I've heard the news. I figured if people want to hear my opinion on it, they can ask me. All I want to say is I agree with the Internet's general consensus that RWBY won't die so long as the FNDM keeps it alive (and as far as I understand it, RWBY probably isn't dead). I intend to contribute to that effort, even though it may not seem as such with my abysmal uploading schedule.
So anyways, I thought I was more of a pantser during the first part of this fic, but it's easy to not plot your story when you are following preestablished plots, not to mention the fact the first part was two storylines wrapped in one package, while the second part, at least the beginning of it, is four to five storylines wrapped into one.
It took me probably eight months to realize that yes, I do need to plan and plot and outline this entire thing before I write it, and that good writing is more than just crafting a pretty sentence. A whole lot more. And then I took another month to actually learn what goes into a good outline and story. And I did all this while studying for my FE exam, which probably wasn't the best timing, but whatever.
I passed my FE, by the way. So it all worked out in the end.
The outline for part two isn't completely done as I'm writing this AN, but it's in a decent enough place to where I could reasonably write the next ten chapters. Some character arcs go all the way to the Battle of Haven Academy, which is all I'm going to say about that.
I suppose I should quit my rambling and let you folks actually read the chapter.
Part II
The Grim Reaper
September 8, 1367 KE (Remnant calendar) / Remnant
"This is where you will spar," Ironwood said. They had left the interrogation room, and arrived at a sort of gymnasium. The gym was spacious, as it should be, but instead of simple mats arranged in a space-efficient manner, the gym was furnished with mechanical arenas. Each arena—circles roughly twenty meters in diameter—was built on a platform capable of rising above the floor level with a hydraulic mechanism. Foam padding meant to soften the impact of a ring-out surrounded each platform. A terminal jutted up near the stairs at the edge of each arena. Screens descended from the ceiling above the terminals. Additional cameras and sensors occupied the space around the hanging screens. Ruby thought it was a tad overkill. If you had to rely on machines to indicate whether you or your opponent were out of commission, then you'll never develop an instinct for the difference between an active and a neutralized combatant on the battlefield. Plus, she imagined these machines broke often. A simple mat was much cheaper to maintain than an orchestra of bells and whistles.
"Pick an arena, and begin," Ironwood said. "Schnee, connect to the arena systems. We'll have to trust CPO Ruby to know her limits."
"Yes, sir," Schnee said. She drew a small device from her breast pocket and inserted it into the terminal of the sparring arena nearest the entrance. A light flashed on the top of the terminal, then the screen above the mat blinked with Schnee's image, beneath which was a thick green bar.
Ruby wondered at that, too. Was that meant to be a health meter? How was that quantified?
"Before we begin, would you like your weapons back?" Ironwood asked.
Ruby felt the empty holster on her waist, absent her knife, as well as the place on her hip that should have had a plasma pistol she had grabbed from a Covie corpse. When Atlas retrieved her, they confiscated her weapons. She did want them back. Best to delay the inevitable questions about the plasma pistol. The longer it remained in Atlas custody, the more likely it was some Atlas scientist would go to her for answers she could not provide. Not even ONI scientists had a full understanding of how it worked. She could imagine now how Atlas' scientists would stare at the pistol with bewilderment.
Ruby wouldn't use the plasma pistol in a spar, though. Too dangerous. Her knife was fair game.
"Yes," Ruby said.
"Very well." Ironwood pulled from his coat pocket a device similar to what Schnee had inserted into the terminal. It was some sort of data pad. Ironwood typed something into it, then returned it to its place on his person. "It will be some time before someone retrieves them. You might want to warm up; both of you." Ironwood walked back to where Doctor Polendina waited, data pad in hand, to observe the spar.
Ruby ascended the stairs leading up to the platform. Schnee stood on the other side, stretching her limbs. Ruby thought it unnecessary to stretch while wearing Mjolnir, but she did so anyway. Best she tried to fit in.
"How would you like this spar to end?" Schnee called.
"End the match by pinning, ring-out or tap out," Ruby said.
"And what of Aura depletion?"
"…" Ruby said nothing. Aura depletion? That had to be something she should know. Instead, she had to add it to the growing pile of intel she had to find on her own.
"Sure," Ruby said after a moment's hesitation. She played along and hoped not to reveal how far out of her element she was.
"Understood."
A few minutes later, a man a bit shorter than General Ironwood entered the gymnasium. He wore a sleeveless vest, colored white with accents of blue and red, as well as clean white pants and black boots. His slicked back hair was nowhere near regulation, according to UNSC codes at least. He seemed to carry himself similar to Schnee; perhaps he was another specialist.
The man handed Ruby's knife and the plasma pistol over to Ironwood. Ruby noted their lack of astonishment of the Covenant weapon. Before he left, the man spared a few seconds to stare at Ruby, his face flat. He seemed uninterested in her, and turned to leave.
So much for all that secrecy, Ruby thought. The man had to be someone important. It would explain Ironwood's easy disregard of their efforts to keep eyes off of her. Perhaps she would see him again.
Ruby met Ironwood halfway, and grabbed her things. She slid her knife in its holster, and attached the pistol to her hip. Ruby expected a question from Ironwood, and was surprised when none came. He turned, and walked back next to Polendina.
Ruby shrugged, and returned to her place on the platform.
Schnee was focused on Ironwood. Ruby did the same, and saw his hand in the air.
"You may begin on my mark," Ironwood said.
Ruby tensed, and wondered how best to approach this little bout. She didn't see any weapons on Schnee, nothing besides that saber on her hip. Ruby doubted that would do any damage. What tricks did she have up her sleeve?
Ruby was still forming her strategy when she heard Ironwood call, "begin!"
"Begin!"
The moment Ironwood's hand reached the bottom of its arc, Winter drew her saber from her hip. The blade gleamed under the arena lights once drawn. Winter pointed the tip at Ruby, expecting to find her at the end of it charging forward into the spar.
Ruby stood, knees bent, hands raised, on the other side of the arena. She hadn't moved an inch. Not even to draw a weapon.
What are you waiting for? Winter thought. The gymnasium was still. An eerie silence descended on the sparring floor. Ruby took her first step. Winter heard it from across the arena. It was a heavy sound, metal shifting against metal, muffled somewhat by the mat and the distance between them. Winter remained in her stance, sword raised, unmoving. Ruby walked towards Winter, hands ready to grapple.
Do you realize this is a spar? Most fighters she knew charged into battle, proverbial, and sometimes literal, guns blazing. Ruby did not. Instead of charging in, Ruby slowed down. Her pace stalled to cautious steps. As if Winter might lunge for her and bite her.
She wants me to make the first move? I'll oblige her.
Winter dashed forward. She covered the distance in a half second, feeling wonderful Aura-augmented power course through her legs. She planned a series of jabs and slices to coat Ruby's armored arms and legs in cuts. Wear down Ruby's Aura, and win by depletion.
Before the strike could connect, Winter felt a pull on her sword, and before she knew it, she was on the other side of Ruby.
What?
Winter spun. Ruby stood, knees bent, hands raised, as if Winter hadn't attacked in the first place.
Winter's mind whirled. She grabbed the blade, redirected the force behind it, and pulled you past her, she realized. When she played the motion back in her head, it was the only explanation. She's faster than she looks.
Winter dashed forward, faster this time. Her blade came down. Ruby sidestepped it, and planted a palm against Winter's elbow. Ruby's other hand gripped the cross guard of Winter's weapon and twisted.
Winter was forced to release her grip on the hilt or risk breaking her wrist. Ruby pushed Winter forward. Winter stumbled. She recovered, and spun again. Ruby held her weapon, swinging it back and forth like it was a toy.
"I prefer firearms over swords," Ruby said. "Here."
Ruby tossed the blade back to Winter. Winter caught it with a huff.
"This sword was fabricated by the finest Atlesian engineers and craftsmen," Winter said.
"Yeah, but bullets are better."
Winter growled. She poured her Aura into each limb, enhancing her strength and speed. She charged again, faster still. Winter moved like a blur.
Ruby's movement was almost imperceptible.
Ruby kicked high, knocking Winter's sword out of its path. Following through on her momentum, she kicked low, knocking Winter's feet out from under her. She kicked middle, her foot impacting Winter's abdomen. The blow seemed inhibited to Winter. Ruby moved with delicacy despite her speed, as if she feared causing an injury. Still, the force behind the kick was enough to launch Winter back a few meters, and the hard metal boot sparked a dull pain across her stomach.
Winter rolled. She let the momentum move her further away from Ruby. When she felt she was far enough, Winter jerked up, letting out a controlled breath. Ruby had not moved from where they started in the middle of the mat.
Winter pushed a lock of hair out of her face. "Clearly, you are well trained," she said.
Ruby planted her hands on her hips. "Spent eight years in a military academy."
Winter huffed, she had trained for eleven. She must have worn her annoyance on her face, as Ruby continued.
"I had a really good teacher."
"Enough talk," Winter said. She flourished her blade, pointing it again at Ruby.
Ruby said nothing. She lowered into her combat stance.
Winter tried a different tactic. Two glyphs formed at her feet—barely big enough to stretch past her toes. If she could use her semblance without Ruby knowing, perhaps Ruby would not use hers. As far as Winter knew, she had yet to demonstrate one.
The glyphs were a pair. One for strength, one for speed. She had realized their merit in conjunction long ago, but had only recently discovered a way to limit their influence on her, and thus their size, so they could apply their affects to her combat prowess in secret. The glyphs were enough to make a considerable difference in close battles against similarly skilled opponents.
Winter burst forward, a scowl embedded deep in her features. Before she struck, Winter pulled the trigger on her weapon's hilt. She swung as she caught the dagger in the other hand. Ruby brought both arms up to redirect the sword, and Winter let her. Winter plunged the dagger up against Ruby's side, striking below her armpit. Winter met the familiar resistance of Aura as the dagger hit. An electric yellow shimmer erupted from where she struck. Winter allotted no time for celebration as she disengaged, and made distance between her and the armored giant she fought.
Winter wore a satisfied smile. She expected Ruby to falter, to get frustrated. Surely, someone of her skill must not be used to getting hit. When Ruby didn't react, remaining in her fighting stance as the yellow shimmer faded from her torso, Winter remembered Doctor Polendina's description of her scars. Winter had forgotten in the heat of battle: Ruby was skilled and experienced. Ruby would not be phased by a single hit. Winter would have to fight perfectly, mind games wouldn't work on Ruby, until she had either won the spar through skill and brute force, or lost via similar means.
Winter grit her teeth. She should have expected it to be so, but this spar was going to be a hard-fought battle until the very end.
Winter reformed the glyphs at her feet, still barely noticeable, and let the strength and speed they brought invigorate her. She tightened her grip around her blades, and charged Ruby again.
Ironwood watched Winter and Ruby reengaged. Winter struck first with her sword. Ruby was forced to parry. Winter then struck second with her dagger before Ruby could readjust. That same yellow Aura erupted from each hit. Ruby had done well preventing Winter from landing a blow in the beginning of the match. Ruby moved fast, very fast, but could only be in one place at a time. Defending against one blade was one thing, but very few people could defend against two, especially unarmed. Ruby had yet to draw either of her weapons.
Winter dodged back before Ruby could break Winter's grip on her sword again. This time, instead of waiting for Winter to attack, Ruby back-stepped, making distance between the two fighters. Winter waited, cautious, to understand Ruby's actions. After a few seconds, the yellow shimmer enveloped Ruby's armor. The light was the brightest it had been the whole spar.
Doctor Polendina gasped, and immediately began typing on his scroll pad.
"What is it, Doctor?" Ironwood asked.
"That light, what do you think it is?" Polendina didn't look up from his pad, even as Winter went on the offensive again.
"I assume it's Aura, but I don't think I've ever seen Aura do that."
"That," Polendina tapped hard on his pad, as though finishing a note, then looked to Ironwood, "is because it isn't Aura. If my hunch is correct, that is an energy shield."
Ironwood hummed. He looked closer as Winter struck again. From where her dagger landed against Ruby's thigh, the yellow shimmer lit up. It had a similar pattern as Aura, but it was dimmer, less lively. It faded fast, and only shined from the area where the strike landed. Aura typically lit up the entire body, and only when reserves were running low. Aura also didn't pulse after a few seconds without taking a hit.
"You think what Ruby did," Ironwood said, "stepping back like that, was to let her energy shield recharge?"
"I do. Remarkable, isn't it? I'm learning so much about this armor!"
We may know more about the armor, Ironwood thought, but so far this spar hasn't taught us enough about the person wearing it.
"Is it possible to design energy shielding to encompass a single suit of armor?" Ironwood asked.
"Not currently, no," Polendina said. "Theoretically it's possible with a really long power cable, but current battery technology doesn't have the capability to power an energy-intensive energy shield."
"There's nothing theoretical about Ruby's suit, Doctor."
"Exactly! That's why it's so fascinating."
"Anything else you can gather from the spar so far?"
Polendina scrolled through his notes. Not three minutes into the spar, they were already pages long.
"Ruby is cautious," Polendina began. "She prefers to let the other fighter make the first move to gauge their strength and speed. She is defensive, and lets the other fighter attack repeatedly. She does have a good defense, only letting the smallest of attacks land.
"Ruby is fast. Her motions are blurs. This aids her defensive tactics. Even reacting to Winter's attacks, Ruby is able to out-maneuver Winter in almost every engagement. If not for Winter's secondary, she may not be able to land a hit against Ruby.
"Ruby is skilled. She holds her own against one of Atlas' finest swordswomen. A feat few share."
Ironwood nodded through Polendina's little monologue. Everything he said, Ironwood already knew. It was self-evident, but also superficial. Ironwood wanted real data. How extensive was Ruby's training? Could she handle offense as well as defense? What fighting styles was she proficient in? Did she have a tactical mind? Could she be trusted?
All questions and no answers.
After another light dagger blow against Ruby's side, Ruby pushed Winter back again. Winter lost her dagger to Ruby's armpit. Ruby pulled the dagger free, and tossed it back over her head. The dagger bounced once with a clang, and fell outside the bounds of the arena. Ruby barely appeared out of breath, while Winter seemed to have gone through an intense workout.
"Winter still has yet to use her semblance," Ironwood said. Winter's glyphs at her feet were hidden to them both.
"I don't believe Ruby has done so, either," Polendina said. "You think they are both cautious of what the other is hiding?"
"Yes. Winter is running out of options, however." Ironwood leaned forward, pinning his elbows on his knees. "Sooner or later, something is bound to give."
There, Ruby thought, try fighting without your little butter knife. That dagger of Schnee's had been a thorn in her side, both literally and figuratively, for the majority of the spar. Without it, Ruby looked forward to see what tricks Schnee would pull to get the upper hand.
Ruby had been surprised, and a little impressed, when the dagger shot out from inside the hilt of Schnee's sword. At the sight of it, half a dozen ideas of how to design a sword hilt with an eject-able dagger inside popped into her head. Would a trigger mechanism release the spring-loaded dagger? Or would a switch pop a valve to a pneumatic cartridge which shot the dagger out of the side of the sword? How would the sword's structural integrity be affected by the dagger release system? Ruby almost wanted to stop the fight then and there to investigate, but that would be unreasonable. Instead, she refocused on the spar, and how she was going to defend against duel-wielded blades.
Without drawing her knife, it was fairly difficult. Ruby could have stopped the blade on her arm, but then it would hit her energy shields. Surprisingly, Winter's blades did a lot of damage, taking chunks off her energy shield reservoir with each hit. Ruby assumed the blades couldn't do much to her armor, but with how well the sword stood up against repeated use with a cavity inside large enough to store a dagger, it was clear the sword was well made. Perhaps extremely sharp. A well placed strike without energy shielding could be deadly, especially if it pierced Ruby's bodysuit. She thought it best to use two hands to keep the sword away, and let the dagger in on the assumption it didn't bite as hard when it struck. Her hunch proved to be correct.
The dagger was still annoying, though, and Ruby was happy to be rid of it. Schnee appeared less happy. As the dagger clunked against the ground outside the arena, Schnee wore a scowl on her face. It had gotten deeper and deeper as the spar went on. Schnee had some anger management issues to resolve.
I should finish this before she gets herself hurt, Ruby thought. She reached down, and drew her knife from its holster. She gripped the knife with one hand, held close to her chest. She held her other hand in front of her, palm open.
Schnee charged in again. The fastest she had ever done throughout the spar. Ruby noted this with an idle thought. Schnee was fast, and intelligent for hiding her speed at the beginning of the spar, but not fast enough. Ruby crouched down, priming her legs as Schnee approached at high speeds. Schnee had no time to halt her momentum as Ruby shot her leg up in a powerful kick. Ruby's foot impacted Schnee in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her.
For the split second they connected, a light-blue light encased Schnee's body. Ruby recognized it immediately. Many times in combat, Ruby's had illuminated like this when she took a hard hit. It was a Shield.
The light-blue light was ephemeral. Ruby's kick launched Schnee to the other side of the arena. She landed hard. Another burst of blue light engulfed her body, then dimmed. Winter trembled, coughed, and wheezed. Her sword was still in her hand.
Ruby glanced to the screen above the arena. Schnee's picture. Underneath, the bar, which had hardly moved before, was now cut in half. It's green color turned a cautious yellow.
Schnee stumbled a little as she stood, but stand she did. She composed herself for a moment, then pointed her sword at Ruby yet again.
Winter Schnee had a Shield. She had a Shield! Not once in Ruby's life had she ever met someone with a Shield, and she had met a lot of people, even if she killed most of them. One would think if Ruby were to witness someone else with a Shield, it would be from someone she had injured, just as Ruby had done to Schnee now. A kick like that should have sent Schnee to the infirmary for a day or two. If not, then the spar should have been over then and there. Either way, Schnee, after a kick from a Spartan, should not have gotten up afterwards, and especially should not have wanted to continue fighting. Yet, she did both. Only someone with a Shield could do something like that.
Schnee had a Shield. What did that mean? It explained how she could hold her own against an armored Spartan. How does she have a Shield? Did she know how unusual that was? Could anyone get a Shield? How could history have changed if everyone in the UNSC had a built in Shield? The war with the Covenant would be unrecognizable. A thousand more questions flashed through Ruby's mind. She was stunned, her thoughts taken completely away from the fight before her.
Ruby's focus was so lost that she didn't notice the massive spinning glyph growing beneath Schnee's feet. Not until it was about three meters in diameter. Ruby's attention was brought back by the glyph's fast angular velocity. She noticed it, but failed to register it. Her mind was still jumbled by the fact Schnee had a Shield. Ruby didn't have the mental bandwidth at that moment to question the glyph, ponder Schnee's Shield, and defend against Schnee's lightning fast charge.
Schnee exploded forward. She accelerated faster than she ever had previously in the spar. Ruby cleared her mind at that moment, and prepared for Winter's attack.
Ruby parried with her knife. Schnee followed through with the motion, stopping on the other side of Ruby, another glyph formed on the ground. Schnee dashed again. Ruby parried once, Schnee's second strike sliced across Ruby's back. It left a large dent on Ruby's energy shields. Ruby turned, another glyph had formed, Schnee was already in motion. Her sword sliced across Ruby's helmet, the blade skidding off her energy shield. Ruby recoiled, tried to grab Schnee, but missed. Ruby turned. Schnee was in the air, suspended by a floating glyph. Schnee kicked off it, and shot down to the ground towards Ruby. Ruby blocked her strike against her forearm. Her energy shield tanking the hit. Schnee landed, spun, sliced twice across Ruby's legs. Ruby's energy shield drained, dangerously low. Schnee jumped again, her movement enhanced by the glyph. Ruby tracked her arc. Another glyph formed. Ruby caught Schnee before she could land on it. Ruby gripped Schnee's ankle and pulled hard. Schnee slammed down against the arena floor, and bounced four feet in the air. Ruby grit her teeth, spun, kicked, her foot planted against Schnee's abdomen. The force in Ruby's leg transferred to Schnee; she was launched across the arena again. Schnee's Shield lit up. Ruby glanced to the screen. The bar was still yellow, though was less than a third full.
Schnee struggled to one knee. Her breathing became ragged. She trembled. She eyed Ruby through disheveled white hair. With shaking hands, she planted her sword tip down on the arena floor. Another glyph, the largest Ruby had seen, phased into existence. Schnee was at the center.
Ruby waited. Time slowed to a crawl. Her energy shields had almost broken. Another hit and they would have burst. Whatever Schnee was doing, she hoped it would take long enough for Ruby's shields to recharge.
Were it so easy.
Out of nothing, birds made of bright light formed above the glyph. One by one they popped into existence with a burst of light and sound. Ruby watched them form, and braced herself. She had no time to question them, not now. Their beaks opened to caw; the sound that came was off, as though it was the memory of a caw. Their eagerness to fly, to strike, to kill grew as they too grew in number. They were not normal birds. Something about them was more feral, bloodthirsty. They zeroed in on Ruby.
When the last bird formed, they flew. Like a hail of rockets they arced towards Ruby. She dodged the first one, then the second, then the third. Twisting out of the way of their flight path. The ones that missed banked around to join the second volley. The forth bird hit hard against her shoulder. It's sharp beak broke through the last of her energy shields. They sparked and sputtered, useless.
Without thinking, Ruby brought her Shield to bare. She dodged the fifth bird. The sixth landed. Red light formed above her armor where it struck. It took a big chunk off her Shield. The first meter at the top of her HUD was empty: her energy shields. The second meter, her Shield, quickly drained as another bird hit, then another.
Ruby brought her arms up to cover her head as a large group of birds approached, knife at the ready for what little protection it provided. They hit with devastating force. Her Shield flared. The barrage continued. Another group, and Ruby was pushed back a step, then another. Her Shield drained. She wouldn't last much longer.
Ruby growled, tried to take a step forward, but the birds grew too dense. A wall of beaks and feathers made of light impacted Ruby. Her Shield broke in a flash of red. A wave of fatigue flooded through Ruby. She faltered. Taking step after step backwards. Ruby struggled to stay upright. The birds pushed Ruby to the edge of the arena. Another group hit her, pinging off her armor. Ruby was launched over the edge. The bird onslaught ended when her back hit the padded floor around the arena like a meteor. Ruby laid there, motionless, as an alarm rung over the arena, marking the end of the spar. Victory went to Winter Schnee.
Doctor Pietro Polendina sat on his chair, stunned at the performance he just witnessed. Ironwood stood, having called the end of the match at the same time the arena's alarm signaled a ring-out. Winter looked at them, breathing heavy. She sat on her knees, sweat dripping from her chin, wetting the mat before her. She looked about ready to collapse. A stiff breeze may have sent her off the edge of the platform.
"Wonderful!" Pietro said. He clapped from his spot beside the arena. "A close fought match to be sure, and an excellent performance from both sides."
Ironwood glanced at him, he seemed annoyed by his enthusiasm. He may not have gotten as much from this spar as Pietro did, so he could forgive Ironwood's tired demeanor.
It seemed Pietro was the only one in the room who wasn't tired.
Ironwood turned back to the arena, "I agree. An excellent performance. Winter, you did well wearing down a physically superior opponent through speed and agility. Ruby, if you'd have gone on the offensive earlier, you may have had a shot at winning."
Ruby didn't rise from the edge of the arena. She, presumably, laid there, out of sight, behind the arena's edge. Pietro hoped she wasn't injured.
Winter pushed herself to her feet. She coughed again. Two strong kicks to the stomach would make anyone lose their breakfast. The fact she barely hunched over was a testament to her strength.
Ruby still didn't rise from the edge of the arena.
"Ruby?" Ironwood called. "CPO Ruby, are you alright?"
"Perhaps we should call a medic?" Pietro said, worry creeping into his tone.
Ironwood said nothing as he strode forward to check on the girl.
They were calling her name. Ruby didn't respond. She was too tired.
Ruby stared at the steel trusses that supported the ceiling. Her visor polarized to lessen the intensity of the lights. Her arms splayed out to either side. Her legs were flat against the floor. She sunk deep into the foam pads surrounding the arena. The weight of her armor over-compressed the foam. The pads were perhaps ruined now.
Her mind replayed the events of the spar again. She searched for some explanation for what she witnessed, something to make it all coherent, but she found nothing. It was like searching for a wrench in a drawer of hammers. It just didn't make sense.
Ruby wasn't the only one with a Shield. She thought back: "Aura depletion." Those were the words Schnee had used.
Is that what you call it? Aura? Ruby thought.
More questions arose. None of which she could ask, or else she risk ousting herself as an offworlder. These people were shielded from the galaxy. They had no idea Humanity, the Covenant, and the war existed outside their little home. They wouldn't take it well if she told them their world was smaller than they first imagined, much smaller. They would call her a liar if she told them. Accuse her of being insane. She needed them to work with her, not send her to an asylum.
But, if someone told her about the things Schnee could do, she'd call them crazy too. Yet, here she was, bewildered by things she thought impossible: an unaugmented person, or so she assumed, facing a Spartan III in combat and winning. Another person with a Shield, or Aura, or whatever it's called. Those glyphs. Those birds. They were solid and powerful, not a hologram. A primitive sword facing up against a multi-billion credit suit of power armor. This world itself was crazy.
Then perhaps they might be more open to the truth than Ruby first realized? They couldn't be more bewildered than Ruby was now, laying on the floor, ruminating on the implications of someone else with a Shield.
A masculine silhouette stepped in front of the ceiling lights. Ironwood looked down at her. A questioning expression on his face. He said something, Ruby heard it, but didn't hear it. She didn't want to. He seemed worried then. Ruby covered her visor with her arm to show him she was alright, but just didn't feel like talking. She gave them a thumbs up to show she wasn't hurt.
By God she was tired. Ruby hadn't realized how much her Shield-Aura thing—she was unsure what to call it anymore—kept her alert and ready. Once it had broken, the last several days of combat, sleep deprivation, hunger, and thirst hit her all at once. Her Spartan training kicked in, she tried to push herself back to alertness, but it wouldn't work. All she could do was stay conscious.
Her decision to push the spar to today wasn't the smartest. She should have taken the offer to rest; she was too eager to make progress in her objective. Reach had been a hellhole. The UNSC was in shambles. The Covenant on track to exterminate the human race. She needed to get back in the fight, but if she collapsed from exertion—a rare occurrence, but a possibility—she could kiss all hopes of returning goodbye. Ruby needed to pace herself.
"Get a medic in here," Ironwood said to Schnee, "she isn't responding."
She wanted to avoid a medic's attention, even more so a stay in the infirmary.
"No," Ruby said, forcing herself to stand. She glanced at Ironwood's offered hand. She took it after a moments hesitation. Ruby was surprised how much he helped lift her to her feet. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure you are alright?" Ironwood asked.
"Affirmative," Ruby said. "Just tired."
"You shouldn't have volunteered to spar today," Ironwood said.
"Just happy to get started. So, thoughts?" Ruby asked.
"Well, from what we can tell, and what Winter has told me—" he gestured to Schnee, she stood beside them, placing her dagger back in her sword's hilt. She seemed annoyed at having to do so—her annoyance overrode her exhaustion after the spar. "—you're well trained. Skilled enough to hold your own against an Atlas Specialist. Impressive."
"You should see what I can do with a gun," Ruby said.
"That we will." Ironwood glanced to Doctor Polendina, who was typing on his data pad, then to Schnee, who was fixing her hair. "I think we've learned enough for today. Take the rest of the day off, you two. Get some rest. We can continue our exercises tomorrow."
"Yes, sir," Schnee said, saluting him. Ruby only nodded.
"Doctor Polendina, see if you can't help Ruby get her armor off. I'm sure she'd appreciate a breather."
Ruby wouldn't. She was comfortable in her armor despite her fatigue—in fact, it was probably the only thing that kept her on her feet—and would prefer to keep it on. She didn't care to object, however.
"I'll get right on that." Polendina didn't look up from his pad.
"Good. If you'll all excuse me, I have other work to do." Ironwood backed away from the group, and exited the sparring room. Schnee followed close behind.
Ruby stood next to Polendina as he continued to type on his pad. She waited until, seemingly without prompt, his chair carried him to the exit as well. Ruby trailed him without a word.
Ruby and Doctor Polendina returned to his lab—the hallways were still empty—to work on the tools necessary to remove her armor. On the way back, Ruby's Shield-Aura had begun to regenerate. Some of the fatigue drained from her body. It didn't come with relief, but more questions. Everything she knew about her Aura-Shield might be incorrect. Ruby didn't know what to think about that.
"So, you say I need specific tools to take your armor off?" Doctor Polendina asked when they entered his lab again.
Ruby wanted to say the best tool was a Brokkr Armor Mechanism, though the odds of constructing that large of a machine in a timely manner was slim. More than likely, they would have to jury-rig a multi-tool that would help remove her armor.
"Yes," Ruby said. "I'll show you what we'll need."
After the surprisingly less than arduous process of Ruby explaining the fastening mechanisms on her armor, of which Polendina was delighted to listen, the scientist fabricated a decent approximation in a short enough time. It wasn't the right tool for the job, but close enough was close enough.
"What do you call your armor anyways?" Polendina asked. He had affixed the multi-tool to his ceiling-mounted mechanical arm, and programmed it to respond to inputs in his terminal. He sat there, typing, as Ruby waited for the arm to remove her armor, piece by piece.
"Mjolnir Powered Assault Armor," Ruby said. It was the full title of the suit known to the public. Ruby felt no hesitation giving him that. "I call it Mjolnir."
"Mjolnir," Doctor Polendina repeated the word, testing it on his tongue. "Does it share similar etymological origins as Spartan?"
The former Norse, the latter Greek? "No," Ruby said, and after a second, "but they both relate to powerful warriors."
"Ah, I see," Doctor Polendina said. He tapped away at the keys. The multi-tool loosened the fastener of the armor over her right forearm. A moment of loud whirring from the multi-tool was followed by a loud clunk as the armor fell to the floor.
Doctor Polendina almost jumped from his chair. "That didn't dent the floor, did it?"
Ruby nudged the armor piece with her foot. The corner of the armor hit the floor. There was a small crack in the tiling.
"No," Ruby said.
"Oh, good."
"It broke it."
Doctor Polendina sighed. "Please catch the pieces before they can fall and continue to break my floor."
Ruby grunted in affirmation.
The multi-tool shifted to loosen the armor piece over her hand.
"This Mjolnir seems like a bit of a hassle to remove," Doctor Polendina said.
Ruby hummed.
"How do you—how should I say this," Polendina spun around to face her, "go to the bathroom?"
Ruby turned her head to stare at him, not speaking a word.
"Does the suit take care of it?" Polendina asked. "Or do you just have to… I guess… hold it?"
Ruby continued to stare. Polendina wasn't returning to his work. He wanted an answer.
"I'm catheterized," Ruby said.
"Interesting… and the other end—"
"Focus, Doctor."
"Right, right. My apologies."
Ruby caught the hand-piece before it fell to the floor. She set it on the workbench beside her. The multi-tool turned to her bicep-piece.
"That was some spar, huh?" Doctor Polendina asked. Ruby welcomed the change in subject.
"Yes," Ruby said. She successfully suppressed her frustration at her loss from dripping through her voice. "It was interesting."
Their conversation lulled as Doctor Polendina huffed and leaned in to the screen. He typed with greater intensity than before. Perhaps he found a problem. A few moments later, however, the bicep-piece disconnected from her bodysuit. Her arm was now covered only in the black, titanium-based material of the bodysuit. The multi-tool repeated the same procedure for her other arm.
"Specialist Schnee," Ruby said after a moment. "I wasn't prepared for her—attack." Was that the right way to put it? The massive flock of materialized birds-of-light? Ruby wasn't sure.
"Yes, Winter's semblance is quite unique." Doctor Polendina chuckled.
A semblance… Ruby thought, then said, "What's funny?"
"Well, I think its funny because Winter's semblance is unique in that it isn't unique." Doctor Polendina shifted his glasses, still looking at the screen. "Every trained huntsmen and huntress in the Schnee family shares the same semblance."
Aura, semblance, huntsmen and huntress? Something was off here. Ruby had no idea what it was, yet she felt that she should. That, she realized, is what frustrated her the most. It was like a catchy tune was stuck in her head, and she wanted to identify it, but couldn't, even though she once knew its name. That, but a hundred times worse for some reason.
"What is her, uh, semblance?" Ruby asked. The multi-tool had finished on her arm, and moved to her chest and shoulders. These pieces would take longer than the other pieces.
"She has the powerful ability to conjure glyphs. Each one has a special use. How they keep track of them all is beyond me."
So, what, they're magic? Ruby might be laughed at if she asked the question. Doctor Polendina, a man of science, seemed to view these semblances as fairly mundane and well understood.
Magic is just across the boundary between science you can and cannot understand, Ruby reminded herself. For most, Covenant technology was magic. For some, her armor was magic. For her, this planet's entire existence was magic. Perhaps he simply understood semblances better than she did.
The Monitor would know more, she concluded. If Penchant Observer was in charge of this place, or at least oversaw it, she should know about all this stuff. That is, if her observation involves keeping track of all the planet's scientific endeavors and notation. If the Monitor only watches to make sure the kingdoms don't nuke themselves into oblivion, and knew nothing about the people and their culture, then Ruby might be out of luck.
"If you don't mind me asking," Polendina said, "what is your semblance? I don't believe I saw you use one during the spar."
She didn't have any crazy abilities like Schnee did. Would her augmentations count as a semblance? Did Atlas possess technology for biochemically-engineered enhancements? She didn't know. If they didn't, then sure, her augmentations were her semblance, but if they did, it was another hole in her cover that might give her away. She had to say something.
"Enhanced perceptive capabilities," Ruby said, making something up on the spot that couldn't be easily disproven. "I perceive and think faster than most in combat. That's why I was so fast."
"Is your speed magnified by your Mjolnir Powered Assault Armor?"
"Yes."
"Marvelous."
Ruby caught her chest-piece and back-piece as they fell, both at the same time. She placed them on the workbench. Her shoulder pieces had come off fairly easily. The multi-tool lowered to work on her pelvis and legs. With her arms free, Ruby removed her helmet. Her hair was still a bit sweat-damp from the spar. She shook her head back and forth, her hair spun with it. She welcomed the feeling of fresh-ish air on her face. She took a breath through her nose. The air in the room was cold and dry. She scratched the raw scar on her cheek.
"How does your armor produce its energy shielding?" Polendina asked.
"That's classified," Ruby said.
"Ah, that's unfortunate."
The multi-tool was in the process of removing her boots by the time Doctor Polendina spoke again.
"I just found it interesting how your energy shield lasted longer than your Aura. I wonder why?"
Ruby took the chance to delay her response by removing her left boot, and placing it on the workbench.
"I'm rarely in a situation where my energy shield breaks. My Sh—Aura comes in handy, but not very often."
"I suppose that explains why it broke so quickly," Doctor Polendina said. He finished typing, the multi-tool removing the last piece of her armor. Ruby stepped forward, out of her other boot. The uninitiated might think it was a weight off of her when she removed her armor. In reality she felt vulnerable, and wished to be back in it.
"I would suggest Aura training, to round out your abilities." Polendina turned from his screen, and met her eyes. He seemed unused to her more lithe form outside of her armor. The armor was bulky and hid her figure within it. With just her bodysuit, Ruby looked more like a woman than a robot, mainly because the bodysuit was skin tight.
"This under-armor is quite remarkable in and of itself," Doctor Polendina said.
Ruby hummed, nodded. She raised her arm, and opened and closed her palm to demonstrate its flexibility to Doctor Polendina.
"It provides protection without sacrificing mobility?"
Ruby nodded again.
"Fascinating! Should we get started on removing your under-armor? Um, assuming you are wearing something underneath?"
"No," Ruby said, "that won't be possible." Doctor Polendina seemed to deflate a bit. Ruby said nothing to reassure him. Removing her armor's outer components was one thing, but removing the inner components is an entirely different task, one that required delicacy and equipment that not even Ruby could fabricate. All the important tech that made Mjolnir so special was in the bodysuit. Ruby would rather avoid breaking it attempting to take it off.
Doctor Polendina typed a few commands in his terminal, and the machine that had stripped her of her armor plating retracted back into the ceiling. He turned back to her, "I suppose that can wait for another time, if you so choose. With our work here concluded, I have no reason to keep you. Your armor can stay here. It will be safe once I lock the door; no one will bother it. Let me show you to your room."
Ruby followed Doctor Polendina again through the halls of Atlas. This time, there were people there to witness her. What they saw, however, was simply a normal six-foot eight-inch tall woman with a few extra scars on her face wearing a black bodysuit, perhaps an experimental flight suit designed for some sort of extreme airborne maneuvers—the assumption reinforced by the presence of Doctor Polendina—instead of a seven-foot tall walking tank designed to be the perfect killing machine. Besides a few curious glances, no one paid her any mind.
The personnel quarters in Atlas were unassuming. Exactly the same as the rest of the compound, except the hallways had a bit more doors on either side. Ruby imagined she could get lost easily in this place. It was a maze of strangely labeled locations and floors. Exactly what she was used to in the UNSC.
"This will be your room," Doctor Polendina said after they turned a corner. The room was near the end of a long corridor. They passed plenty of other rooms on their way there. Ruby had no idea if they were occupied or not.
Doctor Polendina pulled a similar device out of his pocket as Schnee had done prior to their spar. He swiped the device over the electric lock, the door clicked, and slid open.
"This is your key. We can activate it and sync it with your Aura later. For now, it's just a simple scroll." He handed the device to her.
Ruby took the small device in her hand. A scroll. The same device Schnee had inserted to the arena terminal before their spar. She filed the name of the device away.
It probably has an audio device feeding directly to Polendina or some other Atlas agent, Ruby thought. It was best she didn't talk to herself about any secrets she didn't want others to know.
"If you need anything, my contact information is already on your scroll," Polendina said as Ruby entered the room. The room was small. It had barely enough room to house a bed, a dresser, and a desk in between. A lamp rested on the desk beside the bed, a digital clock sat beside the lamp, and a mirror hung on the wall opposite the bed. Ruby could tell the bed was too small for her.
"I'll need a different bed," Ruby said. "I won't fit on this one."
"Of course. I'll get right on that. Anything else?"
Ruby looked out through the small window overlooking the City of Atlas. They were several stories up, though nowhere near the top of the building. The view was incredible. The sun set over the distant mountains as cars and people shuffled around the streets below. The snow from that morning had stopped. The sunset colored the remaining clouds with fiery brilliance.
Doctor Polendina had explained where the nearest communal bathrooms and showers were, as well as the location of a mess hall. Ruby couldn't think of anything she needed then besides some time alone to think.
"No," Ruby said. She sat down on the bed. Doctor Polendina waited for a moment outside, probably expecting something more. When Ruby didn't give it, he nodded, smiled, and left. The door slid shut silently.
Ruby understood the speed at which militaries processed requests for new equipment, beds included: slowly. She didn't expect to receive the new bed anytime soon, so she laid down after turning off the lights to her room and closed the window blinds. Her head hit the pillow. Her feet hung uncomfortably off the end of the mattress. She brought her hands up and interlocked her fingers behind her head, and shut her eyes. Sleep came to her shortly thereafter.
September 9, 1367 KE (Remnant calendar) / Remnant
The next day arrived in the blink of an eye. Ruby awoke in the small, silent room in the early morning. The sun had recently started to cast shadows over the quiet city. Her room was as she left it the night before, save for a small stack of clothes resting on the desk beside her. She sat up and flipped through them, noting how someone had snuck in and placed them there without her noticing. She must have been extremely tired. It was a simple outfit, perhaps a type of uniform, colored with different shades of gray and white. She compared the clothing to her person; they appeared to fit.
With no way of removing her bodysuit, Ruby slipped the uniform on on top of it. The uniform covered the majority of her bodysuit, save for her hands and feet. Whoever had left these also placed shoes on the floor near the door, but they were unnecessary. The bodysuit around her feet was all the shoe she needed, and at the same time the part of the suit which covered her hands could easily be mistaken for gloves.
Ruby finished dressing by adjusting her uniform before the mirror. She did her best to make it as clean as possible, though she had no idea what constituted a clean uniform in Atlas. Finally, she tied her hair back in a tail, grabbed the scroll from its place on the desk, and exited her little room.
The hallway outside was empty, though the morning sunlight streaming in brightened it, giving it a more inviting air, alive compared to the night before.
She stopped for a short while at the mess hall Doctor Polendina had pointed out to her the night before. It was a familiar sight. With similarly dressed people waiting in line for food, chatting among themselves. Ruby joined the hungry masses, and ate in silence once she passed through the long line and sat down. No one spoke to her, and she kept to herself. The people around her didn't seem to notice or care about a new face sitting alone at the back of the mess hall. With a full stomach, Ruby backtracked through the various hallways she had memorized the night before to arrive at Polendina's lab.
Ruby entered the lab, it's door unlocked, and found Doctor Polendina sitting before a large machine, examining her armor's chest plate.
"I never gave you permission to snoop through my stuff," Ruby said, startling Doctor Polendina from his concentration.
"Oh, Ruby! Good morning. I apologize, I tried to work on something else, but this armor is just so fascinating!" He grabbed his scroll from the countertop beside him. "The chemical residuals on this burn mark is evidence of extremely high temperatures. Temperatures which are hardly reproducible outside of a laboratory. And yet, the structural integrity appears to be unphased. How is this possible?"
The question didn't seem to be directed at her, but was instead more rhetorical, as though Polendina was excited to answer it himself.
"That's classified," Ruby said anyway, concerned. Those burns were caused by plasma fire. She hoped to avoid anymore probing questions.
"Classified by whom?" Doctor Polendina asked. "Pardon my imprudence, but Vale is all but destroyed. Surely any sort of shadowy government organization would have suffered the same fate? What harm could come from sharing the secrets of a dead organization?"
"Plenty," Ruby said. "I'm still here, which means the organization isn't dead."
"Hmm. That is a good point."
"Yes, so please leave my things alone—"
"On the other hand," Doctor Polendina interrupted, "the likelihood of this shadow organization's reformation is low. Therefore, shouldn't their technology be preserved while it's in its most operational state?"
Ruby had to think for a moment. Yes, according to her story, it would be important to preserve knowledge on how to create such a suit of armor if the original creators, for all Doctor Polendina knew, were dead or missing. Unfortunately, that was not the truth. Ruby knew the UNSC was still capable of producing new Mjolnir suits, and had been doing so up until her time on Reach. While Reach was the location where a major portion of these suits were produced, she doubted the UNSC would let such a valuable weapons system be lost with the destruction of the planet.
In reality, Doctor Polendina had no need to preserve this technology as it was not endangered. Ruby had no choice, however; she had to maintain her story.
"I don't like it," Ruby said eventually. "I was told many times the importance of keeping this technology under wraps." Again, not a lie, just information told in the wrong context.
"I understand your apprehension, but trust me when I say Altas is no stranger to keeping secrets, especially ones pertaining to advanced technology. How do you think our engineer's managed to build a floating city?"
Ruby shrugged.
"I have no idea either!" Doctor Polendina said, "but that doesn't matter, so long as it works. If I learn the secrets of this armor, I can promise you no one else will know. It will remain classified, but with merely one more noggin containing the information." He tapped a small magnifying glass against his forehead for emphasis.
Ruby sighed, she still disliked the idea, but she figured she had no choice. "Fine."
"And besides," Doctor Polendina continued, "if you really want to fight for Atlas, you'll need someone to make repairs to your equipment. I have the resources you need to continue your fight." He seemed proud of his argument, and placed his hands on his hips, triumphant.
Ruby rolled her eyes. Despite it all, he was right. She needed his resources. Doctor Polendina chuckled, and returned to working on her armor.
Ruby moved to stand behind him, observing him scrape some more of the residue into a small vial. He took the vial, and filled it with some sort of liquid, and placed the vial in a machine once the residue had dissolved in the liquid. The machine activated with the press of a button, producing a low humming noise as it did its job.
Atlas was a mystery to her. She could make guesses, some better than others, but overall she was in the dark. The machine before her probably measured the residue via liquid chromatography, but she couldn't be sure. A dozen other pieces of equipment in the lab looked familiar, but for everything she recognized, there were two or three other novel things. If Doctor Polendina could get answers from her through her armor, not to mention the near constant questioning, then she should be entitled to some answers as well.
"You know of my… sheltered upbringing, I assume?" Ruby knew that Doctor Polendina knew that Ruby didn't know as much as she should have, as confusing as that may seem. She could guess it in the way he spoke to her sometimes, going along with what she said, or explaining certain things in a slow, clear way. She could use that, she had realized, as an excuse to gather some intel.
"Well, yes. I didn't want to bring it up as I thought you could be self-conscious about it." Doctor Polendina wrote down numbers that appeared on the machine's display, not looking at Ruby as he spoke.
Self-conscious? Did he think her an angsty teenager? She had to admit, though, that she was younger than most soldiers with similar levels of experience.
"I understand where my weaknesses are," Ruby said, "and know when to work on them."
Doctor Polendina finally looked up, "where are you going with this?"
"If you want to study my armor, then I want to learn more about the world around me." Internally, Ruby winced. She could she be any less subtle?
"Of course!" Doctor Polendina said, excited instead of suspicious as Ruby would have expected. "What did you have in mind?"
"A library would be most useful to me." She couldn't ask all the questions she had in her head to any one person without drawing suspicion at worst, and looking ridiculous at best.
"You picked the right kingdom, then. Atlas Academy has one of the largest libraries in the world! I myself spend time there once in a while, reading up on things that pique my interest."
"And you'll approve my leave?" Ruby asked.
"Yes. General Ironwood is busy today, I'm sure you understand. I doubt he'd have anything for you any time soon. What better way is there to spend your time than with a good book?" Doctor Polendina smiled.
"Understood." With that, Ruby left, notably not asking for directions. It was a good excuse for her to explore a little, and get a feel for the layout of the facility she found herself in. Based on Doctor Polendina's reaction, the Atlas Academy Library had to be nearby.
Ruby wandered the facility housing Doctor Polendina's lab, the interrogation wing, and the gymnasium, all of which she had seen before. Everywhere she went, she was met with the same gray-on-white architecture to the point where the brightness almost began to strain her eyes—it didn't, obviously, thanks to her augmentations. Various personnel each in different uniforms, also gray on white, similar to her own, passed her by without making much note of her. They were all busy filing in and out of various rooms of varying size. Ruby noted the locations of additional laboratories, open floor plan office spaces, break rooms, cafeterias, closets. They had multiples of everything. Clearly a result of inflated yearly budgets with nothing to spend it on. Being in the UNSC, Ruby was familiar with the subject. It seemed militaries, regardless of origin, operated in similar ways.
A few hours later, Ruby made her way out of the facility. After descending a handful of flights of stairs, and after discovering the location of an elevator, Ruby had entered the ground floor, and exited onto the surface of the floating island above an alpine tundra. Bumbling streets met her and offered the sounds and smells of urban activity upon her exit of the facility. Further away, soaring skyscrapers reached into a clouded sky, their tops obscured by the frozen mists. The heights of the buildings were not unusually tall, it was the elevation of the floating island that pushed the skyscrapers above the cloud line. The horizon past the coast of the island consisted of tall peaks coated in thick glaciers and snow fall to the east, west, and north. Far to the south was a large sea past a flat plateau that vanished in the distance. It took Ruby a minute to realize the air outside was warm, disparate to the cold environment around the floating island. She noted a second later the large air warmers regularly spaced along the street, glowing orange from their produced heat.
She observed the sights for a short moment, then moved on. Their grandeur, as she was sure a local would describe it, was not the purpose of her visit. Atlas Academy was her objective.
With no explicit directions, and not desiring any, Ruby observed her surroundings more closely, searching for anything that might be emblematic of an important institution such as an academy named after the city itself.
She spun half a turn and faced the center of the island. Behind the building she had exited, a massive spire rose higher than most other buildings. The spire was built as a gradually sharpening incline—a broad bottom layer growing thinner the further up it went. Towers of varying heights rose up from the corners of the spire, positioned along each cardinal direction from the center. Ships took off and landed from large, overhanging platforms on the upper levels, and people walking the streets tended to be heading either to or from the building. Perhaps this was her target.
Ruby joined the mass of people moving in the direction of the spire. She had a good view of the crowd, as she could see over the heads of most people. More people out in the streets, civilians, took note of her. She noticed she was in the minority wearing the Atlas military uniform. Some people smiled at her, others nodded in a show of passing respect, some scowled and made gestures Ruby could only assume were meant to be offensive.
Must be some political tension here, Ruby thought. The military did not seem to possess a high approval rating.
As she approached the Academy, the looks she garnered grew mostly positive. More people wore uniforms—different from hers, probably school uniforms—and carried around backpacks, books, and even weapons.
Ruby let her eyes linger on the few weapons she saw before she reached the grounds of Atlas Academy, marked by a large sign with clear white lettering. Here, the number of people who carried weapons grew exponentially.
Weapons of all types: melee weapons, ranged weapons, sharp weapons, blunt weapons, large and small, subtle and over-engineered. It was unlike anything Ruby had ever seen.
A short girl with white hair marked with black roots at her scalp slung a compact, double-barreled rifle across her back. The rifle had a collapsible stock and an adjustable scope, with two large magazines sticking out the bottom of the gun. One magazine was painted red, the other painted yellow. The girl tinkered with a strangely colored grenade, blowing dust off the top, before returning it to a satchel hanging from one shoulder. She stepped onto public transit railcar, and zipped away.
A boy, barely sixteen, carried a long staff with a small metal ball bolted to the end of it. The staff was counter-weighted by a foot long metal sleeve that covered part of the wooden shaft. Ruby looked closer, and saw for certain seams in the metal of the ball and the counter-weight. A half-dozen ideas popped in her mind as to what kind of staff might require machining such as that, all of which were equally likely.
Another girl, with orange hair put up in large pigtails, with cyan streaks in her orange bangs, rolled around on roller blades, swinging nunchacku absentmindedly in one hand, while the other held her scroll, her thumb typing away. A large gum bubble expanded from her lips before popping. The girl licked the gum back into her mouth with ease. Only after staring at the girl's nunchacku did Ruby notice the long, pink tail that swung behind her, balancing the girl on her roller blades.
Ruby watched her as she passed. The girl looked up from her scroll and noticed Ruby staring. The roller blade girl winked at her, smacked her ass while sticking out her tongue, then moved on.
Ruby had nothing to say. She shook her head, and moved on towards the entrance to Atlas Academy.
The doors at the base of the spire were open. The inside air felt the same as the outside. Ruby entered among the large mass of students and staff, each with someplace to go.
Ruby followed different individuals among the crowd, mostly to various class rooms, study rooms, and even common spaces around the academy. It took her some time before she found the library.
By the time she did, Ruby surmised it had to be midday by the elevation of the planet's sun through the library's windows, accounting for their latitude.
With no better plan, and no idea where to start, Ruby approached the librarian sitting behind a wide, cluttered desk.
"Hello, how can I help you?" the older lady behind the desk asked in a kind tone.
"The world history section, please, where can I find it?" Ruby said.
"You'll need to follow along the bend here until you reach another desk, go past that for four aisles and you'll find what you're looking for on your right." The woman smiled.
"Thank you." The library seemed to be built in a ring along the edge of the lowest level of the spire. The walls had a shallow curve along the length of the library in both directions. Ruby imagined if she walked down one direction for long enough, she'd return to this woman behind the desk sooner or later, having traveled the entire circumference of the academy.
Ruby followed her directions. Walking past various groups of children engaged in different books and assignments. She remembered her time as a student back on Onyx. Nothing she learned there could have prepared her for this… whatever this was.
She passed by another librarian typing at his desk and saw the sign that marked the world history section. Walking down the aisles, Ruby had no idea where to start, so she picked up the first thing that looked interesting to her: a book called Individualism Itself: The Story of the Great War.
The book in hand, Ruby returned to the walkway and sat down among a group of four empty chairs, she opened the book and started reading, noting a little surprise at the fact she spoke and read the same language used by Atlas.
Before long, Ruby was engrossed in the circumstances that caused the greatest war in this planet's history. The geopolitics, and tensions, the alliances, and the warfare logistics. It was all familiar, and great context for how the world might work today. As she understood more of the planet's history, more of her plan to unite the kingdoms formed in the back of her mind. It was good to finally have some intel for once.
Time passed, though Ruby felt like it had not. People meandered in and out of the library, passing by her as if she were a statue in a park. Ruby interrupted her reading only to return the book she had skimmed and grab the next one. She didn't read them all the way through, but scanned it's contents, and read the bits she thought would be important.
To say that she was in over her head would be an understatement.
Remnant, the people on this planet call it Remnant. Ruby could have sworn she recognized the word, but her mind drew a blank. That wasn't the only thing that stood out to her.
The people with animal appendages were called Faunus. Doctor Polendina had mentioned Faunus. The terrorist group, she remembered. Ruby glanced up from her book and saw a student with antlers sprouting from brown hair. She must have been looking for too long, because when the student noticed, he grimaced, packed his things, and moved to a different part of the library.
Ruby had no idea what she did wrong there, as shortly thereafter she received a few other dirty looks from witnesses. None of them said anything to her. She shrugged, and returned to reading a book on the Faunus Rights Revolution. On second thought, considering the context of the revolution, and the subject matter therein, Ruby could understand the reactions others had towards her staring.
I guess the Faunus are a touchy subject, Ruby thought.
Dust, another oddity, though perhaps the thing she understood most, from what little of it she read. Dust, a naturally occurring crystal, often sold in the form of dust—hence the name, she assumed—was mined, processed, sold and distributed, and used as a fuel source all over Remnant. It was a combustible material with glass-like physical properties. The chemical composition of the stuff, barely understood for some types, depended on the circumstances in which it was formed. Ruby grew more fascinated the more she read: extensive research papers and scientific texts; amazed by the capabilities Dust possessed: fire, ice, lightning, and gravity effects; and thankful for the extensive recorded history of Dust research and development: finally something she could understand! She knew this magic little resource would come in handy, even if there may not be anything magical about it at all.
Grimm. The last wondrous thing about Remnant, and also the most terrible. This planet's histories mentioned them along side most historical events, describing them as mindless beasts that have a sense for, and are attracted to, the negative emotions of their victims. Countless tragedies befell the people as a result of these monsters, and some catastrophes were made worse by Grimm incursions attracted to the loss and grief imposed by the first disaster. Earthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires, droughts, famines, plagues, wars. All of it attracted Grimm, causing the death toll of each event to skyrocket.
The kingdoms, therefore, were formed in naturally fortified locations, and made more secure by the advancement of defense technologies. Ruby flipped the page, reading on about the methods kingdoms used to defend their walls. Massive forty millimeter guns, trenches, mines, automated soldiers, huntsmen and huntresses. Why did that last one sound so familiar?
An indignant cough sounded across from her. Ruby looked up and saw Specialist Winter Schnee, her arms crossed, a scowl on her face. Ruby was so engrossed in what she read that she failed to notice the Specialist's approach.
"I do not know why Doctor Polendina approved of your leave, given he has no authority to do so," Specialist Schnee said. "You are to return with me to The Donut, we have work to do if we are to initiate you into the Atlas military."
Ruby put her book down. "Who said I wanted to join the Atlas military?"
"You did, when you said you wanted to work with Ironwood. Now come, you should not be here in the first place."
Ruby scoffed and stood up, stretching a bit of stiffness out from her legs. She saw how much time had passed on her scroll, and was surprised how long it took Schnee to realize she was missing. Falling in line behind Schnee, Ruby came to apprehend the coming work, and glared at Schnee in secret for interrupting her intelligence gathering. It was nowhere near complete, Ruby knew. Hopefully it would be enough to maintain her story as someone originally from this planet.
And there you go. The story teller in me cringes at the thought of Ruby just going to the library when her ignorance could be the basis of interesting interactions with other characters, but the more logical side of me says that's stupid, a Spartan would use whatever resources available to successfully complete her mission. That said, she doesn't know everything she needs to know to fit in. So I'd imagine there will be tense moments in the future as people start to question Ruby.
Like every chapter I've ever uploaded, I wanted to get the next chapter at least started, but hopefully finished, before I uploaded this one, but it has been such a long time since my last upload that I couldn't force you guys to wait any longer.
Review Responses.
Sm0keyPanda: Indeed, things are happening. Who's to say they keep on keeping on in the way they are going? I've no idea. Thank you for the review.
nobodyreallyimportant: I enjoy a good check-in as well. And thank you! I did enjoy my internship. In fact, I plan to work at the company I interned at after I graduate.
Helljumper206: Ah yes, perhaps the most anticipated scene in the entire fic. I've got a lot of work to do to build up to Ruby's and Yang's reunion.
LazyMan5503: Ruby's explanation is to come. We will see what she comes up with.
alexc123: Yep, Yang couldn't hold out for Ruby for ten years a not have it weigh on her. It's in Yang's best interest to let Ruby go.
Cbrandes17: Thank you for the review! I'm glad you enjoy where I'm taking Weiss. I want her to have more agency (and that goes with everyone). This way, she can be on the front lines, so to speak, if the tidal wave of consequences when it finally reaches shore.
Lorenzo Ferrari: It'll be a while before Ruby reunites with the main cast. Don't worry, though, the longer I hang it over all your heads the better the payoff is going to be.
ArguableReader: Happy Birthday! Even though it is no nowhere near your birthday. Roman and Neo are definitely rummaging around where they shouldn't be. We'll be meeting them again, to be certain. I'm a little worried about Yang entering her pun-girl era lol. It means I'm going to have to write her while at the same time looking for any possible puns to insert. I'd imagine it's going to be plenty of chapters until the grand reunion. You probably can't count the number of chapters on both of your hands, unfortunately.
The last Wither: I'm sorry to hear that, truly. Thank you for reading it this far, however, and thanks for the review!
Aidis: I'll be honest, I'm not sure what this reference is supposed to mean. I know what it is referencing, but I'm unfamiliar with the Princess Bride.
Courier: Allegiances to the enemy aren't as secure as one may have first imagined... Thanks for the review!
ManticoreBlues: Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad I could entertain you. And don't worry about looking at my previous work. I wrote them a long time ago when I was still building my skills. I'm definitely better now than I was.
JellyBaby: You and me both, my friend. Thanks for the review!
perseus6247: I'm sorry I forced you through such a long wait. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter!
flyin9spartain: don't worry, the free hugs return seasonally every spring. They'll come around again soon.
Guestfromb4: Thank you so much for the kind words! It means a lot to me. I intend to continue with the story, regardless of how long it takes between uploads. Thanks for the review!
MrScorch: Thank you for complimenting my story! I take full responsibility for the unnecessarily excessive POVs and convoluted plots in the first part of the story. I wasn't as well-versed in storytelling as I am now, and I intend to continue to improve in the future. Thanks for the review, perhaps one of the more honest reviews I've received!
Does anybody even read these anymore? I don't know. I'll probably keep writing the responses anyways.
Until next time.