Lo! After a long absence from writing, I return in glory!
This is a fanfic I started writing on SpaceBattles some time ago and had left alone for the last few months due health issues piling up in the last year or so. Most people around here know what they are and what I've had to go through.
So, here you all go.
When my grandmother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a couple of years before she died, she and my grandpa bought a cabin up near Big Bear Lake together. According to my grandpa, she wanted a place like that so she could be reminded of her old home back in Arkansas. It's a nice, quaint little place off the main road, and whenever it snows, the road's one of the first to get cleared. I'd only been up here in the snowy months once, and it certainly looked nice. It'd probably look nicer with more snow than what we had, but I couldn't enjoy it. Because little did I know, that was the beginning of one of the biggest fights of my life.
But that's not the story you want to hear about.
No, I know what story you want to read.
And that story starts in the same place, and starts with me chasing my dog through the neighborhood at 8000 feet.
"Molly!"
Molly is one of the three dogs we have, a black setter-spaniel mix. She's getting up in age, but if you let her get out of the house without a leash in the morning she could be halfway across the state by midday. So there I was, garbed in plaid pajama pants, a purple Relay For Life shirt, my lucky black suede jacket, and red tennis shoes, chasing a dog through sloping roads way too early in the morning for my liking.
Oh, and did I mention it's also roughly 45 or so degrees outside right now? And I live in the desert. Put two and two together.
I follow Molly's last known trajectory up the road and down another, which is the way we take to go into town if we need to get supplies or food or whatever, and finally I find her sniffing up a tree on the corner. I slow my pace down, trying to stay quiet so I can snag her from behind and get her leashed before she goes running off again. After checking to make sure no cross-traffic would run me over, I make my move. I slink across the road and reach out to grab her collar…
And she doesn't even notice me hooking her up. She's too preoccupied with smelling the tree.
"Okay, you. Mom already walked you once, you're not getting another one," I say to Molly, but as I'm saying this, I happen to see something on the tree. Claw marks. Four massive claw marks dragging their way down the tree.
Now, being in the mountains, it's not unheard of to have bears and mountain lions roaming around. But bears and mountain lions will typically keep their distance. And most of them probably don't have claws that can dig several inches deep into a pine tree. Molly is still sniffing the tree, probably wondering what it was that could inflict such a thing. I reach into my jacket pocket and snap a photo of it with my phone, and then start pulling Molly away from the tree.
"Let's go, Molly, I'm not about to skip breakfast for you," I said, but as I start to turn around to head back the way we came, but as I do, spot something else further down the road.
A body.
I lead Molly away from the tree towards the body, keeping my phone out just in case I had to report it to the police. But as I got closer to the slumped figure on the ground, I find something I hadn't quite expected to find on the ground at my feet.
A large red and black two-handed scythe.
Wait. I'd seen this thing before. Is this what I think it is?
Molly sniffs at the scythe as well, and then goes right for the body, sniffing it as well. She nearly pulls my arm out of my socket doing it, too.
"Gah! Molly-!"
"...muuuuuh...Zwei, it's too early..."
Zwei?
Wait. Zwei. Scythe. I look over and our mystery body is clad in a black and red dress, has red and black hair (albeit with some dead pine needles on top due to where she'd been sleeping), combat boots, and a long red shroud. Put them together and what do you get?
I rub at my eyes. I'm dreaming, right? I'm probably still asleep, and when I wake up, I'll be in my bed, and the first thing I'll see is my laptop, because I went to sleep watching the LCK stream on YouTube. But no. There's still a black and red-clad body on the ground (and my dog is now licking her face), and there's still a scythe on the ground behind me. I look down at my phone, and the claw mark picture is still there.
"Zwei, stop it, I'm up-" The girl sits up, and finds she's talking to Molly. She follows Molly's leash to me, looking up with silver eyes.
Zwei. Scythe. Silver eyes. Black and red dress.
Yup. It's Ruby Rose. Or someone dressed like her.
"Good morning."
It's the only thing my brain allows me to say around it short-circuiting. She can't be the real deal. I'd seen where this storyline goes a dozen times, joked about it with my fellow writers, called it bad storytelling. And yet, here is Ruby Rose, straight out of RWBY, in the middle of the neighborhood in Big Bear City, Crescent Rose and all. For a moment, we just stare at each other. Then I look behind me, back to where said scythe was, and went back to go pick it up.
And immediately regret it, because it's all metal. And metal tends to be heavy.
"I think – this is yours-"
"Ruby" quickly stands up and scoops up her weapon. Even without her Semblance, she's wicked fast on her feet. And almost just as quickly, the weapon begins folding in on itself with mechanical precision and anime fluidity, going into its carrying mode. I didn't see her hit a switch or anything, it just neatly compresses itself, and she attaches it to her back holster. "Yup! Thank you!"
Silence falls between us again.
"...so...you gonna tell me why you're on the side of the road?" I ask.
"Ruby" rubs at her head. "I don't...know...the whole night was a blur..."
I hold out the picture of the tree on my cell phone to her. "Maybe this will help?"
"Ruby" took my cell phone, staring at the claw marks. "Oh yeah! ...I'm pretty sure I killed it...and I guess I was just so tired I just kinda fell asleep on the ground..."
I suppress a shudder. A Grimm, here. I don't even want to know what that would cause right now. Also, she seriously slept out here during the night? How is she not half-frozen? There weren't any clouds out last night, but it definitely would've been cold enough for snow if there was. "Oh...good...what's your name?"
"Ruby" sticks out her hand. "I'm Ruby! Ruby Rose!"
"Ruby, okay. I'm Ryan. This is Molly," I said, gesturing to Molly. She's been sniffing Ruby non-stop since she woke up. This is becoming even more surreal. "...you got a place to stay up here?" Maybe she's a cosplayer and she happens to live around here for some reason.
"Where is here?" She actively looks confused. That's not a good sign.
"Big Bear City."
Ruby blinks, looking around at the neighborhood around her. "...um..."
"You don't know where Big Bear City is?"
"...am I still in Vale, at least?"
That's definitely not the answer I was looking for. "I'm gonna say...probably not." Ruby moans and slumps back down to the ground. "Are you alone at all?"
"No, I was with my friends, but...I don't know where they are...I don't have any idea where I am...I'm cold and I'm hungry..."
I check the time on my watch. Mom's probably already done cooking breakfast, but I'm not sure if she's going to be particularly enthused about cooking for an extra person. I don't want to actually ask, but I know if I bring her unannounced, she's going to be even madder. This could go horribly wrong, and my track record with trusting people hasn't always been the greatest. But whether or not this Ruby Rose is the real deal or just some method cosplayer, I just can't ignore this.
"Hold on a sec." I dig up Mom's number on my phone and call it.
"Hello?"
"Hi Mom. I found Molly."
"And?"
"...well..."
I knew taking Ruby home with me and Molly was going to require some navigating I probably didn't have, but I at least had a chance to come up with a cover story, because "sniper-rifle-scythe-wielding student monster killer that I found unconscious on the side of the road" is going to raise more than a few eyebrows. So, for the moment, Ruby is a friend of mine, one of the many I have online, who I ran into while I was chasing down Molly in the neighborhood, and invited her to breakfast. Everything else is basically half-truths based on her own stuff.
Simple, right?
Well, this is me we're talking about, so of course it's not simple.
Add the fact that breakfast chocolate chip pancakes, and my job becomes infinitely harder, because Ruby absolutely went to town on those. While I'm glad I found Ruby and not, say, Nora, I can already feel the heavy sensation of dread hanging around my stomach along with my own pancakes. And so, we were out on the back porch, the two of us staring down expectant looks from my mom, my dad, and my three siblings as Ruby wolfs down another round of pancakes.
"So, Ruby, what are you doing currently?" Mom asks. "Are you in school?"
"She's a student," I reply.
"Oh. Where at?" asks Dad.
"Beacon Academy-" Ruby says.
"San Bernardino," I say at the same time.
Crap.
"Never heard of Beacon before..." Dad observes. "What's it do?"
"It's a special program for biology majors they started offering on main campus," I bluffed.
"Oh! That probably means you know Ariana," Dad says.
"Who?" asks Ruby.
Double crap. I forgot one of our friends was also a biology major at the same school, studying to become a mortician. Dad's knack for overextending on small talk is a pain in the ass I don't want to field right now. "I don't think so..."
"Sorry, I only started last year..." Ruby, thankfully, also tries to dodge the question.
"Oh," Dad nods. "I guess that would mean you two don't cross paths all that much."
Ruby laughs it off, but she's already on edge and I'm scrambling for a topic changer. Mom then asks, "Who are you here with? Your family?"
I saw Ruby's eyes widen as she is suddenly struck with something, and I quickly try to step in. "Natch. Why would she not be?"
"Well, I mean, it's nice that you wanted to introduce us to one of your friends, Ryan, but you really didn't have to pull her away from her family just for this."
"Mom-!" Is Mom really trying to guilt-trip me right now?
"It's not a problem, really! I'm usually the first one up, so they probably won't even know I'm gone!"
"It's almost 9:30. Does your whole family sleep in?"
"Well, my uncle Qrow does, anyway..." Ruby looks like she wants to fold into herself right now. I know the feeling; one person with social anxiety was bad enough, two was worse, and then separate one from their family, team, and her whole world through God-knows-how or why? Of course she's going to flounder for a bit when asked questions like this.
And then I remember that I was the one who brought her into this.
Triple crap. I've made a grave mistake, bringing her here. Good job, Ryan. You're a class-A jackass.
"How...old are you?" Dad suddenly asks.
"Fifteen." Ruby blurts.
Instantly everyone else takes a short scoot back at the revelation, and Ruby and I both share a look of alarm.
Cover blown! Quadra crap!
"Fifteen and already in college?" Dad continues, oblivious to what was just dropped."That's really impressive."
"Wait, college?" Ruby asks, looking at me. I had told her to let me do most of the talking, but my web of lies has already come undone and it's not even fifteen minutes in!
"Wait, so are you in college or not?" asks Sarah, one of my sisters.
"Does it matter?" I ask, trying to stop the flood of questions that's surely inbound after Ruby's slip-up. But as I start grabbing utensils and plates on the pretense of cleaning up, Mom sticks her arm out to block my escape.
"Hold on, Ryan. One more question."
Penta crap! Abort! Abort!
"Mom, she's already answered enough-"
"No, this one's for you. Does she know how old you are?"
My blood instantly goes cold. And Ruby's looking from Mom to me and becoming more distressed by the minute. I desperately pray to God that she doesn't try to answer-
"I'm guessing he's in his twenties…?"
"Oh yes. Very much so," Mom said.
"You're a creep!" Sarah yells at me.
"You're a pedophile!" adds my other sister, Regan.
"What are they talking about, Ryan?" Ruby asks me.
I sigh, make my way back to her, and mumble in her ear, "I'm twenty-eight. You're fifteen. And they think we're dating."
Ruby's face instantly goes as red as her shroud as she tries to hide her head in her hood. "What!? No! It's not like that, I swear!"
"Suuuure it is," says Regan.
"Don't smile when you say that!" I snap at her.
"Ryan!"
"Mom, we're not together! For God's sake-!"
"O-kay, I think this has gone on long enough," Dad finally restores order, also standing up from his chair. "Anyone else want more breakfast? 'cause I'm getting more pancakes."
Everyone begins gathering their plates and utensils, leaving me standing outside with Ruby, who's probably about ready to burst into tears at how horribly this all fell apart. I think about wanting to comfort her, but decide against wanting to actually incriminate myself. So, I go back into the cabin, dump everything in the sink, ignore my mother's protests to actually clean up, grab a bottle of Dr. Pepper and Captain Morgan and dump a shot of both into a cup.
"Ryan, are you seriously-" asks Sarah.
"Yes! And no, I'm not making one for Ruby, because I'm not stupid. Now piss off and leave us alone!" I take my cup and head right back out on the porch, grumbling to myself. "Pour me something tall and strong...make it a Hurricane before I go insane...it's half-past-one but I don't care...it's five o'clock somewhere."
Ruby, who's not left her seat at all, slowly turns her head towards me. "...are you seriously twenty-eight?"
I don't answer and instead down a shot of my ersatz Cuba Libre.
Ruby
So, that's how I was introduced to the family: as Ryan's secret online underage girlfriend.
I was about ready to leave, just to spare us both any more questions or accusations, but then I remembered that I didn't know where I was. I pull out my scroll, and sigh as the words "NO SIGNAL" appear. I'm all alone in some city I've never heard, I've got no way to talk to anyone I know, and my friends could be anywhere in the world, and I'd never know where they are. I know I haven't exactly endeared myself to anyone here, but this is probably the best place for me to be right now.
What do I do?
What would Yang do?
What would Weiss do?
...I'm actually trying to channel Weiss for help. I'd say it's kind of silly, but if anyone would have an idea of what to do in this situation, it's probably Weiss.
"Hey."
I look up from my seat on the couch in the living room. Ryan has changed into jeans and a black shirt with a gray bird symbol with three triangles, and he's carrying a black and silver laptop. He was in a pretty bad mood for much of the morning after breakfast, but it seems like he's better now. His eyes flick back towards the porch, and we head outside again.
Quick segue way, but Ryan is huge. His sisters are just a little taller than me, but he and his brother Danny are both a foot taller than I am, and he's got a fuller beard than uncle Qrow. His hair is dark brown, almost black, and pretty short, like he had it shaved at some point and it was still growing back. It was kind of strange, but he was also wearing a hat when we met back on the road, so I wouldn't have guessed his hair looked like that.
"Sorry about breakfast. That did not nearly go the way I wanted it to go," he said.
"Me too. They don't really think we're dating, do they?"
"I wouldn't worry about it. I think we were all getting our signals mixed back there because I brought a fifteen-year-old to breakfast. Not exactly a message you want to send to your parents. But I'm pretty sure they've calmed down. At least, that's the hope."
I laugh a little. "Fair point."
Ryan takes a seat on the table. I take the one next to him. He wipes his glasses on the edge of his shirt. "Anyway, to brass tacks. There's a lot going on here and I want to get an idea of what exactly happened, especially if you're here and there's Grimm running around."
"What do you mean?"
Ryan pauses, trying to piece his words together. "Well, you obviously have no idea where you are, you were fighting a Grimm you can't account for, and you woke up on the side of the road to a guy in his PJs and his rogue dog. Not exactly a typical thing to see anywhere, even on a Saturday morning. Something had to happen to get you here, and maybe it lines up with stuff that happened on my end."
I stare out over the backyard, trying to think. What were we doing? Even if it was only yesterday, it seems like forever ago.
"We were gearing up for the Vytal Festival...Professor Ozpin actually brought us in to help clear out some of the Grimm left over from the breach at Mountain Glenn that the Atlas soldiers may have missed."
"A mop-up operation, then?" Ryan asks.
"That's what Weiss called it, anyway," I nod. "She said they probably wanted to make sure they didn't have any Grimm roaming around town with so many people coming over. So we head out with Jaune and his team, and I think there may have been a few others...anyway, we head out, and sure enough there's a bunch of these Beowulves in one particular building. They're like great big wolves, but they walk on two feet."
Ryan's eyes flash with recognition for a moment. "Okay. Continue."
"Thing was, these were different. Grimm tend to be pretty uniform, and the only Grimm that I knew were different had a green glow to them. But there was something off about them, and I couldn't put my finger on it. So I convinced the others to help me look around, maybe find some clues. Weiss said we should let Professor Oobleck handle that, but..."
"Still went anyway."
"Kind of. Blake's friend Sun helped us dig around for stuff on the building we found them in and..." My head starts to hurt. "I...I don't know...all I remember was busting in the door, everyone's fighting, and then I look up and there's this...crack in the sky..."
"A crack in the sky?" Ryan asks. He opens his laptop. "Tell me about it."
"It was...pretty, but it didn't look like an aurora...or maybe it did? I don't know, it was just so weird. Then the fighting started again, I just saw this flash and then...I wake up and see you and Molly there."
Ryan nods slowly. He's chewing on the end of a capped pen as he types away for a moment, then spins the laptop to face me, showing me a picture. "Did this crack in the sky look anything like this?"
"...yes!" I nod. "It was colorful, but it wasn't wavy like Weiss says you see in Atlas in the winter. It was literally a crack in the sky...how did you find this?"
"The infinite power of Google," Ryan says with a wry grin. "...also, this." His finger traces the trackpad, and the image turns into what looks like a news article.
Mysterious Rainbow Aurora Appears In Atmosphere, Scientists Scrambling For Answers
"Coincidence? Looking a lot less like it to me," he adds.
I look from Ryan to the article. "...can I…?"
"Be my guest."
I immediately start reading.
At approximately 3:00 AM, Big Bear City was graced with the appearance of an aurora borealis-esque event in the night sky, but apparently it was not alone. Multiple reports of similar events have appeared and even similar images have surfaced in cities worldwide. The event persisted for about thirty minutes before it finally dissipated. A spokesperson at NASA confirmed that the sightings did disrupt communications with satellites during that time, which also affected GPS signals and other satellite-based systems, but were restored when the event ended. While they did say they were exploring the event's origins, any further comment was declined.
My head's spinning with all sorts of ideas. Ryan seemed to be convinced in his theory, and it's hard not to see why. Two people from different parts of the world, seeing the same thing at maybe the same time is always a flag that goes up in my head in every book I've ever read. As I re-read the article, I finally spin a spinner in my head and it lands on my first question. "What's NASA?"
Ryan leans back a little in his chair, surprised. "You know...NASA. They study stars, the universe, launch rockets into space. The guys who put a man on the moon, you know."
"Wait, you actually found a way to put people on the moon!?"
"Only ever did it a few times, and that was decades ago, but yes."
"Oh, that is so cool..." I breathe. None of the Kingdoms, even Atlas, had even gotten close to achieving something like that, and apparently these guys pulled it off years ago! I gotta learn more about that, but that'll have to wait.
Ryan chuckles. "Never pegged you for the scientific type."
"Not really, I'm just surprised you could do that…" Okay. Next question. "So...even you guys don't know what caused the whole cracks-in-the-sky thing, either."
"The story's barely a day old and it only lasted thirty minutes. If anyone's doing anything to study it, they probably know as much as the two of us right now," Ryan says. "We'll need to let time tell the tale there..." He leans forward, staring at the article before turning back to me. "So now comes my next question: what do we do now?"
"Huh?"
"Well, obviously we're not gonna get any answers to how you got here, or why, any time soon," Ryan removes the pen from his mouth, tapping it on the table. "Add the fact that we're only going to be staying up here for the weekend, and-"
"Wait, what? Don't you live here?"
"No. This place is more of a vacation home my grandpa owns," Ryan shakes his head. "We actually live down in the valley, about two hours away. And we can't stay because everyone's gotta go back to work on Monday..."
This is totally not what I want to hear. How on earth am I supposed to figure out anything if the only person who can take care of me has to leave me after a few days? "But...what about me? I've got nowhere else to go. I don't have any money, I don't even have any clothes! Or a towel! Don't you need a towel for this kind of thing!?"
"Whoa, whoa," Ryan puts his hand on my shoulder. "We'll figure this out, just…slow down and breathe, Turbo." I nod and try to calm myself down. "As I was saying, we may only be here for a few days, but as long as I'm here with you, I'll try to help you any way I can, limited as it is. Which is why if we're gonna do this, we need to have a plan to make the most of the time we have."
I nod again. "So...what should we do first?"
Ryan thinks for a moment, sticking the pen back in his mouth. "Were you with your friends before you got here? Like, where were you all in the moment before that flash that led you here?"
"We were all fairly close, I think...why?"
Ryan's head bounces around a couple times as he muses on my answer. "Well, I'm not an expert on world-hopping, but if you were all together before you came here, it wouldn't be far-fetched to at least suggest they're not that far away from here. We just have to find a good method to start looking."
"How can you be so sure?" I ask him.
Ryan shrugs. "I'm not. But in the absence of certainty, hope is the next best thing. Nothing wrong with cautious optimism, is all I'm saying."
His tone's shifted to something...what's the word? Colloquial? It's the kind of thing I'd expect Yang to say, but it sounds weird, like's been trying to coach himself to say that lately. Did something happen to him recently? Then I notice that there's a small plastic cup with a couple of pills in it next to his laptop. Ryan sees where my eyes are and quickly downs them, pulling a face as he does.
"So where do you think we should start looking?"
Ryan's eyes flicker upwards, then down at the clock on his laptop. It's almost noon. "...how do you feel about eating out for lunch?"
I give him a look. "I thought we were trying to avoid making it look like we were dating."
Ryan merely grins and taps the side of his nose as he gets up, taking his laptop and phone with him. "Well, yeah. But there are other ways to get your hands on a car." I follow him back into the cabin to his Dad, who's got his tablet out and is in one of the two recliners in the living room. "Dad?"
"Yes?" Ryan's dad looks up from his tablet.
"I just got a text from Ruby's folks, they invited me to lunch at Del Taco so they could come get her," Ryan holds up his phone.
"Really?" I didn't see his phone go off. He gives me a look, and I realize what he's doing. "Oh yeah! I mean, it's only fair, considering he brought me here for breakfast."
His dad raises an eyebrow. "Okay…?"
"So I was going to ask if I could take one of the cars to go do that," said Ryan.
His father tilts his head, considering it.
"They can't just come here to come get her?" Ryan's mom asks from the kitchen.
"And then have you try to mince words with them for letting Ruby date a guy in his late twenties on the sly? I'm sure they'd take that real swell," Ryan counters. "Or are you just jealous it's Del Taco?"
"We're gluten-free! Of course we're jealous of you going anywhere we can't go," says Regan from her position on the couch.
"What's gluten-free?" I whisper to Ryan.
"I'll tell you on the way," he replies.
Dad looks from Mom to me to Ruby. "You sure you're going to be fine driving there?"
"It's not that far away and the roads are fairly stable once you hit the main road. I think we'll be okay."
"It's been a year since you've driven anywhere, even with someone else. Are you sure?"
"It's like riding a bicycle. Besides, I've got Ruby for a copilot," Ryan responds coolly. I want to ask what she meant by that, but Ryan makes a slight gesture with his hand and I say nothing.
Dad finally nods to himself. "Alright. Keys are in the bowl next to the garage."
Ryan grins. "Thank you."
"Do you need money?"
"I've got money if I need it."
"Alright. Be safe, you two."
I give a relived sigh as Ryan takes something out of a bowl resting on a china cabinet, then we head out through the back porch and out the gate towards the driveway. Then he opens the trunk of one of the cars, for some reason. "Okay. Before we go, Ruby, I need you to stick your weapon in here."
"...huh? Why?"
"Well, here's what I was thinking: there's not a lot we could do trying to search for them on our own, and we're not exactly equipped to be going off searching for them just between the two of us," Ryan explains, grabbing a darned blue blanket from the back seat. "We need extra eyes. A lot of them. So, I figure it's in our best interest to go to the police station to start our search."
"What does that have to do with Crescent Rose?"
"I'll put it like this: weapons are a very touchy subject at the moment, and the last thing we need is the police finding out there's a fifteen-year-old girl with a deadly weapon in town. It's just...not something we want to deal with. So put it in the trunk so no one can see it."
This is all very confusing. Why would people be so iffy about weapons here? I mean, sure, not everyone in Remnant is usually armed like me or the others and there are plenty of criminals with them (Roman Torchwick and White Fang come to mind), but he makes it sound like I'm dangerous. I'm not that dangerous, at least not to innocent people. My job's to protect those people from the Grimm, right? So...why?
Ryan folds his arms. He's not budging. "Ruby, please-"
"Okay, fine." I unholster Crescent Rose and put it down in the trunk. Ryan takes the blanket and covers it, then slams it closed.
"Good. I know it's stupid, but it's for the best. Now let's go," Ryan said.
I can only nod as I get in the passenger seat. There's something about what he said that just...feels weird. What is he not telling me?
Ryan
I know I said driving a car was like riding a bicycle, but the thing is, I've never driven on these roads before, so that made the whole trip to the police station a bit more intimidating than it should have been. I kept looking at Ruby whenever we reached a stoplight just to make sure she wasn't getting nervous by proxy. Or at least more than she already was, because of what we'd potentially (not) learn about what was happening, or maybe what I was talking about when I told her to put Crescent Rose in the trunk because "weapons were touchy."
That was mostly a precautionary measure on my part. As my grandpa was once a cop and I'd studied in the public service academy in high school, I know a few things about the law and how police work. As long as the weapon stays in carry mode and it's covered by the blanket in the trunk, they won't get suspicious. Even if they were, they'd have no probable cause to search without a warrant.
One could call it paranoia. I call it not wanting to get Ruby arrested. Again, she's a minor with a high-powered firearm in a country grappling with issues of people getting guns that really shouldn't. That kind of combination will raise eyebrows, even if Ruby is not the kind of person we should be worried about, and even though she didn't know that I knew Crescent Rose was also a sniper rifle, I couldn't take the risk.
We finally arrive at our destination, a one-story building in the shelter of some pine trees not far from the main business district. It's a cloudy afternoon, and chilly. I park the car, and then turn to Ruby. "You have a picture of your friends?"
Ruby holds up her scroll, and I see a picture of the four of them in their Beacon uniforms. I feel a slight pang, seeing how happy they all are, mostly because I knew what was coming for them, if Ruby's summary of previous events holds up. Or maybe it wouldn't. Butterflies and all that. Nonetheless, I head out, Ruby not far behind. "So we know what the story is, right? We're on the same page?"
"Yeah."
"Very good," I nod. We head through the door and the metal detector and approach the front desk.
A black-haired woman in a police uniform looks up from the computer. "Can I help you?"
"I'd like to file a missing persons report," says Ruby. "...like, three of them..."
The woman raises an eyebrow, but nods all the same. "Alright. What are their names?"
"Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and my sister, Yang Xiao Long."
"Do you have descriptions for them?"
Ruby slides her scroll onto the desk, showing the same picture. "Weiss has white hair, Blake has black, Yang's the blonde. Weiss is around my size...Blake is taller than me, and Yang's taller than both of us..."
"...I meant like numbers. Height, weight, eye colors, too."
"Oh! Right!" Ruby says. "Um...I'm 5'2, so Weiss would maybe be 5'3...Blake's 5'6...and Yang's 5'8. Weiss has blue eyes, Blake has yellow, and Yang has purple."
The woman looks Ruby over. Specifically, at her silver eyes. I almost want to make a "current year" comment to draw her attention away from that, but she simply hums to herself and takes Ruby's scroll. "This the only picture you've got?"
"Of all of us together, yes," Ruby said.
"When was the last time you saw them?"
"Yesterday evening. They said they were heading out and never came back."
"So, at least twelve hours..." the woman said. "Do you know where they could've gone?"
Ruby shakes her head. The woman's eyes then turn to me. "Are you with her?"
I quickly nod. "I'm Ryan King. I...guess you could say I'm their..." Don't choose a stupid word, don't choose a stupid word… "Tour guide…? Chaperone...? I'm basically in charge of the four of them."
God, I hate my brain today. And the woman doesn't seem particularly convinced with that stare she's giving me. Ruby's begun to wilt again, sensing impending doom. Eventually, she gives back Ruby's scroll. "How old are they?"
"Seventeen," says Ruby.
"Seventeen all," I say at the same time. Ruby doesn't seem to notice that I just mentioned that, which I good. Or maybe not. Someone could be taking me for a ride here.
The woman nods. "Alright. I'll forward the information. Do you have a number to call if we find anything?" I give her my cell phone number. "Thank you. We'll be in touch."
"Thanks." Ruby also mumbles a thank you and we both leave. Even though we achieved what we set out to do without raising too many eyebrows (hopefully), I'm not feeling too confident. "Well...we've done all we can do on that front. Hopefully somebody saw something."
"Yeah..." Ruby doesn't, either.
I check my watch as I unlock Dad's car. That took only fifteen minutes. Del Taco is pretty much around the corner. Would this be enough time to not look suspicious? I take another look at the depressed fifteen-year-old internet show protagonist in the passenger seat. I guess there are worse things you could do in these circumstances. I take the driver's seat once more. "You still up for Del Taco?"
"I guess...but..."
"What?"
"...what's a taco?"
I tilt my head. It sounds like an honest question. But my thoughts of whether tacos did or did not exist in Remnant was replaced with Undertale levels of determination as I start the car. "We'll answer that soon enough."
I hadn't been to Del Taco in years. Back then, Del Taco was an institution in our family. After going to church on Sunday, we'd all go to Del Taco with my grandparents. Of course, most of us stopped going to church mostly to due to general apathy after a while, and Mom, Sarah, and Regan can't eat there anymore, because, in their own words, "Del Taco is the Chernobyl of gluten." This naturally meant I couldn't go, at least not while out and about with the others, and going anywhere by my own choice had been something I'd had to discard for a while.
Ruby comes in with me, looking around at the number of people in the place. It's in the waning minutes of the lunch rush, and she's nervous all over again. My eyes flick up to the menu, and I immediately know what will cheer her up. And she instantly perks up at the words "two chocolate milkshakes" when I order. Things are just about ready to look up when my phone buzzes. It's a text message from Danny.
Hey. You run into Mom or Dad yet?
No. Why?
They left about ten minutes ago. Wanted to be there to introduce themselves to Ruby's family or something like that.
My heart just about stops at that moment. Mom must have convinced Dad to call my bluff, and once again, I'm gonna be caught in my own web of lies before thirty minutes have even passed. Then, I actually remember what it was that he said. I look back at my phone's screen. They'd left ten minutes ago and we'd only just got here? They should've beaten us here and we'd be hashing this out in the parking lot if that were the case. And it wasn't even like there was heavy traffic out on the roads. My sixth sense is throwing up red flags aplenty.
"What's wrong?" Ruby asks. She must have seen my troubled look.
I decide to call Mom's cell phone. Better find this out for myself. "I hope I'm wrong, but Danny says we're about to get busted."
"What!?" Ruby asked.
We're sorry. The number you have dialed has been disconnected. You may hang up and try again.
"The fu..." I stop myself finishing the word, due to the fifteen-year-old across from me.
"Order 36!"
"That's us," I tell Ruby. "Go and get it, will you, I need to stay on top of thi-" She's already gone. Did she actually use her Semblance? A few rose petals cross my vision, and sure enough, Ruby's back at the table with our food. I quickly scan the crowd, seeing if there's a reaction as I go for Dad's cell this time. Nobody seems to have noticed. At least that's one good thing going for us-
We're sorry. The number you have dialed has been disconnected. You may hang up and try again.
"Okaaaay...that's spooky..." My mind is racing, trying to filter through the information, the food in front of me suddenly unimportant. Something is rotten in the city of Big bear.
"What?"
"Mom and Dad both aren't picking up."
"Well, if they're driving here-"
"Danny said they left ten minutes ago..." I say. I dial Danny's number. Maybe it's a network issue? I still have a good signal, but these things could happen. "They should've beaten us here, or at least made it here by now..."
"Hello?" Danny's voice hits my ear.
"Danny. Are you sure they left ten minutes ago?"
"Yeah. They said they'd be back fairly quickly, too."
"Have you tried calling them at all?"
"Sarah and Regan both did. Nothing. They said the line was disconnected or something."
"Well, that's what I'm getting on my end, but if I'm still talking to you, then..."
There's a muffled crunch of metal outside the window. I give a brief start, and Ruby instantly grabs my sleeve, trying to get my attention. I follow her gaze out through the window we're sitting next to. And what I saw absolutely baffled me. There's this huge furry thing in the parking lot, easily the size of a grown man, black and red with wicked claws. It's sniffing and prowling around like it's got a file to report on Monday.
I know a Beowolf when I see one.
There are Grimm in town.
Why in the holy name of Bob fucking Saget are there Grimm in town!?
"Ryan…" Ruby says. She's tense again, but not nervous like earlier. Rather, her voice makes her sound like a coiled spring ready to shoot off.
And speaking of shooting off, that's when I remember where Crescent Rose is.
"...Danny, imma have to call you back..." I hang up the phone. "...is that what I think it is?"
"Yup. That's a Beowolf."
"I thought you said you killed that one you fought."
"I did."
"Okay...next question. Was there more of them?"
"I don't remember."
"Ruby."
"Please, you gotta believe me!"
I hush her, still keeping an eye on the hulking beast outside. "Keep your voice down. We don't want to start drawing any attention-"
I hear the clattering of a plastic tray falling to the ground off to the side. Its owner is staring directly past us at the Grimm outside, eyes wide and unbelieving. In fact, the entire restaurant has come to a screeching halt at the sight of the beast, murmuring. Several of them have already pulled out their smartphones to record the event. I also snap off a photo just for posterity, then turn back to Ruby. "What's the game plan?
"What?" Ruby asks.
"Well, there's a huge hulking monster outside nobody's seen before and you're the foremost expert on these things currently in the room. What's the thing we should do in this situation?"
"Uh...you may just...want to let me handle it..."
"Great. One problem, though..." I point towards the car. "Guess what's still in the car..."
Ruby blinks, then her hand goes to her empty back holster to confirm. "...oh."
"Yeah. So how do we fix that?"
Ruby's eyes flicker, trying to come up with a plan. I keep my eyes on the Grimm as it seeks out whatever it is that it's trying to find, but at that moment, the Grimm suddenly turns, looking directly at me through the shaded window. And I swear I could hear it growling. Ruby is snapped out of her thoughts at that moment, and suddenly grabbed me right out of my seat. "Get down!"
And not a second later, the Grimm lunges, blasting right through the window and showering the place in glass. I don't know if it was because she used her Semblance, or because of something else, because it all seemed to happen in that one second, like I was getting ejected out of the cockpit of a fighter jet. One moment I was sitting, the other I was sprawled on the ground, with Ruby in front of me and a very hungry Grimm on the other side of her.
First comes the silence.
Then comes the screaming.
Chaos abounds as everyone else in the building scatters, left, right, and center. The Beowolf snarls, looking for easy prey, and finds one of the workers in the back trying to scramble out the back of the kitchen. My mind races, and I see the tray the one person dropped from earlier still laying on the ground. I quickly snatch it off the ground.
"Yo!"
I throw it at the Beowolf's head. It misses by a mile, but the shout does its job, and it turns back towards me. I dig into my pockets and pull out Dad's fob, slowly retracing my steps towards the now-open window. The Beowulf growls, and I hit the button to open the trunk.
I felt like I should've been scared. And I was. But whatever fear I was feeling wasn't paralyzing. It almost felt liberating, in a way that didn't make sense. My eyes flick back to the car. The trunk's now open. I steel myself, flex my knees, and then make an open break through the window. I can already hear the Beowulf charging after me, and right as I make it to the car and start pulling Crescent Rose out, I can see its massive shadow descending on my position.
"Ryan!" And Ruby warps right into the beast's path, a glowing red fist connecting with the beast's jaw in a rather impressive uppercut, a flurry of rose petals trailing in her wake. The Grimm misses me, but its new flight pattern strikes the car in a way that the inside wall of the trunk collides with my head, and I fall on my ass again, Crescent Rose clattering to the ground next to me.
"Ruby!" Around my aching head and ringing ears, I roll over a couple of times, grab the weapon, and throw it as hard as I can in her general direction.
Ruby snatches it out of the air, and Crescent Rose instantly unfolds into its scythe form. The Beowulf snarls, eyeing its new prey, but Ruby merely smiles, spinning the weapon the only way Ruby Rose would ever know how in her hands, and immediately launches herself at the beast. It tries to take a swipe at her as she comes in, but she zips hard left in a burst of rose petals, dodging its claws as the scythe's blade hooks under its neck.
There's a loud crack of gunfire, the Beowolf's head and body go two separate directions, and Ruby lands neatly on the ground.
This girl's no cosplayer, I finally realize.
This Ruby Rose is the real McCoy.
"Holy shit...!" I hear someone behind me say. When I turn around, still sitting on the ground, some of the people in the Del Taco are still here, and were watching the same thing I was.
Ruby quickly makes her way back to me and helps me up. It goes without saying, but Ruby's pretty strong for someone who's only 5'2. "You okay?"
"Still chugging along," I nod.
Ruby looks back towards the way the Beowulf had probably come trying to see if there are any more threats. I look back towards the crowd of people behind me, not sure of what to do. Ruby has also put away her weapon, looking at me for a plan. Police sirens were also fairly close.
"Well, I'll be dipped in fudge..." I groan. "We're going to jail."
I don't get a reply. "Ruby?"
Ruby's gone. In the place where she'd been standing is another pile of rose petals.
Ruby just bailed on me.
This officially sucks.