Chapter Nine: What We Become
The rain continued to pound against the roof of the building, the water washing away the blood that seeped from Raven's body. Ruby stared at Raven's unmoving body, wary of any sign of life. She had no idea how long she had been standing there like that. It seemed like it could have been hours, though Ruby guessed it had only been a matter of seconds.
She didn't feel satisfied, nor accomplished, however she also felt no regret. No, Ruby only felt empty, cold, tired. She knew that she shouldn't remain on the rooftop, acknowledged that the freezing rain would quickly subject her to hypothermia. Despite fully understanding how dangerous her situation was, Ruby felt no desire to move. Or perhaps, it was that she was unable to move at all.
Even if Ruby could will her broken body to cooperate, she had no way off the rooftop. Using her semblance was entirely out of the question, she would never make down the stairs either. In the worst case scenario, being picked up by team WBY's bullhead was unlikely to happen due to the plume of smoke surrounding the building. She could still hear the craft hovering overhead. Even so, Ruby couldn't bring herself to look at it.
Finally looking up from Raven's still body, Ruby's eyes went wide at the sight of a swirling black mass in front of her. The edges of the abyss slowly crept in, the last vestiges of the aura that powered it, now disappearing. Knowing the condition her body was in, Ruby had no choice but to take the risk that came with the mysterious portal. Ruby quickly looked to where her weapon lay on the roof, knowing that if she wished to escape she would be unable to retrieve it. Willing her body to do the impossible, she pushed past the corpse sitting at her feet. Seconds later, Ruby stumbled her way through the mass of darkness. Falling to the ground as she came out the other side, she recognized her surroundings coming to the realization that she was on a nearby rooftop.
Her next priority was to survive, fully aware that she was barely clinging to life as it was. Through the fog of her consciousness, Ruby sluggishly reached into the pocket of her pants, feeling the small plastic object there. The movement of her fingers across the scroll took all of Ruby's willpower. In time, Ruby managed to pull up the only contact in the scroll. As her vision lessened she managed to double tap Annette's name, watching her scroll blink as it attempted to contact the faunus woman. Only a couple seconds later Annette's face came into view, however Ruby was already too far gone to notice, her consciousness now faded completely.
Yang stood in the doorway of the airship, her body shaking and hands clutching her heart. "No, please," Yang mewled, more of a sound than words. A guttural cry escaped Yang's mouth as she collapsed to the floor of the airship. Weiss and Blake stood speechless, unable to do so much as comfort their friend. Regardless of their silent state, they didn't need words to understand the terror the other felt.
Slowly shaking herself out of her stupor, Blake bent down placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Yang, I-"
"Why? What the hell is going on?" Yang began speaking, hardly aware of her partner's presence. "This isn't right. This wasn't supposed to happen."
"I'm sorry Yang… I don't understand it either," Blake said softly, her face awash with grief.
Weiss looked from the rooftop down to her friends, her expression solemn, "Is she punishing us? Does Ruby still hold a grudge against us?"
Blake turned her gaze to the heiress, "No, that look in her eyes; conviction, tenacity, hate, I can't be sure, but it takes a lot to do that to someone."
Their conversation was interrupted by team JNPR bursting through the roof's door, the look of determination evident on their faces. A wave of confusion quickly washed over the group as they observed the scene before them. Jaune turned towards the hovering airship, pulling out his scroll as he did so. Weiss pulled out the buzzing object, answering Jaune's call.
"Weiss… what happened?" Jaune questioned morbidly.
The girl in white hesitated, unsure of how to answer the question, "Ruby's gone, retrieve that body," she replied curtly, hanging up her scroll.
All three girls sat down, accepting that the situation was well beyond words.
"Miss Schnee, would you like to land?" the pilot questioned from the cockpit of the airship.
Weiss sat in quiet contemplation for a moment, "Go ahead and land anywhere for now. Once you have, start making calls. Find out if a girl matching Ruby's description has been admitted to any hospitals in the city."
"Ma'am that isn't really my job-" the pilot nervously argued.
"Well if you wanna keep the one you have, I suggest you figure it out," Weiss spoke indifferently.
Ruby felt herself being jostled about, a deep rumbling in the background. Despite her efforts to force herself to consciousness, it seemed that her body had other ideas. Shortly after she felt her body lying on cold steel, a muffled voice speaking near her. During her continued endeavors to open her eyes, Ruby suddenly felt a warm sensation flow through her body. Finally giving in to the pain that plagued her; Ruby allowed herself to relax at the warm feeling.
What felt like mere seconds later, Ruby could feel that quake of an airship landing, and could faintly hear the whine of hydraulics. Again she could feel her body being moved; this time it felt much smoother. All around her, Ruby could hear muffled voices speaking; far too many for her to count. Amidst the increasingly confusing situation Ruby wished she had the strength to wake herself. Despite her mounting anxiety she soon felt her mind succumb to sleep; all awareness of her surroundings disappearing.
Countless hours later, Annette sat deep in thought in the lobby of a nearby Atlas hospital. She had spent the entire night waiting for Ruby to get out of surgery. When she had dragged Ruby in the doctors had immediately determined that the girl's injuries were beyond the reaches of even the most extensive aura transfusion. At first she had attempted to keep up with the list of wounds the doctors had called off, however the sheer volume had quickly overwhelmed her. Annette looked up from the patch of tile she had spent the last hour staring at, to glance over at the doors to the operating room.
Regardless of how many times she looked at it, the doors remained as unmoving as they had in the previous hours. A sudden vibration pulled her attention away from the door. Annette didn't need to pull her scroll out of her pocket to know who was calling her. If she looked at it, she would see countless missed calls from the same unlisted number. So far she had dodged Ironwood's calls all night; knowing how pissed her partner would be if she were to accidentally let slip any extra information to Ironwood. Despite the gravity of the situation Annette knew that Scarlette had a very deliberate way of doing things, and would be furious if anyone messed it up.
Annette's train of thought was once again diverted when the door's of the operating room burst open. Ruby's surgeon, accompanied by a nurse came strolling out making a beeline for Annette. Standing herself up, Annette took a deep breath preparing herself for the worst.
"Well, she's alive. That alone is a miracle. That girl should have been dead long before you brought her in those doors," the surgeon spoke with an angry tone, "As for whether or not she'll make it through is entirely up in the air. For now we're going to keep her under watch in the ICU."
Annette swallowed hard, not sure how she should feel at the glimmer of hope she had been given, "Thank you, can I go see her?"
The surgeon looked like he had swallowed something bitter when he heard the question, "Normally you wouldn't be allowed to right now. However, it seems that badge you walked in here flashing affords you a lot of privileges, in addition to the confidentiality we're giving you."
"That'll be all," Annette replied curtly, not willing to put up with the surgeon's attitude. The surgeon sighed indignantly before turning and walking away. As he did a nurse came over to lead Annette to Ruby's room.
After a short walk through a nearby set of doors, they quickly arrived at Ruby's room. The stillness of the room felt stifling to Annette. She had seen the younger girl beat to hell on multiple occasions. Despite what Annnette had seen before, Ruby's current condition was beyond anything Annette could imagine any human living through. The majority of Ruby's body was covered in stitches and thick bandages. On one side of the girl was an IV full of blood running into her arm, on the other side sat a nurse infusing aura into her.
Annette choked down the stomach acid rising into her throat, forcing herself to walk over and sit in chair next to Ruby's bed. Listening to agonizingly slow beeping of the cardiac monitor the older girl let slip a single word, "Fool." With that Annette sat back her mind racing at the situation she had found herself in.
Darkness surrounded her; observing her surroundings, Ruby found the darkness seemed to extend endlessly in every direction. Just as she was ready to give up, to let herself fade into that darkness, Ruby spotted two small lights in the distance.
Gathering her strength, Ruby pushed herself towards the lights. Strangely enough, as she did so she found her body to be inexplicably heavy. Undeterred by the unusual sensation, she continued to push herself. One step after another, struggling with every movement Ruby continued onward. Between herself and the lights, the darkness began to morph; twisting and turning itself into a human-like shape. As it stopped Ruby found herself face to face with a familiar old man. She had once thought of him like her own father, her closest friend and confidant.
"Hey there, kid," he spoke, his voice echoing through the endless nothingness.
"Stevens…" Ruby felt her body get heavier, her heart tearing at itself.
"Been awhile, huh? Didn't expect to see you here so soon though." he spoke jovially, affection in his voice.
"That's funny, I've been seeing you a lot. Even when I don't want to," Ruby replied downtrodden.
"Well, I suppose we'll be seeing a lot of eachother now. You can relax now, kid."
"What do you mean?" Ruby's confusion at the situation continued to increase.
Stevens chuckled, "This is it, kid. This the end. You've done great."
The words resonated in Ruby's head, the gravity of situation beginning to sink in. "Sorry, but I won't be staying."
The man started to laugh again, " You don't really get a choice in the matter though."
"Then what's that?" Ruby questioned, staring past Stevens at the two lights hovering far behind him. Her words seemed to cut through the endless darkness, seemingly empowering the phenomenon before her.
"Don't worry about, kid. It's all over, kid. You can relax now," he answered nonchalantly.
Ruby began walking forward again, ignoring the man in front of her. It seemed as if the weight pressing down on her had at least doubled.
"Kid, stop! You don't have to do this! You don't have to keep suffering!" Stevens screamed into the darkness behind her; his voice fading into the void.
Ruby willed herself onward, refusing to let the added weight slow her down. As she walked, the darkness continued to contort itself into the visage of all those she had lost, and those she herself had slain. With each face, her body grew heavier, each step becoming more difficult than the last. Twisting again, the darkness took the form of Raven, the older woman staring kindly down at Ruby.
"Ruby, I-" the woman began to speak.
"Shut up. I have nothing left to say to you," Ruby grunted out, between labored breaths. Pushing past her, Ruby came to an abrupt stop. The figure standing before her, was nearly enough to make her knees give out, "Mom?"
"Hey, Ruby. I've missed you," the woman before her spoke.
Ruby felt tears falling from her eyes, not caring to stop herself, "I give up."
"Please don't cry. It's been so long since I've seen you," Summer spoke tenderly, her voice warming Ruby.
Her words did nothing but increase Ruby's tears, throwing herself into her mother, she continued to sob, "Mom, I'm sorry. I'm sorry…. I'm sorry"
Summer wrapped her arms around Ruby, embracing her, "It's alright, I know you've struggled."
Ruby continued to sob, deciding to surrender herself to the nothingness.
"Even so, despite everything you've been through, your ordeal is not over yet," Summer spoke with a hint of regret in her voice.
Confused by what she heard, Ruby suddenly looked up into her mother's silver eyes, "But, I...I've already been through so much!"
"I know."
"It's been so difficult, so painful! I just want it to be over already! It's fine isn't it? We can finally be together again. I just… I just-"
"It's entirely because it's been so painful, that you can't give in yet," Summer whispered to her.
"Why! I don't understand! Isn't that what all of this is! Isn't this supposed to be the end!" Ruby screamed into the darkness.
"Maybe for others, but not for you. You've suffered, you've struggled, and you've seen what's at the end of that path. Even so, you've become so strong. Strong enough to claw your way out of the darkness, and to finally do what I couldn't," Summer spoke with conviction her voice cutting straight through to Ruby's heart.
"Why?" Ruby begged, "What couldn't you do? I don't understand."
Summer looked down at her smiling, "I know, but when the time is right, you'll understand everything. For now though, my time is at an end, and you must go."
It was instantly as if all the weight had been lifted off of Ruby, her mother shoving her forward, willing her to go on, "I love you."
Ruby heard the words echo through the darkness as Summer disappeared. Looking ahead, she could once again see the lights. Now that she was closer, Ruby noticed that the lights were silver. As she approached, it became apparent that they were attached to a human form. Ruby realized that she was looking a a pair of brilliant silver eyes. Moving ever closer, it became apparent that the person she was looking at, was herself.
As she stared in awe, the glow of the silver eyes in front of her grew even brighter. The visage of herself raised up a hand, extending it towards Ruby. Slowly, she reached forward taking the hand before her. The instant she touched it, her own eyes exploded with a brilliant light, consuming the darkness around her
In the once still hopsital room, Annette was was woken by the rapid beeping of Ruby's cardiac monitor. The faunus woman opened her eyes to see a flurry of doctors and nurses rushing through the doorway.
"What happened?" someone questioned.
"I, I don't know, her body just started rejecting my aura?" a young nurse replied panicked.
Ruby's heart rate continued to increase, beating faster and faster as the staff in the room worked in a panic to resolve the situation. Just as quickly as it skyrocketed, Ruby's heart rate quickly dropped back to normal. Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief, allowing themselves a few deep breaths.
Before anyone in the room had time to ensure Ruby's condition had returned to normal, everything was blanketed by a blinding silver light. Shielding their eyes, everyone present turned away from the source of the light, their screams alerting any in the area. Within instants the light had disappeared. As those in the room turned back to figure out what was happening, they found Ruby sitting up in her bed, a pained look on her face.
Jaws agape, no one in the room spoke a word. The girl before them had been near death seconds ago, now she was sitting up looking as if everything was perfectly normal.
"Ma'am you need to lay down, you're heavily-"
"Quiet," The single word, seemingly spoke to the entire room. Ruby looked down at Annette, their eyes meeting.
Annette immediately regretted allowing such a thing to happen. The look in Ruby's eyes froze Annette in place. She had spent a lot of time with the girl, but without a single word spoken between the two, Annette immediately understood that she wasn't looking at the same girl. When they made eye contact it didn't even seem like Ruby had looked at her. Instead it was as if the girl had been looking inside her, at something much deeper.
"Annette," Ruby spoke in a low voice.
"Y, Yes," Annette answered, realizing that she was shaking.
"Where am I?" Ruby asked as if she didn't actually care about the answer.
"A hospital," she replied hurriedly.
"Why?" the reply came with a cold edge.
Annette began to sweat, knowing how the younger girl had always adamantly refused to go to a hospital. She quickly decided that being honest was her best option, "You were nearly dead, if I didn't bring you… you would have died. Sorry," she answered meekly.
Ruby looked down at her body, then over to the hospital staff, "I see, thanks," she then turned her gaze over to one of the nurses, "You, pull all this shit off me. Someone else get me some clothes."
"B..b...but ma'am you're in no condition to-"
"Did it sound like I was asking!" Ruby's anger boiled over, a quick flash of light was visible in her eyes. Without speaking another word, the nurses quickly went work.
"Annette, we're going to pay Ironwood a visit," Ruby swung her legs off the hospital bed, as a nurse walked in carrying a set hospital clothes.
"You're sure?" Annette knew that Ironwood would be furious with the situation. She didn't know how he would react, but she was certain it would not end well. However, Ruby's expression was all the answer that Annette needed.
Ruby stood from the hospital bed, the girl's figure seemed to stand over everyone else in the room, "Let's go," Ruby glanced down at the stunned Annette.
"Of course," the pilot replied timidly. The two women quickly began making their way for the roof of the hospital, where Annette had left her airship. As they came to the roof, Ruby discovered that night had fallen while she had slept. The bandage clad girl stopped briefly to stare up at the night sky.
It was a moonless night, and the few stars that would usually be visible from the city were obscured by dense clouds. Ruby took note of just how cold it was outside, coupled with a strong breeze was enough to make one's hair stand on end. Despite the cold, Ruby looked unperturbed by the frigid air, as if she welcomed the stinging bite of the night air. Standing on the freezing roof, she could hear the low drone of airship engines. Turning around, Ruby could see an approaching airship. Delaying no further Ruby resumed her walk across the roof, her feet quickly bringing her to the familiar vessel.
Annette spared no time climbing into the cockpit, beginning the start up process for her prized machine. Ruby came shortly behind her, climbing into the hull and opening a compartment in the wall. Inside was a pair of black cargo pants, a grey T-shirt, a pair of boots, a few knives, and a pistol. Quickly changing out of the hospital clothes, Ruby pulled on the garments making herself far more comfortable. Reaching back inside she pulled out the pistol and a knife, tucking them into her waistband. As she was about to close the compartment Ruby spotted a nearly forgotten item sitting in the back. A large, raggedy, old red cloak sat folded neatly, a thin layer of dust accumulated atop it.
Hesitating for a brief second, Ruby reached inside pulling the item out. She gave it a single shake to knock the dust off of it, before pulling it around her shoulders. Content with her current attire, Ruby allowed herself to sit down, crossing her arms in front of herself. Within moments, she felt the all too familiar lurch of the craft as it lifted off of the ground. A moment later, the two girls were soaring through the sky, mere tens of minutes away from their destination.
As Ruby sat contemplating the upcoming confrontation, Annette's voice cut off her line of thought, "We're being followed."
Ruby's eyebrows perked up hearing the news, "By who?"
"Not sure, but the identification code returns to the SDC," the pilot nervously replied, "I can probably lose them."
A small grin spread on Ruby's face, "No, let them follow."
Team WBY had been sitting silently aboard Weiss' airship for some time. They were waiting while the pilot attempted to find a lead on Ruby's whereabouts. The only interruption had been meeting up with team JNPR. The other team hadn't witnessed the events that had unfolded on the rooftop, and now found themselves baffled. When Weiss had informed them of the details, the four looked just as shocked as the three girls. Luckily JNPR had called for a recovery team from the Hunter's Association before meeting up with them. As a result Raven's body had been transported already. Weiss was scared that Yang might really snap if she got close to Raven's body.
JNPR had already left to contact Ozpin, and inform him of their current situation. Meanwhile WBY could do nothing more than sit and hope. Though whether or not they were actually hoping to find Ruby again, was impossible to tell. Regardless, after hours of sitting restlessly in the bullhead the pilot finally broke the silence.
"Miss Schnee, I believe I've located the girl," he exclaimed in a hopeful voice.
Weiss promptly stepped into the cockpit, to look over the pilot's shoulder, "Are you sure?"
"The hospital nearest here had a young girl with severe injuries, and aura depletion brought in a few hours ago. Apparently she was in critical condition," He answered confidently.
"If it's the nearest hospital why are we just now finding out!" Weiss barked angrily.
"It was covered up for some reason Ma'am. The hospital left no record of of it. It just so happens that your family owns the hospital, so one of the SDC's people there contacted me," he explained.
Weiss face was covered in a quizzical expression, "Take us there immediately."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Weiss returned to her seat, quickly strapping herself in. Both her teammates were staring at her, clearly having overheard the conversation. Moments later the bullhead lifted off of the ground, taking to the skies.
"If it's really her… if it is, then what am I supposed to do when I see her?" Yang questioned.
"Yang...I-"
"She's still your sister. Despite what's happened….even now, there's so much that we don't know," Blake cut Weiss off, trying to reason with Yang.
"Was that… that person, really my sister?" Yang mumbled, doubting her own eyes.
"We'll have our answers soon enough," Weiss replied, staring out the window of the bullhead. Minutes later team WBY found their bullhead approaching their destination.
"Ma'am we've arrived. I'll be setting us down in a minute," the pilot informed Weiss from the cockpit.
"Make it fa-"
"Ma'am it's her!" the pilot's shout was enough to draw the attention of all three girls. The three hastily stood up to peer out the cockpit. Exactly as the pilot had said, Ruby was walking across the rooftop, making her way to a waiting airship.
"Follow that vessel! I don't care how far they go, you're to continue following; do you understand?" Weiss ordered without hesitation.
"Yes, Ma'am."
The pursuit continued for just over twenty minutes; all three girls watching anxiously out of the cockpit. The uncertainty of situation had their hearts racing, their bodies dripping with sweat.
"Miss Schnee, we're about to cross over the airspace of Atlas' main garrison. I believe this is their destination," The pilot spoke exuding confidence.
"Ironwood, that bastard," Blake spoke up, recalling their encounter with Ironwood earlier in the year; where he vehemently denied any knowledge of Ruby's whereabouts.
"Send their air control station our identification code, and inform them that I'm onboard. After that, go ahead and set us down wherever they land," Weiss commanded, becoming desperate to bring the chase to an end.
"Landing without proper permission, and designation from their air control could land us in a lot trouble," the pilot pointed out the obvious.
"I'm a Schnee. They may not like it, but my family practically owns this kingdom. They won't be able to do anything, aside from complain," Weiss gloated.
"Hey Scarlette," Annette called for Ruby's attention.
"Ruby," was the reply she got.
"What?"
"Ruby Rose, that's my real name. I'd prefer you used it," Ruby replied, her voice still as cold as earlier.
Annette couldn't believe what she had just heard. She knew Scarlette Summers wasn't her real name, she also had managed to figure out who she really was already. Even so, to discuss such things was a strict taboo.
"What the hell! You know better than to tell me that shit!' Annette voiced her shock without even thinking.
"It's not shit, it's my name, and it really doesn't matter anymore," Ruby answered with no change in her tone.
"You… fuck, I can never tell what you're thinking."
"Was there something you wanted?" the younger girl asked.
Ruby's question reminded her of her original reason for calling for the girl's attention. Before she could voice her original question, Annette realized it no longer mattered.
"I already have the answer to my question," Annette groaned.
The corners of Ruby's mouth turned up slightly, "Oh, really. Now you've really got me curious."
Annette groaned, knowing Ruby wouldn't relent, "I was going to ask what you're planning by going to see Ironwood so suddenly."
"Am I that obvious?" Ruby questioned playfully.
"Not normally," Annette replied curtly, hoping Ruby would drop the subject. Luckily for her, the red clad girl wasn't in the mood for more conversation. The uncomfortable silence continued for a few more minutes, up until they approached their destination.
"We're over Atlas military airspace now. I've sent a landing request to air control," Annette informed her passenger.
Ruby stood from seat to stroll over to Annette, "No need, Ironwood should still be in his office correct?"
"Knowing that man, and everything that's happened today, I wouldn't doubt it," Annette answered.
"Good, just make sure we pass over his command building, and don't slow down," Ruby ordered.
Annette instantly understood what Ruby was planning. She knew that in Ruby's condition it would be incredibly reckless, but knew that there would be no talking sense into the girl. Altering their course, the faunus woman turned the airship, and lowered their altitude. Reaching down Annette flipped a switch turning her comms off, immediately growing tired of listening to air control screaming at her.
The atmosphere inside the airship had become so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Annette couldn't be certain, but she a dreadful feeling that her partner's night would be filled with reckless actions. Strangely enough, when she looked back at Ruby she could tell the girl was nothing but calm.
"We'll be passing over the target shortly," Annette announced hesitantly.
"Good," Ruby hit a button next to the side door, triggering it to slide open, "Just tell me when."
Annette glanced back, shaking her head, "God, you're insane"
Either Ruby didn't hear her or didn't care to answer, as the girl simply continued to stare intently out the open door.
"Now!" Annette shouted bracing her mind for what she was about to see. Before the pilot even had time to blink, Ruby had disappeared from the doorway.
Ruby felt the cold air against her skin, and the ever present pull of gravity on her body. She readied her restored aura, pumping it into her legs and spine. Though she didn't fully understand how the silver light she had seen earlier worked, she was certain it was responsible for restoring her practically nonexistent aura, and healing the gravest of her injuries. Seconds later Ruby righted her body, bracing her feet below herself. She landed with a loud, 'thud,' but sustained no injuries, allowing herself to roll forward, negating her momentum.
Standing and looking forward, Ruby saw the same building where she had first confronted Ironwood. Where she had agreed to give up her freedom for that of others. This time there would be no such acquiescence. Approaching the building she noticed that there was guards standing in front of the building, with their weapon drawn down on her. Instead of ordinary guards they were Ironwood's metal monstrosities.
Ruby could hear numerous, orders echoing from their speakers, but chose to pay them no heed. Reaching into her pocket, Ruby pulled out a slim piece of plastic that Ironwood had given. She had left it with the clothes in the airship for a situation like this.
"Lieutenant Colonel Scarlette Summers! Stand aside!" Ruby's voice boomed across the night, as she held up the ID card.
After a short pause a bright red light shone across her body by one of the metal knights. After a short moment the light disappeared, and the knights stepped aside, "My apologies Colonel. Have a good evening."
Ruby continued past the metal soldiers, approaching the doors. As her hand touched the door, Ruby heard the whine of an airship's engines, turning around she spotted her pursuers. She knew they wouldn't make it past the knights without a fight. Regardless of whether they fought or waited for her, she had plenty of time to take care of her matters with Ironwood without interruption. Unbothered by the added complication Ruby pushed through the large doors, making a bee-line for Ironwood's office.
She remembered the path perfectly, though she had to admit that the building had a far more domineering feeling at night. After a couple minutes of marching her way through the building, she reached the door she was looking for. Staring her in the face was a placard reading, 'General James Ironwood,' without giving the courtesy of knocking Ruby threw the door open. Sitting at his desk, with an expectant face sat Ironwood, his chin resting on his folded hands.
"Colonel Summers, you can't at least knock before barging into my office?" Ironwood question passively.
"My name, is Ruby Rose. Besides, it looks like you were expecting me," Ruby's cold eyes cut through the man, tossing her ID on his desk as she spoke.
Ironwood's face instantly turned sour at her words, "You truly are a disappointment. You manage to get closer to Cinder than any asset in the past, and then fail to kill her. Then you make a huge mess of my city, leaving dead bodies and burnt buildings in your wake. After all that, after everything you've done….you have the audacity to come in here and say that!"
Ruby's expression remained cold and aggressive, "Did you know?"
Ironwood's eyebrow raised at Ruby's question, "I know many things, you'll have to be a bit more specific."
"Don't play me for a fool. Did you know…. about Raven, and my mother?" Ruby questioned her voice growing increasingly aggressive.
A look of defeat quickly flashed over the general's face, before it returned to his stalwart expression. Ironwood let out a deep sigh, "I see. I suppose these months of captivity were hard on you. I'm not sure what kind of lies those bastards told you. I apologize for being so brash, I'll have someone come take you to get some rest. We can continue this after you've had time to decompre-"
Ironwood hadn't the time to continue his demeaning dialogue, a flash of silver light illuminating the dim room. Ruby shot across the room, grabbing the man by his hair and slamming his head down into his desk hard enough to splinter it. At the same time, pulling the dagger from her belt and holding it to the man's neck.
"Don't fuck with me! Did you fucking know!" Ruby's expression conveyed far more than her words. Enough so, that even Ironwood couldn't help but feel fear from young girl.
"You… god damnit," Ironwood muttered, reaching up with his prosthetic arm to toss the girl away.
Before he could even touch Ruby, she had appeared behind him, pressing him into the same position. Ironwood went to grab at the girl with his prosthetic once again, to find that he couldn't move it. Looking down, Ironwood saw his arm laying on ground, a clean cut through the steel joint that once held it.
"Oh, I see that arm wasn't real. Well let's try this again. You're going to answer my question, or I'm going to start finding out for myself what pieces of you are real," Ruby's voice sent chills down Ironwood's spine.
"You goddamn child! Yes! Yes, I knew about it all goddamnit! What the hell does it matter? I manipulated you to work for me because it was necessary. I have millions of innocent lives that I'm responsible for protecting. Meanwhile here you are, crying that I lied to you to do that," Ironwood stood up, pushing Ruby away from himself, the blade at his neck drawing blood, "What the hell would you understand? Every decision I make, every command I give could be the one that ruins Atlas! Do you have any idea what that sort of burden is like? So yes, if I have to do some loathsome things, if a few people have to get stepped on for that to happen, then I'll continue doing so."
Ruby had stood quietly, listening to what Ironwood said, "I don't care about any of that. I don't care about your responsibilities, nor do I care about the lives you claim to protect," there was an expression of pained shock on Ironwood's face at Ruby's words, "Is there anything else to the story you want me to know?"
"You disgust off how you're acting I'm pretty sure you have the whole story. Raven wouldn't have any reason to lie to you," Ironwood spit out.
"Then you can continue living in your misery. I'll have nothing else to do with you from here on out," Ruby ended the conversation there, turning for the door.
"And what about them? Your precious Redemption Corps?" Ironwood sneered out of anger, instantly regretting it.
Ruby recoiled around, her gaze was almost enough to make his knees give out, "If you dare, if you so much as cast you disgusting eyes towards them; then I promise you Ironwood. I will trample everything you stand for. I will leave Atlas a smoldering ruin in my wake!" With no more words spared, Ruby stormed out of the office.
As soon as the door closed, Ironwood collapsed, sitting on the floor. He had no such intention of doing anything to her men. He knew it wouldn't benefit him in any way. Regardless, he carelessly let the words slip from his mouth to hurt her, and regretted it sorely. Reaching into his pocket, Ironwood pulled out a scroll, hitting a couple buttons. The other side answered immediately.
"What do you need?" the voice from the other side answered.
"She's too dangerous. I don't care how you do it, I want her dead," Ironwood voiced spitefully.
The other side was silent for a minute, "Yes, sir."
Team WBY had set their bullhead down directly in front of the building Ruby entered. They had wanted to follow her in, however Ironwood's robotic security had made it clear that wasn't happening without a fight. Under normal circumstances, Weiss might not mind the extra trouble, but given Yang's current state, she wasn't sure her head was in the right place for a fight.
As a result team WBY currently sat on the side of their bullhead, waiting for Ruby to exit the building. Worried about the possibility of Ruby sneaking out through another exit, Weiss had used a large glyph to ensure that if anyone left the building she'd know. Now there was nothing left for them to do, but wait anxiously.
After what felt like hours, the door of the building pushed open. It was as if all the air had disappeared, all three girls stood dumbfounded, not daring to take breath. For nearly three years they had been searching for Ruby Rose. She had been an innocent young girl that had once led them, the same girl that looked as if her heart had been torn out when the verdict of her trial had been announced. They fondly remembered her energetic upbeat attitude; had laughed about her obsession with cookies.
What stood before them now, was a completely different existence. What once was an innocent young girl, was now a woman with a forlorn face, and ice like eyes communicating an indomitable spirit. She had clearly grown taller and her body had matured. Where one could once see traces of fat and young skin, was now lean and rippling with trained muscles. The little exposed skin was marred by traces of injuries, healed many times over by aura. It was as if the very air around the girl radiated an oppressive strength.
Weiss shuddered at the sight of Ruby. She had long believed the worst possible outcome of their search, would be finding Ruby dead. This was the first time she had found herself thinking that Ruby being dead would have been a much better result.
Ruby didn't so much as break step upon seeing them. The girl looked down at them as if they were less than dirt. No, Weiss wondered if Ruby had even taken notice of them to begin with. She glanced over at her teammates for guidance, only to find that they were reacting exactly the same as her. Swallowing hard, Weiss decided she had to say something.
"R….Ruby," she managed to mutter out.
The woman before her turned her eyes solely on her, Weiss felt her heart shake. Her entire body locked up, and she could quickly feel sweat running down her back.
"Weiss….Schnee," Ruby spat the name out as if it left a bad taste in her mouth. Turning her gaze from Weiss, Ruby spare glances over at the other two girls, "Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long."
Upon Ruby's gaze the other two reacted exactly the same as Weiss, "You've followed me this far….so? I figure there must be an important matter."
"Ruby...what the hell is going on?" the one who spoke this time was Yang, her voice filled with sorrow.
Ruby scoffed at the question, "We always wanted to become huntresses, right? Well take a good goddam look, because that is exactly, 'what is going on."
"I don't understand. You're really Ruby? So why are you… you're-"
"I'm what? I'm not the pathetic little girl you were expecting?" Ruby questioned indignantly, with repulsion in her voice, "What, did you spend all this time running around, looking for some damsel in distress? Sorry to disappoint."
As she finished speaking a car pulled up to the group, as the door opened Ruby spotted Annette's visage, "This, is a waste of my breath," Ruby muttered before turning to leave.
"Wait! Raven.. my mother….did you really? Just….. why?" Yang bellowed, tears now streaming down her face.
Ruby's head snapped back to face Yang, her eyes alight with fury, "Because it made me feel good to watch her suffer and die!"
Yang collapsed to her knees, the other two members of her team were at a complete loss for words. No more words were spoken as Ruby stepped into the vehicle with Annette, the vehicle turning to leave. Team WBY quickly faded out of view as the car pulled away. Ruby sat next to her former partner in the backseat of a car driven by a metal knight.
"So, what are you doing here? I didn't expect to ever see you again," Ruby spoke, a small glint of joy in her voice.
"A parting gift from Ironwood. He wants you as far away from Atlas as possible. So, he's giving you one free airship ride to your location of choice," Annette replied playfully.
"Somehow, I'm not too surprised," Ruby answered, amused at the situation.
"Are you sure that was okay? Do you really wanna leave things like that?" the faunus attempted to voice her concern without agitating Ruby.
"It's for the best. I don't want those idiots to keep spending all their time running around Remnant, looking for me," Ruby's voice was an indecipherable mix of emotions.
Annette looked shocked, "You never fail to surprise. So, where are we going?"
Ruby looked to be deep in thought, completely uncertain of where she would go from here, "Well, I've never been to Vacuo. I suppose there's as good as anywhere."
"Vacuo it is," as their conversation came to a close, their car rolled through the gates of the airfield. Cutting across the tarmac, the driver headed straight for Annette's vessel. The two girls stepped out of the vehicle, looking at the awaiting vessel, "Give me five minutes, and I'll have the bird up."
True to her words, five minutes later the airship was taking to the skies. Ruby stared out her window, watching the ground disappear beneath them.
"So I've been wondering, with you always acting like your life has so little value. Why do you do it?" Annette questioned.
Ruby got a quizzical look, "Do it? What are we referring to?"
The pilot sighed for a moment, "Everything. All we've been doing so far. Everyone has their reasons."
Ruby looked down sorrowfully, "In all honesty… I don't really have an answer. If anything, I've spent all my time trying to keep from thinking about it."
Annette was stunned, "You have to have some kind of reason."
"Maybe that was the reason. At first, I told myself that I was doing it to protect people. Now though, I realize there were far easier ways to do that. I never had to accept things as they were, but after everything that happened….maybe I was just hoping I would find a reason to continue living," Ruby's voice got weaker as she spoke, tears were now beginning to form in her eyes.
Her pilot looked back to see the situation the girl was in. Deciding it best to console her, Annette put her vessel into autopilot, and climbed into the back.
"Scarl.. Ruby, I'm not going to pretend to understand what you've been through. I'm not sure if it'll mean much to you, but through everything so far, you've been brilliant," Annette spoke softly.
"Really? All this time I thought you were terrified of me," Ruby joked.
"Well for a little while," the two girls smiled at each other, "Listen Ruby regardless of what happens from here on out, I'm certain you can come out of it on top. I care about you. I care for you far more than I have anyone in my life, so you absolutely must not give up."
Hearing Annette's kind words, tears began to flow down Ruby's face. Annette lunged forward, embracing Ruby in a hug.
"Please promise me, no matter what. Promise me you won't give up, that you'll live strong," Annette practically begged.
A small smile spread on Ruby's face, "Of course, I promise."
Annette's body relaxed hearing Ruby's words, "Thank you. I'm sorry, Ruby."
Ruby felt suddenly felt a burning pain in her side, looking down she found a knife buried in her gut. The hand holding the weapon extended up to Annette, "Annette?"
"I'm sorry, we all have our own reasons," Annette answered solemnly, pressing a button next to her, opening the airship's door and shoving Ruby out into the cold night sky.
AN: So it only took 6 months but this chapter is finally done. I feel pretty awful about this taking so long after I promised no more long hiatuses. I could make excuses and say I've been really busy, which isn't entirely a lie. Even so I honestly just haven't had the motivation to write for while. Even when I did, I'd find myself at a complete blank for what write. I am sorry for taking so long. Even so, I can promise that I fully intend to finish this story one day.
Moving on, how did you guys like this chapter? I know you all love cliffhangers! I want to hurry up and post this chapter but still can't come up with a title to save my life. Well let me know what you guys thought of this chapter!