Bullets and Rose Petals

The world of Remnant is a vast place with more than its fair share of history and monsters, the people call them Grimm, they are soulless monsters that are attracted to negative emotions and seek only to destroy…but today, team RWBY is about to learn that there are worse fates than death…just as there are worse beings than the Grimm.

In the isolated town of Sleepy Hollow, Grimm were always a relative problem, but not for everyone and not to the same degree. The locals would hire the Huntsmen and Huntresses to help rid the area of these horrid creatures, but every so often, more would show up, again and again. Though this town was more of a stopping point, one where tourists would rest, eat and/or relax before resuming their journey to whatever location this humble town laid in the path of.

But this time, this time was different, the communications were out, the Grimm were abundant, and the people were terrified. It was the most tourists that Sleepy Hollow had seen in years…and all the negative emotions the people had, the fear, the anger, the resentment of stopping by this place…it made sure the Grimm would remain as much of a problem for them as possible. Even the Huntresses the Mayor had hired, team RWBY, were mere children and not as experienced as others, and they were all the town had to defend them…But then…he arrived…

The train station was packed, mostly because people wanted to leave this place before the Grimm could have their chance upon them as prey, but now it acted as a makeshift shelter, where people hid and refused to leave until either the Grimm were gone, or the train was functional. But the issue was not mechanical, the Mayor knew that if he started up the train now, the sound alone would give away the townspeople's position and risk everyone at the station.

[The song "Devils Never Cry" begins to play its intro choir on loop]

But then…He began to slowly walk out of the station, his crimson coat waving ever so slightly as the snowy winds were mere cold breezes, and surrounding him were the old log cabins that had made the town ever since it was first formed…and the countless beasts that many knew only as "The Creatures of Grimm", their black bodies contrasted the white skulls that were their heads and their empty yellow eyes locked on the red coated man, but he was unfazed by the presence of these Beasts…especially when one of them flanked his peripheral vision, leaping from the shadows as it lunged at him to strike by surprise…and then…

*SMACK!*

The very same creature was sent flying, its body traversed a good 20 meters of sky before hitting a distant tree and falling to its demise. Everyone, Human and Grimm, watched with bated breaths as they saw this man with his fist outstretched, like he punched the Beast when it was no less than a foot away from him…no weapons, no armor…just his fingerless gloved hand, forming a closed fist. But he astonished everyone further as he then opened his hand, releasing a small bumble bee that flew away as soon as it could, unharmed and barely bothered, as if the man had just caught the insect with his bare hand before punching the oversized monster into the air. The man then dusted his coat, brushed his hands through his moppy white hair, then smiled as he waited for the next strike…

[The song "Devils Never Cry" Then reaches the mark of "1:00" as it then plays the rest of the track.]

"So, who's next?"

Dozens of the Beasts began to swarm, wolf-like monsters that surrounded him and lunged at different points and even at different times, all to ensure that he could not prepare to fend them off. But they greatly underestimated him as he then began to beat them, both individually and in pairs, it was like watching a black belt martial artist kick various soccer balls out of the air as a form of training, each strike sent the large beasts flying as they suffered the same fate as the first one to assault this man. After the sky was littered with over 20 Wolf Grimm, all of them soon fell and turned to dust, his kicks alone proving plenty lethal to these monstrous Beasts.

Then came the ones that were identical to bats, they swarmed down like a cloud of arrows, all certain that their massive numbers would to be too much for him to block, and they were right…but he knew this too and reached for his sides as he then gripped two well crafted pistols and drew them forth, one was a beautiful ivory metal, bright and shiny like a well polished steel, but the other was a dark ebony shade, as if it was more perfect for being classified as "Gunmetal" than it's lighter twin. The man fired countless bullets at these descended aerial assault artists as each bullet caused their swarming cloud to grow lighter and thinner. Nobody could keep up with how much he was firing or even how fast, they knew something was especially strange considering how he never reloaded his guns, instead he would twirl around and assume a new pose before continuing his near infinite gunfire. Before anyone knew it, there was only one Bat Grimm left, it dived towards him and he just kicked it to the side like it was some sort of game.

Soon enough, these Bear-like Grimm arrived, their size proving to be much greater than the Wolves and their strength possibly exceeding the others with ease, as only 3 of these kinds of beasts arrived, locking eyes on the red coated man. But he was not bothered by their size, strength OR lack of numbers, instead he held out his hand as if he was awaiting something…and soon enough, embers and ashes formed within his grasp as a large steel blade manifested and took form, it looked dark and unholy, a representation of the evil it is use to striking down. He rushed forth, this time bringing the fight to them as they charged in response, it was graceful (and somewhat comical) he would dodge or block every single strike, even going so far as to lead some of their strikes to hit each other. The look on his face didn't seem like he did it to make his job easier, but to amuse himself, as the whole time he had a smirk on his fair skinned and stubble riddled face. Whatever entertainment he garnered from such a taunt must've expired, because then he proceeded to use this demonic looking blade to strike down these bear-like Grimm, he then stood tall as the last of them turned to dust and then…gone.

As the area was quiet and the semi-gentle wind howled through the trees, the Red coated man looked around as he saw that his work was completed, there was nothing left. He soon turned around and began to walk calmly towards the people huddled together in the station, all in awe as they witnessed this man take down several dangerous Grimm…and with great ease too. Even team RWBY had their own grand reactions to this stranger and his skill, the girl in the red hood looked starstruck, like she saw a celebrity during a live performance. The lady in white was baffled, she saw no special powers used to defeat these beasts, at least none that she had recognized as Semblances, just plain old weapons and pure skill and strength. The Black haired one with the Cat ears was confused and even a little intimidated, the aura this man projected was like nothing she had ever experienced…like a clash of good and evil. As for the eldest of them with the long blonde hair, she was impressed and still, expecting the Red coated man to say a "snappy one-liner" like the Action Hero typically does in the movies.

The awed filled air of silence was soon interrupted, a distant screech was heard as team RWBY looked to the sky and saw a raven like Grimm, the one they all knew as a "Nevermore" one of the most dangerous ones out there and to this day, a problem for many experienced Huntsmen and Huntresses…but this Beast was clearly more adapted than the others, it moved fast…too fast, too fast for team RWBY to grab their weapons and fight, too fast for them to even warn the Red coated man as he had his back turned to this flying Beast…too fast for them to move out of its way…the Nevermore was just meters away from the Red coated man, his expression still that of his usual charming smirk. But just as the Raven-like Beast opened its beak to strike and feast, its maw slammed down and was left empty with only a series of red rose petals and green thorns to occupy the space within its beak. It then realized that the man had somehow tricked the Creature, already he was above the Nevermore and had a strange looking shotgun pointed to the center of its skull, it barely had time to widen its eyes in fear as the man simply said "Jackpot" under his breath, before pulling the trigger…and turning the Avian Beast to dust.

10 minutes earlier

The town was in a near panic, plenty of the people were swarming the station, desperate for a ticket to leave this town while they could. As for the Red coated stranger, he had just entered the town, confused by the empty streets and curious as to where everyone was. He soon heard the sounds of a crowd arguing and panicking, and soon followed the sounds to the train station, he soon opened the doors and watched the commotion unfold.

"We need to leave this town, NOW!" One person said with a child by her hips.

"The Grimm will come back any second now, why CAN'T we use the train?!" A young man said as he comforted his boyfriend.

"Honey, we need to leave-"

"You think I don't know that?!" A man said, raising his voice at his wife, she in turn recoiled and raised her hands a little, as if she was expecting him to strike her. The man was large and rather aggressive looking, while his wife was somewhat beautiful, but she wore a long sleeved sweater and had her hair covering one of her eyes. Most people barely noticed it, but the Red Coated stranger saw right through this disguise and was tempted to say something…but he had more pressing matters at hand and couldn't intervene with something that should be settled by the Police. He then noticed a well dressed elderly woman, standing next to four, rather oddly dressed young women, their outfits alone made the Red coated man chuckle a little as he just stood there, watching all the chaos happening around him.

"We've always had a Grimm problem before, but it was NEVER this bad." the well dressed woman said to the colorful girls, she seemed especially worried about both the town and the people within it.

"Don't worry Miss Mayor, Team RWBY is on the case." the Red hooded one said in response to the well dressed woman's statement.

Mayor:"Yes, but I need you to be careful, you may be Huntresses but you are all still just children…at least to me. I'm asking you to stay here as a means of defending this town if something comes this way…especially if it's any of the Grimm…or worse."

"What…what's worse than the Grimm?" The Blonde haired one responded, curious about why the Mayor phrased the end of her sentence like that.

"I…I don't know, I guess I said that to be dramatic I guess? Look, my point is, I don't want anyone here dying, especially a group of youngsters because I didn't think things through enough." The Mayor explained and reiterated to help emphasize what she was hoping to achieve.

The white haired one in the dress then shared her thoughts on the matter, stating "Don't worry, we may be young but we've had more than our fair share of experience. Besides, even IF there was anything worse than the Grimm, I doubt it would show up here anytime soon-"

*BANG!*

A distant gunshot rang out as the tension and panic died in almost an instant, the room fell silent in nearly a second as everyone turned to see the man holding the smoking gun. It was the man in the red coat and he looked unamused, most likely due to all the unnecessary commotion that the people were having about this problem. But now that the room was silent, he did what he came to this town to do, he walked past everyone, slowly and methodically as everyone, team RWBY especially, waited to see what he would say. Once he reached the counter, he holstered his weapon and said in a calm tone "One ticket to Argus." as the sudden words caused everyone to become disappointed and resume their intense arguing and shouting.

As all this was going on, the Mayor noticed the odd behavior of this man and how different he looked from most Huntsmen and Huntresses, which gave her an idea…perhaps this individual could be of aid somehow? So the Mayor pulled aside this mysterious stranger and began introductions, to herself and to team RWBY, they even got his name in turn…"Dante"

Dante:"So, why can't I use the train again?"

Mayor:"Because if we start up the engine while the Grimm are still out there, they will swarm the station in seconds."

Dante:"The what?"

Ruby:"They're called The Grimm, they're soulless monsters that know only to destroy."

Dante:"Where have I heard that before?"

Yang:"I still say we should split up, me and Blake go out and hunt these things while Weiss and Ruby stay here and protect the people."

Weiss:"Sounds more than simple enough."

Mayor:"No, it's too dangerous, Sleepy Hollow has had Grimm before but never to this degree, it's like they're hunting something…or maybe even someone…"

Ruby and Yang look at each other and then at their comrades, Weiss and Blake, they know that the Grimm had hunted for something other than bad attitudes before. They then contemplated as to whether or not the Mayor was hiding something, something that the Grimm were looking for and were determined to garner. But before any of them could ask the Mayor anything else or even say anything else, the red coated stranger spoke up and asked a question that he was more curious about.

Dante:"Hypothetically speaking, what attracts the Grins?"

Mayor:"Grimm…and usually negative emotion; anger, panic, fear…stuff like that."

Dante:"So…if there's enough bad vibes in the room, Grimm will show up?"

Mayor:"Yes, thankfully the discord here is relatively minimal, not enough to attract Grimm from further than a mile away."

Dante:"Interesting…so what if one person got super scared and so did a bunch of people because of what was happening with said person, would they all surround the building said people were in?"

Blake:"…I REALLY don't feel comfortable with how specific that was."

(Before anyone knew it, Dante had taken the aggressive man from earlier, the one who abused his wife, and held him in a headlock as he aimed a pistol against his skull, terrifying him and everyone surrounding him. The man was struggling to escape, but Dante somehow proved FAR stronger than he, the red coated man even went so far as to fire a few shots into the air and wave his weapon around to scare people. Of course the people MOST against this were the Mayor herself and the group of late teenage Huntresses, team RWBY.)

Ruby:"Dante, what are you doing?"

Dante:"fixing our problem, two for one since I saw the bruises this prick left on his wife."

Yang:"Dude, as much as I want to beat up that guy too, this will only attract Grimm!"

Dante:"That's the point."

Blake:"Are you insane, what will you do when they show up!?"

Dante:"Kill 'em, obviously."

(Everyone starts to panic, especially the husband that was held within a strangle hold. Dante then tried to rephrase his statement as he proceeded to explain "No, I plan on killing the Grimps, God you people suck at listening." but that did very little at calming anyone down.)

Weiss:"Are you really THAT conceited and narcissistic that you genuinely think you can slay dozens of Grimm that you know next to nothing about?!"

Dante:"Woah, those words are bigger than I'm used to, but if it means anything, killing the Grimm is just one half of my brilliant plan."

Ruby:"…What's the other half?"

(Before Dante could say anything, a loud Screech was heard, Ruby and her comrades recognized it as the familiar cry of a Nevermore. As the Grimm drew near, everyone could feel the presence of these monsters drawing ever closer, like an approaching storm full of Malice and Hate. As the Uroboros swallowed its own tail, the fear and panic the people radiated from the encroaching Grimm only hastened their approach…soon, they were outside of the station, awaiting to strike and prey upon the terrified people within.

Team RWBY already had their weapons drawn, ready to take action and defend these people, but Dante did something even more shocking, he released that man he held hostage and threw him to the floor as he began to take the lead and was on his way to the station's exit. But just before he took more than 3 steps, Dante said "Oh, and one more thing…" as he spun around, pulled out the very same gun he used to threaten the man's life and fired a round between his thighs, terrifying him as to how close he was to hitting his manhood. Dante then holstered his weapon and said "Just so you won't forget, If you beat your wife again…I WILL find you…and I WILL break your arms." as he then turned to the girls and informed them that he intended to do this without aid.)

Dante:"You kids sit this one out, I got this."

Yang:"Are you high? You don't know how many of them are out there!?"

Dante:"Which is why I'm going outside, sheesh."

Blake:"They'll tear you apart when they see you!"

Dante:"Not unless I kill them all first."

Weiss:"Is this guy insane?!"

Ruby:"Maybe…or maybe he has a trick we don't know about…"

(Ruby felt that there was more to Dante than just his image or reckless behavior. If he truly was as foolish as the rest of her team had thought, he wouldn't be here today. She then began to trust that whatever trick Dante had, he would be more than able to do what he had planned, and so she encouraged her team to allow Dante to do what he planned, curious to see what his plan even was. Though in reality, Dante had no plan, he intended to do what he said earlier, to draw the Grimm towards the town, then execute every last one that showed up.

Soon, Dante reached the double doors that acted as an entry/exit way for the train station and pushed them open as he saw a sight that would terrify most. Several Grimm of various kinds surrounded him, all focused on the man that had just walked out into the open as they watched their prey, oblivious to who the real predator was. Dante smiled as he saw the grouped up feral foes along to town's inner domain, all of whom seemed to be less than interesting to this stranger as all he did was sigh and shrug his shoulders, as though he was hoping for a better opponent to face. In fact, he was so uninterested in the Blackened Beasts before him, that he noticed a small little bumble Bee buzzing around, annoying him as it kept flying near his head. As much as he wanted to swat the productive insect, Dante just kept waving his hands with slight annoyance, trying to deter the Honey making creature as it remained persistent in its annoying fixation on him. Soon enough, one of the Wolf-like Grimm rushed in a flanking maneuver as it tried to catch Dante by surprise, lunging to strike him from the side…but Dante waited, took a deep breath…and when the Bee was between him and the Grimm, he managed to "kill two birds with one stone" as his fist was already outstretched and the Grimm flew through the air. Everyone was in shock, especially team RWBY as they never saw someone punch a Grimm so far with such ease, let alone without any protective armor on their hands. But Dante did it, and soon he would show the audience something that made them awe in astonishment as he then opened his hand and released the Bee he had just caught, it was unharmed and not bothered in the slightest as it just flew away into the air.

Dante then moved his lips into the form of a smirk, satisfied that the bee was unharmed and yet smart enough to understand that he was not in the mood to toy with the insect. He then looked at the surrounding Grimm one more time, dusted his coat, brushed his hands through his moppy white hair, then smiled as he waited for the next Beast strike, saying only the following question.

"So, who's next?"

*BANG!*

Once the Nevermore was nothing but blackened ashes and dark dust, Dante walked towards the Mayor as he reloaded his shotgun with a swift twirl and proceeded to place the double barreled weapon onto his back and asked the well dressed lady "So…about that train ride to Argus?"

This is one of my Demo stories, whichever one gets the most love, feedback or even attention will be fully written first, so if you want this story to be completed soon, please share with some friends and leave some positive feedback!