Chapter 17
First strike
For a few weeks the atlas psychology department has been working on how to bring Ruby back to normal.
Their efforts were met with hostile intent when Ruby would start throwing objects at them.
While this was going on the rest of the team would be watching with worry on their faces.
"Don't worry they will get through to her eventually." Winter says.
"Key word "eventually", it's so hard to watch." Weiss says.
"Well they are the best doctors we have. If they can get through to her they can. Winter says.
Reese then sighs and walks to a lock box and opens it up, inside of it was Crescent Rose and her cloak.
"Where did you find those?" Blake asks.
"I found the weapon back at the hotel under the couch, and her cloak I found inside her holding cell when I rescued her." Reese says.
"And what are you going to do with those?" Winter asks.
"See if I can bring the old Ruby out. Yang lets go." Reese says as he hands the magazine to Blake.
Yang then gets to her husbands side and walks with him to the room where Ruby is.
"You have a plan right?" Yang asks.
"Yes I do but you may not like it." Reese says.
"What are you thinking?" Yang says.
Reese then turns and hands the objects to yang.
"Psychology says there is usually a backup memory of ones old self deep within the brain as a way to preserve ones identiy. So what I want you to do is go in there and give her those items and talk with her." Reese says.
"What part of that plan will I not like?" Yang asks.
"Well there might be a slight chance that she might flip but I'll be outside the door just in case something goes wrong." Reese says.
The pair then rounded the corner and found the doctors talking to themselves, but when they noticed Reese and yang got close that's when they tried to pull authority on them.
"Hey you can't go in there you lack the clearance." One of the Doctors says.
"Do I? Patty unlock the door." Reese says.
Just then everyone heard a click of the lock opening the door.
"Go ahead yang i'll keep the quacks at bay." Reese says as he cracked his knuckles.
The doctors then stand aside and let yang enter the room.
Yang then enters the room and closed the door, where she found a little bit of Ruby's hair was poking out from under the covers.
Yang then put the items down on the ground and slowly approached Ruby as so she didn't startle her.
"Hey Ruby how is it going?" Yang asks in a low voice.
At the same time Reese was watching the camera feed from his tac glasses.
Ruby then turns over to see her sister sitting on a chair looking at her.
"What are you doing here?" Ruby asks.
Now the hairs on the back of Yangs head were standing straight up apparently there was danger in the room, but she ignored it.
"I'm here to see you and to give you something." Yang says.
That caught Ruby's attention, then yang saw ever so slightly a glimmer in Ruby's eyes when she saw her cloak and weapon.
Meanwhile outside the doctors were about to rush the door to stop yang.
"Where do you think your going?" Reese asks in a growl.
"She shouldn't give the Ruby a weapon, she might go nuts with it." One of the quacks says.
"Then you don't know her. Stay back." Reese says.
"She has been through a stressful situation in life where unspeakable things have happened to her." A doctor says.
Then the hairs stood on the back of Reese's neck.
"I'll keep an eye on her." Reese says.
Meanwhile inside the room Yang was getting Ruby inside her cloak.
"There you feel good right?" Yang asks.
"I guess so." Ruby says as she looks at herself in the mirror.
"You know what is missing?" Yang says.
"What?" Ruby says.
"Your outfit!" Yang says in a excited fashion.
"My outfit?" Ruby says.
"Yes! Hey Weiss, Blake find Ruby's outfit and lets have a party." Yang says to the cameras.
At the same time Weiss and Blake moved out and started for the shopping trip.
At the same time the quacks were really getting upset.
"Your not going to discharge her." One said.
"I'm not doing it. It's her sister that's doing it." Reese says as he opens the door.
At the same time Winter rounded the corner.
"Winter they are going to take away our patient." One doctor says.
"I have given Reese and Yang here full authority to do whatever they need to do to bring her back to health and I now see keeping her confined in a padded room did nothing good for her." Winter says.
The doctors then shut up and stood aside. Then Ruby and Yang left the room and Ruby was holding crescent rose to her chest.
"Where are her clothes?" Reese asks.
"They were torn beyond recognition so we had to get rid of them." Winter says.
Reese then remembered the state they were in.
"Understood I'll find something comfortable for her to wear." Reese says.
Reese then found a track suit and brought it back.
"Eh not her style but it will work for a little bit." Reese says.
Both sisters then ducked into a room while Yang was helping Ruby out Reese was talking with Weiss and Blake.
"So you know any good stores nearby?" Reese says.
"Yeah there is a good custom dress maker here." Weiss said.
"Agreed on that I was in there once, way too fancy for my taste." Blake says.
"I wonder if they could kick it down a notch. Ruby likes it simple." Reese says.
"What are you going to do?" Weiss asks Reese.
"I'm going to provide an overwatch this is a "girls day" if I put that right." Reese says.
"What are you going to do then?" Weiss asks Winter.
"Provide Intel for Reese as he watches you." Winter says.
Some time later at the shopping district.
To everyone in the shopping complex it was a normal day of trying to figure out what they want, but if one paid attention to the environment they would have catch a glimpse of a shimmer that is the predator armor at work.
"Remind me again why I couldn't catch a ride in the stealth craft?" Reese says.
"Because even with the technology it has it can be seen during the day if one looks at the right time." Winter says.
"Fine, I think I found the OP." Reese says as the climbing claws extended on the armor and started going up.
Meanwhile outside in a limo.
"Well here we are." Weiss says.
"Hey Ruby." Yang says as she gently taps her sister.
"Hu wha." Ruby says as she wakes up from a nap.
"We are here to go shopping with you." Blake says.
"Oh I see." Ruby says as she hugs her cloak a little harder.
"Reese honey, is it clear?" Yang asks over the radio.
"No threats unless you count the overwhelming number of people around." Reese says.
Team rwby then left the limo and proceeded to the shop that Weiss recommended.
"They have entered." Patty says.
Reese then looked over from his cover and saw them. It made it easy to see them from a distance.
The shop in question was a small one but there were hardly any customers inside.
Weiss entered first and the staff took notice.
"Welcome back Weiss, how may we be of service to you?" One of the staff said.
"Hello everyone it's been awhile but I don't need your service, she does." Weiss says as she points to Ruby.
The seamstress then looked at Ruby and started asking questions.
"Is this for casual use or a formal event?" She asks.
"Casual." Ruby says.
Yang was glad that she took Reese's recommendation for an earwig for Ruby; she probably wouldn't know what to say.
At the same time outside the shop Reese was looking at a picture of Ruby back in the day describing her ideal outfit.
"Length of the skirt?" Seamstress asks.
"Knee length." Ruby says.
"Sleeves or sleeveless?" Seamstress asks.
"Short sleeves." Ruby says.
"Color?" She asks.
"Black with red accents." Ruby says.
"Understood I'll be back in a few minutes." The seamstress says as she goes to the back.
"How long does it take for them to make this?" Yang asks.
"Average time is three outfits in six minutes. Weiss says casually.
"What!?" Both Blake and yang say.
"Humm." Weiss says back.
"For something custom made for someone it takes two to three weeks to be made." Yang says.
"Well the reason they are the best is because the instant we entered the store they took Ruby's measurements, and those questions she asked were put into a computer and now its being made as we speak." Weiss says.
Right on que the shopkeepers come out with three different dresses just made for Ruby.
"Miss Rose your outfits." She says.
Meanwhile outside Reese is having a ball of a time waiting for them to get done.
"Ughhhhh is this what it feels like for normal people when families go shopping?" Reese thought to himself.
"Warning we have a problem." Patty says.
"What problem?" Reese asks.
"Someone's uncle is trying to find her." Patty says.
"Show me." Reese says as he gets up.
Patty then shows the security camera footage of Qrow indeed looking for team rwby.
"Great I don't know how Ruby will react when he is drunk." Reese says as he is about to make a move.
Just then Reese remembers that he is in a crowded area someone will see him even if he is invisible.
"Patty send text messages to anyone within 12 feet of me." Reese says.
"Done what are you going to do?" Patty asks.
"Intercept." Reese says as he makes his way to the uncle.
Reese then started to weave in between people who indeed are looking at their phones too distracted to notice an invisible person right in front of them.
Reese then activated the laser mics so he can listen in on what the uncle is saying.
"Winter said that Ruby would be here, but she was kinda secretive about it." Qrow says.
"Maybe she wants you to stay out of the situation." Someone said.
Qrow then looked around baffled at the source of the voice.
"Must be my imagination." Qrow says.
Just then he felt a palm hit him on his chest area.
"Well well someone wants to help out little Ruby." Reese says.
"Get out of my way Reese, she needs help." Qrow says.
"Oh where were you when she was captured. Where were you during the rescue? Where were you during the extraction of Ruby?" Reese asks.
Qrow said nothing.
"That's what I thought, it was my team who got Ruby back and the said team died trying to get her out. I'm the last of my squad mates to make it out alive." Reese says.
"What'd you see?" Qrow asks.
"More than enough." Reese says as he walks away.
Qrow then got the hint and walked away.
"Winter get Qrow briefed on the situation." Reese says over the radio.
"Got it, Oscar called me up and wanted to know what happened." Winter says.
"And what did you tell him?" Reese asks.
"Absolutely nothing. He wasn't here when Ruby was kidnaped." Winter says.
"Good enough for me." Reese says as he made his way back to the hide.
"How is it going inside the shop?" Winter asks.
"Don't know. Patty." Reese says.
"Ruby's heart rate is in the upper 90s." Patty says.
"She is nervous but not scared." Reese says.
"Well she is around people she is familiar with." Winter says.
"Yeah but we still have to be on edge. Something could set her off at any moment." Reese says as he checks his mags that are armed with a tranquilizer inside them.
"Sure hope i don't have to use this." Reese thought.
Reese in this particular loadout packed one mag loaded with tranq rounds and the other two were loaded with anti aura rounds.
"Reese we may have a problem." Winter says.
"What kind of problem?" Reese asks.
"The satellites in the southern part of the world have gone dark." Winter says.
"Gone dark? As in someone took them out?" Reese asks.
"No more like they are down." Winter says.
"Hummm it sounds like an problem that a hard reset can't solve." Reese says as he relaxes.
"We will look into it but in the meantime keep an eye on Ruby and bring back her smile." Winter says.
"Wilco." Reese says.
Reese then looked at the cameras and to his relef it looks like they are wrapping up.
"Oh good nothing went wrong." Reese says as he gets up.
The team then walked out of the shop with Ruby wearing her new outfit plus cloak.
"Now where are they going?" Reese says as he turns on the laser mics on the helmet.
"Now lets go get something to eat maybe some cookies?" Weiss says.
"Oh yeah I forget." Reese says to himself.
So the rest of the day was spent by doing things Ruby likes to do. With Reese watching the group.
"You know Yang you should take Ruby to an armory that will make her day." Reese says over the radio.
"Hey Ruby let's head to the firing range." Yang says.
That got a reaction from Ruby.
"Oh really? Let's goo then. I wonder what they have in stock." Ruby says as she goes on a tangent.
"Why did you have to say that yang?" Weiss asks clearly annoyed.
"We want Ruby to smile again. This is one method. One time Ruby spent the whole day at the local range after saving up for it." Yang says.
"She is right. the atlas military is funding this day right?" Blake asks.
"Yes we are." Winter says over the radio.
A few minutes later team rwby entered the shop and right at that moment the team saw Reese with his toys. Reese then looked up from the counter to see the team.
"What? Can't I have some fun." Reese says as he gets a lot of ammo.
Reese then entered the range and got to work.
"Update the satellites are offline." Winter says.
"Which ones?" Reese asks as he loads his 45.
"From the south all the way up just short of atlas." Winter says.
Reese then froze, something is very wrong and it's not good.
"Patty, give me the nearest satellite live image." Reese says.
"Working." Patty says.
Then and image popped up and it was looking in the general direction of where the blackout is happening.
"K zoom in about 12 times." Reese says.
The image then zoomed in and Reese saw a Grimm that is ginormous moving very slowly.
"What in Monty is that!" Reese says all too loudly.
"What?" Yang says.
It was then Reese noticed that the team was right next to him.
"Yang the satellite blackout is no accident, there is a Grimm that is moving north." Reese says.
"Why?" Weiss asks.
"I don't know there could be a lot of things but I'm not guessing." Reese says as he takes aim at a target.
For the next few hours the team was having a blast making steel ring at various ranges.
Reese then noticed that Ruby was tired.
"Hey gang, let's go back. Ruby is tired." Reese says.
The group then left the range and went back to the facility.
"Hey yang do I have to go back to the white room?" Ruby asks.
"No you don't have to, in fact there is a room where we can all share." Yang says.
The room that Yang is referring to is Reese's team room.
Right when the team got to the room Ruby looked like she was half asleep. Reese got the room open and let the team in.
"Well it might look uncomfortable but it works." Reese says.
"Where did you sleep?" Weiss asks.
"Right there, if you need me I'll be outside." Reese says as he closes and locks the door.
Some hours later Reese found himself sitting on the floor and waiting for the knock to come from the door.
"Need a break?" Winter asks.
"Maybe after all this is passed over I'll take a long vacation." Reese says.
"Well you have at least a half a year's worth of time off." Winter says.
"Yeah I assume the reason your calling is for an update on the satellites." Reese says.
"About that the one that you found was watching the massive Grimm for sometime, and now it has come to a stop 30 miles from the borders of atlas." Winter says.
"It stopped?" Reese says.
"Yep it looks like it's waiting." Winter says.
"Waiting for what? Is the real question." Reese says.
"Don't know but I'm placing our forces on alert just in case." Winter says.
"Everything?" Reese says.
"Everyone. All branches, all weapons." Winter says.
"Good, now I need priority one on any assets we have." Reese says.
"Done. Anything else?" Winter asks.
"If we need to get out I need two of those recon aircraft ready to go." Reese says.
"Done. You better get to the command room and take a look at this Grimm." Winter says.
Reese then gets up and begins the three minute walk to the command room.
As soon as he entered he saw winter in the head chair.
"Sit." Winter says while pointing to an empty chair to her left.
Reese took the seat and Patty then jumped to the computer.
"How is everything going?" Winter asks.
"Well as far as I can tell it's all silent." Reese says.
"Good. Now look at the high powered cameras." Winter says.
Reese then took control of the high powered cameras that are positioned high above the city. They are mainly used for weather monitoring.
"What am I looking for?" Reese asks.
"What we are up against." Winter says.
Reese then began to look around but something caught his eye, a glint on top of the Grimm. So Reese began to zoom in and when he hit max zoom the picture came into focus and his blood ran cold.
"Oh fuck." Reese says.
"What did you see?" Winter asks.
Winter then went over and saw Salem in her usual outfit and now has armor on and she was looking right at the camera smiling at it.
At that moment Salem began to speak but everyone heard it.
"Kingdom of Atlas you took something from me, and I want it back you have one hour, or I'll destroy you." Salem says.
"What is she referring to?" Winter's second in command asks.
"She is referring to Ruby, she was doing something to her and I interrupted it." Reese says.
"Let's give the woman what she wants." The second in command says.
"That's funny from what I have seen from Salem is she will kill regardless of what you give her." Reese says.
"She will wipe us out!" Second in command says.
"Yep she will. I suggest you start running or start fighting ." Reese says as he leaves his chair.
"Where are you going?" Winter asks.
"To get Ruby to a safer location." Reese says.
Reese then made it back to the room where he could hear faint screaming.
"Shit." Reese says as he punches in the code.
Reese then opens the door to see Yang holding down a thrashing Ruby.
"She is here and she won't leave me alone!" Ruby cries out.
"She is not here, there is no way she can track you." Yang says.
"Unfortunately she is here and she wants Ruby back." Reese says.
Yang then got defensive.
"What are you going to do about it then?" Yang says as her eyes flick to red.
"We are going to run." Reese says as he picks up his rifle.
End.