Chapter 43
Oscar was the first to awaken. He stretched and took a look around. Qrow was staring out the window, seemingly uncaring that the fire had practically gone out. Oscar yawned as he fed a few more logs on and tried to get it warm enough to cook breakfast. Everyone else was still asleep, so he thought it'd be nice for them to wake up with food ready for them. Or at least already on the way.
He couldn't ignore how tired he felt though. It wasn't like a sleepy tired but more… exhausted. He felt like he'd had both a good and terrible sleep. His arms and legs felt sluggish and his mind seemed to be running slower. It was as if he had to force himself to get up and work.
Thankfully he'd had plenty of practice back home. On the farm, he'd had to get up whether he liked it or not, so this low level of energy was nothing he couldn't handle. He'd recharge quick enough after some beans.
As the fire slowly regained its size Oscar worked to prepare the food for cooking. Every so often he glanced over at his sleeping allies. Taiyang was starting to stir and Maria also seemed to be well on her way to waking up. Ruby however looked to be needing more time. Oscar couldn't help but think that she looked pretty cute cuddling with Zwei in her sleep.
Soon enough the quiet morning was broken as Taiyang awoke. He looked just as tired as Oscar felt.
I know it was a surprise to learn all we did, but we shouldn't all be so exhausted. Right?
When Ruby awoke she was surprised to find herself so warm. It didn't take her long to realise why of course. Zwei was snuggled in against her chest with her arms wrapped tight around him. For a moment her brain ground to a halt, unsure of how exactly to react. Eventually, however, her lips unintentionally curled into a smile and she scratched behind his ears.
She yawned and sat up a moment later to join the others in tiredly collecting breakfast. Zwei happily trotted off to get his own.
An hour later they picked themselves up and left the building. Ruby stretched and rolled her shoulders before turning to her company. "Oscar and Maria. Stay here and keep an eye out. Dad. Qrow. The three of us will split up and search the grounds for anything we can use to get to Argus quicker. If we haven't found anything in a couple of hours then we'll walk."
Maria sat down on the stairs and pulled out another of the books she'd been reading. Oscar nodded and followed suit. Tai and Qrow both sighed before splitting up. Ruby watched them go for a moment. She sighed and headed off in a different direction.
The tension is thick. I can't help but wonder if getting to Argus will only make it worse… how are JNPR going to react? Maybe it would just be better to stay here...
Ruby paused. That thought felt… off? We can't stay here. We have to get the Relic to safety and tell Jaune and the others what we learned. She shook her head and continued on.
The storage shed door creaked as she pushed it open. The left side of the room had several shelves, filled with various tools and their parts. The right side was mostly open, with what looked like a tractor at the back. She marched over to it and gave it a look over.
She wasn't exactly an expert, but from what she could see it might still work. There were a few spare parts around as well, so perhaps they could fix it up if it wasn't working. After confirming its status as a 'maybe', she left and continued the search.
An hour later they all reconvened outside the main house and compiled their information.
"I found a trailer." Her father said. "If we get that tractor you mentioned working we could pull it. Be easier than walking."
Qrow shrugged. "Found beer." He held up a bottle. Ruby forced back a sigh.
"Alright let's just try and get the tractor working."
It took them another hour to get the damned thing to work. Ruby was sure if they'd gotten a better night's sleep it wouldn't take so long, but with how tired they all were it took far more energy than she expected.
Something about that felt off to her.
As her father was hooking the trailer onto the back of the tractor Maria jumped to her feet. "We need to leave!" The elder said.
"We're trying." Ruby replied.
"No, you don't understand! There are Grimm here!" Her words set them all off. Weapons were deployed instantly and the team gazed around, searching for the monsters. Maria walked down the stairs with a book in hand. "The owner brought Grimm here. They're under the farm."
"Why would they…" Ruby wondered aloud as she turned to face the nearby well.
"The Apathy." Maria continued. "A kind of Grimm that zaps energy from those nearby. He believed that by bringing one here it would reduce the negativity felt by his workers. If he was right it would reduce how often he needed to hire Huntsmen. But the Apathy work in packs, where one goes the rest follow… eventually they all lost the energy to even get out of bed."
Maria dropped the book into the snow. Ruby swallowed. "Dad. Get the tractor going. Now." Her father complied without a sound. The aura of exhaustion had been broken as adrenaline filled their bodies.
Despite the urgent tone from Maria, no Grimm came. With weapons in hand, they waited but nothing interrupted them. The tractor finally booted to life a few minutes later. As they began to pile onto the trailer Ruby paused.
Should they really leave this place as is?
She bit her lower lip for a moment and then turned away from the trailer. She grabbed the book, flipped to the page about the Apathy and went back inside. After quickly dragging a chair over to near the door, Ruby pulled out a pen and added a few lines around the drawing. Leaving the book open on the chair facing the door, with all the information they knew about the creatures, she left.
Everybody else was sitting on the trailer, aside from Taiyang who was driving. Ruby jumped on board and they were off.
It wasn't exactly the fastest mode of transportation, but it was easier than walking. Minutes passed in silence until, quite suddenly, it felt as if a weight had left their shoulders. They could finally breathe easy. They sat in silence for several minutes as they drove through the snow. Thankfully the tractor was able to move through it all.
"Who would ever think it was a good idea to use Grimm like that?" Ruby wondered aloud.
Maria sighed. "Someone who's losing a lot of money and needs to figure something out. Bartleby chose poorly."
"It's hard to blame him…" Oscar whispered.
"He got people killed." Qrow growled and glared at Oscar.
"He made a mistake. He wanted to make things better…" Oscar trailed off. Qrow scoffed and looked away. Oscar looked saddened, but there wasn't much Ruby thought she could do.
Qrow needed time to get over what had been learned.
They fell back into silence as they travelled.
A few hours later Ruby's scroll went off. She quickly retrieved it and accepted the call.
"Ruby!" Jaune's voice came through with only a little static. "Are you guys okay?"
"We're fine. We've got a lot to talk about though. How am I getting a signal?"
"You guys just came up! You must be getting closer to Argus."
They could only really see more trees and snow. "Alright. We should be there soonish then. We aren't moving fast…"
"Okay. We'll be waiting!" Jaune paused. "I'm glad to hear you guys are safe."
"Same here. We'll see you soon."
"See you soon!"
Argus was a pretty beautiful looking city. As a major trade port between Atlas and Mistral it was pretty prosperous too. In time it might even grow large enough to be considered it's own Kingdom, if they felt like splitting from Mistral of course. But that was probably pretty far off into the future.
For now, it was just a pretty large city with great defences in a prime trade spot.
It was also home to a few important individuals.
After Ruby and her group had arrived at the gates, nearing evening due to how slow their transport was, and reunited with team JNPR via a series of hugs they entered the city and had a little bit of sightseeing. Mainly what could be seen on the tram ride. Theatres and parks and the Atlas base in the bay.
"So where were you guys staying?" Ruby asked as the tram came to a halt in the middle of the city. As they all stepped out onto the street Jaune rubbed the back of his head.
"Weeeeell… we stayed at Pyrrha's house," Jaune said. Pyrrha waved from behind him with a smile. Introducing him to the parents already. Well played Pyrrha, well played… Ruby had to admire that. Sure, Jaune had met her father already but that wasn't the same as bringing him home to meet the parents. There was a certain kind of importance to that. "Her parents are really nice. They've got plenty of room too." He continued.
"Sounds good." Ruby replied.
Pyrrha led the way through the streets, eventually drawing them towards a three-story mansion snuggled between the walls and beach. Aged stone was surrounded by well kept vibrant green trees. She pushed the double doors open, revealing a large foyer with a big staircase at the back.
"Hey, mom! We're back!" Pyrrha called out and led them through another set of doors into a living room. Seated at the table was a woman who looked like an older Pyrrha with short hair and glasses. She put down her teacup with a smile.
"Welcome. How about some introductions then?"
A/N: I had intended to get this out yesterday but kept getting interrupted and couldn't finish. Still ended up shorter than intended but for some reason, it got a bit tough in places. Not sure why though. But hey, they made it to Argus! A lot easier too... a bit of an anti-climax really. Well, I guess that happens when everyone there can handle it. That was an interesting thing when I rewatched the episodes. The Apathy affected WBY most of all, everyone else could resist pretty well. So without them pushing Ruby to leave the Relic, she doesn't consider it, so she doesn't get scared by the Apathy and drop it. So no rescue mission needed! All you need to resist the Apathy is to have Silver Eyes, the mind of an ancient human from the previous go around or be an older Huntsman with a few decades of experience! Huh, that's pretty limiting... Oh well! Pyrrha's mum time!
I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time!