The Ruby Trigger
Chapter 2: White, the Elegant Huntress Appears!
Time continued to move in slow motion for young Ruby, her eyes still wide as she watched the Mantis' masked head explode in flash of red. A second before, a similar phenomenon had affected her right hand, which felt as it was splitting apart as an orb of what could only be her Dust burst out, striking the Mantis dead-on, causing the aforementioned explosion. Smoke filled the air, as the Grimm stumbled backwards, and Ruby was left clutching her arms and panting.
Then, as the particles of Dust cleared away, Ruby saw that the Mantis was now completely headless. A second later, green liquid Dust burst out of the stump that was its neck, spraying into the air like a very sadistic fountain.
Perhaps it was indicative of some underlying aggression that the sight filled the young school-girl with glee. A feeling which only grew as she watched the rest of the Mantis start to melt away into a fine mist of red, green, and black Dust. All Grimm were made entirely out of the stuff, which was what made them so durable.
And yet, she had managed to kill one! All by herself! Without a weapon or anything! Ruby quickly stood back up and let out a loud whoop as the monster vanished, leaving only a single Dust crystal lying on the ground.
Her brief celebration was cut short, however, by the sound of the wall of the school behind her suddenly bursting outwards in a shower of dust and rubble. A second Mantis, just as tall as the first, lumbered through the collapsing support structure towards the red-haired girl, its movements seeming to be much more deliberate.
It could sense the Dust emanating from her hand... That was the whole reason the Grimm came through the Gate: to feast on the Dust within their victims.
But now, Ruby wasn't scared. She had finally unlocked real power, all by herself! She had finally accessed her Dust! She couldn't wait to show Yang! First, however, she needed to eliminate this second Grimm. Just as before, she focused all of her being on the Mantis, who had stopped to stare at the now-glowing girl, almost as if it were... Perplexed.
The youth began to pull all of this new magical energy into her hand, which began to crackle with static. As she didn't have a Dust body, this was actually starting to hurt, but Ruby was too excited to care. "Bye-bye, buggy!" She smirked, doing her best to imitate Yang, as she flexed her hand, attempting to force the energy out.
Instead, it exploded in her face.
The first warning sign was the extreme pain that shot through her arm, causing the fifteen-year-old to cry out, more from surprise than anything. That was also the only warning sign, as that same pain traveled through her entire body, before the energy she had been charging exploded in a shower of red lightning and rose petals.
Ruby was suddenly numb, only the sound of air whistling past her letting the girl know she was flying through the air, and the loud 'thud' informing her of when she struck the ground. Her vision was filled with the mysterious petals, her silver-eyes weakly blinking in an attempt to clear away the offending fauna.
'I... Probably should have seen that coming.' She scolded herself, feeling more embarrassed than anything. Yang always told her that Dust was unstable, and trying to access it without the assistance of a Trigger Crystal would only lead to explosive results.
At least she had confirmed that Yang had not been lying about that. That was followed by a powerful feeling of guilt for having not trusted her sister. But she was too busy trying to restore all other feelings to her body to be regretful at the moment. That, and the noise of the encroaching Grimm which was undoubtedly going to take advantage of her misfortune. The pain in her hand, which was undoubtedly scorched from the backfire, was just returning, when Ruby's eyes finally focused on the Grimm. It made her feel better that its mask was cracked and falling apart and its black chitin had been blasted off in some places. At least her Dust had damaged the Mantis as much as it had hurt her.
Ok, maybe she had still drawn the short end of the stick, considering the scythe that was now rising up above her.
'Yang... Save me...' She wanted to whimper, but she couldn't push the sound out. This was just like that time she tried to go hunting on her own... Only now, she actually had managed to tap in her dust.
And it still hadn't been enough.
Finally, the regret hit. Why did that have to be the last emotion she was going to feel?
'Mother…'
Then, the familiar sound of metal striking metal shook her out of her 'final thoughts,' and brought her focus back into the real world.
Jaune was standing over her, both hands clutching his shield as he held off the Mantis' scythe. The right side of his torso had a deep cut, which was slowly being filled by a glowing white light. Ruby had to admit, his Dust body was quite resilient.
"Ruby! Move!" Jaune commanded, staggering slightly as the Mantis raised its other scythe.
"I… can't…" Ruby managed, trying her best to sit up.
"Oh… well, crap." Jaune muttered, before whirling around and exposing his back to the Mantis as it brought down its other weapon. Both he and Ruby gasped, though for different reasons, and the Grimm's blade embedded itself in his back.
"Glad this… doesn't hurt…" The blonde gasped, smiling. He wasn't a very convincing liar. The monster withdrew its scythe, yellow dust spraying out of the wound in Jaune's back.
"Jaune…" Ruby whispered. She had just met this boy, and yet he was putting himself in severe danger just to save her. "Why?"
"I can't… just let you die. What kind of… hero would I be then?" He chuckled, before another scythe was brought down onto his back. Ruby saw the tip of this one, as it burst through his stomach, coming only a few inches from impaling her as well.
"Besides… as long as I'm in this form… we're both safe…" He gasped out, clearly running out of energy. While she knew that was true, having seen Yang's Dust body countless times, she also knew that the injuries still caused pain… and that the Dust bodies did not last forever. His dust was beginning to stain her school uniform.
Feeling was starting to return to her body, and she could raise herself up slightly, and bring a smile to her face.
"I didn't think… high school… would suck this much." She stated, her eyes following the path of the next scythe as it was raised, then brought down… and was suddenly sent flying.
A cold wind washed over the two teens, as the Mantis shrieked and jumped away, one of its arms now completely severed.
"What are you doing, you idiot?! Get her out of here!" A familiar, demanding voice yelled, as an even more familiar white-haired upper-class man moved in between.
Weiss Schnee, the mean lady who had yelled at Ruby only a few minutes earlier.
"She… She's a huntress!" Ruby practically squealed, more of statement than the question one would expect. Jaune suddenly looked more afraid than he had been when receiving acupuncture from the Grimm.
"Yeah… She's kinda my boss." He whimpered, before yelling back to Weiss, "Don't worry, ma'am! I'll keep her safe!"
"Oh, I'm sure! You were doing such a wonderful job of it a second ago!" Weiss snapped back. Like Jaune, she too was now in her Dust body. Her student uniform was replaced by a short, white combat skirt which seemed to emanate a very light mist, and a white jacket with a red collar. Oddly, her pony-tail seemed to have changed, now turned to the side and hanging down below her back. Her shoes were now white heeled boots, which seemed slightly impractical to wear in combat, but that was just Ruby's opinion.
What the girl was for more interested in was the rapier in Weiss' left hand. It seemed to be of normal design, except for the cylinder above the hilt that looked as if it was taken from a giant revolver. Before she could even begin to become curious as to what it did, Weiss was 'kind' enough to give a demonstration, as she spun the cylinder, and the blade of her rapier suddenly turned a bright green.
"Dust enhancement…" Ruby gasped, her eyes shimmering, as Jaune slowly climbed onto his feet, his wounds already starting to heal. He started to reach down to help Ruby stand… only to topple back over himself.
Ruby was too enamored with Weiss to notice.
A glyph appeared below the girl, shimmering with a bright white light, as the Mantis recovered from its surprise and screeched at its new attacker. Weiss did not even flinch as the Grimm charged at her, raising it remaining arm to strike. Rather, she simply took a step forward… and was launched into the air, swinging her rapier. A beam of green energy shot out, severing the Mantis' other arm, as Weiss flipped backwards, and landed on another symbol that appear below her.
"Is that… a semblance?" Ruby asked Jaune, who coughed before answering.
"Yeah. Miss Schnee is one of the youngest Huntresses to unlock her Semblance. Those glyphs of hers have different effects… I don't know what all they are."
"Just like her rapier…" Ruby smiled, shivering. "So cool!"
Weiss seemed to pause for a moment, casting a glance over her shoulder, before turning back to the Mantis. She spun the cylinder on her weapon again, and her blade turned red. The Grimm was continuing to back away, now completely disarmed and facing a Huntress alone. If it had any other attack plans, it never had a chance to carry them out, as the glyph beneath Weiss vanished, and she shot forward through the air, thrusting her rapier into her foe's cracked mask.
Ruby gasped as she saw the red light break through the other side of the monster's head
Weis quickly pulled out her sword, before gently floating down to the ground, landing directly in front of the now completely still Mantis. One last time, she spun her blade's cylinder, the weapon glowing blue now, before rapidly stabbing the points where the Grimm's armor had been blown off. Then, she stood back, and watched as crystals of ice begun pushing through the chitin.
Then, the mask shattered… as did the rest of the monster. Unlike Ruby's kill, it didn't melt away. Rather, it just fell into millions of tiny pieces, save for its own Dust crystal, which Weiss snatched out of the air before it could hit the ground.
And just like that, the portal above them vanished.
The feeling of relief that washed over both Ruby and Jaune, however, did not last as long as they would have liked.
"You idiots!" Weiss yelled, storming over to the two prone teens. "What do you think you were doing out here?! You could have gotten yourselves killed! What part of going to the Safe Zone did you two morons not understand?!"
"She's yelling at me again…" Ruby whimpered, doing her best to curl into a ball on the sidewalk.
"And you, Jaune! Why did you even try to match a soldier-rank Grimm with a C-Rank Crystal?! We've gone over this! They aren't made for that kind of combat!" Weiss was practically steaming, and the cold aura she was giving off was quite literally sending chills down both of the younger students' backs.
"I know, but…"
"No buts, Jaune! I know you're Pyrrha's favorite little pupil for whatever reason, but that doesn't mean you can just recklessly throw yourself into battles you aren't prepared for. Why do you think we have an entire class dedicated to Situational Awareness?!"
"I haven't taken that class yet…" Jaune whispered. Weiss only groaned.
"Of course you haven't."
"I couldn't just let Ruby die! She doesn't have a Dust body! She's wouldn't have survived one hit from a Mantis, much less what I did!" Jaune finally spoke back, causing Weiss to blink in surprise.
"Wait… but I thought…"
"Um, Miss Schnee…" Ruby spoke up, finally climbing up onto her knees. The white-haired girl, still seeming a little confused about something, turned her attention to Ruby without so much as a glare. "I'm really sorry for spilling all your papers this morning. If I had known you were a huntress, I would have carried them to that meeting for you!"
This earned her another blink from Weiss, who suddenly gained a very self-satisfied smile, before quickly replacing it with her usual frown.
"Look, we've already gone over that! What I want to know is why you didn't evacuate the area when you were instructed!"
Ruby decided it would not be wise to point out that a large majority of the student body were still in the area, and were watching the three of them. Speaking of which…
"Miss Schnee." Professor Ozpin, the Headmaster from orientation, suddenly interrupted the ranting girl, as he walked over to where the trio was. "The grounds are clear. All Grimm have been eliminated… Excellent work."
Immediately, Weiss' demeanor changed completely, as she turned to face the principal of Beacon High… Who was oddly calm considering a portion of the school had been smashed.
"Oh! It was nothing, sir! A couple of Mantises are nothing for an A Rank like myself." She smiled, putting a hand over her chest, as she managed to both be humble and self-aggrandizing at the same time.
'A rare skill indeed.' Ruby thought, her opinion of the mean lady becoming more positive by the minute.
"I am aware, but still, confronting such creatures on your own initiative is commendable. You put yourself in danger for the sake of your classmates… As did you, Jaune."
The young man perked up at this, looking equal parts relieved and surprised.
"While I must agree with Miss Weiss that you endangered yourself by confronting a foe for which you were not prepared, you did so to save the life of a defenseless class mate. I could not justify reprimanding you for such a noble action. I will be sure that your partner is informed of your bravery."
"You… you mean it?" Jaune gasped, suddenly on his feet, his Dust body vanishing in a flash of light as he returned to his normal self. He was still clutching the side where he was cut… that was going to be sore for at least a week. "Wow! Pyrrha is going to be so proud of me!"
"Or freak out that you almost got yourself killed." Weiss pointed out, immediately causing the blood to drain of Jaune's face.
"Probably that one…"
"And Miss Ruby…" Ozpin turned his attention to the red-head, who couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze. "… I must apologize for such a… poor introduction to our school. I am glad you are safe."
That… That was it? After all the screaming Weiss did, she was certain Ozpin was going to lecture her too. Finally, Ruby could stand, though she had to lean on Jaune for support.
It was only then that she noticed her hand was scorched… Burns didn't hurt as much as she had expected them too.
"Um… Could I have some bandages?" She asked sheepishly, to which Ozpin nodded… again, far too casually considering the situation.
"Of course. Glynda, could you…"
"Where is she?!"
Ozpin was cut off by a loud boom and that demand, which caused everyone in the area to jump… save for Ruby.
"What the?!" Jaune gasped.
"More Grimm?!" Weiss asked, raising her rapier.
"No…" Ruby whimpered, her eyes focusing on a streak of yellow moving towards them. "It's Yang."
A blonde, well-gifted girl was pushing her way through the crowd of students, not really taking the time to pardon herself to any of them as her eyes scanned the battleground frantically. Since she was in her Dust body, which consisted of a very small yellow top with her emblem displayed on one-side, a brown vest, and black shorts covered by a brown utility belt, Ruby was certain she was upset.
Then she locked eyes with her sister, and realized that wasn't the case at all.
Yang was afraid.
"Ruby!" The blonde yelled, dashing over and wrapping her sister into a bone-crushing bear hug. "Oh my gosh! Are you alright?! I heard that a Gate opened here as well but I got caught off by a Titan-class on my way!"
"I'm… fine…" Ruby managed to gasp out, as she tried to both free herself from and hug Yang at the same time. "I... can't breathe."
"Did she just say Titan-class?" Jaune muttered.
"I was so worried!" Yang cried, apparently ignoring that second statement. "I was… if you died… I…"
Finally, Ruby managed to get enough wiggle-room in Yang's embrace to take a breath, before giving her sister a smile. "Yang, I'm fine! Jaune and Weiss protected me."
Yang finally loosened her grip, her attention turning to the other two teens. Jaunt just looked startled, confused, and slightly embarrassed; Weiss, on the other hand, was staring in what could only be described as awe.
"Oh, hey guys! Weiss, I didn't know you came here!" Yang smiled, reaching over to pull the surprised girl into their now-a-group hug.
"Hey! Let go, you stupid bombshell!" Weiss huffed, but she didn't actually struggle. "I told you before, that I... I..." Her gaze was suddenly drawn to Ruby, as realization clicked in her mind. "Wait... This is your sister?!"
"Yep!" Yang smiled, letting go of Weiss and shifting around so that she stood next to Ruby with her arm over her charge's shoulder. "This is my little Ruby! I..."
"I'm sorry!" Weiss yelled, suddenly on her face before the two. "I didn't know! I wouldn't have yelled at you had I known you were Yang's sister!"
The two blinked, looked at each other, then turned back to Weiss and blinked again. Ruby was suddenly feeling very awkward, as she knelt down in front of Weiss.
"Um... It's ok! It was my fault!" Ruby quickly said, patting Weiss on the head.
"Yes, it was!" Weiss snapped, before coughing. "But I still overreacted! Please, let me make it up to you!"
Ruby looked up at Yang, who only smiled, before sighing.
"Well... There is something you could do for me..."
"Anything!" Weiss cried, before her vision was filled with Ruby's burnt hand.
"Do you have any bandages?" Ruby smiled weakly. "This really hurts."
"Ruby!" Yang cried, just noticing the wound for the first time, Ruby yelping as her sister took hold of the offending appendage. "S-sorry!"
"Don't worry, I have some bandages... Somewhere." Weiss quickly disengaged her Dust body, now back in her slightly-ruffled uniform, and began searching through her pockets. "Come on... Where are they...? Where..."
"Here." A new voice interrupted, as gentle fingers took hold of Ruby's wrist. Said girl glanced up to see...
"Ninja girl!" Ruby stated in surprise, earning a surprised look from... Pretty much everyone.
"My... Name is Blake." The pale girl with black hair from under the tree replied, before placing an ice-pack on Ruby's hand. The red head grit her teeth to hold back the hiss of pain.
"Where did you even get that?" Weiss asked, standing back up and frowning down at the new girl.
"Nurse's Station. You were all taking so long to do anything; it's not wise to leave any kind of wound unattended." Blake responded, as she began to bandage the pack to Ruby's hand. "Leave this on for about an hour. Your Dust should heal the wound relatively quickly..." She paused, and then frowned. "Are feeling alright? You're blushing."
Ruby gulped, looking away from the older girl. "It's just the cold… It kind of hurts."
"I'm sorry." Blake sighed, and finished wrapping Ruby's hand.
Weiss meanwhile was looking slightly aggravated at the scene occurring before them, until Yang sidled up beside her and draped her arm over her shoulder. Immediately, the school's ice-queen felt herself freezing up.
"So, I really owe you one for saving my sister, Weiss." Yang smiled, causing a very slight red tint to come to the girl's face.
"It was nothing, really! At least, not compared to what you've done…" Weiss coughed, before glancing up at the taller blonde. "So… a Titan-class?"
"Yeah, just a Goliath. It was wearing some weird kind of armor, though, so it took me longer than usual to finish it off." Yang frowned, her mood sobering. "I was really worried about Ruby…"
"Wearing armor? But wouldn't that imply…" Weiss blinked, a glanced over at Professor Ozpin, who was now busy dealing with worried parents that had come to check on their kids. "The commander will want to know."
"Yeah… this is going to be lots of paperwork. A C Rank killing a mantis and holding off another all alone, a Titan emerging without warning, and that stupid trucker who almost ran into me…" Yang chuckled, rubbing her hair, before turning to Weiss. "Say, you aren't on a team yet, huh?"
"Er… no." The huntress admitted, looking away as best she could. "I've yet to find someone… deserving of my talents."
"How about me?"
"H-Huh?!" Weiss practically did a spit-take, now staring up in shock into Yang's smiling face.
"I don't have a team either, and I really owe you for taking care of Ruby and Jaune. Plus, the commander has started hinting that I need someone to… keep a leash on me." Yang smirked, shaking her head. "Honestly, blow up one convenience store and no one ever lets it go."
"But… You're Yang Xiao Long! The Burning Huntress!" Weiss stammered. "You're practically BEACON's second wonder-child!"
"So?" Yang tilted her head, as she pulled Weiss into a tighter side-hug. "You're Weiss Schnee! Everyone knows your name, and that you rose to A Rank faster than anyone in the history of BEACON. Think about it!"
"That… would be…" Both girls' attention was suddenly drawn to Ruby, who was finally standing back up and staring at the two of them. "The most awesome thing ever! You guys would be the greatest monster fighting duo in all of Vale!"
"Well, I don't know about that…" Weiss smiled, feeling both embarrassed and excited at this turn of events. She hadn't been kidding about Yang; all eyes were on 'BEACON's Bombshell,' and if the Schnee heiress were to join up with her, both of their popularities would skyrocket! And… Well… Yang was quite the fearsome combatant. There was only one person Weiss could think of that would be better to team-up with, and she knew that they weren't interested.
There was no way she could pass this up.
"Ok! Miss Long: I, Weiss Schnee, agree to form a team with you! Let's…"
"Awesome!" Yang interrupted Weiss' dramatic speech, the white-haired girl's head ending up pressed into the brawler's chest as she gave her a quick hug, before turning to Ruby. "All patched up sis?"
Ruby nodded happily. "Yep, all thanks to…" She turned, half expecting Blake to have vanished again. Surprisingly, the quiet girl was still standing right behind her. "Er… to Blake!"
Yang, finally releasing a blushing Weiss from her strangle-hold, extended a hand to Blake. "Thanks for your help Blake! I'm glad Ruby's already made such good friends on her first day."
Yang turned to look at Jaune when she said that last part, but the boy was a little preoccupied by a red-head in a uniform from another school who was examining him all over for cuts or bruises.
'Typical Pyrrha.'
Blake, meanwhile, seemed taken aback once the 'F' word came from Yang's lips. But upon seeing Ruby's sweet, thankful smile, she caved and returned the look as best she could.
"No problem…" She replied, before running out of things to say. One could have expected an awkward silence, but one would be forgetting that Yang Xiao Long was still present.
"You should come over some time! Ruby's never had guests over before, so it would be the first time for both of you!" Yang grinned at Blake's wide eyes, while Ruby seemed oblivious to her sister's double-meaning.
"Well, I don't know about that…" The red-head muttered shyly, falling back into old habits now that the adrenaline rush was fading. "But… I'd like to hang out sometime, if that's ok, Blake?"
"… Sure." Blake nodded.
"Great! That's all settled." Yang nodded, before reaching over and taking Ruby's good hand. "Weiss, I'll see you back at HQ, ok partner?"
"Of course." Weiss nodded, returning to her more formal composure. "I'll prepare all the paperwork needed for our partnership."
"You're a lifesaver!" Yang patted her head, causing Weiss to attempt to re-straighten it hurriedly, before turning to Ruby. "Well, looks like you get out early today, sis! What say we get you a change of clothes, and go out tonight?"
Ruby could not agree fast enough. After all, she still had to tell Yang the great news. She was going to be so proud of her….
Why had she gotten involved?
The whole reason she had left… no, run away, was because she had become too involved.
She had come here to be normal… And now, she was already sticking out.
Well, now that she had started, there was no need to stop…
"Trigger, on!"
And Now: World Building With RWBY (And Guests)
(Dust and Dust Bodies)
Ruby: Thanks again for saving me, Jaune. That was very brave of you.
Jaune: Aw, no problem Ruby!
Weiss: Yeah… leaping in front of a Mantis' scythe. Got to say, that was pretty brave of you… Idiotic, but brave!
Jaune: … Thanks Weiss…
Ruby: So, want to explain how you didn't get one-shot by the big bug monsters?
Jaune: Sure! See, everyone in Remnant has what is called 'Dust.'
Weiss: A magical power produced by a person's spirit that can be accessed through the use of Dust Crystals… Which can only be obtained from the Grimm.
Ruby: But I accessed my Dust all on my own!
Weiss: Yes. And we all saw how well that went for you.
Ruby: … Point taken.
Jaune: Er… Right. Anyway, BEACON's Dust Crystals are all enchanted to automatically construct a 'Dust Body' for the Hunters or Huntresses that activate them. These bodies are created from our own Dust, so we can change how they appear and what weapons come along with these Dust Bodies with a little bit of will-power.
Weiss: Or just get someone else to change it for you, like Jaune.
Jaune: Hey!... Well, the point is: The bodies can take far more blows than our real forms, and will continue to heal themselves so long as we have enough Dust left to repair them.
Weiss: But: They don't block out pain. The more damage you take, the more it's going to hurt later.
Jaune: Crap… I'm not going to be able to move tomorrow.
Ruby: Don't worry! Pyrrha will be glad to take care of you!
Jaune: Hey! That's true!
Weiss: Ugh. Thankfully, this is all the time we have for today. Thanks for joining us everyone.
Ruby; Next time, a mysterious Huntress appears, and I get picked on at school! Wait…
