Okay, so, funny story before we begin this chapter. I was about ready to start writing this, right? I'm creating the Word document and I write the title for it [Gamer Of The Multiverse – Chapter 52 (Gamer!OC x Multiverse).] And when I go to put it into the file folder I have for this particular story, It doesn't let me.
So, I get to thinking: shit, this isn't good. I wonder what's going on? So, I google it, and it turns out, one file folder on The Computer Desktop can only hold 56 files 5kb or larger. So, I go to check what the fuck is going on with the file folder, and lo-and-behold, there are 56 files in the folder, 53 of which being chapters, 1 being labelled "Prologue", one being Jolyne's stat and skill sheet, one being a list of active and alive characters, and one being a list of the Stand Discs that Jolyne has at her disposal.
So, yeah… this is the first time, ever when it comes to writing a story where I have two file folders on this computer for one singular story. I don't know what to make of that, and it's kinda hilarious.
Now, side tangent aside, let's get into my response to reviews/comments!
[My Response to Reviews/Comments!]
(Ao3) Ashima: Believe me, it's less confusing than actually watching the fuckfest of a show that is RWBY. Don't get me wrong, it's a good show if you want to turn your brain off, but seriously, trying to think about it and all of that nonsense is NOT FUN. Also, keep in mind, this is a heavily AU version of RWBY, meaning that most of it outside of the core concepts does not represent what the show is about. Also, thank you very much for the kind words! I hope I can continue to keep your admiration as the story progresses! It seriously means a lot to me!
(Guest) Reader 451: I saw the funny play-on-words pun there… very funny, Reader. Anyhow, expect more grimdark stuff in the future, because it's only a rollercoaster downhill from here on out. Also, on the topic of Warhammer, I've been actually thinking about checking it out. If you can, might you recommend me a good jump-off point?
As for Chinatsu and everyone else… well, you're just gonna have to see how that plays out. Because, well… it's not gonna go how you think it is. Also, yeah, Murphy is a bitch, and she needs to stop being so. Unfortunately, no one can tell her otherwise.
And Weiss… yeah, Weiss isn't having a good time.
Kolt999: Pretty much! That was part of the inspiration, that and Bloodborne's Blood Madness or whatever it was called. Something to that effect. Honestly, it's been a long time since I've watched a playthrough of Bloodborne.
The whole thing with Sayaka being psychic was something I noticed during a second playthrough of DR: THH, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it wasn't a joke, and she just was psychic. I mean, for crying out loud, she could literally read Makoto's thoughts. So, yeah, Yasuhiro ain't got shit on Sayaka, just saying.
Also, I can't say anything regarding Weiss's… predicament, but believe me when I say that what I have planned for her will make great use of that 2-year-time limit. That's all I'm gonna say on that front. Don't worry about horribly written deaths, we won't be having a re-run of Torchwick. Speaking of Torchwick… a-hem, anyway, have a great day, Kolt!
Now, onto the chapter!
xxXXxxXXxx
[Jolyne Brooks]
Jolyne had to admit that when she first heard of the news that Weiss was going to die in two years' time, she wanted to scoff and call the bluff. After all, that seemed kind of stupid. And also, it seemed kind of redundant. She already looked to be on death's doorstep, so anyone could make that assumption. But upon using CHECK on the snow-white-haired teen to get her full identity and some additional information, she realized that it wasn't a bluff.
It was something worse than that.
Name: Weiss [Redacted] – The "Dead" Heir to SDC
[Lv. 24]
[HP: 650/1,700]
[Stamina: 30/600]
[Mana: 0/200]
[Aura: Locked]
Faction: None
[Curse: Damnation of The Schnee's. Curse castor: [Redacted] – [Redacted] was wronged by Jacques Schnee in a business trade, basically robbing him of a lot of valuable Dust. In retaliation, [Redacted] cursed the family, so that the next child to be born would die before they reached 20 years old. The Curse can only be lifted if [Redacted] is either killed or if [Redacted] removes the curse.]
Description: Weiss was kidnapped at the tender age of 9 by The White Fang to be a personal Slave to one Adam Taurus. She has known nothing but slave work, and because of that, she is extremely brittle. Aside from that, she is just as confident in herself as she always has been, a hard-headed individual, and with a goal to get revenge on Adam Taurus for all of the wrongs that he has committed.
"I'm getting massive main character vibes from this Weiss girl, and she's sensitive to magic… interesting. That aside… a curse? I mean… hmm, yo, Mono, what's the likelihood of there being other Gamers in this world?" Jolyne questioned Mono, who was quick to respond.
[There are currently over 20 Gamers within the World of Remnant, two of which, including yourself, are Multiversal Gamers. The rest, however, are regular Gamers with the basic version of The System.]
Jolyne didn't show the smirk that had come to her face when she got that information. She remembered her days as Jack when she'd play Runescape, specifically the PVP servers. She was a massive griefer, always killing low-level players for easy EXP, and would even mess around with the "big shots" when she felt cocky enough.
Oh, she'd get her ass kicked from time to time, but the times she did win against the big guys, she felt all sorts of giddiness. In fact, outside of DND and school and hanging out with the friends that she had… and desperately trying to hide from her drunken father on the best of days, she'd be playing Runescape locked in her room in the ass-crack of night.
Granted, killing people in Runescape was not the same as killing other Gamers. However, if even one of these Gamers were the one who placed this curse on Weiss, then they were going to pay with their blood. And, considering the curse was still active, that meant they were still alive. Jolyne might not have known Weiss all that well—hell she just met the lady—but that didn't give the bastard the right to do something like this to someone who wasn't even born yet.
"Uh… Jolyne, are you okay? You look… pissed off," Rantaro's voice cut through her line of thought with practiced ease as the Dragon Faunus frowned. Crap, had she been scowling? Well, considering the thoughts she was having, it made sense for her to be scowling subconsciously. Out of curiosity, Jolyne glanced over to Weiss, who looked both a mixture of horrified and terrified, her body language guarded and her sunken eyes filled with conflict on whether she needed to fight or run. She was staring at Jolyne and—oh. She knew why.
"It's because I'm a Faunus. She was a slave to The White Fang, and… fuck me… I gotta walk on eggshells around her, don't I?" Jolyne thought, her scowl disappearing and having been replaced by an off-kilter smile to hide her true feelings on the matter. "It doesn't have anything to do with what Weiss did… rather… it's what I know."
"What you know?" Rantaro asked. Jolyne crossed her arms, leaning against the wall, staring at Weiss, who flinched under her gaze. Almighty above, it felt wrong to even think about half of the horrors that the poor girl probably had to go through. She probably acted all tough whilst being captive, but now that she was out of captivity and in the care of someone else, it must've been a shell shock for the girl.
What made things even worse was just how frail she looked. Jolyne could probably forcibly blow wind her in direction and she'd die. God, she pitied her to the point where pity was turning into sympathy. Sighing, Jolyne glanced back to Rantaro with a frown.
"Yeah. She's cursed, 'Taro."
"Taro?" Rantaro asked with a slight chuckle in his voice. "Yeah, okay, nicknames then. Fine, whatever. Anyways… cursed?" Rantaro continued, his expression one of annoyance. "What do you mean "cursed"."
"I mean it. She's cursed. Someone cast a curse on her. I don't know who, but they did. I—"
"Hold on!" Weiss's voice cut through the conversation like a knife through butter as she looked over to Jolyne, a high amount of confusion and even a little amount of anger in her eyes. "What are you going on about? Magic doesn't exist, there for Curses don't exist! It's probably just a disease, like Cancer or something like that!"
Jolyne frowned, uncrossing her arms. "First of all, it's rude to interrupt someone's conversation," Jolyne began as Weiss physically recoiled. Jolyne winced slightly. God, what the fuck had this girl been through? "Second of all, Magic is very real, because last I checked I don't have Aura or a Semblance to speak of. And, from what I understand, one person can only have one Semblance. And to prove my point even further…."
As Jolyne spoke, her right arm transformed into Magma, and then, she summoned Whitesnake to her left. Weiss's eyes widened with sheer disbelief, and whatever anger she had within those eyes of hers was turned into curiosity and awe. So, in other words, her worldview was shattered, but she wasn't completely distressed by the idea.
That… was interesting, to say the very least.
Deactivating her abilities, Jolyne coughed into her hand, regaining Weiss's attention. "And finally… does the name Jacques Schnee mean anything to you?"
The moment that name came out of her mouth, Weiss scowled. "Unfortunately… yes."
Stuffing her hands into her pockets, Jolyne rolled her neck to make sure it didn't get stiff, before letting out a hearty sigh. "Right. And, judging by how you… don't have a last name, I take it Jacques was your father, correct?"
Once again, Weiss bit out a "yes" with increased frustration. Whatever relationship the two had, it clearly was on very, very thin ice. Something that Jolyne could use to her advantage. While the thought of using Weiss was something she detested, it would benefit both Weiss and herself greatly. This Jacques person seemed to be a piece of work.
"I see… I won't question it. But… hmm… how do I put this. I can read a person's soul," Jolyne began as Weiss looked like she was about to say something. That was until Jolyne raised her hand, which immediately made Weiss's jaw clamp shut. "Don't question it. If not for me wasting my breath explaining it, but for your sanity."
"Why would it be a waste of breath?" Weiss asked, a clearly argumentative tone in her voice as Jolyne pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Because it's difficult for me to explain, and I'd end up looking like a baffoon. It has nothing to do with you," Jolyne replied as Weiss chewed the inside of her lip, keeping silent. "As I was saying, when I read your soul, I got to know more about you. Specifically, I got to know the details of the Curse that was put upon you. The funny part, if you can even call being cursed funny? You hadn't even been born yet. And the worst part? It's all Jacques's fault for fucking someone over on a business trade."
When Weiss clenched her hand into a fist, Jolyne knew already that she was beyond furious. The look in her eyes sold the idea to her hook-line and sinker. She could already hear the stereotypical protagonist-esque dialogue leaving her mouth when she spoke it.
"How dare he… that disgusting no-good usurper! Ruining my grandfather's good name and besmirching the Schnee name!" Weiss bit out with enough venom to kill a herd of elephants 10 times over.
"Yep… definitely the protagonist of this world. Or, at the very least, one of them…." Jolyne thought, frown deepening. "Better to ally myself with this one than make an enemy out of her. Besides… My goals are lofty, and now that I know The White Fang are deplorable folks… well…." "Tell you what, Weiss," Jolyne spoke up, earning the dual-haired Dragon Faunus a glance. "I run a group of people known as "The Grey Council." We're not that big, and we're spread thin at the moment because of an… incident, even causing us to lose a few members. But, seeing as our goals are one and the same at the moment, why don't you join us?"
"One and the same? How so?" Weiss asked, her expression turning serious as Jolyne smirked. She was already liking this girl. Much like Rantaro, she didn't just agree to everything that came out of Jolyne's face. Something that, upon looking at it, was something that Sayaka did.
"Probably because all of her life she was pushed around by suits… must be one hell of a thing to break out of…" Jolyne thought, mentally waving away the wayward thought and refocusing on the subject at hand. "Well, if I were to guess, you want to take revenge against The White Fang, correct?"
Weiss bit her lip, nodding slowly. "Yes… I don't think I have to say why, do I?"
"Nope," Jolyne replied curtly, her smirk turning into a grin. "It just so happens that I have a bit of a vendetta against The White Fang. See… I ended up levelling the Branwen Tribe to nothing and taking the survivors of the massacre I committed as a personal army for this settlement. I also happened upon 50-some-odd soon-to-be slaves that were going to be sent to The White Fang and I decided to take them with me. I was originally going to take them down by myself. But, you just so happened to come along at the perfect time. Join The Grey Council, and I can guarantee your revenge against them."
As Jolyne said that, she outstretched a hand to Weiss, who stared at it thoughtfully. "But… I only have two years to live. I'm weak, frail, and I'm not much of a fighter. Not to mention I don't have any sort of Semblance or even Aura. How can I be of any help to you?"
Jolyne's grin turned to a smile. "Did you think for even a second I was just gonna leave you in this state? You're fucking mental if you think that, Weiss," the dual-haired Dragon Faunus stated, her tone of voice firm as she spoke. "Besides, wouldn't you rather use that two years you've got left for something more meaningful than just wasting away in bed? Your body might be breaking down, but I'm sure I can find something to slow the process."
[Reputation with Weiss increased! – 050/100]
Weiss shook her hand faster than Jolyne could think, and with that, a screen appeared in front of Weiss's face, making her recoil. It was the same screen that was used as an invite. The Dragon Faunus wasn't aware that it could be done automatically. Then again, she was going to invite Weiss to The Grey Council. So, perhaps that was part of it.
"W-What is this?"
"Your invite," Jolyne replied hastily. "See, that's one of my powers. I can project things like invites and messages to people. I usually do it mentally, but with invites to The Grey Council, I don't know how to do that mentally yet. So, I guess it's just gonna remain that way. Tap the accept prompt then it'll go away," Jolyne stated as Weiss did just that. And, just like Jolyne said it would, the screen disappeared.
"I… see. So… what now?" Weiss asked as Jolyne sighed.
"I find something that'll keep you alive. Your body degrading most likely has something to do with the Curse that's on you right now. The sooner I find something to make it slow down, or better yet, find the person responsible for cursing you and… getting rid of them, the better for both you and me. Until then, you need to get some more muscle and skin on those bones, young lady. Because right now, to be blunt, you're dead weight."
Jolyne could tell the words cut deep, but she needed to hear them. The look on Weiss's face was one of demoralization, but in a quick few seconds, that look of demoralization was replaced with fierce determination. "Yup… she's 100% a protagonist. This is starting to remind me of those Anime Jamol used to watch."
Just before she could say anything about anything else, something, or rather, some things came up before her that blew the wind completely out of her sails.
[Story Quest – Return Of A Queen – Part 1]
[Destroy The White Fang]
[Description: Destroy The White Fang, it's in the title, and it's fairly obvious what the job is. Your first step is to take out the base camp near Styx—around 85 kilometres away—which is 17 hours away from your current location.]
[Quest: Take down the small encampment near Styx]
[White Fang Troops Killed: 0/200]
Rewards: 100,000 Exp, 3 Gacha Tokens, minus 100 reputation with ?
.
[Side Quest – Amber Alert]
[Description: Chinatsu Ouma, Sayaka Maizono, Saichi Todokami, and Masaru Daimon have been kidnapped by The White Fang! And, funnily enough, it's the same camp as the one that is 85 Kilometres away! How thoughtful of them! Keep in mind, they'd break out themselves… if they were supplied with Magic Draining Chains that were given to them by [Redacted for user safety] via a third party, unbeknownst to [Redacted for user safety]. So, yeah, good luck!]
[Quest: Rescue Chinatsu Ouma, Sayaka Maizono, Saichi Todokami, and Masaru Daimon]
Rewards: 400,000 Exp, 4 Spell Tokens, minus 100 reputation with ?
.
[Side Quest – Along came a nuisance…]
[Description: Ever heard of a goody-two-shoes who is too much of a goody-two-shoes? Well, you're about to meet one. Head outside the Inn and you'll find them. And they… well, let's just say they're not too bright. Nor are they happy with you.]
[Quest: Defeat ? but don't kill him. At least, try not to anyway.]
Rewards: 50,000 Exp, minus 50 reputation with ?
Three Quests…
Three… fucking… Quests. Two of which were related to yet another kidnapping. Her blood boiled and her patience with this world was starting to run thin. Why was it that almost every day something nonsensical had to happen? And better yet, why did have to be a kidnapping of her friends? Oh, and to make matters worse, one of those people was Sayaka. Her fucking girlfriend.
"For fucksake. When do people learn that their actions have consequences!?" Jolyne thought as she let out a huff of air loud enough to make even Rantaro jump. Her hands were balled up into fists as her singular eye narrowed with enough anger and rage to level a city. This… was bullshit. All of this was bullshit and Karma was a bitch.
She was going on the assumption that this was the world reacting to her actions in the last world, and, fittingly, pointing and laughing at her and making her life a living hell. Which, to be honest, kind of made sense. "You two… stay there. I have… things I need to do. Rantaro, if Monica or Jataro wake up and come looking for me, tell them I'm out of town."
And without giving Rantaro a chance to say anything or voice his disapproval, Jolyne exited her bedroom and walked down the stairs. She didn't bother saying anything to anyone else in the inn at the moment as she stepped out of it, and into the streets of the repaired Styx. Not fully repaired, mind you. Most of the southern region was still in desperate need of repairs, but the Abominations were working on it. It wouldn't take long before they were finished.
The houses that were once burning, destroyed piles of wood, bricks, and mortar were fully rebuilt with fresh wood and clean bricks created out of the old ones. The streets were less of a mess, but they still needed to be worked on.
And then, standing in front of her, was the person tied to the third quest in the line. The "Along Came a Nuisance" Quest. He was small, just about 4 foot 1 inch or something along those lines. His hair was a silky white, his eyes were a purely blue colour, and his skin was a shade of white. He wore what appeared to be a similar cloak to her own—perhaps even the very same cloak—with a yin-and-yang symbol necklace. He also was wearing a white shirt and a pair of black leather pants, along with brown combat lace-up boots.
"So…" Jolyne drawled looking down at the little squirt. She activated CHECK just to get an idea of who this kid was, and immediately she felt bad for him. Not because of anything on his profile about any woes he might have, but because of just how outmatched he was. And considering the look on his face, he was looking for a fight.
[Name: Zain Hotaru – Gamer, Patron of Ma'at]
[Lv. 33]
HP: 1,750/1,750
Stamina: 1,000/1000
Mana: 1,000/1000
Faction: The Wizard
Description: Once an average man turned Gamer, Zain Hotaru has just started his journey! [Put here by System Emelia.
[Ah, Emelia. It truly has been a long time since I have spoken with her. My previous user travelled with this system's last wielder before meeting… my previous user's husband.]
"I see…" Jolyne thought, a small frown making itself known on her face. Now, she could, in theory, beat this boy down into a smudge on the floor without so much as thinking about it. And considering the glare he was levelling at her, he thought himself to be the heroic type. Now, as for why in the name of The Almighty he would be looking to pick a fight with her, especially considering the sizable difference between them was completely beyond Jolyne.
And, for a split second, she was thinking about just drawing her scythe and decapitating the sucker right here, right now. Especially as his hand went for his scabbard. However, with the people forming on the streets looking to see what was about to go down… well, the person in front of him was a child, even if it was only in appearance.
Killing a child in front of everyone, no matter the context was just wrong. So, she wasn't going to do that. Instead, she was going to humiliate him. After all, there are fates worse than death. Humiliation being one of those aforementioned fates.
"Jolyne Brooks…" the boy muttered, anger bubbling in his voice. "For those you killed, I will put you to justice!" The boy swung his sword and aimed right for her chest. Even if it connected, it would have most likely done a big 20 damage to her and that was it. However, factoring in her Devil Fruit… yeah, no, this squirt was going to do nothing.
But, rather than stand there and take it, she had Whitesnake appear and grab his sword with minimal effort, halting the blade before it even came close. Whitesnake wasn't even trying. Hell, the grip he had on the sword was a light squeeze, so to call it a grab was a lie. It was more like holding something like a book, or a candle.
Jolyne stared at the boy with little to no amusement in her eyes. Zain, on the other hand, was staring with wide eyes. Yet, despite the shock, he was still pushing forward. A sigh escaped Jolyne, as her frown deepened. "Look, kid… Zain, right? Just… just use CHECK and save yourself the embarrassment. You look like an utter fool right now."
Zain did not listen, ignoring her. She didn't know how it was he was seeing himself as, but it wasn't like she was struggling. Her lack of amusement was turning into annoyance. She had other more important things to do and dealing with this brat was not one of them.
"Look, Zain, I can assure you that this is not going to go well if you continue this behaviour. We're in the middle of the street, packed with people who are staring at us, and the longer you continue to do this, the more attention it will bring. I do not have time to deal with you. Last chance. Stand down, sheath your blade, and we can talk this out."
"No! You're evil!" Zain spat, pushing forward with his sword, trying to gain ground despite the fact he wasn't moving even an inch. "Those people you killed… the people who suffered because of your massacre! I'm not gonna let them—"
"Oh… that's what this is about," Jolyne thought as her eye narrowed. Was this boy serious? Out of all the things the boy could've said to justify his attempt, albeit a sorrowful one, to attack and kill her, he chose to use that. Out of all the stupid things she could be considered evil for during her stay in this world, to which that list was practically dry, this Zain boy chose that to be the hill he died on.
She was no longer going to play the patient game and get answers out of the boy, let alone deem him worth her time enough to speak to him. If he was about to call her evil for killing those ruthless pieces of shit, then this was going to go nowhere. Her reservations about hurting the child had all but vanished after that, and what came next was what she probably should have done the moment he thrust the sword at her.
In an instant, she appeared behind Zain, which made the boy gasp at just how fast she had been, raised her hand, and in a swift motion, lightly chopped the back of his neck, holding back every ounce of power that strike would normally have as to not kill the child. As a result, It did only 10 damage, but that was the point, as Zain was out like a light instantly.
He probably didn't register this fact. Whatever the case was, Jolyne didn't care. Off in the distance, a few of the town's guards—a pair of rookies that filled up the empty slots after the recent raid, a pair of eager-eyed Faunus of both Antelope and Crocodile respectfully—stood just in front of the growing crowd of curious civilians. Upon seeing them, she gestured to the guards, who came immediately at her silent request. "Yes, O Mighty Dragon, what is it that you desire?"
"Dear god… you know what? whatever, it's better for them to think of me as whatever it is they see me as then complain about it. Besides, it makes my life easier," Jolyne bemoaned in her mind, pointing to Zain with an annoyed look in her eyes. "Lock him up. But, before that, strip him of his weapons, cloak, and necklace. Afterward, bind his hands in chains and throw him in a cell. I'll question him when I return. I have White Fang to slaughter. Until then, if he makes any attempt to escape, make sure he learns his lesson."
The two guards nodded, not questioning her in the slightest. The two guards picked up the boy from underneath his armpits and dragged him to presumably where the holding cells were. If she had to guess? They were on the outskirts of the town. The only time she had been there was when the raid was commencing, and when everything was on fire.
Moving that aside, she found it a little odd that the guards listened to her without so much as even thinking of questioning her. It was more than a little odd, actually, especially seeing as she wasn't even The Mayor, yet they listened to her without question.
Then again, she was technically considered The Queen of all Faunus. It was… jarring, to say the least. But, that was something to ponder later. Right now, she had to rescue her friends, her girlfriend, and her son.
Yet again, she pondered why the world hated her so….
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE LEVELLED UP TO—
"Mono… I swear to god, not right now!"
[Whatever do you mean?]
"You don't need to tell me right now, I'm not in a good mood. I'm level 297, right?"
[Yes…]
"Okay, cool. Then don't show me or tell me unless it's a massive upgrade, okay?"
[Very well.]
"Thank you… Now, time to go kick some White Fang ass."
[Ruby Rose]
Dreams. Everyone had them, and Ruby was no different. Although, she figured that her dreams were a little more basic than most. She wanted to be a Huntress—just like her mother! That was all she wanted to be, though, and due to… recent events, she had realized that not one person could just have one dream. One was to need backup dreams in case the first dream fell through or became decidedly more difficult because of outside circumstances.
Oh, don't get her wrong, being just like her mother—except for the dead part—was what she had aspired to be. To kill the foul beasts of The Grimm alongside a team of people she could put her faith in. Swinging around her Cresent Rose with practiced ease, slicing through the thick hide of an Ursa as its blood sprayed over her body, showering her in its ichor without a care in the world, and with a large smile on her face.
Yes, it was a disturbed vision, but even so, it was what her mother did, so why not embrace it? Besides, it wasn't as if she'd do that kind of thing to a fellow person, right? So long as she didn't spill the blood of a person, she would be fine.
But, once again, due to recent events, she was beginning to realize that having more than one dream was going to be more beneficial to her than just the one. Just in case the first dream fell through.
Which brought her to what she was doing. "From Dust Till Dawn," was a local spot in Vale to purchase, well, Dust. She was waiting on her order to be fulfilled because she had run out of Dust whilst training in the forest near her house. It wouldn't take long for her order to be finalized considering it was far too early in the morning for there to be anyone else in the store aside from the clerk—hell, the sun wasn't even out yet, that was how early it was! The moon was still in the sky and it wasn't set to fall beyond the skyline for another hour or so.
Yes, it was 5:30 Am, and yes she was in Vale without her father knowing. It was a Saturday, leave her alone. She was reading a weapon magazine—Reloaders Monthly—and she was listening to a song called… uh… honestly she didn't remember off the top of her head. It was Mistrailian, though, and it was good white noise. Besides, she didn't understand the language anyway. Something that, in retrospect, she was probably going to have to learn if she wanted to be a Huntress.
Currently, she was wearing her usual outfit, that being a long-sleeved black blouse with a high collar. On her sleeves was a red trim—something that she didn't exactly know why was there. The shirt was a hand-me-down from her mother and a gift from her father. To say it was rather sentimental to her was an understatement.
Aside from that, she also wore a black skirt which also had a red lining kept up with a belt that had a rose emblem on it. Underneath her skirt was a pair of black shorts just so no one got any ideas—seriously some of the boys at Signal were real creeps when they wanted to be, and the last thing they needed to know was the colour of panties she wore. Pink, by the way. It was pink.
Then came the black stockings. They rode up to her knees and stopped just above them. Originally she wanted to cover up all of her legs, but that constricted her movements, so she went against it and went with the original pair instead. And then, last but not least, came her black lace-up boots. These boots were a pair she bought with her own money, and boy-oh-boy was she glad to have them. They were stomping machines, and they had good grip so she could stop properly when she stopped using her Semblance.
Oh, and a nice long red cape. Because why not? Besides, it came with a hood in case it started raining, so it was practical too! No, it didn't look stupid, and no matter how often Yang teased her about it she would not drop it!
All in all, while her outfit was flashy, and while it did stand out like a sore thumb, when in the wilderness and you needed someone to find you, that was good. But, right now, that wasn't what she was doing. Obviously. Otherwise, she wouldn't be at "From Dust Till Dawn" now would she?
Unfortunately, her time for waiting and relaxing came to an end, as a shadow loomed over her.
Her silver eyes caught the blackened suit of a man standing in front of her. He was… large, to say the very least. In his arms was a gun, and on his head was a black bowler hat with a red lace around the bulb. His expression was gruff, and his chin was straight and narrow. His arms were well built and—
"He looks big~ and I like big~! C'mon, Ruby, you need to—"
"Lilith, if you don't keep yourself quiet for just one night, I swear to brothers above I…!"
"Are you even listening to me, ya damned brat!" The man's voice cut through her "conversation" with her… friend, which irked her a little. In a flash, Ruby was no longer sitting down, and the man's head was on the ground, along with the rest of his body. Her hand was firmly in the man's face, as the ground cracked from where she had slammed him into the floor, causing quite the ruckus.
"Shut up, we're in the middle of a conversation!" Two voices came out of the same mouth, as one eye turned a searing violet while the other stayed a perfect silver. Ah, yes, the powers of that coin she gained. Or, more accurately, the split personality that granted her powers that she gained from the coin. One says potato, and the other says potato or so the saying goes.
Honestly, she would've preferred if she had never picked up the coin. The last thing she needed was another Yang minus the puns and all the more… uh, what was the word again? Honestly, it didn't matter. Lilith was gross, just like Yang was sometimes, but unlike Yang, Ruby couldn't hide from Lilith.
Speaking of Lilith, she was… interesting to say the very least.
Lilith was a Succubus. And yes, Ruby was very aware of what those were. After all, her two-day fever dream coma thing had shown her everything she did as a Succubus, and if she could erase that memory out of her brain she would a million times over. She was never going to allow anyone to violate her like she had seen some of those Succubi allow those… horrible people do to them.
To say it completely turned her off from ever wanting to experience Romance was an understatement. Seriously, the nerve of some of the people she saw in those visions. It was just so… Blegh.
And, unluckily for her, Lilith was the Queen of Succubi, which meant she had seen and had worse done to her, which meant she got all of that in one go. Hence why she puked when she woke up because good Brother Gods above what the actual heck!
Traumatic visions aside, there was an upside to all of this, and that was that she got paired with the strongest of them all! Yeah, more physical prowess, flexibility, ability to take hits, and triple the aura! The catch? Well… it was obvious, and Ruby did not want to lose her innocence. Like she said when she first woke up, she would never do that.
But, Lilith was free to try and make her.
Moving past that and to the issue at hand, the man who was unlucky enough to incur both their wraths was out cold, and because of that, the others, all of whom Ruby just noticed were of the same appearance, aimed their weapons at her.
"Shall we move this conversation to a later date?"
"Never, preferably, but I doubt you'll let me."
"Precisely, darling~"
The black-haired teen sighed, grabbed her folded-up mecha shift weapon off of her hip and dove forward toward the person in front of her. It looked to be a red brick of a thing, seemingly completely unusable to someone who had never seen it before. But, with a single press of a button, a stock, a trigger, and a barrel formed out of transforming red metal.
The first unlucky bastard to get slugged with the extended brick of moving metallic parts was slammed into the wall, the wall cracking under pressure as bullets sprayed, plinking off of Ruby's Aura. She wasn't trying to kill anyone, so she wasn't going to fire her sniper rifle, nor was she going to fully unfold it and risk cutting people in half. She wasn't going to risk these guys not having Aura and her accidentally killing one of them. Criminals or not, she wasn't about to kill people who were probably just doing something someone told them to do.
The man behind the counter, Sigmund Ash if she remembered his name, was probably ducking for his life behind the counter, praying that this little horror event would end. Honestly, it was a good idea. Better than standing around and waiting for the chaos to go by.
"Can someone please get rid of this nuisance!" A sauve, almost Vacuan accent reached Ruby's ears. And, because it reached Ruby's…
"He has just the loveliest of voices, you know? I wonder what it would sound like purring in our ear~?"
Ruby Ignored Lilith completely, trying to locate the person who spoke while knocking out each thug she had the displeasure of seeing in the store—four in total, all of whom dressed the exact same, glasses, pale skin and all. Then came the one who didn't share those features, minus the pale skin.
Dressed in a white button-down jacket with red flairs, a small grey scarf, black pants and—for some odd reason or another—extended eyelashes, stood a man with a cane and narrowed eyes filled with frustration. Oh, and he had orange hair, and atop his head was a black fedora like everyone else, but that wasn't really of note, now was it?
"Don't just stand there you dope's! Get her!" The man spat, pointing his cane at her as Ruby smirked.
"He's the boss, right?"
"110% Lil' Rubes."
"So… can I use it."
"Ruby… the more I let you use it, the more… desperate I will become. If you don't do something soon, I will make you. And it will be less… pleasurable that way."
Ruby rolled her eyes. It was a vague threat that Lilith was never going to fulfill. For as quote-on-quote demonic as she was, Lilith was a good person. At least, Ruby thought so anyway. She was in her head, for crying out loud so she had to be!
"Yeah, okay, sure, fine, whatever. Just let me use it! Using my semblance in here will just add to the damage that I'm already causing!" Ruby thought as a bright white flame danced upon her hands. It raged like an unkempt beast, ready and raring to sling forward and cause wanton chaos. Unfortunately for it but fortunately to the building owners, it was stuck to Ruby's body like glue, mostly because of… outside circumstances that Ruby will NOT be getting into.
"Thanks, Lilith!"
"Remember what you promise, Lil' Rubes."
"Yeah, yeah!"
But, what exactly was it? It wasn't Ruby's semblance, Petal Burst, but rather something from her… other half. Something that would be otherwise considered magic if magic existed. It wasn't a semblance at all. It was something more… demonic. Perhaps it was because of her newfound status as a "Cambion" which was what Lilith had called her on the day they met. She didn't know what a Cambion was, but she assumed being that was what allowed her to wield it without it affecting her, but then again she wasn't the one asking the question, now as she.
In short, this was something called Soulfire.
Pure, white-hot, soul-burning Soulfire. The kind of fire that would leave burns on one's mental state and not the physical form. Lilith's "gift" for letting her take residence in Ruby's body, among the superhuman strength, physical durability, and reflexes. Of course, according to Lilith, she'd continue to gain powers if she… partook. But Ruby was too defiant to do that. And, she didn't want to lose her innocence so soon after turning 15 years old.
Ruby dodged a poorly choreographed swing from one of the henchmen before socking him in the jaw with her Soulfire-covered hand. The man screamed in agony as he clambered against the wall, clawing at his own face as if to get the invisible burning to stop. Ruby felt a tad bit bad for what she did, but at the same time, these guys decided to rob a store, so technically she didn't care what befell them. They were coming here to hurt innocent people, and thus, she was going to make sure they regretted it. Unfortunately for them, she was the only one in the store with the exception of the clerk, so maybe if they did this again, they would be smart to know not to do it with her around.
Her small burst of reprieve didn't last long, as the other three goons charged at her, all wanting to do the same thing—kill her. Which, you know what? Props to them for trying. But, like most things in life, they were probably going to fail miserably.
They all slugged fists at her, and she was quick to make them regret that choice. Thanks to her small body, she was able to slip past big brutes like these guys and their attacks. This was where her advanced flexibility came into place as she ducked and dodged various punches, attempted tackles, and kicks. Each and every time she came into contact with one of them, she smacked them with Soulfire, making them practically shut down and lose all sense of, well, everything, turning them into a screaming panicking mess.
"Shit!" The boss of the operation cursed, ducking to his left and using his cane, which suddenly now had a scope on it, to shoot out the window in front of him. Bounding across the store, he leapt out of the building, causing Ruby to groan. She just wanted to get some Dust, damnit, not chase after a whole criminal.
Or, well… she didn't have to per se, but… well, she really didn't have a choice. Might as well help while waiting for help.
Or, that was what would have happened, if someone didn't club her in the back of her head, making her stumble forward. When that happened, she turned around and was greeted by a boy with a full head of purple hair, purple eyes, a checkered pattern scarf thing, and what appeared to be an untied-up straight jacket.
"You know, I don't know why she decided it was a good idea for me to tag along with Mr. Clockwork Orange but you know what? I'm glad I did!" The boy said with a cheeky grin. Ruby, for her part, didn't even bother saying anything as she charged at him, ready to swing her sniper rifle box at the boy, who effortlessly dodged out of the way, before hitting her with what could only be called the nastiest combo she had ever had the displeasure to experience.
One jab to the face, a swift kick to the stomach, a right hook to the jaw, another jab to the chest, a roundhouse kick to the knee which made her buckle to the ground and a knee to the nose. Granted the hits were dampened by her Aura, but the pain was still real. Ruby tried to get up, but to no avail, as the boy kicked her down whilst knocking Cresent Rose out of her hand as it skidded away to her left hand.
Ruby tried to grab him with her left Soulfire-infused hand, but the moment it came near him, it filtered out, and he easily swatted it away with a quick stomp, which made her curse. Not only was she now pinned down, but the hand closest to her weapon was being stomped on to prevent her from getting her weapon. And while that was annoying, what was more annoying was the fact that her Soulfire was gone!
"What the hell!?"
"Out of juice, completely, Ruby. We're going to have a talk about this later, kiddo."
"Crap…"
The boy smirked, reaching for something behind him, and what he pulled out appeared to be a baton with a jack-o-lantern insignia on the front. Ruby was a little underwhelmed, but then the baton transformed into a polearm with a trigger attached to it, and it was then that she realized he had a mecha-shift weapon and one that was pointed directly at her neck, specifically her jugular. Any wrong move, Aura or not, and she was good as dead. Aura was good for protecting from damage at a distance, and sometimes up close. But this up close? It was practically useless. "Names Kokichi Ouma, what's yours, Little Red Riding Hood?"
"Maybe if you move the weapon out of my face, I'll think about telling you," Ruby said, fully going into the "hero versus villain" mentality that she had been building up in her head for a little while. Kokichi rolled his eyes, the tip of the weapon getting closer to her throat.
"Oh, please, that's just lame and you know it!" Kokichi said through a snicker. "Also, don't blame me for this, I'm just making sure my boss can get out of here. Any wrong move, and you're a goner, m'kay?" As Kokichi said that, a voice echoed through the night, catching his attention.
"Oi! Grapehead! We gotta get outta here! Huntress is coming!" The voice of the orange-haired guy rang out as this Kokichi boy sighed.
"Whelp, guess there goes all of my fun today. I'm tellin' ya, working under someone else is not fun! Anywho, see ya later!" Kokichi said, taking his leave, but not before rolling something onto the ground. And it was only when they were seconds away from going off did Ruby realize what they were.
Tiny, little, marble Fire Dust bombs.
Quickly, Ruby activated her Aura and Semblance. Through the skin of her teeth, Ruby was just barely able to get out of the building before they blew up. When they did, an explosion the size of a large bomb went off, as fire and brick flung all over the place. Ruby, who was now across the street, stared at the building with wide silver eyes.
"Mr. Ash… oh no!" Ruby thought as a Bullhead flew away with a purple-haired boy hanging from a rope ladder. Ruby committed the boy's appearance to memory, as she vowed that if she ever saw him again that she would personally make sure he was put to justice.
"Young lady, are you alright?" A voice called out to Ruby, as a golden blond-haired woman with emerald green eyes and a pair of oval-framed glasses stared at her. On her hip was a riding crop, and her outfit consisted of a white-long sleeve pleated blouse with a wide-keyhole neckline, and gauntlet cuffs that flared up around her wrists. From her lower torso downward she wore a black triple-buttoned office skirt that went down to her knees. Along with that, she wore see-through stalkings and black boots, and to round it off she also had a purple cape strapped to her shoulders.
Ruby blinked, frowning as she slowly stood up, pressing a button on Cresent Rose to fully fold it up so she could reattach it to her hip. When she did that, she dusted herself off and sighed, her voice still shaky after the explosion, along with… a strange headache.
"U-Uh, yeah… I'm fine," Ruby replied as the woman frowned.
"You don't look "fine" to me, young lady. You're paler than a ghost and your shaking. Come with me, I have some questions I want to ask you. And before you say anything, you're not in trouble." As the woman said that, Ruby nodded drowsily.
"Yeah, okay…"
And then, without warning, she came crashing to the ground, unconscious.
-To Be Continued in – Making a Bull Cope and Seethe – Part 1