Whew, this chapter took a while to write up. And Darrel hasn't even arrived in Remnant yet! I am definitely going to lose some sleep over this.
Also, if you're expecting something big in this chapter, unfortunately, that isn't the case. This is just Episode 1 with a little bit tacked onto the beginning.
I promise I won't do this very often, but I wanted to alternate between Darrel and RWBY, and besides, what would you rather see: Darrel being pushed around for five days, or a novelisation of Ruby Rose?
...
I thought so.
Chapter 2: Ruby Rose
The young girl, no older than fifteen, pushed the door open, causing a bell to jingle. The shopkeeper, an elderly man looked up from his documents, and smiled at the young girl standing before him. She was a regular patron of his store, and knew her well. Sometimes she came in to look at the magazines, other times she had purchased packets of Dust and weapon mods. But no matter what she came for, she always entered with a smile on her face, a spring in her step, and she brightened up everybody's day just by being there.
"Hello, miss. Are you looking for something in particular, or just browsing tonight?" the shopkeeper asked leaning on the counter. She looked up from under her hood, and smiled warmly.
"No thank you, sir. I just heard that the latest issue of Weapons is out. You wouldn't happen to have a copy, would you?"
The shopkeeper laughed.
"Why, yes. Only got it in today. In the back, third rack from the bottom."
The young girl smiled, and flashed a thumbs up at him. Then, in a flurry of rose petals, she had moved from the counter to the magazine rack on the back wall, already flicking through issue #228 of Weapons. He heard some soft music, and assumed she must be listening to her Diskus music player. She did like her music loud: she wouldn't be moving from there for a while.
As the bell taped to the door jingled once again, the elderly shopkeeper looked up at the potential customers, only to be somewhat perplexed at their appearance: four of them wore black suits and bowler hats, while the fifth had orange hair that swept over his right eye, and wore a white suit. He leaned over the counter, and studied the Dust crystals the shopkeeper had on display. He looked up at the shopkeeper.
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?" the man in the white suit asked, while one of the men surrounding him pulled out a firearm and aimed it at the shopkeeper's chest. Instinctively, the man raised his arms in fear. Now he recognized the man. Roman Torchwick, notorious criminal. Well known for his dubious methods, his demeanor was affable, but when annoyed, he was terrifying. He had eluded the police for months using guile, bribery, intimidation, and threats.
"P-please! Just take my Lien and leave!" He begged, but Roman simply shushed him, as a misguided attempt to assuage his fear. The effect was lost when he was staring down the barrel of a gun.
"Calm down. We're not here for your money." Roman reassured the shopkeeper. Then his eyes swiveled to the men surrounding him.
"Grab the Dust."
One of the black suits placed a black container on the counter, and opened it. Inside was a row of canisters, well known for storing Dust in its liquefied form. While in this form, Dust was used to replenish Aura, and could be synthesized to coat arrows and bullets in various materials, giving them a variety of effects. Three of the men grabbed the canisters and attached them to the vials of Dust placed on the walls of the store, draining them dry in seconds. The fourth in the black suit, placed a briefcase on the counter and indicated to the crystals on display underneath.
"Crystals. Burn. Uncut." The man gestured to the display case, and the shopkeeper nervously picked up a crystal and began to fill the briefcase. All that could save him now… was a miracle.
Meanwhile, one of the mobsters had noticed a young girl reading a magazine. She seemed like an easy target, so he pulled out his red katana, and held it pointing at her back.
"Alright, kid, put your hands where I can see them."
He didn't get a response: the girl continued to read. The mobster was getting annoyed. He was being paid good money to pick up Dust, not to pester a teenager.
"Hey, I said put your hands in the air! You got a death wish or something?!" He started to walk to her, and grabbed her shoulder, causing her to spin around and her hood to fall off, revealing a pale-skinned teenage girl with black hair and silver eyes. She was wearing headphones, which explained her lack of response. The mobster pointed to her ear, telling her to take them off. She complied without hesitation.
"Yes?" she asked.
"I said, put your hands in the air! Now!"
"Are you… robbing me?"
The mobster had had enough. It was as if this kid went through this every night. What could she possibly do to him? But he had a job to do.
"YES!"
"Ohhhh…" The young girl smirked, like she relished the thought of being mugged. And before the goon could blink, the girl had jumped up, and dropkicked the goon halfway across the store, crashing into a display case and burying him in packets of powdered Dust and ammunition clips. Torchwick simply looked from the crystal he was fidgeting with, and nodded to another henchman. He ran up, and raised a gun. But before he could pull the trigger, the girl launched forward in a cloud of red petals, and kicked him through the window, shattering it and knocking him unconscious.
The men in the suits looked outside the ruined window, to see the young girl unfurl a gun into a gigantic scythe, taller than her by a considerable margin. The man in the white suit scowled at the hero, who merely responded with a smirk and a twirl of her weapon, planting it into the ground.
Ruby Rose was her name. A student of Signal Academy, one of the many training academies for Huntsmen and Huntresses, she had always dreamed of helping people, defending those who couldn't defend themselves. And now, the situation called for her, to stop this robbery.
"Okay…" Torchwick sized up the girl, and nodded to his henchmen.
"Get her!"
Barely 15 seconds had passed before Ruby had knocked out all three henchmen, with little effort. One she had kicked in the face, another had been hammered to the ground by the end of her scythe, and the third was launched to his boss's feet after a brutal beating in mid-air. His boss looked down at the moaning mook with a look of disappointment.
"Well, you were worth every cent. Truly, you were." He said sarcastically, then turned to the girl who had made a mockery of his henchmen. Dropping his cigar, he ground it to a pulp with his cane.
"Well, Red, I can say this has been a truly eventful evening. And as much as I'd like to stick around…" The tip of his cane unfolded, revealing a crosshair.
"I'm afraid this is where we part ways." He fired a round at the girl who had foiled his plan. Not sticking around to see the result, he dashed to a nearby fire escape, and began to climb to the roof.
What the man failed to see was that "Red" had managed to dodge his attack, and was in hot pursuit. As soon as he reached the roof, the girl landed behind him.
"Hey!" The girl yelled. Roman didn't turn around, just frowned at his foe's doggedness.
"Persistent…" he muttered. Before she could respond, a M-27 VTOL 'Bullhead' rose in front of him. Bullheads were a tiltjet plane, capable of a Mach 0.5 speed. Initially, they were developed to drop soldiers and Hunters into combat zones quickly. But since Remnant had known a time of peace for a long while, the Bullhead had long since been phased out, and was now available for general purchase, though it had a hefty price tag.
He climbed aboard the getaway vehicle, and turned to face Ruby, holding a Burn Dust crystal.
"End of the line, Red!" he yelled over the roaring of the engines. And with that, he threw the gem at Ruby's feet. She stared at it, confused. Once again, Roman raised his cane, and fired a round, detonating the gemstone in a column of fire. He laughed triumphantly, but stopped after seeing a purple glow through the smoke.
Another fighter had entered the fray, blocking the man's strike with a purple glyph. The new combatant had blonde hair, green eyes, and wore a black cape, lined with a purple interior. Roman immediately recognized her as Glynda Goodwitch, elite Huntress and strict teacher at Beacon Academy. If she was here, this would be a problem. She adjusted her glasses, and swung her wand, unleashing a stream of purple energy bolts, which struck the Bullhead. Roman stumbled around the cargo bay, dropping his cane, and into the cockpit. A woman was trying to keep the Bullhead under control. She remained focused on the instruments in front of her.
"We got a Huntress!" Roman yelled above the blaring sirens. The woman nodded, and stood up, gesturing to the pilot seat, telling Roman to take control. He complied.
The woman who had begun to attack the Bullhead, swiped her wand in the air, and summoned storm clouds above the jet. Roman looked at the storm in amazement: he had heard stories about Glynda's abilities, but seeing them in action was unbelievable. Immediately, the black clouds began to rain sharpened icicle fragments, striking the vehicle, one nearly impaling Roman's head.
His accomplice finally began to retaliate with attacks, unleashing five columns of fire where Glynda was standing. She simply dodged the attack, and used debris to form a purple spear, which flew at the Bullhead. Roman's ally fired punctuated blasts at the spear, but it simply reformed. Roman tilted the Bullhead, deflecting Glynda's attack skyward. The spear split into three, and began to surround the aircraft. His partner let loose a fiery pulse, which vaporized the debris.
At that point, Ruby decided now would be the best time to jump in and help. Folding her weapon into it's basic gun mode, she unloaded round after round at the female in the Bullhead. The woman simply held her hand up, and blocked every bullet like they were annoying insects. She raised her hand again, and prepared one final attack. As the columns of fire began to charge, Glynda pushed Ruby out of harm's way with her wand, and flipped forward, the blast singing her boots. As she looked up, she saw the Bullhead disappearing into the night sky. Frowning, Glynda turned to the one who had managed to stop the robbery. She was met with a gleeful look.
"You're a Huntress?" The girl asked, with a hint of awe in her voice. And then she grinned from ear to ear.
"Can I have your autograph?!"
Yeesh. Initially, I was going to include the 'interrogation' of Ruby, but it proved to be too much for me. Besides, this is, what, 2,000 words? That's enough progress for now. I'll do more when I can.