was bored. made this. still working on the fic.
就算多一分钟我也再也忍不住了，
再也撑不住没有你的多一天了，
我整个生命所知道的喜乐欢乐，
在你死的那一分钟消失完了，
要你在我生命就是我唯一的希望，
现在你不在我的命也没意义了，
怎样也忍不住感觉没珍惜过你，
我不管如何也不会接受这件事的。
他们告诉我你死的时候我没有在发梦，
我很清醒正在想着他们肯定出错，
你说过会在我旁现在干嘛离开我，
现在我每一天也过得如同一个噩梦。
这如电影可是没开心的结局，
每部分会散黑又没有在扮演，
这个小故事后面没有好的事，
没穿发亮护甲的王子出来救出我。
我明白这你没计划到，
你正在做对的事，
但正在这疯世界中，
你把我~ 留下来打完这战。
红如玫瑰，
把我头充满梦又把我，
永远靠近，
往着空虚往着悲哀，
为了来代替你的空位。
我知道你伤心生气已经忍不住了，
你觉得我在这疯世界中留下你了，
希望和你说话如只有一分钟，
要你明白我出手后面的原因，
我想你明白你是我的一切所有，
想你知道我是再也恢复不了，
我如此努力保护你最后失败了，
我还锁你在抛弃监牢的里面。
我从来没想过我会留下你，
我当时还很确定回家再会见到你，
还记得我当时说过一切会没事，
现在我只是个骗子还拉你下水。
这故事的结局是个伤心整个辈子，
好几页被撕又没有最后一章，
我没别的选择，
我做我所需要的，
我出了个牺牲可是必了你牺牲得更大。
我懂你生活如噩梦，
我伤害了你许多，
但亲爱的请别如我而做，
我不想~ 你无意义的而死。
红如玫瑰，
把我头充满梦又把我，
永远靠近，
往着空虚往着悲哀，
为了来代替你的空位。
世上不是只你需要我我还以为你明白，
你是我所需要的你离开了我我害怕过你会，
如能改我会改吗？
没关系怎样，
花瓣散四方，
美恶梦因自因珍贵，
是你的血红如玫瑰，
不管未来发生什么不会有东西代替你空位。
红如玫瑰，
把我头充满梦又把我，
永远靠近，
往着空虚往着悲哀，
为了来代替你的空位。
Friday, August 29, 2014
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
The Cresent of Darkness
Jaune wanted help. He seriously did, but he wanted for Pyrrha to have a day off for once more.
He is training by himself in a field, trying to do a long-ranged swing with his sword.
Okay...he thought for what must have been the hundredth time toaday. Step forward, quick swing, step backwards, I can do this. he added unnecesarily.
He in truth stood a small distance away from the dummy he set up for the purpose. Speeding up a bit, he jogged towards the model, stopped, swung-
-And missed his mark.
Again.
Sighing, he started to back up for another try, but he bumped into something behind him that he knew wasn't there before. Thinking a Grimm snuck up to him, he threw his hands up in shock, throwing both sword and shield up into the air.
Turning to face the threat - which by now part of his mind already knew it wasn't, though the other part didn't care - he saw it was only Lucifer.
Before he could so much as breath a sigh of relief, his shield, now in sheath form, came down on his head with a loud CLONK!
Looking up, Lucifer saw his blade was still coming down, and he snatched it out of the air by the handle backwards before it could drive through Jaune's back, exposed as he bent over with pain. Lucifer tossed the sword upwards, catching it by the blade and keeping the edge from his hand, and held it out to Jaune. He took it, saying "Thanks, Lucifer."
"How's the training going?" he asked. Jaune almost said that he was doing fine, thank you, but who was he kidding? Lucifer might have been standing behind him long enough to know how was he doing already. Besides, he might be of some help.
"Bad. I can't seem to get this right."
"Do it again and let me see." he said.
Jaune did, stepping back, jogging forward, stopping, swinging and missing again.
"First things first" said Lucifer "Your swing is too wide. You are only fighting one target at the moment, you need not swing your sword in so wide an arc or you'll expose yourself to a counterattack."
"How about actually hitting my target?" asked Jaune.
"You can try again when you fail. If you don't get cut down by a counterattack from your wide swing. Do it again."
He did, missing again, but reducing the distance he swings his sword. He observes that he can step back quicker if he does so.
"Another reason to keep your swings small. You can be justified to wide swings when your number of targets go somewhere over...oh, say, ten."
Then he stopped.
"Jaune?" he asked.
"Yeah?" Jaune replied.
"Let me see that sword."
"Why?"
"Just" he said in a low, commanding tone "Hand it over."
He did.
Holding the sword close to his eyes, he examined it, looking at the blade, down the pommel towards the tip and every little detail on it.
"Where did you get this blade?" he asked.
"It's a hand-me-down - Ruby calls it a family heirloom and a classic, but it's pretty old in this day and age to be of much use - My great-great-grandfather used it during the war."
Lucifer looked at him "Your-? What's your name?"
"Jaune."
"I know that already, what's your OTHER name?"
"It's...Arc."
"And do you know the role your double-great-granpa played during the war?"
"He was a seargent. All I know."
"Figures" Lucifer looked away from the blade at Jaunce "Jaune, your double-great-granpa was one the most unsung heroes during the war." Turing away from Jaune's puzzled face back towards the sword, he says "He was part of an elite team, the S.A.R.s"
"The...Sirs?"
"No, S-A-R, for Shock and Awe Raiders. And this weapon-" he held it out at arm's length "-was, simply put, a legend in the team."
"But it's just a sword and shield-"
"Don't you call it 'just' a sword and shield, are you not familiar with your family's ... heritage?"
"Besides they were all hearoes?"
"Jaune, the Arc family has a long history of fighters with large amounts of Aura. Certainly you have been told something similar before?"
"...You have a lot of it..." he remembered Pyrrha saying to him "Yeah?"
"Well..." said Lucifer "...This weapon is one of the best weapons in terms of Aura conductivity, period." turning to the trees nearby, he shouts "Don't you agree with me, Pyrrha?"
Pyrrha? thought Jaune, as she jumped down from her hiding place on a branch and walked towards them.
"Impressive. I was up there since he came here to watch how would he do alone. How did you find me?" she asked.
"I can smell you." he said casually "Don't ask what."
"Wait" said Jaune "What about her and Crocea Mors?"
"Well, it's an interesting bit of, ah, deduction, you might say. Seeing Jaune train, I can be sure that his left flank would be open whenever he swings his sword. From my own research and training, I know that an Ursa's attack style would have caught Jaune, and, well, he wouldn't be here. I doubt he was able to see the attack and lift his shield in time to block it like he did, so chancees are that Aura is involved. Cardin was too busy wetting his pants to do it, Ruby's Aura is speed, Weiss's is glyphs, and that leaves Pyrrha as the only person there that might have done something. Your Aura's probably got something to do with metal, but you can tell me what later. Anyway, I'm sure you noticed something as you moved the shield?"
"I...did" she said, recovering from Lucifer's explanation of his truthful conclusion. "The shield moved faster than I expected, but I thought I just used a larger amount of Aura, so I didn't really think much of it."
"There you go" said Lucifer "As I said, your gre'great-granpa was an unsung hero of the war. He often caught opponents off-gaurd by the effectiveness of the weapon. You can imagine how it went- 'Meh. Just a common sword and shield, nothing to worry about.'" he chuckled "Of course, what you can actually do with these are limited, still, however, you can really dish out lots of damage if you do it right."
"Aaaannd...what exactly CAN I do?"
"From what I read - books are such good information sources - The sword can fire a sort of 'cresent cutter',and the shield can blast a sort of shockwave."
"That it?" asked Jaune, somewhat disapointed.
"Don't be greedy, Jaune. Watch this." Lucifer swings the blade at some of the nearby trees, and a black fiery cresent flies from the blade right at the trees. Several severed treetops begin to hit the ground.
"Whoa" said Jaune. Then "Wait, you used Aura? Won't that awake Neimo?"
"I've been training myself..." he said, slyly. Neimo was probably listening, and he couldn't afford the secret of the Aura Arrester in his pocket being revealed to him.
"You know, Lucifer" says Jaune "You haven't YET tald me how to hit my target."
"I can help!" chirps Pyrrha.
"Uh-oh."
He is training by himself in a field, trying to do a long-ranged swing with his sword.
Okay...he thought for what must have been the hundredth time toaday. Step forward, quick swing, step backwards, I can do this. he added unnecesarily.
He in truth stood a small distance away from the dummy he set up for the purpose. Speeding up a bit, he jogged towards the model, stopped, swung-
-And missed his mark.
Again.
Sighing, he started to back up for another try, but he bumped into something behind him that he knew wasn't there before. Thinking a Grimm snuck up to him, he threw his hands up in shock, throwing both sword and shield up into the air.
Turning to face the threat - which by now part of his mind already knew it wasn't, though the other part didn't care - he saw it was only Lucifer.
Before he could so much as breath a sigh of relief, his shield, now in sheath form, came down on his head with a loud CLONK!
Looking up, Lucifer saw his blade was still coming down, and he snatched it out of the air by the handle backwards before it could drive through Jaune's back, exposed as he bent over with pain. Lucifer tossed the sword upwards, catching it by the blade and keeping the edge from his hand, and held it out to Jaune. He took it, saying "Thanks, Lucifer."
"How's the training going?" he asked. Jaune almost said that he was doing fine, thank you, but who was he kidding? Lucifer might have been standing behind him long enough to know how was he doing already. Besides, he might be of some help.
"Bad. I can't seem to get this right."
"Do it again and let me see." he said.
Jaune did, stepping back, jogging forward, stopping, swinging and missing again.
"First things first" said Lucifer "Your swing is too wide. You are only fighting one target at the moment, you need not swing your sword in so wide an arc or you'll expose yourself to a counterattack."
"How about actually hitting my target?" asked Jaune.
"You can try again when you fail. If you don't get cut down by a counterattack from your wide swing. Do it again."
He did, missing again, but reducing the distance he swings his sword. He observes that he can step back quicker if he does so.
"Another reason to keep your swings small. You can be justified to wide swings when your number of targets go somewhere over...oh, say, ten."
Then he stopped.
"Jaune?" he asked.
"Yeah?" Jaune replied.
"Let me see that sword."
"Why?"
"Just" he said in a low, commanding tone "Hand it over."
He did.
Holding the sword close to his eyes, he examined it, looking at the blade, down the pommel towards the tip and every little detail on it.
"Where did you get this blade?" he asked.
"It's a hand-me-down - Ruby calls it a family heirloom and a classic, but it's pretty old in this day and age to be of much use - My great-great-grandfather used it during the war."
Lucifer looked at him "Your-? What's your name?"
"Jaune."
"I know that already, what's your OTHER name?"
"It's...Arc."
"And do you know the role your double-great-granpa played during the war?"
"He was a seargent. All I know."
"Figures" Lucifer looked away from the blade at Jaunce "Jaune, your double-great-granpa was one the most unsung heroes during the war." Turing away from Jaune's puzzled face back towards the sword, he says "He was part of an elite team, the S.A.R.s"
"The...Sirs?"
"No, S-A-R, for Shock and Awe Raiders. And this weapon-" he held it out at arm's length "-was, simply put, a legend in the team."
"But it's just a sword and shield-"
"Don't you call it 'just' a sword and shield, are you not familiar with your family's ... heritage?"
"Besides they were all hearoes?"
"Jaune, the Arc family has a long history of fighters with large amounts of Aura. Certainly you have been told something similar before?"
"...You have a lot of it..." he remembered Pyrrha saying to him "Yeah?"
"Well..." said Lucifer "...This weapon is one of the best weapons in terms of Aura conductivity, period." turning to the trees nearby, he shouts "Don't you agree with me, Pyrrha?"
Pyrrha? thought Jaune, as she jumped down from her hiding place on a branch and walked towards them.
"Impressive. I was up there since he came here to watch how would he do alone. How did you find me?" she asked.
"I can smell you." he said casually "Don't ask what."
"Wait" said Jaune "What about her and Crocea Mors?"
"Well, it's an interesting bit of, ah, deduction, you might say. Seeing Jaune train, I can be sure that his left flank would be open whenever he swings his sword. From my own research and training, I know that an Ursa's attack style would have caught Jaune, and, well, he wouldn't be here. I doubt he was able to see the attack and lift his shield in time to block it like he did, so chancees are that Aura is involved. Cardin was too busy wetting his pants to do it, Ruby's Aura is speed, Weiss's is glyphs, and that leaves Pyrrha as the only person there that might have done something. Your Aura's probably got something to do with metal, but you can tell me what later. Anyway, I'm sure you noticed something as you moved the shield?"
"I...did" she said, recovering from Lucifer's explanation of his truthful conclusion. "The shield moved faster than I expected, but I thought I just used a larger amount of Aura, so I didn't really think much of it."
"There you go" said Lucifer "As I said, your gre'great-granpa was an unsung hero of the war. He often caught opponents off-gaurd by the effectiveness of the weapon. You can imagine how it went- 'Meh. Just a common sword and shield, nothing to worry about.'" he chuckled "Of course, what you can actually do with these are limited, still, however, you can really dish out lots of damage if you do it right."
"Aaaannd...what exactly CAN I do?"
"From what I read - books are such good information sources - The sword can fire a sort of 'cresent cutter',and the shield can blast a sort of shockwave."
"That it?" asked Jaune, somewhat disapointed.
"Don't be greedy, Jaune. Watch this." Lucifer swings the blade at some of the nearby trees, and a black fiery cresent flies from the blade right at the trees. Several severed treetops begin to hit the ground.
"Whoa" said Jaune. Then "Wait, you used Aura? Won't that awake Neimo?"
"I've been training myself..." he said, slyly. Neimo was probably listening, and he couldn't afford the secret of the Aura Arrester in his pocket being revealed to him.
"You know, Lucifer" says Jaune "You haven't YET tald me how to hit my target."
"I can help!" chirps Pyrrha.
"Uh-oh."
Thursday, April 17, 2014
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Ok, I haven't been posting for some time, and I apologise for the delay, but...let's just say that I haven't quite figured out how the story goes on from the point where I left off.
Imagine how the story goes as a road, and the way I smooth out the story as building the road, and posting different parts of it as me walking down said road.
The road directly before me has been smoothed out the best i can, and so has the end of it, so I have started to walk down it. Unfortunately, there is a small, but existing, portion of the road that I haven't smoothed out all that good, and now I have my foot stuck in a pit. Or I'm staring up a hill that isn't supposed to be there, I don't know.
The obstruction is somewhat unexpected. I have a vague idea what to do to overcome it, but not a clear idea HOW to do it. It's safe to say I'm thinking how would I connect where I left off to the ending I have already polished over more times than I bothered to count.
It'll take some time. How much, I'm not sure. At most? Several months, I guess. Sorry.
-TheRyderShotgun
Sunday, April 6, 2014
The Unanswered Question
"You said that he was in semi-control?" asked Ozpin.
"Actually, I got that from Lie Ren, but yes." replied Ruby.
Team RWBY and JNPR are sitting in Ozpin's office, discussing the incident that happened on the previous day. Lucifer isn't there because he is still recovering from once again releasing Neimo.
"Hmm...maybe he's getting the hang of this whole..." he pauses "...Half-Grimm usage." but he sounded unconvinced. Maybe even worried, though about what is unclear. "Anything else?"
"Yeah." says Weiss "He spoke."
"Excuse me?"
"I said Neimo spoke to us."
"What did he say?"
"He said, 'Tell Lucifer he owes me one.'"
"Owes him for what?"
"For saving my life." says Blake.
"Are you certain of that? Last time he came out he tried to kill you all." asks Ozpin
"Yes, but...I don't know. He was right behind me. He stopped an attack that was meant for me, and then he killed everyone that posed a threat to me. What happened to the dead White Fang, anyway?"
"You don't need to know" Neimo's rampage at the warehouse was covered up as a police raid gone wrong.
"One other thing" says Jaune "I'm not very sure myself if I'm right, but...Neimo...his Aura seemed somewhat less then it was the last time he was released. It may mean nothing, or maybe that as the cause of Neimo's..." he waved his hand around, as if finding the correct word for it "...decreased viciousness."
"I noticed it, too." says Lie "His Aura was down around twenty-eight percent from the last time he was released, though I don't know if it was that that influenced him, either."
No one was talking about how Neimo laughed like a psychopathic maniac after killing all the White Fang.
"Well" says Ozpin "That'll be all for now. If you have anything else to say, feel free to say it. I'll be here all day today. Dismissed." Both teams filed out the double doors.
Ozpin kept his peace about what was not said. He noticed how Blake said "but...", as if there were something else to him, something that says Neimo didn't do it for her sake, but whatever it was, either no one thought it important enough to be brought up, or they were protecting Neimo for something that he did or something that happened.
Ozpin wondered that, if they were protecting him, if it were a good thing - because he has gained real friends - or a bad thing - because whatever problem it was may manifest into something horrible.
He briefly entertained the thought that bringing in Lucifer, and Neimo with him, might turn out to be another of his mistakes, but he pushed the thought away, knowing that it was safer to keep him here rather than out there, on the streets, where there could be danger to innocent civilians and Lucifer either from Lucifer himself or whoever is trying to capture him.
But keeping Lucifer here with his students, apart from team RWBY and JNPR, and maybe Velvet, oblivious to his true nature, was that a bad thing? Would he find out too late? Would it matter?
Questions, questions, questions...so many questions..."Questions cost lives." murmured Ozpin "quote of a traitorous general, who lost faith in his cause due to questions asked." he sighed.
He hoped it wasn't anything terrible.
"This is terrible." says Ruby "What happened to him? He was laughing like he killed for fun, and was getting a real kick from all that White Fang."
"Why didn't we tell Ozpin, again?" asked Weiss.
"Because he may kick Lucifer out of here if we do." says Ruby.
"He won't" says Pyrrha "He won't throw Lucifer back out onto the street where he may be a danger to himself and others around him."
"However," says Lie "Ozpin won't trust Lucifer as much."
"Yeah..." says Weiss "I guess so..."
"We can only hope that this doesn't go too far." says Pyrrha "Besides that? Not much."
"But there is something else we can do?" asks Jaune.
"Maybe." says Pyrrha "Ask Lucifer how did he manage to decrease his Aura level."
But Lucifer is otherwise occupied at the moment.
- Here we go again...
Lucifer is once again in his mind, awaiting Neimo's arrival.
So he can kick my ass again, thinks Lucifer, and the thought echoes loudly through the landscape, causing his ears to ring painfully.
Of course his thoughts were like boom boxes everywhere, this was his mind.
- Lucifer.
Turning, Lucifer once again sees Neimo.
- What?
- What did you do? I couldn't choose who I wanted to kill. Honestly, those animals were enough, but the cat-girl is still a life I would have otherwise taken.
- Which is why I wouldn't tell what is it I did, no matter what you do to me here.
Neimo growled, his bone-white fangs visible through the light-drowning Aura surrounding him.
- I should kill you.
- You won't. And you can't. Killing me would also kill you. You live in my mind, you work through my body. Killing me will also kill you. Besides, I won't let you.
Neimo scoffed.
- 'You won't let me'? Hah! You couldn't even recognize the insides of your own mind last time. What makes you think you have any power over me as long as you're here?
- Because...
Lucifer paused a moment before speaking.
- This is MY mind.
Lucifer awoke from the dream-state rather calmly, as if he were simply closing his eyes to rest them for a moment. He smiled to himself.
He had won his first battle against Neimo.
"Actually, I got that from Lie Ren, but yes." replied Ruby.
Team RWBY and JNPR are sitting in Ozpin's office, discussing the incident that happened on the previous day. Lucifer isn't there because he is still recovering from once again releasing Neimo.
"Hmm...maybe he's getting the hang of this whole..." he pauses "...Half-Grimm usage." but he sounded unconvinced. Maybe even worried, though about what is unclear. "Anything else?"
"Yeah." says Weiss "He spoke."
"Excuse me?"
"I said Neimo spoke to us."
"What did he say?"
"He said, 'Tell Lucifer he owes me one.'"
"Owes him for what?"
"For saving my life." says Blake.
"Are you certain of that? Last time he came out he tried to kill you all." asks Ozpin
"Yes, but...I don't know. He was right behind me. He stopped an attack that was meant for me, and then he killed everyone that posed a threat to me. What happened to the dead White Fang, anyway?"
"You don't need to know" Neimo's rampage at the warehouse was covered up as a police raid gone wrong.
"One other thing" says Jaune "I'm not very sure myself if I'm right, but...Neimo...his Aura seemed somewhat less then it was the last time he was released. It may mean nothing, or maybe that as the cause of Neimo's..." he waved his hand around, as if finding the correct word for it "...decreased viciousness."
"I noticed it, too." says Lie "His Aura was down around twenty-eight percent from the last time he was released, though I don't know if it was that that influenced him, either."
No one was talking about how Neimo laughed like a psychopathic maniac after killing all the White Fang.
"Well" says Ozpin "That'll be all for now. If you have anything else to say, feel free to say it. I'll be here all day today. Dismissed." Both teams filed out the double doors.
Ozpin kept his peace about what was not said. He noticed how Blake said "but...", as if there were something else to him, something that says Neimo didn't do it for her sake, but whatever it was, either no one thought it important enough to be brought up, or they were protecting Neimo for something that he did or something that happened.
Ozpin wondered that, if they were protecting him, if it were a good thing - because he has gained real friends - or a bad thing - because whatever problem it was may manifest into something horrible.
He briefly entertained the thought that bringing in Lucifer, and Neimo with him, might turn out to be another of his mistakes, but he pushed the thought away, knowing that it was safer to keep him here rather than out there, on the streets, where there could be danger to innocent civilians and Lucifer either from Lucifer himself or whoever is trying to capture him.
But keeping Lucifer here with his students, apart from team RWBY and JNPR, and maybe Velvet, oblivious to his true nature, was that a bad thing? Would he find out too late? Would it matter?
Questions, questions, questions...so many questions..."Questions cost lives." murmured Ozpin "quote of a traitorous general, who lost faith in his cause due to questions asked." he sighed.
He hoped it wasn't anything terrible.
"This is terrible." says Ruby "What happened to him? He was laughing like he killed for fun, and was getting a real kick from all that White Fang."
"Why didn't we tell Ozpin, again?" asked Weiss.
"Because he may kick Lucifer out of here if we do." says Ruby.
"He won't" says Pyrrha "He won't throw Lucifer back out onto the street where he may be a danger to himself and others around him."
"However," says Lie "Ozpin won't trust Lucifer as much."
"Yeah..." says Weiss "I guess so..."
"We can only hope that this doesn't go too far." says Pyrrha "Besides that? Not much."
"But there is something else we can do?" asks Jaune.
"Maybe." says Pyrrha "Ask Lucifer how did he manage to decrease his Aura level."
But Lucifer is otherwise occupied at the moment.
- Here we go again...
Lucifer is once again in his mind, awaiting Neimo's arrival.
So he can kick my ass again, thinks Lucifer, and the thought echoes loudly through the landscape, causing his ears to ring painfully.
Of course his thoughts were like boom boxes everywhere, this was his mind.
- Lucifer.
Turning, Lucifer once again sees Neimo.
- What?
- What did you do? I couldn't choose who I wanted to kill. Honestly, those animals were enough, but the cat-girl is still a life I would have otherwise taken.
- Which is why I wouldn't tell what is it I did, no matter what you do to me here.
Neimo growled, his bone-white fangs visible through the light-drowning Aura surrounding him.
- I should kill you.
- You won't. And you can't. Killing me would also kill you. You live in my mind, you work through my body. Killing me will also kill you. Besides, I won't let you.
Neimo scoffed.
- 'You won't let me'? Hah! You couldn't even recognize the insides of your own mind last time. What makes you think you have any power over me as long as you're here?
- Because...
Lucifer paused a moment before speaking.
- This is MY mind.
Lucifer awoke from the dream-state rather calmly, as if he were simply closing his eyes to rest them for a moment. He smiled to himself.
He had won his first battle against Neimo.
Friday, April 4, 2014
The Wingclipped Angel
The shop is empty, but that's nothing new.
There weren't many people looking for hunting gear this part of town, and Jack, the shop owner, has long since gotten used to the quiet atmosphere of his shop named the 'Dust, Guns n' Gear'
Jack is sitting behind the counter, reading a magazine, his feet propped on the counter when the jingling of the bell at the door jolts him and he drops his legs and the magazine to the floor.
Customers were a rare occurrence around here. Jack briefly wonders if he should move his shop somewhere closer to Beacon, there should be more people willing to but equipment there.
"Welcome, how can I help you?" asks Jack.
"The sign out front says 'Dust, Guns n' Gear', but do you have anything for Aura?"
"They're at the back of the shop, sir."
"Thanks."
The customer looked peculiar, to him at least. What the heck, how long has it been since a Huntsman or a Huntress came in here? Does he still remember how they look like? Does it matter? Probably not-
"I said I'm paying." the customer.
Better stop dreaming all day if he wants to keep the business...
That's odd. An Aura Arrester. One shaped like a cross with a jewel on the center and four spikes coming out between the bars of the cross.
"...Are you sure this is what you're looking for? This thing restricts Aura." asks Jack.
"Of course I'm sure."
"Well, okay. That'll be thirty-six in cash."
After paying, the customer went out the door, sticking the cross into his side pocket and the end of the loop of chain around it into his back pocket.
The same chain jingles as Lucifer descends into darkness and Neimo rises to take his place, The jewel at the center of the cross glowing as it does it's job.
FRIEND
Neimo stops the flight of the Shock Baton with his left hand, electricity sparking off his bracer.
With his other hand he reaches around the White Fang's head and pulls, and a snap echoes through the warehouse.
"Lucifer...?" asks Blake, her face falling as she realized Lucifer isn't there.
"My name is not Lucifer." says Neimo "My name is Neimo. Neimo Grimm."
It was odd. He didn't feel like time when the blonde girl first released him, when he felt like he was in complete control. He felt like every other time he came out besides then: only partially in control, and having to do things according to Lucy's wishes. And right now Lucy wants the catgirl safe.
Fair enough.
The White Fang surrounding the two, realizing the man is now a threat bigger than Blake, begin to fire on him, their gunshots making perfect markers for their locations.
Neimo dashes to each White Fang, one after another, crack after crack echoing through the warehouse nearly but not lost in the mess of telltale gunshots.
Suddenly, the warehouse lights are turned on, and RWBY and JNPR are standing in the doorway.
- EARLIER -
*Ba-Bing-a-Ling!*
"What's that?" asks Yang.
"It's my phone, hold on..." says Ruby, pulling her black and red phone from her pocket. "It's Lucifer."
"What does he want?" asks Weiss.
" 'Guys, investigating a bounty on Blake's head. Currently heading to abandoned warehouse downtown. May need backup. Bring JNPR. May get ugly. -Lucifer Grimm'."
"Blake's got a bounty on her head?" asks Yang.
"Apparently." says Ruby "I'll text Jaune. Yang, tell Ozpin."
"Got it, sis."
- PRESENT -
"I-i-is that Neimo?" stammers Jaune.
"Yes." says Blake, getting up "But something's off with him"
"You think?" asks Weiss. Then "Blake, why didn't you tell us you had a bounty on your head?"
She shrugged "Didn't have the chance before."
"Real question is: what do we do now? Neimo was taken out last time by Ozpin, but Ozpin's not here, so what are we going to do?" Asks Ruby.
"Get out of here before he turns his attention to us, maybe?" Asks Jaune.
"Perhaps not. At the present, it wouldn't seem he has any interest in us. I would guess Neimo's acting on Lucifer's will somehow, so he's not attacking us." Says Lie.
"Whatever! If he comes, I'm sure you can knock him around, Lie!" Says Nora.
"I'm glad you think so, because honestly, I'm not as sure. I've seen what Neimo can do from last time he came out, and I'm willing to bet that's not all he can do."
"So we're back to square one," points out Ruby "or maybe two: wait until every White Fang is dead and see what happens."
They wouldn't have to wait long, Neimo is already dropping the last standing White Fang to fall limply to the floor.
Looking down at the bloody carnage around him and at his bloody claws, he stood silent for the longest time.
Then he began to giggle.
Then he began to chuckle.
Then he began to laugh.
Neimo began to laugh and laugh and laugh. A mad cackling the would have scared the birds off branches.
"W-w-w-what's happening now?" stammers Jaune.
Neimo continued his mad laughing until he tired of the exercise or his lungs were exhausted. Slowly, he lowered his head.
Turning to the two teams, he starts towards them. They take their battle stances and await his anticipated attack.
Instead, he walks right up to them.
In a voice belonging to Lucifer and yet not Lucifer's voice, Neimo speaks.
"Tell Lucifer" he says "he owes me one for helping out the catgirl."
Then, the dark Aura around him dissipating and his hair blackening, Lucifer is returned to them, collapsing to the floor, nearly unconscious.
Forcing his eyes open, he murmurs "B-Blake...?"
"I'm here" she replies.
Closing his eyes in a silent prayer of thanks, he says in a whisper "Good ... Really?" Before falling unconscious.
- LATER -
Back in the warehouse, Adam had been, fortunately for him, forgotten in the mass of bloodshed. Now he wakes up from a what might have been a restless sleep.
"Uuuhh..." he moans, lifting his head and looking around "What...HAPPENED here...?" then the answer dawned on him "Oh, no..."
A light like fire lit up from the depths of the warehouse, and a familiar voice speaks.
"Adam, Adam, Adam...you have disappointed us yet again...failing to capture your own former teammate." said Cinder. Adam drew Wilt and Blush.
"Stay away from me, Cinder! I won't be working with you anymore!"
"Relax, we won't want you to work with us, either."
Adam's hopes shot up for a moment, and then fell to his boots. It just went even lower when Cinder continued.
"You'll be working FOR us, now... Oh...do we have BIG plans for you, Adam. You and White Fang..."
There weren't many people looking for hunting gear this part of town, and Jack, the shop owner, has long since gotten used to the quiet atmosphere of his shop named the 'Dust, Guns n' Gear'
Jack is sitting behind the counter, reading a magazine, his feet propped on the counter when the jingling of the bell at the door jolts him and he drops his legs and the magazine to the floor.
Customers were a rare occurrence around here. Jack briefly wonders if he should move his shop somewhere closer to Beacon, there should be more people willing to but equipment there.
"Welcome, how can I help you?" asks Jack.
"The sign out front says 'Dust, Guns n' Gear', but do you have anything for Aura?"
"They're at the back of the shop, sir."
"Thanks."
The customer looked peculiar, to him at least. What the heck, how long has it been since a Huntsman or a Huntress came in here? Does he still remember how they look like? Does it matter? Probably not-
"I said I'm paying." the customer.
Better stop dreaming all day if he wants to keep the business...
That's odd. An Aura Arrester. One shaped like a cross with a jewel on the center and four spikes coming out between the bars of the cross.
"...Are you sure this is what you're looking for? This thing restricts Aura." asks Jack.
"Of course I'm sure."
"Well, okay. That'll be thirty-six in cash."
After paying, the customer went out the door, sticking the cross into his side pocket and the end of the loop of chain around it into his back pocket.
The same chain jingles as Lucifer descends into darkness and Neimo rises to take his place, The jewel at the center of the cross glowing as it does it's job.
FRIEND
Neimo stops the flight of the Shock Baton with his left hand, electricity sparking off his bracer.
With his other hand he reaches around the White Fang's head and pulls, and a snap echoes through the warehouse.
"Lucifer...?" asks Blake, her face falling as she realized Lucifer isn't there.
"My name is not Lucifer." says Neimo "My name is Neimo. Neimo Grimm."
It was odd. He didn't feel like time when the blonde girl first released him, when he felt like he was in complete control. He felt like every other time he came out besides then: only partially in control, and having to do things according to Lucy's wishes. And right now Lucy wants the catgirl safe.
Fair enough.
The White Fang surrounding the two, realizing the man is now a threat bigger than Blake, begin to fire on him, their gunshots making perfect markers for their locations.
Neimo dashes to each White Fang, one after another, crack after crack echoing through the warehouse nearly but not lost in the mess of telltale gunshots.
Suddenly, the warehouse lights are turned on, and RWBY and JNPR are standing in the doorway.
- EARLIER -
*Ba-Bing-a-Ling!*
"What's that?" asks Yang.
"It's my phone, hold on..." says Ruby, pulling her black and red phone from her pocket. "It's Lucifer."
"What does he want?" asks Weiss.
" 'Guys, investigating a bounty on Blake's head. Currently heading to abandoned warehouse downtown. May need backup. Bring JNPR. May get ugly. -Lucifer Grimm'."
"Blake's got a bounty on her head?" asks Yang.
"Apparently." says Ruby "I'll text Jaune. Yang, tell Ozpin."
"Got it, sis."
- PRESENT -
"I-i-is that Neimo?" stammers Jaune.
"Yes." says Blake, getting up "But something's off with him"
"You think?" asks Weiss. Then "Blake, why didn't you tell us you had a bounty on your head?"
She shrugged "Didn't have the chance before."
"Real question is: what do we do now? Neimo was taken out last time by Ozpin, but Ozpin's not here, so what are we going to do?" Asks Ruby.
"Get out of here before he turns his attention to us, maybe?" Asks Jaune.
"Perhaps not. At the present, it wouldn't seem he has any interest in us. I would guess Neimo's acting on Lucifer's will somehow, so he's not attacking us." Says Lie.
"Whatever! If he comes, I'm sure you can knock him around, Lie!" Says Nora.
"I'm glad you think so, because honestly, I'm not as sure. I've seen what Neimo can do from last time he came out, and I'm willing to bet that's not all he can do."
"So we're back to square one," points out Ruby "or maybe two: wait until every White Fang is dead and see what happens."
They wouldn't have to wait long, Neimo is already dropping the last standing White Fang to fall limply to the floor.
Looking down at the bloody carnage around him and at his bloody claws, he stood silent for the longest time.
Then he began to giggle.
Then he began to chuckle.
Then he began to laugh.
Neimo began to laugh and laugh and laugh. A mad cackling the would have scared the birds off branches.
"W-w-w-what's happening now?" stammers Jaune.
Neimo continued his mad laughing until he tired of the exercise or his lungs were exhausted. Slowly, he lowered his head.
Turning to the two teams, he starts towards them. They take their battle stances and await his anticipated attack.
Instead, he walks right up to them.
In a voice belonging to Lucifer and yet not Lucifer's voice, Neimo speaks.
"Tell Lucifer" he says "he owes me one for helping out the catgirl."
Then, the dark Aura around him dissipating and his hair blackening, Lucifer is returned to them, collapsing to the floor, nearly unconscious.
Forcing his eyes open, he murmurs "B-Blake...?"
"I'm here" she replies.
Closing his eyes in a silent prayer of thanks, he says in a whisper "Good ... Really?" Before falling unconscious.
- LATER -
Back in the warehouse, Adam had been, fortunately for him, forgotten in the mass of bloodshed. Now he wakes up from a what might have been a restless sleep.
"Uuuhh..." he moans, lifting his head and looking around "What...HAPPENED here...?" then the answer dawned on him "Oh, no..."
A light like fire lit up from the depths of the warehouse, and a familiar voice speaks.
"Adam, Adam, Adam...you have disappointed us yet again...failing to capture your own former teammate." said Cinder. Adam drew Wilt and Blush.
"Stay away from me, Cinder! I won't be working with you anymore!"
"Relax, we won't want you to work with us, either."
Adam's hopes shot up for a moment, and then fell to his boots. It just went even lower when Cinder continued.
"You'll be working FOR us, now... Oh...do we have BIG plans for you, Adam. You and White Fang..."
Thursday, April 3, 2014
The Devil's Return
- AT AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION -
*VRRM*, *VRRM*
- Huh?
*VRRM*, *VRRM*
- What's that sound?
*VRRM*, *VRRM*
- Oh, it's my-
Adam pulls out his burn phone, the one for the bounty on Blake, and hits the answer key.
"Yes?" says Adam.
"I got the target. Will be going to the warehouse tomorrow at eight in the morning sharp. Do you have the money ready?" he was using a voice changer. Definitely a pro.
"Yeah, I got it. How is she?"
"Out of it for now. The drugs will last until later this evening. She's in chains anyhow. Sent a letter of leave to Beacon."
"Beacon?"
"Yeah, she goes to Beacon for protection, don't you know that?"
He IS a pro.
Too bad.
"Just did. Tomorrow. Warehouse. 25,000 in cash."
"Done."
BEEP
"So" says Adam "Trying to hide it out at Beacon, huh? Bet your friends don't even know you're former White Fang. Maybe they won't miss you if they did." he chuckled to himself. Soon.
"So how did it go?" asks Blake.
"Smooth" says Lucifer "Must be the first time he put a bounty on someone. Asked questions."
"Typical. Wants to know everything." says Blake.
Getting up, she says "Can we go back now?"
"No. I told him you are in my custody. If you are seen in the street, he might be notified."
"So how are Ruby, Yang and the rest supposed to know I'm okay?"
"They already do" says Lucifer "If I read him right, he might want to tell them you are a current White Fang so they won't go around looking for you. He doesn't know they know. Didn't even know you went to Beacon. You did a good job hiding yourself."
"I was with him long enough know how he gets his information. Just needed to keep his sources from knowing to keep him from knowing."
"Hmm. Well, now to plan this out..."
- THE NEXT DAY -
Lucifer pushes open the door to the warehouse. The creak echoes throughout the dark, empty structure. He pulled his mask on and fitted a voice changer into it for this occasion.
"You took your time." came a voice.
Looking at his watch, Lucifer says "Then you have to dial your watch back three minutes and forty-eight seconds, because I am on time and you are early."
Adam huffed "Do you have her?"
"Right here" Lucifer enters the doorway, pushing Blake, gagged and bound in chains, in front of him.
Lucifer notices a gleam of gunmetal somewhere in the dark. Of course he had backup.
"Payment." says Lucifer.
"Of course, just a moment"
Turning, Adam retrieves Blush and fires at Lucifer, point-blank.
Lucifer collapses, jerking the chain he was holding connected to the one around Blake.
"Ah..." says Adam, walking into the light, making him visible "Blake, how long has it been?"
Blake just glared at him.
"Oh, that's right" says Adam "Gag" he says to the dark.
A White Fang emerges from the shadows and unties the rag around Blake's mouth.
Spitting for a while, Blake says "Why are you doing this?"
"Oh, Blake, how we missed you. I just couldn't work as well without my trusty partner. We need you back, Blake." says Adam.
"Go to hell." says Blake.
"Ah." says Adam, walking around her "You've changed somewhat. Get any better at using the Gambol Shroud? Still cut yourself from time to time?"
"You can't hold me for long. When my teammates realize I'm gone-"
"When they realize you're gone" interrupts Adam "They wouldn't care a whit. They would just assume you went back to the White Fang-" He strokes her hair "And they would be right."
"So this is what it's all about?" asks Blake, almost mockingly "Just getting me back into the fold?"
"Well..." says Adam "...yes."
Blake grunted "I expected more. Guess you haven't changed much since I last saw you."
"Aaaw...you remembered...missed me?" He went to stroke her hair again.
"Don't touch me, you!" says Blake.
"Oh? And what's stopping me?" asks Adam.
"Your unpaid Bounty Hunter is what."
"Huh-" turning, he just managed to see a metal plate fly at him before the world descended into darkness.
Lucifer backhanded Adam, catching him with his bracer and knocking him out. Tugging on the chain, he unties her just as the doors behind him closed shut, making the warehouse pitch-black.
Of course, the Faunus have nightvision, they can see me, I can't see them
But they're not the only one here who's a Faunus, and I don't need to see to find them.
Shutting his eyes, he focused on sound, listening for telltale ripples through the air to locate them-
-But the Faunus were also light on their feet, and whatever noise that is made is lost to echoes due to the warehouse's structure.
So much for being the hunter here.
"Blake! I can't sense them! it's up to you now!"
"Got it!"
But it was a losing battle. they were outnumbered thirty to one, and the White Fang were smart enough to know Blake is the bigger threat and go after her first. Blake is skilled with her Gambol Shroud as well as fighting multiple enemies at once, but so are the White Fang around her. Soon, they had her and Lucifer pinned down. Slowly, Lucifer was gaining nightvision. Not as good or as fast as the Faunus', but better than the average human.
He sees a White Fang retrieve a Shock Baton. Unlike the Dust Stun Baton, the Shock Baton is battery-powered, but all Lucifer could see was a metal rod, sparking with electricity, being raised high and about to be brought down on Blake, a friend. A friend.
"Noo..." he didn't manage to finish as everything descended into a black well darker than the insides of the warehouse could ever get.
*VRRM*, *VRRM*
- Huh?
*VRRM*, *VRRM*
- What's that sound?
*VRRM*, *VRRM*
- Oh, it's my-
Adam pulls out his burn phone, the one for the bounty on Blake, and hits the answer key.
"Yes?" says Adam.
"I got the target. Will be going to the warehouse tomorrow at eight in the morning sharp. Do you have the money ready?" he was using a voice changer. Definitely a pro.
"Yeah, I got it. How is she?"
"Out of it for now. The drugs will last until later this evening. She's in chains anyhow. Sent a letter of leave to Beacon."
"Beacon?"
"Yeah, she goes to Beacon for protection, don't you know that?"
He IS a pro.
Too bad.
"Just did. Tomorrow. Warehouse. 25,000 in cash."
"Done."
BEEP
"So" says Adam "Trying to hide it out at Beacon, huh? Bet your friends don't even know you're former White Fang. Maybe they won't miss you if they did." he chuckled to himself. Soon.
"So how did it go?" asks Blake.
"Smooth" says Lucifer "Must be the first time he put a bounty on someone. Asked questions."
"Typical. Wants to know everything." says Blake.
Getting up, she says "Can we go back now?"
"No. I told him you are in my custody. If you are seen in the street, he might be notified."
"So how are Ruby, Yang and the rest supposed to know I'm okay?"
"They already do" says Lucifer "If I read him right, he might want to tell them you are a current White Fang so they won't go around looking for you. He doesn't know they know. Didn't even know you went to Beacon. You did a good job hiding yourself."
"I was with him long enough know how he gets his information. Just needed to keep his sources from knowing to keep him from knowing."
"Hmm. Well, now to plan this out..."
- THE NEXT DAY -
Lucifer pushes open the door to the warehouse. The creak echoes throughout the dark, empty structure. He pulled his mask on and fitted a voice changer into it for this occasion.
"You took your time." came a voice.
Looking at his watch, Lucifer says "Then you have to dial your watch back three minutes and forty-eight seconds, because I am on time and you are early."
Adam huffed "Do you have her?"
"Right here" Lucifer enters the doorway, pushing Blake, gagged and bound in chains, in front of him.
Lucifer notices a gleam of gunmetal somewhere in the dark. Of course he had backup.
"Payment." says Lucifer.
"Of course, just a moment"
Turning, Adam retrieves Blush and fires at Lucifer, point-blank.
Lucifer collapses, jerking the chain he was holding connected to the one around Blake.
"Ah..." says Adam, walking into the light, making him visible "Blake, how long has it been?"
Blake just glared at him.
"Oh, that's right" says Adam "Gag" he says to the dark.
A White Fang emerges from the shadows and unties the rag around Blake's mouth.
Spitting for a while, Blake says "Why are you doing this?"
"Oh, Blake, how we missed you. I just couldn't work as well without my trusty partner. We need you back, Blake." says Adam.
"Go to hell." says Blake.
"Ah." says Adam, walking around her "You've changed somewhat. Get any better at using the Gambol Shroud? Still cut yourself from time to time?"
"You can't hold me for long. When my teammates realize I'm gone-"
"When they realize you're gone" interrupts Adam "They wouldn't care a whit. They would just assume you went back to the White Fang-" He strokes her hair "And they would be right."
"So this is what it's all about?" asks Blake, almost mockingly "Just getting me back into the fold?"
"Well..." says Adam "...yes."
Blake grunted "I expected more. Guess you haven't changed much since I last saw you."
"Aaaw...you remembered...missed me?" He went to stroke her hair again.
"Don't touch me, you!" says Blake.
"Oh? And what's stopping me?" asks Adam.
"Your unpaid Bounty Hunter is what."
"Huh-" turning, he just managed to see a metal plate fly at him before the world descended into darkness.
Lucifer backhanded Adam, catching him with his bracer and knocking him out. Tugging on the chain, he unties her just as the doors behind him closed shut, making the warehouse pitch-black.
Of course, the Faunus have nightvision, they can see me, I can't see them
But they're not the only one here who's a Faunus, and I don't need to see to find them.
Shutting his eyes, he focused on sound, listening for telltale ripples through the air to locate them-
-But the Faunus were also light on their feet, and whatever noise that is made is lost to echoes due to the warehouse's structure.
So much for being the hunter here.
"Blake! I can't sense them! it's up to you now!"
"Got it!"
But it was a losing battle. they were outnumbered thirty to one, and the White Fang were smart enough to know Blake is the bigger threat and go after her first. Blake is skilled with her Gambol Shroud as well as fighting multiple enemies at once, but so are the White Fang around her. Soon, they had her and Lucifer pinned down. Slowly, Lucifer was gaining nightvision. Not as good or as fast as the Faunus', but better than the average human.
He sees a White Fang retrieve a Shock Baton. Unlike the Dust Stun Baton, the Shock Baton is battery-powered, but all Lucifer could see was a metal rod, sparking with electricity, being raised high and about to be brought down on Blake, a friend. A friend.
"Noo..." he didn't manage to finish as everything descended into a black well darker than the insides of the warehouse could ever get.
The Triple Agent
"Where's Lucifer?" asked Peter. It wasn't like the Grimm kid to be absent.
"He's, ah, helping out a friend in need." says Ruby.
"Ah." says Peter. He wonders why did he bother asking about the boy. Ozpin had a meeting with all of the teachers the other day, saying how Lucifer is to be treated like any other student, except that he isn't an official student. Ozpin made clear that he is allowed to sit through any and all classes and can choose to do the work provided, but he won't be present during tests, written or otherwise. That his name isn't in the attendance sheets states that he can be in and out of classes whenever he wishes, which is what made Peter's question rhetorical.
- MEANWHILE -
Surprise them.
Lifting his leg, Lucifer kicks the handle of the door in front of him, breaking the lock and opening the door.
Catch them off guard. Watch their eyes.
"I'll give you fellas one chaance to come clean, tell me about a Faunas girl that's a former member of your White Fang with a bounty on her head and I'll let you live!" One Faunas man's eyes flickered.
Once target is found, scare him into submission.
"You've had your chance!" yells Lucifer, grabbing hold of and pulling out both Dicers from their sheaths. pulling the triggers of both, the blade falls out from the handle, trailing two nearly-invisible strands of razor wire behind them.
Lucifer begins to swing around like a madman, seemingly without technique, but actually doing his best at being showy, so he has a better chance to frighten his target enough to talk.
It's actually a lot more complicated than one might imagine. He has to be scared enough to talk, but not so scared he believes he will die anyway and tries something desperate, and not leave enough in him to think he can still win if he fought. It is a carefully calculated decision based on what he gathered from his target in that short amount of time.
Soon, the targeted Faunus is the only one uninjured.
"Last chance, now..." says Lucifer, raising his weapon.
"Wait! Don't! I'll talk!" he whines. Success.
"Well, oh-kay..." says Lucifer, lowering his weapon "I'm listening."
"I don't know very much, but I heard...I heard that one of us left us while out on a mission, a-a-and the guy that was with her was pissed and h-he was the one who placed the bounty, but I don't know more, I swear!" he wails, covering his head as if that would protect him.
Lucifer's face was unreadable, there was a silence punctuated by the Faunus's quiet sobs for a moment, until Lucifer broke the silence, asking "What's his name?"
"Adam" says the Faunus "Adam Taurus"
Looking up, he was surprised to see Lucifer smiling.
"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" then, hoisting up one of the White Fang members - this one himself had a bounty on him, any White Fang with a rank does - he says to the Faunus "Go home. Your fight's over." and leaves through the broken-down doorway.
"Adam" says Lucifer, climbing on his bike he named the 'Shadow Pursuit', "Depending on what your old partner, Blake, says, I just might be the death of you, so look out..."
- AT BEACON -
"...one good thing among others about being a student at Beacon" mutters Blake "is unlimited access to the city library." Not that it made much of a difference, 'unlimited access' simply meant open doors to sections of the library otherwise inaccessible, with information on Creatures of Grimm or known criminals throughout Remnant...and a half dozen or so precious old books the library didn't trust with the general public. Blake had two such books.
"Psst! Blake!" came a whisper.
"Aaand...the other shoe drops." she moans "Good thing I brought a bag to keep these..."
She went to the alley where the whisper came from, and , as expected, an arm came round her mouth and she was yanked away.
When they stopped at another unknown place, Blake began to ask questions.
"So what is it? You found the person?"
"Well, technically, no. But I got a name, and I came here to ask you what do you want to be done."
"Okay, lets hear this name."
"You might know this person. His name's Adam."
Blake's face fell
"Adam Taurus." says Lucifer
"Adam? Why would he-? Are you sure?" asks Blake.
"I had to kill a room full of White Fang to get the information, so, yes, I'm sure." said Lucifer, deadpan.
Blake slumps against the wall.
"So" says Lucifer "What do you want to do?"
"I don't know. If it were anyone else, I'd probably say 'collect your bounty on him' or something but..." she sighs.
"What? You got a crush on him or something?" asks Lucifer.
"NO!" she yells "I just...I don't understand how he could just put a price tag on my head."
"Actually, he didn't"
"What?"
Pulling out the document of the bounty, Lucifer reads " 'To be brought in alive at whatever cost.', says here to bring you in, unconscious or not and bound, to some abandoned warehouse downtown."
"What do you suggest?" asks Blake, already knowing the answer she might be getting.
"I suggest we go pay him a visit..."
"He's, ah, helping out a friend in need." says Ruby.
"Ah." says Peter. He wonders why did he bother asking about the boy. Ozpin had a meeting with all of the teachers the other day, saying how Lucifer is to be treated like any other student, except that he isn't an official student. Ozpin made clear that he is allowed to sit through any and all classes and can choose to do the work provided, but he won't be present during tests, written or otherwise. That his name isn't in the attendance sheets states that he can be in and out of classes whenever he wishes, which is what made Peter's question rhetorical.
- MEANWHILE -
Surprise them.
Lifting his leg, Lucifer kicks the handle of the door in front of him, breaking the lock and opening the door.
Catch them off guard. Watch their eyes.
"I'll give you fellas one chaance to come clean, tell me about a Faunas girl that's a former member of your White Fang with a bounty on her head and I'll let you live!" One Faunas man's eyes flickered.
Once target is found, scare him into submission.
"You've had your chance!" yells Lucifer, grabbing hold of and pulling out both Dicers from their sheaths. pulling the triggers of both, the blade falls out from the handle, trailing two nearly-invisible strands of razor wire behind them.
Lucifer begins to swing around like a madman, seemingly without technique, but actually doing his best at being showy, so he has a better chance to frighten his target enough to talk.
It's actually a lot more complicated than one might imagine. He has to be scared enough to talk, but not so scared he believes he will die anyway and tries something desperate, and not leave enough in him to think he can still win if he fought. It is a carefully calculated decision based on what he gathered from his target in that short amount of time.
Soon, the targeted Faunus is the only one uninjured.
"Last chance, now..." says Lucifer, raising his weapon.
"Wait! Don't! I'll talk!" he whines. Success.
"Well, oh-kay..." says Lucifer, lowering his weapon "I'm listening."
"I don't know very much, but I heard...I heard that one of us left us while out on a mission, a-a-and the guy that was with her was pissed and h-he was the one who placed the bounty, but I don't know more, I swear!" he wails, covering his head as if that would protect him.
Lucifer's face was unreadable, there was a silence punctuated by the Faunus's quiet sobs for a moment, until Lucifer broke the silence, asking "What's his name?"
"Adam" says the Faunus "Adam Taurus"
Looking up, he was surprised to see Lucifer smiling.
"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" then, hoisting up one of the White Fang members - this one himself had a bounty on him, any White Fang with a rank does - he says to the Faunus "Go home. Your fight's over." and leaves through the broken-down doorway.
"Adam" says Lucifer, climbing on his bike he named the 'Shadow Pursuit', "Depending on what your old partner, Blake, says, I just might be the death of you, so look out..."
- AT BEACON -
"...one good thing among others about being a student at Beacon" mutters Blake "is unlimited access to the city library." Not that it made much of a difference, 'unlimited access' simply meant open doors to sections of the library otherwise inaccessible, with information on Creatures of Grimm or known criminals throughout Remnant...and a half dozen or so precious old books the library didn't trust with the general public. Blake had two such books.
"Psst! Blake!" came a whisper.
"Aaand...the other shoe drops." she moans "Good thing I brought a bag to keep these..."
She went to the alley where the whisper came from, and , as expected, an arm came round her mouth and she was yanked away.
When they stopped at another unknown place, Blake began to ask questions.
"So what is it? You found the person?"
"Well, technically, no. But I got a name, and I came here to ask you what do you want to be done."
"Okay, lets hear this name."
"You might know this person. His name's Adam."
Blake's face fell
"Adam Taurus." says Lucifer
"Adam? Why would he-? Are you sure?" asks Blake.
"I had to kill a room full of White Fang to get the information, so, yes, I'm sure." said Lucifer, deadpan.
Blake slumps against the wall.
"So" says Lucifer "What do you want to do?"
"I don't know. If it were anyone else, I'd probably say 'collect your bounty on him' or something but..." she sighs.
"What? You got a crush on him or something?" asks Lucifer.
"NO!" she yells "I just...I don't understand how he could just put a price tag on my head."
"Actually, he didn't"
"What?"
Pulling out the document of the bounty, Lucifer reads " 'To be brought in alive at whatever cost.', says here to bring you in, unconscious or not and bound, to some abandoned warehouse downtown."
"What do you suggest?" asks Blake, already knowing the answer she might be getting.
"I suggest we go pay him a visit..."
Saturday, March 29, 2014
The Lost Bounty
- WEEKS LATER -
Lucifer has started on his career as a Bounty Hunter. He is bringing back his most recent capture, a double-murderer from downtown.
"You're good at this!" Says the desk clerk at the Bounty Office "Some of our Bounty Hunters that went after this guy couldn't find any trace of him!"
"Guess I just have a good nose for this job" replies Lucifer, the desk clerk not knowing how true this rising star of a newbie Bounty Hunter's most recent remark is. He's got the nose of a bloodhound, if not a better one.
"Well, I think I've got another bounty here that seems to suit you. A White Fang terrorist. Don't see her handiwork around much, now, but her actions in the past need to be paid for. Fell off the grid and out of sight quite some time ago, never resurfaced since. Here's her picture."
Lucifer took the picture and scanned it, recording it into his memory. Hut he ran into a wall. What? I've already got this face in my memory? That's odd. Looking at the mugshot for real this time, he stared at the face on the photo. The photo was grainy and not of good quality, and is slightly worn, but the face on it is clear as it could get if he were standing in the same room with her.
It was Blake.
"One good thing about being a student at Beacon Academy, among other things, is unlimited access to the city libraries..." Not that she really needed it. Said 'unlimited access' is simply access to information on criminals or Grimm not allowed for the general public, and she just wanted some nice stories-
"Blake."
She stopped.
"Blake!"
Using her heightened senses, she found the direction of the whispers.
"Come over here! It's me, Lucifer!"
She went over.
"Lucifer, what-"
Lucifer grabbed her and bolted away without saying a word.
Some hours later, they stopped in some sort of back alley while Lucifer caught his breath. Blake didn't need to, she didn't run.
"WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT!?" She shrieked.
"Had to. Some people may have been watching. Couldn't risk it."
"COULDN'T RISK-" Lucifer put a hand over her mouth.
"Quieter. PLEASE." He let go.
"What's going on?" She asked.
Lucifer showed her the mugshot.
"What? Where did you get this?"
Lucifer showed her the official document stating she had a bounty on her head.
"What? A bounty? On me? Who did this?"
"The identity of the person who put the bounty there is a secret, else I would have told you. I had to grab you because I couldn't risk anyone seeing you. Don't think you are unnoticeable, I found you easily enough. Believe me, if the priority of bringing you in were any higher, you're ass'd been hauled in by now."
"But that is all in the past, I've got nothing to do with White Fang anymore."
"You don't, but you did. That's enough for the authorities."
"What did you do?"
"I told them I was taking the bounty offer, just to make sure no one would go after it for a while, though when they find out I'm not pursuing you, the offer will go back up for grabs."
Blake slumped against the wall.
"And so goes the second time my past involvement with White Fang come back to haunt me." She sighed "So now what?"
"I was going to ask you that question." Said Lucifer.
She sighed, louder this time.
"The White Fang I was involved in did peaceful protests. I went out on a couple of the attacks of the violent White Fang before deciding it just isn't right and left. I thought I left it all behind me until I accidentally busted myself to my team. Thankfully, that got cleared up, but now this..."
"Let's get you back to Beacon first, I'll have to think about this."
"Okay, but...where are we?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." He chuckled "However, my new toy can bring us back no problem."
Blake looked up. Lucifer is standing next to a sleek, black motorbike. It had blood red markings as well as some vents that didn't look like they spewed waste air.
"How much did you pay for this?" She asked.
"Didn't actually paid for nothing." He replied.
"YOU STOLE IT!?"
"Nope. Put it together at the Forge, actually. Best urban transportation of maximum speed and mobility. Perfect for bounty hunting, especially for chases. That and getting from A to B the quickest possible way."
"Something tells me I might regret this." She says, climbing on.
"If you had followed Ruby and Yang into the forest, this would be nothing!" He said, revving the engine before accelerating.
They returned to the dorms to find the rest of RWBY in their dorm room.
"Blake! Where have you been? We looked everywhere for you!" said Ruby.
"Even Weiss thought she said something wrong and fused you to run off again." said Yang.
"I did NOT think that! Hmph!" shouted Weiss.
Lucifer looked at Blake. Should I?
Blake sighed. Might as well.
"Guys...there's something important you guys should know..." began Lucifer.
"What?" asks Yang.
Lucifer paused for a moment before saying "Blake's got a bounty on her head."
There was a short and uneasy silence before Ruby broke it.
"Who? Why?"
"Blake asked those exact same questions. I don't know. I'm not supposed to."
"Can you find out?" asks Yang.
"Maybe. It won't be easy, though." replies Lucifer.
"Do what you have to, within limits, of course." says Blake.
"Tell Ozpin. I'm going out to, uh, help someone in need. Might need a couple of days to get a lead. Another day or more to track down the person where the bounty came from. I'll take until the end of the week at most." says Lucifer.
"I'll get to it" promised Blake.
Lucifer has started on his career as a Bounty Hunter. He is bringing back his most recent capture, a double-murderer from downtown.
"You're good at this!" Says the desk clerk at the Bounty Office "Some of our Bounty Hunters that went after this guy couldn't find any trace of him!"
"Guess I just have a good nose for this job" replies Lucifer, the desk clerk not knowing how true this rising star of a newbie Bounty Hunter's most recent remark is. He's got the nose of a bloodhound, if not a better one.
"Well, I think I've got another bounty here that seems to suit you. A White Fang terrorist. Don't see her handiwork around much, now, but her actions in the past need to be paid for. Fell off the grid and out of sight quite some time ago, never resurfaced since. Here's her picture."
Lucifer took the picture and scanned it, recording it into his memory. Hut he ran into a wall. What? I've already got this face in my memory? That's odd. Looking at the mugshot for real this time, he stared at the face on the photo. The photo was grainy and not of good quality, and is slightly worn, but the face on it is clear as it could get if he were standing in the same room with her.
It was Blake.
"One good thing about being a student at Beacon Academy, among other things, is unlimited access to the city libraries..." Not that she really needed it. Said 'unlimited access' is simply access to information on criminals or Grimm not allowed for the general public, and she just wanted some nice stories-
"Blake."
She stopped.
"Blake!"
Using her heightened senses, she found the direction of the whispers.
"Come over here! It's me, Lucifer!"
She went over.
"Lucifer, what-"
Lucifer grabbed her and bolted away without saying a word.
Some hours later, they stopped in some sort of back alley while Lucifer caught his breath. Blake didn't need to, she didn't run.
"WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT!?" She shrieked.
"Had to. Some people may have been watching. Couldn't risk it."
"COULDN'T RISK-" Lucifer put a hand over her mouth.
"Quieter. PLEASE." He let go.
"What's going on?" She asked.
Lucifer showed her the mugshot.
"What? Where did you get this?"
Lucifer showed her the official document stating she had a bounty on her head.
"What? A bounty? On me? Who did this?"
"The identity of the person who put the bounty there is a secret, else I would have told you. I had to grab you because I couldn't risk anyone seeing you. Don't think you are unnoticeable, I found you easily enough. Believe me, if the priority of bringing you in were any higher, you're ass'd been hauled in by now."
"But that is all in the past, I've got nothing to do with White Fang anymore."
"You don't, but you did. That's enough for the authorities."
"What did you do?"
"I told them I was taking the bounty offer, just to make sure no one would go after it for a while, though when they find out I'm not pursuing you, the offer will go back up for grabs."
Blake slumped against the wall.
"And so goes the second time my past involvement with White Fang come back to haunt me." She sighed "So now what?"
"I was going to ask you that question." Said Lucifer.
She sighed, louder this time.
"The White Fang I was involved in did peaceful protests. I went out on a couple of the attacks of the violent White Fang before deciding it just isn't right and left. I thought I left it all behind me until I accidentally busted myself to my team. Thankfully, that got cleared up, but now this..."
"Let's get you back to Beacon first, I'll have to think about this."
"Okay, but...where are we?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." He chuckled "However, my new toy can bring us back no problem."
Blake looked up. Lucifer is standing next to a sleek, black motorbike. It had blood red markings as well as some vents that didn't look like they spewed waste air.
"How much did you pay for this?" She asked.
"Didn't actually paid for nothing." He replied.
"YOU STOLE IT!?"
"Nope. Put it together at the Forge, actually. Best urban transportation of maximum speed and mobility. Perfect for bounty hunting, especially for chases. That and getting from A to B the quickest possible way."
"Something tells me I might regret this." She says, climbing on.
"If you had followed Ruby and Yang into the forest, this would be nothing!" He said, revving the engine before accelerating.
They returned to the dorms to find the rest of RWBY in their dorm room.
"Blake! Where have you been? We looked everywhere for you!" said Ruby.
"Even Weiss thought she said something wrong and fused you to run off again." said Yang.
"I did NOT think that! Hmph!" shouted Weiss.
Lucifer looked at Blake. Should I?
Blake sighed. Might as well.
"Guys...there's something important you guys should know..." began Lucifer.
"What?" asks Yang.
Lucifer paused for a moment before saying "Blake's got a bounty on her head."
There was a short and uneasy silence before Ruby broke it.
"Who? Why?"
"Blake asked those exact same questions. I don't know. I'm not supposed to."
"Can you find out?" asks Yang.
"Maybe. It won't be easy, though." replies Lucifer.
"Do what you have to, within limits, of course." says Blake.
"Tell Ozpin. I'm going out to, uh, help someone in need. Might need a couple of days to get a lead. Another day or more to track down the person where the bounty came from. I'll take until the end of the week at most." says Lucifer.
"I'll get to it" promised Blake.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hey guys, this is TheRyderShotgun.
First of all, to whoever's kept with me, thanks to you!
Second of all, that's ten episodes so far. I may manage another tomorrow, but the holiday's ending. I won't be able to upload at the same rate as before, so I'm sorry!
Third, recently, I discovered a site for people to post their own fanfiction. Still deciding wether or not to join it and move this fanfic there. I might not get any replies, but I would like anyone's input on this.
Finally, I recently took to google to see if this blog appears on the results page if I search it, and guess what I found: http://ryderhasablog.tumblr.com/post/66380401590/target-a-terrible-rwby-fanfic-948-words
Jolted me, to be sure.
You can find this blog via google search now, though.
That'll be all for now. RyderShotgun, out.
First of all, to whoever's kept with me, thanks to you!
Second of all, that's ten episodes so far. I may manage another tomorrow, but the holiday's ending. I won't be able to upload at the same rate as before, so I'm sorry!
Third, recently, I discovered a site for people to post their own fanfiction. Still deciding wether or not to join it and move this fanfic there. I might not get any replies, but I would like anyone's input on this.
Finally, I recently took to google to see if this blog appears on the results page if I search it, and guess what I found: http://ryderhasablog.tumblr.com/post/66380401590/target-a-terrible-rwby-fanfic-948-words
Jolted me, to be sure.
You can find this blog via google search now, though.
That'll be all for now. RyderShotgun, out.
Friday, March 28, 2014
The Last Ace
"...Lucifer? Are you okay?" asks Ruby.
Lucifer didm't say anything. He slowly turned from the direction Yang was knocked from his punch to sweep over team RWBY and JNPR, and once more Blake, and the rest, felt the chill down their spine, the feeling of total helplessness, the faint knowledge that they are about to die.
Kicking up another dust clout, White-Haired-Lucifer charged at them with surprising speed, one arm drawn back for a punch.
"Spread out!" yelled Ruby, and the group of 7 became individuals as they went in every direction, making more difficult targets for White-Hair. He stood at the center of the swirl of running people for a second, before he randomly chose a target and charged.
Said target was Jaune, who was terrified at the sight of his approach.
"He's after me!? Why me!?" he was wailing, running as fast as his legs would carry him.
"It's called 'weeding out the weak', Jaune" said Pyrrha, and fired a shot from her weapon, catching him on the side of his face, knocking him off his course, Jaune grateful enough for that he didn't even say anything about her remark. However, White managed to form a mask of Exo for protection at the last minute and prevent any serious damage.
However, anyone could tell he was seriously pissed at the unexpected attack.
He stood erect, and glowered at Pyrrha, sending a mental promise he would be the death of her that chilled her to the bone. She started to run, but he was upon her in an instant, forming Morph Claws and raising them high. In half a minute, she would have be torn into strips, were it not for Ruby, who fired another shot from her weapon blasting him away from Pyrrha.
As he stood up once more, Ruby decided that running won't do it.
She yelled "Keep moving! Don't slow down! And fire on him from every direction, but try not to hit one another!" The effect was immediate, bullets and projectiles came at him, creating huge dust clouds that dissipate as fast as they are formed from all the mini-explosions of Dust ammo.
White turned around aimlessly in the pandemonium of projectiles for some time, before the anger became to much and he roared mightily at the sky, a roar of anger, bloodlust, and hatred, and he chose another target to attack.
He never got the chance, Ozpin appeared right behind him, saying "That would be enough of you, Lucifer." and whacked him on the back of his neck with his cane. Everything became black.
- Where am I?
Lucifer is standing in a place he has never seen before. The sky is black, and the earth is white. And Lucifer is glowing with an odd white light that seemed to pulsate along with his heart.
- What is this place?
- This is your mind, fool. Don't you know your way around your own damn mind?
- Who's that?
It was Lucifer, but it wasn't Lucifer. He is surrounded by darkness, and seemed to drown out all light around him.
- Who are you?
- Who am I?
He smiled, a mad, dangerous smile of someone looking down on a helpless person and wondering how was he going to kill him.
- I am you. I am the rightful owner of this body. I am the more worthy between us of control. I am the one who is better than you.
- The Grimm?
- Yes, that's what I am.
- You are supposed to be behind bars.
- Yes, I was, but when the blonde maiden attacked, the bars were removed.
- Then I'll get you back into the corner and re-erect the bars, Grimm.
White Lucifer formed a Morph Blade and charged...
...And passed right through him.
Black Lucifer laughed and hit White Lucifer on his head, causing him to fall.
- You're trash, Lucy.
- My name's LUCIFER, Grimm!
White Lucifer swung, and the blade went right through him as if he weren't there. Black Lucifer laughed again. He punched White Lucifer, causing him to tumble across the land. White Lucifer didn't get up, he just lay on the ground writhing in pain. The blow rivaled that of a runaway train ... one with explosives on the hood.
Black Lucifer went over and kicked him.
- Trash.
Kick.
- Worthless.
Kick.
- Weakling.
Kick.
- Cowardly.
Kick.
- You would have been much stronger...
Kick.
- ...Avoided much pain...
Kick.
- ...If you would just...
Kick.
- LET.
Kick.
- GO.
- Go to hell, Grimm!
- That's not my name.
Kick.
- You know my name.
Kick.
- My name is...
"NEIMO!!!"
Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaunce, Nora and Pyrrha all flinched at that. Only Lie, Ozpin and Glynda remained indifferent.
"What? What did you say? Who's Neimo?"
Lucifer wasn't listening. He was sitting up and staring straight ahead, as if seeing the door to Hell in front of him and swearing he heard a creak of the door opening, and making sure the door remains closed.
"LUCIFER!" yelled Ruby, knocking him out of whatever thoughts he was having "What are you saying? Who's Neimo?"
"Neimo..." muttered Lucifer "Neimo ... is me."
"What?" says Yang.
"Neimo is the Grimm. He-" he gulped "He is the one within me."
"What?" echoes Weiss.
"Remember what I said about the lab coats simply chasing Him to a corner and erecting bars around him? He said that when Yang attacked, the bars were removed and he was free."
"I would seem" says Ozpin, simply looking on until now "That Lucifer is at least part Human. Surely enough Human to be able to have Aura. I would guess that when Yang attacked with her Aura Semblance, she involuntarily unlocked Lucifer's Aura, and subsequently the mental bars holding this 'Neimo' was removed. I guess its safe to say that whenever Lucifer's Aura is activated, Neimo will emerge."
"So all I need to do I avoid using Aura?"
"Basically, yes."
"What do you man by 'basically'?"
"I mean it's better insurance to, uh, train, the use of your Aura."
"What?"
"Avoiding the problem won't save you forever. It's best for you to face it. If you keep Neimo locked up, He is bound to escape again sometime, and when he does, he'll kill everyone close to you."
"So what do I do?"
"That" says Ozpin "Is a question for you to answer."
The next day, despite the previous day's events, Lucifer was present. Team RWBY and JNPR met up with him during lunch.
"Sooo..." begins Ruby "Any idea what should you do?"
"A vague one, to be sure, but yeah. I'll activate my Aura once in a while in you guys' presence. I want you blast me when I attack, and stop when I do. That may send the message that you mean no harm, but won't hesitate to kill me if I go too far."
"Okay..." says Yang "...Now onto your real plan."
Lucifer stared at her.
"I'm kidding, but really, are you sure that will work?"
"Honestly? No. But Ozpin's right, just locking him up isn't going to work forever. This isn't a card I'm playing because I don't know what else to do, I'm playing this card because this is the ONLY card I have. I don't want to hurt anyone."
The rest of the day passes without incident, and Lucifer says he wants to go to the library after school. "I didn't have all that many reasons to read up on Aura and Semblance back at Signal because I thought I won't be having it, but since I do, might as well look up on everything there is to know about it."
Lucifer returned to his room - actually more like an unused broom closet - later in the day, grinning from ear to ear.
"What's so funny?" asks Yang.
"Check this out." he says, and hands them his rifle.
Holding up the rifle, Yang and the rest try to figure out what was different with the rifle. Then Ruby noticed a glint. "Oh, no. You didn't"
"I did. Engraved it myself."
"What?" asks Weiss, who didn't know what Ruby saw.
Ruby placed a finger on the rifle, just beneath an engraved metal plate. On the plate were the words: 'Justabasic Rifle.'
"Heavens!" chuckled Yang.
"Are you crazy or immature or what?" says Weiss.
"This is stupid." says Blake "You're stupid."
Lucifer laughed. Then he said "Tensions were kinda high after yesterday. It was bad. I...I couldn't feel comfortable, you know? Had to cut the tension somehow. Caught sight of the Forge on the way back from the library. Lightbulb above my head just went 'BLING'!"
He laughed again, and the others joined him.
Lucifer didm't say anything. He slowly turned from the direction Yang was knocked from his punch to sweep over team RWBY and JNPR, and once more Blake, and the rest, felt the chill down their spine, the feeling of total helplessness, the faint knowledge that they are about to die.
Kicking up another dust clout, White-Haired-Lucifer charged at them with surprising speed, one arm drawn back for a punch.
"Spread out!" yelled Ruby, and the group of 7 became individuals as they went in every direction, making more difficult targets for White-Hair. He stood at the center of the swirl of running people for a second, before he randomly chose a target and charged.
Said target was Jaune, who was terrified at the sight of his approach.
"He's after me!? Why me!?" he was wailing, running as fast as his legs would carry him.
"It's called 'weeding out the weak', Jaune" said Pyrrha, and fired a shot from her weapon, catching him on the side of his face, knocking him off his course, Jaune grateful enough for that he didn't even say anything about her remark. However, White managed to form a mask of Exo for protection at the last minute and prevent any serious damage.
However, anyone could tell he was seriously pissed at the unexpected attack.
He stood erect, and glowered at Pyrrha, sending a mental promise he would be the death of her that chilled her to the bone. She started to run, but he was upon her in an instant, forming Morph Claws and raising them high. In half a minute, she would have be torn into strips, were it not for Ruby, who fired another shot from her weapon blasting him away from Pyrrha.
As he stood up once more, Ruby decided that running won't do it.
She yelled "Keep moving! Don't slow down! And fire on him from every direction, but try not to hit one another!" The effect was immediate, bullets and projectiles came at him, creating huge dust clouds that dissipate as fast as they are formed from all the mini-explosions of Dust ammo.
White turned around aimlessly in the pandemonium of projectiles for some time, before the anger became to much and he roared mightily at the sky, a roar of anger, bloodlust, and hatred, and he chose another target to attack.
He never got the chance, Ozpin appeared right behind him, saying "That would be enough of you, Lucifer." and whacked him on the back of his neck with his cane. Everything became black.
- Where am I?
Lucifer is standing in a place he has never seen before. The sky is black, and the earth is white. And Lucifer is glowing with an odd white light that seemed to pulsate along with his heart.
- What is this place?
- This is your mind, fool. Don't you know your way around your own damn mind?
- Who's that?
It was Lucifer, but it wasn't Lucifer. He is surrounded by darkness, and seemed to drown out all light around him.
- Who are you?
- Who am I?
He smiled, a mad, dangerous smile of someone looking down on a helpless person and wondering how was he going to kill him.
- I am you. I am the rightful owner of this body. I am the more worthy between us of control. I am the one who is better than you.
- The Grimm?
- Yes, that's what I am.
- You are supposed to be behind bars.
- Yes, I was, but when the blonde maiden attacked, the bars were removed.
- Then I'll get you back into the corner and re-erect the bars, Grimm.
White Lucifer formed a Morph Blade and charged...
...And passed right through him.
Black Lucifer laughed and hit White Lucifer on his head, causing him to fall.
- You're trash, Lucy.
- My name's LUCIFER, Grimm!
White Lucifer swung, and the blade went right through him as if he weren't there. Black Lucifer laughed again. He punched White Lucifer, causing him to tumble across the land. White Lucifer didn't get up, he just lay on the ground writhing in pain. The blow rivaled that of a runaway train ... one with explosives on the hood.
Black Lucifer went over and kicked him.
- Trash.
Kick.
- Worthless.
Kick.
- Weakling.
Kick.
- Cowardly.
Kick.
- You would have been much stronger...
Kick.
- ...Avoided much pain...
Kick.
- ...If you would just...
Kick.
- LET.
Kick.
- GO.
- Go to hell, Grimm!
- That's not my name.
Kick.
- You know my name.
Kick.
- My name is...
"NEIMO!!!"
Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaunce, Nora and Pyrrha all flinched at that. Only Lie, Ozpin and Glynda remained indifferent.
"What? What did you say? Who's Neimo?"
Lucifer wasn't listening. He was sitting up and staring straight ahead, as if seeing the door to Hell in front of him and swearing he heard a creak of the door opening, and making sure the door remains closed.
"LUCIFER!" yelled Ruby, knocking him out of whatever thoughts he was having "What are you saying? Who's Neimo?"
"Neimo..." muttered Lucifer "Neimo ... is me."
"What?" says Yang.
"Neimo is the Grimm. He-" he gulped "He is the one within me."
"What?" echoes Weiss.
"Remember what I said about the lab coats simply chasing Him to a corner and erecting bars around him? He said that when Yang attacked, the bars were removed and he was free."
"I would seem" says Ozpin, simply looking on until now "That Lucifer is at least part Human. Surely enough Human to be able to have Aura. I would guess that when Yang attacked with her Aura Semblance, she involuntarily unlocked Lucifer's Aura, and subsequently the mental bars holding this 'Neimo' was removed. I guess its safe to say that whenever Lucifer's Aura is activated, Neimo will emerge."
"So all I need to do I avoid using Aura?"
"Basically, yes."
"What do you man by 'basically'?"
"I mean it's better insurance to, uh, train, the use of your Aura."
"What?"
"Avoiding the problem won't save you forever. It's best for you to face it. If you keep Neimo locked up, He is bound to escape again sometime, and when he does, he'll kill everyone close to you."
"So what do I do?"
"That" says Ozpin "Is a question for you to answer."
The next day, despite the previous day's events, Lucifer was present. Team RWBY and JNPR met up with him during lunch.
"Sooo..." begins Ruby "Any idea what should you do?"
"A vague one, to be sure, but yeah. I'll activate my Aura once in a while in you guys' presence. I want you blast me when I attack, and stop when I do. That may send the message that you mean no harm, but won't hesitate to kill me if I go too far."
"Okay..." says Yang "...Now onto your real plan."
Lucifer stared at her.
"I'm kidding, but really, are you sure that will work?"
"Honestly? No. But Ozpin's right, just locking him up isn't going to work forever. This isn't a card I'm playing because I don't know what else to do, I'm playing this card because this is the ONLY card I have. I don't want to hurt anyone."
The rest of the day passes without incident, and Lucifer says he wants to go to the library after school. "I didn't have all that many reasons to read up on Aura and Semblance back at Signal because I thought I won't be having it, but since I do, might as well look up on everything there is to know about it."
Lucifer returned to his room - actually more like an unused broom closet - later in the day, grinning from ear to ear.
"What's so funny?" asks Yang.
"Check this out." he says, and hands them his rifle.
Holding up the rifle, Yang and the rest try to figure out what was different with the rifle. Then Ruby noticed a glint. "Oh, no. You didn't"
"I did. Engraved it myself."
"What?" asks Weiss, who didn't know what Ruby saw.
Ruby placed a finger on the rifle, just beneath an engraved metal plate. On the plate were the words: 'Justabasic Rifle.'
"Heavens!" chuckled Yang.
"Are you crazy or immature or what?" says Weiss.
"This is stupid." says Blake "You're stupid."
Lucifer laughed. Then he said "Tensions were kinda high after yesterday. It was bad. I...I couldn't feel comfortable, you know? Had to cut the tension somehow. Caught sight of the Forge on the way back from the library. Lightbulb above my head just went 'BLING'!"
He laughed again, and the others joined him.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
The Fighter and The Monster
"So." asks Ruby "Just what can you do with your shapeshifting ability?"
RWBY and Lucifer were chatting in the cafeteria before class starts for the day.
"Actually, I call it a 'Weapon Morphing' ability. I call the black stuff Eve and the White, hard stuff Exo. Not much at this stage. Just a blade."
"But I thought you have a claw as well?" asks Weiss.
"Don't go there. That's His ability. Bad memories associated with it."
"Well, you can't fight with just a big-ass blade, you need more...variety, i guess." says Yang.
"Good point. What say we meet up after school for a training session?"
"Sounds good."
"Wait," says Weiss "We were supposed to meet up with team JNPR after school, too!"
"Oh, right!" says Yang "Now what?"
"Just invite them, then." says Lucifer casually.
"But i thought you can't-" Weiss is cut off by Lucifer.
"Yes, I can't. Tell me, are you friends with this 'Team Juniper'?"
"Actually, it's team J-N-P-R, but yeah, we're friends."
"Do you trust them as allies?"
"Yeah?"
"Then you can trust them not to blow it out to the world."
"I guess. OK, after school, us, you and JNPR, training session."
"Done."
"Aren't you afraid Ozpin will find out?" asks Weiss.
"A little. He'll understand. If he don't like it, too damn bad."
"I like the way you think, man." says Ruby and they laughed.
As their laughter died down, they hear more laughing, and someone wailing.
Hearing those, Lucifer's face suddenly darkened so much you could practically see a shadow on his face. He stonily turned his head around, looking behind him, where the sound was coming from.
Cardin and his group were harassing Velvet again, pulling both her ears like reins on a horse.
"Stop! It hurts!" she wails.
"Mush! Mush, you animal!" he said, and all of them laughed.
Staring straight ahead, Lucifer sees the whole scene, and he doesn't. He sees himself strapped to a metal rack. He sees men in white coats stabbing him with instruments. He sees them burning him with hot pieces of metal. He sees Velvet being harassed by other people.
Lucifer stood up and walked over, standing over their table. Cardin looked up.
"What are you looking at?" he asks.
"What do you think, punk?" replies Lucifer.
"Whoa! Look at this, our little bunny's got a boyfriend!" they laughed.
Lucifer grabbed Cardin's left arm, squeezing it so he released his grip. Cardin stood to his full height, releasing his other arm, dwarfing Lucifer. "So, little bunny's boyfriend wants a fight, huh?"
"I'm not her boyfriend, but-" he twisted Cardin's left arm, causing him to turn, then pinning the hand to Cardin's back, pushed him to land facefirst in his own plate of food. "Doesn't mean I won't kill you if I ever see you within six feet of Velvet ever again. Do I have myself clear?"
"What's with you and lit-"
Lucifer pushed harder on Cardin's arm, causing him to cry out.
"What did i say her name was?"
Cardin wailed "Let me-"
Lucifer pushed harder.
"One last time before you lose an arm. WHAT. DID. I. SAY. HER. NAME. WAS."
"Velvet! Velvet! Her name's Velvet! Velvet Scarlatina!"
"Very good." says Lucifer, and released his grip. Cardin retreated back into his group, on their feet now.
"What the heck, man? What's with you and her?" he wailed.
"She saved my life, if that's what you're wondering." Velvet looked horrified. "Now scram. I ever see you within sight of Velvet again, and I don't need to be there to know it, I'll kill you."
Cardin glared at Lucifer, then he say Lucifer's eyes. It was the eyes of someone who didn't care about killing, probably even relished it. "Let's get out of here!" yelled Cardin, and the four disappeared into the crowd in the cafeteria. Lucifer turned to Velvet.
"You Okay?" he asked.
"Fine, but...you told him?"
"Told who what?"
"That I..."
"Saved my life? Yeah, why?"
"I thought I said not to."
"Didn't hear it."
Velvet turned to RWBY's table. Ruby and Yang shrugged. They forgot to told him.
she sighed "Now they're going me harass me more."
"They won't. I made sure of that."
"They'll come back later."
"If they do," said Lucifer, his voice hardening "Cardin will be the first to go over the cliff. Relax" he said, his voice softening "I'll watch over you. Aah, where are my manners."
Reaching out his hand, he said "My name's Lucifer. Lucifer Grimm. Glad to make your acquaintance."
She shook it weakly "Velvet Scarlatina."
Leaning close, he said "Well, Velvet, now we're even." and returned to his table.
"Wow." said Blake.
"Wow what?" asked Lucifer.
"You helped someone out of the good of your heart."
"Reminded of my own suffering is all. Physical wounds heal. They are slow, but they do heal. Mental wounds take forever to heal, if at all." He took a sip of his drink "Don't need someone suffering at the hands of cowardly fools like those morons. Velvet is a better person than any one of that group ever will be, and she's suffering for it. Someone's got to put a stop to it."
"They can still harass her when you're gone." points out Weiss.
Lucifer smiled. "Weren't you listening, Weiss? I don't have to be there to know they are harassing Velvet."
Then they saw Jaune walk up to their table.
"Hey, uh, what's your name?"
"Lucifer Grimm. And you?"
"Jaune Arc. I saw the whole thing, and I guess I came to say thank you for what you did just now."
"Why thank me? And why didn't you break it up?"
"I was weak. I'm pretty sure I would have worsened the situation somehow in any case."
"Lucifer, this is the team leader of JNPR." says Ruby.
"Well, if the team leader is like this, I'd hate to see the rest of the team." he said, and raised his hand as Jaune started to say something "I know, I know, team leaders aren't chosen based on their skills, but on what the teachers see in them, usually potential." he lowered his hand "You have to live up to that potential, you know. Me and team RWBY here are having a training session after school, why don't you and your team join us? I'm aware you were supposed to meet up today."
"I'll have to ask the rest, first, but thank you for the invitation." said Jaune, and he went back to his table.
"You're good." says Yang.
"What are you talking about?" asks Lucifer.
"Picked a perfect time to pop the offer." she says.
"Hey, I'm just a man with a great many skills." he replies.
"ARE you a man?"
It was silent around the table for a moment, but then they all burst out laughing.
For the rest of the day, Lucifer proved himself a proverbial genius in the classes. He quickly caught on to the lessons and read books between periods. When school was over, RWBY, JNPR and Lucifer went for their training session close to the woods, where no one was about. First up against Lucifer was Jaune.
"Ready?" asked Lucifer.
"Ready as ever" says Jaune, and pulled out his sword.
Lucifer didn't take his weapon out, he just charged. Jaune swung his sword at him. Lucifer ducked under the blade. Then, planting both hands to the ground, he kicked with his legs forward, wrapped them around the blade as he tipped over, then pushed himself backwards with his hands, yanking Jaune's blade from his hands and standing back up. The blade fell to the ground after he straightened himself.
Jaune swung his shield at Lucifer, attempting to bash him. He spun around in the same direction the shield was heading, dodging it. Then, reaching out with his left hand, he wrapped it around Jaune's neck. Pulling Jaune against himself, he got into a position to choke him, and he said into his ear "Checkmate." and released him.
"Gods, you're good" said Jaune, coughing.
"Sorry that I can't say the same for you." replied Lucifer.
"I'm up next." says Yang.
Once again, Lucifer was the first to charge. Yang didn't want to give him any chances, and blasted at his direction, only to see she fired into a shield of Exo. It moved aside to reveal a Morph Blade coming at her. She just managed to dodge the attack.
"Good surprise. Too bad your attack didn't hit."
"Did it?" asked Lucifer, holding the blade to his face. A single strand of blonde hair is caught between two of the flat spike-shapes.
"What? You..." Her eyes became red, she seemed to burst into flames, and charged at Lucifer. He lifted his Exo Shield, but she punched straight through it, and grabbed the hand behind it. Shattering it with a blast from her other hand, she fired a blast of Dust and Aura Semblance at Lucifer at point-blank range, and the two vanished in a cloud of dust.
"Sorry, Lucifer" said Yang "You have your tricks, I have mine-"
Suddenly the dust cloud dissipated like an explosion, and a shadow charged at Yang, and a fist is in the air. Yang just managed to block the attack, but she was thrown backwards and tumbled end-over-end over the ground.
"What on earth was that?" asked Yang. Her question was soon answered.
The black shadow turned out to be Aura surrounding a body. As it dissipated somewhat, the person beneath it appeared. It was Lucifer, but it wasn't Lucifer.
His hair was white and spiky, he showed no signs of Yang's previous attack save the marks on his clothing and armor, his eyes spewed bloodlust.
It was the Grimm.
And it had Aura.
RWBY and Lucifer were chatting in the cafeteria before class starts for the day.
"Actually, I call it a 'Weapon Morphing' ability. I call the black stuff Eve and the White, hard stuff Exo. Not much at this stage. Just a blade."
"But I thought you have a claw as well?" asks Weiss.
"Don't go there. That's His ability. Bad memories associated with it."
"Well, you can't fight with just a big-ass blade, you need more...variety, i guess." says Yang.
"Good point. What say we meet up after school for a training session?"
"Sounds good."
"Wait," says Weiss "We were supposed to meet up with team JNPR after school, too!"
"Oh, right!" says Yang "Now what?"
"Just invite them, then." says Lucifer casually.
"But i thought you can't-" Weiss is cut off by Lucifer.
"Yes, I can't. Tell me, are you friends with this 'Team Juniper'?"
"Actually, it's team J-N-P-R, but yeah, we're friends."
"Do you trust them as allies?"
"Yeah?"
"Then you can trust them not to blow it out to the world."
"I guess. OK, after school, us, you and JNPR, training session."
"Done."
"Aren't you afraid Ozpin will find out?" asks Weiss.
"A little. He'll understand. If he don't like it, too damn bad."
"I like the way you think, man." says Ruby and they laughed.
As their laughter died down, they hear more laughing, and someone wailing.
Hearing those, Lucifer's face suddenly darkened so much you could practically see a shadow on his face. He stonily turned his head around, looking behind him, where the sound was coming from.
Cardin and his group were harassing Velvet again, pulling both her ears like reins on a horse.
"Stop! It hurts!" she wails.
"Mush! Mush, you animal!" he said, and all of them laughed.
Staring straight ahead, Lucifer sees the whole scene, and he doesn't. He sees himself strapped to a metal rack. He sees men in white coats stabbing him with instruments. He sees them burning him with hot pieces of metal. He sees Velvet being harassed by other people.
Lucifer stood up and walked over, standing over their table. Cardin looked up.
"What are you looking at?" he asks.
"What do you think, punk?" replies Lucifer.
"Whoa! Look at this, our little bunny's got a boyfriend!" they laughed.
Lucifer grabbed Cardin's left arm, squeezing it so he released his grip. Cardin stood to his full height, releasing his other arm, dwarfing Lucifer. "So, little bunny's boyfriend wants a fight, huh?"
"I'm not her boyfriend, but-" he twisted Cardin's left arm, causing him to turn, then pinning the hand to Cardin's back, pushed him to land facefirst in his own plate of food. "Doesn't mean I won't kill you if I ever see you within six feet of Velvet ever again. Do I have myself clear?"
"What's with you and lit-"
Lucifer pushed harder on Cardin's arm, causing him to cry out.
"What did i say her name was?"
Cardin wailed "Let me-"
Lucifer pushed harder.
"One last time before you lose an arm. WHAT. DID. I. SAY. HER. NAME. WAS."
"Velvet! Velvet! Her name's Velvet! Velvet Scarlatina!"
"Very good." says Lucifer, and released his grip. Cardin retreated back into his group, on their feet now.
"What the heck, man? What's with you and her?" he wailed.
"She saved my life, if that's what you're wondering." Velvet looked horrified. "Now scram. I ever see you within sight of Velvet again, and I don't need to be there to know it, I'll kill you."
Cardin glared at Lucifer, then he say Lucifer's eyes. It was the eyes of someone who didn't care about killing, probably even relished it. "Let's get out of here!" yelled Cardin, and the four disappeared into the crowd in the cafeteria. Lucifer turned to Velvet.
"You Okay?" he asked.
"Fine, but...you told him?"
"Told who what?"
"That I..."
"Saved my life? Yeah, why?"
"I thought I said not to."
"Didn't hear it."
Velvet turned to RWBY's table. Ruby and Yang shrugged. They forgot to told him.
she sighed "Now they're going me harass me more."
"They won't. I made sure of that."
"They'll come back later."
"If they do," said Lucifer, his voice hardening "Cardin will be the first to go over the cliff. Relax" he said, his voice softening "I'll watch over you. Aah, where are my manners."
Reaching out his hand, he said "My name's Lucifer. Lucifer Grimm. Glad to make your acquaintance."
She shook it weakly "Velvet Scarlatina."
Leaning close, he said "Well, Velvet, now we're even." and returned to his table.
"Wow." said Blake.
"Wow what?" asked Lucifer.
"You helped someone out of the good of your heart."
"Reminded of my own suffering is all. Physical wounds heal. They are slow, but they do heal. Mental wounds take forever to heal, if at all." He took a sip of his drink "Don't need someone suffering at the hands of cowardly fools like those morons. Velvet is a better person than any one of that group ever will be, and she's suffering for it. Someone's got to put a stop to it."
"They can still harass her when you're gone." points out Weiss.
Lucifer smiled. "Weren't you listening, Weiss? I don't have to be there to know they are harassing Velvet."
Then they saw Jaune walk up to their table.
"Hey, uh, what's your name?"
"Lucifer Grimm. And you?"
"Jaune Arc. I saw the whole thing, and I guess I came to say thank you for what you did just now."
"Why thank me? And why didn't you break it up?"
"I was weak. I'm pretty sure I would have worsened the situation somehow in any case."
"Lucifer, this is the team leader of JNPR." says Ruby.
"Well, if the team leader is like this, I'd hate to see the rest of the team." he said, and raised his hand as Jaune started to say something "I know, I know, team leaders aren't chosen based on their skills, but on what the teachers see in them, usually potential." he lowered his hand "You have to live up to that potential, you know. Me and team RWBY here are having a training session after school, why don't you and your team join us? I'm aware you were supposed to meet up today."
"I'll have to ask the rest, first, but thank you for the invitation." said Jaune, and he went back to his table.
"You're good." says Yang.
"What are you talking about?" asks Lucifer.
"Picked a perfect time to pop the offer." she says.
"Hey, I'm just a man with a great many skills." he replies.
"ARE you a man?"
It was silent around the table for a moment, but then they all burst out laughing.
For the rest of the day, Lucifer proved himself a proverbial genius in the classes. He quickly caught on to the lessons and read books between periods. When school was over, RWBY, JNPR and Lucifer went for their training session close to the woods, where no one was about. First up against Lucifer was Jaune.
"Ready?" asked Lucifer.
"Ready as ever" says Jaune, and pulled out his sword.
Lucifer didn't take his weapon out, he just charged. Jaune swung his sword at him. Lucifer ducked under the blade. Then, planting both hands to the ground, he kicked with his legs forward, wrapped them around the blade as he tipped over, then pushed himself backwards with his hands, yanking Jaune's blade from his hands and standing back up. The blade fell to the ground after he straightened himself.
Jaune swung his shield at Lucifer, attempting to bash him. He spun around in the same direction the shield was heading, dodging it. Then, reaching out with his left hand, he wrapped it around Jaune's neck. Pulling Jaune against himself, he got into a position to choke him, and he said into his ear "Checkmate." and released him.
"Gods, you're good" said Jaune, coughing.
"Sorry that I can't say the same for you." replied Lucifer.
"I'm up next." says Yang.
Once again, Lucifer was the first to charge. Yang didn't want to give him any chances, and blasted at his direction, only to see she fired into a shield of Exo. It moved aside to reveal a Morph Blade coming at her. She just managed to dodge the attack.
"Good surprise. Too bad your attack didn't hit."
"Did it?" asked Lucifer, holding the blade to his face. A single strand of blonde hair is caught between two of the flat spike-shapes.
"What? You..." Her eyes became red, she seemed to burst into flames, and charged at Lucifer. He lifted his Exo Shield, but she punched straight through it, and grabbed the hand behind it. Shattering it with a blast from her other hand, she fired a blast of Dust and Aura Semblance at Lucifer at point-blank range, and the two vanished in a cloud of dust.
"Sorry, Lucifer" said Yang "You have your tricks, I have mine-"
Suddenly the dust cloud dissipated like an explosion, and a shadow charged at Yang, and a fist is in the air. Yang just managed to block the attack, but she was thrown backwards and tumbled end-over-end over the ground.
"What on earth was that?" asked Yang. Her question was soon answered.
The black shadow turned out to be Aura surrounding a body. As it dissipated somewhat, the person beneath it appeared. It was Lucifer, but it wasn't Lucifer.
His hair was white and spiky, he showed no signs of Yang's previous attack save the marks on his clothing and armor, his eyes spewed bloodlust.
It was the Grimm.
And it had Aura.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
The Other Tale
It seemed like calling out to someone you thought had been lost a long time ago, that was more or less what Ruby felt like when she shouted at him.
"LUCIFER!" she calls.
He turned, and a wide grin spread across his face.
"GUYS!"
"You can talk now?" says Weiss.
"Mastered every language two months ago."
"Wait." said Blake "Did you say you mastered every language in Remnant in ONE MONTH?"
He shrugged "Yeah. Information sponge, didn't Ozpin say something like that?"
"You understood him?" said Yang.
"No. I remembered the sounds and understood them after I learned the languages. If you guys have any other questions, follow me. I gotta go see Ozpin for the questioning session that didn't go through the last time. You can add some to the list while you're there."
At Ozpin's office, after everyone was seated, the questions began.
"What's your story, Lucifer?" asked Ozpin.
"I lived in a lab - what lab, I don't know - since I could remember. I got experimented on all the time I was there, though, truthfully, 'tortured' is a better word. They burned me, stabbed me, jabbed me ... you name it, I probably got hurt by it. One day, I guess they decided there was nothing more to learn, so they strapped me to a metal rack and shot me through with electricity. They thought I was dead later - though I was just unconscious - but none of them could say for sure, so they decided to bury me in some forest. I managed to boogie out of there before they could dump the dirt on me, walked I-don't-know-how-far to a rundown-looking house and slept there. I woke up to see myself surrounded by guys pointing guns at me. Though I didn't know anything about guns then, being surrounded ticked me off and I did ... this-"
He reached out with his right hand. It morphed into the same blade that took the Alfa's life.
"They were scared at first, but thought they should bring me to their boss. Now that I think about it, it's the Torchwick guy on the posters everywhere. Anyway, he tried to tell me that I should join them. I didn't know alphabets then so I couldn't understand or respond, and he thought I was being stubborn about not joining, so he ordered to had me put under, uh, 'special convincing techniques' or whatever."
They stared at him.
"Torture me. again. Torture chamber in the basement." he coughed.
"Anyway, I saw the rack, remembered the same rack back at the lab, and broke out of the building and took off.."
"I noticed you skipped from the basement to outside the building." noted Weiss.
"Bloody scene. Don't go there." he said evasively.
"Huh."
"Anyway, I broke out of there, and went on the run. I remembered some of the bloody scene that took place there, and, long story short, told myself I won't take another life for as long as I live. I ran, and ran, and ran. might have ran around the world and did it for decades for all I know. Then, one clear, sunny day, I rammed into Weiss here. It slowed me down enough for the mercenaries after my ass at the time to jump me. You know more or less what happened there, but for the sake of point of view ... I saw you girls try to help me, and the girl with the bunny ears. who was - you know what? introduce me later. Anyway, I saw that, and I sort of thought to myself like 'These are good people.' Then the guy attacked you. At that moment, I made a decision. I won't take an innocent life, but I won't let anyone else get hurt because of me, and I didn't care who I had to kill to make sure of that."
He fell silent for a moment.
"The white-haired guy was my, uh, 'Inner Grimm', i guess. Back at the lab, I was quite a trouble, as far as I remember, so they tried to drive out the Grimm in me. What they really did was drive it into a corner and put bars around it. When I'm mentally weak and he's strong ... in his own way, he can reach out and take control for some time. It was him that broke me out of the building, and it was him that killed those suits, but he can't be controlled, once he's out, it's for blood. Not good."
He paused.
"I ran because I knew whoever was after me would find me again, somehow. I wanted to keep others away from it. But they followed ... actually, more like half of them followed ... me into the Emerald Forest. I found a hiding spot in a bush on the edge of a clearing and hid there. When they came, they got swamped my Beowolves and the Alfa came to kill them. I knew then I had to stop it. You were there because i was. I had to help. I planned to run again later, but three deep claw cuts took away whatever chance there was of that happening."
He sighed and chuckled.
"You know the rest. Ruby and Yang got me back, Peter took me to Ozpin, Ozpin sent me to Signal, I passed Signal in three months and here I am."
Ozpin nodded, and then said with the tone of someone who has made a decision: "Would you like to stay here at Beacon?"
"Worried you wouldn't ask. Not to become a Huntsman, though, I'm going to be a Bounty Hunter."
"Why? Don't want to kill your own kind?" asked Yang.
Lucifer laughed.
"Nope. Nope. No problem killing Grimms here. Hey, those things and me aren't the same thing, I'm different, I have a conscience. Bloodshed isn't part of my nature. No, the reason I'm not going to be a Huntsman is because of the teams thing."
"But why?" asked Ruby.
"Because teams work together. And working with others may stick me into situations I have to abandon my cover."
"Cover?"
Ozpin explained. "Of the things I wrote on the letter I gave him, one was telling him not to let anyone know he was a Grimm."
"And Bounty Hunters are lone wolves, so no worries there."
"I understand." said Ozpin "Effective tomorrow, you will be an official student of Beacon Academy. You will be present during class and any written tests, but physical tests will be taken separately. You may interact with other students in this school, but no more people get to know about you being a Grimm. You will follow the instructions given to you in the letter you have the best you can. Breaking any of these or those I just mentioned will result in expulsion of yourself here. Are you clear?"
"Yes, sir." said Lucifer.
"Very well." said Ozpin "Dismissed."
Outside, some more questions were asked.
"What are your weapons?" asked Ruby.
Pulling out the gun on his right, he said "I call this the 'Handcannon'. High-calibre, long ranged, low magazine capacity. Rock-and-roll dammit-shit-hit-the-fan weapon."
Pulling out the gun on his right, he said "I call this the 'Silent Bite'. Low-calibre, mid ranged, high magazine capacity and suppressor. Ninja weapon."
Pulling out the two daggers, he said "These are the 'Dicers'. I took time sharpening these edges. Hard-wearing metal, it was a tough job. also-" he pulled the trigger on the daggers, and the fell off the hilt and dangled on two strings of barely visible wire each. "Razor wire. Vicious."
"What rifle is that?" asked Ruby.
"This?" he asked, and took it out. "This is just a basic rifle."
"Is that it's name?" joked Yang.
"Oh yeah," he said "Justabasic Rifle."
They all laughed.
"LUCIFER!" she calls.
He turned, and a wide grin spread across his face.
"GUYS!"
"You can talk now?" says Weiss.
"Mastered every language two months ago."
"Wait." said Blake "Did you say you mastered every language in Remnant in ONE MONTH?"
He shrugged "Yeah. Information sponge, didn't Ozpin say something like that?"
"You understood him?" said Yang.
"No. I remembered the sounds and understood them after I learned the languages. If you guys have any other questions, follow me. I gotta go see Ozpin for the questioning session that didn't go through the last time. You can add some to the list while you're there."
At Ozpin's office, after everyone was seated, the questions began.
"What's your story, Lucifer?" asked Ozpin.
"I lived in a lab - what lab, I don't know - since I could remember. I got experimented on all the time I was there, though, truthfully, 'tortured' is a better word. They burned me, stabbed me, jabbed me ... you name it, I probably got hurt by it. One day, I guess they decided there was nothing more to learn, so they strapped me to a metal rack and shot me through with electricity. They thought I was dead later - though I was just unconscious - but none of them could say for sure, so they decided to bury me in some forest. I managed to boogie out of there before they could dump the dirt on me, walked I-don't-know-how-far to a rundown-looking house and slept there. I woke up to see myself surrounded by guys pointing guns at me. Though I didn't know anything about guns then, being surrounded ticked me off and I did ... this-"
He reached out with his right hand. It morphed into the same blade that took the Alfa's life.
"They were scared at first, but thought they should bring me to their boss. Now that I think about it, it's the Torchwick guy on the posters everywhere. Anyway, he tried to tell me that I should join them. I didn't know alphabets then so I couldn't understand or respond, and he thought I was being stubborn about not joining, so he ordered to had me put under, uh, 'special convincing techniques' or whatever."
They stared at him.
"Torture me. again. Torture chamber in the basement." he coughed.
"Anyway, I saw the rack, remembered the same rack back at the lab, and broke out of the building and took off.."
"I noticed you skipped from the basement to outside the building." noted Weiss.
"Bloody scene. Don't go there." he said evasively.
"Huh."
"Anyway, I broke out of there, and went on the run. I remembered some of the bloody scene that took place there, and, long story short, told myself I won't take another life for as long as I live. I ran, and ran, and ran. might have ran around the world and did it for decades for all I know. Then, one clear, sunny day, I rammed into Weiss here. It slowed me down enough for the mercenaries after my ass at the time to jump me. You know more or less what happened there, but for the sake of point of view ... I saw you girls try to help me, and the girl with the bunny ears. who was - you know what? introduce me later. Anyway, I saw that, and I sort of thought to myself like 'These are good people.' Then the guy attacked you. At that moment, I made a decision. I won't take an innocent life, but I won't let anyone else get hurt because of me, and I didn't care who I had to kill to make sure of that."
He fell silent for a moment.
"The white-haired guy was my, uh, 'Inner Grimm', i guess. Back at the lab, I was quite a trouble, as far as I remember, so they tried to drive out the Grimm in me. What they really did was drive it into a corner and put bars around it. When I'm mentally weak and he's strong ... in his own way, he can reach out and take control for some time. It was him that broke me out of the building, and it was him that killed those suits, but he can't be controlled, once he's out, it's for blood. Not good."
He paused.
"I ran because I knew whoever was after me would find me again, somehow. I wanted to keep others away from it. But they followed ... actually, more like half of them followed ... me into the Emerald Forest. I found a hiding spot in a bush on the edge of a clearing and hid there. When they came, they got swamped my Beowolves and the Alfa came to kill them. I knew then I had to stop it. You were there because i was. I had to help. I planned to run again later, but three deep claw cuts took away whatever chance there was of that happening."
He sighed and chuckled.
"You know the rest. Ruby and Yang got me back, Peter took me to Ozpin, Ozpin sent me to Signal, I passed Signal in three months and here I am."
Ozpin nodded, and then said with the tone of someone who has made a decision: "Would you like to stay here at Beacon?"
"Worried you wouldn't ask. Not to become a Huntsman, though, I'm going to be a Bounty Hunter."
"Why? Don't want to kill your own kind?" asked Yang.
Lucifer laughed.
"Nope. Nope. No problem killing Grimms here. Hey, those things and me aren't the same thing, I'm different, I have a conscience. Bloodshed isn't part of my nature. No, the reason I'm not going to be a Huntsman is because of the teams thing."
"But why?" asked Ruby.
"Because teams work together. And working with others may stick me into situations I have to abandon my cover."
"Cover?"
Ozpin explained. "Of the things I wrote on the letter I gave him, one was telling him not to let anyone know he was a Grimm."
"And Bounty Hunters are lone wolves, so no worries there."
"I understand." said Ozpin "Effective tomorrow, you will be an official student of Beacon Academy. You will be present during class and any written tests, but physical tests will be taken separately. You may interact with other students in this school, but no more people get to know about you being a Grimm. You will follow the instructions given to you in the letter you have the best you can. Breaking any of these or those I just mentioned will result in expulsion of yourself here. Are you clear?"
"Yes, sir." said Lucifer.
"Very well." said Ozpin "Dismissed."
Outside, some more questions were asked.
"What are your weapons?" asked Ruby.
Pulling out the gun on his right, he said "I call this the 'Handcannon'. High-calibre, long ranged, low magazine capacity. Rock-and-roll dammit-shit-hit-the-fan weapon."
Pulling out the gun on his right, he said "I call this the 'Silent Bite'. Low-calibre, mid ranged, high magazine capacity and suppressor. Ninja weapon."
Pulling out the two daggers, he said "These are the 'Dicers'. I took time sharpening these edges. Hard-wearing metal, it was a tough job. also-" he pulled the trigger on the daggers, and the fell off the hilt and dangled on two strings of barely visible wire each. "Razor wire. Vicious."
"What rifle is that?" asked Ruby.
"This?" he asked, and took it out. "This is just a basic rifle."
"Is that it's name?" joked Yang.
"Oh yeah," he said "Justabasic Rifle."
They all laughed.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
The Shapeshifter
"Now what do we do?"
"We-"
Ruby and Yang just managed to get the man back to Beacon, but apparently, Ruby didn't think any farther than that.
Then Peter Port appeared at the door.
"What's all this ruckus about?"
Then he saw the man.
"What is he doing here?" he demanded. "Don't you kids know that you're not supposed to bring people not of this academy here?"
"Yes, yes, we know." said Ruby. "I can explain. It all started this afternoon when..."
When she finished, Peter calmed down to a point, but became curious.
"A claw and a blade, you say?" asked Peter.
"Yes." said Yang.
"Hmm ... let me try to talk to him."
Walking over the short distance, he started his attempt.
"What's your name?"
Silence.
"Where are you from?"
Silence.
"How did you manage to make yourself the leader of a pack of Beowolves?"
Silence.
"How did you get your..."
Silence.
"Weapon creation?"
"More like weapon morphing, actually." Yang.
"OK, how did you get that 'weapon morphing' ability of yours?"
Silence.
"This will be difficult ... I ought to take him to see Ozpin, see if he can do anything about him. Any objections?"
"Any other options?" asked Blake.
"Good point." said Peter. "He should be in his office, finishing up on late night paperwork, probably. Come along."
They helped him to his feet. Immediately it became visible he was already getting better. He didn't growl at each step, and he didn't limp and topple. Blake and Yang, both of which were helping him along, barely felt any weight on their arms.
"Odd..." said Yang. "I ... I think he's already better. Not healed, just ... better."
"Hm?" wondered Peter. Carefully, he felt on the wound, then applied pressure onto it. The man just huffed and a sudden, but small, spike of pain. He was otherwise silent, and fixed Peter with a curious look. "Indeed. That's remarkable. Come along, now, and pray he hasn't retired for the night yet."
He hasn't. "What is it?" he asked as Peter, at his decision, entered first.
"Ozpin, sir. RWBY team is outside, and they have a peculiar man with them. They said he turned his arms into weapons and first killed a Beowolf Alfa and then basically made himself the Alfa."
"I see." said Ozpin, showing no visible emotion "Let them in."
When everyone entered the office, Ozpin, now standing in front of his desk, began to ask questions similar to Peter's, and received the same wordless answers.
"It would seem" he said "He doesn't understand language."
"How are you sure?" asked Peter.
"Like this." replied Ozpin and said to the man "Did you coldly break the neck of five men dressed as undercover police officers on the hours of this afternoon?"
Silence.
"No visible emotion or reaction that may indicate he understands what I said. An ordinary person, even a sociopath, would at least twitch at the mention of his killing actions."
"But what do we do about it?"
"We need answers."
"Yes?"
"We need to prevent him to fall into the wrong hands."
"Yes."
"To do both, we need to keep him."
Pause.
"Yyyess, i guess."
"It's decided then." he concluded "Peter, have a Bullhead take this young man to Signal effective tomorrow. Do not allow information of his presence here or at Signal go further than this room, is that understood?"
"Yes sir. May I ask a question?"
"Go ahead."
"Why do you want to keep him?"
"The same reason those girls decided to follow him. Answers."
Walking back to his desk, he retrieves a pen and paper, and writes on it. Then, wrapping it in an envelope, he held it out to the man. He looked at the envelope, then at Ozpin, then back again. Taking it, he turned it around in his hand for a moment before tucking it in his trouser's pocket. He would take it out again when he understood the to him runic markings that to others were writings.
"Wait." said Weiss "You're sending him to signal, Won't he take years there?"
"His mind is relatively empty, very information absorptive. I would estimate that he would return within a year or two. No more, for sure, probably less."
"But how?"
"He'll advance in classes based on performance instead of time. If he learns everything to be taught at Signal, he can come back here. "
- THREE MONTHS LATER -
"He's old enough to be in your class, in any case." echoes Ozpin's voice
RWBY looks on as an Airship is docking at the air docks of the school. It can't be a batch of new students, but it can be ONE student.
"He gave himself a name" she remembers Ozpin saying several weeks ago.
"What name is it?" asked Weiss.
"Lucifer." said Ozpin.
The Airship's cabin door opened.
Out walked a man, wearing a black hoodie with a pull up mask visible at the base of his neck over the same stone-grey trousers he wore since the street. He also had plate metal bracers on his forearms and his lower legs, as well as a plate metal chestplate, all five pieces of armor decorated with blood-red spiral markings. he had two different handguns tucked into their holsters strapped to his back on his belt, as well as two daggers with some sort of reservoir at the end of the handle, in their sheaths on the lower straps of his chestplate. Lastly, he had a basic-looking long rifle at his back.
"Lucifer Grimm" said Ozpin in Ruby's memory.
"We-"
Ruby and Yang just managed to get the man back to Beacon, but apparently, Ruby didn't think any farther than that.
Then Peter Port appeared at the door.
"What's all this ruckus about?"
Then he saw the man.
"What is he doing here?" he demanded. "Don't you kids know that you're not supposed to bring people not of this academy here?"
"Yes, yes, we know." said Ruby. "I can explain. It all started this afternoon when..."
When she finished, Peter calmed down to a point, but became curious.
"A claw and a blade, you say?" asked Peter.
"Yes." said Yang.
"Hmm ... let me try to talk to him."
Walking over the short distance, he started his attempt.
"What's your name?"
Silence.
"Where are you from?"
Silence.
"How did you manage to make yourself the leader of a pack of Beowolves?"
Silence.
"How did you get your..."
Silence.
"Weapon creation?"
"More like weapon morphing, actually." Yang.
"OK, how did you get that 'weapon morphing' ability of yours?"
Silence.
"This will be difficult ... I ought to take him to see Ozpin, see if he can do anything about him. Any objections?"
"Any other options?" asked Blake.
"Good point." said Peter. "He should be in his office, finishing up on late night paperwork, probably. Come along."
They helped him to his feet. Immediately it became visible he was already getting better. He didn't growl at each step, and he didn't limp and topple. Blake and Yang, both of which were helping him along, barely felt any weight on their arms.
"Odd..." said Yang. "I ... I think he's already better. Not healed, just ... better."
"Hm?" wondered Peter. Carefully, he felt on the wound, then applied pressure onto it. The man just huffed and a sudden, but small, spike of pain. He was otherwise silent, and fixed Peter with a curious look. "Indeed. That's remarkable. Come along, now, and pray he hasn't retired for the night yet."
He hasn't. "What is it?" he asked as Peter, at his decision, entered first.
"Ozpin, sir. RWBY team is outside, and they have a peculiar man with them. They said he turned his arms into weapons and first killed a Beowolf Alfa and then basically made himself the Alfa."
"I see." said Ozpin, showing no visible emotion "Let them in."
When everyone entered the office, Ozpin, now standing in front of his desk, began to ask questions similar to Peter's, and received the same wordless answers.
"It would seem" he said "He doesn't understand language."
"How are you sure?" asked Peter.
"Like this." replied Ozpin and said to the man "Did you coldly break the neck of five men dressed as undercover police officers on the hours of this afternoon?"
Silence.
"No visible emotion or reaction that may indicate he understands what I said. An ordinary person, even a sociopath, would at least twitch at the mention of his killing actions."
"But what do we do about it?"
"We need answers."
"Yes?"
"We need to prevent him to fall into the wrong hands."
"Yes."
"To do both, we need to keep him."
Pause.
"Yyyess, i guess."
"It's decided then." he concluded "Peter, have a Bullhead take this young man to Signal effective tomorrow. Do not allow information of his presence here or at Signal go further than this room, is that understood?"
"Yes sir. May I ask a question?"
"Go ahead."
"Why do you want to keep him?"
"The same reason those girls decided to follow him. Answers."
Walking back to his desk, he retrieves a pen and paper, and writes on it. Then, wrapping it in an envelope, he held it out to the man. He looked at the envelope, then at Ozpin, then back again. Taking it, he turned it around in his hand for a moment before tucking it in his trouser's pocket. He would take it out again when he understood the to him runic markings that to others were writings.
"Wait." said Weiss "You're sending him to signal, Won't he take years there?"
"His mind is relatively empty, very information absorptive. I would estimate that he would return within a year or two. No more, for sure, probably less."
"But how?"
"He'll advance in classes based on performance instead of time. If he learns everything to be taught at Signal, he can come back here. "
- THREE MONTHS LATER -
"He's old enough to be in your class, in any case." echoes Ozpin's voice
RWBY looks on as an Airship is docking at the air docks of the school. It can't be a batch of new students, but it can be ONE student.
"He gave himself a name" she remembers Ozpin saying several weeks ago.
"What name is it?" asked Weiss.
"Lucifer." said Ozpin.
The Airship's cabin door opened.
Out walked a man, wearing a black hoodie with a pull up mask visible at the base of his neck over the same stone-grey trousers he wore since the street. He also had plate metal bracers on his forearms and his lower legs, as well as a plate metal chestplate, all five pieces of armor decorated with blood-red spiral markings. he had two different handguns tucked into their holsters strapped to his back on his belt, as well as two daggers with some sort of reservoir at the end of the handle, in their sheaths on the lower straps of his chestplate. Lastly, he had a basic-looking long rifle at his back.
"Lucifer Grimm" said Ozpin in Ruby's memory.
The Lost Soul
"We have to bring him back." Says Ruby.
The man has three deep claw cuts on his side, and is bleeding profusely from the exercise.
He has collapsed from the disintegrating Alfa's body, and Ruby and Yang are at his side, surrounded by Beowolves. It seemed a peculiar sight: Creatures of Grimm not attacking people and hunters not attacking the Grimms.
"What? Why?" Demands Yang.
"He saved our lives."
"So?"
"So!"
"You've seen what he can do, he can take care of himself."
"But not his wound. It's already getting worse."
"How are we supposed to bring him all the way back? It'll take at least until morning before we reach the city on our own, carrying a wounded man - if that's what he is - will just slow it down."
"What about your bike?"
Yang gave Ruby a look that said 'What do you think?'
"Oooohh...right."
The man then started to make some growling and whining sounds.
"Don't try to speak, it'll just make it worse. Just calm down and don't say anything."
He didn't stop. He huffed at one of the Beowolves and it stepped forward, like a knight being called forth by a king. Pushing away and ignoring the protests of Ruby, he stumbled over to it and climbed onto its back. He then fixed the girls with a weakened look as if to say 'What are you waiting for?'
The two girls looked at each other for a moment, wondering if it was a good idea. Ruby shrugged, and climbed on. Yang sighed, grumbled "I am SO going to regret this..." and climbed on, too.
The Beowolf took off. The sudden movement attacked the man's wound, he cried out and almost fell over, but Ruby, sitting between him and Yang, grabbed onto him. With much effort, she hauled him back upright on the Beowolf.
As if sensing his pain, the Beowolf slowed down to a more manageable yet still a reasonably fast speed.
About half an hour into the ride, Ruby spoke up.
"We're riding on a Beowolf."
"Yes, we are."
"Crazy."
"It is."
Silence.
"How?"
"Through that guy, apparently."
"What is he?"
"In my opinion, probably a Grimm."
"How?"
"Genetic mutation? Lab Experiment? Any other entries you might want to add?"
"...Yyyyyyymmmmmmno."
"What?"
"First 'yes', then 'maybe', then 'no'."
"Huh. Even after what just happened, you still have the capacity to make dumb jokes."
"Dumb?"
"Ok, not dumb. HUMORLESS."
"Come on, sis."
"Here we are."
"What?"
The barely visible city lights dotted the landscape, visible through gaps in the trees that are growing bigger as they continued to advance. The Beowolf then stopped about 30 meters or so from the nearest street and didn't budge.
The two girls carried the man between then, carrying him off the Beowolf, and took him towards the street. The Beowolf watched for a moment, before howling at the sky and running back into the woods.
At the street, they once again met Velvet, now carrying a bag, just released from the medical centre and walking back to the dorms. when she saw them, her face first showed curiosity, then recognition, and finally horror. She rushed over.
"Is he-" she began.
"No, he's not OK." says Yang
"No, is he they man from the street in the day?"
"Yes?"
"What happened?"
"A Beowolf Alfa is what."
"How bad is he injured?" she asked, crouching down and rummaging in her bag, removing several bottles labeled as medicine she got from the medical center.
"I don't know, I'm not a doctor. But if I had to guess, I'd say several broken ribs and blood loss."
"Pretty much." she said, applying antiseptic to the wound.
The man gritted his teeth as she cleaned the wound, fighting off the pain, and didn't calm down until she began to apply gauze and bandage to the wound.
"That should suffice for a temporary fix. It would hold him together until we can get professional help."
"Thanks, Velvet." says Ruby
"Your welcome. Just...don't tell anyone." says Velvet.
"What?" asks Yang.
"Don't go around telling everybody."
"Why not?"
"They'll say I was showing off."
"You're not." says Ruby.
"They'll say it anyway. Promise me, don't tell anyone. Well, you can tell the other two from your team, and any teachers if they ask. And...tell him."
"O...kay, I guess."
"Great. Thanks."she said, and ran off.
"That's not right." says Yang.
"What isn't?" asks Ruby.
"Her. she's being bullied because she's too modest. I'm willing to bet she'll be an A-student if she's just willing to show her abilities without worrying about what people are thinking of her."
"Not a problem to be addressed now."
"Guess not."
- AT THE DORMS -
"Ssooo...let me get this straight. You went into a police station..." began Weiss.
Blake nodded.
"...And managed to walk out again?"
Blake sighed and drooped her head.
Blake and Weiss are at their dorm room, exchanging what happened to them after they split up.
"What did you find?"
"That the man might be dangerous."
"That's not good for Ruby and Yang."
"By the way, why didn't you tell the police about the claw thing?"
"The claw-? Oh, that. I forgot."
"You what?"
"I said I forgot. Why?"
"I thought you had some ... special protective reason to not tell them! I didn't tell them! Do you know you can get into trouble for withholding information to the police for an unspecified reason?"
"Uhh...no, but it can't be all-"
"It'll leave a black mark on your school report."
"This is bad, this is very bad. You think we can still tell them now?"
"Maybe, but-"
*knocking*
"Too late."
"Blake! Weiss! Open the door! My hands are, uh, kinda full out here."
Ruby!
"I'd never thought I'd be saying this, but boy, am I glad it's -"
Weiss did't get to finish the sentence after she opened the door.
"By heavens! Who is -"
The man lifted his head.
"YOU!? What are you doing here?"
"We got attacked be some Beowolves. Actually, just their Alfa."
"You defeated a Beowolf Alfa!?"
"No, we didn't. He did. Saved us and got himself injured. We figured we could bring hum back and get him treated. As repayment, i guess. And Velvet did the dressing of the wound."
"How did you manage to fight off the rest of the pack?"
"We didn't. After this guy killed the Alfa, he ... cut out it's heart and named himself the new leader of the Beowolf pack. That's how we came back to Vale on the back of a Beowolf."
"You came back on the back of a - ?"
"Yes."
"But how!?"
"Stick around when the questions are asked."
"I KNEW I should have went."
Ruby gave Yang a look of smugness which she ignored.
The man has three deep claw cuts on his side, and is bleeding profusely from the exercise.
He has collapsed from the disintegrating Alfa's body, and Ruby and Yang are at his side, surrounded by Beowolves. It seemed a peculiar sight: Creatures of Grimm not attacking people and hunters not attacking the Grimms.
"What? Why?" Demands Yang.
"He saved our lives."
"So?"
"So!"
"You've seen what he can do, he can take care of himself."
"But not his wound. It's already getting worse."
"How are we supposed to bring him all the way back? It'll take at least until morning before we reach the city on our own, carrying a wounded man - if that's what he is - will just slow it down."
"What about your bike?"
Yang gave Ruby a look that said 'What do you think?'
"Oooohh...right."
The man then started to make some growling and whining sounds.
"Don't try to speak, it'll just make it worse. Just calm down and don't say anything."
He didn't stop. He huffed at one of the Beowolves and it stepped forward, like a knight being called forth by a king. Pushing away and ignoring the protests of Ruby, he stumbled over to it and climbed onto its back. He then fixed the girls with a weakened look as if to say 'What are you waiting for?'
The two girls looked at each other for a moment, wondering if it was a good idea. Ruby shrugged, and climbed on. Yang sighed, grumbled "I am SO going to regret this..." and climbed on, too.
The Beowolf took off. The sudden movement attacked the man's wound, he cried out and almost fell over, but Ruby, sitting between him and Yang, grabbed onto him. With much effort, she hauled him back upright on the Beowolf.
As if sensing his pain, the Beowolf slowed down to a more manageable yet still a reasonably fast speed.
About half an hour into the ride, Ruby spoke up.
"We're riding on a Beowolf."
"Yes, we are."
"Crazy."
"It is."
Silence.
"How?"
"Through that guy, apparently."
"What is he?"
"In my opinion, probably a Grimm."
"How?"
"Genetic mutation? Lab Experiment? Any other entries you might want to add?"
"...Yyyyyyymmmmmmno."
"What?"
"First 'yes', then 'maybe', then 'no'."
"Huh. Even after what just happened, you still have the capacity to make dumb jokes."
"Dumb?"
"Ok, not dumb. HUMORLESS."
"Come on, sis."
"Here we are."
"What?"
The barely visible city lights dotted the landscape, visible through gaps in the trees that are growing bigger as they continued to advance. The Beowolf then stopped about 30 meters or so from the nearest street and didn't budge.
The two girls carried the man between then, carrying him off the Beowolf, and took him towards the street. The Beowolf watched for a moment, before howling at the sky and running back into the woods.
At the street, they once again met Velvet, now carrying a bag, just released from the medical centre and walking back to the dorms. when she saw them, her face first showed curiosity, then recognition, and finally horror. She rushed over.
"Is he-" she began.
"No, he's not OK." says Yang
"No, is he they man from the street in the day?"
"Yes?"
"What happened?"
"A Beowolf Alfa is what."
"How bad is he injured?" she asked, crouching down and rummaging in her bag, removing several bottles labeled as medicine she got from the medical center.
"I don't know, I'm not a doctor. But if I had to guess, I'd say several broken ribs and blood loss."
"Pretty much." she said, applying antiseptic to the wound.
The man gritted his teeth as she cleaned the wound, fighting off the pain, and didn't calm down until she began to apply gauze and bandage to the wound.
"That should suffice for a temporary fix. It would hold him together until we can get professional help."
"Thanks, Velvet." says Ruby
"Your welcome. Just...don't tell anyone." says Velvet.
"What?" asks Yang.
"Don't go around telling everybody."
"Why not?"
"They'll say I was showing off."
"You're not." says Ruby.
"They'll say it anyway. Promise me, don't tell anyone. Well, you can tell the other two from your team, and any teachers if they ask. And...tell him."
"O...kay, I guess."
"Great. Thanks."she said, and ran off.
"That's not right." says Yang.
"What isn't?" asks Ruby.
"Her. she's being bullied because she's too modest. I'm willing to bet she'll be an A-student if she's just willing to show her abilities without worrying about what people are thinking of her."
"Not a problem to be addressed now."
"Guess not."
- AT THE DORMS -
"Ssooo...let me get this straight. You went into a police station..." began Weiss.
Blake nodded.
"...And managed to walk out again?"
Blake sighed and drooped her head.
Blake and Weiss are at their dorm room, exchanging what happened to them after they split up.
"What did you find?"
"That the man might be dangerous."
"That's not good for Ruby and Yang."
"By the way, why didn't you tell the police about the claw thing?"
"The claw-? Oh, that. I forgot."
"You what?"
"I said I forgot. Why?"
"I thought you had some ... special protective reason to not tell them! I didn't tell them! Do you know you can get into trouble for withholding information to the police for an unspecified reason?"
"Uhh...no, but it can't be all-"
"It'll leave a black mark on your school report."
"This is bad, this is very bad. You think we can still tell them now?"
"Maybe, but-"
*knocking*
"Too late."
"Blake! Weiss! Open the door! My hands are, uh, kinda full out here."
Ruby!
"I'd never thought I'd be saying this, but boy, am I glad it's -"
Weiss did't get to finish the sentence after she opened the door.
"By heavens! Who is -"
The man lifted his head.
"YOU!? What are you doing here?"
"We got attacked be some Beowolves. Actually, just their Alfa."
"You defeated a Beowolf Alfa!?"
"No, we didn't. He did. Saved us and got himself injured. We figured we could bring hum back and get him treated. As repayment, i guess. And Velvet did the dressing of the wound."
"How did you manage to fight off the rest of the pack?"
"We didn't. After this guy killed the Alfa, he ... cut out it's heart and named himself the new leader of the Beowolf pack. That's how we came back to Vale on the back of a Beowolf."
"You came back on the back of a - ?"
"Yes."
"But how!?"
"Stick around when the questions are asked."
"I KNEW I should have went."
Ruby gave Yang a look of smugness which she ignored.
The Shattered Mask
"A little too late for that now." said Ruby.
Ruby and Yang are standing in a circle of Beowolves, and one in particular, the Alfa, has emerged and seems to have decided to confront them by itself. Probably a freshly named one, looking to prove his place in the pack. This would have been a good thing except that a named Beowolf Alfa is already several times stronger than a normal Alfa to begin with.
"Can't hurt to do it while you can." Replies Yang.
"Let's hope you can do it again after this."
"Scared?"
"Very. You?"
"Yup. Now let's do this."
A flurry of crack-cracking announced their weapons being first unfolded and then armed, and the two took their fighting stances. The Beowolf clawed the ground, growled, and charged at them.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the man from the street appeared, at a running pace that would have impressed a speed demon, and tackled the Beowolf with enough forward momentum to knock it off it's forward course.
Both of them stared. Ruby at the man, and Yang at the direction he came from. The bushes on the edge of the clearing were still calming down after he ran through them.
Only the bushes right at the edge. Those further into the woods were still.
He had been hiding in there. He had been watching.
The Alfa, recovering from the unexpected attack, roared in anger.
The man, also recovering, returned it with a roar of challenge.
Both charged each other amongst a glass-shattering hail of howls of the surrounding Beowolves.
The Alfa pounced at the man, front legs outspread, preventing any escape to the side. An escape towards the rear will have less chance of success compared to the seemingly foolish choice of escaping towards the front, directly at the Beowolf.
Those words would have shot through the man's mind if he understood a word of language, but since he didn't, he knew what to do through instinct programmed into him, and charged forwards, rolling under the Alfa and drew first blood with an enormous sword with a bone-white blade with four large flat spikes for an edge and blood-red markings of swirls and a circle on each side ...
... sprouting from and attached to the man's right arm.
She'd been telling herself that she was seeing things, that he just had a grappling-hook/claw weapon, but seeing the blade, she had to finally face the truth.
He wasn't an ordinary man, if at all.
This could be bad. This could be very, very bad. Probably would be.
The cut wasn't deep enough to wound anything vital, but the Alfa had a nasty gash on it's belly. A flesh wound, to be sure, but one that bleeds nonetheless.
It had underestimated the man. It didn't expect either attack. That's why it got injured. It won't do so again.
It charged again, but in a patternless zigzag pattern, and then began to ran circles around the man, kicking up dirt and dust in his wake. Soon, a cloud of thick dust has obscured both from the two girls' view.
Inside, things weren't much better.
The Alfa, with it's animal-like senses and instincts, can quite literally see if not sense right through the dust cloud. The man can hear growls and the occasional kicked stone and broken twig, but that's about it. He looked alarmingly at every direction, flinching at every little sound, but soon gave up doing that. He took several deep breaths to calm down, lowered his head, dangled his arms...
...and closed his eyes.
It seemed an insane and life-abandoning idea, but considering the situation, it is in fact the best thing to do. Sight is the most-used sense for living things, and is more effective to obscure than to blind so the brain is still paying attention to sight already gone. In that sense, blinding oneself - closing one's eyes - forces the mind to adapt and focus on senses better suited for the task like scent and hearing, but for a human's weaker senses and slower reaction time, it is a last bet that gives naught but false hope.
And yet, for a third time, he proves himself inhuman. The Alfa finally charges at the man, seeming to be the loudest explosion in the most dead of nights. Almost immediately, he begins to move, twisting to face the threat and jumping sideways to avoid the charge. Almost immediately.
As the Alfa passed the man by, dissipating most of the dust cloud, blood is in the air. Three red claw marks appeared on the side of the man's torso. He crashes to the ground, grunting in pain but pushing it out to avoid missing the window of opportunity in which the Alfa is taken off guard having missed it's target, got up, and rushed at the Alfa. As he is doing so, he swings his right hand sideways. By the time his palm passes his shoulder, it's already gone and in it's place the blade used before.
He drives the blade sideways deep into the Alfa's exposed and unarmored underbelly. Twisting it, he jumps over the Alfa, the blade still connected to him with a flexible and extendable black strip, solidifying into a hard white pole shape. Landing on the other side of the Alfa, a rough scythe shape is formed. Grabbing lower onto the pole with his other hand, he pushes with his left and pulls with his right, causing the blade to rip right through the Alfa's body, creating a cut going two-thirds across it's torso.
He didn't stop at delivering the killing blow. Jumping onto the Alfa, he created a second blade and drove it into the Alfa, creating a second cut going over the first.
The other Beowolves begin to advance. Alarmed, Ruby and Yang attack some, but soon realized they weren't hostile, and that they were going towards the Alfa and the man.
Having created a triangular flap, he frantically dug into the bloody and has already to begin disintegrating depths os the Alfa.
As soon as a ring of Beowolves, sitting attentively around the late Alfa formed, the man reemerged holding high the heart of the Alfa, and roared at the night sky. The rest followed suit and howled at the sky as the heart, as well as the Alfa, disintegrated into nothingness. The man has just been named the new Alfa of the pack.
"Yang" says Ruby shakily "What ... what WAS that?"
"Which that? The Alfa, the unusual pale-white weapons, or him?"
She was silent, then said "The last one."
"A humanoid living creature with what seems to be a self-morphing ability to form weapons which just turned itself into the leader of a pack of Beowolves."
"What have we gotten into?"
"I knew, I just KNEW not to come!"
"A little too late for that now..."
Ruby and Yang are standing in a circle of Beowolves, and one in particular, the Alfa, has emerged and seems to have decided to confront them by itself. Probably a freshly named one, looking to prove his place in the pack. This would have been a good thing except that a named Beowolf Alfa is already several times stronger than a normal Alfa to begin with.
"Can't hurt to do it while you can." Replies Yang.
"Let's hope you can do it again after this."
"Scared?"
"Very. You?"
"Yup. Now let's do this."
A flurry of crack-cracking announced their weapons being first unfolded and then armed, and the two took their fighting stances. The Beowolf clawed the ground, growled, and charged at them.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the man from the street appeared, at a running pace that would have impressed a speed demon, and tackled the Beowolf with enough forward momentum to knock it off it's forward course.
Both of them stared. Ruby at the man, and Yang at the direction he came from. The bushes on the edge of the clearing were still calming down after he ran through them.
Only the bushes right at the edge. Those further into the woods were still.
He had been hiding in there. He had been watching.
The Alfa, recovering from the unexpected attack, roared in anger.
The man, also recovering, returned it with a roar of challenge.
Both charged each other amongst a glass-shattering hail of howls of the surrounding Beowolves.
The Alfa pounced at the man, front legs outspread, preventing any escape to the side. An escape towards the rear will have less chance of success compared to the seemingly foolish choice of escaping towards the front, directly at the Beowolf.
Those words would have shot through the man's mind if he understood a word of language, but since he didn't, he knew what to do through instinct programmed into him, and charged forwards, rolling under the Alfa and drew first blood with an enormous sword with a bone-white blade with four large flat spikes for an edge and blood-red markings of swirls and a circle on each side ...
... sprouting from and attached to the man's right arm.
She'd been telling herself that she was seeing things, that he just had a grappling-hook/claw weapon, but seeing the blade, she had to finally face the truth.
He wasn't an ordinary man, if at all.
This could be bad. This could be very, very bad. Probably would be.
The cut wasn't deep enough to wound anything vital, but the Alfa had a nasty gash on it's belly. A flesh wound, to be sure, but one that bleeds nonetheless.
It had underestimated the man. It didn't expect either attack. That's why it got injured. It won't do so again.
It charged again, but in a patternless zigzag pattern, and then began to ran circles around the man, kicking up dirt and dust in his wake. Soon, a cloud of thick dust has obscured both from the two girls' view.
Inside, things weren't much better.
The Alfa, with it's animal-like senses and instincts, can quite literally see if not sense right through the dust cloud. The man can hear growls and the occasional kicked stone and broken twig, but that's about it. He looked alarmingly at every direction, flinching at every little sound, but soon gave up doing that. He took several deep breaths to calm down, lowered his head, dangled his arms...
...and closed his eyes.
It seemed an insane and life-abandoning idea, but considering the situation, it is in fact the best thing to do. Sight is the most-used sense for living things, and is more effective to obscure than to blind so the brain is still paying attention to sight already gone. In that sense, blinding oneself - closing one's eyes - forces the mind to adapt and focus on senses better suited for the task like scent and hearing, but for a human's weaker senses and slower reaction time, it is a last bet that gives naught but false hope.
And yet, for a third time, he proves himself inhuman. The Alfa finally charges at the man, seeming to be the loudest explosion in the most dead of nights. Almost immediately, he begins to move, twisting to face the threat and jumping sideways to avoid the charge. Almost immediately.
As the Alfa passed the man by, dissipating most of the dust cloud, blood is in the air. Three red claw marks appeared on the side of the man's torso. He crashes to the ground, grunting in pain but pushing it out to avoid missing the window of opportunity in which the Alfa is taken off guard having missed it's target, got up, and rushed at the Alfa. As he is doing so, he swings his right hand sideways. By the time his palm passes his shoulder, it's already gone and in it's place the blade used before.
He drives the blade sideways deep into the Alfa's exposed and unarmored underbelly. Twisting it, he jumps over the Alfa, the blade still connected to him with a flexible and extendable black strip, solidifying into a hard white pole shape. Landing on the other side of the Alfa, a rough scythe shape is formed. Grabbing lower onto the pole with his other hand, he pushes with his left and pulls with his right, causing the blade to rip right through the Alfa's body, creating a cut going two-thirds across it's torso.
He didn't stop at delivering the killing blow. Jumping onto the Alfa, he created a second blade and drove it into the Alfa, creating a second cut going over the first.
The other Beowolves begin to advance. Alarmed, Ruby and Yang attack some, but soon realized they weren't hostile, and that they were going towards the Alfa and the man.
Having created a triangular flap, he frantically dug into the bloody and has already to begin disintegrating depths os the Alfa.
As soon as a ring of Beowolves, sitting attentively around the late Alfa formed, the man reemerged holding high the heart of the Alfa, and roared at the night sky. The rest followed suit and howled at the sky as the heart, as well as the Alfa, disintegrated into nothingness. The man has just been named the new Alfa of the pack.
"Yang" says Ruby shakily "What ... what WAS that?"
"Which that? The Alfa, the unusual pale-white weapons, or him?"
She was silent, then said "The last one."
"A humanoid living creature with what seems to be a self-morphing ability to form weapons which just turned itself into the leader of a pack of Beowolves."
"What have we gotten into?"
"I knew, I just KNEW not to come!"
"A little too late for that now..."
Sunday, March 23, 2014
The Bloodied Suits
- NOT TOO FAR FROM EMERALD FOREST, A COUPLE OF HOURS AGO -
She knew she should have followed.
Her nightvision and other heightened senses like hearing and smell as a Faunus can help greatly when it gets dark out. She could be a crucial asset in the forest.
But she trusted her friends, and besides, she had to do some answer-searching herself.
At a police station.
Arriving, she got stumped: Now what? Where do I go asking about 5 dead undercover cops and a runaway man with some sort of morphing ability?
She got saved by - surprise, surprise - a police detective.
"Can I help you?"
"Wha - oh, yeah! Sure! Help! Yeah!"
Giving her an odd look, he asked "What do you need?"
Clearing her throat, she began "Well, I'm here to ask about, uh, the, uh, incident, involving a half-naked guy and five undercover cops."
He narrowed his eyes "And what are you here to ask about?"
"What was going on?"
"In a nutshell? Five hoods with stolen badges and weapons attack unknown man who killed all but one of them (we have him now) and ran away with three girls after him."
"Two."
"How do you know that?"
"I'm was one until I broke away. Just now."
"So you know a girl in white that decided not to follow her teammates?"
"Sure, Weiss Schnee."
He huffed.
"A Schnee. That explains much."
"Yeah, well, she's changing. At a pace."
"Any more things you want to know?"
"Who was the man?"
"Beats me, if you find out, tell us. And if you're going to ask about the hoods-"
"Suits."
"Whatever. They are ... well, WERE mercenaries. We found their mode of transportation - an unassuming van with fancy-schmancy-whatever-but-it's-glowing stuff inside. and color photo of the guy identified as the victim of the assault, as well as a piece of paper with 'work orders' on it. 'Capture the target. Do not let your guard down, even if he's dead. Use weapons provided to you fully. Finish the job as quick as possible. Warning. Dangerous target. Make every attempt to escape shall He emerge.'"
"Who's 'He'?"
"I figured you knew. They ran, right?"
"If you could call that measly attempt running, yeah."
"So I guess you know. Can you tell me?"
She searched her memory, and was hit once more with the dread she felt when 'He' first swept his eyes over her.
"Demon."
"No joking around."
"Nope."
An odd silence followed.
"What?" asked Blake?
"Demon?" asked the officer.
"Yeah?"
"What made you think so?"
She tried not to look into the memory again "Everything?"
"Anything specific?"
"Eyes, actions, heck, stance...Aura? That help?"
"Helps confirm that he is one scary mother, yeah. We had around two dozen people questioned before this, and they all said different variations of the same thing. He's a demon, a monster, a lab mutation, yada yada yada."
"Anything else?"
"Nah. most of them were too scared to say much. The second most quiet was the last suit and he just kept saying 'Abomination' (And the most quiet didn't say jack, in case you didn't know). The most talkative was the Schnee girl."
She wondered why Weiss, clearly calm enough to talk about the claw thing, didn't. She thought that she might have some sort of reason not to, so she didn't share the man's morphing ability to the police. She'll ask Weiss why later.
"So, care to dethrone the Schnee girl as most talkative in this case?"
"What, I haven't already?"
"With that sentence, you did." He chuckled. "By the way, why didn't YOU follow your team?"
"I had an idea to come here to maybe learn something about the incident I haven't yet already."
"Disappointed?"
"Yep. Also, I trust them to look after themselves and find THEIR answers from their source."
"You're a better person than the Schnee girl. Who are you, anyway?"
"Blake Belladonna."
"Well, Belladonna, keep up the good work."
"Actually, I'm beginning to wonder if I made a mistake coming here."
"How so?"
"'The second most quiet just kept saying 'Abomination' '."
She knew she should have followed.
Her nightvision and other heightened senses like hearing and smell as a Faunus can help greatly when it gets dark out. She could be a crucial asset in the forest.
But she trusted her friends, and besides, she had to do some answer-searching herself.
At a police station.
Arriving, she got stumped: Now what? Where do I go asking about 5 dead undercover cops and a runaway man with some sort of morphing ability?
She got saved by - surprise, surprise - a police detective.
"Can I help you?"
"Wha - oh, yeah! Sure! Help! Yeah!"
Giving her an odd look, he asked "What do you need?"
Clearing her throat, she began "Well, I'm here to ask about, uh, the, uh, incident, involving a half-naked guy and five undercover cops."
He narrowed his eyes "And what are you here to ask about?"
"What was going on?"
"In a nutshell? Five hoods with stolen badges and weapons attack unknown man who killed all but one of them (we have him now) and ran away with three girls after him."
"Two."
"How do you know that?"
"I'm was one until I broke away. Just now."
"So you know a girl in white that decided not to follow her teammates?"
"Sure, Weiss Schnee."
He huffed.
"A Schnee. That explains much."
"Yeah, well, she's changing. At a pace."
"Any more things you want to know?"
"Who was the man?"
"Beats me, if you find out, tell us. And if you're going to ask about the hoods-"
"Suits."
"Whatever. They are ... well, WERE mercenaries. We found their mode of transportation - an unassuming van with fancy-schmancy-whatever-but-it's-glowing stuff inside. and color photo of the guy identified as the victim of the assault, as well as a piece of paper with 'work orders' on it. 'Capture the target. Do not let your guard down, even if he's dead. Use weapons provided to you fully. Finish the job as quick as possible. Warning. Dangerous target. Make every attempt to escape shall He emerge.'"
"Who's 'He'?"
"I figured you knew. They ran, right?"
"If you could call that measly attempt running, yeah."
"So I guess you know. Can you tell me?"
She searched her memory, and was hit once more with the dread she felt when 'He' first swept his eyes over her.
"Demon."
"No joking around."
"Nope."
An odd silence followed.
"What?" asked Blake?
"Demon?" asked the officer.
"Yeah?"
"What made you think so?"
She tried not to look into the memory again "Everything?"
"Anything specific?"
"Eyes, actions, heck, stance...Aura? That help?"
"Helps confirm that he is one scary mother, yeah. We had around two dozen people questioned before this, and they all said different variations of the same thing. He's a demon, a monster, a lab mutation, yada yada yada."
"Anything else?"
"Nah. most of them were too scared to say much. The second most quiet was the last suit and he just kept saying 'Abomination' (And the most quiet didn't say jack, in case you didn't know). The most talkative was the Schnee girl."
She wondered why Weiss, clearly calm enough to talk about the claw thing, didn't. She thought that she might have some sort of reason not to, so she didn't share the man's morphing ability to the police. She'll ask Weiss why later.
"So, care to dethrone the Schnee girl as most talkative in this case?"
"What, I haven't already?"
"With that sentence, you did." He chuckled. "By the way, why didn't YOU follow your team?"
"I had an idea to come here to maybe learn something about the incident I haven't yet already."
"Disappointed?"
"Yep. Also, I trust them to look after themselves and find THEIR answers from their source."
"You're a better person than the Schnee girl. Who are you, anyway?"
"Blake Belladonna."
"Well, Belladonna, keep up the good work."
"Actually, I'm beginning to wonder if I made a mistake coming here."
"How so?"
"'The second most quiet just kept saying 'Abomination' '."
The Masquerade
- HOURS AGO, ON THE SCENE OF THE ASSAULT -
"...AND YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"
Weiss is standing at the street, shouting at the direction Ruby, Blake and Yang headed, though they were too far away to be seen now, and she is pretty much shouting at the street.
Truth was, though, that she was trying to tell herself that more than telling her team members. She DID want to seek answers, to follow her team and aid them, to show them how she can be of help, but - they were supposed to relax today! And if they didn't want to rest, then it's their loss, she will have the rest they didn't want. Yes, them running off was their own choice, and she had nothing to do with what came next.
Suddenly the sound of police sirens reached her ears.
Maybe she SHOULD have followed ... too late for that anyways.
Turning around, she sees one of the police detectives walking towards her, notepad and pen in hand.
"Excuse me, young lady, would you mind if I asked you some questions regarding the incident that occurred here?"
It wouldn't do to say no, of course. "Sure, why not? Happy to help, heh heh..." she was nervous.
"Can you tell me what happened here? No assumptions, no guesses, just what you saw and heard."
"Well, me and my team were going to that new mall everybody's been talking about..."
He jotted some notes.
"...and suddenly, out of nowhere, this guy just came crashing into me from behind."
"From what direction did he come from?"
She pointed. He jotted.
"Carry on."
"I yelled at him to watch where he was going, but he didn't say anything. He was going to run again when they -" she gestured to the five dead suits "- came from up and down the street and surrounded him, pinning him against the wall over there." Point.
Jot.
"And?"
"And they started hitting him with what one of my friends called an outlawed weapon..."
Jot.
"And another of my friends say she was going to stop them, even though they were cops -"
"They weren't."
"Excuse me?"
"I said they weren't cops, those badges were stolen from our locker room and from some of our officers, they Stun Batons were stolen from a retired hunter and picker. the Batons were among the weapons stolen from his collection."
"You allowed him to keep those things?"
"The law didn't say 'active hunters', just 'hunters', and retired hunters count as 'hunters' in court, so he was allowed to keep those weapons provided that they were never loaded with Dust."
"Huh."
"It is what it is, now we were at your friend going to stop some fakes."
"Right. Another of my group went to stop her, telling her it would just invite trouble or something, and she spotted, err..." she looked about for a moment "...her." she pointed at Velvet, just waking up with a paramedic in attendance.
"And SHE tried to stop them, but they attacked her, and she dodged the attack, but she was knocked out anyway."
Jot. Pause. Jot, jot.
"When she got knocked out, err..." looking about again "...that old man..." Point "Began to shout all these insults at them and at the police department."
He turned.
"Are you sure it was him?"
"Sure I'm sure. Why?"
"Hey bud, get over here!"
Weiss turned and stared. 'bud'?
The old man came over. "What is it?"
"You shouted insults to the department?"
"Yes, i did."
"Why?"
"Those insults weren't for you, so to speak. It was to piss of the crowd and make those hooligans' jobs harder. I could tell at a glance they were fake cops."
"What?" asks Weiss "How? You have a sixth sense for cops or something?"
"I used to be in the department."
"And?"
"And I see them wearing their badges on their RIGHT. You are supposed to wear it on your LEFT, against your heart. Something about being loyal to the department or something. Besides, who wears a badge announcing to the world you're an undercover cop?"
She looked at one of the bodies. It's badge was on the right.
"Go figure."
"Well, i decided to wait it out, maybe make sure these fellas weren't rookies out for the first time. My suspicions were confirmed when one of them made a racist remark and attacked the unarmed Faunus girl."
"And you decided to use the crowd against them. What would that do again?"
"I dunno, you tell me. But I had to do SOMETHING."
"Lowering the citizen's trust in us one of them?"
"You know I don't mean that."
"Sadly, I do, so I can't arrest you for that. You can go."
After he left, the detective turned back to Weiss.
"We were at when our old boy began shouting nonsense."
"After that, our leader-"
"Excuse me?"
"Team leader, four-person team, Beacon Academy."
Jot.
"She told us to help calm down the people and make some distance between them. Then she got attacked by one of them."
"Where is she?"
"She ran after him when the guy took off after..." she gestured around "...this."
"She didn't get knocked out?"
"No. The guy stopped him."
"How?"
"By grabbing him and-"
"Not that how, I meant how can he still stop them? How many times was he hit?"
"Probably more than ten times."
"He should be dead."
"That's what she said."
"Do I look like a 'she'?"
"I meant one of my group."
"She said that?"
"Yes."
"Then?"
"Wait. I forgot to say. When he stopped the guy, he looked ... different."
"Different how? Appearance or behavior?"
"Both. He had black, curly hair before, and look scared; when he stopped the guy, he had white, spikey hair and-"
Remembering the look, she suddenly gave an involuntary shiver.
"And he looked like he just lived to kill. I don't know how you see that but ... he ... just had the look, you know?"
Jot.
"Actually, I don't know, but i guess I have an idea."
"Then, the guy picked them off, one after another - broke their necks, if you were wondering, all of them, except for one. That one his hair became black and curly again, and, he just, roared? It was loud and he was the one who made the noise, but people don't roar, do they? Anyway, he roared into his face and he passed out. And then he took off again, and the other three people in my group decided to follow."
"And you didn't?"
"No! We were supposed to rest toady!"
"Don't know how things work at Beacon, but when my mates decide to do something potentially dangerous, I follow, regardless of what I have planned or what was supposed to happen that day, because I want to help and make sure they see through the danger, and if I fail, I will know I have done all I can, instead telling myself over and over again that I should have followed."
He jotted some final notes before saying "I know we police haven't been exactly helpful in terms of crimes committed, but I hope you'll keep what I just said in mind" and left.
He needn't have bothered, Weiss was already wondering if it was too late to go after them or not.
And only then did she realize she forgot to mention his hand turning into a claw.
"...AND YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"
Weiss is standing at the street, shouting at the direction Ruby, Blake and Yang headed, though they were too far away to be seen now, and she is pretty much shouting at the street.
Truth was, though, that she was trying to tell herself that more than telling her team members. She DID want to seek answers, to follow her team and aid them, to show them how she can be of help, but - they were supposed to relax today! And if they didn't want to rest, then it's their loss, she will have the rest they didn't want. Yes, them running off was their own choice, and she had nothing to do with what came next.
Suddenly the sound of police sirens reached her ears.
Maybe she SHOULD have followed ... too late for that anyways.
Turning around, she sees one of the police detectives walking towards her, notepad and pen in hand.
"Excuse me, young lady, would you mind if I asked you some questions regarding the incident that occurred here?"
It wouldn't do to say no, of course. "Sure, why not? Happy to help, heh heh..." she was nervous.
"Can you tell me what happened here? No assumptions, no guesses, just what you saw and heard."
"Well, me and my team were going to that new mall everybody's been talking about..."
He jotted some notes.
"...and suddenly, out of nowhere, this guy just came crashing into me from behind."
"From what direction did he come from?"
She pointed. He jotted.
"Carry on."
"I yelled at him to watch where he was going, but he didn't say anything. He was going to run again when they -" she gestured to the five dead suits "- came from up and down the street and surrounded him, pinning him against the wall over there." Point.
Jot.
"And?"
"And they started hitting him with what one of my friends called an outlawed weapon..."
Jot.
"And another of my friends say she was going to stop them, even though they were cops -"
"They weren't."
"Excuse me?"
"I said they weren't cops, those badges were stolen from our locker room and from some of our officers, they Stun Batons were stolen from a retired hunter and picker. the Batons were among the weapons stolen from his collection."
"You allowed him to keep those things?"
"The law didn't say 'active hunters', just 'hunters', and retired hunters count as 'hunters' in court, so he was allowed to keep those weapons provided that they were never loaded with Dust."
"Huh."
"It is what it is, now we were at your friend going to stop some fakes."
"Right. Another of my group went to stop her, telling her it would just invite trouble or something, and she spotted, err..." she looked about for a moment "...her." she pointed at Velvet, just waking up with a paramedic in attendance.
"And SHE tried to stop them, but they attacked her, and she dodged the attack, but she was knocked out anyway."
Jot. Pause. Jot, jot.
"When she got knocked out, err..." looking about again "...that old man..." Point "Began to shout all these insults at them and at the police department."
He turned.
"Are you sure it was him?"
"Sure I'm sure. Why?"
"Hey bud, get over here!"
Weiss turned and stared. 'bud'?
The old man came over. "What is it?"
"You shouted insults to the department?"
"Yes, i did."
"Why?"
"Those insults weren't for you, so to speak. It was to piss of the crowd and make those hooligans' jobs harder. I could tell at a glance they were fake cops."
"What?" asks Weiss "How? You have a sixth sense for cops or something?"
"I used to be in the department."
"And?"
"And I see them wearing their badges on their RIGHT. You are supposed to wear it on your LEFT, against your heart. Something about being loyal to the department or something. Besides, who wears a badge announcing to the world you're an undercover cop?"
She looked at one of the bodies. It's badge was on the right.
"Go figure."
"Well, i decided to wait it out, maybe make sure these fellas weren't rookies out for the first time. My suspicions were confirmed when one of them made a racist remark and attacked the unarmed Faunus girl."
"And you decided to use the crowd against them. What would that do again?"
"I dunno, you tell me. But I had to do SOMETHING."
"Lowering the citizen's trust in us one of them?"
"You know I don't mean that."
"Sadly, I do, so I can't arrest you for that. You can go."
After he left, the detective turned back to Weiss.
"We were at when our old boy began shouting nonsense."
"After that, our leader-"
"Excuse me?"
"Team leader, four-person team, Beacon Academy."
Jot.
"She told us to help calm down the people and make some distance between them. Then she got attacked by one of them."
"Where is she?"
"She ran after him when the guy took off after..." she gestured around "...this."
"She didn't get knocked out?"
"No. The guy stopped him."
"How?"
"By grabbing him and-"
"Not that how, I meant how can he still stop them? How many times was he hit?"
"Probably more than ten times."
"He should be dead."
"That's what she said."
"Do I look like a 'she'?"
"I meant one of my group."
"She said that?"
"Yes."
"Then?"
"Wait. I forgot to say. When he stopped the guy, he looked ... different."
"Different how? Appearance or behavior?"
"Both. He had black, curly hair before, and look scared; when he stopped the guy, he had white, spikey hair and-"
Remembering the look, she suddenly gave an involuntary shiver.
"And he looked like he just lived to kill. I don't know how you see that but ... he ... just had the look, you know?"
Jot.
"Actually, I don't know, but i guess I have an idea."
"Then, the guy picked them off, one after another - broke their necks, if you were wondering, all of them, except for one. That one his hair became black and curly again, and, he just, roared? It was loud and he was the one who made the noise, but people don't roar, do they? Anyway, he roared into his face and he passed out. And then he took off again, and the other three people in my group decided to follow."
"And you didn't?"
"No! We were supposed to rest toady!"
"Don't know how things work at Beacon, but when my mates decide to do something potentially dangerous, I follow, regardless of what I have planned or what was supposed to happen that day, because I want to help and make sure they see through the danger, and if I fail, I will know I have done all I can, instead telling myself over and over again that I should have followed."
He jotted some final notes before saying "I know we police haven't been exactly helpful in terms of crimes committed, but I hope you'll keep what I just said in mind" and left.
He needn't have bothered, Weiss was already wondering if it was too late to go after them or not.
And only then did she realize she forgot to mention his hand turning into a claw.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
The Bloodluster
The crack is still echoing off the walls when the first screams made themselves heard.
Some people ran away, most of the rest stood stock-still and staring in disbelief.
Only the suits acted differently, wether that is a good or bad thing. looks of terror spread across their faces, looks of men knowing their about to die and that any effort to fight is futile. However, to fight no matter what is part of human nature, and 2 of the suits went up street, and the other 2 went down the street, all 4 tucking their stun batons, now off, into their suit jackets and retrieving handguns, unused until now, from the other side of their jackets and brought them level to the man...
...But he's already gone...
...And reappeared between the 2 suits up the street, arms outstretched and wrapped around both suits' heads, knocked off their feet because the man went slightly further up the street from where they were standing.
Both arms pulled upwards, and 2 more cracks announced the deaths of 2 more people.
The final 2 suits weren't standing side-by-side, so the first to go was the closer suit.
The man threw his right hand around the back of the suit's head, and his left around the suit's back to his left shoulder in a grotesque bear hug.
Except this isn't a hug anyone alive is used to.
Both arms pulled.
Anyone who didn't witness the act may find it difficult to tell the suit's neck has been snapped. The head has been twisted all the way around, from the front, it looks as if the head's in its proper place, with no evidence to a cause of death save a neat, red-smeared wound going all around the suit's neck.
Looking up from the suit he just killed, the man sees the final suit running down the street, screaming that the Devil himself has arrived to bring about death to Remnant.
And he did something completely unexpected.
Drawing his hand back as if to throw something, it firstly turns jet-black up to his elbow before splitting into several black strips. These he manipulates so they twist and turn around each other to form a claw shape, which solidifies into a pale bone-white colour. More black strips the sprout between claw and arm, wrapping around the latter as if to secure the claw to the hand.
Then, in a throwing motion, the claw launches from the hand - connected with an extending strip of black - towards the suit. Landing and grabbing on the suit's leg, he falls screaming face-down on the pavement.
Pulling out his gun, he begins to squeeze of bullet after bullet into the claw and the black strip connecting them in an effort to escape, with no visible effect even after the gun runs out. Then removing the stun baton, he begins to beat the claw and the back strip with it, forgetting to turn it on first.
By the time he does, the man is already upon him, and, grabbing onto his shirt, lifts him right off the pavement with just one arm. He holds the suit close to himself and stares into his eyes, and the suit stares back into the man's eyes, to terrified to even struggle, and sudden, infrequent pants for breaths.
Suddenly, the man's hair reverts to black, and settles down against the man's head, curling at the tip just as before.
The man is silent for a moment, his eyes closed. Then, squeezing his eyes shut tighter, he slowly shakes it from side-to-side as if he is just waking up in the morning. Opening it, he looks around for a short moment, freezing as he laid eyes on the first body, and from then he looks from one body to the next, as if the only thing that could have happened here can not be good, finally laying eyes on the suit he is holding up. He sighs, a long deep sigh, almost of disappointment.
He then opens his mouth. wider and wider it goes, revealing a pair of fangs just slightly longer than his other teeth on either side on his upper front teeth.
"Uh-oh" says Yang
"What?" asks Ruby
"I don't know, but after what he has done, i wouldn't rule out 'man-eater' if i have to describe him" she says, and the four rush over in hopes to stop what they fear the man would do to finish off the last suit.
The roar seems to stop everything, every action, every sound, every second, all froze as his jaws let loose and the man roared into the suit's face. A long, loud roar rippling with pain and sorrow.
The suit seemed to have froze as well. He didn't blink, didn't breath, didn't even twitch for the longest moment, before his eyes rolls upwards, and he falls limp in the man's hands, unconscious.
Dropping the suit down to the pavement, he looks about him, at the gathered people, at the dead suits, at Ruby, Yang, Blake, Weiss, Velvet, the old shop owner, every direction, as if taking in a precious memory he would never want to forget, before turning down the street and taking off, running into a path opened by the gathered people avoiding the man.
"Come on." says Ruby "After him."
"What?" exclaims Weiss "But why? we were supposed to have fun today!"
"Because" she replies "We need answers."
"WE!?"
"Are you coming?"
"NO! I AM NOT!"
"OK, then, Blake, sis, come on."
"What?"
"Sorry, Weiss" says Blake as she runs after Ruby.
"Maybe some other time" says Yang, as she, too, runs after Ruby.
Weiss stands still for a moment before shouting "I am NOT going with you guys!"
The next half hour is spent running after the man, elusive as a greased fish out of the water. The chase comes to a pause as the man takes off into the Emerald Forest. It is there where Blake turned away, saying "You guys go on ahead. I honestly think he won't be coming out of there alive, but you're free to try."
Ruby dashes into the trees, Blake walks back to the mass of concrete and steel.
Yang stands still, unsure of where to go, until a shout of "Yang, come on already!" got her to run into the woods, too.
- PRESENT -
"Aaand...that's how it pretty much came to this."
"I knew i shouldn't have followed you." says Yang.
"But you would have followed anyway, and you did." says Ruby
"And you know me too well, and I don't really like that."
"You're my sister, you're the second-best person I know, after myself."
"They say you don't really know who you are, others do"
"And who are 'they'?"
"Sure as heck not these guys"
"Wha- oh, damn it..."
The two girls have been surrounded by a pack of Beowolves while in the middle of their conversation, and are just walking out of the bushes they were hiding in, but none in particular made any move to attack.
That didn't mean it was a good thing. It means things are worse.
Another Beowolf walked out of it's hiding place. It was twice as big as a normal Beowolf, and the markings on its skull-armor is slightly different. Larger curves, thicker lines.
A Beowolf Alfa.
"Ooooh...nooo" moans the two girls, out in the Emerald Forest, approaching night, looking for a half-dressed mystery man and now surrounded by a pack Beowolves and confronted by the Alfa.
"I KNEW I shouldn't have followed."
Some people ran away, most of the rest stood stock-still and staring in disbelief.
Only the suits acted differently, wether that is a good or bad thing. looks of terror spread across their faces, looks of men knowing their about to die and that any effort to fight is futile. However, to fight no matter what is part of human nature, and 2 of the suits went up street, and the other 2 went down the street, all 4 tucking their stun batons, now off, into their suit jackets and retrieving handguns, unused until now, from the other side of their jackets and brought them level to the man...
...But he's already gone...
...And reappeared between the 2 suits up the street, arms outstretched and wrapped around both suits' heads, knocked off their feet because the man went slightly further up the street from where they were standing.
Both arms pulled upwards, and 2 more cracks announced the deaths of 2 more people.
The final 2 suits weren't standing side-by-side, so the first to go was the closer suit.
The man threw his right hand around the back of the suit's head, and his left around the suit's back to his left shoulder in a grotesque bear hug.
Except this isn't a hug anyone alive is used to.
Both arms pulled.
Anyone who didn't witness the act may find it difficult to tell the suit's neck has been snapped. The head has been twisted all the way around, from the front, it looks as if the head's in its proper place, with no evidence to a cause of death save a neat, red-smeared wound going all around the suit's neck.
Looking up from the suit he just killed, the man sees the final suit running down the street, screaming that the Devil himself has arrived to bring about death to Remnant.
And he did something completely unexpected.
Drawing his hand back as if to throw something, it firstly turns jet-black up to his elbow before splitting into several black strips. These he manipulates so they twist and turn around each other to form a claw shape, which solidifies into a pale bone-white colour. More black strips the sprout between claw and arm, wrapping around the latter as if to secure the claw to the hand.
Then, in a throwing motion, the claw launches from the hand - connected with an extending strip of black - towards the suit. Landing and grabbing on the suit's leg, he falls screaming face-down on the pavement.
Pulling out his gun, he begins to squeeze of bullet after bullet into the claw and the black strip connecting them in an effort to escape, with no visible effect even after the gun runs out. Then removing the stun baton, he begins to beat the claw and the back strip with it, forgetting to turn it on first.
By the time he does, the man is already upon him, and, grabbing onto his shirt, lifts him right off the pavement with just one arm. He holds the suit close to himself and stares into his eyes, and the suit stares back into the man's eyes, to terrified to even struggle, and sudden, infrequent pants for breaths.
Suddenly, the man's hair reverts to black, and settles down against the man's head, curling at the tip just as before.
The man is silent for a moment, his eyes closed. Then, squeezing his eyes shut tighter, he slowly shakes it from side-to-side as if he is just waking up in the morning. Opening it, he looks around for a short moment, freezing as he laid eyes on the first body, and from then he looks from one body to the next, as if the only thing that could have happened here can not be good, finally laying eyes on the suit he is holding up. He sighs, a long deep sigh, almost of disappointment.
He then opens his mouth. wider and wider it goes, revealing a pair of fangs just slightly longer than his other teeth on either side on his upper front teeth.
"Uh-oh" says Yang
"What?" asks Ruby
"I don't know, but after what he has done, i wouldn't rule out 'man-eater' if i have to describe him" she says, and the four rush over in hopes to stop what they fear the man would do to finish off the last suit.
The roar seems to stop everything, every action, every sound, every second, all froze as his jaws let loose and the man roared into the suit's face. A long, loud roar rippling with pain and sorrow.
The suit seemed to have froze as well. He didn't blink, didn't breath, didn't even twitch for the longest moment, before his eyes rolls upwards, and he falls limp in the man's hands, unconscious.
Dropping the suit down to the pavement, he looks about him, at the gathered people, at the dead suits, at Ruby, Yang, Blake, Weiss, Velvet, the old shop owner, every direction, as if taking in a precious memory he would never want to forget, before turning down the street and taking off, running into a path opened by the gathered people avoiding the man.
"Come on." says Ruby "After him."
"What?" exclaims Weiss "But why? we were supposed to have fun today!"
"Because" she replies "We need answers."
"WE!?"
"Are you coming?"
"NO! I AM NOT!"
"OK, then, Blake, sis, come on."
"What?"
"Sorry, Weiss" says Blake as she runs after Ruby.
"Maybe some other time" says Yang, as she, too, runs after Ruby.
Weiss stands still for a moment before shouting "I am NOT going with you guys!"
The next half hour is spent running after the man, elusive as a greased fish out of the water. The chase comes to a pause as the man takes off into the Emerald Forest. It is there where Blake turned away, saying "You guys go on ahead. I honestly think he won't be coming out of there alive, but you're free to try."
Ruby dashes into the trees, Blake walks back to the mass of concrete and steel.
Yang stands still, unsure of where to go, until a shout of "Yang, come on already!" got her to run into the woods, too.
- PRESENT -
"Aaand...that's how it pretty much came to this."
"I knew i shouldn't have followed you." says Yang.
"But you would have followed anyway, and you did." says Ruby
"And you know me too well, and I don't really like that."
"You're my sister, you're the second-best person I know, after myself."
"They say you don't really know who you are, others do"
"And who are 'they'?"
"Sure as heck not these guys"
"Wha- oh, damn it..."
The two girls have been surrounded by a pack of Beowolves while in the middle of their conversation, and are just walking out of the bushes they were hiding in, but none in particular made any move to attack.
That didn't mean it was a good thing. It means things are worse.
Another Beowolf walked out of it's hiding place. It was twice as big as a normal Beowolf, and the markings on its skull-armor is slightly different. Larger curves, thicker lines.
A Beowolf Alfa.
"Ooooh...nooo" moans the two girls, out in the Emerald Forest, approaching night, looking for a half-dressed mystery man and now surrounded by a pack Beowolves and confronted by the Alfa.
"I KNEW I shouldn't have followed."
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