[Sooooo… the chapter I originally wanted to put up next turned out to be a bigger challenge than I anticipated. It will still show up at some point, but I need to put it aside for now; instead I present this relatively simple alternative.]
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They called her Salamander.
Whap-whap, whap-whap, whap-whap
Apparently it was a word with a lot of different meanings, only one being the name of a tiny little lizard. According to Blake, it mainly referred to ancient creatures of legend that fed on fire itself, thus finding life in destruction. And if there was one chick in this town who knew mythology, it was her PR Manager.
Whap, whap, wham, whap!
Ruby kept a steady rhythm on the heavy bag, beating out a fast-paced drum solo in the solitude of the gym. Her fists were wrapped in thick cotton bandages, which she always preferred over those fancy-ass latex padded gloves they kept trying to sell her. Granted she did try a pair one time; she handed back a torn and tattered pile of stuffing after a single workout. Those things weren't made to handle what she dished out.
A statement that could also be made for certain men's jawbones.
Bam, bam, bam! Ba-ba-bam, whap-whap-whap-BAM!
Standing a full 6' tall without shoes, Ruby "The Salamander" Rose was an impressive sight. While most girls her age would guard their weight with the jealousy of Scrooge McDuck and his money, Ruby had no such issue – she proudly declared herself as having reached, and maintained, 210 pounds. And it was 95% muscle. She might not be a full-on male bodybuilder, but that didn't mean she wasn't proud of herself and what she'd accomplished. Not too damn bad for a 28 year old who grew up on the west side.
If things kept going at such an uphill rate… she might even be able to make a few other important changes.
Like swapping out that pesky F on her driver's license for an M…
Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-BOOM!
One more combo of hard punches was more than the old bag could stand, and it finally gave up. The stitches blew apart, sending sand and grit everywhere. Ruby grunted, sighed, then bent over to take a breath, her sweat dripping onto the concrete floor. She gazed at her knuckles, raw and bruised, and wiped her face with them.
She stood back up and let the endorphins run their course, imagining the calcium and proteins from breakfast doing their thing to reinforce her arm bones and rebuild her tired muscles. The cool air of the gym felt good on her bare arms, and her sweaty tank top was helping cool everything else down; her legs stayed hot, but that was the point of sweatpants. Everything was numb for a few moments as she gradually got her breath back, ready and willing to get back to work ASAP. The rush of a good workout always left her buzzing like this.
A ding-a-ling drew her gaze to the front door. The woman who had just entered took it from there, kept hold of it and didn't let it go. Talk about easy on the eyes, dayum.
"Afternoon," said Ruby in a casual voice accentuated by an easy smile. "Help ya?"
"Maybe," said the mystery woman. It wasn't anyone Ruby had seen before, so she took a moment to look over the newcomer; 5' 3", 90 pounds soaking wet, dark skin and coffee-colored hair, and a startling pair of orange-yellow eyes that only made sense when you took into account the tiger ears sticking out of her head. She also wore a rather expensive looking outfit with a low-cut neckline. The woman gave her a grin that could only be described as sultry, "The bigger question is: how can I help you?"
Oh. Ruby dropped her smile and sighed; she'd heard that kind of thing before. "If you're here to try and buy me out, don't bother. I don't run a gym for the money alone."
"Clearly."
The mysterious Faunus woman scoffed at the mess of sand and filling while Ruby went to grab a broom. This was her gym after all, and business at the 'Ruby Rumble' wasn't good enough for her to even think about hiring a janitor. That bag was gonna be pricey to replace.
"Ruby Rose, owner of a gym on the east side, and an amateur boxer looking to jump into the ring with the professionals. I've been following your career for some time, Salamander," said the woman. "And I have a proposition to make."
Ruby spoke without looking or stopping the broom, "And who is it that's offering?"
"Someone who doesn't like to be ignored…"
"Oh, but I am listening.~"
"Then look at me when I'm talking to you!"
"Fine. What?" Ruby finally turned to look at her visitor and held a neutral face. "What's so important it can't wait another hour for me to close up?"
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The crowds around them cheered and hollered almost loud enough to drown out the roaring of blood in her ears as Ruby let fly her fists over and over again, always meeting the same beefy forearms with each swing. This guy was slow but tough; most of her opponents would've dropped their guard by now. As the fight progressed, she would throw a punch, then have her fist deflected as the man sent his own flurry of hits into her face and ribcage. At least this one didn't keep tacks in his knuckles like the last asshole she fought. Ruby didn't like breaking hand bones more than once a year, but some guys needed the reminder.
Another combo came and Ruby ducked under a wide left, sending two quick and hard punches into the guy's ribs. Nothing cracked. That was unusual; ribs always cracked. What was this guy made of?
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The still-unnamed woman crossed her arms, lifting up her boobs with the motion. Nice. "I'm here to talk business. And if you play your cards right, you could not only fix up this garbage heap you call a gym, but even open up a whole chain of gyms all across the city."
Ruby's expression flattened as she turned to keep sweeping.
She could hear the woman click her teeth before pausing a moment, then saying, "Fine… maybe I'll ask your sister to help me… convince… … … you… … …"
At the word 'sister' Ruby had dropped the broom. By the time she said 'convince' Ruby was standing directly in front of her, fists balled up and wide silver eyes glaring down at the suddenly nervous woman. Her strawberry red bangs dangled in front of her face, heavy with sweat.
"Choose your next words carefully, Faunus."
"It's S-Sierra," she replied slowly. The tiger Faunus named Sierra swallowed hard and tried to back up a step but discovered she'd been up against a wall the whole time. After a moment she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and calmed her nerves in a zen-like move that would've made Blake envious. Her next sentence was much calmer, "If you accept my offer, I can promise you that your sister will be well taken care of."
Ruby didn't so much as twitch.
"She's in no d-danger," said Sierra, panic creeping back into her voice, "I'm not here to make threats, only to g-get your cooperation. The S-Salamander is a well-known figure in this part of town, and having you on our s-side would be good for busi-."
"What. Do. You. Want?"
"… … …A little breathing room would be nice."
Ruby finally blinked as she realized how close they were, then took two big steps backward as she ran a hand through her bangs to get them out of her face. Thankfully she'd kept the back of her hair short after her last big haircut, so it didn't hang down her back anymore. "Sorry, I… I don't like people bringing up Yang like that."
"So I noticed," said Sierra. She took a moment to straighten out her blouse, cleared her throat and finally put her offer out there. "The people I represent would like to recruit you. The conditions are simple: you win when we tell you, and you lose when we say so. The more often you do this, the more you get paid."
"The Khan Family. I shoulda known." Ruby spoke through a tense jaw, "You're fixin' bets now, is that it?"
"To put it extremely crudely, yes. Even you might be surprised how much money can be made this way."
"I doubt that."
"Your alternative is to keep fighting legit, scraping together pennies with each beating, and praying to a god that can't hear you that one day you'll make the big leagues and go pro… when we both know good and well it'll never happen. It's a man's world out there, honey."
Ruby looked away in disgust. She hated being reminded of that.
"Although points for trying.~"
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Her vision swam as her opponent landed a solid blow to her head, almost knocking her out then and there… but if there was one thing pops always said, it was that Ruby's head was ten times harder than his ever was. Nothing short of a sledgehammer would crack her thick skull.
This guy seemed willing to try, though. He was easily bigger than Ruby; 6' 5" and probably double the weight, "Ironwood" was gonna be tough to take down. Really tough. Thankfully nobody was invincible, and Ruby knew how to deal with guys like this.
Two fake-outs finally gave Ruby the opening she wanted, and she landed a solid blow on the guy's nose, finally feeling something crack under her knuckles. Her vision went red for a moment as he stumbled back.
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"Tomorrow night, in the warehouse on 4th Avenue, 'Ironwood' wants to fight you. If you accept our offer… then we need you to lose to him. This time, anyway." Sierra wore a smile that was almost predatory.
Ruby was ready to walk away right then, but she needed to know something first; "What happens if I say no?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all. We act like we never met, you continue on your life course… and your sister stays right where she is. At least for the next year, or however long she has."
Ruby paused. "…Do I get paid double for losing?"
"Not on the first round, Sally. Just a 25% bonus. We need to know you're in this for the long haul."
"How long?"
"Depends on you, I'd say."
"What about Yang?"
"What about her…?"
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The fateful moment came when Ironwood sent a haymaker forward and slipped, ironically on his own blood from the busted nose, and lost his footing. He didn't fall, but in a bareknuckle fight like this, you didn't have to fall. One bad step was enough to get you killed.
He let his guard down. His head was wide open. One punch to the side of the head, even for a guy as tough as this, would likely send him to the hospital, but most importantly it would end the fight.
Ruby "The Salamander" Rose would win.
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"So do we have a deal~?"
"Can I trust you to keep your word?"
"…"
"… … …Deal."
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Ruby went for the ribs again, ignoring his head.
Ironwood recovered quickly, letting his meaty arms swing wide and catch Ruby across the face. He then grabbed her by the back of her head and started driving his fist into her face and gut, one after the other, until he could no longer feel her resisting and let her drop to the ground, bloody and unconscious. Ruby wouldn't get to see him raise both arms in victory, nor hear the cheers of the crowd.
The loss didn't make her mad. In fact, it left her satisfied… and not just because of the money.
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The door opened with a quiet click, though it seemed deafening in the silence of the room. Once inside, however, the sound of the machines filled the empty space; Ruby had no idea what most of them did, even after all these years, and she had no intention of asking. The one window in the room glowed with orange and red as the sun ducked behind the skyscrapers of downtown.
"Hey, sis," said Ruby.
A thin, bony hand was lifted in greeting as the owner of that hand, at one time the most radiant girl Ruby had ever known, gave a tired smile and said, "Hey, yourself." Her voice carried a gravelly sound Ruby didn't like.
"How you holdin' up?"
"Oh perfect! I've never felt better in my life! Doc says I could get up right now and run laps around race cars!" Yang's sarcasm was so thick it practically dripped onto the floor. Either that or it was the humidity. They gotta get that A/C fixed. "What about you? Did you get into another fight with a freight train?" Yang lifted her withered hand to point at her little sister's face.
"Obviously," said Ruby as she patted her bandages with pride. "The damn thing never stood a chance."
"Woo…" Yang cheered tiredly. Her hair lay lifeless on the pillow, a result of having it cut off before starting the chemo and getting it turned into a wig. That way she wouldn't have to be seen hairless.
As the nurses came in to take Yang's temperature and vitals, Ruby looked at the body of her beloved older sister, wasting away to the chemotherapy that was supposed to be keeping her alive. She tried to imagine where that tumor was growing, wondered why it outright refused to die… and wondered how it would feel to punch cancer in the face.
Probably not as satisfying as punching a person, but she could dream. Cancer probably didn't have a face to punch anyway, but whatever.
Yang didn't deserve a life like this. She deserved to be running down a beach, sunlight shining through her golden hair and sand getting stuck between her toes. She deserved to be outside in the snow at Christmas, laughing and playing like they used to do when they were kids. She deserved… she… she…
She deserved to LIVE, goddammit!
Once the nurses injected Yang's evening meds into her IV and let it go, they patted Ruby's shoulder on the way out. Ruby sat down heavily in the chair next to her sister's bed, watching the woman fall back to a drug-induced sleep, then gently grasped her thin hand within her own battered, calloused ones and prayed. Ruby often prayed, even though it felt like no one ever listened.
She prayed that Yang would be cured. She prayed that one day she could wake up and see her true self in the mirror looking back at her. She prayed that this messed up world would one day be made right.
Ruby "The Salamander" Rose knew, without any doubt, that she would lose any number of fights, take any number of falls, and make any number of deals with the devil if it gave them a chance to get back what they'd lost. She would do anything to help her sister.
Anything.
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Designation: Remnant-0057 (Earth #18)
Type 1-B Common Alternate World
Class 5 Population – 70/30 HF (Human/Faunus) Ratio
Grimm Threat NOT DETECTED
Environment: YELLOW
Integrity: GREEN
Culture: YELLOW
Dust/Aura: RED
Deviation from Standard: 20.07 %
Special Note: The Remnants that refer to their planets as "Earth" have a lot of similarities, and this one's no different. No Dust, little to no Aura detected anywhere, and not a single Grimm to be seen. However, the natives of these worlds still cause problems all on their own, so I'm always curious to see what sort of Rubys might come out of them.
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Author's Note: The name "Sierra" wasn't misspelled. She exists in my headcanon as Sienna Khan's sister. In case anyone was wondering.
I don't think anybody can watch a show like Arcane and not take something away from it. For me, that something was the inspiration for this OC Ruby; I tried to imagine how Vi would've looked had Vander survived and raised her into a proper woman with a normal life, but also with a heaping helping of RWBY elements tossed in for flavor, and this is how it ended up (and yes, I'm aware that Vi and Yang are far more similar to each other, but I didn't wanna turn Ruby into Jinx – thathappenslaterCOUGH). Personally I'm quite happy with it, and you can rest assured we'll see "Sally" again at some point.
Next Chapter: So far we've seen modern day, medieval fantasy, crime noir and even something of a dystopia. Now I'd like to show you what happens after the world has ended, and humanity itself is all but extinct.
=^..^=