A/N: I must be doing something right if you've made it this far. Hopefully I can continue to entertain. At least I've been able to update at a rapid pace, one of the advantages of being in a lot of hospital waiting rooms.
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2 years ago
"This isn't going to work Ruby." Yang insisted. She was currently in the middle of a dirt field, originally the blonde huntress was practicing her punching, but now Ruby got it in her head to try something new.
"Oh it's going to work." Ruby disagreed. Richter watched them as he created a beachball-sized ball of fire with his new weapon, Dyrnwyn, currently in revolver-form. The fireball suddenly exploded in his face, causing his normally slicked-back hair to stand on end.
Yang pointed at Richter, "We've been waiting for the past five minutes for Richter to get a decent fireball going."
Hearing this, Richter focused and tried again. This time, the fireball he created was slightly larger and to his mild surprise, more stable. He brightened up immediately.
"I've got it! I've got it!" He exclaimed excitedly. The fireball continued to grow and Richter noticed with alarm that it was becoming quite heavy. Although he struggled valiantly, he eventually tipped forward, the ball of fire at the edge of the revolver slammed into the ground and then exploded. Richter felt himself sailing backwards, landing hard on his stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs. He looked up at Yang and Ruby with a pained smile, "…Slight…miscalculation…."
Ruby ignored the skeptical look Yang was giving her, "Trust me sis! If you guys get this to work it'll be the most awesome thing ever! We'll call it the Smokescreen!"
Finally getting some air back into his lungs, Richter got back up to his feet, dusting himself off. "I don't know, the name kind of lacks power."
Ruby turned to him, "How about…" the petite girl pumped her fist in the air, "Stinkbomb!"
He rubbed the back of his head. "That makes it sound like we're destroying nose hairs not grimm."
Ruby twisted her lips in thought, turning her back on him as she tried to think of a new name for the attack.
Richter walked up to Yang, keeping his voice low, "Help me out here!"
Yang fixed him with a mild glare, her voice volume matching his. "You're the one who encouraged this, now you have to pay the price!"
The young boy groaned in response, as much as he hated to admit it, he was the one who suggested Ruby come up with names for team attacks. He did it to keep her mind off the fact that she had been unable to craft a weapon of her own yet. Ruby made good parts, she just had to put them together in a way that wouldn't make them explode.
Ruby suddenly whirled back towards them, a gleam in her silver eyes, "I got it!" She exclaimed, slamming her right fist down on her open left palm, "The Steamcleaner!"
"Uhhh…" Richter started, he needed to change the subject fast. The young boy searched his brain desperately for something to distract his cloaked friend, "How about you show us how we're supposed to do this again Ruby." He blurted out.
"Okay!" Ruby quickly agreed, "Richter you're going to create a fireball with Dyrnwyn and hold it to your left side, then Yang is going to punch it away. It'll land in a bunch of grimm and explode in a huge ball of glory! It'll be like…" The petite girl begin making all sorts of animated hand motions and sound effects of things exploding.
Richter could only stand and watch. Ruby was always energetic, but this was a whole new level. Making up team attacks must have really struck a chord with her.
He watched as his energetic friend suddenly stopped, putting her hands behind her back and staring at her boots, looking uneasy. "Well, in theory at least. But we can stop for today if you guys want to." She informed them, her voice quiet.
Something twisted in Richter, he wasn't sure what it was. Seeing Ruby look so down, so crestfallen, felt like he was getting hit in the chest with a sledgehammer. He didn't want to see such sadness in his friend's silver eyes.
"Screw it." He suddenly said, catching the attention of the sisters. "Let's give it one more shot." Ruby immediately leaped into the air, letting out a big cheer. Richter couldn't help but smile at her now uplifted mood. He glanced to his right to catch Yang smiling at him, which was confusing.
"What?" He asked the older sister
Yang kept smiling, "Nothing." Was her simple reply.
"Okay…." Richter said, he'd worry about it later. Remembering Ruby's instructions, Richter held up Dyrnwyn to his left in revolver-form. He took a deep breath to steady himself and then pulled and held the trigger. A ball of fire began to rapidly expand from the gun's tip, it grew to the size of a volleyball, then a beachball, then even bigger. Soon it was larger than his small frame and Richter had to struggle to keep it stable.
"Yang! Now!" Ruby instructed, Yang didn't hesitate, leaping into the air and rearing her right fist back. She punched Richter's fireball hard enough to deform it's shape. It looked more like a disc then a ball as it flew off into the distance, generating an explosion so large it would do a big-budget movie proud.
"Whoa…" Yang whispered in awe.
"Holy shit…" Richter added, so amazed at the explosion that he slipped on his language.
"Woohoo!" Ruby cheered, standing excitedly in front of them, "What did I tell you guys? Was that awesome or what? The Flamboree is official!"
Upon hearing Ruby's new name for the new team attack, Richter raised an eyebrow at her, "Seriously?"
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Present Day
Richter approached the rendezvous point, finding a large muscled-man with a red mohawk. The man was currently sitting on a tree stump, dressed in a yellow vest, white pants, and yellow boots. A battle axe rested on his back. This was Novus Procter, his teammate during the mission.
"Well well well. Look who finally decides to show up." Novus said, tossing and catching what looked like a small metal barrel as large as his meaty palm. There were red lights on the top and bottom of it that blinked occasionally, that must be the Sirensong. "You know you should be thankful that I was there to pick up after your mess!"
Richter said nothing, merely walking by Novus. He was not a particular fan of the big man, too arrogant for his liking. The man was an escaped criminal with a few huntsman kills under his belt. To Richter, he was merely on the team for muscle.
"Oh the silent treatment!" Novus mocked sarcastically, "You know our employer said you used to be a chatterbox, what happened to that?"
Richter's expression darkened, "You would be grumpy too if you had needles stuck in you every day for over half a year."
"Why would you stick needles in yourself for over half a year?" Novus asked, standing up from the tree stump as he raised a questioning eyebrow. "You some kind of addict?"
"Something like that." Richter responded dryly.
Novus snorted, "Whatever."
The hideout for the team Richter was currently working with was actually built into the side of a mountain. The entrance was inconspicuous, a small triangle opening barely tall enough for an average person. It was one of the few times Richter was glad for his short height as he could easily enter. Novus on the other hand, had a tough time squeezing through with his large frame. The ex-huntsman heard a string of curses from the big guy as he entered behind him. Richter allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction at that.
Phase one of a three-phase plan was complete. As Richter walked into a circular room filled with tech, he spotted the scientist of the team. Gena Celvic, her shoulder-length dark-green hair was pulled back in a ponytail and a pair of goggles were covering her eyes. She wore a white labcoat, but underneath it were the clothes of someone who was into the hobby of hiking. Currently, Gena's back was to Richter and Novus, sparks flying out from the welding tool she was using. Supposedly, this project was phase three.
"Do you have it?" Gena asked them, not looking up from her work.
Novus held up the tiny barrel-shaped object in his right hand triumphantly, "Right here!" This time Gena did stop her work to look at Novus, placing her goggles on her forehead. She squinted for a second, looking at the object in his hands closely before she broke out into a grin.
"Excellent!" She exclaimed. "Set it down on the table there and I'll take a look at it shortly." Gena pointed to a metal table across from her as she returned to her work.
Novus complied, placing the Sirensong on the table, "Where's Darion?"
"In the meeting room." Gena responded, "He wants you two in there at your earliest convenience."
Novus gave her a quick salute with his right index and middle finger, "Got it." He continued on to the sliding door on the other side.
"Good to see you back as well Richter." Gena said to the short ex-huntsman as he began walking by her.
Richter gave her a quick nod. "Almost finished?"
"You bet!" Gena said excitedly, she began gesturing to the whole room around her. "This baby is gonna rock the world!"
Richter took in the entire room, "That's one way of putting it." Secretly, he hoped it was everything she cracked it up to be. He needed it to be. Phase three was the one thing that was driving him. The only reason that he accepted this mission.
Upon entering the base's meeting room, Richter noticed that Novus had already taken a seat at the rectangular-shaped table. Straight ahead from the ex-huntsman was the so-called leader of the team, Darion Shiver, who currently had his back to them, looking intently at a holographic map of Vale. He had on what looked like a dark-green military uniform with black leather boots that went just below his kneecap.
"You wanted to see us Darion?" Novus asked, Darion looked away from the map to regard Richter and Novus with his dark blue eyes, his square jaw tightening. Richter picked a spot on the wall and leaned against it, crossing his arms. He knew the leader of team DRGN, as Gena was unofficially calling them, was choosing his words. Richter hated the team name, he wasn't a damn academy student anymore.
"I heard the mission was a success." Darion spoke.
Novus crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back in his chair, "Yup, no thanks to Richter here."
Darion turned his sharp gaze on to Richter, "From what Novus told me over comms…." He began, making his way towards the short ex-huntsman. "…You met an old friend of yours and engaged her in combat rather than grab the target objective."
Richter's eyes narrowed, "What of it?"
Darion was only an arm's length away from him now. "I don't like it when a team member jeopardizes a mission for sentimental attachments." A scowl appeared on Darion's face. "They become liabilities."
"The mission was still completed wasn't it?" Richter said evenly. Darion continued to glare at him and Richter felt himself subconsciously reaching for Dyrnwyn. From what he had learned, Mr. Shiver was a dangerous man, one who had once commanded an underground empire. He was also altered, like Richter, although this fact was unknown to the rest of the team. However, the traits he gained were much different than his. If it came to blows, he wasn't sure who would win.
After a long tense moment, Darion relented, pacing away from Richter, "A girl with silver eyes, a red cloak, and wields a scythe. I've seen her before, back when Vale was attacked by the grimm. Never got a name though." He spoke casually, like he was talking with friends, but there was an underlying menace to it. "What is it?"
Richter turned his gaze to the holographic map. "Ruby Rose."
"Ruby Rose." Darion repeated, chuckling to himself, "Tell me Richter." The team leader suddenly fixed him with an intense glare, "What is Ruby Rose to you?"
Richter glared right back at Darion, "She represents a world." He replied without pause. "A world I no longer belong to."
"And you want to destroy it." Darion said, finishing for him, a smirk appeared on the square-jawed man's lips, which turned into a grin, which then turned into loud laughter. After a few moments of laughing he shook his head, still chuckling, stabbing a finger at the ex-huntsman. "That's good, that's very good Richter. That is some grade 'A' shit right there."
Richter ignored him, "Is there anything else you need to blab to me Darion?"
His leader's lips twisted downward in thought for a moment, "No, not right now at least."
The short ex-huntsman pushed himself away from the wall he was leaning on. "Good." He turned towards the exit, "Because I'm going to initiate phase two of our plan." Both men looked at him in surprise.
"What's the rush Richter?" Novus said, his tone mocking, "Eager to get back to your little girlfriend?"
"Actually yes." Richter's unexpected answer shocked them into silence as he intended, so he continued, "I know Ruby. We shouldn't underestimate her. The sooner we enact our plans, the better."
Novus scoffed, "That little red twerp? She's just a thorn in our side."
"That's true." Richter agreed, the exit door to the meeting room slid open and he walked through it, "But it's a very sharp thorn."
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48 hours later.
"This has to be one of the dumbest plans I've seen." Weiss stated into her earpiece. It was night time and she was currently walking around Vale, the shattered moon casting the city in an almost surreal light.
"Aw come on Weiss, Ruby's come up with way worse." Yang's voice sounded from the earpiece.
"Hey!" Ruby's voice shouted with indignation.
"We've got you covered if something goes wrong, don't worry." Blake reassured her.
Weiss sighed as she continued to traverse the city. Ruby's plan was to use the heiress to bait out Richter, her old friend, which she had assumed was working with the ones responsible for stealing the Sirensong. She predicted that Richter would come after the heiress in order to get the password for the device and because it was somehow personal to him, he would try to do it alone. When Weiss asked how her team leader knew this, Ruby simply said that she knew her old friend. Once Richter made his move, they would ambush him and get the location of Darion Shiver's hideout from him. Weiss also suspected that Ruby had an ulterior motive to catching Richter, but she let it slide. If this worked out they would both get what they wanted.
The heiress went to all her favorite places. She even stopped to eat at a fancy restaurant. Still, there was no sign of Ruby's old friend. A vein began pulsing on Weiss' forehead, she was beginning to grow impatient.
"Are you certain your friend will show?" She spoke into her earpiece.
"Richter has always been cautious. He's probably waiting for more people to clear out. Give it a little more time." Ruby's voice urged her.
"You better be right about this." Weiss hissed.
"Trust me my BFF, this plan is rock solid."
"I am not your BFF."
"Not yet."
Weiss rolled her eyes at Ruby's mischievous tone. "Any more words of wisdom?"
"Whatever you do, don't call him short, he hates that."
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"You'll need to lure her to an unpopulated area to be safe, we don't want to run into any interference." Darion's voice sounded from the earpiece in Richter's right ear. He was currently shadowing Weiss Schnee, the heiress. "Once you've secured the target, proceed to the Vale hideout, where Gena will be waiting, she will extract the password from Ms. Schnee."
"I've been wanting to test this baby out for months!" Gena's voice sounded, Richter heard the sounds of electricity flowing in the background and winced. Gena's mad scientist ways could be a little frightening.
"Once we have the password, Novus will pick you up with a transport, which he has kindly borrowed from the Atlas Military." Darion continued.
"This thing has so many guns!" Novus sounded like he was a kid in the candy store.
"After that, we are home free." Darion said, "Are you clear on your mission Richter?"
"Yup." Richter answered simply, stealthily tapping his earpiece to turn off the mic. He saw Ms. Schnee begin to walk towards an outdoor dining area, lit up by tall lampposts. A quick glance around the place told him it was most likely deserted, it was time to strike.
He melted into the shadows, preparing himself.
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Weiss was getting irritated.
She had been walking around for most of the night and her feet were starting to get sore. Weiss made her way to an ice cream shop that had an outdoor dining area, with round tables and lit by lampposts that were about eight meters tall. The heiress bought herself an ice cream cone and began making her way to the rear of the dining area. If nothing happened by the time she got done with her ice cream then she was going home and having a few words with that insufferable little red twerp.
Her huntress senses suddenly picked up the sound of a weapon shifting to her left. Immediately, Weiss extended her left hand to her left side, creating a shield of aura that blocked a barrage of shots fired at her. A moment later she saw a shadow land in a crouching position on top of a lamppost straight ahead of her. The shadow wore a grey cloak, was slightly taller than her and had slicked-back hair. It matched Ruby's description of Richter. Looks like she was right after all.
"You know, there are probably more comfortable places to sit." Weiss said.
"I prefer high places." Ruby's friend replied.
Weiss smirked, "Why? Because you're so short?"
She saw the boy's eyes flash with anger. "Oh, that's cold." He responded, his voice still calm with a tint of angry amusement.
Weiss shrugged, "Well I am known as the ice queen…" She stopped as she saw Richter aiming his pistol at her, a glowing black sphere with a white outline growing at the tip of the gun. The sphere suddenly shrunk as it fired a laser as wide as a train at her. Weiss' eyes widened and she quickly put a glyph at her feet and used it to boost her backwards leap. The concussive force of the laser blast was so strong it actually knocked her off balance in mid-air and she landed a little wobbly on her feet.
"Lasers!?" Weiss exclaimed into her earpiece, "You didn't tell me he shoots lasers!"
"He usually doesn't." Came Ruby's reply over the earpiece, "It's taxing on his aura. He can shoot various other kind of large blasts if he wants as well."
"Oh boy." Weiss replied dryly.
"Hey you called him short, I told you not to call him short!"
"Oh shut up!"
Their conversation was interrupted when Richter leapt from the lamppost he was crouching on. The pistol shifted into a single-edged sword which he gripped tightly in his right hand, rearing back and preparing to strike.
Weiss produced her rapier, Myrtenaster and dropped into a battle stance, ready to fight.
