RWBY is property of Roosterteeth! I only own my characters.
CHAPTER 35
"Hey! Where do think you're going?" Ruby's voice startled Alex. The soldier turned to find his cloaked friend jogging towards him with Luna in tow, both girls lit up slightly by the rising sun.
"Out on patrol," Alex replied with a yawn. "There was some chatter yesterday, saying that Shades were still leaking in from somewhere on the South wall."
"You mean Grimm?" Luna tilted her head as she and the cloaked student came to a stop in front of the blond soldier. The azure-haired woman suddenly noticed Alex's eyes widen in shock.
"I- Yeah. I meant Grimm," the soldier placed a hand over his face. The last few days had been incredibly stressful for Alex. Between the looming threats of Shiro and the Order, he had been falling back into old habits from the war on Earth.
"Alex?" Luna jolted him out of his thought as she grabbed his shoulders. Alex met her deep blue eyes as they gazed at him with worry. "Are you okay?" The soldier remained silent for several moments, prompting Ruby to rush to his side as well. The cloaked girl looked him over, quickly noticing dark rings around his eyes.
"Didn't you sleep last night?" Ruby questioned urgently. "You look like you're about to collapse."
"I think I pulled a four-hour nap..." he responded uncertainly.
"No," Luna shook her head. "That was the day before yesterday..."
"It... was?" Alex asked. "I don't... I thought..."
"Alex, what's wrong?" Ruby's silver eyes were wide with apparent frantic worry.
"Hey, Al!" Ruby and Luna turned as a new voice yelled out to them. Marcia was jogging towards them, her shoulder-length hair bobbing. She still was dressed in her combat gear, her rifle slung across her back. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"I was going down to the South wall to-" Alex started, but stopped when the EDC General's hand clamped over his mouth.
"Shut it, I don't care. You're not going anywhere looking like you're about to keel over at any second," Marcia hissed.
"I'm fine, Marcia. Reall-" Alex's eye twitched in slight pain as his old teammate's grip on his face tightened. Marcia's face had a clearly fake smile across it, her lips were pressed tightly together.
"Get. Your. Arse. To. Bed," The General said, her British-heritage accent becoming more apparent with her thinly-veiled rage.
"I-"
"General's orders," Marcia snapped. "Get going." She jabbed her thumb back towards Beacon. Alex sighed in defeat.
"Yeah... maybe you're right..." the soldier said tiredly.
"You're damn right, I am," Marcia narrowed her eyes. "Now, go. You, Luna, make sure he gets in a bed and stays there."
"I- Uh- Right away!" Luna squeaked and inexplicably blushed as the General turned to her. The azure-haired woman grabbed the drowsy Alex by his arm, hurriedly pulling him along as she fled Marcia's wrath. Ruby was left standing next to Marcia in awe, as the woman who stood only a head taller than her sent the pair rushing back towards the academy. Ruby noticed the General's expression soften once Alex and Luna passed out of sight.
"So..." Ruby said uneasily, unsure whether Marcia would turn on her next. "Hi?"
"Sorry about that," the General sighed, pivoting on her heel to face the student. "I saw Alex being an idiot again, so I stepped in."
"He's... done this before?" Ruby asked. Marcia's eyes scanned over the student, clearly stopping as she caught sight of the last-generation EDC plating Ruby had integrated into her outfit. She seemed to decide not to comment.
"Are you referring to him not resting, or me yelling at him?" Marcia responded.
"The yelling. I know that he doesn't sleep when he's worried about stuff."
"Guess he really hasn't changed then... Well, back home, somebody had to kick half the platoon into their beds."
"He wasn't the only one?"
"Nah, most of them just outgrew it after a while. Alex never did though, spent all his time worrying about others..." An anguished look passed over Marcia's face. Ruby suddenly remembered a portion of the footage from Alex's helmet cam. He and Dimitri had forced Marcia onto a final seat on an evacuation transport, even though their friend had been determined to stay and fight alongside them.
"Are you mad at them?" Ruby asked.
"I can't really say... It's hard to be mad at people whose deaths you made peace with... Honestly... this all feels very surreal..." Marcia let out a huff of air. "I guess I'm... a bit disappointed... maybe..."
"You feel like they left you behind?" Ruby inquired seriously. Marcia was surprised by the girl's insight.
"Yeah... That's probably the best way to put it..." The cloaked girl's fear of the woman suddenly evaporated as Marcia looked sadly at the ground. "I've spent the last twelve years of my life trying to live up to the legacy of friends I thought were dead... only to find that they'd... moved on without me..." The General turned away from Ruby. The dark-haired student saw a few clear drops fall towards the ground. Ruby froze, unsure of how she should proceed. What would Alex do?
Marcia suddenly felt a small hand close around her forearm, tugging her gently towards the city in the distance. The back of Ruby's head appeared in front of her.
"What are you-" Marcia started.
"Well, since Alex isn't checking to see whether Grimm are coming in through the South wall, someone has to... and it's always best to have someone to watch you back, right?" Ruby answered. Marcia replied only with silence, but her tears stopped fully and she seemed to follow Ruby's lead a little easier. The pair walked towards Vale without uttering a word for several minutes. Marcia came to a halt behind the student as they reached the academy's landing pad and awaited a transport. "Alex and Dimitri haven't forgotten you..."
"What?" Marcia looked up slightly.
"They both have said nothing but good things about you and the other members of the EDC... Alex always seems to think that failed he you all in some way."
"He's still carrying around that pouch of dog-tags, huh?" Marcia sighed. "Old habits, I guess."
"Well, all but one..." Ruby replied, reaching to pull a pair of twisted metal ovals out from underneath her cloak. The General leaned down to look.
"Aya's... I guess that's fitting..." Marcia sighed. "She was always out to help others... and judging from the damage, I'd say Alex's superstition ended up saving your life."
"Yeah..." Ruby stopped as a small dustplane landed at the pad, its engines kicking dust and small debris into the air. The student and General boarded silently, and the transport shook slightly as it pulled back into the air.
"So..." Marcia said, attempting to strike up further conversation. "How'd you wind up working with Alex and the others?"
"I found them," Ruby answered. "Alex and Dimitri were off in the woods. They looked lost, so I lent a helping hand. After that, I guess they just became a part of everyone's lives. We met Ryland later, and he kinda fell in with everyone too."
"Been meaning to ask about that," the General said. "Who's the blonde girl that was tailing Ryland?"
"That's Yang, my sister," Ruby said readily. "They're... dating, I guess... I mean, Yang's devoted more energy to their relationship than I've seen her do with anyone else..."
"I'm surprised Ryland's able to hold any sort of meaningful relationship... Usually, he just makes an ass of himself."
"Honestly, that's probably part of the reason why they get along," Ruby shrugged. "They're not exactly a standard couple... but neither are the other two pairs."
"Wait," Marcia said suddenly. "Alex and that Luna girl... are they..."
"Yup," Ruby nodded slowly. The General smacked her hand against her forehead.
"Crap. I'm really hoping that she didn't misinterpret what I said..."
"I'm sure they'll be fine," Ruby shook her head. "Luna probably just took it to mean that she should curl up next to him. She's a little nervous when it comes to being close to Alex like that."
"How in the world do you know this?" Marcia raised an eyebrow. Ruby caught a glimpse of a smirk play across the woman's face.
"It wasn't that hard to find out. I caught the two of them kissing once, and Luna got really embarrassed that I'd seen," Ruby supplied. "I also was never supposed to tell another living soul about that... Whoops." Marcia let out an amused snort. "So, are you feeling a bit better?"
"Yeah... talking helped. With all that's happened, it felt like my old friends were just as far away as they'd been when I thought they were dead... I guess I was being too self-centered," Marcia sighed and rubbed the back of her neck.
"You're happy to see your friends alive, there's nothing wrong with that," Ruby replied.
"Still, they're busy trying to help so many people, I can't ask them to just set that aside and come catch up like nothing's going on. Guess I should pull my weight too..."
"That's why I'm bringing you with me," Ruby said.
"Aren't I a total stranger to you?" Marcia tilted her head to stare at the student.
"Alex and Dimitri trust you, so you can't be a bad person."
"Thanks, Kid," Marcia closed her eyes happily for a moment.
"Ruby. My name's Ruby," the student held out a hand to the General. "It's nice to meet you in person, Miss Evans. Alex and Dimitri always tell cool stories about you."
"A pleasure to meet you, Ruby," Marcia quirked an eyebrow. "Also, Really? Like what?"
"Like the one time you shot an enemy with a handgun from over two-hundred meters away. And they also talked about how you terrified newer members of your platoon when they first joined and you made one of the other snipers cry." Ruby giggled as she remembered the story. "They always said that you were the best shot in the EDC, and that you could be a bit... bristly... but that they wouldn't have wanted anyone else as their friend and teammate."
"Okay," Marcia struggled not to laugh. "First, the handgun bit was pure luck. My bloody rifle decided to jam at just the wrong time, so I just emptied my handgun at the guy and happened to hit him with a shot. Second, the reason Henderson was bawling was because I kicked him in the balls. If anyone was terrified after that, it was anyone else who was thinking of hitting on me."
"Honestly, I that just makes them better," Ruby chuckled. The dustplane rocked slightly as it began its descent. The automated system sent out a call to warn its pair of passengers of their arrival. "Looks like we're here, Miss Evans. Ready to go hunting for some Grimm?"
"Well, I was holding onto this stuff in case the Order came back," Marcia gestured to the rifle on her back. "But, it looks like I have a reputation to keep today. Oh, and Ruby?"
"Yeah?"
"Call me Marcia."
"Weiss, please..." Winter tried to coax her sister out from underneath a pile of blankets. With the exception of coming out to be informed about the Maidens a few days before, Weiss had spent every second of time buried in her bed. She had barely spoken or eaten, and not gotten nearly enough sleep despite being in a bed.
Winter sat beside her sibling with a concerned gaze seemingly embedded on her face. Anise had not strayed too far from the two Schnees, since they were all she had left without Charles. The small dark-haired girl hopped up to sit on the edge of Weiss' bed, laying herself down on top of the pile of covers.
"Weiss," Winter pleaded, "it wasn't your fault. Please, just-" The older Schnee stopped as Weiss' distraught face poked itself out of the blankets.
"'Not my fault'... How could you possibly say that?" Weiss' eyes were red from crying, her voice shook with each word she spoke. "I- It's all my fault... If I hadn't run out there... that Lord wouldn't have..."
"You didn't know," Anise said, moving to hug Weiss' wrapped form gently.
"It doesn't change the fact... that he killed Charles... with my Semblance..." Weiss found herself holding Anise's small warm form tightly. A damp patch across the younger Schnee's chest informed her that the young girl had succumbed to her own anguish and begun to cry. Winter placed a gentle hand on the top of her sister's head. "It's- It's almost like-"
"Don't you dare," Winter cut her off. "That Lord, 'Golem', is the one that killed Charles. You don't carry any blame for what happened." Winter laid her arms across Anise and Weiss, doing her best to embrace them both. Despite her best efforts, the elder Schnee felt tears leak from her eyes, no matter how many times she told herself she needed to be strong for the two younger girls.
A knock at the door suddenly cause all of them to jolt and sit upright. As Weiss' covers fell off her, Winter noticed how terrible she appeared. Her sister's once-shining white hair had been reduced to a sloppy dull gray mop, dark rings underlined both her eyes, and her skin had taken on an unhealthy ashen hue. Anise, in spite of her efforts not to show it, was in equally poor condition. Winter could only imagine how she looked herself.
The older Schnee slowly rose from her seat and walked towards the door, forgoing grace and stature in her stride. She hurriedly wiped the tears from her face as she reached out to grab the door handle. However, the door swung open of its own accord, narrowly missing Winter's face.
"Lex, don't do that. You'll end up taking someone's eye out," a man in a trench coat knelt beside a small girl. Winter vaguely recognized him from when Ozpin had revealed Amber to them. Now that she was up close, she froze. The man was the spitting image of Charles in almost every way. He had the same stormy-gray eyes, the same messy brown hair, and the same easy smile.
"Charles-" Weiss suddenly noticed the man, but stopped when she realized it wasn't who she thought it was. Winter saw Anise's eyes light up for a moment, full of hope that the fatherly man they had known might have escaped death.
"Sorry, did we come at a bad time?" Alyia stepped into view behind the man and small girl.
"It's no worse than any other, I'm afraid..." Winter weakly made an attempt at a smile. "Please, come in..."
"Winter," Alyia said, catching sight of Weiss and Anise "if you're not all feeling up to it, we can come back some other time."
"It's fine, really," Winter replied shakily. "Having some company might do us some good..."
"If you're sure..." Alyia stepped into the room. The man and girl followed her in. Weiss sat on the edge of her bed with Anise next to her, eying the newcomers tiredly. "Weiss. Winter. Anise. I'd like all of you to meet my brother, Jerloh, and his daughter, Lex."
"Alyia said you three were the ones that found my dad, right?" Jerloh smiled.
"I- We-" Weiss sputtered, frightened of how Jerloh might react if he knew that she'd-
"Thanks for taking care of him," the Terror Inheritor spoke in time to cut off the younger Schnee's thoughts. Weiss felt her expression change to one of gaping disbelief. "He might not have shown it, but from what Aly's said, it sounds like you were looking after him as much as he was for you."
"In a way..." Winter said, "he was like the father we always wished he had..."
"Then I'd better do my best to protect the siblings he brought into the family then," Jerloh smiled. Winter's head shot up to look at him in shock.
"What..." Weiss breathed. "But we- I-"
"Aly told me what happened. Dad always talked about dying for those who still had futures ahead of them... I think that simply knowing that you three were safe would be enough for him. Don't blame yourselves for something that isn't your fault."
"But- Golem-" Weiss attempted to choke out a sentence.
"Golem used his own power, not yours. He can use weaker copies of any given power that's within a certain range of him. He didn't use your 'Semblance', but a rip-off of it," Jerloh stated adamantly.
"I- Thank you..." Weiss replied after taking several shaky breaths. "I-" The younger Schnee felt tears drip down her cheeks once again. A pair of small arms wrapped around her waist. Weiss looked down, expecting to see Anise, but was instead greeted by Lex.
"Daddy said that everyone Grandpa saves is meant to be a hero," the young girl said. "And heroes have to help other people, no matter how hard it gets, right?"
"You- You're right," Weiss' crying slowed as she tried to regain her composure. "I'm not honoring Charles' memory by sitting around cry- crying." The younger Schnee sister wiped her eyes with her sleeve and slowly rose so she was standing. After days of remaining mostly stationary, her legs shook under her own body weight. Lex and Jerloh's words seemed to affect Winter as well, the older sister placing a hand over her mouth with an expression halfway between a realization and anguish.
"Auntie Aly said that your Daddy was a Bloodline too right?" Lex turned to Anise, who looked up from her feet. "You'll be the best hero out of everyone!" Anise didn't reply, only nodded her head. She began to think back on her memories with Charles and her own father, though some of the latter was difficult to recall.
"Here, before you three go off to try saving the world, let's get you something to eat and a shower," Jerloh smiled and extended his hand to Weiss. Alyia did the same with Winter. Both Schnee sisters accepted the invitation with sad smiles. Anise was yanked to her feet by an eager Lex, though she still appeared deep in thought. As their group exited the room, Anise found herself stuck on a single thought.
"A hero, huh?"
As the sun set over Vale, Ruby and Marcia disembarked the transport that had returned them to the academy campus. Both were covered in sweat and grime. There had indeed been Grimm coming in through the South wall, but it had been more of an open flood gate rather than a trickle.
"So, what was your final count?" Marcia asked with a smile. She had to admit that the day had allowed her to relieve a lot of her pent up frustration.
"Fifty-three," Ruby answered readily. "You?"
"Sixty-two," the General answered. "Not bad, Ruby. You've got a lot of skill for someone your age. Guess that's why you and Alex get along so well."
"What do you mean?" the cloaked student hefted Crescent Rose on her shoulder, since its strap had been broken during the day.
"He didn't tell you how old he was when Barnes pulled together the original squad for our division?"
"He might have, but I think I forgot if he did."
"Alex was twenty-five when they assigned him as our squad leader. Only I was younger than he was, at nineteen. Dimitri, Aya, and Derrick were all older. It didn't sit well with everyone at first. We were worried he was going to be a total greenhorn and run us into an ambush on our first mission... But, as it turned out, that wasn't the case, and we slowly learned to trust him and each other."
Marcia noticed Ruby noticeably smile at knowing she and Alex shared a lot in common. The pair walked towards Beacon with smiles on their faces.
"You know," the General continued, "if you work at it, I could see you easily getting better than me."
"Really?" Ruby asked. Marcia opened her mouth to affirm, but the sound of an approaching Bullhead transport drowned her out as it screamed overhead. The aircraft made a sharp rotation, hurriedly landing on the academy landing pad with a heavy thunk.
"Ruby, cover me," Marcia ordered.
"Got it," the student responded, bringing Crescent Rose to her shoulder. Marcia drew her handgun from her waist as she approached the newly-arrived transport. After checking that Ruby had her sights on the craft, Marcia reached out to yank the vehicle's side hatch open by way of a lever. A man with dull orange hair stepped into view, adorned in the armor of a Lord of the Order, a large burn scar across the side of his face. To Ruby's surprise, Marcia lowered her weapon and signaled an all clear. The student decided to trust her newest friend's judgement and stowed her weapon before rushing towards the newcomer's location.
"Well, General," the man said, "I hope that's not how you greet everyone." He noticed Ruby. "Who's this?"
"Right. Ruby," Marcia holstered her weapon and gestured to the man. "This is Ryan Aedus, also known as Ignis, the Bloodline of Flame."
A/N:Okay, quality on this one feels much better, hopefully not because I'm dead tired.
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