Before I start, I wanted to respond to the people that said I've written a lot in the last month. It doesn't really feel like that much to me, but I tend to use it for stress relief, so I doubt I'd notice.
There may be a kinda feelsy scene in this chapter at the beginning. I guess it depends on how you want to look at it.
Chapter 27: A Mother's Lament and Round One
Cliffs outside Vale, with Ruby
Ruby let out a frustrated sigh as she pulled her hood over her head, glaring at the two soldiers in front of her. "You guys won't even let me have some privacy for this?"
One of the soldiers spoke up. "I'm sorry ma'am, but our orders are that we have to stay nearby in case something happens."
Ruby had to resist the urge to snarl. "You mean in case I do something you think could be dangerous…" "I'm just going to visit my mom's grave. The general explicitly promised that I'd have some privacy for this, so I know he gave you orders to give me some space."
The first soldier looked like he was going to explode before the second one stepped forward. "Alright, look… We have to keep an eye on you, but that's it. We'll wait over by the tree line so we don't hear what you have to say, okay?"
Ruby let out a sigh and nodded, waiting for the soldiers to step back before she moved forward, a trail of rose petals drifting in the air behind her. She let out a sigh and looked down at the blue rose in her hand. "I hope this works…" Ruby knelt next to the gravestone, placing the rose on top of it before she spoke up. "M-mom? Can you hear me?" the cloaked girl waited a moment before letting out a disappointed sigh. As she went to stand up, she noticed a dim light appear in front of her, spectral green petals flowing around it before starting to take on the form of a faunus.
"Ruby? Is that you?" the figure asked, shifting into the form of Summer Rose. Ruby smiled brightly.
"M-mom! I didn't think that'd work!" Ruby went to hug the figure, only to fall forward onto the ground as she went through it. The girl let out a disappointed whine before she sat up, her mother's ghost kneeling next to her.
"Ruby! Are you okay?"
The Red Rose nodded meekly, looking away. "I-I just thought I'd never really see you again… I've missed you so much." Summer smiled sadly at her daughter.
"I know how you feel my little rose bud… I've been watching you since I died and I've wished for so long that I could tell you just how proud of you I am. You're becoming a shining example of what a Rose should be instead of what we are." Ruby smiled sadly at her mother.
"I wish Tai felt the same way. Ever sense the incident during my team's mission, he's been insisting that I should just give up on being a Huntress because it's too dangerous and I'll probably never be able to get any work in Vale because of everything that's going on…" Ruby let out a frustrated sigh. "And I haven't seen Qrow since he left on his mission, so I'm not sure how he'll handle all this…"
Summer frowned, leaning back a bit to stare at the sky. "I know your father well enough to know he won't handle this very well. He might actually try to maim Ironwood again."
Ruby nodded before doing a double take. "W-wait, again? Qrow's tried that before?"
Summer smiled nervously. "I wouldn't say tried considering Ironwood lost an arm and a leg during the fight…" Ruby paled at the thought, shuddering slightly before sighing.
"You know… He started drinking a lot after you died, I think he missed you more than I did." Summer let out a sigh.
"I'm afraid that it was always easier for him to interact with people with me around. His semblance and my secondary cancelled each other out in a way since mine causes the people around me to be more at ease and focused. Not only that, but I suppose I was the only one who really understood him…" Summer pulled her legs up, tucking her knees under her chin. "I-it's been hard watching him over the years and seeing him fall apart. There's so many times that I've wished that I could do something to help you both through all this."
Ruby looked down sadly before deciding to change the topic. "S-so mom? Why is your cloak green?" Summer ran a hand through her hair, giving Ruby a chance to look at the green tips.
"W-well, when something serious happens to a Rose, sometimes it can change what's most important to us. This can, of course, include dying. I'm sure you remember when my hair had white in the tips too. When something significant enough to change our core ideals to that of a different color of Rose happens, the color of our cloak and the tips of our hair change as well. In my case, when I died I had a chance to speak to the Roses that came before me." Summer smiled brightly, a look of awe on her face. "You wouldn't believe how beautiful the ones from before the Fall say Draconys used to be, Ruby! Endless fields of grass and flowers, massive trees that make the Emerald Forest look like saplings, snow-capped mountains, and clear, blue lakes…" Summer sighed, a frown on her face. "I-it's all gone now, but I'd like nothing more than to see it in its former glory, or at least for you and your children to see it that way."
Ruby nodded, vaguely recalling a few streaks of blue starting to appear in Aurelius' hair recently while Adrienne had let the orange streaks in her disguise drift to the tips in her normal appearance. Once she processed what her mother said, the Red Rose blushed. "U-um, I'm not too sure I'll be having kids any time soon mom, I'm sorry."
Summer let out a small giggle before she grinned at Ruby. "Is this because of Weiss?" Ruby turned a deep red and looked away, ears flat against her head. "It's okay Ruby, all that matters is that she makes you happy, right?"
Ruby smiled before she started to gush. "You wouldn't believe how amazing she is! She might seem like she only cares about her family and her reputation when you meet her, but she's so kind, caring, she has an amazing singing voice, she's funny when she wants to be, and she actually cares about me as a person! She doesn't care that I'm a faunus or a Rose, she just treats me like I'm anyone else. And her smile's… She's just…" Ruby let out a sigh, a bright grin on her face.
Summer giggled. "Oh, my little rose bud, if only you knew how Weiss felt about you… I suppose it isn't my place to say anything though, it'd ruin the moment when the two of you finally work up the courage to say something." "You also got to meet the Blue Rose and Adrienne too, didn't you?" Ruby went to speak up before the soldiers called out from behind them.
"M-ma'am, I'm sorry, but if we don't leave now, we won't be able to return in time for the tournament to start!" one called out, holding a scroll in his hand. Ruby let out a sigh before she stood up.
"I guess I should get going… It was good to talk to you, mom. I love you," Ruby said.
Summer got up, smiling at her daughter. "I love you too, my little rose bud. Good luck. Be careful and don't let your guard down, okay?" Ruby nodded and turned to follow the soldiers. As she stepped away, Summer faded away, a light smile on her face.
Earlier, on the AWS Aurora, Ironwood's Quarters
Ironwood looked out the window, a look of dismay on his face as he listened to the soldier on the other end of his Scroll. "Are you sure you didn't take any illegal substances?"
"W-what? No, we both saw it, she's sitting there talking to a ghost in a green cloak, look!" The soldier quickly pointed the camera at Ruby. Ironwood stared at the screen blankly as he saw the ghostly green cloak next to her, causing him to sigh.
"J-just get her back here in time for the tournament…" Ironwood ran his hand down his face as he ended the call. "I always thought Summer and her family were just crazy or operating on some outdated logic, but if Ruby's able to communicate with the dead… What if they just think differently because they know things nobody else alive does? Atlas is dedicated to science and logic, how am I supposed to deal with the arcane and supernatural forces Aurelius and his family represent?" Ironwood let out another sigh as he walked toward the hangar. He needed to be at the Colosseum for the start of the tournament and it wouldn't do to have this on his mind.
Amity Colosseum
Ruby took a deep breath as she twirled Crescent Rose in front of her, a thin barrier of Shock Dust forming in front of her to block the incoming shots as her team moved out from behind her. Once the girl in front of her stopped to reload, Ruby dashed forward, making a graceful swing at her legs to bring the girl off her feet. Meanwhile, up above, Port and Oobleck started speaking to each other and the third occupant of the announcer booth. "It seems we have another astonishing bout ahead of us! Wouldn't you both agree?" Port asked cheerfully.
Oobleck glanced at him. "Yes, Peter, I think it's safe to say this is going to be an interesting match. Wouldn't you agree, Arthur?"
Aurelius hummed from between the two as he watched the fight in the guise of Bisman. "Perhaps, but it's going to be fairly short if this continues…" The other two watched as Weiss used her Glyphs to freeze someone in a block of ice up to their neck before Port continued.
"For those of you just joining us, welcome to the Vytal Festival Tournament!" he said loudly. "Broadcasting live from the Amity Colosseum!" After the introduction, Port and Oobleck started to quickly go through the rules while Aurelius watched the match. Yang hurled a fireball across the arena at someone, causing Ruby to glance in that direction cautiously before swinging her scythe, using the back of the blade to knock someone out.
"So, Professor Bisman, you recently returned from the first successful expedition to Draconys. What was it like?" Oobleck asked.
"If you really must know, Doctor, I think it's best we discuss it another time where it won't cause distress for anyone watching," Aurelius said calmly, glancing at the green-haired man. Oobleck scratched the back of his neck.
Down in the arena, Yang tried to get off the ground to help Blake, unaware of the boy pointing a rifle at her head. Ruby saw this and swung Crescent Rose to embed the blade in the ground, subtly tapping the crystal visible on the side to cause it to turn dark blue before she pulled the trigger, a burst of Frost Dust flying out and encasing the boy's legs in ice. She grinned at the blonde before she called out. "I've got your back!"
Another boy dropped down behind her. "But who's got yours?" A Gravity-laced Glyph yanked him off his feet before Weiss landed in his spot.
Ruby grinned. "My BFF!" she said happily, holding her hand up. Weiss grinned and gave her a high five before dashing off towards the boy, Ruby close behind.
In the stands, with Adrienne
Adrienne smiled as she watched Ruby and Weiss work together, humming quietly. "Fire and ice, not the best environment for a Rose at her level, but at least she's able to avoid any issues with the Burn Dust…"
"Hello beautiful!" Adrienne looked up to see a boy with blue hair standing in front of her with a suave smile. "Mind if I sit next to you?"
Adrienne hummed before shrugging. "I suppose, don't expect me to talk much though, I really wanna see this match." Neptune hummed before sitting down.
"You know, I'm taking part in the tournament too," he started casually. "Maybe you'd like to watch my fight?"
Adrienne blinked before smiling. "If you're as good as Team RWBY, then sure!" Neptune winced as he turned back to the fight as Blake clotheslined the girl with the hoverboard before kicking her clear of the ring While Yang used her gauntlets to propel her around the ice. The moment Weiss flung the boy with the staff into the one behind Yang, Neptune spoke up.
"Y-yeah, I'm not that good… But I'm still pretty good, I swear!" Adrienne hummed, watching as Blake used Ruby as a springboard to fling Yang at the last three members of the opposing team before the blonde punched them into a mountain.
"I suppose it'd be both interesting and boring if everyone was as good as them…" Adrienne said before glancing at the boy next to her. "So, who are you exactly?"
"Oh, well, if you must know, I'm Neptune. Neptune Vasilias." Neptune held his hand out, smiling awkwardly as she looked at him critically.
"So, Neptune, do you flirt with every girl you meet?"
He flinched before letting his hand dropped to his side. "U-uh…"
"Just a tip, but I, like the rest of my family, don't like people who aren't dedicated or are disrespectful to others. Next time you approach someone, try to be polite and not hit on them." Neptune nodded sheepishly as Adrienne stood up, turning to walk down to congratulate team RWBY.
I think I'm going to cut this chapter short for now. I want to try and take my time to figure out what I'm doing from now on since we're naturally approaching the point where most of the changes are going to take place. This means I might occasionally have to either reduce the size of the chapters a bit or have more than a day between some chapters while I try to organize them. The Battle of Beacon, for instance, is one that would probably have the up to four or five chapters involved in it compared to canon's 3 episodes simply because changes to specific parts of the fight are going to be massive enough to need it.
As explained last chapter, Summer's cloak color has changed to a green. As a Green Rose, Summer values life, growth, the renewal of life and energy, spiritual growth and strength, and tries to spread joy wherever she goes. Her secondary semblance, therefore, is an aura of tranquility that anyone around her that doesn't have hostile intentions towards herself or her friends, family, or allies, making it easier for them to think and react to a situation.
Ironwood's starting to realize that not everything is exactly what it seems. This is going to be a recurring theme for this part of the story as he gradually finds himself in over his head more and more as time goes on.
Let me know what you think of everything.
