The recording stopped and a million things were going through the WBY's minds. Ruby's new attitude made a lot of sense now, considering she heard all of the bad things that came out her teammates' mouths. Weiss, Blake, and Yang were all ashamed, how could they say those things? Even if they were in private, they shouldn't have said those things and it was coming back to bite them in the ass. How were they going to make up with Ruby now? They weren't sure if they would even forgive themselves if the shoe was on the other foot.
'Some team we are…how could we say those things about Ruby? How the hell are we going to make up with her? Is she even going to want to make up?' Weiss thought sadly.
'Her new attitude makes so much sense now. She wants nothing to do with us considering that is what we said we wanted. Oh, this is a nightmare…' Blake thought depressed.
'She must think I am the worse big sister ever and rightfully so. It was bad enough that we have been ditching Ruby, but now this? How are we going to make it up to her?' Yang thought sadly as tears were in her eyes.
Glynda Goodwitch looked at the trio and saw that they were regretting saying those things about Ruby, but they shouldn't have said them at all. Everyone has faults and you need to be ok with them, that is a part of life that cannot be avoided. They and team JNPR needed to know the errors of their ways and know that fixing the problem will not come easily. She promised Ruby that the recording would stay in this room and in a way it did, but she couldn't have this problem drag on forever. Gathering her thoughts, Glynda spoke.
"Yes well, you can imagine my surprise when Ruby played this recording for me. Though it did answer a lot of questions that were surrounding her new behavior, and it is clear to me that you all said these things behind her back. I can tell you all from experience that no one wants to be friends with people who do that, so I wonder how you can get Ruby to forgive you. However, after the recording stopped, she presented me with questions and frankly, I have the same ones. Starting with you Miss Schnee, when exactly are you going to get over this superiority complex you have?" Glynda asked sternly as Weiss widened her eyes in shock.
"W-what do you mean Professor Goodwitch?" Weiss asked nervously.
"You know exactly what I mean, ever since you weren't made leader you have had this petty jealousy of Ruby. Your solution to this? Focusing on everything she does wrong in order to bring her down and bring yourself up. Her grades are not as good as yours? Remind her of it constantly so it can put her down and make you feel good. She is younger than you? Call her a child repeatedly no matter how much it hurts her feelings, just so you can have some advantage of her. Now she was selected to be a part of the unit in Atlas instead of you. Not only that, I heard that she got the highest grade on an exam in Doctor Oobleck's class. That is what really made you angry today isn't it? Because Ruby has one upped you again, isn't that right?" Glynda said with disgust in her voice as her eyes narrowed.
Weiss flinched and widened her eyes in shock, she tried to make a retort, but nothing came out of her mouth. She knew that Professor Goodwitch was right, Weiss was still sour at the fact that she wasn't the leader and the fact that Ruby was younger than her. She hated being one-upped constantly by her young team leader, and just needed something to hold over her, just so she could feel confident and special. Coming to face that truth, Weiss felt sick to her stomach and had guilt surging through her body. Knowing that what Goodwitch said was true, Weiss held her head in shame.
"I see you are coming to grips with the error of your ways, that is the first step in making things right. Also, I nor Professor Ozpin forced you to be partners with Miss Rose or anyone in that matter. You are Ruby's partner because she was the first one you made eye contact with nothing else about it. And if you really want to be a great huntress, you need to see Ruby as a partner not a rival. Is that understood?" Glynda said sternly as Weiss looked at her with sad eyes and just nodded.
"As for you Miss Belladonna…" Glynda started as Blake took a step back, she was not ready for this in the slightest.
"A leader is supposed to make his or her teammates feel comfortable within the team, hence getting to know one another and the interests that they have. That is what Miss Rose has been trying to do with you, to make you feel like a part of the team and to know your interests, so that you can be comfortable as time goes by. If I nor Professor Ozpin made it clear enough, you are on a team for the next three years, NO EXCEPTIONS. Ruby knows this and is trying to make you all feel as comfortable as you can so any problems can be avoided. But you Miss Belladonna won't even give her a chance, as you just like to be in your own little world. Instead of Ruby making a change, I think it is you that needs to make a change. Also, considering I have caught you reading in my class MULTIPLE TIMES, I would say you read enough." Glynda said dissatisfied and Blake held her head in shame.
Blake was disgusted with herself, everything that Professor Goodwitch said was true no matter how much Blake wanted to deny it. It was true, she was anti-social and she preferred to be by herself just like Ruby had said the other day. It was just who she was, she really didn't know if it was ever going to change about her. Yet Ruby still tried to interact with her, knowing that she was a loner and not caring in the slightest. But Blake just kept pushing her away and neglecting her all the same. And look at what the outcome of that was! Ruby didn't care about them at all anymore and rightfully so after hearing that recording. Blake said all those horrible things about her and for what? Just so she could read her books in peace? Blake felt horrible and wondered if they could even make it up to Ruby.
"Finally Miss Xiao Long, you do not have to agree with Professor Ozpin's decision to let Miss Rose into Beacon early but you will respect it. Ruby has shown more than enough times that she deserves to be here and whether you like it or not, I nor Professor Ozpin don't really care. She has shown more promise than you as well, seeing as though her grades are better than yours. As for her following you around, you always spout this big sister mantra whenever you are with her, so what do you expect her to do? Also, I am sorry to hear you have had to cancel your plans with your friends for Ruby's sake in the past, but is that really worth having a grudge over? Especially considering when you and the others on this recording go to Vale in get in all sorts of shenanigans, like Coco Adel's party?" Glynda asked as she narrowed her eyes while the other three widened theirs.
"H-how did you know about that?!" Yang yelped as she hoped she and her friends wouldn't get in trouble.
"Oh word gets around, and Ruby knew as well yet when I asked her about your whereabouts last Friday she told me she had no idea. I suppose she was trying to protect you three and team JNPR, it shows how committed she is to protect you all even after hearing the things you said about her. Once again, doing what a leader should do, protect the team at all costs." Glynda said with praise.
The WBY widened their eyes in shock once again. Ruby heard everything they said about her that night, yet she still protected them when Goodwitch asked about their whereabouts? She really did do anything she could to protect the team, it made the WBY feel even worse. Especially considering that could have gotten revenge on them that night but chose not to in favor of friendship and keeping them together. Yet all the WBY wanted to do was neglect her so they could get time for themselves and go to parties that Ruby could not attend because of her age. Their actions showed that they didn't appreciate Ruby at all, and it made them guilty as hell. They would have to live with this guilt for two weeks before Ruby came back, and it would be hell every day.
"I would punish you all for this, but I think this revelation is punishment enough. You three need to figure out what your overall goal is for attending this academy. Do you want the knowledge of a huntress, or do you just want to make memories by going to parties every weekend? Ruby wants the first one I can tell you that, since she is trying to become a better huntress instead of moping about what you all said. Also, you need to understand that this is an ACADEMY. You are here to LEARN, not to be perfect. Ruby may not be good at hand to hand right now, but she will be when she leaves this institution. So, do you still want to focus on her faults? Or do you want to appreciate your leader and help her by being the best teammates you can be? The choice is yours; you all are dismissed." Glynda said as she turned back to work.
The WBY looked at their teacher with sad eyes and quietly walked out of the room. They were lost in their own thoughts; Yang was the one who was most affected by what just happened. She could not believe how bad she screwed up, she vented her frustrations about Ruby and look where they got her. Ruby had heard everything and now she wanted nothing to do with Yang. Yang knew that the things she said about Ruby were personal and kind of stupid, but she was just in the moment with her friends. Ruby probably had a lot of things to say about Yang, but never did because it would hurt her feelings. Now that Ruby heard everything she and everyone else said about her, she wondered how they were going to make it up to her. Hell, could they make it up to her? Ruby could hold a grudge for a long time…
"How are we going to make this up to her?" Weiss said with tears streaming down her face as they arrived at their dorm.
"I don't know Weiss, I just don't know…" Blake said with an equally sad expression.
"She probably thinks that I am the worse big sister ever…I'm not sure if we can even fix this." Yang sniffled as tears were pouring down her face like a river.
"Hey guys what's up-" Nora tried to say as she and the rest of Team JNPR saw the WBY's faces.
"W-What happened?" Pyrrha asked a bit nervous as the WBY told them what just happened.
Meanwhile, an Atlesian airship was pulling into Atlas airspace and it was carrying a certain redhead huntress and two Atlesian officials. Sindel had gone over the mission with Ruby and Ruby thought that it may not be difficult, but it was very important. Apparently, there were various and dangerous grimm that were entering the Atlas wildlands, but no one knew why. Also, there had been reports of shady deals that were happening in Atlas but no one new who they groups were or what they even wanted. So, the intelligence unit of Sindel's was created for this purpose, seeing as thought they were a bunch of students no one would question it.
"So, the mission is hunting some dangerous grimm and figuring out these rumors about a crime syndicate?" Ruby asked Sindel just to be clear.
"That is a very simple way to put it Miss Rose, but yes you are correct. These dangerous grimm have been too much for the Atlas military to take on, which is why we need talented, aspiring huntsman and huntresses like yourself to help out. I should also mention that you all will be getting a payment for your work, considering this is more than just an internship. We are literally asking you to risk your lives in this mission, so we need to make sure that the reward is good enough." Sindel said as Ruby just widened her eyes.
"That is very kind of you, Special Agent Diamond, I would have been fine with just getting this opportunity as a reward." Ruby answered honestly.
"Haha, so respectful and so grateful for all that she has gotten, I see why Ozpin and Glynda spoke so highly of you Ruby. If you ask me, we need more huntresses like you, people who are in it for the protection of Remnant and not for material gain." General Ironwood said approvingly.
"Thank you General Ironwood, it honors me to hear you say that." Ruby said, smiling at the praise she got.
"You deserve every bit of praise that you receive Ruby, I am honored to have someone like you in my unit. I know that you will do your best as well as get along with everyone else that I chose to be in this unit. Speaking of which, we are nearing the landing zone, once the ship lands we will get on a shuttle and I will escort you to the hotel that you will be staying at." Sindel said as Ruby nodded in approval as she looked out the window.
Ruby could not get over how gorgeous Atlas was, it was honestly like something in a film. You would think that the snow would make it less appealing, but it was actually quite the opposite! If Ruby was being perfectly honest, Atlas looked like a version of Metropolis from the Superman films. There were so many tall buildings and bright lights, it really showed how Atlas was top of the line when it came to the newest technology. The whole city was like a Utopia and Ruby loved it.
"Wow, it is absolutely gorgeous down there." Ruby said in awe as she looked out the window as Ironwood came up to here.
"Oh, is it your first time here Miss Rose?" James asked curiously.
"Yeah, I grew up in Patch, so I really haven't been anywhere besides there and Vale, so seeing Atlas like this is a dream come true." Ruby responded excitedly.
The airship had landed in the loading area, prompting Ruby, General Ironwood, and Sindel Diamond to get off. The transportation shuttle that Sindel had talked about on the ride over here was only a few feet away and Sindel motioned her to get on. Ruby thanked General Ironwood again for the opportunity and proceed to grab her bag and get on the shuttle. Sindel was right behind her and the two were then taken to the hotel where Ruby and the others would be staying.
They arrived at the hotel and Ruby was very impressed, it was definitely a five-star hotel and she was glad that Sindel went all out for this unit. They walked inside to see the lobby, and it had a very calm feeling, then Sindel went to check Ruby in and get her room key. Ruby was looking forward to having her own room, since she had been sharing one with three other girls these past months. While Sindel was doing that, Ruby looked at her scroll since it had been a long time since she did. She wanted to give Sindel and Ironwood her undivided attention so whatever messages she got could wait.
Looking at her scroll she saw that she had about twenty messages in total, the majority were from her team and two of them were from her father and Uncle Qrow. Ruby was going to ignore those for now, she was in a very good mood and she didn't need her team ruining that with comments about how she left and she should have stayed for the team or some crap like that. She also was going to wait to talk to her dad and Qrow seeing as though they probably would have negative remarks about her joining this unit. She swore, the two were way too protective of her for their own good. Just then Sindel came back with a keycard in her hand.
"Alright Ruby, you are in room 305, it is a single so like everyone else it will just be you in there. But I warn you, you will be in there mostly to sleep because once this unit gets rolling you will not have a lot of free time on your hands aside from the weekend. Atlas is counting on us to solve these problems quickly and there may be days where we have to go overtime. Is that understood?" Sindel said sternly.
"I understand Agent Diamond, I promise you that I will give you everything I have when it comes to this unit. As long as I have a place to rest then that is good enough for me, I want to help make Remnant a better place, just like my parents did." Ruby said seriously and Sindel smiled.
"Good to hear it, also you can just call me Sindel since we are working together now. Finally, you should go to your room and put your things away but be ready to come back to the conference room in about an hour. Everyone else is hear as well, and in an hour I will hold an orientation of sorts, introducing everyone and their skills. After that, we will go over our strategy for our first run at the mission tomorrow. Is everything clear?" Sindel asked patiently and Ruby just nodded.
"Crystal Age-Sindel, oh man that is going to take some getting used to." Ruby just smiled sheepishly and Sindel laughed.
"It just shows how mature and respectful you are Miss Rose, now go get settled in your room. I will meet you all later." Sindel said and Ruby nodded and headed towards the elevator.
Ruby got to her room and opened the door, and she was immediately satisfied. There was a queen bed, a Television on the wall, a desk with a desk chair inside, and there was even a closet. There was also a bathroom that was bigger than the one she had in her dorm. Yeah, she could definitely get used to this, coming here after work and not having to deal with a certain Ice Queen or Emo Cat or an irritating blonde. Just then she noticed her door that she left slightly open, opening to reveal two girls.
"Oh Hi! Are you going to be part of Agent Diamond's unit as well?" One of the girls asked.
One had long white hair and was wearing a black dress that was similar to Ruby's old one. The other had black hair that kind of looked like the shape of a rooster tail and was wearing a green crop top and camo pants. The two girls had great figures as well, Ruby could tell that they were athletic and most likely strong. She wondered where they went to school but rather than wonder she would just ask and be done with this awkward silence.
"Oh yes, my name is Ruby Rose and I am from Beacon, may I ask who you two are?" Ruby asked politely and both girls smiled.
"Hello Ruby, my name is Mirajane Strauss but I like to be called by Mira. I attend Atlas Academy." The white-haired girl known as Mira stated.
"And my name is Akali Ionia, it is nice to meet you Ruby. I am a third year from Shade Academy in Vacuo and Mira here is a third year as well." The black-haired girl now known as Akali said with a smile.
"It's nice to meet you girls, especially considering that you two are my seniors. I am only still a first year you know, so it's nice to have teammates with more knowledge than me." Ruby said sheepishly as she scratched her head, while the other two widened their eyes in shock.
"Wait, you are only a first year?! And Agent Diamond selected you to be Beacon's only representative for this unit? Wow you must be really skilled!" Mira said in excitement as Akali nodded her head in approval.
"Well, I do not think that I am that good yet. I am great with guns, still working on my hand to hand though." Ruby said a little dejectedly as Akali wrapped an arm around her.
"We are gonna have to do something about that confidence of yours while we are here Ruby. You are only a first year and you have been selected to be part of a special unit, that is something to be proud of. Yeah you may have some things to work on but everyone does, just continue to be you and you will go far. Hell, it's gotten you this far right and this is a pretty good place to be!" Akali said full of praise and Mira agreed.
Ruby could not believe the words that just came out of Akali's mouth. A week ago, her teammates and supposed friends were dogging on her because of her non-existent hand to hand combat skills and here two girls she met 5 minutes ago didn't even care about her faults. It seemed silly, but she felt this warm feeling in her chest, telling her that her faults were not going to be with her forever. It also told her that accepting a position in this unit was the best decision she ever made.
"Yeah you are right Akali, thanks I really needed that." Ruby said with a grateful smile.
"Good, now grab all the stuff you need since you can unpack later. Right now, let's go to the lobby and hang out." Akali said cheerfully as Ruby and Mira agreed and went downstairs to relax.
Back at Beacon Academy, the once serene background that had encompassed the school was destroyed by a certain scream.
"SHE HEARD EVERYTHING WE SAID ABOUT HER?!" Nora cried in disbelief.
The rest of team JNPR could not believe it, but somehow their supposedly private conversation they had with the WBY last Friday was heard by Ruby Rose. It greatly explained her new attitude and coldness, and the fact that it was JNPR and WBY that did it make them sick to their stomachs. They should have been more careful about what they said, hell they should not have said it at all! The four wondered how they were going to get on Ruby's good side now.
"H-how did she find out?" Pyrrha asked as she had tears welling up in her eyes.
"She must have been listening to us at the door, she had a recording on her scroll. We were so focused on badmouthing Ruby, none of us noticed her listening at the doorway. Professor Goodwitch brought Ruby to her office to ask about her new behavior and she played that recording so now Goodwitch knows." Blake said sadly and everyone widened their eyes in shock.
"I take it that means we are getting punished then…" Ren said as he looked down at the floor.
"No, Professor Goodwitch said that the guilt we all feel now is punishment enough and God knows she is right. Ruby knew about the party that night, yet she still protected us when Goodwitch asked about our whereabouts, shows how loyal she is." Weiss said sadly looking down while the others were shocked.
"We need to apologize to her immediately, where is she right now? In the library?" Jaune questioned but he received bad news.
"She's gone…A woman from the Atlas military came today and offered her a spot in her new unit. Ruby took it immediately, I guess it makes sense knowing what happened. She will be back in two weeks." Yang said depressed and tears were forming up again in her eyes.
"Ruby got recruited? That is incredible…" Pyrrha said in wonder.
"Guys, how the hell are we going to fix this? At this point I don't think a simple apology is going to cut it, we really hurt her! And I am not sure if I can survive two weeks without Ruby here knowing that she heard everything that we said about her that night. We have to figure out a way to make up with her so when she comes back things can go back to normal." Yang exclaimed and the majority nodded.
"Does she even want things to go back to normal?" Ren said quietly and everyone looked at him.
"What do you mean Ren?" Pyrrha asked in a nervous tone as Ren sighed.
"Look guys, the bottom line is no one wants to be friends with people who talk badly behind their back. Due to our badmouthing of Ruby, she has cut us off from her life and gained a cold attitude about her. The thing is, ever since she cut us off her grades have improved as well as her skills, just look at her getting recruited to be in that unit. Not to mention our neglect of her, she may not see a reason to forgive us. I think we need to take into consideration that Ruby may like who she is becoming and does not care if we do not like it." Ren said as he looked down sadly.
Everyone widened their eyes at what Ren said, and thought it might hold some truth. The more they thought about it, Ruby did seem happier when she wasn't with her team or team JNPR. Her skills were also improving, seeing as though she created a new battle style that beat Pyrrha without Ruby taking a hit. Not to mention that Ruby seemed content on doing her own thing and did not really need her team for anything, seeing as though her team didn't see her until it was time to go to bed. Still, they had to try and make things right they were still a team.
"I don't care if she doesn't want things to go back to normal, we still need to apologize to her. We focused on all the bad things that night and none of the good things about Ruby. Plus, we are a team, Ruby can't hate us forever." Blake pleaded and Weiss nodded.
"I know I can be…difficult and yeah fine I HATE that Ruby consistently one-ups me, but I am still grateful she is my friend. Now, I doubt that we are even friends anymore and I can't let that stand for the rest of our time here at Beacon. Ruby will probably hate every day she has with us if we let things continue how they are!" Weiss exclaimed and Yang nodded.
"I feel terrible about what we did, and we need to let Ruby know that we are sorry. I am not sure that she is going to forgive us, but if we don't apologize to her then things will not change, and she will want to go to that unit more often! We need to figure out how to let her know how much we appreciate her." Yang said with passion as everyone agreed.
They were the ones at fault, neglecting her and saying all those mean things about her when they were only just a few feet away from her. No one wanted to be friends with people like them, so they had to do their damn best to get back on Ruby's good side. Though, considering how she has been acting they all wondered if she even wanted to make up, but it did not matter. They were going to do anything they could to get Ruby to forgive them, no matter the cost. WBY and team JNPR came together and started brainstorming about how they could make it up to Ruby, but it was a difficult process.
Back in the lobby of the hotel, Ruby was having fun with her new friends Mira and Akali. It was nice to have friends to talk to again, considering her team neglected her and talked shit about her behind her back with Team JNPR. She rolled her eyes at that fact again, pushing it in the back of her mind considering she had better things to do with her time. The three were chatting about their interests and battle styles until Ruby had a question come up.
"Hey girls, do you know who else is going to be in this unit?" Ruby asked and Mira responded.
"Well, I know it is four girls and four guys that were selected to be in this unit. I wonder if Agent Diamond did that on purpose for some reason, anyway they are all here and we met them earlier. The last girl in the unit left to go pick something up an hour ago. Oh wait there she is! Hey Shauna!" Mira said as she waved a girl over.
The girl known as Shauna was tall with black hair and she looked more like a huntress than any of them did. She was wearing a blue jumpsuit that really showed off her gorgeous figure, and she had a crossbow on her back with ammunition around her waist. She also wore dark sunglasses to complete her look, really making her look like a baroness.
"Yo ladies, how is it going? Oh, is this our last member of the new unit?" Shauna asked with a smile.
"Yeah hi, my name is Ruby Rose, I am a first-year student at Beacon Academy. Nice to meet you." Ruby said as she extended her hand out and Shauna shook it firmly.
"Nice to meet you as well, my name is Shauna Vayne and I am from Haven Academy, a second year. You must be really skilled to be recruited as a first year, looking forward to seeing what you can do. Speaking of which ladies, I think it is time that we make it to the conference room, we don't want to keep Agent Diamond waiting." Shauna said kindly as the other girls nodded and followed her to the conference room.
Once the girls got inside the conference room, Ruby saw a group of guys that were clearly there for some reason they were. They were all really strong looking and Ruby thought they were appealing as well. There was a blonde guy with gauntlets like Yang had, but they looked to be more destructive. Then there was a guy dressed in black who had black and white hair, in all honesty he looked like a ninja. Then there was a tall guy with black hair carrying a sword on his back, followed by a guy with a staff for a weapon. They all saw the girls and they walked over.
"Hey girls, is this our last member?" The blonde asked as Akali nodded.
"Sure is! Everyone meet Ruby Rose from Beacon! Ruby these guys will be apart of the unit with us." Akali said excitedly as the guys came up to Ruby.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Bakugo Katsuki!" The blonde said with passion as he shook Ruby's hand.
"Wearer of black as well, I like that. My name is Seth Dreyar, can't wait to see you in action." The boy dressed in black now known as Seth said.
"You too, nice to meet you I am Ruby." Ruby said trying to hide the blush that was growing on her face.
'Man he is really cute.' Ruby thought as the tall guy came up to her next.
"Hello there, my name is Jago Gargos." The tall one said as he shook Ruby's hand.
"To round it out my name is Sin Kiske, pleasure to meet you Ruby." The guy with the staff now known as Sin introduced himself.
"The pleasure is all mine everyone, I hope that we can all get along as we work within this unit." Ruby said with a smile as the others nodded.
Ruby and the others got in their seats as Sindel came to the podium. Next to her was a very beautiful woman that Ruby had not met yet, but she felt like she was going to be introduced very soon. With all of their attention on Sindel, the students were ready to talk about their first mission and were very excited. They would be doing things as actual huntsman and huntresses, an opportunity that they were very grateful for. Sindel saw all of the attention on her and smiled.
"Well then, if everyone is ready then let us talk about the first mission tomorrow." Sindel said with a serious face.
Author Notes:
Ok fine, the members of this unit are pretty much characters from certain anime or video games that I have played. I am not that creative, sue me lol. Anyway, Glynda really ripped the WBY a new one, how are they going to fix things with Ruby? Also, Ruby seems to have already made new friends and maybe even a crush, how will this impact her status with her team? Find out next time, like and review!