As she hurried through the city in search of Tyrian, Ruby still felt her eyes sting from using her latent powers during his rampage. No one said the light of the Silver-Eyed Warriors always hurt every time it flared up. But the pain was drowned out by the thoughts flooding her mind with each passing second. Should she have stayed with Nora and Ren to help the crowd? Could she have soothed the fickle populace while doing so? Was getting the antivenom synthesized even worth the risk of fighting Tyrian alone? What would've changed had things gone just a little bit… differently?
Ruby didn't know the answer to any of those questions. Besides, there was no point dwelling on the past. Not when all it did was distract her while she lived with the consequences. So she redoubled her focus and cast her doubts aside.
There was no going back. Not when everyone was counting on her.
As she flew forward at Mach speed, she started to notice the Grimm flocking in her direction, drawn by the turmoil caused by the massacre. She cursed Tyrian for allowing Penny to take the blame. It was so fast and unexpected that no one had any idea what was going on, and the line-of-sight finger-pointing that resulted made it so much worse for everyone in the crossfire.
Even then, what seemed like a disaster to the average citizen was just another Tuesday to Ruby. The monsters were little more than prey to her and she felt it, both as a Huntress and through her divine ancestry. The darkness was cleaved like melted butter in her wake, one frost-covered body after another, until she managed to clear the path forward.
When she was clear, she sent a text to Ironwood to inform him that Tyrian was still at large and she was on the job, although she also recommended he assign some of the other Huntsmen around the city in a bid to box him in. Another important point she made was to under no circumstances push for Robyn's arrest, as that would irreversibly damage any hope of partnership even if they tried to negotiate later.
Ruby listened in for the sounds of people in danger, hoping it could be the killer slowing down while he was still reeling. Whenever her searches ended empty-handed, she stopped to help regardless and carried on with burning resolve.
Getting that antivenom was her first and only other priority.
Blake and Yang were… not too pleased that they were just dragged out of their party with Team FNKI so they could help apprehend a rampaging mass murderer. Between the restless populace, the Grimm, and their doubts over whether keeping Salem's true nature hidden from Ironwood was the right thing to do, they hardly needed any more stress in their lives. Even the wind seemed to be conspiring against them. All that for wanting to unwind for just a moment…
While they were in the midst of their dilemma, an armored truck approached the pair, causing them to tense up in preparation for a fight. However, their stances dropped once they saw who was exiting the vehicle. It was Robyn, with May carrying an unconscious Fiona in her arms. The blonde and the cat Faunus, having been briefed on Tyrian's venom, recognized the symptoms right away.
"What happened to-?" Yang wondered aloud before Robyn cut her off, giving the order for the Happy Huntresses to flee.
"Wait!" Blake called out. "This isn't what it looks like!"
The pair chased down the Huntresses to try and clear up the misunderstanding, and although they guessed that their approach wasn't helping, they still needed to do something to ease the tension.
"Split up," Robyn ordered the others, "and get Fiona back to the hideout."
As her partners obeyed, she continued the game of cat-and-mouse between herself, Yang, and Blake, violently defending herself against her opponents with shots and slashes of her crossbow. While the duo had no intention of fighting Robyn, they had no option but to fend off her attacks as they tried in vain to calm her down. The unusual weather hardly helped matters, making the battle much more difficult for both sides by changing the trajectory of each arrow fired and ribbon whipped. After a few minutes of working out their aggressions, Blake and Yang watched as an exhausted Robyn emerged, too spent to continue her assault.
"If Ironwood wants me," she said, "he'll have to send more than a couple of kids."
"You think we're here for you?!" Yang sounded insulted. "We're after this Tyrian guy everyone says attacked the election!"
"You're stalling for time."
"I know things look bad right now," Blake admitted, "but bringing in someone who just wants to help is the last thing on our list of things to do."
"Our priority is catching the guy who actually killed and poisoned people!" Yang continued. "Once we do, that means we can whip up an antidote to save everyone."
Unconvinced, Robyn told one of the two girls to take her hand, insisting once they questioned why. Yang gripped the hand, and on Robyn's instructions recapped everything about Ironwood's motives for sending them out that night. On cue, the Aura turned green, causing her to finally ease up.
"So Dr. Rose put you up to this, huh?" Robyn chuckled. "She did mention that all those people need a cure before going AWOL on the Ace-Ops."
"Dr. Rose?" Blake was baffled. "You mean Ruby?"
"Whatever her name is, if she's leading the hunt for that maniac, I want in. After what he did to Fiona, socking his sorry face would make me feel a hell of a lot better. Assuming this wind doesn't sweep us off our feet first…"
Right. The wind. Even during intense storms, there was no weather of this magnitude on Solitas. At least not naturally. There was only one time the members of Team RWBY bore witness to a cyclone even remotely close to that level of power.
Was Ruby… using her Semblance at full force?!
Unaware of the minor squall in her wake, Ruby caught a glimpse of her quarry chasing down a scared young man down the streets, taking his time as he seemed to take in the victim's fear. In his sadism, he merely prowled up to the powerless civilian with Ruby beneath his notice. Then, he felt the air shift in the unnatural windstorm and glimpsed at the rose petals filling the area. He grinned as he realized the girl he needed to take back to his mistress had come straight for him. He hadn't even planned this turn of good fortune.
Knowing she couldn't reliably defeat Tyrian by herself, Ruby sent out a text for whoever was available to converge on her location. The serial killer eyed her up and down, not paying any mind as his prey fled in fear. Why would he waste his precious time with minnows when his great white whale herself had at last appeared in these waters?
"Now isn't this just delightful?" he laughed. "Not only do I get to rig an election, but my precious little flower has come into blossom once more, ripe for the taking!"
"Shut up," Ruby responded with a scowl as she brandished her scythe. "I don't care what you've done this time, but I'm not leaving without that venom."
"Goody! I'd be happy to oblige! I assure you, young lady, you'll get the full dose."
He rushed in, machine guns blazing as he tried whittling away at Ruby's Aura, but as he was still slightly disoriented by the light from her eyes, each shot missed as his opponent weaved out of reach. It was clear from her enemy's superior experience that she had to fight dirty to stay alive. As she tried to move in, Tyrian's metasoma snagged one of her legs and caused her to trip, but she quickly rolled aside as he leaped in with his hands glowing purple. The small opening he left allowed Ruby to stun him by delivering a powerful kick to his jaw.
When Tyrian tried to sting her throat, Ruby leaned to the right before intercepting the metal appendage with her hands and holding on tightly, swinging the murderer over her head before slamming him into the pavement before he could have a chance to retaliate. However, he quickly recovered and deflected a strike of her scythe with his metasoma, taking the opportunity to reach for her torso and breach her Aura with each blow. Ruby endured two of these attacks before countering with a swift Aura-fueled kick to the groin. While he was still standing, the pain caused Tyrian to falter long enough for Ruby to punch him in the face twice before forcing his nose into her knee.
"My my," he trailed off as he got to his feet, seemingly unharmed and even impressed by the assault. "You really do have thorns…"
Before he could continue his attack, Clover and Marrow arrived on the scene to provide the young Huntress with some much-needed backup, the former alerting the scorpion Faunus to their presence with the casting of his fishing rod as they went in to finish him off. But since Tyrian didn't have orders to bring in the Ace-Ops alive, he had no reason to hold back against them. Although his Aura was running low from the fight Ruby gave him, and even in spite of it breaking and his ammo being exhausted near the end of the two-on-one battle, he managed to trounce both of them, sending some of their sidearms flying across the field in the process. Not even Clover's good fortune could save him from an insanity that cared very little for luck.
Luckily, Ruby noticed a bola on the floor and quickly picked it up beneath her enemy's notice. Seeing him distracted as he appeared to savor the satisfaction of snuffing out the exhausted soldiers' lives, she also saw a crucial window of opportunity. Tyrian only noticed the weapon headed his way a split second before he was helplessly tangled in Dust-reinforced wiring.
Ruby felt a brief smirk creep on her face at the irony. If she felt like talking at the time, she'd have dared say it felt… good watching her prey being on the receiving end of her Atlesian welcoming committee.
"Impressive!" the psychopath chuckled in spite of what should be a humiliation. "Most impressive, little flower! My Goddess will be very pleased when I gift her with this bountiful harvest! Perhaps when I'm free to stretch my legs without your pesky friends or… or Ironwood's attack dogs or…"
He paused as he noticed Ruby was ignoring him, approaching him with her scythe in hand and instead eyeing his derriere with a fearsome, piercing glare. Even worse for him, once she got close she removed his bladed gauntlets and used her weapon to trail the prosthetic telson Arthur provided him, as if looking for a chink in its metallic armor.
"What…? What do you think you're doing?"
His answer came with a resounding crack of the sniper rifle, the recoil propelling the blade backwards, near-effortlessly cutting through the brown chitin and making him an amputee twice over. The scream sounded like it could carry for miles.
"NO!" he yelled at Ruby. "NOT AGAIN! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
"I'm the one who should be asking you that," she replied. "You, who killed droves of innocent men, women, and children, put Jacques Schnee into power, poisoned my uncle, and laughed about it, really think there's something wrong with me?"
"YOU…! MY GODDESS… WILL MAKE YOU-!"
"Shhhh. Tyrian, Tyrian, Tyrian… How are you so blind to it all, Tyrian? Goddess this, Goddess that… Salem's not here, so you're stuck with me. And soon, you'll be stuck with the Atlas military, never to kill again. That should give you more than enough time to make up for everyone you've ever hurt!"
As she finished her tirade, Ruby could somehow feel her eyes flaring up again as her gaze started to bore into Tyrian's soul, right as she heard the sound of footsteps and Yang calling her name in concern. In a matter of seconds, the streets of Mantle were flooded with her light, and she heard Tyrian's voice ringing out in agony once more.
When the white glow faded from Ruby's sight, in its place was the pain in her eyes and the sight of her allies, especially Blake and Marrow, recovering from the sudden exposure. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could tell they were all confused. But when she looked into Tyrian's eyes one more time, what stared back horrified her.
He stared right at her with bleeding eyes, but to him, it was like she wasn't even there. Almost as if he couldn't see her at all. It didn't seem like he could see anything anymore.
What did she do?! She thought about preventing Tyrian from claiming more victims, and… then her powers activated. With no Grimm in sight. Was Maria wrong about her silver eyes on some level? Or were they merely changing somehow? The answers didn't matter to Ruby. Not as much as what this meant.
Never before had she used this power on a person, let alone at point-blank range. And to Faunus, normally blessed with their powerful low-light vision, it wouldn't have just been unbearable, but she would have transformed their night vision into zero vision, disabling them for life.
"Ruby, are you listening?!" she could finally make out Blake's voice in the chaos. "I think something's wrong with my eyes! What just happened?!"
As she watched Tyrian, now a cripple twice over, being carted away by the authorities, Ruby was distracted by her rampant thoughts. She figured a fitting comeuppance for someone who wanted to watch the world burn was to blind him to the world being burned, but this was overkill. She looked down at the synthetic venom glands in her hand before she gave Blake the only answer she had.
"I… I don't know."
Still shocked by the experience but nonetheless victorious, Ruby managed to get the prosthetic she claimed from Tyrian to a medical laboratory, where its purple, acidic contents were used to produce a large enough batch of antivenom to treat a small crowd. It took hours to make and hours more to deliver to the victims, but most managed to survive due to Atlas's extensive healthcare minimizing the damage done by the necrotic toxin.
With Tyrian behind bars, Ruby had plenty of spare time to plan her next course of action before she and her friends had to attend the celebratory banquet Jacques Schnee prepared following his election.
She was not going to enjoy the latter.
But the least she could do was continue to improve herself while she still had the time. Having kept the metal from her encounter the night before, Ruby decided to forge a new set of weapons out of them. True, Crescent Rose would always be her sweetheart, but she didn't deny that her attachment to just the one weapon could be… a disadvantage. Judging by last night's results, it wouldn't have hurt to make herself more versatile and less predictable in future combat. After cycling through various designs, Ruby settled on a twin pair of daggers that could also act as miniature bola launchers. Their name was to be determined.
While Tyrian's weaponry was made of a remarkably impure alloy, with a lot of patience and a little bit of luck, she managed to refine the metal into a form she would be more comfortable wielding. Whatever was left over was used to produce more ammo. Beyond what else remained on her self-imposed schedule, all Ruby needed was a period for the daggers to cool down. That, and a fresh coat of paint for a more personal touch.
But for now, she had another session with Ironwood to look forward to. Even though she still wasn't used to the whole "pop psychologist" gig, Ruby found it to be less of a chore than she believed it would be, especially since it was probably one of the least stressful things she did recently. Jaune did say that it was her that gave him and his team the hope and courage to go on, and she could see how she was affecting the general in a similar way. From the way she strolled down the hall with her clipboard and pencil in hand, the thought seemed to lift her spirits.
"Ruby?" Jaune caught her attention, sounding dour for some reason. "We need to talk."
"I'm kinda busy," she replied. "I just need to get through this next session, but I promise we can do it late-"
"This is serious. We need to talk right now."
Alarm bells were ringing in her mind.
"Jaune? Is something wrong?"
"No, Weiss was just complaining about the movie. Of course something's wrong! I don't know what it is, and I don't know how it happened, but there's something just… off about you lately!"
"What do you mean? How am I 'off'?"
"I don't know! It's just… ever since we got to Atlas and you started playing doctor for General Ironwood, you've started… well, changing. You're drowning yourself in your studies, you barely make time to hang out except on missions, every day it's like a part of you just… disappears!"
"I'm not going anywhere, Jaune. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a patient to check up on…"
"See?! You're doing it again! I just want to know what's happening, but you're just making excuses to leave! Just like you left Ren and Nora to deal with an angry crowd of voters! Where were you, Ruby?"
"We didn't have much time before those people would've died, so I had to get an-!"
"Had to get an antidote for something Qrow just walked off in a couple of days? That's ridiculous! So why did you really leave them?"
"I'm trying to tell you, but you're not listening!"
"Where were you when they needed you?"
"Stop it, Jaune…"
"Where were you when Cardin was making my life a living hell? Where were you when I lost Pyrrha?!"
"THIS ISN'T ABOUT YOU ANYMORE!"
"Ruby, I…!"
"Don't. Just… let me speak. Maybe I have changed. Maybe things are just a little bit different now. And I'm sorry for making you worry about me, but let me explain."
"Then explain it to me, Ruby! How have I been making this about me? I've done nothing but follow you because I believed in you!"
"Jaune, I've seen the way you tortured yourself over what happened to Pyrrha. It nearly got you killed. You're trapped in this… this limbo where you just have to fight Salem for a shot at revenge and it's making you miserable. Trust me, I've been there too, but we both know it's not what she would've wanted for us."
"Then what did she want, Ruby? Why do you think I shouldn't fight this war when you're devoting yourself to it? It's not about revenge for me! Even if it was, Cinder's dead! There is no revenge to be had! It's not even about me at all! Pyrrha wouldn't want us to do nothing while our friends are putting themselves on the line to help us! And guess what you left Ren and Nora to do while you went after Tyrian alone?! Nothing!"
"That's… That's not true! They were helping… helping the crowd!"
"HOW?!"
Ruby was caught off guard. She thought back to her bug hunt and how it started, when she realized… she didn't know. She didn't even consider how her friends would've resolved the situation. She just acted.
"You're not the same Ruby I met at Beacon," Jaune said, disappointed. "How did you become so… so uncaring? Why are you like this? What is wrong with you?!"
"Jaune, you have to understand! The lamp… the lamp told me how to defeat Salem. I thought… I thought it was the right thing to do…"
"It told Oz he couldn't destroy Salem. What. Did. It. Say. To you?! What answer could justify forcing our friends to watch you destroy yourself?"
"It said I had to think like Salem to beat Salem! All I had was one question and one right answer! That'd be all it took to stop any more tragedies from happening because of her… and Oz… and… and…"
She had caused dozens more in their place. And she hadn't actually stopped anything. The idea drove her to tears.
"And that's working out well, isn't it? You brought in Tyrian, Ironwood's getting better, you got your antidote… It sounds noble on paper, but I had no idea you had to be so miserable, selfish, and irresponsible for it to work out!"
"I… I'm not…"
"But hey, you said you had to think like Salem, right? If it was something like the Apathy Weiss talked about, I'd get it, but the lamp doesn't work like that. You chose this for yourself. I'm not going to be a part of it. Not anymore."
"Jaune… please… I'm… I'm sorry…"
"You said you had an appointment, right? Don't let me make you late, 'Dr. Rose'. Just stay away from me and my friends until you're yourself again."
Ruby couldn't even find it in herself to correct him. She deserved it that time. As her first friend stormed off, she reflected on everything she had done, all the times where it seemed like she was actually making a difference. When she scoured the city for the antivenom, Nora and Ren seemed to completely ignore her afterwards. In fighting Tyrian, she nearly cost Blake her vision, alienated her friends, and needlessly endangered herself against a foe who was her superior in power and experience. All in the same night.
Jaune was right. She wasn't a hero. She didn't feel like one either. One stupid decision kept leading to another, all because she didn't think things through. She thought she did, and where did that lead her? Her friends, the people she trusted and who trusted her, now thought she was little better than Ozpin or even Salem herself.
But… Ironwood didn't. Maybe if she talked about everything that's happened with him, he'd understand. He'd be able to help her set things right.
She could barely hear what sounded like Ironwood talking to someone in his office, and doing so awkwardly at that. When she heard it again, it was more like he was rehearsing something to say later.
"Rest assured, Penny is…" he started somewhat nervously, "is… completely under my control. No, too insensitive. It makes me sound like the tyrant the people claim I am…"
Her knock seemed to really bolt him this time if his sudden yelp was any indication.
"James?" she asked with concern. "Is everything okay?"
"It… It's nothing, Dr. Rose. Er, Ruby. I was just… startled."
"Please don't call me… Ugh, why even bother at this point? I'm sorry I'm a few minutes later than normal."
"It's fine. I know these are hard times for all of us. No one's invincible, after all. Now come on in. I have quite a bit to talk about."
Ruby stepped in and grabbed her pencil from her ear while Ironwood made himself more comfortable in his seat. While she tried to do the same and get herself comfortable, she was still haunted by her fight with Jaune.
"So… how are you?"
"I've been considering your advice from our last session. About letting myself feel the negativity to make it disappear. So, whenever I had the time, I'd just take another look at that blasted black queen that's vexed me ever since… since Beacon happened. It still hurts just thinking about it, but each time, it gets just a little bit better. Maybe it's because I'm reminding myself it's just a chess piece, maybe it's because I'm getting accustomed to the pain, but my point is… it's somehow working."
"That's… great! Thanks for sharing that with me. I'm impressed with your progress."
Then he looked worried as he began to notice how upset his doctor was.
"Is everything alright, Ruby?" he questioned. "You don't seem like yourself. Are you… crying?"
"It's nothing, James. It's…"
He just looked at her with a face that practically told her it really wasn't.
"I… I really messed up last night. After the election."
"What makes you so certain? I thought it went relatively well given the circumstances."
"It… It started when Tyrian hit. One second, he's stinging everyone, and the next everything's white and I hear him getting weaker. So I thought of the antivenom plan, and I figured if he was hurt I could take him myself and get what I needed off him. How could I be so stupid?"
"But even then, you succeeded. You defeated him, now he's in custody, and most of his victims were saved. I'd call that a victory."
"More like a disaster… I think my powers are evolving, James. I was thinking about everyone that maniac hurt, and the next thing I know, I… I think I blinded him and… oh no, Blake! Is she okay?"
"She said she saw a blinding light and felt an intense burning pain, but thankfully her eyes haven't suffered any permanent damage. Still, the thought that your eyes can affect people as well as Grimm is a terrifying one. Is that why you're so… down?"
"I wish! As it turned out, Nora and Ren were mad at me for running off alone and told Jaune, and he… didn't take it well. He told me I was changing into something he couldn't recognize. Then I lost my temper and… and I told him he was being selfish over Pyrrha's death. I really shouldn't have said that. I think they're starting to hate me and it's all my fault! Jaune even said I was no better than Salem herself. Is that true?"
While disheartened by Ruby's meltdown, Ironwood looked at her in understanding.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Ruby. The fact that you're admitting any of this to me means you are nowhere near as far down as you say your friends think you are. I've done things that I regret, but making mistakes is part of what makes us human. And actually regretting what you've done wrong instead of shifting the blame to someone else means you're more human than Salem ever was.."
"I guess, but… Even though I've been spending all this time helping you, I need to know if something's… wrong… with me… because I'm different from who I was before. Am I really changing that much?"
"People change all the time, especially when they're growing up. It sounds harsh, but it's a fact of life. The only time there'd be anything wrong with becoming someone new would be if it goes against what you truly think is right. But even though you've become more calculating and a little more ambitious than you were when we first met, to me you're still the same Ruby I've always known. I don't know what you said to piss off your friends, but you're still the kind, honest soul who just wants to make life better for everyone she can. Nothing can change that about who you are. I'm sure they'll understand sooner or later."
Ruby smiled in appreciation.
"Thank you, James. That means a lot to me. Anyway, I take it things aren't going so well with the Council?"
"They've been on my back demanding that I explain why Penny somehow appeared to be responsible for the carnage Tyrian left behind. I tried telling them it was nonsensical due to how the survivors of his poisoning could attest that he was the culprit, but my pleas fell on deaf ears. I've been trying to draft responses that would ease the tension, but I couldn't come up with anything that wouldn't set off the public. They can be very fickle, especially after such a traumatic event as the death of Fiona Thyme, one of the Happy Huntresses."
"She… died? If only I'd stopped him sooner…"
"My men saw Robyn and the others fleeing the scene while carrying her away. The other victims were only kept alive due to having access to our best healthcare until they received the antivenom. You couldn't have known they would retreat before they thought to accept the treatment. I know you said you made a lot of mistakes, but this wasn't your fault. How do I fix things with the citizens of Mantle?"
"There's always the choice to just… you know, talk to them. Get their stories out. Even if you're not sure they can trust you, they'll definitely listen to the victims. I just hope Penny gets through this okay."
"I'll see what I can do, for you and for Penny. In the meantime, I have reason to suspect Tyrian didn't work alone. He's not stupid by any means, but he's not enough of a technological genius to access Mantle's power grid, let alone hijack the election in Jacques Schnee's favor. When we attend the banquet, try to keep an eye out for any clues that might lead us to our mystery hacker."
Right. That.
"I'm honestly not looking forward to it, James."
"Since I find the occasion to be of exceedingly poor taste, I can't argue there. But this may be our one chance to get the information we need to prevent any future attacks from Salem's followers. I wish you and your team good luck. And I hope you resolve your situation with Jaune and the others."
"Thanks again. I'll let you know if we find anything. Until then, keep hanging in there!"
"You as well, Ruby. You as well."
As she departed once more, still upset but feeling a little better after her heart-to-heart with Ironwood, Ruby could finally see the earnest smile on her patient's lips when she glanced back at him. Treating it as a sign that all the burdens of her new role were worth it in the end, she returned to the forge to check on her latest project.
By now, the freshly-purified alloy had cooled, nearly ready to be repurposed for fighting the very evil to which it used to belong. After extracting the newly-formed daggers, she took out some wear-resistant paints and got to work, applying an elegant color scheme reminiscent of her very own Crescent Rose, albeit with more emphasis on the white and a striking silver edge. Just what the doctor ordered.
Wait… that had a nice ring to it. And what did Penny say the first time she met the Happy Huntresses? Ah, yes. She knew just what to call her new weapons.
Doctor's Orders.
On the night of the banquet, Ruby was quick to pass on Ironwood's hypothesis to the rest of Team RWBY, leading her to suggest that Weiss investigate the manor once they arrived to try to get any proof of whatever duplicitous activity was going on at the time of the election. Thank goodness at least they were still on speaking terms with her. The confusion her friends caused provided an ideal opening for the Schnee middle child to escape the prying eyes of her father's guests.
However, Ruby couldn't help but overhear her patient's argument with her best friend's father.
"Are we safe with her here, by the way?" Schnee asked, clearly referring to Penny. "I do recall some confusion regarding her involvement with that horrific massacre."
"As the official report stated," Ironwood emphasized, "that footage was doctored. Penny was doing her best to protect Mantle's voter base in the pandemonium. I don't believe she would ever take an innocent life of her own volition. If you don't trust it coming from me, you can ask the victims."
His answer satisfied Ruby even as the newly-elected Councilman continued to berate the general. Honest, while taking consideration of how everyone else might have felt, it sounded like something she might have said were she in Ironwood's place.
The quest for evidence eventually paid off, with Weiss managing to acquire video documentation of her father making a deal with a mustachioed man thought long dead in some "Paladin incident". As Jacques Schnee was quickly arrested by his own daughter, Ruby now had a name and a face for the culprit behind the business mogul's ascension to power: Dr. Arthur Watts.
But by now, things seemed to be getting worse. Suddenly, Mantle's heating grid shut down, causing desperate and freezing civilians to squabble over resources. The negativity started to draw in swarms of Grimm, ensuring that those who didn't die of hypothermia would be torn apart. Whoever this Dr. Watts was, he clearly thought this through.
While everyone was preparing to fight back against the chaos, Ruby noticed Oscar lagging behind Jaune, Nora, and Ren as they headed out.
"Oscar!" she stopped him.
"Ruby!" he replied. "What did you-?"
"No, you first."
"Um… I heard about what happened with you and Jaune. Are you-?"
"Fine! I'm fine. Everything's fine. It's just, I know he's mad about… everything that's been going on with me lately, and… you don't actually think I've been… weird since we got here?"
"No, not at all! I know what it's like to have everything on your shoulders all the time. I mean, with Ironwood, with You-Know-Who pulling the strings on everything, I kinda get why you've been pushing yourself so much, even if you are a little moodier than I remember. I know you'll patch things up with the others."
"Thanks, Oscar. And I never really apologized for what happened with Oz. I shouldn't have treated either of you like that when he had good reasons for doing what he did. Better reasons than I did for ignoring you guys lately."
"It's fine! It's fine. Now, what were you going to say?"
She unfastened the lamp from her belt and held it out.
"The lamp?" he asked. "You're giving it to me?"
"It's safer in your hands than mine. I don't think I'd be able to make things right if I kept everything to myself, anyway. Besides, an ancient Relic on a keychain can be pretty easy to lose, you know?"
As she bequeathed the lamp to Oscar, she heard the snap of a Scroll's camera and noticed one of the waitresses loitering around the area, looking right at her with what seemed like… confusion? Uncertainty? Did she know this person?
It probably didn't matter, and definitely not now. Not when things were so dangerous.
"You should probably stay inside, miss," Ruby advised her. "It's not safe out there."
The young doctor then whipped out her daggers and entered the field of battle with the farm boy at her heels. Meanwhile, the waitress left the manor, flummoxed and preoccupied by a singular thought. Just one question, nothing more.
Who the hell was that woman?! The one with the bleached cloak?!
The waitress made her way to a lavish hotel room somewhere away from the Schnee manor and out of sight from the carnage in downtown Mantle. She could only hope her roommate was in a good enough mood to forgive her abandoning her duty to regather herself and return when the smoke cleared.
"You're back early," none other than Cinder Fall noted. "Tell me you found what we're here for."
The waitress appeared to transform with a wave of energy akin to shattered glass, revealing herself to actually be Neopolitan. Oh, how good it felt to be in her own skin again. Still, there was the issue at hand. She managed to find not only the Relic of Knowledge, but also the object of her vengeance. Little freaking Red. The murderer of the one thing that ever loved her, who took the one thing she had ever loved away from her.
Sort of. If she had to be honest with herself, she wasn't so sure that really was her. Something was just… wrong. The idea that it could be Little Red infuriated her, but the idea that it couldn't be just made her confused.
"Well? Did you find the lamp or not?"
That she did, but it wasn't unguarded. Last she saw, the strange woman in the bleached cloak turned it over to an unassuming farm boy dressed in a green overcoat.
"The farm boy has the lamp? Then find him and bring it to me."
Seriously? Cinder was the Fall Maiden! With a Grimm for a hand! She could just get the lamp herself if she wanted to! But no! She had to drag Neo into her insipid little fetch quests when all she wanted was to get the justice she and Roman rightfully deserved! In her frustration, she morphed into the familiar black-and-red visage of the young girl who stole her beloved two years ago, telling Cinder that Little Red should be their top priority.
"No! I want her dead as much as you do, but I need that lamp if we're going to kill her the right way!"
Cinder didn't understand. There was no right way to kill someone, just as long as the deed was done.
"By the way, your illusion was off. Dress her like a tavern wench."
How demanding could she get? Neo saw the value of her compatriot's abilities, but why did she have to be the biggest asshole in all of Remnant?! Sure, Roman was an asshole, too, but he was her asshole. He was her family. Cinder was nothing to her. Still, she complied and gave her boss that tavern uniform she asked for. How humiliating…
"Eh, close enough. Now… tell me more about this 'strange woman' you encountered. I need to know if she'll cause any… complications."
Finally, they were getting somewhere important! She eagerly assumed the form of her mystery warrior, her hair short and spiky with a billowing red cape that seemed to fade into a stark white as it trailed to the bottom. Unfortunately, Cinder didn't look too happy.
"Is this a joke? Are you actually kidding me, Neo?! That's clearly Ruby with a different outfit!"
Neo just slapped her face in disbelief and exasperation. Why couldn't Cinder see that there was more to this woman than just the clothes? Or did everyone with short black hair just look alike to her? Perhaps she had to lay it out as best as she could. This new player was more cunning, more confident, and somehow more worn and exhausted than Little Red was. The real Red was still out there somewhere, and the goddamn Fall Maiden wanted to waste her time with this imposter?! Unbelievable.
"Imposter?! They're one and the same! I'm starting to think our little romp in Mistral took away some of your brain cells… or maybe you just got your stupidity from your pathetic boss…"
That was it. That was it! She couldn't take it anymore! All rational thought went right out the window as Neo dispelled the illusion and tackled Cinder to the floor, putting her blade to the Maiden's throat and scowling at her, nonverbally daring her to take back what she just said before she killed her right then and there.
"You know you can't kill me. You know you won't kill me, Neo. I am the Fall Maiden, a being with more power than you can even fathom! And what are you again? Just a little woman with a nifty Semblance. You couldn't get even an inch as close to Little Red as you are now if I wasn't so merciful in Mistral. I could have burned or frozen you to death without so much as lifting a finger. I could have gutted you, blown you up, or speared you through the chest any time I wanted, but I chose not to. Do you know why? It's because we need each other. The next time you try something like that again, my need for you will go away. And so will you. Do I make myself clear?"
Damn it. If she kept pressing her attack, she'd be dead. Everything she went through for Roman would be for nothing. So she backed off, put away her weapon, and simply nodded.
"Good. Now go and do your job. I'll bide my time… and watch as Ironwood cracks trying to do his."
Neo left her holier-than-thou partner and prepared to get into position. Ugh, partner… the word left a bad taste in her mouth. They weren't partners. They weren't even equals. Roman was her equal. Roman was her partner. But… Roman was gone, and no one could replace him. At this point, her work wasn't even fun anymore. She was just doing the heavy lifting under the threat of being melted by Cinder.
She missed her dum-dum.
She only had her curiosity to distract her from the pain. She took out her Scroll, fondly reminiscing on her past battles with Roman at her side against Little Red before reaching the one picture she had of her. The woman in white. She studied the image carefully, noting every detail. The knives were new. So was her composure. But what really caught Neo's eye was the look on the woman's face. With it came the destruction of any sense of doubt that Cinder was nothing short of moronic for not seeing it. It was the gaze of someone who died and became something nearly unrecognizable.
It was the thing she saw every time she looked in the mirror, ever since Trivia Vanille died long ago.