Reclaiming in Black
Chapter 2: War and explanations
Rose awoke to the less than familiar sounds of running water. As she opened her eye, saw the slightly furry walls above her head, and the events of the last day flooded back. She shifted about in the surprisingly roomy tent, and stuck her head out, just in time for a fairly clothes Obsidian to walk out if the restroom, stretching. Giving her a first-hand look at the heavily scarred teen. She pipes up startling him, "So, that's how the scheduling works."
He pauses with a look like a Grimm down the scope, and a shirt flies out of his corner, and he quickly puts it on, embarrassed.
"We all have our scars." Rose says, and he relaxes a bit.
"I forgot to ask yesterday, but what is the date?" Rose asked.
"First cycle eighteenth, Saturday, of the year 2399 AG." Obsidian replies, after a moment.
Rose's mind spun, thinking furiously. It was would be her first year at Beacon and term started on the First cycle, third.
A few months before the first Vytal festival, then. She was pretty far back, years before the real threat reared its head. She had gone back for about seven years and four months. She had assumed as much from her younger forms appearance but to have it confirmed was something else.
The possibilities were astounding. Her knowledge of the war would give her an invaluable advantage.
She had a full list of current and possible future targets. She had a full understanding of Cinders plan, potential and current assets, her criminal hierarchy and abilities. She had a very good idea of how the sick bitch's mind worked, too. She knew all about the circles she lived in, the places where the hatred and violence festered...
And she had years to tear it to the ground, to utterly decimate those dark bastions. Years to pick apart and eliminate any possible chance that Cinder had to succeed. Years to work with, to save her friends and teachers. To save the person the girl next to her could have been...
Years before she would gut Cinder like a fish and put her head on a fucking pike.
She was the hunter forged in Cinder's flames; now she would turn everyone in the mad woman's world into her prey.
By the time Rose was finished, Cinder would burn.
Obsidian was terrified. He told Rose the date and at first had looked merely thoughtful, working over the new knowledge. Then her face changed, morphing into a startling rictus of hate and rage.
It had been brief; but the intense, burning fury he had seen on her face had been unsettling. It had changed again after that, into one of grim satisfaction.
Her eye though... her eye still spoke volumes of Rose's anger. He couldn't repress the burning that eased up from the core of his being, one entirely otherworldly in nature demanding he run. Not hide, not even its usual demand to attack. To run.
He knew that whatever entity had designed to hurt her team was going to die. Every instinct told him not to be in her way, and that left him terrified, of the woman with the steel hard, murderous silver eye.
After a short time, and a light snooze for Rose, Ruby had showered, and offered to go clothes shopping for Rose.
"You'd do that?" Rose asks quietly, honestly surprised at Ruby's generosity.
"Yep! Why not? You're a hunter, you could totally pay me back." Ruby says happily, but softly, folding Rose's damaged outfit and putting it in a few, strong bags. Rose smiles softly, genuinely grateful. She glances around the room and at her old teams still slumbering forms.
"Thank you, little Rose. Some clothes would be great and as much as I want to go get them myself, I should talk to Ozpin before I do anything at all." Rose says, explaining quickly. Ruby waves her off not truly listening to her excuse, apparently honestly unfazed by the small favor.
"Yeah yeah, it's cool." She puts the last outfit in the bags. "I just need some measurements...?" Ruby asks curiously. Rose puts hands on hips, arms akimbo and bends a little to come with Ruby, looking her in the eye.
"Curious, aren't you?" She teases, her eye twinkling at her younger self. Ruby looks a bit embarrassed but nods anyway. There really wasn't any point in trying to hide it. "Sure, kid." Rose says, finding a small piece of paper and pencil on a desk. Within a minute she lists and labels her measurements. Lifting her hand in a small flourish, she presents it to Ruby, who is practically burning with curiosity.
Ruby promptly snatches it, eyes greedy as she runs down the list. It's not every day you got such a perfect representation of your looks like a grown woman. Or any day, really. She glanced up and presumably compared the digits on the sheet of paper to the woman in front of her. Rose had lifted an amused eyebrow and twirled in place for Ruby, so she could get the full picture.
Apparently, the joke had gone over the younger girls head when she had glanced down at the notes before nodding slightly. Rose was having a hard time containing her laughter when Ruby begins staring avidly at her chest.
"What's up?" Rose asked, humor forcibly repressed to keep her voice level.
"They're bigger than I thought they would be..." Ruby murmurs, looking down at her own chest, making feeble clutching motions.
Rose practically stuffs a fist in her mouth to stifle her giggles, eye streaming with mirthful tears, bent at the waist and supported by the nearby desk. Ruby reddens and pouts indignantly at her older self.
"Rooooooseeee." She whines softly and Rose does her best to recover, calming herself. A few odd giggles escape as she straightens and gives Ruby a nod.
"So.. hah, you all good, don't need anything? Heh." Rose questions, giggling slightly still. Ruby gives her an unimpressed look, but nods.
"Yeah, just tell them where I've gone when they get up." Ruby says, heading for the door, bags slung on her arms. "I'm off to Vale, later old me!" Ruby walks out the door.
"Later kiddo." Rose calls back, as loudly as she dares. As it is Weiss shuffles around in her bed at the sound.
Now she had to figure out what to do with herself whilst the others slept on. Well, what could she do? What were her immediate needs?
She was fed and watered, undoubtedly she'd be able to last comfortably until the others got up for breakfast. Ruby was sorting out a functional, wearable outfit for her in Vale. At the very least she could trust her own fashion sense. The nine hours of practically uninterrupted sleep had also eased her fatigue greatly. Rose could feel her sharper emotions dulling in her rested state. The only thing left was...
Crescent Rose! How could she forget!? If she was being perfectly honest with herself, time-travel was bound to cause her to lose tracks of some details, if only even for a single night.
Well no time like the present.
"So unless we all had the same dream, it actually happened Weiss." Yang says eyebrow raised at the petite girl. The four stood in a small huddle in the center of the room, discussing in fast undertones and throwing furtive glances at the bathroom. If they listened they could hear a distinct humming, a voice obviously not belonging to the young girl they know. But the familiar metallic sounds of Crescent Rose couldn't be denied.
"Why don't we look?" Blake says, curious herself to confirm the seemingly impossible scene of last night.
"Fine! I can't stand it anymore!" Weiss huffs, walking over to the bathroom. She moves open the unlocked door. They all knew that if it was unlocked it was safe to enter.
Weiss's gasped loudly, hands clapping to her face. Yang Obsidian and Blake needed no further prompting to rush over and see the cause of Weiss's reaction.
Ruby, or Rose as she told them to call her, was sitting at the small trough used for weapon cleaning provided in each dorm at the corner of their bathroom. Various brushes, special cleaning agents and mechanical oil were lined on the walls available for use. Already in the short time they had spent at Beacon, it wasn't uncommon for them to find Ruby cleaning her weapon. Crescent Rose was large and incredibly complex, and Ruby maintained an almost zealous level of repair on her unofficial firstborn.
No, the image presented itself wasn't all that strange. Rose, in her pj's, with red, rose decal headphones listening to music as she scrubs the blade of her weapon down. It was unpleasant, but having seen the havoc the giant blade could cause on Grimm, it was inevitable that it would end up covered in their blood. What was strange was the water itself.
Instead of an oily black mixture, with the slightly burnt smell distinctive of Grimm ichor there was a basin full of crimson, with light pink suds. The tang of iron hung in the air as Ruby hummed and brushed away, unaware.
Weiss felt her stomach clench and drop, distinctly queasy, breathing fast. Blake's lips pressed into a thin line, grimacing. Obsidian's eyes widened for a moment, before leveling back into a calm, stoic, neutral mask. He knew he understood this scene the best of all of them, save the woman sitting in front of her.
"Oh fuck." Yang says, all but shouting as her eyes burn the image of Rose's grim task into her mind. Apparently, this gets the attention of Rose, who turns and faces them with a wide smile.
"Hey guys! Need something?" Rose says with a wave, arm dripping and stained red up to the elbow. Weiss stumbles to the toilet and is violently ill. Rose looks utterly confused but very worried. "You ok Weiss?" She calls, getting no reply. She frowns and faces Blake, Obsidian, and Yang again, hoping they might answer.
Yang lifts a shaking hand and gestures to the basin. "Holy shit, sis! What the hell?" She says with wide eyes, complexion pale. Rose's face scrunches in confusion. She cocks her head to the side.
"Just weapon maintenance, what does it look like?" Rose questions. Blake grimaces, facing the woman who is sitting calmly with her hand dangling in a tub of gore and water.
"The death of something other than Grimm." Obsidian says calmly. Rose furrows her brow and looks at the sink…
'Oh shit.' She thinks with wide eyes as she picks up on the problem.
This is a fresh team RWBY, having engaged Grimm and the occasional thug in street brawls. Ruby and Yang had even gotten into some light scuffles with Roman's mooks already. This was not the same team RWBY that had been dealing death to the enemy on the front-lines for years.
Cleaning her bladed weapon of a deluge of human remains was probably a disturbing sight. Her armament was essentially a gigantic blade; even in the future cleaning for the other members had never been so extensive. Crescent Rose, crudely put, was a messy way to die.
"Get Weiss out of here, I've almost finished. I'll clean up and we can talk in the room." Rose commands softly, her tone brooking no argument, resisting the urge to brush a hand through her hair. Blake responds immediately, looking off put but not too shaken. Weiss busy washing her mouth out at the sink, attempting to regain some equilibrium. Blake strides over and places a hand on Weiss's elbow. Weiss starts slightly, but Blake is expecting this and merely grips a little stronger.
Obsidian slowly helping Yang out if the room, horror-struck at the scene. She'd never even imagined that Ruby had the potential to take another's life. Yet here was Rose, cleaning her weapon casually, dismissively. Completely unfazed by the deaths she was scrubbing away, the only evidence of her enemies ends being a diluted murky red combination of blood and dirt swirling around a Beacon academy drain.
Blake walked Weiss to the door, murmuring softly. Weiss still looked more than a little shaken, followed by Obsidian, all but carrying Yang as she sputtered, pointedly not looking at Rose.
Rose sighs as the door closes behind them. This entire situation was FUBAR from the start. It might be the best thing to ever happen to her, but it wasn't going to be simple, or easy. Damn. Her only concern was Obsidian's lack of reaction. No point in agonizing over any of it now, she might as well finish and face the music.
Rose walks into the room, a folded Crescent Rose in hand. She is immediately beset by four pairs of eyes, the owners arranged around a desk in the center of the room. Blake sits calmly, waiting for the upcoming questioning. No doubt she'd experienced deadly combat before, in her time with White Fang. Rose had never asked but she suspected Blake had taken lives before she arrived at Beacon. Obsidian calm, resting a hand of Yang's shoulder, holding her steady, acting almost like a lifeline, but starring calmly at her. Weiss's ice blue eyes are shocked and a little accusatory. Weiss may be pragmatic a lot of the time, but her world view is often startlingly black and white. Yang...
Yang looks physically pained as if the very thought of her little sister taking a life hurt her. Rose would quickly sort that out. She might be Ruby, but she wasn't the child Yang knew, nor was she the woman Yang probably expected her to be. Rose walks over and seats herself delicately. She is immaculately clean, smelling strongly of lavender, scrubbed into her skin for a full five minutes in order to mask any smell of blood.
"So, what do you want to know?" Rose says calmly, meeting the eyes of the teens in front of her. It was oddly disappointing, yet utterly relieving to be engaged in conversation with these young versions of the women she loved. Disappointing in their naivety, save for Blake, but that is offset by Blake's demoralizing cynical nature, and Obsidian's completely unknown history. Relieving because these children don't know the horrors of war.
"Who was it?" Yang says grimacing, flicking her fingers toward Crescent Rose with distaste.
"Cinder Fall and Roman Torchwick, among others." Rose replies evenly. Yang shuts her eyes and clenches her fists.
"Others? You killed more than two people?" Yang demands.
"Yes."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Yang jumps to her feet, smashing her palm flat against the desk between them, eyes flickering crimson. "How can you just kill someone without knowing who they are?!" Yang arraigns as her hair started to glow. Rose gazes back evenly ready to reply but Blake cuts in smoothly.
"This wouldn't have to do with 'the battlefield' as you put it?" Blake questions. This wasn't a question she was going to let this question go, it seemed.
"The answer to both your questions is war." Rose says simply. Weiss sucks in a startled breath and Blake looks disturbed, even her calm face cracking at the ominous declaration, Obsidian nods, almost looking like he understands. Yang is lost to thought though, silent and staring at the table as she thinks furiously, hair still glowing lightly. She looks up with her red eyes, burning into Rose's own to detect deceit.
"How many?" Yang asks.
'How many indeed?' Rose thinks bitterly, but then pushes down the all too familiar guilt with skill borne of diligent practice. "I lost count years ago." Rose says truthfully. Somewhere, in her memories of fire, blood, and steel she had killed. She had killed a great many actually, she knew that much but the numbers themselves evaded her. Her own count had lost all meaning and she had instead decided to simply do as much as she can to avoid killing. Unfortunately, in the midst of such bitter fighting, that amount had dwindled drastically as time had gone by.
Yang stares at her and pales, skin becoming clammy. She becomes distinctively green as she rushes to the bathroom.
The reality that she was near a killer was off-putting.
The fact that the killer was Ruby from the future was chilling.
The thought of this woman dealing death to her enemies was frightening... but the image she had seen, a vision of her little sister murdering her way across the field had caused her to become nauseous.
The unpleasant sound of Yang purging her stomach in the bathroom could be heard.
Obsidian still terrifyingly calm, went to the restroom, to help, and possibly comfort Yang.
Blake was pale but did not look overly shocked. It seemed she might have suspected something like this, then.
Weiss, however, looks downright terrified. In front of her sat woman, calm and composed. Almost serene. If anyone in the world looked at her she would appear fairly normal, if a little damaged because of the eye patch however even that feature barely mars her beauty.
She didn't look like a person that had killed so many people that she'd lost count. That implied a level of callousness she has not seen in her partner, a level that she doubted Ruby could ever achieve, no matter the circumstance...
Or open warfare, combat on the scale that merely considering filled her bones with ice.
After a moment more, Yang and Obsidian well back into the room. Yang pale, clammy, and shaken, leaning on her rock.
"Who?" Weiss asks, receiving a questioning look from Rose. She elaborates. "Who were you fighting?"
Rose sighs, running a hand through her hair. "Some people called the Insurgents, or the Revolutionaries or even the Reclaimers. Mostly though, we knew them as the White Fang."
Blake stiffens. "You can't be serious? The White Fang is dangerous, but even they can't declare a war." She protests. Weiss slashes her hand through the air.
"Why not? That's all they're good for! A bunch of murder..." Weiss spits out viciously. Blake's eyes narrow and she opens her mouth in a snarl but is cut off by Obsidian.
"Enough!" He demands, silencing her tirade. "This is neither the time nor the attitude for such a debate."
After a brief nod from Blake and Rose, she explains "They can't declare war yet, Blake, but they will." Rose says.
"You were on the good side though, right?" Yang says softly, beseechingly, grasping at the hope that her sister hadn't killed in vain. Rose breathes out a long, drawn-out breath.
"I believe so." She murmurs. "It isn't that simple, though. It wasn't good and evil, you know? It was a bunch of people doing what they thought was right, on both sides. We weren't only fighting Grimm, these were people. And people never do something they would consider evil, there are always reasons." Rose says.
"Can you explain?" Blake queries. Ruby gives a slow nod, her eyes full of suspicion directed at Blake.
"Only a little for now." Rose says hesitantly. "We didn't receive any aid from the other kingdoms. Technically, it was a civil war. The White Fang painted a convincing picture to the people. It looked like the Faunus fighting back, refusing to be considered second class citizens. And to a lot of people on the side of the White Fang, that's what they thought they were fighting for, but it's a lie cooked up by Cinder Fall." Ruby says, hatred clear as day in her voice. "Cinder Fall is a mad woman, but she has charisma and power. She leads the White Fang, using the war and the outcry for equality to try and install herself on the throne of Vale as queen."
Weiss looks truly shocked, slumping in her seat. "Queen...?" She breathes.
"Vale hasn't been under a monarchy for almost five hundred years!" Yang says loudly. "That'd never work."
Rose shakes her head. "It almost did." She says solemnly. "I killed her, but at one point... it was close. The problem isn't her winning, though. Even if we hadn't gotten involved, I doubt she would have been in power long. She was obviously insane and I'd bet all the bullets in Atlas she'd be assassinated asap."
"You can't just let a crazy person declare themselves queen Ruby." Yang butts in. Rose gives her a withering look and Yang shrinks back into her chair.
"I know that, but the real problem is the damage she caused. The war is horrendous and a lot of people die. Among those are any and all who could dispute her rule, once she had won it from the people." Rose says, locking eyes with Weiss. Weiss blanches, horrified.
"Oh my god." Weiss says, realizing exactly what that could mean. Rose nods lightly, confirming Weiss's suspicions. Yang, Obsidian, and Blake know they've missed something and narrow their brows in suspicion at the interaction. Blake switches her gaze to Rose.
"So what are we going to do?" Blake says, staring unflinchingly. Rose leans back in her chair.
"You won't do anything." Rose says. Blake opens her mouth to protest but Rose slams her hands down on the table. "You will do nothing." She says harshly, staring into hostile yellow eyes.
"We are not cowards, we're huntresses! We can fight." Blake growls furiously. Rose laughs a tad derisively.
"Blake, don't even try this with me." Rose says. "All of you, RWBY and JNPR, you might think it is your duty..." She looks around the room making sure to look each of them in the eye before returning to Blake. "...your responsibility to fight the White Fang but you will not." Rose commands.
"You aren't our leader, it isn't your decision." Blake retorts hotly. Rose's eye turns scornful as she stares at Blake.
"That is only half true. But no, I am not your leader, that would be Ruby." She agrees. "I led a team of experienced, highly trained huntresses, not children." Rose says scathingly. "Ruby Rose, master of the scythe, who lost an eye fighting Olympus himself." She recites dully, "Weiss Schnee, renowned mage and duelist, who lost her arm fighting Cinder's elite. She was going through physical therapy for her robotic replacement before I ended up here." She continues in the same, blank tone. "Blake Belladonna, accomplished assassin, and master of guerilla warfare, lying in a torture-induce, coma for the last four months." Rose says bitterly. Weiss gasps, Yang's knuckles turn white on her grip on the table. Blake looks openly afraid of the prospect of her fate, bow twitching and face taut. "Yang Xiao long, prizefighter and widely regarded as one of the most dangerous people on Remnant, killed personally by Abyssal Fall in his master's quest for power." Rose says softly, a single tear escaping before she dashes it away with her hand. She breathes deep and looks at the girls in front of her. "You are not that team, not yet. And you aren't huntresses, Blake. You're first-year hunter trainees. Talented and skilled first years, but you are not huntresses." Yang shifts, looking uncertain.
"What should we do then?" Yang asks quietly.
"Let me handle it." Rose says simply. "I am a huntress. In fact, I am a really fucking good huntress." Rose says proudly. "I got into Beacon at fifteen and eight years of combat training, then an actual war did nothing to dull my skills." She reaches out and touches Yang's hand lightly. "But the war doesn't start for years yet. And I am going to make damned sure it's over before it begins. You guys are going to become huntresses to fight the Grimm, to do good in the world. Ruby... I don't want Ruby to become me. I don't want that future for any of you." Rose says, reassuringly, looking at each of the girls. "This fight is over your heads for now. Let the professionals deal with it." Rose implores.
"Rose, I understand... " Blake begins.
"We can't sit back as some mad women tries conquering our country." Obsidian finishes.
Rose regards them slowly.
"You can and you will. I am your superior in the chain of command as a qualified huntress. If I even catch wind of you looking into this I'll have you court-martialed. I'll make Ozpin see to it personally." Rose says leveling her eye on Blake. "Am I understood?"
Blake looks at Rose with a deathly glare, grinding her teeth. Obsidian's face grows even harder, as his eyes seem to warp unnaturally. The woman in front of them meets there burning eyes without so much as flinching, her commanding presence demanding nothing less than obedience.
"Understood." They ground out. Rose leans back into her chair.
"That goes for all of team RWBY and JNPR if they find out." Rose sighs. "You have to understand that this is for the best. I trust you guys with my life, but you don't have skills or the mindset for the work I have cut out for me. I am not doing this out of spite; I want you all happy and healthy." She gives them a confident smile. "I have a plan, and if it works this will be over before you know it. Trust me, please." She says to them, begging them with her eye.
"I trust you." Yang says instantly, backing up her sister. No matter how old, Ruby would always have her trust. Weiss looks hesitant but nods eventually. Blake looks unsure, fighting the rebellious feeling in her chest.
"Blake, could you do it for Ruby? For your team? Because if you get involved they will too. You're responsible for more than just yourself now." Rose says softly. Blake closes her eyes in thought, lacing her hands together. After a long period of silence, her golden eyes shoot open.
"I won't get involved for now, but I reserve the right to talk about this if things start to escalate or get out of hand." Blake says at length.
Rose hums before turning to Obsidian. "I can't claim to know your past or your abilities, I can say this. You know, if even slightly what I went through, as terrifying as that is." He nods, still stoic. "You care for your teammates. Don't drag them unnecessarily into that."
His composure breaks with a sigh. "You are correct, however much the same, I want to be kept in the loop."
"Agreed, honestly I was planning on keeping you guys in the loop because I want you to know exactly what is happening, easier to keep you safe. If you can promise to stay out of things, that is." Rose says. "This is going to be serious business, and you guys jumping into my missions half cocked could get people hurt or killed." Rose says again, trying to impress upon them the gravity of the situation. "So can you do that? Can you leave it to me?" Rose questions.
The four share a look. Yang swings her head to look at Rose, nodding gravely. "Yeah, I think we can do that sis." Rose lets out a sigh of relief.
"Now we just have to tell Ruby..."
"Tell me what?" She hears from the doorway. Standing with a few bags of clothing is a suspicious looking Ruby. Rose gives her a smile, standing up and walking over to look at the bags. Ruby huffs one of her bangs, trying to dislodge it from her face. Rose absentmindedly tucks it behind Ruby's ear for her as she looks into the bags.
"Thank you, little Rose." Rose says warmly. Both Ruby's miss Yang's shocked look at the choice of pet name, but her reaction doesn't go unnoticed by the other members of the team.
Ruby kicks Rose in the shin lightly. "Tell me what, Rose?" She questions again. Rose stretches her hands above her head as she straightens out, getting a few rewarding cracks.
"Later, first I should get changed, then breakfast, then you and I are going to see Ozpin." Rose lists, still stretching.
"Why?" Ruby asks, head tilted to the side in question. Rose sighs as she ends her stretch, looking Ruby in the eye.
"We're going to get in contact with our very own dusty old crow." Rose says happily, picking up a few of the bags of clothes. Ruby lights up but looks even more curious.
"Why do you need Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asks.
Rose gives her a strange smile, as she heads to the bathroom to change. "Why, so he can help me teach at Beacon of course!" Rose says giddily, closing the bathroom door.
"Whaaaat?" Ruby and Yang yell. Blake sits ramrod straight in her chair at this unforeseen possibility.
Weiss's index finger and thumb find themselves on the bridge of her nose.
Obsidian looks up, "The old guy who smelt of booze, and cheap cigars? From the entrance exam?" He turns to Yang, who nods, before punching him in the shoulder.
"Ruby Rose and her Uncle teaching at Beacon? This can only end well." Weiss says sarcastically, pointedly ignoring the laughter coming from the insane woman in their dorm bathroom.