Saved by the Wolf

Part II

It was exactly four o'clock when the shipment arrived. The sky was starting to turn a light orange colour that Ruby usually found relaxing. Today it just made her stomach turn. If they had to fight in the dark it would be harder to beat Roman - only Blake would be able to see properly. Anytime Roman was even mentioned, however, Blake would become blind with hate, which, in Ruby's opinion, made her easier to be defeated. If you couldn't think clearly in a battle your opponent could outsmart you before you even realized it. The best solution was to either have someone watch Blake's back or somehow keep her away from Roman. She may have gotten lucky once or twice but even her luck had to run out sometime.

Ruby watched as the workers began to unload the Dust from the heavily armoured trucks. There were tons of guards watching over the entire process - all whom appeared to be Faunus. This went on for several minutes before Ruby began to think something was wrong.

"Guys... this doesn't feel right. Torchwick should have already shown up by now, right?" Ruby whispered.

Blake nodded in agreement, her narrowed yellow eyes never leaving the warehouse. "You're right. Something is definitely off."

"I guess we could always just ask." suggested Yang.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "That's stupid."

Blake's frown suddenly grew as a few of the guards came into a closer view. They were a good distance away from the old warehouse now and appeared to be looking for something - or someone - and she could now clearly see them.

"Blake, what's wrong?" Yang asked.

"I know why Torchwick hasn't shown up. I recognize those three people. They're White Fang." Blake hissed. She remembered them alright. She was once in the White Fang with them. I guess this is what the Schnee company gets for hiring Faunus labor, though.

"What?" Weiss' eyes widened.

"All of them?" Yang asked.

"It's possible. I can't really see the others since they're in the building."

"Blake, do you think you can knock them out before they can call for help?" Ruby asked.

Blake quickly looked at the top of the warehouse to make sure no one was looking down in this area and then looked at Ruby and nodded. "Yes."

"I'm sure they'll notice if these guards don't return so they'll send someone to come look for them, right? If more people come and they're White Fang too we take those people out too. Silently. After that I think we'll have a few more minutes before they realize something is very wrong. We can use that time to get a sneak attack!"

"But there could be innocent people in there!" Weiss frowned. "We can't just go in there and start shooting everyone!"

"We don't have a choice, Weiss. It's us or them." Blake hissed. It's them or Torchwick...

"Those people could work for my father!" Weiss narrowed argued.

"Guys we don't have much time..." Ruby bit her lower lip.

"Those people enslave Faunus! They're the reason the White Fang exists!" Blake was starting to get loud.

"Blake..." Yang tried to put a hand on Blake's shoulder to calm her but it was only shrugged off.

"What?" Weiss screeched. "It's not my family's fault that the Faunus are a bunch of low lives!"

Before Yang or Ruby could do anything Blake smacked Weiss across the face. "Shut up! You have no idea how much we've struggled! How much suffering we've been through!" Blake fully stood up.

Ruby's eyes widened and she grabbed her weapon off her back as her eyes darted to the guards. They had obviously been spotted and were now calling for back up as they pulled out their own weapons.

"Guys w-" Ruby was cut off by Weiss.

"Do you really think the Faunus are the only ones who have suffered?" Weiss stood as well, though she appeared to be a little unsteady. Ruby guessed it was because of the knot on her head.

"Guys!" Yang's hair caught fire and her eyes were red. "Get down!" She managed to tackle Weiss and Blake down just as a bullet was about to hit them. "We can work out our problems later! Right now we need to get our asses in gear before we die!"

So much for a surprise attack… Ruby thought sadly.

Team RWBY was quickly surrounded by the so-called "guards" in a matter of seconds.

"Put your weapons down!" One of them ordered.

"We're the good guys! We're from Beacon!" Ruby pleaded. Surely if they were on their side they'd be free to go.

This, however, did not seem to be the case. Instead, this only seemed to make them more willing to shoot because before Ruby realized it they were in an all out battle.

Ruby was doing a series of flips and attacks, using her speed to doge the enemies attacks. It wasn't until she had flung herself into the air that she saw Roman on the second floor of the warehouse through one of the windows. Everything seemed to slow down in that moment for Ruby. It was clear that they had made eye contact, even though there was still a good distance between them. She had clearly seen the smirk on his face as she started to come back down. There was no doubt that he was mocking her right now.

When she hit the ground she knocked away the "guards" around her.

They're not guards. They're White Fang. Ruby reminded herself. She quickly looked over at Weiss. Weiss was clearly in pain but she was fighting through it. There was no way she could take Weiss to a fight that involved Roman. Blake was a negative as well. She was already too angry and knowing Roman was here would only make things worse. That only left Yang.

"We're breaking off into Black Ice and Red Sun!" Ruby yelled as she turned to Yang. Ruby didn't stop her attacks as she spoke. "Yang! We need to get in the warehouse!"

"Roger that!" Yang brought her fist down on the ground, knocking several of the White Fang members off their feet to help clear her and Ruby a path. Blake helped get rid of the remaining members that were blocking the way.

Yang and Ruby ran through the opening before they could be stopped. They managed to get into the warehouse through one of the broken windows.

Inside the warehouse was even creepier. The cement floor was covered in dust and dirt and littered with foot prints from where they had been unloading crates of Dust. The last bits of sunlight were shining through the windows. All sorts of rusty hooks were hanging from the ceiling. Old nails appeared to falling from different parts of the building as well. Ruby wondered how much damage this building could take before it collapsed.

Ruby found what she was looking for when she spotted a rusty stairwell that appeared to lead up to the second floor. That would be where Roman was waiting. The only thing in her way were a large amount of White Fang. If they took too long fighting these guys it would get dark and she had doubts that the lights worked here. They needed to get to Roman while there was still sun.

It wasn't like they would be completely helpless in the moonlight. Their eyes would adjust but in this building it would be darker than it was outside. Roman was a thief. He was use to the dark so he would have the upper hand.

"Yang we need to hurry and get to the second floor!" Ruby yelled.

"What's up there?" Yang asked as she started punching White Fang members.

"Torchwick."

Yang blinked a few times and her eyes were suddenly red again. Her punches became faster and more deadly. Yang now understood why they need to get up there - and why Ruby had brought her along.

Ruby shot at the guys in the back while Yang took care of the guys closer to the front. Yang was so close to the action that she was unable to avoid all the bullets, and the White Fang noticed this. The bullets seemed to nothing more than graze Yang but it was enough to break the skin and cause her to bleed, though her aura was healing her as fast as possible. Ruby shot faster and then quickly switched Crescent Rose into scythe form. She slammed it down into one of the cracks of the cement. She jumped on it while it was lodged into the ground and used it to a series of kicks and then launch herself at one of the White Fang members. She quickly yanked it out of the ground and swung it around, knocking out a good number of White Fang. Yang was doing a series of uppercuts and and jabs as she knocked her appoints down left and right. Bullets were flying everywhere.

They fought their way through until they managed to make it to the stairs. Yang ran ahead while Ruby covered them, firing at any of the White Fang that tried to follow them.

What the heck is going on? Is everyone here a member of the White Fang? If so why even bother to deliver the Dust at all? Ruby thought to herself as she ran up the stairs, occasionally turning around to shoot.

When they finally made it up the stairs Yang punched her way through the rotted wooden door and let Ruby in first. Once Ruby was in Yang stepped through the doorway and punched the rusty stairs. The impact was enough to cause the old stairs to collapse, completely stopping any of the White Fang from following them. They were up high so it would take a bit to climb and some of them were buried underneath rusty metal now anyways.

"Nice thinking, Yang!" Ruby smiled, slightly out of breath.

"Thanks. Now lets get moving before they figure out how to get up here. We have a torch to put out." Yang grinned.

Ruby snickered at the pun.

The two sisters quickly reloaded their weapons and then ran down the hall until they reached another rotted wooden door. Yang wasted no time punching through the old door. When the two sister entered the room Roman was calmly waiting for them. He had his signature smirk and was leaned against his cane as he smoked a cigar.

"Well, how nice to see you again, Red." Roman's smirk grew and he flicked his cigar to the ground, crushing it with his cane. "But isn't it past your bedtime?"

Ruby didn't have a chance to respond before Yang let out an angry growl and ran towards him, fist drawn back.

Just as her fist was about to make contact with Roman she was thrown backwards by a kick. Confused, Yang looked up to see a pair of brown and pink eyes staring back at her. Yang let out another growl and jumped up.

"It's you! I've been waiting for a rematch! This time I'm going to kick your ass!" Yang's hair was on fire now. She wasted no time in throwing a series of punches at the small, pink and brown coloured girl. The girl seemed to have no problem blocking or dogging Yang's attacks, however. In fact, she seemed almost bored.

Ruby wasted no time in going to aid her sister. Roman wasn't the biggest threat right now it seemed. Ruby used her speed to propel herself toward the girl. Just before Ruby made contact though, the girl stuck her heel out so it hit Ruby right in the stomach. Ruby fell back and skidded across the cement floor until she hit the wall. Her face had a few scrapes but her aura was quick to heal them. Ruby quickly jumped back up and joined her sister in fighting the small girl.

It didn't matter though. Nothing they did seemed to have any affect on the girl. She didn't even seem out of breath! Not to mention, Ruby was sure that her eyes were changing colours as if she was mocking them.

"Neo..." Roman sighed.

Neo glanced at Roman and gave a small nod. She quickly jumped over Yang and behind Ruby. Things seemed to slow down for Ruby as she heard Neo pull out her sword. Ruby knew what was coming and she barely had time to react. Neo lunged the sword forward just as Ruby started to move away. The sword didn't stab through Ruby like Neo was hoping but it did manage to give Ruby a rather large and deep cut under her armpit.

Ruby let out a cry of pain and rolled onto the floor, her weapon sliding away from her. Ruby was quick to cover the wound to try and stop the bleeding. Her aura would eventually help with the healing but it was too deep to heal right away.

"Ruby!" Yang seemed to completely forget about Neo and ran straight over to her little sister. "Are you okay? Where are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. It's just a scratch it'll he-" Ruby stopped mid-sentence. "Yang! Look out!"

Yang turned around just as Neo was about to stab her with the sword. She just barely able to roll away in time. When she looked up she saw a stray blonde hair falling to the ground.

"That's it! You're goin' down ice cream!" Yang's hair and fist were on fire and her eyes were red. She was serious now.

Neo just smiled at her with a hand on one hip.

Without warning Yang's fists were flying. Ruby carefully reached for her Crescent Rose and then examined her wound. Her dress was definitely ripped but at least her aura had stopped the bleeding, though she was still in a great amount of pain.

No. I have to get up. I gave to fight through the pain. Weiss is doing it so I can too! My team is counting on me! Ruby forced herself to stand and she could feel her adrenaline start pumping. Nothing was going to stop her.

"Ah, ah!" Roman tsked. "We can't have you using that over sized gardening tool while your hurt can we?" He lifted up his cane and fired at her left shoulder in hopes to make her drop the scythe.

Ruby managed to avoid the shot however. "You won't get away with this Torchwick! Bad guys never win!"

A frown formed on Roman's lips. "Do you really think this is some sort of fairy tail, Red?" He laughed coldly. "I think it's time you stop living in your fantasy land and grow up. You're playing with the big boys now!" His emerald eye grew dark.

"I'm plenty grown up! I drink milk!" Ruby said proudly.

Roman burst out into laughter. "You just made my day, Red. Really, you did." He lifted his cane up once more and fired more shots.

Ruby's heart was pounding in her chest - she almost felt lightheaded. The pain under her arm was gone - it felt numb. Her body started acting on it's own as she fought with Roman. She could no longer hear any of gunfire over the ringing in her ears. She had to beat Roman. For Blake. For Weiss. For Yang. For all of Remnant.

Just as she was about to swing her scythe around Roman threw a red Dust crystal down just like when they had first met.

Oh no. "Yang! Get down!" Ruby screamed.

Yang didn't think, she just acted. She threw herself away as far as possible. Ruby just barely managed to get away from the worst of the blast as Roman shot at the Dust. Debris flew everywhere and Ruby felt bits of metal and wood scrap against her, but it was nothing her aura couldn't fix. Her dress and leggings were ripped and shredded, however. Yang appeared to be fine.

There was now a hole in the wall opposite of the door Yang had knocked down. It revealed more of the second story of the warehouse. Outside of the hole was Neo, who was smirking down at Yang. As Yang got up Neo ran off, as if she was daring Yang to chase her.

"Ruby, will you be okay if I follow after her?" Yang turned to her younger sister as she got up and dusted herself off.

"Yeah. I can handle things here. Go. She might be going after Weiss and Blake!" Ruby nodded the direction Neo left.

Yang gave a nod and ran off after Neo.

"You don't look so good, Red. Are you sure you can handle me all by yourself?" Roman smirked. "You are only a little girl, after all."

Ruby glared at Roman. "Shut up! We captured you once we can do it again!" She readied her scythe.

"And I'll just escape again." Roman shrugged. "This really seems to be a waste of time for us both, don't you think?"

Ruby glanced at her scroll. Her aura was getting pretty low but she should be fine for now, even if the small adrenaline rush she had was wearing off now. She wasn't going to give into the pain.

"Shut up, Torchwick." Ruby growled. "Just give up already."

"Red, dear, have you looked at yourself? Your poor little dress and cape are tattered and you can barely stand. You are seriously not in the position to be giving me orders." Roman walked over to her and Ruby tensed. He gripped her chin with with his index finger and thumb and forced her to look at him. His face was inches from hers. "If anyone is going to be giving orders it'll be me." His lips seemed to ghost across Ruby's.

A chill went up her spine and she shivered. Her heart sped up a little but she didn't exactly understand why.

Roman laughed and pulled away. "Aw, Red! You're blushing! You flatter me!"

Ruby soft growl. "My name is Ruby, not Red!"

"Ruby, Red," he waved his hand in the air. "It doesn't really matter to me." He lifted his cane up and pointed it at her again. "After all, I don't plan on letting you survive this little meeting." He smirked a little. "Wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea, would we?" Without another warning he began to fire.

Ruby tensed and began dogging and firing back. I need more room to swing my scythe… Ruby glanced up. The roof! Of course! I'll plenty of room up there! There are all ready holes all in the ceiling so it shouldn't be too hard to break, right? Ruby took a deep breath and used her semblance to propel herself upwards. Just like she thought the ceiling was easy enough to break through and her weapon took most of the damage.

The roof was flat and Ruby could see the small holes that littered the roof. She wasn't sure exactly how sturdy this roof was but hopefully it would last just long enough for her to kick Roman's butt. From up here she could see Weiss and Blake still fighting the White Fang. Weiss appeared to be struggling but she was still standing.

The last bit of the sun had just disappeared and the sky was beginning to grow dark.

I knew there was a lot of guards... but not this many. Maybe they called for backup? Ruby was starting to get a knot in her stomach again.

"Red! Are you running away from me? I thought we were having fun!" Roman chuckled as he climbed up the hole she had made.

Once he was up he looked over at Weiss and Blake. "Ah, so the Ice Queen and the Kitty are fighting together. The Ice Queen appears to be struggling a bit, though. I wonder how long she'll last. All of the guards are under White Fang control so they'll be at that for a while. Ah, well," he shrugged. "That just gives us more alone time, doesn't it?" He smirked, casually walking closer to Ruby.

Ruby started to back up, pointing Crescent Rose at him. "Stay back, Roman."

Roman raised an eyebrow. "Oh? But it seems like we're on a first name basis now, Ruby."

Ruby blinked, slightly taken back by hearing him call her Ruby. It sent a feeling through her body that she didn't quite understand. And... I just called him Roman... why did I do that? Wait. I need to focus. He's trying to distract me. Ruby shook her head to clear her thoughts but Roman was already towering over her.

"What's the matter, Red? Are you scared of the big bad wolf?" he smirked.

Ruby grit her teeth and hit him with the back of her scythe, knocking him off his feet.

He let out an annoyed huff as he stood back up and dusted himself off. "You girls are always getting my suit dirty."

Ruby narrowed her eyes and watched him closely, her scythe reloaded and ready for action.

"No matter, I still have a job to finish and you're getting in the way." Roman started firing at Ruby once again.

In a matter of moments they were in a full out battle again. Both firing and doing melee attacks. Ruby was surprised that Crescent Rose couldn't just snap his stupid cane in half. The longer they battled though the more exhausted she began to feel. Her wound may not be bleeding anymore but it still hurt and no matter how much she tried to ignore the pain she just couldn't make it go away. It didn't help that Roman was able to land a few hits on her, making her aura drop even lower.

She really lost focus when she heard a shrill scream. It sent chills up Ruby's spine. She quickly jumped over Roman and got closer to the edge so she could see what had happened - and what she saw made her blood run cold.

Weiss had finally fallen and the White Fang were showing no mercy. Even from where Ruby was at she could see the blood. Blake was surrounded but obviously trying to get to her fallen teammate. Ruby tried to call out their names but had her breath knocked out of her when Roman came up from behind her and knocked her off her feet with his cane.

"It's really bad practice to lose focus like this in the middle of a battle, Red." Roman sighed, shaking his head. "I really s-" Whatever Roman was about to say was cut off by a loud explosion.

The explosion was loud enough to make the ground below them rumble. Ruby tried to stand but her legs felt like jelly. The next thing Ruby felt was a body on top of hers - almost like someone was trying to protect her.

H-huh? W-what's happening? Roman… Ruby couldn't seem to get her thoughts together. She tried to move her arm out to reach Crescent Rose but only felt the grip of the person on top of her tighten.

When things finally stopped moving Ruby felt the weight remove itself from her back. When she looked back up her vision was a little blurry and her ears were ringing but she still managed to stand.

"Still alive, Red?" She heard Roman's voice ask with a hint of worry.

Is... is he concerned about me? Did... did he just save me? Ruby rubbed her eyes until her vision cleared. The moon was full and high in the sky. All around them smoke covered the area, making it impossible for Ruby to see Weiss and Blake. Where is Yang...?

Suddenly the warehouse began to shake below their feet.

Oh no... it's going to fall. Ruby looked at the ground below them. They were up pretty high and her aura was critical. If were to jump there was no doubt that she would break something. There was suddenly a smaller explosion from the building. It's now or never!

Ruby took a deep breath and jumped. Behind her she could have sworn she heard Roman curse and follow behind her.

Just as Roman jumped there was a large explosion from the building and it began to collapse.

Ruby felt her face hit gravel and slide against it until she was in the grass. Her body was in excruciating pain but at least she was alive, right?

Yang... Blake... Weiss... Where are you guys? Why is everything so quiet? Ruby opened her eyes to try and see where she was at but her vision was blurry. Yang... please tell me you weren't still in the warehouse. Please... I can't lose you… Ruby felt tears began to fall down her cheeks. Blake... you're so strong. Surely you got to Weiss in time and saved her.

Ruby heard footsteps approach her. She tried to move, to get away, but her body wasn't listening. She couldn't so much as lift her head up. All she could do was watch as the shoes came closer to her vision. Those shoes... they... they belong to...

"You always have to cause trouble for me, don't you, Red?" Roman sighed.

No! I need to get away! I need to move before he kills me! Ruby mustered up all the strength she could to try and inch away from him.

"Stop moving." he sighed. "You'll only make things worse."

Roman knelt down beside her. She couldn't see him but she heard him messing with some fabric. What is he doing?

As if the world was answering her she felt him press down on her leg and it felt as if a thousand needles were pressing into her skin. She let out a cry of pain.

"Hush..." Roman muttered.

"S-s-stop..." Ruby coughed. "H-hurts..."

Roman seemed to ignore her and kept pressing for what felt like ages before he finally tied something around her leg. He then moved over to her face and began picking out pieces of gravel.

"H-huh? W-why?" Every word she said seemed to make her body ache. She tried to get a good look at his face but her vision was still rather fuzzy. She was starting to fade from consciousness.

Roman seemed to think about this for a moment. "I guess I'm not such a big bad wolf after all, Red." he chuckled quietly. It's not like she would remember this anyways, so what was the harm in answering? She would soon be unconscious and this would just seem like nothing more than a dream.

"Crescent R-rose..." she coughed.

He moved it in her field of vision. "Your gardening tool is right here, Red."

"Y-yang...?"

This time there was no response.

"Roman!" came a new voice. "Where are you?"

"I'm over here, Perry!" Roman called, sounding slightly annoyed. He looked Ruby over one last time. He had done the best he could considering what he had. Why had he done it though? Why had he stopped to save this annoying little pest instead of just killing her while he had the chance. Roman sighed and without thinking stroked Ruby's face.

"It's past your bedtime, Red." he whispered.

That was the last thing Ruby heard before everything faded away.

Salutations!

So that concludes Saved by the Wolf. I'm sorry if it was a little confusing, especially during the fight scenes. I'm not very good at writing those. Yes, the ending was meant to be left open like that so you can make your own guesses at what happened. If I happen to get enough feedback wanting more I may continue this story. If not, then I'll just leave it as it is.

Once again, I'd like to give a special thanks to my friend, Luna Kitsune. She has been a big help in pointing out all my little mistakes that I carelessly miss. No, Luna Kitsune is not her fanfiction name so don't bother trying to find her.

Yes, this is a Rosewick (Roman/Ruby) even though there wasn't too much interaction between the two of them. I hope it was still at least a little cute. *looks at Peeves for approval*