A/N: Well, Chapter 2 - actually, 3. But I'm not counting the prologue. Heh. - Well, I may or may not be able to post the next one as quickly as this one. Because I'm currently writing it. I mostly had to finish this chapter and polish it up a bit. Anyway, thanks to everyone who favorited and followed this story. I hope you guys enjoy it.
Amidamaru88: (As promised, the rest of my reply) I will be doing my best to add more descriptions. Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy/ed the story.
Thorfaxdragonkin: Hmm... What do you think the ship is?
Iron-ninja: Hmmm... The Reds and Blues? Or Ruby and Church?
Metalex: Thanks? I think?
ultima-owner: Wasn't it, though? ;)
Masterelite28: Thank you! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.
Doctor John Smith: Thanks! I hope you like this next chapter.
With that said, I'll be doing my best to update on a (semi) regular basis.
Chapter 2: This Hero Thing Ain't So Bad After All
Ruby grunted when she slid across the classroom's floor. Cardin Winchester had flung her aside as though she were a doll. Nothing seemed to make his Aura level drop. He blocked each of her attacks without breaking a sweat. She winced, climbing to her feet.
It was a one-on-one sparring class, overseen by Glynda, who watched with disapproval on her features. Ruby watched her Aura level lower yet again. Where was Church? She clambered to her feet, determined to not mess up again.
"Come on, Ruby!" Yang called out. "You can do this!" Ruby's hands curled into fists as she raised them, dropping into a defensive crouch. The first thing Cardin did was disarm her. He knew she couldn't defend herself as well without Crescent Rose.
The scythe had been returned to her on the flight home. Apparently, finding it on the outskirts of Mountain Glenn had lead to her teammates finding her. Upon receiving the weapon from her sister, Ruby turned it over in her hands, both missing the scythe and feeling as though it were alien to her.
She dropped her shoulder and charged toward Cardin. Church! Her mind screamed. The AI unit was still attached to her neural implants. But Church still hadn't made an appearance. He vanished last night and never reappeared. She hadn't seen him at all that morning.
Before when he'd do this, he'd always reappear around lunchtime. But lunchtime came and went. And still no sign of him. "God, what?" Until now. He appeared at the corner of her mind. "Bank left!" He said, realizing her intention.
She did as told and flipped toward the ground, rolling through the opening between Cardin's legs. He'd been standing guard over her scythe. But not anymore. She grabbed the compacted weapon and unfurled it, gripping it with both hands as she rose to her feet.
Church observed the scene before looking at the Aura meters. "Why didn't you tell me it was this bad?" He thundered. I tried, Ruby shot back. But you were gone again. Church cursed creatively before glancing at Cardin.
"Don't worry, Kid. I'll even things out." He tapped into Cardin's Scroll before surveying the guy in question, humming softly to himself before looking at the surroundings. "Okay, Cardin's knee was dislocated a week ago, we could use that to our advantage..." He muttered softly. He whistled softly as he devised a plan of attack before speaking to Ruby, "Okay, let's do this." Ruby nodded as all the information rolled through her mind.
She ducked and wove between Cardin's attacks before shooting a kick to his barely healed knee, reinjuring it and rolled beneath his haymaker before swinging Crescent Rose in an arc, sweeping him to the floor as Church darted into Cardin's Scroll, tampering with his Aura meter.
Ruby leapt aside when Cardin jackknifed to his feet before gawking at his Aura level, wincing as he rubbed his knee. "That's right, Asshole," Church said to Cardin softly so that no one else could hear him, "God doesn't like it when you pick on little girls!" Cardin yelped, looking around before spotting Ruby just before she dealt the finishing blow, knocking him to the floor, stunning him.
"Ruby Rose is the winner!" Glynda announced before stepping over to Cardin, "Maybe you should think carefully before picking your opponent, Mr. Winchester." Ruby's team jumped to their feet, cheering and whooping as the girl took her bow, pleased. We did it, Church! "Yeah, I guess we did," He replied, "Know what? You're not so bad after all, Kid. In fact, I think you're getting better."
She hurried over to her teammates, cheering along with them, beaming. "When you started to rush Cardin, I thought you'd gone crazy!" Yang exclaimed. It was dinnertime and Teams RWBY and JNPR were all gathered at their tables, tucking into their meals. "Please," Ruby waved her hand casually, "I had a plan all along."
She heard Church snort as he flickered into view at the edge of her vision, "Yeah, you had a plan." He drawled, folding his arms as he gazed up at her from the table. "What was that?" Weiss asked suspiciously. Ruby slammed her hand down over the holographic Epsilon, saying quickly, "Nothing!"
"I thought I heard something." Weiss narrowed her eyes, looking around. "So did I," Blake put in softly, her bow-covered ears twitching. Yang's brows raised, "Like what?" "I thought I heard someone talking." Weiss shook her head. Church! Ruby shrieked mentally. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know." He grumbled.
Do you really think it's a good idea to tell them? She thought tentatively. "To be honest, I don't know. I just know that keeping this a secret isn't the best idea, Ruby." She nodded at his words but continued to eat, spotting him at the edge of her vision, perched on the edge of Yang's tray, his legs dangling toward the table.
I'll think about it; she replied, gazing around at her teammates and friends. She didn't want this happiness and camaraderie to end. But, she knew it would the second she brought up Church and how she found him. That was simply something she'd worry over later.
After dinner, she cleared her tray and walked back to the dorms, taking a small detour to the courtyard. "So, if I did tell them, what should I say?" She asked nervously. "The truth," Church said with a shrug. "The truth," Ruby said, feeling knots twist in her stomach. "Right, the truth." She nodded, sinking to the ground.
"Hey," Church hovered above the ground, "It'll be okay. They'll understand. Unless, of course, they happen to be anything like my teammates," He laughed, memories of their misadventures floated to the surface of Ruby's mind. She smiled faintly at the memories before a small pang struck her heart. It was agonizing.
If this is what it felt like for her, how did it feel for Church? "Okay, what is it?" Church asked, kicking at a wildflower, his foot phasing through the plant harmlessly. "Everything?" Ruby shrugged, hugging her knees to her chest. "I guess... I just..." She stopped to swallow back a lump in her throat. "Your friends.."
"Yeah? What about them?" He stopped trying to correct her when she referred to them as friends. "You miss them, don't you?" Her voice was barely a whisper now. "Well..." Church trailed off, lost in thought. "I guess I do. From time to time." He rolled a shoulder into a half-shrug.
Ruby stood and began to cross the courtyard, walking as slowly as possible, "What do you think tomorrow will be like?" She asked tentatively. "I dunno," Church replied, "But think about it this way, it can't be any better and it sure as hell can't be any worse." Ruby nodded firmly and entered the dorms.
She made her way down the labyrinth of halls and stopped when she came across Jaune, who seemed to be waiting for her. "This guy have a thing for you or somethin'?" Church asked, feigning rubbing his chin. "What? No!" Ruby sputtered, "He's my friend." "Hey," Church held up his hands in silent surrender, "He's the one waiting outside your room. I'm just saying."
"Hey, Jaune!" Ruby chirruped, striding over to the young man. "Hey, Ruby." He looked around before turning to her, "I just wanted to come by and congratulate you on winning the match today." "Thanks," Ruby beamed, pulling her Scroll from her pocket. "I just..." Jaune began uncertainly, "I saw something today."
What?! Ruby screamed mentally, freezing in the act of unlocking the dorm room door, "W - what do you mean?" She stammered. "Well, I... saw..." Jaune glanced around again, "I saw something... with you, during the match." "Something like what?" Ruby asked, her voice quivering. "Something... like a small... figure?" Jaune trailed off near the end of his statement, making it a question.
Ruby unlocked the door quickly and stepped inside, yanking Jaune in by his shirt. "What do you mean, a small figure?" Ruby asked him, paling. "I don't know! I just saw.." He swallowed thickly. "Something like me?" Church finished for him, cutting into the conversation with his sudden appearance.
Jaune yelped, flying backward into the door and uttered a soft sound of terror before croaking out, "You see the floating man too, right?" "Church!" Ruby cried, shocked. "Church?" Jaune stared at her in disbelief. "You named it?!" "Hey, watch it, pal!" Church snarled, sounding infuriated now, "I am not a thing!"
Ruby stepped in, "I didn't name him. He already had a name, when I... found him." She finished lamely. "You found him?" Jaune sounded incredulous. "Yeah," Ruby nodded quickly. "Actually, I was implanted into her head," Church said casually, shrugging. "What?!" Jaune screamed.
"Yeah, there's a process, it's complicated." Church finished, waving a hand. "Church!" Ruby cried as she covered Jaune's mouth with both her hands. "What? It's the truth!" Church retorted. Jaune paled and removed her hands from his mouth,"He was implanted in your brain?"
Ruby sighed softly before taking a step back, turning her back to him before lifting up her hair, revealing the AI device. She heard Jaune gasp before hearing his horror-stricken voice, "Oh, my God. Ruby." "I'm all right, now," She replied, lowering her hair, smoothing it down to cover the implement and turning to face him. "It took a while to grow used to it and to heal, but I'm doing much better." She smiled faintly.
"Heal?" Jaune sounded, even more, horrified. "Okay," Church interrupted what he presumed to be even more shocked babbling from the blonde boy, "Yes, she needed to heal. And if you so much as think about telling anyone about my presence - and trust me, I'll know - I'll possess you and make you jump off the CCT tower." "Church!" Ruby cried, aghast, as Jaune paled. "Don't tell anyone," He mumbled, nodding, "Got it. See you, Ruby." He turned and scrambled from the room.
"That wasn't necessary." Ruby chided Epsilon. "Besides, I thought you wanted my teammates to know what happened?" She began to sift through her clothing, pulling her Huntress outfit from the shared wardrobe to pack for their journey. "I do," Church said with a shrug,"I just think they should hear it from you."
"And, I'll tell them," Ruby said, shaking her head, "Just not right now. And not today." Church heaved an unnecessarily loud sigh, "Fine, keep your secrets from your teammates - " He began to crackle and static like a radio that can't pick up a signal from a station. Ruby dropped the outfit, her eyes widening, "Church!"
" - See where that gets - " He pixellated, flickering in and out of view, " - You -" He blinked back into her field of vision, rubbing his helmet. "Huh," He sounded dumbfounded. "Church," Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you okay?" "Yeah," He muttered, "I just felt a little - " With that, he winked out of existence.
"Church!" Ruby shrieked. "Epsilon, command, online!" She cried, "Church?!" She yanked the AI apparatus from the implants with a shout of pain before turning it over in her hands, tears of pain and fear welling in her eyes as she dropped to the floor, cradling the unit gingerly, her voice cracking as she said brokenly, "Church? Church...?"
I knew exactly - I knew exactly what this would feel like.
To hear the same voice that said, "hello" say, "Goodbye."
Illusory Light - Sarah Blasko