Ruby tried to keep her eyes open as she slowly made her way towards the school forge. Staying up all night probably hadn't been her brightest idea, but her head was still buzzing with the pages and pages of information she'd read.
She glanced down at her left arm, wiggling the fingers again and feeling the strange sensation of metal moving in response to her every whim. Maybe it was a byproduct of being so tired, but it seemed like the feeling had gotten even stronger. She got the feeling that it was just her imagination acting up. She'd spent some time looking over the things that Weiss had left her. It had almost bored her to tears. She didn't know how it was possible for a person to take such exact notes, especially in Professor Port's class.
She shivered as she imagined having to sit through another one of his stories. It seemed like a blessing that Ozpin was willing to get her out of that.
She glanced down at her scroll, a small smile sliding across her face. The forge was almost open. It wasn't the first time that she had waited outside the doors. She'd become somewhat friendly with "The Forgemaster" who worked it, though he didn't often interfere with what the students were doing. Mainly he just kept track of all the school's materials, and made sure that there was some level of safety and cleanliness upheld when the students were done; occasionally helping if they request it or giving advice.
Ruby always made sure that her workstation was spotless when she was done, so he was more than willing to go out of his way the few times she did need help with something compared to the other students. When she reached the large doors of the building, they were still closed. She put her hands together, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet in an attempt to keep her eyes from drifting shut.
After a few moments, she heard a click, and her head jerked to the side. The Forgemaster stepped out, taking a moment to look over the campus before noticing Ruby's presence.
When he noticed that she was there, he smiled, but it was a concerned smile that Ruby had gotten used to seeing in the hospital. She smiled back, and waved with her left arm.
"Hello! I'm back! I know you normally don't get anyone in this early, but I was hoping I could get some early hours in. And probably the rest of the day, too. I've got a lot to do, you know?"
All he could do was stare at her before he finally blinked, shaking his head.
"What? Oh, yeah. Sure, you're always welcome here, of course, but..." he paused, staring at her arm. "You did lose your arm, right? I mean, that's what I heard. Couldn't have been sadder when I heard, but it looks like I might've heard wrong."
Ruby nodded, holding the arm up. "Well, I did, but I got a new one! I know it probably sounds a little weird, but that's mostly why I'm here. The guy who gave me it also gave me a bunch of research stuff about it, but you know how I am with that kind of stuff. I need to poke around a little if I really want to understand it."
He stood still for a second, like he didn't know what to say, before replying, "Oh. Huh. Do you think that's a good idea? I mean, is that thing fragile or anything?"
She waved a hand dismissively. "No, it's fine. It's designed so I can fight with it, so it can't be too easy to mess up. You can take a look at it, if you want. It's pretty cool."
He blinked a few times, then stepped to the side, holding one of the doors open.
"Well, sounds like a good way to spend the morning to me. You got out of class, right? You know I'm supposed to keep track of everyone who comes here."
She nodded. "Yeah, Ozpin said I could skip out on things until I got readjusted to everything. I think learning about my new arm counts for that, right?"
He smirked, saying, "Yeah, I'd say it does. Head right on in, I'll be with you in a minute."
She walked inside, feeling the temperature immediately start to raise. It was a comfortable heat though, at least to her. She didn't mind getting sweaty, at least not when she was working on her weapons. Working on her arm would be no different. She just needed to figure out how to do it. Then she'd need some inspiration, but that would come later.
It felt odd to be walking in without Crescent Rose. She was so used to its weight when she was here that it almost felt like she was going behind someone's back. She shook it off, reminding herself that her scythe wasn't a person, no matter how much she might want it to be.
One of her favorite work stations, not too hot, away from other stations so that focusing was easy, and close enough to most of the supply stations that there were no long walks across the workshop floor. A plethora of tools sat at the side of a workbench, a wide variety of sizes available. Somewhere here, there were tools just the size she needed.
It took some time, but after staring at the neatly arranged collection, she saw a few small enough that they would probably work. It took a second to get the panel on her arm open again, but when she did, she flicked a few of the workstation's lights on, and leaned down to get as good a look as she could.
She found that using the tools with one hand was much harder than she might have thought. The probe she used to poke around was barely wider than a piece of pencil led, and being forced to use her right arm made keeping her movements delicate even more difficult.
Comparing the insides of the arm to the notes she'd read last night helped slightly in knowing where she was going with the probe. Now she was at least semi-confident that she wasn't going to kill the arm with a small twitch. There was a surprising amount of room inside of the hard shell. If she wanted to put something else there it would be fairly simple matter, making sure she could control it would be the difficult part.
A throat clearing behind her made her yelp, turning quickly to find the Forgemaster leaning over her shoulder, gazing down at the open port, his bushy eyebrows almost lost in his hair.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. That's some pretty complex looking stuff. You're sure you can handle all that?"
She nodded, then looked back to the arm.
"Yeah, it's not too hard. See, these bundles work the same as nerves, but they're a lot-"
She stopped as she tried to push a muscle out of the way, only to realize that her probe was gone. For a moment only her eyes moved as she tried to track down the tool. She hadn't heard it drop, or felt it slip from her fingers, so where could it have gone?
Her left arm gave a small twitch, and she felt the muscles drag against something. She flinched, and looked back at the Forgemaster, pursing her lips and making a few small movements with her other hand.
"Uh, are there, like, tweezers or something you could get? I think I dropped the probe in my arm."
A small chuckle escaped through his nose while he shook his head softly in amusement. "I'll go see what I've got!" As he strode away, he shouted over his shoulder, "It doesn't hurt, does it? I'm not going to need to call the hospital?"
Ruby tensed the arm again, feeling the probe slide around more. As she raised her wrist, it got pushed closer towards the access panel. An idea occurred to her, and she carefully brought her fingers to the port. It would feel bizarre, but if it didn't hurt, she could do it. With a little bit of hesitation, she slid her fingers in, reaching for the probe.
She bit her lip as a strange sensation came over the inside of the arm. It wasn't pain. If anything, it was more akin to being tickled than anything else. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Ruby continued to work the muscles in her arm as she worked her fingers slowly deeper in.
The probe was close. Just a little bit further, maybe a quarter of an inch…
The Forgemaster returned just as Ruby lifted her arm of the workbench, her tongue through her teeth as her nails brushed the end of the tool. He held the forceps at his side, watching Ruby dig through her own musculature. A knot formed in his stomach, and he wasn't sure if he was cringing, or revolted. All he was completely aware of was that he couldn't force himself to look away.
A second later, Ruby smiled, and hold in a giggle as she carefully started to pull the probe out. She took extra care to make sure nothing got hooked on the way out, and after bringing her arm gently back down to the table, she pulled the probe free.
Once it was out, she set it back down, leaning her weight into the table. Her heart was beating like a bass drum, but a smile crept its way across her face.
"I did it!" She turned to the Forgemaster, letting out a deep breath. "Oh my god, that was weird!"
He could only chuckle, shaking his head.
"You've got no idea. Now, you going to show me how this thing works, or am I just going to have to believe you're magic?"
Ruby waved him over, picking up where she'd left off. The look that gradually came across his face was one Ruby loved to see. He was completely blown away by the level of complexity the arm made use of. He asked a few questions, most of which Ruby knew the answer to, but there were a few she hadn't quite gotten to in the notes.
The more she talked, the more her lack of sleep became obvious. She struggled for certain words, and found herself stuttering every few sentences. It didn't take long for the Forgemaster to figure that leaving her to her work would probably be best, but not before making her promise to tell him everything she figured out. It was a promise she looked forward to keeping. Having someone who would understand everything she talked about would be especially comforting.
She pulled the scroll from her pocket, and started to look over some of the more advanced items. If she could get familiar enough with them, she could start trying out new things today; enhancements, or at least modifications. She had to be able to get something done.
After some time, she had made up a list of the things she would need to make something. She didn't know what it would be yet, of course, but sometimes the best way to get inspiration was to simply jump right in. A cart full of materials later, she was heating up the forge, getting ready to craft some cybernetics.
The forge was hot, the metal was prepared, and she had no idea what to do.
Her gaze shifted down to the tools she would use to form whatever it was she made. The selection of tools was impressive, she had to admit. Some of the more destructive tools were things she wished she could carry around, drills and plasma cutters; things that, outside of the forge, no one in their right mind would let her hold. They would be useful out in the field, in case someone broke a weapon, or some vehicle needed repair.
In her mind's eye, she started to see something. Maybe she could make those tools not so hard to carry around. But how would she do it? There had to be an efficient way, and the arm didn't have any single cavity large enough to hold all of those tools. There had to be a way to do it, though. Not on their own, maybe, but if she could make them into one, or make them more flexible, then it might work.
The picture of a tendril covered in cutters, manipulators, and anything else she thought she might need. How it would feel to have an arc welder be just as much of her body as her fingers Ruby could hardly imagine, but she looked forward to it with a strange excitement.
A fully actuated tentacle would have plenty of room in the casing, and would probably be the most useful, once she learned how to move it around. All she had to do was build one. She stretched her arms over her head, cracking the knuckles on her right hand as she did so. It couldn't be that hard. The only thing she didn't have the capability to make was the nerve cords, and she was sure she could get her hands on those eventually.
Soon enough, the sounds of the forge were ringing in her ears like music. The main forge roared with a fury that could only be contained by its owner, who was now fully clad in protective gear and a welding mask. Every time he stoked the coals, fire would leap out into the air, and sparks would attack anything that came to close. Ruby didn't know what he was working on today, but looking at the different ingots he had, she guessed it was a decorative commission piece. Eventually other students started to arrive, drowning out everything but Ruby's thoughts. Time slid by, and before Ruby knew it, her stomach was growling angrily at her.
She wanted to keep working, but it didn't seem like she had a choice. It took a few minutes to put everything away, but she made sure to save the station for herself, leaving her work in place to show that she was coming back. She had enough Lien to get something from almost any restaurant in town, but that was a longer walk than she wanted to make. The cafeteria would still be open for breakfast, despite class having started a while ago.
As she made her way to the doors, she realized that the panel on her arm was still open. She felt her cheeks turn slightly red as she flipped the panel closed.
The cafeteria was almost empty, something that she felt grateful for. Her lack of sleep, combined with her strange focus, meant that her mind never moved on from her designs. She shoveled food into her mouth, working and reworking the metal shell, the neural network, and the attachments that would make the addition worth it. She was barely aware of when she pushed her tray away and stood back up, walking back towards the exit.
Ruby muttered quietly to herself as she pushed the door open, but stopped when she heard someone speaking. She got the feeling that whoever was talking was doing so to her, and looked over her shoulder to find them.
No one else was in the large dining hall, but she was able to track the voice to a screen hanging on the wall. It was a news report, a headline at the bottom of the screen reading, "Victims of Arena Disaster Recovering."
A reporter was facing the camera, pictured appearing behind them as they did so. "... Spite of the horrible events not too long ago, everyone who was injured is now receiving proper medical attention, but the news isn't all good. Many of the survivors have been seriously injured, and are unlikely to return to normal life. Of all the cases, the most serious involve paralysis, maimings, crippled limbs, and psychological trauma. If you want to help, you can donate money here, at . . ."
A number appeared on the screen, but Ruby didn't pay any attention. She only stared up at the pictures behind the reporter, taking in the kind of injuries that other people at the arena had gotten. It was horrible. Her own stump of an arm had looked like a few of them, not more than a day ago. She looked down at her arm again, feeling much more thankful than she had before.
Was it fair? Did she deserve the arm more than anyone else? Seeing the faces of the other people who had gotten hurt, she wasn't sure. They were all so sad. She had looked like that too. Giving some small donation wouldn't help them, they needed something more. They needed to be given their lives back, like she'd had hers. An idea sparked into life in Ruby's head, and a smile came across her face. Maybe there was a way she could help them. After all, she was already working on creating a cybernetic enhancement for herself, why not for the other people too? She didn't know if she could do the surgery, but she was sure that someone would be able to.
She blinked, shaking herself back to the present. Maybe it would be better to get some sleep before putting her mind to such a broad task. One tentacle was fine, but she had no idea how many arms, legs, and whatever else she would need.
Her attention gradually rolled back to the tentacle. Its shell would be the easy part, the nerves would be more challenging. She wanted to be able to feel the thing, not just control it. Creating the neural network to do that wouldn't be hard necessarily, but it would be complex, especially considering there was no human limb to base it off of. The good thing, though, was that Ruby could test it as she went. If she made installing it easy enough, she could just pop it in and out as she went.
When she got back to the forge, she was pleased to find that her station was just as she left it. Without hesitation, she got back to work. The enhancements shell was coming along nicely, smooth and, as far as she could tell, functional. Making the tools she would put in was the next step, and to do that, she would need the nerve fibers. Getting them would only take one call, at least she hoped.
Tecwyn's personal contact information had been on the scroll he gave her, and it didn't take long for her to dial the number and start bouncing on her heels again. The dial tone rang once, then twice, before a voice popped into life, saying, "Yes, hello? Who is this?"
Ruby responded, saying, "Mr. Tecwyn, Sir? It's Ruby. I was calling to see if I could get some of the material you used for nervous tissue in my arm. There isn't really any way for me to get it on my own, and it's kind of important to making something work. It isn't too much trouble, is it?"
There was a moment of muted grumbling as Tecwyn talked to himself, and Ruby could imagine him looking through the lab to see if he had any spare parts laying around for her to use.
"Yes, I do think I could send you something! How much might you be needing, if I may ask?"
She didn't know how much this thing was going to take, and she had no idea how to ballpark the amount. So, she chose the next best thing. "How much can I get?"
Tecwyn laughed for a moment. "Ah, one of those projects, eh? I am well acquainted, believe me. I should be able to have something down to you within the hour. Should I send this to your dorm room?"
"No, it'd be better off going to the forge. I promise I'll send you info on what I've got when I'm done!"
Tecwyn's response was, "Very good! It's a pleasure to see a budding interest in the field. If you're half as good with cybernetics as you are with weapons, I'm sure you'll be more than satisfied with your results. I certainly look forward to seeing them!"
After thanking him profusely, Ruby hung up. A soft warmth settled in her chest, and it had nothing to do with the heat of the forges around her. Not only would she get the things she needed, but also the blessing of one of the most advanced cyberneticists in the world. She had to wonder if he was really all that impressed by her work with weapons or not. It seemed unlikely, but she knew that it had played into her getting into Beacon. Maybe she really was that good.
Regardless, she still had work to do. Her tools weren't going to assemble themselves, and while she still didn't have all the parts she would need, she could start planning it out.
She couldn't help but look forward to seeing the other's reactions to it when she was finished. She hadn't told any of them what she was planning, so it would come as a huge surprise to them, and she wanted it to be working perfectly when she showed it off. She knew that Yang would be impressed, she was always supportive of what Ruby wanted to do. It was more Weiss's and Blake's reactions that Ruby really wanted to see. Weiss would probably be the most surprised. She probably didn't think that Ruby could do something like this.
Ruby would have to show them all of the things that her addition could do, of course. Maybe there weren't many every-day applications, but of the scenarios where it did come in handy, it would make all the difference in the world. She would be able to fieldstrip any weapon, repair almost anything, so long as she had the tools for it.
Every time the door to the foundry opened, Ruby glanced over her shoulder, wanting to make sure that it wasn't her package arriving. After about a half an hour, she finally found that two soldiers were standing in the doorway, one of whom was holding a box in his arms. Ruby practically sprinted across the forge floor, something you were never supposed to do. She came to a sliding halt in front of them, looking up at them with wide eyes.
"Is that for me?"
The two looked at each other for a moment, and though she couldn't see through their visors, she could tell that their eyebrows were raised.
"Yeah. Why, do you-"
Before he could finish the question, Ruby snatched the box away from him, saying over her shoulder, "Thanks!
The soldiers looked at each other again, confused, before turning to leave. Once she got back to her station, Ruby tore into the box, ripping it open and peering inside. Neatly folded cables filled almost the entire box, and on top of the pile was a small handwritten note.
She picked it up, reading it to herself.
"I know how much of a struggle getting materials can be, but I'm afraid I can't help too much. Ironwood likes to know what his materials are being used for, and I doubt he would appreciate my charity here. All of this was used in other projects, but I can promise it's as good as new."
She looked over the thin wires, taking a deep breath. It was time to push. Focusing wasn't easy, given how tired she felt, but she had to do it. The music of the forge started to flow through her again, numbing her sense of time as minutes slipped into hours. Her world seemed to shrink as she worked on her new appendage.
Her fingers shook slightly as she made all the necessary modifications to the tools, hooking up every system, taking every care she could. The tools didn't need an incredibly complex neural network, and the tentacle was just within her range of ability to craft.
She made sure that the narrow body of the tendril stayed consistent in its diameter. The collection of interlocking metal rings that made up the outer shell were strong, though she knew that she wouldn't have to put too much work into durability. It would be housed within her arm, it would already have more than enough protection. The rings could slide across one another with barely any friction at all, while still giving an almost unlimited degree of motion. It was about the length of her forearm, ending in a small rotating segment that held most of the tools she had put on: welders and cutters, drill heads, and the tip of the tentacle ended in a series of small mechanical manipulators, the largest of which were only strong enough to lift a clip of ammunition.
Her consciousness returned to the world around her as she finished up. She let out a breath it felt like she'd been holding the entire time. It was done. She looked down at her creation critically, searching for any imperfection or flaw. It had to be perfect. She didn't find anything, and with a careful grip, she picked the augmentation up, and opened the access panel on her arm again.
Her heart beat faster and harder as she brought it closer to her arm. Hooking the addition up would be easy. She only had to brace for the new sensation. For the first time in a very long time, the heat of the forges grew to an uncomfortable level. Her feet shuffled restlessly. What was she waiting for?
She stuck the base of the enhancement into its socket, and immediately felt a yelp force its way from her throat. It didn't hurt, but she didn't know how to describe the feeling. At first, the instant it connected, it was like a bolt of lightning shot through her body. She felt her thoughts grind to a halt, and she realized that she had slumped over the table. It took a moment to pick herself back up, but when she did, her face was practically glowing with joy.
She couldn't particularly "feel" it yet, but it tingled and twinged like it had fallen asleep. With some sense of trepidation, she tried moving it.
The tentacle flopped in the general direction she tried to move it, slapping against the small pile of tools she'd used to put it together with a small thud, knocking a few of them to the ground. Ruby started to giggle. It would take some time to get used to, but once she did, it would be as natural as any other part of her body.
She closed her eyes, and tried to calm down. Now wasn't the time, and it wouldn't be the first time that she had made an embarrassing display in the forge. She definitely didn't want a repeat of that.
Ruby turned on her heel and started walking towards the door. If she were going to freak out, she would rather it be in the privacy of her own dorm. She tried to draw the tentacle into her arm, but it only arched upwards for a moment before flopping back down, grazing the floor. She stooped over and picked it up, wrapping it gently around the arm before tucking her arm into her cloak. She didn't want anyone to catch a glimpse of her creation and possibly ruin the surprise for the others.
On the way back, she continued to try moving different parts of the tentacle at a time. She didn't want to try any of the tools yet, given that a few of them could probably set her clothes on fire if she wasn't careful, but she'd get to those later. For now, it was trying to uncoil it that posed a challenge. She felt it tugging and pulling as she walked, but she simply wasn't used to it enough to actually control it. She could still only half-feel it. According to Tecwyn's notes, it would take a little while for her brain to fully realize that she had a new limb. The fact humans had no instinct to work something like this didn't help either, no doubt.
The door to the dorm building swung open, and she immediately started towards the stairs. Her body was practically on autopilot as she climbed up, eyes unfocused with a combination of excitement and exhaustion. She almost didn't notice Pyrrha slipping out of team JNPR's room.
She had a downtrodden look about her, and Ruby remembered what Jaune had said. She wished that Pyrrha would stop blaming herself.
"Oh, hi Pyrrha! What are you doing here? I thought you would be in class."
Pyrrha's head jerked in Ruby's direction, and she seemed alarmed. Their last encounter hadn't gone well, but Ruby wanted to make this one better. She stopped walking, and gave Pyrrha a warm smile.
Pyrrha nodded, rubbing the back of her head while shuffling uncomfortably and looking down.
"Yes, I wanted to go, but I wasn't feeling very well today. It's good to see you up, though. Yang said you were supposed to be resting, but you look like you haven't gotten an ounce of sleep. Are you feeling alright?"
Ruby nodded. "Couldn't be better! I mean, I didn't sleep last night, but I don't really mind."
There was a brief pause, during which Pyrrha shuffled around again, avoiding eye contact with her. Ruby stayed quiet for a moment, before speaking again.
"Pyrrha, I know you feel bad about what happened, but you can't keep blaming yourself. Please, promise me you won't. I don't blame you, no one else does. It was an accident, that's all."
Pyrrha looked back up at Ruby, and a small smile crossed her face. "Thank you, Ruby, but I don't know if I can. I mean, I ruined lives. There's no way around it. There's no way I can fix it."
She took a step closer to Pyrrha, hoping to make her feel better. She wanted to put a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder, but that hadn't turned out well the last time she'd tried. What she could do, though, was show Pyrrha what good had come out of the situation.
"Well, not everything is bad. Can you keep a secret? Not for long, just until I show Yang."
Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, but nodded. Ruby started to draw her arm out from her cloak. As she did so, she was careful to not get it caught on her cloak. Slowly, and with a little bit of dramatic flair, Ruby pulled her cloak back, revealing the new appendage.
Pyrrha only stared at it for a moment, before looking back up to Ruby with a confused expression.
"Ruby, what is that thing?"
Ruby's face fell slightly, and she tried again to uncoil it. This time it worked much better, sluggishly unraveling itself from around her arm. When it was free, she tried to raise it, but found that she still couldn't quite control it. It swung forward a few times she tried to bring it up, before she gave up and rested the end of it in her other hand.
"I made it!" The pride was clear in her voice. "It'll take a little time to get used to, but it'll be able to move like it's supposed to once I actually get used to it. What do you think?"
Pyrrha looked back down at it, and Ruby made small movements, raising the middle of the tentacle and wiggling a few of the tools. Pyrrha seemed shocked at first, but then leaned in for a closer look.
"Can you feel all of that?" The bewildered tone of her voice made Ruby smirk as she nodded. Pyrrha turned her attention back to Ruby's upgrade. With a slow motion, she reached towards it, but hesitated just before her fingers brushed the metal edge. With a small grunt of effort, Ruby flipped it from her hand to Pyrrha's.
The older girl flinched, but held it in her hand gently. She could feel the muscles moving and pulling inside. It seemed almost alive.
"You . . . made this?" She asked like she couldn't believe it, and Ruby nodded again.
Ruby moved her other hand to Pyrrha's shoulder, saying, "See? I made this into a good situation for me. I can do the same for everyone else who got hurt! I just need a little time, and I can fix everything!"
Pyrrha's eyes started to tear up, and before Ruby knew it, Pyrrha's arms were wrapped around her, squeezing the air from her lungs.
"Ruby, it would mean everything to me if you could do that. If there's anything I can do, please, just ask."
Ruby nodded. "Thanks, Pyrrha."
She gave a wide yawn, stretching her arms as Pyrrha let her go.
"I'd better get back to studying. Weiss left me a huge pile of stuff to do, and I spent all day making this." She indicated the tentacle, then started back towards her room. "I'll send you a message if there's anything you can do. See you later!"
Pyrrha said goodbye, and what felt like a moment later, Ruby collapsed into Yang's bed. The rest of her body was too tired to move, so her tendril snaked its way into her pocket, taking a hold of her scroll and dragging it out in front of her face as she started to read.
Author's Note:
So far I'm feeling really good about this fic. As with everything, I ask that you review. It really helps me out to know what you guys think.