Chapter Four
One week later.
It had taken her just under a week to complete the contract. The village was a day's trip away from the school, and once Ruby arrived she spoke with the village elders before investigating the nest the following day.
After that it took her a couple days to plan out how she would handle the nest, when she finally attacked it was slow and methodically.
She picked off the Beowolves from a range first, selecting those that wandered from the pack first before taking out small groupings of Grimm.
It alerted the others but they couldn't find Ruby's hiding spot, but eventually the groups got too large and she was running low on ammunition so she went into the final stage.
Folding down and storing her scythe she drew her pistol and sword, dropping down out of the tree she was hiding in she covered the mile and a half distance to the nest.
She had still not seen any sign of the Alpha but she knew it was around somewhere, so she started to tear through the lesser Grimm around the nest but eventually she came across the Alpha.
The Alpha Beowolf was larger than its lesser kin, it was almost double the size and towered easily over Ruby but as the woman looked up at the creature she simply smiled.
Without an Alpha to lead them the others would move on and go somewhere else, meaning that if she had missed any than they would leave the village alone.
Reloading her pistol, she charged towards the Alpha as she activated her semblance on the move to give her an added edge against the creature.
Killing the Alpha was hard, to become the Alpha they had to live for many years which meant that they had grown smart, a deadly combo within the Grimm.
But with the Alpha dead and the nest cleared she had completed the contract and once she had received the payment from the village, she began the trip back to the school.
It took her a day to return to Beacon but she arrived late at night so most of the school was asleep. Instead of making her way to her room though she decided to head to the headmaster's garden.
It was a secret garden within the school, there was the main garden with an outdoor sitting area that most students went to and used.
It had taken her several days of exploring the school to find it but she found it almost accidently when she went to Ozpin's office for permission to leave the school.
The Headmasters garden was tended by several gardeners but also every headmaster added something to the garden and tended to it themselves.
Ruby knew of this garden and found herself sitting just off one of the paths. There was a large tree that she sat under, the shattered moon illuminating the night's sky.
"I wasn't expecting you back until tomorrow Miss Schnee." Ozpin said, startling Ruby who had become lost in her mind.
"I decided to come back slightly early, I didn't want to only come halfway and stop." Ruby answered, too tired to correct Ozpin about her name.
"I see. And you chose to come to my garden?" Ozpin asked of Ruby, leaning on his cane as he looked at Ruby.
"How long have you tended these gardens Ozpin?" Ruby asked, smiling slyly back at Ozpin.
"Since I became the headmaster of this school." Ozpin answered.
"Which was when exactly? This life or the half a dozen before?" Ruby stated with a smile as it was clear she knew more about Ozpin then she was letting on.
"Ironwood told you." Ozpin said as he guessed the only person that would have told her the truth.
"He did, when I awoke my power. He told me most of it, allowed me in on the secret…before I left." Ruby explained briefly.
"I see. How much did he tell you about her?" Ozpin asked as he wanted to gauge how much Ruby knew.
"Enough." Ruby stated, "But I don't see why you want me here. I left, for good reason. You have no reason to believe I'd fight for you, on your side in a mess of your own creation." Ruby said coldly as she stood up from the ground.
"Since you left Atlas Academy you've been protecting the people, those who can't protect themselves against the Grimm. But that's not all you've been doing, is it?" Ozpin challenged Ruby, as he knew what Ruby had been doing despite what she said.
"I don't know what you're talking about Ozpin, but I do know this. You can't defeat her by yourself, and she's already making moves against you. It's all been building and it's coming to its crescendo soon." Ruby replied cryptically as she walked away from Ozpin and the gardens.
What Ozpin said was true, she had been following her rise and the moves she was making. Since Ironwood had told her everything she began considering everything which was why she knew that Ozpin couldn't defeat her alone.
She was hesitant about helping Ozpin, joining his fight but she knew that in the end she would join him. Ozpin had pointed it out, she fought to protect people who couldn't protect themselves and if she had her way with the world then no one would be safe, so she had to step up.
Though she wasn't sure, Ironwood had made it hard for her to trust any of the brotherhood, she only trusted Qrow because she had spent several years growing up with him and several years with his sister, Raven.
Her upbringing was different to the others within the Schnee family, and while it was a hard childhood she wouldn't trade it for anything else.
Entering her dorm room, she saw the others were in bed and asleep, allowing her to quietly sneak in and undress for bed and climb in. Allowing sleep to take her.
The next morning when Ruby woke up immediately her team questioned on where she had been, shocked that she had just vanished without a word to them.
"Where have you been?" Weiss asked immediately upon seeing Ruby awake and dressed in their dorm room.
"I had a contract." Ruby stated, gathering what she would need for the day and strapping her weapons to her side.
"A contract? But we're still training." Yang asked, surprised that Ruby could take a contract.
"You all are, I've been taking contracts for the last couple years." Ruby said, not caring how it sounded as she went for the door. "If you don't start getting ready soon then you'll be late." Ruby called out as she left, heading to her first class of the day.
Ruby got through the classes easily enough and they were heading to their final class of the day, which she knew what was going to happen. Glynda would be informing them of a trip into the forest the next day.
Team leaders had already been informed of the mission, it was a simple retrieval mission meant to stimulate a retrieval contract and give the students some real-world experience though it would be in a controlled environment.
There wouldn't be Grimm around, or at least there shouldn't be any as they had been cleared out by a couple teachers to protect the first years, though Ruby didn't agree with this method.
"Tomorrow morning you will all be meeting me at the docks where we'll be transported to the forest around Beacon, once there you will each be given an item to retrieve as a team. You'll have a two-mile radius that you can search and four hours to complete the task. Any questions?" Glynda announced to the class.
"Will there be Grimm there?" Jaune asked hesitantly.
"The area was cleared out yesterday afternoon, but I can't promise that Grimm haven't returned to the area. If there are too many then we will fall back to the transports and leave the area. Anything else?" Glynda asked the group but seeing no more questions she dismissed the class to prepare for the mission tomorrow.
"Come on, we need to get our bags sorted for the day." Ruby said to her team, taking them back to their room. She wanted to help them pack to make sure they had everything they would need for the day.
The next morning.
They met the other teams and Glynda in front of several Bullheads at the docks and once the last team arrived they boarded the ships and took off for the forest.
Leaving her team sitting down, Ruby carefully climbed over to where Glynda was sitting and Ruby took a seat next to her, pointing up at a headset so they could talk.
"Yes, Miss Rose." Glynda asked once their headsets were on.
"How certain are you that the Grimm are cleared out?" Ruby asked, meaning no offence in her words.
"I did it personally Miss Rose, there are no Grimm in that area and I sent two teachers out earlier to check that the area was still clear." Glynda affirmed coldly, not liking Ruby's tone.
"I meant no offence, but the Grimm have been growing in number and have been becoming more aggressive lately. They're becoming bolder as well, I just think we should be extremely cautious." Ruby suggested gently, knowing that Glynda wouldn't like someone telling her what to do.
"I'll take it under advisement but everyone here is training to be a Hunter, they should be able to handle a few Grimm." Glynda said, removing her headset but managed to hear what Ruby said before she removed her own.
"That's not what I'm afraid of, not at all." Ruby said, shaking her head as she headed back to her team. They would be landing soon, and she wanted to be moving quickly.
"What was that about?!" Weiss yelled over the engines, barely being heard by Ruby and the others.
"Nothing. Let's focus on the task at hand." Ruby said, getting her team focused was better them worrying them needlessly.
Once they had landed and gotten their task from Glynda, several crates of food had been stolen and they had to find them. Ruby led her team into the forest, they had four hours to find them and return.
"So why are we looking for food? Grimm don't take food, shouldn't we be looking for them or something?" Yang asked, finding food wasn't exactly what she expected to do today.
"Contracts come in all shapes, this would be where thieves or bandits have stolen food and you'd have to track them down and get the supplies back. Some villages only survive on food delivered so every bit counts. This is a test of our tracking skills." Ruby explained to them, checking the ground for tracks made for them to follow.
"What was the contract you had? Was it one like this?" Weiss asked, curious as to what contracts Ruby was taking.
"It wasn't, I had to clear out a Grimm nest threatening a village." Ruby replied briefly, leading her team further into the forest.
"By yourself?" Blake asked, the White Fang if they ever encountered a nest would try to avoid it or worse case attack en-mass.
"Of course. Play it smart, I have a sniper rifle. I picked off small groups of Grimm at a distance over two days before moving in closer to take them out. Once the Alpha is gone then they will move on or be easier to kill." Ruby explained to them, it wasn't the first nest she had taken out, but she had learnt from mistakes in the past.
"So, you took it slowly? What about the village, didn't they get attacked in that time?" Yang asked, curious.
"I was between the nest and the village, I could stop any Grimm from leaving the area and heading for the village." Ruby answered, she didn't mention her powers that she had used to watch out for any Grimm sneaking away.
Weiss was about to speak up when Ruby raised her hand up, a closed fist in the air that stopped everyone. Blake who recognised what Ruby was doing held a finger up to her lips to keep everyone quiet.
It took several minutes before Ruby was happy enough to speak, "I thought I heard something…it's gone now though, keep your eyes open as we continue." Ruby said and continued walking.
"The Grimm are cleared from here, could it just be another team?" Weiss offered up.
"A tip, never take anyone else's word for anything. Especially if they claim somewhere is clear as they can't, especially when it's a day old." Ruby informed them all as she stepped back to allow Blake to take the lead in tracking.
Over the next hour Ruby alternated between who was tracking so everyone had a go and learnt how to do it, and it was Yang that discovered the two crates of food.
"Hey, I've got them here!" Yang yelled out, waving her team over.
"Quiet!" Ruby bit out harshly, her hands rested on her weapons as she looked around into the forest.
"What is it?" Weiss asked softly, keeping her voice low.
Blake heard it, a subtle rustling in the forest around them. It was quiet, barely audible and she knew that she should have heard it earlier, if it wasn't for her bow covering her ears she would have but somehow Ruby had managed to hear it earlier and now.
It was louder and getting closer to them, which was when the others heard the noises coming from the forest.
"Fall back to the transports, head due east. Move!" Ruby ordered quickly, seeing the danger ahead of them that was coming for them.
"Don't attack, only defend yourself." Ruby said as the first Beowolf charged out of the woods behind them.
Ruby turned briefly, drawing her pistol, in a moment as she fired two shots directly back at the Beowolf, her shots tore into its chest and killed the creature.
She had turned and was running with her team by the time it started to dissolve. Keeping to the back of her group she turned several times to take out Grimm that were chasing them.
It didn't take the team long to get back to the transports only to find that they weren't isolated in having Grimm attack them as several teams had been attacked and now the landing site was also being attacked.
"Are we the last team?!" Ruby called out to Glynda who was protecting the transports with several students.
"No, we've still got one more team on their way back." Glynda informed her, killing another two Beowolves charging them.
Risking a glance at the transport she saw that JNPR were inside waiting alongside her own team that had just climbed aboard.
"Have you had contact with them?" Ruby asked, her pistol barking an angry retort at an Ursa taking a swipe at her.
"I have, they're about five minutes away. They've avoided the Grimm so far, but they're trying to avoid them coming back." Glynda informed Ruby, treating her as an equal rather than a student.
"Weiss, Pyrrha, Nora. Come here, form a line. Take the Grimm out at range. Blake, Yang, Jaune, Ren. Spread yourselves amongst us, any get close enough you take them out but don't go further than either Glynda or myself." Ruby ordered, and the students sprang into action.
She had gotten those with ranged weapons or attacks that could effectively hold a line while the others would protect the ranged fighters from any that got close enough.
"Don't let any get to the transport!" Glynda called out, trusting the students and Ruby to do what they needed to do.
Ruby drew Crescent Rose for the stopping power and range as she killed the biggest threats coming towards them.
Soon enough the air filled with cordite and explosions as the students started to take their toll on the Grimm attacking them, but it seemed almost endless in creatures as they charged and attacked them.
Five minutes soon came and passed them, and it was reaching ten minutes and still no sign of the other team.
"Still no sign of them, and the Grimm are getting bolder." Ruby said, and they were as the Beowolves before had attacked in groups but now they were attacking on their own as the ranks thinned but they were throwing themselves against the students.
"We wait, they must be close but have gotten delayed." Glynda replied, but as with the other students she was beginning to tire as the attacks were endless.
"Oh, screw it." Ruby mumbled to herself and she drew herself back, "Cover me!" Ruby said as she folded down her scythe and attached it to her back.
Ruby raised her hands to the sky, which began to darken as storm clouds formed. Thunder and lightning sounded in the sky and hit the ground, catching some of the Grimm while rain threatened the air.
"Ruby, don't!" Glynda shouted as she realised what she was doing.
Ignoring the woman Ruby knew she could end this now, she just had to call forth a little bit more of her power and she could kill the Grimm and end this fight now. Lightning strikes began to hit the Grimm, killing them instantly.
"They're here!" Yang called out, seeing the students coming out of the treeline to their right.
"JNPR. Get them into the transport. RWBY, fall back slowly to the transport." Glynda ordered them all.
JNPR moved forward to the students with Jaune and Ren helping two of the wounded students back to the transport while Pyrrha and Nora covered them and kept the Grimm off them.
As WBY and Glynda were moving back to the transport Weiss went to Ruby and grabbed her, "Ruby, come on we're going." Weiss said, looking scared as she noticed Ruby's eyes.
Her eyes were still silver but inside she could see what looked like fire spreading around her iris' it looked like the silver and fire were fighting within her eyes.
"Get her into the transport! Now!" Glynda cried out, she seemed to be the only one that knew what was going on with Ruby as Weiss grabbed Ruby and pulled her back into the transport.
"Go! Go!" Glynda shouted at the pilot as everyone was inside.
As the aircraft rose up into the air they saw Ruby collapse onto the floor of the Bullhead, cries rose out as they rushed to find out what was wrong with the woman but only Glynda noticed how the storm clouds vanished as quickly as they appeared.
Frowning Glynda knew only a little bit about Ruby through Ironwood and Ozpin, but she didn't understand what had happened just now, it was unlike the others they never collapsed like this after using their powers.
Reaching down she moved the students out of the way as she checked over Ruby, feeling her pulse coming strong she told everyone, "She's alright, she just passed out." Glynda informed them.
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief though Weiss wasn't near them as she had sat down and had a worried and faraway look in her eyes as she starred at Ruby.
'What was that? What was going on with her eyes? Is she alright?' These questions raced through Weiss' mind as she tried to understand what had happened with Ruby and what was going on with her.
She was close with Ruby, when Weiss had made it known she wanted to become a Huntress and began training in secret it was Ruby who found out first and instead of telling their parents like she thought she would, she helped her.
They met in one of the large halls in a disused part of their large home where Ruby would train with Weiss. Teaching her ways to fight and with how to control her Glyphs as well.
Spending months together training until Weiss told her parents what she wanted to do, which they accepted, and Winter began to train her as well with Ruby. The two alternated but when the two went to Atlas they stopped training Weiss as often.
But at the end of their second year it was when Ruby left. She left the school with no word, and she vanished without a word to any of them what she was doing.
One day she had come home from school and she went in the middle of the night with a note just saying sorry.
Now though, seeing Ruby like this. Unconscious of the floor of the Bullhead made her wonder why exactly she left, the family had an idea but not the truth of the matter, and what she had been doing, she never knew Ruby to be like this or her eyes to go like that.
A slight fluttering behind Ruby's eyelids alerted her to the fact that she was waking up as her eyes started to open slowly.
Blake had crouched down next to Ruby, leaning down to speak to Ruby as she slowly woke up and Weiss knew she was in stable hands as she breathed a sigh of relief.
Now she just needed to ask Ruby what the hell had happened out there and what was going on with her eyes.
A/N
I apologise about the delays, I haven't been writing too much lately and I've been really out of it for a while, but here's the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy.