Hello! Welcome to my (somewhat) original fanfic, where Ruby becomes a freelancer. Yeah, kinda self explanatory. By the way, this thing ((-o-)) represents a line break, because it is far more visually appealing than the normal ones.
(-o-)
Ruby's scroll buzzed, and she stifled a yawn, rolling over and picking it up. It was from Ozpin, she noticed with surprise. She sat up and walked out of the room to answer the call, so she wouldn't disturb her teammates. As she did so, she noticed the time… five thirty in the morning. She grumbled slightly, as it was in fact Saturday, but answered nonetheless.
"Good morning, Miss Rose." Came Ozpin's calm, collected and somewhat cheerful voice from the other end of the scroll. "I trust you slept well?"
Ruby sighed mentally. "'Morning, Ozpin." She said simply. Ozpin held the silence for a brief duration.
"You aren't going to ask why I'm ringing you at such an ungodly hour?"
"Whether I do or don't, you won't tell me any sooner than you otherwise would've." Ruby said tiredly. "I learn from experience." She continued, reflecting back on the fact that this was the… Sixth? Time Ozpin had rung her while she was sleeping over the last few years. To be fair, he… USUALLY… only did it when there was something important going on. Apart from that one time. Ruby sighed again, as Ozpin chuckled.
"I suppose that is true. I would like you to report to my office, so I may offer you… a mission, of sorts, in private. You should feel privileged to get such an opportunity."
"I'll be sure to remember that after I get some sleep." While Ruby was normally a bright, cheerful girl, when she was tired… that was a different case altogether. She didn't need much sleep, but she needed some, and she'd had a late night the previous evening, celebrating Blake's birthday. Yang had kept the private party going until well past midnight.
"Anyway, I'll see you there, Ozpin." Ruby replied casually, knowing Ozpin didn't really care if she addressed him informally. She hung up, and walked lazily and quietly down the corridors to his office, making sure not to disturb any of the lucky students that were still asleep. She arrived quickly, having basically memorised the route, as he called on her with alarming frequency. She had always been a prodigy, but after a few years training in the best combat school in the world, she was easily better than most fully fledged huntresses, and that was without her team. As such, Ozpin often requested she and her team do special missions, and in exchange they got higher marks in their classes, as extra credit.
It wasn't a perfect system, and often Ruby felt they didn't really need the reward; they were just doing their job, but Ozpin insisted on it. Lost in her own thoughts, Ruby barely noticed where she was going until she had arrived, stopping outside the door to his office. She knocked politely.
After a brief delay, Ozpin replied. "Come in." She opened the door and walked in, and he turned around from his window. "Ah, Miss Rose. Please, take a seat." He said. Ruby snorted slightly, sitting down.
"You called me about two minutes ago, who else where you expecting?" She asked rhetorically.
"It was simply a formality." He replied, taking a sip from his ever present coffee mug, although Ruby knew it actually held tea. The man hated coffee, with a burning passion. He looked up from his cup, and looked at her seriously.
"Now, recently this school has been provided with… a very special opportunity for one of our Hunters or Huntresses. However, none of the staff who would like to go are suitable, and there are no other fully-fledged Hunters on these grounds. They people providing the opportunity were quite insistent that it were a full-fledged Hunter or Huntress, meaning some… modifications need to be made."
Ruby looked at him confusedly, until he continued.
"As such, should you accept this mission, you will be promoted to a huntress immediately, graduating from this academy, and participate in your first solo mission." Ozpin stated calmly.
Ruby's heart leapt for joy. An opportunity to become a full-fledged Huntress? She was ecstatic, however a thought occurred to her.
"Umm… Sir? Aren't I a bit young?"
Ozpin chuckled. "You are eighteen as of a month and a half ago, meaning you are legally an adult, and your combative skills are on par with where they should be for such a role. As such, the only requirement of being a Huntress you have yet to meet, is graduating from this academy." Ruby basically started bouncing in her chair, however restrained herself enough to turning into slight twitches. "However, there is one thing I must warn you." Ozpin continued, taking a long draught from his mug.
"This is a single person opportunity, and even if I could send the rest of your team, I wouldn't. You will likely be away for at least a year, and in that time you will not be able to contact your family or friends."
"Oh…" Ruby said, feeling slightly disheartened.
Ozpin turned back around, gazing out of his window at the rising sun.
"Do not let your concern for the wellbeing of others make your decision, Ruby. You are welcome to turn down this mission, but if you do I would like it to be for your own reasons, not a sense of responsibility. Nonetheless, you may discuss it with your teammates, however, I will not give you any further details about the assignment until you have made up your mind. We don't want classified information in the hands of those it doesn't involve, although I sincerely doubt you will decline. Thank you for your time Ruby, you have the day to make up your mind. You are dismissed."
Ruby turned and left, her mind running a thousand miles a minute, thoughts swirling around her head. She walked back in silence to her dorm, where her team were still asleep, and she climbed back into her bed, thinking her decision through. Could she really leave her teammates like that for a whole year? Who would replace her in the team while she was gone? Would they be okay with it?
She sighed and lay back, looking at the time. Six thirty. She groaned, still an hour before her teammates woke up. She lost herself back in her thoughts. Did she really want this? She wanted to be a Huntress, that was for sure, and it was her duty to protect people, regardless of her personal opinion. But she didn't want to leave her friends. She lay there, thoughts whirring around her head and brining up more questions than they did answers, until she heard muttering.
She tuned it out, still trying to figure out what she would do, when she heard the muttering again, and focused on it.
"-what's wrong." The voice said, causing Ruby to frown and sit up. She looked down at her teammates, who were all awake and dressed, looking up at her.
Yang broke into a smile. "Sis! You're finally awake! We were beginning to get worried, it's not like you to sleep in like that."
Ruby scowled. "I've been awake a while, I'm just… thinking."
Yang snorted. "Well you can think in the cafeteria, I'm starving." At this comment, Weiss face palmed.
"You were the one who suggested we wait, you blundering oaf." She said wearily.
Ruby felt a twinge of guilt. "Oh… sorry to have kept you guys waiting, let's go have breakfast." The three looked up at her, confused, and Ruby looked back at them, even more confused.
"Um… Ruby? It's two in the afternoon. We're going for lunch."
That jolted Ruby out of her bed. She'd been thinking that long?
"What were you thinking about, anyway?"
Ruby sighed, as her stomach grumbled. "Let's eat first, I'll tell you guys later."
(-o-)
"So, sis, whacha been thinking 'bout?" Yang asked, draping her arm across Ruby's shoulder. All through their meal, Ruby had been uncharacteristically quite, often zoning out and missing questions directed at her, and barely touching her food.
Ruby hesitated, and all three looked expectantly at her. "Well…" Ruby began awkwardly. "Ozpin called me earlier, and I went to his office. He offered me the chance to be a fully-fledged Huntress, and have an early graduation."
Yang beamed and pulled her into a bear-like hug. "Oh, that's great Ruby!" She yelled.
"That's…. not… all…" Ruby chocked out, until Yang released her. "There's a downside. If I accept, I have to go on a mission that means I won't be able to see or speak or communicate with you guys for at least a year." She said shyly, looking at the ground.
An awkward silence filled the room as they all took in what it entailed. Weiss was the first to speak up.
"You should do it."
They all looked at her, surprised.
"Huh?" Ruby asked.
Weiss shook her head. "You should do it. Being a Huntress has always been your dream, ever since you were a kid, hasn't it?" Ruby nodded. "Then don't let us hold you back. We can manage a year without you. You should do it."
"Well, the princess kinda does have a point." Yang said. "You should do it, Rubes."
Blake nodded to Ruby, always being the quiet and antisocial one, and the nod spoke volumes of her response.
Ruby nodded, then pulled all three of them into a group hug. "I'll miss you guys!"
Yang patted her head. "We'll miss you too, sis. When do you have to leave?"
"Tonight, I think." Ruby replied.
"Then you'd better start packing, Yang said, beaming."
"You aren't upset?" Ruby asked, somewhat surprised.
"'Course not! This isn't goodbye, we'll see you again soon! I know it." Yang replied happily. "Until then, go and live your dream, Ruby."
Weiss and Blake smiled encouragingly, and as if on cue Ruby's scroll beeped.
"What's that?"
"A message from Ozpin." Ruby replied, frowning and looking at it. It told her not to pack anything, should she choose to accept. Ruby had a sneaking suspicion that Ozpin had bugged there room. Heck, knowing him, he probably had every single room and hallway in the building bugged, and she knew for a fact he had hundreds of hidden cameras in the Emerald Forest.
"I should probably go tell Jaune, then let Ozpin know I'm accepting." Ruby said sadly. "Goodbye, I'll see you guys soon."
Yang pulled her into another crushing hug. "Goodbye." Yan replied, and Ruby wasn't sure why, but it held some kind of… finality to it. Ruby's had as well, and it made the whole scene feel very morbid, so Ruby left, knocking on team JNPR's door, which was across the hall from them. Jaune answered.
"Hey, Jaune, is your team around?" She asked, he nodded and gestured inside, where his team was sitting.
"Right…" Ruby said, closing the door behind her. "There's something I need to tell you guys." She said awkwardly. "I'm going to be leaving on a mission soon… and I probably won't be back for a while. So, uh, goodbye, I guess." She said to all of them, who replied in similar fashion absentmindedly, each doing their own thing, all clearly preoccupied. Ruby turned and left, walking back to Ozpin's office.
She knocked on the door, and after a short pause, Ozpin beckoned her in.
He turned to her. "Have you made up your mind?"
She nodded. "Yes, I would like to participate."
He nodded. "Congratulations on graduating from this academy, Huntress Ruby Rose. Your mission starts immediately. Are you ready?"
Ruby nodded again, and Ozpin tapped his cane against the ground. All of a sudden, the whole room began shifting, and numbers appeared floating in the air, with clock hands spinning quickly between them, almost as if the whole room were a giant clock face. Ruby began to feel dizzy.
"Remember, act natural and try to fit in." Ozpin called out. "Some things may be strange, but you will grow accustomed to them in time. Those in charge are already aware of your status, and will explain things further once you are there."
Ozpin continued speaking, but his voice was drowned out by a whistling sound. Ruby clutched her heads, grunting in frustration as the world span around in a vortex around her.
(-o-)
Ruby awoke, her head spinning and feeling sick, kneeling on a hard ground. She opened her eyes, and found herself in a plain room, with a table and three chairs. The walls and ceiling, and floor, were a dull grey.
"Well it's about damn time." A man grunted. He had… a strange accent. His voice was very aggressive and impatient, as if he had better things to do. "Counsellor, if you may." He said to a man beside him. Ruby had thought her head was still spinning, as she couldn't clearly see them, until she realised it was actually some strange effect of the light, as if they were concealed from view. The men wore dark grey suits, and stood behind two of the chairs.
"Please, take a seat. We understand this procedure might be a bit… confusing for you, but we will try to make it as painless and safe as we can." The second man, the counsellor said. His voice was soft and calming, almost soothing in nature, and he spoke gently. "I am the Counsellor, and the man besides me is the Director. Are you feeling okay?"
She nodded. "Just… just a little bit dizzy."
"Do not be concerned, that will pass." The chairman said calmly. "Now please, tell us what you know of what is going on."
"Absolutely nothing." Ruby replied honestly. The Director scoffed, and the counsellor nodded.
"Very well. We are an independent organisation known as 'Project Freelancer'. You have been sent here to be our new Agent."
"I'm… not entirely sure what you mean." Ruby replied.
The Director scoffed. "Allow me to lay it out in Layman's terms for you. You've been sent here to be one of our fighters, in our fight to save humanity. You're ours now."
"What the Director is trying to say, is that we are an organisation dedicated to finding ways to combat an alien species, known as the Covenant, who are a threat to humanity. You have been sent here to act as one of our specialist soldiers. As this is a military operation, you are expected to follow standard military protocol, including undergoing military training and learning proper procedure. The training normally takes years, but as you are a… special case, it will probably only take a few weeks." The counsellor interjected.
"Great!" Ruby said optimistically.
"While you are here, you will have a codename, as our Agents do not go by their own names for safety purposes. While this may be a different case for you as no one could track you, I believe it is good to maintain a sense of normality with the other Agents." The Director added. "As such, we have constructed a list of all the available names, and you are free to choose your own."
The Counsellor took out a strange electronic device from somewhere, and held it out to her. It was holographic, and seemed to be very similar to a scroll. On it was a list of dozens of names, like Arizona, California and Oregon. None of them meant anything to Ruby, and there were nearly forty, if she had to guess. She decided to go with one near the bottom.
"Um… I'd like this one, if that's okay." She said, pointing to her name of choice.
The Director smirked. "Very well. Welcome to Project Freelancers, Agent West Virginia."
Ruby nodded.
"Now, for the matter of armour and weapons. You may choose the colour scheme of your armour, as all of our Agents are provided with the choice. Choose one primary colour, which will compose most of your armour, and one trim, from the list." The Director continued. Once again, the counsellor held up his tablet… thing, and this time the list was different. She quickly read through and decided.
"Red with a steel trim?"
"Very well. Counsellor, arrange it." The Director said, causing the counsellor to tap some buttons on the screen. The Director turned back to her. "Now there is one more thing we must discuss. Your armour will greatly enhance many of your physical aspects, including strength, resilience and speed. In addition to this, however, you will be provided with your own personal armour enhancement. Yours will be an active camouflage unit, as I have heard you are a hit and run type fighter. This unit, when active, will allow you to blend in with your surroundings, provided you aren't moving to much. However, activating it is dangerous, and could cause death if done incorrectly, so do not use it until you are instructed on how. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir." Ruby replied.
"Very well, you are dismissed. Counsellor, please lead her to the accommodation, and give her the instruction manual for how to put on her armour. West Virginia, someone will be sent to collect you for training and oh-six-hundred hours."
"This way please." The counsellor said, leading Ruby down a dozen different corridors, each looking nearly identical, to a room. He opened it, and showed her inside, handing her a small booklet. "These are the instructions on how to don your armour, which will be delivered over night. Good luck, Agent." He said, walking out of the room.
Ruby looked around what would be her new home. It was large, slightly bigger than her dorm back at beacon, and made of marble, which made it look even larger. It was lit brightly by some lights hanging from the ceiling, and the only thing in the room was a single bed, the rest of it absolutely devoid of life, remaining empty and dull.
Ruby sighed and walked over to her bed, lying down as a wave of exhaustion hit her. Perhaps she should take a rest… just a short one.
(-o-)
Thank you for reading.
