Chapter 69

Ruby shot awake with a sharp gasp, eyes wide like she'd woken from a nightmare. She glanced precariously around the room, eyes finally finding the bottle rolling across the floor that had been her awakening and summoned the strength to get out of bed. She trudged lethargically to the window, yanking the curtains open and letting the sunlight stream into the room. Weiss flinched away from the offending sunbeam.

'Close the window.' She muttered, curling up in spite of the harsh light streaking in through the blinds. Jaye swore to himself as he got out of bed, staring at the sun through the glass. It occurred to him that Qrow had never called him for watch, turning his head heavily to the man apparently drunken into a stupor in the chair by the window. Ruby picked the bottle off the floor, staring at her drunk uncle.

'Uncle Qrow…' She called, and the man didn't even so much as stir. She shook him by the shoulders. 'Come on, get up!'

'Leave me alone.' The probably hungover man slurred blearily, frowning behind closed eyes as Ruby continued to shake him.

'We overslept.' She said, and he pushed her away gently as he turned his head to a more comfortable position. She glared at the man quietly, eyes traveling down to the empty bottle still clutched in her hand. Her hands began to shake with anger, and in a fit of rage she flung the bottle into the wall. Qrow jumped in his chair, hands scrabbling around for god knows what as he hunted for the source of his disturbance.

'What!' His eyes darted blankly between the girl standing before him and the bottle shattered against the wall. He rubbed his head as he collected himself, the cogs in his head slowly starting to function through his hangover. 'Oh. Right. Sunrise.'

Ruby watched the sullen man as he tried to slow his racing heart, staring blankly at the filthy floor below him as he tried to shake off the effects of the drinks. She reached slowly for him, wrapping her arms around her uncle. 'You know, you can talk to me about stuff. Yang too.'

'Let's just get out of here.' He said, patting the girl gently on her back as he tried to get to his feet. Jaye quietly slid himself out of his bedroll, stretching out his stiff limbs in the sunlight. He stared quietly out the window at the still deserted estate, hands once more falling to his swords. He noticed the stress reaction himself this time, shaking his head at the blank whiteness outside as he felt a sinking anxiety pass through his chest.

Weiss welded the bulb they'd found to the metal bracket, tracing a clean line around the metal fixture. They'd found a set of motorcycle attachment arms in the barn, which had to go on Yang's bike since Jaye's didn't have the required attachment pieces. Jaye dumped water over it, cooling the liquid metal in a burst of steam, and the three turned their faces away from the scalding cloud as it rose up into the air.

'There.' Weiss said, giving an approving nod to her handiwork, and Oscar sighed from his spot on the house steps.

'Can we just go back to bed?' He grumbled, and Blake shifted lazily beside him.

'If we're all so tired, maybe we should make breakfast?' She suggested, her arms pressed between her knees and her head as she sat in a state of sloth.

'You wanna make it?' Oscar asked, and Blake turned her attention back to the snow below her feet.

'Not really.'

Ruby and Qrow pushed the big flatbed Yang and Blake had found the previous day out into the snowy courtyard, and Jaye waved them over to the bike. Ruby bounced over to them as she arrived.

'You guys got the bike ready?' She asked, and Yang responded with a lethargic gesture at the attachment. Jaye shook his head sleepily, blinking as he tried to focus on his surroundings as much as he could. Qrow stretched his back out.

'Well it's done now, so let's hook this thing up-!' He began, before the horrifying hiss and pop of a punctured tyre broke the chilling serenity of the settlement. Qrow made a sound of intense exasperation, kneeling down to inspect the damage. Maria stared over at the man from her spot on the porch, and Jaye felt in his soul the comings of another of her tactless old person comments.

'You people are just beacons for bad luck, aren't you?' She commented, and Jaye rolled his eyes.

'And there it is.' He said, crossing his arms and glaring at the woman. 'Why am I not surprised? Oh right, because she's old.'

'You'll be surprised when I come down there and show you how old and defenseless I am.'

'That's alright. I can see how old and defenseless you are just fine from here, though I guess you can't see me at all.'

'Not helping.' Ruby said, and Jaye deferred to the girl as she gave him a look. Qrow stalked off to the wooden fence, plopping himself uncaringly down in the snow and pulling the flask out of his pocket. Yang mirrored the action, sliding down against the well behind her.

'I'm starting to think the universe just doesn't want us getting to Atlas.' She mumbled, staring listlessly at the chassis of her bike, and Ruby sighed at her sister.

'It's just a flat tyre, I'm sure there's a spare.'

'It's not just that, it's everything!' Yang interrupted. 'Storms, crashes, monsters? I'm so tired.'

'Me too.' Blake said, shaking her head at the snowy ground. 'It feels like we're always having to fight to get by.'

'Yeah, but that's what we signed up for.' Ruby said, and Jaye shook his head.

'Well, take it from the guy who's fought his whole life. It ain't easy, no matter what people say.' He said, kicking at a pile of snow near his feet. 'But no point in getting bitchy about it. I'm going to go find a spare tyre, or at least something we can use to patch this one up.'

'We signed up to try and save the world, not just delay the inevitable.' Oscar said, shaking his head as he stared into the trees. Weiss gripped rubbed her arm quietly, tapping her heel against her calve as she spoke.

'Last night I…I couldn't stop thinking.' She said. 'Why are we even going to Atlas?'

'Weiss we have to.' The red-clad girl began, but Yang got slowly to her feet.

'Why?' The blonde asked, not even bothering to brush off the snow stuck to her back. 'Ozpin hid the relics behind giant doors under enormous schools. But how long would it take Salem to find a lamp in the middle of nowhere?'

'But…the Grimm might-!'

'They'd find it eventually, sure, but bury it or just throw it down the well?' Her eyes traveled briefly to the well behind the two. 'It would take years. It might not even happen in our lifetime. But we could be done with it now.'

Ruby pulled the lamp slowly off the clasp on her belt, holding it in her hands as the girls grouped themselves in front of her. She began to pace slowly towards the well, the lamp still clutched in her outstretched hand.

'I am…. really tired.' She breathed, holding the relic out over the inky blackness below. She moved ever so slightly, shifting her weight, screaming in shock as a pair of blood red eyes glowed out in the darkness in the well. The lamp slipped from her grasp, clattering its way down into the depths of the water structure and she scrambled in futility for it.

'No no no I didn't mean to!' She screamed, dropping her head into her hands as she contemplated all her life choices. Weiss reached a deadpan hand towards the girl.

'Ruby it's okay.' She said, and the red-clad girl whirled on her.

'No! No there's something down there! I saw it, it was looking at me!' She leaned fearfully over the edge of the well, eyes searching desperately for a sign of whatever it was that had stared back at her from inside its depths. Yang trudged over to the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder.

'Hey, it's okay, you just said you were tired. It was probably nothing.' Yang said. 'Now let's go.'

'What's wrong with you?!' Ruby burst, throwing the girl's hand off her shoulder. 'We can't just leave; we have to go down there! We have to get the lamp back! Oh what was I thinking?!'

'All we have to do is fix this trailer.' Qrow said. 'Hey farm boy, check the shed for a spare.'

'I'M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT THE LAMP!' Ruby screamed, and Jaye raised an eyebrow at the outburst as he came back from the direction of the shed.

'So, am I gonna have to ask what happened or is someone gonna fill me in?' He asked, raising his eyebrow even further. 'Well you won't find a spare tyre in the shed, but I did find some duct tape and an air condenser. Now I just gotta find some way to power it.'

As if not hearing him, the girls around the well heaved a collective sigh.

'I'll go down with you.' Blake said, and Weiss sighed in response.

'We'll go down together.' She said, and Jaye raised an eyebrow at the lifeless bunch.

'Um, what the hell is going on?' He asked again, and again as if not hearing him Qrow grumbled his way to his feet.

'Fine. Get the stupid lamp. Oscar fix the stupid tyre.' He commanded, trudging off in the direction of the house. Maria watched the man as he went.

'Where are you going?' She pried, and Qrow shook the flask at her.

'Where do you think?' He spat, kicking the door open as he headed for the bar lounge. Jaye watched the man go, still confused.

'Okay, what did I miss?' He said for the third time, before realizing that something was seriously wrong with the girls and Ruby was too panicked to care. He marched over to the smol girl, grabbing her by the shoulders, and she stared back at him with an expression like she was about to die.

'Please don't kiss me I'm not ready!' She said, and Jaye made a face of confusion at her. 'Sorry, first thing that came to mind when you grabbed me.'

'So when will you be ready?'

'Umm, never?'

'That doesn't bode well for Oscar.' Jaye said, turning his attention to the girl's waist. 'Where the hell's the lamp?'

End of chapter 69