It was a quiet day at Beacon, as usual Classes had already been let go, and everyone was either out at Vale, napping, or just hanging around with those that they've seen fit to call friends. But not for one young blonde.
Locked away in her dorm, Yang was, as she had been doing for the past several days straight, just playing video games. Even with her complete belief that someone was responsible for having caused Ruby's accident and death, she still couldn't do too much. Professor Ozpin had seen wisdom in what she'd told him, her thoughts on the subject and the matter at hand. There was no possible way that Ruby would have lost, and she knew it. Ozpin knew it. Every last damn student of Beacon, even those who disliked, Ruby knew it. Ruby was one of the best in the school for their class, and there was not a single person who could deny it. She wasn't made leader of her own team at such a young age for nothing.
But her hands were currently bound on the subject. Ozpin had told her to be calm, and try to not cause any more problems. After her little temper explosion the other day, and the poor sap that she'd hospitalized after beating the ever loving dust out of him, Ozpin had seen a very angry Yang in his office, bound by Goodwitch's spell of course. After assuring Goodwitch that Yang would be no more trouble, and having her release he spell binding her hands, Ozpin dismissed her and had a chat with Yang. It was at that point that Ozpin tried to reason with Yang about the current situation, explaining to her that her actions would likely ruin her chances or lessen her chances of discovering anyone who was behind this plot. Ozpin reasoned that Yang's displays of violence would likely intimidate or scare off the other party, keeping them from making any slip ups that would allow them to be identified. After making a reasonable argument, Yang was convinced, and decided to keep her attitude under better watch in order to better work out this thing she had with Ozpin.
Which led to the current situations. In her room, on her game station, Yang was replaying one of her favorite first-person shooters to keep herself busy. Choosing her loadout that was equipped with speed and agility improving perks and her favorite pump-action shotgun, Yang went ape. Game after game, Yang tore through her every opponent, her concentration at an all time high. Over her head set, she could hear her randomly decided teammates giving themselves undeserved praise for the victories, bragging about how well they were keeping the objectives safe. Normally, Yang would be joining in on the cheering and jeering. But right now, all she did was act on auto-pilot, shooting anything that came within the range of her precious gun. After having gone through so many of the enemies, Yang was beginning to run a little low on ammo though. Searching for a usable weapon, she picked up the first she'd come across and immediately regretted it. It was a bolt action sniper rifle, the first you can acquire in the game. It had a medium ranged scope, but one that Yang was familiar with. The problem is that the camo used for the gun was primarily red with small black accents. Like Crescent Rose...
Yang had enough. Disconnecting her head set, she turned off the system, much to the dismay of her team, and sunk her head into her hands. And she sat there, her emotions playing with her. She wanted to get angry, to get sad, to get destructive. But she knew that she couldn't. She had to control herself, she had to hold herself back and save it all for the bastard or bastards that harmed her sister. She had to. But the stress was mounting, and her once strong and proud shoulders, the ones her sister always followed and looked towards, were slumped. Her emotions were crushing her, and she could do nothing about it except resign herself to locking herself away and rotting within this room, this coffin. Everyone of her emotions threatening to burst, Yang knew that if she spent time outside she would likely do exactly what she shouldn't. But she also had to before she was completely smothered by the suffocating feeling of depression that was taking her.
After a while, Yang decided that she could try and do both. Heading over to the bathroom, Yang switched from her night clothes into her usual battle attire, and headed over to Beacon's training hall. She wanted to hit something. She needed to hit something. She desperately needed to hit something, and hit something, and just hit something. She needed to get rid of the feelings before they consumed her, and the best way was to force them onto another person, preferably with violence. And the best place for that was the arena, which had Dust Bot's to simulate actual battles. Arriving at the training hall, she stopped short of entering, and listened for a second. The sound of weapons striking one another gave the impression that there were people training in the hall. But as it was not reserved, nor was there anything official that was preventing her from entering, she just walked on in, and found team CRDL practicing.
In the training hall, Beacon has several types of mock weapons for simulation battles that allows students to practice without causing (permanent) harm to one another. One of the more popular weapons used was a large wooden bat, studded with metal rivets the size of ping pong balls. It was the preferred weapon of choice for strength type fighters, or those trying to train and improve their strength. As such, they loved them. Making her way slowly towards the training grounds, Yang could feel her battle lust being ignited. She didn't really like Cardin or his team of misfits, nobody did really. On top of that, she really needed to punch something. To her, it was almost like being granted a gift by Heaven. A crappy Heaven that stole her younger sister early, and a Heaven that deserved to be burnt to the ground for what it'd done. But none the less, it was a gift.
"Hey fellas, how's it going?"
"What do you want blondie?"
"What does it look like I want?" Yang looked at each member of Cardin's team individually, evaluating each as her eyes passed over them. Russel, Dove, and Sky. None of them seemed intimidating in the least, be in their lack of size or presence. Due to his size, Cardin did strike a slightly intimidating figure sometimes, but Yang never really cared. His arrogance and bratty attitude pissed her off. So, cracking her knuckles one by one, Yang made her intentions clear. "I'm here to avoid getting rusty. Wanna play with me a little? I'm burning with the desire to fight."
"Tch, get out of here. We have no time to be fighting women."
"Oh, so the great Cardin Winchester and his team are afraid of one little ol' Yang? Tsk tsk fellas, what will everyone else think when they hear this?" Yang's tone just kept becoming more and more mocking, teasing. Right now, she wanted to incite their anger, rouse their fury. She wanted them to attack her, she wanted to attack them. She wanted a reason to cave some skulls in. And by damn, she would resort to some low blows if that's what it took. "I was even going to let you have a little handicap. Tch, wimps."
"Listen here blondie. We ain't wimps, and you'd better remember that. Now you asked for it," he began, as he and his goons started to surround and flank Yang, cutting off her escape routes. "So no complaining when we beat the blonde off of you."
"Oh, interesting. Well, try it if you can."
It could be said that your average animal has instincts dedicated to survival. For most, this manifests itself in a form that allows one to perceive when they are in danger, and react accordingly. When fighting a stronger foe, one runs. When fighting a weaker foe, or one on even ground, one would fight. This would be considered the fight or flight mechanism by some. But at this point, Cardin's was broken. He didn't see the hellfire and brimstone burning in Yang's eyes, the crimson slowly bleeding it's way into the ever lilac colored irises. And he certainly did not feel nor account for the bone chilling battle lust that Yang was currently giving off, a feeling that one versed in the art of aura reading would likely shiver at the thought of facing. No, he and his team just charged blindly, poking and prodding the dragon with their little sticks.
From behind Yang came the one with the funny little Brussels Sprout haircut. Not missing a beat, from her left came the one with the completely straight and long hair. Both brandished their weapons, and charged, forgetting completely that Yang was a close quarters combat specialist. Before the dude with the long hair even reached her, Yang fired off from Ember Celica at him, forcing him to slow down and block the shot. Meanwhile, the one behind Yang didn't fare so well, as she used the momentum from the shot to propel her arm backwards, striking him in the temple with her elbow. Not allowing him a respite, she grabbed him by the arm, twisted herself under it, spun him around towards the other guy, and threw him with a shotgun augmented blast. Her natural strength, coupled with Ember Celica's firing power, launched the man right into his teammate who'd just began his charge again, sending both rolling across the arena. Now, with all of her opponents in front of her, Yang let the battle lust completely take over. Her eyes turning pure crimson, wisps of flame dancing around her golden locks, and her gauntlets cocked, locked, and ready to fire again. Yang was ready to bust some heads, and Cardin and his team knew it.
"Oh fu-"
It was another normal day for Ruby, sort of. She'd woken up, hunted down some food with her little pack, and began to work on some new tools and such for herself. So far, she'd used up most of the nice little plates of armor from the Ursa, having only a few small pieces left. Knives, her belt, the collar she'd made before. All of these ended up expending her materials rather quickly, and it irked Ruby to have already gone through such a nice resource. She wanted to get some more soon, preferably to work on some extra things she'd wanted. From their hunt, she'd gotten some hides that she'd managed to tan and turn into a rather decent carrying bag. In the bag were a few of the things she'd current;y deemed necessary; some extra clothes she'd made from the remnants of her old clothes and some of the Ursa leather, some of her tools made from the spikes and such from the Ursa, a spool of string she'd made from plant fibers and such, and a little leather pouch she'd created for storing water to drink. All in all, she was well equipped, but she still needed some more resources, or this would become a difficult journey.
She'd traveled quite a bit north, planning to gather any worthwhile Grimm she could find. But the journey had been rather peaceful so far, and it was annoying her somewhat. She needed more Grimm if she was to get the revenge she deserved. But she was getting tired for the day, and decided to take some time to rest. Pulling some of the leftover meat from earlier out of her little bag, Ruby set up a small fire, placed the meat in the middle of a stick, and hung the stick above the fire to cook. Taking a look around, she observed the Grimm currently traveling with her.
Despite having had to grow up so quickly, having to bear a darkness no child her age should ever have to, Ruby still had some of that child in her. The longer she spent with Dinah, Chesh, and the others, the more that childish spark returned to her eye. She loved learning about them, every new thing she learned bringing back out her imagination and her innocent spirit. It never truly lasted, but they were some of the few times Ruby would ever be the young, innocent girl she once was. And so, when she had the opportunity, she observed them. The way the Grimm structured themselves was almost like a hierarchy, but also similar to the way beasts would. They displayed intelligence, and a lack of it at the same time, and this contradiction held Ruby's interest. She desired to learn more, and she always tried to.
As Ruby was cooking her dinner, the rest of her pack spread out to find their own, each hunting separately. This was another thing that fascinated Ruby, how they could work together like a well oiled machine, and then work just as amazingly by themselves. Was it that the skills the developed as a group bled into their own individual talents, or that their individual talents allowed them to work perfectly in a group? She could only wonder, and wonder she did. She wondered so much that she lost sight of her surroundings, focusing instead on Dinah, and Chesh, and the rest of the group. So lost was she that she didn't notice the shadows stalking her until it was too late.
Tump. Tump. Tump.
It lumbered out of the woodwork. No, they did. Before Ruby stood five absolutely stupidly large Ursai. And large they were. They could all easily stand shoulder to shoulder with Dinah. Covered with such a large number of bony plates and spikes, they looked less like bears and more like living tanks. For the first time since her betrayal, Ruby began to feel genuine fear. If they got a hold of her, Ruby would stand no chance whatsoever. She even doubted that she'd be able to cut through them fast enough, if their armor was anything to judge by. It'd likely end up that by the time she managed to cut through one or two of them, she'd be set upon by the others. This was definitely not a good position to be in.
"Fucking hell."
Before Ruby could decided her next move, the foremost Ursa broke from the group, charging her. As she tried to get up to run, she stumbled on her skirt, falling back onto her rear. She didn't have enough time to react, and she knew it. Was this how it was supposed to end? Before she could even get close enough to those who wronged her? To take the revenge she so desperately deserved? So needed? Unfair. Just so unfair. What kind of sick bastard would come up with this kind of joke. A couple of meters away now, and Ruby knew it was her end. All she could do as the hulking shadow pounced on her.
In his room, Cardin Winchester was recovering from the several new bruises he was currently nursing. Nobody had ever said that Cardin was good with women, and this recent event would only prove them wrong if they had. Completely opposite of his expectations, he and his buddies were completely thrashed by Yang, each having gathered a blackened eye and a dozen assorted bruises at the very least from her well performed beat-down. Even if his pride was hurt, along with his face, ribs, and arms, Cardin had to grudgingly admit that the busty blonde brawler was quite skilled. Taking on four men who were armed with dangerous weapons that could have severely injured her, armed only with a pair of gauntlets, she used a combination of martial arts and technical skill to completely decimate them. Had he not been concentrating on trying to recover from his wounds, his heart might've been moved by her display of strength, along with her other assets.
"Ow. Shit, that bitch hits hard." Again rubbing the spots where Yang had most concentrated her assault, the area on his forearm perfectly centered between the wrist and the elbow, he realized how lucky he is to not have lost feeling after the brutal assault she'd laid upon him. Thinking of how much worse it could be, Cardin shivered. His well trained body, the muscles he'd so painstakingly cultivated with his years of training and body building, were his pride. In a contest of strength, he might not lose except to the most hardened of veterans whose strength would likely far exceed his own. He was just glad to have come away still able to use the body he so loved. "Crap, had she hit me any harder I might not have even been able to lift a spoon though."
His aura still actively trying to help him recover from his wounds, Cardin moved to his door, hoping to reach Beacon's cafeteria without feeling too much of the aftereffects. Moving slowly, deliberately, and with a purpose, he tried his hardest to avoid angering his wounds, and made his way as surely as he could to the cafeteria. Reaching it without too much trouble, Cardin got his dinner, and sat down at his table, preparing to give himself the energy he would need to aid in his own recovery. Halfway through his meal, the soup spoon in his hand nearly to his lips, Cardin heard another person take a seat at his table. Looking up, he saw his teammate, Dove, plopping down his tray, along with his person.
"Hey Cardin, you feeling okay?"
"Yeah, I think. You?"
"Well enough. I was thinking that after this, I would go and hit the gym a little. Do some working out, hit the weights a little. You game?"
"Hmm," mused Cardin. But the offer was too tempting despite his sore bones. Why would he refuse? It gave him the chance to improve the body he was so proud of, to again hone the strength that he took such great care in building up. "Sure, why not?" Of course he accepted. Why wouldn't he? And maybe he could even out brawl the blonde next time, and possibly end up coming away with a little more than some mended pride. Heh, yeah right, but he could hope.
Ruby was struck by several emotions at once. But primary among them were relief, and adoration. Relief at being alive, and adoration towards Dinah and Chesh, both who dropped out of nowhere like a ton of bricks on top of the offending Ursa, and crushing his head with impunity in a well coordinating strike. Now, before Ruby, stood two absolutely large Beowolves, standing between her and the now angered Ursai. But the Beowolves did not care. The collared one looked on with defiance, challenging the Ursai to step closer. Protecting it's new master. The larger, more contained one looked with a menacing glare, as if to dare the the opposing Grimm to make any stupid moves. Moves that would undoubtedly become their last.
With the intervention of these two new opponents, and the death of their comrade, the Ursai could only stop, and consider their situation. Before them were two Beowolves. In a general sense, the three most common Grimm types had a sort of check and balance system in place. Beowolves were fast, but tended to lack defensive capabilities, acting as glass canons. Against the heavily armored Boarbatusks, this was a huge disadvantage, but against the slow and lumbering Ursa, they were unstoppable. The Boarbatusks, with their defense, could outlast a Beowolf, but were nothing before the sheer power of an Ursa. The Ursa could tear a Boarbatusk apart with little problem, but would be swiftly outmatched by a Beowolf. Even with such advanced ages as they'd all boasted, the odds of their victory were still very slim, despite their heavy armament of spikes and plates. Against the smaller Beowolf, against Chesh, they would possibly be able to win. Against Dinah, who was the same size as they were, they would likely lose one or two of their number just trying to beat her. Naturally, Ursa are larger than Beowolves. For a Beowolf to stand shoulder to shoulder with one, obviously that Beowolf was much older, and obviously much stronger. And both sides knew it.
As each side observed the opponent before them, Ruby picked herself up and dusted herself off. Grabbing Crescent Rose from the ground, Ruby flipped her into scythe form, pointed her business end at the Ursai, and took her own chance to survey the situation. There was no action, both sides paralyzed for some reason. Ruby could only make a few guesses, none of which she felt would adequately appease her questioning nature. As she tried to figure out what the hell both sides were doing, Dinah and Chesh moved slightly back, both resting themselves at her flanks. The Ursa likewise moved, two coming closer to the group. Even if the Beowolves outmatched them by themselves, they could likely take them on if the numbers were in their advantage. Discounting the human, the Ursai moved forward, preparing to advance on the pair of Beowolves defending Ruby. Before they could go any further, two of the Beowolves from Chesh's pack jumped out of the forest, lunging straight for the two of them. But alas, they stood absolutely no chance. Even with their advantage of speed, the two Beowolves were outclassed in terms of strength and ability, and the Ursa each halted their advance, and took the Beowolves down. The first Ursa swiped at the closest Beowolf, knocking him to the ground, and proceeded to crush the tiny wolf's neck in it's jaws, squeezing the life out it. The other Ursa simply grounded his Beowolf and smashed it's head in, completely crushing the skull. It was the perfect display of brute force.
Ruby felt pained at seeing two of her newest 'Wolves killed, and could see that it aso had an impact on Chesh. Chesh, who'd been keeping himself in control before, charged forward and assaulted the nearest Ursa, followed quickly by Dinah taking on the other. As the two of them handled their own respective Ursa, Ruby calmly stepped forward and faced the remaining two. Remembering Dinah's one-sided battle with the Ursa from before, Ruby remembered Dinah using her greater agility and speed to her advantage, a thought that Ruby had decided to try for herself. Stepping forward slowly, taking a couple of small paces, she approached the Ursai slowly. As they braced for Ruby's assault, she completely disappeared from their sight.
Confused, they had no idea what to expect. Not until at least a scythe came flying in from the blindside of one of the Ursa, sending a large crescent blade at this thick plate covering it's skull. The blade failed to peirce, but the impact jarred the Ursa, long enough for Ruby to retrieve her weapon and retreat a short distance from the Ursa. Aiming Crescent Rose behind her, Ruby fired, using the recoil to augment her natural speed and the speed gain from her semblance. With the force of a raging Boarbatusk, she smashed the side of her scythe into the head of the Ursa she'd previously tried to de-brain, the impact stacking with the previous attack knocking it entirely unconscious. With one out of the way, Ruby had some breathing room to focus on the other.
The other who was now aware of her speed, and began to take appropriate precautions. But the precautions were in vain, as to the battlefield off to the side, Dinah was just finishing up her own, having just sunk her claws into the neck of her own opponent, and moving to aid Chesh in finishing off his own. Chesh had already disabled his own Ursa's movement, having severed one of it's tree stump sized legs, and working on injuring the other. The moment Dinah arrived, it was a completely one-sided curb-stomp as the two worked in perfect unison, flanking the Ursa and decapitating the beast with impunity. With it's companions taken down, and it's last remaining ally temporarily out of combat, the remaining Ursa just shrunk back, realizing it's situation. Ruby saw the chance, and decided to take it.
"Well, you see the situation now, right?" Ruby still wasn't sure if Grimm understood her words entirely, but she reasoned that since Dinah and Chesh could, maybe this Ursa could as well. "How about this; I need some allies, and seeing as how you guys just killed two of mine, how about you join me and take their place? I mean, it's either that, I subjugate you, or I simply have Dinah and Chesh here take off your heads?"
The Ursa seemed to understand, but still be a little hesitant. But after some growling from Dinah, it seemed to give up, and resign itself to the service of it's new queen. The other Ursa just waking up took a look at the situation, and already knew it was screwed. The Ursa who'd quietly surrendered seemed to communicate with the other by some growls and grunts, and apparently explained the situation to it. Or at least, that's how it seemed to Ruby anyhow. She didn't care. They were walking tanks, defense and offense on an entirely different level than anything she'd seen before. Even the Ursa that Jaune had killed with the help of Pyrrha's semblance couldn't come close. They would be great assets, and Ruby wanted them. The other Ursa, now seeming to get the situation, hesitantly, but surely, lowered it's own head, also showing that it was surrendering to Ruby.
"Perfect. Glad that you came along so willingly. Now, what to call you? How about I call you... 'Dee. And you'll be 'Dum. Like Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Nice names, huh?" A little grunt from the Ursai seemed to be an affirmation of sorts. "Great. Now 'Dee, 'Dum, let's go. I've got to harvest your buddies for materials, as well as food for Dinah, Chesh, and all the others. Yeah, you get to meet the other sin my pack now too..." And she again set to work, cooking a new chunk of meat for herself, harvesting the leather and other materials from the Ursa remains, and giving the two pack members a proper burial. All in all, she would be kept busy for quite a while. But it was fine to her. Her family, her army, was growing larger yet again.
"I guess the house doesn't always win, huh? The cards seem to be in my favor now, huh?"
And far away from her, in Beacon, the thoughts of one young blonde were in perfect harmony with Ruby, though both held vastly different agendas.
"With these hands-"
"With this hand-"
"I will crush those bastards."
"I will crush those bastards."
*Author's Note*
Well, new chapter, yay. I debated for a while on how to do it. I wasn't sure if I should add these two or not, so it took me a couple of days to write it out. Eventually, I decided to do it. I mean, it was gonna happen sooner or later anyhow.
Anyhow, I want to try something new next chapter. I'm going to actually let you guys decided the next step of this story. We know that Jaune and Yang are emotional wrecks, the people who attacked Ruby are all struggling with their own inner demons on the subject, and that Ozpin is basically doing his thing in tandem with Yang to try and find out what the hell happened to Ruby (I plan to let their be no major breakthroughs for a while there, though I may add some suspense there for the shits and giggles). I want you guys decided what the next chapter will focus on. Will we still be following Ruby on her journey to gather more comrades? Will we see the mending process that Jaune is going through to forget Ruby and move on with Pyrrha? Follow Yang and Ozpin as they work to uncover the truths behind the incident? Follow the attempted assassins as they deal with their own emotions and guilt? Or anything else you can think of. Just lemme know in the comments.
So anyways, aside from all of that, I don't have much more to say really. You know the usual. Tell me what you think, ask any questions you may have, and overall just hit me with any thoughts you may have had. Have a good night, and I'll be seeing you guys next chapter. Ciao!