Creeping Thorns

Ladies love it! - Part 5

Hello folks. Once again, near the end of the chapter, quoting lyrics from 'Dream Come True'.

Edited this chapter the day after I posted just to spruce it up a bit. Wasn't super happy with what I'd written so I fleshed it out a little more. Only about 100 words, nothing major.

Edited it again because I still wasn't happy with Jaune and Ruby's dialogue at the end.

Just in case anyone was curious - the original version of chapter 6 had an Author's Note at the bottom about guy vs girl nipples, that was based on something which was cut from the final version. It's gone now. I'll leave it up to y'all to figure out why I mentioned it. Just in case anybody had read it and was wondering what the hell it was about.

Also, as some of you may have noticed, I bumped the story down to a 'T' rating. This decision was mostly based on the fact that all of my very old versions of Creeping Thorns were extremely gory, and made me think that all iterations thereon would be the same. This has not turned out to be the case, as of 6/13/19. So, in the future, if this becomes M rated, that's because I went somewhere I didn't think I would. I'll keep y'all posted about how things are going on that front.

Enjoy.


Child, our daughter
Sit while we talk awhile


And that was how Ilia found herself with a captive, gagged by cloth and wrapped tightly by her weapon, since she wasn't exactly carrying bundles of rope around.

The fingertips finding their own way to her temples pretty much confirmed that it was a habit now. She'd have sighed if she didn't want to at least pretend that she was a professional. I don't care if Adam personally gives me the mission; if I ever have to work with this kid again I'm flying home. Deciding she'd let the captive stew in his own worries long enough, she brandished her backup weapon, a simple black knife.

"You scream, you lose your tongue." Threats that could actually come to fruition were usually the most effective, as indicated by the nervous nod of her captive. Bracing herself, she reached out and slashed the gag.

He didn't lose his tongue. That was a start.

"Who are you?" She tried.

He grimaced. "It doesn't matter..." His gaze craned over to the girl sleeping on Jaune's chest, now facing his belly button. No, scratch that. Ilia would swim home. When his eyes finally landed on the peaceful expression, he hardened his features in rage. "What matters is what that murderer is going to do to my patient." He blinked. "H-has done to my... patient." He finished lowly, mind audibly churning.

Ilia rolled her eyes. If only he knew who he was talking to. "'Murderer'?" She queried. At that, his mind solidified, his eyes turning to stone.

"Her name was Olivia. Olivia Genere." Tears flowed down his twisted face, sleepless eyes red with exhaustion and pain. "She was my mother. This... this was my first major emergency. I was supposed to take over, years from now, long after she'd showed me the ropes." He barely choked back deep, violent sobbing. "Not now. Not so soon. I-I wasn't... she..." The sorrow on his face turned to spite in an instant, raging against his binds. "She killed her! That girl... Olivia tried to save her, when she stupidly ran back into the danger... then she... w-we found her and..." He began to scream, struggling harder than ever before. Ilia watched his breakdown with an impassive expression. "She never came BA-"

The blade held his tongue well, pinning it to the roof of his mouth. A couple inches deeper, and he'd never scream again. It was certainly tempting, but bodies were infinitely more annoying to deal with than people.

"Consider that a warning." Ilia remarked, only to hear a noise behind her. She cast a short glance over her shoulder.

What should have been an awkward moment of awakening became a nightmare, as Ruby listened to the medic's testimony with wide eyes. The noise she'd heard was Ruby rising from Jaune's side, rustling the bedspead. Ilia understood what she was going to do far too late to stop her.

"Wai-" Faster than Ilia could blink, Ruby fled, shoving open the door in her haste to get away. Ilia's fingers curled dangerously, and faced her wounded captive with a withering glare. "You..." She hadn't the words. To substitute, she spun on one heel and promptly drove the other into his skull, knocking him out cold. Thankfully, she'd remembered to wear her mask, so more lethal measures weren't necessary. However, Adam's voice distantly reminded her that she shouldn't take chances with so much at stake. She bit her lip as indecision racked her body, seconds ticking by. What would Blake do? With a start, Ilia realized she couldn't say for certain anymore. She was on her own. Blood dripped from her lip.

She had to choose.


You've done no misdeed

With her retrieved knife in hand, Ilia promptly chased after her charge.

Still they'll put your life on trial

Compartmentalization was a murderer's best friend.


She'd deserved better.

Olivia had deserved better. Every single person that Monster-Ruby consumed or caused the death of deserved better. They deserved better than to be rendered nameless, faceless figures at the deepest corner of her mind, muttering in a collective voice, little more than books without covers in a library. They deserved better than to become part of Red's ever-growing body count, to become just a statistic.

Jaune deserved better than to be on the verge of death, almost dying to defend a stranger. Ilia deserved better than to be dragged into this. They all deserved better than to have ever met Ruby.

Somebody knocked on the door to the supply closet. "Go away," Ruby mumbled into her forearms.

She'd wondered about the horrifying implications of what Ilia told her, that she'd just found her lying there, unconscious. Wondered what the monster had done. Now she knew. The monster was hungry. Then it found prey.

She'd deserved so much better...

The knocking grew more insistent. "Go away," Ruby said, louder this time, fingertips clawing at her elbows.

Cinder's words of encouragement, that didn't actually feature encouragement, rang in her ears. Cinder seemed so casually confident in Ruby's eventual victory that the child smiled painfully at the memory. She knew that crying wouldn't stop Junior's brother, nor mend the suffering her existence caused. She knew that she had to fight, even when things became impossible to deal with. She couldn't save everyone, but she could fight like hell to save those closest to her, a lesson beaten into her long ago, providing as solidly a foundation for her strength as concrete. Otherwise, the only person she hadn't disappointed yet would finally look at her with those same eyes. And when Yang was so, so far away, she wasn't sure she could make it without someone who believed in her.

She knew she had to, but it was hard. So unbelievably hard not to collapse into an immobile ball, torn apart by the fear of what was inside her, and the guilt of what it made her do. Cinder's voice chided her. 'Consider how much you stand to gain from conquering these trials, and you will understand the true purpose of being.' Was that what suffering was, just perspective? It was a surprisingly sobering thought. Was that how Cinder got so strong? Could she... do the same? And if she did, was that finally how she would find the strength to stop cowering? To stop being so selfish, and fight for those left? Her hand unconsciously sought out a necklace that was no longer there. Wasn't that how she'd gotten this far?

She dried her tears and calmed her breathing, trying to fill her thoughts with the warmth of summer and lilac eyes, what she was ultimately fighting for. She couldn't let them down. The ember in her soul reignited, silver eyes shining brilliantly. People were counting on her.

It was time she returned the favor to Jaune.

The knocking on the door had become shuddering thuds, as though attempting to break down the door. Sorry for her weakness, an apology to Ilia was already on her lips by the time she'd stood up and opened the door.

"Sorr-"

She stopped. Green eyes gave a condescending glare, lips twisted in an arrogant smirk. Ruby spat blood, and promptly fell back, head separate to her body. Horror blossomed as something not human clawed against the door. She couldn't let it out now, not when Jaune or Ilia were so close. They deserved better than to end up like Olivia. She fought even as her body occasionally twitched, blood spewing from her cleanly severed neck.

Her attacker's expression was twisted in obvious disgust. "Ew." She hadn't meant to cut that deep.

She activated her scroll, raising it to eye level as she wiped off her heel-blade on Ruby's clothes, stepping outside to avoid the growing pool.

Her call was answered immediately, Junior's brother coming through sans camera. "Miltia?"

"Melanie," she corrected, wringing her nose. "I got the girl." She said nonchalantly.

"Did she see him die?" He said, tone raised in obvious warning of the wrong answer.

"She went off to have a little girl cry, Boss." She said with an obnoxious Eastern Vale accent, clearly from the bustling trade city on the eastern coast. "Like, ohmygosh, she's such a little girl! She sees her BF all hurt and she's like-"

"I gave specific instructions," Junior's brother growled, silencing the teenager immediately. "That she would die last. She would watch everyone who tried to help her die, knowing she couldn't do a damn thing, then-" He grit his teeth, growling wordlessly. "Then she would feel even an ounce of what I felt." Melanie rolled her eyes off to the side.

"Boss, assassination is like, a delicate art," she said haughtily. "You take what you can get, or you get nothinnn'." She punctuated with a know-it-all headshake.

Junior's brother sighed in wordless exasperation, Melanie maintaining a haughty air as she checked her immaculate nails. "So, do I stab the BF, or like, what, Boss?"

"Proceed as planned," was all he said before cutting the feed. Melanie groaned melodramatically.

"Oh well. At least I get a sexy nurse outfit out of this gig." She checked the outfit, biting her lip saucily when she noticed just how short the skirt was. She practically purred. "Milly will be soooo jealousss…" She'd have to change out of it though. Some blood had gotten on the front, and now its disguise potential was ru-

Quick as a whip, Melanie extended her blades and deflected the attack aimed at her heart, throwing the figure back. Ilia grimaced as she came to a screeching halt, knife held in a textbook reverse grip, practically on all fours from her low crouch. The heavily accented girl put a hand on her hip arrogantly. "Who the heck are you?" She checked her out shamelessly, mask and all. "And who do I have to thank for putting that ass in spandex?"

Ilia's gut twisted in a mixture of disbelief and disgust. She was literally covered in blood and she was flirting? Just who the hell wanted her charge dead? Some league of perverted assassins? Maybe Ruby was right to be suspicious that her bodyguard was a pervert. She was suddenly very thankful that Blake hadn't been given this assignment.

"Where's Ruby?" Ilia responded, rising to her full stature, dark blade gleaming in the hospital light.

Melanie laughed, every syllable carrying with it that same sick arrogance which made her infuriating. "Oh, you mean the kid?" She stepped aside, presenting the closet like a gameshow hostess.

Ilia blinked. "Is this some kind of joke?"

Melanie spent a handful of moments in utter confusion when her instincts flared again, ducking under a surprise attack from behind. Her face caught the follow up, light blue aura flaring just in time, Ilia's heel sending the green-eyed teen careening into the supply closet. She only had a moment to recover before the door slammed in her face, Ruby putting all her weight in holding her back. She could barely stand, vision swimming as she fought the monster, yet she still managed to nod appreciatively at Ilia. Melanie banged on the door.

"Seriously!? A fucking closet!? UGH!" She shrieked.

"I can't..." Ruby tried to say, slamming her head back against the door as her skin writhed. "F-fight like this..." She gave a significant, soulful look to Ilia, resolve shining through the agony. Ilia was visibly trying to not be disgusted by the tendrils writhing beneath Ruby's flesh. "G-get Jaune… it's me she wants..."

"Yeah, and in the 5 seconds it takes-" An dust-infused blade pierced through the door, right beside Ruby's head. "-for her to take you down, then she's my problem!" She gestured. "Step aside. I'll handle her."

"I'm t-tougher... than I look." Unfortunately, the blade that suddenly pierced her side begged to differ. Ruby cried out, gritting her teeth as darkness bled into her eyes. She was going to lose this fight if she couldn't focus. She needed Ilia to take Jaune and go, now. When everyone she cared about was out of the immediate vicinity, she might be able to guide its hunger. Then in a twist of fate, Ilia shoved her aside. Ruby looked up with eyes of betrayal until she realized what was happening, weakly reaching for the Faunus.

She deserved better.

The imminent threat of Ilia's death gave her enough resolve to finally turn the tide, a process as grating and painful as clawing apart concrete with her bare hands, while taking even more effort. She screamed in exertion, will backed by dire necessity and newfound conviction. She was not fast enough, however, to save Ilia from the opening salvo, as the seemingly random attacks on the door proved to have been a tactic all on its own. A roughly human shaped hole burst from the door, catching Ilia in the chest, which Melanie followed up on with another decapitating slice.

Metal screeched against metal as Ilia fought for her life, her opponent's graceful twirling ensuring a constant barrage of wide slashes. Melanie changed her leading foot constantly, varying the direction of every vicious blow. The clinging was rhythmic, accompanying the deadly ballet of battle against her lethal attacker. "Go!" She cried at her charge, unable to spare so much as a glance. It was all Ilia could do just to survive, desperately trying to avoid getting battered into a corner. Ruby staggered to her feet, almost falling once or twice, but steadying herself each time. Darkness tainted the corners of her eyes like twin oil spills.

"I'm not leaving you." Ruby insisted. She couldn't leave, but she also couldn't stay.

Ilia growled, exertion raising the decibel of her voice considerably. "Damnit! Why can't you just trust me!?" Ruby's head rose slightly, comprehension slowly dawning on her face.


This world is cold
The power's with those who would judge and control


Then, as part of the ever-growing enigma that was Ruby, no last name known, she smiled.

"...I do trust you." She said with such sincerity it almost threw Ilia off. "I'll leave this to you. Kick her flat butt, big sis Ilia!" Melanie spent a moment casting a heated glance at Ruby, until Ilia promptly reminded her where her attention should lay.

"Ughh! You flatchested bitch!" Melanie whined as her aura soaked up the impact. Ruby managed her way to the wall, clinging to it while she walked on unsteady legs. "She's one to fucking talk!"

Big sis, huh... the last thing she needed was for the kid to become attached. And, of course, she did. Nothing went right when Ruby was involved. Ilia twirled her knife and dropped low, wordlessly continuing the fight. Just in time, for the heavy axe kick would've split her in two if she hadn't prepared to block it.


The path to Jaune's room was only seconds away, if one knew the right way. But when Ruby couldn't get her bearings, stumbling about and following her loose memory, it took almost an eternity. She breathed hard, legs trembling. She fell to the floor repeatedly, literally crawling as her eyes fought the darkness at their corners. Each time she crawled up the wall, undaunted, dragging herself to her feet. Jaune.

She continued on, trailing the wall, silver eyes bleeding resolve.

Finally, she'd retraced her steps. She practically collapsed against the door, fumbling as her unresponsive hands sought out the button. She crashed her wrist against the glass, shattering it, and the door reluctantly opened. She fell inside.


"How long," Melanie asked mockingly as Ilia panted in exhaustion. "Do you think the little flatchested bitch'll take?"

"Long enough for me to finish you before she gets there." Ilia responded, dark blade held in a shaky grip beneath the harsh light. Melanie's insufferable smirk deepened.

"Oh yeah?" From her back, Melanie dramatically produced a filled hand. Filled with something plastic, topped with a button. A textbook detonator. Ilia's eyes widened. "You sure it isn't about now?"

She wasn't fast enough. Not nearly fast enough. Not when Melanie's thumb was already hovering over the button to end Jaune's life. The look in her eyes showed just how much she lived for this moment. The moment someone lost all hope and watched their world burn.

"You should've ran faster."

The thumb came down.


Ruby clawed at the ground, eyes groggily drifting to the bed. A low beep drew her attention, causing her to shift her gaze. Black plastic, small and easily concealable, attached to the wall. The beeping stopped.

She smiled, flesh darkening as it hardened, and closed her eyes.

Then her world erupted in heat and flames, all consuming and rapid, point-blank explosion obliterating everything.


If Port were a lesser man, he might've turned to the crowd and shouted 'I told you so!'

Instead, as an esteemed Hunter, his immediate reaction was to get to work, the deadly rain of glass and shrapnel heading straight for the crowd.

"Get back!" The crowd fled in chaos, screams and cries of fear and panic perfectly suiting the sudden disastrous setting. A lone girl with green eyes merely watched the collapsing debris with wide eyes, in awe of the spectacle. Port's mind superimposed many outcomes upon the girl, none of them survivable. One of them in particular caused his eyes to become visible in deep alarm.

With speed he thought he'd lost years ago, he raced to her side, red aura deflecting potentially fatal shrapnel. Acting quickly, he grabbed her in a bear hug and leapt, one piece of debris that was once an entire wall flattening where he'd been moments prior. As the dust settled and smaller debris continued to rain, Port uncurled, staring at the young woman he'd just accosted. Like a cat, he sprung back to the other wall of the alleyway, straightening his tie and muttering about his wife with his back turned.

"That was most unfortunate, your paralysis," He immediately settled back into routine, lecturing the young woman calmly. She was not paralyzed now, however. "Yes, standing still in battle is truly a death sentence - as well as having your back turned." Silver blades extended from her stylish gloves, as she reared back to deliver a decapitating blow. "It is also unfortunate to underestimate your enemy."

The claws swiped at Port's neck. It almost succeeded, stopped at the last moment by a delicate, feminine hand, flush with grey aura.

"Conversely, of all the advantages in battle - it truly pays to have teammates." Volkskaya quickly pulled the young assailant off-balance, the girl lurching forward. Her other hand, spread wide in a clawed hand moved opposite to her tugging arm and promptly battered the green-eyed girl to the ground. She impacted the ground solidly, aura fluttering as the savage blow broke straight through. She wheezed, solar plexus thoroughly paralyzed, the sign of a picture perfect strike honed by decades of battle.

"I live among Hunters and Huntresses. I could spot someone with sufficient training from miles away. And yet you chose to remain still." The older man finally faced the girl. "Your infiltration mark is 0. Remedial classes will be hosted after your court date. However, if you wish to acquire extra marks..." He lorded over her, nodding at his wife's silent query, who then vanished in a blur.

"...You can start with the whereabouts of your accomplices."

For several long moments, Miltia stared up at him with a sorrowful look. Port was confused, until the air was split by the rapid fire of explosive rounds. The Vigilant, who'd formed a perimeter to stop the spread of this calamity, started to drop systematically, their invisibility suddenly rendered useless. They tried to leap down, fleeing for cover, but the shots had come with such rapidity that by the time they'd so much as taken one step, it was over. The last Upper Guard vanished mid-air in a fiery blast, expensive Atlesian tech rendered meaningless beneath overwhelming firepower. Some of the most trained and well-armed of Vale's Upper Guard, devastated in seconds.

"She doesn't need to tell you shit, old man." Port trained his shocked eyes upwards, to the rooftop at the alley's end. Junior's older brother stood, rifle held aloft, free hand sheathed in metal, joints emitting a faint blue light.

"I'm right fucking here." He smirked savagely, clearly enamored in the thrill of the moment. His massive weapon was brought to bear, barrel smoking, whirring as it readied to dispense yet more explosive death. Then, as though from nowhere, dozens of the Red Men of Vale, the most cost-effective and readily available muscle in all of Vale, filled the edges of the rooftops. Several more came to a halt at the alleyway's entrance. Port was completely surrounded.

There would be no escape.

"So come and GET ME!"


Everything was ringing.

Her eyes were greeted with a dull grey haze, the aftermath of such devastation wrought upon the hospital and girl alike. Her reaching hands were followed by smoky afterimages, as though her eyes couldn't quite piece movement together. The coppery taste of blood and smell of metal formed a distinct concoction, embodying the aftermath of an explosion. Into her focus came a metal beam, large and held by wires, looming ominously above. Her senses screamed, limp motions becoming more panicked, fumbling for anything to clamber away. The wires strained, falling apart. Ruby watched with eyes unable to focus, yet still overflowing with the fear of pain, as they finally snapped.

The metal crashed into the debris below. It did not find flesh.

A hazy image of white metal and crescent lines appeared briefly in Ruby's image before she was suddenly pulled, collapsing to safety. Her eyes rolled purposelessly in her skull, head lolling to the side. They landed on her survivor, heaving amid the smoke and fiery aftermath, sword used as a crutch. Silver eyes widened minutely.

Jaune.

Without further ado, her savior smiled. "We're even now, right...?" Then collapsed to his knees, exhaustion overtaking him, as well as the smoke. Ruby's mind finally received the jumpstart it needed. She forced herself up, gathering herself like smoke into a vent. All at once the alarms and blood and smoke and metal and flames came at her, causing her to wince at the sensory overload, passing slowly.

"Jaune…" she said, trying to blink away the haze. "When did you...?"

He shook his head, likely suffering from the same haze himself. "Something woke me up. I-I don't know what, but then I saw that thing on the wall and that guy in the chair and... I had to get out of there." He looked at the devastated room, collapsing more and more every moment. "When it went off, I came back, because it-it might not've been for me..." He stared at her with visible relief. "But it can't kill someone like you, right? You're... you're okay, right?" The more he contemplated what little he knew about explosives, the more worried he became. "You're not uh... bleeding i-internally are you?"

"Uh..." Ruby wanted to tell him that she was just dazed, but escaping the blast almost unharmed would raise a lot of questions. Like how she'd gotten so strong, and who trained her. She suddenly made a show of falling to a knee, grasping her side. "N-now that you mention it, I think it got me in the-" random organ random organ "-kidney." No wait that's fatal what's wrong with you Ruby.

Jaune's look of selfless concern made Ruby's empathetic heart ache. There was nothing worse than taking advantage of a good, honest person. "That's funny..." Jaune spat blood, straining to smile through the pain. "I-I think it got me there too." Ruby's eyes widened as Jaune trembled, only now recognizing just what kind of shape he was in. With how dehydrated he was before, not to mention the wound to his chest, however healed, and now being so close to an explosion that'd likely ripped apart his Aura... Jaune needed medical attention. Now.


I think you're gonna figure out:
I'm the one for you and there's no one else


As though to signify this, one of his knees gave out, Ruby and Jaune's hands both instinctively reacting to keep him up. Her short statue meant she was holding him from beneath his arm, supporting him like an extra limb. This made their two faces uncomfortable close, Jaune's arm slung over her shoulder like they were on a date. The two shared a moment of embarrassment, faces flushing and turning away briefly before something else collapsed and snapped them out of it. They shared a significant look, communicating wordlessly, and nodded together.

As one, Ruby and Jaune stood, hobbling as the blonde warrior used his weapon to practically pull himself forward, digging into the darkened tiles. Ruby tried to avoid dragging Jaune, even as his limbs strained just to keep him standing. "Wait..." Ruby stopped immediately, looking up at Jaune with curious eyes.

"What is it?"

"T-the guy... he's in a safe-ish spot but... he's still tied to a chair. We can't leave him." Ruby spent only a moment in contemplation before realizing who he meant. She looked away, biting her lip. She needed to rescue Ilia as well. There was no telling how she'd been affected by the blast. She was hoping to carry Jaune to safety then go back but... she couldn't keep up the charade while saving all three of them. How the hell was she supposed to act wounded while practically dragging along two others, maybe three? She started to panic internally. What was she supposed to do? Why did she have to choose?

Like lighting following the thunder, Ruby's moment of weakness attracted the attention of the monster within. She collapsed, grasping her head, Jaune's cries of concern a distant noise upon her dark horizon. Please, she pleaded to the unthinking beast. I-I can't.

The darkness intruding upon her eyes begged to differ. Ruby screamed as the monster's claws pierced through the door, filling her mind with its foul need for carnage. The muscles in Ruby's hands audibly tightened as her fists balled.

Golden hair flooded her mind, as did Olivia's maternal gaze, Roman's collected demeanor, Emerald's red eyes, and Cinder's cool confidence. The monster's influence impacted the barrier of will mightily. But Ruby's desire to save her friends, to help those she could, was stronger.

They all deserved better.

Like tendrils receding into the abyss, the darkness retreated from Ruby's tightly closed eyes. She breathed as the world returned, Jaune's hands shaking her, alarms blaring, smoke and flames filling her nose and lungs. She reared back, sitting up, legs splayed to either side. Jaune stared at her with wide, terrified eyes.

"R-Ruby..." and immediately hugged her, letting out a shuddering breath. He released her just as quickly, wincing, eyes watering from the smoke. Probably. "What was that? C-can you walk?"

"I..." She shook her head. "Sorry. Sudden migraine. Head trauma." She awkwardly looked away, then back. "We should keep going."

Jaune nodded wordlessly, concern overwriting everything else. "I-I can try and walk on my own if you-"

She shook her head desperately. "No! You let me help you or I will carry you like a backpack, Mister." She finished with what she hoped was a scalding pout.

"O... kay..." Jaune blinked confusedly. "Let's-"

The ceiling collapsed behind them. The two darted back instinctively, falling side by side. They gave each other a mutual look of sheepishness and promptly clambered to their wobbly haunches, Ruby resuming her position as crutch under Jaune's arm. He spent a moment giving deep, hacking coughs into his hand, wiping blood away on his ruined pants. Her decision had been made for her. Jaune was likely dying, while the Faunus still had a fighting chance alone.

She'd just have to trust in Ilia. And hope against all odds that this decision didn't turn out like the last one did...


Sorry about the cliffhanger, folks, but I thought this would be as good an opportunity as any to end it off and go next. More dramatic, ya see?

I'm sure we all know an obnoxious prissy girl that comes from Cali we'd all like to see brutally murdered. They're like, the worssssst! Sorry, I'll stop. I may or may not have been heavily influenced by the Flower Girls from Camp Camp for Melanie's character.

Thinking about quoting songs that aren't from the RWBY OST, but would still be thematically fitting. Thoughts, folks?

Review please.