Oh. My. Gosh. I have never seen this before. Not with one of my creations.
I've barely gotten off first base with this story, and already I'm looking at nearly sixty followers and over 5k views. Holy crap. Holeey crap.
I mean... clearly you guys like this work a lot. Just been back from a mad party and I've showered all the cake off (true story; had a cake thrown at my head, and I'm not as fast as Ruby). In any case, glad to see you're enjoying it quite a bit. In any case, for those of you who didn't appreciate Chapter Five, I can understand why. But it was necessary, and CrazeBlaze has the right idea (check out his review for more).
Without further ado, let's begin!
*Update* Version 1.2 of this chapter, did a bit of grammar/spelling combing as I said in Chapter 8's A/N. Hopefully I got it all.
Ruby slowly cracked open her eyes. It was very dark.
Someone was standing above them. Red eyes.
Was it Vade?
Yeah, there was no mistaking those eyes.
His right wasn't glowing anymore, but in the dark, his... creepiness didn't go down at all.
At least he wasn't smiling like he did in the arena. That would have been scary.
As Ruby focused more on his face, his eyebrows rose, and he turned away from her.
"She's awake." he reported, words clearly aimed at someone else. Who?
Vade then backed off, and Weiss' familiar visage came into view.
She looked really different to Ruby now.
Her pristine white hair was in a mess, her cheeks were a bit puffy, and her eyes looked kinda bloodshot. That was all Ruby could see before she was kissed on the lips by Weiss, the familiar feeling flowing through her like liquid warmth. She relaxed into the kiss, wrapping her tired arms around Weiss.
Yet Weiss broke off the kiss early before Ruby could get fully into it, and turned towards Vade, who was out of sight. Ruby propped herself up on an elbow to see a harsh glare on Weiss face, but it wasn't directed at her. Vade stood at the foot of the... black glass table that she was on, giving a very neutral face in response, though his head was tilted to the side a little.
"I've waited long enough." Weiss said, her voice stern and demanding. "You said you'd talk about what happened when Ruby was awake. So talk." She sounded like she was trying hard to keep her temper in. Vade gave a quiet chuckle in response, and Ruby saw something move in her peripheral vision, though when she turned her head, there was nothing there.
"Glad my hunch was right." Vade responded, and Ruby whipped her gaze back around to him. "In any case, all you wanted to know was what happened to Ruby. Well, I can tell you now, Ruby," he turned his gaze upon her, "that was nowhere near my true power, what you faced in the arena. It was entertaining to see the way you fought though. What happened?" He raised a finger, and winked, his right eye now emitting that sinister red glow. "An explosion, caused as the reaction to a tiny implosion. Created right next to where Ruby was." While he talked, Ruby tried to take it all in.
Nowhere near his true strength? Was all the things with the books just a little of his power? And was the explosion that broke through her aura something he could do too? How strong was he?
"Wait, WHAT?" Weiss yelled out, outraged, the volume of her voice making Ruby's ears ring. "You did something so dangerous just in a practice match?!"
"In my defense, I have done it many times before, Weiss." Vade replied, waving his hand in the universal 'calm down' gesture. "It's very easy for someone like me. But, if it had been just a little larger," his voice darkened again, "young Miss Rose would probably be here, just in more... pieces. Thank your personal deity that I know what I'm doing." Weiss bristled at that, but then, Ruby noticed a sudden thoughtful expression on her face in the midst of her anger.
"Isn't that impossible? Ripping a hole in space? Without any kind of technology?" she queried. Now Ruby was lost. What was her love getting at? Vade seemingly had no difficulty in understanding the... whatever... that she maybe wasn't picking up.
"Trust me on this, Weiss." Vade responded with a wink of his right eye. "Having the Semblance of Knowledge, knowing a lot, means being able to do a lot, too."
There was a silence that hung in the air after his statement. Ruby tried to find something to say, to break it.
"Where are we?" Ruby asked, looking around. They seemed to be in some kind of basement, if not for the shelves and shelves of black books, the very same kind that Vade used in battle, all unmarked and stacked neatly. The floor shone with an ethereal white light upon a black ceiling. It was strangely... chilly, like when Vade revealed his eye to you for the first time.
"Welcome to my home and shop, Kurai Raiburari." Vade responded. Kurai Raiburari? What was that?
"Um... what?" Ruby asked, confused. Weiss rolled her eyes.
"That's a very old language, dolt." Weiss explained. "It means The Dark Library in English."
"Cool." Ruby said, sliding off the table, standing with little effort. She'd ignore that dolt for now. As she looked up at the shelves, they seemed to stretch endlessly from side to side, lit only only by the floor's light. Nothing but more black books, and a thin, white mist blanketed the bottom of the room, making it harder and harder to see further away. It looked very... gloomy. She turned back to Vade, who had outstretched a hand to each of them.
"It's easy to get lost here." Vade said. Ruby watched Weiss take the hand he had offered her without question, and gave her a curious look, which the heiress noticed.
"He's not lying, Ruby. Take his hand." Weiss insisted, her voice much harsher than before. "This place has defenses that activate when you aren't holding his hand."
Defenses?
Well... okay then.
Ruby reached out and took the hand, noticing that his hand was even paler than her own, almost ghost-like, a statue's skin tone. Holding it, its touch didn't feel... warm at all. It was like she was holding something... dead. An inner chill that stole the heat from her hand.
As Vade led them down, Ruby looked at the books on the shelves on her side. They were all the same; Black cover, white pages. It seemed that Vade had read her mind, however, as his eyes darted back towards her, before returning to the path ahead.
"They're all written by different people, and all of them are stories." Vade explained, as they walked straight past a black, steel-like door. "Each depicts a world not unlike our own, ones where the plots are different, some where we change as people to fit the writer's purposes." Ruby remained silent, taking it all in, still watching the shelves as she passed them. "Sometimes new people are introduced into the world, and sometimes, even our world itself changes within these pages. But it is still fundamentally our world."
"Why do you keep them?" Weiss asked. Ruby turned her gaze upon the heiress, seeing her staring straight ahead, her eyes sharply focused forward, like Vade. That was a good question. Why did Vade have them, and how were there so many?
"The books? I watch over their writers through their words." Vade answered. "I also remove those that have fallen into the past."
As Ruby's eyes passed over the many books, she noticed one that looked... strangely glass-like. Grey cracks zig-zagged across the cover, and the pages seemed... yellowy in comparison. She felt a tug on the hand held by Vade, and she hastened to catch up. It wasn't long before they ended up at a black door, and Vade let go of them both, before opening the door for them with a bow of his head.
Exiting the massive library, Ruby found herself in a smaller room, with a black wooden desk with a computer on it. A worn chair sat behind it, and two tinted windows were opposite the desk. Several chairs were before it, each red cushion clearly more well maintained than the desk chair. As Vade closed the door behind him, Ruby turned around to see that it blended in perfectly with the dark purple wallpaper of the room.
"And lo, we have the room everyone sees when they have business with me." Vade continued, trowing his hands out to indicate the room around them. "Buying what they need, though most can't sell me what I deal in." At this, Ruby felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned to see Weiss' eyes on her. Her mouth was a straight line, though it curved up a little when she saw Ruby's face.
"He's an information broker." Weiss explained. Ruby nodded, but Weiss continued. "He sells you information."
"And I'm one of the best." Vade said, sitting behind his desk, beckoning them to sit on the chairs. Ruby did so, but she then felt two hands force themselves in-between her and the chair. She looked up to see Weiss above her, and got a smile from the heiress, a reassuring one. She responded with one of her own, before she looked at Vade once again. "I know most things about anyone you ask about, anything about the world we live in. If my Semblance doesn't do it, then I find out myself. How much it costs," he raised an eyebrow at this, "depends on how hard it was for me to get it. The tour, by the way, was on the house."
That could be handy. Ruby thought for a moment, then decided to ask.
"Well, um, who are team RWBY facing in the next round of the tournament?" Ruby asked.
"Ruby!" Weiss reacted immediately. "That's cheating!" Her voice took on a chastising tone. Vade gave a smirk in response, the only sign of amusement he gave.
"The Vytal tournament, right?" he asked, tilting his head, his smile widening. Ruby's heart quickened a little. "Well, it's random chance, so you'd either need someone with an ability to predict the future accurately... or me."
"Wait, you know?" Ruby asked, disbelievingly. Vade raised a hand to his chin, covering his smile.
Did he really know?
"I wouldn't be a good broker if I didn't have my... ways." Vade responded. "Knowledge can mean a lot of things, Ruby. But still, the information is very hard to find, coupled with the fact that you are using this to gain an advantage in an event where money is involved..." he turned his gaze away from them for a moment, then locked eyes with Ruby. "Okay. You can have it, for fifty lien."
50 Lien? Just for a prediction on who they'd face? It seemed Weiss had the same idea.
"Why would we buy a prediction that might not even be right? How can we even trust you?" Weiss asked him.
"I think I've proven that I can know about things I shouldn't know, congratulations on your relationship, by the way." Vade replied. Ruby felt herself blush at his words. "Though if my customer wants information badly, they're prepared to pay much more than what you're paying. Fifty, Ruby. That's my price."
Should she pay it? Take the chance? Ruby looked up at Weiss, who glanced back, a question in her eyes. Ruby stared back, until Weiss rolled her eyes, then reached behind her. Wait. Weiss was going to pay it for her?!
"No, we can find out on our own, um, thanks." Ruby said, quickly. Weiss froze, and Vade tilted his head in what seemed to be a confused look, before he smiled again and closed the laptop.
"So be it." Vade replied. "Still, give me a call if there's anything you want to know."
"So why didn't you get it?"
"Weiss, I wanted it, but I didn't want to cheat and I didn't want you to pay for it."
Ruby and Weiss sat on one of a circle of benches surrounding the giant statue in Beacon's courtyard. Ruby's left hand was in Weiss right. Apart from two other people sat there, nobody else was present. Ruby was looking up at the stars, each little speck of light combining to create an entrancing picture of beauty that only one other had so far been able to match.
"Do you think he would have been right?" Weiss asked from beside her. Ruby continued to gaze up at the stars.
"I don't know." Ruby answered with a sigh. "He was so tough to fight. And that question mark rank thing's totally throwing me for a loop."
"I was there for the last part of your fight." Weiss said, and Ruby felt a tug on her hand. She looked down into Weiss' eyes, and saw a small hint of sadness in her expression. "It looked hard." Ruby turned away.
Yeah. It was hard.
"Those stupid books!" Ruby exclaimed, feeling Weiss jump a little beside her. "I hit them, they come back, I hit them again, they come back, I try to move, they block me, I move again, the other one's there! But, wait," she paused, realizing something, "did you see how quickly he knocked me out? It was like he was playing with me!"
She felt a soft leg against hers, and the next moment, she felt herself being pulled into Weiss' arms. She submitted, laying her head on Weiss' shoulder as her arms arced around her back, comforting like the arms of a mother around a saddened child. It was incredibly patronizing, but right now, Ruby didn't care all that much. It was Weiss, after all. Something like this was rare.
"Ruby, he can't be unbeatable." Weiss said, softly, very un... Weiss-like. "Everyone has a weakness. I have my weaknesses, you have your weaknesses, and Vade has his weaknesses. Maybe when you fight him again, you'll find what he's weak against." She felt a pat on her back as Ruby laid there, enjoying the warm embrace. She blew a strand of white hair away from her mouth, and put her arms around the heiress.
She was right.
Vade couldn't be invulnerable.
"You're right." Ruby replied, with a sigh.
"Of course I'm right." Weiss responded. "In fact, I might have an idea. Remember the way that he keeps you in one spot? Why do you think he does that?"
"To be-" Ruby had been about to say annoying, but it was only then that it had clicked for her. His not moving, stalling her, stopping her from getting a hit on him until he finally used that... what was it, an implosion attack? Did he have access to that kind of power in the beginning? Probably not, unless...
"He was charging that attack." Ruby said, her voice growing more and more confident. "He charges up that implosion attack from the beginning, doesn't move to conserve his energy, stalls me so that I can't get to him and stop it, then when he's done, he just blasts me away! That's it!"
"Exactly." Weiss responded. Ruby felt a peck on her cheek so reminiscent of Weiss now. Something buzzed in Weiss' pocket, and Ruby felt her reach for it and pull it out.
"What's the word?" Ruby asked, turning around and sitting on Weiss lap. She showed Ruby the message from Yang.
'Just tried to call Ruby, but her scroll's off. Blakey and I are in a hotel for tonight, still don't know how I ended up here. Anyways, you two have fun tonight, will catch up in the morning. Oh, and Blake said congrats, don't know if it's her or the wine talking right now. See ya tomorrow!'
Ruby fumbled in her own pocket and ripped out her scroll. Sure enough, it was off.
Wait a minute. Congrats? What did Blake mean?
"Darn it." Ruby mumbled as Weiss put her scroll away, covering up her blush and confusion. She turned towards Weiss. "So what do you wanna do now?"
Weiss gave that small smile of hers in response.
What it meant, Ruby couldn't tell.