Fuse

Landing on solid ground, I immediately check my surroundings and find myself in a modern city. There's a really convenient sign nearby that says "Vale" so I assumed that was the city I was in.

There were a few people around me, but none of them seem to have noticed my arrival. So, that was good.

There were a few people with animal traits, but since nobody saw that as odd, I just figured it was something normal for RWBY.

Now, I do know that the gamer on this world, Azure Dragon, sounds like a tyrant from the fortune I got from him. So I need to just verify this by talking to someone else.

Taking a few steps in no particular direction, I sense someone strong nearby.

But… Like, not that strong?

Deciding to allow them to come to me, I stood still and stared at where they were coming from.

A few moments later, fire burst out of nowhere on top of a nearby rooftop, forming into the shape of a man.

The crowd flees with terror, so I know that whoever this is, isn't a good person.

So, I used Observe.

Pyrite

Status: Healthy

Stamina: Healthy

Mana: Full

Race: Human

Title: Burning Monarch

Classes: Pyromancer, Telekinetic, Summoner

Professions: Chef

Overall Ranking: B

Power Rank: C [Expand]

Magic Rank: B [Expand]

Social Rank: B [Expand]

Ah, so this is a gamer, just…

…Not the one I'm looking for.

Is this some type of multiplayer world, then?

"I've never seen you around here before," Pyrite greeted me with hostility, "Explain yourself."

Pfft, dumbass probably only spoke that way because he knows he's not beating me in a fight. He knows who I am.

"Are you an American?" I completely blew past his question with my own. These are my rules I'm playing by, because I'm stronger.

Clicking his tongue, he replied, "No, I'm not. Why do you want to know?"

"I just wanted to know how much respect I should give you," I told him before telling him of my conclusion, "Which, as I now discover, is very little."

Pissed off, Pyrite pulled out and aimed a ruby staff at him, "I have a lot of allies around here, I'd be very careful of what you're saying to me…"

I shrugged, not intimidated at all, "It doesn't matter to me. But do you happen to know of a certain Azure Dragon around here? I need to find him."

"Azure Dragon? Never seen one or heard of a guy named that," Pyrite answered, "But beyond that… You're from beyond the barrier, aren't you?"

Looking up, I do notice that there's a massive circular barrier that seems to cover the entire city.

Guessing entirely on his response, I have to assume that he, and maybe any other gamers here, are trapped in this city. Maybe even the regular citizens.

"What if I say no?" I just threw it out there to piss him off, "Are your allies other gamers?"

Pyrite was getting pretty annoyed with me as he heavily sighed, "Yes, they are. If I keep answering your questions, will you answer mine?"

"No," I unfurled my nebula wings, jumping onto the building across from him, "I'm on a sort of assassination quest. If you don't know where he is, then I'm just guessing he's hiding away somehow. My teleportation brings me somewhat close to my target, so I know he's here."

Worst case scenario, I end up befriending some of these guys and I have to surgically find and kill Azure Dragon.

Best case scenario, I pump a million souls into Soul Ballista and I annihilate the city.

Crossing his arms, Pyrite told him, "Well, we can probably help with that. We've been stuck in this damned cage for almost a year. We're all at our wits end. Being able to jump a guy without remorse sounds like it could be a good deal."

"How many of you are stuck here?" I curiously asked.

He answered, "The barrier only stops us gamers from leaving. Everyone else can leave whenever they want. So, it's just us 90 gamers stuck here."

90 Fucking Gamers?

"Holy shit," I muttered out, that number was staggeringly high.

If they were all as strong as Pyrite, then they might actually have a shot at beating me. Even I probably can't win against 90 gamers of that caliber.

Just the amount of hax would be insane…

He went on to further explain, "Because we all don't want to die, we've made a temporary alliance with 2 sides. Pieces of shits willingly calling themselves villains, and us, the good guys who want to be actually reasonable. We've slowly been ranking up with whatever we can find, so we're all decently strong now. Probably enough to destroy all life on this planet if we ever got out."

Hm, calling themselves heroes, but the citizens ran away at the sight of them…

…Something tells me that they're being full of themselves.

Activating my American detecting spell, I checked the entire city for any Americans.

There were a handful, just 3, so the 90 gamers were all definitely from other worlds.

Knowing that, I rule out just bombing the entire city. The Americans would live, obviously, but I dunno if they want to keep anyone else alive or not.

"Well, what's wrong with the ones calling themselves villains?" I asked, just to kill time while I figure out my next course of action.

He had a disgusted expression on his face as he told me, "They're evil ass rapists."

Huh.

"Really?" I tilted my head, "Like, are there any… Reasons for why they're like that? Do they have some kind of, uh, condition?"

Pyrite shook his head, "No, they're just assholes, thinking they're the chosen one in a power fantasy. Some of them think they're the next Aizen trying to craft stupid alliances and getting favors from everyone, trying to get blackmail."

Wow, okay.

Gotta go verify that by speaking to them myself, but that sounds like a miserable state of existence.

But I did figure out my next step from here.

"Do you guys have a base or anything? I would like to meet your allies," I asked, flying towards him, "I want to ask them if they know anything about Azure Dragon."

Pyrite shrugged, "We do. I don't mind bringing you there."

Great.

Hopefully, they don't disappoint me.

These people disappoint me.

"-So we had to make this gentlemen's agreement not to try to romance any of the canon characters because it could start a war, right?" The woman, Keele, was busy explaining to him about some shit he didn't care about, "But you know, there's only 29 women out of us 90 gamers because, well, I dunno. Maybe the gods were sexist. So we all came together and looked at the available guys-"

I really don't give a shit about any of this.

Most of the people at this "Hero" base were just a mix of "Well we say we're better than them, so we are" and actual good people doing good things.

But one thing is a constant amongst all of them.

They're all horny as fuck.

They keep talking about "girls that" "men this" and "once we get out of here I'm going to have sex with this person."

It's just really fucking annoying.

And these guys have been stuck in here for almost a year? I would've killed someone if I had to be stuck with them for that long.

Clearing my throat, I stopped Keele's story from murdering my ears and simultaneously took the attention of everyone around me.

Then, I spoke up, "So, great to see you all. None of you are who I need to find. Do you know where the villain's base is?"

All of their faces turned disgusted as Tharvos asked me, "Why would you ever wanna go there?"

"To see if Azure Dragon is there, obviously," I answered.

I also have to get out of this cesspit before I kill any of them.

"It has a huge sign on it called Evil Ass Rape Building, you can't miss it," Yev told me.

Why the fuck it has that sign on it, I don't even want to know.

But the last thing I want to know is…

"How do you all feel about America?"

Nobody here is an American. All of them seem to be away right now. But I can still judge them.

One of them answered, "We literally haven't thought of it in, like, a year."

"But you still love the country?" I asked.

They answered back, "Love? No. Like? Yeah."

Well, that was a decent answer. Not what I wanted, so I'm going to kill them if it comes to them. But it was alright.

Then some dipshit answered, "I don't like it."

Then more morons kept agreeing with him. Nobody is really standing up for America.

I will kill all of these guys later. I have more important fish to fry.

Standing up, I bid them farewell, and immediately flew out of there.

Alright, please, I need these so-called villains to have some dignity or else I'm just wiping these guys off the face of the Earth…

"They put that fucking sign on our base again?!" Valstra annoyedly shouted out, enraged upon seeing the sign.

She wasn't a human, but rather an elf.

…So basically a human.

"We're all not evil ass rapists!" She shouted out, uncaring of embarrassment, "Well, not all of us! Some of us just like to be evil!"

Yeah, something tells me that the "good guys" weren't that far off from their assessment. They're edgy 13 year olds pretending to be evil.

"So, do you, or anyone you know, know an Azure Dragon guy somewhere in here?" I repeated my question from before, hoping to actually get an answer.

She hummed for a second, thinking about it, "Eh… I think I saw someone named that when we were all transported here. I never saw him again, though, so I just kind of assumed that he went off to be a loner."

Okay, that's great news, there's someone actually named Azure Dragon in this city.

But what the fuck does he do? If she doesn't know what he's doing, I doubt anyone does.

What kind of fuckass domino fragment does he have for him to be acting this way?

Ugh, I really need some type of event to happen to me for this plot to get a move on…

Suddenly, I hear the scream of a woman nearby.

Valstra didn't seem too concerned as she focused on trying to get rid of the huge evil ass rape building sign.

"Should I check that out?" I asked the local expert on the matter.

"Eh, it's probably roleplaying, or someone getting murdered for pissing off one of us," She half-awaredly answered, "The actual rapists are all quiet now. We kind of beat their asses because they made us look bad."

"...You didn't kill them?"

"And ruin our delicate 45 45 balance? No way," She frowned, "Though, I wouldn't be opposed if we somehow did kill them but still somehow maintained our balance."

…Yeah.

This city has to go.

There's nothing redeemable about this place. Not a single gamer here deserves any sort of mercy. I haven't met the Americans yet, but living as an aristocrat to maintain some sense of dumbass balance is anti-American at its core.

Again, I'm not liking my odds at winning a fight against everyone here, but after I kill Azure Dragon…

Well, I think I'll be doing this world a favor.

?

Azure Dragon

He knew that it was not a stroke of luck that allowed him to regain part of his consciousness. There was no such thing as luck when he was still alive. It was all just fate.

Even still…

He cannot let go of this hatred. The fragment of the domino may indeed be trying to channel him towards the shadows and rule from the heavens. But he was not such a being. He ruled by strength.

He could not regain it due to the lack of power in this cage, no doubt set up by the Incarnation of Fate. But one of his pawns has found his prison.

Not only that, but they bear the seed of ruin that allowed for him to take over if necessary.

No matter what form he took…

I will always hate you.

AN:

Inspired by the Evil Ass Rape OCMCs that I read a lot in this fandom.

Don't ask why I read them a lot.

Azure Dragon, meanwhile, is salty for reasons I'll get to later, or in like, chapter 6 of Time Capsule if you ever find yourself there.

Do not ponder the possibilities.

[My last bit of backlog, I have no outline for the next chapter that comes out on the 18th, and the 20th is a holiday because of Inauguration Day... Chat, I may be doomed to a 3 AM finish on chapter 53 and 54.]