Episode 6:
"The Accidents of Gesture"
The first notion of Hyperion through the windows of the train cart were on the horizon, as buildings Ruby had never seen before took over the landscape. Like mountains, they breached over the hills surrounding the city, dotted with shacks and smaller sub-urban housing, while the city itself sprawled as far as the eye could see, only growing larger and larger. The great buildings of Atlas almost reached twenty two levels on average, with some sitting around forty.
Ruby could not help but gawk, as the train kept going deeper and deeper into the city on a main railway line, with three other railways with their own speeding trains next to theirs.
"Hey, look up." Yang smugly notified her sister, as Ruby spared her a quick look before gazing up to the skies and gasping.
"The airships." Ruby said, breathlessly, as two monolithically giant aircraft floated above the city, alien in design. No, ancient in design. Seemingly needing nothing but their mysterious generators to keep them up, the Airships could maneuver faster and more smoothly than regular Zeppelins or even Airplanes. Next to that, its weaponry used large, ballistic shells and it was entirely made up of the same metal as the Havil Dam- the hardest and most unknown metal known to mankind.
Ruby was giddy. She had never seen such an amazing sight, despite the… Greyness of it all. Streetlights were lit up with dust crystals, rather than electricity or gas, and the whole city's white and grey landscape was illuminated in the setting sun of the evening.
"I see you're enjoying Hyperion, miss Rose." Weiss said curtly, a small smile on her face at seeing the younger girl's antics. Ruby blinked and dropped back into her seat, a small flush of embarrassment on her face.
"Sorry, it's just that I've never been outside of Gaillas… or even Patch." Ruby explained, getting a wry smirk from Yang. Blake ignored the three girls, looking around the cart, ever watchful. Blake, admittedly, creeped Ruby out. She was a nice girl, but she was very overprotective, oftentimes waking up to check up on everyone, something Ruby felt her doing every once in a while during the train ride.
"You will no doubt enjoy it more when we get to the Palace."
What now?
Looking to Yang for help with answers on what Weiss just said, Yang was already getting up and ignoring her helplessly confused little sister. Stammering, Ruby managed to ask: "T-the palace, W-Weiss…?"
"Well, it is where my family lives, after all. You do know that my older sister is married to the Imperator of Atlas, correct?" Weiss asked, as if it were a rhetorical question. Ruby clutched her forehead and tried to not freak out, as she chuckled, nodding. She didn't even have anything good to wear for the Imperator, of all things. Soon enough, the four of them were walking out onto a station of metal and concrete, with painted murals and marble columns and thousands of people clamoring about. Most minded their own business but some stopped to curtsey for Weiss, which Weiss smiled at, but Ruby noticed the strain in said smile.
Yang had put on her sunglasses once more and was on Weiss' left- the right side occupied by the ever-shadowy Blake. Ruby tried to catch up as they were escorted through the streets toward the largest building in the city- a citadel towering over all the other skyscrapers. Ruby gushed, looking at everything around her. It was amazingly beautiful and so, so big.
"Hey, Ruby, come on!" Yang yelled out, and Ruby blinked, noticing she was lagging behind. Ruby yelled back. "Ah, I'm coming, Yang!" she ran past the soldiers who groaned annoyedly at her pushing them away before being stopped what felt like a soft wall.
"Oof!" was the sound of said wall, as Ruby groaned, landing on her butt.
"Oh, for the love of…" that was Yang.
"Oh my, is she alright?" That was Weiss. Damn, her head hurt. As Ruby rubbed her forehead, she looked up to see an extended hand. It was gloved in black and the sleeve of this person was white. Timidly, Ruby took the palm and was raised up.
Shyly, Ruby looked up, before blinking and seeing a new face.
"No worries, Lady Schnee, she seems quite fine to me. Are you, miss…?" Emerald eyes glistened with an interested fire, and orange hair locks fell about the man's face, encompassed under a bowler hat. Ruby was looking him over, and she knew it was wrong, but she was so caught off guard by his appearance that she had to take him in. The man had a cane in his other hand. Neat.
"Erm… Ruby Rose. Who are you?"
Weiss, in the background, seemed to gasp at the coarse question, but the man quickly laughed it off. He turned the helping hand into a handshake.
"Roman Rudolphus Torchwick, Minister of the Duma of the Imperial Throne of Atlas and Party Leader of the Atlan Republicans. I am very pleased to meet the daughter of Summer Rose."
Ruby froze up, blinking with wide eyes. Roman continued to smile, and Ruby could see Yang behind him glare in their direction. Roman then let go of her hand and then took his hat off, turning to Weiss and bowing.
"My Lady Schnee."
"Torchwick. What brings your wayward soul here?"
"I am on my way to the Duma and wished to extend a formal greeting to your travel companions. I've met Xiao-Long's daughter, but not the daughter of Summer Rose. Color me surprised, Lady Schnee, you have quite the legendary package." Roman said, smirking, and Ruby managed to clear her head and stop looking like a fish to concentrate on the conversation between the two. Weiss arched an eyebrow at Roman's words, before looking at Ruby.
"She is an apprentice of my bodyguard, after all. She is welcome to join the court."
"Even hearings of the Duma? Well, of course… The Imperator would be honored to have the daughter of Summer Rose, after all."
Yang had all but looked away and seemed to be wanting to get out of the situation altogether. This confused Ruby, but Ruby stayed quiet, even as Roman turned to her.
"What do you think?"
"What?"
"Well, miss Rose, if you don't mind me noticing, you were quite caught up in the sights. Are you enjoying Maximillian Square?" Roman asked, a mischievous smirk on his lips. Ruby fidgeted about, looking from Weiss, to Roman and the city, 'uhm'-ing all the time, before nodding, her silver eyes filled with fervor, as much as her words were.
"Y-yes! It's quite beautiful, sir."
Roman didn't say anything, and simply put his bowler hat back on, fastening it to his head, before leaning in to whisper. "You won't like the rest of it, Ruby." Ruby froze in both confusion and slight fear, as Roman leaned back and poked his cane against the concrete floor of the train station.
"Come, Neo, the Duma awaits!" Roman waltzed off, followed by a girl shorter than Ruby. Wait, where did she come from? The girl was well dressed, had spectacles on and had locks of brown hair- and a mischievous smile on her lips as both Ruby and Neo stared at each other.
"Hmph." Yang said, breaking the silence afterwards. Weiss sighed. "An eccentric yet intelligent man, after all." her words were morose, and Blake continued to be an ever quiet statuette. Ruby walked up to them and chuckled awkwardly.
"Y-yeah, he was pretty… Interesting. Is he always like this?"
"Oh, quite so." Weiss confirmed, and Yang simply rolled her shoulders. "We should get a move on, Weiss." Yang said, and Weiss nodded, clapping her hands lightly for the soldiers to stand at attention, before their little caravan continued their way up a set of steps higher and higher up into the city, and into the Palace Square, the citadel continuously growing larger as they got nearer.
"I am sure my father has made accommodations to house both you and Ruby," Weiss explained to Yang as Ruby was too busy gawking at everything. Yang nodded silently and sighed, waiting up on her sister.
"Lady Schnee," a man said, walking forth from a set of very, very large doors that were at least the height of four Taiyangs. Ruby looked up and got dizzy, as the great citadel loomed over them. She felt like an ant. "Your father requests that you deposit yourself and your servant in your room and the Lord Schnee requests the good Huntress Yang Xiao-Long to his office."
The portly man said, sparing a glance at Ruby who looked back down to earth. Yang fidgeted awkwardly, but nonetheless didn't complain. But Weiss, however, looked on with a frown, before sighing. "Thank you… Klein. Do you have rooms ready for both Xiao-Long sisters?"
"Both?" Klein asked, looking between Ruby and Yang. Ruby gave him a short wave but he seemed to ignore it, looking back to Weiss. "Well, I… I'm not sure, but-..."
"She can have mine."
All but Weiss were surprised to hear Blake speak, and Ruby swivelled to see her. Their eyes met, and Ruby gave a grateful nod, her own silver eyes shining brightly with thanks. Klein hummed and gave in with a simple nod. "Very well, I'll escort her there."
"Ruby?" Weiss asked, as Ruby was about to walk past them and with Klein. The young girl stood at attention, as if snapping to salute an officer, but soon calmed down at Weiss' small smile. "Welcome to Hyperion." Ruby blinked, before slowly nodding, not knowing what to say to that ro what to even think, as the group of four were separated.
"I have served the Schnee line for two generations," Klein explained as Ruby and the butler walked down long hallways of marble and murals, as well as paintings that made Ruby gawk and stop at times to observe them in detail. "I remember the time when the school of Beacon still stood, and the time when your mother's team were in the service of the Imperator's father, the former Maximillian the Thirty third."
"You knew my mother?" Ruby asked, timidly, and Klein nodded. "She was not someone to forget. Trained in Beacon, the last, true Huntsmen Academy. My, how the days have gone. But I am sure you will live up to her greatness. You at least look like her." Klein said, a kind smile on his lips, somewhat obscured by his walrus moustache.
They continued walking before Klein stopped, and Ruby blinked in amazement. Before them stood one of the tallest men she'd ever seen in her life, his burly musculature emboldened by the amount of… was that power armor? It looked metallic. The man held himself curtly, his tan skin shining slightly, scarred in various places. He had no hair- in its place was a buzzcut. He spoke in a deeply gravelly voice. "Mister Klein, I presume this is Rose?"
"Master Dotzin! A great surprise to see you here! I was taking her to the lady Belladonna's room. What are you doing here, and in your armor?"
"I am about to head off on a mission by Lord General Arc, sir… But I wished to escort Miss Rose the rest of the way. I have a few things to say." Stern, black eyes landed on her, and the gawking Ruby shut her mouth close as if she were a trash can, and stood rock still.
"Of course! Good evening, then, Miss Rose!"
"Thank you, mister Klein!" Ruby called after him, as the butler waltzed off. Gulping down, Ruby looked back up at the titanic man, who then scoffed, smirking.
"You can breathe, little thorn. I'm Yang's former Master." Ruby did, quite literally, start breathing again as the man said that, before he extended his hand. "Riegan Dotzin. Master Hunter in service of the Imperator. You…?"
She took it and slowly shook the hand, smiling shyly. "Ruby Rose. Though you already knew I was a Rose… lemme guess… My mother, huh?" She asked, a tinge of sadness in her voice, and a pit of anxiety forming in her stomach. The man nodded, confirming Ruby's fears, but he spoke quickly.
"Nothing wrong with being a great woman's daughter, Ruby. I hear you have started an apprenticeship under Yang. Well, if Beacon had stood longer than Fireteam STRQ had, then you would no doubt be accepted into it." he smiled warmly, and Ruby could feel a great weight lift off of her shoulders at said fatherly smile. She nodded eagerly.
"Thank you, sir. You're too kind, really… How do you know my mother, anyway?" She timidly asked, stepping into a walk beside the man as Riegan had turned about to lead Ruby to her new room. Riegan hummed. "We had graduated the same year, you see. But I knew her due to me working with Qrow." Ruby perked up, her chest swelling with a sense of hope. She quickly asked: "Do you know where he is?"
Riegan arched an eyebrow, looking down at her. She stammered.
"Well, you see… I haven't seen him for years…"
"Nor have I, sadly. We parted after Auroria. I went into the Frontier, before coming here." he explained, looking back straight ahead, making Ruby's gaze fall down to the floor passing underneath her.
"... I'm sorry if that displeases you."
"No, it's fine, sir. I was just hoping to know where he is."
"You'll find him, some day." his words gave her hope. He had a way of speaking, it seemed, and Ruby enjoyed their conversation so far. With a small smile, Ruby continued.
"How did you come to train Yang?"
"She came to me, in fact. Taiyang, it seemed, had remembered me and sent her to me. She was… hesitant to listen to me, at first. But I taught her well. Though some things are still to be… well, beaten out, you might say." Ruby blinked, confused, and Riegan hummed, trying to think of a way to explain to her, properly.
"She has dents, you see. Like armor. She needs to iron them out, beat them out so that she doesn't have them. Before she came to me, of course, she was like a crumpled up piece of tin. Now, she's becoming a plate of steel…"
And ignoring me, Ruby thought. Yang had, on their way to Hyperion, seemed to be aversive to Ruby, especially after Weiss and Blake entered the picture. Ruby looked away for a moment, before sighing.
"I hope I become great, too."
Riegan stopped, a door beside him, seemingly the place of their destination, but he seemed to have stopped due to her words. Shaking his head, the giant knelt before the young Apprentice and put a large hand on her shoulder, a comforting smile on his lips.
"Despite whatever you may think you -should- do, you have to find your own path. Don't listen to what others think of the legacy of your mother, Ruby. Know this hard truth: you are not your mother." Ruby didn't know how to take that, at first, and was shocked into a frozen state, as Riegan had stood up and opened the door into Blake's room.
"We shall see each other soon. No doubt Atlas will have a need for your skills on the field. Until then, Ruby, good night." The man said, giving her a final nod before stomping off. Ruby was left there, confused and mulling over his words, before timidly walking into the room.
It was too dark to see, but Ruby could see suitcases sprawled across the floor. Servants must have brought them up. Wow, everything was happening so quickly here. Clutching her head, she sighed, sitting down on the bed in the corner and then laying her back down onto it.
She frowned at Riegan's words. What sort of legacy did her mother have? And why wasn't Ruby like her?
After all, Taiyang used to say the opposite.
All the time...
Every single day...