Hunted
Team RWBY is older, a lot has gone on since Cinder Fall and her army was defeated, all that's left is to mop up the scraps. That is what was meant to happen, but with one call the scattered RWBY is drawn back to Vale where a more pressing threat is growing.
Crossover: Alien X RWBY
Have you ever felt true fear? Have you felt that cold that stops your lungs? The dread that weighs your body down until even twitching takes all your strength?
Ruby had smiled at the time, her head tilting to the side as her lips had curled in a bemused smile. She had had no clue what would happen with her return trip to Vale. She was gladly going to visit her sister, Yang.
The huntress had no clue what that would entail, but she was aware that Weiss was being summoned from Atlas and Blake from Menagerie. Ruby herself was in Vauco, she had a ways to go and she wasn't the easiest person to find. There was a chance that she would be the last to arrive.
She shifted in the bullhead, arms crossed and her head down. She was eager to see the other members of her team.
They had been called off to all parts of the world, one emergency after another that needed one of the heroic Team RWBY to fix it.
The sole reason Ruby was even in Vacuo was because she was hunting down a member of team CRDL. Her jaw tensed as she thought about their crimes, but for the moment it didn't matter. She was getting out of the sand for a while and would be able to wear her normal red cloak. Her current one was a sand camouflage cloak that she had found great in the dry desert.
She sighed softly, soon she would be back in Vale, she would be with Yang, Weiss and Blake again. She was excited to feel their soft skin against hers. She wondered how they had all changed over the years that they had been separated. She let out another huff and slumped further in her seat.
She was alone, she'd been alone ever since she'd parted from them. Now that she was heading back she was getting antsy. She wondered what Yang had wanted. The message had been garbled and Yang had seemed concerned, although Ruby knew her well enough to know that she had been downplaying her emotions. The fact she'd called them at all was proof of that.
She took a deep breath. There was no point worrying or even anticipating seeing her wives. There was something going on in Vale and Yang was terrified.
She closed her eyes to get some sleep. Experience and her demanding flight across the desert had her asleep in seconds.
She dreamed of soft skin, pale, creamy and tanned. The feeling of a body pressed against her back and one held tightly in her arms.
She didn't move as she awoke, the bullhead descending smoothly. The pilot's voice came over the speaker and she reached up, rubbing her tired eyes. "We're stopping to refuel. We'll reach Vale tomorrow."
She stood without a word and went to wait by the door. Before the bullhead landed the door was already opening. She stepped off before it had a chance to land. She strode across the landing pad, going to check a map to see where she was.
She was on the border of Vacuo and Vale now. She took a deep breath. The pilot was probably going to rest and get something to eat before flying the rest of the way. She was thankful that the moon was already up. She had slept on the way over, but could try to stomach some food.
Her guts were twisting uncomfortably, it felt like time was running out and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
~~~~~
The night and following trip felt agonisingly slow to the speedster and not for the first time, she wondered if she should have just run.
Stepping off the bullhead the second time around, a stiff breeze hit her and she couldn't help but shiver. The years spent in the Vacuo desert had not been the kindest.
The entire area was empty. No one was there to greet them. She had expected it but it still made her sigh. In ways she was glad she hadn't run from the border to Vale.
She pulled her scroll out and began to look for where Yang had said to meet up. A casual hotel, better than a dump but not worth their whole paycheck.
A small smile curled her lips, it pulled on the skin of her scar but that didn't bother her, in ways, she and Weiss matched. Although, Ruby's scar was a lot bigger and came from a burn inflicted by Cinder.
She had been lucky her Aura had shielded her from the worst of it.
She shook her head. She would be seeing them all soon and she was excited for that, even if it meant sharing.
She turned vanishing from the platform in a flurry of petals.
She was far away by the time the pilot found the ground crew.
~~~~~
Arriving at the hotel she was meant to be staying at was an odd sensation. For a place normally bustling with people, it was empty. The silence unsettling.