Part 23

-The Underground Lab-

As Ruby pulled out the book, part of the floorboards split open, revealing a ladder and a passageway down. A vague sense of dread overcame her for a moment before the Huntress decided to descend into the abyss. Qrow... he was down here somewhere. Ren was probably being held hostage here, too. They just need to hang on for a few more moments! Help is finally coming!

After about a minute of climbing, the scythe-user finally stepped down as lights lit up around her in response to her presence. The area appeared to be a bunker of some sort, a ceramic tiled floor laid beneath her as white office lighting beamed down from above. In front of the Huntress was a large metallic door closed firmly shut with a keypad and screen at the left-hand side. "Okay..." the woman muttered to herself. Maybe this would be a bit harder than she expected? A glance at the screen showed what seemed to be a password requirement to get through. "What would someone like Watts use as a password?" The Huntress said to herself while crossing her arms in thought. Grimm? Salem? Or maybe... it was a long shot, but there was a chance the letter could be a clue?

Her fingers scrambled across the keypad. The name of the man from the letter! Jack Holmes. As soon as Ruby hit confirm, the screen flashed red, now reading 'Two attempts remaining'... the door remained closed. "I guess that's not the right one." She mumbled, now forced to re-evaluate what she even knew about their opponent. "Well, he's dangerous... probably mean. He seems to be full of himself." Trying again, Ruby reached for the buttons, typing in 'Arthur Watts' this time. For the second time, the screen flashed red. One attempt remaining. "What do I know about Watts..." she asked herself. Something would probably happen if she failed again. Probably something not good for her, like a drone that shoots people, or some alarm that would tell him she's down here. So what would work? It would have to be something smart... something they would never think to guess in a million years! What would be the very last thing anyone would ever think Watts's password to be?!

Suddenly, a thought came to her. "Well, it's better than nothing..." Ruby said as she went to the keypad one last time. 'RWBY,' the name of the team he's trying to stop. Her fingers hovered over the confirmation key for a moment. Could this really be it? Was it really her own group name? Before she could second guess herself further, the Huntress covered her eyes with one hand and pushed the button with the other!

Access denied.

Cautiously, Ruby clutched her scythe as she scanned the area, sure that a trap would activate. But, as much as she looked around, nothing seemed to change. Oh... of course... the door just wouldn't open. Obviously, that would be what would happen. Slowly, she glanced down at her weapon. "Well, Crescent Rose... I'm sorry, but we need to save Qrow!" With a spark of determination in her eye, the Huntress swung her weapon at the door as she began the process of breaking it down bit-by-bit. After several frustrating swings, she had finally carved out enough of a hole to just barely slip through. A groan of effort escaped her before Ruby finally managed to awkwardly squeeze through the gap, quickly getting back up after falling on the floor. As soon as she could find Qrow, he'd be able to make more of an exit for them for sure! The room around her seemed similarly built to the previous one, with several small white tables scattered around with various tools and devices. One table featured some type of metal tank with what seemed to be welding equipment spread out. Another featured a mechanical arm, propped up on a stand with multiple magnifying lenses in front of it. Yet another table seemed to just have a variety of books scattered across it that seemed to be detailing theoretical Grimm biology. Probably necessary reading for Watts's Grimm-controlling projects. Impulsively, the Huntress took a quick peek. "It has been observed that Grimm DNA contains strong genetic resemblances to humans and Faunus?" She muttered as she read the current page aloud. Hopefully, that didn't mean he could use his weird technology to control people... although just looking around, it wasn't out of the question. If that was what he was planning, then Qrow might be in more danger than they thought!

Before she could examine further, Ruby was suddenly caught off-guard by the sound of someone cocking a gun nearby. Immediately, the Huntress turned to see a teenage girl with tiger stripes in a White Fang uniform pointing a rifle at her. "Don't move!" The Faunus ordered as Ruby froze in place, her scythe still in her hands. "I am Sanghris Rudyard Kahn, daughter of Sienna and rightful heir to the White Fang!" She proudly announced, glaring at the intruder before her. "By my authority, you WILL drop your weapon! Resist, and you'll be executed on the spot!"

"Hang on!" Ruby responded with a sense of desperation in her voice. "Listen, I just want to save my friend and my uncle. Please, I don't have much time left." For the moment, the Faunus hesitated as Ruby glanced over her shoulder at the door behind her. Another keypad to get past. "You... wouldn't happen to know the password, would you?"

"Wha- So what if I do!?" Sanghris barked back aggressively as her body tensed up.

A slight sigh escaped the Huntress as she took in the situation in front of her. "So, you do know it then."

Reflexively, the White Fang Heiress's face scrunched up. "No! I- I mean... no! I don't!" She huffed, stepping away from her target as she did. "Don't try anything funny, okay?! Watts has a plan! I've got the Red Talons on this, the best assassins in the White Fang! And we've even hired a mercenary- uh- Mercenaries!" A smirk crossed her face. "Yeah! Yeah! MercenarIES! As in more than one! And they're coming to get you!"

"I know," Ruby answered honestly. "We've been beating them on our way here. I just got finished fighting with Lilly upstairs. And my friends are fighting Watts right now." Immediately, Sanghris seemed to be shaken by the news as her weapon started trembling. "Please..." the Huntress continued. "My friends are in danger. Weiss and Oscar... they both need my help right now! I can't waste any more time!"

Suddenly, the Faunus dropped her rifle as she stood speechless for a moment. "Oh my god. You people really are from Beacon." She said with a muted voice as if talking about some far-off distant legend. "I didn't believe it at first, but... somehow..." her head jerked away for a moment as she tried to fight back her tears. "I don't... I don't understand it! Why me?! Why did you survive that mess while the people I knew died?! And now- What am I even doing?! I can't fight a Huntress... I can't... why do I have to do this?!" Her hands clenched into fists as she suddenly began to cry, her face scrunching up as she struggled to look away.

Without saying a word, Ruby simply sheathed her weapon before walking forward and wrapping her arms around the distraught girl, comforting her in a warm embrace.

"I- I can't-" Sanghris gasped between pained breaths. "I- I hate you! I hate all of you! All your stupid- You don't understand! You'll never understand anything!" The tears streamed down her face as she practically screamed her confessions at the Huntress. "Watts said he'd keep me safe!" She wailed. "He said- he promised it would all be okay! I thought it was over! Why can't- Why am I so weak?! Just why do I have to be too pathetic to stop them?! I couldn't do anything! I still can't... I can't even stop YOU!" As she sniffed, she slowly wiped her face, finally calming down a bit. "Just why... why aren't you even trying to fight me...? I'm just that worthless, aren't I? I don't even deserve to get defeated... this isn't even anything new, either. Nobody ever cared about me. Even my own mother just sent me away so I couldn't be used against her... just how messed up is that... right?"

"You'll be okay," Ruby reassured the girl, now hugging her tightly. "You'll find somewhere safe one day. I just know it!"

For a second, a pained smile crossed the Faunus's face before she forced her expression to change, glaring down at the floor. "... Don't get so sappy. I just... why does the world have to be so messed up...?"

Finally, Ruby let go of Sanghris as she took a step back and looked her directly in the eyes. "I really don't know..." she muttered. "But don't worry!" She beamed with a bright grin. "Once we beat Salem, everything will be fine! I'm sure of it!"

A dry huff escaped the Heiress before she walked off towards the back door and typed a series of numbers into the device, causing the door to open. This was it! They had to find Qrow fast or else!