Author's Note- This particular entry was requested by MajorBrony95, this along with a few others in the future will be available for the horror experience. If you want to request a Ruinverse chapter, either send a PM or type it down in the reviews, it can be either a single question like 'What if' or a detailed description on what the chapter should be like. Just remember, not every idea will be placed into the story, and enjoy the Ruinverse.
Xxxxx
The screen began to bubble and boil as the familiar silver door rose from it's depths, the thick purple chains corroding and breaking apart as the door opened up and bathed everything in dark purple.
From the tainted light, came a single red eye that glared at the screen before the door slammed shut and everything became static, a crumbling rose symbol appearing every so often as the title began to form.
The Ruinverse: Chapter Nineteen, I Must Prove Myself.
Xxxxxxx
-Remnant, Soltias, Atlas, Atlas Academy, Headmaster's Room-
BAM!
"That is ridiculous Ozpin! That plan is folly!"
The sound of broken metal rang out within the metallic dark blue walls of the headmaster's circular room, the opaque dark blue mirrors filtering the moonlight outside and illuminated the golden star constellations studded on the floor, as the headmaster stood near a hologram projection table near the center of the room with a frustrated expression on his face.
Right near him were the broken remains of a table, seemingly destroyed by a single punch to its center as the holographic form of Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy, loomed near the general with a serious expression on his face.
"I understand it sounds like folly, but allowing Team STRQ to enter the Circle and become our agents is a more than perfect counter to her followers." Ozpin said while leaning against his cane.
"It is dangerous Ozpin, that team is undisciplined and prone to destructive behavior!"
"They are nearly graduated students, not criminals. It's perfectly normal."
"Don't start with me, I know you favor them too much." he frowned while turning towards the window and gripped his hands tightly. "I can not allow children to fight this war, especially with two Branwen Tribe members acting as huntsmen."
"I trust them James, after all they are an unbreakable team."
"But for how long?" James muttered before turning back to the hologram. "No matter what team forms from either Beacon, Haven or Shade, none of them will have the effectiveness to keep her at bay. Once they learn about the bigger picture, your 'star attraction' will question you and then betray you."
"That sounds a little grim, even for you."
"It's the only logical conclusion."
"Is that you talking or the semblance?" Ozpin asked while the general silently tilted his head towards the broken table. "James. I understand it's difficult to allow the next generation to handle the mistakes of the past, especially my own, but you need to open up, allow them to face the future instead of sheltering them under your own authority, it will end badly if you forget your humanity."
"...perhaps, but this war will not end until Salem is defeated. The Grimm must lose their queen and if we have a chance to prevent her from taking the relics and the maidens, we need to be stricter to the huntsmen, even your own prized pupils." he said with a heavy sigh while hearing the sound of static in the air, making him turn his head towards the door. "What was that?"
"What was what?"
"Nothing, it was just a figment of my semblance, it's best we conclude this later."
"Very well." Ozpin said while James looked at the door, feeling like something was wrong. "See you next week."
Zoop.
The headmaster of Atlas stared at the door while wondering if anyone heard him, or if that was just another side effect of Mettle. 'Just what happened beyond those doors? Mmm...better install security cameras outside, just in case.'
(Later)
WOOOOSH!
Snow fell like bullets upon the cold mountainous land, far from the domed city of Atlas, as visibility was virtually nonexistent.
WOOOOOSH!
As the snowstorm raged on, a shadowy figure walked through the snow and down through a valley, the roar of the wind being drowned out by the howls of the enemy of humanity, the Grimm.
"GGGGGRRRR."
"AHHHOO!"
SQUISH.
SQUISH.
The sound of clumping snow could be heard, despite the howling snowstorm, as the shadowy figure moved deeper into the valley, the calls of the Grimm becoming louder and louder with each step.
Crack!
Until the sound of something, possibly a stick or a bone, cracking broke the silence, the figure stiffening slightly as a myriad of red and blue eyes stared back at them.
The ground rumbled as a bear sized Sabyr Grimm walked out of the blizzard, its red eyes glowing brightly as it growled at the intruder with malice.
"Grrrrrrrrrr."
The figure stared at the Grimm, seemingly nervous for a fraction of a second before straightening themselves and crossed their arms together. "Salem, I have come to bargain!"
The Grimm growled while moving around the figure, looking for an opening to strike them down.
"I know you can hear me, I have come to bargain with you and you alone!"
"Grrrrrrrr!"
"Salem, I know you are the queen of the Grimm, the most powerful species on the planet. You have brought the destruction of villages and made grown men cry from your presence." the figure said while turning around every so often to keep track of the Sabyr. "You are the single most powerful being in Remnant...and I want to join you."
The Grimm growled, seemingly confused at their words, as the figure continued to interact with the soulless beast.
"I am a member of Atlas' military, yet Ironwood is making us grunts into disposable robots with powers. Fighting a losing war for a government that sides with a mad man, I don't want that, I'm too special, too unique for that." they said coldly while the Grimm growled at them. "I should be the one running things, the one that makes the decisions. And if you, queen of the Grimm, allow me to join your side, I will promise you the city of Atlas and all its people, to do with as you see fit. Just give me the power to make MY dream come true, let me prove myself to you, Lady Salem."
The Sabyr growled as three more Sabyr's moved towards them from the distance, the whiteness of their bones blurring the screen as everything faded away into a silent, white void.
(Some years later)
-Atlas, Atlas Academy-
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The long empty white and gray walls rang out with the screams of terror, one that woke up everyone in Atlas Academy, causing Team RWBY and the J of JNR to come running with Qrow and Oscar following as well towards the training room.
"What's going on!?" yelled Ruby as she ran into the room, only to gasp in horror at what she just saw.
For in the center of the room, were ten Hard Light powered Cubes, each one forming a perfect square as blood coated the sides and appeared to be recently made, a familiar green pistol laying right under the rightmost cube, the blade the only thing that survive the pressure of the cube's weight.
"R...Ren..." Nora said in utter terror, which slowly morphed into despair as Jaune felt his stomach doing somersaults. "Oh gods...Ren."
"..." Blake looked to the side in despair as Yang gritted her teeth in anger.
"How did this happen!? Who killed him!?"
"I...I don't know. I...I just..." Nora stuttered before falling to her knees and started to cry, the only person that cared for her in the world now dead at her feet.
Qrow walked over to the cubes and quickly tugged the weapon out, as Oscar seemed to look visibly sick.
"T...This is...ugh..."
"Death ain't pretty kid, it never is."
POW!
Yang growled as she punched a hole into the wall with her robotic arm, just as the Ace-Ops, Winter and the general himself ran in and saw the murder scene.
"How...how did-" Winter tried to say before Qrow interrupted her.
"No clue, but it ain't us. We just got here."
"I wasn't insinuating you!"
"You would, since I'm all bad luck."
"Enough." Ironwood ordered, making the two stop bickering as he walked over to Ruby. "What exactly happened here?"
"I...I don't know." she said while still in shock.
"Mmm."
"General Ironwood." Jaune said while looking at the man. "None of us did the deed, why would we? Ren was our friend, why kill him?"
"True. But it's better to get the facts now then later." he said before looking at Elm and Vine. "Move the cubes and get the body out for examination. Clover, Marrow, look for any signs of tampering in the observation deck. Harriet...wait, where's Harriet?"
"She called in sick." Marrow said as his ears drooped. "Something about an injury made by Miss Yang."
"Again!?" Yang growled. "I told you before, I didn't punch her that hard!"
"She insisted, and the leg seemed to be broken."
"I never broke her leg!" she growled as Blake placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.
"Yang, please. Now's not the time."
"...fine." she sighed before seeing the cubes being lifted up, and felt her blood boil seeing the crushed body of Team JNR's last letter, squished to the floor like gum. "But I want in. Ren was the only one with common sense in this group, if I don't hurt the guy that did this then I wouldn't be a huntress." 'But another Raven.'
Ironwood looked at the body, his back turned to the other huntsmen and civilian, and sighed. "Team RWBY, Team JN. You and the Ace-Ops will comb the entire academy. Hunt down this killer before they strike again. I do not need another mass murderer like Tyrian running around my city."
Qrow chuckled, half heartedly. "For once Jimmy, we agree on something."
As the group discussed with each other, Ruby noticed something strange in the observatory.
A spark of lightning that instantly vanished once she blinked.
'...lightning? But only Nora can make lightning.' she thought while turning to the crying ginger, feeling very confused and heartbroken that she couldn't save another of their team.
(Later)
-Huntsmen Briefing Room-
Yang frowned as she looked at the job board, seeing all of the missions being replaced by the same mission, to find and apprehend the 'Atlesian Ripper'.
All the while, Blake, who was currently sitting on a seat near one of the CCT terminals, was trying to process what was happening at Atlas, from the embargo to the recent murder of a former ally...it was starting to wear her already tired mental state down even further then it should be.
'I can't believe it...Ren is dead.' She thought while gripping her hands tightly. 'He was a good person, but I never would have expected him to just...be murdered. He survived Vale...only to be killed in a training hall...just how?'
Yang narrowed her eyes while turning around and walked towards Blake. "This is bull. How could Ren of all people get himself killed!? He was the only one of Team JNPR that could use aura as a weapon, just HOW!?"
"My thoughts exactly, but we need to stay calm."
"How can I stay calm!? Ever since we got to Atlas we haven't been right!"
Blake sighed, knowing that Yang was speaking the truth as while they have been training to combat Salem, both teams have lost a lot of...flow, seemingly in over a few weeks. "Yang. We need to calm down, think things over."
Yang's eyes turned red before quickly returning to normal, followed by a heavy sigh from the blonde's lips. "Blakey, just what's wrong with us?"
"I don't know, but we have to get Ren's killer before they do any more damage, especially with Ruby."
"...yeah." she said with a sigh. "Ok. So what did the Ace-Ops tell you?"
"Same as everyone else, someone with access to the observation deck used the cubes to crush Ren from all sides to prevent him from using either his weapons or his aura techniques." the faunus sighed. "That narrows it down to non-students, but not for the vast majority of Atlas' huntsmen."
"Or it could've been Ironwood, he's been asking us questions way too much and set an example."
"You saw his expression, he didn't know anything about the murder and, even if that was the motive, why would he kill a potential Specialist?"
"...so back to square one?"
"Yes, unfortunately."
Yang groaned before getting a text on her scroll, from her team leader.
[Yang, I need some advice. Meet me at the library. -Ruby.]
"Sorry Blakey, Ruby needs me."
"Then go." Blake said while Yang got up, gave her a light hug, and then walked off. '...by the gods, I wish Weiss was here. Maybe she could come up with some plan...I really don't know what's going to happen at all.'
(Later)
-Library-
Weiss sighed as she walked down the endless rows of blue books and bookshelves, her mind still wandering back to Ren's death, something that made her sick to her core. 'Such barbarity...by the gods. To use Atlas' technology and my...former family's Dust for such a deed is unthinkable. Perhaps a book can calm me down...oh great, now I'm thinking like Blake. Just stop thinking about that similarity, it's not like I enjoy her company now.'
As she turned a corner, she recalled how the team was falling apart, strange rumors and accidents that made them unable to work effectively having been spread since their arrival. While she was still confident they could weather the storm, for others, like JNR, it was a ticking time bomb given their already broken team dynamic...still, she had to get the team back together, if only by a small margin.
'Gods, this 'adventure' is going to be the death of us.' she thought before noticing something on the ground, something yellow. "Huh?"
Squinting her eyes and moving her head downwards, the Schnee gasped and covered her mouth in horror.
For on the ground in a pool of blood was the ripped off robotic arm of Yang Xiao Long, still twitching as sparks shot out from the cables.
"No...no...no no no no no no no no no no no! This can't be real!" she cried out before seeing the blood trailing down the right hand corner and ran towards the spot, only for her eyes to dilate in realization.
As stretched out on a pillar was Yang, her right shoulder socket being torn apart and the bone exposed to the elements as in the middle of her midsection...was Crescent Rose, broken and bloodied near the blades as if held by an inexperienced user.
"N...No….not...her…." she stuttered before shaking her head and quickly raised her blade outwards, glyphs appearing behind her as she summoned a Boarbatusk and pointed to the door. "Send help, NOW!"
As the fallen Grimm raced out of the room, she noticed a trail of sparks near the hilt of the scythe, making her raise an eyebrow about this sudden phenomenon of nature.
(A bit later)
"YANG!" Ruby yelled while trying to escape the grasp of her uncle, tears forming from her eyes as the Ace-Ops pulled the body off the pillar and discarded the scythe. "LET ME GO!"
"Ruby, please stop."
"PLEASE! I NEED TO SEE HER! PLEASE!" she screamed while Weiss was holding Blake, who was in a similar state, but was able to contain her despair.
"I'm sorry kiddo." Qrow said, feeling responsible for letting his niece, one he really cared for despite being the daughter of his older sister, be killed by the 'Atlesian Ripper', on his watch. "But they need to take the body."
Ruby sniffled, her heart breaking from this personal death, as she stopped struggling and hugged her uncle in sadness and pain.
Marrow sniffed the air while looking rather confused by this second murder in the span of a week, his ears drooping slightly as he looked for any trace of the murder's scent. 'Nothing, just bleach and normal dust particles. This is getting out of control, and why is this Atlesian Ripper targeting huntsmen? Does this person have a vendetta?'
As the Ace-Ops moved the body for examination, Qrow noticed, from the corner of his right eye, a figure moving past some of the bookshelves, seemingly fleeing the scene of the crime.
'What in the…?'
(Later)
-Barracks, JN's Room-
Jaune looked out the window, facing towards the city of Atlas, with a dark expression plastered on his face, for he had just lost two of his best friends, three counting the late Pyrrha Nikos, to this painful world of Remnant.
For him, this was too much, he had lost so much, made to suffer the indignity of defeat multiple times...for what? Seeing everything he tried to rise from the ground fall back to the ground by his own actions?
'Maybe Harriet's right? I'm not ready to be a huntsman yet...not after losing so much already.' he thought in despair as Nora sat on her bed, curled up under the blankets and unresponsive to everyone around her. '...they must have been close, well more close than me and Pyrrha. Still...I can relate to her pain.'
As the silence of melancholy dominated the room, the sudden appearance of red lights drowned the former blue atmosphere as alarms rang out.
[ALERT ALERT! BREACH IN BRIEFING ROOM! ALERT ALERT!]
"Eh? Oh no, Nora!"
"..."
"Nora! We need to go!"
"...fine." she said while poking her head out, her eyes covered in dark circles and reddened eyelids, as she saw Jaune grab his sword and leave the barracks.
(Elsewhere)
-Huntsmen Briefing Room-
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!
The doors opened up as Jaune, Nora, Weiss and Ruby ran into the room, their weapons drawn and their faces filled with mixed emotions upon the scene in front of them.
For, bathed in red light were the bodies of Qrow Branwen, his neck slashed open and spread across the ground in a pool of blood, Oscar Pine, his neck snapped and the cane of Ozpin broken and forcibly stabbed into his eyes, Elm, her upper torso removed from her hips by a bladed weapon, Marrow, his skull caved in and pushed deep into a wall, Clover, his head bloodied and scalped, and Vine, his head and lower spine removed from his body.
All in all...a massacre.
"U...Un...Uncle...Qrow…" Ruby stuttered out, her eyes glowing silver as she dropped her weapon in disbelief, shock and horror. "No...not...not him too."
Blake turned away quickly as she noticed something right near Qrow's left side.
Myrtenaster, coated in blood and broken near the hilt, revealing that its Dust contents were stolen.
"...Weiss." the faunus said while tapping the Schnee's shoulder blade, causing the girl to turn in her direction and see her precious weapon.
"What!? How did Myrtenaster end up here!?" she yelled while quickly grabbing the weapon and examined it. "Oh gods, who would steal my weapon for such an atrocity!?"
"Maybe it's there for a reason." Nora said with a scowl while pointing at Weiss. "The killer is YOU!"
"ME!? You can't be serious?!"
"Oh yes I can, every single time the killer pops up, someone close to us DIES! You found Yang's body!"
"Yes but I never killed her! She was dead when I found her!"
"That's what a murderer would say!"
"Nora!" Jaune snapped, making the ginger flitch. "She isn't the Atlesian Ripper, we all know that!"
"But the weapon!"
"It was stolen!" Weiss yelled. "Just like Crescent Rose!"
"I-"
"We all know you're still grieving." Blake said with a sad tone, noticing that the ginger's eyes were tearing up with hot angry tears. "But we must not fall to paranoia, especially with a killer in our mists. Weiss, go find the general, bring him here. Ruby, Jaune, take care of Nora."
"What about you?" Jaune asked while Ruby sniffled and stood up, moving towards her uncle's body and taking his cloak before trying it to her back.
"I'm going to find the Atlesian Ripper." she said while walking to the door. "And I have an inkling of who did it."
Ruby gripped her hands tightly as her expression darkened, her eyes still glowing intensely as the door behind her closed. 'No...more. No more deaths. I will stop them, I swear to the gods!'
(Some time later)
-Barracks, RWB's Room-
Weiss stared in shock at her scroll, her eyes widened in disbelief as she read an emergency report from Atlas Broadcast Network.
An explosion within the Atlesian Council Building had killed several important individuals tied to both Atlas and its sister city, Mantle. These included Robyn Hill, hero of Mantle, the entire Atlesian Council sans James Ironwood, who wasn't in attendance due to personal reasons, the famed scientist Pietro Polendina and his 'daughter' Penny, and her older sister Winter Schnee and her bastard of a father, Jacques Schnee.
For the former heiress, this was a deep blow, as a professional huntress, a member of the Kingdom of Atlas and personally as a member of the Schnee family, since she had lost a portion of her family, the ruling members of the government and possibly much more.
As the huntress continued to read the report, hoping that it was just a misunderstanding and at least her older sister was alive and well, Ruby looked at her weapon with a dull expression on her face, one that seemed to mask the pain and hurt she was currently in.
Just like her partner, she saw the report and heard of Penny's passing, which made her recall both the Fall and the recent deaths of her sister and uncle. In her eyes, the world became bleaker than before, where once he believed in fairy tales, she now believes in vengeance.
'Atlesian Ripper, I will have your head...even if I can't fight humans much. Wait, is this guy even a human? Maybe a faunus? A Grimm….no, that's impossible. Unless Salem did something and we don't know? Wait...IS Salem the Ripper!?' she thought before getting a text from Jaune.
[Ruby. Have you seen Nora? I haven't seen her all day.]
Ruby blinked and texted back.
[No. Haven't seen her.]
Ping.
[This isn't good. At all. We need to find her, now.]
Ping.
[Ok, me and Weiss will go find her. Maybe find Blake too.]
Ping.
[Wait, Blake hasn't contacted you?]
Ping.
[Nope.]
Ping
[Well she contacted me just earlier, something about finding a potential lead in the cafeteria. But she hasn't contacted me since and then Nora found out and stormed off.]
Ping.
[Wait? Why would she contact you and not us!?]
Ping.
[No idea but we need to find them both.]
Ping.
[True….but what if we fail again? Like when we trained with Harriet?]
Ping.
[...then we prove her wrong. Still, I don't know why we aren't as focused anymore...it just happened.]
Ping.
[Yeah...we'll meet up with you.]
Ping.
[See you there.]
And like that, the texts ended as Ruby turned to Weiss, who was crying from the report she read, and coughed to get her attention.
"Weiss, Jaune needs our help."
"...with what?"
"Nora, she and Blake are missing. We need to find them."
"..."
"Weiss!"
"Ruby, I need some time." she said while looking away from her partner, only to be turned around quickly by the younger team leader.
"Weiss, I know you just lost loved ones, so did I, but we need to make sure no one else dies! If Blake or Nora, or even Jaune, my best friend, dies to this mad man, then I wouldn't be able to live with myself! You wouldn't either!" Ruby yelled with a serious tone that cracked a little. "You can mourn for them later, right now we need to protect our friends!"
Weiss, a little shocked by her bluntness, looked at her feet, took a deep breath, and sighed. "Fine, but only because I know you might run in and get yourself killed."
"Like I would do that."
"You do that too many times to recount!" Weiss yelled in disbelief, her mood brightening a little by Ruby's very nature.
Ruby chuckled while placing her weapon on its holster. "Come on, we have an Atlesian Ripper to stop!"
Weiss shook her head while looking at her weapon, and picked it up as she followed Ruby out of the room. 'Better use my glyphs for this confrontation. Until I get Myrtenaster repaired, that is.'
(Later)
-Cafeteria-
Swish!
The doors of the large cafeteria opened for the two members of Team RWB, their weapons in hand as they entered and scanned the room, noting that the two long tables were barren and devoid of the usual students, possibly due to the headmaster sending them home for their own safety a few weeks back.
"Nora, Blake!" Ruby called out while looking around the room. "Are you here?"
Silence.
"Strange. Where are they?"
"I don't have the slightest idea, but where is Jaune?" Weiss muttered. "He was supposed to meet us here."
"Maybe he got here before us?"
"Impossible, we got here via your semblance, even if it was somewhat shaky." Weiss deadpanned while Ruby nodded, as ever since they got here the groups' semblances have been going wonky, possibly from the negative effects of their Atlesian training on their souls. "He isn't that fast."
"Ah...a...h..." groaned out a voice from within the kitchen, sounding like they were in pain.
Both girls froze momentarily while nodding to each other and carefully moved towards the kitchen doors, looking around for anything out of the ordinary.
Wiiiiissssh.
The sound of gas emanated from behind the doors as Ruby opened them, the scentless yet dense air slowly spreading from the confined space to the cafeteria itself.
'I don't like this.' Weiss thought while stepping into the room, feeling like something was...off for some reason. 'It's too quiet...and why is the gas on?'
As the two huntresses moved deeper into the kitchen, they noticed something twitching right near one of the walls nearest to the high grade Fire Dust powered ovens.
The knocked-out body of Nora, her left arm wrapped by electrical wires to a nearby oven and her right arm pinned to the wall by a cleaver to the wrist, right over an exposed electrical outlet, as she was just about to wake up, her eyes slowly rising as her fingers started to spark with pink static.
"Mm..ah..w..a..t...?" she groaned out, not seeing Ruby or Weiss' paled expressions as the bolts of electricity coursed through the ginger's body like a circuit breaker.
"Nora! Don't wake up!" Ruby yelled while realizing what was going on.
The Atlesian Ripper had just turned Nora's semblance, High Voltage, which allows the user to channel any form of electricity into herself into muscles, into a living conductor for the outlet's electrical power to travel from said outlet to the gas powered oven.
"Un...R..uby...?" Nora groaned while the electricity quickly moved through her body and traveled down the left arm towards the gas and certain danger.
Weiss quickly summoned a glyph under her feet and used it to jettison herself out of the room as Ruby quickly used her semblance to get out, only to see the volt of electrical power make direct contact with the gas.
'Oh fudge!' she thought before seeing a familiar black ribbon wrap around her arm, which was only possible due to her being half way out of her semblance and between the doors and the growing explosion, and quickly yanked her out as a stone statue blocked the doorway.
KABOOOOOOOOOOM!
Just as the explosive force rocked the room and bathed the banners and table in flames, the young huntress was pulled out of the room just in time as Weiss used her glyphs to form a protective barrier near the door, keeping the flames from sending either of them flying.
"Are you ok?" asked Blake, who had used Gambol Shroud's ribbon to protect her leader, as Ruby nodded 'yes'. "That's good. But how did the-"
"Nora. She was turned into a living bomb." Weiss frowned. "But where were you!?"
"...I was near the rear gates. I had an inkling of who the Atlesian Ripper was but then Jaune came by wondering where you two were." She sighed.
"He knew where we were." Ruby said in surprise. "But we didn't see him."
"Odd, he said that he was at the cafeteria much earlier." Blake muttered out loud as Weiss blinked in shock.
"How was that even possible!? We got there before him."
"Not from what he told me, he found Nora near the cafeteria and then went looking for me."
"At which time the Atlesian Ripper found Nora." the Schnee muttered in realization. "Oh gods, that was a trap for all of us!"
All three shivered before Ruby took off the ribbon and handed it back to Blake.
"So where's Jaune now?"
"Near the headmaster's office."
"Why?"
"Because I told him who the Atlesian Ripper was. But we needed the general's knowledge of the Ace-Ops first before we made a clear arrest." Blake said with a frown.
"I see, but who is the Atlesian Ripper?" Weiss asked before seeing a clone of Blake moving towards the main Blake, seemingly glitching out every so often, and holding a square gray metal backpack with two purple half circles near the sides, thick gray shoulder guards with thick red wires on the back, two lever-like attachments near the shoulders, a red rectangle between the wires, gray arm guards with purple marks on the sides and two red wires hooked on to them, and gray fingerless handguards with three red dots near the knuckles and three long rectangles going down the back to the wrist, in its hands.
The clone placed the exoskeleton in Blake's left hand before dissipating into shadows.
"The one who wears this."
(Later)
-Headmaster's office-
Knock knock!
"Ironwood! Are you in there!?" yelled Ruby while knocking on the door, panicking a little as the three of them had just found out the identity of the Atlesian Ripper and were confident in their findings.
Until they discovered the decapitated head of Stephanie Santiago, Ironwood's secretary, near the doors to the office, making them panic and lose all sense of accomplishment in a single moment of time.
"General Ironwood! Open up!" yelled Weiss while Blake pulled out her weapon in anticipation for a battle, especially against her partner's killer. "Damn it, stand back, I-"
"No." Ruby said while her eyes glowed silver, seemingly on command. "I'll break the doors down."
"But Ruby, you still-"
"Just let me DO IT!" she yelled before sending a wave of silver energy in all directions, causing the walls to crack, the doors to turn into glass and the pillars to break apart, allowing the blue touches to turn bright red as a response to this sudden 'attack', which caused the huntress to groan in pain. "Ah...ah...there...we...can just crack it."
Weiss looked with concern at her partner's health as Blake kicked the doors down with her leg, shattering it to pieces in the process.
As the three ran into the room, Blake's eyes widened in shock.
For on the ground, in a pool of his own blood was the corpse of Jaune Arc, his heart stabbed by his own blade.
"W...We're too late." Weiss muttered in disbelief as Blake's ears perked up suddenly and she pushed both her and Ruby to the ground.
ZAP!
Just as a flash of black lightning rushed past them and appeared on the headmaster's table in an instant.
"Huh, how lucky of you faunus to dodge my own power." said a feminine voice before the figure quickly vanished instantly.
ZAP!
ZAP!
ZAP!
Blake jerked her head from side to side, searching for the location of the Atlesian Ripper before she could kill again.
"You're good, for a beast and her pets." The figure laughed while black lightning moved through the air like serpents.
ZAP!
ZAP!
Weiss looked around, her weapon pointed outwards, before she coughed out blood, her throat slashed and produced five claw like marks in the process, as she fell to the ground and expired before she even hit the ground.
Clank!
"WEISS!" Ruby cried out in horror before seeing the black lightning shoot towards Blake, causing her to try and activate her semblance.
Crash!
Only to fall to the ground, her semblance unresponsive as Blake saw a clawed hand grab her by the head.
SKICK!
And twisted her head around, breaking it as she fell to the ground with a thud.
ZAP!
ZAP!
"But not good enough." laughed the voice as black lightning formed all-around Ruby, creating a miniature cyclone that quickly sucked up all the oxygen in the room and suffocated Ruby's lungs.
"Ah...ahh...a...h...a..."
"Weak, not even worth her time." the voice said as the screen went black.
(Later)
Ironwood, his expression filled with paranoia and confusion, walked down the hallway, avoiding the severed head on the ground as he moved towards his office, his mind thinking one tiny thing.
How did Salem get into his city!?
The reason, someone just kidnapped the Silver Eyes, right under his nose, and could be possibly the one that nearly killed him.
Overall, he's in a state of paranoid frustration, all kept in place by his own semblance.
As he stepped over the broken glass, formerly a doorway, and entered his office, he saw that someone was sitting in his chair, facing the window.
"Ah. The general finally faces his better, what a turn of events."
"Turn around, now!" Ironwood scowled, Due Process in his hands and aimed right at the chair.
"And hurt the Silver Eyes? You are really dumb."
"Turn around!"
The chair slowly spun around as a short dark skinned young woman with short brown hair which was shaved on the sides and platinum blonde on the top of her hair that looked like rabbit ears, dark pink eyes, a B cup chest and small ass, wearing a sleeveless white double-breasted vest with silver buttons, dark blue accents, a white and dark blue collar, dark blue straps fastened around the top of her vest, a dark blue short sleeved t-shirt, a red tie, blue fingerless gloves, white shorts with dark blue chaps connect to the tops that exposed her back calves and inner thighs, white calf pads, dark blue knee pads, red socks, and dark gray trainers sporting a white stripe and black accents, was revealed, her expression filled with a cockyness that the general hadn't seen before in his life.
"Where is the girl?" Ironwood frowned while looking around the room, trying to find a hidden weapon or alarm system to utilize.
"Oh her, she's here. Safe." the girl smirked, flicking her nose with her left thumb. "But don't try to locate anything of use, I disabled and destroyed everything you hide here."
"Where is she?!" he yelled, only to see the girl roll her eyes and point above him.
Where a tied-up Ruby Rose, knocked out and covered in thick steel wires, was hanging above a ceiling light.
"If you want her down and safe." she said calmly but with a lot of arrogance in her tone. "I suggest you hear my demands."
Ironwood narrowed his eyes.
"Or you can just shoot me, if you could, and see the fallout of you killing an 'innocent Specialist'." she said with a smirk, knowing that she was never involved with the murders and, in essence, was never a suspect to the crimes due to not having fingerprints or actual eyewitnesses to identify her. "The population would love the mad general's insanity to go even deeper than it already has."
"Why Specialist Bree? Why did you betray Atlas?"
She scowled at that. "I betrayed Atlas? No no, that wasn't my goal you idiotic tin can! I did all of this to make Atlas better, under a better leader namely, myself."
"By killing the entire Atlas Council? By killing potential huntsmen!?"
"The old government was too ripe with corruption, too afraid of you to actually change the kingdom for the better. I just made sure they wouldn't oppose me or my way of thinking. As for those so-called huntsmen." She said while looking at her fingers in disinterest, making Ironwood's paranoid anger skyrocket. "I was ordered to destabilize them, especially the Silver Eyes' team. Despite me enjoying them, they had to be destroyed. They knew too much and if their plan of killing Lady Salem worked, well, I wouldn't have a kingdom to rule."
"You are insane!"
"So are you with that semblance, yet people respected you." she deadpanned. "They even call you a hero for saving the people from the Grimm and your own robotic replacements, the ones you LET stay in Vale despite the dangers. You are the textbook definition of insane, and frankly, I hate you, like so many of Remnant."
The man frowned at that as Harriet continued to dismiss him as 'beneath' her.
"But as for the main reason why I chose her over you, it's simple. You are weak, scared of the unknown. Unlike me, you hid behind soldiers of steel and turned yourself into a machine, just to keep the big bad Salem from blowing your house down, pathetic." she said with a scowl. "When I rule his kingdom I will be the one that protects everyone, even if I have to kill a few lesser beings to do so. After all, we all have to make sacrifices."
"You won't get away-"
"I already did." Harriet smirked. "I killed off every single threat to both me and Lady Salem, meaning there is really no chance of you getting help."
He frowned at this before realizing something. "But what about your fellow accomplices, they are not as 'loyal' or 'effective' as you. What is stopping them from taking the credit for your job, Atlesian Ripper?"
She frowned at him before grinning madly, flicking her nose with her thumb in the process. "About that, killed off the false maiden and her accomplices just when they entered the city a few weeks ago. Watts was the hardest to kill since he knew how to manipulate tech so I just made him arrogantly think that Cinder and her little mute friend were going to kill him and then watched the fireworks."
'That means she has the Fall Maiden powers!? No, if that was the case she would've killed everyone within a week, not several weeks.' Ironwood thought as he saw Harriet looking straight into his eyes.
"Now, back on track. I will give you the Silver Eyes in exchange for you surrendering to Lady Salem." she said while pulling out a Hard-Light Dust powered scroll from under the table. "Nothing big, just unconditional surrender. That and the Kingdom of Atlas would return to a monarchy, helmed by yours truly, for the foreseeable future."
"..."
"Tick tock, general. This offer will only last for so long and as you already know, I'm an impatient son of a bitch." she grinned while throwing the scroll at Ironwood's face.
KONK!
Giving him a black eye near his left eye, right near the control strip for his mechanical prosthetic right arm, as the man picked the scroll up with his left hand.
"Go on, sign your surrender."
He frowned, looking at the scroll's screen before looking at Ruby's unconscious body hanging from the ceiling, and gripped his left hand tightly. '...I have no choice. Either let a student die or let her live.'
The ex-Specialist smirked as she saw the general, the former leader of Atlas, sign away his privileges and responsibilities on the scroll, just for the life of a Silver Eyes weakling.
"There, my surrender." he frowned while placing the scroll on the table. "Now let the girl down."
"Mmm, signature's valid." she muttered while looking at the scroll, smirking a little as she saw Ironwood's pissed off glare made in her direction. "Alright, I'll let her down."
ZAP!
ZAP!
Her eyes glowed a golden color as black lighting formed in the spot she used to reside in.
CRUSH!
"AHHH!" Ironwood screamed as his mechanical arm was crushed instantly by Harriet's right arm, her hand now coated in a black metallic like construct in the shape of a clawed Sabyr's paw, and ripped out of its socket, revealing a pair of metal graphed ribs and muscle fibers attached to the prosthetics.
"But I never said I'd let either of you live." she smirked before dropping the arm and twisted his head, snapping it in the process as she turned to the still unconscious Ruby. "Now, to finish my end of the bargain."
(A few days later)
-Atlas, Atlesian Airlines Airport-
The camera quickly zoomed down from the skyline, once covered in airships but now occupied by the flying monstrosities known as Nevermores, towards the now Grimm occupied city of Atlas, the dark gray and blue runaway covered from head to toe with Mandacores and Sphinxes, as a ginormous Monstro, coated in purple gravity Dust, floated over the area and spawned more Grimm from its mouth.
Towards the center of the runway, protected from either side by the negative emotion sensing Grimm, was Harriet, who bowed before the immortal ruler of the Grimm, Salem, as she represented the Relic of Knowledge and a single gray canister in her left and right hands respectively.
"Lady Salem, I have fulfilled my end of the bargain." Harriet said while Salem took the lamp-like relic and held it between her left fingers as she looked a little confused at the canister.
"What exactly is in that container?"
She smirked while opening the canister, cold air hissing out of the sides as it revealed a pair of human eyes, coated in silver irises. "The Silver Eyes' inexperienced eyes. Ripped from her body before being thrown off the highest tower of Atlas Academy. I present them for you as a gift, one that might suit you in the near future."
Salem stiffened a little at the morbid sight before recomposing herself. "I see, and the Relic of Creation?"
"Still powering the city. As per our agreement, you allow me to control this kingdom, including the relic that powers a potential weapon against your enemies." she said calmly. "I hope this is enough to prove myself."
Salem, amused by this line of logic, raised her right hand and placed it on Harriet's forehead. "It is enough, now, as per our agreement those years ago."
Squish!
Harriet's eyes widened in pain as black nails pierced her skull, causing a viscous black liquid to enter her body and liquify her entire body, turning her into a pile of red goo in the process.
SPLAT!
The immortal looked upon the slime before raising her hand up. "Rise, and serve your mistress."
The red slime, slowly rose up and took the shape of a massive amorphous blob of white and red that quickly transformed into a tall marble white skinned naked humanoid female with long red bone shaped tendrils going down from the head to the legs, pale gold eyes, a triangular shaped jaw with shark like teeth, a I cup chest and wide ass, long black needle like nails, pale black markings on the face and arms, red bone-like plates on the arms, legs, shoulders, hips and chest areas, and a long snake like tongue sporting a three pronged stinger at the tip, who bowed to the queen with...sentience in her eyes.
"I dub thee Doppelganger." Salem said with a satisfied smirk. "The most special of my creations."
The Grimm grinned, revealing its teeth to the hoards of Grimm, as the screen turned black as tar.
Xxxxxxx
Name/Designation Title: Harriet Bree/Doppelganger (I Must Prove Myself Harriet Bree- IMPMHBRWBY)
Age: 17~20?
Affiliation: Mega Evil.
Dimension: - 7000012- 81 IMPMHBRWBY
Abilities: Enhanced speed, agility, strength (via Grimm transplant, formerly from Fast Knuckles weapon), endurance and durability, hand to hand combat skills, Huntress skills, Ace-Ops knowledge and skills, Specialist skills and tactics, high piloting skills, infiltration tactics, espionage skills, robotic exoskeleton (formerly), high aura pool (via Grimm transplant), mutagenic Grimm transformation (last resort), shapeshifting, hyper advance mimicry, Grimm physiology.
Semblance(s): Super Speed.
Bio: In this timeline, when Harriet Bree graduated from Atlas Academy and joined the Atlasian Military, her pride and superiority complex started to overcome her common sense and this, plus never meeting Tortuga, allowed her to view herself as the greatest thing ever produced in Atlas, making her qualified to run Atlas instead of being a 'stupid grunt'. Luck fancied her as she discovered Salem's existence from eavesdropping on a conversation between Ozpin and Ironwood, allowing Harriet to locate and convince the immortal to join the 'winning side', pledging herself to the immortal in exchange for becoming the 'best of the best'. Intrigued with the human's pride, Salem agreed to the deal and infused her with a special parasitic Grimm, one that can enhance her semblance, Speed, to unnatural levels for longer uses but at the cost of being turned into a Grimm hybrid if pushed too far. Through careful planning and sabotaging, Harriet used her status as a mole to compromise Atlas at every turn, until Teams RWBY and JNR appeared, having successfully survived the Fall of Vale and obtained the Relic of Knowledge from Haven Academy. Viewing them as a threat, she decided to continuously play with their fears and anxiety, destabilizing their teamwork even more before using the chaos to kill many of Atlas' pillars, from Jacques Schnee and the Atlas Council to Pietro and her own team, along with the two huntsmen teams to further distract them from her true goals. However, her plan was discovered by Blake, who told the remaining survivors, Weiss and Ruby, and were about to report her to Ironwood for her arrest, and she would've been captured too if she didn't use her semblance to kill everyone but Ruby, holding her hostage to drag Ironwood out before killing the two of them and ripping the Silver Eyes from the young Huntress' face as a gift for Salem. With Atlas now destroyed and in chaos, the Grimm overtook the city and Salem, having both the Silver Eyes and the Relics of Knowledge and Creation at her fingertips, rewarded Harriet by transforming her into a new species of Grimm called a Doppelganger, which can mimic anyone and anything without losing its intelligence. Sometimes being the best is a good thing...until it clouds one's mind and drags them into a darker place.