New Meridian
It was still late at night in the grand city of New Meridian. Neon lights of bright signs advertising whether a building is anything from a casino to a restaurant filled the night, alongside so many streetlights that the stars were not visible in the city. All these lights however, and still some spots in this massive cityscape are as dim as a lightless night. Many alleys lay covered in darkness where thay may or may not contain dangerous or shady characters. From one such dark alley, two bright blood red spheres shined through the shadows. Blood red eyes.
It was pitch black in the alley with nothing except these rather menacing eyes gazing out to the comparatively brightly lit street. There was nobody on the street not including an occasional car rolling down every now and then. Save for two distinct characters, two girls, one dressed in red and black and the other in a barely fitting school uniform. The menacing looking eyes narrowed on the two, or more specifically, on the girl in the school uniform.
"F-Filia...?" The figure lightly gasped in a feminine but somewhat gravelly voice. "Filia..." She said once more.
The girl was a little pudgier (or rather thick) then she remembered, and she last remembered Filia having blonde hair and not black. Despite these differences , there could be no denying it. This girl was Filia. At once, the figure began crawling her way through the darkness of the alley, reaching for the street where Filia and that other girl she didn't know were.
Suddenly, she let out a pained yelp as it felt like nails were being driven into her head. Probably because they were since she had said sharp objects stuck all over her body, but this was more than just the pain of that. Red sparks of electricity flashed around, and she clutched her head in pain.
"They look like suitable meatbags..."A disembodied male voice echoed within her very mind. The very sound of that voice filled her with rage, made evident by how she dug her fingernails into her own head, drawing some blood. "Looks like you have a chance to prove your worth, Subject Painwheel."
"Go to Hell!" She yelled in defiance at the voice.
"Humph... how disobedient." A surge of electricity ran through her whole body, and Painwheel gritted her teeth to keep from screaming out in pain. "Attack them. Obey me. Your resistance to my control is futile."
Another rush of powerful red electrical energy shocked her body, and this time she screamed in total agony.
"...So this Skullheart thing can grant any wish?" Ruby was instantly filled with hope when Filia had finished explaining what the Skullgirl and by extension the Skullheart is. After learning that an entire multiverse exists, Ruby could totally believe that what Filia's saying is legit in this world. On Filia's part, she still had slight doubts about Ruby being from a different world, but how none of what she explained about the Skullgirl rang a bell to Ruby was a little worrying.
"Yep. It's pretty cool, right?" Filia smiled. "Samson and I were looking for it when we bumped into you. Right Samson?"
"Yeah, kid..." Her hair responded in a somewhat unenthusiastic tone. "Kid wants to wish her memories back."
"Which is exactly why Samson and I are gonna beat the Skullgirl and take the Skullheart!" His host said with utter enthusiasm.
Ruby looked on in wonder at how confident Filia looked about this mission of hers. If anything Filia said about how powerful and dangerous the Skullgirl was true, then it didn't sound like an easy fight at all. However, Ruby couldn't help but feel that with her current situation, a wish to get back home wouldn't hurt at all. But Filia was such a nice girl though. Ruby really wanted to go home, but she felt really sorry for Filia and her memory loss issue.
"Wow... well, mind if I help you guys out?" Ruby offered with an assuring smile.
"Of course! We can sure use all the help we can get, and maybe we can ask for two wishes! I can get my memories back, and you can go home!"
The two girls had only known each other for at most an hour and they are already showing great trust in each other. They may be total strangers to each other, but they both have their own problems they can somewhat relate to and sympathize with. Ruby having no way to get back home, and Filia's near total memory loss.
"Then it's settled! I, Ruby Rose, swear on my duty as a huntress to help you get your memories back!" Our huntress swore proudly, assuming her 'leader' stance with her hands on her hips and the like.
She was certainly feeling better about being displaced now that she had a friend to hang with. Filia was also feeling much better for the same reason. Don't get it wrong, she appreciated Samson's company (even if she doesnt have a choice considering how he's stuck into her skull), but it's nice to have a nice friendly person to travel with.
"Thanks!" Filia giggled, deciding to play along even if Samson is visibly getting more agitated about having to listen to these two girls talk. "Then I, Filia-"
"RAAAAAAAAAGGGGHH!" Something roared from an alley across the street. It came so suddenly that it scared both girls into jumping in fear. They got so startled, that they hugged each other without even thinking about it.
"W-What was that!?" Ruby yelped.
"I don't know..." Filia answered nervously. "But it sounds like trouble..."
Looking across the street where the source of the sound came from, something crawled out. Something that horrified both Ruby and Filia. It was a brown haired girl dressed in what is pretty much rags, but she was very messed up. She was pale, just enough so that you could see her veins showing through her skin clearly, and she was shiny enough for her ribs to be visible. Running along her arms was a row of nails that looked quite painful, and she wore a brown mask with two glowing red eye holes that was unsettling to say the least. To top off this horrifying appearance, she had a huge shuriken looking blade attached to a 'tail' that looked like it came directly from the base of her back.
Based on how she moved, it was clear to both girls that this person was in severe pain as a result of her appearance.
"Whoa! Uh, hey, are you alright?" Ruby asked with legitimate concern, even if this new girl was incredibly scary looking.
"FILIA!" The monstrous looking girl screamed, her mask ripping open to reveal her mouth. The shrill scream was enough to make Filia and Ruby cringe in fear again. The feeling of dread only got bigger when the girl was suddenly shocked full of red electricity, forcing another roar of agony and anger.
"Get ready kid! I don't think we can run from that thing!" Samson yelled, honestly startled himself with this monster.
"Got it Samson! But why does it know me?" Filia wondered as she took up her fighting stance. Ruby was hesitant though and she kept her weapon holstered in an attempt to talk her down.
"Hey! Wait a minute! There's no need to-GAH!" The huntress was nearly clocked in the face by an anger filled punch had she not reacted in time and jumped back. "Alright, looks like we have no choice then..." Ruby muttered, spinning Crescent Rose around to its full scythe form.
'Only an hour in this new world and I already got into a fight...' She sighed mentally.
Filia was seriously surprised by Ruby's weapon as she was not expecting her to have something like that. This temporary distraction proved to be a painful one for the monster girl has punched her in the gut so hard that Filia actually flew back from the force of it.
"Filia!" Ruby yelled.
She gritted her teeth and faced her opponent, but was caught off guard when she sounds her massive blade tail at Ruby. She barely reacted in time when the sharp blades made contact with the base of Crescent Rose, and Ruby found that despite her gaunt appearance this girl was waaaaay stronger than she looked. Our huntress grunted through clenched teeth as she struggled to hold her opponent back, which wasn't working at all as her boots skidded across the pavement. What's more is that it was quite unnerving being so close to the terrifyingly angry face of this girl.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Painwheel screamed right into Ruby's face.
Rearing a fist back, she aimed for Ruby's face but missed since Ruby was quick enough to dodge. Realizing that she wasn't going to win this pushing match, Ruby broke away and launcher herself back with three shots from Crescent Rose to help her get away while also dealing damage to her opponent. The first concussive round struck the girl on the arm while the other two were blocked by her tail. The sudden pain of getting shot only served to make her even angrier, and though Ruby has fought some kind of scary monsters during her time at Beacon, she can't help but feel more afraid of her than any Grimm she has ever faced.
Filia returned to the fight at this point and took her turn against this monster girl. Ruby would've joined in to help, but she stopped a moment to gaze in wonder at how Filia fought. She honestly didn't expect much from Filia during her short time with her, but Ruby took it all back when she saw the ingenious way she and Samson worked together to fight. Filia by herself is just a normal girl who can punch and kick like anyone else, but with Samson, she is able to move around quickly using her hair or strike at her opponents with an array of weapons formed out of her own hair. For example, Painwheel slashed at Filia with her claws only for Filia to use Samson's tendrils to safely get out of the way before counter attacking with a blow to Painwheel's because Samson formed a literal fist of hair.
Painwheel did not take too kindly to any of this pain, and any damage done to her only makes her even angrier with no signs of slowing down. Filia came in with a simple high kick that landed perfectly fine, but when she tried to follow it up with Samson forming her hair into scissor blades it only ended in a devastating dropkick after Painwheel slipped under it. The monster girl followed up her counter with a series of quick but ruthless fury induced punches and kicks to poor Filia who couldn't fight back from how intense and fast the blows were. As a result, Filia was forced to use Samson to cover up and block as much damage as she could.
At this point Ruby decided that she probably done a little more watching than fighting, and carefully aimed her scythe at Painwheel. She chambered a fresh concussive round into the gun and aimed for her head in hopes that she could end this quickly. It was a little difficult to line up the shot since Painwheel was moving so much, but she was able to get the crosshairs just right and fired the shot. Ruby grinned when she took the shot, but the grin was soon wiped away by what happened next. At a reaction speed that rivaled Ruby's, Painwheel ducked as the bullet was only a single inch away from hitting her and glared her furious red eyes at Ruby.
Once again, Ruby was struck with fear and gulped when those eyes focused on her. For whatever reason, Ruby laughed nervously and gave a shy wave at her as if she thought Painwheel was just going to let this go. Of course she fucking didn't, for Painwheel reacted by grabbing Filia by the hair, or Samson I guess, and flung her straight at Ruby javelin style as a living projectile. She was able to dodge her own friend in time, but what she could not anticipate was just how quick Painwheel closed the gap between them. In mere seconds, Ruby was once again face to face with those red eyes of hatred. They glowed with such intensity that Ruby briefly had a red sheen on her face before Painwheel began her assault.
If watching Filia struggle to defend herself against Painwheel's brutal beatdown wasn't enough evidence to Ruby, then surely Painwheel's own beatdown on her would teach Ruby the definition of pain. She struck quick and violently, fighting in a way similar to Filia except with more agility and faster attacking. This time around, Ruby was beyond shocked and grossed out when Painwheel literally had black spikes come out of her skin to attack. Again, it was similar to how Samson was used as a weapon except this was far more horrifying since these spikes erupted straight out of her body. It was very difficult for Ruby to fight back since Crescent Rose is not an ideal weapon to fight this close and personal. The long reach of the scythe served no use with Painwheel being close enough to punch Ruby, so Ruby thought it was time to pull back and gain some distance so she could fight back. That wasn't easy as Painwheel stuck onto her like glue, and it was getting even more difficult to defend herself as she beginning to use her blade tail to assist in this quick and furious attack. Ruby couldn't block all these attacks up close, and soon she began taking some serious hits once Painwheel managed to slip through.
Her only saving grace was when Filia jumped back into the fight and landed a successful flying kick to Painwheel's belly. Now that Filia was back in the fight, Ruby had a much easier time. Both girls went in aggressively and hoped to pin Painwheel back much the same like how she did to them. It seemingly worked as Painwheel switched from offensive to defensive after taking a couple hits from Filia and Ruby at the same time, and was now slowly pulling back while using her large blade tail to cover herself from attack. Unlike how Ruby's scythe was large and unwieldy in very close combat, Painwheel's blade proved to be quite effective in use this close as she was even managing to counter attack with her claws by using her tail to cover.
Ruby had the bright idea of coming up behind her and attacking there so that they would have the advantage of attacking her from both sides. That tactic worked as Painwheel was taking even more hits from having to try and cover up from multiple angles, her rage only building...
"RAAAAAAGHHH!" The scarred girl roared with enough intensity to stun Ruby and Filia.
When they were unstunned, they found Painwheel to be covered in an eerie red aura that distorted her body a bit, but that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that Painwheel was even stronger now. The moment Ruby tried to continue her attack and slashed at her, Painwheel merely dodged and grabbed the scythe. Struggle as she may, Ruby was nowhere near strong enough to take the scythe back, and Painwheel pulled her to prickle her up good with body spikes. Ruby's aura had dropped dnagerously low and she yelled out in pain, before Painwheel unceremoniously tossed her up and slammed her across the street.
A trash can was suddenly slammed over her head by Filia using Samson to hold it, but it did absolute dick to Painwheel. She dodged a hair drill from Filia before spinning the blade on her tail like a saw and swinging it at her. Filia was fast enough to dodge the dangerous blade that can easily cut her half, but she was now on the run for Painwheel was hot on her heels. During this whole attack, Painwheel roared and yelled incoherently in rage.
"Samson! Do something!" Filia yelled over the sounds of Painwheel's angry ramblings.
"I got it, kid!" Her hair responded. At once, Samson extended her hair out so much that it was now a pair of jaws complete with teeth. Painwheel, and honestly Filia as well, did not expect this at all and did not react fast enough to dodge when Samson's jaws closed around her. His host fell to her knees due to how awkward it was for her to stand up with this weight on her head, the closed sack of hair violently wiggling around with the occupant's muffled screams of pure hatred loudly sounding out from it.
"Huh... not what I was expecting, but okay." Filia shrugged.
Samson's only response was a cocky grunt as he focused on squeezing Painwheel into submission. A few seconds passed before anything happened, but it wasn't a good thing for Filia or Samson. To her horror, Filia watched as Painwheel slowly forced Samson's jaws open and stuck her long tail out. There was no possible way for Filia to move out of the way due to how she was stuck with Painwheel literally in her hair, and she got a full on faceful of the cold hard metal. The blow was so powerful that she was knocked all the way back into the wall of a building with poor Samson taking most of the impact. The world was shaky and dizzy, Filia could barely focus on the approaching monster girl as birds flew around her head. The only thing she could focus on were the two blood red eyes getting ever closer to her, and though she was stunned and confused, she could feel dread fill her body.
Painwheel wasn't in her super beast mode state anymore, but anger visibly surged through her body. She stopped just in front of Filia and stared down at the defeated girl.
"F-filia..." She managed to say through her anger.
Filia blinked when she said her name. Something wasn't right. Other than being at the mercy of a freakish girl, Filia couldn't help but feel like this girl was someone she knew before. Her vision became clear again and she carefully examined the mask of the girl, but was unable to recognize anything. Out of nowhere, Painwheel began yelling out and clutching her head, falling to her knees.
"N-no! You can't control me! Get out of my head!" She screamed, but it wasn't directed to Filia though. A surge of electric energy similar to what they saw earlier flashed through her body once more, and Painwheel screamed out in pain as her sharp claws extended to full length. Filia tried to crawl away, but her back was already against a wall, and so she helplessly looked up at the screaming girl.
*WHAM*
Painwheel suddenly stopped screaming, and fell to the side with her hands clutching her head again. This time in pain from having the blunt end of a scythe whack against her head. She wasn't unconscous, only really stunned and hurt enough as to where she was done fighting. There's not much else to say other than Filia staring blankly at the suddenly defeated Painwheel before looking up to her savior.
"Whew... glad that's over with..." Ruby sighed happily. "Are you okay, Filia?" The huntress asked, giving her hand out to help.
"Y-yeah..." Filia answered, gladly taking up Ruby's hand. She had a little trouble getting lifted up as the much more petite Ruby had trouble with Filia's weight. "Are you alright, Samson?"
"Ugh... yeah. Yeah I'm fine, kid." The parasite grumbled. Both girls took a second to check themselves for any injuries before turning their attention to their defeated opponent. A few scratches and bruises there for the most part, nothing too serious.
"What do you think is her problem?" Ruby asked Filia just as Painwheel was struggling to pick herself up.
"I have no idea." She answered. There was so many questions to ask right now. Why did she attack them? Who is she? Why is she so horrific looking? And most importantly for Filia at least, how does she know her?
"I don't think we should stick around to find out. Let's get out of here before it wakes up!" Samson warned for he really did not feel like taking another hit like that again.
"Samson... who was I? Why does this poor girl know me?" Filia asked her parasite.
"I, er... don't know. Look, it's clearly insane. Don't worry about it. Now let's leave!" The parasite answered rather suspiciously, though neither of the girls seemed to have noticed. One thing that was sure though was that their attacker was starting to shakily stand up on her own two feet agiain. "Dammit! She's getting up! We need to get out of here!"
The two girls looked to each other first and then back down at the poor girl on the floor. Despite how she attacked them, both of them couldn't help but feel there was something horribly wrong with her. It felt as if she was doing this against her will. Eventually, they decided that it probably was best to leave.
"W-wait..."
They both looked back to see that Painwheel standing still right where they left her. Their first reaction was to get ready for another fight, but they soon lowered their guard when it was clear that she wasn't going to attack again.
"Filia... it's me. Carol..." She said.
"Carol?" Ruby and Filia said at once.
Ruby obviously had no business knowing who she could possibly be, but that name did struck a chord in Filia's mind. Her memories were missing but that didn't mean she had lost every single one. Vague glimpses of her past were here and there, and after hearing that name a flash of memories came back to her. Though it was still vague and not very clear, Filia could remember a small and shy girl from a school she may have attended.
"Carol? Is that really you?" Filia took a step towards Painwheel, no longer feeling any fear from her. Before she could do anything meaningful, Painwheel suddenly ran away without a word. "WAIT, CAROL! DON'T GO!" Filia yelled after her, but it was too late. She was gone.
"You know her?" Ruby asked, totally confused by what just happened.
"I... I think I do." Filia answered.
"Great, at least we don't have to fight her again..." Samson sighed in relief, though he knew Filia wanted to do something about that Carol girl. He is literally a part of her head after all. "Well, guess there's no talking you out of this now, huh?"
"Sorry Samson, but we need answers. We're going to follow her." Filia was determined in this new quest of hers. Seems like the Skullgirl could wait, Filia's got some other business to settle. If she could find Carol, then maybe she can get some solid evidence of who she was before she lost her memories and also help Carol from whatever did that to her.
"I'll be right behind you!" Ruby chirped. "That Carol girl looked like she needs some serious help, and it's not like I have anything better to do than follow you around." She smiled. Filia couldn't help but smile right back at her.
"Thanks, Ruby."
"Aww, don't mention it! Besides, what are friends for?" She shrugged.
With this new mission fresh in their minds and a still grumpy Samson, the girls set off toward downtown since that's where Carol ran off to. It also conveniently was where the two girls were heading for even before she attacked, so it's all good when it comes down to it.
"Now that's more like it!" Venus grinned, pleased that her need for action had been satisfied for now. The sister goddesses were very pleased with how this adventure they helped create was turning out so far, and it was proving to only be more promising as Ruby and Filia continued on.
"I am a little surprised to see how similar it is to Filia's timeline, but I have a feeling that things will take an original turn later on." Aeon said, taking a handful of popcorn. The goddess of time was especially happy with this since it was like a dream come true! It's like she's making a crossover fanfic of the two series come to life...
All they needed now was for Mother to come home with the groceries so they could have some more than just popcorn to snack on.
And as long as Mother never found out what they're doing then things were smooth sailing from here on out. Mother really cared for her dear daughters, but she's the type of mother who really, and I mean really doesn't like it when he daughters do something behind her back. Much less travel out of their domain and steal a girl (with permission) and plant her into their world without her knowledge.
Other than that and they were good.
Somewhere Else, in The Void
Mother hummed to herself as she made her way home with some freshly bought groceries. A bunch of good ole store bought ingredients from the finest... wherever they're taken from in the multiverse. Seriously, Mother doesn't even know where they come from, but all she knows is that these are some premium ass high quality ingredients for cooking some delicious homemade meals. She even got some snacks for her dearly beloved daughters!
Though she had some doubts about Venus' loyalty, she trusted in them to obey her will and wait patiently for the timelines to converge.
It did make her wonder though about all these other worlds in this multiverse she was currently travelling in. She had no power over any of them except for her own, but what was it like in these other worlds? Who knows, there's literally an infinite amount of possibilities. Maybe one of these days she can go out for a vacation with her daughters to a world with a nice beach or something if Alex let them.
She looked into these other worlds as she passed by them on her trip home. So many interesting things going on while she's stuck waiting for the ultimate event in her own world to happen. One world had giant mechs fighting each other, another had a bunch of young girls using magic to defeat evil, and strangely one showed a bunch of men gathered together with sticks in their hands. All of them except for one were groaning and muttering in defeat while the one man with the shortest stick was dancing in victory.
Mother shook her head and smiled at the silly mortals. Even in other worlds mortals could be just as pointless...
Then, a few moments later, one of them suddenly just came through the portal and into The Void! She cared so little about what they were doing though, that despite being surprised by how a mortal could do something like that, she ignored him.
"Excuse me ma'am?" The mortal man asked only to get no response. He watched her as she continued on her merry way, ignoring him and shit.
The man then looked around and began travelling around The Void himself, though he had no idea where he was going and had no destination set at all. His only mission was to find a girl who had been kidnapped, and he had a loooooooooooooooot of worlds to choose from. He floated around a bit looking at the different worlds before finally deciding to go into one that he remembered being in before. Might as well start here since he met the locals...
Alright, here it is! Next chapter of this!
Looks like you have to wait for the reveal of who the lucky mercenary is though, but at least I know! I will at least tell you that the world he's going into is Kantai Collection since I have another crossover about that on my own. He'll be there only briefly though and he will be revealed next chapter, just wait.
Review Responses:
Madlice in Pyroland: Ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
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JanSolo: Fuck my life. It does.
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