With a slight groan - and a mild bit of discomfort - Ruby managed to pry her eyes open, just enough to see her current predicament.
Wha... what hit me? She thought to herself, only for her eyes to shoot open moments later.
That's right, the street collapsed!
Her head flew about as she tried to make sense of where she was. Just as she did so the realization finally hit that she was sitting up rather than lying in a pile of rubble. Ruby looked down and caught sight of the rope binding her to the chair.
The dust!?
That was new, she was bound to her seat... in a dark room... with nobody around.
Did I just get kidnapped!?
To be honest she never expected it to be so... cliché. Tying a girl down was one of the most overused tropes in movies, even if she kept falling for it each time.
Aren't these types of situations supposed to be different in real life?
Ruby shook her head; she had no time to debate the realism of tropes. Setting her focus back on what was important the girl let her eyes wander about, trying to see if she was able to recognize any of her surroundings, or at least get some sort of clue as to what happened.
Okay, calm down Ruby, let's think this through. We fell down a hole in the street, and then...
That was where her thoughts ended, not because she was interrupted, but because she couldn't recall anything happening afterwards. All she remembered was falling, and then everything went dark.
Okay, so no clues to help. That's fine, I just need to get out of these restraints.
Ruby wiggled around a bit as her free fingers picked at the rope holding her arms back. Realizing she was getting nowhere she tried to force the rope apart, only to tire herself out as she slumped back.
Note to self: take Yang up on her strength building training... and maybe learn some hand to hand.
The latter of her thoughts came about as she realized her scythe was nowhere in sight. Her luck seemed pretty poor at the moment, and she was starting to feel a little afraid. It struck her that she was unarmed and bound, and with no way to defend herself she dreaded what her captors had planned for her.
Come on! There's got t be some-
Her thoughts froze as a realization came over her, a realization that had her feeling rather stupid; born from the lack of pressure around her hands.
You've got to be kidding me... it can't be that simple.
Ruby took a breath as she did the one thing she should have tried from the very start..
She used her semblance.
Bursting apart she felt the familiar tingle flood over her skin as she opened her eyes again to the sight of the chair before her; previously her temporary prison.
Really? They kidnap me and don't even bother to put any aura restraints around my arms?
It was slightly disappointing in a way, and a little bit embarrassing; mostly due to the fact it took her so long to notice. With a slight sigh of relief Ruby turned and began a slight walk forwards to the dark wall ahead. She placed her hand against it, feeling the chill of the metal against her skin.
She was about to try tapping it when she stopped. Just on the other side she was able to hear some muffled talking. She wasn't able to make out the words, but she recognized the danger of the situation.
Okay, exit door's not an option.
Without her weapon she stood no chance in combat, all she could do was run. Backing away she decided to try looking for another way out; hopefully one less obvious. After a solid minute Ruby was able to spot the source of light that illuminated the room. Just on the ceiling there was a slight crack in the corner, not big enough for anybody to fit through, but big enough to allow the light from outside to shine in.
With a slight smirk she activated her semblance again, flying up and through the tiny hole. It was only a forth of her size, but it was more than large enough for her scattered form to squeeze past.
Ruby reformed immediately on the other side, gripping at the edge and looking around. She noticed that the lights she saw weren't natural; all of them were from posts and spotlights. It was at that moment she also got a look at the building that held her; which wasn't a building at all. Instead she was able to see it was a train car.
Ruby grabbed the edge above the hole and pulled herself up on top of the segment and glanced out at everything around her. There were White Fang everywhere, moving around different crates, none of which she recognized.
This isn't going to be easy is it?
Somewhere out there had to be her weapon. They probably had it put somewhere so they could look over it later. It was good in the sense that she could still recover it, but it was bad in the sense that she needed to recover it. However she smirked slightly as a thought came to her.
Stealth mission, just like a ninja!
Ruby - despite being at terrible odds with her situation - felt a small surge of excitement fill her; she was going to be a ninja until she got her weapon back. The best part of all was that Yang wasn't around to poke fun at her for it.
Step one was to plan out her approach until she found her weapon. Observing the area Ruby was able to make out several places her baby could have been; the most obvious being what looked like a back area. Several White Fang were coming and going into a small battered... shop? Maybe it was something else, but she wasn't able to make out what the aged sign above the door said.
Now that she got a better look around she realized the place held a striking resemblance to the streets of Mountain Glenn. Was she nearby? Considering the fact that the place looked to be underground, due mostly to the jagged stone ceiling above everything which was only barely visible by the lights set up around. She wondered how far away from the others she was.
Ruby slipped her hood up as she creeped across the top of the train cars, only to take it back down again as she realized that it's blinding red would be more visible than her dark hair.
The only time I get to be sneaky and I can't even use my hood.
Despite being bummed out a little she carried on, coming to a stop as she reached the spot closest to the shop. There were four or five grunts walking around, tinkering with things and swearing at others. She held in a silent giggle as she watched them passively wander about, finding it funny that they were so relaxed.
It was perfect, all she needed to do was wait for the right time and sneak by when they weren't looking.
An explosion and gunfire in the distance shook everyone alert, and she watched them grab their firearms before running off.
Oh come on!
She was so close, so close to living one of her childhood dreams, and it was ruined by something else. Oh well, at least she had a clear path to her goal.
Stupid bombs and their stupidly convenient timing.
Grumbling she rushed down and hauled open the door to step inside. Just as she thought, there was nothing but weapons inside. Normally a sight like that would have her gushing in glee; unfortunately it was more of a disappointment. Lined along the walls and across several isles were guns, the same standard guns she'd seen them carry all across the place, and the same she'd always seen them use.
Where's the variety!
In the end Ruby guessed it didn't matter; all she needed was Crescent Rose and she could be on her way. With a quick glance around she came to a startled realization.
It's not here!?
.
.
"I blame you Xiao Long!" Exclaimed Weiss as she shot a flurry of summoned swords towards the bulk of their enemies.
"How is it my fault!?" The girl called back as she dipped under a wild swing and sent a devastating uppercut into the chin of the grunt, knocking him into the air only for her to kick him away before he could land.
"Now's not the time!" Yelled Blake who fired off several shots into the surrounding crates the Fang were hiding behind.
That wasn't a good idea, something she learned immediately from the resulting explosion that sent everyone flying. Landing on her feet the bookworm shot up, allowing a sigh to escape her as she saw the blast victims were still breathing.
"Give us a little warning next time you bring the boom; almost scorched my hair!"
"This is not the time to whine about that!" Weiss called as Yang gave a scandalous look.
"There's always time to care for and protect my golden mane!" The blond replied as Weiss let her face fall into her hands.
"We're doomed."
"Ehem! Perhaps this isn't the time to argue students. I'm sure that blast queued everyone in on our location, battle is imminent." Dr. Oobleck called from the back as he walked up to them.
"Weren't you taking care of the guards over there?" Yang asked as she looked across the crumpled apartment their hunter walked from.
"I was, at least until I heard the explosion. That blast has probably got everyone heading to our location at this very moment. Splitting up is no longer an option."
"We need to be faster then. Who knows what they'll do to Ruby now that they know something's going on?" Weiss spoke as Yang crashed her fists together.
"Then let's hurry along and introduce them to the dirt!"
With that the party took to the broken mess of a street, using the barely standing apartments as a means of cover while they traveled along. When they first found their way down to the underground city they had been surprised to see some White Fang wandering around. Instantly they came to the horrifying realization that they might have captured Ruby.
Blake wanted to take it slow as a way to make looking around easier and to hopefully keep their opponents from making any sudden moves. That plan was shot as she opened a door; coming face to face with a whole group of Fang sitting around a barrel fire. They had a full six seconds of just staring at each other, then the fighting began.
Before any could reach for their weapons Blake delivered a vicious knee to the first grunts gut, grabbing hold of him and dashing forwards. Gripping his arm she turned and flung the man over her shoulder, letting go midway through and sent him flying into the rest.
The fire barrel was knocked over and it's burning contents spilled; coating a couple of the weapons that were propped against it. Blake's vision was blocked as Yang rammed through, toppling two of the stumbling terrorists back to the ground. The cat Faunus felt a tiny bit of pity for the poor guys as she watched Yang grab their heads and beat them into the dirt.
From the corner of her eye she saw the last one try to make a run for it. The man's exit was blocked by a wall of ice that shocked him. He turned around with a noticeable shiver as she stepped forwards and grabbed hold of his neck, forcing her blade near his throat.
"I want you to answer me. In exchange I won't have my partner back there beat you into a pulp. Sound good?" Blake asked as she motioned back to Yang. A smirk formed across her face as she heard the sounds of knuckles cracking behind her.
"A-alright." He stuttered as she pulled him close.
"I'm looking for a young girl: red cloak, black skirt, fairly pale. Seen anyone like that recently?"
"Y-you talking about the one Torchwick wanted?"
Torchwick, I should hav- hold on!
That was right, it all flooded back to her as she growled to herself. How could she be so stupid, and after all the time she spent theorizing too? One of the things Roman had said back at the rally had pointed to Mountain Glenn, yet she never batted an eye at the notion when they were choosing missions.
Guess the excitement from the dance distracted me.
She eyed the grunt again, letting her scowl twist into a smirk that looked to make the man nearly wet himself.
"Tell me where she is, and you only get tied up; no beat down required."
"I-I think the others took her to the train, just d-down near the tunnels."
With that she dropped him and strode past. The man sounded relieved before he shrieked again. Blake ignored it and chose instead to peek through a hole in the side of the next door. The coast looked clear, but she wasn't keen on taking any more chances.
Her vision trailed up and caught sight of a support beam jutting a few feet below the ragged ceiling. Pouring some aura into her legs she leaped, took hold of the side, and pulled herself up.
The second floor was almost non-existent, distinguishable only by the remains of what looked to have previously be a wall. Atop her perch the rest of the cavern was clearly visible. Her enhanced vision made the shadows a non-issue, and the small sources of light gave her all she needed.
In the distance across a neighboring street she could see the supposed tunnel the man talked about. The train was stopped just outside of it, brightly lit up by all the lamps and beams surrounding it.
Bingo.
.
.
Ruby let out a sigh as she stared at the land below them... or lack thereof. They'd passed by the last of the mainland days ago, dipping into the part of the trip that kept them over the sea.
"Help me tighten the rope here lad." Called one of the crew behind her.
"Right!" Came another voice, one that she was starting to hear more and more lately.
Ruby turned around, leaning her back on the rail as she watched Pebble scamper over to the sailor. The small boy took hold of the rope from the man's outstretched hands, carefully looping it around in the way he had previously learned before giving it back.
"Great work, just like we showed you."
After the night she'd found him Ruby decided to let the rest of the crew know about their little stowaway. It wouldn't do any good for them to find him hidden later and think him an intruder, so she wanted to get that issue out of the way as soon as possible.
Much to her surprise they had no real issues with him, then again she had a sneaking suspicion that Pebble already familiarized himself with a few of them before hand back at the town. Regardless they had agreed to let him stay without so much as a fight; there was a catch though.
After she explained what happened Alcove came up with an idea. The elder man decided that while the boy was onboard he should learn a few things about sky sailing as a way to keep him active and out of potential trouble. Considering that they'd be at it for a while she saw no reason to say otherwise.
On the surface sky sailing looked near identical to regular sailing, except that it wasn't. While it may have looked similar - sailing, but in the sky - there were a lot more things to consider and keep track of; one of the key issues being orientation.
While in the sky the captain and crew would need to regularly keep the ship from capsizing. As such the vessel was equip with various rows of gravity dust on standby. The dust itself was strange really, in nature it always had it's gravity defying powers active. The key to controlling it was through it's quantity, as well as aura application.
Spread apart it's gravity defying power was lessened, whereas grouped together the dust seemed to amplify; add aura to the mix and a slue of effects could occur.
The Star-Bringer like many other ships had several pipes lined throughout, and gravity dust would be pumped in to allow it's take off. Across the ship there were several large containers locked along the walls, all connected through sealed pipes and each spread apart due to the effects the dust had.
There was a separate pipe system on each level of the ship which allowed them to control how high or low they were. Whenever they needed it they could open the lines and allow the dust to flow through, creating a flow of gravity all along the ship and increasing it's power.
If the need to lower towards the ground came up, such as docking or avoiding obstacles, they could close the lines with the same valves; cutting off the flow and forcing the dust to collect in their separate spaces as it was naturally drawn towards itself when in close enough proximity.
Ruby let out a sigh, even with the amount of stress she felt knowing the boy was in danger she couldn't shake the feeling of comfort he brought her. With a shake of the head she let her feelings go; even if things were calm she knew they couldn't afford to let their guard down.
The skies were just as dangerous as the sea, especially when it came to Grimm. So far they had yet to encounter any, but Ruby had a feeling that would change soon.
The Sand Coffin: a poorly thought up name by scammers trying to make a quick buck off of gullible nobles. In truth the island had no real name in the current time period; ask anybody and they would always call it different things.
Regardless of what it was called people had always warned others to stay away, as the common belief was that death followed those who ventured upon it's cursed sands.
Unfortunately Ruby knew she needed to go there eventually, even if there was nothing happening she would have ended up in it's desert. The fact that there was something going on only spurred her to act quicker, and it seemed she was going to find out whether her decision was a good one or not.
"Ms. Rose, the captain wants you to see something." Spoke one of the sailors as he ran up to her.
Ruby felt her brow rise as she stepped away from where she had been relaxing, opting to follow the man up to the mast where he pointed upwards. With a nod she started to scale up the rungs along the side eventually making her way to the top where captain Alcove kept lookout. Despite needing his cane the gentlemen seemed perfectly fine, which left her wondering if he had any trouble getting up the ladder.
He turned to her with a grim look on his face.
"You're here, good."
"What's going on?" She asked as he wordlessly handed her his telescope and pointed out.
Bringing the instrument to her eye she gazed out towards where he guided, feeling her teeth grit as she gazed at the source of his worry. She could see it in the distance, the island they were headed to. Ruby was also able to see just why he called her up in the first place, and why he looked worried.
There it was, the island that would eventually become Menagerie; in all it's lifeless glory. Yet what worried her the most was the surrounding mass of shadow.
Grimm, lots of Grimm. But not just Grimm, it was what they were doing that drew her attention. They were all flying Grimm, and they were all headed towards the island. As she looked around she couldn't see a single Grimm leave the island, meaning that they were culminating there.
And there it is. Things finally went from bad to worse... great.
Author's note
...
Oh boy here we go again.
A bit more action this chapter with Ruby trying her hand at being sneaky, even if it wasn't for very long. We also got a bit of the team's perspective, as well as Blake pulling a Blake again; she's almost got Qrow's level of luck at this point.
Also a small bit of progress for future Ruby, it's minor, but at least it's moving along now.
Anyway, that's all for now, see you later.
(as you can tell the story now has an M rating, meaning that I don't have to worry about getting to violent or dark at times. Probably only going to happen from time to time though, as I said before I don't want the whole thing to be an angst fest, but I won't shy away from letting things get disturbing... or just downright weird.)