"Ruby where have you been? We've been looking for you for six days!"
Ruby let out a hiss of air. It was not a pretty sound, like someone drawing a sword across metal, "It's been six days?" Her voice echoed with an undertaste of metal.
Yang was terrified, "You… don't know how long it's been?"
"I've been really busy."
"Busy, right," her eyes turned to look at her sister's 'companions' only to notice that two of them (the ones in hoodies) had disappeared, leaving the big guy behind, "And who is he?"
Ruby glanced behind her (or at least Yang thought she did, it was kind of hard to tell when [I]her entire eye was glowing silver[/I])
"He's Darion Mograine, he's… a friend."
… a friend [I]right.[/I]
"Right then, [I]Mr. Mograine,[/I] it was nice meeting you, but me and Ruby need to get back up to Beacon."
"That's fine, I need to go there as well."
Of course he did, and he had the creepy metal echo in his voice too.
As she turned around and marched back to the airship, she pulled out her scroll and sent Blake and Weiss a text.
[I]found ruby, with creepy guy, coming to beacon, get oz and goodwitch[/I]
She glanced back, to make sure they hadn't run off and to her surprise [I]Mograine[/I] appeared to making sure Ruby didn't run, with a hand clasped around her bicep.
Once they were on the airship (it would take at least twenty minutes to get to Beacon) Yang decided to break the awkward silence.
"Sooooooo, Mr. Mograine-
"Just Mograine please."
… Ok then, "Mograine, how do you know Ruby?"
"A mutual acquaintance introduced us."
Yang was quickly becoming convinced that rocks were better conversation partners than this guy, "Do I know him?"
"Probably not."
She could feel her eye start to twitch, Ruby meanwhile had pulled out a bottle of water.
"What's his name?"
"Arthas Menethil."
Finally an actual answer! "Can I meet him?"
"No," Never mind.
"Why not?"
"He's dead."
Oh, "I'm sorry for your loss."
Apparently, that was the funniest joke either had heard in awhile. Mograine, who had frown lines, cracked a smile and Ruby snorted, spraying water all over Mograine who, to his credit, didn't even flinch.
Yang looked between the two, befuddled, 'What's so funny?"
"I said he was a mutual acquaintance, I never said we liked him."
Ruby muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "literally soulless" under her breath.
"Right… So where have you been?"
"Me and Darion were helping some friends. I'm really sorry about not telling anyone, but I got the call in the middle of the night and had to rush out. After that I lost track of time and forgot to call."
"Do I know [I]any[/I] of these 'friends'?"
Ruby turned her head to the side and grumbled out something, Yang didn't need to hear what it was to know the answer to her question. She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply, reminding herself it wouldn't do any good to burst into flames in the middle of an enclosed airship.
"Ruby, what the [I]hell[/I] is going on?"
"Yang this isn't-"
"No, I mean, you sneak off in the middle of the night, and reappear hanging out with someone that looks like an escaped Atlesian super-soldier project. You both have these glowing eyes and this weird echo everytime you talk and you're refusing to tell me what's going-"
Yang was cut of when Ruby pulled her into a bone breaking hug, "I know, and I promise to explain everything, but I need to talk to Ozpin first. It's really complicated."
"It's nothing bad, right?"
Ruby hesitated, "It's complicated, some parts are bad, others are good."
"You're not in any trouble, right?"
"No, everything's fine now, we just needed to clean up some loose ends."
"That makes it sound like you murdered someone, Rubes."
"Like I said, it's really complicated. I promise to explain once I'm done talking with Ozpin."
Ruby paused before tightening her hold on Yang, "I love you, you know that right?"
"Rubes… Ribs…"
"Sorry!" Ruby leapt backwards, allowing Yang to breathe.
"So that's what that feels like."
Darion followed behind the sisters, glad to see that Ruby had managed to rebound so quickly. While she may have managed to get him to open up around her 'inner circle', he still preferred to avoid talking to people outside the Ebon Blade if he didn't have to. Family of friends or not.
As he watched Yang attempt to tease Ruby, he couldn't help but think back to a farmhouse, of another blond older sibling teasing their sibling, of a boy training out back with his father. Everything had been easier back then, Renault wasn't (as much of) an unrepentant asshole.
The airship docked then, snapping him out of his memories, and he trailed behind Ruby and Yang as they walked out.
He scanned the area on instinct and tensed, glancing over at Ruby. He saw that she had done the same. Standing around the area were several adults, each with their eyes locked on the three of them. Standing to the side was a rotund man clutching an ax, opposite him was a skinny man with green hair and a club. A woman with pink hair stood on the platform adjacent to them, a gun with a massive blade on the end followed them -no followed [I]him[/I]- as they moved, and waiting for them at the end of the path was a grey haired man holding a walking stick and a cup, standing beside him was a blond haired woman holding a riding crop.
Darion strode forward, and leaned towards Ruby's ear, "You see that, right?"
"Of course I do, Darion, I'm not blind."
"Then what do we do?"
"We continue walking towards Ozpin, and then try to start negotiations."
"And if that doesn't work?"
"We fight our way out." With that she marched towards the man with the cane. (who must have been Ozpin.)
"Hello Miss Rose," Ozpin turned towards Darion, "and friend."
Darion stood up straighter, "Darion Mograine, Sir." It would not to do well to irritate the man they were hoping to convince to help them.
"A pleasure. Tell me Miss Rose, where have you been? You gave your teammates quite the fright."
Ruby coughed, he could see the blonde women flinch out of the corner of his eye, just slightly. He didn't blame her, Death Knights sounded strange enough just talking, anything more than that sounded like someone smashing swords together.
"Actually Professor, we would like to talk to you about that in private."
Ozpin took a swig from his drink, "Very well," with that he started walking back towards the building.
Darion fell in line with Ruby, "That was surprisingly easy."
"That, wasn't the hard part."
"Then what is?"
"Convincing him to work with us."
As Ruby stepped out of the elevator she breathed deeply, '[I]Let's hope this works.[/I]'
"So, tell me Miss Rose, why exactly did you and Mr. Mograine wish to speak with me in private?"
The plan was as simple as it was idiotic, but they really didn't have anything better.
"Have you ever heard of a man named Arthas Menethil?"
"No, I can't say I have, why?"
"Arthas had a Semblance that allowed him to trap the souls of the people he killed within his sword, Frostmourne, and raise them from the dead."
"I see, and what, may I ask does this have to do with you disappearing?"
"Arthas killed me years ago.([I]True[/I]) Me, and the organization I run, The Knights of the Ebon Blade, used to be Arthas' most dangerous servants, but we discovered that people with ample will power could steal back their souls and free themselves a few years ago.([I]technically true[/I]) I had to leave because we had located Arthas and wanted to stop him before he could initiate his plan to take over Remnant.([I]false[/I])"
"I see, and I take it that your appearance has something to do with this?"
"Yes, without Arthas, we can't hide like we had previously."
"And, why have you come to me about this?"
Here Ruby stood up straighter, slipping into 'Horsewoman's Mantle' "As Highlord ([I]screw it, she was using Highlord[/I]) of the Knights of the Ebon Blade, I would like to offer an alliance between the Hunters and us. We have 978 Knights, and we can offer-"
"Very well."
What.
She shared a glance with Darion who had been following her silently.
"I was kind of expecting to have to convince you."
"I can tell from looking at you, that you are both experienced soldiers, I just have two questions for you."
"Yes?"
"First off, do you need a place to stay?"
"No, we have a fortress call Arcturus we're using, though we would not be opposed to being allowed to use the land around it."
"I'll see what I can do. Second, what do you intend to do about your schooling?"
"I… I don't know, I have an organization to lead. I'm not the Ruby Rose that team RWBY thinks I am anymore."
"I would like you to continue your education here, so how about a deal?"
"What?"
"You will not be required to attend combat instruction. Instead being allowed to use that time to manage the affairs of this 'Ebon Blade', in return you will help mentor Teams RWBY and JNPR."
Ruby blinked, "That sounds, more than fair."
"Well then, is there anything else I should know?"
"Uh, yeah, some members of the Ebon Blade have had mutations due to Arthas raising them."
"I see, would you like to keep a team of your Knights on campus?"
"Yeah, if you're willing, I'd need a bit of time to plan who I wanted with me."
"That is acceptable."
"Can we work on the exact specifications of the deal later? I need to talk to teams RWBY and JNPR, especially if I'm going to be mentoring them."
"Yes, have a good day Miss Rose."
As they rode down the elevator, Ruby turned to Darion, "I need you to ride to Acherus and send Darmus over here. Tell him to bring my armor."
"Ruby, are you alright?"
"Yeah, it's fine."
As she walked towards the dorms, she sighed, '[I]time to face the music[/I]'
Blake Belladonna looked around the room where all of Team JNPR and most of Team RWBY were sitting, waiting for Ruby to get done with Ozpin.
"So, you're sure you've never seen this 'Mograine' person before?"
"For the hundredth time Weiss, I've never seen the guy before!"
The door opened then, letting in Ruby, who walked over to an open chair and just seemed to collapse.
"Alright let's get this over with, what do you want to know?" Blake recoiled slightly, the metallic echo sounding particularly strange to her Faunus hearing.
"How about everything?"
"It's a long story."
"We have plenty of time."
Ruby started talking then, she spoke about how she met a man named Arthas, a once noble man and then she told them of how he had slowly gone insane and slaughtered a village. Then she told of their confrontation, how she tried to pull him back from the abyss, and how, when that didn't work, she drew Crescent Rose and attempted to stop him. She spoke of how he raised her into what she was now, how she had been forced to serve him, how she worked alongside Darion's father, Alexandros, until Darion sacrificed himself to free his father and took his place.
Blake looked around the room again. Jaune, Pyrrha and Nora all looked dumbfounded. Ren looked like he was attempting to keep calm. Weiss looked horrified, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. Yang had started to pace around the same time Ruby started to talk about what she had done under Arthas' command, eyes blazing red.
Ruby told them that a group of Death Knights had managed to break free from Arthas's control, and they had been working to hunt him down ever since. Then she started to talk about what she had been doing for the last six days, she spoke of how the Knights had gathered alongside someone named Illidan, and how they had finally found Arthas, going under the title of Lich King. She spoke of how Illidan had stayed behind to hold of a force of the Lich King's servents Blake could tell that something about that hurt her, but she didn't draw attention to it.
She spoke of the final battle, where they confronted Arthas and she personally fought him. She told the story of how Crescent Rose was shattered by Arthas's blade, just before Frostmourne itself had been shattered. She told them the significance of this action, how it freed the souls of all trapped by Arthas' Semblance and then of how Arthas had died. Then she told them of how she reforged Crescent Rose from shards of Frostmourne and an axe meant to be it's counterpart. Finally she told them of the deal with Ozpin.
It had been a little before ten when Ruby started her story and by the time it finished the it was well past noon. The minute Ruby finished her story, Yang walked over, pulled her out of her chair and into a hug, "Why didn't you ever tell me, or dad, or Uncle Qrow?"
"I didn't want to lose you."
Blake glanced at team JNPR and gestured towards the door, this was something Team RWBY had to deal with themselves.
[I]The small force was ready, they would be going into the Twisted Nether in an attempt to permanently lock it off from Azeroth.
Ruby looked around. Thrall was off to the side, talking with Jaina. Crowley was speaking with Malfurion. Next to her was Illidan, "I have a bad feeling about this."
"I would hope you do, We're about to sneak into hell."
"Ass."
"You know you love it."
She rolled her eyes, checking the pocket watch Glenn had given her, "Alright, people, one minute till we do the dumbest thing any of us have ever done."
They gathered around and waited for the two warlocks to open up the portal. Once it did open, they entered into the Nether, "Right assuming this information is correct the demons that are creating these portals, should be about half a klick to the east, so let's get moving."
As they traveled across the desolate landscape of Nether they all stayed silent too stressed to make any form of conversation.
They had actually managed to reach the fortress before things went to hell, a horde of demons had been following them and decided that was the opportune time to attack them.
"RUN!"
They all ran to the doors of the fortress, Ruby used her semblance to get there first and slammed the door open, holding it open as they caught up. Crowley, Illidan, Malfurion, Thrall, Jai- wait where was Jaina?
Jaina, was about twenty yards away, releasing spells as fast as she could 'of course Jaina couldn't move as fast as everyone else, she isn't a warrior and she can't transform.'
"JAINA, COME ON!"
The horde had surrounded her now, and some of them were heading towards the fortress. There were too many, for each one that shattered into ice three more were there to take their place. By sheer strength of numbers some were getting through, Jaina turned and mouthed out a word. Tragically she was cut short by a claw tearing through her side, Ruby stifled a sob.
She was vaguely aware of Thrall yelling something, of Malfurion tackling him to the ground, of Crowley (now in human form) rushing over and grabbing one of the doors to help slam them shut before shoving the leg of a table in between the handles. None of this mattered, because Jaina Proudmoore was dead.
'Five seconds, that's all you get right now'
One, Ruby breathed in deep.
Two, she breathed out.
Three, she curled her hand into a fist.
Four, she punched the wall shattering it.
Five, she cursed loudly.
"We need to keep moving, it's what Jaina would have wanted."
The others agreed, standing up they rushed down the hallway as the door started to splinter behind them.
They had made it into another room (it looked like a kitchen) when they heard the demons approaching, they had apparently rallied the Fortress' guards.
Thrall's grip on Doomhammer tightened, "Go! I'll hold them off here, there is a debt of blood to be paid now."
"Thrall, thank you, for everything."
He smiled at her, and then turned to meet his end head on.
They had reached the room they were looking for, Crowley (back in the form of a Worgan) tackled the door, smashing it down, and then the fighting began.
Ruby rolled out of the way as fire blast past her head. She drew the sword she had taken along (she had learned that it was a bad idea to bring Crescent Rose into enclosed places) and rammed it into the skull of the demon next to her, before spinning around and decapitated the one trying to sneak up behind her.
She pulled out the pistol that Crowley had given her, shoved it under the jaw of the next demon and pulled the trigger. She parried the blade of the felguard that attempted to attack her and left a gash in it's side, which quickly started to rot.
The fighting had gone on for about fifteen minutes by the time they killed them all.
They all looked at the portal leading to Azeroth, before pushing Crowley, who was bleeding heavily through it.
Illidan sighed, "Ruby, there's something I didn't tell you, to do this, someone has to stay behind."
She looked at him confused for a second before her eyes widened in realization, "No, absolutely not."
"We have no choice."
"Illidan, I already lost Jaina today, I refuse to-"
Ruby was cut off when something crashed into her lips. Something was slipping into her hands.
The last remains of the demons Thrall had been fighting rushed in, and before Ruby could do anything else Malfurion had grabbed her around the waist and was pulling her towards the portal. 'Why isn't he arguing, it's his brother,' it dawned on her, 'they planned this' as she was dragged into the portal she saw Illidan only had one of his glaives.
"YOU! ARE NOT! PREPARED!"
They came out of the portal where they started, she looked around Malfurion And Crowley both looked at her with this sad look in their eyes
'I am not going to cry.'
She opened a Death Gate and walked into it.
'I am not going to cry.'
She made it back to her quarters before it finally overwhelmed her.
In less than a day, she had lost her last friend from Lordaeron, lost one of the two still living member of the horde she could stand, and lost her lover. She was allowed more than five seconds of weakness.[/I]
