All characters property of Rooster Teeth…
Chapter 2: Rescue Part 1
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After she had put a sufficient distance between them and the Nevermore, Ruby ducked into the remains of a ruined coffee shop to catch her breath and plan her next move. She could comlink HQ now and have a Bullhead sent to pick them up, or she could continue on to the gate she was scheduled to return by. Both options carried risk. Getting picked up would be a bit quicker, but she (and therefore Torchwick) would have to remain in one spot potentially giving Grimm the time to notice their presence and aggregate. Continuing on would allow her to maintain a low profile thus greatly reducing their chances of a confrontation with Grimm, but it would take a bit longer and she wasn't sure how much time she had before Torchwick went and snuffed it or something.
Ruby shifted her hold on the man while considering her options and as she did so she encountered a damp spot on his side. Drawing her hand away, she found fresh blood staining her fingers and cursed softly at the sight. One of his wounds must have opened up as she ran. That settled it then. Torchwick needed medical attention ASAP so Bullhead pick-up it was. She tapped her earpiece to open up communication with HQ at Beacon.
"Arugula Patch, this is Chard Stalk. Come in Arugula Patch."
…
While waiting for a reply, Ruby wondered once again just who it was who thought up all the code names. Early on in the war, Ozpin had decided that as a safety measure all of the huntresses and hunters who were on duty would be issued code names, and these code names would change every week or every mission – depending on which was sooner. And of course their communications points got code names too, which also changed weekly. Incredibly enough, the system had served its purpose, making it difficult for the enemy to figure out just who was where and communicating with which checkpoint – thereby reducing the number of targeted attacks on operatives based off of leaked communications.
Yeah, there was nothing wrong with the system, but the code names sure were getting…creative.
Her earpiece finally came to life. "Yo, Chard Stalk – this is Arugula Patch. What can we do for ya?"
Ruby grinned at the response. It was always good to get Wrenne on the line – she had field experience and knew how to make things happen.
"Picked up an injured person in quadrant eleven, requesting immediate airlift for both of us."
There was silence for a moment on the other end of the line then – "Roger that - immediate airlift for two persons. Where can they find ya?"
Ruby mentally reviewed the immediate area. With a Nevermore around rooftops were out; she needed a ground-based spot where they would be exposed as little as possible but a Bullhead could still get in and out quickly. Hmm…ah yes –
"We'll be at the clearing by the old water tower. And tell them to hurry - there's Nevermore activity in the area."
"The old water tower and Nevermores, I'll let them know. Should get to ya in about fifteen minutes. Stay safe out there."
"Yup, ten-four. Chard Stalk signing off."
Ruby tapped her earpiece again to end the connection. From where they were now it should take her just under four minutes to get to the water tower from her current position using her semblance. She shifted the man on her shoulder again and patted his back. "Hang in there a bit longer, Torchwick. Help is on the way and we just have to be there in time to meet it."
…
As she made her way towards the water tower, Ruby mentally reviewed everything that her side had known of Torchwick and his activities for the past several years…
A prominent enemy leader in the days before the war had really started, he had all but disappeared from the public eye after his (possibly assisted) escape from General Ironwood's custody. It had seemed that he was merely laying low for a time, and reports of his whereabouts had continued to trickle in through Ozpin's intelligence network. Torchwick was sighted playing a seemingly minor role in a few of the skirmishes which took place before the first major battle. It was during one of these that Ruby had last seen him – just a fleeting glimpse of red hair, bowler hat, and white coat in the midst of the fighting. Then, sightings had ceased altogether, and it was assumed that he had died during one of the initial battles. It even went on his file – "Status: Presumed Dead", and Ruby had honestly been a bit sorry when she saw it. After going up against so many deadly-serious and heart-breakingly earnest White Fang members, she found herself missing Torchwick's flippant attitude and sharp wit. Crossing weapons with him again would have been a welcome change of pace.
And now… Now here he was again, not dead after all, at least, not quite. Though at the rate things were going he just might manage to literally die in her arms. She snorted to herself at that. It seemed like just the sort of thing he would do, too. She could picture it now – her sitting on the ground and cradling his head in her lap, watching him slip away from her (again!) – and him waking up just long enough to caress her cheek with one hand in a completely sarcastic manner and mumble something about how as much as he would love to stay, circumstances were such that he really had to be going and –
She shook her head slightly to rid it of that train of thought because somehow she really didn't like it.
Having reached the edge of the clearing next to the water tower, Ruby skidded to a stop. It would be best to wait here in the shadows of the buildings until the Bullhead got close. Then she would go out and flag it down. In the meantime, Torchwick needed a bit of first aid to (hopefully) hold him together until their ride arrived. Hmm…places to put him, places to put him…that patch of grass would have to do for now. She laid Torchwick down on it as gently as she could, then swiftly unbuttoned his jacket and shirt to get to the wound on his side which had been oozing blood earlier. The damage visible on his torso was cringe-worthy. Whoever had done this to him had come very close to ending his life through sheer trauma, and there was still a very high chance of exactly that happening if she didn't get this bleeding stopped.
A quick search through her medical kit produced gauze, tape, and some disinfectant wipes. The wound on his side looked to be a stab wound of some sort, so after cleaning up the area around it Ruby made a dressing with the gauze and taped it firmly in place. With that done, she turned her attention to his broken arm and leg. There wasn't much she could do about those except try and stabilize them to reduce the chance of further damage. Of course it would've been nicer to do it before she had been obliged to tote him all over this urban wasteland, but Grimm rarely took such things into consideration when attacking.
The question was what to use for splints. Looking about, Ruby spotted some aluminum flashing hanging from the broken windows in the shop across the street. It wasn't ideal, but it would do. She stood up and walked over to it, contemplating the best method of removing it from the building, and right then (of course it was right then) simultaneously heard the grunting of a Boarbatusk and the drone of the Bullhead's engines. Looked like Torchwick would have to wait to get his broken limbs set. Running back, she hoisted him over her shoulder and paused a moment to assess the situation. The Boarbatusk was making its way down the street towards the clearing and looked like it hadn't spotted them quite yet, and the Bullhead was probably still a minute or two away. Moving carefully, so as to not attract the nearing Grimm's attention, Ruby slipped around the corner of the building into the clearing then sprinted over to the base of the water tower while keeping out of the creature's line of sight. She didn't want to fight unless she absolutely had to, but in the event they were attacked before the Bullhead got to them, the water tower's supports would afford a bit of temporary protection from the Boarbatusk's rolling attacks. Having thus situated herself in the most advantageous place the site offered, Ruby unholstered Crescent Rose.
The next few minutes would now be a waiting game. Boarbatusk or Bullhead – which would arrive first?
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Here we are! Chapter 2 and poor Roman still hasn't gotten professional medical attention.
Thank you all for the follows, faves, and reviews! They helped to keep me inspired and get this chapter out as soon as I could. :)
For the one reviewer who guessed that Torchwick's current state is due to Cinder having no use for him anymore…thou hast hit the nail on the head my friend. I'll be elaborating on it a bit in later chapters when we start getting Roman's side of the story.
Hope you all enjoyed, and let me know what you think!
