Chapter 31
The fire crackled, banishing the darkness that encircled them. They stared in disbelief at Qrow as he sighed and downed more booze.
Ruby clenched her fists and broke the silence. "You're telling us that not only is the Tale of Two Brothers true, but they also created powerful items called Relics that Ozpin was hiding from some sort of… of Grimm Queen called Salem!? Some horrible monster that not only leads the Grimm but who also empowered Cinder and Tyrian!?"
"That about sums it up, yeah." Qrow drawled. Ruby growled and stood up. She stepped away from the fire and stared into the night.
"Why didn't Ozpin tell me about this?" Pyrrha asked.
"We didn't want to dump too much on you at once. We were already going to ask you to possibly lose yourself, we didn't want to make you feel like you had to… at least no more than you already would." He responded with a sad tone.
They fell silent again, no one was sure how to respond. And then Ruby broke it, by laughing. Everyone looked at her, worried. She turned on them. "Ha! When Roman said Cinder had a boss I didn't think she would be working for a monstrosity like a Grimm Queen! Haha! How would you even work for one? Obviously, she can speak like a human, but what is she really? How would you even find her to start working for her? Hahahaha!"
"Ruby?" Jaune asked in a concerned tone. Ruby turned to him, a crazed smile on her face.
"Can you believe it Jaune? My team was killed because a Grimm ordered it! A Grimm!" She laughed again for a moment before she went deadly serious. "So, what are we going to do?"
"When we reach Mistral, we can talk with the Headmaster there and get some allies." Qrow said with a worried look at Ruby. "Then we find the Spring Maiden. With her and Pyrrha we should be able to take on any of Salem's forces that come our way. Then, we get to work."
"Do you know who the Spring Maiden is?" Jaune asked.
"No. I think I know where she is though." Qrow sighed and took a swig of his canteen before he coughed. "Ugh. I think that's enough for tonight kids."
"Fine." Ruby said. "I'll take first watch." After a moment everyone started to prepare for the night's rest. Jaune stopped by Ruby and squeezed her shoulder for a moment before he went to bed. Ruby sucked in a breath and settled in for her watch.
Once she was sure everyone was asleep she let the tears flow.
As the next day dawned and as the team prepared for the day, Jaune called Ruby over to her uncle. "We have a problem." He said as she approached.
"What do you mean?" She asked. He pointed to Qrow. Ruby grit her teeth.
Qrow panted as his hand came away from his wound coloured dark purple. "Shit." He whispered.
"I'll get some branches. We have some rope and we can use one of our sleeping bags to make a stretcher for him. Ren and I will carry him." Jaune said, once again squeezing her shoulder before he walked away.
Damn it.
As dark clouds gathered overhead a young man stalked through the forest, bow in hand. The tracks he was following led him deeper into the forest. Several minutes passed in relative silence before he finally found his prey.
The deer never expected the arrow that found its way into its throat. The young hunter quickly manoeuvred his way over and put the poor thing out of its misery. As he field dressed it he heard someone crying or perhaps whimpering.
Tales of Grimm that could replicate human sounds made him pause but he resolved to investigate. If it was a Grimm, his village should know.
It wasn't a Grimm however. It was a middle-aged looking Faunus sat in the middle of a small clearing, wrapping bandages around his head. A tail, severed at the end, flicked from one side to the other, it was bandaged as well.
"H-hello?" The young hunter spoke cautiously, keeping his bow aimed at the floor. The man paused his weeping and turned. The hunter cringed at the sight of the man's face. The bandages were covered in blood as he continued to wrap them, however, the cold eyes stared into his soul. The mouth that had been turned down in despair curved upwards in delight.
"Are you… okay?" The hunter asked again. A giggle was all he got in response. The Faunus stood and in a flash, he had pounced on the hunter.
The Faunus cackled in glee as his blades deployed. He sliced. Again and again. His blades tore the young hunter's chest open, spraying blood into the air. All the while the Faunus chanted.
"Forgive me, Goddess! Forgive my sins! Forgive me, Goddess! Forgive my sins!" Faunus chanted without reprieve as he mutilated the young man.
As rain began to fall, Tyrian looked to the sky and cackled. Soon he tore the man's clothing apart and turned it into more bandages. Soaked in water and blood, he made his way from the forest.
He may have failed, but his Goddess would forgive him. He'd made a sacrifice to her after all!
All would be fine once he returned to her. He repeated the words over and over again.
A couple of days had passed since the battle with Tyrian and the situation didn't look good. Ruby led the party through the mud towards what they hoped was Mistral. While they still had their map, it wasn't as helpful as they had first thought. It hasn't shown Oniyuri for one. Who knew what else was here that wasn't marked.
Nora and Pyrrha covered the back and sides while Ren and Jaune carried the increasingly weak Qrow. He mumbled day in and out now, not even really conscious, just delirious. Sometimes it sounded like he was talking to Tai, but Ruby was never sure what he was babbling on about.
The rustling of a nearby bush sent them into defensive stances but, it turned out to be a rabbit. Ruby growled in annoyance. Tensions were growing and she felt like she was on edge almost constantly.
Hours passed as they slogged through the aftermath of the heavy rain. Eventually, they finally found some mark of civilization. A solitary signpost.
"Finally." Ruby grumbled. "Looks like there's a town to the left. Someplace called Kuroyuri."
"But look! The other way is Mistral!" Nora said, almost bouncing up to the sign. "We could make it there way quicker, a day at most."
"I don't know if he'll survive going through the mountains…" Jaune said, glancing back at Qrow.
"We should check Kuroyuri. We might be able to find supplies." Ruby said.
"You won't." Ren mumbled.
"What was that?" Ruby looked at him.
"We should split up." Nora interrupted. "Ren and I can go ahead to Mistral and get help."
"Are you sure?" Jaune said, putting the stretcher down at the same time Ren did.
"Yes." Ren said.
"We'll be fine. We've survived together this long after all." Nora replied with a smile.
"Alright. Just… stay safe. Both of you." Jaune said, giving them each a hug.
"We'll see you soon, right?" Pyrrha asked as she gave them a hug each.
"Of course!" Nora said, beaming. Ren nodded.
Ruby sighed and joined the line of hugs. With a wave, the pair ran down the path to Mistral.
Jaune and Pyrrha picked up Qrow and, with an annoyed sigh, Ruby led them forward towards Kuroyuri.
This town is a mess. Jaune thought as they put Qrow up against a tree in the centre of the village.
"I'll look for supplies." Pyrrha announced.
"I'm faster. I should." Ruby replied.
"Ruby if something comes you're better off protecting Qrow." Jaune countered. "If danger arrives you'll be able to get him to safety faster than either of us."
"Fine." Ruby grumbled. Pyrrha nodded and rushed off. Jaune went to follow but stopped. Now may not be the best time, but if I keep putting it off...
"Ruby… how are you feeling?"
"Are you really asking me that right now?" She growled.
"A lot has happened. You haven't really… vented to anyone, at least that I know of. Ren and Nora confide in each other, me and Pyrrha do the same. But you-"
"Are you trying to make me angry? Yes, I don't have anyone! Thanks for reminding me of how much I've lost!" Ruby growled.
"Ruby, that's not what I'm saying, everyone needs to let it out sometime, you can talk to me. You've been focused so much on hunting Cinder that I don't think you've really processed their deaths. Or what happened in Kiku." Jaune's voice was calm as he spoke. He couldn't let his emotions take over here.
"I processed it all just fine Jaune!"
"I don't think you have. All of us are here because we want to take Cinder down, but you're closed off from the rest of us. You need someone to talk to and I'm open for it right now. If you want to vent, now is a good time."
"Vent!? You want me to vent!? Fine! My team died! I'm the only survivor! But I shouldn't have been! I was injured, I was weak. They should have left me behind! If I was stronger then they'd still be here! My own sister died because I didn't pay enough attention! My friend blocked a Nevermore's attack because I was too injured to dodge! My partner died shielding me from an attack I didn't see!" Ruby yelled.
She took a deep breath as tears began to fall and continued. "Then I learned that another human being orchestrated it! Another person was so power-hungry that it led to them all dying! And now I learn she serves a literal monster from fairy tales! I nearly saw all of my remaining friends die to that bitch! I… I nearly lost everything I had left!" Tears streamed down her face.
Ruby let out an eep as Jaune pulled her into a hug. After a moment her arms wrapped around him and she let her tears flow. They were like that for a minute or two before she finally started to calm down. "How do you feel?"
Ruby was silent for a moment. "... a little better…"
"Good. I'm here for you Ruby. We all are. Whatever you need. I can't say that I understand your situation, but I'm always ready to listen."
"I… I don't know if it will change anything… I'm still going to kill her." Ruby pulled back and wiped her tears.
"And we'll support you. You aren't alone."
"I… thank you Jaune. Thank you."
"It's no problem. As I said, I'm always here for-" Jaune was cut off by the sounds of hooves.
He turned from Ruby to look to the sound and his blood ran cold. Entering the village was a monstrosity of a Grimm, some horrid fusion of two Grimm.
As it entered the courtyard Jaune saw Ren and Nora run in after it. Ren collapsed to the ground in terror. Crocea Mors sang as it came free.
Another battle was upon them.
A/N: Huzzah for shorter chapters with heavy conversations. Ruby has an... interesting reaction to Salem's existence. And then she finally opens up a little bit at the end. Good old fashioned survivors guilt! Ahhh. Fun.
I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time!