Disclaimer: RWBY is not mine. And I'm sorry about all the feels-y moments in the last chapter.
Road to the End
By: athrunzala
03: Informant
The next few days were spent searching around town for Ruby and Jaune's mysterious informant. However, each person they spoke to was just about as much help as Lapis had been. Even she was trying to dig up what she could. However, one good thing had come from the whole fiasco: They had learned the location of a few of their other friends.
Team CFVY and Team SSSN were both in Mistral, helping coordinate refugee housing there. That was discovered on accident when they ran into Coco on the outskirts. Of course, this meant that they now knew where people were, in the event of needing to hide.
It was nearing the end of the 6th day when they encountered somebody who was able to tell them the same information, and they pointed out a woman in a brown, tattered travelling cloak sitting in the back of a bar. Jaune and Ruby instructed Ren and Nora to wait outside while they went over to talk to the mystery person.
"You told us?"
"Ruby Rose. It's been a while."
"How do you know my name?"
"You know me, Ruby. But I don't think that you'd want to see my face right now."
"If she knows you, why hide?"
"Because of what I've done. I know what I did was wrong, and I'm sorry for that."
"How could you have done anything to me?"
The woman reached up and removed the hood from her head, revealing pale green hair and tan skin. Almost immediately, Ruby lost her cool and jumped across the table.
"YOU! HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME! AFTER EVERYTHING YOU DID! I SHOULD... hurk"
She was stopped as Jaune grabbed on to the middle of Ruby's cape, stopping his friend in mid-air.
"Ruby, I... I'm sorry. For everything. I... I'll just go."
As she stood to leave, something caught the younger female's attention.
"How'd you get that scar?"
Emerald stopped in her tracks.
"Cinder. She found out that I was helping evacuate people in Vale. It didn't sit right with her. She did that. And this."
She then lifted her right hand, revealing a pair of mechanical fingers that were grafted onto stumps where Emerald's ring finger and pinky had once been.
"Wait. So you changed your mind about hurting people?"
"Yeah. She never said that wanton murder was part of the plan. She... she betrayed us all. Is... Is your sister...?"
"Yang is kinda mopey, but she'll get over it."
"So she was just using you for your power. Can't really say I'm shocked. You could have tried to take me out when I saved Amber. But you chose to cover their escape."
"You!"
"Shhh shhh shh," Qrow was drunk again. "You realized that you made a mistake. And you wanna do something about it. Takes some serious nerve to betray somebody who has basically made it so you don't have to steal again. I just have one question."
"And that is?" the mint-haired girl asked, shrinking back from the smell of hard liquor.
"Why Ruby?"
"I... I felt that I owed her more than anybody else."
"Guilt. Gotcha. Alright. See you guys later. We gotta move. I may have found your missing professor."
Qrow then stumbled off to the bar again, where he ordered a few more drinks.
"That's your uncle?"
"Yup. He's a little strange, but I think that he gets his point across."
"Strongly. Has he tried drinking anything else?"
"Yeah... It was scary."
"Okay, I won't inquire further. Sorry again, for what happened to your sister."
"Emerald, why only you? Where is Mercury?"
"Who do you think held me down while she removed my fingers?"
"Oh. Ouch."
Ruby had been witness to how merciless the son of Marcus Black could be, but she hadn't expected that.
"Coming with us?"
"Can't. You want more information? I'll leave it in Atlas. I can send mail. I have a few people who are friends there."
Ruby nodded, just grateful that the Illusion Thief wasn't going to try to kill her. Then she and Jaune got up and left the bar. They would spend the rest of the day re-supplying before leaving for Atlas in the morning.