Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY - instead it is the property of RoosterTeeth. I'm just playing around in their world, trying to find some meaning in this beautiful story they've created.
Crack!
Ruby glanced back uncomfortably at her teammates, their collective hunched posture mirroring her own as the adults in the room argued furiously with each other. It spoke to the notoriety of their group that General Ironwood himself had chosen to personally involve himself in their request to cross the border into Atlas.
Ruby wasn't confident that hospitality was on his mind when he made the decision. His metal fist revealed a deep indent in the dark wood of his desk when he lifted it away.
"Why should I trust you now? Your mistakes lost us Beacon and nearly cost Haven as well. Now they threaten to engulf Atlas, and you want me to help you?"
No, that was definitely out.
Deep breaths. Ruby struggled to steady the rising tide of frustration building up in her veins, hot and boiling. It wasn't something she was used to – most of the annoyance she felt was usually reserved for moody sisters, drunk uncles or slacking teammates.
Speaking of drunk uncles…
Oscar's voice, tinged with the refined, forced calm of Professor Ozpin, cut through the brewing shouting match between Qrow and the general as the volume rose. Ruby closed her eyes against whatever rebuttal he had for his fellow headmaster, not wanting to hear yet another platitude.
Her uncle smelt strongly of alcohol, courtesy of the flask he held in one hand. Usually he kept it tightly sealed to prevent the sharp tang of the contents from filling the room. Amidst the discussion, the cap laid innocently on the desk between him and the general.
How could they be so… shortsighted?
Didn't they see what was happening? That this was exactly what Salem wanted to happen when she orchestrated her scheme through Cinder? Divide and conquer, make the strong weak by cutting them into pieces and devour them one by one.
Like Pyrrha. Like Penny. Like Lionheart and Raven and everyone else isolated from the support they should have had. Ruby's heart clenched in her chest, her agitation palpable enough to draw concerned looks from her friends.
Qrow's voice rose over Oscar's, flippant sarcasm grating on the ears and for once not even the slightest bit funny, met by Ironwood's steely baritone. Ruby's teeth ground together so hard her jaw ached, fists clenching up. This was…!
A soft touch. Ruby's eyes snapped open and met Weiss', her partner's delicate fingers wrapped around Ruby's wrist as icy blue eyes blinked at her in concern. Ruby swallowed against the bitterness in her mouth, tensing with her partner as she flinched at a particularly sharp remark and shook her head at the unasked question.
She would be fine later, when the adults in the room remembered how to work together. If they remembered how to work together.
The hand withdrew, and Ruby slumped in her seat, waiting for the storm to blow over. Was this what it was like to be an adult? Wait for the loudest voices in the room to shut up so they could get their work done with? She was the youngest soul in the room save for Oscar (and what fresh hell must he be going through, if he had to share headspace with Ozpin?), and even she knew that this was nothing more than a waste of time.
Time their enemies would use to regroup. To plan and put those plans into motion, putting them all in danger once again.
Voices rose in anger.
Her temper flared.
The entire room shifted its attention to her as one, and Ruby struggled against the flood of adrenaline, realizing with alacrity that she'd spoken up, and now stood erect before her chair, facing the three senior huntsmen.
"Miss Rose?" Ironwood's head tilted slightly in bemusement.
Ruby licked her lips against their sudden dryness, horribly aware of both of her teams' eyes on her back. Squaring her shoulders, she determined not to let her voice shake. "I said stop."
Pause.
"Ruby," Qrow frowned, eyes narrowed. "We don't have time to cool our heels waiting. We've wasted enough here as it is."
Ironwood eyed the huntsman from the side. Dislike oozed from his expression, though it fell away as he returned his attention to Ruby. "Agreed. Much as it pains me to say it. My schedule was busy enough before you showed up on my doorstep," the general said, not without sympathy.
"Then why are you still arguing?"
Shooting Ironwood a look from the corner of his eyes, Ozpin folded his hands around the mug provided by their host. "Because, Miss Rose, we still have to flesh out our priorities. Who is with whom, and what we want from any further cooperation."
"What do you mean, 'who's with who?'" Ruby demanded angrily. "We're on the same side, aren't we? We all want to keep Remnant and its people safe. We all want to keep the huntsmen academies safe and fight the Grimm. We all want to see Salem defeated. What's there to sort out?"
Ozpin looked away from her, brown-green lowered before her own silver eyes as they bored into him. Qrow, too, looked away, though Ironwood himself scowled darkly and refused to show such weakness.
A thought struck her that made her tense, disappointment rising up in her throat to match the confusion blooming in her mind.
"Don't you trust each other?" Ruby voiced it, her voice small. "Why?"
Silence fell as nobody answered her. Ruby looked back at her friends, meeting their confused expressions with her own.
"Ruby," Ozpin leaned forward finally, Oscar's hazel eyes searching hers for understanding, tinged green with the professor's aura. "What happened at Beacon has shaken this inner circle severely. I am fully aware that I am partially to blame for the tragedy, and how that has translated into a loss of confidence in my abilities to lead. This discussion has been long coming, and I can't say I haven't earned it."
"Oz," Qrow grunted, scowling darkly. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, you aren't to blame for Beacon's fall."
"Nobody in this room is."
The men turned back to look at her, frowns adorning each face. Ruby rushed to clarify before they started once more. "Nobody here is guilty for what happened at Beacon – the only people responsible for that are the people who made it happen. People like Cinder, Salem, Emerald and Mercury. Torchwick and Adam too."
"Ruby, as the headmaster of Beacon I had the responsibility to-"
"Then you failed in that responsibility," she interrupted fiercely. "But that doesn't make you guilty for what happened, any more than it does me. The same goes with Qrow or Pyrrha or the other huntsmen who were supposed to keep those sorts of things from happening."
Ruby stepped closer, leaning down so that she could look Ozpin in the eyes where leaned back in his seat. With her lacking stature it wasn't far to go. Her hand knocked on the desk next to them. "They won, that day. They beat us where we were supposed to be strong, and we failed to stop them, and that's on us. But that doesn't make you guilty for what happened."
Ozpin's gaze dropped, lips pursed. Ruby looked up at Ironwood, willing him to see her point. The general's face was inscrutable.
Backing away to face the three men again, Ruby spread her hands, trying to articulate her thoughts. Qrow interrupted her before she could begin, though.
"I agree with Ruby, Oz," he said lowly. "The blame is on our enemies here. She's also right on another count, and that's that we don't trust each other anymore."
Her uncle tipped his head back, swigging out of his canteen. When he looked back his eyes were on Ironwood. "Yeah, I'll be the first to say it James," he sneered. "I haven't trusted you since you brought your army to Vale against orders and set everything on edge. You might not have intended for what happened to go down, but it did, and a lot of good people died for it."
"If things had gone differently," Ironwood began angrily.
"If. But it didn't, and that's what matters. You didn't trust Ozpin to begin with and that wound up biting us in the ass."
"Gentlemen," Ozpin cut in as Ironwood made to retort and drag the three into yet another argument. Ruby had had enough, however. Her hand came down on the table again with a loud crack.
"Stop, just stop!" She looked to the side, scowling. "You're not getting it – we all failed to stop Beacon's fall. That's bad, but it's our job to do better this time, and not trusting each other because we're angry and feel responsible will only keep us weak like Salem wants, and it'll happen all over again."
Ruby took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders, glaring at Ozpin and Qrow, her eyes flicking from one huntsman to the other. "Besides, you two aren't exactly showing a lot of faith in the first place for people asking for trust."
Qrow straightened and Ozpin's eyebrows shot up, each immediately comprehending the veiled judgement behind her words. Ironwood squinted at them in confusion, hands folding on his desk.
"Ruby." Qrow's eyes were wide, fingers tapping against his flask compulsively.
"No! No. You promised, professor. No more lies. No more half-truths. That goes for Ironwood too, if you're asking for his help in all of this."
"What is it that you're talking about?"
"Nothing, Jimmy," Qrow snapped.
"Ozpin?"
All eyes focused on the professor, and for a moment Ruby thought that he might disappear back into whatever nook in Oscar's mind he occupied while the young man had the reigns. Instead, expression that of one deep in troubled thought, Ozpin stared at the ground.
A long moment passed before hazel flecked green met silver, Oscar's face set in doubt. "Miss Rose," the professor began cautiously.
"If you don't, then we'll leave," Ruby blurted. She heard several bodies shift in their seats behind her. Were they surprised? She was. Even more to realize that she was sincere.
"Ruby, Atlas is the safest place in Remnant right now for us," Qrow said, slowly. Ruby glared at him, noticing Ironwood lean back in his seat to watch the conversation with guarded eyes.
"That doesn't matter." Her own silver pools hardened. "If you're not willing to trust, then we aren't safe. We'll go somewhere else and make do."
"That's not your decision."
"You're wrong. You need us more than we need you, Uncle Qrow. If you hadn't had us to fight at Haven, then you'd have lost. You don't have Beacon anymore, or Vale. You can't trust this kind of problem to a group of random huntsmen, you barely trust us in the first place!"
"Ruby," Ozpin tried.
"No! No more secrets, and no more lies!" Ruby wished her voice wasn't so naturally high for once. "If you want to get us into Atlas, then just tell General Ironwood what we have with us." Ruby noted that Ironwood's expression tightened and hoped her gamble would pay off. "If he lets us in, then you can work out your differences later. When we're safe. If he doesn't… we wouldn't want to be here anyways."
"Ruby." Ozpin's voice was quieter.
Ruby settled, breathing deeply as she looked away from her uncle. She heard him take another deep draught from his flask behind her and twitched. Oscar's shoulders had sagged, expression defeated. "Do you truly believe this is the correct decision? This is more complicated than you know," he asked, sincerely.
Ruby returned his frown. "It's only as complicated as you make it, professor. You can't ask the general to trust you if you can't meet him halfway. And he deserves to know what he's letting across his borders."
"I agree with that," Ironwood interjected bluntly, eyes on Ozpin, hard and sharp as flint.
Ozpin sighed.
"Very well then. The tale, or at least the gist of it, is not all that complicated."
"Oz." Surprise colored Qrow's voice.
"No, Qrow. I believe Ruby has the right of it, and I have a promise to keep either way." Ozpin waved him off. He met Ironwood's gaze with his own. "During the battle at Haven, Raven Branwen claimed the power of the Spring Maiden and opened the vault beneath the school. For reasons unknown she left behind the Relic of Knowledge, which we now carry with us."
A moment passed, and then Ironwood's face slackened. "Here?"
Ozpin nodded.
The general pressed his face into his hands, elbows resting on his desk as he processed the information. Ruby took the opening to look back at her friends.
Each wore a look of clear apprehension. Weiss' brows were tight, her lips pursed as her fingers pressed together in one of her personal tics. To Ruby it meant that she would have to distract her partner later with something fun and uncomplicated just to make her feel better.
Yang sent her a thumbs up, her lavender eyes creased at the edges with pride. Blake, much like Ren, was unreadable, though she did give her a small nod. She would trust Ruby in this.
Jaune's broody expression didn't fit on his face, but he sent her a weak smile nonetheless. And Nora…
Either she was playing up her boredom to make Ruby feel better, or she and the others would have to fill her in later. The redhead's chin rested on her chest, body leaning to the side, so she could lean on Ren's shoulder. The Mistrallian sent her a helpless shrug.
"Ruby."
She whirled to look at the general, his address strained. He looked like he could use a hit from Qrow's flask, though Ruby knew it would be a cold day in Vacuo before her uncle even entertained the thought of letting Ironwood near his baby.
"Yes, General Ironwood?" The whimsical part of her brain wondered if she ought to have added a 'sir' to the end of that. She shunted the thought away.
He looked as though he had no idea what to do with her. "Why is it that you are so convinced that you can trust me?" the general asked, looking honestly curious, if not a little baffled.
Blinking, Ruby thought about the question honestly for a few seconds before replying. "Well… I know that my uncle doesn't think I should, but you're on our side. You fought at Beacon. You want to train skilled huntsmen and huntresses to protect the world," she listed, hoping it would get her point across. "You gave my sister her new arm when you didn't have to. You were ready to give Weiss a place at Atlas Academy. You came here to meet us when you were busy despite how you feel about some of us."
And…
"I see," Ironwood said quietly.
"And Penny thought you were a good person," Ruby added, voice soft.
The general's expression closed off, and Ruby heard the room fill with quiet 'whooshes' as several chests' worth of air left her friends' lungs simultaneously. Ozpin met Qrow's eyes, communicating something she couldn't quiet discern, and Ruby fidgeted in place as the statement sunk in.
It was perhaps a low blow, to remind the general of his fallen student. Ruby didn't mean it to be that, or to guilt the general into making a decision, but she didn't feel right leaving that particular motivation out.
"I'm sorry," Ironwood said. His forehead dipped down, staring at his open hands, the cybernetics that made up his right distinctive below the fingerless gloves he wore.
Ruby stepped closer and laid her own palm on the cool wood. "I am too. But it's not your fault."
"I could have told Ozpin sooner. About what she was. Should have told him."
Frustration tainted the words, mixed with bitter sorrow. Ruby could feel the eyebrows raise around her at the admission, as well as hear another swig of alcohol.
"We all could have done things differently," Ruby said, carefully. "I could have spent more time with her. I could have told her how much she meant to me. I could have fought harder to save her when I had the chance."
Her voice thinned until it was just a mere whisper of her earlier shouting.
"But I didn't. That will follow me forever, until I die. But I've learned from it, and I won't make the same mistakes." The general looked up and their eyes locked, steely-blue softened by vulnerability meeting mercurial silver. "Will you?"
The connection broke, Ironwood rising from his seat to pace behind his desk, fists opening and clenching at his sides. Ozpin stood, leaving his empty mug on the general's desk.
"I think Ruby has said everything there is to say, James," the professor said. "We will await your decision in our rooms, if that's not a problem."
Ironwood waved them away.
Before she could leave, she heard her name called.
"Yes, General?"
"I truly am sorry."
"I am too, General Ironwood. I don't blame you though."
"I blame myself."
Ruby blinked.
"Then I forgive you."
"…"
She left the general to his thoughts.
The rest of the group was waiting for her in the common area after she left the office. Ruby met their concerned looks with a wan smile, lost in thoughts of the Vytal Tournament and its repercussions, for once utterly tired.
Qrow's hand clasped her shoulder before she could find a seat, her uncle looking uncharacteristically penitent as he avoided her eyes. "Hey, kiddo. I'm sorry for being the guy holding things back, there…"
She brushed his hand off. "It's fine, Uncle Qrow. Just go have a drink or something," Ruby sighed, walking away to be with her team, thoughts far away.
Behind her, the huntsman stared down at his flask, frown etched deep onto his face.
It might have surprised him to know that the same expression was worn by Ironwood as he nursed a tumbler of whiskey in his office, pondering his life's decisions.
Yes, that's it for this story. As you might have been able to tell, there's a lot that must have happened between the current state of affairs at the end of Volume 5 and the point where they reach the Atlesian border (assuming they do at all). For obvious reasons, I'm not privy to those events, and it's beyond the scope of this story to dip into what I think might happen.
As someone who loves RWBY, I also have several favorite characters that I'm looking forward to seeing get some more development - Ironwood is one of them; something yet to be explored is his personal reaction to Penny's death at the end of Volume 3. I thought this conversation would be an interesting way to explore that. I hope you all enjoyed, and please leave a review if you have any particular feelings about this story. I'd love to read them :)