"Would team rWBY please report to the headmaster's office please" Glynda Goodwitch, "again would team rWBY please report to the headmaster's office, thank you" the three remaining members of team rWBY looked across the cafeteria table at each other, more specifically at Yang.
"Don't look at me I didn't do anything" Yang said, "why do you guys always suspect me when we get called?"
"Because it's usually because of some prank you pulled" Weiss answered.
"Hey now those were comedy gold, and well worth it." Yang replied.
"Either way we should go and see what's going on." Blake interrupted the two, "lets go."
"Yeah okay." Yang said. The three nearly full fledged huntresses got up from their table and took a quick walk over to Ozpin's office. Once there Ozpin turned around in his chair.
"Ms. Xiao Long, Ms. Belladonna, Ms. Schnee, thank you for coming." Ozpin said, while motioning to some chairs he had set up in front of his desk.
"What's up Prof.?" Yang asked. Almost immediately Weiss smacked Yang on her shoulder.
"Yang!" Weiss then turned to Ozpin, "I apologize for the rudeness sir."
"Don't worry I expect that there will be much worse in the meeting to come." Ozpin said.
"Why is that Professor?" Blake asked. Without saying a word Ozpin passed a letter across the desk to them. Hesitantly Weiss picked up the letter and held it so her teammates on either side could read it.
Dear Mrs. Collins, It is with a heavy heart that I write this to inform you, of the demise of your son Eric Collins. Eric served with me in the redemption Corps. He was a brave young man and whatever he had done in the past he more than repaid his debt to society by defending it against the grimm in the north. The world is less for the loss of such a man. It is my desire that he would be honored in death for the change he made in life. My condolences and my prayers be with you. I hope that whatever else you know, you know that your son was a good man when he died. Capt. Ruby Rose, Commander, Alpha Company, Redemption Corps, Atlesian Penal system.
After finishing the letter three Huntresses just sat and stared at it for several seconds before Ozpin cleared his throat and brought their attention back.
"This letter was delivered to me by a woman I've known for many years." Ozpin said, "Her son was tried and convicted of manslaughter, he chose to work in Atlas's Redemption Corps rather than serve the life sentence he was given. Mrs. Collins received this letter sometime ago and recently made the connection between this school and the signer of the letter."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Yang said standing up, "lets go get her!"
"Wait Yang the redemption Corps…" Weiss began before stopping and looking like she was trying to think through her wording
"The redemption Corps what?" Blake asked.
"It's a death sentence." Weiss finally said, "they send the worst criminals there to die in battle against the grimm."
"I don't care what's happened, I'm going to find my sister!" Yang said before turning to leave again.
"You won't find her there." Ozpin said causing Yang to pause. "The Redemption Corps was disbanded a couple of years ago. Do you remember team JNPR's report that they thought they saw Ruby?"
"Yeah Ironwood said that it was just an aid who resembled Ruby." Weiss said before it clicked, "that lying b-"
"It's likely that it was in fact Ruby." Ozpin interrupted, "however why James chose to hide her is a mystery we may never know the answer to."
"Unless we beat the reason out of him" Yang said, her eyes were already red.
"Unfortunately I received word this morning," Ozpin said, "James was murdered in his own home, they don't know ."
"Are you telling me we're back to square one." Yang asked angrily.
"Not quite," Ozpin said, "when the Redemption Corps disbanded all the surviving members were granted a full pardon and were released."
"If we can find some of them, they might still be in contact with Ruby." Blake finished Ozpin's thought.
"Precisely." Ozpin said, "Are you ready for a trip to Atlas?"
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"Ms. Summers?" Ruby looked up at the smartly dressed secretary. "Professor Lionheart is ready for you." Ruby couldn't find any weapons on the woman, not that she was in any place to judge. For the sake of a low profile Ruby had only brought a collapsible pistol and a telescoping shortsword, because they were easily concealable. Ruby had worn a fairly ordinary blouse and skirt, and had blonde hair and blue eye, other than her missing eye she looked just like another civilian.
"Thank you." Ruby answered before grabbing the case file she had on Neo's team and went to speak to the headmaster of Haven academy. Upon entering she was greeted by the image of a very regal looking lion faunus standing amongst piles and piles of books.
"Ah, Ms. Summers was it?" Lionheart said, "please come in have a seat."
"Thank you headmaster." Ruby said as she took a seat.
"So to what can I do for a young lady such as yourself?" Ironwood asked, "looking to be a huntress?"
"I actually already am one." Ruby answered showing him her huntress ID.
"I see, and at such a young age too, quite remarkable!" Lionheart complimented
"Thank you," Ruby replied, "I'm actually here on a mission for my late headmaster. Do you recognize this woman?" Ruby then showed Lionheart a picture of Neo in her disguise.
"No I can't say that I have," Lionheart answered, "who is this?" Ruby pulled out another picture of Neo this time without her disguise, she took note of how his eyes widened in recognition.
"She was a wanted criminal who managed to infiltrate beacon posing as a Haven student," Ruby replied, "her records were authenticated by someone here on staff."
"That doesn't seem possible," Lionheart answered, "I've never seen this woman before."
"that means either one of your staff is dirty or they managed to con one of your staff." Ruby said, "either way I'll be staying in the area to investigate. Let me know if you find anything would you?"
"O-of course," Lionheart hastily replied as Ruby rose to leave.
"Out of curiosity Professor," Ruby said before she left the office, "where are all your students?"
"Oh, uh, they are on field exercises right now." Lionheart said, "I believe in teaching by doing."
"I see." Ruby simply replied before leaving.
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"Annette" Ruby said as she prepared a message to her favorite pilot on her scroll, "something is wrong here, I want you on standby but move the ship to a more discreet location." she then sent the message while entering the establishment she had picked out. It was a joint inn and tavern in the middle levels of Mistal. She could tell that the place was popular as there were many patrons eating and drinking on the main floor. Weaving her way through the customers enjoying themselves Ruby made her way to the main counter.
"Hang on, hon, I'll be with ya' in a second" said a large burly woman behind the counter as she took two mugs to a nearby table. "Now what can I do fer ya'"
"Dinner and a room please" Ruby answered, "is that doable?"
"Sure is hon," the woman said while pulling out a paper form, "ya' got some ID on ya'?" Ruby wordlessly handed over her huntress license. The woman looked at the huntress license and then at Ruby. "well, that stinks hon, ya' can go out there and face people's wildest nightmares but ya' aren't old enough ta' drink yet are ya'" this caused ruby to chuckle a little.
"Don't worry I'm not one to miss out." Ruby said with one of her rare genuine smiles. The woman handed back Ruby's license and also gave her a menu.
"Go ahead and pick out a table I'll be over after I finish booking ya' a room." the woman said.
"How much will it be?" Ruby asked.
"The room'll be forty a night, and the meal is on the house tonight." the woman answered with a smile, "not everyday ya' get ta' thank one of the people who protect ya'"
"Thank you Ms.…?" Ruby started to say before realising she didn't know the woman's name.
"Oh! Names Beth, Beth Luna, but folks just call me Beth." she said.
"Well, Thank you Beth," Ruby said before introducing herself, "I'm Scarlette."
"Nice to meet you Scarlette, now go pick out what you want to eat I'll get the room ready." with that Beth went into the back and Ruby wandered over to a table in a corner. Ruby quickly looked over the menu and settled on a hamburger and fries meal. Once she had decided on what to order Ruby took the opportunity to observe the other patrons in the tavern. There weren't too many people obviously inebriated, it was still fairly early in the evening after all. Most of the patrons were talking with each other laughing, and being merry. Ruby did notice however that for most the smiles didn't reach their eyes, and many more didn't smile at all. There was a tense, hidden undercurrent of fear that flowed through the room. Many of those who were at the bar laughing and joking appeared to be doing so to forget their fear. Ever since the attack on Beacon and Vale, this tense atmosphere had been quite prevalent. For the first time in years people realized that they were not safe even in the heart of the kingdoms. However over time such tensions and fear had faded in most places. Even the last time Ruby had been to Mistral a large portion of the tension had vacated the city. To have it back now was somewhat odd. Before Ruby could give to much thought on that, Beth returned and took Ruby's order. When she brought back the food, Ruby asked her about the atmosphere.
"Oh, there's just been a bunch more grimm attacks recently," Beth answered, "there hasn't been enough huntresses and huntsman ta' go around, they're always so busy it's rare ta' even see any inside the city proper anymore."
"Wow," Ruby said, "I didn't realize that it was that bad here"
"Yeah, news is that the headmaster at the academy has sent for more ta' come from the other kingdoms to help." Beth said, "I thought that was probably what ya' were here for."
"Unfortunately no," Ruby said, "I came here working another mission, I might take a mission once I can complete my current one."
"Anything helps, ya' know." Beth said as another table called out to her, "sorry, hon, I best get back to work."
"Okay, thank you." Ruby said and began digging into her meal. 'Huh, it's strange that there is such crisis here, and it's not all over the news in other kingdoms' while Ruby was pondering the current crisis and eating her meal, she spotted a group of men enter the tavern. They didn't appear any different from the other patrons and the other patrons paid them no mind. However Ruby was immediately clued into the fact that they did not belong here by their actions. They didn't look for the bar so they could order, but instead scanned the crowd. These men were looking for someone, and seeing as nobody waved to them from the crowd, someone who didn't know them. When one of the men met her eyes, he jerked his gaze away and tapped another man, probably the leader, on the shoulder.
'So, they're here for me, huh?' Ruby thought, 'the only person who should know that i'm here, especially with my current description should be Lionheart and his assistant.' they took a table and Ruby decided to finish her food quickly, as she didn't know whether the men were here with hostile intents or simply to deliver a message from Lionheart. As she was working on finishing her fries one of the men, the leader, came over to her table and took a seat.
"What's a pretty little thing like you doin' sittin' here all alone?" The man asked.
"Eating, mainly." Ruby said deadpan in between two of her fries. 'Probably not here to deliver a message if they are hiding that they know who I am, sort of.'
"You got a name, sweetheart?" The man asked.
"Candice." Ruby said simply, again in between some of her fries. The man paused, looked at her, seeming to confirm that she was who he was looking for, then continued.
"Well, Candice," The man said, "let me get you a drink." He turned to look for the bartender and found Beth talking with a few patrons. He waved Beth over even as Ruby began to speak.
"No thanks dude." Ruby said, she finished off her fries at this point. The man seemed to ignore Ruby as he talked to Beth.
"Two bears please, one for me and one for my friend here." the man, who Ruby didn't even know the name of yet, ordered. Beth's eyes narrowed, looking first at the man and then at Ruby.
"Is this a friend of yours Scarlette?" Beth asked. Ruby knew that were this a normal situation right here would be the point to get the guy to stop hitting on her. But she also knew that the guy wasn't hitting on her but more likely trying to get her to separate from the crowd or let her guard down. Getting Beth to kick him out would likely cause them to try something here in the room. The chances of civilian casualties would be much higher in that case.
"We're getting there, don't worry about the bears, I'll explain it to him." Ruby said, "can you hold the key for my room for a bit? I'll pick it up in a little bit." Beth nodded and walked away and Ruby turned to the unknown man. "I'm underage for drinking." the man looked like he was about to say something more but Ruby interrupted him again. "Look, you want to play, we'll take this outside, Alright?" with that she got up and walked out of the tavern.
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Ruby didn't have to wait outside long just a few short minutes later the entire group, six men in total, left the tavern and started to tail her as she walked through the streets. She quickly led the men to a nearby alley. When she turned around several already had simple weapons, knives, batons, one had a normal pistol while another had a revolver. A few were surprised when she turned around, and the leader was heavily red faced, no doubt angry over his failed attempt to lower her guard. None of them seemed in the mood to talk.
"We'll do this just like we did the other huntress." the leader said and his men nodded. One drew a small cylinder out of his jacket and tossed it on the ground. Immediately smoke began to dispense from the canister, obscuring the entire group from Ruby's sight. She heard the sound of a hammer being pulled back on the revolver. Less than a second later the revolver fired, the bullet passing through the air where Ruby's head had been a second before. Taking the initiative Ruby flicked her wrists, deploying the collapsed short sword and pistol into her hands from their hidden holsters up her sleeves. She heard footsteps coming from her right as one of the men charged her from the side. Their coordination was good and a normal huntsmen or huntress could very well have been overwhelmed with trying to track all of them through the fog. Unfortunately for them they were not nearly silent enough to get the drop on Ruby. When the man charged in and swung his batton harmlessly through the air Ruby had been at previously. Instead Ruby stepped on the batton, pinning it to the ground, before swiping out and sending the man flying with the flat of her sword blade, his head twisted at an unnatural angle. She then raised her pistol and sent two rounds towards the direction the revolver shot came from. She was rewarded with a grunt and clattering sound as the revolver fell to the ground. Another man charged in from the other side also wielding a batton, Ruby quickly parried his first strike and delivered another directly to his midsection. Without Aura, the blade slid easily between the man's ribs, fatally wounding him. The two knife wielders charged in together to attack Ruby, who ducked under their first strike, with one hand she stabbed up at one of them and used her other hand to fire point blank at the other. The man she stabbed at barely jumped back in time while a shower of red accompanied the other man falling to the ground. Ruby then turned on the final knife wielder, using the longer range of her shortsword to great effectiveness. Before she could take the other knife wielder down however, the final gunman began firing wildly from outside the smokescreen. His wild shots struck his friend in the back first, and Ruby moved in and used the quickly expiring knife wielder as a body shield. She then took aim at the gunmen, who's wild shooting announced his location better than anything else at this point, and fired. She heard the sound of the gun clatter to the ground and moved to step out of the smokescreen. The whole battle had taken only a few seconds and so the smokescreen hadn't had the opportunity to clear yet. The gunman with the revolver was most certainly dead, one of Ruby's shots had hit him directly between the eyes, the other however, was the one who had been the leader and was currently clutching his shoulder trying to scoot away from the unharmed huntress. Ruby walked up to him and grabbed him by the caller.
"If you want to live, you will tell me who hired you." Ruby said calmly, "and I don't have any time for games."
"The headmaster guy! The headmaster!" the man replied with a healthy dose of fear.
"Of Haven?" Ruby asked, confirming her earlier suspicions.
"Yeah!" the man said, "don't know why but he said he wanted you out of the picture. That's it I swear!" Ruby nodded and dropped the man, she turned to walk away, before turning back around and putting a bullet in between the man's eyes.
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A/N: woah boy, another chapter done. I just had so many ideas for this chapter I figured I'd write them down, and then it took off from there. Anyways for those wondering I'm still working on my other stories, and actually pretty much at the same time (as that is something I find myself lacking a ton of) which makes it pretty confusing when I'm dealing with Ruby's with differing personalities, and morals, and fighting styles. I've been desperately trying to remember how Ruby fights in my Shadow's Rage story. Anywho got another chapter done, hope you enjoy.