Weiss landed awkwardly, on the forest floor, rolling over a couple small trees and bushes, to finally coming to a stop in an small clearing. As Weiss stood, brushing the offending dirt and twigs from her clothing and skin, she could see in the near distance, a large black cloud that marked the location of the explosion. "Ruby?" She called out as she slowly started walking in the direction of the smoke. "Ruby?"
"Over here," She heard Ruby say clearly while also mumbling something.
"Where is over here?" Weiss asked louder walking a bit quicker. "Ruby?"
"Over here … fucking …"
"What?" Weiss said then let out a yelp as she tripped over something when she walked behind a tree. She looked back to a disheveled Ruby Rose half sitting, half laying against the tree. And she looked like hell, she was covered in mud from head to toe, she had small cuts and bruises on her face, her suit was snagged and tear in places that might provide some embarrassment to Ruby later but right now, she didn't seem to register much. "Ruby? Oh my, are you all right?"
Ruby looked up at her with a friendly smile, or so Weiss had thought, until Ruby said, "You fucking whore!"
"What?"
"What in hell … who is the fucking idiot which randomly pushes buttons on an explosive ordinance package?" Ruby said, kind of trying to point in Weiss direction. "You, that's who."
"Excuse me?"
"God, I wish there was." Ruby snapped as she wiped some of the mud and blood from her face. "You know when I first saw you, I thought, 'Damn it, she is way too beautiful to be a Huntress', because beautiful people are always idiots, Snowflake, always. But, you know, people say I am always too quick to judge others." Struggling, Ruby pushed herself up by leaning on the tree, Weiss tried to step in to help her but the younger girl just swapped away her hands.
"Quite being a baby and let me help you."
"I did let you help, which is how I ended up kissing a tree, Snowflake!"
"You should have been clearer in your instructions," Weiss shout back at her as she darted forward to help steady Ruby as she slid back down to the ground. "Stay still, dolt, let me see to your injuries."
"Clearer instructions? You didn't give me a chance, Snowflake. I was starting to tell you what I needed you to do and you were all like 'oh let me play with these shiny buttons'."
"Also you should have told me earlier that you were carrying bombs. So I could develop the appropriate tactics."
"Well, most intelligent people get bitchy when they find out I am carrying four explosive ordinance devices, especially when they find out they are homemade. But since we are talking about you, I can't use that excuse, now can I?"
"How many fingers and I am holding up?"
"Four."
"And now?"
"That is the wrong finger, you're supposed to use the middle one."
"I am not a vulgar degenerate, unlike someone I know."
"Sure, sweet talk me now." Weiss watched Ruby close her eyes and let out a moan. "Fucking trees."
"So you built those bombs? Then it was your incompetence that was the main reason for their failure?" Weiss snapped as she tried to adjusted parts of Ruby clothing to better hide some parts.
"If you are going to try to turn me on because you want to thank me for saving your life, you know, could you wait till we get back, at least, and had a shower. I would like to be clean for my first time."
"What!" Weiss lean back, shocked beyond words.
"Well, you keep touch my boobies …"
"I am trying to pull up some material to cover the areas that are exposed, I am not feeling you up, you degenerate! And it would be easier if you were wearing a bra." Weiss said jumping back to give the freak some room. "Besides, why should I reward you for anything, it was your incompetence that almost got me killed!"
"Keep telling yourself that, Snowflake." Ruby smiled as she stood up, under her own power and was able to stay on her feet. Weiss watch the girl look down at her top, let out a grunt and left it alone. It was exposing more skin then Weiss was comfortable with but she had to admit, nothing too risqué was showing. "And my improvised explosive ordinance worked perfectly, Snowflake, they exploded, didn't they?" Ruby lost her smile as she slowly walked away, heading towards the clearing. "The fucking problem was you, Miss Weiss Schnee, since you failed to listen to instructions from someone who knows what they are doing."
"Maybe you should have been clearer in your instruction …" Weiss followed the younger girl as Ruby picked up some sticks and some other stuff.
"Maybe you should have waited for me to finish giving your instructions." Ruby stopped, looked up in the sky and then stab the stick in the ground. "I had four IEDs' in my backpack, each had their own detonator but one had an extra switch that link all four to each other. That was the one that you fucking pushed! The one that I did not want you to fucking push!"
"Why would you have that kind of switch …"
"Nevermore are incredibility tough; if I need to, I could have made that bird swallow the whole pack and setting off all four of them, that would have blown up that bird from the inside out." Weiss watched as Ruby jammed one of the sticks into the ground. "I also had my spare ammo, all 120 beautiful rounds, in that pack, I had hoped to get some fun in today. Now, I have less than 90 rounds left, have to conserve them to make sure I get us out of here alive."
"What are you doing?" Weiss asked as Ruby tore away some grass to lay a piece of bark at the end of the shadow that the stick made.
"I also had a pint of water and some trail bars; always a good idea to carry water and food whenever you go into a forest, especially one like Emerald Forest. If you get lost, not having to worry about food and water does help."
"Speaking from experience, no doubt," Weiss said, intending it to be insulting but wasn't too surprise when the younger girl nodded in agreement. Clearly, such a child would be stupid …
"I've told you, I use to go hunting in these woods, I gotten lost a few times. So I've learned a few tricks the hard way, you would've too if you had a real education instead of being taught how to be pompous ass."
"Excuse me …"
"'I'm Weiss Schnee, my daddy is richest man in the whole world, I don't have to know anything, daddy's money will save me. Tee-hee.'" Ruby said in a rich, syrupy voice that did sound a lot like most of the girls that Weiss had the misfortune of meeting at various events her father force her to attend. "So daddy's girl …"
"I am not a 'daddy's girl' and don't ever call me that again. And what are you doing?"
"Oh-I-am-so-sorry," Ruby said sticking out her tongue. "So bossy …"
"And I am not being bossy! I am never bossy and I demand you never say anything that mean again, do you understand me!"
"Sure, whatever you say …"
"I mean it Ruby Rose," Weiss stalked over to the other girl, to stand inches apart and stared hard into those silver eyes. "Do not ever call me bossy again!"
Ruby stared back for a few minutes before saying, "You're cute when you're angry, Snowflake, anyone tell you that before?"
"Yes, most likely by the same number of people that has called you're an evil bitch. Nonetheless, your lame attempt at humor will not distract me right now, Rose. Do you understand me when I say I will not tolerate you being that unnecessarily cruel to me as long as we are forced into this partnership?"
"Fuck you, Schnee." Ruby snarled back at her before walking back over to the stick in the ground.
"Like you said, I would prefer a shower before giving it up for the first time, Rose." Weiss allowed herself a small, internal chuckle at Ruby's double take. "What is it, Rose? Amazed that someone else might be as dedicated as you in becoming a huntress?"
"No, not really," Ruby said, Weiss did give the other girl a bit of credit for a fast recovery, until she added on, "you being a virgin makes sense since you are such a bossy daddy's girl …"
Weiss reached out and slapped Rose, hard, on her right check. As Ruby stood there with the look of astonishment on her face, Weiss said in a low, hard voice. "Do not call me either 'bossy' or 'daddy's girl' ever again. Do you understand?"
"Fuck you …"
"You couldn't handle me," Weiss answered after striking Ruby's left check with her left hand. "Now, do you understand me?"
"What? Don't like being reminded that you can't suck your daddy's …" Weiss threw a punch at Ruby's head, which should have connected if Ruby hadn't reached out in a blink of the eye and caught it, hard. Not wasting time, she threw her right out, but it too, was caught by Ruby. Leaning in, while Weiss struggled to get lose, the younger girl gave her an evil smile, "Oppsie, looks like someone forgot someone else had super speed? You want me to say sorry, Schnee? Then you going to have to beat it out of me. Bitch."
With that had been said, Weiss was released and then went on her knees, after receiving a punch to the gut that she never saw coming. With a growl, Weiss launched a glyph at the red headed offender.
Then things got real.
"So what is her story?" Blake Belladonna asked her newest partner, Yang Xiao Long as they pushed through the forest.
"Have you ever heard of a village called Rochester?" The yellow clad bruiser, with the insignia of a burning dragon on her jacket, said over her shoulder.
"Yes," Blake knew it was a safe answer that anyone could give, even someone who had once been a member of the White Fang. "It is a village close to the Mistral Kingdom and the kingdom of Vale's bordered. It is one place where humans and fauna have co-existed for years, even before the Great War."
"It also suffered a major Grimm attack almost 12 years ago, did you know that?"
"Major is an understatement," Blake said with a toss of her head. "If what I have heard about the attack was true. Four, large Beringel went on a rampage there; luckily for the villagers they had enough warning from a passing group of Hunters to get themselves into the shelters while the hunters held them off until more help could arrive. Once help arrive, they were able to clean out the village but sadly one of the Huntress, who originally sounded the alarm, didn't make it. Still she was the only loss of life against odds that huge, she has been an inspiration to many since."
"Yep, that is the story they're sticking too, alright."
"There is more?" Blake asked, her interested was caught by the way Yang sounded so sad and dismissive about the story.
"No harm in telling you, I guess. It's not a super, big secret or anything, it's just … most people don't know the truth because it messes with their worldview. Plus, there is another reason no one talks about the truth, you will figure out why when I am done."
"I've heard that story once or twice from different sources," Blake said cynically.
"Yeah, well; it wasn't four Grimm, it was eight, and it wasn't a group of hunters; it was one Huntress, the one who died, that stopped six of them before they killed her. And they weren't randomly attacking the village, the Grimm followed that Huntress there, they were chasing her … and her three-year-old child."
"She took her child out with her on a hunt?"
"No," Yang said sadly as she climbs over a fallen tree. "She was on her way to Mistral, to visit a friend. She took her daughter because it was supposed to be a nice, little family vacation." Yang was quiet for a bit, Blake deduced there was a personal connection between the Huntress and Yang but wasn't able to see it, yet.
"So imagine you're a mother, you have your pride and joy with you, out to enjoy life and … and … then you are running for your life, desperately fighting to save your child, Blake. She stumbles on them, out there in the middle of nowhere; she didn't even try to fight them at first. She just ran for it. Her smashed truck was found a couple days later four miles from the village, you know, found in two pieces."
"So imagine," Yang said softly as she stopped and laid one hand on a nearby tree, as if seeking strength from it. "You have eight Beringel chasing you through the forest and in the distance, you see a village. And they see you, kind of hard to miss if you think about it. A single woman in a white cape running for dear life through a field, cradling a child in her arms, while those Grimm grunting and howling like the animals they pretend to be. Imagine Blake."
"Imagine having those villagers running around, gathering their own children and themselves, to get to the safety of their shelter. Their defenders are trying their best but they aren't stopping the Grimm. Now imagine you thinking you found a safe place for your daughter, your three-year-old angle, Blake, your darling little angle … and then being told to go to hell!"
"What?!"
"They said that she brought those Grimm to them then she could rot for all they cared! They had no room for her or her daughter!"
"But … I am sure the Fauna would …" Blake stopped talking as Yang turned around, her lilac eyes had turn to a glowing red.
"The mayor of the village was a fauna and the head of security was human; that village have a reputation of both races being equal there, and boy, did they prove it that day." Yang said sharply. "Of course, by now, all kinds of Grimm were popping out of the forest; beowlves, Creeps and whatnots. Opportunists, eager to feed on the scraps left behind by the Beringel. It was becoming a nightmare fast, Blake, and what did you think that Huntress did, Blake?"
"She ran," Blake answered softly. It was a cowardly act but under the circumstances, it was the only real option since she had her daughter with … Yang's bitter laugh cut off Blake's thoughts as she studied the sad face of Yang Xiao Long.
"You have no idea how much I wish she would have. God, you have no idea how many times I laid awake in my bed at night, crying and wishing she would have just run away!" Yang whispered while wiping away a tear. "She could have, you know, she could have and no one would have said a peep. No one would've said a word."
"Was she … was she your mom, Yang?"
"No," Yang said shaking her head while sitting down and leaning against a tree. "She could have been, maybe, once, might have been nice, but no, my mom … well, that's a different story. Anyways, the village is under full assault, their shelter is half full, people are running around trying to either fight or get in the shelter, which had been design to hold out against a large attack but nothing like what was happening. So instead of doing the one thing anyone else would have done, instead of running away; she set her child down near the shelter entrance and did what she did best."
"One of the guards, he later testified to a committee that it was nothing like he had ever seen before," Yang continued after a good five minutes of silence. "He said it was like watching an angle descending down from heaven to unleash the hounds of hell on those Grimm. That the Grimm had been outnumbered by her alone but that they were too stupid to see it. And yet, they still refuse to let the child in."
"What?! She is fighting for them and they still refused … why!"
Yang shrugged her shoulders, "Don't know, don't care; that whole village could rot for all I care. Especially since she might have lived if they had!" Blake felt herself scoot backwards without meaning too as the anger filled Yang's voice. "Grimm attacks are terrifying to experience, especially for a child! Her daughter was just a baby, left alone because no one freaking cared! Her mom was saving their skins but they … they … she would crawl away, reaching out for the one person who loved her! Her mom would have to break away … she took hits I was told … I've read the reports, Blake! The unedited reports! She would take hits protecting her child! She was taking hits protecting their children! She was getting the shit knocked out of her and they … and they …"
"Did her daughter survive?" Blake asked while Yang went silent again.
"Just before … they were about to shut the door … everyone in the village was inside and … an old man pushed his way outside. The reports get fuzzy about who the man was, some say human, some say faunas, no one is really sure what his name had been; he hasn't been seen since but he finally did the right thing. He ran to the little girl just as her mom finished the six Beringel and he picked her up. Or try to, anyways, she was fighting him, trying to get free, to get to her mom. A guard finally ran out to help the old man bring the girl in. They said … they said … it is in the reports … Blake … that the Huntress turn to see her daughter being dragged into the doorway; she paused, she just stopped fighting to give her daughter a huge smile and blew a kiss at her … and then was struck down."
"No! Her daughter … did she …"
"The whole thing." Yang said sadly while picking at the dirt. Blake sat there, frozen, as those images passed by her mind's eye. Blake couldn't imagine how horrible it must have been for that little girl to see … Blake just couldn't even begin to understand what that poor girl went through. Yang broke into her thoughts with more of the tale, "I was at Beacon that day; my dad and uncle are instructors at Signal Academy on Patch. There was some kind of workshop going on, they brought me along since there was no one to watch me. We were all in a lounge for staff when the alarm came across the CCCT. I remember there was some concern but everyone was calm about it, it was two hours away by air, plenty of time even if the reports of the Grimm were true, my dad had told me."
"Then Ozpin got on the PA system and told everyone that there was a Huntress on scene. He said 'Summer is in trouble and her daughter is as well.' The place exploded after that, my dad, my uncle and just about every Hunter in the academy was racing towards the docks. Even some of the Professors who hadn't been in the field for years headed out. I remember my dad telling me to stay with the other students, that he will bring Summer and her daughter home." Yang toss some stick away that she had been using to dig at the earth while saying, "Everyone loved Summer. Even before that day, she was like the best Huntress, ever."
"Yang, who is Summer? It sounds like you know more about her then just this story. Why are you telling …" Blake threw up her hand to her mouth as it suddenly all clicked in her head. She had been asking Yang about that Rose girl before Yang told her this story. "Summer is Ruby's mom?"
"Yep."
"Oh that poor girl," Blake said softly.
"Don't say that to her, she is likely to punch you if you do. She hates sympathy, especially from strangers." Yang chuckled softly.
"Not funny Yang."
"It is if you've seen some of the people she has punched over the years. Anyways, Summer was on the team that my parents and uncle were on when they were here at Beacon, she was team leader in fact. Summer had come to Patch to stay with us not long after Ruby was born. It was so cool having a mom, even if she wasn't my real mom, you know. And Ruby was such a sweet child back then. And it was kind of cool thinking of Ruby as like a little sister."
"After Summer died, Ruby stayed with us back on Patch. Until an … incident … occurred a year and half later. It was then decided that … Ruby would be better off staying at Heart Academy as a ward of the state. Since then … my dad and I … we try to … but by then." Yang then whispered something so inaudibly that if Blake had been human, she was sure she would have never heard it, "she wouldn't even look at me for a year."
"So are you happy that she is here?"
"Yes and no," Yang stood up and reached out with a hand to help Blake stand. "Yes, because there are worst places she could have ended up in, at least here she has a focus and a goal to obtain."
"But …"
"She is also committed to kill as many Grimm as she can find, regardless of the cost. Her desire is … I am afraid that … she won't know how to set aside her anger and enjoy life, you know what I mean. I am afraid she is going to die one day without ever knowing what it is like to be happy."
"Maybe if you are both here, you and her can spend more time together …"
"No," Yang said sadly. "Too much history, she barely trusts me as is; no, if anyone can help her, it has to be someone she doesn't know. Someone who is as stubborn as she is."
