#I thank all gods nobody asked Nora who dies first

[norafike]

Despite all this, I still love you 10

*Contains spoilers for Chapter 3 mission; A short walk in a pretty town.

Depictions of violence, please read at your own risk as the material can be unsettling for viewers.

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It took a day or more's journey to travel as far as Rhodes from the business she underwent back at Valentine. Even longer due to Maggie's distraction.

The female hitched her horse near the Gunsmith, noticing the unsettling silence that haunted the town. Nobody could be seen for miles and the store's looked empty whenever she peered through the windows inside. She wondered why Arthur sent the letter, requesting for her help, given that there was not a soul around.

“Hello?” She called out for nothing, expecting something to call back to her. Silence was met and so she decided to walk deeper, seeing where the men she was meant to meet lurked. “Arthur?.. Sean?”

She saw them eventually, hiding near a building all talking amongst themselves. She smiled at Sean and took a stand near him before whistling for her horse to trot on over to where they waited. She tethered him to the correct post, standing near. “How are you feelin' gentlemen?”

Micah snorted the minute she opened her mouth, gripping his gun belt and kicking his leg up onto a crate near to trap her between him and her animal. “Jus' fine, yourself?”

She tried not to visibly cringe once he spoke up, but could not help but scrunch up her nose in disgust. She used the tip of her finger to push him away. “I was doin' so much better before you started talkin', Mr. Bell.”

“I feel like we've gotten close enough, call me Micah.” He grinned and she had to bite her tongue to not snap back at him. “Of course, I'd like to know you.. a little better.”

“A shame I'm gettin' to know Kieran a little better first.” And Sean let out a roar of a laugh at her subtle way of dismissing his offer, this displeasing Micah enough that he left her alone.

"I am only kidding of course." She made it known so none of them would go ahead and tease the poor boy when they returned to camp, after all he was not considered highly amongst the group and the last thing he needed was someone taking her words the wrong way.

Micah snorted again before walking away from the female, ignoring her subtle giggles from behind and taking the lead with Sean on their walk into town. It had been far too quiet for Nora's liking before but now, while they were exposed like how they were.. well she felt more uneasy than ever.

“None of it feels right.” She mumbled under her breathe, going unnoticed by the others. They talked before Arthur raised his voice over them, finally addressing the situation and repeating what Nora had said earlier.  Sean turned around. “Now none of it feels right?” His accent was thicker here but before anyone had time to process what they were saying and shot rang out, setting them into ‘fighter’ mode. Nobody had noticed Sean, yet.

She covered her ears as she followed the men behind cover, finally taking a moment to compose herself and assess the situation. Here, she counted visible faces and let out a choked sob when she counted one short; Sean not being present. Nora faced Arthur, fear reflecting in his eyes and through a shaky voice managed to ask him the dreaded question. “Where's Sean?” He frowned; not asking and instead taking her deeper into the alley they hid in once the bullets to close to be comfortable.

“We'll worry about Sean later.. are you okay to fight? I feel we got half the family after us.” She slowly nodded to answer. “Good.”

He ran out of the alley, both revolvers in hand and began to fire blindly down the road. She watched until he disappeared around the corner, taking a shaky breath she soon followed, her revolver in hand.

“Sean.” Her voice was small once she noticed the boy lying in the dirt, an unmistakable pool of blood around him and only growing. With the little strength she had left she managed to force herself into hiding behind a few crates, her vision growing more blurry from the tears that kept falling. She wasn't even trying to hit anything, only shooting behind her to make it seem as though she was helping but in reality she was only trying to not blackout as she always does. Her voice was called by an invisible creature, sounding similar to Lem but not quite her friend but it was familiar enough to feel safe.. she focused on it, it repeating one phrase over and over. ‘Come back to me, Nora.’ The very thing Lemuel had said that night with the flammable-moonshine explosion. It kept her distracted and it kept her awake..

“Stay low, girl.” Arthur seemingly appeared from nowhere, crouching by her side and shooting in any direction he heard bullets. He knew of what happened to Nora in situations like this, seeing it many times before and when the reality of Sean's fate kicked in the thought of preventing Nora's emerged. “I'm stayin' low. Make way to the General Store and sneak around the back through there, bastards are hidin' away where we can't see 'em.”

“And risk endin' up like Sean?”

“You can stay here, but I'm going. Prevent you lot endin' up like the kid.” With that she made haste over to the shop, ignoring Arthur's cries for her to run back. It was silent inside but that didn't mean she wasn't careful creeping through, her gun entering or leaving a room before she did at all times. She presumed that Micah and Bill dealt with a lot of the Gray's as the numbers were thinner now, but that didn't mean she didn't take out any herself.. feeling no guilt in doing so either.

“Bastards.” She cursed under her breath as she searched for the remaining bunch.. slowly finding one cowering behind a few barrels. He begged for his life, raising his hands in the air. She staggered for a moment, moving to holster her weapon and the man began to thank her for her “generousity” yet Sean had so much stripped away from him and she remembered it quickly. She put the gun away, opting for a more *satisfying kill and using her knife, she placed the steel against the man's neck and cut as deep as allowed. His blood ran down her hands, onto her lap and he fell lifeless.

She didn't notice the blood, didn't care for it.

…

“Where's Williamson?” She asked; met with silence from the two men who provided no answer.

“Well..?”

“We don't know, lady. Why, you gonna kill him too?” Micah spat and without thinking she lunged towards, gripping the lapels of his jacket and pushing him back. He made contact with the side of the wall, gasping with the wind knocked out of him and not expecting such a small woman to have this much strength, she was almost as feisty as Mrs. Adler and he admired her for it. “No, but I'll kill you asshole.” She shouted and finally Arthur stepped in, wrapping his arm around Nora and pulling her off of the antagonistic individual.

“You're fucking crazy, woman.” Micah hadn't learned his lesson.

“Enough!” Arthur yelled; scowling at the pair of them. “Let's find Bill and get out of here.”

“Whatever.” Nora grunted, walking past the men and back down towards the gunsmith. Arthur watched after her, maintaining a distance as he soon followed behind. She wasn't in any place to be alone right now and he knew it.

“Stop right there!” Sherrif Gray in his bitter tone called out, revolver pointed straight for Nora. She froze in her tracks and raised her hands, looking at the group with a fake smile. In some man's arms she noticed Bill and subtly pointed at him so Arthur could see.

The two finally joined her, Micah on her right and Arthur on her left so she stood perfectly in front of Leigh Gray. How she could spit at his name, a disgusting roach of a man she never had any liking for.. the killing of her only friend which he allowed being the final straw and so god help her she was going to make sure he got what he owed. “You gonna let our friend go, Leigh?”

“I plan on takin' you all in.. or killin' ya if need be.” He replied; his threat meeting deaf ears. She didn't care, couldn't find it within her. “That a threat..? Or a promise?” And Micah looked over astonished as she continued teasing him.

“I ain't playin' games girl-.” Leigh began, but Nora raised her hands to dismiss him. “Never said this was no game, jus' let my friend go.”

“Ain't gonna happen.”

“Very Well.” She was quick, just as skilled as Arthur and unexpecting. A few shots were fired and the Gray's fell, some falling off of the porch of the gunsmith and onto the roads.

Bill clambered forward, completely astonished but holding thanks he needed to pass on. He placed a sweaty palm on her shoulder, reluctantly muttering a quiet ‘thanks’ and walking away.

“Sean.” She cried before running over to the body. The thrill died down and reality kicked her in the face with a steel toe cap boot. Her friend really had been killed, his face disfigured and unrecognisable and her chest tightened when she saw him lying there, on the ground. Her brave face shriveled and she let out sobs, earning an eye roll from Micah but a gentle pat regardless. “Bill, take the boy an' get him buried. I'm gonna ride with Nora back to camp, I don't think she should be alone.”

She chuckled at Arthur's instruction, despite there being no humour behind it. “I'm twenty-four. I can look after myself.”

“Trust me, I know that. I've seen it.” He replied with a light smile. “Jus' need an excuse for me not to be seen alone cryin'.” She laughed as he tried to lighten the situation, there was no time for mourning.

“Come on, let's get you out of here.”

She managed to wipe away a small tear, following him over to Casper and climbing into the saddle without fail despite an ache in her muscles slowly kicking in. Everything coming down and having an effect. “Thank you.” She managed to whisper, following Arthur out of the town.

“It ain't nothin'.”

[arse-blathanna]

The Bones of a God - 42/50

Chapter 42: Roar

[Ao3] [FFN] [Fic Tag]

Fic Summary: Once upon a time, monsters roamed the entire world, so plentiful that they needed countless numbers to fight them off. 13 years ago, that changed. Grimm died off suddenly and stopped proliferating. Now the few Creatures of Grimm that are left are too large and powerful to be taken down in "the old ways."

That doesn't make them any less of a threat.

The real problem comes when people decide it's for the best that they start picking sides in a war starting anew.

Word Count: 4,495

Chapter Summary: The beast lets out a mighty roar.

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading!

The universe was painted black, and red, and white, and gold. It was something incredible and primordial, something that hadn’t yet been changed or altered for the best purposes of humanity, or anything else.

They floated down, down, down. Past whispers of voices that were both their own but also were not. Past lives that had long since passed, past people and beings and civilizations. The world that they knew somehow both did and did not yet exist.

They floated among a feeling that was somewhere between blistering heat and bitter cold.

In the nothingness, they met.

[Read it on Ao3] [Read it on FFN]

She was there, skin bone-white and her eyes the same violent red that they had always been. She reached out for them, and opened her mouth as though to say something.

This was a dance that the two of them had been through a thousand times before. Always weaving in and out of range of each other, both of them always looking for something where there was likely to be nothing.

“Ozpin.” She greeted them, voice smooth as silk and fluid as water. “It has been a long time.”

“It has.” They responded, but the voice that left their mouth was almost foreign. Not quite their own, surely one that they had used in the past. “I see you are getting stronger.”

She laughed at them. Her voice reminded them of bells, but there was something wrong about it- layers which were much like Ozpin’s. Past lives, just the same as theirs.

“I am.” She replied to them. “And you should know, Ozpin-” She tugged them in close to her, and they went. Her lips brushed against the shell of their ear as she spoke. “I cannot wait to see you burn.”

“I won’t allow it.” Ozpin replied, pulling back and feeling the space around them both getting more intense, and more harsh. “You know that.”

“I am well aware.” She hissed, and just like that Ozpin was kicked from the vision, and that space in between realities. Back into the real world.

Ozpin awoke with a brand on their hand, burned into their palm. It was a familiar thing, something that they hadn’t seen in person in a very long time. Wordlessly, Ozpin let their thumb brush over the symbol, and the dread that she had brought settled on them, heavy and infinitely damning.

They climbed out of their bed, late in the night. Since she had come to them, they knew that they wouldn’t be able to rest any more. Ozpin dragged themself from their home and went to Beacon, which stood silent and still as always. They took the elevator up the tower to their office, and almost immediately upon arrival Ozpin walked to the window of their office, to look out at the monster that was so far away but so close to them. It picked its head up, and its eyes seemed to ignite into a more vibrant, more violent shade of red.

In one fluid motion, it opened its mouth, and it roared.

Ozpin reached for their scroll, and made the call for anyone that could help. Glynda, Ironwood, Qrow, Lionheart- everyone that they could think of. Everyone that could possibly be there to protect the people.

Before they were even off the scroll, the students began to scramble, down in the dorms. From where they were staying, Ozpin could hear it all. They dressed themself as quickly as they possibly could, and rushed down to the main hall where students were gathering.

Many of them were afraid and wide eyed, many of them still in their pajamas. Some of them had decided to dress themselves, and some had come armed. A scattered few had managed to get half into their combat clothes, but still clearly more ready for bed than battle.

The second that Ozpin stepped out into view, all of the students looked up at them in panic.

“Students.” Ozpin said plainly. “You must do what you can in order to remain calm.” It wasn’t going to do much to help the situation, but it was the least that they could do. “Any panic here will only further upset it.”

“But it roared!” One girl said, taking a few scared steps forward. She was still in her pajamas, and Ozpin recognized her as Nora Valkyrie. “What if it’s coming?”

“I have already began to assemble a team of veteran huntsmen to assess and hopefully handle the situation.” Ozpin said plainly. “In the meantime, all of you should go back to your rooms, and dress and arm yourselves. I cannot promise that students won’t be needed for what is to come.”

The tittering that came from the gathered students wasn't encouraging, but they were children and they had a right to be afraid. For many of them, this was likely to be the first time in which they were seeing signs of aggression from such a large grimm, and so close to them. For the vast majority of these students, the last time that grimm had been small and plentiful had been when they were children.

At the back of the hall, the door opened, and General Ironwood strode in, fully dressed for battle and no doubt armed to the teeth. Behind him, Winter Schnee was similarly prepared for whatever was to come.

Ozpin cast one last glance at the crowd. "You should all go and prepare. Should you be needed, a call will be let out on the intercoms in the building. And please, do what you can to remain calm."

Out of the corner of their eye, Ozpin watched as the groups assembled and many of them began off on their way.

They walked to Ironwood, who was soon falling into step beside them. "Ozpin-" Ironwood said, sounding somewhere between upset and frustrated by what was going on. Surely this had brought back bad memories for him as well. No doubt because of the noise. "What is your current plan of action?"

"That will depend on how many huntsmen get here." Ozpin said, watching and keeping an eye open for someone. The door burst open and Qrow and Taiyang both came in, both similarly prepared for battle. Glynda and the other professors were soon to join.

It wasn't a complete group, but it was a good starting point. That Ozpin was confident about.

Everyone was looking for them for action. They took a breath and looked to Glynda, Port, and Oobleck. "I want for you three to go down to the city and do what you can to calm the civilians. Prepare to move them to secure locations."

"Of course, professor." Glynda said, already turning, but Oobleck stood behind. Ozpin cocked an eyebrow at that because if Bart was deciding to stay, he had a good reason for it.

"Professor-" Oobleck started, his voice somewhere between panicked and calm. "I believe that it may be for the best to consider certain historical precedents with regards to battling a grimm of that size."

Ozpin blinked and nodded before looking to Winter. "Go with Glynda and Port."

"You heard them." James said, looking to Winter now, clearly doing his part to make sure that there is a chain of command in place. "If something happens, report in."

"Yes, sir." Winter said before rushing after the others.

Ozpin locked eyes with James now. "If you are able to, assemble whatever troops you have here in Vale. If you have more Specialists, then you should get them as well."

"Understood." James replied, giving them one last very nervous look before stepping away from the others. He was already removing the sleek black scroll from his pocket to make a call, and that left Ozpin to Taiyang and Qrow.

They looked between the two men. The fact that it was the only two of them left from their team was harsh. Ozpin sincerely hoped that it wouldn't get any worse than it already was, but that wasn't something Ozpin could be confident in. "Gentlemen."

"What do you want for us to do, Oz?" Qrow asked, taking a half-step forward. "Because someone is going to have to go out there."

"I want for you two to attempt to lure the beast away from the people of Vale." Ozpin explained, not at all happy with the orders that they were passing down. The risk of danger was too high for their liking. However, as things stood they had no other choice in the matter. "This will be difficult, and you should expect for there to be others joining you in this endeavor when I have a chance to send more out."

Taiyang took a step forward, looking distinctly worried and afraid. "Are you planning to send students?"

"I cannot say just yet." Ozpin said, though it would do nothing to make this any easier. "If it comes to that, I can assure you that all responding hunters will be alerted to that fact."

"Just..." Taiyang swallowed hard. "Don't let my girls get in over their heads."

"I won't." Ozpin answered, not believing so much as a word of it.

Ruby tugged on her hood, fastening it in place and doing her best to ignore how afraid she felt. It was like that roar couldn't get out of her head, and the remnants of what she and her team had been doing  when it had happened had been left on the floor, abandoned school books and sheets of paper and pens alike.

She wasn't the only one that was trying to prepare for what was to come. Weiss was in the process of fixing her hair back and out of the way, Blake was checking the sharpness of her blades, and Yang was stretching, mind probably more on the monster outside than anything else.

It had been all but silent ever since they'd gotten back to the dorm. Nobody had been able to come up with anything that they wanted to say. Ruby was scared herself, and she was at least expecting for someone else to want to do something.

After all, this was a team- if they were going to be able to do anything, they needed to communicate and work together.

Ruby turned to face her teammates. "Guys?" She asked. "What do you think is happening?"

"I don't know." Yang said, and she sounded the most worried already. "Dad sent me a message to let us know that he was going out with Qrow to try and-"

"Dad's going out there?" Ruby's eyes widened and she was able to immediately feel her heart beating too hard against her chest. This was exactly what she didn't want to deal with, and the news about her father and uncle was not a good start. Now Ruby knew that she was going to be worried about her family in addition to everything else.

"Yeah." Yang confirmed. "He said that Ozpin wanted him and Qrow to try and lure it away..."

"Was there any word on my sister?" Weiss asked, still standing with her back turned to them.

Yang sighed. "He didn't mention her."

"Right." Weiss mumbled as she began to load her sword with cartridges of Dust. "So let's say that we do end up getting sent out there-"

"I think that it's likely." Blake said, still not looking back at anyone else. "I don't know that anyone aside from us and JNPR know about there being other grimm out there."

Ruby nodded, walking up to her sister and placing herself in Yang's space, needing something to comfort her. "Blake is right." She said, feeling too quiet. "And we're just first years. If we end up being sent out there-"

"Then it probably won't end well." Weiss finished for her, sounding more upset than she was letting on. "Which means that we need to be ready."

"Okay." Ruby said, taking a deep breath and deciding that if what they needed to do was go out there, then someone needed to lead. And it might as well have been her. "So let's say that we're sent out. If they give us orders, then we'll follow them."

That alone wasn't going to be good enough- Ruby was already sure of that. There needed to be more to their plans if anything was going to go smoothly. "But if something comes up that seems worse or scarier, then-"

"I don't think it's possible that things can get worse than that thing." Yang said, walking over to the window and looking at. Her eyes were scanning the area for something, but Ruby didn't know what. "But if we're called out it'll probably be to deal with smaller threats."

"If they call people out to deal with smaller problems, it probably won't just be us." Blake contributed, walking up to the window as well. Weiss came up not far behind her. "People have been training here for years so that they can fight grimm. Not just us. And that isn't even thinking about how many professional hunters are probably being called in."

She went quiet, expression dark and her gaze far away before Blake continued. "And there are probably other things out there which are just as scared."

"What are you even talking about?" Weiss asked, her voice hardening and sounding much more frustrated. "Nobody is around here for miles."

"That isn't quite true." Yang spoke up, turning to face the rest of them. "There are... people out there. That choose not to live in the city."

Yang was facing them, but Ruby saw the way that her eyes flicked away from the rest of them. Almost like she was doing what she could to avoid the topic before it could drag them all down. It looked like Yang had something suddenly resting on her shoulders, physically weighing her down.

As for Ruby, she didn’t exactly know whether or not she actually knew what Yang was talking about. It wasn't exactly a secret that there were things that Yang knew that she and their dad had kept away from Ruby. It had never bothered her before, but now it felt... different. And wrong.

"Yang?" Ruby asked, looking up at her sister's face looking for an explanation of some sort. It didn't need to be a lot, it needed to be enough to explain what Ruby needed to know. "Is... something wrong?"

"Yang is right." Blake spoke up, making sure that Yang was going to be okay by locking eyes. Ruby looked over at her raven haired teammate and listened. “There are people out there. Not villagers, either. Most of them are people trying to make their lives-”

“As bandits.” Yang finished, venom dripping from the syllables. “And that’s going to be something that they need to look out for as well. Even if it probably won’t actually matter.”

“Bandits.” Weiss repeated the word, but she sounded a little dumbstruck. It probably made sense that Atlas didn’t have a lot of bandits though, Ruby thought. Atlas was too cold for people to be able to really live away from their cities. “You have got to be joking. “

“We’re not.” Blake sighed. “And they live out in the forests.”

Ruby nodded along, but she still felt a little bit more than unsure herself.

"So that's something that the hunters probably know about, right?" Ruby asked, picking her head up to meet Yang's eyes. Yang just gave her a look that didn't exactly seem sure about what she was doing. Ruby didn't like that at all. "I mean, they're bandits, do you think that they would-"

Blake shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past them to try and capitalize on the panic."

"Or they'll just run." Yang grumbled, stretching once more with her face more intense and looking more prepared than she had been before on the whole. "I just hope they don't become a problem."

"Right." Ruby whispered, letting her head drop a little bit. "Of course."

"In any case-" Weiss spoke up, and for the first time she looked like she wanted to take charge in some way. She held her head up high, her hand hovering over her sword. "We need to focus in case we are sent out there. Focusing on theoretical possibilities won't get us anywhere."

"Weiss is right." Ruby said, taking a deep breath of her own. They needed to focus. Focus, focus, focus. "We need to-" She looked out the window again, searching for a sign of anything out there that could act as a sign that things were happening. Ruby didn't see anything, and most of the sounds had been civilians rather than combat.

"We need to get ready." Yang finished for her, sounding mostly resigned on the topic. "Right. Got it."

The four of them turned back to their own work, one by one and none of them shying away from it. For Ruby, that meant that she was now moving on to maintaining Crescent Rose.

For several minutes, the team sat in relative silence, with the only thing to jar them from it was the sound of a knock on the door.

All four of them exchanged a panicked look, all looking to the door. Ozpin had said that if something was wrong they would be contacted more directly, so...

Ruby got up and walked to the door. She let her hand hover over the doorknob for a moment before speaking up. "Who is it?"

"It's Jaune." The voice on the other side of the door said. "Can we talk?"

"Is it important?" Ruby asked, looking back over at her teammates.

"Yeah, we wanted to do a... meeting, thing. Can we do that?"

"We can." Ruby spoke up, swallowing hard and pulling the door open. Sure enough, Jaune was there on the other side with his teammates at his sides.

The four of them looked at each other, but Ruby stepped out of the way and invited them in. Together, Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren stepped into the room and stood there by the door.

Only once the door was closed did anyone allow themselves to speak up.

"We had reason to believe that you would be stressed by the current situation." Ren said, and Ruby really couldn't remember a time where he had talked more to her. "And we figured it would be good if the eight of us spent some time together before something happened."

"Thanks." Ruby says, sitting down on her bed. Jaune was pulling out one of the chairs that were in the room. His teammates did the same, and in the process they managed to create a circle for them. "So were you guys talking about what might happen to you too?"

"We were." Pyrrha said, smiling softly but there being a clear sign of nervousness behind her eyes. "Seeing as we've fought actual grimm out there."

Ruby nodded, because that was the exact issue that she would have expected the others would have run into. It was something that they couldn't avoid really. If they were the only ones that knew about what was out there, then that meant that they were going to need to find their solidarity where they could.

Jaune sighed and took a deep breath, like he was steeling himself for what was to come more physically. "We figured that if someone was going to be called, it would be you guys first." He shook his head, and his eyes went over to meet with Pyrrha's. "We just wanted to know that no matter what, we're going to be behind you."

"It's possible we get sent in together." Blake offered, and she seemed unsure. She had picked up a notebook at some point and had scribbled down something there. Ruby craned her neck to try and figure out what Blake was writing. She couldn't tell at all. "Considering the size of that grimm."

Weiss blinked. "But it's also possible that we don't get sent out there at all."

"That depends on how the hunters do." Yang added, her voice still noticibly frustated by what was going on. None of them wanted to be the first to go out there, that much was obvious. "We might be sitting around here for nothing."

Nora nodded, her lips pursed and her legs swinging in the seat where she was sitting. "I mean, I don't know that's so bad."

Ren took a deep breath and looked among the room. He sat in a way where he was almost eerily still, and while that was enough to leave Ruby feeling a little bit unsure and nervous about herself, she didn't comment. He hesitated a moment, and then began to speak.

"Either way, if we get sent out together into the field we should be prepared to work together." Ren said, his eyes flicking back down to the ground and to his hands. They were balled in his lap, but they relaxed a moment later. "While our teams have some experience together in the past, we don't have the best ideas as to how to work together."

"I mean-" Jaune spoke up, waving a hand and gesturing vaguely, clearly unable to find the words that he felt like he needed to say. "We know how to work with our own teams, and we did pretty well as a group last time-"

"So if we're going to talk about this, then we should talk about it." Yang cut the others off. Ruby gave her sister a look, because she knew that Yang was getting impatient and that was something that they couldn't deal with. "What do you want to do, go around in a circle and everyone share what they can do?"

Ruby hesitated because it felt like Yang was just trying to be sarcastic about it all, but at the same time it didn't feel that way. It was a good idea, one that they could go along with and one that they could use.

"I have Crescent Rose." Ruby started first, gesturing to her weapon, which she had folded away at the same time that JNPR had arrived. "And my semblance is speed, but if I can do it right I can basically fly."

"Lightning." Nora said, offhandedly. "And a big hammer. If I can get a good blast of electricity, I can use that to get stronger. But if it's too much it can hurt. Not sure if I’m going to be able to get that, though."

"Right." Pyrrha said, nodding and her brow furrowing. Pyrrha closes her eyes for a second, taking a breath before beginning her own explanation. She opened her eyes up and hovered her hand by her shield, and Ruby watched in wonder as it raised and floated up to her, only a small black aura surrounding it to show that something is happening. "My semblance is polarity." Pyrrha explained, smiling softly as she took the shield back in hand and set it down, by her leg and nice and neat. "I prefer not to use it too much in tournaments, but in a setting where there is a lot going on, I could do a lot to help."

"Is there anything that you need to know in particular for that to work?" Weiss asked, seeming curious. Maybe she had seen something of it before?

Pyrrha shrugged. "I just need to know that something is made of metal. Most people's weapons are made of alloys that I can manipulate, but that isn't such a sure thing with bullets. And even then, I prefer not to intervene unless I really need to."

"Got it." Ruby said, nodding because she was already starting to get ideas. She didn't know if she could ever use Pyrrha's abilities in combat, but there were definitely a lot of possibilities. Ruby couldn't speak for her teammates, but she knew for a fact that she didn't use bullets entirely made of dust. She looked over at her teammates, waiting for one of them to speak up and give an explanation.

To no surprise of hers, Yang let out a breath and stretched her arms. "I basically get stronger for every time I get hit. The weaker my aura is, the harder I can go. There's a limit, but if we really need it I can just throw myself to the front." She looked over at Weiss, grinning. "And I think that you're one of the best ones to do that. I mean, you've got that fancy glyph semblance."

"I can't do everything with it!" Weiss exclaimed, her face turning a bit red. "I can do a lot, but... I'm not as good as I could be. I will be, though."

Blake was about to open her mouth to explain when there was a knock on the door to team RWBY's room and they all went dead silent. Every single one of the students there locked eyes with each other, all feeling just as afraid as the others. It occured to Ruby that they could run into a lot of trouble for having JNPR there at a time where there was an important situation going on.

"You should get it." Jaune stage whispered to her, and Ruby nodded. She got up and stretched before approaching the door and letting her hand hover over it.

She didn't have the time to go hesitating over this, and yet here she was. "Who is it?" Ruby asked, doing her best to keep any panic from reaching her voice.

"This is Doctor Oobleck." The voice on the other side of the door. "I have been asked to retrieve your team and to take you into the forest."

Ruby pulled the door open at that, because she really didn't want to get into trouble for dragging this whole thing down.

On the other side, Oobleck was standing there with his head held high and decked out in the same hunting gear that he had worn on their first real mission. He looked at the people in the room and when he saw team JNPR he smiled a bit. "And there is the other set of students I was about to seek out. I need for all eight of you to come with me. I hope that you are prepared for what is to come."

"That's what we've been doing." Ruby replied as she broke into a light jog to get her over to her bed. Crescent Rose was there, sitting on her bed and waiting for her. She took a deep breath and picked the scythe up before attaching it to the magnetic plate on her back.

Everyone else in the room rallied and got ready, and as soon as everyone was prepared, Oobleck began to lead them out, rambling off what sounded almost like a memorized mission dossier far too quickly for Ruby to really be able to catch.

This was real, and it was happening.

Ruby was more afraid than she ever had been in her life.

[the-stories-in-my-head-95]

Love at First Punch- Part 2

Damian Wayne x Reader

Summary- Reader is the daughter of green arrow and black canary and first meets Damian a couple weeks after he starts to live with Bruce. He says something rude and you punches him in the face and it’s been happily ever after ever since. When you are 18 you, Damian and Bart Allen get sucked into another universe. One where Thomas Wayne, your grandfather and Nora Allen are all alive and they are founding members of their justice league. In an attempt to get back to your universe Bart accidentally brings you to another universe where you are ambushed and taken into custody by none other than the Avengers. Will the three of you make it back home?

Message- Here’s Part 2! It’s kinda long! The three of them meet their grandparents for the first time! Sorry if it sucks!

Background  Part 1

Word Count- 1952

“That is the most exclusive night club in the country! How exactly are we going to get in?” Blue Beetle asked. It had been a little more than 10 years since Damian’s and your “wedding”, the two of you were still together and still very happy.

“We’ve got it taken care of, Blue. Don’t worry about it.” You say as you look at Damian.

“Okay, White Canary.” Blue Beetle huffs.

“Now that we have that taken care of, let’s go over team assignments.” Nightwing says. “Alpha squad- Robin, White Canary, and Impulse. The three of you will be in the club- undercover.” The three of you nod. “Beta squad- Blue Beetle, Miss Martian and I. We will be look out, and will be staying outside of the club. You three should go get ready and then head out. Miss Martian will establish a link when we get there.”

“Wait, they are going in without us there? No way that’s too dangerous.” Blue Beetle asks.

“TT, it is to protect our identities and we can take care of ourselves.” Damian growls. You put your hand on his forearm and he looks at you and sighs. “But thank you for your concern. Canary, Impulse, let’s go get ready.” You and Bart get up and follow Damian out.

“Don’t worry, Blue. I’ll see you after the mission.” Bart says as you walk out the door. You hear a faint adios as you walk down the hall. “So what’s my cover? I mean you’re Y/N Queen and Damian’s a Wayne, the two of you are considered American royalty. Of course they’ll let the two of you in, but I’m no one. I’m a leech who’s attached themselves to two heirs to two multi-billion dollar companies.” Bart says.

“Hey, you’re Impulse and you’re super smart and funny. Just because you’re not an heir to a huge company or whatever doesn’t mean you’re a nobody and you’re sure as hell not a leech. You are our friend, Bart. Hell you were the only person at our wedding all those years ago. Where is this coming from?”

“Some asshole at school said something to me before the semester ended.” That made you sigh, the three of you had just finished your first semester at Ivy University. Damian and you were renting an apartment for the three of you near the school.

“Don’t listen to assholes like that, Bart. You’re my oldest and closest friend. Damian and I don’t think of you like that and it hurts me to think that your thinking about yourself like that.” You say as you pull him into a hug.

“Thanks, Y/N.” Bart murmurs.

“You’re welcome. Come on, we need to get ready.” You say as the two of you walk to the exit of the cave, where the zeta beams are. “Also, I think you’ve been holding out on me. What’s going on with you and Blue?”

“What!? Nothing! We’re just friends! He’s not gay! I mean I don’t think he is.” Bart stutters out as he blushes.

“But you like him don’t you?” You ask.

“Yeah.” Bart sighs.

“TT, what took the two of you so long?” Damian asks.

“We were just gossiping, my love.” You say as you wrap your arms around Damian and then you give him a quick kiss.

“We should get going, Beloved.” Damian says and you nod. The three of you walk through the zeta beam.

***

The three of you were dressed to the nines. You were wearing stiletto heels, a black bodycon dress and a fur coat. Damian and Bart were both wearing slacks and button down shirts. You had stashed your gear in the ally way behind the club. There was a long line on the side walk but the three of you walked right up to the bouncer. Damian wrapped his arm around your waist as you stopped in front of the bouncer.

“Name?”

“We are not on the list.” Damian says.

“Then you all need to wait in line.” The bouncer says.

“Do you know who we are? We don’t wait in lines. Get your manager.” Damian growls, acting like the spoiled heir he often uses as a public persona. The bouncer rolls his eyes but takes out a walkie talkie and asks for the manager. A couple of minutes later a man in a suit comes out and looks at the three of you. His eyes go big as he recognizes you.

“Mr. Wayne, Miss Queen! I’m so sorry you had to wait. Please come in, the two of you and your friend are more than welcome to come in.”

“Thank you, we didn’t mind waiting.” You say as you walk into the club. The manager flutters around you for a couple minutes, but you tell him that you would like to go to the VIP area. He leads you there and then leave the three of you alone.

Nightwing here. Are the three of you in? You hear in your head.

Yes. You think back. The link is left open as the three of you look keep a look out for anything suspicious. The intel that Batman had found was vague. Then you see him. Klarion. You watch as he goes into the back room.

“Bart, get our gear.” You whisper. He nods and speeds off. He’s back in seconds. The three of you rush off to change and then Bart runs the three of you into the backroom.

What’s going on? Nightwing says through the bond.

Klarion Bart thinks.

Wait for us to engage Miss Martian says.

To late You think as Klarion spots you. You draw your bow and arrow and aim it at him.

“Well, Well. If it isn’t the Junior Justice League.” Klarion says “I don’t have time to deal with the three of you, right now.” He says as he waves his hand and opens a portal. Then you uses his magic to push the three of you in. It happens so fast that not even Bart has time to fight back. You feel metal as you fall back through the portal, then before you can do anything it’s closed. You look to you left and see Damian and Bart laying in a similar position. Then the three of you get up and look around.

“He transported us to the watchtower?” Bart asks.

“I guess, but it looks different. Darker almost.” You murmur. Then you hear a door open and you turn to see who entered the room. A man dressed in a darker version of your Dads suit walks in. He looks like your Dad but older. Maybe you had traveled through time. “Dad?” you ask. The man gives you a strange look.

“Who are you? How did you get up here?”

“Dad it’s me. I think that we’ve been gone for a long time, but you’ve gotta recognize your own daughter. Where’s mom?” You ask.

“I don’t have a daughter.” The man says and then he quickly shoots three arrows towards the three of you and a black gas fills the space around you. Then everything goes black.

***

You feel cold water hit your face and you jolt awake.

“Good you’re awake. We’ve been waiting on you.” A women dressed in a flash costume says. You look around you and see Damian and Bart tied to two other chairs. They both have inhibitor colors on and then you realize that you do to.

“Are you okay, Beloved?” Damian asks.

“Could be better. But yeah, I’m okay.” You say.

“Stop taking!” A man dressed a batman says. “How did you get here?”

“Answer him!” The man you had mistaken as your father says after a short pause.

“He said stop talking!” Bart yells at the three men. “Now, what did you do with the Justice League? Where are you holding them?”

“Justice League? Don’t you mean Justice Society?” The woman asks.

“Oh my God! That stupid little witch boy! I’m gonna kill him when we get back!” You yell. “My name is Y/N Queen, my dad’s name is Oliver Queen.” You hear the man dressed like your father take a sharp breath in. “That’s Damian Wayne, his dad is Bruce Wayne.” The man dressed like batman’s jaw drops. “And that is Bart Allen, his dad is Barry Allen.” The women dressed as the Flash gasps. “I’m guessing that the three of you are Robert Queen, Thomas Wayne and Nora Allen. I’m right, right?”

“Beloved, what are you talking about? Our grandfathers and Bart’s grandmother are dead.” Damian says.

“Oh my God, this is a different dimension isn’t it? One where you all survived and your sons died. I’m guessing Oliver died in a ship wreck, Bruce died in a mugging gone wrong and my dad was killed by a man in a yellow suit? But his father was arrested for the murder.” Bart says.

“H-how do you know all that?” Nora murmurs.

“Were your grandkids, from a dimension where you all died, but your sons lived. They lived and then had us and they trained us to fight and to protect our cities and our world.” You say. “If you don’t believe us, run DNA tests.” You say. The three of them leave and come back with scanners. After a couple minutes the three of them nod at one another and move to release you. You move towards Damian and he pulls you into a kiss.

“Ugh, I swear, the world could be ending and those two would find time to make out.” Bart says to your grandparents.

“So, our grandkids are…” Thomas starts.

“Hopelessly in love, together, married, childhood sweethearts, or disgusting. Take your pick.” Bart says as he rolls his eyes.

“Your just jealous.” You say as you pull away from Damian. Bart shrugs.

“You guys are what, 18. How are you married already? Is that normal in your dimension.”

“We’re not legally married, Bart married the two of us at Wayne manor when we were kids.” Damian says as he takes your hand.

“I was 8 and he was 9. It was the day we met.” You say as you smile at Damian. “He was a real jerk to me and Bart. So I punched him in the face.”

“Then we both apologized and we started to play. I asked her to marry me in the garden while we were playing hide and seek.” Damian murmured.

“The wedding was a private affair, since we were afraid the grownups would stop us. So Bart was the only one there. After the ceremony we danced. Then I asked my dad to have a father-daughter dance and all hell broke loose. I’m pretty sure my dad demanded we get a divorce.” You say as you smile.

“That’s adorable.” Nora says as she looks at the three of you.

“Yeah, there parents came around to it eventually.” Bart says.

“The three of you have had a pretty crazy day. Why don’t you get some sleep and we can talk more tomorrow.” Your grandfather says.

“Sleep actually sounds really good right now.” You murmur. Your grandfather nods and you all follow him out of the room. He leads you to the medical wing.

“Sorry, we don’t have any spare rooms with beds up here.” Nora says.

“This is fine. Thank you.” Bart says as he sits on one of the medical coats. Both you and Damian do the same.

“We will bring the three of you breakfast in the morning.” Thomas says.

“Thank you.” You murmur as they shut the door. “This is insane.” You say to Damian and Bart.

“Yeah.” They both say back. Then you lay down and try to get some rest.

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[thewayiremember]

EPISODE 7

I don’t want to say I’m right where I started, but it really feels like it. The homeless lady told me everything she knew but I don’t know if that can lead me anywhere. I should’ve asked about her name, it feels rude to be calling her ‘homeless lady’. Or maybe I’m just plain brainless and simply cannot connect the dots. Yeah, I think that might be it.

           Oh, no, there is one thing I didn’t know, because from what she’s told me I can assume that whoever beat me, did it before I got to that alley, right? She didn’t hear anyone fighting, or screaming, it’s like I was already unconscious. But why bring me there? So that I wouldn’t be found and nobody would help me? Dude, that’s too extreme, I could have died. What the heck have I done to you?

           It’s very nerve-racking, solving mysteries. No wonder Sherlock does drugs.

           I called Bobbie to come. To watch films or do anything, really, to get my mind off of scary stuff. I hope he’s not in a mood for horror movies.

 03:16 PM

           We were playing Mario Kart for three hours, which is absurd considering how beautiful the weather is outside. Bummer because I was told it’s going to be rainy for the next couple of days. But we’re smart and decided to go roller skating, taking advantage of the Sun still shining bright. Bobbie invited me for lunch before we go, but his dad had made fish, bleh. No, thanks. I’m fine with my leftover spaghetti.

           You have no idea how good it feels to be occupied. I’ve never understood workaholics before. Like, how can you possibly choose, willingly, to spend all your free time after work, on doing even more work? But now I get it. They’re just very stressed-out people, who worry too much. Either overthinking what the future will bring or about their health, their children’s health. I’m the same, I love being lazy when I have zero concerns on my mind, but as soon as some kind of problem or responsibility comes my way, I need someone to keep me busy or I have to fight panic attacks.

 09:20 PM

           I’m glad we went outside, eventually. Although we almost didn’t because I was really struggling to find my skates. And then, when I found them, it felt like they had shrunk a little since last year. I had no idea I’m still growing. Still not a big boy, I guess.

           It was nice not to think for a second. The Sun and its warmth on our skin, the birds and their songs that we heard, the wind and its… I forgot a word, but who said I didn’t like meditation? Because that’s kind of what it is, right? Focusing on and appreciating the things that surround you. Who cares about sitting still for an hour. That, I don’t think I could do.

“You’re looking a lot better than when I first saw you after coming back from camping,” Bobbie couldn’t resist bringing up that topic. “Your doctor was right, I guess, saying you heal pretty quickly.” I thought he finished, but no. “Are you still in pain?” Ugh.

“No, not anymore. Not compared to the first couple of days. Now I’d say that I’m just uncomfortable. Thanks for asking.” It is true, nothing really hurts, but when I’m physically active throughout the day I’ve noticed I get tired a lot sooner than before. But that’s normal, I suppose. It’s all going to get back to normal, so, no need to worry.

 10:40 PM

           I was pleased with myself that I had fallen asleep so early. It was a busy day after all, but the dreams are getting more vivid and it’s starting to feel less like a dream and more like reality. I remember the taste of her potion, like dirt in my mouth, I can feel the humidity of air on my skin and hear crickets chirping around us, I remember the pain her potion caused me.

“Go, you don’t have much time,” she says, but I hesitate and she’s getting angry. She knocks out the bowl of blood on her hands while trying to reach me, pauses for a moment and then pushes me to the ground.

           Oh my God, it makes sense. How could I have not thought of that before? Maybe no one has beaten me up after traveling back here? Nora told me that after I drink the potion it might hurt, and I know first hand that it did, I felt the pain. Maybe that’s where all the bruises have come from and the alley is the place that Nora send me to? And those drunkards that the homeless lady heard are not related to my story at all.

           I need a sign of some sort because I don’t know what to do with that information. None of it is leading me anywhere. Why would Nora send me to that alley in the middle of the night? Is that a sign? Is that supposed to tell me something? Nothing rings a bell.

           I need another plan. I’m getting tired of not knowing, and angry because the girl seems so urgent but doesn’t feel like saying anything specific. Why is she playing games if she wants me to hurry up?

           I think I’ll go to the hospital tomorrow, just because I don’t have any better ideas. Could dr. Gramm help me somehow? Maybe she or one of the nurses noticed something after I was brought there. I didn’t ask any questions when I was in the hospital, I didn’t care.

           Well, things have changed since then.