Recording #252
June, 22981 AEA
"Made yet another interesting discovery today. The Veil's complex web of energy and magic seems to, at its core, follow four distinct… axioms, I suppose? I can't quite nail down the exact terms and definitions this early on, but I firmly believe that these rules lay the foundation for the composition and structure of the entirety of the Veil. I'll need to account for the presence of these elements when designing my batteries…"
Shion, Mistral
April, 80 AGW
Of all the things to happen on their trip through Anima, Pyrrha never expected to be held up like this. Yet here they were; the five of them lined up outside the gates to Shion, facing two guard towers that had definitely seen better, less scorched-black days.
"Drop your weapons and put your hands in the air, strangers! No sudden movements from any of you!"
The man shouting at them was currently hidden behind the cracks in one of the tower's facades, the barrel of a rifle jutting aggressively out at them. The top of the other guard tower told the same story. It didn't take a Huntress' training to know that both weapons were aimed at their heads.
"Uh, Jaune?" Yang whispered nervously. "Any idea what's going on?"
"Judging by the state of their walls, they were attacked recently." He mumbled back. "They're probably not willing to take any chances."
"But why?" Nora spoke, not bothering to lower her voice. "We're trained warriors, we can help with the Grimm!"
"Nora, none of the local Grimm population breathe fire." Ren said. "So someone else must have caused the fires."
Jaune nodded. "Right, thanks, Ren. Alright, everyone. Let's do as they say. Once they learn we have nothing to hide, they'll let us through no problem!"
The clattering of metal as their weapons hit the ground did nothing to soothe her nerves. Rationally, she knew that no one in their right mind would attack them unprovoked, and that there weren't any groups of hostile Grimm nearby. But could she really trust her own judgment? The one time she was given a chance to do the right thing, to be more than a tournament fighter, and she blew it. Had to be saved by Ruby, who broke her mask saving her and now she's gone off alone—
"Uh, Pyrrha? Your weapons?"
She blinked, and suddenly everyone was staring at her, as she tightly gripped Miló and Akoúo̱ like a scared child. Pathetic.
"S-Sorry!" Dropping her weapons, she fought to keep her expression neutral and her face unflushed as someone ran out of the gate to meet them.
As he drew closer, Pyrrha could tell the man had the physique of a Huntsman, and could also tell he was injured, judging by the bandages wrapped around his hands. Wasn't he better off inside the walls of Shion? Or did they simply not have enough manpower after…whatever it was that had happened?
"Apologies, friends." The Huntsman said. "Following the attack, the village council decided on this for everyone who comes in and out of Shion. Though, I could tell from a distance that you all were Beacon kids. Recognized ya from the Vytal Festival."
He cocked his head back at the guard towers and yelled. "And I'm sure someone else would have, too, if they weren't too busy hiding behind a flimsy wooden board!"
"Piss off, Nash!" A voice yelled back. "Not everyone here has years of professional training, you know!"
'Nash' turned back to them, chuckling. "Don't mind them. Everyone's just a bit…on edge, let's say."
"We understand, Mr. Nash, sir." Jaune nodded. "I don't blame them one bit."
"There's no need for that formal crap here, kid." The Huntsman replied, holding out a hand. "The name's Inigo Nash. Welcome to Shion. Or at least, what's left of it."
"…How bad are things?" Ren said quietly.
"Could be worse." Nash shrugged. "Come inside and I'll show you."
With weapons safely retrieved and stowed, the group followed him into the partially destroyed village of Shion. The sounds of construction quickly surrounded them, clashing with the noise of villagers chatting away and attempting to go about their daily life. It was abundantly clear to anyone watching that nearly every building was missing something, be it a door, a roof, or a wall. It almost painted the picture that this was actually a new village under construction, rather than a preexisting one.
"Attack happened a few weeks back. As you can see, we're still nowhere near finished repairing, so if you all are looking for a place to stay I'm afraid you're all out of luck. Sorry."
"That's okay!" Jaune reassured him. "We were just passing through on our way to Mistral City. Actually, is there any way we can help?"
"Jaune, we can't spend however many days here, helping to get this village back up and running again, we've got our own problems to handle, remember?" Yang warned.
"I know. But we can't just leave the people here to suffer like this."
The Huntsman chuckled. "I like your spirit, kid. But who says we're suffering? The people here have bounced back from worse, I promise."
"Really?" Nora said. "What could be worse than—wait, what happened here in the first place?"
Everyone paused, simultaneously realizing that they never discussed the full details of the attack.
"…It was the Branwen Tribe." Nash said, prompting a sharp hiss from Yang. "They raided our village with the intent of leaving nothing behind. Grimm hot on their heels. One of them even had some crazy power I'd never seen."
A crow cawed.
"Looks like they failed." Yang noted with a bit of hostility. "Guess you shouldn't expect much from a bunch of killers and thieves. Which Huntsman do I gotta thank for driving them off?"
"You're welcome." Nash said, before buckling over with laughter. "I'm just kidding. But seriously, that Ruby girl was something else…"
"""""Ruby?!"""""
"…I knew that cloak looked familiar. You were teammates?"
"Just friends." Yang said. "You're saying she held off the tribe and the Grimm?"
"I helped. A little. But yeah, it was mostly her. Used some other strange power to fight them, but she waved me off when I tried to ask her about it. Said she had an appointment to keep in Atlas. I don't suppose you all know anything about it?"
"No." And suddenly, Yang was staring straight at her, voice laden with suspicion. "We don't know a single thing about her, right guys?"
What followed was one of the most painful stretches of silence that Pyrrha ever had to endure in her life. Even the first time she won the Mistral Regional and had to give a speech after taking the trophy didn't compare to this!
And what was she supposed to say? That Ruby was actually telling the truth? That she was capable of performing feats of magic that no other person on the planet could? That she was completely immortal, and survived a wyvern punching her through the CCT without so much as a scratch?
Forget the fact that no one would believe her; the greater issue was that it was a complete breach of privacy. And the truth was that it had absolutely nothing to do with any of them. She's secretly from a society that just vanished into the void? Unfortunate, but irrelevant to modern day Remnant. So she couldn't bring it up and betray Ruby's trust like that. She just couldn't.
"Ugh, what the heck is that awful stench?" Nora suddenly complained. "It smells like someone dropped a dozen rotten Nevermore eggs into a vat full of vinegar."
Nash raised an eyebrow, successfully distracted. "Yeah, that was Donny. How did you know?"
"I have a nose for these things. Ren." She said accusingly.
"Algae does not smell like that!" Ren protested.
The group burst into raucous laughter. But Pyrrha knew the look Yang had shot her as they continued through the town. This conversation wasn't over. Not by a long shot. In fact, she couldn't even afford the luxury of relaxing and fading into the background as the group immediately passed by a man trying to salvage whatever he could out of the wreck of a house.
In a stroke of incredible bad luck, he took a break from his scavenging as they passed, and he noticed them. Or more specifically, he noticed her.
"You! You're Pyrrha Nikos, aren't you?"
She smiled automatically. "Yes, that's—"
"The hell are you smiling for?" The man shouted abrasively. "They should have locked you up for what you did!"
"I—I beg your pardon?"
"Do I need to spell it out for you? You should be in jail for killing that Atlas girl, and starting this whole mess!"
"Whoa, whoa, hold on. Don't be stupid." Yang stepped in. "None of that was her fault. Or any of ours. Those people would have attacked Vale regardless."
"Yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that she started it!" The man continued to rant. "If she hadn't killed that girl, Vale wouldn't have become a powder keg of negativity, and none of this would have happened! I always knew it was a bad idea to place our trust in these…these kids!"
By now his unhinged ramblings had blown away what little discretion they had traveling through Shion, as a crowd of people began to form around them. Though her attention was focused on the aggravated villager in front of her, Pyrrha could feel the angry stares and hear slanderous whispers coming in from all sides.
His eyes narrowed as his gaze darted between her and Yang. "Wait, I get it. You're defending her to try and save your own reputation. It was no one's fault, you say? There was nothing 'we' could have done? Tell that to the families of everyone who died that day!"
A rock hit the back of her head, bouncing off her Aura. She wasn't quite sure who threw the first stone, but it was like the floodgates had opened as the crowd erupted in a frenzy of booing and jeering. Soon the entire group was under attack, from the outraged people of Shion who were just looking for someone to blame.
"Enough!" Nash produced a revolver from his coat pocket and shot it into the pavement. "Are you all trying to bring another horde of Grimm straight to our doorstep?"
That reminder was all they needed for the crowd to disperse. The man who had started the riot gave her one last spiteful glare, spitting at her feet before returning to the ruins of his home.
"Ignore them. Deep down, they know it's not your fault. They just hate feeling—"
"Powerless?" Yang finished.
"Yeah." The Huntsman gave a resigned sigh. "We have few goods to spare, but our vendors are still open to trade. Don't take this personally, but I think it'd be best for all of us if you'd take what you need and go."
"Understood." Jaune said. "We're, uh, so sorry for causing such trouble."
"Don't be. Just, kill some Grimm on the way to Mistral for me, will ya?" Nash gave a tired wave, and walked off, leaving them to their business.
The group stood in silence for a moment, before Nora picked up Ren and slung him over her shoulder. "Ren and I are gonna go restock on ammunition!" She announced, running off in a random direction.
"Right. I'm gonna go ask that guy more about the Branwen Tribe." Yang said, stalking after the Huntsman.
"I, uh, I'll go get some food. You wanna wait over there for now?" Jaune asked, gesturing towards an abandoned store with a bench out front.
"Yes, I…think that's for the best." She murmured, stumbling over a loose stone as she and Jaune parted ways. She retreated into her own thoughts as she sat down on the isolated bench.
Gods, what an absolute mess. This whole thing was her fault, wasn't it? No, no, no. She couldn't fall into that mindset! She had to think positive thoughts! Or, at least neutral thoughts? Like…
Mr. Nash had mentioned that Ruby was headed for Atlas, which matched up with what she had told her. But, didn't that mean she couldn't find any trace of Cinder in Mistral City? If that was the case, what chance did they stand of catching her almost-murderer? Or maybe Ruby had given up, or felt it was too tough to keep going without a wearable, human face, and thus made a beeline for Atlas? She'd have to give her a call once they found a more reliable CCT signal. Making it to Anima was the first step of getting out of that communication deadzone in Vale.
"Keeping it together, Pyrrha?" She startled briefly as Jaune came up to her with a plate of spring rolls, munching on one as he sat down on the bench next to her.
"I'm sorry? Oh, yes, I'm alright." She laughed nervously. "Just…trying not to think about it too much."
"I know the feeling." Jaune chuckled in response. "But hey, whenever you need to talk, just remember your secrets are safe with us, okay? Never forget that."
"Yeah, it's just…I'm sorry."
"You, uh, already said that."
"Oh! I'm—" Oh, come on, keep it together Pyrrha!
She took a deep breath and started over. "What I mean to say is, I'm afraid I'm holding you all back. The only reason the villagers are treating you with hostility is because of me. You'd probably be having a much easier time if I weren't here."
Jaune gave her a confused look as he scratched the back of his head. "Oh come on, Pyrrha. Don't say that. You've been a great addition to the team. And I'm sure Ren and Nora feel the same way."
"And Yang?"
"That's…still a work in progress." He admitted. "But I do agree with her, somewhat. You're keeping something secret from us, aren't you? Something big."
Her eyes widened. "How did you—?"
"It wasn't exactly hard to tell."
Hm. The floor seemed really interesting all of a sudden. "I…suppose I haven't done the best job of acting normally, have I?"
Jaune laughed. "Yeah, no kidding! So, you wanna tell me what's up?"
Her face scrunched up. "Not particularly?"
"It's about Ruby, isn't it?"
A small gasp escaped her lips, and she knew her averted eyes would tell him all he needed to know.
Jaune paused to wipe his fingers clean before continuing. "You didn't forget, did you? The seven of us—and the whole school if we're being honest—knew there was something off about her. We agreed to get down to the bottom of it, didn't we?"
"I—yes, we did. And what I found was… deeply personal. I don't want to break her trust."
"Even if the secret was related to the attack on Beacon?" While his voice sounded harsh, she couldn't detect a hint of malice in him, just curiosity. "Even if it has and potentially will endanger innocent lives?"
"…What makes you think that?"
He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Just a hunch Yang has. Something to do with her uncle acting odd whenever Ruby was around."
"Jaune." Pyrrha finally spoke with confidence. "I promise you. Ruby's secret had nothing to do with the attack on Beacon. I am quite literally the only person on the planet who knows."
His eyes softened as he turned his gaze skyward, pondering her words. Then, after a brief pause, he stood.
"Okay. I believe you."
Pyrrha nearly melted into her seat from relief. "Oh, thank the gods—"
"But I'd still like to hear it from Ruby herself. If we meet her again."
Her back straightened so fast it almost gave her whiplash. "I'm, uh, not entirely sure she'd be willing to share. It's…complicated."
"Then I guess we'll burn that bridge when we cross it." Jaune shrugged, completely mangling the metaphor.
"Jaune? That's not how—"
"Oh, and one more thing." His expression became a mix of apologetic and embarrassed, as he nervously scratched the back of his head. "I trust you, and I think Ren and Nora will too, but Yang's probably going to need a bit more time. That's…just the kind of person she is."
She let slip a small giggle. "Yeah, that wasn't exactly hard to tell."
In that case, she'd just have to keep at it. Ruby saved her life. She'd keep her secret, and work hard to keep suspicions off of her. She owed the Eternal that much.
And even if she didn't, well, this was just what friends did, wasn't it?
It was raining by the time they had made it to Higanbana. The misty downpour made it much harder for Qrow to track what the kids were doing, from his seat at the tavern opposing the inn. Just his luck.
The waitress mistakenly set a glass down on his table.
"Oh, I didn't ord—"
"From the woman upstairs. Red eyes. Said you wouldn't mind bottom shelf."
"Thanks."
"But I went ahead and gave you top. Lucky you." The waitress winked at him before walking away.
He took a quick glance back at the window, and just barely caught the silhouettes of the kids moving deeper into the inn. Good.
"Yeah. Okay, let's do this." He carefully picked up his drink. Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as he'd expected from a fringe town like this. Plus, it was coming out of Raven's pocket…
Ah, who was he kidding? Knowing his sister, she'd sooner transform into a bird and fly out through an open window than pay for his drink like some law-abiding citizen. Too high a bar to set for a bandit queen, he supposed.
The second floor was cleared of patrons, except for Raven of course. To his surprise, she was dressed for combat, and even had her mask placed in full view on the table in front of her. Was this… overconfidence? No, Raven would never be so sloppy. If she was okay with being recognized in a bar in her home Kingdom, then she must have something up her sleeve. And he was pretty sure he knew exactly what that something was.
"Hello brother."
"Raven." He'd forgone the pleasantries and settled right into the seat across from her, much to her displeasure. "So, what do you want?"
"A girl can't catch up with her family?"
"She can, but you're not. Now how 'bout we get on with it?" He gestured to his now-empty glass. "Unless you plan on keeping these coming."
She crossed her arms and stared at him accusingly. "I see you've allowed my daughter to blindly traipse across Anima, unaware of the truth. Another one of Ozpin's plans, I assume?"
"Your daughter?" Qrow deflected. "Last I checked it was Tai and I who raised that girl. Meanwhile, you were off doing what, huh? Raiding villages and running from the law? Tell me something, Raven. Were you even concerned for her safety when Beacon was attacked?"
"If she wasn't strong enough to survive one terrorist attack, then—"
"Didn't think so." He finished.
His sister seethed in her chair but said nothing.
"You're lookin' a bit worse for wear, sis. Trouble in the tribe?"
Her eyes narrowed. "That's none of your business."
"Then I guess what Yang gets up to in her free time is none of yours. Oh, and by the way? The people of Shion are doing juuust fine, in spite of your best efforts." Qrow remarked.
A clenched hand slammed down on the table, only serving to raise his suspicions even higher. Now which part of that sentence could have set off such a reaction?
"They survived." His sister said tersely. "Thanks to your…whatever she is."
"…Her name is Ruby." He frowned. "And what do you mean, 'whatever she is'?"
When Raven gave no reply, he pressed further. "What, did you spend so much running away that you forgot all about the Maidens? About the relics? About Salem?"
He was hoping by provoking her, his sister's temper would get the better of her, and maybe in the process of her outburst she'd reveal something, anything about the Spring Maiden's whereabouts, or of the movements of Salem's lackeys in Mistral. And maybe if he didn't have such rotten luck, that's exactly what would have happened.
Instead, Raven simply folded her arms as her face settled into a cold, calm, and collected mien. "Tell me something, brother. Which Maiden is this 'Ruby' supposed to be?"
He barked out a laugh. "I'll tell you if you tell me where the Spring Maiden is."
She ignored him and continued like he wasn't there. "She can't be Winter; the Atlesians would never let her cross the border, not without a significant military presence. And from what I understand, it was the Fall Maiden that led the attack on Beacon, wasn't it? So that just leaves Spring and Summer, right?"
Well, shit. How could he forget? He was the one operating at an information deficit. But why was she tipping her hand like this?
Something was wrong. Raven was never this talkative with him, not in such an unbiased and cordial manner. They wouldn't exactly be a dysfunctional family if she wasn't keeping secrets, and slinging insults at him and Ozpin every other sentence in conversation. What changed?
"And since you've made it abundantly clear that you think Spring is with me, so that just leaves Summer. After all, no one knows where the Summer Maiden is, right?"
"Uh, right." Qrow replied. "We came to that conclusion based on what she told us about her past. What are you getting at, Rae?"
"And you believe her?"
"I do." He said defensively. "Like you said, we already know about Fall and Winter. And you're right, I wouldn't be asking you about Spring if I didn't think you had the answers. But Ruby's a good person. Sure, she's got a few screws loose, but at Beacon, she actually stayed to defend her friends—" And family, but that was purely theoretical at this point. "—when they needed her. Unlike someone I happen to have the misfortune of knowing…"
She stood up, giving him a glare that would probably break a lesser man's Aura. "I don't know what kind of lie you've fallen for this time, dear brother. But when your so-called 'Summer Maiden' inevitably betrays you and Ozpin, don't say I didn't warn you."
With that final remark, Qrow could only watch, completely mystified, as his sister disappeared through one of her portals. Ruby, betray them for Salem? She was the one who brought down the Wyvern! Landed Jimmy's hijacked flagship safely! What the hell was Raven talking about?
…
'So-called'?
Argus, Mistral
May, 80 AGW
For the last month and a half, Ruby had been followed as she made her way up to Argus.
She had no idea who the mustachioed fellow or his manic partner were, but they seemed keenly interested in finding her for some reason. And unfortunately for her, very capable. She couldn't seem to shake them, and even if her cloaking ability ensured she never got caught, it was beginning to get on her last nerve.
The worst part was, it took her the better half of the month to figure out how they kept finding her. But she finally realized, here at the port city of Argus, that they were tracking her through one of her inventions.
Well, not anymore. Thanks to the CCT relay tower stationed in the city, Ruby was able to adjust her drones' signals, piggybacking off of the tower's waves. Good luck trying to track her all over the continent of Anima!
She sat in the waiting room with smug satisfaction. They deserved to have their time wasted, for wasting hers. Sure it wasn't entirely equivalent, given that she was immortal and they weren't, but still. What could they have possibly wanted out of her? Didn't they have more important things to do? The ponytailed man certainly seemed rather anxious and impatient to get back to the 'hunt'. Perhaps they were looking to recruit her?
A guard opened the door facing her. "Ruby! General Ironwood has been expecting you. Just give the word and we'll have you on a first class flight through Solitas in no time!"
She grinned underneath her mask. It finally felt like things were going her way, for once.
"To Atlas, then."
A/N: Ah, Ruby. Thousands of years under her belt, but still a bit naive.
Next chapter (17) will be the last of the setup. Disregard the entirety of A Much Needed Talk, and The Lost Fable, as they will not apply here. The chapter after that (18) will be a reworked Haven fight, followed (19+) by me throwing canon completely out the window. In hindsight, I should have thrown canon completely out the window starting from Chapter 1, but at least I know better now. That's character development.
It's also character development to upload these chapters in a timely manner for once! Feel free to laugh at me if August 5th passes and this fic doesn't update by then.
Until next time!