Chapter 26

Cinnamon and Roses

"What the hell am I looking at?" Asked Cobalt with a contorted quizzical expression.

Ruby by his side responded much too eagerly for Cobalt's comfort. "It's a punching bag. It's a bag that you punch back and then it swings back at you for you to punch again."

"No I got that. I'm talking about why is there a picture of my-" He started to say before he began a self-induced coughing fit.

"Cobalt are you alright?"

"Just dandy. Why is there a life size picture of Torchwick on the punching bag?"

"It's for inspiration and a way for Blake to vent anger." She said enthusiastically.

"That sure is comforting."

"I know! Now we can build confidence fighting him!"

He muttered under his breath "Sarcasm Ruby. You'll need to learn someday." Returning his voice to normal volume he asked "Can you please explain to me why he's in that pose?"

"What pose?"

"That one right there. He's winking at me."

"That's so none of us fall for his suave expressions. Anyways it's your turn."

"What do you mean it's my turn?"

"It's your turn to punch the punching bag."

After staring at it intently for five seconds he said "You know I'd rather not."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I just feel very uncomfortable with the thought of this."

"Come on just punch it. Release all that frustration and slug him."

"But look at his expression. It's as if he's saying 'if you hurt my face, you won't have one left to comment about your own'."

"Just punch him already."

"No no no no. You're teaching him wrong." Said Yang walking over to where they stood. "You just got to aim low and hit hard." She said as she gave a low blow hitting the crotch of the picture hard enough that it broke the chain and sent the bag flying. While the bag went flying so too did Cobalt as he jumped backwards and yelped an octave higher than his normal tone.

"Gets them every time." Yang said putting her hands behind her head and walking back over to another area of the room.

"She can be scary sometimes." He said nervously.

"Yeah that's Yang for you. I guess we'll skip punching practice today then. Come on, follow me." She said as she began to stroll to the other side of the room.

"So why have you brought me here again?" Asked Cobalt looking around at the strange room. It was rather large and held many students he recognized and many he did not. It looked more like a boxing training room than an actual headquarters of operations.

"You said you would join our club dedicated to bringing down Torchwick."

"I said nothing of the sort. I said that I would think about it."

"Which means you were thinking about what you could do to help once you joined."

"Why do I even bother?" He said face palming himself. "How did you even get Ozpin to give you this room for this surprisingly large club?"

"I asked him nicely." She said with a grin.

With a small smile he responded "You know what I meant."

"He said that this room was not in use and as long as we clean up after ourselves then we can use it whenever we want. With your little speech that you gave we've had more people wanting to join than we thought possible. That's why we need so much room."

"Me and my big mouth huh. So where are you taking me exactly?"

"To the table of strategy! Away we go!" She yelled as she ran ahead of him. He chuckled slightly as he was once again reminded of her young and childlike nature. It was like a breath of fresh air, something to get away from the doom and gloom he had been used to. Following behind he eventually made it to a table that had Blake and Jaune gathered around it.

"So what did you want to show me here?"

"We're trying to figure out where he'll strike next so that way we can have a patrol on site or nearby."

"That's an awfully difficult task. Do you have any progress?"

"Not really. We've been running patrols and stakeouts on a regular basis but he hasn't done anything since Atlas. Do you have any ideas?"

"Well let's hear what the rest have to say. Jaune, Blake, do either of you have any ideas?" He asked gesturing to the others standing at the table.

Jaune pointed at the pins marked on a large map of Vale that was spread out over the entire table. "We've marked all of the locations that he's robbed in the last six months as well as the regular patrols we send out. Unfortunately any pattern he used to have is gone."

Blake continued what he said by saying "His dust robberies have stopped. In fact there have been no dust robberies since the art museum incident. While there has still been the natural small crime that occurs, there has been no sign of his doing since the Atlas incident and no pattern to follow. We don't have very much to go off of."

"Oh this is just too easy. I now have access to all of their operations from the inside. I can have some fun with this." He thought. Clearing his throat he spoke up and said "If I may I would like to brainstorm out loud? Are you alright with that?"

"Umm… Sure?" Said Ruby.

"Excellent." He began to stroll around the table, talking to all of them but not at anyone in particular. "The way I see it this is just like the murder mysteries that I used to read. There's always clues left behind. Considering he has only committed two crimes since his mysterious drop off of dust robberies we don't have much to go off of. One thing that we can almost say for certain is that we don't have to worry about missing dust anymore."

"Why's that? What makes you so sure that he won't rob any more dust shipments?" Asked Ruby.

"Theatrics that's why. Haven't you noticed anything particular about his recent two actions? He's not out for small fry anymore. He's a criminal mastermind and one of the best strategists in the world. He wants big jobs now. A random dust robbery would be a downgrade, an insult to his skills. He needs something large, something extraordinary to sate his desire for justice."

"His desire for justice?!" Exclaimed Blake in an angry rejection. "He's a criminal responsible for the deaths of innocent people! What justice could he possibly be dishing out?!"

"I know it sounds odd but just hear me out. If one is to take down a criminal then one must think like a criminal. Fortunately for us I can do that quite well. But yes justice. Think about this. Dust is expensive. It is a commodity that is necessary for practically everything now. It's because of this that it is so expensive. The Schnee Dust Company has an almost complete monopoly over the dust trade and has the rights to charge whatever they want for it. Some people though find their outrageous prices rightfully outrageous. And what's the number one rule of the economic system?"

"Where there is supply there's demand." Said Jaune as his eyes lit up, seeing where he was going with this.

"We have a winner. Now with a demand for cheap dust then there has to be a supply. Who provides that supply?"

"The black market." Said Ruby catching on as well.

"Exactly. As you can imagine a supplier of dust for the black market can make a large amount of money quickly. Yet the largest supplier has no longer been making robberies. Why do you all suppose that? Why would a criminal such as Torchwick suddenly stop his most profitable course of action?"

"He has enough and doesn't need to steal anymore?" Guessed Ruby.

"He has enough money to continue his operations without having to rely on dust?" Hypothesized Jaune.

"Yes and no. Crime is not just a one-time thing. For someone like Torchwick it's a career. Even with all the money he has I doubt that he would stop because he wanted to retire. As we've seen from the two crimes he's committed since then he most certainly did not. What about you Blake? You haven't said anything for a while."

"I still don't understand how this is all for 'justice'. You've yet to explain that." She said glaring at him.

"I'm getting there just be patient."

"You just like to hear yourself talk." Said Blake crossing her arms.

"I have no comment for your last statement so I will ignore it and move on. Torchwick has stopped stealing dust because his goals no longer involve money. He has enough money, power and resources to go out and on his own vendetta. He's doing all of this on theology now. With that in mind what patterns are out there? Who is he targeting?"

"Governments. He's trying make the governments look like villains. That villain." Said Ruby.

"Exactly. Every one of his crimes are now making international news for bringing something held secret by governments up to public eye. He's trying to make them look like they've been plotting against their own citizens. What better motive than revenge? If the governments have crossed him in some way, which surely by now they have, he could very well be doing this for some twisted form of justice. A way for him to get back at those who've wronged him."

"It almost sounds like you support him. Could you explain that?" Blake in an interrogative tone.

"Listen all I'm doing is trying to think like he does. Little phrasing techniques can easily be mistaken as bias when you're trying to act and think like another person."

"So if all of this is for some deformed use of revenge then what does that mean for us? How is anything that you said going to help?"

"You're trying to figure out where he'll strike next right? It's all there in the patterns. He's begun some mission to cause as much havoc for not just the government here but for every kingdom. First was Vale, next was Atlas and I'll eat my gloves if the next place he strikes is one of the other two kingdoms. That's my point. We can't stop him. When his activities are involving international affairs we don't have the power to take him down."

"So we'll send people to the other kingdoms! Anything to stop him!"

"Blake…" Began Ruby with a tone of concern. "...We can't do that."

"Yes we can! All we need is some money and-"

Ruby interrupted by putting her hand on Blake's shoulder. "No we can't. We should be fortunate that we have as many resources as we do now. I'm sorry but we don't have the kind of power to do that. You're starting to do what you did before the dance. You promised us that you would take care of yourself."

While the two of them were arguing over Blake's health, on the other side of the table Cobalt leaned his head in to whisper to Jaune "What happened before the dance?"

"Oh Blake just became over-stressed that's all. She got all worked up over Torchwick being with the White Fang."

"How did that end?"

"Yang took care of that. I accidentally walked in on them having-"

At that very moment Yang appeared out of nowhere with a hand clasped around Jaune's mouth. "A slumber party. We were having a slumber party. Isn't that right Jaune?" She said holding back evident anger.

Both Cobalt and Jaune saw the red of her eyes and while Jaune was nodding like a maniac Cobalt decided that it was time for him to leave. "Well that's enough strategy for one night. I better get going; you know lots of assignments and whatnot."

"Aw, you have to go already?" Asked Ruby.

Glancing back at the surely doomed Jaune, Cobalt said "I'm afraid so. I'll talk to you all later." He made a hasty retreat and thought over his actions on the way back into his room.

"Well that did not end the way I had planned. So Yang and Blake, hmm. Neo is not going to be happy about this. At least I got to see their map. I now know when any of them will be patrolling and who will be doing said patrolling. It won't help with Neo's operation tomorrow night but that doesn't matter too much. I know enough to not let anything interfere.

Perhaps I gave them a bit too much insight as to how I plan things? Whether or not they decrease their involvement now is up to them. Even if they don't, they now see me as a potential strategist which means more access to their operations. This is the kind of information that Cinder is looking for. Yet why do I feel bad about knowing all this information? Why am I feeling Ruby's morals again? Are they Ruby's… Or my own?"

"So what was that with Jaune?" Asked Ruby. They were all together in an abandoned building on a stakeout that Blake demanded. They were watching over several possible targets for crimes and while it was first exciting Ruby was now bored. Blake was up another floor watching out the window intently while Yang, Weiss and Ruby were resting on the floor below by a campfire. The question had been on Ruby's mind but they needed to pass some time so she thought that she might as well ask it.

"What did he do this time?" Asked Weiss in resignation.

"Nothing." Replied Yang a little too quickly. Ruby could see Weiss squinting at her sister, trying to study her.

"He didn't. He couldn't have. He almost let that slip! That dolt."

Ruby not knowing what was going on decided to bring attention back to her question. "I'm so confused right now."

"Don't worry Rubes. We're just having a little fun." Yang replied.

"A lot of fun you were having huh?" Replied Weiss with a smirk.

"Yeah I have no idea what's going on." Said Ruby with a confused glare towards her sister who seemed to be in rage.

"So Ruby anything new with you?" Yang asked a little too eagerly.

Deciding to drop her question Ruby went along with Yang's topic change. "Not too much."

"Oh come on. What's with you and this Cobalt guy? I mean you practically dragged him to the club meeting."

Before Ruby could say anything Weiss interjected and said "Yang I know you're trying to change the topic but could you at least have put some more thought into it? Do you remember what Ruby told us? All she was trying to do was help him adapt to Beacon and what did he do in response? He flipped out and called her a whore!"

"Yeah." Ruby said looking down. She felt guilty for having to lie to her friends but that was the best thing that she could come up with to tell her team. She needed to keep her relationship with Cobalt secret and as a cover up she told them a fake story where he said some mean things to her. She must have put on quite a show because she could not sense any of them doubting her story. "I thought it would be good if he joined the club because of his little speech he did. Without meaning to he made a lot of others motivated to join. I thought that it could be a kind of a boost for our new recruits."

"Alright but you seemed to be having a pretty good time with him." Suggested Yang.

"Well sometimes you just need to forgive and forget. I think he means well, he just doesn't always do well."

"He did run in front of you to prevent you from being hit by Cardin." Brought up Weiss. After a brief pause she asked "Ruby, how much do you remember from that incident?"

Ruby began thinking to herself. She remembered what her own actions were. How in her fear and desperation she forgot that she was not supposed to acknowledge him. Fear had overtaken her and overruled all other emotions and logical reasoning. She sure messed up with that one. "I remember what I did. I don't remember what anyone else did though."

Yang spoke up and said "Well I almost killed Cardin so that's all in a good day's work. He could've killed you and that is not something that I will forgive or forget soon."

"Ruby, what was that?" Asked Weiss.

"What do you mean?"

"How you reacted to what Cobalt did. Words can't describe how sorry I am for doing what I did. I just want to know why. Why did we have use such extreme measures? What happened to you?"

Ruby brought her head down, unable to face either of her teammates. She knew why. She knew why all too well. No matter what answer she told them it would be painful. So she just sat there and wrapped her cloak around her tighter. It gave her a comforting snug feeling. In a way it was as if someone was wrapping their arms around her, telling her that everything would be alright.

"Ruby please answer me? I feel horrible for having to do that to you and I'm sure that there is a logical reason behind all this but you have to tell me. What is it?"

Ruby looked up to see her partner's eyes soften with the question. That gaze was hurting her. It was painful because she knew that Weiss was hurting and wanted to tell her. If the situation was different Ruby would have told her in a heartbeat. Unfortunately it was not. No matter what she did there was no winning in this. She brought her hood up and wrapped her cloak around her as tight as it could be. In the corner she was sitting in she rested her head against the wall bringing her hood right up to her face. Combined with her natural scent of roses it also smelled like cinnamon, just like Cobalt. She closed her eyes and her mind drifted back to their time alone together underneath the tree. They spent the entire time there cuddling and holding each other close while they would lightly doze. Just him being there next to her always felt comforting and she could tell that she had the same effect on him.

"Ruby? Please tell me?" Weiss asked in a hushed whisper.

That was the final straw. Ruby wanted to tell them. She wanted to scream it off the top of her lungs. That she was scared. That she was afraid that she would be left behind. Ruby had never quite gotten over her mother's passing. Ruby hid it well but she always felt a hollow since that day. She was afraid that if she opened to much then that person she would be herself to would leave. When Yang stepped up to fill the shoes of her mother Ruby was then forced to play the part of the young and innocent child. Her role was then made concrete and she felt like she was trapped in a box.

Then she met Cobalt. She knew that he was acting like an egotistical ass but she could see past that though. Why was she the only one to do so? Ruby had thought about that long and hard. Her best guess at the moment was because she was like him. She tried to act optimistic and overzealous all the time so nobody would pry too deep. Cobalt was just the same way, only his methods of concealment were what set him apart. In a way while helping him she was helping herself. She had never intended for them to become anything more than friends. She just wanted to be able to help someone not be afraid to be who they were. The person she found though ended up stealing her heart. Ruby was finally recovering, finally being able to be herself and open up to others. She knew that it could end up hurting her but she would at least then have Cobalt to go to if things were bad. She was in a state of peace that she had not felt in years.

Then came the incident with Cardin. Seeing Cobalt lying in front of her, bleeding out, with the fact that there was nothing that she could do was gut wrenching. She had finally found someone to which she could be herself with and in a split second decision they valued her life above their own. The one person who was piecing her back together had been about to leave and shatter a hole greater than the one she originally had. Her fear that she was going to be left alone again had ruled her. It mixed with her soul, her very being. She was afraid that life would take away whoever she loved, even herself.

By this point Ruby could not speak if she wanted to. All of her words were caught in her throat with no way out. She opened her mouth to speak but instead of words the only thing that left her mouth was a sorrowful cry. She closed her eyes to stop any tears from forming but soon lost that battle. She felt arms wrap around her and her sister speak softly. "Rubes it's alright. If you need to let it out then go ahead. If you don't want to talk about it you don't have to. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we're willing to wait as long as it takes."

"I can't do anything right. I'm sorry I made you think of something I shouldn't have." Said a depressed Weiss.

"It's… Not… Your… Fault…" Ruby was barely able to get out. "I'm… Sorry… About… Everything…"

"Ruby there's nothing to be sorry about. You didn't do anything wrong. Weiss you didn't do anything wrong. None of you did anything wrong. Sometimes bad things just happen. There's nothing wrong with coming to someone for help."

"I'm sorry." Ruby muttered.

"You have nothing to be sorry about."

"No it's just… I've been thinking about mom recently."

"Just hush now. I'm here and everything is going to be alright. Come on let's go. It's late and when you're upset and tired things never end well." She walked over to the stairwell and yelled up at Blake. "Blake get down here we're leaving!"

"We can't leave yet. We still have this post to cover."

"I don't care. We're leaving and if you want to stay here all night then go ahead. Ruby, Weiss and I are going to go get some sleep." With that Yang walked back to Ruby and helped her up. Ruby knew that Yang was right that she should get some rest. Her worry for Cobalt had kept her up much too late the previous few nights and the exhaustion was starting to get to her. To her surprise she felt herself being lifted off the ground. Next thing Ruby knew was that she was now riding on Yang's back piggyback style.

"Yang I'm not a little kid anymore!" Ruby yelled as she tried to escape but to no avail.

"You're still my little baby sister and you always will be. Now stop fighting me and just enjoy the ride."

"YANG!"

All Yang would do was laugh at Ruby's feeble attempts of resistance. At a certain point Ruby just gave up and rested herself on her sister's back. Ruby decided that she would fake being asleep to see if she could listen in on anything that Yang and Weiss say to one another.

At a certain point while pretending to be asleep Ruby actually fell asleep as the next thing she knew was her being pushed into bed and covers being placed over her. She was able to hear a little bit of their whispered conversation before falling asleep again.

"Do you think that she will be alright?" She heard Weiss ask.

"She'll be alright. She's one tough cookie. It's going to take a lot more than this to beat her."

"Just how do I keep messing things up? I didn't want to do that to her. I had no choice. I feel like she doesn't trust me now."

"Weiss you're overthinking it. Ruby doesn't hold anything against you. Trust me I can tell. She's just a bit shaky after the whole Cobalt thing. I would be too if I was in her shoes. Just give her some time. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Alright. But what is it with her and Cobalt? It seems like she's treating him like they're best friends or something."

"I believe that's just her way of saying thank you. Don't worry about those two. Whenever he's around her I'm watching them like a hawk. If he does anything funny then I'll put him in the same place as I did Cardin. I don't care if he has a scar that looks like his face was split open or not. Anyway, I suggest that you get some sleep. We still have classes tomorrow."

"Okay. One last thing though. What are we going to do about Blake? She's still at the stakeout now. I worry about her sometimes."

"I don't know Weiss… I don't know… Good night."

"Good night."

Ruby was still in her day clothes but she did not really care at this point. All of her worries from past memories of her mother, to Blake, to school and to keeping everything with Cobalt hidden were tiring her out enough that she fell asleep before she could think of anything else.