54Chapter 21: Round Three
Emerald Forest, a few days later...
"HIYA!"
Ragna yelled as he used his Semblance as he landed a punch on a large boulder. The boost his Semblance gave it helped to completely break it apart. He then leapt forward at another boulder and smashed it with a drop kick.
Adrian and Mathias were observing his training as the former was cleaning his weapons.
"Alright." Ragna said with a smirk. "This is definitely gonna be fun to use." Ragna then pulled up his Scroll as he checked his Aura.
"Still, it's is costing me more of my Aura then I wanted." Ragna said with a frown. "I only used a moderate amount both times and it took 30%. It's going to take some more time before I can get this to a more stable state."
"Still, you are managing to get a better grasp of it." Adrian said. "The Aura cost was worse then right now."
Ragna then sighed at that as he kicked a small rock. "The sooner I manage to get this Semblance under control, the better chance I have to take Kuro down."
"What about treating the Semblance in another way?" Adrian questioned.
"What other way?" Ragna questioned.
"Try and see about using it, but don't just use it on one limb when you're striking." Mathias pointed out. "If you distribute it throughout your body it would be more efficient in movement and power over a longer period. Stick with higher levels when striking with one limb or when landing a blow like what you did against Yang."
"Oh like a character from those battle animes." Ragna said. "That's gonna take a little more work to do, but I'll give it a shot."
'Actually, maybe I should I have thought about this before.' Ragna thought.
Ragna closed his eyes and began to spread his Semblance throughout his body. He could feel his body was more powerful and that his movements were faster. He then felt his Aura going out wildly and felt it getting weaker by the second. He grit his teeth as he tried to get it under control but it wasn't working.
"You're forcing it too much!" Mathias called out. "Loosen up and try to calm down."
Ragna's face began to slowly turn from one of anger to a more calm one. His Aura was shrinking in size and becoming a bit more stable. He had been getting better at managing his Blue Flame and could see it was working for his new Semblance.
He then opened his eyes and flexed his hands. "Ok, I think this working." He then bent his legs as he prepared to dash forward. "Let's see what I can do in this state."
He then dashed forward toward a boulder and slammed his knee into it. The added power he had allowed him to completely break it apart. He then jumped into the air as he angled his legs to blast himself forward. He bent his knees and launched forward toward another boulder. He then slammed the large rock with a drop kick, causing a large dust cloud to kick up and shake the ground.
He then leap in between trees as he wanted to see how fast he could move. He felt a rush of excitement, that he could beat Kuro in a fight if she used that Grimm form of hers.
He then shot forward and slammed a tree with a kick. The force behind it was enough to break it in half, causing the top half to fall to the ground.
He then landed on another tree and launched off of it and landed on the ground. He then turned off the Semblance and relaxed his body.
"Ok that was a rush." Ragna said with a smirk. He then pulled out his Scroll to see what his Aura level was. He was surprised by what he found.
"Seriously!?" Ragna said as he saw what his Aura was at. "I dropped from 70% to below 10%!?"
"Looks like it can be done but it costs a ridiculous amount of Aura." Mathias said with a frown. "If you do use such a state in combat, it will last at best half a minute before your Aura drops out. Admittedly if you tried to calm down earlier and not push it, you might be able to stretch it out to a minute or something.
"One minute isn't that long of a time Mathias." Ragna said.
"True, but I think it depends on how you can make the best use of that time." Adrian said as he cocked back his HCAR.
"Try and work on the thing for a few hours." Mathias said. "Don't brute force through it, take it slow. I know you want to master it before Kuro comes a calling but you'll never get anywhere by rushing it."
"Got it." Ragna said with a sigh. "Still this could helpful for me."
"This might even help with your training to form weapons." Lupa said. "You're getting closer to using it. Just one more push and I know you'll have it."
"Thanks for the encouragement Ancestor." Ragna said mentally. "I just hope that happens to be sooner rather then later."
"Why does he some times space off a bit like that?" Mathias said aloud. He had noticed that it happened a few other times he had hung out with the Edenians. It was as if the hybrid was lost and having a thousand yard stare in whatever direction he was facing.
"You'll learn soon enough." Adrian stated. 'Though I can imagine how surprised he'll be when he learns that Ragna is a Valkyria.' He thought.
"ROARRRR"
All three boys sighed at the roaring, indicating that more Grimm were on the way.
"Seriously, this is getting old." Ragna said as he pulled out Beowolf as he turned on his Blue Flame. "I thought we already cleared this area of Grimm earlier today."
"Somehow they always come back to try and fill the forest after enough time." Mathias said as he pulled out his SMGs. "Honestly part of me wants to have automated turrets in the forest just to keep their numbers low but then again the rest of school does need Grimm to fight to learn and all."
Adrian then placed a magazine in his HCAR and loaded up a rifle grenade. "Sound like weeds that we need to keeping pulling out." He said. "So time to get to work."
"Right." Ragna and Mathias said as they saw in the incoming Grimm packs and took up combat stances.
Later at Beacon...
"Come on!" Ragna said as he was playing a fighting game with Ruby. "Hold still!"
"Sorry Ragna! But I'm taking this win!" Ruby said as the two were playing a fighting game.
While Ragna had been getting the hung of playing games, he was still far from being skilled at certain ones. FPSs, hack and slashes, beat 'em ups, and adventure games. Other ones were a struggle from him to get the hang of, mainly technical ones like fighting games.
The three soldiers were able to deal with the Grimm that charged at them, even killing a couple of Elder Deathstalkers, a couple of Alpha Beowolfs, and a Giant nevermore that were leading the attack. The Elder Grimm were able to better coordinate the attack, making things harder then usual for them (especially since Ragna had little Aura left).
Regardless, the boys were able to deal with the Grimm in under 20 minutes. Adrian using his recoilless rifle to punch through one of their eyes and go through their brain and Mathias blinding the other, allowing Ragna to slash their legs apart. Adrian even used his spike grenade to stick on the unarmored parts of their tails and blowing them off.
Using his Blue Flame, Ragna really tore into the Elder Grimm, blasting apart limbs and cutting through their bone armor with ease as Adrian and Mathias helped in further wounding and killings the beasts.
Afterwards, they got back to doing regular training, especially when his Aura recharged thanks to Mathias's help. This taught Ragna that one could transfer their Aura to others in order to keep them in the fight or help to heal them somewhat.
It was almost like how he used his healing powers on Isara back at Marberry.
Ragna had been working on his Semblance in order to make it last a bit longer and was able to get to last a couple minutes. It was impressive enough with learning how to use that power to such a degree, but it still felt like it wasn't enough. He was worried if Kuro made her move earlier then expected, he wouldn't be in a tough spot unless he knew when was the best time and exploit it fully.
Ruby then sent his character flying with an EX uppercut. "YES!" Ruby yelled.
"Man!" Ragna said he raised up his arms in the air as he sighed. "It's tricky getting those combos to work."
The two Edenians were in RWBY's room as Ragna began to play with Ruby in Ultra Street Fighter IV. He had already played with a few rounds with Ruby but she been beaten him every time. He was getting better slowly, but since Ruby had grown up with playing these games while Ragna has only experienced games for a few months.
"Just have to practice a bit there Little Boy Blue!" Yang said while patting him on the back. "I'm sure you'll 'Git Goud' eventually."
"Not funny Xiao Long." Ragna said as he glared at her. While he hasn't been into video games for long, he was familiar with memes and jokes on the Internet.
Adrian also flicked Yang in the back of the head. "Try to be a bit more mature Yang." He said with a look of disapproval.
"Oh come on, let me have some fun." Yang said while pouting slightly.
Blake was reading one of her books as usual while Weiss was filing her nails.
"Still you were able to somewhat better then the last match we had." Ruby said as she put a hand on his shoulder. "If you want you can borrow the game to practice when possible."
"Thanks Ruby." Ragna said with a sheepish smile.
"So Ragna, what have you been doing?" Weiss questioned.
"Just been doing more training, hanging out with Mathias, and reading books I brought from a friendly Puma Faunus in the area." Ragna said. "They were pretty good for the price and he had a good amount of variety."
"You've been going to Tuskon's place?" Blake said with a raised eyebrow.
"Yep." Ragna said. "He's been helpful in getting history and military books. I have to admit some of Vale's best units were pretty good during the Great War and the Atlasian-Valean War."
"Now that I recall, you seem to be rather interested in that part of history and other wars that happened before." Weiss said.
"I guess it's interesting knowing about them since they were events that helped to shape how Remnant is today." Ragna said. "Plus the fact that the Valean military was able to pull of wins with less then modern weapons, especially with using single shot breech loading rifles."
Weiss then thought about something in regards that. "Hey Ragna, do you feel as though you have enough weapons on you?"
Ragna then turned his head in the heiress's direction with a raised eyebrow. "Care to share Weiss?"
"I've got a contact in the East side of Vale, a weapons designer." Weiss said. "I hear he's got something new in the reign of Sniper Rifles in stock if you need it... He named it a Martini-Henry Rifle."
"I see." Ragna said it sounded like a rifle that was from his world. "What's his name?"
"He goes by the name of Sarge and is a former Valean military Sergeant. Helped me with designing Myrtenaster, including some ideas that could improve it down the line." Weiss said with a slight smirk.
"You had to get help from an old Segeant with your weapon Ice Queen?" Yang questioned.
"Oh be quiet you brute!" Weiss countered. "Besides, he just helped with a few adjustments for the weapon and even offered some improvements if I ever needed it."
Ragna raised an eyebrow. "Just Sarge? That's weird." He then shook his head. "Anything else I should know about him?"
"He's a bit of an old cook..." Weiss said. "Oh, and he has a thing against the color Blue for some reason... Said it was from his days drilling Valean recruits into shape."
Ragna was silent for a few seconds after that. "Wow. Just wow. Should I be concerned that he'll attack me?"
"No." Weiss said while shaking her head. "He'll most likely just look at you in some odd ways, but otherwise he'll sell you gear all the same. He won't even inflate the prices."
"I guess I'll look at that and mention that I'm a friend of yours to him if it helps." Ragna said while putting a hand to his chin.
"No problem. Need anything or if the old man's giving you trouble, call." Weiss said with a smirk.
"Sure thing." Ragna said with a smile.
"Ragna!" Mathias said as he opened the door and barged into the room. RWBY was taken aback by the Faunus's sudden entrance while Ragna was concerned about his panicked face.
"What are you doi-" Weiss started to say before Mathias cut her off.
"Later Ice Queen!" Mathias said as he looked back to Ragna and Adrian. "Dudes come on!"
Both Edenians got up quickly and were walking out of the room.
"Whoa where's the fire guys?" Yang said, confused.
"Oh just that Ozpin is allowing us to do some Grimm clearing missions." Ragna said as he got up. "See you guys later."
He then left with Adrian and Mathias before Ruby or any of the girls could question him further. Once they got to a good distance away from anyone that could be eavesdropping on them and looked around enough.
"Ok what's up?" Ragna questioned.
"Turn your scrolls now and get on the news!" Mathias spoke out. "Eris said that the Fang is sending out a broadcast!"
All three of them pulled out their scrolls and got onto to VNN in order to see what was going on. Lisa Lavender was going over the news as per usual.
"Cyrus, thank you for the report of the traffic accident." She said as she pulled up some new papers. "Now, onto other news-"
Suddenly, the screen behind Lisa was turned to static. "W-What's going on!?" She said in panicked voice.
"We don't know ma'am!" One of the crew said aloud.
"Get it back on-" She said.
Soon enough the whole screen turned to static until a cloaked figure appeared, the White Fang mask clear on their face.
"Hello Fang Hunter, apologies for making you wait." The figure in black, which Ragna realized was in fact Kuro due to what they said. "Hope you weren't relaxing like a lazy bum since the last time we fought."
"I will admit, the fact you have been able to survive two clashes with me is unprecedented." She said with a solemn tone as she walked around the room. "I would fid it very impressive if you weren't the murdering fool you were. The fact of the matter is that you have been the first to truly injure my pride and I demand satisfaction in the form of your death."
"Why is it she's treating this like a game?" Ragna said in annoyance.
"Now I know you'll come to face eventually, but I have some... extra insurance for you to come." Kuro said as she then walked over to a large cover held up by a metal frame.
She then pulled down the cover and revealed that had around 10 Atlasian soldiers that were bound and gagged.
"She's got hostages!" Ragna said.
"How did this happen?" Adrian questioned as he looked angered. "I didn't see any reports about captured Atlasian soldiers and I figured the Fang didn't take prisoners due to their stance"
"I do." Mathias said.
"An Atlasian convoy had been raided a few days ago." Mathias said. "Eris said that they found a number of bodies from the battle site, but that a number of soldiers were missing. As for why it hasn't come on the news? They must have found a way to cover up the operation or made appear as though they killed all of the soldiers there."
"So what will it be Hunter?" Kuro said as she slid her claw across the throat of the captive soldier. "Will you come out and face me and my boys? Or will you allow these poor souls to meet a grizzly end?"
She then tossed the Atlasian soldier to the ground harshly.
"Meet me in three hours, you can bring your little sidekick if you want." Kuro mocked. "If you don't show up well... I'm certain you know what will happen."
The feed then died as Lisa Lavender soon reappeared, looking as shock as possibly anyone else who was watching what had just happened.
"W-W-Well d-dear viewers..." Lisa said, surprised by what had just happened as well. "It looks as though the White Fang as issued an ultimatum to the Fang Hunter with actual lives on the line."
Ragna grit his teeth in anger as he slammed his right fist into the wall. "That bitch!" He yelled. "Like hell she's getting away with this!"
"Ragna take it easy, we'll deal with her when the time comes." Adrian said placing a hand on his shoulder.
Ragna looked at his friend for a minute and then took some deep breathes to calm himself down.
"Adrian we're going." Ragna said resolutely. "I'm not going to wait for the deadline. Kuro could potentially kill them regardless of the time just to get us to act according to her tune. Let's head out now plan on the way there."
Adrian was a bit surprised at this idea of the hybrid. However, based on Kuro's previous actions and the fact some of the corpses of her victims were mutilated from what they found out from Eris, this could allow them to get the drop on her. He then nodded, knowing at least they could better observe the movements of the grunts and come up with an attack.
"I'll see about getting you guys some support." Mathias spoke up. "We should be able to get some men together and-"
Mathias's scroll then began ringing as he looked it up. The texter was unknown, but from the wording in it along with him being addressed as Matt, he figured it was Eris.
Mathias then quickly answered the call. "Kind of busy right Gin- What!? Are you serious right now!?
"Dammit, Eris just called in." Mathias said. "She says that Kira and her group are dealing with a Fanger attack on one of their outposts."
"Go, the two of us have a score to settle with Kuro." Ragna said as the three went their separate ways.
'That's it. I'm going to end this fight right now!' Ragna mentally yelled.
Near the warehouse, an hour and a half later
Ragna and Adrian were overlooking the area and seeing the White Fang's movements from a building about a few blocks away from the warehouse. They had been observing the area for half an hour, keeping track of the soldiers movements along with the AK-130s. During this, they saw a number of Bullheads come down with supplies as the Grunts were unloading them as fast as possible.
"Why commit to the same mistake as before?" Adrian questioned as he looked through the binoculars he had with him.
"This doesn't seem like it was expected, based on the fact she was yelling at the sap that spoke with." Ragna pointed out. "We came at a good time if Kuro's men are busy with those supplies. Seems like she may not have expected us to come here early though the increased patrols mean she had done a little prep for the possibility."
"Still why would the Fang bother with this right now?" Adrian said. "I understand of Eris and her group have been more active then usual and causing problems like this, but its still odd."
"I'm not willing to look a gift horse in the mouth." Ragna said as he put down his binoculars and pulled out two weapons off his back.
Ragna pulled out his M110A1 and a new bolt action rifle called the Mk 13. He loaded up explosive ammo in both so he could target any Dust containers to blow up and cause any possible damage.
"So how to do you want to do this?" Ragna asked his friend.
Adrian then pointed to a building that was a taller then the rest in front of them. "I'll sneak over to that building over there. I looked it over thoroughly, there doesn't seem to be anyone in there so I could set up the mortar there and begin bombarding there position."
"Think you can sneak part them even with all of the equipment on you?" Ragna said.
"The Death Korps has been trained to move very long distances with more equipment then regular soldiers to build up in endurance and we've kept a good eye on the soldier's movements for over an hour." Adrian said with a small smile. "We may not be like Kai in terms of stealth but I'll manage."
"Alright, I'll make sure to call out any patrols I see and helping with guiding you however I can."
Adrian nodded as he walked away. Soon the Krieger was on ground level and moved out toward the building in question. He stayed in the shadows, his darker clothing helping to keep him hidden from the Faunus terrorists but also making sure that they couldn't see any part of him due to their night vision.
Slowly but surely, Adrian got closer to the area as he was bringing up quite a few mortar rounds with him. He had added padding around the mortar shells to keep them making all that much noise Ragna was calling out any potential patrols that were about to spot him. Ragna had a suppressor on his rifle as he readying to blast at one of the drones if they spotted the Krieger.
Adrian was barely able to avoid another patrol of WF Grunts as they were looking around the area. He moved as quietly as possible but as quickly as possible. He even tossed rocks or metal objects down alleyways and into walls to distract the Grunts buy him time to keep moving.
Soon, he had arrived at the building and saw it was locked. Adrian pulled out a pistol with a suppressor and fired on the lock, breaking it and allowed him to enter. He quickly closed the door and moved toward the roof. He looked around the old building, trying to see if there was anyone else in there with him. Luckily, he was alone and moved a bit faster up the building.
Soon, he was on the roof and had a better look over the area. The Krieger smiled under his mask as he set up his mortar.
Adrian was now close enough to the warehouse that he could better place shells down anywhere in the area. He had around 16 shells on him and used HE Dust to make big explosions to take out enemy positions and knock them around the area.
Ragna then spotted a sizable stash of Dust crates and radioed in. "Krieger, target enemy crates at 10 o'clock. They should set off the two Bullheads nearby."
"Acknowledged." Adrian said simply. "I wasn't able to spot Kuro anywhere but I do see some HMG positions. Can you take them out?"
"Leave that to me." Ragna said as he saw the positions in question. The Fang manning them were paying some more attention
"Roger that." Adrian reported back as he set the sights and angle of his mortar toward the crates in question.
The first shell flew out from the weapon and landed on the largest pile of Dust crates in the area. The explosion caught the immediate attention of the Fang and the controlled drones moved out. Adrian then adjusted his mortar toward an incoming group of WF Grunts and fired off another shell toward them. The explosive sent a number of them flying through the air and slamming into buildings or killing them if they didn't have their Auras.
Adrian got off a couple more shots, causing more explosions in the area and causing chaos in the warehouse area. Ragna then fired at one of the HMG gunners with the explosive Dust round, knocking the goon down before quickly firing a round off at the HMG itself and took it out. He then took out a couple more HMGs with explosive rounds and caused the grunts to abandon the guns as they tried to spot where he was.
One of the White Fang soldiers soon saw one of the shells coming in as it slammed into one of the HMG positions. He followed the movement of the shells and saw it was coming from a certain building.
"Over there!" He yelled. "Get a couple squads and AKs on that bastard!"
Multiple WF grunts soon began to move toward Adrian's position along with some AK-130s. Adrian sent a round downrange into a group of AK-130s, taking out most of them.
Ragna then fired a round toward one of the drones as he used an Electric Dust round to deal with it easily. He cycled the bolt quickly and placed his next shot in the same place on another drone. The suppressor on the barrel was helping to keep his location hidden as he made sure to take good care of any grunts that could spot where the shots are coming from and fire at his position.
He then pointed his rifle at the HMG positions and nailed the machine gunners with one shot each. Adrian also launched a shell at a couple of of the positions as some more Grunts tried to aim them at Adrian.
Adrian took some shots with his HCAR, killing a few Grunts and taking out a group of AK-130s with an electric Dust grenade from his underbarrel grenade launcher, the pulse of electricity shutting the robots down. He then brought out his Valean Lake grenade launcher and quickly fired off all three explosive Dust grenades at more of the grunts and even taking down several more AK-130s.
He then launched another shell while Ragna was forcing some of the Grunts to his location as he continued to fire away and either took down or killed more Grunts. With them getting closer, he switched to his M110A1 and was quickly bring down more of the enemy. Adrian then launched another shell at the group heading toward Ragna and killed five more grunts due to their weakened Auras not being enough to protect them while knocking out seven more.
More WF forces were advancing toward the two from the north, passing in front of the main warehouse and the parked Bullheads.
However, one of the damaged Bullheads leaked fuel which caught alight as the White Fang were moving through the area along with several AK-130s. The fuel leak spilled out to a a few more groups of Dust crates that had been stacked nearby. The rushed job had been done as Kuro wanted them to bring in their equipment and supplies before the deadline was reached. She had been annoyed that Adam wanted the shipment to move in while she had been undergoing her plan to lure the Fang Hunter into the area to end him but compromised in having them try to move the supplies as soon as possible.
The two Edenians didn't know, but they had been lucky in moving out sooner then expected as Adam had given an method of dealing a good blow to Kuro's forces.
Ragna then loaded up a Fire Dust round and aimed it at the fuel spillage, causing it catch alight and reached the nearest group of crates. Some of the WF grunts noticed the the fire surrounding the crates and realized what was going to happen.
"MOVE!" One of the officers called out as they tried to run away, but it was too late.
The following explosions caused a chain reaction that took out a good number of Grunts and AK-130s. This threw the whole area into chaos as Adrian took out of the HMG positions with a well placed shell. Ragna then jumped from the building he was on as he used the buildings to get closer to the captives. He easily picked off any Grunts that tried to stop him as he also tossed some grenades at the groups trying to stop him, killing or knocking out more of the enemy.
Adrian then moved in closer and fired a number of rounds into a few of the surviving drones, the suppressor helping to keep him from being spotted immediately. He drove from cover to cover, nailing the enemy with headshots from his HCAR before blasting a squad of AK-130s with a 40mm grenade.
Ragna switched to his pistols and continued to pick off Grunts and drones as they rushed through the area, taking down enemies when they could. A few more explosions added to the chaos as Ragna then jumped toward the door and slammed his right foot through it. He then rolled on the ground and quickly got into a prone position.
They managed to make it inside the warehouse as Ragna quickly pulled up his M110A1 and quickly aimed down his DMR. Time slowed around him as he saw the White Fang members inside the warehouse about to kill the hostages, his adrenaline and Valkyrian senses going into overdrive.
He let off three rounds at their heads within seconds, using the recoil to bounce the barrel from one enemy to the other. The Wind Dust rounds were able to stun the Grunts for a couple of seconds as a few Atlasian soldiers were able throw off the grunts as Ragna took them down.
Adrian then came in and fired bursts at the remaining soldiers, either knocking them down or killing them.
"Holy Qum it is him!" One of the soldiers spoke up in surprise.
"I'd thought he'd be taller or like a giant." Another of the soldiers said, trying to laugh through his obvious pain.
"Lewis just stop talking and rest for a bit, we aren't out of the woods yet." One of the wounded Atlasians said, giving off the air of an officer.
"Are you capable of walking out?" Ragna inquired.
"Some of us are badly wounded." The officer stated. "That bitch used some of us for stress relief and broke a few bones. She didn't kill us but she was enjoying them screaming for their parents."
The two Edenians saw the three badly wounded soldiers and knew they needed to get out of here. They were two males and one female, which all had several deep cuts or stab wounds on their bodies and either an arm or leg bent at a wrong angle. The women a fresh scar over right eye, but it wasn't cut through or damaged.
Both young soldiers soon helped the soldiers get on their feet and helped to move them to the exit.
"Somethings off, why didn't the Fangers immediately kill any of the soldiers?" Ragna said.
"Kuro must have had something planned for us." Adrian said. "This is way too easy."
As the group got closer to exit, the hybrid heard a beeping sound. He focused his hearing for a few seconds before his eyes widened into dinner plates behind his mask.
"There's a bomb!" Ragna yelled out, grateful his enhanced hearing meant he could hear the familiar beeping sooner.
The Atlasian soldiers were then stunned by the declaration as they scrambled to get the hell out of Dodge. Adrenaline was pumping through them as much as possible, allowing those that could walk to push themselves to the limit and past it.
Ragna and Adrian quickly grabbed the seriously injured soldiers as those that were moderately injured were carried by the Atlasians who were in the best shape. This helped them to move somewhat faster as they ran like hell out of the place before the bomb went off.
More of the soldiers were injured but their Auras had helped them to stay alive. Ragna and Adrian had to turn their bodies into cushions to soften the landings somewhat to prevent the badly wounded soldiers from getting even worse.
Ragna then helped some of the soldiers up while Adrian scrambled for weapons that had been dropped by the WF Grunts and handed them out to the soldiers who could still fight.
"Kuro!" Ragna yelled as he walked forward. "Come on out and face me!"
Soon, he began to hear clapping in front of him as footsteps sounded through the area as they came closer.
Kuro walked out of the flaming wreckage with a grin on her face.
Adrian soon guided the soldiers out the burning area. He was giving his some of his Aura to the badly wounded troopers, hoping to get them to last longer until medical help arrived.
"I must admit I didn't think you would be able to do this again." Kuro said as she sighed. "I guess I was rather careless with positioning my forces and supplies thanks to Adam sabotaging me. However, I've been looking forward to this moment for a while now so frankly I'll look past it."
She then flicked some blood off of her claws. "Besides..." She said with a twisted smirk. "Now I get to finally take your life and I'll show the High Leader the head of our greatest enemy."
"Unbelievable, you really wanted to kill me so bad you resorted to the tactics of a coward." Ragna said with his fists clenched in anger.
"Call it what you will, these are the tactics that my kind have been forced into." Kuro said while shrugging. "An eye for an eye after all. If people like the SDC see us as monsters, then let it be so. Besides, they aren't mutilated corpses on the ground yet are they? I know Adam wouldn't have minded but I knew that making you do something reckless to save them could fit well into my plans. So I let them live, but now they carry the scars that shows the seriousness of our cause."
"So you set all this up and kill their comrades in order for you to get the best chance to settle the score." Ragna stated, his voice being more and more annoyed with what she had done.
"I only wanted to see what you would do to save them and you got here at a time much sooner then expected." Kuro shrugged. "Of course had Adam not wanted me to take care of the shipment in the middle of my plan then you would have had the blood of soldiers on your hands for not saving them."
Sirens were being heard from afar as gunshots were ringing out. It seemed as though Vale's police were actually doing their job right this night and facing off with the Grunts that were retreating.
"Oh joy, Vale's finest seem to be fighting the ones that chose to leave." Kuro said. "A shame really. But enough about that, I believe its time for all those you've turned into martyrs to finally be avenged."
"Don't play the blame game with me, you and the Fang just like hurting and killing humans for kicks." Ragna said as he put his hands on his pistols. "The smart ones in your group were the ones that took my offer of mercy or me sparring them to leave your useless cause and join the right side. And I make sure that I finally cut you down for the sake of those who you murdered."
"Very well..." Kuro said as she put her hands on her SMGs. "Time for chatter is over, now it is time for your death."
Play Anarchy Reigns OST: Venom
Kuro and Ragna began to fire at each other with SMGs and pistols respectively. Both of them were moving around as they traded shots. A few of their bullets landed and drained their Aura upon the impacts. They moved around the wreckage, using whatever cover they could to block the shots. They jumped, slid, rolled, and vaulted over debris and cover, each taking a few rounds.
Kuro then put her SMGs away and soon dashed toward Ragna, taking a few rounds on her Aura. Ragna spun around the first slash and nailed the Black Fairy Tale with a pistol whip to the back of the head. He then then shoved his other pistol into her gut and fired twice, knocking her back a bit as he then nailed her in the face with a side kick to her head. She then rolled on the ground and avoided an axe kick that would have slammed into her head and forced her to the ground. He then pivoted around another slash from her as he went with a rising swing to the right and tried to nail her with another pistol whip.
However, she bent backwards and kicked him in the chin. The move sent him into the air (though didn't take off his mask thankfully) as he maneuvered himself to recover and fired at her again. Kuro was forced to jump back as she then tossed fire Dust grenades at the Hunter. She then pulled out one of her SMGs and fired at them to make them explode. Ragna was able to nail the grenades quickly, but still felt the fire cover his body. His Aura prevented him from catching fire and his clothes didn't get lit up.
'Once again, really glad that these clothes have Fire Dust infused into them to make them resistant.' Ragna thought as he was forced to avoid another rush from Kuro. She landed slight cuts on him as Ragna blocked and parried her attacks as the assassin lashed out with a upwards diagonal slash when she saw an opening.
Ragna however was able to counter her incoming slash and slammed her with a gut punch. He then sent a spin kick to the back of her head, sending her forward a few yards.
Kuro quickly recovered, using Dust smoke grenades to blind Ragna. He focused his senses, allowing him realize she was about to attack him. He was able to quickly counter her attack with a speedy jab, but Kuro slid under the attack.
Kuro then kicked him in the gut, sending him flying back a few yards as he regained his balance. He then landed on the ground and skid a couple of feet before he switched his knives back to pistols and was able to shoot one of Kuro's SMG's out of her hand.
Her body had changed faster then before, allowing her to land a deep cut into Ragna's gut. He used more of his Valkyrian healing factor instead of his Aura to preserve it as much as possible.
He could only hope that Kuro didn't notice it.
She landed a few more slashes on him as they traded blows, lowering Ragna's Aura somewhat as he tried to mentally think of how long he'll be able to use his new Semblance for.
If he really focused down as best as possible, it could still around a minute. However he would have to pour all of his focus to make sure it could stay up.
However, before he could realize it Kuro's body turned black as her claws grew out and slashed through his cloak. She then slammed her knee into his gut and caused him to fall to the ground. He then quickly rolled out of the way for her trying to stab her claws through his mask and jumped back onto his feet and continued to trade blows with Kuro, her body now fully Grimmified.
"So you finally chose to use that form of yours." Ragna said as he parried another slash from Kuro and slammed her in the gut with a hard punch. Kuro however then countered with her own punch, sending him skidding back a few feet.
"What's wrong Hunter?" Kuro said while smiling, her sharpened teeth gleaming in the fire around them. "Didn't think I wanted to show it so soon? You really know about it so why not just use it and end this dance sooner?"
He then pivoted around one of her rushes and threw a spin kick at her. She then dropped backwards to avoid the attack and sent Ragna flying back with a double kick while putting her hands on the ground. The hybrid was able to recover and brought out Beowolf to parry more of her slashes.
Ragna then landed a cut with Beowolf on her stomach, draining more of her Aura as he then pushed her back.
"I think its time for me to try something new!"
Ragna closed his eyes as he focused on his Aura, letting it surge out and use his newest power. He drew upon the lessons that Lupa had been getting him to master and applied them to the fullest.
"This is it!" Ragna said as he activated his Semblance. "Burst Mode!"
Ragna's Aura flared up as he felt he power coursing through him. This caught Kuro off guard as she didn't expect this move from the hunter.
'Is he-!?' Kuro thought as she barely avoided a speeding kick from the Fang Hunter. 'He's faster now!?' She thought as she blocked a spin kick from Ragna, feeling the increased power behind the attack as she was sent skidding back.
'I'll only be able to use this for a little over a minute.' Ragna said. His Aura was sparking wildly as he was trying to keep it under control. 'My Aura will almost be gone, but I'll lay down as much pain as possible!'
Kuro slashed at Ragna, barely hitting a hit on him as Ragna was using his Valkyrian healing factor in place of his Aura.
'This must be his Semblance!' She thought as he landed a few more powerful hits on her. "But why hold this off until now? Is he mocking me for showing off my power so soon? Or... could he have only unlocked now and rushing to finish the fight?'
She smirked a little as she was moving around to make his attacks be grazing blows. 'I can still work with this.'
Ragna then jumped back and landed on one of the wrecked Bullheads and launched off of it, further bending the metal. He aimed a kick toward her as Kuro leapt away, the impact causing the ground to crack heavily. Ragna readjusted himself and leapt forward at Kuro as the two both traded blows and avoided or deflected the other's attacks. Both were getting injuries on the other, with Kuro landing a couple of slashes on him and her getting a few cuts in return.
She then activated her Semblance to try and throw him off.
"Sorry, your Semblance isn't going to stop me anymore!" Ragna said as he attacked with a rapid spin kick. He was able to aim it just right that he was able to nail Kuro with it in her stomach. Kuro flew several yards as she tried to recover. However, Ragna then closed the distance and slammed her in the chin with an uppercut.
Kuro's body shook with the impacts, the increased power draining her Aura quickly as it both took the blows and tried to heal her up.
However she noticed that he was trying to end this fight quickly.
He then swung Beowolf downward, his Semblance powering it up as Kuro forced her Aura to her hands to block it. The resulting explosion caused her to fly through the air and slammed into an undamaged container.
She was able to land a claw slash on Ragna'a stomach and slammed her right foot into his chest, causing Ragna to fly back a bit. She then pulled out her SMGs and opened fire, nailing him with a couple rounds as his new speed allowed him to avoid the rounds more effectively. He didn't let the impacts stop him as then spin kicked one of the SMGs out of her hands as he used the spin to follow up with hard haymaker to Kuro's face, sending her flying back into a container.
Kuro landed one slash on his stomach, causing blood to come out as he growled. he knew his time was getting smaller as he had to finish this up now.
Kuro then slashed at him with her claws with fury in her eyes as Ragna realized he had to drop his Burst Mode as he had used up most of his Aura. However, he could still use it for at least two or three single attacks.
Ragna pulled out his knives as he slashed and stabbed at Kuro, deflecting her slashes and jabs. The two moved like they never have before, black blood come out from Kuro as Ragna landed his hits while he was forced to dodge and evade like never before.
'Come on...' He thought to himself as he waited for an opening. Kuro then saw her change to end this battle as she deflected Ragna's knifes to either side, allowing her the chance to finally end him.
'There!' He thought as Kuro was overextending, putting more into the double slash she was preforming.
Ragna maneuvered around the double slash as he aimed his punch at her midsection.
Ragna then poured a good chunk of his remaining Aura into the punch, sending Kuro flying into a wrecked Bullhead. The Fang Assassin, enraged by the Hunter's refusal to die soon charged at him, claws out to stab into his chest.
Ragna stood his ground as Kuro got closer. He then used his second Burst as he kicked Kuro in the chin with his right leg. This stunned the assassin for a few seconds as Ragna leapt into the wreckage of another Bullhead and used it to launch himself forward. He then made several front flips as he poured most of his remaining Aura into his right leg and slammed Kuro on the head with an axe kick.
The ground cracked beneath them as Kuro slammed face first into it. She coughed up a little blood as her Aura disappeared.
End OST
Ragna landed on the ground, panting from overexerting his ability. His natural healing factor was kicking in and healing any injuries he had. He pulled out his Scroll and saw he was at 1%, one more second and he would have been forced to use his Blue Flame to win if Kuro wasn't brought down.
He was panting heavily as he was racked with pain from Kuro's attacks. While he was glad to see that his Semblance could really do some damage but he was limited since he was still trying to get a feel for it. Once he got better control of it, fights like this one would be easier since he could better apply it.
'I wonder if I can even increase the multiplier. That could definitely prove effective against the black-haired bitch or facing off with any really powerful Grimm.' Ragna thought to himself. He then began to walk over to
Kuro was struggling to get up after Ragna's follow up combo, her body spasming from all of the beatings she took. She coughed up some blood due to the damage from that final gut punch. She was forced to change back to being normal as her Grimmfied state took a bit out of her.
"Dammit!" She said as she slammed her fist into the ground. "How could I have lost to you!?"
"Guess I was lucky that my Semblance activated prior to this." Ragna stated. "I spent some time training with it and while it isn't as controlled as I would want it, it certainly made a difference."
Kuro lifted her head up as she tried to get back up. "Damn you... If you hadn't gotten that damn Semblance I would have won!" She was still angered that she lost, which caused her to miss the fact he had a slight cobalt aura around him.
"I've been training my ass off, envisioning fighting against you again while you were in that form." Ragna said. "I would have found a way to beat you in the end, so don't think I wasn't capable of winning."
"Then again, I was holding back my real power the whole time." Ragna said while straightening himself up.
Kuro's eyes widened at the statement. "How? You must be shitting me! I can see that you're still learning how to use that Semblance of yours! Plus your Aura must be gone or barely there at most!"
"Let's just say that I didn't want certain people to find out this particular power of mine." Ragna said. "And since we are alone and your finished, it's only fair you see it for yourself."
Ragna then activated his Blue Flame as a gust blew out throughout the area. The cobalt flames surrounded him as she could see his mask's eyes were glowing. If his hood was down, she could have easily seen his silver hair.
"N-No way..." Kuro said as she was stunned by the sight. "You're... You're a-a-a Valkyria? Mom's Yggdist teachings really were true."
Ragna's eyes widened at what the Faunus said as he picked her up by the neckhole of her top, bringing her to face level.
"How the Hell do you know that!?" Ragna yelled.
Kuro was a bit surprised at the Hunter's anger at her declaration. Was it possible that he knew about it as well?
Kuro sighed at that with a sheepish smirk. "Hunter, there's a lot about my past you don't understand. I would've loved to show it to you had Atlas not burned it to the ground... And had my mother, Moira Vahlen, the smartest Faunus this side of Remnant, been alive... She would've told you the fairy tales of the world she called Eden... The First Europan War... The Blight of the Imperium, The Kings and Queens, The History of Gallia..."
She then shook her head, chuckling to herself. "She truly loved that world and the stories she wrote of it."
"Valhen... are you related to a Mathias Valhen?" Ragna said.
Kuro narrowed her eyes at him as she squeezed his right arm. "How the hell does someone like you know about my brother!?" She said. "He's been dead for years due to Atlas and the SDC!"
"I became friends with him a few weeks ago!" Ragna argued back. "Here let me contact him."
"If you're lying..." Kuro said as she struggled to get up.
"Trust me I'm not." He said as he pulled out his scroll and quickly called Mathias up.
"Mathias, are you guys done on your end?" Ragna said as he pushed speaker, Kuro glaring at him.
"Dude we just saw the explosions from our end!" Mathias stated. "We were able to deal the Fanger attack due to reinforcements and were heading in with over 100 guys. Did you and Adrian get the Atlasians out and kill Kuro?"
Kuro's eyes widened at the familiarity of the voice. Part of her believed that there was the idea of it being fake or someone mimicking the voice but another part of her wanted to believe that it was her long dead brother.
"It was just the fuel barrels and ammo crates we blew up." Ragna said. "Anyway, I have someone that's interested in talking with you." He then passed the phone to Kuro.
"So who is this that the Hunter wants me to speak with?" Mathias said.
Kuro was stunned upon hearing the voice so clearly. She felt tears starting to form in her eyes as she spoke up.
"Matt?" Kuro said reluctantly.
Mathias pauses for a second as his mind processes what he heard. "Wait, only a few people I know personally call me that. Who are you?"
"I-I-It's me kiddo, it's S-Serine." Kuro said, making Ragna surprised that he found out what her name was.
Mathias was stunned into silence and pause for a minute before speaking up again. "No way, you're still alive... But I've been trying to find you for years... Is that really you Serine?" Mathias said, his voice clearly in disbelief.
Kuro's eyes began to water as a tear went down her face. "Kiddo... You're alive..." She said with a small smile. She then changed her face to a look of anger as she clenched her open hand into a fist. "I've been... Lied to this whole damn time..."
Ragna was now more confused as to what was going on. "Mathias, what is going on?" He said.
"Ragna..." Mathias said over the Scroll. "Kuro's... my long, lost older sister Serine Vahlen."
"What! You're Mathias's sister!?" Ragna said aloud.
Ragna heard footsteps behind him as Adrian took off his gas mask. The Krieger was a bit confused at the sight of the two just talking but then overheard what had been said by Ragna.
"Well... this is awkward." Adrian said.
Later...
Valean Army Bullheads and transports flew in to help the Anti-WF force deal with the remaining grunts that had been knocked out and took the captured Atlasian soldiers to their base.
Meanwhile, Ragna, Kuro, and Adrian had all moved to a nearby alleyway to hide. Ragna's Valkyrian healing factor was healing his injuries quickly as his Aura was slowly growing back to 100%.
Mathias stepped into the alleyway as he faced Kuro or rather Serine.
Both of them stared at the other in silence. Both of their eyes showed various emotions as they stared at each other.
"Hey little bro." Serine said with a smile.
"Okay..." Mathias said, still a little skeptical. "Answer me this then, 'Serine'... Just to make sure, where's that birth mark I-"
"Middle of your back, right on the spine, between the shoulder blades." Serine said.
"What was my favorite toy when I was little?" Mathias questioned again.
"Aside from your thumb which you sucked from 6 months old to 3 years old?" Serine said with a smirk. "A certain wooden sword replica that dad made for you before he was pressed into service."
Matt was appearing embarrassed as Ragna tried to hold in his laughter. "What was the name of the girl that I originally went after, before promising to that second one?"
"Nipa Juutilanen, from our village, the husky-trait Faunus girl." Serine said. "If ya ask me, you should've stuck with Nipa. She seemed cute, caring and somewhat of a klutz that would've needed your help later on."
Matt was now even more embarrassed and also shocked. "It's actually you..." He said quietly before he yelled out. "YOU HAD TO MENTION THE THUMB THING!?"
Serine chuckled at that. "Sorry, Matt. Just a fond little memory."
Ragna then fell on the ground, laughing with his legs in the air. "YOU SERIOUSLY SUCKED YOUR THUMB UNTIL YOU WERE 3!?"
"Thanks, sis." Matt said while slumping forward.
"Hey, who would I be if I didn't mess with you sometimes?" Serine said with a cheeky grin.
Mathias stared at her until he sighed and gave a small, tired smile. "I'm glad you're still alive sis." He said as he hugged her.
"Same here bro." Serine said as she hugged him back.
Ragna smiled at the sight, feeling glad that the two were able to reunite.
"Ok Ragna, I think its fine showing Serine who you are under that mask." Mathias said as he looked around after ending the hug.
Ragna nodded as he reached up and removed his mask and lowered his hood. Soon, Serine was able to see the face of the White Fang's most deadly opponent, and saw his unique looks.
"You're a kid!?" Serine yelled. She then shook her head with smirk. "Man if Adam knew that the greatest opponent to the Fang was a Beacon student, I'd think that he would flip out."
She then took a closer look at his eyes and hair, seeing the dark blue hair and eye he had. Her eyes widened as she realized what that meant.
"Wait... YOU'RE A DARCSEN AND A VALKYRIA!?" Serine yelled out.
"WAIT WHAT!?" Mathias yelled out.
Ragna sheepishly chuckled. "Well... I guess the cat's out of the bag."
"Dude, you're an actual Male Valkyria?" Mathias said as he was getting his head wrapped around this. "So that's how you were able to cause that kind of destruction during a number of your attacks. We've been busy trying to figure out how you were able to do that in first place. why the hell didn't you ever tell me about this?"
"Well I guess we never got around to asking you that." Ragna admitted while Adrian nodded.
Mathias sighed at that before turning to Serine. "So sis, why were you even helping the White Fang to begin with?" Mathias said.
Serine sighed at that. "Well... they said that Atlas burned the village to the ground... That they killed EVERYONE... After you were exiled little bro, I went AWOL, joined the Fang while they were still peaceful... Then, when Sienna Khan took control, alongside that... Cinder Fall woman... They told me... They told me everyone I knew was dead and, if I wanted revenge, I'd stay by their side..."
"Cinder Fall?" Ragna questioned.
"She's a key supporter and ally for the White Fang." Serine stated.
Ragna couldn't help but think back to the day when he fought alongside Amber against the black-haired woman and the two people that were with her. "Did you ever see this Cinder's face?"
"Never really seen her until I saw those wanted posters that have been passed around Vale and been reaching into other Kingdoms." Serine said. "Khan I've interacted with on occasion when she gives me orders, but she hasn't really interacted with Cinder when what I can tell. Adam is really the only one of the main Fang Commanders I've had the displeasure of working with and know whose spoken with Fall."
"Adam Taurus?" Ragna said.
"He's the main head of the White Fang's Vale branch and one of the few in the Fang that wants to make a real bloody revolution to push his own agenda and racist beliefs." Mathias said while crossing his arms. "He's known for killing humans, either civilians, soldiers, or Huntsmen and he never bats an eye at it."
Ragna's eyes narrowed at that. "So another bloodthirsty bastard that needs to be taken down. What's he look like?"
"Big, tall guy, spiky red hair, really elaborate Grimm mask with all details and such." Serine said. "Black suit, red symbol on chest of a rose burning. Carries a Katana/Shotgun Combo, which he calls Wilt and Blush."
"Sounds like an Edgelord from what I've learned on the Internet." Ragna said.
Serine chuckled at that. "From a scale of one to EDGY BEYOND COMPREHENSION, he goes up to Chaos God Khorne from Warhammer 40k in edgelord-ness. Blood for the Blood God, Skulls for the Skull Throne! If he starts yelling that, I'm done."
"Very funny Serine." Adrian said. "Mention that in front of the guy who's a Krieger."
"Can't help it there Krieg Boy." Serine said with a chuckle before she then sighed out loud. "I'd... Guess it's time I was put in jail for what I did... Killed far too many innocent people for someone to just 'let it slide'. Especially someone like you."
Ragna sighed out loud to what Serine said." True you have caused many deaths, that can't be forgiven."
Serine looked to the side as she was waiting to hear Ragna saying he'll never forgive her.
"However," Ragna said as he spoke up again, "you are Mathias sister. Since he's my friend now, you are by extension as well."
He then holds out his hand to her as he recalls Selvaria as she was during the Imperial Invasion. "I know someone that also took many lives because they were ordered to by a person they thought that loved them. Hell, She had decimated a village of a friend of mine and killed countless numbers of a my countrymen. Some people did want her to die for what she did, but I knew differently. She was being used manipulated by a monster in the guise of a human. I know that it was incredibly hard for her but eventually she began to get respect from my comrades after helping them and saving them several times over. I know that you probably want to get away from it all, but believe me, taking the easy way out never works."
He then smiled at her. "If you really want to atone for what you've done, then help me. Help me and your brother take down the White Fang. Do that, and I promise I'll help you stay on the path of atonement to the end."
Serine was stunned by the hybrid's kind act. She had expect that he would have wanted her to be locked away and face punishment for what she did. She didn't expect him to show her kindness, but she was glad that the young man was giving her a chance.
She rubbed away the tears that were on her face before and gave a smile herself while blushing a little. She then walked up and took his hand and shook it. "Thanks Hunter-no... Ragna." She said. "I definitely owe you one."
Adrian sighed happily at the sight, knowing now that they had an ally that could give them an advantage against the White Fang. It was much like with Selvaria, with her giving them information to Maximilian's offensive and allowed the Gallians to better slow his forces.
Mathias was glad that Ragna helped to get his sister on their side. While he knew the damage she did couldn't be taken back, she could atone for it by helping them take down this Cinder Fall and the Fang.
"Mathias, think you can let Ozpin know about Serine's situation?" Adrian questioned.
"Sure thing." Mathias said as he then put a hand to his chin. "Admittedly it's going to be a bit tricky since they've heard about what she has done. But I believe I can convince them."
"Still, you being a Valkyria..." Mathias said. "It makes sense how you did that damage now." He then widened his eyes in realization. "Oh man! You could tell us what's happened back on Eden!"
"That's right!" Serine said. "Mom only told us what she had experienced before she came here, so you guys can tell us about what happened since she left!"
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt." Adrian said as he looked to his friend.
Ragna thought it over for a few seconds. He then shrugged and nodded to his friend.
"No problem here either." Ragna said as he then turned to the siblings with a smile. "Hope you guys are ready to learn some things about half your heritage."
Both Mathias and Serine grinned at that.
"I'm sorry, but what the hell am I looking at?"
The four teens looked to see Kira and a few of her men behind her. They didn't realize that they were there before.
"Oh... hey Kira." Mathias said a bit awkwardly. "How long were you guys standing there?"
"Pretty much a few minutes ago." Kira said as she turned to Serine. "To think the Black Fairy Tale was your sister..."
She then turned to face Ragna. "And the fact that the Fang Hunter was a freaking student from Beacon the whole time! And that he has some crazy as hell power!"
"The Fang Hunter was a Beacon student the whole time!?" One of the Anti-WF members said.
"That's the guy that Eris had brought onboard some weeks ago!" Another stated, having seen Ragna and Adrian come in with Mathias before.
Ragna rubbed the back of his head while chuckling. "Guess you guys want to know what's going on huh?"
"Ya think?" Kira said, sarcasm completely lacing her voice.
Ragna sighed a bit at that. "Well I've been working with Ozpin for several months now. After running into some goons messing up a rally, I figured to join the fight against them and choose to become a symbol of Humanity's will to stop the White Fang and so here I am."
The Anti-WF fighters were surprised as they thought that the kid picked a fight with the Fang just because they were causing issues. However, some thought back to how the White Fang's Vale Branch was now facing desertion and infighting. Adam was losing his hold on his men little by little and those defectors were giving them a leg up on the enemy. What the young man was doing was good for their cause and that it was making things easier for them as well.
Kira then spoke up. "Well either way, you've been a serious help to us so its no problem that you're a kid." She then looked back to her men. "Find anything you can on the bodies, any intact Scrolls or whatever so we can get more intel."
"Also, we'll make sure not to let what you guys said slip out." Kira said as she looked back at the quartet with a smile. "We know when to keep our mouths shut." She then fully walked away from the kids.
Ragna and Adrian sighed at that. "Hopefully they keep their promise to keep things under a lid." Ragna said.
"Well, time to head back to Eris's place and show her what we've done." Mathias said.
Ragna then stretched out his back. "Yeah..." He said as he bent backwards. "Time for rest and relaxation until the next big mission."
"Hold on a sec." Serine said. "I'm thinking that simply telling her about my defection isn't going to be enough."
"What do you mean?" Ragna inquired while raising an eyebrow.
"Well..." Serine said as she thought of something funny. "I'm thinking of a way to show her that in style."
Back near Eris's Place
"I still can't believe you guys want to do this of all things." Ragna stated.
The group was now in front of the entrance to Eris's hideout. Ragna had placed red paint on his body, making it look like he had taken more serious wounds then he had actually gotten. Kira had gone back to join them after her men had taken the Atlasian soldiers to the airport to transport them back to their Kingdom along with taking any Scrolls that were intact from the WF Grunts to try and get more information.
"Oh come on Blue Boy." Serine said with a smirk. "Try and have some fun with this. It's just a harmless prank and then you can clean up and we can head to Beacon.
'We were trying to kill each other not that long ago, but now we're trying to pull a prank on someone.' Ragna thought as he sighed. 'Still, at least she's on our side now.'
"So remember the plan?" Serine said.
"Yeah I know." Ragna said. "Me and Adrian pretend that you had badly wounded us and followed us back here and pretend to fall unconscious."
"Yep." Serine said as she her mask on her head. "Then I'll go in, mask covering my face and scare her."
"And I'll... Prep the popcorn and the 'I'm Sorry I Tried to Scare You' snacks." Kira said as she pulled out a bag of popcorn.
"Where were you keeping that?" Adrian said.
"Alright." Serine said as she turned to Mathias. "You ready on killing the lights?"
"Yep." Mathias said with a nod.
"Are we certain this isn't going to end with Eris shooting Kuro?" Adrian said as he also painted himself up as well.
"Oh don't worry about that." Serine said. "Besides I have Aura-rending claws, I can easily cut up her weapons before she can get a shot off."
Adrian simply sighed at that. "Let's just get this over with." He said as he and Ragna were getting in position.
"Spooky 1 in position." Matt said with a smile.
Ragna, Adrian, and Serine all got up to the door. "Spooky-2, Spooky-3, and Spooky-4, ready." Serine said with a grin.
"Spooky-5, ready and waiting." Kira said while still eating her popcorn."
"And... Now!" Serine said as Mathias killed the lights.
"What the hell!?" Eris said aloud from behind the door.
"Eris!" Ragna said as he fell to one knee.
Both Ragna and Adrian looked to be badly wounded based on the amount of blood on their bodies. They looked as though they had been through hell.
"Holy Dust!" Eris exclaimed. "What happened to you guys!? You look like something out of a horror movie!"
"K-K-Kuro happened..." Adrian said as he fell to his knees. "She ambushed us with too many s-s-soldiers and d-d-d-drones. We... underestimated her..."
The Krieger fell to the ground, seemingly unconscious after what had happened to him. This was seriously freaking out the Faunus.
"She must have followed us..." Ragna said as he now on both hands. "Eris Be... Careful..." Ragna said as he fell unconscious.
Eris ran over to the fallen forms of Ragna and Adrian, shaking the both of them. "Krieger? Ragna?" She said a bit frantically, hoping that they were still alive.
"Found you~..."
Eris then paused in her efforts as she saw a certain shadow in the doorway.
"Time to die traitor." Kuro said with a bloodthirsty grin as blood dripped down her claws (it's fake blood BTW).
Kuro then jumped into the room, close to Eris as the female Faunus was panicking inwardly while trying to keep a calm façade.
Eris moved back slowly to a particular part of the counter. "Now, look here, Kuro..." She said as she kept backing up. "I run a nice little establishment here that I'd rather not see ruined. Ya caught me at the end of my shift after I made some fair money... You lot just tend to love to burst down the doors of unsuspecting nice people and say that you're here to kill them..."
"So? You're still gonna die, no matter what you say, Traitor." Kuro stated.
When her body bumped into the counter and quickly pulled out a pair of 50 caliber pistols. "Wanna bet your Fox-tailed rear-end about that?" Eris said with a smirk.
However, Kuro just as quickly cut through the pistols in an instant. She then pinned Eris to the counter by her neck and held her other claw at her face.
"W-What are you gonna do to me?" Eris said, clearly scared.
Kuro was grinning behind her mask at this point. "I have only one thing to say to you." She said as with a flick her wrist, she removed the mask and snapped her fingers. The power soon come back on around them.
"YOU JUST GOT PRANKED!" Serine said.
"W-W-Wait... WHAAAAAAAA~!?" Eris screamed as her eyes become blank.
Mathias, Adrian, and the others walked in with the former two helping Ragna get back up. "GOTCHA!" Serine, Ragna, and Mathias said with shit eating grins on their faces as Adrian simply smiled at the sight.
Everyone else was laughing at Eris's face, making the place lively.
"Well..." Kira said with her own grin. "That was certainly entertaining."
"NOT FUNNY YOU MORONS!" Eris yelled at the group as she was starting to tear up.
Serine looked uneasy at the sight. "Oh Qum, she's gonna cry now..."
"C'mon, Ginkgo! It was just a joke, girl!" Mathias said, trying to calm her down. "You can take'em! You dish'em out all the time on me and the others!"
Eris then began to sob loudly. The leader of the Anti-WF forces in Vale was now acting like a child that had been bullied.
"I actually thought I was gonna die! You guys are a bunch of... of..." Eris said before Matt pulled her into a hug and pat her on the back.
"There, there, Eris. You're one to cry about anything." Matt said while placating her.
The Faunus soon hugged the Fox boy back, leaning her head on his shoulder as looked to Kuro with a grin.
"Always works." Eris said with a slight whisper to the now former WF assassin. While she would be concerned with the WF assassin being here, but she could see that if they were together to make a prank like this then she must have switched sides to join them.
Sure she was a bit wary of her, but if Kuro wasn't attacking them or trying to attack them this whole time, then that meant she could be given the benefit of the doubt.
Ragna shook his head at that while Adrian sighed. "She's definitely trying to get with him if anything." The Krieger said.
Matt then patted her on the back a few more times, lets her go and began to walk to comm room. "I'll be out to call for a Bullhead for us, get us back to Beacon, Ragna, Adrian..." He then got a certain idea in his head as he turned to Eris. "Hey, Ginkgo, here's an idea."
The Cat Faunus looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Hmm?"
"Move your bar to Beacon." Mathias said with a smile as Eris was a bit wide eyed. "I'm sure Ozpin wouldn't mind and it'd help us to set up a proper little Special Operations Headquarters. Most of your visitors are teenagers from Fighting Schools and such. I put the idea out to him, backed up by Ragna, he's gonna trust us."
Eris was a bit annoyed for a second upon hearing Matt's idea.
He then formed a grin on his face he remembers something. "You know, this reminds me of that Mass Effect game, where-"
He was then interrupted by Serine speaking up after she took off her mask.
"OOOKAY~ Little bro!" Serine spoke up. "We got it, we got it! Don't go John Shepard on us, would you!? Just get in there and start packing!"
Mathias nodded to his sister and walked into the comm room.
Serine then looked at Eris directly. "He ain't wrong, though." She said. "Could use the 'two-steps-away' location of your Bar."
Eris sighed as that meant she would have to speak with Ozpin again. The one person in Vale that she didn't want to ever meet again since THAT day. Sure, she couldn't deny the fact he had been doing more then she expected in countering the White Fang and the fact he had been supporting Ragna in his missions was quite surprising.
Regardless, she still couldn't forgive Ozpin for the mistakes he made that day. So many could have been saved but he wanted the Huntsmen team assigned there to deal with the Grimm.
However, she looked at Mathias's eyes as he saw that they were serious. Plus she realized the benefits that would come with setting up a place at Beacon, not just in terms of getting more money to finance her operations against the Fang but also being close to the CCT tower to better keep track of communications going in and out.
"I'll consider it." She said with a bit of begrudging reluctance.
Serine simply nodded. She was able to tell that Eris was uneasy and annoyed at the possibility of meeting with Ozpin. While she wasn't aware of the issue behind those looks, but it was clear they needed a bit more convenient.
"By the way, why does he call you Ginkgo?" Serine said while tilting her head.
"A little nickname he gave me since we met." Eris said. "We have worked together for years to cause the Fang trouble and were doing pretty well until you know who showed up." As she said that she pointed to Ragna who just shrugged.
"Hey Mathias, you usually play fighting games right?" Ragna said as he yelled towards the Comm Room. "Could you help me out with learning how to get better at them? I kind of want to have a change at beating Ruby and Yang before my losing streak gets up to double digits."
"WILL DO!" Matt called out. "I needed someone to play Mortal Kombat with!"
The three girls then all lit up at the name of the game series.
"MK!?" Serine called out. "I LOVE THAT GAME!"
"We all do." Eris said with a large smirk. "All that gore..."
"All dem moves..." Serine remarked.
"All dem kickass characters..." Kira stated.
"HELL YEAH!" All three girls yelled out.
Both Edenians sweat dropped at the sight. 'Wow, Gamer girls? That's a first' Both of them think at the same time.
"I'll leave you guys alone for now." Ragna said with a smile as he walked to the shower room to clean himself up. "Eris you have any spare clothes for me and Adrian so we don't show up to Beacon in bloodied clothes."
"Spares are in the lockers next to the showers." Eris said as she tossed the two sets of keys. "Be certain to use the key on the lock that has the same number."
"Got it." Ragna said as he went to wash up as Adrian waited outside.
"So Kuro here is actually your long lost sister Matt?" Eris said.
"Yeah, her actual name is Serine." Matt said with a small smile. "It shocked me too along with actually seeing her face after so long."
"Of course it makes me pissed to hell and back that the Fang lied to me for years." Serine said, anger clear on her face. "And I plan to pay them back in full, especially that winey bitch Taurus."
"Hey as long as you're on our side and not with the Fangers anymore, I'm cool with it." Eris said.
"Don't forget, we have to see about where you will be living from now on Serine." Adrian pointed out.
"Oh right..." Serine said. "I have plenty of Lien due to may work with the Fang so maybe I an go to a motel for right now or something."
"You know you could come over to Beacon with us." Matt said. "There are plenty of rooms and dorms that haven't been filled up. Just let me speak with Ozpin about it."
"Hm..." Serine said as she was thinking for a few seconds. "Oh what the heck, I guess I'll crash at Beacon."
A few minutes later, he walked out of the shower room in blue jeans and a blue hoodie. Adrian then went inside as the two passed one another. After a few minutes, Adrian then came out of the showers in a simple black shirt and jeans with his uniform in a bag to clean up later.
"Ah that was good." Ragna said as he stretched out his back. "Well this was an interesting night, wonder what else is going to come up."
*RING RING*
Ragna then quickly looked up his Scroll and saw it was Ruby calling him.
"Huh, nice timing." Serine said.
"Yeah Ruby?" Ragna questioned.
"Hey Ragna! Hope you guys aren't too busy!" Ruby said. "We're going to have a movie night in a bit. If you guys are free do want to join?"
"Give me a second Ruby." Ragna said as he lowered his scroll and turned to Matt, Adrian, and Serine. "Ruby said she's having a movie night with her team. Would you guys be willing to join?"
All three looked at each other and shrugged before nodding at Ragna.
"Ok I asked Matt and Adrian, they both said yes." Ragna said to his Scroll.
"Awesome!" Ruby said with a cheer.
"Also, we made a new friend earlier as well." Ragna said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you and your team mind if we let her and another join?"
"No problem at all!" Ruby spoke out. "We'll be having the movie at 8, so get here ASAP alright?"
"You got it." Ragna said. "Make sure there's plenty of snacks and drinks for us too okay?"
"Roger that! See ya!" Ruby said before disconnecting.
Ragna then turned to his friends. "Looks like Ruby and the others will be setting things up for us then. Matt when is our ride coming?"
Before Mathias could speak, they heard the familiar sound of Bullhead engines outside.
"Looks like it's here." Mathias said with a smirk.
"Alright then let's head out." Ragna said as they walked out of the bar.
"See you around at Beacon Ginkgo!" Matt said with a wave.
"You got it!" Eris said back. "I'll make sure to get a base set up there for you guys with the best tech possible!"
As the four left, Eris lowered her hand as her face turned into a frown as she knew that speaking with HIM was necessary.
'Didn't want to speak with Ozpin anymore after you know what, but I guess I have no other choice.' Eris thought to herself while sighing. 'Oh well, might as well cross that bridge and get things over with.'
Ragna, Mathias, Serine, Kira, and Adrian soon arrived at where the Bullhead was picking them up. They all got in as the ramp closed up and the aircraft took off.
The group then flew back to Beacon on the Bullhead, tired but in good spirits.
Mathias had reunited with his sister and brought down a White Fang assault.
Serine was now going down the path of atonement, determined to get revenge for the Fang lying to her for years.
Adrian was pleased to have rescued the Atlasian soldiers and gained a new ally for their side.
Kira was going to enjoy some good R&R time for herself and her allies.
And Ragna was one step closer to mastering his Semblance and weakened the White Fang even more.
Tonight and tomorrow was going to be fun.
Well now the good guys have a new ally with access to plenty of info about the White Fang and possibly a person who knows about Cinder working with them.
Yeah Kuro was Mathias's sister the whole time.
Again, thanks to Johnnieboy11 for helping out with coming up with the character. We had actually come up with this idea a couple of years ago when we were messing around with ideas for Remnant of Flames. She'll be part of the team I'll be creating along with Selvaria once she and Ragna reunite (which is coming soon).
So next episode will be Ragna and the others relaxing with Team RWBY with a certain classic military show but altered to fit in Remnant. Plus the introduction of a new character and the name of the team he is a part of.
Now again, I'm going to make Ragna work for his Semblance instead of just mastering it outright. he'll be taking it up a few levels when we get to Volume 2 and a planned crossover that I have wanted to do for a while. For the latter this will play into a battle he'll with a new antagonist I'll introduce in that.
Also yes, I am bringing in Sarge from Red vs Blue into this story. He'll mainly be a side character that our heroes get help with for new weapons or helping out with weapon projects. The rest of Red Team may be small cameos along with Blue Team but Sarge will be the main one that Ragna and co. will interact with.
Next time will be a more chill episode and after that will be the last episodes of Volume 1. Following that will be a few more chapters that will lead into Volume 2 as things will pick up in the AU side of things from there along with a couple other elements in this story.
Anyway, sorry for not updating this in a while and hope you guys enjoyed it.
Also, one of the names that was said in this story will be important later. So try to guess which name that is if you want.
Here's the preview for the next chapter.
Next Time on RWBY: Remnant of Flames
What's up? Names Serine.
So care to fill in what happened since our mom left Eden?
Hey Sim Trooper you there?
Heard about it? Me and team GHST Witnessed it.
Sorry, its just that your leader has a name that's familiar to me.
Oh great another Blue, what do ya want?
Yeah that's the bitch that stopped us.
Next time: Chapter 22: Integrating, Reuniting, and Preparing
Alright people, that's it for right now. Next will an update for Flight of the Twin Eagles along with the first chapter of a new story I have been making for the past few days. Don't worry, I will try and update PM:SV before the end of the year if not, the it will be the first update for the new year.
Let's hope 2021 goes better for us.
This is Blazblade, signing off.