Origin Story Chapter 26 - Ruby's One Question, a rwby fanfic

Chapter 26 – Ruby's One Question

"Pay close attention, Cinder."

The vision of Ruby's underling sputtered in confusion from the other side of the Seer. Ruby was still coming down from her beetlewalking high, so her mind was still getting used to normal human thoughts. Thus, she couldn't quite process what Cinder's problem was.

Heck, she had no idea why everyone was just staring at her like she'd grown a new head. All she'd done was crawl back into her arm, wake up, and report on what she'd found. Even Tyrian was looking at her as though she were speaking in tongues.

"So, Amber. It's actually a sequence of ideas, more things that you can do in your spare time to find her. We know her weapon is a staff that's custom made by vendors, meaning it probably has unique or at least rare properties. If you were to purchase an equivalent spear from one of the artisans who produce them – ideally the least likely one Amber would have used, to avoid tipping her off – you could test out the staff. Determining its uses and its effects might give us some clues as to what purpose it serves, and where Amber would be safest with such a weapon. For instance, if it produces fire, it's unlikely she'd travel through drylands or other flammable environments. You could also monitor hunter missions and see if any battleground have damage consistent with its impact."

Ruby gave Cinder a moment to confirm that she understood. Cinder, however, did not nod in approval at her superior's commands. Odd – Ruby thought she understood the food chain.

There was a raw growl thrown out from behind Ruby. Turning around, she saw Hazel covered in minor lacerations. Salem seemed to have been torturing him prior to her arrival, so this was presumably the result. As expected, of course; when he took her body to the Grimm Queen, she would indubitably assume he was at fault. Ruby had figured that one out on the airship ride over, among many other things.

"What did…why? I was tortured because you didn't wake!"

"The moment has passed," Ruby said, turning back to the Seer containing Cinder's image. "You're not being tortured anymore. Just don't think of the memory of the pain, and it's like it never happened."

Hazel flex his muscles as he rose. "If you think –"

"Get ahold of yourself. Your aura was broken by Queen Salem, and you lost your immunity to pain. I understand that you're unused to it and thus out of sorts, but please recall that I am freshly rested and at full aura. I would advise against picking this fight, Rainart."

That actually made his jaw fall, but he picked it up real quick. The typically stoic man hadn't experience pain in years probably, so feeling it so suddenly and brutally at Salem's hands must've been especially agonizing.

He…He probably needs a moment.

Human emotions were slowly returning to Ruby as she shook off her Grimm ones, and she began to understand more and more about why everyone was behaving so strangely.

"I apologize, though, for your needless suffering. I found that I possess the ability to enter the mind of my Scarab when I sleep. I used it for scouting out the Branwens, but I was unable to wake until my Scarab returned to my body. This was why I remained unconscious, not because of any sabotage or betrayal."

Salem had previously looked more like a Grimm than a human woman, but now she was nearly back to normal. Ruby met her eyes and dropped to one knee.

"Forgive me for any disturbance my absence caused, your grace."

Salem's breathing was heavy, and she herself seemed to be slightly…slowed. Her movements were less deliberate, and she seemed to still be collecting herself in the wake of her rage-induced transformation. "Hmm. I…see. This Grimm control –"

"I had complete control of my Scarab, and I could converse with other Grimm in a rudimentary way. Essentially, I could explain my intentions, and they would obey. It wasn't as firm a control as yours. Had they been preoccupied, such as seeing a human and feeling the need to kill it, I would've had nothing. They merely had no objections, not even to dying."

Salem nodded. "I suppose that wouldn't matter to a Grimm. Now, the Fall maiden? You had…ideas related to her?"

Ruby turned back to Cinder. "When I killed Ozpin and Qrow, she was recalled. Her only point of contact in Vale is now Glynda Goodwitch, from whom she must be receiving instructions. Monitoring her channels of communication would be to your benefit."

Salem smiled and folded her hands in front of her. Her voice had steadied, and she seemed to be back in control of herself. "You seem to have given this quite a bit of thought. Perhaps –"

Ruby shook her head before Salem even finished the thought. "Bad idea, your grace. I'm pretty sure I came close to losing my mind when I was Gr…when I was in my Scarab for more than a night's rest. I don't think it's worth the risk to use it for more than short missions, outside of emergencies."

"So be it." Salem faced the Seer. "Cinder. Enact Ruby's ideas. Find her maiden. See her will executed."

Cinder nodded, and the image disappeared. The other Seer, one Ruby hadn't even realized was there, also turned back to normal.

That must've been Watts. I guess that means everyone knows about my beetlewalking.

Ruby looked back to Hazel.

He probably hates me for having to take the blame after I wandered off. He already must've had a solid dislike of me for annoying him when we were on our mission. I had better watch my back around him.

To his credit, Hazel knelt down at Salem's feet respectfully. "Your grace."

Ruby saw that some of the scratches on his body were slowly starting to heal.

His aura's back up. That means he isn't feeling pain and is probably feeling like normal again.

"It would appear I owe you an apology," said Salem.

"There is no need. My life is yours."

"I shall offer it nonetheless. Forgive my haste in assuming your culpability."

Hazel nodded. "As long as young Ruby is safe. That is what truly matters."

The big guy rose and departed, but not before giving the duo of women one last look. His face, despite being bloodied and sporting a split lip, was the picture of calm neutrality. If any lingering resentment in Ruby's general direction was felt, he certainly was disguising it well.

"Leave us, Tyrian."

Ruby noticed the Faunus perk up at being acknowledged (he was in the doghouse with Salem over his failure in Atlas last she saw), but he complied without any words.

After a suitable amount of time to let Tyrian clear away, Salem offered Ruby her forearm. "Please, walk with me, Ruby."

Ruby nodded. "Your grace."

The two of them exited from the membrane door that separated the room in which Hazel had been tortured from the main hallway. It had actually been a rather large room, presumably to give Salem room to throw Hazel around.

For a long while, probably around 10 minutes, the pair of them just walked through the castle, arm in arm. Not a word was said between the two of them.

After realizing that Salem wasn't speaking, Ruby took the time to organize her thoughts. She'd been in beetle mode for a long time, and upon coming out of it, she'd momentarily been less human than she was inhuman.

I woke up to the scene of Salem raving like a madwoman and started talking about my mission to find the Branwens and refueling airships. I must've sounded like a lunatic.

To be honest, in that moment of just switching back, she had been more and less of an animalistic beast than ever before. Her emotions were nearly gone, and cold cruel logic had been moments away from taking over. It had enabled Ruby to figure out how to rig a series of cables to give her tiny beetle form the means to twist the stick of the ship, but it had also sapped her of a lot of what made her Ruby. As it all came back, she could only look upon the way she'd felt with disgust.

Abruptly, Salem spoke. "Has it been long enough for you to come to terms with what you became?"

"Hmmm?"

"Ruby, I am in the mind of every Grimm. While I did not hear your thoughts as I was not actively listening for them, I know what it is to think like a monstrosity. I understand, my child."

Ruby nodded cautiously. She wasn't sure just how guarded she should be about this.

"I am both a human and a Grimm, Ruby. The change in my skin when I was in a passionate state just moments ago was not merely cosmetic. There are two halves that make up my whole. Do you understand?"

She honestly had no clue what Salem was going on about, but she nodded anyways.

"The reason I was enraged so thoroughly was because I thought you were lost to me, and I mistakenly applied the blame to Hazel. Still, it appears as though the first assumption nearly came true."

"Don't you, I dunno, want me to become evil? Like, if I were a Grimm…"

Salem chuckled at that in a most human way. The veins had nearly retracted, and if Ruby couldn't see her eyes, she might've mistaken the Grimm overlady for a pale woman who'd just stayed out of the sun for too long.

"If your mind were lost and you became a savage Grimm, it would be as equally meaningless as if your heart stopped beating. You're smart enough to know that my protectiveness over you was not out of some misplaced maternal…huh, maternal desire to safeguard you. My interest in you is to see Ozpin's empire crumble at the hand of his willingly turned enforcer – the keyword being willingly. The satisfaction of the victory would come from knowing that he lost your loyalty to me, not from the carnage you inflict itself. No – from knowing that you choose to give up your loyalty to me. If it were otherwise, I would save time and kill you, then batter Ozpin's forces to death with your corpse and claim that you were the instrument of my victory."

Ruby nodded again, kind of following along. Salem wanted Ozpin to give in to despair from the knowledge that cute little Ruby Rose had gone over to the dark side and brought death and destruction to Remnant by gathering Salem's relics.

There was one thing left to ask, though.

"How come you want me?" Ruby asked. "What is it that makes you think Ozpin is interested in me in particular?"

Salem raised an eyebrow.

"As far as you know, I'm just some random kid he offered a scholarship to after meeting once. Why would that make me someone whose betrayal would ruin his hopes and dreams? What do you think I am to Ozpin?"

"Rose…"

Ruby glared at the woman whose arm her own was hooked through. She stopped walking in front of the door to the grand hall, and Salem followed suit.

"You know. You know I'm a spy for Ozpin. And I know you know."

A bolt of lightning hit Ruby and threw her through the two massive wooden doors, the only ones constructed of non-Grimm material in the entire castle. Ruby flew onto the table in a shower of splintered wood and fragmented metal, sliding along the entire length of it from the force of the strike until she rolled off and slammed the back of her head into the baseboard of the wall behind it.

Salem made no sudden movements, but she strode closer and closer to Ruby with purpose. Ruby had no scythe with her (she had no idea where Crescent had been stowed by Hazel), but that didn't mean she was defenseless. She had her semblance, she had her guts, and if push came to shove, she might have to draw upon that part of herself that she knew deep down was inside of her – the silver eyes.

Salem splayed her fingers, and twin fireballs appeared in her grasp. "You should have stayed quiet, young Rose. The whole point was warping your soul and making you into a villain. Now that I know you know, you're useless to me."

"I'll never serve you!" Ruby screamed, so loud that the rest of the castle probably heard. It mattered little, though. This fight was between her and Salem. "I'd rather die!"

The witch threw her fireballs are Ruby, but she had already fled before either reached her location. Running faster than she ever had before, so fast that she twice nearly tripped over her own feet, Ruby made a mad dash – straight towards Salem.

Salem hit her with a purple beam of some unknown kind of magic, but Ruby's aura held, and she charged her own body as a battering ram straight into Salem. Despite being an all powerful Grimm Queen, Salem herself had no aura, and the impact of Ruby's desperate attack bisected her. Such a thing had never happened before, but that was because Ruby only used her powers on other trained hunters and Grimm. The speeds at which she ran were enough to tear right through Salem's plain old human body.

Sadly, Salem's plain old human body wasn't killed. Some of the blood that spilled out of her torso hardened into some sort of tangled string, and then another appeared, and another, and another, until she had enough vines strings to coalesce into tentacle-like vines. The vines gripped the floor and pulled Salem towards her legs with motion like a writhing mass of caterpillars or inchworms.

Ruby wasn't idle while Salem reattached herself. Whatever Salem was, it wasn't something that could be killed by Ruby, or Ozpin would have ordered her to assassinate the woman rather than steal maidens out from under her. The airship – she had to get to the airship.

Dashing into the hallways, Ruby leapt through the nearest window and flew through the air with her semblance towards the nearest dock. Short bursts of propulsion meant that she could keep her feet off the ground for long enough to skirt around the side of the castle towards her destination.

Tyrian jumped out after her, but for all his lethal combat abilities, he wasn't as fast as Ruby. No one was.

Hazel's impaired from all the torture. If I can just get to the airship, I'm home free. Headmistress Goodwitch will understand when I tell her that Salem figured out my true loyalties. I can't complete my mission either way, and both she and Ozpin knew it was a shot in the dark to send me out.

Tyrian was hot on her heels, and the distance between them wasn't growing fast enough. At this rate, she wouldn't make it the airship with enough of a headstart to activate it before he caught up. However, Ruby had one advantage – she knew where she was going, and he didn't. Turning sharply, she ran up the sheer face of the castle. The scorpion behind her followed, but he had to climb up using his clawed weapon by cutting into the side of the building. It was slower, and gave Ruby the gap she needed.

When she got to the top, she waited just a moment, then jumped back down all the way. Tyrian swore violently in some kooky language, but he could do nothing but turn around and start to climb the other way.

Ruby flew through the air, unaided by her semblance, until the last moment when she caught herself. Quickly stepping up the airship's rear ramp, she practically threw herself into the pilot's seat and turned on the engines.

Ding.

A small sound ruined everything.

Ding.

No.

NO!

Ding.

The low fuel indicator was blinking. Despite being nothing more than a tiny bulb and a small chime to go with it, the reader was spelling out the end of her life.

I forgot that I used up all the fuel flying back and never replaced it! I'm doomed!

Ruby stood up to see if she could maybe get out and find another bullhead before Tyrian caught up with her, but it was all for naught. The moment she rose, an army of arms tore through the metal floor of the airship, poring out of the Grimmland materials that formed the floor on which the great big vehicle was placed like flowing strips of kelp in the deep sea.

No! It can't end like this!

She lifted her head over her shoulder just in time to catch a single glimpse of Salem before the Shadow Hand snaked through her blouse and reached her throat.

Dark Grimm fingers grabbed hold tightly, pinching her neck like a vice.

"No!" Ruby said, gasping her breath out with a desperation for survival rarely felt by children her age. "No!"

SNAP!

There was one thing left to ask, though.

"How come you want me?" Ruby asked. "What is it that makes you think Ozpin is interested in me in particular?"

Salem raised an eyebrow.

"Rose…"

Ruby glared at the woman whose arm her own was hooked through. She stopped walking in front of the door to the grand hall, and Salem followed suit.

"You know. You know I'm a spy for Ozpin. And I know you know."

Ruby paused, waiting for Salem's response. The ball was in her court, and how she chose to react would define the fate of the world.

A wry smile broke out across Salem's face, and Ruby felt her heart sink. A smile meant that Salem was happy, and Salem being happy meant that Ruby was trapped like a mouse who'd gone for the cheese.

Salem's lips parted.

"Good."

There was one thing left to ask, though.

"How come you want me?" Ruby asked. "What is it that makes you think Ozpin is interested in me in particular?"

Salem raised an eyebrow.

"Rose…"

Ruby glared at the woman whose arm her own was hooked through. She stopped walking in front of the door to the grand hall, and Salem followed suit.

"You know. You know I'm a spy for Ozpin. And I know you know."

Salem snorted disdainfully. "Please, young Ruby. Try harder than that if you wish to…how do the kids call it…'punk me,' I believe?"

"B-B-But…"

"A spy for the man you killed?" Salem said back, stifling her own arrogant laughter. "And you expect me to believe that and throw you out, or perhaps kill you? I wasn't born yesterday; in fact, I was born many, many yesterdays ago."

This hadn't been what Ruby planned for. Ruby had just up and confessed that she was a traitor in Salem's midst. The last thing she'd been expecting was utter nonbelief of the actual truth.

"Why would I lie?"

"For a vacation," answered Salem nonchalantly. She raised an eyebrow. "You think you're the first? Oh, Cinder suddenly realizes her true loyalties are to protecting the kingdom, and I dismiss her from my service, and then two days later she returns claiming to have seen the light once more and with a receipt for a spa visit that she needed paid – how plainly convincing that was. And that time Watts claimed to have received a better job offer from General Ironwood and demanded a raise, only for me to find out a few months later that no such offer had ever been made…that was no different. I'd even guess that one of those two was the one to tell you about this little ploy they devised and implemented with regularity. Well, third time's the charm, Ruby, and I won't be had once more."

"It's true!" Ruby screamed, making Salem's grin grow only wider. "It is, this time!"

"I'm sure." Sarcasm was dripping from Salem's voice so much that it practically pooled up on the floor. "Well, I suppose you'll be needing my top secret evil plans, then. How about you grab a notepad for the next time we host our weekly villain meeting to discuss dastardly deeds?"

Salem turned and walked away, leaving behind a stunned Ruby Rose.

Ruby picked up her dropped jaw and chased after her. "Wait! Wait, Salem! I can convince you, I'm sure of it! Just wait up for a second!"

There was one thing left to ask, though.

"How come you want me?" Ruby asked. "What is it that makes you think Ozpin is interested in me in particular?"

Salem raised an eyebrow.

"Rose…"

Ruby glared at the woman whose arm her own was hooked through. She stopped walking in front of the door to the grand hall, and Salem followed suit.

"You know. You know I'm a spy for Ozpin. And I know you know."

"W-W-W-What?" Salem said, shock in her eyes. "Y-You're a spy? For Ozma?"

Ruby hadn't been expecting that either. The sheer and utter look of genuine shock on Salem's face was unmistakable. She had been so sure, so entirely sure with every fiber of her being that Salem knew, because that was the only explanation.

What have I done?

The mission – she'd gone and ruined it! Salem would never give her the powers of the Spring maiden if she knew Ruby was planning to hand it over to her age-old enemy Ozpin.

What was I thinking? What did I have to gain by confronting her? And I had everything to lose! The mission – now Cinder's going to be the maiden host, and the world's going to be destroyed when Salem uses the maiden powers to get the relic and uses it to find the other relics and –

"TRAITOR!"

The crazed cry broke Ruby out of her self-loathing. Salem was panting, her fists clenched so tight that her razor-sharp nails were cutting straight into her palms and passing out the other side. But what Ruby hadn't been expecting were the tears.

"I…I took you in when the world threw you out like trash! I offered you a place at my table, I fed you, I raised you into a proud woman strong enough to stand on her own two feet. Did I ever deny you anything? Did I ever raise a hand against you? No, I did the exact opposite! I showed you my soul. I explained my humanity to you. I cared for you, comforted you, promised you power beyond your wildest dreams, and all for what in exchange? Nothing. Nothing but your loyalty, and I suppose you're too much a cheap bitch to give me even that."

Salem turned around, sweeping her dress with a dramatic flourish.

"So go, then. I-I don't need you."

Ruby reached out a hand for her shoulder, but Salem stepped forward, maneuvering just out of reach. Her arms folded, and her head turned away from Ruby.

"S-Salem…"

"Go. Go running back to Ozma. Do it."

Stepping closer to Salem, Ruby wrapped her arm around Salem's waist from behind. The pale woman didn't visibly respond, but Ruby could feel her body tensing up slightly.

Ruby squeezed Salem gently, hugging her by her back, but Salem help her nose up high. "Hmph."

"C'mon, baby, don't be like that."

"Don't you have to go off and debrief?" she asked sardonically. "Share your oh so precious intel with your Ozpin?"

"That can wait. Right now, all I wanna do is spend some time with my special girl."

Salem said nothing.

"My snickerdoodle."

That got a bit of an exhale out of her. Ruby liked what she was hearing and kept going.

"My number one gal. My Mommy Salami."

Salem snickered, and Ruby followed up by kissing her neck from behind.

"Hey, let's forget this who's spying for who business and go grab a bite to eat tonight – just the two of us. I can get us some reservations at Vinny's."

"Ooh!" Salem perked up upon hearing that. "They make the best breadsticks."

Ruby smiled and twirled Salem around, eliciting a joy-filled squeal. "Put on your dancing shoes, honey-plum, because tonight, you and I are gonna 69."

There was one thing left to ask, though.

"Hey, is Tyrian's stinger, like, hard?" Ruby asked.

Salem raised an eyebrow.

"Like, it looks super hard, and I would expect it to be armored like a scorpion's exoskeleton, but I've seen him get all shaky whenever it gets stepped on by accident. I don't know about you, but it reminds me of a baby getting tickled."

"Rose…"

"And I know I could just ask him," Ruby went on, "except he always talks funny and I can only tell what he's saying from context clues so if it's a yes or no question like 'Is your tail –'"

Salem held up a hand, silencing Ruby.

"I have no idea, child."

Turning away, she walked off.

Coming Soon – Ruby's Command

And now, a tip from Ruby:

Ruby's Tip #656 – Always remember to vaccinate your goldfish.

Ruby's Tip #657 – Never under any circumstances vaccinate your goldfish.

Author's Notes

To some extent, this is a definitive verdict all of the people thinking that Salem is secretly in it to adopt Ruby out of the kindness of her heart. At least she's honest with Ruby enough to admit that she would kill her without a second thought should it tickle her fancy, though.

Also, the ship wars are ended at long last. Move over, Cinder x Ruby. This is the day Shirtless Adam x Ruby dies. Hazel x Ruby? Who even is that.

Delusion Salem x Ruby is finally Origin Story canon. You're welcome.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!