Ruby stared at herself in the mirror, her hands fiddling with the cross shaped clasps tied on either side of her combat uniform. Her fingers were trembling as she stood, a cold sweat already breaking out across her body as she prepared for the mission. Her combat outfit had been cleaned while she'd been out, all of their clothes had. Weiss' as well, even though she wasn't there…
She took a sharp breath, shaking away the dark thoughts that tormented her. "She'll be okay. You're going to find her and bring her home." Ruby temporarily held her breath as she met her own reflection, her usually silver coloured eyes a dead mercury, the eye white in both red and puffy. She could see the stress-borne bags that had formed under them too: deep, gouged curves that stripped any of her childish youth away from her. She looked exhausted, and, if she had to be honest, she was.
Even now, the memories of nightmares she was trying to repress, were fighting their way back to the forefront of her mind.
Ruby stretched her arms up above her head as she walked through a forest, basking in the sunlight that brushed off her bare skin. Actually, now that she thought about it, she wasn't wearing her combat outfit at all, contrary to previous belief. Instead, she was dressed in her special outfit: her favourite cotton grey long-sleeve jumper and matching button up corset, complemented by a vibrant red skirt and black tights.
Ruby blinked at herself in shock. The clothes she had on were reserved for very special occasions, stored safely in the back of her dresser. Yang had helped her pick them before coming to Beacon, but why was she wearing them?
"Are you coming, Dolt?"
Ruby laughed nervously, looking up to meet the gaze of her crystal eyed partner with a grin.
"Yeah, wait for me!"
Ruby jogged up to where Weiss had been standing, or at least, to where Ruby thought she was until a moment ago. She looked around, finding the lakeside to be completely barren of life. Fear clawed at her heart as she swiveled, trying to find her white haired partner. "Weiss? Where'd you go?"
Ruby turned around once more to try and find Weiss, only for her to fall limply into her arms like a dead weight. Ruby grunted in surprise, shifting her footing so she could hold Weiss' limp body. Panic struck her like lightning. "W-Weiss? H-hey- Weiss?!"
Something kicked her footing out from under her, sending her butt-first to the floor with a hard thump.
Ruby winced in pain, her back arching as waves of it reverberated up through her spine and tears stung at the corners of her eyes. As she tried to recollect herself, she looked down to check if Weiss was okay- only for her to have miraculously disappeared from Ruby's arms, replaced by a shattered glass hair piece. Ruby reached for it, jerking back with a yelp as it cut into her palm.
Clutching her hand as it bled, Ruby got back on her feet, suddenly finding herself in a blurry world of white. Everything in her vision was of the stark colour, blinding her momentarily as her eyes readjusted to the sudden change in brightness. She squinted, her sight locking onto a figure watching her not too far away. They were wearing all white too- Ruby squinted harder- Actually, they weren't wearing anything at all except for their undergarments.
A hot blush crawled up her neck as she realised she was staring at Weiss' unclothed body, her eyes falling to her feet the instant she noticed. Blood was dripping from her hand to the ground, landing in thick droplets of crimson and painting the floor a dark shade of red.
A foot stood into the now large puddle, rippling Ruby's reflection back at her. Startled, Ruby took a step back, now face to face with the person she'd been searching for.
"W-Weiss…?"
"You did this to me." she snarled back, blood spilling from her lips like syrup every time she opened her mouth. Ruby went to speak, but Weiss cut over her again. "Look at what you did to me. Look. At. Me."
Ruby did as she was told, shamefully glancing down to Weiss' body. She was so thin that Ruby could see and count every single bone beneath her almost translucent skin, including how her ribs were misplaced and broken. She could follow a vein from Weiss' neck down to her chest and to the tips of her fingers almost perfectly, like someone had taken a pen and traced along every single line they could find on Weiss' body. Stark red wounds and black bruises covered her entire figure, while painful looking burns scarred her chest and shoulders, even up her neck in specks.
"I- I'm sorry- I was too slow-" Ruby sobbed, tears freely falling from her eyes as she was forced to take in the sight of Weiss' marred body.
"They killed me." Weiss growled, "They murdered me, and you just watched."
"N-no!" Ruby sobbed. Weiss stepped closer, the smell of blood and rotting flesh hitting Ruby's sense of smell like a freight train, causing her throat to tighten. "I-I tried-" She took a shaky breath, trying to meet Weiss' gaze but failing. "I tried to save- you-"
"I died, Ruby, and it's all your fault."
"It's not! Y-you- they should've taken me-"
"Yes, they should have." Weiss croaked, blood so dark it resembled black spilling from every orifice on Weiss' face, from her eyes, to her nose, mouth and ears. Even her scar had reopened. "You left me to die, at the hands of the White Fang." Weiss stepped closer, her nose practically touching Ruby's.
Ruby held her breath, shutting her eyes so she didn't have to look at her. A hand came up to hold her jaw, before moving down to squeeze the sides of her throat, gentle at first, but slowly tightening.
"S-Stop it- Weiss, please..."
"I thought you loved me."
Ruby opened her mouth to answer again, but before she could, Weiss' grip tightened to a vice, crushing her windpipe and choking her. She had no expression on her face as her grip got impossibly tighter, ignoring Ruby's struggles and wheezes, her arm unmoving despite Ruby's attempts to dislodge it. Ruby kicked at her, but she didn't budge.
"We..iss.." Ruby wheezed, her knees bending beneath her as she struggled. The Schnee didn't react, her piercing gaze locked on Ruby's as she fell.
"You told me you loved me."
Hot tears fell from Ruby's eyes, black dots filling her vision as she began to fade.
She did, she loved Weiss more than anything. She would say it if she could, but Ruby couldn't make any sounds while Weiss had her hands around her throat. Any attempt just ended with her choking on her tongue, bringing forth a gargled sound.
"You promised."
Ruby's eyes rolled into the back of her head, her lungs about to burst. Her hands slipped from Weiss' wrists, falling limp to rest at her sides, her struggle finally coming to an end. Weiss held her by the neck as Ruby's last bit of life essence slipped through her fingers like grains of sand, hearing a dull crunch as her neck finally broke under the force.
"You lied."
Ruby woke up with a start. She spent the rest of the morning crying silently, disappearing into the bathroom as soon as the alarm Blake had set went off.
Shakily releasing the breath she had been holding in, her eyes fell to look at the sink. Where she realised her hands were gripping the edge so tight her knuckles were snow white. "You'll find her."
It had only been a day since Ruby woke up in Beacon's infirmary, kicking and screaming, unaware of where she was. She initially thought that she'd only been unconscious a few hours, but that was disproven by the lack of any injuries and the fact that she was where she was. The startled nurse who assisted her confirmed this as well, recounting the details of her recovery as she desperately tried to hold Ruby still to prevent the injured girl from thrashing around in panic and tearing out her IV, which she still managed to do anyway.
Everything had only gotten worse once Ruby had arrived at Ozpin's office, scraggly and barely awake. She'd ridden the elevator to the top of Beacon tower with the desperate, fleeting hope to see Weiss safe and sound and most importantly: alive. Yet, when the doors finally slid open, Ruby had been horrified to find out that Weiss was still missing from the rest of their team, which only meant that those Faunus who had jumped them, the members of the White Fang, still had her in their dirty clutches.
"Ruby?"
Ruby jumped as Yang's voice broke through her thoughts, interrupting the streak of worries that was plaguing her mind. She caught her breath, bringing her hands back to the original task, quickly finishing up clasping her crimson cape to her shoulders, "Y-yeah! I'm coming…!"
Today was the day that they set out to rescue Weiss from whatever hell she was being exposed to. The storm that had been raging over the past few days had slowly started to dissipate, leaving behind heavy showers of rain and the rumble of dangerous thunder.
Of course, Ozpin and Glynda weren't aware of what they were going to do. A curfew had been set on all Beacon students, one that Glynda herself was enforcing. Nobody was allowed out of Beacon for any reason whatsoever, and if you were to be caught trying to escape or outside the grounds' perimeter without permission, you could face immediate expulsion from Beacon, a rather permanent consequence, which had scared most of the students enough to listen, but not team RWBY.
Blake had spent most of the night checking out shipments coming into and from the school. She'd scoped out the dockyards where all the food supplies came in, and had found a lone pilot in a ship that was set to return to Vale by midday. Initially, he'd been reluctant to follow along, out of fear of losing his flying license but Blake had managed to convince him with a little bribery. He would take them to Vale in his ship's cargo compartment, albeit in secret. There was a catch though, as he warned that, if they were to be late, he'd leave regardless, without a second thought.
Meanwhile, Yang had visited team JNPR across the hall to inform them of their plan. They had been a little skeptical and mostly concerned for their friends, rather than for the punishment they were risking, but they had agreed to help cover for them, should anyone ask where they'd disappeared to. The plan was to tell anyone who asked that the team had come down with the flu from being out in the rain, and that they wanted to be left alone so they could recover. Weiss' disappearance also doubled as an excuse, one that they hoped most teachers would understand.
Grabbing her belt from the counter as she moved to leave, Ruby mindlessly wrapped it around herself as she had done thousands of times before. Her fingers reacted with muscle memory as she tightened it, before sliding the remaining leather beneath a loop on one end. She was fully stocked up on every ammo type of the trade, as well as Myrtenaster, should Weiss be able to wield her. It was strange holding such a light weapon, but the design suited Weiss perfectly. Sharp and elegant, yet dangerous and powerful.
"You all good to go?" Yang asked as Ruby finally emerged from the bathroom, her belt now tightened snugly against her hips. Ruby nodded quietly, glancing at her half-sister.
Yang was adjusting the mobility of her gauntlets around her wrists, their chambers opening and closing as she fine-tuned them according to the feel on her arms. Ruby could already see the incendiary rounds loaded into the clips, the red glow standing out against the sunflower yellow paint that covered Ember Celica. The way the blonde was fidgeting while preparing her weapons showed Ruby just how nervous she was about the upcoming mission, but neither member of team RBY could blame her.
They were charging in, almost completely blind, to a White Fang base that could be crawling with Paladins for all they knew and on top of that, there was a chance that Weiss wasn't even there, or alive. It could turn out to be all for nothing, but they had to try. Weiss was relying on them to at least try.
"I think so" Ruby said, reaching up onto the end of her bed and lifting Crescent Rose from where she had left her after last night's cleaning and tuning session. The weapon smelled of newly oiled steel and polish, the joints and mobile parts polished until they reflected her face back at her like a mirror. She checked to make sure the safety was on, before attaching it to the set of magnets stationed on her lower back. It attached smoothly with a click. "I've got everything I need, and then some."
She looked to Blake. "Did you bring the mask?"
The feline nodded, lifting the former White Fang Grimm mask off her hip. "Have it right here. Hopefully they fall for the same trick twice."
"They ain't exactly smart." Yang butted in, her arms folded across her chest. "I mean, they didn't cover their tracks very well."
"Don't underestimate Torchwick." Ruby warned, her voice low as she unwrapped her breakfast: a protein bar. "That girl who's always with him is the smart one. If this is the right place, and he's there, that girl will be there too."
Yang bristled, grinding her knuckles into her palm with a crack. "Oh yeah, I've got unfinished business with her."
"Let's just focus on getting Weiss out of there first, Yang." Blake commented, re-attaching the mask to her side. Ruby nodded her assent. They weren't out for revenge. Once they were in, they needed to grab Weiss and get out as soon, and quietly, as possible. Looking for fights would only compromise their whole operation, and maybe their lives too. Yang sighed gruffly.
"Yeah, I know. Keep cool."
"Then let's go." Ruby hummed, throwing the empty wrapper into the bin by one of the desks and putting her hand on the doorknob. "The pilot said he was leaving around seven."
.
"Hello? This is Coco Adel speaking."
Ruby sucked in a deep breath as the phone call finally got through, her fingers gripping tighter along the sides of her new scroll. "Coco? It's me, Ruby."
There was a moment of silence from the other end of the line, allowing even more of Ruby's anxiety to grow wild. She traded a scared glance with Yang and Blake, who were sitting cross-legged across from her on the floor. Blake's ears were perked.
"Ruby? Why are you calling from an unknown number?" Coco asked. Ruby laughed awkwardly, glancing to the ruined packaging belonging to the new scroll in her hands, which was currently lying on the floor beside her.
"We didn't want Glynda to pick up on our phone calls." She explained.
"...Glynda can tap our phone calls?!" Coco asked dumbfoundedly.
"Apparently. She's connected to all our school registered scrolls..." Ruby hummed. She heard someone else's voice in the background ask Coco who she was talking to, to which Coco shushed them and continued.
"This must be a pretty serious phone call, then." Coco said, "Did you find something in relation to Weiss?"
Ruby hesitated, her heart panging sorely in her chest. She gulped: "Yeah… Yeah we did."
"Well?"
"She's in that Dust refinery you guys found." Ruby explained, looking up to make sure she had said the right thing. Blake nodded. "She's… being tortured-" Ruby's voice broke mid-way through her sentence, the pestering lump swelling in her throat again.
"Oh Ruby... I'm so sorry-" Coco murmured through the phone, her voice spilling with empathy, "What's Ozpin doing? When is he sending you guys out?"
"He's not."
"...Excuse me?" Coco could not believe her ears. "What do you mean he's not sending you out?!"
Ruby's breath hitched in her throat, tears falling from her eyes again as her fragile emotional walls broke down for the fourth time that night. She placed the scroll in the middle of the circle made up by the three members of team RBY, setting the call to speaker mode. Blake cleared her throat.
"It's Blake. He's locking down Beacon so that no student can get in or out." Blake explained flatly, shuffling closer to the device in the middle of the room. "He's alerting the army of Weiss' predicament."
"The old man's finally gone crazy" Coco huffed, "which means he'll pull us out too. Doesn't he realise how dangerous that plan is?"
"That's what I said!" Yang bellowed, her annoyance still evident, flaring up around her through her semblance.
"We're going to sneak out." Blake explained calmly, ignoring the previous remarks from the other two girls. She glanced at the piece of paper the young pilot had handed her earlier, which held the details of when they'd depart. "Tomorrow, first thing in the morning."
"And you want us to rendezvous with you, right?" Coco asked, already having connected the dots. She sighed, "I don't know, Ozpin would not be happy."
"Has that ever stopped you before?" Yang said, folding her arms across her chest as the trio listened. A huff of amusement came over the speaker.
"Nope." Coco said "We're in. Where do we meet you guys?"
"The Dead Tree." Blake answered quickly, checking over the note she'd been given again to make sure she was right. "We'll be dropped there at around nine. The trees should give us enough room for cover."
"Wait." Interrupted Ruby, wiping her face dry with her sleeves. "You guys were near the refinery, right? What do we need to be ready for?"
"Well, a lot of White Fang grunts, that's for sure." Coco said, listening as someone beside her said something to her. "Yeah, those too. There's strange Grimm tracks surrounding that refinery. Unlike anything we've ever seen before. Fox said they even emitted traces of something akin to an aura."
The members of team RWBY all looked at each other with an expression of confusion, before coming back to the scroll in front of them.
"An aura?" Yang repeated, "Wait a second, I don't pay attention half the time in Grimm studies, but I'm pretty sure Grimm don't have those."
"They don't." confirmed Blake. "In order to have aura, you need a soul. Grimm don't have souls, they never have. Their bodies aren't capable of housing one."
"So you're just as confused as we are then."
"But Fox said he was positive he saw aura around the tracks. It was almost like it was leaking."
"Leaking aura?!" Yang asked. "Well that's definitely new."
"Yeah" hummed Ruby, before shaking her head and reverting back to the original reason they'd even called CFVY in the first place. The longer the call went on, the greater the chance they had of getting caught. "We need to hurry up with this call before someone intercepts us."
"Right." Coco agreed, taking a long breath. "We'll meet you three at the Dead Tree around nine tomorrow. We can discuss what happens after that."
"Okay." Ruby said with a sigh. "We'll see you tomorrow."
"Right. Good night team RWBY."
"Night Coco."
.
Ruby tucked at the hem of her skirt nervously, the roaring sounds of the airship around her filling her ears. She debated cleaning Crescent Rose again, adding another layer of oil to the joints and making sure every bolt was tight.
"Nervous?" Yang asked, hoisting herself onto the empty crate beside Ruby and leaning into her knees. Ruby looked up at the blonde who'd settled nearby, a concerned lilac gaze piercing through her.
Ruby sighed. "Yeah.."
The elder sister's shoulders slouched slightly, her brows furrowing, "I don't blame you. If it were Blake…" She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head like she was trying to shake the idea from her mind. "But I'm sure she's okay, sis. Your girlfriend is like the second most determined person I have ever met."
Ruby's head lifted at the mention of Weiss being her girlfriend, her eyes widening as a blurry memory resurfaced at the forefront of her mind where both Weiss and herself were in the forest, under the shade of a tree and barely a breath away from each other. Her lips tingled as she remembered the soft feeling of Weiss' perfect neck. A soul crushing sadness pained her heart, a frail smile on her face.
"She... We didn't get to make it 'official' before everything happened." Ruby explained quietly. Yang's face fell from the weak hold of hope she'd managed to scavenge. Taking a shuddering breath she continued "Now… now we might not get to." Her voice broke midway through, swallowing the growing lump in her throat as her jaw began to shake.
"Oh jeez, Ruby... I didn't know." Yang quickly said, trying to catch her sister's gaze and failing. "I just thought-"
"Just forget it!" Ruby said with a huff, rubbing the tiredness from her eyes with the palm of her hand. Ruby honestly didn't know if what had happened between Weiss and her was even real considering what had followed. It felt like a lifetime had passed since Ruby had been in that forest with Weiss. Yang fell quiet for a moment, picking at the corner of her nails with her thumb. Yang shuffled slightly closer, her hot aura brushing off Ruby's.
"Did you sleep at all last night?" She asked, looking at the dark bags under her sister's eyes. Ruby shook her head quietly, reaching up to rub at her eyes again. "I could tell. You look exhausted, Rubes. Are you sure you're up for this?"
"Weiss doesn't have time to waste." Answered Ruby. "I can sacrifice a few hours of sleep."
Yang frowned deeper, cocking an eyebrow. "Can you? I mean, you were in hospital up until yesterday."
The rose shrugged, pulling her cape closer to her shoulders. "It's not like I could sleep if I wanted to." She took a heavy breath. "I'll be fine."
Yang gave Ruby a stare, putting a hand on her sister's shoulder, causing the girl to flinch in surprise. "Are you having nightmares again? Was that why you couldn't sleep? You can tell me about them if you want-"
"Yang, please." Ruby pleaded, leaning back to meet her sister's concerned lilac eyes. "I just want to move on and focus on getting Weiss back."
"I'm just trying to help-" Yang mumbled.
"I know you are, but Weiss-"
"Weiss this, Weiss that-!" Yang placed both her hands on Ruby's shoulders. "Ruby, Weiss is relying on us to rescue her. How are you going to do that if you can hardly stay awake?"
"I am awake!" Ruby grumbled, attempting to shrug away from Yang's grip. Yang's face twisted into one of frustration, letting her hands fall from Ruby's shoulders and slap her own thighs with a sigh.
"What's with you? You're being stubborn."
Ruby ignored Yang's comment, fiddling with one of the screws along Crescent Rose. The blonde continued anyway. "Maybe spending all that time with the Ice Queen has turned you into her ice pawn. You're starting to act like her from time to time."
Ruby furrowed her brows. "What's that supposed to mean?!"
Yang shrugged. "I'm just saying… you haven't eaten much, haven't slept, you're obsessing over tiny details. You're neglecting yourself for the sake of others..." She huffed slightly, lying flat against the crate the two were currently on. "Keep at it and maybe we won't even need Weiss back."
Ruby's glare sharpened, unsure if her sister was joking around or being truthful. She sat up straight, her nails scraping the surface of Crescent Rose. "That's not funny, Yang."
There was a hesitant pause for a moment between the two, before Yang let out a heavy sigh. "You're right. I'm sorry."
Before either could say anything more, Blake dropped down from the hatch that led to the pilots cockpit, dusting herself off as she approached her teammates. "Pilot said we'll be there within the next five minutes. There could be some turbulence over the forest, though."
Ruby immediately jumped off the crate she'd been sitting on, taking the opportunity to escape the conversation between her and her sister before she said anything she'd regret. Yang sat up as she landed on the floor, lifting her arms into the air to stretch out her stiff, cold muscles, groaning as she did. "Good, get ready to drop out."
Yang's eyes followed Ruby as she moved towards the end of the ship, where they'd stored their supplies they'd brought along for the mission. Once Blake was sure Ruby was out of earshot, she turned to face the blonde brawler as her partner too jumped off the crate.
"What were you two talking about?" Blake asked. Yang huffed.
"Has Ruby seemed different to you?" inquired Yang, watching her sister as she double checked everything in her leather backpack.
Blake frowned. "Different in what way?"
"She's been… I don't know how to explain it. Just, different." Yang leaned against the crate she'd been sitting on. "She's been distant, and not… Ruby."
"If your partner and potential girlfriend was kidnapped right in front of you, while you could do nothing but watch, wouldn't you be distant too?" answered Blake, earning a grunt from Yang. "Ruby's just caught up in her own thoughts right now, Yang. She'll come to us when she's ready."
"And what if she's never ready?"
Blake hummed, placing a hand on the exposed skin of Yang's arm. "She will be. Just give her time."
The brawler of the team sighed through her nose, sparing an appreciative glance at Blake before realising Ruby had appeared before them again, holding each of their camping bags in her hands while her own was already tightened onto her back.
"Here." she said, fixing one of the thin leather straps against her chest as Yang and Blake shrugged their packs on. There wasn't much in them: first aid, some rations in case of an emergency, extra ammo and Dust, as well as a few other necessities. "We should be there any minute now. C'mon."
With a breath, she flipped the switch and the heavy metal doors in front of them slid open with a whoosh of air. Ruby's cape whipped out from behind her, rose petals falling from the roughed up end of it. Her eyes were following the forest floor beneath them, the shadow of the ship casting on the trees far below.
"Try and focus on the mission. The faster we get Weiss back, the sooner we get to go home." Ruby said, her grip tightening on the support rail to her right. Yang's shoulders slumped in defeat, moving to stand alongside her sister. The red caped girl steeled herself, looking over the edge to the rushing trees below her. They were getting close. "There's the tree. Keep your scrolls on so we can reconvene as quickly as possible."
Ruby pointed to the largest tree in the forest, its twisted branches bare and burnt. It had been struck by lightning several decades ago during a storm, but the trunk was too thick to be cut down. The storm was said to have been brought on by the wrath of the Gods during the Great War, which instantly killed all the fruit that had once grown on its branches and thus sent the nearby village and soldiers of both sides into a famine. Nowadays, it served as a perfect landmark for travelling huntsmen who travelled across Vale on foot.
Without another word, Ruby kicked off from the edge of the ship, the roar of the wind instantly filling her ears as she fell through the air. She immediately noticed how humid it was outside, likely a remnant of the storm that had passed. Humidity meant slippery branches, Ruby noted, reaching back to unhook Crescent Rose from her belt and load the cheapest bullets she had into her chamber. Landing on the branches wasn't a possibility without the danger of slipping through them, especially given the speed at which they were going. So Ruby had to rely on plan B.
She swung the muzzle of her scythe down towards the quickly approaching ground, before letting off her first shot. Her speed slowed substantially, however she was still in the air. Luckily for her, Crescent Rose wasn't the lightest weapon on Remnant, so it helped in her descent. She shot another round down, and another, until finally she breached the treeline.
Extending Crescent Rose out into her full form, Ruby clipped the blade around one of the thicker branches and swung, spinning half a circle before she activated her semblance and safely fell to the ground. She rolled on contact, before hopping back up to her feet with a proud look on her face.
With a smirk, Ruby spun Crescent Rose beside her, before shifting it back to its compact mode and securing it to her back. There was always a feeling of exhilaration whenever she landed perfectly, and even more so when she did it in style. It was a shame nobody was there to witness just how awesome she'd been.
"Focus Ruby." She scolded herself, shaking her head free of any distracting ideas and reaching for her scroll. She flicked it open and brought up the tracker map, finding that Blake hadn't landed too far away from her and that Yang had practically landed in the giant tree Ruby had pointed out.
Ruby glanced up, noticing the burnt branches of the tree just peaking through the leaves overhead. She wasn't extremely far away, but she still wasn't particularly close. It'd take a few minutes if she ran there. She took a sprinting stance, digging her heel into the mud and started out into her semblance, tearing leaves and berries off branches as a tornado of wind ripped through the forest. Creatures of Remnant and Grimm alike looked up at the sound, however, while some scattered, others moved towards it. The smell of roses was quickly leaving a trail for monsters to follow.
It didn't take very long for Ruby to reach her destination. The towering sight of the massive, ancient tree broke through the treetops. Up close, it must've been as tall as the CCT, maybe even taller. Branches only began to sprout 30 feet up the bark, and even those could've been the same width as the trees around them.
Finally breaking through into the clearing, her feet skidded on some of the murky ground and sent her barreling straight into the side of the tree with a yelp. She grunted as her back slammed off the thick trunk; her world spun upside down with her legs in the air. She groaned as she felt the cold mud beneath her seep through her clothes and into her hair.
"Well, that was certainly an entrance to behold, Rose Petal." came Coco's voice as her boots appeared in Ruby's view. The leader of team RWBY looked up in surprise, an embarrassed smirk appearing across her face as she found the leader of CVFY looking down at her. Ruby threw herself to the side, taking Coco's outstretched hand as she got up.
"Thanks." Ruby said, wiping thick layers of muck off the back of her legs as she looked around. She noticed Yang, Blake and Velvet laughing close by, while Yatsu and Fox just watched in amusement. Coco chuckled, wiping mud off her hand through her black jeans.
"It must run in the family." Coco joked, pointing to Yang over her shoulder. "Your sister landed 60 foot high in the tree. Velvet had to get her down."
Ruby hummed, wiping her muddy hands clean on the bark beside her. "Sounds like Yang."
"There's a patrol incoming!" Fox spoke quickly, stepping back into a bush and crouching down. "Hide, quickly!"
Ruby and Coco crossed glances before swiftly bolting into the trees. The crimsonette grabbed the end of her cape and pulled it to her chest as she settled into the branches, her eyes glued to the path where they'd been seconds ago as two White Fang appeared from the undergrowth. A smirk appeared on Coco's face.
"Just what we needed." she whispered, catching Ruby's attention.
Ruby opened her mouth to ask what she meant, but was beaten to it as Fox and Velvet pounced from the bushes, hitting both of the Faunus in the back of the head and sending them to the ground immediately. Ruby's mouth fell open in slight disbelief as Coco hopped down from the tree they'd been hiding in.
"Talk about killing two birds with one stone," Blake mumbled as everyone formed around the two unconscious White Fang members. Yang grinned.
"Actually, I think that one's a wolf."
Ruby rolled her eyes and watched as Velvet pulled the cloaks and masks off both soldiers before tossing them to the side. Yatsu crouched down beside his partner, handing her a looped bundle of rope, "Here. This should hold them."
"So, why are we kidnapping two White Fang?" Ruby asked, standing beside Coco as she held out the uniforms Velvet had just taken.
"For our plan."
Ruby frowned. "And the plan is…?"
"Blake and Velvet are going to go undercover so that we can get in." she explained briefly, looking up to face Blake and Yang nearby. "And they're taking Yang in."
"Why me?!" Yang protested.
Fox smirked, folding his arms across his chest and turning to stare emptily at the brute.
"Because you were the first to get here." he said smugly. Yang huffed.
"I'm offended."
"It'll make us look better." Velvet said, pulling the cloak over her clothes and smoothing it out. "And you hit harder."
"The plan is to use Yang to knock out the front guards." Yatsu explained as he finished pulling leaves and branches over the unconscious bodies of the White Fang guards. "Once they've been dealt with, we can follow you in."
"And after that?" Ruby asked.
"We make it up as we go." Coco replied, pushing her glasses up on her nose again. Ruby bit her lip in nerves, watching as Blake took the second White Fang uniform from Velvet without any form of hesitation. They were judging this all based on chance? Ruby thought team CFVY of all teams would have had a solid plan. What if it didn't work, or it just led to all seven of them being captured and used for ransom or leverage against Beacon?
Coco quickly caught onto Ruby's growing anxiety about their plan, facing the younger girl and smiling slightly. "Hey, we aren't leaving without Weiss."
"Damn right we're not!" Yang piped up, smashing her gauntlets together with sparks "She ain't dropping out of team RWBY so easily!"
Ruby frowned deeply at Yang's comment, folding her arms. "We might be too late."
"We don't know that just yet." Velvet piped up, fixing her hair beneath her hood. She moved to gently brush Ruby's shoulder, a gentle, reassuring smile on her face. She placed her hand in the middle of the rose's back, her calming aura mixing with Ruby's stiff one. "Relax, Ruby. Whatever happens, we'll be right there with you. You won't be facing this one alone."
"Sorry to interrupt you, but-" Blake said, flicking through one of the scrolls that had been on the White Fang. "These guys were only meant to be on a five minute patrol. We need to hurry."
"Let's get this show on the road, ladies and gentlemen." Coco hummed. Yatsu lifted his sword from the ground and swung it around onto his back, while Fox simply nodded. Ruby collected herself, nodding alongside the blind huntsman.
"Let's go get our friend back."