I do not own RWBY

After telling her team about the encounter at the CCT she'd been grounded by Jaune and Blake. Apparently, this was another of her lovely self-destructive tendencies and reckless actions. They loved it when she pointed out that they had a mission to go on and that they couldn't enforce her grounding. From the glare on Jaune's face she would be paying for her attitude later. It wasn't going to be a subtle punishment either. Another change form last night was the feather accessory in her hair; she wasn't sure what her dad meant about it being a Branwen right of passage. It had come from her dad, there was no way she was going to take it off.

Walking toward the bullhead that would take them to Mt. Glen, she didn't expect to be stopped by her sisters' team or for Yang to yell some excuse about Ren being allergic to dogs as Zwei was shoved in her arms. From the labored sneezing coming from the black-haired boy it was entirely possible that he might actually have a dog allergy.

Still, Ruby looked at Yang in disbelief as she was handed the black and white dog that Tai had shipped in the mail. They should probably tell him to stop, but she was far to amused to start that conversation. Zwei was adorable and would help during the mission but at the same time, it was annoying how Yang simply didn't want to deal with the dog and passed it off to her. Just because Tai sent Zwei to them to watch did not mean she wanted to watch the dog. Not that she didn't love Zwei she was just more of a cat person.

"Sure, I'll watch him," she said lying through her teeth and her sister grinned. Zwei was more than capable of watching himself, especially since he lived with all three of them and didn't die. Apparently, Yang either didn't care that she was lying, or she couldn't tell; not that she expected her to. Only Cardin could see through her lies without trying. Yang ruffled her sister's hair, a giant grin on her face.

"Thanks, sis," she said heading for the bullhead that would take her team on their mission. The longing glance Weiss sent at the dog in her arms had the reaper making a mental not to get the heiress a dog or any kind of pet. Deciding that she didn't want to deal with this Ruby looked over at her team helplessly.

"She does know we have to leave too right," Ruby asked with a voice full of sarcasm. Feeling Zwei lick her face she softened while Blake glared at the dog. She'd forgotten about Blake's issues with dogs, but it was kind of cute how the cat faunus was afraid of dogs. Not that she would bring that up with her teammate. She was reckless, not suicidal.

"I guess we can bring him with us," Jaune said. He looked over at Pyrrha for her opinion the moment he said the words. It seemed that now that they were together, he was trying not to make major decisions without her. Ruby thought it was cute that they were still in the awkward phase of their new relationship. She was going to take enough blackmail pictures to last a lifetime.

"I don't see an issue with it," Pyrrha said.

"Good, Jaune once we get there you're in charge of watching the dog," Ruby ordered causing him to blink in shock.

Ruby nodded, in agreement with her own choice, she put the dog on the ground. Watching him go over to greet her teammates, she smirked at the horrified expression on Blake's face. It wasn't as if the dog was going to kill the faunus. Giggling at the faunus, Ruby wasn't the least bit guilty when Blake glared at her nor was, she threatened.

After Blake got over the fact there was a dog within five feet of her body the four, plus Zwei, walked over to the bullhead that would take them on their mission. The huntsman they would be shadowing at Mt. Glenn was Dr. Oobleck, who Ruby knew was an amazing huntsman. He smiled when he saw the dog and began gushing about how much help Zwei would be as he spun the dog in the air. Ruby honestly thought she should get the man a dog for his birthday. He seemed like he needed a friend that wasn't coffee.

Stepping into the airship Blake moved the trashcan over to Jaune who gave her a weak smile. Their blonde teammate's motion sickness was a well-known issue; they'd also made a pact that if a battle started on an airship, they would let Jaune deal with the issue. Pyrrha immediately moved over to her boyfriend's side, she would most likely try and comfort him during the trip. Ruby herself simply gave him a pat on the back before getting as far away as possible. Feeling Zwei sit down at her feet she reached down to scratch the dog behind his ears.

Ruby frowned as everyone listened to Oobleck explain about their destination and their mission. She was only half-listening to the man, as she thought about how she could get Roman on her side. The thief was important, not only to her plans but as a person. She didn't want to let anyone die if she could help it; the fact that she actually liked the man made her extremely biased.

She would get her chance to talk to him alone though in the next few days, she just hoped that he would listen. How hard could it be to convince a thief that he should abandon one master to serve another? Given her experience as Alice she supposed it all depended on how loyal Roman was to the woman. To some criminal's loyalty was everything while to others it was nothing. Sighing she leaned over and rested her head on Blake's shoulder. Why couldn't she think of a good way to talk to him? Closing her eyes she tried to think of a way to get him on her side that didn't require a battle.

If nothing else she could always challenge him to a fight and recruit him after he lost. Not that she was arrogant enough to think beating Roman would be easy, but he couldn't beat her. If she stopped holding back, she doubted that the man would last against her, however, if Neo joined the fight then she would lose. Fighting two on one when the woman had an illusion semblance wasn't a good idea.

On another note, she would finally get to meet Neo. The ice cream woman was one of her favorite people. She just hoped that fighting her went better for her than it had for Yang. That being said, she wasn't going to go looking for the woman. Given how dangerous their destination was, she wasn't going to risk her teammates just to sate her curiosity.

She opened her eyes slowly once Oobleck stated that they arrived. Looking down at the ruined streets she felt a rush of sympathy for those that lost their lives when the grimm invaded. She hoped they hadn't suffered, but they were in a far better place now than when they were alive. Death might be terrifying to normal people, but it was a mercy compared to the fear of grimm and the feeling of their claws. Reaching up to touch the feather in her hair, she wondered if her father would agree with her.

Chancing a glance at Jaune who went pale when he learned they were jumping, she bit back her laughter. She hoped that her teammate would never change; he was perfect the way he was. Without hesitation, she walked to the open doorway before falling backward out of it with a cocky smirk. Feeling the wind rush through her hair she allowed the wild laugh to leave her lips. This was honestly the best part of the mission.

Activating the dust in her jacket Ruby floated to the ground gently as her teammates, followed her actions. Flipping to land on her feet she scanned the area with her eyes. Seeing the pack of beowolves she quickly turned to look at Oobleck and the others who'd gotten to the ground; she completely ignored Jaune's scolding glare. He would most likely lecture her on recklessness later, but she was never in any real danger.

"Doctor, there's a pack of beowolves incoming," she said unfolding Crescent Rose. He looked up at the charging grimm without acknowledging the disappointment in her tone. Smirking he considered taking them out himself; a pack of beowolves was hardly a threat or a challenge. Looking at the battle-ready student he decided not to just in case a bigger threat showed up.

"Show me what your team can do," he ordered stepping back to give them room. Ruby nodded, her eyes landed on the alpha, as she tightened her grip on her weapon. It would be the strongest in the pack and the one who would cause the most trouble, not that she minded.

"Jaune, your support. Pyrrha stay with Jaune but take out any grimm that get past us, and Blake you're with me," she stated before attacking. They would follow her orders, so she didn't need to wait around. She charged straight for the alpha in a flurry of petals.

This of course caused her dart right into the middle of the pack that was all too happy to receive her with their claws. Spinning on her heel, she pulled the trigger on her scythe and swung it through the air around her. The satisfying feeling of her blade tearing through the grimm was enough to make her smirk, even as the alpha jumped away to avoid her attack.

Pouting slightly, she saw a blur of black as Blake covered her back taking out any grimm who got to close. Her dual blades proved how sharp they were as she diced though the grimm. The exasperated glare she sent at her leader was lost as Ruby charged at the alpha with single minded determination.

Shifting her weapon into rifle form Pyrrha took out the grimm that when they made it past the two girls. While they'd sparred before, Ruby was acting much more fierce than usual. She supposed it was due to the fact the grimm wasn't human giving the reaper a chance to let loose without fear of hurting one of them. It was just another reminder that Ruby wasn't a normal fifteen-year-old.

Blocking the alpha's claws with the shaft of her scythe, Ruby stabbed another with the bladed pummel in the same action. The wicked smirk on her face seemed to enrage the grimm that snarled back at her before swiping at her face with its other arm. Dropping back into a flip, she kicked it in the face as she put distance between them. Feeling Blake press her back against her own, Ruby glanced around and frowned for a moment at the surrounding grimm.

Seeing they were becoming surrounded Ruby ordered Blake to duck as she winked in the alpha's direction. The instant the cat faunus dropped to the ground Ruby pressed a button on her scythe activating its most deadly form. As her blade curled back the scythe became a glaive; it was more useful for fighting against multiple enemies. Holding the weapon tightly she spun at the same time she activated her semblance.

In the midst of a crimson tornado, Blake stared at her leader in shock as both petals and the deadly weapon tore the grimm to pieces. The grimm fell back as Ruby came to a stop panting and rested the weapon on her shoulders. The cocky expression was still on her face. It took a lot more strength to use the third form of her weapon than it did the other two since she couldn't use the recoil to swing it around.

The alpha backed up having managed to avoid the blow. The anger that radiated from the beast was more amusing to the reaper than anything else even as she tensed in preparation for an attack. It growled before launching itself at the girl hoping to get vengeance for its pack. Moving Blake stopped the beast from touching her leader by blocking the swing with her cleaver, then she buried her katana in the grimm's chest.

Watching the beast fade into black smoke, Ruby kept her attention on their surrounding until it became obvious no other grimm were going to attack. Hearing her other two teammates approach, she relaxed slowly. Turning to her teammates, she glanced at Oobleck who nodded at her.

"You didn't tell us it could do that," Jaune said poking Crescent Rose. Ruby frowned before giving him a playful smirk.

"This isn't something I like to use a lot because it's slightly uncontrollable," she said refolding her weapon into its travel form. Holstering it on her back, she shrugged before saying, "dad couldn't train me to use this one so I had to learn on my own."

"Oh, so how many forms does it have," Pyrrha asked. It honestly wouldn't shock her if the young leader managed to fit an assault rifle attachment to her weapon. Ruby was amazing with designing weapons and she wondered if Thorn had an ulterior form as well.

"Just three," Ruby said. The amused smirk she offered her partner told the older girl that she knew all too well what the redhead was thinking. Looking over at Oobleck she asked, "where to next?"

It didn't take long for them to realize Mt. Glenn was a haven to grimm, not that Ruby expected anything else. There were so many grimm that it was surprising that humans even lived in the town at one point. It was no shock that Vale had been unable to protect the town. Even clearing a small area so they could make camp was dangerous. While Oobleck questioned her teammates on their motivations Ruby jumped to the top of one of the crumbling buildings. Sitting back, she thought about Roman who waited just under her feet.

Hearing footsteps, she glanced up at her teacher who stared down at her with concern. She supposed he'd noticed her far too aggressive actions and mild distraction. Turning her attention back to the ruined city, she tried to pretend that she wasn't worried about the future. It helped no one when she allowed her thoughts and emotions to cloud her actions.

"Are you alright Miss Rose," Oobleck questioned looking down at the girl. He was worried about her.

"I'm fine just getting a vantage point," she lied seeing no reason to trouble him with her problems. Throwing a smirk in his direction she hoped that he would simply let it go. He frowned but covered it quickly, she would talk when she got ready.

"Your team has found a place to settle for the night. Join us when you can," he told her before jumping down from the roof.

Laying back she looked up at the stars and the night sky stared back at her without any answers. Just like at Beacon the night sky shined brightly here but unlike beacon this wasn't a safe place for her to rest. She wasn't afraid of the grimm around them, the White Fang would put up a better fight than the grimm. The stars had never been this bright in her last life.

Thinking about her life as Alice she could remember the first time, she'd seen stars like this. It was the day she ran away from home and had to sleep outside. Even then she hadn't been comfortable in her own skin. Now however she knew this was where and who she was supposed to be. She was no longer the scared little girl waiting for someone to come and save her.

If she wanted Roman on her side, then she would get him on her side. There was no other course of action for either of them to take. He was going to be on her side, or he was going to be out of the game entirely. That was the only way any of this was going to end. She was far too greedy to allow him to stay Cinder's pet thief. He'd been hers since the moment they met, he just didn't know it yet.

Hearing footsteps she looked up, she found golden eyes staring down at her with curiosity. Smirking up at her teammate, Ruby patted the spot beside her. Rolling her eyes, the faunus sat down beside her leader as she watched the girl closely. Her leader had been aggressive today; more so than usual. It was worrying, and she didn't trust Ruby to come to them about her issues.

"Ruby why do you fight," Blake asked deciding to start the conversation with a safe topic. Blake was confused about how she could save the White Fang from themselves or how she could stop Adam from starting another faunus war. How could she bring them out of the darkness they'd surrendered to when she didn't even know if she could forget how that darkness felt?

"Because there are things in this world I can't let live," Ruby stated her voice cold. Her last knowledge of the original timeline was Salem; she was willing to bet the woman was a threat. She also had a feeling that the woman was part of the reason for Summer's death. The memory of the first mother to care about her was enough of a reason to search for the truth.

"What if those things weren't a threat," Blake asked. She didn't doubt that her leader could accomplish any goal she set her mind to, but she also knew Ruby was young. Hugging her knees to her chest she asked, "would you still fight?"

Ruby frowned as she thought over the question. If all her enemies vanished, she had no idea what she would do. The idea of living a quiet life didn't appeal to her at all. She finally had the power to fight for her own goals and she loved it. In some ways fighting itself was enough of an appeal. The adrenaline that rushed through her veins was addicting. She wanted to fight. Did that make her a warrior or nothing more than an animal?

"The white fang is a threat to you," Ruby said in order to turn the conversation away from her. She didn't know who she was without an enemy to fight or a goal to follow and she never wanted to find out. Blinking at her kitten she said, "and you are my teammate. I will fight your battles because I know you'll do the same."

"That doesn't answer my question," Blake said knowing what the girl was trying to do.

Sitting up slowly, Ruby reached up to touch the feather in her hair before smirking at her teammate. If Blake wanted to know the truth, then she would tell her exactly that. Meeting the other girl's golden eyes, she said, "in truth, I don't care about the world. I would gladly let everything burn to dust to protect the people I love. Does that answer your question kitty cat?"

Blake watched her leader closely as the girl stood; she could tell Ruby meant what she said. Letting the world burn if those she loved were safe, wasn't a noble trait. It also contradicted what she'd learned of her leader so far while also confirming everything she'd ever seen in her. Ruby was kind and happy, however, she seemed willing to ignore the world if they were safe.

It was confusing and she couldn't see why the girl had decided to become a huntress when she had no real desire to save innocents. There was also a feeling that the only reason Ruby went against the White Fang was that Blake wanted to save the faunus. Ruby would fight for her, but she didn't really care about faunus rights. The thought should make her angry, but it didn't.

Standing she nodded to say she understood. What she didn't understand was why Ruby had a habit of backflipping off high places. Rolling her eyes at the girl's actions, she stepped off the roof with a small smirk. It was true that her leader reminded her of Adam but there was something calming about Ruby's brand of insanity.

Leading Ruby back to the others Blake froze when the ground beneath her feet began to crumble. Feeling a rush of panic, she twisted to meet her leader's own panicked gaze. Fear kept her from doing anything more than opening her mouth in a strangled scream. Seeing Ruby's silver eyes harden she reached a trembling hand for the other girl although she knew it would never reach.

"Blake!"

The scream echoed in the air around them as Ruby the girl out of the way. Petals drifted to the ground as evidence of her semblance just as the ground beneath her feet finally gave out. Channeling aura into her jacket she managed to stay up long enough to stab her scythe into the ground to keep herself from falling. For one brief moment, she felt relief that she hadn't hesitated. Blake was safe; she'd been fast enough.

Cursing herself for using the jacket and not giving it enough time to recharge she winced as her hands slipped own the shaft of her weapon to rest on the bladed pummel. Hissing she didn't even think of letting go as the metal cut into her hand. Hearing Blake call her name, she looked up meeting her teammates fear-filled golden eyes. Looking past the girl's offered hand she noticed the soulless red eyes of a grimm and felt protective panic.

"Behind you," she snapped barely feeling it when blood dripped down her wrist. She wasn't important her teammate was. Feeling her grip begin to fade as Blake spun around to face the grimm, she was relived to see the girl dodge.

In the instant her teammate left her sight, she felt her grip give out. For a second, she felt weightless as she fell into the darkness bellow. Closing her eyes she tried to relax her body then she landed with her head hitting the ground hard.

Yay finally got to Mt. Glen. Anyway, next chapter is the talk between Ruby and Roman (I changed some things). So your thoughts on the chapter?

Stay safe and have a good day

- Shyla