A/N - A requested story that may not be very long - Caution: Graphic violence ahead!
Ruby Rose had done her best to contain her fury. Penny had been torn apart, perhaps beyond repair. The woman who spoke on the coliseum loudspeakers had sown doubt and fear among the populace. The voice sounded familiar – she was certain it sounded like Emerald's teammate, Cinder Fall. Then the Grimm had attacked, let in by the White Fang. Events had swept Ruby up, and she desperately needed to find Yang. Her little sister had been Ruby's whole world since their mother had disappeared on a mission all those years ago. Her father had been away, and so Raven had made Ruby promise to look after Yang. It was one of the last things she'd said to her mom.
She had felt satisfaction at seeing Roman magically turn into bird food, but hadn't meant to cause General Ironwood's airship to crash. There wasn't time to worry about that. She had rushed through the school grounds as quickly as she could. When she got to the docks, she had exchanged quick words with her partner. Weiss had been hesitant, but also upset. When she had asked what was wrong, Weiss had stepped aside without a word. Ruby's heart had frozen inside her chest. Blake and Yang were laid out on the ground, the dark-haired Faunus apologizing to her unconscious sister. The sight of what remained of Yang's arm wrapped in bloodied bandages brought her to a deadly calm.
"What happened, Weiss?" Her hands were clenched into shaking fists.
"Blake wasn't making a lot of sense, but it sounds like Adam tried to kill them both." Weiss' voice was shaking with barely-contained anger. Sun walked over to where they were standing.
"Hey," he said in a subdued tone, "she's gonna be okay. The soldiers have a ship ready to take you guys to Vale."
"But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing," Nora said as she sat, clutching her side in pain.
"Look guys, that giant Grimm keeps circling the school – even the White Fang are pulling out. We all have to go, now!" His voice had an urgent tone to it.
Ren spoke with heat. He was kneeling next to Nora, and tried to stand. "We're not… leaving." He groaned and returned to his crouched position. Ruby would have been more concerned for the missing pair, but she could only stare at Yang. She had failed. She had broken her promise to her mother.
"They can handle themselves. Wait here for them and look after Blake and Yang." Ruby turned to face the campus.
"Wait, where are you going?" Sun asked in disbelief.
"Hunting," Ruby flatly replied. She looked around at her partner. "Are you coming?" Weiss looked at her from beneath hooded eyes with a small smile at the corners of her mouth.
"Of course I am – as if you had to ask." She turned her head toward Sun. "We'll be back." She turned, and the duo set out at a run.
"You better be!" Sun called behind them. Ruby's mind raced as she and Weiss ran along the darkened paths. There were soldiers and Grimm fighting everywhere she looked. It took them several minutes of dashing between buildings before she found what she was looking for. A group of six men and women dressed in the jackets and masks of the White Fang were carrying sacks and weapons; it looked like they had been looting one of the training halls. Ruby wasted no time – she drew Crescent Rose and charged with a blood-curdling scream.
The Faunus were caught by surprise and looked around in confusion. Ruby unfurled her scythe and poured on her semblance as she ran past the right side of the group. She hooked a dog-tailed man across his midsection without bothering to stop. She fired and spun, pulling with her aura in a sharp jerk that clove him in half. He toppled and screamed, spraying blood and viscera all over his companions, who let out cries of terror and dismay. Grimm in the vicinity howled, but Ruby paid them no mind.
"Weiss, lock down two!" she shouted, firing another round and swinging Crescent Rose in a wide overhand arc, splitting a woman in half. She had killed plenty of Grimm in her budding career as a Huntress, but this was different, and at the same time it wasn't. They had made their choice, and were no better than the monsters they had unleashed upon them all. She breathed evenly and tried to ignore the coppery tang in the back of her throat. Weiss had wasted no time running one of them through with her rapier. She had dispatched the other by encasing him in a solid block of ice, presumably to suffocate. She had crouched down, and her gravity glyph had the two survivors pinned to the ground. Her once-pristine combat skirt and face were spattered with blood, and her eyes were wide.
"Weiss, are you good?" The heiress gave a mute nod. Ruby turned to face the two captives. "One of you is going to live, and the other is going to die horribly. The first one to tell me what I want to know gets to run away." There was no emotion in her voice. The fighting had receded, but it wouldn't do any good if they attracted more Grimm. The two masked men looked up at her from where they were pinned to the flagstones. The one to her left spat.
"We won't tell you anything, human scum!" Ruby raised her empty hand and made a fist.
"Weiss? Please crush them slowly." Her partner gave a growl of effort, and the prisoners let out howls of pain as the stone fractured beneath them. Ruby opened her hand, and Weiss let out a gust of air. The two men moaned pitifully. "Where is Adam going? I know he was too much of a coward to stay here." When neither of them spoke, Ruby balled up her hand again. Weiss amplified her glyph, and this time bones started to crack. The one on the left gave a high-pitched shriek, while the other babbled incoherently. Ruby gave another signal, sweeping her hand level with the ground. The glyph disappeared. "Weiss, perimeter check, if you please." The girl stood and prowled into the shadows. Ruby stood and waited patiently while the pair cowered and tried to move. After a few moments, the man to her right choked out a halting phrase.
"He was supposed to go to-"
"Shut up you fool!" the other shouted as he sat up. Ruby spun her scythe, severing his head, which sailed off into the darkness. Blood fountained from the vacant neck, spraying a wide fan into the air. It rained down on her, the last survivor, and the other corpses as the body fell back down.
"You were saying?" she said.
"M-Mistral. That's all I know, I swear! Mercy, please!" Ruby strode forward and reached down to grip a fistful of his jacket. She hauled him into a sitting position, causing him to yelp in pain. She gripped the edge of his mask and tore from his face. His eyes were a pale green and slitted like a cat's.
"Look at your friends." He did as she commanded. "Now look at me." He locked eyes with hers and began to shake. "Your filthy organization is at an end. Go back and tell them that if I see anyone wearing one of these," she flung the mask into his lap, "I will kill them. Get up." The cat man scrabbled weakly, and when he failed to rise, Ruby hauled him up by his hair. "Go on, run!" She gave him a shove and he nearly stumbled. He gave her one last fearful glance and spun around, then fled, weaving as he went. Weiss returned with silent steps.
"Did you get what you needed, Ruby?" she asked. Ruby nodded once.
"How do you feel about going to Mistral, partner?" Weiss shrugged in discomfort.
"I don't know… Did you mean what you said, about killing anyone wearing their colors?"
"Absolutely. Is that a problem?" Weiss looked down at the mess of corpses they had made. She shook her head slowly.
"No, but maybe we could avoid wearing their blood next time? This is never going to come out," she said, holding up the hem of her bloody skirt.
"Come on, let's see if the dorm is clear." Ruby didn't have to worry about stains so much, but they couldn't go back looking like they'd waded through a slaughterhouse. They set out for the dormitory.