{Vale}
Ruby scans the deserted ruin through Crescent Rose's scope, grateful that she'd thought to add a night-vision function. The monocular Blake had brought is night-vision capable too, as well as having a variety of other fancy settings, but she leaves it on the small table next to the map, the red-beam flashlight and her water bottle.
Looking through her weapon's scope feels more natural anyway.
Her perch against the wall on top of the abandoned parking structure where they've camped isn't exactly comfortable, but the height will keep all but the most persistent Grimm away.
Given the fact that everyone is asleep, drawing the attention of any Grimm seems unlikely at best. They're safe for now, relatively speaking, even if the lack of action is boring...
In an attempt to keep herself occupied—and awake—Ruby takes note of the areas where Grimm have congregated, marking up her crudely-drawn map. At least that way, they'll know where to start tomorrow. Satisfied for the moment, she folds Crescent Rose into its compact mode and sets it aside within easy reach, just in case. Blowing out a long, bored sigh, she looks out into the darkness.
There's movement behind her, but she doesn't turn to look. Judging by the soft sound of snoring, Yang is still asleep, and the fact that she can hear footsteps at all tells her that it isn't Blake either. She'd relieved Oobleck from his turn at keeping watch, so that leaves only one person.
"Can't sleep?" Ruby asks softly.
"No." Weiss replies, coming to sit next to Ruby. She sounds exhausted. "See anything interesting out there?"
"Nope. Just Grimm being Grimm. They keep circling around this one spot, which is weird, but I can't see past the buildings, so I don't know why they're doing it. Maybe we'll find out tomorrow—there's a lot of spots that need clearing from what I can see." Ruby says.
"Oh. Sounds like we have our work cut out for us then…" Weiss says quietly.
"I'm sure we'll be fine." Ruby says. "You're not...mad at me for earlier, are you?"
"I...it's hard to explain." Weiss says weakly, looking everywhere except at Ruby.
"Well, we've got all night, and everyone else is sleeping, so…" Ruby says, raising an eyebrow.
Weiss sighs. "I had it covered. Taking down that Alpha was a really personal thing for me—you remember what I told you about my squad."
Ruby frowns at the reminder. "Yes, I remember. I'm sorry that happened."
"I just wanted to be able to feel like I'd...overcome it, I guess. Like I'd made it count for something. I thought that if I could do it on my own, I'd have proved that I'm not wasting their sacrifice, since I'm capable of more now." Weiss admits.
"I didn't know you felt that way. And I'm sure Yang and Blake didn't mean to steal your moment or anything. It's just...you were obviously getting pretty tired. And I think we all know why letting your aura fail would be bad…" Ruby says calmly.
"I had it handled." Weiss snaps, glaring at Ruby.
"I'm not the one who intervened. Blake and Yang were just trying to look out for you, Weiss. But at the end of the day, it's my responsibility to lead. If I have to make that call in the future, I will." Ruby says firmly. "You're not a one-woman army, Weiss. You're a great fighter, I won't argue that. But, if we want to get through to graduation, we need to work together. Like it or not, we're all stuck with each other for the next four years. If you want to go your own way after that, then okay, that's up to you. Until then, I'd like it if you would just talk to us about this stuff, instead of doing something that's insanely risky over some personal crusade."
Weiss looks away, frowning. "Okay. I'll do my best, team leader."
Ruby groans. "Oh, for crying out loud, would you cut it out!" She whisper yells. "I know you're disappointed that I'm leading and not you; you've made that crystal clear over the past couple of months. That's the way it is, and I'm sorry you didn't get what you wanted!"
Weiss says nothing, she just glares at Ruby, folding her arms in defiance.
"After the stunt you pulled today, I think Ozpin was right not to pick you." Ruby says coldly. "Being here, training to be Huntresses, that's bigger than us. If you can't put your personal concerns aside and focus on what we're here for, then maybe you don't need to be here at all."
"If you have something to say, then say it." Weiss growls.
"Oobleck's not the only one who can send you back to Beacon, Weiss." Ruby says, staring Weiss down.
Weiss blinks, staring at Ruby as though the younger girl has just slapped her, her mouth a small 'o' of surprise. "You wouldn't."
"I don't want to. But if you can't keep it together, then what other choice do I have? I'm not letting you blow Yang or Blake's cover—or your own—because you can't stop being selfish for ten seconds and think about how your actions affect other people."
"I'm perfectly capable of managing consequences, thank-you-very-much." Weiss sneers. "Maybe once you're a little older, you'll see that."
"Really? Because from where I'm sitting, it seems like you could care less about what happens to the rest of us, as long as you get what you're after. You say you're here to make a positive change, to do good and make a difference, but you're still acting like a…" Ruby pauses, trying to wrestle her temper back under control.
She's so mad she can taste it.
Ruby wonders idly if this is what Yang feels like when she gets mad. Her entire body feels hot, her chest tight, her breath coming in short, staccato bursts.
"'Like a' what, Ruby?" Weiss prods, an infuriating smirk on her face, baiting her.
Ruby takes it.
"Like a spoiled brat." Ruby says coldly. "No one doubted you could take on the Alpha, Weiss. But in case you didn't notice, the rest of us were busy fighting too, and we had to take time and attention away from that to make sure you didn't get hurt. And it wasn't because you'd just gotten overwhelmed—that happens, and sometimes it can't be avoided—it was because you were determined to satisfy a personal grudge at a time and place where it was wildly inappropriate. What if me, or Yang, or Blake had gotten hurt because of that? Screw us though, right? Weiss got what she wanted."
Weiss casts Ruby a wounded look. "You're awful. How can you say that, knowing everything I've been through. My mother and brother were killed by my father, and I was the one who found their bodies. Haven't I suffered enough?"
"Damn it Weiss, it's not about you!" Ruby explodes, unable to reign in her temper any longer. "No, I don't know everything that you've been through, how could I since you never talk to me. You just hold everything in and treat everyone like dirt until it gets to be too much and then you have a meltdown."
Weiss huffs, opening her mouth to respond, but Ruby continues her tirade.
"I'm sorry about what happened to you, Weiss. About your mom, and your brother, and your squad." Ruby says in a calmer, quieter tone before pressing on. "But, everyone else on this team has their own baggage to deal with! You don't have a monopoly on suffering Weiss! You want to play the Suffering Games, then fine: Both of my parents were killed, by Salem. In front of me. She tried to kill me and Yang too. You don't see us treating other people badly and then using the fact that we've been through some stuff as an excuse for that."
Weiss, for once, looks incredibly guilty. "I...I'm sorry. I didn't know." She reaches out to put a hand on Ruby's shoulder.
"It's fine. I know you didn't know. But don't apologize unless you actually mean it. I'm tired of fighting with you, Weiss. If you really can't stand me that much, then you can go back to Beacon, and we can figure everything out when we get back. If you want to be here, then I need you to actually be here and be present and a team-player. Either way, you need to make up your mind. What's it gonna be, Weiss?" Ruby lets the sentence hang, filling the silence with her ultimatum.
"I...I'll stay." Weiss says finally in a small voice. She stares at the ground, tears dripping on the concrete at her feet.
Ruby sighs. She hadn't meant to lay into Weiss quite so severely, but she isn't exactly sorry she's done it either. In her mind at least, Weiss has needed that reality-check for a while now. Still, it's hard to look at Weiss now—small and contrite and not at all showing the two-years age difference between them—and not feel compelled to offer some kind of olive branch.
She's been chewed out by Yang and Pyrrha, and Jaune enough over the years to know that even when the other person is right, that doesn't make the criticism any easier to swallow in the moment.
Ruby reaches out and pulls Weiss into a hug, something she probably is in desperate need of now.
"I know it's been tough for you lately. Especially with not being able to sleep. I'm not trying to make you feel bad on purpose. But, if I did something that put you at risk unnecessarily, you probably wouldn't be too happy with me either, right?"
Weiss nods against Ruby's shoulder. "No." She says, her voice thick and stuffy.
"We're doing a lot better now than we were a few months ago, but we still have some kinks to iron out if we really want to be able to hack it as a team. This is just one of those things—I'm sure I'll screw up and get told about it too. Are we good?"
"We're good." Weiss says in a voice almost too quiet to hear.
"Alright then. I've still got an hour left on my watch shift, so you can stay here with me if you think that'll help you sleep." Ruby says.
Weiss says nothing, she just curls up next to Ruby on her chair and uses Ruby's thigh for a pillow.
Ruby reaches down, meaning to stroke Weiss' hair in the hopes of comforting her, but thinks better of that idea and rubs her shoulder instead.
Weiss is almost as sensitive about her hair as Yang…
Weiss' breathing evens out soon after, and a few minutes later, a heavier set of footsteps approaches Ruby's set-up.
"So...that was a thing." Yang says softly.
"You heard that, huh?" Ruby wonders, turning to face Yang as best she can without getting up.
"Pretty sure Blake and Oobleck slept through it, but yeah. You did good, Ruby. Firm, but not unnecessarily mean or cruel." Yang compliments. "I'm proud of you."
"Thanks. Kinda feel like a jerk though." Ruby admits.
"That's just 'cause you have a big heart, Rubes. That's a good thing. She needed to hear it though, and it's probably best that it came from you, since you're the leader. Gotta put your foot down sometimes, right?" Yang says, leaning against the wall next to Ruby's seat.
"What she needs, is a good ass—uh, I mean butt-whooping. Pyrrha and Jaune wouldn't have done it, but you know mom would've gotten the wooden spoon if we ever copped an attitude like that with her." Ruby mutters.
Yang chuckles quietly. "You're not wrong. Everyone grows up differently though, not everyone gets that as a punishment when they're kids. Some people don't believe it's right. And there are other ways to discipline kids—not that Weiss is one, even if we could probably convince other people that she's a middle-schooler because she's so tiny."
Ruby snickers. "That's mean."
"But true." Yang points out, grinning.
Ruby sighs. "I just wish she'd trust us more. Every time I think we're like, making progress towards an actual friendship, we just end up having a huge argument again. I hate it."
"She looks pretty comfortable now..." Yang observes.
"That's different. She needs this. I'm sure if she could sleep well without company, she'd be as far away from me as humanly possible." Ruby grumbles.
"Maybe." Yang allows. "It sounded like you got through to her though. We all come out of our shells in our own way, at our own pace. I'm not saying you have to be a doormat and put up with her shitty attitude, but maybe just give it some time. I'm sure you guys will work it out."
Ruby smiles at hearing her sister's coarse language. Yang usually tries pretty hard not to swear in front of her, and the fact that she's doing it now makes her feel oddly good. It's like Yang is finally starting to see her as more grown-up, more like an equal.
Ruby resolves not to let her down.
"I hope so." Ruby says, yawning.
"I'm here to relieve you for watch anyway. Try to get some shuteye, Rubes." Yang says, helping Ruby to stand without waking Weiss and then taking her spot when Weiss stirs.
"I will. I marked up my map with some spots to clear for tomorrow." She says, pointing to the paper lying with the rest of the lookout equipment.
"Gotcha. I'll put down anything weird I see, too. Goodnight, Ruby. Love you!" Yang says.
"Love you too, sis. Night." Ruby replies.
With that, she retires to her tent and falls into a deep, dreamless sleep.
***TCE***
Yang dispatches the last of the Grimm with her gauntlets, rolling her shoulders.
It's still fairly early by her estimation, but they'd broken camp at first light and have been on the hunt for Grimm ever since. The map Ruby'd drawn has come in handy, as they've been able to take out several larger Grimm that would have caused pretty big problems for the surrounding villages.
For now though, they seem to be alone, surrounded by towering, empty buildings and streets in disrepair. Weeds poke up through the pavement, rusted street signs creaking in the gentle breeze.
"How are we doing, Rubes?" Yang asks, distracting herself before the atmosphere becomes oppressively creepy again.
Ruby consults the map she'd drawn last night. "I think that's it, at least for everything that's close by."
"You sound disappointed." Blake observes as she sheathes Gambol Shroud on her back.
"I was kind of hoping that the Grimm were circling because they were like, guarding something. Finding just a big hole in the ground was kind of anti-clematis." She says, gesturing to the large opening in the roadway nearby.
"You mean anti-climactic?" Blake clarifies with a small smile at Ruby's blunder.
Ruby's cheeks turn a bit pink. "Yeah, that."
"I thought it was strange as well." Weiss says, speaking for the first time all morning.
Blake's ears perk up and she moves closer to the hole, eyes closed in concentration. "Something's down there." She says. "Sounds like some kind of machinery, but there's a lot of echo, so I can't really tell what it is."
"Wanna check it out? This place is supposed to be abandoned, after all. And, it might explain why so many Grimm have gathered here." Ruby wonders.
"I think we should. But it's your call." Weiss replies, giving Ruby a nod.
Seems like she's taking Ruby seriously for once. Good. Yang thinks.
"Okay, show of hands. Raise your hand if you think we should investigate the huge, creepy hole in the ground." Ruby says.
Everyone's hand goes up.
Ruby grins. "Yay! I've always wanted to go spelunking."
Blake raises an eyebrow. "You remembered 'spelunking' but forgot 'anti-climactic'?"
Ruby sticks her tongue out in response, and Blake laughs.
Yang allows herself a moment to enjoy the sound of Blake's laughter, chuckling a bit herself.
"So, uh...who's going first?" Yang wonders. "Any takers for the booby-trap finding job?"
Ruby giggles. "You said 'booby'."
Weiss groans. "I'll go. I'll be able to signal faster if there's trouble." She says, stepping up to the edge.
"Be careful down there. Any trouble at all, and you come right back, okay?" Ruby says.
"I will." Weiss replies, and steps out onto one of her glyphs, hovering above the void for a moment before slowly lowering herself down.
Yang waits for a few uncomfortably tense seconds, but relaxes a bit when there's no following explosions.
"You guys aren't going to believe this…" Weiss says, her voice faint as it drifts up from the opening.
Ruby gets down and army-crawls to the edge. "What do you see?"
"It's easier to just show you, jump down and I'll catch you." Weiss replies. "There's a ledge down here."
Ruby does. "Whoa…"
"They're not gonna tell us what's down there, are they?" Blake realizes.
"Probably not." Yang agrees. "Can you lower me down with your ribbon, and then I'll catch you?"
Blake nods. "Sure." she teases. "Doctor Oobleck, do you mind staying here, that way you can call for backup if something goes wrong?"
Oobleck nods. "Of course. If I don't hear anything from you in five minutes, I'll signal for backup and come down to check on you."
"Okay." Blake replies. And then to Yang, she says: "Don't drop me."
"I would never," Yang says, feigning offense, before taking the end of Gambol Shroud's ribbon and allowing Blake to lower her onto the ledge. She looks up, motioning for Blake to jump, and then catches her bridal-style when she drops from the opening.
"You know, there's a joke about you falling for me here, but I'm not gonna make it." She says grinning at Blake. "Told you I wouldn't drop ya."
Blake smiles up at her. "As long as you catch me." She says, once again leaving Yang flustered and tongue-tied.
Yang sets Blake down, hoping that the darkness down here will hide at least some of her blush from Blake. "Yeah, of course."
"You're cute when you blush like that." Blake says in a quiet voice, only for Yang's ears.
Yang just stares at Blake, afraid of responding the wrong way and complicating things again. "Uh…"
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Blake wonders, smirking at Yang. And then, as if to rub salt in the wound, she winks.
Yang's first instinct is to tell Blake which cat specifically is about to have her tongue, as she stares at Blake's lips and wonders if she can kiss as well as she can banter...Fortunately, her brain catches up in time.
"You did not just make that joke…" Yang groans.
Blake giggles in response and moves to see what Weiss and Ruby are looking at.
Yang follows absently, her mind ablaze with a jumble of confused emotions.
Kissing Blake? Do I really want that?
Does she want that?
What if she does want it?
Blake passes Yang her expensive-looking monocular, keeping her from getting too deep into her own head.
Yang looks through it, the night-vision setting bringing another desolate cityscape into focus. It's impressively large for something built completely underground, but what really draws her attention is the train far below them.
It's surrounded by White Fang members, loading crates onto the train cars along with what appear to be…
"Are those bombs?" Yang whispers in disbelief.
"It definitely looks like it...I don't like this at all." Blake replies quietly.
Yang looks through the monocular, distracted as Blake stiffens beside her and lets out a slow, shaky breath. She's about to ask what's wrong, when she sees it.
There's a very familiar-looking white coat and top hat wearing man near the front of the train.
Torchwick...I knew it.
Torchwick is talking to a man with bright red hair and a katana sheathed at his side. And...horns growing from his head, though it's difficult to see them because of his hair.
Beside her, Blake is trembling.
"What's wrong?" Yang asks quietly.
"The Faunus talking to Torchwick...that's Adam. He's here."
Yang immediately reaches out to take Blake's hand. "You remember what I said, right?" She looks over to find Blake staring absently into the middle distance. "Hey. Look at me." Yang says, moving to stand in front of Blake, blocking Adam from her view. She cups Blake's face in her hands, gently forcing Blake to meet her eyes.
Blake blinks rapidly, whether trying to hold back tears or regaining her awareness, Yang can't be sure.
"You with me?" Yang asks.
Blake nods.
"Good. I promise you, Blake, he'll never hurt you again. And if I get the chance, he's done."
Blake grips Yang's arm, hard enough to bruise if it wasn't for her aura, her eyes glinting with a murderous, manic kind of energy. "He needs to suffer, Yang."
"I know you're hurting, Blake. And I know he's the cause of it. If I get the chance to take him off the board, I'll do it, I swear. I want him to suffer, truly I do. Every time I look at you and see the pain he's caused me, it makes me livid. He deserves to suffer. But...I—we—have to be better than that. Those who fight monsters must take care not to become monsters, right?"
Blake gives her a slow, understanding nod. "Right."
Next to them, Weiss and Ruby have been completely oblivious to their moment.
"What do we do? Whatever they're planning, it can't be good." Weiss notes.
"We have to stop that train!" Ruby declares.
"We're with you all the way Rubes." Yang says, giving Ruby a thumbs-up.
"Doctor Oobleck...We're going to need that backup." Blake calls out. "Roman Torchwick and the White Fang are here. They're loading bombs onto a train."
"Do whatever you can to delay them, I'll be right behind you!" Oobleck calls back.
Yang turns to Ruby, her sister's silver eyes glinting in the dim light from above.
"Okay sis, what's the plan?"
