Chapter 3: In spite of it all, she is still a hero
Surprisingly enough, convincing her dad to let her go for a week wasn't that hard as long as she didn't mention going to Mistral, rather it was dumbfoundingly easy, though her ego took a beating but it was a necessary sacrifice in her weapon.
Although, she didn't expect that the way he gave the 'go ahead' bothered her this much.
"Wait, you have friends?" Her dad asked with an incredulous look and a tone of disbelief, he must have noticed her offended look because he nervously switched gears pretty fast. "Uh— I mean of course you do! Oh I'm so proud of my little rose bud having friends," He rambled off nervously while scratching the back of his head. "I was worried that you weren't socializing enough and I would have to find ways to force my students to— I mean introduce some people your age to you— yeah that's what I meant!"
Ruby scoffed, even Yang had her mouth wide open as she listened in as if she couldn't comprehend how her sister had friends in the first place. She does have plenty of friends, thank you very much, just that she doesn't talk to them that often and only comes when there's business or money involved like getting a paycheck.
Ruby didn't have a problem with that at all since she didn't care about having friends in the first place, but the fact that her dad and sister lacked faith in her ability to socialize was pretty annoying, still she got what she wanted in the end and let it go.
The hardest part was probably dealing with her uncle's inquisitive questions about the friend in question. Fortunately for her, she just had the right accomplices and emplo— err friends to help her with her ruse and one other person she trusted most.
Ruby inwardly sighed, that whole debacle was finally over under the ploy that she was gonna go camping with her friends for over a week.
Now she could focus on the real reason she was here. Needless to say however, no amount of Lien or favors will she come to like the biome in Mistral.
If she had to describe Mistral it would be green, wet, humid, and full of trees. Of course that wasn't all to Mistral and it wouldn't be fair to describe it as that and there were some truly exotic places here, and it's not as if all of Mistral was like that only the west part was that lush and vibrant. The north side was very cold and snowy, reminiscent of Atlas while the west was adorned with mountains, steep hills and sand, reminiscent of Vacuo.
It's just that she wasn't here to go sightseeing as a tourist, and navigating through the dense jungle was a pain in the ass. She couldn't wait to get her reward and leave.
She looked at her scroll for the coordinates that was given to her, then back at the map complete with compass and protractor.
Navigating would be a whole lot easier if her GPS system was still online,but her bike's connection module was damaged and currently undergoing repairs back at her workshop.
And she unfortunately couldn't even use her scroll's GPS either, the reception here was crap because of the dense jungle and the signal kept fluctuating, so she had to do it the old fashioned way.
A shame really, it's not like she was bad at it, she just didn't want to go through the trouble of plotting her points, measuring the distance and all that, it was too bothersome.
She grumbled and sighed to herself.
After verifying that she was still on the correct route to her destination, Ruby flicked her cigarette off and revved her beast of a bike before continuing on the unpaved road.
The dirt path was bumpy and uneven, and the road itself was barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass by each other. Not that she was complaining, the road was still better than no road at all, but the rough terrain had made the ride far from pleasant. Not to mention, she had to be careful because the dense jungle around her limited her vision and if she was driving too fast, she might hit an unexpected obstacle.
A shame that she had no choice but to drive slower than what she would like, otherwise she could have already arrived at her destination. But after a while, she'll reach the main road for the city of Mistral, where her package was located which then she can finally speed up—
The Courier swerved her bike to the left, suddenly avoiding the massive boulder that surely would have crushed her underneath if she was a moment too late.
She looked back at the object in question as she pulled on Lupo II's brakes, stopping and turning her head back to the front and narrowed her eyes. Her helmet calculated the source of trajectory within 3 seconds and zoomed in at the perpetrator or rather perpetrators, though she knew she would encounter them here, but didn't expect that type of Grimm to gather together in number.
Geist, seriously? She thought with an annoyed huff, she'll need to update her database when she gets back home.
She had heard about the Geist before, but it was her first time seeing one. The Grimm was described to have a ghost-like appearance and had a humanoid shape but lacked a lower body and floated in was their true form and they're normally frail and weak but possessed a unique power, that it could take over any inorganic matter.
Ruby's helmet relayed 5 enemies, 12 o'clock, 1894 meters to her and highlighted the Petra Gigas' — Geist possessing rocks or boulders like a golem from a mobile game she used to play. The only difference was that it was larger and had gained red vein markings and the Geist's mask.
Its eyes glowed an eerie red and stared right at her, and it was not alone, the others were also staring at her.
The Courier could sense the hostility and malice emitting from the monsters. It was a familiar feeling, the kind of sensation she had always felt when facing a Grimm and it was nothing new to her, but that feeling was no less unsettling.
She took a deep breath and exhaled, calming her nerves. That level of Grimm is usually taken care of by a team of Hunters or one very skilled professional like her uncle, but it was unusual that they were gathered together like that. Although, it's not like she needs to fight it anyway, since it's not part of her job and all she needs is to get past them.
She revved her bike's engine and shifted the gears, Her helmet's HUD displayed her speed, altitude, and her position, a handy feature. Although, there is another way to solve this problem instead of going the hard way, and that involves a very special weapon stored on her bike.
Ruby couldn't help but grin, it was a weapon of mass destruction and it was beautiful, powered by Lupo II's own Daemon Core. Nothing she tested before could survive it, a veritable ray of light, leaving nothing in its wake. Ruby pressed the red button and the front of her bike started to open, but before it could fully reveal the black barrel protruding out, it quickly retreated back to its storage and closed off.
She aborted the process and frowned, silently cursing at the red warning screen that displayed on her helmet, so that's why there were Grimm converging there.
'Warning: Non-hostiles are within line of fire'
She was glad that she installed safety protocols for it, otherwise she would have unwanted blood on her hands... she may be a criminal but she has no plans on being a murderer, accidentally or not her conscience wouldn't be able to handle it. But what were civilians doing here?! oh right this was the dirt road connecting to the main road, they were probably heading to the city too like her, but what kind of negativity could have possibly attracted the Grimm to them?
"Damn it."
Ruby couldn't risk opening fire, the blast from her weapon will decimate the civilians, her mind quickly started to formulate a plan. Her bike couldn't impossibly hold more than two people and she wasn't good at fighting like her family of hunters.
—?
Before she could even finish formulating her strategy, more and more Geist gathered there like a beacon to a moth and started floating around a single Gigas, even the other Geist's came out of their possessed bodies to join them, swimming in a circle like a hurricane and suddenly all dived inside that single Gigas and formed a singular entity, gathering more matter for it to use.
She stared dumbfoundedly as her brain temporarily shut down and took in the sight, her HUD displayed the size and mass of the Geist in front of her and the result was something she was sure no one else had ever seen.
Ruby was speechless and awestruck.
It was a massive behemoth, a serpent-like creature made up entirely of boulders and jagged trees with glowing red veins running across its body, and it gained a head with an enormous, fanged maw, along with glowing red eyes. even from this distance she felt her bones reverberate as It opened its maw and roared— before taking off in the sky and floated in the air like it's true form.
Oh, she thought as her brain caught up with what was happening.
"Well, crap," She chuckled nervously, then suddenly as if answered by its roar, jagged spikes sprouted from all over its body. "Double crap."
This... this was on a whole other level, if she remembered correctly, that was a legendary Grimm, one of the few remaining ancient Grimms to survive since before the Age of Man. That thing surely had felled countless warriors and Hunters in the past, and she isn't keen on fighting it either.
Legion, that was what the ancient Grimm was called. Ruby remembered it clearly now, and she was sure she recorded it into her database when she was copying the encyclopedia from the library. She didn't know why she missed it but it wasn't important right now. The Legion was composed of a massive gathering of Geist to form one singular entity, it's theorized that there's a core or an Alpha Geist that serves as a lynchpin to it but the theory was never proven and not for a lack of trying either, as the Grimm was elusive and known for being nigh indestructible.
Also, she wasn't too eager to prove it either. Her chances of victory were slim enough and the smart thing to do was to flee and find another route to the city.
But is that really the right thing to do? leaving all those people to fend for themselves while she escapes? In the past she dreamt of being a Huntress to save people but she was the polar opposite now... what would her mom do?
The young girl tore her focus away from the Grimm and turned to the ruined caravan it was attacking earlier, the people must have been on their way to the city but were attacked by the Grimm, and judging by how large the caravan was, it was probably people migrating to the city after their village was overrun, that was the most likely cause of negativity that attracted the Geist in the first place, and they were lucky they hadn't attracted more.
If Ruby was still the naive little girl she once was, she would have immediately rushed in and saved them without a second thought, but she's not that same little girl anymore…
Her helmet suddenly picked up a pained cry bringing her attention to a little girl trying to comfort a much younger girl, the smaller girl was crying her heart out and the older one was hugging her and looking around in a panic. And for a brief moment, that image overlapped with a certain blonde girl protecting her younger sister in a cart against a pack of Beowolves.
Ruby gripped her bike's handle and twisted the accelerator, Lupo II howled and sped towards the direction of the caravan and against the Grimm that hovered above it.
Ahh! Screw it! I don't care anymore!
She doesn't have anything to permanently kill the Grimm aside from her ultimate weapon, but the problem is that her cannon doesn't have any elevation nor depression and with the Legion being in the sky, it's impossible to target it. She'll just have to improvise something, at the very least she could buy some time for the people to escape far away from this place.
Her left hand reached upwards in the air and into the swirl of rose petals made from her semblance, and pulled out her hand cannon she named Key. It is — in her own words — essentially a very big semiautomatic pistol painted in black with a comically long barrel that fires .50 cartridges. The very first gun she crafted masterfully and uses her very own Tempest Dust and one of the only few weapons she has that uses that special type of Dust.
She took aim at the Grimm, her visor tagging its body where her shots would land and fired the first round, the recoil greatly forced her hand upwards as the bullet flew straight ahead and struck true, creating a crack in one of Legion's stone segments. Key was powerful in its own right, having enough stopping power to send a man trained with Aura flying and putting large holes in boulders with the explosive property of her Tempest Dust, making for a rather devastating cartridge.
But it's not without its downsides, the recoil was immense and even with her Aura enhancing her strength, she still struggled to keep her aim steady and hard to control with recurring shots, needing to readjust her aim each time which took at the minimum of 4 seconds each shot, not to mention she didn't have enough money as creating her Dust was hard and complex enough as it is.
Key, in all sense and purposes, was very unwieldy and the kickback would put the average person's arm out of commission. Even with the help of Aura, the manifestation of one's soul, allowing them to push themselves to the limit and protect them from harm, would be forced back from its power. Not that they would even use it as they had their own personal weapons like Yang's Ember Celica.
Key in her opinion was tailored to her style and was best used in mounted combat.
Not that it all helped in the slightest against Legion. Even if Key had damaged its rocky appearance that wasn't even its true body to begin with and she doubted the Grimm felt pain within that false frame.
However that wasn't her goal to begin with.
Legion growled and flew towards her, slithering in the air but most important of all away from the refugees. Ruby wanted its attention and away from them, now she has it, not that she was complaining but it was a tad bit scary as the monster loomed closer and closer towards her and its shadow casting over her.
The Grimm stopped and hovered in the air, its jagged spikes grew even larger and suddenly twitched and moved as if it was pointing towards her...?!
Her body tensed and her heartbeat quickened as adrenaline started pumping through her veins, and suddenly the spikes all shot towards her and the Courier's eyes widened in shock, she immediately pulled evasive maneuvers, barely managing to dodge the projectiles, a few managed to hit the side of her bike and grazed its armor.
The young girl paid it no mind as her eyes moved quickly and tracked every spike heading her way until she stormed through the hail of rocks, her eyes refocused on the monster, the spikes on its body returned back to its original state.
She clicked her tongue and pushed a button, both sides of the front tires of her bike's compartment opened and revealed a collection of weapons stored within it. The compartment that stored her weapons was called Lock and with Key—
Ruby inserted Key into Lock's right compartment and felt it connect with a 'click' she pulled it out as it started to mecashift into a rocket launcher. TH0RS, a rocket launcher with rotatable triple tubes, capable of firing 3 rockets in rapid succession and equipped with a laser guidance system.
Ruby's helmet calculated the trajectory of the next barrage of spikes and shifted her position in the nick of time and dodged them, she twisted her grip and mounted it on her shoulder before taking aim and firing all missiles, the rockets shot forward towards the Grimm.
Her helmet guided the missiles to her target, one of the projectiles was intercepted while the rest struck true and exploded against its body. The explosion was a sight to see and a deafening boom filled her ears but smoke covered her view of the aftermath. However, from the falling copious amounts of stone that fell towards the ground, her attack had been a success and it had severely destabilized the structural integrity of its body.
She purposefully targeted the weakest links connecting its massive body together. Ruby grinned at her small victory but was short lived when its tail struck her and her bike's left side from the smoke. The impact sent her flying, metal screeched breaking past trees and smashed against a stone cracking it into spiderwebs, her Aura flared from the impact.
"Ghhk!" She grunted, her breath was knocked out of her lungs and the pain was excruciating as her aura tried its best to numb the pain. She didn't have the largest Aura reserves and couldn't take hits like her dad and her sister. Her helmet showed she was down at 64%, though that was mostly her fault for not increasing her reserves, she should have opted to learn under Uncle Qrow like Yang did when he offered.
But that wasn't her primary concern right now.
The Courier was still on top of her bike, never letting go of the handle, her weapon still firmly locked into her grip. A good thing too, if she didn't have the discipline and grip strength to hold it then she surely would have been thrown off of her bike, and if that happened then she would have lost.
Her eyes quickly surveyed the damage and let out a relieved sigh. Lupo II was fine, the armor held against the attack and the only visible damage were the scratches and the large dent, her bike was tough and was made of some of the strongest materials available, nothing short of the Atlesian prototype Paladin's cannon could do lasting damage.
Ruby looked at the Legion and saw that it was beginning to repair itself, its broken rocky parts were levitated from the ground and moved back towards the rest of its body and mending themselves back together.
"Of course it can do that," She muttered dryly.
It wasn't like she wasn't prepared for this, the Courier had known beforehand that the Grimm was practically indestructible if she can't get to the core, and it was going to take a lot more than conventional firepower to tear its armor down. If only her cannon wasn't locked down to its position, it would have already blown it away and she would have been in the city by now.
But the question is how could she get her hands on it when it was high up in the sky? or better yet how can she get to the sky?
Her thoughts were interrupted when the Grimm roared and began to float downwards as it slowly made its way towards her, its jagged spikes erupted again. Ruby frowned and quickly assessed the situation, the Grimm had been injured and was preparing to finish her off. With her quick mind, she had analyzed and formed a plan of action but it was very risky.
While it was true she was no Huntsman nor a Huntress, and that she was not well versed in conventional combat, that doesn't mean she didn't know how to fight. She knew she had a chance of winning against this thing, she just needed one good shot from her main cannon.
Ruby flung away her TH0RS module, disconnecting it from Key and fell into a swirl of rose petals before disappearing. She inserted Key again into the left compartment but missed. She frowned as her left hand kept twitching and shaking uncontrollably, she gripped it with her other hand, bringing it back under control.
She took a deep breath and tried again, and connected this time, pulling out THDR as it mecashifted into a lance. THDR or Thunder, was a simple lance but was stupidly powerful, it had a built in piledriver to it, capable of driving its extended tip into her foes but unlike her other weapons, Thunder primarily uses a highly pressurized variant of Air Dust stored in a 40 mm grenade and loaded in its cylindrical chambers.
She took a deep breath and released, her heartbeat was getting faster as adrenaline and excitement rushed into her, she licked her lips and grinned maniacally as music flooded her mind.
The engine revved and she shifted gears. The bike lurched forward and her HUD displayed the distance.
200 meters.
She pushed the accelerator, speeding up.
150 meters.
Her hands moved and flipped switches, activating Tempest Double, an experimental feature to her bike that doubles the intake to the reactor from her bike's Daemon Core, boosting the thrusters and making the bike accelerate like a rocket.
100 meters.
Ruby gripped her lance tightly and was primed. Her eyes focused, everything slowed down around her and she could see it all clearly. The jagged spikes flying towards her, her helmet displayed the trajectory and the distance between the projectiles.
80 meters.
She thrust out her lance, driving it into the boulder sized spikes coming towards her. She pulled the trigger and extended piercing through the stone, the momentum causing it to break into pieces. The recoil was immense and her arms strained to push further and drive the tip deeper into the rock before it completely shattered, and the lance continued forward, piercing through the next ones.
60 meters.
Ruby could feel the rush running through her, the adrenaline pumped her veins and the roar of her bike's engine was all that she could hear, the wind blew against her, the sensation was exhilarating. She couldn't stop smiling as she continued on her path, her eyes stared at the Grimm.
40 meters.
The Grimm roared, its tail twitched and shot forward like a bullet, its massive mass barreled through its own stone projectiles like they were nothing. Its tail aimed to intercept the incoming vehicle.
20 meters.
Her grin widened, she aimed THDR to the ground before firing and launched herself upwards, landing atop of the tail that missed her by inches. She drove towards the torso, the tail thrashed violently but couldn't get rid of the intruder, it couldn't reach her. The Legion turned its head towards her and snarled.
This was her chance!
Grappling hooks burst out from the rims of her front tires and embedded onto its head, Ruby went full throttle and jumped off its body, the grappling hooks keeping her bike latched in and swung so that she would face its entire frame in one direction. She detached the hooks and was launched in the sky from the momentum with the Legion down below her in one vertical line.
Her bike's main cannon was already out and charging, Convergent Flux Cannon 9000 referred to as the CFC 9K or as she likes to call it 'Big Fucking Cannon' when fully irritated and no it doesn't count to her swear jar. Normally fired violet beams of Daemon energy but with Tempest Double, the cannon glowed an eerie blue from the intense heat generated.
The Legion had realized the danger and was already moving to escape, but it was too late.
The BFC fully charged and fired, a ray of light and an ungodly boom erupted as the shot tore through the air. The blast struck the Grimm directly, tearing it apart as the beam passed through its body and continued to travel across the ground leaving a trail of destruction. The explosion was catastrophic and the young girl fell through the air along with debris that made up Legion's former shell and crashed into the ground, skidding against the dirt, she groaned in pain and her body was aching, she was down to 42% but it was a victory.
Her main cannon was nearing its melting point from the intense discharge, a safety measure had activated and ejected the barrel and fell with a loud thud. Ruby had designed it that way for situations like this and was glad it worked. It seems the newest tube she made for it couldn't handle the energy output of Tempest Double and needed to be modified to do so.
But she could fire it in its base form multiple times with at least intervals of 3 minutes or 3 rapid fire successions before it starts melting.
That being said...
Ruby looked towards the sky and saw a lone Geist floating a few meter's above, the Geist was larger compared to the others and had more bone like protrusions, but what differed it the most was its singular blade in place of a right arm and had a single glowing red eye in in its twisted mask. It was staring down at her, almost curiously.
It was the core.
She wondered if another fight would ensue but to her fortune it opted to retreat and vanish into thin air.
The young girl sighed, "And there it goes." She mumbled tiredly and slumped into her seat, her shoulders sagged and her hands dropped onto her lap, she could feel the adrenaline starting to die down. "Hehe," She chuckled weakly, that was fun and exhilarating, the music dying down—
Her smile vanished and a frown formed on her face.
Ruby looked around her, she didn't notice it until now but she could hear the sounds of cheers, people were cheering and clapping. She could hear children laughing and talking, the sounds of crying were replaced by tears of joy. The young girl looked at her surroundings and realized that she had saved them all, a smile formed on her face.
She couldn't help it, a warm feeling settled within her, it was a nice feeling and different from when she is with her family or finishing a delivery. She looked at the people around her, they were thanking her, she had saved them. Ruby unconsciously looked over the crowd, trying to find the two siblings who overlapped with a younger image of herself and her sister.
It was a fleeting thought, a waste of time but she had to make sure they were fine, she couldn't explain why, she just wanted to see if they were safe, if they were unharmed and—
There!
Her eyes landed on them, and there they were. They were both hugging and crying tears of joy, their faces were a mess but their smiles were radiant and their laughs were filled with life. Her gaze softened, a gentle smile graced her lips and felt something good swell inside her, different from the one where she defeated the Grimm and saved the refugees.
And then her heart stopped.
The younger girl was looking at her, staring at her directly in the eyes and smiled at her, she was smiling and waving her arms around, the older sibling noticed and looked at her before smiling and looking at her too. Ruby couldn't help but awkwardly wave back, is this how mom felt whenever she managed to protect and save someone?
Ruby shook her head, she stayed here long enough already and it was time to get back on the road, her job wasn't done yet. Escorting them would just add more to her plate and besides, she already called in the local authorities awhile ago and they should be here in the next 5 minutes or so, presuming the one coming are the Hunters and not their militia.
The Courier started up her bike and drove towards the edge of the crowd and stopped, she had a mission and she would finish it, but not before taking one last look at the refugees and the people she had saved. The refugees looked at her, and she looked at them, they were looking at her as if she was some kind of hero, her mind flashed to an image of her mom with a proud smile.
Ruby smiled and continued on the path to the city, leaving the refugees behind.
You have got to be kidding me...
The young girl let out an audible groan as she saw the contents of the package opened by the Malachite twins and said twins were happily eating the package, it was a literal cake. A cake! and it was the most extravagant cake she has ever seen, the sheer size of it almost made her do a double take. She couldn't help but pinch the bridge of her nose— her hand bounced off of her helmet... oh right, sometimes it was hard to forget sometimes that she was still in her alter ego, outfit and all.
When she received the package from Lil' Miss Malachite herself, Ruby expected something dangerous considering that the tone she used when she handed her the package promised a life of suffering in the future, and judging by the fact that the package was a 1 meter wide and 2 meter long cube, it was definitely big and probably filled with weapons or Dust or drugs, etc.
But it wasn't, and instead it was filled with a whole lot of cake and was decorated in frosting and a whole bunch of sweets, not a weapon nor any Dust in sight.
"This is ridiculous," She muttered to herself as the twins ate their fill of the package, her eyes were trained on the cake, "I spent a week navigating through that damn Jungle and the worst part is I haven't been paid yet!"
The Malachite Twins, Militia and Melanie looked up at her with plates filled with a slice of cake and raised a brow.
"What's wrong?"
"Aren't you going to eat some?"
The twins said simultaneously, they looked at each other with a grin and giggled in delight before eating a bite out of their slice. The young Courier sighed, right she can't even leave yet because she was invited to this party, oh don't get her wrong she would leave the first chance she gets but the only way to get paid was to attend their party until the end.
Their literal birthday party apparently. She can't even decline because Lil' Miss threatened her when she called for her paycheck and it's not her fault those twins don't have a lot of friends and she doesn't count! She's not their friend, not a close acquaintance either, heck she didn't even know it was their birthday today, it wasn't even written on her schedule!
So what if she hangs out in Junior's bar from time to time and talks with her when she can't find any new clients and looks like a loner? It doesn't mean anything! She was a pro with her own agenda, the only reason she was here was because of money, yup just a cold-hearted professional with no time for friendship, yup that's her alright.
"This is so stupid," She grumbled and rubbed her temple, well the temples in her helm.
"What's the problem? The cake is really delicious!"
"Right! You should have some! or would you like a different flavor? There's strawberry, chocolate, vanilla and even cookies and cream."
"I think there's even cheesecake and some fruit slices."
"Oh oh and the lemon tarts!"
"I want some tarts."
The young girl looked away, a bit overwhelmed from their enthusiasm and their excitement for sweets, "I uh, I'm not hungry," She said and scratched her helmet, knowing that it was the least likely answer they wanted to hear, "Thanks for the offer though," She added a bit hastily, it's not that she didn't want to eat it, it's just that she would need to take her helmet off.
The Malachite Twins looked at her, their eyes were scrutinizing and narrowed, "Are you sure?" They asked and pointed their fork to her, "You haven't eaten since you came here, and I'm pretty sure we haven't seen you take a break since you started your career."
"You should rest a bit, the cake is delicious and the tarts are really tasty too!"
Ruby flinched, "Uh... well, you see."
The young Courier looked around the room for a way out, the walls were filled with decorations, streamers and a big banner with the words 'Happy Birthday' plastered on the ceiling, not even the trees were spared and the room was littered with party poppers and confetti among other stuff. Junior's club was closed today and turned into the twins impromptu birthday party, because apparently the club's private rooms weren't large enough.
Ruby sighed, "I appreciate the concern but I'm fine, I just don't have an appetite right now."
Melanie huffed, "You can't just not eat you know?"
Militia nodded, "Right, you can't just not eat!"
Ruby sighed, "Look I just don't want to, can't you just leave it at that?"
The twins frowned and looked at each other, silently communicating with their twin telepathy, a skill unique to twins or so they say to which she honestly doesn't believe in no matter what they or the media says.
Militia hummed, "Well... we can't force you if you really don't want to."
"We can't force you," Melanie agreed and took a bite out of her cake, before setting down her plate at the counter. "Care for a dance then?" She asked and extended a hand towards her, Militia set down her plate and stood beside her twin.
Ruby raised an eyebrow and shook her head, "I'll pass—"
The twins pouted.
"Aw, c'mon. There's nothing wrong with having a little fun," Melanie said and grabbed her arm, prompting Militia to do the same and pull her other arm, "Besides, we've already finished our cake and now we have an appetite for a dance."
Ruby tried to tug her arm back but the twins had a surprisingly strong grip, "Wait, wait, wait, hold on—"
The two girls ignored her and dragged her along the dance floor.
"You can't be serious, can't you just find another dance partner? I don't want to dance," Ruby frantically looked around for help but Junior's men gave them a wide berth and were pointedly ignoring them in favor of doing their own thing.
"But we want to dance with you," The twins said simultaneously and grinned at her.
"Why?" Ruby deadpanned, this was ridiculous, she never signed up for this.
"Because we can."
"But we want to dance with you," The twins said simultaneously and grinned at her.
"Why?" Ruby deadpanned, this was ridiculous, she never signed up for this.
"Because we can," Melanie grinned and took the lead while Militia held onto her left hand.
The twins had pulled her into a fast-paced dance, and it was far more complex and difficult than the simple waltz her sister had taught her which come to think of it was kind of uncharacteristic, she always thought Yang was more into like this. It was a flurry of movements, the music was loud and fast-paced, and she could hear her heartbeat overpowering the sound.
"Come on, relax and move your body."
"We won't bite~"
Ruby's body was tense and she could barely keep up, the two girls were in sync, their steps were precise and in tune with the beat, and it was as if the two were one and the same, dancing together as one. They were moving with a fluidity and grace that she could never achieve, not that she had any idea of how to begin to achieve it.
Melanie spun and twirled, Militia moved her arms, and Ruby stumbled along the way.
"Don't think about it, just follow our lead."
"Relax and let go, feel the rhythm of the music."
Ruby didn't know what she was doing, her body was moving on its own and following their movements. Her eyes were unfocused, the world was a blur around her, the lights were blinding, and the sound was deafening, but she was able to stay in sync albeit clumsily. This was different from driving or fighting, it was more chaotic and confusing.
"Just listen to the music."
"Feel the beat, and move."
"And don't forget to have fun."
"Because it's our special day."
"So why not celebrate and enjoy it?"
"Let's enjoy ourselves, together."
Ruby didn't know how long she spent dancing but somehow she managed to escape from the twins clutches and collapsed onto a chair with her head resting atop the bar counter, the twins were a handful and dancing was way too exhausting. She didn't know how she managed to survive that whole ordeal. Maybe it was her experience of dealing with a certain hyperactive blonde or maybe it was just the sheer amount of practice that allowed her to pull through, who knows?
The twins were really insistent on keeping her entertained, and they wouldn't let her go no matter how much she tried to excuse herself, it was tiring and a nightmare to deal with them. They wouldn't even give her a chance to breathe, it was worse than babysitting Yang.
She couldn't help but feel exhausted and drained from the whole experience.
She heard the sound of glass dropping in front of her. "Having fun?" A deep voice asked her, it was familiar and belonged to the one person who could have helped her.
The Courier sighed, "Why didn't you help me?"
Junior shrugged, "Didn't want to get involved," He replied and pushed the drink forward with a straw, "it's water."
"Can't blame you and thanks," Ruby tried picking up the glass with her left hand but flinched again with the fingers twitching until it stopped moving at all. She sighed, it's not working again.
Junior raised a brow, "What's wrong?"
Ruby shook her head and reached for the drink with her right hand instead. She brought the glass near the mouth of her helmet and a small hole opened up, big enough for the straw to go through, she sucked the drink and was glad she had that feature installed when she was designing her helmet.
"That's a neat trick," Junior whistled, "Mind sharing the blueprints?"
The young Courier smirked underneath her helmet and shook her head, "Not a chance."
"Can't blame a guy for trying," He chuckled, "So, what's the problem with your arm?"
Ruby stared at him blankly, "What makes you think I have a problem with my arm?"
"For one it was twitching and two, it's obvious," Junior said and gestured at her limp left arm, "Your arm is not moving, and you can't pick up a glass of water, that's not normal."
"Fair enough, but do you have to say it so bluntly?"
"What can I say, it's the truth."
"Gee, thanks," Ruby mumbled and rolled her eyes, "It's just a minor injury, don't worry about it."
"Injury?"
"Yeah, I got caught up in a scuffle, but I'm fine now."
Her scroll pinged, Ruby checked and it was the payment going through, seems that Lil Miss finally paid her. She was free to leave now, the party was almost over anyway and the Malachite twins were already drunk and passed out.
"I'll be taking my leave then," Ruby stood up and walked away, "Be seeing you."
Junior waved goodbye.
Ruby slumped on the sofa, her body aching and sore. She had finally arrived home and was glad to be back, her work was over, and she had delivered the package without incident. Technically this was her base of operations and she has her own official home in the form of Vale's apartment complex's
An underground secret base in the outskirts of Vale with the only entrance being a dilapidated shed that had an elevator large enough for her bike inside. It had everything she needed, a workshop for her engineering projects, a place to store her tools and equipment, a garage, a training area, an armory, a kitchen, and a living space; she could even call it her home away from home.
"I'm tired..." Ruby yawned and stretched her limbs, her muscles felt tense and sore, her shoulders were stiff and her body was aching. She needed to relax, a hot bath would be nice right about now, she couldn't remember the last time she had a proper soak, and she hasn't had the chance to rest. She's been working non-stop for the past few days, she had been so focused on her deliveries and work, she hadn't taken a moment to breathe.
She was tired and needed to take a break, the stress was getting to her, and the adrenaline rush had worn off. It wasn't the first time she's had to deal with dangerous situations, and she's always managed to get through them, but there's only so much that can be done before it starts to affect her mental health, and that's something she can't afford to happen.
Ruby groaned and massaged her temples with only her right hand, her helmet was lying on the table next to her, her gauntlet and glove discarded beside it. Her left arm was limp and unmoving, it was time to work on that. She got up from her seat and walked to her workshop, the room was filled with machines and tools, the place was a mess and covered with papers and metal scraps, her workbench was cluttered and full of half-finished projects.
She sat down and pulled out her laptop, it was a simple black and red laptop and had an emblem of a rose etched onto its casing. She booted up the computer and launched her diagnostics program. Ruby took off her jacket and revealed her mechanical left arm, it was a mechanical prosthetic made out of a lightweight alloy and had a lithe appearance to it, with red trimming along its joints and the cables were exposed, the fingers were dexterous and nimble.
It really wasn't designed for combat.
The arm was connected to her nerve endings via a network of artificial neurons, the interface was designed to mimic the human nervous system and allowed her to use her mechanical arm as if it was her actual flesh and blood. She took a deep breath and plugged a wire into her forearm and connected it to her laptop.
"Now then," Ruby murmured and opened the interface, a holographic display appeared before her, the screen showed her status and her prosthetic's condition, and it seems her left arm was not fully functioning. Her eyes glazed over as data and code streamed in her vision, her brain processing the information at lightning fast speed. "Let's get to work."
It was time to repair and re-calibrate her arm.
It had taken her two hours to finish her work. The process was time consuming, but it was worth it, her arm was fully operational once more, and the diagnostics showed no errors or malfunctions, and all her functions were running smoothly. She was pleased with her results, it had been a tough and tiring process, but the result was satisfying.
"Good."
Ruby flexed her fingers and moved her arm around, the motions were smooth and fluid, the limb responding to her thoughts, and her neural connection was stable. She had spent the last hour calibrating her arm and running through various tests, and everything had passed without issue.
"Finally, I'm done."
With her repairs complete, she had earned the right to relax. Ruby went back to her couch with snacks in hand, and plopped down onto the cushion, her body sinking into the soft fabric. She closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh, it felt good to just completely crash down and rest, the tension in her shoulders dissipating.
Before long, she fished out her cigarette with her mechanical arm and placed it between her lips, and lit it up. The nicotine soothed her nerves and calmed her mind, the smoke filling her lungs, and her body relaxed. A plume of smoke drifted lazily into the air, and the scent of tobacco filled her nostrils.
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, letting the smoke fill her lungs again and clear her mind.
"It's been a long week," Her eyelids fluttered open and her eyes stared at the ceiling.
Ruby murmured as her mechanical hand played with the lighter, flicking the top open and a flame sparked to life, the small orange flame dancing on the tip of her finger. She took a drag and inhaled deeply, the cigarette's smoke filling her lungs, the feeling was calming and familiar. The smell was strong and earthy, and she could taste the bitterness of tobacco on her tongue, the flavor was rich and satisfying.
She put the lighter away and leaned back into the couch. Ruby raised her mechanical hand up to block the lightbulb's glare, her mechanical digits twitched and bent, the joints clinked as metal plates contracted and expanded when she flexed her fingers, she listened to the the cables whirred and clicked and the servos humming, the sound was soothing to her ears, and the lights reflected off the metal surface.
She traced the metal frame with her eyes, her gaze traveled from her mechanical fingers all the way to her left shoulder, where her mechanical arm connected to her stump. That was where her prosthetic was attached to her body, her shoulder was covered by a metal plate with a rose briar emblem etched into the metal.
Ruby smiled softly and ran her real fingers over the engraving. The emblem was one of the few reminders she had of her mom combined with her mentor's old emblem and was the official logo of her Rosebriar Delivery Service. This way, wherever she would go, she'd never be alone, she'd always have someone watching over her.
Ruby frowned when she remembered that her family would totally freak out if they knew what happened to her, Yang most of all. It's not like she can just get it back but like her smoking, she doesn't plan on telling them anytime soon or ever.
Besides, she lost it a long time ago so that it doesn't even bother her anymore even with the loss of its sense of touch, or at least that was what she told herself.
The young girl looked at the ceiling and the lights illuminated her face. The light bulb flickered and cast shadows across her features, she could see the dust motes floating around her and the smoke swirling around the lamp. Her eyes were half-lidded, and she felt her body sinking into the cushions, her mind was drifting into a peaceful sleep.
She closed her eyes, the last thought on her mind was of the refugees and the two little girls.
"It's nice to see people smiling," She muttered softly and drifted off to sleep.
Author's Notes:
So I ended up doing half the things I said will happen in this chapter but it was getting too long, I'll save the rest for the next chapter.
The reason for the title change was because 'Courier' was just a placeholder because this fic was just a plot bunny but I'm really enjoying writing this so far. There will be a meaning to the title 'Radiance Overload' later on.
As for my other fic, I'm actually stuck on the dialogue and going nowhere, I'll try to focus on that when I can. Also much like that fic, I've been entertaining the idea of doing a cross of RWBY and Bloodborne and it being pre-volume 1 Ruby getting tossed into Yharnam, don't know if I'll fully commit to that yet.
Anonemuss14: It did have a lasercannon haha, also yep Ruby's theme was inspired by Akudama Drive's Courier just that I mixed in Cloud's Fenrir from FF7 Advent Children too. Hmm, that's an interesting idea for Jaune, I might look into it.