Chapter 9
"Ruby! Are you alright?" Yang asked, her voice straining slightly as she hugged her sister in a bone crushing embrace.
"Am I alright?" Ruby managed to choke out, disbelief evident in her voice. "You're the one who got ambushed!"
"That was just fun," Yang grinned, standing proudly. She gave a small flourish, brushing aside some dirt on her gauntlets, as if for show.
"What happened?" Weiss asked, an edge of command to her tone. Ruby glanced at Weiss, sensing some annoyance, but she couldn't pinpoint why. Had her sister done something to annoy her?
"We came looking for Ruby is all. Wanted to make sure my little sis was safe. What's got your panties in a twist?" Yang asked, flashing a smile equally vicious and teasing.
To her credit, Weiss hardly flinched. "Do you have any idea how unsubtle you are? Or how reckless?"
Yang crossed her arms, snorting slightly as she towered over Weiss. "Oh yeah princess? What do you mean by that?"
"Somehow I doubt you were being overly stealthy, hence why you were attacked by such a large contingent of Beowolves. And in your melee, you barely respected the lines of engagement, or mitigated collateral."
Weiss continued before Yang could interrupt, turning to point to a section of destroyed earth. "About halfway through the battle, Ruby eliminated a flank of Beowolves over there. Seconds after leaving, the area was doused in flame."
"But she-"
"And over there, Jaune and Pyrrha were almost knocked aside by an explosion while removing the other flank. Nora's aura absorbed some stray spray from your shotguns. Ren-"
"Alright I get it!" Yang interrupted, her eyes flickering red as she glared at Weiss. "You had me at the flames bit. It's not like we were expecting back up."
"That may be true, but you should have been more mindful of your allies when they arrived. How would you have felt if your sister had sustained an injury because of your negligence?"
Yang was deadly silent for a moment, and Ruby could feel her heart stop. Yang's eyes turned a deeper shade of red, and Ruby flinched as she tensed. To her surprise, she merely took a deep breath, letting it go slowly. When she finished, she somehow mounted a broad smile on her face. "Alright, princess. I get it. You've made your point."
The corner of Weiss' eye twitched, but she said nothing as Yang stepped away, striding up to Ruby. "Well, in any case, I'm glad to see you're alright. Guess we'll get out of your guys' way for now though."
Yang leaned in closer, wrapping her arm around Ruby. "So what's up with ice queen? She's colder than-"
"Nothing Yang," Ruby insisted before her sister could let out another pun. "She's just...strict is all. Please, don't ruin this for me."
Yang's eyes widened in surprise, and she glanced at Weiss. A small frown settled onto her lips, and she looked to Ruby with concern. "You sure, Ruby? If you want, we can-"
"Really, Yang. Please. She's strong and smart and I really think that I can do something this way. I don't want to disappoint…" Ruby begged.
Yang sighed, visually deflating. "Alright Ruby. Your choice. Just know that we're always there for you if you need it."
Ruby smiled at her sister, chuckling slightly as she nudged her arm. Yang turned to her team. "Alright guys, let's blow this popsicle stand!"
Watching them go, Ruby let out a long breath, feeling more tired now than she had at the end of the battle. Still, she found herself dragging her feet over to Weiss, who looked at her with a neutral expression. Weiss began talking before she could even ask.
"You're wondering why I chewed them out," Weiss stated. Ruby just nodded, feeling nervous even attempting to ask. "I hold every member of my team to a high standard, but beyond that, I attempt to hold everyone to the highest standard possible. Back in Atlas, you have to have each squad up to the same level, since even one weak link means that the entire operation can fail. Not everyone can reach the same level, but they can push themselves to reach the highest level they can. And that starts by holding them to the highest standard possible."
Ruby bit her lip, trying to think of how to phrase the questions running through her head. Weiss' expression softened slightly, and she gently touched Ruby's shoulder. "You don't have to ask now. When a question comes to you, feel free to ask. As a leader, I owe you that."
After Ruby nodded, Weiss smiled, turning to the others. "What's our status?"
"All in one piece," Jaune confirmed with a sigh of exhaustion.
"Still kicking captain," Nora agreed with a smile, hefting her hammer over her shoulder. "So, what's the plan?"
"Same as before," Weiss assured. "We're going to see if we can find anything else to-"
Weiss trailed off as a distant sound became apparent in the distance. Silently, they strained their hearing, and Ruby began to realize it was the sound of engines and propellers. Bullheads, likely coming to start securing students.
"Sounds like Bullheads. About three of them," Ren announced with certainty.
"If we stick to the forest, we should be able to avoid their detection," Jaune suggested, turning as he headed towards the trees. After a moment, Ruby and the others followed, and he escalated to a light jog.
Soon, they were under the cover of the trees, creeping along. Ruby had to smile slightly at the image in her mind. Here they were, hiding from the people trying to 'rescue' them. It brought to mind all the movies she had watched with Yang about delinquent students, skipping class and sneaking around. And yet they were doing it to get better scores, not worse ones. Even she could see the irony.
"Hold up," Emerald commanded, catching Ruby by surprise. The sound of the propellers had gotten louder, and she realized they were almost on top of them. Everyone quietly slunk into the shadows, and Emerald glared up hard at the trees, her eyes flicking side to side as she listened.
Finally, the Bullhead came into view, and her eyes briefly locked onto it. Ruby swore her eyes glimmered for a second, though whether it was from the change in the light, or something else, she couldn't say. The Bullhead continued along, none the wiser that it had passed not one, but two groups of students.
Once it had passed, everyone let out a collective breath, and began walking again. It was quiet going for the most part, until Ruby realized that Weiss and Ren were leading the group, and that Ren was following a horde of tracks in the ground. Beowolf tracks.
Briefly, Ruby wondered why they were following the tracks of an enemy they had already defeated. A few ideas came to mind; there had been no alpha, so it could still be at large, and they intended to take it out. Alternatively, Weiss had some suspicion that it would lead them somewhere. It was more than they had right now.
Ruby's thinking was interrupted by Jaune very subtly stumbling around the others to join her side. "So uh..back there, that was your sister?"
"Yeah, sorry, she can be…"
"No worries," Jaune assured her as she fished for the words. "I have seven of 'em. I've experienced the whole gamut. Still, nice that she looks out for you."
"She's always done that, when she wasn't busy getting me into trouble," Ruby chuckled. Even so, she found herself sighing slightly.
She hoped this wasn't going to ruin things with Yang. Her sister meant well, but still...she couldn't help but feel coddled. Sure, she wasn't the most social, but she knew she was a good fighter, and she'd only improve.
"Everything alright-" Jaune started, but paused as Weiss' hand went up.
"Hold," Weiss ordered. Ruby quickly looked forward, grasping her weapon tighter, only to see Ren holding his own hand up to motion for a stop.
"We're close," Ren stated calmly, not even turning around. His whole body tensed slightly, and she could hear him murmur something undetectable. "I...don't sense any Grimm though."
"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.
"I have my suspicions," Nora answered, looking unusually grim. That didn't comfort Ruby, though it did mean she could stop holding her scythe so tightly. She noted no one else put away their weapons either.
The trees soon began to thin again, and Ruby gave a small cry as her boot caught a chunk of something. She managed to stabilize, and turned to glare at whatever it had been, only to realize it was an overgrown wooden wall of some form. Most of it had been mulched back to the earth, but the corner had caught her foot. The rest was nowhere to be seen.
Finally, they stepped into the light, and Ruby hissed in surprise at the sight. It appeared to be an old town, mostly worn down and reclaimed by the wilderness. A few heavy carts lay scattered, criss-crossed with claw gashes.
The scarring extended to the few standing buildings as well, and Ruby frowned as she looked around. This place was obviously wrecked, but she couldn't see any signs of more Beowolves.
"Where did the Beowolves go? There has to be more."
"What was this place?" Jaune asked aloud.
"Looks like it was a mining town," Weiss answered.
"All astute observations children," a new voice interrupted. Everyone whirled about to see a man in some kind of explorer outfit observing them from behind opaque silver glasses. "At ease; I'm Dr. Oobleck."
"Dr. Oobleck? What are you doing here? I thought-" Weiss began.
"That we weren't going to be interfering? You are mostly correct Ms. Schnee. However, do keep in mind some students are headed for the far edge of the forest, and they still have to get back to the school. Those students will be transported by Bullhead in order to save them time and energy."
"Then what are you doing here? We're in the middle of the forest," Jaune pointed out.
"Not far from here, a clearing was marked by signs of a large struggle. The team responsible mentioned that two teams had assisted them, and so we thought to look at the nearest location. Imagine my surprise when I found it absent of Grimm!"
"Wait, this place is normally occupied by them?" Ruby asked, getting lost. Oobleck spoke quite quickly, and she felt as if she was missing two out of three words in the hurry.
"Of course. These are the ruins of Bullseye after all."
"I've never heard of-"
"Of course you haven't. It did not last long. Overrun by Grimm in the early years," he summarized, taking a sip of a thermos he had produced at some point during the conversation. He paused, adjusting his glasses. "Tell me, why do you think the town was overrun?"
"It's got poor defensive planning. No mountains to control the approach, and no walls to compensate," Weiss pointed out, straightening as if reciting.
"Walls don't help," Ren pointed out, a bitter note creeping into his voice.
"You are both correct," Oobleck agreed, taking another sip. "But that is not the reason I am thinking of."
"It is outside Vale's control?" Pyrrha tried.
"At the time of its founding, it was. However, Ms. Nikos, you must also recall that several major cities were outside the protection zones of Vale. Look at Patch. Geographically isolated to a mostly forested island. Not only would you have to traverse the water to reinforce it, pushing into the interior would be challenging. And yet both Ms. Rose and Mr. Arc hail from there."
"So what is the answer?" Emerald demanded, irritation evident on her face.
"To answer the question, I ask you another question; why would the Beowolves stay here, and why would there be no Alpha?"
"Grimm are attracted to places of pain and suffering," Ruby answered sadly. She knew that much. "The town must be full of it."
"I do not expect you to get the full answer now, so I will tell you this; Bullseye was indeed a mining town. And that is why it was attacked. It was settled out of greed and arrogance, and those are negative emotions. Emotions which attract Grimm."
"But that still doesn't answer why there is no Alpha," Nora pointed out.
"You're right. It doesn't. Unfortunately, that is all I can teach you for now. Once we have studied Grimm a bit more, I suspect you will learn the reason why for yourself," Oobleck promised, and Ruby thought she could almost hear a note of sadness in his voice. Suddenly he straightened. "Alright then children, while I'm here, I should return you to the Academy."
"That's alright, Doctor," Weiss insisted. "We're trying to get more points."
"And points you have earned," Oobleck retorted, gesturing around. "You found Bullseye. That itself is worth a point. And for giving such excellent answers and taking the question seriously, another two."
Oobleck smiled slightly at the expressions of shock on everyone's faces, but kept talking. "Now, those points are liable to be retracted should I have to deal with any disobedient students, so I would recommend we take the Bullhead back to the Academy, post-haste."
Things were a little awkward as the Bullhead began to fill with students that had made it to the edges of the forest. The mass of bodies was bad enough, but the weapons were also a factor. Numerous pointed ends were carefully tucked into their holsters, or strapped into something to prevent them from injuring everyone.
But the weirdest part was the sense of dissonance. Ruby had expected to see the other students crawling out of the edge of the forest, looking tired and spent. Instead, they had come out at a stroll, looking mildly disappointed, but fairly well rested. At first, she had worried they had all performed better than her group, and with less people, but she slowly came to realize from listening that almost all of them had done nothing more than walk in a straight line, hoping to come across some kind of easy points.
A few had done more than that, actually searching, but of them, only one other group she had overheard had actually found something worth mentioning. And even they looked pretty untouched.
Ruby looked at her companions. They all looked tired, and she could see bruises on a few of them, not to mention dirt and dust stains. She had no doubt she looked just as bad, if not worse. And she could feel the eyes on them.
By comparison, they must have looked positively scruffy. She held the edge of her cloak in her hands, twisting and wringing the fabric to help. It would need a good cleaning, And her scythe would need some sharpening too.
Her fingers twitched slightly at that. Her encounters with the Grimm had gotten the gears in her head spinning. There were modifications she could make to her sweetheart that would improve its combat abilities. Perhaps she could convince Pyrrha to let her see her spear?
"Everything alright, Ruby?"
Ruby jumped, and was surprised to see Nora looking at her with concern. Feebly, she tried to put on her best smile. "Yeah, just...thinking about how to get my cloak clean, you know?"
Nora smiled slightly, and Ruby worried she had been seen through, but Nora simply offered a hand. "Mind if I take a look?"
After a moment's hesitation, Ruby undid the clips holding it on, handing it to Nora. She felt naked and exposed without it, but Nora accepted it gently, inspecting it with the utmost care. After a minute "hmm'ing," she turned to Ren. "Hey Ren, you think we can get these out?"
Ren leaned down, looking at the cloth seriously, as if inspecting a fine piece of art. "I would say so. We'll have to see what the store has in stock."
"It's okay guys, really…"
"Nonsense. On the road, our clothes got dirty all the time. We learned all sorts of neat tricks to keeping 'em clean AND sturdy. After all, a worn out shirt isn't going to help when winter comes. Once the teams are sorted and everything, we'll head to town together, see what we can whip up!" Nora insisted, flashing a brilliant grin. Ruby found herself getting swept in by the enthusiasm, and tentatively nodded.
"Alright, sure. Sounds like a plan," she agreed, trying to sound excited. She was just about to fasten the crosses back in place when Nora wrapped an arm around her roughly.
"That's the spirit!"
Ruby had a none-too-subtle feeling that her life was going to get a lot more...interesting.
