Chapter 25: Of Families and Tipping Points
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Moving on a path through the woods, Dante and RNJR continued their trek with Ruby leading the forefront. She made a few mistakes here and there, and almost got them turned around, but the immortal was there to help correct their course. Even when Ruby was sure she was reading the map correctly.
"See? Told you it was this way."
Ruby only pouted in response.
"Come on. Being wrong isn't the end of the world. Sometimes anyway."
The little reaper was clearly concerned with his answer.
"Relax." He said poking her in the side, "If we speed it up a bit, we might just get into town before nightfall."
"Assuming it's still there…"
That was the first time in a while Jaune actually answered him directly. Maybe he was getting voter whatever secret beef he had with the immortal?
"It'll be there. Bigger villages usually tend to be a bit more...better defended."
"Yeah!" Ruby defended, "It actually is a pretty big one. Um… Hee-gan...bayn-a…"
"Higanbana. It's a well protected village with a popular inn." Stated Ren.
"Which means, no camping in the rain!" Nora cheered.
"I'm all for camping, but there's a limit to how long I'd actually like to do it." Stated the immortal.
"You know, we've had a lot of ups and downs… But things could be a lot worse. I really thought we'd see more Grimm."
"As did I." Ren said backing Jaune's statement.
Even the immortal expected more Grimm along the way. The fact there were few was...surprising. Was there someone ahead clearing them out as they went?
"I guess our luck is finally turning around! To Higanbana!"
"To Higanbana!" Ren and Jaune chanted in unison.
"To Higanban...ban-a!"
"You were about to say Higanbanana weren't you?" Dante questioned Ruby with a chuckle.
"N-No I wasn't!"
"Yes you were."
Ruby only responded next by rapidly poking him in the side numerous times. It tickled more than hurt, but it was amusing nonetheless.
But he had to turn his attention elsewhere for the moment. His head turned slightly so his gaze could look off in the distance behind him. For a moment, he was sure he had heard a growl, more than likely a Grimm. But the one thing he was absolutely sure about was the zing of a sword, ringing out for but a brief moment.
Most of his life was swords and the clashing of steel. There was no way he could mistake that sound.
Who else was out here?
"Hey Dante, didn't you say something about a...what was it again… Sas… Sassy…"
"Sasquatch?" Ren corrected Ruby.
Ah Sasquatch. That was an interesting weekend indeed. Full of mystery, chickens, fur...and tea.
"Sasquatch huh… What about him?"
"You said you were going to tell us a story about him." said Ren.
"Ah yes, Sasquatch. It's incredible how many fruit loops you have to go through in order to find a credible, actual source of information. When we finally found something real...well...thus began our weekend hunt for Sasquatch. It all started with a storehouse room and a chicken pen…"
Rain fell on the lands before the group made their way to the village of Higanbana. They had umbrellas, and had to rely on their packs. Though, in Dante's case, he removed his coat and draped it overhead himself and Ruby. Considering the coat was treated to become extremely hydrophobic, it did make for an excellent umbrella.
Minutes passed and they made it within the village, quickly finding the nearest inn to settle for the night. Which meant they were safe for tonight.
Qrow Branwen let out a relaxed breath as he continued staring at the children through the window of the establishment he was in, just across from the inn the children stayed in. Before he could do anything else, a waitress set down a glass of liquor and ice right in front of him.
"Oh, I didn't-"
"From the woman upstairs. Red eyes. Said you wouldn't mind bottom shelf."
Qrow turned his head to looks up at the second floor indoor balcony, seeing several of its round tables, the edge being slightly visible.
"Thanks." He said picking up the glass.
"I actually went ahead and gave you top shelf. Lucky you." She said winking at him.
With a pleased smirk, Qrow nodded his head and watched the waitress walk away.
I still got it...
After she left, Qrow looked through the window into the other window of the inn, seeing that the children had moved from the lobby already.
He let out a silent a sigh as he took his glass and headed upstairs to met the red eyed person that bought him his drink.
Raven Branwen was the one waiting for him at one of the tables up top, her mask resting on the table she sat at,
"Hello, brother."
Qrow stared at her from the top of the stairs for a moment, taking wary caution before moving to sit down at his sister's table.
"Raven."
Silence remained between the Branwen siblings for a few moments before Qrow looked at her expectantly. His sister rolled her eyes and grabbed hold of her mask, moving it off to the side.
"So, what do you want?"
"A girl can't just catch up with her family?"
"She can, but you're not. Now how 'bout we get on with it? Unless you plan on keeping these comin'. He said setting his glass down.
Raven only shot a glare at Qrow before asking, "Does she have it?"
He didn't answer her right away, and ran his fingertip along the edge of his glass before he asked his next question.
"Did you know Yang lost her arm?"
"That's not-"
"Rhetorical question, I know you know. It's just obnoxious that you'd bring up family and then carry on like your own daughter doesn't exist."
"I saved her…" spoke Raven in a low tone.
"Once." Qrow pointed out, "Because that was your rule, right? Real 'Mom of the Year' material, sis."
Raven leaned forward and grabbed Qrow by the forearm, stilling his sarcastic, nonchalant motions.
"I told you Beacon would fall and it did. I told you Ozpin would fail and he has. Now you tell me. Does. Salem. Have it?"
"I thought you weren't interested in all of that."
"I just want to know what we are up against."
"And which 'we' are you referring to?" He asked with a grin.
Raven kept her glare on her brother, but finally let go of his arm so he could sit back down.
"You should come back, Raven. The only way we'd beat her is by working together. All of us."
"You're the one who left. The tribe raised us, and you turned your back on them."
"They were killers and thieves." Qrow said to validate his point.
"They were your family."
"You have a very skewed perception of that word."
Raven stood up immediately after hearing that, anger present within her face while Qrow kept his calm and remained sitting where he was.
"I lead our people now. And as leader, I will do everything in my power to ensure our survival."
"I saw. The people of Shion saw, too."
"The weak die, the strong live. Those are the rules."
"Well, you've certainly got someone strong on your side. I've seen the damage. But so do we. And I don't think he'd take to kindly to you if he knew what you were up to."
"We couldn't have known the Grimm would set in as quickly as they did."
"I'm not talking about the Grimm."
Looking away from Qrow, Raven's eyes lit up, eyes widening slightly at his words.
"And I'm not talking about you, either."
"If you don't know where the Relic is, then we have nothing left to talk about." she said reaching for her mask.
But Qrow grabbed the top of it, preventing her from leaving.
"I don't know where the Spring Maiden is, either, but if you do, I need you to tell me."
"And why would I do that?" She said pulling her mask out of Qrow's grasp.
"Because without her to help, we're all probably going to die."
A moment of tense silence passed between them as the flame of a lantern near them died out.
"You have that menace of a brat don't you? And...which 'we' are you referring to?"
Qrow grimaced at Raven as she walked away, putting her Grimm-like mask back on. He heard the sound of her sword being unsheathed, looking up to see Raven walk into her red portal and disappear.
There was a sound of glass breaking and a gasp, making Qrow turn around to see the waitress, trembling at the sight of Raven disappearing in the fashion that she did. She took a cautious step backwards and looked at Qrow, expecting some sort of answer.
"Make this one a double."
Before the waitress could even think to go and get him another drink down below, both had heard shouting on the first floor. Though, Qrow swore he heard a familiar voice down below, calmly replying to them.
"You're a talker… Well, I'll have you know that listening to talkers makes me thirsty."
Can't be…
Qrow could hear someone audibly gulping a drink before setting the cup down with a loud thud.
"And I think I'll take...two roast chickens."
"I don't think you understand the situation you're in, brat."
Whoever the youngster was chuckled before saying, "I understand that if I hear one more word out of your garbage pile of a mouth, I'm going to have to eat every single chicken in this bar."
You've got to be kidding me…
Qrow went to stand up, but he stopped midway when he heard fists flying and wood splintering. Ten seconds had passed and half a dozen men had been dropped, using nothing but a wooden chair and a wooden mug.
"I'll be taking these…" he said grabbing two bottles and plates off the bar table while sliding over lien cards, "And giving you these. Thanks. Sorry about the mess."
"What the hell are you doing?" Qrow asked with his gruff voice carrying to the lower level.
The person he was speaking to took note of the veteran Huntsmen up above and quickly made his way up the stairs to Qrow's table, moving past the waitress and sitting himself down in the seat Raven Branwen sat in not too long ago.
The white haired immortal slid over one of the bottles to Qrow Branwen and began devouring the chicken he earned from down below, all while the older man poured himself a glass from the bottle he was given and took a long sip from it.
"When'd you figure me out?"
"This morning." Replied Dante, chicken fully and completely devoured, "More than certain I heard a Grimm about to pounce us. Then it didn't. But the other thing I could never mistake for the life of me is the sound a sword makes. Yours specifically."
"What about my weapon?" Asked Qrow, interested further in Dante's analysis.
"When we crossed swords that time we did during the Vytal Festival, I memorized the exact sound it makes when striking something."
"You're really weird, you know that kid?"
"Hey, you never know when the smaller details might be useful. Best take note of them all. My question is why have you been following us for the time that you have? I can only assume you started before I rejoined Ruby and the others. Following her because you were worried?"
"There's that. And there's another reason for it."
"Bait?"
Qrow fell silent when he heard those words.
"I'm not all too upset about it if that's the case. I mean, I did something similar ages ago when I was in the CGA on Primordial. And it worked."
"Right…with those… What did you call them again?"
"Vampires. Let my squad draw them in, I snuck in behind their trail, and pop, took out all the vamps in a few minutes."
"Kid your age and you put most of us to shame. It's impressive really."
"I do my best."
"It's also pretty frightening. Although, days like these, it pays to have allies with frightening abilities."
"But, that's not what we're here for. At least, that's not what I'm here for anyhow." Said Dante as he slid away the second platter of chicken, "What's after us?"
"I don't know."
"Mr. Branwen-"
"I don't know exactly who or what may be after you. But I know there might be someone out there searching."
"For what?"
"Ruby, more than likely. After Beacon Tower, she more than likely got someone's attention."
Dante's eyes furrowed a bit with confusion.
"What did Ruby do at Beacon tower?"
"You didn't know?"
Dante searched his memories of that night, whatever remained of them. He saw what he was looking for eventually, and saw it through the eyes of...whatever possessed him that night. He saw the expanse of light that came from the tower.
"No, I remember now… That was Ruby? How did..?"
The immortal then remembered another crucial fact that Entity made note of. Silver Eyes. Ruby's Silver Eyes.
Just what kind of power did her eyes hold?
"You know, don't you? About her eyes."
"I do."
"And these people...whoever they are...they'll be after her because of her eyes?" Asked the immortal in a more serious tone.
"If you already know, why are you even asking?"
"Because I'd like to confirm with other sources before I make an assumption, if I can."
Dante leaned back in his seat and dragged his left hand down his face, letting out a frustrated sigh before looking back to Qrow.
"What the heck are we involved in?"
"If I knew exactly, I'd tell ya kid. But as of now...I barely have a clue. All I know is that you need to be ready for anything out there. I'm not always going be able to watch your backs."
"Who says we need you to watch our backs?" Stated the immortal with a chuckle.
"Don't act tough, pipsqueak. I know that's not for show." Qrow said pointing to Dante's entirely bandaged right arm, "You're not going to be able to use your right arm to its full potential. And that's going to be a problem."
"A problem I've already solved. In case of emergency, I can make it usable at the cost of setting back my recovery time for it. I just have to use it sparingly is all. Thankfully, I haven't needed to use it all too much recently."
He had paused silently for a few moments, earning a few short nods from Qrow before both had began drinking from the bottle of their respective drinks, pausing after long gulps before setting their bottles down with satisfied sighs.
"Happy to be back with the gang?" Asked Qrow.
"Yeah. Really happy. And everyone feels the same. Well… Almost everyone."
"What do you mean? Ruby upset with you that were gone so long?"
"Uh, no actually considering she basically tackled me out of the sky and nearly killed the both of us. Well, herself, but you get the idea."
"So..?"
"Long story short mr. Branwen, I went a bit postal on the night Beacon fell and said some...really insensitive things. Patched things up with a few, but…"
"The Arc kid?"
"Just simply ignoring me for now. Though...I don't know what else might be in store…"
"Find a way to deal with it. That kind of thing happening out there? Not exactly what I'd call healthy."
"I know. I'll figure it out soon enough. But for now, especially after what you've just told me, I'm going to be extra careful in taking care of Ruby and the others. And...hope my partner and siblings are alright."
"They're checking out those towers that popped up recently, right?"
"You heard that?"
"Yeah. Didn't have time to look into it myself. Glad your people are doing it at least. By the way...siblings?"
"Long story for another time. Right now, I have to get back. I said I was going to get some chicken. I got my chicken. If I'm gone any longer they'll come looking for me. And I'm assuming you don't exactly want Ruby and the others to know you're here."
"Look…"
"I won't say a thing. You have my word. Just...sit us down when the time is right and tell us what you can. And be careful with whatever it is you're doing. I wouldn't want Ruby crying anytime soon."
"Be more worried about yourselves."
Dante offered the man a light chuckle before he stood up and went to leave, ready to turn in for the night.
"And kid…" said Qrow, drawing the immortals attention "Thanks for looking out for Ruby."
"Well...as much as you may not like hearing this, it's my unspoken duty as her boyfriend to protect her. Always." Said the immortal leveling his stare at Qrow as their eyes met a final time, "Be seeing you, mr. Branwen."
Qrow only gave him a nod and a wave before Dante descended down the stairs, fully out of the Huntsmen's sight. Looking at the bottle he was given by the immortal, he chuckled to himself briefly before pouring himself another glass, intent on finishing the gift he received before turning in for the night.
Dante entered the inn he, Ruby, Jaune, Nora and Ren were staying at for the night, approaching the clerk at the front desk.
"Good evening sir, what may I help you with?"
"I was here earlier with a group, but stepped out for a while, as you can remember."
"Ah yes, I remember now. You were with the young girl and her friends earlier that rented out three rooms." Said the man reaching under the counter and pulling out a keycard for the immortal, "She said to give you this when you returned. Please enjoy your stay tonight, sir."
"Thanks." He said grabbing the card in hand and walking upstairs to the rooms.
He paused a moment, realizing the clerk said something of interest.
"Wait… Did he say three rooms?" He raised up his hand and counted on his fingers, "Ruby, Jaune, Ren and Nora…"
Dante's eyes widened momentarily before he closed them and covered his reddened face.
"I swear...between the two of us, I don't know who's the actual devil…"
He looked at the keycard once more to find the room number he was staying in with Ruby and eventually found it at the end of the hall. Although, before he could enter, he heard the door behind him open slowly with a hum-like giggle from a certain Valkyrie that peeked her face between the opening.
"You two are going to be together and alone tonight…"
"A-And? What of it?" Said the immortal keeping his calm.
"Nothing. Just reminding you is all."
"Don't torture him Nora." Ren said approaching the door from inside, Nora moving away with a devious giggle.
All he could offer the immortal was an apologetic smile and shrug, before glancing at him rather seriously.
"Be safe."
Dante smacked his head in the door with an audible thud, "Leave me alone already, would you..?"
He needn't say more, since the door had closed immediately after he pleaded. He let out a sigh, frustrated with the fact some, or many, were convinced he was some sort of sexual deviant. Which wasn't true in the slightest. Especially since he's never-
…
Any further thought was halted as he quickly tapped the card against the door lock, allowing it to open, to the nicely lit room that resembled a comfy cabin room almost. There was a bed for two, a restroom, and a small closet for clothes, where currently, Ruby and Dante's packs rested in, along with her clothes on one hanger while her red cloak remained on a separate one.
If her clothes were there, where was she?
The door to the restroom opened, and out stepped Ruby...fully dressed in her black pajamas. She was busy drying her hair, mostly likely after taking a shower, and jumped a bit when she saw him.
"Y-You're back!"
"That I am." Said the immortal taking off his coat and placing it on a hanger in the closet.
"Did you like the chicken you got? I know you don't eat often, so…"
"Eh, it was as good as it could be." Said the immortal shrugging, "I'm gonna go shower real quick. You know, all gross and stuff from today. Back in a few."
"Um…" she started, grabbing his attention before he stepped inside, "D-Do you need help or anything? You know...because of your arm..?"
"N-No, I'll be fine. But, um, there are special bandages in my bag Inuba made in case we got separated and she couldn't heal me. And some ointment too. Maybe get those ready when I come out?"
"Sure thing. Oh, I put your pajamas in the restroom on the counter. They were the sleeveless black shirt and plaid black and white pajama pants, right?"
"Those were the ones. Thanks."
Dante closed the door behind him, and from what Ruby could hear, turned on the water to begin showering.
Instead of simply sitting around, she remembered to grab the bandages and ointment, and moved immortal's bag in the closet. He didn't keep much in there. It was mostly medical supplies, a few changes of clothes that were easy to pack away, and…
A charm in the shape of a cute nine-tailed fox. There was an etching on the back in a language Ruby didn't understand, but she could tell it was done by hand.
Was this a gift from his partner?
Now that she thought of it, the reaper didn't know all too much about Inuba, other than she was a close friend and his actual partner before coming here.
Maybe this is one of those protection charms people kept talking about back at Beacon?
Ruby liked the design of the fox. It looked cute. But...it was a bit odd. Not bad odd, but...when she held it, she couldn't help but feel a sort of soothing warmth being emitted from it, as if holding onto this charm brought peace of mind.
It was definitely something special. Which is why the young reaper put it back in the pocket flap she found it in. Instead of pondering further on the charm, she dug deeper into the bag and found a small box at the bottom, and opening it up, found the bandages and ointment she was looking for.
Now that she had what she needed, she placed everything on the bed and waited patiently, looking around the room until she finally heard the water being shut off. Finally, the door opened, and out stepped stepped Dante.
When Ruby saw him, she slapped a hand to her mouth and began chortling.
"What?"
She only pointed towards his head while containing her giggles of amusement, making Dante turn around to look in the mirror and see what she was laughing at, that being that his hair was all kinds of messy and standing straight up.
"Oh yeah, that's cute. You laugh at Jaune for wearing a bunny hoodie, and laugh at me because my hair looks like a powered up Super Saiyan?" He said flattening his hair back to its normal appearance.
"What?!" She Asked barely able to contain her laughter.
The immortal grabbed a pillow from a chair nearby and tossed it at Ruby, who was completely flattened by the pillow, and yet still laughing. She sat up as she calmed herself, wiping away the tears from her eye, but she finally fell silent when she stared at his right arm without its bandage wrappings.
Pitch black darkness covered a vast majority of his fingers, hand, and forearm, all the way up to the mid-section of his forearm. The dark substance didn't cover it entirely, and was in fact spotty in numerous locations all around, revealing the teen's pale skin beneath.
Ruby could only imagine how it used to look before he started treating it…
"Oh right, bandages. Um, it's perfectly safe to touch, nothing infectious or anything. Just rub the ointment on and bandage it up." Instructed Dante as he sat down on the bed next to Ruby.
"Okay…"
The young reaper unscrewed the cap off the small circular container and scooped out a large clump of the gel-like ointment with her index finger, then rubbed it together with her palms before applying it to his arm and hand.
She moved in soft rotations, starting with his forearm and massaging it as she went lower, soon lathering his hand and fingers with the minty ointment, giving him the same comfortable massage.
Small shocks of pain coursed through his arm, but with each section covered, the pain lessening as a powerful warmth washed over the young immortals arm. Finished with applying the ointment, Ruby unraveled the bandage roll and began wrapping around the cloth, moving on a very quick and fluid motion, finishing the wrapping of his forearm, hand, and individual fingers within a matter of seconds.
Dante was impressed with her wrapping skills. They were spot on.
"Nice. Thank you for that." He said while Ruby packed away the medical supplies back into the box, setting it aside on the nightstand.
"Does it hurt? Your arm I mean…"
"Not as bad as it was when it started. Thankfully Inuba was able to do something with her healing magic to erase it slowly over time."
"What did you even do?" Asked Ruby.
"Overflow of Aura in my right arm. The intense concentration just wrecked my arm entirely. And considering my Aura has a sort of lingering effect, it ended up backfiring on me a bit."
"Lingering effect? Like a long lasting burn?"
"Yeah, sort of. Picked up a lot of new tricks these past few months. I hope you did too."
"O-Of course! Can't you see how much I've grown these past months?!"
Now that he looked at her…
…
Certain thoughts very quickly became distant.
"I do…" he said looking away with some red in his face.
Seemingly enough, she too understood the repercussions of her question, and looked away as well. But her eyes looked back, searching for his hand while she slowly grasped his, hoping it wouldn't hurt him.
But it didn't in the slightest.
"We should get to sleep… Long day tomorrow. I'll take the couch, you can-"
As he moved to get up, Dante found himself held in place and swiftly pulled back.
"Y-You remember what I said...right?"
How could he forget?
"A-Are you sure? I mean…"
"I meant what I said...so…"
The immortal let out a deep exhale and slipped into the covers with Ruby, the wide expanse of the fabric more than enough to wholly and comfortably cover the pair.
They were close to another, nearly back to back. And just when the immortal thought he was safe...he felt her arms wrap around him from behind, pulling herself to his back as both their heads rested on the same pillow. He was utterly powerless at the moment to resist her embrace. That and...she was clinging to him rather tightly, confirming for him how much she "grew" within the past few months.
And it wasn't simply growing taller.
"Hey…" she said to him softly.
"Yes?" He answered back, rotating himself to now face Ruby with their faces mere inches away as she still held on to him
"Do you ever think about them? Your old friends?"
That was...difficult to answer. Of course he missed his old friends, but…
"Sometimes. But nowadays I just think about you and everyone else, and hope that I can continue to keep you, Ren, Nora and Jaune safe. Not to be mean to everyone else or anything, but...that especially means you."
Ruby's cheeks turned red a bit when she heard him say that, clutching him even tighter as she buried her face into his chest to hide it.
"Any tighter and you might actually break me…"
"I-I'm sorry..!"
"It's alright." He said as he too wrapped his arms around Ruby, holding her closely, "I don't break easily. Thankfully…"
"Yeah… You kinda proved that a few times already."
"Are you worried?"
"Maybe just a little?"
"Well… Don't you worry. We'll make it to Haven and figure out what started this mess. Then...maybe eat a few sandwiches."
"Why sandwiches?" Asked Ruby with a giggle.
"Something an old mentor of mine once said to me. But never mind that. We need rest now. So close those pretty eyes of yours and go to sleep, alright?"
"Y-You have to sleep too you know… That was part of the agreement…"
"I know." He said kissing her forehead, "Sleep now. We have a busy day ahead of us."
"What's on the agenda today?"
"Walking." Answered Jaune.
"With a side of...?"
"Walking." Ren responded to Nora's question.
"Haven is a lot farther away than I thought…"
"Ruby? How long did you think this journey was going to take?" Asked Ren.
"I don't know! I grew up in a small area, I've never been this far away from home!"
"We get that, but still...how long did you think this was going to take?" Dante asked her.
"Maybe like, uh… two weeks?"
Dante and everyone else looked at her with shock.
"You're joking, right?" Asked the immortal, eyeing her seriously.
"Okay, fine! Three or something!"
Dante sighed at her response. He had to give her points for her enthusiasm in wanting to get things handled quickly.
"Hey, what's that?"
Ruby's question made everyone look ahead with interest, Nora moving ahead slightly while jumping onto a slightly fallen post of a fence to get a closer look at a wall and building further along the road.
"That's strange…" Said Jaune checking his map, "I didn't think we'd be hitting another village for a few days."
"Are those buildings damaged?"
"We should search for survivors!" Said Jaune as he dropped the map, all four, save Dante, running into the village.
He would've told them it was pointless to rush since it was abandoned, but they were too quick for him to say anything. Plus, he had to catch the map Jaune carelessly discarded in a rush to see if there were any survivors.
But the immortal knew better than to expect survivors of any kind. This village has been dead for a very long time. He did consider it a potential hideout for outlaws, but he used his Aura Sensing as soon as Nora pointed out the village, and scanned it entirely, finding no human presence within the abandoned town.
When he entered inside, he saw his friends and Ruby working hard to see if there was a sign of something.
"Anything?"
"Nothing over here!" Nora shouted over to Ruby.
"No one over here, either!" Jaune shouted from further ahead as he made his way back to the group.
"It almost seems like the town was abandoned."
Dante approached, standing by Ruby's side as the pair looked around while the others continued searching. The immortal couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he felt uneasy. Looking to Ruby, he could she felt the same.
"Hey, I think I found something!"
They snapped their heads in the direction of Nora's voice and rushed over, seeing the remaining three of JNPR Jaune looking at a town sign. Nora brushed away the ivy growing over the sign to the side to allow them to read what it said.
"Oniyuri? Never heard of it."
"Me neither…"
"I have." Ren spoke up suddenly, drawing the attention of the four, "You might think of it as Anima's Mountain Glenn, had it never been completed. Years ago, the richest members of Mistral were unhappy with how the Kingdom was being run. Frustrated with the council, they pooled their resources together to build their own city, with their own laws. They hoped that one day, it could maybe even become its own Kingdom. Many thought it would be the future." He spoke as he looked away from them, "I know my parents did."
"What happened?" Asked Ruby.
Off to the side, Ren brushed away some dirt of a stone border belonging to a low wall, revealing claw marks scratched deep within the stone.
"What always happens…"
"The Grimm." Jaune answered for all of them
Dante was quick to notice Ren's hands tightening into fists.
"Not just any… One."
One? Maybe he's talking about one Grimm in particular. Before running into Ciel and Leo, Inuba and I ran into a few new Grimm along the way. Big ones that were just powerful enough to take down a village on its own. That Minotaur we fought a while back being an example of many. I wonder… What Grimm might have done this? From the looks of it...Ren might know something.
The immortal turned his gaze to Ren, noting his behavior was out of his...usual calm demeanor. Not only that, but he seemed...angry almost.
"Come on. Let's just get through here. This place gives me the creeps." Said Jaune as he walked ahead of the group.
You and me both…
"So...what do you think?" Dante asked Ruby, the duo lagging behind their friends as they too slowly progressed forward.
"I don't know what to think… All I know is that I don't like it here…"
"Me neither… Usually by now I'd see a Dark Entity or something rising up from the rubble somewhere to sink it's teeth into me… Now that I know they aren't here, not knowing what's out here is a bit unsettling. Even for me."
"Since when are you scared of anything?"
"Nothing really scares me to be honest. The only thing I'm worried about is you guys. You did notice that there are some gnarly Grimm out and about in the wilds, right?"
"Yeah… I mean, we didn't run into a Minotaur like you did, but…"
"Grimm are the least of my concerns…"
"Then..?"
Dante suddenly remembered Qrow's words from the night before.
After Beacon Tower, she more than likely got someone's attention. All I know is that you need to be ready for anything out there…
"It's people I'm more worried about." Replied the immortal softly as he continued walking forward.
But after a few moments, the four behind Ren saw him suddenly raise his hand to silently halt them, closing his eyes to focus on whatever he picked up. Dante stood silently next to Ruby, hand tapping the side of his thigh. He was hoping for a false alarm. But when Ren drew his weapon, any chance of that disappeared within an instant.
Soon, all of them had their weapons drawn, and looked around the area quickly, trying to ascertain where their enemy would be coming from. Soon enough, Dante closed his eyes and focused everything on his hearing. He definitely heard human footsteps, of that there was no question.
But it was the subtle, mad giggling that put the immortal off ever so slightly.
And before they knew it...he appeared, leaping over the high hall so easily and landing in front of everyone, catching them off guard.
He was a pale man with gold eyes and a brown ponytail braided to resemble a scorpion's tail. He wore a white sleeveless jacket with leather belts strapped to it, along with white pants, his jacket left open, exposing his bare chest that was criss-crossed with prominent scars. His arms were covered with purple bandages and leather vambraces, also wearing leather boots covering his entire shin with knee guards. On each earlobe was a silver, ring-shaped earring, and near the top of his left ear was another matching earring. Over it all, he sported a dark brown jacket, which he wore open the same way he did with his white one underneath.
Without a second to spare, he immediately revealed his weapons in a seamless motion, metallic claws shaped like pincers, and laughing eagerly, moved to attack Ruby first. Ren was the first to intercept him, the blades of his StormFlower clashing with the stranger's claw blades. Ren then attempted to both kick and shoot the man, but he dodged out of the way, the two exchanging more attacks and parries until the man kicked Ren away several feet.
The new arrival turned to go after Ruby again, only to be immediately locked in a clash with Dante. They exchanged a few rapid blows before the man broke the teen's guard and planted his foot in the immortal's face, sending him flying into one of the buildings nearby as it collapsed atop him.
Yet again the man moved forward towards Ruby, who rushed forward with Crescent Rose to meet him. He used his blades to block the initial slash of her scythe and kicked Ruby backward. She easily remained upright and clashed again, the man managing to land a strike on Ruby's right arm, making her cry out in pain all the while the man laughed. Ruby didn't break stride and leapt back to take a swing at him with her scythe, her foe dodging and then landing a powerful blow that moved against the body of Crescent Rose, and struck the reaper's abdomen, causing a red shimmer of her Aura to glow in the area of where she was struck as she reeled back.
Jaune stepped in not a moment later, but the crazed man simply climbed onto his shield, grinning at him with intrigue. Nora rushed in with her Magnhild, but the man leapt from Jaune's shield to her hammer and kicked her away.
Ruby, who lay on the ground, was open to attack once more.
Before the maniac even had the thought to charge forward, he spun around to find a small wave of white and black Aura rushing at him with great speed, crashing into him as he blocked with his arm-blades and sending him flipping backwards towards a small tower. He split his legs apart mid-air, doing a perfect split, and crashed into the building upright, using his legs to keep himself suspended between two support beams as he looked down upon the group of five.
Dante walked up to Ruby and quickly helped her up, the duo and their friends quickly retaking their stances, ready for the next attack.
"We're not looking for a fight!" Jaune shouted.
"Who are you?"
With a light chuckle, the man leaned forward and dropped from the tower, performing a front flip and landing on his feet in front of them.
"Who I am matters not to you." He said pointing to Ren, "Or you." He moved to Nora, "Or-"He immediately cut himself off and paused when reaching Jaune, "Well...you do interest me."
Jaune gasped nervously in response. The crazed man then looked to Dante and grinned a twisted grin at him, one that made the young immortal more uneasy than he had been.
"And you… You fascinate me to no end… What is someone like you doing with people like them?"
"What do you mean by that?" Asked Dante.
"Why child, don't you remember that bloody night months ago? When you slaughtered that entire fanatical cult?"
That night…
"I'd remember seeing a lunatic like you. Were you off watching to the side?"
"Why, I was merely passing by when I saw the commotion. And I must say...you have extraordinary talent. So again, why is someone like you traveling with a bunch like them?"
"I'm not here for a quiz, jackass. Tell us what you're after."
"Oh well. In any case, the only person I matter to...is you." He said pointing to Ruby, as the rest turned to look at her.
Poor Ruby could only tilt her head in confusion.
I was right… Qrow was right… thought the immortal as his grip on his sword tensed up.
"Me?" The young reaper barely managed to squeak out.
The man stared at her, bewildered by how clueless Ruby was to the situation and broke out laughing.
"You… You haven't the slightest clue, do you? Oh, how exciting this must be!"
"What do you want?" Asked Ruby.
The crazed man gasped in surprise before acting dramatically in response to her tone of voice.
"Oh, the rose has thorns! My little flower, I'm here to whisk you away with me!"
Dante stepped in front if Ruby immediately when he heard him say that, glaring at the man as he glared back.
"Well, what if she doesn't want to go with you?" Asked Nora, readying herself.
He stared at them for a moment, lips scrunched up and eyes darting around slightly before he gave his answer.
"Well...I'll take her."
"That's not going to happen." The immortal responded in a chilling tone.
The stranger closes his eyes for a moment and inhaled through his teeth. eyes slowly opening back up as he happily growled a single word with his dark grin.
"Good."
He was more than delighted that they were willing to fight, and so moved quickly around them all to attack Jaune first from behind.
Ren shot at Jaune's shield so that the ricochet of his bullets hit the man, who covered his eyes with his arm and then cartwheeled onto Jaune's shield, using his claw blades to spin in the air against it. Ruby and Dante stepped in to face Tyrian on his descent, but he kicked the both of them off to the side. Jaune quickly took a swing with his sword at the crazed stranger, but he simply dodged the slice and kicked him away as well.
His next target was Nora, and so he quickly turned to face the Valkyrie and sprinted directly for her. From across the way, Ruby grinned with Dante as she shot Nora with a lightning Dust round, which passed just over Tyrian's left shoulder as he turned and sensed it. Moving his head out of the way, he watched the bullet fly into Nora, knocking her down when the bolt made contact.
Clearly their foe mistook the reaper's move as a tactical error on Ruby's part when he gave them a baffled stare, laughing while Ren, Jaune, Dante and Ruby simply watched and waited.
"Well, if that isn't ironic…"
He immediately sensed something something strange and lost his mirth. With a determined, satisfied grin, Nora rushed Tyrian from behind with immense speed than her usual, moving over his right shoulder and coming before him just in time to swing Magnhild down on him, the blast from the attack creating a backwash of dust and air that obscured their sight.
What they saw next left them in shock.
The air cleared to reveal a perfectly fine Tyrian in a low crouch, using his now newly unveiled appendage that block Magnhild.
A scorpion tail.
"Surprise!" he spoke in a cheery tone as he kicked Nora twice in the face before leaping backward and upward onto a roof, leaving his coat behind.
"He's…a Faunus…" stated Ren.
And a scorpion Faunus at that. This is going to be a problem… He's definitely going to have numerous traits belonging to a scorpion, those being durable skin, extremely fast movements, high sensing capabilities and heightened reflexes.
"What is this about?! The White Fang?! Roman Torchwick?!" Asked Ruby.
"Plastic soldiers and pawns! My heart and body belong only to our goddess!"
A moment of realization struck Ruby.
"Cinder…"
A good guess, but…
"Hmph, only in her wildest dreams…" he corrected.
Scanning the battlefield, the man noticed something was...off… Someone was missing.
And then he felt it, something that four out of the five children he was fighting did not show, or rather, lacked.
The intent to kill.
He spun around immediately and raised up both arms to guard himself against the white longsword that emerged from the darkness, ready to split him in half. His arm blades and Dante's sword clashed violently, letting out a small shockwave upon contact. Both were struggling to push the other back as sparks flowed from their weapons.
"Ah… So this devil does have horns! And a nasty bite to add…"
"Trust me pal…" Dante said as he slowly started pushing back the crazed man, "The second you see horns is the second you stop living…"
The man giggled in response to the threat.
"I do want an answer from before…" he said as he began to push Dante away, all the while keeping his twisted grin about him, "Why are you with them? You could be elsewhere now, but…"
He noticed Dante glancing past him, and the man tilted his head back, finding that which the immortal gazed at for but a few moments, laughing excitedly as their gazes met once more.
"The devil seems to be mesmerized by the young rose… And the rose has an infatuation with the mesmerized devil… Hehehehehe… Good… All the more sweeter for when I tear her apart from you."
Dante's eyes widened momentarily before he let out a silent growl, his gaze becoming sharper and colder, something that made the man laugh with glee.
The immortal broke their clash instantly, bringing his sword in towards him before thrusting forward with blinding speed, aiming for the center of the man's forehead. But instead, he watched the scorpion tailed Faunus catch his blade with said tail, forcing it to a halt. With that, he grabbed hold of Dante, lifted him up, and tossed him away like a toy towards one of the buildings down, leaping after him just as quickly.
He expected the immortal to not be able to react, but to his surprise, he immediately spun around mid flight to met the crazed stranger head on, striking his sword at the arm blade coming for his throat. Both had crashed into the abandoned building as another dust cloud formed around their crash site.
When it cleared away, Ruby and the others were relieved to see Dante still standing, blocking the arm blade that was about ready to tear his throat, but the reaper gasped at what she saw next.
The Faunus strangers scorpion tail that was deeply embedded in the teen's abdomen. But regardless of the sharp appendage stuck in his body, the immortal looked as though he wasn't fazed in the slightest, still keeping his harsh scowl about him as he glared at the stranger, who continued trying to sink his pincer-like arm blades into the teen's throat.
"It seems I was right! You aren't a bore in the slightest! Not like those children!"
Dante struggled to push him back, but in the position he was in, it was incredibly difficult to do so.
"I'm glad in fact… It wouldn't have been any fun if you died too quickly!"
"Dante, no!" Called out Ruby as she leaned forward to move when she saw the stranger raise up his other, free armblade to strike the immortal.
But she stopped immediately afterwards, breathing a bit more easily.
To the man's surprise, Dante used his right hand that was in the sling to catch his wrist, completely halting him from further action. But his right arm was different, changed. Thin, twisted, segmented black armor covered his arm entirely from his very fingertips all the way to his shoulder, his blackened claws digging into the flesh of the man's wrist.
His right arm was Shadow Skinned.
"Heh… Hehehahaha… Child's play like this is all you have? You're a bigger disappointment than I thought…" spoke the immortal with a bowed head.
The man had long since dropped his twisted grin, and adopted the same scowl the immortal had not too long ago.
"But… If you're so worried about this fight ending too quickly…" Black wisps of Aura emerged from Dante's person as he slowly raised his head to meet the gaze of the stranger, "Then let me make things a bit more interesting!" He spoke looking up at the man with a grin of his own, the whites of his eyes now black and his bright sky blue irises now a glowing white.
The air shivered and quaked violently from the sheer pressure of the young immortal's visibly flowing Aura, and with immediate ease, he pushed back the scorpion tailed Faunus, leaving enough space between him to swing his sword. And he did, for Dante quickly swung his Aura coated sword inwards across his body and left a deep slash across the stranger's chest, marking his body with a new scar as blood spurted from his wound, the sheer force of the strike enough to send him flying backwards.
"It won't be any fun if you die too quickly… So do me a favor and keep fighting like the lunatic you are!"
Clearly he didn't take Dante's taunt too well, for the stranger quickly found his bearings and planted his feet against a wall nearby, kicking off it to quickly re-engage the teen. But Dante was faster, for he darted forward with immense speed, exchanging a few blows with his target before coming to another clash.
They locked eyes, but Dante was the only one smiling.
The stranger was infuriated, evidenced by angry shout he let out as he broke their clash and swung his right leg into Dante's left arm with immense force, expecting it to break as Dante's body bent inward towards the round kick. But the teen remained unfazed by the strike, easily pushing away his attackers leg and swinging viciously at the stranger. The teen ducked under another kick, letting the man's leg swing overhead as he spun around and struck upwards, launching his foe into the sky.
But the scorpion tailed attacker did not falter, immediately spinning himself around in the air, turning his body into a rapid blur. Dante dodged the initial downwards kick to the top of his head, only to look up and see an armblade belonging to his attacker swing down across his body.
The stranger let out a giggle of joy, only to be silenced by the blade point entering into his abdomen. To retaliate, his yellow eyes turned purple as his scorpion stinger whipped about quickly, moving around his left to stab the teen in the eye. But to his surprise, the young immortal caught it with his bare hand. He tried to pull away, but he could not, for the immortal had his tail in a vice-like grip.
Then...he did something unexpected. He removed his sword and discarded it, and intended, wrapped the tail he caught around his left hand and pulled his attacker in towards him, delivering a powerful punch from his armored right arm and hand into the face of the Faunus man's face. He repeated the same attack four more times, soon spinning around the stranger rapidly before tossing him up to the sky.
Dante then quickly grabbed his sword from the floor and leapt up after his foe, where they exchanged a few blows before the teen stomped his leg into the face of his enemy, sending him crashing into the earth with enough force to make him bounce off the ground.
The end was upon the crazed man, evidenced by the fact Dante descended upon him sword first, ready to cut the man that attacked him, his lover, and friends in two.
But it was not to be.
The immortal was more than shocked when he saw a blade resting beneath his own, preventing him from cutting the scorpion tailed Faunus into two.
It was a weapon like the young immortal's, a longsword. Only, compared to the elegance of Dante's sword, this newer arrival's blade took on a more sinister appearance.
The entirety of his longsword was colored black and looked like a weapon made from bone, the blade itself smooth and refined compared to the rest of the design of the weapon. The handle showed off that more sinister aspect, the cross branches resembling crimson red muscle fibers coiled together, where at the center where they met was encased in black bone like plating in the shape of a diamond.
There were also two prongs on the ends of the cross branches facing upwards towards the sky, resembling curved, sharp teeth. The majority of the handle looked similar to the branches in which it resembled crimson, coiled together muscle fibers. There were two sections of the handle encased in black material, most likely for gripping the weapon. The pommel had a similar curved sharp tooth design to the prongs on the ends of the branches.
(A/N Imagine this newer arrival with the voice of Doug Erholtz, who voiced the English dubbed version of Gin Ichimaru from Bleach and Hazama/Terumi from BlazBlue.)
When Dante looked up, he saw who exactly the weapon belonged to. A man standing at his side just a few feet away, sporting a tattered black cloak that covered his entire being. From his feet, the immortal saw he was wearing silvery colored zori sandals along with black tabi socks that rose above his ankles quite a bit. His cloak had long, wide cuff sleeves that hid his hands, save for his left that currently held his sinister looking sword.
From what else he saw, he had his black hood up, but the entirety of his head was covered by a white mask-helmet made of what looked like bone with some red markings and details. But what drew the immortal's attention the most was the shape of the helmet.
It resembled that of a Grimm-like dragon, almost similar to the Wyvern he fought and killed at Beacon. The horns that remained on the upper parts of the sides of the mask were slightly slicked back in a diagonal angle, the eyeholes of the mask slanted, and sharply curved in numerous directions. Unlike an actual Grimm, no visible red glow emerged from the eyeholes.
"My, that was very dangerous. Had I not decided to step in like I originally intended, you really would have cut this man in two." Spoke the new stranger in a sly, cool, calm voice.
Dante tried pushing his blade downwards, but the Dragon Masked man's blade didn't budge an inch. Instead, he effortlessly forced up Dante's sword and lashed out at him with a blindingly fast strike that sent him skidding on his heels, allowing the scorpion tailed Faunus to stand back up, eyeing his "savior" cautiously.
"And who are you? His back up?" Asked Dante.
"Who, me? That's hardly the case." He said waving his hand down, "See, the only reason I saved him is because had I not, I'd be dealing with five of you instead of simply just one person. So instead, I'd rather he fight the other four while I have you to myself."
"Me..?"
Does that mean..?
"Like how this man behind me is here for the young girl…" he said raising up his right hand and pointing to Dante, "I'm only here for you, and you alone."
Dante raised up his sword and grasped it firmly with both hands, keeping his eyes focused on the Dragon Masked man.
"So now you know." He said before turning towards the scorpion tailed stranger, "You can do as you please with those children. So long as you don't interfere with my business, I won't interfere with yours. Do we have an agreement?"
"Hmmm… Well, alright then. I suppose I can agree to your terms. After all, this makes it much more simpler for me!"
He immediately dashed off towards Ruby and the others once again, prompting the young immortal to sprint forward after him. But he was immediately intercepted by his Dragon Masked foe, coming to a clash with him once more.
"Now now, where are you off to in such a hurry?"
"Shut up and get out of the way!"
The Masked man quickly broke their clash and repeatedly struck at Dante, his slashes moving with lightning fast speed as he constantly pushed back Dante. The immortal had no room to attack, all he could focus on at the moment was blocking and parrying the incredibly fast swings trying to dice him apart, all while he quickly stepped back to prevent himself from being completely overwhelmed.
"Dear me, that's an impressive sword you have there!" Said the Masked man as he kept slashing at Dante, "I feel as though mine could break at any moment if I keep striking it against yours!"
At this point, the immortal wished that were the case, even if the probability of it happening was really low.
Eventually Dante was pushed into wall, ducking under a slash to his neck and clashing momentarily with his opponent before spinning around the corner of a building, ripping out a metal bar from the broken concrete wall and tossed it up as the Dragon Masked man rounded the corner. As he expected, his target slashed at the bar first, allowing Dante to move in quickly, duck under another slash, block the next one and deliver a kick to the man's abdomen to send him back a good distance.
Now they were back on even footing, exchanging blindingly furious blows with one another, their swords ringing out throughout the abandoned town.
In all honesty, the immortal knew he could be doing better. But at the moment, he was deathly afraid for his comrades. Yes, they've fought people like Roman Torchwick and the like and have gained much experience. But the Faunus attacking them wasn't Roman Torchwick. Torchwick was a bad thing, of that there was no question. But the one they were fighting against now...he was a worse thing. Far worse.
He saw them struggling in the distance. And the more they struggled, the more fearful for their lives he was.
"You should be focusing on our fight you know. Thinking so much about their probability of dying will only distract you."
"JUST SHUT UP! AND MOVE!" The immortal angrily shouted as white and black Aura raged violently from his blade.
With a now amplified swing, Dante spun his opponent around and unleashed a massive wave of his Aura against his target, sending both the wave and the Masked man into a building nearby with very explosive results.
As much as the teen wanted to immediately turn around and run towards Ruby and the others still battling the scorpion tailed man in the distance, he knew if the man wasn't dead from his last attack, he would leave himself exposed. And with the speed of his target, it was something he could easily take advantage of.
"My my… That was very dangerous…"
Hearing his voice call out from the clearing dust made Dante's eyes widen for a moment.
Of course he wasn't going to go down so simply… But what shocked Dante the most wasn't that he was still alive.
It was how very little damage his opponent took.
A few minor burns at best along his right hand, and minor damage to the sleeve covering his hand.
"But it was also very enlightening for me. I should deal with you now while I'm still able to." He then suddenly heard the voice of the Masked man directly behind him, a hand patting him on the shoulder, "Otherwise I might regret it later."
Dante immediately leapt away and spun around to face his opponent, clearly spooked by his enemy appearing behind him so suddenly.
When did he get behind me so quickly?! Did I get distracted for a moment and not notice him move behind me?! No..! I never took my eyes off him for a second..!
"Hmmm… What should I do next I wonder..?"
Dante took a cautious stance, but it was for naught, for the stranger was already directly in front of him.
"I think I'll just finish you off now."
The immortal made to swing his sword, only to have his guard broken and his right wrist pierced into the ground by the stranger's sword, also forcing him to the ground. Dante looked up to see the man reaching for Dante's Head with his free hand, but the teen raised up his left leg and pushed against the inner elbow joint, preventing the hand from reaching his head any further.
Now that the were in a standstill of sorts, the young immortal had time to look over towards Ruby and the others, seeing their fight fairing not so well either.
He saw the man exchanging a few quick blows with Ren and Nora before kicking them away once again, allowing him to use his tail to knock Crescent Rose down. Though surprised, Ruby didn't lose her grip on her weapon and began attacking the man as he attacked her in return, the two both attacking and missing each other until the man managed to kick Ruby backwards again.
He used his tail to go after Ren once again before finally kicking him away yet again and attacking Jaune next. The man darted and weaved between the knights attacks with superfluous ease, dodging each attack while dishing out damage to hm. He made sure to focus his attacks on Ruby whenever she attacked, moving in for any opening that presented itself.
Pushing back Jaune and Ren, the crazed stranger delivered a right hook to Ruby's face and a left blow to her torso, causing red shimmers of her Aura to appear on her head and chest respectively with each blow. He then turned and whipped his tail to knock Ruby backwards into the air, making her fly back several feet as he rushed forward to meet her before she landed. While Ruby was still midair, he kicked her directly in the abdomen, causing another red shimmer of Aura to appear over her abdomen and hips.
The man approached Ruby on the ground and raised his stinger, his eyes turning dark purple, all while Dante looked on in horror.
But he still had one free hand.
And so the immortal extending his hand towards Ruby, creating a barrier from his white and black Aura of tightly compacted hexagonal shapes, stopping the tail from striking Ruby. Still not done yet, Dante pointed his pressed together index and central fingers upwards towards the sky, commanding his barrier to disassemble and form four Aura Swords that pointed towards the scorpion tailed stranger, the swords then shooting forward and cutting the man in numerous sections of his body, forcing him away.
But it still wasn't enough to make him retreat.
Laughing, the man was about to strike with his scorpion tail...but it fell short of its intended target, crashing into a large sword of sorts. Any worry Dante had for Ruby immediately vanished within that instant.
Qrow Branwen had entered the fray, placing himself between Ruby and the crazed stranger, holding his weapon behind his back. And from what Dante saw, Ruby too was smiling.
Dante looked back to see his opponent distracted for a moment and decided to headbutt him, which worked in forcing him back a little as his longsword exited Dante's wrist. With room to maneuver, Dante flipped himself backwards whilst swinging up his right leg to deliver a kick to his enemies chin, sending him back a few feet while Dante stood standing once again.
The immortal quickly created an Aura Dagger and tossed it into the dirt next to Qrow, which allowed Dante to use his Embedded Shift to teleport to the dagger in a streak of white and black Aura.
Qrow finally pushed back the scorpion tailed Faunus' tail, allowing him to turn and face his niece's attacker along with Dante.
"Friends of yours?" Asked Qrow.
"You wish old man…"
Qrow only chuckled at the teen's reply.
"Jokes aside...that scorpion tailed lunatic said he was after Ruby… Is he one of those people you talked about?" Asked Dante in a low whisper.
"Could be… What's that guy's story?" Qrow asked nodding towards the Dragon Masked man as he approached them from the distance.
"No clue… But whoever he is, he's here for an entirely different reason compared to that guy. He said he was here for me. Qrow… Is there someone else out there with some sort of agenda? Like the person that freak belongs to?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, kid. As far as I know, there's only one group of people out there looking to cause trouble. Whoever that… What the hell kind of mask is that?"
"A Dragon I think?"
"Right… Whoever that Dragon Masked guy is, he's definitely got to be affiliated with someone else."
"Either way...you've got a lot of explaining to do." Said Dante as he readied himself once more.
(Omake: Deathakus, Destroyer of Worlds - by HydraFlow)
Dante had very little to do on Sundays. Homework, training… All of that could be done during the week, after classes or even during them. That said, Sundays were still very productive for the monochrome warrior, often leading to trips to Vale to bask in the livelihood of the city and acquainting himself with its surroundings.
This Sunday was no different.
After buying some trinkets from a local knick-knack store, Dante waved the owner goodbye as he continued to trek down the street, looking for anything unusual to investigate.
It didn't take him long to find something.
Down a dimly lit alley to his immediate left, a small, almost inaudible mewing could be heard coming from an orange, slightly worn, dust-covered shoe box resting beside a dumpster.
"What's this?" the boy thought out loud, furrowing his eyebrows with concern.
Holding his carrier bag of souvenirs in his left hand, Dante slowly approached the box, bringing his right hand forward to open it and peer inside. Though, as he made to lift the lid, a tiny black paw darted out and minute, razor sharp claws scratched the back of his hand.
"Ah!" he cried, pulling his hand back in an instant.
The small cuts healed immediately and didn't really hurt him to begin with, but the attack sure as hell took him by surprise. Soon after, the box started making the small mewing noises that drew Dante near in the first place.
"You little devil…" he muttered, smirking all the while.
Whatever was inside wasn't asking for help or crying out for attention, it was baiting people into being scratched.
Smart move…
He had a feeling that he knew what was inside, but the boy's curiosity would not allow him to leave the matter untended, not until he saw it for himself. With a grin, Dante lightly scratched the side of the box, as opposed to trying to open it in order to lure the creature out. Naturally, the paw shot out again, only to find nothing in its mini path of destruction. The tiny appendage searched around for a bit, scratching at the side of the orange cardboard until a little head popped out.
Two black pointed ears sat on top of a small fluffy face as the creature, now identified as a kitten, looked around. Dante swooned, immediately lifting the lid off of the box and, much to its protest, lifted the little black kitten out of the box.
"What're you doing all by yourself, little buddy?" the boy asked, lifting the kitten a little higher to get a read on its gender.
He was male, and from Dante could tell, he had a lot of fight in him. The kitten kept squirming in his hands, using his little claws to take revenge upon the heathen that pried him from his castle.
Dante could only chuckle at his attempts.
"Well, I most certainly can't leave you here." he said calmly, watching as the kitten eventually ceased his resistance.
He gave the small creature's ears a scratch as he pondered what to do with him, though much to his surprise, the kitten seemed to enjoy it, quite contradictory to the small bout of defiance he gave Dante not five seconds ago. This egged Dante on further, lighting scratching the kitten's ears before moving on to stroke his tiny head.
They say black cats are a sign of bad luck, but Dante was convinced that his meeting with this one was no mere coincidence. Some cosmic entity had assured that his encounter with this kitten was sealed and thus, in that moment, Dante had made his mind up.
He was going to keep it.
But if he was going to keep it, he was going to have to name it too. There were many, many names that filtered in and out of his head. Some good, some awful, but none of them seemed to fit. And so Dante's fingers found their way to the kitten's belly, attempting to give it a rub before ultimately being assaulted again as he went deep into thought.
With a smile, Dante placed the kitten inside one of his front pockets, deciding that a name for the kitten will hit him eventually. So with a kitten in his pocket and his carrier bag of knick-knacks still held in his left hand, he stood up and continued on down the street, still deep in thought.
As his bright blue eyes glanced around the busy main road, they quickly fell onto an undertaker's workshop, unmarked gravestones advertised in the front window.
A rather grim reality, but these kinds of stores were rather common in a world as hostile and unforgiving as Remnant.
Then it hit him.
Death…
Dante glanced down at the kitten in his pocket with a wide smile on his face.
"Death!" he exclaimed, earning a few concerned stares from random passers-by.
When the kitten gave little to no response, Dante quickly recoiled as the reality that he had just yelled "death" outside an undertaker's workshop with a smile on his face in broad daylight crashed down upon him like a tonne of bricks.
"I guess that's not the name we're looking for, huh?" Dante murmured to the kitten as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
A small meow drew his attention back to the kitten. He was looking up at Dante expectantly, flicking one of his ears reflexively. The kitten outstretched his forelegs and lightly scratched his coat, meowing once more.
"What's this?" Dante murmured, "You like the name?"
The kitten's response was less of a yes and more of a so-so meow.
"Mr Death?"
Nope.
"Lord Death?"
Not happening.
"Grandmaster of the Dead?"
The kitten looked bored now.
Dante sighed before humming to himself in thought.
"How about… Deathukus, the Destroyer of Worlds?"
His question received somewhat of a positive response if the kitten biting at the fabric of Dante's coat could be considered a definitive answer. Dante then dropped his carrier bag, lifted Deathukus from his coat pocket and held him high in the air, despite the apparent dangers of doing so.
"From this day forth, you shall be known all across the land as Deathukus, the Destroyer of Worlds! The Ravager of Tuna! The Eviscerator of-!"
Dante was silenced by someone tapping him on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, young man, you're disturbing the neighbourhood." spoke an elderly woman, around half the size of Dante himself.
Dante placed Deathukus back inside his pocket and picked his carrier bag up off of the pavement.
"I'm sorry ma'am, it won't happen again." the warrior bowed his head respectfully, earning a 'hmph' from the Valean citizen.
In spite of the commotion he had caused, Dante had finally found a name for his new feline friend, and many, many adventures awaited them in their journey.
(Weapons Illustrated 10)
"Heya folks! I'm Ruby! And I'm all by myself today! Yay…" she spoke, moving from a cheery to dejected tone as she stared at the floor a few moments, "Anyway, Dante's a little busy right now, so it's up to me to cover this week's episode! Yeah!"
Ruby pressed a button on her remote that she held as a screen came down from the ceiling, the display turning on in a quick flash.
"So… Today we're gonna talk about a weapon belonging to royalty! But not just any royalty… Dark Entity royalty! Cool huh?! And what better way to start than with someone we all know! Um… His name is...uh… Rum? Rem? No… Oh yeah! His name is Raum! A Dark Entity belonging to the King Class of Dark Entities, the strongest of the strong! And his weapon is none other than DarkSeeker!"
What came into view on the screen was what looked to be a black, jagged longsword with dark green trimming and edges. The blade looked as though it had seen better days, but it's viciously jagged edge still functioned appropriately when fighting enemies. The last thing worth mentioning was the foot long chain link that came from the bottom of the flat pommel.
"Let's break down DarkSeeker then! First things first, from what Dante told me, the weapon is made from Calcified Steel, which if you remember, is really durable and flexible material used in the weapons for Dark Entities. And since Raum is a Dark Entity, he's able to channel his powers effectively and efficiently in comparison to using another weapon. But, here's the other cool part to it!"
Ruby now presented a photo of the weapon, where It's handle was greatly extended to about four feet, making the sword now look like spear.
"DarkSeeker can also transform into a spear that has extremely high penetrative capabilities! But that's not the only thing that makes it deadly! What adds to its deadly power is the fact DarkSeeker can duplicate itself up to ten times, which makes it extremely ideal for long range spear throwers. The only drawback to this is that it can't be duplicated again until nine out of the ten spears have been throw or used. That, and the duplicates are only half as strong as the original. And that's not all! When thrusting DarkSeeker forward, the blade point can detach and shoot forward faster than a bullet to catch enemies off guard by giving it a deceptive range."
The screen soon turned itself off and began retracting into the ceiling while Ruby stood at attention.
"That's all there is to it really. DarkSeeker isn't like our weapons on Remnant, where we use technology to build them, and is pretty much a magic weapon. Hehehe… You could say...it's a weapon fit for royalty."
Ruby was only meet with silence in regards to her bad pun, making her sigh sadly.
"Well, tune in next week for Semblance Encyclopedia with Ciel and Leo. Now...I'm gonna go de-stress… This week's episode was super stressful…"
Scorpions, Dragons, immortals, oh my! In one corner we have the maniac scorpion Faunus Tyrian Callows, and his temporary ally Dragon Masked man! In the other corner, we have the textbook definitions of badassery and coolness, Qrow Branwen and Dante! Who will come out on top?! Find out next week!
Truthfully though, you've already seen the Dragon Masked already once before. Hmmm... I wonder where...
Anyway, that's all for this week folks.
So with that...
I highly recommend you all go check out the freaking amazing story XSRA's Flame written by Xera Stark. His story overall is absolutely fantastic and is a must read, so I suggest you seriously read it. You won't want to miss out on this story.
Not only that, but check out his other awesome and highly entertaining story Rogue Huntsmen as I mentioned above. It's just pure awesomeness bundled into one story. Trust me, you'll love it pretty much immediately. And hey! Go check out HydraFLow's story Lost in Binary! It's equally as awesome and entertaining, and more than definitely worth spending the time reading and enjoying!
Questions? Ask them anytime. I will try to answer without spoiling.
Please remember to review, follow and favorite this story if you really enjoyed it and want to continue seeing more of it. And hey, even tell others about this story! Remember that your support is what helps make this story grow even larger and what helps improve it. With that, I bid you all an excellent week/weekend!
Bye-bye now!