Chapter Two: Demons
Ruby
"Fantastic." The Huntsman glared into the open safe, his eyes getting narrower and narrower. "No note…nothing records. Just some Dust and syringes…" The smile on his face didn't seem very happy. "I'm sure some poor RnD bastard will love this."
Over his head, I caught the eyes of my teammates, unable to help feeling guilty. We'd hidden the notebooks that had been in the safe, none of us even thinking twice about it in the wake of Weiss's terror at the sight of them. Even Blake hadn't hesitated to agree with hiding them away. So, they were now shoved in the bottom of my bag. I probably should have felt guilty about hiding something so obviously important away from someone who cared about it a lot, but Weiss probably could figure it out, or we'd…figure it out somehow.
"So, what now? Blake spoke up into a heavy silence. "We just sit here and wait?" There was a chafing in her voice, the only way I could tell she didn't like that option. Despite how calm she appeared, Blake hated to sit about doing nothing. Especially if she thinks that doing nothing is letting someone bad run free. (Torchwick?).
Ian swept the contents of the safe into a bag, before pushing himself upright, joints popping painfully. "Now?" His lips curled into an angry snarl, the same sort of expression I'd seen on plenty of people before. "We get back to Vale. Tell your stubborn ass of a Headmaster this went sideways." He paused, seeming to have more to say about that, and then considering again. "Collect information. Make some calls back to Atlas. Yell at the bastards. See what can be drudged up. And," A steely cold settled into his gaze, his fingers moving to the grip of his rifle, "We put the bastard who did this six feet in the fucking ground." I was aware, suddenly, of just how much older he was than us. And wow. He was swearing a lot. Probably a good thing he was a Huntsman, or Yang would so mad.
The low chirp and ringing of a Scroll stopped any of us from replying. We all turned to Ian, since it was the default ringtone, and all of ours had been changed the first week of school (it got way to confusing). Pulling the device from one of his many pockets, Ian thumbed the answer button, revealing Professor Ozpin.
Even for Professor Ozpin, he seemed worried. I was pretty sure there were more lines than normal around his eyes. I also couldn't see his kinda trademark coffee cup. Did that mean he was super serious?
"Ian. How-" Before the sentence could be finished, the Huntsman cut him off.
"Sideways." Whoa. He could do the same angry without sounding angry thing Weiss could? Maybe he could teach me? Because that seems really cool. And maybe scary. "Now. What do you want?" Yup. Angry without sounding angry.
"I…I see." Professor Ozpin shook his head, looking bothered by that news. "Is everyone unharmed?"
"We're fine!" I waved as best I could over Ian's shoulder. Professor Ozpin's eyes snapped to the blood coating my outfit, before gave another long sigh, and pulling his coffee into view for a long drink.
"That is good." His expression remained super worried. "I imagine you will be returning to Beacon shortly then?" Ian gave a sharp nod, head tilting to the side, as though figuring out a puzzle. The motion reminded me of Blake, when something confused her. "I need you to make a minor detour on your return."
"Of course you do." An eye-roll. "What do you need now Ozpin?" I wasn't completely sure, but he didn't seem happy about that.
"Just a few files, nothing dangerous, I assure you." That old man smiled, the same one Ozpin gave me, before offering me a spot at Beacon. In a way, it was kinda a creepy smile. "It shouldn't be difficult for you; I assume?" From the corner of my eye, Weiss flinched just a bit. I wonder why?
There was a silence, the two men staring each other down for a long time. "Do me a favor, and fuck yourself." And, with that vulgar remark, Ian snapped his Scroll shut.
"That was rather rude." Weiss pointed out what seemed kinda obvious, a hand on her hips. She wasn't really angry, just confused as to what his problem was, at least I thought so.
Ian gave a grunt, jamming his Scroll back into the pocket of his jeans. "No matter where I go, there is always someone like him. He's just better at hiding it than the rest of them."
Um…what? Better at hiding what? And was something about Professor Ozpin bad? And what was it that Ian was supposed to retrieve? And did he just refuse the mission? That entire conversation confused me.
"I'm afraid that makes absolutely no sense." Thanks Weiss. It felt good to know I wasn't the only one who was confused.
"I'm going to consider it a good thing that you have yet to experience the wonders of life." Okay… sarcasm: Check. "Everyone has an agenda. Keep that in mind when it comes time for you four to swear your allegiance to someone."
I think he needs a hug. Or something. I'll leave that to Yang though. She's better at hugs than me.
"It'll be a bit before our ride gets here, so as you were I guess." He snorted. "Ozpin will send me whatever this side job is shortly I'm sure." And with that, he stalked back out of the room, fists clenched at his side.
-Petals Scatter-
Once again, I kept watch on the flight while everyone else slept. Not without getting a disappointed glare from Weiss before she collapsed to sleep though. We didn't talk much this time though, Ian lost in some thoughts, and me…well, there was just so much to think about.
Those…things…monsters? I wasn't even sure what to call them. The looked kinda like Werewolves, from fairy tales, but that didn't seem like a good term. Either way, they were…well they were people once. Or at least, they sure looked like they had.
Even though we didn't talk about it much, we'd killed people, in that tunnel. White Fang members, even it just by leaving them to get eaten by the Grimm. It was something each of us tried to ignore in our own way. Sometimes thought, that didn't work to well. And now…after that. There was no pretending that we hadn't killed people. I'd shot one right through the chest. I'd see his…his…organs…. everywhere. And the ones… My stomach twisted at the thought. Was this part of what life as a Huntress was? Ian said that those…things, weren't supposed to be very common but…
We trained to fight Grimm, not people. Dealing with criminals and stuff was the job of police and soldiers. But what about…those things? They were kinda both?
You killed them. And that's where my thoughts kept swirling back too. I killed them. They were right. No. I didn't have a choice. I had to protect my team. Doesn't make them wrong. It was such a mean thought, sneaking back in no matter how hard I tried to get rid of it. It was easy to think about killing Grimm. They were monsters, soulless killing machines. But…people?
Someone behind me groaned, and I turned in time to see Yang rolling upright, her joints popping and snapping. Her bleariness lasted only a moment before full alertness snapped into her eyes. She was always like that, waking up right away. I opened my mouth to ask what woke her up, before deciding not too.
For a time, we rode in silence, three people just lost in their own thoughts. In an effort to distract myself from more morbid thoughts, I shifted my focus to how on earth Ian could have managed to make his rifle use rounds with double the propellant, and what sort of Dust mix might be involved. After a time, Weiss sat up, her knees pulled up against her chest, the lower half of her face hidden from view, unshed tears pooling at the corner of her eyes. They were hard to see, but practice told me they were there.
That at least was an expression I could figure out, if only a little bit. Weiss didn't cry, at least, not when she thought we might see it. I'd only seen her with tears in her eyes a couple times, late at night. After she'd told us a bit about her Father was the first time. And what had convinced me that, I didn't want to meet him. He sounded like a jerk. And probably was why Weiss didn't let other people see her cry.
Blake was the last to roll back awake, going from sleep to alert in an instant.
"Ruby!" Yang's excited shout made my darkening thoughts run, and I turned, opening my mouth to ask the obvious question. "There's Signal." Wait, really!? Moving to the window, I couldn't help gasping a bit. Beneath us, the sloped rooves and brick walls of our old school loomed, the major landmark on the island. What were we doing here?
It was kinda weird to see it now. I'd thought Signal was kinda intimidating when I'd first joined, but now….it just seemed like any old building. Beacon was way bigger, and just…it was hard to describe really. At least I'd get to see some of my old friends for a little bit. A spike of guilt hit me. I hadn't done a very good job of keeping up with them…everything just kept happening, and there was never really time.
"This is where you grew up?" Weiss joined Yang and I, with Blake following behind. Confusion and skepticism filled her tone, although why, and of what I didn't know.
"Well, our house is…." I had to take a minute to figure out what direction we'd come from. "Out there," I pointed out into the woods, where I would have thought there'd be smoke rising from the chimney, "But yup!" From the air, Patch always seemed so tiny. If I had Crescent Rose out, I would have been able to see the far side of the island from the air.
"I wonder what Ozpin want's Ian to retrieve out here." Yang mused. "He could probably just ask Dad or Uncle Qrow to bring it into Beacon." Maybe. But we hadn't talked to Uncle Qrow in a while, so it was hard to say where he was. But Dad was home, since he'd had us send Zwei back home (not in a tube this time, Weiss had been insistent on that, going so far as to declare that she'd spend her own money to make sure it didn't happen). I think she just didn't want to let him leave.
The Bullhead started it's slow and steady landing, on the only large landing pad in the area. Which just so happened to be Signal. And it was break time between classes. That meant some of them would be around. And we'd no doubt run into…oh no.
They'll get to see just how right they were. The thought slipped out before I killed it. Violently squashed it. They weren't right. I knew they weren't. I'd put all that stuff behind me years ago.
Refocusing on the world outside, I found myself meeting a concerned gaze from Blake, before Ian's grousing cut the conversation off.
"Well, this is just gonna be a joy." His rifle was slung over his shoulder, and not so he could grab it easy though. More of a resting position. "Guessing there is someplace on this Dust forsaken rock that we can restock on Dust and bullets?" Was he expecting some kind of trouble? I thought we were here for files or something? The Bullhead hit the ground with a clank.
"Of course." Yang snorted, sending me a fond glare, the dregs of an old argument between us restored. "The school has an armory, and there's a shop somewhere in town."
The grunt in response might have been approving, as we stepped onto the landing pad. "I guess take the time to restock, and relax, while I go deal with all of the stupidity this will involve." He paused. "I'm hoping it won't take more than a few hours, but knowing my luck, it won't be that easy."
Whoever replied, I didn't notice, too caught up in the events around us. The surprise at our arrival was quickly being replaced with recognition in the actions of the students at the edges of the platform. The whispers were starting already, the pointing fingers. It wasn't just the fact that four random girls had showed up in a Beacon aircraft, coated in dried blood and bearing weapons.
Those fingers pointed at me.
"I'm going to go replace this." I tapped the empty slot on my belt. I'd need to make a few spares as well. I was slowly running out of my stockpile of those bullets, and I didn't have the stuff at Beacon to make them. At least, not quickly, since I'd have to convince a professor to let me into the weapons lab.
"Catch you in a few?" Yang didn't seem to notice the stares, or at least, not the ones at me. I couldn't blame her that much. She'd mostly avoided them. "I'll show these two around while you get that done?" Trying to grin, she thought she was being helpful, keeping people out of my hair while I worked, I nodded, setting off towards the 'armory' that Signal maintained. It was all memory, the path to it. Dad and Uncle Qrow taught here, so I'd been in the school for a long time, and kinda memorized most of it.
The walls inside were just as bland out outside, just a few, fading pictures, and almost peeling paint. It was something about humidity and the salt air…I might have fallen asleep in that class at one point. Might. I denied everything when Yang asked me.
The students though…I could still remember most of them. And the ball of tension in my stomach was only getting worse as they backed away from me, eyes widening further, more whispers now. Not that those were new. When hadn't they whispered?
But, a semester at Beacon, away from the whispers, and rumors, where I, at least a bit, fit in, had left me super unprepared for what went on around me. Whispers, pointed fingers, the looks of fear, and surprise. The tightness in my chest was getting worse too.
"Well well well!" Oh no. Please not him? This just wasn't fair… "Look what the cat dragged in!" He was the last person I'd wanted to meet here… especially now. "Finally gracing us with your presence little flower? Or did they find out you're just a- "
My heart was hammering, and it was way too much effort to turn, and be calm. Not to panic. "Hello Jordan." A few of the crowd that was already gathering flinched back. Oops. Maybe I sounded a little upset.
Jordan wasn't anything remarkable, short brown hair and blue eyes, only a few inches taller than me, and not much else to him. He'd come to Signal during my last semester, and had immediately not liked me. The feeling was kinda shared though. He was a jerk. Not quite Cardin level of jerk, but a jerk. And thought calling me that name was cute. For a moment, I recalled that Torchwick liked calling me 'Little Red' and that didn't help.
The whispering crowd was getting worse, not enough I could tell the words, but… it was there.
"Why so cold?" He had that same smile as Cardin too, insufferably smug, and I kinda wanted to punch him in the nose. Even though I knew that wasn't a good idea. Maybe Yang could punch him in the nose for me?
"I have things to do." More whispers. I heard the words 'angry', 'blood', 'killed'. My stomach twisted. No. Not this again.
Where Jordan had been smiling a moment ago, his expression twisted in a sneer. I tensed. That sneer never meant good things. "Like find a shower?" The glinting in his eyes was nasty. He wouldn't… "I always knew you were violent little flower, but isn't walking around covering a blood just a bit…much?"
Had Weiss made the same remark, I might have laughed, and tried to say something witty back. But if it was Weiss, she'd be joking. Or even Yang or Blake. He wasn't. More whispering, wide eyes, backing away from everyone around me. An old feeling flared in my chest, white hot. Before I could stop them, words spilled out. "Unlike you, I intend to be a Huntress. And if that means I get covered in blood from fighting…" A little shrug. And I got control of that searing in my chest, pushing in down, away, where it belonged. I was better than that.
Everyone was whispering now, eyes wide, and I knew the emotion that was there. It was fear. Fear of me.
Don't worry about them. Old words, I'd forgotten who told me first, rang in my ears. The ones who turn their backs from fear? They were never your friends to begin with. It had helped, at least when I was younger, to think about that. But now, seeing the faces of people I knew, some of them were supposed to be my friends, flared with that fear…
The unspoken question, echoing up and down the hall in whispers, as more and more eyes took in the blood on my clothes, "who did she kill?", "Why is she covered in blood?", followed by the most painful whisper, not even really a whisper at all, from someone behind Jordan.
"She's the one I warned you about? The girl who kills things and smiles?" My eyes locked to the speaker, I didn't know his name. I didn't know anything about him. But as our eyes met, he cowered back, the terror plain as day before me.
Somewhere in the back of my head, I heard someone say something to me, the words failing to register against the mounting emotions.
Killer. Monster. Other worse names. They swirled around, back and forth, in memories, and my thoughts, dredged up from the whispers, when kids though I couldn't hear them. The screams too. And those same eyes. The fear.
"Don't ignore me!" And a fist was coming towards the side of my head.
I moved. No thought went into the movement, just the same raw instincts that earlier this week had kept me alive fighting Grimm. Crescent Rose was in my hand, the heft of the scythe meaning nothing. Two steps, one full twirl to expand it out. A second twirl, extend, pull-
Inches from his neck, I caught the swing, arm shaking as I fought against the little voice screaming in my head, the danger instincts, Weiss called it. Yang said it was just experience. Whatever it was, I stood, the razor edge of my weapon inches from Jordan's throat, shaking from the tension in my arms.
His eyes now, had that fear too. Wide, darting left and right, the understanding that I had almost killed him sinking in over the course of several seconds.
What…why… I hadn't wanted to kill him, had I? why did I… Oh Dust…
My heartbeat was getting faster, my breathing too. The shaking in my arm was faster, my scythe a lead weight. It took every bit of concentration I had left to remember the way to place of my thumb over the folding mechanism to fold it, as I stepped away from Jordan.
And then I was running. People blurred, my Semblance. I wasn't even aware of where, just running.
I tumbled into the workshop, an explosions of rose petals, blood red rose petals came flying in after me.
My chest was heaving, and the world spun. I was kneeling, staring down at my hands, the settling petals left behind by my Semblance. One of them landed in my palm, and I swore I saw the corners start to melt, running down my forearm. My eyes fluttered, tears threatening to fall, before it was gone, just a trick.
"Don't…" in between breaths I forced the words out. "Don't…don't think… about that…right now." This wasn't the time. I could sort my feelings out later, I had to…I had to keep myself together. For the others. My team needed me, and I couldn't be coming apart the seams right now.
Blood. Grimm flying in pieces around me. My Team needs me. The…thing, leaping over the wall. Crescent Rose firing. His chest- My team needs me. Blood. Organs flying against the – My Team needs me. A robot, falling from the side of a speeding train, fire- My. Team. Needs. Me. Screaming. People running.
My. Team. Needs. Me.
Slowly, my breathing began to even out. It was another minute before my heart slowed down, and I could stand, shaking only a little bit. The whispers (Killer) pushed at the edges, but I clung to that thought, (My team needs me) until they faded back, just a little.
I…right. Bullets. I need bullets. (To kill). For Yang, Blake and Ian too. I frowned, realizing I didn't know what kind of bullet's Gambol Shroud used (You want to make her like you)
. Oh well. I could ask in a bit; Yang would bring them around here.
Having long since memorized the layout of the workshop, and maybe having convinced Uncle Qrow to give the entry codes for the locked cabinets one day, it didn't take long to get everything I needed.
My giggle was bordering on hysterical, as I thought about it. The teachers here had a fit the first time they found me in here, mixing Dust together in small amounts, packing the propellant into bullets. They had even more of a fit, when they dragged Dad in, and all he did was yell at me about not wearing safety gear.
I think they expected me to get in trouble… I should have gotten in trouble probably. But Dad I think, had figured out that I was going too, and he wasn't going to stop me. He'd given up on stopping Yang and I from doing some stuff, but we weren't allowed near other stuff. It was kinda silly really. And annoying. But bullets. Think about bullets. Not other stuff.
Making bullets was easy, at least normal ones, without any special Dust. You just had to be really, really careful, especially with the Dust propellant. Which Yang wasn't. So, I learned how to be. And…maybe had a few burns to show for it. At first, I wasn't very good, but occasionally lots of practice made perfect, and if I was going to make myself the perfect weapon, I was going to make myself the perfect bullets for it too.
Like the one I was working on now. The mixture of Dust in the tip of the bullet was...super complicated, and I had no clue how any of it worked, on a technical level. Maybe I could ask Weiss? She was good at this stuff. But however it worked, it was awesome.
A few extra grains of Fire Dust, and my thoughts drifted again, the rest of the process was super easy. I could probably do it asleep, or whatever that saying was.
Dad. When he'd figured out I was the one making Yang her bullets, my sister having made her weapon two full years before me, he was so mad. He was more of his normal self then, not so…broken as he had been, and sometimes reminders that we were in danger would result in him returning to that state. Or just getting super upset. It was even worse when I told him that Yang said it was cheaper for us to make them, especially the Fire based rounds she loved so much, instead of buying them wholesale. I think that was what upset him most, although I don't really know why. he'd given up on stopping me though.
"Ruby!" I was in the process of inspecting the fit of the bullet into its casing, when the door creaked, and someone gave an excited squeal. "You're back!" and my vision was filled with silver blonde hair. My chest tightened, my breathing quickened in a moment of panic, all my thoughts rushing back.
"Hi Sapphire." I had to take a step back for a little bit of space (Stay away from her). She was a bit shorter than I remembered.
"You're back!" More squealing filled the air. "You're at Beacon! What's it like! How'd you get in?! Meet anyone cool?" The words came flying at me all in a rush.
"Sapphire!" Inside I had to compare the manic stream of words to Nora. At least Sapphire made some sense. Nora sometimes…nope. I think only Ren could understand her ramblings. Jaune told me once he'd given up, after listening for ten minutes to Pyrrha and Nora talk, and upon asking Pyrrha what they'd talked about, the red haired girl confessed she didn't have the faintest idea. And Pyrrha was like, super smart. If she couldn't get it, I was doomed.
"Sorry." She wasn't sorry, at all. She never was. At least somethings didn't change, I thought as a smile formed. Maybe I could stop being grumpy for a while. And maybe get rid of the annoying thoughts too. Sapphire had that effect on people. "But? You haven't been writing, you jerk!" Hands planted on her hips, she tried to look intimidating, which didn't really work when I was taller than she was, and had Weiss for a partner. The Schnee heiress was way better at that stare than Sapphire was.
"Sorry. Things have been super busy. We've been going on lots of missions lately too." More than busy really. But that wasn't important. I wasn't thinking about that. Nope. Not at all.
"You sent one letter at the start of the year!" Nope. Still not very scary.
"I said it was busy!" A flimsy defense, for sure, but it was a defense. "Besides, I'm here now right?" That made her nod, hair flying about.
"So what's Beacon like?" She leaned against my workbench, grinning ear to ear, no doubt expecting some cool stories.
"It's…well it's school." I gave a shrug, trying to find a good description that didn't involve thinking much. "Most of the professors are super boring," My thoughts drifted to Professor Oobleck, his usual coffee thermos turned into a weapon. "And kinda weird."
Sapphire pouted, and I turned away from her, setting to work measure out Dust to make more shells for Yang. They'd take the longest. "All you have to say is the Professors are weird? Your Uncle is weird." No, he was awesome. "Your dad is weird."
"Hey!"
"Yang is weird." I could feel the stare into the back of my head. "You, Ruby Rose, are weird. So saying people are weird doesn't count!" No doubt the final exclamation was carried by a hand gesture. I might, or might not, have picked up my hand gestures from Sapphire, not that I'd tell her that. Her ego was worse than Weiss's when we first met.
"One of them is literally so high on coffee he talks a mile a minute." Probably faster. I tapped dust into an empty shell, fitting the top on.
"Still not that weird." She paused. "Wait wait wait! You said you're doing missions!"
Could we not talk about this? "Yup." My tone was more subdued, and I could hear it. Sapphire, missed that however.
"What are they like? Have you done anything cool? Oh, I bet you killed lots of Grimm! Is that why you're all bloody again? Oh, did you save a village?" Darn it Sapphire, must you do this? (Tell her. Tell her what you are.) And those thoughts rushed back, as the image of a field of corpses, of blood, and organs, hit me.
"Saph." I didn't need to think twice to know who that was. Alec Topaz was perhaps my oldest friend at Signal. Brown skin, his hair a dirty blonde that clashed terribly with Sapphire's silvered blonde, topped off with a lazy smirk.
"But-" Sapphire tried to speak, only for Alec to glare, at least I thought so, shutting her up. How he did it, I'd never know.
"We have class in ten minutes Sapphire, and I'm not covering your ass for being late. Again." She still was late everywhere? Wow…. "And I thought the rule was 'don't bother Ruby when she's working'?" Hey! That's right!
Sapphire blushed. "But we haven't seen her! and she hasn't written!" I was still in trouble over that?
Alec rolled his eyes, making a lazy gesture. "And since when is Ruby being socially up to date likely? I'm going to imagine she was busy with schoolwork, and whatever else they have Beacon student's doing." I gave him a nod, and a small smile. He was always the serious one in the little group.
"You could have sent a text saying it was a party Sis." Yang led the others into the room with her usual lack of well…whatever that word Weiss used was. Blake seemed strangely jumpy, her gaze sweeping back and forth before relaxing. Weiss however…oh boy.
Weiss was…Weiss was angry. No, she was more than angry. Her shoulders were set back, head held high, lips set into a cold line, and her hands were folded behind her back. And where her eyes had been teared up on the flight here, they were now just blank.
"Yang." Alec gave my sister a short nod, his face shifting into a thinking pose. "I'm going to gather then, that Beacon isn't on vacation."
"Classified!" I chirped, giving him an innocent smile when he stared me in disbelief. We weren't doing anything classified, but it was fun messing with him.
"Of course it is." He sighed, knowing that I wouldn't budge. The benefits of old friends. "I assume the identifies of your teammates are not classified." He swept a look over Blake and Weiss, who matched his stare with her own frosty one.
"Blake." A very Blake introduction.
"Weiss." One of Alec's eyebrows hit his hairline, before returning to normal. Probably he figured out her last night.
Sapphire bounced forward, but seemed to realize that none of them wanted any kind of physical contact, and stopped, waving happily. "Sapphire Waters."
"Alec." He gave a grunt. "Guessing you have enough to worry about, for whatever you mission is." Grabbing the protesting Sapphire by the arm, he dragged her to the door. "Stay safe." It was the closest to worry he would get. And they were gone.
I turned back to making bullets, each motion memorized when I was only just starting as a student here, and by this point, just memory. The soft clicks and clacks of my tools were loud in the quiet.
A look up from my work, and I took in the expressions of my team. Yang was…frustrated. Angry too. But frustrated. And tired.
Blake…She was really angry, now that I looked closer. Not quite as angry as Weiss was, but she wasn't happy. Her bow was even twitching just a bit.
And well, Weiss was Ice Queen all the sudden.
"Um…guys?" Please…please let them not have heard the whispers?
"Just the same stupid kids as ever." Oh. They had. Or, Yang had. And so would Blake, Faunus hearing. And Weiss was…oh. Oh. Why me?
"And that changes things how!" Despite her seeming calm, Weiss radiated fury. "How does that make a thing they said better? How does that make them less awful?" Ice Queen Weiss was always scary, because no matter how angry she got, she didn't sound angry. Like now.
Yang shrugged, helplessly glancing towards me. Apparently my face didn't reassure her, the light darkening in her eyes. "They've said that crap for years. It'd be worse if the forest was especially infested, but it's the same sort of crap." It was an attempt to placate Weiss, and from her face, it didn't work.
More silence, uncomfortable silence, Blake's fist clenched, and Weiss's quiet rage.
Oh right. "Blake? Gambol Shroud uses 9mm rounds right?" Although the request obviously confused her, she nodded. "Yang, anything special?"
"Nope. Just the usual." I rolled my eyes, she sounded like she was ordering a drink, not bullets. "You realize we can- "I glared. "Right right. Turning to our teammates, she gave a small grin. "You guys want anything special while Ruby is geeking out on guns?" Hey! I was not…okay maybe I was.
"No thank you." Weiss shook her head. I nodded, focusing back on the work.
Having satisfied myself with the quality of the bullets, I pushed the completed rounds to the side, and went to work, mixing Dust together for some of the rarer kinds of bullets. I did need to make myself more Gravity shots. And a bunch of different ones for Blake, since she used all kinds with her Semblance.
"Ruby?" It was several minutes, and I was vaguely aware of Blake and Yang slipping out of the room before Weiss spoke up. I paused, looking up.
"Yup?" Her expression was filled with confusion, looking between me, the various Dust's arrayed before me, and the tools I was working with.
"You normally couldn't explain to me the first thing about Dust." Her head shook, no doubt remembering the times she tried to help me study. "But, you're sitting here, making bullets, and mixing Dust, as though you've been doing it for years?"
"I'm a weapons nerd Weiss." Anyone who wanted to make the best from their weapons knew you had to make your own bullets. And the home made ones were just way better than the store bought kind. Way better. My partner sighed, as though I said something ridiculous.
"It takes people years of student to learn about safely combine Dust for use in weaponry." Really? Oh. I guess I never thought about how long I'd been practicing, but it had been a long time. And those first few times were bad. "And we use machines to make bullets, to prevent accidents." Well that explains why store bought one sucked. "Do you even understand just how dangerous." Her hand waved towards my work, "that is?"
"Oh course!" Putting down the jar I'd been measuring out of, I shrugged. "You do something wrong and things explode." Another story I hoped she never heard. Especially because Weiss would probably consider the stories of my first tries at making bullets to be justification for never letting me near raw Dust again. She already never let me do anything in our Dust Chemistry class…which wasn't my fault. Nope. Not my fault.
"Well…" There was a pause, as though she was chewing on the words. "At least you understand the safety risks." There was a pause. "That doesn't explain why you can't follow simply instructions for mixing things however."
This time it was my turn to roll my eyes. "Because their instructions are wrong." Or, at least I could do it better. "I can do most of the stuff they want us to do better Weiss."
Affront flashed across her face. "Those formulas are sloppy." I drove our Professor crazy, because I refused to pay attention to the things in our textbook. My formulas were better. Most of them were cheaper as well. "And mine are cheaper." Pausing, I grabbed few tubes, and one of the hollowed out rounds that Crescent Rose used. "Gravity Dust for example. The way they taught us to do it at Beacon uses twice as much Dust as you actually need, and doesn't create nearly as much force as these." I paused. "Of course, if you mix it wrong, you get this really cool explosion as a bonus." Well, sort of. Learning to use my Semblance had been a must for handling that.
Weiss just goggled in my explanation. It was rare that I was the one to utterly confuse her, and I couldn't help but giggle. Face was priceless…pity I didn't have a camera handy.
"I…I don't get it!" In a very, not Weiss thing to do, her arms waved about. "You're just casually sitting here, telling me that people who have been doing these things for years are wrong?" Yes? "the Schnee Dust Company has entire training programs devoted to what you're doing Ruby!"
I stopped working, leaning against the worktable. "I've been figuring out how to do this stuff since I was…10?" I frowned. Whenever it was that Yang tried it, and almost blew her hand off. "Whenever Yang started school."
-Petals Scatter-
Blake
It was strange, being in the place that Ruby and Yang had grown up. Everything smelled of salt, and forests, and there was even more confidence in Yang's movement than normal.
It was an effort to keep my ears from twitching, watching the few students still in the halls whispering to themselves. The whispers were things I was used to, being a Faunus meant that wherever I went, such thing were commonplace. The insults and sneers, whispers when they thought I couldn't hear. At least before I started hiding my ears. Humans could be really stupid about something things, but I wasn't about to let that stop me.
But, none of these whispers were about me. Or even about the very short list of Faunus I saw. No, these whispers were about my teammates. Mostly about Ruby, although a few would cast frightened glances in Yang's direction as my partner passed by. And those who knew Weiss's face, but she was always quickly forgotten in favor of Ruby or Yang.
It wasn't as though I was surprised by people muttering about Ruby and Yang. Ruby's age, and distinctive fighting style meant that she did tend to get a lot of whispers when people thought we weren't listening. Yang's presence just drew attention from people, so it wasn't a surprise. Until I listened in closer.
Whereas at Beacon, the whispers about Yang were either people who didn't want to fight her, or found her attractive/someone to respect, and those whispering about Ruby were commenting on her age, how cheerful she was, and how terrifying her scythe could be, these whispers were different.
"Hey Yang." We'd ended up on a balcony, overlooking the ocean, Yang leaning against the railing, her expression unusually guarded. At my words, her head jerked to me.
"Yeah?" Even her voice was more subdued than normal.
"Why…" How could I even ask this question? Maybe bluntness was the best option. "Why is everyone whispering about Ruby being some kind of monster?"
Yang gave a snort, shaking her head. "It's kids being stupid." Her gaze dropped head shaking. "We've all got some secrets Blake… I guess it's always been figured that we'd put it behind us coming to Beacon."
A tinge of guilt flashed through me. Secrets. That's what it all was, wasn't it? Secrets? I had mine. Weiss seemed to have hers, for sure, although I'd never had it in me to ask. I wasn't sure I wanted to know. It was kind of a Team RWBY unwritten rule, our history was our own, and we didn't talk about it. Even after the finding out I was part of the White Fang, they hadn't pushed for more information than I gave them. It was…comforting in its own way.
While Weiss's family was in the public eye, and thus, easy to find information on, I had figured out almost nothing about Ruby and Yang. Well, almost nothing. Ruby woke up some nights crying, and would disappear to somewhere else for hours at a time. Yang never woke up crying, but there were days were she didn't' sleep.
Ruby's dislike of crowds was something that had been commented on once, but, I'd thought it was just a sort of odd personality trait for such an outgoing girl to have. Then again, she was jumpy around people sometimes. But I'd never considered the Ruby and her sister had some kind of secrets, or history they'd want to forget.
"Anything you want to talk about?" It was the least I could do. Yang had been around for times when I was stupid, and absorbed in stuff, it seemed appropriate to return the favor.
"What's there to talk about?" That seemed like a bit of an un-Yang statement. "Just a bunch of stupid kids who don't get it." My eyes narrowed, just a bit. "They've been saying that sort of crap ever since Ruby started here."
"They've been claiming she's some kind of psychotic killer since she was twelve!?" and people said Faunus were horrible monsters?
Yang shook her head, hair bobbing around. There was a part of me that wanted to swat at it, which was ignored. "Not quite. It started after she finished Crescent Rose…" Yang's voice trailed off.
After… There was something I was missing here, although I had no idea what it was. Yang had mentioned that when Ruby's mom died, their dad had an emotional breakdown, which implied that she and Ruby learned to take care of themselves, but that didn't explain any of this. And Ruby was way to cheerful to be like some of the people I met in the White Fang. Killers, pretending to be normal. And Ruby was not like that as all.
"Ruby and I had to learn to take care of ourselves when Mom died." Yang started speaking without any warning, unusually melancholy. "Even when he was…there, we had to help a lot more around the house and… take care of ourselves." Her lips curled into a sad smile. "And he'd go out on missions, so we had to take care of ourselves if Qrow wasn't around."
"I don't see how…" this all made sense, but didn't explain the whispers.
"Our house was out in the woods…that way." Yang pointed towards the forest in the distance. "Which was fine, when Dad taught here, and Mom was out doing missions. Not very many Grimm out there, but there's enough that we had to be careful coming into town on occasion." Oh. "So when Mom died…and Dad had to do missions from time to time, to pay the bills, we'd be alone. Dad and Uncle Qrow had taught us how to fight, and unlocked our Aura's, something that most of the kids at the time didn't have. So, when Ruby and I started school, we were a few steps ahead of the rest of the crowd, and had half a clue how to fight better."
So they reacted out of fear. It was strange to see someone as upbeat as Yang look so morose. "It wasn't too bad when I started here. Even two years later when Ruby started school, it wasn't that bad." So what happened? "Then, one day, we didn't come into town together. I forget what happened, I think Ruby was just slow getting up, and I was impatient. There hadn't been many Grimm in that week, so I wasn't too worried about her."
"What happened?" The same sinking feeling I tended to get before some horrible revelation came.
"She's never told me." What? Ruby didn't tell Yang? Those two didn't' seem to have a secret between them. "All I know is that when she walked through the door, she was holding her scythe, shaking wildly, and bloody. She got about ten steps, and collapsed. Panic ensued."
"Oh my." That couldn't have ended well. I… I couldn't imagine how I might have reacted, when I was younger.
"Yeah. And those whispers started." Yang gave a smile that didn't seem the least bit happy. "After a while, they drifted onto me as well. And we got used to ignoring them." She sighed. I'd rarely seen Yang this beat up. "Dad never noticed, and I never told him. And Ruby wouldn't talk about it. She eventually found some friends, and I thought that was that."
She was blaming herself for something, I had plenty of experience doing that, making it easy to tell. Reaching out, I tentatively put a hand on her shoulder, hoping it was at least a little bit of comfort.
-Petals Scatter-
Ruby
Weiss stared at me in disbelief as I finished talking. For a few minutes, she tried to form the words, before just slumping against the table.
"I…Ruby…" Oops. I must have broken her.
"It's fine Weiss." Yang and I had gotten by, hadn't we? And I got to learn how to make cool bullets, and all sorts of stuff. "We came out fine didn't we?" Well, fine was kinda…relative? That was the word right?
"Ruby!" She sounded upset. I don't see why?
"What?" Popping a few more bullets into a magazine for Blake, I turned to face Weiss again. She shook her head, giving me a bit of an odd look. Confusion, I think. It was harder to figure out Weiss today for whatever reason. "That's what life was like for us." Somewhere in the back of my head the whispers were creeping back.
"Something is bothering you." Oh shoot. I hadn't kept my face from slipping. And Weiss was not going to let me off was she?
"It's nothing Weiss." She didn't need to worry about this. Why would she want to care what a killer thinks. I squashed that thought as hard as I could, wishing not for the first time that I could just go inside my own head and chop them up with Crescent Rose.
"It is something." She stepped a little closer to me, and I could feel the spike in my heartrate almost before it happened. "Ruby, you're jumpy, and closed off. Something is bothering you."
"Do…Do you think it's possible to be too good at fighting?" Not the truth, but it was something. And I had wondered before. It doesn't matter. Fighting and killing are all you're good at now. Stupid thoughts. More confusion on her face.
"What do you mean?" Weiss shook her head, pony tail flopping about. "How can you be too good at fighting?"
"Be honest Weiss." I wasn't about to tell her everything, but maybe I could get her to leave me alone? "I'm not super good with people. I'm on okay student, but mostly I'm just sorta…there? Everyone mentions me, and then mentions how I fight with a scythe, or how I cut the head off a giant Nevermore for initiation. Or that I blow up the labs." And it wasn't my fault. They insisted on doing things the long way. "Everyone here knows me as either Yang's sister, or that girl whose showed up to school bloody from fighting the Grimm in the forest." Monster. That's all you are.
For a long time, my partner didn't speak, our eyes locked. I wasn't sure what emotions swam around in them, but there were a lot of them. "You really are a dunce sometimes." Wha? She stepped up next to me, my chest tightening, breathing shortening a bit. Cold fingers wrapped around my own. "You are worth so much more than that Ruby Rose." She's lying. But was she? We didn't use our full names when talking to each other, none of us did. Yang mostly called everyone by nicknames, but that was about the most names happened. "You are a good leader, and a better friend." She swallowed, as though the words caused her pain. "Better at either of those things than I can be." Another pause, this time, she took a long deep breath, that I found myself mimicking, in an effort to keep myself steady. She still lying. You're a killer. And there were the thoughts again, creeping in around the edges. "You…" She was biting her lip, and it should not be cute, for once a thought wasn't pushed aside. "There's more to you than just fighting. You sometimes can be a try hard, and get on everyone's nerved, and do things that make us all cringe, but at least you try."
"That doesn't make me special Weiss." Yup. Her biting her lip like that was way too cute.
Head tilting to the right just a bit, Weiss Schnee, the unofficial Ice Queen of Beacon Academy smiled. It wasn't a big one, but it was a smile. Were my insides turning to goo? Oh Dust they probably were. "It makes you very special Ruby." Her lips keep moving, and I was suddenly gratefully for the lip reading I practiced with Yang when we were bored. "At least to me."
Any other thought was drowned out by a high pitched mental squealing, as that sank in.
She'll change her mind. You're just a monster. And then the thoughts were back again. Without even thinking about it, I shoved them back again.
"Besides." A little of the usual Weiss was back in her tone, and stance. "I'm going to figure out what this thing with my family is about, and there is no one I'd rather have watching my back while I do."
It was probably better for me still breathing that she wasn't being cute…and had backed away just a little bit. "Of course I'm helping." Even if we ignore…everything else. Weiss was my best friend. I wasn't about to let her go running off after some crazy stupid thing her family might have done. "I know someone who might be able to help too." The sharpness of her gaze told me that maybe revealing that wasn't the smartest thing ever. That would make Weiss ask questions again.
Dust. I couldn't do anything right.
-Petal's Scatter-
Weiss
For some reason, I found myself unable to sleep. It wasn't nerves, I had nothing to be nervous about. I wasn't getting sick. It wasn't as though I had been sleeping to much, I could feel I was tired. Yet, I couldn't fall asleep.
Yang was asleep, sprawled across her bed in the usual fashion. Above me, Ruby had stopped tossing and turning about half an hour ago, which suggested she too was asleep. My gaze drifted down towards Blake, and, just as I was ready to conclude she was asleep as well, a single eye opened, zeroing in on my own. Oh right. Faunus senses.
"Can't sleep?" she rolled upright, head tipping to the side in a somewhat catlike inquiry.
"No." rolling back onto my back, I sighed aloud. We didn't have to worry about being overly quiet, Ruby and Yang both slept deeply once they had fallen asleep, so it was not as though we stood a chance of waking them. Blake didn't offer any further words, but I couldn't really be surprised. She tended to keep her words to herself. "I don't know why either."
Still no reply, although what could she have said.
"Those things…" The idea that my family could have anything to do with them was… fear and worry twisted at my gut. Half-Human, Half-Grimm? The very idea was barbaric. "I…" What would Blake think? If my family was responsible for them? Was there even something we could do?
"You haven't gone through those notebooks, have you?" Blake pointed out. "And you couldn't have known." Calm, methodical. Blake's normal decision making model, until the White Fang was involved. Then again, I could hardly call myself the paragon of rationality where they were involved.
"Not yet." Assuming no other complications arose, my plan for tomorrow was to peruse those notebooks. It was a weekend, so we only had ourselves to worry about, meaning I could devote a few hours to studying whatever those notes said. And making inquiries back at home if required.
We'd probably have to tell someone about the notebooks eventually as well. While I appreciated that everyone had been willing to hide them, part of me remained convinced it was a bad idea. Or that Ian somehow knew.
"And if my family is responsible?" The question floated out, hanging in the air. "Or at least is funding it?" I wasn't terribly familiar with how the upper level of government back home worked, but I knew that Father had some influence in it, and that the integration between government and military was high. And no doubt Father would jump on the chance for influence, or money. And I couldn't see that going over well with our Faunus teammate.
Blake didn't answer for a long time, letting the ball of worries in my gut build and build and build. "You didn't know about it, and had no part in it. I can't hold that against you." That was better than I deserved. A lot better than I deserved, considering how I reacted to finding out Blake had been in the White Fang. A lot better than I deserved. "Just as long as we agree that, whatever is going on, it has to stop." I gave an emphatic nod, knowing the Blake would be able to see.
Once again, we passed into silence, before Blake's breathing evened out, and I could only conclude she passed into sleep.
Rolling over, I tried to will myself to do the same, but the same ball of worries kept coming back. What if?
Tossing over, I froze when, out of nowhere, the bed above me shifted, just a bit. Despite seeming to be suspend in tape and prayers, to quote Yang, it was sturdy enough I wasn't concerned about being crushed. But Ruby didn't toss and turn in her sleep, despite how energetic she was. So whatever was going on was not normal.
Screwing my eyes shut, I lay still, just listening to the rustle of blankets, before there was a soft impact of feet on the ground. She was getting up then. As much as I dared, I let one eye open. Ruby's back was turned to me, so I couldn't see much, but it looked a lot like her shoulders was hunched forwards from tension. She padded across the room, almost without a sound, before opening the door, a notoriously creaky thing, and slipping out.
The instant the latch clicked again, I was upright, frowning. A glance at Yang and Blake told me both were still well and truly asleep, and thus hadn't noticed our leader leave.
For a moment, I was torn. On one hand, it wasn't exactly my business what Ruby did, or didn't do. But on the other, something was bugging her. And had been bugging her for a while, and it wasn't just what she'd told me at Signal earlier in the day. As her partner, I did consider it something of my problem what was bugging her.
So with that in mind, I slipped from my own bed, grabbing my Scroll, and slipping from the room.
The main issue of figuring out what had Ruby awake at night, was that I wasn't sure where to find her. She probably wouldn't have gone to the rooftops, as Jaune and Pyrrha tended to go practicing there, meaning that if she wanted privacy, that wouldn't be it. Maybe the library, which at first sounded counter-intuitive, but Ruby enjoyed novels quite a bit, perhaps the only way to get her to be quiet, so it was possible she would go there. But, a Ruby who was awake in the middle of the night would be out of sorts. None the less, it seems like a starting point, which I didn't have at this point.
As I walked through Beacon, a strange sort of worry bubbled up, one I found myself not really understanding. What was I even doing out of bed, at who only knew when, searching for my errant teammate?
It shouldn't have been a complicated question, really. But, as it seems, nothing with Ruby was quite… simple. Even something like that White Fang could turn into a cataclysmic mess culminating with a Grimm invasion of Vale. That was to disregard the fact that, when everything reached those sorts of confrontations, Ruby could someone step forwards, and just… succeed. Despite less training, arguably less experience, although I was starting to doubt that, than myself, or Yang, or even Blake, she was our team leader, and it was a roll she filled with a strange naturalness.
Shaking those thoughts off before they drifted to far, I found myself in the center of the library.
"Now. If I was Ruby…" My lips curled into a wry smile. Understanding half of what went on in Ruby's head was beyond me in most situations, never mind understanding all of it. Still, it did give me a good idea of places to start. Adventure novels, and weapons.
After a little though, I settled on guns first, without any particular reasoning behind it.
Padding through the shelves, I took a moment to glance at some of the titles. Weaponry was a subject I had little use for, having been trained in the use of a rapier since I was old enough to understand that being a Huntress was something I wanted. Firearms, according to Father, were for those beneath us, although I was being forced to reevaluate that opinion on an almost constant basis since arriving at Beacon.
A History of Sniper Rifles, and their Effect on Warfare. A title that would no doubt have been exactly the sort of book Ruby might read. That girl could spend hours talking about that scythe of hers, yet ask her the first thing about a variety of other subjects, and she was clueless. Another mystery to add to the list.
Stepping around a bookshelf, I found myself confronted by one of the few things I had perhaps been fully prepared for.
Sitting in the corner, illuminated through the window by the waning moon, was Ruby. Her legs were pulled up under her and her arms wrapped around them. Her head was bowed, leaving it hard for me to see anything else, but from a distance, it sure looked as though she was crying, based on the soft shaking of her shoulders.
If there was a singular constant about Ruby's personality, it was that she didn't cry, and was always upbeat (yes, I am aware of the fact that is two things). Even earlier in the day, at Signal, she hadn't cried. Become upset, sure. But never cried. If there was ever a person to have a perpetually sunny outlook, it was Ruby. Of course, I was aware that even the best of us broke down sometimes, although I had never told Winter I knew about what happened between her and Father.
I think my steps must have echoed in the empty room, because as I started to approach her, Ruby's head snapped up, eyes wide in panic, flitting around before settling on me. A few errant rose petals flew as she took advantage of her speed to apparently wipe away tears. It was an effort not to roll my eyes. Only Ruby would use her Semblance for something so utterly mundane.
"Hi Weiss." It was a considerable effort for her to keep her voice form cracking, the greeting sounding forced, and choked off. "Taking a walk?" Her left hand flexed, a bit of an odd nervous tick, if Ruby could be said to have them.
"No." I shook my head. "I was looking for you." Her eyes widened, darting about again. Looking for an escape. I knew that habit well, and it didn't bode well for this conversation. "Ruby." It was hard to be calm, to think about this, what to say, how best to handle it.
"Yes?" Her legs were uncurling, preparing to run. The plant of her hand suggested she would throw herself sideways, and then be gone in a flare of rose petals. That was bad.
What to say? How to not make her panic? "I was worried about you." My heart was starting to race as well, and sweat started to form on my back. For a moment, Ruby seemed ready to turn and run, before she slumped back down again. Even though we were almost the same height and size, she seemed so very small, curled in a corner.
"Oh." There was a pause, and then her voice became a bit stronger. "Did I wake you up?" Typical Ruby worrying about everyone else first. Her eyes weren't as watery, although it seemed like an effort for her to keep herself calm, although it took me a bit to figure that particular thing about.
"I was already awake." Dropping down next to her on the floor, I tried to ignore the sudden flinch my prescience brought on. "Was wondering what had you up this late. You normally sleep like a rock."
Ruby gave a weak giggle, but it sounded…flat. That same, two Ruby's thought filtered through. "I get up quite a bit at night." She mumbled the words, head titling away from me, eyes shadowed by her hair. "It's fine Weiss," And of course Ruby was capable of reading me like an open book, "Really." Of course, that was a two-way street, and I could read her too. And Ruby, hiding her expression, and curled up in a ball, was more definitely not fine. And not even a very good liar.
"It isn't fine Ruby." Gentle. Don't freak her out. Neither of which were thing I was good at. What could I even say to her? "You're not sleeping. And hiding something." It shouldn't be physically painful, watching something so obviously hurting her, yet without any manner of help available.
For a moment, I thought she was going to freak out, and run, before she slumped down a bit. "It's just dreams Weiss." There was a pause. "It isn't like I sleep that well anyways." Really? That was a bit of a surprise to me. "I'm just really good at being quiet when I wake up." Apparently. And I thought I was a light sleeper. She giggled again, head shaking at some thought.
Although her giggling was adorable, you'd never get me to admit it, especially not at the moment. More important things to worry about. "More than just a light sleeper. I watched you leave, and you didn't make any noise at all. If I didn't know better, I would have thought you were an imposter." She snorted.
"I'm not always a total klutz Weiss!" Minorly offended. That was a bit more normal now. "You can go back to sleep you know?" Nope. That was not about to happen.
I suppose it would be appropriate to take a leaf out of Ruby's book. "Nope." It was, in many ways, an infuriating response to receive, as Jaune had apparently be informed. Ruby turned, glaring at me, in a way that, if not totally ineffectual, probably qualified as cute. Having dealt with people such as Father, I had gotten quite used to being glared at. And Ruby didn't hold a candle.
"That's not fair." Correction. She was glowering, not glaring. Still didn't help much. A bit of a smile crossed my lips.
"No, it really isn't, but that has never stopped you before has it?" Her eyes rolled, chin dropping back onto her knees. Something told me it was better to wait, than keep talking.
"It's just stupid dreams." A whisper, barely audible, even in the quiet library. "Or horrible ones." That was a rather large spectrum of possibilities. "These are just worse." Her head lifted a bit, both her fists clenching hard enough for the white in her knuckles to show. "It…I…" Stammering, the words failed to form. "Death Weiss. People dying. And I can't do anything..."
Dust. What had Winter said? I cast my mind back, trying to remember my conversation with my older sister, one of the few times she had come home after joining the military. We had never been all that close, the difference in our ages, and Winter being away with school saw to that, but for all that, we were close. And one day, she had come home, pale and shaking, I had managed to extract a few details about what was wrong. Apparently a mission, and she'd had to kill people. A lot of people. She'd seen a friend die too. And what had she said…
Unfortunately, that wasn't coming too me. All I could do was put an army around Ruby's shoulders, and grumble internally at how useless I felt. Even just with an arm resting over her shoulder, the tension bottled up inside Ruby was apparent, ever muscle stretched tight.
"It's not just that though." Dust, she sounded so broken. "Do you remember, after the invasion?" I could only nod. It was hard not to remember. A lot of death, and bleeding, and screaming. We hadn't had to help pick through the rubble, that had been Professor Goodwitch, with her Semblance, but there had been plenty enough of loss. "There was a kid down there, a little younger than me." The exact memory was not present for me, but Ruby kept talking. "He was curled in a ball crying. Somewhere in all that fighting, his Mom was killed."
I allowed myself a single moment of undignified thoughts, chiefly borrowing a few choice words from Yang.
"I wanted to be a Huntress so I could protect people… to keep people from…from…" A shudder rippled through her shoulders. A sob. "From having to feel that." That's right. Ruby's Mom had died when she was younger. All of us had our family troubles, it seemed, and it did explain why Ruby only ever mentioned her parents in passing. "And we…we…" Her forehead hit the top of her knees again. And she was crying.
I had done plenty of reading, about the various stresses of being in battle. About how people in the past had adjusted, and coped, and what could go wrong. If I was going to be a Huntress, I'd planned to be informed. Some of what I learned was from Winter, and listening to her talk about what she did, although I knew her job for the military was somehow different than what I would be doing.
"Its…empty, and horrible." Ruby was still talking, although I got the feeling she had forgotten I was there, and was just mumbling to herself. "Weiss." Or maybe she hadn't forgotten.
"Yes?" I tried to prepare myself for whatever was going to come out of her mouth next, which at this point, could be pretty much anything. Or at the very least, it was outside of anything I really knew about Ruby.
Her arms unwrapped from her legs, the motion slow, and without any of the usual fervor that Ruby might have had. Her left hand came up, wrapping around my own on her shoulder, the other, placed against the ground.
It had become something of a joke that my skin was as cold as my heart, after the first few times someone called me Ice Queen. Even so, I was not usually as aware of just how much colder I was than Ruby. At that moment, however, it felt like my hand was suddenly stuffed into a heater. Had I known better, I would have suggested that Ruby was just feverish, but one of the few advantages of Aura was that it heightened the immune system, preventing most minor illness.
"Did I ever tell you about Mom?" Her voice was quiet. "Besides what Blake told Yang I mean?" Right. Some story involving Ruby's Mom had convinced Blake to take a step back on hunting for Torchwick. But, Blake never said what, and Yang was less than forthcoming. Ruby had known whatever Yang said the instant she'd walked back into the room though. It must have been some sort of sister thing, or maybe it just came from knowing each other as well as they did. I certainly couldn't pull that same trick off with Winter, or Whitley.
"No." I paused. "And Blake never told me what Yang talked about." No, that in a reversed situation, I probably would have either.
A deep breath. Then another. "I…I don't remember her very much." Her fingers fumbled, a Scroll appearing in her hand. A few flicks, taps, and then a picture appeared.
It was easy to see the resemblance between Mother and Daughter. And where Ruby's style of dress originated, although her Mother apparently preferred White over Red. And apparently that hair collar was natural. I had wondered.
"She was a Huntress, on a Team with Dad, Uncle Qrow, and Yang's Mom." Right. They were only half-sisters. "And she was awesome. She had the best stories, about places she'd been, and people she helped, and monsters that she killed." A bit of the usual life had returned to Ruby as she spoke. "Yang says her cookies are what got me addicted to sweet things, but…" She didn't remember. "And then…I was…it was my birthday when we found out. That she wasn't coming back." A short rasping sob. "I was too young to really get it, the idea that being a Huntress was dangerous. I just thought it was this cool thing my Mom did, that gave her awesome stories to tell me before bed." Ruby made an attempt to smile, without any success. There was too much pain in that smile, not enough of the regular cheer. "I didn't really get it until…a long time later." There was a pause, as if she was gathering the courage to say something. "When I killed a Grimm the first time."
What? It was becoming a recurring theme of my thoughts tonight it seemed. Ruby had implied that she had fought Grimm a lot earlier than most of the other kids on Patch, as had Yang, possibly as young as eleven or twelve…but I didn't see how these things added up.
Having an absent parent was something I could empathize with… considering my Mother. And that was before I even considering Father. But just… losing your Mother? My chest hurt from thinking about it.
"Something coming at you, intending to kill you? That's what made me realize being a Huntress was dangerous. And that's what made me realize what happened to Mom…until then, I just kinda denied it I guess. Thought I wasn't good enough, or that something happened, and she had to leave for a long time." Tear now, more and more of them.
She turned to face me, and something in my stomach dropped.
The light of the moon no doubt made the effect worse, but seeing Ruby, her eyes swollen from crying, hurt on a level it shouldn't have.
"And… I dream about her sometimes." Oh Ruby... that was, I had no doubt the reason she was here, away from everyone. "She's…she's right there. And I…I can't Weiss!"
She collapsed against my chest, sobbing. I wrapped my arms around the sobbing girl, wondering if there was anything I could do to lift at least a bit of her burden.
-Petals Scatter-
Cinder
The report on the screen was troubling. It seemed the one of the Doctor's test locations had been compromised. By those four girls that had been causing us such problems no less.
Such complications were to be expected of course. Our enemy had been alerted to our presence, but this far had failed to marshal any sort of response, or even locate the three sitting right under their nose. All they did was squirrel away the body of their Fall Maiden, as it such things would prevent the inevitable. While no doubt, Ozpin, and his assistant would be difficult to overwhelm, I was quite certain that should the situation call for it, I would be able to do so, even with only a fraction of the Maiden's powers. Or without them.
A small flame formed over my right hand. The power of Fall. Last in a long line of pieces, carefully aligned to ensure the plan came to fruition. All that remained was to stay the course, regardless of the rising complications. Besides, when our enemy had yet to understand the nature of the threat presented, it was not my place to reveal it to them.
The postponement of their little tournament was annoying, but ultimately of no consequence to the plans. If anything, it meant there was more time to collect resources, and all the little gift I had planted into the CCT tower to work its magic, as well as allowing me to ensure all of the pawns were in place. The loss of a single test location was of little importance. If anything, it would remove a potential thorn in my side.
The file pulled up on screen had made me pause at first, much the same as running into Ruby Rose had, although for a different reason. Where the silver eyed girl was worrying for that reason alone, Ian Blackwood was worrying for a far more important reason, especially if he was responsible for finding that test location. Few people had access to the breadth of information had. Perhaps, he could be sent elsewhere. That would simplify things. I'm sure the good Doctor would enjoy a new…associate.
So, the question was, where might they be sent? Somewhere… cold. and out of the way. Choices, choices.
A/N: Done! On time, so I don't get yelled at for not keeping promises. Now I can sleep for a…oh wait. Thursday's are my day off. Damn.
I hope everyone enjoyed this one, which is a bit a change of pace from the first chapter. A little slower paced, and a lot of talking, and character bits, which I know aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I do kinda need them going forwards, to explain the AU-ish elements I have going on. Although most of that is really just mean dicking around in backstories a bit, but not very much. Was supposed to have more Yang and Blake as well, but that apparently is next chapter. This one was getting long in the tooth, and I didn't feel like pushing an update back a week, just for that. So instead you get like 500 words of Cinder. Not a fair trade. At all.
Also, in case no one picked up, I'm going to play the psychological consequences of stuff out in full here. PTSD is a thing, and having 17-18-year-old kids (or 15) killing monsters, or in otherwise traumatic circumstances, is a recipe for it. And people die when their giant robots explode in fire. (No Brakes, or Breach). And so on. I'm not going to turn RWBY into a bunch of murders or anything, but in past events were dudes should be dead? Dudes are dead. And losing a parent isn't always good for the psyche either. I'm not going to go and alter anyone's personality, I'm going to do my damndest to make all this work, within the framework of characters given…which has proven a hell of a task, but I apparently am a masochistic moron, so it'll all work out dandy. At the very least, it can't be worse than Darkness.
Oh, and while I know that Word of God is that Grimm don't bleed; they are going to bleed here, because it makes more sense to me. They are living breathing things, they bleed. I'm not going to explain them being 'alive' via magic or something. They have organs and a metabolism and so on.
Not quite going for realism, but I'm also not going to sugar coat stuff. In essence. It's 11 pm, I'm tired as hell from literally working on this for hours today. So I'm probably no longer making sense.
Okay. That's enough of my rambling. Reviews are always appreciated, as are questions, comments, and concerns. I'm going to do my best to respond to reviews, but if I take a little bit, it probably means I'm still up to my eyeballs editing, or writing. At latest, I'll reply by Wednesday, since I'm publishing Fire Emblem that day, and thus am on FFN more. I'll attempt to reply to guest reviews in these massive author's notes, but I'm not going to promise to anything, because I doubt these damn things are way to long.
Oh! Before I go scurrying back into my cave (to keep writing more sleep), and become engulfed in virtual paper as I frantically scramble to write and edit, another thanks of Aura of Twilight, whose FFN account I finally learned (Angel of Darkness and Light). She puts up with all my bullshit when I'm writing this thing, including my literally overthinking a silly, throwaway plot point for like, 20 minutes. (for those curious, that is contained below, in about 700 words of rambling). But, anyways. As well as a massive thanks to Aura/Angel for putting up with me, if anyone reading this likes Fire Emblem as well, she just posted a Fire Emblem/RWBY crossover that looks like it shall be tons of fun.
Now, I realize it looks like there is a lot of extra text on the page, but I'm going to tell you right now that, you miss nothing by skipping it. Literally nothing, except 700ish words of me ranting about when Summer died, and thinking way to hard. So. You have been warned. Stop now, unless you just want to read me ranting, and being pedantic for no flipping reason, in which case, go ahead.
So. Okay. I think way too much about this goddamn show. I was trying to figure out when Ruby's mom died, and how old Ruby was. Now, in the first episode, Ruby says her parents, plural, always told them to help people, implying she has some concrete memories of her mom. Given that memories don't form until after about 4-5, this means she was, at least that old when Summer died. However, even if we assume, and this seems correct, that Taiyang beat this idea over the head pretty hard when he snapped out of his funk, the fact that Ruby remembers Summer talking about it too means that Summer probably didn't die until Ruby was older than that, since memories from age 4-5 are rarely very clear. So, based upon episode 1, my conservative estimate was that Summer died when Ruby was between 6-7, give or take a few months.
Then, in Vol. 2. Episode 6 (Burning the Candle, since I might have the number wrong from memory, and it's 10p.m so I'm too lazy to look it up) Yang when Yang's telling Blake about she almost got herself and Ruby killed looking for Raven, she says that Ruby was a toddler, as well as not old enough to really understand what is going on at the time, and it is implied that this was after Summer died. Now, by the definition, and, in this case, even how most people look at it, a toddler is usually between 2-3 or so. Given that this is stated to be after, and implied to be some time after, Summer dies, let's say…three months, that means that, Summer died, at the most, when Ruby was a little less than 3, according to that. Now, apparently children begin to understand the idea of death to varying degrees between 4-9. So, if, and this is a big if, we take Yang's interpretation to be true, then this would correlate that Ruby is less than 4 when Summer dies. Bases on this episode.
So, obviously these two things don't quite an agree. 2-3 is a whole hell of a lot less than 6-7. Now, this is getting into a little more dubious sourcing, but if we take soundtrack lyrics as a reference point (dubious I know, but I was really confused and willing to be creative here, although I didn't help), Red Like Roses II, indicates some level of resentment towards her Mother from Ruby. Now, if we assume this to be true, then the puzzle gets even more muddled. Obviously this is something that would develop over time, not necessarily right away, but if we take this to be true, then, it much be concluded that Ruby is at least older than 4, because again, memory doesn't form concretely until the age of 4-5.
So. Let's make this even more fucking complicated. Although most of us don't really realize it, we don't remember jack shit from before about 6-7. This is because, as the brain develops, we don't initially have the wiring required to from full on memories, so while memory starts to form at 3-5, we basically forget everything from that time period by the time we turn 7. With me so far? I'll forgo citing sources for this bit, just google childhood amnesia in you want more info. So, moving forwards again. We obviously remember bits and pieces from before that point, but is regarded that memory is most concrete after about 9.
Think I'm overthinking it yet?
So. In summary. The first episode suggests that Summer died when Ruby was between about 6-7. Burning the Candle suggests she was less than 4. Song lyrics (holy hell that's a weird info source), suggest greater than four, but little else. And finally, good old fashion logic, says at least 6-7, but probably more like 8-9. In other words, nothing really agrees with anything.
Now, the most obvious counter argument to this is, Muse, it's a goddamn anime, stop thinking so hard. To which, I would agree….at least for the last item on the list. The rest of it though, is literally the source material having a snit. So, what do I do?
The answer, as it happens, is a mix. Or more accurately, more thinking too hard that ends up working well. So. I'm going to do the route of unreliable memories here, and say that Yang's bit is accurate, in the sense that the events happens, she just remembers the time wrong. Besides that, I have a hard time swallowing that a five-year-old could do what she says. (Read: Muse is a pedantic fuck). So. For the purposes of this story, Summer died when Ruby was seven, Yang was nine. The events talked about in Burning the Candle happened accordingly a month or two after this.
There. Stupid, nitpicking bullshit over. I'm done. I give up. Just shoot me. Shoot me for putting this much thought into how I'm psychologically fucking up a 15-year-old girl. Or shoot me for other stuff.
Maybe I should make a thing, where I can compile this crazy list of shit that I overthink when writing this.