It took around fifteen or so minutes, but her strength had finally returned to what she would call a decent level.
Ruby stood, stretching her limbs to wake them up. She let out a short breath, nobody had came to check on her the whole time, which wasn't all that surprising really. She was bound with no way to escape as far as they were concerned, why should they check on her? Especially if she was going to be executed. Even weakened there was no worry of starvation.
Looking down she saw Pebble standing by her side, most likely awaiting instructions. However, she instead turned her attention to the stone floor, her eyes scanning for the spot she'd seen before.
Just next to her shackle, stretching to the bars of the cell was a long crack. It stood out, a decent gap of around one centimeter, just the right size.
"Pebble, please stand over there for a moment." She asked, pointing to the wall behind him. He did so, his tiny form scampering and standing back as he watched with curiosity.
Ruby gave him a reassuring smile, lifting her hand above her heart as she let the darkness envelope her once more. She clenched her fist, feeling a strain through her arm. It was cold, so very cold, but she endured.
She felt the power leave once again, feeling something small in her hand.
Perfect.
Opening her fist now she was able to see the small black stone. It was so very smooth, yet no shine was present; nay, it seemed to eat up the very light itself. She could place it on paper and it'd seem as though it was a painted splotch.
However the small bit of shadow had one more striking feature. Surrounding it's blackened being appeared to be a ring of white. Well, no that wasn't quite right, it was more of a white glow emanating from the thing.
"What is that?" Ruby turned to see Pebble staring her way, she let out a giggle as she waved him over. His pace was slow, easily fearful of what it might be. Yet he reached her, looking on at the tiny stone.
"This here is a shadow seed." She said as she ducked down, gently placing it in the crack. Carefully she moved some of the loose stone over it, covering it from view.
"One day it will grow into something very important, to help someone special."
Pebble seemed even more confused. "But that's stone, plants don't grow in stone... do they?" Ruby gave a soft smile.
"No, they don't, but this isn't a plant. Now come on, let's leave." She spoke, guiding him to the door and opening it.
The moment she stepped out into the halls she felt it. It was like a tense rush, a hit to the gut even. She felt this before, back with the ring, and much like the ring she felt a rush of memory fill her head.
Like before it was only a fragment, a small one at that, but a significant one nonetheless. This small, brief memory had managed to do something. Right then and there, she felt just the tiniest bit of hope flicker to life.
This segment of memory must have been earlier than the last, but she could hear the words. She was asking a question, and the answer was a name. Ruby knew her next destination now, she could deal with Aether afterwards.
Right now she needed to get back to mineral village, she needed to know if what she thought was true.
She carefully beckoned the young boy, keeping him close throughout the cell halls. Ruby stopped just at a door, kneeling down to Pebble.
"Before we leave I need to find my weapon, you snuck in here to save me, any chance you know where it is?" She asked as the small boy looked thoughtful.
"I... think I saw a room earlier, filled with boxes and things. We could look there."
Ruby nodded, standing again. "Alright, but you'll need to lead the way as I don't know this place."
Pebble gave a nod, a serious look on his face. With that she opened the door, letting the younger boy take the lead.
The rooms were void of any guards, really. From the kitchen to the barracks there were none in sight.
An old fort, huh.
She never expected to be left in a place like this, then again she was finding that she wasn't expecting a lot of things. Ruby knew she would have to keep her guard up though, with all the surprises so far she was hard pressed to let anyone get the drop on them again.
"Gah!" She felt the blade slash against her back.
Spoke to soon!
Ruby spun around, avoiding another slash as the man stumbled past, clearly not expecting her to move.
"Damnit! And on my shift too!" He growled, stabbing for her. She avoided it, dancing back as he kept up with strike after strike, stab after stab.
"I don't care if they want you kept alive, just die already."
Ruby went under this time, catching him from below in a grab and heaving him off the ground. She turned, throwing him into a cupboard. He broke through the aged wood, tumbling down as he dropped the sword.
Ruby casually strode his way, swiping up the discarded weapon and kneeling before him. She grabbed him by the throat, feeling his breath hitch as his hands tried desperately to remove her. She paid no mind as he clawed at her arm, instead choosing to soften her voice.
"Where is my weapon?" She asked gently, seeing the hate in his eyes.
"Fuck you!" He shouted, clawing at her arm harder now and even throwing a few kicks at her legs.
Ruby tisked, shaking her head. "Now now, I'll ask you again. Where is my weapon?"
He ignored her, now flailing harder. She let out a sigh as she stared at him. The man had no aura, clearly the sign of a new recruit, and so he wasn't very experienced. Heck, he probably didn't even know where her weapon was kept or what it looked like.
From the way he talked earlier it seemed as thought Shade had set up some sort of guard, but from the looks of it there was only one. Maybe there were more, but they would most likely be auraless too.
Ruby sighed, accepting that the man was now useless to her. She raised the blade, seeing a small look of panic in his eyes, and jabbed it right between them. He stuttered for a bit, flinching before he went still.
His mouth was still open as she slid the blade out. He dropped to the floor, blood pouring from the wound as he lay on his side.
She turned back, seeing Pebble looking away at an open hallway.
Hopefully he never saw all of that.
It wouldn't matter now anyway, they still needed to leave.
"There." He said, turning back to her and pointing at another door opposite of the one they came from. "That's where I saw the room, the one with the things."
"Then lead the way." She said, following the child as he took them through another hallway. He stopped at a door around midway through, walking inside and letting out a quiet cheer as he turned to her.
"See, just like I said!"
Ruby smiled at him. "Yep, now let's see what we got."
She took a look around, sifting through the various boxes and racks. It was a weapon supply room that was for sure, with all the weapons present she could easily believe that the fort was once bustling with soldiers.
However she found what she was looking for, sitting in the back on top of a stack of swords was her baby.
Aged and dirty, with chips of paint missing and currently folded it looked more like a busted axe of sorts. Yet she knew it for all that it was, having held it with her since she was young. It was starting to show it's age now as she hadn't much time to keep it in top pristine condition, but it still did it's job more than good enough.
Ruby picked it up, cradling it close as she let it comfort her. "I'll never let you go again."
"What's that?" The words broke her from her stupor, she turned back to see Pebble looking up at her again.
"This, well, this is my weapon." She spoke, deciding to show it off a bit. She held it behind her, swinging it to the side as it unfolded into a twirl. Pebble's eyes looked to shine as she held it behind her, blade to the floor and striking the signature pose she came up with long ago.
"Say hello to Crescent Rose."
Pebble was astounded. "Woah." She giggled at the small boy, folding the scythe up once again.
"Now, let's get out of here."
.
.
Qrow was drinking again, having had yet another round of what he'd come to call 'shit luck'. Oz had sent him out to find the kid, and just as he thought the chances of that coming easy were squat.
He chugged down his drink, deciding to just relax for a bit, maybe this time he'd actually get to enjoy himself for a change.
"Still no luck?" Qrow looked up at Junior, shaking his head as the man kept washing one of the mugs.
"None at all." He replied, getting an understanding look.
Surprisingly Junior and him had become friends of a sort, finding common ground on things seeming to fall apart around them. It was funny really, Oz had already paid the man for the info he provided earlier, yet Qrow found that he was still able to share words with the club owner.
They had swapped stories more than once, having a laugh at their own misery and failings. It was cathartic in a way, they were able to let go of work and just chat like men.
"Let me guess, your boss wants to find the kid for him right?" Junior asked as Qrow let out a snort and nodded.
"Yeah, right on the money. Didn't think he'd be such a slippery bastard though, I mean come on, how do you miss a guy like that?" Qrow questioned as he took another drink in hand, throwing down more lien.
"I know what you mean. Somebody really should have seen him already, yet those types seem to have a nack for hiding." Junior told as he started cleaning out another mug.
"I feel you on that." Qrow said, letting out a sigh. "Ah well, nice talking with you but I need to get back on the lookout now."
Junior nodded. "Good luck then, hopefully you'll catch him before anything else can go wrong."
Qrow gave a laugh. "Hah, yeah, knowing my luck that's almost a given, but thanks anyway."
And so Qrow found himself out on the streets once more, taking in the cool night air. He felt his scroll buzz, and after a moment of fumbling he fished it out and managed to answer.
"Qrow, any sign of him yet?" The man sighed as he took a glance around.
"Nope Oz, still nothing."
"Unfortunate." He replied as Qrow nodded to himself.
"You're telling me, spent all night so far with zit to show for it. At this point I'm thinking we're gonna need a miracle to find this kid."
An explosion went off in the distance, leaving Qrow to stare blankly at the trail of smoke rising to the sky.
"Qrow... Qrow... Qrow are you there?"
"Uhhhh Oz... I think I just found that miracle I was talking about." He answered, feeling somewhat cheated out of his time.
"Alright, get there and set yourself to video so I can see what's going on. Remember to max the volume as well, he needs to hear my voice. And whatever you do, do not engage! Let me talk no matter the circumstances."
"Right." Qrow replied as he quickly set the volume to max, returning the scroll to his pocket and running off. He ducked into an alleyway before turning into his bird form and taking to the skies.
He soared high above the roofs, keeping his eyes on the smoke. It looked to be coming from the docks, at that moment he remembered the dust that was supposed to to come in.
Qrow wanted to slap himself in the face for not thinking to check there.
This is the White Fang, of course they'd go after dust!
How much easier would it have been if he'd just went there first? Stupid him and his stupid focus being in the wrong place. Qrow picked up the pace, flying as fast as he could to hopefully find his target.
There!
He could see him now, fighting with what looked to be three others. Wait, he recognized at least two of them from the Beacon initiates list. Hold on a second! Those two were part of his niece's team! From the looks of it they had the kid down for the count.
Wait, nope, he was wrong, the kid looked to have some tricks of his own. Qrow dropped as fast as he could, morphing back to human as he saw the kid raise his sword. There was no time left!
"DO IT NOW!" He screamed into the scroll, landing ahead of the blond guy and turning it to face the kid as he dealt the death blow.
And so Qrow was met with the most blood curdling scream he'd ever heard, one he'd never expected Oz to give.
"NO!"
.
.
My body halted, frozen as I struggled to comprehend what I'd just heard. I stopped my attack on instinct as the command graced my ears.
It couldn't be...
I saw that my blade stopped just into the neck of the fearful girl, and having only cut the outer layer of skin. A small trickle of blood ran along the edge, glistening as I turned to the sound of the voice.
I saw a man, one I'd never laid eyes on before, and in his hands was a scroll. I stared silently as if awaiting the ghostly voice again, yearning to know if it was merely an illusion or if it was truly who I thought it was.
Everyone was still, the man holding it gave a tense look my way, one filled with caution. Once again the silence was broken.
"Vermillion... it's me. Do you remember me?" It asked, holding a voice that should have been impossible.
It had to be a trick, the king couldn't be here, he was back home. Yet the voice had sent chills up my spine, and a feeling of comfort. In that moment I felt something, something pure...
It was rage.
How dare they... how dare they mimic the voice of a divine!
I was furious, I knew it was a trick as the real king had no knowledge of these technologies, otherwise we'd have used them by now. I stared at him, the man who thought to deceive me, watching his face as he returned the look.
I felt the smoke around me warm up, almost burning as it seeped from me like a dirty fire. I looked down to the girl once more, she continued to stare at me as fresh tears trailed down her cheeks, ruining the small layer of makeup she wore.
She didn't deserve this. I'd accepted that I was about to murder her before, for the greater good, and I had been content to accept being responsible for the murder of an innocent. Yet here, under that voice, I was unable to do it.
The God and Goddess had knighted me to protect the people, not to kill them. Even if for the greater good I had a feeling they'd be pained at the thought. They'd taught me the necessity of sacrifice, yet they hated it themselves. If I wanted to stop Adam and stay on his good side I needed to kill the girl, right here and right now.
But that voice, it had to be a lie, hadn't it? If so then why did I feel so warm around it, why did it feel so safe. Even the man holding the scroll held a sense of familiarity, something about him giving off this... warmth.
I looked up, willing to try a single gamble, one that would display the truth to me in full. For the sake of the girl, I'd just have to hope it worked.
Please, please know it!
"Prove it... prove to me you are who you say you are." I uttered, calmly as I looked back to the man with the scroll.
It was silent for a moment, and then the voice spoke.
"On the thirty first of Chill-Fallen, just before midnight you got on one knee and spoke thusly: I, Vermillion of house Rose, do by swear my utter and undying allegiance to the divine. In the protection of the people and the land, I lend my blood and blade. Should I fail to uphold my duty, this blade shall be my redemption, to bring death and peace to my body and soul."
I felt myself ease, it was the vow I made when I was promoted to knight, back before I was gifted my current form. Back then I had been a standard trainee, day after day honing myself to hopefully rise in rank. Yet it came sooner than expected, catching me by surprise and giving me a sense of joy I'd never experienced up to that point. I was gifted my blade and a specially carved suit of armor, sporting the rose I now wore singularly on my arm.
I looked back to the girl, carefully pulling my blade away from her neck. Weiss reached up slowly, placing her hand above the wound as her aura now had a chance to start it's recovery. She remained quiet, simply holding still before bringing her hand around and gazing at the crimson that stained her fingers.
I let my armor dissipate, flicking my blade to the side. The blood that held to it flew off, creating a small trail of dotted red across the pavement. With my blade now free from the stain I sheathed it, casting one last glance to the girl before stepping past her. The other two rushed to her side, no doubt checking for her well being.
She has good friends.
At least there was comfort in knowing she had people there for her, she'd need them to deal with what I'd tried to do. I stopped just before the man as he stared me in the eyes, on guard for any sudden movements.
"Vermillion, before we continue I have a command for you, one you need to swear to follow." The king spoke as I gave a nod.
"Sire."
"Those children behind you, they are my students. You are not to harm them under any circumstances. If danger should find them you are to deal with it, wherever and whatever it might be." His voice was calm, yet I heard the threat lingering within. They were important to him, and I nearly killed them.
"By my blade I shall see all threats to them disposed of." I spoke, equally serious as he had been.
"Good. Qrow, the man holding this scroll, will take you to me. We'll speak once you arrive."
The call cut off and I was left watching Qrow before me let out a sigh. He reached into his front pocket, pulling out a sort of canister and taking a swig. Rum if my nose was right, I was more into wine myself.
"Alright kiddies, time to go. Stay a few feet behind us, we don't know if anyone else is making a show so stay focused." Qrow spoke, gaining an exasperated look from them, especially the two Faunus.
"US, US, WHAT DO YOU MEAN US?! HE JUST TRIED TO KILL WEISS!" Blake all but screamed, leveling a venomous look towards me.
Qrow looked her way. "Yeah we all saw it-"
"THEN WHY AREN'T YOU STOPPING HIM!"
"ENOUGH!" Qrow yelled, Blake's look stayed the same. He sighed as his tone leveled. "Headmaster's orders, we've been looking for this guy for ages now."
He cast a glance to me before continuing. "Yeah he almost killed one of you, and trust me he's not going to get off easy with it either. You might not have been able to tell but the Headmaster was pissed, I've never heard him that pissed in my life. I'm sure bone boy here will learn the hard way not to mess with old Oz."
The others seemed to calm just a tad, not much but a bit. He was right though, if they were important to the king then I was sure the punishment was going to be harsh. I would endure it nonetheless, as it was my duty. Qrow continued on, this time with a calmer tone.
"However that's the headmaster's choice, not ours. We'll get your friend some help when we get back okay?"
Blake only gave a huff, while the blond one nodded and glared at me. Qrow gave one last nod before continuing on. I trailed silently beside him, feeling a sense of shame overtake me. I'd almost killed the king's students, the ones he'd chosen to teach and nurture; and for what? To help a criminal fight other criminals?
It didn't matter now, I felt relief in that at least. The king had stopped me from making a grave mistake, he saved me from taking an innocent life, it was a mercy I would not forget. And best of all, I was now free.
After all, I warned Sienna from the start that I followed only two, and one had just appeared to take me home.
.
.
It's all my fault.
Blake was feeling like the smallest person in the world as she sat with Weiss wrapped in her arms. Her teammate was still quiet, occasionally letting out a whimper.
Why didn't she listen? Everybody was already telling her that the White Fang was behind the robberies and yet she still went out on her own anyway. All she had to do was accept it an none of this would have happened. But no, she had to go out on her own, and it nearly cost Weiss her life.
Her teammate despite being a Schnee had rushed in to aid her, and not only that but she brought an ally too in the form of another Faunus. Weiss had broken the preconceived notions Blake had of her all in one fell swoop, and how did she thank her? By almost getting her killed at the hands some psycho murderer!
She glared as she looked his way, feeling the hatred bubble up inside her. She was so angry, so so angry. Yet she couldn't do anything, and that's what hurt the most. Her vision was clouded as her tears blinded her. She shut her eyes, choosing instead to hug Weiss closer, trying desperately to hold herself together.
Yang had asked her what was wrong, and Ruby tried as well, yet she just ignored them both. They wanted to help her, her team wanted to help her, but all she did was run away.
Help the world, fight for equality, such big aspirations for someone who always runs when the going gets tough. She though she could do it, she thought she was a fighter. But no, all along she was just...
Just a coward, nothing but a stupid little girl running headfirst into trouble.
She was broken from her thoughts by the sounds of the airship landing.
"Alright, everyone off." The man from before stated, rising along with the monster.
Blake followed silently, still holding Weiss close in her arms as they stepped off the ship. Even Sun had stayed close to her, almost as if guarding from oncoming threats. It made her smile on the inside that he was willing to stand up for Weiss.
"Blake, Weiss!"
She looked up, seeing Ruby and Yang running to them. Before she could say anything they were wrapped up in a hug, Ruby especially clinging hard to them.
"I-"
"Where were you?! Do you know how worried we were?!" Yang spoke as she backed away, staring her down.
"I-"
Yang let out a breath, hugging Blake closer this time. During the initial hug Blake noticed she had let go of Weiss, who was now in Ruby's arms, still with a defeated look on her face.
Yang backed up again, finally giving her some decent space. "Now, where have you been? The news talked about an explosion at the docks and we were just about to come look for you two."
Blake stared, looking over to see that the monster and the man had left already. She had no excuses, she knew it and yet the look of worry from Yang had her on edge. She felt her chest tighten as she tried to find the right words.
"What's wrong with Weiss?!" She heard Ruby ask. Looking over she was able to see that Weiss was looking away from everyone, almost huddled in on herself. Blake finally managed to pull herself together.
"It's my fault, I almost got her killed when she came to save me." She spoke, catching the attention of the others as they focused on her.
"I went looking for the White Fang, and I got into a fight with them when she found me." She admitted, slowly going quieter with each word.
She had her head down, staring at the dirt as if it was to blame. Blake waited for the anger to come, the screaming and berating. She would take it all without any resistance, after all it was only fair.
She waited and waited, yet no voices came. Blake was still, ready for what was to come when she felt something. Wrapped around her hands was another smaller set. Looking up she saw Ruby holding a soft look.
"We're just glad you're both safe." She said as Yang gave a nod from her side.
Blake was confused, sadness still fueling her thoughts. "How? How can you say that when I nearly killed us?"
Ruby shook her head. "It's not your fault."
"But Weiss n-"
"I sent Weiss to find you, and she chose to help you." Ruby said as she stared her down. "Because we were worried about you alright. You were being so distant and we thought you might be hurt." Ruby finished as Blake could only stare.
How could they be so calm, after what she had done? They should have been furious, yet all she saw was relief. Even Yang who had taken to checking on Weiss was looking more relaxed than angry. Sun himself was looking calm as he talked to Weiss, she gave small nods in response.
Blake didn't get it, but a small part of her just wanted to let it all out, to let go of all the stress and worry.
Ruby pulled at her hand. "Let's go back to our room, we can rest and talk about everything tomorrow okay?"
She nodded as Ruby smiled. "We'll have a team discussion tomorrow. Let us help you, we may not be able to fix everything, but we can try. We care about you Blake, so please stop running away."
Blake gave her last nod as Ruby led them all back to the room.
Running away, she had been doing a lot of that recently. Always trying to do things on her own, never able to trust anyone. But here she was, with teammates who were worried sick, doing all they can to keep her safe. If she couldn't find it in herself to trust those who'd risk their lives for her then who could she trust?
She held her young leader's hand tighter, feeling her tears start to dry.
No more... no more running away. I'm tired of being alone, I hate it! I won't run anymore, I promise from now on I'll stay and fight!
.
.
Ozpin couldn't lie, he was nervous.
He'd taken a huge risk with trying to talk to Vermillion, even more so during such a brutal battle. The young girl had nearly lost her life as well, it was pure chance that she was even alive to begin with.
Had they been a second too late, or should Vermillion have been unwilling to listen then the girl would be dead. Yet the man had listened, which was a good sign. It meant that he wasn't lost like Salem, he could be reasoned with.
Ozpin let out a sigh of relief, at least there was some good news. His word still held power over the ancient knight, and with any luck Vermillion would be willing to follow him once more.
However there were several questions that needed to be answered. Why had he been working with the White Fang? What was that armor he was wearing? And where had he disappeared to for the past millennium and beyond.
Worst of all, Ozpin knew he had to come up with an excuse to tell the students. He was planning to make use of the opportunity that was Vermillion, he just needed to come up with a reason as to why he wouldn't be arrested for attempted murder and terrorism.
That would all have to wait however as it appeared that the man in question had arrived. He heard the ding of the elevator, watching with anticipation as it opened up to show a form he hadn't seen in such a long time.
Ozpin felt a small bit of amusement flow through him as he saw Vermillion's eyes widen just the tiniest bit. He stepped forward and got on one knee, much to the confusion of Qrow and the embarrassment of himself.
"Sire." He stated, and then Ozpin remembered just why he was nervous in the first place. He let out a sigh as he gave a single wave of the hand.
"You may rise." He spoke as Vermillion stood.
Great, he still holds the old manners.
It wasn't that it was a bad thing, just... embarrassing for him as he knew Vermillion would be compelled to kneel as he addressed him.
"Yes sire."
"And please, stop with the 'sire' if you would, that manner of speech is outdated in this day and age." Ozpin spoke, noticing the look on Vermillion's face.
"If you have a question you may ask it." He stated as Vermillion looked closer at him.
"What do you mean 'this day and age'?"
Now that caught his attention, more than he thought it would. Ozpin took some time to think, looking closer at Vermillion. The knight looked just as young as he remembered, which brought on more questions.
"Vermillion, I wish for an explanation. Tell me everything that happened to you in the White Fang, and even before. How did you end up with them?" He asked as Vermillion nodded.
"Of course: it all started back when I was making the offering..."
Author's note
...
Oh but sike you thought she was dead.
Surprise surprise she lived all along, I'm sure I've got at least a handful of you to think I killed her off. But no, twas simply a deception for my own devious purposes.
But for real here, I've had this planned since the beginning. The only change I've made was adding Weiss into the mix, originally it was just Blake in that fight, but I saw a chance for interesting character development, and I took it.
Then again, it was kind of obvious if you really look at it. I've barely started her development, so why kill her off? But this is fanfiction, so anything goes, for better... or worse.
And so we've come to this: Blake promises to not run away (Effectiveness may vary), Team RWBY is forced to talk with each other, Qrow finally succeeded in something, and V is even more devoted to Ozpin.
Future Ruby is also on the move now too.
Either way I get to have the main cast develop, and that's usually a good thing so I'm happy.
Yeah, this section has been a little bit heavy, but don't worry as I plan to ease things out later as well. Trying to keep a mix of serious and fun, we just so happen to be in one of the serious sections at the moment.
Get ready for next time as we start having team RWBY doing things now.
Tell me what you think, and see you later.