~~AAAND START!~~ (Red and White)
They sat in the family room, listening to Yang's story. Blake was next to her, Ruby held her from the other side. Once she had finished the tale, they were at a loss for what to say next. Had the flames from the firebox been burning a thousand times brighter, there still would have been shadows in the room.
"Oh, Yang… I'm so sorry," Nora offered.
Ren agreed solemnly.
"Thank you for telling us," Pyrrha nodded.
Sun was fuming. "That's messed up! I am so going to kill the queen."
"We're going to make sure no one has to go through something like this ever again," Neptune said.
Weiss was stunned. "I can't believe that happened to you." She averted her gaze with a complicated facial expression. "To know I was partly responsible… Even though I had confidence that I was right at the time… You didn't deserve any of it."
Ruby held her tighter. "I'm here for you, Yang. We all are. If you need anything…"
Yang smiled wryly. "Thanks, guys."
Neptune phrased his next question carefully. "Is there anything else you'd like to tell us?"
"Yeah. One thing." When she took off her leather jacket, everyone gasped. A large, obsidian scar started at her right shoulder and trailed down both sides of her torso to beneath her tank top. It left no indent on the skin and was more like a mark… but the vein-like structures coming from it made it disturbing all the same.
Jaune was blown away. "Is that the wound from that sword lady?"
Ruby's eyes widened. "When you didn't take off your jacket for bed…"
"I don't get it. Why do all of this if they were just going to cover it up afterwards?" Sun paced with clenched fists.
"It's because of what would have happened after she was executed," Blake said.
The room stopped and looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"You've all heard me say that aura exists in the balance of the world…" She trailed off, eyes sweeping the room before she continued. "If you die out of balance, your aura manifests as a physical object after your heart stops beating."
Everyone could hardly believe what they were hearing. "What?"
"We know the two possible forms… Dust and the Grimm."
Weiss stood. "That's crazy! You mean to tell me my father's company—our very world is built on the souls of the dead?"
Blake nodded. "Yes, I do. As sad as it seems, it's the truth. But, by casting Dust or killing the Grimm, we lay those souls to rest." A small comfort in light of such a revelation. "When Yang was in prison, she rejected death to the point that she started turning into a Grimm while she was still alive. Those are called half-breeds."
"So what does that have to do with the trial?" Sun barked.
Neptune answered. "If she turned into a Grimm after the trial… Cinder would have been able to take advantage of the fear… and she could do anything in the name of defeating the White Fang."
"Exactly," Blake affirmed.
"Why is it black?" Ruby demanded.
"When you change into a Grimm, the light in you goes out. Dust can slow the process… but when that light goes out completely, it's over. That mark shows how far the process advanced," Blake replied.
"This is all so much to take in…" Pyrrha said.
Yang put her jacket back on. "Pyrrha's right. Maybe we should continue tomorrow. I don't want us to be tired out…"
Her words seemed to turn the shock to exhaustion. Everyone reluctantly agreed to go back to their rooms for what was left of the night.
"You sure you're alright, Yang?" Jaune asked when they were leaving.
"I'm okay, Jaune. Thanks."
When they all were back in their rooms, Ruby took out the fire Dust crystal Yang had given her long ago. "So, this crystal used to be alive…"
"It's such a bright shade that it was probably a half-breed," Blake said.
Furrowing her brow, Ruby made a decision. She grabbed her tools and ran outside towards the cliff. She would have done it there under the stars and distantly rising sun had something not caught her attention. Near the cliff's edge covered in flora was an ancient ruin. Its camouflage was so well done that it was impossible to see from the mansion.
Upon inspection, it appeared to be a signal of some kind. A wall built of reflective stone partially surrounded a raised platform. On it, there was a single keyword carved in quartz.
Ruby could think of nothing more fitting and so she set the Dust crystal on the quartz and copied over the runes with her tools, etching them deep into the vermillion stone. Finally, she extended her aura to it. "Shine!"
Perhaps this was what the mansion was truly named for, for the most brilliant beacon of light she'd ever seen lit up, reflected off the stone wall, and illuminated the tops of the Emerald Forest all those feet below the cliff.
Yang, who had followed her out, wrapped her in a hug from behind. "You did good, Rubes. You did good." They watched until the light left and if they were asked, they would have sworn they heard someone whisper:
"Thank You."
/-/-/-/
After breakfast the next morning, everyone sat around the dining room table to discuss what to do for the day. Neptune decided he was going to write to other kingdoms, and Team Recruitment chose to send Ruby and Weiss to Vale to carry out the team's namesake. Everyone else was going to train in the forest. Eventually, the topic they were all subconsciously avoiding came up… aura.
It was decided everyone would need it... and if one of their auras were to manifest in the event of their deaths, the others would lay them to rest. Those with aura already made rounds and unlocked everyone else's.
Nora's aura was a pink, rough flame. Even though it wasn't soft like Yang's, both auras were direct forms of fire and exuded comforting warmth.
Jaune's aura was an indirect form of wind. A softly fluctuating white glow. He was only slightly disappointed it wasn't as flashy as other auras, but spent the rest of the time staring at it in awe. Like Ruby's, it was like their auras were eternally dancing in a wind unfelt by everyone else.
Neptune's aura was an indirect form of ice. Chilly, blue sparkles twinkled around him, only adding to his already dynamite smile. His aura could not have been more different from Weiss's. In fact, she nearly gave him a heart attack when frost formed on his clothes and hair at her touch.
Ren's aura was pink like his eyes. Holographic lotus petals flashed and distorted as if they were formed by static. An indirect form of lightning. Nora was ecstatic their auras were the same color… Ren seemed rather pleased by it, too.
Pyrrha's aura was also an indirect form of lighting. A red magnetic field that slowly drew metal objects towards her. There would need to be a lot of training in the future for her; she looked like a magnet dragged through a blacksmith's scrap pile by the time she learned to turn it off.
All this accomplished, Weiss and Ruby mounted Bumblebee. If they weren't back in five days, the others agreed to assume they'd been captured. After goodbyes and well wishes, they left for Vale. "Alright! Weiss and her fearless leader, Ruby, as part of Team Recruitment, have begun their first mission!" Ruby raised a fist into the air as they galloped through the mountains. "Banzai!"
"Put your hand back on the reins! And who made you leader?"
"I'm the one driving the horse."
"Umm, you're riding the horse and you're doing it incredibly dangerously. Slow down and switch spots with me!"
"Nuh-uh. This is awesome!"
"You almost rode us off a cliff!"
"C'mon, Weiss, don't be such a stick in the mud. We're still alive, aren't we?"
Weiss squeaked in surprise when they jumped off a boulder a little too high off the ground. "Barely!"
/-/-/-/
Sun found Neptune in his dad's old office. "You should have been at training this morning. It was awesome! These guys are the coolest! No offense."
"None taken."
Sun sat down in front of the desk. "Luckily, we're having another one a little later, so I was thinking, you know… you might like to join?"
"Sounds cool with me. I just have to finish these letters."
"Cool. Who are you writing them to?"
"My friends in the other kingdoms. I just don't know whether I should trust them. Cinder's got eyes and ears everywhere."
"Maybe you should write in a secret code or something."
Neptune laughed. "Yeah, maybe." He looked at a portrait across the room. "Sometimes, I wonder what my dad would do."
"Is that him?"
"Yeah."
Saturn Vasilias stared at them with stern yet kind, painted eyes.
"Hmm… well, there is one thing I've always wondered," Sun said.
Neptune raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"How is your hair blue? I mean, his is more like a brownish yellow, and…"
"Dude… Seriously?" Neptune laughed.
Sun was mildly offended. "What?"
"After everything that's happened, you ask about my hair?"
"It's blue! Whose hair is blue?"
"I got it from my mom, dude."
"Well, it's cool."
"Yeah." Neptune folded a finished letter and sealed it. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get you involved with the whole letter thing."
"Pfft, that's dumb. You should always get friends involved. Especially best friends." They shared a look. "Besides, I'm part of Team Leadership, too. I want a part of the action!"
"Alright, man. If you say so…"
And so, they spent the day writing plea letters and had fun doing it, as boring as the task itself was.
/-/-/-/
Ruby and Weiss ducked into an alleyway.
"Gosh, this place is crawling with patrols," Ruby noted.
"It's the guard's HQ, you dunce! It's supposed to be that way!"
"I just meant there's more patrols than normal."
That was true. "Queen Cinder probably tightened security after the witch trial."
"Eugh. The queen." They watched the guards in front of the HQ for a while longer. "We should distract them."
"And how do you propose we do that?"
Drawing from various experiences of sneaking Jaune into bard expos and away from Cardin, Ruby offered a plan she deemed most effective. "Try throwing a rock into those bushes. We can distract the guards and sneak in. Works every time…"
"That's a terrible idea! I wonder about your upbringing, Ruby Rose." Even so, it wasn't like they could just ask to go in, and a disguise—though possible and probably the better option—was hard to come by and harder to maintain. Weiss doubted Ruby could act with the required poise she would need to act as a rank high enough to see the commander. Not to mention ordinary citizens were interviewed before entering and all deliveries to Commander Ozpin were inspected by a lower-ranking guard first. All this in mind, Weiss picked up a nearby rock and aimed, questioning her own mental health.
At the last second, Ruby jumped back and hit Weiss in the side. "Ew, there's a rat!"
The rock completely avoided its intended path, striking one of the guards in the face.
"What was that? That should have been easy!" Ruby cried. "You hit him in the face!"
"Well, perhaps if you had exercised even the slightest amount of caution with the direction of your cowering, I wouldn't have missed so terribly! And, besides, I believe this method distraction is more effective."
Ruby scoffed. "I wasn't cowering."
While they bickered, the guard found them and gave chase. "Halt! Assaulting a guard is a violation of the law and is punishable by death!"
"B—By death?" Ruby squeaked.
Weiss grabbed her arm. "We have to go!"
They ran through the streets of Vale, more guards joining in every so often until seven were chasing them. Ruby led the way up a ladder. "Weiss, up here!" They were near Rose's Runes, but she had no intention of going there. She spied an open window on another familiar building and ran towards it. "Jump!"
"What are you? Insane?" When Weiss turned back around, Ruby was gone. "Oh, you insufferable little—"
"Stop!" The guards were getting closer.
"How could you leave me?" Weiss wailed.
Ruby reappeared in the window frame. "I said, 'jump'! You'll be fine! Trust me, Weiss!"
Weiss concluded she must be crazy as well, because after one more look back, she actually decided to jump off a thirty foot building into a second floor window. With a battle cry of sorts, she ran forward and jumped. She'd admit it was exhilarating… except for the landing. She couldn't get the footing right and took down Ruby in her efforts to stay balanced.
"S… See? Totally fine!" Ruby coughed, the wind having been knocked out of her.
Weiss got up. "Ruby! I told you this was a terrible idea!"
"At least they didn't catch us! Stop worrying!"
"I am so far beyond worrying!"
Ruby paused. "Like, in a good way?"
"In a bad way! In a very bad way!" Weiss looked around. "Where are we?" They seemed to be in a home of some sort. It smelled strongly of...
"Welcome to Tukson's Bakery. Home to every cookie under the sun! I see you're just dropping in, Ruby. How may I help you?"
"Tukson! We need help, quick! Will you hide us from the guards? Weiss hit one in the face with a rock and now they're after us!"
"Whose fault is that?" Weiss sassed.
"Okay, okay, I get it!" Rub groaned. "But, you didn't have to let go of the rock!" She turned to the store's owner. "Please, Tukson?"
"In the wardrobe." He hustled the two into a rather cramped closet. Not a second later, the guards came knocking at the door. With Tukson's "helpful" directions, they left the store after an extremely short search. When Tukson returned, he brought a basket of baked goods. "Would you like a cookie?"
/-/-/-/
They laid low at Tukson's place for the rest of they day. In that time, Weiss wrote a letter to the SDC and had him it. Seeing as Ruby was his best-paying customer, he was happy to let them stay for a while… and Weiss offered him money after the rebellion. On the second day, Lark and his cousin, Thrush, came in for a treat. It's funny how things have a way of working out–Those two were on the list of potential sympathizers.
Seeing as they were both guards and were absolutely sickened by the queen's misdeeds, they were happy to lend their support on the day of the rebellion… and Weiss offered them money, too. Either way, they could now check Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark off the list. Jaune had put Cardin on the list, and Ruby didn't seem too happy about it, but support was support.
Their new comrades agreed to escort them back to the guard's headquarters. On their way out, Tukson gave them one last cookie and told Ruby to say hi to Yang for him.
By flagging her down in the hallway, Ruby and Weiss were able to get an audience with Glynda, who was very skeptical about the rebellion and also very vocal about it. In the end, she threatened to turn them in and stormed off. Ruby looked dejected until a voice from behind her and Weiss startled them. "Hmm… Now that didn't seem to go very well."
"C—Commander Ozpin!" Weiss snapped to attention out of reflex.
"Hold on," he said. "Glynda!"
She stopped from over halfway down the hall and came back. "What?"
"I think we should hear them out."
"With all due respect, I—"
"Let's go into my office."
Glynda scowled, but did as requested. She stood behind Ozpin while he, Ruby, and Weiss were seated.
"I already know Ms. Schnee… but who might you be?"
"Uh, I'm Ruby!" After some silence, she elaborated. "Ruby Rose!"
"Ruby Rose…" Ozpin leaned in, contemplating her behind his glasses. "So! I hear you two are organizing a rebellion."
"That's correct," Weiss confirmed.
"Not just us," Ruby added. "The prince, too."
"You are very brave to come to me for support."
"Uh… thank you?"
Weiss mentally face palmed. Ruby was making a fool of herself! "Bravery is necessary in the face of adversary," she said, picking up the ball she deemed to be dropped.
"I'm just curious. What made you think I would help your cause?" Ozpin asked.
Weiss was about to say something, but Ruby opened her mouth instead.
"You don't seem like a bad guy, Commander Ozpin... Sir," she fumbled. "I think you want what's best for Vale, too."
Actually… that wasn't such a bad response.
Ozpin smiled. "You want the guard's support?"
"Yes, Sir." Both Ruby and Weiss responded in unison.
He exchanged a glance with Glynda. She hmphed in displeasure, but he didn't seem to mind. He turned back to them. "Well, okay."
"Yes!" Ruby whooped. Weiss stepped on her foot and she yelped, then stiffly extended a hand. "I-I mean… Wow, really? We're happy to have your support, Commander Ozpin, Sir."
Ozpin shook hands with both of them. "Now, what is this I hear about aura?"
/-/-/-/
Thrush walked away, tossing his new bag of Lien up and down. He "let slip" that the rebels had stayed at Tukson's Bakery.
Emerald had offered a fine price for the information. She figured she'd pay Tukson's a visit.
Making quick time, she closed the bakery door behind her maybe half an hour later. "Be right there!" He came out of the back with a cookie sheet in each hand. She could sense he had aura. "Welcome to Tukson's Bakery. Home to every cookie under the sun! How may I…"
Emerald called her out her aura and walked towards the counter.
Tukson looked confused and a little nervous. "How may I help you?"
~~AAAND STOP!~~
AN: Nooo! Tukson!
NEXT: Black and Yellow