AN: Here we go! Another day another chapter of Bastion! In this, we have the introduction of a brand new OC! Who will be a major character in the story and a friend of Jaune and Ruby! Let's see how this new relationship play's out and as always! Thanks for reading and enjoy...

"Under arrest!?"
Ruby balked her mechanical eye shooting forward in disbelief as it stared at the albino police office!? Who was holding out a bright gold badge with the words Bastion I.A. on it.

"That's what I said, Ruby Rose, you are under arrest.'

Merrick said calmly as he put away his badge adjusting the bright light over his head, the girl Ruby was trembling sitting own on a hard metal table her fists chained together in a bright pair of silver cuffs, her bright silver eyes wide with panic as she looked nothing more than a frightened mouse in the face of an alpha predator.

"Good."

The boy thought pulling out a small crimson book and lazily flipping through the pages as Ruby soaked in her own sweat in the dull Bastion interrogation room

"What did I do!?"

Ruby asked her arms covered in sweat and her normal knees shaking with fear.

"What did you do? What didn't you do? Now, this is the real question."

Merric said in his calm, neutral tone that carried with an air o a calm, disinterested tone like he was above the girl in front of him.

"What did I do!? I'm innocent!"

Ruby shouted her eye wide with fear as Merrick tisked.
"Innocent? Oh no Ruby Rose you are far from innocent in fact you are very guilty."

"Guilt!? Guilty of what!?

"You are guilty of treason."

Merrick said his blood orbs glaring at Ruby who went rigid. Her small from went stiff as iron as her mouth dropped in a comical O shape.

"Treason!? How did I do that?!"

"Well let's see."

Merrick said in his calm tone that reminded Ruby of a summer breeze; the boy slipped through his book as he turned to a page of his book.
"There! You have a membership request with the Piercing lancers correct?"

The boy asked in a tone that spoke of a man who already knew all the answers Ruby would say as she nodded weakly.
"Yes? Why?"

"Well then pray tell why do you also have a confirmed membership with the followers of the light and the Mechanicus?"

"I... Is that a problem?"
"Is that a problem? Ruby, you can't join more than one faction! That's treason."

Merrick said closing his book with a solid thud.

"You have committed treason against Bastion Ruby Rose."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It won't happen again!"

"Ruby! Ruby! Don't be upset, I know this was a, and I won't be too harsh on you. I'll give you the minimal punishment for treason ok?"

Merrick said putting on a friendly smile that made Ruby's hear go still.

"Thank you! Thank you, you won't regret this-

"Your punishment is death."

Merrick said without pause making Ruby still.

"Death!?"

The reapers face went as pale as well death as Merrick nodded his head.

"That's what I said now is it not?"

Merrick asked without so much as a skipped beat as Ruby began to panic.

"But you said you would be lenient! You said that you would give me the lightest punishment!"

"I did, and I am, death is the minimal punishment for treason, I'm treating you fairly gently in all of this you know? I could be far more... strict."
Merrick said with a sharp tone as Ruby begna to fidget.

"Please! Don't do this! I don't want to die!"

"Whoever wants to die, Ruby? I mean don't we all want another second of life?"

Merrick asked a melancholic ring to his voice as he looked up wistfully into the dull Bastion interrogation room Ruby panicked.

"But you can't! You can't just kill me!' "I can actually, as a member of the lauded Bastion internal affairs I can dispense any amount o justice to any crime that I see fit. I am allowed to do anything I want with your... case. From letting you go all the way up to and not limited to execute you on the spot.'

Merrick said all levity vanished like ice on the sun while Ruby quaked.

"I don't want to die!"

Ruby shouted as Merrick frowned an annoyed look coming over his usually carefree gohst like features.

"We've been over that Ruby; nothing wants to die now let's get this over with. I'm assuming you don't want to sit her in fear while I go about how I'm going to kill you right? Let's get this show on the road now."

"Wait! You don't have to kill me! You said so yourself! You can overlook this!"

Ruby shouted a desperate tone in her voice as Merrick paused.

"I did and I can."

"Then why don't you!?"

"Why should I? Why would I let you live?"

Merrick asked as slick smile coming over his face as Ruby gulped.

"I can help you!"

"How?"

"I can! I can!"

"You can stutter?"

Merrick asked as Ruby fumed before chocking.

"How are you even going to kill me anyway!? Are you just going to shoot me? Stab me in my necks or something like that!?"

Ruby asked desperately buying time as Merricks' head rocked to the side as his mouth gained an offended look to it.

"What? No, Ruby, I'm not a barbarian, I'm just going to make your head pop."

Merrick said fishing out his scroll from his khaki pants and pushing a button. Instantly a low beep! Filled the air as twin blue lights began flickering on her scroll. As Ruby looked down her breath leaving her collar as it began to beep steadily.

"You are going to detonate my collar!? You can do that?!"

"I can, all Bastion internal affair students are allowed to detonate any other students collars at will. We need to be able to carry out our missions with impunity, and as such, I can detonate your collar for any reason."

"But! I can help you!"

"So you say, but so far you have yet to show a shred of evidence about how your so-called help will manifest itself. Tell me Ruby as an officer of the law, why should I even consider helping you? What can you do for me to make this... worth my while?"

Merrick asked as Ruby went still her hands trembling as she moved them to her chest.
"I have my body."

Ruby said shaking like a leaf and-

"What? Please, you are a child and I am no monster. And besides, I have more refined taste in my love life. Besides, you have one too many chromones for my taste. I prefer diversity in my lovers you know?"

Merrick asked a slightly exasperated tone in his voice as Ruby's face visibly lightened as she breathed easy for the first time in what felt like forever.

"I...-
"You said you can do things for me, now besides your body... if you can even call it that what can you do for me? And do be smart with your words. I am not one to be toyed with, and you do not want to waste my time."

"I can fight! I'm undefeated in the arena!"

Ruby shouted as Merrick paused a contemplative look coming over his face.

"That you are... the Red Reaper of Bastion is what you are called if I remember correctly. Your reputation does speak for itself now that I think about it."

"So you'll let me fight for you!?"

"Ruby, you should think about that offer before you make it. I mean you have no idea who or what I could send you to fight against no?"

"Either way it beats just dying in a cell right?"

Ruby asked a low laugh in her throat as Merrick paused, his blood orbs inspecting her before a thing smile came over her face.

"That it does, that it does I suppose, but let's be honest. I need some rather... specialized help with some rather complicated problems do you think you can do that for me?"

"I can! I know I can!"

"Cocky are we? You don't even know what my problems are and you want to help me get rid of them?"

"Like you said I suppose it beats dying in this chair right?"

Ruby asked as Merrick nodded a faint gohst of a smile on his thin, pale lips as he walked behind her.
"True enough, but what if I asked you to kill people?"

"I would kill them."

Ruby said without a shred of hesitation as Merrick nodded.

"Really? What if the person was Jaune?"

"I'd never kill him!"

"Ruby I need a tool, and a tool that won't follow my orders is not a tool at all."

"But he's my leader! If I kill him our whole team dies!"

"Hmmm, you do have a slight point there but don't worry I'm not going to kill Jaune."

"Thank Oum-

"Yet."

Merrick said as Ruby felt her blood run cold as her fake eye zoomed in on him.

"Yet, what does yet mean?"
Ruby asked growling as the man smiled.

"Simple. I know that threatening your life than sending in a toll that might do something a bit... heroic and overwhelmingly stupid. No Ruby your life is not in danger if you... join my side, but Jaune's life? That is not so certain."

Merrick said as he watched Ruby's fist balled up into tight wads of flesh. Her body went rigid as her eyes whirred in and out of her skull making odd machine chittering sounds like a computed overloading with data.

"Don't hurt him."

"I want so long as you don't give me a reason too."

"Merrick! If you so much as lay a hand on his head! I swear-

"You swear what? Forgive me Ruby, but I don't think you are in much of a position to do anything really, from where I'm standing you look a bit tied up to be blunt."

Merrick said making the girl growled.

"Leave Jaune alone!"

"I will so long as you do exactly what I say without hesitation or question."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Right to business is it? I like that. Simple you see while I am a decorated member of the illustrious and lauded Bastion internal affairs."
Merrick began as Ruby resisted the urge to snort.

"You see despite my wide range of powers, and I do have a wide range I am a man of the law! Unfortunately and I am bound by it to a greater and or lesser degree. You see there is a law of sorts for my kind and one of them being while we do have authority to act with impunity over criminals we have no power to move over the innocent. That is where you come in.

"That's where I come in? How and why do you want me to deal with the innocent student's of Bastion?"

Ruby asked a genuinely confused look on her face as Merrick sighed.

"For one Ruby do remember where you live, this is Bastion we are talking about no one is here do remember that it might help your conscious. Two well you see I have a certain vision for Bastion's future. And when I say I mean all of the internal affairs do."

"A vision?"

"A shared goal if you will, does that help? We all want a specific end goal for Bastion and to do so, to reach the goal we need to go over a few bumps in the road."

"Bumps in the road?"

"We need to kill people Ruby. There are those that interfere with our goal for Bastion's future, and we need them to be put down."

"Why not just do it yourself? You can murder anyone here as long as they are not the teachers correct? Why do you need me to do anything for you?'

"As much as I would love for things to be as simple as point kill I am like I said an officer of the law I have rules. I can't just go killing students willy nilly now can I? well I can do that but that would make the whole department look bad you know?"

"So you want me to kill them?"

"Yes, you are an outsider you are not affiliated with us in any official way. If you kill someone or a group, it would just be seen as an act of Bastion on Bastion violence. Completely normal and not suspicious to anyone, do you see where I'm coming from? Your neutrality makes you valuable to me, and so long as you keep being valuable, I can assure you and your team including your oh so precious Jaune has a relatively comfortable and safe remainder of a stay here in Bastion. Sounds good?"

Merrick asked as mug grin on his face as ruby looked around sighed and nodded.
"I'm in."

"I knew you would see reason in the end."

"Did I have a choice?"

"Oh Ruby, we always have a choice, be sure to keep that tib bit in mind for the future, but until said future arrives, I'll have you know I've set the detonations for Jaune and you teams collar for two days from now."

"What!? Why!?"

"Simple. If I do not input my specifically and custom coded input into the devices, every day from here on our your team dies. With Jaune, so in case you got any idea of taking me out so that you could but just as some insurance to keep you from doing anything foolish."

"I won't."

"I know, but I like to be safe rather than sorry."

Merric grinned maki Ruby glared back at him in their dim interrogation room.

"So what is my first assignment?"

Ruby asked finally free of her handcuffs currently busy glaring bloody daggers at the boy who had just threatened her crush's life with blatant disregard.
"I'm glad you asked, you will be dealing with a particularly troublesome team that has been a thorn in my side for far too long. You are to find them, eliminate them and remove them for me."

Merrick said without looking up from the small crimson book that he seemed to be reading incessantly as Ruby snarled.

"By removing you mean to kill them?"

"I didn't say that I can't tell you to kill, Ruby. But if they are not dead in twenty-four hours, there is a chance Jaune's collar may have an accident. If you catch my drift."

Merrick said finally looking up from his book, delivering a calm disassociated look to Ruby who wanted to do nothing more than to put a sniper round in between his stupid smug face.

"What am I killing them? What did they do to you?"

"Does that matter? I'm not here to tell you things that you don't need to know. Just do what I ask, and you will find yourself in good standing in Bastion."

Merrick said putting his small book half the size of a scroll into his khaki pockets and sliding off the tale.

"The team name is near Arsenal. You will find a way to remove them in a twenty-four hour period."

"Where do they live?"

Ruby asked resigned to do this task for Jaune's sake and nothing else. She didn't know who she was going to kill she hoped that she didn't have to but if-

"Ruby. These are all criminals; they needed to do some type of crime to get into Bastion. Do not feel bad they are little better than the White fang that we kill almost regularly. You do not need to have such stress over our oncoming task."

Her eyes said in its typical cold manner as it zoomed onto Merrick who regarded the protruding limb with mild curiosity but not commenting on it.

"These people... they are not initiation students right?"

"They are all convicted offenders if that helps you."

"It does."

"Good, now I won't get too descriptive for this task it's your first job after all. I'm just asking that you go removed them. How you do this is up to you. I won't put any restrictions on your methods besides time. You have one day if you don't do that them well you know."

Merrick trialed off his voice once again remind Ruby of a summer breeze that blew through a warm night's air.

"I know you don't need to remind me."

"I'm just checking; you can go now I won't hold you any longer. Do your job do it well, and I and you can have a mutually beneficial relationship."

Merrick said with a smile that seemed able to hold butter without melting in the slightest as Ruby sighed

"I'll be back, how will I tell you when I finish?"

"You don't have to I'll know. When you do finish wait around your room for me, I'll find you so we can finish up your arrangement ok?"
"Fine."

Ruby said as she got up as Merrick opened up the slim grey sliding door tot he Bastion interrogation room with a sharp hiss of pneumonic air.

"Good luck Ruby! If you die, I won't let any accident go down."

Merrick said with what Ruby swore was a pitying smile, that made her guts churn like a broken ocean.

"I won't fail. I'm going to come back to Jaune. I'll make sure he gets back to Beacon. If any of us need to get back home, he does."

Ruby admitted her head falling low as Merrick smiled.

"I do hope you succeed! It won't do for you to die before you get to see your knight in shining armor."
Merrick said as the door closed leaving Ruby alone outside as her eye whirred out of her skull.

"Ruby I have the teams location down in my sensors. I have thier scroll pings shall we began to follow them?"

"Yeah let's go I don't want to drag this out any longer than necessary."
Ruby said as her eye whirred in agreement.

"I also agree we need to finish this task as soon as possible. Jaune will be back soon, and if he finds us doing this, he will not be pleased."

The eye said while Ruby nodded as she took up her scythe recently give back as she checked her ammo before breaking into a light jog as she began to stalk her prey.

"Four people two faunus two humans. Leader crocidle faunus name Terrick Charge. He's the strongest, his partner a cat faunus with brown skin and air with a long flowing cat tail named Sidney Malofaux. She has a smoke someplace like the Blake? Of your old team. The others are humans. No know semblance, but that might be on purpose. Names are Meril Ruo and Hector Lange."

Her eye said as Ruby nodded stalking her prey the four punishment students walked slowly in the Bastion hallway all second years which was why they have ignored her while most other students stared whispered and generally looked at her with fear and awe in equal parts.

"How the hell does that make a team Arsenal?"

Ruby thought silently wondering if Ludo had a fetish for names like Ozpin but somehow had less skill at actually naming teams.

"We have a reputation."

Her eye noted dully as seeing the so-called Red Reaper of Bastion walking with our her White knight was raising some red flags as whispers reached her ears.

"It's fine how do you think we can kill them?"

Ruby thought ignoring the whispers and looks that she got from the huddled teams of students surrounding her.

"I have an idea, the leader has a glave type weapon. We should not engage him in a close battle. I think we need a more in-depth plan."

"What does that mean?"

"Two of them have melee weapons, two have range. They are second-year team members so I am assuming that they are quite proficient with them. We are more skilled at range fighting but engaging at range with a four to one deficit is not advised."

"So what do you advise?"

"We need to fight them in a way that we can not only win but win fast. Any form of battle that goes on longer than a few minutes will not end in our favor. We need to end this soon."

"Ok, I get that how do you think we should?"

"We need to take them off guard. Hit them hard and without warning. I'd say a surprise attack."

"Alright, I like that how?"

"I have downloaded the location of all of the ventral shafts for Bastion. If we can infiltrate their room through the ventilation we can take them by surprise while they rest in thier room."
"We can attack through the vents? How do we even get into them?"

"There is a small storage closet here."

Her eye said zooming to a far off corner of the hallway was a small locked door was sitting idly.

"We go in through there and climb through the vents, the journey will take us about five minutes at worst."

"How do you know when they will be back in thier dorm?"

"Merrick's information included scroll hacks, I am listening in on thier conversation via thier scroll."

"Merrick gave you information!?"

"Not exactly, while we were being interrogated I used Jaune's codes along with my own programming to steal information from his scroll."

"How did you get information from Jaune's scroll?"

"I... If I tell you I was given it by him would you believe me?"

"Eyey!"

Ruby shouted as the faunus cat Sidney looked around her brown eyes narrowing on Ruby for a second before shrugging her shoulders and continue to walk, her large black collar with an emboldened red letter P on it swayed roughly.

"Keep your voice at a low do not let our enemy know that we are coming for them."

"Sorry."

"It's fine now hurry we need to run."

Her eyes read as Ruby ducked her self behind a mob of shaking first years who were quaking with fear as the Reaper herself used them as cover.

Two minutes later Ruby was at the front of the closest a harsh smack! Of her weapons but broke down the lock and allowed her entry.

The closet was much to her surprise suspiciously like a normal Beacon one. Filled with several wooden shelves call caved into the mountain of Bastion filled with a variety of basic cleaning products and some exotic dust types that seemed to be more fire dust?

"Why the hell do we have fire dust cleaners?"

Ruby asked before shaking her head, she needed to do a job and she needed to do it now.

As she looked up she narrowed her eyes real and fake on the ventilation duct in the room.

"Here goes nothing."

Ruby said as she reached outstretching her normal knees to thier limits and using the wooden shelves as leverage, used her arms new power to yanks out the metal screws tossing the vent on the floor making it clang! With a hard ring before shuffling herself forward in the vents.

The vent was tight, much to Ruby's displeasure. Ruby didn't like that at all. The inside of the vents was tight and claustrophobic, squeezing her already small frame even worse. It was impossible for the Reaper to do battle in the cold tight confines of the damn vent, her weapon could not even deploy its sniper form in here making her feel oddly defenseless as she shuffled through the ducts like some kind of predatory reptile.

Cool Bastion air along with the dull whump thuds of her body awkwardly shuffling through the vent flowed down the vent fressing her exposed legs making her normal knees shake with an icy chill as she began to shuffle forward.
True to its word three minutes later and after several twists and turn Ruby found herself at the entrance to the enemy team room.
As she did forward her eye readied her pan.

"Hard and fast don't let them respond.'

"Got it."

Ruby said taking one last deep breath steadying herself as she looked down where the four members of her target team where all standing together discuss their day.

"Did you see the Reaper tailing us today? What the hell was that about? She looked scared."

Sidney said cat ears twitching as Ruby gently unscrewed the top on the vent catching it before it could fall down pulling it back safely into the vent putting her legs out and bending her normal knees taking a crouching position barely hanging on to the vent's end with her fingertips she took a deep breath and jumped.

Ruby was on them in less than a second. She came down in a red blur her shoozi up in a microsecond aimed right at the leader's wide brown eyes she pulled the trigger.

BRAKA! BRAKA! BRAKA!

Terricks chest disintegrated. It bent and crumpled his aura flaring and popping like a broken circuit as massive cantaloupe-sized hole appeared in it and the boy next to him as Ruby blasted them point black with her sidearm. The recoil from the weapon felt like she had been hit by fucking Magnihild and threatened to rip the gun from her arms as she blazed away.

He and the boy next to him vanished in a red puff of mist. Their aura naturalized in a moment as massive shotgun sniper rounds broke past them thier aura was useless and did nothing to stop them vanishing inot fine red mists. Ruby's ears rang the weapon's sheer concussive power was more than enough to momentarily deafen the poor girl and-

"On our left!"

"Terrick! BITCH!"

Sidney yelled as Ruby's magazine finally ran out, wasting no time not wanting to add another injury to her already shredded body she rolled up flashing out Crescent Rose, in a sharp downward strike. Sidney blocked barley at the last possible second with twin gun scythe-like Rens really before Ruby swung around her using her scythe as a fulcrum before slashing down her scythe in an overhead arch taking the girl in her shoulder making her aura flair blue as she screamed out in pain before slamming her down inot the floor forcing her gun barrel to her mouth. Jamming it inside her throat before pulling the trigger.

Crack!
Sidney's face vanished in a puff of mist and bone as Crescent Rose took her head off and-

"Fuck you!"
The last girl said as she stabbed doubt at Ruby with a halberd, Ruby dodged into it darting past her attack and punching her in the chin as, soon as she made contact her arm exploded her long sword flashing out striking her true and skewering her brain killing her in a moment as Ruby panted her body shaking with power as she silence the enemy team in less than a minute just for Jaune to live.

"I... I killed them..."

Ruby said her voice barely above a whisper as the dead broken bodies of the Bastion team looked up at her with cold lifeless eyes, those who still had a face held dead chocked gazes, as Ruby fought the urge to be sick. Her ears rang with a piercing wine both from her own weapons sharp cracks amplified ten fold the cramped interior of a Bastion dorm to the devastating staccato burst from her shoozi.

Her hands shook and her ears rang as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Calm down."

"I killed them!"

"We have killed before and you will do so again, this is nothing."

Ruby's eye said as she shook her head, she had killed before but this was different. This was wrong! Her body didn't get that same tingly feeling that made her weak in the legs and felt like she was on could nine! Now she felt sick fighting back the urge to be violently ill as the harsh arcid smell of gunfire and the dizzying ring in her ears beat her down.

"But they were innocent!"

"They are in Bastion Ruby, no one in here is innocent, not them, not Kage, nor Hino, Mika or even you. With the sole exception of Jaune, we are all criminals."
Her eyes widened and began to water as Ruby gripped her fist into tight balls. It was finished dead, they all died so fast! Ruby was used to fighting in the arena, not this.

A fist slammed into her gut making Ruby doubled over, she needed to get out of here! She needed to get away from this bloodbath. Ruby limped tot he team door opening it jumping out of it dragging in the crisp Bastion hallway air as-

"Good work."

A calm voice said from her right as Ruby nearly jumped out of her skin, twin red eyes looked down at her with a hint of amusement, as Merrick leaned against the side of the door.

"Merrick?! What are you doing here?!"

"Monitoring the progress of my help. Now I'm glad to see that you were successful I would hate to see what would happen if you failed and I needed to do more... personal implements.'

Merrick said with a narrowed glare as the door closed behind Ruby the girl growled.

"What do you want?!"

Ruby snapped as Merrick grinned leaning up from the wall before walking up to Ruby with a calm smirk.

"Well, I'm also here for a pickup."

"A what?"

"Pick up, we need to go, Ruby, your workday is not quite over yet."

"Not over?! What do you mean?! I killed them!"

"Yes and you did a good job with that but we are not done quite yet."

"What else is there to do!?"

"These four are but a branch of a deeper Bastion issue, we need to cut out the roots of this problem."
"The roots?"

"Yes Ruby, there is a sickness in Bastion and we are going to weed it out."

"Here!? What are we doing here?!"

Ruby asked silver eye wide with fear as her an Merrick stood in front of the Bastion churches door,

"Why are we here in front of the church of the light?! What are we doing!?'

Ruby asked scythe in hand Crescent Rose deployed in sniper form as Merrick smiled.

"Ruby a great man once said that religion is the opiate of the masses, today is the day of rehabilitation. It's time for Bastion to quit this religion nonsense cold turkey."

Merrick said with an irritated look a venous tone in his mouth reaching into his pocket and making Ruby gak pulling out a foot of a long glistening bowie knife out of thin air.

"We are going to go in there and kill every last one of these fanatics."

"What about not killing people who are innocent!?"

"This is a bit different Ruby, we need to go in there for the good of Bastion."

"How is killing the religious followers of Bastion for the greater good!?"

"You will see in time."

"I won't do this!"

"Then Jaune dies."

Merrick said planting a small grey object on the door inputting a small cork like object in it and taking out his scroll.

"Now do I kill Jaune now or wait till he comes back? Maybe wait until he goes home and sees his friends and family and make his head pop? Not that sounds-

"Ok! I'll do it! Please don't hurt Jaune!"

"Good. Glad you saw reason, most women do not. Pitty. Now let's play some music!"

Merrick said playing with his scroll as Ruby cocked her head.

"Music? Why are we playing music?"

"Because we are not animals Ruby, we fight like civilized men. Now get your game face on it's about to get loud."

Merrick said a small smirk on his face as a low drone began to play from inside the church.

"Lord knows I can't change!"

A booming voice said as Merrick pressed a small button on his scroll.

"Cover your ears."

"What why-

BANG!

THe door exploded in a fiery ball of orange and brown. Sending a ball of fire and a wall of splinters flying everwhere whizzing past Ruby's face nearly taking out her other eye as the two walked into the shocked church.

Dozen's of shocked frightened faces in front of them as a full church stared back as Ruby thanks the light itself that Hino was not amongst the parishioners. Even Erebus looked down on her with a shocked expression as-

"Brother! Sister! Are you alright!?"

A tall dear faunus with twin antlers and tan skin said hopping up a large P for a punishment students on her neck. Her eyes wide if near as Merrick opened his arms as the music swelled.

"Lord knows I can't change!"

Merrick said loudly in a booming voice far different from the normal clam cocky one he used as the dear smiled.

"Well, you are in the right place brother! The Lord knows all and he can help you so long as you seek his guidance and adhere to his principles!"
"Well I'd like to sister but today is your day of delivery! I have come to save you all from the shackles of your faith! And as much as I would like to do this peacefully well it's just like I said as I said, Lord, knows I can't change."

Merrick said eyes narrowing as out of nowhere his other hand flashed up as a hand cannon appeared in the deer face as bang! Her head vanished in a buff of gore. Merrick's hand cannon blew her face clean off as she was lifted off her feet flying over ten feet back her ruined throat spraying up a fountain of blood and-
"Well! Lord Know I can't change!"

Merrick said as a gasp flew over the students as the music began to pick up weapons were drawn as the mass charged them.

Crack!
Ruby fired her gun her eye automatically picking out any initiation students from the initial rush of students. Thier aura less heads poppling like wet grapes as their bodies were flung like rag dolls.

"~ Won't you fly high free bird!~"

The music blared from the churches dozens of hidden speaks as Ruby laid down deadly sniper fire sending hitting aura less students right in thier heads sending them flying dozens of feet into the air as Merrick smirked.

"Good aim! You might be useful for a woman."

Merrick said before drawing his hand cannon letting loose a mass of brutal shots blowing open the heads of initiation and not students alike. His weapon ignoring aura treating it like it was nothing as he began to charge into them a rare gleeful smile on his otherwise passive and indifferent face.

Ruby took a breath letting the sudden display of violence settle in on the shocked churchgoers before charging in.

"Left."
FISHT! A voice screamed as Crescent Ros slashed out taking out a man at the legs nearly cleaving one in half. Taking a quarter of it off as his aura shielded him.
"Right."
Her eye red as Ruby jumped back letting loose a volley of sharp cracks! Her weapon firing twelve times stopping a rush of students sending them back as Ruby dove in. Her scythe raised and lowered in a calculate meticulous fashion flowing like a hurricane of metal and flesh-shredding through aura and bone turning students into a blur of flesh and bone.

As she fought like a wild hurricane she heard the low booms of Merricks hand cannon sounded as Ruby moved like a whirlwind. She knew she could not get pinned down to get pinned down was to die. She acted like a hurricane taking down her enemies like a poke fighter. Not trying to kill them outright but just taking thier aura down enough eventually for them to be shredded by her scythe. As she slashed them down men women falling like bloody wheat-

"AHH!"
Ruby cried as she fell to the ground her vision spinning as something titanic slammed into her face. Ruby's vision swam as she looked up a shadow fell over her as a massive bear faunus punched her into the ground. Her eyes spin as-

Whap!
The man punched her making her aura flare up and plummet as she-
Whap!
Ruby tasted blood as-
Bang!
His head popped as he fell back as Merrick jumped over to her.
"You are welcome!"

"Thanks.

Ruby said as she got up spitting up blood as the two danced on.

Merrick flowed like water, not letting anyone so much as touch him. His every move precisely calculated and executed his every step perfectly timed with his enemies. He treated combat like a dance dipping and rolling slicing the Achilles tendon of a deer faunus only to rise up slit his throat. Enjoying the sickly gurgling sound of him choking on his own blood. Pulling his still warm body close firing off several shots each killing a student before kicking the dead body into a mass of enemies knocking them over just as a wave of friendly fire shredded them all without getting so much as a scratch on his shirt.

Ever time his knife flashed out a limb was liberated from its owner in a wonderful shower of blood and bone. Every time his gun fired a head popped!
As he faced a fresh wave of students they rushed him making him smirk. He held out his hand as his fingernails glow blue. Several blue nails shot out of his fingers slamming forward impaling the students in the nose before yanking thier faces off in a waterfall of blood. Screaming shrieking bodies fell covered in blood as Merrick smirked raising his gun and going back into the fight.

Ruby for her part was no slouch she rolled into the melee slicking out legs of enemy students taking them at the knee before opening up with her sidearm more brutal braka! Braka! Sounds filled the air as Ruby turned the enemy students into a fine red mist as she fought her way up to the center of the stage as she and Merrick danced.

The bloody melee last for three minutes before Ruby finally! Impaled Erebus on the center stage killing him in a moment skewering him through with her scythe. Panting heavily as she coughed and gagged over his dead body.

"Good work Rose, now let's go see Jaune."

Merrick said walking up to Ruby his pale snow hair loose and crisp, his low white tie hanging loose and unfastened his pale white shirt and khaki pants looked as if they where dry cleaner fresh as not even a stain of blood was on his body. As he handed Ruby a hand helping her up as he smirked.

"Ruby!"

A desperate voice yelled as blue eyes locked on one silver one Red as a girl gasped.

"Jaune!"

The reaper shouted as both Jaune, Kage and Mika found her in the hallway as Jaune almost broke down crying.

Ruby was ok! Ruby was ok! She was safe sound and-
"Who are you?"
Jaune asked suddenly noticing the sharply dressed albino boy next to her. Noting his evident lack of a collar and-

"Merrick! You are Jaune yes?"

The albino boy now known as Merrick said a cool and easy tone in his voice that put Jaune at ease asked as he held out a pale hand that Jaune shook firmly.
"I am who are you?"

"Merrick! I am a leading member of the piercing lance I hear you want to join? If so I can put in a good word."

An! There we go! Ruby is safe! Jaune is back and a new relationship is born! The Bastion crew is back as one, and the next time we meet them it's the debut of the piercing lancers! We get to see what they are all about and Jaune makes a choice. The story is going to really get interesting as we see our heroes go out of Bastion and begin to heavily interact with the world of Remnant! Yup! You heard! No more dealing with strickly Basiton events! It's time for our heroes to stretch thier legs and dance with the canon world! I hope they are ready for them.

Dealing with hostile factions, neutral parties and downright attacking well-established groups and characters! Hope you like this chapter I actually don't know what's next! I need to do some more planning for Game on and Branwen so I'll think about it! Maybe I'll work on Revers? Don't know until then thanks for reading hope you like the new cop tell me if you did and as always omake...

Hero of the Imperium. Part twenty one. Victory.

Jaune fired.

The governor of what was left of him screamed as Jaune fired his las pistol into him. One of his bulbous eye popped in a shower of viscera.
The man thing screamed as it fell backward as-

"Commissar!"
"Ren if you would!"

Jaune yelled as Ren nodded twin hell pistols firing turning the things' chitinous armor into messy slag as the thing screeched in agony. The thing flailed as-
Braka! BRAKA! BRAKA!

"Take it you bastard!"

Arslan yelled firing her autocannon inot him making the man thing howl as heavy caliber auto rounds tore apart his chest. Sending him falling back into a wave of green offal. As the monster reeled back it's large chitinous legs reeling as a flurry of las bolt slammed into him. Twin burst of las-fire coming from Penny and Oscar, the medic and trooper firing into the monster. As the thing fell back the attack kept up Jaune firing into it with his las pistol Ren firing on it with his own hell pistols.

The wither fuselage made the patriarch how in pain as even Pyrrha added her own inquisitorial barrage of strange exotic and definitely illegal weaponry that Jaune would have executed almost anyone else for so much as looking at let alone using.
As the monster reeled its final moment came with a deafening CRACK!

As Mercury blew it's head off with a well-placed sniper round killing it in one smooth motion.

"Hah! Told you I could kill it with one shot!"

"Good work Black, keep it up and you just might get off this dam legion."

Jaune said as he looked down to the infect governors' corpse.

"You did good commissar better than most could."
Pyrrha said with a gentle smirk on her face.

"You did well to Pyrrha. Thanks for not glassing the place when the thing showed up."

"Oh, first name and snark? My are you a bold one?"

Pyrrha asked flashing Jaune a predatory grin as-

"The commissary is a man of many talents."

Sieena said coming from nowhere stalking up to Jaune wrapping his back in a tight hug. Pressing her soft front into him making him shudder.
"Get off him!"

Pyrrha yelled face blushing as-

"What's wrong Nikos? You jealous?"

"Get off of him! He is an imperial officer!"
"Don't feel like it."
"Heretic!"
"Prude!"
"Another day in the life commissar?"
"Another day Ren.Another day..."