"Ruby? Where are you going?" Yang asked, seeing her sister attempt to sneak out of the room. The girl in question flinched, turning around slowly.
"Um. I have to go talk to Ozpin." She explained. The other members of her team were now staring at their leader.
"Why do you need to talk to Ozpin?" Weiss asked, stepping forward.
"Um. Uh. It's about… what happened last night." She backed up, grabbing the handle of the door.
"What!? What happened!?" Yang exclaimed, closing in the distance between them.
Ruby let out an 'Eep' and threw open the door. "I'm not allowed tell you!" She shouted, running down the hall towards the headmaster's office.
Yang let out a sigh as she closed the door. "What's gotten into her? And why's she in a rush to go to Ozpin?"
"She said something happened last night. Maybe it was while she had left, and it wasn't something good." Blake theorised.
"Well, Ruby did disappear for half the night. And knowing her luck, it wouldn't be farfetched to assume something had happened." Weiss agreed.
"Is Ruby gone?" Came a new voice. Everyone shivered slightly, before recalling that they had another person in the room. Granted that person was under a bed.
"Yeah." Yang told Crue. "Why?"
"Cause I really don't want her to see this." The Faunus replied, sliding out from under the bed and standing up. To say that each girl turned red at what they saw would be an understatement.
Hickeys. Bruises. Lipstick. Scratches. They all littered his body, and that was just his front. They were glad he had trousers on, as there was a trail of purple kisses leading down towards the belt. And they didn't want to see how that area was treated.
"Yeah. You should see her." He laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head, before wincing and shaking his hand. "I'm going to have a shower." He walked to the bathroom, inadvertently showing the girls what was on his back.
Three letters, written in deep purple lipstick. "P.O.P" Yang said slowly, after Crue had closed the door. "What does that… OH MY GOD!" The blonde began laughing uncontrollably.
"What? What does it mean?" Weiss demanded, her raven haired teammate also looking confused.
"P.O.P stands for 'Property Of Polly'." Yang told them through watery eyes. Blake let out a snort, before covering her mouth to prevent any more noises of surprise.
Weiss opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, not believing what she was hearing. "How-Why-What?" The heiress tried to speak.
Yang laughed at her teammate's expression. "Man, Polly is something. She puts your books to shame, Blake."
The raven haired Faunus let out an indignant squawk at the insult of her prized literature. "Oh please. Ninja's of Love would have Polly blushing."
"Can we stop talking about inappropriate things please!?" Weiss begged, her face only increasing in redness.
The sound of a door opening broke the girl's attention. "That's better." Crue sighed in relief, exiting the shower room, completely free of lipstick, some steam billowing out after him, nothing but a towel to cover his lower half.
With a thick 'THUD' Weiss Schnee fainted backwards, leaving Crue staring at the girl with wide eyes. "Please tell me that wasn't my fault."
"Nah. Don't worry Wolfy. It wasn't completely your fault." Yang told him. "She was just getting all hot n' bothered from our, conversation topic." The way she specified her words made Crue uneasy.
"What was your topic?" He asked slowly, before shaking his head. "You know what. I don't even want to know." He walked to his dresser, tiptoeing around the fallen heiress.
Once he had his clothes in possession, he re-entered the bathroom. Once he was out of the room, Weiss sat up from the ground. "I despise all of you." She said shortly, burying her face in her hands.
"What? What we do?" Yang asked in a joking tone. Weiss let out a short scream, muffled by her hands, before falling back down onto the ground.
"Didn't you get a package or something?" She asked, staring up at the ceiling.
"Huh? Oh, yeah." Yang recalled, grabbing the cylindrical cardboard from her desk. "It came from Patch, so my dad must've sent it. I'll open it when Ruby gets back."
"I wonder what she's talking about." Blake mused idly.
…
"Come in." The voice of Professor Ozpin instructed the person who wished to enter his office. The other occupants of the office included General James Ironwood, and Glynda Goodwitch.
"Sorry it took so long." Ruby apologised, stepping into the grand room. "Someone accidentally hit all the buttons on the elevator on the way up here. It wasn't me."
"Thank you for coming, Ruby. How are you feeling?" Ozpin questioned his student.
"Ok, I guess. I'd feel better if my bad guy catching record wasn't 0 for 4." She joked lightly. When all she got in response was unamused stares, she amended her statement. "Ok so that's the tone we're going for, got it."
"Ruby." Ironwood stated. "I feel it's appropriate to let you know that I think was exactly what being a huntress is all about." He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You recognised a threat, you took action, and you did the very best you could."
"Thank you sir." The small girl responded politely.
"Now." Ozpin said, getting the conversation back on track. "The general here has already informed us of the events that, transpired last night. But now that you've rested, we were wondering if you had anything to add."
"Was anyone else with her?" Goodwitch asked. "Did she look familiar to you at all?"
"Well, aside from The Wolf, no one else was-" "The who?" Ironwood cut off Ruby with a raised eyebrow.
"The Wolf." Ruby repeated.
"There was a wild animal in the CCT?" The Deputy asked.
"No, The Wolf, he's a, criminal. I think." She muttered.
"There was another saboteur there?" Ozpin asked, meeting his fellow educator's eyes.
"Well, that's the thing." Ruby spoke slowly. "I don't think he was doing any, saboteur-ing. If anything, it looked like they were fighting each other."
"How so?" Ironwood asked.
"Well, what he said was kind of weird. He could've stayed hidden, but instead he sorta, jumped up and said 'hi'." She saw the looks on the teacher's faces. "I'm not kidding. He literally said 'Hi!'."
"Curious." Ozpin mumbled. "Was there anything else?" He met Ruby's silver eyes, his own looking pensive.
"Well, he said he wasn't the bad guy." Ruby told them. "And he said that, after I shot him. And then he pointed out the woman. She shot an arrow at him, which is why I think they were fighting before I came in."
"And, this woman. What do you remember of her?" Glynda questioned.
"I, I don't know. She was wearing a mask, and she didn't say anything to me, but I know she fought with glass." Ruby recounted the events of the previous night. "I don't think that was her semblance though. Her clothing lit up whenever she attacked."
"Save for the glass," Goodwitch spoke again. "that sounds like the woman I fought the night we met Ruby."
"Embedding Dust into clothing is an age old technique. It could have been anyone." Ironwood said, moving towards Ozpin.
"Wait." Ruby began, causing the General to face her. "You think this girl is connected to Torchwick and the White Fang?"
Ironwood and Goodwitch both turned to the headmaster, waiting for him to answer. "It's possible." He said, stroking his chin. Ruby recalled what Blake had told her of the White Fang meeting. "But, we still lack the required evidence to link the two together."
"Actually I-I think I remember her saying something about a hideout or something, in the South-East, just outside the Kingdom." Ruby said, directing a thumb over her shoulder to indicate its direction.
Ozpin grew a small smirk. "Interesting."
"I thought you said the intruder never-" "Thank you for your cooperation Ruby." Ozpin cut across Goodwitch. "Why don't you go and spend some time with your team and Crue? You have a big day ahead of you."
"Anytime." Ruby replied happily, starting to walk back towards the elevator.
"And Miss Rose," Ozpin called to her, causing the young reaper to turn back to her headmaster. "please try and be, discreet about this matter."
"Yes sir." She told him.
Once she left, the teachers turned to look at one another. "Well, there we have it." Ironwood said, walking over to the window and resting his arm on it. "We send as many troops as we can to the South-East. Find out exactly what's going on and eradicate any forces that stand in our way."
Glynda frowned, throwing up her arms in exasperation. "Why must your answer to everything be a triumphant display of military bravado?" She waved her crop at him. "You treat every situation like it's a contest of measuring d-"
"Glynda!" Ozpin warned, throwing up a hand to stop his employee's tirade.
"Well he does." Glynda did not falter, crossing her arms in a huff.
"I fear you've become too familiar with our dear Mr. Cullen." Ozpin told her with a smirk. Glynda blushed lightly, an action not unnoticed by Ironwood. "But she's right." He turned to the General.
"As much as I too would love to end this situation once and for all, we must remember that this may go beyond Vale, beyond Beacon." The Headmaster spoke with wisdom. "And if this truly is part of some master plan for which we know not the final move, we mustn't be so bold."
"Nor can we risk the spread of panic." He ended his speech on a warning note.
"I have served you faithfully for years." Ironwood said grimly. "But if you mean to tell me that your plan is to really hold the defences and wait-" "It is not!" Ozpin stood from his chair with a glare on his features, his voice echoing in his office.
His expression softened as he began to speak. "You're a General, James. So tell me, when you prepare to go to war, which do you send in first? The flag-bearer, or the scouts?"
Ironwood said nothing, deciding instead to turn and look out of the window once more. "What of this, 'Wolf' character? Do we know anything about him?" For once, Ozpin could say nothing.
"Miss Rose said he was believed to be a criminal." Goodwitch answered for her employer. "That could signify he has a connection to Torchwick."
"Or, it could be a ruse." Ozpin laced his hands in one another, hiding his mouth with them.
"A ruse? How could being a criminal be a ruse?" Ironwood demanded.
"Tell me James, would you expect a criminal to be on the side of good?" Ozpin asked.
"Of course not." The General responded, before understanding what Ozpin meant.
"Perhaps we should try and make contact with The Wolf, and determine whose side he is on." Ozpin's eyes were squinted, thinking about this new player in the game.
"And how do you propose to do that?" Goodwitch asked.
Ozpin smirked behind his fingers. "Well, I understand that in nature, wolves and ravens have an interesting relationship. And while we do not possess a raven, we do have a crow."
…
"Well that was a risky move." Weiss stated, referring to Ruby's daring decision to mention what they had learned.
"No," Blake disagreed. "I think you handled it well."
"I hope so." Ruby had her head held low. Both Yang and Crue instantly stepped forward to place a caring hand on each of her shoulders.
"I'm sure everything will be alright Ruby." Her sister told her, lightly eyeing Crue.
"Yeah. You managed to point them in the right direction." Crue comforted, meeting Yang's eyes behind his glasses.
"Oh!" The blonde suddenly exclaimed. "I know what'll cheer you up." Yang strode over to her desk, where the package from Patch was sitting unopened.
"What is it?" Ruby asked, Crue removing his hand from her shoulder in equal confusion.
"I feel like I should remember this. Was it actually part of the show or…?" He watched as Yang grabbed the package and spoke.
"I don't know yet. Dad sent it to us. I thought we could open it together." She showed Ruby the cardboard tube.
"Oooh. Something from home." Ruby squealed. Using her semblance, she dashed over to her sister and climbed atop her, trying to reach the package. Yang shook the tube once, and a black cylinder fell out of it with a 'thunk'.
It began to shake lightly, before jumping up by itself and taking form. The contents of the package turned out to be a small corgi with black and white fur. Crue's eyes widened as he skyrocketed, latching onto the ceiling with his semblance.
"BAD! BAD! BAD! BAD!" His mind repeated to him, as he watched Ruby pick up the dog and begin nuzzling it. His instincts blared at him, telling him to avoid the creature at all costs. He felt a growl rise up in the back of his throat, and the corgi turned to meet his gaze.
It barked at him, so he barked back. The members of RWBY watched with awe, and slight confusion, and the verbal shouting match between the dog and the Faunus. "Crue?" Ruby asked with hesitation.
Her voice seemed to snap Crue out of his strange daze. "I, was just barking at him, wasn't I?"
"Yeah. Why'd you bark at Zwei? Look how cute he is." Yang hoisted the dog up, bringing him closer to Crue. The Wolf Faunus hissed, and scrambled over the ceiling, joining Blake on her place atop Ruby's bed.
The amber eyed girl looked at Crue with sympathy. "I don't like him either." She whispered. Crue nodded, taking some solace in the fact he wasn't the only one currently terrified of this corgi.
A voice sounded on the intercom, instructing the students to make their way to the amphitheatre. Yang let Zwei fall from her grasp, as she walked over to the package.
Once the dog's stubby little legs touched solid ground, it made its way over to Weiss' bed, and began yipping at the two higher up on it. Blake and Crue both moved back from the edge of the bed, further away from the evil animal.
The beast's focus turned to its owner, once Yang had mentioned the word 'food'. Zwei plopped down next to her legs, as a stream of dog food cans fell from the package from their father, along with a can opener.
Crue and Blake both took the opportunity to exit the room, Crue leaping onto the wall and springing to the door, and Blake jumping from the bed to a table to the door.
Once the two Faunus were outside of the room, they slid down the walls with sighs of relief. "Jeez guys, he's just a dog." Yang said in disbelief.
"Wait. She's right. WHY THE FUCK WAS I FREAKING OUT?!" Crue realised. "I don't have a problem with dogs, you fuckstick. Why the hell did you make me afraid of a FUCKING CORGI?!"
"I have absolutely no idea." Crue muttered. "My instincts just said 'bad'." The excuse sounded lame, even to him.
"Instincts?" Yang questioned.
"I don't know! Something just, rubbed me the wrong way." Crue scratched his head. He felt something jostle him, and saw Weiss holding up a pair of bags to him and Blake.
"You forgot these inside." Crue took his happily. It was a regular dark green knapsack, but it's what on the inside that counts. And what was inside that bag in particular? A certain outfit that Crue believed he should always keep on hand, as well as some, certain bargaining chips.
"Now, let's go." Weiss stated. And like that, they were off to the amphitheatre. "We're off the see the wizard. The wonderful wizard of Ozzzzpin." Crue hummed in his mind. "I wonder if Neo'll be there."
The group made their way to the amphitheatre, Crue dropping his bag amongst all the others, and stood in the Beacon students group. Ruby joined them after a moment, falling into line beside her teammates.
Crue stood to the side, RWBY and JNPR off to his left. His eyes scanned the crowd for raven hair, but came up with nothing. "Where is she?" Crue wondered. He then realised that there was another set of raven hair missing, along with green and grey.
"And where are the others?" He was worried, mostly because he was currently in the unknown. "She wouldn't try to hack the CCT again, would she?" Crue shook his head. "No, no. That's stupid. Ironwood would have put much more security now, and it's probably being monitored."
With a now relieved mind, he watched as Ozpin took to the stage. "Today we stand together, united." He spoke into a microphone, the crowd falling silent at his words. "Mistrel. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale. The four kingdoms of Remnant."
"On this day nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression." Crue could remember hearing this speech for the first time, and thinking about how the community would react.
"A war that about was much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom. But about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression."
"And as you all are well aware that was something many could not stand for." Crue nodded in turn, imagining how his old world would react to the same premise. "As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself."
"Colour." "Wait." Crue suddenly thought. "Does my name follow the rule? I don't know what 'crue' means, maybe something in a different language? Cullen kind of sounds like 'culling', as in killing. Holy shit, my last name means reducing a population. That's metal as fuck."
"It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither would the generations to come." Ozpin continued on. "And it was a trend that is held to this very day."
"We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity. Through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort." Ozpin told the crowd before him.
"Which is why today while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsman and Huntresses will work to uphold it." The sombre note echoed through the crowd. "As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional huntsman or huntress, on a mission."
As Ozpin spoke, many translucent blue screens began popping up near the walls of the amphitheatre. "Some of you may be taken out of the kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week."
"But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best." "Like no one ever was. BAM BAM BADUM- Oh the speech is over." Crue was brought out of his music filled head when people began applauding Ozpin.
"This is perfect!" Ruby exclaimed, as the students around them dispersed, all of them looking for a mission to suit their skills. "All we have to do is shadow a huntsman working in the South-East."
"Yeah!" Yang said, stepping forward. "We'll follow them around by day and give them the slip by night." Crue was laughing internally. "Good luck doing that when it's fucking Oobleck."
"Let's check "Search and Destroy"." Weiss suggested. The five began walking towards a screen, as a Beacon student had just left it, apparently dissatisfied with the options.
"Here we go. Quadrant five needs Grimm cleared out." Ruby read the mission aloud.
"Well, it's in the South-East." Blake agreed.
"Sounds perfect!" Yang said, as Ruby tapped on the screen. A small box popped up, requesting her to enter the teams name. After she typed in RWBY, large red text appeared saying: "MISSION UNAVAILABLE TO FIRST YEAR STUDENTS"
"Wonderful." Weiss said sarcastically.
"Any other ideas?" Blake asked.
"We mail ourselves there." Ruby suggested, her arms stretching wide for emphasis.
"Well that's one option." The five students turned to see their headmaster approaching them from behind the screen, a teachers scroll in hand. "Unfortunately, we determined that the concentration of Grimm was too extreme for a first year team of four."
"What about a team of five?" Crue asked, stepping forward slightly with a light smirk. The others all looked at Crue with wide smiles, then to their headmaster hopefully.
Ozpin smiled beneath his tiny glasses. "Well, that would increase your chances. It seems that particular region is rather popular. In fact I have the sneaking suspicion that the four of you will make your way there no matter which job you choose."
Yang, Blake and Weiss all turned to stare at their leader, who was rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. Crue let out a cough, directing Ozpin's attention to him. "Ah, my apologies. The five of you."
"Whatever makes you say that?" Crue asked him.
"I'm still curious how as to how you all found yourselves at the docks last semester." Ozpin answered, redirecting his attention to the females who were meant to be there. "I'm interested to know how you really learned about a 'hideout' in the South-East."
"And I certainly wonder why witness reported seeing robots and rose petals and a cursing wolf in a dance club some time ago." Ozpin spoke, but his smile betrayed the seriousness.
"Must be something in the water." Crue suggested, resting his arms behind his head.
Ozpin threw him a smirk. "I doubt I'll ever find the exact answers I'm looking for. So, how about this." He compromised, bringing up his scroll. "Instead of waiting for you all to break the rules, why don't we just bend them?"
The screen flickered, before reappearing. Even though there was no noticeable change, it was obvious that Ozpin had changed it so that they could go on the mission. "Troll Ozpin strikes again. Wait… That was canon Ozpin!"
"We won't let you down." Ruby told the man who let her into Beacon. "Thank you professor."
"Do not thank me for this." Ozpin warned. "Teamwork and persistence have carried you far, but you must understand, the things that await you beyond the protection of the kingdom will not care."
"Stay close to your huntsman at all times. And do exactly as he says. He will be leading you on this mission. And he can have you sent back to Beacon if he finds your skills to be unsatisfactory." Ozpin walked off, leaving the grim tone hanging in the air, the members of RWBY looking at each other questioningly, apparently second guessing themselves.
"Good luck." Ozpin popped his head back in, before disappearing once more. With that, the five students looked at each other, and made their way out of the amphitheatre.
"Well that wasn't exactly uplifting." Yang said what was on all of their minds.
"But it's the truth." Blake countered.
"It's gonna be tough, but I know we can do it." Ruby cemented her belief. Crue was about to comment on her words, as he was standing next to her, but a rough shove caused him to almost lose balance.
"Hey! Team CFVY's back!" A student ran past him, inadvertently knocking into him. He watched the student go, seeing the team in question walk back to the auditorium.
"Velvet!" Crue jogged over, catching up with the team. The Rabbit Faunus turned upon being addressed, her face breaking out into a light smile once she saw who it was. "Are you ok?"
"Hi Crue." She told the tall blonde. "I'm fine, I had Yatsuhashi to look out for me." The giant of a man walked past, his eyes briefly lingering on Crue.
Crue met his eyes behind his glasses, and they both shared a brief nod. Yatsuhashi continued on after his team, as Weiss spoke. "Your mission was supposed to end a week ago. What happened?"
"N-Nothing happened." Velvet told her. "It was just, there were so many." She saw the looks on RWBY's faces. "Oh but don't worry, you first years are just shadowing huntsman so you should be fine."
She smiled at them, trying to reassure them. "And you've got Crue to look out for you." She nodded to the Faunus, causing him to blank and blink, looking at Velvet oddly. Before he could question her words, Velvet continued speaking.
"I should go. Be safe, ok?" She requested, before walking away after her team. It left the group in silence, all of them, minus one, wondering what they would encounter on this mission.
"We can do this." Came the soft voice of Ruby. "We've never backed down before and we're not going to start now." The others voiced their agreement. "Besides, it won't only be us out there. We'll be fighting alongside a genuine huntsman!"
"Oh my sweet summer child." Crue thought, shaking his head. "Wait, that was actually right. She's the child of Summer. Hah! God I'm fucking hilarious." Crue chuckled internally. "Now, for the reveal."
…
"Why hello girls!" Doctor Oobleck said excitedly, his tone not matching the expressions of horror on the members of RWBY's faces. "Who's ready to fight for their lives?" He asked rhetorically.
"I remember laughing my fucking ass off at this part." Crue recalled, seeing the girls finally beginning to realise what exactly was going on.
"Professor Oobleck?" Weiss questioned hesitantly.
"Yes I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary girls." His eyes fell on Crue. "And boy. Seeing as you've opted to shadow a huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission." He walked in a line in front of the five of them, before spinning back around and continuing to talk.
"I can assure you we will not be establishing a single base of operations. Rather we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland, and making camp in any inhabitable locations we may stumble upon."
"I've packed all of our essentials myself plotted the air course and readied the airship. And!" He leaned down close to Weiss. "It's Doctor Oobleck. I didn't earn my PhD for fun thank you very much."
"Come now children, according to my schedule we are already three minutes behind, schedule." With that, he literally zipped out of their peripherals, kicking up a trail of dust and appearing at the bullhead.
"Well alright then, looks like we're going to save the world with, Dr. Oo-bleck ok yeah when you say it out loud it sounds worse." Ruby spoke, before giving up halfway through.
"Save the world!?" A new voice came, prompting them all to turn around and see who it belong to.
Team JNPR walked up behind them, Nora throwing her arms out wide. "You're going on world-saving missions without us?!"
"I'm hurt! And sad!" There was a distinct rumbling emanating from her stomach. "Maybe a little hungry? That last one's not your fault though, Ren." The silent boy turned away from her, crossing his arms.
"Sounds exciting, where are ya going?" Jaune asked.
"Oh, just outside the kingdom." Ruby responded politely.
"Hey! So are we." Nora said happily.
"Ren and Nora wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village." Pyrrha informed them. Her words stirred something in Crue.
"Oh yeah… A lot of people were theorising that it was supposed to be the village they grew up in as orphans or something." "-with us tonight!" A voice suddenly exclaimed in Crue's ear, causing him to act on instinct and lash out.
"Ah!" Neptune cried out, wincing as he lay a hand on his arm, where Crue had inadvertently punched. "Dude!"
"You snuck up on me." Crue said slowly, lowering his fist.
"So you punched me?!" The blue haired boy exclaimed.
"Yeah, pretty much."
Neptune fumed, but before he could rebuttal, Sun stepped in. "We're shadowing a crime specialist. All inner-city detective stuff. We get junior badges." Jaune let out an 'oooooh' at those words.
Neptune still glared at Crue, as Sun continued talking. "We'd normally go to the city with you guys, which means stuff's always exploding and junk. So we thought this might be a better way to check out the kingdom when it's, y'know, normal."
"Well-" Ruby began, only to be cut off by Oobleck yelling in the distance. "Four minutes ladies!" He disappeared behind the bullhead, only to reappear and shout once more. "And gentleman!"
To say that the expressions on most everyone's faces were 'awkward' would be an understatement. "Well, uh, wish us luck." Ruby finally spoke, before turning away from the other group and walking toward the bullhead.
"Crue." Weiss began, looking up the Faunus. He raised an eyebrow at her, and waited for her to speak. "Why did you attack Neptune?"
"Cause he surprised me." Crue replied honestly.
"And why didn't you apologise?" She continued her questioning.
"I never apologise." Crue stated. Weiss looked at him confusedly. "I never apologise for anything. If something happens, it happens. If you've ever heard the word 'sorry' come from these lips, I was either lying or probably didn't mean it."
"That's, a rather drab way of looking at things." Weiss muttered.
"Sorry." Crue said.
"It's fine." Weiss smiled. "Wait… Hey!"
Crue smirked as they boarded the vessel. "Also, fuck Iceberg. There's another reason I didn't apologise."
"So, will you apologise for nothing?" The heiress questioned.
Crue fell silent for a moment, thinking about the question. "…No." He eventually spoke. "There's nothing in this world that would make me apologise." To Weiss, that was a fair answer, even if the sentiment wasn't one she agreed with.
To Crue, however, seeing as this world wasn't his, it meant something different. "I'll never apologise for anything. And if you made me say it without realising it, it didn't mean anything."
"I guess I just never saw you as much of a fighter." Crue was brought back to the situation he was currently in by Yang. He peered out of the open bullhead door, to see the landscape rushing away from him, turning from the hard greys of the city blurred into lush greens of the forest.
"I admit I fancy myself more of an, intellectual but I can assure you, as a huntsman, I've had my fair share of tussles." Oobleck told the brawler.
"Like the mushroom?" Ruby asked.
"Those are truffles." Blake told her.
"Like the sprout?" She asked again.
"Those are brussels." Her sister answered.
"Like the shellfish?"
"Mussels." Crue told her.
"Besides," Oobleck spoke. "given my expertise in the field of history, as well as my dabblings in the art of the archaeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw it fit to assign me to this particular, assignment."
"What does history have to do with this?" Weiss asked.
"My, what a preposterous question you silly girl!" Oobleck responded indignantly. "Why, history is the very backbone of our society. And the liver! And probably the kidneys if I were to wager."
"What about the spleen?" Crue asked.
"Environmental Biology is the spleen of this society my dear boy." The lanky professor told him.
"And that means…?" Weiss brought her question back.
Oobleck turned back to her, raising a finger. "The South-East quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves. But, it is also the location of one of the kingdoms greatest failures."
"Mountain Glenn." Ruby said.
"That's right, it was an expansion of Vale." Yang agreed with her sister. "But in the end it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city."
"Correct!" Oobleck congratulated. "And now it stands abandoned, as a dark reminder."
"And a likely place for a hideout." Blake realised.
"Precisely." Oobleck said, shifting his glasses slightly.
The bullhead approached the ruined city of Mountain Glenn, Crue having been there only once before, during that night when he made the deal with Torchwick.
The group leapt from the vehicle, landing in different ways. Yang landed with her fists cocked back, ready to fire Ember Cecilia. Blake had her hand on her weapon, prepared to pull it on a moment's notice.
Weiss had crouched down, her rapier raised high. Ruby had unsheathed Crescent Rose, holding the blade behind her. Crue slammed down onto the ground, one fist on the concrete, the other reaching around to grasp Setanta's handle.
"Superhero landing." Crue laughed within his mind. The bullhead drifted off, returning to Beacon as Oobleck took a gulp from his thermos.
Crue looked around the desolate wasteland, not able to properly view it the last time due to how late it was. There was broken rubbles littered around the area, what looked like a ruined restaurant with a large letter 'W' hanging off the side.
The wind howled through the empty city, a pair of tumbleweeds skipping along the road in the distance.
"Ladies. Gentleman. You may still be students, but as of this moment your first mission as a hunter has begun." Oobleck told them. "From this point forward you need to do exactly as I say. Do you understand?"
He stared at the group before him, before snapping his head to the left. "Ruby! Crue!" Ruby dropped her weapon in surprise, whereas Crue stiffened upon being shouted at. "I thought I told you to leave all your bags back at school."
"But, uh, you hadn't told us to listen to you yet…" Ruby defended. "So I didn't." Her teammates all made various expressions of annoyance.
"She's not wrong." Oobleck mumbled. "Very well Ruby, Crue, leave your bag here we can pick it up upon or return."
"But I- whaa." Ruby began to stutter.
"Young lady! What in the world could you possibly have in that bag that could be so important for you to bring it wi-" The Doctor cut himself, when a furry black and white head popped out from Ruby's bag.
Crue took a large step away from the dog, his instincts screaming at him again. "Get back in the bag." Ruby whispered to the corgi.
The dog did not go back in the bag, instead opting to let out a "Woof!"
"We're here to investigate an abandoned urban jungle teaming with death and hostility and you brought, a dog?" Oobleck asked seriously.
"I-uhhh…!" Ruby tried.
"Genius!" The green haired man exclaimed, running away in excitement. The others all looked each other strangely, as Oobleck rushed by, grabbing Zwei from Ruby's bag and inadvertently knocking her over.
"Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound. Making them excellent companions for hunts such as ours!" The Doctor spun Zwei around in the air, the dog barking in happiness.
He suddenly turned to Crue. "Crue!" He dropped Zwei and stared at the Faunus. "Ruby has given her ingenious solution to as why she has her bag! Why do you have yours?"
The boy let out an "Uhhhh…" Before snapping back to reality. "That is because I fear in your haste you may have forgotten something."
"Impossible!" Oobleck exclaimed, as Crue slung his bag around and began rummaging through it. "I have been on countless missions, and have never once forgotten an essential item-" He was cut off when Crue handed him two small boxes.
"What are these?" He asked slowly.
"Tampons and sanitary pads." Crue answered with a smirk. The girl's eyes widened dramatically, not realising they were actually without the essential hygiene products.
"Ah…" The doctor said slowly. "It would appear you are correct. I apologise ladies. I sometimes forget that you have, certain requirements."
If stares could kill, Oobleck would have been sixty feet under. Apparently the doctor noticed the glares, as he coughed awkwardly and scratched his cheek.
"What are your orders professor?" Crue asked, sparing the man from his soon to be 'death by glare'.
"Uh, yes!" Oobleck said, back to his usual speed. "As you have been informed the South-East area has been marked as a recent hotspot for Grimm activity. Now there are several possible explanations for this behaviour. One of which being, Grimm."
Crue turned, seeing where Oobleck was directing his attention. A Beowulf had wandered out from behind a dilapidated building. "Uhh, what?" Ruby asked, as the others were all still looking at the Doctor.
Crue raised his rifle and took aim at the beast. "Grimm, a creature of Grimm approximately 100 yards from us at this very moment." The girls all turned, unsheathing their weapons and pointing them at the Beowulf.
"Stop." Oobleck instructed them. "There are a number of reasons why Grimm would congregate in this particular area. The most likely of which would be would be their attention to negativity."
"Well. Fuck me then. Seeing as I'm a walking ball of rage and depression." Crue thought sarcastically in his mind. "Sadness." "Yep." "Envy." "Not that one." "Loneliness." "Gotten used to it." "Hatred." "Fuckin' Bingo."
"All qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harbouring ill intent." Oobleck finished.
"So, what now?" Ruby asked.
"We wait, we track, if the specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey." The Huntsman explained.
"How long do we wait?" Yang questioned, a bored tone in her voice.
"It's uncertain, hours, days, weeks, why lone Grimm have known to stay isolated from the pack for months- and there's the whole pack." Oobleck changed his speech midway, seeing a large pack of Beowulf appearing.
"What?" Weiss said in disbelief.
"And now they've seen us."
"What?!"
"AND NOW THEY'VE SEEN US!"
Crue cracked his knuckles together, as Ruby asked Oobleck. "I take it tracking is out of the question?"
"An accurate assumption, yes." The professor agreed, as the Beowulves began stampeding towards the small group.
"What's the plan?" Yang asked.
"Show me what you're capable of." Oobleck instructed.
With those words, the group split, all of them going towards different sets of Grimm. Crue swung his hurl round, a wide smile on his face.
A Beowulf growled at him, and he brought his hurl down on its head, smacking it into the ground below and causing cracks to spider web from the impact. He looked up to the other Grimm, all of them snarling and barking at him.
He shifted Setanta into its sword form, and leapt towards a random Beowulf, slicing through the flesh and bone like a hot knife through butter. He smiled as the black ichor of the beast hit the ground, along with the upper half of its body.
The Faunus slashed his way through the group that had surrounded him, using his semblance to stick to a Grimm's back just long enough to stab Setanta through its neck, and then leap onto another. He dodged a swing of a Beowulf, flipping away to put distance between them.
He felt his back hit a wall, and saw that he was in a corner, with no RWBY or Oobleck in sight. The Grimm seemed to notice this, as they slowly advanced on him, apparently savouring in the moment before the kill.
They stopped moving when Crue began to chuckle rather menacingly. "You've got me surrounded…" He slammed the sword end of Setanta into the ground, and threw out his arms, claws extending from the hidden device in his clothes.
"You poor bastards."
…
"Piece of cake." Ruby said with a small laugh, as the slowly decaying bodies of Grimm littered the area around her and her team.
"Do not celebrate yet, for I am certain that this is the first bout of many. Now, where is Crue?" A growl came from behind him, and he turned to see a Beowulf slinking towards them. Just before the professor could request one of the girls to dispose of it, a blue blur shot down from the sky, impaling the Beowulf.
"You guys really need to be more aware of your surroundings." Crue said, wrenching his sword from the Beowulf's back, causing it to die.
"Crue. Impeccable timing. Where did you come from?" Oobleck asked. Crue pointed upwards, to where a pillar from a decrepit building was hanging over the edge. "That's the top floor."
"Yes it is. It made for an amazing entrance." Crue agreed. Oobleck let out an amused huff, before turning back.
"Let's carry on then, shall we?"
…
"Mr. Cullen." Oobleck asked casually, bending down and examining a plant while Crue decapitated a Beowulf, a smile on his face.
"Crue is fine, sir." He responded, panting lightly.
"Very well. Crue, have you ever lied to me?" His question threw him off guard, and the Faunus turned to meet his gaze.
"Have I ever, lied to you?" He repeated the question.
"Yes. That is what I asked. Now, do you have an answer?" The doctor questioned.
"Uh… I don't, think so?" Crue replied scratching his head. "If this is about the homework I didn't have done a while ago, I swear it actually was Nora mistaking it for pancakes."
"No, no. Nothing so trivial." Oobleck waved him off. "It was a good excuse though. The fact Miss Valkyrie burped up a page at the exact moment you finished explaining was extremely convenient."
"Yeah, tell me about it." Crue muttered, his eyes going skyward.
"But I was not referring to that instance. Do you recall the time in class I asked you why you became a huntsman?" Oobleck specified.
Crue's remembered the day in question clearly, as it was the same day he had come here, to Mountain Glenn. "Vaguely. I can't remember my reasoning." He told him honestly.
"You said you wanted to protect those you care about." Oobleck reminded him. Crue's eyes flashed, unnoticed by Oobleck. He recalled the day that he wanted to protect people. The day he had been unable. And it had cost him.
"Sounds about right." Crue said through gritted teeth.
"Yes… Well, I've noticed that while you do protect others rather well, you also seem to be rather fond of simply, killing the Grimm." The Huntsman told him. "And while that is essentially what a huntsman is supposed to do, you do it with relish."
"I do?" Crue asked, not having noticed this fact.
"Yes, you do. And while I am not the academy's therapist, I would like to know why that is." Oobleck tried to meet Crue's eyes, but the fact they were both wearing glasses made the action understandably difficult.
"Why I kill Grimm happily?" Crue scratched his head. Oobleck nodded. "Well, if I killed them, sadly, or angrily, they're just more negative emotions, aren't they? That'd bring more Grimm. So, I try to do it without bad feelings."
"Hm." Oobleck hummed. "I see."
…
Ruby laughed as Zwei attempted to bite the turkey stuck on the end of Crescent Rose, the corgi's stubby legs making him unable to reach the delicacy. She then noticed Oobleck observing her.
"Oop! Sorry! Uhh, are we ready to keep going?" She apologised.
"No," Oobleck told her. "I believe that will have to do for today. It's going to be dark soon." He looked at the sun, lying just above the horizon. He hurled the bag he had in his hand over to the rest of the group.
Unfortunately, it connected with Crue, who was not prepared to catch it. He let out an "Ugh!" As the bag collided with him and sent him off balance. Yang grabbed both the bag and Crue, hoisting them upwards.
"You four, set up camp in that building." He instructed them. "Oh and please do make sure there are no more of those, creatures." He turned back to face the group. "Your leader and I are going to secure the perimeter. Come, Ruby."
The leader followed the huntsman diligently, Zwei trotting after them. The others all looked at each other with complex expressions, before going into the building Oobleck had specified. "Yang." Crue whispered, catching up to the blonde.
"Yeah?" She whispered back, assuming that this was meant to be a secret.
"Do you want me to follow them, or something?" He asked. "Just, like, as a precaution." Yang considered the option, before shaking her head.
"No, they'll be fine. Ooblecks a professional. If they run into anything, he can handle it if Ruby can't." She told the Faunus, following after her teammates. Crue gave the corner where Ruby and Oobleck disappeared one last look, before joining them.
Luckily, there was no Grimm in the building, so they simply had to make the place habitable. After a small moment of clearing debris, they had begun to throw wood together in the centre of the room.
Crue reached into his back pocket, drawing the matches that for some reason he woke up with in this world. He struck one and placed it near the wood. Within a few short moments, there was a decently sized fire.
Crue, apparently pleased with this, walked over to a wall and rested his back against it. To everyone else, it would look like he was leaning on the wall, but Crue was using his semblance to lay down on the wall.
"I can't believe we didn't find anything." Yang complained, stepping near the fire.
"We've always been fortunate enough to be in the right place in the right time. I guess we can't always have luck on our side." Blake calmed her down.
"That's not what I meant." Weiss suddenly spoke.
"Huh?" Blake asked.
"Earlier, about, upholding the legacy." She explained. "There's more to it than that."
"Yeah, no me too." Yang agreed. "I mean, I don't know."
"I don't know either." Blake agreed. "I know what I want to do but, I figured I'd always take things one step at a time."
"Well, it doesn't matter." Yang said. "We know why we're here… Right?" Crue's fist clenched upon hearing those words.
"I know why I'm here. Because some fucking jackass tried to play God and bring me into another fucking universe." He glared at the ceiling, knowing who he was directing his insults to.
"Ah! Wonderful!" Came the voice of Oobleck as he zipped into the room. "A textbook campfire." He rubbed his hands together above the flames.
"Fire!" Ruby exclaimed, kneeling down next to the campfire. "Sssooo warm."
"Very good, eat your dinners and hurry to bed." Oobleck instructed. "We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow and we'll need you to take turns keeping watch over our temporary abode, any volunteers for first watch?" He said, all in one breath.
Ruby raised her hand gently. "Yo." With that, Oobleck dashed off, and Ruby stood to find a suitable vantage point.
"Hey," Yang stopped her sister momentarily. "Did Oobleck ask you why you wanted to be a huntress? I mean, what did you tell him?"
"Hm," Ruby thought. "No he didn't, weird. Oh well, goodnight guys." The reaper shrugged off the notion, going over to sit on the edge of the building.
The others looked at each other, before rolling out sleeping mats. Upon realising only three had been packed, they turned to look at Crue. He seemed to be asleep on the wall, his chest rising and falling softly.
"Guess he's asleep. I forgot his semblance can let him do that." Yang scratched her head, before sitting down on her mat and eating her food.
After a short moment, all three girls were lying down on the mats, various things going through their heads. Through the silence, Ruby spoke, though it went unheard by her teammates. "Don't worry. It'll be better tomorrow."
"No. It won't."
…
"Crue, you awake?"
"Hm." Crue responded, unsure of who had actually asked the question. As it turned out, it was Yang.
"Oobleck asked you too right? About why you wanted to be a huntsman. What'd you tell him?" The blonde brawler asked.
Crue crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. "That's not what he asked me."
"Well, what did he ask you?" Blake questioned, rolling on her mat to look at the boy properly.
"He asked me why I seem to take pleasure in killing Grimm." His answer sent waves of shock through the girls.
"You take, pleasure, in killing Grimm?" Weiss asked hesitantly.
"Yes? No? I don't know." Crue groaned. "All I know is, I'm a very angry person."
"We've seen you angry Crue." Yang told him. "You just, curse a bit more than usual, nothing big."
"That's not me angry." Crue shook his head. "That's me annoyed. Angry me is, much worse." He spoke softly, the others all looking at each other with worried expressions.
"It's an outlet." Weiss was the first to speak.
"Huh?" Crue turned to the heiress, genuinely confused.
"You say you're angry, and you need an outlet. So, when you attack Grimm, all of your anger is going towards that. That's why you're happy, because your anger is leaving you." Weiss said with light confidence. "I think."
"That, makes sense." The Wolf Faunus said slowly.
"Why would you be angry though?" Blake asked him curiously. "And, what happens when you get angry?"
Blood. Screams. Broken bones. These images raced through Crue's mind, and he shook his head to dispel them. "Bad things." He answered quietly. "And yes, that's an answer to both."
Silence fell over the group, as they tried to get back to sleep. It came easily enough to the three girls, but to the man on the wall? His mind was too full of rage and memories to even begin to try and drift off.
And so, he stayed awake, unknown to anyone else as his glasses concealed his open eyes. He watched as Ruby and Yang switched shifts, and the shorter girl took her sisters sleeping mat, appreciating the fact it was pre-warmed.
Just when Crue thought he might be able to get some rest, he heard a soft bark. He opened his eyes, and saw Ruby running out of the room after her dog. "Oh yeah." He yawned. "Ruby goes after Zwei, then finds the White Fang, then the train."
He closed his eyes, and tried to get back to sleep. Only for his eyes to burst open as he realised what he just thought. "SHIT! FUCKING SHIT BALLS!" He cursed in his mind, activating his semblance and climbing along the ceiling to exit the room without alerting the others.
He landed on the stairwell without a sound, and attempted to sprint down soundlessly. He was successful, thankfully. He hit the bottom floor and peered out the door, seeing Ruby hoist Zwei in her arms.
He sighed in relief, before hearing a voice. "What was that?" Ruby apparently heard it too, as she backed up behind a building and peered around it. Crue was unable to see what she saw, so he exited the building and walked up the side of it.
He saw two White Fang grunts, only a stone's throw from Ruby's hiding place. "What was what?" The other asked.
"I thought I heard a Beowulf or… something." The first grunt explained.
His comrade let out an annoyed grunt. "Let's just finish our patrol and go back to base. This place gives me the creeps." They began to walk away from Ruby, causing Crue to once more sigh in relief.
"Wait! No! Don't fucking follow them!" He hissed at Ruby in his head. Ruby was sneaking after the two terrorist, and the term 'sneaking' is used lightly. While she was doing the action quietly, her actions looked as though they belonged in a cartoon.
Crue let out a silent scream, and followed after Ruby, as she followed after the White Fang. They eventually came to an open plaza, where the red reaper had to hold out Zwei and have him act as reconnaissance.
He let out a bark once the two grunts had disappeared. Ruby squealed in joy as she took out her scroll and tried to call her team. When it proved there was no signal, she picked up her weapon and began walking back.
Crue let out his final sigh of relief, as he began to walk down the building to meet her. He froze, hearing a crack. Looking down, he saw Ruby also freeze, and the asphalt around her begin to splinter.
"NO NO NO NO!" Crue began sprinting down the wall, as a hole opened up beneath her. He hit the ground, just as Zwei was tossed from Ruby's hand back onto the street. Crue ran as fast as he could, seeing Ruby's head pop up from the hole.
Her eyes widened in hope, seeing Crue running to her rescue. The hope was dashed, as the piece of road she was holding on began to falter. Crue leapt the last bit of distance, outstretching a hand towards Ruby.
Ruby reached out to grab it, but the asphalt fell, bringing her with it. Her fingers barely brushed Crue's, before she fell down the hole. As she fell, with Crue reaching his hand out to her, the Faunus' mind flashed back to another time he lost someone, when he failed to save them.
"RUBY!" Crue screamed after her, seeing her fade into darkness. Zwei joined him at the edge of the hole, barking after his owner.
For that moment, Crue did not care at the fact the dog was next to him. Instead, he turned staring at the dog. "Go get the others!" He ordered, then stood up. "I'm going after Ruby."
Zwei barked once, and ran as fast as his legs would carry him back to their base. Crue jumped down the hole, his semblance causing him to stick to the side of it. He sprinted down the hole, hearing a crash echo up the shaft.
He increased his speed, until he saw light at the bottom. He skidded to a stop, just before falling out of the hole, and took in what he saw. Two White Fang grunts had their weapons pointed towards Ruby, and were moving closer.
Ruby reached back for her weapon, only to discover that she had lost it up above. "Ok. Ok. Calm down. She'll get caught, then meet Torchwick. And then everything will be fine." Crue calmed himself down, going against his will to act.
And everything was fine… until the grunt punched Ruby.
It was at that point, that Crue promptly decided "Oh. Fuck that." He jumped down from the hole, just as the same grunt that had punched her was about to kick her. Crue landed on his companion, a sick crunching sound emanating from the impact.
The member that had assaulted Ruby turned around, eyes wide in fear beneath his mask. "Who are-" The last thing he saw was the wrathful, steely blue eyes of a demon, before his world went black. Crue let his hurl fall from his hand, as he rushed over to Ruby.
"Ruby! Are you ok?" Crue reached down to pick her up.
"Crue." Ruby smiled, despite her jaw aching. "Looks like Velvet was right." She tried to joke. When she saw Crue's expression, she repeated what the Rabbit Faunus had told them earlier. "We'll be fine, we've got you looking out for us."
Crue let out a light sigh, and brought the girl into a hug. "I was terrified, you know that?" Crue told her, Ruby unable to see his face as she was currently resting her chin on his shoulder. "Seeing you fall down that hole, I thought I lost you."
Ruby pat the boys back. "Don't worry. You saved me. I'm fine." The Faunus eventually let go of her, standing up, grabbing the sunglasses that had fallen from his face after he jumped down. "So, what do we do?" She asked him.
Crue stared at the unconscious, possibly dead, White Fang bodies before him. He looked at their weapons, two rifles, and their outfit. "I have an idea."
…
Yang stretched out, having finished her watch. "Hey Weiss, it's your…" She looked down, seeing an empty mat. "Ruby?"
"Hey, where's Ruby?" She looked at her teammates, before her eyes fell on an empty wall. A wall that Crue had been leaning against. "Crue's gone too." For a moment, her sisterly instincts won over, the fact her little sister and a boy had left at the same time did not sit well with her.
"What?" Oobleck ran down from his sleeping area, and after him Zwei ran in, barking in fear.
"Zwei?" Yang asked, crouching down and petting the whimpering dog.
"What's going on?" Blake asked, standing up.
"Grab your weapons!" Oobleck instructed. "Crue and your leader may be in trouble."
...
Ruby cracked open an eye, observing her surroundings. She saw an Atlesian Paladin lifting what looked like a shipping container, maneuvering it away.
"Hey! Be careful!" Ruby heard a White Fang grunt exclaimed, and she turned to her other side, seeing a Faunus accidentally dropping a strange device.
"Hey!" Crue hissed. "You're supposed to be unconscious." Ruby closed her eyes, and looked at the ground. The plan Crue had come up with was for him to strip the two grunts he defeated, disguise himself as a White Fang, take their weapons, and act like he had kidnapped her.
"Sorry." Ruby whispered up to him. As they walked, Crue noticed a White Fang member with glasses over his mask look at them oddly.
"Hey Boss!" He called away from them, causing the two to start panicking. "You're gonna want to see this." From the train cart he was standing next to, a voice echoed out of it.
"Is it good or bad, Perry, cause let me tell ya, I have had a day." Ruby's eyes shot open, recognising the voice.
Perry turned to look at the Faunus in disguise, and the girl he was holding. "Uh… It's a little girl?"
Roman Torchwick leaned out from the train carriage immediately. His eyes fell upon Ruby, who was look up at him with wide silver eyes. "That would be bad." Torchwick said, discarding his cigar and jumping down from the train.
He turned to Crue. "Where'd you find her?" He asked.
"Near the entrance." He responded, making his voice slightly deeper.
"Hm." The ginger nodded, turning to Ruby and grabbing her by the scruff. "What're ya doing here, Red?"
Ruby's response was to attempt to punch him. Torchwick ripped the reaper from Crue's grasp, and sent her sprawling on the ground. Ruby covered her arms to protect herself, as the criminal laughed. "Wow, you are much more manageable without that oversized gardening tool of yours."
Ruby let out a rather unintimidating battle cry as she rushed at Torchwick. The man sidestepped, pushing her past with his cane. "Oh, man. Ya know, Perry, I really did need this." Torchwick thanked the bespectacled Faunus.
"Wasn't me Boss." Perry told him, nodding his head to Crue.
"Oh, it was you then." Torchwick gestured a hand to the disguised hunter in training. "Well, either way." He shrugged, wiping a tear from his eye from laughter.
"But seriously…" Roman bent down, lifting up Ruby's chin with the end of his cane. "How'd you find this place Red?" Ruby let out a growl, and disappeared in a burst of red. "Huh?" Torchwick said, looking around.
"Whoa!" He spotted Ruby, who was now a fair distance away from them all, having used her semblance to escape. Roman flipped his cane around, and the handled shot out, catching Ruby by her shoulder.
As he reeled her in, he spoke. "I see you've got some tricks up your sleeve. Let me make this clear." He stared down at Ruby, who had ended up at his feet. "We're not through here yet."
There was a sudden explosion, causing the cave to shake. Torchwick looked up, seeing a cloud of dust appear from behind a ruined building. "Oh what the-" He sighed. "Perry, if you and the boys could take care of that. Kinda in the middle of something."
Perry nodded, and began to walk towards the explosion, before an even bigger one sounded off, causing dust to fall from the roof of the cave. "What is going on here!?"
Several White Fang were running away from the explosion and onto the train tracks, firing back at whatever was causing them. While everyone was distracted, Crue slinked back, taking off his mask and pulling down his hood, before putting his glasses on.
From where the White Fang were running, came the cavalry. Oobleck, Weiss, Blake, Yang, even Zwei ran from the street, firing after the White Fang. While Torchwick wasn't paying attention, Ruby jumped up and pushed his bowler hat down over his eyes.
She leapt away from him, running towards her rescuers. Crue smiled, taking the two rifles he had stolen from their place behind his back and aimed them at the White Fang and Torchwick in front of them.
"Bout fucking time they showed up." He smirked. His words caused those in front of him to turn, and their eyes to go wide when they saw he was pointing two rifles.
"You…" Torchwick growled.
"Surprise." Crue said. "I'm an asshole." Crue opened fire, the recoil on the guns causing his aim to become scattered. But he wasn't looking for accuracy, just intimidation. Torchwick dived out of the way, only a scarce few bullets hitting him.
The other White Fang members were not as fortunate. They fell to the spray of Dust bullets, Crue not realising that they lacked Aura, or at least had a very low amount of it. Once the way was clear, Crue sprinted forward, stopping momentarily to pick up a handgun that had fallen from a grunts grasp.
Crue heard Torchwick command his and Ruby's death, and so thought it would be best to run faster. He saw Ruby come to a halt in front of him, and noticed four White Fang grunts all pointing weapons at her.
He jumped high, and fired the two rifles in a sweeping line, crossing one under the other. The White Fang fell, and Crue landed in front of Ruby, looking up just in time to see a red blast hurtling towards him.
"Fuck." Crue so eloquently put, as the blast connected, sending him flying backwards. Ruby watched as he soared over her, before turning to the person who shot at him.
"Ruby!" Yang exclaimed, squeezing her sister tightly.
Crue groaned, sitting up from the ground and looking at the group before him. "I'm fine! I'm fine!" Ruby told them. "But listen… Torchwicks got all sorts of robots and weapons down there."
"It's true." Crue grunted out, standing up completely. The others all opened their eyes and cocked their weapons. "It's me!" He shouted, throwing his arms wide.
"Prove it." Yang growled.
"Fuck you."
"Alright, it's him." She lowered her weapons. "And what do you mean Ruby?"
"Androids, mechs, they're all loaded up on the train cars." The leader informed them, adjusting Crescent Rose to her specifics.
"Ah, that's ridiculous!" Oobleck said with a wave of his hand. "These tunnels are sealed. The tracks lead to a dead end."
A sudden screeching noise echoed in the caves, followed by a voice. "Get to your places, we are leaving now!" There was a hissing of steam, and the train began to move.
"Well it sounds like they're going somewhere!" Yang exclaimed.
"We need backup." Ruby decided, taking out her scroll and attempting to contact someone. "Let me call Jaune." The scroll showed Jaune's face, before a black box flashed across it, reading 'LOW SIGNAL'. "I can't get through!"
"So what do we do?" Weiss asked.
Crue cracked his knuckles, and placed his guns back on his back, retrieving Setanta instead. "I believe we only have one option." Oobleck said.
Ruby readied her weapon, and turned to stare at the retreating train.
"We're stopping that train."
…
With a thud, the group boarded the train, thanks in part to Ruby's semblance. Crue ran forward a bit to the open carriage door, and grabbed the scroll of a White Fang that was about to call them in. The terrorist looked up to him with wide eyes, before being knocked out by Professor Oobleck.
The two tall males returned to the top of the train, where Weiss had a hatch opened. "Hurry children! We must get to the front and stop this train!"
"Um, Professor." Weiss attracted his attention.
"Doctor." Oobleck bent down to meet her eyes.
"What's that?" She pointed to a grey, cylindrical object with various wires sticking out of it.
Oobleck bent down on one knee to exam the object. "That my dear, appears to be a bomb." Everyone stepped away from the explosive device in fear.
"We've got baddies." Ruby pointed down the train, where various White Fang grunts were climbing atop the moving locomotive.
Crue's hands went to the weapons he had stolen from the White Fang. Two rifles and a single handgun. Along with his own weapon, he saw no foreseeable problem with getting through this challenge.
"I'll scout ahead." He told them, running forward before they had a chance to disagree or comment about the action. Crue swung around one of the rifles, spraying without bothering for accuracy. He managed to hit a few of them, before switching to his normal weapon.
There was a large explosion from behind him, and he turned to see the rest of the group looking back through the tunnel, where one of the train cars had detonated. "Holy sh-fuck!" Crue's curse went from one to another, when a White Fang member hit the back of his head with the butt of their rifle.
Crue did not fall, rather he winced, and then turned around to face the grunt who attacked him. The Faunus, upon realising his attack did not have the intended effect, froze, grabbing his weapon close to his chest.
"Dude." Crue stated, looking almost disappointed at his attacker. "That's not how you knock someone out with a rifle." He grabbed his own, and held it by the barrel. "You do this." He cracked it across the man's skull, sending him sprawling onto the roof of the train.
"That, is how you knock someone the fuck out." He turned back to the rest of the White Fang, seeing several rifles pointed at him. "Oh… right… other bad guys." Crue leaped backwards, as his opponents opened fire.
Crue jumped down to the coupling between the two trains, hearing the bullets ping off the metal. "Shit! I need backup!" He cursed. His backup came in the form of an explosion, ice, shadows, and an oversized hedge clipper.
Crue poked his head back up, seeing RWBY and Oobleck, as well as Zwei, standing on the train car in front of him. He jumped up, seeing the fight currently raging on. "Like fuck I'm missing out on this." He grabbed Setanta from his back, and rushed into the brawl.
He ducked under the swing of a sword from a White Fang grunt with antlers, and brought his hurl back over his head. He swung, connecting it with the mans torso and sending him flying from the train, as he let out an oddly familiar scream.
"Commander Wilhelm!" Another grunt shouted after the man, the words causing Crue to twitch. "Fucking seriously. The Wilhelm scream? Man, you are full of fucking clichés."
Once all of the White Fang had been disposed of, the girls and Oobleck ran up to Crue, berating him for running off. "Crue! Why did you go running off like that?!" Blake interrogated.
"Because while you were busy discussing the bomb, I was busy beating the White Fang, and trying to stop Torchwick from leading Grimm to the city!" Crue responded.
"What?!" Weiss exclaimed. Rather than speak, Crue pointed a finger down the tunnel from where they came, and true to his words, hundreds of Grimm were stampeding after the train.
"He's right!" Oobleck called up to them. "It's the cars! They detach and explode, creating openings for the Grimm!"
Another car decupled, and Oobleck ran up to them. "We have to hurry! You four, get down below and try to stop those bombs!" He told Weiss, Blake, Yang and Crue.
The four nodded, running to the next cart and jumping down into it. Yang and Crue took the lead, with Weiss and Blake paired up in the back. "I guess this is what we trained for." Yang said, causing Crue to groan.
"Really? Of all the times for a pun?" He asked her. Yang looked confused, before her face broke into a small smile.
"That was unintentional, I swear." She promised. Weiss gave Blake a set of specialised Dust ammunition, and like that, the group of four began to run.
Only to come to a halt, when a person dropped down from the ceiling. Crue's blood ran cold, as the small girl raised herself up to view her opponents. She wore a cocky smirk as she inspected each of them, but the expression vanished once she laid her eyes on Crue.
"You guys go on ahead." Yang told them. Crue could not physically move, still staring at Neo, the girl wearing a look of betrayal. "This one's mine."
Blake and Weiss ran forward, followed by a dazed Crue. Neo, seemingly having come to her senses, readied her umbrella to attack. A shot from Yang's gauntlets caused her to flip away from the explosion as the others ran past her.
During a brief moment when the two passed, Crue met Neo's eyes beneath his glasses. "Trust me." He mouthed at her. The three all ran into the next carriage, the miniscule girl's eyes lingering on the male Faunus.
She heard someone walking towards her, and turned back to the blonde brawler. She stepped close to her, and Neo smiled, having found an outlet to take out her new found anger on.
…
In the next carriage, Crue, Weiss and Blake saw a beefy looking White Fang member slowly approaching them, dragging a chainsword along the ground, sparks emitting from the contact. "You two go on ahead!" Weiss told the two Faunus.
The heiress dashed forward, drawing the large man's attack. Once he raised his weapon up, Weiss leaped back, and Blake took her place, misdirecting the sword. Crue slipped the handgun he had stolen from a grunt, and shot the man in the knee.
The White Fang Lieutenant fell to the knee he was shot in, groaning as Crue and Blake rushed past him. He rose slowly, looking at Weiss, and letting out a menacing chuckle. "Finally, I get to kill a Schnee."
Weiss raised her rapier at him, and spun the chamber. And then, the battle was on.
…
Blake and Crue came to a stop in the next car, seeing Roman Torchwick waiting for them. "Hello, Kitty Cat. You miss me?" He asked, spinning his cane around. His eyes then fell to Crue. "And who's your friend here? Another White Fang traitor?"
Crue glanced down at his outfit, recalling the fact he was still wearing the grunts outfit. "Either way, we really need to stop meeting like this. People are gonna talk."
Blake glared at him, but before she could act, Crue spoke. "Would you care to do the honours?" He asked, gesturing his hand that held the gun to Roman.
"With pleasure." Blake responded. Crue fired the gun, Torchwick bringing up his cane to block it, giving the raven haired Faunus ample opportunity to attack him. As the two fought, Crue dashed into the next cart, trusting that Blake would be able to defeat him.
As Crue switched from car to car, he found the next one filled with White Fang grunts. They glanced up at him at first, thinking nothing of it due to the fact he was wearing their uniform. After the entire carriage did a double take, at which point Crue was already halfway through it, they raised their weapons and shouted at him.
"GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES!" One that held what appeared to be a shotgun exclaimed. And Crue responded with:
"I'M NOT YOUR MOTHER LAST NIGHT!" And they took exception to that. Bullets flew from their weapons, Crue jumping to the roof and staying there, drawing their aim upward while still firing, inadvertently injuring some of their comrades.
He drew Setanta from his back, and slammed it onto the ground below, an echoing gong sounding out throughout the room, sending many of the White Fang flying back into the boxes that lined the side.
The one with the shotgun fired a blast at him, Crue narrowly dodging as he aimed the handgun at him. Three shots in quick succession had him down for the count, and Crue ran up to him, grabbing the shotgun.
"I feel like I'm looting enemies in a video game." Crue thought, spinning the gun around and shooting it at the rest of the grunts. He inspected the weapon once the recoil had subsided. It appeared to be a sawn-off, and it was coloured grey and red, much like the rifles on his back and handgun in his other hand.
"Speaking of." He grabbed one of the rifles, switching the placement of it with his shotgun. He unloaded a clip as he ran to the other end of the train cart. Any White Fang that were still standing, providing they didn't get caught in a stream of bullets, took cover behind some cargo.
A dull clicking sounded, indicating that Crue was out of ammo. Instead of doing the logical thing and reloading, Crue flipped the rifle round, grabbed it by the barrel, and hurled it at a random grunt.
The grunt collapsed when the rifle connected with his head, and Crue used the opportunity to duck out of that car and into the next one. Or he would have, if the next door wasn't locked. Crue tried to open the door, mostly by punching it and kicking it and cursing at it.
When it proved that his usual tactics weren't going to work, he jumped above to the roof. He looked to the front of the train, and saw the end of the tunnel fast approaching. He also heard something, a sound akin to that of cracking ice.
He turned, seeing a dome of blue ice on the top of the train, the members of team RWBY sheltered inside it, and looking at him with wide eyes.
Crue ran up to them, as Weiss began to move her fingers, preparing to construct a glyph. "DON'T!" He shouted at her. The heiress stopped her actions, as Crue realised that she was going to try and get him inside the dome.
Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time. "I'll be fine." He told them all, smiling. They all began shouting, but it was muffled by the ice. Crue put a hand against the ice, and they all fell silent. "Trust me."
He then turned, facing away from them, and staring at the ever nearing wall. His smile fell, and he cracked his neck, holstering all of his weapons, minus Setanta.
"Well," He thought. "This is gonna hurt like a bitch."
And then, darkness enveloped him.
This was a long one, huh? Crue forgets a certain promise, and he will live(maybe) to regret it. Oh, and yes. Those weapons are going to be sticking with him. Crue will take any form of weapon, and even turn things that aren't usually weapons into ones.
Like loaves of bread. Or people. Or barstools. Also, fun fact: The sawed-off shotgun is sometimes known as a "Lupara", a generic reference to the word "Lupo", meaning Wolf. He's gotta stick with that aesthetic.
Anyway, that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed, leave a review if you did, and as always
Until Next Time
-Friday