Ruby and Yang dodge through the insistent press of bodies. Or, well, Yang does most of the dodging.
Ruby's head feels full of static. Her gaze trails absently over what must be hundreds or even thousands of screaming citizens of all colors and sizes. Colorful lights flash in patterns she can't discern, and she imagines she hears a pulsing bass hidden beneath layers of noise. A flickering hologram whizzes past her face, urging her to place her bets, numbers rattling off her like hailstones.
It's been quite some time since she last exposed herself to such an overwhelming environment. She clings to her sister's hand like a lifeline and allows herself to be dragged somewhere, anywhere, she doesn't care, so long as it's not here.
Yang clamors atop a platform raised a few feet higher than the rest of the stands and hauls her sister up after her.
It's like diving underwater, Ruby thinks. There's an immediate relief as the roar of the crowd becomes dim and indistinct, replaced with an odd sort of pressure against her eardrums. It's not exactly pleasant, but Ruby isn't complaining.
Yang hauls her upright and brushes her off, inspecting her for damages.
"You okay, Ruby?" she whispers.
Ruby groans and rubs at her temples for a few seconds before nodding. "Just give me a bit."
Yang steers her into a chair near the center of the platform and chases the other patrons away from her.
"I don't usually come down from the tavern," she says. "The closest private entrance would have taken like forty more minutes to reach... And, it's a pretty damn good view for being down in the pits, yeah?"
She rubs at Ruby's shoulder anxiously. "The noise dampeners aren't hurting you, are they? Some people have issues with them..."
"'M good, 'm good." Ruby breathes out heavily through her nose. "Blugh. Noise dampeners, eh? Gross. What did you bring me here to do? Besides make me ill, I mean."
Yang makes a face and gestures vaguely to the front of the platform.
They're in an underground stadium, Ruby's figured out that much. Rows of bleachers ring a long ovular stage lined with what appears to be a thick layer of sand. Long gashes and scuff marks expose glimpses of dull grey metal. Monolithic machines are placed at each cardinal direction, possibly shield projectors or noise dampeners of a much higher caliber than the one shielding their little platform.
And posed on either side of her, two massive figures shifting restlessly on the sands.
She feels the tension, even from behind the noise dampeners that bend the air like heat waves off asphalt.
It appears she's caught the end of some sort of standoff.
They're obviously combat drones, but certainly not like anything Ruby's ever seen before. They're all flash and pomp, none of the rigid practicality Ruby's used to in machines that large. They look like toys, like cartoons, like something five-year-old-Ruby would have slammed against her dolls while making rocket noises with her mouth.
The one on Ruby's left especially. It stands nearly sixteen feet tall, bipedal, with an oddly effeminate humanoid figure. Broad feet and sturdy legs taper up to narrow shoulders and delicate arms, its carapace of glimmering semi-translucent parasteel woven over dull grey struts in delicate lacy patterns. Folded arms like short wings branch off from sturdy hips. Rockets, or some kind of heat sinks, Ruby'd guess.
There's a noticeable dent to its hip, and as Ruby watches, it struggles to balance itself on an unresponsive leg.
Sixteen feet is unreasonably big for a machine like that, but it's dwarfed by the mech on Ruby's right, which, while only a few feet taller than the white robot, has a body length of what looks like a little more than twice its height. It's balanced on six sturdy legs, jointed oddly, almost like a cat's, with a slinky, segmented torso that gives an it almost organic range of motion. It's a boldly faunus kind of design. Ruby'd be nervous piloting that thing, at least back in the boonies with her uncle Qrow. Maybe Vale's different.
Its viewport is obscured with some sort of dull grey liquid, and several secondary sensors appear otherwise damaged or obscured.
Ruby trails forward, pressing herself against a rickety looking rail. The pressure on her eardrums intensifies. She rolls her jaw irritably, but does not back away.
The black machine coils and leaps forward with more speed than anything that big has any right to posses. The little one tenses but falters, its bum leg weighing it down. Two tusk-like protrusions catch the little bot on either side of its leg -the bad one, Ruby notes with a wince- and, with a rippling full body motion, tosses it bodily into the air.
Yang whistles, low and appreciative. "Dang, that's a bold move for Blake. She usually plays it pretty conservative. Wonder if they're fighting again?"
"Blake?" Ruby says, not taking her eyes off the action.
"The one in the black bot. Gambol Shroud. Weiss's in the little one, uh, something foreign. Myrtenastor? Yeah, that's it." She glances about for a bit, then points to something hanging from the rafters.
Ruby tears her gaze away from the battle for a second and looks up to see two full-body holograms busily glaring at each other overhead. Two women, one tall and dark, the other short and pale.
"Weiss's the little albino with the angry eyes."
"Albino?"
"Maybe, I dunno." Yang shrugs and frowns. "Don't actually know much about her at all. She's not the most open of chicks. Neither is Blake, but she's at least polite about it."
The little bot -Myrtenastor- twists in the air, the blades on its hips extending and ejecting short bursts of energy. The edge of its shoulder catches against something Ruby can't quite see with a shower of sparks and an obnoxious ringing sound that sets Ruby's teeth on edge. It lands heavily, stumbling onto one knee.
"You know them personally?"
"Well yeah. They're my coworkers."
Ruby does a double take. "Wait, what?"
"Oh yeah, did I not mention that? Me and Ember Celia are the best thing that ever happened to this dump!" She grins and thumbs her nose.
Ruby lets out a little puff of laughter. "This is your big secret job? You couldn't tell me about your, your, mecha boxing gig? Jeez, Yang, I thought we were pals!"
Gambol Shroud scrabbles for purchase, kicking up clouds of dust with every step. It casts about with its 'head', trying to get a good view of the field through a viewport now obscured with liquid and caked on grit. Myrtensator struggles to rise but crashes back to earth with the sound of rending metal. Gambol Shroud whips towards the noise. Its body tenses for another charge.
Myrtenastor braces its left arm against the ground and holds out its right in a placating gesture.
Gambol Shroud leaps forward, only to be thrown back with a burst of multicolored light.
Ruby whoops and leans over the railing, craning her neck for a glimpse of whatever repulsor could toss a forty tonne machine about like that.
Yang laughs and pats Ruby on the back. "Glad to see you're having fun."
Ruby grins so wide her face aches and nods enthusiastically. "This is fantastic!"
"I know, right?" Yang says. "Listen, I'm gonna go do a thing, wait right here for me, kay? Oh man, if you think this is good, just you wait and see." She turns and jogs off into the crowd.
Myrtenastor wrenches up and back, stumbling about drunkenly. Gambol Shroud mirrors it on the other side of the field, all six of its limbs waving wildly.
Ruby cups her hands and screams encouragement, pressing as close to the noise dampening field as she can manage.
Ruby feels a presence at her side. "That was quick-" She turns and sees a man she doesn't know. A tall man. Even leaning against the railing, he towers over Ruby. He's tall but not big, not in the way Yang is big. Not even in the way that Ruby is big. There's a curious delicacy about him, writ in the lines of his face and the careful way he moves. He's dressed in a full, charcoal grey suit, even in the heat and grime of the stands. Ruby swallows and tugs at the collar of her ragged old tank top. He's ridiculously composed for someone so overdressed.
"Oh, uh. Sorry. Thought you were. Uh. Someone else."
"Well. It would appear that I am not anyone but myself. You can call me Ozpin." He extends a hand. Ruby stares for a few seconds, taken aback, before jolting into action. She grasps his hand with perhaps more force than necessary.
"Uh, hi. Ruby... 's my name! Wow, you're, uh. Formal."
Ozpin looks at her over the rims of his spectacles. Ruby resists the urge to squirm under his gaze. "Uh, so. Who're you rooting for?" She asks.
He turns his gaze back to the ring, much to Ruby's relief. "Neither. I am only hoping for a good fight. The outcome is of little importance. How about you?"
"Oh, uh, I don't know, really! This is my first fight, and, wow, they're both just really cool machines, yeah? I mean, I had my misgivings about the little one, Myrtenastor, but I think it's actually a pretty solid bit of engineering you know? It's got to be tricky to make something all pretty like that and still keep it functioning as well as it does! Humanoid figures at that size should be a lot more cumbersome than that thing, and wow I'd give my left arm for a look at its inner workings. And the other one, Gambol Shroud, it's just so darned organic, you know? It's a lot more practical a figure that Myrtenastor, but it's still got more grace and style than any other mech I've seen before! Do you see how stable the cockpit is, even with it moving about like that, wow, it's just so-"
Ruby flushes. "Oh, sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to geek out at you like that."
"I rather think you did." Ozpin says with a nearly imperceptible smile. "It's no bother. You're very passionate. It's.. endearing."
"Well, yeah. Machines are my life. I'd do anything to work with high level tech like this."
"Anything?"
Ruby gently swipes at his arm.
"Oh, you know what i mean. Not anything. Close. But not anything."
"And what exactly are your limitations?"
Ruby hesitates, suddenly wary. He's an oddly compelling man, but that doesn't make him trustworthy. His interest in her is starting to grate. She looks about, hoping to catch a glimpse of Yang in the crowd.
"... What's it to you?"
"You seemed keen on sharing. You don't have to talk if you don't want to."
Ruby grits her teeth and scowls. It's one thing to be pushy without realizing it. It's another thing entirely to deny any involvement like that. She steps back from the rail and braces herself, ready to run or throw a punch as needed.
"Maybe I don't."
The man hums a little and turns back to the action, his pose completely and utterly relaxed.
"It's wise to be a little wary of others' intentions." He says.
Ruby follows his gaze back to center stage, where Myrtenastor and Gambol Shroud are busily trying to rip each others limbs off. Myrtenastor grabs hold of Gambol Shrouds forelimbs and wrenches them in opposite directions. Ruby hisses through her teeth.
"It's a dangerous world, after all."
Ruby glances back at the man, only to find him gone. She whirls, catching his back melting into the crowd. She's not certain whether she should be relieved. She settles for confused.
"What the heck was that about?" She mutters to herself. She curls her arms over her chest and rubs at the goosebumps forming on her shoulders.
She suddenly feels very alone.
When Yang returns several minutes later, brandishing a keycard and grinning ear to ear, Ruby makes a concerned effort to shake off her funk. It's not fair that some random jerk can just ruin her night like that, and it'd be even worse to let him ruin Yang's.
Granted, Yang isn't the most sensitive of folk. Ruby's half certain that she would have to be outright bawling for Yang to get an accurate read of the mood. This thought makes her smile a bit more genuine as her oblivious sister drags her through the crowded stands and hustles her into another lift, this one with five operable buttons.
Their decent takes a solid minute or two, indicating either a deeper decent than Ruby'd expect or an exceptionally slow lift. Either way, Yang spends the entire trip bouncing on the balls of her feet, a sight that does much to lift Ruby's mood.
A short jot from the lift, down a narrow passageway lined with pipes and discarded equipment, Yang halts them at a door labeled "maintenance". She swipes another key card, then pauses. For dramatic effect, Ruby assumes.
Yang glances at her sister and grins, all teeth.
"We call this the Stable!" Yang declares, opening the door with a grandiose sweep of her arms.
It's not exactly the most impressive of sights, but Ruby dutifully gasps and gawks anyways.
It's something like a retooled car park, one of those multi-story affairs dug out under shopping centers and busy hotels, lit with a dim smattering of fluorescent lamps, mostly focused on the open center of the area. A spiraling shelf of concrete sprouts out from their right and trails along the walls, ramping up into a shadowy haze where the light fades.
Yang informs her that the upper levels are where they store "machines and parts and junk". Ruby cranes her neck and imagines she can almost see their outline in the dark.
Yang leaps about like an overeager puppy, bounding ahead before jogging back and tugging at her arm. Ruby giggles and takes each step like she's wading through a waist high lake of pudding, stopping every ten feet to peer at scattered equipment.
"Wow, Yang, what's that over there? Is that a forklift I see? This merits closer inspection, I think."
Yang whines and tugs futilely at Ruby's arm.
"Wow, Yang, does it feel like gravity's increasing to you?" Ruby goes limp, listing heavily against Yang's side.
Bravely shouldering the burden, Yang hauls her sister over her shoulder and continues onward.
"Come on, you just got to look at it you little brat."
It's difficult to avoid looking at it, given the size and eye searing color, but Ruby makes a valiant effort.
"Hmm, do you mean that TIG welder over there? I dunno, Yang, looks a bit outdated-"
Yang makes a noise that Ruby can only describe as an audible pout before manipulating Ruby into a standing position and shoving her forward.
Against the left wall, partially eclipsed by a disjointed mess of tools, equipment, and half-dismantled scaffolding, hunkers an absolutely massive mech, painted in eye-searing shades of yellow and orange.
Yang gestures between the mech and Ruby irritably.
"Ember Celia, my precious baby sister. Ruby, my precious giant robot child."
"Yang, that thing is ridiculous." Ruby says.
The engineer in her has nothing but complaints. Even at first glance she can tell that the thing is hideously inefficient. Too big for the speed or delicacy of the other 'bots, it's a dingy old unbalanced mass of metal that Ruby strongly suspects started life as two bulldozers hastily welded together and equipped with massive, low hanging gorilla arms. And of course someone like Yang would think slopping bright paint over dents and scratches would fix them, of course she wouldn't take into account the inherent structural weaknesses of something that huge, of course she'd send that thing careening into battle with a grand crescendo of shrieking metal and protesting engines. Lord above, at least the poor thing's got treads. Heaven only knows how ungainly a thing it'd be propped up on two legs, like a bull of stilts.
It's a hideous piece of work that any engineer worth her salt would send to the scrap heap without a second glance, but, heaven forgive her, she's in love.
"What, no she isn't! Don't listen to her babe, we both know you're awesome."
Yang coos and pets at one massive tread, soothing the bot like it's a baby and Ruby feels her stomach coil in on itself.
"Hey, Yang? That's a mech, right?"
"Of course! I mean, what the hell else could it be? What kind of operation do you think we're runnin' here?"
"I just. Even an SI at that size... I don't know, Yang." Ruby grits her teeth and shakes her head, feeling a headache brewing somewhere behind her eyes. "I don't know! I mean, what kind of operation even are you running?"
Yang pauses for a second, clearly taken aback. Her hands trail absent-mindedly through her hair, a nervous quirk Ruby recognizes from their childhood.
"So, yeah. This place isn't exactly on the up and up. I'm not gonna insult you by pretending it's not a bit sketchy."
A quick flurry of laughter burbles up from Ruby's chest. "Cool. Great. Would have been nice if you'd warned me beforehand, but, yunno. Whatever."
"It's not like you're gonna get in trouble or nothing. You're not doing anything illegal, so, whatever." Yang says with a dismissive hand gesture.
"Great, good to know. Thanks. No, wait, not thanks. That's not the point, Yang."
"Then what is the point? I'm trying to help you out here, Ruby! Just, I dunno, give me something to work with!"
"Help me? What happened to 'you should be fine on your own'? I don't mean this to be mean, but you're not exactly the helping type, Yang!" It comes out louder than Ruby had intended, and she flinches back a little, biting back the urge to apologize. Maybe she's being harsh, but she's mad and tired and it's only just sinking in how much trouble she's going to be in tomorrow. And besides, Yang can take a little venom.
"Well, maybe I'm not stupid enough to keep at something that's obviously not working! Maybe I wasn't in such a good position to help out before this! Maybe I'm making a goddamned effort here, Ruby."
"It was working just fine! I'm doing fine on my own, just like you said! I don't need any help, and certainly not," she gestures vaguely, at a loss for words. "whatever this is."
"This? This is me giving you what you want! Wow, check out all these awesome robots, all in need of near constant repair! I wonder what my techhead little sister could possibly want out of all this? Geeze, who knows? It must be that I'm just a terrible sister!"
Ruby grits her teeth and glares over Yang's head at Ember Celia, feeling vaguely embarrassed to have even an inanimate hunk of metal as a witness. Her hands are shaking. She tucks them into her armpits and swallows heavily.
"You're not-"
"Ruby, I-"
They both jolt at the mutual interruption. Yang lets out an undignified snort, and Ruby settles, her gaze falling down to graze the top of her sister's head. It's about as close to eye contact as she thinks she can manage.
"I'm sorry." Yang says, after a time.
"Yeah." Ruby sighs.
Yang chuckles and rubs at the crease between her eyes.
"Look, maybe I haven't been the best sister to you before. I always figured that you oughta be able to take care of yourself, and that you wouldn't appreciate me butting in, especially with me doing what I do, and I know you don't approve of that kind of... never mind." She shakes her head and starts towards Ruby, taking gentle, cautious steps. Like how you'd approach a wounded animal, Ruby thinks with a curious rush of irritation. "I always figured that you felt like that because that's how I feel, and maybe it's hard for me to figure out what's going on in your head sometimes. Maybe I don't understand how you work as well as I think I do, and, and. And maybe I want to get better at it. Maybe I want to give you what you actually need, and not just what I think you need."
"And what do I need?" It's irritatingly close to a whine, and Ruby seethes. She hates being angry, she's not good at angry. Her voice pitches upwards with her rage till even she can't take herself seriously, much less someone like Yang, who views every little thing as a joke. Ruby's nails bore angry crescents into her palms. She's such an idiot, she thinks, throat going tight and tears prickling the backs of her eyes.
"I don't know, I just said that! But, yunno, a half decent job would be a start, I think. Listen, my boss, he's a cool guy, I've talked it over with him, and if he likes you, well. He'll definitely like you, he's a weirdo, you're a weirdo..." She swallows and shuffles her feet, disarmingly vulnerable. "You'll have weirdo chemistry together. It'll work out. Just. Trust me. Please."
Ruby doesn't trust her, and that's the problem. She loves Yang, adores her, but she doesn't trust Yang, hasn't since the first time she left her to flounder on her own. She doesn't doubt that Yang wants the best for her, but that doesn't mean she can't hurt her. She does it all the time. All the secrets, all the lies, all the times she's just cut herself out of Ruby's life only to reappear like nothing's happened months down the line.
And this. All that this night has shown her is that Yang hasn't changed, maybe can't. And maybe Ruby doesn't want her to, if the attempt is as painful as this.
Mercifully, the awkward silence is broken with a quiet cough.
"I do hope I'm not interrupting anything here." The man from the arena, Ozpin, says with what Ruby imagines is a smirk. Ruby bites her lip with a wince, wondering exactly how long he's been there.
"Ah, boss." says Yang. "Haha, nah, we're all good. Uh, this is Ruby, the girl I was telling you about! Yunno, the mechanic?"
"We've met."
"He was in the stands. When you were gone." mutters Ruby at Yang's questioning glance.
He could have the decency to look a little awkward, Ruby thinks ruefully, swiping discreetly at her eyes. He sidles up to Yang, as unaffected as he was in the arena, and gives her a sidelong look.
"I do feel a certain, how did you put it, Yang? Ah yes, I do indeed feel some sort of 'weirdo chemistry' with Miss Rose. Cutting to the chase, I would like to hire you, full time, to perform maintenance on the machines housed in this location, and perhaps some short trips to other locals. As it suits you, of course." He holds up his hand to silence protests that Ruby's too stunned to give. "Now, I understand that this is a touch unorthodox, and that... tensions are running high. But, if you would give me this opportunity, I would like to discus your future with you."
He offers her his hand, and Ruby takes it with some hesitation. He's definitely a weirdo, but at least his interest in her has an innocuous origin. And Ruby can hardly hold someone's lack of social grace against them.
And, well. He's offering her a job. A sketchy job in a sketchy place, but it's the first offer she's had in a while, and it can't hurt to at least hear the guy out.
Ozpin gives her a satisfied smile, and gives her hand a firm shake. "Excellent. Now, if you would come this way, we can discus things in my office. Are you hungry? I'll call for some food."
Yang starts forward and says, "W-wait, I think I probably ought to be there. To help out, yunno?"
Ozpin glances at Ruby and shrugs. "Ruby?"
"O-oh! Um, no, thanks. I can handle it, right?" Her gaze zigzags between Ozpin and her sister. "Yang, you should go back and see the end of the fight! Um, you, you should tell me who wins, okay?"
"Oh, all right. Sure." Yang trails off, looking forlorn. "Treat her good, boss." She says, before turning on her heel and marching off.
Ruby feels a surge of guilt as she watches her sister's back. She's going to have to do some damage control tomorrow.
Ozpin gestures Ruby towards a small door opposite from Yang's departure. At least something can be salvaged from this night, Ruby thinks, feeling a rush of determination.
Only so many bad things can happen before something good, right?
A'ight. So. Somewhat less giant robot fights than promised, but you could probably pick that up from the first chapter, yeh? Any advice at all would be appreciated.