Author's Headnote: 4-month time skip? I know, but I don't wanna write four months of filler of Ruby combing the galaxy filled with dread and emo-esque attitude so I just wanna skip to the good part. And I mean it's a very good part.
And just to clarify, Salem WAS able to see through the seers, but she longer can once they crossed the gateway. Connection lost, Seer loses function even though it still 'lives', if Cerberus finds out how to control it... well... I won't spoil the surprise.
The Ruby of Cerberus: Illium: Breakout
Yang Xiao Long:
Health: Majorly wounded, terrible condition, needs medical attention
Aura Status: 0% (constant pummeling prevents regeneration)
Semblance: Kinetic Rage
Weapons: none
Credits: 0
Party Relations: N/A (got separated from the rest of the team)
End of Major character status report
Talsae, Illium, Eclipse Base, 4/13/2175, 14:00-ish, 'Special Dungeon'
Given Yang's rather resilient nature and resistance to breaking. She was tossed in a rather special cell in the headquarters. One where Yang is restrained and only provided sustenance from IV's. Needless to say, Cerberus treats its prisoners better. Given that she likely received some permanent scarring from the beatings she's received, ranging from blunt to sharp. The dungeon in question is rather small, but enough to fit two people, with one of them beating the tarp out of the other. The other being Yang, who is in nothing but their underwear.
The room is absolutely dark, the only source of light is outside of the room, and it's only present when the door is open. Normally these binds she's in would be easily broken... but in her current state... not so much. She's not sure where Weiss and Blake are, but chances are those scum have done something to them that would be unforgivable... if only Ruby were around, none of this would have happened.
However, any time for thinking would have to wait, as she's got a visitor who is holding something. An asari wearing eclipse armor, she seems to be carrying something in her hand. A carton or container... something that would hold fuel. Wait, is she going to? Yep, she did. Yang was doused in some strange red colored ooze; it was transparent and the appearance from it makes It well... disgusting.
"This is said to be a powerful drug, but it can be harmful in large doses, and I just doused you in it." the eclipse mercenary said.
Yang's hands clenched into a fist. Her eyes show some anger. She's not one to go out without a fight.
"Oh, you're angry? Maybe this will calm you down." the mercenary said, kicking Yang in the gut.
Though, despite her aura being depleted... she can feel her semblance reacting. As if something else is activating it. Yang starts to glow purple, and she breaks off from the bindings and punched the mercenary, knocking her back and killing her on accident, leaving a bloody mess. She gets deja-vu as she killed someone just like that before. No matter, she's free from the prison and the sudden surge of power may come in handy.
Though, as soon as she broke free, the sudden urge of energy wore off... guess whatever happened to her, her body is either not attuned to it, or may not be good for her body in the long run.
Talsae, Illium, Eclipse Base, 4/13/2175, 14:00-ish, Dungeon Area
Yang had escaped and is now weakened. It won't take long for anyone to notice something wrong. So... she does the thing she's not very good at... hiding. But first she grabs a pistol from the corpse for self-defense. Not sure what model it is, but a gun's a gun and anything will do at this point. Her aura will take a while to heal, and she has to rescue Weiss and Blake, and then escape and look for Ruby, assuming she's still alive. That last fight when she fell... well, it hurt Yang.
Yang tried to hide away in a dark corner. She heard footsteps so she'll have to remain in a low cover. The footsteps reveal more eclipse, she'll have to act soon if she doesn't want the whole base going in high alert. So out of reflex, Yang fired the gun at the guards until it was too hot for her to handle. Which was 30 bullets. She let go of the gun and saw that her hand was getting burn marks. She should really pay attention to the temperature of the thing she's holding.
However, with that noise she's made, and the addition of more dead guards... she had better find Weiss and Blake and escape as soon as possible. Being that the amount of time has elapsed... let's see here... it's been almost 4 months since the botched operation. Ruby would know what to do if she were in Yang's position. But she can't really mourn for Ruby right now, she would have wanted Yang to move on. She got herself in this mess, she's gonna get out.
Weiss and Blake have to be somewhere in the area, she may as well search some of the dead bodies... let's see here... credits are nice. No doubt Yang's gonna need them back. And some armor... well, anything. However, it seems the equipment is not in Yang's size so she just must go around and find some clothes for her, later. She can worry about her appearance once she's away from enemy territory. Enemy territory being Eclipse, and no doubt Cerberus wouldn't help them... but she needs to focus on getting out.
Let's see here... Omnitool. She'll have to log in and boop, it's hers now. Yang installs the Cerberus credit siphon app and transfers the credits from the deceased to her. That money's gonna be important. Especially regarding buying new clothes and food.
She may as well shoot down some of the cameras whilst she's here, no need to trigger any alarms. Thankfully the pistol is rather quiet for some reason.
Now that she has an Omnitool... she now has an accessible wallet and nothing else. Ruby was the one who really tinkered with what they can do for these situations, not Yang. What she needed was a method to escape... wait... she pulled up her omnitool. Apparently, the map app can access the inside of the base. Well, who knew? However, it doesn't specify the descriptions of the rooms, she'll have to guess and find which ones have Weiss and Blake.
She checked the first room closest to her... she opens the door and found it to be a storage closet filled with empty cleaning supplies. As much as she'd like to bathe, a janitorial jungle juice would be filled with stuff to clean floors, not people. In fact, some of that stuff may not react well to human skin... she wouldn't know as she didn't really pay attention to Chemistry. Ammonia and Bleach seem like a duo that could go together, however... Yang has nowhere to put them on her person, and she doesn't want to stretch her underwear in risk of breaking it. Besides, waistband's reserved for the pistol right now.
So... She really can't do anything but hope for a closet of clothes or for Weiss and Blake. She opened the next door... empty, from the looks of it, it was a prison cell. Whoever was in there likely ended up receiving a painful death, given the room is painted blood-red. Yang shuddered at the thought of it.
As she was heading to the next room, she saw some guards coming in and approaching the room. She can't engage in combat given her state... depleted aura, no armor or shields. One hit from those guns and it's game over. At the very least she has underwear on, otherwise it'd be much more degrading. Yang had no choice but to hide. She hates it, but she really can't risk it. She was lucky she didn't set off an alarm.
The guards open the door and Weiss and Blake were in it. They grabbed the two of them and dragged it out of the cell.
"You were sold. Your buyer said they needed some fresh stock. The cat ear-pitch really helped the sale, surprised it took so long." the guard said, holding Weiss and Blake.
Weiss and Blake couldn't really respond as they were muzzled. But at the very least they were in clothes, otherwise. Not sure why they decided that they needed clothes and not Yang. However, she only had one shot to save them. There were three guards. What's more surprising to note is that Blake's cat ears are not covered, so they know about that. She had to time it right to save them aaaaand. A glyph appeared from Weiss slightly moving her hand, pushing one of the guards back. She then broke off the binds from her hands and then the muzzle. Blake broke hers off as well.
"I was simply biding my time." Weiss said.
No doubt the guards would open fire at first opportunity, so Yang had shot them in the head, killing them.
Yang had then emerged.
"Yang? You're still alive?" Weiss said, surprised.
"How come they didn't give you the same treatment as me?" Yang asked.
"I almost did, but Blake said to play it cool. They go easier on prisoners who are compliant. Although my badmouthing earned us a muzzle."
"And it paid off in the end." Blake said. "How did you break out, Yang?"
"Well, you will never believe me if I told you, but one of the mercenaries tossed some liquid at me and I was glowing, next thing I knew, I created a mess on the eclipse base. I had then had to sneak around to find you guys." Yang explained.
"Well, you were right. That seems like a highly unlikely outcome. But it doesn't matter, we're all out."
"So... what do we do?"
"Well, first off we look for a way out. We can't march out through the front, that'd be suicide."
"So... what do we do?"
"First off, Weiss. Get Yang some clothes. Seeing her like that is kind of disturbing."
"What? What's wrong with my body?"
"Have you looked at it? You look like an old doll given to a young psychopath. Looking at you in your state is kind of... nauseating."
"I don't find anything wrong with her scars." Weiss commented.
"Scars would be an understatement. She looks like she needs to be covered in casts." Blake retorted.
"I'm right here, you know. Given the various scars and marks on my body. Some whip cracks, some knives, a bludgeon here and there. They were really using me to relieve stress, and the last girl tried to set me on fire."
"Yang. You're acting like it's no big deal." Blake retorted.
"You know pain doesn't faze me." Yang responded.
"Still... seeing you like this makes me sick. And it's worse than you're describing it. Parts of your body have literal markings of where you were slashed. Some of them are still scabbing. Your left eye is blackened, and your nose looks broken. Thankfully your ears are in one shape, but they look like they hurt you. And when I look at your back, eurgh... it makes me sick. It seems they did not hold back on the whipping. How you're still alive is a miracle." Blake ranted.
Yang began touching her nose and felt something is indeed off. "Huh." Yang uttered.
"You didn't notice?" Blake asked.
"I did have trouble breathing for a bit, but eventually I got better."
"However, your nose still looks like it's been hit with a baseball bat."
"It has."
"How can you say that with a straight face?"
"Remember what I said earlier?"
"Yes. However, if the pain's not enough. I suggest looking in the mirror."
"How about we do it later? For now, we need to leave."
"Yes. No doubt your aura is working overtime to heal all of this."
"Actually, my aura hasn't recovered."
"What?"
"Ya... for some reason It hasn't recovered."
"Maybe because aura can't exactly recover when it's been overworked." Weiss stated.
"Overworked?" Blake asked.
"Happened to my mother. She was a huntress that got too careless, had severe injuries. She survived, obviously. But her aura never recovered."
"Ouch."
"This happened before Winter was born, by the way."
"Oh..."
"And it's why my father runs the company, since the incident my mother basically drowned herself in alcohol. Only going dry when she was pregnant."
"We can talk about that later. For now, get Yang some clothes whilst I come up with an escape plan."
"Alright, Yang. Follow me." Weiss said, pushing Yang.
Yang was being pushed against her will to find herself something to cover herself up.
Character Change: Yang Xiao Long - Blake Belladonna
Talsae, Illium, Eclipse Base, 4/13/2175, 15:32, Dungeon Area
Honestly, if Ruby saw Yang like that... she would have a breakdown. Not sure of what kind. But knowing Ruby's reaction whenever someone badmouths her mother, no doubt a similar reaction would occur should she see her sister like this. Well, assuming she's still alive. If she's still alive, she would have to figure out where she is, because no doubt given the time elapsed according to the Omnitool. Blake's worried about Ruby. Her aura broke when she last saw her. so her fate is rather unceratin. But something tells Blake she's still alive. After getting out of here, she's gonna find Ruby.
Though, the same would go if anyone other than Ruby would be dead, even if it were just Yang. So, either find Ruby and reunite and hopefully get back to Remnant or this dimension is where they'll end up living for the rest of their lives. She would certainly hope Ruby is alive, no matter what state she's in.
But covering Yang up would be a nice change... she'd honestly get sick if she continued to see Yang like that. Even then it'd be disturbing if she wasn't all bruised and scarred. Could she not find some clothes on her own?
Well, it matters not. She looked around... the janitor's closet. Ammonia and bleach, not sure if mustard gas will help... and any attempt to use it will likely kill Yang in the process. As much as Blake has problems with Yang, she's a teammate and it would be inconvenient for her to die. So, not much to do there.
As for the escape route... there's a door, Blake opened it and it led the outside, albeit it's a tight area with a lot of stairs. She sees a stray cat climbing the rails. Perhaps this is a good way out... and the only way given the nature of this planet, going through the sewers is an unlikely possibility. so out the back door they'll have to go.
Blake had called over Weiss and Yang and they quickly showed up. Yang is now clothed in mis-matched but still covering attire. At least it's covering the scars. So now Blake can look at Yang without vomiting in her mouth. The seemingly broken nose is still jarring.
"Weiss, carry Yang. we'll be heading through here." Blake said.
"Right. It's rather convenient for a back door to be here." Weiss commented on.
"Well, instead of commenting on our convenience, we can just take advantage of it. because the more we wait and talk, the more time the Eclipse can have their sights on us." Blake retorted.
Weiss picked up Yang, who appears to not like being carried like she's some helpless bystander... remained silent. the three of them walked out without any objection.
Talsae, Illium, Eclipse Base, 4/13/2175, 15:41, Back Entrance
The back entrance, as earlier described... tight and full of stairs. the stairs lead upwards.
Weiss was carrying Yang as she and Blake were climbing upstairs. for what seemed like three stories. they were really high up... and given view, they should focus on climbing the stairs... because if they should somehow trip and fall, they'd die. plain and simple.
The climbing was surprisingly short, as there were only three levels to climb. eventually, they were at the back of the building, where they saw a hover-car vacant... with the door open. needless to say, this was their ticket out of here. the next thing they needed was a ship out of Illium and hopefully out of the system cluster.
"Stealing a car?" Weiss asked.
"Hey, it's not like we have much of an option. besides, they tried to sell us to who knows what? What's worse is that they know about my ears." Blake stated.
"Yes, hopefully people will buy it off as some sort of photoshop sham. We'll need to get you a hat."
"And a change of clothes. we'll likely have to head somewhere that's charitable for the impoverished..."
Weiss shuddered.
"So... anywhere but Illium?" Yang asked. "I've been here long enough to know this place doesn't have one like that."
"I think we should try getting to Earth." Blake stated.
"Why's that?" Weiss asked.
"If you remember, it's the homeland for humans in this dimension. No doubt it would be a safe place for us to hide and regather our strength. Then we can concentrate on finding Ruby." Blake stated.
"Blake, if Ruby hasn't shown up by now, chances are she's gone." Weiss said, solemnly.
"As it pains me to say it, Weiss is right." Yang added with a sad tone.
Blake remained silent. The fact that Ruby hasn't come after all this time... has she abandoned them? What has she been doing for the past 4 months? Blake knows Ruby is still alive, there's just something telling her that. Like a voice in her head. She can't really give up on Ruby. she's still alive, somewhere in this dimension.
No less, the three of them boarded the hovercar and went far away from the Eclipse base.
Character Change: Blake Belladonna - Ruby Rose
The Cordavire, April 13, 2175, 16:10, Garage
Punch, punch, punch.
Punch, punch, punch.
Punch, punch, SLAM!
RIIIIIIIIIP DROOOP
Yet another punching bag broke. How did Yang train with these? They're made of paper. Though, she has broken plenty before. And on top of that, been using the heavyweight ones, but at this point, Ruby's starting to break those. She'll need tougher equipment to get stronger. Perhaps the ones fit for Krogans will do... She tried to take some of those martial arts classes she's took didn't really do much help. Apparently, she had too much negativity in her body to take the class. By that, they mean she couldn't afford it. That Jiu Jitsu dojo had a very interesting way to word it. But ya, all of her money is getting warped into paying back debt for not Ruby's debt to Cerberus, but for Weiss, Blake, and Yang. So she doesn't have any spending money.
She's been Siphoning all credits from people she defeated, and her debt is nowhere near gone.
So, what does she do in her free time? Well, train. Study... figure out how to do these things online. Thankfully Esi taught her how. Ruby's been trying to read into romance novels in her past time, though working out and weapon maintenance takes up most of her time, save for sleeping. In addition, she makes sure her fighting form is in perfect condition despite malnutrition. She's been really getting by on stolen food. Cutting corners and needing to spend as little money as possible.
Though, anything Miranda says has to come first. Being that she really can't disappoint... although she did take credit for the death of the Batarian pirate and just outright lied to her. She also said that her friends have defected. She hated to lie, but she fears what may happen if she had 'failed' a mission more than being outright honest. She's not a hero anymore, just a plain old mook. As sad as it is. She's become a coward, but at the very least a coward that values her very loose freedom.
Ruby's also been growing her hair out; it's been in an unkempt shape. And the intensive workouts have been a boon to her muscle growth. Plus given the surprise growth spurt, she should be about as fit and as strong as Yang right around now... by Ruby's guesstimate. Given her growths around other areas, she's been wearing Yang and Blake's clothes. Since her old clothes don't fit her, anymore. Hopefully they don't mind.
Yang... Ruby cares for her sister... should anything happen to her... no, she cannot think of the worst. It's only gonna make things worse. Verkash has become worried about Ruby's mental health so she's been avoiding him like the plague. So, she mostly keeps to herself and only talks to them when a job is needed to be done. After all, the missions Ruby does get them fuel and food, so they don't complain. But she can't help but think they're concerned for her health.
Ruby cleaned up the punching bag and put it with the others... perhaps she should try rocks? Metal blocks? No, if she uses up more muscle strength than necessary, she's gonna regret it. But yes, she needs something tougher. Because these punching bags aren't enough, perhaps she should get something harder.
Wait, hold on... she's got a text from Miranda... apparently, she needs to go to Earth, the human homeworld and contact a man named Michael Mosser Lang. She needs to deliver him something, by reporting to the Cerberus cell based on Earth... in a place called 'New Orleans'. New Orleans? What happened to Old Orleans? Did it get destroyed or something? No, there's no grimm in this dimension so chances are Old Orleans wasn't destroyed by them... but she's heard of these things called 'Dinosaurs' that are these giant carnivorous birds. Perhaps those dinosaurs are the equivalent of grimm here? Though she likely won't encounter one since they're extinct. But she would be excited to fight one of those giant birds. Anyways... she'll need to find this 'New Orleans'. Because looking at a map of Earth is just a pure headache. She still can't get over the fact that it's called 'dirt'.
Alas, her friends will have to wait. But if they were in her position, they would understand.
Character Change: Ruby Rose - Miranda Lawson
Anadius, Cronos Station, Lower-Station, April 14, 2175, 12:00 (Military Time), Friday, Hangar bay
Miranda had sent the assignment to Ruby yesterday, it's one way below her needed skill so it should basically be a walk in the park for her. If everything goes as plans, the politics on Earth will shift to favor Cerberus. They gave this task to Miranda, because her underling has been doing exceptionally well, despite being a solo agent. Being able to handle assassinations, recon, scouting, and spying. Albeit she was only sent to one assassination, and it was the one with the batarian privateer. If everything goes well, she may as well be the personal elite soldier Cerberus would be looking for.
As for her friends... well, according to their tracking devices, they're currently on Illium... and haven't really moved from there, since. Chances are they must have been screwed over and been enslaved. She really can't help but feel sorry for the defects, but she really can't send Ruby to retrieve them without fully knowing the situation. She did not relay this information to the Illusive Man, as it may very well be unnecessary to have them hunted down and killed. No one will actually believe their story, after all. The concept of other dimensions is basically wild science fiction. And the gateways would seem like fantasy. But why would the Protheans would build such an artifact? Perhaps the Protheans themselves are thriving in another dimension... why would they even need to leave this one?
But out of curiosity. She browsed the extranet for this stuff... and appearently someone published a book on quantumn theory about the existence of other realities... a man named Rafael Zhenekov. When looking him up, turns out he lives in Kyiv. The folks in the Unity Cell could use a man like him, so while Ruby's at earth, she could make a stop there to... 'retrieve him'. Chances are if he's open and about, his ideas could be dangerous should any opposition look into his work, so it's better he works for Cerberus than anywhere else.
Miranda went and contacted Ruby.
"I'm preparing for my trip to Earth... I'm still trying to find New Orleans on the map, though." Ruby said.
"Yes, but I have an additional task for you, once you made contact with the target. You will have to kidnap a second target named Rafael Zhenekov. He is in a city called Kyiv." Miranda stated.
"I already have trouble finding New Orleans, now I have to go somewhere called Kyiv?"
"It shouldn't be that difficult."
"Well, I've never been to earth before... and there is a lot of Springfields."
"Have you checked the southern coastline?"
"Yes, and I didn't see-oh, there it is. Heheh... Now where is Kyiv?"
Author's Footnote: And now for some explanations
Ruby has become well... a bit more cowardly around Cerberus since the incident. Mostly because she knows the organization is Malevolent and is quite afraid of what they may do to her if she fails a mission. So... she chose to value her own life over her teammates... what a team leader she is. But what am I complaining about? I wrote this, I would expect at least one complaint about Ruby's behavior here. Honestly, I've done like 3 separate takes on Ruby for this chapter because I wanted to get it right.
Yang's escape? How did she get access to biotics, albeit temporary? She was doused in Minagen X3, although the dosage is enough to give her biotics it was not enough to outright kill her. But ya, Yang's gonna have to rest and recover from all of this. Sorry Yang fans, but she's not gonna have a good time in the milky way.
Yes, Blake and Weiss also acquired omnitools from the Eclipse mercenary corpses.
Don't worry, Myrtenaster and Gambrol Shroud are in Ruby's possession, not the Eclipse's.
Worry not, the Earth chapter will be rather short because the sooner we're back to explore the rest of the galaxy, the better.
Yang's jaw and teeth are fine, don't worry.
But ya, took a while because I tried to get the chapter right. I hope you appreciate it... or don't... I'm just happy enough to continue this story. See you next chapter.