Welcome back for more Volume 2!
Sorry if this one is shorter. The next one will have something more... cost effective.
Disclaimer: RDF1 doesn't own RWBY, WATCH THE SHOW!
(Chapter Begin)
(Recap)
"Because I died so young, before my time... I was granted... a second chance. A reprieve as it were. Have you ever heard of the Grim Reaper?"
"The Grimm Reaper?" blinked Glynda, "The Grimm Reaper's a Legend. One of the Best Huntsmen in the generation before mine."
"I'm sorry. I think you misunderstand. Not 'Grimm Reaper', but 'Grim Reaper'. One 'm', not two. A story far older, about a cloaked figure with a scythe that collects the souls of the dead. When I died that day, he appeared. But because it was before my time, he offered me a different path. I chose to become a 'Reaper of Grimm', which is different from 'Grimm Reaper' as it's not exclusive to just one person's moniker. You've seen my scar. That is still there to this day. As a Reaper of Grimm, I have access to places and resources normal adult Huntsman may never achieve, but it's all for the point and purpose of removing the evilest of those here. Grimm, Humans, Faunus. If they've crossed a line, the Reapers of Grimm are charged with taking them down. I know about Salem. I know about Cinder. I want to help... in a way, I kinda have to help. With the Vytal Festival coming up, Cinder's working towards making Vale a statement to the world, to bring the world closer to chaos than people are willing to admit right now. One thing I ask is that you allow me a bit of autonomy in the coming weeks. Like you said, we're not Huntsmen yet, and we're not ready to give up our silly side for the sake of the world. It would only do more harm than good."
"Thank you Miss Rose, for your honesty," said Ozpin, "In time, we will talk more and make plans, but right now, you may return and prepare for classes tomorrow. There is the dance coming up as well."
"Thank you, Professors," said Ruby, standing up and bowing a bit, "I wish you two a good day."
"You as well Miss Rose," replied Glynda as Ruby left.
As Ruby stepped off the elevator, she took another breath. That wasn't how she wanted to do that, but it was done and now she had a foot in. Qrow may not like it, but as a Reaper of Grimm, her involvement was always a matter of time. Though, school was continuing, with or without her, so she returned to her room, and her friends.
(Recap End)
Ruby for the life of her wondered why she was doing this. Sure, it was to teach a lesson about the Super Ancient Grimm in their world, but the fact that they were included in this game meant that the creator was a Reaper of Grimm, or knew one personally. She was thankful for it, otherwise she wouldn't have ever played this way otherwise. Currently, Ruby and her team were playing "War of Remnant", a four-player game where one conquers Remnant. The game's base skill level was a bit younger than them, as it was an effort to help teach kids about the Great War in a less... violent way, but Ruby and Yang took the game a set further, learning the ins and outs, though Ruby still had a trick up her sleeve, which is why she made very specific moves.
"Ruby, I'm not sure what you're up to, but your morale is already less than Fifty Percent. If it gets below Twenty, all Grimm Cards will work against you," warned Yang, concerned by Ruby's new strategy.
"My dearest sister Yang, I cannot reveal my secrets before the time is right," smirked Ruby, wagging her finger, "besides, we've got company."
Indeed, Sun and Neptune walked up, Neptune finally getting over the Food Fight collateral damage done to him.
"Sup losers," greeted Sun in a joking manner, before noticing a look from Ruby, "Sorry... friends."
"Hey Sun," replied Ruby, dropping the look and smiling, "You're just in time."
"Time for what? By the way, this is Neptune."
"Hey," greeted Neptune, getting general responses from RWBY and JPR, as Nora wasn't quite awake.
"My surprise upset," said Ruby.
"Must be some plan, because from the board I'm seeing, you're barely keeping out of last place," responded Neptune.
"You know this game?" asked Jaune.
"Played some friends back in Prep School," informed Neptune, "Pyrrha, glad to see you're doing well."
"Hello again," smiled Pyrrha, "You still have fangirls?"
"Does Sun hang from trees?" returned Neptune, getting a chuckle out of the group, knowing Sun's tendencies from first hand witnessing or second hand accounts, "By the way, Snow Angel, love your hair."
"Oh... thanks," replied Weiss, trying to suppress a blush.
Jaune raised an eyebrow, "When I called her that, I get a pinned to a locker."
"I said I was sorry," chuckled Pyrrha, fighting of a blush of her own.
"I don't blame you," replied Jaune, giving a reassuring smile.
"Sorry Ruby, I just remembered something I need to get from my dorm room. Someone can play in my place," spoke up Blake, who upon closer look was a bit pale with some bags under her eyes. Ruby nodded, noting that she'd need to remind Blake why they were a team.
"Cool, Never had a chance to play as Atlas before," remarked Sun casually, as he took Blake's now empty seat, "So, what's the current state looking like?"
(AN1)
"Yang is playing as Mistral and Weiss is Vacuo. Currently you have territories in Vale thanks to some Grimm Attacks. Same with Yang and Weiss. You're in a stalemate for control of the water route between Vale and Vacuo, while Yang has control over the Mantle/Mistral route. Yang's currently in the lead with her assassin and bandits keeping out all of us from having a foothold in Anima," explained Ruby, "Oh, and everyone's morale is hovering between fifty-five and seventy percent, but the excess of Grimm attacks has them lowered by five percent each turn unless they have a greater lose. Vale's morale is around forty-two percent..."
"Hence my questioning of tactics," chimed in Neptune.
"Don't be a nerd, Neptune," sighed Sun, rolling eyes.
"That's 'intellectual', dear Team Leader," countered Neptune.
"And I lose 8 percent Morale because I've suffered the most losses."
With that, the game continued, Ruby playing unusual tactics that kept her morale drop to a minimum while the others lost a third of their remaining morale, leaving everyone under fifty percent while hers was at 18 percent, a critical threshold since all Grimm Cards would turn against her in one-on-one situational rolls.
"Ruby, this is your last turn," said Yang, "I've managed to conquer Vacuo and Atlas, and now Vale is all but defenseless."
"Someone hasn't been paying attention," smirked Ruby, knowing she still had an ace up her sleeve, "I have one card left, and it's all I need. Don't you get it Sis? I baited you into taking both Vacuo and Atlas while keeping a certain spot well defended thanks to my early setup."
"Mountain Glenn," stated Yang, still not sure where this is going.
"My last card in my hand will grant me the ultimate counter move," said Ruby, setting it down, "Grimm Convergence!"
"That card!?" said Yang, "You had the best card in the game, the one no one can counter with any traps and waited until NOW to unleash it? Why?"
"Never underestimate the Grimm, and certainly don't try this yourself," said Ruby in a 'grim' tone, not that anyone was laughing, "Thanks to Grimm Convergence, all Grimm in the area move to a single location, Mountain Glenn. On top of that, Morale is cut in half on all Players in the area due the dense population of Grimm, and if it is possible... a new terror awakens."
Ruby reached for a card stack no one had ever played before in the history of the game. These cards were still unknown as no one had been able to read them to fulfill the necessary criteria... until now.
"I awaken the Super Ancient Grimm Dragon!" declared Ruby, revealing one of the four cards and RWY, SN, and JNPR were amazed by what was happening, "This card can only be utilized if Morale is less than twenty-five percent across each of the four Kingdoms and twenty or more Grimm are gathered in one location. Additionally, but not required, the more kingdoms involved, the better. Super Ancient Grimm Dragon doubles the number of Grimm as well as the strength. All rolls by players are halved. This is the ultimate ending, one of four. Only a true miracle can protect one's Kingdom. And that's the bonus effect of being Vale's Super Ancient Grimm."
"A bonus effect!?" gaped Sun, wondering why Blake was missing this.
"Because my morale is the lowest, no roll can save me, but because Mountain Glenn was never captured once by the enemy, Vale's Borders are restored to full, negating the need for a roll and leaving any remaining forces in the vicinity at the mercy of increased number of Grimm. Sorry Yang, looks like you lose. Because of Vale's defenses, it survives the encounter and as all Four Kingdoms are controlled by a single player, I technically win."
"But the Super Ancient Grimm... wouldn't that...?" asked Weiss, remembering what Ruby had told them.
"Yes, the Kingdoms eventually fall because their combined forces are weakened the point of all possible counterattacks never taking down the Super Ancient Grimm."
"Super Ancient Grimm..." asked Sun, "Is there a Grimm that old?"
"Do you want to know the answer to that question?" replied Ruby in a serious tone.
"I think I'm good," consented Sun.
"Good Game, Sis," said Yang, shaking hands with Ruby before the four players put the game away.
RWY headed out of the library to check on their teammate. She had been acting a bit distant, and after what happened last semester, they weren't going to let Blake continue to do that.
Back in the dorm room, Blake's thoughts were in a whirlwind, repeating her conversation with Torchwick before Ruby showed up. She couldn't wrap her head around it and doing nothing. Her thoughts went back to her conversation with Professor Ozpin after the incident. While she was glad RWY accepted her, she wasn't so willing to trust all humans.
Upon hearing her teammates come back, she tried to make a quick exit, but Ruby blocked her off with the game she walked out on.
"Blake, we need to talk," started Ruby, "Something's been bugging you and after last semester, it would be best if you didn't shut us out."
"Okay, I'll talk," sighed Blake, taking a seat as Ruby closed the door, "Last semester, at the docks, the White Fang had teamed up with a Human. They would never do that. Something's wrong and yet no one seems to care, or at least show concern about it."
"To be fair, we should trust Ozpin and the Huntsmen to take care of it, " added Yang, "I mean, we are still students after all."
"Though of course we're concerned about what the White Fang are doing," spoke up Weiss, "But like Yang said, we're students. We can't go on half-baked information. That would only result in detention, if not expulsion."
"Blake, it's okay. We're here. We're a team," reminded Ruby, "Don't feel like you're alone in worrying about Torchwick and the White Fang. If you want, we can do some investigating to find out more information if only to help narrow the search for the Huntsmen. Beyond that, we'll have to take it one step at a time. Even if we're the only ones who can do this, we have a better chance of succeeding together.
Blake was stunned. How could she have so little faith in her team. They weren't Adam, none of them were. They were her friends, and she was blessed to have such friends. Letting a few tears escape, she smiled at them saying, "Thank you."
Ruby smiled, while nodding, before noticing a few people walk by... a few people that weren't supposed to be there. Stepping outside the door, she got there attention, "Excuse me? Are you new transfers?"
Three people turned to look at her, the one in the middle being easily recognizable, not that Ruby would let it show.
"Sorry, visiting from Haven actually," replied the girl in the middle.
"Welcome to Beacon, but Visiting Students have their own dorm. Head East after exiting the building. You can't miss it," informed Ruby.
"Thank you," said Emerald, "Maybe we'll see you around sometime."
"Have a good day," added the boy.
"Sure thing! Enjoy the festival!" replied Ruby, before reentering her room and closing the door, "(sigh) and now they are here."
"Ruby?" asked Yang, "What's wrong?"
"Let's just say Blake's right about one thing, our enemies WON'T be waiting for Graduation. So, tomorrow, we'll investigate and work around things from there, sound like a plan to you?"
WBY nodded their consent and went about setting out clothes for tomorrow, as well as get ready for bed. It was going to be a long day tomorrow.
(Chapter End)
And there you go. Super Ancient Grimm, Blake gets her worries metaphorically off her chest, and meeting Cinder (again). Just a reminder, as it's Ruby story, I try to keep most scenes with Ruby, or about Ruby. Thanks for reading!
Next time... RWBY investigates, meeting new friends... and old one(s).
Until then...
Later,
RDF1