"How did it come to this?" Pyrrha wondered aloud as her chest felt hollow. Ruby overhearing them and being abandoned as she had explained this newer, colder version of herself, and she could help but fixate on fact that she and the rest of her team were part of the issue. Admittedly, she realized she'd held Ruby to unrealistic standards, even for a prodigy such as herself. She expected someone perfect out of her when that just didn't exist, and it was admittedly uncalled for to judge her unarmed skills so heavily, especially when none of them ever even bothered to offer her any help in that department... especially when she had asked for such on numerous occasions.
Well, she supposed they all got what they wanted. Ruby was quiet and reserved, never wasting her voice or approaching someone unless actually needed, addressing the issues both Blake and Weiss had with her. The fruits of her lone labor had made her stronger, faster, and smarter by no small margin, and she was finally developing in unarmed combat as evident in the sparring matches a few days prior... on top of that, she'd proved that she was more than capable without Crescent Rose, proving herself, Nora and Ren all wrong. Her peppy, upbeat attitude had vanished. All that positivity and light buried beneath this new colder, icier, more professional front, solving the occasional problem Jaune had with her. Finally, she'd proven she belonged here more than any of them both in the arena and in the classroom, and no longer bothered her sister with... anything, for that matter, effectively putting an end to the problem Yang had made seemingly so may years ago.
And yet, despite all of them getting exactly what they wanted, none of them could help but want the old Ruby back. Even if they had some problems with her, her positive traits had easily eclipsed them... traits they should've focused on instead of badmouthing her. She was a ray of sunshine, embodied hope, purity, kindness, nobility, honor, selflessness... she was the idealistic embodiment of every virtue they upheld as Hunters. But that girl was gone now, smothered by their own hands. Now whatever light she once shone upon them had been buried, leaving nothing more than a cold, quiet professional behind. They all missed that warmth, the aura of kindness and cheer she used to radiate. They missed the adorable chatterbox that brightened their days here, that encouraged them to be better and was always willing to help no matter what... now she just seemed apathetic and cold, something that was far more terrifying than even the most monstrous Grimm. Not only that, but she also no longer shied away from subjecting those who'd wronged her to her wrath or putting her subordinates in their place if they stepped out of line, evident by how Ruby nearly bisected Blake a mere day ago.
"I just wish she'd listen to us... our apologies are genuine, why can't she just forgive us?!" Weiss cried into her hands, feeling Pyrrha pat her back a few times while the redhead just sighed.
"People like her, they trust and love easily... but when they're betrayed, they hurt far worse than anyone else. They won't trust or love again, not easily, and they won't forgive for a long time..." Pyrrha tried to explain, drawing an agreeing nod from Ren, who had returned with a more mellowed out Nora some time ago.
"I'm familiar with what she's doing... it's a front to protect herself before all else. A wall. Make no mistake, she may put on a strong, uncaring face, but I guarantee that inside she's crying under the shadows of the very walls she erected to protect herself... she's still trying to find a way to cope with her suffering." Ren theorized, scratching his chin as if on deep thought, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
"You think the Ruby we all know and want back is still in there?" Weiss's voice was laced with desperation, though it only drew an uncertain shrug out of the boy.
"Maybe, maybe not. Whenever those walls come down, she may re-emerge changed... different. This form of trauma is hard upon a person, and I have a feeling that our situation is hardly the only trauma she's enduring right now."
"Wait... what do you mean by that, Ren?" Blake asked, perking up slightly with the blonde above her.
"Well, think about it," Jaune began, placing a hand on her knee as he leaned forward in his seat. "She disappeared in the dead of night last night and refuses to speak of what transpired, probably on some secret mission authorized that was authorized by Ozpin since she was exempted from classes, and today she departed on another task presumably for him again that'll have her missing for up to a week, possibly even longer... you really think this won't be secretive as well?"
"What's that have to do with her suffering from different trauma though?"
"You really think Ozpin would keep these things secret if they weren't dangerous or potentially scarring?" Pyrrha backed him, drawing attention to herself. "Ruby is probably seeing things we won't see for years or will never see ourselves. None of us know for sure, obviously, but she may well be seeing things that could haunt and scar her for life... she may even be having to endure hardship beyond any of our imagination. We can only speculate, but I'd imagine none of them would be so tight-lipped about it all if it were anything not completely serious."
They grimaced at such, having not considered such a possibility. Of course, it was all speculation, but they wouldn't put it out of the realm of possibility... especially given her notably quiet elevation to fully certified Huntress Status.
The fact that Ruby didn't even say anything about it said much on its own, but that didn't mean they hadn't noticed. They checked the Beacon leaderboards for their year often, specifically for their own profiles and ranking. Not only had Ruby taken 1st place for their year, but her profile status also denoted her to be fully certified as a Huntress, just not graduated yet... making her the youngest fully certified huntress in history at just under sixteen years old. They almost wanted to feel envious, but couldn't help but feel bad for her, as she'd been fast-tracked into a position of higher responsibility and expectations than any of her peers. It only meant that her time as an innocent schoolgirl and huntress trainee had been cut so short, and that whatever carefree school life they would lead for the next couple years, she'd never have despite being younger than all of them.
Her status only gave credence to the speculation of her activities, especially given she was given S Class ranking as well. Most Academy Graduates came out as C Class, the best of them B Class and the best of the best A Class... but S Class was almost unheard of. The only others they were aware of that had such classification upon graduation off the top of their heads were Glynda Goodwitch, Ozpin, and Summer Rose, according to both Yang and Ruby. Only the most elite could attain such ranking, and while Ruby was certainly a prodigy without doubt, everyone knew she was no S Class, not yet.
Regardless of whether she was actually worthy of S Class ranking or not, Hunters of such high profile were not used lightly, and Ozpin specifically had a reputation to use them more sparingly than others of his position. Whatever she was assigned with was something big, and it was no surprise as to why this was terrifying to them if on part of their concern for Ruby. What made it even more terrifying was the fact that they knew absolutely nothing about it. Coupled with the both quiet and complete lack of elaboration or explanation as to why she was promoted, it was difficult not to be worried.
"Well... no matter what, even if she no longer cares for our friendship, we would be fools to not at least support her... if only for her sake. There's obviously way more going on than we're seeing, and I doubt either Ruby nor Ozpin is going to open up about anything... perhaps Vice Headmistress Goodwitch, though?" Pyrrha reasoned, eliciting an upset humph from Yang, who finally pushed herself up and out of her pillow.
"Unlikely. Among the nine others new friends she's apparently made that we met at the Altyn, Miss Goodwitch was among them, and from what Velvet apparently overheard while passing her office the other day, those two are on a first name basis now." Yang murmured with an almost disbelieving tone, bringing forth equally unbelieving looks from all in the room.
"Impossible... Miss Goodwitch? Casual? You do realize just how little sense that makes, don't you?" Jaune grumbled in exasperation, crossing his arms as he contemplated this.
"Regardless, we'll get the full picture someday, I imagine... but that day is not today. I don't like being so in the dark any more than anyone else here, but there's nothing we can do to get a better picture of the situation here without risking worsening our already compromised relationship with her. All we can do if we want to regain her trust and friendship some day is support her, even if we have no idea what she's doing." Surprisingly enough, Weiss was the one to make such a declaration, and though scathing, all present reluctantly agreed. By this point they didn't care what deeds she did in shadows, regaining the friend they had lost was more important than whatever she was doing.
"How do we even go about repairing this kind of damage? It's not like she's giving us much of a chance to make amends."
"Not much more we can do other than offer her inclusion and support unlike we've been doing of late... given none of us even congratulated her for her recent victories, we should probably start there." Weiss began, shocking everyone with the realization. "There isn't any way we're going to brute force our way through this and make it work. She's hurt, and forgiveness, like Pyrrha said, will not come quickly or easily. It may take weeks, or months, or she may never forgive us... but I for one am not giving up on her."
The statement was met with collective agreement and approval. They all knew that this wound would not heal swiftly, and time would be one of the most important factors to healing this... that didn't make it hurt any less, though...
"That was incredible!" Was the first of much praise she'd received from this fireteam, all of them sprinting up to greet her properly. She just basked in the praise and glory of the kill for a moment, before sauntering forth to meet them halfway. The group was somewhat hodgepodge, being 3 faunas and five humans but none of them looking as if they'd hold any real affiliation with the other if by appearance alone. As they surrounded her and continued to shout their praise, Ruby took in each one's appearance, filing it away among other mental notes she'd made.
The leader of the group was a Raccoon Faunas, a fairly common sub-species within certain regions, but Vacuo was not one of them. She wore a black dress that ended similar to her old combat outfit midway down the thighs, if notably less poofy, and the lining was a cream color, as well as the frills and sleeves. She wore a crimson corset with black strings and gold lining that sat just above a brown leather belt and below a steel breastplate. Over her right shoulder, she wore a steel pauldron that was absent from the left, however she still made use of leather gauntlets lined in white fur and plated in similar steel over both hands. Brown segmented thigh-boots that ended a few inches below her skirt, and the knee, shin and top of the feet were all guarded with steel plates were her choice of footwear. Finally, she sported long brown hair and blue eyes with fair skin complexion, and her obvious Faunas traits were her ears and tail. She seemed to favor a longsword and a large caliber handgun. Her name was Riley Manda, as Ruby recalled from the intelligence report, and she stood about Belladonna's height.
Second was her second in command, or what would've been the other team leader within the fireteam, Cato Aurelian. A human duelist who donned full steel plate armor over a powered frame. His armor seemed to be modeled after late medieval age plate, although with some additional flare in the scene of a crimson cloak with a golden trim that only ran midway down his torso and was layered under his pauldrons. The black hood he normally wore over his helmet, and today was no exception. The coloration of his armor was black, gilded in gold. Aside from his armor, he was a tall man, although nothing compared to Artyom, standing just about at Yatsu's height, and sported choppy black hair, brown eyes, and somewhat tanned complexion. He wielded a blade notably larger than Riley's, but unlike her he used this one with a single hand without difficulty, and his offhand was free, instead incorporating a twin-barreled firearm over his left wrist that was fed into by two parallel cylinders... it looked cumbersome, in Ruby's honest opinion. The last interesting thing about him was that it was his semblance which she copied.
Third was a curious sort. A human female about her size and build named Calisse Flander, who used wore an outfit similar to Xiao Long's, except her top sported coattails and she seemed to use a camisole underneath as opposed to Yang's tube top. Otherwise, their outfits were basically the same save for a color difference of brown to black and yellow to blue... oh, she also didn't use a scarf. Little details, and all. Finally, her waist-length hair was ash blonde, skin pale, and her eyes a sort of vibrant green. The most striking thing about her, however, was her choice in weapons, a pair of gauntlets and greaves named "Urizen."
She'd read the official reports on this weapon but was much more interested in the lore behind it that Spec Ops had compiled over the centuries. These weapons were magical in nature, the essence of a slain Grimm Lord given form as weapons. Grimm Lords were powerful abominations hand-crafted by Salem and imbued with centuries' worth of magical power, and supposedly nothing short of a fully-fledged and fully trained Maiden or Silver Eyed Warrior could rival one, such as the case with this one. They were highly intelligent, capable of learning whole new languages by hearing naught but a few words and nearly invulnerable in durability on top of neigh unstoppable physical power... and of course, they could use a wide array of magics. Urizen was the last known Grimm Lord to ever be created, and when he was defeated a thousand years ago by the Summer Maiden Matilda Cairn, Calisse's ancient ancestor, his essence and power took the form of gauntlets and greaves that have been passed down from generation to generation. The Gauntlets and Greaves looked like a combination of black layered plate armor and scales, looking like something belonging to some sort of knight from hell rather than a Grimm or normal plate armor, and upon the back of the hands rested a single baleful eye each, which apparently changed color to that of whoever used these weapons. Anyone who used these weapons held a stranglehold over gravity itself, and it greatly augmented their raw strength while in use.
Urizen was a powerful weapon, one she fully intended to return to the Dark Reliquary should she have to kill Calisse. It was where every other weapon of such nature was stored, waiting for the day when their power would be needed once again... she did however hope that it wouldn't come to that. Nevertheless, the girl used the weapons to her fullest ability, although her semblance did somewhat restrict her in this as it did not allow her much help in the dynamic movement department. By all means, invisibility was a powerful semblance... it's just that for a boxing or MMA sort of fighting style, it was somewhat limited in its usefulness.
Moving on from Calisse, Otto Redman was next, a Rat Faunas with the usual tail and ears. He was skinny, not much taller than her, and dressed almost akin to an Atlas Scientist, although he did sport some steel plates over his shins, forearms and shoulders. he had short white hair, blue eyes, and caried some sort of spear with an integrated plasma caster that wasn't collapsible, and a plasma pistol on his hip failing that. Intelligence reported that he was the brains of their operations and was very good at upgrading arms and armor as well as detective work. Particularly, he was considered a major risk if he actually found any clues hinting to Salem's existence and was to be dealt with appropriately given proper circumstances.
Then there was Nero Moriah, a human who'd lost his right arm in his junior year to a powerful Grimm and was never avenged. He now utilized a cybernetic arm but concealed it under his sleeve and a white glove. He sported an ocean blue coat similar to her own, but notably darker and made from what appeared to be canvas or some other material. Behind that, he wore a grey shirt, worn denim jeans, and black combat boots. He had short auburn hair, green eyes, a fair complexion and a faint scar running horizontally across his left cheekbone. Intelligence suggested he used a revolver and a Greatsword imbued with fire dust, which he could see the former resting upon his hip and the latter sheathed across his back. He made up the final member of the leading team, team RCON (Recon).
The partner of Cato was one Amelia Freeman, an Eagle Faunas with blonde hair that would give Xiao Long's a run for her money and had a similar build curvature-wise. She wore a skintight black jumpsuit, brown leather boots, a lighter brown windbreaker and a deep red scarf. Her weapon was similar to Crescent Rose, only instead of a scythe it expanded into a spear. Finally, she had pale complexion and lilac eyes, although thankfully on a facial level she was very different from her half-sister despite the many physical similarities.
Following was Mars Selion, a tall, dark-skinned man who fancied himself a sort of heavy weapons specialist. While doubtless no match for Artyom in brawn, size and skill, he made use of a Gatling cannon that made Coco's seem small in comparison, looking to chamber the same .50 BMG that Crescent Rose utilized, and it employed a hardlight dust gun shield just before where the barrels protruded, protecting both the user and the steel-encased chain of bullets that fed into the weapon from his armored backpack. He seemed to be utilizing a similar powered frame to Cato's, except his armor looked mostly modern in aesthetics, and took up a forest green primary color, black pauldrons, and a golden trim.
Lastly was Olivia Juarez, a more caramel colored girl who was maybe an inch or two taller than herself who sported black hair that ran about shoulder length and brown eyes. Her outfit was arguably the most simplistic, if out of place. A white sundress and a black poncho, white and black heeled boots, and she dual wielded twin revolvers, each rather ornate, and a bull whip. It was a bizarre mixture that she herself didn't quite understand the appeal of, but she supposed it was at least comfortable. Olivia was the last member of team CAMO, which sounded exactly as it was spelled.
They were a hodgepodge group in her honest opinion, but their service records listed them all as A Class Hunters, each with a distinguished track record unto themselves. As far as ranking went, these eight were scaled to be of a high A to low S Class ranking collectively, telling her plenty about how well they worked together. An effective group, unhindered by petty infighting and frivolous issues, something she was envious of when it came to comparison with her own team. She imagined her team's ranking would skyrocket if they'd give her the time of day and change the thought process of it being 4 individuals to being 1 team... although she supposed that such a concept must've been foreign to hunters who'd never seen any real action or taken any lives.
As the hail of praise gradually slowed, Ruby simply raised a hand as if to call for quiet in a respectful manner. Though it took a moment for the noise to cease, it gradually came to a close as Ruby looked about once more, relaxing her posture and easing out a very slight smirk. Resting a hand over the pommel of her blade, Ruby met their gaze in turn before speaking.
"I suppose it goes without saying that introductions are in order, no?" Ruby began, drawing mildly excited nods and expressions from all present, as if they were kids and the newest, coolest toy on the block had just presented itself. "I am Sophia Noire, graduate from last year's Senior class out of Beacon Academy, I've finally been given marching orders in assignment here. I have been briefed on all present before me now, but I do believe introductions are prudent nonetheless."
The word choice and false accent felt foreign in her mouth, but she ignored it in favor of carrying on as if naturally and turning her gaze up to meet that of the group's leader as she made herself known. "Hiya, Sophia! It's nice to meet you, but we hadn't received word of a new member?" Riley spoke, extending a hand for Sophia to shake with a friendly tone. "Nevertheless, I'm Riley Manda, leader of Fireteam Xray, and leader of Team RCON. My team is made up of myself, Calisse, Otto and Nero."
She gestured to each member as she spoke, before stepping aside to let Cato through. He lifted his visor as he approached, extending a hand for her to take in an almost courting manner as soon as she finished with Riley's handshake. Curiously, she accepted the offer and was surprised as he planted a kiss upon the back of her hand. "Oh, he's a flirt. Great."
"Cato Aurelian, Mi'lady, I lead the esteemed Team CAMO, graduate of Shade three years ago myself. I must say, it is truly a blessing to greet such divine personage such as yourself, and what beautiful coincidence that our semblances align so perfectly with one another?" His tone was dripping with flirtatious tone as he rose up from his kneeling posture, making Sophia force herself to suppress an exhausted eyeroll. Others flirting with her was foreign, to say the least, but she had a job to do right now, and didn't wish to waste any time with something so frivolous... didn't stop a slight blush from forming, but that was well beyond anything she could control.
"Keep it in your pants, Aurelian, else I'll need send you to horny jail. Again." Calisse groaned, while a muted chuckle erupted from the back of the group, elements of his own team and the others of her own. After withdrawing her hand, Sophia rolled her shoulders slowly, garnering a collection of cascading pops from each and a low grunt from herself as well. Using this new semblance on full blast as she had, and so soon no less, was incredibly taxing, leaving her both depleted on aura and both physically sore and stiff. Still, her display of power was absolute, and she'd be damned if she let any signs of weakness or sluggishness show.
"How cold of you, Cali! Nevertheless, my team is composed of the most Majestic Amelia Freeman, the Indomitable Mars Selion, and the ever-graceful Olivia Juarez." Cato finished with his side of introductions, introducing his team with far more grandiose and flare than Riley had her own, as if attempting to impress her... or perhaps this was how he always acted? Spec Ops hadn't bothered to do much in-depth character analysis of these individuals, so she really had no idea, although if Calisse's statement were anything to go by, she believed it would be safe to view him as a natural flirt who likely wouldn't hold back. Given she was in all reality eight years younger than him, she knew well enough not to humor his advances, not that he was supposed to know this little detail. After all, as far as her alias went, she was 21, approaching 22 and her makeup only helped to disguise her true age better on top of a rather mature look and outfit, so she couldn't quite find it in herself to fault him for trying his luck despite the fact that she was still about a month from being legal in all reality.
"Well met, everyone. If you're attempting to get between my legs, Aurelian... cease now, Schum." She replied coldly, drawing a sort of snort from Calisse with her curt response.
"Dayum! You really don't beat around the bush, do ya Sophia? I think I like you already!" Calisse held a jolly bellow of laughter about her, while Cato made an obviously intentionally melodramatic expression within his recoil. Others within the group maintained a low murmur about themselves, while Riley quickly stepped in to dispel any perceivable bad blood from developing.
"Let's ease up a bit on the flirting, Cato, it's obviously uncomfortable for her... and Sophia, I apologize for Cato's lack of recognition for boundaries, but please do not immediately jump to hostile language. We're all friends here, after all." Riley had both her envy and respect in her ability to so easily corral her subordinates and the subsequent respect she demanded of them. It was something she could only dream of from her own team, but she buried this thought in favor of simply nodding in acknowledgement and keeping a stony expression as if to show not the slightest hint of her actual feelings within the matter.
However, before anyone could actually say anything more, the telling sounds of fast approaching Grimm both near and far drew their attention, with all present immediately taking up a fighting stance to respond to any threat. Although upon her own end, Sophia did not respond to the approaching threats with much more than an acknowledging nod, before turning away from the approaching swarm.
"Although it would be fun to fight until the sun broke dawn, I doubt any present have the resources or aura reserves to hold out so long. Where is the safehouse?" The inquiry was blunt, straightforward and perfectly clear, drawing Riley up to her side as the others moved within a defensive formation around the two.
"About half a kilometer West of here, discreetly built within a nook in the canyon. We've been out for a few days, so you do raise a good point in this... I'll lead, you just follow, take out any Grimm that get too close, like the others." Riley's orders were concise and clear. Admirable trait, she'd say, if her opinion on the matter was relevant. With little more incentive than the fact that these were direct orders presented, the whole group snapped into motion, with Sophia filling in on an open spot within the formation and allowing this fireteam leader to pave the way unto their objective.
Their safehouse was basically a cave that they'd renovated and turned into their home, broken up into man-made walls of wood and fiberglass insulation. The entirety of the floor was based in oak wood, although there was an exception in the kitchen in which the floor was made of tile, and the ceilings remained mostly unchanged, remaining of simplistic stone of the cave, lit by a few old lightbulbs along each corridor and room. It had electricity via its own generator, but the outpost was clearly very old, and hadn't seen much in the way of renovations in perhaps decades, not that it was particularly important. No, this little station was meant to remain hidden, off the radar, and as such massive renovations were more hinderance than help to this matter.
"Welcome to Echo Safehouse, our fireteam's assigned station. There's two unoccupied rooms further down the hall, you can go ahead and choose whichever you fancy, just flip up the letters to spell out your name to denote your room, alright?" Calisse welcomed her, as the leadership had since broken off to review something related to their patrol while the girl gave her the grand tour of the environment. Simplistic as it may be, she was aware that the reconnaissance posts utilized by Spec Ops weren't much different.
"Thank you, Calisse. It's been a rather tiring journey, travelling here. I will resign for the evening, please inform Cato not to bother me unless work-related, as my intent is to sleep." Sophia replied quietly, simply turning her head to look over her shoulder, having spoken only after she passed the older girl. With such out of the way, she proceeded towards an open room, denoting it as her own in the exact manner as described before stepping inside and locking the door behind herself. Turning back to her room, she reigned in her focus and took in every little aspect of the space she'd call her own for perhaps the next week or longer.
In the far-right corner sat her bed clad in simple white sheets with a white pillow and a brown wool blanket, beside it sat a simple bedside table and at the foot sat a wooden dresser with three drawers. Next to the door to her left sat a wooden desk with three small drawers on the right side, and upon it sat an untouched journal and a pen, and a chair was seated into the desk, and right of the door was a coat hanger. Otherwise, the space was dominated by a single round table with an empty vase seated in the center and two chairs set on either side, finally finished with a simple ceiling fan that acted as the only real light source in the room besides a few unlit candles and a similarly unlit lantern hanging off its post. It was all... simplistic, exactly as she'd expected. It would suit her needs.
After hanging her coat upon the hanger, Ruby approached the bed and wiped her hand down it, determining the freshness of the sheets and whether or not the floor would be a more sanitary option. However, much to her surprise, she found little if any dust present, suggesting that they cleaned all sheets and rooms often, even if they weren't in usage. It was a pleasant surprise, to be sure, and a welcome one. After removing her vest, folding it and setting it down upon her dresser, followed by removing her boots, stowing them beneath her bed and setting her pants down, folded neatly, beside her vest and ascot, Ruby opted to just lay back in her temporary bed and stare at the ceiling for a moment. She still had her katana on her person, held loosely beside her torso as she allowed her body to relax upon the soft sheets.
She still had a report to send, but that was an easy matter that required little effort and was done with a simple text-based update sent directly to Ozpin through the encrypted scroll she'd been provided. She simply gave a brief summary of the situation, detailing how she'd copied someone else's semblance and embedded herself within the group after slaying several powerful Grimm while experimenting with her new powers, and that was that. Of course, she could give a far more detailed report if she so wished, but she knew Ozpin had many more similar reports to sift through coming in around this time, she'd imagine, so keeping the message clear and concise was the goal, something she did truly believe she achieved in keeping her report simplified down to a single clear paragraph of about five sentences.
With all said and done, Ruby decided to experiment a little bit, using her new semblance to transfer the force of her flick over to the switch on the wall. It was a bit of a chore, as the light force missed several times and just flicked the wall or encasing plastic, but after about seven attempts she finally released a soft smile in response to her sense of satisfaction as the lights were finally killed, and all she was left to do was lay back and fall into a light slumber as she recovered in preparation for the next day...
A/N: Hello everyone, I will be leaving for a field op for the next two or so weeks tomorrow afternoon, so I won't be capable of working on the next chapter at any point during this time. Hopefully the next chapter will be available sometime around mid-February. Until then, all support is appreciated, whether critical or to just say what you liked about the chapter. Take care of yourselves, and stay dank my dudes.