby. He mentally groaned as he remembered how many stairs there were to the surface,
'I wonder how the others are doing.' Issei thought as he headed upstairs.
(Meanwhile at a local ramen restaurant)
A woman with black hair and red eyes wearing blue jeans and a black blouse sighed as she looked at the menu. She was feeling hungry, sure, but most of the selection wasn't to her tastes. She sighed again and got a waiter to come to her, "I guess I'll have the Miso Ra-MEN!" She suddenly yelled out as she clutched her stomach in pain,
"Hey, are you okay Miss?" Another customer asked. She only sighed in response,
"I'm fine." She said before taking a deep breath, "I'll have the Miso Ramen to go, thanks." 'I have to go and stop my daughter from killing everyone.' Raven mentally added as she waited for her order, "No wait, make that two. No, wait, three. And a bottle of sake."
(Meanwhile, back at the church)
Blake, in what possibly could be the first time in history, was glad she had a broken leg and a few fractured ribs. Especially after seeing what Yang had done to her clones.
Now that she had found somewhere to hide and rest her body, she could now focus on how to solve this little… problem. First was Yang's strength. Now, Yang already had good defense and offense before she became a Devil, so whoever revived them giving Yang the Rook Piece had already made Yang an almost unstoppable force to be reckoned with. Then, there was her Sacred Gear. While she and the others were being completely destroyed by her, she managed to figure out a few things.
Bloodlust, well, was fueled by blood. And they were giving her plenty of fuel already. The gold ring represented how much blood was in the Sacred Gear and the silver ring was a timer to how long until the next multiplier, the time between each of them becoming longer and longer as the battle wore on.
Oh right, the stupid multiplier. The thing that appeared on the gem that stacked.
The last time she saw it, it was at x1x2x3. That was about 6 times her base power if her math was correct.
And by the sounds of Koneko finally crashing through the ceiling and landing after being on the receiving end of an uppercut, they were royally screwed.
Blake dragged herself to where the fight with Yang was still going on and looked inside the barely standing Sanctuary. Weiss was keeping herself out of range as best as she could, using up all her Dust and magic to keep Yang at bay. Weiss had taken the least damage out of all of them but it was only barely. She looked tired and ready to pass out and she was quickly running out of attacks. Kiba was trying to get Yang to come to her senses but it seemed to make things worse as he was sent through a wall. His swords were doing nothing against Yang. At best, he was dealing damage to her clothes. And considering that Yang was basically wearing rags at this point, it was safe to assume that Kiba's speed outmatched Yang's but his attacks were way too weak to even cause even a small amount of bleeding. Koneko was the only one (as far as they knew) who was able to at least cause some damage, but she couldn't even get near her. She was either sent through multiple walls or-
Blake winced as Koneko was sent to the sky… again. For the third time in a row.
Weiss was about to drop when she dived out of the Sanctuary and joined Blake. Kiba soon followed, clutching onto his bleeding arm.
"This isn't going very well." Kiba said as he watched Yang look for her opponents, wondering where they could've gone,
"Really now?" Weiss managed to get out. She was absolutely exhausted, "What's happening with Yang?"
"Could it be her Sacred Gear?" Blake muttered, "Maybe it's causing her to act this way."
"It is likely, but I don't remember ever seeing someone's Sacred Gear doing… that." Kiba said before covering his ears as Yang let out a primal roar,
"We need to calm Yang down somehow." Blake said as she rubbed her ears, "Maybe if we get Ruby…"
"What if she's in the middle of saving the nun right now? And the entrance to the where the ritual is supposed to be is right past Yang." Weiss pointed out, "If we try, we'll be killed."
"We have to do something. At this rate she'll destroy the church, and that will spark a war with the Angels." Kiba said,
"But we can't do anything. My leg's broken so I'm out of commission. Weiss can't use any magic or Dust. Koneko can't get a single blow on her no matter how matter times we help her. And your attacks aren't even dealing scratch damage." Blake said as she shook her head, "We need someone, anyone, to help us."
"Um, is this a bad time?" The three froze as they heard the familiar voice. They looked up and saw Rias and Akeno walking up to them, "What's the situation?" Rias asked,
"Er, first things first. Did you let us come here to rescue the nun?" Weiss had to ask,
"Is this really important right now?" Akeno spoke up,
"Where were you two?" Blake asked, ignoring the previous questions,
"Fallen Angel hunting. Now, what's the situation?" Rias said sternly. Suddenly, there was a loud boom as Koneko tried to slam her foot onto Yang's face, only to get thrown straight into Akeno,
"I hate her." Koneko managed to get out before falling unconscious, using Akeno's breast as pillows,
"What the-What's happening?" Rias asked in surprise. She was expecting the church to take some damage but this was pretty extreme,
"Buchou, the man from before that injured Issei-kun and Rose-cham, Freed, managed to anger Yang into killing him. From there, Yang's Sacred Gear absorbed his blood and now is going on a rampage. We attempted to make her regain her senses but all attempts have ended in failure and a few broken bones. At this rate, the church will be destroyed." Kiba informed the President,
"And where's Ruby and Issei?"
"We let them go on ahead while we fought the Exorcist before he was killed. They could be saving the nun as we speak." Weiss said. Rias sighed as she processed the information. This wasn't going to be an easy task and she'll probably need some aspirin afterwards,
"First off, we need to restrain Yang. And if we can't-"
"You can't." Blake interrupted, causing Rias to sigh again,
"I'm sorry, but we have to kill Yang." Rias said grimly, "It's the only way."
"I know what you meant. I mean, we actually can't kill Yang." Blake said, "It is physically impossible to kill Yang in this state. Her Sacred Gear makes her stronger over time, and combined with Rook Piece and her Semblance, she could easily destroy us all before we even make her bleed."
"Then we don't make her bleed." Rias said before flaring her Devil energy, "We make her turn to dust. All of you, stay here and rest. Akeno, on me."
"Whatever you say, Buchou." Akeno said as she placed the unconscious Koneko next to the tired group. The King and Queen ran into the Sanctuary and saw Yang tearing the place apart, looking for more blood to fuel her Sacred Gear. Yang turned and only saw the blood red hair of Rias, causing her to growl. At this point she was completely incapable of speech, her mind having fully given in to her bloodlust. The meter measuring the amount of blood she had felt in her Sacred Gear was about halfway empty and draining faster and faster, but the next multiplier to her power was coming up her soon.
Right now in fact.
x1x2x3x4x5
Yang roared and charged at them. Akeno quickly started casting spells to slow Yang down but it only served to make Yang even angrier. Weiss, not wanting to stay on the sidelines, quickly used the last of her energy to create a glyph around Yang, restraining her in place. Yang roared again and struggled wildly against her bonds, desperately trying to get out. Rias took a deep breath before gathering up her energy,
"I'm sorry Yang." Rias said as she held out her hand. Suddenly, a large orb of red energy appeared, "I hope you understand. And I hope understands too. Dust to Dust." And with that small speech, she fired it off, sending Yang her death.
Yeah. No.
Yang broke out of her bonds just in time to slap the Ball of Destruction out of the way, leaving a nice large and round hole in the church before the entire section collapsed.
Rias blinked.
Akeno blinked.
Everyone that still had their mind and/or was conscious blinked.
And Yang licked her lips.
Now they were royally screwed.
"Er… I didn't mean it?" Akeno chuckled awkwardly. Blake, Weiss & Kiba winced as Yang had used Akeno as her weapon of mass destruction. And to beat Rias into the ground. Literally. There was now a Rias-shaped hole in the ground now.
They all wondered at the same time they were either they were extremely lucky Yang hadn't killed them yet, or extremely unlucky that Yang hadn't killed them yet.
All they did know was that Yang was going to kill them.
This is not what they pictured how their night was going to be.
Especially a certain raven.
Rias groaned as she picked herself and looked up to see a woman with pitch black hair in front of her. Wearing a shallow cut black dress, five necklaces with an assortment of beads, a red girdle-belt, and a pair of matching gauntlets and wielding long-bladed, single-edged, Japanese-style sword. An ōdachi. And on her face was a fearsome, full-face mask of a creature she didn't recognize. Weiss & Blake's eyes widened as they recognized the mask.
It was a mask of a Creature of Grimm. Like the ones the White Fang use.
Oh, and she was holding a plastic bag with three bowls of ramen and a bottle of sake in her left hand.
"Just… who are you?" Rias asked as Akeno limped her way out of the Sanctuary. Raven didn't pay attention to her as she looked and the uncontrollable blonde in front of her, "What are you doing here? Why-"
"I know what you did. What you've done for your selfish desires." Raven said plainly. Rias' eyes widened as she heard those words,
"Wh-What are you-"
"Ugh, I'm saving your lives here!" Raven said before taking out a bowl of ramen from the bag, "Here's some ramen, now stay back and let me talk her down." Rias raised one of her eyebrows before nervously taking the bowl of ramen and went back to where the others were resting,
"Um, why does she have noodles?" Blake asked. Rias at this point didn't want to know so she just shrugged and started eating. Meanwhile, Raven and Yang just stared at each other, with Yang growling occasionally. Deep inside her mind, however, she had a feeling that she recognized her. But she was so deep into her bloodlust she could focus on it long enough to remember. Instead, she just roared and charged at her,
"You can do this Raven. You can do this." Raven whispered to herself, trying to psyche herself up, "Yang, I'm… I'm…" She wanted to say it, she really wanted to say it. She has been practicing ever since she came to Japan and it was high time she said it. Yang deserved it.
But, the words couldn't get past her throat.
Raven mentally cursed herself for her cowardice and just sighed.
So much for apologizing.
"Saitama-Hibiki." Raven said. Suddenly, Yang's eyes turned back to normal as she slowly stopped her charge, the gem on her Sacred Gear becoming a dull grey once again. Yang fell to her knees and groaned,
"Ugh… what hap-"
"GET HER!" Rias shouted out before throwing her ramen at Yang's face. Before Yang knew it, she was being pinned to the ground by Rias, Kiba and Blake as Koneko, Weiss and Akeno used everything they had to knock Yang out, switching when the first party became too tired. Raven would've sweatdropped, but admitted to herself that she would probably do it too if it was Qrow,
"Oh thank God." Weiss managed to say between breaths from wincing in pain. After several minutes, they finally managed to knock Yang out cold. It was worth the broken hands and toes if it meant Yang not doing anything for at least a few minutes, "That has to be the worst thing to ever happen, ever. Of all time."
"So, who are you? And what did you do to Yang?" Rias asked Raven, still out of breath,
"I can't tell you. At least, not yet. And… it's complicated, alright?" Raven said. She saw that Yang's Sacred Gear out still on her arm, so she crouched down and checked the gold ring around the gem, "Just enough for everyone." She then leaned in and whispered into Yang's ear, "Saitama-Uzumaki." Suddenly, Yang's Sacred Gear activated again, causing everyone there to jump back, "Don't worry. This thing can heal wounds too. Just let it touch your skin. It won't hurt." Though they didn't exactly trust her, but they were all very tired and injured and they remembered they still had to save someone so they let the woman heal them with Yang's Sacred Gear. Soon, they were refreshed and ready to fight, albeit a little sore in certain areas,
"Thank you, but what's with the…" Weiss started as she pointed on her face where the mask is supposed to be, "Mask?" Raven looked like she was deep in thought for a moment before nodding to herself,
"I can't tell you, but I can tell you this." Raven said as she reached into her pockets and pulled out a large, thick book that shouldn't be able to fit into a pocket. From the looks of it, it was very old and slightly charred at the sides, "Remnant is built on lies and its entire history is full of liars. My dream is to one day lift the veil."
"Wait, what!?" Weiss & Blake exclaimed,
"Remnant?" Kiba asked, "I never heard of it."
"That's because… it's our home world." Weiss answered, "We aren't from Earth, we're from another world entirely. Maybe. We came here for a mission that was given by our headmaster. To figure out and stop the strange happenings in the area. You can tell how that worked out for us."
"Really?" Rias said, surprised at the new information. This needed investigating afterwards,
"Yes. But it doesn't matter right now." Raven said as she gave the thick book to the two stunned RWBY Devils, "If you want to know more, find the hopes and dreams of man." Raven then started walking away,
"Just… who are you?" Blake asked as she held the book in her hands. Raven stopped walking before looking back at the Devils,
"Just a dusty old raven." She answered before pulling out another bowl of ramen from the plastic bag, "Oh, and uh, give this to Yang. I'm sure she's hungry after… this." Raven winced a little as she wondered how the church was still standing after everything, "I'll see you all around." Raven said as she created a portal and went into it. After that, the only sounds were the sounds of the night as everyone there just stared at the spot Raven had just been,
"What just happened?" Koneko asked,
"You know, I'm not entirely sure." Blake answered. Out of curiousity, she opened the book Raven gave her and turned to the first page. It was only a few words.
Remnants of Peace: Volume 1: Before Rebirth
Blake flipped through the other pages, only to discover that it had been written in a completely different language that couldn't be translated, "Hey, I don't recognize this. Rias, do you?" Blake asked. Rias raised an eyebrow and took a quick look at the book,
"Huh. Interesting…" Rias muttered,
"You can translate it?" Weiss said in surprise,
"No. It's the opposite in fact. I can't." Rias said as she gave the book back to Blake, "This shouldn't be possible. Devils know all languages. And this certainly isn't written in code. Looks like we're gonna have to put this for a later date."
"This mission is getting more complicated by the second." Blake said as she tucked the book under her arm, "So, now what?"
"What the Hell happened here?" A voice from behind them asked. They all turned and saw Issei carrying and blonde haired girl and looking around at the destruction, "This place is totally trashed!" He then noticed everyone staring at him and the unconscious Yang, "Huh? Buchou? Akeno? Wait, why is Yang knocked out? What happened!? And why is there ramen!?" Weiss only sighed,
"It's a very long, very complicated story."
"…"
"…"
"So… are you-"
"No."
Issei could only sigh. "Thought so." Issei then remembered he needed to find a somewhere to place Asia while he and Ruby dealt with Raynare, so he quickly found a bench that wasn't obliterated and put her there. Her breaths were becoming shorter with every second, "Please. Just hold on a little longer Asia."
"Is this the girl?" Weiss asked as she approached the nun. She looked deathly pale and Weiss quickly checked her pulse. She was cold and her pulse was becoming faint, "Oh no. What happened?"
"Her Sacred Gear was taken by Raynare. But Ruby's down there fighting to get it back." Issei quickly explained, "C'mon Asia. Stay with me. You're stronger than you think, just don't close your eyes, keep 'em open. Come on, Asia. Please…"
"Issei…" Rias whispered to herself as she saw her Pawn trying to keep the girl alive, despite knowing that it was already too late for the girl,
"Don't worry, we'll get it back!" Issei declared with determination, "Just hang on for a little longer." He was about to leave to help Ruby but felt a faint tug coming from his armoured hand. He looked back and saw that Asia was stopping him,
"…Even if it was for a short while… I finally had friends…" Asia said weakly, "…I feel… so happy…"
"What are you saying?" Issei asked before reaching into his back pocket and finding the pictures he, Ruby and Asia took earlier today, "The pictures we took, we have to go next time. Just please, stay awake…" Asia only responded before grabbing the picture,
"…If I am born again…" Asia said softly, tears starting to form in her eyes, "Would you be my friend again? …Would you and Ruby… play with me again?" Issei started to chuckle nervously,
"Wh-What are you saying? Don't say stuff like that… let's go to a lot of fun places! Hey, we'll all go to the arcade again. We can go to karaoke… even bowling…" Issei was starting to cry now. He wasn't going to let Asia die, he was going to help Ruby take it back, he just needed Asia to last a few minutes longer, "That, you know…"
"Issei." Rias said, cautioning to speak up, "She's-"
"Don't you dare say anything." Issei growled, causing Rias to shut up. By now, all the others were starting to tear up, "Asia, please… we're friends! Me and Ruby, we'll always be your friends! Even after our lives as Issei, Ruby and Asia ends, we'll find each other and we'll be friends in the next life! And the next! We promised you that you'll never be alone again, and like hell I'm breaking it even in death! It's the bonds we've created that ties us together, this invisible unstoppable force that binds our destinies! I'll even introduce to Matsuda and Motohama! They're biggest perverted idiots I know, but they're good people! They'll be your friends, I guarantee it! We'll all have fun together! Just…. please…" Asia only smiled and lifted her and up to Issei's cheek and wiped away the tears,
"…I am glad… you cried for me… I don't need anything else…" Asia said, feeling herself fade away, "Thank you."
And then she was gone.
"Why…?" Issei sobbed out,
"Issei…" Weiss whispered out, tears going down her cheek. Who knew this pervert could be so… poetic?
"Why…?" Issei said again, "Why did this girl have to suffer like this? Why does she have to die?" He then pointed at the night sky, "HEY GOD! ANSWER ME! DON'T YOU TAKE THIS GIRL AWAY FROM ME! COME ON! WHY!? JUST FUCKING WHY!?" Issei shouted out before kneeling next to Asia, "Just… please… let me make her smile. Let me and Ruby make her smile one last time…" Issei then looked at his Sacred Gear and knew what he had to do.
Maybe it was fate that led to this moment. Maybe it was chance, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that they were there. They were there to see her smile. They were there to see her cry. Issei looked up at the stars and knew what his entire life had led up to this point.
It was time to truly end Asia's suffering once and for all.
"She'll pay." Issei said, his Sacred Gear glowing, "Everyone who caused this girl to suffer will pay…"
"Issei?" Kiba said as he looked on. There was an immense amount of power coming from his Sacred Gear now,
'So, this is the power of the Boosted Gear.' Rias thought with a smirk, 'This will be interesting.'
And then suddenly, Issei ran. He went down the stairs before leaping off, wanting to get to the Underground Assembly Chamber as fast as possible,
"Promotion! ROOK!" Issei yelled out, promoting to ensure that he would land in one piece. His Sacred Gear continued to glow brighter and brighter as he fell. When he landed, the ground cracked beneath him as he landed in a three-point pose, 'This is for you, Asia.' "Raynare, you will pay for what you've done." Issei said as he ran towards the door, pulling back his fist and getting ready to punch it, "I don't care if God hates me. I don't care if I'm weak."
Even a Pawn can kill the King.
"I'll get Asia's Sacred Gear back if it's the last thing I do!" Issei declared as he let his fist fly.
BOOST!
"I'M COMING FOR YOU RAYNARE!" Issei yelled out as he blasted the doors open.
And stared.
Because, Asia was already avenged by Ruby. Though, not in the way he expected.
(Rewind!)
"ARGH!" Ruby yelled out as she slashed at Raynare. They've been going at it pretty intensely since Issei left to get Asia to safety. Ruby didn't know where this blue energy was from, but frankly she didn't care. It was helping, enhancing her body in so many ways. This felt better than when she unlocked her Aura. Hell, this felt better than anything she could think of. Her body moved without her thinking. She just… acted.
She actually had no idea what was going on, especially with the whole blue energy thing, but she was really angry so she didn't care.
Anyway, both of them jumped back before charging at each other, their weapons clashing in the middle, "Why won't you just lay down and die!?" Raynare shouted out, "Getting the Sacred Gear won't change anything!"
"It may not, but I'm still trying!" Ruby shouted back, starting to get the upperhand, "This is for everyone you've hurt! This is for me and my friends! This isn't about taking it back, it's about paying for your sins!" Suddenly, all of the cyan Devil energy gathered into her hands and used to blast Raynare back. The Fallen Angel quickly recovered as Ruby dashed up and tried to attack. Raynare countered, and actually disarmed Ruby and knocked her weapon away.
But she wasn't finished. She wasn't going to fail again.
Again, her body moved before her mind as she gathered everything she had into the palms of her hands, forming into two blue balls of energy. Before Raynare could act, Ruby shoved it into her face.
Darkness.
That's all what Raynare could see. She looked down at her hands and only saw the white outlines on it. Before she could wonder why, she suddenly collapsed in pain. She looked down and saw that three spears and stabbed her right through her gut. She tried to pull them out but the more she tried, the more pain she felt.
She screamed. She thrashed around as she suddenly felt millions of people beating her senseless to an inch of her life.
And then she opened her eyes.
She was on the ground with Ruby looking at her. Her red eyes were filled with pity, anger and happiness.
Raynare tried to get up, but she could still feel the pain. She tried to use Twilight Healing, but it didn't work.
"Do you feel that?" Ruby asked with a sadistic smirk. This was not the Ruby from earlier that day. She was worse. Much, much worse, "The pain, the suffering you've caused upon others?"
"Wh-What?" Raynare managed to get out,
"That was just Issei's suffering." Ruby answered as she summoned another ball of energy, "And this is mine." Before Raynare could react, Ruby shoved the ball down her throat. She screamed in pain as she felt herself getting torn apart from the inside out.
Guilt. Pain. Weakness. Sadness. Loneliness She felt everything Ruby felt, all of her suffering throughout her life, tenfold. It was torture. And these sequences kept repeating. Over and over. All she could feel was pain.
"This is Weiss'."
Raynare kept screaming and thrashing around. All she wanted was the pain to stop.
"This is Blake's."
All she could feel was her head trying to split open. To try and get rid of everything she's felt so far. It wasn't working.
"This is Yang's."
She wanted it to end. She wanted to die. She couldn't handle any of this anymore. Raynare summoned a light spear, wanting to commit suicide, but Ruby stepped on both of her hands before she could.
"N-N-N-No m-m-m-m-m-more… please…" Raynare choked out. She was an absolute wreck and crying. She didn't care anymore. Even if someone were to get rid of all of her pain receptors, even if she could no longer feel pain, she just wanted her life to end, "No more…"
"And this is Asia's." Ruby said before shoving into Raynare's face before kicking her against the wall.
And thus started the worst ten seconds of her life.
"Do you think you've had enough? After everything you've done?" Ruby asked the now crying, broken, Fallen Angel,
"Kill me." Raynare could only say weakly. She just wanted her life to end.
Ruby had other ideas however.
"I don't think you've suffered enough." Ruby stated before creating another ball of blue energy, causing Raynare to panic,
"No. NO! NO MORE!" Raynare cried out as she tried to get away from Ruby, but from the intense pain she was feeling right now, all she could do stare at Ruby, who was slowly approaching her,
"They say that an eye for an eye makes whole world go blind." Ruby said as she studied the ball of energy before looking back at Raynare, "Those people fucking liars. Eye for an Eye."
And those were the last thing she heard before everything around her shattered.
And that was Raynare's last moment before she was destroyed.
(Present!)
"Oh…" Ruby groaned as she rubbed her head, "What happened?" She tried searching her memories, and could remember bits and pieces. Asia's Sacred Gear was taken by… someone… and the next thing she knew, she knocked out by a flying door. She groaned again and opened her eyes only to realize one thing.
She was using someone's boobs as pillows.
"Are you of good health?" A voice, a girl's, asked, her voice empty. Ruby looked up and saw her eyes, completely devoid of a soul,
Ruby quickly blushed before she realized who this person was.
It was Raynare. And she was completely naked.
She frantically got off her and stepped away. She had no idea what was happening so she needed to find the others and try and regroup. She then bumped her back on Issei, who was just staring at the naked Fallen Angel with a bleeding nose.
"I-Issei, what the-WHAT'S HAPPENING!?" Ruby shouted out, shocking Issei out of his trance. Raynare stood up and approached the Human King,
"Mistress, do you not remember?" Raynare said, her expression still blank,
"Um, what?" Ruby & Issei asked. Raynare then kneeled down, took Ruby's hand and kissed it,
"I am nothing. I am not alive. I do not exist. I only serve my Mistress. I do not have a name. I do not remember what I am before my rebirth. My name is of your choosing. My life is yours to use. Throw me away, destroy me, I am here only to serve the one that has given me my rebirth." Raynare said tonelessly, before showing off her new Devil wings, "I am your Pawn. And I only live to serve Ruby Rose, my King. My master."
Ruby blinked.
Issei blinked.
And Raynare just stared blankly at them.
"Excuse me but do you mind repeating that?" Issei asked. Raynare only blinked and continued to stare,
"U-U-Uh, d-d-d-do y-yo-y-you m-mi-m-mi-mind s-sa-say-s-saying th-t-t-th-t-that a-ag-a-ag-a-ag-again?" Ruby squeaked out,
"I am your Pawn until the end of my life, Mistress." Raynare responded plainly,
"Oh." Ruby said, right before fainting on the spot. Issei freaked out and was about to try and awaken Ruby, only for Raynare to catch his hand,
"Do not harm my King." Raynare said, only for Issei to respond by punching her in the face with his Sacred Gear,
"That's… a lot… of stairs…" Weiss panted out as everyone else finally made it down to the Underground Assembly Chamber, with Koneko dragging the still unconscious Yang down the stairs by her left leg, leaving a nice indent in each step, "Issei! We're here to help!"
"Let's go get-why is she naked?" Blake asked as she saw the naked former Fallen Angel, "And why does she have Devil wings?"
"I have no idea." Issei answered before looking at the unconscious Ruby, "But, I think do know one thing." Issei said as he saw Raynare, having recovered from the attack, approaching Ruby and placing her head on her lap, "I don't wanna know."
Rias only looked at Ruby & Yang and realized this was going to get a whole lot more complicated.
(A few minutes later…)
"U-Uh… give Asia's Sacred Gear back." Ruby nervously told the soulless Raynare, who was now dressed in the clothes she wore on her & Issei's date. After Ruby woke up, Issei explained everything she missed out on like Asia dying and the state of the church, which the others were very reluctant to reveal how it became that way, as they were walking back up to the surface while explaining that Raynare was now a Devil of Ruby's peerage. Now they were in the process of keeping their promise to the dead nun,
"Of course, my King." Raynare said as she placed a hand on her chest over the symbol. Due to only recently getting the Sacred Gear, she could remove it without dying as it hadn't fully integrated into her body yet,
"We aren't going back to Remnant, are we?" Blake stated as she saw Yang starting to stir,
"I know. I've known that for a long time." Weiss replied,
"Ugh… what happened?" Yang muttered as she got up and looked around, "Wait, what? What the Hell happened?" She then looked around and saw the surprisingly clean puddle of flesh. Yang looked a little green when she saw it, "Oh Go-Hell, what happened to… that?"
"It's… better if you don't know." Kiba answered. Rias, Akeno, Weiss, Blake, Koneko and Kiba promised to never speak of that incident ever again and make sure it never happens again. Not until they understood what to do if it were to happen again.
And, when they find the Ramen Lady.
"So, this light…" Issei started as Raynare gave the orb to Ruby,
"This is Asia's Sacred Gear." Ruby finished. She could feel a calming, almost peaceful aura coming from it,
"Hey, wait a minute, isn't that…" Yang said as she recognized Raynare,
"Please don't attack her." Weiss informed the Blonde Brawler, "She's… one of us now. She's a Pawn."
"…Huh?" Yang said, only to be shushed by Koneko,
"Let it go." Koneko told her, "The girl killed you isn't there anymore. Only her body remains." Yang wondered what Koneko meant before shaking her head. She could always have her revenge later,
"Now then, let's return this to Asia Argento-san." Rias stated as she took the Sacred Gear from Ruby,
"Why though? She's already… gone." Ruby said sadly, "I think Raynare said it herself. Even if we give it back, she's still dead. In the end… we couldn't save her. Even though we promised, we still failed!"
'What was the point of coming here anyway?' Issei thought to himself, 'We did beat the Fallen Angels, but in the end, it wasn't worth it.' He then shook his head, 'No! That's rude to my comrades.' "We did our best Ruby. Even if things didn't work out in the end, at least we tried." Issei told the crying girls softly. Ruby sniffled a little before wiping away her tears,
"Y-Yeah. We tried." Ruby whispered out as she smiled at the pervert before standing up and looking at her friends, "Prez, everyone. Thanks for helping us fight for me, Issei and Asia's sake. You all went through the trouble of helping us and yet…"
"Ruby, you need to remember, this isn't your first life." Rias interrupted as she pulled out a Bishop Piece, "Recognize this?"
"Uh… that's the Bishop, right?" Issei hazarded a guess while Kiba and Koneko got Asia's body as Akeno started preparing the ritual,
"Right. Ruby, how many Evil Pieces do you have left?" Rias asked, turning on her lecture mode,
"Well…" Ruby started as she checked her chess set, "I still have my Queen, a Bishop, a Knight, a Rook and all of my Pawns except… er, you know. Why do you ask?"
"Because, people with a Title of Nobility, such as Kings, should have a complete chess set. And thus, potentially, 15 people in their peerage." Rias explained as she put Asia's Sacred Gear above her chest as well as the Bishop Evil Piece, "I've already used my Queen, a Knight, a Rook, a Bishop and Pawns, totaling my number of peerage members to 5. Ruby has four right now. The Bishop's power is to follow its family. I can use this girl's restoration powers as a Bishop." Rias then looked at the dead nun, "Although this is unheard of, I'll try and-" Rias didn't finish her sentence as Ruby quickly pulled her into a hug,
"Thank you…" Ruby sobbed out before realizing something, "Wait, why can't I revive her?"
"Um…" Rias said as she tried to think of a reason, "Because you already have a Bishop."
"Yeah, but, you just said you already used yours." Said Bishop pointed out. Rias, Akeno, Koneko and Kiba froze for a second before they continued what they were doing,
"M-My, uh, other… Bishop is… a little occupied right now. And… you can only reincarnate one person per day." Rias said awkwardly before coughing while mentally cursing herself for lying even more. One day, this was going to bite her in the ass. The RWBYs and Issei didn't buy it but they just went with it, "Anyway, let's do this." Rias said as she stood over Asia, "I command thee, Asia Argento, on my name Rias Gremory, become my servant and once more return thy soul to this land and become a Devil." Suddenly, light started to fill the area as the others watched on, "Thou shall lead a new life as my Bishop!" Ruby covered her eyes as the light was starting to blind her, but let some light in to see Asia's Twilight Healing and the Bishop Piece sink into her body,
"There's a simple unstoppable force that binds us together. In life and death, we promise… we'll never leave you alone…" Ruby & Issei whispered to themselves as Asia opened her eyes,
"Hm… I…" Asia groaned a little. She felt like she just woke up from a deep sleep. She looked around and saw some people she didn't recognize except… "Ruby-san? Issei-san?" Ruby and Issei could only laugh as tear flowed down their faces,
"Thank you, Buchou." Issei whispered out. Rias sighed softly before smiling. The things she does for the happiness of her peerage,
"Issei, Ruby, you two are her sempais now. Show her the ropes of the peerage." Rias said, "Now, go and take care of her and show her the ropes. Ruby, I grant you permission to act as Issei & Asia's King if you wish. We'll work out the details later."
"Hey, WHAT!?" Issei & Ruby exclaimed before Rias pushed them towards the newly reincarnated Devil, causing them to trip and land on Asia. They all groaned in pain before they looked at each other and laughed,
"Welcome back, Asia." Ruby said,
"We promised, didn't we?" Issei said. They all hugged each other while the others looked on, "Let's go back. We need to replace Ratchu-kun after all." Asia looked at them in surprised before smiling and squeezing them tightly,
"Of course." Everyone smiled as they saw the three friends hug each other. It was such a sweet moment.
Too bad Yang had to ruin it.
"Hey… when can I beat up the Fallen Angel?" Yang asked, causing everyone there to sigh,
"…Promote to Rook." Ruby said as she continued to hug Asia.
"Of course. Promotion, Rook." Raynare said robotically,
"Okay, Yang! She's yours!" Yang only smirked as she cracked her knuckles.
Time for some much needed therapy.
(Some time later…)
"So that was a thing." Yang said as Team RWBY and their newest member entered the apartment. Apparently, Raynare couldn't remember where she lived so after Yang's therapy session, they decided to cut the now former Fallen Angel some slack and let her live in the apartment until they got her a place to stay,
"Yeah, it was…" Blake muttered, wincing at the memories of Yang's… thing… whatever it was. She just wanted to rest and study the book the Ramen Lady gave them. Maybe try and translate it,
"We still need to do the report. We're overdue by several days." Weiss pointed out, "What do we say? 'Oh, we're Devils now! We've been reincarnated by someone we don't know after died! And the person who killed us is an emotionless puppet now due something happening!' Ruby, do you even remember what you did?"
"Why do you guys assume I did it!?" Ruby exclaimed, "I don't remember! Maybe someone…"
"It was most likely you! You were the only one there to fight the Fallen Angel! So what did you do!?" Weiss called out,
"I DON'T FUCKING KNOW!" Ruby yelled at the Heiress, her Devil energy flaring. After things settled down, they all just collapsed to their knees,
"Are you calm, Mistress?" Raynare asked,
"I-I'm…" Ruby started before sighing, "We're not going back to Remnant, are we?" Everyone nodded sadly. Zwei saw that the girls were back and quickly ran and jumped into Ruby's lap. Ruby absentmindedly petted the corgi as she tried to figure out their next move. She sighed as she knew what she had to do. She put Zwei down and went to do the report. After attaching a copy of the photos she, Issei and Asia took earlier at the arcade to the report, she read the only line in it before sending it.
Team RWBY is dead but we have been reborn, as the life we used to live was no longer an option.
"Friend Ruby… I hope you are still here." Penny muttered as she looked at the school in front of her.
Today was the first day of her mission.
(The Day Before…)
"Alright, let's see…" Rias muttered as she pulled out a book from her personal library and turned to the page she wanted, "There we go. Alright, let's see what my apprentice can do." She said to no one in particular as she read the title of the chapter.
Chapter 7: The Power of Suffering
Save Game… Quit!
Whew! Done! I know there are some weak moments in this chapter but I can't think of anything else but I guess I'm proud of this chapter. Anyway, stay tuned for more! See ya!
UknownHero signing off, my friends!