Author's Note: Heya guys, I have a new chapter, right on time! I wanna thank you for the positivitey and stuff, and please, feel free to give any constructive criticism or ideas you may have, it's always appreciated!
Oh, one more thing, anything written in italics is Neo's notes :p
This was Hell, it had to be. Ruby's screams echoed down the hallways, only to be interrupted by sobs and pleading as the monsters creating those sounds preparing another round of torture for the poor girl. Summer sobbed as she was forced to listen to the horrendous noises flowing into her cell. This had been going on for several days now, with occasional visits from Cinder, who said nothing, but just sat back and smirked.
Cinder left Summer's cell, a smile on her face. She could feel that the woman was close to breaking. She had known all along that the smaller girl knew nothing about Ozpin's plans, he would never confide in a sixteen year-old girl. She did know however, that Summer Rose knew something she wanted to know. She had tried everything she possibly could to get her to talk, but after all the time that had passed, after all the failed attempts at interrogation, it looked like she had finally found her one weakness. And that weakness lay on the wooden table before her, bruised, burned, cut, suffocated, half drowned, and more. She was being put through the most horrendous tortures imaginable, all for information she did not possess; and Summer knew it. It was only a matter of time before she broke...
The funeral was a difficult time to get through for all of Beacon; but none cried more than the remainder of Team RWBY. Tears ran down their faces as Ozpin delivered the eulogy, commending Ruby on her self-sacrifice and her heroism for making sure her team was safe before herself. He had asked beforehand if any of the girls had wanted to come up and say a few words, but all of them had declines, knowing that none of them would be able to stop their crying long enough to speak.
Rain poured down over the large courtyard, which was currently packed with what seemed to be every student and staff member at Beacon, along with others, such as Qrow, Tai Xiao Long, Penny, Ironwood, and many others that had come to pay their respects to the young Huntress. The small coffin was closed, as there was no body to be viewed. The grave had been dug by Ooblek earlier that morning, and it sat perched on the cliff, next to the entrance of Beacon.
As Ozpin finished delivering his speech, he brought his head down. "She will be missed..."
He gave a small nod to Glynda, who waved her crop, causing the coffin to slowly lower into the freshly dug ground.
The school began dispersing soon after, some stopping to lay a flower or item on the girl's grave, others stopping to say a quiet goodbye. Teams RWBY and JNPR walked slowly and silently back towards their rooms. Yang was assisting Weiss, who had apparently sprained her ankle trying to break out of the infirmity a few hours previously. When they finally arrived at their dorms, the two teams gave small nods to each other, and retreated into their separate rooms. Team RWBY decided they would just try and sleep, each laying in their own bed, completely covered by the sheets.
Each girls dreams were haunted by nightmares...
"Emerald, Mercury, that's enough." Cinder said, holding up a hand and stepping forwards.
The pair nodded, Mercury stepping back, while Emerald placed her knife back on the small tray and joined him as Cinder approached the small girl, who currently lay on the table, barely conscious, her breathing faint.
"You look like you've been through quite a lot of pain over the last few days, huh?" She said with a sadistic smirk, trailing her finger over Ruby's heavily bruised and cut stomach, causing the young girl to wince and give a muffled cry through the cloth that was currently serving as a gag.
Ruby didn't even try to speak through the cloth, she knew it was useless. She simply lay there, wincing at each touch, whimpering under the glare of the evil woman. She had no more strength left, no more desire to try and break free. She wanted only to savior this sweet moment where she wasn't being subjected to their horrendous torture methods.
"I bet you wanna get out of those shackles by now, huh?" Cinder said, gently unlatching each one. "I'll let you out. But if you even think of escaping, I'm going to shackle you in a position that will shatter your bones."
Ruby only whimpered again, and as soon as the bindings were released, she curled herself into a ball, trying to cover as much of her damaged body as she could. Her dress was all but gone, torn to shreds by knives, whips, and fingers alike. Her cape was torn already from the battle with the Grimm, and it lay on the floor, just out of her reach. The only part of her outfit that remained untouched were her boots, though she was not currently concerned with her clothing. She was desperately trying to focus her aura into healing her wounds. Each time they had tortured her, her aura had blocked the first few seconds of pain, but after that, it was drained. They had injected a curious green substance into her bloodstream that seemed to constantly drain her aura as she recovered it.
"Now then, I have something I need to you do, and if you do it correctly, I might just let you eat something." Cinder said, crossing her arms and gazing down at the girl.
Ruby looked up at the woman weakly, giving a small nod to show she was listening.
"There is a woman down the hall that still seems defiant, no matter what I throw at her, and I figured that you could possibly persuade her." Cinder said, her tone cold as ice, and her eyes glowing slightly. "If you cannot walk, Neo will assist you, right dear?"
Cinder turned to look at the corner, which was empty. Frowning slightly, she turned back and gave a small sigh. "It seems Neo has something to do that s more important than the information we need. Emerald, help the girl to the cell, and blindfold her, but remove her gag. You may bring her in a moment, I just need one more word with our other guest..."
Cinder made her way down the hallway where summer lay, staring at her, her hate obvious on her face. "I am going to allow you a guest. You will not tell her who you are, and you will speak only when she speaks to you, or else she will be punished on your behalf, understood?"
Summer swallowed hard, but gave a small nod. Cinder smiled and snapped her fingers, causing Emerald to arrive a moment later, half-carrying Ruby.
Summer's eyes widened at the sight of the girl. She was a bit smaller than she expected, though that might have been because she was almost doubled over, trying to cover her many wounds, no doubt inflicted by Cinder, or rather her lackeys. She noted the black blindfold over the girl's eyes, preventing her from seeing her mother.
"Here we are Ruby, now, I want you to try your best to convince her to give me the information I want. Mercury and Emerald will be here to monitor your conversation." Cinder said, smiling to herself as she turned and left the room.
After about five minutes of silence, Ruby gave a small cough, finally finding her voice. "Hello... I'm Ruby... Ruby Rose..." She said, her voice weak and hoarse. "What's your name?"
"I-I'm... Ari..." Summer said, trying her best not to break into tears.
"C-could you tell me... Wh-what kind of information... They want from you Ari?" Ruby asked, her voice slowly getting a bit stronger as she spoke.
"They want me to give them information... That could hurt a lot of people..." Summer said cautiously, speaking slowly, her voice showing her obvious nervousness.
"H-have they... Hurt you?" Ruby asked, her voice cracking slightly; Summer could see tears dampening the cloth over her eyes.
"Yes... A lot... I've been here for years and years, and almost every day has been Hell..." Summer said quietly, tears streaming silently down her own cheeks as she looked up at the ceiling. "And they've hurt people close to me too..."
"I'm sorry... I couldn't imagine having to go through that..." Ruby said quietly. "But... Is it really so bad to tell them? Could it really be that valuable?"
Summer tried to swallow, but found herself unable due to the lump in her throat. She closed her eyes gently. "Yes... It is that valuable... And if I told them... They would just kill me anyways..."
Emerald groaned, looking at her watch. "We've wasted enough time with this... This bitch is a lost cause..." She said, helping Ruby up. "Let's get you your food..." She said in an aggressive tone.
Ozpin sat in his office, his hands folded on his desk. Glynda and Ironwood each stood on one of his sides, both of them glaring angrily at a figure in the chair on the opposite side of Ozpin's desk. The elevator door on the far side of the room opened, revealing Team RWBY, or what was left of it. The girls stepped into the office and walked up to the desk.
"You wanted to see up Professor?" Blake said nervously, rubbing her arm.
"Yes... I have some news for you... I just need to wait for... Ah yes, right on time." Ozpin said, giving a small smile as two figures stepped out of the other elevator, Qrow and Tai Xiao Long. "I believe I have some information that all of you will be delighted to hear, or rather, our friend here does..."
The figure in the chair gave a small, and incredibly nervous half-smile as all eyes in the room turned on her. The girl swallowed hard, gently pushing a strand of pink hair out of her face, her eyes, one brown and one pink, darting around from person to person, finally resting on Yang, causing her expression to grow even more uneasy.
"Girls, Qrow, Tai... This girl is Neo Politan, an ex member of the White Fang, one Torchwick's right hand. She is here to give us some information she feels would be beneficial to us." Ozpin said calmly, his eyes not moving from Neo's face.
"Proffessor Ozpin, whatever information she has for us is going to be complete bullshit! She's tried to kill us on multiple occasions, and has been loyal to the White Fang for years!" Yang half-yelled, glaring angrily at the girl, who shrunk back in her seat.
"That, Miss Xiao Long, is where you are actually incorrect. You see, Miss Polatin is not loyal to the White Fang, and least of all Cinder. She was only ever loyal to one man..." Ozpin explained, Neo nodding slightly as confirmation.
"Roman Torchwick?" Blake said, glancing at Neo, who nodded before looking down sadly, a small tear streaking down her cheek.
"Exactly...Now, if you will deliver your message Miss Politan?" Ozpin said, gesturing to her.
Neo picked up a small pad of paper and a pen, and began quickly writing down on it:
I know I haven't done much to earn your trust, but you have to trust me. Your friend, Ruby, is alive.
Everyone read the paper as she held it up, their eyes going wide.
"And how can we know you're telling the truth?" Ozpin asked carefully, eyeing the girl with slight suspicion.
Because, I want no part in Cinder's plans. She's completely crazy, and will use any method she can conceive to get what she wants. I don't approve of the way she does things, she isn't like Roman.
"Where is she then, where's Ruby?!" Yang demanded, grabbing Neo's shoulders tightly, causing her to give a panicked look, shrinking even further back.
"Miss Xiao Long, may I ask you to please not manhandle the poor girl? She's obviously frightened, and we don't need you making it any worse." Glynda said, crossing her arms and giving Yang a stern look.
"Yes ma'am, I'm sorry... I just..."
"We all understand how you feel, but you must understand that we must take our time with this." Ozpin said with a small smile. "Now, Miss Politan, would you mind telling us where we can find her?"
I can't tell you, but I can take you there. Only I know how to get passed all of the traps that they laid out against you.
"I suppose that is acceptable, we will prepare a team for recovery, you will leave tomorrow morning, as I'm sure you are tired from the long journey here." Ozpin said with a small smile. "If it is alright, Team RWBY, since I'm sure you are no doubt going to be apart of the mission, with or without authorization, I am going to assign her to your room for the night."
Yang opened her mouth to protest, but Blake gave her a small shake of the head. Weiss gave a small nod and turned on her heel, making her way to the elevator. Yang and Blake came after her, followed, with some slight motivation from Ozpin, by Neo.
As the elevator door closed, leaving the girls in the slightly darkened space, there was a flurry of movement, followed by a thud and a small whimpering sound. Blake and Weiss both turned around, shock on their faces as they saw Neo dangling from the ground, pressed against the wall by Yang, who was holding her up by the throat.
"Listen here... You may have Ozpin fooled, but I don't trust you at all. If you do anything that makes me think that you're a threat to me or any of the others, I will personally rip out your spine and choke you with it, got it?" Yang said, her voice practically a low growl.
Neo nodded hysterically as she tugged at Yang's hand, trying to free herself from the grip. Yang finally let go when both Blake and Weiss yanked her away, letting Neo collapse to the floor, couching and gasping for air.
"Yang, what the Hell? She's here trying to help us, obviously frightened out of her mind, and you think that chocking her out and threatening her is a good idea?!" Blake said angrily as Yang wrenched her arm from their grip.
"I was letting her know what would happen if she decided to sell us out!" Yang said, storming out of the elevator angrily as the doors slid open.
Weiss helped Neo up and led her down the hallway, finally making it to their bedroom. Yang was already in her bed, turned towards the wall, obviously not wanting to be bothered.
"Here, I have a nightgown that should fit you." Weiss said, handing the small, white, silky fabric to Neo, who gave a small smile and nodded.
Neo moved to the corner and began undressing, Weiss looked away, but upon turning to look for her own nightgown, something caught her eye. Scars, at least ten of them, not even fully healed were covering Neo's back. They looked quite recent, and couldn't have been there for long.
"Are those okay, here, let me clean them, so they don't get infected." Weiss said, patting the bed and stepping into the bathroom, returning with a large bottle, gauze, and some cotton balls.
Neo shook her head slight, giving her a small smile as she jotted something down on her note pad.
It's alright, don't worry about me.
"Nonsense, we can't have you weak from injury while on a mission, now come and lay down." Weiss said in a stern, yet gentle tone.
Neo simply nodded, moving forwards and laying flat on her stomach. Weiss poured some liquid from the bottle onto a cotton ball and began dabbing the cuts that covered the girl's back. As the cotton ball made contact, Neo's eyes shot open, her fists clenching and toes curling as the stinging pain shot through her back.
"I'm sorry, it's going to sting for a bit, but it'll keep it from being infected..." Weiss said, continuing to dab away. "Who did this to you, was it a Grimm?"
Neo shook her head, tears falling from her eyes. She carefully wrote down a single word on the notepad with a shaking hand.
Cinder
Weiss's eyes widened, suddenly realizing why the girl was here. Realizing why she was so jumpy, looking as though something was after her. "Roman was the only one that ever treated you nicely, wasn't he?"
Neo nodded, tears flowing freely down her cheeks and onto the bed sheets as she began writing again.
When I was little, I was experimented on by Atlas. They did things to me, injected me with medicines... He was the one who found me in that laboratory. He rescued me, he was kind to me. He was always there when I needed him, but now... He's gone, and I had noone. I thought things would be okay with Cinder, but without Roman there, she was cruel and abusive. Every tiny mistake was punished with pain. I know what I did was wrong, and you may ever forgive me but... For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I never really wanted to hurt anyone. I was just afraid what would happen to me if I didn't... I didn't want to go back to some laboratory...
"It's alright, I know it couldn't have been easy for you. There was nothing you did that someone else wouldn't have done in your position. You were scared, simple as that." Weiss said, giving the girl a gently smile and carefully wrapping the long white bandages around her torso. "Now try and get some sleep, alright?"
Neo nodded, gently closing her eyes as she drifted off into a dreamless sleep...
End Note: So, how did you guys like that chapter? I hope you like reading this story as much as I do making it! I'm already halfway done writing the next chapter already, as well as almost finished with another little story that focuses on the small mute cutie that we know as Neo. Chiao!