A/N: Hello, everyone. This was written before Volume 4. That means that Volume 4 is considered non-canon. Also, major spoilers ahead of the ending to Volume 3 if you haven't seen it yet. So, without a further a due, let's get this show on the road.
Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monyreak "Monty" Oum. This story will have coarse language and gore. I'm not sure about nudity, that one's just... it's a very iffy thing to put in, but for now it's N/A.
UPDATE: I figured out how to use lines. Pathetic, I know. :(
Chapter 1: A cruel world
It was a week after Ruby, Jaune, Nora, and Ren left Ruby's home to head to Haven. They knew that if they made it there, then they can investigate the reason behind Beacon's downfall. The four of them were going through a forest that had little to no Grimm in it, which was the perfect place to set up camp when it got dark. It was mid afternoon and was very lively with Nora mostly talking during their hike.
"Hey, Ruby?" Jaune asked.
"Yeah?" Ruby said.
"Do you know how much longer until we reach civilization?"
"Why?" Jaune then pointed over to Nora bugging Ren with a very energetic tone. "Do you really think civilization is going to change that?" She asked.
"No, I just need to get away from her before-" Jaune started to say.
"Hey, what are you guys talking? It it about me? About the forest? About the lack of Grimm? Huh? Huh!?" Nora said in a very enthusiastic voice.
"Oh, just talking about the weather, that's all." Jaune said before he and Ruby smiled at her.
"Okay. Let me know if you spot any Grimm. It'll be so much fun out here." Nora said before Jaune and Ruby looked at each other in confusion.
"We haven't seen Grimm out here for nearly 4 days. She's just really energetic for a fight." Ren said to clear up the air. 4 days earlier, they had helped out a village from Grimm attacking them frequently. They helped out and was rewarded with some supplies for their journey. After a few hours, the sun was at the 7:00 p.m. position in the sky. This meant that they needed to set up camp soon and set up a perimeter for safety, even if there weren't any Grimm here.
"Alright, it's about time we set up camp." Ruby said. They were in an open area in the forest so that they can spot Grimm more easily from there.
"Alright, who should set up the perimeter?" Jaune asked.
"I'll do it. You guys go ahead and get dinner started, okay?" Ruby said.
"Sounds like a plan man! Or... woman!" Nora said happily.
"Good luck with the easy job." Ren said.
"Gotcha. See ya soon." Ruby said before taking off to the treeline. In her mind, the best perimeter to set up is one within the treeline so that any hiding Grimm won't attack them. It went off well, until she heard some commotion from outside the perimeter. They sounded human, so she went to see who that was. Ruby climbed high into the trees for a good vantage point if it's bandits. Before going to what appeared to be a trail, she spotted some people all right, bad people. White Fang soldiers were talking to each other near a big transport truck, hopefully with supplies.
'Oh crap, White Fang.' She thought. 'Looks like six of them. I know I should get the others, but I can manage.' Ruby leaped down from the tree she was on and got Crescent Rose out. She didn't transform it into scythe mode since it'd be too noisy, so she snuck up on them with her weapon on rifle mode. Ruby stayed out of sight of the White Fang soldiers until she noticed something moving in the distance.
She shrugged it off as a random animal and kept sneaking towards the Faunus soldiers. Ruby was about to pass a tree when she saw someone else there in mid swing. She couldn't react fast enough to dodge the supposed fatal blow, but she saw the one sided ax being swung from it's blunt side. After she took the hit, she tried to get up, but was then pushed back down to the ground and then had her hands behind her back. The weight of the person was on her, keeping her from escaping.
"Stop wiggling around, you little shit!" The man said. His voice seemed to be smooth and maybe old sounding. "Hey, morons! Help me with this girl here before she can escape!" He said to the White Fang soldiers. They got a rope from the truck and hogtied her to make sure she couldn't escape.
"Who is this girl?" Said a soldier.
"And why is she out here?" Said another.
"It would appear to be a huntress from Beacon Academy. Judging by her physique, she must be in either first or second year. Is that correct, miss?" The White Fang huntsman said.
"Yes." Ruby said.
"And judging by reports from other Fang soldiers, it seems that you are the one called Ruby Rose." The man said.
"What gave it away?" She asked in an uppity tone.
"A red hood and cape, silver eyes, and, of course, your weapon." He said before activating Crescent Rose to it's full length, revealing the gigantic scythe. This wowed the soldiers before the huntsman transformed it to it's original state. "Besides, you were on live television and such during the Vytal festival tournament."
"And what are you gonna do with me know?" Ruby said in a snarky tone.
"This." He said before looking to his men. "Muzzle her and put her in the truck. We're leaving."
After that, the soldiers then took a strip of cloth and tied it around her mouth. They proceeded to lift her up and carry her to the truck.
"Just so you know, my name is Grimoire." Grimoire said.
"What about her weapon, boss?" One of the soldiers asked.
"Keep it for yourself, I don't really care." He said. He then heard some rustling in the woods ahead of him. "I think we have company."
"Boss, she had a scroll on her. It looks like it was on for a while." A soldier behind him said.
"Then we definitely have company. A shame we're near one of the short range towers. Get ready." Grimoire said. His men got some rifles ready before Jaune, Ren, and Nora jumped out of the woods, weapons ready.
"Give Ruby back or else!" Jaune said.
"Or else what, exactly?" Grimoire said.
"I crush you with my hammer!" Nora said excitedly.
"You and your White Fang soldiers are outmatched, surrender or we'll be forced to fight." Ren said.
"You don't want to fight? Well, I can grant you that, at the very least." Grimoire said before raising his right hand. The three of them were confused by the gesture before hearing three silent gunshots and then a stinging sensation near their necks when he balled his hand into a fist. "That stuff won't kill you, but it will keep you from saving Ruby."
"What was..." Jaune said before falling to the ground.
"A new substance we created can pierce through the Aura of a huntsman and either kill them or incapacitate them. For you, we used mammal tranquilizer darts to knock you out." He said, before he moved toward Jaune and knelt down to him. "Tell this to Ruby's friends and family, 'We couldn't save her and now she's gone, taken by Grimoire and the White Fang.' Farewell." Grimoire said before Jaune finally lost consciousness.
Ruby just watched them from the back of the truck as they became smaller with each passing second. Then, they disappeared from sight, making Ruby cry from losing her team like that. Where ever she was going to did not bode well for her. After a few hours of travel and muffled crying, they reached an old building that had guards on constant patrol. After arriving there, Ruby was forced out and dragged to another room. The guard there removed the rope from her hands and held them together so that she couldn't move them.
Another guard had some hand and feet cuffs that didn't seem to actually fit Ruby. The guard holding her hands put them out one by one in front of her while the other guard put the handcuffs on her. One more guard was summoned for the tricky part of this ordeal. The first guard put his arms around her legs so that she wouldn't run from them when the ropes were cut off. The second guard got ready to put the feet cuffs on her. The third got a knife out and cut away at the rope. All the while, Ruby tried to struggle to see if the one on her legs would slip up or something.
When the third guard was done cutting, Ruby intensified her struggle to try and break free. She fell to the ground, trying her best to get up. Alas, the guard that was holding her legs was now on them so she couldn't kick anyone. The second guard finally got the feet cuffs on her, pulling down the hand part of the cuffs. After the guard put the feet cuffs on, Ruby immediately tried to run, but kept falling over with every failed attempt.
"Nice try, but those cuffs were made just for you." Said one of the guards. Ruby then moved her arms and legs up so she could grab the cloth that was muzzling her.
"Why are you doing this?" Ruby asked, still crying from earlier.
"We were ordered to do so by Cinder." Grimoire said behind her.
"What? I thought that-" Ruby started to say.
"She may have been in a similar state to that of the dragon? She had finally 'thawed' out 24 hours ago. Give or take a few minutes. One of her orders, albeit in a very tired state, said to find the one with a red hood and silver eyes. Find Ruby."
"She must be really mad."
"Indeed. Were I right there with her, I fear that I would be burned to a crisp."
"Well, wasn't it just your lucky day."
"Why, of course." He then looked to the White Fang guards. "Take her to her cell, she'll need the rest. Also, don't drag her too much. I expect her to be looking nice for tomorrow." Grimoire said before the guards muzzled her again with the same cloth. They carried her to a cell in the basement of the building, which didn't seem like a place for a cell. The guards threw her in the cell and then went back up after securing the lock on the cell. Ruby just laid there, crying on the cold, rocky floor before finally falling asleep.
"Get up." Grimoire said, making Ruby groan a little. "I said 'Get UP'!" He then kicked her in the stomach to make her wake up. Ruby just writhed in pain, clenching her abdomen.
"Nice morning, isn't it?" Ruby said while in pain. She was a little surprised from herself speaking, just now remembering that she took off the cloth and threw it in the corner. Seeing Grimoire with more lights, she could tell that he had white hair going to an inch below his shoulders and looked like he was in his mid-forties with no facial hair.
"Yes. How do you feel?"
"Like I wanna puke."
"You." Grimoire said to a White Fang guard. "Bring her something to eat." The guard then went to go get some food for Ruby.
"How nice of you." Ruby said sarcastically.
"It's the least I can do." Grimoire said in a taunting voice. The guard returned with a plate of delicious, neatly, organized food and a plate with what looked like mauled leftovers mixed together. "Thank you." He said to the guard giving him the nice food and Ruby the mauled leftovers.
"Thanks." Ruby said in a monotone voice. She tried to grab at what she thought was a strip of meat, but found out she needed to move both hands and feet to grab anything. She went and grabbed the meat to at least try to have it reach her mouth. Before biting down on it, she noticed that some of the guards were trying to look up her skirt. "It too frilly for you guys to see anything." Some of them had embarrassed expressions on their faces from either being called out or knowing someone who would do that.
After eating through half of her meal, she felt like she was going to puke if she kept eating.
"I think I'm done." Ruby said.
"Sure, go ahead skip out on a good lunch." Grimoire said.
"What?"
"If you can finish that, I promise to give you a very flavorful and absolutely appetizing lunch."
"Two questions. Can I pick what I want for lunch and how long do I have to finish?"
"I'll consider it and within five minutes." With that, Ruby continued eating her food, even if it didn't taste good. After she was done eating, she was taken to another room for this "special occasion" surrounded by four guards.
"Totally worth it!" Ruby said with agony in her voice.
"Don't vomit on me." Grimoire ordered.
"Got it." She said. The six of them entered an empty room with holes in the walls and ceiling, leaking in sunlight. Grimoire gestured one of the other White Fang members to activate a screen of sorts. It seemed to be trying to connect to something, individually connecting to short range towers to somewhere. After a few moments of silence and a few seconds of static, a picture of Cinder in a makeshift bed came on screen beside Emerald.
"Try to take it easy." Emerald said
"That depends on-" Cinder said before looking at Grimoire with a surprised look.
"Hello, Cinder." Grimoire said.
"Grimoire!" Cinder said with an angry tone and expression.
"Cinder?" Emerald said.
"No promises, Emerald!" Cinder said while still looking at Grimoire.
"Such a delight to see you again, dear Cinder." Grimoire said in a polite, sarcastic tone.
"Don't you start with that, you asshole!" Cinder yelled before coughing extremely hard.
"Try not to hurt yourself from your own scolding. I have, with me, the grandest prize of your heart's desire." He said before stepping to the side while Cinder was talking.
"If this is one of your prank calls, I'M GONNA-" Cinder stopped in mid-sentence to see Ruby chained up on the floor. When fully understanding what she saw, Cinder started to laugh hysterically. This started to scare everyone on both ends of the transmission.
"Are you alright, Cinder?" Grimoire asked, a little worried about her sanity.
"Oh, I'm feeling just ecstatic, Grimoire! This is the little fucker who froze me and my Grimm, and she deserves a very agonizing punishment from me, personally! Bring Ruby to me ASAP!" Cinder said in a very frantic and maniacal tone. Grimoire then stepped in front of the screen and held a hand up toward Cinder, making her extremely mad at him.
"Cinder, before you stop listening and lose yourself to your vengeance, hear me out." He said, trying not to anger her any further. Soon enough, Cinder calmed down to hear him out.
"Proceed." She ordered weakly. Grimoire then turned to his men to speak.
"Members of the White Fang! You know that this little bitch, Ruby, had nearly cost you your new world! I ask you, do you wish to punish her yourself or let your leader take her away from you before you have a chance!?" Grimoire said, making every member in his room and Cinder's room roar in approval.
"Do I have a say in-" Ruby said before being punched in the stomach from Grimoire. The force of the punch was enough to make her up-chuck her breakfast, something she didn't want to do. All she could process now was the pain on her abdomen, Grimoire's speech, and the smell and taste of her vomit.
"I think you should get your individual revenge before you give her to Cinder. Do you all agree?" Grimoire said before White Fang members cheered like crazy. "They have spoken." He said to Cinder.
"It seems that way." Cinder said weakly, yet pleased. "Do leave some pieces for me to break." She said while breathing heavily.
"No promises, unfortunately." Grimoire said before the screen turned off. He turned to see Ruby look up in pain to him. "Don't worry, it'll go down hill from here for both you and me."
"Because you have to go where I go?" Ruby asked slightly in pain.
"Yes." He said, unenthusiastically.
"Great. Just great."
"I still owe you a good lunch, either way."
"Okay." Ruby said in a sad tone. Afterwards, she was taken back to her cell and was depressed, thinking of what might await her in her future tortures, until lunch had arrived. She went from sad to happy in an instant from the beautiful sight and smell of her meal. A plate with 4 slices of smoked brisket with BBQ sauce on them, buttered mashed potatoes with grounded pepper on it, and some strawberries coated in chocolate was presented to her. "Is that for me?" The guard that was carrying the plate slid it in the cell food slot on the floor along with some silver ware on the plate. Ruby then went and snagged the plate before any of the guards could mess with it. The first bite of the brisket was the best thing she had tasted since the Vytal Festival. Each bite of her meal was savored in case she was given shit meals here on out.
"I told you it'd be really nice." Grimoire said.
"This is fantastic." Ruby said gleefully.
"Tomorrow, we leave for another White Fang outpost. You'll be in a run down shack near the place for obvious reasons. I suggest you don't try to escape when we're there." He said before giving Ruby a small cup of strawberry juice.
"Afraid I'll ruin your 'no escapees' streak?"
"No, I'm afraid of ruining my 'stop prisoners from killing themselves' streak."
"You know I can out run you and the White Fang, right?" She said before gulping down her drink.
"Normally, yes... if we didn't lace your meal and drink with 'anti-Dust'."
"What does that do?"
"Some tests we conducted suggests that it can depletes someones Aura instead of increasing the potential. Enough of it can deplete ones Aura for quite a while, actually."
"What?"
"The longest time for 10 grams was for nearly two weeks, ten days to be precise. The best part is, you will never know what we'll lace, so don't try to starve yourself." His last statement horrified her. She didn't want to die from starvation or dehydration, but she also didn't want to be tortured for who-knows-how-long. She felt like she was in between a rock and a hard place. She knew that there was only one option for her, even if it meant endless pain.
"I'll be a good prisoner." She said in a defeated tone.
"Good. Enjoy the rest of the day. They'll start the torture tomorrow." Grimoire said before leaving the basement. With that, Ruby just sat in her cell, as depressed as ever.
The next morning, Ruby, Grimoire, and some White Fang guards got in a truck and drove off to the next facility. When arriving at the shack, Ruby tried to prepare for the beatings she would soon receive. The first guard went and clocked her right in the face, then kicked her in the stomach a few times. With her hands behind her and in restraints, she couldn't protect herself from them. The next guard got her to stand up and proceeded to punching her stomach. The next three guards just kicked her a few times pretty much everywhere since the sixth and last one wanted to give her the brunt of their torture.
"Anything you'd like to say?" The last guard said in a dead tone.
"I... want to... go home!" Ruby said, nearly breaking down when she said 'go home'. The guard kicked the side of her face when she finished her statement. He then kicked her in the abdomen vertically before grabbing her hair and collar. Letting go of her collar, he kneed her right in the face. He kept kicking her until he stopped for a brief moment. Ruby was able to breath for a short moment, blood dripping from her mouth and nose, before her head was stomped to the ground.
"Well, this has sure been life changing for you and me, girl. I get to beat you to a bloody pulp while you suffer. A very good day, isn't it?" The guard said before kicking her in the head again and repeatedly stomped it. After a while, the guard held her head up with his foot before telling her something. "I'll be back tomorrow for more of this fun. Until then, see ya." The guard said before kicking her one last time. All of the guards left the room she was in since they couldn't stand her crying.
"Why did this happen? Why did I have to do something so stupid and get caught? Is some deity trying to tell me something? Why me? Why me." She said, sobbing in between sentences. Every other day was the same kind treatment, but was worst than the last. After every month, they moved to a new location to try and keep the authorities of their backs.
Ruby was suspicious that they would bring in human children every now and then. All she knew was that they brought in a child in her room, take the child with them after a few minutes, then hear screaming for a minute or two before it was suddenly silenced. She didn't want to know what happened to them, since they seemed to disappear the next day. The White Fang seemed to upgrade Crescent Rose to be able to kill huntsman in five shots, depending on how strong their Aura was.
Three months after she became a prisoner, Ruby was in her "room", trying to figure out a way to escape. Suddenly, she heard another kid, probably a girl, trying to fight the White Fang and book it. They finally got her in Ruby's room and tied her up next to Ruby so she couldn't escape. They left the two girls alone to get some stuff done before getting the non-important kid again. Ruby decided to befriend the girl before they take her, as was her usual for temporary prisoners.
"Hello." Ruby said. The girl just turned to her, waiting for Ruby to say something else. "My name's Ruby." The girl just grunted in acknowledgment. "I'm trying to be friendly." Ruby said, sounding offended.
"M'names Delilah." The girl said, having a thick English accent. She had orange hair, golden eyes, peach colored skin, and had a light yellow dress with a light pink overcoat.
"Nice to meet you." Ruby said in a cheerful tone.
"You always this cheery?"
"When I'm not being held captive against my will, yeah." Delilah looked at her with a stink eye look. "Sorry."
"Don't sweat it, I'm still a bit mad that these assholes captured me. You from here? You look too fancy for anywhere near here."
"I'm from Vale. Used to go to Beacon academy before... before they infested it with Grimm."
"A huntress in-trainin'? Well, that doesn't bode well for both of us. Especially with those bruises and scratches all over you."
"Yeah, well... it's from a new type of Dust they can manufacture now. They call it anti-Dust since it can get rid of Aura instead of amplifying it." Delilah was very shocked to hear that huntresses and huntsman can have their power depleted from a new material.
"Just... fan-fuckin'-tastic!"
"You always say such rude language?" Ruby said with a disgusted tone.
"Only when I'm treated wrong." Delilah said with a snarky attitude.
"Fair enough." Ruby looked at the door before leaning toward Delilah as best she could. Delilah leaned in from curiosity, knowing Ruby wanted to keep it between them as much as possible. "I have a plan to get out of here."
"I'm listenin'."
"I can feel my Semblance coming back, meaning the dose of anti-dust was too small. If we can convince them to get us out of these ropes, I can use my speed to get us as far away from here as possible."
"What about the guards? They'll just keep shootin' you until you go down or just hit me while we run. Unless you want to... take them down so it's easier to escape."
"I'm... not all that good when it comes to knocking them out, but I think I'll be able to move fast enough before-" Ruby saw that her new friend was featuring a bewildered face. "What?"
"WH- What do mean by 'knockin' them out'!?" Delilah tried her best to keep herself quiet.
"By leaving them unconscious! That is what you said, right?" Ruby was trying to figure out why Delilah was upset when a thought suddenly occurred to her. "You're not suggesting that I kill them, right?"
"That was what I thought you were goin' to do, anyway." Delilah was trying to keep the volume down in her rage before she went to a defeated state. "It would make sense you aren't down for killin' since you didn't graduate."
"Don't be like that. I'm sure that we can get out of here without killing anyone."
"Even if they deserve it?" After that, Ruby had remembered that the other children had disappeared the next day. She didn't want to even think about what happened to them afterwards. "You don't know, do you?"
"Know what?" Ruby said, trying to act like they weren't on the same page. Delilah had sighed before she continued.
"How many were there before me?" She said in a sad tone.
"About 13, at most." With that, Delilah just looked at Ruby, surprised by her answer.
"You're telling me that they killed 13 children!?" Delilah was practically yelling at this point, which didn't help when Ruby looked at her with complete horror on her face. "Not only that, but they told me they hid their corpses in the floor boards so no one would find them. Now do you see why they deserve to die!?"
"Bu- I- No! That- That can't be true. They wouldn't do that, right?" Ruby was trying to convince herself otherwise while holding back tears as best she could.
"Of course they'd do that. Even for terrorists, they're still as cruel as everyone else both inside and outside of kingdoms. They're no better than a bandit or a homicidal maniac. Sure, huntsman try their best, but they can never truly get rid of the evil this world offers. No matter where you live or where you're from, you can never be truly safe. This place is a cruel world!"
After Delilah's rant, Ruby wanted to argue with her that it wasn't all bad. Every time she wanted to make an argument, she always remembered what happened to Vale. She just sat there in silence, until some guards showed up.
"Take the new one." One guard said.
"Like hell you are!" Delilah said before attempting to head butt the closest one. She successfully hit the guard, but he recovered quickly.
"Agh! You bitch!" The guard said before grabbing her. She tried to escape his grasp, but she was pushed to the ground before being dragged out to the next room. "You'll suffer for this."
"Please, leave her alone!" Ruby cried out to the guards.
"Shut up, you! Or you'll be even worse than you already are." The guard said with a smile.
"Ruby! Remember what I told you! Don't forget it!" Delilah said before the door closed behind her, leaving Ruby all by herself. She could hear the struggling between the guards and Delilah in the other room. Delilah was yelling at the top of her longs, throwing swear words at her assailants. The seemed to be laughing at her, which made Delilah swear more. Ruby then heard screams of pain from Delilah and hysterical laughing from the guards. She at first thought they were beating her up, hoping they would be merciful to her for a change. When the screams started to fade, some extremely faint shinks were being heard instead. Ruby had concluded that they were stabbing her with some knife. The screams, laughs, and stabbing sounds faded completely, leaving Ruby to imagine what might have happened to her new friend.
'They just stabbed her. They stabbed her. Why? Why did they do that!? This world is cruel.' She looked down to grieve for her friend when she noticed a wood carving on the floor. Closer examination of the object revealed to her that it was a pocket knife. It wasn't here before, how did it-.
"Delilah." Ruby figured out that Delilah must have thrown it when she head butted the guard. She dragged the knife with her feet until it was in front of her. She moved her tied up hands under her legs to try and get them in front of her. Ruby then grabbed the object, confirming it was a pocket knife. She held the object close to her chest and started to cry. "Thank you." Ruby then move her arms back behind her, still holding the knife in her hands behind her back.
The feeling of the knife in her hand gave her a mix of feelings, with one she recognized when Pyrrha died. Rage was the only thing that flowed throw her mind when Pyrrha was turned to ash. Now, it was rage, grievance, thankfulness, and... determination. She felt determined to get out of here and avenge everyone who the White Fang killed. Ruby heard one of the guards enter her room, probably to beat her again. This was the moment she waited for. She just had to sound convincing enough for him.
"You ready for another beating, girl?" He said before motioning her to a chair he brought in. Ruby did her best to put the knife in her sleeve and then moved to the chair to sit in it. "Heh, I decided to be nice and give you one request."
"Could you... untie the ropes on my hands?" Ruby said in the most pathetic voice she could imitate. The guard thought hard before pulling out his own knife and cut the rope that restrained her hands. "Thank you." The guard laughed at her "pathetic" response.
"Tell you what, why don't I let you hit me once? That sound fair?" Ruby nodded, trying not to smile from how lucky she had gotten so far. She reach her right hand out to the side of his head while slowly unfolding the blade out with her left. The guard just smiled and giggled at her, which was about to end very quickly. "Go ahead and hit me. See if it'll hurt."
"Letting me hit you was the last mistake you'll ever make, you fucker!" Ruby then grabbed his hair and tilted his head as far to his left as she could. She then aimed for his neck and plunged the knife right in. She began pulling the knife out and putting it back into his neck, stabbing him again and again to make sure he'd die. She slowly moved him down to the ground and covered his mouth while stabbing him so he couldn't scream or gurgle loud enough for his friends to hear him. After several more stabs, he laid there with a lifeless expression on his face, blood all over the collar of his uniform.
Ruby heard some rambling and a radio on the other side of the door. She moved to the door and listened carefully to what they were saying. With luck, some of them will leave and reduce the current number to something manageable. She had an idea of what to do, hoping it would work. Lure one of them in her range and kill him, then lure another one in and take him out in her room. And finally, use her speed to take out the remaining two if they don't leave. Looking to her right, she saw some string and a broom stick. It'll have to do.
"Hey, Garry over here needs to take a dump. Think you can hold down the fort while we're gone?" One of the guards said. The ones he talked to just told him to go while listening to the radio. "Alright. Garry, take the sniper scythe with us. Can't be too careful."
"Got it, boss." Garry said before taking Crescent Rose and his buddy with him. This was a good time as any for her plan to be set into motion. She picked up the chair and brought it next to the door. Thankfully, the door swung open on her side, giving her a better advantage. After a good several minutes, she put on an innocent face and opened the door.
"Hey, mister?" Ruby said in a shy voice. "Your friend wanted to ask you something." One of them started to go for the machete next to him, but his friend signaled him not to. Ruby hid the knife behind her with her right hand. Being left handed had it's downsides, but she could manage with her current situation.
Thankfully, the room the guards were in was pretty big. She could go through with her plan very smoothly. The closer he got, the more Ruby felt like she needed to hide the knife. The added darkness to her room, plus the door being opened slightly and the guard concentrating on her, she had a better chance for this plan to work. The guard stood right in front of her. Now it was all or nothing.
"Alright, what was it he wanted me to-" The guard stopped in mid-sentence when he saw his buddy on the ground, dead. "What did you-" He was cut off by Ruby stabbing him right into his windpipe.
"I hope you burn in hell, you bastard." She said before pulling the knife out of the dying guard. His friend saw what happened and got his machete before bolting to the door. Ruby closed the door right after her captor had dropped dead and placed the chair on the door knob. She immediately got the string and tied the knife to the broom stick as quickly as she could.
As soon as she finished, the guard kicked the door open and looked at his other friend in horror. Ruby then charged at him while he was still in a trance and plunged the knife in his chest. When the guard hit the floor, Ruby got on top of him and put her knees on his arms so he couldn't grab her. Ruby then stabbed him in the chest repeatedly, nothing but rage enveloping her with every stab. She stopped to save some of her strength for the other two when they returned.
Ruby entered the main room and focused on nothing but the door, waiting for the other guards to enter. After a minute of waiting, she looked to her left to kill some time. She saw a radio, five chairs, and a table with some cards and beer bottles on it. This must have been their small rest area. She looked to her right to see why their rest area was on one side of the room. Ruby was horrified and angered by this disgusting site.
The floor was opened to reveal skeletons and decaying corpses, air fresheners keeping the smell at bay. Worse was Delilah's unconscious body on the ground, slowly bleeding to death from multiple stab wounds. Ruby wanted them to suffer, now more than ever. She also wanted to help her friend, but needed to keep a close eye on the door in case the other two returned. The door to the outside world opened, followed by the last two guards talking to each other before noticing the scene in front of them.
Their horrified trance was exactly what Ruby needed to take them out. She used her speed to strike the closest one first in the chest. The other one was even more terrified even though he was the one with Crescent Rose. She pulled the knife out and did a horizontal strike across his throat, sending blood out of his neck and mouth.
Ruby turned to the last guard, seeing him about to wet himself. She figured the small dots and streaks of blood on her face made her scarier than usual. The guard seemed to have gotten some extra nerves since he charged at her with the gun as a melee weapon. He held the stock of Crescent Rose in rifle mode as though it was a club.
It wouldn't help him since she dodged around him in mid-swing. Ruby stabbed him in the back, sending the guard to the ground and forcing him to toss Crescent Rose away from him. He writhed in pain before rolling himself over on his back. Ruby then knelt down on his arms before stabbing him right in the middle of the chest, making him scream in pain.
"Before I kill you, tell me one thing. Why would you do this!?" Ruby said while pointing to the other side of the room. He looked over and growled at her.
"Because you humans are horrible. Your people deserve this and much, much more." He hissed at her.
"They were children! They could have LEARNED!" She twisted the knife, making him scream again. "They would've known that what people did was wrong and even tried to change that. And you threw that away! You. Had. No. Right. To. Do. This." She stabbed him over and over after every pause. "Burn. In! HELL!" She stabbed him one final time, seeing he must have died now.
"Good job,... kid." Delilah said in a weak voice. Ruby rushed over to her and tried to cradle her without hurting her too much.
"Delilah. Don't worry. I'll get you out of here and look for help. Please, just try to save your strength." Ruby said, trying to stay cool in her current situation.
"No, don't bother. I-" Delilah coughed up an alarming amount of blood. "I lost too much blood. I wouldn't make it to a doctor." Ruby stared at her before looking down.
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." Ruby began to cry, tears about to flow down her face.
"You did nothing wrong. This might've happened anyway, just without you knowing." Delilah weakly moved Ruby's head to look her in the eye. "Please, make this world a better place. Kill everyone that keeps doing really bad things, but don't lose your heart in the process. Forgive those... who have a small bit... of good left in them. Make sure they can keep up a no crime streak. White Fang, bandits, Grimm... they deserve to die." Ruby grabbed one of Delilah's hand to comfort her in her last moments. "It was nice... knowing you,... Ruby."
"It was nice to meet you too, Delilah. Rest easy." Ruby said with a smile and tears trickling down her face. Delilah closed her eyes and exhaled one last time. Ruby was alone. She just hugged Delilah's body and cried into it, praying for forgiveness. After a while, she walked over to Crescent Rose and picked it up before noticing Garry was still alive.
She cocked the rifle before aiming it at the last White Fang guard. Ruby stared into his eyes with a stare that could freeze Cinder in her tracks. Before Garry could speak, she pulled the trigger and sent his brains in every direction.
She got some red Dust off of one of the guards, enough to burn this shack down to the ground. Gathering up some spare high caliber bullets for her weapon, she headed to the entrance of the building. Ruby put the red Dust on floor and looked to see if it was still in her line of sight.
She aimed at it and fired a round, causing a chain reaction that engulfed the whole shack in flames. She stared at it from a safe distance, watching it slowly burn to the ground. After a few minutes, she walked in the direction she figured was the White Fang base that was nearby. 'I need to kill Grimoire. He, and all of the White Fang there, will die by my blade. They will pay for what happened here in blood.' She thought before dashing toward her destination. All she wanted was revenge for the kids they had killed and maimed before Delilah. For what happened to Vale. To Beacon. To Penny. To Pyrrha!
She arrived at the facility a few meters away from the entrance. Ruby was in the trees, scoping the area out to come up with a plan. Two guards at the front gates, four sniper towers with snipers in them, and about two dozen guards, armed with melee weapons and firearms. Not that big on security, since the rifles didn't seem to be of high caliber, aside from the snipers. Ruby knew she could do it, especially with her speed. And as far as everyone down there knows, she's the most innocent huntress on the planet.
Ruby jumped down and headed to the road. She stopped at the edge of the forest to come up with a plan. A simple and brutal plan was the only thing she could think of. Kill the guards at the gate, jump over the wall while getting the snipers, and then slaughter every White Fang asshole in there. She walked toward the facility, waiting for the guards to notice her.
"Halt! Who goes there!" One of the guards said. Ruby just kept walking toward the guards, ignoring his threats.
"Isn't that the red hooded girl from that shack?" The other guards asked.
"You're right. Let's go ahead and teach her a lesson. That Anti-Dust stuff should still be in her system."
"Got it. Come here, girly." The guards started to walk toward her before Ruby dashed toward the first guard. She activated her weapon and cut the guard in half, filling the air with rose petals and blood. "Wh- What!? I- I thought you we-were too n-nice to-" Ruby decapitated the other guard before he could finish his sentence.
She stood in front of the gate and changed her scythe into sniper rifle mode. Aiming the barrel down, she prayed to whatever god existed to give her luck for this part of her plan. She jumped into the air and fired her gun, launching her over the wall. She shot behind her to move her forward, then shot in four directions. Landing in the middle of the facility, she hoped her bullets hit their intended targets.
The White Fang soldiers surrounded her, giving her no immediate escape route. They all thought she was the most idiotic person to take them all on. Ruby had miss-counted, adding about ten or so soldiers, making it about 40-1. She was a huntress out for revenge. They wouldn't stand a chance.
Ruby stood still, head to the ground, her cape covering half her face. "Longshots, do you have eyes on the target?" One of them said into the radio. No answer. "Longshots, do you have eyes on the huntress!?" He yelled into the radio.
"Negative... sir." A weak voice said on the radio.
"What's your status?" The soldier said, worried about his squad mate.
"Others... dead. Won't... make it. Shot in... lung." The sniper said over the radio before coughing and gurgling.
"Longshot 3. Longshot 3! Logan, do you copy?" No answer. "Anyone else!? Rodney. Fred. Jake. Anyone!?" Silence filled the radio. He looked at Ruby, still standing there with her head down to the ground. The names barely fazed her, only giving her some more names to those who wronged innocent people. "Huntress! Where's your friend at!? Hiding in the forest or is he in this-" Ruby shot him right in the face, spraying brains, blood, and skull fragments in every direction. The soldiers just looked at their dead teammate, startled by what just happened.
"What!?" Another soldier said. Ruby changed her weapon into a scythe before aiming the barrel behind her. She fired, hitting another soldier behind her, sending herself toward a soldier directly in front of her. Before facing in front of him, she swung her scythe and cut the Faunus from his right shoulder to the lower left part of his abdomen. The soldier next to her screamed in fear before he was cut down as well. Some of the other White Fang soldiers charged at her with melee weapons, about 10 of them, while the rest went to get some firearms.
The ten or so CQC attackers had surrounded her in a circle, which was exactly what she wanted. Ruby shot two of her attackers, eight of them left, before cutting down the closest one to her. She swung her scythe horizontally right, taking out another three. Slashing to her left, she grazed two of them and killed another one, before aiming behind her.
The soldier behind Ruby jumped back from the barrel of her gun, only to get shot right in the chest. With the momentum, Ruby cut the two in front of her in half. After that she ran towards the west side of the facility to take them out. '14 down, 26 to go.' She thought. Ruby screeched to a halt when she saw two lines of soldiers a few meters in front her, rifles and pistols at the ready.
There was only 18 soldiers there, meaning 8 of them were still around. She heard one of them yell "fire" before the two lines started shooting. She used her Semblance to bob and weave past the bullets, getting her scythe ready for the kill. Appearing next to the front line of soldiers, she got her scythe ready and propelled herself forward. In an instant, the first row of soldiers had their heads cut clean off. She did it again to the second row, only killing two and grazing three others.
Those that evaded her in time ran for their lives, only to be shot down by Ruby. The three injured tried to flee, but only one of them evaded another swing from Ruby's weapon. She pinned him down with her foot before noticing the last 8 were running toward her with shotguns. One fired a slug shot, making her backflip in the air and slashed her scythe downwards.
After impaling the injured soldier to the ground, she aimed at the 8 idiots and fired. She got 6 of them before the other 2 closed the gap between them. Ruby pulled the blade out of the ground and did a horizontal slash on the soldier to her left. She rested the scythe on the last ones shoulder, making him drop his gun and putting his arms up.
"Wait! I surrender. I surren-" Ruby fired Crescent Rose, cutting off his sentence. The blade of her weapon went through the right side of his neck to below his left arm. She turned to her right from the recoil, striking an unintentional pose. After a few seconds of silence, Ruby heard something behind her and aimed Crescent Rose to whatever she heard. For once, she hesitated.
A member of the White Fang, no older than 15, was only armed with a pistol and a white, cylinder shaped container. Ruby stopped aiming at the boy and reverted Crescent Rose to it's idol mode.
"Please! Spare me!" The boy said instinctively.
"It's okay. I won't hurt you. Even if you tried to shoot me." Ruby said in a sympathetic tone. She couldn't just murder him in cold blood. He was still young, still had better choices to make. "If you don't mind me asking, what's in that container?" The boy held up the cylinder for Ruby to confirm it. She nodded.
"It's a message to Grimoire's secret organization. He told me to go to a specific place, certain someone, stuff like that. That was all he told me." The boy said, a bit nervous. Ruby was surprised to hear that Grimoire was in another organization.
"Thank you for telling me." Ruby and the boy just stood still for a second. "You can go now." The boy snapped out of his trance and headed to the gate. "I hope we meet again in a better place."
"Same here." He said before sprinting toward the gate. Ruby walked to the courtyard and headed to the small building in the north end of the facility. When she was a few meters in front of the building, a White Fang soldier kicked the door open and got a sword ready. Grimoire followed behind him, his ax-shotgun in hand. Ruby transformed Crescent Rose onto rifle mode and aimed it at the pair of bad guys.
"Come on. We can take her Grimoire." The soldier said.
"Have you seen around yourself lately? A lot of your friends-" Grimoire tried to say before the guard interrupted him.
"Yeah. But, we'll beat her. A soldier and a huntsman, we'll do it." The soldier kept his confident act up.
"I'd rather talk to her instead of getting involved." Grimoire said that as though he had nothing to do with what happened. Ruby became even more furious with him.
"Come on, Grimoire. Us White Fang need to-" Grimoire struck the soldier right on top of his head, killing him instantly. Ruby was startled when this happened, thinking Grimoire might actually be a psychopath. He then proceeded to get his weapon out of his victim's head and stared down Ruby, making her tense up.
"I'm not officially with the White Fang or with Cinder. I have been considered as an associate, even though my organization wishes to rip out the White Fang from it's roots." Ruby thought for a minute before coming to the most logical conclusion she can think of, what with him hitting her and what not.
"You're a spy?" Ruby said before Grimoire nodded. "Do you know what they do to innocent children?" Her statement was filled with venom, not phasing him.
"They never told me. I've been in the dark with their 'special activities'." With that, Ruby transformed her weapon to idol mode. "Ruby, what was it that they did?"
"They kidnapped innocent children and killed them since they were human. The worst part is, they hid their bodies in the floor boards." Ruby was crying at this point. She was surprised to see that Grimoire looked to the ground in sadness.
"If only I had known. My organization wouldn't tolerate it on humans or Faunus alike. The White Fang will definitely bleed for this!" Grimoire was furious beyond belief, confirming that he does have a heart.
"That sound very kind of you. But why stay hidden?"
"Our organization could be looked down upon on the four kingdoms, especially for it being a little more advanced than the SDC and Atlas combined. We only waited for the next big conflict, were it not for a major setback. The organization has a leader that everyone respects, even the worst of it likes him to a certain degree." Ruby couldn't help but listen to what he was saying. "Our leader went missing in White Fang territory about seven months ago. Without him, we haven't been able to come up with a solid plan on how to deal with this new threat. He's been missing ever since, most likely still in their custody. He has an extremely useful weapon and a very dangerous power.
"The reason that he may not have used it is either how dangerous it is or from a huge amount of anti-Dust going somewhere. I have been a spy in White Fang ranks for five months, the trail now being cold. I'll need to go soon to continue my search else where. If you have any questions, please ask away." Grimoire went over to some crates and sat on them.
"Do you know where Jaune, Nora, and Ren are?"
"They followed some White Fang outposts toward Mistral while we stayed close to Vale, actually going more toward Vacuo. They were guided in the wrong direction to find you, simply put. Do you wish to find them?"
"No. Haven doesn't matter to me anymore. I need to end Cinder's life and soon. She needs to pay for what happened in Vale."
"I'd hold off on that if I were you. She far surpasses you in skill and power. You would end up like Pyrrha if you go after her now, if you can evade the hundreds of Grimm."
"Shit!" Ruby slammed her fist on the nearest wall. "What the hell am I supposed to do!?"
"Take huntsman bounties and kill some White Fang for about... four years." Ruby looked at Grimoire with confusion. "Cinder's going to 'thaw' out the dragon when she's fully recovered. Apparently, you freezing her took a lot out of her. She just wanted to make sure she can use her full power. Any more questions?"
"How much Anti-Dust have they made so far?"
"About 14 ounces of it remains. We did have about 20 ounces by the time I got there, but it seemed to be going to an undisclosed location. We- They've almost run out of the materials for it since they're only available on the north-western continent, which is teaming with Grimm.
"What's the stability of the kingdoms so far?"
"I can only guess that it going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Luckily, a new CCT should be up and running in about a year or two. This time it'll be heavily guarded from anyone or anything. So in other words, we have no idea how the other kingdoms are faring at the time. Anything else?"
"How advanced is your organization?"
"We are only a year ahead of Atlas and the SDC as a whole, except for one area. We have a stable space program and even launched some satellites in orbit." Ruby was dumbfounded to hear that. "The satellites don't last long, which was intended. Most often or not, we send them into the north-western continent for fun." They both laughed at the idea of some Grimm getting hit by a satellite out of the blue.
"What's your Semblance?"
"I am able to see into the future for a maximum of one minute." Ruby's mouth was agape knowing that someone can see that far into the future. No one would be able to stop him. "If my opponents are weak enough, then it'll show me what they will do. However, if I feel I'm outmatched, then it'll show me of what they might do." And now she was disappointed.
"Do you know why Cinder did this?" She knew it was very unlikely, but she gave it a shot.
"As a matter a fact, yes." Ruby thought she was on a roll today. "There were witnesses in Haven that saw Cinder with another person by the name of Salem. Looking all over Cinder's old room, I did find her diary turned journal, which she probably hid to keep it as reminder or a grand possession. It started out with her being anti-social and competitive to admiring Salem like a leader... or a god." Ruby thought that if Cinder saw this Salem person as a god, then Salem must be extraordinarily powerful to have that image. "She believes that Salem is one of these Maidens, the Winter Maiden to be more specific. Do you know the story of the Four Maidens?"
"Yeah. Four maidens named after the seasons helped an old wizard who in turn gave them immense power as a gift, simply put." Ruby then realized what Grimoire was saying. "These Maidens exist? That story's real!?" Ruby now wished she wasn't part of whatever this was now.
"It seems to be that way, yes. If Cinder's boasts are real, then that would mean she has become the new Fall Maiden. That also means that one Maiden has gone rogue while the other is using it's good powers for evil things, simply put. Either way, I personally wish to not endure what she has plnned. Anything else to ask?" Ruby was horrified at the realization that she may need to fight two Maidens done the road. She felt lost. Ruby wanted to take her revenge on every bad thing in the world, but didn't want to go up against powerful foes like rogue Maidens. Looking to the ground, she asked the most simple yet conflicting question in her mind.
"What do I do now?" Grimoire walked up to her and grabbed her shoulders to comfort her as best he could.
"Ruby, this might seem impossible to you, but it's anything but that. You have four years and some odd months before the dragon is free once again, giving you ample time to train and surpass Cinder. You may not be a Maiden, but you are a silver eyed warrior. Tapping into that strength alone will be enough to take out hundreds, even thousands of Grimm. The Maidens may be powerhouses, but they still need plenty of skill to surpass you. Cinder is confident she can beat anyone, making that her weakness. If you can master your own skill and power, then you can beat her.
"That is why the Maidens became a thing of legend, because they can be beat. Cinder is no different. If you wish to find Jaune and the others, then do so. If you want to try and gather your old team, then do it. There is no shame in doing it with a team, but I think it would be best to kill her on your own since you'll go done a path of vengeance. I won't tell you to go down the right path, but do the right thing and train between now and whenever the dragon is free." Grimoire knelt down to face Ruby.
"Never lose faith in your own abilities! Do the best you can and end both Cinder and that accursed creature, forever! Never give up on this goal of revenge, but never lose your heart along the way." Grimoire stood up and put his arms around his back. "Anything else you would like to ask?" He said with a smile.
Ruby had tears streaming down her face, knowing that two people believed she could do it. She steeled herself and wiped away the tears, giving Grimoire a smile of her own. "No. I'm good."
"Good. Then I shall be off-" Grimoire was interrupted by his scroll going off. He looked at it and couldn't help but laugh a bit from it's timing. "The second message on here says that I'm an asshole for giving Cinder my resignation from the White Fang, while the first message has the time of when the dragon will thaw out." Ruby looked at his scroll to see the message.
The Grimm Dragon will thaw out in:
4 years:5 months:0 days:0 minutes:0 seconds
"Go figure." Ruby said.
"Indeed. Anyway, here's another scroll with the timer on it as another application. Only I have the number for it. Keep it if you want, I honestly don't give a damn." Ruby rook the scroll and put it in her pouch. "Well, I should be going." Grimoire picked up some bags from the small building before heading toward the gate."Good luck with your quest, and farewell." Grimoire said as he left.
"Take care." Ruby said as they waved at each other. She forgave him for what he had done to her as it was all an act. Ruby headed toward the gate as well, catching one last glimpse at Grimoire. When he was out of sight, Ruby felt anger coming up from somewhere.
'Farewell.' Something about that word made her feel angry. She tried to remember where she heard it before, figuring out why she felt rage building within. Then it dawned on her. It was the same word that Grimoire said to Juane before being kidnapped by the White Fang. This was the point her life changed forever. Misery. Torture. Grievance. The loss of so many kids. They will never be able to change the world, for better or for worse. And it all pinpointed to Cinder, the mastermind behind their want to exterminate human society.
'This is all Cinder's fault, even if Salem told her to do it. Jaune, Nora, and Ren are still trying to find me, Weiss is stuck in Atlas, Blake ran away, Yang's given up, Beacon is in shambles, and both Penny and Pyrrha are dead! This is all her fault, Maiden or no.' Ruby put her hood over her head and walked to the closest village. "I will have my revenge on Cinder. On Salem. On the whole damn world if I need to. This cruel world will be safe, I swear it."
Somewhere else, a guy in full, gray body armor was sitting in a cell, looking out the barred window. He looked to his left to see someone at the cell door holding a plate of decent looking food. He walked over to it and grabbed it without uttering a word.
"How do you feel?" A girl in a dark blue dress with neon green outlines on it said. She had tanned skin, brown hair, aqua eyes, and teal bows in her hair. The man didn't say anything. She decided to leave him alone, knowing he wasn't going to talk to her. The man removed the mouth piece of his mask to eat. He looked to the window again, hoping to get out of this place.
"Several months in White Fang custody and no word from Grimoire. I hope I can get out of here before he arrives. Wouldn't like to give him the pleasure of having him rescue me." He then ate his food, deciding on the name for his organization. The best one to come to mind is the Inquisition of Remnant.
Well, that was fun. Hoped you guys enjoyed it. For those who might be curious as to why I didn't have a lot of time with JN_R is because it's all about Ruby and other major characters she'll meet. If this seems a bit long, it's because I honestly wanted to put in the whole arc like thing in one chapter to get it over with. I also saw that, although the time skip would be a good place to stop, it was under the minimum of words I have chosen (5,000 being my minimum, but before time skip was 3,500 words). These are my preferred looks for the two OCs, but you can think of your own if you so wish. With appearances on Grimoire, basically he looks like Nobody Ansem from Kingdom Hearts 2, specifically. The armor of the leader of the secret organization looks like the armor of foot soldiers in Metal Gear Rising Reveangence, but instead has a full helmet instead of a big visor on the front of his face. Hope you guys enjoyed it and I'll see you in Chapter 2.