RWBY is property of Roosterteeth, I only own my characters.
Chapter 9
Alex sat with the others in the staff lounge seated at a round table. He had changed into a olive-green t-shirt and a pair of khaki cargo pants. He hadn't been able to find his armor in his room, which troubled him slightly.
He had spent the last hour recounting the events of the war on Earth, though he had left most of the bloodier details out. Luna looked at him oddly, probably noticing that he was omitting certain things, but she seemed to decide not to press him. Alex took a sip of coffee.
A knock at the lounge door broke the silence. Dimitri stood and opened the door, revealing a very disheveled looking Ruby with dark rings under her eyes. She had a bundle of metal and cloth in her arms. She gave a loud yawn.
"I fixed your armor, Mr. Alex..."
So that's where it went.
Ruby handed the bundle to Dimitri, before suddenly falling forward into the Russian. Alex jumped to his feet.
"Ruby?"
Dimitri waved him off, chuckling slightly.
What's he laughing at? Alex's worry lifted as a frighteningly loud snore erupted from the little girl.
"I'll put her back where she belongs," Dimitri lifted Ruby into his arms.
"I'll tag along," Alex said. "I need to stretch my legs." Dimitri nodded and the two exited the lounge together, leaving their coworkers alone in the room.
Luna turned towards the two remaining security guards.
"It certainly felt like he left a lot out of his story." She had been a tad disappointed Alex hadn't opened up to them. They were supposed work as a team, but neither Alex or Dimitri had gone into detail about their home, and they had said even less about Vortex, simply saying that he was "the most dangerous thing they ever fought". Carbon didn't seem to mind the lack of initial openness though.
"Some soldiers don't like remembering certain things, Luna. The Boss and Dimitri'll open up when they're good and ready."
Firo nodded in agreement, "some things are best left forgotten."
Luna just sighed.
Ruby suddenly jolted awake in Dimitri's arms, flailing about in a panic. She hadn't screamed, but her eyes were filled with fear. Dimitri had set her down and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and her breathing slowly became less frantic. Alex sat cross-legged on the ground beside her.
"Ruby, are you alright?"
She nodded.
"You sure?"
Another nod, less certain this time.
"What happened?" Tears began leaking from the corners of her eyes. Alex put his hand on her head, giving her a soft pat. "It's alright. Take it slow." Ruby nodded again, using her cloak to wipe up the tears running down her cheeks.
"I- I'm sorry. It's really nothing," She said.
"Ruby, you look like you haven't slept in days," Alex sighed
"I haven't really been able to," she admitted.
"When did this start?" Dimitri asked.
"When I was fixing Mr. Alex's armor, I- I found this part and didn't know what it was, so I plugged it in and-" She hiccuped. "And the- there were so many screams."
Alex realized what she had found. His mission recording from back on Earth. The video of those events would scar an adult for life, let alone a fifteen-year-old girl. Before he knew it, Alex was hugging Ruby with his good arm.
"It'll be alright, Ruby. Nothing in that recording is around to hurt you." Well, Vortex was, but Alex doubted she had watched that far into the video. He released Ruby from the hug and pulled a small object from a small pouch. A pair of metal tags. He held them out to her.
"What are these?" Ruby asked, taking them from his hand.
"Those belonged to one of my teammates. I always kept the tags from our fallen friends as a way to keep them with us. It made it feel like they were still watching our backs. These tags belonged to Aya Sato, the best medic Dimitri and I ever had the honor to work with. I want you to take them, so that Aya'll watch your back from now on." Ruby gave a small laugh, her mood brightening.
"You know I'm fifteen, right? I don't believe in ghosts anymore." She looked at the tags, Alex motioned for her to pocket them, which she did. "Thank you, Mr. Alex. Thanks for making me feel better." Alex and Dimitri stood, the latter helping her to her feet.
"Let's get you some sleep, shall we?"
Dimitri and Alex had delivered Ruby to her room, much to Yang's delight. Apparently Ruby had been absent from the dorm since she had taken Alex's armor. They had stepped outside, where Yang had thanked them again, along with Weiss and Blake, though the latter kept staring at her feet. Dimitri noticed that the black-haired girl seemed to be in a similar state of unrest as her team's leader. He took her aside from Alex and her teammates.
"Are you feeling alright, Blake? You look unwell." The girl looked up.
"Oh, it's just-" She glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "It's just that the White Fang are out there, but I can't seem to find any leads." Thankfully, Blake had been confiding her findings in the Russian while Alex had been out of commission.
"Perhaps you are too sleepy to find new leads? Tired eyes are dull like blunt swords." He realized that his old mentor's saying probably held no meaning for her.
"But if I-"
Dimitri held up a hand to silence her.
"You constantly worry about them attacking on a moments notice, yes? What good will you be if you collapse in the middle of a surprise assault?" Blake looked down again, letting Dimitri's words sink in. "Get some rest, Blake. Go have fun. Let the soldiers fight on the front lines, okay?" She reluctantly nodded, Dimitri reached to pat her on the head, but decided on her shoulder when he saw her flinch away. "Good. We'll get back to catching White Fang once you're good and rested."
Dimitri and Alex had bid team RWBY a good day, and then walked out to the campus plaza. They had found a bench in front of a large statue. Alex just stared at the sky, a fluffy cloud gently floating through his field of vision.
This tranquility was interrupted by a loud beep emitting from Dimitri's pocket. He took out his scroll, reading the message.
"It's from Ozpin. He wants us to meet him in the lounge."
Alex sighed and pushed himself off the bench.
"Did it say what for?"
Dimitri shook his head.
"He only said to bring your armor along."
Ozpin was waiting for them, along with what seemed like every teacher in the academy. As usual, the headmaster had a steaming mug of coffee in his hand.
"Afternoon, gentlemen, please take a seat." He motioned towards two empty chairs. Once they had been seated, Ozpin cleared his throat and continued. "I'm sure all present are familiar with the events that took place in Vale a few days ago. It seems that the White Fang have stolen technology from our friends in Atlas, including over three dozen prototypes for the Atlesian Paladin." Alex shot to his feet.
"You mean there are more of those things? Who let that happen?" He was practically shouting, which turned the heads of those in the room. Ozpin motioned for him to remain calm and sit.
"General Ironwood has assured me that he is conducting a full investigation into the matter." Ozpin pushed up his glasses. "However. The Paladins are not the greatest threat we currently face. The General and myself have called in many favors to keep news of this 'Vortex' from circulating. Mr. Greene, I would ask that you share what you know about this man. Perhaps the complete version of the footage Ms. Rose plugged into the workshop's computers?"
How the hell did he- just roll with it.
"I think some of that footage would be uncomfortable for even the instructors in the room, sir. If you could allow me some time to review and edit some of-"
"No, Mr. Greene. I think we need to see exactly what we might be up against." Ozpin shot a glare towards a man in a suit sitting next to Ironwood. Alex guessed there was an argument he wasn't privy to going on. Alex handed Dimitri his helmet and the two of them went to the front of the room. Dimitri plugged the head-piece into the screen that normally occupied the lounge's wall. The Russian turned towards the occupants of the room.
"If any of you need to leave during this, feel free." He pressed the "play" button.
A/N: Kinda on the fence with this chapter, in some ways it turned out well, but kinda "meh" in others. Also, thank you Rebmul for my third review, and thanks to Skaana for leaving another one!
A/N 2: Edited as of 6/17/16