Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rooster Teeth Productions
Co-Authored with ToxicExotic
Small update in notes
Emergency
A loud buzzer rang through the area, and Ruby took a split second to breathe. On the side of the auditorium where their sparring class was taking place, Ren laid on the ground groaning slightly from the growing mass of rock on his chest that locked his arms at his side. The fight had been a tough one, but his shorter range had left him unable to get any real hits in, and Ruby had eventually managed to finish him with a well placed slash from her rock imbued blade. Unfortunately, Pyrrha was still standing, and pretty much untouched, while Ruby knew her aura levels were almost reaching orange. Thankfully, the girl's ankles were also encased in ice from the gunshot that had imbued the scythes blade.
It would normally be a moment she would capitalise on to throw an opponent off balance, but Ruby knew Pyrrha well enough to know the girl was very much on guard, so was taking a second to catch her breath instead since Ren was out of the fight. Not like she had much time to do that however, as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Hopping into the air, she avoided a bronze shield that spun underneath her and slamming into the stone, cracking it and releasing its captive. However, instead of returning the shield to her arm as she usually would, she used her semblance to keep it circling her.
The girl had been a lot bolder with her semblance usage since it had been exposed in the tournament against Penny, and that had in turn made her even more of a formidable opponent. It was no longer just a defensive option, but something she also used on offence to great effect. As such, Ruby knew she had to be careful since she was still technically fighting two opponents; Pyrrha, and her shield. However, since it was Pyrrha, Ruby knew she was free to hold nothing back since she was unlikely to win anyway. All she wanted from the fight was to do her best.
"You got this, Rubes." Yang called from the sideline.
Daring to cast a glance sideways, she saw her sister punching the air and sticking her tongue out at Ren while Blake held a tiny Team RWBY flag that Ruby had made as a joke at the beginning of their second semester. Weiss on the other hand was sitting upright and surveying her movements carefully. Though to many her lack of cheering might seem cold, Ruby knew that her best friend's current actions were typical when she was surveying potential competition. And it was that knowledge that sent a wave of confidence through her.
Sensing movement in her peripheral, Ruby spun her scythe and shot the ground, boosting herself into the air just in time to dodge the javelin that lodged itself at her feet. Knowing that trick as she had seen it done plenty of times, she boosted herself to the side as Milo's trigger pulled itself and fired a round from its pole. Landing gracefully, she ducked below the shield that spun at her and fired another round at the Mistralian only for her to elegantly pirouette out of the way. Not wanting to give her a chance to recover her weapon, Ruby petal burst to her opponent.
Before her first swing could even be finished, Akouo slammed into the side of Crescent Rose and threw her off course. Not letting it deter her though as the shield returned to its owner's arm, Ruby flicked her weapon around and set it into motion.
Sparks rained around them as her scythe slammed repeatedly into Akouo's face. Dust was quick to join it too as rounds were intermittently fired off to increase the momentum, and while Pyrrha was deflecting most of them, she was quickly falling behind. Though Pyrrha was better on a technical level, Ruby knew she was faster; and with only a shield, she knew she could eventually overpower the redhead. She was a little curious why Pyrrha hadn't recalled her javelin yet though.
Unfortunately she was quick to find out. As her scythe made another rotation, Pyrrha spun to the side and raised her free hand that was crackling with black electricity; and though Ruby tried to stop her attack, Pyrrha's move was timed so perfectly that she didn't have time. While the head of Crescent Rose was designed to stop electricity from traveling to the pole, the outer shell of the handle was not insulated so the second Pyrrha's hand touched it, a large surge of electricity tore up the shaft and flooded into Ruby's body.
"GAAAHHH!"
Despite her aura protecting her, the shock hurt like hell. Before she could even recover, a swift kick was delivered to her gut that sent her flying backwards. Recovering just in time to realise the trajectory she was on though, Ruby allowed herself to take the shot from Milo. Just before the bullet struck her back however, she activated her semblance and allowed the petals to surround her causing the area to be blanketed in red. Landing on her feet, she quickly sent off two more petal's to where Milo was flying to and rushed back in.
Gathering as much speed as she could, she tore from the cloud of petals and slammed her shoulder into Pyrrha. The Mistralian's shield came around to defend herself again, but the sheer velocity was too much for her arm to withstand and her guard broke causing her balance to falter. Seizing on it, Ruby swung her scythe low and swept the girl's feet out from under her. Following the momentum into the air, she pivoted and slammed her feet into Pyrrha's stomach and pushed off with all her might, sending the redhead crashing into the ground with enough force to create a small crack in the stone.
Bracing her feet on the head of her weapon, Ruby fired off a Dust shot at the ground in hopes to bind the girl to the floor, but Pyrrha rolled aside and spun to a knee, her shield leaving her arm and whirling through the air toward her. Smacking it aside, Ruby landed and rushed in against. Once again metal clashed with metal, this time scythe against sword, but the shield was quick to return. Clearly realising she needed the reach, Pyrrha performed a perfect deflection and transformed her sword into its javelin form as the shield whirled around them both and provided the girl support.
For what felt like another minute, the two of them clashed, each landing a few hits on the other, but Ruby knew she was quickly falling behind. Though Pyrrha and Ren's teamwork wasn't the best, especially compared to Ren and Nora's, the woman was an amazing solo fighter. So it was unsurprised that Ruby soon found herself laying on the floor with the buzzer ringing in her ears after a well placed shield uppercut to her chin.
"Ughhh." Ruby groaned, spreading her arms out and quite happy to stay where she was. "That one hurt."
"You did really well." Pyrrha chuckled, holding out her arm. Reluctantly, she took it and let herself be pulled to her feet. "You're improving a lot."
"Thanks." Ruby grunted and wiped off her skirt.
"Miss Nikos is right, Miss Rose." Glynda confirmed, walking over and typing on her tablet. "Your results have been much better these past few weeks. One opponent down and Miss Nikos firmly in the yellow is nothing to be disappointed about."
Ruby stared at the teacher with her mouth slightly open, and saw Pyrrha doing the same out of the corner of her eye. Though Professor Goodwitch was never mean, it was definitely rare to hear her handing out such compliments; but Ruby supposed she was right. Though she was certain she would have fared worse had Pyrrha been alone from the start, or if she had been with Jaune who was very good at organizing his team, the fact she had at least pushed Pyrrha down to yellow was something she was very proud of.
"Thanks, Professor." Ruby smiled awkwardly at the older woman.
With little more than a nod, the woman stalked over to Ren, who was sat with Nora's arms around his shoulders, the stone that had previously covered his chest long gone. Watching Pyrrha make her way over to her teammate too, Ruby turned back to her own team and quickly found herself pulled into a fight hug from her sister.
"You were amazing!" Yang exclaimed happily, shaking her a little. "I told ya you were a force to be reckoned with."
"Ughh… Ya-aa-ang." She breathed while being spook in place.
"You're going to break her aura." Weiss scolded, a glyph appearing between them to push them apart. "You did well."
Giving her friend a smile, Ruby happily accepted the hug that quickly followed from her girlfriend. Ever since their argument, the two of them had been trying to fix things. A little more time had been spent training together instead of separately, and Ruby had been doing everything she could to reassure Blake that everything would be okay. Weiss and Yang had been helping too, and thankfully their efforts seemed to be paying off. Though she was still a little more quiet than usual, her appetite had returned and she was sleeping a lot better.
"You were great." Blake smiled, placing a quick kiss on her and earning a choking sound from Yang; which quickly turned into real choking as Weiss elbowed her in the side. "See, you're not going to hurt anyone."
"I guess." She breathed back. "But it was Pyrrha. She's a lot better than me, like a lot better, so I felt more comfortable."
"You'll catch up in no time, Sis." Yang grinned and punched her in the arm. "Don't think you're ever gunna beat me though. I have a reputation to uphold."
"Your reputation is one I would be eager to get rid of." Weiss jabbed jokingly, earning a stuck out tongue from the blonde.
"RWBY!" Glynda called over at them. "Please take your seat, Mr Arc is waiting for his duel."
"Oh," Ruby said, realising that she was still on the stage. "Sorry, Professor."
Walking back to her seat, Ruby gave Jaune a thumbs up as he walked nervously to the fighting area. The boy was also improving quickly under Pyrrha's tutelage, and with the armor she had personally made for him, he was looking much more like a warrior; so Ruby was sure he would do well against Russel and Sky. So taking a seat next to her girlfriend and cuddling up, she settled in to watch her friend's duel.
"I'm so glad I don't live in Vacuo." Ruby groaned as she rifled through the bestiary. "They have so many dangerous Grimm. Like look at this one..."
She held up the picture of a Ziraph, a three-headed giraffe with leopard print skin and horns to her girlfriend whose lap she was laid on, a hand slowly stroking through her hair. Ruby knew it was helping the girl stay calm and take her mind off her parent's impending arrival. Given that they were supposed to arrive tomorrow, Ruby was determined to not leave her girlfriend's side for even a moment. So despite it being the middle of class, she was quite happy to be stretched out on the bench with her head in Blake's lap.
"... It's five stories tall." She continued. "And it's common."
"Vacuo is pretty dangerous." Blake hummed with a gentle smile. "The Blind Worm there is supposed to be one of the oldest living Grimm."
"That's because it can grow back to full length if a single segment escapes." Yang chimed in. "Kinda hard to kill the whole thing when half of it stays under the sand."
"True." Ruby hummed and flicked through the bestiary to a large, dragon-looking Grimm that took up four pages that needed to be unfolded. "That's not the most dangerous one though. Vacuo was the last place anyone saw the Wyvern."
"Ruby, the Wyvern is a myth." Weiss scowled and jotted down a note in her book. "There's never been any proof it exists. Isn't that right, Professor?"
Port turned around and raised a bushy eyebrow at the heiress. Thankfully the man said nothing about the fact Ruby was laid down on the bench, but the man had always been a little more relaxed when it came to his theory classes; though that would quickly change whenever they were actually fighting a Grimm.
"The Wyvern?" He asked, earning a nod from all of them. "Ahh yes, that magnificent beast." He laughed fondly, a tone Ruby definitely considered odd for anyone to use when talking about Grimm.
"As a young Huntsman, I myself spent years looking for proof that one existed. I scoured the world saving villages from sphinxes and leviathans, asking for nothing more than information as my reward; but alas, there was nothing. Even I have come to accept that the creature is little more than a myth that probably stems from a gigantic Ravager that I would love to wrestle with."
"Thank you." Weiss replied smugly.
Watching the man walk away with a sad look on his face, Ruby shook her head and flicked back to the Zeraph that she had been taking notes on for the assignment. Grimm studies was definitely one of her favourite classes. The chance to perform in depth studies into creatures she knew she would be fighting one day was something she actually found very useful, as was learning how to properly document any new Grimm she may discover herself.
"Sooo... Weiss." Yang said slowly, twirling her pen in hand and leaning down to rest on one arm. "Have you made a decision yet?"
Weiss' smug grin immediately turned into a scowl that was shot at the blonde. "No."
"No as in you won't accept, or no as in you haven't made a decision?" The brawler grinned.
"Will you just focu-"
"What are you talking about?" Blake asked with a confused look.
"Weiss got asked out on a date…"
"Don't you d-"
"... by Flynt."
"Dammit, Xiao Long."
Ruby barely heard Weiss' curse as she had already dropped her book to look at her partner. She had definitely noticed something between the pair, especially with how her summons acted towards the boy, but she had no idea that things had already progressed to the point where he had asked her out.
"What?" Ruby asked. "Why didn't you tell me that happened?"
"I didn't tell anyone."
"You told me."
"Correction," Weiss pointed at the blonde. "I asked what you would do if someone who annoyed you asked you out. Everyone annoys me."
"Well at least you admit it." Blake chuckled, her finger winding gently into Ruby's hair. "Though you did kind of just admit that it was Flynt."
"Haha." Ruby grinned happily. "Weiss and Fynt, sitting in a tree…"
"K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Yang chimed in, dodging a shard of ice that was hurled at her from a glyph.
"Why are we focused on my love life?" Weiss asked moodily and pointed to Ruby and Blake. "Those two are the ones that have been glued together for nearly two full days."
"Yeah, but that's because Blake's super grumpy and Ruby is her doctor-prescribed emotional support girlfriend." It was Blake's turn to scowl at the blonde. "Plus, they're old news. You and Flynt however-"
"There is no me and Flynt." Weiss said testily. "I still have no idea if I am even going to accept his date or not."
"But the fact you are even considering it means you do like him, right?" Ruby asked.
The girl didn't reply, and instead went a little pink. With her extremely pale complexion, the blush was even more obvious to see and caused Yang to snort with suppressed laughter. Feeling the need to defend her bestie, Ruby ripped a page from her book, scrunched it up, and threw it at her sister.
"I have no idea." Weiss replied defeatedly. "I stand by what I've said about him being an ass, but I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy talking with him."
"Then why not just go on the date and find out." Blake said simply, her eyes returning to her own bestiary.
"Because I refuse to go on a date with just anyone." Weiss scowled. "That is what Yang does."
"Hey!" Yang said with an offended tone. "I've been a taken woman for months now. You were the last person to have a friends with benefits relationship with someone."
Ruby watched her best friend's mouth open to reply, only for it to fall as her eyes widened. Though Ruby had never really understood why Weiss had dated Neptune, she did know what they had been up to; though was thankful she had never walked in on it like she had her sister.
"Oh my Oum." She groaned and buried her face in her hands. "I've turned into you."
Despite feeling sympathy for her best friend's despair, Ruby let out a loud bark of laughter while Blake used her book to hide her huge grin. Yang however was not laughing, instead pouting at the heiress.
"You say that like it's a bad thing." She said sadly.
"It is." Blake replied, her smirk still hidden.
"A very bad thing." Ruby chuckled, dodging the paper that was thrown back at her. "Soon you will be dragging us all to clubs and drinking on a school night."
"Please," Yang breathed and scrawled something on her notepad. "You all love team nights at the club."
Ruby couldn't really disagree there. Though it was definitely somewhere she shouldn't be allowed into, and she was the only one who didn't drink, the nights were generally a really fun time for the entire team. Especially since it was usually Yang and Blake's personal thing, so being invited was something she and Weiss usually considered an honor.
"When are we going out next by the way?" Yang asked her partner quietly, making herself look busy as the classroom door opened and Professor Goodwitch walked in. "A new one just opened that I wanted to check out."
"I don't know." Blake shrugged. "Maybe after my parents visit is over. Still need to figure out what I'm doing abo-"
"Miss Belladonna." Goodwitch's voice interrupted, causing Ruby to sit bolt upright before the woman scolded them. "I need you to come with me."
The whole team shared a confused look with each other.
"Have I done something wrong, Professor?" Blake asked, not moving just yet.
"Whatever it was, I promise she's innocent." Yang said quickly, though earned a stern look from the teacher.
"As much as I applaud your desire to protect your partner, Miss Belladonna is not in trouble." She said and straightened her glasses. "Headmaster Ozpin would simply like a word. Now if you would please?"
Giving the woman a nod, Blake quickly set about packing her books away. However, despite knowing Glynda would likely refuse her request, Ruby was still determined to fulfill her promise of being there for her girlfriend, so quickly sat up and looked at the teacher.
"Can we come too?"
To her surprise, the woman didn't immediately shoot her down. In fact, the vice principal looked around to each of them in turn and let out a contemplative hum.
"Very well. You may join us."
Both Yang and Weiss shared in Ruby's shock, but they all quickly recovered and began to shove their belongings into their bag. It was highly unusual for Glynda to pull a student away from their studies, and almost unheard of for her to allow a whole team to leave; so as Ruby shoved her Bestiary into her bag, she couldn't help but be a little worried.
The walk to the CCTS tower had been a quiet one, though that was hardly unusual when you were being escorted somewhere by Professor Goodwitch. Pretty much every student knew that they should never fool around in front of the vice principal or risk getting a week's worth of detention. What was unusual though was her refusal to answer any question they asked. Usually she was more than happy to inform them on certain things, especially why they were being led to the headmaster's office, but this time the woman was rather tightly lipped; and that only made Ruby worry a little more.
Thankfully, they didn't have to wait too long for their answers due to Professor Port's classroom not being too far from the CCTV and Goodwitch's long strides, so they very quickly found themselves in the moving elevator of the giant building. As it slowly climbed the floors, Ruby reached out and took her girlfriend's hand. Flashing her a quick smile and nod in hopes of making her feel a little better, she was happy to receive one in return. An anxious smile, but a smile nonetheless. Eventually though, the doors of the elevator opened and Glynda ushered them out into the large clock room.
The room itself was the same as every time she had been there. Large and mostly empty except for a large glass table on one end that was covered in files. As usual, a ghostly green glare emanated from the rotating gears and lit the cast everything in a gentle shade of emerald green. Stood by the giant window was Ozpin, looking out over the city with cane and cup in hand.
"Miss Belladonna for you, Headmaster." Glynda said in a polite tone, that seemed reserved for Ozpin alone, and walked over to the side of his desk.
"Thank you, Glynda." He replied kindly, turning around and taking a sip from his cup. "Sorry for pulling you away from your lesson, Miss Belladonna. I'm sure Professor Port was telling quite an amusing tale that you would love to have heard the end of."
Despite his words, there was a hint of a smile on his face that showed he knew just how boring Professor Port's stories were.
"He was actually teaching, for once." Glynda remarked.
"Oh?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "Then I apologise even more for pulling you away from such a momentous occasion." Yang shorted in approval of the joke, but Ruby quickly elbowed her in the side. "However," his tone suddenly became more serious. "There is an important matter we must discuss. I trust you are comfortable with your team being here for this discussion?"
Blake flashed them all a look before returning her gaze to the older man. "Anything important can be said in front of my team, yes." She confirmed.
"Very well."
He nodded and sat down in his chair and pushed a file towards the edge of his desk. Looking down, Ruby saw a face she instantly recognised as Blake's dad, having seen it numerous times over the last few weeks.
"A few weeks ago, your parent's left left Menagerie on a diplomatic visit to Vale. Along the way, they had numerous check in points and they made each in good health." Ruby suppressed a groan as she sensed a but coming. "That was until two days ago."
He paused for a moment and pulled up a map of Sanus.
"Their final check in point was two days ago here," He pointed to a small town just south of Mountain Glenn called Zelen. "Where they were supposed to be picked up by airship and transported to the city. I'm afraid I have to inform you that they have yet to arrive."
Ruby felt a pit in her stomach as she looked to her side. Blake's amber eyes had immediately filled with worry as thoughts raced behind them. Tightening her grip on her girlfriend's hand as Yang placed a hand on her shoulder, she looked back to the headmaster with desperate eyes.
"Do you know if they are okay?"
"We believe they are for now." Ozpin said with a nod. "We received word a few hours ago that the captain of their guard, Saber Rodentia, made it to the village. From his report, we know that they were ambushed by Grimm and he was forced to cover their retreat. He's assured us that he's left his best officers with them and that they will keep them safe, but is asking the Vale council for backup so that he can locate them."
"B-But they're okay?" Blake asked in a shaky voice.
"We can't be sure, but we believe so." Ozpin said in a soft tone. "The council is reaching out to available Huntsmen now, but with the recent assault on the wall and other active missions, it might take a few days before they can assist."
"A few days?" Yang growled angrily. "Anything can happen in a few days."
"Yang!" Ruby hissed at her sister with a slight glance towards Blake. "Not helping." She turned back to Ozpin. "Is there no way to get them quicker?"
"I'm afraid not, Miss Rose." Ozpin shook his head sadly. "With the ever increasing threat of the Grimm, our Huntsmen and Huntresses are extremely busy. The council is already moving as fast as they can."
"So what if we go?" Ruby blurted out without thinking. It was a stupid plan, but it was better than leaving Blake's parent's to the Grimm for however long it took the council to approve a team for the mission. "If everyone else is busy, we can head in and extract them."
"This is a delicate mission, Miss Rose." Ozpin said with a shake of his head. "I'm afraid I cannot give it to a first ye-"
"With all due respect, Headmaster." Weiss chimed in, stepping forward and giving the headmaster a firm look. "This was a diplomatic visit, and Blake is the chieftain's daughter. With them missing, I'm pretty sure Vytal's peace laws between the kingdoms dictates that the right to recommend who is sent on missions regarding her kingdom falls to her."
"Even still, as first years Ozpin still has the right to refuse. And that law would only apply if Menagerie was a kingdom, Miss Schnee." Glynda interjected. "Which it-"
"Should be recognised as." Ozpin cut her off firmly.
Pausing for a full minute, he looked at each of them in turn and pressed his fingers together. Ruby had thought her request a stupid one that would never be accepted, but Weiss' point seemed to have given Ozpin reason to reconsider.
"Miss Schnee is right." He said after the minute was up. "Should Miss Belladonna accept her team as recipients of this mission, then I am forced to consider it. But please take into consideration the severity of this mission, Miss Belladonna. This is not just your average seek and destroy, this is your parent's lives and a situation you first years have yet to prepare yourselves for in full. This will not be like the school's tasks in the Emerald Forest."
Ruby turned to Blake, who had yet to really say much. She couldn't imagine what Blake was going through, having been too young to remember what had gone through her own mind when her mom had vanished, but she knew from the girl's furrowed brow that she was worried. And though she really wanted to support her, she also didn't want to appear as if she was trying to sway her decision. If Blake was going to let them accept the mission, she wanted it to be because she believed they would get it done.
"I…" Blake looked at them all, Yang giving a thumbs up while Weiss gave a nod. "I don't want to sit here worrying about them." She breathed quietly, though took a deep breath and looked Ozpin firmly in the eyes. "So if you'll allow us, Team RWBY accepts this mission."
They all waited patiently as Ozpin surveyed them over his tiny glasses and tented fingers. If Glynda was being honest, then Blake's blessing meant nothing if the man decided they weren't allowed to take it on. But Ruby really hoped he would. While she definitely wouldn't complain about it, keeping Blake's mood from dipping over the last few days had been difficult; and she knew that it would be almost impossible to keep that up if the girl was forced to wait in her room and do schoolwork until the council finally sent someone out.
Though Ruby was definitely still aware of how their last mission had fared, and the argument that had caused it to almost fail. And though she was definitely a little cautious that Blake's worry about her parents would attract more Grimm, she would still rather they be out there looking than sitting around doing nothing.
"Glynda." Ozpin said after what felt like five minutes as he stood up and walked back to the window. "How would you rate their performance in the field so far?"
"You're not seriously thinking about letting them go, are you?" The only reply she received was Ozpin sipping from his mug, but it seemed like nothing less than she expected. "Unorthodox." She huffed. "But efficient. Though I would like the record to show that, while they took down the Hellk, they still have a long way to go."
"Noted." Ozpin nodded. "Are you sure this is what you want, Blake?"
The girl gave another look at them all, but her previously worried amber eyes finally showed conviction. "It is."
"Very well." He said in a low hum. "I shall allow you to take this mission on one condition." He turned around and gave them a stern look that rivaled his vice principal's. "You will do everything that Mr Rodentia tells you to do. No questioning him, no doing things your own way. You will follow his instructions to the letter, do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Headmaster." They all echoed.
"Good." He said with a nod and sat back down. "Then you are excused from all of your remaining classes to prepare. Glynda, they are all yours."
"Yes, Headmaster." The woman said, standing to attention and striding towards the door. "Follow me."
Letting out a deep breath, they turned and followed the professor from the room. As they did, Ruby slipped her hand back into Blake's and gave her another reassuring smile. It was definitely going to be the most difficult mission they had ever been on, but if it was what they had to do to get Blake's parent's home safely and stop their friend from worrying, Ruby knew her team were definitely up to the task.
Small Update
So I know I usually give a lot more notice than this, but there won't be a chapter on the 17th. Due to things at home and both of the big stories I write reaching their final arc at the same time, I have been feeling a lot of stress and that has led to some of my health issues flaring up again. So I want to just take a few weeks to get that sorted and relax over the holidays. However, that does mean that we will be picking up the new year with that start of the mission, so hopefully that is enough to keep you around :)
Again, sorry this was such short notice, I usually don't like to do that :/
Raalm's Notes
Hello all. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. This was pretty much where all of the major points we have touched one converge. RWBY's efficiency in the field, Ruby and Blake's training, Blake's relationship with her parents. There were also a few other smaller things brought up, and a few easter eggs. But as you can tell, its all been building up to this mission, so I really hope you are excited for that.
Anyways, that's gunna be it from me. Only shorts notes today due to what I said in the announcement, but I hope they chapter was good and I hope to hear your thoughts on it.
Chapter 51 should be uploaded on the 31st :)