Chapter Eight: What's Lost In The Rain
A deep throbbing in her head, a burning pain in her back, cool air blowing across her skin. Ruby began to shake herself from her unconscious state. Before she could fully open her eyes, Ruby felt her head yanked up by her hair. As she attempted to recover her bearings, she felt ice cold water engulf her head, gone as soon as it appeared. Gasping for air, Ruby found herself shaken to attention.
"Good morning, little red," the seductive feminine voice came from Cinder Fall, crouched in front of Ruby.
Ignoring the woman, Ruby took in her surroundings. She was in a small room, the windows covered by dark curtains, a single large steel door the only visible entry point. Looking down, Ruby found herself chained to a steel chair, her clothes had all been taken from her, leaving her completely nude.
"I do apologize, if you find the accommodations somewhat lacking. You'll have to bear with the uncomfortable situation for now. If you're a good girl, then we can see about making you a little more comfortable," Cinder spoke in a tone that almost sounded sympathetic.
Ruby raised her head, looking the woman in the eyes. The girl took a deep breath, leaning her head back slightly.
"See, that doesn't seem so hard-"
Ruby tilted her head back forward, exhaling hard, and spitting in Cinder's face. Cinder reached up, wiping the spit from her face.
"The second I get a chance, I'm going to get out of this damn chair, I'm going to find you, and I'm going to kill both of you. Don't worry though, I'll make sure you suffer first," Ruby groaned through her thin consciousness and pain.
Cinder let out a slight laugh at Ruby's threat, "That's just adorable, however you won't need to look far," Cinder turned her head towards the door, "You can come in now."
The door groaned as it opened, Raven carefully stepped into the room. Upon the sight of Raven, Ruby instantly attempted to tear free from the chair, her chains pulled tight.
"She reminds me of a certain someone else, when we first," Cinder turned back to Raven with a smug grin on her face.
"Shut up Cinder. Do you honestly believe that we'll win her over like this?" Raven said in low voice.
"She's not like you were. Though you were just as unreceptive, you were still so innocent, so pure," Cinder stepped close to Ruby, grabbing her by the chin, "She's different though. With you, letting you see the truth, was enough to break you. Her though, she's already been broken, already clawed her way out of the abyss. No, she doesn't care about the truth, doesn't care about what's righteous. That's what makes her so perfect."
"What makes you think, that even if you can bring her over to our side, that you can control her?" Raven questioned in disbelief.
"Oh, she will eventually see things the way we do. Don't worry about controlling her though, no, we won't need to control her," Cinder's replied her voice awash with glee.
Raven stepped past Cinder, getting close to Ruby, "Ruby, I understand how you must feel right now. I promise you though, once you know the truth, you'll understand everything."
Ruby gave no reply, instead sat back in the chair taking deep breaths.
"You have one hour with her, if you don't get results, then she's mine," Cinder spoke before exiting the room, the steel door slamming shut behind her.
Raven grabbed a chair, sitting next to Ruby, "I know you don't want to hear what I have to say, but you have to work with me."
Again, Ruby gave no answer, instead tugging lightly at her chains.
"Listen, I have to be certain, are you working for Ironwood or Ozpin?" Raven stared intently at Ruby, receiving no reply, "Come on Ruby, quit being so damn stubborn."
Raven stood up and paced the room, turning back to Ruby in her quiet state, "Fine, you want to know the truth? I'm the one that killed your mother. There was no other choice for either of us."
Raven walked back to her chair, sitting down, "Many years ago, Ozpin asked me to take a mission to investigate a dangerous organization. During that mission, I slipped up and got captured. However, instead of killing me, they talked to me, showed me things," Raven took a deep breath, running her fingers through her hair, "There's so much that you don't know, Ruby. So many secrets that those people are keeping. I found those things out, all of them. When I did, Ozpin sent Summer after me, told her that I had been manipulated. When we saw each other again, I tried, I really did."
Raven turned to look into Ruby's silver eyes, "She was special to them, your mother. I had chosen to leave my family behind to protect them. I knew that was the only way they'd be safe from those bastards. You're mom on the other hand, she couldn't do it. She couldn't leave you guys behind. They never told you this, did they?"
Ruby maintained her silence, continuing to tug at her chains.
"Ozpin and Ironwood, it's true that they're dedicated to eliminating the grimm from this world. I suppose you could hardly call it dedication, it's more like an obsession. The twisted extremes that they're willing to go to, in order to eliminate the darkness from this world, the atrocities they're willing to commit. Their ultimate goal, is to reconstruct an ancient weapon. Have you ever heard of the fairy tale of seasons?" Raven questioned, only receiving continuing silence as an answer, "You know, this conversation would be a lot easier if you participated. Fine, have it your way. Essentially this weapon takes five people to use. The first four, are referred to as maidens, people who are capable of wielding enormous power. Cinder holds the power of one of these maidens. The last person however, is a key. This gift your mother had, the same gift you share, makes you the key they need."
Raven stood back from her chair, beginning to pace around the room, "Which is why I need you to work with me. Don't you understand? They sent your mother after me, because she had become a liability. Not only, did they lack information on the maidens at the time, but if the key doesn't activate the weapon of their own volition, then it won't work. Your mother, she had begun to question things too much, had too many doubts. So they wanted to groom you to become the key. So why! Why are you here, Ruby? You're the only remaining key, so unless you've become that big of a risk to them, then you shouldn't have been sent on such a mission."
Raven brought her face close to Ruby's, looking her in the eyes, "I need to know what happened in the last two years. I need to know who you're getting your orders from. If not… if not, then I can't protect you."
Raven continued to plead with Ruby, questioning her, attempting to reason with her. Before long, Raven had lost track of time, being interrupted by the sound of the steel door groaning open. Raven winced at the sound of the door opening behind her.
"And I gave you so much time. I told you, she doesn't care about the truth, she doesn't care if she's being used. She's far too broken, for those things to concern her," Raven mocked, strolling over to Ruby, "I am curious though, I bet I can break you again. I want to see that strong facade of yours crumble."
Cinder turned away from Ruby, walking to a table on the opposite end of the room. Ruby couldn't see what she was doing, but it seemed that she was holding a glass object against her arm.
"Cinder, this is too far. You can't honestly believe that this'll get her to work with us," Raven pleaded with the other woman.
"She doesn't have to work with us, I just want to hurt her. Besides, you had your chance," Cinder said turning back towards Ruby, a glass syringe full of red liquid in her hand.
"Cinder, please-" Raven was cut off, Cinder stepping close and whispering in her ear. Ruby attempted to focus on the sound, but was unable to hear what she was saying, "You really are insane. Are you that desperate?"
Cinder did not answer, simply holding eye contact with Raven.
"Fine, have it your way," Raven said in a low voice, grabbing her mask from the table. Raven placed the object back on her head, approaching the door, "I'm sorry Ruby, but you've brought this on yourself," finishing her statement, a rift opened in front of Raven, the woman dissapearing a second later.
With Raven gone, Cinder slowly approached Ruby, crouching down next to her, "Well, it's about time. So, I'll be nice and give you one final chance to talk. I can understand if you didn't want to play nice with her."
Ruby sucked hard, preparing to spit at Cinder, only for the older woman to grab her mouth, "I appreciate that you're making this fun," Cinder held up the syringe full of red liquid, bringing it close to Ruby's arm.
"Aura really is amazing, don't you think. There are so many ways that it can be used. But you know, there are some rather… unorthodox ways it can be used. Once in particular, I got to learn from this sweet old medic that served in the Great War," as she spoke, Cinder sunk the needle into the vein in Ruby's arm, "You see, aura can of course be used to strengthen and enhance the body. However, if you can master control of your aura, then you can even use it to control your body parts. You can even control the flow of your own blood."
Cinder pushed the button on the syringe, grabbing Ruby's arm with her other hand. Ruby felt the liquid enter her veins, at the same time, Cinder activating her aura. She could feel a horrible sensation running through her veins, as if there was fire in her blood. The sensation quickly turned into agonizing pain, as if red hot needles were being dragged through her body. Ruby grit her teeth, trying to manage the pain, attempting to overcome the other woman. Slowly, painfully, the sensation made it's way up Ruby's neck, finding it's way into her head. Completely overcome with pain, Ruby's agonized screams began to fill the room.
In an empty gym, sitting in the heart of Vale, the sound of a punching being repeatedly pulverized, could be heard. The only occupant of the gym, was a blonde haired huntress, pounding away at the bag. It was well past midnight, but Yang Xiao Long, having now fully recovered from her injuries, was more than determined to find an outlet for her pent up aggression.
Yang had begun to wear her knuckles raw, small spots of blood visible beneath the tape around her hands. A puddle had begun to form under the woman, her sweat dripping off of her at an incredible pace. The bag itself didn't look like it would stand up to much more violence. Despite her haggard condition, and the unreasonable time, Yang yet refused to stop. As she pounded away at the bag, Yang failed to notice the hand on her shoulder.
"Yang."
"Yang!"
"Yang, you need to stop!"
The blonde whipped around, her fist up in front of her red eyes. Yang's anger quickly dissipated upon seeing her faunus teammate.
"Yang, you've been at it for hours. I know you're frustrated, but you're pushing things too far," Blake reasoned with her less than reasonable partner.
"Too far? Ruby's still out there! It's been months since we left Mistral, and what do we have to show for all this time?" Yang bellowed, her eyes beginning to glow red.
"You're not the only one who's upset Yang!"
"Really, cause it feels like you guys couldn't care to be bothered!" the blonde argued.
"Do you have any idea how much work me and Weiss have been putting in? Do you know how many hours a day, Weiss spends talking with her contacts from Atlas? Did you have any clue how many nights I've spent wandering around the underbelly of Vale, trying to find any information on Ruby? If you want to sit here and beat your hands bloody, then be my guest. I'm going to keep looking for your sister," Blake cried out, spinning around to storm off.
"Blake wait!" Yang reached out to grab hold of Blake's arm, her battered hands unable to grasp the other girl, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize. I'm just so damn mad. After all this time, for us to have no information, everything just feels so pointless."
Blake stopped, turning around to face the blonde again, "Everyone is just as frustrated as you. Even so Yang, no matter how much of your anger you take out in here, it doesn't do anything to help us."
"I know. I'm sorry I've been so damn useless," Yang's red eyes began to fade back to a soft violet.
Blake sighed, grabbing Yang's hand to inspect the damage, "We have a meeting with Ozpin tonight. JNPR just got back to town as well. From what I hear, it sounds like they'll be joining in the search."
Yang looked at Blake quizzically, "Did Ozpin recall them just to help us?"
Blake began delicately unwrapping the tape from Yang's hands, "Nope, once they heard what was going on, they wrapped up their mission and came straight back."
Yang chuckled a bit, "Jaune's just as reliable as ever, huh?"
"Yeah, hopefully with their help we can finally make some sort of breakthrough. Come with me to the bathroom, I need to clean up your hands," Blake returned in a motherly tone.
"It's not that bad, my aura will take care of it," Yang groaned in response.
"At the very least, we need to prevent an infection from setting in. A dirty punching bag, and open wounds don't go well together," Blake had now begun to drag her blonde companion to the bathroom. After Yang reluctantly allowed Blake to take care of her hands, the blonde had insisted on taking a shower before leaving. Not wanting to hold up her faunus partner, Yang had sent Blake on ahead of her.
Before Yang had noticed, she had already spent a great deal of time standing under the scalding water. The hot water and soap soaking into the cuts on her hands, had only served to further her pain. Even so, the blonde had found the sharp pain refreshing, allowing the water and soap to run down her body, giving no regard to the time. Eventually, Yang had decided it was best to finally depart, knowing her teammates were waiting on her. Stepping out of the shower, Yang grabbed her towel, wrapping it around her head.
"You sure took your sweet time," a feminine voice reached Yang's ears from the other side of the room.
"You didn't have to come back for me kitt-" Yang's mouth stopped, as her heart dropped in her chest. In front of the girl, stood a tall dark haired woman, a large sword on her hip. However that was as far as the resemblance to her faunus teammate went. Yang instantly recognized the woman, though it would be hard not to, as the woman's face was almost an exact replica of Yang's, "Mom?"
"I know you're confused, but I don't have much time. You're supposed to meet with Ozpin tonight, correct?" Raven questioned.
"How… do you know about that?" Yang stuttered out incredulously.
"I suppose that's a yes. Listen, your sister's in danger. If you go to that meeting, you'll only be sent chasing a dead end," Raven explained with a sense of urgency in her voice.
"You know about Ruby? Where is she? Please, you have to tell me!" Yang pleaded.
Raven tossed a piece of paper to her daughter, the younger girl catching it easily, "You need to hurry, she might not last much longer," upon those words, Raven disappeared into a tear in space.
Another splash of freezing water, her head being yanked up by her hair again. Ruby had lost all sense of time, chained to a chair in a dark room, constantly subjected to the same twisted treatment. Ruby sat in her own filth, her world consisting of either silence or pain, depending on how often someone would come to anguish her, or feed her the measly scraps she was allowed. Most often were the White Fang, they would come to beat her, whip her, hose her down, and waterboard her. Cinder was by far, the most sinister. The sadistic woman would punish Ruby using her aura, and the fire she manifested from her body. Shaken back to what remained of her consciousness, Ruby found herself staring into Cinder's eyes once again.
"I don't remember giving you permission to sleep, I'll have to punish you some more," the woman taunted through a wicked grin. Ruby looked down to see a syringe full of red liquid held to her skin once again. She didn't flinch as the needle was pushed into her vein, Ruby didn't struggle as Cinder activated her aura.
Ruby resisted the pain as long as she could, feeling her entire body being filled with agonizing pain. The girl could only hold out for so long, the familiar pain cutting it's way through her body. Before long, Ruby's pained screams once again filled the room. The punishment went on for what felt like ages, Cinder eventually letting up on the torture.
"You bring this on yourself, you know? All you have to do is give in. Tell me you'll give up, that you'll give yourself to me," Cinder spoke snidely.
Ruby mumbled out a response, too quiet for her captor to hear.
"What was that? You'll have to speak up."
Once again, Ruby mumbled under her breath, her head lulling back.
"Once more, I want to hear you break," Cinder brought her head within inches of Ruby's.
As a disgusting smile spread across Cinder's face, Ruby threw her head forward, slamming her forehead into Cinder's mouth. Blood dripped from the open orifice, Cinder reaching up to hold her injured mouth, "I said, that you'll suffer when I kill you," Ruby raised her head, defiance in her eyes.
"You disgust me," Cinder reached down, yanking Ruby up by her hair, bringing her bleeding mouth up to Ruby's ear, "You know, I think you enjoy this. I think, you like the pain."
The older woman let Ruby go, grabbing another syringe off of the table in the room, "Don't worry though, I'll make sure you get your fill, you glutton."
Yang had just pulled up to to one of Vale's most extravagant hotels on Bumblebee, burning rubber as she did so. Not sparing a second, Yang ran into the hotel, pounding on the call button for the elevator. The hotel was one of many, owned by the SDC, the team's rooms of course came free to them. Running her fingers through her long hair, groaning out of frustration as she waited on the elevator, Yang looked like a nervous wreck.
"Yang?" a friendly voice spoke from behind the girl, causing her to jump.
Yang looked behind her to find team JNPR standing behind her, the source of the voice was their leader, "What are you guys doing here?"
"Yang! I haven't seen in you in forever!" Nora exclaimed, hugging Yang.
"Nora, she seems to be in a hurry. Why don't you let her go," Ren spoke softly, peeling Nora off of the other woman.
"We got to Vale early. We heard you guys were staying here, so we figured we'd come surprise you guys," Pyrrha answered, her voice full of comfort.
"That's right, Blake said you guys were gonna be here for the meeting with Ozpin," a quiet, ding, could be heard as the elevator opened behind Yang. The blonde hurriedly jumped in, JNPR cramming in behind her, "I'm really sorry, but we won't make the meeting. Can you guys let Ozpin know?"
"Not make the meeting? Did something happen?" Jaune questioned as Yang hit the button for one of the top floors.
"I found out where Ruby is. We don't have time to wait, and talk with Ozpin," Yang said frantically.
"You… wait seriously? Isn't that all the more reason to talk with Ozpin? It isn't a good idea to charge in without a-"
"Shut up, Jaune. I know, and I'll explain as soon as we meet up with Weiss and Blake," Yang growled, cutting Jaune short.
After a couple minutes of unsettling silence amongst the party, the elevator finally opened, revealing a short hallway. Yang broke into a sprint, heading for one of the doors. The blonde threw open the wooden obstruction, bursting into the room with team JNPR a short ways behind her.
"About time. Do you have any idea how long-"
"Grab your stuff! We're going!" Yang shouted, cutting off the heiress, as she scrambled to gather her own equipment.
"What?" Weiss let out quizzically, Blake only raising an eyebrow.
"Yea, she's been like this since we found her downstairs," Nora informed the girls.
"She told us, that she's found Ruby's location," Ren added.
"You what? Wait, slow down. Yang, words will make this a lot easier," Weiss complained.
"We don't have time! Ruby's in danger, we have to go," Yang spat out in a frenzied panic. Yang's panicked state was brought to a halt as her partner grabbed her shoulder.
"Yang, I understand the situation is urgent, but if we're not all on the same page, it'll only make things more difficult," Blake spoke softly, calming Yang down.
Yang slowed down, taking a deep breath, "My mom, Raven, she contacted me," Yang handed over the piece of paper she had been given, to her partner, "She told me that Ruby's in danger."
Blake went wide-eyed at the scrap of paper, handing it to Weiss, "Your mom? When...where?"
Yang let out a sigh, frustrated at having to slow down, "At the gym, before I left."
"Are you sure she can be trusted?" Weiss questioned staring at the paper, "What if this turns out to be false information?"
"Just what the hell is that supposed to mean? Why would she go out of her way, just to deceive us?" Yang demanded indignantly.
"Look, I'm not trying to imply anything. It's just that… after what Ozpin told us, it just seems strange for her to do this," the white haired girl gave her cautious answer.
"Are you fucking serious! So what, you just want to wait around and think it over? Go and have a discussion with Ozpin, take our sweet time planning things out, and then what? All that, just for us to find out, that in the time we wasted thinking things over, that Ruby died? If you want to go that route, then be my guest," Yang spouted her fury, grabbing up the last of her gear and marching for the door, "I'm going to save my sister."
"Yang just wait!" the girl's partner shouted in an attempt to stop her.
"We're with you, Yang," the single statement was enough to stifle any other in the room. The man speaking was the blonde haired leader of team JNPR.
"Jaune, seriously?" Yang replied in shock.
"Jaune! Pyrrha, are you seriously in agreement? If we just run in without a plan, it'll just risk us all getting hurt, or worse," the heiress argued, just as surprised at Jaune's decision.
"Actually, I am. Even if it's risky, that's kinda what we do as hunters," Pyrrha replied with a steady tone.
"We came to help get Ruby back, so I don't see any reason to hesitate at this chance," Ren added.
"Even so, shouldn't we at least talk with Ozpin first?" Weiss continued to press her point.
"Look, I understand wanting to discuss things with Ozpin. He's more intelligent and experienced than any of us. However, we're all licensed hunters now, and we won't always have him to rely on. I think if my team takes a greater risk, in order to raise our chances of rescuing Ruby…. we're all willing to take that risk," Jaune's reasoning seemed to resound with everyone in the room, no one trying to argue against his statement.
Yang turned back to Weiss, "I understand that you feel uncertain, Weiss, but… it's our fault. It's our fault that things ever turned out this way. So, honestly, I don't give a damn what it takes to bring Ruby back."
"Sorry Weiss, but I think we lose this one," Blake comforted her friend, speaking with an apologetic tone. Blake hurriedly made her way around the room, gathering up her gear.
Weiss let out a deep sigh, rubbing her forehead, "I'll call and get us a ride. It'll take us a while to get Atlas."
Yang walked up to her teammate, suffocating her in a massive hug, "Thank you, Weiss."
"If it's in Atlas, would you be able to get us some more details on the location using your contacts, Wess?" Jaune questioned, ruining the moment between the girls, "If we can get some details in time, we should be able to come up with a rough plan."
"That shouldn't be too difficult, my family does own the building," Weiss answered disparagingly, "Give me some time, I should be able to get the floor plans for the building."
"Well, I suppose that convenient, if not awkward," Blake quipped.
"Look, my family owns half of Atlas. If some unsavory people decided to take up shop in one of the countless abandoned buildings we own, then it can't really be helped," Weiss huffed, dejectedly.
Jaune turned back to his team, scanning them up and down, "Sorry, we won't be getting any downtime. You guys ready to go?" all three member of his team gave Jaune a confident confirmation. All seven of the hunters in the room had changed quite a bit, since they had first enrolled at Beacon. The most drastic change had certainly been in the blonde haired boy. Not only, had Jaune managed to finally gain a mastery over his massive store of aura, as well as his semblance, as a leader he excelled both at a strategic and tactical level. He had grown taller, and broader, he had also forged himself a new shield and sword.
Though Jaune had originally refused to part with his family heirlooms, he'd been left no choice, after both had been damaged beyond repair in battle. Stubborn as he was, Jaune used what was left of the items to forge new equipment. Crocea Mors, had been reforged, now far too large to hang on his hip, sat slung across his back. With the help of Weiss, the remnants from the shield, had been turned into two glyph infused wrist guards. Which when powered by Jaune's aura, could create a shield proportionate to the amount of aura he used.
Within fifteen minutes, all seven hunters sat in a bullhead bearing the SDC logo. Once Weiss had the floor plans of the building, the teams worked frantically to formulate a plan of attack. The information they had been given, included only the floor that Ruby was on. Given that the building in question had eighty floors, Ruby being on one of the top, it was quite convenient. Regardless, it still left the teams plenty of rooms to search.
After a monotonous day of overseeing classes, Ozpin had finally returned to his office. To his great displeasure, Ozpin returned only to discover a message on his scroll from teams WBY and JNPR, stating that they would not make the meeting. To further his frustration, a third message awaited him, pressing on his nerves.
We need to talk, asap. - Ironwood
Ozpin rubbed the bridge of his nose, anticipating the headache that was too come. Embracing the situation, he opened up his scroll, calling Ironwood. Adding to his worry, he received an answer from the other side in an instant, Ironwood's haggard face appearing on the screen.
"You needed to talk?" Ozpin groaned.
"Are you aware that teams WBY and JNPR, recently departed for Atlas?" Ironwood cut straight to business, his tone as stiff as always.
Ozpin's eyebrow raised in confusion, "I was supposed to have a meeting with the two teams today. When I returned to my office though, I found a message from both, saying that they'd be unable to make the meeting. That's as much as I know."
"I just received word from my people less than an hour ago. Is there anything that could have tipped them off to my involvement?" Ironwood demanded.
"There's been nothing on my end, however you are the one that lost track of Miss Rose months ago. Who knows what could have happened in the meantime," Ozpin replied in an accusatory tone.
"Don't put this on me Ozpin! It was your responsibility to keep them in check. If they find out anything at this stage, it could be disastrous," the general's stern voice shot back.
"I'm well aware of the risks we face. I shouldn't have to remind you, that you're the one that put us in such a dangerous situation to begin with," Ozpin let out a deep groan, "They've accused you once already of having something to do with Ruby's disappearance, however even if they're coming to see you again, they should have no actual evidence."
"Then what the hell would they be coming to Atlas… unless they had another lead on the girl," Ironwood's tone changing from furious to dead serious.
"If that's the case, then the situation seems to be far more dire than either of us first assumed," Ozpin's tone was now just as grave as his counterpart's.
Strained, uneven breaths could be heard in the isolated cell where Ruby sat. The, bang, of a steel door slamming shut, being the only interruption as Ruby's torturers left the room. She had at first dreaded the sound of the imposing steel door, knowing it signalled yet another harrowing session of torture. As much as it disgusted her, Ruby had now begun to welcome it. Recently Ruby's body had felt numb, the pain almost becoming a strange comfort. It was one of the few things which reassured the girl that she was still alive, that her body had not given in.
"Don't you think you deserve this, Captain?" a sinister voice penetrated Ruby's ears.
The girl's head shot up, her bleary eyes finding an abyssal figure standing before her. What stood before her resembled a man, the similarities ending at it's shape. The figure looked like a contorted menagerie of a thousand tormented faces. The faces were painfully familiar to Ruby, "Do I really?"
"Are you pathetic enough to question us?"
"Does it matter? You're not real."
"You know that's a lie. We are all too real. You may have taken our physical bodies from us, but you can't erase our existence."
"Just fuck off."
"You say that, but it is your twisted mind that conjures us up."
"Fuck. Off."
"If you are so insistent on being rid of us, why not just make us disappear?"
Ruby answered with only silence.
"Is it because you can't? Or rather, because you don't want to?"
Ruby maintained her silence, only repeatedly trying to forget about the presence of the figure before her.
"You impose this upon yourself. Running off like you can be happy, hoping to return to the normal world."
"I'm not running."
"Whenever something doesn't conform to your ideal of the world, you simply destroy it. When you can't do that, you just run away."
"That's not true."
"You chose your current path, to avoid returning to your past life. You hid your face from others, so they wouldn't see the disgusting shell you have become. What about when the topic of your mother was brought up?"
"Shut up."
"The men that survived, the ones who shed blood for you, if they meant so much to you, why have you avoided seeing them since you were freed?"
"I said, shut up."
"The ones who you lead to their death, why do choose not to visit their graves, our graves?"
"Shut up! Shut the hell up!"
"You have rejected everything you have ever been. You tossed away your life as Ruby Rose, then you ran from your life as Captain Summers. Who are you? Do you just decide to be someone else, when one identity becomes inconvenient for you?"
"You're wrong. You're wrong," Ruby's speech continued to devolve, until only unintelligible murmurs could be heard.
A metallic, bang, freed Ruby from her own tormented mind. Ruby's heart jumped at the sound, the distorted figure vanishing from existence. She welcomed the presence of her tormentors, their presence being the only thing that freed her from her own twisted delusions. Ruby looked to see who had come through the door, a red and black clad figure stood tall in front of her. Ruby's mind flooded with fury, her heart racing, fists clenching. In her blind rage, Ruby also noticed that the familiar silence she had grown accustomed to, was replaced by the muffled sounds of battle beyond the room.
The two teams were currently approaching the massive tower, they believed to be hiding Ruby. During the trip to Atlas, they had worked out their approach, deciding to send JNPR in through the ground level, while WBY would work their way down from the roof. WBY was currently staged nearby while JNPR made entrance at the ground level. It was winter now, with Atlas experiencing slightly warmer than usual weather. The sun sat just below the horizon, freezing rain pouring from the sky.
JNPR had been dropped roughly a block from the structure, hoping to approach unnoticed. After what could hardly be called a cautious approach, the team had made their way to the front of the building. Once at the entrance, they found all the doors to be sealed. Undeterred by the obstacles that had been set, a massive blast rocked the front of the building. Nora, under the direction of Jaune, had blasted a hole through what had once been the front door.
A plume smoke and flame filled the first room, the blast alone dazing most of the White Fang guards that were posted there. Before the faunus guards had a chance to react, the forward most men, were sent flying from a single slash of Jaune's sword as he charged through the hole. Finally aware of what was happening, the guards readied their weapons, many of which were quickly cut down by a barrage of gunfire from Pyrrha and Ren. The guards quickly dispersed, using the obstacles in the room as cover. A few more grenades from Nora's weapon quickly tearing apart anything they would attempt to hide behind.
As the team pushed further into the room, their enemies moved in closer, hoping to gain some momentum in the battle. As they did, Jaune knocked a large number of them away, drawing their attention to him. In their adrenalized rage, the guards had overlooked Ren and Pyrrha, the two quickly moving in to flank the guards. After taking care of a large number, well over a dozen more came storming out of a nearby room. On the shoulder of one, sat a large metal tube with a conical object sticking out of it.
"Behind me!," Jaune shouted, the conical device blasting toward them as he did so.
All three members moved behind Jaune in the blink of an eye, the blonde bringing up his left arm and pouring aura into his wrist guard. Everyone in the room was shook by the blast, turning to see the results, they found a wall of light protecting the four hunters. Ren ran up, stepping off of Jaune's back, and leaping over the guards. Most of them, not noticing the black flash over their heads, charged in only to be cut down from behind. While Ren worked from behind the guards, Pyrrha used her semblance to assemble the metal debris blasted about by the rocket, forming it into a wall and slammed it into the guards in front.
The sound of the initial blast, was immediately heard by team WBY, signalling them to move in on their bullhead. Their bullhead made a slow pass over the tower, all three girls leaping out. As they landed on the roof, Yang used the assistance of gravity to deliver a blow to the surface, blasting a hole straight through it. All three girls found themselves standing on the top floor, surrounded by panicked White Fang guards.
Yang didn't spare a second, blasting shotgun slugs in every direction, Blake quickly emptying her magazine as well. While they expended ammunition, Weiss summoned countless glyphs, freezing anyone who attempted to resist. Yang and Blake quickly emptied their magazines, not sparing the time to reload, the two quickly charged into close quarters, assisted by Weiss as she summoned speed glyphs around them. Attempting to put an end to the girls' support, a group of White Fang charged in from behind Weiss. Their effort ending in vain, as they were tossed aside by a massive white Ursa.
"Ruby," Raven whispered in a somber tone.
Ruby gave no reply, staring hatefully at the woman before her.
"I know what you think of me, but I'm not the person you think I am," Raven approached Ruby, unsheathing her sword. Raven made a single movement with her sword, leaving a shallow cut on both of the chains holding Ruby's arms down, "Your team's coming to rescue you. I know you hardly have any strength left, but you have to do something to delay Cinder's men from moving you. Just hold on long enough for help to come. Your gear is in the closet across the hall"
Raven replaced her sword in it's sheath, turning back for the door, the metal object swinging open without her touching it. As the door opened, two White Fang guards stepped through, freezing at the site of Raven.
"Cin… Cinder gave us orders to move her," One of the guards squeaked out. Raven pushed past the men, remaining silent, slamming the door shut behind her. The guards approached Ruby, seemingly planning on carrying her in the chair she was restrained to. The men growing nearer, Ruby summoned whatever vestiges of aura remained in her body. During the time that she had been imprisoned, she had intentionally used the bare minimum amount of aura to heal herself. Biding her time, hoping for such an opportunity, Ruby gave a great heave at her chains, the steel snapping from her strength.
The men made an attempt to get back, Ruby managing to snatch one by his neck as he backed away. Reaching onto his belt, Ruby pulled out a knife she had seen him draw numerous times, throwing it into the chest of the other guard. The first man, Ruby slammed onto the ground under her, a sickening crunch could be heard as his skull impacted the floor. She quickly grabbed the pistol off his hip, should another guard come in. Ruby took a deep breath, taking in the situation. Remembering her naked state, Ruby ripped down one of the black curtains in the room, fastening it around her neck.
Desperately making for the opposite side of the hallway, Ruby tossed open the closet, finding all of her belongings. In a desperate rush, Ruby tossed on her pants, and grabbed Crescent Rose, tucking the pistol in the back of her pants. Stepping out of the closet, Ruby could hear sounds of battle from down the hall. Once Ruby had her weapon, any thought of escape vanished from her mind, her goal all too clear. Looking towards the sound of fighting, Ruby could see her former team, making quick work of the posted guards.
Yang turned her attention from her current engagement, seeing a flash of black from down the hallway. Doing so, Yang could see a girl clad in nothing but a pair of pants, and a black cloak. The girl's brown and red hair was in disarray, her face and visible body parts covered in dirt and dried blood. However, what stood out most vividly, were her eyes. The Ruby Rose that Yang remembered, had bright, glistening silver eyes. What she saw now, was cold, calculated, empty reflections of what had once lit the girl's face.
"Ruby!" the blonde girl bellowed down the hallway.
Ruby's plan was a long shot, the girl unwilling to care in her desperation and fury. Things would be far easier if she were in her normal fighting state, however in her injured, aura depleted state, Ruby had to be far more sparing in her actions. Knowing that the her prey would have had to go the opposite direction, Ruby bolted down the hallway, away from team WBY. The girl's head swiveled in every direction, looking for her foe. Eventually coming to a large room at the end of the hallway, she found what she was looking for. Before Ruby, stood Raven giving out last minute orders to a few White Fang that remained.
"Ruby! Wh-"
Denying Raven the chance to react, Ruby unfolded Crescent Rose, spinning it in a blinding flurry. Raven dodged the first couple swings, knocking aside Ruby's third swing. The younger girl's limbs strained under the intense movements, Ruby pushing down any pain she felt. As Ruby's weapon rebounded back, Raven backed off, attempting to get away from the younger girl. Allowing Crescent Rose to continue on it's backwards spin, Ruby fired a round out of the weapon as it leveled itself out behind her. The resulting recoil propelling her forward, and closing the distance between the two. As Ruby moved, Raven quickly sheathed her sword, an audible clicking noise as her massive sheath spun.
Ruby fired another shot, the momentum spinning her scythe blindingly fast. Raven continued to dodge out of the way of the weapon. Ruby's overstrained body eventually forced the weapon's movement to slow slightly. Noticing the slight change of pace, Raven pulled her sword from it's sheath in a single smooth movement, a slight red glow to the blade. As the weapon pulled from it's sheath it intercepted Ruby's, resulting in a large red blast, tossing Ruby back.
"She can barely stand, take care of her," Raven commanded the White Fang, retreating behind them as she did.
"Don't you dare!" Ruby screamed after her opponent. The White Fang guards closed in on Ruby, attacking her relentlessly. Looking for an opening, Ruby spun Crescent Rose, bisecting half of the men. As the top halves of the men fell, Ruby could see a rift opening behind them, Raven stepping into it. Ruby knew she couldn't cross the distance in time, her heart sinking in her chest. Time seemed to slow in Ruby's head, watching Raven disappearing into the rift, the edges slowly closing in.
Ruby didn't think, her body simply moving out of desperation. Mid swing of Crescent Rose, Ruby used all her strength to halt the momentum of the weapon, opening the chamber for the dust crystal as she did so. She had no idea if anything was in the chamber, had no way of knowing if her spur of the moment action would yield a result. To Ruby's disbelief, she could see a red glistening, a single dust crystal flying from the chamber of her weapon. Flipping Crescent Rose around, without the time or strength to aim, Ruby watched the crystal fly through the rift, squeezed the trigger of her weapon, the rift closing in sequence with the percussion of the round.
Ruby and all the White Fang in the room, were blasted against the far wall, a massive explosion of flame coming out of the neighboring building. Forcing herself off of the ground, Ruby pushed herself towards the window. The distance between the two buildings must have been at least a hundred meters, and Ruby was unsure if she even had enough aura for a single use of her semblance. Pushing as deep as she could, Ruby begged to every god within her imagination. She could hear screaming behind her, the voices sounding vaguely familiar. Refusing to let anything stop her, Ruby strained her aura, barely activating her semblance, the room filling with rose petals in her wake.
"Ruby! No!" Yang's lungs squeezed as she yelled as hard as she could. Yang took off in a sprint after her sister, Weiss and Blake quickly grabbing her.
"Yang, stop! None of us can cross that distance. Even if we could we'd be killed by the fire!" Blake shouted trying to put some sense into her blonde teammate.
"I'm not leaving her!" Yang screamed in return.
"I know! The bullhead is on it's way back, we have to hurry and get over there," Blake reasoned with her.
Yang realized her partner was right, giving up on her former action. The blonde took off for the roof again, her teammates trailing her. The White Fang seemed content to flee, their job done. As they made a dash for the roof, Weiss communicated with team JNPR, directing them to seal off the ground floor of the neighboring building.
Ruby flew into the massive plume of flame, firing her weapon behind her as she soared between the buildings. She could feel the torrent of fire, nipping at her flesh, could feel the black cloth around her catch fire. After a couple tense seconds, Ruby broke through into a smoke filled room, unable to catch herself, she tumbled across the ground. Scanning the room, she found Raven on the other end, struggling to her feet.
"You're a goddamn nutjob," Raven forced the words out of her smoke filled lungs.
Ruby lifted her weapon, using what little strength she had left, to aim. As Raven continued to struggle to her feet, Ruby squeezed the trigger of Crescent Rose, the barrel perfectly on target. For her efforts, the weapon made a loud, click, Ruby quickly looked at the chamber of the weapon, to find her magazine empty. Cursing her luck, Ruby fought against her body, willing herself back to her feet.
Ruby dragged her feet, forcing herself ever closer to Raven. Heaving her scythe over her head, Ruby took a labored swing at Raven. The woman got to her feet, barely getting her sword up in time to save herself. Ruby pulled with what little might she had left, to regain control of the massive weapon, narrowly dodging a slash of Raven's weapon as she did so. Unable to fully reign in her weapon, Ruby released her right hand, slamming her fist into Raven's face.
Raven quickly recoiled from the blow, stepping into Ruby and knocking the girl off balance. Before she could recover, Raven grabbed Ruby and tossed the girl over her shoulder. While Ruby laid on the ground, Raven pulled her sword, bringing it down to stab into Ruby's gut. Opening her eyes with only a second to spare, Ruby rolled herself away from the blade. Clambering back to her feet, Ruby was knocked down once again by a kick to her head.
Ruby's world went blank for the briefest second, coming to just in time, to see her enemy limping away holding her side. Again, giving no regard to her exhaustion, Ruby got to her feet, pushing on. Raven had made a run for the stairs, Ruby quickly determined that at most, the woman would only be able to use her semblance once more. She was likely attempting to get to a safe distance to use her semblance.
Ruby figured that at most, she'd be able to use her own semblance for only a matter of a few seconds. It was obvious, that despite her injuries, Raven was still moving faster than Ruby. If she followed Raven up the stairs, then she'd undoubtedly lose the woman. Ruby's head was spinning in an effort to find a method of catching up with Raven. Ruby's eyes stopped on an elevator.
Stumbling her way over to the elevator, Ruby began pounding on the call button, receiving no response. Jamming the end of Crescent Rose between the doors, Ruby pried her way into the elevator shaft. Ruby found the elevator sitting multiple floors below her. Awkwardly leaning into the shaft, Ruby grabbed onto the cable for the elevator, wrapping her arm around it. With her free arm, Ruby pulled up Crescent Rose, swinging it down in an awkward arc. A few sparks flew down the shaft, her effort doing slight damage to the cable. Cursing internally, Ruby pulled up her scythe again, this time bringing it down with as much strength as she could.
The result of Ruby's pained efforts, severed the cable, sending her flying up at an alarming rate. She knew that for a final use of her semblance, this was a rather absurd idea, but in the moment it didn't matter to her. As she neared the top of the shaft, Ruby used every last ounce of aura she could scrape up, waiting until she was within seconds of slamming into the top of the shaft. Releasing her aura, the world around Ruby slowed down. Her head went light, darkness encroaching on her vision. Just as Ruby's grip was ready to give way, the final elevator door came into view.
Ruby swung herself off the cable, careening into the inside of the elevator door, putting forth a painful effort to keep from falling down the shaft. After sitting still for a minute to catch her breath, Ruby pried her way out of the elevator shaft, finding herself on the top floor. As she clambered out, the girl could hear scuffling from the nearby staircase. Forcing herself to walk, Ruby arrived at the staircase just in time to see the roof access door open.
Leaning heavily on the guardrail, Ruby climbed the final flight of stairs, pushing her way out of the door at the top. Raven had her back turned, likely preparing to use her semblance. At the sound of the door, the woman turned around wide eyed. By all means, it hardly looked like Ruby should be alive, let alone on her feet fighting.
It looked to Ruby, like the other woman had said something. Amongst the freezing rain that pounded against the rooftop it was impossible to tell. The two, now illuminated only by the glow of the fire, and the distant moonlight. Forcing one foot in front of another, Ruby neared her enemy, telling herself all the while, that she would not fall first. They both knew, that would be where their battle would end. Forcing herself to forget her bedraggled state, denying the pain and exhaustion that plagued her, Ruby brought her weapon to the ready.
Raven lowered her stance, her hand on her weapon. Both parties took off, launching at each other. Sparks flew as their weapons clashed, both women forcing themselves forwards again, more sparks flying. Ruby spun Crescent Rose in deadly, practiced arcs. The attacks were all ones Raven recognized, years of sparring with Qrow drilled them into her head. Even so, as much as Raven felt like she knew the other girl's movements, everything felt completely different. The movements were more precise, the blade faster, and rhythm with which Ruby attacked, more violent and ferocious than anything Raven had ever experienced.
For a few brief moments, it was if both were fighting in perfect condition. It appeared as if any injury and fatigue they once carried, had vanished, as if carried away by the rain. However those moments quickly came to an end, Ruby's body the first thing to give in. As much as the girl willed herself, her body was unable to keep up with the movements she demanded. More and more openings continued to appear in her defense, Raven capitalizing on each and delivering shallow cuts to Ruby's body.
Eventually, Ruby's grip on her weapon went slack, Raven noticing right away. As Ruby attempted a wide swing with her scythe, Raven stepped in underneath the weapon, slamming the but of her sword into Ruby's exposed gut. Reaching up, she easily wrenched Crescent Rose from Ruby's grip, tossing the weapon across the roof. As Ruby fought to stay on her feet, Raven delivered a vicious kick to the girl's ribs, knocking her on her back.
"It's over," Raven stated as she struggled for breath.
Ruby laid on her back, watching the woman walk away. Her vision flicked between a haze and pure black. As Ruby lay against the cold cement, she could feel something stabbing into her back. Her eyes going wide, Ruby rolled herself over, nearly losing consciousness as she did so. Sluggishly reaching behind her back, Ruby pushed herself up on one elbow, pulling the object from behind her back. Holding it in front of her face, the black pistol shook violently in Ruby's hand.
A dark rift opened in front of Raven, the woman quickly approaching it with her back to Ruby. She wasn't sure what it was that kept her going. Whether it was her fury, her desperation, or her own stubborn attitude, it didn't matter to Ruby. Slowly squeezing the trigger, eventually, Ruby felt the click of the trigger mechanism, the recoil of the round firing. A splatter of blood came from Raven's knee, the woman slamming into the hard ground below her. Ruby could see the woman reaching for her weapon, firing again, Ruby hit the woman's right shoulder blade, more blood splattering across the roof.
Slowly making her way to her feet, Ruby made the long walk over to the other woman. Raven had resigned herself to sit on her knees, facing away from Ruby, completely unable to continue fighting. The girl pulled the weapon up, the barrel aimed through the back of Raven's head.
Team WBY had just boarded their bullhead again, the vessel lifting to the sky. All three girls shook in nervous anticipation, none of them knowing why Ruby had lept into the flaming building. The structure in question, now had flame and smoke pouring from it, the fire having spread significantly.
"We need you to get us above that building!" Weiss shouted at the pilot, to be heard above the engines and pouring rain.
"No can do! There's way too much smoke! It'll suffocate the engines before we even get close enough!" he shouted in reply.
"Goddamnit! We didn't ask, just do it!" Yang screamed, grabbing the pilot.
"It doesn't matter! Even if I try, we'll all plummet to our deaths the second we get anywhere near there!" he argued against the obstinate blonde, "The most I can do, is circle and hope the wind picks up enough to get us an opening!"
Blake grabbed Yang, attempting to get her to calm down, "Yang, if we all die trying to get to Ruby, then who's going to save her?"
"But… we're just so damn close," Yang said through gritted teeth, tears in her eyes.
"What the hell?" Blake and Yang could hear Weiss exclaim, as they circled the building, reaching a better line of sight. The girls looked down, to see two lone figures desperately fighting on the rooftop of the building.
"That's my mom, and Ruby. Why? What's going on?" Yang questioned, her heart beginning to race.
Within moments, Ruby had found herself on the losing end of the battle. Before long, she lay still on the rooftop as Raven prepared to leave. Yang had begun to panic, neither teammate able to quell her fit. They themselves sat in panicked silence, utterly confused at the situation.
As they watched, Ruby rolled over, putting a bullet through Raven's knee, all three girls at a loss for words. A second later, Ruby put a second bullet in Raven's back. Through the haze of the rain, the glow of the dim light, they watched Ruby stagger over to Raven, pointing the pistol at the back of her head.
"No. Please god no! Please, I don't understand. Ruby, please don't!" Yang cried, her tears now indistinguishable in the rain.
Ruby looked down at her hand, seeing the ice forming on it from the freezing rain. It was only now, that she realized how cold it was. Somehow, she couldn't seem to feel the freezing sting of the rain. Whether it was because of numb feeling left in her body from all the torture, or because of the indomitable cold that flowed through her veins she didn't know.
"I'm sorry, Ruby. I never wanted things to turn out this way. This was never how things should have been," Raven said with a regretful tone.
Ruby cocked the hammer on the pistol, the click easily audible against the rain.
"Please, just not in front of her. Not in front of her," Raven cried out against the rain.
It was only now that Ruby noticed the distant sound of an airship, turning her head to see her former team watching her. In the door of the bullhead, stood her sister, Raven's daughter. Silver met lilac, Ruby instantly understanding the pain in Yang's eyes, turning her head back to Raven.
"Did my mother… beg for her life too?" Ruby uttered with ice in her veins.
"Ruby-"
A single gunshot rang out against the night sky, blood and brain matter splattering against the rooftop. Raven's body slumped forward, completely still. A sorrowful cry could be heard in the distance.
A/N: Holy shit, I finally got here! I've been so excited to write this chapter for so long. I had a lot of fun with this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed. I'm not sure how many people actually read this bit down here, but I did say a couple chapters ago that the story would be picking up pace, and getting far more gritty. I hope you guys enjoyed!