Chapter 54 – Ruby's Last War

This was the…second time she'd faced a bulk of Atlesian shock troops? Third time? Fourth? It was getting hard to remember. Memories of waging war with them alongside Adam blurred together with the vaguely Atlesian uniforms of the Schnee guards that all died in Mistral.

It was simple to tear through their lines – just disarm them, stun them, and toss them. The methodical nature of it felt like mowing down grunts in a videogame. All of them carried the same standard-issue firearm that bored Ruby immensely as a weapons aficionado. Salem's manipulations had briefly convinced Ruby that she wasn't a nerd for guns, but now that her true personality had broken through, she was back to being the kind of gal who'd geek out at a neat type of gun (of which, sadly, there were none in Atlas).

It felt good to be herself again, with personality and thought and respect for life and purpose, true honest-to-the-Gods purpose that wasn't just what someone else wanted Ruby to do. She was on her own mission, not Ozpin's or Salem's, and she was doing it because she'd decided to. This pride in her choice to be a hero felt like a victory over Salem, who'd tried to break Ruby down into a willing villain.

The Grimm queen had thrown away a perfectly good maiden candidate, Cinder, because she'd been oh so sure that Ruby would be a better instrument of vengeance against Ozpin. That bitch had been so confident that Ruby would lose herself, and for a moment, she kind of had. But now? Screw you Salem! Ruby Rose, huntress hero, was back!

Maybe it's arrogant to think, but I like to hope that Mom would be proud of me right about now, if she could see just how far her daughter had come…how much I've chosen to rise above.

As Ruby shocked another row of armed Atlesian soldiers, she smiled at the trail of groaning bodies she'd left behind. It wasn't pleasant that they'd had to be hurt even though they were also the good guys, but all of them would get to go home. No more deceased Winter Schnees and teary-eyed Winter's little sisters poking their small little sword up against Ruby's breast – every single one of these soldiers would groan in pain after having been electrocuted, and then they'd take off their helmets when the day ended, and they'd go to their husbands or wives and complain about their crappy day, and they'd tussle their kids hair and call their brothers and sisters and gripe about how some crazy superhero had knocked them out but now there were home and safe and with their families and all 100% alive.

Ruby had thought killing Raven was the best feeling. She'd been wrong. This catharsis of nonlethal combat was a million times better. Ruby wore her wicked smile like a maniac.

Atlas had to have thrown hundreds of soldiers at her by this point, but she was mowing them down like a woman possessed. Her trinity of maiden powers was simply too much for their kingdom, and Ruby felt like she could face an entire kingdom's population.

Not that I'd ever want to…like, an entire kingdom's population would have tens of thousand of babies, and I don't want to fight babies or anything. That would be crazy.

In her good mood, Ruby snickered at the absurd mental picture of herself fighting off a bunch of babies that all crawled up on top of one another to form one giant mega-baby. A brave son of Atlas tried to charge at the maniacally grinning warlady and found himself upended by the very metal in the ground beneath his feet as Ruby continued to giggle at the image she'd conjured up.

This felt right. Being herself, being the silly little Ruby that had initially attracted Salem's interest for the purpose of being corrupted – it felt right. It had something to do with proving that Salem had failed to change her. Actually, it was more that Salem had changed her, but Ruby had chosen to change back.

A heavier shot than the normal soldier's guns hit her from the side, and for a second, Ruby thought she might've found her man. Sadly, it was not to be.

"Ace-Ops, form up! We can…y-you?"

Ruby looked at the huntsman quintet that had struck at her. One of them, a big muscular woman with a smoking hammer, had likely been the one to blast Ruby, but it wasn't her that interested Ruby.

"You!" Ruby said right back in jubilation. "You're the guy who was going to take me to the casino! It's me, Riley Bigwig, remember?" She waved excitedly with both arms, hoping to be recognized by her old friend.

It was the man, the four-leafed clover guy who'd been there at the Ultramarine Base when Ruby had done Ruby's eleven. What was his name, again…?

"Ace-Ops!" he cried out. "Engage!"

Nah, that wasn't it.

"STAY!"

Ruby's body froze up, but her magic didn't, and that was where her true power lay. She recalled this semblance from Ruby's eleven, a quaint power where the dog Faunus could make her sit still. Regrettably, he had no power to make her shake hands or roll over; that would've been cool, though.

Two aura tentacles wrapped around her from a pasty white guy, tightening around her limbs and holding her firmly in place. And at the same time a rabbit Faunus (because that could not be a hairstyle) began to rapidly tackle her from multiple angles. Her body was her weapon, a battering ram, and though her speed paled in comparison to what Ruby knew she could pull off were she not restrained by the dog Faunus, it was still mildly impressive to see another speedster take a swing at things.

The hammer lady pulled back her giant weapon for a heavy swing. "Sayonara, bitch!"

Well, that was just rude. Now I'm not having fun anymore…nah, I'm kidding, this is still the time of my life.

It happened in an instant, with coordination that would've brought tears to the eyes of Yang's teammates and their own equally chaotic arrest attempt. Ruby melted the handle of the hammer the very second it was swung, and it flew off – right into the running woman. She tripped up from the impact and crashed into the tentacle-arm guy, whose grip on Ruby failed. His tentacles retreated back into his arms, but not before the whiplash as they swung through the air slapped out the other guy who'd yelled 'stay,' knocking his finger away from the target.

Ruby splayed out her hand, and these 'Ace-Ops' were instantly frozen in giant blocks of ice. As quickly as she'd been detained, they'd been neutralized.

"Wow," she said after a moment of catching her breath. "That was…weirdly lucky."

"I'm told I have that effect," said the familiar guy congenially, stepping forward without a care in the world to face her on his own rather than from behind the troops he commanded. "Guess it's one-on-one."

"Yeah. Hey, what was your name again?"

"Clover," he said, pulling out a fishing pole. "Remember that name, for it is going to be the name of the huntsman who brings and end to your reign of –"

Ruby froze him a giant block of ice. If anyone chose to willingly use a fishing tool for a weapon…even Ruby's interest in the unique and creative had limits.

"Hey, Clover, any chance you could point me in the direction of the guy in charge?" Ruby asked. Then, after a moment, she remembered to add, "Also, it's not a reign of terror. I'm saving the world, here."

Clover spat at her, but it evaporated before it even hit Ruby from the heat she radiated. That was how she'd protected herself from the stray bullets – an extremely short range but high temperature shield that melted anything that came too close. It was the most efficient way to block out a lot of attacks while not expending too much magic at once. Ruby had thought it out after nearly being gunned down by SDC guards back in south Mistral.

"I'd never betray the general to you." He struggled from within the block of ice, but Ruby had made it too sturdy to break. It was actively being fed magic to keep its rigidity without being so cold that it could seriously harm Clover and his hunter brigade; again, everyone was going home today.

Suddenly, Clover's eyes widened, then zeroed in on Ruby's. He smiled at her wickedly. "Actually, I've changed my mind. I think I will tell you where the general is."

"Is he right behind me?" Ruby asked without turning around.

Clover's teeth showed through his grin. "He's right beh– crap." The grin faded quickly.

Ruby shrugged. "Yeah, you shouldn't have said that after looking over my shoulder and then trying to keep your eyes off of him." A bullet ricocheted against the back of Ruby's skill. "It was a bit of a dead giveaway."

When his individual handguns weren't enough, Ironwood placed them together and formed some sort of mega-gun cannon thing. Ruby watched with excitement as its barrel began to glow a vibrant green while its charge grew. Now this, this was the kind of transmorphing multi-purpose weapon that she could really sink her teeth into if she'd had the chance to disassemble and analyze its inner workings.

"Say goodbye, scum."

Ruby pointed a finger at the gun, and a laser beam shot straight down the barrel before it could discharge. The entire apparatus exploded in Ironwood's hands, blasting him right through the wall and out of the building.

Ruby caught him before he could fall from great heights using her magic and pulled him back in. Gently, of course, as his aura had broken from the explosion.

"Ruby Rose," he growled. "It's been awhile."

"We saw each other yesterday."

"Other than that."

"We never saw each other before that."

Ironwood's eyes narrowed.

"Okay, so I'm going to need your help," Ruby said. "You see, I have three of the relics with me…" She gestured to the small charms dangling from the side of her waist. "…and I'm looking to get the fourth one. But, here's the kicker, I have run into a bit of a problem."

Ironwood nodded congenially. "I think I understand where this is going. Let's cut right to the chase: Ironwood Protocol 5-5-9. Authorization: Bravo-India-Golf-Bravo-Oscar-Oscar-Bravo."

Ruby looked at him funny. "That doesn't…what?"

Ironwood looked at the giant ice-cube people around him. "It's been an honor, soldiers. For Atlas!"

Ironwood's robotic arm began to rapidly blink red. Ruby furrowed her brow as the entire right side of his body made a clicking noise, and then three cylindrical shapes popped out of the side, hissing as they discharged.

"For Atlas!" they all shouted back in perfect unison.

Of course, the giant blast didn't hurt Ruby. No, as a maiden, she was too durable, too impenetrable, too invincible to even think of being harmed. She put up a force field of raw, untamed magic that guaranteed her safety from the explosion.

But everyone else – Ironwood, his Ace-Ops, that entire floor of defeated soldiers, everyone that Ruby had strategically disarmed and defeated one by one – every single one of them.

"FUCK SHIT FUCK!" Ruby kicked the charred remains of an empty suit of metal armor. All of the human remains inside were little more than ash. "WHAT WAS HE WHY THE FUCKING DIDN'T HAVE TO AAAAAARGH WHY AAAAAAAAAUUUUGH! FUCK HE SHIT HIS FAULT!"

Once again, Ruby's anger was too great to form a coherent sentence to curse Ironwood's choice, and she'd resorted to screaming violently every half-formed thought in her mind until the next one replaced it and she screamed that too.

Then came the physical rage. Ruby stretched out her arms and shot out fire in every direction, but that didn't feel visceral enough, so she began to lash out at what little remained of the scorched walls. They crumbled to dust under the slightest hint of pressure, forcing Ruby to find something else that could provide Ruby with the physical pushback that her rampant swinging fists desired.

It felt disrespectful to the dead to stomp on a skeleton, but whoever it had been was already dead, and Ruby's anger was vividly alive.

"VVVVAAAAAHHHH!"

It had been a pointless sacrifice! If Ruby hadn't been able to get Fria's location from him, she wouldn't have tortured him until he gave it up or something! That fool! That self-sacrificing fool! She still had Jinn, and – stupid Ironwood!

Why did he do that? Why would he want to stop me? Sure, he might've thought I was evil, but couldn't he even be bothered to hear my explanation before just deciding to suicide bomb himself and ALL OF HIS SOLDIERS to death? Who does that? He decided for them that they would give their lives for their country, and he got them to…to…to…

He'd decided that the safety of t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶l̶d̶ his kingdom was more important than the meager lives it cost to protect that nebulous concept. He thrown them away before he even knew if they would be willing, and then he used a patriotic chant that reinforced how it was for the greater good to justify it once their fates were sealed. The only thing more self-indulgent would have been if he'd tried to reassure the men and women he killed that their deaths were…that they hadn't died for…

"Qrow, I fucking dare you to speak."

No one broke the silence. No one said anything.

Ruby began to cry. Why had he done that? Why couldn't he even try to understand? It was like he was trying to make all of the people Ruby had killed die for nothing. If she could make all the pain part of a greater path that culminated in world peace and freedom from Salem's evil, their deaths would have meaning. It would make it better, even if it couldn't bring back Qrow and Winter and Ozpin and Goodwitch and…

…and Pickerel and Cinder and Cassius and Emerald and…

The list went on and on.

But the longer it is, the more urgent it is I do this. The more people that've died for this cause, the more important my task is.

Ruby needed the good guys to win. Her mission with Salem had to mean something, had to accomplish something, or it would all have been for nothing, and she couldn't accept that.

What mattered was saving the most people possible, and the best way to do that was gathering the relics. If Ruby had to…had to…had to make the list a little bit longer to ensure she did that, it would be justified. Certainly, it would. It was hundreds long by now, so one more wouldn't be the straw that broke the Nuckelavee's back.

Salem had made Ruby into a monster, but she'd done it to complete an evil purpose. If Ruby hardened her heart and chose to become that beast capable of killing again, but if she did it for a good purpose…

The burnt skeletons, all that remained of the people Ruby had been so utterly thrilled to spare, stared back at her with their empty eye sockets.

No. No, no more.

Ruby grabbed the skull of the skeleton she'd just stomped and forced herself to look at it, to stare into it until any squeamishness withered away and died. She commanded her imagination to give her a healthy dose of anguish, as people who were like Ruby didn't deserve anything but the suffering she'd inflicted on others.

Her name was…was…

…Samantha. Samantha Wildflower. She was a single mother to a beautiful little baby boy who's never going to get to see his mommy again because his mommy died. She loved the color blue; it was her favorite color in the whole wide world, and even just seeing, ohhhh gods, just seeing it would make her face light up with a smile. No more blue smiles.

Placing it down with the rest of the remains, she clutched another skull, this one with the spine dangle off its end.

He was named Bronson Copper. He had a bedridden uncle who he always checked up on, ever day of the week, even when he had to drive over in the dark because of a late shift at the base. Now, that uncle is going to cry because his nephew, the only person who still cared, is gone forever. Do you still think it's okay to kill for a good purpose, Ruby? Do you, you…you…you sick fuck?

A new skull, this one from where one of the Ace-Ops had been when they died.

Clover can be…Clover Swiss. He used that fishing pole because it was a gift from his father, who was a huntsman before him. Clover came from a long line of…

Ruby coughed up some vomit and choked on it. Everything hurt, but she owed it to Clover 'Swiss' to go on.

…from a long line of huntsman, the famous Swisses who proudly served their kingdom until a stupid little girl got it into her head that she got to decide which lives ended and which lives endured, and now that line is broken forever.

She continued giving made-up backstories to the dead bodies for a little bit longer, then rose to her feet once she was all better and once again sick to her stomach of the concept of death. It had been agony, torturing herself like that, but those wretched thoughts of killing people that had plagued her were now firmly missing from her head. She was a huntress, a hero, and heroes didn't kill innocent people.

Coming Soon – Ruby's Puzzle Piece

And now, a tip from Ruby:

· Ruby's Tip #72 – Having trouble drawing a perfect circle? Cut a balloon in half and trace the outline.

· Ruby's Notes – Want to add some color? Try a grapefruit instead.

Author's Notes

I realized after typing it that the last Bravo should have been a Mike, but it was too funny so I just left it.

On a side note, the scene with Ruby forcing herself to look at every skull of the freshly killed Atlesians was the point when I decided this fic absolutely had to be Rated M instead of T.

Ah, classic RatCrimesian mixing of horrifying tragedy and crack comedy. It wouldn't be me if I didn't have this shit.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!