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

Daughter of the Gods

Chapter Seventeen: To Save A Soul

Stalking up the stairs of the CCT emergency stairwell, since using the elevator would give me away to anyone in the building, I used the barest of my silver eyed magic to find the intruder. I could use my maiden powers, but I wasn't sure how much power she actually had, and she might be able to sense me.

When I finally felt her power nudge against mine, I slipped through the emergency exit door. There was a job to be done and I was the only one capable of doing it.

She didn't seem to sense me as I slipped up into the rafters on the ceiling. I watched her as she pulled out a flash drive with a chess piece on it. I couldn't tell what it was but maybe I could find out later. Instead of downloading any files, she uploaded something, and the chess piece symbol appeared again but on the screen. This time I could see it. It looked like a queen piece, but I wasn't one hundred percent sure. I'd have to let her upload the full virus, that way I could get at the core coding and maybe see the design and what it's for.

Waiting for the upload to be mostly finished, I decided on my next move. I observed her as she talked to someone, presumably Emerald or Mercury, about something happening at the dance. Seeing a the upload was mostly finished, I jumped down quietly from my perch.

"The path you walk is a dark one, child." I said. She visibly startled before composing herself and turning towards me.

"What do you know of the path I walk." She said. I watched her falter at the sight of my mask. Her amber eyes almost glowed in the dim light, but that was only because her maiden powers were flaring.

"Using your powers is foolish, girl." I said as I flared my full power. This was a risky move. It could cause her to retreat, but I was willing to bet her pride and ego wouldn't allow for that.

When she noticed the orange flames shooting out of the empty eye sockets of my mask, her face hardened, and she got into a fighting stance.

Bingo.

"So be it." I growled as I pulled out the relic of destruction. It was a definite risk, using this blade. But it was an even greater risk that one of her teammates would have told her there was a scythe user and she'd recognize that I was a student. As far as she knew, I hoped, I was simply someone who worked with Ozpin and managed to track her down.

She charged at me and our dance began.

Forming a sword in each hand, she slashed at my chest and legs. I front flipped over her using my speed, careful not to use the full power of the relic, which used hatred and anger as the key to its power, as I slashed her shoulder open..

One of the key benefits of the blade, something no weapon since has been able to achieve, is that it completely ignores aura. It was something I discovered recently, which is funny that 'recently' was five hundred years ago.

Cinder stumbled in shock as the wound began to bleed sluggishly. It was obvious she was so confident in her skills that she thought she could beat almost any opponent. She was an admirable opponent. Competent and confident in her movements, that much I could immediately see.

But I wasn't just any opponent. She turned around as her aura began knitting the wound back together until it formed a faint scar. She looked at me and grit her teeth, her face contorting in anger. Growling, she charged again, and for her troubles, I slashed her ribs this time.

Most people don't know, but the ribs have bundles of nerves right under them that feel like fire if you nick them. She cried out in pain. I wasn't even really fighting with her at this point.

Until her maiden powers flared. Even at half strength, a Maiden who had a little bit of training was still dangerous. She floated in the air for a second as her power rose. I just stared at her unimpressed until she floated back down. I could feel her aura spiking as the Maiden magic boosted her natural aura.

"Are you done?" I asked unimpressed. She stared at me until I used my full semblance and sped in front of her, the flames of the empty eye sockets increasing in power.

A trained half maiden is still no match for a full maiden with centuries of training.

"This is not a game, child. Your mistress has deceived you. Promised the unattainable. If you quit now and return the powers you stole, I'll let you live. But if you continue as you are you will regret it. I will make you watch as everything you have worked so hard for burns down around you. You will watch on in agony as your doomed empire crumbles to nothing and your dreams lay dead at your feet! You will barely be a footnote to history as I erase everything you are or ever will be from the pages of time. That's not a promise you FOOLISH girl!" I shouted at her.

"It's a guarantee." I whispered darkly as I sped myself closer to her, punched her in the face and shattering her mask, and latched my hands on either side of her face. I had her frozen there with my power, but just as I began draining her powers by using my magic in a way I didn't think possible, the elevator door opened. Opening my mouth to shout at the person and tell them to leave, Cinder flared her weakened magic and burned my hands.

It wasn't anything I couldn't handle, but third degree burns hurt in the moment. Using the shock of my pain against me, she threw freeze dust in my face which blinded my sight and managed to escape. I followed her aura as she ran to the dance.

I would get her eventually. I made a promise after all.

On the plus side, I managed to take a small bit of her Maiden powers.

Turning to the person who interrupted, it turned out to be Ironwood.

"Damnit Ironwood! I almost had her!" I said loudly as he walked forward. I didn't want to deal with him now, so I began walking away, my cloak flaring out behind me dramatically.

I knew I'd have to deal with him later once Ozpin learned of tonight's events, but I was frustrated that she'd been able to get away when she did. Taking her maiden powers while she was alive guaranteed that I could return them to Terra. Sure, Cinder would likely be killed eventually, but I still wasn't sure what would happen to the powers if she did. Before I left, I grabbed the flash drive, since it probably still had a copy of the file on it and left the CCT by way of the window. Once I was down low enough from the tower, I burst into a ball of rose petals and flew towards the dorm window.

Landing perfectly as always, I moved towards the desk and sat down in the chair with a heavy sigh. Deciding I didn't really feel like dealing with the questions from Blake and Weiss, I went into vale on a late-night airship.

Walking into Juniors with rose petals behind me a few minutes later, I decided I was glad I practically paid everyone here. The bouncers let me in with no issue and Junior came to greet me as I sat down at the bar.

"Rough night?" He asked as he was cleaning up on the glasses. Sitting it down he poured me my usual; Whiskey on the rocks.

"Nope, the good stuff." I said in a low voice. There were somedays I really felt my age, and today was one of them…hell…the past few months were some of those days, I just happened to be feeling it tonight.

I'd been fighting people like Cinder for centuries…watched people like her. Killed them too. They all thought they were better than the rest and would follow anyone who could guarantee them power before wanting more.

They always wanted more.

It was in their nature. All it caused in the end though was a cycle of bloodshed and war and horrors beyond mortal comprehension that I can never forget. All it does is enable suffering and depravity of the soul and a rot that won't go away no matter how hard I try to forget and sometimes I just wish it would all STOP!

… Sometimes I think the atrocities I've witnessed at the hands of these people are burned into the backs of my eyelids…they never go away…no matter how much I tell myself or Yang that I've moved passed it all.

"That kinda day huh?" He said as he pulled out the absinthe fountain and two glasses. Junior wasn't the type to drink with customers, but he would always drink with me whenever I asked for absinthe. It was the only drink that could get me slightly drunk.

"Yup." I said as I began slowly drinking. Junior only had a small glass before he bowed out, but I finished three more until I felt buzzed. Junior stayed near me the entire time, keeping an eye on me. He was only like this when Yang was here, per my request, or when I was drinking absinthe, per Yang's request. He never said anything while I was drinking thankfully but made sure to keep the sugar cubes coming and the fountain full for whenever I had days like this. He might be on my payroll, but Junior was a good man at the very core of his being.

A few hours and seven glasses in, I finally decided I had had enough. I was slightly drunk, since I was being 'responsible' because we had a field trip tomorrow…today, and I knew Yang hated it when I came home smelling like alcohol. It made her worry about the future when she…wasn't around anymore.

That I'd turn into Qrow but worse.

Sighing, I headed back to the airfield at a slower pace, so I didn't trip over anything, and finally made it back to beacon an hour an a half later. There wasn't any point in trying to sneak in, since I knew Yang had likely waited up for me, and just walked in like I normally would. It surprised the hell out of me when I saw Yang sawing logs in her bunk, and Weiss was passed out in her bed. What I noticed after that, was the soft glowing eyes of one cat faunus.

"What are you still doing up?" I asked quietly so as not to disturb the sleeping beauties.

I laughed internally at my joke.

"Yang tried to force herself to stay awake for you, but she was exhausted from dancing, so I volunteered to make sure you got in okay." Blake explained softly. I nodded, knowing she could see me, and moved to change in the bathroom. Once that was done, I walked out and quietly hopped up into my bunk. I was about to attempt to sleep when I heard Blake whisper to me.

"Are you okay?" She sounded timid and for some reason it bothered me.

"I will be." I said honestly. There was no use lying. Besides, in my inebriated state, saying I was okay wasn't very believable. Blake took a small breath like she wanted to say something but seemed to think better of it. A whispered 'goodnight' was all that was spoken before I heard nothing else.

Curling up into my own body, I found myself alone in the darkness as I held myself. It was one of those rare nights where everything just came flooding in all at once. I found myself helpless to stop the onslaught of silent tears as they began silently flowing down my cheek, only to be absorbed into the pillow. In a really messed up way, I thought of the tears as all the people who have come and gone in my life, only to be claimed by time or some other factor.

Eventually, whether it was because of the drinking or just my thousand years of life catching up to me, I slipped into a very uneasy sleep.

Blakes POV

It was as scary as it was sad hearing Ruby cry herself to sleep. Ruby had become this rock in my life, all our lives according to Weiss and Yang, ever since initiation. She'd taught us so much more than any teacher ever could in the time we've been at Beacon. I knew from the moment I looked at her that Ruby was different. She had an air about her that commanded authority, that made you want to follow her, that made you want to be the best teammate possible. She pushed all of us in the beginning between classes, tried to make us into a team before we ever really thought we could work. I know now she was trying to fit us into a mold we'd never truly fit, but once she realized that she changed her style of leading for us, helped us become a team to be respected amongst first years and even upper classman.

To hear her holding in this much pain was heartbreaking. I knew she had a lot of baggage from the moment I saw her, but I never realized it was this bad. She held it all in for us, became this rock for us, a teacher for us, but she didn't really have any of that. Knowing that she'd lived for a thousand years and seen all the things she had…

It broke my heart.

When she eventually fell asleep I was relieved. She'd could be at peace at least for the next few hours of sleep.

That was until she started having a fit.

The first one I remember her having started off much like this, as did the next one and the next one. Lately, she'd been doing better. Her fits weren't as severe, and she'd sometimes even come out of them on her own.

My only conclusion for why this one was becoming worse and worse by the minute was that something had happened, and whatever it was had to do with why she had coming in reeking of strong alcohol.

I was nervous as I slipped out of bed. Weiss had filled me in on what had happened when I'd run away before the battle at the docks.

Yang was fast asleep, and nothing except an explosion could wake her up as I had quickly learned early on. She could likely easily pull Ruby out of the nightmare, but I had already made my decision.

Easily slipping into the bed, I wrapped an arm over Ruby's struggling form. She tensed at first, clenching her fists tightly, until I started stroking her hair. It was soft, softer than Yang's surprisingly, and flowed like silk between my fingertips. She continued to struggle, lashing out at unseen demons, but not as violently as before. She muttered a few incoherent things here and there, mostly stuff about battles I assumed she was in, but finally she calmed down.

The way she burrowed into my front melted my heart. I pulled her in a bit tighter, remembering how Yang once offhandedly mentioned that heat was comforting to Ruby.

She let out a small sigh and relaxed even further as I continued stroking her hair.

When I felt she was calm enough, I tried to slip away and get back in my own bed, for fear of how she'd react if she woke up before me. I had managed to mostly get out of the situation I found myself in when I saw Ruby's face contort in agony and her body tensed up again. Wrapping myself around her quickly, she relaxed again, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I was stuck here for the night it seemed.

And I was okay with that as I fell asleep myself.

Ruby's POV

I knew I must've had a fit last night after I fell asleep when I felt arms around me. However, I knew right away that these arms didn't belong to Yang.

Also, the lack of her massive head of blonde hair gave it away as well.

Craning my neck, I saw black hair and cat ears.

What the hell happened?

I definitely don't remember being drunk enough for THAT to happen.

Doing a quick check, I noticed that both mine and Blake's night clothes were still on so that was a definite good sign. Another thing I immediately noticed is that I felt comfortable. Not like how I am with Yang, but…safe. It felt strange. Yang just held onto me like a bull at night, making sure I had an outlet in my sleep, so I didn't destroy the place I was sleeping in. It was a system that wasn't ideal, but it worked. Slipping out of Blake's hold as gently as possible, I left her on my bed and went to get showered.

When I was done in the bathroom, Blake was sitting up on my bed. The only problem was, Weiss and Yang were also awake, staring at her with an obvious question written on their faces. Yang, naturally, was the first to speak her mind.

"What are you doing in Ruby's bed?" She asked with a serious expression but a sly tone. Blake's cheeks burned red as she tried to stammer out a response. I decided to jump in.

"Leave it be, Yang. She did what she thought was best last night. There's nothing to talk about because nothing happened." I said as I dried my hair by shaking my whole head at insane speeds.

The topic seemed to be dropped, at least for now, as Yang and then Weiss, both got showered and dressed for the day.

"Do a double check on your packs before we have to go." I said absentmindedly as I got a message from Ozpin saying to meet him in his office for a debrief on last night. "I gotta go. Ozpin wants to see me." I headed for the door without another word.

Yang's POV

"What really happened last night?" I asked seriously a few seconds after the door closed. Blake sighed. "Please just tell me. I can smell the absinthe on her clothes." I pleaded. I was worried. Ruby hadn't gone out in about a year now to drink. It used to be a more common occurrence. Something must've happened for that to change.

"I don't know. She came home inebriated but not super drunk. She changed into her night clothes and then just hopped up into her bed. She started crying pretty bad until she fell asleep and then she started having a fit. It got worse and I didn't know what I should do so I panicked and just laid down and wrapped her in a hug. She seemed to relax so I stayed there until she was fully calm. I tried to get back in my bed she started having a fit again…I decided I'd just stay there and sleep." Blake explained. Honestly it wasn't what I was expecting but not unsurprising. Ruby tended to be like that if she got drunk enough.

I was more concerned as to why she went out and got drunk. I'd have to talk to her later. There was a knock on the door which broke me out of my thoughts on how I should broach the conversation with Ruby. Opening the door, there was nothing but a cylindrical package outside the door. It was from Dad so there could be any number of things inside.

Seriously.

One time he managed to mail himself and a few suitcases in a box to Vacuo so he could meet up with his old partner Serenity and Uncle Qrow and help out a small village.

That was the week Ruby helped me begin to learn what my semblance could really do if I learned to control it.

When my thoughts strayed back to Ruby, my reminiscing mood took a dive and I had to sit on the bed. Putting my head in my right hand, I ran my left through my hair. Sighing deeply I took a few breaths to compose myself. Blake and Weiss noticed though and were sitting by me in an instant.

"What's wrong?" Weiss as softly.

"I don't know how to help her. Ruby has always been there for me. She basically became a mother, sister, and best friend at different points in my life. She helped raise me for a time, taking care of me when my dad had to work and I was too young to attend Signal academy. I know Ruby has problems. After everything she's seen, who wouldn't? The problem is that she doesn't really talk about them except to me…It's not enough." I lamented.

"She doesn't want to admit it but I've seen it…when she gets this distant look in her eyes during team spars…she's thinking about what'll happen when we're gone. It took me awhile to realize what that look meant, but I know, deep down, that she wishes she could die and be with her all her friends again." I couldn't help it as the sobbing began. Weiss and Blake were both sniffling, but I couldn't help it. I sobbed hard because Ruby means so much to me and to know she's hurting everyday is killing me because I know that there's nothing I can realistically do to help except be there for as long as I can.

When I felt like I could breathe again several minutes later, I sat up on the bed from where I had curled into Weiss' side, and checked over my pack like Ruby had told us to do. Sometimes the only way to move on was forward, and right now I had to move on.

A/N: So this was a bit of a heavier chapter. I'll admit, I had a really hard time time writing this one. I also debated heavily with myself if i should even finish writing this chapter when I got to the heavier parts. When I first began writing it, I thought it was gonna be an actiony chapter, but it progressed into something all on its own. I kept writing when i realized what I had started because I realized that while it's known that Ruby has nightmares, bad ones at that, I've neglected to put in anything else or how it effects the people around her. I based Yang's POV around how my mother described watching me as I struggled with depression before we really knew I had it.

Anyways...I'm sorry if this wasnt what you were expecting but this is what I felt was needed for this story when I started writing this chapter.

Ummm...let me know what you think, I guess

Take it Easy, I'll see you in the next chapter.