Chapter 59
"Ticket to Anfang. One way, with heavy cargo."
The desk attendant nodded, typing away at his computer. The station was mostly devoid of life, save for herself and this one older gentleman who sat in the waiting room. The ticket machine on the other side of the counter whirred, spitting a decent sized piece of paper out the top.
"One hundred eighty-five lien, ma'am."
Ruby made no movement other than to pull her wallet out of her coat pocket and grab her credit card. The man handed her the card reader, which was much heavier than she was expecting for such a small and otherwise unassuming device. Her card went through without issue and the man with the thick accent behind the counter handed her the ticket and a small slip of a receipt.
"This is for the cargo gate. They will direct you where to park your vehicle. Your seat is in the fifth carriage behind the locomotive. We leave in thirty-one minutes."
"Th-thank you."
"We hope you enjoy your trip."
Ruby sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve and nodded to the man, turning away from the ticket desk. Stepping back outside was not a pleasurable experience in the slightest. The air was frigid and the wind cut through her like a knife. The damp mess of tears that was her face made it worse. It felt like she was frozen solid. The snow had also made its way into her boots, and her feet were both cold and damp and one hundred percent miserable. Her breathing hitched. She reached a hand out to the door handle of her truck. She could see her fingers were shaking, even within the thick gloves she was had found under her seat. They were a few sizes too big and likely Yang's. She'd get them back eventually. Probably.
The door opened without drama this time. Clambering up into the cab, she quickly and carelessly put the key into the ignition slot. Except she had missed. The keys clattered to the floor with a pitched jingle. Ruby frowned at them despondently. A morose, languid feeling permeated her. Did she want to reach down to the damp floor to get her keys? No. Did she anyways? After a single, solitary sob, she reached down and picked up the keys again, making sure they found their way into the ignition slot in the column. She turned the key. The starter whined loudly against the flex plate, turning the leviathan motor lifelessly over a few times without lighting off. Her hand fell from the ignition, and she pressed her forehead to the wheel, screwing her eyes shut painfully.
Why me...
With her head still hammered into the wood circle, she reached up and turned the key again. The engine once again turned over a few times, sputtering. The cold air was doing great things for the old engine, it seemed. She gave a few pumps of the accelerator pedal, trying to coax the old vehicle into life. With a few loud and aggressive wheezes, the huge big-block roared into life.
Useless...
The heavy truck pulled forward fairly seamlessly in the snowy parking lot, around a line of cars illuminated by the aftermarket fog lamps. The heavy engine rumbled quietly as it tugged the mass across the lot, vibrating up into the cabin, through the seat, and up her spine. Ruby shivered. A sign pointed towards the loading area, being to the left at the end of the lot and down a short ramp. Coming to a stop at the bottom after only a brief argument with the anti-lock brake system, she rolled her window down, feeling the window's crank gears grinding slightly. They felt worn out. As did she. A cursory glance down at her receipt showed the gate's six digit code. Zero-two, one-four, nine-two.
"Huh."
Her heart fluttered almost painfully. That number was unreasonably familiar. Placing imaginary slashes between each pair of numbers, the code was very clearly a birthday. She scrunched the receipt up and tossed it into the passenger footwell, clenching her teeth and sticking her left arm out the window. She punched in the code, trying to ignore the obvious connotation the numbers carried, and waited rather impatiently for the gate to open. It took a few too many seconds to process her request, but it did yield and the long, reflective-tape covered arm rose to attention, welcoming her to the cargo loading dock. Down a second little ramp she went, and a man in a high-visibility jacket over his winter coat waved her over. She pulled up, reaching down into the footwell and grabbing the previously discarded paper, coming to a stop next to the cargo handler. She handed him her receipt, which he took a look at while holding the slip of paper up to his face, as if he had forgotten his glasses at home.
"Right, uh. You are in car three. Pull in after the transport truck und give your keys to Sven inside. He will make sure your car is secured."
"Thank you, sir."
"Enjoy your trip, Fraulein. Auf Wiefersehen."
The smile she faked actually hurt. She pulled the truck towards the large train, which had a large sliding panel on the side that was open. Her breathing was ragged as she cranked the old handle back up again. When the truck's front wheels hit the edge of the train, she could feel the carriage rock slightly under the weight of the large Valean vehicle. Another cargo handler stood behind a cargo truck with a ratchet strap in his gloved hand, and a high-visibility jacket on over his coat as well. At least safety was paramount, even at four in the morning. She drove forward. It felt weird to drive her truck on a train, but she followed the gestured instructions of the other cargo handler regardless. She pulled up and stopped, stepping out of the cab. She handed her keys to the man in the yellow vest, who gave her short instructions on how to get back to the passenger compartment in very broken Valean.
Following his directions, Ruby found her way through the train carriages, only briefly halted by a door that seemed to have a wonky latch. The passenger compartment was quite lush. Each passenger had their own little 'pod' with a sliding door closing them off to the outside world. Ruby checked her ticket. Car five, seat seventeen. It was on the right side of the cabin, about halfway down. She slid her bag into the pod first, stripping her coat off her shoulders as she did. Ruby fell into her seat, her head slung low. It hurt.
Everything hurt.
She slid the pod's door shut, closing off the rest of the carriage from her. She was tired. Tilting her head back and wiping her face with her sleeve, Ruby closed her eyes. The distinct rumble of the locomotive powering up coursed through the cabin quietly, shimmying up her spine and into her head.
All you're good for is running away
Her heart hurt most of all, it seemed. Every beat was a painful one. Less like a drum and more like a hammer directly on her sternum.
Wham-Wham.
Pain.
Wham-Wham.
Pain.
Desperately, she wanted to sleep. Get her mind out of the waking world where everything sucked and into the sleeping one, where things only sometimes did. The lights in the cabin dimmed, and she was surrounded by only the dim pink mood-lighting in her pod. Ruby sighed with a sustained sob.
She came. And you left.
Her eyes screwed shut even harder, her teeth clenched. Her left hand fell against the door panel, making a soft thudding sound. It hadn't hurt, no, but it had been enough to make her feel it. She had run away. Violent, searing pain was omnipresent in her body. Not physical pain, mind you.
And why?
Ruby's cheeks were flooded again. The shame of her actions had hit her hard. Running away like a coward. She had just got up and left.
Because you're worthless.
She cried silently as the train shuddered a little underneath her. It had began to move forward. And now, she was on her way back home. Well, less 'home' and more 'house'. The bungalow in Anfang never felt like home. It had always just felt like a place she slept between going to work. The distant sound of the train's raucous air horn made her jump a little. Perhaps she wasn't going to go back to the stupid bungalow, she figured. Aside from the acceleration of the train, there was a definite pressing feeling on her chest. Like a fifty-pound weight holding down on her, pressing into her seat. She lay her head on the wide glass window, content to her sobbing.
Remember Pyrrha?
Oh no. Her heart burned harder. Ruby slumped downward in her seat, clamping one hand over her mouth to stop her quiet sobs from becoming screams. She had been there. Watched it happen. Watched that buxom chest rise and fall for the last time. It had happened so quietly, without occasion. She had been woken from her sleep when the hand she was holding clamped down on hers a little harder. And then, without even opening her eyes, the woman on the bed had slipped away.
And then you left. Is all you're good for is running?
She didn't want to agree with herself. It hurt. She cried. Pyrrha was gone, and there was nothing she could do about it.
You could have saved her. If you were stronger.
That wasn't possible! Strength meant nothing in this case!
But you're weak, aren't you?
Ruby bit down on her hand, screaming quietly into it. Her chest heaved forward, and the train rocked underneath her, now reaching almost it's top speed of six-hundred kilometres per hour. The carriage wheels clickity-clack'd along the rails outside of the well-soundproofed cabin. The noise of the train was mostly drowned out anyways by the ringing.
You could have tried, but you didn't. You could have yelled, but you didn't. You just lay there and took it.
At this, she did cry out. If anyone was trying to sleep around her, they likely were now awake. She bit down harder on her hand, almost to the point of drawing blood. A soft knock on her pod's panel caused her to jump. The thickly-accented voice coming from the other side was a lot sweeter than the one in her head.
"Are you alright, ma'am? You sound distressed."
Ruby gasped for air as she released her hand from her mouth. There were eight distinct teeth marks in it now. One was even bleeding a little. She pulled the panel silently open, seeing a stewardess in a blue pencil skirt and matching cotton jacket standing on the other side. She had a very concerned look on her face.
"Would you like to see und drinks menu?"
She nodded wordlessly, and the woman procured a small laminated pamphlet, placing it in Ruby's hand. She looked at it. Everything was overly fruity and made-up sounding. She pointed to something at the bottom of the menu.
"Whisky, straight."
That was how her uncle took his drinks, too. Or, it had been, before he had quit drinking at Winter's request. The stewardess nodded before retreating to the back of the cabin, a hint of regret at asking visible in her eyes. Ruby knew she didn't exactly look like someone who should be drinking, let alone drinking whisky straight up with no mix. A few moments later, the woman returned with a small chrome tray, with a glass and a bottle of brown liquid perched upon it. She placed the two objects on the tray table that was in front of the seat, taking leave again with another worried look on her face. Inner Ruby scoffed as she pulled the door panel closed again, closing herself off from the world.
On principle, Ruby didn't drink. Her uncle had been a miserable wreck because of it, and she had never wanted to turn out like him. But today was different. She just wanted to be asleep. And if that meant drinking until it happened naturally, so be it. Anyone who judged her could go fuck themselves, for all she cared. She reached forward and grabbed the stopper off the bottle, and poured herself a full glass of the strong-smelling fluid. The bottle clattered back to the tray, as she had let go of it before it had actually touched the table. She brought the glass to her face, giving it a tentative sniff.
Sweet dreams.
She recoiled slightly, a pitiful frown on her face. It smelled like what she imagined death to smell like. Nevertheless, she brought the rim to her lips and tilted the glass up. Immediately everything started burning. The whisky tried to burn through her esophagus, but she fought it down, right to the last drop. Once the glass was empty, she brought it down from her mouth and coughed loudly. Her lungs were searing in pain, as was her mouth and nose. It hadn't hit her yet. She poured another glass.
So you're dealing with the death of your friend the same way your uncle did. Nice move.
Her inner voice needed to be silenced. The second full glass was put down just as hard as the first. Now she was certain her insides were actually burning.
Remember the Dustmas party? You got drunk, and let him do what he wanted to you willingly?
A third glass was sent down to follow the first two. And then a fourth. The world rocked underneath her, and a haze had fallen over everything.
You just... can't stop... gonna...
It was working. The pain was going away, replaced by the agony of the drink flooding her system. She lay her head back, a fifth glass filled in her hand. At even the slightest inclination of resistance, she was going to down it. At this point it was nearly sixteen ounces of whisky in her system. She gave a pitiful smile, closing her eyes. The booze had finally hit her, now. Her vision was fading, and her limbs were going numb.
Remember...Jau-
She finished the fifth glass.
And the world went black.
/.../
The air outside was warm. Ruby sighed, leaning her back against the tree trunk where she had found her partner sitting, doing her homework. The girl in the white skirt smiled as she sank down to the ground.
"Hello, Ruby."
"Hey, Weiss. What's up?"
The other girl turned her textbook towards her. A lot of the page displayed was highlighted in yellow, and there were little notes written in pen in the margins.
"I am studying for the Grimm Studies test we have next week. I would have recommended that you do so as well, but I figure you'll just ignore me and go play with your sister or something."
Ruby shrugged noncommittally. She leaned over and placed her head on Weiss's right shoulder. A hand found her hair and gave it an affectionate ruffle. Ruby giggled very loudly internally. She liked when Weiss was comforting like this for no reason.
"How was work last night?"
She snorted. Ruby hated her job, but it paid decent money for what she needed to afford. Gas, cookies, stuff like that.
"Ugh, I wanted to die. Mister Neilsen had me out all night. Apparently there are two new stores that need delivery now, and they're literally on the opposite sides of town from each other, which adds like two hours to the schedule."
"Mmm hmm..."
Weiss's cheek met the top of her head and rubbed a small circle.
"What, did you miss me, or something?"
"No, I did not miss your annoying bouncing and your overly chipper attitude. And I certainly didn't miss your puppy-like pouting for me to watch movies with me on the couch."
Ruby could feel the girl's smile through the top of her head.
"Did you watch any without me anyways?"
"It wouldn't have been the same without you, Ruby."
Aww, how cute. Ruby giggled, rolling over slightly and putting her right arm over Weiss's stomach.
"So what did you guys do while I was slaving away in the milk van?"
Weiss put her history textbook down and picked up her notebook, flipping through a few pages. She settled on one with the title 'ten-metre class Grimm' scrawled on the top. Weiss slid her right hand over Ruby's, lacing their fingers together and holding her notebook in her left.
"Well, I studied for physics, Blake was reading her smut, and I think Yang was out sparring with Pyrrha at the gym. It was a little lonely without you. The room was too quiet for too long."
Ruby hummed contentedly, letting her eyes drift shut. Today was quite tranquil. All of her worries had been washed away the instant she had caught Weiss doing her homework under this large oak tree. But now, she felt even better.
"Hey, Little Red."
Riiight up until now. Her heart skipped, and she opened one eye. The blond boy stood above the two of them, his black hoodie blocking out the sun. Weiss groaned silently, and spoke first.
"What are you doing here, Jaune? Trying to woo me again? I've told you a thousand times I'm not interested."
He held up a hand to silence her. It very nearly worked, too. Just as she was about to rip off on him for acting so blase, he spoke again.
"I'm not here for you, snow angel. Ruby and I had planned to hang out this afternoon. Right, Ruby?"
She cringed. She could feel Weiss's hand clench down on hers.
"I think Ruby's had a change of heart. She promised to help me stud-"
"Let's go, Ruby."
The way his words pierced her made her jump. Ruby wiggled her hand out from Weiss's grip, who let go very reluctantly. She stood up, taking as much time as she could getting to her feet. The look in Weiss's eyes was almost fearful. Ruby tried not to look afraid herself, choosing to adopt a fake smile instead.
"Sorry, Weiss. But I did promise him we would hang out today. Sorry. We can hang out tonight, though!"
"O-okay..."
Ruby turned away, looking back at the still-seated Weiss. She looked so despondent. Jaune's hand found her lower back, pushing her forward from his position at her side. To an outsider, it would have looked like he was simply guiding her away. But it had felt like he was forcing her more than usual. She looked at him from the corner of her eye. His face was more focused than usual. More strained.
"C'mon. This way."
That was how he always talked to her. Direct. Forcefully. They approached the science building, and he pushed the door open, holding it for her and guiding her inside. This building was deserted today, as there were never science classes on Thursdays. The lights were all at half-brightness, and the fans spun slowly on the high ceiling of the lobby. He guided her along one of the long hallways, into a darker corner.
"Now..."
His hand gripped her skinny upper arm, twisting her around and pressing her back to the wall. She shuddered and looked down at his chest, not wanting to make eye contact. Not that it mattered, as his other hand gripped her chin and forced her to look up at him.
"Want to explain that little display with your partner back there?"
Ruby didn't reply. She didn't look at his eyes, focusing on his cheek instead. His eyes burned into her.
"You know a good girl doesn't cheat on her boyfriend, Ruby. I am very disappointed..."
His voice trailed off, and he leaned in. Ruby closed her eyes, but not for her own enjoyment. Just so she wouldn't have to see it happening. The warmth that now enveloped her lips was very unpleasant. As always, she tried to picture something better than what was happening. Like that one time in Sun's room when she had kissed Blake. To her, right now, she was kissing the faunus girl who lived in the top bunk on the other side of their room. Blake was an aggressive kisser today. And a lot more... angry with her tongue. Fake-Blake's hand slid up her shirt and grabbed wantonly at her right breast, pressing her harder against the wall.
The course brickwork was rough against her back. Her legs quivered, as if they wanted to collapse and make her fall to the floor. But that would make him angry, probably. She didn't want him to be angry. Then he would have gotten scary. The front clasp on her bra snapped open, and her chest heaved only slightly forward. She felt shamed. Her breasts were not all that big, and he always complained. And now they were getting sore from his aggregations.
And she stood there and let it happen. It was better than the alternative, anyways. Perhaps if she let him get handsy, he wouldn't actually go any further again. His calloused, rough hands tugged at her chest, twisting onto the little pink nub on the peak of her boob. It hurt. He was being too rough.
But then, as quickly as he had started, his hands pulled away from her, and he stepped back, pulling her shirt down. She stayed against the wall, confused.
"...So as I was saying there are certainly advantages to using shorter weapons, like a sword over a scythe."
Two figures came around the corner, a little hurriedly. She looked to him, and his expression was quite angry. As if he was demanding her to back him up. She complied, but she couldn't figure out why she did.
"Yeah, s-sure I gues-"
"There you are, Jaune. I've been looking all over."
Ruby looked at the two new members. It was Pyrrha and Blake! Wait, how had they found them?
"H-hey, Pyr. What are you guys doing here?"
Oh no. He sounded upset by their intrusion. Didn't they know it was a bad idea to make him angry?
"Jaune, you promised to train with me tonight, and you were late. So I employed the help of Blake to find you. You do remember that I dislike when you are late, correct?"
Blake strode silently over to her, placing her body between her and Jaune. Her hand came up to her face, stroking her cheek. The look in Blake's face was frightened, almost apologetic. She could hear the anger in his voice, even from behind the shield of Blake's long black overcoat and her curtains of hair.
"Look, Ruby and I were busy. Could the two of you please excuse us?"
"Actually I think you should come and train with me, Jaune."
Pyrrha grabbed him by the arm, the cheery expression on her face hiding what felt like genuine loathing. She tried to shrug her off.
"Pyrrha, I was busy, let go-"
"You. Will. Come. With. Me."
She started pulling him away with force. She was taller and clearly stronger than he was, so pulling him away was no problem for her. The instant they were out of sight, Blake put her arms around Ruby and squeezed her into her bosom. Her whispered voice was reassuring.
"You left Weiss, and she was upset with you. She called me to collect you for her. Frankly, I don't like being her errand boy, but I can always make exceptions when it matters most to her."
Weiss had... asked Blake to come and get her? That was certainly unexpected. Being rescued like this felt bittersweet. She was grateful, sure, but she knew that next time around he would remember this intrusion and probably be even more forceful.
Blake guided her slowly away from the science building. The air outside had lost its warmth.
/.../
A date? Had he just... asked her on a date?
"I uh... I mean..."
He waved his hand dismissively, if a bit nervously.
"Hey, it's no big deal if you say no. It was just a suggestion. N-not like..."
She felt the red fill her cheeks, and a silly smile fell to her face. A date with Jaune? Gee, it was awful sweet of him to offer. She tried not to fidget nervously. But she did anyways.
"I mean, what would Yang say? She might be mad if she caught you asking me..."
He scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly.
"W-well it's just a date, Ruby. I'm not asking you to marry me or anything."
She shivered and smiled. This much was true.
"I guess so, eh? I-I mean, where would we be going?"
He pulled out his scroll, opening it and showing her a short list of some things he had clearly compiled that might interest her. Walk through town, go shopping, go see a movie. Maybe that last one?
"What movie were you gonna take me to?"
She handed him back his phone, and he quickly pocketed it.
"Well, Pyrrha suggested that I might like the new Trek Wars movie. I dunno if you would want to see that too?"
Ruby smiled, and turned a little on her left foot. She remembered how much she liked the first six of them. Well, the first three. The sequel trilogy hadn't been that great.
"I think that sounds goo- wait, Pyrrha suggested it?"
That was odd. His change of expression was also odd.
"Yeah, she wanted to take me the other day, but we had a test in the morning. Wasn't the best idea. Wait, do you have anything in the morning?"
No, she didn't actually. She shook her head. But why did she feel a little guilty?
"Nope! Guess you're taking me on a date, then?"
His smile made her blush. Like, uncontrollably. Her crush had literally asked her out, and she had just accepted. Her heart fluttered. What did dates even entail? Gosh, what was it that Yang had said? 'Make him buy you stuff so you can worry about being the hottest girl in the room?' Well, that didn't seem very fair. But hey, if it meant she got to go to a movie with her crush, then she guessed she could be alright with it.
"Well alright then. I'll see you tonight."
"Of course!"
/.../
He was back.
This was the thirty-fifth occurrence.
And she knew it would be the same.
"Hey, Little Red."
That stupid pet name. She hated it so much. It made her deflate like a stuck balloon. All gone, all at once. The instant his fingers touched her cheek, she felt it. Everything was gone. All the hope, all the feeling, and all her willing. It was happening, and she couldn't do anything about it. She was physically and mentally done. Her face didn't drop, however. She had learned to hideher depression and dejection from him. She didn't like when he yelled.
"So, listen..."
Her worried expression inside faltered. His voice sounded... apologetic? She flinched as his hand retracted from her face. Her finger played nervously on a loose piece of string that stuck out of the hem of her shirt.
"We can't see each other anymore. It's just not working out."
Her heart did a full flip, careening around her chest like a bowling ball in a washing machine. Her face twitched.
"Wh-what do you mean?"
He shook his head, his pitiful smile very much forced.
"We just don't work together. I'm leaving."
This was... unexpected. But not unwanted. So why did she feel... sad? Her chest was hurting, like someone had run her through with a knife. No, a sword. Actually, a flaming sword. She felt...
...ashamed.
What had she done? Had she made him upset? Was this her fault? No, certainly not. He was the bad guy, remember? But he didn't like being the bad guy. So it had to be her fault. She tried to review the last thirty-four times. She had let him do what he wanted. So why did he want to leave? Was she not enough? Had she not done enough? The hurting returned.
"Wh... I don't unde-"
"No, Red. It can't be anymore."
There was a distinct lack of any apology. It was just 'here one day, gone the next' sort of end. Except in person. Her lungs burned.
"But...why?"
He shook his head again, saying nothing more. He turned away from her bedroom door, and walked back down the hall. With that, he was gone. His footsteps echoed down the hardwood hallway. Like a deep booming in her head, it was deafening.
"I..."
Her voice was quiet, and restrained cries. But she had no reason to cry, right? The... bad stuff would be over now, right? But now... there was no one.
What a pitiful statement.
But there really was. He had been... well, no he hadn't been there for her. But he was her... again, no he wasn't anything meaningful to her. He had abused her? No, because abuse implied she had not wanted it, right?
Hadn't he been her crush?
But he'd crushed her!
It wasn't enough. Her heart burned, and as she watched him walk away, she felt...
...lonely.
/.../
The ruins surrounded her. Everything was on fire. The concrete everywhere had collapsed. Her lungs, filled with smoke, burned like a wild fire. She shouldered the heavy sniper rifle again, working the bolt and chambering another round. The view down the short-distance scope showed another small pack of Ursas surrounding a group of civilians. They looked afraid.
Crescent Rose shunted into her shoulder like a sledgehammer as the first round in the magazine found purchase in the head of one of the leading Ursa. It exploded like a fire cracker in a black tomato, raining on its allies. Her right hand shot up to the bolt, working the second round into the firing chamber. The second shot was just as violent as the first. She yanked back on the bolt handle. It jammed half way open. Taking her sight away from the few remaining Ursa, she brought the rifle down, fighting the dirty and broken weapon with both hands.
"Come on, you piece of shit..."
The errant shell came free, springing into the retaining wall she was standing next to with a ping of spent brass. The third round popped up along the follower, rocketing forward as she released the bolt handle and letting the slide move forward. She reshouldered the weapon, focusing back on the group.
She almost threw up.
"Oh my god..."
There were body parts everywhere. Only the three remaining Ursai were left in the clearing. Her hands shook so bad she couldn't bring herself to pull the trigger. All she could see was the places people used to be. Blood stained the ground. She took a step backward, her heart trying to beat itself right out of her chest. Her body ached, and she very briefly lowered the weapon to take a short, sharp breath. She shouldered the weapon again, placing her cracked crosshairs on the tallest of the three remaining Ursai. She pulled the trigger.
Her shaking hands had made her miss, and the cobblestone ground exploded into a hail of gravel as the huge round impacted only a few centimetres shy of the Ursa's head. It turned, baring its teeth. Something was caught between its huge incisors. Her heart stopped.
A very small leg, wearing a very small shoe.
...
...
...
Nope.
This was not acceptable.
She could feel it.
It was pain.
She could see the shine in her scope, reflecting the glow of her eyes. It was happening again. She could feel her semblance rising to the surface, like a flame licking around her bones. Her hands shook, but she remained strong, flipping her sniper around, facing it behind her. Her breathing was ragged, and angry. It was painful. She took two angry, forceful steps forward, stepping up onto a broken piece of rubble. The Ursa roared up at her from the clearing below. Her eyes burned, a brilliant white light shining from them. Not even taking a moment to think about her strategy, her tact, or anything like that...
Ruby charged forward.
The wind whipped around her, whipping her cape behind her in a flurry of rose petals. The weapon fired loudly, the recoil propelling her even faster toward her prey. The tunnel vision had closed in around her eyes, making the central beast the most prominent in her vision. Not much further now. Fifty meters. Twenty-five meters. One meter.
Using her blinding reflexes, she hit the release lever on her rifle. The heavy rotary springs clicked open with immediate and violent force, opening the sniper's huge scythe blade and locking it into place. Not even a millisecond later, the blade hooked itself around the beast's chest. Her onslaught of speed was stopped as quickly as it had started, her legs in a wide stance, and her cape billowing around her with a flurry of rose petals.
She pulled the trigger. The rifle's incredible recoil drove the large curved blade through the beast's torso, cleaving the large animal in two. Its roar became a scream, and was so very suddenly silenced. The air fell silent for a few moments as the large corpse hit the ground. It was eerie, as the only sound was the breathing of the other two Ursai that stood no more than ten metres away. She looked through her bangs at them, her head turned over her left shoulder. The closer one seemed to be hesitant. But the momentary pause lasted no longer, and the closer animal roared and went to jump forward.
Ruby didn't let it even begin to move.
She dashed towards it, spinning the large weapon around herself and landed a ragged slash into the huge bear's stomach. It screamed in agony, taking a few painful steps backwards on its hind legs, before falling onto its back. Black, pungent syrup flowed out of the wound and onto the ground. She realized that her jaw hurt from clenching her teeth as she turned to face the remaining animal. It roared at her, its glowing red eyes burning into hers. She sprung forward, firing the rifle backwards and closing the distance in a microsecond. She stopped a foot short, staring up into the animal's eyes. With one mighty, gargantuan swing, the business end of the scythe found a new home in the side of the beast's head.
She growled at the animal, which had just breathed its last. She could see the stained steel of her blade inside the skull through the beast's eye socket. The black liquid poured out the animal's mouth and eyes, and quite a lot of it poured out onto her boots. It smelled. Like suffering. She pulled the trigger again, and freed the weapon from her target via the face, taking the white armoured face plate with it. The huge beast slumped forward onto the ground.
A silence filled the air for a second time. The sounds of a distant truck moving quickly through the courtyards momentarily distracted her. She could hear the ragged breathing of the largest Ursa. She glanced over. It was still alive. Just. Its body was nearly cleaved in two, with an obtuse amount of blood flooding the ground. It looked like it was in pain.
Pitiful.
Ruby stomped over, letting the blood splash around her boots. The animal made a whine, looking like it was making one last feverish attempt to swipe at her, despite not having much in the way of life left. She placed her one of her steel toe boots upon the head of the animal, pressing down and forcing the head to one side. The barrel of her sniper comfortably sat against the beast's temple. She sniffed, wiping her face on the sleeve of her uniform. She looked down at it for a moment. Lucky for her, the Ursa was far too injured to ever regenerate. Her sleeves were torn, and her watch's face was smashed. She frowned. The Scroll SmartWatch was an expensive investment, and now it was damaged. It still showed she had missed two calls. From Weiss. The edges of her mouth curled upward only a tiny bit.
"Huh."
She pulled the trigger. The gun bounced upwards in her grip, the empty shell casing pinging off one of the beast's now exposed ribs. It was dead. Finally. The air in the clearing was dirty and smoke-filled. It was only now that she realized she was standing in a levelled house. One of the housing complexes that littered the campus. It was the Alpha house. Where the exchange students lived for the festival. The tears had long since started falling, and they were now a constant stream. Her breathing hitched as something howled at the sky in the distance.
Tonight, the howling would stop.
Tonight, redemption.
/.../
The sound of the rain on her umbrella was much too loud. She didn't like loud. And the mud in her boots was soggy and wet. She didn't like soggy. Or wet!
"Daddy, I don't want to be here anymore."
His hand clutched hers a little stronger.
"Me neither, kiddo. Me neither."
Was he crying? His voice sounded sad. Why was her daddy sad? She looked over her sister, who was trying to hide under her very own umbrella. Her long blond hair was all tied up today. In a black ribbon. That wasn't right. Yang didn't like black. She looked like she was gripping her umbrella too tight. Silly Yang. Rainy days were for being carefree, not angry! Someone started talking to everyone in the crowd.
"And it is in passing of the seasons that we remember them most. As winter turns to spring, we remember how we enjoyed the snow and the warmth of the fireplace..."
That was an odd way of putting it. She shivered in the cold, trying to move closer to her dad. His large, farmer hand dropped onto her shoulder, pulling her against his leg.
"...and as spring becomes summer, we remember the joys of watching the flowers bloom, and playing outside in the cool air. Our crops, growing from mere seeds, and the new friends we made..."
Her dad sniffled, loudly. She looked around, still clutching her umbrella. There were a lot of people here. Why was Uncle Qrow crying? And who was that man in the army outfit?
"...Yet it is as Summer turns to fall that we remember the happiest of memories. The freshly baked cookies at the market. The trips to the beach with family. The beautiful way the sun shone down on us all..."
That reminded her of mommy! She tugged at her dad's pant leg. The unusually coarse black pants were not something he normally wore, she thought to herself. Anyways.
"Daddy, where's mommy? Why isn't she here?"
He didn't say anything. He just stood there, looking straight ahead. She wiggled her boots in the mud, making little divots. His grip on her shoulder increased, and he brought his hand to his mouth, covering it with the sleeve of his coat. Daddy never wore a black coat like this before. It was like a suit, almost! Come to think of it, she never really asked why she was wearing this black dress, anyways. She didn't like it very much. Oh well. At least she got to wear her favourite boots.
"Daddy, can we go find mommy? I wanna go play with mommy!"
"Not now, Ruby. Not...now."
His voice sounded like it was hurting. Maybe Yang?
"Yaaang, can we go play?"
Her head fell onto her chest. She looked down to her feet. It looked like she was in pain. Was Yang hurting too? Why was everybody so sad? Didn't mommy once say rain was to be celebrated? Because it was good for crops? The man at the front talked again.
"We remember the Summer because it was pure. Because it brought us joy. Summer was the best of us. The strongest, and the bravest. And now we mourn the passing. Be not sad for the loss. Be grateful for the time you had."
Her dad shuddered next to her. He seemed very upset. Why? Ruby wanted to know. Maybe mommy could help him not feel so upset. Yes, of course! Mommy's hugs were the best way to feel better. She tugged at him again.
"Daddy, I wanna go home to mommy."
He sank to his knees and hugged her. A warm, cuddly hug. Like mommy's, only this hug felt sadder. She could hear him crying? Why was he crying? All he had to do was go hug mommy!
"Me too, Ruby. M-me too..."
His voice sounded broken. So sad. She placed her short arms around his chest. Which was shaking. Oh no. She didn't like that. The rain was coming down around the edges of her dad's black umbrella. She could see over his shoulder. A large, brown box was sitting on a big green carpet. The rain was soaking the carpet. Someone had placed a bunch of flowers on top of the box. They were all roses. Red ones. That was mommy's favourite flower! Except she always put them in a vase. Flowers belonged in vases.
"I'm so sorry, honey."
Daddy's voice was broken, she noticed. He laughed at something. Ruby didn't know what. Maybe he was remembering a joke. Except the laugh didn't sound happy.
"I'll take care of them. I promise..."
He was whispering very quietly in her ear. But clearly not to her. She could see the box getting shorter. No, it was being lowered down into the ground. That explained it. Nobody else seemed to be looking at the box as it went down. Everyone seemed to not want to. Uncle Qrow was looking away on purpose. So was the man in the army outfit. He had a weird patch on his forehead. They both mouthed something, and the army man saluted the box. It went below the ground.
"Goodbye...Summer."
Daddy's body was shaking. He turned, putting his knee into the mud. His pants were now dirty. Maybe that meant it would be laundry day when they got home. Maybe mommy would carry her around in the basket again! That was so much fun! Then she would get cookies! But daddy didn't seem in any hurry to go home. He looked into her eyes. His face was all wet and his eyes were red.
"Ruby, sweetheart, can you promise to be strong for me?"
She didn't know what he was talking about. But daddy asked her, so she might as well say yes.
"Okay, daddy. Can we go play with mommy now?"
He nodded.
"Can you be strong for mommy, too?"
She smiled brightly. Of course!
"Yes, daddy. Where's mommy?"
He just hugged her. Warmly. Yang joined them, too. Daddy and her were still crying. It almost made her cry, too. But what did she have to be upset about? Once they got home, they would just find mommy and play! R-right?
"Daddy? Whe-"
"I love you, sweetie. I'm sorry."
/.../
Kayaba Forest.
The embossed letters on the front of the dossier felt uncomfortable in her fingers. The Bullhead shuddered, rocking on a patch of turbulent air. Her shoulder brushed against the soldier on the adjacent seat. He made no comment or movement. For the probably eightieth time since it she had been handed the manila folder, she opened it.
Kayaba:
Extraction of Civilians, quelling Grimm forces, protect supply route.
Est. Time: two weeks
Below this was the map she had memorized by now. A simple overhead of the small town of Prion. The single road to and from the town had been overrun for the last half a year. So few huntsmen lived this far out in the country, and they had become overwhelmed, requiring the military to step in. Her elite squad would be there to act as scouts and provide cover for the new supply routes into the town. The convoy of army trucks would be waiting at the rendezvous point for them. They would resupply there. She closed the dossier. Her heart ached. This was the same mission her mother had taken, some eighteen years ago.
Her last one.
She wanted to turn around. The pilot would be required to comply, as she was his superior officer. She looked over at Cardin, who was checking his rifle. Well, he was her commanding officer, and if she said anything, he would probably veto that decision. She tucked the folder under her seat, letting it be. She didn't need to cry today. She had done enough of that last week, when she had received the stupid folder. She looked at her crew, simply as a distraction.
Nora sat directly across from her, with her huge grenade launcher placed across her lap. Contrary to her usual bouncy and unhinged attitude, she was quietly reading a book. Something hardcover, who's dust jacket had fallen off a long time ago, judging by the condition of the cover itself. She was uncharacteristically quiet, and it was kinda weird. Even Ren looked more lively than her. He was fiddling with one of his pistols, fighting the heavy calibre rounds into the magazine. He was humming to himself, something vaguely Vacuan-sounding. Cardin had the military-issue assault rifle in many pieces on his lap, and he was seemingly trying to oil the racking slide. They always jammed up on them, anyways. Some army budget they had.
She looked out the window. Nothing. Just fog covered the ground, some fifteen thousand feet below. She winced. Fighting in fog was never safe. Most Grimm had some form of rudimentary thermal vision, which would let them stalk prey more effectively in the very limited visibility that blanketed the forest. Why was it that the freaking Grimm had evolved more effective ways of killing. It was not very fair. The ship rocked again, the huge jet turbines revving up as the pilot pivoted them to face downwards. The red warning light started flashing in the cargo hold, along with the door-open siren. Ruby's stomach lurched as the Bullhead came to a stop in the air.
"Alright, buddy up. We don't want you landing alone in the fog."
Cardin's voice was booming over the sound of the huge turbines. Ruby stood up, grabbing her rifle from the rack above her head. She hated this stupid assault rifle. The barrel was too short, the sight was non-magnifying, and there was no recoil-compensation. At least she had been allowed to paint it red.
The harsh, frozen air of the altitude they were at rushed into the cabin as the port-side door slid loudly open. Ruby shivered, even if her heavy combat gear was fairly well insulated. She stood next to Cardin. He was always her chute-buddy anyways. One final time, she checked the straps on her parachute, tugging them just that last tiny bit tighter. She pulled her goggles down off her hair, shielding her eyes from the cold, and pulled up her scarf over her mouth.
"See you down at the rendezvous. Enjoy the jump! Go! Go! Go!"
The soldiers jumped from the side of the ship two-by-two. The last two out the door before herself and Cardin were Ren and Nora, who had elected to leave the plane while holding hands. Good on them, eh? It must be nice to have found someone to love in such a torrid workplace. Not that they weren't together before. She just found the sentiment of jumping out of a plane together-together kind of heartwarming. Actually, it seemed like a reasonable tactic to not lose your chute-buddy. Cardin seemed to have come to the same conclusion, as he had his gloved hand extended to her. She took it. Why not?
"You ready, Agent Red?"
She nodded.
"Alright. Let's make history!"
With his usual commanding, yet reassuring voice, she did indeed feel better. They both stepped out of the ship. Ruby's stomach immediately tried to launch itself into her mouth. She always hated the first bit of the drop. The part before your body caught up with your head. The wind whipped around her hair and body, making her thick pants and jacket flap wildly around her muscular frame. The air was cold. Her rifle was tight against her chest, bouncing around from the immense airflow. She tried to keep hold of Cardin's wrist so she didn't float away. Down below her, she could see the other soldiers falling together, with a few feet between them.
She checked her altimeter on her wrist. They were rapidly approaching minimum height. Only a few seconds more. Her free hand found the pull strap. She could see her jump partner do the same. He raised his fingers, giving a visual countdown.
Three.
Two.
One.
They pulled together. Ruby felt the pilot chute extend, holding for a second. She knew that it would be about ten seconds before the main chutes would extend and halt their falls. She felt the pack open. She braced for the huge pull on her chest and shoulders...
...There was a snap.
She was very suddenly yanked to one side, Cardin's hand being wrenched from hers. She shot her gaze upwards, screaming out into the night. The left-side cable had snapped, and had tangled itself around the other. Her chute was only half-open. She looked back to where Cardin had been. He was now just a speck of an olive-green sheet in the distance.
"Oh fuck! Oh shit, oh fuck, oh shit!"
She was falling with unrelenting force. Try as she might she couldn't get the right-side quick-release to come undone, and her knife was too far to reach in this semi-hanged position she was falling in. Her backup chute would just become as tangled as the primary if she released it now. She kept fighting with the stupid, awful, deadly release on the cable for a few moments more. A few moments too long, she soon found out.
The canopy of trees hit her boots like a bomb going off. Her legs screamed, and she almost did as well. The branches were like barbed wire on the small bits of exposed skin she had on her neck and face, giving her what felt like a thousand tiny cuts. As awful as it was, she was glad she had her-
-and then the chute caught a branch and brought her to a grinding and horrifically painful halt. The pain from the tree? Like a soft cotton blanket compared to this. Nothing compared to this sudden stop. All of her internal organs threatened to become external organs via her feet. The heat in her head surged as the blood returned northward. Her heart thudded painfully in her chest. Like a hammer. Made of pain.
Gingerly, she looked around. Suspended some fifty feet above the ground, surrounded by dense trees and fog, and the cries of distant Grimm. Her hand came almost automatically to the release pin on the remaining cable that she was hung from. She yanked one more time. Funny, it came out much easier this time. The second fall of the day was much shorter than the first, but it still made her want to throw up. She hit the ground, rolling over her right shoulder into a half-kneel. Her rifle came up to her left shoulder, prepped to fire.
There was an unnerving silence in the forest. She looked around. It was just trees. And fog. She was well and truly alone. So why did she feel so weird? Maybe the others had landed as well. Her right hand fell from the gun's foregrip and onto her hip where her radio lay. She unclipped it and brought it to her face, squeezing the button with her thumb.
"Red to Squad Leader, co-"
She stopped mid sentence. She held the small device away from her face for a moment. It seemed...compressed. Her face twisted, and she gave a pitiful laugh. It was broken. The battery was hanging out of the bottom, and the plastic case was mangled beyond recognition. Well this was just shitty. She tossed the broken radio off to the side dejectedly.
"I hate this job."
She moved forward, slinging her rifle under her arm on the long carry strap. The ground was mushy under her boots, and the lush forest grass was wet with dew. It was soaking the cuffs of her uniform pants. Pulling out her scroll, which was very luckily not damaged, she checked her heading. North, forty degrees east. That was where the village was supposed to be. Even if she was probably a few kilometres off of the landing site, finding the village wouldn't be too hard.
The undergrowth was thick, prickly, and sneeze-inducing. Fifty kilos of pollen forced its way directly into her nose with every step she took, it felt like. She sniffed, wiping her almost running nose on her sleeve. Something cracked a few yards away, making her pause. It sounded like a stick breaking. Under a foot. A heavy one. As slowly as she could, she took her nose off her sleeve and raised the butt of her gun up to her left shoulder. Her right hand dropped slowly to the foregrip.
The waiting game began. The air was quiet. Unable to see through the fog, Ruby braced herself on her feet, prepared to snap to any direction that the adversary decided to spring from. Grimm may have been brainless, but they weren't stupid. They new not to attack from the front, as that's the direction the bullets came from. They knew also not to attack from the rear, as their 'prey' usually could run away faster than they could catch up. So it would have to be from the sides. She waited. Her rifle was armed. Her muscles, compressed like wound springs.
Her breath held. A low growl came from her right side. As much as she wanted to pounce and start firing, she knew it was a ploy. Beowolves hunted in packs. She stayed like this for a moment. She'd have to wait them out. Time felt like it had slowed down to an almost agonizing stop. She counted each heartbeat as it tried to hammer her ribcage into dust.
"Come on, you fucking-"
There was a roar, and the brush crashed from her left. Her eyes flicked over, but she remained poised. Don't move until you can see the reds of their eyes. The crash of brush to her right was louder. Her eyes flicked over. All she could see was the red glow of the animal's two horrid, huge eyes. Her body twitched towards it, rifle raised. There was no sound. Only the feeling of the weapon bouncing into her shoulder six consecutive times. The huge animal's mouth, which had been open in a roar, fell shut as its lungs filled with blood. The animal hit the ground with an inaudible thud. Knowing the second attack was coming from behind, she sprung backwards, making a one-handed flip and positioning herself the opposite direction. Beowolf number two leaped from its hiding spot behind a large shrubbery. Ruby pulled the trigger again.
For what it was worth, the AWS assault-class rifles were very good at bringing down large prey in few shots. The heavy five-fifty-six sized cartridges were adequate, she found, in taking large things and turning them into many smaller things. Even if she preferred the huge thirteen millimetre armour-piercing rounds used in her beloved Crescent Rose. The smaller rounds still packed a hell of a punch, however. The leaping beowolf was very swiftly silenced, its glowing red eyes fading to black before it even hit the ground. Ruby cartwheeled to the right, out of the way of the dead beast as it landed and slid to a gruesome-sounding stop next to its comrade. After a beat, she exhaled.
"Okay, that was good."
Striking the mag release on her rifle, she dropped the empty steel sleeve into one of her many pockets that lined her combat pants. Now, the next one, She fiddled with one of the velcro straps that held another magazine. It just refused to come free. The sound of another twig snapping alerted her.
She turned her eyes to the right.
Searing, blinding pain rushed through her stomach, covering her body like a flaming blanket. She screamed. Her legs failed. She fell to her knees. The flames penetrated her being.
Everything.
Agony.
On reflex, her body turned to face the side of danger. A massive Grimm with gigantic teeth was stood not more than eight inches from her face. Its arm came down on her. She tried to brace, but the pain was too much. She couldn't move her arms. Her body flung backwards from the impact, colliding with a tree. As if a switch had been thrown, her vision went red, cloudy, and angered. The beast bore down on her, teeth bared. She reached for her sidearm, carefully tucked into its holster on her belt. The clasp came undone with zero resistance, the only thing that had all day. But before she could raise it up, she felt it again.
The searing, horrible pain in her stomach. Four, distinct spikes. Two up from the top, and two up from the bottom. Her left index finger squeezed down on the little metal trigger, completely out of her control as her body was overtaken by the feeling. All ten of the NF-Seven-Five's rounds fired blindly and reflexively off to the side. None had hit their mark. She clenched her teeth down, trying to remain conscious. It wasn't working.
"N-no..."
Ruby didn't know she even had nerve endings on the inside of her body. Unfortunately, she was now acutely aware, and the feeling of the four serrated blades actually inside her made her want to vomit. So she did. Blood filled her mouth, choking off her lungs and silencing her screams. Her eyes shot open, to see the two huge red spotlights that were looking deep into her right now. She had very little time left.
She was going to die.
Her vision fading, her mind kicked itself into overdrive. She thought of how disappointed her father would be, how hard he'd cry at losing his baby girl. Not to mention it was the same way he lost his wife. Same stupid, stupid mission. Stupid Kayaba Forest.
Yang was next. No, not Yang. She had lost enough. The arm, her mother, Summer. She would be so incredibly destroyed. Would she do it? Would Yang be so devastated that she would take herself, too? That wasn't a thought Ruby wanted to have as her last.
Blake was next. She had just gotten promoted on the VPD. Her relationship with Sun was ever stronger. They had just signed a lease on a place together last week. Everything was going well for the faunus. The death of her friend might be too much. She had seen Blake fall into a pretty serious funk when her grandmother had died a few years ago. But the loss of a loved one who was so close? No, it wasn't fair to her.
But what about Weiss?
The woman who had been by her side, ceaselessly, lovingly, and for all the times she needed to be? What about her? She would be hurt. Insulted. Broken. Weiss had been there for her, every nightmare, every 'encounter', every birthday even! Weiss had been the only shining, white-haired, beautiful constant in her dark and miserable life. And to dash it all away just like that? No. It wasn't going to happen. She had to see her Weiss just one more time. She couldn't go today.
Her right leg wasn't in the beast's mouth. It was free. She braced her left hand against the large beast's nose. Her leg flexed, bringing her boot closer. She could feel the animal raise its head, clamping down on her body even harder. Her vision was completely gone now, replaced by a slowly-darkening red blur. Her body wasn't screaming at her anymore. It was cold. And calm. The bloodied boot on her free foot was slick. The very end of her feelings were coming. Her eyes were lidded, trying to close down and rob her of the sliver of sight she still had. Her lungs, filled with blood, were useless. She felt it. The handle. Stuck in the side of her thick combat boot. Her tired fingers worked carefully on the edge. Funny. She never pictured dying while trying to reach for a knife. In one last dying effort, she lifted her leg, tilting her boot up. The knife slipped out.
Right into her hand.
This was it. Her last chance.
"W-Wei...eiss..."
The knife spun in her hand, into a tactical grip.
"I-I'm...m... co-oming...h...ho...home."
She plunged the knife with all her might into the beast's left eye. There was a roar. The teeth retracted from her body. Her heavy heart gave one last, pitiful thud.
She was falling again.
But she was free.
She found herself...smiling.
Something heavy thudded into her back.
The world went white.