Chapter 5
Twenty minutes later, Emerald and Mercury were still cowering behind a bolder. "Man, doesn't that thing ever run out?" Emerald groaned.
"Y'know, in hindsight, we probably should've stolen the tank we saw, earlier." Mercury replied.
"Mercury, what good is a tank if neither of us know how to drive it?!" She snapped.
"Oh, yeah." He rolled his eyes, sarcastically. "I can see how hiding behind a rock is the better strategy."
"Well, yeah, I mean… ugh, guess I gotta give you that one."
Meanwhile, as Velvet continued firing at the assassins, Ruby gleefully cheered her on. "Yes! Yes! YES! Wipe them out! Keep firing until there's nothing left but a red mist! I shall avenge my beloved Penny! And then, I'm going after SALEM!"
"What the hell has gotten into you, kid?" Raven grumbled before cupping her hands over her mouth to amplify her voice. "Velvet! Velvet! VELVEEEEEEEET!" The rabbit Faunus finally let off the trigger and jumped down from the gunner's seat. Raven cleaned out her ears. "Damn, that thing is loud."
"... WHAT?!" Velvet shouted.
"NO!" Ruby yelled out, practically frothing at the mouth in rage, "Why'd you stop!? They need to pay for…"
Having heard just about enough, Weiss slapped her partner across the face. "Get a hold of yourself!" She yelled out, tears in her eyes. "I know how much you're hurting right now, how you want them to pay for what they've done, but this anger you're feeling right now is not who you are! The dolt of a girl who befriended Velvet and Penny? The one who was incapable of hate? The one who who didn't bat an eye when it was revealed that Blake was a Faunus and ex-White Fang member? The one who has stood by her sister through thick and thin? The one who had more than enough kindness in her heart to get me to stop being so prideful and start caring about others as well? That is the Ruby Rose I know and love! What would Penny say if she saw that girl right now?! Saw her caring more about killing a couple of spies instead of protecting the countless innocent people surrounding her?!"
Placing her hand on the cheek that was slapped, Ruby blinked a few times before tearing up a little bit: "I...I'm sorry: I don't know what came over me. I just...felt this rage. It overwhelmed me. I couldn't stop myself. I...wait: did you just say love me?"
Weiss was just barely able to suppress her blush. "That...that isn't important right now. We've got more important things to deal with."
"Darn right you do!" Mercury yelled out as he leaped out to try and attack them...only to feel his attack, and himself, stop midair.
"You aren't killing anyone else," one Pyrrha Nikos declared as he held the assassin aloft with her semblance before slamming him down onto the ground, knocking him out, before turning to Ruby with tears in her eyes. "Ruby, I...I am so sorry."
Ruby frowned, with how upset she'd been over Penny's death, she couldn't even imagine what Pyrrha was going through. "Me too," she said with a resolute nod, "but it wasn't your fault."
"She's right," Jaune said as he approached with his partner's weapons, having been left behind in shame. "Whoever was on the microphone, and whoever was helping her...they're the ones who did this, and we have to make sure they don't take anyone else," he declared before presenting Pyrrha with her sword and shield, which, after some trepidation, she gladly accepted.
Having seen and heard of this, Emerald decided that now might be a good time to make a break for it...only to freeze upon feeling a blade at the back of her neck.
"Where do you think you're going?" Ciel demanded, her Chronal Assassin - a pocket watch producing a blade - at the ready. "I'm guessing you can't use your semblance on anyone you can't see, so don't even bother trying any of your tricks with me. Don't worry; I don't plan on killing you, but if you don't tell us where Cinder Fall is right now, I might have to get a little...creative with my knife work."
Emerald gulped hard and held her hands up in surrender. Ciel and the remainder of Team CPPR escorted Mercury and Emerald to Ozpin's office where they would face their punishment. Meanwhile, Yang limped over to her sister and hugged her for comfort. Blake and Weiss quickly followed suit, and Team RWBY united in mourning their fallen friend, Penny.
One week later, Beacon had temporarily been shut down and the students were sent home to recover. Blake and Weiss, not wanting to leave their partners behind, went with Ruby and Yang to the infirmary. Jean Purple of Team CPPR came with them as well to help Yang recover from her amputation. After checking her blood pressure, she transformed her monitor into a stethoscope and monitored the blonde brawler's heartbeat. "Alright, everything sounds okay."
"What the hell does my heartbeat and blood pressure have to do with my freaking arm?!" Yang growled.
"Yang! Be nice!" Blake scolded.
"Besides, I'm just following standard procedure." Jean shrugged, transforming her stethoscope into an otoscope and looked inside her ears. "But if you want to cut to the chase, have you felt any phantom pains?"
Blake stared in confusion at Jean's bizarre device. "Jean? What kind of weapon does that turn into?"
"Oh, it doesn't turn into any kind of weapon." Jean brushed a strand of violet hair from her face as she explained. "I don't like carrying weapons. I only joined my huntress school for their medical program. I'm a pacifist."
"Oh, so you're going to be a doctor?" Blake smiled.
"No. I've grown too fond of my teammates, so I've decided to stay with them as a medic!"
"What's the difference?"
"Well, a doctor cures people. A medic just makes them feel better… while they die."
While Yang continued with her checkup, Raven watched over her from outside. The Spring Maiden was perched on a tree branch, hugging her knees to her chest. It pained her to see her own daughter like this, but there was nothing she could do. Suddenly, she heard someone climbing up the tree to sit next to her; it was her former teammate, Summer Rose. Those dazzling silver eyes were filled with the same innocent sympathy Raven came to appreciate.
"Would you like to come inside?" Summer offered. "Yang might appreciate it. And believe it or not, Tai would, too."
Raven scoffed. "I doubt that, Summer. Given how I left them, I don't think they'd want any comfort I'd have to offer."
"... suit yourself." Summer sighed and began to climb down, until…
"Does he still take his medicine?" Raven asked.
"Huh?" Summer's eyebrow arched.
"Back when we were still Team STRQ, Taiyang struggled with depression." Raven elaborated. "He used to take medicine to help. Is he still keeping up with his prescriptions?"
Summer smiled, softly, and climbed back up. The two friends had a lot of catching up to do.
"You're wrong, you know."
Raven blinked, looking down at the source of the voice. She shook her head upon noticing Ruby looking back up at her, realizing that her reunion with her former partner would be put on hold. "What do you mean?" she asked the girl standing below her.
"She never hated you, not really," the red cloaked girl declared, "She just wanted to know why you left. Honestly, you avoid her now and you'll just be proving to her that it was because you hated her."
"That's not true!" she shouted, before she started to tear up, "I never hated her. I can't tell you everything, not yet anyways, but long story short, I ended up accidentally killing someone within the tribe who was like a daughter to me in her own right, and I was afraid of doing the same to her. She deserves a real mother, not a murderer like me."
"...you sound just like her." Ruby couldn't help but snort even as her mother reached over to comfort her sister's mother. "My sister ended up nearly getting me killed when we were young and she avoided me for the longest time saying that I deserved better than to have a murderer as an older sister. Well, I'll tell you the same thing I told her: you obviously didn't intend for anyone to get hurt, so I couldn't care less how much blood you think is on your hands: I just want you as a part of my life...and I know that, while it might take her some time to accept that you're truly back, Yang feels the same way."
Raven stared at her for a while, before gaining a smile. "My daughter was truly blessed to have grown up with a sister like you. I'll be sure to see her sometime today...and I look forward to getting to know you better as well, Ruby Rose."
"...and I look forward to getting to know you, Auntie Raven." Ruby nodded before taking off to see her sister...only to freeze as she saw Pyrrha and Ciel heading towards Beacon Tower despite how heavily Grimm infested the area was. Knowing that they were likely heading to deal with Cinder, given she might have headed there to grab something in all the chaos, she quickly grabbed Crescent Rose and followed them, determined to back them up if necessary.
Ciel checked her watch once again just before she and her partner arrived at Beacon Tower. If this was to be the first time she ever went against orders, it would be done on schedule. All she and Pyrrha had to do was find Cinder, terminate her, and escape. Only then would Penny be avenged. "Que les dieux veillent sur nous, en cela, notre temps de besoin. (May the gods watch over us, in this, our time of need.)" She prayed.
"Did you say something?" Pyrrha asked, readying her spear.
Ciel grumbled. "Does anyone understand French, anymore?"
"Oh, is that what you were speaking? Wow, I owe you an apology: all this time I thought it was Spanish," Ruby declared, having caught up to them. She gave a bitter chuckle as they looked at her in shock: "What? Did you think I wouldn't want to take part in avenging Penny's death? Besides, I have to make up for my earlier temper tantrum somehow."
"Ruby, none of us blame you for getting angry." Pyrrha declared.
"I do," Ruby remarked, "or rather, I blame myself for letting my anger control me and not the other way around. Besides, if there's even the slightest chance I can help someone, shouldn't I take it? That's what it means to be a huntress, after all."
Pyrrha blinked a few times, before giving a chuckle. "Well, I can't really argue with that."
"Neither can I," Ciel declared with a chuckle, before frowning, realizing this was the first time she and the cloaked girl in front of her had ever had a pleasant conversation despite their shared connection with a certain android girl. "Listen, Ruby, in case something happens…"
Ruby just held up a hand with a bittersweet smile: "Whatever you have to say to me, you can save it until after we've dealt with Cinder. One way or another, she's going to know exactly who she messed with."
Ciel just gave a nod before looking towards the tower. "Vous avez tué mon père, et maintenant vous avez tué mon coéquipier: votre punition est la mort, Cinder Fall. (You killed my father, and now you've killed my teammate: your punishment is death, Cinder Fall.)"
Pyrrha just nodded. "I might not speak French, but I think I get the general idea of what you were saying, and you're right: there's no way we're letting Cinder get away with what she's done."
Ruby followed Ciel's gaze to the tower with a nod of her own. "This one's for you, Penny." With that, the trio headed out to fight their mutual foe.
Cinder watched the "invincible" girl strut towards the tower with a smile on her face. Although she had yet to find the Summer Maiden, Priscilla's promise of gaining the entirety of the Fall Maiden's powers was about to be fulfilled. Using her semblance to conjure up a bow and arrow out of dust, she made her way down the spiral staircase to confront her destiny.
The trio of huntresses had split up and circled the tower, hoping to surround Cinder before she could attack. But while her friends were more focused, Ruby found herself nursing the same mild headache she'd had since Cinder's attack on Beacon. She had considered bringing it up to her parents, but with Yang losing her arm, it didn't seem so important. Trying her best to ignore it, she climbed up the steps to face Cinder… the woman who lied to her and her friends… the woman who ruined the world's view of Beacon… the woman responsible for killing her best friend.
"Pay… pay… she needs to pay…"
There it was again; the voice. Every time Ruby heard this voice, it felt as if her head was on fire. She stopped her climb to lean against the wall as she massaged her forehead. "Who are you?"
"Cinder… must… die…"
"I don't… understand…" Ruby dropped her weapon.
"Kill. Destroy. Revenge." The voice grew louder with every word. "Don't you want to avenge Penny? Don't you want Cinder to die?! Tear out her heart! Bathe in her blood! Make her feel the same fear Penny felt in her final moments!"
"No!" Ruby punched the wall in frustration. "I'm not a murderer!"
Suddenly, she heard someone scream in pain. She recognized the voice and immediately forgot about her migraine. Grabbing Crescent Rose, she used her semblance to race up the remaining stairs. She had to save Pyrrha. Halfway to the top of the tower, she found a familiar French girl lying on the ground with an arrow piercing her shoulder. "Ciel!" Ruby dropped to her knees to check on her friend. She removed the arrow as gently as she could, and patched the wound with a torn cloth. "Are you okay? Say something."
"Père...? Est-ce vous…? (Father…? Is that you...?)" Ciel muttered, weakly.
"I'll be back. I promise." Ruby whispered.
"See? Cinder is willing to kill all of your friends!" Again the voice echoed in Ruby's mind. "The only way to stop her from killing anyone else is for you to kill her!"
It was then Ruby remembered something Emerald had said, and very nearly stopped running, having pieced some of the pieces together. "This isn't the first time she's hurt you, is it...Paulette?" The silence she was greeted with was enough to tell her that both of her theories were correct. "I don't know how you got inside my head, but whoever or whatever you are, you're right about one thing: Cinder needs to pay for what she's done...but Pyrrha's safety comes first. Help me make sure she's safe, and then you can deal with Cinder however you like."
For what seemed like an eternity - but was really only about five seconds - Paulette was silent, before giving a chuckle that echoed through Ruby's head. "You truly are the daughter of Summer Rose. Very well: I'll help you protect your friends so long you agree to help me seek vengeance on those who took my sisters away from me."
Ruby took a cleansing breath as she approached the top of the tower, the sound of fighting getting louder as she did, before nodding: "If...no, when Pyrrha comes out of this alive, I'll do everything I can to help you seek justice for your fallen siblings...and who knows? Maybe someday we'll come to think of each other as sisters from different misters."
"I can accept those terms...and as to your other comment, perhaps that won't take as long as you think." It might have just been her imagination, but Ruby could almost feel Paulette giving her a smile of approval.
Meanwhile, Cinder gave an arrogant chuckle as the fight she was having with Pyrrha finally started to slow down a bit. "I hate to admit it, but I'm impressed. It's easy to see that your title as the 'invincible girl' wasn't too much of a stretch. Against most opponents, no doubt you are nearly untouchable...but unfortunately for you, I am not 'most opponents.'"
Pyrrha spat some blood from her mouth before giving the false Maiden a glare. "You planning on talking me to death?"
Cinder just gave a smug grin. "Actually, I thought I'd beat you to death."
"Mind if I cut in?"
Cinder barely had time to blink before she was forced to dodge a scythe swipe that managed to hit a nearby Boarbatusk instead, before giving her would-be assassin a glare. "You."
"Yes, me," Ruby shot back with a glare, "and honestly, I'm a little embarrassed that it took me this long to recognize you; the woman who helped Roman Torchwick escape, the lady who infiltrated Beacon during the dance...honestly, we've been building up towards this moment since even before Ozpin approached me about joining the academy."
Cinder just gave a growl before noticing a Nevermore approaching the tower, and grinned maliciously. "Indeed we have, so it's such a shame that we'll have to cut this short." With that she used her semblance to knock some debris onto Pyrrha, pinning her down even as said Nevermore neared their location.
"No!" Ruby yelled, turning in hopes of protecting her friend. Before she could move an inch, however, she cried out in pain as Cinder slash her leg and shoved her to the ground.
"Oh, nononono." Cinder said even as she pinned the girl to the ground. "You won't be playing the hero this time. You're going to watch as another one of your friends dies in front of you."
Ruby could only tremble in fear. She needed to do something; she couldn't just lie there. She begged Paulette, the universe, anyone who would listen, for the chance to protect her friend. And against all odds, her prayers were answered as she felt something within her begin to bubble to the surface. She didn't know what it was, but as she closed her eyes, she wasn't sure if she cared at the moment. Even now, she had the power to protect those dear to her, and she was going to use it. "Leave...her...ALONE!"
Pyrrha couldn't believe what she was seeing: the moment Ruby's eyes snapped open again, a blinding silver light filled the area, freezing the Nevermore and the Grimm around them in place. Even as she used her remaining strength to remove herself from the rubble, she couldn't help but give Ruby a look of admiration. She'd always known that the girl was special, and this proved it.
Further down the tower, Ciel looked upon the silver light that radiated from within the tower and smiled. She didn't know how, but she knew that a certain hooded girl was responsible for this.
Back at the infirmary, everyone else saw the light and immediately realized that it was connected to how three of the students were still missing. Raven in particular gave an affectionate groan upon connecting the dots. "That girl really is your daughter, Summer." she remarked before leaping off the ledge she was sitting on - only for a black bird to start flying towards the tower in question.
Needless to say, however, Cinder wasn't as thrilled about this new development as everyone else. "What!?" That was literally all she could say. As soon as the light hit her, she felt an intense surge of pain that seemed to course through her very being, threatening to tear her apart. And it was taking everything she had not to pass out as a result. She froze as she grabbed her arm as she belatedly remembered a key feature of the girl she had previously been pinning to the ground: she had Silver Eyes. And here she was; a woman with a Grimm arm, trying to antagonize one of the few people capable of actually killing her. So shocked by her oversight, that she hadn't even noticed Pyrrha approaching her with one of the glass shards she had created earlier in the battle even as she stumbled back in pain and shock - that was until the "Invincible Girl" had stabbed her in the back with it.
Pyrrha was not a malicious girl, and yet she couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction as the woman in front of her gaped in horror at how all her plans were falling apart before her. "Feel that?" she remarked. Briefly, she gave a sigh of relief upon noticing Ruby's continued breathing, being assured that she had just passed out after whatever it was that just happened. Then, she glared at the enemy. "That was for Penny...and for everyone else you've made suffer through your actions." With that, she shoved the false Maiden away from her, only to reach out in desperation as the woman - in her shock - had started to stumble towards a gap in the wall. Unfortunately, she just barely failed to grab onto Cinder before she tumbled into the water below.
"I wouldn't worry about her."
Pyrrha blinked and turned towards the entrance.
"I hate to give her any complements, but she's very resilient. No way this managed to kill her, so it'll be a simple matter of looking for her further downstream." Raven declared while carrying Ciel on her back, before giving Ruby an affectionate smile. "You truly are Summer's daughter, aren't you?" Sighing, she turned towards Pyrrha. "Come on, let's get these two back to the infirmary. I'll go ahead and explain what happened."
Pyrrha nodded. "Alright, but if you don't mind my asking, who are you?"
Raven blinked, belatedly realizing that she never did introduce herself to anyone other then Team RWBY. Remembering her earlier conversation with Ruby, she allowed herself a smile. "I guess you could say I'm Ruby's Aunt Raven."
Two days later, Ruby was safely back home. She should have been happy. She thought that by killing Cinder Fall, she would feel a sense of justice for Penny's death. Instead, she just felt empty. She took out her scroll and looked through the pictures of her best friend. When she first met Penny, she knew she was different, but it didn't matter to her. Penny had proven to be one of the most beautiful souls she had ever had the pleasure of meeting. She set down her scroll once the tears started rolling down her cheeks.
"Ruby?" A soft knock at the door drew her attention. Ciel walked inside and sat down next to her. "Racheal, Jean and I have been given our new orders. We will leave soon, but I wanted to tell you that Penny… she loved you. Whenever she was with us, she would only talk about you."
Ruby rubbed her eyes, sobbing. "I didn't even get to say goodbye."
"Ruby, I - HEEGURRGUHGURK!" The dark-skinned girl suddenly spasmed and collapsed to the ground.
"Oh, my gosh!" Ruby jumped up in shock. "Ciel?! Are you okay?!"
Without warning, Ciel opened her eyes and smiled, brightly. "BONJOUR!" She exclaimed and tackled Ruby in a crushing hug.
"HURGH!" Ruby could hardly breath. "Ciel! What're you doing?!"
"Oh, Ruby! J'avais si peur! (Oh, Ruby! I was so scared!)" Ciel kissed Ruby's cheek, affectionately, never letting go. "Mais c'est d'accord! Je t'ai trouvé, et je vais - attends ... pourquoi je parle Français? Je ne parle pas Français! (But it's okay! I've found you and I'll - wait… why am I speaking French? I can't speak French!)"
"Uh, Ciel, I don't speak French." Ruby gasped. "Why are you crushing me?"
"Oh, pardon! (Oh, sorry!)" Ciel released her grip on the poor girl and stood up. "Je viens… ugh! Pourquoi je parle Français?! (I just… ugh! Why am I speaking French?!)"
Just then, Yang walked into the room, showing off her gift from General Ironwood. "Hey, Rubes! Check out my new - whoa. Hey, Ciel."
Ciel's eyes sparkled at the sight of the robotic appendage right before she collapsed, again. Suddenly, Yang's new arm began to act on it's own; moving to act out a salute. "SALUTATIONS!" A familiar voice echoed from the built-in speaker.
"That voice… Penny?!" Ruby gasped in disbelief. "Is that really you?"
"Yes, Ruby! I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner." Yang's hand opened and closed like a hand-puppet as Penny went on. "You see, although my physical body was destroyed, my artificial intelligence was able to jump from machine to machine in order to preserve my consciousness! But now that I've found you, I need only to contact my fellow teammates and have them contact my father! He will build me a new body to store my consciousness!"
Ruby's eyes began to water again - but this time, they were tears of joy. It was a miracle. She hugged the arm to her chest, ignoring the visible confusion of her elder sister. "Oh, Penny, I was so worried!" She cried, happily. "Don't worry; I'll make sure we call your father right away! So you can get a new body, and we can start hanging out, again! AND START KILLING EVERYONE!"
Yang blinked at Ruby's sudden dark tone. "Uh, you mean killing all the Grimm, right?"
"Of course!" Ruby smiled. "For starters!" She added, sinisterly.
To be continued
