Chapter 3: When It All Fell Apart-Part 2

Ruby Rose woke up the next morning, feeling emotionally and physically drained. She sat up on her bed, crossed her legs, and rested her forearms on her knees. Her uncle soon came in to get her up so she could get ready for the day. It was a week day, and his job was as an instructor at the local combat academy: Signal Academy. Classes at Signal started at eight in the morning. It was six-thirty. Once Ruby was out of bed, she started going through the motions, with the help of her father of course. A four year-old can't exactly brush her teeth well without some assistance. Taiyang woke up early to get ready to help his girls get ready, so he had already done his morning routine. Multiple girls, because Taiyang Xiao Long's daughter, Yang, lived in the same house as well. Yang and Ruby were basically raised as sisters, since Yang's mom left her with Tai after she was born.

Yang had woken up earlier, and she used her usual cheerful energy to speed through her morning routine independently, being two years older than her sisterly cousin. On the other hand Ruby just went through the motions, assisted by her father. By the time Ruby had finished getting dressed and brushing her teeth, Yang had already made her way downstairs. When Ruby was done, she immediately made her way downstairs to the kitchen. She found Yang sitting at the table, and sat opposite her. Taiyang came down a few minutes later, and started pouring the girls their bowls of cereal. Ruby, who would've usually been jumping for joy for the 'yummy goodness' that is cereal, was instead silent.

Yang noticed this and decided to point it out. "Hey, Rubes."

"Yeah?" Came the dry response.

"Why are you so quiet?" Yang asked. "Usually you're happy and talky."

"Yang, talky isn't a word." Interjected Taiyang.

"It's a word because I said it." Retorted Yang

Then Yang noticed her cousin's lack of interest to their family banter. "See, this is what I'm talking about. So, Ruby, why are you so quiet?"

Yang didn't notice the tears starting to well up in her cousin's eyes that were due to Ruby remembering the reason for her despondence. However, Taiyang noticed it.

"Ruby, why don't you go to the living room, and get your drawing stuff out to show Peach when she gets here." Taiyang suggested. Ruby saw it for what it really was, though. It was an out, so she didn't have to go through last night's conversation, again. She was nonetheless grateful for it, though. So, Ruby made her way to the living room, quietly and quickly.

Once Ruby was gone, Taiyang turned his attention to his daughter. "Yang, the reason Ruby's so quiet all of a sudden, she's going through something. We all are." He confessed.

"What do you mean 'she's going through something'? And 'we'? You seem find. What happ-" Yang was cut off by the sound of fast approaching footsteps accompanied by sniffling.

"Uncle Tai, where's D-daddy?" Was Ruby's damning choice of words.

"Damnit, Qrow." Tai cursed under his breath, so the girls couldn't couldn't here it.

Yang, however, did not have the same attitude as Ruby or her father. "Wait, Uncle Qrow was here?! Why didn't I know? I wanna see him."

"Yang," Her father started, addressing his daughter first, "Qrow came last night, but he left soon after you fell asleep." He finished, now addressing Ruby.

"But w-why would daddy leave? D-does he n-not w-w-want me?" Ruby asked, starting to break down.

"No, Ruby. That's not it." Taiyang started, trying to assuage Ruby's fears. "He just-" He was cut off by the sight of Ruby stumbling up the stairs as fast as her tiny legs could carry her.

"Dad, what was that about? And what does this have to do with Uncle Qrow?" Yang asked innocently.

"Well, Yang, it has to do with the answer to your question earlier." Tai said.

"What do you mean?" Yang asked again.

"To put it simply, Yang, Summer's gone." Tai finally confessed.

"Well yeah, she's gone. She went on a mission." Responded Yang, now thoroughly confused.

"No, Yang, I mean she's gone. Forever. She's not coming back. You do know what that means, right?" Tai said sternly, showing an impressive amount of willpower, by not breaking down.

There was a crash and Tai winced. "No, you're wrong! Where's your proof?!" Yang yelled, now standing up, with her fists on the table. She was getting angry, yet felt resignation start to set in, but did her best to push it down.

'Yang, calm down. Qrow went to find Summer, when she was late coming back from her mission." The girl's father said, trying to placate her, but having the opposite affect.

"Well, maybe he didn't look hard enough!" Yang argued, her irises now starting to gain an angry red shade.

"Yang, do not take that tone with me, Young Lady. And don't you think Qrow would've done his best to look for her?" Tai said sternly, now rising from his seat.

"His best wasn't good enough, then. Otherwise he would've found Aunt Summer." Yang shot back, now standing up to face her father. Despite the towering figure in front of her, she did not waver.

After a few seconds, there was a noise that sounded like a small thunder clap, echo throughout the house. Taiyang stood in front of his daughter, looking down on her with a look of sympathy. Yang for her part, was holding her hand to her left cheek where she had just been struck. The red was fading from her eyes, and was instead replaced by tears. That didn't stop her completely, though.

"You're wrong." She exclaimed, before running up the stairs, just as Ruby had done earlier.

"Damnit." Sighed Taiyang, yet again.

There was a knock at the door the door that got the man's attention. He looked at his watch to see he had less than half an hour to get to work. He went to open the door, only to find Celestia Peach, his old friend from his time at Beacon Academy; The huntsman academy of the Kingdom of Vale.

"Hey, Celest." He greeted.

"Hello, Tai. Oh, you look so tired. What's the problem?" She asked, noticing the bags under his eyes.

"Oh, that? It's nothing. Qrow just came over late last night." Tai responded, but by his tone, Peach could tell it wasn't just 'nothing'.

"I would hazard a guess that it's more than that." Peach responded sternly.

"Yeah, you're right. Let me step outside and we can talk about it." Tai confessed.

"Oh, alright." Peach said, allowing Tai to walk past her, out the door, then followed after.

In Ruby's room

It had been several minutes since Ruby had run back to her room, but the tears that had started forming in her eyes, and were now threatening to fall, would not. No matter how much she wanted and tried to cry, She simply could not.

Her thoughts were occupied by theories and fears of why her father would leave so suddenly, but they all came back to one simple conclusion; It was her fault. She was the reason her father left. She reminded him too much of her mother and his lover. At first, she was sad at this revelation, but then she felt that sensation; The same sensation she had felt for the first time last night. She was angry, for she could not change who her mother was. She could not change what she looked like. But, most importantly, she was not her mother. She may owe her lot in life to the woman, but she was her own person. She was not a picture to be looked at, just to remember someone else. For this, she was angry at her father; Someone who she had thought was strong, but was instead weak, and not able to look past the surface. He wasn't the only one who lost someone that night. She did too, and to some extent, even her uncle and cousin, who she thought of as a sister, did. She was just a child. Now that her mother was gone, she needed her father to be her source of strength to move on, her beacon of hope, hope that she could move one. But now, she didn't even have that. After all this, in the last twenty four hours, she may have not grown much physically, but her mind and heart had grown by years.

So, after all her thinking, she came to a conclusion. If she didn't have her mother or father, she would grow up fast, even if she did have a choice, which she didn't. She would make sure she couldn't be hurt like that again. If that required throwing away her innocence, she would do so. If she had to get rid of her usual attitude, it would be done. She would create armor that couldn't be penetrated by the worst terrors out there.

So, she sat there and thought, and thought, and thought, until a knock came at the door.

A few minutes prior

"Do they know?" Peach asked, now downcast due to the news she just received. She was referring to Yang and Ruby.

"Yeah, or at least I tried to let them know." Taiyang responded.

"What do you mean?" Peach asked perplexed.

"Ruby found out last night, when Qrow came by. In reality, she's actually handling it pretty well, better than someone her age should be able to. Honestly, it almost scares me." Tai confessed. "It's Yang who really worries me. She wouldn't accept it when I told her."

"Okay, i'll try to keep their spirits up." Peach promised. "But for now, you've got to get to work."

"Yeah, you're right." He said now going to his truck. Before he opened the door, he looked back to Peach. "Hey, Peach. Thanks for this. It means a lot." He finished before starting up the vehicle and leaving.

Now

"Come in." Ruby responded simply.

In came Peach, with her usual cheerful attitude. "Hey, Ruby, why don't you go play with Yang."

"I don't want to." Ruby responded shortly.

Peach saw this and remembered the news she had just received. "Okay, I won't force you to do anything you don't want to, but I think Yang would really appreciate it." Peach said before exiting the room, closing the door behind her.

Peach decided to go to Yang's room to see if she wanted to play with her little cousin, because when ever Peach came over, she would always see Yang making faces with her younger cousin, and infecting Ruby with her brighter the sun smile.

In Yang's room

Yang couldn't believe the blasphemy she just heard. She wouldn't believe it. Her aunt was strong, stronger than anybody, except maybe her father. Summer was slowly overtaking Taiyang in Yang's mind for who is the strongest, though. He was weaker, because he just accepted that she was gone. But she would not, for she knew the truth. She was angry because her father and uncle just accepted she was gone. Her father said Qrow tried to find Summer. But she wouldn't believe, what she thought was slander, on her aunt's name. But she at least could understand their point of view. They were too weak to fight the belief that she was gone, and they just wallowed in their in their depression. No, who she was really mad at was her cousin, her 'sister', who she thought looked up to Summer the most, even more so than her. But no, she didn't care. She just moved on, like it was a thing that just happened.

Are these really my thoughts? She thought. She tried to think of something different. She tried to be happy, fueled by hope that her aunt, who she thought of like an actual mother, more so than her birth mother, would return, for she could not lose another mother. But, no matter how much she tried, those thoughts would not leave.

Her musing was interrupted by a knock on her bedroom door.

"Come in." Was Yang's dry, albeit more enthusiastic than Ruby's, response.

The door opened to reveal Peach, their babysitter when Yang's father had to go to work. "Hey, Yang."

Trying to slide into her usual demeanor, Yang responded, "Hey, Peach."

If Peach noticed the strain in Yang's voice, she did not comment on it. "So, Yang, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Nothing," Yang responded.

"Okay, cool. I came by to see if you wanted to try to cheer up Ruby." Peach confessed innocently.

At the mention of her cousin's name, her facade started to melt, but she pushed down the feeling of anger for now. She would work past it.

"Yeah, sure." She agreed, despite what she felt.

"Okay, great." Peach exclaimed, a little nervous though.

Yang got off her bed, where she had been sitting, and followed Peach to Ruby's room. Once they were in front of Ruby's door, Peach knocked. "Hey, Ruby. It's Peach again. I've got Yang with me. Can we come in?" Peach asked.

"Sure," Came the single word response from the other side of the door.

Peach opened the door, and allowed Yang to go in first following after her. "Hey, Ruby. I brought Yang so you two could play. Is that okay with you?" She asked, once again.

"Sure," Came another dry response from Ruby.

"Okay, then i'll leave you two to it." Peach said, before exiting the room.

"So, Ruby, what do you want to do?" Inquired Yang, once they were alone.

"I don't know. What do you want to do?" Ruby responded with another question.

"How about we go outside and play hide and seek?" Yang suggested, trying to keep her cheerful attitude, but Ruby's gloomy attitude was tempting her to bring back her earlier anger.

"Sure," Came the same dry response as before.

Despite her rising anger, Yang decided to accept the situation for what it was, and move on. "Okay, let's go!" She said cheerfully, before exiting the room quickly, while making sure Ruby was following behind her.

Once they were outside, Yang turned to Ruby, "So, do you want to hide or seek?", She asked, more out of courtesy than anything. Ruby always chose to hide, so if Ruby did the same this time, Yang would know her personality hadn't changed completely.

"I'll hide." Said Ruby, predictably. For this, Yang was grateful. Ruby didn't change completely

"Okay, then i'll count to fifteen, and you go hide." Yang said, turning around and closer her eyes. Ruby then ran back into the house, the play zone, to hide.

Once Yang counted to fifteen, she instantly found Ruby with an intense gaze on something. "Hey, Ruby, you're supposed to…", She stopped when the thing that held her cousin's interest came into view. It was a picture from three years ago, taken on Ruby's first birthday. Ruby's mother was in the front and middle, holding a bundle of red, with a smile brighter than a thousand suns. If you looked for more than a second, you could see eye's the same color as the previously mentioned woman, peer out from the bundle. The baby's hair was covered by the fabric, but if you were to take a peek under it, you would see hair the same black and red color as the baby's mother. Behind Summer, with their chin resting on her shoulder, was a tall, lean, black haired man. Qrow's arms were wrapped around his wife's stomach, and if you were to look at his face, you would see bright, red eyes, with crinkles, from constant smiling since his daughter's birth.

She then noticed the sad, longing look on Ruby's face, and decided to cheer her up, "Don't worry, Ruby. Aunt Summer's gonna' be home soon." Yang said, coming over to stand by Ruby, placing her hand on Ruby's shoulder. Instead of the brightening of the mood that she had expected, instead she felt a sudden sense of danger, and she had no idea where it was coming from. She felt movement under her hand, and saw Ruby turn to her, with tears in her eyes, and a look of rage on her face.

"How, how can you say that?!" Ruby spat with venom, that nobody would think a four year old capable of. "Didn't Uncle Tai tell you?" Ruby's voice had miraculously matured, since hearing of her mother's death. "She's gone Yang! And she's not coming back." She whispered the last part solemnly.

Yang frowned at this. "Have some faith. When she gets back, she'll bake your favorite chocolate chip cookies." Yang said cheerfully. For her efforts, she suddenly received an even worse sense of foreboding than before, and she suddenly realized where it was coming from. The sense of danger was coming from the red, cheerful, bundle of energy before her. She didn't know why, or even how, Ruby was giving off such a feeling.

In Ruby's case, she felt a cold, yet comforting feeling wash over her. Her vision became lightly tinted a blood red. Her anger was rising now, she was overcome with the urge to do harm to the source of her anger; The golden haired, always cheerful girl before, whom she had felt admiration and pride for before, she now only felt envy and contempt. She unconsciously sent that feeling, aura, as she would later find out, to her fist.

From Yang's view, all she saw was a blur of red before she was sent stumbling back to the floor. It took a second for her to register what had happened, and when she did, she felt pain explode over face. There was a river of blood rushing from her nose.

AN: Yo, Zacatac back with part two of Ruby's backstory. I got it out within the week, like I said. I think this chapter turned out well. I'll probably think all my chapters come out well, right when I write it. Anyway, You'll may think this chapter was a bit filler, and I will admit there was some filler, but overall going forward, I think this chapter will be necessary to the story. Keep in mind, I'm new in writing. Away from that, I want to thank you for the explosion of support on the last two chapters. As of writing this, I've gotten three reviews, ten favorites and ten followers, so thank you so, so much. Expect the next chapter before the twentieth, and sorry for the cliffhanger. Not. Zacatac, out.