Kira: Hey guys. All I have to say is look at my profile, it's an important update. And in advance if you see this story before the update, all I have to say is I am truly sorry.
"And how do you expect us to get out of this!?" A white haired girl questioned as she back flipped away from an incoming clothesline. Her partner swiped her leg up to knock back an incoming right hook and she swept that same leg at the person's head, hitting so hard that he did a side flip onto the concrete below.
She gave a small grin as she backed up till she was back to back with her partner, "Just like we always do Weiss; we fight back!" She called, elbowing a charging opponent. The white haired girl now dubbed Weiss, stared back at her red and black haired partner with a dumbstruck look.
"That's suicide, you know that Ruby!?" She protested as she ducked under an oncoming punch before head butting the man in the chin, giving her a small headache.
Ruby flipped some hair behind her ear before she pulled back into a fighting stance;
"Please Weiss. We both know that I've come up with crazier options."
Two Hours Ago...
Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee were walking down the hall towards the exit to Beacon Academy, walking towards a docking airship. The two girls, under Headmaster Ozpin's request, had to go to downtown Vale to pick up some mechanical components for the communication system of the school.
The younger girl was left confused by the request, "I know Ozpin wanted to be sure those items were delivered back safely, but why did he want us to do it when he could get more capable fourth year students to do the job?" She questioned to her icy blue eyed friend as they walked briskly toward the airship.
Weiss gave a small shrug, "I'm not too sure Rose. But I really wouldn't complain about some possible extra credit." She answered as she entered the vehicle.
Ruby couldn't help but roll her eyes, "Your grades are perfect enough as is Weiss, why would you care about extra credit?" The white haired girl snapped a small glare at her naive partner as they both took a seat.
"Because you dunce, just because one's grades are perfect does not mean that they are shielded from screw ups. One small mistake and that grade can plummet faster than the blink of an eye. You should take that to heart." Schnee said knowingly, a small grin popping onto her face at the pout her partner gave.
"Hey, I'll have you know that I am a good B+ to A- student Ms. Schnee." She snapped, poking her tongue out. Weiss chuckled at her partner's predictable reaction and jabbed her in the shoulder.
"I'm just playing you dunce, don't get too upset with that." She gave a genuine smile, something which caught Ruby off guard. She had rarely seen Weiss smile, even after an entire semester of being her partner. (A/N: This takes place close to the end of the first semester, after episode 16 of Volume 1) The red head was left speechless, and apparently her face was left in a funny state as Weiss started giggling.
Ruby snapped out of her stupefied state and pouted again, "Hey, stop laughing." She whined to her partner, before joining the girl in laughter. Their trip was left relatively silent after that, the girls' conversation devolving into little more than small chat about an upcoming assignment from Prof. Port. Soon they reached their drop off point and the two girls exited the airship, glancing back at it as the armored vessel flew back into the sky.
Ruby stretched her arms and threw them behind her head, glancing back towards Weiss, "So, what store is it we need to go to?" She questioned, shifting her eye sight to the surrounding area. Ruby noticed the sun was already descending from the sky, and it was about halfway complete as well.
Weiss pulled a paper from her jacket and scrunched her eyes, "Um, 'Vale's Auto and Mechanical' it says. Where though?" She frowned in realization that Ozpin didn't put down any address.
The leader's eyebrows furrowed, "Did he not put an address?" At Weiss' head shake, Ruby groaned in agony.
"Great..." The red head said sarcastically, "How are we supposed to find the shop now?"
Weiss gave a small shrug, "I guess we can just ask around?" She offered. Ruby gave a small nod and the two started walking around town, asking the locals if they knew where the shop was. Unfortunately, none of them knew where said store was, and after about an hour of searching the city, the two girls eventually just gave up for a while and took a seat at a coffee shop and ordered some drinks.
Ruby held her head in her hand, "Man, how could no one know where this store is?"
Weiss shrugged as she glanced at the surprisingly empty street, "Maybe it's a relatively new store?" She asked.
"I doubt it." Ruby responded as the waiter came by with their drinks. Ruby took a sip of her green tea, "Besides, with how big this city actually is, I highly doubt there would be any shortage of stores like these anyway..." A thought clicked in her head at her own answer.
"Actually, why did Ozpin want us to visit this store in particular? Wouldn't any auto and mechanical shop work in this case?" The red head questioned.
Weiss shook her head at Ruby's naive response, "Not exactly Ruby. Not every store will carry the same product, even if owned under a monopoly." She replied, blowing the steam away from her hot coffee.
"Still stupid in my opinion." The younger girl grumbled. Weiss directed a small glare towards her partner before returning to her drink. A few seats away, a man's ears perked up at the girl's conversation, and he decided to intervene.
"Excuse me." He apologized as he walked up to the two girls. Weiss and Ruby shifted their attention towards the newcomer, and the former female set her drink down before standing up.
"Yes sir. May I help you?" The white haired girl questioned politely.
The gruff man nodded, "Yes, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Are you two having trouble finding something?"
The leader's ears perked up, "Yes, we are." She spurted excitedly as she stood sharply, "Do you know where Vale's Auto and Mechanical is by any chance?" She asked quickly. Weiss shifted another hard glare towards her partner at her rudeness, and quickly went to apologize.
"I'm sorry, she can be a little rambunc-"
The man waved it off with a small smile, "It's alright miss." He chuckled, "Anyway, yes, I do know where it is." He said, widening the eyes of both girls and bringing a small sparkle to Ruby's.
"Really? Yes!" The red head squealed slightly at the news. Her white haired partner couldn't help but chuckle at her excited demeanor, before turning her attention back towards the man.
He smiled, "Your friend seems excited."
"Very." Weiss responded with an eye roll, before pulling out her scroll.
"Anyway, it's down the end of this street," He outstretched his hand, "Take a right, go down three more blocks, take a left, and it should be the second to last store on the left side of the street. Hope that helps." He finished. Weiss quickly scribbled down the last of his directions onto her scroll before smiling as she looked it over.
"That helps a lot. Thank you sir." She bowed slightly, along with Ruby's more ecstatic bow.
The man waved it off, "No problem Ms. Schnee, Ms. Rose." He said, before leaving quickly. His sudden knowledge of their names left the two girls confused and curious.
"That's odd... How did he know our names...?" Weiss questioned, her eyebrows furrowed together. Ruby was confused herself, but decided that it wasn't worth the worry as they figured out what they were looking for. Weiss agreed with her partner, and they started following the directions that man had told them. Within a few minutes of light jogging, the two partners reached the small one story building, the big red lettering above the store flashing a bright hue.
Ruby blinked, "How did we not see this earlier?" She questioned, pointing to the bright colors. The heiress gave a small annoyed sigh, nodding in agreement with her partner, before she sulked into the store.
As soon as the two girls entered the building, a man behind the counter called them, "Excuse me!" He yelled. Ruby jumped in surprise by the sudden voice, and she almost collapsed onto Weiss.
"Whoa." The white haired girl cried as she almost felt an extra amount of weight against her. After managing to calm her stunned leader, Weiss asked what the man had wanted.
"Could you leave your weapons by the front door?" He asked. At the confused faces of the girls, he elaborated, "Sorry, it's just we've been hit by a ton of robberies recently, so if you would be so kind. I'm sorry, we're just trying to be safe."
"It's alright, we understand." Ruby explained, waving her hand out before placing Crescent Rose on the table close to the front door, followed by her white haired companion placing her rapier down. Ruby went to walking around the store, curious about some rifle components for her scythe/sniper rifle while Weiss shuffled up to the main counter.
"Excuse me, but do you know where these components are?" The heiress asked, handing the list over to the man. He looked it over, mumbled a few words to himself, before his eyes widened slightly and glanced back up at the girl.
"Are you two girls from Beacon by any chance?" He asked quietly, causing Weiss to strain her hearing to comprehend him.
Once she understood what he was asking, Weiss nodded, "Yes. I am Weiss and over there is my partner, Ruby. We were requested by-"
The man interrupted her, "-Ozpin, yes?" Weiss' eyebrow raised, "He had called me earlier saying two of his students were going to come down and pick up some spare components. I know what you're looking for." He went into explaining to Weiss where each of items she was looking for was, and after a few minutes, the two girls had regrouped at the counter. Weiss paid for her stuff first, and handed her scroll to the man, followed by Ruby handing hers for her purchase.
The white haired girl furrowed her eyebrows, "What could you have possibly bought?" She asked in a curious tone.
Ruby gave a sheepish grin, "I need a new charge for my weapon, the one I'm using is starting to get weak, and I also just in general need a few screws and what not for a tune up." She explained with a shrug. Weiss couldn't help but sigh, muttering, "Weapon nut." Ruby heard Weiss however and stuck her tongue out, eliciting a chuckle from her white haired friend.
"Thank you for your purchase, and tell Ozpin that Alex said hello." The man, apparently called Alex, said with a small smile.
"We will." Ruby complied cheerfully, giving a small wave before she collected her items in a paper bag, holding it at her chest. Weiss followed suit, and as the two girls went to grab their weapons, something went amiss.
"Um, excuse me, where are our weapons?" Weiss asked loudly, catching Alex's attention. He raised his eyebrow, moving from behind the counter with a quick step. When he got up to the table he had set up for his customers' weapons, he noticed that they were absent.
He scratched his head, "That's odd, I never saw someone come in besides you two. I apologize for the inconvenience; let me go call the police and set up a lost and found." He then pulled out a pen and paper and started scribbling down something, "Here, these are some directions to the Vale Police Department. By the time you get there, they should already have set up a lost and found search for you weapons..." He paused, "Could I have a description of your weapons actually?" Alex asked, a small embarrassed grin appearing on his face. Ruby and Weiss nodded, and after Alex recorded the information down, he swiftly went back to call the police. Ruby and Weiss took the man up on his offer to go down to the police department themselves, and left the building.
Ruby glanced towards the sky, "It's already getting dark, we should hurry." Her voice was more serious now, especially since they were without suitable defense. She and Weiss both knew their close combat fighting was mediocre at best, and they needed the extra support. Weiss nodded at Ruby's hurried request, and both started jogging quickly towards the police station by Alex's orders, but a few minutes later, their directions were for naught, and Ruby and Weiss were in the wrong neighborhood.
"I have a bad feeling about this..." Ruby trailed under her breath, clutching the brown paper bag close to her. Weiss had barely heard her partner, but the snippets she had heard were enough to cause her back to tense up, waiting. Their wait was worth the while, as three men had come out from a nearby darkened alley, their attire scarily familiar.
The White Fang... The two girls thought, Ruby stomach gnawing in pain.
"Looking for these?" The lead male asked, waving his hand back to his two cohorts. They nodded and brought their hands from behind their backs, revealing Crescent Rose and Myrtenaster.
The two girls' eyes widened, "H-how did you?" Ruby stuttered, her grip on the bag tightening. Weiss herself was already panicking in worry, yet she still managed to keep her composure.
The man holding Crescent Rose chuckled, "My dear Ruby and Weiss..." The voice rang familiar to said girls, and their eyes widened further.
"Wait...? Weren't you the one who helped us find the store earlier?" Weiss piped up this time.
The lead man nodded, "Correct you are Schnee. But, let's cut the formalities, since I am sure you know very well who we are." At 'very', six more White Fang members dropped behind the girls, standing with different types of melee weapons. Weiss snapped her body around, before shifting back to back with her partner.
The lead man took a few steps forward, "So I am sure you already know what we already have planned." Six more faunus dropped to the left and right of Ruby and Weiss.
"Are you ready to die?" He asked finally, as around three dozen White Fang members dropped around the girls, each different evil faunus holding everything from brass knuckles to a katana.
Ruby couldn't help but grin, "You know, I feel flattered that you actually need this many people to take us down." Weiss grinned at Ruby's take on the situation, even if it wasn't the best of ideas right now.
The man who had helped the two girls earlier scowled, "Why you little bitch!" He rushed forward, holding Crescent Rose like a baseball bat. Ruby nodded to Weiss and the white haired girl flipped around so she was in front of Ruby, mimicking a hand sign. A few seconds later a glyph appeared below the charging man, and once Weiss shot her hand up, the man went up in a spectacular fashion, losing his grip on the metallic weapon. Crescent Rose slammed onto the ground and was soon landed on, head first, cracking his head open. Once the first blood drop fell to the ground, everyone rushed toward the two girls.
Now Ruby and Weiss were fighting for their lives, unable to call for help as their scrolls were shattered earlier in the fight. The brawl was taking a toll on the two girls, and the White Fang still had around 20 people to spare. The supposed leader was watching from afar, and was starting to get frustrated at the fact that his allies couldn't defeat two girls.
After about five more minutes, "Alright, I've had enough." He grumbled to himself, and started moving towards the crowd while reaching for something at his waist. Once at the front row seats, he yanked out a pistol and took aim.
I should've just done this earlier... But then again, it's always nice to hear them scream. Once final grin adorned his features before pulling the trigger. Weiss heard a loud pop and swiftly turned around, eyes widening at the horrifying sight before her; a bullet shot straight through the right side of Ruby's chest, two different streams of shimmering blood splashing in front and behind her. The color drained even further from her face, her eyes widened and dulled, and she crashed onto the concrete street below her. Everyone froze at the sudden fall of the fighting rose, and Weiss' head wouldn't stop spinning at her dying teammate before her.
The leader noticed Weiss take a step forward and he quickly swiped the pistol over her and fired once, hitting the back of her knee. Weiss' mouth opened widely, and yet no noise appeared. After she dropped to one knee the man fired again, hitting her in her left shoulder. The velocity of the shot pushed Weiss forward and she collapsed onto the ground face first. She tried to shift her head to face Ruby, staring at her peaceful face as the blood ran below the young girl, staining her head. The heiress felt a foot land on her back, and she let out a light squeak.
"I never expected two teenagers to cause so much trouble against the White Fang..." The leader sighed sarcastically, before shrugging, "But no matter though. By the end of tonight, we shall have two less enemies, and two more graves." He started aiming at Weiss' head...
Ruby's head was thumping madly, her skull feeling as if it was fractured. She tried opening her eyes slowly, all she could see was a massive blur of black. The color started returning though, and the image wasn't pretty. She saw a blurry image of Weiss across from her, tears escaping her shut eyes, and a pistol looming over her. The image was getting clearer, mind was running rampant.
"Weiss..." She uttered quietly, her voice hoarse. The young girl tried reaching her hand out, surprisingly going unnoticed. The heiress had apparently heard Ruby, and she shifted her head, scratching her face against the concrete. Weiss' eyes opened slightly, her blurry, icy blue eyes shining due to the tears.
She gave a smile.
"Weiss..." Ruby choked, her hand starting to shake.
"Don't worry Schnee, your father will soon join you in hell." He crunched his foot further, causing Weiss to spurt out some blood, tainting the black ground even further.
He pulled the trigger.
"WEISS!"
Ruby's eyes turned blue.
...
Ruby opened her eyes, watching as time was slowed to a crawl. She was staring at fractions of what was actually happening, and she was scared. She tried to stand, and was taken aback at the fact that she wasn't affected by the time slowing.
"W-what?" Ruby sputtered as she was finally able to stand. The silver, now blue eyed girl noticed an absence of a violent pain, and stared down at her chest, stunned. Her chest where the bullet went through was glowing a light blue as the skin was slowly reforming over the hole.
"What is happening?" She asked once again, staring at the scene before her; everything besides her was moving extremely slowly, almost 100 times slower than before. She walked up to a nearby faunus and poked him, and saw his body start to recoil back as if he had been hit by a hard force.
That's when Ruby remembered Weiss, and her attention almost instantly shifted back to the beaten girl, watching her eyes close as slow as quicksand. Ruby then glanced upwards and saw the spinning bullet approach Weiss, and became panicked. The blue eyed girl rushed towards Weiss and kicked the man's foot away, the leg moving rapidly before it was affected by the slowing time again. She then grabbed Weiss and pulled her away, holding her close.
Weiss opened her eyes, and was soon staring into Ruby's now icy blue eyes.
"R-Ruby?" She groaned out, her head ringing madly. All Ruby did was give a smile before she set Weiss back onto the ground gently before letting her go. The crimson haired female watched Weiss become affected by the slow time again, and she stared at her hands.
D-did I cause this...? She questioned to herself, before feeling a large weight upon her. She was getting tired now, and she felt like she was going to pass out.
"No..." She shook her head, trying to stay standing, "I need to finish this." She eyed the pistol.