13: Moon

Safe.

That's what Wonder Boy had said, that Ruby was safe - and not much else. Just what did "safe" mean? Was she awake? Did they find a way to fix her? How much trouble was she going to be in for springing him out of jail the first time?

They were all very good questions, but Roman could only be plagued by his bouts conscience for so long. The first day he'd been tense. The second day, annoyed. Now, as he languished in his austere prison, he was bored.

"Stop worrying," Junior said, his feet propped on the desk set up in front of Roman's cell as he scooped up some noodles with his chopsticks from the bowl of instant ramen in his hands. "I told you, she's fine. It's just going slow because Glynda put some pretty tight restrictions on her. I heard they wouldn't even let her out of her room until this morning."

"I'm not worried about her," Roman complained, to which Junior snorted loudly through his nose. "I'm worried about my clothes! I mean will you look at this?" He stood up to demonstrate, one hand picking disgustedly at his prison uniform. It was blue.

"Hey, at least they gave you some. Your old ones were getting pretty ripe." Junior smirked at him through the bars, and Roman grit his teeth.

"You said I'd get them back soon. Where are they? It's an embarrassment to be seen like this."

"Got that right," Junior said, slurping his meal noisily. Swallowing, he pointed a chopstick at Roman. "Never thought I'd see the day you'd willingly wait in a third-rate prison cell like a chump."

"Look who's talking. Do you and your boys roll over and play dead for Goodwitch too, or is that just you?"

Junior wiped his mouth dry and balled up the soiled napkin, tossing it through the bars towards Roman, who dodged. "You shut your mouth. Glynda's been real good to us. She's been good to you too, you know. How many prisoners on Atlas's most wanted list get their clothes washed and repaired for free?"

"I'd need my clothes back to believe that," Roman replied, settling back on his cot with a groan. "This is so boring! Couldn't she have left me a book? Or a scroll?" He tilted his head towards Junior. "Or some intelligent company?"

"Somebody nearly lost their fingers trying to clean off your hat, but here you still are, and with only me guarding you to boot. Show a little gratitude, will you?"

"Thanks for nothing," he drawled.

In truth, he wasn't ungrateful to Goodwitch - for some reason on that second day she'd relieved the stone-faced Atlesian guard in front of his cell only to replace the goon with Junior, of all people. Probably because she'd heard they were friendly.

He'd laughed at that, but at least Junior was comfortable enough to talk with him. The man wasn't much changed by the passing of three years; he was a little gaunter than before, though that was typical of anyone who'd chosen to remain in Vale these days. And just as back then, Junior still enjoyed the sound of his own voice, as well as passing along the latest rumors. It was part of the reason Roman was no longer suffering from the crippling uncertainty of not knowing Ruby's fate. But also the reason he was dressed in a non-tailored outfit for the first time in years.

He still had enough sense of self to consider the latter a fashion crime.

"So how's it going between Goodwitch and Ironwood today?" he asked conversationally, probing for information. Junior smirked at him, seeing right through the attempt. "Ironwood's the same self-important jerk he ever was, but Glynda's finally coming around to see that. She used her wand on him again today. Magnetized the 'borg bits of him and stuck him to a transport."

"Petty."

"While it was coming in."

Wincing, Roman snickered. "I guess I can see why you like her so much."

"I'm telling you, she's a heck of a woman. I could put in a few words for you, convince her to let you join the guard…" He trailed off, turning his head slightly, then sighed and took his feet off the table. "Time's up. Sounds like it's an Atlesian jarhead this time."

In a way, he appreciated Junior's repeated attempts to recruit him into Vale's fold. At least somebody besides Ruby was happy to see him, even if Junior's motivations were as transparent as his bias. The man was almost slavishly loyal to Goodwitch - probably a side-effect of unlocking his aura and finding his Semblance. Unsurprisingly, Junior's ability was his razor-sharp hearing… typical, for a rumormongerer.

As Junior had predicted, the door swung open moments later and a fully-armored Atlesian guard marched in. In his arms was a familiar bundle of clothing, minus the hat.

"My clothes!" he said, jumping to his feet and leaning against the bars of his cell.

"The prisoner's belongings," the guard told Junior, completely ignoring Roman. "I'm here to relieve you of duty."

Junior only glared, snatching the clothes off the desk and passing them through the bars into Roman's waiting hands. "Good luck with Captain Twoshoes," he muttered under his breath. "Sorry that you have to spend half your time with these fools."

Roman shrugged, too busy shaking out the wrinkles from his suit. "It's fine, I'll manage."

"Think about my offer," Junior repeated, waving once as he left the room.

Putting his hands on the buttons of his shirt, Roman undid the first one, before turning and catching the stoic glare of the Atlesian guard standing at attention behind the desk.

"A little privacy here?" he asked, gesturing at his shirt.

The guard lifted one eyebrow and then resumed his stern glare.

"Typical brainwashed Atlesian droid. There really isn't much difference between your type and the bots, is there?" Roman replied, noting the way the guard's jaw twitched. "I bet Ironwood told you to watch my every move." Unlike Junior, his rotating contingent of Atlesian guards was forbidden from talking to him. That didn't mean he couldn't talk to them, though.

"Well, suit yourself. If you want a show, you'll get one." Turning, he stripped out of his prison uniform with little ceremony, shedding the sorry excuse for clothing until he was standing naked in his cell. Then, turning to face the guard, he made sure to yawn, stretch, and scratch his armpit. "Know what? It feels good to get out of those rags. Polyester blends are murder on your skin." He flopped face-down onto his cot, showing his ass more than just figuratively.

The seconds ticked by. Then he grinned as he heard the guard cough. "At least put some pants on, jackass."

He lifted his head, smirking. "Oh, am I bothering you? So sorry, I know how excited you military types get when someone like me drops his pants and bends over."

That got a better reaction; his guard's face turned beet red and looked thunderous, while his hands clenched around the rifle as though he wanted to use it.

Roman's grin turned wolfish, relishing every moment of it. Come on. I dare you.

"You better be thankful Ironwood told us not to touch you," his guard hissed. "Otherwise I'd wipe that smirk off your face with my fists, you tool."

Their stare down was interrupted by an unexpected voice.

"What the hell is going on here, soldier?!"

The guard snapped to attention as Ironwood strode into view. Goodwitch was right behind him.

"He's naked, James. You can't blame your guard for that unless there's something seriously wrong with your disciplinary program." She sighed. "Although I suppose we can now say with certainty that his hair color is natural."

If that wasn't bad enough, it was like fate was saving the worst for last.

"Eww! No one wants to see your butt, Roman!"

"Ruby?!" Shit!

He scrambled for his clothes as she came into view with one hand clapped over her eyes.

"I leave you alone for two days, and this is what you get up to? Don't you have any dignity?"

"It's Torchwick," Ironwood said to her. "Don't get your hopes up."

He looked up from his hasty attempt to buckle his pants in time to see the general's disgusted look, while Goodwitch… was watching him dress with a smirk of her own. Interesting, he thought, returning her look with a wink and buttoning his shirt more slowly than warranted.

"Are you decent yet?" Ruby asked, still blindly feeling her way towards his cell.

"Not in your lifetime," he replied, draping himself over the bars. "But I am dressed, so you can look now."

"You better not be trolling me," she warned as she peeked out between her fingers. Then she scowled at him. "Mooning your guard? Seriously? You're supposed to be older than me!"

It was an incongruous statement, coming from her of all people, though she definitely looked better than before. Her cheeks were still a little hollow, and those foreign lines of an age that wasn't her own still crisscrossed over her face. But, she'd stayed true to her terrible fashion sense and cut her hair back into the same short style he was familiar with, though it was stark white now. Ruby did look somewhat younger than she had upon their arrival, but it wasn't saying much - she could still easily pass for one of Goodwitch or Ironwood's peers.

Still, he couldn't deny the flood of relief and, loathe as he was to admit it, happiness he felt at seeing her up and acting like her normal self again. "You made it."

Ruby looked over her shoulder at the two stooges, who clearly got the message to leave them alone. Ironwood even took his scowling honor guard with him, finally affording Roman the first bit of real privacy he'd had since being incarcerated.

"You just call us if he threatens you or makes you uncomfortable, Ruby," Ironwood grumbled from the back of the room. Then he glared at Roman. "Watch yourself!"

Roman raised his hands in a mock-salute. "Yessir!"

Ironwood looked unhappy, but Goodwitch pulled him away. He missed his chance to fire another word salvo at Ironwood's back because Ruby leaned in close and reached out for him.

"Hey, Roman… I-I… I really wanted to say this earlier, but you know, we were kind of fighting for our lives there in Exsul, and then I guess I passed out. Umm, I didn't mean to scare you, by the way… Jaune told me a little about what happened."

Ruby seemed unsettled, maybe even a little panicked. His attention zeroed in on her, but he didn't know what to make of it when she clasped his loose hand hanging between the bars. Should he have pulled it back in before she touched him? Was she acting all weird now because she'd seen him naked?

Her fingers were warm and dry, still stick thin and too delicate. Why's she touching me? Nobody touches me.

His resolve to pull his hand away scattered when he noticed the half-moons on the base of her stubby, unlacquered fingernails, which were cut short for efficiency. Age was turning them slightly yellow. They're not really her hands, he told himself.

She was looking at him again, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "I'm sorry for not being stronger. They wouldn't let me come down here before today, they said I was too sick, but… I'm sorry I made you wait. And I'm sorry they're treating you like this. But most of all… I'm s-sorry a-about…"

Her fingers jumped in his, and he realized all her touchy-feely-ness wasn't completely about him after all. She was nervous; she felt guilty. There could only be one reason for someone as good as her to feel guilty to someone as rotten as him - and he wasn't ready to pick at that scab.

"Sorry for what? You don't tell me what to do." The way his hand has closed around hers as though she was his only lifeline seemed to say otherwise. No wonder Junior laughs. I'm as transparent as he is. After a brief struggle with his already shattered pride, he refused to let go. In many ways, she was his only lifeline.

"No, you chose to come back here yourself, for my sake." She shook her head. "Even after what I did-" Her words cut off in a hiss of surprise and pain as his grip became crushing.

"Stop talking about it or I might have regrets," he warned.

"No," she grit out, tears gathering at the corner of her eyes as her hand shook in his. "There's something I have to tell you," she pushed, refusing to back down even though he knew her hand must've been screaming by now because she wasn't using her aura. Without the protection of her soul, her fingers didn't just look delicate. Reluctantly, he loosened his grip before he could dislocate any of her joints.

"They're not going to kill you," she said in a rush. "You're not going to Atlas."

Roman digested her words. Then he looked over at Ironwood, who was very obviously grinding his teeth while watching them. Making sure he had the general's attention, he made a show of lifting Ruby's knuckles to his lips and kissing them, before directing his broadest smile at the man and waving with his free hand. As expected, it managed to piss Ironwood off even more, although it didn't seem to do much for Ruby either.

She snatched her hand away from his as though burned, only to reach through the bars and slap him soundly on the side of his head a moment later - even without her Semblance, she was still fast. "Stop being a dick to General Ironwood," she growled. He had to give her credit for not turning entirely red in the face when she said 'dick.' "We have more important things to talk about right now!"

"Riiight," he drawled, abandoning his one and only source of consistent entertainment - pissing off the Atlesians. "So how'd you manage to pull that off? I can tell Ironwood still misses me as much as he ever did."

Ruby smiled faintly. "I didn't do anything. You did, when you killed Cinder. That's the reason I absorbed her power - the power of the Fall Maiden."

Fall what?

Roman gaped at her. "The hell? Those are just urban legends. What're you going to tell me next, that Ironwood is Santa Claus?"

For having just fed him the biggest fairy tale in Remnant, she looked surprisingly earnest. "It's true! When a Maiden dies, her power leaves her and seeks out a new host. Cinder's heists, all those things you did to target Vale when you worked for her, didn't you ever wonder why? She really was going after Ozpin because he was trying to hide the Fall Maiden's power from her! Cinder managed to steal it by killing the previous Fall Maiden during the Battle of Beacon. This time, when you killed her, I guess I was the only girl around to take it."

"Are you serious?" he asked. It seemed like an impossible story… but then again, Ruby shooting wind-blades out of her arms and fireballs out of her heels wasn't any more fantastical, and he'd seen that happening with his own two eyes.

She nodded mutely, an unhappy winner of what was basically the power-up lottery.

"So you gained all that power just because Cinder died and you were the closest one there?"

"I think so."

He wondered if Ruby realized what she was implying. If what she was saying was true, that meant a Maiden's powers could only be transferred to a woman with a human soul - and Neo had been right there alongside Ruby.

Neo hadn't inherited those powers.

Was it because of the purity of Ruby's soul? Or was it because Neo didn't have enough of a soul left to be a candidate? His mood dropped rapidly the more he thought about it, but Ruby was still talking to him, oblivious.

"...plus Ozpin's still alive. He's been in hiding all this time, working with Ironwood-"

Roman's eyes shot to Goodwitch and Ironwood. So Junior was right about the tension between those two. "That was pretty cold," he muttered, reevaluating his opinion of Beacon's former headmaster. "I always thought that Ozpin guy was toothless. Looks like he showed his fangs to the wrong set of people, though."

Ruby didn't say anything, and he glanced down at her. Her head was lowered, and she looked mortified.

"What?" He hadn't thought sharing his honest opinion would've bothered her so much; it didn't seem to on Exsul. "Why the long face?"

"Do you really have to ask that?"

"Yes, because that look is more than just feeling sorry for Goodwitch. Spit it out."

"Umm… well, Ozpin was sort of like my mentor when I was a student here," she mumbled.

Huh. "Somehow you turned out okay despite that," he replied, managing to bring a small smile back to her face. "Besides, you're getting distracted from the most important thing here. Me. Why doesn't General Ironass want my head anymore?"

"Oh, uh… officially, he still does." She leaned in. "Unofficially, too, but Glynda put him in his place. So as long as you stick with me, you'll be safe."

"Stick with you? You're going somewhere?" Now this was starting to get interesting.

"Ozpin needs to see me more than Ironwood needs to kill you. He's been searching for all four of the Maidens for a while now, and he's fought Salem before, too. I think he wants to talk me about that, actually… meeting Salem, I mean. So I have to find him. And, well... I kinda need a pilot I can trust to get me there."

"You've got Ironwood for that. He's a pilot too, you know. The best damn one in Atlas."

"But I don't trust him." Ruby looked him squarely in the eyes. "I trust you. You saved my life even though you knew you'd be risking your own. I know you hate admitting it, but deep down… you're a good person."

Roman snorted, though he couldn't keep that stupid, honest grin from surfacing when she was around. "You're the only one who thinks that."

"That's because I'm the only person you've let come close to you."

He squinted at her. "You're planning something, aren't you?" Ruby opened her mouth to protest, and he pressed his forehead against the bars, staring her down. "Sweetheart, don't try and out-con a con man." He studied her.

She turned slightly red and leaned back. "I hate it when you do that! It feels like you're reading my face like it's some kind of a billboard!"

"Well, that's pretty much what you are." Something clicked, and he groaned. "You're bringing your team with you."

"Think of it as a chance to apologize to Jaune."

"Apologize!?" He lowered the tone of his voice when he noticed Ironwood's smug look. "Hey, kid, I don't know if you hit your head too hard to remember, but your boyfriend won our last fight."

Ruby squinted right back at him, doing her best to copy his expression and failing miserably. "He's not my boyfriend. He's my best friend, and he's willing to give you a chance if you'd stop being a raging asshole to him. And everybody else for that matter!" Her face contorted. "And damn it, stop making me swear using body parts! This is really awkward now!"

"No can do," Roman said. "Besides, you should feel honored to have seen me in my natural glory. Now you're one of the few, the proud..."

"Great to know you make a habit of flashing your elders. Thank you so much for that, by the way."

She was getting better at sarcasm, he noted with some pride. "Listen. I'm not making nice with your team. Being contrary is an integral part of my personality. I like you, Ruby, but I'm not going to change myself for you. "

"Well good. Because you should be trying to change yourself for you. I can have your back, but I can't carry you on mine."

He stared at her for a long moment. "Ever think of giving up your day job and becoming a therapist?" he asked conversationally. "You'd make a killing, the way you puncture through peoples' defenses."

Ruby's confidence visibly wavered. "I'll have to if Ozpin can't fix me," she muttered. "They said I can't use my aura anymore or I might keep on getting older even faster than before." She took a few deep breaths, and he recognized the expression she was making as she tried to bring herself under control. Fear.

"Hey," he said, reaching out for her. "Are you alright?" She turned away from him, completely unaware of how she was broadcasting her real feelings. The thought that she might be afraid of him because he'd crushed her fingers hit him like a charging Ursa. "Ruby, c'mon," he said more urgently. "I-" He couldn't say it. For some reason, he couldn't make himself apologize. "I'm not gonna hurt you," he said instead.

She hunched over with a surly pout. "I'm fine. Stop looking at my face! It's called privacy, you know."

He didn't stop looking because she was wrong, of course. Years of communicating with Neo meant he could read a person's entire body, not just a face. And she was still screaming her insecurity to him with every movement she made. It wasn't just him - no aura meant no more Huntressing. People who tried to fight Grimm without auras didn't last long, special academy training or not. She didn't want him to know how scared she really was. She didn't want anyone to know about the fragile hope she had riding on Ozpin's ability to cure her body.

But something he understood all too well for himself was that she wasn't really suffering from a disease. His chest constricted, watching her trying to hide her struggle from him and pretend nothing was wrong. Idiot, he thought. You're supposed to take advantage of those feelings to pressure me, not act like it's a choice I still get to make.

"Fine. Maybe you're right," he said instead. "Change starts within, or some other philosophical bullshit, right? I'll fly you to your Pinhead, and I'll even tolerate Wonder Boy's mouth breathing."

"Jaune," she said reflexively, then choked back a snigger. "Wonder Boy?"

"Why? Got something better?"

She smiled, all traces of her anxiety gone.

Good at compartmentalizing, he added to his mental tally of interesting things about Ruby.

"In fact I do, but I'm not telling you anything until you guys are friends. So… you'll do it?"

"Sure, why not," he said with a shrug. "But this time, get me a ship with a gun or ten."

.x.x.x.

"An Arrowtooth? Not half bad," Roman said as he made himself comfortable in the pilot's seat. The cutting-edge Atlesian dropship was a far cry from the barely-flight-worthy Bullhead they'd stolen before. It was sleek, new, and most importantly - both of its Gatling guns were in working order, not to mention the set of rocket launchers it had equipped. There was even a shiny new EMP weapon installed, probably the result of their own droids going rogue after the Battle of Beacon. He looked out of the canopy and was met with the sight of Ironwood and Goodwitch, both staring down the airship with looks of extreme disapproval. For a moment he considered testing the guns out.

"You're sure you know how to fly this thing?" Ruby asked, dissolving his fantasy.

Roman turned to give her a flat stare. "You sure you remember who you're talking to?"

"Fine, sorry for asking," she huffed. "And did you get the coordinates from the general?"

"Yup," he replied absently, concentrating on starting up the engine. "Stop nagging already. You should probably get back to your friends. We'll be taking off soon, and you don't want to be standing for that."

"I know, but…" She stood behind his chair, fiddling with the sleeves of her shirt.

He sighed. "Relax. I've got this."

"I know," she mumbled. "I just miss the other chair."

The Arrowtooth's sleek design was nice to look at and even more fun to fly, but like most things Atlesian, it prized efficiency over safety. There was no co-pilot's chair in the small cockpit, because the airship was meant to be a one-man - or robot - operation. No distractions… like a chatty brat for a co-pilot.

"Me too," he admitted. Then he turned and gave her another genuine smile. Damn. I'll never be able to gamble again if this keeps up. "Sit down, Ruby. I'll get you to Ozpin in one piece."

A flash of gratitude passed over her face. "Thanks." Still, she hesitated. "You know, if Ozpin can't do anything about this…"

"Don't be such a downer. It's not like you." She still looked worried, so he reached up and gently tapped her jaw with his fist. "Chin up. Even if that guy can't do anything about it, you'll still be you on the inside. You're a survivor, you'll get through it one way or another."

"Are you giving me a pep talk?"

"Tell your friends and they die," he replied, refocusing on the controls.

As expected, she got the real message. "Thanks, Roman."

.x.x.x.

It was taking longer to reach the base than anyone had expected. Roman wasn't concerned; the Arrowtooth had been so well-prepped that they could've flown to Exsul again if they'd wanted to. Caution made him stick to a low flight path near the treetops, though. If Salem really was out to get them, there was no need to go around broadcasting their presence to the world at large in the skies.

The airship made good time across the lush forests of Sanus. Things had been relatively calm, although Roman was confident they'd be able to outfly or outfight whatever Grimm they might run into, particularly if Ruby's teammates were as invested in their training as she seemed to be. Besides, who needed a team of Huntsmen anyway? He'd gotten his hands on a real ship this time, so he could finally take care of any problems they ran into personally. Chuckling to himself, he gave the master arming switch of the Arrowhead a satisfied pat. Things were finally starting to look up.

"Are you laughing to yourself? That's not weird at all."

And then there was Wonder Boy. "You sure you want to be here, kid? You look a little green around the gills." He subtly adjusted the pitch to ensure the Arrowtooth ran into "turbulence" as they spoke.

"Oh god, why?" Jaune groaned from where he was sprawled across the floor.

"I hear you're Ruby's best friend." Roman smirked. "Shame if you were to get hurt down here, you know."

"You're doing this on purpose," Jaune mumbled miserably. After a few moments, he managed to sit up. "So… how much longer do you think it'll take us?"

Roman suppressed an irritated sigh and considered Ruby's request to be more sociable. In a way, he was glad the single-person cockpit was so isolating, because the angry looks directed his way from the tiny ginger glued to Ruby's side weren't exactly encouraging.

Not that Wonder Boy was much better company, though.

"You're starting to make me feel like a babysitter, kid. No, we're not there yet, so stop asking."

"I'm making an effort here." The kid sounded annoyed despite his weak stomach. To be fair, it was his fourth time visiting the cockpit, and with each visit he looked a little paler and waxier than before.

"That's great, but I don't appreciate it. So why don't you wobble up those stairs and get back to your seat?"

Jaune swallowed thickly as the airship hit another pocket of "turbulence". After a few moments, he stood up and managed a reply. "Because Ruby would be disappointed if I gave up."

"Pathetic. She has you completely under her thumb, doesn't she?"

Jaune looked over Roman's shoulder. "You know she's watching us right now?"

Coughing, Roman shifted in his seat. "Alright, fine. You can stay here for five more minutes. But I swear, if you even thinking of losing your lunch on me, I'll make you live to regret it."

"I can't help being airsick!"

"This loser..." Roman muttered under his breath.

"Hey! Maybe you're just a bad pilot!"

"Oh, Wonder Boy? Get your bag out."

Jaune paled, and as Roman sent the ship into a maliciously steep dive, he finally figured out Ruby's secret nickname for her queasy friend. Fortunately the kid took his advice and emptied the contents of his stomach into his flight safety bag - Roman really would have murdered the blond if he'd yakked all over his freshly laundered white jacket. Or his baby Arrowtooth.

"What was that for?" Jaune squawked when he'd recovered sufficiently.

"Huh? Oh, thought I saw a Grimm. Oops," he said cheerily. "Here," he added, fishing through his pocket. "Have a breath mint."

Jaune caught the candy tossed at him and staggered to his feet. "Ruby must have the patience of a saint. Just get us there in one piece." He paused. "... And thanks."

"What for?" Roman asked, one eyebrow raised.

"For killing Cinder." Jaune's voice was so quiet Roman nearly missed it. "I wish I could've done it myself… but you avenged Pyrrha, and that's all that really matters. So I mean it, really. Thank you."

He felt uncomfortable, being the recipient of someone's gratitude rather than scorn for once. Particularly since the kid was thanking him for murder. "Yeah, whatever, I got it."

"And thanks for thinking of Ruby. Back then when you rescued her, and just now, too."

Ok, enough of this bullshit. You aren't Ruby, kid. "Stop whimpering like a kicked puppy. You and me talking? It's all just a farce, so don't go getting it confused with any of that friendship crap Ruby likes to go on about. I hate people. All people. You're a person, so take the hint and get the hell out of my cockpit."

"I meant by coming to Vale, but sure thing, tough guy," Jaune replied with a grin that might have been cocky if it wasn't for the fact that Roman had seen him vomiting helplessly into a bag mere moments before.

"Oh look, I think I see another Grimm on the horizon..."

"I'm going, I'm going!"

Roman would have basked in his victory, if not for the strange movement he spotted in the distance within the thick forest. "That can't be right," he muttered, checking the instruments on the dash. "Those are the coordinates…" He looked up to see a crack of smoke, soon followed by multiple glowing trails traveling rapidly towards their airship.

Without hesitation he dropped the Arrowtooth under the cover of the trees, watching as the tracer shots passed overhead. A shrill warning began to echo through the cockpit, accompanied by Jaune's high-pitched scream of surprise.

"What just happened?"

"Nothing good." Roman brought them up only as far above the tree line as it would take him to scan their surroundings, his Semblance already active. "Times like these make me remember why I left the academy," he muttered, confirming his suspicions. "Get back in your seat, kid."

"No," Jaune said, his voice firm. "Is it a Grimm attack? Maybe we can help-"

"We're being attacked alright, but not by Grimm." His eyes panned across the forest stretching before them, searching for any anomalous shapes within the dense trees. There… and another… and another… There are hidden missiles everywhere out here! "Ozpin's base is a fucking deathtrap. I thought he was expecting us!"

Camouflaged to look like trees, the missiles were huge and menacing. Roman turned the ship away from Ironwood's coordinates and throttled up, but it was already too late - he saw the tell-tale smoke cloud of one launching. One glance at it told him that at least Ozpin's tech was badly outdated - not much of a comfort, when the dinosaur missile in question was still larger, faster, and more powerful than his Arrowtooth, and snapping at his heels.

"Is that… a missile?!" Jaune said, staring through the canopy with wide eyes.

"Hang on." It was the only warning he had time to give as he began to bounce the Arrowtooth up and down rapidly along the tree line in a dizzying game of see-saw with the missile tracking them. After a few tense moments, his tactic began to pay off - the missile's attempt to track their chaotic path was throwing it out of sequence. Dropping the airship's speed dramatically, he took a dive and watched as it sailed past them and crashed into the forest ahead, creating a large fireball. Then he pulled up rapidly through the billowing black smoke.

"What's going on?" Ruby shouted from the cabin.

"Stay in that chair!" he heard Nora scream, followed by Ruby's whimper. For once he was glad the ginger had glued herself to Ruby's side.

"We've got a problem," he said, turning the ship to face the aerial minefield surrounding Ozpin's base. "Looks like your Pinhead's not happy to see us."

"Why are you going back?" Jaune yelled as Roman took them in closer.

"Because firing a surface to air missile at your guests is just plain rude," he answered, his eyes narrowed.

He swerved away from another round of tracer fire, then watched as two more missiles launched simultaneously, turning to track their ship. "We need to get around those and find the radar that's guiding them. He can't hit us if he can't see us."

"Oh god, please don't do that thing with the ups and downs again," Jaune begged.

"No can do," Roman grunted. "It's too late to activate the jammers when we're already on top of them. Better grab onto something, this could get rough."

In response, Jaune straightened, his eyes lighting blue. Two large barriers sprang up before the missiles racing towards them, causing them to explode on impact.

"Nice going Wonder Boy! Didn't know you had that in you."

"I'm gonna die," Jaune groaned, his white-knuckled grip on the back of the pilot's chair the only thing keeping him in place.

Roman shrugged. "You need to go into every battle feeling invincible. It's the only way to win. Besides..." He grinned, picking up as much speed as he could squeeze out of the Arrowtooth's engines. "Now you know how I felt when Ruby carried me back to our airship."

"Yep, we're all dead," Jaune continued, as if he hadn't heard a thing.

He sighed. "Listen, you slavering idiot. This is doable! If we take down the radar guiding them, those missiles won't be a problem." This time when the tracer round was fired at his ship, he tracked it back to its source and dipped the airship towards it, estimating the distance between them.

"Can you hit something that far away?" Jaune sounded nervous.

"Maybe if we do this," he replied, tilting the nose of the ship upwards while firing a salvo of rockets. The angle of his attack lobbed them in a ballistic arc towards the distant target. His aim was true, and as the ground exploded, the blaring sirens in the cockpit finally fell quiet.

"Who's attacking us?" he heard Ren ask.

"I'll go see- OOF!"

"I said sit down, Ruby!" Nora yelled.

Better speed this up before Ruby gets any bright ideas. "That wasn't the fire control radar," he said to Jaune as the Arrowtooth's warning system sounded again. "Incoming on our left, kid. Block that, I'm breaking right!"

"What?" Jaune yelped, then gagged when Roman banked the plane steeply.

"Damn it, hold it in!" He felt a real moment of panic at Jaune's wet burp. Still, no matter how the blond sounded there was no missile impact, so the boy's Semblance was working its magic. Narrowing his eyes, he scanned their surroundings until he spotted the only place the fire control could be hiding - an unusually large and artificial-looking clump of trees on top of a high hill with a telltale dish rising above them.

"Uh, Torchwick? We have another problem!"

Roman didn't need Jaune to tell him; he could already see the small Atlesian combat drones being released into the sky from below. They were small but very agile, and while normally he would've laughed at the thought of the tiny quadcopters facing off against a dropship, the accompanying AA missile attack was wiping the smile off his face.

Rather than try to fight the new threat, he sped up and fired another few rockets at a nearby SAM to clear them a path deeper into the heart of Ozpin's territory, not bothering with the Arrowtooth's on-board targeting computer. The grounded missile exploded in a spray of smoke and flames.

He corkscrewed past another burst of tracer fire, only to be surprised when one of the shells punched straight through their wing, sending them careening. A quick check of the instruments indicated that the Arrowtooth had been damaged, but it wasn't crippling - as luck would have it, the shell hadn't actually exploded. He managed to stabilize the flight, then reached back and rapped his knuckles against Jaune's forehead. "Pay attention, one of them almost got us!"

"Mercy," Jaune whimpered, though his blue barriers started doing their jobs again.

"I found our culprit." Roman felt the adrenaline pumping through his veins as he targeted the radar antennae. "Let's end this!"

"Can we not and say we did?" Jaune begged, his eyes bugging out as they entered into a steep, spiraling dive towards the target.

"What, you mean to say you aren't enjoying yourself?" Roman cackled, lining up the station in his sights.

"No! Enough! I can't take it anymore!" Jaune lifted his head, eyes blazing blue, and glared through the canopy with wild eyes.

He saw the enormous barrier form around the tower before he could fire off another rocket. It compressed inward, and the leafy radar station collapsed under the immense pressure.

Damn.

"Why didn't you do that before?" Roman asked, easing out of the dive and twisting the Arrowtooth upwards into a sharp climb. With the anti-aircraft system out of the way, he took great pleasure in venting his frustration by lazily circling back towards the drones and shooting them down like clay pigeons. "Get the rest of them," he demanded as he lost interest, bringing them higher to hover over the smoking ruins.

Multiple bubbles of blue popped into existence below, shrinking rapidly around their drone targets to crush them into scraps. Watching the flaming bits of metal and plastic raining down over the forest when the barriers released was cathartic. He basked in the beauty of the destruction they'd wrought, then turned to celebrate his victory with Jaune.

The kid was on his knees, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"Way to ruin the moment," Roman muttered, disgusted.

"You forced me to evolve my Semblance, you bastard," Jaune growled, coming to his feet. "I think I'll hate you some more after I'm done barfing. Urp-" The boy ran up the stairs, burping ominously, and Roman snickered as he heard the rest of Ruby's team yelling in dismay.

"That looked tough! Thanks for getting us through that." He started and turned. Ruby, finally free from Nora's protective custody, had taken the spot behind the pilot's chair. "Did you really have to fly like a daredevil on a sugar high to get rid of the ground defense system though?"

"I thought I was being subtle. Y'know, about as subtle as you sending Jaune up here every five minutes."

"I was hoping you'd learn to get along."

Roman shrugged. "I gave him a breath mint."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Well, it's progress, I guess." Her expression turned serious. "Why were we attacked? I know we're not here officially, but… I thought Ironwood talked to Ozpin about us already."

"Let's find out," Roman said, reaching for the comm. Turning it on, he sifted through the frequencies until he found the one Ironwood had specified. "Hey, asshole. Ironwood told you we were coming, didn't he? What was with the welcoming fireworks?"

The radio buzzed and crackled, before a voice that was unmistakably Ozpin's came through. "Roman Torchwick? Put Ms. Rose through, if you will."

Roman stared at the console, then reached out and stabbed the connection closed. "Did that bastard just ignore me after open firing on us?" He eyed the ground, looking for the entrance to Ozpin's base. "I can give him a 21-gun salute too…"

"Just turn it on again," Ruby said. "I want to know what happened too."

Gritting his teeth, Roman flipped the comm back on.

"Professor Ozpin? It's me," she said loudly.

"Ruby! Are you safe?"

Now Ruby looked confused, too. "Well yeah, no thanks to my teammates. Why'd you try to shoot us out of the sky though?"

"I'm sorry, but my instruments are reading some sort of Grimm on board your ship. I hope you'll forgive my caution, but I cannot allow Salem to infiltrate my base of operations once again. Are you quite certain you don't have an unwanted stowaway on board?"

This time Ruby was the one who reached over his shoulder and shut the comm off. "Umm… are you okay?" she asked, making sure her voice didn't carry to the back of the ship - where Jaune was still violently ejecting the contents of his stomach.

"Okay? Would you be okay?" He laughed harshly. "I don't hear them anymore," he admitted, giving more attention than was strictly necessary to trimming the hovering ship. "But I wasn't enough of a sucker to think it was over." Didn't stop me from hoping, he added silently.

He felt her hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "You still have an aura… so you still have your soul. You're not a Grimm." She leaned down, her silver eyes bright despite her shock of white hair and her lined face. "And as long as I'm around, I won't let you become one."

"If you can't stop it one day, you'll end it for me." He met her eyes, gave her a long look. "Like you did for Neo."

Her smile faded, but she held his stare. Then she nodded, once. "Promise," she said, holding out her fist solemnly.

"What's that supposed to be?" he asked, looking down at her fist with a frown.

"Fist bump, stupid!" she groaned. "Promise! Bumpity bump, come on! Are you really that old?"

"Enough with the geriatric jokes, grandma," he grumbled, though he did smack her fist with his own. "Everybody gets old someday."

"Some faster than others," she snickered, unbothered by his sullen attitude. "Now, let's give Ozpin some of his own medicine." Reaching down, she flipped the comm back on. "Hey, Ozpin? We don't have any stowaways. Everyone who's here is exactly where they need to be."

"... That can't be correct," Ozpin replied.

She took a deep breath. "Well, fine. I guess I can just take my Maidenly self right back to Vale then. I heard Glynda needs help fighting a Grimm dragon that someone left on her tower."

Roman felt a flash of pride at her insolence. It slowly withered as she kept on talking.

"Which was I guess partly my fault, since, uh, I froze it up there and made it a big Grimm magnet. But it was kinda your fault too! You ran away and left her to deal with it all by herself! Don't you feel even a little bit bad about that? Because she does! You should've seen what she did to Ironwood when he told her about you, he couldn't walk straight after she-"

Roman reached down and flipped off the comm. "Ruby."

She bit her lip. "Fail?"

"Fail," he agreed, switching the comm back on.

"... well, at the very least I've confirmed that you are the real Ruby Rose." Ozpin sounded amused. "I'll clear the landing pad for you. You'll have to taxi your ship in."

"Yeah! Roger that," Ruby cheered.

Roman glared at her.

"Uh, I mean… we're coming down. You better be ready for us, buster! You owe us an explanation big time!"

"Yes, yes. I'll see you inside, Ruby," Ozpin replied, ending their communication with a crackle of static.

Switching the comm off, Roman spent a moment watching the ground for telltale signs of movement. Soon, he saw a clump of trees shuddering and moving, revealing a small landing pad with a short runway leading into the mouth of a subterranean hangar. As they waited for Ozpin's gate to finish revealing itself, he glanced at Ruby.

"How can you be so terrible at acting tough? You wield a scythe that's bigger than your entire body!"

"I can't help it, okay?" she squeaked. "My dad taught me to respect the elderly!"

"This is what I have to work with? Really?" he groaned as he brought the Arrowtooth down.

Notes

A big shout out to Whale and JdZ for helping me with the technical details of aerial warfare here.

"Arrowtooth" is a name I made up for the Atlesian Dropships. It's the name of a species of lizardfish, because I think that ship looks like a cross between a lizard and a fish.