Straight, No Chaser
Chapter 1: Therion
"State your name and ID number."
"Doctor Aiden Gray, one-one-zero-three-five."
There was a pause before the man at the checkpoint nodded. "Confirmed. Lean down for the retinal scan and you'll be good to go."
Doctor Gray did as he was told, removing his thin, wire-framed glasses and leaning into the scanner. A light briefly flashed across his eyes before the machine gave a chime. He placed his glasses back over his face before turning to the guard, who nodded.
"Retinal scan confirmed. You're good to go, Doctor."
He nodded in response, then waited as the big steel blast doors in front of him began to open. The guards on either side, both of them clad in sleek white armor and carrying automatic shotguns, stepped aside to allow him entry into the facility. He gave each one a curt nod before continuing onwards.
He had a girl to meet, and he didn't want to be late.
The rest of the security checkpoints went without incident – a fingerprint here, a brief question-and-answer there, and finally a quick check of his military-issued scroll to ensure that it was clean of anything that might be damaging. It was all overkill, of course, but protocols were in place for a reason.
The government of Atlas had spared absolutely no expense in constructing this facility and staffing it with the best men they could find who they didn't need out in the field. At first, it had seemed counter-intuitive – with the Grimm being an ever-present threat and the White Fang growing more bold and dangerous by the day, basic logic would dictate that all available manpower was to be on standby in case Atlas needed to deploy them somewhere.
Of course, that logic went out the window once one took into account what the facility was built to hold.
Doctor Gray continued on through the halls, passing by all manner of researchers and guards on his way. The last he remembered, there were almost a hundred of them here at any given moment – a team of around thirty researchers, with the remainder being guards. He knew all of them by name, and each one received a quick greeting as he passed. Nobody stopped to talk to him, knowing that he had a big job to do.
Finally, he arrived at his destination: another set of sealed blast doors, though this one was arguably even more intense than the first set. It was surrounded by motion-activated sensors, as well as a generator that could be turned on in case the doors needed to be electrified in an emergency. All around the room, there were dispensers for gas – each one was equipped with three canisters of different kinds, those being simple tear gas, knockout gas, and finally a fast-acting nerve gas. In addition, five different auto turrets lined the room, each one of them carrying a belt-fed, .50 caliber machine gun loaded with armor-piercing explosive rounds.
Approaching the doors, Gray looked over to his right, where the control room sat. He nodded towards them, and they took it as their cue to let him in.
No matter how many times he had seen it before, he couldn't get over just how much seeing this door open reminded him of the gates of Hell opening. The lights dimmed, replaced by a red strobe warning anyone else to stay away. The doors behind him sealed shut, locking him in. The turrets went from their powered-down state to standby mode. The large blast doors had their generators turned off, and their lasers disabled, and then they opened fully.
The room inside was dark. Stepping into it, Gray did his best to stay completely calm. He didn't flinch when the blast doors closed behind him, leaving him in completely darkness. He did his best to control his breathing and slow his heart rate, knowing that both could be used to track him. At the same time, he tried to focus, listening in for what he knew was out there.
The attack came so suddenly that he didn't have time to react. In the blink of an eye, Gray went from standing upright to rolling around on the ground as something impacted against his midsection. His aura absorbed the blow, but it sent him sprawling. He rolled for several feet from the force of the blow before coming to a stop, a weight resting on his midsection as he lied on his back. For a moment, he simply sat there, doing nothing as he caught his breath.
And then, there was giggling – high-pitched and happy. Gray couldn't help but feel a grin cross his face.
"Hello to you too, Ruby."
The lights came on, and for the first time in a week, Aiden Gray saw her. Ruby Rose, age fourteen, fifteen in a few months. She was short – barely over five feet, though she would be the first to insist that the two horns on her head made her at least a few inches taller than that. Her skin was bone white, pockmarked with inky black veins that traveled across all her limbs. Her teeth were razor-sharp, though it was tough to find them intimidating when they were bared in a wide smile instead of a snarl. Ruby's most striking physical feature had to be her eyes, however – black veins stretched from the sides of her face to her eyes, the sclerae of which were jet black. Even given the rest of her body, her eyes were unique – her irises were mostly red, though there was a small ring of silver surrounding each one.
Despite her admittedly strange appearance, Gray couldn't get over just how much Ruby still resembled her mother. He had never had a chance to know Summer Rose, but he had seen pictures, and that had been enough.
For all that Ruby Rose was a Grimm, she was also still Summer Rose's daughter. It showed in her eyes, in her hair – black ending in red tips, like her mother – and most importantly, in her smile.
"Hi, Doctor Gray!" she said excitedly. "Did you miss me? Did you?!"
Gray chuckled, bringing a hand up to ruffle her hair. "You know I did, Ruby. How was the last week without me?"
"Ah, you know. It's just not the same without you here. Staff Sergeant Onyx was here, though!"
"Oh, you got to play with Baird?"
She nodded. "He brought me more art supplies and everything! He said my drawing is getting really, really good!"
Gray couldn't help but chuckle at that. The thought of Staff Sergeant Baird Onyx – the hard-talking, no-nonsense chief of security – taking time out of his day specifically to play with Ruby and compliment her on her art was funny to him, and he suspected that just about everyone else in the facility would think the same way.
Not that any of them would blame Baird for it, of course – Ruby being Ruby, she had already played with everyone in the facility at least a few times. She definitely had her favorites – Gray being her number one, he couldn't help but proudly note – but for a long time, Ruby's number one request had been a new playmate every couple of weeks, and they had been all too happy to oblige.
Of course, back then, not obliging her was dangerous. She was a lot more mellow these days and could now actually handle a request of hers being denied, though none of them liked to do that based purely on principle.
For a girl who had so little in life, it felt wrong for them to deny her some of the simple comforts she asked for.
Gray suddenly winced when he felt something poke his hand, which shocked him out of his thoughts. "Well, it looks like someone forgot to trim their horns," he gently admonished.
Ruby smiled sheepishly. "Heh, sorry. I figured you'd do it when you got back. I always cut them too short."
"That's alright, Ruby. We'll take care of them together at some point today. Now, would you mind letting me up? I have something for you, and I can't give it to you if I'm on the ground."
Her eyes widened, showing that she was clearly excited at the prospect of getting a gift from him. He couldn't blame her – she didn't get much. Hastily scrambling off of him, she let him rise to his feet. Gray dusted himself off, then reached into his pocket and retrieved a small brown bottle.
"Here you go, kiddo. Consider it my apology for being away for so long."
Ruby caught the bottle with a gasp. "Sap from the Forever Fall?!"
He didn't even get a chance to answer before she had torn the cap off and brought the bottle up to her mouth. The sap didn't stand a chance – it was gone in a matter of seconds. Ruby wasn't quite done, however, as she then brought up one of her claws and cut the bottle itself open, then began to lick up whatever was sticking to the inside of the bottle. It was an astounding display of gluttony, but Gray didn't mind – she didn't get very many sweets in the first place, as sap from the Forever Fall was tough to come by in general, and her body's strange physiology made eating regular food difficult for her. For the most part, Ruby was an obligate carnivore; they had yet to find what she could eat beyond meat and Forever Fall sap, and at this stage, they weren't too interested in trying anything else. So long as she was content with her diet and it wasn't a hazard to her health, all of them were fine with it.
Having finished her snack, Ruby crumpled up the remains of the bottle and tossed it into the small trash can next to the door before turning back to him.
"So, what made you have to leave so soon?"
"Family problem, Ruby," Gray said, waving her off. "Nothing to worry about – it's over now."
That answer seemed to satisfy her, which he was happy about. In truth, he had been left on such short notice because his mother had suddenly passed away, and he had gone to attend the funeral. It wouldn't do to inform Ruby of that, however – hearing about it would almost certainly bring up thoughts of her own mother, and the last thing he wanted was for her to get emotional again.
As they had learned over the years, an emotional Ruby was a very dangerous Ruby indeed, whether she intended to be or not.
"So," Ruby began, "are you ready to play?"
Gray smiled at her. "Absolutely. Of course, I have some tests I have to get done, too."
Ruby's happy expression faltered. "...What kind?"
"No blood tests today, if that's what you're wondering." She relaxed at that, and Gray made note of the fact that she apparently still didn't like needles at all. "I just have some questions I want to ask you real quick. They can wait, though. For now, we can play."
Ruby's smile returned in full force. "Great! Let me get changed first, I'll be right out."
She took off running towards her closet, disappearing inside for a bit before coming out with a small armful of clothes. Once she had them, she ran to her bathroom, stepping inside and closing the door to change, leaving Gray alone to examine her room.
The room itself was very different from what the rest of the facility might have implied it would look like. Truthfully, it had been designed to be less of a room and more of a holding cell, but that didn't mean that they wanted it to be uncomfortable for her. It had been decorated as best as they could make it. Pictures were set up around the room, either placed on the various pieces of furniture or hanging from the walls. The walls themselves had been painted a few years back, and had gone from cold gunmetal gray to white and covered with bright red roses.
There were a few pieces of furniture set up, too – a queen sized bed with two wooden end tables on either side of it, both of which were covered in pictures of her family. A wooden dresser was set up next to the bed, and next to that was a small desk covered in art supplies. Completing the room was a small array of exercise equipment – an exercise bike, along with a few light dumbbells and barbells.
The bathroom door opened, and Ruby stepped out. Her rose-print pajama bottoms and black top had been replaced with her black blouse, corset, and skirt. For her lower body, she had on a set of black leggings and black boots. Completing her look was a bright red cape, one of many she had, though he could tell that this was her favorite – it was torn in several places, showing its age.
"Let's play!" Ruby announced. "I'll be the brave Huntress, and you can be the Grimm!"
Gray couldn't help but smile. Her appearance aside, Ruby was mostly the same as any other fourteen-year-old girl. That was part of why the staff all loved her so much.
She may have technically been a prisoner here, but that didn't mean that anyone was about to mistreat her. On the contrary, in fact – they all made it a point to treat Ruby as well as they possibly could, most of them purely because she was such a joy to be around.
Reconciling the monstrous appearance with the girl on the inside had been hard at first, but they had all managed in time.
It was a few hours later that Gray left, feeling a bit more tired and sore than he usually did. He wasn't young by any means – his fiftieth birthday was just around the corner, his eyesight had failed to the point where he now needed to wear glasses, and what few hairs were left on his head were all as gray as his name – but he didn't care. Knowing that he was able to bring Ruby so much joy just by playing with her for a bit was more than enough to make him happy.
He had just left Ruby's room when he received a message on his scroll.
Meet me in the conference room. I want an update. James.
Gray sighed, though not because he dreaded the meeting. Rather, it was because he knew it was going to go the exact same as every other meeting they'd had over the years. Still, he made his way to the conference room as requested. Stepping inside, he found the General already waiting for him.
"Aiden," Ironwood greeted, holding out a hand.
"James," Gray replied, taking the General's hand and shaking it. "I wasn't expecting you to drop by today."
"I was out overseeing a field operation nearby and decided to check in and make sure things were running smoothly."
"As smooth as ever, sir. We haven't seen any Grimm in weeks."
That was by design – this facility had been constructed deep in the Atlesian wilderness. Temperatures were generally always subzero, and there was usually at least a light blizzard going at any given moment. Any humans caught outside would freeze to death within minutes, and even a Grimm would find the elements to be far too much to handle. The only Grimm they ever encountered were the rare cold-weather variants of usual Grimm, and even then, those Grimm didn't stand a chance against the androids and security team.
They broke the handshake, Ironwood clasping his hands behind his back. "Good, good. And Ruby?"
"Nothing to report, sir. We're no closer to finding a cure."
Ironwood showed no reaction to that news, though it wasn't because he didn't care; he had simply heard the same sentence uttered so many times that it no longer affected him. "Have you managed to learn anything from her?"
Gray shook his head. "Nothing, sir. We're convinced that she's the key to understanding how the Grimm function, but we haven't been able to figure out a way of testing anything regarding her physiology. Any blood we take evaporates almost instantly once it's out of her veins. The same goes for things such as her hair and skin cells. The only things we've been able to learn from her, we've had to learn through observation."
"And what have you learned?"
"...She's strong," Gray admitted. "You remember the incident three years ago?"
"I do. If I recall, she had a sudden flareup of negative emotions after having a terrible nightmare. The flood of emotions caused her Grimm side to go berserk, and she had to be restrained by the security team."
"Some of the best Huntsmen that Atlas has to offer, and yet she put eight of them in the hospital in a matter of seconds. Three of them almost died. That was three years ago, General – she hadn't even gone through puberty yet. Now?" He shook his head. "Her physical strength is off the charts. She has more advanced senses than anyone I've ever met, human or Faunus – her hearing is excellent, her sense of smell is incredibly refined, and she can see in the dark perfectly."
"She's a predator," Ironwood remarked.
"She's part Grimm, General. She's not just a predator, she's the apex predator, and we're the prey. If she so desired, she could tear through a good portion of this base with ease before we took her down. We're lucky that she both doesn't know just how much she outmatches us and that she has absolutely no desire to actually do it."
"She's still ignorant of it all, then?"
Gray sighed softly before nodding. "...Yes. She doesn't realize just how differently she's being treated from everyone else on Remnant. As far as she knows, this is normal for her. She understands that she isn't the same as everyone else, and that she needs to be protected from them because of that, but she doesn't know that we're keeping her away from the general public because they also need protection from her."
There was something else in that statement, something that Ironwood was quick to pick up on.
"You still don't agree with the way she's being treated," James observed.
"Respectfully, sir, I don't. She's fourteen and has had no chance to see the outside world. She's been locked in this facility for ten years, General. That's ten years without getting to see anyone close to her own age except her sister, and even then those visits are incredibly rare, at least compared to how often they ought to be. She doesn't know how a girl her age is supposed to act, she doesn't know anything about the state of the world around her… the only thing keeping her from getting lonely is the fact that she's friendly with all the staff here, and that her family gets to visit her every few months."
"And you don't think that's enough?"
"No, I don't. She's a Grimm, yes, but she's also still human on the inside. Humans are social creatures, general – the only ones of us who aren't are mentally ill in some way. By keeping her locked up in this cage, you're denying her one of the most basic things that makes us human."
"You know that I can't let her out with the general public," Ironwood stated. "And not just because of her appearance – if we had to, we could cover that up in some way, maybe pass off her horns as a Faunus trait. But you know that's not why she's being held here."
"I'm aware, sir. You're worried about another breakdown."
Ironwood unclasped his hands. "Of course I am. I know I don't have to tell you what her first breakdown was like."
He didn't; Gray had read the file enough times to have committed it to memory. It went like this: ten years ago, Ruby Rose had learned that her mother wasn't going to come home from her mission. Ruby hadn't taken it well. While she had always been a Grimm, and somewhat different in appearance because of it, her demeanor up to that point had been the same as any other small child's. This was the first big turning point in her life – the first incident that showed them all how truly inhuman she could be.
That day, Ruby Rose had awakened her dormant powers for the first time, and completely lost control of them for the first time as well. The result was the loss of her family home on Patch, and a trip to the emergency room for her older sister. Ruby had barely been subdued by her father and uncle before she could do any more damage to anything, but it was already too late – the full extent of what she was capable of had been revealed to the world and subsequently covered up, and the judgment from the powers that be was inevitable: Ruby Rose could not be allowed into the outside world, under no circumstances. And since nobody wanted to be the one to order the disposal of a four-year-old no matter how destructive she was, especially not one that still had a loving family, that left only one option: she was to be confined indefinitely in a high-security detention facility, where she would spend her life being studied until a cure for her condition was found. Her existence was one of Atlas' most carefully-guarded secrets, with the knowledge extending only to the upper echelons of the military, Ruby's family and their most trusted associates, and the staff in the facility.
It was simultaneously the only real option, and the most unjust thing Gray could think of for her.
"You have to realize that you can't keep her here forever," Gray implored. "Sooner or later, she's going to start to wonder about the outside world. She's going to start asking questions – why can't I go outside? Why can't I see my family whenever I want, or live with them like I used to when I was little? Why am I the only one being treated like this? Hell, we're lucky she hasn't already asked any of those questions – she's been here for ten years and I still don't know how to break it to her that she's here for good, unless we can find a way to cure her condition."
Ironwood frowned. "I understand, but this is the best option at the moment."
"And how long is it supposed to last? I don't think you understand just how close we're getting to hearing her ask one of those questions. You know, she just turned fourteen a few months ago. You want to know what she wanted for her birthday? She wanted to go outside the facility."
Ironwood's gaze narrowed. "I wasn't aware of this."
"Because I didn't tell you, because I knew you'd refuse. I did it anyway – I let her wander the facility for a bit, then dressed her up in some winter clothes and brought her and all the guards out to see the snow. You should have seen her face, General – it was nothing but pure wonder. She was out there for maybe ten minutes before the cold got to be too much for her and she had to go back inside, but those were some of the happiest ten minutes of her life, and all she did was stand there and watch the snow come down."
"That was incredibly dangerous of you, Doctor Gray. You should have-"
"Should have what? Refused? General, I know she's past the point where she throws tantrums when she doesn't get her way, but I wasn't going to deny her that, not on her birthday and not when it was such a simple request. Moreover, I think it was the right move – the cold was far too much for her to handle, and she had to come inside before long. That was more than enough to put a stop to any desire to go outside she may have had, at least for a little while."
"You shouldn't have done that, Doctor."
"Then what should I have done? Told her no?"
"Yes."
Doctor Gray scowled. "You can't keep her locked in here forever, General. Sooner or later she's going to want to leave for real, and I don't think you or anyone else will be able to stop her."
"We will keep her here until we find a cure for her condition," Ironwood stated simply. "Even if it takes her entire lifetime. Ruby Rose cannot be allowed out into society looking and acting the way she does."
"She's a teenage girl who's never had any contact with the outside world."
"She is also quite possibly the single most dangerous specimen of Grimm we have ever encountered. And for that reason alone, she will stay here until we have figured out a way to cure her. Until then, she will not be allowed outside, period." His gaze narrowed. "The next time she makes such a request, you are to refuse it. Do I make myself clear?"
Gray gritted his teeth, but slowly nodded, knowing his hands were tied. "...Crystal, sir. She stays inside the facility at all times until you tell us otherwise."
"Good. See to it that she does." Ironwood looked over at the nearby wall-mounted clock. "Now then, I must be going. If there are any updates-"
"You'll be the first to know, General. Same as always."
"Good to hear. Oh, I should mention that I am currently speaking with her family regarding a possible visit in the next few weeks. I will update you with the details when I know more."
Gray wasn't blind – he could tell that the General was trying to placate him after getting him riled up. It was a cheap shot, of course – Gray would never deny Ruby a chance to see her family, no matter what. He actually wished they could come more often, but distance and Atlas' security measures made travel difficult for them. He nodded.
"Keep in touch, General."
With that, Ironwood turned and left, leaving Gray by himself. He stood there for just a few seconds before turning and walking out of the conference room, heading back to Ruby's room.
After all of that, she deserved some joy in her life, even if she didn't necessarily know what it was for.
"I need an update, Watts."
Watts scowled at her, though he didn't look up from his laptop. "You can't rush perfection, Cinder. Give me a bit more time."
Cinder couldn't help but sneer at that. Watts wouldn't know perfection if it stabbed him in the back, much as she wanted to. "We don't have a bit more time. It's only a matter of time before your jammer wears off."
"And breathing over my shoulder won't make me work faster. In fact, it does the opposite – your mere presence is distracting, with the sheer annoyance it causes me resulting in even greater delays. Unless you want to to get shot down by an AA battery, I suggest stepping back and letting me work in peace, child."
Cinder resisted the urge to burn him to a crisp; much as she wanted to do exactly that, it wouldn't help with the mission, and Salem would be cross with her if she did it. Instead, she moved over to the cockpit, where Hazel was keeping the airship idling in the sky.
"How's our fuel?"
"Low and dropping," he stated. "We should have enough to get us close to Vale, but we'll have to refuel once we are."
"Good – it's all going according to plan, then. Roman should be ready for us when we arrive."
"What's the deal with this girl, anyway?" Mercury asked from his spot in a nearby seat. "There a reason why Salem is sending everyone out to get her? She can't be that special."
"Salem wants her for a reason, and that's all you need to know," Cinder snapped. "Ever since Watts hacked into Atlas' network and found those files mentioning her, Salem has been focused on recruiting her. Mind your place. If you care that much, you'll wait to see for yourself."
Mercury held up his hands in surrender, though his cocky demeanor never faltered for an instant. A few seats down, Tyrian sat, bouncing his leg up and down in anticipation.
"Oh, how marvelous!" he stated. "Another of the Goddess' most glorious creations, ready to be returned to her! Oh, I can't wait!"
A few seats down, Emerald slowly moved away from him a bit.
There was a chime from Watts' computer, and Cinder looked over to find him wearing a smug grin on his face.
"I'm in," he announced. "Child's play, of course – Pietro always was my inferior when it came to these things. Releasing their knockout gas now."
He hit a key on his computer, which Cinder took as her cue to motion for Hazel to begin moving the airship closer to the facility. After a few seconds, they got into radar and anti-air range… and nothing happened. Cinder couldn't hold back her smirk.
"Mercury, Emerald, you're with me," she announced. She didn't bother issuing commands to Tyrian – he wouldn't have listened to them anyway, and besides that, he already knew what his job was.
Stepping over to the cargo bay door, Cinder pulled her mask over her face, the other three mimicking her. The black balaclava fell over her face, just barely managing to cover her smug smirk. Once it was straightened out, she looked over her troops.
"Let's go."
She pulled a gas mask over top of the balaclava just as the cargo bay doors opened, and the four of them went to work.
When Ruby awoke, it was to a hacking cough. Her eyes shot open as she choked, gasping for air. Tears filled her eyes as she frantically looked around the room, only to find it covered in a sickly yellow haze.
What's happening?!
She tried to rise to her feet, though they were quick to collapse underneath her. Ruby came crashing to the ground, her jaw impacting the steel floor. She tasted blood in her mouth, and had to choke back a sob as the pain came. Her heart was racing, and she remembered from her lessons with Doctor Gray that that was a bad thing, especially when taken in conjunction with the fear that had started to come over her.
Her training came back to her in that instant, and she did as she had been taught, curling up in a ball and trying her best to think happy thoughts. Visions of Doctor Gray and her family filled her head, though they did little to assuage her fear as the haze began to get even more thick, and her strength began to wane even more. Her vision began to swim, and it became harder and harder to focus – more than anything, she just wanted to sleep.
Outside of her room, there was a series of loud bangs and explosions before everything fell silent. The doors suddenly began to open, and Ruby looked over in the hopes that it was someone who had come to help her, hopefully Doctor Gray. However, even through the black creeping up on the corners of her vision, she could tell that he was nowhere to be found – rather, these were three strange people, all dressed in odd, bug-eyed masks that made them look terrifying to her.
Ruby finally lost her fight to stay conscious just as the three of them began to move towards her.
It was a sudden jostle that woke her up. Groaning, Ruby cracked one eye open, only to be greeted with four walls of claustrophobic steel closing in around her. Confused, she blinked, then tried to move her arms, only to find that they refused to budge – they were being held behind her back by something. Now beginning to panic, she tried to open her mouth to scream for help, but someone had placed a piece of tape over it, silencing her.
Heart racing, she thrashed in her restraints, desperately looking around for something that could help. She found nothing – it was as if someone had placed her inside a box and were taking her somewhere, though she had no idea who had taken her or why. All she knew was that this was bad news – in all the years she had known the people at the facility, they had never once treated her like this. Even during her most emotionally volatile moments, they had been nothing but empathetic and careful to her, at least from what she could remember. That told her that whoever had taken her, they didn't have her best interests at heart.
And that absolutely terrified her.
Ruby had spent most of her life inside the facility. It was what she had gotten used to, and this… it was uncertain, to say the least. She had no idea why she had been taken, who had taken her, where they were going, or what had happened to all her friends. With every passing second, her fear continued to grow, and even her happiest thoughts couldn't break through it for much longer. Something began to bubble up inside her, just under the surface – she could feel the pressure in her mind, begging for release. It was like an enormous wave, one that was crashing against the inside of her skull over and over. Her heart pulsed rapidly in her chest, and her breath began to come out ragged. Silently, she began to cry, afraid of what was about to happen yet knowing there was nothing she could do to stop it.
I'm sorry, Doctor Gray! Please forgive me!
That was the last truly coherent thought she had before she felt herself lose control. A quick flex of her arms shattered her restraints like they weren't even there. Her hands now free, Ruby reached up and ripped the tape off her mouth before her hands began to morph. A shout of pain escaped her as her arms, once human albeit stark white and tipped with claws, suddenly began to change. Bone splintered and skin split as they shifted, each movement feeling as if her arm was being torn off until finally, she was left with two giant Ursa paws topped with extra long, razor-sharp claws. Her new claws combined with her enhanced strength tore through the small steel box she was being held in as if it were made of tissue paper, and Ruby stood up, looking around her.
There were people here, though none she recognized – six of them, from the looks of things. They had apparently been in conversation with one another, save for the one man who was behind the control panel of some kind of machine. Each of them froze upon seeing her, though one of them – a dark-haired lady – wasted no time in turning towards another scary-looking man with a scorpion's stinger and beginning to bark orders at him, though Ruby couldn't hear what she said over the blood rushing in her ears. The man smiled in sheer glee before rising to his feet, clearly intent on doing something to bring her to heel. He would never get the chance – Ruby wasted no time in looking around herself, and spying a nearby window, she made her move.
The man went after her, but she was faster, having ended up right next to the window. With barely any effort, Ruby tore through the wall like it wasn't even there, and for the first time, she realized where she was – in an airship, hundreds of feet above the ground. Still, the sudden shock did nothing to give her pause – she had to get away from these people, and nothing would dissuade her from that.
She jumped just as the man reached her, both of them falling out of the airship. Ruby didn't even scream on the way down, her emotions – fear included – having been buried underneath a sudden wave of sheer survival instinct. She fell through the air, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the scary man right next to her, flailing as he tried to orient himself for a controlled landing of some kind. Somehow, she knew that this fall wouldn't be enough to take him out of commission, though she had no bets on herself being spared in the same way.
A solution presented itself from the back of her mind, as if she hadn't even needed to think about it. Ruby closed her eyes and focused, and that was when the pain came – twin bolts of lightning arcing across her back, sending waves of sheer agony rippling through her body. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, inaudible over the wind rushing all around her, as her skin began to churn. Out of her back, two feathered wings suddenly sprang forth, each one dark as night. Black blood poured from them, and she grit her teeth to hold back any further screaming, instead focusing on getting away.
Again, the answer came to her from the back of her mind, as if it had always been there. She wasn't sure how she did it, but her new wings started to move, carrying her through the air and away from the scary man. She wasn't exactly flying just yet, but she was gliding, and that was more than enough. It didn't take long before she was moving away from him – a few meters at first, then ten, then twenty, and then too many for her to count. Beneath her, the endless green trees steadily started to give way to different colors – yellow, red, and brown. It was just in time too, as Ruby was starting to feel her strength and resolve begin to wane. She lowered herself down to the ground slowly, her new wings continuing to pulse with pain with every movement, until finally her feet touched the ground.
Ruby collapsed then, landing in a big heap. That was when the changes started once more, but in reverse this time, and unfortunately for her, all at once. The previous pain had been excruciating, but this was nothing short of sheer agony. Ruby screamed as she felt her entire body began to shift once more, her arms and torso changing in tandem with each other. Again, sickly black blood poured from her as her wings and claws began to retract into her body, punctuated by the snapping of bone and the tearing and re-sealing of flesh. The entire process took only a few seconds to complete, but for Ruby, it felt like an eternity. When it was finally over, Ruby did the one thing she could do.
She curled up in a little ball and began to loudly cry.
It was all too much for her. She had been stolen from her home, forced to confront her captors, and let her other side take over against her friend's orders. She didn't know where she was, she was alone, and her entire body was throbbing in intense pain.
Ruby wanted to go home. She wanted to see her family and her friends at the facility again. She wanted to close her eyes and wake up in her bed, though she knew that wasn't about to happen.
With a final sniffle, she struggled to her feet, wiping her face on the back of her hand. A few last sobs left her, but she did her best to stifle them – she had something she needed to do.
"Y-you've got to get home, Ruby..." she muttered to herself. "Y-you can do this… time to be a big girl, like Yang."
That thought gave her strength. Yang had always been her biggest role model, and now was her time to live up to her big sister's example. All she had to do was make it into town, then find some way to contact her loved ones.
...Which was easier said than done, given that she had no way of contacting them, and no idea how to reach any of them. Moreover, she would be breaking the second biggest rule, that being letting anyone else see her outside of the facility. Doctor Gray had warned her that people would hate her and try to hurt her purely because of the way she looked, and that she couldn't trust any of them… but what choice did she have? She was alone and nobody knew where she was, save for the people who had taken her in the first place.
Ruby bit her lip as she tried to think of what to do. Ultimately, it wasn't a hard choice – between revealing herself to other people and being stuck in that box again, she knew which she preferred.
"Okay..." she muttered. "Okay… time to find some help, then."
Taking a deep breath, Ruby set off in a random direction, walking through the forest she had found herself in. She had no idea where she had ended up or where she was going, but finding her way couldn't be too hard, could it? The characters in the books Doctor Gray liked to give her always found their way somehow, so she would do the same thing.
Naturally, it only took a few minutes before she was hopelessly lost, the clearing she had found herself in disappearing into an endless sea of autumn leaves. The thought was concerning, but it was buried underneath something else: sheer wonder.
The snow a few months ago had been pretty, but these trees… they were beautiful. Ruby had read about autumn and seen pictures of it, but she had never had a chance to experience it for herself. Everything about it was intoxicating – the colors of the plants, the sounds of insects and small animals moving through the underbrush, the scent of nearby flowers… it was nothing less than absolutely breathtaking.
And in an instant, it was all shattered by a tall, dark form slinking out of the foliage and into her path.
Ruby immediately froze, her eyes widening as she took stock of the creature in front of her. She knew what it was from descriptions in her story books – it was a Grimm, specifically a Beowolf.
It was also almost as scary as the man she had just escaped from not too long ago.
The Grimm turned to her, and Ruby felt her heart begin to hammer against her ribcage. The Beowolf's eyes narrowed as it spotted her, and Ruby wasted no time in taking off running. A howl erupted from the creature, joined seconds later by a several other all around her. Ruby did her best to pay it no mind as she sprinted through the underbrush, desperate to get away, but it was futile – she could hear the Grimm pursuing her, just a few meters behind.
Again, tears came to her eyes as she ran, desperate to get away. But it was no use – the Grimm was gaining on her, and not only that, but it was being joined by others. She could hear them multiplying behind her – first two, then four, and finally eight. Worse, she could feel herself running out of stamina, while the Grimm were unperturbed.
After several minutes of running, it was over. One of the Grimm swiped at her with its claws, and Ruby felt it tear right through the back of her sleepwear, scoring several gouges on her back. The hit sent her sprawling, and she landed in a heap on the ground. Again, the tears came, as much out of fear as they were out of pain. The Grimm began to close in on her slowly, savoring the impending kill. One of them dropped down, intending to lunge at her, and Ruby screamed.
"Someone, please help me!"
The Grimm pounced, and Ruby closed her eyes, expecting the end… but it never came. Instead, there was an ear-piercing bang that made her wince, followed by the sound of something hitting the ground in a heap. Tentatively opening her eyes, Ruby found that the Beowolf that had leaped at her was on the ground, lying on its side, with a big hole bored through one of its eyes. It wasn't moving, and after a moment, it began to smoke before dissipating.
Surprised, Ruby looked around, searching for what had saved her. She got her answer in the form of another bang, followed by another dead Beowolf. Before Ruby could wonder any further about what was happening, another Grimm leaped at her, though it was cut off by a dark figure leaping out of the trees, then intercepting its incoming leap with a slash of her sword. The Grimm fell in two halves, clearly dead.
For the first time, Ruby laid eyes on her savior. She wasn't anyone Ruby recognized – a teenager, maybe sixteen years old, dressed in black and white, and armed with a mecha-shift weapon of some kind. The most striking features about her were her amber eyes that seemed to glint in the sunlight, and the cat ears that stood atop her head.
Ruby didn't have long to stare at her before the remaining Grimm made their move. Ruby's eyes widened as two approached her from either side.
"Look out!"
But the girl in black was unperturbed. She simply stood there, waiting for the Grimm to make their move, and they did – both of them ran at her, swiping at her, their claws tearing through her with no effort. Ruby screamed… but her reaction was unfounded, as the girl simply faded into smoke. Ruby blinked, and then the girl was back, plunging her blade through the closest Grimm's head, killing it instantly. She withdrew her sword from the fallen Beowolf, then angled the gun towards the next one, firing off several shots directly into its face that brought it down with barely any effort.
And she wasn't done. Apparently having gotten tired of waiting for the other Grimm to make their move, she instead went on the offensive. Ruby watched in awe as her savior moved, every action seeming to be almost effortless as she cleaved through the remaining Grimm with ease. It was over in a matter of seconds, and when it was, the only two survivors were her and Ruby.
The girl looked around to confirm that the Grimm were all dead before turning to Ruby, a concerned look on her face.
"Are you hurt?" she asked.
It was then that Ruby realized something important: this girl had seen her outside the facility. Part of her wanted to run away, but she knew it was too late for that – she had already been seen… and curiously, the girl didn't seem to care at all.
But why? I thought everyone would hate me because I'm special compared to them. That's what all my friends and family said, anyway.
"Hey," the girl said, shaking Ruby out of her thoughts. "Is everything all right?"
"Ah! Y-yes..." Ruby said softly. "T-thanks for saving me..."
The girl's expression softened. "What's your name?" she asked.
"R-Ruby, Ruby Rose…"
"Ruby Rose," she repeated. "I'm Blake Belladonna. It's nice to meet you."
"N-nice to meet you, Blake..."
"Now, I need you to answer me, okay? Can you do that?" Ruby nodded. "Good. Did those Grimm hurt you at all?"
"Y-yes, but I think it's okay now..."
Blake raised an eyebrow at that, and Ruby turned to show her back. She could tell that the back of her shirt had been shredded, but that was the only evidence she had ever been attacked – her wounds had already scabbed over, and were starting to heal.
"I see," Blake said. "I take it that's your aura at work, then?"
"Aura?" Ruby asked.
Blake seemed surprised to hear that. "...You don't have aura?" Ruby shook her head, and Blake frowned. "You shouldn't be out here, then. It's very dangerous if you don't have aura, Ruby."
"I know, b-but I didn't have a choice! I had to get away…"
"Get away?"
She nodded. "Y-yeah. These people took me from my home. I managed to escape, but I ended up here, 'cuz I jumped out of their airship."
"You jumped out of an airship without aura? How did you manage to get down?"
This time, Ruby stayed silent. Doctor Gray had told her that she was never to reveal the full extent of her abilities without his approval, and she intended to stick to that unless she absolutely needed to. As far as she could tell, this situation didn't call for it, and so her lips were sealed.
Blake seemed slightly perturbed by her silence, but chose not to press further. "Well, you can't stay here," she declared. "It's not safe."
"I know. I have to contact my family and friends. Do you have a scroll on you?"
"No, unfortunately – my scroll is… broken."
"Broken?"
"Yes. Not too long ago, I had a fight with a friend – a former friend now – and it broke. I've been here for a week or so, living off the land while I tried to figure things out."
"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that."
Blake waved her off. "It's not a problem anymore. Anyway, I think we should head for the nearest town."
Ruby hesitated, biting her lip before shaking her head. Blake frowned. "Something the matter?"
"I can't… um… be seen around people," Ruby said.
"What?"
"Yeah… Doctor Gray said that they'd mistreat me 'cuz of the way I look."
"What's wrong with the way you look?"
"I'm… different compared to other people."
"I am too," Blake said, pointing to the ears on top of her head for emphasis. "But there's nothing wrong with either of us being a Faunus, Ruby."
"I know – some of my friends back at the facility were Faunus. But… I'm too different."
"Wait, hold up – facility?" Ruby nodded. "What does that mean?"
"It's where I was living," Ruby explained. "They had me in my own special room so they could try and research me – they said that I had a condition of some kind."
"...Where was this facility?" Blake asked, horror creeping into her voice for some reason that Ruby couldn't make sense of.
Ruby shrugged. "Dunno. Somewhere in Atlas-"
"Oh, I see." Blake huffed, irritated. "Say no more; I get it now."
Ruby blinked, confused, but if Blake said she got it, then she saw no reason not to question further. "So, I can't go into town. I mean, I kind of have to, but-"
"Ruby, you can go into town if you want to. Atlas isn't here to tell you what to do anymore. You're your own person."
Again, Ruby chewed on her lip before shaking her head. "...Don't think that'd be a good idea," she said softly. "And not just 'cuz I'm different… I'm not good with people."
"But you need to contact your family. How will you do that if you can't go into town?"
Ruby was silent, uncertain how to answer that question. Finally, Blake sighed. "Look, we'll figure something out – maybe we can find some way to cover you up so you're more comfortable. Besides, those nightclothes you're wearing will need to be replaced at some point – the shirt's torn in the back, and they won't do much to help you against the elements."
"Elements?"
"The weather."
"Oh."
"Anyway, the biggest thing is that you can't stay here, not when there are Grimm and that man looking for you, plus whoever was in the airship."
"I know… but I don't know where else to go."
"That's okay, because you know what? I don't know where to go, either. We're in the same boat, Ruby. I say we stick together for now, until we figure something out."
That made Ruby perk up. "...You wanna be friends?"
A thin smile crossed Blake's face. "Of course. You seem like-"
Ruby didn't give her a chance to finish before darting forward and pulling her into a bone-crushing hug. Blake had the wind completely knocked out of her, but Ruby didn't notice through the big grin on her face.
"OhmiGodsI'mfinallyfriendswithanothergirlmyagebesidesYangthisissoniceIcan'tbelieve-"
"Ruby…!" Blake gasped out. "Can't… breathe..."
Ruby instantly let go of her, though her smile never faded. "We're friends now, Blake!"
"Yes… we are..." Blake said between gasps of air. "You're strong… what kind of Faunus are you, anyway? I've never known any of them to be as strong as you are without aura."
"I dunno. But still, friends!"
"Yes, friends." Blake finished catching her breath, finally returning Ruby's grin with one of her own. "Come on, let's get out of this forest before more Grimm show up."
She motioned for Ruby to follow, and she did. Together, the two of them set off through the forest, neither one expecting for a moment that their new companion was far more than they initially expected.
"Casualty report, Staff Sergeant."
"Unknown, sir," Baird replied. "Most of the initial force was wiped out by the knockout gas before they had a chance to get their masks on. They were lucky – whoever was attacking decided to spare them in favor of focusing on the ones who were actually fighting back."
Ironwood scowled. "They knew what they were after."
"Unfortunately. We have no idea where they went with her, either. The camera footage was all deleted soon after the attack was over."
"Then we're stuck. Great."
"As bad as that sounds, that's not the worst of it, sir."
"More bad news… what is it?"
"We lost several members of the research team during the attack. Doctor Gray was among them."
Instantly, Ironwood froze. Gray had been the closest one to Ruby out of all of them. If she ever figured out that he was dead before they got a chance to contain her…
"Staff Sergeant, I'm giving you a new mission," he said, without hesitation.
"Sir," Baird said, standing up straighter.
"As of now, you're the head of a new task force. I want you to start picking Specialists from among the survivors and forming four-man teams with them. They will be deployed to every major city on Remnant."
Recognition flashed across Baird's face. "Nonlethal only, sir?"
"...You are authorized to use lethal force if necessary," Ironwood said, though it was with great reluctance. "Bring her home if you can. But if you can't..."
Slowly, Baird nodded. "I understand. Sir, I have to ask – has her family been-"
"No, but only because I don't know how to tell them yet, and because we're still picking up the pieces. You know them – the instant they find out she's loose, they'll drop everything to try and find her. And as useful as I think that would be, the only subtle one out of the three of them is Qrow, and unfortunately, this kind of situation requires subtlety. The last thing I want is for news about what Ruby really is to leak out."
Again, Baird nodded. "And the people who took her?"
"They are not a priority compared to getting Ruby back. If killing them is what it takes to contain her, then do it. If you can take them alive, then fine, but don't consider it a primary objective compared to retrieving Ruby."
"I understand."
"Good. Now go."
Baird snapped a salute before turning on his heel and walking off. Ironwood waited until he was out of earshot before sighing.
The Queen was obviously making her moves again, and worse than that, he had no idea how to respond without dragging all of Remnant into it.
Hello again, everyone. I am back with this thing, which I have to mention, is not a full-length fic. In fact, odds are that you'll never see me touch this prompt again.
"So, what's the deal, then?" you're probably wondering.
Well, I'm so glad you asked. To put it simply, this isn't a story – it's more a repository for any stray ideas I've had pop into my head ever since I started writing for RWBY. I'm uploading them for a variety of reasons – the first is, as stated in the description, so that maybe one of you will see these little one-shots, get inspired to do something with them, and make something more out of them. On that note, you should consider every single entry in this little anthology as being up for adoption. If you want to do something with any of these stories, they're yours. Whether it's completely picking up where I left off or just using them as a starting point for your own ideas, feel free to take whatever you want from them, because Lord knows I won't be doing anything with these.
Anyway, now that I've explained how this "story" is going to work as a whole, I'd like to talk a bit more about this prompt in particular. This is something I'll probably be doing with everything I write here, just to give you all an idea of where my head was at when I was writing it and hopefully help give some additional inspiration.
Right, so the key element here is that this is a heavy AU, featuring a Grimm!Ruby. I wanted to do something different from most Grimm!Ruby stories I've read, so for this one, I ended up really turning Ruby on her head. She's far more Grimm-like than human-like in terms of sheer abilities and instincts, but there's still a part of her that's distinctly Ruby. As you would all find out later, that's entirely due to her silver eyes – early on it's mentioned that her eyes are completely Grimm-like save for a small silver ring around her irises, and it turns out that's the part of her that keeps her from going full Grimm all the time. She still has shades of it, though – whenever her negative emotions get too overpowering, her Grimm side comes out. Her instincts take over, and she becomes more drawn to the negative emotions of others. If her emotions become too out of control, she goes completely berserk until she manages to get them under control, or until someone manages to knock her out.
You're probably wondering about why she is this way in the first place, so here it is – very early on during her pregnancy, like VERY early on, as in before she even knew she was pregnant, Summer was tasked with tracking down Dr. Merlot. She found his lab, but in the process of clearing it out, she was exposed to Grimm essence from his experiments. This basically completely contaminated Ruby, and if it weren't for her silver eyes, she would have been entirely corrupted, coming out like a more bestial version of Salem. As it is now, her eyes saved her, and she came out as what I call a Therion – a new type of Grimm that has the ability to basically shift and morph its body into other Grimm. She displays this power a bit here, forming Ursa claws and Nevermore wings, but as the story progressed, she would gradually get more abilities as she figured out how to harness her Grimm side without losing control.
As for the plot itself, I can say that I never intended for Beacon to ever be a part of it, or at least a major part of it. For the early part of the story, it would mainly be Ruby and Blake wandering around, trying to find some way to contact Ruby's family. They would fail at that, because Ruby doesn't have the slightest clue how to find them; instead, they end up in a small town, where they do odd jobs to survive. While there, they meet Jaune, who's on his way to Vale to try and get into Beacon. At the same time, Cinder's group and Ironwood's retrieval teams are closing in. The first arc would basically end with a big showdown between all three groups, where Blake and Jaune try to protect Ruby from both sides (Cinder's side for obvious reasons; Ironwood's side because Blake is convinced that they were experimenting on and mistreating Ruby, who Blake thinks is just a very unique kind of Faunus rather than a Grimm) and which ends because Ruby manifests enough of her power to end the fighting then and there. From there… well, that's all I had.
Yeah, there's a reason I dropped this one – I thought it was a cool idea, but I had absolutely no idea where to take it past that point. That and it seemed like with the way everything was set up, I'd be biting off way more than I could chew. Plus, I already had a long-running story in mind that I actually wanted to write more (which ended up being The Seventh Circle). All told, this one got put on the backburner before being completely mothballed in favor of other stories that seemed like they'd be easier to write.
I still think this story has a lot of potential, particularly with regards to Ruby's Grimm side, her unique origin story, and the interactions between her, Blake, and Jaune. I just don't think the story as I set it up could really work, though. Maybe it will inspire one of you to write your own take on a Grimm!Ruby story – at this point, I think that's about as much as I can ask for from it. I'd be more than happy knowing that it was able to inspire someone else.
Anyway, before I go, I'd like to make a brief note on the other prompts you can expect to see here. Basically, I'll be depositing any RWBY-related stories here that I like enough to try and explore a bit, but don't think I'll ever be able to fully flesh out for some reason. They can be anything, really – any genre, any kind of AU, any pairing I want to explore, crossovers… you name it, and I'll likely put it here. My main goal here is to sort of share what I've got in the hopes that it will inspire others, and also to maybe get some additional writing practice out of it.
Oh, and a note on the name – these are one-SHOTS, therefore they're to be taken straight, with no chaser (hence the title.) That is, unless someone comes along with a chaser, in which case...
One last thing: If you're coming here from The Seventh Circle, first of all, welcome. Second of all, I hope I've done an okay job of showing you exactly what this is, and how it's not something that can replace TSC. Like I said in the author's note for chapter 20 of that fic, this is something that will be worked on intermittently, as a way to give away some ideas and get some additional writing practice. TSC will continue to be worked on regardless of the state this fic is in.
