RWBY belongs to Viz Media.
Little Nightmares belongs to Bandai Namco.
Chapter 11: Resurgent Hunger
Jaune screamed as he flew through the air, his sword and shield flying free of his grip. His crash outside of the arena was accompanied by a small could of dust and icy mist.
Standing in the center of their team's new private combat arena was Weiss, surrounded by jutting spikes of ice. Myrtenaster was raised in the guard position as she stared down Ren with her eyes glowing blue with arctic power.
Ruby watched from the stands as the pair squared off and then charged each other.
Weiss and Ren were quick, their movements were as sharp as the blades of their weapons. Weiss lunged forward with her rapier, a lunge that had the speed of a bullet behind it. While Ruby was faster than her partner in most things physical, the velocity of Weiss' jabs was something only a trained fencer like the heiress could pull off.
Ren countered with a perfect demonstration of his martial arts talent and the years of preparation for getting into Beacon. Crossing his own blades, he intercepted Weiss jab and brought her to a stop.
Ruby lowered her brow to a half-lidded stare as she analyzed the fight. Most people would critic this moment. He had two weapons and managed to block a strike that took time to prepare. He had an opportunity to hit back. However, many underestimated the force behind Myrtenaster's blade. It was why Jaune was sent flying, rather than him simply being the lightweight of their number. If Ren had used one hand to block, Weiss would have simply broken through.
Weiss was strong despite being the frailest member of both teams in terms of pure durability and strength. The only reason Jaune couldn't compete was because of his lack of experience and skill. A gap that was quite substantial.
Ruby did not mind this about the poor boy as he picked himself up and slumped off to join his team on the stands. Nora was cheering Ren on, and Ruby found it to be annoying. Watching Nora acting like a cheerleader was something to be expected, but that did not mean Ruby had to like it.
Pyrrha was looking away, waiting for Jaune and Ruby just found that annoying too. Pyrrha was a world champion and Weiss, while a friend, was a rival on an opposing team. And a rival who had been given a substantial increase in power and had spent the last week learning to utilize it.
Pyrrha should be studying Weiss and preparing for the day the two of them face off for their final exams, not getting ready to give Jaune a pity party.
Pyrrha was a good person, Ruby would give her that. There are a lot of things to like about her. At least that was the case if you were a normal person. Ruby personally found her to be annoying. Outside of the arena, Pyrrha placed too much focus on being nice and trying to appease those closest to her. It was like she was afraid her friends would suddenly stop being her friends, which was a ridiculous thought. Focusing on your friends when they offered you nothing was a distraction and Pyrrha seemed content to be distracted.
Was it genuine concern or overconfidence in her own abilities that made her not take the rest of them as credible threats to her status as the best fighter of their generation? She used to watch them; Ruby saw it, Pyrrha thought she was sneaky, but compared to the red reaper, the 'Invincible Girl' didn't know what that word even meant.
During their early days, Pyrrha would watch them all spar intensely. Ruby noticed it right away, she never overlocked the feeling that she was being watched. The gladiator was studying them in order to prep for their confrontations in the ring.
Pyrrha had beaten them all, much to Ruby's frustration. It was not often she lost, but when she did, she did not forget. However, Ruby did get slightly excited at the thought of a proper opponent to spend her time with during her studies.
At least, that was what she thought at first.
After she beat Yang, she stopped watching, and that realization threatened to set Ruby's blood on fire. They took her seriously, why didn't she return that sign of respect? Was it arrogance or was she more concerned with being friends with them?
"It could easily be both," said Ruby's Shadow, "But maybe you're just mad you can't eat here."
Ruby shrugged. That could easily be the case, Glynda had prohibited eating within the secret arena and the pain the red reaper felt on a near constant basis now only went away when she was eating. That frustration must be affecting her mind because Ruby did not often care about the opinions of others. In fact, she preferred them to have Pyrrha's attitude because then it would be easier to dunk on them when the time came.
"And Pyrrha will get her dunking for breaking Yang's winning streak."
Ruby nodded at her Shadow's words as she watched Ren deliver a helicopter kick that forced Weiss to back away while he followed up with a burst of dust rounds.
Said rounds then peppered Weiss, making her blue aura spark and the sight of it gave Ruby another pang of hunger. She could feel the Maiden Powers in Weiss and it was a constant buzz in her brain. The sight of it was even worse as the pain in her stomach only flared to new heights as Weiss then unleashed her new abilities.
A wave of snow washed over the arena; Ren vaulted over it leaving him vulnerable to an ice ball being hurled into him.
Ruby watched with a mixture of sadistic amusement at the boy's pain and frustration at her own pain being enflamed.
Ren fell out of bounds and a loud horn blared, signaling the end of the match and muffling the crash that followed.
"Very good," said Winter as she walked through the icy mist, her heels creating a sharp clicking noise as they ascended the steps to the arena.
The elder Schnee approached her sister with her arms folded behind her, Ruby noted that Winter preferred her military posture out of habit and perhaps a sense of comfort. Given their history, perhaps it was because of her role as the main combatant with their father. Instilling in the idea that Winter must be a pillar for her younger sibling.
Ruby didn't know for sure, but that need to be militaristic was something that could be used against her should the need arise. Not that Ruby planned on it but given that their caretakers are playing secrets it is simply smarter to understand them as both friend and enemy.
"That boulder at the end was perfectly timed and your control of the encounter was adequate. You lured him into the ideal position where he was unable to defend himself against such a thing."
Weiss beamed at her sister's praise, but then looked down in ponderous shame.
"What is the matter?" asked Winter.
Weiss then gave her sibling an apologetic but humorous smile. "I was trying to make an ice spike, not a boulder."
Winter, instead of shaking her head in non-amusement as she often did to Yang's jokes, smiled back. "It is all a part of the process. Your control is improving and that is all that matters for now."
Ruby pondered on what their relationship back in Atlas must have been like for this to be the height of their humor and sisterly warmth. Yang and Ruby made no secret of their bond and familial affection. The two down in the arena looked almost hesitant to show any overt affection. Weiss was clearly more open to it and while her elder sibling did not oppose, they still kept it civil.
That appeared to the theme with Winter. Civility and professionalism. At the very least she was not dogmatic about it, having just enough flexibility to lower her guard, at least for her sister.
It was almost comical to see her do the opposite during their combat class with the rest of the huntsmen in training during the school hours.
The students were quiet as they all stared at the new addition to combat class. None of them expecting to see an elder version of their class idol present and having been given a teaching position at the most prestigious Huntsmen Academy on Remnant.
When Winter Schnee entered the combat arena, she had promptly introduced herself with the professionality of both a member of the social elite and that of a seasoned soldier getting ready to grill raw recruits.
The only members of the present class that did not stare in befuddlement were those of Team RWBY and slightly less so of Team JNPR, who were still processing both the similarities and differences between the Schnee sisters.
Ruby found their bewilderment amusing as to her this was nothing too special. They were sisters of a significant age gap and one just happened to be the best swordswoman in Atlas.
Winter, or Professor Schnee stood at Glynda's side for that first class. Ruby had read the room and noted that several of them were skeptical of Winter's qualification for being here.
Not that she blamed them for such an opinion, she herself would have suspected the same at first without the context of the circumstances.
And who would believe any of them if it were to be explained anyway? When she thought about it, then it was likely that line of thinking that made the Headmaster agree to this arrangement so quickly.
Both Ruby and her Shadow had acknowledged the cleverness of their headmaster, but that did not mean they liked him. He was a means to an end and once she graduated, she was gone. All this secret magic stuff was not why she wanted to become a huntress.
"Yeah, you want to become a huntress to convince yourself that you're not a monster."
The huntress in training did not give a response.
"Mrs. Rose."
Ruby looked down at the arena to see Winter staring at her.
"Yes?"
Winter gestured to Weiss. "I believe it is your turn."
Ruby felt the pain in her abdomen surge to life again as she looked upon the heiress. Weiss wore an expression of anticipation. She looked happy. Happy that her sister was here and happy that her team leader, whom she now considered her closest friend, was here too.
Ruby was aware of Weiss' change in attitude over the past week. And that had annoyed the red reaper all the more.
Why did Weiss get to be so happy while Ruby suffered in her attempts to console the heiress?
Standing up Ruby tapped her Cresent Rose, which hung faithfully on her belt, and hopped into the rail guards of the spectators' section to then leap into the arena.
Upon landing she drew her scythe and pulled the massive blade behind her, ready to charge and not bothering to engage in the usual banter with her usually icy partner. The pain she felt kept her from being quippy, but it did not keep her from attempting to drown it in adrenaline.
"Begin!" yelled Winter from the arena's edge.
Yang watched the duel from the stands with a gleeful smile on her lips. It was always a treat to see her sister go at it, no matter how many times she watched. Blake, being far less enthusiastic about the idea of a good fight, was busy reading one of her books further to the side.
Seeing that she would get no good commentary out of her partner today, she looked to their partners in crime only to be disappointed as Team JNPR were too busy tending to their wounded. Weiss had given the poor boys a proper thrashing which Yang would normally find enjoyable if it did not deprive her of someone to talk to.
Looking down to the side of the arena, she saw the elder Ice Queen watching the miniature version dueling Ruby.
Conceding that the one with a stick up her butt was the only choice left, Yang trotted over to the rail guard above Weiss' big sis.
Leaning over the edge so that half her body was over the side, she stared striahgt down at Winter.
"Heya."
Winter did not look up, but there was a brief pause in her movements.
"Go back to your seat," said Winter. "I am observing the duel, I do not have the mental wherewithal to endure your jokes."
Yang took no offence, everyone warmed up to her jokes eventually.
"If I was going to make jokes, they'd be reducing you to tears already," smirked the brawler, but the specialist below did not react. "I just want your input on how their doing in there."
Winter reacted then, tilting her head up so that Yang was in her peripheral vision. "You want to hear my opinion on your sister's fighting style?"
"Sure do," said Yang as she vaulted over the rail and landed beside the elder Schnee. "You've rubbed elbows with some of Atlas' best, so I want to know how my sis measures up."
Winter, having accepted Yang's reasoning, turned her attention back to the fight and Yang, wanting to see how Ruby was doing, did the same.
The two were trading blows at in a discordant rhythm. Weiss was delivering a series of thrusts with Myrtenaster; however, these were not attacks, they were in fact interception strikes aimed at Crescent Rose's blade.
Ruby was attacking relentlessly with a level of speed that would surprise anyone who was seeing her for the first time. Cresent Rose twirled around her in a flurry of motion that would make one think it were made of feathers.
Weiss on the other hand was on the defensive, stepping back quickly to avoid the wider sweeps and delivering a quick thrust to either parry the oncoming blade or to force Ruby to take a step back.
Yang knew Ruby was being conservative with this fight. Much like her elder sister, Ruby did not mind taking a few hits if it gave her an advantage. Both their auras were a cut above the rest in terms of toughness. But where Yang trumped her sister by a sizable margin, Ruby's regenerated at a rate that left Yang jealous, since her semblance burned through her aura reserves.
If Ruby wanted, she could tank a few jabs and back Weiss into a corner. It had happened before in many of their previous bouts.
"Your sister is quite capable."
Yang blinked and turned to the elder Schnee.
"For wielding such an oversized weapon, she is handles herself quite well in a duel."
Yang grinned as she realized that Winter was taking her up on the offer to compare their siblings.
"Yeah," Yang said as she leaned against the wall of the stands with her hands behind her lustrous mane of hair. "That's usually the first thing people say when they see her fight. My sis is better than anyone else in her age bracket."
"I am aware of that," said Winter, not taking her eyes off the fight. "However, if she is so skilled, why does she handicap herself by using something so… unwieldy? A scythe is a difficult weapon to use even in ideal circumstances."
Again, not a new line of dialogue, many teachers at Signal Academy said the same thing. The scythe was not just a difficult weapon to use, there was another reason for those disparaging comments.
It was dangerous when used effectively and that made it unpopular for many reasons.
But Yang could tell that Winter was simply asking out of a need to understand. She was not the type to fall to the common emotion of envy over the level skill Cresent Rose required to be used. Good to see Atlas Specialist was not an insecure princess like her little sister.
"Isn't it obvious?" Yang asked, making Winter turn to her.
Seeing the response she wanted, Yang continued. "It's because she's going to be fighting Grimm, not people."
Winter quirked an eyebrow, then turned back to the fight. Weiss had gained some distance from her team leader, but Ruby was not keen on letting the heiress take advantage of that. She hounded Weiss across the arena, chasing her down, not affording her any space or time to use her glyphs. On occasion Weiss would call on a small glyph to either repel Ruby or launch herself away, but that only granted her brief seconds before Cresent Rose came at her again.
The wicked curved blade of that scythe followed Weiss like a wolf chasing a wounded lamb.
"Yet she displays herself so expertly with it against Weiss. One would think she could put such talent to better use with a more versatile weapon."
Yang stretched her arms up. "I suppose so. A spear or something would be better. She'd be hella quick, but she'd sacrifice a lot of force in her strikes. With tougher Grimm, you need stopping power."
"You say she only wants to fight the Creatures of Grimm, but here she is pushing my sister into a corner."
Yang just shrugged. "That's just how Ruby operates."
"Could you elaborate?"
Yang stood up straight and took her place at Winter's side.
"My sister may act glib, but she knows what she is signing up for. Probably understands the real business of being a huntress better than the rest of the whole Academy. The thing most people can't figure out about her is that she takes everything seriously. That's the reason she is dominating out there right now. She took Weiss seriously from day one."
The reverse end of Cresent Rose's blade slammed into Weiss' side, sending her sliding across the arena floor. The heiress was panting hard as she pushed herself off the floor, and as soon as she was on her feet again the blade of Ruby scythe descended on her.
"And this is normal for her?" asked Winter, as she took in the level of aggression the red reaper displayed. "To treat every battle and bout as a fight for her life?"
"I'm sure that's the only way she can see this," admitted Yang. "Losing is not something she lets in her head."
"Hmm. I can see that mindset has served her well," said Winter as a form of complement. "It has made her into an effective combatant. I'm sure the General would jump at the chance to recruit her."
Yang scoffed and bit back a laugh, unsure if that was a joke or not. It was better not to go down such routes with Weiss' big sis.
"Hey, don't count Weiss out yet. She's a great fighter. Maybe she'll take you up on that offer."
Winter, to Yang's surprise, cracked a smile of her own. "She would never. My younger sister is stubborn. Not to mention she has dreams of her own outside her music career."
Weiss launched herself backwards and readied her rapier for a powerful thrust. Glyphs manifested around her, and ice spikes grew from them like porcupine quills. As one, her rapier and the spikes shot out towards the red reaper who stood patiently for the heiress. When Myrtenaster's blade reached Ruby's skin, she exploded in a shower of red petals.
Weiss nearly stumbled as the counter force she was expecting never appeared. Barly managing to catch herself, she growled in frustration as she faced the same hurdle she always faced when sparing with Ruby.
Her eyes glowed blue with the power of the Winter Maiden as she slammed her palm on the arena floor. Ice spread out across the arena, coating it all in a thick layer of frost.
Winter narrowed her eyes disapprovingly at this tactic. While it was intelligent to take control of the environment, doing so in such a forceful manner displayed a sense of desperation.
"Do those dreams happen to include overthrowing dear old dad?" asked Yang daring to be blunt about such a matter.
Winter held her silence for a moment before answering. "And if they did?"
Yang just smirked. "Then I hope she doesn't get there too fast. I'm no businesswoman, but it doesn't take a lot of brains to know that running something like the Schnee Dust Company is a big job."
Winter's expression went from defensive to thoughtful. "I suppose you are correct. She is under a lot of pressure. It has been this way since I left the family to join the military."
The ice had not impeded Ruby to the extent that Weiss had hoped for buy it had evened out the playing field. Yang noted the expression on her sister's face. Ruby looked frustrated, not with the fight though; she never turns down a chance to flourish Cresent Rose.
It was a frustration that Yang saw when Ruby pushed herself through pain. Her sister was never one to let pain stop her, even when it would be healthier to stop and rest.
"Must have been tough for the both of you," said Yang, almost absentmindedly. "Being separated I mean. Even with the age difference, you're still sisters."
"It was hard, yes. Harder for her still, I at the very least enjoyed the luxury of having some sense of freedom, but that was a small victory compared to the worry I held for her." Winter then gave Yang a look of understanding. "I can imagine you must have felt the same thing."
Now it was Yang's turn to be quiet. The she decided to end the conversation with a simple statement. "You could say that, but I'm not going to talk about it."
Yang never liked recalling those days. Those days of worry and those nights of haunting silence with an empty bed beside her own.
Winter, showing her political sense, saw that she had touched on a sore spot. While she had been tasked by the General to get as much information as she could from the Xiao-Long Rose sisters, she dared not compromise her relationship with them. If they wished to talk, they would do so of their own accord. As one who valued her privacy, Winter loathed the concept of invading theirs.
"I understand. Family business."
Yang nodded. "Family business."
Both turned to the arena as Weiss let out a cry of exertion as a wave of frozen air crashed down on everyone in the chamber. Everyone felt the force behind it, and both Yang and Winter had to brace themselves in order not to be thrown off their feet.
A second cry was heard, and Yang recognized it instantly.
"Ruby!"
The red reaper was flung across the arena to crash against the wall and fall to the ground. Yang ran over to inspect her sibling who was picking herself up off the floor. Large flakes of ice coated her body, but Ruby did not appear to care as she callously ripped them off.
Winter calmly walked up towards her panting sister and assessed her. Taking out her scroll, she checked Weiss' aura reserves. It was in the lower orange range.
Winter then switched to the status of Ruby, and to her satisfaction, it was also in the orange, but on the upper scale and was already climbing higher by subtle increments. The reports on her abnormal aura regeneration were true.
"That was a good bout Weiss. But you lost control at the end again."
Weiss took in a breath then regained her posture, holding Myrtenaster down in a resting position.
"I'll do better next time."
"You'd better. We cannot let you leave the academy grounds until we know you can keep your powers in check."
Weiss gave her sister a determined look. It was that same look she gave when she begged Winter to train her at the Schnee Manor. Thinking back on those long nights almost made Winter feel nostalgic.
"I'll do my best."
Winter gave a satisfied smile. "I expect nothing less from you."
Yang looked worryingly at her sister as she picked herself up.
"Rubes? Are you okay?" asked Yang as she saw the pained expression on her sister's face.
"I'm fine," was all she said before picking up Cresent Rose, which had fallen to the side, and turned to the exit.
Yang could see her sister was hiding something. Her movements were stiff, and Ruby only moved like that when she was trying to block out something uncomfortable.
"Are you sure?"
Ruby then turned back and forced one of her cheeky smiles.
"I'm fine, Yang. I'm just hungry."
Both teams RWBY and JNPR sat together in Beacon's dining hall, with all of them enjoying their meals. Ruby was happily munching down on a pancake covered in mince. They tasted so much better than chocolate and sugar today for some reason.
She took mouthfuls of her delicious treat with each bite and swallowed with very little chewing. Yang watched her with no shortage of relief, it was not the first time her little sister had found herself in a foul mood just because she was hungry.
Pyrrha watched the youngest of their little cabal with a stint of worry. Taking her focus off of Jaune, she looked to the blonde brawler.
"Is it safe for her to eat that much?"
Yang looked at Ruby's plate, there were so many pancakes on her plate divided by the meaty gruel that it almost looked like a small tower. On some level Yang agreed with Pyrrha; this was a lot of food, even for Ruby, but that in itself was not uncommon. There were multiple instances where she would suddenly up the intake of food she was consuming and then it would die down to normal.
Every time it went up it would look like too much for her, and each instance was higher than the previous. This was simply this instances height.
"It's fine," Yang said waving the gladiator's concern away.
"Are you sure?" Pyrrha asked. "I mean, she could get sick and then she won't be able to take part in the mock missions next week."
Yang just grinned with her usual confidence. "My sis has a lot of problems but the one thing she never gets is sick. Especially from overeating."
Pyrrha still looked unconvinced but that was fine to Yang. Pyrrha did not need to understand the strangeness of Ruby to get along with her. Hell, Yang herself was still struggling to grasp just what made her little sister so different, but that did not mean she did not love her.
Nora who was eyeing up Ruby's stack, slowly reached across the table, hoping to take advantage of the red reaper's enjoyment of her current pancake.
The valkyrie had made it clear to everyone just how much she enjoyed pancakes. On their first day at Beacon, before Initiation, Nora raided the kitchens and claimed all the pancakes for herself.
Now, Ruby had done the same thing, but without getting in trouble, and that had left Nora without her pancake fix.
The valkyrie's hand was inches away from the pancake at the very top of the pile, her intent being to swipe it off before Ruby could stop her. Some of their group at the table saw this and were about to voice their objection to Nora.
Stealing another's meal even if was your absolute favourite was wrong, and Ren was about to say as much to his rowdy companion.
However, any objection was cut off when a cutting knife crashed between Nora's eyes. The impact was hard enough to make Nora's aura spark, and she fell back to the point that Ren had to catch her shoulder to keep her on the bench.
"Ruby!" exclaimed Weiss, almost shouting, not surprised at her actions, just level of violence she was willing to commit.
Blake said nothing and continued to eat her meal, which was tuna.
Yang said nothing and continued eating as well, not even surprised at this reaction. It was a rule of their house back on Patch. Never try to take Ruby's food, if you did, then what befalls you is of your own doing.
Pyrrha and Jaune stared open mouthed at this response from their friend. Yang wanted to laugh; they had not spent enough time around her to catch her more extreme tendencies. Ruby had played nice with them up till now and she normally took care to keep her image that way.
But she made an exception when people took her food.
When the budding couple before Yang looked to her for an explanation she just shrugged.
Nora sat up straight and stared across the table from her. Ruby peered put from behind the stack of pancakes, with only the upper portion of her head being visible. She gave Nora a stare that could only be described as cold. It was a warning that said that she knew exactly what she did and was perfectly willing to duke it out of Nora continued.
Nora, out of either excitement or ignorance meant to try again, still with that smile on her face. Ren, seeing that Ruby had no intention of playing around, pressed down on Nora's shoulder, keeping her in her seat.
With the message received Nora just stared down into her lap casting the image of a sulking child.
The table went quiet for a full minute, the only noise being the background buzz from all the other students in the dining hall and Ruby continuing her meal, acting as if nothing had happened.
Yang decided to ease the tensions, since Ruby had no intention of doing it. She must have been very agitated to not use her usual peace-making tactics.
"Sorry about that," she said to Ren. "She normally doesn't go that far."
Ren shook his head, displaying his usual calm. "It is fine. Nora was the one who prompted it. She's still not used to polite society after our travels."
Yang nodded in understanding. Living on the road for years makes it hard to readjust to staying in one place where customs and rules are expected to be followed.
"Hey!" Nora protested, having magically forgotten about the pancakes. "Just yesterday you said I was doing great."
"I said you were adjusting to school life. I didn't say you had mastered table manners," countered Ren, then turning to Weiss he continued. "Would you like to learn from Weiss instead of me? I'm sure you'll learn much faster that way."
"Please no," begged the Ice Princess jokingly, as Queen was now taken by her elder sister. "I'm already being stretched to my limit with my own team leader and the extra training sessions, I can't handle another crazed loony on my schedule."
"Awww," Nora cried. "Come one, Weissy. I can learn, I'll bet I'll make a better student than Ruby ever will. Trade me for Ruby, what do ya say?"
All three members of team RWBY smirked at the joke for a number of reasons. Ruby had her flaws but being a poor student of anything was not one of them. Yang knew and the others were quickly finding out that if Ruby wanted to know or understand something then she would learn quickly with few exceptions.
The hurdle was a lack of interest in anything their leader did not see as useful, but Yang did not really see that as an issue.
"Trade our leader for you?" Weiss pursed her lip in false contemplation. "Why would we do that? It would leave us without one."
"Didn't you want to be leader?" Nora asked with a tilt of the head. "I remember that it was the reason you didn't get along with Ruby. Send her to our team and you can be leader."
"And have her rip Jaune to pieces? Sorry, I don't fancy his attempts to charm me but I'm not so cruel."
To that Yang did laugh and Blake cracked a smile. Ren looked slightly more positive while Pyrrha giggled.
Jaune looked embarrassed. Yang knew Jaune was taking secret lessons from Pyrrha to help him keep up with his classes. While he was a nice guy Yang could see he wanted to be a hero, one that was celebrated, or at least that was the impression Yang got from him when they first met.
As for his attempts to win Weiss over, they were cringe inducing at best and annoying at worst.
"But you get to be leader~" Nora said jokingly.
"Like I even want that anymore. I am happy with my current position thank you," Weiss said, almost as playful as the valkyrie while taking a sip from a cup of orange juice.
"Ooohhhh? Looks like the Ice Princess is afraid to be seen as a Queen again."
Yang watched as Weiss narrowed her eyes and Nora continue her taunts.
"Look at me, my sister is here and now I can't be the big bad queen I used to be, wha wha wha."
Weiss just glared at the mocking girl and Yang half expected her to fly into a petulant outrage that she usually did when her family or her legacy were brought up. She had a kneejerk reaction to defend those things and it was an easy target for ridicule.
However, Weiss did not rise to the bait this time, at least not in her usual fashion. Taking a deep breath, she turned to her team leader who was still happily munching, Yang would probably bet to Weiss' annoyance.
"Ruby?"
Ruby paused in her feast, her teeth still in the pancake. She did not speak or remove her jaw, but she did give Weiss a look that conveyed that the heiress had her attention.
"May I have one of your pancakes, please?" requested Weiss in a polite almost royal manner.
Ruby's eyes narrowed sharply, but she did not make any moves to show hostility. Instead, she sat there as the rest of the table wondered what she would do in response to this, albeit formal, breaking of the rule.
The leader of Team RWBY shot a glance at Nora who was still grinning, most likely expecting Ruby to shoot Weiss down.
To Yang's relief, Ruby nudged her head towards the pile.
"Only one," she said, her voice muffled by the pancake caught in her jaw.
"Thank you," said Weiss, carefully removing the pancake at the top of the pile with both hands, her thumbs and index fingers clutched on opposite ends to make sure her uniform did not get any of the meaty substance on it.
Weiss placed the pancake on her already emptied plate and smirked at Nora.
The valkyrie let out a cry of childlike outrage. "Huh!? How come Weiss can have a pancake and not me?"
Ruby swallowed the food in her mouth and voiced an indifferent answer. "Because she was nice enough to say please instead of stealing from me."
Nora deflated, but Ren was there to consol her. "See? If you had been polite,she might have given you one."
Nora then perked up as if she had discovered a new dust vein. "Ruby can I please have a pancake?"
Ruby had already taken a bite of another pancake and just shook her head making Nora deflate again. "Huh? Why not? You gave Weiss when she said please so why not me?"
With another swallow, Ruby spoke with a voice that mimicked that of an automated banker. "I'm sorry, your goodwill account is in the negative. Please try again next semester."
With another childish cry, Nora flailed for a moment before sitting with a sappy frown. "Not fair."
Then something happened that Yang suspected even caught her little sister off guard. The pancake Weiss had taken from Ruby crashed flat into Nora's face. Everyone stared at this unexpected scene. Even the red reaper had paused in her feast to glance at what had just happened.
Nora had not been knocked over this time and sat still as the pancake fell from her face. It landed on the table with a wet splat and Nora just stared forward in complete shock.
Weiss for the most part, examined her nails with a satisfied grin. "There now shut up."
Yang saw that Nora was processing what the Ice Princess had done and while Yang would like to predict what the feisty girl would do, she had to admit defeat. Only Ren had the experience to understand what Nora might do in retaliation.
As the blonde brawler suspected, Ren made a motion to stop his friend. "Nora. Don't."
With a gleeful smile appearing on her face, Nora grabbed one of the rice balls on Ren's only half-finished plate and chucked it at Weiss. A small glyph appeared between them to redirect it, and much to Yang's misfortune, it went straight for her.
The impact was nothing, however, what she was not expecting was the sticky sauce at the center of the rice ball which covered her face along with the rice itself.
Yang closed her eyes as she felt the pieces of the confection go everywhere.
When she opened them again, she saw everyone looking at her with a tangible worry on their face. Nora was the only exception, as she still looked excited.
"Uh oh," said Ruby as she grabbed her plate and lifted it off the table, balancing the pancake tower with expert hands and walking away.
Yang suspected why her sister would leave. The two never came to blows but they both had rules for one another that they never crossed. Yang hoped that Ruby was just overreacting.
Reaching up to her scalp, Yang touched her golden hair. It was also covered in the rice and whatever sauce Ren had requested to be mixed in with it.
And with that, Yang felt her choler rise and her vision go red at the edges as she set her sights on Nora, who was looking at like an excited bullfighter.
"MY HAIR!" Roared yang as she grabbed an oversized chicken drumstick and leapt at Nora.
Nora, having expected this, leaped out of her seat and landed on a nearby table.
Putting her hands to her mouth to act like a loudspeaker, she yelled out, "FOOD FIGHT!"
And with that, the battle for Beacon's cafeteria began.
"I'm telling you man, these girls are a bunch of badasses," said Sun Wukong as he walked along the gardens of Beacon.
"Dude, you've been telling me that for two weeks, I get it you really like this cat girl," answered Neptune, Sun's partner and friend.
Sun had arrived in Vale a head of schedule because he wanted to scope out the competition for the Vytal Festival tournament. What he found instead was a lot more interesting. A Faunus who had defected from the White Fang and chosen to become a huntress and a girl who was arguable one of the craziest huntresses he had met.
Rigging your own school locker system? Who does that?
Then there was that strange almost doll-like girl. She had a semblance that could kick some serious ass.
All in all, his trip had been so worth it when the rest of his team, Team SSSN, had arrived a week later. He wanted to introduce his team so badly, but unfortunately, all the prep work for the Vytal Festival had gotten in the way.
That and when he asked the professors where Blake's team was, all he got was, 'They are attending extra classes.'
Sun had every reason to believe them, but being raised and trained in Vacuo, he could smell BS from a mile away and knew that something else was going on.
And for all intents and purposes, that only made him even more excited. This was going to be one awesome trip.
Now that it was lunch time and he was not occupied with his own classes, he could take Neptune to introduce him. Scarlet and Sage were busy but a the very least he could get a start.
If Blake went on crazy stunts like that, then Sun wanted in, and he wanted his team in along with him.
"Just wait, I think you'll like them." Sun reassured his skeptical friend.
Neptune just shrugged, as the two of them left the garden, a pair of girls walked by. Not willing to miss a chance, Neptune pushed back his sky-blue hair and gave them a smile.
"Hey ladies~" he said with all the charm he could, pointing a finger gun at one as they passed him by.
Sun had no idea it the tricks Neptune used worked, the girls muttered something and then they giggled as they walked away. It might have worked, and they approved of the attention his partner gave them, but it could also be that the girls found him to be cheesy and were mocking him.
He would never know. Sun found such things to be a waste of effort. He preferred just to show he was interested, but never got too pushy. It always ticks other people off when you claim to know them better than they do.
Sun never commented on his friend's attempts at the ladies, and he did not plan on starting today. Only if his attempts caused trouble for the team would he put a stop to it.
The two made their way to the cafeteria to grab some food for the rest of their team. They preferred to eat in the privacy of their dorm, or wherever there weren't a lot of people.
"Just wait until you meet them, you'll see what I mean."
Neptune rolled his eyes believing Sun was just getting excited over another one of his little adventures again.
"Whatever you say."
The two nearly jumped when they passed by a window, something big gooey and purple crashed into the glass, leaving nothing but a large stain on it.
The two stared at each other for a moment, then they carefully approached the glass and peered inside.
What they say was Armageddon, a food themed Armageddon.
People were running around and screaming, wielding various articles of food in their hands and melee weapons. Large sticks of bread, strings of sausages, whole chickens for boxing gloves.
Sun spotted one girl with white hair who was holding a whole swordfish like an actual sword. She lunged at a guy with black hair with a pink link running down it. He had a pair of celery sticks in his hands. Normally, such things would not make proper weapons, but with aura enhancing them they can take much more damage.
However, they are still just pieces of food in the end.
The swordfish shattered the celery and sent the poor guy flying. Then another girl jumped in. This one had red hair tied into a ponytail with a sort of crown atop her head. She only used one ridiculously long bread stick as her weapon.
The two appeared to be a part of a separate brawl from the rest of the chaos. There was a ginger, using a whole chicken attached to a metal pole, turning it into a fowl hammer. She was duking it out with a girl who was using two chickens as boxing gloves as that appeared to be one of the most favoured weapons in this battle.
Then he saw someone he had been wanting to see for the past two weeks.
"Blake," said Sun, getting Neptune's attention.
"What? She's in there?" Neptune asked, sounding aghast, and letting his nervousness shine through.
Sun pointed to the center of the melee where Blake stood. She also had a pair of bread sticks and was fending off the guy with the pink streak in his hair and a blonde dude who was using a large metal serving dish as a shield.
Sun could not place it, but he could see that the clash between Blake and these two guys were somehow separate from the rest of the chaos. This along with the blonde girl and the girl with the white hair.
"Those must be her team," Sun said to himself. However, something was off, he only counted three and all huntsmen teams had four members.
Where was the girl with the red cape? If he remembered right her name was Ruby.
Sweeping his gaze across the hall, he spotted a figure hunkered down in a far corner far removed from the fighting. Sun knew it was her. That crazy girl who put herself at risk to save her even crazier teammate.
Sun was expecting her to join the fun, but instead, she just sat at a far table which had been dragged to the corner of the hall. On the table there was a stack of what he could tell were pancakes and she was eating them heartily.
She looked completely oblivious to the chaos around her, choosing to ignore it for the sake of eating.
The only time she appeared to notice anything was when one of the other students got close. They would look at her for a moment and she would stop to regard them. Sun didn't know what she did, but, somehow, she managed to scare off anyone who came close.
Sun watched with fascination as this war of confectionary chaos continued.
This was way more fun than Shade Academy.
His attention turned back to the clash in the middle of the cafeteria as the blond girl let out a roar and then knocked the ginger haired girl across the hall and towards Ruby.
The chaos that had erupted from Nora's antics were annoying. All Ruby wanted was to enjoy some good food in peace. Lunch time was becoming one of her favourite times of the day as it was the one instance where she could be free from her hunger pains entirely.
Now Nora has ruined that, at least for today but Ruby did not mind. All she had to do was stay out of it and wait for Prof Goodwitch, or Winter or whomever gets here first to clean up the mess. It would only take a few minutes.
She did hate the waste of food though. Food was meant for eating, not hurling around like ammunition. You had dust for that.
As Ruby reached for another pancake, Nora came flying in, crashing on the floor behind the table. The next second, Nora was on her feet and ready to go.
The valkyrie then turned to the table and smiled.
"Come on Ruby, join in," offered the energetic girl.
"No way."
Nora lost her smile for a confused frown at Ruby's refusal. "Aww, why not?"
"I refuse to be a part of this. This is lunch time, not fight time. I am going to eat."
Nora slammed her hands on the table repeatedly, hoping to anger Ruby, but she held her calm as she devoured another pancake.
"Come on! It's not the same out there without you."
"Don't care."
"But Weiss is using a swordfish as a sword! And Yang has chickens for fists. This is so fun and you're missing out!"
Ruby shook her head vehemently. "Weapons are weapons and food is food. I refuse to waste it."
"Then let me use a pancake to swat Yang with. I want to use them like a frying pan."
Nora reached for the stack of pancakes, but Ruby pulled them all away from her and held them up at her sides, guarding them protectively. She knew Nora would be less restrained now that Ren was occupied with Blake.
"Oh, come one! If you won't join in at least help me get back at Yang."
Ruby held the plate close and glared at the girl who was now climbing over the table. That was when Ruby realized that she had made a mistake moving the plate away. Now she was holding it with both hands and couldn't fight back.
"Nora, no, these are mine."
"But you let Weiss have one," Nora countered now crawling across the table.
Ruby got up from the bench and stepped back. "Weiss did that to spite you and I wanted the same thing. Don't think I'll let you use my food to pummel my sister. Using food like that is blasphemy and I won't help you."
Nora, still smiling, hopped off the table and got into a crouch, evidently done talking and just taking what she wanted. Ruby knew that mentality, but she still thought she should at least try to talk her out of it, like her mother said.
If you don't at least try to appeal to a person's better nature, then how can you say you are any different?
Was Ruby different from Nora? Absolutely. Was she better than Nora?
"Debatable."
"Nora, I'll say this one last time, these are mine."
That last part came out more threatening than she had intended but it was too late, Nora had lunged at her.
Ruby turned her body to the side to keep Nora from crashing into the plate. Nora then pushed on, either trying to knock Ruby over or reach for the plate that was now just barely out of the crazy girl's reach.
Ruby struggled against Nora, and it was a contest she knew she would lose. In terms of pure strength Nora was second only to Yang and while Ruby was not a pushover this was a contest made for Nora.
Nora's focus was completely on the pancakes now and Ruby, in her desperation, acted without thinking.
In moment of pure instinct, she opened her opened her mouth and bit down on Nora's right arm.
Somehow, the bite did not meet the protective barrier of Nora's aura, bypassing it to crunch down on bare skin and press against bone.
Nora yelped in surprise from the sudden and intense jolt of pain running up her arm and tried to pull back, but Ruby had already locked her law in place.
As Nora struggled and protested, Ruby suddenly felt the monster rise up inside her. Something old and long buried. Something she had forced deep down and locked away.
Something she had repressed for the past six years had resurfaced and it was hungry.
Wisps of black mist began to form around Ruby and appeared to flow from Nora to her.
The sensation, Ruby was experiencing in that moment, the rush, the electric satisfaction of finally being free of the pain she had been cursed with almost set her blood on fire. The sudden primal excitement of it made her bite down harder to the point where she was about to break skin and shatter the bones beneath.
Nora's cries for release suddenly faded away as the strength left her body. Her legs gave out soon after and the sudden drop jolted Ruby out of her unintentional revery.
A quick glance at what was happening to the excentric girl shocked Ruby into releasing the arm, allowing Nora to slump to the floor.
It only took a second for Ruby to understand what she had done. Forgetting about the pancakes, she let the plate drop to the floor, shattering it and scattering the reason for this scuffle in the first place.
"Nora?"
Ruby immediately got to her knees and took hold of Nora's shoulders. Giving them a light shake, she began to interrogate the prone form before her.
"Nora? Nora!?"
Ruby shook the body harder, making the limb head bob slightly, making it bounce on the floor, if she wakes up, she will definitely get a headache.
"Come on, Nora! Stop messing around, get up!"
With one more violent shake, Ruby grit her teeth and undenounced to her, the tiled floor began to crack of their own, as if some unsees force was being applied to them. The same went for the windows and the pillars around her. Had the chaos of the food fight had not been present and intense, this instance would have been noted by all present.
However, only two outside the hall had the eye to see what was happening around the red reaper, and it both baffled and frightened them.
"No."
Ruby clenched her teeth in denial as she tried her best to hold back the terror that welled up inside her.
"No, no, no, no, nononononononono…"
Weiss was going in for another thrust from the swordfish that she had acquired, not even bothering to question how ridiculous it is that someone thought it was a good idea to serve a whole swordfish for lunch.
She was on the first step of her lunge toward Pyrrha who had been knocked back by Yang who had been freed from Nora and was now adding her other teammates. As without Nora, JNPR lacked the raw muscle to deal with even an understrength RWBY.
On her second step, her ears picked up a sudden and harsh static noise. It was so high pitched that she had to drop her makeshift weapon to cover her ears.
It didn't help as the sudden pain forced her to her knees and her vison began to warp. In her mind's eye, everything became distorted and elongated. Like someone had made clay of reality and was now playing with it like a bored child.
Looking up at Pyrrha, Weiss saw a face of nightmares. Her red vibrant hair now looked like dried blood and her face looked stretched to the point where you would think she was made of melted plastic. Her jaw was stretched so wide that it could swallow Weiss whole.
Instinct taking over, she backed away in sudden terror.
The thing that she thought was Pyrrha made no sudden moves but approached Weiss. She meant to scream, but then something blocked her view of the creature.
A figure appeared before her. It was wearing a black cloak, eerily reminiscent of her team leader's own red cloak, cowl included. However, the entire body of the shadow person was concealed by the cloak and some sort of black smoke seeped out from the bottom where it touched the floor. The face was completely hidden by the cowl.
Weiss felt a sudden panic at the sight of this thing, an unknown part of her screamed to get away. That this creature promised nothing but oblivion.
Sitting there, her limbs frozen in fear, she waited for the thing to make a move.
It did not move an inch, rather, it spoke with a familiar voice, but in Weiss' terror she had not the presence of mind to recognize it.
"This is your fault."
The shadow person stared at Weiss and like smoke caught in a harsh wind, was blown away and Weiss' vision returned to normal.
"Weiss?"
Looking up, Weiss saw Pyrrha, no longer looking like the fighter she had been, but the friend she tried to be. The Invincible Girl offered the heiress a hand and Wiess took it.
Standing, Weiss saw that the chaos of the small war they had started was still raging, but everything looked normal again. No longer did it all look distorted and warped.
"Are you alright?" asked Pyrrha.
"Umm, ah." Weiss stuttered, still struggling to comprehend what she had just witnessed. "I think so."
"Are you sure?" Pyrrha insisted with no shortage of concern. "You looked like you were having a panic attack."
Weiss was about to affirm that while her heart was beating like a marching band, but a loud crash at the entrance of the hall and an angry shout stopped her words from reaching past he lips.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!?"
{Lost in Transmission – Tobias Lilja}
Ruby trembled as she tried to wake Nora, but she would not stir.
What had she done? What had she done?
A sudden pain rushed into her skull, and images flashed in her mind. Imaged of huge fat, bloated things that she would hesitate to even call people reaching out to grab her only to suddenly gasp and fall to the ground dead as she passed them by.
More of them noticed her as she calmy walked the halls, and when they reached for her, she would reach back. Not with her hands, but with her will. She would reach out to them and rip their life away. A clean and quick end, it almost felt unfair considering how ugly they were.
As she progressed down the hall more of them took notice. Some tried to ambush her, others thought they should just leave her alone, a few even tried to escape.
It did not matter what they did. The results were the same.
Dead. All dead.
All because of her.
Her vision returned she took in the prone form of Nora in front on her. She looked fine for all intents and purposes. At least, Ruby hoped that was the case since she refused to wake up.
She grabbed Nora's arm, hoping beyond hope that she had not just done the one thing she had sworn she would never do since she had regained her memories from that other place. She had repressed the memories so far down that she had forgotten how to even use that horrid power and now she had used it on one of her friends.
Ruby felt Nora's wrist and let out a sigh of relief.
It was still warm and there was a pulse. Nora was alive.
The door to the cafeteria burst open and Prof Goodwitch and Winter both stormed inside, both looking properly ticked off, making Ruby happy she had stayed out of the fighting.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!?" shouted Glynda, her voice bringing an end to the chaos as everyone froze when they registered the voice.
Ruby was honestly surprised to see just how quickly it ended. It took less than three seconds for everyone to stop.
The red reaper noted the fear on most of their faces and remembered how most people can be as irrational as animal once their blood was up. Some had the self-awareness to not show fear as they likely knew the consequences of their actions and did not care.
Like Cadin who was holding a cooked pig above his head. He looked bored now that the fun was over. While Ruby hated his guts, she at least understood him to a degree. He knew this would get him in trouble and chose to have a good time. It earned him some credit in her books.
Ruby was the same, except she valued practicality over simply feeling good.
Weiss looked terrified as Winter was giving her a scolding glare.
Over the next two minutes, Glynda ordered everyone to file out, and they did. It was a somber thing, many of them had their heads hung low in regret.
Ruby watched the procession, and then came he own team followed by JNPR. They glanced her way and some looked surprised, Ren looked at the prone form of Nora and then the pancakes and shook his head.
He must have thought that Nora provoked her, and while true, he did not understand just how close Nora had come to making the worst mistake of her life.
Glynda approached Ruby who was still kneeling at Nora's side and holding her arm. The huntress crossed her arms and looked down at the scene before her.
Cracks on everything around her due to clear impact damage. A shattered plate which happened to hold Nora's favorite food.
"And just what part did you have in all this?"
Ruby, suddenly having a clear head for the first time in two weeks, came up with a response quickly. "Nothing. I didn't join in."
Glynda raised an eyebrow behind one of her spectacles.
"You didn't do this?" she asked, gesturing to the damaged architecture around her and the prone body of Nora, who was the only unconscious student in the entire cafeteria.
"Nope," lied Ruby. "Yang threw Nora over here. I was just eating."
Glynda then looked to Nora. "And why is she the only unconscious person in the room? And why are you next to her?"
Ruby let go of Nora's hand and stood up. "Nora was the one who started the fight. She got into an argument at the table and accidently messed up Yang's hair. My sister was pretty mad."
Glynda bent over and reached into Nora's pocket. Pulling out the scroll, she checked Nora's aura levels. Ruby felt worried when she saw just how much aura Nora had left. It was nothing but a hair thin line of red.
Had Ruby held onto Nora for a moment longer, it would have been the end as her aura was likely what kept Ruby from ripping the life out of her.
"Hmm, your sister must have given her a proper thrashing then," commented Glynda as Ruby held a straight face. It was business as usual. Glynda was looking for signs of guilt or lies, too bad for her that Ruby had years of experience in masking what she felt.
"She did, knocked over all my pancakes too."
Glynda watched the girl before her carefully. Ruby saw a hint of sympathy on her face. Glynda had not revealed what sort of relationship she had with Ruby's mother, but it was clear that Glynda saw something of Summer in the girl before her.
With a sigh, Glynda took the scroll and whipped out her riding crop. With a flick, Nora began to float.
"Come along."
With that Glynda walked out with Ruby in tow and Nora floating along.
Sun and Neptune hid in the bushes around the cafeteria entrance, watching as the procession was being led away.
Sun for the most part was grinning with amusement. Stuff like this never happens back in Shade. At least not to this degree. Most people go to Shade to get opportunities to go anywhere other than Vacuo. This leads most of them not to push the boundaries of the academy too much.
When he saw Blake and her team being led out by a sharply dressed woman with white hair, he nudged Neptune.
"See? I told you these guys were awesome."
Neptune only half listened; his eyes were focused on the group itself. Sun figured he was likely eyeing up one of the girls. Nothing unusual.
"Yeah," he said. "Awesome. Especially that girl with the white hair."
Sun re-examined the crowd and found the one Neptune was referring to. She had pale skin, and pure white hair tied into an off-centre ponytail. He remembered her from his time at the docks. She was the one who told the team to chase him.
Then he remembered her name.
"Isn't that Weiss Schnee?" he asked, testing to see if Neptune was up to date on the pop culture of Remnant.
"A Schnee?" asked Neptune.
"Looks like it," said Sun. "Still willing to do the usual Neptune thing?"
Neptune shrugged. "If she's as badass as you say she is then I just might."
Sun laughed and tuned back to the doors of the cafeteria where that angry professor lady marched out along with someone who now had the capability to scare the pants off of him.
That girl with the red cape. Ruby.
Sun and Neptune watched her with a sense of caution as she followed the professor. Sun had watched the entire scene play out and he was both stunned and frightened. In under ten seconds, the girl had demonstrated not one but two semblances at once. Both of which looked to be involuntary.
The fear Sun felt in that moment was something primal, something he could not comprehend or rationalize. But now that the fear was gone, he could see things properly again. It was a semblance and there was nothing wrong with what the girl did. It was most likely an accident.
"You see the red girl?" asked Neptune.
"Yeah."
"Damn, I hope we don't face her in the tournament."
Sun watched the ginger haired girl float away alongside Ruby. Sun knew that if she had that kind of power on hand then facing her in a proper fight would be a real test of skill. He looked forward to it and dreaded it at the same time.
When he loses, he likes to look his opponent in the eye.
"With a semblance like that, who would."
Sun figured that Blake would be a little too busy for a friendly visit after this and decided that it would be smarter to postpone it for now.
At least he could put more time into finding her dorm room.
Later that afternoon, in Team JNPR's dorm room, which had the same interior as Team RWBY's new room, Nora suddenly jolted awake with a gasp, startling her teammates and giving a strong sense of relief to Ren.
Jaune and Pyrrha were in the middle of strength training. Both of them doing synchronized pushups with Jaune sweating while Pyrrha still just barely getting to work it up.
Both had stopped to look at the sight of their friend.
"You're awake," said Pyrrha, standing up along with Jaune.
Nora made to speak, but Ren caught her in a tight hug. Looking over his shoulder, she spied a chair by her bed. He had been sitting beside her the entire time.
He let her go but did not back away.
"How are you feeling?" asked Ren.
Nora lifted her arms, they felt heavy and sluggish, like she had done a full workout a few hours ago and the backlash had come for her after the adrenaline had died down.
"Tired," said Nora.
Thinking back, the valkyrie tried to recall why she was suddenly in their dorm. When the memory returned, she perked up.
"Oh! The cafeteria! The Food Fight! What happened?"
The three other members of Team JNPR looked to one another before Jaune spoke up having been elected by the stares of the other two.
"Umm, Prof Goodwitch stepped in and stopped it. We've all been banned from leaving school grounds until the mock missions are over."
"What?" Nora gasped. "No! I wanted to visit Sweet Swirl tomorrow!"
"Then you shouldn't have started the food fight," said Ren passively. "We warned you not to do it and this is your punishment."
"Whaaaa! No fair! Everyone else joined in too!"
"And everyone else is getting the same punishment," said Pyrrha still as friendly and amicable as always.
"Except for Ruby though," added Jaune, which shocked Nora.
"Huh? How come she gets a free pass?"
"Because she didn't join in," Ren said. "The only time she fought was when you tried to take her food."
Ren leaned in close to her. "Again."
"But I… umm…" Nora was about to protest but found that she couldn't.
"Is something wrong Nora?" questioned Pyrrha.
"No, it's just… you said Ruby knocked me out?" asked the valkyrie turning to Ren.
Ren gave a nod.
"Huh. Weird."
"What's weird?" asked Jaune.
Nora shrugged, before saying, "I just can't remember what happened. The last thing I know is that Yang gave me a good sucker punch and then I draw a blank."
"Ruby must have given you one heck of a beating then. You were in the infirmary for hours. Your aura had been so thoroughly depleted that it was a miracle you didn't get hurt by the end of it." Pyrrha finished as she whipped herself down with a rag before handing a fresh one to Jaune.
"But shouldn't that still count as worth punishment? I'm so confused."
Ren responded to his friends cries with a flick to her forehead, to which she then flinched and covered the impacted area.
"Owwy. What was that for?"
"For not listening to us when we told you not to pick a fight with Ruby. She may be our friend but there are lines that we do not cross," said Ren with the voice of a disapproving father.
"Yeah," concurred Jaune, holding up a hand to count the various unspoken rules they all had for the other team. "Yang's hair, Weiss' songbook, Blake's bow and books. Ruby's books, Ruby's food, and waking her when she's sleeping. Oh, and I dare not imagine what she would do if we touched Cresent Rose."
"We get it, Jaune," Pyrrha said with a giggle, understanding just how strange Ruby actually is.
"Well, in that case," Nora began. "Mind if I ask Ruby if she can get some candy for me since she's the only…"
"No!" yelled the three of them in unison.
Nora then slumped in her bed, saddened by the day's events.
"Boo."
{Six's Theme Part I – Tobias Lilja}
She was in pain. So, so much pain. It was an endless wheel of torture that continued to spin and spin and spin.
As she passed through the sliding paper doors, she tried to fight it. The rising sense of emptiness within her core that left nothing but agony in its wake.
She fought back, as she did before, as she did every time since the first. Pressing on, she walked down the passage before her. Her tiny feet making light knocks against the wooden planks that made up the floor of this accursed place.
She passed by an entire wall of the paper doors, all of them lining up with different images to form a picture. It was of the ocean. Heavy waves crashed into each other, throwing water up violently and in the center of it all was an image of a giant domed shape with a small little chimney spout on top. The small chimney bellowing with a long wavy column of black smoke.
When she passed the domed image, she believed that this time she would succeed, she would beat back the Hunger that gnawed at her very soul. But she could only hold on for a few more steps as the pain reached new heights, the sudden onrush of torment overwhelming her to the point where she nearly collapsed on the pinewood floor.
It was so all consuming that she was locked in place, knees and hands on the floor. All of her mental energy was focused on bearing the pain.
She could not scream, she would not. To make any loud noises here, in this place where all beings wish to consume her, is a death sentence.
It would not end here. There was no way she would allow it to end like this. She had come too far, sacrificed too much to let it end now.
Gritting her teeth, she fought against the pain, using all her might just to raise her head and pushed herself up.
A noise caught her attention in the next room. It did not sound like one of the fat ones with a hunger that was likely just as all-consuming as her own, however, in this state she likely would not care anymore.
Pressing on, a hand against her stomach, she marched forward step by painful step.
Stepping through the threshold, she found herself in a room which was lit by a single lantern dangling from the center of the ceiling, casting the corners of the room in shadows.
Standing in the middle of the room was one of those strange creatures. The other children she had met while being trapped her called them Nomes. They had stunted, almost shriveled up bodies that reached only half her height topped off with a strange cone for a head that reminded her of the dunce caps she had seen somewhere. She could not recall where anymore, but she remembered tables and a person writing on a board.
The Nome made that strange squeaking noise they all made when it took notice of her. There was no thought to her actions; all she did was approach the Nome, making it clear that she was in pain.
The Nome squeaked again, then it appeared to notice the hand on her stomach. Conveniently, there was a sausage in front of the creature.
Seeing her pain, it picked up the sausage and offered it to her.
Had she been able to think properly she might have thanked it. Such acts of charity were rare in this place. Taking her hand off her stomach she reached out with both as she approached the Nome.
The helpful creature just stood there holding up the sausage to her. Its intent clear, it wanted to let her eat it.
She was inches away from it, and perhaps she realized this too late, or perhaps she planned it from the start, she was in too much pain to tell the difference, but she was not looking at the sausage.
With a burst of desperate energy, she lunged at the Nome making it squeak with fright at this unexpected betrayal of its trust and generosity.
She held it down with both hands as it flailed and squeaked, likely begging for mercy, but she wasn't listening anymore.
All she wanted to do was eat.
And she did, she opened her jaw and sank her teeth into the pitiful creature's throat. Its cries were cut short as she took her fill.
Within seconds, it was over.
Now freed from her pain, at least for now, she stood up again and beheld the scene of her crime. The Nome, one of the only beings that had shown her any goodwill in this place, now lay sprawled out before her, it's body sunken and pallid as if it had been drained of all fluids.
But it still bled, the red liquid poured out of the fist sized gash torn from its throat, staining the wooden floor red.
She looked up, noticing the light had gone out. The lantern that had lit the room had been crushed somehow. Like a giant hand had wrapped around it and squeezed.
Looking to her left, she saw a platform built into the walls. This likely served as a table for those fat beasts when they tried to state their own hunger.
Atop the ledge stood her Shadow. It stood there, silently regarding her, as it always did. This had been what it had done since their reunion. It had spoken to her once, but neither of them had spoken a word for a long time.
Now all it did was judge her in silence. Its mere presence showing how much it hated her.
That was fine, so long as it could not hurt her, she did not care.
When her Shadow disappeared, she moved on, forgetting about the poor little Nome that she had murdered.
Did you feel anything for it?
No.
Ruby awakened with a gasp, immediately sitting upright, her pajamas hot and showing the first instances of sweat.
She was breathing hard as she examined her surroundings. This was her dorm room, and she was in her bed. The bunkbed she had rebuilt for Weiss.
The dream was fresh in her mind. Not just fresh, but it held the clarity of polished diamonds.
Ruby remembered that day. She remembered what she did, and the reality of her actions filled her with dread.
It was only made words when she noticed the dark silhouette in front of her. Her Shadow sat on the bed, silently regarding her as she did then. But where there was only hate, now she shared in the lament, for they were both to blame for what had come before.
Ruby for committing the act, and her Shadow for doing nothing but waiting so she could spite her other half.
Embracing he pillow, she shed silent tears as she lamented the confirmation of all her fears.
The fear that she truly was a monster.
Hello everyone. Sorry again. I know you all must be getting sick of my apologies.
But here I am, and I come with a small announcement. I am changing the game plan for all my stories from now on.
Rather than one chapter at a time and then moving on to the next story, I have decided to up the intensity so I can get the stories to progress a little faster.
From now on, I shall be writing three chapters per story before moving onto the next. The intent is to give me greater focus by giving my attention to a larger plot point and then boiling it down into its individual chapters.
This should make it easier for me to get a story down. We shall see how long it takes for me to get the next chapter out then eyy.
Any who, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.