A/N: Sorry about not updating in - oh, about - five months. There's really no excuse for that. But, I've been working on this chapter off and on. And I had an idea for a Ruby and Yang team attack - which I called, Rose Gold - but I ended up scrapping the idea because I kinda hated it.
I also talked about this chapter to people to work out the rough spots and even though I did that much, went over it with a fine toothed comb and tried my best, I still feel like it isn't good enough. Oh, well.
If it's any consolation, I am working on chapter six as we speak. So, hopefully, I'll have that one completed and posted sooner than this one.
Also, since Rooster Teeth has explained away my theory and blown it all out of the water, I guess this story is now officially AU. -.-"
Anyway, let's move onto reviews.
The Pigeon: Thanks! I hope you enjoy this update.
blaiseingfire: Yeah. I think Tucker's rubbing off on him. Oh, wait... That sounded wrong... Yeah... Ahem.
mrwizard70: Thanks. I used an editing software, but apparently it glitched or something.
ultima-owner: Well, their trust in Church is dangling on a thin thread. Also, I don't know what Wash's armor enhancement is. I do know that it used to be a sort of EMP. But that was a long time ago.
anotamous: I had a scene like that in mind, actually. And he does have some faith in them. But, he's been through a lot and has a lot going on at the moment.
Warhawk'42: I try to. I'm doing my best.
Firestarter8635: Hmm. That's a good theory. Also, the neural implants are in the base of her skull. In RvB, York (if I'm remembering correctly) once mentioned having headaches after the implantation of Delta.
guest2: That would be cool, wouldn't it?
BrokenDeathtrap: HEY, HI! Thanks! I'll try. :)
6404 Epsilon: Oh, no! Don't do that!
Brie03127: I updated! :)
SilentAngel33: Well, the person(s) unknown who implanted Epsilon into Ruby could have repaired the device using pieces from a radio transmitter, which may have made his frequency stronger and more compatible with that of humans so that he no longer needed to be translated through the radios. Pretty much allowing him to "hack" into humans like computers, I suppose.
Chapter 5: Ruby's Adventures in Menagerie
I watch the city burn. These dreams, like ashes, float away.
Your voice I never heard. Only silence.
Where were you when our hearts were bleeding?
Where were you? It all crashed down.
Never thought that you'd deceive me. Where are you now?
How long can you stand the pain? How long will you hide your face?
How long will you be afraid? Are you afraid?
How long will you play this game? Will you fight or will you walk away?
How long will you let it burn? Let it burn! Let it burn.
Let It Burn - Nightcore
Ruby made it back to camp in time to shimmy into her sleeping bag and after a few moments of shuffling around to find a comfortable position, she fell into a deep sleep.
"Meta, wait! We don't need to hurt her; we only need -"
"No!"
Ruby jolted awake, glancing around wearily. Everything was clouded in a thick haze of exhaustion. Instinctively, her mind reached out for Epsilon. But recoiled when it brushed against something cold and dark.
Ruby huffed quietly before rolling over, tugging the edge of her sleeping bag over her shoulders and closed her eyes. But she couldn't sleep. Church's thoughts and feelings were intense and very noisy.
She attempted to focus on the sound of birds chirping as sunlight filtered through the trees, lighting the campsite with a ghostly glow. Her teammates were still sleeping, and Doctor Oobleck wasn't anywhere to be found.
Ruby had only just closed her eyes again and attempted to drift off again when Doctor Oobleck's voice echoed across the campsite, "Rise and shine, girls! Are you ready to fight some evil?"
Ruby attempted to feign sleep, but their teacher descended on her. "Miss Rose!" Oobleck said cheerfully, "You're awake." No, I'm not; Ruby thought desperately, I'm still asleep. Please, go away!
Before she could curl up in a defensive position, she was ripped from the safety of her warm sleeping bag.
"What –"
Yang set her down by her hood. "Morning, sis." Yang said cheerfully.
"Yang," Ruby cried in protest.
"So, is –" Yang gestured around, indicating Church. "– around?"
"I don't think so," Ruby said. Yang gazed at Ruby before nodding and rejoining the others, who were currently yawning and grumbling about being awakened so early.
Oobleck had begun to march away into the woods, chattering on about Menagerie's history, oblivious to the fact that no one was following him. Ruby grabbed her compacted weapon and followed him quickly. "Wait," Blake was murmuring.
"Huh?"
She turned to the cat Faunus, who continued, "Does anyone else find it strange that we haven't encountered any Grimm whatsoever?"
"Yeah," Ruby jumped in, "It's very strange. Almost like -" She broke off, stiffening at the sound of rustling in the underbrush.
The girls drew their weapons, only to breathe out an exasperated sigh of relief when they realized it was simply their history teacher, come back to check on them. "Keep up, girls!" He cheerfully stated, "We have a long day ahead of us!"
Ruby visibly deflated before trudging after him. Menagerie, beautiful as it was, seemed unusually sinister. Mountain Glenn bore its history with something akin to pride. You could see how the city fell by viewing it through a telescope. Menagerie was something else altogether.
And Ruby couldn't quite put her finger on it. If it were a novel she'd read, she would've thought it to be the outcome of a curse. Or that the island itself were alive and somehow devouring its inhabitants.
There was an unusual stillness to the isle that grated like sandpaper against her nerves. And with a single look, she confirmed that her teammates felt the same way. Every breath of wind that shook the trees had them reaching for their weapons or clenching their hands into fists.
What she'd thought to be beautiful and wild a day ago has transfigured into something else entirely in the light of a new day. Something downright unsettling. Ruby began to tap her hand against her ammo pouch uneasily before it was swatted away.
"Stop that," Weiss scolded her, the twist of her mouth projecting how unsettled she felt. Even Doctor Oobleck seemed agitated. Something needs to happen soon. According to Oobleck, they were searching suspicious activity in Menagerie.
"This area had been investigated before because of the crash. But, when it was investigated, there were no signs of intelligent life. And not one week ago, a passing Bullhead, filled with Mistral students, flew over Menagerie and spied lights. As though someone had been searching for something."
Or someone. Ruby had an inkling as to what had been going on that day but remained silent. Even after her colleagues shot her questioning glances. She followed Oobleck a few more feet before slowing and falling a few feet behind.
Ruby still couldn't get a sense of Church, what he was thinking or feeling. It was almost like he wasn't there. Ruby slowly and carefully lowered a wall between her and him, before swallowing thickly, brushing her fingers against the base of her skull and prying the device from the implants with a wince.
Ruby looked down at the object, turning it over in her hand before slipping it into her pocket. "Miss Rose!" Doctor Oobleck called, making her jump.
"Sorry!" She scurried after them as though she'd been scolded.
Ahead, she heard varying sounds of surprise before pushing her way through the crowd and spotting the gash the 'ship Church's friends were in rent through the ground. Ruby felt a lump rising in her throat as she turned away from the scene quickly, a soft gust of wind brushing against the nape of her neck, ruffling her hair.
"Wait," Yang caught her arm and shot a glance at the others. She pulled Ruby away, leading her, Weiss and Blake to the edge of the rift and away from Oobleck. "Show me," Yang said, the edge in her voice sharp enough to cut through diamond.
"I –" Ruby began, unsure of what her sister meant. Yang gripped her younger sister's shoulders and forcibly turned her away and lifted her hair. The silence was such that Ruby swore she could hear a pin drop.
She knew what they were seeing and felt the AI apparatus burning a hole in her pocket. Varying sounds of shock and horror met the sight.
"Ruby!"
"Oh, my God."
"How did this happen?"
"Are you okay?!"
"I – I'm fine," Ruby stammered.
"Is that where –" Weiss asked hesitantly.
Ruby closed her eyes for a moment, before reaching into her pocket and withdrawing the unit and slipping it into place with a click.
When she turned to face her friends and sister, she saw that their faces were tinged with deviating shades of green. Simply put, they all looked disgusted. "Who did this to you?" Yang's voice shook with barely controlled rage.
"I don't know," was Ruby's soft reply.
"You don't know." Weiss said stonily.
"No," Ruby began. "I don't remember."
"How is that possible?" Blake asked. "That kind of thing isn't easy to forget."
"Well, remember the Grimm Invasion? We were all so tired." Ruby spoke up. "I remember the fight and our conversation about the Vytal Festival afterward. I just don't remember anything after that."
Her teammates adopted thoughtful expressions, almost as though they expected to piece everything together for Ruby. Their leader brushed her fingertips over the device gently, her hand shaking slightly.
After moments of being lost in thoughts drenched in worry, she returned to her sister and friends, who were all communicating over one another very loudly, volleying ideas and theories over each other while looking at Ruby for validation.
The younger teen merely shrugged. Ruby couldn't make heads or tails of what was said. Finally, two words brought her to her senses, "Doctor Oobleck!" She cried and darted around her teammates, scurrying back to the crash-site and saw their history teacher kneeling in the center of the schism, using a sort of pan to sift through the earth.
"Is he...?" Weiss began, sounding very confounded by their teacher.
"I think so," Ruby replied, although, she had been wondering herself what on earth their teacher was doing.
The sound of an approaching Airship reached her ears, and she craned her neck to peer up, watching it pass overhead before hearing it slow for descent. What? She thought, following the sound. I don't remember another team being assigned to Menagerie.
She trekked through the wood, stepping carefully to avoid treading on dried leaves and twigs as she searched for the 'ship that arrived. Ruby pushed the brush aside and peeked around at the Airship, which she now identified as a Bullhead.
She watched, frozen, as Faunus, dressed in the White Fang uniform and wearing Grimm masks exited the 'ship. Oh, no. Ruby thought, ice trickling into her veins. I need to find Doctor Oobleck! She pushed away from the clearing and reached for her Scroll and Crescent Rose. Great, she thought hopelessly when her Scroll beeped, indicating that it wasn't connecting with a Tower, why did this have to happen today?
Ruby summoned her Semblance and dashed toward the crash-site. Where is everyone?! Panic flooded her senses. It seemed that everyone had left in search of the airship and Ruby. She staggered to a stop, her foot catching on a root and sent her tumbling to the ground.
She winced as little lights burst before her eyes and sat up, her lungs burning and her side aching. Ruby forced herself to her feet. She'd stop it. She'd stop them. She'd - "Miss Rose?" Doctor Oobleck's hurried tones came to her as if traveling through water.
Huh? Ruby thought, dazed. What was that that had come over her? Anger. Her mind supplied for her. She was angry. And trembling because of it. Ruby forced the emotion away and looked up at her history teacher, speaking quickly, "The White Fang, they're here."
"My word," Oobleck breathed out. "Well, there's only one thing to do then, Miss Rose." He extended his coffee mug into its flamethrower form. "We have to stop them."
"But, what are we stopping them from doing?" Ruby asked, confused. What could they possibly want? The aircraft accident happened so long ago...
"Perhaps they were biding their time until all investigations ceased." Doctor Oobleck seemed to answer her thought unknowingly.
"Maybe." Ruby murmured before nodding to him, "Let's stop them."
"We need to gather your teammates," Her teacher said before dashing off into the wood.
Ruby emitted a soft groan of unhappiness before following him.
"What are the White Fang doing here?" Yang asked, rubbing her palms over her shot-gauntlets uneasily.
They had all regrouped at the campsite.
"I doubt it has anything to do with a 'ship crash," Blake quipped, checking that Gambol Shroud's cartridges were loaded.
"How would you figure that?" Weiss asked, smoothing down the sleeve of her jacket.
"Because the White Fang wouldn't be interested in an old 'ship wreck." Blake whispered. "They're here for another reason."
Memories of the weapons crates aboard the Staff of Charon flickered through Ruby's mind.
"I think I know what they're after," A wave of cold fear splashed over her, drenching her in icy sensations. Her team turned to her, and she swallowed thickly before addressing their teacher, "Have any of the investigators recovered weapons?"
Doctor Oobleck adopted a thoughtful stance, "Hmm, now that you mention it, no." Ruby's heart sank.
"The airship was carrying weapons?" Weiss seemed skeptical.
"In a way," Ruby said in an attempt at off-handedness.
"Ruby," Yang sounded shocked before nodding in resignation. "Okay. What's the plan?"
"We stop them." Ruby said firmly. I've already seen what these weapons can do. She thought grimly as Epsilon's memories of the destruction wrought by the arms filled her mind, making her wince as bile rose in her throat. She didn't like this. Any of it.
She grabbed Crescent Rose and checked her pockets for her Hardlight Shield. It wasn't there. Panic seized her heart, and she shook as she searched the camp for it. Where'd it go?!
"Are you ready to go, girls?" Oobleck called, making Ruby jump.
Ruby swallowed hard before straightening and nodding. "Yes, sir." Her lip quivered. Ruby sucked in a shaky breath and straightened, following their teacher. They moved through the wood in silence, listening carefully for any sounds of movement.
Ruby halted when she noticed the bow on Blake's head twitch and gazed at the older girl questioningly. Blake silently gestured to a path off to the side, and they fell into step with her. What they saw made them stop altogether.
Several Faunus stood before strange metal crates marked with the symbol of the UNSC. Ruby could sense her teammates' confusion. She knew what they saw. Icy prickles covered her as something in her chest tightened with fear.
The crates opened, and the Faunus were rummaging through them, shouting to one another.
"Let's get the -" Yang began before Ruby's hand shot out and clutched at her forearm. The look on her sister's face made Yang freeze. Ruby was pale, her eyes widened and she shook her head.
It isn't worth it. Her expression said.
Yang grunted with a nod and stepped back. And apparently the White Fang didn't find what they were looking for. Because they kicked the crates over, scowling and stormed away. Ruby sunk to the ground with relief, before she shot to her feet.
What if there are more of those - ?! She bolted after them, rose petals fluttering in the air where she had once been.
"Ruby!" Everyone cried.
She ricocheted off trees, boosting her speed before scrambling backward when she saw a familiar figure standing on the Bullhead. The woman in the red dress stood in the shadows, but it was clearly her. What is she doing here? Ruby thought, alarmed before scrambling for her Scroll.
She snapped a few discrete photographs before slinking back as the Faunus continued to move through the brush. There's too many of them! She turned and scurried away as quickly as she could. She heard varying sounds of surprise as she broke into a run.
Run, run, fast as you can. You can't catch me -! She felt something collide with her diaphragm, knocking the wind out of her.
"Gotcha!" A deep, gleeful voice said.
Ruby hit the ground and raised her head, spotting a tall Faunus standing above her, wielding what looked like a metal bat. She rolled to her feet, drawing her scythe, expanding it to complete scythe form and flicked her hair out of her eyes before gesturing to him.
He circled her before stepping forward to strike, and she dodged his attack before replying with one of her own. She danced around him, spinning and aiming a kick at the back of his knee before swinging Crescent Rose.
He flipped out of the way of her scythe and pressed a switch on his bat, blades extending from the club. A morning star? Ruby glanced down at her abdomen, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that her combat skirt wasn't ripped before collapsing the scythe into its sniper rifle form, firing explosive rounds at his feet, propelling him into the air.
Ruby watched him soar before leaping and shooting a kick to the face of the attacking Faunus.
"Hyah!" Ruby cried as her foot connected with his face, driving him to the ground. "Never mess with a girl in a combat skirt," She said with a huff, dusting said skirt off for dramatic effect before collapsing her weapon into storage mode and slipping it back into its holster.
She strolled through the woods before muttering, "Great. Now which way do I go?"
She ventured deeper into the forest, pausing when the sounds of battle reached her ears. Ruby burst through the trees, spotting Weiss, Blake, Yang and Dr. Oobleck locked in combat with the remaining Faunus. I need to help! She leapt forward, calling out, "Ice Flower!"
Weiss summoned a Glyph as Ruby reached her and began firing rounds through the symbol, ice encasing the legs and feet of the Faunus. "Bumblebee!" Ruby shouted.
Blake tossed the ribbon to Yang, who caught it before she had been tugged into the air. Ruby watched as her elder sister flew through the air, her fist connecting with the Faunus and impelling them backward.
Ruby was sure that she could see birdies flying around their heads before she pivoted to face her teacher, "What do we do now, Doctor Oobleck?"
He pushed his glasses up his nose. "We find their 'ship," He said seriously.
"It's back this way!" Ruby dashed off into the brush. She heard the group following her as she stepped out in the spot she'd seen the airship. "It was just here!" She said, flabbergasted.
"Oh, dear."
She turned to her history teacher.
"It would seem the person who'd lead them here learned of our presence and left."
"It was the woman," Ruby said, swallowing hard.
"I beg your pardon?" Doctor Oobleck was confused this time.
"The woman that Professor Goodwitch and I saw the night I met her, Professor Ozpin and Roman Torchwick." The pieces clicked in, and everyone gazed at her, stunned and horrified.
"This is serious, Miss Rose." Oobleck said.
"I know it is," Ruby replied.
"Now, what say all of you we return to Beacon?"
"I think that's an excellent idea, Sir." Ruby replied with a nod.