The Intriguing Case of Ruby and Red
Chapter 2
Explosions and the Virtues of Getting to Know People
I don't own RWBY. Here, we see the beginning of friendships, among other things, as well as things beginning to become slightly different…
When the ships docked, it was to the credit of the blond who had been about to vomit that he had managed to hold in the majority of it long enough to get to a trashcan, but that was not important at the moment.
What was important, at least to both Ruby and Red, was that there were so many different weapons, though both had different reasons for their glee. Ruby, for her part, was a weapons fanatic and loved to examine the technical details that went into the creation of the weapons, whereas Red was a weapons fanatic more interested in how weapons could be used to cause damage to one's enemies. It is the sort of artistic difference that separates a Realist from an Impressionist. Where Ruby would modify Crescent Rose to improve her, Red would design a new weapon to pull out of wherever it was that she put things.
"Yang, he's got a collapsible staff, and she's got a firesword!" Ruby cheered as she began to trail after the latter, only to be pulled back by Yang.
"Ruby, relax, they're just weapons," Yang suggested.
"There's no such thing as just a weapon!" Ruby protested dramatically, "Our weapons are a part of who we are, a piece of our very essence. Meeting a new weapon is like meeting a new friend! …But better, because they're not people…"
She let Red take over to voice her opinion. "Weapons are tools. Personalization is secondary. People are fascinating."
"You're not drawing me into this argument again," Ruby protested as Red returned to her customary place in Ruby's mind before anyone could be overwhelmed by the fear.
"And I'm not getting into it, either," Yang noted, "When you two get into this fight, it's all kinds of dizzying."
"Well, we can still stick together, can't we?" Ruby pressed.
"Actually…" Yang said slowly, before joining with a large crowd, which then sped away, "I've got some friends I was going to meet up with, see you later!"
"Wait, where are we supposed to go!?" she shouted, taking a couple steps backwards, before crashing into a cart that had just been moved to that spot, knocking loose a briefcase full of jars of multicolored Dust.
"What do you think you're doing?" a haughty voice demanded, causing Ruby to turn towards the source of the voice, already feeling Red trying to take over and put them on the defensive.
Looking up, Ruby saw a white-haired girl with a scar on her left eye, who was approaching her with a jar of what looked to be Fire Dust, which was leaking.
"Do you have any idea what you could have done?" the girl continued indignantly.
"I'm sorry," Ruby said quickly, already feeling her left trigger finger slowly start as Red tried to push herself to the front, "I slipped."
The white-haired girl did not seem impressed as she shook the jar, causing more Dust to fly, forming a slight cloud that floated towards Ruby's face as she rose to her feet, "This is Dust! Dust! You know, the thing that powers pretty much everything, including, I assume, some part of your weapon?! You could have blown us up!"
"Uh…" Ruby pressed, trying to keep Red back while the Dust continued to accumulate as it moved closer and closer to Ruby, whose trigger finger was now fully twitching at her side as if lightly pulling a trigger repeatedly
"What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young too young to be here, anyway?" she demanded, finally stopping the shaking, unfortunately too late for the Dust to not have accumulated enough to cause Ruby's nose to be irritated enough to make her sneeze.
Fire!
Lightning!
Possibly little bit of Ice…
The explosion was a sight to behold, leaving a slight crater in the space the two girls were occupying.
"Now, look what you've done!" the white-haired girl glared, clearly about to begin a rant until Ruby cut her off.
"Look, Miss… Missy," Ruby pressed, having to push Red back much more firmly as she got back up, dusting herself off while her trigger finger was twitching much more insistently, "This whole thing was an accident, and the explosion was kinda your fault, anyway."
"'Miss Missy?'" the girl asked in surprise, seeming to not notice Ruby's remark, "Do you not know who I am? I'm Weiss Schnee."
"Schnee? Like Nicholas Schnee?" Ruby asked, feeling Red try to push forward more eagerly, which she supposed figured, given that Red had Nicholas Schnee as a personal source of fascination. Honestly, she wasn't entirely sure on why, though she had several ideas, but she didn't want to just ask about it.
"That was my grandfather," Weiss said, thrown off by that remark, "Founder of…"
"…The Schnee Dust Corporation," an amber-eyed, black-haired girl wearing a black bow on top of her head chimed in, handing Weiss another jar of Dust with the Schnee snowflake emblazoned upon it, "A business that has been noticeable in its inhumane treatment of their Faunus workers, particularly in recent years."
Weiss did not seem happy with that remark, opting to leave the group. Ruby dropped her guard for the briefest moment, and Red capitalized upon that, pushing to the front quickly. Since there was less of a chance for a fight with Weiss gone, Ruby let her keep control for the moment, only planning to take over if she felt Red would cause harm to herself or others.
Turning towards where the black-haired girl was standing, Red said, "Thanks fr—" She paused, seeing a dust cloud where the girl had been standing. Convinced that she had cost Ruby the chance at a new friend, Red dropped to the ground, feeling completely alone outside of Ruby as she pulled her mask over her face.
At that moment, she saw, in the corner of her vision, the extended hand of a blond boy who was clearly trembling, no doubt due to her 'fear thing,' as Yang called it, but did not withdraw his hand as Red took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet.
"Friend?" Red asked, tilting her head. Perhaps her tone did not help matters, as the boy began to hastily walk away.
Red stared flatly before she began pursuit. She had made her first friend, and she was not going to let him get away that easily.
"Anyway, I'm sorry about the whole 'running away' thing," the boy, who she had learned was named Jaune noted, politeness barely pushing him through the sensation of being hunted by some unseen monster that wanted nothing more than to kill and eat him as they walked the campus grounds, "Something about you just scares me."
"My nature," Red shrugged, "Not Ruby's though."
"Speaking of that," he mused, "Let me see if I got that straight. Your name is Red."
Red nodded.
"You are a second personality to a girl named Ruby…"
Red nodded again.
"And you have some sort of fear thing that makes people scared around you?"
"Exactly," Red replied.
"Well, my mom always said, 'Just because someone's scary doesn't mean that the want to hurt you.' That and 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met, yet.' I guess that makes you a twofer for her advice."
"Optimistic outlook," Red noted, pulling her mask off, "Putting Ruby on, now."
The change was noticeable to Jaune, as the weight of horror was suddenly lifted from his heart and mind and Red seemed to vanish, leaving Ruby in charge of their body once more.
"Sorry about the whole 'hunting you down' thing," Ruby apologized for Red, "She and I have problems with dealing with people…"
"That's your voice?" Jaune asked, clearly surprised by the change in pitch.
"Yep," Ruby replied freely.
"Anyway, don't worry about the chasing thing," he shrugged good-naturedly, "I grew up with seven sisters. The netgun was a new thing to me, though. Where did that go, anyway?"
"She didn't want to kill you, for what it's worth," Ruby offered, "She loves using her weapons as tools. Personally, I love weapons, but my favorite will always be my beautiful Crescent Rose." So saying, she pulled out her beloved scythe, unfolding the weapon.
"Is that a scythe?!" Jaune asked incredulously with a touch of horror, having assumed that the netgun was her weapon.
"She's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle," she grinned. At his confused expression, she switched to layman's terms, "It's also a gun. So, what've you got?"
"First of all, that is cool," Jaune said, gesturing at the scythe-gun, which he supposed was probably also where the net came from, given that he hadn't actually seen the netgun. "Anyway, I've got these!" he continued, drawing his sword from its sheath, before said sheath opened to become a shield.
"What do they do?" Ruby asked, before a light tap to the shield caused it to fly up and convert back to a sheath.
"The shield gets… smaller?" he offered slowly, as if unsure of how to describe it, "So, if I get tired of carrying it, I can just put it away."
"Doesn't it weigh the same, either way?"
"Yeah…" he sighed, before brightening up as a thought occurred to him, "But, this way, I don't have to hold it up everywhere I go."
"Well, I am a bit of a weapon's nut," she admitted, "I might have gone a bit overboard when I designed her… I remember I had to be talked down from the chain that would let me fire the spike on the end so I could pull things in closer. And the chainsaw attachment. The miniaturized rocket launcher… The drilling… Let's just say there were a lot of things and leave it at that. Red just keeps taking out more weapons from wherever it is that her Semblance keeps them."
"Wait. You designed that?!" Jaune asked, focusing on the bit that wouldn't either give him nightmares or make him question everything he ever knew about reality.
"Oh, yeah. Every student does at Signal," she replied, "You didn't?"
"It's a hand-me-down," he replied, "My great-great grandfather used it in the War."
"Isn't that more of an heirloom?" she asked, while Red concurred with her assessment.
"I guess you're right…" he mused.
"Well, I think it's nice," Ruby said, "Not many people appreciate the classics. Hold on. Red wants to chime in really quick."
Once again, Jaune felt it. Eyes locked onto the back of his head, a large burst of hot air along the back of his neck, and the phantom prickling of his skin, as if something was about to bite down on his flesh, and his body only being able to brace itself for the pain.
"Needs sharpening," Red said, reaching into the cloak to withdraw a sharpening stone, a small container of oil, a clean cloth, and some polish. "Tools only useful when honed properly. Putting Ruby back on."
The sensation vanishing was like getting freed from quicksand when Ruby returned to the surface.
"So, why did you help Red out in the courtyard back there?" she asked, "Normally, people tend to try to not touch her. I'm sure you noticed that she's a little off-putting for a lot of people."
"Eh, why not?" he replied simply, "My mom always says, 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met, yet.' Besides, if I let being afraid keep me from helping people, I wouldn't have come here. Even if Red is kinda terrifying."
"Fair enough. Where are we going, anyway?" she asked.
"I don't know," he admitted, "I was just following Red… Do you think there's a directory…? Some sort of recognizable landmark?"
"I don't think so," Ruby chuckled.
"Oh, thank goodness," Jaune said as they approached a building being entered by other students some time later, "We found everyone…"
As they entered the building, Ruby immediately found herself being called by Yang.
"Sis!" she shouted, waving her over, "Saved a spot for you!"
"Well, I've gotta go," Ruby said, "See you after the ceremony!"
"Wait," Jaune called out ineffectually, before sighing, "Great. Now where am I going to find a nice quirky girl to talk to?"
He was unaware of the redheaded girl standing behind him, who went from observing various people to focusing on him, a curious gleam in her eye that no one would have been able to place.
"So, how's your first day, going, little sisters?" Yang asked cheerfully, nudging Ruby for information.
"You mean after you ditched us, and I exploded?" Ruby demanded.
Yang suddenly looked at the crowd in concern, before leaning in closer and speaking a bit more softly, "How many people did Red hurt?"
"No, literally!" Ruby replied flatly, "There's a crater in front of the school and everything! There was Dust, fire, I think some ice, and lightning… And there was this one crabby girl. I tripped over her luggage, the Dust came out, and she started yelling, my trigger finger started twitching again, then the explosion, and she started yelling again… I just wanted her to stop yelling before…"
"You!" said girl shouted from behind her, causing Ruby to leap into Yang's arm in surprise, her trigger finger once again beginning to twitch.
"Oh, god, it's happening again!" Ruby shouted, before Yang set her down.
"We're both lucky you didn't blow us both off the cliff!" Weiss continued.
"My god, you actually blew yourself up," Yang said in a deadpan, too surprised for anything else.
"Here," Weiss said flatly, offering Ruby a pamphlet labeled Dust for Dummies and other Inadequate Individuals. "The Schnee Dust Corporation is not responsible for any damages sustained while operating or handling a Schnee Dust Corporation product. While not mandatory, the Schnee Family does recommend reading and familiarize themselves with this easy-to-follow guide to Dust application and practice in the field." At Ruby's blank expression, she continued, "You really want to make things up to me?"
"Uh, yeah…" Ruby replied hesitantly, her hands perfectly still.
"Read this and never talk to me again," she said, pushing the pamphlet towards Ruby.
Taking the pamphlet with her right hand, Ruby looked Weiss dead in the eye and asked, "Do those instructions include rules about waving leaking containers of Dust in someone's face?"
Weiss paused, giving Ruby a slight glare as she said, "Touché…"
Before either could say anything further and potentially escalate the situation to Red levels of disagreement, Yang quickly stepped in.
"Look, you two clearly got off on the wrong foot," she said, offering the two an out for this conversation, "Why don't you start over, try to be friends?"
Ruby seized the lifeline as if she were in the middle of the ocean, clearly also intent on avoiding that particular battle as she held a hand out for Weiss to shake, "Great idea, sis! Hello, Weiss. I'm Ruby. Want to hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies."
"Yeah!" Weiss smiled disingenuously, "And we can paint our nails, try on clothes, and talk about cute boys like tall, blond, and scraggly over there!" She pointed over her shoulder with her thumb, where Jaune was standing to further emphasize her comment.
"Really?" Ruby asked, not really believing her, but still somewhat hopeful that she wasn't being facetious.
"No."
Ruby's trigger finger was once again twitching at her side, and she was half tempted to let Red out for a brief moment just to scare her, when the sound of Professor Ozpin clearing his throat in front of a microphone caused everyone to stop what they were doing.
"I'll keep this brief," Ozpin said in a more tired, cynical tone than the one Ruby and Red had heard last night, "You have traveled here today in search of Knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look among you and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume Knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far." In the crowd, Ruby's expression went serious as she and Red absorbed the speech, "It is up to you to take the first step."
His speech finished, Ozpin slowly made his way offstage while Glynda took his spot and said, "You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."
"He seemed kinda… off," Yang noted.
"It's almost like he wasn't even there," Ruby agreed. Inside her, Red seemed similarly confused, trying to puzzle out what was off about him. Beside her, even Weiss seemed thrown a bit off by his speech and mannerisms, as she nodded slightly. Their musings, however, were thrown off by Jaune, who took this moment to approach.
"I'm a natural blond, you know," he said, though whether he was stating it due to somehow being offended or to try to flirt, none of them were certain. Weiss, for her part, simply looked down and pressed her fingertips to the bridge of her nose.
Night came, and the shape of a whole moon could be seen through the Academy's window as Ruby wrote in the candlelight of the ballroom.
"Whatcha writing?" Yang asked cheerfully, adjusting the right sleeve of her orange t-shirt.
"A letter to the gang back at Signal," Ruby replied, "I promised to tell them about Beacon and how things are going."
Left unspoken was that Red did not need to write such letters, given the fact that she scared most of the people at Signal.
"That's so cute!" Yang teased, only to receive a pillow to the face.
"Shut up," Ruby glared, "I didn't get to take my friends with me. It's weird not knowing anyone here."
"What about Jaune? You're friends, aren't you?" Yang offered, "See, one hundred percent friend increase."
"Weiss is probably a negative friend," Ruby noted dryly, "So, net zero."
"There's no such thing as a negative friend," Yang replied with a grin, "So, one friend, one enemy." She caught the corgi pillow thrown right before it struck her face, before she began to speak seriously. "It's your first day. So, you had a rough start. Don't worry about it. You're surrounded by friends. You just haven't met them, yet."
A candelabra was lit nearby, drawing the pair's attention to it. There, reading a book, was the dark-haired girl from earlier.
"That girl," Ruby murmured.
"You know her?" Yang asked.
"Not really," Ruby admitted, "She saw the whole thing this morning, but left right before Red could talk to her about it."
"Well, one of you can go talk to her, now," Yang smiled, dragging a protesting Ruby towards the girl, who looked up at the sound of the protests. Seeing the girl looking up, Yang called out in a singsong, "Hello! I believe you two know each other…"
"Aren't you the girl that exploded?" the girl asked, "You seem less… Never mind."
"Yeah, my name's Ruby," Ruby said, offering her hand to shake. The girl, in turn, glanced back down at her book.
"So, what's your name?" Yang asked when Ruby did not continue.
"Blake," Blake sighed, looking up from her book once again before once again attempting to return to her book.
"Well, Blake, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister," Yang supplied, "I like your bow."
"Thanks," Blake said tersely, clearly wanting to end the conversation. Yang persevered regardless.
"It goes great with your… pajamas…"
"Right…"
Ruby stood there awkwardly as Yang continued to try to engage in small talk. "Nice night, don't you think?"
"Yes, it's lovely," Blake replied with a flat stare, "Almost as lovely as the book I'm reading…"
Yang and Ruby did not move.
"Which I will continue reading…"
Yang and Ruby were now both smiling awkwardly.
"Once you're gone," Blake added plainly, a deadpan stare in her eyes as she tried to get them to realize the point she was getting at.
"Come on, Ruby," Yang sighed, "This girl's a lost cause."
"What's it about?" Ruby asked, not moving.
"What?" Blake asked, looking up from her book once more, seeming intrigued this time.
"Your book," Ruby clarified, "What's it about?"
"Well, it's about a man with two souls," Blake explained, "Each fighting over control over his body."
"Sounds a bit like someone you and Red can relate to a little bit, eh Ruby?" Yang teased.
"I love books," Ruby said to Blake instead of responding to Yang's comment. "Yang used to read to us every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters… They're one of the reasons I wanted to become a Huntress."
"Why's that?" Blake asked with a chuckle that, while not cruel, did sound skeptical, "Hoping to find your 'happily ever after?'"
"Well, I'm hoping we all will," Ruby replied honestly, "When I was a little girl, Red and I wanted to be just like the heroes in those books. Someone who fought for what was right and helped people who couldn't protect themselves."
"That's very ambitious for children," Blake smiled softly, seeming to assume that Red was a younger sibling that wasn't in Beacon, yet. Then her expression grew tired and sad as she continued, "Unfortunately, the real world isn't like a fairy tale."
"That's what we're here for," Ruby replied earnestly, "To make it better."
Her grand moment was ruined by Yang immediately gripping her in a bear hug.
"Oh, I'm so proud of my baby sister!" Yang said, lifting her off the ground generally treating her like a small child.
"Cut it out!" Ruby protested, beginning a sisterly scuffle.
Blake looked at the pair as a slight smile formed on her face, "Well, Ruby, Yang, it's a pleasure to—"
"What in the world is going on over here?" Weiss protested, "Don't you realize that some of us are trying to sleep?!"
Looking at one another, Yang and Weiss immediately shouted, "Oh, no, not you again!"
"Shh! Guys, she's right," Ruby whispered, "People are trying to sleep."
"Oh, now you're on my side," Weiss noted sarcastically.
"I was always on your side!" Ruby whisper-shouted as Blake set her book down.
"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister!" Yang argued, "She's only trying to be nice!"
"She's a hazard to my health!" Weiss replied indignantly.
Now certain that she wasn't going to get to finish her book, Blake blew out the candles of her candelabra, settling down for the night as the argument continued.