And so, we move to the secondary vote! Thank you all so much for both giving your ideas and votes. Here's what we've got so far:
Unwavering Command: 2
Good Soldier: 1
Chains of Command: TBA
Fiat: TBA
Prime Directive: TBA
As with last time, cast your votes on which name should go to Woody's semblance! To guest reviews, I'll be covering yours at the END of this chapter. You'll see why ;D. That said, let's hop into it!
Fighting Rose
Chapter 25
Building Up
…Five Days Later, Training Hall…
"SEIYAAA!" Ruby shouted as her spinning roundhouse smashed into Sun's upward block, the floor underneath them cracking from the weight of the blow before Sun grunted as he shot out a sharp palm-strike towards her ribs. She Tricked past the blow to shoot her knee into his face, catching him clean on the cheek and sending him back just step as he winced, Ruby grinning and following up with another semblance-propelled knee to the exact same spot. Even temporarily blinded, Sun was not idle as he threw a right hook as where he felt Ruby was, though his hand passed through petals as Ruby quickly Tricked down, her heel firing into Sun's ribs to push him back and gain more distance. It landed solidly, too solidly as she felt like she was trying to kick a mountain back, his yellow eyes staring right at her from his noticeably larger frame.
'Damn, he read and baited me!' Ruby thought as Sun sharply stepped in faster than his size would've suggested, shifting his full bodyweight into a Fa-Jin shoulder-check that snapped Ruby's head to the side before she could dodge no thanks to her fatigue, the sheer weight sending her skidding backwards to the edge of the arena. Sun charged forward with a glowing palm drawn back, the explosive properties of his clone-semblance literally sparking off his hand as he closed in on her.
For a moment Ruby wanted to blindly lash out, to defy the tiredness that was plaguing her body, but instead she breathed out and calmed her mind, staying in her stance and opening her eyes, her irises now glowing softly. Sun threw his hand forward in a mighty palm-strike, one that Ruby knew would blast her out of the ring if it landed, so she would simply take him down before it had the chance to do so.
'Hua-Jin…' Her body was truly relaxed, her Awareness so high she could feel everything happening as Sun's hand began to roar forward. 'To FA-JIN!'
From complete relaxation to full explosive movement, her body blurred forward as her heel blasted into Sun's ribs right under the armpit of his now-extended arm, Ruby having just ducked under it with a low spinning side-kick, her speed and positioning having taken her out of the path of Sun's attack right before he could even throw it while directly impaling him on his own momentum. His face scrunched up in pain as his body locked up, the sheer piercing force behind Ruby's kick alone making it feel as if his organs had been grabbed and violently shaken, a fact that Ruby took full advantage of.
Grabbing his outstretched wrist, she made to pivot and tried to throw him over her shoulder out of the ring, only for Sun to resist: a six-foot five and well over two-hundred pound person was impossible to just throw if Ruby had no momentum to work with, so Sun set his feet and pulled in the opposite direction. Exactly what Ruby was looking for. Her body went limp and Sun yelped as his resistance suddenly vanished, Ruby grinning as she went from limp to explosive in combination with her Semblance. Her movement appeared near-instant, practically teleporting behind the stumbling Sun as she relaxed once more, the lingering sensation of her Semblance now focused on her heart.
'Relaxation to explosive, in combination with my Advance…!' She thought before she unleashed the Advance in an instant right as she launched a simple high front-kick. "Exploding Heart: RED RELEASE!"
Sun barely managed to turn around in time to put up his guard before Ruby's foot literally exploded into it, a ring of red shockwaves flashing through the air around the impact itself. Even with his body enhanced by his mutation he was launched clean off his feet, his head snapping back as a phantom lance of red seemed to pierce right through his arms, his body smashing to the floor just outside the ring. He lay there for a moment, breathing laboured as the exhaustion of over two hours of fighting with Ruby catching up as his eyes and body returned to normal.
"…ZAYUM!" He laughed after a moment, sitting up to wipe the sweat from his face. "That's one hell of a technique!"
"Thanku," Ruby blubbered as she collapsed onto her backside, sweat pouring down her own face as she lazily threw her arms into the air. "Woooo, das 10-10 for the eaaaach of us."
"You sound so enthusiastic," Sun drawled as he dragged himself over to her, handing her a bottle of water that she instantly drained. "Seriously though, nice workaround with the Advance draining your stamina. You still gotta work on your timing of it, but you're already getting the hang of it in just five days."
"Seems so," Ruby said shortly as she closed her eyes and crossed her legs, doing her best to steady her breathing. "…Exploding Heart is at its best when I'm throwing out single bigger attacks at the end of sequences, but I've gotta… find a way to chain it into combinations themselves."
"Hmm…" Sun hummed as he caught his breath as well, "But then you might as well be using the Advance rather than… stressing your heart beating that irregularly. Can't be healthy."
"True," She snorted with a grin as her breathing started to truly even out. "Thanks again for helping me."
"I already love this shit," Sun said so passionately that Ruby felt her heart skip a beat, "Clashing with you is a damn delight, so you ain't gotta thank me for anything."
"I'll keep that in mind," She giggled as she brushed shoulders with him while standing up. "I think that's enough hard sparring for the day though, let's take a break and then finish up by working techniques."
"Sounds like a plan," Sun grunted as he got to his feet, hands going high above his head as he stretched out. With him being shirtless, Ruby couldn't help but stare at that juicy expanse of chest and abdomen rippling with perfectly sculpted muscle, the way his upper back contorted into a sea of symmetrical fibres, and those freckles. Her eyes went further down the plane of abs and past his bellybutton and the way his V-lines just pointed straight down towards his –
'STOP, BAD RUBY, DOWN GIRL, YOU ALREADY HAD WATER,' Ruby chided herself, glad her face was already reddened from exertion. '…But goddamn, he's got some booty-cheeks on him too – STOP IT.'
By this point, especially after the eventful night of the dance ending with them peacefully swaying together in each others arms… Ruby couldn't help but rationalize that she really, really liked Sun. Roguishly handsome, boyishly hilarious with a surprisingly soft heart and a fierce combatant, he simply ticked every box that Ruby didn't really know she had. That and freckles.
"Ey," She said with a light smack to his abs before walking to the seats, "Stop showin' off, I'm tired and want a proper seat."
"Heh, yes ma'am," Sun chuckled as he pat his stomach.
Sun, a young man in his own right, was also quite aware of his own feelings no thanks to his more outgoing and confident nature. That is to say, he knew that he really, really liked Ruby. She was so damn cute with that face of hers, yet shockingly silver-tongued and witty when the moment called for it rounded off by a gentle soul. Not to mention her sheer fighting-prowess, just being around her made his heart beat a little faster, his smile a little wider. That of course, and…
'Dude,' He chided himself, 'Don't stare like a creep… but lord Yamoshi help me she looks damn good.'
He couldn't help but notice the toned muscles of her arms and shoulders openly bared thanks to her sports-top, leading symmetrically to her upper back, equally toned and taut with muscle even under the fabric. His eyes lingered on her surprisingly small waist, the way her b –
'STOP.' Sun pinched himself forcefully, 'Like, goddamnit, look ANYWHERE ELSE… mmm, dem thighs-STOOOOOOP.'
The two young adults were just about able to hide their awkwardness around each other as they sat down on the benches, making sure to breathe in deeply and let their aura wash over their sore muscles and bones while content to watch how the others were doing.
"Trickst-ghhk!" Yang grunted in pain as Weiss intercepted her mid-evasion, dashing around to the side while fully enhanced by her Time-Dilation Glyph to jab Myrtenaster directly into Yang's ribs. Yang did not back away, sticking to her guns by planting her feet and throwing a terrifying right-hook at Weiss' face, the latter barely able to put a glyph up and raise her guard as Yang's knuckles exploded off of the barrier, blasting the heiress backwards and sending her skidding. She was quick to regain her balance with a number of glyphs under her feet that allowed her to practically glide across the floor before coming to a stop in her stance, blade pointed at Yang. Both of them were now in a stalemate, staring each other down for a moment before their legs tensed and they blasted off to clash one more time, a massive and unknown glyph rotating rapidly and unstably behind Weiss' head as she thrust forward, her face scrunched up in concentration as a hazy mass extended from the glyph, Yang instinctively firing her fist froward to intercept it… only to watch dumbfounded as it passed right through and crashed into Weiss' face. Weiss was practically clotheslined by the punch, her legs sliding out from under her before she flipped once, twice, three times, finally landing flat on her face.
"…HOLY SHIT!" Yang cried, quickly checking on the downed and groaning Weiss. "I-I'm so sorry, are you alright?!"
"…ow," Weiss groaned as she slowly rolled over and wiped from blood trickling from her nose, "…both my pride and nasal-capillaries have been ground to dust."
"Pfft," Yang couldn't help but let out a little snicker as she gently picked the stunned Weiss up, carrying her to sit next to Sun and Ruby. "Really rung your bell there… tryin' that summoning again?"
"More like failing again," Weiss grumbled as she snorted a few drops of blood onto a tissue, "Ever since I learned to use the Schnee glyphs, I've been working on Summoning over and over, but nothing's come out of it. Not even my Trigger helps at all!"
"…wait, hold up," Ruby said after a moment. "What… what do you mean 'learned' to use?'"
"My Semblance, duh?" Weiss deadpanned.
Ruby was silent for a moment, wracking her brain for something that was itching the back of her mind, a memory of something that was just out of her reach.
"…oh, Ruby," Yang was the one to recall, "Didn't you mention something about Professor Glynda using a glyph? Pretty sure that her actual semblance is telekinetic."
The lightbulb that went off in Ruby's head was practically visible, her eyes almost literally lighting up.
"…Glyphs are taught!" Ruby exclaimed as she turned to Weiss. "Weiss, you said that you managed to use glyphs really young, not long after you got your aura right? Your sister on the other hand learned them when she was older?"
Weiss nodded, something sparking in her chest.
"You must have some kind of unnatural talent, a Semblance, that let you quickly learn to create a glyph. Weiss… glyphs aren't your real semblance."
"…then what is it?" Weiss wondered aloud, that spark igniting as she conjured a small, simple propulsion-Glyph in her hand.
"Well, like…" Yang started off, "What does making a glyph feel like to you? Is there a kind of process that you go through?"
"…no, actually," Weiss realized, "I just had to look at Winter doing it and I just… could do it once I saw the glyph, right up until summoning. Granted, the more and more I created a glyph, the better I got at forming it and thus the more effective it became."
"Then try breaking it down step by step," Ruby suggested. "Really think about what you're doing when you make a glyph."
Weiss breathed out and closed her eyes, her palm still upturned as she slowly but surely formed the glyph.
'I'm… what am I doing?' She thought, 'When I create a gravity Glyph, I'm… it's more than just me creating it on the spot, I know that now, but… creating…' Something clicked. 'Creating… a platform to enact my will?'
"Judging the concept of creation."
A haze of aura formed above her palm, something about it more tangible, a sense of genuine intent laced into it. Yang's eyes widened a bit: this sensation was similar to when Neo was about to stab her.
"Hypothesizing the basic structure."
Vaguely, everyone could see the faint shape of the glyph outlined in the haze, that feeling growing stronger.
"Duplicating the composition material."
This was near-instant, the glyph taking a solid shape in the blink of an eye. It was easy after all, the glyph being made out of aura itself. The moment that happened, Yang, who was hovering directly above Weiss' palm, was immediately launched into the air, her head snapping up as if she took a full-on uppercut to the face. Everyone, Weiss included, gawked at her as she flipped five times before landing hard on her face.
"O… OH MY GOD!" Weiss shrieked as she hurried over to the completely still Yang, Ruby comically sweating with a deadpan face at the repeated situation. "Are you alright?! Should I get a medic?! Should I throw money at the problem!?"
She promptly shrieked again as Yang popped up far too quickly, her nostrils freely flowing with blood and her eyes wide and sparkling with excitement.
"That was freaking AWESOME," Yang beamed. "Do it again!"
"…I definitely knocked a few braincells loose," Weiss joked, seeing nothing really wrong with Yang. Yang, still grinning, moved to hop back onto her feet, only for her legs to wobble and for her to fall onto her backside with a yelp. "… what are you doing?"
"Oh, uh… dunno really," Yang said, confused as well as she tried to stand only for her vision to warp, falling onto her side.
"…Yang…?" Weiss said slowly before Yang's hair suddenly burst into golden flame, lilac eyes bleeding into crimson.
"…holy crap Weiss, you…" Yang said lowly, her hair covering her eyes for a moment as Weiss trembled with worry, right up until the blonde looked up with an absolutely ecstatic expression on her face. "You rocked me, really rocked me on one shot!"
That surprised everyone. Weiss by all means was a warrior who used elegant and swift skill to take most opponents down, and though she was more than capable of knocking people back and away, she normally wasn't able to do extreme damage with a single blow without the use of dust. But for her to not only damage Yang, by far the toughest and most durable member of team RWBY, but to render her unable to properly stand with a single glyph was unheard of, even if the blonde was admittedly unprepared for the blow. Weiss looked at her palm once more in astonishment. Had the deeper, more thought-out process of how her semblance worked really made her glyphs, or at least their effects, that much more potent?
'No… Glyphs aren't my semblance,' Weiss reminded herself, something welling in her eyes, 'I'm… I'm not constrained by the boundaries of my blood. I'm really more than just a Schnee.'
"Hey, you okay?" Ruby said as she walked up to Weiss, a hand on her shoulder.
"I-I'm just…" Weiss stammered, quickly wiping her eyes. "Happy…I think?"
"Damn right you should be happy, you just managed to shake me up!" Yang laughed as she finally managed to stand, her hair now only faintly glowing as she brazenly wrapped an arm around Weiss' shoulders. "This calls for a celebration later, Xiao Long style!"
"I probably wouldn't say thaaat," Ruby cringed playfully, Yang sticking her tongue out, "But we get that this is a big deal for you. We ain't got long until the missions-day arrives, so I think a quick day out is a good idea."
"Pfft," Weiss managed to hold back a laugh, her tears quickly dissipating thanks to the support from the half-sisters. "…I'd like that very much, thank you." Weiss looked at her palm one more time, hope blooming in her chest.
'It's not that I'm failing,' She realized, 'I just need to complete the steps necessary in order to Summon! Not to mention, those steps… just what is my Semblance capable of once it's complete?'
"That feelin's the best, isn't it?" Ruby hummed as she caught Weiss' attention, "Knowing that you haven't hit your limit, that you've always got more room to grow, more ways to gain more power… gets you a little motivated, doesn't it?"
"…It does," Weiss admitted, a more confident, excited grin on her face. "It really does."
Blake grunted in surprise as Jaune's basic horizontal slash clashed with Gambol's blade, actually forcing her back a few steps. Even as she tried to regain her balance, he'd already stepped in to try and smash his shield into her jaw, making her use her semblance to phase around to his shield-baring arm to poise her blade at his neck, only for her eyebrows to shoot up at the feeling of his blade at her throat.
"…tie," He sighed as he stepped back, collapsing onto his backside covered in sweat.
"Not bad," Blake praised him as she sheathed her weapon, "Your speed and power's definitely increased pretty quickly thanks to that semblance of yours, not to mention you're getting more creative with your attacks rather than being a cheap copy-paste of Pyrrha."
"Okay, ouch," He chuckled, "But thank you."
"You're welcome," Blake bowed with a little smile before looking back at her sheathed blade, pondering silently.
"…you wana try something out?" He noticed as he stood up. "I think I've got enough gas in the tank to stand still and let you whale on me for a bit."
"That'd be much appreciated," Blake nodded, her smile dropping away as she unsheathed Gambol in its blade-form, Jaune facing her with his shield up. "This might take a moment, so uh… sorry."
"S'all good, I'm not exactly complaining about getting a breather," He said with a grin.
Blake still keenly remembered the odd occurrence during the fight against the paladin and the strange properties of her bullet. Sure, she'd empowered her bullets with aura before to pack an extra punch in some of her shots, but the stress of the battle had made her dump far more aura into it than she normally would have done.
'If I'm right about this…' She thought as she got into a basic preparatory stance, blade by her waist as she attempted the same thing, pouring aura into her blade before slashing up with a shout, a crescent of purple aura slamming into Jaune's shield and sending him skidding backwards. His arm shook slightly, but posture was otherwise unbroken. '…No, that wasn't it.'
"Sorry, can I try one more time?" She asked sheepishly, Jaune simply giving a thumbs up and running back to position in front of her.
She breathed out, getting back into her stance and trying again, this time closing her eyes and focusing on the feel of it.
'There's more to it than just stuffing aura into something and swinging or shooting,' She thought, 'There was something else…' Concentrating, she put a more aura into her blade's edge, suddenly feeling a familiar tugging motion, the same sensation of her Semblance whenever she was prepared to use a clone. She didn't swing right away, instead honing in the feeling of her semblance on her blade itself. It felt odd, she thought, probably because she was more used to using her Semblance on her body in general for defensive and manoeuvrability purposes rather trying to focus it on an offensive technique. She shouted as she unleashed one more upward cut. Her sword slashed across Jaune's shield, and for a split second, nothing seemed to happen aside from him being knocked back a step… right up until visible copies of Gambol seemed to materialise out of thin air, repeating similar upward cuts with equal power and speed, a rapid *CLANGCLANGCLANGCLANG* as Jaune's arm was thrown up, guard completely broken.
Blake stared with wide eyes at her sword, Jaune equally as surprise.
"…I've definitely never seen you do that before," He deadpanned.
"Well neither have I," Blake said softly as she stepped back and began to work throw some basic cuts and slashes. She focused as much as she could on her Semblance with each slash, phantom blades following behind each cut leading to her finding that they were actually slightly propelling her blade forward with greater speed. "I wonder…"
She crouched slightly, preparing to use her semblance as normal through her body while putting greater focus on Gambol.
'Shade Slash!'
Her body was launched forward with the use of a shadow-clone before she unleashed random wide cuts before coming to a sudden stop a few feet away, a dance of phantom blades following right behind her like a living blender.
"…this… this is good," Blake muttered as she sheathed her blade with a smirk. "I can work with this."
…
It wasn't long before they all finished up their training and had just cleaned themselves up in the changing-rooms, Ruby towelling off her hair after putting a shirt on. Her muscles were still sore, though it was gradually fading at a rate noticeably faster than when she'd first came to Beacon. There were still the occasional pockets of locked-up muscles from her frayed auric circuits, but with a little bit of active concentration she was able to correct their flows.
'My techniques haven't just improved, but I'm a good deal stronger now too,' She thought as she flexed her arms with a little grin. 'Good. Once I've recovered I'll be in top shape before Mission-day.'
"Nice guns," Yang pinched Ruby's arms with a grin before promptly flexing her own, "But you've still got a ways to go 'fore you get babies like these."
"Yeah-yeah, damn showoff," Ruby growled playfully as she punched Yang's shoulder with no effect. Blake and Weiss, having already freshened up, both stared at Yang's incredibly muscular arms. It was only really now that the white and black pair noticed that Yang was a fair deal opposite to Ruby; where the latter's build was slim, corded and compact, Yang's was noticeably broader, her larger muscles indicating her great strength in both striking and lifting.
'I wonder,' Weiss thought to herself, 'Yang's strength increases the more her semblance is charged. Do her muscles increase in size when that happens? Or does her aura further supplement her strength without any physical changes? I could probably sit on her arm and she wouldn't even tire out…'
'I wonder how much Yang can actually lift,' Blake pondered as well, 'Both in her base and at her maximum output? She's already juggling Ursai with her punches, so…'
With the sisters done horsing around, Ruby groaned as she stretched out her slightly sore lower back, cracking her neck this way and that –
"Closergetcloserstabyougetcloser."
For a split second she froze, the familiar 'voice' clicking in her head before she sent out a little pulse of aura.
'There,' She thought as she pinpointed the sharp presence right in the corner of the room right next to the exit.
"Hmm, you three go on ahead, I'm still stuck deciding what Ice-Cream I want for Weiss' celebration."
The rest of RWBY both locked up for a split second before doing their best to act nonchalant.
"Eh, sure," Yang said as she pat Ruby on the back, subtly feeding her as much aura as possible, "We'll be right outside, just yell at us what flavour you got in mind."
"Sure thing. Ah, lemme pack some extra stuff too," Ruby nodded as the three casually left the room, the door clicking shut and a stifling sense of broken glass being brushed across Ruby's skin began to grow stronger and stronger. Her back facing the door, she made sure to remain as relaxed as possible: as a matter of fact, she kind of was. She chuckled to herself, thinking that had it been the greener her who'd first entered Beacon, she would have either probably blasted across the room and caused untold damage, or she would've made it too obvious that she knew who was spying on her and lost the chance to catch them for good.
'I'm still tired out even with that extra aura sis gave me,' She thought, 'So I gotta be on my guard. Slowly let my aura focus into my muscles, and stay relaxed…'
That feeling of sharp glass was steadily getting closer and closer, Ruby just humming a tune as she put some clothes into a duffel bag before she suddenly felt a knifing intent directed at her chin. With a burst of her semblance, she yanked her head back and smashed her the back of her skull into Neo's nose, the illusion of invisibility literally shattering from her body as she stumbled back, eyes squinted shut in surprise and pain as she dropped her estoc.
'Full speed!'
Ruby was instantly behind the stunned Neo, kicking the smaller girl's legs out from under her and quickly wrapping an arm around her neck and legs around her waist as tightly as possible while still giving enough leeway for her to breathe and for blood to reach her brain. A rear-naked choke, something that was damn near impossible to escape, especially knowing that Neo was physically weaker than Ruby. Neo still struggled, snarling and attempting to claw Ruby's eyes out.
"BITCHIMMAFUCKINKILLYAFUCKYOUYOUSHORTASSDUMBASSBITCHASSBITCH!"
"Calm… down," Ruby ground out, using both her mind and voice to reach through to the enraged Neo. Slowly but surely her struggled lessened, though never fully.
"FUCKYOUYOUBITCH!WHATDIDYOUDOTOROMANWHEREISHEIMMAKILLYOU!"
"He's alive and unharmed," Ruby said, Neo freezing up, "Now calm down or I'll cut off your oxygen supply to your lungs and brain." She leaned in closer to Neo's ear, the latter suppressing a little shiver as something in Ruby's voice… changed, and she swore that she could see a soft silver glow right on her cheek. "You know that you can't escape from this position, not with your strength or semblance," something sinister creeping into her voice, "Not to mention, I can kill you right here, right now. Even if your aura stopped you from blacking out, I'll just squeeze and squeeze until it breaks, and then I'll snap your neck."
Neo's mind blanked as her stomach dropped, unable to hide her slight tremble, though only partially directed at Ruby.
"NoPLEASENO, ROMANINEEDTOSEEHE'SALRIGHT."
Out of nowhere, Ruby suddenly let go and shoved Neo away, the latter gasping as she was able to fully breathe once more. Rubbing her neck, she turned to look at Ruby with baffled eyes, the silver-eyed girl breathing heavily as she herself calmed down, her other clutching her stomach.
"…Whynot?Would'vebeenbettersmartertokillme."
"…because you care about him," Ruby said at last, sitting upright and surprising Neo both her ability to seemingly read her mind and her gentle voice. "I… I haven't killed anyone before. I've come close to, but I've never followed through because I know that even though I'm capable, I won't become the judge, jury, and executioner for a life they may have been forced to live. And to the scum who keep doing it over and over… I just make sure they never get back up the same. I know that you care for Roman, enough that you've gotten sloppy and ballsy enough to try and get to me in Beacon itself."
"…howareyoudoing that?" Neo asked, purposefully ignoring what Ruby just said with an uneasy and slightly embarrassed look, "Reading my mindthoughts?"
Ruby looked down for a moment before looking back into Neo's eyes, trying to feel out if there was some indicator that she was trying to get Ruby to lower her guard, satisfied that she found none.
"…I'm able to read surface-level feelings and emotions," Ruby revealed, Neo's eyebrows shooting up, "But that's normally it. You're… different. Expressive to the point where I can literally hear what your soul is… saying? Feeling? Thinking? I dunno really, and it seems like you can do the same for me too."
"Huhwowmuchtalkverysoul."
"…that's a dead meme and you know it," Ruby deadpanned, Neo smirking.
"LplusRatioplusNoAuraplusGeteatenbyaGrimm."
"Good lord, could you like… be more deliberate with your thoughts?" Ruby said with a small wince, "Everythin' you say comes out a bit jumbled. Are you mute-mute? Try singing."
Neo proceeded to give her an extremely sour look before promptly flipping her off, a very clear "F-U-C-K Y-O-U," Ringing out.
"Pfft," Ruby managed to stifle a snicker, Neo having now almost fully relaxed.
"Is… he okay?"
"Like I said, he's completely fine and unarmed, though he's currently being kept close to Ozpin right now. I uh… don't think I can take you to him myself but feel free to try and sneak into his office and see for yourself. Oh, and if you try sneaking in, do it when Ozpin isn't in his office. Trust me, you're not going to sneak past him."
"…you're being… reeeaaally trusting of me."
"Like I said… you care for him, and he cares for you," She said as she stood up, "And I… I can't take that from either of you. I won't." Neo was a bit struck by the weight behind Ruby's words, the slight tightening of her face and the way her eyes went a bit wet before it vanished as she outstretched a hand. "I'm going to save everyone I love and everyone I can from what's coming. Do you trust me?"
"…I trust nobody but Roman," Neo said after a moment before she took Ruby's hand, "…but you spared me. You're naïve, but I… owe you for keeping him safe."
Ruby helped Neo up, still a bit surprised at how short she was, coming just under her nose before calling out, "I think Neapolitan sounds good!"
Barely a moment later and the rest of Team RWBY charged right into the room, weapons at the ready and auras up, Neo herself tensing slightly before Ruby stood between them
"Weapons down!" Ruby cried out, making sure her back was facing towards Neo, "She's fine, she isn't going to hurt anyone."
"Never said that," Neo said with a grin.
"Not. Helping," Ruby ground out.
"Did I just hear her in my head?" Weiss muttered.
"…You sure?" Blake asked, pistol still trained on Neo. "She did kinda try to stab Yang and smashed you face-first into the floor."
"I just headbutted her and almost choked her out, so we're even," Ruby said nonchalantly. "Plus, she was mad at the time."
"Being angy-pangy does not give her the right to just stab me like that!" Yang cried only for Ruby, Blake and Weiss to stare at her with a raised brow each, Yang promptly turning a bit red and being sure to avoid Blake's teasing gaze. "…shutting up now."
"…Well if Ruby trusts her, and by the God Emperor I know weirder shit has happened and will happen," Weiss sighed, as she put her weapon away, "…then I will trust her too."
"…wow, that cuss must've taken a lot out of you Weiss," Ruby said sagely, "I'm very proud of your growth."
"Oh bite me!" She cried, her own cheeks turning red as the tension died down once more, Neo herself surprised at how relaxed she'd become.
"So, uh," Ruby looked back to Neo, "…Neo, Team RWBY. Team RWBY, Neo."
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Neopolitan," Weiss curtseyed artfully despite not wearing a skirt.
"Hello," Blake waved, still a bit cautious.
"Wow, didn't realize you were this short," Yang hummed as she actually had the audacity to stoop down to look Neo in the eye, Neo raising a brow with her hands on her hips until Yang gave a half-smile, fist extended forward. "…you got me pretty good with that kick to the head."
Neo smirked a bit before she fist-bumped Yang, a little nod sent her way.
"So uh…" Yang asked, "…what's the plan now?"
"Well, we don't introduce her to Ozpin just yet," Ruby sighed, "That's a bad idea with how he's got an eye on me. Definitely before the Vytal festival, but not now. For now, Neo's free to wander around and she can stay in our room once we've left for Glenn. How's that sound?" She asked, turning to Neo.
"You're… being waaaay too trusting of me," Neo noted again.
"Hey, we need all the help we can get," Ruby admitted, "You're plenty strong, you've got a useful Semblance and you've got access to places we can't hope to reach."
"That's true," Neo admitted, "But what's in it for me?"
"Not dying," Ruby said bluntly, everyone in the room wincing, "What's going down will affect the entire world. You and Torchwick won't be able to rob anyone if everyone is dead, much less if one or both of you die."
"…Goddamnit," Neo sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "Right, you've convinced my heart, mind and common sense."
"Glad to have all of you on the team," Ruby chuckled. "So, yeah."
"Call me curious," Yang spoke up, "But what's the deal with you an Torchwick? Are you siblings or… do you have a thing going on~?"
"What? Ew, no!" Neo cringed, "We're not related but he's like a brother to me-!"
"Dammit!" Yang and Ruby cried, cutting Neo off as they fished out their wallets and handed out a sum of Lien to the smug Weiss and Blake.
"Continue," Ruby said with a slightly more sour face.
"…aaanyway," Neo rolled her eyes, "He's like a big brother to me. We met up by chance while I had escaped from a prison of an all-girl's school that my parents shoved me into because I couldn't talk and had a Semblance, and he was in the middle of robbing a store. I had nowhere to go, was broke, bored and he was nice enough to lend me some food, so we partnered up and… yeah. Partners in crime."
"Huh…" Ruby muttered, a rather soft expression directed at Neo. "That's fair. So uh… wanna join us for ice-cream?"
"You were serious about that?" Neo asked with a deadpan look on her face.
"I mean yeah, why not?" Ruby shrugged, "You can like, make yourself invisible right? Might be a bit weird, but that way you can come with us is you want without being spotted by Cinder."
"I'll do you one better," Neo said with a smirk before she twirled, her entire appearance changing with shards of pink glassy light. Her regular fit turned into a casual but fashionable black and white set of shirt, long skirt, and heels. Her skin was slightly paler, her hair now black and done in the style of pigtails with emerald green clips, her eyes the same colour of said clips. "Still, Cinder doesn't know I'm even alive, so I'll exit Beacon while invisible, just in case she figures out my disguise."
"Oh wow!" Ruby gasped in awe as she zipped around the surprised Neo, idly touching her conjured clothes. "I didn't even think you could change your appearance as well! It's like your clothes aren't there, but they are, and they're still subject to the laws of gravity…!"
"Ruby," Yang chided, "Please stop going wild about her Semblance."
"Right, right, sorry," Ruby said sheepishly as she backed off, only to be surprised at the genuine if slightly cheeky smile sent her way.
"It's… it's fine actually," Neo said, "My uh… well, Roman was the first person to appreciate my Semblance, while my father… didn't really… like my Semblance."
"Oh…" Ruby said at the rippling spite that tore across Neo's aura before she smiled, "I think it's a really cool semblance."
"…you're too nice and that's going to cost you," Neo said wryly, "But… thank you."
"No problem," Ruby said back, "Now… ice-cream? Oh, hold up, I just remembered that dad sent in some mail."
…
"So you think I could take her?" Mercury asked.
"After feeling her power… yes, I think you could, though it won't be easy at all," Cinder said, "It's likely that you may have to fight her through to a bloody standstill before severely wounding her in front of the crowd."
"How can you guarantee that she'll even fight him?" Emerald asked, "You didn't implant the Watts-Virus."
"I always have a backup," Cinder said confidently, holding up a little chip, "Sure, we don't have control over the entire system, but if I can plant this near the display-board for the Tournament-fights, then we can still manipulate the match-ups."
"Alright, but what about Torchwick and his little killer? They haven't reported in since the Fang Rally and it's pretty likely they got taken down by one of Ozpin's agents. We needed him to coordinate the mutts in Mt. Glenn so he'd be in the right place to get captured by Ironwood."
"Oh don't worry about that," Cinder assured, "Our Queen has assured that we have someone far more competent and effective in his place. He will play the role of Torchwick, and he will play it well."
…Mt. Glenn, the Underbelly…
Pain. He was in more physical and spiritual pain than he ever thought possible. Being branded by the false-patriarch of the Schnees had certainly hurt. Being beaten to a pulp by the genetic freaks Jacques called his 'sons' was bad. Watching his mother die at Jacques hands, fighting to keep her only son safe was a very close second.
"UUUAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" He screamed in agony the sensation of his heart exploding, black sludge pumping through his veins and changing him in ways he was not meant to be changed, his very soul swelling, tearing and restitching. Yet in his pride, in his rage, he resisted with all his might.
"Interesting," The 'thing' calling himself a man mused in front of him, "Despite over half a litre of the Refined Abyss in tandem with the Great Betrayer's blood within you, you still resist. Do you not feel the power of your true nature, the nature that lays within all of your kind? Do you not feel your connection to your hallowed ancestors, to the true ruler of this world.?"
Adam Taurus violently spat a mixture of blood at bile at the 'man's' face, outright grinning through his agony even though his attempt was smoothly dodged.
"P-power gained cheaply…" He wheezed, "Isn't power… at all! Th-the fact that you call this cheap swill a source of power… it's no wonder you're so PATHETIC!"
His roar sent forth a burst of sickly red and black aura from it body, his eyes turning entirely crimson as his horns glowed and grew on size, the shadow he cast appearing to grow a pair of clawed, demonic wings. And just like that, the changes suddenly reversed, his eyes rolling into his head as he fell unconscious, though he never stopped writhing and convulsing in pain. The man stood up, over seven feet in height and wearing a fearsome set of faded red armour covering everything but his face, its pauldrons incredibly large and curved, spiked jutting out of the metal at random places. The armour itself was decorated with a number of golden demonic faces, expressions open-mouthed and snarling, along with rows upon rows of what appeared to be some kind of scripture either bolted or stuck with wax onto the armour itself, and combined with the twin torches mounted on its back, it cut nothing short of an imposing figure. The man's face was certainly human-looking, but height and build aside, there was something off with him. A face with high cheekbones, thin lips curved into a thin smile, dark eyes deeply sunken into their sockets, and the layers upon layers of strange scripture tattooed upon his bald head, all of it simply felt… wrong.
"…Give him another dose," The man said with a pleased hum in his voice, "Though… reduce it by twenty percent. Any more may stress his body and soul to the point where they twist irreparably."
"Understood Chaplain," Another massive man of similar stature and armour said as he bowed, though this time his head was entirely covered in a helmet that bore a striking resemblance to a knight's helm, with a horizontal slit for a visor and a mouth-plate with vertical vents. "And what of the other surprise we have prepared? Surely this beastkin will not be ready to join our cause by the time we must enact our plan."
"That is quite alright," The 'Chaplain' nodded, "His will is strong and will not break so easily, it may well take another month before he is sufficiently broken. Our 'other' option will be more than enough to invite the interest of the Atlans, not to mention the beastkin we have under our control."
The Chaplain stepped away, pleased with his handiwork before he fished out a medallion from his armour, a golden eight pointed star with a single ruby-inlaid eye in the middle, before gently kissing it.
"Praise her Majesty," He sighed contently under his breath before putting it away. "May this advancement in our work and may the coming suffering please you. So pledges I…"
The Architect of Heresy
Dark Apostle Erebus
(TWBY Continued...)
So, to guest number 1... does that answer your question? XD Anyone who recognized the reference to the LEGENDARY Sly Marbo may have seen this coming, but yeah... we're going down the Warhammer 40K rabbit-hole. To those who don't know wtf I'm talking about, go on youtube and look up the first part of Bricky's Warhammer 40k lore series, the one that focuses on the Imperium of Mankind. It'll give you a preeetty good idea of what may be coming.
To guest number 2 (anonymous), first off thank you for the Semblance name, and second off... dude, Mistralese if goddamn GENIOUS. I will be using these terms for the rest of the story, no questions asked. Thank you so much for the ideas!
Now in regards to the chapter, LOTTA things went down. Ruby's got a new technique, Weiss and Blake have improved their Semblances, Neo's officially switched sides, we finally get to see what Adam's been up to and (all my Warhammer brethren say it with me) FUCK. EREBUS. To those who haven't got the message, when shit hits the fan, and it WILL hit, it'll hit MUCH harder than canon. That said, lemme know what you all thought of the chapter, and peace ouuut!
