Author's Notes: Well, I'm back already! Did you miss me? Anyhoo, I had a big burst of inspiration and ended up doing the whole chapter! Can you believe it? Well, I guess you all will be happy about it. I don't have a whole lot to say up here, but down below there might be some cool stuff. We'll see!
Chapter 5: Falter
Ruby kicked herself mentally for what happened. Her emotions got the better of her, and now she had to be extra careful. "They're gonna be suspicious if I mess up again," she thought. The girl sat in class, fiddling with her fingers as a sad expression crossed her face. "I don't want to worry them." As she sat there, she listened to Professor Goodwitch begin to talk about the Vytal Festival. Ruby tuned out the rest of the reminder but failed to notice a pair of lilac eyes narrow in her direction.
Lunch came quickly, and Ruby, along with the rest of her team plus team JNPR, sat down together. Jaune sighed as he sat down, and Ruby glanced at him with remembrance. The red head began listening to Nora's dream story, trying to show that she was back to normal, hoping to soothe the worries of her team. Yang's eyes were locked onto her sister, worry still very much in her eyes. It had only been a day since the younger girl's breakdown, and she was already forcing herself to try to fit in again. Yang watched the forced smiles and the painful expressions, the concern for her sister's well-being ever growing. Yang sighed as she went back to her food, praying that things could go back to normal soon. "She'll tell me when she's ready… right?"
The next day, nothing had changed, and even the day after that, nothing. Yang continued to keep an eye on her sister, watching the red head force herself to laugh and to have fun, even when she was still in pain. Yang's worry slowly morphed into something akin to anger. Anger for not relying on those who she should trust. Yang narrowed her eyes as RWBY's team leader walked outside their dorm again.
"Hey, Jaune," Ruby said, causing the blonde to jump. He spun around as she looked at him, bags under her eyes. "Long time no see. Did you lock yourself out again?" she asked, her voice carrying little emotion, as if she had said it before. Jaune turned to see the red headed girl, her eyes drooped with exhaustion and her head tilted. "This feels… off," the blonde boy thought. "Nope, I've got it right here." He chuckled a little, showing off his scroll and glancing back at the girl. "So, where have you been lately?" Jaune scratched the back of his head. "I… uh." The boy sighed, locking eyes with Ruby. "I messed up." Ruby nodded, her eyes averting to the floor. "I did something I shouldn't have, and Cardin's got me on a leash, and Pyrrha won't even talk to me. I'm starting to think coming to this school was a bad idea." Ruby furrowed her eyebrows, still looking down at her feet. "I'm a failure," he finished, sliding down the door. Ruby stayed silent as she stood in front of him. Her eyes filling with sadness.
From behind team RWBY's door, Yang listened intently to the conversation. "Jaune's been going through a lot," she thought, as she patiently waited for her sister's response. Ruby sighed, walking over to slide down next to Jaune. "I know how you feel. Like everything you do can turn into a mistake. Like you couldn't be good enough to take care of your own problems." Jaune turned to look at her, her face surprising him. Her eyes were almost void of emotion, but a smile was plastered to her lips like a sticker, looking like it could fall off at the slightest breeze. Ruby closed her eyes, resting her head against the wall. "But we can't afford to think that way. We have people relying on us, even if they don't know it. You and me? We're leaders, Jaune. If we fail, we should fail alone." Jaune furrowed his eyebrows, looking away. "That doesn't sound right," he thought. Silence filled the air between them for a moment, tensing the troubled teens' souls. "Is it wrong to rely on others? On your team?" Ruby's eyes nearly shot open. "No, it isn't," she thought, but why did it hurt so much to think that? Ruby shook her head as she stood up. "Of course not." Ruby's memories sailed back into her head. "It's not about just you anymore. You've got a team now, Jaune." Ruby took a deep breath. "It's not wrong. It's just that we should put our teams first, and ourselves second." Jaune watched as the red head stood there, her shoulders lightly shaking. He watched her take a deep breath as she turned around, a large grin on her face, but with no soul behind it. "Our teams deserve great leaders, and I think you could be one of them." Jaune was happy to hear those words, but he couldn't help but to feel sad as he watched the girl struggle so hard to get any of her words out. It was almost as if she was lying to herself.
Yang gritted her teeth as she walked to her bed, having heard enough. "…We should put our teams first, and ourselves second." Yang hated that. She knew exactly what Ruby meant when those words left her. "She thinks that she doesn't deserve happiness, doesn't she? But why? Why is she thinking like that? What changed?" Tears pricked the corners of Yang's eyes as she laid in her bed, hearing the door open. Yang opened her eyes to allow her to see just enough. Her lilac eyes landed on her sister as she slumped to the floor. Yang waited, watching the girl silently begin to cry. Yang's heart ached at the sight, wanting to jump out of bed and hug her, but she didn't. She wanted to believe that eventually, Ruby would come to her.
After the trip to Forever Fall Forest, Ruby and the others went out to Vale to take a look around. Yang glanced at Ruby as she saw dark circles under her eyes. "She's not getting enough sleep…" Ruby was far too focused on other things to notice her sister's worries. The red head observed Blake in front of her. "Today's the day." She watched Blake's bow bounce up and down as she walked. "I should try to stay out of it this time. Things seemed to work out alright without me," she thought, listening to Weiss talk about the competition from Vacuo. Ruby let out a stifled yawn. "Though, this'll be the second time I see Torchwick. I can't let him escape this time." Ruby searched through her memories as she stared off at the docks, watching a certain monkey boy run away.
As the group ran around Vale, trying to catch up to Sun, Weiss collided with someone that brought a near-genuine smile to Ruby's face. "Salutations!" Ruby just gave a small wave to the girl that was still on the ground. Yang confusedly looked at the ginger. "Are you okay?" Penny smiled, "Oh, I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking." Yang tilted her head slightly. "Do you… wanna get up?" Penny paused for a second, thinking. "Yes." She finally stood as she jumped to her feet. Everyone except Ruby took a step back. "My name is Penny. It's a pleasure to meet you!" Ruby gave a faint smile. "Hey, Penny. I'm Ruby." She stared at the ginger, having missed her silly mannerisms. "I hope I can save you this time, Penny."
"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Penny said with a grin. "You already said that." Penny looked off into the distance for a moment. "So I did!" Weiss just waved. "Sorry for running into you!" Ruby waved as well. Her eyes lingering. "Take care, friend." The scythe-wielder began to walk away, waiting for the conversation to continue. "Well, she was weird," Yang said, scratching her head. Penny suddenly appeared in front of them. "What did you call me?" As Yang stuttered and stammered, Ruby backed up a little. "Not you. You," Penny said, leaning close to Ruby. "Friend?" Penny nodded. "Yes. Am I really your friend?" Ruby let a small smile run across her lips. "Of course we are." Penny raised her arms to the sky, grinning happily. "Sensational! We can paint our nails, try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!" Ruby smiled, her tired eyes still trailing emotionally. "Sure, I'd love to." She caught some strange looks from the rest of her team, all of them lost from the conversation. Yang narrowed her eyes, looking between the two, seeing Ruby's vaguely joyous smile. "That's… odd."
Ruby casually lied in her bed as Weiss and Blake had a shouting match over the White Fang. The girl already knew the outcome and didn't bother worrying over the two, figuring the situation would sort itself out. Ruby listened intently to Weiss's side of the story with her eyes closed. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!" Weiss closed the gap between the two. "Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" The silver eyes of the red head slowly opened as Blake stuttered, backing away. The faunas girl bolted out the door, leaving the room in silence.
The weekend passed in a flash, leaving Yang time to think about what had happened. As the remaining members of team RWBY walked around Vale, the blonde's eyes landed on her sister again. "Is she not worried? Does she even care?" Yang shook her head. Of course she cares, she said that she did earlier, but why not show it? Yang's eyes watched the red cloak sway back and forth in front of her. "Why didn't she say anything?" Her thoughts paused as she took a deep breath. "Why aren't you saying anything?" Yang didn't like the feeling she got when she said that. The anger that suddenly appeared within her. Ruby turned around, looking up at her sister. "What?" Yang stepped forward, staring into the silver eyes of her sister. "One of our teammates just… ran away. Left us on our own and our leader hasn't said a word. No worries, no opinions, nothing. So why aren't you saying anything?" Ruby looked away. "I just have a feeling it'll all work out. There's nothing really to worry about." Yang gritted her teeth as she snatched her sister from the ground, holding her by the collar. "Nothing to worry about? What's with you? What if she never comes back? Do you even care what happens to her?" Ruby sighed, trying to calmly deal with this situation. "Yang, of course I care. I just think that we should let her decide what to do. It's her life after all." Yang narrowed her eyes, staring deep into the silver void of her sister's eyes. "So, if she leaves, then you'll be fine with it? That's what you're saying." Ruby looked away, weighing her options. "If that's her choice, then yes." Yang abruptly dropped her sister, shaking her head. "I don't feel like I even know you anymore." Ruby's eyes widened, bringing her back to a sudden reality. The silence persisted as the red headed girl's thoughts whizzed past her. "What did I just do?" she thought as Yang turned and walked away.
Ruby worriedly walked through the streets of Vale, trying to understand what just occurred as Weiss followed behind her. "I didn't say anything wrong. Did I?" She rubbed her eyes in frustration, not understanding the situation. Weiss just looked at her leader, watching her struggle inwardly. Weiss sighed, crossing her arms as she stopped walking. "You know, I can kind of get where Yang is coming from," Weiss said, forcing Ruby to turn around. "Don't get me wrong, I still despise the White Fang and all. I would just rather not lose a good friend if I didn't have to." Ruby's confusion was clear to Weiss, so the heiress continued. "I just think that doing nothing is worse than never trying. If I was leader, I would take care of my team, even if I thought things would turn out alright." Weiss turned and walked away, leaving the red head alone in the street.
"Why?" Ruby asked herself as she stood on the sidewalk. "Why does it seem so hopeless?" Ruby clenched her fists tightly. "Are we just destined to drift apart? Even after all we've been through? After all I've done?" She reeled her fist back, aimed at a wall, before slowly placing her hand on it instead. "Am I just destined to fail?" Ruby stepped to the side to look into the window next to her, staring deep into her reflection. The sound of thunder rolled into the distance, the red head beginning to walk away.
Yang stomped down the sidewalk, clenching her fists tightly as the heiress tried to calm her down. "Yang, wait. Stop walking so fast!" Yang stopped, turning to the white-haired girl. "I can't just wait around and do nothing!" Weiss put a hand on the brawler's shoulder. "Then slow down!" Yang stopped moving as the heiress caught her breath. "I can't slow down. I can't hold back because right now I feel like our team is falling apart. I want to believe that Ruby is just going some hard times, but why wouldn't she tell us? Can't she trust us? Aren't we her friends? Her family?" Weiss gaped, seeing the brawler begin to break down. "I've spent… all my life looking after Ruby. After her mom died, I saw her turn into someone else. Someone very distant and cold, but she eventually came back. Her happy smiles that kept me going came back." Weiss didn't know what to say as Yang's tears began to fall, along with the rain. "But now? Now it seems like I'm about to lose her for good." The blonde sniffled, clenching her fists. "I don't want to go through that again." The rain began to beat on the sidewalk, drenching the two teens. The two sat in silence for a moment before a certain ginger appeared between them. "Hello Yang! Hello Weiss! Why are you both standing in the rain?" The two glanced at each other and looked at Penny. Weiss sighed, looking Penny in the eyes. "Well…"
"Are you two mad at Ruby and Blake?" Penny asked, having heard the story in full. The two nodded, but somewhat began to shake their heads, as if to take it back. "We aren't mad, just worried." Penny tilted her head in curiosity. "Are they mad at you?" Yang took in a deep breath. "They might be." Penny stopped bobbing up and down. "Why is that? Aren't you all friends?" Weiss took a turn to sigh. "Yes, we are, but they both kept secrets from us. Refrained from talking about things." Penny tilted her head again. "I don't have a lot of friends, but if I did. I would want them to talk to me about things." Yang and Weiss nodded. "Yeah… Us too."
Ruby slowly walked through the intensifying weather, the rain soaking her combat skirt. Her eyes couldn't seem to focus on anything, her vision far too blurry. "I need to focus on Roman right now. I can deal with my team later." She looked up into the dark clouds that roamed the sky, watching the rain fall. "I want to go home." Ruby brought her eyes back down, seeing something out of the corner of her eye. She quickly turned to find nothing there, just empty space, she rubbed her eyes, blinking away the fogginess. "I really need to rest. I'm seeing things." She turned around again to be met by a man in a dark cloak. His mask glistened with raindrops as Ruby stepped back, her eyes widening. "Are you lost?" He said, his sultry voice sending a chill down her spine. She glared daggers into the man. "Why are you here?" She asked, putting a hand on Crescent Rose. "Me? Why, I'm everywhere, Little Red." He placed a hand on his mask, slowly pulling it from his face, revealing dark skin and a wild smirk. "And I can grant your wish."
The rain fell around the two. The tensions between them only growing. "My wish? How could you possibly grant it? After sending me here?" Ruby spat, her teeth gritting together. "You wished to go home, correct? Well, I can take you there. Just say the magic words and you will wake up back in your own time." Ruby glared. "Who are you?" The man held out his hands and then bowed, his black hair dripping with water. "I am Nova. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." Ruby shook her head. "Then what are you? How are you here?" Nova grinned, his green eyes staring deeply into hers. "How you ask?" He vanished, appearing behind her. "I am wherever you go. For all you know, I could just be in your head," he whispered, causing her to jump forward, turning around to face him. Only he had vanished once again. "Think about it, kiddo." Ruby grabbed her head, hearing his words bounce around inside. She shook away his words, rubbing her eyes. She looked up into the sky again, seeing the rain stop and the sun set.
An explosion sounded off in the distance. Yang, Weiss, and Penny looked at each other before racing off towards it. "What was that?" Weiss asked, running beside the two. "I don't know, but it's probably not good."
Ruby skidded to a stop behind Blake and Sun, watching them fight together. Ruby quickly joined in, forcing Torchwick to fight three-on-one. Blake knocked Roman onto his back, leaving him open. He tried to shoot a crate down from a crane, but Ruby knocked his shot off course, as she zipped around him. Roman stood up, waiting for her to stop spinning around him. She jumped at him, moving from her semblance to attack him from behind. He sidestepped her, causing her to tumble and crash into the ground. He chuckled. "Sorry, Red." Roman aimed a shot at Ruby and fired. A whirring sound followed the projectile as Ruby's eyes narrowed. She jumped around the shot, charging straight for Roman. With her scythe behind her, she ran at the thief, causing him to aim another shot. He quickly fired off three in quick succession, forcing her to bounce around them, her blurred vision making things difficult. She finally closed the gap and reeled back to swing her scythe, but she was too late. Roman flipped his grip on his cane, switching to that of a baseball bat, clobbering Ruby in the face, sending her flying into some nearby crates. She shook off the pain, her eyes floating in her skull. "Gotta keep pushing. Can't let him escape again." Her vision blurred as she took out her scroll, trying to focus on the images in front of her. Ruby took a quick look at her aura, seeing that it was nearly fully depleted as the whirring of another projectile whizzed towards her. Ruby couldn't react in time as the explosion blew her back, shattering her aura completely. She flew backwards and smacked her head against another metal crate, knocking her unconscious. "Time for bed, Red," Roman said as Blake charged him, swinging slash after slash at him. He was quickly pushed back, but he kept up with the girl's strikes. Multiple Bullheads appeared and began firing down upon the group as Blake used her semblance to escape. The Bullheads stopped firing and one swooped down to pick up Roman. Suddenly, a few of the Bullheads split into pieces, as if they had been sliced by something. Penny landed with Floating Array swirling behind her. She glanced at the remaining Bullheads, watching as they soared away. Yang and Weiss quickly appeared behind her, taking in the carnage that had unfolded.
Yang scanned the wreckage before her heart dropped, forcing her to run towards some of the crates. "Ruby!" she called out, garnering the attention of Blake and Weiss. She quickly stopped above her sister and knelt down, pulling her up in her arms. She put a hand to the back of her head, a warm feeling washing over it. Yang quickly glanced at her hand, her eyes widening. There was a lot of blood. The blonde's eyes filled with tears as she hugged her sister, praying that she would be okay as sirens sounded in the distance. "Not her too. Please. Not her too."
This chapter ended a little darker than I originally intended. (Though darker stories are my specialty.) But the show's not over yet! I've still got plenty of cards up my sleeve and believe me, if you like this so far, you're gonna love what's coming up. This has been one of my favorite chapters to write so far, especially since I've had the idea since the beginning.
First thing's first. I love the characterization of Future Ruby. (Working title that might stick.) But she will probably not regress into the lovable Ruby from canon. I've always liked the idea of her being a darker character and she might just stay that way!
Another thing. The character's and their consistency is something I mull over constantly, so I try to keep them all relatively consistent while giving them their respective arcs. I hope I can continue to keep that part up.
Last thing I want to give some quick notes on. This story is my first real shot at an RWBY AU. I've only read a few of these in my spare time, but I still got inspired to make my own. It makes me so happy to hear you guys say that you really like this story. Because of that, I will definitely keep writing. I try to keep a pretty consistent schedule, but if I ever go on a break, I'll be sure to let you all know beforehand. Anyways, that's all I've got this time, so until next time!