Just because I kept everyone waiting for so long last time, here's another chapter. Just a few things before we begin: this chapter takes place concurrently with the last one. Aside from that, if there were still people wondering if I'm trying to stick in any way to realistic travel times and distances, the answer is no. At this point, I've already screwed up so many times that I've basically given up on keeping track of it. To use TV Tropes terms, everyone is now Traveling at the Speed of Plot. It's important for me to note that because if I don't, the reveal two chapters onward of where Ruby actually is won't make any sense at all if you think about it. Is that bad writing? Oh, yeah. I usually try to be a bit better about these things, but this fic just seems cursed when it comes to realistic travel times or something. I do hope it won't get in the way of people's enjoyment too much. Anyway, let me know what you think, and enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-One: Welcome to the Jungle
I had no clue how long we'd been flying for. Constantly hoping you won't get discovered is kind of stressing, after all. The good news was that those worries, at least, weren't an issue anymore. The bad news was that my worries weren't an issue anymore because they had just become true.
The airship had hit some turbulence, and it had shaken me out of my hiding spot just when one of the White Fang had come to check if the crates of weapons that they'd probably gotten from Atlas's black market were still secure.
"You really are a pain in the ass, girly," one of the four White Fang members in the cargo bay said. "Every time you and your friends show up in places you have no business being."
He looked around suspiciously. "But you seem to be on your own this time."
I readied Crescent Rose, and the guy didn't miss that. He grinned and leveled his rifle. His Aura Suppressor rifle.
"I wouldn't try it, girly, or you're going to be in for a world of pain," he said cockily.
His three friends also leveled their guns. I didn't like to admit it, but the guy was probably right. Even though I was probably a better fighter than all of these four, I wouldn't be able to take them all out before one of them got a shot in. The cargo bay wasn't big enough for me to flip and twirl around, and if I used my Semblance here they'd probably just start shooting wildly and hit me by pure luck.
If I swung Crescent Rose too wildly, I'd probably end up taking out the entire ship, and even though I knew the White Fang wouldn't hesitate to kill me if they had to, I wasn't prepared to do the same to them. Cole's bloody wound flashed before my eyes. No one was going to die anymore if I could help it, not even White Fang members.
"Just put down your weapons and come quietly," the White Fang guy said.
I glanced to my side. One of the crates, the one I'd been hiding behind, was pretty close to me. It was a good thing Weiss wasn't here, because she would probably scold me for what I was about to do.
I lowered Crescent Rose, and the four White Fang members lowered their guns just a little bit. As quickly as I could, I hooked Crescent Rose's blade around the crate next to me and flung it in their direction. Just like I expected, they jumped to sides, between the secured crates of weapons.
Before they could get back to their feet to start shooting, I whirled around to the back door behind me, raised Crescent Rose, and swung twice, cutting the two hydraulic arms that kept it shut. Without its support, the heavy door began to open, but it wasn't quick enough for me. I flared my Aura and swung with the back part of Crescent Rose's blade, mentally apologizing for using my sweetheart like a common hammer. The jolt was enough to slam the loading door open all the way, and I jumped out just as the gunfire began to sail past me.
I felt the wind whipping past me as I plummeted towards the earth. It just then occurred to me that we might very well be above the ocean, and then I would be in very big trouble. Sure, I could use Crescent Rose to slow down my fall and survive perfectly unharmed, but what then? Float around and hope I just happen to be in a shipping lane, getting discovered before some huge aquatic Grimm would have me for dinner?
Fortunately, I broke the cloud cover right at that moment and saw a dense forest growing bigger by the second beneath me. I grinned despite the danger. Landing strategies for forests were a lot of fun. Every time we practiced them, they reminded me of the first test at Beacon, when Weiss had become my partner. I waited calmly for the right moment, then fired Crescent Rose several times in quick succession to slow myself down. I was falling just to the side of the crown of one of the trees, so I unfolded Crescent Rose and held her at a slight angle in front of me, strengthening my Aura to brace myself for the impact.
The blade caught the side of tree trunk just like I'd intended, and I slid down like a pirate ramming his dagger through a sail. Just above the ground, I flung up my arms to draw Crescent Rose from the tree, and I landed on my feet. I immediately threw up a defensive pose and listened intently if anything was directly around me, but the only thing I heard were twigs, branches, and leaves falling from the tree I'd just cut in half on my way down.
I breathed out, only now realizing that I'd even been holding my breath in the first place. I folded up Crescent Rose and took a look around. The trees around me were dense, and they looked old. Older than the trees in the Emerald Forest or Forever Fall, anyway. The rotten remains of years and years of leaves were all around my feet. Wherever I was, people obviously didn't come here very often.
I looked at one of the trees next to my landing tree. It had a lot of sturdy looking branches. Even though I'd only just gotten on the ground, it was time to get back off it again. If I climbed that tree, I'd probably be able to see my surroundings a bit better and get at least some idea of where I actually was.
I'd have to be quick, though, because the sun was already getting pretty low, and the little bit of light that actually came through the trees was almost red. On the plus side, that would allow me to find some rough directions considering the sun set in the west. I quickly climbed the tree, somewhat awkwardly holding the topmost branch I could get myself onto. Luckily, the tree I'd climbed was one of the highest ones in the forest and I could see a fair bit of distance away.
Quite far to the north, I saw mountains, but in my immediate surroundings I could only see trees. Where the heck was I? Then, to the west, I saw something in the light of the setting sun. Was that a column of smoke?
Before I could get a better look, the tree I was in shook violently, and I lost my grasp on the branch I was holding. I quickly reached out to grab the branch below me, then jumped down from branch to branch to the forest floor below…and found myself eye to eye with the biggest Ursa Major I'd ever seen.
It was at least twice the size of the one Jaune had killed in Forever Fall. It was hunched over, so I could see that the bony spikes that dotted its back looked sharp enough that you could impale something on them. Its curved claws were the size of large daggers. It drooled, and its red eyes glowed angrily in the fading light. For a moment, the Ursa and I just stared each other down. I had one hand behind my back, ready to unfold Crescent Rose at the first movement of the Ursa.
The Ursa, for its part, seemed hesitant. Furious, but also uncertain somehow. I had no idea how I could see that in the face of a monstrous bear, I just know that I did.
A small twig fell from the tree I'd just jumped down, and it was as if someone had fired a starting pistol. The Ursa lunged at me, much faster than a monster that size should ever be able to, but I was still faster than it was and I jumped back and fired two quick shots at it, using the recoil to increase the distance a bit more.
Both rounds, powered up by my Aura and the Dust I'd stocked on Menagerie, caused the Ursa to take a small step back, but neither shot pierced its thick skin.
I recalled the Goliath, how none of my attacks had even scratched it. I felt hot. I clenched both my hands around Crescent Rose's hilt as I unfolded her scythe form. There was no way I was going to be beaten by a Grimm twice in one day. Absolutely no way.
With a battle cry that probably sounded more like a shriek I launched myself at the Ursa. I swung wildly, and it raised one of its massive paws to block my strike, only to find its face right in front of the barrel of my rifle. I fired, and the Ursa roared in pain and anger. I didn't give it a chance to recover and attacked again, hearing my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.
Again and again I swung, a blur of twirls and spins that cut deep grooves into the trunks of the surrounding trees, even cutting down a few of the smaller ones. I didn't care. I'd level this entire forest if I had to, as long as I could kill this Ursa.
And then, the Ursa was slow on its block. My scythe blade cut off its right front paw, and it staggered, throwing back its head and exposing the throat. I didn't hesitate and swung with all my might, pouring every last bit of my Aura into the attack. I saw the Ursa's head flying through the air. The colossal black body collapsed onto the floor of the clearing I had carved out, already smoking as it began to disintegrate.
I looked at the corpse, panting. "Serves you right," I croaked.
It was only now that I realized that my throat was sore from shouting. I'd probably been screaming with every swing I took. It didn't matter. I'd won. The Ursa was dead. I looked up at the sky, which was clearly visible now that I'd cut down a couple of trees. It was a dark, deepening blue. I could only barely make out the faintest hint of orange still in it.
I hesitated. I had no food with me, no supplies, not even my cloak. I had some Fire Dust, so I could probably create a campfire here, but I had no idea how many more Grimm were near me. My anger would surely have drawn them closer to me. So what then? I could head in the direction of that column of smoke I spotted just before the Ursa attacked me, but navigating through a forest at night, with only Crescent Rose's night vision scope to see with, didn't seem like a very good idea.
My stomach growled, and I realized that I hadn't eaten in hours. This day was just getting better and better, and I wondered why, exactly, I had thought it was a good idea to sneak on board of a White Fang airship, and then jump out of it in midair. If I'd surrendered I could probably have broken out of whatever prison they put me in. Then again, they might have just decided to kill me on the spot.
My stomach growled again. Some of Yang's favorite words went through my head, but I knew that standing here swearing wouldn't help me much, and probably only draw in more Grimm. I looked around the clearing I'd made. Fire would definitely mess with my night vision, but in a pinch it would make a suitable weapon against any Grimm that might attack me during the night.
Deciding that trying to make my way over to whatever I'd seen in the distance was probably going to be a worse idea than staying here, I began gathering branches and twigs from the trees I'd cut down in my fight. I cleared out a fair bit of forest floor until only the dirt remained, then dug down a bit to create a sloped fire pit. It bothered me a bit that I didn't have any stones, but I hoped the dirt around it would contain the fire to the clearing I'd made. I'd feel really, really stupid if I had managed to kill a massive Ursa Major only to then die accidentally burning down the forest.
When I had a small fire going, I threw on some of the bigger branches, and soon I had a pretty nice campfire going. I wished I had some marshmallows to go along with it. I also wished Blake, Yang, and especially Weiss were here with me. And that I had some food or water. But to go looking for it now would be insane. Not that I'd been very smart up until now, but it wasn't too late to start showing some actual insight now, was it?
My stomach growled again, protesting my decision to stay near my fire and not go anywhere.
"Tomorrow I'll find food," I promised it out loud.
I didn't know why I said it out loud, but somehow it made me feel a bit less alone. I sat down and stared at the flames. Strange how I'd gone to bed the previous night in a warm, fluffy bed, while now I was stuck in some forest with nothing to sleep on but the forest floor, with a large chance of being eaten by Grimm while I slept. I sighed. This was going to be a very long night.
It turned out to be the worst night of my life, just about. It felt like Grimm were constantly attacking me, and while they weren't as big as the Ursa I'd killed, they were still pretty nasty. While I was half asleep, they attacked me. While I was keeping the fire going, they attacked me. While I was fighting Grimm, more Grimm attacked me.
It was exhausting, and I was hungry, and thirsty, and getting more and more paranoid with each small crackle from the fire or sound from the forest surrounding my little clearing. At some point, I started crying just because of how miserable I was. Not much later, I snapped myself out of it. Blurring my already shaky night vision with tears would probably end up getting me killed. There would be plenty of time to cry once I'd gotten myself out of this. And then I could look back on all of this and laugh about it with my friends.
Was I being naïve thinking like that? Probably. But I needed to keep believing that I'd make it through. I needed to remain certain that, no matter how bad everything was now, I would get out of this alive. I would not die here. I wondered if Mom had thought the same thing on her last mission. I shook the thought from my mind. No. Whatever had happened to Mom, it wasn't going to happen to me. No way.
The leaves rustled and I heard a low growl in the darkness. Time to get back to work.
Was it my imagination, or was the sky actually getting a bit brighter? I felt like I'd killed hundreds of Grimm through the night, but for all I knew it had only been twenty or so. However many it actually were, they did seem to be getting a bit less numerous now.
Maybe, just maybe, it would soon be light enough for me to go looking for some food and water. Perhaps after that I'd be able to find a place to catch up on some sleep, and since I was already imagining things that were clearly not going to happen, I'd also like to find a convenient airship to get me back to my friends and away from whatever forest I was currently in.
The bushes next to me rustled and I raised Crescent Rose, almost unable to even summon enough Aura to even hold her anymore. A Beowolf, probably one from the pack I'd spent the last…whatever huge amount of time killing. It roared and lunged at me. Normally, I'd be much too fast for it to even get near me, but the night of fighting had really done a number on me and it was all I could do just to deflect it.
My Dust had run out, except for a few cartridges of Fire Dust I would need to make fire, so I couldn't shoot it, and my arms were so tired I was forced to just lift Crescent Rose above my head and drop her down like some kind of axe.
The Beowolf apparently wasn't in the mood to be cut in half, and it dodged me and lunged again. I awkwardly threw my body to the side and stumbled as the Beowolf's attack missed, but unlike me it wasn't tired and it simply attacked again.
The first couple of times, I just blocked or barely dodged the attacks, without really trying to counter any of the dozens of times I knew I could. But then, I fumbled the timing of my block, and the claw of the Beowolf slammed into me.
I stumbled and fell back, my Aura just strong enough to make sure I didn't get hurt, but breaking in the process. With me flat on my back, the Beowolf saw its chance and it lunged for my throat…and speared itself on the pointy end of Crescent Rose's shaft, which I'd thrown up as a last resort.
I didn't have the strength to push off the carcass, so I just lay on the forest floor with the smoking dead body of a Grimm on top of me. It wasn't the most comfortable position to be in, but I was so tired that I didn't care. I could sleep anywhere.
Or, well, I would be able to, if that annoying ray of sunlight wasn't shining through the leaves right into my face. I gasped and opened my eyes. Since I was staring straight into the sun now, I yelped and quickly closed them again in pain, but at least it wasn't a figment of my imagination. The sun really had come up. Somehow, that knowledge gave me a bit more strength, and I was able to roll the almost completely decomposed Beowolf off of me.
I shakily got back to me feet and dusted myself off, closing my eyes for a moment just to listen if anything was still moving around me. When I didn't immediately hear anything, I breathed a sigh of relief and folded Crescent Rose's blade, but I kept her barrel extended to have some kind of weird spear-and-walking stick hybrid to lean on if I had to, at least until my Aura had recovered enough to fold her completely.
The sunlight had also burned away a bit of the fogginess in my head, so I took a moment to think about what I'd do next. First, obviously, I had to find food and water. Then…well, my only lead was the column of smoke I'd seen just before that horrible night of fighting had started, so I'd try to make my way west.
I stretched out and took a deep breath. I had a plan now. I wondered idly if Weiss would be proud of me if she knew. She and Yang and Blake would probably be looking for me. I hoped they had a better idea of where I was than I did myself. But this wasn't the time to be worried about my friends. My stomach hurt. I headed into the denser trees, the ones unharmed by the huge amount of fighting I'd done, and began my search for breakfast.
And there we have it, another chapter done. Again, a reminder that trying to logically figure out where Ruby might be won't help, because the timescale would never, ever add up. I'm essentially asking you to ignore my shoddy planning, while also asking you for your opinion on the story. I can't imagine that backfiring on me at all. In any case, see you next time!
