So major apologies. As the previous segment said there was a…author malfunction…and well long story short I had to re-write what was a 15 page chapter…(a nice chapter if I do say so myself). So here we are…there will be a quick author note at the end of the chapter.
New Divide
Qrow was sitting by the fire as Pyrrha handed him a small bowl of stew they had made. He had made the long flight from Patch and then spent the grueling week trying to find a lead as to where Ruby's team could be. He nodded at her in thanks and took a bite, "This is good." He complimented.
"Thank you sir." Pyrrha said a bit shyly, but still smiled brightly.
Qrow coughed a bit and then gave a deep chuckle, "Please call me anything else but 'sir'." At this he sets his bowl down and takes out his flask, "That makes me sound incredibly old."
"Right. Sorry." She says looking away from him.
He waves her off, "Eh it's alright." He takes a drink and places it back into his jacket before going back to his meal.
"So you are Ruby and Yang's uncle?" Ren asked curiously.
Qrow nodded, "Yeah. Well actually if you really want to get technical, I am Yang's biological uncle. For Ruby, I am more of an honorary uncle."
They nod along to this fact and Weiss leaned forward, "So you have any news about Ruby?"
Qrow looks at her and sighs, "Yes but I'd rather wait until Yang is here; being that they are sisters. Anyway it's just easier to tell everyone at once."
"Understood." She notices him analyzing her critically for a moment at her simple one worded response and it makes her uneasy, "Something wrong?"
"Are you related to a Winter Schnee by chance?" He asks slowly looking at her.
Surprised at this question, she states, "Yes. I am her sister, Weiss Schnee."
He nods triumphantly, "I thought so. I know your sister." He adds seeing her confused look, and then before she could say something, he continues, "I know you are also the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. No need to tell me that tid-bit."
"How do you know my sister?"
"We have a…" Qrow trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck, "complicated work relationship. In all honesty I am glad Ruby speaks so highly of you; so no offense I am sort of glad you don't have your sister's icy personality." This makes Weiss blush a bit, then she has a look of insult.
Nora burst out laughing at this, "Oh man seriously?! You should have seen Ruby and Weiss when they first met. I swear I thought Beacon would have gone up in flames for real." Ren tries to hold back his own amusement as well as Pyrrha. Weiss glares at her hard, but Nora ignores her, "We call her the Ice Princess sometimes."
"NORA!" Weiss yells.
"See?"
Qrow laughs, "Well Winter I call her the Ice Queen, so that works."
Weiss crosses her arms and is about to retort when Yang storms into the campsite, "What. Happened?" The tone of her voice is hard and deadly with her eyes are flashing to a vivid blood red as she stares down her uncle. Nora's laughter dies instantly, Ren is ready to get up and restrain Yang if necessary as is Weiss who slowly and discreetly reached for Myrtenaster. Pyrrha slowly gets up as well to go to Ren and she notices Jaune and Blake running out of the forest as if they were trying desperately to catch up to the blonde brawler, with Jaune being the most out of breath.
Qrow is amazingly unfazed at Yang's attitude towards him, "You are asking the wrong question Firecracker. The correct question is 'what didn't happen?'."
Yang growls dangerously, "I do not give a shit. What the hell happened, and is Ruby-"
"Relax, Ruby is fine. In fact here, she wanted me to give this to you." He places his mostly eaten supper down and reaches into his pocket. Taking out three letters, he finds the correct one and gives it to Yang, placing the rest back into his jacket.
Yang looks at him and takes a deep breath, trying to calm down some. She takes the letter from him, but instead of opening it, she once more requests, "Please Qrow. What happened?"
There was silence, nothing to be heard except for the crickets chirping and them and the rustling of the leaves from the small amount of wind. Eventually Qrow sighed, pulled his flask back out, and said, "I was coming back from another mission when I got word of the attack on Beacon. When I reached Oz's office, Ruby was already there. She was starting to give some kind of orders or something. We didn't really have time to talk;" he said quickly before they could ask him any questions, "all she told me was to fly to one of the main carriers. Apparently there was a woman named Neo Politan, and she implanted a virus that screwed with the Atlas robots. She explained that if I destroyed the carrier that this woman was on, the robots would shut down."
Yang is standing intently as Jaune takes a seat next to Pyrrha. Blake notices that Ren and Nora are sitting close to each other, and she looks back at Yang before exchanging a quick look with Weiss, who moves over a bit. Blake reaches out to Yang, and they exchange a meaningful look before joining Weiss on the log.
Qrow paused and took a large gulp of his drink as the teens got themselves settled before continuing, "Soon I found the aircraft carrier with this woman and we fought." Shaking his head he scoffs, "Let me tell you, she is not one to be taken lightly…gave me a good run for my money that was for sure. In the end though I managed to toss her from the carrier and I destroyed the thing."
"Is she-" Weiss started to ask.
"Nah. A woman with her skill level?" He counters and shakes his head, "No I believe she made it somehow. Our paths may cross again soon."
There was an uneasy silence and Blake looks at him and asks, "And Adam? We had seen a bit of what happened with your fight and Beacon."
Qrow stares up at the sky and takes a deep breath. Almost trying to rid himself of the images his mind was conjuring up from memory, "After I brought down the carrier, I had full intention of finding Ruby. I searched, but during that time I came across Tai fighting that Fang leader." He looked at Yang, almost as if silently apologizing, "I went to Tai. He was losing pretty badly. I tried to help, and for a bit he and I managed to gang up on the bastard. Then my semblance started working against us for some reason. That's when Raven showed up."
No one misses the look of disgust on his face, "She started fighting in ways I had never seen before. Tai and I were surprised, but we had quickly recovered and the three of us finally managed to get the bastard."
"So you caught him." Jaune said stealing looks with his team, and then noticing Blake's relieved look.
At this Qrow looks away and runs a hand through his hair, "I'm sorry, I misspoke. I should've said we had him."
"Had?" Pyrrha whispered and noticed how Blake paled suddenly.
Qrow nodded, "Everyone was caught off guard. There was this sudden burst of silver light that blinded us. Its power so unbelieving raw that you could feel the hot fury burning from it. It was just enough of a distraction that we saw he had gotten away once it died." He then looks at Blake, "Ruby mentioned to me that you were once…close to him? This Adam Taurus?"
Blake nodded, "Yes we were close once."
Qrow nodded, "Well most likely he is laying low for now. He is definitely going to have trouble getting anywhere with the authorities on the lookout for him and the borders being closed."
"What do you mean the borders are closed?" Nora asked slowly.
Before Qrow could answer, Yang cuts in, "Who cares, tell me about Ruby. What happened to my sister?"
Shaking his head, Qrow tilts his head back and takes another large gulp from his flask, "Raven told us where we could find Ruby before she left us to deal with the aftermath."
"Wait what?" Nora asked as everyone looked shocked, "No offense to you;" Nora started as she looked at Yang and saw that the blonde was just as surprised, "but that woman was an A-class bitch. In fact when we met her, Ruby-"
"I know. I know what happened at the camp; but Raven…" He hesitated and watched as the shock look disappeared from Yang's face to one of utter disgust, "somewhere deep down…I want to believe she could still be able to do the right thing when the time is needed. She came and helped us after all, and she did tell us where we could find Ruby." At this he met their eyes before continuing, "I found her on top of Beacon Tower with that Wyvern petrified into stone."
Weiss for the first to recover from this fact of information, "So the silver light…it came from-"
"I can't say exactly." He didn't want to confirm or deny anything, in case there were any unwelcomed listeners around. Nor did he really want to break Ruby's trust since she explicitly told him she wanted to be the one to tell her team when she was ready.
They seemed to have understood his intended meaning and he continued the story, "We brought her back to Patch and she woke up roughly just under a week later. She is banged up, but alright." He added quickly.
"So why didn't you stay with her?" Yang demanded to know, "I know Dad is there, but she-"
"Is most likely on her way to you." Qrow answered, cutting Yang off, "In fact I am out here for a few things. Number one is to deliver your letter. Next I have to find a kid whose name is Oscar Pine according to Ruby. Then she requested that I find Winter." He looks at Weiss as he says this.
"And why do you want my sister?"
"Why are you taking orders from Ruby?"
"Look I cannot tell you. For starters it's not that I do not trust you." He states giving them a look as they give him a death glare, "There are things that are confidential right now. The wilderness is too unpredictable. You never know who or what;" at this he gave them another look, "is listening. Next thing is that there are things Ruby will tell you herself. In fact, you going to open that or what?" Qrow asked motioning to the envelope in Yang's hands.
Yang fingered with it for a moment before taking a deep breath. Slowly she opened the flap and pulled out two sheets of paper. Just like that day in the dorm room, she was caught off guard by the handwriting. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it was as if it was written by a mature hand. The very same format and technique she had seen in her sister's odd journal at one of their campsites that seemed like a lifetime ago now. She started skimming over the words, taking each one in and once more analyzing them in usage and tone. From what she could tell, this was her sister and yet…"Yang?" Weiss calls softly.
Yang looks startled for a moment, "What? Oh uhm…right sorry." Clearing her throat she starts, "Dear Sis-"
Circumstances being what they are, I am entrusting this letter to Uncle Qrow in hopes this letter and he reaches you all safe and well. First off (and I know I have a shit ton of explaining to do), I want to say I'm sorry for leaving the way I did; but I felt there was no other way, (I cannot believe I am saying/writing this) so try not to blame Raven too harshly. It was my idea to have you all detained, and she just went along with it. Secondly, you all were right. In the end I could not just sit back and do nothing while Beacon was being torn apart; especially if there was something that I could have done/tried to stop it. It was stupid and reckless, but it was something I felt that needed to be done in the end.
Understand though, when I say/write that, there will be something that I cannot apologize for. WILL NOT apologize for; and that is for sparing you all each of the torment of that day. I would rather have sought your forgiveness than ask permission.
Now I understand what you all may be feeling: Confusion. Anger. Disappointment. Sadness. No words that I tell you could ease those feelings, but someone once told me that bad things just happen. At the time I didn't want to listen, just like you probably do not want to listen. However please heed my words when I say bad things do happen, all the time, every day. But also believe me when I say that I am trying. Trying my hardest and damnedest to hopefully do some good; to be the sister, friend, team leader, you all remember me being.
I will admit that somewhere along the line, I may have forgotten who she was. I know I haven't really made this journey easy, but the fact is it's been hard, on all of us, and I'm not just talking about the monsters we fought. It's the seemingly unknown future you are all facing and now questioning everything you were taught. In fact every step we take, takes us further and further from the things we knew; and believe me I am at those very crossroads right now so in this I can understand those feelings.
It's scary not knowing what's going to happen next. And while the things I shared with you, the things you may have seen, it may seem like everything just keeps getting worse and that there is no light anywhere; but that is just the thing: I wanted you to still see that there is still some beautiful things the world has to offer, to be able to see that light that the future might have waiting for you (and come hell or high water, whatever I can do to ensure that future I will do-this I promise until my dying breath). It is precisely why I didn't want you all to follow me to Beacon.
I know it does not justify my actions, and I know I may have a lot to make up for; but it is as I said: I will not apologize for sparing you all the pain that day brought. I've seen and experienced what devastating loss can do to people. I need you all to remain strong and keep having faith, because there are plenty of people out there who will try to gain everything they can from that loss.
It may feel impossible right now, like every single day is a struggle against some unstoppable monster that you cannot hope to beat, but I am willing to try if you are. I miss you, all of you, so much. I want to make you a promise, you have my word that as soon as we complete our mission to Haven, I will tell you everything. It is not something that can simply be explained in a letter, nor is it something that should be written down to begin with for a multitude of reasons.
Please keep the hope burning brightly as any dragon Dad compared you to being. Keep the faith that things will get better (and it will if I have anything to say about it). Give everyone my love and I will see you soon.
"Be safe, and I love you. Ruby." Yang finished as she refolded the letter slowly.
"Well that doesn't really say much." Nora commented.
"Yea, I mean I expected more." Weiss said in agreement, "It's all cryptic like usual."
Qrow scoffed, "Seriously? I think it speaks volumes." They looked at him now as Yang just re-read her sister's letter silently to herself, but she was still listening to her uncle's words, "You all saw Beacon's devastation on your scrolls. She did what she thought was best to keep you all away from that mess." Sensing an upstart in the still shallow wound of the betrayal, he quickly says, "Can you really imagine what it would have been like to actually be there? What had been running through her head and how she would have felt if you had gotten severely hurt?" A very vivid image of what Ruby had described from her own timeline crosses his mind now as his eyes go to Yang's right arm, "Or worse?" This time he looks at them in turn and again Ruby's description coming to his mind and more images conjure the scenes from those words that were spoken to him and Tai.
Yang looks up and then meets her team's eyes before looking away, "I guess being a leader…" Jaune speaks and now everyone looks at him, "I can understand. I mean if I lost any of you;" he looks at them now before settling on Pyrrha, his cheeks reddening as he stares at her the longest, "I do not know what I would do."
"A family is like a forest;" Ren started to recite, his voice taking on a sage like tone, "when you are outside it is dense, when you are inside you see that each tree has its place." Then seeing that he has their attention, "We are more than just a team; we've become a family. Ruby knew we would be safer if we stayed, and gave us a greater purpose in the end. Essentially her place was at Beacon, trying to do what we thought would have been right; and we are doing what she wanted us to do, get to Haven."
Yang folded the letter and stood up, eyes going to her, "I'm sorry, but I need to think. Alone." Looking at Blake, she says, "I won't be far." Then she walks off.
Qrow shakes his head, "Qrow?" He looks and sees that it is Weiss who had called him, "If you are going to see my sister, may I give you a letter to give to her?"
"Sure, anything from you will prevent her from killing me." He gets up and stretches, "I'll leave as soon as you are done with that." Weiss nods in thanks and goes to her bag and pulls out a pen and paper. As she does so, she listens in on team JNPR's conversation about responsibility, leadership, and sacrifice with Blake and Qrow adding their input every so often.
It takes her about a few minutes, but she is done and fold's the paper in half. Using another two sheets, she makes her own envelope and stuffs her letter inside of it, writing her sister's name on the front. Satisfied, she hands it to Qrow, "Thank you."
He winks at her, before looking forlornly into the forest where Yang had gone. Looking back at Blake he asks, "You are her partner right?"
"Yes I am."
"Keep an eye on her alright. She…well she essentially raised Ruby after…well their father was in a dark place. I tried to help when I could but-"
"Don't worry, we got this." Weiss said confidently.
Blake nodded, "We won't let anything happen to her."
"Once Ruby gets back, we'll give her a strong talking to as well!" Nora stated, "With minimal ass whooping."
Qrow smirked lightly, "Right well try not to be too hard on her. I know if Summer had ever done this to Tai or I; well we'd be in the same position as you all are in. However remember what I essentially said before. She'd rather have your wrath and fury, than see you maimed or worse." With that he jogged into the forest, and a few minutes later they caught a glimpse of a crow against the shattered moonlight.
They watched it fly off for a few moments in contemplative silence before it was suddenly broken by Nora, "DAMN IT!"
"What?" Jaune asked surprised at her outburst.
"Remember when we first saw Raven;" she nearly snarled out the name, "and we watched her shape-shift and she told us to ask Qrow about it if we chose to leave?"
Weiss crossed her arms, "Yea…what about it?"
"We didn't ask about that shape-shifting magic thing him and bitch-face can use!"
They all groaned and started to get ready to turn into the night, "Nora, I don't think tonight would have been an appropriate time to ask." Pyrrha stated sympathetically.
"I need to know!" Nora exclaimed.
"And why do you need to know right this moment?" Ren asked as he tried to lead her over to her sleeping bag.
"Because I have a curious mind! I will be thinking about this all night long!" She whined as he sat her down.
Blake shook her head in amusement, yes now that Nora brought it up it would have been nice to know; however tonight was definitely not the night to ask a loaded question like that. Looking towards the forest, she sighed and hoped Ruby's letter would bring Yang some comfort…it's cryptic nature non-withstanding, it did have some meaningfulness to it, "Nora, just think about something else." Ren suggested and Blake looked over at the duo.
Everyone else was leaning back, and ready to try and get some type of sleep before their watch, "No! My mind is reeling of possibilities of this! I'll be up all night thinking about it, which means I'll be tired, and that'll mean I would need coffee in the morning!"
Blake swore she's never seen anyone other than the red reaper move as fast as they just did. Sitting up wide eyed they all exchanged looks of horror and Jaune quickly asked, "How fast can we get Qrow back here now?!"
-SNOOPYKID-
In the light of the shattered moon, Ruby makes her way across the roof tops of Vale. She had left Patch a few days ago. It had been the same night she had dinner with her father. Ruby hadn't wanted him to make another scene like he had before, and in all honesty the sooner she had left, the better.
Of course she had visited her mother's grave before she left. That had been the same as she had remembered it being: melancholy, relief, easy acceptance, and lighthearted. It was during this time as she had talked out loud to her mother everything she had gone through. Not totally out loud of course, she did keep a low profile; but for the most part just speaking everything out in the open was a weight that was partially lifted.
It was there too that she had come up with a plan…a plan that needed Sun and his team. It was just as she had said in her…fantasy? In limbo? It didn't matter, (wherever the hell she had been) it was clear that they needed the faunus from Menagerie if Haven even stood a chance. Before, she didn't really give it much thought, but now it was definitely critical. It was as if the timeline was trying to correct itself somehow. Beacon had still fallen, and while her team isn't totally scattered, she isn't with them. She doesn't even want to think of the consequences if she cannot have the faunus of Menagerie rise up against the White Fang. Besides with the extra back up…perhaps she would still be able to prevent other certain events from occurring.
There was just one problem, since arriving in Vale, no one was able to give her any information about the whereabouts of team SSSN since Sun's match with Mercury. Granted the city is still shaken up, but whenever she asked about them she was met with suspicion or outright animosity. It was unsettling, so there was only one place she knew of that could possibly help her; and that is where she was headed.
As she reaches her destination, she stops and observes for a moment. Across the street, is a dance club; and it isn't the dance scene that she is interested in…it is the owner of this particular club. Ruby notices that there are two bouncers guarding the door, but she gives herself a confident smirk, this will be too easy.
Gracefully, she uses her semblance and goes to the street level just around the corner as to not be seen by the two men. Catching herself under a street light she sees her reflection in the window. Before she left her home, she made a few upgrades to her outfit. She raided Yang's wardrobe and took a pair of black jeans that no longer fit her sister. She kept her knee length black combat boots, and she got a white blouse to match her red and black corset. Of course she kept her cloak and her emblem, and even kept her hair longer. Anything to make sure that her appearance would make people see that she was mature and take her seriously she made sure she grabbed to have on her. That was one thing she was getting tired of the last time she ventured out on her own (both in this time and last time) was that people would underestimate her and not take her very seriously because of her age.
As for the scars on her eye and cheek, she didn't even try to hide. There was no point, it was like she told her father, they were going to be with her for life; not that she minded as she had gotten used to seeing them every day. In some cases they were helpful in obtaining information, and she took great pride in that fact.
She patted herself down, taking stock of what she had on her person. On her back, she had Crescent Rose. On her side, she had a small satchel that contained her scroll, money, and her identification card. Taking it out, she smiles at her handiwork. It should be enough for her to get through the doors of the club. She didn't want to cause any trouble, but in reality it wasn't really her call to make. Placing it back she sighed, everything else she left at the motel room she was staying at. Staring at her reflection for a moment longer, she decided she was ready and made her way around the block and towards the club.
There were two intimidating looking men standing at the door with their arms crossed. As Ruby approached the door, one of them held up his hand, stopping her, "ID?" He asked gruffly.
Ruby looked up and watched as they gave stiffened. She smirks inwardly, two could play the intimidation game. She pulls out her identification and lowers her hood so they could fully see her face, "Here you go gentlemen." She purrs out dangerously.
She sees one visibly swallows as she notices him look quickly over her face. Pride fills inside of her as the other looks at her card and then back her, "Is there a problem?" She asks politely.
"No. Here." He states and flinches when he gets another look at her. Ruby is still smirking, yup the scares and her slightly glowing eyes do come in handy. They let her in.
As she enters the club, she scans the area. Trying to sense any sign of trouble. There are multiple people and faunus alike on the dancefloor, chatting against all corners of the room, and crowding the bar. The music blasts loudly, but nothing that screams 'danger' out at her…at least not yet.
She crosses the dancefloor towards the bar. Finding a seat, she starts to scan for her target now, "What'll you have sweet heart?" She turns and sees the bartender whipping off a glass.
Ruby thinks for a moment and says, "Eh what the hell? Why not?" Facing him fully she asks, "Know how to make a Four Horsemen?"
He smirks at her and places the glass down and starts to pull drinks from the shelf and beings pouring into a mixing canister, "Thinking about the apocalypse?"
"Something like that. No ice please." She adds giving him a smile back.
He nods and starts to mix her drink. Once he finishes it, he pours it into her glass and hands it to her, "Here ya go sweet heart."
Ruby takes it just as someone sits down next to her, "Aren't you a little young to be in this club, Red?"
Ruby internally flinches at the name, but keeps her cool, "You know I am tired of people assuming my age based on appearance." She takes a sip of her drink and toasts the bartender, "Wow this is great!" He nods in appreciation and Ruby turns to look at the man who sat next to her, "Anyway, if you are going to ask a stupid question, let me ask one back…" taking another sip of her drink she eyes him critically, causing him to back off a bit, "aren't you a little old to have a name like Junior?"
He processes her words and she sees that his brain clicks her seemingly innocent words into place, "You wouldn't happen to know a blonde haired girl would you?"
"She is my sister." His eyes widen now, "She tells me that say you know everything."
He roughly stands up, and starts yelling, "No! No! Hell no! Go. Get. OUT!" The music cuts off at his outrage and all eyes turn to them.
Ruby turns back around and runs her finger over the rim of her glass, "Here I thought we were having a simple conversation. I am not doing anything wrong, I am just here having a drink."
Junior scoffs at this, "That girl cost me an entire two years' worth of profit to fix this place after she destroyed it." He snaps his fingers and out of the corner of her eye, Ruby sees large men in suites and two identical looking women approaching from the corners of the club sauntering towards them, "Now are you going to leave quietly or are we going to have a problem?"
Ruby sighs and faces back around, but kept a hold of her drink, "Look you just said you know my sister, and you clearly recall how that ended." She smiles lightly thinking about Yang's story of her involvement in the very club she was in and what went down, "Why don't you calm down and we can settle this like adults? It'll save us a whole bunch of time, and in your case some dignity." He growls at this. Ruby sighs and places her drink down. Slowly she takes out her side bag and pulls out a stack of lien, "I have here five hundred lien;" his posture relaxes slightly and he holds up his hand, stopping the further advancement of his henchmen, "as a sign of good faith on my end, you can have half now." She splits it and hands it out to him.
Slowly he takes it, his eyes never leaving her face. There is a shiver as he takes in her appearance, judging if what she is alluding to what she wants is genuine, "And what is it you are looking for?"
"Not so much as a what. More like whom." She brings out her scroll and goes to a picture. Turning it around she shows him, "I am looking for information on this team; specifically, him." She zooms in on Sun's face.
He nods, "So the idea is that through bribery, you get information on them and then you leave."
"More like a friendly and respectable transaction. I figured you'd appreciate that more than me grabbing you by the-"
"Alright!" Junior yelled then more calmly he says, "Alright I think I get the point."
Ruby smirks lightly, "Do you? Do you really? I am not like my sister. Once she gets something in her head, nothing can stop her. Me? I'm a bit more…methodical in how to get what I am after."
Seeing that the tense situation was over, Junior gives a signal and music starts to blast once more. Most of the henchmen start to go back to their posts and he smiles, "Why don't we have this conversation a bit more private huh?" Ruby nods and takes her glance, giving the bartender another salute and follows Junior up to his office.
Once she is in his office, he offers her a seat as he sits behind his desk, "Now what do you want to know exactly?"
"What do you know about Sun Wukong?"
Junior sits back and puts his hands behind his head, "Other than he is that faunus that attacked that guy in the tournament, nothing."
Ruby sighs and leans back. She takes a large gulp of her drink and says, "You got to give me more than that."
"It's all I got." He states eyeing her. Ruby drains the remainder of her drink and places the glass on the desk. Taking out the other half of lien she hands it to him. He takes it and smiles, "Let me see his picture again." She shows him her scroll once more and he says, "Oh ok hold on, he was detained after that incident by Atlas soldiers before things went to shit."
Ruby nods, "I see your memory isn't all that terrible. What else you got in there?"
"Well if, and mind you this is a large if, I recall correctly they took him and his associates to a maximum security prison."
"Wait what?" Ruby asked leaning forward, "Maximum security prison? For what?" Junior smirks and Ruby groans. She takes out another stack of lien, "This is five hundred more lien. Tell me everything and you get this. Now quit screwing the fuck around with me, and start talking." For added effect she forces her eyes to glow dangerously.
He visibly shrinks back in his seat at the predatory like gaze she was giving him and he holds up his hands, "Ok look, there is a jurisdictional dispute between Atlas and Vale right now. Word has it that kid stowed away on a cargo ship and came to Vale illegally. Vale claims they have a right to charge him. However Atlas is charging him and his associates as terrorists seeing as the Fang were part of the whole reason why Beacon went to the ninth circle of hell."
So for once Atlas is using its head, Ruby thought then out loud she says, "So Atlas is claiming that its terrorist charge trumps a stowaway charge?" Junior nodded in confirmation, "So what is the story with this prison?"
"Not many people know of its existence. The kingdom wants to keep it under wraps so that people do not panic. Rumor had it, it was a built during the time of the faunus wars. Atlas needed a place to send the faunus they had captured that was far away from the war as possible so that they could be guarded more efficiently. It was easy to choose Vale since it was fairly close to Atlas to send prisoners by prison ships, and at the time Vale was desolate enough that there were no worries about a shortage of supplies to the guards and the prison itself." Junior sat up straight and continued the conversation, "My intel says in the years since the war, Atlas kept the prison up to date with technology. It hadn't really been in use since the wars until now."
"Sounds like you are not too sure about that." Ruby commented leaning back comfortably in her seat.
Junior mirrored her posture, keeping his arms crossed over his chest, "I can admit to something I may not be too sure of. That place is rumored to be so secure no one really knows if it's fact or fiction."
On the outside, Ruby was giving off an air of cool confidence, on the inside though she was panicking slightly. The fact she never even heard of this prison camp until now unnerved her. Was she that absorbed in her mission that she didn't pay attention to this detail, or had she actually known this prison camp under a different guise? Either way she had to know, "Ok I get why Sun may have needed to be held prisoner until this was worked out, but why his team?"
"We are at war now little Red." Junior said simply, "Anything goes." He leans forward and holds his hand out, "Now I've answered your questions, I've been patient. Pay up."
Getting true confidence now, Ruby leans forward to meet his gaze, "Not quite yet. I thank you truly for your help, but I need more."
"What more is there?"
"If this prison exists, where exactly is this prison located, and how would one break in and out?"
Junior sits back a bit and raises an eyebrow, "Just what-"
Ruby raises her hand to cut off his question, "Nope. I ask the questions, you answer me, and you get your payment. That is how this relationship works." Junior looked like he was about to protest, but she immediately cut him off, "Do you want your lien or not?"
A/N:
Ok so instead of the fifteen page chapter. It turned into twenty-two; and I think I liked this one better than the other one. Once again I am sorry for the mix up and I hope this makes up for it. Thank you for your patience and support. I'll delete that other author note before this chapter once I post the next one so that way it'll just be the story itself.
See ya all later and thanks again!
