Over the next few weeks, they conducted more heists. Enough that they were starting to pay off old debts, and acquire better equipment as well. They had even cleaned up Fiye Weapons, hoping they could restart it again. Doom Slayer had even figured out a few things. He had figured out how to generate plasma from Dust energy, and had made a few plasma cells that were compatible with the weapons that used them. He had also jury-rigged a simple 3D printer, even figuring out some basic metal printing as well as plastic, which he explained to the others would help with making weapons faster and cheaper. And finally, he had made miniature HUD projectors, able to work with standard glasses, and he kept one with a pair of sunglasses close to him whenever possible. The girls were also being trained in their use, and were already showing promise. Flyers had been printed and posted, and with all the cleaning they had done, in theory, they were ready to reopen the shop.
Marion officially turned the sign to open, walking back behind the counter. Nixera and Daisy were also among the aisles, to help stock shelves with parts. And the Slayer was in the back, finishing some prep work. "Besides...you 3 would draw customers in. I would likely intimidate them away," he had told them while laughing. A few basic simple plasma cells were among the shelves, along with some 3D printed parts. Even HUD glasses were among the selection, all hand-made by the Slayer. "Do well enough, and I'll visit the patent office here," he chuckles, explaining that hopefully, Fiye Weapons would do well enough that the other technology on offer could be sold as well.
They soon got their first customer, browsing the shelves, and wanting a custom made weapon, curious about the plasma cells. "Well sir, it's a highly ionized gas, standardly formed into balls and rapidly fired," Marion explains in her best customer service voice, playing a video on a screen. Slayer was hoping that they could officially get the old arena, not just to train, but also for weapon demonstrations and trials, but that had yet to happen. "Very effective in ways regular bullets aren't, and can hold a lot more efficient as well," Marion continues on.
The customer does some more browsing, and decides on her weapon, which would include plasma-based weaponry, and they head over to the counter to design it. "Hmmm, should be ready in a few hours," she estimates. The customer's eyes went wide, unbelieving since it was normally something that happened within days. "Oh we have our ways miss," Marion says as she runs the design to the back room.
Slayer took the designs, breaking them down by parts on the computer before starting the printing process. "Back on Earth, there was once a time when there were startup companies everywhere, where the gimmick was 'we make X, but we 3D print it,' where X could be anything from houses to rocket parts. I think I even remember a model that could do organs," he explains as the printing happens. "Hell, there are parts for printers, that can be made by printers. Even bionic limbs, which drove the cost of them WAY down," he continues, looking out at the shop floor. The customer was also trying out one of the HUD glasses, marveling at what she saw.
Nixera came up to her at that moment, explaining that they linked to a standard Scroll, and could display information ranging from Aura to text messages, which the customer got excited for.
"Once, over a century ago where I came from," the Slayer said to Marion, not wanting to go into the differences between the Earth he knew most recently and the one he was born on, "such a device was made by one of the world's biggest tech companies. It failed, likely because it wasn't completely what they demo'd it to be," he explains with a chuckle. "But hey, NOW we have a HUD that works."
"And boy does it ever," Marion chuckles. "No wonder why you like keeping your head in a bucket."
"Where I come from, the proper slang term for a Marine was 'jarhead,'" the Slayer laughs. "Because that's what the original helmets looked like."
"Shifting gears...what's that?" Marion asks, pointing to one of his half-finished projects.
"Oh that? Neural collar," he explains. "And before you ask, let me answer a question, with a question. How do I operate the functions of my armor? How do I fire the equipment launcher, or use the Doom Blade?" He asks.
Marion was about to answer, but then considered why he'd ask, and what he was making. Even still, she couldn't believe it, even as the words left her mouth. "You...you do all of that with your brain? You think it," she picks up half-finished collar, "this thing reads your thoughts, and it executes the action? Or rather...the big bulky collar part on your armor, is what does the reading?"
"Correct," the Slayer says with a chuckle. "It can take some training to do. Hell, Doom Blade is actually one of the simplest things to work. Other things can be done as well, but it's the kind of thing that takes...plenty of training," he explains. "And you 3 will end up being the ones I test them on," he smiles.
"We're your guinea pigs?" Marion asks with her hands on her hips. "You're testing these things on us?"
"Don't think of it as anything bad. It's new tech nobody has ever played with. No harm would come of it, and it'd help you all learn how to use them, and me to learn how to teach others how to use them," he explains with a smile.
More customers walk in, and Marion heads out to attend to them, and a few hours later, the first customer's weapon is ready, tested, and proven, with 3D printed parts where available, more orders coming in. It was like this for a few days, with plenty of money coming in, enough that Marion was considering quitting bartending, at least until the Slayer had offered a counter suggestion, mainly to keep working, not just for money, but to practice her Semblance as well. He had also finished his tests with neural collars, though he mentioned that he wanted to try to make smaller versions, because "beefy and bulky only looks good on me," he admitted with a smile. "You all need something...more fitting. And fashion here is a bit more exotic than where I'm from."
Their lessons in neural collar use even were proceeding well. They had started with basic versions of the Doom Blade, though dull, only to get used to the idea of extending and retracting it. "You must imagine the blade is not something you're wearing. It is as much a body part as your own hand," he had explained. The shop's shelves had even been stocked, and even as the girls themselves learned their way around the collars, they in turn gave lessons and demonstrations. Slayer had also patented all his inventions as well, so now only he could make them. And this was all on top of their regular raids on White Fang bases, meaning that where once everyone was hurting for money, now there was a decent amount coming in.
One day, while the Slayer was making a few more 3D printers, some he even intended to put on the show floor for demonstration purposes, they got an odd mixture of customer, all teenagers with one of them talking in a high pitched voice about how happy she was Fiye Weapons was back in business, and wanted to check it out, followed by her blonde sister and their friends. "Can you believe what they have here?" She said to her team. "THEY HAVE FUTURE GUNS!" She practically screamed out, grabbing attention, as Marion looked up from stocking shelves.
"Wait...are you Ruby Rose?" Marion asks as she gets a better look. Sure enough, it was her, a white haired girl that looked like one of the Schnees, one of Daisy's old friends and...the blonde who had wrecked Junior's club before she had started working there. Team RWBY, according to intel she had coereced out of some of her bar customers.
"YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" Ruby asked loudly, almost bouncing off the walls.
"Ruby, hush, people are shopping here!" Weiss said angrily, browsing the shelves, and turning to Marion. "So what's a...neural collar?" She asked, holding up the bulky device.
"You put it on, and you're able to control technology with it," Marion explains. "We're still figuring out the best uses, and how to miniaturize it."
"We?" Weiss asks, just as Nixera and Daisy investigate, having heard them, and knew of RWBY.
"Wait...Daisy?" Blake asks as she sees the rabbit faunus, rushing over to her for a girl hug. "It's so good to see you again! After what you were made to do...I was worried," she says as they break the hug.
"Blake, good to see you again. We really do..need to catch up," Daisy says, able to tell that Blake's team was ignorant of her past, at least for now, as they head somewhere quieter. "Still wearing that ribbon I see. If only I could be so lucky," she chuckles, wiggling her own rabbit ears.
"Hey, at least you're not suffering from Cardin. He pulls on Velvet's ears ALL the time. Ugh, he's such an asshole," Blake says with a roll of her eyes. "But I have to ask, once there was a time when you couldn't stand Marion. Now you're all buddy buddy. What gives?"
"Well, the Slayer made us see reason. And we've gone on a few heists together," she explains.
"Slayer?" Blake asks, a bit loudly, enough for Weiss to hear.
"Slayer...why is that name familiar...wait, ARE YOU 3 HARBORING A KNOWN CRIMINAL?" Weiss asks angrily. "That bastard knocked my sister out with one punch, then destroyed a bunch of Atlas robots in one shot with a dangerous weapon! He should be arrested!" She continues on, and glancing through the door to the back room. "Is he back there? Let me back there so I can deal with him!"
Slayer had been listening in, especially once voices got loud. Especially when he had heard Weiss, who he knew about now, thanks to some of the intel they had, and came out, putting his tools down. "No need Miss Schnee, I'm right here. But you only know your sister's side, Ozpin's side," he explains.
"I DON'T CARE!" Weiss continues, drawing Myrtenaster and charging him. Slayer didn't even dodge out of the way, he just narrowed his eyes, and once she was close, caught the rapier's point, holding it, and her, steady.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he warns, staring into the girl's eyes. He could see what anger she had starting to turn to fear, a fear of awakening a Beast she couldn't defeat.
"Wait...that was YOU running away?" Yang asks angrily. "YOU RUINED MY FAVORITE WINDOW!" She yells, and Slayer noticed that her eyes had gone from purple to red, and her hair had caught fire, bracers extending as she rushed him. Ember Celica, I think they're called. But still, talk about angry girl.
Just as he had done with Weiss, he caught Yang's arm in his other hand, holding her steady. "How cute. You think you're angry," he says to her. His voice had lost all humor now, and was mixed with a low growl, as he stared angrily into the girl's eyes. She went to punch him with her free hand, but he tossed Myrtenaster and Weiss away so he could catch that hand too. "You do not possess a FRACTION of the burning, intense rage I possess," he growls, and as Yang tries to get closer, he headbutts her, hard, knocking her out cold.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER?!" Ruby yells out, impossibly large Crescent Rose unfolding. Meanwhile Blake was also rushing to her teammate's aid. But just like before, he caught both weapons. "And don't even try to shoot," he warns Blake, already struggling to get Gambol Shroud's barrel at him. "I could break your arm like a twig," he warns, already overwhelming her, and Blake could feel that her Aura was draining fast, and he probably COULD break her arm, as easily as he had warned. Ruby meanwhile was also struggling, even trying to fold Crescent Rose back into sniper rifle mode, but the Slayer was gripping the inside of the blade, and the mechanisms to fold it back up weren't responding.
Marion was attending to Weiss, and Daisy to Yang, helping them to their feet, while Nixera just stood next to the Slayer. "Let's just say...he's the reason we're getting along. He can see through Daisy's Disregard," she says with a smirk which startles Blake, "and flat out IGNORE Marion's attempts to Empathize him. Also..." she says to the struggling girls. "This is what he can do, unprepared and bare handed. You don't WANT to see what he can do, fully armored, with all his weapons. An entire warehouse of White Fang vs him...they need FAR more White Fang. I've seen it," Nixera continues, and Slayer could see the fear in the eyes of both Blake and Ruby.
"Let's start over, shall we?" He asks. "You put your weapons away, and I tell you things from my perspective. I'll even demonstrate a few things." He lets go of Gambol Shroud and Crescent Rose, and both girls put their weapons away, as Weiss and Yang come closer.
"How...how are you that strong?" Yang asks. "Nobody's ever caught me like that."
"So what exactly WOULD it be like if you had your weapon?" Weiss asks, standing on tiptoes to stare into his eyes and seem intimidating, which of course failed.
"That depends. If I went all out?" He chuckles, a dark chuckle that unnerved everyone present. "There would be no survivors." He leans forward, evil smile spreading across his face. "I have murdered more monsters than have ever walked the face of Remnant. I have slain the devil himself. I am THE most dominant life form in the universe. I alone have killed armies of monsters, that armies of men proved useless against. Based on all of that...is it REALLY such a good idea to take me on?"
Team RWBY's eyes were all wide with fear when he finished, and he stood up, back to his full height. "OOOK, NOW I get why you all are behaving nicely," Blake says nervously to Daisy, Nixera and Marion. "You're afraid."
"Hey, he CAN be plenty nice, once you get to know him. Just don't piss him off," Nixera says with a laugh. "And on top of that...he's the source. Of ALL this," she explains with a wide sweeping gesture.
"Wait..." Weiss says, as it dawns on her, as she looks at the 4 of them, pointing at each one in turn. "Doom Slayer. Marion. Nixera. Daisy. DMND?" She asks. "An unofficial team?"
"Very true," Daisy laughs. "Damned, and Diamond. The letters match up either way," she explains.
"Importantly, what it means is, you all attend Beacon. Home to the one guy that'd LOVE to lock me up. Ozpin," he explains to their confused looks, when he gets an idea. "So how about this. You 4 tell him NOTHING about me, but you can bring friends here," he explains. "In fact, you even can keep an eye on him for me. And in return..." he grins broadly. "I forgive your attempt to kill me. AND I let you try out my tech. Neural collars? Done. 3D printers? Sure I'll show you the ropes. And once I figure them out? Even pocket dimension drives," he chuckles, explaining "How do you think I carry so many weapons? And seem to pull them out of thin air? Well, ok, not sure if you all have seen that, but...trust me, it's a useful ability," he admits with a smile. "I'll even give some first-hand demos of my weapons. Well, the ones I have ammo for, at any rate. And yes, that includes the new plasma weaponry that's on the shop floor," he continues. "And I hear SOMEONE is a weapon lover," he says as his eyes narrow upon Ruby, her own eyes getting wider.
"And wait...you fund all this tech with White Fang raids?" Blake asks. "You're getting the Dust, and the Lien that way?" Blake asks as she looks at some of it. "Isn't that dangerous?"
"'Danger' is relative. For me, NOTHING is dangerous anymore," the Slayer admits. "Why, are you...craving a slice of that action?"
"Our teachers would bust us," Weiss butts in. "And scold us for reckless behavior."
"And what makes you think we'd spy on them for you?" Yang asks. "Why shouldn't we just report you to them?"
"Because, you really would rather not," Marion says, interjecting before the Slayer could speak. "You want to see all the technology he has to offer. You want to see how he fights. You understand that he has more combat experience than anyone in Remnant," she continues, and the Slayer could sense she was trying to Empathize with them. "You want to be part of something that's bigger than you, and you know the Slayer is the key to that." What was even stranger was it was seeming to work. Granted, it didn't seem like they needed much convincing, but their wills were strong enough that if Marion was still at the strength she had upon first meeting the Slayer, she'd've likely failed. But thanks to the practice, she was able to convince RWBY.
"Yes...that makes sense," Ruby said, still in a bit of a trance. "But we need a clubhouse! Something! Especially if we bring friends!" She says, semi-snapping out of it.
"We can find something," Nixera says. "I mean, there is the old arena, but we need something with a roof. Guess I'm scouting tonight while you 2 are at Junior's," she laughs while looking at Slayer and Marion.
"Junior's? You work there?" Yang asks. "I knew about you Marion, but...YOU?" She asks the Slayer. "What could you possibly...wait, let me guess, you bounce for them, don't you? That's like the ONLY job I could see you doing there."
"Meanwhile, it's getting late," Weiss says as she checks the time. "We should be getting back."
"Catch up?" Daisy whispers to Blake, and they nod and exchange Scroll numbers.
"Granted, you could likely make it to Beacon without a single person noticing you," Blake laughs.
"I bet I could," Daisy laughs as well. "But maybe not tonight, if Nixera's going to scout."
"What about those raids you guys do?" Ruby asks.
"We keep it irregular, and random, to prevent retaliation and discovery," Nixera says to her. "Though hopefully, this does well enough that we don't have to. Besides...it's what we do to keep skills sharp," she continues with a smile.
Everyone says their goodbyes, but first exchanging Scroll numbers, and DMND close up shop, everyone headed their separate ways for the night.
