Chapter 8
The dream
First person P.O.V.
~one year earlier~ -unknown location-
"Are you two ready?" Adam asks off to my left. Around us are trees ready to lose their leaves as the sunlight shines through from above. Both me and Adam have our masks on, but Blake refused to wear hers on this mission. I see Blake nod out of the corner of my eye from the rock she is sitting on with that ever present book. I steady my breathing and slowly nod my head, too. Adam turns away and starts running while me and Blake follow. Off in the distance, I can hear the faint sound of our target, an SDC train heading for an outpost in the north. As we get closer to the train, we reach a cliff face, with a chasm separating the train tracks and the cliff. I turn my head as the train rounds the corner, blaring its horn, and came into view. Blake and Adam started sliding down the cliff face as it drew closer while I pointed Crescent Rose behind me and fired, activating my semblance at the same time.
While in the air, I could see the entire length of the train, which consisted mainly of boxcars but also had a few platforms. During my descent, I saw a bird fly past me, but couldn't see which type it was. As I recovered from the brief distraction, I landed face first just behind the train's engine, breaking half of my mask along with earning a few scrapes. Getting up, I made my way into the engine compartment, letting my aura heal me, and found it to be entirely automated. I frowned as I couldn't find a way to stop it, so I made my way towards where Blake and Adam should be. As I went further back, I could hear the growing sounds of fighting.
As I burst through the door of a boxcar onto a platform, I saw Blake and Adam get blasted out from another boxcar onto another platform opposite me, followed by a giant spider droid. Swearing under my breath, I unfolded Crescent Rose fully and got ready to launch towards them. Before I knew it, one of the droid's missiles blew up a container of dust next to me, forced Crescent Rose from my grip, and launched me off the train into the forest. Faintly, I could hear Adam yelling my name before I felt my head impact a sturdy branch, and then nothing but darkness and silence.
~present~ -Team RWBY dorm-
Third person P.O.V.
Ruby sat up in her bed with a startled squeak, causing the only other Faunus in the room to wake up.
"Another nightmare, Ruby?" Blake asked.
Numbly, Ruby nodded as Blake got up and went over to her leader's bed, pulling her into a gentle hug.
"Care to talk about it?"
A shake.
Blake sighed as she released Ruby from the hug. "Look, I know you think we shouldn't be bothered with your troubles, but we're a team now. If we can't help each other, then how are we to function in a battle? So, please, tell me, Ruby, so I can help you," the cat Faunus said.
Ruby sighed in defeat and stared at the foot of her bed before speaking. "I-I don't know if it was a nightmare, or another memory, but I don't like it either way. In it was you, me, and Adam, and we were on some sort of...Blake? Wh-why are you crying?" Ruby asked because Blake, in fact, had tears slowly rolling down her face.
Blake just wiped her face with the sleeve of her kimono and smiled. Then she hugged the wolf Faunus before saying, "You had me worried that day, Rubes. You had us all worried, I think anyways."
"What do you mean you think?"
Blake pulled back a bit and held Ruby at arms length, deep in thought before whispering, "Well...after I saw you get blasted off the train, I decided to leave the White Fang...I-I just couldn't stand using fear to gain respect anymore…"
Now it was Ruby's turn to cry as she just tackled Blake in a hug, consequently falling off the bed and waking the room's other two occupants. Weiss jumped out of bed in her nightgown, eyes wide, while Yang just rolled over and winked suggestively at her younger sister.
"Getting a little bit of action already, sis? We haven't even been a proper team for a full day yet," Yang said mockingly.
At this, Ruby scrambled away from Blake, who was staring daggers at Yang. Weiss, meanwhile, was trying to find the right words to complain about both the rude awakening and the immature remark. Failing to find the words she wanted, she huffed and lay back down, holding her pillow over her face as Blake made her way across the dorm and started quietly yelling at Yang. After a couple minutes, Blake followed Weiss' example, minus the pillow over the face, and was asleep in seconds. With only Yang and Ruby awake, they went out into the hall for a few minutes.
"Okay, so what happened between you and Blake? You two were awfully familiar with each other the night before, and the day of, initiation, so don't play dumb like before," Yang said.
Ruby crossed her arms and stared at her sister. "I have no idea what you are talking about. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be heading back to sleep," she said before turning around and walking towards the door.
"Not so fast, kiddo," the blonde said, grabbing Ruby by the wrist and turning her back around. "I know we missed a lot of time to bond, but even Weiss, who doesn't know you at all, asked if you and Blake knew each other. So don't try to hide it, okay? I know I wasn't there for you while you were missing, but I'm here now, and I don't want to be shut out, Ruby," Yang said, tears starting to stream down her face.
Ruby looked down at her feet, shuffling uncomfortably, while Yang pleaded with her. A few minutes passed once Yang finished before Ruby looked back at her sister. "I'm not shutting you out, sis. But I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about either," she said in an even tone. "So, please, let's go back to bed. We can talk later, when it's not the middle of the night. Alright?"
Sighing, Yang released her sister's wrist and pushed past her. "Fine, but I want to make this clear, when we do talk, I don't want you to leave anything out. If you remember something from those ten years, I want to hear about it."
With that, Yang opened the door and walked back over to her bed and laid down, facing away from the rest. Sighing in defeat, Ruby shuffled over to her bed and flopped face first down onto it, not even bothering with the covers, and fell into a dreamless sleep.
~the following morning~
First person P.O.V.
As I opened my eyes, heavy from a restless night, I saw Blake already sitting up in her bed, book in hand. I grinned as I threw a pillow at her face, which she dodged like the ninja she is. She glared at me from the other end of her bed now, so I whispered, "Why am I not surprised?" This earned an eye roll from the cat Faunus. Laughing, I made my way into the bathroom and got changed into the horrendous uniform we are forced to wear. I guess I'm lucky that they allow us to wear...accessories…with it, as I also put on a small version of my cape. When I walked out, I saw Yang was awake, if you count fighting blankets after falling out of bed awake, and Weiss was still asleep.
Laughing silently, I made my way over to my brute of a sister and helped her out of the blankets' trap. She then made her way into the bathroom with her uniform, not taking long to change before coming back out, the uniform barely constraining her breasts. Shaking my head, I looked over at Blake, who must've changed while I was in the bathroom or was helping Yang. I then went over to one of my bags and opened one of the outside pockets, showing the item inside to the other occupants. Yang grew an evil grin as Blake just had a grim look on her face. I stepped at the foot of Weiss' bed and took an exaggerated inhale to give my old partner time to brace for the sound, as well as bracing myself, folding my ears flat against my head, blocking all sounds for them, before blowing the whistle. Weiss shot up in bed, arms flailing about, before falling out. Me, Yang, and even Blake laughed at the sight of the ice bitch falling out of bed.
"That...was priceless, sis!" Yang said, still grinning evilly.
After a few minutes of getting lectured by the ice bitch, and after she got dressed, I had them all line up in front of the beds so we can start sprucing up the dorm. After thirty or so minutes, we had everything where we wanted them...except the fucking beds. We all stood near the door, staring at the mess and wondering what we were to do with it. After a few more minutes, Yang suggested we make bunk beds.
"Well, it does save space, sis. Also, didn't you want bunk beds when you were four?" Yang explained.
I nodded, mainly at the space saving because I barely remember anything from before. "You do have a point. I say we put it to a vote!" I said. In the order we were lined up, I thrust both my arms in the air, sis did some sort of sign that I had no idea what it was, Blake gave a thumbs up, and the ice bitch of course showed her disapproval by stomping her feet.
"I call top bunk!" me and Yang said at the same time, continuing with, "No, I call top bunk! No, I do! Gah!"
"You can both have top bunk," Blake said after a minute of this. "There's enough room to make two makeshift bunk beds. Weiss and Ruby, you can have that side of the room," she said, pointing to the left of the door, and pointing to the right as she continued, "Yang and I can have this side. Sound good?"
I grinned as my old partner said this. "Great idea! Alright, Team RWBY, let's make those bunk beds!" I said with more enthusiasm than I thought I had as I made my way to my bags, which were still in a corner of the room, and rushed back to the others with a coil of rope. The others just stared at me. Yang had a concerned look, Weiss looked scared for some reason, and Blake...I don't know what look Blake had on her face, but her cheeks were slightly flushed.
Finally, Yang spoke up. "Uh...sis? I don't think this is the right time for some b-" Whatever she was going to say was cut off as Blake quickly placed a hand over my sister's mouth and whispered in her ear.
"I think the rope is to make the bunk beds, Yang. Not that, though," I heard.
Shrugging, I made my way to my bed and started wrapping the rope around each leg. Once that was finished, I started looking for a sturdy point in the ceiling to attach some hooks to, finally finding one that placed my bed by the window and bookshelf. I looked over at my partner quickly and saw she was tapping her foot. "Something wrong, ice queen?" I asked when I finished hanging my bed, draping a sheet over the taut ropes, creating a little enclosure.
"Yes, actually. Two things. One, that surely isn't safe and looks like it could fall any minute. Two, do NOT call me 'Ice Queen'," she replied.
'Would you rather be called Ice Bitch?' is what I wanted to say, but instead, I replied cheerfully with, "Okay, Weiss! And don't worry, these ropes can hold two full grown Ursai."
"How wo- Nevermind. I don't want to know."
I shrugged as I watched Blake and Yang use books to make their bunk bed. When they were finished, I sat down on Weiss' bed, gaining an indignant sound from her. Sighing in both relief and defeat, I pulled out a binder that held my schedule and plenty of space for notes. "Now, classes…"
~ten minutes later~
First person P.O.V. - Cardin
"Why do we arrive early, only to have the professor arrive late?" I hear Dove ask from my right. I cuff his ear, responding with, "Why the fuck do you care? The less work we have, the better." I turn when I hear the door burst open, revealing two panicked teams, JNPR and RWBY. I grit my teeth as the red hooded menace walks right by me without even batting an eye.
"Yo, Card, you alright, man?"
I shrug Sky's question, and hand, off as I see the blonde blunder sit directly in front of me while the portly professor slowly walks in and starts talking nonsense.
"Dude, you're getting that look in yours eyes again," Dove whispered to me.
I shrug again as I subtly pointed to the blonde, whispering to my team, "You see this kid? I have a beef with one of his friends and he is the key to my plan. Let's make his life hell."
A/N Hey guys, I'm back. Sorry for the long wait. But I do have a life that tends to get in my way at times. [insert nervous laughter here] Anyways, don't be expecting a new chapter anytime soon. *angrily shakes fist at the sky before sighing* Sometimes I hate my life. Anywho~... Ciao!
