A/n: Late update. Spent the entire weekend drunk lmao. Also finished some of the work some of the doctors just dumped on us to work on for the christmas break.
Speaking of, happy holidays! Spend time with your family.
I do not own RWBY or AdventureQuest Worlds.
"So, uh, Cinder?" Brownie Creeds asked the black-hared woman in front of him. He was a new kid in the block relatively on the criminal scene of Vale. He was a brown haired teen in a black shirt and some cargo pants. He rubbed a gloved hand along his tousled up hair, staring at Cinder, the recently infamous terrorist associated with the White Fang. "Petra said you wanted to see us?"
Jobs were low right now after Vale and Atlas marched on the streets on the regular. All they had gotten for a few days now were supply raids on a few caches around the city. His crew had been waiting for some action, and some petty thievery ain't just cutting it anymore for them. The pay was too low, and even they had to fail some jobs to take some of the supplies for themselves. Even criminals had to eat in Vale. He sighed inwardly. He was an idiot for thinking life would be different after getting away from Vacuo.
Cinder smiled. "I do. I have a job for you." She placed a folder down on the table. Both had agreed to meet at a diner near the city limits. It was a dimly lit, dingy little place, drab enough for the cops to ignore, and just recognizable enough for lowlifes to congregate to.
Brownie opened the folder, looking at a picture of a brunette, middle-aged woman with glasses, wearing a dress, holding a baby in her arms, smiling for the camera. Other papers were there as well, place of residence, what he assumed to be the kid in the picture's birth certificate, and other identifying papers. It seemed that the woman worked as a secretary at some hotshot company, and lived as a single parent with her baby boy. "Alright, what about this?" He asked Cinder, still confused.
"The job is simple. Find her, and send her to me with the child. Alive." The half-maiden stressed the last word. "The job continues after that, and I'll tell you what comes next." She reached below her, placing a small attaché case beside the folder. "Here's half of the payment," She let the brown haired teen peek inside. Brownie's eyes widened. It was Lien, and stacks upon stacks of it! His fingers reached for the stacks unconsciously, but Cinder slammed the case shut before he could pull a card out. "That I'll give you IF you take this job." Brownie gulped, and Cinder smirked at his obviously nervous expression. She got him. "Do we have a deal?" She had held out a hand to him over the table.
Something screamed fishy about the job, but the Lien! His eyes were still shining after seeing all the cards inside the case. He and the crew are going to eat like kings for months if they got that, and that was still half of the pay! He had something to ask however. "After we do kidnap the broad and her kid, we get paid half of the amount, right?" Cinder nodded. "And the job after that, will we get paid for that as well?" Brownie asked, eyes shining with greed. Cinder's smile widened.
"Of course. What follows next would be a harder job. Consider this first task a 'trial run' of your abilities." The black haired woman said easily. "The harder job, beyond Lien, had a much bigger reward in store for you." Brownie leaned forwards in anticipation.
"How do you feel about expanding your little syndicate, Mister Creeds?" Cinder purred, and just like that, Brownie was in. This was the key to his and his crew's dreams. Something that could place them on top of this brothers damned city.
]|[
"Darn it!" Boom!
"Darn it!" Boom!
"Darn it!" Boom!
Ella awoke to sounds of combat and the roars and shrieks of pain around her. Her head was still spinning and she felt a wave of nausea when she tried to open her eyes. A bright light from flames glinting against shards of ice assaulted her eyes. She quickly shut her eyes back and shied away from the light. The huntress let out a groan of pain and slumped her head back down.
"Oh, you awake back there—Oh for-!" Johnny slammed a fist at the creep that snuck up from his side when he turned to look at the woozy huntress. "There is no end to these things!" He yelled in frustration, slicing through another wave of Grimm that tried to charge at him. Lightning crackled from between his fingers, and he dispatched most that came near with Skyfire.
Ella rubbed at her eyes and forced herself to look up. Her opponent was dealing with waves of Grimm with swordplay and what she thought to be elemental Dust attacks. Flames, ice, lightning, wind; each tore through the hordes of darkness with ease, but even with all that power, the horde did not seem to thin. She looked beyond the man and saw the cavern stretching beyond her sight. It was vast; the ceiling was about a great hundreds of feet from above them. The area they were at seemed almost like a circle, and the entire place was covered by Grimm of all shapes and sizes.
The huntress pulled on the rock of the wall that she was leaning on to stand. "So these are the subterranean Grimm that had destroyed Mountain Glenn…" She muttered. There were even Grimm that she had not even seen before. Great plated worms not unlike those seen burrowing under the sands of Vacuo tunneled through the stone earth, and launch themselves to the adventurer. To Ella's surprise, Johnny inhaled deeply, and let out Ssikari's Breath at the creatures, blasting them back and burning them to ashes.
"You can breathe fire?" Ella chuckled in amusement. It seemed that the Dragon Faunus was more dragon-like than the rumors said he was. The situation was more absurd than the huntress' mind could handle, and she had given up trying to antagonize her captor. Amusing herself is all that's left.
Johnny turned to her with a smirk. "Oh I can do lots more dragon things, mate. For instance," He raised his hand, and great jets of crushing water destroyed some of the Grimm converging on their corner. The power of the Elemental Primes from back home were indeed strong, and their draconic might was terrifying to behold. The sheer presence of Desoloth's Destructive Aura was enough for him to know the great power that dragonkin wielded. No wonder Galanoth trained so hard.
"Wait what?" Ella was confused. "Water?" She looked at the adventurer with narrowed eyes. "Are you actually a Dragon Faunus? I assumed that you breathing fire was something from your heritage, but the way you summoned that water… I don't think you even used Dust for that." The huntress analyzed the way Johnny launched attacks at the Grimm. Tornados of wind summoned from nowhere but with a wave of his hand, explosive blasts that destroyed entire groups of Grimm, and explosive bolts of shadowy energy disintegrating the Grimm by the dozens launched from his hands. "How…are you doing all that, exactly?" She asked.
Johnny snorted, focusing on the fight, not looking back at the huntress staring at him with a mix of confusion and suspicion. "Who said I even used Dust when fighting?" He answered. "I mean, I've not exactly been hiding what I can do, and people still haven't caught on."
Ella was about to voice her answer, but the ground erupted in front of them, forcing both to duck to the side and evade the shards of stone flying through the air with destructive speed. A black and white serpentine neck appeared from the hole in the ground.
"By Zeuster's tail feathers." Johnny swore. "The larger ones are coming." He turned and took Ella's arm. "We're running for now." He said dragging the huntress before the two heads of the King Taijitu lunged and cracked the wall of the cave the two were staying on. The Grimm gave chase to the two as they ran deeper into the caverns.
"How the heck are we going to get out of here alive?!" Johnny yelled in frustration, slashing Grimm out of the way with his katana. Ella chuckled at the dreary situation they were in. It didn't matter if they had dueled to the death earlier. Both of them are dead anyway when the Grimm decided to attack. The huntress continued to laugh at herself as the pair continued deeper into the caverns.
]|[
They entered into a small tunnel near one end of the large cavern. The smaller Grimm were knocked out of the way by the King Taijitu, and the black snake head tried to force its snout down the small opening, ramming its head repeatedly into the tunnel. The walls of the cave shook. Johnny timed a stab when the snake tried to force its way towards them again, stabbing deep between the snake's eyes. Thinking quickly, Johnny connected with the earth again, and shook the walls of the cavern with a small Magnitude by punching the walls repeatedly, shaking the cave even harder, collapsing the tunnel behind them.
"Are you sure that's wise? We will get buried alive if you do that too much." Ella said, leaning by one of the stalagmites jutting out of the ground. She looked at the cracked walls around them. "One large piece loose, and we'd both be crushed flat." Johnny looked at the walls and the ceiling. Indeed, if they disturb it again, the entire weight of the cavern might crush them to death. Not to mention the damage it would transfer to the surface of the city…
"Right. Probably not a good idea to use Fissure too much here." The adventurer conceded. He looked to one end of the cave. Too dark. He raised his hand and pulled a small lantern glowing with blue flame from his inventory, lighting the cave around them in an eerie blue glow. Ella's eyes widened. Where the hell did he pull that out from?
"How did you do that?" The huntress asked pointing at the lantern. Attacks that don't use dust, being a mythical faunus, now pulling items out of thin air. "Just what kind of semblance do you actually have?"
"Something amazing, I bet." Johnny said with a knowing grin. "Now, if I tell you that what I've been doing is magic, would you believe me?" He asked the huntress as he walked further down the tunnel, Ella following after him.
"Yes." Ella answered without hesitation. Johnny turned to her in surprise. Seeing Johnny caught out of guard for once, the huntress smirked at him and continued. "I've been all over Remnant, dragon. I've seen things most people would dismiss as simple myths. There are still villages all over the continent that still practice the old ways. How do you think these villages survive the Grimm without help from the huntsman academies of the kingdom?"
"I was under the impression that magic did not exist." Besides him, Johnny confessed. The way Ozpin said it, he had thought that the maidens, Ozpin, and Salem were the only true users of magic left on Remnant. Qrow might have something on him, but he could sense some magic from Ozpin trickling down the drunk huntsman. To think there is still some magic left in the world… The implications of that would be enormous to say the least, if either Ozpin or Salem knew. It did not seem that they do either, as her top dog right now was not a user of magic, just a half-maiden.
Johnny thoughts were racing, staring beyond the darkness of the cave. Ella rolled her eyes. "What? Was learning that the arcane still existing in the world really beyond what you have thought?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh I see. You're one of Ozpin's underlings now. He probably told you about the maidens." Again, Johnny turned his head to Ella so fast that it almost hurt. "Surprised? When I still worked for Vale legally, I was once given the job to safeguard a dying woman. Ozpin confessed his little shadow war to me, thinking I would be loyal to Vale. He wanted to have me close to the old woman so that I would inherit the maiden powers." She crossed her arms across her chest, face twisted in a frown remembering Ozpin's little games. "I refused. I knew he was giving me and my team a special treatment when we were studying in Beacon. He had interviewed me once as well, focusing on my eyes. The little creep." Ella scoffed. "After our team split up to pursue our own callings, he had wanted me to be part of his little circle of friends. I refused. I knew what he did with little Summer Rose." The huntress spat out in distaste. "And now a splitting image of Summer now runs along Beacon. I'd kill her myself just to free her from Ozpin's own war."
"You done?" Now it was Johnny's turn to roll his eyes at Ella's massive rant against Oz. "The only thing bad that Ozpin had done with what you said was his alleged sin against this Summer Rose. What exactly was terrible in working against Salem?" The adventurer challenged Ella.
"Because I can feel the man hiding something. Why all the cloak and dagger? Why not just outright tell the world of Salem? Why can't he simply just unite the kingdoms of the world against a common enemy?" Ella spat back. "I think it means there's something more than just defeating this Salem. There's a catch. There's always a catch."
"And him hiding stuff means something bad for all of us?"
"No. It means he doesn't trust you, or his so called allies. Meaning he considers you his pawns than comrades. And I refuse to be used like that." Ella shot back. "Do not get me wrong. I don't relish a future with a Grimm Queen, but I also don't wish to be used and discarded like he had so many others with other silver-eyed warriors under his care." Johnny stayed silent and Ella continued. "Maria Calavera had the right idea, and her fate served as a lesson: my kin are targets in this little war of theirs. I refuse to be a part of that."
"Silver-eyed warriors…" Johnny's thoughts turned to the young leader of Team RWBY. "What exactly is special about them?"
"Ozpin didn't tell you that, either?" Johnny felt Ella's smug smile from behind him, but he ignored it, urging the huntress to continue. "It's a power said to be divine in origin, used against the forces of destruction. Against the Grimm, it kills them, or turns them to stone, or destroys their effects. A bloodline of combat passed down from generation to generation." She grimaced. "A possessor of one would be a potent pawn in the hands of a master that would control them."
Johnny could relate. Working for the differing factions of Lore, he was lucky that peace and balance was maintained throughout the lands, albeit because of the greater threats that threatened the entirety of the alliance. He was a possessor of a special power also, and it was only recently that his power was revealed to the alliance. Malgor's actions in the dead timelines of Lore revealed what would happen if the knowledge of his power was known. He certainly did not relish the idea of his friends becoming monsters.
"Do you get it now?" Ella's words snapped Johnny out of his thoughts. "You, someone possessing great power, having allied yourself with Ozpin, are doomed to a lifetime of having your leash yanked around, to an end you don't even know about. You could argue all you want that his cause is good, but without knowing his true purpose, the only choice in this shadow war of theirs are doom from a tide of darkness covering Remnant, or whatever Ozpin's endgame is. The only real way to play is to not to play at all."
"What a defeatist attitude, coming from someone who wanted a good fight." Johnny scoffed at Ella's twisted way of thinking. "You say that Ozpin hides something, but you have no guarantee that what he's hiding is even as bad as you think it is. You are an idiot if you're equating some secrets to an actual Grimm apocalypse scenario." The adventurer shot back at Ella harshly. Ella frowned, but Johnny continued. "You think on this too much. The only thing that matters right now is that Salem is harming innocents, and I'm here to stop her. Sometimes, it is that black and white."
"And you think that Ozpin hadn't harmed innocents before?" Ella challenged.
"And if he does, then I'll deal with him too." Johnny turned to Ella and smiled. "See? It is that simple."
Ella shook her head. "I can only pray you won't regret your choices, dragon."
"I won't." Johnny said, voice heavy with memories. He remembered his echoes throughout time that gave birth to Malgor. Laced with regret and self-doubt. "I can only move forward and do my best against whatever that happens."
The two continued in silence after that.
]|[
The tunnel had been long and winding. The two were lucky that the cave didn't end in a crawlspace, or else they'd really be in the deep then. Distant growls and shrieks of the subterranean Grimm echoed around the cave.
"Hey look." Ella said, pointing at a nearby stalagmite. There was a body lying near it, and a backpack besides it. An old, beaten journal laid on the lap of the corpse. "Probably some poor sap on an expedition of the caves and didn't hire a huntsman team with him."
Johnny knelt beside the body and set the blue lantern down on the ground. He opened the journal and set it near the blue light of the lantern. "It seemed that they were hunting for treasure." Johnny said, frowning. Always sad that someone died in their adventuring. "They run afoul of the Grimm, and he got separated from his group." Johnny flipped the page. "He crawled into the tunnel after hearing something stalking him. Say's here that some shadows are moving, and his torch had been snuffed out in an instant." He flipped through the next entry. Blank. "That was it." Johnny shuddered a little. "Creepy."
"Is the mighty dragon afraid of little ghosts in the dark?" Ella teased.
"I mean, if you haven't seen a ghost before, I would understand why you'd say that." Johnny returned the journal to the corpse. "There are things out there that would make shivers craw up your spine. Some ghosts are one of those things."
"Now." Johnny smiled as he stood up. "Let's go hunt for the treasure the journal mentioned!"
Ella looked at him like he grew a second head. "Are you insane? We should be focused on getting out of here!" She shouted at the adventurer.
"Oh come oooon!" Johnny whined. "We're already here! And there's a huge chance they haven't even seen that treasure they're talking about!"
Ella facepalmed. "Brothers above…" Johnny took up the lantern again and walked to the darkness of the tunnel, not even waiting for the huntress. He marched with newfound determination. For Johnny, no risk was too great for a little bit of adventure. "Wait for me! Are you really going to leave me here for a bit of treasure?! At least leave me with my Murakumo!" The huntress shouted after Johnny, who was approaching the end of the tunnel.
She hit Johnny after the man abruptly stopped in front of her. "What are you-?!" She was cut off when Johnny raised a hand. "Look ahead." She did. And her jaw dropped at the vista before her.
Another vast cavern, and covering the entire place, was an entire city, built like a step pyramid. Lining the walls were hundreds, if not thousands, of coffins. An eerie blue light emanated from torches that hung from the ceiling. The shouts of the Grimm from behind them had seemingly disappeared, and the air of the musty cave had turned into an uncomfortable chill.
"A necropolis…" Johnny muttered. "A city of the dead."
Alright. Ella thought. Maybe this might get a little creepy.
]|[
Somewhere around the caverns, a serpentine eye opened, and a growl echoed around the caves underneath Vale. It moved, and the ground beneath the city shook.