Nanosuit and Soul Magic: A Crysis/RWBY crossover

chapter 10

This tunnel is really starting to wear on me. 

Dark, same-y, filled with rubble, and we can’t go more than a few dozen feet without coming across another body. I don’t really mind the corpses, I’ve seen worse, but I can tell that it is not doing the girls any favors, especially Ruby. She’s holding it together, though, looking a lot more composed than she did earlier.

CFVY is taking it pretty well, though, especially considering that they’re only...

Huh. I don’t actually know.

“So, how old are you guys, exactly?”

Coco looked back over her shoulder. “Us? We’re second year students, so eighteen years old, mostly. How old are you?”

It’s still kinda weird that we have similar calendars, but it’s kinda understandable. They’d based their “year” off of the cycle of the seasons, just like us, but they used lunar months to divvy it up. The fact that they’d also cut their months into seven day quarters was weird, but apparently had some valid historical basis. 

‘Course, that didn’t explain the shared language, or any of the other similarities I wasn’t quite prepared to chalk up as “coincidence” but I wasn’t going to try and sort through that particular can of bullshit until I’ve worked out the whole “fucking magic” bit.

Oh, right. Conversation. Processing everything so quickly can really play hell with my attention span.

Right, my age. Weird, I haven’t really thought about that in a while. Just doesn’t seem important anymore, you know? I actually have to think for a bit to remember it.

“I turned twenty-one a couple months ago.”

CFVY didn’t really react beyond a few raised eyebrows, but the girls turned and stared.

“...You’re twenty-one?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Well, you’re just so...cynical.” Ruby said, quietly.

“You barely flinch at getting your chest blown open,” Yang continued.

“You react to an ambush like they’ve become commonplace to you,” Weiss, picking up the torch.

“And, based on what you’ve said, most people who’ve seen the things you have would be spending the next several years in therapy.” And there’s Blake, bringing up the rear.

I kinda hoped Grimm would attack, just to cut off this conversation. No luck. 

“Okay, first of all, I’m not cynical, I’m a realist. Second, I barely flinch at getting my chest blown open because I am a badass. Third, I have gotten used to getting ambushed, survive the first couple and it’s not that difficult. Fourth, you are neither my mom or my shrink, so do not talk to me about therapy.”

Ruby leaned over to Yang and whispered, confused, “What’s a ‘shrink’?” Yang shrugged.

Weiss frowned. She looked like she was about to say something, but stopped herself.

Coco broke in, thank god. “Let’s save the chatter ‘til we’re back at Beacon, kay?”

“Yeah, let’s save the talk about my tragic backstory for later.”

Hopefully they’ll forget to bring it up by the time we get back. Yeah, knowing my luck, not happening. Welp, that’s something Future Alcatraz can deal with.

As we keep walking, we get more and more on edge. Where the hell are the Grimm? This place is supposed to be fucking packed with the bastards, but we’ve barely seen any!