A/N:
Hello friends!
Welcome back to RWBY: The Selection!
Sorry it's been so long since I've posted- I went back to university this semester and have been caught up in the whirlwind of school, work, friends, internships, and all that excellent jazz :) But now that summer is coming, I am pumped to get back into some fanfiction. Sorry to leave y'all on that sad Pyrrha note, but here's some Ruby to cheer everyone up!
Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, followed, favorited, or PM'd me while I was away. That was super sweet and thank you :)
I know I normally reply to each review in the author's note, but I realized that was making my documents way too long (sometimes the author's note is longer than the actual chapter), and I was struggling not to spoil things, so I'll just PM people who review from here on out. But your reviews are still super appreciated, so THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Special thank you to Ravell Aqim, Six02, and HelpingHand for your reviews!
Since it has been a while since this story has gone up, here's a quick catch-up of where we are: the Selection is happening on Remnant, and Prince Jaune is the bachelor, tasked with choosing one girl of the fourteen to spend the rest of his life with. He's made meaningful connections with some of the girls, befriending Ruby and finding himself with a small crush on Weiss. However, beneath all the "rom" and the "com", a mystery is afoot: Tyrian is on the quest for the missing Winter Maiden, Qrow isn't picking up his scroll, and Queen Salem's age doesn't make any sense. Oh, and the White Fang is planning an attack (don't forget about that). Earlier today, Prince Jaune took the girls on a beach date, where they were attacked by a Sea Feilong, and Oscar nearly drowned, being saved at the last possible minute by Ozpin. After this, Jaune, feeling inadequate and useless, lashed out against Pyrrha. Is Oscar okay? How will Jaune and Pyrrha move on from their fight? Just how many cookies WILL Ruby consume in this chapter? Read on to find out :)
Once again, please let me know any thoughts/comments/questions/concerns. If you've made it Chapter 64, I'm assuming you're enjoying the story so far and have favorited and followed, but if not, please favorite and follow! :) Y'all are an awesome audience to write for, and I wish everyone taking finals the best of luck!
Without further ado, enjoy!
Chapter 64: Ruby
No matter how many videogames Yang and Nora dragged her into, Ruby could not stop worrying. She was worried about Oscar, whether he was okay after the attack of the Sea Feilong. She was worried about her friends and family back in Vale, being so close to an impending Vacuo attack. She was worried about her Uncle Qrow, who had yet to respond to any of her messages since last week.
After losing to Yang in Total Annihilation for the umpteenth time, Ruby feigned a yawn. "I'm going to bed," she called, grabbing Crescent Rose and pocketing her scroll. "Big day tomorrow: doing nothing,"
Yang boo'd as her sister left, but Ruby ignored her. She descended a quiet-looking spiral staircase and called her uncle.
Ruby held her breath for the two seconds that her scroll rang, but when the voice on other end responded, she let out a scream of frustration.
"We're sorry. The number you are attempting to call is out of service at this time. Please check your number, or try your call again."
"I've tried my call again!" Ruby screeched, and, in a fit of rage, she threw her scroll down the stairs. After a few seconds of fuming, chest heaving in anger, Ruby realized her mistake.
Beacon Castle was pitch-black at night, and while some hallways were lit, the secluded, spiral staircase on which Ruby now stood, was not. Not only had just thrown her scroll down innumberable flights of stairs, she had also thrown down her only source of light.
Grumbling, Ruby climbed down the stairs, feeling around on each step for her scroll before she put her foot down. She descended for what felt like an hour before reaching level ground. Ruby looked around, unable to see in the pitch blackness that coated this room. Was it a room? Was it a basement? Was it a vault? A series of catacombs? Ruby's mouth fell open. Had she entered a graveyard?
She heard footsteps to the right of her, and Ruby whipped around. She couldn't see anyone, but the force of her turn made her stumble, and she fell back onto the stairs. The footsteps grew closer…
Ruby panicked. She scrambled to regain her footing as the footsteps grew closer…
When she tried to stand back up, her fingers wrapped around something metal and rectangular.
"My scroll," Ruby thought relieved, and for a second she struggled to turn it on. The picture that came up was cracked, but at least it was light.
The footsteps grew closer…
"Who's there?" Ruby cried, and she shone the light of her scroll to her right. She did appear to be in some sort of massive underground maze, with dripping, concrete walls and slippery, cobblestone paths. On the middle of one of those cobblestone paths stood a terrified Oscar Pine.
"Oscar?" Ruby asked, tilting her head.
"Lady Ruby?" he whispered. He looked equally surprised to see her here as she did to see him. "What are you doing here?"
"I accidentally dropped my scroll down all these flights of stairs," Ruby replied. It was only half a lie. "What are you doing here?"
For a second, Oscar seemed to struggle with himself on the right answer. "I… I'm looking for something,"
Ruby looked around with the light of her scroll. Aside from the hallway that Oscar had just come from, there was a hallway straight ahead, and a hallway to her left. They seemed to be standing in some sort of massive underground maze. "What are you looking for?"
"It's… a long story," Oscar admitted.
"Well, I don't really have to be up for anything in the morning. Tell me,"
Again, Oscar seemed to struggle with himself before answering. "I can't tell you everything, but I'm looking for two relics: a crown and a lamp,"
Ruby raised an eyebrow, again looking around the massive maze they appeared to be stuck in. "Any luck?"
"None so far, no," admitted Oscar. He rubbed the back of his neck, turning to face the dark corridor behind him. "And I've… kind of lost my way back. Now that I've found stairs, I may just give up, and go back to bed,"
Ruby shrugged. Going back to bed was alright, but an adventure sounded much more fun. "How important are these relics?"
Oscar paused, and after a few seconds, he replied, "if I don't find them, our entire world may be destroyed."
Ruby blinked. "What?"
"Someone else's words, not mine," Oscar said quickly.
"Well, if our world may be destroyed, then you can't just give up!" protested Ruby. "You have to find them! Are you sure they're down here?"
"'Down here' refers to a maze of a vault that stretches across the entire castle and runs hundreds of feet deep," Oscar pointed out. "It could be smart to go back, and try to find a blueprint, or-"
"If the fate of the world is at stake, Oscar, we don't have a second to waste!" Ruby proclaimed. She reached into her backpack, pulling out (and activating) her scythe, Crescent Rose, and removing a bag full of cookies. She tore off a piece and left it by the staircase. "There," Ruby said cheerfully. "Now, if we get lost, we can retrace our footsteps!"
Oscar nodded, and the two went on their way. They turned corners, and spun in circles. They fought Beowulves, and Flying Monkeys, and occasional Mutant Creeps. For hours and hours they walked, until Ruby was stumbling with fatigue, and Oscar was struggling to keep his eyes open. Still, there was no sight of the relics.
"Ruby, we can try again another night," Oscar yawned, "but we should stop now. If we keep going in this state, we could walk right past a relic and be too tired to notice, or die from a Grimm attack,"
"I'll stop the Grimm attack," Ruby yawned. She brandished Crescent Rose, accidentally flinging it into the stone wall. "Oops,"
Oscar raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Let's go back,"
"But you said the entire world may be destroyed. How long to we have?"
Oscar paused. "Until the war with Vacuo ends or Ironwood caves. Whichever comes last."
Ruby blinked. She had asked Jaune once what had caused this war with Vacuo, and he had been unable to answer. Did this relic have something to do with it? Did Queen Salem and the rest of Remnant need these relics to save the world? "What do you mean by-"
"Please, no questions," Oscar said firmly. His voice sounded different: older, more authoritative, more aggressive, and Ruby stepped back. "Sorry," Oscar said after a few seconds of silence, his voice back to normal. "Thank you for all your help, Ruby, but I think it's time to go to bed,"
"Okay," Ruby nodded. She didn't want to go to bed, she had far too many questions, but the voice that had come from Oscar's mouth scared her, and, although it pained her to admit it, she probably couldn't fight off any more Grimm in this sleep-deprived state. "We should leave the cookie crumbs, though. In case we come back and want to know where we've already been,"
Oscar yawned in agreement, and the two followed the cookie-crumb trail back to the staircase.
"Oscar," Ruby called as they parted ways for the night.
He turned around, and she bit back a million questions. "What are these relics? Why are they important? How can they save or destroy the world? What does this have to do with General Ironwood? What does this have to do with Vacuo?"
She decided on a question much less open-ended and much more important. "Does Queen Salem know we're looking for these relics?"
Oscar swallowed. "No."