Chapter 8: Identity
Arriving home, Drei flung himself at Ruby and the girl had little hope of defending herself against eighty pounds of pure muscle and raw canine affection.
"Drei!" Ruby screeched, throwing her arms up and windmilling them about as Drei reared up and knocked her flat on her back, covering her face and arms in doggy kisses. She giggled, rubbing his fur and wrapping her arms around him in happiness that Drei shared with her. "I'm fine! I'm alright boy!" She called, trying to shove his snout away. He paused for a moment, regarding her with stern looking golden eyes. Ruby sighed and rolled her eyes "I know, I'm not going to let myself be captured again." She told him. Drei sighed and laid down across Ruby, effectively pinning her to the ground. "Hey! Get — off!" She huffed and pushed him off of her, springing to her feet before the doberman could recover.
"Now with that out of the way," She dusted herself off and gave a sideways glare the canine's way. He stared back no trace of remorse to be found in his gold eyes. "Roman, Neo... We have an issue on our hands." She turned to her companions. "Evergreen saw my face, I bet they have video footage of it." Ruby felt guilt burn in her chest.
"It happens to the best of us, Red." Roman put a hand on her shoulder. "We just have to lay low for a little bit until this shit calms down."
Ruby looked at her feet and gently kicked at the ground with a boot. "But... they'll cover this on the news. Yang will find out." She told them.
Roman sucked in a breath through his teeth. "Well... All the more reason to lay low." He said.
Ruby nodded. "I'm sorry, Roman. I fucked it up. I should have done better." She sighed. A whine drifted to her ears before Drei shattered the low sound with a shrill bark. She hung her head.
"Well let's see what happens. We might have to leave Vale for a bit, and Cinder won't like that, but its for our interest." Roman decided.
Ruby nodded and turned away from the two of them. "I'll be in my room," she told them. Sulking. She added silently.
"Today an assassination was attempted on the life of Tawny Bay. An anonymous tip to the police revealed that the criminal known as Red would be present. Just an hour ago, Red escaped police custody and remains at large. We now have a confirmed face of her, recreated by a description given by deputy Iris Evergreen who was at the scene of the would-be crime."
Yang's eyes widened as a police sketch was put on the holoscreen. Ruby?! It was unmistakeable, the face looked like her long lost sister, and the additional top of a hood draped over the sketch's shoulders just confirmed it.
"She was seen accompanying two more criminals." More sketches were pulled up, one of a White Fang member, and another of a girl's face that seemed to have mismatched eyes. "All three are at large and the authorities are launching a citywide sweep to track all three of them down. Any information should be given to the Vale Police Department immediately. This has been VNN, I'm Lisa Lavender." Yang turned off the television and stared at the wall.
Ruby is Red. Ruby is Red. Ruby is Red. She tried to chase down any rhyme or reason, but it eluded her. Why was Ruby a criminal? Who were the other people she was with?
Yang swallowed, but jumped as Blake and Ilia returned to the dorm. The brawler bit her lip, but decided against telling her teammates something that she herself was struggling with.
"I'm going for a walk." She told her team leader. Blake nodded in silent acceptance as Yang walked out of the dorm and headed towards a shaded part of the courtyard.
Tapping on a few apps on her Scroll, Yang finally was reached with a familiar "call" button.
He picked up on the second ring. "Yang?"
"Dad. You saw the news, right?" Yang asked in a hushed voice.
"Yeah. I can't believe it myself. Ruby..." he trailed off.
"Is Red." Yang finished for him, He sighed over the phone.
Suddenly Yang remembered something. "Dad," she hesitated "I think I know who she works for." Taking a deep breath, the blonde spat it out, something she had withheld because she didn't want his hopes getting up. "Ruby is working with Roman Torchwick. I heard her the night that From Dust Til Dawn was robbed."
A sharp inhale came from her father's end. "You heard her voice?" He asked. Yang nodded, despite knowing it was only an audio call.
"Yeah. She was calling the doberman that Torchwick had. I think she called it "Dry" or something like that. The dog leapt into the bullhead, and I saw a flash of a red cloak. It has to have been her, Dad." Yang told him in a rush.
There was silence on the other end, and Yang felt worried about what her dad would say next. "So all that time you were chasing her down, you really had solid proof?" He asked.
"Dad, you know I did." Yang sighed. "Now what do we do?" She asked.
Silence again. "I... don't know." Her father said at last. "Just don't go looking for her. Ruby is dangerous, and I don't doubt it that Torchwick has corrupted her." He stated.
"How long do you think she's been working under him...?" Yang asked.
Her dad sighed, "Yang. Red has been active for several years. There's a number of possibilities. For all we know, she could have been with him this whole time." There was the sound of a fist slamming onto something. "I'll talk with Qrow. We'll figure this out Yang. I promise." He said. "I love you." He hung up.
Yang's head dropped to her shoulders at last.
What have I done to deserve this? She thought.
A/N: A shorter chapter this time. I wanted this note to inform you that I changed the Neo scene in chapter 7 due to all of you pointing out that its strange that Neo would cry over Ruby being captured.