"Sniff Sniff." Esdeath sniffs through Ruby's hair, startling her further "You smell exactly the same. You really are the real thing."
"E-Esdeath lemme go!" Ruby struggled while Esdeath had her hands wrapped around Ruby tightly.
"Nope." Esdeath said, almost like how Ruby usually says 'Nope' even "I won't let you run away from me again."
"Esdeath!" Ruby angrily shouted as she faces up toward the general "Just WHEN did you figure out I was the red reaper EXACTLY?!"
"Oh, If you want me to be exact: our first night together." Esdeath answered "First: I noticed how you smelled like Roses. Second: Your height and physique matched the Red reaper from the reports we could make. Third: When I Mentioned Budo, I noticed how you flinched. Meaning you must have met him already. and Forth and finally: When I inspected your scars, I also noticed signs of cracked and crushed ribs by a massive punch. A Punch only Budo could make. Which you received with your fight with him."
"If you knew all along, then why didn't you_"
"Why didn't I arrest you right away?" Esdeath asked before she hugged Ruby closer "I still love of course~"
"...Seriously?" Ruby asked.
"Mhm~" Esdeath cutely nodded and snuggled her cheek against Ruby's.
"E-Esdeath please just stop!" Ruby blushed even redder than her cape, and Esdeath just kept hugging her.
"Hmm...I'm also impressed." Esdeath said as she glanced over to the dead Danger beasts "A single one of our fighters has trouble with one of these beasts, but you've taken 5 of them out by yourself. Without much trouble it would seem."
"...Well...Monster hunting is my specialty." Ruby said.
"Is that so~?" Esdeath asked "I'm impressed even more now."
"Sure." Ruby said, before she managed to finally slip out of Esdeath's grip and looks at her with a serious glare "...So what now? Are you going to capture me?"
"Hmm...I could do that, Yes. But first I should git rid of your cape and weapon and give you normal clothing." Esdeath said.
"...You're seriously thinking about keeping me?" Ruby asked "What happened to choosing your duties as A General first?"
"I did say that, But I also said I could choose you too." Esdeath said as she gently placed a hand on Ruby's cheek "If the empire doesn't find out, the there's no harm done."
"...Esdeath, Stop." Ruby gently moves Esdeath's hand away from her face "you can't keep me all to yourself like that and expect it to be okay."
"Why not? No one will ever notice it." Esdeath said.
"You're not listening!" Ruby yelled "I...I'm sorry, but The Empire has to go."
"...Well, I don't like giving up on anything or anyone I like." Esdeath said in a serious tone "Specially if I love them."
"...And I'm not anyone's Property or pet." Ruby spoke seriously too, as the mood between them began to darken.
"I never said anything about being my 'Pet'." Esdeath said "But I still will not simply allow you to escape me again."
"I'm not going anywhere near the Empire. And you can't make me." Ruby glared harder.
"It's quite funny that you believe you have a choice in the matter, Considering how you'd fare against me by yourself that is." Esdeath glared back harder.
The two just glare at each other, while Ruby gripped Crescent Rose, Still unfolded in her hand. Her best choice would be a Hit-And-Run strategy, knowing that She couldn't take Esdeath on in a head on fight.
Meanwhile, Esdeath only knew that Ruby was fast, maybe faster than even herself, and her weapon was a fusion between a regular scythe and a gun. A Sniper Rifle from the size of the Ammo Clip that was sticking out of the scythe from what she could examine. And she wasn't sure if Ruby had a Teigu or not, Since she has never heard of a Teigu type that transforms the user into Rose Petals. So something else was at play here.
As the two keep glaring at each other, Esdeath suddenly looked to the side toward one of the mountains.
"...So, Someone else is here too." Esdeath said, as she could feel the presence of someone near by "One of your Allies?"
Ruby gasped as she thought Lubbock was now compromised. But...she could make out...a Long white hooded figure from what little she could see.
"...Wait..." Ruby then transformed Crescent Rose back to it's rifle form, Which Surprised and also impressed Esdeath at the display of Ingenuity , And looked through the scope and saw the hooded figure running up the mountain. But she also recognized the white hooded over coat he was wearing "He's...Wearing one of the Empires uniforms."
"What?" Esdeath asked as she suddenly snatched Crescent Rose from Ruby's hands!
"EH?!" Ruby gasped and began to Panic "H-HEY! Give her back! She's REALLY Sensitive!"
"Shush." Esdeath shushed, before Properly holding the Rifle up from what little experience she had with firearms, and seeing through the Scope she recognized the hooded overcoat as well "...Hmm, Yes. That's an imperial Spy uniform."
She then casually Tossed Crescent Rose back to Ruby who caught it quickly.
"How well can you shoot from this distance?" Esdeath asked.
"Um, Pretty good." Ruby answered.
"Perfect." Esdeath smirked "He hasn't seen us yet. Snipe him now. But leave him alive. He needs to answer some questions regarding what he is doing all the way out here."
"...Okay." Ruby nodded before she jumped up on a tree.
She Aimed through her Scope, seeing the hooded figure surveying the entire Area from the top of the Mountain.
She steady's her breathing...took aim...Held her breath.
And,
*BLANG!*
And soon, both her and Esdeath could hear the sounds of a distance yelling of pain.
"Shot him through the thigh." ruby said as she jumped down.
"Impressive." Esdeath said "You should have told me you were an excellent shot."
"Eh, I try." Ruby scratched her cheek sheepishly.
"Now, Hang on." Esdeath said as she suddenly held Ruby close again.
"W-Wha?!" Ruby gasped as Esdeath suddenly made a very fast Sprint toward the mountain top.
"Grr...FUCK!" The hooded figure yelled in pain, holding his bleeding leg while a bullet was shot clean though his leg "Who was that?! I couldn't even feel their presence...SHIT! This fucking HURTS!"
As he failed to stand back up, He suddenly saw Esdeath, with...The Red Reaper under her arms suddenly landing a few steps away from him!
As Esdeath landed, Ruby's hood had automatically fallen over her head again because of the impact of the landing. How Convenient.
'...She just...came ALL the way up here in a matter of seconds.' Ruby thought to herself as she stood up on her own '...She doesn't have Aura or a Semblance, But she was...Almost as fast as me.'
"Now, Who might you be?" Esdeath questioned as she drew her long Rapier, and Aimed it at the downed man, right under his throat no less "I don't remember allowing any permission for patrols for spy groups. That is that Uniform is even really yours to begin with. What is your business here?"
"Grr...Y-You!" The man spoke up, but he had addressed The Red Reaper instead "You FUCKER! You SHOT ME!"
"...What, first time getting shot at?" Ruby asked, making sure her face was still concealed under her hood.
"How, DARE you shoot me!" The man arrogantly yelled as he tried to stand up again "When I'm done with you, You're gonna wish you never_"
*WHACK!*
"GRAH!" His whining came to an end when Esdeath suddenly Kicked him across the shoulder, sending him crashing against a nearby boulder!
"How dare she to shoot you? How dare you to ignore me." Esdeath stated as she walked closer to the hooded figure, and raised her Rapier.
*Stab!*
"GAAAAH!" the man screamed in pain when She stabbed her Rapier into his shoulder, piercing right through his flesh and bone.
"Try not to get used to this pain, Because I'll have MUCH more of it prepared for you in my torture chambers." Esdeath coldly stated "Or should I interrogate you right here and now?"
Ruby just silently watches as she stepped closer too, wanting some answered herself.
"...How about you show us your face first?" Ruby asked.
"Ah! Good Idea." Esdeath agreed.
'W-What the fuck? Why're they so chummy next to each other?' The man asked himself, but then sees Esdeaths hand slowly closing in on his hood 'Fuck! no time to think!' Suddenly, Something slipped out of his sleeve and into his hand, surprising both Esdeath and Ruby!
But Then, both Ruby and Esdeath gasped when some kind of glowing circle appeared right under their feet!
"What?!" Ruby gasped.
"What is this?!" Esdeath gasped too, both taken by surprise.
But then, Ruby noticed that the Circle had...a Yin and Yang symbol in the middle of it, and was glowing purple. Looking back at the man, she also noticed that the small object he revealed from under his sleeve...Also was glowing Purple, just like the Circle.
"IT'S THAT BOX!" Ruby yelled as she reached back on her Crescent Rose, trying to shoot it before it did something!
Esdeath, pulled her Rapier out and tried to slice the Box in half along with the mans hand!
But before any of them can do anything, they both suddenly disappeared just as Esdeath's rapier was inches away from the mans hand!
"...Haah...haah...hah...Fuck." The man began to stand up and limp away "...No one messes with me and ruins my fun and gets away with it. I'm gonna make sure both of them pay for this shit!"
...Ruby just stares wide eyed at where she was now seeing.
The ocean. Cocoanut Trees. Small red Sea Crabs. On a beach obviously...in the middle of apparently no where now.
"...A...A-Are we...What just happened?" Ruby asked, Dumbfounded. She sniffed the air: The smell of sand. The sea. The breeze and the fresh Beach air. It was all real. She then pinched her cheek, and felt the pain "...Oh god, We're Awake. THIS is REAL!" She then yelled "THAT GUY TELEPORTED US!"
"It would seem so." Esdeath agreed as she observed the surroundings.
"That little box thing he had...It was a Teigu." Ruby bitterly stated.
"...Yes. It was." Esdeath agreed again "I can't believe this. I finally had some kind of lead, and we let our guard down in the last second."
Ruby sighed 'Great. Fantastic! The man who probably caused all that Mess was just in my grasp, and now I'm in the middle of a beach, Probably MILLIONS of MILES away from the Capital. Or heck! Miles away from the COUNTRY ITSELF!'
"Ruby." Esdeath suddenly called out to her "First: Calm down. I can still salvage our situation."
"How?" Ruby asked.
"Stay close to me." Esdeath ordered before she placed her hand on the sand below her.
*SHIIIING!*
"WHOA!" Ruby gasped as Esdeath suddenly summoned a large pillar of ice, rising up in the sky.
"...Is all ocean as far as the eye can see." Esdeath deducted "We're on an Island."
"Great. How the heck do we get back?" Ruby said.
"You know, this is almost like a date." Esdeath said.
"...Please don't." Ruby sighed as she sat down on the ice pillar "...Maybe...you can just freeze the ocean water so we can just walk."
"That seems to be our only option for now." Esdeath said, before suddenly, she tightly hugged Ruby again from behind again "But this really feels like we're on a date!~"
"You're not helping!" Ruby blushed.
"Hmmm~ You're so Cuuuuute~" Esdeath cuddled into Ruby.
"EEEK!" Ruby blushed even more.
*RUMBLE-RUMBLE*
But they both suddenly stopped and looked over, and saw a GIGANTIC Humanoid monster, with one of it's eyes bandaged and it's right hand mechanical with a '1' painted over it's chest, and some kind of human being sticking out of it's forehead rise from the ground.
"A Danger beast?!" Esdeath gasped "How could it grow THAT large?!"
"W-Wait, It has mechanical enhancements!" Ruby pointed out "Is it an Experiment?!"
The monster then began to charge head first at the pillar Esdeath made!
"Crap!" Ruby Unfolded Crescent Rose by spinning over her shoulders.
But Esdeath simply stepped forward "I will not tolerate anymore interruptions." She the spreads her hands, and several Icicles were summoned all around her.
And as she launched the Icicles all forward at the monster, she yelled "WEISS SCHNABEL!"
"WEISS?!" Ruby was flabbergasted by the name of the attack.
The Icicles pierced the monster and caused it to fall back down.
But soon, It began to stand back up with the icicles in it's body.
"Hoh? It's more resilient than I thought. Interesting." Esdeath smirked.
"...That wrapped up guy in it's forehead. You Think that might be it's weakness?" Ruby asked.
"I was thinking the same thing." Esdeath nodded, and placed her hand down again "GRAU HORN!"
'Did she name All of her attacks?' Ruby thought.
a long, sharp icicle was summoned from the side of the pillar, and was aimed right at the man on it's forehead. But the monster tilted it's head slightly to the right, dodging the attack.
"Heh. Awfully Stubborn too." Esdeath smirked more,
*Woosh!*
But her smirked disappeared as she felt a wind blow past her, and then some Rose Petals were falling from the air which their trail led toward the monster!
Then, Ruby was seen standing right on the monsters head, right behind the wrapped up man on the forehead and her Scythes blade right under his waist.
*BLANG!*
And with a shot fired from Crescent rose, She pulled the blade back and sliced the man off of the monsters forehead by his waist.
The monster then began to fall as well.
"...She's...Really Fast." Esdeath said, both amazed and surprised at the same time, and blushed hard "I wanted to show up, but She amazed me instead."
*KAPOW!*
"Eh?!" Both Ruby and Esdeath gasped as they saw another monster ram itself into the pillar Esdeath made. It had armor plating on, and also had the number '2' painted on it's chest.
"Another one?!" Ruby said as she held Crescent rose tightly.
But then, Esdeath jumped off the crumbling Ice pillar and looked down on the second monster.
"Enough is Enough." She coldly stated, and raised her hand up.
...Then, Ruby's jaw dropped when she saw a massive, Meteor sized Ice burg appear behind Esdeath!
"HAGEL SPRUNG"
The gigantic piece of Ice fell on the second monster, Crushing it flat!
"...W-Whoa..." Ruby said, unable to believe what she just saw "...just...how powerful is her Teigu?"
Esdeath then jumped down, and began to Walk back toward Ruby with a smile.
A few minutes later, Esdeath was just sitting down and writing in a notebook she had,
*Woosh*
And Ruby landed in front of her, with some Rose Petals around her.
"It's a regular Island. No sign of a nearby shore tho. And those two Danger Beasts were the only ones here apparently." Ruby said "The Greenery, the Plants and the wild life here are also pretty normal as far as I could see. Nothing out of the ordinary so far."
"Hmm...I see." Esdeath said, closing her notebook and stood up "...That Speed ability of yours. It's pretty impressive."
"Yeah, I know." Ruby said, blushing at the complement.
"I've researched and seen quite a lot of Teigus. But I've never heard of one quite like yours." Esdeath walked a little closer to Ruby "That is if it's a Teigu at all."
"...Maybe it is. Maybe it's not." Ruby answered, while Esdeath was now closer to her.
'It'd make sense if she doesn't give me a clear answer. We're still on apposing sides after all.' Esdeath thought "...Also."
She then slowly wrapped her hands around Ruby's waist. ruby blushed, thinking she'd hug him again.
She was prepared to go face first into her breasts again, But instead she gasped as Esdeath suddenly snatched The Folded up Crescent Rose from behind her.
"Where did you get this?" Esdeath said, Observing the Red and Black Box that housed a Scythe and a gun at the same time.
"EEEH?! Wait! Gimme! GIMME! PLEASE give that back!" Ruby tried to get her precious weapon back.
"Hmm. Oh?" Esdeath then activated Crescent Rose, and it's rifle mode was revealed "So that's how it turns into this. It...feels rather light too, despite how much metal it surely uses."
"Y-Yeah, I get that a lot." Ruby nodded "C-Can I have it back now? PLEASE? PRETTY PLEASE?!"
"Now, If I maybe...ahah!" Esdeath then fully folded Crescent Rose into it's Scythe form "...Very sharp~"
"C-Careful! Like I said, She's Sensitive in a few spots!" Ruby pleaded.
"...'She'?" Esdeath raised an Eye brow.
"I-I meant...Uh..." Ruby stuttered.
"I see." Esdeath smiled again "'A weapon is an extension of someone' and all of that. Right?"
Ruby suddenly went wide eyed and stunned, shocked that Esdeath knew about how she felt when she made Crescent Rose and how she feels when she sees other weapons.
"...How...Do you..." Ruby tried to ask
"I've seen a lot of fighters proud and happy of a weapon they master." Esdeath explained "I've heard that phrase from them a lot. But sadly, I was never reliant on a specific weapon or any of the swords I make with my Ice. So I never figured out how that phrase truly feels."
"Really? I mean, Your rapier is-"
"Oh, This rapier is actually my 3rd one." Esdeath cuts her off while she kept inspecting Crescent Rose "The last two were worn out rather fast, so I had this one costume made for me. I had it forged larger too."
"Oooooooh." Ruby understood "...Have you named it?"
"Named what?" Esdeath asked.
"Your Rapier!" Ruby answered.
"...No." Esdeath bluntly answered and went back to inspecting Crescent Rose "Let me guess, You named this impressive little thing?"
"Y-Yeah, Crescent Rose." Ruby answered.
"That name rather fits." Esdeath said as she kept looking at Crescent Rose...Before she suddenly swung it with both hands!
*Slice*
She cuts a tree in half, and it falls down.
"W-Wha?" Ruby was shocked yet again.
"Very effective." Esdeath said, even more impressed by the weapon "It lives up to it's appearance."
"W-Wait, You know how to use a scythe too?!" Ruby asked "I can tell you can!"
"You can tell?" Esdeath asked "Oh! right. A proper scythe user would recognize another one by just seeing I suppose."
"A-Actually, you just swung it properly. Most people would just try it like the gardening tool ones but it's actually a bit more different for battle scythes." Ruby rambled, which Esdeath found adorable.
"To answer your question, Yes and no. I've practiced many weapons over the years, so I can recreate them with my Teigu and use them in a battle field. I decided to try out scythes, But it never went beyond the basics." Esdeath explained "I doubt I can spin it around like how you do."
"O-Oh. Yeah the basics are easy. The Master level is a lot harder." Ruby admitted '...good think Uncle Qrow stayed sober for our lessons.'
"I'm also curious," Then to Ruby's horror, Esdeath placed a finger on Crescent Roses Trigger and aimed it at another tree "How can it possibly be a gun too? I've never been a gun user, However this is interesting to me."
'OH CRAP!' Ruby then panicked, Knowing that Esdeath was gonna fire!
"NO WAIT HANG ON DON'T_"
*BLANG!*
"AH!" And just as she predicted, Esdeath went Flying because of the knockback.
"...Jeez." Ruby sighed, rubbing her forehead.
The only reason she could handle Crescent Roses knockback was because she either planted it's blade into the ground, Had planted her feet tightly into the ground beneath her, or because she had it folded into it's rifle mode to lesser knockback.
And Since Esdeath was taller, She didn't fly back as much as Mine did when she tried Crescent Rose. But it still threw Esdeath onto he back on the sand.
"You okay?" Ruby nervously asked as she walked over to the General, who began to sit up in shock.
"...Ruby, You...You fire this thing ALL the time?" Esdeath asked.
"Y-Yeah?" Ruby asked.
'...She's much shorter than me, yet she can withstand the impact of a weapon which I can't?' Esdeath thought, Before she blushed again "...I only keep realizing that I've underestimated you."
"I get that a lot." Ruby said as she extended a hand to Esdeath "need help?"
Esdeath blushed more, before accepting her hand. Something she'd never do. But since I was Ruby, She made an exception for now.
As Esdeath got back up, Ruby looked to the sea for a bit.
'...We're both stuck here. But when we find a way back...How do I go back to the others without Esdeath noticing?' She thought to herself 'At least, she won't sell me out to the empire. But I can't let her keep me to herself like that. And...I still do love her too. What do I do?'
As she kept thinking and while Esdeath was checking out some of the crabs, Ruby suddenly thought to something.
'...Wait...What if I convince her to join us?' Ruby thought 'I might find a way for that...But can it really work out? I can at least give it a try. We're both alone, so this could give me some time to work with her.'
And as the two remain on the island, ruby could only stay determined to convince Esdeath to change sides.
She has defeated immortal beings, Magic users, giant monsters and crazed killers before. How hard can convincing Esdeath be?