Prologue 3 Part A: The Redemption Corps
The Redemption Corps, the most infamous and hated military unit to ever walk the face of Remnant. Created over a hundred years prior to current events, the unit was originally created as a way to reduce swelling prison populations in Atlas. Convicted criminals we're given the, "option",to volunteer for military service to reduce their prison sentences. Though, to help encourage volunteers, Atlas' leaders cut prison budgets, drastically reducing living conditions for the inmates.
The mission of the Redemption Corps, was to fight back against creatures of grimm in uncharted territories, in order to clear the way for new human settlements. For a time, they fought alongside regular soldiers in the Faunus Rights Rebellion. However, the Redemption Corps had never achieved it's original purpose of clearing new territory for humanity to live in. Though Atlas' council seemed undisturbed by the fact.
When Atlas' council still felt that the Corps lacked personnel, they decided that if the crime were severe enough, then the Redemption Corps would be a mandatory sentence. They also elected to provide incentives for joining. Anyone who finished their service, had their record wiped clean. There were also many government benefits available them. They could receive disability pay for any injuries received during their service, and would receive substantial welfare until they got back on their feet. As those who made it through their service were experts in combat, they could receive a hunter's license, without even having to take the hunter's exam.
Of course, Atlas' couldn't afford to simply hand out such things. So it was decided that the mandatory time of service, would be two years. The average life expectancy of a member of the Redemption Corps, was three months. In the history of Remnant, only a small handful of individuals had ever survived their two years. Out of that handful, all but two, had taken their own lives within a year of leaving the Corps.
Prologue 3 Part B: Huntress
Ruby had spent two days going through Atlas' military in processing, after her encounter with Staff Sergeant Williams. Most of it was paperwork, which took longer than usual, since there was no precedent of someone volunteering for the Redemption Corps, who wasn't a convicted criminal. Everyone that Ruby had interacted with seemed bewildered that anyone would ever think to volunteer for the Corps, let alone a young girl.
After she had finally finished with all the paperwork, she was put on a train heading north out of Atlas. She was told that she would receive further guidance once the train reached it's destination. Ruby originally felt unsure about taking a train through Grimm territory. However, she was put at ease when she saw that the tracks were surrounded by high concrete walls, with steel fencing over the top. One of the workers on the train had informed her, that the enclosement ran the whole length of tracks, except for when they would be taking a tunnel through the mountains.
She had noticed that the train seemed to be carrying, what looked like various military and industrial supplies and equipment. As such, Ruby's accommodations left much to be desired. She didn't mind however, assuming that once she arrived at her final destination, it would make even the spare cargo space on a train look nice. Deciding to get rest while she could, Ruby closed her eyes and attempted to fall asleep.
Ruby's sleep would be a restless one however. Haunted by both the scars left on her, and the things she had to do to get to this point. Ruby saw the three from the rooftop mocking her defeated corpse, watched her teammates turn their back and leave her alone, felt the blood on her hands from the two girls she fought with. Then she saw a dream of a future, filled with suffering and failure.
What felt like an eternity later, Ruby was woken abruptly as she heard the brakes screech beneath her, and the train come to a halt. Standing to exit her place in the train, Ruby found herself confused as she fell to the floor. Looking down at her legs, she realized that they were shaking violently. Ruby wasn't sure if it was due to her nervousness, or her dream.
"I've come this far, and I have much farther to go. No point in getting cold feet now." Ruby told herself aloud.
Ruby took a deep breath, and forced herself back to her feet. Ruby disembarked the train and was immediately embraced by the freezing air. She had no idea how far north they had come, but realized that the train ride must have been longer than she thought. Ruby looked around bewildered for a brief moment, before she heard someone speak to her.
" Summers quit looking around like a retard, and follow me." The man who spoke to her, looked to be roughly forty years old. The first thing Ruby noticed was his sizeable gut, and ugly features. He was wearing a dirty brown suit, with a grey tie.
For a moment Ruby stared him confused, before he spoke again.
"Hey I'm speaking to you dumbass!" He shouted at Ruby, before grabbing her by the collar and dragging her along with him, as he began to walk.
"Wait, who are you?" Ruby questioned.
The man stopped abruptly, spinning around and striking Ruby across the face.
"I don't give a damn whether or not you are criminal. You are now part of the Redemption Corps, which makes you the same as all the other scum. It'd do you some good, to learn some respect." The man said before forcing her along again.
Ruby simply walked along in shock of what had just occurred. A minute later, she heard the man speak again.
"My name, is Pate. From now on you will refer to me as either Mr. Pate, or, "sir". Is that understood?" He said with a vile tone.
"Ye.. Yes, sir" Ruby stammered out in response, as they walked outside. Looking around, Ruby realized it was nighttime, realizing she had likely spent close to an entire day on the train.
"I sure hope so. My job, is to oversee the rest of your in-processing, and ensure you get to Camp Kilo in a timely manner." He informed her as they walked up to a rickety truck.
The man opened the back door and shoved Ruby inside, slamming the door shut behind her.
Ruby heard him climb into the front and start the truck up. From the compartment that she was in she was unable to see outside of the vehicle. She realized that she had pretty much no idea where she actually was, except for that she was somewhere north of Atlas.
She felt the truck turn, and begin driving down, what felt like a gravel road. It seemed to Ruby that was likely driving significantly faster, than what was safe on the road. Though, she got the impression that he didn't really care. She was curious about the,"Camp Kilo", he had mentioned, assuming it was her final destination, though she knew nothing else. Ruby had decided it was best not to ask though.
A while later, Ruby was slammed against the wall in front of her, as the truck came to a sudden halt. Hearing a door open and close, Ruby assumed that this was likely where the rest of her in-processing would take place. Ruby saw her door open and block the entrance.
"Let's go, I don't have all day." The man commanded her.
Ruby climbed out of the truck, landing softly in snow. This was the first time Ruby had a chance to take a look around. Though it was brief, Ruby turned to see the mountain range previously to her North, now far behind her. Not wanting to anger the man further Ruby continued to follow him quietly.
She saw now, that they were inside a gated facility, with a few armed guards inside the fence. It wasn't very impressive, but it would only be a brief stop on her way. There was three old buildings inside the facility, all built in a similar fashion, with wooden construction and a plain rectangular design. The building Ruby was walking towards looked likely to be administrative in purpose, while the other two looked to be living quarters and a warehouse.
As they approached the door to the building, Pate stopped and opened a small box next to the door, revealing a keypad. After mashing a few buttons, Ruby heard a small mechanical noise, followed by a,"click", as the door unlocked. opened the door, and shoved Ruby inside. Ruby entered into a small room, with another door on the opposite side. To her right was a thick window, with a uniformed man sitting behind it. There was a small opening at the bottom of the window with a steel counter-top.
"Let's hurry up and get this started."Pate commanded behind the window, as he entered the room."She's Scarlette Summers, you should have already have everything prepared."
The man behind the window shoved out a few papers, with a small plastic box sitting on top.
Mr. Pate quickly grabbed the papers, and pulled a pen out of his pocket. He two of the papers and put them on the countertop, putting his signature on the first, then handing Ruby the pen.
"This form is your final consent, saying that regardless of any physical or mental injury, you choose to continue of your own free will." He said quickly."Now sign the damn paper."
"Yes sir." Ruby replied, before scribbling a signature on the paper.
While she did that, Mr. Pate put another of the papers on the counter, and opened the box to reveal a dark sponge. He grabbed Ruby's hand,and began to shove her fingers against the sponge. Ruby felt something wet on her fingers, realizing as he pulled her hand away, that the wet feeling, was ink. He then took her fingers, and rolled them one at a time, across the paper, repeating the task with her other hand.
"Sign here."He ordered her, pointing to a line on the paper. Grabbing the pen from her, and doing so himself, once she had finished.
"Alright , before we go any further, you're to take all your personal belongings, and leave them on the counter." said, slapping his hand on the counter." If you have any weapons on you, they'll be turned over to your supervisor at Camp Kilo, upon arrival."
Ruby began taking all her belongings and setting them on the counter. She placed her weapon, bag, and everything in her pockets on the counter. "That's everything."
Mr. Pate struck Ruby across the face again."Didn't I tell you once to show some respect? Everything includes your clothes too, dumbass."
Ruby felt disgusted at the thought of disrobing, in front of this man.
"Yes, sir." Ruby muttered, realizing that she had no other choice, and that she brought the situation upon herself, Ruby began taking her clothes off. Ruby hoped she would at least, be allowed to keep her underwear on. However, once she had undressed that far, still looked at her impatiently. With great shame, Ruby took off the last pieces of cloth protecting what little dignity, she still had.
"Don't worry , no one here has any sexual interest, in your underdeveloped body." Pate said as the next door opened, and he shoved the now, naked Ruby through.
On the other side of the door, was a hallway with multiple doors, all the way along it's length.
"Make your way into the first room. We'll go through each, one at a time. Just follow the instructions at each station." told her, as she walked through the first doorway.
Inside the first room, sat a chair in the middle of the room, with what looked like, a poorly constructed barber's station next to it. An elderly look man was sitting in the corner of the room, reading a magazine.
"Take a seat in that, there chair, and just keep real still. Alright, darlin?" The man instructed her without even looking up.
"Yes, sir." Ruby replied, as she made her way to the chair and sat down. It was obvious to her, what was about to happen, but she decided that ultimately, her hair was a very minor thing.
Sure enough, a moment later she heard the man get up from his position in the corner of the room, and make his way towards her. He picked up a pair of electric shears, from the table next to her, and she heard a low mechanical buzz. A moment later, Ruby felt the cold steel make contact with her scalp, as the old man roughly shoved the device back and forth across her head. She watched red and black hair, fall to the ground in front of her.
"Done, move to the next station." The man told Ruby, as he set the shears down and walked away.
Ruby got up and walked back to the hallway, where waited for her. took one of the papers, and signed twice, while Ruby made her way to the next room.
The next room contained, what looked like, a medical exam room. Another elderly man waited for her in this room.
"Stand on the marked spot, against the wall."
The man told her unenthusiastically, as he picked up a clipboard, and walked over to her.
Ruby saw an,"X", marked on the floor, with measurements on the wall next to it. She walked over, and did as he directed. Walking over to her, she saw him begin jotting things down on his clipboard.
"Take two steps forward, and open your mouth."
He commanded her.
Ruby did as directed, and the man began to visually inspect her body.
"Any tattoos, scars, piercings, brands or other markings?" He questioned her.
"None, sir." Ruby replied nervously.
"Well, you're certainly a rare sight here. You even have all your fingers and toes." The man said amused. He quickly jotted a couple more things down, before taking the paper on his clipboard, and handing it to Ruby."Give this to Pate ."
Ruby went back to the hallway, and handed the paper to Pate .
"Keep moving." He commanded her.
"Yes, sir" Ruby replied again, and made her way to the next door. The next room held only a simple table, with two pieces of paper on it, entered the room with her. On the far side of the room, was a window showing another room with a table. In the opposing room, sat all of Ruby's belongings, on the table.
"Those papers are your personal items registry, and weapons registry."Pate told her quickly."In the other room is everything you turned in. If, there is no problem with what's on the paper, then sign."
Ruby looked both papers up and down, before deciding that everything had been recorded, and signing both. She picked up the papers and handed them to him.
He grabbed the papers from her, and gave her commands again,"Next room. It'll be the last in this building."
Ruby hoped they would finally give her some clothes, as the cold air in the building, was starting to bother her. She made her way into the next room, only to be pleasantly surprised that it was far warmer in this room. Upon closer inspection, Ruby felt something seemed amiss. There was a middle aged man, sitting next to an open furnace, with what looked to be a metal handle sticking out of it. On the opposite end of the room, stood three young guards, snickering amongst themselves. Between the two, sat a metal stool.
Mr. Pate entered behind her and spoke,"You're going to be branded, with the symbol of the Redemption Corps." He said bluntly."It's two chain links, representing your two years of required servitude."
Ruby swallowed hard, not entirely understanding the necessity of such a thing.
"Or at least, that's what we're supposed to tell you. Really, it's just for in case you manage to escape back to society, by some miracle. It makes it easier to identify you." He breathed."If, by some miracle someone actually survived, they would receive a second brand."
"Quite the reward." Ruby mumbled under her breath.
"As you're an aura user, you'll have to lower your aura, and keep it down, in order for the brand to take."He informed her."If you can't manage to, the guards will,"assist", you in doing so."
At the sound of a loud electric crack, Ruby jumped to turn and look at the chuckling guards pull out cattle prods. Ruby couldn't stand the smug looks on their faces. They reminded her of Councilor Baillargeon, and the smug look he held, when he announced her sentence. Ruby decided, that by no means, would she give them the satisfaction they desired.
Lowering her aura, Ruby made her way forward and sat down on the stool, shivering briefly, as her bare skin came in contact, with the cold metal. The man by the furnace pulled the brand out of its place in the fire, and made his way over to Ruby. Two guards walked over, and each grabbed one of Ruby's arms and shoulders. She realized that they had not told her where she would be branded, but it looked like the man was aiming the steel prod at her chest.
Sure enough, with a single thrust, the man pressed the hot iron against the top of Ruby's left breast. The searing metal burnt through Ruby's flesh, causing indescribable pain. Screaming and thrashing, it took every bit of concentration Ruby had, to keep her aura down. What felt like an hour later, the iron left her chest. Ruby was covered in sweat, and was exhausted, still doing her best to keep her aura down.
She looked up, to see the a guard looking at her eagerly, with a cattle prod in his hand. She realized what he was trying to do, but she had decided she wouldn't falter. Ruby continued to repress her aura, the searing pain of the brand burning through her. A moment later, the same man walked over, and used a swab to rub a gel on the brand. The gel did nothing to soothe the pain, Ruby assumed it's only purpose was to prevent infection. A moment later, he pulled out a large white bandage, and stuck it over the burn.
"Alright, we're moving to the building across the courtyard."Pate told Ruby, as he ushered Ruby towards a door to the side of the room.
Opening the door, Ruby stepped out into the freezing environment. Stepping into the soft white snow, Ruby felt the cold cut through her entire body. Ruby felt the sting of snowflakes landing on her, now bald, head. The feeling of the cold air , did seem to help numb the burning feeling, on her scarred skin.
They arrived at the warehouse like building, entering to find a large counter spanning the length of the room. The rest of the room, behind the counter, was as Ruby had assumed, a warehouse. As far back as Ruby could see was shelves of boxes, and bins full of various items,much of which seemed to be clothes. There was a woman at the counter, seemingly waiting on Ruby.
Pate walked up to the counter, and handed the woman a piece of paper, off of his clipboard.
"Get over here Summers." He commanded Ruby, who was still standing next to the door.
"Yes, sir." She said, as she made her way to the counter. The woman placed a bundle of grey clothes, and a pair of black boots on the counter.
"Here, put this on." The woman told Ruby, before she bent down and picked up a worn out duffel bag."This is the rest."
Ruby did as she was told, and quickly put the clothes on. Relieved to find that the grey uniform she was given, was actually fairly thick. The boots she was given, didn't seem to fit very well, but Ruby knew there was no point in complaining.
The uniform itself was nothing visually impressive. It buttoned down the middle, with a pocket on either side of the chest, and with buttoned epaulettes on the shoulders. The pants seemed to be standard cargo pants, with drawstrings at the bottom.
The woman at the counter spent a minute writing on the paper, before handing it back to , who in turn signed it.
"Alright, your in-processing is complete. You'll stay the night in a cell, in building two. Early tomorrow morning, an airship will come and pick you up, taking you the rest of the way to Camp Kilo."Pate explained to her as he led her out of the building.
The freezing air, once again embracing Ruby, the clothes taking some of the bite out of the cold this time. Shortly after, they arrived at the final building, Ruby being directed to a room with a steel door, with a small window in it. Stepping inside, Ruby saw that there was a concrete slab on one side of the room, and a bucket on the other.
Ruby took a deep breath, wondering if she would make it through the next two years. Ruby opened the duffel bag she had received, and inspected the items inside. There was a couple more uniforms, and some cold weather gear inside. Deciding that she could use some rest, Ruby laid down on the concrete slab and closed her eyes.
What felt like only a few restless hours later, Ruby was woken by 'Pate's voice."Rise and shine , your new life awaits."He mocked.
Ruby stood, moving stiffly, after having spent hours laying on the hard surface. Ruby exited the room, and followed out of the room, carrying the duffel bag she had received earlier. Upon exiting the building, Ruby was greeted by the loud roar of an airship. Looking at the sky, Ruby noted that it was still dark. Watching the airship land, she realized it was fairly modified, compared to most of the airships Ruby had seen before. Ruby guessed it was to help compensate for the frigid conditions, in which it operated.
Ruby approached the vehicle, as the ramp at the rear of the airship lowered. Mr. Pate ushered her on the airship, following behind her, as they walked to their seats on the side of main compartment. No words were exchanged with the two crew-members in the compartment. gave them a simple nod, with that one of them leaned into the cockpit, and a short moment later Ruby felt the vessel lift off the ground, and begin moving. The rear compartment of the vessel had no viewports, so Ruby had no way of seeing where they were going. Though, she assumed it was farther north, She had decided it didn't matter too much where she was heading.
Roughly thirty minutes later, Ruby felt the airship slow, and begin it's descent. With a sudden shudder, and a loud,"slam", the vessel's movement stopped. Ruby heard a loud mechanical whine, and felt the airship vibrate, as the rear hatch began to lower. As it came to the ground, a single man came into view, waiting at the end of the ramp.
The man wore a military uniform, though it was different than the one Ruby wore. As the light in the compartment hit the man, Ruby was was able to make out more details. She now recognized that he wore the uniform of the Atlas military. Embroidered on his chest was the name, FAUGHT, and on his lapels and hat, were pinned silver eagles.
Pate stood pulling Ruby up with him, and making his way towards the man at the end of the ramp. Clipboard in his hand, he shoved Ruby off the end of the end of the ramp, and onto the ground next to the man.
Pate signed yet another piece of paper, before turning the clipboard to the other man who subsequently signed the same paper. He then took all the papers, before handing them to another guard, and handing the clipboard back.
"Always a pleasure, Pate." The man spoke over the roar of the idling engines, before turned and walked back into the vessel, the ramp closing behind him. "Hello , and welcome to Camp Kilo." The man spoke to Ruby.
"I am Colonel Faught, the commander of the Redemption Corps, and your new god for the next two years." The man's voice boomed as the airship lifted off, sending a powerful gust of air at the two of them. "Now, there's work to be done, so on your feet."
Ruby quickly stood, duffel bag in hand, and followed the man as he began to walk away. Ruby noticed that it was even colder here, than her previous location. Though she figured that the current lack of sunlight didn't help much.
Looking around as she followed the man, she could see fires burning at various places throughout the camp. Illuminated by the fires were various buildings and tents, as well as men and women outside working. Further beyond that was what resembled a metal-wire fence, with thick metal bars instead of metal wires. Around the perimeter of the fence, were various guard towers, though in which direction they were guarding, Ruby couldn't tell.
"I'm taking you to meet your direct commander. He will be the one in charge of you, and everyone else in your company." Colonel Faught said aloud, as he marched across the frozen ground."So long as you behave yourself, you won't see much of me. Though seeing as you are quite different than our normal recruit, I have a feeling that won't be a problem.
Arriving at one of the buildings, one of the guards accompanying them opened the door, and they walked in.
Entering the building, the door was closed behind them, as the Colonel turned to face Ruby."This is as far as I accompany you Summers." He informed her."Allow me to make myself clear. It doesn't matter why you are here. There is only one discriminating factor here, performance. You'd do well to remember that."
With that, he turned and left the building, motioning to one of the guards inside. "Follow me." The guard commanded Ruby.
Wordlessly, she complied, following the man down a hallway. Inspecting the building as she walked, Ruby could tell that the buildings were quite old, and hadn't aged too well. Arriving at a door, the guard knocked lightly, and a few seconds later a reply came from the other side.
"Send her in." Ruby heard from the other side of the door.
The guard opened the door, and ushered Ruby through. Ruby walked in to find a crummy office, that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in far too long. Directly in front of her was, a man who didn't look much taller than Ruby, sitting at an old wooden desk. The man was balding, with a bad attempt at a comb-over, pasty skin, and generally unpleasant features. Ruby noticed he had a crooked nose, that appeared to have been broken before.
"So you're the new trash, huh?" The man asked Ruby on a demeaning tone.
"Excuse me, sir?" Was Ruby's short reply.
"Trash, filth, scum, a vagabond, waste of life. Are my words too big for you to understand ?" The man spit out. "Don't worry , I'm well aware that you are aren't quite the same as all the other trash here, but you are still trash nonetheless. I believe the fact that you are here proves that." He said,looking at Ruby expectantly.
Ruby was genuinely surprised that anyone could be so demeaning and rude. Though she elected not to let him bother her."I understand, sir"
"I sure hope so. I am Captain Wilkins, and I have the unfortunate pleasure of being Bravo Company's commander." The man told Ruby, finally introducing himself. "It is my duty, to keep this unit ready for combat, as well as plan and oversee the successful execution of, all of our company's missions."
Ruby was seriously questioning, just how capable of a commander this man was. She chose to keep her concerns to herself however.
"What is expected of you , is that you faithfully serve the corps. You are to give your all fighting against the Grimm, and to serve alongside your fellow trash faithfully." The man quickly told Ruby, while looking down at paperwork on his desk."This means not behaving like the same trash you were before coming here. Any crime you may commit here, shall be punished accordingly."
Ruby could tell the man didn't enjoy giving this lecture, simply by the pace he was speaking at.
"However, you are adults and you are expected to take care of your problems, in an adult manner. As you have surely noticed, there are regular Atlas soldiers here to ensure that the peace is kept." The man droned on."They will not get involved, unless they feel that things will get out of control. This means, if they so wish prisoners can fight amongst themselves, so long as they can still perform their duties."
The man finally looked up from his desk, and looked Ruby in the eye."Be warned though, we will not tolerate murder. If you kill another member of the corps, your sentence will be extended six months, and if you kill an officer or regular Atlas soldier it will be a year or more. Is all this clear ?"
Ruby could not see herself killing anyone while she was here. She thought back to the night she had ran away, and the girls she had hurt. Even if the people here were convicted criminals, being a huntress meant protecting all of humanity, not just the ones she liked.
"Clear, sir." Came her reply.
"Good. Do you have any stupid questions you would like to ask, before I dismiss you?" He questioned her.
Ruby had a million, but could only think of one that actually took priority."I was told that I would get my weapon once I was here sir. I was wondering when I would get it back."
"Yes, we have custody of that..contraption, but we aren't going to just hand it over to you." He said in a belittling tone."Do you really think we could just give people like you a weapon, and let you do as you please? You'll receive your weapon when we go outside the wire on mission."
"Yes, sir." Ruby said, relieved to know that at least she would be getting Crescent Rose back, even if only temporarily.
"Speaking of missions, Bravo Company's next op is in two days. I wonder if you'll even make it that long." informed and berated Ruby. "Now if that's all I'll have the guard take you to Bravo building. Once you are there, one of the sergeants should be able to help get you settled in. You are dismissed." told Ruby, now motioning for her to leave."Just tell the man in the hallway to show you the way."
Shortly after her exit, and a walk across the frozen courtyard of the camp, She arrived at a large, three story building with the same dilapidated look as every other building. Ruby took a long look at the place she would call her home for the next two years, and then opened the door stepping inside.
Once in the building, Ruby found herself standing in a cruddy room with various pieces of broken and torn furniture. The room itself, was filled with multiple people wearing the same uniform as Ruby.
Upon hearing the door open, all the ragged looking individuals turned to stare at Ruby. After a short moment of silence, hushed murmurs and quiet laughter filled the room. Ruby could already feel them picking apart everything about her, judging her, mocking her. It wasn't the first time she had felt this, and she wasn't about to let it bother her.
"So you're the new bitch, huh?" A scrawny, unshaven man in the corner finally spoke up.
"I don't mind, she'll make a pretty cute toy." Another dirty looking man spoke up.
A woman across the room interrupted them suddenly,"You men are repulsive, besides she'll be rotting in a couple days."
"Don't worry sweetheart, I'll protect ya." The first man replied mockingly.
A large older man spoke up, stopping the taunting,"That's enough out of all of you. What's your name, new girl?"
"Ru..Scarlette Summers." Ruby stammered out nervously, kicking herself once again for almost giving her real name.
Ruby was given a few sideways glances from people, having noticed her misstep.
The man from before looked at her suspiciously, before speaking again."Whatever, I'll have Jess show you to your bunk here in a minute."
"Yes,sir." Ruby once again spoke the same line.
"Knock that shit off. That,"sir", bullshit is for that punk Wilkins and God." The older man said frustrated."My names Stevens, call me whatever you please, everyone does anyway. I'm one of the three platoon sergeants for Bravo Company. You got any questions?"
Ruby felt somewhat relieved that she had finally managed to find someone normal. After thinking for a second Ruby decided to ask about something that was bothering her."Yea, you guys really call him God?" Ruby asked innocently.
There was some stifled laughter before someone spoke up."Never to his face."
"More sarcastically than anything else, but the truth is he's the closest thing we have to it out here." Stevens told her uninterested.
After a brief round of introductions, Ruby was shown to a small room in the second floor. The room in question was her shared living quarters, housing four sets of bunk beds. After all the excitement Ruby decided that she would turn in for the night, and laid down on her cot.
Ruby sat, and thought back through everything that had brought her here. She thought about the night at the dust store, about Beacon, the night at the docks, her encounter the night of the dance, her first mission and the didn't understand why she was even alive. She couldn't figure out why she was left alive on that rooftop, but she did know that it was their mistake.
Ruby then thought about the trial, about the fallout with her team. Ruby knew that they hadn't actually done anything wrong. She knew that they had her best intentions in mind, but she still couldn't rid herself of that feeling of betrayal. She then thought of her decision to come to the desolate place she now found herself.
Ruby remembered her UncIe's encouraging words, the fight at the nightclub that still made her stomach turn. She wondered if those girls were alright. Ruby felt that it was the first time in her life that she had felt such blind rage. Ruby then recalled the journey here. Finally wondering why she was putting herself through so much.
"To become a huntress." She told herself.
"It's my dream." She replied in thought.
"Why?" She questioned
"I want to protect people." She answered.
"Who?" She continued to question.
"Everyone I can." She decided.
"And you have to be a huntress to do that? She wondered.
"What is a huntress anyways? Is it just someone with a piece of paper, granting them a title?" Her thoughts pressed on.
Ruby was getting frustrated with the directions her thoughts were leading her, when she was awoken by the sound of voices in the room. Figuring it was just another one of the rooms residents, Ruby turned over and tried to go to sleep.
Ruby was jolted awake when she felt a hand on her thigh. She jolted upright to see the same man who had taunted her earlier, with another one of the men from the room.
"Calm down, we just came to have some fun." The man said in a disgusting tone, and grabbing her leg again.
Ruby smacked his hand off of her, and jumped down from her bunk. "Get away from me."Ruby commanded him.
"Oh, knock it off. It's the least you can do, since you'll be useless in battle anyways." The man said putting his hand on Ruby's shoulder and pushing her against the wall.
Ruby knocked his hand off her, feeling her blood boil every time the man touched her."I won't tell you again, get away!"
The man leaned over Ruby putting his elbow on the wall above her. "That's alright, I like it better when they struggle." The man taunted, before suddenly shoving his hand down the front of Ruby's pants.
Ruby recalled the Captain's words, "You are adults and you are expected to take care of your own problems." Ruby smiled, then spoke."So you want to have fun, huh?"
"That's right, I'm glad you're willing to see things my way." The man said in Ruby's ear.
Suddenly the man felt the body beneath him disappear, looking down to see rose petals fill the void. He felt his head suddenly impact the wall, and felt a grip on the hand he had just on Ruby.
"If you want to touch me so bad, it's only fair I get to touch back." He heard Ruby say softly, then feeling an agonizing pain, as Ruby amplified her strength with her aura and crushed his hand. Blood and bone split out of the skin in his hand, as he let out a blood curdling scream.
Ruby felt herself lifted off the ground and thrown to the other side of the room, landing on a small table, the impact destroying it. She realized that she had forgotten about the second man.
"You'll pay for that, bitch." He spat out, then jumped on Rub, using one hand to cover her mouth and the other to start pulling at her clothes.
Infuriated, Ruby bit down hard on the hand covering her mouth, almost vomiting when she felt blood and flesh fill her mouth. The man screamed, as Ruby spat the pieces of the his hand into his face. Ruby felt her hand land on a piece of what she assumed was the leg of the table. Using her aura again she swung the leg, impacting the man's face, sending blood and teeth flying across the room, and leaving the man unconscious.
She stood up quickly seeing the other man make his way towards her. Holding the leg of the table in her left hand, she brought it across under her right arm. A moment later the man charged at her. "I'm going to fucking kill you!" The man screamed at her.
He then swung at her with his good left hand. Stepping to the right, Ruby grabbed his elbow with her right hand, she then used her aura, and swung the piece of wood into the man's ribs. She was instantly rewarded with viscous crunching and squishing sounds, Ruby watched the man's face twist and contort in pain before he dropped to the floor.
The door suddenly burst open, multiple people rushed into the room, likely alerted by the screaming. All of them stopped at the sight of Ruby standing over the men with blood covering her hands and mouth.
Ruby saw the woman from before enter the room, looking disgusted."What the fuck?" She questioned aloud.
Stevens entered the room, with the same amount of shock on his face as everyone else."Someone hurry and go get a medic."
Ruby felt her rage dissipate, as her she began to fully comprehend what had just happened. Ruby felt vomit hit her throat, but forced it down, trying her best not to let her own disgust show on her face.
"Summers, what the hell is going on here?" Stevens questioned her.
"Just taking care of my problems."Ruby answered softly, dropping the bloodied piece of wood in her hand. Ruby turned and made her way to the door, everyone that had come to see the commotion quickly moving out of her way. She stopped briefly next to Stevens."Next time someone wants to have,"fun", I won't be so nice." Ruby said softly, before continuing on.
"She may fit in better than I thought." Stevens said once she was out of earshot.
Ruby walked downstairs, deciding she had best find a bathroom in order to wash the blood off of herself, and rinse her mouth out. Ruby entered the main room from before, finding more people than before in the room. Most people paying her no mind, until a young man near the staircase spotted her.
"What the fuck!" He yelled, stepping back from Ruby. Suddenly all eyes were on her, people quickly coming to conclusions as to what had happened upstairs. Ruby was confused when she saw multiple men begin to cover their crotches.
Two men in white clothes entered the building, carrying bags with red crosses on them. "Are you the one they called about?" They questioned Ruby.
"I'm fine, they're upstairs." Ruby replied.
"Are.. are you sure you're fine?" He questioned her again.
"A bathroom and some mouthwash would be great." Ruby replied.
One of the two medics pointed down a hallway to the left, and Ruby walked away. Ruby walked into the bathroom, and ran straight for the first stall, bending over the toilet, gagging and vomitting. Ruby felt disgusted, she couldn't understand how someone could just try and do something like that to her , or how she could have done what she did to those men. It was all still a blur in her head. Ruby had no problem killing Grimm, but they were people. Even if they were criminals, did she have the right to take their lives? Ruby was beyond relieved that she had kept herself from killing them.
What about next time though? Could she control herself then? Ruby decided not to dwell on those thoughts for now, and to get herself washed up.
Once Ruby was finished in the bathroom, She exited and walked back to the common area from before, to find everyone making their way out the door. Looking outside Ruby saw that it was still dark. Even with her few hours of restless sleep, Ruby could swear it would be morning by now.
"Where's everyone going?" Ruby stopped, and questioned the man who had been standing by the stairwell earlier. She remembered now that his name was Trevor.
The man looked down at Ruby, seeming almost frightened at first before answering."It's lunch time, if you're hungry just follow everyone else."
"Lunch? It's the middle of the night?"Ruby questioned, confused.
Multiple heads turned and people started chuckling, much to Ruby's confusion.
"Hey, nobody told you yet?" He replied.
"What?" Ruby spat out, confused at the schedule they seemed to keep here.
He sighed and answered Ruby's question. "We're above the polar circle here." Was his reply.
"So?" Ruby said still confused.
"Seriously? It's Polar Night. Because of Remnant's tilt, the poles have six months of night and six months of day." He informed Ruby.
"Oh." Was all Ruby could think of, in her surprised stupor. "Wait, you mean we still fight Grimm during the night?"
"Is the three month life expectancy starting to make sense?" Trevor asked Ruby."It isn't too uncommon to live through six months of day if you get sent here at the right time. It's the massive fatality rate during the night, that puts the average at three months."
Ruby couldn't believe she hadn't realized, why the fatality rate was so high. Unless it was an emergency, people didn't hunt Grimm after dark. They became far more aggressive, add onto that the fact that their senses were comparable to a faunus' in the dark. Common sense dictated, unless there was no other choice, to leave Grimm alone at night.
Trevor continued on."They've never actually told us the life expectancy during night, but most people say it's around two or three weeks. Pretty much, if the Grimm don't get ya, the cold will." He then turned and left.
Ruby stood there dumbfounded at what she had just learned. For the first time since she had left, Ruby was scared. Ruby knew she was talented, but even for a seasoned Hunter, to fight Grimm in such blistering cold, during of night would be absurd.
"What the hell am I doing?" Ruby questioned aloud.
"Too late for regrets now, kid." Ruby heard a voice from behind her, spinning around, too see Stevens heading for the door.
Ruby watched him walk out the door.
"He's right, I told myself I wouldn't regret my actions. I'll survive, I'll become a huntress." Ruby thought, following Stevens out the door.
After lunch, everyone went back to Bravo building. One of the individuals Ruby had met earlier showed her around, and took her to a large training room in the first floor. Ruby was surprised to find most of her company in the room.
The man showing Ruby around was a wolf faunus named, Morriss. Ruby had found that he was actually surprisingly pleasant to interact with. Even if they were convicted criminals, it seemed many were quite sociable.
Stopping in the training room, Morriss turned to Ruby."So, is it as glorious as you expected?" He asked her.
"I'm surprised, most people seem a lot more sociable than I'd expected." Ruby told him.
"We may be criminals, but we're still people. I'm sure you must have fucked up to get sent here, but you seem fine." He replied.
What he said confused Ruby, but she decided she would ask for clarification. "Umm, nobody asked me, but I would think people would be curious how I got here." Ruby stated.
"Yea we are, but it's kind of an unspoken rule not to ask. You can always share if you want, but it doesn't really matter." He stated plainly.
Ruby was surprised, it seemed that no one below Captain Wilkins knew the truth about her. Or a small part of it, as it was.
"I see." Ruby replied, looking up to see a slightly eager look on his face. "What?"
The eagerness faded from his face. "Fair enough, well you're free to do as you please. As long as we aren't getting ready to leave for a mission, we pretty much have free run of the camp, so long as we stay away from the facilities meant for officers and Atlas soldiers. There's no mandated training, but if you want to have any chance of surviving I'd recommend it." He informed Ruby.
Morriss left the room, leaving Ruby on her own. Ruby decided it would be wise to take his advice and train. She watched everyone move amongst the room for a few minutes, deciding where to start. Instead of starting though, Ruby slowly began to realise that something was off.
Watching everyone train, Ruby began to notice that not a single person was using aura.
It dawned on Ruby that no one was capable of using aura. These were all normal people, who had gotten stuck here without any actual training. She quickly decided that training with them would do her no good. Ruby decided to leave to train on her own.
Walking back into the common room, Ruby found it empty except for Stevens.
"Shouldn't you be training? If you don't, you won't last five minutes." He said plainly.
"What about you?" She questioned him.
"I'm too old for that shit. Surviving here isn't that big of a deal for me anyways. You looking to die too?" He said jokingly.
"I don't give up so easily." Ruby replied aggressively.
"Oh, someone's arrogant. Do you have any idea what's outside of this camp? He mocked her.
"I know exactly what lies beyond that fence, and its confidence, not arrogance." Ruby spat out.
He laughed and replied,"You realize how short the life expectancy is here little girl? You might be able to beat up two unarmed morons, but real monsters, are entirely different."
"Then I guess we'll find out in a couple days." Ruby replied indignantly.
"Nobody's gonna cry when ya die, little girl." He mocked.
"Good." He heard Ruby whisper as she walked away.
Two days came and went, and all of Bravo Company stood in the training room around Captain Wilkins. They had set up a sand table in the middle of the room, with which the Captain was using to brief everyone on his mission plan.
"So we estimate somewhere around eighty beowolves. They are heading southeast, towards a small Schnee mining outpost. Our job, is to deny the enemy the opportunity to attack the outpost. However, since we the Grimm will likely be a problem in the future if we let any escape, I have decided that we will eliminate them all in one coordinated attack." The words bellowed from .
It sounded good in theory, but Ruby knew that it would take a solid plan to pull off. In the last two days Ruby had learned that they had a hundred and two people in Bravo Company. Ruby, not having found anyone capable of using aura.
"The Grimm will be making their way down this hill, and breaking through the treeline to cross MSR Winter." The Captain said, pointing to a section on the map with a heavily wooded hill sitting next to a road. "First Platoon will stage on the opposite side of the road, and ambush the enemy when they break the treeline. Second Platoon will stage further east down the road, and hit the enemy once First makes contact. Third Platoon, will circle around to the rear, and wait above the treeline on the hill. Thus waiting in ambush for any strays, or retreating enemies."
Ruby had payed careful attention to every word that was said. The plan was well detailed, and might even be called flawless, if their enemy was human.
"Are there any questions?" The captain asked.
"Sir, do you intend to fight the beowolves in the open, between the treelines?" Ruby questioned frantically.
"Isn't that what I just said?" He answered with a question.
"Then what's your plan to take on eighty beowolves in the open, in the dark, and with less than seventy people." Ruby questioned.
"That's the point of the ambush, retard. We have dust lamps for the dark too." He said degradingly.
"Sir, in the dark they'll know we're there from a mile away. Also, having third platoon wait in the rear makes no sense." Ruby tried to reason with him.
"Do you think you're some kind of fucking huntress? I'm pretty sure I know far more about strategy than some little girl?" He mocked.
"Sir, your strategy will get everyone killed!" Ruby screamed, before could she say any more she was silenced as she felt a hand impact her face.
"That's quite enough." Stevens told her, after striking her.
"Thank you for that, Sergeant. Since she's so scared I'll let her go with third, and Sergeant Barton, to the rear." He mocked Ruby again.
Ruby realised any further protest was pointless. Maybe she was overthinking things, but Ruby had a bad feeling about this mission. Before they left, everyone was given weapons and ammo. Ruby was given Crescent Rose back, along with her magazines and some dust rounds. A few individuals from each platoon, were given large dust lamps to carry. Shortly after Bravo Company donned their cold weather gear, and left the gates of Camp Kilo.
A couple hours later, all three platoons were in position, with Third Platoon at the rear of the hill, waiting to move to the opposite side. The Captain had gone with Second, and Sergeant Stevens was leading First.
At the appointed time, Third began to make their way over the hill. Ruby knew that their task was pointless. There are no such thing as stray beowolves. They stay with their pack, and most of all, Grimm don't retreat. If all went well, the majority of the Grimm were supposed to have been taken care of by the time they were in position. That was an, if, that Ruby wasn't counting on though.
There was too much wrong with the plan. Bravo Company's people were too few, and spread too thin. To make matters worse they intended to fight beowolves on open ground, in the dark. If they had lured them into the tree-line they could have limited the beowolves movement. However people with no aura stood little chance against beowolves' agility on open ground, let alone in the dark.
A short while later Third crested the hill, expecting to find the battle wrapping up. That's exactly what they found, when the road came into view. The beowolves had surrounded the couple dozen soldiers left, and were toying with them. All but one dust light was destroyed, leaving little light left to see with.
"Sergeant we have to help!" Ruby shouted frantically.
"Shut up Summers! We were told to wait here." Sergeant Barton denied her.
"Sergeant, they've already lost. It we don't do something they'll all die!" Ruby pleaded with him. In return he punched Ruby in the face knocking her back.
"I said, Shut! The! Fuck! Up! We aren't fucking hunters, or soldiers, or whatever!" He shouted at Ruby.
There it was again. She wasn't a huntress, but who decides that? She had decided she would help people, why did she need someone's permission?
"Says, who?" Ruby questioned quietly.
"Wes aren't about to throw out lives away today."He whimpered. Looking at him, and everyone else now, Ruby could see the fear in them, plain as day.
Ruby made up her mind."Fine, you hide here. I'm going." Ruby said defiantly.
"Goddamnit, how many times do I have to tell you!" He screamed at Ruby going to grab her, his hand coming back full of rose petals, as he stared at the void Ruby had just filled.
Ruby sped down the hill, pushing her semblance as hard as possible. Once she felt the she was close enough, Ruby chambered a round and fired away from the hill, as she used her semblance to jump towards the road. Once in the air, firing a couple more shots down, to ensure she went far enough.
Once she was above the battle, Ruby let loose a volley of shots, attempting to take out as many Grimm as possible, from the air. Hitting the ground Ruby landed in a flurry of petals between the remainder of first and second, and the Grimm, spinning Crescent Rose into it's full scythe form.
As three beowolves lunged at her, trying to take advantage of her hasty landing, Ruby made a single smooth movement and took off all three heads. What was left of the two platoons had froze, and were watching Ruby stunned.
"I'll make an opening, when I do everyone make a break for the wood line. Regroup with third on the hill!" Ruby shouted, charging her semblance and jumping straight into the group of beowolves standing between her and the woodline.
Ruby aimed for the densest point, and spun her scythe cutting down everything around her. As she saw another beowolf charge her from the rear, Ruby jumped and flipped backwards over it, shooting it between the eyes in midair. Ruby used the additional time in the air, to quickly lay down three more Grimm. Landing, She ducked under a slash from a beowolf's paw, pulling Crescent Rose back, Ruby put a hole through its chest, emptying her magazine. Using the recoil from the shot, Ruby swung the scythe around twice more taking out three Grimm.
Realizing that she had cleared enough, for everyone to break through, She gave the command. "Go!" Ruby shouted at the top of her lungs. The remaining men made a break for the tree line, running through the opening she had created. Ruby reloaded, and continued to fight, keeping the Grimm off of them, till the last man got through.
Ruby turned to follow everyone else, so she could cover their escape, only to find more Grimm move to cut her off. A moment later, Ruby heard a loud noise akin to glass breaking, and the world went dark.
The last dust light had been broken. All around, Ruby could see glowing red orbs, circling her. Ruby heard them, snarling and howling, grinding their teeth and scraping their claws.
"What makes someone a Hunter?" Ruby thought to herself.
Ruby remembered an old story her mother used to tell her. It was the same story that had inspired her dream. The story was about ancient Remnant, when the darkness rose and threatened all of humanity. However, in that age of darkness, some rose to fight back against the darkness. They stood up to fight not because it was their job, nor was it for fame or glory. They fought, because they wanted to protect the light. These people were called hunters.
"I don't need a damn piece of paper. I chose to fight against the darkness of my own accord. Regardless of what anyone says, I am a huntress." Ruby resolved to herself.
"Bring it on!" Ruby shouted at the darkness.
Ruby could instantly feel them lunge at her, with no time to think, Ruby spun Crescent Rose in an arc above her head, feeling it make contact with soft flesh, and hard plates. Deciding it was best not to make herself an easy target, Ruby sped at the nearest set of eyes and swinging her scythe, again feeling it make contact. Ruby felt sharp claws tear into her back, spinning around, Ruby shoved crescent rose against the Grimm and pulled the trigger, then quickly spinning her weapon to deflect any more attacks.
"It's a good thing it's nighttime, or else I'd feel bad about how unfair this is to you guys." Ruby mocked the Grimm, if only to make herself feel better.
What felt like hours later, Ruby fired her last round through the final set of red eyes. Battered, bruised, and bloody, Ruby dragged herself off the battlefield. She had hoped that once the remaining men had regrouped they would come assist her, unfortunately shortly after the fight had started, Ruby saw the dust lamps disappear from atop the hill.
Vaguely remembering the way, Ruby began to make her way through the woods. After a while of walking Ruby heard the sound of footsteps, stopping she readied herself to fight.
"Hello?" A voice broke the silence. "Is someone there?"
It was a voice that Ruby immediately recognized, and one that immediately filled her with insatiable rage.
"Yea, there's someone here alright." Ruby said, the fury obvious in her voice.
"Summers? Where the fuck are you?" He questioned vulgarly. "The rest of that trash just abandoned me. I cant read this damn compass in the dark. If I can find my way back to the road, navigating back should be easy enough. I'm sure the Grimm have moved on by now." He casually rambled on.
"Moved on?" Ruby questioned infuriated?
"Yea, they should keep moving south. They'll be someone else's problem then." He said plainly.
"What about the mine?" Ruby questioned.
"Oh that thing? They already evacuated before our mission started." He replied.
"Then, what was the point of the mission?" Ruby questioned as she felt her rage boil over.
"Why did all those people die?"
"Point? Who gives a fuck? Probably to get supply costs at the camp down? You don't honestly believe that they trust you trash to protect people." The man spat out belligerently. Ruby felt her rage nearing a breaking point with every word. "Besides, no,"people", died, some waste of life was taken care of is all."
A brief flash of steel interrupted the man as the blade of Crescent Rose, took a chunk of flesh out of his shoulder.
"Fuck! You bitch! Did you just cut me!" The man screamed indignantly.
Ruby didn't care anymore. Her anger was well beyond the point of reigning in. She swung again, this time aiming for some of his fingers.
"You whore! Do you have any idea what you're doing?" He continued to scream.
"Just getting rid of some trash." Ruby said softly.
Ruby continued to hack and slash at the man, bit by bit.
"You'll pay for this you bitch! You'll fucking burn!" He screamed between cries of pain.
Ruby giggled. "No one will see it happen, no one will hear your cries, and no one, will ever, find your body."
The growling of more Grimm could be heard in the distance.
"I swear to fucking god!" He screamed.
Ruby swung taking another chunk out of his face. "God can't help you now."
"I'll get you bitch!"
"I'm done with you." Ruby said raising Crescent Rose.
"Wait, please, no!" He whimpered.
A second later, the blade of Crescent Rose slid between his head and his shoulders, ending his cries.
Ruby felt nothing. This time there was no feeling of disgust, no vomit in her throat, no second guessing.
Ruby turned and walked away, leaving the closing Grimm, to do as they pleased. Ruby felt like she had walked a couple miles, when she felt the adrenaline finally wear off, and the exhaustion and the cold set in. It hit her like a brick wall, a couple moments later, Ruby felt herself hit the ground.
"Man, this sucks. I'm not really going to die here am I?" Ruby asked aloud.
A brief moment of silence later, and Ruby got her answer.
"Not that easily, kid." A voice broke the silence.
Ruby looked to see a figure emerge from the darkness.
"Do you have any idea how long I've been out looking for you?" As the figure closed in Ruby recognized the person, as Sergeant Stevens.
"Why?" Ruby questioned.
"Because I wanted to. Don't over think it." He said quietly, as he hoisted her onto his back.
Ruby chuckled. "Fallen for me already, huh?" Ruby joked innocently.
"Sorry, children ain't my type." He teased
"I..I'm eighteen you know." Ruby replied.
"You're a poor liar." He said casually.
"That obvious?" Ruby asked.
"Yea, that's why you'd be best off keeping your mouth shut, when they ask if you know what happened to the Captain." He said in a serious tone.
"You...you saw?" Ruby said fear filling her voice.
"What I saw, was the Captain get grabbed by a stray beowolf, as we ran into the woodline." Stevens informed her.
"Again, why?" Ruby questioned.
He sighed and then answered. "My daughter was a huntress. She was a little older than you when she died."
Ruby thought for a second and spoke again."If she was a little older than me, then she couldn't have been.."
He cut Ruby off. "She was a huntress. I don't care what anyone else says. She was a huntress in every way that mattered."
Ruby felt tears sting at her eyes."Yea, your right. Hey, Stevens?" Ruby said softly.
"What?" He replied.
"Thank you." Ruby said sweetly.
A/N
Ahhhhh. I finally finished it. Prologue is over. My thumbs fucking hurt. This one took longer than it shoulda. I was working a ton, then I had like a four day, but I was really drunk all four days.
Also I kept getting ideas for how I want the story to go, though I think I've finally settled it. I pretty much completely scrapped my notes for everything after the prologue and reworked it. Well the next chapter should be more interesting. I got crazy bored writing this one a couple times.
Also if y'all want to tear apart my grammar in the review go ahead, but this shit down here is off limits. This is only part where i choose not to give a single Fuck.
Also MSR stands for Main Supply Route.
Also it seems that this chapter got crazy fucked up when I uploaded it. sorry it should be fixed.
Okay! So a character's name ( ) must be some kinda CRAZY slang temr that this site filters out or something, cause no matter how many times I fix this it continues to delete the characters name. I have work in the morning I'll try and figure this tom-dickerry out later.
Okay so I think I just had to get rid of the mister and miss abreviations for some reason.