I'm back! So sorry about the very long hiatus but my assignments came out of nowhere followed by exams after that. I've got a short break for now though so I can get back to writing. Also a question, if I need to go on hiatus do you want me to post it in this story to let everyone know or would you all find that annoying?
I don't own RWBY if I did Yang would make more puns.
"Well forget rocking the boat Red. You sank it!" laughed Roman as she was thrown back into their cell.
"You know about that?" asked Red as she got up from the floor.
"Red, all of Remnant knows about that. The guards haven't stopped talking about it since your trial, the 'Earth Conspiracy' seems to be the newest hot topic. I must say that was a brilliant move on your part," he said with a grin.
"Well it's like you said, 'everyone has skeletons in their closets, it's just a matter of finding the right ones,'" she replied with a shrug.
"Indeed it looks like you didn't need my help after all but you do realize that even with a new jury there is still a chance that they'll find you guilty, especially after your threat against the Councilors. Since you refused our deal I can't do anything if that comes to pass," warned Roman as she took a seat opposite him.
"That won't be a problem," answered Red with a wave of her hand.
"Oh and why is that?" asked the crook with an intrigued expression.
"Roman why do you think I went out of my way to create such an uproar about the Council? I knew that it would spread throughout the media, that was the point. The more people that know about it the longer it will take to find someone to be an unbiased member of the jury," grinned the reaper.
"True but that's only postponing the problem not solving it," argued a frowning Roman.
Red gave a low sigh of disappointment at his response, "Roman think about it, I'm not the one responsible for these murders, so the longer I stay here the better my chances are that I'll be proved innocent. After all how could I be the murderer if I was locked up in prison when it occurred?"
Her cellmate just blinked before he shook his head, "see Red it's times like this I'm reminded of the reason I like you. You were dealt the worst hand possible and yet still come out on top, you would have made a brilliant criminal."
"Not sure whether that's an insult or a compliment," she frowned and a silence descended on the two inmates as Roman saw her face gain a peculiar expression.
After a couple of minutes in silence Roman just sighed, causing Red to give him a confused expression as she turned to face him. "What is it Red? I can tell you want to say something and we've got nothing else to do here but talk," said the crook as he gave her an amused smirk.
"Roman you should enter into a plea bargain," replied Red as her cellmate just gave her a confused expression.
"I know you weren't the one behind the Breach, someone else was the mastermind behind that and mostly likely the women that helped you escape the Dust til Dawn incident," explained the reaper as Roman's eyes widened a fraction before reverting back to normal as his usual smirk appeared on his face.
"Now what makes you say that?" he replied in his usual sarcastic tone.
"That's for me to know and you to find out Roman," she smirked as a frown crossed his face.
"Very well Red, assuming what you're saying is true. Why should I take a plea bargain?" asked Roman, for the first time sounding serious.
"Because you'll live, isn't that a good enough reason?" shot back an angry Red.
Seeing his disbelieving expression she elaborated, "Roman, you and I both know that she's only using you. So what happens when you've outlived your usefulness? You'll be a threat, a loose end that needs to be tied up."
Red gave him an almost pitying look as she continued, "you always work alone, never get attached to people, never have friends. All they are to you are allies that are loyal only to their next paycheck."
"I don't need your pity Red! Besides in my experience attachments only lead to weaknesses and in my line of work that will get you killed," snapped Roman as his calm mask began to break.
"You're wrong," denied a calm Red in a stark contrast to the angry Roman. "Attachments, be they friends or family don't make you weak, in fact they're the strongest things at our disposal. I can always count on them to bail out if I get in too deep, just look at my trial. The Headmaster himself came to testify for me."
"Yeah and look how effective that was," snorted the crook as he gestured to their cell.
"Roman do you know how my team was able to rescue me from that Earth organization?" asked Red, ignoring him.
"Enlighten me," he snarled.
"Adam helped them. A person who had no obligation and knew he would likely get killed if he was caught helped my team bust me out. Why do you think he did that? You might think forming attachments is a weakness but they're the only reason I'm still alive," informed the reaper.
Roman's angry expression faded into a confused one as he breathed out a sigh, "why do you care what happens to me Red? You've made it quite clear what you think of me."
"Because I don't like owing someone, if you hadn't given me the idea in the first place I never would have survived that trial. Whether I like it or not I owe you Roman and it would leave a sour taste in my mouth if I just left you at her mercy," explained Red as Roman frowned and kept his gaze focused on the ground.
"I know who my friends are Roman. I know they will support me no matter what, even when the odds are stacked against me and I'd do the same for them. So let me ask you Roman Torchwick, who will you turn to when you need help? Who can you count on when your world comes crumbling down around you? What will you do Roman Torchwick when she comes for you?" she finished.
"If you're so sure in your friends then where are they Red? Seems to me like you've been abandoned here," growled the criminal.
Before Red could respond they both turned as the cell door opened and the reaper's eyes widened in recognition as she saw the familiar ginger walk in. Upon seeing her Penny quickly rushed over to Red and embraced her in a crushing hug.
"Ruby! I convinced the General to let me see you, he said I'm allowed to visit you whenever I want isn't that great!" cheered the ginger.
"Sure is Penny, it's good to see you again," smiled Red. "Any chance that Yang or the others will come see me soon?"
The ginger frowned and shook her head, "the Councilors won't let anyone come visit you they say it's too dangerous, not even the General can disobey them."
Red gave her friend a confused look, "then what are you doing here? You could get into a lot of trouble for this."
Penny gave her a smug smile, "well when I talked to the General he said that given the previous history you two have with each other he decided that you needed a guard to make sure there was no fights and so I volunteered."
"Got to give the General credit he's smarter than I thought, bypassing the Council like that," commented Roman.
"Penny give my thanks to Ironwood when you see him next and tell him I accept his apology, also do you think you could give Yang and the others a message? Tell them not to worry and please for the love of God don't do anything rash," asked Red.
Smiling the ginger walked back to the door, "sure thing Ruby, I'll come visit you later okay?"
"You mind bringing cards or something? We're dying of boredom in here," joked Roman who could only blink as Penny nodded before the door slid shut again.
"See Roman even now my friends are still looking out for me. Please at least give what I said some thought…while you still have the chance to," pleaded Red.
Roman just matched her frown and didn't say anything as he turned away from Red and looked at the ceiling, an unreadable expression on his face.
Taiyang growled angrily and Glynda just glared at him meanwhile Qrow and Ozpin just stared at him with blank expressions on their faces. Ironwood suppressed a sigh, he knew they would be angry at him but not to this extent, at least Ozpin had allowed him to talk to them.
"First you accuse my daughter of murder and detain her then you refuse to let her own family visit her cell for the past week. You have some nerve coming here General!" spat Taiyang while Qrow's eyes narrowed dangerously, indicating the rage that was concealed behind his calm mask.
"I am sorry Taiyang but I'm afraid my hands were tied back then, the council members gave me very specific orders and not even I could disobey them," apologized Ironwood.
Ozpin frowned, "'back then?' You make it sound as if the situation has changed. I know you James, you wouldn't say things like that without a reason."
"You're still as perceptive as ever Oz," smiled Ironwood before sighing tiredly as he placed a folder on the headmaster's desk and pulled out a series of photos.
There was silence as the rooms occupants stared down at the by now all too familiar gruesome pictures laid out across the clockwork desk. Ozpin was silent as he examined the pictures before he frowned and got up from his chair to look out over Beacon.
"James tell me, is that what I'm afraid it is?" he asked, softly as he turned back to face them.
Ironwood gave a sad nod, "this is the latest victim of the murders and he was found today when a visitor complained to their hotel about a foul smell coming from the roof. The time of death was estimated to be 8pm…on the day after Ruby's trial."
"Then she's innocent! With this not even the Councils can deny that!" exclaimed Taiyang eagerly but stopped when both Ozpin and Ironwood shook their heads.
"They will just say that it is either one of her accomplices or a copycat murderer, either way they will keep Ruby locked up," informed Ozpin before he gave Ironwood a sly grin. "But you wouldn't have brought this up didn't have a plan James, so let's hear it."
The rest of the people in the room all turned to face the general who began sporting a similar grin on his face, "well Oz as you are aware, thanks to the Councils I was placed in charge of the security for the Vytal Festival and given complete authority to ensure its safety. I think that these murders classify as a threat to the festival, don't you?"
Ironwood then took a seat in front of Ozpin before placing a knife on the desk, causing the headmaster's eyes to widen in recognition as he saw the inscription carved on the blade. Picking up the weapon from the desk Ozpin frowned as he traced his fingers over the inscription and handed the knife back to the Ironwood with a grim expression.
"Semper Vigilans? So this confirms our suspicions that they are finally starting to regain their foothold in Vale but how does that help us?" asked Ozpin.
"Oi Ozpin mind explaining things to me and Qrow, who are they? And why does it matter for this murder case?" interrupted an impatient Taiyang.
"It matters because if they are interested in this case then that means we can confirm that we're dealing with a Feral and not some abnormal Grimm. Which raises the question; if we have the only known possible Feral in custody then where did this one come from?" replied the General.
"Feral?" muttered Qrow in confusion. "Is that some subspecies of Grimm? I can't say I've ever heard of them before."
"You would know them as Half Masks," informed Ozpin, drawing shocked looks from both Qrow and Taiyang.
"Impossible! Half Masks are only myths, stories told by parents to scare misbehaving children. Surely you can't be saying Ruby has become one of those mythical beasts," argued Taiyang.
"Half Masks are very real Taiyang, I fought one during my time as a third year and nearly died because of it. You saw her trial didn't you? That was only a weak release of her possible power, not even the full thing and yet the terror it can instill in people is incredible," explained the headmaster.
"Perhaps we should explain from the beginning Headmaster?" suggested Glynda to which Ozpin nodded and gestured for her to continue.
"A couple of months ago the White Fang ambushed teams RWBY and JNPR and succeeded in kidnapping Miss Rose. It turned out they were contacted by an independent organization grew interested in her and her abilities, they agreed to an alliance if the White Fang could get her for them," she narrated to the two hunters.
"But after handing Miss Rose over to them the two organizations had a falling out. One of the members of the White Fang contacted team RWBY and helped them use the confusion from a White Fang raid to infiltrate the organization's compound and rescue their teammate," continued Glynda.
"However this organization wasn't a simple group of citizens angered at the government but was actually a black ops military group from Earth. Through happy coincidence team RWBY was able to obtain a large amount of data from their systems as well as confirm that their means to transport here to Remnant was destroyed…or so we thought," informed Ironwood as Qrow and Taiyang's eyes widened.
"But the fact that they're still operating in Vale means that they have an alternate means of travel to get here or at least communicate with their forces," stated the General as he began balancing the knife on his finger with a frown on his face.
"Are you sure that they didn't just repair their destroyed method from earlier?" questioned Qrow.
Ironwood shook his head, "positive, we have that facility on lockdown and our scientists are only now beginning to piece together the remnants from the portal system. I had to call in all the favors I owed people and even with the use of Polarity and Technokinesis semblances we've only just started making progress on repairing it."
"Earth doesn't have the assistance of Aura to help them rebuild it so either they've made an entirely new portal system or they had multiple to begin with. Either way I doubt they are happy with how Ruby handled that trial, they've likely put her on their hit list," he finished, causing Qrow and Taiyang to exchange worried glances.
"What makes you say that General?" asked a confused Glynda.
Ironwood just sighed as he turned to face them, "because she's a loose end. Right now Ruby is our only source of information on Earth and she's already made it clear that she doesn't intend to keep it a secret any longer. In order to stop their enemies from getting any upper hand they will try to silence her."
"How can you be so sure?" replied Taiyang.
"Because if I was the leader of a secret black ops organization that's what I'd do, in fact her prison cell might be the safest place for her right now," replied the General as a silence descended on them.
"Enemies internally and externally, Ruby really didn't make it easy for us did she?" joked Taiyang before he frowned and turned to his fellow hunters. "So what do we do now?"
"There is no way we can protect her from threats from both Earth and the Council, we have our hands full just trying to protect her from the Councils. But that's why you're here isn't it James? You have a way to solve this problem don't you?" replied Ozpin.
"We need to prove Ruby's innocence to the public we do that and the Councils will be powerless and be forced to release her and I know the best way to do so," confirmed the General.
"You want her to catch the Feral don't you?" questioned Qrow with raised eyebrows.
Taiyang immediately stepped forward, "absolutely not! You're not sending Ruby after that monster! If even half the stories about them are true then-"
"Then Ruby will have those abilities at her disposal as well Taiyang. This creature has managed to evade all our attempts to track and catch it, Ruby is the closest thing we've got to an expert on them. She knows their abilities, knows how they think and more importantly…how they hunt," interrupted Ironwood.
"No it's too dangerous! She'll be killed! As her father I refuse to let this happen, I'll hunt the creature down myself if I have to," snarled Taiyang.
"This is the only way we can save her Taiyang as much as I hate to admit it he's right, there is no way the Council can touch the hero that saved Vale. Especially after she was wrongly accused and detained, if the Council did anything to her they'd lose their jobs and they know it," argued the headmaster.
"Ozpin you can't be serious?! If Ruby fights that thing alone then all we will get as a result is her own death!" shouted Taiyang.
"She won't be alone I'll send someone to help her, they've worked together before and are quite good friends," reassured Ironwood.
Taiyang just frowned and turned to face the general, "no offensive to your agent General but I highly doubt that the two of them can take down a creature that even experienced hunters struggle with by themselves."
"They won't be by themselves because I'm coming too."
Penny's visits became a daily occurrence for the two inmates and a much needed distraction from their verbal sparring, especially since she followed Roman's request and brought them a poker set to play with. Unfortunately the ginger was much too innocent to ever win and it didn't help that both Roman and Red took every opportunity they could to cheat.
"It was statistically impossible for you to win…you must be cheating," accused Penny as she lost another round.
"Oh really? Alright then kid how am I cheating?" replied Roman.
"I…I don't know…but you must be cheating! Right Ruby?" she replied before turning to the reaper.
Red just grinned, "Penny the first rule you need to know if you want to play with us is this; it's not cheating if you're not caught."
"Indeed speaking of which, Red would you please place the card you have hidden in your boot back on the table," commented Roman with a smug smile.
"Only if you do the same," she replied, causing his smile to drop slightly while Penny looked between the two in bewilderment.
"You know Red I've got to ask, why did you decide to risk your life by going against the Councils instead of taking the easy way out of this? You're far too valuable a pawn for her to simply kill you off when she's done and you know it. Do you have a death wish or are you actually insane after all?" frowned Roman as he looked up from his cards.
Red just laughed, drawing both of her opponent's attention, as she put her cards down on the table and a blood red aura surrounded her. The reaper leaned forward and stared at Roman with her cat like eyes, "insane? You think I'm insane for refusing your deal? On the contrary Roman you must be insane to think I would accept it."
"Oh and how do you figure that? Self-preservation is generally a natural instinct for any sane person," replied Roman, seemingly unfazed by her display as he too leaned forward while Penny just looked between the two with a concerned expression.
"Tell me Roman, what do you think the definition of insanity is?" questioned the still glowing Red.
Roman just frowned as he stared at her, "I would assume it's kind of obvious Red. Looneys, psychos, people who aren't exactly the most mentally stable of individuals. People who don't understand the common sense behind risk vs reward and always make illogical choices. That's what makes them so dangerous."
Red nodded before she turned to her friend, "and what about you Penny? What do you think about this?"
The ginger hurriedly put her cards down and squirmed as she became the centre of attention, "I agree with Mr. Torchwick…mostly. They don't understand common sense and go out of their way to defy it, even when logic clearly states that it is the wrong choice. Insane people are bad people who either have a skewed sense of morality or don't have one at all. You can't reason with them and you can't predict them, you can only contain the damage they cause."
"I see," mused Red as she leaned back to her spot on the floor. "So by both of your definitions Huntsman and Huntresses are insane."
Seeing their confused expressions at her conclusion she elaborated, "as Hunters we dedicate our lives to helping others, to protect them at all costs even at the expense of our own lives. Why? It isn't a logical choice, you only need to look at the increasing amount of casualties we suffer each year to see that. So why do we do it?"
"Why does anyone do anything dangerous? Power, fame, riches, glory, the rush of adrenaline," shrugged Roman, uncaringly.
"Maybe for some it is," admitted Red before turning to Penny. "But the majority do it because of their skewed sense of morality. Just because their morality is skewed doesn't mean that they're going to go around and hurt people. Morality can be skewed in both positive and negative fashions, Penny."
"Alright then Red you've made your point, so tell us what is the definition of insanity?" scoffed Roman.
The reaper turned to glare at him before the glow from her aura grew brighter, illuminating the room with a harsh red light. Placing her hand over the deck of cards, Red leaned forward and gave the crook a toothy grin as her sharp canines became visible.
"Insanity…is doing the exact…same stupid thing…over and over again…and expecting things to change. That. Is. Crazy," replied the grinning reaper as Roman and Penny felt a threatening atmosphere surround them.
The crook felt his heart begin to beat faster as he backed up until his back hit the wall of the cell, meanwhile Penny got to her feet, ready to restrain Red if necessary. Red just ignored them as she picked up her cards from the floor and her aura outline faded.
"You see, when my friend told me that I thought he was just joking but the thing is…he was right. Everywhere looked, at school, in the streets, the news, even in the history books. I saw idiots doing the exact same thing... over and over and over and over again thinking 'this time is going to be different.' That is insanity and no one is safe from it, not even me," frowned Red as Laura's memories began to surface.
"Afterwards I swore that I wouldn't fall prey to it again, that I wouldn't make the same mistakes twice. That is why I said no Roman and that is why I'll continue to say no, no matter how many times you ask," she finished, giving him a smug smile as everyone grabbed their cards.
"That was a good speech Red, very motivating. Now would you be so kind as to put the card you stole from the deck during it back?" replied Roman with a grin as Red dropped her smug smile and removed a card from her hand.
"And the other one," drawled an amused Roman.
Grumbling the reaper reached into her sleeve and pulled out another card before placing it on the deck as the three of them got ready to reveal their hands. Neither Roman nor Red noticed one of the cards that Red had placed on the deck was missing.
"I raise to *hic* 200," hiccupped Penny, her face hidden by the cards.
"Call," replied Roman and Red with satisfied smirks.
"Four of a kind, read it and weep," announced the reaper.
"Not so fast Red, a straight flush," replied the crook, revealing his hand to a shocked Red.
"The probability of that seems extremely low, unless you cheated," accused Penny.
"Now, now, now, my ginger friend. Remember what we said, it's not cheating if you're not caught," grinned the crook while Red nodded in agreement.
Penny just gained an odd smile in response as she revealed her hand, "I see…in that case behold my royal flush!"
"What?!" cried the other two as they stared at her hand.
That wasn't possible, there was no way she could have gotten that hand! Especially since Red had had the Ace up her sleeve until Roman had called her up on it. Immediately both their eyes widened as they figured out what Penny had done and turned to face the ginger.
Penny just smiled as she claimed her winnings, "like you said, it's not cheating if you not caught."
"The hiccup was faked to make sure we played, wasn't it?" asked Red.
"Whatever do you mean Ruby?" replied the robot with an innocent grin.
"I can't believe it, Vale's most wanted beaten at his own game by a bratty child. I'll be the laughing stock of the whole criminal underworld if this gets out," complained Roman as he rubbed his temples.
Before any of them could respond they all heard the cell door opening behind them and turned to see General Ironwood walk in before turning to stare at Penny and Red, "you two, come with me."
Giving each other a confused glance the two of them followed Ironwood out of the cell and into the bowls of his airship. Red quietly nudged Penny and sent her a questioning look, only to get a confused shrug as she mouthed 'I don't know.'
"Um General…not that I mind the fresh air or a chance to stretch my legs but why am I out of the cell and where are you taking me?" questioned the reaper.
"Not here Ruby I'll explain when we get to my office," replied the general in a hushed whisper as he glanced around him.
Hearing the seriousness in his voice Red nodded as she and Penny were forced to break into a brisk jog as Ironwood picked up the pace. After a couple of minutes of navigating the twisting corridors of the enormous airship the group stopped at a nondescript door before walking in. Red expected his office to have medals, books and relics of old battles for the past or maybe even a large Risk style map of Remnant. Instead she had to keep a disappointed whine from escaping her lips as the door opened to an office that was the textbook definition of Spartan, a simple desk and chairs were present along with an empty book shelf. Taking the offered seats both of them sat in silence and waited for the general to explain what was going on.
"There was another murder victim found today, the time of death was during your imprisonment," he informed them, causing Red's eyes to narrow but otherwise remain silent.
"No sarcastic comment or I told you so?" frowned Ironwood.
"I'm not so petty that I'd joke about death like that General," hissed Red.
He simply nodded his head acknowledgement, "I see, my apologizes then Ruby. However you're aware that until the murderer is caught then the Councils will not let you go."
"Then why am I here? If I'm not being released then shouldn't I be back in the cell?" replied Red in confusion.
"Because you're then only one who has a chance at catching the murderer and stopping them. Besides what better way to prove your innocence then to catch and stop the monster yourself?" answered the general.
The reaper's confused expression only deepened at his response, "what do you mean? Why would I have a better chance than all of Vale's police department?"
"Do you know why I originally suspected you to be the murderer?" asked Ironwood in response as Red shook her head.
Seeing this he continued, "all the evidence that was gathered from the crime scenes indicated that a Feral was most likely responsible for the killings."
As the image of the snarling humanoid Grimm appeared in her mind Red felt a shiver run down her spine, one that was certainly not caused by the cold. Biting down on her lips she forced the images out of her mind and colour began to return to her face as she steadied her panicking breathing.
Ironwood and Penny just stared as she recovered from her panic attack, "Ruby? Are you okay?" asked a concerned Penny.
Red just nodded before turning to the general, "I'll do it."
Ironwood frowned as he looked her in the eye, "Ruby are you sure? After that display I'm not sure you're mentally ready for this."
She just met his gaze with her own, "I won't lie and say that I'm not scared, you would be too if you heard the whispers…felt the rage and madness hiding in its eyes. But I'm not going to let others get killed simply because some shadow scares me."
A sad smile crossed her face, "besides I'm a Huntress not a kid anymore, it's time I stopped being scared of the dark. I'll stop it…even if I have to fight fire with fire."
Neither the general nor Penny spoke a word as they stared at Red's masked face, instead watching as it dissolved off her face, "I've made my choice General," she announced, her innocent silver eyes hardening with determination.
Nodding Ironwood pressed a button on his desk and spoke into some sort of intercom system, "you can send him up now."
"Send who up?" asked Penny curiously.
"The third member of your party, Ruby will be his adviser but he will be in charge of you two, understand?" he replied, causing Penny to nod.
"Wait third?! I thought I was going to be the one to hunt it down," replied Red.
"Ruby this task will be dangerous you'll need all the help you can get," stated Ironwood with a frown.
"Don't worry about me Ruby I'm combat ready!" assured Penny with a fist pump.
The reaper gave a tired sigh before shaking her head, "you're insane you know that right?"
A grin spread across the ginger's face, "Ruby did I ever tell you what the definition of insanity is?"
Red just burst into laughter and offered her friend a hand, "fair point, alright Penny lets catch this monster together."
The ginger just stared at the hand in confusion until the general spoke up with a faint trace of a smile on his face, "you're supposed to shake it Penny."
"Oh! Ok Ruby let's do it!" cheered Penny as they shook hands.
"So who's our third member?" asked the reaper with a curious expression on her face.
"That would be me," announced a male voice from behind them as the sound of a door opening and closing was heard.
Upon hearing the voice Red froze and slowly turned around to see a familiar figure standing before them, looking no different then what Ruby's memories showed. Standing there was one of the two people she had hoped never to meet without Yang and even worse it was the one that taught Ruby everything she knew.
"It's certainly been awhile hasn't it Ruby?" greeted Qrow.
Well hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Expect the next one in a week if I'm lucky, a fortnight if I'm not.