It was night in the ruined city. Team RWBY, Oobleck, and Krieg had settled down for the night. At least Yang, Blake, Weiss, and Oobleck had. Krieg chose to stay awake through the night to ensure no less than savoury surprises got too close. He was currently sat in front of the fire, grumbling to himself after being reprimanded by Ruby for attempting to eat the small dog that sat with her while sat at the edge of their camp to keep watch. Krieg usually wouldn't care if someone shouted at him for doing something they didn't want him to do, but when it was Ruby? It felt like barbed wire constricted his heart and not in a fun way. He took a moment to glare at the dog as it stared back at him with those dopey eyes. It stuck its tongue out at him while panting and smiling... it was mocking him.
'I tried to tell you Zwei was off the menu. How could you eat him anyway? He's pretty cute.'
"WITH KETCHPUP." He growled quietly, followed by a short, soft chuckle at his joke. Yang had been teaching him puns to try and distract him from his hellbent mission of eating hers and Ruby's dog. Admittedly, he wasn't so great at them, but even a blind pig farts up a truffle every now and then. Or, however, that saying goes.
Yang took notice of the Psychos play on words, a punchline with no build up told her all she needed to know when Krieg was involved. "Talking to your imaginary friend again?" Yang asked. She had been trying to go to sleep for a while, but no such luck. At least a chat with the Psycho was usually interesting. He had tried very hard to convey that The Voice was not imaginary, but even Ruby had trouble deciphering his explanations. "People might think you're crazy if you keep it up." She smirked. As a favour to Ruby, she tried not to judge him for his... quirks. He may have been a ranting blood thirsty lunatic, but beneath the skin, Ruby believed that there must be more to him. Although Yang predicted it would take several million Lien, lots of heavy machinery, and a few thousand power lifters to uncover it.
"GAVELS TO BURY ME IN THE MUD. DEAF TO MY SCRIBBLED OBITUARY." He said, still staring into the fire. He held his right hand toward it to warm it up. He didn't mind the cold, but numb fingers are a nuisance when trying to hold an axe.
"I don't know how Ruby understands you, big guy." She said with a sigh. Though, she knew Ruby had spent a lot of time with Krieg in order to understand the smallest fragments of what he said. Something even Ozpin or Winter have barely managed.
"MIND THE RUSTED HINGES. RAKED OF SUBJUGATION TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE BUBBLING RIVER." He laughed quietly.
"Ok. THAT was gibberish." She chuckled for a moment before returning to a more contemplative state. "Hey, Krieg? Did Oobleck say anything... odd, to you?"
Krieg pondered this for a moment. "A CHUNDER BUMPER CART IS OUT OF CONTROL. THE DRIVER WANTS MY SKULL SHADOWS." Krieg said. Yang looked at him for a few moments before facepalming.
"I don't know why I asked." She muttered, feeling dumb for thinking he would speak sense for even a moment. Looking up, she turned to her teammates, who Krieg guessed were pretending to be asleep. Their breathing wasn't right for an actual sleeping person. He had stalked enough campers to know the difference. THAT was a weird summer. "Alright, big guy, let's try it this way. What did Oobleck ask you?"
"HE WISHED TO FIND MY PLATINUM RANK. TAKEN FROM THE GARBAGE PEOPLE AND SHINED 'TIL THE HORROR GAZES BACK." He paused for a moment, seeing her look of annoyance at his complete lack of trying to speak in any coherent way. Her eyebrow raised expectantly. This... was going to be tough.
'Relax. Just say what I do: He wanted to know...' The Voice began, pausing for a moment to let the Psycho catch up.
"HE... HE WANTS... HE WANTS TO CLIMB IN MY SKULL."
'Why we do, what we do.'
"TO GAZE INTO MY MENAGERIE AND PICK THE PERFECT PULPER TO CRAM INTO HIS BRAIN."
'Well... I'd say that's about 20%, right? It's better than usual. Good job.'
"Will you two PLEASE be quiet!?" The heiress whispered. "Some of us are trying to sleep."
"THE CRADLE ROCKS FOR THE BABE STILL WEEPS." Krieg growls, pointing to Blake while he glared at Weiss, knowing fully that she was still awake. "WHAT HOOK DID THE VOMIT MAN CAST INTO YOUR SKULL SLUSH?" He asks the heiress. After a moment of disgust and contemplation, the heiress answers to the best of her ability.
"IF you are referring to what Professor Oobleck asked me about... He wanted to know why I wanted to become a Huntress." She finished. Krieg was not a master at reading people, but she looked sad.
"WHAT RAZORS DID YOU SLICE HIS EARS WITH?"
"W-what!? I don't even... what!?" Weiss muttered, incapable of comprehending what he was talking about.
"I think... he wants to know what you told him... Right?" Yang asked hopefully.
"SHARPEN YOUR BLADE UPON THE BONES. YOUR GUTPIPES SING MY ANTHEM."
"Is... is that good?" Yang asks.
"A BOUNCING BABY BOY... CATCH HIM ALREADY!"
To this, Blake finally rose, amusement in her eyes at the Psychos unending quest to confuse everyone around him.
"DEADLIGHTS SHINE AMBER. KILLED ANY GOOD THOUGHTS LATELY?"
"I can't say that I have." She responds as she faces the trio.
"YOUR SKULLS ARE WORKIN' THE GRAVEYARD TONIGHT. LET'S GUT SOMETHING!"
"Not tonight, big guy." Yang said with a smirk. "You may be an unending killing machine. But we're tired." Throughout the previous hours before arriving at their current destination, they had to fight their way through more than a few packs of Grimm. Now, while time RWBY was, as to be expected, exhausted from the almost constant fighting. Krieg continued to sprint ahead with gleeful cackling despite his ragged breathing and torn body.
Krieg growled in frustration. "CALLOUS YOUR FLESH!"
"So... what's YOUR story?" Blake asked. She remembered him the second she saw him at Beacon. He's the one who... he's the one who helped her escape and save the people on board that train all that time ago. Though, she wasn't sure if that's what he intended. "I would imagine you weren't always a rambling crazy person?" She inquired. Truth be told, Krieg couldn't remember how, when, or why he is the way his is. Not even The Voice remembers that far back.
'Oh crap. Okay, tell them whatever. Just DON'T mention the stuff we did in those Schnee dust quarries in front of Weiss. She'd never shut up about it.' The Voice explained, not too sure on how to handle this either.
"THERE ONCE WAS A BLOODY BOY WHO LIKED TO PLAY. HIS HUNT WOULD SCREAM AND WRITHE IN PAIN. THE BLOOD STOPPED RUNNING THAT DAY. AND ALL THE BEST PIECES FELL LIKE RAIN." Yeah, Krieg thought. That sounded about right.
The trio looked to him for a moment in silent contemplation. It was Yang who broke the silence.
"Nope. I got nothin'." She admitted with a shrug. The others had to agree. Krieg growled in annoyance. He actually TRIED that time! He guessed it didn't matter in the end. Turning to Weiss, he continued his previous line of questioning.
"REEL IT IN NOW. WE'VE GOT A BITER, ME BOY." He said expectantly as he shuffled in his sitting position.
"I said that I wanted to honour my families name, and I meant it. I'm not stupid, I know what my father has done with the Schnee Dust Company. See, he took control. Our business has operated in a... moral grey area." She admitted, shame was evident in her tone.
'Moral grey area? That's a nice way of saying they're quietly breaking the law.' The Voice added its thoughts on the matter.
"That's putting it lightly." Blake added, clearly harbouring something against the Company.
"Which is WHY I feel the need to make things right. If I had taken a job in Atlas, it wouldn't have changed anything. My father was not the start of our name, and I refuse to let him be the end of it."
Blake lay down, rolling over to face up at the night sky. "All my life, I've fought for what I thought was right. I had a partner. Adam. More of a mentor, actually. He always assured me that what we were doing would make the world a better place. But of course, his idea of a perfect future turned out to be NOT perfect for everyone."
'Wait... was he the guy that-'
"SUCH LOVELY LEG JUICE! CAN WE GET MORE ON THE WAY HOME!? I WON'T SPILL IT THIS TIME, PROMISE!" Krieg finished excitedly. Remember the weird guy whose leg he sliced open.
"Yeah, you've met him before." Blake answered. Not sure if she should be happy or not at what he did that day. "I joined the academy because I knew Huntsmen and Huntresses were regarded as the most noble warriors in the world. Always fighting for good. But I never really thought past that..." She turned to face the group, obviously struggling with what time say. Not used to being so open. Krieg wouldn't know anything about that. He was always honest with how he felt.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out." Yang comforted. "You're not one to back down from a challenge, Blake."
"But I am!" She admitted. "I do it all the time." She wrapped her arms around themselves as she continued. "When you learned that I was a Faunus, I didn't know what to do, so I ran... When I realised my oldest partner had become a monster, I ran. Even my semblance. I was born with the ability to leave behind a shadow of myself. An empty copy that takes the hit while I run away." She finished, turning away.
Krieg growled, anger bubbling from deep within his belly. He quickly rose up, grabbing Blake by her shoulders and forcing her to look into his manic eye.
"TEAR OPEN YOU EARS FOR MY TEETH! MY WAILS ARE NOT FOR YOU TO SMOTHER! YOU'RE GIVEN FINGERS TO STRANGLE AND HANDS TO HOLD YOUR MEAT SHANK WHILE THE I SCREAM MAN STRUGGLES BENEATH YOUR HATE!" He takes a deep breath before continuing. Blake could only sit there, her eyes locked onto his bloodshot orb with fear and... curiosity. This wasn't like him. He rambled and shouted, sure. But this sounded like it had... purpose?
"YOU'LL NEVER BE THE MEAT MAN PULLING UP FLESH BY THE DELICIOUS FIST FULL! BUT YOU CAN STILL BREAK A LEG!"
'Damn. That was... oddly sweet of you.'
With a huff, Krieg returned to his seat, looking expectantly at Yang for her turn.
"Well. At least you three have something that drives you." Yang says, rolling over onto her belly to look at her friends. "I've just kinda always gone with the flow, you know?" She says as she looks down, to contemplate her words. "And that's fine. I mean, that's who I am. But how long can I really do that for?" She looks up, hopefully as she continues. "I want to be a Huntress. Not really because I want to be a hero. But because I want the adventure. I want a life where I don't know what tomorrow will bring. And that'll be a good thing. Being a Huntress just happens to line up with that."
"STRAIGTEN UP THE SPINE SO I CAN PULL IT OUT QUICKER." Krieg said, not really seeing what the problem was. For him? He didn't care about yesterday or tomorrow. That's for past him and future him to deal with. He was just concerned with today. And today? His friends were making themselves sad for no reason. "WOULD YOU REAP WITH THE RED DEATH?"
"It's not that easy, Krieg." Yang said, looking up to her sister. "I'm not like Ruby. She's always wanted to be a Huntress. It's like she said, ever since she was a kid, she's dreamt of being the heroes in the books. Helping people and saving the day and never asking anything in return. Even when she couldn't fight, she KNEW that's what she wanted to do... wait, am I starting to talk crazy person?" She asked, unsure if she understood him or if she imagined it. She was not given a moment to wonder as Krieg answered.
"AN EMPTY SKULL IS ONLY FINE 'TIL IT'S RIPPED OPEN... THEN THERE'S NO SWEATS TO STOP!" Krieg told her happily. Ruby found out what she wanted, and now she's here. A clear goal and a can-do attitude. Why couldn't anyone else see that's all they needed.
Ignoring this, Weiss sat up as she began. "Well, she's still just a kid." She tried to reason.
"She's only two years younger. We're all kids." Blake added, sitting up like the rest.
"Well, not anymore." Yang added, looking troubled at the prospect. "I mean, look where we are. In the middle of a war zone and armed to the teeth."
"WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR." Krieg said happily.
"Well, it's the life we chose." Blake smiled at the absurdity of the evaluation.
"It's a job." Weiss pointed out. "We all had this romanticised vision of being a Huntress in our heads, but at the end of the day? It's a job to protect the people. And whatever WE want? It'll have to come second."
"MY THIRST IS QUENCHED BY ONE DRINK ONLY." Krieg growled through a yawn as he began to lay down. Putting his hands under his head.
"Oh yeah? What's that?" Yang asked, she wasn't expecting much. But it might do him some good for a little more 'regular talk' before sleep.
"DEATH IS MY CHALICE. I DRINK FROM IT ALWAYS AND NEVER DOES IT EMPTY."
"Yeah... goodnight to you, too." She said as he began snoring.
"So, does anyone speak Psycho yet?" Weiss asked.
"Not even a little." Blake smiled faintly.
"Ruby taught me some... but I can't tell if she's making it up or not." She admitted.
"Great. So he could've just said he's going to gut us in our sleep?" Weiss asked.
"Yep." Yang smiled as she layed down, beginning to drift off into sleep.
Krieg awoke within a strange building. It was similar to the ruins he had began his sleep in, but this one? It was oddly clean and well furnished. The lights above him were warm and inviting. Looking around, he saw the faceless shadow people again. Many of them sat around tables that belonged in a fancy restaurant, gossiping and ordering food from several 'waiters'. It was kind of nice. The people seemed happy, their children laughed. It was good...
Then the screams. His head spun on a swivel as people were being torn apart by Grimm. He tried to stand. To do anything. But he couldn't. His limbs would not move. He watched as hundreds of poor souls, young and old were torn apart. After a while. The screams stopped, blood caked the area as it faded to the type of building he remembered it as. He stands up and makes his way toward an exit. Careful not to tread where the bodies used to be. After passing the threshold, Krieg is assaulted by a strong light. Covering his eye, he continues forward until it stops. Looking out, the wasteland before him was a manic mixture. Nothing belonged, and yet everything did. Pure, green, healthy trees grew from fire. Snow fell in the deserts that hurt his booted feet to walk on. Shards of crystals fell like rain and melted upon touching him. He walked for what seemed like hours. Nothing changed. Nothing got closer or further. Turning around, the door was several miles away. Had he gone that far already? But then, why wasn't he getting anywhere? Turning to face his original course, a hard surface met his face. A large, concrete wall met him. He knew this thing wasn't there before. Looking to the sides, the wall stretched on for what seemed like forever. There was no end in sight. The wall was too high to climb. With a growl, he once again turned and met with the same sight. Another wall blocked both sides. He punched it in annoyance, succeeding only in breaking a finger. Not that he didn't enjoy it, of course. Looking to his sides, it seemed less of a wasteland and more of a narrow path with no exits.
"YOU CAN'T KEEP ME HERE! I'M THE MASTER OF MONSTERS! I ROAR DOWN THE RIBS OF STEEL AND CRASH THROUGH ELEMENTAL HATE TO MAKE IT ON TIME FOR TEA!" He yelled in frustration. Getting no answer, he huffed. Walking down one of the only two ways to go. Minutes? Hours? Days? He couldn't tell. It wasn't like normal. Most days, he didn't care what time it was. But here? He couldn't even if he wanted to. The sun and moon moved slow and fast whenever they wanted. He was getting fed up with this nonsense. Kicking at the dirt, a solid object catches his foot and trips him up. Catching himself, Krieg sees tracks. Train tracks. Standing, he glares at them. These weren't here before. They weren't. He was sure of it. Looking back, there they were. In plain sight and stretching for as long as the walls did. "LOKI! I'LL RIP OFF YOUR FORESKIN AND MAKE A HAT!" He screams furiously. But nothing. No reply. No noise. Just himself. He HATED it. It wasn't until a rumble beneath his feet caught his attention. Looking down the path, there it was. A train. It wasn't like any he had seen before. The front was a rusted slab of metal that had its engine exposed in the front. It's flames belched outwards as the conductor obviously had it working overtime. The carts behind it were a miss matched group. Some made of wall carved wood, others were a shiny metal, some looked old, withered and abandoned. But these thoughts would have to wait. The train was coming... and it wasn't stopping.
"OH, PROFANITY!" He yelled, taking off into a wild sprint away from the loco locomotive. He ran as fast as he could, but he was getting nowhere. In fact, it almost felt like he was going backwards. Looking down, the tracks were moving. Sliding back like it was the tongue of a large beast, pulling it's pray to a waiting maw. He double his efforts as the train was mere moments from hitting him, and feasting on his still writhing body when his saving grace called out to him.
"Krieg!"
Jolting awake, Krieg looked around feverishly. Soon enough, his eye was locked onto Oobleck, who, along with Zwei, Blake, Yang, and Weiss, were geared up and ready to go. But, where's Ruby?
"TORTURE PAL!?" He called out. It was Oobleck who responded.
"Grab your, axe. Ruby may be in trouble." He said factually, but with a tone of determination. It didn't take much promting after that, he grabbed his axe a jumped to his feet, already ruled up to go and tear something a new orifice.
"COME ON, COME ON! FOLLOW THE HAIRY CHOMP! WE'LL SOON SLICK OUR HANDS IN KIDNEY JUICES!" He charged, following after Zwei. With no further explanation, Krieg ran after the now leading dog. The others followed closely behind until reaching a large hole in the middle of the street. Zwei barked fiercely into the black abyss.
"Do you think she fell?" Weiss asked as Zwei retreated from the edge.
"Fell?" Oobleck pondered. "Of course. Of course. Of course! Of course!!" He yelled in frustration. Krieg didn't care. Now wasn't the time for losing heads... not theirs anyway. Krieg was seething with rage as Oobleck continued to spout lore and exposition of this stupid city. He was about to lash out when he finally said something Krieg agreed with. "If Ruby is down there... we must find her."
"NO SAUCE DETECTIVE!" Krieg growled, leaping into the darkness without further delay.
Landing on top of a building, Krieg charged toward the edge. Scouring over it, he saw movement.
'White Fang.' The Voice noted. 'After them. They might know where Ruby is.'
That was all he needed as he lept from his perch as he heard the others calling from behind him. They'd catch up. But not before he got a pound of flesh for his trouble. Once he landed, he took off sprinting once again down the dusty road. Turning a corner, he found three new playmates.
"Holy crap! It's him!" The nearest shouted in fear, reaching for her radio. "It's him! It's that maniac who-" A wet thunk rang out as the roar of his axe drowned out the snapping of her skull as the sawblade tore her head in two, straight down the middle. He charged forward, jumping onto her shoulders and yanking the axe out as he leapt towards the others.
"Get the heck away from me!" The next shouted, firing round after round at the Psycho. Each bullet ripped into him with equal fury. It wouldn't slow him. Not now. Not ever!
"PUT MORE OF THEM IN ME!" Krieg roared with defiance as he finally got close. Ripping the gun from the Faunus grip, and shoving it, bareel first, through his head. He turned to the final faunus. He was already shaking. He threw his gun down, holding his hands up in surrender.
"Hey! Look man, I give up! See? There's no need to-" With a swing. Krieg tried his best to chop the Faunus' hands off. But, this one had an Aura, all his axe met was the shimmer of a soul shield. Oh well, he'd keep going until it was gone. "Hey! I surrender! Don't you get it!? " He begged as the Psycho raised his axe once more, ready to bring it down onto this worthless sack of meat. But his arm wouldn't budge. His muscles strained against themselves as they held his arm back.
"WHY AREN'T YOU BLEEDING YET?!" He yelled in frustration as the Faunus swiftly got up and ran. Only when he was out of sight did Krieg's body obey him.
'He surrendered. You don't get that one.' The Voice spoke bitterly.
"HE WAS ON THE NAUGHTY LIST! I'LL SHOVE COLE IN HIS LUNGS AND LIGHT IT UP!"
'No. He surrendered. He gets that one. If we see him doing this again. Then you can have him.' It spoke. Krieg didn't like it. Why leave it to chance? He was broken from his musings by an explosion far off behind him. Did he go the wrong way again? 'Move your ass! That might need help!' Krieg ran toward the sound of gunfire and screams. Not that he wasn't going to do that anyway. Finally reaching his comrades, he was happy to see Ruby among them. He didn't get the chance to catch up as the rumble of an engine caught his attention. Down the tracks was a train, slowly beginning to take off.
"Well, it sounds like they're going SOMEWHERE." Yang pointed out.
"We need backup. Let me call Jaune. I can't get through." Ruby lamented.
"So, what do we do?" Weiss looked to Oobleck.
"I believe we only have one option." Oobleck said, turning to face the train.
Ruby turned, cocking her rifle, about to deliver a cool one liner when-
"TEAR OPEN THE BELLY OF THE BEAST AND BLEED ON ITS HEART!"
"Krieg!" Ruby lamented, "I had such a cool line!"
"CATCH ME IF YOU DARE!" The Madman laughed as he ran after the train.
Once upon the train, thanks to Ruby's semblance. They made their way to the roof. Krieg glared down the length of the train. He's waited too long for a massacre. He needed this.
"Uh, professor?" Weiss asked nervously as she stared into an open hatch.
"Doctor." Oobleck corrected.
"What's that?" Pointing to the hatch. It was unmistakable. It was a bomb. A big one too.
"HOUDINI!? BUT I KILLED YOU!" Krieg yelled in glee.
"A bomb!?" Ruby yelled, in panic. To which, the others recoiled as well. Yhe stress keeps piling however as she points down the length of the train. "We've got baddies!"
Krieg turns facing the wave of victims. And beneath his mask...
He smiles.
End of Chapter!
Cliffhanger! Boom! Alright, first of all, thank you all for your incredible suggestions. I've got those written down for when this fic is complete or whenever I'm feeling bored and want to spice things up to keep it fresh. It'll probably be for Star Wars, the Clone Wars series, Familiar of Zero, Metro Exodus, Hazbin Hotel or Cyberpunk Edgerunners. So, if you'd like to see any of those specifically, let me know. Also, if you don't see your suggestion, it's not because it was a bad one. It's because I think those ones would be tougher to make work. I don't want to give you all a crappy story that is about as coherant as Krieg is, so they're shelved for now. Also, I want to be able to let him indiscriminately murder... I'm completely sane, I assure you.
Also, while I've got you here, I would like to give a very fucking big thank you to:
- qazse
- SirSlaps
On
These fucking Internet librarians pointed me in the direction of a site that had everything I need to complete this story, and more! So, you can thank them that this story may still get an ending! And other stories! I was worried I wasn't going to be able to see some of the shows that were suggested and there they fucking were! So, thank you, you wonderful people. You saved this story.
So, with that, thank you all for reading. Thanks for being patient. And you better have yourselves, wonderful day/night.