Author's Notes

I'm stupid.

Jacques Schnee's B- Parenting will post Sunday, I guess. Sorry.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!

Chapter 45 – Ruby's Cup of Coffee

Salem let her off with a warning, but it was clearly to save face at having criticized her so harshly and to avoid appearing wishy-washy. Ruby was given her next mission and then left to her own devices to let her own morals decay further.

Apparently, Cinder was making a lot of progress in locating Amber, so Ruby was being assigned to handle anything and everything in Vale. That way, she would be in the neighborhood, ready to be called in whenever the moment came.

Salem was apparently looking out for the endgame now. Her methods might have been gradually weakening humanity, but her ultimate goal was to obtain the relics and maidens. To that end, she was now formally planning her attacks on the academies. As she'd mentioned before, they had 'ins' with each of the kingdoms (except Shade, which was why Salem hadn't ordered Ruby to take their relic). Watts, who was believed to be dead by Atlas, could get them entrance into the Atlesian technological systems. He was locating the Winter maiden as they spoke and doing everything he could to prepare Salem's side for the day Ruby launched her assault on the northern kingdom.

Mistral was already firmly in Salem's grasp, given Lionheart's true loyalty. Tyrian was in Vacuo, presumably killing hunters so that there were fewer defenses. As Ruby understood it, that kingdom would be last. Salem's intention was to let the others fall first so that fear would rise and Vacuo would be besieged by Grimm while lacking the defense to repel the attack.

All that was left to start the dominos was Vale. When Ruby killed or captured the Fall maiden, Salem would launch her plans to topple Vale using her inside forces – Cinder's team. When Vale fell, Lionheart would tip his hand and allow his own kingdom to be destroyed. Two fallen kingdoms would frighten the others, and they would be next.

It all started with Vale.

Except it doesn't. When I kill Amber, I'll have enough magic behind me to kill Raven. With any luck, I can convince Salem that three maiden-powers are better than two, and then I go back home.

Home…

Ruby wasn't sure what going back would be like anymore. Her fanciful dream of everything magically being worked out seemed almost impossible now. It wasn't that Ruby didn't feel her name could be cleared – quite the opposite, in fact, since most people who'd seen her more heinous crimes were dead. No, the reason she didn't think she could just melt back into the huntress life was because she herself had irreparably changed for the worse.

Maybe Ozpin would have a use for her, given that she would be three of his maidens. Or maybe he would tell her to climb to the top of Mount Serathusa and dig her head in the sand for the rest of her life or until another misled young girl came to murder her, whichever came first.

Salem's original plan had been to have Cinder orchestrate several high-profile deaths onscreen during the Vytal Festival Tournament, but they'd scrapped that when Ruby had killed Qrow and gotten Amber recalled. Since there had been no guarantee that Amber would resurface in time for the tournament, Salem had decided not to invest resources into going through with it. After all, if Vale fell and they lacked the maiden, there would be no way to get into the vault, which was what it was all about in the end.

Now, the Vytal Festival had already concluded with some Beacon team being named the victor; Ruby hadn't had a chance to watch it because she was busy murdering Pickerel at the time. Amity colosseum was being scrubbed down for next time, and Beacon's transfer students from the other three kingdoms were in the process of finishing up their one year of lessons spent abroad before being shipped back.

Cinder was still in Beacon, but only for a short period before she was sent home to Haven. Thus, in her limited time remaining, she had her subordinates, Emerald, Mercury, and Neo, access otherwise restricted databases that only Vale's hunters (and hunters-in-training) had permission to use. Ruby's scroll was fed a list of the names and personal details of every active duty and retired defend of the kingdom, be they huntsman, huntress, civilian militia, field medics, primary combat schoolteacher, or even as much as a licensed bullhead pilot. Her assignment, bound only by a few guidelines from Salem and the limits of her good judgment to not get caught, was to push the kingdom to the brink.

If Ruby tried really hard, she could probably clear through the list in short order. Her appearance was rather unremarkable from a recognizability standpoint (no memorable features like scars or tattoos, brown hair, pale skin), and if she put on a simple disguise, there was no doubt she could shake any appearance of being the wanted criminal Ruby Rose. As a mere child younger than the average Beacon entrant (albeit quite stronger than one), Ruby's presence wouldn't raise anyone's guard. Hunters would feel comfortable around her, turn their back to her, lower their auras in her presence…

Alternatively, if she dragged her feet, Vale would be much safer. Ruby could pick off just enough targets of strategic value to bring back meaningful reports to Salem without arousing mountains of suspicion. There was no need to drastically reduce the kingdom's defenses. Salem was always watching, but that wasn't to say that she was astutely aware of Ruby's limitations and capabilities. If Ruby only put in 50% effort, or even 25%, it wasn't as though Salem would ever know.

Decisions, decisions.

On the one hand, I don't want the kingdom to fall. On the other, I have a job to do.

In the end, Ruby decided to split it down the middle and do a normal amount of work. She wasn't going to strive to clear her list of names as quickly as possible, nor would she stretch this out as long as possible.

To ease Qrow's pestering caws, she promised to spread it out. If all of any one group died, things would be worst. Like, for instance, if the kingdom lost all its bullhead operators, that entire skill pool would take years to replace, and there would be no one to drop hunters off at strategic locations. Or if all of the teachers died, then there would be no one to train new hunter students. Hunters from the field might try, but most would only really know how to demonstrate combat classes. Lecturing in halls and proctoring exams tended to require very specific skill sets.

So, Ruby went through one of each to pace herself. If she killed a huntsman, she wouldn't kill another huntsman until a single instance of all the others were dead as well.

Killing came easy to her, now that reality had bluntly beaten the squeamishness out of her. Tyrian had been kind enough to offer her some of his venom, which she'd picked up before coming to Vale. It was one of the most potent neurotoxins on the market, and especially difficult to identify. A cure was available if one knew that it was scorpion Faunus venom that had been applied, but Ruby made sure to carefully cover her tracks.

It wasn't all that difficult. With the addresses that Team Cinder had given Ruby, she was easily able to identify and stalk her marks. These were typically the type of people who did lots of work outside of the kingdom, meaning that their apartments weren't so much homes as they were touchdown spaces, basically temporary quarters to rest in before being recalled. Almost all of them ate from restaurants, fast food chains, or takeout. All Ruby had to do was find out the places they frequented, slip some hootch into the stocks, and sit back and watch her results.

There were civilian casualties, for sure, but these things tended to happen when one mixed a deadly concoction into food that was being widely distributed. The risks that came with doing something stupid like sniping them in broad daylight or trying to overpower them with her maiden powers were far greater. But still, when Ruby was feeling especially guilty, she sometimes killed and replaced a delivery person; it was especially easy to blend into that role, given her appearance of being a young teenager working a part time job. That way, the casualties were minimized, as she would only need to poison one order. It was also a better way to stretch out the limited venom Tyrian had supplied her with, as the alternative was a long trip back to Vacuo.

It felt odd, being a poisoner/assassin when she had unquestionable combat skills the likes of which had rarely been seen before, but the job needed to be done. Cinder was preoccupied, and after Hazel's death, there was an abundance of tasks in need of completions and a shortage of able-bodied workers to complete them. Evernight was being rebuilt, and that took up much of the time of Salem's Grimm population and her limited control over them. And if the Grimm weren't culling the hunters in Vale, their numbers might swell too large and disrupt the delicate balance.

And that's bad. Somehow.

Ruby rubbed her head.

Probably because, I dunno, if there's too many huntsmen and huntresses, Salem will feel threatened, and she'll…you know, I have no clue why I'm trying to justify this to myself. I just need to do this because she told me to, and that's all there is.

Ruby was currently in a café, watching the burger joint across the street where some huntress or something was ordering. The fact that the huntress was eating there for the third time in as many nights was proof enough that it would be a target for Ruby, but Ruby herself had ordered a coffee from the place she was at and didn't want to appear suspicious by leaving right after sitting down.

A simple cap and pair of sunglasses was enough to prevent Ruby from being easily identified, despite her former status as the kingdom's number one most wanted woman. Seriously, if this was how easy it was for a criminal to get around, it was a miracle that the kingdoms hadn't collapsed inwards on themselves even without Salem's prompting.

The huntress' name was something or the other so-and-so; Ruby couldn't remember at this point. She'd crossed off over forty names in the month or so that she'd been in Vale, and one more wasn't worth committing to the memory banks.

Roman Torchwick's household, the one she'd been first inducted in, was her temporary living quarters, but much like her victims, she only used it as a space to sleep and occasionally work it. Most of her time was spent out in the field, finding or ending the people she was tasked with ending. Roman himself had been wise enough to quickly make himself scarce most of the time when their occupancies overlapped.

Man, the coffee here really is just the worst, she thought, forcing herself to take another sip.

It took serious willpower not to just spit out the dirt-flavored fluid onto the ground, but again, that would draw attention. She might be hidden right now, but that was only because no one was even noticing her. If she did something to make herself the center of attention, that would change instantly.

It wasn't like Ruby couldn't just fight her way through any defenses the city threw at her, but she would rather avoid that. In addition to risking causing the city going into lockdown, it also would be needless death. Ruby may have been okay with killing, but she didn't want innocent people to die for no reason. She still remembered which side she was on.

The funny thing is, the person I am right now would probably be more of an asset to Salem than to Ozpin. I'm desensitized to murder, I have powers that work best for indiscriminate destruction, and I know the inner workings of her organization much better. Seriously, if Ozpin decides he wants me to fight alongside his own people after this whole thing, I don't even know who that would be. On the other hand, I can tell you Tyrian's favorite bladed weapon, and the puzzles that Cinder and Watts once were are now solved.

Huh. I really am a villain now, I guess.

The huntress, having finished her burger and shake, got up to walk away, and Ruby took that as a cue to do the same. Downing the coffee in a single gulp, she got –

Oh, no. That coffee really sucked ass. Ruby had tried her best to choke it all down in one go, but the bitter flavor was too much, and her throat seized up. It wasn't anything bad, but she wasn't able to drink the full cup at once. It was going to be a second before she could drink any more of it.

Something bumped into her from behind. Ruby ignored it. Threats were few and far between within the walls of the kingdom, and her aura was raised at all times just in case.

"Pardon me."

The voice was familiar. Okay, now it was time for Ruby to calmly turn around and check who it was that had bumped into her. She took off her sunglasses to get a closer look, but she specifically made an effort to behave naturally without losing it or anything; she was broken, not stupid.

It was an older woman that had nudged Ruby's chair while focusing on balancing the three overfilled cups of coffee in her hands while scooching in through a narrow space between chairs. The coffee cups she was holding were literally filled to the brim, but not a single drop was spilling over the rim of a single one.

"Oh," said Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch.

The pause that came next was so pregnant, one might've thought it had been on Team Stark with Ruby's father.

"I-I apologize for –"

"Y-Yeah, no problem."

Goodwitch stared at Ruby for a second.

"Um," she said, her eyes flicking over Ruby face. "I-Is that seat taken? Do you still need it?"

Ruby looked at her table. There weren't any other seats with her.

"Uhhhhh…n-no," Ruby answered awkwardly. "No, I think I…might, you know, need it for a little bit longer. I'm, uh, sorry, I guess."

The initial shock was wearing off, and Goodwitch's neutral demeanor was returning. "Oh. No problem. Just please inform me if it becomes available."

"I was just leaving, but…yeah, sure. I will."

Ruby stood up immediately. Ignoring the taste of her shitty coffee, she chugged it all down in one go, nodded at the huntress opposite her, and sped off as quickly as she could without making it look like she was fleeing.

"Jeez, kid," said Roman, when Ruby got back to home base, his apartment. "You look out of sorts. Everything good?"

Her heart felt like it was about to pound out of her chest.

That was…oh Dust, oh my Gods, oh my GODs…

Ruby couldn't remember the last time she'd actually gotten to drop the mask. Maybe it was with Lìxià? Or with Winter? But she'd gone and maimed the former, and the latter had been Ruby's first real kill.

This was different. This was someone who knew and believe the full truth and understood what –

"Oh my gods, it's over. It's already over."

Roman awkwardly tried to push past her (she'd sort of cornered him in the doorway when she'd entered), but Ruby was like an unmovable brick. There was too much going on right now for her to make way.

It was the kind of moment Ruby would have looked forward to for months on end if she'd known in advance, the kind of moment she would have planned out down to the millisecond to optimize every tiny bit of time she'd gotten, except she hadn't known in advance. She hadn't even had a chance to savor it or to…to…to get anything out of it. Ruby hadn't been able to decompress or talk things out or let out any of the pain she'd been carrying around since killing Ozpin.

They'd just babbled coded messages about chairs or something, and then Goodwitch was gone. It was over.

"You'll see her again," begged Qrow, but Ruby wasn't having it.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that Ruby randomly was graced by chance with bumping into someone who could have helped fix her, but she didn't get to do anything. Her breathing felt like it could stop at any moment, as virulent anger mixed into the frustration, abject fear, and utter confusion that was already swarming around inside of her head.

So close. Too close. Cinder's on Amber's heels, and then I can go for Raven, and…why?

"It's not fair!" Ruby screamed aloud, being made aware of the tears only by the feeling of them dripping off her chin. "IT'S NOT FAIR!"

"W-Woah," said the thief who stood next to her. He reached over to shut the door Ruby had just flown in through, then fished a small brown package out of his coat. "Easy the-he-here, kiddo. You look like someone who could use a good stogie to calm down, eh?"

Ruby's arm flew out before her brain could even consciously give it the order to, but had she been thinking she would have done the same thing. It wasn't for the pack of cigars that she reached, though.

The mess that her emotions had become made her soul-based aura spark and flash uncontrollably, and Ruby's own strength and speed was already enhanced by her semblance. To top it off, she was empowered by maiden magic, and though she hadn't yet mastered it in any sense of the word, she had a good enough understanding of how to control the air and physics around her to make her physical hits even hard. All in all, it was the perfect recipe for a good punch.

Ruby couldn't even close up her fist as it collided with Roman's throat, so it was more of an open C-shaped palm when it struck, the kind one might use to hold a cup. The thief was a smart man, so he'd raised his aura the second Ruby arrived. Unfortunately for him, aura had limits, and Ruby's mega-strike reached his instantly. His orange aura flickered away as Ruby's hand pushed right through it.

And the front of his throat.

And the back of his throat.

And the wall.

In the end, it was only the reach of Ruby's arm that stopped it from going further. Roman probably wasn't even aware he was being attacked until it was already over…until everything was already over for him.

For a second, Ruby just stood there, her arm uncomfortably stretched at an odd angle and covered by the blood of her dead former archenemy.

Then, her brain restarted, and she took stock of herself.

W-What have I done? This…This is going to be a problem.

Her hands, her arm, her clothes, all of them were covered in blood, and some even had tiny bits of flesh from what had splattered outwards due to the sheer force of the attack. It was going to take forever to wash this all out, and she had two more targets to scope out before the end of the day if she were to keep to her schedule. Plus, there was still that burger place that she had to drop some poison onto. With all that, it was unlikely Ruby would have time to wait for a full laundry cycle on her current outfit.

Ruby had to force herself to breathe.

It's going to be okay. I can do this. There's no time to clean, but if I just ditch these clothes altogether and switch into a new set, I might have time for a shower. Plus, it looks like the leggings and boots are mostly untouched. I can still make it to the place without being late for the thing.

Coming Soon – Ruby's Team

And now, a tip from Ruby:

Ruby's Tip # 410 – Fool me once, I'll kill you, you little shit. You can't fool me twice because you're fucking dead from the first time.

Author's Notes

This isn't the first time Ruby's wanted someone to talk to, nor is it the first time I've denied her that. Raven, Winter, Pickerel, Glynda - all of them were potential Ruby therapists, but she mistook one of them for an ally when she was an enemy, killed one, killed one more, and lost her chance here. Welp, you know what that means...even more downward spiraling! Hip hip hooray!

Happy rats, and don't do crime!