I finally got around to watching volume 8. I didn't hate it, didn't love it. It had a lot of really cool moments but also a lot of fairly unsatisfying ones. Overall, it fell into the same middle ground that a lot of the recent volumes have for me.
Aside from that, I'm glad you all liked the last one. I had a lot of fun with it and I can't wait to get into more of the story. See you at the bottom for more.
She woke up with a start. Then a hiss.
Her face hurt like hell.
Ruby sat up slowly, looking around. This was... Her room? What the hell had happened after she blacked out? She tried to wrack her brain for what she remembered.
She remembered landing in Vale. She remembered looking for her teammates and finding Adam. Then things exploded and she and Adam ran into his bitch ex. Then...
What happened after that? She couldn't recall. Maybe that was when she blacked out. She tried to move but realized that there was a weight on her legs preventing such a plan. She looked down and gasped.
Laying on her legs was a very distraught, yet very unconscious Adam. He sat in a wooden chair and had fallen forward onto her. The bags under his eyes spoke of sleeplessness, and she sighed.
What had happened to her?
As she was asking herself this, she heard the door creak. She looked over and saw a shock of blonde hair coming in with a tray. When the person turned their eyes widened and they nearly tossed the tray away.
"Ruby!" Yang ran forward, practically slamming the tray, which Ruby now saw had two cups on it, on the bedside table before wrapping her arms around the older girl.
Her shout had Adam shooting up and looking around. When he saw his leader hugging his partner, then subsequently saw his partner looking at him, his eyes widened as well and he stood so quickly that the chair he was on toppled to the ground.
"Y-you're awake," his voice cracked slightly as he adjusted to being awake himself and likely having not been drinking. The water Yang had brought made more sense now.
Same smiled and nodded, still holding onto her sister and stroking her hair. Whatever had happened had really had people in a state. The door creaked again, faster this time as Whitley nearly kicked the door in and held Pistolblume aloft, aiming around.
"I came as fast as I could! What happened!? Who's here!?" Whitley shouted, searching for a threat. When it was quiet instead he looked to the bed and saw his team staring at him. He stared back, noticed Ruby's awakened status, and promptly tossed his gun aside and ran to her.
"Thank goodness you're okay," he practically fell onto the end of her bed. It was a testament to how much he really cared about them that he'd let his walls down like that.
"I'm fine guys. Maybe a little hazy on what happened, but still fine nonetheless," Ruby tried placating them. Her voice was hoarse and she coughed a little. Only now did she notice how dry she felt.
"Here," Adam stood and grabbed the water that Yang had brought and held it in front of her.
"Thanks partner," she rasped. She reached forward to grab the glass.
Her hand fumbled and she nearly spilled it all on herself. Adam managed to catch it, but wasn't able to prevent some water from escaping and landing on the sheets.
"Wha...?" Ruby blinked. She swore she'd grabbed it. She reached again, and almost missed the damn thing entirely this time.
"What's going on?" she looked at her hands. They looked fine, so why was she so uncoordinated? She didn't feel too dizzy, and she didn't see anything else wrong with her. Was she on painkillers of some kind? At that moment she also recognized that there was a foreign feeling on the left side of her face.
"Here," Adam helped and held the glass to her lips, "there's... Something you need to see."
She drank, flushing again as she allowed herself to be helped. When she was done her team backed up slightly and Yang grabbed a small mirror. She held it apprehensively, fiddling with it.
"Um, okay..." Yang tried to find a way to break this to the girl, "we need you to stay calm, okay sis?"
Ruby's hairs rose and she looked around wearily. The looks her team gave her didn't comfort her, especially not Adam's grit teeth snarl that he aimed off to the side.
Yang grabbed her hand and placed the mirror there, giving Ruby the control to look at herself. She held the mirror up, a pit welling in her stomach.
Had she the breath, she would've screamed. As it was, all she could do at the moment was gasp and drop the mirror.
Where her left eye once was, there was now a brutal and angry red scar. Her eye itself... No, that was wrong. There wasn't an eye there anymore. In its place was a shut mangling of flesh where her left eye had once been.
She hadn't even realized she'd started crying until Yang was hugging her and crying too. She suddenly felt faint and blinked, her vision clouding.
Whitley joined soon after, allowing her to grab his hand and squeeze. The boy looked down, eyes closed as he allowed her to let it all out. Adam sat at the foot of her bed, one hand on her shin and the other clenched in his lap as he glared at the floor.
The door exploded inwards again and a frantic Summer was there.
"I heard crying! What—" she silenced herself immediately upon seeing her daughter crying, surrounded by her team. Her heart nearly broke, and she rushed forward to hold her from beside Yang.
Ruby continued her crying until she was out of breath and her eye was sore.
"We're here sis," Yang said quietly, still glued to her sister. Ruby took a shuddering breath and tried to thank her, but it came out as a weak cough instead.
Whitley was the first to stand, taking a deep breath as Ruby gently released his hand.
"I'll go let the others know you're awake," he said softly. Yang sent him a warm smile and he nodded back, leaving from the room quietly.
Summer took the moment to look her daughter in the eye and hold her by the shoulders.
"You made it out alive," she stated, though it sounded like it was just as much for herself as it was for Ruby, "That's what matters most."
It almost sounded like something Raven would say. Scratch that, it was definitely something Raven would say. Summer was probably trying not to show her real mood in fear of making her daughter's worse. The thought made Ruby smile slightly and nod.
Summer slowly turned to look at Adam, who at this point was going to set a fire with how heatedly he was glaring at the floor. The poor young man had been beside himself— and Ruby for that matter— the entire time she'd been laid up. It warmed her heart to know someone cared for her daughter in such a way, but it wasn't doing him any good if he kept beating himself up for everything that's happened. She had to commend him either way, he was loyal to a fault.
"Yang," Summer said softly, "why don't we give her a moment?"
Yang looked like she wanted to stay and argue, almost reminding Summer of when she was just a child and refused to do anything without her sister. Summer would've loved nothing more than for things to be that simple again. Luckily for her, the brawler caught her subtle nod towards Adam, and nodded back. Giving Ruby another hug, she reluctantly backed off and stood with Summer, the two making for the door.
Adam stood and started making his way as well, but he was met with a look both stern and sly as Summer shook her head and closed the door. He blinked and his body sagged as he realized that she wanted him to stay with her daughter.
Turning he saw Ruby staring at her lap, or maybe through it was more accurate. She looked disturbed, but it was a testament to her willpower that she still looked ready to stand at a moment's notice. He let his heel rub the floor as he thought of what to say. What could he say though? What would he be able to do that her family wouldn't?
"How are you feeling?"
Foot, meet mouth.
Adam wanted to slap himself for opening his mouth and letting that absolutely stunning display of situational awareness show itself. He winced and tried to bite his tongue before he'd finished, but it was too late for that.
But instead of sending him a thunderous look or getting mad and shouting, she let out a small, quiet laugh.
"Surprisingly," she spoke quietly, "it doesn't hurt."
"You can likely thank Jaune for that," Adam relaxed when he realized she wasn't about to go off on him. Upon her inquisitive look, he continued explaining.
For all his gifts as a fighter, it wouldn't surprise anyone if Jaune found success in the world of treating huntsmen. His semblance was practically a godsend, and as long as the person had an aura unlocked, he could work wonders.
It had been one of the first things they'd tried once they'd gotten Ruby settled in bed. After he'd come back from helping that strange chair-bound man, he'd immediately set to trying to heal Ruby's eye. Unfortunately it would seem that the difference in his ability to speed up one's recovery process and fully rejuvenate something that wasn't even there anymore was too great.
Her wound had closed, most of the nerves fully recovered and she suffered no infection or major blood loss. But her eye couldn't be saved, for it was already gone.
As Adam finished explaining this to her, Ruby was once again staring off. Adam went silent and with him, so too did the room.
"It's strange," she said suddenly, breaking the silence, "it's like there should be a great pain, but there's none. It makes the fact that there's actually something missing from me right now feel all the more surreal."
No wonder she had freaked out so much at the reveal. In that way, Jaune healing the wound had done her some harm. She hadn't even realized something was wrong until she noticed her lack of depth perception. Of course, nobody would blame him for trying and helping.
"Does it feel irritating at all?" Adam asked. She gently brought her hand up and let it brush over her scar. She winced slightly at the feeling, though not from pain but from how different the sensitivity between the scar tissue and her skin felt.
"Not really I guess," her hand still traced the scar, feeling out how large it actually was.
Adam hummed and remained silent afterwards. This was only getting more awkward the longer he stayed in the room with her. He thought about leaving, but the thought of leaving her alone coupled with Summer likely waiting outside made him rethink that plan.
Finally he decided to just come out and say what he was thinking. He'd never been one for decorated words.
"I... I'm sorry," he spoke through grit teeth, "I'm sorry I let this happen to you."
Ruby stared at him with her now one good eye and blinked once. She said nothing, only looking at him with an emotion he couldn't place.
"You think you're the reason this happened?" she finally asked, pointing to her face.
"Blake only went after you because she knew you were close to me," he clenched his hands into fists and looked at the floor, "if I hadn't—"
"Adam, shut the hell up," Ruby sighed.
He jerked his head towards her and stared at her, mouth agape. Ruby wasn't one to interrupt or swear, let alone do both at the same time. The frustration playing on her face was also foreign for someone who was so normally cheerful.
"I'm sure this isn't the first time since I've been unconscious that you've said that," she guessed, grinning a little when he coughed into his fist, "and I'm sure I'm not the first person to tell you that you're being too hard on yourself."
"But I—"
"Uhp!" she held a finger out and he stopped talking, "The actions of your crazy ex aren't your fault. And me being your friend isn't your fault either."
He didn't say anything, mostly because he didn't know how to respond. Ruby took the moment to take a deep breath and look out the window.
"I know that it can feel easier to blame yourself when something bad happens to someone you care about," she didn't look at him, seemingly remembering something, "it kinda feels like you were supposed to do something but failed."
That was similar to how he felt, that much was true. He simply remained silent and let her continue.
"But none of us could've been ready for that. And you couldn't have known that any of this would happen," she finally looked back at him, her normal, radiant smile in place, "So don't apologize to me Adam. Forgive yourself."
Forgive himself? Was he really holding himself too accountable? To him it all certainly felt like his fault.
"Leave it to you," he started with a grumble, but looked up at her with a small smile as he pushed a finger into her forehead, making her face scrunch up in a pout, "to take care of others when you're the one who's hurting."
She flushed slightly and shrugged, her smile still in place as she looked at him.
"I've never been good at being sad," she stated so matter-of-factly that he let out a small chuckle despite the previous mood. The atmosphere lifted, and he allowed himself just a moment to relax.
As if to tell him that he couldn't have anything, the door was kicked in again and Summer rushed back in, pulling him and her daughter into a hug that had him gasping from both surprise and constriction.
Ruby looked much the same as him, only she still somehow managed to send him a smile despite her face slowly becoming blue instead of red.
"I'm so happy you're okay!" she nearly shouted into Ruby's shoulder.
"Uh, Summer?" Yang called from the doorway, "I think they're dying."
Summer let go and both victims of the sudden affection sucked in the much needed oxygen they had been cut off from for the last thirty seconds.
"How... Are you two... Still alive?" Adam gasped.
"Conditioning," Ruby coughed out. Summer had the wherewithal to look slightly embarrassed, but not nearly as much as she should've been. The woman must've been waiting for them to clear the air before she could finally let her more overbearing nature show itself.
From there, Adam and Yang got Ruby up to speed with their... Situation. They told her what happened in Vale, and that they were currently on the run for some reason that none of them were quite privy to as of yet.
Ruby looked more than just upset at the news. After all, when you're unconscious and have no idea what may have gone on while you were under, learning that most of your life was likely about to rapidly start changing was hard to take in, even disregarding the fact that she'd have to grow accustomed to only having one eye.
At one point Ruby asked what happened to Beacon, to which they could only shrug. They hadn't been there, it'd been team PAVL who'd witnessed whatever happened there firsthand. Ruby seemed unsatisfied with that, and looked ready for the full story, whatever it may have been.
But that meant she'd have to get up first.
"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Summer doted on the girl like she'd shattered both her knees. Ruby continued to assure the woman she'd be okay— at least she suspected she would— and also blushed deeper with every word from her mother. The fact that Adam, her partner and a grown man of which she'd seen kick major ass, was watching her be cheered on by her own mother for standing was more than a little embarrassing.
She stood and staggered for a moment but remained upright. It was definitely an adjustment, being able to only see from one eye. At a resting position, she couldn't make out anything on her left side. She had to bring her left hand over towards the middle of her sightlines in order to see it. That meant the whole room was in a similar situation to her gaze.
"You okay?" Yang asked, looking ready to help at a moment's notice. Ruby smiled and ruffled her hair, which the blonde growled at and swatted at in an attempt to make her stop.
"Just cuz you're missing an eye doesn't mean I won't bite you!" Yang shouted. Ruby laughed and pushed the brawler away with a poke to the forehead.
"I'd like to see you try," Ruby smirked, walking past her and leaving the room. Yang huffed but shared an elated look with Summer. Leave it to Ruby to walk off being dismembered like this.
They all walked downstairs, Summer going ahead to make sure someone would be there to catch Ruby if she fell. Ruby rolled her eye and walked down at an even pace. She kept a hand ready to grab the railing, but didn't need it by the time she reached the ground floor.
"Ruby!" a green blur shot towards her only to be clotheslined and have all the wind and spit knocked out of it by Nora.
"Just because she's up doesn't mean you can tackle her," the ginger groaned with a long-suffering sigh. Ren wheezed and stood, hunched over but still smiling slightly as he waved at Ruby.
"Good to see— cough— that you're up!" he rasped. Nora smiled warmly beside him and nodded. Pyrrha poked her head out from the kitchen where she gasped and nearly dropped the dish she'd been washing.
"You're okay!" Pyrrha smiled brightly before her eyes widened, "I'll go get Jaune!"
She ran out the back door towards the shed, which had Ruby sending the others a confused look. Whitley also came out of the kitchen and nodded to Ruby, clearly relieved to see her moving about as normal.
"Why is Jaune out back?" the reaper asked. The others all looked around, seemingly as lost for a suitable answer as she was.
"We know why," Nora was the one to answer her, "We just... Don't really know the full story yet."
Well that was certainly uplifting. As if things hadn't been confusing and jarring so far already, there was still more that they apparently hadn't heard about yet. Ruby said as much, earning a grunt from her partner who looked somewhat agitated.
"The... Doctor, that has been working with Jaune is just an absolute fuc—" a shiver went down Adams' spine and he saw Summer giving him a look, so he cleared his throat and amended himself, "Er, that is to say, he's... Awful."
The others all nodded morosely, grunting in some cases and whining in others. It seemed none of them had too high an opinion of this doctor. Ruby wasn't exactly shaking in excitement to meet him either. She was about to ask where he came from when the sound of footsteps pounding against the deck could be heard.
Pyrrha came back in, and Jaune came barreling from behind her, nearly taking the door off its hinges. When he saw Ruby his eyes widened and he ran up to her. While he was obviously happy she was okay, there was something else written across his face that didn't quite let him relax.
"I tried to save your eye," he mumbled. Ruby nodded slowly.
"I know."
"I'm sorry I couldn't," he looked disappointed, as if they all expected him to be able to work a miracle for anything that happened to them. Ruby herself was confused. It wasn't like he took her damn eye! There wasn't anything he should've apologized for.
Ruby then realized that Jaune was probably someone who hadn't had to deal with failing a whole lot ever since he became a champion fighter. It wasn't just a matter of succeeding in his case, everyone knew he was an amazing combatant. But he had probably internalized a need to always succeed after winning for so long and being in a place of scrutiny for years.
"Nobody expects you to bring back body parts or save the dead," Nora, ever her team's voice of reason, spoke up. The two powerhouses shared an exchange of looks, one that Jaune obviously caved on as he stood straighter.
Jaune sent her a short but nonetheless grateful smile and nodded. It was obvious he still felt upset with himself and had wanted to help more than he did, and nothing could've felt more helpless than just not being enough. Even as powerful as his semblance could be, bringing back something that was already gone was just asking too much.
"We're all back together and alive!" Ren jumped between them, having slipped away from Nora and slung his arms around both to drag them into a hug. Nora mouthed a 'sorry' to Ruby as she sagged where she stood.
"And now that we are..." Adam slowly eyed Summer, who seemed to freeze as she realized something she had forgotten she'd agreed on.
"Oh crap," she pouted, realizing Raven was patrolling the house and wasn't here to use as a scapegoat.
"What? What happened?" Ruby looked around, confused as to what sort of agreement had been made.
"You did say you'd tell us what was going on..." Yang bounced back and forth on her heels. Summer sputtered, and suddenly they all realized just how much Ruby shared with her mom.
"Raven said that! I said I'd be there when it happened! P-plus she said she was waiting for—"
"Rest assured Cinder will be along momentarily," an oily voice cut the woman off as it entered the room. They all turned as the chair-bound man slowly entered the room.
"Uhhhh," Ruby turned to her team and mom for an explanation. They all looked visibly annoyed already which wasn't a great sign.
"If it's an introduction you're awaiting then allow me," he didn't even wait for anyone to explain, "My name is Arthur Watts, humble, genius inventor, the—"
"Don't forget paraplegic!" Ren added helpfully. Watts ignored him as if he hadn't even said anything.
"— same man who saved you all back when that war machine with a hairline was thrashing you around like a kitten with a toy," he finished, sweeping his arm out in front of him. Ruby blinked hard with her one eye before looking at everyone else.
"What?" she asked simply.
"He means he shot Ironwood," Yang rephrased. Her little sister looked very bored and annoyed in Watts' presence. Watts for his part held up a finger.
"Oh I didn't just shoot him! You see, I—"
"Injected him with a direct EMP that fried his circuitry for as long as up to seven minutes, a feat of magnificence in the world of engineering," everyone in the room repeated sans Ruby, who noted that this had likely been said multiple times before she woke up.
"Um... Okay? Thank you for saving us Mr Watts? I guess?" Ruby smiled awkwardly, trying to be polite. Judging by everyone's horrified looks, that was apparently the wrong thing to do.
Watts preened, even going so far as to straighten in his chair, which Ruby's brain had finally caught up was floating, and a smile split his face that exuded smugness and pride. Ruby flinched as she realized all of this was directed at her.
"Why thank you Ms Rose! I'm glad to see someone here is capable of being grateful to those who take the time out of their days for others. He floated forward, the hum of the gravity dust in his chair filling the aggravated silence of the room, "I hear you're somewhat of a weapons expert yourself! While my specialty encompasses such a thing by a country mile, I assure you I'd be willing to talk shop sometime."
Ruby blinked. This man... Really liked to hear himself talk. Overbearingly so. She looked around for help but it looked like nobody was willing to deal with the man. Despite the fact that she couldn't blame them, she sent them all scathing looks as the man talked her ear off.
Her saving grace came in the form of an irritated woman growling at the door.
"Arthur, shut the hell up already," Cinder grumbled as she linked into the room. For the most part she looked the same... Well to anyone who had already known her she looked the same. To Ruby it looked like the woman had been hit by a combine harvester.
"Ah Cinder, how decent of you to join us at last," Watts drawled, turning in place to regard his companion.
"Forgive me doctor, I was busy doing all of the work for our little company. Again," her eyes flared as she barked at the man.
For his part he didn't even flinch, simply smiled and waved her off like a teacher would a students joke.
"How's your leg?" Jaune asked, doing like everyone else and ignoring the animosity between the two adults.
"Tender, but in one piece. I suppose I have you to thank for that," Cinder seemed to be happy to turn her attention from the doctor. She sent an appreciative nod towards Jaune.
"I must say, the ability to heal so prolifically is quite riveting. I was sure we'd have to take your leg off, but after setting everything in place he simply pieced you back together!" Watts examined her leg like it was a new species of frog.
Cinder looked ready to go off on the man again, but either through sheer willpower or a desire not to hear from him anymore, she reigned herself in and addressed the room instead.
"I thank you all for your hospitality. Please accept my gratitude. I take it Raven has filled you all in on the details of the circumstance we find ourselves in?" she asked.
"Actually she specifically told us nothing and said it was your problem to tell us!" Ren told her merrily.
"That bitch!" all pretense of politeness gone, Cinder cursed the woman for heaping all of the responsibility on her.
Cinder ranted in place for a moment, spouting no small amount of expletives about Raven. Eventually, Yang was the one to interrupt the woman's self induced rant.
"Are you okay? And as annoying as my mom can be, what exactly is your relationship with her?" Yang asked. A moment later her eyes widened and she stepped back in fear, "You're not dating my mom are you!?"
Cinder scowled at Yang, but that did little to dissuade the scared and suspicious look that Yang was giving her. She clenched her fists and jaw alike and— oh for the love of God Ruby was looking at her the same way now. Cinder turned to Summer, hoping for the woman to at least reign in her kids.
Nope. Summer was shooting her a skeptical look now as well.
"I'm not dating your mother!" Cinder stomped, then winced as she shook out her still sore leg.
"Ah yes, do try to keep pressure off of that leg for a few days. It will most definitely be sore," Watts smirked at her. She resisted the urge to spit at him.
"It would be best," Cinder growled, "if we waited for Raven."
"I'm here you crazy broad now quit getting your panties in a twist," Raven walked through the door, looking bedraggled and stressed. When she saw Ruby standing she smiled warmly at the girl, "It's good to see you up and at 'em again kid."
Ruby nodded with a smile, and both she and Raven decided to ignore Summer's squee of joy at seeing the normally stoic woman look so happy.
Cinder clearing her throat ruined the moment somewhat, but at present they didn't have the option to have the perfect family reunion that they wanted. It'd have to wait.
"Right. First things first," Raven sat back on a clearly well-loved armchair, "we're still clear. For how long, I don't know, but there weren't any signs of us being followed."
"Followed by who?" Yang asked, ever the curious one and a willing thorn in her mother's side.
"Ozpin."
The answer sent half the room reeling and the other half only tensed.
"What!?" Yang nearly coughed with the speed she spat out her question.
"Your headmaster... Well, not your headmaster anymore really, wants us dead. For the most part," Raven pointed at Ruby and Summer before pointing at Cinder, "He likely wants you three alive for one thing or another."
"Ray," Summer stopped the commotion in the room and grabbed her long-time friend's attention, "I think the whole story here is required."
Raven sighed and leaned back, throwing her head back and grunting.
"Okay kids," she straightened up, a deep frown on her face, "story time."
The next ten minutes were spent explaining just what kind of power Cinder housed within her, everything Raven and Cinder had been doing in Vale, and how at this point in time, they were definitely enemies to the kingdoms of Vale and Atlas, and likely soon to be enemies of Mistral and... Well, who wasn't a criminal in Vacuo?
"Holy shit," Ren was the first to react, the others in similar ways.
"Magic is real!?" Yang looked lost, not that anyone could fault her for such a thing. Pyrrha looked disturbed.
"So... Ozpin wanted me to become the Fall maiden?" Jaune gave her shoulder a squeeze and Raven sighed.
"My guess is that he wanted to force the powers onto you so that he'd have someone on his side who could use them," Raven waved her hand towards Cinder.
"Unfortunately," Raven interrupted their chaos with that dreadful word, "that isn't everything."
Raven looked over at Cinder, who sighed but didn't argue. Raven had explained her half. It was only fair that she explained the rest of their situation.
"Right," Cinder stepped forward, "I suppose I should start by introducing myself. My name is Cinder Fall. I understand you've had the unfortunate displeasure of meeting my colleague here. Also, your version of that story is horribly flawed."
Watts only huffed and rolled his eyes.
"It is true that I was the original Fall maiden. Your headmaster sent one of his followers, a woman named Amber, to steal the powers from me. She succeeded, with the help of some kind of terrible power bestowed to her by Ozpin. In an attempt to take those powers back, I had planned to cause a distraction in the city long enough for me to get in and out before being noticed."
Everyone took a moment to digest that, and Adam was the first to speak.
"You were the one guiding the White Fang to cause so much trouble in the city," his voice was tight and he sounded close to shouting if he didn't have the temperament to control himself.
"Briefly," she said without shame, "but the plan was only for them to get dust and then retreat to Mountain Glenn for safety. As we all know, they had other plans, and used the stolen resources to stage a massive attack on Vale."
That sent the room into a flurry again. Anger was rife, and rightfully so. Cinder's direct involvement had been what gave the Fang a chance to make moves and it had left a mark, on some more than others.
It was only when Raven intervened that the room quieted down again.
"I want to kick her ass more than any of you," Raven shouted over the din, "but there's more, and right now, whether you hate her for her stupid decisions or not, she's one of our only allies."
Cinder rolled her eyes at Raven's brazenness but was nonetheless grateful for her interruption.
"None are more disappointed in how things went than myself," Cinder continued, "but there's far more left to explain and you're all entitled to hear it considering your current involvement in the matter."
"Involvement!?" Whitley stomped, "All we were told was that the only two options we had were to run away or run away!" He crossed his arms, "Not to mention that I find your brevity and forthrightness about yourselves to be suspicious at best and downright infuriating at worst!"
The other students in the room seemed to share similar sentiments, and Cinder slumped, looking over to Watts to see if he'd offer a word or two. He looked back and gave her one of his damned smirks instead, and she cursed that she couldn't combust him where he stood.
"Wait," Ruby had a hand on her head and another held out in front of her, "what exactly makes me and mom special?"
Raven bumped Summer, who sent her a scowl but nonetheless took to Ruby's side and laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Well sweetie—"
"Whenever you start something with that it's because I'll hate it," Ruby interrupted with a grimace.
"— you and I both have something that's very important for fighting Grimm," Summer started. Ruby deflated before throwing her arms up.
"What, do we do something stupid like shoot lasers out of our eyes?" Ruby snarked.
Cinder coughed, and when Ruby looked at her the woman looked away. Watts was whistling, Raven was trying to hold back a snicker.
Summer pouted, looking sheepish and poking her fingers together, not at all acting like the grown ass mother of nearly eighteen years that she was.
"... Eye lasers aren't stupid..." she mumbled. Ruby's hand met her face, and she resisted the urge to gouge her other eye out right then and there.
"At any rate," Cinder stopped the two before it could derail the current topic any further, "the dear doctor and I serve a higher authority. Her name is Salem."
Summer groaned.
"Goddamnit Ray, I was really hoping you were joking when you mentioned that."
"Why would I joke about that?"
"I don't know! I'm very stressed and I was hoping it was meant to lighten the mood!"
"Oh what? I'm supposed to joke about these two being allied with the queen of Grimm?"
Watts and Cinder blinked.
"Yes! No! I don't know! I just didn't want to realize I just switched sides and joined forces with a half-Grimm-half-human abomination! No offense to your master," Summer offered to the two.
Watts and Cinder shared a look before Watts, surprisingly, was the one to speak and for once was quite humble sounding.
"Pardon our confusion, but whatever are you two talking about?" he asked.
"Uh, your boss?" Raven deadpanned, "You know, scary Grimm witch or whatever?"
"That sounds... Remarkably unlike Salem," Cinder put a hand to her chin, "By chance, have you ever seen a picture of her?"
"Well..." Summer looked to Raven, who looked deep in thought for a spell before staring at Summer with wide eyes, "uh... No?"
Cinder groaned, Watts shook his head.
"And pray tell," the doctor waved a hand in front of him, "who gave you this description of her?"
"Who else? Ozpin—" Raven cut herself off, "... Ozpin did..."
"Right," Cinder waved a hand in a circle, "and is Ozpin someone you have a lot of faith in right now?"
Both women shared a silent conversation, one that looked to be along the lines of 'what else have we been lied to about' before looking back at Cinder.
"Okay there might be a bit we have to unlearn here," Summer admitted. Cinder sighed, but Whitley clearing his throat made her hiss.
"Later," she told them, turning back to the students, "as I was saying, we serve a woman named Salem, and she and Ozpin have been fighting a silent war for a very, very long time. You see—"
A ringing cut her off.
"WHAT NOW!?" Cinder was thoroughly fed up with being interrupted. Watts held up his scroll.
"It's Walking Vengeance and Stick-in-the-mud," Watts made for the door, "they're likely nearby and looking for us. I'll let them know where we are."
With that he left, not even waiting for Summer's approval on even more people coming and filling her house. Cinder ground her teeth, and Nora, who was closest to the woman now, took a slow step away from her. The maiden took a deep breath before releasing and talking just a little too quietly.
"Salem and Ozpin have been fighting a silent war for a long time and you are all now caught in the middle, mostly leaning on our side seeing as half of you are accomplices to my retrieval of the maiden powers. We will take you away from here, as it's likely that staying here increases your chance of death by a substantial amount. Salem is kind, and will likely be overjoyed to have more than four people on her side for once," Cinder finally released the tension and breath she was holding, having finally made it through a complete thought without getting cut off.
Yang raised her hand. Cinder glared and Yang took that as the go ahead to ask, which it most definitely was not.
"So what exactly is your goal? It sounds like you guys do a lot of stealing and hiding," the brawler asked.
"And where exactly is this boss of yours?" Pyrrha asked after.
"We do not hide," Cinder hissed, "we retrieve and regroup."
"Sounds like hiding to me!" Ren added.
"And as for the second question, we will be heading for the grimmlands," Cinder ignored the ninja.
"Ya see, that kinda reinforces the thing you told us wasn't true. Ya know, about your boss not being a Grimm lady?" Yang raised a brow. Raven had to admit that she was proud. She was about to ask the same thing.
"She is not," Cinder rubbed her temples, "and that is all I will humor for the rest of the day. If you have any other pertinent questions, ask the ass in the chair," Raven opened her mouth to contest, "floating or otherwise."
With that, Cinder turned and closed the door. Through the window they watched her stomp out to where Watts was waiting. What was likely a verbal sparring match ensued, and it didn't look like Cinder was winning if her expressions of rage were anything to go off of.
"Okay so forgive me for not being a hundred percent sure here," Yang cut through the silence, "but am I the only one who wishes that some of this was explained before I agreed to run off and join this side?"
Mumbles of agreement were thrown around the room, and morale looked to have dipped somewhat from its already low point. Yang turned to Raven who only sighed and slumped deeper into her chair.
"I wish that none of you had to know about any of this at all, let alone like this," for once, Raven didn't look like the no-nonsense, ass-kicking, woman that she normally did, but instead, looked like a mother whose day had caught up to her. It was the first time Yang had seen her mom like this.
A moment of reprieve was definitely needed in the room, just one second to take in everything that had just been said and pushed upon them. But it would not be, as footsteps neared their door again. Cinder came back into the room, looking less frazzled but nonetheless ragged as she had before. Watts came after her, and behind him were two new faces that the rest assumed were the two allies that had been mentioned.
"Pardon the interruption once again, but we have colleagues who we'd like you to meet," Watts waved an arm to his left, "This is Tyrian. A true delight. Truly the life of any party."
Tyrian was a pale man, his eyes a striking yellow that seemed to peer through them. He wore a dark brown jacket over a white vest, both buttoned up to cover his chest. He wore a pair of white pants and two knee-high,heeled boots, with a metal guard over each knee. Leather guards were secured around each of his arms, and what looked to be a thick belt of some kind wrapped around his waist. His hair was secured neatly and properly into a long, tight looking braid. Most notably, from between his coattails, a long and imposing scorpion tail remained completely still, yet tensed as if poised to strike. He stood with his arms behind his back, and a stern look on his face reminiscent of a strict teacher. Definitely not the life of any party, unless the party was a classroom, or a funeral.
"I can introduce myself, doctor," Tyrian sneered at the chair-bound man, "my name is Tyrian Callows. I am responsible for dealing with any of the numerous problems that both Salem and my colleagues cause. I apologize for any inconvenience they have caused you."
"Wait, Tyrian Callows? Like the teacher-turned-murderer?" Adam asked. Tyrian tutted but didn't react otherwise.
"I was a teacher of many things once upon a time. And it was not quite the murder that news outlets made it out to be, but such a thing is far in the past now and I have not the patience nor desire to explain myself to anyone right now."
"Like I said," Watts rolled his eyes, "Truly the life of the party."
"Moving on," Cinder wasn't keen on even more arguing, "This is the last member of our circle."
The last member was, putting it lightly, gargantuan. Standing at seven foot nine, calling them a wall wouldn't be inaccurate. Muscles more akin to weapons than anything made up... Well, all of the last member of Salem's circle. They wore a dark green jacket, likely tailor made to be able to fit as it did, looking flexible and loose enough for them to move. The sleeves were rolled up, showing the dense forearms and fists that could likely crush steel. A large belt wrapped around the midsection, keeping the jacket secured but leaving it open in the front, showing off the impressive chest beneath. Black trousers clung to the powerful thighs, and a large and heavy looking pair of steel-toed boots adorned their feet. Their face was serious and sharp, their eyes and hair were a deep brown and tied back into a ponytail.
Overall, she was an incredibly imposing looking woman.
"Hello," her voice was husky but oddly melodic in a strange way, "my name is Gretchen Rainart. Thank you for letting us into your home."
Yang's mouth hung open at the sight of the woman.
"How do I become you...?" she practically begged at the massive woman. Gretchen raised an eyebrow and shared a brief look with Cinder who shrugged.
"Do you have a sibling?" Gretchen asked.
Yang pointed at Ruby who, like everyone else in the room, was marveling at the woman. Gretchen opened her mouth to answer but Cinder cut her off.
"Believe me when I say that you don't want to become her," Cinder ignored Gretchen's growl, "You'll become strong but will never, ever stop talking about why. It'll make you more annoying than cool."
The brawler slumped but didn't look like she was going to drop the idea. Raven shook her head, and couldn't help but be a little jealous. Her own daughter never looked at her like that!
"Now then," Tyrian took over the conversation, "We should get back to the ship and leave at once. You may be safe for now, but Ozpin will no doubt be looking for you and I would assume that once he has gathered his forces again this will be one of the first places he looks."
Nobody looked happy at the thought, least of all the Branwen-Rose family, who understood that their home was at risk of being attacked. Hell, with Ironwood potentially still in Vale, they might just skip trying to raid the house and just shoot it with a laser or a ballistic missile.
"W-wait," Pyrrha cut in, "How are we going to leave Vale with the city still on lockdown? Even if we're on Patch, won't Ironwood or Ozpin have people circling the city?"
"We've accounted for Ozpin and his countermeasures," Gretchen rumbled, "rest assured, if we leave tonight we should be fine. Any longer and our window of opportunity will disappear."
The morale of the room dropped more and more as this conversation went on. The students looked defeated and angry. Adam and Yang looked on the verge of snapping, both in different ways. Ren shared a look with Nora, one of apprehension that the life and new family they'd built would crumble again.
Raven gripped the arm of her chair so hard that the wood under the upholstery could be heard creaking. Damn. She loved this chair too. Raven looked over to Summer, who chewed her thumb. Old habits die hard, and Summer had been a nail biter since Beacon, probably longer.
Join forces with Salem. It was almost funny when she thought about it. Before Beacon, she hadn't even known about Salem. For years after, she dedicated her time and life to fighting an unseen and largely thankless war. A war that her husband had died for. Now here she was, turning all of that upside down. If it were Tai in her place, he'd die all over again if it meant protecting them. Raven stood finally and rolled her arms.
"You heard them," Raven said curtly when everyone's eyes followed her.
"Forgive me if I'm still skeptical," Adam grunted.
"Then be skeptical, and get out of Vale now while you can. But make your choice now," Raven left no space for argument, continuing before anyone could get another word in, "I'm going. If Ozpin wants me gone, I'm not sticking around the home I built with my family."
"I'm going where you go, you old hag! Even if it's batshit insane! Someone's gotta make sure you actually run away when you're in over your head!" Yang said proudly. Raven's eye twitched and she raised a backhand that had Yang sweating.
"I'm going too then," Ruby flicked Yang's temple and smiled at Raven, "even if you're with her, I'd feel better if I could keep an eye on my sis."
Raven nodded. Damn if Ruby hadn't been raised well. Kinda made her wonder how her own pain-in-the-ass daughter didn't pick up any of that. The three looked at Summer, who crossed her arms and gave them a disapproving pout.
"Ruby, Yang, didn't I teach you that peer pressure was bad?" she chastised. Neither looked particularly apologetic. Yang even laughed!
"Ugh," she slumped, "alright, alright! I was gonna go with you guys anyways! You don't need to lean on me so hard!"
Watts looked particularly pleased at the family, or rather, the Roses joining them. After all, taking both silver eyed warriors was as big a middle finger to Ozpin and his faction.
"Somehow," Whitley strode over to his partner's side, "this is still better than going back home. As long as I don't have to hear my mother again I'll be happy."
"For the love of God," Cinder pinched the bridge of her nose, "are we really doing a 'I'm in' scene right now!? Just come with us or don't!"
"Cinder," Watts drawled, "have you no flair for theatrics?"
Oh she had some type of flare. And she'd set it off in his ass if he didn't stop getting on her nerves.
"We're in!" Ren jumped with a fist in the air before stopping and looking back at Nora, "Right?"
Nora nodded. Ren jumped again.
"We're in!"
Both turned to their other teammates. Pyrrha sighed and ruled her own hair.
"My mom's gonna be so upset..." she mumbled. Jaune gave her shoulder a squeeze.
"Don't worry Pyr," he smiled, making her ease up for a moment, "I'm sure she was already upset at you for running away from home!"
She nearly choked on the spot.
That left one. They all turned to Adam, hoping to see the same resolution in his eyes.
Instead he was staring off, and he looked anything but willing to join them.
"Adam?" Ruby took a step towards her partner.
"It's not that I don't want to join you all," his speaking stopped her from advancing, "but I... Don't think that I'm quite ready to take part in all of this."
"What!?" Yang ran over and grabbed the man by his arms, shaking him back and forth, "You're not coming with us!? We did the 'I'm in' scene and everything!"
"I knew it!" Cinder stomped in the background.
"And that was certainly something," he shook his head, "but this... This is a lot. Too much. And there's things that I realize I still need to take care of."
None of them needed him to say what he meant. He was talking about the same person who'd taken Ruby's eye. The White Fang entirely even. He'd been agonizing over it for a long time now, and they were putting him at a crossroads.
"You aren't coming with us...?" Ruby asked quietly. Adam winced, and it was obvious that he didn't want to separate from them. But it wasn't just about his wants here.
"The Fang was never going to stop killing, even if I left. Maybe I was hoping my leaving would act as a sign that things should change. Evidently, recent events have shown that simply leaving wasn't enough," he sighed, "so... I'm going back to Menagerie."
"You're just going to... Run away? Leave?" Whiey asked. He seemed his normal angry, upset, and disappointed self but it was clear to his friends that he was as hurt as the sisters at this choice. He was a part of their strange family, and hearing that he was going to leave stung.
"No," Adam clenched his hands, "I'm not going back to Menagerie to settle. I'm going back to Menagerie to deal with the White Fang."
"On your own!?" Yang wanted to slap him, "Are you insane!?"
"It's a death march!" Whitley threw his hands in the air.
It looked like he knew, and that he didn't care. He was set on this, and the knowledge that they couldn't sway his mind hurt all the more. Ruby especially looked heartbroken at his words, and he tried to ignore how desperately he wanted to change his mind and stay with them.
"They're right you know," Raven threw in her two cents, "if you go on your own, even if you're as careful and smart about it as you could be, taking on an entire terrorist organization on your own is gonna get you killed."
"Well if going alone is the problem, then what if I went with him?"
They all whipped around and stared at the one who'd made the suggestion.
Jaune stared back, unfazed and with the same awkward smile he always wore.
"Are you nuts!?" Ren shrieked.
"Between the two of us, I'm sure Adam and I could handle ourselves," the knight shrugged.
"... It is pretty hard to die with Jaune around..." Nora said in a low voice. Ren turned to her in shock.
"You agree with this!?"
"No," she looked upset as well, "but Adam isn't going to change his mind and if any of us can keep him alive, I think Jaune is as good as it gets."
"If that's the case then why don't we all just go?" Pyrrha asked, not eager to separate from her partner as well. Adam shot down her plan.
"Menagerie is open to all types of people, but an entire group of armed humans isn't going to be easy to hide."
"But still," Whitley sighed, "Just you two? It still sounds like a tall order."
"Nobody has to join me at all," Adam growled. Jaune rolled his eyes.
"With your penchant for attracting trouble? You need an escort at all times," he smirked, making Adam groan.
"Fine then," Adam grit his teeth, "Then Jaune, and only Jaune, will join me."
"We'll get it done and then join up with you guys," Jaune said.
"You think you can just travel to Menagerie, dismantle an entire organization, and then leave and find our base in the grimmlands like it's an afternoon lunch?" Tyrian asked sternly, unimpressed and looking at them like they were children.
"We've done weird stuff before," Jaune shrugged, throwing a thumb back at Ren, "I've lived with him for the last few months."
Ren smiled and gave a peace sign.
Watts walked over to the champion and handed him a black scroll.
"This is encoded and will allow you to get in contact with me without being tracked. Use it when you're done romping around the island, yes?"
"What's suddenly got you feeling so generous?" Gretchen grunted. Watts chortled and waved a hand at Jaune.
"The lads' semblance is too valuable to pass up. If he's set on joining his friend on a warpath then that's his pathos, but afterwards I don't want to lose talent like that," Watts explained smugly. Jaune looked uncomfortable being talked about like a science fair project.
Ruby walked up to Jaune and grabbed his hands, surprising him. She looked up at him, and he was able to see all the worry in her eye. Even now, half blinded as she was, her one silver eye shone brightly from the darkness of her hood.
"Make sure he comes back please," she said softly, "and thank you."
Jaune let the reaper then walk over to Adam, where she started giving him a stern mom-talk that had him cowering. Summer looked proud. Yang looked ecstatic.
"Jaune," Pyrrha caught his attention, wringing her hands together, "you'll be careful, won't you?"
"Of course I will Pyr," he smiled warmly, bringing her in for a hug, "keep training though. I'll know if you're slacking!"
She laughed and the two continued their moment, the rest content to let them. Ruby continued to tug Adams' ear, and the rest were too afraid to get between them.
"And you better not rush into fights left, right, and center! You're lucky I'm not going too or I'd put a child leash on you!"
"Alright woman! Stay back! Ow! Stop pulling my ear! Yang! Whitley! Help me!"
They didn't. Yang continued to laugh and Whitley watched with an amused smile that said 'you deserve this'. Summer sighed dreamily, watching her daughter act like a motherly demon on her partner.
"I can't wait until they get married..." she swooned. Raven rolled her eyes.
"Ooooookay, so we're done here then," she turned to Cinder, "I'll have everyone ready by nightfall. You all..." she stared at the assorted misfits that made up Salem's forces, "... Uh, I guess just don't break anything."
"We're not children you whor—" Cinder was cut off by Tyrian who bowed slightly at the hip.
"Thank you for your hospitality," he thanked, pushing his faction out of the door.
Raven sighed and fell back into her chair as everyone around her chittered and shouted. In a way, they were all enjoying their last day. They could act like this for a long time. She couldn't blame them. She deflated into the comfortable chair, knowing she wouldn't be able to do so for quite some time. She let her head hang back over the chair.
What a time to be alive.
Sorry again for the delay. I was working on a lot of other things and this chapter just kept coming off my radar.
We meet Tyrian and Haz— I mean, Gretchen this chapter. After the Glynda reveal in the last chapter most people figured out who she was swapped with.
'Why Gretchen?' some might ask. Why no Gretchen? I reply. If I'm being totally honest, Hazel was one of the characters I had the hardest time thinking of a reversal for, but ultimately this idea stood out the most to me so I went with it.
I promise Gretchen isn't actually just a girl Hazel, I just like how radical they made Hazel in the show and wanted to poke fun at it here. She'll have her own moments. Design wise, she's a little shorter but I pictured her as a rule 63 of Hazel because designing a character that we've literally never seen is a bit of a tall order.
If you enjoyed please consider following to stay posted in my crummy update times, and leave a review to let me know what you think!
Stay healthy and have a wonderful time!
