Chapter 2 – Ruby and Weiss

It didn't take Ruby long to figure out just who Yang's partner was.

She couldn't for the life of her remember the first name (and sometimes she intentionally screwed it up just to mess with the girl), but this was the heiress to the SDC. A Schnee, one who used those famous Glyphs.

Glyphs. That was what the power that had nearly killed Ruby was called. Well, the more she knew…

Team Exuberance was a pleasant enough bunch, provided Ruby stuck around Yang and Pyrrha exclusively. They were kind to her, Yang because she was over the moon to have her sister back and Pyrrha because she seemed to just be a kindly person.

The other two were stone cold bitches, and they only got worse when Ruby called them that. Blake Belladonna was this distrustful, paranoid, angry, accusatory little witch who wasn't likely to ever give up on harboring some secret doubt that Ruby was out to get them. She acted nice to the other girls, so Ruby assumed that something about her was just broken when it came to Ruby.

As for Weiss Schnee…

"I refuse to accept this defeat! Let's fight again!"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "You'll never beat me."

"I am a proud Schnee warrioress! I refuse to consider your victory valid!"

"What would that even prove, girl?" asked Ruby, angrily. "That our record can go from 48:0 to 48:1? Just accept that I'm the better fighter and move on already."

Ruby was still confined to quarters at Beacon, as only Mercury had been captured from the at-large baddie squad. Evidently, he hadn't thought that Ruby was going to turn his details over to the police and hadn't been making nearly enough of an effort to mask his presence. That still left enough people that Goodwitch didn't feel like it was safe for Ruby to let her guard down, so she remained with her sister.

Yang had insisted that Ruby essentially join the team, and Ruby had nothing else to do, so she went along with it. She went to class with them (most of it was information Ruby already knew, having picked it up from either one of Salem's agents or the White Fang themselves), took her meals with them (as long as it wasn't swordfish day at the cafeteria, during which Ruby would instead break into another team's dorm and steal their personally owned food just to keep her skills sharp), and she sparred with them.

Sadly, Beacon had no readily available and un-depletable supply of Grimm on which to sharpen her blades, so Yang's partners had to make due. Ruby had yet to lose against any one of them individually, and she hadn't even broken out her maiden powers yet.

Weiss Schnee was by far the easiest to cream, and that only made her all the more determined to salve her wounded pride and earn a triumph that would never come. It did help that Ruby had seen her semblance in use before and used to spend a lot of nights at Evernight thinking up ways to combat it.

I guess that was sorta therapy at the time, given how much Winter scarred me when we fought. Well, therapy isn't the right word – 'coping' seems better.

It hadn't even been fighting Winter that had truly hurt Ruby in a way that mattered. It had been the end of their battle, when…

One, two, three.

Ruby nearly dropped her weapon and fell back from the whiny huntress who still hadn't given up on getting that rematch. There were times like this when things just suddenly became too much for Ruby, and they only seemed to be getting more and more frequent. She'd hardened her heart out of necessity and become Salem's monster in order to fully gain her trust, and while Ruby had no more faith to the woman, she had no desire to weaken herself by letting go of that state of mind. If she could just stay strong and not turn into a giant softie, she would be okay.

And yet, just like a moment ago at the memory of Winter, there were flashes of emotion that threatened to tear Ruby's seams apart and left her unwind into. It wasn't fear or anything like that, but more like her old weak self threatening to resurge and take over. Thinking about how her old self had been traumatized by accidentally killing Winter reminded her of the time when Ruby had been utterly torn up about a single death and not desensitized to the notion altogether.

I need to get those emotional flashbacks under wraps, or…or…

Or she risked become like she used to be and having to actually feel the guilt and shame over what she'd done. Ruby knew what was coming, even if she wanted nothing more than to forestall it.

It's because I'm spending so much time around these kids and not having to jump from life-threatening scenario to life-threatening scenario. I never had time back in Evernight to stop and think, and now I'm going to classes where we talk about philosophy and how important saving people is and…

Ruby paused.

Why did it have to be like this? Why did she have to be like this?

I wish I'd never said yes. I wish I'd never killed Qrow. I don't want to become a baby again and have to feel the guilt, but I wish I never changed from that stupid little girl who had her eyes closed to all the horrible things that existed in the world. She was blissfully ignorant.

"Ruby?" screeched Schnee. "Are you listening to me?"

She hadn't been, and she'd actually absentmindedly walked out of the sparing room on her sparring partner for today. "Oh, uh, no. Look, Winter, I'm a bit too tired to do any more fighting, so can we just take a break for today? Or, I dunno, call Yang or something and have her train with you."

The white-haired girl sighed and nodded. "Alright. But we will be having a rematch at the crack of dawn tomorrow, and I expect you to be at your best so that my victory over you may be absolute."

"Yeah, sure." Ruby shrugged, having no intention of even showing up to the requested duel. "See you later."

Not waiting for Weiss to dismiss her or get in the last word, Ruby pushed open the doors and fled to the workspace that had been set up for her. Qrow had died in the metallurgist's forge of Beacon, so Goodwitch had approved Ruby being given space in an unused classroom to throw out some tarps, borrow some tools, and set up shop. Goodwitch pretty much approved anything Ruby asked.

She's overcompensating, Ruby thought as Blossom Artemis was set down onto the blue and gray tarp at the center of the room. Not that I'm going to complain. If she wants to spoil me and get over her own guilt in that way, who am I to deny her?

Ruby had left Crescent Rose behind in Raven Branwen's bandit camp, and she suspected that some thieving scumbag had stolen it and sold it for some drinking lien at this point, but there was nothing to be done about that.

After all, I promised Raven I'd leave them alone. And I don't particularly care about keeping my promises to the dead, but Mistral is just so far away.

That wasn't right, though. Ruby could fly there in about an hour if she really wanted to recover or avenge the theft of her scythe.

It wasn't as though she didn't have a reason for making a new weapon. Artemis was built around the same basic design as Crescent, having a sniper scythe at the core, but it was far more suited to be the weapon that the new Ruby needed. As a maiden, Ruby no longer needed to worry about lacking the power to swing a heavier weapon, so the blade was reinforced with an extra layer of steel that Crescent had never had. On top of that, she'd made it serrated to inflict some extra damage, should that ever prove necessary.

The caliber of the shots she'd used had actually decreased, as Ruby no longer needed to focus on heavy bullets to deal with Grimm now that she had silver eyes at her disposal. Instead, these smaller rounds would be more accurate and more likely to hit whatever human or Faunus she targeted. Giving Goodwitch the deets on Tyrian was important, but Ruby doubted that any of the other hunters of the kingdoms would actually bring him in. And even if they did, Salem could get another minion. Ruby would eventually need to face them, and she would always need to be looking over her shoulder to be ready for when the attack came.

It was actually nice, getting to start from scratch, as she could fit in the modifications she'd dreamt of whenever something had gone wrong with Crescent. A breadth of new features had been added in, including a deployable switchblade at the base of the staff seamlessly implemented by Ruby that she had imbued with enough Lightning Dust to stun Hazel Rainart, a small machine gun that had been tacked on to the end just to pack a punch in case she came across crowds of enemies, and self-destruct capabilities to take anyone down with her if things got too bad. Each and every one of them could conceivably be the factor that decided whether a battle was won or lost, and Ruby wondered how she had ever lived without these features.

Blossom Artemis was designed to kill people. Ruby had built a weapon for war.

Much like Crescent Rose, she still cared for it with the love and affection of a weapon that was one's only lifeline in the heat of battle. Every day, she went over the entire frame with a fine-tooth comb, and weekly inspections on each and every functionality were performed. Right now, she was merely tuning up the new machine gun and trying to balance the weight, which had seemed off during her fight with Weiss. She'd still won, but there was always room for something to go wrong.

All of the live ammo had been removed before maintenance began, and Ruby had locked the doors to her workshop. Thus, when a knock came from the door, Ruby had the peace of mind to be able to finish aligning the screws and tightening them before getting up to answer it.

"There we go."

Ruby clicked the safety back on to Artemis and went to answer the door.

"Who's there?"

"It's me," said Weiss from the other side. "I need to talk to you."

Ruby rubbed at her eyes, then dragged her hands down her cheeks in exasperation. Not this again.

"It's not about a rematch, Ruby. Please, just let me in so I can talk to you."

"Gimme a sec."

Whatever Weiss had to say, it couldn't be worth letting her into the workshop, not after Qrow. Plus, Ruby had no intention of ever showing another living human soul the interior workings of Artemis, not when that information could be turned against her if compromised. It only took a minute or two to reassemble her weapon entirely, hitch it on her back, and slip out the door. Weiss probably didn't even see the setup of Ruby's work area for how quickly she popped out of the opened and instantly closed door.

"What's up?" Ruby asked, unsure of what interest Weiss Schnee could have in her beyond wanting to have another spar.

"There's just something…you…when we…"

Ruby had been working on not being so insensitive, a talent she'd picked up from the villains like Adam and Watts who forced her to be thick-skinned with their brusqueness, so she patiently waited as Weiss fumbled over her worlds for a while. After a little bit, she got herself together and spat it out.

"Ruby, you called me Winter, a moment ago."

"Did I? My bad."

"Um…"

Ruby nodded. "If you're asking about your sister, I did know her." It was a good thing I packed Artemis up and brought it out.

Weiss let out a shaky breath. "It's just, you showed up, and it was all just an elaborate ruse to conspire your way into some enemy's good graces, and I was thinking that…I know it's unlikely, but maybe there was something like that there too?"

Without waiting for an answer, Weiss responded to herself. "I know that, but maybe there's a chance? Yang got her sister back as if by magic, so…"

Ruby tilted her head. "What exactly are you trying to ask?"

"If you can't answer directly, I understand," Weiss said, nodding desperately. "But even a little hope…I'll take anything you can give me."

Frowning, Ruby said, "Weiss, I don't know what you're trying to ask."

Weiss clasped her hands together in front of her chest as her smile flattened. "You knew Winter. Is there any chance her death is just another part of some cover-up? Is she still alive?"

Huh. I was expecting her to be asking about Winter's final moment.

Ruby shook her head resolutely. "Sorry, but no. Winter is dead."

Weiss' face fell like a rock dropped from a hot air balloon. "Oh."

"I'm sorry. It's the actual truth, this time."

"There's no chance? Not even a little one, like with Ozpin? O-Or, perhaps you weren't told, and she just faked her own death for an even more secretive assignment?"

"If there are even missions more secret than mine, I'd rather remain ignorant, because that shit would keep me at night. Plus, I wouldn't be able to tell you about them if there were, because I literally wouldn't be able to know. However, in this case, Winter bled out right in my arms, and there's no magical semblance faking it unless you have a 'cheat-death' Glyph."

Every sentence Ruby said made Weiss' grow even more morose, as though she were receiving a steady line of blows during one of their many combat sessions. However, something changed at one point, and her brow was creased when Ruby finished speaking.

"I'm sorry, did you say you were there when Winter died?"

Ruby's mouth flattened. "Yes. Weiss, I'm going to ask you to remain calm when I tell you this, but I was the one to kill Winter."

Weiss seemed perfectly calm. All emotion dropped off her face instantly, so Ruby went on.

"She was working with Atlas, and I was pretending to be a bad guy. She tracked me down to Vacuo, where I was doing a mission with the bad guys on Mount Serathusa. Can't talk about that, but Winter was tracking me down because she wanted revenge because I broke into her base and stole some stuff from her."

Those two blue eyes were empty. Ruby bit her lip, hoping that Weiss was just processing this and hadn't checked out. She wasn't looking forward to explaining it all a second time.

"Weiss, she wasn't playing around like you and I did. Your sister wanted to kill me, and she damn nearly did. I only just barely survived against her."

Ruby left out the part where she'd tearily tried to console an indignant huntress who wasn't having it. That would mean little to Weiss, or even to Winter; it had more been for herself and her own conscience at the time.

"I killed her because I needed to survive. If I hadn't, all of the sacrifices that I had already put in would be for nothing, and our one and only chance to sabotage the bad guys and stop them from getting what they –"

Ruby looked down. A rapier was bending against her stomach. How long had that been there?"

"Murderer," Weiss seethed.

"Self-defense," Ruby responded. Pinching the tip of the sword, she plucked it from Weiss' hands. "If you want to talk about why it was necessary, talk to Goodwitch. She might be able to explain some more. I'm not sure what's classified and what isn't."

Weiss tried to punch Ruby, an unplanned attack more based in anger than on strategy given how sloppily it was done. Ruby just leaned away, catch her by the forearm, and flipped her over her shoulder.

This wasn't an agent of Salem seeking to assassinate her, so there was no need to deploy the heavy-duty seasonal arsenal. Even Artemis was unnecessary; unarmed as she was, Weiss was no true danger.

Her sister could have probably done a lot more, Ruby thought as she walked away from the girl on the floor. Though I sometimes wonder if she was truly as dangerous as I remember. Was Winter Schnee a force to be reckoned with, or was I just a weak maidenless child to whom any adult huntress would seem indestructible and fearsome?

"MURDERER!" Weiss screamed, chasing Ruby out the hallway and into a courtyard. Her angry declaration got some attention, but not much. Most people would see a tiny girl like Ruby and assume there was no danger there. The huntsmen and huntresses who stood guard around the campus in various spots took note, but they'd been instructed to leave Ruby to her own devices unless she was in danger, and she very clearly wasn't.

"I'll kill you!" raged Weiss, kicking Ruby in the back. Unfortunately for her, Ruby had been expecting it. The second her heel contacted Ruby's hood, a spark of static shocked Weiss and threw her back several feet.

"You can't – we established that when I kicked your butt every time we fought – and you shouldn't – if you do, your sister's sacrifice is invalidated."

"Sacrifice?" roared Weiss. "You killed her! She didn't choose to lay down her life, you chose it for her!"

Ruby blew the pale elbow out of the way just before it could collide with her throat, then plucked her scroll from her pockets. Texting Yang her location and a quick request to come over when she had the chance, she then pocketed the device and caught Weiss' fist to block the next frenzied attack.

Her fist squeezed around Weiss' hand, and the huntress let out a shrill cry of pain and fell to her knees. Ruby still gripped her by the fingers and didn't let her drop all the way down.

"Give this up, Weiss. What is it you even want here? To murder me back? You'd be arrested, and the…the…it's in the kingdoms' best interests that I survive. If your goal here is to just beat the shit out of me, you'd be here all day. My aura probably regenerates faster from your weak hits than the aura around your knuckles does after making impact on me. And either way, it's not going to bring Winter back. She's gone, Weiss. Killing me won't change that – believe me, I've contemplated it multiple times."

Weiss broke down crying at about the time Ruby said her sister's name, so she let her go. The heiress collapsed, though Ruby was fairly certain her dampened attacks hadn't released enough power to seriously harm her.

Yang rounded a corner, saw the scene before her, and came running, Blake just behind her. Ruby took that as her cue to depart; her presence would only distress Weiss further.

"She's upset that I killed her sister," Ruby explained to Yang, who rushed to cradle a weeping Weiss.

"You…" Yang looked up in confusion. "Wait, but I thought you didn't kill anyone?"

"I didn't kill Qrow – a misfire from Crescent Rose did that by mistake – and Ozpin faked his death. I didn't kill either of them. But, like…lots of others."

"E-Evil people?" Yang said. "From the thing you were sent in to stop?"

"Sometimes," Ruby said. "Not Winter, though, or a bunch of others. I had to keep my cover up, Yang."

"Ruby, that's –"

"I know." Ruby decided this conversation had run its course and decided to relieve Weiss of having to endure her offending presence. "It's horrible, and so am I. But I had to do it."

Before Ruby could even walk away, Yang handed her partner off to her girlfriend and gripped Ruby's wrist. "Why?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did it have to be you? You haven't even told us who these mysterious villains you stopped were. What was so important about this mission that this all had to happen?"

Ruby looked down at Yang's hand on her and frowned. She could easily free herself, but something about that sounded too much like giving up on Yang. There was still hope that Yang could be reasoned with and wouldn't require force to back down.

When Ruby didn't answer, she was proven right after about fifteen seconds. Yang let go.

Suddenly, Ruby was very uncomfortable with everything around her. The disappointed and somewhat hurt look in Yang's eyes, the pained sobbing coming from Weiss, the openness of her position where anyone could hurt her, the lack of the familiar Grimm colors that she'd come to expect around her at all times…every instinct in Ruby's body started screaming at her that she needed to be somewhere else – anywhere else.

"Talk to Goodwitch," was all Ruby could say before she had to get away from there.

Author's Notes

I should mention that this one is a two-parter. The next chapter will be Ruby and Winter and will be continuing almost immediate where this one leaves off.

I think I forgot to include the previews of next week's chapters, but it's too late to change it now, and it's not like the other names (Yang, Blake, etc) will be difficult to guess. I mean, they're even in order on the AO3 relationship tags.

OC weapons aren't my jam per se, but Ruby seems like the type who wouldn't reuse a name or a design. Crescent Rose fell bravely in battle, so she's training its successor rather than replacing it's spot in her heart. Artemis is the moon goddess, and roses blossom, so it's...yeah.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!