Chapter 7:
The Atlas airstrip was a massive sprawling collection of buildings, many of which were dedicated to catering to the needs of corporate rather than commercial flights. That said, there was still a larger number of commercial flights departing from Atlas than any other Kingdom in on Remnant, save for Vale. Given that Atlas itself was dispositioned to large amounts of snow and icy weather, this was in of itself, an impressive accomplishment.
Thankfully, today was rather light on the snowy weather, with only a few flakes accumulating as a light dusting on the ground. This was good for a number of reasons though, as Blake thought, the fact that it allowed the motorcycle that she was the (un)fortunate passenger of to remain stably rooted to the ground.
Given that the driver of said vehicle was her blonde partner, the feline faunus found her concerns of suddenly running off the roads quite reasonable. Then again, Yang had never developed a sense of safety while driving besides wearing the helmet.
The reason that the two were in such a hurry however, was that they had gotten a call on Blake's scroll a little over an hour ago from Winter Schnee. The older woman had, on no uncertain terms, made it clear that they were to arrive at the airstrip in no less than two hours. As for what the reason, the text that the Atlas Specialist had sent following the call was reason enough for their haste.
'White and Red returning this afternoon.'
Those words alone had been enough to send Yang tearing through across the hall to Blake's room in the hotel that they were both staying in while stationed in Atlas. It had, of course, disturbed some of the more… sensitive guests of the posh hotel that Weiss had always managed to snag for her teammates when they were in the neighborhood. A fact that both of them appreciated; yet now, Yang could care less if they stayed in a trashy motel at the outskirts of Atlas: Weiss had found Ruby!
Though she was loath to admit it, Blake had been just as excited by the news of their leader's return. While Ruby wasn't her sister, the girl may as well have been considering the amount of trust that they each held for one another. Only Blake's refusal to break from her typical demeanor held her back from simply skipping the stairs altogether and jumping out the window in her haste.
The time on Blake's scroll read 12:30 P.M. It was definitely considered "afternoon," but that was hardly a specific time-frame. Blake and Yellow burst through the doors of the main entrance to the airstrip, already sighting a familiar white figure, though significantly taller than the one that they both yearned to lay eyes on.
"Winter!"
The woman's eyes narrowed as Yang yelled out her name, later resorting to a sigh in resignation of the fact that the blonde would probably never respect authority.
"Where's Weiss and Ruby?!"
"In my pockets." Winter deadpanned. Never let it be said that she hadn't developed a wicked sense of sarcasm over the years. "Why are you assuming that it is your sister as well as mine who are arriving?"
"Right, Red and White. Who else would it be?" Yang rolled her eyes. "Why'd you name em' like that anyways?"
"Unlike you, Yang Xiao Long, I have a duty to uphold peace. This also includes encrypting information so that a neanderthal such as yourself cannot access it."
"Haha, very funny. When will they arrive ya' iceberg?"
Pinching the bridge of her nose and mentally making a note that Weiss owed her a favor for dealing with this woman, Winter answered irritably. "My sister commissioned an SDC transport to pick her up from the field, citing 'special circumstances' as a reason. Given that she requested such a transport several hours ago, they should arrive within the next few minutes."
"A few minutes…" Up until now, Blake had been silent. Once she spoke however, it seemed to put a damper over the entire commotion.
In a few minutes, they would finally see Ruby again after two years. After frantically searching across the four kingdoms, it was almost like a dream that it would be this easy to find the girl.
How would she have changed? They knew next to nothing about what Ruby had been doing for the past two years; for all they knew, her personality could have done a complete 180.
Yet, they were given no time to confront these possibilities as an announcement came over the speakers that dotted the inside of the building.
"Special Flight #1632 will be arriving at Terminal E in 3 minutes."
Terminal E was the specialized area that was typically used for military flights and the like. Given that Weiss had called in the flight as assistance in the field for a hunter operation, it was no surprise that their transport would land there.
Yang was the first to speak. "Let's go girls, Ruby and Weiss won't welcome themselves home!" A grin was clearly visible on her face, one that her partner could easily, after years of knowing her, was to cover up the blonde's own nervousness.
The remaining dozens of seconds waiting for the other half of team RWBY to exit their bullhead transport were some of the longest of Blake's life. As the transport was taxied to the entrance of the terminal, Blake chewed her lower lip.
Glancing over at Yang, Blake noticed that she was still putting up the "always cheerful" act, though her clenched fists were a dead giveaway to her true feelings. A sudden realization had Blake laying her hand on her partner's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down: Ruby was Yang's sister. The two had been nearly inseparable since they had arrived at Beacon and, from the large amount that she knew about the sisters, before that as well.
Lavender eyes gave a grateful glance before turning back to face the exit. Blake's support meant more than she would know right now.
And then they were there.
First was Weiss, dressed in a white blouse that Blake had often seen the white woman wearing. Her hair tied up in the usual off-center ponytail, she was a sight for sore eyes, attracting multiple gazes from the few personnel that were in the terminal. Despite that, the current group only had eyes for the woman behind her.
It was all so familiar. The wide grin, dark red highlights in her hair, an air of cheerfulness that was contagious to all who surrounded her; they were all things that made Ruby who she was, and none of that had changed.
And yet so much had. Silver eyes no longer gleamed with the childish innocence that they had so long ago. Gone was the little fifteen year old girl who had been so excited to start school; in her place was a confident adult woman, one who was without a doubt, one of the most skilled huntresses on Remnant at the moment.
One who immediately proceeded to trip over the small crack in between the exit bridge and the floor of the terminal, frantically grabbing at Weiss' shoulders in an effort to stay upright.
"Uh, hi Yang, hey Blake." Ignoring the annoyed glare that her impromptu crutch was giving her, Ruby tried to give the former two a nervous smile in greeting. No small amount of trepidation filled her as she waited for their response.
Yang stared for one second, two seconds, three seconds… before bursting into laughter at the sight of her little sister struggling to not pitch forward onto her face. "Hey Rubes, it's nice to have to have you back."
Quickly closing the distance, the blonde pried her sister off of Weiss before engulfing the still smaller woman in her arms. "I really missed you ya know?"
"Yeah…" Reciprocating the gesture, Ruby could only bask in the familiar warmth of her sister. Yang had never been one for subtlety when it came to her emotions, and now, more than ever, Ruby could appreciate that her sister was one of the straightest shooters you could know when it came to showing affection. "Thanks Yang."
After a few more moments, Yang reluctantly let go of her sister, if only to allow the latter to address the final member of team RWBY.
"So uh… what's up Blake?" Ruby scratched the back of her head sheepishly. Though they were doubtlessly close, Blake and Ruby had always been the furthest apart on team RWBY. This was only logical, seeing as how one member was her partner and the other was her sister. It was funny however, how their personalities worked out. Ruby being the energy that Blake used to get through her day, while the former saw Blake as someone to talk to when the stresses of school and being a leader was just too much.
And so it was to great surprise to Ruby when Blake silently wrapped a hug around her as well, silver eyes widening as the other woman hugged her.
"Welcome back Ruby." Blake spoke with a small smile crossed with a smirk on her face. "And to answer your question, nothing's really been going on except my best friend coming back from two years of isolation."
Laughing, Ruby pulled back. "Hey, who taught you to get a sense of sarcasm?" Not that she was complaining, but Blake had used to be the most serious of them all; even Weiss had to admit to that.
"Trust me, after being stuck with Yang for two years, you get used to it." A small sound of outrage sounded from the blonde before Blake spoke again. "Speaking of which, I'm glad you're back to keep her in check. She was absolutely insufferable with her puns."
"Hey! You loved my puns and you know it Bellabroody!"
Blake clicked her tongue in disbelief. "See what I mean?"
Fortunately, before the Yang could respond, another voice spoke out. "As much as I love to see my teammates engage in their own standup comedy routine, can I remind you all that we would all be much better served to return to my apartment first? I dare say that it is more comfortable there than in the middle of the airstrip terminal."
"Gee Weiss, go kick somebody's dog why don't you…?" Yang muttered under her breath, but followed along with Ruby as the latter waved her hands in warning to her sister before grabbing Weiss' shoulder.
"Hey come on, I'd rather not have to deal with you guys arguing when I just got back. Please?"
Holding Ruby's gaze for a few moments, Weiss finally sighed and started towards the exit of the terminal. "Fine, let's just get going."
"Thanks Weiss!" Ruby gave a smile and waved towards her two other teammates to follow. Winter, as expected, had already fallen into step with Weiss.
"Would you mind telling me why you had to request a transport to get here?"
Weiss shot her sister a look. "I suppose that you taking the reason that was provided would be too much to ask?"
"Weiss."
The owner of the name looked back and sighed before speaking again. "Just give me until tomorrow Winter, please?"
Following Weiss' gaze, the elder sister found the trio of RBY staring right back at her. Surprisingly enough, it was Ruby who spoke up.
"We'll explain as soon as possible Specialist Schnee. Though as Weiss mentioned, it would probably be a much more coherent explanation if you waited until we had a chance to rest ourselves."
Needless to say, everyone looked at Ruby as if she had grown a second head. The quickest to recover however, was Winter.
"I-I see." Horrified that she actually stuttered, Winter continued as best she could. "Well then, I hope to hear your explanation tomorrow."
Giving a small salute with a faint smile, Ruby replied easily. "Will do."
With nothing else to say, and the group having reached the exit, Winter walked off towards a military vehicle that she had taken here as a response to the call for a transport. It, at the very least, looked better on a military record than driving her personal vehicle here to pick up her sister.
Unfortunately, this left the rest of team RWBY to stare blankly at their leader, leading to a very awkward staredown between their leader and the rest of the team.
"W-What is it you guys?"
"Since when did you become a professional speaker…?" Weiss' lips trembled in disbelief. If someone had asked her to determine Ruby's identity based on the words that the crimsonette had just spoken, there would have been only one answer: Impossible!
"Well… you pick up a few things when you're traveling for two years straight. Being a bumbling social mess in front of officials only gets you so far you know." Trying to ignore the looks, Ruby continued to walk as the rest of her team followed.
"Sis, there's a difference between being socially stable and talking back to Winter Schnee. Even Uncle Qrow tries to avoid that Ice Queen."
"I guess you could say that some people out there aren't nearly as nice as Winter then. Besides, she would never hurt us Yang."
With that, Yang couldn't argue. "...whatever." While it was true that she didn't like the elder Schnee sibling, it was equally as clear that Winter would never hurt those who she saw as allies, however reluctant she was admit to it.
"Anyways, lets get to Weiss' place. I'm exhausted."
"Finally, a reasonable suggestion." Weiss opened up the door to the car that she had called for an hour before their arrival. Thankfully, the chauffeur had been intelligent enough to send a message as to where it was parked. It was the same car that she had driven home the other night.
"Oh, I assume that you got here with your bike Yang. Since it only seats two, how about Ruby just ride with me?"
"We could probably squeeze three if we squished…"
"Yang!"
"Suit yourself."
"Weiss, the seats in your car are so squishy!" Oblivious to the conversation between her sister and her partner, Ruby was currently examining the state of the car, finding it much to her liking. "How much did you spend on this thing?"
Rolling her eyes, Yang supposed that she should just be glad that it was the same old Ruby. Gesturing for Blake to follow, the pair made their way back towards the entrance of the airstrip.
"About the same amount that you paid to go to Beacon for a year."
Ruby's face rapidly paled, her hands freezing where they had been rubbing over the soft interior leather of the car.
"Ruby it's fine." Weiss chuckled at the look on her partner's face. Humanity's worst enemy was nothing much, but a few thousand lien and this was what her partner was reduced to.
Knowing Weiss' background, Ruby tried to relax. Unfortunately, the seat that had seemed to be so soft at first now felt awkwardly uncomfortable as Weiss backed out of her spot and began to drive home.
"Hey Weiss…"
"Yes?"
"Could you get a less expensive car next time?"
"...We'll see."
They were almost out of the parking lot when they heard a scream of anguish that sounded suspiciously like Yang.
"I only stopped for twenty minutes, how could I have gotten a ticket!"
-Break-
As soon as team RWBY walked through the doors of Weiss' apartment, (Ooh's and Ahh's of their leader aside.) the latter two flopped down on the couch with practiced ease, the CEO taking her place across from them. Just for a moment, they sat there in silence just to relax before Weiss realized that Ruby was left standing up, the space next to the white woman being taken up by a pile of documents.
"Uh…"
Taking notice of the girl's predicament, Blake swiftly got up and set the various folders and papers on the coffee table in between the two couches. A quick word of thanks was uttered before Ruby sat down next to Weiss.
"So Rubes, you gonna tell us what you've been up to for the past two years or what?" Once again displaying her complete lack of tact, or rather, her complete disregard for it, Yang popped the question that was on everyone's mind.
Weiss had never spoken to the others about the circumstances of Ruby's disappearance. And considering the girl's own lack of presence in their lives, Blake and Yang could only guess as to why the latter's sister had left so suddenly.
Exchanging a glance with her partner, Ruby sighed before speaking. "Where should I start?" The rhetorical question bought the woman a little time.
"I guess you could say that I left because there was nothing to keep me around. Don't get me wrong." She added quickly, seeing the expressions on her teammate's faces. "Team RWBY means more to me than almost anything else, but I just needed some… time alone you know?"
It was definitely more than that, her teammates would be able to tell. Those moments with Weiss though, however painful they were, held a sense of intimacy with the CEO, and so Ruby excluded them from her story.
Seeing that the others were waiting for her to continue, Ruby quickly recovered. "Moving on, I guess I've just been traveling around the world. Seeing new sights and learning new things. Vale, Mistral, Atlas, and Menagerie, I've been to all of them and seen the people there."
"I guess… I just needed to see you know? I needed to see what I… what we did. I needed to see that what we did actually made a difference in the world."
It made sense, in some kind of twisted world, where a young 19 year old girl and her friends would have been the ones to fight off Cinder Fall and her sinister designs for the world.
"Ruby…" Blake spoke, knowing that part of the reason the fight had been so hard had been her insistence to keep Adam Taurus, the leader of the White Fang, alive. Despite their bond having long since been broken, it was never easy for anyone, much less one as empathetic as Blake, to take the life of one they had once called friend, much less lover.
"You did make a difference Ruby. The White Fang is gone, and faunus are slowly gaining more respect than ever before."
"I know Blake… but Uncle Qrow brought me with him for a reason. Not everyone is under the jurisdiction of the Kingdoms. I saw people yelling at faunus, even beating them, and every time, nobody would help. Even if all the major governments do pass laws against faunus discrimination, there are people who just won't listen."
"Then we just have to keep trying Rubes, sitting around isn't going to make things any better." Yang clapped a hand on her sister's shoulder. "You should know that better than anybody here."
Ruby touched the compact form of Crescent Rose that now lay at her feet. "Thanks Yang… but I mean, sometimes stuff just doesn't work out, even when I try my best. I should know that."
And it was true. Despite her best efforts to avoid doing so, Ruby had been left with no choice but to end the life of Cinder Fall that fateful day two years ago. It was the first person that she had ever killed; she hoped that it would also be her last.
The memory of that day was still ingrained in the minds of many of their closest friends; and though by some miracle none of them had been lost, the same did not hold true for many others who had participated in the battle.
"Would you just listen to yourself?"
Weiss, who had refrained from participating in the conversation until this point, spoke in a voice filled with annoyance.
"Ruby Rose, you're a hero. I don't care what anybody else tells you understand?"
Stunned silvers looked up at Weiss.
"B-But I-"
"But nothing, what other choice did you have besides killing her Ruby? And if it's progress with the faunus that you're worried about..." Weiss grabbed one of the folders on the table before stuffing a sheet of paper into the woman's face.
"Here."
"Weiss what-?"
"The reports for job applications over the past month of the SDC." There were various graphs that depicted exactly what Weiss said they did. They showed a significant increase in both the number of faunus workers and faunus managers. "The numbers are there Ruby, things don't happen in a day. Miracles aren't worked just because you killed Cinder."
"You don't understand Weiss..."
"And just what don't I understand Ruby? I understand more than anyone in case you've forgotten what my family has done."
Ruby's eyes were directed at her own feet. "I just… can't do it Weiss. Not when people are hurting like this. Nobody ever told me that being a hero was so hard."
"Then why do you think we're even trying!" The woman was standing up now, practically yelling into the other's face.
"You said it yourself Ruby! Change isn't going to happen in a day! We have to work at it, day after day, month after month, and year after year!"
The words were familiar to Ruby's ears. They were the ones that she herself had shouted at Adam Taurus as they had ended the man's life. A declaration of resolve… and a promise as well.
"I-I took those words as my own Ruby, so you're not allowed to give up on them now!" A slight pink made itself known on Weiss' face. As crude as it was, the world of dust trading was the SDC's stomping ground, and though Weiss had made attempts to avoid doing so, some corporations seemed to not understand the reasoning behind fair trade laws.
Forget honestly expressing herself to someone, Weiss had been busy doing the exact opposite nearly every day for the past two years.
And so when Ruby's expression went from angry, to blank, to laughing, Weiss was understandably flustered at her honest attempt being made fun of.
"Stop laughing!" She raged.
"S-Sorry sorry!" Ruby tried to fend off the hands that were now coming to hit her head. "It's just that… two years ago, I was the one who needed to say those words to you Weiss. I really needed to get that off of my chest and, hearing you say that to me now…"
Looping her arms around Weiss' neck, Ruby gave her partner a hug. "I really needed to hear that too. That the things I did weren't completely useless."
"You… absolute dolt. I know that better than anybody too. I was the first one to experience how stubborn you are after all."
"Heh, thanks then, best teammate."
Giving a lazy smile, Yang gathered both of them in her arms, much to the protest of the two shorter women. Ignoring the splutters of indignation from both ends, Yang only hugged harder.
"Alright, now that all the doom and glooms away, I say we celebrate!"
"What?" Two equally confused voices came out. Their emotionally charged moment had the two struggling to keep up.
"Oh brother…" Blake let her head fall back onto the couch, seemingly already aware of what Yang was implying.
"I never got to celebrate my little sister's big 21!"
Realization dawned in blue and silver as they were both released from the bone-crushing hug.
"Yang Xiao-Long, we are not getting drunk on our first night back!"
"Ah, lighten up princess, I already bought a bottle on the way here!" Yang produced a bottle of cheap red wine from a small bag. When she had time to actually grab that, only Blake knew.
"And besides, I know you definitely have some good stuff somewhere in here."
Weiss glared at Yang, determined to go against the blonde… until she felt a tug on her sleeve from behind. It was a mistake that Weiss would regret.
"Hey uh, Weiss… I don't think that Yang's idea is that bad."
"What?!"
Ruby cringed slightly at the tone. "What I mean is, Yang's going to take me out to celebrate this either way, so we may as well do it here right? Better in your apartment then at some random bar."
The doe-eyed look that Ruby gave Weiss was a death sentence to the CEO's resolve. Then again, the crimson haired huntress did have a point. Ruby, alone and vulnerable at some dirty bar in downtown Atlas. Inebriated by alcohol and surrounded by less than reputable men, the woman's figure doubtlessly attracting the gazes of many.
Weiss could see it now. A deceitful worm coming up to Ruby and luring the girl away while Yang wasn't watching and then… having his way with her!
"... Give me five minutes." Weiss stalked off towards one of the rooms at the end of the hallway of her apartment, digging around for a bit before returning with a drink whose bottle itself looked more expensive than the entire drink that Yang had offered up.
"If we're doing this, we're going to do it right. Not on some cheap swill." Producing four wine glasses, Weiss poured a sizable amount into each one. Each member of team RWBY took a glass, with the two sisters having an excited look on their faces, and Blake seemingly resigned to what was going to happen.
"To Ruby's twenty first birthday…" Weiss raised her glass hesitantly. A resounding clang of glass had everyone taking a sip of the drink.
Feeling a warmth well up in her chest, Weiss spoke again. "Sorry, forgot to mention, take small sips. It's 140 proof alcohol." She raised the bottle and indicated the number.
Both women across from her stiffened before having their eyes trail next to Weiss. The latter was horrified at what she saw when she turned.
The wine in Ruby's glass was completely gone, the glass itself tilted almost vertically.
Fuck.
