14
Neopolitan peeked around the corner, watching her target from the safety of her semblance. She'd grown interested in the woman, this Carmine lady, after their first meeting but after being put in a hold she could safely say she was fixated. She'd spent years honing her flexibility and here this woman came and laughed it off. But more than that is was the look in Carmine's eye that fascinated her.
That silver eye held a certain coldness behind the nonchelant confidence that belied someone who would go through with their threats. That excited feeling she got when the muzzle of the woman's weapon had been pressed to her was something she hadn't felt in years.
This woman was new. She was exciting.
What's more she seemed to recognize someone else in the hallways. A rather famous person in the underworld and huntsman community at large.
Raven Branwen.
Branwen was the type of A-tier huntress you didn't mess with. The kind of sharp woman who would cut you for crossing her path. Admirable, but also very dangerous. Even from her hiding spot her instincts screamed at her. It was like watching a tiger and a panther stare eachother down.
It was with bated breath that Neo watched and listened.
-SY-
Carmine's mind raced as she glared down Raven Branwen.
What the hell is she doing here? She thought to herself as she schooled her expression into one that was a bit less hostile. It was too late, however, and the damage was done. She could see Raven's suspicious hackles rising. She needed to deflect, and fast.
"Well?" She impatiently put a hand on her hip, "What does a wanted criminal want with me? If you want to shake me down, you should rethink it."
By this point Raven had to be a Maiden, right? She wasn't too sure if she could take on Raven in a fight with her utilizing her full powers. A newly minted Maiden like Cinder she had a good chance at handling but Aunt Raven was a fully realized Maiden and a very skilled Huntress to boot. A fight was off the table.
Raven visibly twitched, "I don't want your money." She growled out, "I just feel like we've met before and that reaction tells me you've seen me before."
"Well duh." Carmind crossed her arms underneath her chest, "You have wanted posters up all over Mistral. You've been terrorizing Southern Anima for over a decade."
Raven shook her head, wild, black hair flying about, "No. It's more than that. I feel like I know you. And that symbol," She pointed to her eyepatch, "I've seen it before. On my partner."
Well it was hard to blame the woman for having eyes, even if it was rather inconvenient she had noticed the Rose symbol. Curse her for being here at Juniors. What kind of sick twisted fate put this woman in her path?
"Yeah well it's a family symbol so maybe we're related."
"Summer didn't have any relatives."
"Distantly, then."
"Bullshit." Raven called out and Carmine rolled her eyes. If it came down to it she could just run. It would be suspicious but what was Raven going to do? Go to Beacon? Fat chance the bandit would follow her. Or even could.
"Look. What do you want from me lady. I'm telling you I don't know your partner."
Instead of answering her, the older woman instead narrowed her eyes until with shock they widened. Carmine took a step back, ready to bolt. But it was unnecessary as Raven pointed at her.
"You're Ruby Rose!"
Carmine froze at the use of her name.
Impossible.
Of all the possibilities this was something she had never in a million years thought would happen. Raven Branwen recognized her. How?
Her confusion was her undoing as Raven's hand clamped down on her wrist and the woman leaned in close, "I don't know how this is possible but I'm certain of it. You're Summer's child, Ruby Rose."
Warning bells rang in her mind and she pulled back from the Branwen twin, "I don't know what you're talking about. Isn't that girl like fifteen? There's no way I'm that young!"
Raven snorted as she dragged her to the room nearby, slamming the door open with her free hand and nearly throwing Carmine in, "Look who I found!"
She caught herself on the coffee table and made ready to turn into petals and escape, quickly assessing the room for threats. Branwen was in the doorway, about to close it and the blond man on the couch appeared as unprepared as she was, half rising at the loud intrusion. Through the red and white mask her silver eye met blue and she saw them widen as she turned into petals, flowing out and tharound Raven in a speedy blur.
She got halfway down the hall when a masculine voice called after her, "Ruby wait!"
She stopped dead in her tracks, the oh so familiar voice rooting her to the ground. Her mind must have been playing tricks on her. It had to have been the blond hair. That was it. He just sort of resembled him. That was all.
Carmine still couldn't help turning around to look at the man.
His mask had come off, gone was the lagomorph and what replaced it was the worn face of a nearly thirty year old Huntsman. He had shoulder length blond hair and a relatively unkempt beard with a grisly scar marring the upper part of his forehead.
For just a split moment, no more than the blink of an eye, she was back in the Grimmlands. Weapons in hand and facing down Salem she remembered vividly the bloody wound he had suffered to his head. Right where the scar on this man was.
Her mind told her it was impossible. It was a trick. It had to be. But her instincts told her it was true.
The man standing in front of her was Jaune Arc. Her Jaune. The same best friend she'd had for over a decade and had lost when she'd come to the past. Or so she'd thought.
The distance between them as Ruby Rose disappeared, colliding with him in a blink and tackling him to the floor of the room he'd just come out of. They skidded into the table but she didn't care.
Her friend was here and he was real.
It wasn't some sort of hallucination or wishful thinking as she wrapped her arms around her oldest friend and squeezed as hard as she could. Her cheek pressed against the hard metal of his armor and he smelled like dirt and alcohol but she still didn't care. All she care about was that familiar voice.
"Ruby." Jaune choked out, his voice thick, "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I should ask you the same question." She mumbled into his chest. Lifting her head she looked up at him with a watery eye, "I thought I was all alone here, Jaune."
Her words failed her after that but she didn't need to say anything. Jaune understood and her wrapped his hands around her and hugged her back. Only she could feel the faking fragility in his grip, "Me too Ruby. Me too. But that still doesn't answer my question."
Ruby laughed and sobbed at the same time, "I'm sure you've figured out that this is the past." He nodded, "Well I think something happened with the relics when we used them on Salem."
Raven stepped into the room, closing the door behind her, "I'm guessing the relics that came back with you are inert as well?"
Ruby twisted her head to regard her aunt coolly, "Yep. Sorry but you won't get to use them." Raven scoffed and turned her head while the silver eyed huntress turned back to Jaune, "Seriously Jaune, why are you with this bitch?"
She heard a choking sound come from behind her as Jaune answered, "Well Raven found me in mistral. Saved my life actually."
That got her sitting up and climbing off of him, "Seriously?" She gave a critical eye to Raven who offered her middle finger in return.
"Hey." Jaune chided softly, turning her head back to him, "She's here to help."
Ruby bit her lip but also held her tongue, trusting in Jaune at least enough to leave it to him, "So mind filling me in on what you've been up to?"
As Jaune launched into his story they rearranged themselves onto the couch with Jaune regaling her with his time with the Tribe and how they snuck into Haven to use the relic of Knowledge.
And with it came another revelation.
"Wait wait wait wait!" She waved her hands in front of her, "Are you telling me that it worked?!"
"As far as Jinn could tell us, it probably worked, or at least would have had it not been for… well you know." Jaune gestured around him.
She sat back, floored as her mind swam with the new information and the silence stretched on.
"So.." Jaune ventured, "What about you, Ruby? What happened to you?"
She closed her eye at her name. It felt good to be caled Ruby again and she hadn't realized she missed it. 'Carmine' had come relatively easy for her, with no one else around she hadn't really wanted to be 'Ruby' anyways. Jaune brought back the memories, however. Memories of good times spent with the people she loved. And with it came the bitter pain of loss.
Ruby opened her eye with a bright smile, "I ended up in Forever Fall. Right in the middle of our field trip in our first year." Jaune got a nostalgic look on his face, "Ended up passing out, woke up in Beacon's infirmary."
"That must have been suspicious." Raven piped up from where she was leaning, which earned her a small scowl from Ruby.
"That's not the half of it." She continued, "I had two unusable relics on me at the time too. I'm lucky Oz was in an understanding mood. The way he explains it, the relics I had were inert but real, and he could tell. It was enough of an impossibility to keep him open minded."
"So Ozpin's in the know?" Jaune asked.
"Yeah." Ruby nodded, "So is Uncle Qrow, Dad, Ironwood, and Glynda. Oh and team RWBY… kind of."
"Kind of…?" The blonde raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah…." Ruby poked her fingers together, "They were there when I passed out and saw my Scroll's I.D. So they know who I am and where I'm from but not… you know… other things."
"Was it weird meeting yourself?" Jaune asked.
Ruby snorted, "Still kind of freaks me out." Then she blinked a few times, "Right if you ever come by Beacon, I go by Carmine in public. Probably should remember to stick to that when it's not just us."
The the pair descended into catching up, Raven excused herself to stand outside the room. She couldn't stand the happy vibes those two had, instead she sipped her drink and idly listened to the muffled beat of the dance music from the rest of the club. The ice clinked in the tumbler as she swirled it slowly.
So Qrow is in on it too?
Shwe thought about her brother and felt the anger return and took a drink with a deep frown. Qrow had always been Ozpin's bitch and it looked like that wasn't going to change anytime soon but with the news that Salem could be defeated it wasn't as much of a doomed endeavor as she'd once believed. She thought about what it would be like to not have to look over her shoulder anymore.
Inside the room Jaune and Ruby chatted away about their experience since waking up in the past. She was growing happier by the minute as an ache she didn't know she'd had was assuaged. They had known each other forever, had gone into their final battle expecting to either win or die trying.
"Why don't you come to Beacon?" She asked, stopping him dead in his tracks with her question. She continued on past his slack-jawed stare, "Yeah. Come to Beacon with me! We can work together! I've been coming up with a plan with Oz and the others to stop Cinder."
He sat back into deep thought, and Ruby frowned when he didn't give her an immediate answer, "I'd like to but I don't think that's a good idea." He looked up and started explaining at her unasked question, "I could use any help I can get and having you with me would reassure me."
"I get it." Jaune sighed, "But I can't."
"But why not?" She felt her heart ache as his denial.
"Raven." His answer had her scowling but he cut her off before she could object, "She saved my life and we agreed to work together. Look, we can work together but for now it's best I don't stay at Beacon."
She gave him a sorrowful look, "If you're sure. You're welcome to visit. In fact you'd better visit, alright?" She finished with a finger stabbing into his breastplate.
Jaune chuckled and grabbed her finger, moving it away to pull her into a hug, "I promise Ruby. I will come visit but in the meantime I'll be making preparations on my own time. When the moment comes you can count on me to be there to help deal with her. And Raven, probably."
Ruby didn't want to let go but she eventually needed to and they traded contact info, so he had her new scroll number even if he couldn't use his own as he hadn't replaced it yet. She stretched as she stood and Jaune stood with her. They'd been talking for a few hours at least but she had classes to prepare for.
It was Carmine Rose who stepped out of the private room, signature half-smirk on her face and it almost faltered when she spotted Raven. The woman was standing there with a folder tucked under her arm and was staring back at her evenly. It was clear there was no love lost between the two of them.
"I'm off Auntie Raven." She called as she walked down the hall backwards, hands linked behind her and a coy smile on her face, "I'm sure your daughter would love to meet you." Carmine relished the flinch on the older huntress' face.
The cool night air felt good on her alcohol-flushed face and she closed her eye to enjoy the sensation. She felt something poke into the small of her back and turned her head to see Neopolitan standing there with a secretive smile on her face and the tip of a finger gun buried in her back. Witha quirked eyebrow and a bit of curiosity she turned to the diminutive woman.
"Oh?" Carmine put her hands on her hips, "Waiting for little ol' me?" Neo nodded, "Did you need something from me?"
Neo pointed at Carmine and then at herself and then put one fist into the other.
Snorting Carmine replied, "If you want a rematch it's gonna have to wait, I have somewhere to be. However…" She leaned down to whisper into Neo's ear, "I'll take you on any time in Beacon, I know you can get in."
She didn't miss the way Neo's eyes lit up and a smile on the vicious side grew on her face. With a Nod and a skip the woman bounded away merrily. Shaking her head Carmine started working her way back to the bullhead docks.
-SY-
It was with a yawn and bleary eyes that Ruby Rose made her way back to team RWBY's dorm room. They'd spent hours training together before heading to the cafeteria and calling it a day. A few more spent in the library catching up on homework and the light was already beginning to dim outside. The team had retreated one by one back to the dorm, with the first ones to bow out being Blake and Yang. Her sister was still on her mind and she'd spent a lot of time worrying her lip rather than actually studying, much to her partner's dismay.
Eventually even Weiss had gone back on the premise of both being done and done with trying to help her study. Ruby hadn'y minded the solitude so much. It was a rare chance to think. Of course the story about the future worried her, and it worried her that Yang was worrying about it too.
Then there was Carmine, her own self, who seemed to be keeping secret after secret from them. Not too surprising but she'd be lying if she wasn't dying to know. Meeting Weiss' sister had been… interesting. So different from her and Yang, she almost couldn't imagine them hugging each other. Which was… weird.
They had also discussed plans for the weekend. Were they going to relax? No, no relaxation for team RWBY. Instead they'd be out on the town gathering information about the White Fang and all that junk. The thought of doing actual Huntress work excited her though she didn't want to admit it to the team. But it was the same as being a hero! They were going to put a stop to the bad guys and maybe then, Carmine could take it easy.
It was rather clear, at least to Ruby, that Carmine was a rather strange person. Which was an odd thing to say about herself but it was true. When she thought of her future she thought of a kickass huntress that saved lives and beat the baddies. Instead what she'd come face to face with had been a person who had the same kind of look in their eye that her Dad or Uncle Qrow did. That look that said they had seen things that were best left unsaid.
It was perhaps being both tired and lost in thought that cause her to run face first into someone, bouncing off of them and falling on her rear with a startled yelp. Apologizing profusely she got up and dusted herself off.
"Oh my gosh I am so sorry!" She cried out, pausing after taking in the unusual clothes the students were dressed in, "Eh? Oh! Are you guys here for the festival?!" She perked up.
The dark skinned, greened haired girl laughed lightly, "Yeah. We're transfers from Haven for the festival. We're just looking for our dorm."
Ruby made a sound of understanding, "Ohhh! Yeah that's really cool! I'm Ruby Rose, of team RWBY!"
The girl paused, waiting, obviously expecting something and to Ruby's embarrassment she eventually figured out she was waiting for directions, "Oh yeah! Transfer dorms are just East of here. Hehe I know it's complicated around here."
As the silver haired boy and green haired girl walked past her their third team mate approached Ruby, "Thank you for helping us, Ruby." The girl, no young woman purred, "I wouldn't want to get lost on my first day here."
"Oh yeah, I totally get it." Ruby commiserated as the dark haired, golden eyed woman passed her, "I hope you enjoy the festival! And welcome to Beacon!"
