A/N: This is a longer chapter, so the wait was a little longer, sorry about that. Also, a quick question, was it just me or did anyone else have a small ship moment between Ruby and Cinder? Burnt Rose perhaps? Hmm... I don't like how close Neptune and Sun are getting to the girls though... they gotta back away. Like, well away, as in on the opposite side of Vale. Anyway! Thanks again to Badger Brandon for helping with this, catching errors where I didn't see them :J
Oh, and this gets a little... violent? at the end, it may even be somewhat M rated, I'm not sure however, so just have a warning for the bottom half of the chapter if you don't like gore... Back to the story! Again, thank you all for the reviews faves and follows, its so unbelievable to me that so many people like this story, so thank you all! :) here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or its characters or anything related to the show, it belongs to RoosterTeeth and Monty Oum.
Two Years Later.
"I don't know about this Ruby…" Weiss said, frowning at the object in Ruby's hand.
"Oh come on Weiss! It's gonna be fun!" Ruby scoffed, falling back on the grass outside the Faunus' home, and supporting her own weight with her hand, the other still holding the item.
Weiss raised an eyebrow and eyed the large sweet.
"How is it fun?"
Ruby sighed and leant back up, holding out the large, fifteen centimetre long, stick of pink bubblegum between them.
"Because you can chew it and make bubbles! And it tastes great too apparently."
"Says who?" Weiss asked with a challenging smirk.
"Says my mum!" Ruby shot back, they both looked up at the clearing of a throat and saw Summer leaning against the tree entrance with a raised eyebrow.
"I'd like it known that I have never had that stuff ever since an unfortunate accident involving my brother and that sweet."
Weiss' eyes went wide and Ruby groaned.
"Go away mum! You're putting her off!" she whined, Summer rolled her eyes with a laugh and shook her head, mirth in her silver orbs.
"Alright, just don't come crying to me when it all goes badly wrong."
She tuned and went into the tree, and the girls locked eyes again.
"Where did you even get that stuff anyway?" Weiss asked with a frown, watching the gum as though it may explode at any given second.
"I bought it at the city."
"…"
"What?"
"You stole that, didn't you?"
"No! I'm… just borrowing it permanently."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"… How much are you judging me?"
"So much."
They locked eyes again and Ruby slowly brought the gum up, Weiss leaned back and shook her head.
"No way, I'm not doing that."
Ruby huffed and split it in half, placing one half on the packet and holding the other by her mouth.
"Fine! But you'll want it in a moment, so your piece is there." She said in a sing song voice, tapping the gum in time with her words. Weiss watched with her one eyebrow still raised as Ruby forced the gum into her mouth and started to mash it together like some sort of cow chewing toffee.
"Your elegance still astounds me."
"Shu' 'ap Weys, 'his 'eys amazin'!" Weiss sighed but watched as Ruby chomped on the pink bubblegum, resisting the urge to shiver at how many calories must have been in that block of basically sugar.
After about ten minutes of listening to Ruby making sounds of appreciation and the horrid noise of the gum being mashed in her mouth, Ruby stopped. She moved the gum around in her mouth for a few seconds, locking eyes with Weiss and nodding, and then she started to blow.
At first nothing important happened. Her face got a bit red and her eyes squinted some, then the bubble started to come out of her mouth. It was small in the beginning, but then it got bigger, and bigger, and bigger, to the point where it was the size of Ruby's face. Weiss' eyes were wide as she saw this, unable to understand why it hadn't burst yet.
Then Ruby's eyes snapped open, and she let out a noise from her throat sounding like an 'o oh' and the pink bubble of sweet and sugar, exploded.
There was a heart beat of silence, where Ruby had large eyes, the only things being seen through the pink now stuck to her face, and Weiss was sat with a quivering lip, trying to hold in the laughter as the other girl's panicked eyes met her own.
Ruby jumped up from her cross legged position on the ground and started pulling at the gum that had got stuck in her hair and on her face. Her nails became claws as she ripped away some from around her mouth, she opened it, and yelled.
"MOOOOOOMMMM!" she yelled, Weiss couldn't hold in her laughter and fell on her back, laughs starting to cause her sides pain as she held them, watching with teary eyes as Ruby ran in circles pulling at the gum and yelling for Summer to help.
"Weiss! Help me!"
Weiss could not form an actual answer so shook her head, her body shaking with laughter.
"I will never forget this betrayal! MOM!"
Weiss rolled onto her back and held her stomach, turning her head when Summer came up from the hole in the tree. The normally docile older woman saw her daughter's predicament, and snorted.
"Mom how could you!"
Summer started to laugh along with Weiss, who had felt a second wave of giggles hit her hard.
"Just like Qrow!" Summer managed to get out, leaning against the wood as her shoulders shook.
Ruby let out a frustrated growl and ran past her mom into the tree. The two white haired individuals paused, looked at each other, and then broke out into another wave of laughter.
"You guys suck!" they heard Ruby yell from inside.
"I did warn you hon!" Summer called back, she was met with a frustrated yell, and the laughter continued.
~Ax~
Ruby ran through the trees, jumping from trunk to trunk down the illuminated moon lit path. She stopped herself suddenly, looking over the larger gap, she paused, and grinned. Then she catapulted herself from the tree and over the gap with a thrilled yell. She felt her nails sharpen when she came closer to the bark, and she slammed her fingers into to wooden surface. She slid down a few inches, but stopped quickly. Ruby forced herself up and into the air, using her hands to grip the tree and climb up its surface. Soon she was at the very top of the tree, and she held on with one hand and leant off the wood, grin splitting her face.
"I love being a wolf!" she yelled, following it with a howl. She giggled and cut it short when other canine animals in the forest joined in on her howl, carrying it across the forest.
The redhead glanced to the side and saw a tree branch not far from her; she turned and jumped down to it, catching the wood and swinging herself up and onto the branch. Smirk still in place, she crept along the branch with her arms out by her sides and bent down in a crouch. She came to the end of the branch and stood to her full height, arms falling by her sides, fully trusting her animal instincts to keep her balanced.
She looked over the view, smirk sliding into a smile. She wished she could bring Weiss with her, but trust her bestfriend to be scared of heights. The view was astounding, and she was determined for Weiss to see it one day.
Until then however, she would have to make do with a frozen image. Ruby reached for the camera that was hanging on her shoulder from the strap and pulled it up to eye level. She fiddled with the buttons for a few minutes, trying to remember what Weiss had told her when she had asked to borrow the camera, not telling the platinum haired girl what for of course, as that would ruin the surprise. She finally got the screen to load, and with a tongue-in-teeth grin she took a photo of the view, carefully putting the camera away afterwards.
The view was of loads of trees, all different heights and colours, covering the drop in the hill of the forest and going on for miles. The full moon, well as full as it could be, was over the horizon, highlighting everything in an eerie glow. The water from the river was beautiful as it shimmered and shone, flowing down the hill and to the bottom of it, out of sight.
Ruby paused, where did the river lead to? She hadn't ever really thought much about it to go and find out about it. A grin, yet again, took over her face as her childlike curiosity came shooting back to surface.
She was once again soaring through the air, pulling from tree to tree and feeling more like a monkey than a wolf. Yet it did not bother her, as the more she ran, jumped and flew, the more her inner wolf became one with her humanity. She was very close to her inner wolf, something she and her mother were very lucky for. They didn't conform to any of humanity's requirements and thus were closer to their animal sides, unlike those who tried to hide themselves from the world, and thus could not benefit from the effects of being a Faunus.
Benefits, such as being able to jump from dizzying heights and have little to no risk of falling, to name only one.
Ruby started to descend in her climb, dropping down from tree to tree with agile grace, swinging from branches and skidding down bark, holding on with her claws. Fifteen minutes later, she had noticed the trees begin to thin out, getting smaller with less places to hold onto them. She let out a yip and jumped, using her semblance to appear closer to the ground and landing in a crouch, one hand on the floor, the other out by her side, like the comic book heroes she had seen in Yang's room.
Ruby chuckled and took her hood down, walking around the smaller trees. Soon the path had soon become overgrown, so, with her still sharpened claws, she cut and sliced through the vines and leaves. With a final slash, accompanied with a 'yiya!' sound from the Faunus, the last vine blocking her view fell, and she was free to see where the river led to.
It was safe to say that a shocked gasp of awe left her gaping mouth as she walked into the clearing.
If she had thought her previous view was beautiful, then this one was the embodiment of pure uncensored beauty.
The grass, which she could see due to her enhanced eyesight, was a lush green colour, not a single strand differencing from the rest. The whole clearing was circled off from the rest of the world, a tangle of trees and vines meaning the only entrance to the place were where Ruby had forced herself through, as though the nature was protecting the beauty.
In the centre of the clearing was a crystal clear lake. Its waters were calm, no waves tampering it. The water was blue, like the night sky at twilight, with fish swimming through the waters with gentle calm ease.
Next to the lake, the grass came up in a small hill, atop this hill, was a willow tree, its leaves pink in their bloom, blowing blissfully in a gentle breeze. As though she were in an enchanted state, Ruby walked towards the tree, mouth still open in wonder and shock that she had never found this place before.
She came up to the tree, and gently ran her hand along the wood, claws long gone since entering the clearing. She walked to the front of the tree, which was over facing the water, and saw a small gap in the roots with longer grass, ideal for sleeping on. She looked to the sky and couldn't help the temptation when seeing the dark sky, a yawn working its way to her lips.
It wouldn't hurt, I guess.
She smiled and fell to her knees, crawling over to her new bed; and circling a few times on the spot before collapsing in exhaustion. Her ears flopped down on her head, her cloak wrapped around her as a blanket, and she soon fell asleep.
~Ax~
"Weiss!"
"Argh!"
The white haired girl yelled in shock at the sudden voice waking her from her sleep, she flipped off of her bed and fell with a crash, groaning as her aching muscles throbbed painfully. Ruby appeared in her vision on her bed, ears flopping down by her eyes as she grinned mischeviously.
"Hey! You didn't try to shank me this time!"
Weiss sat up and rubbed her head, leaning back on one hand.
"What, on earth, is a shank?"
Ruby tilted her head and got a far away look in her eyes.
"Huh, I don't actually know. Yang kept saying it when I was at her house the other week though."
Weiss rolled her eyes and took the hand Ruby had held out, getting pulled to her feet by her surprisingly, for and eight year old, strong friend.
"How's your training going Ruby?" she asked, Ruby grinned and fell onto her back, rolling up her sleeve to flex her arms.
"Preettty well, I do say Weiss, I can hold up one of my uncle's smaller scythes and I don't have to use two hands anymore either! Which uncle says is good, 'cuz it means I can spin the scythes and stuff, which means I can attack more and stuff, geddit?"
Weiss chuckled and nodded, shaking her hair out and going to the desk to try and fix it some more.
"Where are we going today then Rubes? Its my one day off for this week."
"Like I could forget that Weiss! Can we go to the den? Pwety pwease…"
"Don't you dare use those puppy eyes on me again Ruby Rose. Or so help me dust, I'll blow a dog whistle."
Ruby gasped and covered her ears on reflex, looking hurt and scared.
"Weiss! Don't joke about that! Dog whistles are horrible inventions, and-"
"Whoever made them should be shot."
"Yes! And they-"
"Should be burned from the history books."
"Yeah! Along with-"
"All the dog whistles in history."
"Wow, you're pretty good at finishing my-"
"Sentences? Yeah, I know."
"Kinda creepy there Weiss, anyone would think you're a-"
"Stalker? They'd already be dead." She turned and gave Ruby a flash of a smirk before going to her walk in closet to change, Ruby laughed and nodded in agreement.
"So we're going to the den then?" she called out, Ruby nodded before verbally replying.
"Yeah! The tree's looking great today!"
"I'm sure it is Rubes!"
Ruby grinned and fell back onto her bed, waiting for her friend to get ready.
~Ax~
Ivan grunted and hit his fist off the desk, clutching the phone to his ear and hearing it creak at his force. Normally he would be happy to use a good old fashioned phone to call people, but right now he wished he had bought one of those infernal scrolls so he could look into his friend's eyes and convince him of the truth.
"Samuel, you must help me on this!"
"No Ivan, not after last time."
"When are you going to get over that Sam? It was one time, one time!"
There was an unamused grunt from the other line followed by a sigh.
"Ivan, I would have always followed you, in what ever you desired fit for your presence, but what you did to that family was inexcusable. I can not forget it, nor the pain you caused, the pain we caused!"
"Dammit Samuel! I wasn't well, I admit it, alright? I wasn't well. I was sick, and wrong. What I did was wrong. But I have changed, I have got better now, and I need your help on this one!"
"No Ivan! I cannot get over what you did to that family, simply because they were Faunus!"
Ivan bit back his resort, eyes darkening in anger as he swallowed and focused.
"This one's dangerous Samuel. It came into my home, threatened mu niece; it was in her room for dust's sake, man! I did some research, this Faunus is evil, its killed many of my family and innocents for no good reason! Please Samuel, help me help my family!"
There was silence on the other end, and just when Ivan was about to give up and hang up, Samuel spoke.
"In her room you say?"
His voice was deep and dark, and Ivan smirked. He knew he would get to him.
"Yes. In her room."
There was an inhale of breath and a sigh.
"I will be there within the week."
"That's not good enough Samuel. I need it hunted and killed as soon as possible, for my family's sake."
"Very well, I shall be there tomorrow at noon. See you then Ivan."
There was a dial tone, and Ivan moved the phone from his face, hanging up with a smirk over his face.
Sometimes things went so easily for him, it was almost funny.
He looked to the clock and smirked. His friends would all be there the next day. Soon the Faunus would be so far under, Hell would be closer than Earth.
He chuckled and sat at his desk, pouring some whiskey and having a swig, opening the morning paper and beginning his early morning routines.
~Ax~
"Ruby, are you sure you want to go out tonight?" Summer asked, frowning as she peered at the moonlight sky, illuminating her face to her watching daughter.
"Yeah mom! There's a full moon tonight!" Ruby giggled, pointing up at the moon which had parts of its surface scattered in the sky, a somewhat creepy sight if one were not accustomed to it.
"Alright, but be careful, not so much as a howl away, you hear me?"
Ruby yipped and hugged her mom.
"Don't worry moma! I'll be back soon, 'kay?"
"Alright pup, have fun."
"What else am I gonna do?" Ruby giggled, turning and pulling her hood up, disappearing with her speed and flashing through the trees. Summer watched where her daughter had gone through the trees for a moment, slowly dragging her eyes up to the shattered moon, frown shifting into more of a confused glare.
"Something isn't right…" she mumbled, keeping her eyes on the white orb as it seemed to glow brighter, mocking her.
She huffed and turned to go back into the tree, eagerly awaiting her daughter's return.
~Ax~
Ruby felt odd that night. She wasn't filled with her normal joy and excitement that running through the forest in moonlight would cause, instead there was a sense of dread. Like the moon was telling her to run. To hide. To go home. And not come back.
She shook her head and forced a smile onto her face, there was a larger gap between the trees and a smirk took her features. She jumped from the tree branch, and in the moment between the two trees, she was weightless, flying… free.
Too bad it was cut short.
She barely registered the small whine sound, nor the wires shifting, until something cold and metallic wrapped around her ankle, and she was pulled to the ground.
All the way to the ground.
A scream had started to leave her lips, the forceful decent a shock to her. She saw a branch and reached for it before she fell past it, slamming down her right hand, claws latching onto the wood. For a second she stopped, a sharp pain shooting down her arm, then she heard a manly grunt and she was ripped from the wood, slamming her all the way to the ground from where she had been, ten feet off the floor.
She landed with a groan, her whole body hurt. Although none of the pain was as bad as her wrist, she looked to her right hand and whimpered, tears falling from her eyes. Her wrist was bent at a horrid angle, looking at it made her stomach churn, so she closed her eyes.
"Is it dead?"
"I doubt it Charles. These little buggers are always tricky to kill." A voice answered, a sick sense of glee in his voice. Ruby felt a growl work its way to her lips, the need to protect herself rising from her animal inside. The man chuckled and she felt a hard boot come into contact with her side, he ignored her whimper and rolled her over rather roughly. She glared up at him through her tears, eyes widening when she recognised the man before her, a small memory from years ago rearing its head in her mind.
W-what? It can't be… Weiss' uncle?
Her hood fell from her eyes and Ivan heard a gasp from behind him, he sighed, Samuel.
"What the bloody hell is this Ivan?! You told me she was a killer! A murderer who threatened your family!"
"Looks can be deceiving my friend." Ivan growled, holding out his hand. A knife was placed in it, and a sadistic smile stretched his face.
"She is a girl Ivan! A child!"
Ivan reached to her throat and grabbed it in a tight grip. Ruby gasped, her ears pointing up in shock as her good hand flew to his own rough one, trying vainly to pull it away.
"Ivan!"
"If you have a problem with this service of justice!" Ivan bellowed, hurting Ruby's ears with the volume, "Then you will leave, sir!" Samuel glanced at the other two team members, who shook their heads. He grunted, but stayed put.
"That's what I thought…" Ivan grumbled, leaning closer to the Faunus.
"Charles, remove the constrictor."
A man with blonde hair retracted the device that had wrapped itself around Ruby's leg; it was a long silver chain that had been shot out of a handheld device that looked somewhat like a grenade launcher. This time Ruby kept in the whimper as it left her skin, already feeling the bruises forming on her shin.
"Now…" Ivan growled, voice deep and low, "what should I do with you, hm?" he took the hunting knife and put it on the flat side of the blade, running it down her right cheek, as though her were caressing it.
"P-please-!" she choked, having her words cut off as Ivan tightened his grip, "I-I'm on-ly a-" her words were silenced when the pressure on her throat was too much, and she felt the oxygen in her brain receding. Ivan's smile spread.
Samuel, the youngest of the team who had soft sandy hair and dark green eyes, fisted his hands in his hair. Turning away from what her was seeing. He knew that the other two members didn't have the guts to stop Ivan, hell he didn't think that he had the guts. But he couldn't let this happen, not again, not like last time.
He turned suddenly at a yelp the small girl had let out, red filled his vision when he saw blood trickling from a light cut across the girl's forehead. He yelled out and jerked his hands down, feeling the cool metal from the gauntlets on his forearms spread down and cover his fists, spikes forming at the knuckles with his whole hand covered in the indestructible material.
Ivan looked up just in time to see Samuel's right fist coming at his head. He brought up his left hand, which he had been using to choke the girl, and caught the fist, a small grunt leaving his lips.
"What are you doing Samuel?" he growled, and the blonde would be lying if he said the voice didn't send horrified chills down his spine. But he hid his fear, and glared right back at his leader.
"I'm ending this!"
Using his height advantage, Samuel kicked up with his left leg, landing a firm solid kick to Ivan's back, sending him crashing across the ground. He fell into a roll before hitting a tree, coming out of it and stopping in a crouch.
She slowly stood from his crouch, brushing some dirt off from his shoulder. His dark blue eyes glared at Samuel, and the blonde felt sweat form on his palms.
"That…" Ivan growled, "Was a very bad idea, Samuel."
Samuel gulped; Ivan pulled something from his belt, a sword containing dust crystals. He held it out before him and locked eyes once again with the blonde, paying not attention to the struggling Faunus on the ground.
"Begin." He commanded.
Samuel let out a battle cry and ran head on to his leader, he jumped up at the last moment and flipped over Ivan, turning to try and punch at his back. Ivan had put the sword over his back, blocking the metal punch. He turned and twisted the sword, pushing Samuel's arm to the side with a thin cut along it. Now that the blonde's chest was wide open, Ivan shoved his palm against it. Samuel's eyes widened when the gloved hand made contact with his chest, feeling the bones in his rib cage shatter and splinter, like a shockwave had gone through his entire being. He looked up at Ivan, who had a smirk on his face, and then he fell, lying motionless on the floor with blood starting to trail from his lips.
Ivan looked to where the Faunus was, and saw her trying to hobble away as quickly as she possibly could. He shook his head.
"Pathetic." He hissed. He turned to Charles and grabbed the constrictor from his limp with shock hands, turning to face the running Faunus. He flicked a switch on the metal launcher, and aimed at Ruby's leg.
Ruby had just managed to get about thirty metres away from the mad uncle, opening her mouth to call her mother, when a earth shattering, shooting, blinding pain erupted in her calf and shin. She fell to the ground for what felt like the umpteenth time that night, and she let out the most pain filled, loud and agonising scream she had ever heard. The pain did not stop there, as suddenly she was being dragged backwards, being pulled along by the thing that had shattered through her calf and shin bone, coming all the way out of the other side. She could hear laughing faintly, but it was quiet in comparison to the outer and inner yells she was screaming.
It hurt. So much.
Tears were falling freely from her eyes, and she started to sob as rocks and sticks scraped past her face and stomach, the hurt unrecognisable in comparison to the agony in her leg.
Finally she came to a stop, eyes looking in front of her as she had some how tumbled onto her back. She slowly looked at her leg, and a fresh wave of sobs came crashing down on her.
The previously on metal chain that had caught her before now had a large arrow head, the size of Summer's hands, like that of a harpoon. It had gone through her leg, through her boots, blood flooding from the wound, her agony was increasing the longer she looked, so she fell back and sobbed.
She should have known its wasn't over, the next thing she knew there was a chuckle, and the harpoon like arrowhead was being ripped from her leg, and she once again yelled out in sheer pain, it was all she knew.
Then there was a form on top of her, and her eyes stayed crushed together, refusing to look at the man as she cried. There was cool metal on her again, and she knew he had the knife back again.
"You see, I'm a collector. I hunt Faunus, like yourself, and I take the rare parts. The claws. The teeth. The eyes. The ears."
Ruby gasped, her ears falling flat on her head, a fresher wave of tears coming over her, as the knife moved to her ears, the sharp edge on her left ear, not hard enough to cut, but enough for her to realise the threat.
The Faunus were very protective of their ears. They were very, very sensitive, and proud Faunus loved their ears more than anything else. This threat… is one of the worst he could have made.
"N-no! Please not my e-ears! Pl-!" she cut herself off this time, as the metal pushed harder on her ear and he started to drag it across the outside of her ear. She took back what she thought before, it was then that she had screamed the loudest.
A second sound filled the clearing.
And earth shattering, ground breaking and ear bleeding roar of anger, possession and protectiveness.
The sound of a wolf protecting their hurt pup.
Ivan had no time to react; a hard, white mass slammed into his side and threw him across the clearing, taking out one of the other still men with them. Ruby looked above her and saw a white cloak, her hopes lifted.
Her mother was here.
Summer was crouched down in front of her daughter, her wolf side almost bursting from her human seems. Her teeth were now completely sharp, all of them at deadly points and baring at the men. Her claws were out and her ears were perked up to attention. She was hunched over, a constant low growl leaving her lips.
Ivan got to his feet and let his partner get to up by himself, appraising the new older Faunus.
"Another wolf Faunus? This is my lucky day!" he boasted, having the audacity to laugh at the end of his comment. Summer's eyes darkened, the whites of her eyes darkening so they were as dark as night.
"No." she snarled, actually snarled, and Ivan actually paused in his step at the deep angry tone in her voice
Summer glared at them, nostrils flared as she surveyed them with animalistic eyes.
"Excuse me?" Ivan asked, eyebrow raised.
"I said. No."
Summer snarled again, reaching behind her to her belt and pulling out a black tube, she clicked it on one end and it grew in length. When it had reached its full length, Summer twirled it in her hands, showing the control she had over her weapon, before slamming it to the ground, causing a crack in the solid earth.
Ivan, and the remaining two men with him, all took a step back at the aura the woman was producing. They looked to her black and grey eyes and his two companions gulped.
"You will not. Hurt my child. Again."
She finished with a louder snarl than before, face consorting in a horrifying way, actually looking more like the wolf she was more than ever before. She ripped the staff from the ground and charged towards them, her daughter watching her launch into the air. Ruby was able to see her mother crack the staff across the face of the man behind Ivan, as the coward had moved at the last second.
That was all that she could see, before the blood loss was too great, and she was feeling colder from the blood loss.
A smile came to her face as the chill reminded her of Weiss' skin, remembering her friend. Then she passed out to the sound of her mother's snarling and the yells of the cowards. And then, darkness.
A/N: And you all thought you couldn't hate Ivan any more than you already did, huh? Well I do like a challenge. And don't kill me over this cliff hanger please! My bae wouldn't be happy about it! D: Anyway, did you like? Please leave a review or PM to tell me what you think :) thanks for reading, I hope you all liked it :)