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RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.
Chapter 10: Only in Nightmares
It is not often that the initiates into Beacon are given instructions to the initiation. However, given the sudden change in plans, the initiates were each granted instructions as to how the initiation would commence. Ruby found a small note in one of her pockets, alongside a small compass. It read:
Greetings initiate,
As you have surmised, the initiation has begun. Your mission is to find a partner and retrieve a relic. North of your location is a ruin in which these relics are contained. Various beasts wander the forest. Fight them at your own peril. Other than the compass and these instructions, we shall not interfere. I'd wish you luck, but luck will serve you no good.
Signed,
Headmaster Ozpin
Ruby sighed and stuffed the note into her pocket. The compass showed that she was facing east. Ruby looked up. The sun was right overhead. An oddity to be sure. Ruby rarely slept so late, but she supposed that it could have been caused by the suppressant. Ozark would not have been very forthcoming about the nature of the drug, but he had been her chief physician for years now.
More worryingly for my daughter, however, was the lack of scythe. She tried to summon Death's Thorn, but her precious scythe would not appear no matter how hard she tried. Ruby gulped as she attempted to feel out her aura. It was gone. Well, almost gone. She could feel the barest trickle of it as it attempted to wrap around her.
The suppressant that Ozark had given her was far stronger than she initially assumed. Strong enough that it stopped her from utilizing her primary weapon. That being said, her Dust knives and pistol were present. So, she wasn't completely defenseless. With a sigh, she looked up. The sun was directly overhead. It took barely a glance at the compass before she was properly oriented.
Ruby began her long trek through the emerald woods around her. The forest was eerily silent. Each step deeper only fueled a growing unease in the pit of her stomach. Still, she trudged deeper.
It did not take her very long before she stumbled on the first curiosity. A small ruinous house. Well, it was more of a cabin than a house. But it was still in ruin… and she told me that it felt familiar. Much of the wood appeared rotted. It was a simple one-story design. The door was hanging off the hinges. Deep gouges were carved into the front wall. Part of the roof had collapsed.
Ruby stepped inside. The cabin was very spartan. Any furniture or belongings that might once have been in there were long since taken. The same deep gouges on the front wall permeated the inside. Yet, there was no evidence of any beast near her. However, she did find a small dagger. It was barely a foot from hilt to tip, surprisingly free of rust, and had a small emblem on the pommel. It was nowhere near as good as Death's Thorn, but it would suffice for the time being.
She exited the small, strangely familiar, ruinous cabin and continued her trek north. The trees all began to look the same after a good ten minutes of walking. The only break from the silent monotony was the low growl of a Grimm. Ruby grinned as she turned to see a small pack of Beowolves approaching from the trees.
My daughter leveled Red Line at the lead wolf and began counting. She counted twelve of the black wolves in total. She shot the lead wolf and ran at the rest. The first of the Beowolves collapsed as the bullet slammed into its head. A small red line perfectly traced the path from where Ruby had fired to the bullet's ultimate destination.
I still have no idea how Conquest got Ruby's pistol to do that.
Unlike me, Ruby wasn't ruminating on the effect of her pistol. Instead she was slashing, stabbing and shooting the Beowolves. The dagger she had found was certainly not the same quality of the weapons War had trained her with, but it served her just fine. If nothing else, Ruby was good at adapting.
She grinned as she slit the jugular of the third wolf. It collapsed to the ground as she spun and fired at another. The Beowolves were falling left and right. Her grin widened as she stabbed the eleventh Beowolf through its left eye. The beast fell dead as Ruby pulled her blade from its head. She turned to kill the twelfth Beowolf. And she would have done so had a shotgun blast not resounded through the forest. Barely a second later, the spray of bullets slammed into the Grimm, killing it instantly.
"I had that." Ruby said as she turned towards the last Beowolf.
"I figured; I just couldn't let you get all the glory." The newcomer answered.
"You still missed one." Ruby said as she threw her fire Dust knife at the Beowolf.
The blade buried itself into the Beowolf's side and ignited. The Grimm was burned to a crisp. Ruby walked over and pulled the blade from the beast's ashes before she turned to the girl. Ruby studied the girl that had shown up very carefully.
"I know you." Ruby stated as she got a closer look at the girl.
The first thing Ruby noticed was that she was the lilac eyed blonde who felt too familiar. It didn't take her long to remember now that she was up close and personal. It was kind of hard for her to forget the lilac eyes and long blonde hair that Yang Xiao Long was always incredibly proud of. Surprisingly, she still felt that Yang was too familiar. But she couldn't figure out why.
Yang's easy going smile slowly faded as she studied Ruby. The blonde's weapons were obvious. Her forearms were both covered in bronze colored armored gauntlets. Small spikes stuck out from each of her knuckles and glowing red Dust lines traced through the grooves in the metal. Ruby got the distinct feeling that the gauntlets were more for offense than defense. In her hands was a rather large shotgun. The source of the blast that killed Beowolf number eleven. The shotgun itself didn't appear too special, though there were some odd pins that ran the length of the barrel. Ruby did note it was colored to look like it was on fire. Yang also had a small belt of throwing knives around her waist.
"Ruby?" the blonde questioned quietly.
"Yes… Yang?" My daughter questioned cautiously.
"We thought you were dead…" The blonde trailed off.
She dropped her shotgun and embraced Ruby. Ruby returned the hug as she felt the tears begin falling from her long-lost sister's eyes. Though she told me otherwise, Ruby teared up a little herself.
"I guess we're partners now." Ruby said.
"Yeah… how did you survive?" Yang questioned with a sniff.
"That's a long story." Ruby replied as she broke from the embrace. "A story I don't have time to tell right now."
"You haven't changed." Yang said with a smile before truly noticing Ruby's eyes. "... much."
"And you've grown, especially…" Ruby started, gesturing to Yang's chest.
"And you haven't." Yang replied with a teasing smile.
"Gee, thanks for the reminder. It's not like I get enough of that from Keira." Ruby pouted as she turned to continue walking north.
"Keira?" Yang questioned.
"Keep your weapon out." Ruby commanded as they began walking. "And yes, Keira. She teases me about my lack of growth often."
"Who's Keira?" Yang asked.
"Keira is my adopted sister. Her father adopted me that night. It's how I survived." Ruby answered.
"Ah. Glad you found a family. Strange for you to change your eye color though." Yang replied.
"That was an unintended side effect from something Dad and I did." Ruby stated. "That's unimportant. What about you? What happened to you after…"
"Uncle Qrow took me in. So, it's Yang Branwen now." Yang answered. "Wait… how are you here now? You're two years younger than everyone."
"Younger, yes." Ruby admitted. "Though I'm no less skilled. Dad and his siblings have taught me well… And the Headmaster invited me."
"You got Oz's attention? How?" Yang questioned.
"I took down Roman Torchwick. Also, Oz?" Ruby inquired.
"It's what Uncle Dad calls him." Yang replied absentmindedly. "Now, tell me how you took down one of Vale's most wanted."
Ruby recounted the event from a few nights ago. Yang was mostly silent through the retelling. I must say, I was proud of my daughter. She had managed to keep hidden the fact that her dad was Death.
Throughout the retelling, Ruby kept glancing around the forest. Her suspicions were mounting as they drew closer towards the ruin that contained the relics. It was small things at first. Branches that seemed out of place. The shade of the sky seemed a little darker. Clouds were starting to appear. The ground was growing rougher.
Shortly after she finished telling Yang about her adventure with Torchwick, she stopped next to a tree and studied it carefully. Without missing a beat, she slashed a large capital R into the bark of the tree.
"Ruby?" Yang asked.
"Just want to check something." Ruby said as they continued forward.
It took another five minutes or so until they stopped again. Ruby was staring intently at another tree.
"This is the seventh time we've passed the exact same tree." Ruby said.
"Really? Are we going in circles?" Yang queried.
"No, otherwise there would be a large R carved into the bark of this tree." Ruby said gesturing to the tree that looked exactly the same as several others they had passed. "Trees just don't look the same."
"Are you sure they are the same?" Yang questioned.
"Yes. There's a small knot in the wood about six inches above my head, a cluster of branches that seem to have grown into a single branch, and a small patch of moss on the east side of the trunk." Ruby answered, pointing out each marking as she named them. "We have passed six other trees that have the exact same distinguishing marks. My more learned aunt tells it like this. Once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence, but at three, there is something going on."
"So, what do you think it is?" Yang asked.
"I have no idea." Ruby admitted. "And that bothers me."
"Is there anything else that's weird that bothers you?" Yang asked.
"Yeah, I had my weapons on me when I woke up, I was dressed in my standard combat gear, and the compass says we've been going North." Ruby replied.
"What bothers you about that?" Yang queried.
"My weapons and combat gear were securely stashed away, and we've been walking southeast for the last hour." Ruby replied.
"Is the face of the compass angled wrong?" Yang checked.
"Possibly, what's your compass say?" Ruby asked back.
Yang pulled out her own compass and looked at it.
"It says we're going North." Yang stated with a frown. "Which direction is actually North?"
Ruby pointed to her left and slightly behind her. Yang looked up towards the sun in the sky. It had begun to set, so it was easy to confirm that Ruby was right with her directions.
"That's odd." Yang said.
"Yes." Ruby replied. "Odd indeed."
The two girls continued on their way. Their journey soon found them at the ruin that Ozpin's instructional message had directed them to. It was a small, circular, stone platform. On this platform were a series of pedestals. On each pedestal was a chess piece. A few of them were missing.
"Strange." Ruby muttered. "This has been too easy."
"Maybe, but the goal's right there." Yang said as she stepped onto the platform.
A loud inhuman roar shook the forest around them. Yang instantly aimed her shotgun in the direction of the trees. Two figures burst through and kept running. Ruby recognized the two. Though she only knew the name of the girl in white. Weiss Schnee and the black haired faunus. She never got her name. She noted that Weiss was carrying a rapier while the black haired faunus wielded a bladed gun. The blade was sheathed with a ribbon of some sort appearing to be wrapped around the sheath.
Ruby kept her pistol trained on the forest behind the two girls. The roar they had just heard was too familiar.
"Do you know what that was?" Yang asked, her own shotgun at the ready.
"If I do, then we have bigger problems than the Grimm." Ruby stated.
Yang didn't say anything further as Weiss and the faunus reached the ruin.
"Schnee." Ruby greeted.
Weiss rolled her eyes and turned back to the forest.
"I think we lost it." The black haired faunus said.
"Did you see what it was?" Ruby asked.
"Not really. It's not a Grimm, that's for certain." Weiss stated.
A moment of silence settled between the four girls.
"Well… proper introduction time, I'm Yang. This is my partner Ruby." Yang spoke up.
"You have the same bad timing for things as my aunt." Ruby told Yang incredulously.
"Blake." The secret faunus stated anyway, "And you know my partner, Weiss."
Another roar shook the forest. A large black humanoid monster stepped from the trees. Ruby will deny this all day, but I know she visibly gulped. Fear danced behind her eyes as she stared at the monster.
It was tall, a good twenty feet tall. Long spindly arms that belied an impossible strength fell from its shoulders to the ground. A hungry looking face rested upon the monster's head. Its wicked grin widened when it spotted Ruby and the girls. Golden ethereal chains hung from its right arm while crimson ethereal chains hung from its left. Wicked looking claws adorned the ends of its hands. A deep rumbling voice resounded throughout the clearing.
"Well, well, well." The voice chuckled. "A tasty little snack alongside a small feast. You will be delightful."
"You think that's one of the beasts Ozpin mentioned?" Yang asked.
"I really hope so. This forest bothers me." Blake replied.
"Ozark." Ruby growled under her breath.
She leveled her pistol and shot the monster in the head. The monster's head snapped back as the bullet impacted. The girls all looked on in horror as the beast tilted its head forward and spit the bullet back out. It roared and charged at them.
"SCATTER!" Ruby commanded.
The four of them did just that. Yang and Weiss ran to the monster's left while Blake took its right. Ruby retreated into the trees. The monster growled and stalked through the thick growth of the trees. Its long claw-like hands leaving deep gashes in the ground.
"You can't escape me, little snack." The monster growled.
Ruby dashed to another tree as the sound of shotgun fire began resounding through the forest. The monster turned and ran at Yang as she fired yet another blast at the beast. Her bullets slammed into the monster's side and sunk into its flesh. Unfortunately, it did little except enrage the monster.
It slashed at Yang. The blond brought up her fists to block the monster's attack. Its claws dug into Yang's gauntlets, but no blood was drawn. Yang smiled. More bullets began pelting the monster's side. Blake was swinging from tree to tree by the ribbon connected to the sheath for her blade. Her gun was aimed at the beast's head. Yet again though, it did little more than annoy their foe.
Yang pulled her gauntlet from the monster's claws. Ruby peaked around her tree in time to see Yang slam her fist into the monster. The beast fell back and Ruby opened fire. Her pistol did little to the monster. Thinking quickly, Ruby pulled out one of her knives and threw it at the beast. The blade sunk into the monster's arm and the crystal activated, encasing the limb in ice. Yang grinned and brought her fist down onto the frozen limb. The monster roared in pain as its frozen flesh shattered. It glared at Yang and kicked her away.
A burst of ice flew through the forest. It encased the monster's head and neck. A boulder followed a second later and shattered the ice. Weiss followed a second later, looking rather smug at her work.
"That works." Yang stated.
"It's not dead." Ruby said as the girls regrouped.
"Of course it is. I destroyed it's head." Weiss retorted.
"Have you seen this thing before?" Blake asked.
"Only in my nightmares." Ruby replied. "We have to go."
The other three didn't say anything more as they hurried back to the ruins.
They reached the ruins. Without thinking Ruby grabbed one of the chess pieces. The white king. Yang stopped her. Weiss grabbed the white queen. A loud roar resounded throughout the forest once again. The beast wasn't dead.
"What did you mean, you've only seen that in your nightmares?" Blake questioned.
"Exactly that. I have nightmares, and that monster is one of the main sources of them." Ruby replied.
"Why?" Yang asked.
Ruby didn't say anything as the monster entered the clearing. Rage filled its eyes as it bore down on the girls.
"You won't escape this time!" It roared in anger.
It thrust its arm forward and the crimson chains on its arm lashed out. The chains wrapped around and shackled each girl to the ground.
"You are mine." The beast growled.
Each of their bodies glowed crimson. Ruby felt herself growing ever weaker. The world began to grow black.
And she opened her eyes. She was in the ballroom. Her aura was still calm, she still wore her night clothes. The only difference from the night before was the throbbing headache that assaulted her. She looked out the window. The sun was just barely cresting the horizon. Ruby reached into her pocket and felt the two vials Ozark had given her the night before. She looked around. Various prospective students were groggily getting up. Some stood and stumbled.
"I'm alive?" Ruby turned to see a blonde-haired boy looking incredulously at his hands.
"What was that?" She heard another voice mutter.
Most of the students were asking questions along similar lines. Ruby got up quickly and made her way out of the hall. None of the initiates made any moves to stop her. She reached the exit and stole her way down the hall.
"You know, sneaking around like a common thief is unlikely to get you the answers you're searching for." A voice spoke up behind her.
Ruby whirled around to see Ozark walking up to her.
"Dr. Ozark." Ruby greeted.
"Morning Ruby." Ozark greeted, a smile on his face. "I presume you've determined the culprit for the initiation's new parameters."
"Yeah. Why else would you have been here yesterday?" Ruby questioned.
"Got it in one." Ozark stated. "But if you must know, ask your father. Now run along, take that aura stimulant and change. The announcements of teams will be made in fifteen minutes and you certainly don't want to be late."
Ruby glared at her doctor and ran along.
Now, I know you're probably wondering what the heck just happened. To put it simply, the initiation was a shared dream. Crazy and impossible it is not. Ruby did end up asking about this years later. Now, you must remember, Dr. Ozark has been researching for nearly a thousand years. In that time, he has researched a wide variety of topics. Including dreams and the nature of lucid dreaming. One of his experiments, that he succeeded in proving possible, was that lucid dreams could be linked. He actually managed to create a device that could do such a thing. He also proved that he could manipulate the environment the subjects see. However, the environment will only ever be populated by the subconscious of one of the subjects.
He had never found a use for such a machine until Ruby's initiation. And even then, it was only a one-time thing. I doubt he'll ever use it again. It was certainly convenient though. Fortunately for the headmaster, my search for the Oiriúnú proved that it was not prowling around the Emerald forest.
He also covertly informed me that part of the preparation to use the machine required the subjects to be administered a dose of mild narcotics and strong hallucinogens. Ruby was the only one given an aura suppressant. But the gist of it is that the machine that Ozark created could link minds in a dreamscape. Ozark totally stole the idea from a movie, though he'll never admit that.
Back to the story at hand. The initiates were all informed that they were to report to the same auditorium in which they had done orientation. It was about ten minutes after they had all gathered that Ozpin took to the stage.
"I want to congratulate each and every one of you." Ozpin announced. "As you have no doubt surmised, last night was your initiation. We did it a little differently this year due to a very credible threat to Beacon. That being said, the threat proved to be little more than an unfounded suspicion. Still, those who passed the initiation will be called up to this stage. Your team will be announced, and your leader will be chosen. We will be doing this in no particular order. When I call your name, please take to the stage."
Murmuring spread through the crowd as Ozpin placed a list on the lectern in front of him. Ruby's mind began to wander. She didn't recognize many of the names that Ozpin called. Then he called up a name she did recognize.
"Pyrrha Nikos and Lie Ren. You will be paired with Nora Valkyrie and Jaune Arc." Oz announced. "You four will form team JNPR and will be led by Jaune Arc."
Ruby raised an eyebrow at the strange choice. The blond-haired boy seemed just as shocked as Ozpin.
"Led by?" he questioned.
Ozpin simply nodded before dismissing them from the stage.
"Finally, Ruby Rose and Yang Branwen. You will be paired with Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna." Ozpin said. "You will form team RWBY and will be led by Ruby Rose."
"Brilliant." Ruby muttered.
I will admit, when I found this out, I was pretty proud of my daughter. She had done well. My feelings on the matter were mirrored by Bianca when she found out. Keira was happy for her sister. The reactions of her team were different though. Yang was relieved. Ruby told me that she really didn't want to be a leader. Yang was happy for Ruby though. Blake was rather indifferent to the whole affair. She didn't care one way or another. Weiss was actually kind of pissed. Something easily predicted from her rather entitled nature.
But my feelings regarding Ruby's team are neither here nor there. All that mattered at that point in time was that Ruby was leading a team, they had succeeded in entering Beacon, and they had one easy day ahead of them to get settled into their new lives as trainee huntresses.
ERROR-DATA_CORRUPTION-BEGIN_FILE_RECOVERY…/…
Data Log DoD-010
Don't worry, I'm not gone. I'm still alive, still kicking and still busy. This summer has been a nightmare. I did warn this would happen. Firstly, I'm two classes away from getting a degree, so I've been working on ways to get those last classes done online. That wouldn't be that big of an issue if it weren't for the fact that I've spent about 90% of the past month and a half or so out at my uncle's farm, working. He has no internet access out there, so I can't really do anything online.
To top it all off, I finally managed to finagle my way into a week off. A week off that has been one stress filled day after one more stress filled day. And it has nothing to do with the aforementioned college classes.
You know how the west side of the U.S. has like 70 fires scattered through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California and Arizona? Yeah, I'm pretty close to the Bootleg fire. The largest of fires. Currently, it's the largest of the fires and is almost 540 square miles. The entirety of the Fremont Winema National Forest is expected to be lost. I can see the massive columns of smoke from my home, and when I can't, that's because the wind has blown the smoke our way.
We've got a good 20 gallons of water bottled up. To go bags in case we need to evacuate, fire lines around the property. It's the whole nine yards. So, I needed an escape. It's remarkable how writing can be such an effective escape. So, thanks for allowing me to have an effective escape from reality, if only for a few hours.
In the meantime, the most I can do is hope and pray.
Thank you to all who read this, your feedback and views are much appreciated. Feel free to leave ideas and recommendations for the future.
Goodbye viewer; Fare thee well.
End Log S.T.K.