Chapter 10-
Neo immediately rushed for the receptionists table and crouched down in front of it while Ruby walked forward with her gun up.
Ruby spotted the woman standing at one of the terminals, in a black catsuit and mask. "Step away from the terminal with your hands up!" Ruby shouted at the woman; her rifle levelled at her chest.
The woman though turned to see the newcomer and immediately leaped back into the air as she twisted her body, a bow and arrow forming in her hands and she launched several arrows at Ruby.
Seeing the weapon materialise out of fire Ruby raised her hand and the arrows disintegrated before they came close.
"So, it was you. Last chance, drop it or be dropped!" Ruby called out once more, but she just received more arrows in return.
Ruby's eyes glowed as she destroyed the arrows again but this time, she fired shots off from her rifle, but she dropped it as she charged forward with a blade in hand.
Jumping up now, Neo grabbed Ruby's fallen rifle and fired both guns at Cinder pinning her down behind a counter as Ruby charged.
Close enough now, Cinder stood up putting Ruby between herself and her other attacker as her bow changed into two swords.
Channelling some of her power into her hand she blocked one of the swords as she ducked under another while her blade shot out and inflicted a shallow cut across Cinder's thigh causing her to cry out in pain but then strike with her own power which knocked Ruby back and through a table.
Neo, seeing Ruby get thrown back fired at Cinder, driving her back but at that moment they all heard the elevator arriving.
Cinder just ran off, escaping through another way while Neo rushed over to Ruby. "Ruby! Are you alright?!" Neo cried out, seeing that Ruby was slowly getting up but wasn't in much of a rush considering that Cinder had vanished.
"I'm alright…it hurts a bit, but I'll be alright. Come on, let's get out of here." Ruby said as the elevator hadn't fully opened yet and so Neo projected an illusion of an empty room as they went out of the tower.
"Who was coming up?" Neo asked once they were safely away.
"Ironwood. I've no desire to speak to him, or even see him." Ruby said as she waved Neo over to a bench, so she could properly recover. Her Aura had protected her from everything physical, but she was still winded from being thrown back.
"What's wrong? Are you alright?" Neo asked quickly as she worried at Ruby needing a break as she rushed to check her over.
"Fine. Winded." Ruby said briefly but having recovered her breath she stood up and took Neo's hand with her. "Come on, I know where we can find a private room." Ruby said huskily, speaking directly into Neo's ear.
The next day.
Neo had left early into the night to keep her cover up but that morning Ruby had to be up early because her team was due to go on a mission alongside a teacher, though she wasn't sure which teacher it would be.
Getting ready she went to meet her team by the Bullhead and found them waiting for the teacher already.
"Hello everyone." Ruby said, noticing that Winter was with them as well.
"Hey Ruby, where were you last night?" Yang greeted and asked.
"A different room, Neo and I wanted some time together. Are you joining us?" Ruby asked as she turned her attention to Winter.
"I will be, yes." Winter answered.
"Right, and who is our teacher?" Ruby asked next as she looked around but didn't see anyone.
"That would be me Miss Rose." Dr Oobleck said as he approached the group.
"Hello Doctor, and where will we be going?" Ruby asked next, as everyone followed Oobleck towards a waiting Bullhead.
"Mount Glenn, now let us go. And welcome Miss Schnee, the headmaster informed me that you would be joining us." Oobleck said as they climbed inside the aircraft and took off.
On the Bullhead heading to Mount Glenn everyone was quiet as they got their weapons and equipment ready.
As they got closer to the mountain though Oobleck spoke up once more. "This quadrant, the southeast of Vale. It is one of the Kingdom's greatest failures." Oobleck explained.
"It was meant to be an expansion for the city, but it failed because it became overran by Grimm. They were too far remote during construction to be properly protected." Ruby stated, recalling its history.
"It would make the perfect place for a hideout." Blake pointed out to them.
"Exactly Miss Belladonna." Oobleck said as they began to descend.
"Let's go." Oobleck said as the Bullhead landed, calmly walking out while the five others were ready for an attack.
"What are your orders, Doctor?" Blake asked.
"Straight to the chase, I like it." Oobleck said, tucking his hands behind his back as he looked around. "As you've been informed the southeast area has been marked as a recent hot spot for Grimm activity. Now there are several possible explanations for this behaviour, one of which being…" Oobleck began to explain but was interrupted by Ruby.
"Grimm." Ruby stated.
"What?" Weiss asked in confusion.
"Grimm, a hundred yards or so from us." Ruby stated as she drew her pistol though kept it lowered.
"Miss Rose is correct, there is a lone Grimm." Oobleck said but seeing everyone draw their weapons and get ready he said, "Stop!" Oobleck shouted.
"Why?" Blake asked, but lowered her weapon all the same.
"Because we track it, find its pack. Which may well lead us to our prey." Ruby answered for Oobleck.
"How long do we wait?" Weiss asked.
"It's uncertain. Hours, days, weeks. Why, lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from the pack for months…" Oobleck began to explain.
"And there's the whole pack." Winter stated as five more Beowolves follow the first.
"What?" Yang exclaimed.
"And now they've seen us." Ruby pointed out.
"What?" Yang exclaimed louder.
"And now they've seen us!" Oobleck shouted towards Yang.
"Permission to go loud?" Ruby asked, pistol and sword in hand and ready.
"Show me what you can do." Oobleck said as an answer.
The five huntresses all shot off towards the Grimm, killing them in seconds and leaving their corpses dissolving into the air as they returned to Oobleck.
"Shall we continue looking? The Grimm must have been attracted to the thoughts harboured by the White Fang here." Ruby said.
"Let's. We have a lot of ground to cover." Oobleck stated as everyone began moving on and going through the ruins killing Grimm but also searching for any sign of White Fang activity.
Ruby noticed as the day wore on and her limbs grew tired from constantly swinging her sword and firing her pistol that Doctor Oobleck had gone around her team, asking them why they wish to become Huntresses, but she had strangely been left alone, alongside Winter but she guessed that maybe because they were already full Huntresses.
Killing another Beowolf with a lazy swing of her sword she turned around to see Oobleck watching her, sheathing her sword she said, "Should we keep going?" Ruby asked, noting that her team was starting to flag slightly as well.
"Nope. I believe that will have to do for today. It's going to be dark soon." Oobleck said, throwing his bag to Yang. "You four, set up camp in that building. Oh, and please do make sure there are no more of those…creatures. Your leader and I are going to secure the perimeter. Come, Ruby." Oobleck said as they walked away from her team
Oobleck led Ruby away from the ruins to the edge where they could see a wide forest stretching below the ruins and amongst them all were large Goliaths.
"Grimm. What are they doing this close to the city?" Ruby asked as she saw the creatures, weapons remaining at her side.
"They're waiting. They've lived for so long that they've learnt that attacking humans will only lead to being attacked themselves and dying themselves. So, they wait." Oobleck answered.
"Doctor Oobleck." Ruby asked next, curiosity getting the better of her.
"Hmm?"
"I was wondering…" Ruby began to say.
Oobleck stopped walking away and turned to look at Ruby. "Wondering why I've been interrogating your teammates all day?" Oobleck asked.
"Actually, I was wondering why you wanted to become a Huntsman?" Ruby asked instead, taking Oobleck by surprise for a second.
"Look around and tell me what you see." Oobleck requested of Ruby.
Looking around Ruby took note of the destroyed building, the ruined streets. "A failed expansion. Lives lost needlessly." Ruby stated.
"I see lives that could have been saved. As a Huntsman, it is my job to protect the people, and although I am capable of doing it with traditional weaponry, I believe I can make a much larger impact if I do it with my mind. As a teacher, I'm able to take knowledge, the most powerful weapon of them all, and place it in the hands of every student that passes through my classroom. I look at this wasteland, and I see lives that could have been saved, but I also see an opportunity; an opportunity to study these ruins and learn from this tragedy, and therefore become stronger." Oobleck explained to Ruby, stopping to face Ruby for his final answer. "I am a Huntsman, Ruby, because there is nothing else in this world I would rather be." Oobleck stated before walking away, heading to the camp the others had made.
Ruby remained rooted to the spot for several minutes before finally following after Oobleck and towards the campsite.
Seeing the fire that the others had built Ruby knelt by it to warm up as Oobleck asked after someone to take the first watch.
"I'll take it." Ruby said, raising her hand to accept the offer. Oobleck then headed off further into the ruin while Ruby stood up to head upstairs to a window where she could watch over everyone inside and outside.
"Hey Ruby, did he ask you why you wanted to be a Huntress as well?" Yang asked, curious to see what Ruby said in reply.
Ruby didn't reply as she simply continued walking upstairs, taking a perch at the window with Crescent Rose in its rifle form on her lap as she looked through the scope.
Downstairs though Winter and Weiss both noticed how Ruby didn't answer Yang and deciding to find out what was up, Winter said, "I'm going to go speak to her, you all should get some rest." Winter said as she went upstairs to her sister.
Heading upstairs Winter saw Ruby sitting with her rifle as she panned it around the deserted streets. "Hello Winter." Ruby said without looking away from her scope, she could feel Winter coming upstairs.
"How are you doing?" Winter asked, sitting down across from Ruby.
"I'm fine. You?" Ruby replied.
"I'm alright…about Oobleck." Winter began.
"What about him?" Ruby asked, never taking her eyes off her scope.
"What he was asking. About why they want to become Huntresses, he didn't ask you, did he?" Winter asked.
"He didn't. As he didn't ask you either, we are already Huntresses. He doesn't need to test our conviction or see our reasoning." Ruby replied bluntly.
"You never did say why you wanted to become a huntress though, I don't think you even told anyone in the family why." Winter commented.
"Just ask your question Winter, I'm too tired for games." Ruby said tiredly, sighing as she put her rifle down and turned to face Winter.
"Why did you become a Huntress?" Winter asked, sitting forward to hear Ruby's answer. It was something Ruby hadn't told anyone, at least no one that she knew of though she suspected that Neo may know.
"I had no choice. Once I was born, I was going to become a Huntress, I had little choice in the matter. I never wished to be one, I simply became one." Ruby answered sadly, confusing Winter further as she never knew.
"What do you mean you have no choice? We all had a choice on what we wanted to become." Winter asked, their family was open about the fact that they could choose what they wanted to do and be supported, so what Ruby was saying was going against that.
"There are fairy tales, old legends about many different things. You know that Summer and I are the only ones with silver eyes, what you may not know that a power and legend is associated with them." Ruby answered.
"What legend?" Winter asked, she knew that having silver eyes was rare and the only two people in the world with them was Summer and Ruby, as she had looked.
"That those with silver eyes are destined to be warriors, strong and legendary warriors, they say those with silver eyes could kill a Grimm with a single look. My destiny was set as soon as I was born, and even if it wasn't when I reached eleven years old it was set even further in stone. Either way I never wanted to be a huntress, but I ended up as one." Ruby finished saying, and having said her piece returned her attention back to her scope and keeping watch over everyone.
"What do you mean when you turned eleven?" Winter asked, she knew at that point that Ironwood had started to train with Ruby and that Ruby had started to ramp her own training as well by that point, but she didn't know much else.
"Ask Ironwood. As much as I wish to tell you, it's not my place. Ask Ironwood, or even Ozpin." Ruby replied, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to keep watch." Ruby replied as she effectively dismissed Winter, desiring to be alone now.
"If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me." Winter said softly, her hand touching Ruby's shoulder briefly before heading back downstairs to get some rest herself, though her mind was thinking over what Ruby had told her.