Here's Chapter 3, folks! Haven't got anything to add really, other than the fact that Ruby has evidently become a little bit of bitch. Anyway, on with the story!


Ruby Rose walked along the concrete path that lay on her journey towards the nearby village. The woman she saved from those bandits walked in front of her, leading the way towards her home. The sky was covered in dark gray clouds, and raindrops fell from the sky. A stiff breeze went through the air, but Ruby paid no heed to it.

Ruby hadn't bothered to take in the woman's appearance before now. As they walked towards the village, Ruby looked over her. She had long, light brown hair that stretched just past her neck. A small pair of brown bear eyes stuck out of the top of her hair. She a had an old looking red scarf around her neck and a dark brown jacket over a yellow top. She had a long, dark red skirt and wore leather boots.

I have to admit, compared to me she has style, Ruby thought to herself, before tugging lightly at the battered and dirty red cloak that hung from her back. Her red skirt wasn't fairing any better, and her tights had holes in them. Some from years of use and others from battle. Her boots were mostly fine, courtesy of the dead traveller she found them on and her black long sleeved blouse remained mostly intact. Eh, I'm sure some people have clothes in worse condition.

She laughed at the thought before focusing on the road once more. The wind blew harder on the trees and the rain began to fall once more. The woman in front of her picked up the pace, and Ruby did the same.

"Soooo, what's your name?" The woman in front of her spoke.

Huh, this entire time I never even thought to introduce myself. How rude of me, Ruby laughed silently in her head at that thought. "Ruby Rose, pleasure to meet you." Ruby responded.

"Cecilia, Cecilia Burrows."

Ruby and Cecilia walked in silence for a moment. There wasn't much to talk about, so Ruby started with a rather basic question. "Where are you from?"

"A place called Halworth. That's the village we're heading to now. It's fairly large for a village outside of Vale."

"Nice, I'm from Patch, by the way." The woman looked at her, clearly not recognising the place. "It's an island off the coast of Vale. It's far to the west."

"Sounds secluded. I'd wouldn't mind living on an island far away from everyone else. I might be a doctor, and a damn good one, but other people are little… annoying." Ruby laughed at that. Same here, lady.

"It's quiet for the most part. I live in a cabin far away from the main village. It's a big place, too big for me."

"I live in a fairly large house, too. It used to house me, dad and mom but now…." The woman looked away for a moment, her orange eyes staring at the ground. "It's just me and dad now. He's an officer of the local guard, and a damn good one too."

"And you?"

"Well, I'm a doctor. Only one the village has. We were running low on supplies and I had to scavenge from one of the ruined villages by myself. Most of the guards are busy nowadays, and so is my dad."

Ruby looked towards the woman with disbelief. She went alone without any help? She's either extremely brave or extremely stupid, and considering how timid she looks, both are as bad as each other. "Your an idiot, then."

Had to blurt that out, didn't you? Welp, time to prepare for a self-righteous tira- "Your right." Ruby looked towards the woman with shock. Her faunus ears fell down a little, and she looked towards Ruby. "I should have gone with one of the guards."

"Oh… Sorry for being so blunt but that was a stupid move." The woman simply laughed at Ruby's response, shocking her even more. Huh. Someone who can take my blunt criticism. I actually like this woman.

They walked through the forest towards the village, talking and laughing along the way. Soon, they found themselves at the entrance of the village. A large wooden gate stood in front of them, and a few guards wandered near it, guns in hand.

One of the men looked towards Cecilia and approached her. He walked up to her and then looked towards Ruby. "I see you've picked up a stray, Doc." The guard spoke. Ruby looked towards the man with disdain but didn't comment on his remark.

"Just open the gate. I've got the supplies from the local town." Cecilia spoke up with confidence in her voice. The guard rolled his eyes and signalled for the other guards to open the gate. The men got to work and the large gate opened, leaving marks on the muddy floor.

"Keep an eye on her. We're already dealing with one killer, we don't need another." The man pointed towards Ruby then walked off back to his post. Cecilia looked towards her then rolled her eyes. They walked through the gate and into the village.

"Mind telling about this killer of yours?" Ruby asked Cecilia

"May as well fill you in now that your here. You see, two weeks ago a man was found murdered outside of his house. He was a loner for the most part. Didn't talk to anyone unless they needed their guns fixed."

"Damn. What happened next?"

"Well, after he died there was another murder. A woman was found in a dumpster outside one of the shops nearby. Next thing you know, her husband was found dead as well. Everyone thought he did it until he turned up inside the same dumpster his wife was in."

A husband and a wife murdered. There must be some connection there, Ruby thought to herself.

"A little bit after that, the local butcher was found cut up in his own shop. There was a big bloody clever stuck into his head. Day after that, his grandma was found dead by her husband's gravestone." Cecilia continued.

Died by her husband's grave. How morbidly romantic.

"There hasn't been any other bodies for some time. You ask me, it's only a matter of time before another one shows up."

"Probably." Ruby spoke, going over the details in her head. Something about the killings felt off. "You ever noticed that every time there's a murder, if they have any relatives they are killed aswell?" Cecilia looked towards Ruby with interest. She motioned for her to go on. "First there's the wife's husband, then the butcher's grandma. There's a clear connection there."

"Your pretty good at this. Did you ever think of becoming a detective?"

"Nah, and anyway, it's pretty easy to see the connection."

"That's what my dad thinks, but still, it doesn't help us identify the killer."

"Well, you could wait until they murder someone else and then use their relatives as bait"

Cecilia looked towards Ruby, first with shock, then with confusion. She raised her hand and opened her mouth but nothing came out. She looked at her for a brief moment and then looked to the ground. "You know what, just…. Don't mention the killer. I'll just pretend like you never said that."

Suit yourself, I'm the one with the foolproof solution here, Ruby thought to herself as they walked through the village. After a few minutes of walking, they made it to Cecilia's house. It was a two story wooden cabin, not too dissimilar from her own house on Patch. It was fairly large, and looked quite nice, at least in Ruby's opinion.

Cecilia walked up to the front door and pulled a small key out of her pocket. She opened up the front door and walked inside with Ruby behind her. She followed Cecilia through the hallway and into the living room. It was fairly warm inside, warm enough for Cecilia to take off her jacket and Ruby to take off her blouse, revealing the red short sleeve shirt beneath.

Ruby sat on the couch while Cecilia went off into the kitchen. The couch was pretty comfy, and she had to admit that it was a luxury she missed on her travels. Cecilia popped her head out of the kitchen and looked towards Ruby. "Tea or coffee?" She asked.

"Coffee, and make it strong. Really strong." Ruby responded. I'm gonna need the caffeine, especially after the long walk here.

Cecilia went back into the kitchen and out of view, leaving Ruby to rest in the living room. It was fairly peaceful, and the sound of rain hitting the windows felt soothing to Ruby's eyes. She slumped down a little into the couch and closed her eyes. You know what, I haven't felt this peaceful since before-Ruby pushed that thought aside. Better not to dwell on that now. I've got a comfy couch to sit on and a warm house to sleep in. It's better to focus on that, and not what I've lost.

"Here you go." Ruby turned around to face Cecilia. She didn't even notice her come back into the living room. Damn. Sitting here has fucked with my awareness. She had a cup of coffee in one hand and her own coffee in the other. She gave the coffee to Ruby and sat down beside her.

They both sat there for a while, talking about their lives. They drank their drinks and talked for a little while longer, completely unaware of the figure that came up from behind them.

"Who's this?" A voice came from behind Ruby and Cecilia, startling them both. They turned around and looked towards the man that stood behind them. He had short, dark-brown hair and a neatly kept goatee. His eyes were dark red, and they were looking straight at Ruby. He wore a chequered long sleeve shirt with a dark brown jacket over the top. His arms were covered in metal armour, and he had a pistol, Atlesian if the blue and white paint was any indication, on his hip and a sword opposite it. He wore dark green trousers and black boots.

"Oh, hey dad. This is Ruby, Ruby Rose." Cecilia spoke up. Ruby looked between the two for a second before turning to the man and doing a weak little wave. So this is her dad. She must get her timid nature from her mother, then. Ruby also noticed the lack of any faunus features on the man. Must get her ears from her mother as well.

"Hmmm." The man looked at Ruby, judging her with his eyes. His voice was stern and rough "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kick her out." Well shit, it's been a good run.

"Because she saved my life?"

The man looked shocked for a second. He looked towards Ruby, his face turning from a frown to a smile. "Good enough for me. Name's Barlow, Barlow Burrows." He extended his hand out to Ruby for a handshake, and she did the same.

"Nice to meet you." Ruby said. The man was just being cautious. I don't have any reason to hate him.

He turned towards Cecilia. "I'm just here for a quick cup of coffee. As much as I like my co-workers, I don't want to spend half the fuckin' day with 'em. I'll be back by tonight." The man leaned in and patted Cecilia on the back before walking towards the kitchen.

A yawn escaped from Ruby's mouth as she looked outside the window. It was dark outside and still raining heavily. "Mind if I head off to sleep?"

"Sure. I'll take you to your room." Cecilia got off the couch and Ruby followed her up the stairs and towards one of the guest rooms. Cecilia opened the door for her and then walked back downstairs.

It was a small room, with a bed at the back and a small dresser nearby. A small coffee table with a lamp on top of it was right next to the bed. Ruby kicked off her boots and tights, putting them near the dresser. The floor was a little bit cold, but she paid no mind to it as she climbed into the bed.

It was soft and warm, and the sheet that she pulled over herself was quite thick. She laid her head on the soft pillow and closed her eyes.

Sweet dreams… Hopefully.


Ruby woke up in the morning to the sound of heavy rain on the window. It was nigh impossible to look outside as the rain made the view blurry. She lifted the sheet off herself and got out of bed, her feet touching the cold floor. Despite the rather shit weather, it was still easy to tell that it was early in the morning.

Ruby opened the door and walked downstairs, dressed in only her top and her pants. The room was warm, so there wasn't any need to go fully dressed. As she walked downstairs, the smell of bacon and eggs hit her like a truck. Now, that's the kinda breakfast I want to wake up to.

Ruby walked into the kitchen and found Cecilia alone at the stove. Ruby sat down at the kitchen table and a yawn escaped her mouth. "Good morning." Ruby spoke, still half asleep.

"Oh… Hey." Cecilia said. Something was off about her voice. It was for more timid compared to the confidence she exerted before. She finished cooking and dished out breakfast onto two plates. She turned around and Ruby was shocked by her appearance. There were bags around her eyes and it was pretty clear that she didn't get much sleep.

"What's the matter? Found your dad's porn stash and looked through it all night? " Ruby asked.

"What!? No, I-" Cecilia looked to Ruby for a second before chuckling a little. "Alright, that was a good one, but no. It's just-" Cecilia hesitated for a second before continuing. "My dad hasn't come home yet. He said he'd be back by tonight but, well… He clearly hasn't" Ruby had to admit that she kinda forgot her dad existed until now. She was a little too focused on breakfast.

"Did you ask one of the guards where he is? I'm sure he-" A knock at the door made Ruby pause. Cecilia perked up at the sound of the knocking and went to check the door. Ruby followed closely behind, mostly out of curiosity more than worry.

The knocking continued again until Cecilia opened the door. One of the guards were standing out front. It was clear just by looking at him that he was in a panic. "It's about Barlow. He's dead!" The guard spoke up. Way to let her down lightly. Hell, even I would of went with another way of breaking the news.

Cecilia looked to the man in shock. Tears began to roll down her face and Ruby could swear she heard the woman almost choke. "Where-"

"Don't look, Cecilia. I doubt you'd want to see his body. Especially if it's… Well…" Cecilia took one look at Ruby and nodded in understanding. She nodded back and went back upstairs to get dressed.


Ruby wasn't at all surprised when she looked at Barlow's body. It was inevitable that the killer would strike at one of the guardsman, and Barlow just so happened to be the first to go.

His body had cuts and slashes all over. His sword lay in one hand and his gun was thrown to the side. It was clear that there was a fight. Looking at the wounds told Ruby all she needed to know. There were clearly caused by an axe, implying that the killer was either someone proficient with an axe like a woodsman or they just so happened to find an axe nearby.

What concerned Ruby more was the gun wound in the man's head. It was a well placed shot to the temple. The bullet hole was too small too be a rifle round, so it was probably made by a pistol or, and this was far less likely, an SMG. Ruby looked at the corpse and sighed.

Well, this little trip has gotten interesting.


Ruby uses her detective skills to deduce that the dead guy in front of her is dead. *Sniffles*Columbo would be proud. Anyway, that's this chapter over. Onto the next!