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Act II
Scene 23
Teaches a Lesson
A/n:
Not Dead
Yeah, surprise, I'm back.
You might be wondering what took me so long, especially after my thing about my update schedule.
Well, real life things happened, writing this story was kind of in the middle of my priority list, and my muse was not very helpful with this scene.
So in summary, things.
Anyway, point is, I have less time to write than I used to, and I'm not 100% sad about that.
but, in other news, while i was gone, I got past 200 follows and 150 favorites.
Which is fucking awesome
I wish I could have done something to commemorate that when it happened, but, meh.
oh well.
Also, shoutout to Red, Nik, and my Beta TehUnoman for helping me with this pile of (maybe) horseshit.
In any case, I think I've wasted enough of your time with this stuff, go on and read the story.
OH, and gore warnings.
Enjoy
Yang Pov
"It's a pleasure to meet you Jaune," I said with a bright, blinding smile.
A smile that seemed to make the blond boy in front of me feel more comfortable if his smile was anything to go by.
In but a few moments we had picked up all of his trash and thrown it out, and he was on his way back. We talked for a bit, and with each second, I could feel Jaune getting just a little more comfortable with me. He never truly and fully became comfortable, partly because he seemed to be doing everything physically possible to avoid looking at my ample bust.
And failing.
Still, though, the blush that grew on his face every time his eyes wandered downward, however slight it was, was…nice. Being able to elicit that blush with just the slightest movement, the repositioning of my arms, a nice teasing smile, felt great. It was all a kind of game to me, being able to tease this poor boy, and oh was he so easy to tease.
Jaune's somebody to keep an eye on. He definitely seems like a fun distraction. I thought with a smirk
As I thought about it, I could hear the ambient sound of the cafeteria grow into a loud dull roar. It was positively buzzing with deafening sound, making it hard to hear much beyond Jaune
Then, I was pulled from my thoughts as I saw Jaune's body get rocked by some unseen collision from behind. He spun around, and a look of surprised recognition came upon him.
"Lilith?!" He exclaimed in surprise.
Lilith… That name, for some reason, rung a bell in me.
I had heard it before, but I couldn't for the life of me remember where.
Jaune soon stepped out of the way to reveal the person in question, and I couldn't help the recognition that came over me when I saw her.
She was small, coming up to Jaune's stomach, but not much higher, and she had pale skin. She was wearing the school uniform, with no real additions or modifications to it, unlike some students who took to decorating it with a few personal effects. She had an elaborate, intricately crafted pen in her hands, twirling it absentmindedly.
She also had pale blond hair, not white like that of Weiss, or the golden blond of mine, but somewhere in between, leaning more on the white side. And her eyes were dark, so dark they bordered on black, but on closer inspection were really an incredibly deep and dark green. She used said eyes to glare up at Jaune, a look of mild irritation on her face as it twisted ever so slightly into a hard frown.
"Jaune, what are you doing?" She glowered at him
There was something about her, something…familiar, but again, I couldn't put my name on what it was.
Despite her small stature, Jaune seemed to shrink under her harsh glare, sheepishly trying to look away from her dark piercing gaze.
"Er, hey Lilith" He began, scratching the back of his head nervously, "I was just, uh, talking to Yang over here."
At the mention of my name, he seemed to gain a little more spine, as he put on his best attempt at a winning smile and turned to me.
"Lilith, this is Yang. She's a freshman like us." He said gesturing to me as he began introductions.
I looked to Lilith with a cheerful smile, one that belied the more uncertain and perplexed part beneath my mask. I wasn't entirely sure what to make of the interaction between the two. On the one hand, Lilith didn't seem too terribly threatening, after all, she barely came up to his chest. On the other, I knew full well how possible it was for powerful and dangerous things to lie inside such a small package.
"Hey, it's nice to meet you," I said, putting up a strong, shining front for her as I extended my hand out to her.
Lilith looked at my hand for a second, before directing her attention towards my eye. That frown remained present on her face as she leveled a mild, judging, glare at me. Looking into her deep, dark, consuming green eyes was like looking into the depths of a dark, mysterious, and foreboding forest. They dared me to try and explore further, to explore there depths, but mysterious power slithering in the shadows warned my soul to stay away.
"And this, Yang, is Lilith, my teammate," Jaune said, shaking me from the enchantment her deep green eyes cast on me as he introduced her.
With that, Lilith slowly turned her head from me and resumed leveling her glare at Jaune for a second, before she decided harsher measures were required.
"OWE!" Jaune cried out in pain as Lilith stomped on his foot.
He jumped up and down in front of her on one leg, clutching his wounded foot like his life depended on it, making a fool of himself. Lilith, in turn, crossed her arms over her slim, bordering on non-existent, chest, as she continued to look at him disapprovingly.
I couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the antics between the two, the way Lilith, despite being so much smaller than him, had so much domineering power over him.
Still, though, something about her…it felt familiar. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I recognized it from somewhere.
"Jaune, you said you were just going to go throw out our stuff, then we could leave. Five minutes later I find you flirting with this girl." She stated, unamused.
"I-I just got a little distracted." Jaune attempted to defend as he continued to nurse his injured foot.
"We're going to be late!" Lilith exclaimed, exasperated.
"We are? To what?" Jaune responded, momentarily stopping his hoping to give Lilith a confused look.
Lilith, in response, just gave a strangled mix of an annoyed sigh and a groan as she closed her eyes, lowered her head, and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I don't have time for this." She muttered under her breath.
Without another word, she grabbed onto Jaune's free arm and yanked him with her to the exit of the cafeteria.
As he cried out useless protests, I couldn't help but laugh at it all. Those two were odd, but fun. I honestly hadn't felt this…light…in a while. It felt good.
Those two certainly are interesting
Goodwitch pov
"So you met your sister?" I asked with trepidation.
We had already talked about what would happen if she did. Multiple times in fact. Before, she would simply say, "I have a plan for that", "I know what I'm doing", or even, "Just trust me.".
But, more recently, she actually deigned to share what it was with me. I was skeptical, of course, and even a little unsure of the moral implications of her using her semblance on her own sister.
But, in the end, I relented. Mostly because there wasn't really much of a choice, other than Ruby running away.
"Correct." She answered simply.
"So did you…?" I trailed off, not truly wanting to think too hard about it.
"I made me look more like your niece to her, and little like myself. If anyone mentions it, she'll be able to see the connection." She explained
"Have you done this for anyone else?" I asked, almost scared of the answer.
She paused for a moment, considering her answer, something that only grew the tension within me.
"…Not…exactly." She began
"What I've started doing is slowly planting the subconscious image of 'Lilith' in people's minds, such that if someone described her, they would connect it with Lilith. At the same time, when they see me, they still recognize me as Lilith as well." She answered.
Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I had feared. In fact, it was deviously clever. I also had difficulty wrapping my head around half of how she made that work, as well as the specifics of what exactly she was doing, but I trusted she could do it.
I sighed, resigning myself to my new fate in this position I had found myself in. It wasn't perfect, and the moral implications didn't leave me feeling entirely comfortable, but I could see why it would be necessary.
Still, I didn't really feel like staying on this subject for much longer, so I decided to try and switch them.
"Did anything else interesting happen this week?' I asked
For the most part, Ruby hadn't actually told me much about her goings-on in class. In fact, I hadn't actually seen much of her at all. I myself was rather busy with my duties, as well as still dealing with the fallout of Initiation. In addition, Ruby seemed to bury herself in her work and catching up in her studies with surprising dedication from one so young.
But, that was something I had come to expect from her. She had an insatiable hunger for knowledge, in all forms, though she seemed to have an…affinity for math and science. Those subjects just always seemed to come so much easier to her.
As a result, however, of the business, we hadn't talked much over the week. In fact, Ruby was often asleep by the time I finally stopped working. So now, it was finally the weekend, and I had taken some time off to teach her about dust and aura use, as well as spending some time with her eerily calming presence.
We were actually on our way to the room I had set up for us right now.
"hmmm…." Ruby hummed thoughtfully in response to my question.
I could practically see the gears turning in her head as she sorted out what was "interesting" and what was "normal", though, to be honest, there was probably a third category she labelled, "Distasteful", things she found interesting, but had the good sense to know most wouldn't share that view.
"Well…" She began
"There was the one day in Grimm studies." She continued, "When Prof. Port had Jaune fight a Boarbatusk."
Then, a pause as she smiled ever so slightly. I nearly shuddered at its sight. It was a smile I had come to recognize as one that belonged to things that amused her. This could be everything from a good, entertaining book, to watching a cat stalk and kill its prey.
"That was certainly amusing." She finished.
She certainly has an…odd…sense of humor. I thought.
But, I won't hold that against her. It's who she is, and I have to accept that.
Still…it might be good to continue the lessons on acting…"normal". I added silently.
"Was it now?' I asked, inviting her to continue.
And with a simply, "indeed", she did.
Ruby pov
"Mr. Arc!" Professor Port shouted, shaking Jaune from his little nap.
"Wha!" He jolted, coming back into awareness
"Why don't you come down here and show us what a true huntsman is capable of?" He boisterously bellowed.
It was at this moment the Jaune began sweating bullets. And it's no wonder why.
Jaune never want to combat school. In fact, I'm pretty sure he doesn't really know how to use a sword and shield. I thought.
You know, other than "swish swish stab" and "Protect face." I commented silently
"Uh…" He stuttered, "Maybe someone else should go instead?"
"Nonsense my boy! You're part of the prestigious Arc line! Come on down here and show us all what an Arc can do!" the Professor responded
I could pretty much hear the sound of Jaune dying inside.
Sensing Jaune's reluctance, Pyrrha decided to try and give a helping hand.
"Don't worry Jaune, it'll be fine!" She said with a bright smile and a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"t-thanks Pyrrha." He said with a cracked smile, one Pyrrha didn't seem to notice.
Still, though, despite his lack of training, it shouldn't be too bad. I doubt Professor Port is irresponsible enough to have Jaune fight something truly dangerous. Probably just some kind of test or something I thought.
Several minutes later, after Jaune reluctantly got up to get his equipment, Jaune was standing in the center of the room, on the little stage Professor Port had, clad in his black hoodie, jeans, and white armor. He brandished his sword and shield nervously, but with false confidence. Nothing too big or arrogant, but he was doing what he could to keep up a brave face.
"Now then, my boy." The professor began, walking over to a large, rattling, box, "Show us what you can do."
And with that, he released the latch, and charging out came a Boarbatusk. A very old, very big, and very angry, Boarbatusk.
I resisted the urge to facepalm.
Nevermind. It seems Professor Port is an idiot after all. I thought.
Boarbatusks were one of the more tricky Grimm to handle. They were well armored, aggressive, only had one weak spot, and they were surprisingly intelligent. They could also be surprisingly fast, given how armored they were. All in all, a deadly combination.
Still, they weren't too powerful when it came to dealing damage.
But this was a very old Boarbatusk. Which meant it was tougher, stronger, and smarter than a normal one. It knew its weak spot, and would protect it. It might even have some armor growing down there just in case. It was also just a little taller than Jaune himself was, huge for this type of Grimm.
This was a bad matchup for a lot of people, namely those that used piercing attacks. Its old armor was too thick for anything but the strongest in penetrative attacks. Instead, blunt force trauma, or some attack that would bypass its defenses would be best. Conversely, one could try to hit it in the gaps in its plates., the chinks in its armor.
But I'm not sure Jaune knew that. Even if he did, I'm not sure he really had a way to do that. He had his shield, but it would really be enough to kill the Grimm, just stun it.
But that might be all he needs I thought critically, narrowing my eyes in consideration.
This should be interesting I thought. Or, at the very least, entertaining.
But, should things get out of hand, I might have to step in I thought, considering the further incompetence of the Professor. He might be too slow to save Jaune, or too weak.
I might want a good show, but I will not allow Jaune to be killed by someone else's foolishness.
The two combatants circled each other. Jaune, nervously. The Boarbatusk, hungrily.
The stalemate was broken when the Boarbatusk suddenly charged at Jaune. He was barely able to get his shield up in time to block its attack. Even still, the force of the attack forced him to stumble backward a couple steps.
But instead of letting Jaune recoup, the Boarbatusk saw his weakness and went in for the kill.
It backed up a few steps, before charging once more with renewed vigor and fury.
Once again, Jaune barely managed to block it, but this time, it didn't matter.
Despite a shield in the way, the Grimm kept going, charging forward like a runaway train. Jaune's weak attempt at a defensive stance was no match for its ruthless attack, and Jaune was soon knocked off balance, and onto his back.
Not wasting any time, the Boarbatusk hooked its tusks under his shield, before using them to throw it across the room, robbing Jaune of his only real defense. As the shield clattered to the ground on the other end of the room, I could feel what little hope in Jaune die to fear, terror, and despair. Something the Grimm could feel too.
It attempted to stomp on Jaune's head, but in a fit of adrenaline and fear driven movement, he managed to roll out of the way, and get back on his feet. But, unwilling to let its delectably despairing prey get away, the Grimm fluidly slammed its head into his chest, stunning him.
It gave the Grimm the opening it needed to take a few steps back, before charging Jaune once more.
Stunned and without his shield to defend himself, Jaune helpless but to take the full brunt of the charge this time. Instead of knocking him down, the Boarbatusk picked Jaune up in its tusks, carrying him, before slamming Jaune into the wall at full speed with a loud SLAM.
The impact was forceful enough to shake the whole room and create a small dent in the wall.
Dazed from the impact, Jaune was barely able to look up at the large Boarbatusk as it threw its hoof down to cave in hi-
BOOM!
The thunderous report of Professor Port's Blunder Axe sounded in the room, causing everyone unprepared to flinch violently.
The Boarbatusk itself was momentarily stunned by the impact, its armor bearing some scorch marks, but otherwise undamaged. But, not a moment later, it shook it off and turned to the one who dared interrupt its meal with a furious red glare.
Professor Port returned the beast's glare with a steely one of his own.
A silent signal ended the small standoff, and the Boarbatusk charged at the professor. Watching it carefully, Professor Port kept his stance loose, and his gun aimed steadily at the 6ft tall armored Grimm charging him with hunger and hate in its eyes.
Soon, it was nearly upon him, ready to hit him with the full force and fury of its massive armored form. Professor Port, knowing it was the right moment, took aim, and -BOOM!
With another booming blast of his gun, the Boarbatusk's right front leg exploded at the small vulnerable joint in the knee. It hit the Grimm just at the right moment to trip it up and send it completely off balance. Like a derailed train, the Boarbatusk rolled and crashed, its momentum keeping it rolling forward.
Professor Port casually sidestepped out of the way of the disabled Grimm as it crashed past him into the wall. Then, he calmly walked over to the crippled Grimm, held the large muzzle up the beast's head, and with another BOOM!, erased it from existence.
With its death, the professor's shoulder's sagged, and her turned to Jaune with a regretful expression on his face.
"My...apologies, Mr. Arc. It seems I made an error in judgment in my zeal. I shall endeavor to make sure to be more...careful...in further classes." He apologized to him.
Jaune, however, looked like he took it differently than Professor Port intended. I could feel the massive waves of shame and disappointment wrapping around his aura. He probably thought that Professor Port was saying he should have picked something more appropriate for a weakling like him.
In a way, he was, but Jaune was missing the point by wallowing in his own misery and self-disgust.
I suppose we'll have to find a way to fix this I thought, looking down at Jaune as he picked up his sword and shield.
Because this cannot continue.
Goodwitch pov
"that…actually happened?" I asked, surprised.
Not that I expected Ruby to lie to me about something like this, it was just…well…surprising.
"Yes. I'm actually a little surprised you hadn't heard of it earlier." Ruby commented.
"I've been busy recently, I haven't had as much time to chat with my colleagues as I might wish. Even if I did, Professor Port isn't exactly my…first…choice of companions." I explained
Ruby seemed to accept that with a shallow nod of her head, and a simple hum.
"But, it seems I'm going to have to have another talk with him about how he teaches his classes," I said with narrowed eyes.
"Still, I find it quite surprising that someone who's gone through combat school, and got accepted into Beacon, did that poorly against a Boarbatusk, even an old one. Especially a man who survived the harshest, and most deadly Initiation ever to be held, along with nearly 24 hours in the Emerald Forest with only his team." I commented.
"Well that's probably because Jaune never went through combat school," Ruby remarked offhandedly.
What I thought, my entire thought process coming to a stuttering halt.
"But his transcripts-" I began to say.
"-Are fake." She interrupted me.
I froze, stopping my walking for a brief second as I tried to process this information.
Jaune Arc's transcripts had been faked? And they had passed?!
I couldn't believe it. There should have been no way for that to happen. Ozpin approved them himself-
Wait.
"That bastard." I ground out under my breath as I felt an aneurysm begin to develop.
He would do something like this. I thought
The only son in the noble Arc line this generation, Ozpin probably jumped at the chance to recruit him, regardless of how dangerous or risky it was. He probably saw potential or something in the boy and decided to gamble the poor boy's hopes, dreams, and very life on the chance that somehow this untrained teenager would be able to survive Initiation.
It was careless, irresponsible, childish, and….so totally Ozpin.
"Ozpin let Mr. Arc in, knowing full well that his transcripts were fake." I said, thinking out loud.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he modified them himself, to just to make extra sure he would be accepted."
"Probably." Ruby threw in.
"How could he be so irresponsible? Mr. Arc could have been killed!" I practically growled, "All on the off chance that he would be some kind of…hero…or something."
"But, he did survive." Ruby pointed out.
I paused.
She did technically have a point.
Jaune Arc had, somehow, managed to survive the bloodiest, most tragic Initiation in history, something that was supposed to weed out the weak and unfit from the school. And he had done it without having hardly any combat training to speak of.
"Though, a good chunk of that was based on luck." Ruby admitted.
"Still, I'd rather you not expel the only person on my team, in the school really, who doesn't secretly want to kill me in my sleep." Ruby added, glancing up at me with those silver eyes of hers.
I frowned, "Allowing students to attend this school solely based on their friendships isn't exactly wise."
"Fair enough. But, he did pass the bloodiest Initiation in history. He has to be doing something right." Ruby responded.
"Even still, that doesn't mean he will survive his next brush with death. Better to crush his dreams and expel him now, than have him die a bloody death that serves no purpose." I argued
"True…" Ruby trailed off, her eyes slipping to the side. Then, I saw the corners of her mouth quirk upwards ever so slightly as she added, "But do you really think Ozpin will let you?"
I recoiled silently in surprise, then contained fury took its place as I realized the truth of the statement.
"Shit." I cursed silently
She was right. In fact, Ozpin would probably have many of the same arguments, combined with a few about the great potential he saw in the boy, or something of the like. The biggest difference, however, was that Ozpin could actually keep the boy enrolled here. Ruby could only try to change my mind.
With a sigh, I realized I honestly couldn't do much about it, other than try to talk some sense into Ozpin. Something I knew wouldn't really work, but I had to try and do something to save this boy's life.
Then, something else occurred to me.
"Ruby…how do you know this?" I asked warily
"I have my ways." She answered cryptically.
I frowned, knowing what she meant. She trusted me enough not to lie to me, but didn't trust me enough to actually tell me the truth. Which probably mean the truth was something I wouldn't like.
"Was it illegal?" I asked, hoping she could give me that much
At that, she paused for a moment, considering her answer.
"I…don't believe so. I'd be a little surprised if it was, honestly, but then, I don't know all the rules and regulations of this country yet, so it might have actually been illegal in some way," She responded carefully.
I sighed, knowing that this cryptic answer was really the best I was going to get.
Maybe one day, she'll feel comfortable enough to tell me the whole truth, to not give me these half-truths and technicalities I thought somewhat wistfully.
Still, though, I couldn't help the second thought that crossed my mind.
But will I want to hear it?
Finally, we entered the training room I had reserved for the two of us. It was a circular room usually used for combat training, and as a result contained all the things I was looking for.
It was made to stand up to punishment, so no accidental discharges of Dust would do any damage, and the safety systems would kick to provide damage control should something go wrong. In addition, it had targets we could use, and the basic requirements for all the Dust types we would be experimenting with.
As I lead Ruby to the table in the center of the room that contained the testing samples, I explained things to Ruby.
"Dust usage and Aura control go hand in hand." I began
"You use your Aura to activate, control, and shape the effects of Dust. Something that requires deft control over your Aura. For most people, using Dust may simply result in a burst of fire, or a strong gust of wind. But for those with true skill in controlling their Aura, and by extension, Dust, truly incredible things are possible." I explained
"For example, I once knew a man who was quite proficient in the use of Wind Dust used in conjunction with other types to produce powerful, controlled, and spectacular storms with just a twirl of his staff."
"So Aura control is the key aspect in Dust control?" She inquired, "Is that it?"
"No, there are several other things needed for good Dust control, and to become a good Dust mage. Aura control is just the most critical. Another critical aspect is your Aural alignment." I answered.
"Aural alignment?" She reiterated with a raised brow in puzzlement.
"Yes. Aural alignment refers to how one's Aura is aligned with the elements and Dust. Some people just lack a proper alignment to any type of Dust. Others, however, might have a generally good alignment to all of them, but have no specialties." I explained to her
"But most people have a certain element their Aura is most aligned to, one that comes easier to them."
"How does your alignment matter?" Ruby asked, "Does it determine what Dust you can use well?"
"In way." I began carefully. This was somewhat tricky terrain, with a lot of qualifiers, and not a lot of hard facts.
"Alignment generally refers to the element most associated with your aura, and often by extension your semblance. It also usually refers to how you aura is associated with the other elements. That association can significantly help, or hurt, how well you can interact and use different forms of Dust." I explained
"It not a perfect science, honestly, and there are several rare exceptions to the rule, but that's the standard," I added.
Ruby hummed in acknowledgment, silently asking me to continue.
So I did.
"Depending on who you ask, there can be many different "core" elements. By one standard there are three, fire, lightning, and ice. By another standard, there are four, fire, wind, water, and earth. But for the sake of finding your best match, we'll be working with the September set." I announced
At her confused look, I decided to continue.
Finally arriving at the table, I gestured to the seven different dust crystals on the table.
"Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Ice, Lightning, and Force. Red, teal, bronze, green, white, cobalt, and violet, respectively" I pointed out, gesturing to each one.
"Now, they come in more colors than this, and the color can vary based on individual variations of the core element. For example, common fire dust is often red. But, the more golden variety is highly explosive. The more orange-red variety, however, has more heat than explosive force, and is often used for melting." I explained.
"I see." She muttered in acknowledgment, looking over the crystals in barely contained awe.
Then, turning to me, curiosity glimmering in those hollow silver orbs of hers, she asked, "Where do we start?"
"Wind dust," I smiled back.
With a nod in acceptance, she looked back towards the dust crystals, searching momentarily for the green one. Picking it up in her right hand, she twisted it around in her fingers, inspecting it.
"What now?" She asked as she continued to examine the emerald crystal.
"Mold you aura, and try to push it into, and through the crystal," I instructed.
And my instructions, she held her arms out, both hands clasped around the green gem. She closed her eyes as she concentrated on the task at hand. Then, I began to hear that ever so soft buzzing on the edge of my hearing, so soft I had to question its very existence. The ever-present aura of unease Ruby gave off seemed to fluctuate and grow. I could feel her aura twist and shift as she began to take more direct control of it.
Then, a soft green light began to pour out from her hands, and a small gust of wind picked up around her. As it grew, so too did the light and static, and soon the wind gently spun around her.
She looked like she was in a quiet, pleased, peace. Her hair and red cape carried in the gentle breeze, and a soft, ghost of a smile playing on her lips. The pleasant scene before me was almost enough to counterbalance the creeping edge of her aura that filled everything it touched with unsettling unease.
Almost.
Still, it soon came to an end. The breeze died down, the glow faded, and that unsettling static quieted. When it was done, Ruby opened her eyes and looked to me, a small spark of hope and excitement dancing in her eyes.
"How was that?" She asked.
"Splendid. You seem to have either a very good alignment with wind, or you're extremely adept at controlling your aura." I began,
"Either way, it's clear you have potential as a Dust mage," I added with a small smile, quite pleased with her abilities.
Some part of me was filled with a level of childlike glee and excitement. It was depressingly rare for me to find anyone proficient enough in both aura and dust to have potential as a Dust mage, and it was equally exciting to find that Ruby had an affinity for my own alignment of wind.
I still wasn't quite sure if she was a strongly aligned toward it as I was, considering she already had enough Aura control to use Aura sensing, but…
She has potential. I thought with a measure of pride.
In response to my praise, she gave me a small smile in return.
As she placed the dust crystal back on the table, I couldn't help but notice something…odd…about it. It had been used slightly, so it was smaller now, using up some of its mass to produce the wind, but there was something else. It looked like there was something…moving…inside the crystal itself. Shifting, writhing.
I blinked, and it was gone.
Probably just an after effect of Ruby's aura on my mind. I thought with a concerned frown.
So, we moved onto the others.
When she used the water Dust, a bit more of the picture of Ruby's alignment, as well as her skill in Aura control became apparent, as she was barely able to produce a trickle from the blue Dust crystal, let alone a small floating orb of water like she would if she had an alignment towards it. Similar things happened with the Earth Dust, as she was barely able to cause a small mound of dirt to rise out of the ground.
The Force dust, despite its name, actually affected the mass of objects, as opposed to directly affecting force itself. It could make something lighter, or heavier. It was often used in airships to allow them to float, as opposed to wind or earth dust, since it tended to be more stable and consistent along all materials and conditions. That said, due to its high demand in the more industrial side of things, it was harder to come by for use in tactical functions.
Still, when Ruby picked it up, it didn't do too much, only allowing her to pick up a pebble a few inches off the ground, enveloped in a dark purple field.
Then, there came the Ice Dust.
The Ice Dust reacted strangely. Instead of producing a crystal of ice, it actually began to freeze her hand, sucking the heat right out of it. By the time she dropped it, it had managed to give her hand what looked like the early stages of frostbite.
Concerned, I wanted to stop to try and get immediate medical attention on it. Ruby stopped me, however, when she pointed out that it was already going away.
Due to her unusual Aura, her hand was completely fine after about 10 minutes of rest, looking as good as new.
And so, she convinced me to allow us to continue to the Fire Dust.
"Are you sure?" I asked, concerned.
There was a reason I had saved fire and lightning dust for last. It was because they were the most volatile, and most dangerous on their own. The same could be said of Ice Dust, as seen by what happened to Ruby's hand just minutes ago.
"Well, I can't just walk away without knowing, can I?" She retorted
"Besides, if anything goes wrong, I have you here." She added, the corner of her mouth curling upwards ever so slightly as she looked at me.
"Fine." I sighed, relenting to her demands.
Still I thought, drawing my crop in anticipation of the worst. It's best to be prepared
"Though…" She began, turning back to the table.
"I suppose I don't have the best track record with fire." She said, reaching out to the red, glowing, crystal with her left hand.
"Sometimes it's hurt me, sometimes we've done wonderful things toge-" she added.
As she spoke the crystal Pulsed. Then.
BOOM!
For one moment, all I knew was the light, heat, sound, and fury of an explosion. An instant later, I felt the vague sensation of being airborne, then the feeling of crashing into the cold hard ground.
Everything hurt, everything was sore. I felt like I had been hit with burning hot water, everything burning uncomfortably and painfully, but not dangerously. My head was still fuzzy and filled with stars. My hearing filled with an incessant ringing, and my vision filled with odd shapes and colors.
As I slowly started to regain my senses, I thanked the protective nature of my Aura. Without it, I surely would have been more injured than simply being knocked around and stunned. That is, of course, when I remembered someone who's aura wasn't so protective, someone who was much more vulnerable than me. Someone who was much closer to the blast than me.
Ruby.
My eyes flew open, adrenaline coursing through my veins as fear surged through my body, throwing any form of inaction from my body. I pushed myself off the ground, frantically looking everywhere for any sign of Ruby, a glimpse of her red cloak, a feeling of unease, a flash of her silver eyes.
Then, I saw it.
A dark mound of something burning, something just the size of a certain small girl, on the other end of the room.
"Ruby!" I called out, running to her, hoping beyond hope that she was fine, that somehow her cloak had shielded her, protected her. That perhaps she was simply exaggerating when she said her aura couldn't protect her.
As I ran to her, I quickly extinguishing the flames with the aid of my semblance and the wind dust in my crop. My heart pounded in my chest, and all I could think about was praying she was okay.
But it wasn't to be.
When I finally got to her, my heart nearly shattered, and I nearly became ill.
Ruby was lying there, on the ground, silent and unmoving. Not even that ever-present aura of unease was there to comfort me, as strange as it sounds.
She was covered in darkened, 2nd to 3rd-degree burns, in many places, it looked like her clothes had been melted and fused to her still smoking skin. The scent of burnt flesh was heavy in the air, and as the ringing in my ears finally died down, I began to hear the alarm sounding in its place.
Her left arm had taken the brunt of the blow, being closest to what I can only assume was the detonation point, the fire dust crystal. Several of the fingers had been messily and brutally torn off, with two fingers on her had "whole", the others at least missing pieces. Nearly all the skin had been blown off her arm, leaving little but charred flesh and bone left.
Her cloak seemed to have been somewhat spared from the onslaught, and while it was now slightly charred at the edges, it looked fine.
But what stole my attention, what captivated me, enthralled me, horrified me most, was her face.
Her face had been melted off into a mess of darkened burned flesh. Her once hollow, yet emotional silver eyes, had been burned out, and in their place were two blackened holes. Her mouth was opened, and blackened, charred hole on the inside. Since it was opened when the dust crystal exploded into a fireball, the fire likely went into her mouth, and down her throat, burning her from the inside out.
Worst of all, her melted face had been twisted, contorted, into an expression of horrified agony. Her face was a gruesome look of frozen terror and pain.
And it made me sick to my stomach just looking at her burned body.
I felt soul-crushing horror, despair, and anguish at what had happened, at what I had allowed to happen.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. I thought, looking at the eternal look of pain and terror on her corpse.
All I had wanted to do was give Ruby and chance to experience things her family had taken from her in a way I thought would be relatively safe.
Sure, fire dust could be reactive, but in it's crystalline form, it was usually more stable. It would usually take a serious energy discharge into the crystal to activate it, whether it be Aura or a bullet. And even in the event it did activate, it should have simply started a fire.
Dangerous, but manageable.
For the dust crystal to explode in a fireball from simply a touch was…unprecedented.
But I should have known I thought.
I should have known something would have gone wrong. For some reason chaos and insanity seemed to follow the young girl wherever she went. Nothing she did ended "normally". She felt like a walking affront to some fundamental law of the world. Something the world was doing it's damndest to fix.
After a moment's hesitation of horror, I moved once more, to see if she was still…alive. A normal person in her condition might have survived, and I already knew she had survived the Grimm attack. It wasn't unreasonable to hope that she had survived this.
Though I had no idea how she'd recover.
But as I moved forward, I felt something else take hold within me.
Fear.
No
No, fear isn't the right word for it. It's too…logical, too solid.
It didn't express the feeling of sheer wrongness I suddenly felt, as if the world had just been tilted, ever so slightly. My skin suddenly felt tight against my skin, the room too small and shrinking around me, the shadows too dark and empty, and they light to bright and glaring. It felt as if some fundamental aspect of the world had just violated, some basic law broken, and for it, the world would never be the same again.
The sound of the alarms ringing fell away into a quiet, tense buzzing. A sound that was if the world itself was holding its breath in anticipation of something.
Then it happened.
With a large, wheezing, gasp, Ruby sucked in a hoarse breath of air. The new life breathed into her caused her chest to rise, her back to arch, and her fingers to twitch. After the first breath, her body became wracked with hard, gasping, coughs, as if she couldn't breathe properly.
In that moment, I was torn.
I wanted to run to her, to help her. That's what I wanted to do. But something…else…in me was didn't. It wanted to run away, to finish her off, to stay right here. It was afraid of something in her. That feeling of unease I had always felt around her was back, but it felt more powerful, more raw. As if before, it was more contained, and only wisps of it were leaking out to give me a clue as to what was held within. whereas now, the seal had been cracked.
So I was frozen there, unable to move, fighting against my own body, my own instincts. All I could do was watch.
I saw Ruby's coughing slowly come under control, calming down and sounding less painful. As it died down, she seemed to regain enough presence of mind to use her limbs again. She rolled over, pushing herself of the ground slowly, and carefully.
Every movement was jerky, twitchy, as if her body was a puppet, and she was pulling the strings.
When she got up, she stopped for a moment, as if waiting for something. Then, slowly, carefully, she turned her head straight toward me, her body soon following suit.
Consciously, I suspected it was because she could sense me with her Aura, but it didn't remove the unsettling feeling born from the fact she knew exactly where I was even though her eyes had been burned out of her skull.
She looked at me with those burned out sockets, and reached out to me with her right arm, the less damaged one. She opened her mouth and attempted to say something, but the only sound that came out resembled a dry, raspy, bark or cough.
She stopped, pulling back her arm and reaching for her neck. As she felt it, she looked down, and despite her burned and melted face, I could see the agonizing despair within her. I could see the pain in every step she had taken, every movement she made, and the despair at not even being able to call out for help when she needed it.
And Ruby was someone who never really seemed to ask for help. She always seemed to like to think she could do something on her own. Sure, she would ask questions, but she seemed to have a fair amount of pride too, confident that she could handle most everything else life handed. To see her actually attempt to call out to me, to see her in such a state that she admitted she needed help, it sent me over the edge.
It was the push I needed to pull myself out of this frozen stupor, to regain control of myself.
I ran up to her, stopping just before her before crouching down in front of her.
"Ruby, can you hear me?" I asked cautiously.
Her head jerked toward me in response, a silent confirmation. She looked at me with those empty sockets again, and while I couldn't see it in her face, I could feel a measure of hope rise from her.
"I'm going to take you to the medical wing-" I began to say.
Before I could finish, Ruby surprised me by grabbing onto my shirt and pulling herself toward me, tucking her head into the crook of my neck, before wrapping her arms around me.
My mind went blank.
She had never done something so…intimate, I rarely even touched her. I was just going to pick her up in my arms, I never expected her to pull me into a hug of sorts and cling onto me. In my stunned state, something else happened
"No" A voice sounded.
It…it didn't exactly sound like it came from anywhere in particular. It didn't even particularly sound like I had explicitly heard it at all. It was more like I got the impression of someone saying no, the intent of it echoing in my head.
"No…Just…Rest" It spoke again slowly. Its voice was like a whisper in the wind sounding in my mind, but even still, the intent was clear.
As was the source.
I turned to look down at Ruby while saying, slightly awed, "Ruby? How are you-"
"REST" It repeated, more loudly this time.
It was then followed by a quiet, "please"
That was all I needed for my will against this girl to melt.
"O…Okay" I said tentatively, still shaken by the events that had transpired.
I wrapped an arm around her and picked her up, allowing her red cloak wrap around and cover he burned form.
Using one arm and my semblance, I did what I could to fix the room up before leaving with Ruby in my arms.
I made my way to the room I had on campus.
Normally, I lived in my house off campus, but often times I would find myself too busy to bother with a 20 minute commute, and so I had room reserved specifically for me, in the Staff Housing building. After all, some members of the staff actually lived on campus.
Though, admittedly, my room was a bit more…private…than there's.
In any case, soon we were inside my room, and I laid Ruby down gently onto the bed. Looking back down at her, I could already see her burned and melted flesh molding itself back to its original form. It was even unbinding itself from the burned clothes that had previously fused to her skin.
Incredible I thought, looking at it.
It was one thing for her to say that she could regenerate quickly, and even to see scars as signs of it, but it was quite another to actually see her body putting itself back together.
Still, I had things I needed to do about this, people I needed to explain this to. I'm sure Ozpin would want to know why training room 4 had an explosive incident. So, I began to get up to leave, but then I was stopped.
"stay" her voice sounded in my mind again.
I turned to look to her, and saw something I don't think I'll ever forget.
A liquid began to pool into her left burned out eye socket from somewhere, swirling around in the hole. Then, slowly, it began to reform into a silver eyeball. After the eye blinked, it locked onto my form, looking straight into my eyes with a tentatively pleading expression.
She shuffled a bit, prospering herself up on her mangled elbows to let her sit up a bit, before repeating, "Stay"
"Ruby…" I began to explain, "As much as I want to, I have things I have to do, people I have to tell. I can't just…leave it."
She looked down for a moment, before looking back up at me.
"Please," She added, her silver eye begging me to stay with her, pleading me to grant her some support in her vulnerable state.
And just one look at her pleading form was all I needed for my will to crumble to her.
I sighed, before a small smile forced its way onto my face, against my will. It was irresponsible, and it was unbecoming of someone of my station to just disregard protocol and sit with an injured student, but…
I wanted this.
So, I walked over to the bed, Ruby's eye tracking me the whole way, before I laid down onto the bed next to her myself. I reached out with a hand and slowly began to massage the top of her head. She gave me a pleased hum in response, unconsciously moving her head into my hand and closing her eye.
Then she moved again, scooting up closer to me, before resting her head on my lap and curling up next to my side.
I stopped for a moment, once again surprised by the intimacy of her actions, before the feeling of her resting against me truly sunk in, and a warm feeling traveled through my body.
A small, pleased, smile found its way back onto my face, and I resumed massaging her scalp.
"Thank you" Her voice sounded again, after a moment.
Then, I could feel her go to sleep, the unusual Aura falling away and her breaths becoming steady and rhythmic.
So, as I sat there, laying on the bed, Ruby curled up against me, resting as I petted her head, I could help but feel surprisingly good, despite what had happened to her.
For some reason, this just feels…right
Torchwick pov
"Knock knock."
"Please, for the love of God, Shut up." She begged.
I just chuckled
I feel better already
"Didn't we already do this song and dance already?" I asked teasingly.
She just whined in response, trying not to think about the time she spent with me.
"So, I say again, Knock. Knock." I said theatrically.
She sighed, resigning himself to her fate.
"Who's there?" She groaned.
"Cows go." I replied with a grin
I was really proud of this one.
"Cows go who?" She asked warily.
I smiled in anticipation of her response. I was struggling to keep a straight face.
"No, silly." I began
She looked at me with a confused look, not understanding where I was going with this. I had to hold in my laughter the whole time. I was so close to cracking up.
I turned to her, looking her straight in the eyes.
"Cows go moo!" I said theatrically, taking my hands out from behind my head and waving them at her for effect.
All with a patronizing smile on my face.
It took her half a second to process that, and when she did, she instantly regretted it. She groaned loudly, as if the joke caused her physical pain. She banged her head against the cell's "Window" with a loud thump each time.
"Why me?" She cried.
I just cackled again.
Mission accomplished.
"I wouldn't have to if you just let me smoke." I countered.
"You know I would if I could, but they'll never let me. They say you're too dangerous." Mila explained.
"Oh, I'm sure nobody would mind if I just took a few puffs." I said flippantly.
"Plus, smoking's dangerous for your health." She argued.
"Really? I had no idea." I drawled, giving her an exaggerated look.
"It's actually pretty common knowledge, I'm surprised you didn't know that." She responded seriously, the sarcasm flying way over her head.
I paused, looking at her with a stunned face.
"…I think I might know why they sent you in here with me." I said finally in realization.
"Oh really? What's that?" She asked, genuinely curious.
I paused again, unable to believe there was a grown ass woman this fucking dense.
And yet, here she was.
Maybe it's the dog in her? I considered.
Speaking of which.
"Hey Mila, why do you hide your ears?" I asked, changing subject and genuinely curious.
She gave me a slightly confused look, tilting her head ever so slightly. It kind of reminded me of the girl that threw me in here.
"Hide my ears?" She asked.
"Yeah, you wear a hat all the damn time. You already told me you were a Faunus and I saw your ears one time when you had to massage them, so if you're trying to hide it, you're doing a pretty shit job." I explained.
"Oh." She said, understanding dawning on her.
"I'm not hiding my ears." She began to explain.
"What?" I asked.
"I just like wearing hats." She explained with a shrug and a simple smile.
"…Huh." I said, surprised at how simple an explanation that was.
I was partly expecting some long backstory, like it was her dead grandfather's hat and he gave it to her on his deathbed, or some such shit.
"I can respect that." I said.
As a wearer of hats myself, I got that. Hats are cool. Don't get me wrong, she's not as cool as me. I easily wear my hat with much more class than she ever could, and I don't even have to try.
Still though, as one hat wearer to another, I could respect it.
But…
There was something else bugging me. Something other than Le Livre Noir.
"So Mila." I began "What's going on out there?"
"Uh…not much." Mila responded after a moment of thought.
"Really?" I asked, not convinced.
"Yup. Just a whole lot of nothing." She answered
"That's funny, because I've noticed that the station's started to feel...tense…in recent days. People speaking in hushed whispers, talks of patrols and searching for something. I've even heard of talk of watchmen and huntsmen involvement." I expounded, looking toward the white wall in front of me.
Then, I turned back to her, looking her straight in the eyes and said, "Something's happening out there Mila. And I want to know what it is."
My words drained the room of any previous joviality that it held. Suddenly it was filled with a thick tense atmosphere. It was suffocating and crushing, like the room was holding its breath, waiting to see what would happen next.
Then, after what felt like an eternity, she finally opened her mouth.
"We…aren't sure." She began hesitantly.
"But…right now, it looks like some kind of Grimm is loose in the city." She finally answered.
I paused for a moment, trying to process that moment, before finally,
"What?" I asked
Did cinder start the Breach early? I thought.
We already started preparing for it, but it wasn't supposed to actually happen for months. I was supposed to work on gathering more dust before we blew a hole in the wall. If this was Cinder's doing…what had changed?
Am I…am I out of the picture now? I considered.
Had she thrown me away? Was I no longer useful? On the one hand, that was bad, in that it meant she wouldn't be breaking me out of here. On the other hand, it was great, because hopefully it meant I didn't have to deal with that crazy bitch anymore.
Still, knowing her, she wouldn't want to leave any loose ends.
Shit.
I was shaken from my thoughts, when Mila responded to my exclamation.
"People have started disappearing in the city, as well as a few bloody messes in well-hidden alleys and corners. We also have a couple reported sightings of a white blur running around. But, the thing really setting the brass on edge, is the two witness we have." She explained.
"The first is some woman that somehow managed to get away, who reported seeing something that resembled a large Beowolf, but was covered from head to toe in white fur."
"The second, is from Officer Rosientoter, who saw a white Beowolf resembling the women's description. Something also seen in his helmet cam's recording of the event." She explained.
I paused again
"…A White Beowolf?" I asked in disbelief
Grimm were mainly black, only their plates were white. And Beowolve's tended not to have too many. But…it was also a well known fact that Grimm changed as they got older, getting bigger, stronger, and often growing more plates and spikes.
If this Grimm was completely white…
"At this point we're calling it the White Wolf, and it's a top priority right now. We might have disregarded it if Officer Rosientoter's helmet cam didn't give us solid proof this Grimm exists, and that it was seen near the city." She explained
"How did it get in?" I asked, wondering if it was related to the breach. I doubted it, because she might have lead with the breach if it did. But that still raised the question of how a Grimm got into the city.
"At this point, we aren't sure, but it's assumed that it got in using the storm that just hit us as cover of some sorts. Maybe it used the tornado to throw itself inside the walls, and it's just so tough that it managed to survive the fall." She explained
Then, she shuddered, saying, "And if it can survive a Tornado, it makes me wonder what it takes to kill it."
That was a good point, and a frightening thought. Beowolve's main weakness was how weak they were. They were fast, and had a solid attack, but they could be put down pretty easily. But the idea of a Beowolf that could actually take hits? That could walk away from getting tossed around by a tornado?
That's some nightmare fuel right there.
"But, at the same time, the Brass is making sure this is all wrapped up nice and tight, top secret and such. We don't want it getting out to the public that there's a Grimm in the city." She added
"Because if you did, fear would run rampant through the streets, and there would be a panic. Which, when dealing with Grimm, would be the worst possible outcome." I continued for her.
"Yup." She nodded solemnly.
"We're stuck in a bad place right now. We need to launch a serious manhunt to track this thing down and kill it, fast. But, if we're too obvious about it, then it'll start a panic, which would just make everything worse." She explained.
"At this point, I've heard rumors that we might even say that we're trying to track down a serial killer, to use as a cover for it all." She added.
I snorted in grim amusement.
"So you'd rather say you're hunting down some human killer than admit that there's a Grimm in the city?" I said.
"That's what it sound like." She answered with a helpless expression.
As I let out a long sigh, I said, "What is the world coming to?"
"And will I be there to see it?"
A/n:
And so that was scene 23, hope it was good.
I myself am still not too sure about it, but that's mainly because I did a few things I'm not entirely used to(fluff things) and things my muse was incredibly unhelpful with, (Jaune's "fight")
this is also a pretty fucking long chapter, one of my longest, so there's that.
But yeah, in summary, Ruby successfully enacted emergency countermeasures against Yang.
Jaune got his ass handed to him by an old Boarbatusk(Weiss had problems with one, it's hardly a stretch to think an old one would kick Jaune's ass) in front of the whole class
Ruby told Glynda Jaune's little secret about his transcripts, but Glynda can't actually do anything about it because Ozpin is a whimsical bastard.
Glynda explained Dust and Aura control
Ruby blew her face off
Ruby and Glynda gory fluff
And then some more Torchwick tales to wrap it all up.
You know, it's funny, I recently met a bunch of guys who also do things with fanfiction(RWBY namely), and when I brought up that I put gore in my fluff they were all like, "Metal, you can't put gore in your fluff. That's not how it works."
Which made me all sad and paranoid, so I was like, "What? So this doesn't work?", and showed it to them.
At which point they said, "Metal, how the fuck did you make gore fluffy? how."
And I'm still not sure if it works or not, honestly.
But speaking of those guys, I've been working with them on some stuff, some...collab stuff? I don't know if it is "collab" stuff, or me just being super helpful and shit.
Either way, I's gots about...4-ish projects with them.
One is a work by Niklog, a story called "Tempered Iron"
It's a story where, well, a lot's changed, even more than mine, honestly. But, at its core, it's a story about a "Weiss" that was cursed before she was born into being a wolf faunus(at least that's what she looks like) and as a result, her father disowned her and essentially threw her out on the street as a baby. And that's where Cinder found her and took her in. It's also a story where Cinder isn't explicitly a "bad guy", nor is Adam.
Right now he only has one chap up for it, it's only got just under 2K words, and it's kind of...happy. That said, I touched it, so expect the darkness to come in hard at some point.
Also, he doesn't have the best grammar for it. English isn't his first language, so try not to rip him too hard for it.
Now, while he only has one chap as of 5/7/16, he should have another chap up either later today or tomorrow.
Or he's a fucking liar.
Then there's TheAngelWolf101, aka, Red, who I helped with Remnants of the Past(I believe that's what it's called).
But that story might be dead(maybe)
Destruction is. It's official. If you liked Destruction, then I'm sorry, but it's dead.
(not actually sorry)
But!
The good news is that I convinced Red not to abandon the story completely, and instead, rewrite it, to make a Destruction 2.0. One where she doesn't BS 90% of the story on the spot, and actually has a plan. So yeah, expect that to be a thing.
Then there's a story by another friend of mine, who shall be called Dan for now, that should be out...eventually.
Hopefully.
Anyway, the last one is a couple of Actual collab stories. Not sure which one will be posted, but, all of them revolve around one stupid question I had that went way too far.
"What would Ruby/Ruby be called?"
And man, let me tell you, it went to some weird places after I said that.
Also, I posted Dreamstate last month, just like I said. I mean, it may have been a few minutes to midnight on April 30th, but I did it. I also only have the one chapter for it right now, but that should change relatively soon.
Probably.
In any case, Scene 24 will be out when it's out.
And it will be out.
Eventually.
But until then, I'll probably post more Dreamstate to sate my hunger, and yours.
Oh, and if you go see Red's stuff, you should post comments about Ducks. Red LOVES Ducks. It would encourage Red, give Red inspiration and shit.
Buy for now.
