Slayer: Alright back to the main series!
Judan: Still no one really cares that much.
Slayer: I hate you.
Shadow: You know we have things to do.
Slayer: Fine let's get to it, not much to discuss here I suppose…
Judan: True…
Zach: Anything new being planned?
Artemis: Well I'm a new character sort of… but I don't know of anything else…
Slayer: Not a whole lot right now. But we will be changing this to RWBY Dishonored soon. I mean it still works, just not as well.
Shadow: Yeah I guess, but still RWBY Fallout could work to… meh we'll wing it.
Slayer: Well said! But now what do we talk about?
Shadow: (shrugs) let's just get the disclaimer done then.
Slayer: Nothing else to say I suppose… Well anyway. We here at Dark Guard Productions own nothing but, OC's and reality building concepts. Everything else belongs to their respective owners. Now without further ado…
Everyone: Here's the story!
"Dark inner voice/Hollow"
'Light inner voice/Zangetsu'
Thinking/talking to inner spirit
"Telepathic communication"
*Special attack*
Arc two: The real enemy
Chapter Ten: Convergence to Reality
Time a day after Neos' departure.
Location unknown
Currently Maxos and Haze were in a white room. The room was very much Spartan like, except for a large black lacquer table in the middle of it. On the walls were diagrams, and different maps. They also had paper with a strange language on them. The room itself was twenty feet tall, and forty by forty feet. Leaving plenty of room for others to come in and meet together. Although for the time being it was just the master and servant.
Maxos was looking at Haze with an inquisitive expression. The report he had just got wasn't one he was happy about. Haze had just reported that the enemy was starting to make their move. However it was much earlier than he had expected. As such, he wasn't quite sure… on what to do with the current information. His thoughts were interrupted as Haze tried to get his attention.
"Lord Maxos we should act quickly. Who knows what they're currently doing, in light of our interventions! Already they have one of their agents spy on your son, and his associates." Haze was about to continue when a black tear opened up in the middle of the room. The strangest part about it was that it was filled with eyes. Currently stepping through it was a beautiful woman, with long blond hair and a pink mob cap on her head. She also had a pink laced parasol and a pink fan. The rest of her outfit consisted of a pink dress, with a purple cloth going down her front with strange runes on it.
The dress was long sleeved and she wore white socks with pink high heels. Looking at the two men, her purple eyes glowed with anger. And I mean literally glowed, and before they could speak she did. Only it was laced with venom, as though she was talking to someone who had killed a family member. In truth the statement was almost accurate.
"Well, well, well… Look at this! I knew spying on you through my gaps would eventually work!" While Maxos looked rather uninterested, Haze however was sweating bullets. The woman in front of him was not to be trifled with. Especially at his current level of power. Trying to resolve things peacefully he spoke up, although his voice was shaking.
"Yu… Yukari S, Sama! Yo- You must understand my lord did what w, was best!" Looking at the trembling Psion, she sneered at him.
"Oh really… I doubt that! Usually the right choice is the hardest, what he did was fairly easy for one such as him!" Yukari then set her glare at Maxos who still looked impassive. "Besides I heard from the Outsider what he ordered you to do to his daughter! It makes me sick, just being in his presence." Talking in an almost bored like tone, Maxos finally addressed her.
"And what of it? You didn't have the courage to fight me for Neos' "safety" two years ago. What makes you any different now?" Clenching her fists so hard that they bled, she gave him a loathing stare.
After a minute of tense silence she spoke up. "Two years ago our time, you sent Neos into the past to… as you say… get stronger. And indeed his strength has grown considerably. However it's still sealed, he doesn't have access to his full strength." Unclenching her hands, she then proceeded to give a grin that even got Maxos to sweat a bit. "However thanks to my spying I now know where he is." Maxos' eyes widened at that.
"You wouldn't dare interfere!" Her grin if possible became even bigger at those words.
Her reply was immediate. "Oh My~ I wouldn't dream of interfering myself! What a preposterous idea!" Just that look on her face… told them she still planed something. Her next words truly confirmed their suspicions however. "You see I sent some other people to find him!~" Her smug look and words floored the great Maxos. However after a moment his raged burned bright. Letting his power roll off of him, Haze was sent down to his knees. However Yukari despite still being affected… used every bit of her will power to stand strong.
Seeing this Maxos scrunched his face up in anger. "I see that you've gotten stronger these two years. But tell me… why should I not kill you where you stand?" Doing everything she could, to keep herself on her feet she answered.
"Because this is the right choice, and you still need me. Neos should have the right to choose his own path. Isn't that why you asked me to be both Neos', and Blake's godmother all those years ago?" That got Maxos to falter as he remembered that day all those years ago.
However Yukari wasn't done, so now looking at him with pity she spoke in a softer tone. "What happened to you Maxos? I remember a strong, bright, and courageous man, who would risk everything to do what was right. If Marianne or Lila ever saw you like this… what do you think they would say?" Acting quickly she teleported away using one of her gaps, just in time to… as Maxos sent a wave of pure energy in her direction. Haze watched as his master tried to calm himself down.
However he was failing in that regard, so to give him privacy as well as keep himself alive. Haze teleported away before he could become a target. This left Maxos alone once again. Speaking only to himself he spoke with tears in his eyes.
"Mary, Lil… what should I do?" There was no answer as there was no one there.
Time one week and a day after Neos' departure.
Location Beacon Academy
Folding his arms across his chest Zach leaned backwards in his seat. It was Professor Ports class, so he wasn't all that interested. And besides… he was already more skilled then him. So far Neos had been gone for an entire week, worrying both his girlfriend and mother. As for his teammates they weren't particularly worried. They were sure he could handle just about anything thrown at him. As for them and their friends, they were training their buts off.
So far they were making good progress, despite it just being a single week of extensive training. But for Zach personally, he has been feeling as though he's being watched. The feeling had quickly gotten on his nerves. So in order to get rid of it, he's tried at least a dozen different ways to find his stalker. From using the camera's he's hacked into, his shadows, and even having Rosa's help. So far nothings worked, he would've chalked it up to being paranoid. But he's actually gotten close a few times to finding his tail. But still every time it disappeared.
He's even brought it up with the rest of the group, to no avail. Sighing to himself he felt a pat on his right shoulder. Looking to his right he saw Blake looking at him in worry.
"Hey are you okay?" Chuckling he gave his girlfriend an answer.
"Physically I'm fine, emotionally… well our little spy is starting to really grate on my nerves." Understanding what he meant she nodded her head. Leaning into him she tried to comfort him.
"Don't worry about it too much. You'll start to get wrinkles early. Besides they haven't done anything hostile yet." Not quite feeling better but at least appreciating her concern, he put his arm around her. Looking back down to see if he missed anything, he shook his head. Port was once again telling an exaggerated story of one of his "hunts". It was all in good fun sure, but he could just tell them the important bits. Like where a weakness might be, or how some of the rarer grim acted.
Sure he was stronger, and more skilled. But port had something that outdid both. Experience, and though he hated to admit it… Port could beat him based on that alone. It was one of the reasons Haze was so strong, no matter what they did. He could counter all of their attacks with ease. Although his overwhelming power certainly added to his advantage. Trying to fish out more important bits from the story, Zach felt something hit his head lightly.
Falling to his desk in a light tap, both he and Blake looked down to see a crumpled paper. Looking around they saw Yang giving them a thumbs up. Looking back and picking up the paper, they opened it to see a messily written note. It read…
Hey guys! How would you two love birds, like to go down to see the how the festival is coming along? It might be fun and it is the last day of the week. Besides I think we deserve a good break. Plus it might get Ruby's mind off of Neos. We can also invite Velv, for Ichigo's sake.
Love Yang.
Staring at the note they looked to each other and nodded in agreement. Erasing the note Zach wrote down a single word… Sure. Tossing it back, they didn't pay attention as the blonde fist pumped. She then proceeded to throw the same note to everyone else. And even though Weiss looked at her angrily she ended up agreeing.
Ten minutes later the bell rang signaling the end of class. Jumping out of her seat Yang ran to wait by the door. She was shortly joined by everyone else. Looking around she gave everyone a smile before talking loudly.
"Alright! Let's got get into some street clothes and start heading out! Everyone meet by the Launchpad in an hour. Everyone dismissed!" Turning around she started to run, but was stopped by her sister who spoke up.
"Hey are you sure we should be checking this out without Neos?" Turning back to her red caped sibling Yang gave a cheerful smile.
"But of course! I know he wouldn't want us to forgo having fun just because he isn't here. Besides I'm sure he's having a wonderful time right now!~"
Line break
Location Outslan (Far Gone: abyssal) The very definition of a horrible place to visit.
Neos was currently doing battle with a powerful Nether demon, when all of a sudden he sneezed. Being in his dragon form, he burned the ground in front of him to ashes. Growling in anger he thought the following…
Great someone's talking about me… If I found out whom they're dead! Looking back to his flying laughing opponent, he finally stopped laughing as he shot out of his eyes purple lasers.
Line break
Location Beacon
Suddenly feeling a chill go up her spine, Yang shivered as she folded her arms underneath her chest.
Okay that was strange… Am I getting sick or something? Deciding she was just fine she carried on her merry way. Figuring they should go along with it, everyone followed. Eventually they separated to their individual dorms.
Zach walking inside was soon tackled by an excited Rosa. Rosa had gone through a growth spurt, and was now two feet and four inches tall. She was also three and a half feet long, instead of two feet and six inches long. She was now too big to be picked up. But she could still sit on other people laps, and lay down next to them. Now on the floor from the unexpected "attack, he grinned at seeing the teams mascot.
"What's up girl? You're behaving yourself right?" His response was a shake of the head in confirmation. Pushing the fluffy lizard off of him he got up and cracked his back. "Well that's good to hear. Anyway we're going to go out today." Looking over to the void lizard who now was on the table, he voiced to her a question. "Are you interested in coming?" Her response was to jump off, and move to lie down in the small bed they got for her. In truth the bed was actually a cat bed, but she didn't really mind. He could only shake his head at the display.
Lazy lizard… what happened to all that energy she had? It was a good question, but for the time being he decided to just let her be. Getting dressed into his usual attire, Ichigo walked in. Greeting one another Ichigo also went to get changed. Looking at his orange haired teammate, he noticed that he had a small smile on his face. Smirking himself he decided to ask what Velvet said, although he could guess.
"So Ichigo, did Velvet agree to come along?" Slipping on his black long sleeved shirt, Ichigo turned to answer him.
"Yeah she said she could, although her teammates were busy with other things. So unfortunately they had to decline." Over the past few weeks thanks to Ichigo and Velvet, everyone had gotten to know team CFVY (Caffeine). They had even joined them for their daily sparring matches. However Coco, their leader was always eyeing Ichigo suspiciously... But she's never outright done anything to him. Coco was a girl a year older than them, who also always carried her purse around.
Normally that'd be just fine, but the purse was also her weapon that changed into a high caliber mini-gun. She was also incredibly strong and had a bit of an attitude. Zach had to add up her staring at Ichigo to being worried about Velvet. When it came to the bunny eared faunus ... she was a bit protective. Luckily for the Voidwalker she wasn't as protective as Yang. If she was he'd probably be filled with holes by now.
Looking over to his friend Zach shook his head. The way both he and Velvet, danced around each other… was a bit of an embarrassment. Everyone knew they liked each other, yet they themselves didn't realize it. Zach knew that Yang and Coco would eventually interfere. Yes even Coco, because despite her protectiveness. Zach knew that she'd support them, but if he ever hurt her… Well… again Ichigo would be filled full of holes…
That or she'd castrate him… Grimacing at that thought he decided that was enough, and turned to speak to Ichigo.
"Yo I'll be heading over to see if the girls are ready, once you're done go check on Velvet." Ichigo now tying on his boots answered him.
"Yeah don't worry, go see your girlfriend." Shaking his head, Zach decided for that comment he'd intervene a little sooner.
"Yeah I'll do that, just make sure to kiss Velvet on this trip." It took a moment for Zach's comment to sink in. But it eventually got Ichigo sputtering out incoherent sentences. Laughing at a job well done, Zach left to go to the very close team RWBY's dorm. Knocking on it lightly he heard Weiss' voice.
"Just a minute!" Clasping his arms behind his back Zach waited patiently. After a couple of second he could hear the door unlock. Opening it was none other than Weiss. Smiling she greeted him.
"Hello Zach, we're almost done here." Nodding his head politely Zach also greeted her.
"Hello to you to Weiss, since you're almost done here. Should we go wait by the docks… or should we wait right here?"
Thinking for a bit Weiss shook her head. "No you can wait here, I'm pretty sure Blake would appreciate it." He nodded in understanding. It would be the first time Blake would be going out in public, while showing off her ears… in the last three years.
Remembering something Weiss spoke up again. "Oh yeah by the way… did Ichigo get Velvet to come along?" Smiling slyly he answered her.
"Yep!~ Seriously those two need to just get together already." Folding her arms and closing her eyes Weiss nodded in agreement.
"Truer words were never spoken." Opening her eyes she continued. "I mean you and Blake got together rather quickly, Ruby and Neos only had trouble because of Yang. Those two though… they really have no excuse." Zach chuckled a bit at that, when they heard Yang speak up from the room.
"Alllll-right! We're already to go now! Let's get going, I want to start this off with a Yang! Huh, huh, get it?~" Even from outside the door both Weiss and Zach groaned, as the other two followed suit. "You guys are seriously no fun…" Shaking their heads at the blonde's antics, Ruby and Blake left the room. Blake seeing Zack smiled and gave him a hug. Returning it he also gently rubbed her head. At her soft purring the others giggled a bit.
It seemed along with her new ability as a sensor, her cat like instincts had also gotten stronger. This had become increasingly evident as the days have gone by. Unfortunately their resident expert, on all things outside their world was currently off doing other things. So no one could ask Neos about Nekomata and things like that. They would've asked him before he left… but everyone was still trying to digest what had happened. However he did warn Blake, in private about something rather odd. But seeing how nothing has truly happened yet, they decided to let it be for now.
Back to the present they all heard a door open loudly. Looking towards the sound, they saw a deeply scowling Ichigo. Looking over towards them, his eyes eventually landed on Zach. Narrowing his eyes at him, he turned around and stomped off. Confused at his actions everyone stared at Zach.
Grinning he answered their unspoken question. "Don't worry he's just angry that I gave him some love advice." Understanding lit up in their eyes, and they ended up laughing.
Line break
Location City of Vale
Finally making their way into the city, everyone looked around at the lively town. Even Weiss was excited, which had weirded her partners out. As they were walking they ended up passing by the old shop owner. The same one that had basically brought everyone together. Well… accidentally of course, it's not like it was his wish to have his store robbed that fateful night. Currently he was putting up some sort of banner, passing him both Ruby and Zach waved to him. The wave was also returned but seeing how he was busy, they let him be.
Eventually they made their way to the docks on Weiss' insistence. Covering her nose Ruby complained at the smell. "Ugh! Weiss why do we have to come here? This place smells of fish." Blake slightly glared at Ruby for saying that, but had to agree that this was rather strange.
Turning to them Weiss answered Ruby's question. "Well the upcoming tournament will bring students from all over. So as a representative of Beacon it is my duty to greet them." Zach sighed while rubbing his real hand down his face.
Speaking up he translated what her real intent was. "She means she wants to spy on them to gain an upper hand." He then turned and smirked at the white haired heiress. "Kind of like she does to me every time I spar against someone." A boat pulled in as she was denied his accusations.
"You can't prove that!" Zach sent her a blank stare at her that statement. Shrinking a bit under it she recovered by coughing into her right hand. However before she could say anything Ruby spoke up.
"Whoa, what happened there?" Following the young leaders line of sight they to stared. The current subject of their musings was a robbed dust shop. The window was broken, and there were police closing the area off. Zach narrowed his eyes at it and went up to talk to them. The others shortly followed.
Now next to the yellow police tape he began to question the officers. "Hey what happened here?" One wearing black shades, and having a short black beard and short hair answered him.
"Not exactly sure to be honest, this is the twelfth dust shop this week. It used to be a whole lot less, but suddenly two weeks ago things picked up." Scowling at the time frame, Zach questioned further.
"What exactly was stolen? Money?" The Officer shook his head negatively.
"No the strange thing is that every time the money is just left there. The only things ever stolen are dust." Shaking his head he continued. "Man would I like to get my hands on whoever's doing this. It's so far has cost me multiple sleepless nights." Thanking the Officer Zach left to ponder on what he learned.
If what he's said is true… things picked up a day after we had our run in with Haze. Is it all connected? As he left to think the others watched in concern and were about to follow… when a commotion by the newly docked boat caught their attention.
"Hey get back here you no good stowaway!" Looking up to what the man was yelling about, was a boy around their age. He had short spikey blond hair, dark grey eyes, and he wore two red bracers on his writs. He also wore a gold necklace around his neck, and also wore an open white Jacket with a loose collar. This showed off his torso and chest. On his legs were blue cargo pants tied up with a white belt. He also wore bandages on his legs. There was also a chain that hung off of one of his belt loops. His shoes consisted of black and yellow sneakers.
Around his neck was a twisted golden necklace. This had a pendent attached to it with a monkey on it. However what really caught their attention was the monkey tail he had. Laughing at the boat man, he threw a banana peel at him. "Hah! A no good stowaway would've been caught! I'm a great stowaway!" Becoming curious Zach rejoined the group, as he jumped off the light post he was on. Running by them he gave a wink to Blake, but paled a bit at Zach's narrowing gaze. Deciding that running was an even better strategy now, he continued to do so. As he passed by, Yang turned to Weiss.
"Well you wanted to see the competition Weiss." Realizing that a potential competitor had just run by, Weiss chased after him exclaiming…
"Hurry! We got to observe him!" Everyone followed except Blake, Zach, Ichigo, and Velvet who stood there for a few seconds. Sighing Zach shook his head.
"And there she goes… Well I guess we better follow." Zach started running after them, soon followed by a shrugging Blake. This left Ichigo and Velvet on their own. Thinking back to what Zach told him earlier, Ichigo blushed a bit at looking over to Velvet.
Clearing his throat he spoke to her. "Hey while those guys are off running after that guy… would you like to get something to eat?" Looking at Ichigo in surprise, Velvet blushed before answering.
"I would love to Ichigo." Nodding his head the two eventually left the area. However they were also holding hands, not that they realized it of course…
Back with the others, Zach was the first to notice the two of them being gone. He grinned slightly at this.
Well it seems as though a bit of alone time will do them good. Turning around the corner both he and Blake stopped at seeing Weiss on the ground. In front of her was another girl. Her hair was orange, short, curly, and it came down to her chin. On the back of her head was a pink bow. Her eyes were bright green and she had some freckles on her face. Her outfit consisted of a white blouse, and short feminine overalls with a black and green color. Basically overalls with a skirt instead of shorts, she also wore matching stockings.
Weiss however didn't seem to notice. "Oh no! He got away!" Ruby looking at the girl in front of them, spoke out to incident causer.
"Umm Weiss…" Looking back at Ruby then to where she was looking at Weiss saw the girl.
"Ah!" Jumping up in surprise the girl than spoke to her.
"Salutations!" Looking at her Zach was the first to greet her.
"Hi there, are you okay?" Looking back to him she smiled before answering.
"I'm doing wonderfully right now! My names Penny!" Seeing her position he spoke with some concern.
"Do you maybe want to stand up? It doesn't look to comfortable down there." Nodding her head she jumped to her feet, causing everyone but Zach to back up a bit. "Well now based on that stunt I have to guess you're here for the tournament?" Penny nodded her head while flexing her arm.
"Of course! I'm combat ready!" Weiss spoke up at that.
"Sorry but you hardly look the part." Zach scowled a bit at that and turned to Weiss.
Quickly he reprimanded her. "Weiss… I suggest you don't underestimate others based on appearance." Blake nodded in agreement at that before adding in her own two cents.
"Besides aren't you wearing a dress?" Folding her arms across her waist she huffed before answering.
"It's a combat skirt." Ruby using her speed appeared next to her. Her response was one of agreement.
"Yea!" At this they both did a low five. Zach could only stare at the both of them. Finally turning back to Penny he started to introduce himself and co.
"Well… I'm Zachary, or Zach. This is Blake, that's Yang, Ruby, and the one who knocked you over is Weiss." He pointed to all of them but ended up staring at Weiss.
Sighing Weiss understood what he wanted. "Okay fine, I'm sorry for knocking you over like that. I was just in… Wait! He got away!" Penny not knowing who she was after just looked at her funny.
But Weiss wasn't exactly done yet. "Hey Penny right? Did you see him run past here?!" She looked even more confused at that.
"Who now?" Weiss however was insistent so continued her questioning.
"The monkey faunus guy from the boat! The one that stowed away on there!" Still looking confused she shook her head. Slumping in disappointment Weiss looked down to the ground. "Darn he must have gotten away by climbing something. Thanks anyway." Turning around she slowly walked off followed by the others.
Ruby was the only one to say goodbye while Zach just waved goodbye.
"Take care friend." Continuing her search Weiss looked around.
"Now where did that guy go?" The group was stopped when Penny appeared in front of them. This startled everyone even Zach, however he was much more curious about her now.
Hmm… that speed… It would seem she really is a fighter. His thoughts were interrupted as everyone fell to the ground. Looking at them, he raised an eyebrow in confusion. Looking over to Ruby he noticed that Penny was currently holding her hands, and looking very happy. Ruby was also smiling, so he didn't really see the problem.
Seeing how they were the only ones standing he questioned them. "Umm… what exactly just happened?" looking around Ruby and Penny shrugged. "Alright then… well I think we should get back to looking around the festival here. And Penny if you like you can join us." Penny nodded happily as he helped Blake to her feet. "So why are you guys on the ground?" Looking between Zach and Ruby, Blake shook her head. This ended up confusing him even more.
Line break
Location City of Vale
In one of the alleyways a black gap suddenly opened. It was the same kind usually used by Yukari. However instead of the gap yokai popping out… there were four different individuals. One was a young man the age of sixteen, wearing a white outfit that consisted of a… white hooded trenchcoat that stopped right above his ankles. He wore white leather pants, stuffed into white leather boots. He also wore two white leather gloves. And though his hood was up one could still see his dark brown hair, and brilliant blue eyes.
His skin was also slightly pale, as if he hadn't been in the sun for quite some time. He also carried a brown leather satchel on his left shoulder. On his back was a black leather sheath, it was attached to a thick black leather belt that went over his right shoulder. Than looped around his front and met back to his shoulder. In the sheath were two golden hilted katanas. Each one had a three foot long blade, and a nine inch handle. He was about five feet six inches tall. But what was really interesting was his companion on his left shoulder. Because perched there was a tiny dragon.
It was colored black and white. The top part of its head down to its jaw line was white. And coming from it a white stripe went down its back all the way to its blade like tail end. The dragon's underbelly was also white, along with its claws and the membranes of its wings. Everything else was a deep black. However the dragon's eyes were two different colors. The right eye was blue on white, and the left was red on black. The dragon also had two thin horns pointing away from its head, and coming out from the base of its skull.
Another one of the figures was a young girl the same age as the boy. She was short and petite and she had very pale skin. She also had short light blue hair and eyes. She wore a blue long sleeved hooded coat over a white blouse. She also had on white tights and a black skirt. On her feet were black dress shoes.
On her face were also red half rimmed glasses. In her right hand she carried an oak staff, made to look like a Shepard's crook. She was also four foot eight, making her the second shortest, if not shortest of the group. (If they didn't count the dragon…) Her face was also very impassive, looking at the boy for guidance.
The last figure was another girl, but with a slightly darker shade of blue hair. It also reached down to the middle of her back. She was smiling as she looked around the area. She wore a long twin tailed dark blue coat. She also had on dark blue pants and dark brown cow girl like boots. On her head covering her light blue eyes was a cowgirl hat. And by her demeanor she looked as hyper as Nora. She was about five foot five.
Sniffing the air the tiny dragon spoke. Its voice was a lot deeper than its size would suggest possible. "I can't smell him so far, nor can I feel him. Where should we start looking Gravelord?" Clicking his tongue the boy folded his arms, and thought for a bit before answering.
"Well for one I can't go by my code name here… So just call me Artemis for now. You should also hide yourself in my satchel to avoid being seen. As for now the best we can do is start looking." Grunting in agreement the small dragon jumped into the bag. This caused the taller blue hair girl to giggle and talk to him.
"Ahh… you look so cute right now Kuros!~" Poking his head out of the bag to stare at the girl, Kuros glared at the her. But the intended effect was nulled by his blushing face. Shaking his head he yelled at her a bit.
"Irukuku! Please don't call me cute! You should know that dragons can't be cute!" This caused the girl to laugh some more before retorting.
"Oh really? Then does that mean I'm not cute either?" That caused him to quickly shut his mouth, while she laughed some more. Mumbling something to himself about females, he hid deeper into the bag. Shaking his head at the twos behavior, Artemis turned to his last companion.
"Well what do you think Charlotte?" Charlotte just shrugged before giving a one worded answer.
"Follow." Sighing he understood what she meant. Deciding they were wasting time they left the alleyway. Looking around Irukuku was amazed by the city around them. And though she didn't show it much, Charlotte was also looking around with interest. As for the two up front they've been to bigger and grander places than this city. However even they had to admit it was nice in its own way. But the way everyone was bustling and hustling about, putting up decorations brought a smirk to Artemis' face.
Good. If there's a festival going on, we'll be less likely to draw attention to ourselves. Walking around they finally came to a specific banner. Looking at it Irukuku looked at it curiously.
"Hey what does that say big sis?" "Big" sis or Charlotte chose to instead look towards Artemis rather than answer. As she as well couldn't read the foreign language. Chuckling lightly he read what it said out loud.
"It says… Welcome to the city of Vale's Vytal festival. Hmm… seems like I was right to assume a festival of a sorts was happening. Also we now know what this place is called." Turning to the two girls of the group he gave them a stern look. "Alright now… since this is your first time out, since the destruction of your dimension. We have some rules to cover." Though there was a brief sad look in their eyes, at the mention of their home. They both gave him their full attention.
Smiling sadly he spoke softly. "Sorry I didn't mean to bring it up, I wasn't thinking." Smiling softly Charlotte reached out and held his left hand gently. Looking between each other, they both smiled until they heard both Kuros and Irukuku coughing. Both blushing slightly they let go of their hands as Artemis coughed into it.
"Well anyway first off, try to learn about the area as quickly as you can. This way you don't seem to out of place when others ask you questions. Second is that you try to not cause any scenes, and try to blend in. Did you get all that?" Both girls nodded their heads in understanding, although Irukuku seemed to still be hyped up. Charlotte was hiding it better, but he knew she felt the same excitement. Smiling at his two trainees, he clapped his hands before speaking again.
"Alright now stick together and let's get to work!~" Jumping up and doing a fist pump Irukuku nodded vigorously. Charlotte however just smiled with an excited glint in her eyes. Not wasting any more time they started heading off into the city. Observing some of the people around him, Artemis was glad that he didn't stand out because of his swords. Because every once and a while, he'd catch a glimpse of someone else with some kind of weapon.
He grinned at this. They're unique weapons I'll give them that… but Goldbrand and Eltonbrand are far superior. Deciding that just looking around would get them nowhere. He started asking questions about his current target.
Walking up to a woman who seemed to be in her early twenties. He noticed that she had two dog ears on the top of her head. She was wearing a regular ice-cream vendor's outfit and had brown hair and brown eyes. Waving to get her attention he started speaking.
"Hello Ms. if you're not too busy can I ask you a few questions?" Scarlet Flameburn, the same faunus that Raze'thur helped on his night out. Looked at Artemis and assumed he must be a hunter in training. Also seeing how polite he was being she found no harm in helping him.
Smiling back she answered him. "Sure~ I'm Scarlet Flameburn I'll help you the best I can." Nodding in appreciation, he smiled back and started asking questions.
"Thank you I'm Artemis Fowl a pleasure to meet you as well. Anyway… You see me and my friends have just arrived here in Vale. You know for the festival and all." Scarlet nodded her head in understanding.
"I see are you wondering what kind of attractions are in town?" He shook his head negatively.
"No… but we'll probably take a look after we're done searching. You see… we have a friend that lives around here. I was hoping if you've seen a boy my age. He's my height and has dark black hair and blue eyes. Although… his left eye turns white every now and then." Thinking for a bit Scarlet shook her head sadly.
"I'm sorry but I've haven't seen anyone like that. I wish I could be more of a help." She looked a bit down but Artemis just waved off her apology.
"No… you have nothing to be sorry about." Looking at the ice-cream she was selling he gained an idea. "However… If it's alright I'd like to buy some ice-cream please. How much would four cones cost?" Scarlet perked up at this.
"They're about two lien a scoop, but you can have a scoop for one." Inwardly Artemis was happy about this. You see he was given a limited amount of lien. Sure it was enough to survive here for a while, but he'd still rather save what he could. On the other hand… he didn't want to take advantage of this kind woman.
So waving his hand in front of himself he tried declining. "Oh no! I can't just accept that." Scarlet gave him a stink eye before countering.
"Are you suggesting I can't decide what my prices are?" Blinking a bit he chuckled knowing he was beaten.
"Alright then… but only because you insist. Now let's see…"
Back with the two "sisters" they were starting to wonder what was taking so long. Artemis had been talking to the dog eared women for a while now. Turning to her big sister as they sat on a nearby bench, Irukuku inquired about Artemis' actions.
"Hey Big sis, what do you think Arty's doing?" Charlotte, who was reading a book to pass the time, glanced at her before shrugging. This caused the taller girl to pout at her and turn back to their leader. That was when she noticed he was coming back with something in his hands. She couldn't contain her excitement and shook he sister's shoulder. "Look! He's coming back with something, I hope its food!" Recovering from the shaking Charlotte looked over to see she was correct.
Making his way to them with a smile he addressed them. "Sorry for taking so long, but since I was there I decided a little treat wouldn't hurt. Anyway… this is your first time having ice-cream so I suggest you eat it slowly." Looking at the cones in his hands, Irukuku nodded while salivating a bit. Chuckling a bit at her behavior, Artemis decided it would be best to give hers first. "Alright for you I decided that chocolate would be best." Holding hers out, she snatched it quickly and took a bite. Her face instantly lit up with joy.
Turning to Charlotte he held out a vanilla one. "Here I got you a vanilla, please enjoy." Smiling lightly she took it from his hands and gave it a taste. She too ended up smiling in happiness. Sitting down next to Charlotte, he put the brown satchel down to the side. Thus also setting Kuros down, before handing the smaller dragon his choice of rocky road. Artemis trusted the small dragon to not make a mess in the bag. He himself chose chocolate as well.
After handing everything out, he then took out some napkins and passed them around. Sitting in comfortable silence, Charlotte eventually leaned into Artemis. His response was to smile, and wrap his left arm around her. Scarlet who watched the events unfold laughed quietly to herself. Although she did ponder where that fourth cone went to…
Line break
Location City of Vale
Back with the others, they decided that they had enough fun for today. Although it was a bit strange with Penny thrown in, they all eventually decided that she wasn't all that bad. So waving goodbye to their new friend, they headed on back to the air docks. Although Zach spoke up when he remembered something… or more specifically two someone's…
"Hey do you think we should give Ichigo and Velvet a call? You know to tell them we're leaving?" All stopping to look at the only male member of their group, Yang answered him first with a devious grin.
"No I don't think that's a good idea. I mean what if you interrupt something important." Wiggling her eyebrows everyone but Ruby blushed at what she was implying. Confused Ruby spoke up.
"What do you mean by that Yang?" The older sibling turned to her and wrapped her right arm around her shoulders.
"Don't worry little sis… You'll understand in time." While the others looked at the interaction in concern, Ruby just nodded dumbly not understanding a thing.
"Hello." All jumping a bit they turned around to see three individuals. The one currently speaking was in a white coat, and had a satchel and a pair of swords on his back. Although the swords were in the same sheath, just put away on opposite ends. To Ruby, Yang, and Weiss he seemed like an ordinary hunter in training. However both Blake and Zach, could sense a huge amount of power coming from him. So trying his best not to let his nervousness show Zach spoke to him.
"Hello as well… is there something we can help with?" The boy gave all of them an observing look, but he looked at Zach and Ruby the longest. Finally smiling as though he won the lottery he answered him.
"Actually I think you could… You see we're looking for someone and I was wondering if you could help me." Becoming rather worried at his line of questioning, and the look in his eyes Zach nodded politely. This caused the white clad boy to smile even more.
"Wonderful!~ Now I'm Artemis Fowl, my friends are Charlotte and Irukuku." Pointing to the other two respectively, Charlotte gave a small nod of the head while Irukuku gave a bubbly wave. Seeing how it would be suspicious if they didn't give their names… Zach introduced the friends on his side.
When he got to Blake however… Artemis' face lit up for a second in recognition. But it quickly disappeared as swiftly as it came. Zach still noticed it however and became even more suspicious. Deciding to continue the conversation Artemis spoke with the same smile.
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Now you see I'm looking for a friend maybe you've seen him?" Zach turned to the others and gave them a hard look, which told them not to say anything. He then turned back and shrugged his shoulders before speaking.
"Maybe what does he look like?" Artemis narrowed his eyes slightly but still spoke politely.
"Well he's about our age, has dark black hair and blue eyes. But one of his eyes turns white every now and then. He may also act incredibly strange sometimes, and may say and do things that might not make sense." Everyone's thoughts quickly came to one person, and that was Neos. Ruby was about to say something concerning her boyfriend, but an elbow to the side by Blake stopped her. Unfortunately this didn't go unnoticed by Artemis.
"By that reaction I take it you know him?" Inwardly cursing, Zach tried to make up lost ground.
"Yeah we met the guy once… He was quite strange you know? But we don't exactly know him personally; we only bumped into him by accident." Zach's face was sympathetic and betrayed no signs of lying. However the nervousness of the others, excluding Blake made Artemis suspicious. So breathing out deeply, and looking down to the ground he shook his head in disappointment.
Then he moved his right hand to his top sword while speaking. "You know… I hope none of you are lying." At his words and actions everyone tensed, while their hands instinctively moved to their weapons. But Artemis wasn't done. "In truth I can't tell you how long we've been searching. Two years… even three maybe. So you'd understand if I'm a little… testy when it comes to this subject. But I'm not one to cause a scene in the middle of a city." Retracting his hand his posture relaxed, however the others didn't move from their positions.
Talking angrily Zach spoke. "You know those actions wasn't exactly friendly. You should be careful less you get into a fight you can't win." Looking out across them the white clothed boy smirked cockily before retorting.
"Sorry, but I doubt all of you together could even put a scratch on me." As to prove his point, he then let out a large amount of killer's intent at them. Everyone suddenly had trouble standing, with the exception of Zach but even he started to sweat. Letting up Artemis turned around and said his final words. "For your sake I hope you're not lying. The impeding battle… wouldn't even be called that. More like a slaughter." Artemis then walked off with his other companions. Once he was out of eyesight Ruby collapsed to her knees.
Talking shakily she questioned what happened. "Wha… What was that? I've never felt anything like it…" Seeing her sister in such a state, Yang knelt down and gave the shocked girl a hug. Even Weiss knelt down and put her hand on their leaders shoulder. Being the youngest, she wasn't emotionally able to cope with what was directed at her. Looking at her with pity Zach, used his right sleeve to wipe the sweat off his brow.
Seeing how he wasn't affected by whatever it was that freaked them out. Weiss decided he was her best answer as to what just happened.
"Zach." Looking at her he was sad to see his strong friend look so weak. Still he knew what she wanted, what they all wanted so explained what was going on.
"I know what you want to ask… So I'll try my best." All of them nodded for him to continue and he did. "What you just felt was high concentrated KI… or killing intent. And a lot of it as well… but I do believe he laced it aura to increase its potency. To be honest I'm surprised that all of you remained standing for the duration of it." He spoke with a proud smile at the end, making them smile back. But then he sighed and his face was serious again.
"In all honesty I think we were lucky right now. By the looks of things… that Artemis guy was just as, if not stronger than Haze. And I don't think the other two were around just for numbers." At his words the eyes of the others opened wide in shock.
Ruby stood up quickly almost knocking Yang and Weiss over. Her eyes were filled with worry and realization. "If they are as strong as you said they are… then what about Neos?! They're after him!" Zach turned away from the worried girl and nodded his head. Still panicked Ruby started speaking quickly. "We have to warn him then! We got to tell the headmaster, and and… Professor Goodwitch!" Zach turned back nodding his agreement before talking.
"Yes we need to tell Ozpin and Glynda. But we won't tell Neos anything yet." That got the others to look at him strangely. With the exception of Ruby who yelled out in anger.
"What do you mean by that?! WE have to tell him!" But Zach held firm and glared at the girl making her back down.
Shaking his head sadly he answered her question. "Ruby we don't know anything about these people. I mean… what if we're wrong and they're not enemies? No until we know more about them we won't tell Neos. Besides he's still on that extra job of his, so it might be a while until he gets back. If we have our answers by the time he gets back we'll tell him. It's really that simple." Understanding his reasoning Ruby looked to the ground and nodded in acceptance.
Looking at everyone Zach was pleased to see everyone was in agreement. "Alright then, for now let's head to Beacon. We're safer there then we are here."
"What do you mean by that?" Jumping the group turned to see a confused Ichigo and Velvet. Sighing in relief Zach vaguely answered his question.
"We'll tell you on the way, just get into the ship." Even more confused, Ichigo and Velvet looked at each other before shrugging. So complying with Zach's orders the entire group got onto the airship. This then promptly took off and headed back to Beacon academy. Meanwhile the group of four was talking amongst themselves.
Raising his right hand to his chin thoughtfully Artemis spoke to his companions. "So was it just me, or did you guys pretty much figure those guys were lying also?" The others nodded their heads in agreement. Next to speak was Kuros who was currently on Irukuku's right shoulder.
"To be honest that Zach fellow was pretty convincing. Too bad for him the others weren't so much. But at least we found our secondary objective thanks to them." Artemis smirked at his words before speaking.
"Ah yes… Blake Belladonna. If their lying wasn't obvious enough, his sister just happened to be with them." He then chuckled before shaking his head sadly. "Personally I don't blame them for lying. Their run in with Haze probably shook them up pretty badly. For now though if we can actually find Bladedancer, then we could convince them easily enough that we're friendly." Kuros snorted at this.
"If you wanted them to trust us, then why KI? You know that doesn't leave a good first impression." Artemis smiled before giving his answer.
"Because it showed them we have the power to get rid of them at any time. Yet… we didn't, and we won't." The others nodded their heads in understanding before he continued talking. "Alright now, let's go find some place to stay. It's getting pretty late here." Both Kuros and Irukuku voiced their acceptance at this, while Charlotte just nodded. However as Kuros jumped back into the satchel, she walked up to Artemis and grabbed his hand. Smiling they walked off hand in hand, with Irukuku giggling at the two of them.
Line break
Omake
RWBY Encyclopedia: Two
Host: Shadow
Once again we're back in the theater like room with the same set up. And once again Shadow is standing to the side of a screen in front of a projector. His pointer stick and remote control in his left and right hand respectively. Clearing his throat he put his hands behind his back before addressing the audience, in other words you.
"Welcome back to my side segment, today we'll be talking about the different classes of dragons. Since they play an important role in the Dark Guard universe." Taking his hands out from behind his back he clicked a button on the remote. The projector than came to life, as a picture of sapphire colored dragon popped up on the screen. He then began speaking again.
"This young dragoness is named Saphira, and she is a Drake class dragon. Now a drake class is the weakest kind of dragon. They can't control the magic in their bodies; as such they need strong motivation for it to work. In fact… with a few exceptions, most in this class are no more than intelligent flying lizards, which can breathe fire." Clicking another button the picture changed. This time a picture of an orange metal looking dragon appeared.
Shadow then continued talking. "Now this was the dragon Grindclaw, a metal Wrym class dragon. Wrym dragons are characterized by usually greater intelligence, the ability to control a certain kind of magic, and are naturally ten times stronger than a drake. Grindclaw here was capable of shooting metal spikes, from everywhere on his body. Eventually he was taken out by Jackson Grove and his partner Nightwing." Clicking the same button the next slide appeared.
This time a instead of a four legged dragon, a two legged one appeared. It was white and very old looking with its wings being torn a bit. It was sitting on the ground using its strong wings as front legs. After a few seconds Shadow continued talking.
"Now this is Paarthurnax, and Ancient class dragon. All of them are extremely intelligent, and are naturally ten times stronger than a wrym. Although there are some with some… pretty strange personality quirks. Now Ancient dragons have access to a variety of magic's. One of the strongest is the ability to naturally use pure dragon magic. Now this can be different types based on the species of ancient dragon. For example Paarthurnax has the ability to use the thuum or a shout. Which allows him to use incredible magic, just by speaking the dragon language."
He then clicked the button again, but this time showed a two pictures. One was of a scaly red dragon, and the other a fury white dragon. "These two dragons as you can see are of a different species, the white one can divide a person's strength and add to their own, while the red one can double his." Once again clicking the button, the slide showed the pictures of three different dragons. One was Kuros, and one was a two legged brown dragon that only stood on his legs. However the other one was Irukuku.
"Now onto the last class of dragons… the elder class. Once again they are naturally ten times stronger than the class before them. They are characterized by strange personalities, the ability to change form, and are rulers of a domain. For example, Kuros is a void dragon. As such he specializes in void magic, Irukuku is a Rhyme dragon as such wind, and sound magic is her specialty. As for the last one… Patriarch is extremely old. In fact he's probably one of the oldest elders out there. As such he has domains over many things."
He clicked a few different buttons, enlarging the two legged dragon before continuing. "You see the stronger and older an elder gets the more domains he obtains. And multiple dragons can have the same domain. In fact Patriarch's original domain was over life. As such he can open portals to the realm of the dead, and also create new plants just by thinking about his real name. If he were to say his name out loud… then an entirely new animal would appear. Whether it would be sentient or not, is up to chance." Going to the next slide we see Neos in his newest dragon form.
"Now since his father was a Broodknight, or a dragon that can turn human. He has special abilities. One is too change between different dragon forms. Another is to gain new forms, but the ultimate one is usually called the infinity form. This allows the Broodknight to turn into an elder dragon. Right now though Neos can only turn into a Wyrm class dragon."
Pressing the power button everything turned off. "But there are two other types of dragons. One is a dragon knight. They are other beings that turn into dragons. Then finally there are Dragonites, and no I don't mean the Pokémon. These dragons have five forms like a Broodknight, only they have no human form." Taking a breath he continued talking. "Alright now that's about all we can give you for the time being. So see you next time!~" With that the lights in the room turned off, leaving only his yellow eyes visible. But eventually they to disappeared.
Slayer: Well… that went well.
Judan: I wanted to see them fight!
Artemis: Please the whole thing would be a slaughter.
Zach: He's right you know…
Neos: Mwhahaha! What do you expect from my personal apprentice?!~
Ruby: Apprentice?
Slayer: Yeah… Read LOTDG Bladedancer for more information.
Charlotte: Why was our world destroyed?
Slayer: (shrugs) That will be explained later, and even gone over in the next LOTDG. But suffice it to say not everything can have a happy ending.
Irukuku: (Crying) My home!
Neos: Oh great now look what you've done!
Artemis: Don't worry we'll take care of it.
Yukari: I could do it.~
Everyone: NO!
Yukari: (pouts) Oh none of you are any fun.
Slayer: Whatever… Anyway who wants to close this off?
Shadow: I'll do it since I haven't said very much here. Now Ahem… This has once again been a Dark Guard Production now signing off!
Everyone: Goodbye!