Chapter 4: Realizations
A barren white plain, extending forever, dotted by a single red speck. Ruby Rose was moving across the barren wastes of the Mantle region, as fast as her legs would carry her. Ruby had gotten the call on the radio, minutes after she turned in for bed. Her gut was wrenching in guilt, knowing that she had allowed this.
It was a single mid distance patrol. Her men were experienced, they hadn't lost a man in two months. Even if Stevens had insisted on letting her take a day off, she knew better. She was being weak, she hadn't needed the sympathy.
The men had been on their way back, when they encountered something they'd never seen before. They called it a monster, said it was tearing through them. Ruby couldn't imagine what they'd be talking about. They had seen and dealt with countless types of Grimm, what could be causing them so much trouble?
Ruby rounded the crest of a hill, spotting specks of grey in the distance. Pushing her semblance to it's limits, Ruby took off once again across the barren landscape. Moment's later, Ruby arrived to see the specks of grey painted red.
Her men lay torn apart in the snow before her.
"Captain!" a shrill voice screamed out for her.
Ruby looked for the source of the voice, to find the last couple men standing alone in the distance. Launching herself towards them, Ruby arrived too late, to stop one from being ripped apart by a great shadow. The man's blood curdling scream echoing across the wasteland.
"About time you showed up, kid," Stevens grumbled, blood covering his body as he held himself up on one knee, "They all died because of you."
Ruby felt a chill shoot down her spine.
"Kid, I'm talking to you," he repeated.
"Kid, you gonna say something?" he questioned.
"Stop this, stop," Ruby moaned, "I know this isn't real, stop."
"Kid, I'm talking to you," Stevens replied.
"Kid!"
"Princess! Hey, princess!" a feminine voice breached Ruby's ears.
"Princess, wake up! Scarlette!" the voice spoke again.
"Stop!" Ruby woke up, screaming and panting.
"Fuck's sake, I was just trying to tell you we're almost there," Annette's voice responded to Ruby's scream.
"Fuck, not again," Ruby mumbled, "Of all the people to be here."
"You alright, princess?" Annette questioned Ruby.
Ruby unclipped her seatbelt, standing on unsteady feet, "Fuck off, I'm fine."
Ruby instantly regretted her angry rebuttal, but not wanting to apologize.
"Whatever, I'm so sorry for showing a shred of concern," Annette responded through thick sarcasm, "While I'm at it, is there anything else I can do for you, princess?"
Ruby continued to kick herself, but knew she had dug her own grave, "Yea actually, there should be another airship coming in around now. I need you to take me to wherever they're landing."
"And, you just expect me to be able to get that kind of information?" She questioned Ruby in response.
"You know last time I checked, I am actually a Lieutenant Colonel. So unless you have a higher rank, I'm ordering you to," Ruby shot back.
Annette was silent for a moment, finally responding after a deep sigh, "I have some contacts in Mistral, I can manage something."
Ruby stood quietly staring out the small window, as Annette typed away on a terminal in the cockpit.
After an uncomfortable moment of silence, Annette finally stopped tapping at her terminal.
"Got it. A Hunter's Association airship, should be comin in soon. Not far from here either," Annette announced.
Ruby was legitimately impressed that the pilot was so resourceful. Now feeling even worse about how rude she had been.
"Thank you," Ruby mumbled out awkwardly.
"I'm not sure if Ironwood briefed you, Ma'am, but I'm to be your personal pilot now. Apparently, saves him the trouble of getting woken up for nonsense," Annette informed Ruby in a stern voice.
The information surprised Ruby, furthering her sense of remorse, "Sorry if I'm a little broken."
The quiet statement hadn't been what Annette expected, "Ironwood briefed me that you had… issues. I just didn't expect you to be such a bitch."
Ruby was seriously beginning to wonder, if she would actually be able to have any kind of pleasant relationship with the woman, "Well, I suppose you'll just have to get used to it. We'll be seeing quite a bit of each other."
"I'm just thrilled," Annette mocked sarcastically, "We should be arriving in a minute, get your shit ready."
"Can you maintain a position just outside the airfield, until we see them land?" Ruby requested authoritatively.
"Not a problem. While I'm thinking about it, go ahead and sync your contact info with my scroll," Annette answered unenthusiastically .
Ruby stood behind Annette, staring blankly at her for a moment. Annette shot back an annoyed look at Ruby's confusion.
"You do have a scroll right?" Annette questioned the younger girl.
"No," Ruby replied, through clear embarrassment.
"Fuck's sake! Seriously, why do you secret squirrel weirdos, always have to be such a pain in the ass." Annette blurted out in frustration, "You know what? Forget about it, I'm pretty well used to it by now. Though I'm pretty sure you're going to be the worst I've ever had to deal with."
Ruby watched her pilot reach into a compartment just above her head. A second later, she pulled out a small plastic tablet, and held it out to Ruby.
"Luckily for you, I come prepared. It already has my contact info," Annette continued, as she handed the device to Ruby.
"Thanks," was all Ruby gave as a curt reply, now perfectly content to remain quiet, rather than make the situation worse.
"Also, pretty sure that's the ship you're lookin for," Annette spoke, gesturing to a bright object, that had slowly begun descending on the airfield, "Once it's clear I'll move in and drop you off."
"No need," Ruby replied quietly, throwing her bag over her a shoulder. As Annette turned to ask what Ruby meant, her young passenger disappeared, filling the cabin with rose petals.
Ruby soared through the sky above the airfield, her mind afluster with anger. The young huntress, unsure of whether or not she should be mad at herself or her pilot. At this point, Ruby was almost starting to accept as fact, that she'd never have a decent interaction with normal people.
Ruby realized, that the social interaction she'd gotten used to over the last two years, didn't work to well with normal people. Once again, Ruby actually began missing the Redemption Corps. Thinking fondly, about how simple life had been there. All she had to really worry about, was fighting Grimm and keeping everyone alive.
Now everything had become so complicated. As much as it sickened her, Ruby was starting to think that Ironwood was right about her. Ruby was certain, that if she'd attempted to go back to a normal life, things would have ended up far worse.
Ruby's feet came into contact with the cold asphalt, pumping aura into her legs, she stopped her movement in a low crouch. She quickly moved to take cover behind some nearby crates, watching the airship landed. After a few short minutes, the airship came to a full stop, a handful of passengers disembarking, among them, her target.
At this point, Ruby was back to the same game. However, unlike in Vale, Ruby was quite confident that she'd get her opportunity. Ruby followed the two men out the exit of the airfield, and to a taxi that was sitting out front. Once Qrow and Tai had began to leave in the taxi, Ruby activated her semblance following them down the street.
Following the taxi down shabby narrow roads, Ruby took in her surroundings surprised at the dilapidated condition of the kingdom. The fading light of the evening revealed downtrodden wooden blocks of building, amongst wet marshlands. Ruby could see spacious forests, with short vine covered trees spreading out in every direction. The ground itself was quite flat, with no hills or mountains in sight. Although the area they were in was hardly skirting the main component of Mistral, Ruby wondered if central Mistral was like this as well.
If Ruby had to describe the kingdom, she would likely call it wet, dirty, and old. Regardless of that, Ruby had to admit that in the fading light of the setting sun, Mistral had a strange kind of beauty to it. The sun shining through the trees, and the massive cloud filled sky was an enchanting sight.
After following the taxi down countless miles of road, it finally came to a stop in a run down old town. The town itself, was slightly different than those that Ruby had been through already. Though it seemed just as old as the rest of the kingdom, the buildings here didn't seem as rundown. In addition, the city bordered the sea, with a sizable port and several large steel warehouses running along it.
The taxi pulled up to a three story wooden building, near the center of town. This building seemed to be a fairly large attraction in the town, as Ruby could see countless people entering and exiting it. Ruby watched the doors of the taxi open, and the men she was following stumble out, likely still recovering from the night before. Ruby had positioned herself on a building of comparable size, farther down the street.
Qrow, and Tai paid the driver and entered the building, both rather obviously exhausted. Ruby decided it would be best to follow them in, not wanting to miss the opportunity she was waiting for. Stashing her gear on the rooftop, Ruby leapt down into the adjoining alley. After following them in, Ruby quickly figured out why the building seemed to be so popular.
The building in question seemed to be a tavern, and a rather large one at that. When Ruby thought about it, a tavern of that size seemed to make sense for a port city. The tavern itself was rather comfortable. The first floor had a large bar along one wall, that seemed to double as a reception desk. The remainder of the floor had numerous wooden tables, with dim dust lamps illuminating everything.
As she entered the building, Ruby found her targets at the bar, conversing with what appeared to be a bartender and receptionist. A moment later, they both turned and headed toward a set of stairs located in the corner. Ruby hung back for a moment, before making her way through the crowd and following the men up the stairs. Silently following them through the hallways on the second floor, the two men entered a room toward the opposite end of the building. Waiting briefly, Ruby then moved in close to the door, pressing her ear lightly against the the wood.
"Yes, I do," Ruby heard Qrow's muffled voice speak from beyond the wall.
"The hell do you know! What will you be doing while I'm out there looking? Getting drunk again?" her father's angry voice replied from beyond the door.
"I'll be recovering from my hangover… by drinking of course," Qrow quipped in response.
"Oh, fuck's sake! Can you be serious for one goddamn minute, Qrow!" Tai shouted, continuing his angry rant.
"Look, we both had different reasons for coming here. I just don't see the point, in wasting my time looking." Qrow replied, clearly frustrated.
"A waste of time! Is that what this has all been to you! For over two goddamn years now, she's been out there! I don't even know if my own daughter is alive! Do you have any fucking clue, what that feels like?" Ruby could hear her father's voice breaking from beyond the wall, clearly distraught. Ruby continued to listen, holding back tears herself. "I'm going to go talk to some contacts I have here, I'll be out late."
Ruby quickly bolted from the hallway, hearing the metallic click of the doorknob a moment later. Ruby continued up the stairs, finding her way to the roof. Ruby sat herself against the door as she walked onto the roof. She knew she should be relieved, that she had just gotten the opportunity she'd been looking for. However, Ruby felt nothing but disgust at herself.
It seemed like no matter what she did, her actions just caused others to suffer. She thought about all the corpsmen that had lost their lives under her command, the pain her sister felt, and the despair that her father was in.
"What the hell is wrong with me?" Ruby's voice sounded in her head. "You're stronger than this. You have to be."
"Why? I just wanted to be a huntress? I never asked to have all this thrust upon me."
"So did you just plan on going back to your old life? Did you think everything would just go back to how it used to be?"
"I don't know?"
"Do you still wish to be a huntress?" "I don't know?"
"How don't you know. You used to be so confident." "Stop this."
"Where did your strength and confidence go?" "Stop."
"Maybe you should have just accepted your fate two years ago." "No."
"No? Look at you now. How can you be so certain?" "Because they were wrong."
"Were they really?"
"They were wrong, and they're still wrong." "You're fine with this then?"
"That's right, because I'm stronger than this." "Then prove it to yourself."
Ruby dug down deep, looking for that same cold feeling that had once overcome her. She remembered all the pain she had caused, but she also remembered the pain she had felt. She recalled the indignity, the humiliation, the betrayal. Ruby could feel her pulse slowing, her breathing becoming deeper. She still couldn't find that same cold feeling, and the certainty that had once driven her. However, she knew that she couldn't let her regrets stop her now.
Once Ruby had finally calmed herself down, she left the rooftop, heading back to grab her gear. From there Ruby, made her way to the ports. Upon her arrival, Ruby found that the work day seemed to be ending. Men moved around the port, parking vehicles and locking doors and gates. Ruby walked her down the port, enjoying the cool breeze coming off the sea and the waves crashing against the docks. Her main goal was to find a derelict warehouse, although that was proving to be a rather difficult task.
After what felt like an hour of walking, Ruby was ready to give up when she found one warehouse that peaked her interest. This particular warehouse, was tucked away in the corner of the port. Although it didn't seem to be entirely vacant, it clearly received very little use. Ruby made short work of breaking the lock, inviting herself into the building.
Once she was inside, Ruby quickly understood why the building was all but abandoned. Though a look of disrepair was rather common in the area, this building was quite literally falling apart. Aside from a couple shipping containers in the near corner of the warehouse, it was completely empty. All the windows were busted out, second floor walkways were falling down, and pieces of the ceiling had been ripped off.
Ruby stashed her bags nearby, deciding that the building would suit her purposes just fine. Once Ruby had thoroughly inspected her newly claimed building, she went about hiding various supplies throughout the interior. Now that all the prep on site was finished, Ruby only had one last task before she'd be ready. Although, she was particularly dreading this one. Reaching into her pocket, Ruby pulled out the small plastic scroll she had received earlier.
Taking a deep breath, Ruby called the only contact in the device. The line rang for a few seconds, before the other party answered, "Did you get lost already?"
"N...no. That's not why I'm calling you," Ruby answered meekly, flustered by the callous greeting she had received.
"Well, what do you want?" Annette asked impatiently.
Ruby swallowed hard, determined not to allow the other woman to get under her skin this time, "I might need you tonight, be ready in case I call."
"Seriously, we just got here. You're already " the woman on the other side of the line was abruptly cut off, Ruby hanging up the scroll out of frustration.
Ruby took a deep breath, contemplating what was she was about to do. Looking into the sky, Ruby realized that it had gotten dark already. She knew that it was time to head back, she also knew what that might lead to. After standing and thinking for some time, Ruby found her feet moving. Ruby walked her way back, in no particular hurry to get started.
By the time Ruby had arrived back at the tavern, night had completely fallen. The tavern was abustle with countless people, and the commotion that accompanied them, making Ruby's job slightly easier. She approached the door, her heart beating wildly in her chest, her palms sweating. She told herself that she was stronger than this. Ruby had faced down an endless army of grimm, she had led men to certain death only to bring them back alive, she had ended men's lives. Regardless of all this, Ruby felt completely overwhelmed.
With one final deep breath, Ruby pushed her way through the door, pulling her hood up and scanning the room. Hardly a second later, Ruby found the source of her distress. In the far end of the room in a back corner, sat Qrow Branwen drowning his sorrows in a glass of amber liquid. Conveniently enough he had his back turned to her, his head staring down into the glass. Ruby approached slowly, trying to stick to the shadows of the room as she did so.
Ruby found herself standing behind the man before she knew it, quickly taking a seat in the booth directly behind him. She was convinced, that her heart would beat out of her chest. This was the closest she had been to any of her former friends or family, in over two years. However she couldn't let him know that, the slightest mistake and all her effort would be meaningless.
Swallowing hard, Ruby finally found the courage to speak, "Drinking alone? I could swear I saw you come here with a friend," Ruby spoke trying to mask her voice. She knew her voice had gotten deeper in the last two years, however she didn't want to take any chances,
Ruby sat in silence, not sure if Qrow was going to answer her at first, "What has you so curious, Miss stranger?"
"Do I need a reason? We don't see so many foreign hunters round these parts," Ruby answered as smooth as she could, realizing that she was actually sweating through her clothes.
"Hmmm, I guess you got a point, Miss. But you're not from these parts. That's a rather piss poor attempt at a Mistralian accent if I ever heard one," Qrow mocked in an arrogant tone.
Ruby immediately kicked herself for tipping Qrow off to her act so easily. However, Ruby was just thankful that he hadn't figured her out yet, "I just happen to pass through here a lot on business. I work on an SDC Cargo ship. I find that mimicking the local accent a bit helps me to not stick out so much."
Qrow sighed, "I suppose that'd make sense, but I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you can't tell me the name of your ship, can you?"
Ruby instantly realized that her current approach wasn't going to work, dreading the thought of having to go to her backup plan.
"You know, kids these days really suck at these things. Seriously, is your generation good at anything besides brute force?" Qrow continued to mock Ruby.
Ruby had given up on the subtle approach, knowing she was only digging herself deeper, "Taiyang went to look for his daughter, Ruby Rose. He's not going to find her though," Ruby could feel the tension in the air after her statement.
"Don't think you're that clever, any amateur could figure that out. What I want to know is how you can be so sure he won't find her?" Qrow questioned, Ruby sensing his impatience.
"Because I know where she is," Ruby said in a low voice. Before she could blink, she felt the cold steel of his weapon at her neck.
"You know, there comes a point where you stop being funny. That was it. Now if you want to keep your head I'd recommend walking away," Qrow said the anger evident in his voice.
"Did you know that she was at the battle in the northern Mantle region? If you want to know more, meet me at the derelict warehouse on the far east end of the port," Ruby's voice was cold, doing everything she could to maintain her composure. Behind her, she could tell that the hand Qrow was holding his sword with, was shaking. Ruby calmy walked away, refusing to look behind her.
As soon as Ruby was out the door, she took off, rounding the corner and activating her semblance. Once she was far enough away, Ruby stopped in the first alleyway she could find. Bending over a trash can, she threw up the sparse contents of her stomach. Ruby hadn't felt like this since she had first arrived at the Redemption Corps. She despised herself for being so weak.
Regardless of her feelings, Ruby was still determined to finish what she had started. She made haste, ensuring that she arrived at her destination before Qrow. Once there, Ruby double checked all the preparations she had made, also taking the time to stop and wrap a grey scarf around the lower half of her face. She knew it wasn't a perfect disguise, however with the limited time she had, it was the best she could do. With the bottom half of her face covered, and her hood up, the only thing that was really visible was her biggest problem, her eyes.
Ruby was certain that Qrow would come, or at least she had been two hours prior. Now she was truly beginning to question her plan. She knew it seemed far fetched, however this wasn't some battle against grimm. For the last two years, her battles were all physical. She could destroy grimm anyday, exploit their physical weaknesses, use the terrain to your advantage, maintain your supply lines. This time, her opponent wasn't a mindless beast. It was an experienced hunter, who's mind and experience made him completely unpredictable.
However, this wasn't the only battle Ruby was fighting, as she found herself almost hoping that Qrow didn't come. As Ruby was ready to give up, she heard light footsteps at the door, turning to find the man she had been waiting on. Her chest tightened, she felt herself sweating, her breathing quickened, Ruby knew that she was a wreck. No matter her current state, Ruby stood resolute before her opponent.
"You know, I really thought hard about whether or not this was worth my time," Qrow bellowed across the derelict building.
"Then why'd you come?" Ruby questioned the man before her.
Qrow grabbed his weapon, bringing it up to point at Ruby, "Well, after you pissed me off so much, I figured I might as well come an beat you to a pulp. Gotta relieve stress somehow."
Ruby instantly knew she had to give him something, just as Qrow was about to move Ruby spoke up, "Your niece has a scar on the back of her left thigh!" Qrow froze, knowing that aside from her family no one else would know that.
"She got it from a beowolf when she was twelve," Ruby continued.
Qrow lowered his weapon, his eyes wide at her statement, "You better start talking."
Ruby felt an immense wave of relief, knowing that now she had some control over the situation, "That's not how this works, first I'll need something from you."
"And what's to stop me from beating some answers out of you?" Qrow asked arrogantly, brandishing his weapon again.
"I am," came Ruby's curt reply, pulling her weapon from it's place on her back, and slamming one end into the ground.
The air in the building was still, and the only light in the warehouse was the small amount of moonlight seeping in. Even so Qrow could see clear as day, that his opponent would not be an easy one. "Alright then, what do want?"
"You want to know where Ruby Rose is, I want to know where Raven Brawnen is," Ruby's heart felt like it would beat a hole on her chest. She knew that this moment, would determine whether she could ever go back to being Ruby Rose.
"That's what you want, huh? First, tell me what you know about Ruby." Qrow said calmly.
"That's not how this works! You're the one who came to me, you talk, or you get nothing!" Ruby shouted impatiently, desperate for the answer she wanted. She continued to stand there, staring down Qrow, both of them silent.
"I'll give you anything else, just not that. Anything you want to know," Qrow negotiated, his calm demeanor beginning to crack.
"This isn't a fucking negotiation! Where is she?" Ruby wasn't sure she couldn't stand another second of suspense.
"I don't know." Qrow stated plainly.
Ruby felt like her heart had been crushed, her chest tightened, and her gut twisted. She forced herself to maintain a strong facade, barely able to stand, "Don't fuck with me! You know where she is goddamnit! You have to know!"
"Look, there has to be something else you want? You have to tell me where Ruby is." Qrow tried and negotiate further.
"You really don't know how to find her?" Ruby questioned quietly.
"I haven't had contact with her in years "
"Please! You have to know something," Ruby pleaded.
"I'm telling you, I don't," Qrow was clearly becoming frustrated, "Why are you so hung up on my sister?"
Ruby had come this far knowing what her options were, at this point there was only one left, "I'm sorry," she laid breathlessly. She brought the end of Crescent Rose up, aiming it at Qrow. Repressing her fears, her doubts, her hesitation, Ruby squeezed the trigger. A bang resonated through the vast, empty building. Qrow reflexively brought his sword up, blocking the round.
As he readied himself to fight, he could see a blur approaching him. Ruby rocketed towards Qrow, bringing her staff down on top of him. Qrow leapt to the side, causing the blow to come up empty. As Ruby came down, Qrow swung his sword at her side. The girl quickly fired another round from her weapon, sending herself flipping backwards and avoiding the swing.
Capitalizing on her evasion, Qrow moved in and swung his sword to intercept the girl as she landed. Ruby blocked with her staff, the blow sending her sliding across the ground. Keeping Qrow from going on the offensive again, Ruby kicked herself off the ground, flying towards her opponent. As she neared, Qrow swung again, Ruby easily dodged, spinning her staff overhead. She began delivering blows like lighting, Qrow blocking and returning each one. Ruby knew she had to break the stalemate somehow. As Qrow swung his sword to her side, Ruby leapt up, planting a hand on Qrow's shoulder, flipping over him. As she came around his back, Ruby swept his feet from under him, knocking him to the ground. As she turned to end the battle, Qrow began firing his weapon at her, causing Ruby to retreat.
"Man, I must be getting old. To think some kid would make me sweat so much," Qrow grumbled as he lept to his feet. The man jerked his weapon, and it began expanding and unfolding, finishing to reveal a massive scythe. He launched himself at Ruby, his scythe spinning in a deadly arc. As he sliced at Ruby, she stepped to the side, another swing and Ruby blocked, using the rebound from her block he brought his scythe around, Ruby leaned out of the way. Once Ruby had an opening, she swung for it, causing Qrow to quickly move his weapon to block.
The two became locked in yet another stalemate, this time the pace even faster than the last. For every blow that one threw, the other returned it almost immediately. Ruby knew that she could break this stalemate, she had made extensive preparations to ensure that she didn't become locked in such a situation. Even though she had a way out, Ruby found that she didn't want the fight to stop. For the first time in years, she found that she was actually enjoying a fight. She remembered when she was little, she would train with Qrow, hardly able to keep up. For the first time in her life, she didn't feel overwhelmed by the man,
As Ruby looked at her opponent, for the first time she noticed that he was smiling. Qrow backed off for a second, keeping his weapon at the ready, Ruby doing the same. Ruby prepared herself for whatever he was planning, only to be confused to hear him begin laughing.
"What the hell, are you laughing at?" Ruby questioned annoyed.
"You really are as eccentric as ever, kid," Qrow chuckled out.
Ruby felt tears bite at her eyes, and began to lose control of her breathing, "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, come on Rubes, like anyone else would be able to fight me like that. I'm sure those pretty eyes of yours are just a coincidence too," Qrow bellowed.
Ruby felt herself freeze up, everything she had worked for had just been crushed. The tears in her eyes now falling freely, "Shut up. Shut the hell up!"
Qrow's jovial demeanor suddenly became serious, "Kid, why are you doing this?"
Ruby pulled the scarf from her face, and lowered her hood, looking Qrow in the eyes for the first time in two years, "That's none of your business, Qrow."
"If you think this is gonna lure Raven out, you're wrong. I guarantee she doesn't care enough about me to come looking for revenge," Qrow spoke stoically.
"I already know," Ruby answered, the pain in her voice showing.
"Then what the hell are you doing?" Qrow approached Ruby, furious.
Ruby brought her weapon up again, aiming it at Qrow, "If you're not good enough, then I'll just keep breaking the things she cares about. She'll come out eventually," Ruby felt her tears stop, felt her breathing slow.
"Kid don't be ridiculous! Everyone's been looking for you, you can still come back. Don't go down the same path as Raven, you'll only find more pain," her uncle pleaded with her.
"Go back? How the hell, am I supposed to do that? You really think that it's that simple?" Ruby questioned, frustrated at Qrow's naivete.
"Kid, everyone's been waiting for you to come back. It'll be alright," Qrow answered enthusiastically.
Ruby felt something familiar in her chest, her entire body felt sharp. She thought she'd lost the feeling, as her body was overcome by a bone chilling cold, "Just how naive…. can you fucking be! Do you have any idea the number of lives I've ended, the darkness I've lived in. It's not about whether I can come back, I don't need to come back. I don't need you people."
"Ruby don't be so stubborn! Do you really think I'll just keep my mouth shut?" Qrow shouted hysterically.
"Then I just have to make sure you're not able to talk," Ruby spoke with ice in her voice. In that instant, Ruby disappeared leaving a few scattered rose petals in her place. Qrow saw a brief glint, and brought his weapon up, barely intercepting Ruby's weapon, only to be rewarded with a dust powered was sent flying back, closing his eyes to shield them from the heat. Opening them, he was greeted with the site of Ruby rocketing through a plume of flame, the barrel of her weapon pointed at his head. He spun his scythe knocking her weapon to the side, spinning it again to swing at her. His scythe catching nothing but rose petals, Ruby reappeared behind him, delivering a boot to his spine, sending him tumbling across the ground.
Qrow quickly got back to his feet, immediately swinging for Ruby as she came at him, "Fine, if I have to bring you back broken, then so be it."
Qrow launched himself at Ruby, swinging his scythe, Ruby knocking it away, bringing the other end of her scythe around. Qrow blocked again, only to be blasted with another explosion. Ruby quickly took aim, fring at Qrow as he was vulnerable. As the rounds left her gun, Qrow disappeared, a black crow replacing him, and flying above Ruby. Qrow transformed again, spiralling down towards Ruby. Ruby activated her semblance, reappearing above Qrow. The man transformed into a pitch black beowolf as she did so, grabbing her from above him and tossing her into the wall of the building.
As soon as Ruby hit the wall, she activated her semblance again. Qrow landed back in his normal form, readying for Ruby's next attack. Three shots sounded out nearly in unison, Qrow dodged hoping that he would evade all the shots. Qrow hit the ground rolling, as three plumes of flame erupted next to him. Ruby was on him the second he was up, swinging relentlessly. It took everything Qrow had to keep up with his opponent. As Ruby took a wide swing, Qrow aimed his blade at her legs, rose petals appearing as he swung. Qrow immediately reached behind him, knowing it was a long shot, as he did so he caught Ruby's arm as she was about to strike him.
Qrow tossed Ruby to the ground, twisting her arm behind her, knocking her weapon from her hands in the process, "It's over, kid!"
Ruby reached her free hand into her jacket, and twisted towards her captured right hand, resulting in a sickening pop. Her action having the result of shifting Qrow's weight, as she pushed off the ground and shoved a knife into his right leg. Activating her semblance again, Ruby quickly had her weapon back in hand, once again facing down her opponent. Qrow stood on unsteady feet, Ruby across from him, holding her weapon with a single hand.
Ruby activated her semblance again, launching herself feet first at Qrow. Her opponent blocking with the broad end of his scythe, as both of Ruby's feet planted against it. As she pushed off his
weapon, she brought her own up, firing a single dust charged round into the center of his chest. Both Qrow and Ruby were tossed in opposite directions. Qrow found himself slammed against a one of the few shipping containers in the warehouse, seeing this, Ruby moved to take advantage of the situation.
Qrow struggled to his feet, his leg still in pain. He knew he had to take the offensive, however as soon as the thought crossed his mind he saw a bright blue object flying towards him. Realizing her objective, Qrow stepped forward to knock it away before Ruby could fire. Qrow had no sooner saved himself from the hazard, than he noticed Ruby was gone. Hearing the mechanical click of a bolt above him, Qrow looked up, moving his weapon to block. Qrow only managing to do so in time to realize, that he was not her target.
Ruby squeezed the trigger of her weapon, the firing pin slamming forward, igniting the primer in the bullet and charging it with red dust, the round spiraling out of the barrel. At the same time activating her semblance. A single hole opened in the top of the shipping container Qrow stood next to. Not a second later the entire warehouse was engulfed in arcs of blinding lightning.
Ruby used her semblance to launch herself against the wall, kicking up the wall and out a broken skylight. Qrow however, was not so lucky, as he was blown to the other end of the warehouse, electrical arcs tearing through his aura. As Ruby stood atop the warehouse, Qrow lay motionless on the cold cement. The silence that had once dominated the night, was now replaced by the sound of sirens blaring through the air. Ruby stood and watched as countless flashing lights approached the building she stood atop. Sluggishly, Ruby reached into her pocket and retrieved the scroll she had been given. Opening it up, she dialed the only available contact, almost immediately getting an answer.
"You need me?" a sultry voice spoke from the other side of the line.
"Yea, do you know where I'm at?" Ruby questioned her pilot with a monotone voice.
"I can see your location, I'll be there in a few," Annette answered.
Not in the mood to continue the conversation, Ruby hung up the scroll. In what hardly seemed like a minute, she could hear the roar of an airship's engines. Looking towards the sound, Ruby found herself nearly blinded by a small spotlight on the airship. Entering the airship, Ruby spared no time leaving.
"Let's go," Ruby immediately demanded.
"You have somewhere in mind, princ…" Annette coming to a stuttering halt, as she turned back to look at Ruby. The girl had blood and dirt splattered on her clothes, and one arm clearly hanging limp.
"Not here, but I still have business in Mistral," Ruby answered quietly, showing no signs of the pain that likely plagued her.
Ruby sat down, letting out a quiet sigh. Looking out the window, she could see the flashing lights circling the building below. As she watched the scene below her shrink from view, she fell asleep contemplating the battle to come.
A/N: Well so much for that fuckin timeline. The time I thought I would have to write, I didn't. There shouldn't be too much worry about a crazy hiatus this time though. Although if I don't have this story done by next summer it may end up on indefinite hiatus. That's only a 50% chance at best though. I'm really motivated to keep getting chapters out, the only challenge is getting time to write. On my work days I have about an hour of free time without sacrificing sleep, and on my days off I usually have a mountain of errands to run. Luckily I have some work days where my only job is to sit in a parked car for eight hours, that's usually when I get most of my writing done. I'm really curious what you guys will think of this chapter. I know a lot of you were really itching for more action, so hopefully this chapter helped scratch that itch. I took a bit of liberty with Qrow's Semblance, as we see so little of it in the show, and the thought that his sole ability is transforming into a crow is way too boring. Well I'm done rambling, I'd love to hear what you guys think of the chapter.