I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.

Daughter of the Gods

Chapter Fourteen: The Demon

"You're the Demon aren't you?" Weiss hissed. Yang sighed and went to her bed but me? My blood ran cold. I thought I had buried that moniker so far in the dirt that not even the souls of the damned could find it.

At least I thought I did.

The Demon was a name I had earned amongst the Atlesian elite during the faunus revolution. The Demon had a reputation of destroying those who would not release their faunus slaves, sometimes even making the slaves fight against other faunus in the war. The Demon was a symbol of faunus vengeance and anger at the slavers…the Demon was a monster. It was easy for me to do the things I did under that name because I kept imagining what the Atlesian military had done to Preto, to so many others.

When I wasn't commanding an army, I was doing a lot of knife jobs. Atlas high command was practically a shell of itself before before the end of the war they couldn't continue the war effort. I did a lot of in and out work, destroying resources and stealing information as well whenever I could.

Preto said the war would've been lost or dragged out if I hadn't done the things I did as the Demon.

I've hated myself for my actions ever since. For all the lives I took and ruined.

Snapping back to the present, I took in a deep steadying breath.

"I was, yes." I answered. Weiss glared at me for a good few seconds before her anger ebbed slightly.

"You know, it was my family who put the largest bounty on your head…it's still good actually." She huffed.

"Are you gonna try and turn me in for it?" I joked. Weiss glared again but shook her head.

"No. Nobody would believe me anyway, even if I wanted to." She groused.

"How did you figure that out, anyway?" I wasn't mad…just frustrated that, even as an immortal, I couldn't seem to get away from the things I'd done.

"There were stories about you. Told to children who misbehave. That the demon would come to reap their souls if they kept being bad. I'd been told the story enough when I was younger that I remembered it…scared me enough to be the perfect girl my father wanted." Weiss said quietly.

"I hated that story." She continued. "I was so afraid to do anything but what my father told me to do because the Demon would return and take me away." She said. Sitting on her bed roughly, Weiss put her head in her hands and cried.

"I don't know anything anymore, because I just always did what my father wanted until I finally told myself it was just a story. Turns out you're real and I just don't know anymore!" She cried.

Watching Weiss of all people lose her composure was a shock. Knowing it was because of one of my darker sides hurt.

"Do you wanna know the truth Weiss?" I asked as I sat next to her. Blake and Yang sat on the floor to comfort their teammate turned close friend. Weiss just looked at me with teary red eyes. She didn't say anything so I took her silence as an affirmative.

"When I was the Demon…I made it a rule never to hurt the children. Children are sacred to me because each represents an infinite amount of possibilities. No matter what…the sins of the past should never stain the future generations. I lived by that saying whenever I put on the mask. The children were always safe from me…in fact I made it a point to protect the children." I explained. Weiss looked at me with wide eyes

"Sometimes I would take them back to the war camp. There's a reason not every faunus on a Menagerie is one hundred percent faunus." I said with a slight laugh. Blake looked at me in shock and I laughed harder.

"Don't worry Blake. You're a hundred percent panther…actually…ninety-eight. The other two is a jaguar." I laughed at her expression. Standing up I pulled Weiss to her feet.

"Come on. Go change out of your clothes and into some pajamas. We're all gonna go down to the cafeteria and grab some hot cocoa." Blake looked at with a raised eyebrow. "And tea. Duh." I rolled my eyes. Yang took off her jacket, leaving her in only a bra, got her sweatpants from the drawer and put them on, then pulled the 'scarf' she wore around her neck down to reveal a shirt.

"Really Yang." I deadpanned. "When was the last time you washed that?"

She shrugged and put her slippers on just as Weiss walked out in a nightgown, her hair down around her shoulders. Blake slipped into the bathroom and came out a minute later in her nightdress. I just turned into a tornado of rose petals and was changed into my sleepwear before anyone could say anything. I snickered then fell over laughing as Weiss and Blake spat rose petals out of their mouths while Yang just had her mouth closed.

With a huge grin on her face.

Once Weiss and Blake were done being dramatic, we walked down to the cafeteria for some much-needed hot cocoa. Don't get me wrong, tea was great, but I still believe that hot cocoa was one of humanity's best ideas. As we walked, Blake lagged a bit, lost in thought. It was weird since she was always very aware of her surroundings.

In the cafeteria, Blake was paying even less attention, nearly dropping her tea after she had made it. Something was up.

"What's wrong Blake? You're never this distracted." I observed. She shook herself back to the present when I poked her to get her attention and then I repeated my question.

"Oh. Nothing." She dismissed. Oh no. We're a team. She reminded me of Indigo and Preto way too much.

"Nope. We're a team." I said softly. She looked at each of us for a second before nodding her head.

"It's about the docks. Why the 'fang are working with a guy like Torchwick…I can't figure it out." She admitted. I thought for a second. It was pretty strange.

"It is weird, but what are we gonna do about it? Ozpin told us…well…except for Ruby, not to worry about it. Between all the people working on these cases, I'm sure that they can handle it." Yang said. She shrugged her shoulders, but Blake got to her feet, nearly knocking her tea over.

"Well I'm not! They don't know the 'fang like I do!" Blake raised her voice. Thankfully there was nobody else in the cafeteria since it was late.

"Blake. Besides Ruby, none of us has the experience to do anything significant against the ne'er do wells of the White Fang and the criminal underbelly of Vale." Weiss reasoned. "We're students, and we're not ready for this kind of action."

"We may never be ready, but the danger the white fang poses is very real, especially if they've teamed up with a human like Torchwick. It means there's something going and they're not gonna wait around for us to be ready. They're gonna finish what they're doing before we even get a chance to 'be ready.'" Blake Ranted.

"She's right. I hate to admit it but she's right." I spoke up. Weiss looked at me like I was crazy, but Blake didn't look thrilled that I didn't totally support her.

"What about the revolution! You waited until the faunus were ready before you began the war." Weiss tried to reason again.

"There were many who thought we weren't…And that was true. But the Atlesian military was very close to figuring out where we were and would have sent an army to wipe us out…It was because I set up an ambush that Atlas had to delay their war efforts and gave us time to consolidate more resources and move bases." I explained. Weiss looked at me with a huff and turned away discouraged.

"That being said…Weiss is also right. You three aren't really ready for the level of work this is going to require." I said hesitantly. Before Blake could leave in a flurry of righteous anger I shut it down quick. "However, we don't have a choice. We each have a lot of connections that are likely to help us do better than the police ever will. It's our duty as huntresses to see this through." The finality of my tone made Weiss' protests die in her throat.

"We'll make a plan, but neither of us are going anywhere until the weekend, seeing as it's Thursday tomorrow, it gives us an extra day to come up with a halfway decent plan which I will either deny or accept." Blake and Weiss were about to protest again but I wasn't having any of it, especially since my cocoa had gone cold.

"No. That's the deal. I'm allowing you, since Yang doesn't care either way, to prove to me you can handle the stress, and in return, I'll talk to Ozpin about going on slightly harder missions in the future." I bargained. Weiss seemed to accept the deal and Blake did to some degree.

"Well." I said as I got to my feet. "Since my cocoas cold and I'm tired, we should all head to bed. Big day of planning ahead of us." I said.

We walked back to our dorm in silence and finally made it after what felt like a long trudge. I jumped onto my bed and fell into a slightly peaceful sleep.

When I woke up, there was a message from Ozpin.

'You're excused from your classes for today, but you'll hate me when you see why.' Was all it said. When I looked out the window, I knew why.

General Ironwood was here.

Gods kill me.

Grumbling as I dressed, I headed out the door alone. Weiss, Blake, and Yang had already gone to class, but hopefully I would get to meet up with them later, especially when I saw the note on the door.

'Rubes, we got messages from Ozpin saying you weren't gonna be in class. Whenever you're done with the thing, meet us in the library

-Yang'

I don't know why she bothered to sign it, not like I wouldn't recognize my sisters handwriting, terrible as it was. I laughed to myself as I left the dorm, locking it before walking towards the clocktower.

When I finally made it, I just used a card Ozpin had given me to use whenever Glynda wasn't around to buzz me up, like now since she was teaching.

Walking out of the elevator, it looked like Ironwood had only just gotten here.

"Ah. James, I would like to introduce you to Ruby Rose. Ruby, This is James Ironwood, General in the Atlas military and head of Atlas' academy." Ozpin politely introduced. I looked at Ironwood unimpressed.

"Are those ugly eyesores you call airships supposed to tell everyone that we aren't in a time of peace or are you trying to make up for something." I said in frustration. Ironwood's 'displays of power' were well known across all of remnant, even when he was an up and coming commander. This whole display just screamed 'Hey! We're totally doing this because we have peace and not for any other reason.'

"Her insubordination would be nonexistent if she went to Atlas, Ozpin." He said dismissively. Ozpin just looked at me and spoke.

"James and I have already discussed his grandiose display of power, but you're here for a different reason Ruby." Ozpin explained. I nodded for him to continue and he walked around his desk with his cane. He offered me a cup of coffee, which I hadn't seen, and I gratefully took it.

"I've never explained nor fully filled James in about who you are, past or present. I had hoped, with your permission, that we could change that. He knows about the existence of the maidens, but not you specifically." Ozpin said slowly. I nodded my acceptance because honestly, despite my misgivings, having a man in charge of an army who listened to the maidens might be helpful.

"This girl knows about the war we're waging? How can she possibly help us?" Ironwood said indignantly. I was about to show off, but Ozpin stopped me with a small wave of his hand. I begrudgingly backed down and he looked to Ironwood.

"Ruby Rose is the Fall maiden. She hid herself for reasons only she truly knows." Oz explained calmly. Ironwood just looked at me and squinted his eyes in scrutiny.

"So, she's the Fall maiden. Yes, I've had my agents looking for her and the half-maiden, but how does her being here help us. She's no more powerful than the others." Ironwood dismissed.

"No James…She's THE Fall maiden. There has only ever been two."

I don't know how Ozpin wasn't frustrated. This was typical of a man like Ironwood. He knew the Legends and was part of Ozpins 'order.' Maybe Ozpin didnt want him to know there was another immortal on remnant

"I never told you, but centuries ago I came across a young woman who was an immortal, not Salem, but miss Rose here." Ozpin said. Ironwood looked at me, then at Ozpin, then back to me.

"Are there any MORE immortals you haven't told me about." James deadpanned. I laughed a little and so did Ozpin.

"No. Ruby?" He asked.

"No. None I was ever aware of, and I know arguably a bit more than you." I explained. Both Ironwood and Ozpin both shrugged.

"I should probably meet up with my team. We have to go over some school stuff, mostly me helping them, so I should probably be going if there's nothing left to talk about." I said. Ozpin nodded but before I left I looked at Ironwood seriously.

"I hope you'll keep this a secret. The last thing I want is the world knowing who I am, what I am, and what I can do." I said before jumping in the elevator. I would have to keep an eye on him for a little while, just to be on the safe side.

I met the team in the library where poor Ren and Jaune were studying, Jaune though was being gently nudged along by Pyrrha. WBY was playing 'Remnant the board game' and Weiss was being destroyed by Nora.

"Hey sis! You just missed the beginning of the game!" She said loudly. I hushed her since we were still in the library and walked over to the table.

"Yeah. Totally. You knew I was coming and totally weren't scared that I'd whoop your butt again…like I always do." I gave her a cheeky grin and she balked.

"No. That's not-no. Not true at all." She stuck her tongue out at me and then proceeded to destroy Weiss' hopes and dreams. Jaune decided enough studying and went to try and flirt with Weiss. When he tried to join, Blake just got u, a glum expression on her face, and gave him her cards as Sun and Neptune walked in.

Blake and Sun talked for a minute before Blakes attitude got the best of her and she left. I decided to follow her, making sure Yang knew to grab the game.

"Blake wait up!" I called as she headed down the hallway to our dorm. Thankfully she did wait, and I caught up with her.

"What's wrong? You've been an even moodier version of yourself lately. You can talk to us, to me if you need it." I said gently. Blake didn't seem to appreciate it though.

"What? Like you talk to us about your nightmares or PTSD?" She bit. The look on her face told me she regretted it as her eyes widened and her hand went to her mouth not a second after the words left. They hurt, but I knew something else was bothering her.

"I'm sor-That- I didn't mean-" She stumbled over her words in an attempt at an apology but it didn't really bother me.

"Blake. Stop. First, let's get in the dorm." Once that was done and the door was closed I spoke again. "First, do you see any ad's for therapists that can cater to immortals?" I joked. "Second…My life, past, and mind are all things that work themselves out eventually. It's been that way for a thousand years and it's likely to continue for another thousand." I explained. Blake's head dipped in shame.

"I appreciate that you want to help me…I truly do." I said as I hugged her tightly. ""But people will never understand the things I've done, lived through. The only reason I'm still functioning is because I have too. There's still work that needs to be done." I explained. Blake wiggled out of the hug and looked me in the eyes.

"I'm sorry you had to go through those things Ruby. To see the things you did…" She trailed off towards the end.

"I'm not." I said after a second of silence. " I wouldn't be who I am or have gotten where I am without those experiences." I explained to her softly. She looked at me again, appraising my words and nodded when she accepted them.

A little while later, Blake and I were each in our respective beds reading a book. Mine was a bit older though, in a dead language since it was over five hundred years old, when she spoke up. I had felt her eyes on me for the last few minutes, so I knew there was something she wanted to ask.

"You have a house right?"

That was totally not what I thought she'd ask.

"Yeah? Why?"

"Well I just wondered if you had a lot of books or old trinkets here and there. You seem to enjoy reading, and I see that the book you have is clearly old, so I was wondering if you have more…" She said. Now I knew what she was wondering.

"You're wondering if you can borrow any of them, aren't you?" I teased with a smile on my face. The answer came when Blake hid a bit behind the book she was reading.

"I don't mind, but most of the good one's were handwritten in a language only I can really read these days." I admitted.

"I'd still like to see them if that's possible." Blake said.

"I'll go home during a significant break and get some of the books easier to translate or ones that don't need it and bring a few for you." I suggested.

"I'd like that a lot." Blake said easily. She sounded excited and I couldn't help but smile.

A few minutes later, Yang and Weiss walked in. I saw team JNPR walking into their dorms and waved as Pyrrha waved before entering their dorm. Yang closed our door before jumping up to her own bed after sliding my boardgame under Weiss' bed.

"We should work on our plan guys. We'll start tomorrow after classes and work through the weekend like we discussed." I said. Everyone sat up from their beds as I jumped down and walked over to my bag and pulled out a few maps and notebooks. "Study these. These are all the people I pay in Vale as well as their contact information." I said as I pointed out names and scroll contact information. Weiss looked impressed at the amount of money I spent on the information network I ran.

"Jeez Ruby! How much do you have!"

"More than you'd like to think I have." I said dismissively as I pulled out another book. Thankfully Weiss let it drop.

"yang, I know you'll want to go somewhere else but I need you to talk to Junior for me. He'll know your coming this time and won't have guns on you since I paid him off." I said. yang had a determined look on her face and nodded.

"Weiss…I think you should handle finding out whatever dust shipment Torchwick and the 'fang might hit next. That's clearly the connection between all of this. They're stockpiling dust." Weiss nodded but seemed a bit unsure. "You can do this Weiss. Let me know if you run into any troubles and I'll have one of my agents get what we need the old-fashioned way." I said. Weiss nodded again but with a little more oomph. I looked at Blake finally.

"You know the 'fang best so what can you tell me?" I asked. Blake immediately launched into anything that could help us. Eventually she got to recruitment.

"That's it. We'll use the recruitment process to figure out more details about their plan." I ordered.

"What are you gonna do though?" Yang asked as an afterthought.

"I'll be looking into the murder of one of my agents. His name was Tukson and he left the 'fang. I need to figure out if his death relates to that or if someone knew who he was working for." I said seriously. The look in my eyes must've told Yang not to say anymore.

By the time we were done hashing out a halfway decent plan, it was pretty late.

"Damn I'm hungry." I muttered as I sat up in bed. Weiss and Blake had already gotten ready for bed and Yang had another twenty minutes to go before she was done. I saw an opportunity and decided to get something from the cafeteria.

Opening the door, I turned right and walked straight into another student and knocked her over. She had green hair and dark skin…but a uniform from Haven academy. A student here for the festival then? I reached out a hand to help her.

"My apologies Miss. I wasn't paying attention." I said kindly. She took my hand and accepted the apology but was clearly frustrated at being knocked over, which was understandable. It was the person next to her that got my attention.

Mercury Black.

Shit.

Then that means-

"We're visitors from Haven and got turned around." A new voice joined the mix, and I instantly recognized the power that flowed from her. Thankfully as a rule I suppressed my own unique maiden magic with the aid of my other magic. Not for this specific reason, but just as a rule of thumb so I don't use it whenever I feel like it.

"Then you're here for the festival!" I said with false cheer. The assholes that tried to kill Terra were here and I needed to find out why before I ended them. "Visitor's dorms are just east of here." I said as the woman past me.

"Thanks, maybe we'll see you around." She said.

As she turned a corner I muttered.

"Yes…Yes you will." In my anger I let a bit my silver eyed magic go, making the white flames come out slightly.

AN: I'm back on track now. Hopefully. Maybe. School starts back up for me soon so the posting schedule might change again. Anyways, I posted a new story because why not. It's been in the works for awhile now and it's called 'Supergirl Lost.' You can find it on my page or in the Avengers category ;) Actually, that may change but I'll keep the people who are interested posted about any changes. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you in the next one.

PS- I goofed a bit when I was editing this chapter and writing the next one at the same time before I posted this one. My bad and i hope you can forgive me. On the Plus side, i guess you guys know who will be showing up in a bit ;)