3,012v.4 Beta: ErenJaeger17, Sir Attlich, ssjSega
The sun was barely halfway up the sky, with not a single cloud to bother it.
Being curious to a fault (that being one of her main traits), Ruby Rose bent over and picked up the spent cartridge, rolling it between her fingers before putting it up to her left eye. She gulped at the sight of the hollow piece of steel, and ran a hand through her hair as she realized she couldn't find a trace of Dust within the metal. The red-skirted girl looked towards the small town she had meant to pass through on her way to Vale, or more precisely - Beacon Academy. The place looked like a complete disaster zone: Smashed windows, upturned stalls reduced to splinters, cobblestone and pavement cracked by explosive damage, and some of the Grimm that were still slowly dissipating. She blinked, and looked back down at the spent cartridge casing in her hand.
She raised her eyebrows when she noticed she was standing right next to the stature of the town's founder that was lying face first on the cobblestone. As if someone had launched a Grimm into it and knocked it off its foundations. 'Whoa,' she thought, a bit excited from that possibility.
"Excuse me miss?" Ruby turned her head to see an elderly man with a garbage bag extend her hand towards her, smilingly. "I'll take that."
"Sure," Ruby smiled and dropped it into the bag. "Sooooo…what happened here?"
"Grimm happened," another man called out to her as he swept up the glass from his shop's display window. "Last night a whole pack of them just rolled right into town."
Ruby became alarmed. There were Grimm along the coast of Vale? She was told that the roads past all the towns and villages leading to the capital would be clear, the mountains bordering the country were more than enough to keep the Grimm out. The old man saw her alarm and reassured her, "It's alright missy. He took care of every last one of em'."
"Yeah, and he left us to clean up his mess!" the other man exclaimed. "The way he was flinging Grimm and pieces of the damn town itself everywhere - he could've killed someone! Inconsiderate prick!"
"Eeeeee!" Ruby covered her ears and closed her eyes. "Bad word! Bad word!" She opened her eyes to see the townsfolk's stares on her and she flushed in embarrassment. She swallowed, "Who is he?"
"A Huntsman," a woman answered as she passed by. "But he didn't look like any kind of Huntsman we've ever seen. He was definitely not from around here."
"He looked like a soldier," another passerby said. "He was wearing armor."
"That don't look like any kind of armor I've ever seen any soldier wear. He looked more like a robot."
"And all he asked in return was for some supplies and directions to the 'capital', as in Vale City. What kind of Huntsman doesn't know which direction Vale is?"
Ruby blinked as she tried to catch up to what everyone her was saying, "Huh?"
"Were you heading to Vale City as well, young lady?" the old man asked. He looked grim when Ruby nodded, "I think you should take a different route, perhaps another road that he's not walking on. The way he fought the Grimm with that chainsaw, those guns of his and his own two hands, he looked to be enjoying himself, and that's someone who'd bring nothing but trouble."
'His bare hands?' Ruby thought amazed. She glimpsed at the spent casing still scattered around the ground. 'A Chainsaw? His non-Dust using guns?' She felt herself becoming giddy at the thought of such hardware in the hands of a powerful, unique Huntsman. Somebody that she dreamt of becoming herself, and here was a chance to finally meet one.
"Oh, gee. He's definitely someone I should avoid," Ruby slowly said, scratching the back of her head. "Maybe I should take another road to Vale, away from someone like him."
The old man smiled. He obviously hadn't picked up the sarcasm, "I'm glad to see you know sense, girl. There's an airship that can take you all the way to-"
"THANKSGOTTAGOBYEEEEE!" And Ruby seemingly disappeared from the old man's sight as she took off, sending dust, casings and the old man's hat flying all over as she exited the town square and leaving a bunch of flabbergasted townsfolk.
'Not even a day away from Patch and already I'm about to meet a Huntsman,' Ruby thought excitedly as she made her way out of town. 'He doesn't even use Dust and he still managed to kick Grimm butt! Bet he's just as strong as Uncle Qrow!'
There would be some times in the future when she would look back at this moment and drastically reconsider her thoughts concerning the 'Armored Huntsman.' And why on that day her hand had been edging towards her High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe labelled Crescent Rose at the mention of the Armored Huntsman, and her desire to compare it to the arsenal he carried.
(RWBY)
The New World I:
Guns and Roses, Beneath The Black Snow
Be wary of even the fair maiden's innocent, purest smile. For behind it there is a warrior's soul ready to be unleashed, untainted that it will withstand unholy damnation to bring even the Shadow Realms to heel.
- Corrax Entry 5:14
(RWBY)
As the sun was now setting and started to hide behind large snowy clouds, Ruby shivered slightly, prompting her to wrap her cloak around herself. Though boring and dirty, to walk through one dirt road is to walk through all of them, as Ruby would reason herself when she traveled alone, her left-hand inches away from Crescent Rose, just in case Grimm suddenly showed up. Ruby smiled lightly, not that she'd have any trouble killing them. She blinked when she thought she saw smoke rising just up ahead.
"Huh?" she muttered. She immediately thought the worst when realization kicked in, "Oh no."
It felt like she had stumbled upon a Grimm killing field, the smoke being the corpse of dozens of which she recognized as Beowolves were still slowly dissipating amidst the snow that was still falling.
"Aw!" Ruby groaned as she inched her hand away from Crescent Rose, "I think I missed something awesome." Examining one of the fading bodies, she could plainly see holes punched right through its head and chest. Stepping back, she nearly tripped over a severed head. Ruby gasped lightly at the head torn from its faded body. Looking around eagerly Ruby knew that this 'Armored Huntsman' couldn't be too far ahead.
Out the corner of her eye she glimpsed a light past the trees leading deep into the forest. Stepping off the dirt road she stepped into the forest her hand on Crescent Rose as she moved past the trees, which provided some cover from the snow as she made her way towards the light, hoping that it would be somewhere she could spend the night out of the snow, and somewhere to hole up in case there were any more Grimm nearby. Not that she was worried, mind, she was confident that she could handle them.
The source of the light itself proved to be a peculiar sight: A clumsily skinned deer on a spit roast made of branches in the mouth of a cave. And reclining against the wall, with his helmet at his feet and a face obscured by the flames from where Ruby was standing, was a guy clad in sci-fi looking armor that looked like it was torn straight off the secret boss from Kung Fu Slayer Ultimate Death Battle II who was devouring the hind leg of the deer. And laid out beside him on a small sheet were several large guns and one even larger chainsaw, all looked to be cleaned and properly maintained. At this point, Ruby resisted the impulse to salivate at the sight of such big, impressive looking weaponry when she noticed the Armored Huntsman, who equipped his helmet, slowly pulling his free hand away from the large spacey-looking handgun, the Huntsman obviously not seeing her as a threat.
"Uh…hi, there…" Ruby smiled and waved at the reclining figure. "I saw your campfire and…" She couldn't see his eyes through the shadows that look like they were deliberately obscuring his face, but she could tell he was looking rather unconcerned about her. "Mind If I sit here, you know - out of the snow for a while?" The Huntsman looked up at her.
"…"
The sound of air being released was heard as the Huntsman removed his helmet and put it down beside him, shadows yet again obscuring his face. She forced a smile, simply because she did not what else to do.
Pointing his thumb, he gestured for her to sit down at the other side of the cave entrance. Her eyes widened when she heard a blade being drawn and her hand instinctively went for Crescent Rose. She paused when saw the Slayer drive a combat knife into the deer, slicing off the hind leg and bringing it to his barely visible, snarling mouth where he opened wide and bit and chunk out of it, chewing loudly. Ruby swallowed, nervousness creeping in as she tried to think of ways to keep the Slayer's attention.
"Silver eyes," she nearly jumped when she heard the Slayer's rough voice state that fact, his mouth revealing bloodstained, slightly jagged teeth.
Whoa, deep voice! Ruby thought. Shaking her head, she said, "Uh…yeah, heh…they're always the first thing people notice. And you have…err…" She squinted when she tried to make out the Slayer's face hidden in shadows. "Um…blue? Brown? Shadow?"
Grunting, the Slayer bit another chunk out of the deer's leg, Ruby wincing lightly at the sound of meat being torn from bone and teeth loudly tearing into it. She noted the scar running up the right side of his pale chin to his mouth across his square jaw and wondered if the shadows were deliberately moving itself so that she couldn't see his face, letting off an aura of dread that Ruby could somehow feel and it caused her to shiver lightly. Swallowing lightly, she reached forward towards the knife stuck into the side of the deer, sliced off the right front leg and bit into the slightly uncooked meat.
The Reaper and the Slayer ate in silence, with Ruby occasionally glancing at the Armored Huntsman and looking despondent that he was ignoring her, treating her like she didn't exist. Moving his fist up to his mouth he belched into it before tossing the bone into the fire, sending embers flying upward, causing Ruby to scoot back some from the fire.
He was the antisocial type, Ruby realized. This could be tricky - she too was antisocial.
"I…you're on your way to Vale, right?" she asked quietly. "I'm heading that way too." She gave a small smile, "If you like we…we could, you know, travel together? I mean, not if you don't want to. Just…" she trailed off timidly. "Like they always say: Safety in pairs, right?" The Slayer continued eating. Ruby sighed, feeling like she had messed up somehow. "Least I think that's a saying I-"
Looking back at the Slayer she let a faint 'eep' when he suddenly thrust what appeared to be a military-issue water canteen into her face. Ruby blinked in utter perplexment as she slowly accepted it, unscrewed the tap, and took a swig from it. Some of it went down the wrong way as she was left a spluttering mess. Handing the canteen back she patted her chest. "S-sorry," she coughed out. Wiping her mouth, she gave an appreciative smile, "Thanks."
The Slayer took a drink himself before storing the canteen right back on his harness. Ruby couldn't help but feel gleeful, that she was finally starting to make progress with this Armored Huntsman. So far, he proved nice enough to share his campfire, food, and water with her, so maybe he could tell her how he managed to slay those Grimm without the use of Dust.
Time to break the ice again. "My big sister Yang's in Vale and I'm on my way to see how she's doing," she explained, fondness in her voice that the Slayer didn't fail to miss, and feel weary over. "She's starting at Beacon Academy this year and I'm hoping to enroll there in a couple of years once I graduate from Signal…as in, Signal Academy on Patch where I come from and where my dad teaches, heh, in case you didn't know." She paused, chuckling a bit when she realized she had been talking too fast.
She was disappointed when the Slayer didn't grace her with a comment about her wanting to become a Huntress.
"You…don't like other people, do you?" Ruby asked, apprehensive. When the Slayer's continued silence proved to be his response, Ruby simply nodded and looked back at the fire "That's ok, I don't really like being around other people, either." She smiled, "Except for Crescent Rose, that's my sniper-scythe. And my big sister. And dad." It became sad when she went on, "And mom."
The Slayer's lips pursed at the mention of Ruby's parents. He asked, "You're close?"
Turning her head to look she inquired, "To Yang and dad?"
"Hm." Not her mom?
Wait. She gave her weapon a name?
""Yeah, of course," she smiled and rubbed the back of her head as she looked back at the fire. "They're family, we're as close as we can be-" Facing the Slayer again, he was already up an walking away with his weapons packed up and magnetized to his armor and his knife in its sheathe. Ruby caught a glimpse of his spiky light auburn hair as he put his helmet on. Alarmed, she stood up and reached out to him, "Hey wait! I-"
The Slayer interrupted her. "Go home. And live happy." he said with his back turned.
Stunned and disconcerted by the stranger's words, Ruby quietly watched as the Slayer left the warmth of the cave and went back into the surrounding forest. She blinked, confused. "Was is something I said?" Feeling like it was her fault, her face turned into a frown. She blew her chance to make an impression on a Huntsman and he thought she wasn't good company, more or less telling her to go home and give up on being a Huntress. "Was it something I said?" Ruby muttered and hugged her legs to herself as she sat alone in the mouth of the cave.
Maybe she should've taken the airship straight to Vale. That thought quickly faded when out the corner of her eye she noticed Grimm speeding right past the cave and in the direction of the Armored Huntsman. Alarmed, she finally got her hands around Crescent Rose.
(RWBY)
Five minutes passed and the Slayer was still walking through the forest, as far away from that reddish-black haired girl and her silver eyes. The moment he saw Ruby Rose, dumb name, the Slayer's first instinct had been to tell her to piss right off, say the meanest thing he could think of to her, maybe even wave his shotgun right in her face for good measure. He survived a thousand years in Hell among such horrific company - he wasn't going to give fate a chance to start killing the first good, pure human that had the misfortune of crossing his path.
Good and pure, that was what he thought of Ruby Rose the second she mentioned her family. Too good and pure to be a warrior, to make the sacrifices necessary, damn her soul beyond redemption with the blood of humanity's foes and to walk the path of perpetual torment. It was his burden, and only his. That and the way innocence was oozing out of her even as she spoke about becoming a Huntress - how this world presumably refers to its warriors - unsettled him.
He should have told her to piss right off. But he didn't.
And as he pulled his fist out of the Beowolf's already fading skull, he concluded that she was probably going to join in the fight he had just stumbled right into as more of those Grimm monsters appeared. He reached for his super shotgun and blew the left foreleg of another one that had charged his way just as he pulled his fist out, where he proceeded to put his foot through the skull of the next Beowolf. Realizing the forest wouldn't give him much room to swing his chainsaw, he went back on the move, heavy assault rifle in hand as he headed back to the dirt road past the trees.
Or he would have if the Alpha Beowolf hadn't lunged at him from his blindside and knocked him right through a tree, sending splinters flying all over and landing right on top of him on the muddy ground. Noticing the glint of a scope out the corner of his eye as his hands clasped the Alpha's claws, struggling with it as it ferociously tried to get at his helm, he put his foot against its chest and pushed it upward high enough for a high-caliber sniper round to render its skull to pieces in a blaze of fire that reflected off of the Slayer's visor. The Slayer kicked its dissipating body off himself, reached for his shotgun and shot the next Beowolf to come at him, blowing its right foreleg off and giving him time to stand back up, where he finished it off with a direct shot to the head.
Ruby pulled the hammer of Crescent Rose and loaded another Fire Dust round as the Slayer switched to his heavy-looking scoped assault rifle/missile launcher combo and fired away at the Grimm surrounding him, ducking, and dodging among their swings and lunges as he delivered death unto them. Seeing another Grimm attempt to blindside him she took him and pulled the trigger, thinking, 'Don't miss. Don't miss, Crescent Rose.' The Dust round skimmed past the back of the Slayer's head and blew a hole right through the Beowolf's chest.
The Slayer pushed himself off the ground with one hand, shoving another Alpha Beowolf aside, reaching for his chainsaw and swinging it at another, lesser Beowolf. Less pinning it and more sawing through the Grimm, the tree, and the tree next to it, sending them toppling down and flattening more Grimm.
Ruby didn't fail to notice the Grimm lunging at her from behind. Quickly transforming Crescent Rose into its scythe configuration, the sounds of the turning gears in her weapon proving louder than the Beowolves' howls, which were cut short as Ruby swung away at the Grimm, slicing them to ribbons and sending pieces flying, one of them bouncing off the back of the Slayer's helmet. The Slayer was already looking through the scope of his heavy assault rifle as he aimed at Ruby's direction, the girl gasping as she transformed Crescent Rose back into its rifle form. She paused when the Slayer's bullets skimmed past her head and took out the one Grimm she didn't account for, its corpse slowly fading away on the snow-covered ground.
What followed was more gunfire, beastly howls, the rattle of chainsaw and scythe transformation cutting through the air as the Slayer and the Reaper fought their way out into a clearing in the middle of the forest, snow still falling from the sky and onto both themselves and the Grimm. More Beowolves rushed them from the forest by the dozens and surrounded them, forcing them back-to-back. Deciding that he had to save his ammunition, the Slayer had both hands on his chainsaw, barely registering the girl rubbing her back against his armor as she gripped Crescent Rose, the Grimm circling them and snarling.
"Hey, wanna see who can kill the most Grimm?" Ruby asked. At first was the Slayer was taken back by her cheerfulness, but he relished the competition. He revved his chainsaw several times and pointed it towards the Grimm. Taking this as her answer, Ruby smirked, "Game on!"
++Recording battle data. Subject: Ruby Rose,++ VEGA announced right out of nowhere, nearly catching the Slayer off-guard. Before he could voice his opinion, he found that the Grimm weren't waiting around. The Slayer sliced in half the first one that hurled itself at his chainsaw, and shoulder charged the next one and knocking it over, as he brought his foot down on its neck, crushing its windpipe. His hand curled into a fist, releasing a devastating uppercut with his free hand upside another Beowolf's jaw, his fist appearing right through its skull. It practically exploded when he pulled his fist out.
Ruby gasped at the Slayer's strength. 'WHOA!' she cried internally. She didn't miss the claw marks on his armor from the Grimm that had him pinned down earlier. This sat off warning bells immediately. 'Wait…he doesn't have an Aura?!' she thought, alarmed at the sudden realization.
The growls from the Beowolves heading her way brought her out of her thoughts as she leapt into the air to avoid their swipes. Leveling Crescent Rose in its sniper form at them, she pulled the trigger, scoring several head-shots in quick succession, and transformed it back into its scythe form to slice another Grimm apart vertically as it leapt at her.
And roses were falling, the Slayer noticed as Ruby land beside him.
"Where's your Aura?" Ruby asked, discharging the spent cartridge from Crescent Rose. "How come it's not absorbing any damage?" The Slayer looked over at Ruby, holding the gaze long enough for Ruby to realize he didn't know what she was talking about. Her eyes widened, "You mean~?" She cringed and ducked as the Slayer swung the chainsaw with one hand into the chest of another Beowolf, putting his foot against the beast as he pulled the blade out and cleaved it horizontally in half. Ruby raised Crescent Rose and blasted another Beowolf directly in the head.
The Slayer gave pause when he saw Ruby suddenly disappear in a flurry of rose petals as another Grimm slashed away at her, appearing behind it and swinging her scythe and slicing it across the back of its neck. His attention was more on the roses and not on her ability to move so fast that she practically teleports – Rosewarps – whatever you call it. Another Grimm drew his attention, and he expressed his annoyance by caving the Beowolf's skull in with a quick elbow, scowling at the back of its impacted head. That wasn't missed by Ruby.
'He's…pretty strong.' she mentally noted. 'He might be stronger than dad and Yang combined.'
Trees being felled could be heard as both Slayer and Reaper turned to see a large Grimm tearing out of the forest, sending trees flying and falling down on them. They managed to roll out of danger with ease, the Slayer taking a good look at this new form. ++ Analyzing, ++ VEGA stated, the Slayer looked at the massive, mutant-looking bear – complete with spiked chitinous armor over its head, back and legs. It noticed the Slayer's staring and roared at him, preparing to charge him and Ruby.
The Slayer narrowed his eyes at the ursine abomination. He cracked his knuckles, "What's that?"
"That's an Ursa Major," Ruby replied. She smiled, "Let's kill it."
"…" the Slayer looked at her peculiarly, before the Ursa roar drew his attention and Ruby.
He fired off a charged shot from his pistol that hit the Ursa right between the eyes, stunning it. Ruby launched herself straight at with Crescent Rose, spinning in midair with the blade aimed at its neck. The Ursa raised his right paw and blocked her strike, the point of the scythe impaling itself through its palm. Ruby cringed as the Ursa stood on its hind legs, roaring as it shook its palm frantically, sending Ruby flying straight towards a charging Slayer. The Slayer stretched his left arm and caught Ruby by her hood, swinging her right back toward it. She grabbed the handle of Crescent Rose as she flew past the Ursa, tearing it right out of its palm and switching it to gun-scythe mode and firing at it.
The Ursa roared with agony, reared up as the Slayer swung his chainsaw and sliced it across the belly with both hands on the hilt. Blackish blood sprayed all over before it threw itself upon the Slayer, who leaped out of the way with the aid of his jump boots. He raised his chainsaw and brought it down on its head. Sparks flew as it hit the bone armor on its left paw and it lunged forward, slamming its head into the Slayer and sending him flying some feet away where he managed to skid along the ground before doubling over and falling onto one knee.
The Slayer looked up to see the Ursa charging at him and he stood up, chainsaw still in his hand as it brought itself down upon him. By this point, Ruby had managed to land safely back on the ground. Again, she launched herself right back at the beast and swung Crescent Rose, taking off its right ear and causing it to rear up in rage as it spun around to face her instead. The Slayer leaped up into the air, boosting himself and landing on top of its back. His hands then gripped the massive white chitinous spike protruding out of its back. This drove the Ursa completely berserk as it stood on its hind legs and tried reaching behind itself for the Slayer, bellowing as it felt a piece of its spike being torn off from its back. Ruby jumped put of the way and watched in amazement as the Slayer took the torn spike and drove it right through the back of the Ursa Major's head, the sharp end sticking out of its mouth. Snow was sent flying as it fell to the ground, its groan muffled before being silenced when the Slayer tore the spike out and impaled it again through its head and out its right eye.
++ Recording complete. Archiving battle data.++
The Slayer then hopped off the dead Ursa's back, looking like he wasn't even winded as the Grimm's body began to fade away. Ruby swallowed, her eyes wide as saucers as she slowly approached the Slayer, looking concerned as she extended her hand towards him. "Hey, are you alrig-?" The Slayer gasped lightly and flinched when he felt Ruby's fingers on his armor through the receptors built underneath the plating and pulled away from the girl. He looked over his shoulder at her with a look of contempt he hoped she could sense. Judging from how dejected she looked, she did. "O-oh, I'll...just stand over here and...leave you alone," Ruby said, pointing over towards a spot away from him that faced the trees. She walked over there, letting out what sounded like a sad whine.
And that only infuriated the Slayer. So much skill, power, and speed behind such a deadly weapon; in the hands of an innocent little girl who looked like she had just treated their entire battle like if it was just a game. Her world was infested with these creatures of Grimm and she could be so…so…the Slayer gritted his teeth and let out a soundless cry of frustration before he opened his eyes to finally notice the rose petals that had been flying around since Ruby extended Crescent Rose.
'Roses?' The Slayer raised his hand catching a fistful of petals. Quietly examining them lying in the palm of his gauntlet, he felt unsure about how he should react to seeing something that died along with everything else from his world centuries ago. He glimpsed over his shoulder at Ruby, their backs turned to one another as she appeared despondent that he was ignoring her. It was his first time seeing such beauty amongst carnage.
And for the chance to see it again.
He sighed, and rolled his eyes.
"William."
Ruby paused and spun around to look at him in surprise. Annoyed that he had to repeat himself, the Slayer narrowed his eyes and said with tone to match.
"What did you say?"
"My name's William."
Ruby's eyes widened, "W-William?" Her smile then threatened to split her face in half. "Ok. Just William, huh?" The Slayer nodded. "Fine by me," Ruby replied happily.
"…" William blinked incredulously at the girl's good nature in the face of his rudeness. " Dust, Aura, Semblance," he stated as he pointed at her. "Everything you know."
Ruby looked hopeful. "You wanna be travel buddies after all?" Again, William nodded. He was taken back when he thought he saw stars in Ruby's eyes as she asked. "And you'll tell me everything about your weapons?" William gave a grunt of acknowledgment. "Great!" Ruby blinked, emphasizing her eyes as she hopefully asked again. "Can I hold one of them."
Ejecting the spent shell from his shotgun William magnetized it back on its place on his armor.
"Awwwwwww…" Ruby whined in disappointment.
++ I will be recording this conversation for future reference until we have ascertained formal records of the history, processing and application of 'Dust',++ VEGA stated. ++ Once we have established a base of operations in Vale City we can begin searching for a way to contact the UAC and request Dr. Hayden to tether us back to Mars. ++
"…" William sighed, before cringing as he felt Ruby begin to enthusiastically drag him along the dirt road. "…eh?!"
"C'mon travel buddy…ONNNNWAARRRDDDD to Vale!" Ruby stretched out her arm and pointed east. "Onward to my big sister! Onward to Beacon!"
William glimpsed over his shoulder at the fading remains of the Grimm they had just slaughtered. They came out no worse for wear, – of the physical or even mental kind – that much evident for Ruby. How can this girl continue to act so…so innocent after slaughtering these monsters? Then again, he had no right to judge. How many millions of Hell's minions had he slain and he still behaved like the same vengeful, angry young man thrust into the position of Praetor of the Night Sentinels? And as he was dragged along by a giggling Ruby, her hands clasping his and pulling him with strength that no girl her size should have, he resisted the urge to pull away from her for fear of ripping her arms from her sockets from his own inhuman strength alone. Non-hostile human contact in possibly tens of thousands of years, and she was annoying him.
And yet it felt endearing at the same time. Seeing those roses in combat again would be worth a little social interaction. Heading back towards the dirt path leading through the forest and leaving the bodies of the Grimm the two of them slaughtered to fade, he had feeling he would be seeing plenty more roses soon enough.