Hey guys thought I'd give you all a Christmas present, hope you like it. Also for the 10 Little Hunters story I've decided to wait until either I finish volume 2 or encounter writers block before starting it (which ever comes first). Anyway Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
I don't own RWBY maybe Santa will give it to me this year...
"You what?!" exclaimed Blake, breaking the silence that had filled team RWBY's dorms.
"We want you to go to the dance," repeated Ruby, getting a venomous look from Blake.
"I've already told you Ruby NO! Now leave me out of your childish romance fantasies I'm in no mood for them," growled the Faunus.
Yang and Weiss watched as Ruby's expression of worry rapidly evolved into one of anger, "oh that's rich coming from someone who reads smut. That's right I know all about your preferred reading material Blake Belladonna! Tell me do you have some sort of Ninja fetish or is Sun just not enough of a bad boy for you? I suppose that would explain your relationship with Adam, after all I doubt you two kept it purely professional."
Weiss and Yang just looked between their two teammates with confused expressions, clearly having no clue what they were talking about. Blake just stared at Ruby shocked, her mouth opened and closed a couple of times but no sound came out.
"What's the matter Blake? Cat got your tongue?" sneered Ruby.
"Ruby enough! We are here to help her not make things worse," shouted Yang as she glared at her sister.
Ruby blinked before an ashamed looked crossed her face, "I'm sorry Blake I shouldn't of said that. I don't know what came over me, I…I think I'll go take a walk," she apologized and left the dorm.
The three teammates watched here leave the room before turning to each other as the door clicked shut. "Blake, we're worried about you, Ruby included. We only want to help that's why we all think you should go to the dance. This investigation is starting to mess with your head," informed Yang.
"That's ridiculous," retorted Blake.
"You can't sleep, you hardly eat, and to be honest, your grades have been suffering. Does that sound like someone who is mentally healthy?" listed Weiss, counting them off her fingers.
"You think I care about grades? People's lives are at stake!" cried the Faunus.
"It's not just your grades! Ruby's clearly under a lot of stress just like you are if not more, just look at how she snapped! She has been having nightmares every night even you can't be so distracted not to hear her weeping in her sleep, refuses to go anywhere without her weapon and despite this she's still prioritizing your problems over hers, like a true leader should. But you just refuse to accept any form of help," argued Weiss sternly, drawing surprised looks from both her teammates.
"I'm not as oblivious as you all seem to think I am," huffed the heiress, noticing their stares.
"Look Blake I know you feel responsible for what the White Fang are doing but so does Ruby or did you forget that she also worked with them? Right now we know that they're operating somewhere outside of southeast Vale so we can't do anything about it at the moment except rest and recover," reasoned Weiss.
"But there's still unanswered questions! Where did that military tech come from and who is the next target going to be?" argued Blake.
"Blake you're not going to find the answers if you can't even keep your eyes open to see them, trust me I know what you're feeling. All we're asking is that you take it easy for one day," lectured Yang as she placed a hand on her teammate's shoulder.
"It will be fun! Yang and I will make sure of it," promised Weiss.
"Yeah! We're planning the whole event!" encouraged Yang as she bounced on the bed.
"Excuse me? You two are just as bad as Sun and Ruby!" shouted the Faunus as she got up and headed to the door.
"I'll be in the library," she stated before slamming the door behind her.
"Well that went well," sighed Yang sarcastically, running her fingers through her hair.
"So now what do we do? She can't keep going like this," asked Weiss
Before Yang could answer they both heard a knock on the door, "Ruby is that you? We have a lot to talk about," said Yang as she opened the door.
The blonde frowned however as she saw Jaune standing outside the door with a guitar, "not the time Vomit Boy," she growled and slammed the door on his face before he even had a chance to speak.
"And they call me the Ice Queen," muttered Weiss with raised eyebrows.
Red sighed as she watched from her tower sanctuary as the sunset over the horizon, bathing the sky in beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow. For a brief moment she allowed herself to forget everything, the White Fang, Earth, Remnant…herself. A smile spread across her face as she just sat back and enjoyed the moment, savoring the calm feeling it brought her.
"Penny for your thoughts?" came a familiar voice.
Red chuckled as she glanced behind her to see Ozpin climbing out of a service hatch behind her, 'so that's how he got up here. I always wondered about that.' Turning back to the scene before them Red heard Ozpin take a seat beside her.
"Do you know why the sun sets red? Light is made up of many colours and of all those colours red is the one that travels the farthest. Seems appropriate don't you think?" asked Red, the smile still on her face as Ozpin handed her a coffee.
They both took a sip in perfect unison before Ozpin spoke up, "indeed you are certainly living up to your name sake. I must say it is rare to find someone who appreciates the simplistic beauty of a sunset."
For a couple of minutes Red didn't respond and the duo just sat in silence, watching the sunset as they drank their coffees. Eventually Red placed down her empty mug and just began dangling her legs over the edge, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"Then those people don't know what they're missing. Take it from someone who's died twice Ozpin sometimes you just need to appreciate the simple things in life, after all you never know when they'll be gone," she replied, solemnly.
"That must have been difficult, do you want to talk about it? I might not be able to do anything other than listen but sometimes that's all we need," asked the headmaster in a soft voice.
"It was," she confirmed, without looking away from the scene. "I was thrown into a strange land that shouldn't have existed in a body that wasn't even mine. I won't lie, every time I looked in a mirror it hurt and only reminded me of what we both had lost."
Red paused to take a breath before continuing, "then the memory flashes began and I was scared. I saw the memories that Ruby held dear and it felt like I was trampling all over them but at the same time I could feel them affecting me, changing me. I was scared that I was becoming someone else and so I focused on going home, latching on to the one desire that I knew was my own."
"Everyone fears change it is nothing to be ashamed of," replied Ozpin, gently.
Red frowned, "it is when you do terrible things because of it. I was consumed Ozpin, I wanted a way home and was willing to do anything and hurt anyone in order to obtain it. Then my one last desire was taken away from me, by my own teammates no less and you made me realize just how much I had changed."
A single tear rolled down her cheek, "it broke me Ozpin. The one thing I used to hold myself together was gone, everything I thought I knew about myself was being replaced. I couldn't remember my family properly or even my own name."
The headmaster was about to say something when he saw an unexpected grin grow on Red's face, "but just when I was ready to give up she came to help me. The one who has suffered more than anyone else saved me and I gained a new purpose. To this day I still don't know if what I saw then was real or not and I don't care. She saved my life, the least I could do is try to do the same for others."
Her smile dropped however as the last rays of light peaked out over the horizon, "then as if by some sort of sick joke just when I had settled into my new life I get give my one desire, I get to go home. I went to my old house and tried to recapture my past but I only found pain. I saw my own grave Ozpin, no one should have to go through with that."
"It was too much, here I was home sweet home with no one to welcome me back. Even though my parents and friends were nearby I couldn't see them again or they could get hurt. As if that wasn't enough I was forced to watch my death as Laura again and feel the terror she felt," sighed Red.
"Finally I was asked a simple question, who am I? That one question haunted me like nothing ever had before. I wasn't Laura, I wasn't the person who I thought I was, all those memories weren't mine to begin with. So was I Ruby? No I was neither, so then what was I?" asked Red, turning to face Ozpin.
"If I was neither then what did I have to call my own? Neither the skills nor the friends I had were my own. The things I liked and cared for be they food, weapons…people. None of those feelings came from me, so what do I have left? You see now? I'm just the fragile fragments of two individuals barely keeping themselves together by masquerading as a dead girl," she finished as the last of the sun's light disappeared.
As Red's eyes adjusted to the dark she saw a sad frown on the headmaster's face, "tell me do you know why we call our world Remnant?" he asked.
Seeing Red shake her head he continued, "it's because we are all that's left. The scattered fragments of civilization that are trying to build a better life for themselves in an unforgiving world. Do not think of yourself as fragile fragments but rather defiant remnants, carrying on the hopes and dreams of your predecessors even after their deaths."
Ozpin paused as he turned to face her, "you say you have nothing left to call your own? Tell me could either of your predecessors have befriended Mr. Winchester and his team? Could they have changed them like you did? What about your teammates and friends from RWBY and JNPR? Do they treat you differently than they did with Ruby? You've even made Crescent Rose into your own, you are blessed with things if you could just take a moment to see them."
The headmaster sighed as Red remained silent, "Miss Rose tell me why did you come up here?"
Red frowned as she lay down, "I like high places they make everything just seem clearer you know? Helps me think."
"About what?" he asked.
"I was wondering if I should quit being team leader for RWBY. I mean I know you selected Ruby for a reason but I'm not the same girl you accepted into Beacon Ozpin. How can you be sure that someone like Weiss wouldn't make a better one?" she replied, causing the headmaster to frown.
"What brought on this line of thinking Miss Rose? There must be a reason," stated the headmaster.
"It's just that I've had some stress recently. I never feel safe anymore it almost feels like the calm before a storm and I've started snapping at people. If I can't even solve my own problems than how am I supposed to my team's?" answered Red in a quiet voice.
"Some burdens are just too big for one person to carry alone, I'm sure your teammates are worried about you," he replied.
"I wouldn't be so sure Ozpin," muttered Red, remembering her last conversation with them.
"I will leave the choice up to you Miss Rose I trust you to know best," said the headmaster, rising from the floor.
"I'll let you be alone with your thoughts just remember curfew is in a couple of hours. Have a good night Red," he farewelled, causing her to look up as the hatch shut.
Red spent another few minutes up in her sanctuary before sighing and heading back to her dorm, ready to turn in for the night.
"Come with me," ordered Weiss, snapping Red awake as the heiress dragged the sleepy reaper from her bed and into the ballroom.
Once they were inside Red saw the room being filled chairs and tables, she even saw Yang carrying a speaker on handed. Rubbing her eyes Red blinked as the sight didn't disappear from view and just sighed as she collapsed into the chair before resting her head comfortably on the table.
"Ruby! Don't you dare go back to sleep! I need your help with something," shouted Weiss, causing Red to groan as she looked up.
"What is it Ice Queen? Can't it wait?" whined Red.
Her teammate smiled as she placed two identical sheets of paper in front of the reaper, "I need you to pick a tablecloth."
Red just frowned as she looked at the pieces, "aren't they both the same?" she asked, confused.
"I don't even know why I asked!" sighed Weiss in frustration and walked away.
"Does that mean I can go back to bed now?" called Red, only to get a resounding no from both her teammates.
"Ruby we need to talk about what dress you're going to wear for the dance," informed Yang.
"Oh I'm not going," replied Red.
The temperature in the room rose several degrees as Yang put down the speaker and walked over to her younger sister, "Ruby you are going and that's final."
"What?! But why?" she exclaimed.
"Blake isn't the only one who needs a break. Trust me it will do you some good to just relax," explained the blonde with a stern expression.
"And you really think forcing me to go there against my own will is going to help me relax?" shot back Red.
"Alright then how about a deal? If I can get Blake to go to the dance you have to agree to go as well," offered the blonde.
"Ok but only if you get her to go with Sun," replied Red with a smirk, fully knowing just how much Blake hated them both at the moment.
"Deal," agreed Yang and the two sisters shook hands.
"Hey guys what's up?" greeted Sun as he and Neptune walked in.
"Just trying to figure out what dress to get Ruby," replied Yang.
"Red? In a dress? Now that would be something to see," grinned Sun.
"Oh ha ha Sun very funny. So what will you be wearing you exhibitionist?" asked Red, angrily.
"Uuhhh... this?" answered the Faunus gesturing to his current attire.
"Ignore him for he knows not what he says," interrupted Neptune.
"Hey, I may have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo. It's not exactly a shirt-and-tie kind of place," justified Sun.
"Yeah, we noticed," said Yang with a deadpan expression that was matched by her two teammates.
"Soooo... what does Blake think of all this? She still being all, y'know... Blake-y?" asked Sun.
"Obviously," stated Weiss, crossing her arms in disapproval.
"Sorry Sun but I'm all out of ideas to help you two. Plus I don't think I'm really on speaking terms with her right now," apologized Red.
"It's okay it was my own fault just as much as your's," replied the Faunus.
Yang walked up between the two of them, "guys relax Blake will be going to that dance tomorrow."
"Oh please you think you can do what Sun and I have failed to do for the past couple of days?" scoffed Red.
"Ruby trust me Blake will be at that dance I can promise you that," stated Yang.
"You can't use force Yang that won't count. Besides it will only cause more problems in the long run," warned Red.
"I won't need to use force Ruby. I know how to handle these situations believe me," assured the blonde.
"And how could you possibly know that?" asked Weiss curiously.
Yang's expression darkened considerably and she whispered in a soft voice that only Red heard, "because I've been in her situation before."
They all watched as the brawler strode out of the room without another word and headed to the library. The friends all looked at each other confused and shrugged, either getting back to work like Weiss and Neptune or having a nap like Sun and Red.
Hey guys did you like the newest chapter? I really enjoy writing Ozpin and Red interactions it makes me all philosophical and is incredibly fun to write. Also for those who noticed yes that scene was influenced by that game and you have made me happy for noticing it. Anyway thanks for all the support you guys have given me and once again Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays which ever you prefer.