Black Sun

Chapter 11

Jaune winced prematurely as he swung his legs over his bed, bracing himself for the pain that he was sure was to come. To his surprise, it never arrived – rather, he was able to put weight on his injured leg for the first time in days. Elation passed through him as he succeeded in standing up on his own.

"I see your time with the Artifact has paid off."

"Good morning to you, too," Jaune said, turning around to greet Cinder. She was standing there, chewing on a bar of Ukrainian chocolate. The corners of his mouth turned upwards slightly in amusement at the sight of it. "Is that supposed to be breakfast?"

Cinder rolled her eyes. "Not like there's much else to eat around here."

"I didn't take you for the kind of person to enjoy sweets."

"I'm not. But I am hungry enough that it doesn't matter anymore. And that's not the point – your leg is better now, yes?"

"It is," Jaune confirmed.

"Good. Then we should see about getting some things done today."

"Like what?"

"More jobs, for one," Cinder specified. "And for another, we still need to deal with the rest of those Stalkers."

Jaune's amused glance faded at her mention of the hostile Loners. "...I was almost hoping we would just be able to leave them alone," he lamented.

"You know we can't do that," Cinder said, shaking her head. "They'll keep trying to hunt us down until either we're dead or they are. If there was even a chance of them leaving us alone, it faded when I assaulted their camp to get you out."

"You're right, I just… hate having to admit that I'm going to have to kill more people." Jaune let out a tired sigh. "...I truly, truly hate it here. I hate what I have to do just to survive – all the fighting, and all the killing."

"Then hopefully, we can find a way out for you," Cinder said. "Come on. Let's head back to the Bar for now – another job would be nice to get you back into the swing of things."

"Oh look, it's you two again," Barkeep said. "Well, what do you want this time?"

"What do you think we want?"

"Bah. You're no fun. And I liked Jaune better when he was still fumbling around like an idiot rookie."

Jaune's eyes narrowed. "Just give us a job, fat man."

"Whatever. How about a mutant extermination mission? There's a small horde of Bloodsuckers outside the swamp in the Garbage that need to be dealt with. You two up for it?"

"What's the pay?" Cinder asked.

"Considering we're talking about Bloodsuckers… eight thousand."

"Ten thousand."

"Do you think this is a fucking negotiation? The pay is eight thousand, or you can find another job."

"The pay is ten thousand, or you can find some other idiot who's dumb enough to take on three Bloodsuckers," Cinder emphasized.

Barkeep stared her down for a moment before letting out an irritated. "Nine thousand."

"Ninety-five hundred."

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"No. The pay is ninety-five hundred."

"Fine!" Barkeep finally relented. "Just go kill the goddamn Bloodsuckers and get out of my bar!"

"Very well," Cinder said, almost purring the words out as she turned and began to march away. "Come along, Jaune. We shouldn't be wasting time out here."
Jaune just stared at her in amazement as she marched away, and after a moment, began to follow after her.

"What was that?" he asked. "You completely demolished him. How did you do that?"

"Barkeep thinks he's the one in control," Cinder emphasized. "It's important to remind him that his position remains contingent on keeping the rest of us happy. And, of course, it's important to be willing to walk away when negotiations don't go your way."

"But they did go our way."

"But if they didn't, I was prepared to walk away and go do something else," Cinder explained. "Keep that in mind, Jaune – always be willing to walk away, because otherwise, people will take advantage of you."

Jaune nodded. "So, now we're on the hook for several Bloodsuckers. Do you even know what a Bloodsucker is?"

"No."

"Consider yourself lucky, then. Because I ran into one on my first day in the Zone, and I still haven't forgotten it."

"I assure you, however horrible they are, they pale in comparison to the person I was working for back on Remnant."

A short while later, Jaune and Cinder were posted up a ways away from the swamp in the Garbage, staring at it through a pair of binoculars.

"Ugly creatures…" Cinder muttered.

"Believe me, they're as deadly as they are ugly," Jaune emphasized. "I watched a single one of those things tear apart an entire squad of Bandits when I first arrived here."

"How do we fight them, then?"

"They can turn invisible briefly, so keep an eye out for that. Past that, though… I guess we fight them the same as anything else we've fought so far – shoot them until they all die and hope that they don't kill us before we kill them."

Cinder rolled her eyes. "What an in-depth plan."

"Well, what do you want me to say?" Jaune asked. "It's not like we're fighting Bandits. These things are ultimately just predatory animals, same as most of the mutants in the Zone – I don't think there's much we can do to plan for something like this. Unless you've got a suggestion?"

Cinder shook her head. "We close in on the swamp together," she emphasized. "Once we're closer, we'll have to just start opening up on them as they approach. Barkeep said there'd be three, and that's the number I counted through the binoculars."

"Let's hope we was right about that, then…" Jaune shook his head. "Okay, lead the way, Cinder."

Cinder put the binoculars away, then the two of them began to creep towards the swamp, weapons at the ready. As they drew closer, Jaune swallowed nervously.

"I always hate doing stuff like this…" he muttered.

"Just stay calm," Cinder advised. "Allow me to take care of most of them. Watch my back in case anything gets close to me. We do that, and we'll be fine."

Jaune nodded, and they both continued drawing closer to the swamp. Once they were close enough for the chemicals rising from the water to cause his brow to furrow out of disgust, Cinder held up a hand, and they both sank down into some bushes.

Through a break in the foliage, Jaune was able to see them – three Bloodsuckers, all hunched over the body of an unfortunate Stalker. He shivered as he saw the mutants taking turns draining the dead man of whatever blood was left in his veins.

Cinder looked back at him for confirmation, and he nodded. She turned back towards the Bloodsuckers, then clicked off the safety on her Kalashnikov, and began to fire. Hot lead spewed from the end of the weapon's barrel, screaming downrange before making with the Bloodsuckers, the dull thud of metal against flesh and bone audible even over the assault rifle's ear-piercing bark. Off in the distance, the Bloodsuckers let out a roar, then turned and began to rush them down. Cinder was able to cut one of them down as it approached, but the others powered through the heavy rifle ammo even as it tore chunks out of them. Jaune rushed over to Cinder's side, shouldering his Remington as he did so, then joined her in laying down fire. A storm of buckshot pellets erupted from the barrel of his gun with every trigger pull, sending a wall of lead directly into the mutants. Combined with the bullets from Cinder's rifle, the Bloodsuckers had no chance. Both mutants came crashing down, one final gasp leaving them as blood pooled around their bodies.

Jaune and Cinder stood there for a moment, their breath coming out in heavy gasps. After a brief pause, they both began to reload as they checked the area around them.

"See anything?" Jaune asked.

"Nothing," Cinder said, rocking a magazine into her weapon and then chambering a round. "You?"

Jaune just shook his head. He thumbed the last shell into his weapon, then motioned for Cinder to follow him. "Come on, let's go get our proof."

They pushed out of the foliage, carefully approaching the fallen Bloodsuckers. Jaune kept his shotgun trained on each of them, just waiting for them to try and rise up to strike at them, but they remained motionless on the ground. Once he was close enough, he cautiously turned one over with his boot, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that it was truly dead – there was a hole directly in its chest, exposing its shredded heart to the world. Mutant or not, he doubted there was any coming back from that for it.

With the area now clear, he sank down to one knee and drew his Kalashnikov bayonet, then lopped off one of the Bloodsucker's tentacles. Cinder did the same, but then to Jaune's surprise, she began to push deeper into the swamp.

"Careful," Jaune advised. "Whatever you're doing, you'd be well advised not to go too deep into the water."

"I just want to check something," Cinder remarked. "That dead Stalker has a nice-looking pistol on him. I want to see if I can get my hands on it."

Jaune nodded. "I'll keep watch. But the moment you think it's too dangerous to keep moving on, you should double back."

Cinder waved him off. Jaune didn't pay any mind to it; Cinder knew how to take care of herself, after all. So he hunkered down and kept watch for any more Bloodsuckers.

After a few minutes, Cinder returned, and tossed something on the ground next to him. Jaune looked at it, his eyes widening in surprise.

"What is that?"

"It's a handgun of some kind," she said.

"It's enormous!"

She shrugged. "If you don't want it, I'm sure Barkeep would buy it off you. But I'd consider keeping it – it's got to be better than the Makarov you've been carrying."

Jaune stared at her for a second before shaking his head, then looking back at the object on the ground. It was a large handgun sitting in a plastic holster, along with several loaded magazines. Curious, he drew the gun, then looked it over in his hand.

"HK Mark 23, Cal .45 Auto," he read. "Cinder, this really is a huge gun."

"That just means it's overbuilt," she advised. "Which means it's not going to break any time soon. And in a place like the Zone, that's got to be a good thing."

"Fat lot of good it did for the last guy who was carrying it," Jaune noted. He ejected the magazine, noting the size of the rounds sitting in it. "Gods, even the ammo is huge compared to the Makarov."

"All the better to fight mutants with."

"What about you, though?" Jaune asked. "You'll need better weapons, yourself."

"I'll be fine for now," she said dismissively. "You, however… it was time to replace your Makarov."

"I mean, I won't argue with that, but still. You should take care of yourself, too."

"I have you for that."

Jaune shook his head again, unable to come up with a proper response for what she'd said. He took the Makarov and its holster off his hip, and replaced it with the Mark 23. The gun was certainly a lot bigger and heavier, but the added heft felt reassuring, if nothing else.

"Let's head back," he said. "Staying in the swamp for too long is giving me the creeps."

"Great, it's you two again," Barkeep said as they walked in. "Did you finish the job?"

"Do you really think we'd still be here if we hadn't?" Cinder asked. She set the Bloodsucker tentacles on the counter. "Our money, if you'd be so kind."

Barkeep passed over a roll of bills, but as he did so, his gaze fell on Jaune's new pistol. "Ah, I was wondering what had happened to that idiot," he said.

"What?" Jaune asked.

"The last person I sold that gun to," Barkeep said, motioning towards the Mark 23. "He saw it sitting behind the counter and demanded I sell it to him, so I did – something about some video game, or some dumb shit like that. Waste of money, if you ask me, but it is a nice gun, if nothing else. I'll give you four-thousand for it."

"No deal," Jaune said without a moment's hesitation. "And not just because I know you're ripping me off."

"He's learning," Barkeep said to Cinder. "Well, if you ever do decide to sell it back to me, you know my price."

Jaune said nothing in response, instead watching as Cinder pocketed their money. Once that was done, they both turned and exited the Bar.

"Where to next?" Jaune asked.

"I figure we'll head back to the Dark Valley," Cinder answered. "I think it's about time we settle that debt with the other Stalkers."

A chill went down Jaune's spine. He'd always known that this day was going to come, but he'd still hoped to avoid it if possible, even though he knew deep down that a confrontation between them was inevitable.

Slowly, he nodded. "Okay. I won't like it, but I understand, at least."

The two of them continued back to the Dark Valley in silence, trepidation in Jaune's mind the entire time.

Rat and Swift were able to accompany her at least as far as the path to the Bar. Once that path came into view, they stopped, then both turned towards her.

"This is as far as we can go," Rat informed her. "Any further and we'll attract attention from Duty. You're on your own from here out."

Pyrrha nodded in understanding. "And… is there anything I need to know before I do this? I mean… Ara is working with Duty, so won't they be mad if I kill him?"

"Well, I wouldn't make a show out of doing it in front of them, but Ara is still a rat," Swift informed her. "Nobody is going to miss him, not even Duty. That being said, you should still be careful about how you do it. Don't want to attract attention to yourself if you can avoid it."

"What do you suggest I do?"

"Tail him and wait for him to leave the Bar," Rat advised. "He'll have to leave at some point, even if he's not going far. That's when you can take him out."

"And, obviously, don't let anyone know you're pals with Freedom," Swift cautioned. "In fact, you might want to wear this."

He held something out for her, and Pyrrha took one look at it before frowning. "A ski mask?"

"Balaclava," Swift specified. "Your hair is very distinctive, you know. I'd be surprised if rumor hasn't spread about you already. The last thing you want is someone recognizing you because of your hair color."

Pyrrha nodded in agreement, then quickly tied her hair back in a bun before accepting the balaclava and slipping it over her head. It was hot, itchy, and uncomfortable, but if it kept Duty from recognizing her, then it was worth wearing.

"Okay," she said softly. "I'm ready. But… before I go, I just wanted to do something."

"What is it?" Rat asked.

Pyrrha stepped forward and gave him a brief hug, then moved over to Swift and gave him the same. Both men stood there, surprised as she pulled away.

"Thank you," she said through a lump in her throat. "For everything. I just wanted to say that in case… in case I didn't come back from this."

Rat cleared his throat. "...You'll be back in no time," he assured her. "We'll catch up then. I know you're not much of a drinker, but I'll buy a round for you once you return."

"Same," Swift added.

Pyrrha laughed softly, then shook her head. "I'm glad I got to meet you two," she told them. "Well, if there's nothing else, I guess I should go."

"Good luck, Pyrrha," Swift said. "We'll be here when you get back."

With that, Pyrrha turned and began to march towards the Bar, leaving her friends behind.

It only took a short walk before Pyrrha saw it – a set of old buildings behind a makeshift military checkpoint. There were several Duty members behind sandbags, with a mounted machine gun situated on top of them. As Pyrrha approached, the Duty members tensed, and the man behind the machine gun sat up straighter and rested his hands on the gun. Pyrrha swallowed nervously, but didn't stop her approach.

Eventually, however, the Duty soldiers stopped her themselves.

"Halt," one of them said. "What's your business here?"

"Just passing through to the Bar," Pyrrha answered, doing her best to not let her fear show in her voice.

The man was taken aback. "A girl…? We don't see many of those in the Zone. What are you doing coming from the Army Warehouses? I don't remember seeing you pass by us to get there."

"I took a roundabout way to get there," Pyrrha answered. "Went through the Cordon to get to the Dark Valley, then from there went to the Army Warehouses. Now I'm trying to make my way to the Bar to find some work."

"That's quite the trek," another of the soldiers commented. He turned to another of the men. "Search her."

Pyrrha felt her heart skip a beat as the soldier in question approached her, but offered no resistance as he opened her pack and began to go through it. After a few minutes, he let out a grunt and turned back to the others.

"She's clean," he said. "Don't see any Freedom markings on her gear."

"That's curious," the first man commented. "Because I distinctly remember hearing rumors about a mysterious girl who'd thrown her lot in with Freedom. Now, I find it odd that around the same time we start hearing rumors like that, you come wandering out of the Army Warehouses with a ridiculous story about trekking through some of the worst parts of the Zone before making your way back to the Bar."

Pyrrha said nothing. The soldier let out a grunt. "Remove her mask. I want to see her face."

Again, Pyrrha's heart skipped a beat, but she had no chance to offer any resistance before her balaclava was roughly pulled off her head. She froze in shock, her eyes wide with fear as the men stared at her. But to her surprise, after a few seconds, the man in charge shook his head.

"It's just the redhead," he said. "I haven't seen her myself, but I've heard about her. She's fine."

"How do we know it's the same one?" another man asked.

"Do you truly think there'd be two teenage redheads wandering around the Zone at the same time?" He shook his head. "Give her mask back and let her pass."

Pyrrha could only stare blankly as the Duty member thrust her balaclava back into her hands, then stepped away from her. Then, to her amazement, the soldiers stepped back from the path, allowing her entry.

"Behave yourself," the first man warned.

Pyrrha just nodded, then slipped her mask back on and entered the Bar.

Only once she was out of earshot of the Duty members did she allow herself to collapse against a nearby building, hyperventilating the entire time.

She'd almost been found out, and so soon into her trip to the Bar, at that. That would have been a death sentence if they'd put the pieces together properly. Somehow, someway, she'd managed to escape, but something told her she wouldn't be so lucky a second time.

"Need to be careful…" Pyrrha muttered to herself as she peeled away from the wall, still shaking like a leaf in the wind.

And there was another thing the man had mentioned, too – in all the excitement, Pyrrha hadn't had time to truly consider it yet, but now that she had a moment of reprieve, she was able to think about it.

What had he meant when he'd talked about a redheaded girl in the Zone? As far as she'd known, she was the only one, and yet the man had made it sound like they'd already known about her, when clearly that wasn't the case – if they had, they'd have known she was allied with Freedom, and they would have reacted accordingly.

That meant there was another redheaded girl wandering around the Zone. And if Pyrrha's assumption was correct, that meant it was someone from Remnant as well. A chill went down her spine at the realization.

"Ruby…?"

It had to be Ruby – Pyrrha had woken up after the mysterious light had enveloped her at the top of Beacon's tower, and the only people there were her, Jaune, Cinder, and Ruby. And of those four, her and Ruby were the only redheads.

Pyrrha couldn't help but shudder. The Zone was a terrible place even for her; she couldn't imagine someone as sweet and kindhearted as Ruby being drawn into it as well. Especially if she'd somehow ended up in a place even worse than Pyrrha had – they obviously hadn't shown up here together, so that was a distinct possibility.

And what about the others? Could Jaune be here? Could Cinder? Pyrrha didn't know, and that bothered her. She could only hope that Jaune had managed to avoid being drawn here, and that whatever that light was, it had killed Cinder, or at least stopped her for good.

Pyrrha suddenly shook her head, clearing it of those thoughts. She still had a job to do, and ruminating on the whereabouts of her friends and foes was of no help to her. She needed to find Ara and take care of him before any more Freedom members were killed.

And so, she gathered her nerves, adjusted her rifle to rest more comfortably against her body, and continued on.

The Bar was different, and yet familiar. The scenery itself was of a similar style to the Army Warehouses, but the layout was obviously different. Things were also somehow a lot more clean and organized here – she could only assume that was Duty's doing; the guys in Freedom were a lot more free-spirited, and despite Lukash's often rigid and militaristic style of leadership, things at the base tended to be way looser and haphazard than at the Bar.

That didn't stop various Stalkers from huddling around bonfires and burning barrels, chatting among themselves while they shared drinks and swapped stories. Pyrrha looked up at the sky; it was almost evening. Her stomach rumbled, and she felt a faint blush cross her face underneath her balaclava. She hadn't eaten anything since the day had begun, when she'd shared a quick meal with Rat and Swift before heading off. That had been several hours ago, and now the pangs of hunger were starting to hit her once more.

Pyrrha looked around for a spot where she could sit and eat something. She found a far-off spot in the shadows of a nearby building and took a seat, shrugging her rifle and pack off as she did so. A bit of rummaging through her gear later, and she came back with a tin of food. Pyrrha grimaced, but forced herself to eat it all the same. The guys in Freedom referred to these things as Tourist's Delight; really, it was little more than some kind of overly greasy, intensely salty pork laden with preservatives. It tasted horrible, but it was at least filling, so she forced herself to choke it down before tossing the can away and continuing on.

Pyrrha wasn't sure where to go to find Ara. The guys had told her to search the Bar for him, and that he'd likely still be wearing his Mercenary armor, but that was all she had to go on. Past that, she had nothing.

With no other leads, and with her unwilling to wander around looking too out-of-sorts so close to Duty-controlled territory, Pyrrha looked for somewhere that she could hopefully find information. She found it in the form of an underground bunker that looked to have been converted to a bar. With nothing better to do, Pyrrha stepped inside.

She was immediately blindsided by an all-too-familiar voice.

"Come on! You said it was six-thousand earlier!"

Pyrrha's heart skipped a beat. She stepped forward as if in a daze, frantically looking around until her gaze landed on that familiar crop of black-and-red hair.

"Ruby."

The words cut through the surrounding noise of the bar like a knife. Immediately, Ruby stopped arguing with whoever she'd been having words with and turned towards her, her silver eyes widening in awe.

"Pyrrha…?"

Wordlessly, Pyrrha tore off her balaclava and let it fall from her hands. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, neither one moving out of sheer shock, until Ruby rushed her.

"Pyrrha!"

The wind was driven out of her as Ruby made impact, wrapping her arms around her with strength far greater than Pyrrha had ever thought she possessed. Pyrrha returned the hug, and both girls stood there, embracing as tears streamed down their faces.

"You're okay!" Ruby said excitedly, through her tears of relief. "I was so worried! I thought you'd died!"

"I'm okay," Pyrrha assured her. "And I'm glad you're okay too, Ruby."

The two of them held each other for a few more seconds before separating and drying their tears. It was then that Ruby noticed how different Ruby looked – she was clad in body armor and camouflage fatigues and carrying a machine gun, same as her, but she had a large scar on her face, and beyond that, even her basic demeanor was different. Ruby looked much more cautious and dour, and less optimistic than Pyrrha had ever seen her before. That realization caused Pyrrha's elation to falter outright.

"What happened to you?" Pyrrha asked softly.

Ruby hesitated for a moment before looking down and shuffling her feet. "I… I guess I've been here about as long as you have, but… it hasn't been good, Pyrrha. Gods, you probably barely even recognize me-"

"Ruby," Pyrrha interrupted. She reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "You're different, but not that different. I'm mostly concerned about those scars."

"Oh, those," Ruby offered. "A Bloodsucker got me. I needed to have my face stitched up. It really hurt."

Pyrrha couldn't help but grin at the bluntness of her situation. "I can imagine. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I've been working out of the Bar ever since I left the Rookie Village a short while ago," Ruby replied. "What about you? Where have you been?"

Pyrrha hesitated. "...That explanation will have to wait until we're in friendlier territory," she offered. "It's nothing bad, but some of the information is… sensitive."

Ruby nodded. "Okay, Pyrrha." Her eyes suddenly widened. "Wait, so you aren't together with Jaune?"

Ruby words hit Pyrrha like a ton of bricks. In an instant, Pyrrha lunged forward, placing both hands on Ruby's shoulders and looking her in the eyes.

"Jaune's here?!" she asked. "Where is he? Please tell me he's okay!"

"He's here," Ruby confirmed. "You can see his sword hanging over the bar."

Pyrrha looked up, and sure enough, Crocea Mors was hanging up on the bar's mantle. Just underneath it, the barkeeper stared at her, his arms folded across his chest.

"Are you going to gawk, or did you come here for something?" he asked.

Pyrrha's eyes narrowed. "Where is Jaune?"

"Well, that information is certainly in-demand these days. Tell you what – I'll let you know where you can find him for… hm… nine-thousand seems fair."

"Nine-thousand?!" Ruby protested. "You were going to charge me seven-thousand for it!"

"That was before I knew how popular Jaune was," the barkeeper replied. "So now the information is nine-thousand."

Pyrrha scowled, her hand drifting to the AR-18 slung across her front. Barkeep was unperturbed.

"I'd be careful if I were you," he said. "After all, you're not the only one with a rifle in here."

Pyrrha was suddenly aware of the fact that all conversation had just died in the bar, and all the patrons were now staring at her and Ruby. With a grimace, Pyrrha took her hand away from her AR, and just like that, the patrons all went back to their meals and conversations.

"That's what I thought," Barkeep said. "Now then, as I was saying, the price for that information is now nine-thousand. You can either pay it or I'll keep the information to myself."

Ruby grit her teeth in frustration for a moment before letting out a sigh, then looking over to Pyrrha. "You came here for a reason, right? What do you need?"

"I'm looking for someone, actually," Pyrrha offered.

"If it's someone you're after, I can give you that information for a price," Barkeep said. "Who is it?"

"A Mercenary named Ara."

Barkeep rolled his eyes. "Oh, you're after that asshole? Hell, I'll let that info go for two-thousand."

"Why so cheap all of a sudden?" Ruby demanded.

"Because Ara is a prick who stiffed me on a job," Barkeep answered. "I paid him in advance for it and he never completed the job. I'd do something about it, but he's Duty's lapdog, and I can't afford to risk straining relations with them. Of course, none of them would care if he's gone because he's an ass to them as well, they only keep him around because he's somewhat useful at the moment."

"Then why don't we make this interesting?" Ruby asked. "We'll take care of Ara for you, and in exchange, you'll tell us about Jaune."

"No deal," Barkeep replied instantly. "You take care of Ara and I'll knock the price down on Jaune's information. Take it or leave it."

"Fine," Ruby acquiesced. "Where is he?"

"The money first."

"Yeah, yeah…"

Ruby slid the small pile of bills over to Barkeep, who took them in the blink of an eye. Once he had his money, Barkeep motioned for them both to draw closer, and once they had, he leaned in and began to whisper to them.

"Ara isn't well-liked by Duty," he said. "Like I said, they keep him around because he's somewhat useful at the moment, but nobody actually likes him enough to spare the manpower on guarding him or anything like that."

"But how are we supposed to get to him?" Ruby asked.

"I was getting to that," Barkeep said, impatient. "Anyway, Ara spends most of his days Artifact hunting out in the Wild Territory. You'll find him out there starting from about nine in the morning to around one in the afternoon. If you were going to take care of him, that's the time to do it."

Ruby nodded. "We'll get it done."

"See to it that you do."

With that, Barkeep turned and walked away so he could tend to other patrons. Ruby and Pyrrha watched him go before Ruby motioned for Pyrrha to follow her.

"Come on. Let's go get some rest before tomorrow."

Pyrrha nodded and followed after her friend. Ruby led her through the Bar to an isolated corner in a run-down building, which already had a sleeping bag rolled out in it. Pyrrha unrolled her own, then set it next to Ruby's, and the two of them laid down side-by-side.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Ruby said. "I was so worried that something had happened to you, Pyrrha…"

"I could say the same to you," Pyrrha replied. "If anything, it looks like I've had it easier than you have."

Ruby frowned and looked away. "...It hasn't been easy," she admitted. "I've… done things I'm not proud of, things I needed to do in order to survive or keep more people from dying, but… they stay with you, you know?" She bit her lip. "...I'm afraid, Pyrrha. What if I make it back to Remnant and Yang doesn't even recognize me because of how much I've changed?"

"Oh, Ruby…" Pyrrha muttered. She reached out and gently took Ruby's hand. "I know you feel that way, but believe me, you're still you, Ruby. Things might have changed, but you'll always still be the same Ruby we know and love."

"You don't understand," Ruby said softly. "The things I've done, and the people I've killed… I've gunned people down in cold blood, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha stared at her, surprised. Of all the things she'd expect Ruby to admit to, that hadn't been one of them. It was hard for her to even imagine pure, sweet, fifteen-year-old Ruby Rose murdering somebody like she'd just said she had.

After a moment, Pyrrha shook her head. "There had to have been a reason. I know you, Ruby – you'd never do something like that unless there was a very good reason."

Ruby began to shake, her shoulders heaving with silent sobs. "...His men killed a friend of mine," she offered, her voice wavering. "He was going to have more of them killed unless I stopped him… so I stopped him. But… that doesn't change what I did – doesn't wipe the blood from my hands. I still see his face in my dreams, Pyrrha. I think I always will."

Pyrrha said nothing, instead moving forward enough to pull Ruby into a gentle embrace. Ruby tensed under her grasp, but didn't try to pull away.

"It's okay," Pyrrha told her. "We'll make it through this. We'll find Jaune and a way back to Remnant, and then it will all be fine. None of this changes who you are, Ruby – it never will."

That did it. Ruby stopped holding back, instead clinging tightly to Pyrrha as she cried. Pyrrha didn't say or do anything, instead she just held her friend there as she completely fell to pieces.

Finally, after several minutes, Ruby's crying tapered off before stopping completely, replaced with gentle snoring. Pyrrha carefully let go of her and laid her down in her sleeping bag, then pulled it up to cover her chest. Once that was done, she laid in her own sleeping bag and watched her, a hollow pit forming in her stomach.

"Poor thing…" Pyrrha said softly.

That was an understatement, she knew. Ruby hadn't elaborated on the things she'd done, but Pyrrha could already guess that they must have been horrible for her to react like that. But even more than that, Pyrrha had meant every word – Ruby was a kind, gentle soul, and she wouldn't have hurt anyone without good cause. Still, killing people like that would take a toll on anyone, but especially someone as optimistic as Ruby.

Pyrrha could only hope that by the time they made it out of this nightmare, it wasn't too late for Ruby to go back to who she was before.

The next day, Pyrrha was awoken by someone gently shaking her.

"Pyrrha, it's time to get up," she heard Ruby say.

Pyrrha cracked both eyes open and sat up, letting out a yawn as she did so. "What time is it?"

"Just after eight. I figure we'll head out and get posted up in the Wild Territory, then wait for Ara to show his head."

Pyrrha couldn't help but shudder. "I just… I'll be murdering someone…"

"I know," Ruby said gently.

"It won't get any easier, will it?"

"I wish I could say it wouldn't."

Pyrrha closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them again and stood up. "...Okay," she said. "Let's go."

The trip to the Wild Territory didn't take them long, and soon enough, they were both hidden in a corner away from the entrance, their weapons at the ready. Pyrrha's heart hammered in her chest the entire time as she waited for their target to appear. Her apprehension must have been downright palpable, because Ruby rested a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Focus," she said. "We already told Barkeep we'd be doing this. There's no going back now."

"You're right…" Pyrrha admitted. "Especially since I've already told the guys in Freedom that I'd do this for them…"

"That's right. Think of them – you're doing this for them. This doesn't make you a bad person, Pyrrha. Remember that."

Again, Pyrrha took a deep breath. What horrors had Ruby experienced that had made her so wise beyond her years already? She didn't know, and she didn't want to know. One thing was clear, though – the moment they got back to Remnant, they were all going to need a couple long therapy sessions to even begin coping with the things they'd seen and done here.

And that worried Pyrrha. She knew she could handle it, but Ruby was still very young. What kind of effects would the Zone have on a girl like her? She could only wonder.

"Look sharp," Ruby suddenly said. "I think I see him now."

Pyrrha's heart skipped a beat. She poked her head out from behind cover enough to get a clear look at the area ahead. Ruby handed her a set of binoculars, and Pyrrha looked through them for confirmation. Through the dead trees and debris that lined the Wild Territory, she was able to make out a lone figure in Mercenary body armor walking along the path, a detector in his hands.

"Is that him?" Ruby asked.

The man turned and Pyrrha got a glimpse of his face. It certainly matched the description she'd been given.

That meant she had no excuse anymore.

"...It's him," she said.

"Alright," Ruby said. "You take the shot. I'll be here in case he tries to run away."

That statement chilled her to the bone. The more time she spent around Ruby, the more clear it was that something was seriously wrong with her. She needed help, Pyrrha knew, and the worst part was that she wouldn't be able to get it until they made it back to Remnant.

With shaking hands, Pyrrha shouldered her AR-18 and thumbed the safety off, then took aim. Ara was about fifty yards away; at this distance, even with iron sights, she couldn't miss. His back was turned to them now as he searched through an Anomaly with his detector, but even then, this wouldn't be a difficult shot for her to make.

But then, Ara began to turn towards them. He must have seen Pyrrha standing there pointing a rifle at him, because his eyes widened and the detector slipped from his grasp. He went for his own rifle, and time seemed to slow down as he raised it towards them.

"Pyrrha, shoot!" Ruby shouted.

That snapped her out of it. The trigger broke beneath Pyrrha's finger, and the 5.56mm bullet screamed downrange.

Ara's head erupted in a shower of gore, and just like that, Pyrrha's world changed forever.

Pyrrha didn't remember making it back to the Bar. Everything was in a daze for her; all she knew was that Ruby had tried to console her the entire time, but it hadn't helped.

She was a warrior. She'd spilled blood before, and even tried to kill others, but that had always been in defense of other people. This, though… Ara was a traitor, but what Pyrrha had done had been nothing short of cold, calculated murder. The thought sickened her.

"Pyrrha," Ruby said. "Pyrrha, come on. Let's go talk to Barkeep."

"I will," Pyrrha said. "I just… I need a minute."

The two of them sat down outside the Bar. Pyrrha placed her hands on her knees and stared up at the sky, watching the storm clouds gather overhead. Next to her, Ruby rummaged through her pack and came back with something, then offered it to her.

"Eat this," Ruby said. Pyrrha looked over to her and saw a bar of chocolate in her hands.

"I don't want chocolate," she explained.

"I know you don't, but it'll make you feel better, trust me. Besides, this is Belgian chocolate – the good stuff. I promise it'll help pick you up."

Reluctantly, Pyrrha accepted the candy and tore the wrapper away, then began to eat. It didn't really help at all. Still, she finished the chocolate, then gave Ruby a grateful nod.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Say, do you need to contact your people?"

"I do," Pyrrha confirmed. She reached into her pocket with shaking hands, pulling out her PDA. The first number on her contacts list came up; it rang exactly once before the other person picked up.

"Yes?" Lukash asked.

"It's done," Pyrrha said, her throat dry.

"Great. You've done us a huge favor with this, Pyrrha. We can't thank you enough. When you get back-"

Pyrrha bit her lip. "...I'm not coming back."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Oh."

"I… found someone I was looking for, and-"

"Say no more," Lukash assured her. "I understand. The guys will be disappointed, Rat and Swift especially, but they'll get it. Still, though, if you ever change your mind, you know where to find us. And bring your friend, too – there's plenty of room for them as well."

"Thank you," Pyrrha said, a lump forming in her throat. "For everything."

"It's nothing, Pyrrha. You take care now."

With that, the line went dead. Pyrrha gave a heavy sigh, then pocketed her PDA and stood up.

"...Okay," she said. "Let's go talk to Barkeep."

"Is it done?" Barkeep asked as the two of them stepped up to the counter.

"It is," Ruby said.

"Hm. Normally I'd ask for proof, but for all your faults, you've never betrayed my trust. Plus, I'm sure the Duty guys will be talking about it soon enough. Alright, we've got a deal. Four-thousand and I'll tell you about your friend."

Ruby passed him the money. It was gone in the blink of an eye.

"Jaune has been coming and going from the Bar a number of times," Barkeep told them. "It's just bad luck that you haven't seen him yet, Ruby."

"Seriously?" Ruby asked. "That's what you've got?"

"One of these days, you'll learn to let me finish," Barkeep snapped. "Anyway, from what I've heard, Jaune spends a lot of time out at the Garbage – he generally doesn't sleep at the Bar. Now, there are only a few places someone can stay at out in the Garbage. And judging by the fact that someone's been clearing out Bandits and hostile Loners from the Dark Valley, I think we can put two and two together."

"Jaune's been doing that…?" Pyrrha asked, confused. "Why would he-"

"Oh, I doubt it's just him," Barkeep said. "It's probably more the woman he's with than him."

"What woman?" Ruby asked.

"What do you mean? Is she not a friend of yours?"

A chill went down Pyrrha's spine. "Describe the woman."

"Alright, alright," Barkeep said. "Well, she's tall, with bright amber eyes and long black hair-"

That was all she needed to hear. Pyrrha stumbled back from the bar in a daze, unable to believe what she'd just heard, her mouth agape from shock.

"Pyrrha," Ruby began, taking a step towards her. "Pyrrha, I know it sounds bad-"

Pyrrha didn't wait for her to finish. Instead, she took off running, fighting off sobs the entire time.

And there it is - the first of the big reunions. I'm sure you all know what that means...

Really, though, I debated whether or not to push Ruby and Pyrrha's reunion back even further. Ultimately, I chose not to, because they've been off doing their own thing for like 100k words already - 100k words is pretty much the length of a full-size traditionally published sci-fi/fantasy book, which means these two have been away from the others for basically a full book already. Taking that into account, and I decided to stop putting it off and just do it already.

As for the full reunion... soon, is all I'll say. I don't really see much of a reason to put that off for much longer, either, personally. I mean, sooner or later, I'm going to have to actually get into the real plot - you know, the underground labs, Pripyat, the Wish Granter, all that good stuff. It's been like 11 chapters of fucking about in the Zone, so I think it's about time to get into the real good stuff lol. But that's just me - I think it'll be fun.

Anyway, it's new gun day for Jaune, which is my favorite kind of day. I was originally going to give him a USP, because I actually own one and it's still very cool, but it doesn't quite have the same level of prestige the Mark 23 does, mainly because the Mark 23 is the gun Snake used in MGS1. He did use a USP in MGS2, but for some reason, people remember the Mark 23 from the first game a lot more. Distinctive shape, maybe, IDK. And for what it's worth, the Mark 23 is an excellent gun (it was adopted by SOCOM, after all) but it's also like two grand to buy one, and fuck that noise lol.

As far as my love for the USP is concerned... eh. It's good, but honestly, I recently got a pistol with a red dot (Stealth Arms Platypus, which has been excellent, BTW) specifically for use in IDPA carry optics division, and I have to say, I never want to go back to shooting iron sights on pistols lol, shooting a red dot is so much easier it's like cheating. For a bit, I was actually tempted to sell my USP to finance more pistols with red dots, but it turns out that Langdon Tactical (who sold me my beloved Beretta) will actually work on USPs now, so I'll probably end up instead sending it in to them for trigger work (the stock USP trigger SUCKS) and to get the slide milled for a red dot. It wouldn't be a competition gun or anything, it'd be strictly for concealed carry/home defense, but then again, I wouldn't want to run a USP in competition no matter how much shit gets bolted onto it lol. They're great guns, but competition guns, they are not.

The only pistol of mine I plan to keep shooting with irons is my Beretta 92G, specifically because I already have a number of holsters for it and I want one pistol with irons in case I ever feel like shooting IDPA stock service pistol division ever again. Also because my Beretta has 8,000 rounds through it at this point and I shoot it pretty well with irons, so I don't feel too compelled to fuck with it at the moment... even though my new red dot pistol outshoots it already. Seriously, red dots really are like cheating, guys. Shoot one and compare it to an iron sight handgun and you'll agree with me before long.

Basically: I will be getting more pistols with red dots in the future. USP's gonna go in for gunsmith modification work, and I might pick up a Langdon HK P30L LEM when they're back in stock. Will probably need to sell some guns I don't really shoot anymore to finance one of those, but it'll be worth it to own the ultimate version of the John Wick gun. Also, because the P30 in general is just a fantastic gun. HK as a company may hate you and think you suck, but they make some damn good guns, I'll say that much.

But yeah, that's about all I've got. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you next time!

Enjoy my work and want to help me out a bit? You can support me, as well as read more of my writing, over on Amazon. My second original story is available for purchase now, you can find it by going on Amazon and searching for 'Dead World' by John Haruspex. The story is available now for three bucks in ebook format (or free with Kindle Unlimited) or twelve bucks in paperback format, if you prefer physical media. (Remove the spaces)

www . amazon Dead-World-John-Haruspex / dp /B0C2RPGXVC / ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1682982861&sr=8-2

My first original story is also still available at the following link as well:

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