As I said before BR2 yesterday, i am dealing with a bit of writers block at the moment. Beware possible ( i stress possible) delays for both my stories.
Please enjoy!
The next morning Ruby felt like a schoolgirl nervous about her first date. She was in the bathroom for about three hours, until Phoenix got impatient and knocked on the door. "Momma?" He asked, "I need to use the bathroom…"
"Oh!" Ruby exclaimed, "Sorry, sweetheart. I'll be right out!"
Ruby stepped out and smiled, letting her son into the bathroom. Halfway into the door, Phoenix spoke up. "You look fine, Momma. You'll do great."
Ruby settled a little. "Thank you, Phoenix."
By noon the pair made it out to the kitchen, where Klein and Weiss were waiting. "Are you ready for today, Ruby?" Weiss asked her old partner.
"No." Ruby responded honestly. "In ten years, I've been on three dates. It's been too long, I don't remember how to do this."
"You'll be fine. Besides, you've been with Blake. This isn't some new stranger, it's someone who already knows and wants you." Weiss assured.
"I know." Ruby took a deep breath. She turned to Phoenix. "You excited for ice cream?"
"Yeah huh!" Phoenix cried.
Weiss walked up. "So, Phoenix-"
Ruby tensed, sensing Weiss's incoming attempt to spoil. "Hey, Weiss, can I talk to you for a minute?" The redhead interrupted, dragging Weiss deeper into the kitchen.
Weiss was taken by surprise and turned around once they were alone. "What's going on?"
"Weiss…" Ruby treaded carefully. "Can you calm down on spoiling Phoenix, please?"
"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, a little hurt.
"Weiss, we've only been here a week, and you've already spoiled him far more than he's used to." Ruby explained. "You've bought him dozens of things, had Klein be his personal butler… I don't want him getting used to it. I don't want him asking for this kind of treatment at the wrong times. The reason I'm still raising him in Mistral the way I am is because I want him to have a normal childhood. I hope you understand…"
Weiss was quiet for a minute. "I think I understand," she nodded, "And I'll try to do better. I mean, I'll still spoil him, but… let me know if it gets to be too much."
"I will." Ruby nodded. "Thank you."
The girls left the kitchen and returned to Phoenix and Klein. Ruby knelt in front of Phoenix and handed him some Lein cards. "Go crazy, and don't hurt your stomach." Ruby smiled.
"Thank you, Momma!" Phoenix shouted, bouncing in place.
"Blake should be here in about ten minutes, maybe twenty." Weiss announced.
"We'll be on our way then." Klein nodded. He took Phoenix's hand and the pair left for their afternoon treat.
"What do I say, what do I say…"
Ruby was pacing her room, trying to figure out what she was going to do.
"So I missed you, and I'd like to try us… oh no, too strong… Hey? How is Sun? Oh, dummy! Don't talk about Sun! That's stupid! Umm… start small… it's been seven years… so just… Hey Blake! How are you?"
"I'm fine, Ruby."
"AAHHHH!"
Ruby jumped and whipped around to see the faunus she had spent many nights dreaming of reuniting with. "Oh… uhh… hey Blake… hehehe…"
Blake smiled, glad to see she wasn't the only one nervous about this visit. "How have you been?"
"I've been… good." Ruby nodded, still catching her breath. "I've been good."
"Good." Blake nodded.
Ruby looked Blake over. The faunus girl hadn't changed much in seven years. Her hair was a little longer than Ruby remembered, and she had stopped wearing her bow a long time ago. She held herself differently than Ruby recalled in recent memory as well, a little more confident, a little more mature. "You look good." Ruby smiled.
Blake smiled back. It had been a while since the faunus had even seen the person of her desires, and now she was able to get a real good look at her. Ruby had kept her hair trimmed to the same style of her days at Beacon, and while she had a slightly different jacket, she still sported her corset and combat skirt for her day wear. Her old hood wasn't present, and Blake suspected she knew who had it these days. Now that she knew Ruby was a mother, it was obvious in her presence and the way she held herself. "You look good too."
Ruby's smile grew. "So… umm…"
Blake quietly walked close and hugged Ruby tightly. "I missed you so much."
Ruby returned the hug. "I know… I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Blake assured her. "I understand. Maybe I didn't get it at first. But I do now, I think. I'm the one who should be sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry." Ruby told her. "Really, you only acted in the only way I could have expected any of you to. I didn't exactly make all the best choices. I just wanted to raise Phoenix. I want him to be happy."
Blake nodded. "You need to be happy too, Ruby. After everything you have been through, you deserve it."
"That's why you're here, right?" Ruby dared ask.
Blake smiled wide. "Why don't I take you somewhere? We can have lunch, if you haven't eaten already?"
Ruby was about to answer, but Blake's scroll went off in her pocket. She pulled it out and checked the screen with a scowl. From the other side, Ruby read the reversed text of the caller ID. "Why are you getting calls from Vale's prison?"
Blake was hesitant to answer. After everything, would it damage their return to admit she had been talking to Adam again? But if anyone would understand, it would be her… just explain from the beginning. No more secrets. Blake sat down on the bed, setting her scroll next to her as she let it ring.
"When you left seven years ago," Blake began her story, "It did… little to ease my mind. Sun and I broke up the next day, he knew how I still felt about you in spite of everything and ended it. It was a wake up call for me. I had to find you. But I also had to know what happened to you, so I went to the only source I could."
"Adam…" Ruby spoke softly. She sat next to Blake and motioned for her to continue.
Blake was happy Ruby was listening, and pressed on. "I asked him to tell me everything, and he said things that made sense. I spent the next few years meeting him occasionally. He came off like he was doing better. I was starting to trust him." Blake's face darkened. "But when you showed up, when I saw Phoenix… I learned he was lying to me. He was playing to my desire to see him recover. He never told me about… that. Did he ever try to brainwash you?"
"No." Ruby shook her head.
"I knew it… what he told me wasn't even true…" Blake growled. "I trusted him. I made the same mistakes…" She took a deep breath. "I visited him one last time, to tell him it was over. I'm not making that mistake again. Since then, he hasn't stopped calling."
Ruby nodded.
Blake shook her self off and put a smile back on her face. "Anyway, let's forget all that for now? Lunch?"
Ruby nodded, finding her own smile again. "Lunch."
Blake stood up, and hesitated. "Umm… So, I may have drunk an entire pot of tea to calm my nerves before coming over here…"
Ruby giggled. "There's a connected bathroom, that door." Ruby pointed it out and Blake graciously followed the direction.
While Ruby waited for her date, Blake's scroll buzzed on the bed beside her. 'Valen Penitentiary' was again clear on the caller ID.
Adam's on the other side of that line.
Without much thought, the scroll was in the redhead's hands. She had no idea what to expect, or what she was going to say. Curiosity overwhelmed her, and she answered the call.
Blake exited the bathroom to the sight of Ruby holding the faunus's scroll to her ear, a look of absolute horror on her face. Before Blake could ask anything, Ruby started talking to whoever was on the line. "Are you sure!?... No, I'm not… Well, this is her scroll… Just tell me, are you serious!? How long ago!? WHAT!?"
Ruby lowered the scroll. The call was still active, and Blake could see the look of utter shock on her face.
"Ruby, what's wrong?" Blake asked.
"He's gone… Adam escaped."
"What!? When!?" Blake shouted, instantly regretting all her missed calls from the prison. How many calls were the guards trying to tell her?
"Just a few nights ago… he could be anywhere by now…" Ruby sank onto the bed. She was semi-prepared to handle talking to Adam. This was far beyond anything she could prepare for.
"But… why?" Blake asked herself. "If he could have just escaped the whole time, why manipulate me?"
"A glowing commendation from a huntress?" Ruby answered. "Being released in good standing with the law would help his plans, I'm sure. But what are his plans? Why break out now?"
As Blake contemplated the many possible reasons Adam would hastily abandon other plots in favor of an obvious breakout, she came across a horrifying thought. Phoenix…
"What?" Ruby's voice came out short, hardened and accusatory.
Blake spun around, and realized she spoke her thought aloud.
"What about Phoenix?" Ruby pressed on.
"Ruby…" Blake tried to calm the young mother down.
"Does Adam know about Phoenix?" Ruby's anger kept rising. "Did you tell Adam about my son!?"
Blake's composure shattered. She came here hoping to finally repair their relationship, but everything had gone so wrong, so quickly. "I'm sorry…"
Ruby turned on her heel and stormed out of the room. She walked the halls at speed, arriving at the kitchen to see Weiss and Yang. "Do you know what shop Klein took Phoenix to?" Ruby asked.
Weiss read her energy with the expertise of a businesswoman, and looked to Yang uneasily. "I believe so…"
"Take me." Ruby commanded.
"Rubes, what's going on?" Yang asked.
"No time." Ruby shook her head. "I need to get to Phoenix."
"All right." Weiss stood up quickly, not understanding why the situation was so dire, but nonetheless Ruby was on a motherly rampage.
They were walking down the front steps and getting into the vehicle when Blake showed up, and Ruby spun back around to face her. Pointing a finger at her, she only had one word. "Stay."
Blake froze and nodded hesitantly. Ruby and Weiss climbed into the car and took off, and Yang grabbed Blake's shoulder. "Let's grab bumblebee."
The faunus nodded at the idea, having to see what happened. For better or worse.
The scene they arrived at was chaos. The front of the ice cream store looked like chaos had ensued, and people were standing outside with the police. Most were either confused or being questioned, except for one man in the back of an ambulance. "Klein!" Weiss shouted. Ruby followed closely. "What happened here?" The CEO asked her most trusted servant.
"It happened so fast…" The older man winced as he shifted on the bed. He wasn't badly injured, thankfully.
"Phoenix?" Ruby asked him.
Klein looked away. "I tried to stop him. That's why I'm here. But I can only do so much… he's gone."
"Who would take Phoenix?" Weiss asked, watching Ruby as she stepped away.
"The man with the horns, the one your father was always raving about." Klein told Weiss.
Ruby spotted Blake in the crowd and stormed over to her.
Blake's concern was obvious, but Ruby was far too gone to see it. "Is everything okay?" The faunus tried to ask. "Where's-"
Blake flinched as Ruby's fist swung. Yang managed to catch her sister's fist, and pushed it away. "Ruby, calm down! There's no way Blake could have known this would happen!"
"Shut up!" Ruby shouted.
"No! You know Blake would never endanger anyone on purpose, especially you! And she knows how important Phoenix is to you!" Yang argued.
Ruby glared at Blake. The young mother only cared that her child was in danger. Everything else might as well have been smoke. "Maybe she didn't mean it to happen. But it still happened."
"I'm sorry…" Blake pleaded.
Weiss ran up to the rest of them. "I'm having Atlas Military lock down ports, airship yards, train stations… It'll be very difficult for him to leave the kingdom."
"You sure?" Ruby asked. "This is Adam we're talking about." The bull-man in question had escaped them numerous time during the four years they balanced fighting the White Fang with schooling.
"I mean... you're right... this is Adam we're talking about…" Weiss slowly admitted.
Ruby clenched her fists. "That's not good enough."
"Ruby." Weiss placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You need to calm down. You need to accept that… we may not get him back in an afternoon."
"You don't know that!" Ruby screamed, throwing Weiss's hand away.
"Don't lose yourself, Ruby." Weiss warned. "Phoenix is going to need his momma at her best to bring him home."
"I can't treat him like another contract." Ruby spat. "He's my son!"
"I know." Weiss stood her ground. "And I know you'll tear the whole world apart to bring him back if you have too. I'm just saying, don't go straight to world-tearing. We're all here to help you."
Ruby turned to look over her friends. Weiss smiled, having already said her bit, and Ruby managed a small smile back. Yang pumped her fist and spouted off a "You know It!" making Ruby giggle a little. The redhead's eyes fell on Blake. The cat faunus didn't try a smile, but she did make a subtle nod. Ruby's smile halted, her emotions conflicting.
The young mother managed a deep breath. "All my skills… and I still can't just go out there and find him, huh?"
"We'll figure this out." Yang assured. "He can't have gone far. He must still be in Atlas."
"We'll get him back, Ruby." Weiss assured once again. "Whatever it takes."
Ruby looked over the wreckage of the ice cream shop, turning until she was facing the city at large. "Stay strong, Phoenix. Momma is coming."
Phoenix woke up with a bit of a headache. He looked around and saw he was in what appeared to be a large storage container of some sorts. The vibrations at his feet came in steady rhythm, and the sounds seemed familiar. He had never been in one himself, but Phoenix was certain he was in a train car. He looked up and across from him to see a tall man sitting on a crate, looking at him. Long black coat, dark hair… and horns atop his head. The boy was far from stupid. He knew who this was.
"I see you're awake." Adam told him.
Phoenix looked around. "Where… are we going?"
"Do you know who I am?" Adam asked, ignoring the child's question.
"What do you want from me?" Phoenix continued.
"What did your mother tell you about me?" Adam resisted.
Both parties stared each other down, each trying to break the other's will with glares alone. Adam eventually stood, decided to break the standoff as a tie. "I know the kind of slanderous filth your mother would raise you under. You've been living under lies. Lies of equality. Lies of so-called 'freedom'." Adam faced Phoenix with narrow eyes. "This is coming to an end. It's time for truth."
"Momma has told me plenty about you." Phoenix spoke up. "You're a bad man. You like to trick people with words. There's no reason to believe anything you say."
"Unless that is your mother's biggest lie." Adam told him.
"My mother didn't have to kidnap me to try and teach me her truths." Phoenix pointed out.
Adam backhanded Phoenix sharply. The boy fell to the ground. "It seems your mother's behind on discipline as well. We have a lot to catch up on."
"I answered one of your questions." Phoenix defiantly spat. "Answer mine. Where are we-"
Adam kicked Phoenix to quiet him. "You have no such right. Not until you earn it. Living under a human, you're no better than they are. I will teach you the importance of your proper heritage."
Phoenix quietly cried for his mother, but didn't expect her to come crashing through the door. He may have been young, but he had also been reading and studying on huntsmen and huntresses since he was old enough to read. He knew help may not come right away. But he also knew he wasn't on his own. I do trust Momma… and Aunt Yang, Aunt Weiss, and Blake too! They'll come for me! I just have to last that long. I love you momma.
"Are you even listening!?"
Thud!
Please come soon…
