Chapter 6
"Weiss? We need to talk about Ruby." Yang said, nervously.
The young heiress groaned. "Yang, how many times do I have to tell you? I am not your mother. You can't come and tattle to me on each other when one of you does something the other doesn't like."
"I'm telling you, she's gone crazy!" Yang exclaimed. "She keeps calling herself 'Paulette' and threatening me in a scary voice!"
"No, I didn't!" Ruby denied.
"Oh?" Yang placed both hands on her hips as she faced her younger sister. "So, you're saying you didn't threaten to cut off my other arm and give it to Penny as a birthday present?"
"I think you're just taking my words out of context."
"'Context?!'" Yang spluttered. "What context?!"
Just then, Rachael arrived with the order for Penny's new body already on her scroll. "Hey, Weiss? Sorry to interrupt, but this order needs a signature."
"Of course. You two sort this out on your own." Weiss told her teammates as she left to complete the order.
Ruby turned to face Yang; her silver eyes changing to black. "Don't. Ever. Be. Alone." She growled.
"She's doing that thing again!" Yang whispered, trying to get Weiss' attention.
With Weiss' signature, the order form for Penny's new body was well under way. Rachael sent the application then called Command in Atlas to ensure the message got through. "Hello? Command? Come in, Command. This is Rachael Red of Team CPPR."
"Yes, hello, dude. This is Sally, how may I help you?" A chipper voice responded.
"Yes, I'm calling to confirm the order request I just sent to General Ironwood regarding Penny Polendina?"
"Oh, yes. Of course, dude." Sally replied. "General Ironwood was indeed pleased to learn that Miss Polendina was preserved. Rest assured, he has received the order. Also, he wants to… oh."
"What?" Rachael arched an eyebrow. "He wants to what?"
"Uh, nevermind, dude. Says here I'm not supposed to read you that part. Report back to your team and await further orders. That is all." With that, Sally hung up, leaving Rachael confused as to what she meant by that.
Meanwhile, Raven and Summer were still watching over the students. Raven seemed particularly interested in Ruby - the youngest huntress in training seemed to be growing more aggressive than she usually behaved. On the other hand, the Branwen tribe leader had felt much less angry at herself and the world in general. Turning to her former teammate, she decided to find out if it wasn't just a coincidence. "Hey, Summer? Have you noticed anything… different about your daughter?"
"You mean how she keeps threatening your daughter?" Summer rubbed her chin. "Yes. Something is definitely wrong. Let me call some old friends and see what we can do."
Back in the infirmary, Jean was changing the bandages on Jaune's leg when Professor Port and the other teachers walked in. "Ah, hello, my students!" The jolly teacher boomed. "I am pleased to inform you all that Beacon Academy will be resuming it's usual classes next week!"
Glynda's icy glare landed on Jaune. "Mister Arc, I must say I am a bit disappointed in your skills as a leader. Because of your negligence, Miss Nikos was almost killed. If you wish to remain at this academy, you must improve your leadership skills."
"Y-yes, ma'am…" Jaune looked down at his feet in shame. As much as he hated to admit it, Miss Goodwitch was right.
The dominatrix turned her gaze to the medic before leaving. "You'd best be careful around this lot, girl. They tend to attract trouble to themselves."
As Glynda walked away, Jean stood up and called out to her. "Uh, just for the record, ma'am! This guy isn't really my friend! I'm just patching him up!" She brushed her violet-dyed hair out of her eyes and turned back to Jaune - who was now glaring at her. "Sorry, but it's pretty clear that you're not exactly popular with the teachers here, and if I want to get ahead anywhere, I can't be seen directly associated with you… I'm sure you understand… it's only because they don't like you… please, stop staring at me."
Glynda shook her head as she left the infirmary, choosing to ignore how Jean continued to inadvertently kill her good graces with Team JNPR's leader and instead focus on the problem in-front of her. "How could you trust them, Ozpin? I'll admit they have good intentions, but they're still just children. And what's worse, they act like it too: even now, they don't even seem to care about how close they all were to dying."
"You're wrong."
Glynda blinked, before looking towards the doorway.
"You really think we don't realize how many people died despite our best efforts? How close we were to dying?" Blake demanded with a glare, "I still haven't heard any word as to what happened to Adam, and don't even get me started on how Roman Torchwick and Neo Politan managed to escape."
Glynda had to hold back a wince at this: after everything that happened, she actually managed to forget that the girl in front of her had nearly run away in the night due to the shame of how her ex-boyfriend had cost her partner a limb. "Listen, we're doing everything we can to keep everyone safe-"
"And you think we haven't?!" Blake shouted, before taking a cleansing breath, "Look, I know that you're only worried about us, and we appreciate it, but if we don't use our skills to protect our friends, to do what we believe is right, then what's the point in the training we do here at Beacon?" Blake blinked upon saying those words, remembering a conversation from earlier.
"What's the point of me being here?! All I'll be doing is placing them in danger!" Blake demanded even as Professor Ozpin blocked her path out of Beacon.
"Yes, what is the point?" Ozpin said with a roll of his eyes. "I certainly wouldn't trust someone who cut off her own partner's arm off. Oh, wait; it wasn't you who did that, was it?"
"I'm being serious here!" Blake shouted.
"So am I," Ozpin remarked, before sighing. "As I've told your team leader, I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet, but at this moment, I would not consider my accepting you into this Academy to be one of them. You want to make up for your past mistakes? Do so by staying beside your teammates. From what I understand, Adam Taurus threatened to hurt them: what good would running away do when all it does is leave them vulnerable for him to do just that?"
Glynda just sighed, bringing Blake out of her thoughts. "...was there something else you needed, or did you just come here to chew me out?" the Vice-Headmistress asked.
Blake gave a sigh of her own, "Actually, I was wondering if you knew anyone who might be able to help Ruby. Seems the stress of everything has resulted in her gaining a split personality disorder or something: the mood swings, the shifts in eye color, and don't even get me started on the arguments with Paulette."
Glynda felt like her heart had stopped for a brief moment: "What did you say?"
Blake shrugged: "The past few days, I've caught Ruby arguing with her reflection: insists on calling it 'Paulette' for some reason. Wouldn't say much, but she accidentally let it slip that she started hearing a voice in her head shortly before the Grimm started swarming the campus. I'm thinking that whatever Cinder was after might have had an affect on her or something."
Glynda narrowed her eyes, "Something...or perhaps someone." Shaking her head, she declared, "I think I'll have a talk with Ruby."
Blake's eyes widened at that, "Whoa, easy there, Miss Goodwich. Whatever you think of us, Ruby's innocent in all of this."
Glynda blinked upon hearing this, before giving the cat Faunus a look of understanding and compassion. "Fret not, Miss Belladonna. I have no intention of hurting your Team Leader. Like you said, Ruby is innocent in all of this." She smiled at Blake in a reassuring way, who nodded and left to find her teammates. As the Faunus left, however, the dominatrix-style huntress gained a frown. "Indeed, Ruby is innocent in all of this...but Paulette certainly isn't."
Meanwhile, Ruby was having another one of those arguments Blake had been talking about. "I just don't understand; why do you keep antagonizing my sister like this? I'm fairly certain she hasn't done anything to you or those sisters you mentioned."
Paulette - currently in control of Ruby's body as per their agreement - raised "her" hands in a calming manner. "Easy there, if you want me to stop threatening her, all you need to do is ask...but I do have my reasons. You've seen what happened during her battle with this 'Adam' your teammate mentioned. I'm just ensuring that she knows what to be prepared for in case he returns...and he will return if those rumors of him working with Cinder are to be believed."
Ruby just sighed. This whole situation was just stressful, so it was just about all she could do, both figuratively and literally. She still had control over her own mouth for private conversations like this, but Paulette still had control of her body as per their agreement: since Paulette had kept Pyrrha alive and given her a slight nudge of influence, taking care of Cinder as a result, Ruby was to aid Paulette in finding those who took the latter's sisters from her. Still… "There's a big difference between doing a battle simulation and just being rude, which is why we will need to apologize to Yang later on today. That said, maybe you should let me take over for a while. No offence, but any apology coming from my mouth will sound more genuine with me being the one giving it."
Paulette gave a chuckle. "None taken, and I suppose I could let you do the talking for a bit. I admit that perhaps I let my anger guide my actions far too often, so it is refreshing to have a calming influence like you around...not that it's too surprising, given your legacy."
Ruby gave a slight smile, knowing that she was referring both to how she was Summer's daughter - she'd have to ask how she knew her Mom someday - and how she was one of the last Silver Eyed Warriors. She still remembered her conversation with Ozpin after she had woken up following her battle with Cinder regarding that last bit.
"Is that why you let me into Beacon?" Ruby couldn't help but tear up as she asked this.
"I'll admit that the notion of a little girl who could freeze Grimm in place with but a look could be quite the boon to my Academy were I the type of person to take advantage of something like - which I'm not - but at the end of the day, your Silver Eyes are just a tool: all I wanted to do was help the person who wielded it become the huntress she yearned to be," Professor Ozpin replied, "I meant what I said not so long ago: for all my mistakes, I do not consider you being a student here to be one of them."
"Flattery will get you nowhere, Paulette. Really, all I've ever wanted to do was help people," Ruby replied as she came back to the present.
"Then perhaps you can help me, Miss Rose," called Glynda from the doorway.
"EEP!" Ruby cried out in shock, temporarily in control of her own body again due to her surge of emotion. "Miss...Miss Goodwich! I was just…"
Glynda chuckled and even gave her a look of understanding, "As I've told Miss Belladonna, you aren't in trouble, Ruby. That said, if you would come back to my office with me, there is something I'd like to discuss with you."
Ruby wasn't quite prepared for when Paulette regained control and gave her instructor a fake smile. "Yes, I believe that I have something to discuss with you as well," was the reply that came out of her mouth. Instantly, Ruby felt a spike of fear surge through her, feeling, not for the first time, a bit uncomfortable with this arrangement she had found herself in.
Glynda, noticing the change in "Ruby's" demeanor and knowing the fear that no doubt was running through the heart of the true Ruby Rose better than most, placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder even as they walked towards her office. "I promise Ruby: I'll do everything I can to help you." She allowed herself a smile: though the girl's hands physically remained stationary at her side, she could almost feel/imagine a small hand grabbing her own in appreciation.
Meanwhile Coco, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi were discussing Ruby's situation, having noticed some of the changes as well. "The device you wanted should be arriving with no problems," Coco declared, having just got off the phone.
Velvet nodded. "Good. I can jury rig it to be more portable at a later day, but for now, I'll take a large and bulky mind-dive device over none at all. Now all we need to do is try and convince her to let us use it so we can deal with these mood swings of hers. That said, I can't help but wonder if we could have avoided this personality change of hers if we had brought up the nature of our relationship slowly?"
Yatsuhashi gave the rabbit faunus a comforting pat on the back. "Something tells me it isn't quite that simple, but perhaps you're right and we shouldn't have just dropped a bomb like that on her after just finding out that you and Coco were a thing: the fact that Cinder's attack on Beacon happened right after said bomb dropped probably didn't help her mental state all that much. We can't change the past, though, and obsessing over it won't help anyone."
Coco smiled. "Well said, though I wouldn't say 'no' to a distraction right about now."
As if on cue, Fox burst into the room, a large smile on his face. "Hey, guys, check out the armor one of the Atlas specialists that are helping Beacon with reconstruction lent me! Sure he was a bit hesitant at first, but I managed to wear him down. Anyways, what do you think?"
Velvet blinked a few times at what she was seeing before clearing her throat. "Fox, we all respect you, and you know that we don't hold your blindness against you, but that armor...how do I put this?"
"It's pink. Your armor is pink!" Yatsuhashi declared bluntly.
Velvet just winced. "Yeeeah. That."
Fox blinked. "Wait, what? That can't be right. Why would they give me pink armor?"
"Well you did say the specialist you got it from was hesitant to give it to you. Maybe this is why?" Velvet offered with a shrug."
Needless to say, Fox wasn't too happy about this revelation. "What?! No, I'm sure he was just concerned how the higher ups would react...and besides, maybe it's not even pink. More of a… lightish red."
Yatsuhashi just sighed. "Fox, they already have a color for 'lightish red.' You know what it's called? PINK!"
Coco just chuckled even as Velvet went to give Fox a comforting pat on the back, the latter of which just groaned in annoyance at both Yatsuhashi and himself. Well, she had asked for a distraction.
Speaking of distractions, Blake was currently making out with Yang. Both as an apology for letting Adam take her arm, and to get her mind off of Ruby's sudden change in behavior. She was just about to take things to the next level when they heard Raven clear her throat. The couple separated out of shock, and Raven looked up and down Blake's figure. Her slender build, her black hair, and of course, her katana. The older woman snorted. "I see you inherited your father's tastes."
Yang couldn't believe what was currently happening to her. One day, she's hanging out with her friends at the coolest Grimm hunting academy in the world. The next, she's missing an arm, being threatened by her sweet little sister, and the woman she had been searching for since her childhood was eyeing her girlfriend! "I, uh… I gotta use the bathroom." With that, the blonde brawler pushed past her mother and left the room. She didn't even bother to wipe off the black lipstick marks all over her lips and neck.
Raven sighed. "I can't say I blame her. I just wish I could tell her why I had to leave."
Blake hugged herself out of discomfort. This isn't how she'd hoped to meet her girlfriend's mother. "She… she does want to talk to you. Eventually, but-"
"Have you met Taiyang, yet?" Raven interrupted.
"Um, I, uh… no. I haven't." Blake answered.
Raven looked out the window, towards the sea. Blake guessed she was looking in the general direction of Patch. "I used to give him such a hard time while we were in Team STRQ… but deep down, I had so much respect for him. I saw for myself how much of a struggle each day was for him. To go through all that and still smile... " Her eyes started to water, slightly. "A-and… and I liked him. Really, I did, but…"
Blake rested a hand on the woman's shoulder for comfort. "But what?"
Before she got an answer, the two of them heard a familiar scream. Glynda, Penny, and Summer held Ruby down as Team CFVY strapped her to the table. Paulette was now in complete control. "RELEASE ME, YOU INSOLENT WORMS!" She bellowed. "I swear by the gods of both light and darkness, I will tear out your spines and wear them as necklaces! I will record you screams of pain and agony as I grind your bones to powder, then listen to the recording on loop as a lullaby!"
"It might not seem like it right now, but this is for your own good." Glynda promised as she prepared the mind-dive device.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO RUBY?!" Weiss shouted. She was the first to arrive on the scene, followed shortly by Yang, Blake, and Raven. "Let her go!"
"Yes! Let me go!" Paulette snarled. "So that I may rip off your legs and kick what's left of your asses with them!"
"Guys, I know how this looks, but you have to trust us." Summer said. "I'm sure some of you have noticed Ruby's sudden change in behavior. How she's become more aggressive and angry."
"I have!" Yang replied. "But Weiss wouldn't listen to me!"
"Yang, there's a fine line between not listening and not caring." The Schnee heiress patted Yang's cheek in contempt. "When it comes to you, I like to think I walk that line every day."
"The point is…" Glynda pushed her glasses up and pointed to the machine. "We believe Ruby has come under the influence of a malicious computer virus that has infected her locator-chip. This virus - called 'Paulette' - negates a person's inhibitions and increases their rage. This machine will allow Ms. Polendina to enter her mind and fight this virus, directly."
Penny watched as Coco injected her best friend with a sedative. She felt miserable; she had just come back from the brink of death, and now she was about to lose her best friend. But she refused to allow that to happen. "Don't worry, Ruby." She whispered into her friend's ear. "Even in cyber-space, I am combat-ready!"
However, Weiss wasn't quite convinced. "If what you say is true, then let me go in with Penny." She offered. "No one knows Atlas tech better than me."
Summer rubbed her chin in thought. She could see that this girl cared for her daughter as more than just a teammate. "We do have a secondary inlet."
"Fine." Glynda conceded. "Miss Schnee, take a seat next to Penny."
Weiss nodded and took her seat across from the elaborate machine. Velvet fitted the duo with their headbands while Coco prepared the sedatives. "Now, when you go inside, Ruby's subconscious will seem very real to you both. Likely, it will resemble a place familiar to her. All you have to do is find this 'Paulette,' and neutralize it."
"We'll be fine. Now, send us in." Weiss insisted.
Coco shrugged and injected her friend with the sedative. Soon enough, Weiss' eyelids grew heavier, and she found herself falling into a deep slumber. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself and Penny standing in a potato patch on a rural farm. "Wow…" She gaped. "I wasn't expecting this."
"Well, in your defense, I doubt anyone would know what to expect when witnessing the abstract concept of thought up close." Penny replied.
"Huh? No, I meant… I wasn't expecting there to be this much space in here."
"Hi, Weiss!" The two huntresses in training nearly jumped out of their skin from shock. Standing behind them was Yang Xiao Long. "Knock-knock! Who's there?! Nobody cares!"
"Yang?" Weiss' eyebrow arched in confusion. "What're you doing in here?"
"Weiss, remember; we're inside Ruby's mind." Penny reminded her cohort. "This isn't really Yang. This is just Ruby's mental image of Yang."
"Man! I am so incredibly stupid!" Mental-Yang shouted, happily. "I think I'm so funny, but I'm not! I just tell stupid puns all day! Still, I love Ruby and Blake with all my heart!"
As if summoned, a mental image of Blake appeared out of nowhere. She was reading a book titled "Ninjas of Love" and drooling as her cat-like eyes dilated from arousal. "Oh, Yang, my love…" She licked her lips as her ears twitched. "I have a few new ideas for us regarding our filthy deeds together! Take me, you fool!"
Mental-Blake tackled Mental-Yang to the ground and began passionately making out with her. As Weiss recoiled in disgust, she turned to see Penny behind her. "Please, get me out of here." She begged.
"Oh, I would love to…" The green-clad android sighed, wistfully. Much to Weiss' surprise, Penny revealed a picture of Ruby encased in a heart-shaped frame. "But I'm waiting for my best friend to come here."
Weiss backed away as Penny proceeded to kiss the picture frame. "Penny, what's wrong with you?!"
"Uh, I'm over here." Penny tapped on Weiss' shoulder. "That's Mental-Penny."
"Oh, great." Weiss face-palmed. "That means everyone we meet in here is bound to be as dumb as Ruby."
Suddenly, a cloaked figure jumped down from the treetops. She took off her hood, revealing a chocolate-chip cookie in between her teeth. "I would not be so sure about that, Weiss." Mental-Ruby said.
"Oh, gods-dammit." Weiss slammed her forehead into the nearest tree out of sheer frustration.
To Be Continued
