Inspired by me talking about the RTX clip of V9 with si1vereyed from AO3 and us going "but what if we made it worse?" So yeah, spoilers for last year's RTX clip, but a bit AU as well. Content warning for near-death experiences and drowning. Enjoy!
If Ruby hadn't already been gasping for air after nearly being strangled to death, hitting the sandy beach below would have knocked the wind out of her.
As it is, the fall just disorients her even more than before; she briefly loses track of which way is up as she coughs and chokes and sputters for air like a drowning person. In the grand scheme of things, the fall from the tree to the beach isn't that far—she's certainly had worse—but she's already battered and off-balance from the events of the past few days, leaving her body exhausted and her reactions slow. Her aura is depleted, she's weaponless, and she's so exhausted she's pretty sure that she could just lie down and sleep for a week.
She's not exactly in great fighting shape.
Eventually she manages to find her footing again, pushing herself to her feet and brushing off some of the sand clinging to her with a slight groan as her sore muscles protest. A brief glance around reveals no sign of anyone else—including Neo. Ruby allows her shoulders to sag slightly in relief. Hopefully the fall had knocked Neo far enough away that she'll have time to rest and regroup before they meet again—and hopefully find some backup.
Just as she's about to start walking down the beach to do a quick check of her surroundings, something latches on to the back of her cloak and pulls tightly, tugging the fastenings on her collar tight against her neck. Her hands instinctively fly to her throat as the taut fabric presses against tissue that is already sore and bruised. She doesn't even time to react before she feels a brutally strong grip on her shoulder and something crashing down hard against the back of her head.
The blow sends her toppling back to the sand, blinking spots out of her eyes as her hands come up to cradle her head. Before she can even try to regain her bearings, her arms are yanked above her head as the person who attacked her starts dragging her across the sand. Blinking through tears and squinting against her blurry vision, she manages to get a brief glimpse of the person dragging her.
Unsurprisingly, it's Neo. She must not have fallen as far away as Ruby had hoped.
Her arms ache from being held over her head and the sand scrapes roughly against her exposed skin as Ruby struggles to understand what's going on. With each step, the crashing of the waves grows louder, making her already pounding head hurt even worse. It takes her a few seconds, but even dazed and half out of it, Ruby realizes what Neo's goal is.
Her eyes go wide and her breath catches in her throat. She shrieks, wincing as her abused throat protests, and struggles and kicks as best she can in her current position, but it's no use. She didn't see anyone else nearby earlier, and Neo's grip on her arms is like iron.
And Ruby is running out of strength.
Neo's grin widens as her feet splash in the water, seconds before Ruby feels a wave crash over her face. She blinks furiously, sputtering, as the salt water stings her eyes. The water is cold, icy and stinging against her skin, and she barely has time to take a breath before Neo's grip rapidly shifts to her shoulders and she's dunked under the surface.
This time, she shuts her eyes before going under, but the lack of air quickly proves to be a bigger problem. Her throat and lungs already ache from their earlier abuse, and the water burns as it goes up her nose. She has to resist the urge to panic and cough at the unpleasant sensation, not wanting to lose any of her precious oxygen as she struggles and flails to free herself.
But Neo won't budge.
Then suddenly, abruptly, she's jerked upright once more, coughing and gasping for air as soon as her head breaks the surface, feebly hoping against hope that Neo has changed her mind. But she hasn't, and Ruby doesn't have enough time to catch her breath properly before she's forced under once more.
She runs out of air faster this time, and she can feel her efforts to escape, to come up for air, weakening with every second that passes. Even with her eyes closed, her vision has gone white, which she's sure isn't a good sign. She's not sure that she's going to make it out of this one.
Ruby doesn't want to die like this, killed in someone's misguided attempt at revenge. If she has to die, she wants to die as a huntress, protecting the people of Remnant, doing her job. She's not ready to die yet. She wants to see her dad again, her uncle, Penny.
Dying like this would be so pointless.
The pressure on her shoulders abruptly vanishes, leaving her drifting in the water, but she's too dazed and out of it to know which way is up anymore. Then, familiar hands grab her shoulders and she's hauled upwards, strong arms pulling her to rest against someone's chest. She thinks she can hear someone talking, but her ears are ringing and she's too waterlogged to make out what they're saying.
And then she's coughing, harshly, so hard that it turns into retching and gagging as her body rejects all of the water that she's swallowed and inhaled. It burns, especially against her already sore throat, but the air that finally flows in in exchange is the best thing she's ever felt. Slowly, her surroundings begin to filter in as the coughing dies down. Someone is rubbing circles on her back, keeping her propped upright as she struggles to breathe. Their warmth is more than welcome after the freezing water.
"Easy there, Rubes, just breathe, keep breathing and get it all up, you're okay."
It's her sister. Ruby can't help the smile that spreads across her face even as she continues to cough. Her hand comes up to grasp her sister's wrist. "Yang," she manages to croak out, and it's worth it to see her sister's look of relief even if it burns her throat and sends her into another fit of coughing.
"Yeah," he sister replies, her voice thick with relief. Then, "Don't try to talk right now. Just breathe."
When Ruby glances around to make sure Neo isn't nearby, her sister reassures her. "Don't worry about Neo. Jaune, Weiss, and Blake are taking care of her. She's not coming after you again."
Ruby sags in relief. "You ready to get out of here, kiddo? I hate to say it, but you look like a wet cat."
She nods vigorously. Yang doesn't even offer her the option to walk, just scoops Ruby up effortlessly into her arms and starts walking them back to shore. "I thought I'd lost you there, for a moment," her sister murmurs, speaking just loud enough for Ruby to hear. "When we got here, I was scared we were too late."
Ruby's arms feel like the ramen noodles after Ren boils them, limp and floppy and weak, but she manages to bring one hand up and squeeze her sister's bicep gently. But you didn't, she tries to say without actually saying it out loud.
"Yeah, you're right." Yang smiles at her, small and sad but genuine. "What do you say we get you warmed up by a fire, like, as soon as possible. I know that I'm hot but you're starting to feel like an ice cube, sis."
Ruby smiles at that, nodding, and tips her head back to rest against Yang's chest. Her pounding heart is finally starting to calm down. She's not dead. The rest of her team is here.
For now, things are okay.
Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you liked it.
