So, a warning of possible delays in posting. It's not anything dramatic. You see, right now I'm currently in Orlando for a friend's wedding. Because of that, my schedule will be a bit...erratic for the next few days. I'm not 100% sure I'll be able to continually maintain the updates on this and my other story during the course of the next few days. I'll try, but I can't guarantee that I'll be able to stay completely on schedule with my updates. However, I'll be back home on Monday, so, if there even is a delay, it won't be a major one.
Chapter 36:
"Ruby…" Weiss' throat suddenly felt dry, and she had to work her mouth to produce any saliva. A nauseating feeling welled up in her stomach, and she felt like throwing up. Without even realizing it, the hand that clutched her scroll to her ear began to shake.
Hearing her voice cemented things in reality. Weiss and Pyrrha had already been operating under the pretense that Ruby had somehow survived and made her way back. They'd weighed the evidence, considered the likelihood, and come to the conclusion that it was better to err on the side of caution. However, at the back of their minds, there had always been a silent bit of doubt that neither of them wanted to voice, lest they get their hopes up, the notion that this was all in their heads, and that Ruby was still dead as a doornail, back in the forests of Sanus. They would go out into the Emerald Forest, and, when nothing happened, they'd realize that they were just being overly paranoid and go back to their lives as usual.
But now…hearing Ruby's voice on the other end of the scroll, talking with that same cheerful tone she'd always used, almost as though they were still friends and partners, set things in stone. Ruby was alive, and, Weiss had no doubt, she was close, somewhere on Beacon grounds at the very least. The realization sent a shiver down Weiss' spine. How long had Ruby been back in Vale? How long had she been watching them?
"It's been a while, Weiss," said Ruby, her tone still cheerful. "I don't think we've talked since you stabbed me in the chest and pushed me off a cliff." As she spoke, her tone grew harsher and angrier, which, ironically, made it less disconcerting.
Weiss worked her mouth, trying to come up with an answer. She realized that Ruby had thrown her off her game quite nicely, calling preemptively like this. Weiss wasn't sure if Ruby knew what Weiss and Pyrrha had planned for her, but Weiss doubted that she and Pyrrha would get their chance now. If Ruby was calling her, then that meant that Ruby was making her move, which probably wouldn't allow Weiss and Pyrrha to make theirs.
"You seem to be doing pretty well for a dead girl," said Weiss, her own tone bitter, reflecting her feelings about how unfair this situation was. "It would be better if you just disappeared again."
"I can't do that, Weiss," said Ruby. "Or…I'm not going to. I've spent a long time getting ready for this, and now…you're going to get what you deserve."
"Deserve…" Weiss' throat tightened, an old, familiar rage welling up within her. "What I deserve…I got what I deserved that night in the forest. I deserved better than to be following the orders of a damn child. I deserved to have the authority that I studied and trained for. I deserve to be left alone by you. That's what I deserve."
"Wow…You know, I always thought you were spoiled, but I didn't realize how bad it was," said Ruby. "Weiss shouldn't always get what Weiss wants. This is one of those times. I'm back, I'm taking you down, and I'm getting back everything that you tried to take away from me."
"What are you going to do?" snarled Weiss, something occurring to her. "The truth is you can't do anything, can you?" She found herself smirking at the thought. "That's why you've been so evasive, why you haven't just gone straight to Ozpin. You don't have any proof. That's why you want to deal with me and Pyrrha without involving anyone else."
It was a sound theory in Weiss' mind, one that became more plausible the more she thought about it. Ruby might have been a complete dunce, but she wasn't utterly stupid. She had to know that, absent any actual evidence of what had happened that night on the cliff, it would simply become a case of her word against Weiss and Pyrrha's. Certainly, Ruby would have people in her corner. Yang would probably believe her little sister, no matter what, and be on her side without needing prompting. But most of the others, if not all of them, would have considerable reason to doubt, especially when it had taken Ruby so long to come back. The theory cemented itself in Weiss' mind, and her confidence swelled like a balloon.
Unfortunately for her, Ruby had more than a few needles. "Yeah…about that…"
Suddenly, Weiss heard her voice over the scroll. "…But I killed my partner, and I covered it up by calling down the Grimm right on top of our teams…" Abruptly, she found herself fighting back the urge to vomit again.
"You know, you actually made it too easy," said Ruby, coming back on the line. "I'd figured it might take me a few days or even a couple weeks to get this. I had this whole plan in mind for you. I'd haunt you like a ghost, distracting you during your sparring matches and study sessions. It was going to be so much fun. But you cracked and spilled the beans in less than a day. I'm kinda disappointed."
Even as Weiss shuddered, she found herself confused. This wasn't like Ruby at all. Sure, Weiss supposed that being betrayed the way Ruby had been would make anyone more cynical. But this convoluted plan of wearing down her and Pyrrha's psyches through the careful application of psychological pressure was a more sophisticated plan than she could ever see Ruby coming up with.
"So now…you're probably wondering why I haven't just gone to Ozpin and handed this over to him," said Ruby, snapping Weiss out of her confusion. "The truth is that I plan to. But I don't want to do it just yet. I want to pay you and Pyrrha back first. I'm going to give you a taste of the pain you gave me."
"What do you want?" growled Weiss.
"Simple, really," said Ruby. "I've arranged for one of the sparring rings to be available. The teachers don't know it's me. I reserved it under your name, if you don't mind. I'll give you…let's say…fifteen minutes. If you and Pyrrha don't show up by then, I'll send this recording to my team, Juniper, and Ozpin. Then everyone will see you for what you really are."
Weiss swallowed and then frowned. "And if we show up…?"
"Well, then you'll have your chance to stop me, won't you," said Ruby. "Of course, that's assuming the two of you can beat me now."
"You're still a fool," said Weiss. "I don't know what you've been doing these past few months, but there's no way you could have gotten good enough to beat me and Pyrrha." Despite her words, Weiss was sufficiently unsettled that she couldn't maintain proper grammar.
"We'll see," said Ruby. "That is…assuming you show up. Otherwise, you can run away if you want, and I'll be giving you a fifteen-minute head start. It's up to you. But I hope you do show up."
With that, Ruby hung up. For several long seconds, Weiss was left staring at her inactive scroll, a numb feeling spreading through her body as she weighed the situation in her mind. There was no question that Ruby was no match for her and Pyrrha both, yet she was foolish enough to give them both an opportunity to fight her.
However, at the same time, Weiss couldn't forget that Ruby was in complete control of the situation now. She'd picked the sparring ring for a reason, probably because there was a greater chance of them being spotted there. Of course, if she and Pyrrha did win, Weiss had no intention of letting Ruby walk away. She'd make sure that annoying brat was dead for sure. However, getting rid of her body would be a lot more difficult than it would have been if they'd been able to leave her to the Grimm in the Emerald Forest.
More to the point, Weiss realized her time was running out. Ruby had only given her fifteen minutes after all. Weiss was already in her combat clothes, but she'd need the time to get to her locker and get her weapon. Pyrrha would need that time too.
The realization galvanizing her to action, Weiss called Pyrrha.
Ruby waited patiently in the center of the sparring ring, breathing deeply, allowing her breaths to feed the kindling fire within her. It had been one of the first techniques that Yu had taught her. Aura was power born from the soul itself. Therefore, despite the fact that a person could technically run out of Aura, it was inconceivable that a person could run out of soul. The breathing exercise Yu had taught her allowed her to gradually recharge her Aura by drawing out the essence of her soul. It was functionally limitless, but Aura also had a physical aspect that drew from her own stamina, hence why having one's Aura broken was so debilitating. However, by drawing further from her soul, Ruby could replenish even the physical aspect of her Aura to an extent.
Right now, there wasn't a specific need for her to do that. Ruby had yet to physically exert herself today. Rather, she was using the exercise to calm and reinforce her strength to the maximum extent, honing everything she had developed over the past few months, readying to unleash it against the two girls who had wronged her.
She opened her eyes slowly, her ears picking up a tone from her scroll. Picking it up, she saw that Ayumu was calling her. "The others are in their dorm rooms," he informed her. "Ms. Nikos just left her team in quite the hurry."
"Thanks," said Ruby. "Are you ready?"
"Whenever you are," said Ayumu.
"Okay," said Ruby, hanging up on him.
She waited a few more minutes before her scroll chimed again. This time it was Gin calling her.
"They've gotten their weapons and are almost there," he said. "You have about two minutes."
"All right," said Ruby.
"I'll be close," Gin promised her, "just in case. Be careful, Ruby."
"I will," said Ruby, smiling fondly. Rather than put her scroll away, she instead took the recordings she and Gin had gotten of Weiss and Pyrrha's conversations. She then set them up as an attachment to a message she would send to the five people she most wanted to hear the truth about what Weiss and Pyrrha had done. Once she'd set everything up, Ruby's finger hovered a fraction of a second before she pressed "Send."
Weiss and Pyrrha arrived at the sparring ring, rushing in as fast as their feet could carry them. They skidded to a stop, both of them blinking furiously, not quite believing their eyes. Even though she'd heard Ruby's voice over the scroll, Weiss still had to admit that the situation had more than a little sense of unreality to it. But now, staring at Ruby, there, in the ring, the reality of the situation struck her like a slap across the face.
"Hi, Weiss…Pyrrha…" said Ruby, beaming happily, almost like she was meeting them for an afternoon in Vale. "…long time, no see."
"Ruby…" growled Pyrrha, her fingers clenching. A second later, her sword and shield slid off her back and into place, ready to be used at a second's notice.
Weiss drew Myrtenaster and leveled it at her former partner.
"Wow…no love lost, huh?" asked Ruby rhetorically, still seeming to enjoy the situation. "It's almost as though you two were the ones who got betrayed and left for dead, at the bottom of a cliff in a forest full of Grimm."
"Why shouldn't we feel betrayed?" Weiss wanted to know. "I've worked much too hard to allow you to ruin everything now. We were free from you, and everything was going well. You should have just stayed gone."
"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way…except…not really," said Ruby. "You like to talk about how I don't deserve to be in Beacon. Well, the way I see it, neither of you deserve to get off scot free, when everything you've gotten you did by stabbing me in the back…metaphorically speaking." She pulled out a Beacon-issue scroll and held it up for them to see.
Where did she get that? wondered Weiss, feeling another chill go down her spine. Only a member of the staff could have issued another scroll. But, at the same time, if Ruby wanted to keep her revenge private until she'd finished with them, she couldn't have gotten it with the faculty's knowledge, which meant she'd probably stolen it from another student.
"So…here's the deal," said Ruby. "All my recordings of you two are on this scroll. If I win, I send this to everyone: Yang, Blake, Jaune, Ozpin…Everyone. If you two win, well…I guess you'll get to do whatever you want with it."
Weiss and Pyrrha couldn't keep from smiling at Ruby's naiveté. Her greatest mistake had been to give them so much time to prepare for this. Thanks to that, they'd had the time to hash out a quick plan in the locker room, before coming over. Granted, they hadn't expected Ruby to actually be this stupid, but if that worked to their advantage, they'd gladly accept it.
"You really are a dunce," said Weiss.
At that instant, Pyrrha dropped her sword and reached out with her Semblance, a black aura lining the scroll in Ruby's hand. Before the younger girl could react, Pyrrha wrenched it away, making it fly across the distance between them so that it now hovered over her hand. With a victorious smile, Pyrrha closed her hand and used her Semblance to crush the scroll, making it spit and spark, as its frame crumpled in on itself. Finally, Pyrrha flicked her hand and sent the broken mess of circuits flying off to the side, hitting the floor and fragmenting further.
"And now you have nothing," said Weiss smugly.
Ruby stared at them, before staring back down at the hand she'd been holding her scroll with, then back up at them. To Weiss' shock, Ruby beamed cheerfully at her. "Well, I figured you'd do that," she said.
"Wh-what?" sputtered Pyrrha.
Ruby giggled, smiling so hard her eyes closed. "Silly Weiss, silly Pyrrha…" She opened her eyes again and dropped the cheerful facade, her face now glowing with focused anger. "Did you even think for a second that I'd actually give you a chance to get away with what you did? That wasn't even my real scroll."
Seeing them dumbfounded, Ruby smiled again, this time wearing a smirk that mirrored the ones Weiss and Pyrrha had been wearing only a second earlier. "Professor Ozpin already knows everything. He had all the evidence of what you two did days ago. He's the one who let me use the sparring ring." She gestured at the ring around them. "And, as for the others…" Ruby's eyes narrowed. "…I sent your little confession to them right before you got here."
Almost as if on cue, the metal floor of the ring began to vibrate faintly, a vibration that accompanied a sound, a sound coming from so far away and from outside the sparring ring's impressive sound-dampening field that they shouldn't have been able to hear it at all. Yet they heard it all the same.
"Weeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssssss!"
Fear gripped Weiss' heart with chill fingers as Yang Xiao Long's wrathful roar reached every corner of Beacon's campus.
Ozpin sipped from his mug, an eyebrow going up as Yang's roar echoed across campus, even shaking the windows of Beacon Tower itself. "My…that was quite dramatic," he observed. "I wonder if Ms. Rose and the boys thought their plan through as carefully as they thought. Glynda will be livid when all this is over."
Setting his mug down, he stood up and took his cane, making his way to the elevator. He wanted to see how much Ruby had changed with his own eyes.
The door to Team WBY's room disintegrated from the force of Yang's punch. She hadn't even used her weapons, wasn't even wearing them. She and Blake had both been surprised when their scrolls had chimed at the same time, revealing that they'd received a message from an unknown sender. The message had consisted of a pair of audio files of conversations between Weiss and Pyrrha. Listening to the first one, Yang's mental processes had ground to a halt as the implications of what she'd just heard changed her view of the entire past few months.
She hadn't even noticed when Blake, with a trembling finger, had played the second recording. She'd gasped in shock to learn that Ruby was still alive, then again with horror when she heard Weiss and Pyrrha plotting to kill her again, and make sure she was dead this time. However, by this point, Yang was far beyond listening.
Normally, Yang's Semblance was fueled by the damage she took in battle. However, it could also draw from her anger. At this moment, Yang's rage had grown beyond anything she'd ever experienced before. Her body was practically incandescent, her Aura swirling around her like a maelstrom of golden flame. Her hair glowed such a brilliant yellow that it hurt to even look at it. Above all, her eyes blazed a pure, angry red, the color of blood, the color she planned to beat out of Weiss and Pyrrha, and spread across the ground like spilled paint.
If Yang's roar had been loud enough that Weiss and Pyrrha had heard it across campus, behind the sparring arena's sound-dampening field, then it was deafening up close. The entire wing of the dorms shook and vibrated. Windows cracked, then shattered. Wasting no time, Yang strode across the hall and punched the door leading to Team JNPR's room. The wooden barrier fared no better than her own room's door had.
"WHERE IS SHE!?" howled Yang as the splintered remnants of Team JNPR's door crunched beneath her feet. "Where is that bitch!"
Yang's rage actually calmed somewhat, as it was replaced by confusion when her words were greeted with no reaction at all. She'd expected confusion from Jaune, Nora, and Ren. She'd expected them to try and calm her, to ask what she was so upset about. However, her spectacular entrance had garnered no reaction at all. Instead, the three remaining members of JNPR were all completely transfixed by their own scrolls, staring dumbly at the devices.
Nora's hands were clamped over her mouth, clenching so hard that her nails were actually drawing lines of blood across her cheeks, as though she was desperately fighting to hold back a bloodcurdling scream. Tears streamed from her eyes and she was slowly shaking her head back and forth, muffled whimpers escaping from her hands.
Ren's reaction was the most subdued of the three. He stared at his scroll as though he could no longer even comprehend what it was, much less what he'd just heard. He'd gone utterly still, so completely still that he might as well have been a statue, not even the slightest twitch of motion coming from his extremities.
And Jaune…Jaune's face had gone completely white, and he looked sicker than he had on the airship ride that had brought them to Beacon on their first day. In stark contrast to Ren, the hand holding his scroll was shaking like a leaf in the wind. He stared at the device in horror, as though it had morphed into some hideous monstrosity. Worse still were his eyes, a look of complete, empty despair.
None of them seemed to notice that Yang had even entered the room. The looks of betrayal on their faces was like a bucket of cold water to Yang as she realized that they'd received the same message that she had. For a moment, all she could do was stare at them. They looked as though their worlds had been turned completely upside down and inside out.
Finally, Jaune slowly looked up at her, as though finally realizing that she was there. His mouth opened. "Ya-" He closed it again, his cheeks bulging. Jaune shot to his feet and stumbled in the direction of the bathroom. However, he only made it a couple of steps before bending over double and throwing up on the floor.
In the meantime, Nora had transitioned from covering her mouth to planting her hands on the sides of her head as she rocked back and forth on her bed. "Oh God! This can't be real!" she whimpered. "This can't be right! Pyrrha wouldn't do that!"
"I…" Ren opened his mouth, then hesitated. For a second, it looked as though he would throw up as well. Then he mastered the impulse. "It's hard to deny…those were definitely their voices."
"But they couldn't have…could they?" asked Nora, looking to Ren for reassurance. "It's fake. It has to be."
"I…I wish I could say that it wasn't," said Ren, his voice heavy with disbelief nonetheless. "An audio recording is easier to falsify than a video one. But…I can't think of anything that…that would allow me to say that this is a hoax. Besides…"
"Besides what?" asked Yang, finally getting their attention.
"P-Pyrrha got a call," said Jaune, straightening up now that he'd expelled his dinner across the carpet. He was still pale, and the look on his face haunted. But he faced Yang firmly. "Weiss called her, just a few minutes ago. She looked upset about something."
"We tried to ask what was wrong," added Ren.
"But she said it was nothing, and that she just forgot to get something from the library," said Nora.
"Then she left," finished Jaune.
"Then…we just got…this," said Ren, pointing lamely at his scroll.
"Did you get the same thing?" asked Nora, looking worriedly at Yang, as though afraid she was going to explode…which wasn't an unfounded fear under the circumstances.
"Yeah," said Yang, her Semblance winding down as she took in the horrified expressions of the three remaining members of JNPR.
"Wha-what do we do?" asked Jaune.
Yang thought about it for all of a second. Then her eyes narrowed and her rage began to rekindle. "We find Weiss and Pyrrha, and we find out for sure whether or not this is real."
"Actually, I can assure you that it is very real."
Yang jumped, spinning around and falling into a combat stance, her arms up and ready as she faced the source of the unexpected voice coming from the ruined doorway behind her. A young man stood there, a pleasant, serene smile adorning his boyish face, framed by black hair. He was dressed in light-blue, Mistraillian-style clothing, somewhat similar to Ren's, though much plainer and looking more worn. His arms were folded behind his back and his posture was relaxed, as though he were in the midst of an ordinary conversation.
"Who are you?" asked Yang, unable to keep an angry harshness from her voice. "How do you know that this is real?"
"Because my friend and I were the ones who found Ruby," said the boy, not even flinching before Yang's anger, his grayish blue eyes showing no signs of fear. "We found her at the base of that cliff, and treated her injuries. We also accompanied her on her journey back to Vale."
Once again, Yang felt a shock, like being doused by a bucket of ice-water. This time, the fire of her rage was quenched instantly by the realization of what the boy had just said. "Ruby's…alive?"
"She is," said the boy, nodding.
"How…how do you know this is true?" demanded Ren, holding up his scroll.
"Ruby recorded that first conversation herself," answered the boy levelly. "Our friend, Gin, recorded the other one on the roof the other night."
Yang, however, had only one thing on her mind. "Wh-where is she?" asked Yang, her entire body quaking.
"Over at the sparring arena," said the young man. "Professor Ozpin has made arrangements to allow Ruby to confront her attackers personally."
"What?" This time, it wasn't Yang, but Jaune, his voice trembling with fear.
"You're saying that Weiss and Pyrrha nearly killed Ruby last time…" Blake's voice came from behind the young man, prompting him to turn around. "…and now she's facing them…again…alone?"
"She is facing them again," said the young man. "But she isn't facing them alone. Gin is there as well. He's promised to remain on the sidelines. But if Ruby is in real danger, he won't remain idle, I assure you."
Yang wasn't in the mood for further conversation, pushing past the boy and breaking out in a run as she rushed down the hallway.
"Who are you?" Blake asked the boy after watching Yang go.
"Ah…I'm sorry," said the young man, turning back to her. "I am Ayumu Ao."
"And you're all right with allowing Ruby to fight the two people who almost killed her before?" asked Jaune.
"I am," said Ayumu. "Ruby has grown considerably on her journey here. I daresay you'll be quite surprised by her development." His eyes narrowed slightly. "I know her opponents will be."
"Let's go," said Jaune, still looking pale and shaken, not even noticing that his shoes were splattered with vomit. He began to stumble down the way Yang had taken, his pace quickening when Ren gripped his arm to support him. Blake and Nora followed in their wake, the former holding up the latter, who still seemed to be in a stupor over the revelation of Pyrrha's betrayal.
Ayumu watched them go, his pleasant smile still in place. He was about to follow, when he was stopped by a harsh, shocked voice from behind him. "What on Remnant happened here?"
Ayumu turned around to see a stunned Glynda Goodwitch staring at the wrecked doorways of the two dorm rooms, along with the shattered glass that littered the floor from broken lights above. It was fortunate that every other team on this floor of the dorm was out on mission, or there would be an even greater commotion. As it was, Goodwitch's expression shifted and changed, as she was apparently uncertain whether to be angry or worried.
"Ah…apologies for the mess," said Ayumu, clapping his hands together and bowing slightly to her. "Please forgive them. They received some very bad and very good news at the same time."
"What?" asked Goodwitch, staring at Ayumu in confusion. "And who are you?"
"Well…there's a bit of a story behind that," said Ayumu, his smile adopting a sheepish quality as he rubbed the back of his head. "You will get many of your answers, if you head to the sparring arena."
Glynda pulled out her riding crop and leveled it at Ayumu. "I'll get my answers from you…right now."
Ayumu sighed. "If you wish," he said. "But can we at least speak as we walk. I'd hate to miss Ruby's debut."
Glynda's eyes widened and her riding crop dropped from nerveless fingers. "What did you just say?"
"You lied…" said Weiss, barely able to comprehend it.
Ruby's smile was unquestionably vindictive. She was enjoying their fear. "Yep," she said in an irritatingly cheerful tone. "You two didn't play fair when you tried to kill me. Why should I play fair with you two now?"
Weiss' entire body tensed, and she shared a worried look with Pyrrha.
"Before long, the entire world will know what you did," said Ruby, her voice firm with conviction. "Everything that you worked for, everything that you tried to murder me for, is going to be taken away. You'll have nowhere to run, no one to help you. And, unlike me, you'll completely deserve it. I'll let you run, if you want. It's more of a chance than what you gave me, but I'm nicer than you."
"You little…bitch!" snarled Weiss, her eyes narrowing. "You'll pay for this!"
"Make me," said Ruby.
Weiss and Pyrrha shared a look, both of them debating whether to attack or run. Having heard Yang, they knew that that Ruby's enraged older sister was probably on her way to the arena now. Once she saw them, they both knew there was little to hold her back. Even if they still had an edge over Ruby, it was impossible to kill her quickly enough to get away under these circumstances.
Weiss turned to look at Ruby again, and, at the sight of the triumphant expression on the younger girl's face, Weiss suddenly found the thought of running away the furthest thing from her mind. It wasn't just these past few months of working with a team one person short that had suddenly been wasted. It was the years she'd spent before that; all the studying, the training, pushing herself to the limit; all the time and effort Weiss had invested in her plan to become an accomplished Huntress, seize her inheritance, and restore her family's name to its previous glory; putting everything on the line to defy her father's wish to send her to Atlas Academy instead of Beacon, even going so far as to wind up scarring her face in the process of forcing her way; all of it had been completely undone by the girl in front of her. Worse than the humiliation of being forced to answer to someone two years younger than her, worse than failing to secure a position of authority for herself, everything Weiss had invested in her future was now gone. And the one that had taken it away from her was standing right in front of her...smiling.
"It's painful, isn't it?" asked Ruby. "Everything you've built up has been knocked down, and all the work you've put into it was wasted. All your life, all the work you've put into what you've done up to this point is worthless now. Guess what. That's what defeat feels like.
"Whether you fight or run, whether you win or lose here, whether I'm still standing or actually dead this time, I've already won. I've beaten you, both of you."
In a flash, Weiss' reason completely deserted her. Myrtenaster's shaking stopped, its tip orienting on Ruby with the surety of the needle of a compass pointing north. With a wordless scream of rage, Weiss lunged forward, flashing across the floor as she hurtled herself at Ruby, her rapier leading like the head of an arrow.
A beat behind her, Pyrrha's own expression hardened, her emerald eyes blazing with fury. Then she too charged the girl who'd so cavalierly destroyed everything they'd worked for.
In her rush to reach the sparring ring, Yang barely even realized the doors were closed. She wound up stumbling, trying not to break her stride, forgetting to even use her hands, instead slamming shoulder-first into them to throw them apart so that she wouldn't lose speed as she rushed into the room. She arrived just as Weiss' shriek of rage reached her ears. Looking up, Yang saw the arena, and saw Weiss and Pyrrha charge Ruby head-on.
"Ruby!" shouted Yang, her eyes wide, almost afraid to accept the reality of what was in front of her.
If she heard Yang's voice, Ruby showed no signs of it, her attention instead focused on her attackers. She made no effort to draw her weapon, remaining still, not even flinching as Weiss and Pyrrha bore down on her. To Yang, time seemed to slow down as Weiss thrust forward with her rapier, while Pyrrha led with a slash of her own sword. Yang's mouth opened to scream something…a warning…however futile it may have been.
But then Ruby moved. Her motion was so smooth and fluid that it almost seemed effortless. She turned aside from Weiss' thrust so that the point of the rapier slid harmlessly past her chest. Then she crouched slightly and ducked, allowing Pyrrha's slash to streak harmlessly over head. Weiss immediately pivoted to attack again, launching a rapid series of thrusts at Ruby while Pyrrha tried to flank her from the other side and hem her in with swift, powerful slashes of her sword.
Ruby's form almost seemed to twist and elongate as she was enveloped by her red cloak, weaving between her opponents' attacks before jumping clear of them, coming to a stop on the other side of the ring.
Yang's arms dropped to dangle by her sides. She could scarcely believe what she saw. She knew her sister was good, but to dodge a concerted attack by Weiss and Pyrrha Nikos of all people, without even drawing her weapon, that was a completely different level of good. What has she been doing these last few months?
"That was pretty sloppy of you, Weiss," Ruby taunted from where she stood, rocking back and forth on her feet. "I thought you wanted to kill me."
Weiss bared her teeth, glaring at Ruby. Then her eyes narrowed. Her angry expression melted away, a smug smile taking its place. "And you haven't drawn your weapon," she said. "Don't tell me you came to face us without anything. You didn't replace your precious Crescent Rose after Pyrrha tore it to pieces?"
"What?" snarled Yang, striding forward. It was bad enough to learn that Weiss and Pyrrha had tried to kill Ruby. It was even worse to see them trying to do so again. But now, to learn that they'd destroyed Ruby's precious weapon; the weapon that Ruby had obsessed and spent countless sleepless nights designing, forging, and building, that she'd loved like a member of her own family; that was a cruelty that made Yang resolve to pound them into the ground and not stop until they were a pair of bloody smears.
She was brought up short when a boy Ruby's age stepped in front of her, almost seeming to emerge from thin air, wisps of silvery mist streaming off his form, matching the color of his short hair almost perfectly as he regarded her with serpentine eyes the color of amber. He held his right hand out to to the side in front of Yang, barring her from advancing.
"This is Ruby's fight," he said firmly, regarding Yang with a stern expression.
"Who are you?" asked Yang, taken aback by the boy's sudden appearance.
"Gin," said the boy simply.
Yang looked from Gin to her sister and back again. Finally, she locked eyes with the boy. "Can Ruby win?" she asked.
The corners of Gin's mouth turned up in a small, but sincere, smile. "She can," he said. "She will."
The conviction in his voice reassured Yang slightly, and she found herself calming as she looked up. At the same time, her worry didn't disappear entirely, nor did the yearning to rush down into the ring. Her beloved sister, whom she'd believed dead, was now standing right in front of her, alive and well. But Yang still couldn't shake the fear that she'd found Ruby again, only to watch her die for real this time.
In the ring, Weiss lunged forward again, Pyrrha following along behind her. This time, Pyrrha hurled her shield so that it flew right past Weiss' head, aiming right for Ruby's face. Ruby bent her body slightly to the side, allowing the shield to fly past, its breeze ruffling her hood. Then Weiss came in behind it, her sword seeking Ruby's heart. Once again, Ruby danced aside from the thrust, but Weiss stopped her charge, going instantly into a twirl that was almost balletic as she whipped the blade around in a slash aimed at Ruby's neck. At the same time, Pyrrha's shield struck the arena's barrier, meant to protect the audience from stray attacks, and rebounded, coming back at Ruby from behind, its course subtly manipulated by Pyrrha's Semblance. Meanwhile, Pyrrha herself closed in, her weapon elongating into its javelin form as she thrust it at Ruby's midsection.
Ruby stepped in towards Weiss, the fluidity of the motion once again belying its speed. She caught Weiss' arm at the wrist, swinging one leg at Weiss' ankles, pulling and tripping her at the same time, so that Weiss stumbled past her and into the path of Pyrrha's shield. The shield clanged as it struck Weiss cleanly in the side of her skull, sending her pitching over and into the path of Pyrrha's attack, which Pyrrha was forced to abandon, hastily diverting Milo's thrust to the side to avoid stabbing Weiss as she stumbled into her.
Seeing Weiss get hit with her shield, and having Weiss stumble into her caused Pyrrha to release her Semblance's hold over her shield, which bounced upwards from its hit against Weiss' head, flipping end over end, rather than spinning like a discus. Ruby leapt up to meet it, putting her own body into a spin, which accelerated sharply, scattering red petals around her as she caught the rim of Pyrrha's shield with her boot at just the right angle to send it flying like a frisbee at Weiss and Pyrrha. The red petals from Ruby's Semblance trailed from the shield now, as it accelerated to a speed that Pyrrha had never been able to throw it at. Pyrrha, still trying to adjust to Weiss suddenly being slumped against her, looked up just in time to catch her own shield right on her forehead.
With another echoing clang, Weiss and Pyrrha were blown backwards by the impact, and sent sprawling as Akuou went spinning off in another ungainly flight, this time clanging inelegantly against the floor and skidding to a stop, while Weiss and Pyrrha slammed down a ways back from where they were standing, skidding apart from one another, both of them groaning in pain.
Yang's jaw dropped to hang open in gaping disbelief. She could scarcely believe her eyes. Without a weapon of any kind, Ruby had just owned Weiss and Pyrrha. The fight was far from over, but Ruby was clearly at a completely different level from where she'd been when she'd supposedly died.
Pyrrha and Weiss staggered to their feet, both of them having had their bells rung by heavy blows to the head. Their Aura had taken the brunt of the impact, and absorbed any actual damage, but the pain and disorientation remained. Ruby watched them, her hands clenching tightly.
"Is that it?" she asked, her voice emerging as a growl. "After everything you put me through, after all the work I put into setting this up, is this really the best you can do? You claim I wasn't fit to be in Beacon, that I didn't belong, but this is your idea of what level of skill allows you to belong here? Is it really going to be this easy?"
Pyrrha groaned, and her legs gave out on her for a second. Weiss had to lean against her to remain standing.
"Get up," snarled Ruby. "Get up and take this seriously."
Pyrrha tried, but faltered again. Weiss was managing to stand up on her own, though she was still clearly in some pain.
"GET UP!" screamed Ruby, glaring at them with all the anger she could muster, tears tumbling from her eyes and streaming down her cheeks.
"Why is she goading them like that?" asked Blake, making Yang jump slightly. She'd been so engrossed she hadn't noticed Blake arrive, the rest of Team JNPR following behind her. "She could have beaten them already."
"Ruby wants a chance to show them what they threw away," said Ayumu, coming up behind Blake and the others, Glynda Goodwitch along with him. "She worked very hard over the months and miles of her journey to prepare for this. She would be disappointed if it turned out she hardly needed to have bothered. However, I believe it's also her way to show her gratitude."
"Gratitude?" asked Yang, baffled. "For almost killing her?"
It was Gin who answered. "Because of what they did, Ruby got to see and experience things she would never have gotten the chance to, if she'd stayed at Beacon. She got to learn lessons that no classroom here could ever teach. She gained strength, and reached levels of skill that she never would have had they not left her there. Giving them the chance to fight at their full capacity, to be able to show them all that she has gained while she was away, that's how she expresses her gratitude, even as she seeks justice for the wrong they did her."
Yang blinked, staring at Gin, trying to process what he'd just said. "Who are you?" she found herself asking, wanting to know what this boy's connection to Ruby was.
"He's Ruby's boyfriend," answered Ayumu cheerfully.
"Ayumu!" sputtered Gin, his face turning bright red.
A stunned silence fell over the spectators as they stared at a blushing Gin, who tried desperately to shrug off all the embarrassment that Ayumu's pronouncement had heaped on him.
Down below, Weiss and Pyrrha managed to recover. Ruby waited patiently for them, wiping her tears away and glaring sternly at them. Weiss was still rubbing her head ,where Pyrrha's shield had connected with. Pyrrha was shaking her own head. Finally, the two of them regained their balance and composure, and focused their gazes on Ruby. Pyrrha reached out with her left hand. Her shield leapt off the floor and flew to her arm.
"Are you done playing around?" asked Ruby. "Are you ready to take this seriously?"
Weiss took a deep breath, settling herself before opening her eyes. Beside her, Pyrrha did the same, both of them focusing intently on Ruby. "If that's what you want," said Weiss coldly, "then, fine…I'm done caring about what happens after this. As long as you're dead when this is over, I'll be satisfied."
Pyrrha also focused on Ruby, her eyes narrowing.
"Pyrrha!" called Jaune.
His voice caused Pyrrha's head to snap around. When their eyes met, a look of absolute horror washed over Pyrrha's face. She clearly didn't want Jaune to see this.
"It's true…" said Jaune, his voice barely audible. "She really did…I…"
Yang reached over and took Jaune's hand, squeezing it tightly. Pyrrha's expression was pained as she saw them. But then she closed her eyes and also focused the whole of her attention on Ruby.
"This is the end," declared Weiss, brandishing Myrtenaser, working it through several swift, semicircular passes. "Without a weapon of your own, you can't hope to win."
Both she and Pyrrha charged again. This time, there was much less wild anger in their movements, more focus and control. From her position, Yang could see that Ruby wouldn't be able to evade and counter their attacks so easily this time.
Ruby merely smiled, reaching behind her back, just as she used to when she still had Crescent Rose. When she pulled her hand back out, a dark-red body unfolded and extended to form the shaft. Up towards the head of her weapon, the shaft began to spread and widen, curving outwards as the head of the weapon itself unfolded, one end slightly longer than the other. With a flash, a curving blade of pure crimson extended out with a low hum from the long end of the head, while, with a second flash, more crimson light extended out from the shorter end, curving slightly in the other direction, dividing itself into feather-like shapes, almost giving the impression of a small wing.
Ruby countered Weiss and Pyrrha's attacks with a single, powerful swing of her new scythe, a blade of what seemed to be pure energy flashing as it clashed against their weapons, and threw them back off their feet.
The two girls landed on their backs, recovering quickly enough, rising back to their feet. However, they found themselves unable to to move, transfixed by the sight of Ruby's new scythe.
"Now this is a real fight," declared Ruby, hefting her weapon with a look of confidence.
Ruby makes her triumphant return, and gets payback...in spades. I liked the idea of her playing with Weiss' and Pyrrha's preconceptions, based on how she used to be, and making them think they could turn her naïveté against her, only for her to turn around and show that she was playing with them the whole time. Yeah...Ruby developed a bit of a mean streak. But you can't really blame her.
This is the moment where everything comes together for our two storylines. It's also why I chose to skip over the scene of Ruby bringing down the White Fang op at Mountain Glenn (for now), so that her new sweetheart could make her debut in this fight. More on her new weapon later. By the way, we will get to what happened in Mountain Glenn, so don't worry about missing out on that.
A commenter mentioned wanting an image reference for Ruby's new outfit, and there is one. The image in question comes from none other than fan-artist turned concept-artist for RWBY Chibi, Mojojoj. One of this artist's images caught my eye, and I figured it would be perfect for a new look for Ruby. I'd provide a link, except...this site doesn't do links. Of course, I was a little bit stupid, and made a basic oversight when I failed to realize it was actually an image of Ruby in her Volume 4 outfit, minus the white blouse and black stockings, until several months and a few dozen chapters later on down the line. But I liked the look of it, and retroactively decided that Ruby basically picked up the proto-form of what would be her Volume 4-onwards outfit while on the road with Ayumu and Gin. So...yeah.
There's also an image of Shining Rose out there. Some of you may have even seen it. The tricky bit is that it isn't actually an image of Shining Rose. There's a little bit of a story behind this one, which I'll get to in the notes for the next chapter, because that chapter has a more detailed description of Shining Rose in it.