[Temporary Note: Before anybody jumps right to the new chapter, a quick word – I have gone through all 11 of the previous chapters and revised them with new/expanded scenes and a few new subplots, and therefore I would strongly advise you to start here at the beginning and read it all again to make sure you're up to speed (chapter 12 and onward will be written with these revisions in mind). I'll remove this note once the story is actually done. And besides, I'm sure it's been awhile so a refresher couldn't hurt, right?]
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"I hate monsters."
Now I think we can all agree that there's nothing wrong with that statement, right? Nobody in their right mind would love a monster – by definition a creature of cruelty – nor would they defend such beings. It is in our nature to hate and despise the things we see as monstrous and seek out any way we can to destroy them.
The statement itself isn't really the problem here… rather the definition of the term 'monster.'
THAT'S where the problem lies in this modern and progressive world we inhabit.
What do I mean? Picture if you will a Creature of Grimm, but different. Instead of large and threatening, this one is tiny, cuddly, and so close to a real dog that most people can't tell the difference anymore. At their core they are still Grimm, no one can debate that for very long, but they act friendly towards humans… behavior that is antithetical to what a Grimm is supposed to be. Throughout history the Creatures of Grimm have existed for the sole purpose of consuming humanity, destroying our civilization, and wiping us out completely.
Now they live among us as house pets. Humanity calls them Imu.
By the way, don't worry about how to pronounce that word – "Eye-moo", "Eee-myu", "Eye-muh", it really doesn't matter. The word is spelled I-M-U, call 'em whatever you want.
They appeared a few years back, some time after the end of the Grimm War, and were universally embraced by the general public, human and Faunus alike. Almost every home, from Vale to Atlas and everywhere in between, has at least one of these Imu living in it now. Most people consider them some kind of 'peace offering' from the Grimm as a whole in exchange for not wiping them out… instead of the other way around. An irony lost on everyone. A couple of big-brains out there consider the Imu as the next evolution of the Grimm, a way to help the species survive in this new paradigm of peace. A few geniuses even theorized the Imu were created by the military in an Atlesian lab somewhere, though most people laugh at the notion.
Me? I don't care what they say. The only thing I know for certain is that when I look out my window, I see a city filled with monsters. I see pure evil walking around in broad daylight, brazenly ignoring the will of the gods and spitting in the face of all that is good and right. It makes me sick.
Everyone says the world was saved after the war, but I disagree. They don't see the world the way I see it. They are blind to the truth, and it seems like nothing will change that.
I hate those monsters. I want nothing more than to wipe them off the face of Remnant.
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Adrian loved the sunrise.
There was just something about it that instilled a flicker of hope in his chest, no matter how dark and twisted the world around him had become. The dawn was often the only thing he could point to as a constant, reliable part of his existence. Far more so than humanity, at the very least. A sunrise was nature's signal that night was over, a new day had come, and everything would be alright. It was a source of real hope, unlike some other things he could name…
His mind tried to turn his attention downward, to reality.
He angrily forced it back up to the sky.
Adrian's deep brown eyes drifted over the skyline of the city of Vale. He slowly inhaled the cool morning air, relishing the clean smell of the sea that often made its way up the cliff this time of year. His ears were tickled by the songs of birds in the trees below, all waking up for their own breakfast. He hadn't been up long enough for his stomach to start growling yet, but it wouldn't be long. The sky behind the clouds was awash in brilliant colors, beautiful even to those who had no appreciation for artistic finery. Not a lot of cloud cover out here, either. Should make for a nice day.
Old memories continued trying to barge their way into his mind as he looked on, but he continually fought them back. He just wanted to watch the sunrise in peace, dammit.
He was already dressed in his uniform, leaning out the window of their dorm room and taking in the morning breeze. Thankfully the weather this time of year was ideal for leaving the windows open, or else he'd likely catch hell from Misty; the other two never seemed to care. Also nice was that their room looked east, out over the city, so he had a wonderful view of the sun peeking between the mountains. A flock of birds decided to evacuate a few minutes later, rustling the trees of Emerald Park as they left. Adrian could see the streetlights of Vale in the distance start to flick off one by one, so he closed the window with a sigh. Almost time to start the day, it seemed.
Oh well. It was nice while it lasted.
As his teammates gradually returned to the land of consciousness, Adrian sat in his bunk and scrolled mindlessly past a few of the headlines on his device. Various articles declared a lot of current events:
- 'Preparations for the celebration of Remnant's first Eclipse are well underway…'
- 'CEO of Schnee Dust Company insists that Dust prices will not go up…'
- 'Adorable Imu pups frolicking in the grass for 10 minutes…'
- 'Summit meeting in Vacuo a success…'
- 'Eclipse festival in two months…'
- 'New Imu study finds link between owner health and…'
- 'Still no updates on the enigmatic Elysium Academy…'
- 'Try this boozy version of Chicken Pot Pie, it'll knock your…'
It was the usual news stuff and so he ignored it. He always did. It was more of a time filler than anything since he rarely ever sought out such information.
Eventually he came to the bottom of the feed and found today's Poozle. He used to hate these things, but for some reason he'd started seeking them out more and more, despite their difficulty. It wasn't anything groundbreaking, just a randomly selected riddle every day, and they varied wildly in terms of difficulty. Today's riddle seemed tailor-made to piss him off:
'What letter is in the middle of The Alphabet?'
There was only one slot at the bottom too, which meant they expected a single letter. But the alphabet had 26 letters. An even number. There was no single letter right in the middle of an even number of letters! What kind of nonsense was this?
He mentally ran through the list in his head, laying out all 26 symbols that made up the written language of Remnant, all in the right order. The two in the middle were M and N, so perhaps it wanted one of those? He didn't have any other ideas, so he randomly picked one – M – and entered it.
The big red X made it pretty clear how the Poozle took that answer. He sighed and closed his Scroll.
Still a few minutes before the day started, and he didn't feel like browsing anymore. Time for a different kind of reading material…
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"You know… for someone who's always up super fucking early, you get ready for the day slower than my Nan… and she's been dead for 3 years."
"Good morning to you too, Misty."
"Adrian Arc, put that fucking comic book down and get your fucking ass in gear. If I miss breakfast because of you, I will personally kick your ass during today's drills."
"… … …You're serious, aren't you~?"
"Do not test me, smart-ass."
"Alright, alright."
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Misty Montana had no qualms about stomping her way down the halls of Beacon Academy, her insubordinate teammate casually keeping pace. And it was easy enough; where Adrian was taller than most of his class, Misty was quite short. In fact, she only stood half as tall as Adrian, a fact many people had pointed out over the last year and a half. His long, slow strides easily let him keep up with her shorter, quicker steps. Misty's long, flame-red hair always seemed brighter when she was angry like this, but that could have been a trick of the light. Adrian tried to avoid thinking about what would happen if he pushed even further and her hair literally caught fire, since the mind-image would make him laugh out loud… and he already drew enough attention to himself as it was.
They'd barely left the dorm building when the stares began, so Adrian shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at the walkway. He knew they were staring. They were always staring at him. Glaring. Despising him. Various angry words reached his ears, all muttered just loud enough so he could hear but not loud enough for him to think they were talking to him. Most of the students this year were very passive-aggressive like that.
The Cafeteria was no better. All conversations immediately died down upon his entrance, and the stares came at him full force. Adrian tried his best to ignore them as he got his food, quietly thanking whichever gods could hear him that the lunch ladies didn't also consider him a freak. He followed Misty (who seemed far calmer now that she had her pancakes) and they found a table. He went to sit down-
Squelch
-right on top of a syrup-covered pancake that was absolutely not there 2 seconds earlier.
"Eew… that sounded nasty," came an unwelcome voice from behind him. A blonde-haired blue-eyed boy leaned over the table, his perfect teeth proudly displayed in an insufferable grin. He patted Adrian on the shoulder and clicked his tongue, sighing, "You gotta pay more attention, Double-A."
"Fuck off, Kelly," growled Misty from across the table.
"Nice to see you too, Matchstick. And what a lovely smile that is – why, my day is looking brighter already," said Clifford Kelly, the tall and handsome idol of the entire school and self-proclaimed ladies man. He wasn't quite as tall as Adrian, a fact that absolutely nobody ever pointed out, but his bright blonde hair and ostentatious gold armor really helped him stand out among the second-years (though why he insisted on wearing it over his school uniform was anybody's guess). He was very much a teacher's pet and everybody who was anybody was part of his fan club.
With one notable exception. Adrian ignored both Cliff and the warm, gooey sensation beneath his ass, choosing instead to simply stay put and eat his food.
Sensing he'd get no further reaction, Cliff sighed and stood back up, tossing up his hands and declaring, "Eh, guess you can't help some people." He chuckled to himself as he sauntered away, half a dozen adoring fans on his heels.
Misty watched him go for a moment, then looked at Adrian and said, "Was that one of your pancakes?"
"Yep," he said without looking up.
"What a dick. Well I'm not offering you any of mine."
"Wasn't asking."
"Why, because I already touched 'em?"
"Because they're your breakfast. I have my own."
"Yeah, and you're fucking sitting on it."
"Eh… it all goes there anyway."
"LISTEN HERE you little SHIT-… … …ah, forget it. I'm not in the mood for you right now."
"…When are you ever?"
"…"
"…"
"By the way, if we're late to class cuz you take too long changing your damn pants, I'm making you wear one of Opal's skirts tomorrow, you hear me?"
"We won't be late."
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"You're late," said Crimson.
Misty reared back and punched Adrian in the arm, full power, while barely holding back a frustrated scream. She didn't use any Aura, though, so it didn't hurt as much as it could have… but he rubbed the spot anyway. Misty gnashed her teeth to keep the profanities quiet (though he did hear the word 'skirt' at least once) as she stomped past the twins and into the classroom.
Crimson and Opal glanced at their retreating leader, then up at Adrian with identical looks of confusion. They did that a lot, and it was weirdly cute. Adrian shrugged, "Sat on a pancake at breakfast. Had to go back and change."
Opal giggled as Crimson gave a long-suffering sigh. "One of these days you're going to have to take things like this seriously, Adrian. You can't keep winding her up like that, no matter how much fun it is."
"Yeah, I know," Adrian nodded absently.
"You also should consider apologizing to a few people-"
"Don't… don't say it, Crim. I won't back down. Not now, not ever."
Crimson and Opal Scarlatina-Long both stood at equal height with similar builds, as would be expected of identical twins. Their rabbit-like Faunus ears also stood at equal length over their heads, though aside from their faces being the same, that was where the similarities ended; Opal, the sister, had very pale brown hair and red eyes while Crimson, the brother, had blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes. Crimson sighed at Adrian and eventually made his way into class behind Misty.
"That was pretty funny, I have to admit," Opal said quietly, moving up next to Adrian and gently nudging his head with one of her rabbit ears. "Made my entire morning."
Adrian could only smile back as he felt his face beginning to heat up. Opal smiled and pranced into the room, looking just as happy as always. Being on a team with someone that cute was borderline unfair.
The four of them made up team MOCA (mocha). Most of the students at the school considered them a team destined to fail, mainly because of Adrian alone. Misty served as the team leader, which was always a source of entertainment for those watching from the outside. For Adrian, however, it was more akin to torture… especially after an incident that occurred at the start of this year, and Misty was assigned by Dr. Oobleck to remain with him 'at all times.'
Adrian sighed and quietly took his seat. The day had barely begun and he was already exhausted.
The next hour crawled by. Professor Port was the oldest member of the school faculty who still insisted on teaching a class, and to the man's credit he was an excellent speaker… when he could stay on topic. According to Miss Goodwitch, Port had always been like that. Most of his students tended to nod off during his longer tangents, even back when the man was younger and more focused. Adrian normally found his stories interesting, but today's anecdote was one the man had repeated 3 times this year already. He couldn't help but let his mind wander.
But only his mind; if his eyes wandered, he'd just get angry. Professor Port was a card-carrying Imu Lover, and so had pictures of his own beast pinned up all over the classroom, everywhere he could find space. He'd even joked about laminating the pictures and gluing them on the desks of his students so that everyone could look at it at all times. Everyone had laughed back then.
Adrian had immediately countered by saying he'd simply light the desks on fire. Nobody laughed at that.
"Mister Arc, are you paying attention?"
And ever since that day, the old Huntsman had it out for Adrian. Just like everyone else at this damned school. Even now, when Adrian was just staring at his notebook for 2 minutes, the guy calls him out. "Yes sir," said Adrian.
One massive white eyebrow twitched. "Then perhaps you can remind the entire class… what is the duty of a Huntsman?"
Will you ever think of a different way to try and embarrass me?
All eyes turned towards the tall boy. Adrian took a slow breath through his nose, crossing his arms and putting on an I'm-thinking face before answering, "A Huntsman… is sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves… and to hunt down the monsters that would destroy mankind; the Creatures of Grimm."
Port's shoulders lifted as his mustache curled into a smile. He clasped his hands behind his back and huffed, "Yes indeed. Well said, Mister Arc. Couldn't have put it better my-"
"All of the Grimm. No exceptions."
You could've heard a pin drop in the silence that followed. Adrian kept his arms crossed as he looked at Professor Port, the old man's beard trembling with barely-controlled rage. The only sound was a groan from Misty a few seats over.
Adrian didn't need to look around to know that everyone in the room was glaring at him. Again. Many students in this class alone had notebooks and binders filled with tiny drawings of cute, dog-like Grimm. Others had photos of their own Imu. A few even held homemade plushies of their favorite monsters, clutching them protectively as they wished hateful things upon He Who Would Dare Defile Their Precious.
Port had a vein throbbing on the side of his head. "Mister Arc… please see me after class."
"…Yes sir."
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After Port was done chewing him out, Adrian and Misty were caught in the hallway by his device giving out a beep. He didn't have to look twice before eagerly opening the connection. Misty sighed quietly and leaned against the wall to wait, putting in her earbuds to give him some privacy.
"Yo."
[Adrian, it's Jaune.]
"Hey Uncle J. What's up?"
[Checking in to give you another update: Vacuo is clear. Still no sign of her.]
"…Dammit. At least that didn't take too long, huh?"
[Rumpole was cooperative, so that made things a lot easier. Atlas is gonna take a lot longer to search through-]
"I don't care how long it takes, Uncle Jaune. I want to know what happened to my mother."
[I… I know, bud. I know. Have you heard anything from Saphron recently?]
"She tried to call a few times, but I have her number blocked."
[Adrian…]
"We are not having this discussion again."
[Look, I don't know what you two said back then, but Saphron is still my sister. I really don't like this attitude you have towards her right now. I mean, didn't all the years she spent raising you mean anything?]
"Saphron only married my mother, and that woman has vanished. I will not let that go."
[*sigh* Forget it. Look, I gotta go, another call just came in. If you have some free time you should pop in over here for dinner. Pyrrha's been asking about you.]
"I'll… think about it."
[Pete's been asking about you, too…]
"Well I'd show up for him."
[Heh, no surprise there. Alright… later, dude.]
"Later, sarge."
As he hung up, Adrian spotted a wry smile on Misty's face right before she knocked it off and let it fall to the floor. Neither student said a word as they continued on their way, mainly because there wasn't much to say; Adrian's family issues had never been brought up with his partner or teammates, and he wasn't about to start spilling his guts now. Just behind them came the twins, equally silent, which was odd considering Opal was there.
"You guys know you don't all have to stay behind when Port calls me out… right?" said Adrian to his entire team.
Misty scoffed, "Yeah right. Those two woulda stayed even if I didn't say anything. And you know why I've gotta stick around."
"Hard to forget…"
"Like it or not, we're a TeEeEaAaM," Misty said mockingly as she made air quotes.
"You bragging or complaining?"
"...Yes."
"Well I'm just here for the show," said Opal with a cheeky grin. Crimson sighed next to her as the pair finally gave up on following them and made to go back to their dorm with a wave.
Adrian could only roll his eyes.
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"By the way, what were you sighing about this morning?"
"…huh?"
"This morning. I heard you groan like you just lost a couple grand on a playoff game."
"Oh, that. Eh, it was just this morning's Poozle. Ticked me off."
"What letter is in the middle of the alphabet? …Dude, that was an easy one. It was a kid's riddle."
"I suppose that means you solved it?"
"If I didn't, I wouldn't exactly brag about it…"
"…"
"Ask me nicely and I might tell you the answer.~"
"And have you hold it over my navel for the rest of my life? No thanks."
"…Your navel?"
"You're too short to hold anything over my head.~"
"Just for that I'll never tell you anything again you #% &-!"
"Promises, promises.~"
"Grrrrr… Just get in there and get this meeting over with! And if she doesn't give you detention for at least a week then that skirt punishment will include a pink blouse!"
"…meep?"
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Unlike his dorm room, the office of the school Guidance Councilor faced west. This allowed for the occupant to have a grand view of the setting sun behind Verdant Woods. And it was very grand; this view was second only to the office of Headmaster Pine himself. Adrian didn't really like sunset, though… to him it was a sign of coming trouble. Night was falling, and there were plenty of nasty things in this world that thrived in the dark.
At least he knew he was safe here.
"So, Mister Arc," said the woman sitting before him. She shuffled through a few papers before setting them aside and folding her hands on the desk. Her brilliant silver eyes studied him in the fading sunlight. "Here we are again."
"Yep," said Adrian. He tried not to stare at her as he waited.
And considering that he was talking to Ruby Freaking Rose, that was a difficult task.
Ruby moved a strand of her deep red hair out of her face as she studied him, those intense eyes peering into his soul. Two locks of silvery-white hair sat just above her ears, unusual for someone her age but considered normal for one who had lived through the horrors of an actual war. On each ear she wore small earrings with a single Dust crystal in each, these white in color. She wore a simple red business suit today; it was plain enough to help the boy stay focused on her face instead of… other places.
Ruby Rose happened to be a very attractive woman.
"How many times have you been sent here for… 'being disruptive in class' now?" she said with one raised eyebrow.
"I lost count after 42," he replied, still trying to avoid staring.
"This isn't funny," said Ruby with a sigh. People sighed a lot around him, it seemed. "These visits go on your record, and are considered when the time comes for you to graduate. No matter how good your grades are, the Headmaster will notice if you spend every other week in the Guidance Councilor's office."
"There are way more important things that slip past him every day," he said before he could stop himself. "If he takes notice of my behavior over all of that, then-"
"Every student at this school is important to him," Ruby said sharply. "And to me; I've spent a lot of time and effort to make a difference around here."
Adrian crossed his arms, "I suspect that's the only reason I haven't been kicked out yet."
He more than suspected; the entire teaching staff wanted him gone after his first incident in year 1, but it was Ruby Rose who stood against them and demanded they reverse their decision. He wasn't in the room at the time, but according to Miss Goodwitch, Ruby damn near put the fear of the gods into Headmaster Pine. It must have been a glorious sight.
Ruby stood up to put his papers in a drawer, and Adrian was met with a sight that never ceased to amaze him; both of her legs were mechanical, starting just above her knees. The machinery was more advanced than any he'd seen before, true state-of-the-art tech straight out of Atlas, the gears and gyros clicking and whirring with every step. It was all contained within plexiglass casing to ensure none of it caught in the fabric of her skirt. He didn't want to imagine how much pain she must've been in when they were first installed.
Nor did he want to picture what kind of monster had taken them in the first place.
Ruby Rose… at one time the most popular Huntress in all of Remnant, and the hero said to be responsible for saving the world when she was still basically a kid. The official story was that she killed a previously unknown Grimm Queen, cutting off the species at its roots, and it was this queen that allegedly took her legs, the stress and pain of which caused her to start going prematurely gray. It would be an understatement to say that everybody on the planet knew her name after that.
Team RWBY (ruby), her group of equally skilled Huntresses, had all gone on to thrive in their chosen career paths – Weiss Schnee taking over the SDC, Blake Belladonna going into politics and fighting for Faunus rights all over the world, and Yang Xiao Long putting her stunning looks to use as an actress – though not before getting married and having kids.
Now in her 30s, Ruby had chosen to work as a Guidance Councilor at her old school, putting her own future and desires aside to make sure the next generation was brought up right.
Which perfectly fit with her personality.
"So… Adrian…" Ruby sat back down gracefully, returning her gaze to him. "What can we do to make sure this…" she gestured between them both, "…doesn't continue?"
"Kill all the witnesses?"
"Strike one."
"Uhh… … …kill all the lawyers?"
"Tempting, but no. Strike two."
"I don't know, okay?!" Adrian stood up from his chair in a huff, turning away from the window. "I'm being punished for standing up for what I believe in! The only other way to stop this…" he mirrored her gesture, "…is for me to just quit and go home! And that will not happen!"
Ruby stared at him for a moment. "You could simply act like you've changed your mind, but not mean it. I've heard from Jaune that you're pretty good at that."
"I can act, yes, but not for this. If they push me, I push back. They will never make me compromise on where I stand. I've said it before, and I'll say it as many times as it takes to get through everyone's thick skulls – Huntsmen kill Grimm. Seriously, I feel like I'm the only one with common sense anymore! Idiots… those things are monsters. And I hate monsters."
For a few seconds, Ruby's face remained passive. Adrian took a breath and waited for her to chastise him, to berate him for losing his cool. The sun dipped further and further, just starting to fall below the horizon line, and in the moment before the lights of the office kicked on automatically… Ruby smiled. For some reason Adrian felt a brief chill run down his spine.
Once the lights came on, her smile vanished. The woman stood to her feet and said, "Very well, Adrian. I won't ask you to change how you feel based on what everyone else tells you to feel; I wouldn't be much of a Councilor if I did that. So instead I'll let you off with a warning… and some serious advice."
"…?"
Adrian followed as she led him to the door, sensing their meeting was over. Ruby put her hand on the knob, then leaned close and spoke in a much quieter voice than before, "Be careful. They're looking for any excuse to remove you from this place; you're starting to become a threat."
"…Wait, what? Who's 'they'?"
"Just know that you're not the only person around here who hates the Imu." The woman opened the door and gave him a sly wink, still talking low so Misty didn't catch anything from outside. "For the time being, just keep your head down and your voice low. And give me a call if you need someone to talk to, or if… anything else happens." Ruby all but pushed him out of her office a moment later, closing the door behind him. He could hear her legs whirring and clicking away shortly after, no doubt heading back to her desk.
Adrian's head was spinning. All this time he thought he was the only one… the only sane person on the planet… and now this? Ruby Rose herself, the legendary Huntress… was on his side? Adrian pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He could barely keep the goofy grin off his face.
But… … … why did it sound like she was trying to warn him?
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…
{Dark. Cold. Alone.}
{Smells of the city. Of dirt.}
{Of garbage left behind by humans.}
{Warm ground, comfortable. Stay in a corner, wind can't reach.}
{Always hiding, never trusting.}
{Small creature nearby, easy kill. No taste.}
{Hungry. Alone.}
{Something… pulling. Urging, to move. To walk forward.}
{Through the city, towards a thing in the Faraway.}
{Always walking, never stopping.}
{Further. Ahead, a Tower with a light. People, all around it.}
{Many people. Humans. Tall, uncaring.}
{Another smell, not human, something strange. Dangerous.}
{Unimportant.}
{Stop. Shiny thing on ground.}
{Mi… rror… Mirror.}
{Creature looking back from within. Reflection.}
{Small, black, white face. Blue eyes. Bark at it.}
{Noise attracts a human, heavy steps coming. Run away.}
{Hiding again. Steps go away, human gave up.}
{Urge returning, pulling forward. Walk. Run. So close.}
{Tower with a light, just ahead. Go there.}
{Bea… con… Beacon Academy.}
{Must go… to Beacon Academy…}
{Always searching… never finding.}
{Must find… someone. Who…?}
…
…
…
…
Author's Note: Welcome to the future. Kinda. This story has a few different inspirations, but for the most part the idea came to me when I started thinking about the Grimm as a whole. They were literally created in the image of fairy tale monsters from the get go, and every new beast they brought to the screen was a bit worse than the last. In short, the concept of the Grimm is tailor-made for good horror stories… so long as you're brave enough to try new things.
A few other details to note – one, this version of Adrian Cotta-Arc is essentially an OC version of the canon character of the same name (this story is set in a future timeline, so it makes sense that the little kid would be grown up now), and two, this particular rendition of Ruby Rose is inspired by the various artworks of Dishwasher1910, aka Bach Do. If you know his stuff, you'll recognize it here… assuming I do my job right.
I'll also mention that there are a large number of OCs in this story, most of them are mine but the twins (Opal and Crimson) are creations of my editor The Layman, who is also my acting beta reader and all around Cool Dude™. Lastly I'll point out that the various riddles that will now show appear, the 'Poozles', will all have answers revealed in-story; please don't spam the comments with your answers. He'll figure 'em out, just give him some time. :)
=^..^=