Chapter 40 - Picking up the Pieces
Ruby took 'her' seat in the circular, spacious council room. And it really was hers, at least for this emergency meeting. It was an austere room, a large rich mahogany table and plush chairs seated all around it. The shape was more triangular with a single seat at the end for the chairperson on the council (unlike Vale's round table she saw once on a tour when she was young), which was empty currently and looked like it would remain so for the immediate future. Draped all around the room were rich tapestries displaying 'great events' in Mistrals past and no windows in this room sequestered away. A single guard stood outside the doors, checking everyone that passed, though it looked like there were spots for more, just that the council couldn't spare anyone else (Ruby didn't really understand that; all the hunters here were probably more skilled than that generic dude, and they needed everyone they could out there helping keep the city calm).
On her left was Sun, representing Haven academy, or at least what's left of it. The red cloaked girl still had no idea whether or not Sun or Arslan or another student will end up running the school, but those two at least have gone a good way towards working together and fixing things up, getting ready. It sounded like they were all going to get 'officially' authorized as full hunters and huntresses in light of the depleted numbers and what the students would be stepping up to do. She would have been excited about it - ok, that was a lie, she was excited about that prospect - she would have been more excited if their situation didn't seem so dire.
Noticing her nervousness, Blake gave Ruby a reassuring smile, which the small girl returned weakly to the teammate on her right. Blake was there as part of the 'faunus contingent group', which mostly meant she'd just be there to help smooth things over between the ex-White Fang members and the Council members, should anything come up.
Across from them sat Lady Rhea Galday, the first council member to arrive. She was a petite, older woman with a fancy blue dress matching her hair, though a few strands of white are starting to show through. Her lips were pressed in a thin line and her face was a mask, making it impossible for Ruby to read her, not that she really had any experience in doing so (was that something that they would have taught leaders at Beacon before the battle? Something, anything to help them prepare for situations like this?)
She hadn't responded since Ruby had entered the room and said "Hi", so now they just sat in an awkward silence, waiting for the others to arrive.
It was only a few minutes but it felt like forever when all the red reaper could think about was wanting to be back at her partner's side. Pyrrha was slated to make a full recovery, in a week or so, but Ruby still worried. The former champion had lost so much blood and been so injured that the doctor had said it was a miracle she was still alive for her Semblance to help her recover.
Logically, Ruby knew that it wouldn't help anything. Pyrrha was so tired she couldn't stay up for more than a few minutes right now, and just fretting over the tall girl while she slept wouldn't help. Not that she looked that tall or strong like she usually was in the hospital bed; she seemed small, frail almost-
Her thoughts interrupted by two more council members entering, Ruby blinks away the wetness that had begun to gather in her eyes. This isn't the time for that, she reminds herself, looking up at the two of them.
The man was dressed in a fine gold vest with swirling patterns on it, with a dressy slate shirt underneath and pants to match. His hair and eyes were brown, the eyes lighter than the hair, and his skin tanned. He had a holster and gun at his side, but even though they matched his outfit, they looked slightly out of place. His hands weren't calloused enough, his wrists didn't look flexible or muscular enough to really know how to fight with them; he probably went out on a shooting range every week or two and considered that 'good enough' for using a firearm.
The woman at his side strode in slightly bolder, her shoulder's a little more raised, but the worry in her slightly darting eyes said that was just a brave face. She wore an armored jacket and carried a Gladius sheathed to her hip, with a posture that showed Ruby she could draw it quickly. The woman's outfit was black with some white accents, and as Ruby's gaze went up the woman, she saw the large white bunny ears sticking out from the top of her head.
"Councilman Terrence Lillywhite, Councilwoman Noh Sen, it's good to see you. Do you know when Sareal and Vert are coming?" Rhea asked. Terrence shook his head while Noh seems distracted, looking out the window for a moment, and then taking her seat, each one sitting beside Rhea, opposite them.
"There won't be anyone else joining us unfortunately - it appears our 'esteemed fellows', Sareal and Vert have left Mistral suddenly." Terrence spat their names out like curses. "With as much of their properties as their serving staffs could carry." He looked over at the group. "And one of you is... standing in for Lionheart? I'm sorry, but things have been rather crazy recently and we haven't been as informed as we could be."
The teenagers look awkwardly at each other before Sun clears his throat nervously. "I'm Sun Wukong... the one standing in for Haven Academy" he said, stressing the difference between that and the former headmaster. "I'm not sure what messages got passed, but I'll just be blunt about it: Leonard Lionheart betrayed his school, his hunters, and his country, committing treason and aiding terrorists. Myself, my companions, and other students who aren't here right now found out and stopped him (to give a very abridged version of events) crashing the ship he tried to flee on and killing him."
Silence fills the room at his words, the council members not shocked (they had been sent messages about this) but clearly had wanted to believe some miscommunication more.
Sun continues "Before we found out though, Lionheart had managed to cripple the active hunters and huntresses, sending them off to die on various missions."
Rhea is the first to pry further, her posture seeming relaxed but her white knuckle grip on the table giving her away. "What's the state of our huntsmen then?"
Sun grimaces "Right now we have 51 students from Haven Academy, 15 of whom were slightly injured in a recent battle, but most should be back and on their feet very quickly." The 'hopefully quickly enough' goes unspoken but is heard clearly. The council members seem to be waiting for something further so Ruby speaks up.
"There's also 5 of us from Vale here to help. One of us... she was badly hurt, but she'll get better, I know it." Ruby tries to put as much hope and optimism that she can muster into that, to believe it herself.
Terrence asked "Be that as it may, how many real hunters do we have left? We appreciate the efforts of you students but..." Ruby bristles at that implication, like they hadn't gone through enough to be considered true Hunters yet.
"There- no fully licensed hunters remain in Mistral."
"No one? I thought the others were just busy preparing, scouting out the horde of Grimm that's gathering, but not even a single hunter?" Noh asked, seeming shocked.
"We have students scouting the forces and readying the defenses, Councilwoman." Sun said, obviously trying to keep back any irritation. "Lionheart's betrayal ran deep and has hurt us all before we found out the truth, but we are trained for these sorts of-"
"How could you have been trained for anything yet?" Noh looks over at Ruby "You barely look like your out of diapers, are you even a student? And I mean a student of a real combat school, not some primary-"
The young huntress cuts her off, eyes blazing "I was a student at Beacon and fought in the battle there. Pyrrha and I helped take down the giant Wyvern and I disrupted the program that turned the Atlesian machines against us. I assure, I'm at least as capable as anyone in defending this city."
Noh is taken aback for a moment before slowly nodding her head, beginning to accept Ruby's strength. "I apologize, you obviously have been through a lot and I shouldn't judge you by your age."
"Even still, as strong as you- younger people may be" everyone could tell that Rhea still wanted to use the word 'children' to describe them "- It doesn't look like the odds of us surviving this Grimm attack are good." She turned to stare out the window, looking out across the land.
Ruby and the others followed her gaze, seeing the plains that separated Mistral from the other mountains and hills that rose up in the distance, the large forests nearby. Peaceful seeming until you noticed the spots where it was just a tad darker than it should have been. And then the realization that that applied to everywhere around them, the dark spots were just the heaviest congregations. Grimm were gathering on mass for the panic and fear the people had been feeling.
The brunette sighed and wondered how much of it was her fault. More than just the battle, but what happened after, when the students discussed how much of the truth to reveal. No one wanted to be like Ozpin (or 'Ozma' as his original name seemed to be) so they decided not to heavily surpress the facts, which would have been the only way to keep the panic at bay, but still...
"We have less than 60 warriors to defend our city. Even with the Rangers drawn back in and the citizens- those who stayed to defend our ancestral homeland anyways- the tidings look, well, grim." No one laughs or reacts to Terrence's joke, though Blake does speak up.
"We have a group of faunus warriors as well, about 40 in number and well armed. They aren't hunter level for the most part, but we're all experienced in battle, so we'll help however we can."
"That is... something at least" Rhea said slowly. She looked Ruby right in the eyes and asked softly "Is it true then? The rest of the information we've received seems to be lining up, so; Is there an- evil witch controlling the Grimm, seeking to subjugate or destroy us all?" The young girl slowly nodded her head and the councilwoman lets out a gasp of air that might be a short, disbelieving laugh. "I can't- I can hardly wrap my head around it. An 'evil witch' that controls the forces of darkness? It seems like a fairy tale, but-"
"Apparently more and more of those are true these days, given the 'visions' we were told about." Terrence had has arms folded. "Honestly, I don't know how much I can believe them, seems more like a mass hallucination Semblance than 'magic', but either way it's rather immaterial at the moment. Right now we need to focus on the defense of Mistral. I'm no hunter, but it seems like the Grimm aren't attacking yet, any of you know why?"
Sun perks up "Yeah, they're waiting. When Grimm gather like that, all but the very youngest have learned enough to take cues from the elder Grimm. The older ones are smart enough to realize that they can weaken defenders by letting a few 'run free' (usually those people just end up running into the claws of the Grimm anyways as they try to escape) before launching a mass attack." Everyone looks surprised at him. "Hey, what are those faces for, I know things! I didn't make it to be team leader of the best team in Haven on good looks alone."
"Yeah, your appearance really gives off that demeanor" Blake snarks, but she's smiling slightly as she says it, the kind of smile that says 'you're ridiculous but we love you for it anyways'. Ruby hadn't thought she'd see that smile again- their banter is interrupted by Rhea 'E-hem'-ing in a tone very similar to Glynda that has all of them instantly dropping any pretense of banter and sit up straight, facing ahead.
"So, uh, yeah, the Grimm are waiting to attack us, but they probably won't wait too long. A couple days at most, even the most intelligent ones aren't really disciplined like soldiers or anything" Ruby says somewhat inelegantly.
An urgent knock on the door interrupts the meeting. Bursting in past the guard the aide looks to the councilor's and blurted out "I'm sorry but I have news: A large armed contingent from Menagerie has arrived! A thousand or two of them all told, and they're Chieftain is looking to speak with the council." Blake stands up at that and the councilor's proceed to pale.
"I hadn't even thought of Menagerie attacking, but I suppose it makes sense given our past" Rhea mutters, looking distraught. Speaking up she says "Tell them we surrender unconditionally -."
"I certainly hope you don't plan on giving up that easily" a voice booms in behind the man, followed by it's owner, Ghira Belladona stepping through the open door way and striding past the aide. "I think with our aid you might just be able to make it through this crisis."
Rhea rises slowly, taking in the man's words. "You mean to help us? After... after every difficulty your people have suffered at our hands in the past?"
"That's just what those were; the past. While we shouldn't forget what has happened we should be prepared to move on, together, in peace." Rhea seems stunned for a moment before gulping and bowing down deeply to him.
"Thank you. Truly, thank you so much. I can promise you that we will not forget Menagerie coming to our aid in what may be our darkest hour." The other councilors follow suit, bowing to him, when Blake runs up and hugs her dad.
"Thanks dad" she murmurs quietly, but loudly enough that the council seems to have heard, it's members staring at Blake in a newfound light when they straighten.
Ghira takes a seat at the table and says "I heard your man say that we were 'armed', and that may be true, but we were in a bit of a rush, and Menagerie doesn't have much beyond pitchforks anyways. We're willing to fight and help defend the land, but we could use some better armaments..." The discussion continues on from there, the council members and her friends begin to get some actual excitement and hope about their chances. Things are still dire, but with help from Menagerie, it looks like they might have a chance.
The more tactical and logistical elements Ruby can sort of keep up with, but she doesn't have much to input there. Jaune was always better at that larger scale conflict planning than her.
The thought hits her, and the thoughts of her fallen friend trigger thoughts of Beacon and Pyrrha. She excuses herself quietly and slips out of the room while the others are finalizing some of the plans to defend the city.
She walked through the building until she exited it, looking out over the mountain. The school may have been on the very peak of Mistral, but the large, domed council building stood only slightly bellow it, and with far greater access to the roads and people of the city.
Ruby's thoughts swirled around in her head, and try as she might to get them under control, every breathing technique and focusing trick she had learned before even Signal, they continued to flurry out of control, spinning around red like blood and rose petals as she tried to deal with... everything.
She felt a grip on her shoulder and turning around saw Ren, trying his best to smile. He was obviously hurting and dealing with problems too, but it was good too see her friend trying to offer support. Ruby's thoughts came into focus and it didn't feel so bad. It was bad, logically she still knew that. Yang and Qrow leaving, it cut deep, but it didn't feel as raw. The same for the bad stuff she had been told about Oz (which she still couldn't decide yet on how bad he truly was, but she couldn't talk to him either), and for the peril Mistral faced, and Pyrrha's fate, still so precarious. Because she had friends, like him, and Nora, and Pyrrha (who would get better in time), and so many others, inside the council building and outside it.
"Thanks, Ren."
He nodded, still looking as serene as ever. "Want to talk about it?"
A/N: Wow, been a while hasn't it? Sorry about the delay, this chapter, and really this story as a whole have fought me a fair bit, as well as life getting busy. I'm still not sure if it's good enough, but I need to put it out now and at least give it a shot. I've taken the time though to prepare a bit of a buffer and work on outlining what's to come, so there won't be that long a break in the future. My goal is to update the story once a week now until it's either done or I can't finish it (in which case I promise to at least write out a bullet point outline on everything I had planned). In any case, I hope you enjoy the story as always, and let me know what you thought. This chapter ends on a bit of an abrupt note, but it should set up the next chapter from Ren's point of view.