Ok sorry for the wait guys but this chapter was very difficult to write and I still am not entirely happy with it. Anyway as always I hope you enjoy it.
I don't own RWBY if I did I wouldn't have to keep putting annoying disclaimers up.
"RUBY'S DOING WHAT!?" shouted Yang, deafening her two teammates as she glared at her father.
Taiyang just sighed at his daughter's expected reaction, "she's hunting down this 'Feral' as we speak."
"BY HERSELF?! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" she screamed at him.
"I know Yang but it was the only option we had left, this is the only way to prove her innocence. Don't worry she's not alone, both Qrow and one of your friends are helping her," he informed them with a frown.
"Who?" asked Weiss curiously.
"I believe the General called her Penny," replied Taiyang, causing all of their eyes to widen.
"YOU SENT HER OUT WITH PENNY!" cried the brawler as her eyes turned red and her hair began glowing.
"Yang she might be more of a dolt than even Jaune but you can't deny she's a good fighter. Remember when she fought the Paladin," reminded Weiss, only to shrink as the blonde's furious gaze rounded on her.
"Oh Weiss I need your help with something, come on let's give these two some space," bailed out Blake as the two teammates fled from the room.
Forcing her raging temper back to a low simmer Yang took a deep breath, "alright where is she now? I'll head over and help."
Her father just sighed as he prepared for Yang's next outburst, "I don't know."
"Let me get this straight, you sent Ruby out to fight a powerful monster and you don't even know where she is? AND YOU CALL YOURSELF HER FATHER!" she snarled.
"DON'T YOU DARE USE THAT TONE WITH ME YANG XIAO LONG! DO YOU REALLY THINK I LIKE THIS ANYMORE THAN YOU?!" he shouted, causing Yang's angry expression to vanish instantly. "I trust Qrow to know what he's doing and look after Ruby. To lower the risks of the Councils finding out about Ironwood's plan the only person they are in contact with is the General himself."
Sighing in disappointment Yang ran her fingers through her hair and collapsed into a nearby chair, "Yang what's happening to you? I know that you're concerned about Ruby but you've never snapped like this before," asked Taiyang.
"It's just…too many people are taking an interest in Ruby and I don't know if I can trust them. I mean I haven't even seen that portal user again since the Breach," replied Yang, only to freeze as she saw her father's face. "Umm…dad are you okay?"
"Yang this is very important, I need you to tell me everything you know about this portal user," ordered Taiyang as a frown crossed his face.
"Umm sure…during the train ride before the Breach I was facing one of Roman's goons…and losing badly. Right when she was about to finish me off a red and black figure wearing a Grimm mask stopped her and caused Neo to flee immediately," explained Yang with a frown as she pieced together her memories from that fight.
"Next she just slashed her red blade down and a red portal formed around her, I tried to stop her but she just told me 'I had bigger things to worry about.' She mentioned both Ruby and I by name, dad. She knew us both. Then the portal closed and that was the last I saw her, it doesn't make sense. If she was a member of the White Fang then we did she help me?" pondered the brawler as she looked up to the ceiling, unaware of the expression growing on her father's face.
"Yang…" he began only to be interrupted as the door opened and Weiss and Blake came rushing in.
"Yang quickly turn on the TV!" shouted Weiss.
"Why and what's with the popcorn?" questioned a confused Yang as the Schnee heiress approached the group with a bag full of the food.
"They're about to show the story on the 'Earth Conspiracy,' don't tell me you forgot!" cried the heiress as she raced over to their TV, while Blake sent an apologetic look to her partner.
"Woah easy there Ice Queen, it's just the news," replied Yang as she taken aback by her teammate's uncharacteristically energetic behavior.
"Just the news…just the news! It's the story of the century! An entire new world, possible cover ups by the councils, as well as fixed trials. Yang this could change our entire way of life! You're looking at history in the making! Why all of Vale and perhaps even Remnant will be watching this!" exclaimed Weiss eagerly as she took a seat.
"Assuming they even find anything to support Ruby's claim," reminded Blake, causing Weiss to scoff.
"Please if there is one thing the media is good at it's sniffing out a secret. God knows how many times the found out about top secret Schnee Company documents and dealings," replied the heiress with an angry snarl.
The rest of the room's occupants chose not to comment on her reaction and instead gathered around the TV as it turned on revealing Cyril as he smiled at the camera, "hello and thank you for joining us for a very special segment of Vale News Network, today we discuss the 'Earth Conspiracy.'"
They watched as Cyril prepared to speak further only to frown as he paused and placed a finger up to his ear before his eyes widened, "ladies and gentleman my apologizes but we'll have to postpone our story as we have just got breaking news!"
"There have been reports of the massive structural damaged, explosions, as well as the sound of gunfire and Grimm coming from the northern district. Lisa Lavender is on the scene as we speak. What's going on Lisa?" he asked and the screen switched to an image of a reporter standing outside a police barricade.
"Unfortunately Cyril we don't know what exactly is going on but General Ironwood's troops have arrived on scene and are in the process of evacuating the entire district. Sadly they are not letting anyone into the district and refuse to tell us the situation," replied Lisa while the members of RWBY just looked at each other in confusion and Taiyang had a worried look on his face.
"However currently we have aircraft above the site of the disturbance, we'll switch to their camera feed now," said the reporter and they all saw a nondescript five storey building that looked ready to collapse appear on screen.
Before any of them could comment they all saw the entire back wall of the fourth floor get disintegrated as numerous green beams passed through it and into another nearby building, destroying that wall also. The eye's on the three members of team RWBY widened considerably as they recognized the blast.
"Was…was that Penny?" stuttered Weiss.
"It…looked like it," replied Blake, equally shocked.
"Then that means that Ruby is there, come on let's go!" cried Yang as she dashed to the door, only to feel Taiyang's hand on her shoulder.
"There is nothing we can do Yang. By the time we get there it will already be over," he replied, causing team RWBY's shoulder's to slump.
"So what do we do then?" questioned Weiss as they all turned to him.
Taiyang just sighed as he gestured to the TV, "we watch and hope for the best. That's all we can do."
The entire building shook and the back wall of the room was destroyed by several green beams of light as the Feral dodged to the side with Penny following close behind. Not letting up from her assault the ginger chased after it, the floor cracking beneath her feet from the force of her robotic limbs hitting it. The Feral leapt through the opening in the ceiling and Penny followed by using her swords as a pulley system, only to find herself on the top floor in another darkened room that was lit up an eerie green by her body. Activating her thermal vision Penny began scanning the room and frowned as she couldn't spot the Feral's heat signature.
The only warning the ginger got was the faint sound of shuffling above her as she turned upwards to see her target dropping down on her. Unable to dodge to the side in time Penny brought an arm up to block the claws coming at her head and a loud sound echoed across the empty room. The creature looked at Penny's arm as if surprised that it was still intact before Penny grinned and kicked it with enough force to shatter concrete.
"My apologies but my combat frame was designed to withstand impacts many times that strength, it is far too durable to break from something like that," informed the ginger as she formed a circle with her swords.
Throwing the swords like a Frisbee at her downed opponent Penny frowned as she saw it roll to the side and snarl at her before cautiously circling the ginger, obviously now considering her a threat. Calling her swords back Penny spared a worrying glance at the hole to the room below them as the sounds of fighting died down, fearing the worst. Qrow was a good huntsman but not even he could take on that many Beowolves at once and finish them that quickly, 'I don't have time to waste anymore. Extreme force is now authorized.'
Penny ran at the Feral, with her swords now glowing the same green as her body and following close behind her, poised to stab their target on command. Seeing this her opponent snarled and met her charge with one of its own, only to roar in frustration as the ginger leapt into the air. Once she was directly above it Penny sent her swords flying at the Feral, the blades piercing its bone plates and pinning it to the ground as they went through its body and sank into the floor. With her opponent now immobilized Penny's back opened up reveal an extra set of blades which she sent into the roof above the Feral, the swords easily sticking into the ceiling.
Using all her strength Penny began pulling on the wires, causing her servos to whine and the ceiling to crack as they both voiced their protests. Finally after giving one last groan in protest the roof above the Feral caved in, burying the creature in tons of concrete and brick as sunlight streamed in through the destroyed roof. Not taking any chances Penny charged up another laser and aimed it at the rubble, only to see the blast hit a black smoky substance and get stopped get deflected into the wall as the Feral emerged from within the rubble.
Penny's computerized brain went into mild shock as it tried to calculate what had happened, how the creature had survived, only to come up with inconclusive results. This systems crash only lasted a couple of seconds but it was more than enough for the Feral as it quickly approached Penny before grabbing her arm with its one remaining hand. The ginger was helpless as she watched her opponent begin to pull and instantly received numerous warning messages as her arm gave a metallic shriek and was separated from her body, leaving only sparks and wires protruding from her shoulder.
Throwing the arm away the Feral roared in satisfaction before slamming Penny to the floor as it gripped the other arm, ready to remove it to. Out of the corner of her eyes Penny saw three of the white Beowolves emerge from the opening to the room below them and instantly her heart sank as she thought of Qrow and Ruby. Sighing she closed her eyes and waited for the end as the Feral began to pull on her arm, only for the pressure to stop instantly as it let go with a cry of shock and anger. Opening her eyes Penny's brain nearly crashed again at the sight before it, one of the Beowolves had leapt onto the Feral's back and was in the process on trying to bite out its throat while the other two were circling it.
'What's going on?' she thought before hearing a familiar roar coming from behind her and turned to see another bone plated figure with a red cloak fluttering behind it.
Qrow dodged to the side as one of the five remaining Beowolves leapt towards him with a snarl, only for its head to become separate from its body as he used his momentum to swing his scythe through its neck. Getting back to his feet the exhausted huntsman stood up again and place himself between his niece and the Grimm, the floor littered with the slowly dissolving corpses of Beowolves at his feet. His breathing became ragged as blood flowed out of the numerous wounds on his body and Qrow began swaying on his feet. As his vision began to go blurry he heard a soft whisper behind him and turned to see Ruby's black sphere of smoke expanding as her tattoos began growing brighter.
"My soul is twisted in madness,
And so I made a cage to contain it,
To mask the darkness hiding within,
But with this I break those chains,
I mark my enemies for death,
For the brighter the light,
The darker its shadow."
The black sphere exploded outwards and knocked all the room's occupants to the floor as a low growl echoed across the destroyed chamber. Hearing something walk past him Qrow looked up and saw another Feral standing between him and the Beowolves, smaller than the other but looking much more streamlined. He was about to panic until he noticed the subtle hints of red and black clothing between the small gaps in its bone plate armour and a familiar red hooded cloak hanging off its back.
"…Ruby?" croaked Qrow as he tried and failed to get to his feet.
The red cloaked Feral just turned to glance at him before returning its gaze to the remaining four Beowolves and snarled at them as it stood protectively between him and the Grimm. The Beowolves began backing up in fear as she took a step forward and let loose another threatening growl before pointing at the room above them. There was a pause as the four Grimm looked at each other as if making a silent debate until one of them roared and charged her, only to be grabbed by the red cloaked Feral and literally torn in two by its bare hands.
The remaining three Beowolves upon seeing their pack mate brutally slaughtered in front of them, quickly bowed their heads to her as if they were bowing to their king. Walking up to them, Qrow watched with wide eyes as she placed a clawed hand on each of their heads before the markings on the Beowolves plates changed shape to the resemble the same runic tattoos she had. The only difference being the head plate where Qrow saw Ruby's ensign form and briefly glow the same shade of red as her tattoos.
As she once again pointing to the room above them where Penny and the target had disappeared to, the huntsman could only frown in confusion as he saw the Beowolves roar and leapt into the top floor. Now alone with only him left the red cloaked Feral turned its hate filled red glowing eyes to Qrow as it approached him. The huntsman felt a brief spike of fear as she stood in front of him and had to stop himself from reaching for his scythe, remembering who it was that stood in front of him.
"Ruby…snap out of it…I…know you're…still…in there," he choked out as she brought a clawed hand up to his throat, ready to crush his windpipe on demand.
There was nothing but silence as each stared at the other, neither willing to break eye contact as her grip on his throat tightened. Qrow looked into her red glowing eyes, searching for some sigh that his innocent cooking loving niece as black spots began appearing in his vision.
"…You're a person…not a…monster Ruby…you're my niece…my family…and I…know…you…won't hurt me," continued Qrow as he threw his scythe to the opposite end of the room and looked at her with a smile. "I…trust…you…after all…families…are meant…to protect each other…aren't they?"
The grip on his throat loosened as the snarl on her face changed to a confused frown and for the briefest of seconds the hatred in its eyes turned to a deep sorrow as she looked at him before letting go of his neck and walking towards the opening in the ceiling. Collapsing to the floor and gasping for breath Qrow watched as she gave him another sorrow filled look before leaping into the next floor, growling in frustration Qrow used his scythe as a crutch and forced himself to his feet.
"Ruby please share your burden with us, that kind of weight will break a person. I don't want you to be the red light, I don't want you to follow in my footsteps," he muttered and began looking for Crescent Rose.
Red tried to put the past couple of seconds into the back of her mind as she realized how close she had come to killing Qrow. Not only that but what had she done to those Beowolves? The entire time she'd been completely operating on instincts with no real idea of what she was doing and now she could almost feel them. Their animalistic hated filled minds radiating just beyond her's as she felt them attack the Feral. Leaping up Red felt another burst of anger at the sight of her friend Penny now one armed with sparks coming out of her shoulder's stump.
Roaring in anger Red ran at the nearby Feral as it was confused and preoccupied with the Beowolves, crashing into it with a shoulder charge and sending them both slamming into the ground. Recovering quickly Red grabbed her opponent's remaining clawed hand with one of her own and used her other bone covered arm to block a bite to her throat. Flinching as the Feral's teeth sank into her arm but thanks to the plates stopping before they hit anything vital.
Red struggled to push her opponent back as it placed more and more pressure on her arm, panicking she felt noticed the Beowolves' minds seemed different…almost clearer to her as she felt them growing closer. Immediately the jaw locked around her arm opened as Red saw two of the Beowolves leapt onto the Feral's back while the other attacked its legs, attempting to topple the Feral over. Taking a step back Red's mind was in a whirl of activity as she tried to make sense of what was happening.
'Are the Grimm…helping me?' she thought confused before trying to test her theory. Watching the three Grimm jump off the Feral and surround it again Red reached out for the alien sensation of her…what? Allies? Partners? Pets? No her pack. Picturing images of Qrow and Penny she tried to send the…not so much words but feelings and memories, showing them fighting together as allies…as pack mates.
Red felt confusion emanating from the Grimms' hate filled mind, after all they were prey and how could prey be packmates? Deep in her animal mind Red instinctively knew that this questioning couldn't be allowed, she was the Alpha! They did not question the Alpha! If she said they are pack mates then they are pack mates! If they disagreed she would show them why she is the Alpha! The Beowolves briefly flinched before Red felt the closest thing to acknowledgment their animalistic thoughts were capable of echo from within their minds.
The three Beowolves spread out and parted ways for her as she approached their target, the Feral keeping its gaze fixed sorely on her as they both flared their black auras. Just like before the Grimm looked between the two and this time Red could feel their minds appraising the both of them, judging which of them deserved to be their Alpha. Unlike last time however the Beowolves took one look at the Feral's tired and wounded body and immediately growled at it as Red smiled smugly and gave the nearest one a pat on the head. They all surrounded the Feral which had now pressed its back up against the wall, preparing herself Red gave her pack a command that they knew all too well. Kill.
The three Beowolves howled before they charged at the Feral from all three directions, only for one to yelp in pain as it was kicked backwards and caused the other two to crash into each other unable to halt their momentum as the Feral rushed Red. Eyes widening in shock Red quickly dived to the side only for the Feral to anticipate that move and rake its claws across her armoured chest, the bone plating just barely stopping it from piercing anything vital. Struggling to her feet Red felt the wind behind her and quickly glanced back to see the large hole in the wall that Penny made earlier and briefly marveled at how high up they were.
Suddenly a loud roar snapped her attention back to the present and Red saw the Feral rushing at her, fully intending to kill them both as it crashed into her and sent them both over the edge. Red roared as she tumbled off the building, only to feel her cloak snag something and halt her descent. Looking up Red was greeted to the face of one of the Beowolves as it gripped the cloak in its jaw before pulling her up and back into the building. Hyperventilating Red forced her heart to calm down as she gave the Beowolf that saved her a hug, only to feel massive confusion from all three of the pack members, clearing not understanding the display before them.
"Ruby? Is that you?" questioned a worried voice while the Beowolves gave a low warning growl and Red turned to see Penny cautiously approaching her with her severed arm held close to her chest.
Red tried to speak but all that came out of her mouth was a series of grunts and snarls, eventually giving up she just settled on a nod. Heading back to the hole in the wall Red looked down at the Feral laying on ground and was amazed to see it still breathing. Deciding to end this once and for all Red headed down to her near dead opponent with her pack following close behind and just stared as she watched its half mask break and fall off its face.
Red had known what lay under that mask but even so seeing it for herself was a sobering experience, looking down at the male human face as his smoky black outline faded she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Realizing their wasn't any need for them any longer Red sent images of Emerald Forest to the Beowolves and ordered them to leave. The pack just looked at her before running off through the abandoned buildings, heading in the direction of Emerald Forest.
Watching as his bone armour began to crack Red sighed and deactivated her Earth aura, her bone plates dissolving and her smoky outline being replaced by a vibrant red. The reaper grimaced and was nearly knocked unconscious by the pain that suddenly erupted throughout her body as her aura began the long and slow healing process.
Hearing a noise behind her she saw Qrow and Penny walk out through the front entrance with Penny's arm and shoulder hidden by Qrow's cloak. Red was a bit confused about why Qrow had hidden Penny's injury until he simply pointed upwards and she saw the Bullhead circling above them with what looked like a camera hanging out the sides. 'How long has that been there for?' she thought in confusion that instantly was put to the back of her mind as they all heard coughing coming from their target.
"The whispers…they've stopped? Is it over? It was all a horrible nightmare right? I didn't really kill all those people did I?" choked out the former Feral as he looked up to Red with pleading eyes.
Red gave him a soft smile as she knelt before him and gave him a hug, "that's right it was just a horrible dream. But don't worry it's all over now, all you need to do is go back to sleep and everything will be back to normal."
"I see…but…I…don't know…how," he replied, his voice growing weaker by the second.
Red suddenly flared what was left of her aura and the two were surrounded by the vibrant red glow of Ruby's aura, "do you see the light? Just focus on it and it'll lead you back home."
"I…do…it's so bright…I feel…so…warm…so…free…maybe…this dream…wasn't so bad…after all…if…I get to…see this at…the end…so…beautiful…" he gasped before slumping in the reaper's grip.
Laying his body on the ground she watched as his weak breaths stopped before leaning down and closing his eyes. Picking up his broken half mask from the ground Red wrapped it in her cloak as she heard Qrow and Penny walk up behind her and felt Qrow place a reassuring hand on her shoulder before handing her Crescent Rose and leading her away from the gasping crowd of soldiers and police. Penny waved at them as she was quickly taken by some of the General's men and Red smiled as she did the same.
Once the two were alone Qrow spoke up, "what are you planning to do with that mask?"
Red looked at the bundle in hands and sighed tiredly, "I'm going to bury it. Give him a proper burial."
An approving smile crossed Qrow's face as he heard her response, "that's a very kind thing to do Ruby, especially after all the trouble you went through."
"He was a person was once Qrow, he deserves to be treated as such, besides…" the reaper trailed off as she felt the events of the past hours catch up to her, exhaustion and pain finally taking their toll.
"Besides…" prompted the huntsman as he turned and saw Red sway on her feet.
Before her body had even hit the ground Qrow grabbed her and sighed as he placed her on his back and carried her in a piggyback style, "well this certainly takes me back, how long has it been since I had to do this?" he smiled before walking away, heading to a familiar cliff face.
Ruby just collapsed from exhaustion as she dropped Crescent Rose to the ground while Qrow frowned as he walked up to her, "well done Ruby. You're training is coming along brilliantly, but there is no need to exhaust yourself like that."
Turning away from Ruby her teacher collected Crescent Rose, "I think that's enough training for today," he informed her.
"No! Not yet, I can still keep going," argued Ruby as she weakly sat up from the ground.
"Oh really?" mused Qrow with a frown as he held her scythe above her. "In that case, stand up and take your weapon."
Ruby spent the next few minutes struggling to get off the ground and weakly swayed on her feet as she tried to grab her scythe from Qrow, only for her body to collapse back to the ground. Growling in frustration Ruby tried to move her body but the limbs felt like they were made from iron and refused to budge no matter how hard she tried to move them.
Her teacher just sighed as he shifted Crescent Rose back into its compact portable form and stowed it in her holster, "I told you didn't I? Training yourself to exhaustion will only cause more harm than good in the long run."
Looking down at his student Qrow simply shook his head in amusement as he heard soft snoring coming from her collapsed form, "and what use are my lectures if you're never awake to hear them."
Scooping her up he gave her a piggyback as the two headed back into the city, as the sun began to set in the distance Qrow felt Ruby groan as she woke up. "Uncle Qrow? Why are you in my room?" she muttered sleepily.
Qrow just chuckled as he came to a stop and Ruby realized what was going on, "Uncle Qrow I'm so so sorry. I'll try harder next time I swear!" she cried and tried to get off but couldn't find the energy to move.
"Ruby do you know why the sun sets red? Of all the colours that make up a sunset, red travels the furthest. It rushes towards the world, stronger and faster than the others, pushing itself to become better, never noticing what it is leaving behind," he began in a sad tone as he turned them to face the setting sun.
"Then when it arrives at its destination it looks around and sees that it's all alone, having left its companions behind long ago. It sees all the wonders of the world but has no one to share it with, how lonely must that be? Do you think it regrets its choice? Becoming so focused on moving forward, on getting stronger, that it isolates itself from others?" he sighed tiredly.
"Err…umm…" muttered Ruby as she tried to think of something to say only to come up with nothing as a silence descended on the two.
"Don't worry I don't expect you to understand Ruby, just think about what I said and maybe the answer will become clear. Anyway I'm sending you to Signal Academy once the next semester starts in a couple of weeks," he informed her.
"That'll make it harder to train together, since we'll both have classes to attend. We'll have to stick to evening and weekend sparing sessions," she replied with a frown.
"Actually I'm not going to be training you personally anymore," he elaborated.
"What! But why! I've learnt more from you then anyone at that combat school could teach me!" she exclaimed.
"There is more to being a huntress than simply the ability to fight, otherwise we'd be nothing more than weapons pointed at the enemy. There are somethings that no one can teach you Ruby, things you have to experience for yourself and Signal is the best opportunity to do so. Go there and meet people your own age, if you spent even half as much time with people as you do with weapons you'd have no problem making friends," lectured Qrow.
"Aww you sound just like dad!" pouted Ruby.
"Ruby do you trust me?" he asked.
"Of course I do!" she replied in a shocked tone.
Qrow's grip on her tightened, "then please go to Signal, make friends, enjoy your youth while you've still got it. I'm afraid that if you keep walking down this path you'll soon find that you're the only one on it, I don't want that kind of lonely life for you."
There was silence as the two stared at the setting sun before Ruby sighed, "alright Uncle Qrow. I trust you, if you think I should go to Signal then I will."
"Thank you Ruby," smiled her teacher as he carried her back towards the city.
As sleep began to claim her once again Ruby yawned and stared up at the sky, "Uncle Qrow? I never did ask, why did you want to become a Huntsman?"
Qrow gave a sad smile, "I wanted to be a hero. Someone who stood up for what was right and protected those who couldn't protect themselves. I wanted to save people whatever the cost."
Ruby gave another yawn, "wow…we really are alike."
Qrow heard soft snoring and twisted his body to see Ruby sleeping with a peaceful expression on her face, "that's what I'm afraid of," he muttered darkly.
Red snapped awake in time to see her vibrant red aura outline fade before she came to her senses and realized her position. Looking around she noted that Qrow was taking them through a snow covered forest and her eyes widened as she realized where he was going.
"Nice to see you up, how are you feeling Ruby?" greeted Qrow.
"Dead tired but I'm in one piece so I guess that's a plus," she replied with a weak chuckle.
"In that case just rest, we're nearly there," instructed the huntsman.
Red just nodded as they exited the snow covered forest and arrived at a familiar cliff face, the sunset causing the tombstone to cast an elongated shadow towards them. Admiring the view Red smiled, "red might be the loneliest colour…but is that really so bad?"
Qrow was silent and she continued as images of her teammates appeared in her mind, "in my experience the loneliest people are the kindest, the saddest people smile the brightest and the most damaged people are the wisest. All because they do not wish to see anyone else suffer the way they do."
"But it doesn't ensure your happiness Ruby. You deserve that at least, you're a human being not a weapon, not a tool and certainly not a mindless animal. Look at what's happened since you arrived at Beacon, you've made friends that would gladly jump into hell just to pull you out of it," argued the huntsman.
"You can't tell me you don't feel happy when you're around them and it's become clear to me that they feel the same around you. Can you say that you would ever give that up? Give up your friends and cast off your humanity?" questioned Qrow furiously and causing her eyes to widen.
"Can you really tell me not to? How do you know that will happen if I go down this path? No one knows where their path will take them, so what makes you so sure?" replied Red.
"Because I've gone down that path before Ruby. Did you know that when you first asked me to train you I was going to say no? In fact the only reason I agreed was because I thought you would quit after getting a taste of my training methods," he informed her, causing Red to stare at him in shock.
"You see I trained myself to exhaustion both day and night, outstripping all my peers, insolating myself to obtain that prowess. Even when I joined Beacon I distanced myself from my teammates, my own sister, to keep getting stronger. Then I lost my two teammates and I realized something; no matter how strong you become you can never save everyone," replied Qrow as he stared at the tombstone in front of them.
"Two people I considered my family just disappeared and yet when I think back I realize just how little time I spent with them, how little I knew about them. Time I should have spent with them I used up in a training room, all to obtain these skills that did nothing to save them, no could do nothing to save them. I look back at those mistakes I made and regret them to my very core, seeing Taiyang breaking down and yet unable to help, Yang nearly getting consumed by her need for closure," he continued sadly.
"Everything was going wrong and I couldn't do anything about it. Then you came along with a scarily familiar determined gaze, begging to be trained as a huntress. Seeing a chance to nip this in the bud before you made the same mistakes I did, I put you through the wringer, hoping, praying that you would give up. I should have known better you were a stubborn soul even back then and before I knew it I began to look forward to our sessions," he reminisced with an amused smile.
"By the time I'd realized what'd happened you'd already become stronger than most people years above you and yet had all the social skills of a wet towel with no friends to speak of. So I talked to Taiyang and we sent you to Signal, Ruby you're the only thing I can say I'm proud of so please don't walk down that path, don't make the same mistakes I did," he begged.
"You really do care about me, don't you?" asked Red after a brief moment of silence.
"You're my student and niece Ruby. I will do anything in my power to keep you safe, we all will. Me, your father, your sister, you're family to us and that means we look out for each other," he replied softly.
"The unbeatable combo," smirked Red while Qrow gave a soft laugh.
"I see Yang's rubbed off on you, well shall we get started?" he said, his amused tone shifting into a somber one.
Climbing off of Qrow's back Red shakily got to her feet before he gave her the mask and she walked over next to the grave. Placing the mask on the ground she buried it in the snow before placing a wooden homemade cross on the spot next to the tombstone.
"I never knew you, in fact I didn't even know your name. But I knew your pain and I know it wasn't your fault, even if no one else does, know that I forgive you. I swear to you here and now that I won't let myself be swayed from my purpose. I won't lose myself to that madness that claimed you," promised the reaper as she turned to the tombstone.
Reaching out to the tombstone she traced her hand over the inscription with a sad smile before turning to her companion, "you wanted to know why I buried him Qrow. The truth is that when I looked at him I saw myself, saw what I could have become if I gave in to my power. I guess I just don't want to consider him anything less than human because if I did that than what would that make me?"
Standing up from the grave she turned to face her companion with an expectant expression, obviously waiting on an answer. Qrow just frowned as he walked over to the grave to pay his respects and turned to face her, "it doesn't matter. You're Ruby, my niece as well as Taiyang's and Summer's daughter. No matter what happens that will never change, you'll always be Ruby to us."
Seeing Red's shocked expression he smiled, "I told you before Ruby, we're family. I hoped one day you would trust us again and I meant it. We've already accepted you, now it's up to you to do the same for us," finished Qrow as he gestured to the tombstone.
Looking down on the grave she nodded and took a deep breath, "it's been awhile since I last visited hasn't it? I think it's time I introduced myself properly. It's a pleasure to meet you Summer Rose, I've been called many thing in my life, the Red Reaper, Laura Doe, or simply Red, but you can call me Ruby Rose. I wish I could have met you for myself…goodbye…mom."
Walking back to Qrow she looked up at him with a childish smile before hugging the huntsman, "you know? I never really said it before but…thanks for sending me to Signal. You were right…just like you always are. I'm sorry for back at Ironwood's office and during the fight with the Feral, I do trust you and I'm glad you're my Uncle. I just wanted you to know that."
He just froze before a happy smile spread across his face as they left, "thank you Ruby."
Watching from high above them a white cloaked figure smiled as the oblivious duo headed back into Vale. Once they left it jumped down as it approached the wooden cross that Red had made and placed a white rose in front of it. The cloaked figure sent another glance in the direction the duo had left in before it walked over to the tombstone and as it passed Summer's grave, vanished without a trace.
I'm really sorry about the fight scenes but I just couldn't get into the usual mind set I have for them, hopefully you all still enjoyed it. As for Qrow let me know what you guys thought of him, I just did my own take on what I thought he would be like since we knew very little about him.