(Ruby pov)
As I was running, I realized how rude I just was to Penny. She saved my life, and I didn't even say a proper "thank you". But I will have to deal with that later, I needed to keep running. My tattoos were pulsing and singing with the power I was sending them. the pain they used to cause me was no longer there, I felt as if I could run for an even greater distance and not feel the repercussions.
I had to go faster, my friends. No, my family was in danger and I needed to be there. Every step I took, I tried to push more power into my legs. The tattoos were already at maximum output so the excess energy was just leaving my body and being absorbed back into the world.
Or so I thought. The energy was being held to the surface of my tattoo, the ink felt hot and almost vibrated with the energy. I couldn't look down at my legs and see, because they were not only covered by my pants, but also I needed to pay full attention to my running. I have never gone this fast before, the obstacles I had to dodge were coming at me almost as fast as I could think about them.
I made it back to the CCT in a record time. I knew I was about four miles away, so my faster speed surprised me. As I arrived to the entrance to the tower, Weiss was just walking out of the front doors. I spoke before she had time to fully realize I was in front of her "Weiss! What happened to Yang and Blake? Where are they?!" I asked, my worry and slight panic causing me to be louder then I intended.
Weiss looked at me, mentally telling me to calm down. "Ruby, take a breath. Yang just called and said they found a clue about why Tourchwick is working with the White Fang. But Blake had to go in alone. Yang said Blake wasn't answering her scroll, so she called me so we could be there to "bust her out" if anything happened" Weiss explained she said it slowly, but my brain couldn't focus on much of it. I was too worried about Blake.
"You said they were in trouble?" I asked. I wanted to get moving, I needed to know more about what's happening. Weiss looked down at her scroll, she swiped the screen a few times then held it up to my face. It was a text from Yang saying "Sup Ice queen you two should get over here. Things might go down soon" I looked at Weiss, puzzlement showing on my face. I asked Weiss "What is that supposed to mean?"
"That's why I called you, but after I spoke with you Yang called me and explained more of what was going on. She just wants us to be closer in case Blake needs to make a quick getaway" Weiss said. I could tell she was worried herself. But something else was in her voice, something that made me worry for her. I couldn't put my finger on it, and now wasn't the time to talk about it. We needed to get to Yang, if things did take a turn or the worse it would mean a world of difference if Weiss and I were there to help in a fight.
I picked up Weiss, she let out a small "Eep" but soon realized my intentions. I held her bridal style, an action I only did one other time but the unnatural lightness of her hit me again. 'she shouldn't be this light It doesn't make sense' I thought. For the second time I put the thought in the back of my mind. now was not the time to think about it, we had to get to Yang.
I quickly asked where Yang was, Weiss told me the location we all pre planed. With a burst of energy, I ran. My speed again surprised me, Weiss was so light she didn't even affect me. But it wasn't only that, my overall speed was faster. The blurriness that surrounded me when I ran was thicker now. Normally I could see well enough to move out of the way, but now I was having trouble. My vision was limited, but somehow I managed to maneuver my way through the city.
This time of day the sun was just starting to set. Within an hour the night life of Vale will start to fill the streets. I was already having to jump and swerve away from pedestrians, it worried me. If I had to make a fast getaway later, I wouldn't be able to use the sidewalks. I would have to use the highways and hope I can effectively maneuver through heavy traffic.
With a burst of rose petals, I appeared in front of a camped out Yang. Weiss surprisingly didn't scream in panic or fear at our recent speeds. Yang was about to jump up and start punching, but realized it was Weiss and I, so she sat back down on the bus stop bench. Weiss staggered and wobbled over to sit down next to Yang. I rushed over to support her and prevent her from falling. No words were said between us, we all understood the situation to an extent.
Wordlessly Yang pointed her chin to the abandoned looking warehouse across the street. I nodded and soundlessly moved to the side of the building, using my speed to move in place without any eyes being able to see me. I looked back to Yang and Weiss and saw the former pat the latter on the shoulder, then move to a spot where she could attack anyone without being hindered.
Moments later the faint lights in the building went out, a series of loud screams followed and masked wearing Faunas came running out of the warehouse. Their natural night vision allowing them to run in the night without fear of tripping.
The sound of a window shattering above me caught my attention. Blake came soring overhead and hit the ground rolling. As I looked at her, the wall behind me exploded. Rocks big and small rained down on me, I felt my arms and face being cut by the fast moving rubble. The giant mechanoid that shattered the wall stepped out into the night. It didn't notice me as I pushed heavy rocks off myself, it seemed to have eyes only for Blake.
As I pushed myself out of the pile of concrete and steel, I looked at myself. the cuts on my arms seemed deeper then they felt and my Aura didn't feel like it was draining as my skin knitted itself back together. It was like my body didn't need Aura to heal anymore. "Now is not the time to think about this Ruby" I told myself. I noticed the robot had already moved on in pursuit of its target. So I shook off the dust and ran after it, only having to use small amount of my tattoo to catch up to it.
As I got close, Yang and Weiss came up beside me. We were all following the Robot with determination, but staying back so we could surprise it when we had the opportunity. Blake didn't know we were there however, and she was running for her life. In her attempt to lose her pursuer, Blake moved to a busy roadway. She was expertly jumping from car to car, while the oversized robot was throwing cars and pushing its way through traffic.
"Time to make ourselves known, we can't let it harm the public anymore. Take it off the road!" I ordered my teammates. Who gave me a nod in return, Weiss and Yang took off. Yang used her gauntlets to shoot herself forward directly onto the back of the robot. Weiss paused for a moment and activated a Rune, allowing her to move almost as fast as me. I smiled at the plan that came to mind in that moment.
I looked Weiss in the eyes, and crossed my calf with a finger. Weiss nodded in understanding. We both rushed the mech, I deployed Crescent Rose and held it level with the bots Knee. Weiss rushed and held her rapier out in a fencing strike aimed at the robots opposite knee. As if it could see behind its back, the robot swatted away Weiss with a painful looking hit. But my attack managed to get passed its defenses. I hooked its leg and pulled it off course with my meager momentum.
Yang took that moment to start her attack. With a series of shotgun blasts, she punched the back of the robot preventing it from righting itself as my attack caused it to slam into a force barrier that lined the sides of the highway. But the power and size of the machine caused the barrier to fail and disappear. The result was all three of us falling to the ground with great force. Yang was thrown off and therefor wasn't crushed by the massive robot. I landed with a bit more grace, but still landed with a bone snapping thud.
"Well~ll. Good to see you again Red" I robotic voice said. It reminded me of Roman, and hearing his nickname for me gave it away. The pilot of this robot was Roman. That fact reinforced my resolve to stop it from attacking anyone. Blake and Weiss landed behind Roman, and made their way to pick up Yang. I shot up and called out "Freezer burn!" it was one of the codenames for our team based attacks.
Weiss and Yang jumped into action. Weiss struck the ground with her sword, activating a glyph laced with ice dust. Yang jumped up at that same moment, and used her fire dust shotgun rounds to punch the ground where Weiss froze. The reaction was instant and gave us the advantage. A massive amount of steam covered the entire field. It blinded Roman.
Or so I thought, the robot was too advanced for our trick. About fifteen laser scanners sprang out of the body, scanning the area and finding us, the attackers without fail. But it was restricted by its user, if we moved with precision we can take out its advantage. I called out into the fog "Checkmate!" knowing Weiss and Blake working together could maneuver around the robot taking out its sensors.
Without a word to one another, both Weiss and Blake sprang into the fray. Blake rushed forward first, blocking the initial barrage of bullets. Blake was the distraction for Weiss, who rushed in right behind Blake to stab the main sensor. With a thrust of her rapier, Weiss gave us the advantage. But in Roman's anger he punched Weiss off and sent her flying. Leaving Blake to face off alone.
Weiss was clever though, she was able to push out one more glyph and give Blake a much needed power up. A yellow blob of Aura was sent flying to Blake, hitting the ground and giving Blake a Haste boost. From what Blake has told me, while she is under the effects of the Haste Glyph time around her seems to slow down. She says it gives her much more time to think through a problem, and act on whatever solution she comes up with. For me the effect is completely different, but that's not important right now.
Roman sent out a dozen missiles, sending them all straight for Blake. But Blake was able to cut them all out of the sky using her new speed and precision. I knew now was the time to take down Roman, so I called out "Ladybug!" telling Blake it was time for us two to work together. I ran passed Blake as she was losing the effects of Weiss' Glyph. Using my speed, I hooked the underside of the robot with my scythe, the momentum sent me on an ark upward behind Roman. Blake meanwhile was slicing the shoulder joint in whatever weak points she could think of.
Noticing her efforts, I came down hard on the giant right arm of the robot, cutting cleanly though all the metal and wires. But our small victory was short lived, while me and Blake were standing next to each other, Roman managed to kick us with all the power his toy could manage. Both me and Blake were sent flying into Weiss, who was just starting to get up from her earlier hit. This sent us all into a tangled pile far away from the fighting.
All of the sudden, an anger laced roar sounded from just behind Roman. I knew instantly who it was. Yang was about to go berserk, seeing us all get taken out must have triggered her fighting tattoos. I knew she wasn't at full power yet, but Roman didn't know what it takes to power up my sister. In his stupidity, he smashed his remaining arm into the still form of Yang.
This sent Yang careening into concrete pillar after pillar. The impact would kill almost anyone. Blake was next to me and looked at me with pain in her eyes "It's okay. That's Yang's tattoo. The more damage she takes, the stronger her punches become" I explained. Blake seemed to calm down a little at my words, but I could still see she didn't like watching Yang get hit like that.
Yang walked calmly back in front of Roman's robot. She didn't even look concerned, she just stood there as if the fight was already over. Roman didn't seem to learn from his mistakes, he swung his robot arm again aiming for Yang. But this time Yang caught it with her bare hand. In a show of her power, Yang ripped the arm off the already damaged mech.
I guess Roman saw the futility of continuing the fight while in the robot, the top of it exploded off and he jumped out of what I assumed was the cockpit. Unlike us, he didn't even look tired just frustrated by his broken toy. He turned to face us, a look promising retribution for our small victory. He then noticed Yang walking towards him, she looked ready to beat him to death right there.
But as soon as my sister got close, a short girl jumped from out of nowhere and stood next to Roman. She calmly opened her umbrella, and winked at Yang. Then something truly confusing happened. Yang punched the new girl, then the two of them, that is Roman and the new girl, exploded in a shower of fake broken glass. Yang was enraged by this, her tattoos sometimes clouded her thinking when she got too angry. But with a final roar of frustration she burned off the last of her power. Then passed out right where she was standing. Blake ran over and held her, it was almost unbelievable how quickly it ended.
Weiss pov
After learning about Roman, his association with the White Fang, and Roman's new henchman or henchwoman, Blake has become even more obsessed with finding out what the White Fang are up to. She's constantly in the library looking up news articles, writing down everything in a notebook. Then reading that notebook over and over again trying to find something she missed. Yang has been keeping a close eye on her, making sure she eats and carrying her to the room whenever she passes out at the computer. I think it's her "big sister" instincts kicking in.
Yang came into the room where I was laying down after class, she had a look of deep uneasiness on her face as she sat on Blake's bed across from me. I knew she was going to wait for me to speak first, so I did. "It's about Blake. Right?" I asked. Yang jumped at my sudden outburst, she must not have expected me to speak so soon. I sat up and hung my feet off the side of my bed, I wanted to meet her eyes on an equal level. This conversation could be important to our team.
"I'm worried about Blake. She's on a warpath, the White Fang is all she can think about. It seems our plan to help her the other day only led to her becoming more obsessed. Your information about how most of the Dust robberies being here in Vale, it's made her want to go out and investigate why. Plus, I think when she went to that Faunus rally, the fact that Roman was leading them is really bothering her. She needs a break. I need your and Ruby's help in trying to talk her into going to the dance" Yang said.
"I'll go talk to Ruby. We can all talk to her tonight. Bring Blake to the room and we can try to talk some reason into her" I said. Yang nodded and left the room, most likely to go back to watching Blake in the library.
I decided to go look for Ruby, our old talks about tattoos were still heavy in my mind. she gave me the idea for sealing an old combat bot in my new tattoo. But the usefulness would be uncertain at best. The idea of me being able to control a robot through tattoo power was unknown to the world. I still haven't decided whether or not I would seal the robot, but I don't think I'll need any new powers for the Vital festival. So for now at least, I think I'll manage with my current tattoos.
Ruby unsurprisingly was in the place I wanted to visit. The area of the school dedicated to giving and receiving tattoos. With the upcoming world festival, a few big names in the tattoo world were here to show off their skill with a needle. I saw Ruby at a new arrivals tent, she was looking through the man's tattoo book. She probably only wanted to look, but the man seemed to be expecting her to get one of his tattoos.
"see anything you like Dolt?" I asked my partner. Ruby whirled around and smiled at me, it was such a sweet gesture, I found myself lost in the look of happiness Ruby was projecting to me. 'Has anyone ever been this genuinely happy to see me?' I asked myself. the answer was no, but seeing Ruby made me forget that fact. She, out of everyone I've ever known actually smiles when seeing me. It was something I never bothered to notice before.
Ruby grabbed the thick book she was looking at a moment ago and held it in my face. "look at this one. It gives you eyes that can see like a Hawk!" she explained with eagerness. I thought about the benefits of that. I said aloud "That could prove useful, with you being our teams long range sniper"
Ruby scrunched up her nose in thought. The word 'Cute' rang through my mind, but I pushed it away from the surface. "Huh, I guess you're right about that. But that's not what I was thinking for its usefulness. I was looking for something to help me when I'm running, you know. something to prevent the world from going blurry. I almost tripped last night while carrying you, I think the blurriness is getting worse or I'm somehow speeding up" Ruby explained to me.
Her thinking was pretty sensible. I ignored the part where she could have injured us both. But her thinking about giving her eyes an upgrade was a good idea. I was about to give her the "thumbs up" on her plan, when a part of my brain said not to trust this guy. I looked at his setup a little closer, without making it look like I was inspecting the man's equipment, people tend to freak out if you pry into their tattoo life.
As I looked at the equipment this guy had, I was almost impressed. The level of money he put into his craft was almost on pare with mine. Sure my tattoo gun was made with much more uselessly high end metals, but the maker of the gun was what mattered. I was just about to tell Ruby to get the tattoo, when out of the corner of my eye I noticed something off.
The Dust vials this man had were not from a company I was familiar with. I knew the Schnee Dust company wasn't the only company that sold Dust. But these had a mark I've never seen, it was a red sideways eye. The label was solid black with no other markings besides the red eye. 'Black market Dust? I can't let Ruby get a tattoo here. The risk of that dust being refined incorrectly is too high' I thought. I expertly didn't let this revelation show on my face, years of being a public figure were actually being useful.
"Ruby, I think I want to attach a flamethrower to my sword. Would you mind helping me install it?" I asked her. The man seemed confused at my random outburst, but Ruby reacted exactly how I hoped. With a loud "Eeepp!" Ruby grabbed me and the world went blurry. I forced myself to pay attention this time, I kept my eyes open as she ran using her tattoos. The blurriness was really bad, I couldn't even comprehend the objects that were whizzing by, was that a person? Was that a tree? It was impossible to tell. I was amazed Ruby could maneuver out of the way in time.
In no time, I was again standing. But unlike where I once was. Now I was inside, the school's armory to be precise about my current location. Ruby was standing in front of me, looking eagerly at me. She was waiting for me to hand over my sword so she could install the flamethrower, which I really didn't want. "Look, Ruby. I don't actually want a flamethrower. That was just a lie so I could get you away from that man without raising his suspicions" I explained to her. My partners face fell instantly, she must have either really wanted that tattoo, or really wanted to mess with my weapon.
"Weiss, I know you're a great tattoo artist. But I'm sure he would have done just fine" Ruby said. She sounded as if she were comforting me. It was almost like she thought I was. Jealous? Was she out of her mind, why in Oum's name would I be jealous? "Ruby Rose. Why do you think I pulled you away from that tattoo artist?" I asked sounding a little annoyed. The face Ruby now gave me was one of nervous unease. 'I'm starting to get really good at spotting the little things when it comes to Ruby' I thought with a small measure of pride.
While poking her fingers together Ruby said "W-Well, you and me are best friends. I thought that you might have been hurt if I betrayed you in some way by getting a tattoo from someone else. After all, I already technically gave you a tattoo. I thought you might have been a little bit jealous of someone else giving me a tattoo before you did"
After hearing her spell it out like that, I couldn't help but think she was right. Maybe I really did feel some sort debt I felt I owed. That was ridiculous of course, but I couldn't deny it fully. Now that the idea was in my mind, I really did want to tattoo my friend. But not because of some silly debt, but because I felt it was my job as her friend, teammate, partner, whatever. I also had to clear up this absurd notion of me being jealous.
"Ruby, that's stupid. It's your body, your skin. You may get whatever tattoo, by whoever, whenever. I just didn't want you to get one from him. If you were more observant like I, then you would have noticed an off market supply of dust he was using" I waited for her to react. She did so within seconds. Her face went as red as her cape and she lowered her head in embarrassment. Without any thought, I reached out and put my hands under her face. Cupping the adorableness that was my partner. I lifted her head so she was looking me in the eyes.
"Now that you went ahead and told me I owed you a tattoo in return for the one you gave me. Why don't we go to our room and pick out one that will solve that eye problem completely, instead of one that will only help a little. I think I have an idea for it" I said giving her the most reassuring smile I've ever given to anyone. I didn't know what my face must have looked like, but it seemed to cheer Ruby up and we headed to our room, this time holding hands while walking at a normal pace.
(abra kadabra location change) Team RWBY dorm
The moment Ruby and I entered our room, she instantly grabbed all my tattoo books and spread them all across my bed. Eagerly waiting for me to talk about my plans. 'she's so adorable when she looks at me with her puppy dog eyes' I thought. Shaking my head to dispel whatever caused my mind to think that, I looked for one of my favorite books on tattoos. High order Glyphs vol 7. I grabbed it from my bed and gestured for Ruby to make the rest go away. As I was flipping through the pages Ruby was franticly putting the books back onto our rooms overflowing bookshelf.
"this is the one. Time rotation. It's the opposing power to my Time dilation tattoos. As you know one of my tattoos are the lost Time dilation Glyphs. They allow me, or whoever I cast them on to perceive time as if it were slowed down. These however, Time Rotation, allow someone to speed up the movement of time in relevance to the mind. it can't actually control time just how fast your brain can think. It's far more complex once you get into the science and chemistry, but trust me" I dove right into the lesson about my idea.
Ruby raised her hand as if this was a classroom. I gave her a nod, playing along with the teacher roll. "Weiss, I already move insanely fast. Why would making me faster help?" Ruby asked. I smiled, she asked the perfect question.
"Ahh, you seem to not fully understand what happens when an object moves at a high rate of speed. Velocity is relevant to the motion of the singular object moving. On the outside, I see you as a blur. In turn you see me as a blur. If I use my Time dilation, I would be able to slow you down according to my brain. But it would have the opposite effect on you. You would have you mind working at a slow rate, but your body would remain the same. Thus it would prevent you from being able to react to anything at that speed" I explained, I was really enjoying this teaching thing. I felt like I was helping Ruby grow as a person, becoming a better huntress.
"so that's why when you cast the Haste Glyph on me I lose all control over my running tattoos?" Ruby asked, again playing right into my lesson with another perfect question.
"that's what gave me the idea to research why that was happening. I am your partner, I want to help any way I can. The science is simple if I explain it like this. When you run fast, your body is moving faster than your brain. This tattoo will make your brain keep up with your speed by making your mind think as fast as your moving. But when you're not running, time will appear to be moving too fast to see and you won't be able to keep up. so don't use it when you're not running" I finished my lesson. Ruby seemed just as eager now as when we walked into the room.
"That all sounds good and right. Let's give it a go!" Ruby said. Just like that, full trust in my idea? No weariness, no apprehension it won't work how I think it will? "you're willing to trust me so easily. No fear it won't work how I described it?" I asked, worried she was too confident in my ability's.
Ruby looked at me with a face full of confusion "Of course I trust you. I trust you with my life. If you think it will help, then I have no reason to think otherwise" Ruby said all that with a completely trusting look in her eyes. And to say she trusted her life in my hands, I know were partners at a combat school. But the way she said it, it was like I was as important to her as Yang. As her family.
I was family to her. The realization of that seemingly small fact was so much I was almost taken to my knees by its emotional weight. It has been so long, longer then I can remember, since I've felt the bond of family. I was taken out from my emotional chaos by a small strong force squeezing my midsection. Looking down I saw Ruby hugging me. "Please don't cry. I'm sorry, whatever I said to make you upset. I'm sorry" Ruby jabbered out. 'what does she mean stop crying?' I thought to myself. until I felt my face, sure enough, I had tears running out of my eyes.
"Ruby" I managed to say aloud, but was stopped when her hug squeezed tighter. I tried again "Ruby, you didn't say anything wrong. I've just never had anyone like you in my life. The realization of you actually caring about me, and the trust you give me. It overwhelmed me for a moment. But you can let go now. I'm okay" I said, meaning every word.
Pulling myself out of her grasp, I walked over to my tattoo setup and began the long process of cleaning and mixing all the tools and dust I would require. I remembered what Yang said and told Ruby about our need to talk to Blake. She agreed, and we both knew it would help Blake to relax a little by going to the Dance. We figured Yang would let us know when it was time to talk so we put it out of our minds for the moment. Ruby was surprisingly quiet the whole time I was working, just watching me assemble my tools and mix the dust according to the book. I asked where she wanted the tattoo.
"doesn't it have to be in a certain place?" she asked back. I shook my head no. I liked tattoos that weren't bound by the location of the body. It was more artistic that way. "then how about my stomach?" Ruby said, uncertain. I gave her the "are you sure" look. She considered a moment, then nodded her agreement.
The tattoo was simple and elegant at a glance. A simple gear that almost looked like it was rotating, with two smaller gears resting inside the large outer one. hidden in the outer gear were markings that allowed the tattoo to work, but overall it looked like a set of clockwork gears sitting just above Ruby's bellybutton. They were also as red and shiny as Ruby's namesake. I am proud to say they look like their actually cut from the gemstone itself.
We made our way to the combat stage, Ruby couldn't wait another second to test her new tattoo. From what she told me after the fact, at least what I could understand through the excited screaming. The tattoo was a success. It sped up her mind as fast as her body was moving. She said it was like she wasn't even using her leg tattoos, except that everything around her was moving so slowly. This almost started a whole debate about how time is relevant, and just because the tattoo speeds up time doesn't mean time will move faster while she's running. But Yang texting us saying she brought Blake to the room stopped us from getting into it.
Once we got back into the room, I could feel the tense atmosphere. Blake was sitting on her bed with a look that could turn Yang to stone. Yang was also sitting on Blake's bed but closer to the window, perhaps to prevent her from jumping out of it again. Ruby and my arrival didn't go unnoticed by Blake. She must have sensed an attack and hunched her shoulders so she would be ready for anything.
"Blake, we need to talk to you" Yang started. She sounded calm, which is weird for her. "we understand that the resent information about the White Fang is bothering you. But you're taking the investigation to hard" Yang continued to explain. Blake raised her head up in defiance, but the bruises under her eyes gave away her lack of sleep and overall weariness so the defiant effect was lost. "How would any of you understand? You haven't even tried to look for more information. You have already continued on with your lives. I'm the only one who's still trying to figure out why Roman is leading the White Fang" Blake shot back.
"are you even hearing yourself?!" I yelled in anger. "you're right. We're not working ourselves to death trying to find information. But I have still put a lot of effort into trying to find the White Fang's base of operations" I took a moment to let that sink in "But this has been the first time I've seen you in days. So how exactly is that helping the team? Blake, you aren't in any shape to fight, you aren't in ant shape to even stand. How do you expect to stop the White Fang?" I continued to argue with Blake.
"oh and so? What have you found?" Blake spat at me, her voice was full of anger and hate. I look a deep calming breath and sat back down on my bed, I didn't even realize I stood up. Ruby's hand found mine and I instantly felt worlds better. "I'll tell you. But you have to Promise to take a break. You have to go to the dance this weekend" I said. Leaving no room for argument.
"What? That's ridiculous. Tell me this instant" Blake argued back. I gave her my 'Ice look' as Yang described it. After a few moments of Blake holding my stare, she broke away. "Fine. I'll go to the stupid dance. but only if what you have is important" Blake said. I knew I had her, my information gathering skills outweighed anyone's.
"I know where the White Fang is located" I said with pride dripping off every word.