I don't own any of the characters here with the exception of original characters, Characters from Rwby and Devil May cry Belongs to Rooster Teeth and Capcom.
Chapter 7: The Mercenary and the Kitten.
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Tony was in his room again, this time he remembered to lock the door. The desk was with the map and some files he requested about the White Fang and files about Oran Forrest. Tony spent the whole day in his room even skipped class to do some research and try to figure out what was happening behind the scenes with the demons.
The markers on the map changed, there were two new markers on it. The one in the hotel that was in the commercial district when He and Weiss were attacked by Oran and the second one was in the industrial district.
The attacks were moving further into the city which was odd because he hunted before in the city but right now it looked like they were maintaining their distance. Tony thought it was simply getting low in numbers but thought of another option named Oran. lower demons are always rank and file, trash, cannon fodder that even humans can take if they are prepared enough and they always, always have a leader who guides them meaning that leader is Oran or its master.
A master must always be a higher demon or in the most extreme case, a devil but which of the two is? Tony chose to think it was the first one if Oran wishes to destroy it. Tony scratched his head, there was no use thinking about it anymore without more information so he decided to review the files He got.
The White Fang is his first and easier lead for now and a timing bomb, Oran seemed to sacrifise them too. He had encounters with them before and most of them were bad. Fighting always breaks when He was tasked to protect dust shops or shipments from S.D.C, Weiss's company. Althought he did had some dealings with the old White Fang before they became terrorists making him wonder where everything went wrong?
"That's always part of humans and Faunus" Tony said out loud.
Then he felt worried, why did He say it as He wasn't Human to begin with? He still had questions about himself even though He tried to ignore them, like why does He have amnesia? and what's this power that He started feeling sometimes? The only answer he can find is that he is like Oran.
"No, I'm not anything like that damn it!" He slammed his hand to the desk.
He pushed his doubts of himself out of his head, He is human then he got into Oran's file. Ex-hunter, part of Team OBRN (Oberon), twenty four years old but he was considered K.I.A after a mission gone wrong, after that not much known about him until two years before today where a misterious marksman did a murder spree with the descriptions of Oran. Tony deduced that in that mission he made the pact with the demon, probably the reason why the team is dead with his exception.
Tony set the files on his desk and leaned on the back of the chair, scratching his chin thinking of Oran's next move but nothing came yet. The knocking on his door was a welcome sound making him stand up to open the door, right now he needed a distraction or if it was Ruby or Glyda, another perspective would help him out.
"Tony? Are you there?" Asked a female voice behind the door.
"Yeah, gimme a sec" Tony said while walking to the door and opening it, it was Ruby "Hey little red hood"
"Hey class skipper" She quipped back with a smirk "Everything alright?"
"Yeah, actually, no" He sighs "Come in"
"So, what's got you like this?" She says while getting into the room "The usual?"
"The usual.." Tony groaned as he closed the door.
After their incident Tony decided to trust her with what he was doing, after all, she already has a demon kill under her name. He has told her about demon stuff but not all of it, the panic it would create would be…big to say the least but he had trust in Ruby.
"I'm so glad I don't have your job" Ruby giggles.
"You have no idea" Tony sits down in his bed, Ruby does the same "There is a new guy in town that might be trouble"
"How much trouble?"
"Big, he is a human, a hunter into his way to become a demon, you can fill the rest"
"That sounds bad" Ruby sighs and puts her hand over Tony's "But i'm sure you can beat him"
"Or so i hope, he can match my strength and speed but that's fun, problem is his Semblance" Tony notices how she put her hand over his, he didn't bother to move it.
"I heard it from Weiss, teleporting sounds like a pain" Ruby sighs and hugs Tony "I'm sure you'll beat him, i know you can, you are the kind of person who doesn't give up when you could have left me alone but you decided to protect me"
"You are giving me way too much credit Ruby" He tries to shrug off the comment.
"Maybe i am, but that's why I like about you I guess" Ruby giggles "Just remember that you are not alone, you can ask me for help anytime and I'll do what I can, you are not alone and it's my turn to help you"
Tony didn't move at all and hugged her back, he felt…warm and in peace, for some weird reason, Ruby had that effect on him. Ruby could say the same if she knew what he was thinking, they stayed like that for a couple of minutes then separated.
"So where are the others?" Tony asked.
"Weiss is studying of course" Ruby rolled her eyes "Yang is probably training or playing video games and Blake is reading on her bed"
"Yeah, makes sense" He laughed
"Yeah, it does" Ruby said, noticing that she picked the 'Yeah' from Tony.
Then it hit Tony like a thunderbolt, Blake! That's what he needs to get more info, she is a Faunus, he had a funny feeling since the first time he saw her and saw her bow twitch when He called her kitten. She must have heard something about the White Fan, they are his only lead. He needs to talk with her and see if she knows anything although He kinda feels bad that he is going to interrogate her for the White Fang, just because she is a Faunus but it's worth the try, hopefully he doesn't offend her..
"Hey Ruby, after you leave can you tell Blake that I need to speak with her?" Tony asks her "I kinda want her advice on some books that I want to read, you know the type that she hides"
"Oh sure, I'll go get her and thanks for the heads up, I don't wanna hear about them" Ruby giggles and leaves the room.
Tony starts thinking quickly on how to get her to spill the beans without being…well a dick about it. He could be straightforward but he also needed to hide the existence of demons…Ah whatever, He'll improvise. Soon someone knocked on the door.
"Tony, Ruby told me that you needed me" Blake said behind the door.
"Yeah, coming" He said opening the door "Thanks, please, come in"
"Okay?" She says getting inside, in an instant Tony used his speed to take the bow from Blake's head without her noticing revealing her cat ears.
"Jackpot" He said to himself, closing the door and locking it, he also made sure the window's cover was spread "So, sorry for telling a lie but i needed to speak in private with you"
"Figures" She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms "So, what do you need?"
"Hopefully i don't sound like an ass" Tony sighs and shows her the bow in his hand.
"Wha…?" She instantly touches her head
Blake was now really nervous, she hid her race for a reason and Tony just took her cover out. She was extremely worried, there was no way to escape from Tony and she knew it very well after seeing him fight.
"Calm down Kitten, I'm not planning on spilling any beans and won't pry on why you are hiding your fluffy cat ears" Tony says sitting down doing a gesture for her to sit down too.
"Then what do you need from me?" She asks, sitting down, feeling cautious.
"Honestly, I need information" Tony sighs "I hit a roadblock in my investigation with the new things that happened, I'm sure you've seen the news"
"The White Fang attack on that Hotel that you performed with Weiss? I've read about it, sure" She felt even more nervous if his questions were about the White Fang.
"Yep, the same, specially with the White Fang" Tony scratches his head "They are the only lead that i have to find this guy and you might help me with it"
"Help?"
"Yeah, Look, i know you are a perceptive girl and as a Faunus you should know more than humans about their activities" Tony gives Blake a stern look "They are also in danger"
"How could they be in danger?"
"The semblance of this guy wasn't only teleporting but also mind control" Tony lied "The White Fang members seemed out of it, like they didn't know where were they or what they were doing"
Blake didn't say a thing, just listened. She knew Tony didn't have any bad intentions and didn't care about She being a Faunus and He did defend the second year girl, Velvet from cardin. Blake was worried now about this guy that Weiss mentioned, Oran Forrest and if Tony says they are in danger, they probably are.
"Look, i'm not putting you in the same group as them but i need everything you could tell me about them, if there is a group close, if you heard anything from someone, anything" Tony sounded desperate.
"Tony, calm down" Blake said with her monotone voice "I do know something, there is a small group of White Fang members in forever fall but i don't think they are the ones you are looking for"
"Damn" Tony gets his map "is there another group?"
"Actually, yes" She crosses her leg "I can take you to them"
"No, just tell me the place i need to go" Tony crosses his arms "It's too risky, specially if Oran is there"
"I know how to defend myself"
"I don't doubt it but this guy can actually has a chance of beating me"
"Still, i'll go with you, if i see trouble i'll escape, i can go without him noticing me" She says with a smirk "Also, might be a good idea if a Faunus is with you, they'll hear you easier"
"FIne, if there is trouble you are out of there" Tony sighs in defeat "C'mon, let's not waste any more time"
With that being said both of them go to Tony's bike to get to their destination. The duo traveled to the agricultural district, it was a rather peaceful place and silent with the exception of the agricultural machines working here and there. The two drive out of the city while Blake gives him directions on where the encampment of the White Fang is.
Soon the duo arrived at an encampment with the white fang symbol on it, they arrived at the place but soon they found themselves pointed at with guns by some members. Tony seemed amused by it, Blake didn't on the other hand.
"Identify yourselves?" one of the members said, he seemed sane, not controlled.
"I'm here to talk with your boss…whoever he might be, we don't want any problems" Tony said with a stern look
"Why should we trust Humans on that?" One of the guards said with a lot of aggressiveness in his voice.
"Because I'm not Human" Blake says, removing her bow.
"You might enter but the Human stays away" Said another member with a familiar voice that Tony recognized.
"Sheesh, though crowd" Tony takes breath "Tell your boss that Redgrave is here to see them"
"Redgrave? The mercenary?" Said another member recognizing the name "Wait for a moment"
Blake stared at Tony a bit surprised, did his name carry this weight?
"Do they know you?" Blake asked
"Kind of" He shrugs it off
One of the members approached them, his gun wasn't aiming at the two meaning that his name still held some value.
"The boss would like to speak with the two of you" Said the member.
Tony and Blake drove the bike to the entrance and parked it there, then got inside, and some of the guards guided them to a big tent in the middle of the camp. They had to wait for a moment while they got things ready for them, while waiting Tony inspected the area with his eyes and with his senses. Tony found remnants of a familiar demonic power, it was Oran's power but he isn't here meaning that they are on the safe side making him feel relieved.
After a few moments they were told they could get inside, the duo obliged. They saw that inside the tent there were a couple tables with maps of the kingdom and the city of vale, with markers of colors. in the middle there was a woman with black hair, pale skin and black stripes or she has black skin and white stripes? She had a tail with the same pattern.
"Tony Redgrave, my dear, it's so good to see you again" She had a soft tone.
"Never thought we would see each other again Alba Noir" Tony says with a smile.
"And your friend here…" Alba notices Blake and recognizes her, but her eyes told her that she didn't want to speak about it "...Who is she?"
"I'm Blake Belladonna" She says, noticing that Alba didn't reveal her secret.
"I imagine this isn't just a social visit" Alba crosses her legs
"It isn't Alba" Tony sighs "What happened to the dog?"
"My superior was…killed by a human" She said, gritting her teeth.
"Oran Forrest is my first guess" Tony scoffs.
"You met him?" She asked surprised.
"Fought him, I'm actually after him" Tony clenches his fist.
"What can you tell us about him?" Blake speaks after being silent.
Alba rubs her eyes with index finger and thumb, it was stressful to think about Oran and what he did to them even though she wasn't sure how he did it.
"Oran approached us one day" Alba started speaking "He demanded that we surrendered to him and did his bidding, of course, my superior didn't take that kindly but Oran just…made him kneel and decapitated him with his weapon, like it was just a monday"
"Figures" Tonny scoffs.
"Wait, you are telling me this guy just walked into the camp and killed the highest ranking member and you just followed his orders?" Blake asks dumbfounded.
"We didn't want to follow him, we actually attacked him but beat us like nothing and then he controlled us" Alba gulps and shakes her head "Something made us do it, like we didn't had control over ourselves, I think that was his semblance"
Blake felt fear that someone could just walk into a camp of the White Fang, beat everyone and control them like it was nothing and Tony fought that guy and had trouble. Blake wasn't sure what to do with this new revelation.
"Did he say who he worked for?" Tony's tone was serious this time.
"He mentioned a master but didn't reveal anything and we don't remember a lot after we were under his control until a few nights ago" Alba smiles "He apparently lost an arm and his control over us was weakened, we manage to fight him back but escaped, i guess we should thank you for freeing us from his control Tony"
"Don't sweat it" Tony shrugs "Any idea of where he went?"
"No, we don't any idea" Alba lowers her head "Even Adam told us not bother looking for Oran"
Blake's eyes widened, Adam knew about this guy and told the other not to worry? That was really fishy. Blake left Adam because way too extremist with his methods against but with this human not to bother…It means Adam probably needs him alive or worse, He has a working relationship with Oran.
"Damn, well, doesn't matter for the moment, right now you need to disband and go into hiding" Tony said with a stern look.
"What, why?" Alba seemed surprised.
"Oran is going to tie loose ends" Tony starts explaining "Your group is a loose end meaning he'll come back when he is stronger and kill everyone here, because you made him angry, because you got out of his control because he likes killing and that might end up making him stronger too"
"We should tell Adam…" Alba starts speaking
"No, it wouldn't work" Blake cuts her off "Adam seems to know this Oran and told you not to bother, he doesn't care about you"
"You notice too Kitten? Good" Tony nods "If what i heard from Adam Taurus is true, that guy doesn't care about the White Fang cause, just wearing a mask to fulfill his wishes and gain power"
Tony has heard about Adam Taurus, he was pretty harmless at the beginning but then he started gaining power and liked it. Power corrupts people and Tony has seen that multiple times, Mafia bosses, huntsmen, you name it.
"I do agree that he has become rather…extreme in these couple of years"
"I've seen it first hand Alba" Blake says making Tony a bit suspicious but he said he wouln't pry "The White Fang isn't what it used to be, Humans doesn't respect us, they seem to fear us but they despise us"
"What Blake is saying is true, i came to respect the old guard but right now, what i'm seeing is a twisted idea, that's why i didn't do any more business"
Alba stood up, she had the same feelings as them but what could she do? she's been this deep with the White Fang, she cannot change it even if she wanted. Alba also came into this role because their leader was killed and she doesn't trust Adam either but Human treatment is like they are just animals.
"But…where would we go?"
"I have a contact that could help you, all of you if you agree to disband and leave and about Oran" Tony smiles a bit sadistic "I'll take care of him"
"Just…gimme a day to decide"
"But…!" Blake tries to speak but Tony cuts her off.
"One day, If you are still the same Alba I know you'll make the right decision not for yourself, but for everyone who is here" Tony says standing up and getting outside the Tent, Blake follows.
Tony felt dejected, he knows that their fight is important but not the right methods. Blake felt the same way but she couldn't do anything at the moment, she looked at Tony who seemed troubled.
"Why do you care?" Blake asks.
"Why shouldn't I? I've seen the treatment of Faunus first hand and it sickens me" Tony had an angry tone "Only because you are different means you are less? I can't buy that crap at all, you can talk, you can think, you have damn emotions but some humans just don't care"
"Not many humans hold those ideas" Blake looks away while crossing her arms.
"They don't but I do and if i have in my power to try and change it i will" Tony sighs "I've seen creatures filled with only hate and anger but some Humans take the cake and lately…Some Faunus too, what a twisted world Remnant has become"
Tony took a second to think then he continued talking.
"I'm being unfair" Tony said while looking into the sky.
"Sounds pretty logical to me…" Blake said.
"Might be, it's in our nature, both Faunus and Humans to create conflict, destruction and hate"
"I see a but in your head" Blake said expecting more from Tony
"But it's unfair to say we are capable of only that, we have something more powerful" Tony smiles "We care for others, we love, create families and defend each other, something so powerful that even an old legend saw the strength and changed side because we were worth protecting and fighting for"
Tony was talking about Sparda, the old legendary dark knight. Blake knew he was talking about Sparda making her wonder why bring him up now, why bring up a legend now? but she saw the truth in what he said. Blake felt more hopeful about the future thanks to Tony's words
A few minutes after Tony finishes speaking the ground shakes, demonic energy appears and disappears and explosions start going off in the camp. The tents started catching fire and with the explosions and the fire came panic…and with that came the Grimm. Alba runs out of the Tent and looks at the destruction that is happening.
"What's happening?!" Alba yells scared.
"Oran's tying loose ends already" Tony says drawing his sword "Grimm are coming"
"I can hear them too" Blake says, getting her weapon out.
"Can you take care of them?" Alba asks, still scared.
"Yeah, you round up survivors and meet us outside" Tony says with a grin "Blake, you are with me"
The duo run off to where they feel and hear the Grimm and they can see them running towards them from the woods. Tony sent Glynda and Ozpin a message about the situation then he took point, rushing against the grimm. Blake followed behind and saw how Tony met them with a stinger, killing multiple of them with that attack, noticing that Tony is way stronger than He lets them know.
They fought all the grimm with Tony taking most of them and getting all the aggro from them, Blake on the other hand took advantage of that, killing them off while they were distracted by Tony. Didn't take long before all the Grimm were dead, mostly because they were mostly beowolves.
They ran off to the camp again to look for Alba and to their horror, most of the members were dead, some of them missing their heads, others with gunshots. They ignored the bodies to find and they found her, being lifted off by Oran's weapon stuck in her stomach.
"Mr Redgrave, I'm afraid you are too late this time to stop me" Oran laughed, mocking Tony.
Tony didn't say a thing, his eyes turned red and rushed against his enemy. Oran let Alba fell to the ground and met Tony's attacks while Blake rushed to the injured Alba, she was bleeding but didn't seem to be fatal yet, But the wound was bad, didn't kill her instantly but her condition was getting critical as she bled out. Blake watched the fight between the two of them and got even more surprised by their strength and speed, this was the first time she saw Tony fighting without holding back and he was getting the upper hand against Oran.
Blake wanted to help but seemed like she was going to get in the way until she saw Oran looking at her, transforming his weapon into a rifle and started shooting. Blake grabbed Alba and tried to avoid the bullets and thankfully Tony came to her defense blocking the bullets with his sword but that was a good enough distraction for Oran to run away again.
"Damn, got away again" Tony sheaths his sword and helps Blake with Alba.
"We need to get out of here" Blake comments.
After a few moments they get out of the camp with Alba's condition getting critical by the second. Another explosion went off in the middle of the camp, bursting everything in fire as they heard laughter that wasn't from Oran. It was different…monstrous, making Blake shake in fear and making Tony grit his teeth; clench his fist hard enough to make himself bleed.
"Damn it…" He said, filled with anger punching the ground.
"Tony…?" Blake was really surprised by Tony losing his cool.
"Let's just hope the bullhead arrives soon" Tony sighed, his eyes returning to their normal blue.
"I'm sorry for not doing more" Blake apologized, knowing that Tony was blaming himself for all of this
"It's not your fault Blake" Tony says looking away "It's mine for not taking thinking that he might attack today, we'll take our loses and our wins, at least one of our wins is that Alba is still alive"
"No, it is not your fault!" Blake yelled at him "You couldn't predict the future, you can't be in two places at the same time damn it!"
Now Blake was losing it "You did what you thought was best, you came here trying to save them, defended them against the Grimm, we both did! He had a better plan but you can't blame everything on yourself! you did your best, we did our best…"
Tony was surprised by Blake's words, he was so used to blaming everything to himself that he cannot see what is in front of him or what he did, maybe she was right and he's being too hard on himself.
Soon after that the Bullhead arrived, medics came down and took Alba from the duo, Blake got first into the bullhead but noticed Tony looking into the fire, He seemed different again and she could hear him say.
"I'm not letting anyone die again…"
Autor Notes.
A short chapter but i had to rewrite it a couple times, the first two i didn't like them so i rewrote some parts, but anyway, this is what i ended up with, i like it. Didn't plan for Oran to appear but in the end I did because. yeah why not? this chapter i wrote it more on auto-pilot if i'm honest, but aaaanyway.
We can see Tony losing his cool more thanks to Oran's actions and tapping more into his own nature. We also see Ruby reassuring Tony that he is not alone which is one of the main woes that Dante has, yeah he has friends but he is mostly alone except if they need him for a mission or to pay his debts, looking at you Lady (WHO I'M NOT SURE IF I SHOULD PUT IN THE STORY, gimme your thoughts about that) but the RWBY team are not that kind of people and would stick to Tony/Dante, specially Ruby.
Also Blake is attacking another big flaw that Tony and herself kinda have, putting blame on themselves, Dante/Tony holds to himself the death of Nell, of Grue and Jessica that he is sending money to remaining daughters and sisters out of guilt and never went to meet them. In the anime we can also see that in one of the episodes, the one with a man who recognized him as Tony Redgrave.
Well, the next chapter is going to be a longer one becaaaaaaause Demons so the next chapter might take a bit to write, especially since this week I'll be a bit busy, but will give us time to finish the vote counting for Dante's partner.
For music, I've been listening to FF VIII Soundtrack, good shit, kinda want to play it again.
I also kinda set a goal with this Story. I want it to reach 50 followers in two months, i would have gone to a bigger number but kinda wanted to be realistic in this case hahahaha.
Anyway, let's get into the last chapter reviews and voting (named ones first then guests)
Slaterboodram004: POINT FOR WEISS!
Slater (wait there are two of you? if so i'll let it slide this time): Point for weiss
BLACKSMITH86: ANOTHER ONE FOR RUBY!
WeirdGuy: I can see your point, tho Patty wasn't rich and had the upbringing that Weiss had, but she was bratty, they have those things in common. ONE MORE TO RUBY. also i'm glad you enjoyed the new character and yes, i have an idea of how he is going to replace his arm, i mean, he is on his way to demonhood so you can imagine that replacing an arm shouldn't be a problem, Looking at you Nero.
Guest: (So are you going to explain how tony lost his memory or do you explain and good luck with your next chapter. One more point for ruby) Yes, I am going to explain why he is like this, actually, Tony is going to explain it himself too, but first he needs to regain his memories, that chapter will be coming soon enough (kinda tired of writing Dante then correcting myself to Tony). also POINT FOR RUBY!
Guest: (Another point for Weiss) WEISS GETS ANOTHER POINT!
Guest: (Good chapter and a vote for Weiss) WEISS IS GETTING POINTS!
Guest: (Weiss, straightman comedy duo would be pretty interesting. That and Dante is essentially the opposite of what her high class upbringing is all about, which would make their dynamic even more interesting.) Ohhhhhh I like your idea of the comedy duo hahaha, and yeah, her upbringing is why she is a choice for Dante's partner, that opposite side of living makes it interesting for me, both can learn of the other. Vote for Weiss.
Guest (I'm thorn between the two but i'll go for Ruby in this one) Yeah mate, i get you, that's why i'm doing the vote thing, couldn't decide, also gets the reader's involved aaaaand point for Ruby.
Wow, Weiss got lots of points in this one, i wonder why *looks at the chapter title* Makes sense but Ruby also got some, I'm kinda excited on how the score will end!
Scores so far.
Ruby: 13
Weiss: 13
Holy shit you guys managed to tie the scores so far, i'm impressed and i got some reviews today at the last moment! anyway, remember guys, After this chapter is released, in 2-3 days i'll post the results, if it's still tied, Well, I have the D2 out ready to untie it. i like both but like i said, i want u guys to be a bit involved in that so make your choices before it's too late.
I'll catch you later guys, please review the chapter and of course, Share it around!