Ruby ran as if death itself was chasing her. The soft splash of water was the only sound as she ran through the sewer. The image of Weiss getting struck was burned into her mind. That girl had sacrificed so much for her, she had trained her, protected her, and now Ruby had to save her. But she also had to retrieve whatever her mother had hidden. It pained her to do it, but Weiss would have to wait.
Ruby reached the end of the sewer, the grate was bent in order to allow a person to make it through. The smell of the docks overpowered the stench of the sewer, waste being replaced by the smell of fish and salt. She climbed up the wooden supports and onto the docks, quickly hiding behind a series of crates. The docks were filled with people, not fisherman or sailors, but soldiers. Ironwood, the general, I thought the name was familiar. Ruby crept forward slowly, avoiding the patrols of soldiers as they set about searching through the ships in the dock. Ruby didn't waste time, usualy she would have spent more time carefully creeping through the docks, but she had places to be. Nearing the end of the docks she bolted, one of the nearby patrol spotting her and beginning pursuit, a string of curses aimed towards her. Darting through the streets Ruby managed to lose them, ducking in and out of alleyways before climbing onto the rooftops. She leapt from roof to roof, finally arriving at The Black Cat. She burst through the doors, pushing past the crowd of grumpy sailors. Blake was in her usual position, reading quietly in her secluded booth. She rose as she saw Ruby, who looked exasperated. Ruby was suddenly intercepted by and outstretched arm, and brought into a tight hug. "Hey *hic* sis, whatcha up tooooooo?" Yang's slurred speech and smell told Ruby all she needed to know.
"Yang, not now, I am in a bit of a hurry" Ruby managed to squeak out as Yang's embrace tightened.
"What!? No time for your big sis, come on have a drink". Ruby managing to break free with Blake's assistance. Ruby looked I into Yang's face, her eyes still bloodshot from crying a forced smile playing on her lips. "I'm sorry Yang, we will have time later, but I need to do something now." Yang just shrugged it off, feigning indifference, but Ruby knew she was not coping well. She pushed that out of her mind, one problem at a time.
She pulled Blake over to the booth, sitting her down. "Blake I need your help. Weiss and I were trying to get the letter from the Lie family back, and then we found a hidden room, like a secret one, and then we found the letter but got caught by Mr Schnee, well Weiss got caught, she kinda sacrificed herself to let me escape, but not like die sacrifice, at least I hope not and-" Ruby taking a deep breath. "So I escaped, and the letter contains the information on what my mother was hiding, and she was hiding it form everyone, she told me in a letter to hide it from everyone, cause everyone wants it. Torchwick, General Ironwood, Mr Schnee, everyone wants it. We have to find it and hide it from them otherwise they are going to do something bad." Ruby was slightly out of breath from her ramblings. Blake was just wide eyed, taking in the younger girl's verbal assault.
"So where is this thing, and what is it?" Ruby looked slightly embarrassed
"Yeah, I don't really know either of those." Blake sighed,
"So how are we going to find out?" Ruby perked up, pulling out the two letters. She spread them out before Blake. "These are the two letters, one written by my mother, the other one was from Mr Lie. Weiss seemed to think that there would be a cypher or something in order to translate them, but I don't really know much about that." Blake nodded again, remaining quiet, she eventually pulled Ruby out of the booth, "come with me I might have some things that may help".
Ruby was taken out the back of the tavern, a simple doorway sat in the ground leading to a basement. Blake unlocked it with a key she kept on a necklace. She led Ruby down the stairs into what was supposed to be a basement. Instead stood what appeared to be a library, bookshelves filled with books lining the walls. Soft lounges and a simple fireplace highlighted the back of the room. Ruby had guessed Blake was an avid reader, but she had never imagined she was this enthusiastic. "Wow, that's a lot of books"
"Yes, I have grown quite a collection. I'm kind of the book keeper for the Assassins nowadays. Especially after everyone left."
"I overheard Mr Schnee talking about that, said he was betrayed, what happened?"
"He wasn't betrayed Ruby, he betrayed us. Sent a lot of people on suicide missions, he stopped caring about the order. So people left, or were 'banished'. I stayed so we didn't lose any of these, Master Schnee would have let it all fall into disrepair, and I have been able to keep an eye on him for the others"
"Where are the others?"
"In hiding mostly, some have moved to other Assassin orders. A lot are waiting, trying to take back the order from Master Schnee. He grew obsessed, some even say he consorted with Templars, he is looking for something, and I think whatever you are after is it, but we can worry about Assassin politics later." Blake walked around the room, quickly grabbing a few choice tomes. She beckoned Ruby over, and together they began the task of trying to discover the cypher.
For a few hours they sat, reading over old tomes that talked of codes and puzzles. Ruby was the first to give up, making excuses to stretch she left the library. The night had turned to early morning, rays of sunlight slowly breaking through the dark clouds of the day. Ruby breathed in the air; it was cold and refreshed her. She couldn't stop thinking about Weiss, her sacrifice for her. She often had a demeanour of cold indifference, of arrogance. Yet she had always been kind to Ruby, she had saved her life over and over. Ruby would save her, she would find this thing, whatever it may be, and then she would save her best friend.
Ruby looked down at the two letters, the words now nearly memorised. She focused; it was now easier after having used it a few times. The familiar blur, the soft glow of the world, it was easy now. The light from the morning sun no longer bothered her, as she observed the world of shadows. A thought occurred to her, one that she kicked herself for not trying earlier. She raced back downstairs.
Blake looked up as the excited Ruby leapt from the stairs landing near the table. She ran to the desk, grabbing the two letters form the table. She focused again; activating her strange vision. She looked down at the letters, and saw a new message. The words glowed red, and were written in her mother's hand writing. The words written were simply the name of a book, the Italian name was hard to pronounce but it was something that Ruby recognised.
"I think I have it! We need to get this book," Ruby held up the letter from her mother, Blake raising an eyebrow in surprise.
"Ruby you know that's just a letter your mother wrote; I don't see anything about a book." Ruby looked back at the letter, sighing in frustration. Ruby tried to start explaining herself, but the words kept getting stuck in her throat. How did she explain this to Blake without sounding like a crazy person? "Ruby I think you might need a little sleep, we have been at this all night."
"No, we don't have time; the soldiers are searching the ships now. I still don't know what has happened with Weiss. We don't have time, listen, Blake it's going to sound weird, but I see things. I can do this thing, where I can see like glowing stuff, and it leads me to things that help or something like that, I don't really know. My mother left a message behind on this note, which only I can see. It's the name of a book, the one about the Italian Assassin, Ezio Auditore, that's the key to the cypher." Ruby knew she probably butchered the name of the old Assassin, but Blake simply nodded and found the book. "Ruby what you have is a real gift; there are very, very few people that have it. I honestly didn't know if it was real or not, it's only ever mentioned a few times in the histories of very influential Assassins. It's called Eagle vision, I don't know a whole lot about it, but I do know that everyone who has said to have had it changed the world." Blake started jotting down the secret message, it was easy that she had the key. The quantity of cargo on the trade manifest was the page number; the cost was the line number.
Blake finished quickly, handing the note over to Ruby. Ruby scanned it quickly,
Summer,
The Dust is on the Sea Monkey, hidden in a secret compartment in the captain's cabin. Simply lift the tenth floor board and you will find it. Hide it well.
Ruby made a move to leave, Blake's hand catching her. "Ruby, I'm coming with you. While you are good, you are not fully trained yet, you're going to need help." Ruby nodded, waiting for Blake as she donned her Assassin gear. Her gear was simple, a black leather coat with a high collar, loose fitting pants and tall black boots. She drew her hood and strapped a sword to her back and a set of pistols on her belt, she handed Ruby another set.
Together they left, taking to the rooftops like they did so long ago. They easily found their way to the docks, dancing between the rooftops, avoiding the gaze of the people that slowly made their way to work in the early hours of the day. Reaching the docks the pair was surprised at what they found.
The soldiers were no longer patrolling, no longer searching the ships in the harbour. They were too busy fighting off the throng of armed men. Blake looked to Ruby, her face stern and filled with anger, "They're Torchwick's men."
Blake put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "let's go get this thing, if we are lucky we might have time to deal with Torchwick." The two leapt down, rushing towards the docks, desperately looking for the Sea Monkey. Blake was the first to spot it, the small sloop also happened to be the most populated battleground.
Ruby sped ahead, moving faster than Blake thought was capable for the younger girl. She leapt onto the headsails, avoiding the few soldiers that stood fighting on the docks in between her and the wheel of the ship. Blake followed, firing one of her pistols at one of the closest figures on the deck of the ship. Ruby followed suit, using her pistols to clear the front of the ship. The jumped down onto the deck, drawing their swords they ran forward, preparing to fight through the small group of people on the deck that lay before them. Ruby kept running, not slowing for a second, most ignored her, the few who didn't had little time to react before her sabre sliced through them. She made her way for the captain's cabin. Blake was left to clean up her mess, forcing any who tried following her into a fight. Her blade cut down soldiers and mercenaries, the deck of the ship becoming a graveyard, the deck painted a new coat of scarlet.
Her hidden blade slammed into the chest of the final soldier, Blake's eyes darting back and forth waiting for any more attackers. More men surged over the side of the ship, the soldiers having been beaten back, Torchwick's mercenaries now had free reign. All that stood between them and Ruby was Blake. She cocked the hammer on the side of her blade, her pistol sword ready.
"Well looky here, another Assassin. You guys keep getting in the way, it's seriously getting just a tad annoying." The man strode forth, flopping down on the deck behind his mercenaries, waiting for the order. His can tapping alongside his footsteps, "move aside kitty cat, I need to take a look see inside that ship."
"No, if you fight me you will all die. I offer you this chance to leave before that happens." Blake examined them, hoping some would take her offer and leave. No one moved. "Nice try," Torchwick said, pointing his cane at her. He fired; she ducked, sliding to one knee to avoid the shot, watching as the group of mercenaries rushed towards her. She lashed out, the first mercenary taking a blade through the neck. She spun to avoid the next, jumping backwards to avoid the next swings. She struck again taking two quick swipes to cut down her opponents. She rolled past the next two men, picking up a sword as she did. Now with two blades she unleashed a torrent of blows. The mercenaries fell quickly, none being able to come close to matching Blake's swordsmanship. She rushed at Torchwick, who was standing ready for her. His cane was made strong, made of metal so it could fire bullets and block swords. He was fast, flipping his cane around his arm in order to block both of her swords. His face changed into a smile, his eyes highlighting something behind her. She spun too late, a blade slicing her back. She reeled in pain, unable to block Torchwick's jab. The cane punched her abdomen, and she fell. The pain in her back fading slightly as she registered the new pain in her side. "Just in time Neo, good to see the Templars actually sent someone of use." He looked down at the injured Assassin.
"What the hell do you think you're doing on my ship!" All three turned to see a new figure hop onto the deck of the ship. He wore an open white shirt, simple brown pants and wore no shoes. He carried with him what Blake recognised as Nunchucks. "Get outta here urchin" Torchwick dismissing him and turning back to finish Blake. Neo ran forwards as the owner of the ship dashed towards Torchwick. Her thing blade managed to block the swing from his weapon. Blake took the opportunity and scrambled to her feet and move away.
Neo engaged the urchin looking man. He was quick, using the chain the connected his Nunchucks to wrap around and redirect the strange girls blade. Blake turned to Torchwick lifting her sword and pulling the trigger. Her aim was slightly off, the bullet flashing past his arm, leaving a crimson line in its wake.
He growled at her and closed the distance, resuming their duel. Blake fought through the pain, her back set aflame with agony, as she felt her clothes sticking from her seeping blood With her handicap the fight was fairly equal, Torchwick was no master swordsman, but it would seem like he knew how to fight master swordsmen. He fought dirty, throwing kicks and the occasional punch at Blake, who barely managed to avoid or block them.
She glanced at her defender, the strange sailor wielding Nunchucks. They were not a common weapon, and to use them properly required training. He was obviously no ordinary seaman. He too was having problems, his opponent, the strange girl with a corset that was just too small and strange multi-coloured hair. As good as her new friend was, this Neo was a fully trained Templar, and was slowly leaving more and more cuts on his exposed chest. She turned the fight, hooking Torchwick's cane with her sword and pulling him around. She ended up back to back with the sailor. "Hey, names Sun, what the hell are you guys doing on my boat!?"
"I'm Blake, a friend of mine got something delivered on this boat, we came to collect and found these wonderful characters,"
"Mind swapping? My 'chucks aren't doin much against that dam blade,"
"Sounds fine, three, two, one". The pair spun in unison, changing opponents. Blake pressed the advantage of surprise, managing to drive Neo closer to the edge of the ship. Both used slender blades, fast and precise. Sun was making much better progress against Torchwick, his blows passing through Torchwick's wild defence, obviously unfamiliar with the weapons.
Blake slipped on one of the some of the blood coating the deck, her defence opening up for a second. The Templar girl only needed that second, and stabbed Blake. The sword pierced her coat, passing through her shoulder. She yelled in pain, falling to one knee. Sun spun again moving towards Neo. Torchwick took the needed break, his bruised face and body succumbing to his exhaustion. He had little time to rest as a red blur ran at him. The door to the captain's cabin had opened, and Ruby had sprinted forward, aiming for Torchwick. He just managed to raise his cane to intercept the blade that sprung from her wrist. Holding back her arm the blade got perilously close to his face. The girl growled, her eyes appearing like that of a rabid wolf. "Little red didn't think I would see you again. How's the family doin, oh, sorry, too soon." He cracked a smile, feeling the swelling in his eye from one of Sun's attacks.
Ruby pushed with all her strength, trying to get her blade into Torchwick's throat. It wouldn't budge; the fully grown man was simply much stronger. He pushed the cane forward with both hands, the shaft smashing into Ruby's forehead. She fell backwards, her vision filling with black spots form the force of the hit. She tried to rise, only to be kicked in the gut. "Isn't that where I shot you, darn that must have really hurt then." Torchwick cackled manically, raising his cane to strike her again. He brought it down as she tried to rise again, cracking against her shoulder. He looked down at her, a small glow emanated from her belt. "What do we have here?" Torchwick reached down and grabbed the glowing object. It was a sleek almost stone like material; it had strange symbols carved into it. It appeared to be an hourglass, containing a strange golden dust in the place of sand. "What a pretty little thing, looks like you found what I'm after little red. Thanks for that." He placed it into his coat, "Neo, finish it up we're leaving." Ruby pushed herself to rise again, lunging at him, rage consuming her again. He saw it coming, and pushed her attack aside with his cane, grabbing her by the neck and tossing her over the side of the ship. "Hope you can swim. Or better yet hope you can't." He moved quickly, past Sun and Blake who were still locked in a fight with Neo.
Blake grasped her shoulder, trying to help Sun. Sun looked tired, blood seeping form a dozen small cuts. Neo was near unharmed, a sickeningly smug smile on her face. She saw Torchwick hurry off the boat, "Neo, let's get to the warehouse, pronto!" Neo disengaged, sending a swift kick into Sun's privates, sending a wink Blake's way as she did so. He dropped and Neo leapt off the boat onto the docks.
Ruby climbed back onto the boat, just in time to see Torchwick escape. She tried to run after him, but was stopped by Blake. "You can't take them on by yourself; he has a Templar with him and she's too good. I think I might need a hand too." Blake was barely conscious, the blood loss finally getting to her. Ruby leant down to help her up, her rage quickly subsiding as she noticed her injured friend. The sailor assisted, each of them taking a shoulder and lifting her. "We need to get her to a physician."
"Name's Sun by the way, I can get your friend somewhere safe and get her a doctor; it sounds like you got things to do. Get him good for me." Ruby hesitated, nervous around this new person, shocked to see how quickly he accepted the situation. "U-uh sure, are you ok with that Blake," Blake nodded, "Ok I will come find you once I have got this sorted out, I need to get that thing back."
"Ruby, you need to hurry, you are going to need help too. I think I know what that thing is; something called a Piece of Eden, things like it were mentioned in the cypher book. I'm not sure but all I know is they are very dangerous, be careful." Ruby nodded absentmindedly, thinking of her next move.
"I will be." Blake relaxed slightly, passing out in Sun's arms. He began moving her off the ship. Ruby knew what she had to do know. She needed Weiss.