Chapter 1 - Endless rotation
The wind was howling and quivering the window. Ruby felt the chill has gotten into her bones and she decided to throw some of the firewood that she had gathered together and lit them up.
Ruby then sat beside the window of this small room in an abandoned building. She glanced through it, amazed by the beautiful view of endless mountains covered in snow. The other buildings which were also empty placed nicely in the whole scenery. Ruby thought that this might have been the only good thing that she had seen in a... long time.
That whole thing reminded her of a certain someone. The person who was pure white in her appearance. The person who supported her in times of needs. The person who became the pillar of her life. Also, the person who she had given up on. It was not like I had anything to give to her anyway, I'd been a dolt and a colossal idiot for her. She deserves a better person.
Sigh, I better get a grip on myself, I'm totally over her and... the kingdom of Vale needs me. Ruby thought of this every single day. She had to sacrifice her feelings because a lot of people's lives were at stakes.
Having nothing to do other than waiting and daydreaming, Ruby opened her bag and took her scroll out.
It's been a while since I got up-to-date with the latest news, she thought.
Being on a mission in the middle of nowhere, leaving Ruby with no option other than to use the radio. Because of the nature of her missions, she had to make sure that nobody knew that she was there. No use of CCT. No use of any other kinds of communication that involved her position being logged on any kind of database.
She scrambled to find her headphones, her red over-ear headphones that she always had with her. Those headphones were bought on the first day she was about to enter Beacon. They were full of memories of team RWBY.
"Trying to find things with nearly frozen fingers isn't exactly effective, is it?", Ruby groggily laughed at herself.
After putting the headphones and changing radio frequencies for so many times, she started falling asleep as Atlas' radio channels were full of the nation propaganda.
Ruby was out in the middle of a rural mountainous area in Atlas. She was doing her mission. A mission that could protect millions of people of Vale. She was an assassin in this cold war between the four kingdoms.
"Weiss-!", Ruby was avoiding from all of the explosions around her while looking for her partner. She jumped from one to the other buildings across Beacon.
"Ruby!", Yang who was running in front of the school main entrance and beating a couple of Grimm that Ruby had never even seen before called over her sister. She looked very tired and confused. Her Ember Celica burnt like there was no end to her fight.
Ruby jumped down from a building and she ran towards her sister.
"Yang! I'm glad you're ok!", she panted heavily. "Do you know where Weiss is!? I can't find her anywhere!"
"Ruby, what's happening? What's with all of this commotion? Why are you looking for Weiss?"
"I... I... It's... complicated... I have to find her! Before she does anything stupid!", Ruby's eyes were filled with fear and guilt.
"I will help you for now but you owe me an explanation after this whole thing settles down!", Yang was very serious in her tone. She didn't like to be kept in the dark, not knowing what happened to Ruby certainly did not help with this situation at all.
She should not bear my responsibility! What I found... She was not supposed to be there at all! frustration came across Ruby's face remembering what happened.
Earlier that day, when Ruby was preparing to go on a long-term mission with her team, she had been called by professor Ozpin to talk about an urgent matter. She had been informed that there would be a possible attack happening. This had been why the headmaster had given her a task, a mission, to identify any suspicious movements in the main school building. It was to prevent bad things to happen.
"Ms. Rose, I hope you understand that this is a matter of utmost priority. I know that you're supposed to go on a mission this afternoon with your team. I have informed your supervising huntsman to delay the departure and to return your team members to their room."
Ozpin also made sure that she must not make this whole issue a big deal. The last thing a leader wanted was to have his followers panic.
"Why only me? I'm pretty sure that there are other students that are more qualified for this mission too? I'm still a second year and I'm less experienced compared to my upperclassmen.", Ruby had to make sure that she could help in whatever way she could. In a way where her skill was needed.
"That is why I'm assigning you this, Ms. Rose. I have professional huntsmen and huntresses ready to stop them when the situation is very dire. However, their movements are very apparent. Whatever the do and wherever they go they are easy to be spotted as most of them are very famous. Another reason is that I trust you Ruby. I know your mother and uncle very very well. You also won last year's Vytal festival. I know this kind of mission is good for you and for your experience too. You can be very discreet in this kind of situation and this is why I'm meeting you here without anybody else in the room."
After feeling reassured, Ruby decided to quickly start her first solo mission. A scouting mission in the building that she had known so well over the past year.
Ruby came down to the ground floor. She exited the lift and she saw students were still walking around normally, doing their daily routines. She found it hard to imagine that there would be an attack happening very soon. She had the urge to shout and tell them to run away so badly that she wound up looking very nervous and agitated.
I have to calm down... Breath in... Breath out...
Calmed and ready, she started to walk around normally in the hallways. She couldn't find anything particularly weird.
Hmm, a couple of exchange students coming from Atlas and Mistral. Is it that time of the year already? As Beacon was located in the middle of Remnant, all of the four hunter academies had agreed on making it the central place where students could choose to study and spar with their fellow others in some months before Vytal festival started. Basically, to gather any information on how other schools do their battle.
She did find something amiss. There were some metallic cases with Atlas symbols on them. They were being handed over an Atlesian student to his fellow academy students. However, this was something that Atlesians would do. Last year's Vytal festival had been weird enough. The streets had been full of robotic soldiers. So, judging by their kingdom's weird habits, having a couple of cases here and there might be a thing that they would do.
Yet, what didn't fit with the whole situation was those cases were 'guarded' by Atlesian students and all of the guarders were faunus.
Hmm, I wonder where she gets the cases from... she is wearing Atlas academy uniform, though. An exchange student with cases everywhere? Come to think of it, it doesn't make sense. Ruby squinted her eyes while trying to pinpoint the hallway where they came out. Swiftly, she jumped to the top platforms protruding out of the buildings' tall pillars. Oh damn, my semblance, let's just hope nobody sees my roses down there.
She followed one cat faunus with white ears to the wooden gates that connected the main building with a storage room. There were a lot of faunus in that room and this was not common at all.
Staying at the upper part of this room, Ruby managed to avoid their line of sights while running closer to the place where the cat faunus walked to. She decided to jump down after she saw some other Atlesian craters containing cases and hid behind some of them.
"Hey, make sure that you put them in the correct places yeah!?", One of the faunus who sounded like the foreman with a deep bassy voice that made Ruby shudder.
She took a peek and she panicked at the moment she saw the man was holding some kind of a remote control. There was a huge red button that was protected by a plastic casing on it. Crap! Is that a detonator? Are these crates, all of them contain explosives? How did they manage to get in anyway?
Ruby then tried to pry open the closest metallic case to double check whether they did have the dangerous materials in it or not. Hmm, no use, I can't open this. There should be a button or something to open it then... *click* Ah, here it is...
One corner side of the case started to open just enough for her to snoop.
Dust, so much fire dust. There is something flashing inside... Using her right hand to go into the opening and she pushed some of the dust sideways to see what was in the middle of all of it.
It's... a dust starter... They really are trying to blow my school up. I have to call Ozpin right now! People have to be evacuated!
After a couple of nerve-wracking moments that might get her caught while trying to exit the warehouse, she opened her scroll to call Ozpin just in front of the wooden doors. Suddenly, a voice called her from her back.
"Ruby?"
Wait? Was that Weiss' voice?
Panic intensified in Ruby's mind as she turned her body and found the heiress standing in the hallway while she held both of her hands on her waist.
Weiss fast-walked towards Ruby, "You dolt! I was looking around for you. I saw your rose petals at the corner there and I followed you here. What are you doing here!? Everybody was ready to go for the mission that we got assigned to last week."
"ssshhhhhttt", Ruby used her semblance to catch Weiss and carried her a bit further to the back, closer to the main hall.
"Put me down you idiot! Right now! This is embarrassing!", A slight blush crept up the heiress' face.
"ssshhhhhhttt, Weiss. I'm-", while putting her down, Ruby saw a faunus who was about to transport a crater to the hallway suddenly left her cart and ran back to the direction of the previous room that she went into.
"Oh, crap. Crap! Crap! I've been found out!", She then stumbled trying to open her scroll to try to contact Professor Ozpin.
"What's wrong Ruby?", Weiss was trying to understand the situation, she started to be nervous when she saw Ruby tried to dial the headmaster.
"Damn it, he's not answering. Weiss, I... I need to do this myself. I really don't have the time to explain but those Atlesian metallic cases that you see everywhere, they are bombs.", Ruby looked Weiss in the eyes while holding both sides of Weiss' shoulders. "I need you to calm down and help me find professor Ozpin or Glynda. Tell them that there are White Fang members who are disguised as Atlas students!".
"What about you? Where are you going?". Worries, confusion, those were the things that Ruby saw in her partner's pale face. Weiss certainly had a really bad intuition going on in her mind. She asked Ruby hoping that she wouldn't do anything so reckless like what she did in the Mountain Glenn.
"... I'm going to prevent the worst from happening. I'm good with weapons and explosives. I might be the only one who can disarm all the bombs quickly... with my semblance too.", with such determination in her eyes, Ruby knew that this seemingly harmless task from the headmaster might be her last.
"That is nonsense! You need to wait for a help to co-!"
Ruby abruptly pulled the heiress to a hug. "I'm so grateful for having you as a... partner... in my life in Beacon. I have to do this and you have to fulfill your role too."
"Ruby...", Weiss was too shocked to hug her partner back. Her hands were just hanging in the air behind the other's back. Hesitation ensued.
Ugh, dammit I know that this might be my last but... I just can't say it to her. These pent up feelings that I've been having for the whole year... I... I need to let her go. For her own good. It had stricken Ruby that this might be her last moment with Weiss but she just didn't have the heart to leave her partner hanging with her pent up feelings in case the worst case scenario happened to her.
"Okay! Time for this Ruby to not be a dolt for once!", She grinned while taking out her Crescent Rose to its scythe form. Roses flew behind her cape leaving Weiss standing alone in a hallway with the twilight basking her figure. Alone.
Quitely and not so subtly, Ruby started to hit some of the faunus who had the bomb cases unconscious. She did not know what to do with those things and decided to leave it as it was, on the floor. She just took their detonators and keep them all in her Beacon leather bag.
What was frustrating for her, though, was the fact that those people were not in a place where she could spot easily. She had to basically just activate her semblance all the time and ran around Beacon to find them all.
Huff... huff... Uhhh... I know this is now the best idea... at all! People should've started evacuating by now. I wonder what happened to Weiss...
Ruby tried to ring Weiss and the heiress didn't answer it. Running around wasn't going to resolve anything either. She had no choice but to continue what she was doing.
Just when she was about to activate her semblance, suddenly, the case behind her whose owner she had apprehended blew up.
Her vision was full of white, the ringing in her ears was dying to break apart her brain. Her body began to ache as she tried to roll her body and to push herself back up.
Moving her head upwards, she saw the striking blue eyes came out slowly out of the white background. Gradually, she saw Weiss with her mouth gaping and trying to say something to her.
"Huh? Weiss? Why are you here? I can't hear you properly...".
"-anybody!"
"Ah, what anybody? My head hurts like hell...", Ruby winced while holding her head.
"I'm just glad you're safe Ruby!", the heiress firmly hugged the younger one.
After a couple of moments, Weiss release the hug and started explaining. "I couldn't find any of the professor, Ruby... they were just like... gone. It's very strange..."
BOOM! Another explosion went off. Another. Another one again. All of them happened in the surroundings of the main building.
Both of them were standing in the park beside the biggest building and they couldn't really believe what they were seeing. The fire was casually eating the greenery that Beacon was so proud of.
Some faunus Atlesian students came out of Beacon tower, walked towards them while unsheathing their weapons.
"Weiss, I don't think they're coming here to be friendly with us...", Ruby took out her favorite scythe.
"Yeah, of course! What kind of an idiot not trying to defend themselves when faced with people who take out their weapons and totally trying to approach them?"
"Let's do this quickly and dismantle those bombs.", Ruby grinned while readying her sentence. She had always loved battles. No matter what kind, she loved it. The adrenaline, the swinging, the dancing, the sound of her baby, Crescent Rose, cutting through the air, the feeling that she was doing it for saving people's lives. Everything was so perfect. She was the perfect embodiment of a warrior. A scythe warrior who was so innocent, yet true to her feelings.
Weiss looked at her partner's excited face and felt reassured by it. No matter what they faced, her leader would always stay positive and try her best to 'fix' it. She was proud of herself being able to be part of Ruby. Ruby's life and partner.
"Dunce...", Weiss whispered quietly to herself.
"Hmm?"
"Never mind!"
Pulling the trigger of Crescent Rose, Ruby launched forward. Weiss put up some glyphs in the air and faced them towards the enemy. Ice hailed from them and stroke a couple of faunus down revealing their real identities, White Fang.
Both of the to-be huntresses cleared on their obstacle easily. Yet, the concussion that Ruby experienced made her unable to follow through with what Weiss was about to do.
"Ruby, I need you to stay here."
"Where are you going, Weiss? I still can help you! Help Beacon..."
"Stop moving you dolt! I will be back soon. Those explosions and fire won't affect me that much. Remember, my element is ice..."
"Wai-", Ruby fell to her knees as her headache intensified while Weiss dashed off into the tower with nobody to protect her. She grunted as she saw Weiss called her glyphs to froze some parts of the buildings.
After a couple of minutes kneeling on the ground, listening and worrying about Weiss, Ruby managed to bear the pain in her head and headed towards the main building.
She nearly exhausted herself as she was activating her semblance all the time until she heard Yang's calling.
"Lil' sis! I'm pretty sure Weiss is still ok. I can still feel her aura here and there. She must have activated her semblance just now."
"I know, but still, it was my responsibility! She trusted me to handle everything correctly and I missed something..."
While searching the building together with Yang, Ruby stumbled upon some White Fang members that were rendered unconscious. She was getting more and more nervous as she was following the body track back to the storage room which was full of explosives.
Ruby knew that her partner, life partner, had always been the type not to show her weaknesses. Everything had to be perfect and she would never show her bad experiences to most people. Yet, the leader had managed to break open this hard shell of hers. This had created some kind of connection between them. Their auras were calling each others' existence because of this connection.
Then something clicked in her mind. NO! Weiss! She's going to freeze the whole storage warehouse using her dust and glyphs. That's a suicide!
Ruby dashed towards the wooden doors and then she heard laughter. A very sinister one.
"OH, princess Schnee just came to us herself! I'm deeply moved!", the big faunus person that was giving orders towards other faunus students sounded very content looking at Weiss. His expression was ecstatic like he was winning a lottery. He then bowed to Weiss and made sure that his pose was up to the standard to what a princess would expect.
The whole act weirded Weiss to no end. She was already very tired from running around the whole school and she met with this person who laughed at her and then acted insanely. Making sure that her Myrtenaster was unsheathed, she then prepared to lunge forward. While holding her rapier closely to her right part of her chest with her dominant arm, she loaded the ice dust.
Ruby saw Weiss as she charged towards the man. He was holding the main detonator which she presume might blow the whole room off the roof.
"Weiss! Don't!"
No matter how tired she was, she didn't care. She activated her semblance, putting herself in front of Weiss so that she could push her further away from the person who was going to burn them to hell. She grazed the rapier's tip on her left arm. Yet, she didn't care. Her body was nothing compared to Weiss' life.
Hugging Weiss protectively, Ruby realised that her semblance had started to stop as she had drained her aura from all of the activities on that day. She had no choice but to push her and used her cloak to protect Weiss from the fire. She knew that this effort might become futile but she had to try it. Not when the person who mattered the most was about to get hurt so badly that she might get killed.
Luck was not on their side that day. The explosions were not only coming from the faunus' direction but also from the roof and every other direction where Ruby could not protect the heiress from.
It was too late. In a split second, everything was burnt. Ruby extended her hand. She tried to reach Weiss.
Everything slowly faded. Weiss body flew in the middle of her vision. She was burnt. Her body was red. She could feel liquid splattered on her face. It was torturing. No more, please...
This torture never ended. It repeated itself like its mission was to remind Ruby how unworthy she was to be a huntress.
Hey everyone, this is the first time I'm writing any kind of story. Please do leave reviews! Anything that helps me to improve!