Chapter 2 (originally chapter 4)
Reread Chapter 1 for changes from 1-28-18 rewrite: aka 6k word chapter 1
"What! Sanguine? Your here too? You look older. And what did you say?" Ruby cried out. "I said welcome to The Hunter's Dream" Sanguine replied "The Hunter's Dream?" Blade questioned. "Yes The Hunter's Dream, a workshop, a paradise, and a memorial for those hunters who hunt beneath the aegis of the god of the hunt." Sanguine clarified "But we don't worship a hunting god?" Ruby replied "And you don't need to, though Im sure the god wouldn't mind if you did. You were admitted to The Hunter's Dream because I as the First Hunter of The Dream thought you all had potential to be Hunters of The Dream rather than mere Huntresses." Sanguine explained
"Mere Huntresses?! Why-" "Weiss not now, What do you mean First Hunter of The Dream, I thought you were a student like the rest of us?" Weiss started and Blake interrupted. "Nay I was sent in younger form to Beacon to find a person of interest, namely Ruby. Yet the rest of you impressed me so I made my decision and connected you all to The Dream." Sanguine explained "Wait Ruby why's she a person of interest?" Yang cut in
"Time is fluid here in the dream and in a future now void Ruby did a very interesting thing and caught the attention of the god of the hunt. As a reward the god sent her memories back in time to her as she is now and-" "Wait! That's why I've been having all these strange memories and instincts and-" "Yes it is, and as I was saying as the second part of her reward I was sent to recruit her to The Dream and insure that her wish from the future comes true."
"Her wish?" Weiss asked "As far I am aware, the future was rather bleak and Ruby wanted nothing more than to come back to the day it all started and try it all again." Sanguine revealed. "What do you mean as far as you're aware weren't you in the future?" Blake questioned "No I wasn't before all of this I have been in The Dream resting for… how long now… Oh I'd say about three hundred of your years." "Three… Three hundred… Three Hundred YEARS!" Weiss erupted in shock, Blake had her eyes wide open at the revelation while Yang and Ruby seemed to be wondering what it's like to live that long.
"How did you survive? What was it like? Wha-" "Calm yourself" Weiss started only for Sanguine to cut her off. "The Dream provides extended longevity, a longevity that grows to near infinite if one resides in The Dream physically and mentally" "How can you be in a dream physically?" Blake asked
"The Lamps provide access to The Hunter's Dream for the physical body, but one connected to The Dream can reach The Dream mentally merely by sleeping." Sanguine revealed. "Now let me introduce you to my compatriot the custodian of The Dream you will see a lot of her as we work together in The Dream" "Now wait who said we wanted to be Hunters of The Dream" Weiss objected "Why wouldn't you, a secure place to rest, resupply, and train, extended longevity, and a few other benefits." Sanguine riposted
The girls seeing his point put away their concerns for now as they walked back out of the workshop not having really entered. "So where is this custodian? We didn't see anyone" Yang asked "She is very good at being unnoticed not to mention she doesn't generally greet hunters until they've met with the First Hunter of The Dream." "What is the First Hunter of The Dream?" Blake asked "It's a title as you probably guessed it refers to the mentor and eldest of The Hunters of The Dream" "You're that old?" Ruby asked shocked "I'll let you know a secret Gehrman the man whose headstone you saw was the first hunter ever or as he's known The First Hunter of The Workshop, I was his apprentice." "Wow" Ruby enthused "Where is Gehrman now? Oh wait sorry" Blake said "Yes Gehrman is dead, he grew old outliving every one of his apprentices except me before he ceded the title of First Hunter to me and died." They walked up to the Hunter's Nightmare Tombstone where The Doll was kneeling before it. She stood and turned to the five.
"Good Hunter you have returned, and you have brought your four new apprentices with you. How nice." "Hey nice to meet you I'm Yang!" Yang said extending her hand. The Doll coked her head before she shook Yang's hand. "Good Grip you've go- Oh sorry I didn't know you had prosthesis." Yang said before backing off "Prosthesis?" The Doll cocked her head "No I am a doll made to love and care for humans." "Eh yeah that's a bit creepy." Yang ventured. The Doll cocked her head again "Don't worry despite your opinion I will still care for you." "Not what I meant" Yang said sounding a bit ill.
"Do you have a name miss Doll?" Ruby asked The Doll cocked her head in confusion "What need have I for a name? I am a doll made to care for this dream and its inhabitants." "Oh" Ruby deflated. "You don't need to tread lightly around The Doll she doesn't realise the concept of being offended." Sanguine offered "I'm not going to treat her like she's not a person" Ruby said indignantly "That's your choice she will care for you either way. Oh yes and if you're ever injured and you come to The Dream see her. The Doll has the wonderful ability to heal and restore one's body." Sanguine said appeasing Ruby.
They talked for a while more, Sanguine explaining the bath messengers and how they would give you items in exchange for the last essences of slain beings that their souls would collect now that they were Hunters of The Dream. Such things could also enhance their bodies had they been Hunters of The Old Blood but Sanguine would not give out such boons before they proved themselves as Hunters of The Dream. The time came to leave and just as he was contemplating how to broach the subject Yang asked "So how do we get out of here I mean this is nice but we need to wake up right?" "Indeed that's how" "How what?" "How you leave" "Yeah how?" "You wake up" and with that the dream went white and the five woke up.
The girls seemed out of it in the wake of the dream they shared. They didn't talk much about it as is the case for those who haven't much Insight. To those with little Insight the eldritch was an abstract concept unless directly confronting it. Until the girls learned more he wouldn't expect more questions outside The Dream.
The Girls were walking along a street in Vale and saw a sign saying Welcome to Vale being raised. "Weiss with an uncharacteristic smile said "The Vytal Festival! Oh this is absolutely wonderful!" "I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much Weiss" Memories flashed through Ruby's mind too fast to process but they were all of a smiling Weiss "Well in this life anyway" Ruby added. Weiss seeming to ignore the last part of Ruby's statement questioned "How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances, parades, a tournament! Oh the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking." They walked through a plaza and onto another street as they were talking.
Yang sighed and stated "You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring." "Quiet you" Weiss scolded. "Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks?" Yang asked as they walked out to the docks. "Ugh, they smell like fish" Ruby complained "I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And as a representative of Beacon I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom." " Blake with a deadpan said "She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament." "You can't prove that" Weiss spluttered indignantly as she came to a halt and crossed her arms.
Seeing a crime scene Ruby and the team walked up to it and asked what happened. The cop replied that it was a robbery and more specifically the second shop to be hit this week. "That's terrible" Yang sighed. Ruby let out a huh as the cops discussed the fact that the robbers had left the money and only stolen the Dust.
The concept of the White Fang taking the Dust came up and Weiss capitalised on it calling the Fang degenerates. Blake asked "What's your problem?" "My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane." "The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided faunus." "Misguided! They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!" "So then they're very misguided. Either way it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale." "Blake's got a point" Ruby cut in "Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago. Maybe it was him" "That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal." Weiss argued "That's not necessarily true" Yang said with a disapproving look.
Sanguine smiled the girls were getting on fine now if they could argue. He distantly wished they wouldn't but he wouldn't push the issue. A commotion rang out behind the group. A few sailors were trying to stop a monkey faunus male from leaving the ship he had stowed away on. The cops from earlier went up to the boy who was now hanging from his tail on a lamppost. A cop told him to get down only to be met with a banana peel to the face.
The boy ran and the cops chased. The blonde faunus ran past Blake and winked at her as he passed. Only for Yang to say "Well Weiss you wanted to see the competition and there it goes." "Quick! We have to observe him!" Weiss cried as she lead the group in sprinting after the faunus. The Group ran down a street and turned a corner when suddenly with an oof Weiss knocked into an orange haired girl and knocked her to the ground. Not noticing Weiss cried "No he got away" as the monkey faunus jumped up to a roof.
"Uhh Weiss" Yang said pointing out that she had knocked someone over. With a noise of surprise Weiss jumped off the orange haired girl. "Salutations!" The girl greeted not moving from the ground "Um hello" Ruby greeted "Are you okay?" Yang asked with an odd look "I'm wonderful. Thank you for asking." The girl said still not moving from the ground. The girls looked at each other "Do you… Wanna get up?" Yang questioned. "Yes, My name is Penny It's a pleasure to meet you" The girl said flipping into a standing position. "Hi Penny I'm Ruby" " I'm Weiss" "Sanguine, A pleasure" "Blake" "Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Yang got an elbow to the stomach "Oh I'm Yang" "It's a pleasure to meet you" Penny replied. "You already said that" Weiss stated "So I did" "Well, sorry for running into you" Weiss apologised. "Take care friend" Ruby said as they walked away.
They walked a distance before Yang commented that Penny was weird before Weiss asked herself more than anyone where the faunus ran off to. Suddenly penny was in front of them "What did you call me?" she asked with wonder "Oh I'm really sorry, I definitely didn't think you heard me" "No not you, you." "Me" Ruby squeaked "I don't know I what I um " "You called me friend. Am I really your friend?" Penny asked "Umm" Behind Penny all the girls were signing no at Ruby. Sanguine merely smiled, his teeth were horrifying. "Ya sure! Why not?" Ruby decided after a moment. "Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!" "I don't think that will work with Sanguine around" Ruby said awkwardly "Oh don't worry while I'm attracted to females I can appreciate a good looking male" Sanguine said deliberately making it awkward.
"So, what are you doing in Vale?" Yang asked "I'm here to fight in the tournament" Penny answered "Wait your fighting in the tournament?" Weiss asked "I'm combat ready" Penny said with a salute. "Forgive me, but you hardly look the part." Weiss said "Said the girl wearing a dress." Blake snarked "It's a combat skirt" Weiss defended before Ruby high fived her with a yeah of agreement. "Wait a minute, If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey tailed rapscallion?" Weiss asked grabbing Penny "The who?" Penny asked "The filthy faunus from the boat" Weiss clarified while holding up a poor caricature of him.
"Why do you keep saying that" Blake asked sounding mad "Huh?" Weiss said confused "Stop calling him a calling him a degenerate. He's a person!" Blake clarified still sounding angry "Oh I'm sorry. Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can, or the lamppost as a lamppost?" "Stop it!" "Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time, he'll probably join up with those other faunus in the White Fang." "You ignorant little brat!" Blake said now truly mad before she stormed off. "How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate." "You are a judgemental little girl" "I think we should probably go" Yang voiced as the black and white duo argued. "Where are we going" Penny asked oblivious.
The argument continued into the night and Sanguine was just about to end it when "Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Blake looked horrified before she tried to run when with a thud all the girls fell Sanguine having pushed their minds into The Dream. The girls were gathered around holding their heads, being forced into The Dream was not a gentle thing. "This argument has gone far enough" Sanguine said materialising between the four. "But she/But I" Weiss and Blake tried to argue "Enough" Sanguine said before he laid a hand on both Blake and Weiss's heads and his eyes went black with stars. It was an instant between the two there was no Blake and no Weiss there was but one that was in flux battling itself before it saw itself and understood both sides, and then it ended and Blake and Weiss came back to themselves.
"That was… yeah" Both girls said simultaneously then again they said I'm sorry to each other in unison. "Now Blake the point of the matter is?" Sanguine questioned "I want to prove the White Fang aren't behind the Dust robberies." she answered "If I remember the look I got at Ruby's memories something is coming up that could help. Ruby?" "Um I don't I don't have all my memories back from the future and I can't control when I…" Flashes of memory came to her "Oh! the docks? A battle… um I can't remember who… but the docks in a couple of days." "Matter closed. We'll go to the docks and see if the White Fang are there in a few days."
Ruby spent the weekend with the team mostly in Vale. Sanguine had said the matter was closed but the girls wanted to scope out the docks and keep an eye out for trouble anyway. Ruby and Penny spent some time together, talking and other things. To Ruby's mortification the topic of boys did come up while she had Sanguine with her. She swore Sanguine took an almost perverse delight in discussing cute boys with Penny and mortifying Ruby.
The day of the docks came and Penny came too. A bullhead pulled up and swept the docks with searchlights before White Fang members jumped out, much to Blake's horror. Soon Roman Torchwick came out and called them all animals while scolding them for taking their time with the robbery. "Oh no, I didn't want to believe it. But I guess it's true. But the White Fang would never work with a human let alone one like him!" Blake started off sad before she sounded defiant and jumped off the vantage point the team was at before charging and taking Roman hostage.
"Nobody move" Blake called "Woah take it easy there little lady" Blake removed her ribbon revealing her faunus ears before calling out "Brothers of the White Fang. Why are you aiding this scum?" The White Fang members almost seemed to consider her words before Roman chuckled "Oh kid didn't you get the memo?" "What are you talking about?" "The White Fang and I are going in on a join business venture together." "Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation" Blake threatened. "I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation" Roman replied as two more bullheads pulled up. In Blake's shock Roman was able to get one up on her and fire a round knocking Blake away from him.
Ruby cried out "Blake" as the team mobilized. Roman fired round after round at Blake before Sanguine charged in and with a slash knocked Roman back. White Fang members jumped from the bullheads. Yang and Weiss engaged while with a shout of "He's mine" Blake engaged Roman again. Ruby was in a sniper's position on a building firing rounds at the Fang members when Roman spotted her and fired off a round which knocked Ruby back. Penny who was guarding Ruby scowled and entered the fray.
With spinning swords she jumped from the roof and knocked away the Fang members that Sanguine was idly toying with. The bullheads started firing their onboard guns at Penny who deflected them with her blades before firing two blades behind her and reeling herself back. Her blades folded and circled around a glowing green orb of aura before it fired slicing the bullheads into pieces. A bullhead was attempting to get away before Penny pulled it down with her blades. Roman retreated complaining that kid keep getting weirder.
As the police came, Penny disappeared. Ruby questioned where she had gone. Sanguine who had seen her get into a car put his hand on Ruby's shoulder and shook his head when she suggested that they look for her. Sanguine smiled in his own way, the team, nay his apprentices would soon face troubles and they would be ready. The Dream was only the first step after all.