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Chapter 10: Off the A-Game
It was one after the other. First, Roman gets away again, then her rival appears, and then she meets him face-to-face. For days, Ruby could not get Vali's face out of her head because every time she saw it she felt her cheeks burn. Every time she thought of that physique, Ruby felt like making circles on it. Every fucking time Ruby is reminded of those burning, brilliant sapphires for eyes, Ruby felt she was cast adrift in the clouds. Her rival, Vali Lucifer, that she had waited for so long, wanting him here, wanting to fight him after years of boredom. How ironic that Ruby wanted the silver-haired hun - bastard - far away from her.
'I'm going crazy.' Ruby thought hysterically. 'I'm going fucking crazy.'
[Speak for yourself.] Ddraig growled.
'I didn't see you do jack shit!' Ruby roared back.
"Ruby, you with us?" Spoke her annoying blonde cousin.
"What?" Ruby growled, wiping her palm down her face.
"It's your turn, remember?" Yang said, gesturing to the table.
Oh yeah, that's right. Yang had dragged her out of the dorm to the library to play a card game. Honestly, Ruby totally forgot what they were playing. All she could remember that it was board game consisting of four players that were either Atlas, Vale, Vacuo, or Mistral. Damn, she can't even think of the name for the game, and here she was with a deck of cards in front of her with the Yang and Weiss waiting impatiently for her.
Over in the back of the library was Team JNPR. Jaune had sauntered up to Weiss trying to get her on a date. As usual he was left to little success. If only he saw that there was a better girl vying for his attention. The irony was totally lost on Ruby unfortunately.
Bored green eyes drifted down to her deck, but her focus was elsewhere. The voice of Vali kept on echoing in her head, and the more she heard it the more her inner dragon was roaring a mess. Her heart started hammering in her chest, each beat creating a storm of irritation and other emotions she couldn't identify. She soon snapped and with a snarl Ruby swiped the cards in front of her off the table.
"Fine, I guess we're not playing anymore." Weiss huffed, throwing down her cards on the table followed by Yang.
"Well, I'm sorry I'm not in the best of fucking moods!" Snapped Ruby, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Ruby," Yang said softly, drawing Ruby's green eyes to a pair lilac orbs filled with concern, "are you okay?"
"Peachy." Ruby huffed, drawing a surprised Weiss that her leader pulled... well, a Weiss. And that certainly wasn't a good sign.
"Is it about that Vali guy?" Yang said.
In order to not get punched again, Yang forced her lips down to not grin at the reaction from her cousin. Just a single mention of the devil/dragon hybrid's name was enough to make Ruby's cheeks burn up. She looked like a volcano ready to erupt but instead of an explosion that would've landed Yang indented into a wall, the dragoness instead banged her head on the table. If her skull wasn't made of dragon bone, it would be a problem of breaking the table.
"What am I going to do?" Cried Ruby, near the point of having a meltdown.
"Ruby, just admit you have a crush on the guy, even if he is your so-called rival." Yang patronized. "It happens to everyone."
"I do not have a crush on Vali." Ruby heatedly denied, slamming her hands on the table. "I want to crush him."
"Deny it all you want." Yang said with full sincerity. "But your body says the truth."
"How so?" Ruby dared Yang.
Yang let a small smile grace her face. "Cheeks feel like they're burning. Getting hot under the collar. Constant daydreams of the lucky guy. And, most of all, your heart hammering against your chest every time you hear his name."
The shock on Ruby's face was worth the few snickers that escaped Yang's lips. Never in the blonde's life would she ever see her arguably detached cousin look so cute. It reminded Yang of days so long ago where Ruby was still an innocent bubble of joy. Before the mess that made Ruby sacrifice her heart to save Yang.
Don't get her wrong, Yang loves her first, but there isn't a day goes by that she wished Ruby was more open. She wanted to see Ruby smile more, laugh without being cynical, and just have a more of a glow to her. Ruby put the entire weight of Remnant on her shoulders, but Yang could see its toll as she forced herself to face horrors of the real world at such a young age. The day where Ruby killed all those devils without even reacting showed Yang that much.
But what Yang saw from Ruby, acting so flustered, when she saw Vali gave the Xiao Long hope. So screw whatever death match destiny that Ruby was hell bent on. It was time for Yang to go full matchmaker. If necessary, she will recruit other minds alike like Coco in her quest. Yang was going to get those two together, and she wasn't going to let some cranky dragons with a grudge.
[Yeah, fuck those so-called emperors.]
Yang went stiff as a statue, her pupils dilating to hear nonexistence. Did... did she just hear a voice in her head? It certainly wasn't her voice as it sounded too masculine. The blonde pushed all rampant thoughts and tried to hear that voice again. Yet, the blonde was only met with silence.
Okay, Yang could not be going crazy. Despite her bizarre behavior, she was just a thrill seeker. She definitely wasn't hammered to the point of her brain being turned into mush. Yang wasn't that stupid to bring alcohol to school grounds.
Could she have... no, that couldn't be possible. Ruby would've told her anyway. Shaking those thoughts away, the blonde turned back to reality, where Weiss was picking off where Yang left off.
"You've also been talking in your sleep." Weiss added, a small blush evident on her cheeks.
"What do I say in my sleep?" Ruby asked.
"Um..." Weiss hesitated, the blush on her cheeks growing. "You keep on saying the name Vali... you begin to moan... and then say very suggestive stuff... something about hatchlings..."
Ruby's face was put into a silent scream yet again. Instead of punching it away, Ruby banged her head on the table and let off a moan of misery. Yang decided to reach out to her cousin and give a comforting pat.
"There, there, Rubes." Yang soothed. "It happens to everyone."
"But I don't have a crush on Vali." Ruby whined. "I don't. I don't. I don't."
"Crush what with Vali?" Spoke a new voice.
Four pairs of eyes snapped to the new speaker to find a tall young man wearing what looked like a business suit while holding a history book. His stance was the definition of prim and proper, one that Weiss instantly took note of the young man. Blue eyes framed in spectacles gazed with a sharp intellect over the girls, especially over Ruby, and blonde hair was tied into a ponytail that fell over his shoulder. At his hip were two swords of double-edged design with a cross guard. They were seemingly normal, but not to Ruby. She paid extra attention to the new stranger and knew that he was not from Remnant. The sword's at his hip were no ordinary sword as they produced a holy aura, one that was far more powerful than the other by a large margin.
[Have caution, Ruby.] Ddraig warned. [That man is carrying Caliburn, the most powerful holy sword.]
'He most likely is part of Vali's team, KABL.' Ruby thought. 'And by the fact he can even wield Caliburn must mean he's a direct descendant of the original Arthur Pendragon.'
"Excuse me, I did not mean to interrupt." The young man greeted, closing the book in his hands. "Greetings, my name is Arthur Pendragon, and I am just a guest staying at Beacon academy with my team, KABL."
Weiss smiled at the manners of Arthur and stood with a bow. "Greetings, Arthur Pendragon. I am Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company and member of the prodigy Team RWBY."
"Ah, the Schnee family." Arthur acknowledged. "I've read about your grandfather's work. Quite a genius of a man. Shame that he chose to put into such poor hands. I hope you will be the one to rectify, Weiss."
"Th-Thank you." Weiss nearly stuttered through a blush.
"And the rest?" Arthur wondered.
"Blake Belladona." Blake simply answered.
"Fellow blonde, Yang Xiao Long." Said Yang.
Ruby only decided to glare daggers at Arthur, and pretty much anything to do with Vali.
"So you are the new Red Dragon Empress." Arthur said, getting widened eyes from the three members of RWBY. "Though I do not understand the need to be glaring at me so dangerously."
"Tch." Ruby clicked her tongue. "I would be so relaxed if you weren't holding the most powerful holy sword, Caliburn."
"I see." Mused Arthur. "You must have a good relationship with Ddraig if he is willing to give you that kind of info."
"Rubes, what is the deal with this guy?" Yang asked, now airing on the side of caution.
"It is safe to assume that no one from Team KABL comes from Remnant." Ruby informed. "Arthur here especially since there is no such thing as a holy sword from Remnant. Add on to that, he has Caliburn the most powerful of all swords, holding enough power to eradicate all of Vale and then some. Most likely, he comes from the Pendragon clan, descendants of King Arthur of Camelot."
At the confused expressions from her three teammates, Ruby couldn't help but sigh. "He's basically a prince."
'A-A-A prince!?' Weiss mentally screamed in ecstasy while in the real world her cheeks went red and he looked at Arthur with sparkles in his eyes.
Arthur smiled at Ruby. "You are very well informed, not something I would've expected from the Red Dragon Empress. Vali's always been excited to fight you but lately he's been acting... off."
"Tell the White Dragon Emperor I am waiting for him in the tournament." Ruby said.
While the implications of what Arthur said went over Ruby's head, it was not missed by Yang. She smiled internally at this new development. If Vali himself was having 'heart troubles' as well, it just got a whole lot more interesting for her plans as the matchmaker.
"Caliburn," Ruby mused, lying back into her chair, "the Sword of Assured Victory. The very same blade that your ancestor Arthur pulled from the stone that proclaimed his right of kingship. I have to wonder though how my Anduril matches up to it."
Arthur quirked a curious eyebrow. "You have a holy sword as well, but I do not believe I have actually heard of such a blade."
"Ruby, are you talking about that blade?" Yang wondered incredulously.
"You would never have known it." Ruby claimed. "It's because it is a holy sword of my own creation."
"Quite the bold claim that you have made a new holy sword yourself." Arthur replied with furrowed brows. "Do you have proof of this?"
Ruby grinned large enough to show her fangs. Very discreetly, Ruby produced a small pulse of electricity to shut off any cameras in the library, and she set up a small barrier to shield anyone else from watching except for Team JNPR. Then she put her hands under the table to summon the Boosted Gear. Out of the left gauntlet protruded an ebony hilt with a golden pommel and cross guard gilded in silver like vines with a glowing yellow gem in the center. Her right hand gripped onto the hilt and a silver light caught the eyes of Team JNPR as Ruby pulled out a black scabbard with golden studs. Yang, Weiss, and Blake could feel an increase in pressure, but Arthur widened his eyes at the amount of holy power coming off the blade that Ruby was summoning. It wasn't just that the holy aura was powerful, but that it just felt different. Not diluted like a fallen angel's, but somehow this holy aura did not originate from the Biblical God at all.
A small silver flash later and the sound of drawn steel reached their ears. Then Arthur's breath hitched at the wonderful blade that was now being held by Ruby. It was over three feet in length, and the whole blade had an undying silver shine to it, unlike the gold from Caliburn or other holy swords. A yellow gem glowed softly in the center of the cross guard, and the hilt was made into a comfortable grip. Strange markings in black ran along the width of the blade, possibly a writing in a different language. Ruby smiled at the Arthur's curious look to the writing.
"That is dragon tongue made into writing." Ruby explained. "It reads, 'The Sword that Dawns the Reign of a New King'. It is an analogy to the eternity that this blade represents. That is Anduril, the Flame of the West, a light that shall always shine everyday till the world's end."
Arthur could keep in his amazement. "Incredible... Vali indeed has a fierce fight ahead of him."
"As he should." Ruby said, resealing Anduril back into the Boosted Gear and lowering the barrier.
"A thought occurred to me recently that I believe you should put thought into as well." Arthur said. "If you were born with a Sacred Gear, what makes you think there haven't been others before or after yourself?"
Ruby's eyes widened, but only for a moment. "I... have thought of that, but I have yet to encounter anyone like myself."
"You never know." Arthur said, taking his leave as he reopened the history book. "The impossible has always been made possible. I bid you a good day."
Weiss wanted dearly to protest his leave for absence. She finally met some someone that followed proper manners, and was a prince nonetheless according to Ruby. She needed to get to know the gentleman, but when Weiss had the courage to talk, Arthur was already across the library engrossed with his book. It didn't help that Ruby was keeping her eyes locked like daggers on the man.
"He was nice, don't you think?" Weiss said.
"And dangerous." Ruby added. "It is safe to say that no one on Vali's team is normal, even by supernatural standards. It is the best that we keep ourselves on guard."
"You have to relax, Ruby." Yang said. "It's not like we're going to war."
"You never know." Ruby replied. "Wars have been fought for less, even between previous wielders."
"Seriously, Ruby, you need to chill out." Yang repeated, only to find herself held up by the collar and being rigorously shaken.
"HE COULD BE PLANNING THE SAME THING!" Ruby shouted frantically. "IN FACT, ARTHUR COULD HAVE BEEN HERE TO SPY ON US! THEY COULD BE SCHEMING AT THIS VERY MOMENT!"
'Jeez, even more a reason I need to get these two together.' Yang thought.
"I'm sure he has better things to do." Yang tried to calm Ruby down.
"I bet he's planning to fuck us all over!" Hissed Ruby, already going through several scenarios.
'I wouldn't mind him fucking hatchlings into me.'
Ruby stopped dead silent at the new voice that now made its home in her head. It was a dragon's voice for sure, but it was also definitely feminine. That was her inner dragon given a personality, which had grown ever since Ruby was in the presence of Vali. As thus Ruby was tortured to perverted whispers of a horny dragon, unable to silence them and left Ruby as so red she was steaming out of her ears.
[Uh, partner, this is really becoming an issue.] Ddraig said.
'Not a word.' Ruby growled.
[You know, maybe I could help-]
'NOT A FUCKING WORD!'
'You may not want admit it, but I can see it.' Yang thought as she watched Ruby in the middle of her turmoil with a beat red face. 'You want that hunk bad.'
(With KABL)
"She has a holy sword, one she made herself?" Vali said incredulously.
Currently, Vali was sitting on one of the beds with a book in his hands. Out of the things this world had to offer, the one aspect that intrigued him was weapons designs. Unlike Earth, the populace of Remnant have gone far more creative and intuitive in the creation of their weapons to combat their eternal foe, the Grimm. As a result of such a constant looming threat, it made the average human as strong as Low-class devils, and even some have managed to become stronger than most Mid-class.
What interested Vali the most about the humans here was the use of mecha-shift, which combined any melee weapons with a gun. As ridiculous as it may seem, the White Dragon Emperor could see the use of such. It allowed greater mobility and variety in the middle of fight, and took away dangerous seconds of replacing a sword with a gun when one had both in hand. Of course, there was no chance that any weapon of Remnant would reach the level of magic and other powers of the supernatural.
However, the humans and Faunus also made up for it in the application that was called Aura. The aspect was vague, but the most agreed theory was that it was the use of a person's soul turned into a defense. Kuroka was having thoughts that it was some sort of different application of Touki in that this version was made purely defensive. As for Semblances, they sounded like down graded Sacred Gears. Vali could see the potential danger Semblances could have since no one person had the same Semblance, excluding the Schnee family. He idly wondered what Ruby's Semblance was.
Ruby, as soon as Vali even thought of that name his mind flashed back to that face with those beautiful emerald eyes. He simply could not get her out of his head, no matter how hard he tried. Every time he remembered her smell, Vali wanted to drown his nose in it. When Vali felt her aura, he wanted to pull Ruby closer to his body and map her soft curves. Fucking God (ow), dammit Father and Azazel. All Vali really wanted to do when Azazel sent him here was find him rival, but now that he did Vali had some suspicion this was Azazel's plan all along. That perverted raven has always been whining that Vali should get a girl.
"Vali-kun, are you okay?" Kuroka asked, concerned as she saw Vali unusually unfocused.
He brushed her off. "I'm fine, Kuroka."
However, Kuroka pouted, seeing right through Vali's facade. "You were thinking of that Red Dragon Empress again, weren't you?"
Kuroka wasn't normally so spiteful, but it the new Red Dragon Empress had hit her pride. The Nekoshou tried everything to seduce Vali so she can have strong kittens to raise and love. It was supposed to be easy since after all she was a Yokai, a species built around sexuality. But no matter what, Vali brushed off her moves at every turn without even so much as a blush, much less paying attention to her pheromones. Yet, it was some random dragon, albeit the Red Dragon Empress, that was reeking of pheromones like a love thirsty dragon in heat that made Vali the most flustered she had ever seen. It... It just wasn't fair.
But also in a way it was quite hilarious seeing the whole situation from the outside. Two beings of tremendous power and desperately wanting to fight each other as the Heavenly Dragons within them have called for can't even get it on when they want to get it on. Now it was resulting in Vali acting like a confused teenager. If Azazel or Odin were here, they would be too busy laughing their guts out trying to congratulate the White Dragon Emperor finding his Empress.
Kuroka decided to pause in her thoughts when Vali spoke again once he got back to his funk.
"That's very interesting." Vali said. "Are you sure she wasn't bluffing?"
"I believe that she would hate to do so." Arthur noted. "I saw the blade myself and felt is power. It is certainly not to be underestimated, and for a moment I thought I was in the presence of one of the swords of the Knights of the Round Table."
"She made an Excalibur-class holy sword all by herself?" Kuroka exclaimed.
"And there's more to it." Arthur added. "The holy aura that I felt from her blade, Anduril, was unlike anything I have ever seen. I... don't think it originates from the Biblical."
That drew wide eyes from the rest of Team KABL at Arthur's claim. He never joked about anything at all, always serious on any matter. Dealing with the Red Dragon Empress in foreign territory was no excuse. Vali was the first to compose himself as he cupped his chin in his right hand.
"Looks like Azazel's mission in this new world wasn't for shits and giggles." Vali admitted. "There's actually far more in this world than meets the eye. We'll need to look into this by researching through this world's take on gods and find some connection. If there is such a being besides the Biblical God that can make a whole new kind of holy power, then that should peek Azazel's interest."
"Not to mention whatever trashed their fucking moon." Bikou interrupted, pointing a thumb out the window to the where the shattered moon of Remnant hanged in the sky. "If Tsukiyomi saw this, he would've flipped his shit. I'm telling you, that isn't from natural causes, unless either Ophis or Great Red came here and decided they hated that moon."
"We can worry about that later." Arthur interjected.
"I don't know about you, but that freaks me the fuck out." Bikou exclaimed. "Besides, the critical problem here is Vali."
Vali furrowed his eyebrows in response. "What about me?"
"It's the fact that you are not letting yourself get laid." Bikou quipped, and Arthur decided to retire from this conversation seeing where it was headed.
Vali sighed. "Not this again."
"Yes this again because you want to know why?" Bikou said with his signature grin. "Because the planets have aligned and you have absolutely fallen for a girl."
"Really, who?" Vali challenged.
Bikou's smirk got wider. "The hot new Red Dragon Empress, Ruby, of course."
Vali nearly gagged on his own breath and for a moment his facade was broken in a nervous sweat with red cheeks. Kuroka made an eye twitch at the reaction from Vali just hearing Ruby's name.
"Ruby." Vali said, trying and failing to laugh it off. "Why would I be into my own rival?"
"Is that what you really think?" Bikou questioned. "I think it doesn't matter."
"Of course it matters." Vali argued, standing to his feet. "We are the hosts of the opposing Heavenly Dragons. We want to fight each other."
Vali was not prepared for Bikou's normally cheery look to turn serious. "That thinking right there, Vali. Are you sure that is what you really want? Or is that what Albion wants?"
Surprisingly, the wings of Divine Dividing manifested on Vali's back. Wings of blue plasma glowed as the voice of Albion spoke.
[Hmph, Vali and I will face Ddraig's new partner, just as it has always-]
"You stay out of this, you cranky reptile." Bikou interrupted with steel in his voice. That had the effect of drawing shocked looks from the room, including Vali.
Did Bikou just talk down to a Heavenly Dragon? Yes. Yes, he most certainly did.
"I'll say it since no one else has the balls to do so." Bikou said. "Vali, you don't have to fight her. That's always been about Albion and Ddraig, and their time has past. You are your own person, not something to continue some sort of ancient rivalry."
"Bikou... what is this about?" Vali wondered.
"The point is I don't want to see you waste your life away over this shit." Bikou exclaimed. "It has always been you wanting to fight your equal in a death match, but that's what Albion wants. But what do you want Vali? What do you honestly want for yourself?"
Bikou stopped his tirade and made his way out into the hall. The dorm was left in a heavy silence. Vali forced away Divine Dividing as he sat back down, looking at his hands.
'What do I want?' Vali thought. 'Do I really want to fight you, Ruby?'
(With Ruby)
Ruby was walking down the halls back to the library to retrieve the board game they forgot. Just recently, Weiss had cornered Blake for her behavior that was more unusually anti-social than before. As it turns out, Blake could not keep the events of the docks out of her head. She had a feeling that they were planning something big when it involved stealing so much Dust and the fact Torchwick was involved.
Ruby also had her own suspicions as well. This was likely the very same branch of the White Fang that went rogue that Sienna had contacted her about. And Ruby also agreed with Blake that the enemies are not just going to sit back till graduation unless they stopped them. At that point, she knew that her teammates were going to do something truly stupid, which wasn't far off with her track in life. Starting tonight, they will be investigating the White Fang and any other Dust robberies to find their next move. The Red Dragon Empress already had a plan in the making, and she could use a few extra pairs of eyes to take down the White Fang in Vale. It would also serve as distraction from Vali and his wonderful aura (dammit). That was when Yang the shocking realization she forgot the board game in the library.
Her thoughts were cut off when she sensed a presence directly in front of her, but it was no ordinary one. It was the same magical signature from the night she first met Torchwick. Ruby acted completely on instinct and used her Semblance right behind it, but only stopped herself from drawing on her weapons and magic. She instead took assessment of the three people in front of her.
One was a young woman with tanned skin, red eyes, and light green hair. A kind girl on the outside, but Ruby could smell the makings of a thief the girl was hiding. As for the one next to her, it was a young man with pale skin and dark silver hair, which did not even compare to Vali's rich locks (dammit). Ruby could hear the hum of machinery from his legs, indicating they were bionic. As for his grey eyes, the young man was making a poor attempt at hiding the killer that he was.
But the one in front of them Ruby definitely knew as she put that face into memory. Ash black hair and amber eyes, the source of the magical signature, and she had no idea that they had met before. Ruby made no aggressive stance toward the woman, but she did prepare to release her magic. She wasn't going to take any chance when three criminals are in Beacon.
"You be careful in these halls. Never know what might hit you." Ruby said. "Judging by your uniforms, you must be new here."
"Visiting from Haven, actually." The ash-haired woman said.
"Ah, so you're here for the festival." Ruby replied. "Where are my manners? I am Ruby Rose. Who are you?"
"Mercury." Named the killer.
"Emerald." Answered the thief.
The woman smiled. "Cinder."
"A pleasure to meet you then." Ruby said. "By the way, exchange have their own dorms in the east wing."
"Thank you for the directions." Cinder 'thanked' and the trio continued on their way.
Ruby made a predatory grin when they couldn't see her face. "Oh and one more piece of advice. Be sure to have one eye open when you sleep. You never know... when you might never wake up."
'Because if you try anything in my territory I will kill you in your sleep.' Ruby thought.
Of course, the trio chose to completely ignore Ruby, thinking she was just some ordinary student at Beacon and didn't even acknowledge those words. But when Ruby finished, Cinder had to halt in her step when she was assaulted with the most bone-shaking killing intent she had ever faced. A few beads of sweat trickled on her cheek from the overwhelming fear Cinder had never felt in her life. There would be sleeping peacefully tonight.
Wohoo, I am probably going to have writer's block after this because I am working on a big arc for The Sins' Return. I am fine with how this chapter came out as it shows more of the 'complications' Vali and Ruby are having. I think I may be rushing this, but my plan is that by the Vytal Tournament when the two fight it won't be about settling a rivalry but more to test their strength. After all, dragon mating is very violent and hardcore.
Up next is Chapter 11.
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