"Are you sure about this, X?" Dr. Cain asked, surprised.

"I would rather not have her get involved with the Mavericks without more training. But I've been treating her like she's just an average human. Ruby clearly shows that she's anything but." X said, thinking.

After all, humans were the first beings to think, feel, and make their own decisions. He was based on them. And maybe he should start seeing the strength they had instead of the weakness like Sigma. Ruby wanted to show Sigma that he was wrong about humans and X wanted to stop him.

"X, you do know even if I agree to this, there is a chance that Miss. Rose will get hurt." Dr. Cain said.

"I know, but Ruby has shown me that she's smart about rushing in without a plan. She has shown me that she knows that she has to back off when it becomes too much. She knows that there's no point in trying to prove herself to anyone. Plus, even if we did tell her to stay behind, she'll just follow us like she has done two times before." X said.

Dr. Cain close his eyes and nodded.

"Very well, I will allow Miss. Rose to join you, however! She's under your care during those times. You have to keep a close eye on her, X." He said.

"Trust me, Dr. Cain. I will watch over Ruby." X said.

"Good." Dr. Cain nodded.

"Dr. Cain?"

"Yes?" He said, hearing the Navigator's voice.

"There seems to be trouble at the docking bay."

"On my way," X said, wondering what was going on.


Docking Bay,

Weiss stood in front of another Rookie Hunter, who just insult her family. It was one thing if it was her father, but it was another to insult her mother, brother, and sister.

"You take that back!" She shouted.

"You Schnees are all the same! Why Dr. Cain let you in is beyond me!" The Rookie said, causing Weiss to growl.

"I'm nothing like my father! I came to join because I want to help others that lose their friends to the mavericks." Weiss said.

"As if! You only join to spite us!" The Rookie said.

"Were you not seeing what I was doing? Did it look like I was asking other Hunters to do my job for me?!" Weiss shouted.

"Yeah, sure you were." The Rookie said.

"That's enough you two."

Weiss turns to see Zero walking up. He places a hand on Weiss's shoulder before looking at the Rookie Hunter.

"She might be a Schnee, but she's clearly different from her father. One of the Mavericks was once her friend. We all had friends that turn Maverick. She's been through the same pain we have when Sigma went Maverick. This isn't just affecting us, it's affecting everyone." Zero told him.

"But, why would Dr. Cain let a human join?" The Rookie asked, still not liking Weiss.

"Because our forces have greatly loss over half of our forces. We need all the help we can get." Zero said before turning to Wiess.

"You have been doing a fine job, Weiss. Dr. Cain believes that you're ready for to next step." He said, surprising her.

"I am?" She asked, shocked.

"Yes, came along." He said, shocking the Rookie.

"But sir! She's a human! How can she even fight humans?!" He asked.

"If there's one thing I learned, it's never to underestimate a human. She even turned down the offer to join the GRIMM Forces to join us." Zero told him before leading Weiss away.

Weiss didn't get it. Why was Zero coming to her defense? And did he really mean she was ready for the next step?

"Do you really mean that?" She asked.

"I did. I saw your training during your time off. You have a good stance and great form, but it looks as if you're missing something." Zero said.

"You were watching?!" Weiss asked, shocked.

"I was. As I said, great form and good stance, but it looks like it could use something more." Zero said, smiling.

"Is everything ok?"

Both Zero and Wiess looked up to see X walking up, causing Zero to nod.

"Yeah, just a little argument. I already took care of it." Zero said.

"Just a fellow rookie bad mouth my family because of my father," Weiss added.

"Fair enough," X said, understanding what happened.

"Have you two seen Ruby anywhere?" He asked.

"Hm, I thought I saw her trying to talk to Blake on my way here. But after that, I don't know." Zero said.

"I saw her head to the roof, maybe she's still there?" Weiss said.

"I'll check, thanks," X said, walking past them.

Weiss turns to Zero, who smiles. He seems glad that his friend is starting to see things in a new light.


Ruby sat on the rooftop of the Maverick Hunter looking over the city. She knew that somewhere, Sigma was out there, planning his move to get rid of the humans. She wasn't going to let that happen. She sighs, they still don't know where his base was, otherwise, they would have stopped him by now. Ruby sighs before remembering something else. Her father was also out there, looking for her. She knew that it was a matter of time before he found her. Maybe she should find him first.

"Ruby?"

She turns to see X walking up to her, looking a little surprised.

"Hey, X. Just came out to get some fresh air," Ruby said, not wanting to say what she's been thinking.

X looks around the area, seeing the view. He smiled, seeing why she choose this place.

"I've talked to Dr. Cain. He will allow you to join me in my missions." He told her.

"I am?!" Ruby asked, shocked.

"Yes, but I asked that you follow my orders during them. If I tell you to back off, you back off. Watch my back if you must, but don't do something that over your head." X told her.

"X, you have already seen me help you with two Mavericks. I know not to do things over my head!" Ruby told him.

X sighs. He knew that Ruby already knew that. Still, he thought it would hurt to make sure Ruby understood.

"Come on, we need to see if there's anything about you we need to be aware of," X said, holding a hand out to her.

Ruby blinks before smiling. She grabs his hand and stood up.

"Roses are Red, Violets are blue. Together, they help you." Ruby said.

"What?" X asked, confused.

"Something my mom would say. I still don't get it." Ruby said, shrugging.

X shook his head. He had a feeling that Ruby was going to be a handful, but he was looking forward to what she was going to do.


I know it's short, but I need more time to plan out the fight with Flame Mammoth. And I still have to think over Ruby's version of Storm Tornado. SargentEpsilon gave me an idea of what to use, but I'm still waiting for anyone else that might have ideas for the other weapons. And after I'm done with Flame Mammoth, I'm heading for Spark Mandrill, so I need something for Ruby's version of Shotgun Ice. So please tried to send you ideas and if you can't come up with anything, that's fine. As long as you say something about the chapter, I'm good with that.