Ruby and the others were seated at a large round restaurant table, engaged in hushed conversation. However, Weiss and, to a greater extent, Ruby, remained aloof, their thoughts preoccupied. Ruby couldn't shake the image she'd discovered or the enigmatic woman from her dreams. The crux of their problem was their failed mission, and the fact they had defied the Remnant Council's orders to report it and let professionals handle Cole. Ruby's insistence and her companions' reluctant agreement kept them together, even though she didn't want their company.
Weiss was determined to uncover Cole's grudge against Ruby's family, while Yang harbored anger over their fight with Cole. Blake felt an unwavering sense of loyalty to her friends, leaving her with no real choice. Jaune and his team sought vengeance after the severe beating they endured, with Jaune himself yearning for Cole to beg for mercy for the way he'd tossed him around. Despite Cole having once been like family, a part of Ruby felt they deserved that beating.
"-look at the bigger picture! I want to believe that Cole is 'innocent,' but he nearly hospitalized you all and brutalized numerous students, two teachers, and his aggressive tendencies are well-documented, especially towards those he doesn't like," Qrow commented, sipping from his flask.
Jaune, frustrated, interrupted, "How did this guy become so skilled with his life's history?" Nora, unusually irked, smacked him on the head, retorting, "Rethink your question, dumbass." His perpetual obliviousness and idiocy after three years surprised her.
All eyes turned to Ruby, awaiting her response, but she remained silent, barely paying attention to the discussion. "I know you want me to return to Beacon with you all, but I can't," she stated, her gaze settling on Qrow, "I need to find Cole and help him. Mistakes can be forgiven, and I intend to do what I can." Weiss attempted to intervene, but Ruby cut her off, saying, "Tell Ozpin I'm not coming back." She left them all stunned, saying, "See you later, guys," before vanishing through a window in a flurry of rose petals, leaving everyone to shout, "Ruby, don't!"
Qrow transformed into his bird form and pursued her but soon realized she was too far gone. He watched her disappear into the city and sighed, muttering, "Damn it, I had one job!" He circled above the trees, catching a glimpse of her petals, and reluctantly gave chase again. He couldn't help but sense history repeating itself, with Ruby reminding him of her mother. "Why can't history take a break and stop repeating itself?" he thought, circling back in frustration.
Just as everyone was about to go after Ruby, their phones simultaneously flashed "emergency." However, none of them made a move to answer it.
"So, anybody gonna get that or what?" Yang questioned impatiently. After a few moments, they heard an exasperated voice."Oh, for heaven's sake," Jaune grumbled as he reluctantly picked up his phone."Team RWBY and Team JNPR, your mission has been officially canceled by me and the council. I'm issuing a direct order for you to return to Beacon immediately. Failure to comply will result in expulsion and house arrest for the remainder of the year—""Headmaster, please don't call us in yet. Ruby is out there somewhere, and we need to—" Yang anxiously interrupted him, but Glynda Goodwitch intervened."We anticipated this, Ms. Xiao Long. That's why we sent Qrow to bring you back and dissuade you from leaving. If she's not with you, Ruby is now a missing huntress-in-training, unless she left voluntarily, in which case she'll be labeled a deserter and a criminal." She took a breath, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Every headmaster received the same directive from the Council of Remnant. We must give the professional hunters space to deal with Cole and his accomplices. We have no say in this; come back to Beacon and report everything you know, and I mean all of it."Their phones went black, ending the call, and at that moment, a bullhead descended outside. Both teams boarded the aircraft with heavy hearts.As they settled in their seats, Cardin noticed Jaune's troubled expression and sat down beside him, offering a soft smile. "Sorry, Jaune, about your mission. We got picked up too, so don't let it get you down."Jaune's gaze remained fixed on Ruby's caller ID with a "no signal" indicator. "It's not that I'm worried about, Cardin," he said, pocketing his scroll.Cardin was intrigued. "Then what's bothering you? Is it that Foster guy they're after?""No, it's just… It's really complicated right now. People are disappearing, Grimm numbers are soaring, and now Ruby's gone. We've got nothing to show for all our time out there, just a dead end," Jaune lamented, his hands covering his face as he groaned in frustration."The fact that you tracked him all the way to Mistral is impressive, especially when we all thought he disappeared in the Village of Scion," Cardin praised, giving Jaune's shoulder a friendly pat. "You're the only ones who got this far, but we should leave this to the real hunters and huntresses."The room fell silent when Yang erupted in anger, punching the wall with force, creating a noticeable dent. She then fixed her furious gaze on Jaune and stormed over to him, shoving Pyrrha and Coco aside."That's a load of crap, and you know it," Yang fumed, standing over him. She grabbed his chest piece, pushing him against the wall. "You're the leader, Jaune. You were responsible for tracking Cole and keeping my sister in line. So, what the heck happened out there?"
He was In a state of panic, his internal terror rising. Jaune struggled to keep it in check. "Yang, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
In response, Yang slammed him against the wall once more, growling fiercely as she stared into his eyes and tightened her grip. "That's not good enough, Arc. Ruby disappeared because you didn't listen to me. Cole tried to kill Ruby once, and I won't let him do it again."
Summoning his courage, Jaune steeled himself and met her anger with his own. "Listen for a moment. I didn't know she'd just leave us. This isn't my fault, and she's your leader and sister, so don't put this on me."
Struggling to break free, he was met with another punch to the corner of his mouth. She would have struck again if not for Pyrrha, Ren, Blake, and Nora, who held Yang at gunpoint.
"Don't. Even. Think about it," Pyrrha coldly warned, pointing her rifle at Yang's head. "Let him go, Yang," Nora commanded angrily. Yang glared at them but eventually released Jaune, walking past Cardin and shoving him aside as she gazed out the back window of the bullhead, her anger directed at the world below.
"It's not her fault, Blake. She's just worried for Ruby's safety," Weiss said as she read an article on her phone.
"I'd react the same way if one of my sisters went missing—OW!" Jaune began but was cut off by a soda can thrown by the irritated blonde.
"This is going to be a long ride," Coco thought to herself as she returned to her magazine.
Yang, you do realize that Cole didn't harm Weiss It wasn't even remotely his fault," Velvet said angrily, confronting Yang in the corner of the ship.
"May Zedong gave her that scar, but Cole was the one who stopped her heart with his semblance!" Yang retorted.
"he didn't stop my heart you baboon, I was there; he saved my life you guys stood there while he dealt with the threat!"
The argument continued for a few more moments until Yatsuhashi intervened, pulling the two apart and reprimanding them for their unprofessional behavior.
He had Intended to slip away quietly, but fate seemed to enjoy his discomfort and entanglement in its web. Moving as stealthily as he could in his armor, Jaune considered that he had obtained the information he wanted from Haven Academy. He hoped to publish it anonymously, keeping his personal details private.
Stepping out the doors, he was immediately ambushed by the Mistralian military at the city's edge, with Ilia in aura-dampening cuffs, appearing bruised and battered. It was clear she had fought and lost.
His power enveloped his body as he raised his arm to attack a few of the soldiers, but he paused when he heard Ironwood walk through the ranks, wearing a smug smile. "Oh, so you've finally come here. You should really stop and think this through. You wouldn't want your friend to suffer for your actions, would you?"
To emphasize this, a soldier grabbed Ilia's hair and pulled her head up, holding a knife to her throat.
"We both know she doesn't care about me, so just leave her out of this, you tin-headed cuck—" Cole was abruptly cut off from his rant by a peculiar net made of black rubber.
"This is just ridiculous," he grumbled, irritated with himself. "I've got everything I need to prove my innocence. Let me go, you assholes," he said, attempting and failing to break free from the tangling net.
"How else were we supposed to have caught you?" muttered one soldier, who spoke for less than a minute before Ironwood approached him and dusted himself off, wearing a smug grin. "You can toss that lightning around all day long, kid, but it's a waste of time," Ironwood deadpanned. He pointed a finger at one of his soldiers and attempted to fire at them, but as soon as he sparked, the net absorbed the electricity, forcing it down into the ground.
"That net acts as a dampener and is made from military-grade metals and strong rubber braids. It's strong enough to hold the weight of a bridge, and its elasticity is unparalleled," Ironwood boasted. He had two men drag Cole and Ilia into a van, taking them away. "I'm innocent, you incompetent robo-cunt. I have the information right here," Cole protested before the men lifted him and threw him into the back of the truck. Ironwood took the thumb drive and walked to his personal car while a guard angrily threatened, "Shut your mouth, or I'll freeze it closed, demon."
"I'm human, you jackass," Cole defiantly declared, but then he switched gears and scoffed, "Not that it matters. You people only care about flexing your superiority over the rest of Remnant." A sardonic smile crossed his face as he continued, "Hey, I've got an I"e". Why don't you get your knee pads on, grab a stiff drink, and gobble Ironwood's—" Before he could finish, the soldier grabbed frost dust and punched him in the cheek, activating the dust over his mouth.
"You're right, kid. You're just a beast caught in a net," the soldier grumbled, growing tired of Cole's words. He turned to another soldier who was smoking a cigarette and asked/complained, "Couldn't you have done that earlier?"
While this confrontation unfolded, Ruby had overheard the commotion and ventured closer to investigate. She was incredibly lucky to have stumbled upon the person they had been searching for. Instead of rushing in, she wisely chose to stay in the shadows, leaping out when their backs were turned.
"Don't worry, Cole, I'm coming for you," Ruby whispered quietly.
Before rendering them both unconscious, Ruby made sure to prevent them from hitting their heads too hard on the ground. It was clear that she was willing to go to great lengths, even crossing the line into criminal territory, to save a friend. It was odd how things had come full circle.
Afterward, she found a smaller one to stuff in a trunk, while the other was tied up and placed in an empty dust crystal container.
Realizing she had approached the wrong truck, Ruby let out a string of curses and followed the others into the forest. About halfway in, she decided to ditch the truck and continue on foot.
Looking back, she sprinted towards the truck that hopefully contained Cole, determined to pull this off. "Dad's going to kill me," she muttered as she pushed herself to her limits.
Qrow eventually caught up with her, observing her rapid pursuit of Cole. Just before he continued to chase after her, a woman with black smoke rising from her body appeared next to a fading wendigo. She mouthed "see you later" and sank into the shadows.
"Great, more rogue mercenaries after Cole for a bounty," he thought, slightly annoyed. He called his bullhead, saying, "It's Ross. I need to talk to Ozpin? Yeah… I'm on it… Yeah, I got it! Yes, twenty minutes… I said I'll be there when I get there!" After the call, he sighed and looked in Ruby's direction before running into the forest towards his extraction point.
Initially torn about whether to go after Ruby, he decided to trust her for once. He sent her a text that read: 'Try to be careful, kid.'
Ruby looked up and smiled as she watched a dusty black bird flutter its wings back to where she had left, and then she ran off to help Cole. However, her plans were foiled when she collided with a girl, knocking them both down a hill into a ravine.
"Oh, I'm sorry, miss, I didn't see you… there?" Ruby apologized.
"It's okay, I was just out… uh, jogging. Yeah, I was jogging to a river in the jungle district," the girl said, trying to hurry away.
Ruby immediately saw through the lie but decided to play dumb to boost the girl's self-esteem. Before she could bolt off, Ruby grabbed her wrist and asked, "Can you show me the path you usually take? There's something I need to get."
"Sure thing, it's just past this stretch of vines and trees. Just watch your step," the girl said, pushing branches aside while internally panicking.
Although the red-clad girl didn't seem like much of a threat, given the current state of Mistral and all of Remnant, it was hard to distinguish an assassin from a civilian.
The girl suddenly froze as her gaze landed ahead, revealing a massive base that stretched for miles. It had been transformed into a military complex housing the forces of all four kingdoms, with a colossal building at its center, the size of both Haven and Beacon put together.
"S-sorry, Red, we m-must've taken a wrong t-turn," Ilia stammered as she backed into a tree and fell to the ground, trembling.
"It's not your fault," Ruby assured her. She walked toward the first group of soldiers she saw and sneaked behind them, attempting to infiltrate the base. Unfortunately, Ilia was too shocked to notice Ruby's vanishing act and fled into the jungle, only to run into a guard.
Without uttering a word, the guard shot her in the chest with a tranquilizer dart and, with an air of discontent, scooped her up in a bridle carry. Her partner chimed in, "Y'know, we both may deeply hate taking people prisoner, but this is still a job."
"Yeah, but it's not getting any easier when she could've simply stumbled upon the place by accident," she responded, her bad mood palpable as they walked toward the entrance.
"Miss, I'm sorry, but you can't enter with someone else's badge!" a guard scolded a small recruit with red-tipped hair.
"It's okay, Jaime, she's with me. Losing your badge is humiliating, you know?" the partner interjected.
"Yeah, whatever, just keep her in check, corporal, or I swear to the gods—"
"Just scan our badges and shut up. You keep doing this, I'll have you washing the showers with your toothbrush," she retorted, holding out her and her partner's badges to the guard.
The recruit blushed In embarrassment and followed them quietly.
The guard holding Ilia smiled at the rookie and said to her partner, "Take her to my room. Food's in my footlocker and under my bed in a box. Just don't touch the chips, gummies, and muffins—"
He brightened up but then deflated as she added, "No, not even the beer."
"Got it," he muttered before ushering the redhead away with him.
With a giggle, the corporal pushed the button to open the door and entered, appearing as if she had carried Ilia in lifeless.
"Accidental or purposeful?" the guard at the desk quipped.
"Oh, ha ha, very funny. She was tranquilized near the perimeter when she tried fleeing. Probably smart to do so—well, until I shot her, of course," she replied with a smirk.
"Well, honestly, she could just be a civie who found this place while jogging," he mused as he typed on his computer.
"It's a shame, too, imprisoned because of an accidental discovery," she said, following him to a cell, which was, technically, a small luxurious room with a queen-sized bed, a TV, movies, video games, and a console to play both. She opened the door, laid Ilia down on the bed, and locked the door.
"So who's paying her a visit when she wakes this time?" she asked, taking her ID card from the front desk.
"Probably the protocol AI. Just hopefully this one's not a problem like the others were," he replied.
"Oh, please. Why don't you go through this and not react like the other guy did?" she retorted.
"Hey, shut up. He was tossing electricity around when he woke up. Special containment cells exist for a reason. Plus, he's not a very calm individual," he defended.
She looked at him with a scoff, amused, and then walked out towards her room, where hopefully her partner and the girl were watching TV quietly or something.
Ruby and the guard were currently sitting on a small couch, engaged in conversation when her phone went off. "Sorry, I've got to take this," she said, hastily going into the bathroom.
Ruby smirked and waved her off, but as soon as she left the room, she quickly went to the cooler on the opposite side and grabbed a bottle of water. She chugged the entire thing down, letting out a small burp and tossing the bottle into the recycling bin.
"Excuse me; thank goodness they had water. My mouth was really dry," she said.
"Nice to see you two are getting along," a voice said from behind her. In response, she instinctively used her semblance to move away from the voice with a scream but ended up smashing into the wall, denting the drywall.
"Oh, gods, why'd you do that!?" she exclaimed.
The guard smirked and shrugged, "Because I'm the one who brought you in. You definitely are pretty green in terms of training."
Sitting on a chair near the couch, she patted the spot beside her and pulled out a six-pack from the cooler. "You aren't going to join me, or are you a stickler for alcohol?" They both gave each other a look and nodded in agreement.
"Uh, I'd rather not," Ruby replied, grabbing her cape nervously. "M-my uncle was… an alcoholic, so I made a promise not to drink until I was at least in a relationship."
"Ah, I see. You don't trust someone you barely know. I gotcha. Well, I need to talk with you anyway, so come sit…" She looked up and noticed Ruby's hesitance, and added, "You can have my strawberry and chocolate chip cupcakes."
Ruby looked up, immediately ran towards the couch, and jumped on it. "So what did you want to talk about?" she asked, taking one of the imprisoned muffins and devouring it with a delicately quiet moan.
"I know why you're here, Lieutenant… uh," she paused to read Ruby's nameplate that read "Brown."
Looking down at her chest, Ruby went pale as she tried to come up with a story, but nothing came to her.
"Sorry, Corporal, I was in the bathroom on a call. The guards that captured the lightning kid apparently broke his bindings and may have wanted someone to cackle at while he watched eight guards get their asses kicked," Ruby explained.
Looking at Ruby, then over to her partner, the guard sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Alyx?"
"Yeah, Augus?" Alyx responded, turning off her phone.
"Take a look at Lieutenant Brown and tell me what you see," she said, grabbing a beer.
Alyx looked directly at Ruby and saw her anxiously gripping her cloak, her face filled with stress and on the verge of tears. 'They're hurting him, aren't they?' she thought, feeling her own state worsen the longer she sat there.
"Oh, Augus, c'mon, you can't seriously think—" she was cut off when an empty can hit her in the head. "Sorry, ma'am, won't happen again."
"It's not what you two think. I'm not disturbed by the electric guy or anything. It's just that—" Ruby began, standing up and starting to take her uniform off. She removed contacts from her eyes, revealing her real eye color, and took a deep breath before continuing, "I know the guy personally, and I…"
She froze mid-sentence, and Alyx and Augus gently sat her down, sitting close to her. "It's okay; we kinda figured it out already," Alyx reassured her, putting Ruby's cloak over her shoulders.
"Yeah, it was super obvious from the start why you're here," Augus added. "I think that prisoner is really cute too; gods, his eyes are so gorgeous, and that body… Mmmmm, he's like a block of beef and steel!"
I'm happy to be writing again and rekindle that flame to write again but I'm still doing this in two week intervals and to thank yall for being patient I made this one longer to give more to the story and I'm greatful no one seems angry I took a bit of time off.
Love yall for reading, and I encourage you to leave your opinions on my reddit at:
H6pp1n355_in_misery.
If you have anything, I could do better or just wanna talk hmu