The Crimson Rose
I don't own Ruby or Nomad of Nowhere. This Episode is unrelated to any other Episode in the Series. I mostly made this for a particular scene and wrote the rest as a result of wanting to have a place for it.
"I don't see why we have to keep this search going," Weiss said flatly, "It's not like we'll find any of the bounties."
"It is the task we were payed to perform, Weiss!" Penny answered brightly.
"Ours is not to question why," Ciel chimed in, glancing at her watch, before checking a pocket watch, "We are simply to keep an eye out and watch for any suspicious persons."
"I'm kinda with Weiss on this one," Ilia noted, "This does seem like a bit of a waste, don't you think? I mean, there are Grimm out and we're trained as Huntresses. Hunting criminals isn't exactly what I signed up for."
"That last lead we'd heard was of the mysterious Crimson Rose," Ciel stated plainly, pulling out a flyer that showed a ragged cloak that revealed only a demonic face and clawed hands, "Believed to be one of the last dark magic users alive."
"That doesn't change our situation," Weiss said, "We're clearly being sent on a snipe hunt."
"We're doing better than most of the Beacon crews after the Fall…" Ilia sighed, "At least we can still find work."
"Mercenary work," Weiss replied, "But you're right… How far, Penny?"
"The abandoned diamond mine before us was said to have been the last place that the Crimson Rose was spotted," Penny said as they approached said mine, which had a small cottage beside it.
"Let's move, then," Weiss ordered.
"What are you guys looking for?" a cheerful voice asked, causing them to turn to see a blond with purple eyes, accompanied by a black-haired Faunus and a girl in a black combat skirt, stockings, corset, boots, and a red cloak with a hood that hid most of her face in shadow, with the lower half of her face hidden behind a red scarf, and the only visible part of her face being shining silver orbs that were presumably her eyes.
"Blake?" Ilia asked in surprise, squinting in recognition at the black-haired girl, before her eyes widened in excitement, "Blake Belladonna?! It's been a long time! How long have you been out?"
"Ilia?" Blake asked, before a slight smile formed on her face, "It's good to see you. You're part of a Huntress team?"
"Team WISP," Penny supplied cheerfully, "You two know each other."
"We used to work together," the pair said in unison.
"Ah, your mysterious past…" Ciel remarked, "I believe that we need identification…"
"Well, you know Blake," the blond said, "I'm Yang Xiao-Long."
"And you?" Penny asked, smiling at the cloaked girl.
The girl tilted her head, pointing at herself, the orbs getting wider.
"Yes, you," she prompted.
The girl tapped a gloved hand against where her mouth was while her eye circles narrowed, seeming to try to find a way to communicate.
"That's my sister, Ruby," Yang answered, "She's… nonverbal."
"It is nice to meet you, friend!" Penny said, causing the girl's eyes to widen once more as she pointed to herself.
"Yes, I am calling you friend."
Ruby's eyes took on a delighted shape as she pointed at Penny, then touched herself on the chest, concluding with hooking her index fingers together, first her left over her right, then her right over her left.
"She said that you're friends," Yang translated loosely.
"I understood," Penny said, "I…" Weiss cleared her throat slightly, interrupting the confession she almost gave. "know a good deal of languages."
"Ruby only really knows that one," Yang said, "Normally, she just uses her body language."
"Why haven't you taught her?" Ciel asked idly as Ilia took the poster that was still in her hand from her and glanced back and forth between Ruby and the poster in question.
"What are you looking at, Ilia?" Blake asked, her voice decidedly casual.
"Could you try to look a little intimidating?" Ilia asked Ruby, focused on the current source of her confusion.
Ruby pointed at herself.
"Yes, you," Ilia agreed.
Ruby clenched her hands in fists and narrowed her eyes, looking not in the least bit intimidating as a result.
"Well, that's definitely not her," Ilia said, handing the poster back to Ciel.
"What was that?" Yang asked.
"We heard a rumor that the infamous Crimson Rose was around here and have been in need for work for some time," Penny said, "After the Fall of Beacon, we found that there are very few jobs that Huntresses can find and have resorted to being bounty hunters as one of our vocations."
"Well, I guess people have to eat," Yang shrugged, "But come on. Look at Ruby. She's barely fifteen. How could she be that Crimson Rose? Isn't she supposed to have been around over a hundred years ago? I think whoever sent you here was looking for an easy buck."
"It was a stretch," Ilia admitted, "But I just wanted to be sure, just in case. So, what brings you guys here?"
"We were thinking of seeing if anything was left in the mines," Yang said, "Since the owner thought it was empty, he gave it away for cheap. He was right about the diamond seam being dried up, but we managed to find a seam of Lightning Dust way in the back. We think we might find other types down there, if we dig deep enough."
"Nicely done," Weiss nodded, "Well, it seems that we're done here." She handed a card to Yang as she said, "If you see anything suspicious, feel free to call us."
"Actually," Yang said as Ruby bounced in place impatiently, "Can you guys do one thing for us? Well, for Ruby?"
"What's that?" Ciel asked.
"Ruby wants to see how you girls use your weapons. She really, really loves weapons. You should see the scythe she's got back in the house."
Ruby nodded enthusiastically.
"I don't think…" Weiss began, only for Penny to naturally unleash her swords in an elegant dance.
Sighing, Weiss drew Myrtenaster, nodding to Ilia and Ciel to draw their own blades, before they all began to cross blades in an impromptu exhibition of their skills. Once they were done, Yang and Blake clapped at the display. It was when Ruby clapped, however, that things got interesting.
A handful of rocks came to life, cartoonish eyes and stick-like limbs materializing before they quickly rushed behind Ruby, clearly trying to hide.
"What is that?" Weiss asked in shock.
"That's… her Semblance…" Yang offered.
Beside her, Ruby nodded quickly.
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Weiss said, "You're the Crimson Rose, aren't you?"
Ruby shook her head, vehemently shaking her arms to say that she was not while the rocks piled themselves to hide behind her frame.
"I don't want this to have to come to a fight…" Weiss said, "I'm going to ask for a single explanation for what this is."
"This is sorta my fault, Miss Schnee," a boy's voice said, causing the group to turn towards the door of the cottage.
There, standing before them, was what looked like a typical farm boy with a cup of coffee in his hand. The only thing that let them know that there was more to him than that, however, was the cane that was practically a staff in his hand, upon which sat a red-eyed crow. To anyone who had spent any amount of time in the presence of Professor Ozpin, there was no mistaking that distinctive cane.
"How did you come by that cane?" Penny asked.
"It's my cane," he replied, collapsing the stick into the handle before clipping it to his suspenders, the crow settling on Ruby's shoulder.
"That's Professor Ozpin's cane," Ciel said suspiciously, "How did you get it?"
"A dusty old crow gave it to me," he said, "around the same time I found out I was the former Headmaster of Beacon Academy."
Ilia pointedly took out a picture from a flyer for Beacon Academy, on which Ozpin was featured prominently, alongside Glynda Goodwitch before glancing back and forth between the two pictures meaningfully.
"Yes, Miss Amitola, I know that I don't look like him at all," the boy sighed, "He didn't look like the King of Vale, either, but that doesn't mean I wasn't him, either. It's complicated. He's still here, but proving it makes things harder for both of us…" He paused, seeming to listen to another voice entirely. "Really? You know that you're running out, right…? Yes, I know that they probably won't believe me otherwise, but once you run out, you're done… That doesn't mean that it's a good idea. Fine, but if you wind up gone already, don't blame me…"
The boy glowed green briefly, seeming to be knocked back slightly before he opened his eyes and spoke in a very familiar speech pattern.
"It's very good to see you all again," the boy who now seemed to be perfectly replicating Ozpin's mannerisms said, "Weiss Schnee, Ilia Amitola, Ciel Soleil, and Penny Polendina. Collectively, Team WISP. I wish the circumstances were better. To prove my identity, however, Professor Port was Miss Schnee's favorite instructor, Miss Amitola and I had previously discussed her situation prior to being in Beacon, after a certain incident, and I feel that I don't need to elaborate on what we discussed, Miss Polendina, Miss Soleil. Now that we have established who I am, if we could have this conversation in the cottage, I would greatly appreciate it.…"
None of them had a response ready for that, and so the entire group wordlessly followed him inside, though none of the team had put away their weapons, save for Penny, who, they all knew, did not necessarily need her weapons to be combat ready.
"…After my demise, I found myself in Oscar's body, continuing the cycle of reincarnation," Ozpin concluded, "As he noted in our argument, I have been burning through the remnant of my previous incarnation's spirit."
"That makes sense, but where do these three fit into this, though?" Penny asked, processing the facts more quickly than her three teammates could.
"My mom's a bandit chief and my dad's a Huntsman," Yang offered, "...It's complicated, but, while none of us entirely trust him, working with Ozpin became something of a family thing. That one's my uncle." She pointed at the bird that was drinking whiskey from a shot glass.
As if on cue, the bird turned into a scruffy man with a tattered red cape and a colossal sword strapped to his back.
"You're the drunk that my sister fought!" Weiss said.
"Qrow Branwen's my name," he said, pouring himself to another shot of whiskey.
Ilia suddenly shot up in her seat, turning towards Blake with wide eyes as she asked, "Were you the reason there's rumors the White Fang wound up with a schism?"
"Some of us want to do it the right way," Blake said, "Adam wants to completely subjugate the humans."
"What about Sienna Khan?" she asked, "What happened to her? People have been saying she was killed."
"Adam tried to kill her," Blake said, "It turns out that seeing your protege betray you for the natural extreme of your ideals is a good motivator for looking at what you'd been doing. It helps that my family still had some pull. There are still some that side with Adam, but we're dealing with them as best we can."
"What does this have to do with you being here?" Ciel asked in interest.
"Blake's group needed supplies," Yang said, "Preferably supplies that could be stolen from Adam's group. She was sent to talk to the tribe. I was my mom's liaison for this. Dad wasn't happy, but she brought him around. We agreed to help, but we needed manpower for a job from Ozpin."
Ruby waved cheerily from her seat at that.
"As for Ruby," Oscar said after taking control again, "Let's just leave it at there's a lot going on that we can't talk about right now, and the story of the Two Brother Gods is involved…"
"Why can't you talk about it?" Weiss pressed.
"At this time, the situation it too complicated to be believed. As it currently stands, we're regrouping…" There was a precise rhythmic knock on the door. "Speaking of which…" He nodded to Qrow, who turned into a bird and flew onto Oscar's shoulder as he made his way to the door. Oscar, for his part, unclipped the cane from his suspenders and slowly opened the door to reveal four figures that the four earlier visitors recognized easily.
Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren looked about the same as they had when they had last seen them, slight changes in height, gear, and outfits, aside, while, in contrast, Pyrrha Nikos was dressed the same, but, more importantly, they could make out flames around the corners of her eyes.
"I believe you've met Team JNPR," he said, as if he weren't referring to the team that had vanished after the Fall of Beacon, "There are some things that we still need to discuss."
