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Please enjoy the close of this arc.
Chapter 33: We Won't Let You
Finding Ruby was easier than Yang expected. Instead of searching high and low while shouting "Ruby!" at the top of her lungs, a simple walk out the side door leading to the courtyard was all she needed.
The scene in front of her nearly made her coo in delight.
Ruby and Velvet walked hand in hand, their arms swung back and forth lightly with every step. With her hood up, Yang was suddenly reminded of an earlier time when Ruby donned the same image. A time that left her tense and anxious as she watched the wolf from afar without knowing enough to help.
Her hand clenched as she wondered… will she be useless again this time?
Velvet smiled and waved at Yang with her free hand, drawing Ruby's attention.
"Hey Velvet, hey Ruby," Yang greeted as she walked up and met them halfway. Her hand relaxed and she waved back, schooling her mouth into her usual grin. "Where are you guys heading?" She kept her eyes focused on Velvet since Ruby didn't look like she wanted to talk, but her attention was focused on Ruby, taking careful note of her behavior.
"Oh, we're just heading back inside," Velvet answered. "Ruby…" she pulled a bit on her clasped hand in an effort to push Ruby forward slightly. Slight resistance.
Ruby nervously peeked up from underneath her hood, a sight that would have charmed Yang at any other time had the fearful face not been directed towards her.
She didn't miss the slight squeeze of Velvet's hand either. Was it Velvet, or Ruby?
Yang frowned inside. Either way, that was completely unacceptable. She was supposed to be the big sister here!
Certainly, between Blake, Pyrrha, and now Velvet, her position was at stake! She wanted to comfort Ruby. She wanted to be confided to. To listen to all the little and big worries Ruby may have and expend the wisdom befitting of a confidante and sister. To listen to all of her homework problems. Or boy problems. Or Weiss problems.
She knew that she was being silly though. Ruby's issues haven't been any of the lighthearted issues she wished she could help resolve. They were deep and poignant and had to be approached by those who can actually say something meaningful. Being a human, it was difficult for Yang to do more than sympathize with the trials and tribulations Ruby and her friends must face.
The thought brought little comfort in the face of uselessness.
She can't understand first hand what they must have gone through, what Ruby must be going through. So all she can do is the best she can to meet them with a smile and hold them in acceptance when all others, themselves included, spurn them.
"You… want to head back to the dorm now?" Yang proposed. She didn't have a good grasp on how to approach Ruby just yet. Too overbearing and she might just frighten the girl off.
Ruby seemed to hesitate and think for a moment, but a light squeeze from Velvet reassured her to speak with her closest friends.
A small nod.
"You do? Okay then!" Yang flashed a grin at Velvet. "Sorry Velvet, but I'll take her off your hands for a while."
"Hehe~" Velvet giggled as she looked down to Ruby. "I'm glad I can help you if only for a little bit."
Yang reached out and was happy and relieved that Ruby mirrored her action. Her hand fell from Velvet's grasp and instead entwined with Yang's.
Velvet waved goodbye as she took off, heading back to finish up business with her own team.
As they headed back, Yang took note of how soft the hand within her own was. Warm. Soft. Tender. With even the slightest pressure, Ruby's hand felt so frail and delicate. A child's hand that reached out and offered light and innocence to everyone she met, regardless of race or gender.
And yet she knew the amount of destruction that hand has also caused. The blood that dripped from the claws. Life and carcass torn asunder. At times to feed. At times to protect.
But now was not those times.
Right now, Ruby's hands were soft and warm. And that's all that Yang needed to know right now.
Her musings and thoughts stopped as they approached the dorm door.
No explosions, ice crystals, or shell casings so Yang assumed that Blake and Weiss weren't killing each other. Alternatively, they're having a cold war and she'll need to relight the fires of friendship… somehow.
Instead, she found Blake reading on her bed while Weiss typed away on her scroll.
"Welcome back," Blake greeted with a small smile.
"Yeah," Yang reciprocated with a grin. Leaving Blake and Weiss alone seemed to have worked out. The cloud of negativity and self-doubt that once surrounded Blake was nowhere in sight.
Yang didn't believe for a moment that it's all gone, nothing goes away that easily, but at least for now Blake seemed a bit more confident and stable than before.
That left only one other, she contemplated as she walked into the room fully, dragging in Ruby as well.
The moment Weiss and Blake noticed Ruby, the atmosphere in the room shifted. Not in the good way usually associated whenever Ruby entered a room and brought good cheer, her current demeanor brought upon them a sombre mood.
Yang never let go of Ruby's hand, but she looked meaningfully at her teammates. A plead for their help.
A silent conversation was held between them, none spoke but all understood. Weiss nodded at Blake, knowing what must be troubling their young leader. They were there to witness the events at the White Fang base and Blake knew first hand what Ruby must be going through.
Approaching Ruby slowly, she knelt down in front of the short girl, looking up to see her face.
"Hey Ruby," Blake spoke softly.
"Blake…" Ruby whispered back.
"It feels like it's been a long time since we talked doesn't it?" Blake chuckled a little. A whole week, seven days… somehow it felt longer… like seven weeks…
But as difficult as it was to bring up anything after not speaking to each other for so long, Blake wouldn't be deterred. This was what they wanted immediately following the aftermath of the breach. To bring Ruby back so they can all laugh together once again.
"You're still troubled by what happened at the base, aren't you?" Blake asked knowingly.
Ruby held still for a moment but nodded.
"Talk to us, Ruby," Blake urged. "I promise we'll make things better."
Hesitation… but only for a moment.
Ruby knew her friends would help her. They've been together long enough to trust each other with that much at least.
But that didn't shake the self-doubt she carried deep within her heart.
"…as we were leaving…" Ruby lifted her head and whispered, "He said I was like them…"
"You're not!" Weiss interjected, standing up and balling her fist. The sudden movement made Ruby jump a little and Blake glared at her. She blushed and sat down to let Ruby continue.
"I-I know," Ruby smiled weakly at Weiss. Her previous conversations had done much to relieve her anxieties. "Velvet and… Cardin told me."
At this, Yang visibly tensed. She didn't know what Cardin did, but if he had messed with Ruby in any way…
"They said… well, they said a lot of things," Ruby told them. "I don't understand all of it, but they don't think I'm like the White Fang either…"
"So what's wrong?" Blake calmly continued, noting Ruby's voice trailing towards the end.
Ruby took in a deep breath to steel herself.
"But what if you're all wrong?"
Her question seemed to echo, resounding within each of them a sense of hopelessness and uncertainty.
"W-what do you mean?" Yang questioned.
Ruby's head dipped down. "I'm not like them now… but… what if one day…"
Blake saw tiny shoulders quivering as Ruby tried to hold back her tears and fears. Her tiny frame shook as she took shuddering breaths.
"What if I end up like them one day?"
Her head snapped back up as her eyes searched for Weiss to make sure she was still there. "When he shot you, I was so scared! But more than that," her eyes quickly shifted between her teammates in rapid succession. "I felt angry… and I… hated him…"
Her hand slipped from Yang's in a moment of inattention, far too focused on her words.
"I don't want to go back!" she nearly screamed. "I d-don't want to be like that any mo-re!"
Blake, Weiss, and Yang simultaneously made to move towards Ruby to comfort her when Ruby found her voice and continued.
"I don't want to be alone again!" she cried, throwing her head back and crying to the heavens. Tears streamed down her face as she wailed helplessly.
At this her teammates swarmed her into a hug. Blake from the front, Yang from the back, Weiss from the side. Their arms overlapped each others' as one unified thought to embrace their kind leader and chase away whatever loneliness she felt.
"Why Ruby?" Blake asked. "Why would you be alone again?"
Ruby sniffled. The unexpected hug nearly crushed all of the air out of her lungs and shifted her attention from the sadness plaguing her mind. It came crashing back the moment she thought about it again, but… the warmth surrounding her took off the edge.
"B-back then," she said shakily. "I… felt the same feelings… I had back then…"
"Back then?" Yang muttered as she tried to think back.
Ruby heard her though and answered, "…Back when I attacked Velvet…"
They all remembered that day. That was when they realized that underneath all of Ruby's kindness and cheer, a dangerous predator lurked. It rarely strayed from the shadows of her mind, never so much as a flicker of darkness across her innocent eyes.
And yet when it did…
"I thought if I accepted my emotions, I wouldn't do that any more," Ruby tried her best to stifle another sob. "To lose control again… to hurt someone again…"
Her eyes clenched shut and she tried to curl up tighter. "Please, I don't want to go back to being alone again…" her voice begged. "I don't want to be like them…"
"You won't," Yang hugged tighter. "There's no way you'll ever be like that again."
"H-how can you know?" Ruby shook and thrashed slightly as if to get away. "W-when I attacked him, I wanted to! It wasn't like back then when she wanted to attack! I wanted to tear his arm out!"
But her friends held on tight. They wouldn't let go, especially not now when she needed them most!
Eventually, Ruby calmed down, though still dejected.
"What if… what if me wanting to hurt him is just the first step? What if… I start wanting to hurt other people?" Ruby's voice drifted in a low whisper.
"You won't!" Weiss argued back. "That's just not you Ruby! We know you!"
Sad grey eyes met shining blue. "The White Fang didn't start out like this either," was the simple yet piercing answer.
And that was when Blake understood.
Ruby wasn't so concerned with how she is now, but what she may one day become. The uncertain future that lay ahead now that her core belief in others was shaken. She saw the parallels between herself and the Fang. If they started out peaceful and yet now hurt so many countless others, who's to say that Ruby will not end up the same way?
The wolf and Ruby knew their strength full well. The same claws that reach out to save someone was easily turned to slay someone. Her speed can save countless lives, and yet brought death quicker than the victims can realize.
Hatred begets hatred.
The hatred of one can become the hatred of many.
The desire to hurt becomes the desire to kill.
But to reassure Ruby against all this was difficult. Saying she won't carried the same weight as saying she will. There was no definite proof that Ruby will not become like the White Fang.
Fear of the unknown and uncertain. Nothing is more so than the future.
But Blake knew one thing for certain.
"You won't become like the White Fang," she reassured her distraught leader. "You won't fall in with them."
Her arms hugged tighter as Ruby struggled, partially to prevent Ruby from arguing back immediately and partially to instill as much confidence as she could.
"Because we won't let you."
Ruby froze.
Blake smiled, thankful for her talk with Yang and Weiss that reaffirmed one thing with crystal clarity.
Her friends will support her. And she will support them.
"Did you know that I was once a part of the White Fang?" Blake asked. It was difficult to bring herself to say it after hiding it for so long, but when she looked at Weiss and Yang and saw eyes of understanding, she allowed herself a small smile of relief.
"You…were?" Ruby whispered with wide shocked eyes.
Blake nodded. "Ever since I was little. You could almost say I was born into the Fang." Her smile became wistful as she remembered the few good memories she still had left of her time there. "Back then, I went to all the protests and rallies. I thought we were really making a difference."
Her smile faded and her eyes downcast as she remembered darker and more bitter memories. "But all that changed when I realized how little we managed. And when the Fang shifted from seeking peace to seeking vengeance…"
Her voice drifted off as she hung her head in shame.
Almost immediately, she shook it off. She couldn't falter now! Not when Ruby needed to hear this and after Yang and Weiss reassured her minutes ago!
"So I know first hand what it means to be like a White Fang, and you're not like them," Blake told Ruby. "Also, you have something I didn't have," she smiled a wan and bittersweet smile.
Ruby tilted her head in wonder. Eyes glinting slightly with hope.
"Yang and Weiss," Blake giggled softly, noticing how the two mentioned blushed slightly. "And Pyrrha, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Velvet, Coco. All of your friends!"
Bittersweet.
"We won't let you fall."
…
…
Ruby's tears returned fresh, but not out of fear or despair as earlier.
Relief. Happiness. Joy.
The realization finally struck true that she was home and that she was safe. Not just from external pains, but internal doubts. She was with friends again who will not let any harm befall her nor let her fall into her fears. She was safe.
Blake loosened her arms slightly but Ruby didn't pull away. Instead, she leaned forward and her arms snaked around Blake's waist.
Ruby fully opened herself once again to her friends and her warmth washed over all of them.
Happy as she was for Ruby, Blake felt a pang of sadness, remorse… and envy. Had she any friends, any true friends, during her time with the Fang who would have reproached her when their ideologies had shifted… would she have less regrets now?
Ruby whispered something so softly, Blake scarcely thought she heard. But once she heard, she understood how meaningless her thinking was.
"…I'm glad I got to meet you, Blake…"
For a long time, they held the hug, enjoying the warmth that flowed from one to another without end. Their breathing and hearts slowed as agitation, hesitations, and worries evaporated like the morning mist.
In the center, Ruby inhaled deeply, breathing in their scents and relishing after going so long without. A silly grin broke out as she started to nuzzle softly.
Weiss felt the shifting movements and looked to see Ruby's rather pink face.
"Hey, shouldn't we let her breathe?" Weiss asked.
"Heh, jealous that Ruby isn't nuzzling you?" Yang returned with a grin.
"N-no!" Weiss blushed. "Her face is flushed red though!"
"Reaaaally?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow, clearly disbelieving the heiress. Weiss nearly faltered under the intense gaze, but she adamantly stared back. The clear embarrassment on her face did little to make her seem more imposing. After a moment, Yang gave up on Weiss and shifted to look to Blake, nearly pouting. "Because I am!"
"Gah! Enough!" Weiss shouted and disbanded the hug. She nearly regretted it upon seeing the disappointed look from Ruby, but she reminded herself that there were still issues at hand. Hugs and… other stuff can come later.
"Are you feeling okay now, Ruby?" Weiss asked in sincere concern.
"Mmhm," Ruby nodded softly, her eyes drifting dreamily to everyone. "Thanks to all of you."
Weiss sighed. As much as she wanted to just let them relax, their work still was not quite over just yet.
"We still need to consolidate our information and report," Weiss stated as she pulled up her scroll. "I wrote up until the breach in Mistral, but I still need to know what happened to you during that time to fill in the gaps."
Ruby frowned as she was told to remember her time with the Fang, but she quickly shook it off. She couldn't go on forever while carrying around those regrets. And furthermore, even after all that she found out about the organization, she knew one thing.
"I woke up in the base and saw so many Faunus hurt," Ruby told Weiss who dutifully recorded her. "I saw everyone in so much pain… so tired…" Her sad eyes brightened slightly. "So even when I really, really, really missed you, I had to help them!"
"Awww~ good for you, Rubes," Yang rustled her hair in good fun, eliciting a laugh of the wolf.
Yes, thought Ruby as she batted the hand away. I won't regret helping them…
Ruby's information was easily summarized. Her days were spent mostly helping the injured with a few breaks for her to catch her breath. Nothing really notable occurred until the final day when they performed the rescue operation.
Blake's was a bit more difficult. As she explained what she did that lonely week, Ruby hugged onto her arm and thanked her for searching and all the troubles she had to go through.
Towards the end, Blake took out her scroll and hooked it up to Weiss' with a small cable.
"I got into their databanks and downloaded as much as I could without getting caught," Blake explained as she started the transfer process. Aside from letting Weiss see, having two copies was for the best and she made a mental note to store a third somewhere safe… preferably in a fire-proof container, just in case.
"Did you get a chance to see what it is?" Weiss asked, hoping for a summary. Of course she would read through thoroughly, but knowing what to expect always helped to put the information into context.
"Sorry, not all of it," Blake apologized. "Didn't have time."
"We can just go through it together!" Ruby cheerfully suggested.
Weiss nodded in assent. "We can make sure we don't overlook something."
With that, they started to peruse the data.
…
In ten minutes, Blake grimaced while Yang and Weiss donned grimmer expressions.
"A-are they for real?!" Weiss nearly shouted.
"What happened?" Ruby asked, not fully understanding what went on. The information went over her head and with her beginner's level reading, she couldn't comprehend what the documents were about. From everyone's faces though, it couldn't be good.
"This is going in way over our heads," Weiss muttered as she covered her eyes with one hand. She was no stranger to insanity. Riding on the back of a giant Nevermore particularly stood out, but it wasn't anything compared to what she had just read.
"Please tell me!" Ruby tugged on her sleeve to get her attention. She didn't want to be left out of what seemed to be really causing distraught to her teammates.
Weiss took a deep breath to compose her thoughts.
"We… well, Blake, Yang, and I were following a lead on the stolen Dust," Weiss started to explain. "Several incidents have been reported in every major city and we thought we might have a lead of a certain criminal working with the White Fang. Well, at least now we know where all the Dust went," she clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Wait, you guys were searching for something and you didn't even tell me?" Ruby pouted.
"Sorry, Ruby," Blake bowed her head. "You were so excited for our first mission, we didn't want to bring anything else up in case it was a dead end and trouble you."
"Yeah," Yang placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "You already had enough on your plate to deal with."
Ruby just turned her head away and sulked.
"Come on, Rubes," Yang pleaded. "We didn't mean anything by it."
Yang spun her around and saw a face furrowed with discontent.
"But I didn't help you out at all," Ruby whimpered. She wasn't so much angry or upset that they didn't tell her, more so that she didn't get a chance to aid them.
"Next time," Yang promised.
The promise brought a smile back to Ruby and she nodded excitedly at the prospect.
"So where did the Dust go?" Ruby asked Weiss.
"The… White Fang used it to blow holes throughout the cities to let the Grimm in," Weiss winced as Ruby gasped unbelieving.
The White Fang let the Grimm in? But… but! Her thoughts drifted back to so many people injured, from young to old, scratches and scuffs to nearly bleeding out. So many people… so many Faunus were hurt.
And they said they wanted to protect the Faunus…
"It gets worse," Weiss told her. "They're listing out armaments, supplies, and troops. They're just estimates and projections, but they have them for every major city and then some. They're planning on igniting another war."
"Against who?!" Ruby cried out. It didn't make sense to her that their hatred could be so strong. If they were amassing that many people, just who were they marching out against? Those who hurt them? Those who wronged them? It almost sounded like they were going up against…
"…the world…"
"What should we do?" Ruby looked to her friends for answer. She didn't know what war was, per say, only of quotes and lessons.
There is no victory in war.
Many innocents die for the sake of a warring few.
War is only destruction, so how can you create peace?
From the lessons she picked up in class and what she could glean from reading quotes, she only knew that it was a terrible thing that ended with many people dying.
Yang looked to Blake for a moment. Her partner had been silent the entire time and she knew the information must be eating away at her.
The White Fang. Even if Blake disagreed with them. Even if Blake left them. The bonds between them will not so easily break. Even now, the memory that they did once champion a just and noble cause still held. One day perhaps. One day she may be able to be perfectly freed from her past with them.
But for now.
"I… think we should go to Ozpin," Yang stated slowly.
"Agreed," Weiss concurred. "We are clearly in over our heads with this."
They all turned to Blake and saw the hesitation across her face. But she slowly nodded, recognizing the need of wisdom and experience.
Weiss quickly typed up a message for the headmaster to expect them within a few minutes for mission debriefing, and they all moved towards his office with Weiss coaching Ruby on what to say.
Upon arriving, they found Velvet and Yatsuhashi standing outside.
"What's up?" Yang asked and greeted.
"Oh! Hello everyone," Velvet waved back. "Professor Ozpin called us to ask some questions."
"Huh… we also need to talk to him," Yang said as she knocked on the door to let him know that they were there.
Rapping her knuckle hard against the wood, the door creaked open and they heard Coco's voice.
"- less Grimm in Mistral, but counts increasing here within the day."
The people in the room immediately looked over while Yang awkwardly waved. She didn't mean to interrupt them like this, just let them know that team RWBY was present.
General Ironwood stood to one side of Ozpin's desk and raised an eyebrow.
"Well, that concludes what we have," Coco nodded.
"Very well, thank you for your assistance," Ozpin folded his hands in contemplation. He looked back up at Yang and nodded, inviting them in, "Come in."
They all filed in and Ozpin smiled when he saw Ruby. Velvet and Yatsuhashi followed in as well, wondering about their teammates. Coco and Fox moved to one side of the room so Velvet and Yatsuhashi stood beside them, leaving team RWBY to stand center.
"Hello Professor," Ruby greeted nervously. "We've returned from our mission."
"Good to see you are alright," he congenially smiled.
"W-we patrolled Mistral and assisted during the Grimm breach. Unfortunately, our s-sec-ond-ary objective to find the missing huntress yielded empty," Ruby struggled slightly to speak like how Weiss showed her. It would have been trivial for Weiss to take charge of the debriefing, but she felt it would be in Ruby's best interest as a leader to start learning.
Ruby didn't mind, though using some of Weiss' words were hard. And she stuttered as she didn't want to mess anything up.
Still, she walked up to the aged professor and held out a small data drive they had copied the mission report to. "Contained is a detailed report on the mission and aftermath."
"Thank you," Ozpin thanked her and accepted the drive. "It is a shame that you were unable to locate the missing huntress."
Ruby looked down sadly, even though there were no barbs in his words nor accusation. He was merely restating what he said before they left. That they may not be able to find her.
"Not all stories have a neat and tidy ending," Weiss murmured. She was also dissatisfied with the results and she was certain everyone else on the team was as well. She thought for sure they would find some closure, but the reality of the situation was that the trail became so cold and old that they lost track of their target.
Ozpin nodded sagely, fully understanding the disappointment of not coming to a conclusion. "Is that all?"
Ruby fidgeted nervously as she looked to her friends.
"W-we have some more information…" she began slowly. "We found some information about the White Fang that… well… we don't know what to do…"
"Information?" her statement made General Ironwood more alert and he looked over at them with keen interest.
Ruby levied another glance at Blake, who only nodded in turn.
"We found documents that said they released the Grimm into the cities," Ruby nervously took out another drive.
"How did you get this information?" Ironwood asked sharply as he crossed the room.
Ruby shrunk back from the quickly approaching and large man.
"I gathered it," Blake answered, diverting the attention to herself. "Circumstances, and I infiltrated the White Fang. Please take a look."
Ozpin plugged the drive into a slot on his desk and a holographic screen projected into the air. Streams of letters and numbers displayed the contents.
"Is all of this true?" Ozpin asked them. His eyes flitted left and right, the only movement that denoted his reading. His entire body and face were motionless, showing no emotions and hinting to nothing of his thoughts.
"As far as I can verify," Blake nodded.
"From their databases I assume?" Ironwood questioned thoughtfully. His face was stony, but a slight flicker crossed his eyes as he digested the information flowing in front of him.
Blake's eyes slowly searched him for what he was thinking, but the man hid his tells well. If she said otherwise, there was a chance that they would not believe the credibility of the information. She didn't want to have to agree because it meant giving out more information than she liked but…
"Yes," she answered.
"Hmm…" he closed his eyes pensively. "You know more than this, don't you?"
"…" Blake remained silent. Did he suspect her ties to the Fang? Certainly, to get this kind of information, sensitive information about the organization's war plans required some level of clearance. More clearance than could be gained from simply infiltrating since passcodes would be necessary as well.
"Please tell me where the bases are," he spoke. "You know at least some of them, yes?"
"…" Blake held her tongue.
"Why do you want to know?" Ruby asked.
Ironwood sighed. "Do you understand the information we have just seen? If they are really preparing for a war, we have to act immediately. Before anyone else can get hurt."
"Wait! So you're just going to storm their bases?" Yang asked, a bit shocked that the general would move so quickly.
"Yes," was his simple reply.
"No," was Ozpin's quick answer. "James," he called out softly. "You are rushing into this."
"Forgive me, Ozpin, but I will not stand by and let another war claim innocent people!" Ironwood argued back. "You've seen the numbers projected here! You've seen how many were injured in their last attack!"
"Yes, and I do not mean to discredit Ms. Belladonna," Ozpin turned sadly to her. "But we have yet to thoroughly verify this information and there are still too many unaccounted variables." His eyes turned hard. "There are still too many things we do not know right now."
The statement seemed to give the general pause, but he turned to look at Blake again. "We still have an information source." He turned to fully face her. "Please tell us all you know about the White Fang," he reiterated. "The more we know, the better we can plan our actions."
"…I…" Blake gritted her teeth and looked down.
To rat out her old compatriots? As much as she hated them and betrayed them once, to do so again wouldn't make it hurt any less. To turn her back to her fellow Faunus. No, even more than that. To willingly put them on a human's chopping block.
That was wrong.
Even more wrong was what the general had suggested. To storm the bases would not help matters in the slightest, in her opinion. They might succeed at several, but there were many that even she didn't know of. All they would accomplish in assaulting the bases would be to ignite the fuse faster. Anti-human sentiments will rise and what remained of the Fang will bite back even fiercer.
In hoping to stem the war through violence, more violence and warfare will be born.
Undeterred by her hesitation, Ironwood took a step towards her and prepared to ask again.
But the moment his foot touched the ground, Ruby darted in front of Blake, standing protectively and trying to shield the much bigger girl as best she could.
"Blake doesn't want to!" Ruby growled.
"Yeah!" Yang also stepped up.
"And if she doesn't want to, we won't let you make her," Weiss stated coolly, arms folded across her chest in defiance.
Blake looked around at her friends and found that even team CFVY shifted and stood beside her, staring intently at the general as if daring him to continue.
"James," Ozpin called out warningly.
Ironwood looked and notice that everyone in the room was against him. To be fair, the noble part of him also was against bullying a young girl into talking about something she clearly didn't want to.
"...My apologies, Ms. Belladonna," he apologized sincerely. "I overstepped my bounds."
He spoke without facing Ozpin. "As I have said last time, I disagree with your choices old friend. If we forever wait, we shall only suffer. We have to make the first move to protect what is important to us."
He stopped as he passed by Ruby. The girl had immediately stood up for her friend the moment he took a step forward. Is she… "You are Ruby?"
"Y-yes?" she tilted her head questioningly at him.
He studied her face for a moment before smiling slightly. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I am General James Ironwood, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Her confusion turned to happiness at an introduction. "Ruby Rose!"
"I'm glad that you returned safely. Penny was most worried about you."
"You know Penny?" Ruby squeaked in surprise. She hadn't seen her friend for so long, she was quite worried as well. Though too many things had stacked up that Ruby shamefully had to admit that her robotic friend had slipped her mind more than once.
Ironwood nodded, "Yes, she kept trying to sneak out to help search for you. She nearly hacked into Beacon's CCT."
He smirked at their shocked expressions. Not that Penny succeeded. The guards he posted stopped her in the nick of time and brought her back, though not without guilt as she pleaded and begged them to let her find her friend.
"I shall tell her of your safe return and ease her worries," he told her. "It may not mean much coming from me, but thank you, for being her friend."
With that, the general left and team RWBY and CFVY made their way out shortly after.
In the silent hallway, Blake looked up at her surrounding friends again. "Thank you," she said again. She was glad she had friends who noticed her discomfort and rushed to assuage her immediately.
"Hmph!" Weiss sniffed and looked away. "When you were mentioning how everyone would be there for Ruby, you left yourself out."
"O-oh?" Blake wasn't aware that she did. Leave it to Weiss to notice all the little things.
Weiss just leaned in close with a glare and pointed finger, "Don't you dare think that we would do any less for you!"
Blake just stared back along with everyone else before breaking into chuckles. Weiss stammered and tried to act all nonchalant again, but her blushing face as she tried to reassure Blake spoke far more than the sharp tone she tried to take on.
Descending into laughs and giggles, they all jostled into the familiar courtyard to enjoy the rest of their day.
For the first time in a long while, they felt all was right again.
Extra:
Blake sat under a tree, a little ways away from her teammates who were playing with team JNPR and CFVY. Between them were several discuses, simultaneously thrown between varying players.
Blake couldn't understand the rules at all, seemingly a mixture from at least three sports and a few house rules. Still, they looked like they were having fun, even Weiss, and she supposed that was all that mattered.
All of a sudden, she heard, "SAL-U-TA-TIONS EVERYONE!"
"Penny!" Ruby chimed up, her ears perking and leaning forward towards the up-running girl. Before Penny even made it half-way to where they were, Ruby had already jump-tackled her into a hug.
"Oh! I'm so glad you're okay friend Ruby!" Penny hugged back just as hard. But the more Penny squeezed, the harder Ruby squeezed back. Not that it mattered much to Penny, but to Ruby…
"Hey hey! Let her breathe," Yang laughed as the rest of the group caught up.
"Oh yes!" Penny realized and quickly let go. Ruby took several deep breaths to make up for her lungs getting crushed.
While they talked and caught up, Penny listened intently to Ruby's adventures. The girl was strange. Randomly interjecting at certain points and had even less understanding of colloquialisms than Ruby. But as Blake watched her cheerful demeanor, she was glad that Ruby had found friends outside of their little groups.
Penny joined in their game as well, breaking rules left and right as she misinterpreted them or messed up somehow. Still, their antics were fun and even Ruby started letting loose more.
With a particularly hard throw from Penny, Ruby sped after it, leaving a trail of petals and backdraft in her wake. Once again enjoying herself, she lunged forward and and her teeth sunk into the soft plastic of the discus. Her tail waved back and forth wildly like a flag, signalling her success.
"A-mazing!" Penny squealed.
"That's nothing!" Nora shouted as wound up for her shot. "Go long Ruby!"
Ruby immediately let go of her current discus and immediately sped on to the one Nora threw.
Their little game continued until everyone was tuckered out and collapsed on the nice cool grass. Penny as well, though it seemed like she fared better than the others, seemed redder and Blake almost swore she saw steam hissing out Penny's ears for a moment.
"That was such fun!" Penny announced as she sat down beside Blake, welcoming the shade the tree provided. "You should have joined."
"...No," came Blake's slow reply. Just because she felt closer to her friends now, didn't mean that her personality was going to shift and she will randomly join in fun and festivities. She still preferred curling up with a nice book rather than run around and scream.
Weiss was… well, Blake had her suspicions on Weiss' current actions. Ruby was certainly rubbing off on her.
As the two sat in silence, Blake tried to think of something to say to Penny. The girl was strange and their only connection was through Ruby. She didn't know the girl at all, but if there was one thing Ruby has taught her, it's never too early to try.
"So…" Blake started slowly, her brain still wracking for anything to say. Before she could stop herself, she asked the one thing she knew Penny did. "...Hacking?"
And thus this arc concludes. It's been a strange ride of balancing suspense and cuteness, fluff and drama, plot and character development, but I hope it was enjoyable.
I hope I resolved some of the issues and opened up new ones. Sigh, Weiss speaks truthfully that the mission ended unsatisfactory, but that's life. Sometimes, there just isn't an answer waiting for you to find. Who knows though~?
To celebrate new beginnings, I posted a new short a few days ago called "Let's Bunny Ruby!" for Easter. Give it a read if you'd like, the link is on my profile!
Next up! Some every day life and hopefully fun moments as they try to move on from their first big mission!