A/N: Alright, I know I said that last one would be the last one for a little while but I was too excited to release this one. It's the longest one yet and... rough. Violence and blood warning (not excessive amounts, mind you but still wanted to give that warning).

Also, WOW! 100 followers and almost 50 favorites on my very first story. I feel so blessed! Thank you all for your support of this story. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I do writing it. I also might do some art for the chapter 10 and post it on my art blog if y'all are interested (let me know if that's something you'd like to see). Alright, enough stalling. Enjoy the bees!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY... Though it would be cool if I did...

XxXxX

Chapter 9

Two days ago.

Ruby still didn't understand what they wanted. She sat in the chair and waited, knowing that Raging Bull would be back to ask more questions. First, he started asking about Nightshade. Ruby told him all she knew (Which to be fair, was pretty extensive due to her love for the hero). But after she had relayed it all to him, he grabbed the arms of her chair and shook it with rage.

He told her that he didn't want the information that you could learn from reading the back of a trading card. He demanded she tell him the connection they had. Ruby had wanted to tell him that even if she did know her, she wouldn't tell him a thing. She wanted to, but she didn't. As scary and upsetting as this might be, she needed to be careful. This hero-

This man-

This monster had killed people before. If she didn't choose her words wisely, she could be next. Sure she was valuable now, but for how long.

He stepped back into the room, a smile on his face.

"Ok, Ruby. I'm willing to believe that you don't actually know Nightshade. I'm willing to believe that you are just some Nightshade fan." Raging Bull told her, his voice was eerily calm. "Were you a fan of me too, huh?"

"Before you went crazy."

"I did not go crazy." He said. He walked behind her chair, hands folded behind his back as he sauntered about the room. "I merely saw the flaw in the hero system. I saw the light. And I am much happier now."

He was far too calm for Ruby's liking. She tried to careen her head enough to keep an eye on him, but found she could not do that from her position.

"You killed people."

"Only to make a point! It's not like I went on a murderous rampage. I had motives."

"Sounds like something a crazy person would say."

Raging Bull rushed up behind her, grabbed her hair and forcibly yanked her head back. Ruby yelped at the sudden pull.

"If I was a psycho, you'd be covered head to toe in blood by now." He whispered in her ear, followed by low chuckling. He pushed her head down again, almost knocking her and the chair down with the force of it. "Watch your tongue, or it might have to come out."

"What do you want from me? I've answered all of your questions."

"Well I've got more, now that I understand what I'm dealing with here."

The spiky-haired man stepped in front of Ruby and stared her down through his bone mask.

"Why don't you tell me a little about yourself, hmmm?"

"What?" Ruby asked. What was he playing at.

"I want to get to know you. Get to know who's… close to you. Who you know. Perhaps we have some friends in common."

Did he want leverage? Was that it?

"If you think for a second I'm gonna tell you anything about my friends or family, you are d- Ooof!"

Ruby was interrupted by a strong punch to the left side of her face. She didn't attempt to move her head back up, too focused on trying to block out the harsh throbbing that started to spread along her face. When she did look up, Raging Bull was still calm.

"What did I say about talking back?"

"Wasn't really talking back…"

Another punch to the other side of her face. This time, Ruby could taste blood. She felt it drip down the corner of her mouth. It was in that moment that a thought occurred to her. It was a thought that crossed her mind many times before. Most times, the thought made her weep at night. It scared her. But this time, oddly enough, it empowered her. It made her feel like she had nothing to lose.

Ruby Rose came to terms with the fact that she might not make it out of here alive. Actually no. She was quite certain that she wouldn't make it out of here alive. She was only useful up to a certain point. And she knew that point hadn't come yet. Hopefully.

So why not give this guy a real hard time. So what if she had a few bruises. Those would heal. The pain this man inflicted on others, wouldn't. As an aspiring hero, Ruby could not just give in. She WAS strong.

"I bet… you feel so tough… huh? Beating up someone who can't even defend themselves…" Ruby egged him on. Raging Bull unleashed two more blows on her left side once again.

"Answer. The. Question." He seethed, coming mere inches away from her face.

"Go… To… Hell." She said, spitting blood in his face. His sneer grew as he jumped back in disgust. Ruby took a little pride in breaking through the calm exterior he had put on. Too bad it was overshadowed by the painful throbbing in her face.

But then, he started laughing. It started low, but built up to fill the room like an untuned violin. He turned back in a flash and let loose on Ruby. He began wailing on her, not limiting his hits to her face anymore. After a series of blows to her abdomen, he ceased his attack. Ruby bent over as far as the rope would allow her to and coughed up blood.

"Brave. You wanna be a hero? Pathetic." He scoffed. "Still feeling brave, huh? Still feel like talking back like that?"

Ruby remained silent.

"Good. Now, be a good girl, and tell me what I want to know. Who are you close to?"

I can't… back down. Not now. Ruby thought

"A… A... "

"'A?'" He leaned in to listen.

"A her…"

"What are you trying to say?" He yelled, frustration growing.

Ruby lifted her head, knowing that this could quite possibly be the last thing she would ever say. She tried to channel all her favorite heroes in this moment.

"A hero… never cowers in the face of evil." She told him. She looked up at him with a strong, determined smile.

She was sure that this was it. She had just put the last nail in her own coffin. The imposing figure stepped away from her, cracked the door open and signaled someone to come closer.

Ruby heard him say "Change of plans, kill her on schedule unless I tell you otherwise. Understood?"

"Understood." Came a low disciplined voice.

Ruby closed her eyes. She was right. She wasn't going to make it out of here. But she hadn't gone down without a fight. She hoped that Weiss and Yang would be proud of her. She hoped that they knew how brave she was. That she was a hero in the end. Maybe not a hero like Yellow Dragon or The Spartan, but a hero in her own regards. Tears flowed through her clenched eyes as she prepared herself for the end.

But… it didn't come.

She looked up at the villain in the room. He was just standing there, looking down at her with a confident smirk. As if he had won. Ruby was about to ask him what was going on, until the same evil laughter brewed.

"Did you think we were gonna kill you?" He asked. "You are the bargaining chip."

"Then what-"

"This," Raging Bull interrupted, holding up a phone. "Is a very special phone, Ruby Rose."

He walked closer to her chair.

"See, whenever someone calls the only number on this phone, someone dies." He explained. "All I have to do is hit call twice, and say 'do it'."

Why was he explaining this? Ruby shifted in her seat.

"But, this phone can also save lives. If there is a hit on someone, I can call them up seconds before the job is to be done and stop it all. One call to decide if they live or die."

He knelt down to eye level with Ruby.

"Now, I realize I can't kill you yet, and physical pain isn't quite cutting it. So how about I break it down for you." The red-haired villain told Ruby, leaning in way too close once again. "Tell me what I want to know or Weiss Schnee dies in thirty minutes."

The ropes tying her to her chair all of a sudden felt ten times tighter. She could not breathe.

"You… You're lying!" Ruby shouted, wide-eyed and shaking.

"Oh but I'm not. You may be ok with being a martyr, but how will you feel if you were the reason for the death of your family, hmm? The people you love most in this world."

No, no this was not happening. Why had it never occurred to her that they could do things to Weiss and Yang too. She was such an idiot!

"All it would take to stop it is one phone call." He shook the device in front of her face.

"Call it off! Call it off, please!"

"Eh eh eh, can't call it off for nothing. Tell me what I want to know."

"Uum, I… um." Ruby panicked, trying to recall his question. She knew she was adamant about not cooperating with him before, but in this moment, all she could think of was Weiss. How she could die and it would be all her fault. What was the last thing she said to her? Was it nice? Oum, she hoped it was nice.

"Who. are. You. Close to?" Raging Bull extrapolated. "Tick-tock. TICK-TOCK!"

"Um, I…. There's, Penny a-and Velvet. Jaune, Nora… uuuh.. I." Tears streamed furiously down her face as she tried to remember all these people she had grown close to over the years. She tried to spitball all of them as fast as she could, but none of them seemed to appease the man. He shook his head.

"Useless, useless, useless!" He shouted in her face. "Who else do you know?"

"I…. I don't… I don't know! Please don't kill her!" She begged him.

"Think! List names!"

"Uuuh, um… Pyrrha, R-ren, Blake-"

"Blake?"

"Uh, yeah. Blake…. Uuuh… Blake?"

"Belladonna?"

"Yes! Blake Belladonna!"

He took a step away from her chair and smiled.

"Alright, how do you know Blake?"

"C-can you call off the hit firs-"

"HOW do you know BLAKE?" He interrupted, closing the distance again and slamming his hands on the arms of her chair.

"Yang! Yang. I know her through Yang! They work together!"

"And what is the relationship between Blake and Yang?"

Ruby turned her head away from his face.

"They just… Work together."

Raging Bull grabbed her face and forced her to look at him.

"You are not a very good liar."

"They're friends?"

"Alright, that's it." He backed off and took out the phone. He tapped a button twice and held it to his ear.

"What are you doing?"

"Teaching you that your actions have consequences. I thought a 'hero' like you would have known that."

"You're… calling it off?"

"Actually, I'm telling them to do it earlier than planned."

"Wait! No! Please don't!"

"Then tell the truth! What is the nature of their relationship?"

"They're…" Ruby trailed off. If she told him that Yang had deep feelings for Blake, Ruby didn't know what they would do to her. But if she didn't, then Weiss was dead in mere minutes.

"Phone's ringing, you have until they pick up."

"Y-yang… she… cares for her deeply. She likes Blake a lot!" Ruby revealed. I'm sorry, Yang. She thought. "That's all I know! Please, PLEASE, don't kill Weiss! I love her!"

"Very stupid, kid. If you actually wanted to be a hero, you wouldn't have fallen in love. It's only weakness."

"Please!... Please…" Ruby was sobbing at this point, terrified for her girlfriend's life.

Someone picked up the phone and the room felt like a vacuum, devoid of any noise. Raging Bull stared at Ruby, trying to determine if she was being honest or not. Ruby was staring right back, hoping to get through to him. What was only about ten seconds felt like an hour in that silence.

"Yeah… call off the job, for now. She talked."

Ruby let out a ragged breath, shuddering and shaking. She wanted to puke, but figured that they probably wouldn't clean it up for a while and she did not want to sit in her own sick for hours on end.

"See, now wasn't that easier?" He said as he tousled her hair. He turned off the light as he exited the room, as if nothing of consequence had happened at all. The door had closed, but she still heard the last thing that he had said.

"I need to make a call to Emerald. She should have some fun with this."

XxXxX

Present

Yellow Dragon and Nightshade were unfortunately not able to find any clues that night, but Blake didn't think it was a waste of her time. She found that Yellow Dragon wasn't exactly what she seemed. Everyone saw her as this confident, proud and headstrong hero, ready to take any task on. But that was just one layer, they only saw the surface, such is the case for most heroes. Underneath it, Yellow Dragon was just as unsure as anyone. She had struggles and didn't always know what she was doing.

Though she had been resistant about the hero revealing such sensitive information about her life (that could put her in danger), Blake found that it put her at ease. And because of that, she felt more comfortable telling her things that she might not tell others. It was refreshing being able to talk to someone. She hadn't felt this free under the mask in a long time.

And while things with Yellow Dragon were actually going well, things with Yang were… still complicated. At work, they barely said a word to each other except for in greeting. Blake would catch Yang watching her. She looked like a sad kicked puppy. Never had she seen the blonde so dejected and hollow. She always thought a smile suited her best, but it was clear the only ones she saw were fake ones to make everyone think that everything was ok.

It seemed to work, but Blake knew otherwise. She missed her warm smiles.

She didn't heed her partner's-... Associate's advice, however. She didn't try and mend things. What was the point anyways? After this, she was leaving. She couldn't put Yang and her family in anymore danger. Moving away was the right thing to do. Even if she didn't want to.

The next two nights went like the previous one. They didn't find anything in particular. One of the struggles they faced was trying to keep Nightshade out of the public eye. She didn't want people thinking that she had returned, only to leave again. It was hard enough hearing their criticisms now, she couldn't imagine how it would be if they felt like she had left them once again.

"Alright, I got a good feeling about tonight!" Yellow Dragon exclaimed as the two left their meeting point.

"You said that last night too."

"Yeah, but this time will be different! I know it. I can feel it in my bones." Said YD. She emphasized 'bones' by shaking her arms about in a goofy fashion.

What a dork. Nightshade thought.

They walked in the back alleys near the underground tunnel entrances, trying to find something, anything that would point towards Ruby's kidnappers. They were still unable to find any new clues.

"Hey," Yellow Dragon stopped suddenly. She swiveled her head about, as if she was trying to locate something. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Nightshade asked. The only noise she could hear was the typical city ambient noise.

"Someone is in trouble. They're crying for help." YD told Nightshade. "We have to go help them!" She didn't wait for a reply and ran off further into the alleys.

"Yellow Dragon, wait!" Nightshade called, trying to keep up with the blonde. She turned the same corner, but stopped dead in her tracks.

Everything about Blake froze. Her heart, her blood, her movement. The sight before her was impossible. It just could not be.

In front of her stood two figures, each of them covered in their own blood. The man on the left was about 6 feet tall and had a big, jet black beard and long flowing hair to match. He had on the same blue flannel she remembered him wearing that night. Her eyes went to his abdomen, which was where most of the blood had accumulated. Blood dripped from his mouth and clung to his beard like a sickly syrup.

The woman on the right had the same golden eyes, vibrant with life once again. As if she was still alive. Below that, however, revealed otherwise. Her neck was slashed and the blood had spilled down onto her yellow blouse. Blake bought her that blouse.

"You didn't save us, Blake." The man said.

Blake fell to her knees.

"You weren't fast enough, Blake." The woman told her.

"You should have listened to him, Blake."

"I-" Blake tried to talk, but couldn't find her voice. She started to sob. Full on, heart wrenching cries. Her nightmares were playing out in front of her and she couldn't wake herself up from it.

"This!" The woman said, walking towards Blake. She pointed to her neck, the fatal wound. "Is ALL your fault!"

The sobs grew. She knew that she was right. It was her fault. Everything was her fault. She didn't have the right to dare call herself a hero anymore.

Blake curled up into a ball on the ground and tried to block everything out.

But a loud roar brought her attention back up.

They were no longer there. Instead she saw a bright yellow hero pinning a girl with green hair up against a wall. A knife clattered to the ground.

XxXxX

Yang was sure that she heard a young girl call out for help. But when she had gotten further into the alley and found nothing, she started to doubt herself. She went to head back, but heard a new sound.

Crying. Someone was crying their heart out in the same direction she came from. It was an older voice this time. A young woman. She was surprised to find that the sobs had come from Nightshade. The cause was unknown, until she saw that little snake, Miss Direction, sneaking out of her hiding spot and approaching the vulnerable hero. She held a knife in her hand. It was red and inscribed with a blade-like symbol with a heart in the center. She knew that symbol, it was Ember Arrow's knife.

As quickly as she could, she rushed the woman and punched her in the face. While she was still reeling from the attack, she pushed her up against the wall, disarming her.

"Nice try, but I won't be tricked that easily."

"Oh darn, you stopped me." Said Miss Direction, lacking any sort of enthusiasm. "I was just supposed to send a message, ok?"

"Then what's with the knife?"

She smirked.

"I was also told to mess with her a bit. That was from him."

"Son of a bitch…"

Yellow Dragon let her go but kept her eyes on the green-haired villain. She wanted to check on Nightshade, but knew that if she didn't watch MD, she would pull more tricks.

Miss Direction slowly walked over to her knife, bent down to grab it and slid it back in it's holster. She maintained eye contact all the while as a show of peace.

"What is the message?"

"I have a note, with the directions to our base. Come alone or the girl dies."

"Why would you just tell us where your base is?"

"He said that he is… Eager to see her again and it's taking too long for you two to figure out where we are. Why not just tell you and prepare a warm welcome?"

"I'm touched."

MD looked past Yellow Dragon.

"How ya holdin up, sunshine?"

Yang finally tore her eyes away from the villain and checked on Nightshade. She was still looking at the ground, muttering something under her breath.

"Hmmmm? What was that?"

"I'm…" Her voice rose in power, dripping with venom. "Going… to KILL YOU!" She shrieked. She transformed into a panther and lunged towards the girl in green. Yang was thankful for her fast reflexes, it helped her jump out of the way just in time. The force from her not-partner's jump blew her hair to the side. Before Nightshade could make contact with her target, she disappeared. More illusions.

Nightshade changed back, skidded to a halt and whipped around in an attempt to find her victim again. When she found her, she launched herself once again, only changing her hands into vicious paws. Nightshade clawed at the villain, but she dodged each sloppy attack with ease. That was until Nightshade picked up the speed of her flurry of blows. Yang saw Miss Direction's eyes widen as one almost made contact with her neck. When one did manage to hit her, she disappeared like before.

Yang thought that Nightshade would be done after that. That she would calm down. But she didn't. She kept attacking. Hit after hit. She kept coming after her, reckless and furious. It reminded Yang of… Well…. Herself. But seeing Nightshade like that? That didn't sit well.

She needed to stop her and quick. Before she hurt herself. Or the only lead they had.

"Nightshade! Calm down!" Attempted Yellow Dragon.

"Yeah! What's the matter?" Miss Direction asked, talking in between attacks. "You look… like you just saw… a ghost."

"RAAAAAAAAH!" Nightshade roared. Something about that had really set her off. Her attacks were even faster now, more forceful, more unstable. She wasn't thinking it through and Yellow Dragon could see that the other girl was just waiting for the right moment to make a move.

She couldn't let her do that.

So when MD disappeared again and Nightshade readied herself to pounce once again, she rushed over to her.

"Here, kitty kitty." whispered Miss Direction, maliciously.

Nightshade was about to pounce, but found herself wrapped in a pair of strong arms. She struggled to be freed, but they would not budge. They remained firm.

"Nightshade." Yang simply stated in a low voice.

"Let me GO! I need to fight her! She… She…"

"It was an illusion. It wasn't real."

"Yes it WAS! It was real! He…."

"Ahem!" The other voice in the alley made herself known once again. "Look, I'm not here for all the mushy stuff. So here's the note."

Yang glared at her as she dropped the note on the ground. The villain turned on her heel and started to walk away, as if nothing happened. It was in that moment, the moment she was distracted by the green-haired girl's rude exit, that she lost her grip on Nightshade. She clamored out of Dragon's grip, rushed the unsuspecting girl and clawed at her face right as she turned around in reaction to the sudden scuffle.

"AAAAH! YOU LITTLE SHIT!"The green-haired girl screamed out in pain, holding the left side of her face. "You'll…. You'll pay for that!" She ran away from her assailant.

Nightshade stood there, observing her hands. Yang saw her start to shake. She walked over to the dark hero.

She didn't know what to do in this sort of situation. She never had to comfort a hero before. But… She wasn't just a hero. She was a girl just like her. A girl with a life and loved ones (she hoped). She should treat her like that.

So that is why she came up behind her, extended her arms and pulled her into a warm embrace. She stiffened at the contact, but soon just… Broke down. Yang felt her fall to her knees and went down with her. Having her this close to her, she felt everything. She felt every sob. Every tremor that racked her body. She felt the dark-haired girl grip onto her arms as tightly as she could. As if she was hanging on for dear life.

And they just stayed like that for a while. Yang holding Nightshade as she wailed. She nuzzled the side of hers in an attempt to make her feel more at ease. She told her comforting things. She hummed a little lullaby that she used to sing to Ruby at night. Anything to try and make her feel better.

She wasn't sure if it was working, the girl was still crying. But she did shift herself to the side so she could properly grip Yellow Dragon's back, clutching feebly at her blonde hair. Normally she would have taken issue with someone grabbing her hair like she was. But Nightshade was different.

So she just let her do as she wished and tried her best to console her… her partner in her time of need.