Chapter Text

It was nighttime, and Vale’s streets were as silent as they could be, cars buzzing up and down the road and all. Still, this late at night, it was unusual to hear as many sets of footsteps as could be heard outside the small card shop “From Duston til Dawn”, who’s pun-laden name was the destination of the band of similarly dressed men that walked into the door. The small, balding man behind the counter immediately tensed, as a red-haired man in a white suit and a bowler hat, smoking a cigar, walked up to the counter. He dusted off his cigar onto the floor.

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a card shop open this late?” the man said, before the several men around him drew guns and pointed them at the clerk.

“I-I’ll give you my money, just leave me alone!” the worried clerk stammered.

The boss just chuckled. “We’re not here for your money,” he said, beckoning his men. “Grab the cards.”

The men opened boxed, piling in sealed card packs and loose bulk into their containers. Men with cushioned cases opened them on the countertops, loading the rarer cards into them. One of the goons ventured to the back of the store, only to find a hooded girl in the back, browsing magazines. She had a wide, frilled, ballerina like skirt of black and red fabric, which contradicted the thick military boots on her feet. Most mystifying of all was the long, red cloak that was draped over her shoulders. The goon walked up, and pointed his gun at her. “Hey, put your hands behind your head!” The girl ignored him, and he repeated his words, more frustrated. After being ignored again, he grunted, and jerked the girl around. She looked at him, silver eyes staring into his sunglasses.

“Huh?” she said, pulling the earphones off her head, loud rock music bleeding out of them.

“Put your hands behind your head!” the goon shouted.

“Are you… robbing me?” the girl said.

“Yeah!”

“Ooooooh…” The girl said, before her duel disk whirred to life.

Without warning, the shop’s windows were blown to pieces, several goons flying outward into the street amongst shattered glass and scattering petals that flowed with the winds. The girl had followed them out, and turned to the jingling door as the man in the suit haphazardly strapped the stolen goods onto his bike, before slapping his helmet on and speeding off. The girl ran to her own bike, slamming her disk into the console.

“Hello, Ruby!” the internal computer sang.

“Not now, girl!” Ruby shouted at her bike. “Let’s go!”

The bike roared to life, before speeding after the robber. The white-suited man looked behind him, seeing the girl behind him, and quickly gaining. Dammit, he thought, that bike is fast! I know what will slow her down, though . He grinned, before pushing a button on his console. The sides of his bike opened, and two halves of a duel disk slid upward and united, activating.

“Duel mode on: Autopilot standby ” the bike’s console said, before radiating a pulse. The pulse reached Ruby’s bike just as she caught him, cutting her accelerator and forcing her own disk to activate.

“Duel mode on: Autopilot standby ” her bike said, and she grimaced. He forced a duel on me?

“Heh, nice thinking, crook,” Ruby said, “My runner is slowed when forced into duel mode.” She pointed a finger at the robber. “You’ve just sealed your fate though! You won’t get away from me!”

“Who do you think I am kid, some thug?” The robber laughed. “I’ll show you what happens when some wannabe two-bit huntress kid messes with Roman Torchwick!”

“DUEL!” they both shouted, each gaining their 4000 LP, and drawing their five cards as their bikes automatically drove onto the street’s designated duel lane.

“The first move is mine!” Roman shouted. “I’ll normal summon Volcanic Rocket!” A skeletal, dragon-like rocket of red flesh and yellow bone manifested next to his bike, its engines allowing it to keep up with the pace. “This lets me add Blaze Accelerator to my hand,” he said, taking the spell and adding it to his hand. “I set a card face down, and end my turn. Show me what you can do, little red.”

“It’s my turn!” Ruby shouted, grimacing and drawing a card. “I’ll start with the field spell, Starlight Junktion!” She activated the card, and the environment speeding past them began to change in colour, and shimmer.

A Field Spell? Roman thought, Maybe this will be interesting after all .

“Next, I’ll discard Level Eater, in order to summon the Tuner monster, Quickdraw Synchron from my hand!” As she summoned the monster, a small, cartoonish robot cowboy appeared beside her as she rode. “That’s not all! I’ll normal summon the Tuner monster, Glow-Up Bulb, and then use the effect of Starlight Junktion!” A small bulb with an eye nestled inside it appeared beside her, but quickly vanished. “Now I can summon any Synchron monster that isn’t level 1 from my deck. I summon Synchron Carrier!” A small repair-bot joined the cowboy. “Now, I use Level Eater’s effect, reducing Quickdraw’s level from 5 to 4, and summoning it from the graveyard!” A small beetle, shaped like the level-star of a monster, appeared. “Further, I use Glow-Up’s effect! By sending the top card of my deck to the graveyard, it also returns!” The bulb returned to the field, alongside the beetle. “The Level four Quickdraw Synchron tunes the level 1 Level Eater!”

“This runt can Synchro Summon ?” Roman said, aghast at the possibility.

"Clustering stars will call upon a new fighter! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Show yourself, Junk Warrior!" A large, purple robot with bright red eyes, yellow wings, and a tan scarf emerged from the pillar of light the Synchro Summon invoked. It’s right arm was bigger than its left, and sported a knuckle duster. “Synchron Carrier’s effect activates! Since I used a Synchron monster to Synchro Summon, it summons a “Synchron Token” in defense mode. Then, Junk Warrior’s effect activates! It gains the combined ATK points of all level two or lower monsters I control. Synchron Token has 1000, and Glow-Up has 100. That’s 1100 extra ATK! Power of Fellows! ” An aura began to flow around Junk Warrior, as his ATK rose from its natural 2300 to 3400. “Now, the Level 1 Glow-Up Bulb tunes the Level 2 Synchron Carrier and Synchron Token!”

Successive Synchro Summons? Roman thought. Who IS this runt?

“Clustering stars charge forward at the speed of sound! Become the path that lights the way! Synchro Summon! Rev it up, Accel Synchron! ” A robot that looked like Ruby’s bike that had grown arms, legs, and a head began to fly alongside Junk Warrior. “Here’s the big one! I equip the spell Over-Resonate to Accel Synchron! This gives it ATK points equal to its level times 400!” An aura enveloped Accel Syncrhon, bringing its ATK up to 2500. “Take this! Junk Warrior attacks Volcanic Rocket! Scrap Fist! ” The jets on Junk Warrior revved to life, and he shot forward, obliterating the Rocket and dealing 1500 damage, bringing Roman down to 2500 LP. “This’ll end it! Accel Synchron, attack him directly!” Accel Synchron charged at Roman’s bike, and the criminal just smirked.

“I activate my trap, Firewall! While it’s face up, I can banish a Pyro monster from my graveyard to negate your attack!” An image of Volcanic Rocket appeared, before incinerating itself to block Accel Synchron’s charge.

Ruby humpfed, her eyes narrowing. “I use Accel Sycnhron’s effect. By sending Steam Synchron from my deck to the graveyard, I can reduce its level to 2. This reduces the bonus of Over-Resonate. I set one card, and end my turn.”

“A decent show red, but looks like your little vigilante effort was for nothing. My turn!” He drew a card, and smiled. “I pay 500 LP to keep Firewall active.” A small flame burnt him, lowering his LP to 2000. “Next, I activate Blaze Accelerator, then send it to the graveyard in order to activate Tri-Blaze Accelerator!” A three-barreled cannon appeared on the back of Roman’s motorcycle. “This lets me send a Pyro-type monster from my hand to the graveyard to destroy one monster you control, and deal 500 damage. I send Volcanic Scattershot to the graveyard, and take aim at Junk Warrior!” A small, red scaled lizard appeared loaded into one of the cannon’s barrels, which pointed at Junk Warrior. “Fire!”

“You won’t hit anything!” Ruby said.

“And why’s that?” Roman countered.

“Because,” Ruby continued, a smirk forming, “he won’t be there to blow up! I activate Accel Synchron’s effect! Using it as a tuner, I can Synchro Summon during your turn!”

“ What? ” Roman shouted.

“The level 2 Accel Synchron tunes the level 5 Junk Warrior!” Ruby closed her eyes, as a giant pillar of light appeared beside her. “ Red like roses fills my dreams! Your legacy grows as its power blooms once more! Accel Synchro! Come on, Black Rose Dragon! ” The pillar of light dispersed, and a giant dragon loomed over the entire highway, its wings made of crimson petals, and its scales a shining black. It roared as it took flight, the noise echoing for blocks in every direction. “Now, the effect of Starlight Junktion! Whenever I Synchro Summon during your turn, I can shuffle one card on the field into the deck! I choose Firewall!” The streets shimmered bright, and the trap that floated next to Roman vanished.

Roman grimaced. “You dodged one shot, but how about three? I use Scattershot’s effect! By loading two more Scattershots from my deck, I can destroy all monsters you control, and deal 1500 damage. That’s 2000 total damage! Say goodbye to your dragon! Infernal Mortar! ” The three cannons all pointed up, and rained down towards the dragon.

“I activate my trap! Follow Wing!” A trap flipped up next to Ruby, and a second, golden pair of wings appeared on Black Rose Dragon’s back. “This card equips to a Synchro monster, and prevents it from being destroyed by battle or by card effect!”

“You’ll still take the damage, though!” Roman shouted, as the fiery mortar rained down on Ruby, and she shouted as her LP dropped to 2000. “And that’s not the end of it. You’re safe from Tri-Blaze’s destruction, but not the damage! I send Volcanic Shell from my hand to the graveyard, and fire!” Another blast dropped Ruby to 1500 LP. “What’s more, I can pay 500 LP when Volcanic Shell is sent to the graveyard, and add another to my hand. I pay the LP, load, and fire again!” Roman dropped to 1500 LP, as another burning shot lowered Ruby to 1000. “And again! Fire!” Roman fell to 1000, as one last shot nearly spun Ruby out and lowered her to 500 LP.

Ruby recovered, and sped up her bike to catch back up to Roman. “But now what?” she shouted. “You’ve got no more shots to fire!”

"Oh, how little you know,” Roman said with a smile. “I send Tri-Blaze Accelerator to the graveyard, in order to summon Volcanic Doomfire!” The cannon on the back of his bike disappeared, and in its place appeared a goliath, burning giant with a fiery, dragon-like head.

“What does that matter?” Ruby said. “You can’t attack the turn you activate the effect of a Blaze Accelerator card.”

“I don’t need to. Volcanic Doomfire makes all monsters you control attack it during your turn. Doomfire has 3000 ATK, and your dragon only has 2400. Next turn, you’ll just defeat yourself!” Roman laughed. “I set one card, and end my turn!”

“That’s fine with me! My turn!” Ruby said drawing a card.

“When your turn starts, I activate my trap! Backfire!” The trap flipped up next to Roman’s bike. “You think I’m dumb? Follow Wing’s effect destroys a level 5 or higher monster the equipped monster battles before damage calculation, and lets it attack again right through. With Backfire, however, when Doomfire is destroyed by a card effect, you’ll take 500 damage!” Roman laughed again. “You can’t destroy Doomfire!”

“That’s fine,” Ruby said, “Because I’m gonna go straight through it!”

“What?” Roman asked, confusedly.

“I activate the effect of a monster in my graveyard! By banishing the A/D Changer that was sent to my graveyard by the effect of Glow-Up Bulb, It changes Volcanic Doomfire to DEF position!” The giant monster roared before crouching down, crossing its arms in a defensive pose.

“So what?” Roman said. “You’re just stalling. I can still beat you next turn!” He looked ahead, spying a helicopter approaching them, and smirked. “This duel is still mine!”

Ruby smirked. “Black Rose Dragon’s effect! By banishing a plant-type monster from my graveyard, it changes Doomfire back to ATK position, and lowers its ATK to zero!”

“ What!?” Roman shouted, as Doomfire rose back to full height. No, he thought , if she attacks, Backfire won’t activate! I’ll lose!

“Black Rose Dragon, attack Doomfire! Crescent Rose! ”

Black Rose Dragon built up fire in its mouth, lowering it before flicking its head upward as it spewed flame in a crescent shape at Doomfire. The explosion demolished Doomfire, reducing Roman’s LP to zero and spinning him out, the burglar tumbling off his bike and landing up against the side of a building at the end of the road.

Ruby veered her bike to the side, squealing to a halt in front of Roman in time to hear the blades of a rapidly descending helicopter. She revved her engine back up and sped away from the landing zone as gunfire hailed from the chopper. Goons hopped off, helping Roman onto the chopper and loading his bike and the stolen goods while Ruby watched from afar. Just as she contemplated entering the fray again, another runner’s engine roared as a bike lept over her head and landed in front of her. The blonde, spectacled older woman on the bike took a card and played it onto the runner’s disk as the helicopter rose to the sky.

“Spellbook of Power!” she shouted, as a red, glowing tome appeared in front of her bike and shot a beam at the helicopter. As it neared the chopper, a woman walked out to the side door, and with her own disk, activated a card to block the beam, before casting a fireball of her own at the woman. The woman on the ground in turn played another card to stop it.

“Spellbook of Wisdom!” she shouted, and a green tome manifested and opened, the book’s pages stopping the fireball in its tracks. As the smoke cleared, the helicopter sped off, both girls on the ground losing it completely. The older woman grunted and shook her head, before Ruby walked over to her.

“You’re… a duel huntress…” she said, her eyes lighting up. “ Can I have your autograph? ”

*****

“I hope you realized your actions will not be taken lightly young lady!”

Ruby sat pouting in an interrogation cubicle at the local police station, the duel huntress, who had revealed herself as Glynda Goodwitch, pacing back and forth as she scolded her.

“Dueling without a liscence, property damage, endangering civilian lives, and that’s not to mention the high speed riding duel held without approval against known mob boss Roman Torchwick, regardless if you beat him. Were it up to me, you’d be sent home, with a pat on the back,” she said, her tone lightening and Ruby’s eyes brightening, until she slammed the file she held onto the desk, “and a slap on the wrist.” Ruby jumped, startled between the slammed file and her tone returning to the consistent sternness she’d been hearing what felt like all night. “But, as it turns out, someone wants to see you.”

She walked out, and walking in was a tall man in a black sweater and green scarf. Small, black sunglasses sat on his nose, and short white hair messily sat atop his head. He set a plate of cookies in front of Ruby, as he fiddled with the tablet in his hand before looking at her. “Ruby Rose,” he said, leaning in to look at her. “You have… silver eyes…”

“Y-yeah…” Ruby said nervously, before beginning to devour cookies to distract herself.

“So,” the tall man started, “where did you learn how to duel like this?” He pulled up footage of her duel, particularly of her use of Accel Synchron.

“Uh… Signal Duel Academy?” Ruby replied.

“They taught you how to use one of the rarest and most complex summoning mechanics in existence?”

“Well,” Ruby said, trying as hard as she could to not make eye contact, “one teacher in particular.”

“Really,” the man said, “because I’ve only ever seen two men ever use those kind of monsters before.”

“That’s my dad and my uncle,” Ruby said. “Dad Synchro Summons during the opponent’s turn, and my uncle uses Synchro Tuners, so I combined them!”

“Really…” the man said. “Ruby, do you know who I am?”

“You’re Director Ozpin,” Ruby said, “head of the Public Maintenance Bureau.”

“Ruby,” Ozpin said, “Do you want to be a duel huntress?”

“More than anything,” Ruby said, finally making eye contact.

“Well, the Beacon Cup is starting next week. In order to become a duel huntress, you need either a sponsorship from a congress member, or personal approval from the Director himself.” He pulled an envelope with the Public Maintenance Bureau’s logo sealing it out of his jacket, and slid it across the table. “This is the invitation for the last Wildcard spot. You do well enough there, you may earn both of those things.”

Ozpin left her alone in the room, and Ruby looked at the envelope for a solid minute, before jumping into the air.



“Yes!”