A/N: I'm back! What I'm thinking of doing it posting in week-long stretches, so seven chapters of this story, then seven for The Golden-Eyed Swordsman. Does that sound good to you? Review if you have any comments.
Chapter 7- The Death of a Useless CEO
Ruby's POV
I checked my scroll's timer: Twelve hours, forty three minutes. Risa lost a lot of blood, but he was still alive. His suit was gone, and the white button down shirt he wore was sliced to pieces and soaked with blood. His chest was a mass of red, bleeding from literally hundreds of small cuts I had made. His arms weren't in any better condition, but I had left his feet mostly untouched. His fingers were nubs now, after I cut them off in sections, then poured the bleach on.
Risa's mind had snapped six hours in, and he fell unconscious after ten hours. Now I was working only for the benefit of the camera behind me. After yanking Risa's leather shoes off, I broke his big toe on the joint, then started making vertical cuts down it. I continued all the way down until I reached his heal, then started up at the top again..
I spun the current knife I was holding, and with some effort, cut through the Achilles tendon. His foot immediately went limp, much easier for cutting through skin. I started making parallel cuts, then rubbing the bleach in after every one. After I determined his foot was lacerated enough, I checked my scroll again: Thirteen hours, seven minutes.
My record was beaten, and I was somewhat bored. So I plunged the dagger into his heart, twisting until I couldn't feel a beat anymore. Risa was dead, so I stopped the camera that was recording the entire thing, and put it in a pocket. Then I slung Risa over my shoulder and walked out, heading for the throne-room.
Cinder was still there, looking at her scroll and frowning.
"Where should I put him, my Queen?" I asked loudly. Some of the aides glanced over, gulped, and looked away. The bloody mass on my shoulder probably frightened them more then a group of Deathstalkers.
Cinder's head turned to look at me, "Why not the street where you killed those Huntsmen?"
"As you command, my Queen." After I bowed my head respectfully, I stepped out of the room, then used my Semblance to get me there within seconds. The blood still was soaked into the streets, but the bodies of the Huntsmen and the limbs I had hewed off were gone. I dumped Risa's body on the ground there, then raised Crescent Rose and fired four shots into the air. After which, I scampered up the nearest building in time to see policemen come around the corner.
"I swear I heard four shots! It went bam, bam, bam." The first one said.
The second one looked at him, "That was only three."
The first cop sighed, "Bam."
Then they saw the body, "What in the-"
I had to keep myself from jumping down and killing them both, then turned back to the warehouse I called home.
Line Break
Yang's POV
"So, Blake, what were you doing yesterday?" I asked cheerfully. Now, it was the day after St. Valentine's day, and we were back on the hunt for my sister.
Blake, for her part, blushed slightly, "Talked, went to a theatre. Nothing special."
"Are you sure?" I jogged her with my elbow, "No first kiss?"
Blake rolled her eyes and shoved me away, so I turned to Weiss, "How 'bout you, Weiss?"
"No!" Weiss snapped, "Why must you always get involved in our personal affairs?"
"Ooh, so it didn't go so well." I backed up slightly, not wanting to end up in a chunk of ice.
"If you ladies are done chatting, can we get started?" Qrow appeared from around the side of a building, "Ruby isn't getting any closer."
"Where should we start?" Blake asked, as soft-spoken as always.
I shrugged, "Why not the abandoned district? I mean, first we ended up there when chasing her, then she murders a team who was patrolling it."
Qrow nodded, and started walking of in that direction. Luckily, we were only a few minutes away from the edge of the residential district, so we only had to cross through the commercial district to get to the abandoned portion of Vale.
There wasn't a line saying: Empty District Here. But once you cross a point, everything is empty. It was more of a feeling then anything else.
I shivered, "This place always gives me the creeps. It's always so much colder. . . . . "
Blake shrugged, "I like it. It seems. . . quiet. Peaceful."
"I have to agree with Yang." Weiss sounded colder then she did a few minutes ago, "This place is odd."
Qrow just shook his head and kept walking. That's when we saw the police standing near a street, blocking it off.
"What's going on here, officer?" Qrow asked politely.
"Some man was found here. Tortured to death, by the look of things." he said, "Oh, you're Huntsmen. You need to take a look?"
"That would be very helpful. Thank you." Qrow replied. The policeman stepped aside, and we all filed in. The man was a mass of blood, some of it even soaking into the street under him.
"Ancestors save us!" Qrow swore. I could see why: The man had so many different cuts and wounds on his body, they had to be in the thousands. Then there was this white stuff, all over his body.
"What is that?" Weiss asked. I didn't trust myself to speak without throwing up, so Qrow answered first.
"I'd wager nothing good. The police'll find out."
"Who is he?" Blake asked, looking disgusted at the sight before her.
"Wait." Qrow checked the man's pockets, which were intact, "Risa, the CEO of the Vale News Network."
"Why would Ruby want kill him?" I wondered aloud. What would Ruby have against the news?
"We don't know. And, if I'm right, there won't be a convenient blood trail." Qrow searched around, but found nothing. Then again, any blood could've just been hidden by the rest of the blood in this street.
"Wasn't there another news employee killed recently?" Blake asked.
I snapped my fingers, "That's right! Lisa Lavender, right? The anchorman!"
"An anchorman and the CEO?" Qrow looked skeptical,"That doesn't seem like a way to dismantle the company. And, as far as I know, she never met either of them."
"This just keeps making less and less sense." Blake shook her head, "A team of Huntsmen, police officers, a few citizens, and the CEO of the Vale News Network. What would killing them do?"
"Make people fear for their lives?" Weiss suggested, "It could show that no one is safe from her. That her next target could be anyone."
Qrow looked like an idea came to him, "None of them are Faunus. It was a team of non-Faunus Huntsmen, a group of policemen and citizens, all of which aren't Faunus. How many people has it been? Fifteen, seventeen?"
"I think it was nineteen at the last count." Weiss said thoughtfully, "Logic would suggest even one Faunus among them."
Blake shook her head, "The White Fang would never work with her. And, the White Fang never was against the News Network, nor did they actively seek out police or Huntsmen."
I shrugged, "She's never liked how Faunus were treated. Maybe she doesn't kill Faunus 'cause they're Faunus."
Qrow stood up from where he had been squatting next to the body, "We have to many questions and not nearly enough answers. Perhaps we can puzzle this out later, see if the police come up with a pattern."
"Better then standing around." I waved a hand forward, "C'mon, let's keep looking. Maybe we'll get lucky."
Blake sighed, "Because we've had so much luck."
Line Break
Ruby's POV
"Well hello, Red." Roman called, "What brings you to my humble abode?"
"Cinder wants us." I replied, then walked out the door. Roman sighed, picked up his cane and hat, and followed me.
The day was edging on night now, the perfect time for robberies, if that was what Cinder wanted.
"Now that you are both here, we can begin." Cinder's voice, as smooth as always, carried across the room from a table. On it was a map, showing the locations of all Dust stores, along with if they had been robbed yet.
"What do we do?" I asked, getting straight to the point.
"Instead of stealing the Dust, you are to kill the owner. Roman, you are to steal the Dust from a store two blocks away." Cinder said, pointing to the two shops in question. "After which, you will both head to a third, and detonate the Dust inside."
I nodded, the next question coming to my mind, "How will we get there?"
"Bullhead. Roman, you will have eight White Fang with you. Ruby, you won't need any just to kill the owner." Cinder instructed, "You may go."
With her permission, I strode out the door and headed to where the Bullheads were kept. Minutes later, we were flying through the air, towards our targets. As the Bullhead passed over my shop, I jumped off, rolling as I hit the ground.
From there, I dropped to street level and broke open the door.
"Hey! Who'd you think you are?" The shop keeper shouted angrily, then paled as he saw me properly, "No! Please no! Ancestors save me!"
A single shot rang out in the night. After he was dead, I mutilated his body a small bit, making sure everyone would know who did it. Lastly, I made my rose emblem on his throat.
The first part done, I sprinted four blocks away, and waited. Minutes later, Roman and the White Fang, both in the Bullhead, landed outside the shop.
I didn't see why Cinder wanted me to be here, as Roman simply raised the Melodic Cudgel and fired a single shot into the shop. All the Dust in it exploded violently, tearing the building apart. With the smoldering wreckage behind him, Roman climbed back into the Bullhead, "You coming, Red?"
I stepped on board, and the pilot took off. Within another few minutes, we were back at "home".
"Mission completed, my Queen." I bowed, back in the throne-room.
Cinder nodded, "Good. That should confuse the police to no end trying to figure out why. Sleep now, I have another task for the morning."
I nodded in respect, then left again. Strangely enough, my room felt emptier without the corpse of someone strapped to the wall. Shaking that thought out of my head, I climbed into the sheets and slept peacefully.
A/N: This chapter is a little shorter then usual, but I couldn't figure out a good way to end it. I'm also thinking of setting up Bumblebee, but I need your opinion on that, too.
Please review, follow, favorite, whatever. No pressure, except for the review part. I really want your feedback.
