AN: We're back! We're finally back! Let's get right into it, shall we?
Chapter 68: The 2 of Clubs
For Ray Stein, his days were the same as always. Wake up, check the morning news, and then prepare for work. And in his case, work was attending the latest patient who came to his free clinic outside of Thimble. He was a very tall man with sandy blonde hair and hazel eyes that shone like sun rays. His approachable personality made the journey from Thimble to his cabin/clinic on the outskirts of town worth the effort. He smiled pleasantly and patted the head of the child he just finished working on.
"There you go, a clean bill of health." He said before turning to his mother. "I have to say, you raise your child well, ma'am. I'm worried I might be out of a job if I can't find anything wrong with your boy…or any of the other children for that matter."
"Oh, you don't have to be so modest, Dr. Stein." The mother said to him. "You're an incredible doctor, the town is lucky to have you. And the fact this clinic is open to the public for free is so kind of you."
"I was already a very wealthy man when I came to Thimble." Dr. Stein explained. "I figured I'd try to give back for a change."
"Well, I know I speak for everyone in Thimble when I say we're all very grateful to have you here, Doctor. This town is better for having you here, and it has been for the last 2 years."
"You flatter me," Dr. Stein said to her, "same recommendations as last year's physical. Do that, and your boy will be plenty healthy by the time I see him again. And you know where to find me if something happens."
"Thank you Dr. Stein. Sweetie, say thank you to Dr. Stein." The mother said.
"Thank you Dr. Stein." With that, the boy and his mother departed his clinic. Dr. Stein could not help but smile as the two walked away. What more could he want out of life?
As for the Xiao Long-Rose family, the next few days went by without as much fanfare as their first day in Thimble. They would spend their time either hiking in the forest, swimming in the lake, or sightseeing in the area around Thimble. However, for Ruby, the highlight of her vacation was quickly turning into visiting the orphanage outside of Thimble. She would always visit late in the afternoon. During each visit, she would play with the children, show off Crescent Rose and tell them stories of her adventures at Beacon.
She had also gotten the pleasure of learning the names of the remaining children at the orphanage. Razz, Hunter, Liv, Mag, Ming, and Raj; six little orphans who all looked up to Cedric, in spite of his standoffish behavior. The next few days made Ruby realize something she never knew about herself: she loved children. It helped that the little ones had already grown to love Ruby. She was the cool big sister who loved to play with them; the kind of big sister that children wished they had.
For his part, Cedric was still a bit standoffish to Ruby. However, with every visit, Ruby noticed that Cedric was starting to ask more questions, particularly about the life of a professional Huntsman. She had to admit, he was quite cute when he tried to act tough for his age. She found it incredibly endearing.
Late in the afternoon of her latest visit to the orphanage, Ruby found herself surrounded by the little ones, all inquiring about another adventure as a Huntress.
"So what happened next? What happened next?" Liv asked eagerly.
"Well, Professor Kobalt and I stopped the bad guy together." Ruby claimed. "He could create ice like magic, but he was no match for the two of us once we started working together."
"You worked together with him?" Razz gasped. Ruby looked at him and nodded.
"Of course," she said, "he was a bit reluctant, but I managed to convince him to let me help. We had it in the bag at that point."
"But he seemed like such a meanie when you first told us about him." Mag reminded Ruby. Ruby laughed uncomfortably at Mag's innocent statement.
"Well, yeah, even I have to admit he seemed like that at first. In fact, he's plenty scary even after you first meet him. But Professor Kobalt is a big softie deep down. He's like a crunch bar. Hard on the outside, gooey on the inside. He's just had a rough time."
"Are you saying you want to be friends with him, Ruby?" Ming asked curiously. Ruby frowned slightly.
"Well, to be honest, he's my teacher first," she admitted, "it's…unfortunately not proper for a teacher and a student to be friends."
"But you want to be friends with him!" Hunter exclaimed. Ruby hummed. She respected Hansel greatly. But did she actually want to be friends with him?
"I…honestly don't know how to answer that." Ruby admitted. She then turned red at the memory of feeling up Hansel while he was unconscious. The kids definitely did not need to know about that particular story.
"Ruby, you're red, are you sick?" Raj asked innocently.
"I'm fine, Raj." Ruby said, a bit too quickly. Cedric then entered the room.
"Hey, so what kind of techniques did you use to beat that guy?" He asked curiously. Ruby coughed awkwardly and got back on track.
"Well, he created a forest of ice," Ruby explained, "it was capable of attacking anyone who touched it."
"So what happened?" Cedric asked, his expression turned somewhat eager when he heard Ruby say that. "If you couldn't even get inside that forest of his, how did you manage to win?"
"My Semblance allows me to fly." Ruby explained. "A nice burst of speed that gets me airborne for as long as I'm able to use it. Professor Kobalt managed to fly as well with bursts of fire from his hands. We used that to avoid triggering the trap and managed to reach the center, where the enemy was."
"What happened next?" Cedric asked. Ruby pointed to her leg.
"I used this leg here to give him a nice kick to the stomach while Professor Kobalt decked him right in the jaw. That knocked him right out." She said proudly. Remembering what happened next was always difficult for Ruby. For the sake of the children, the only thing they needed to know was that the bad guy was stopped.
Even so…Mr. Rainn did ultimately deserve better. Ruby sadly remembered the old man's fate. He certainly did not deserve to be murdered by the Headless Horseman, just when he was about to try and make things right in his own way, too.
"I can't believe someone like you could beat up a bad guy." Cedric scowled.
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Ruby asked incredulously.
"I bet your Professor Kobalt did the heavy-lifting." Cedric grinned smugly at Ruby while he taunted her.
"You little brat!" Ruby hissed in anger at the boy. This had become common during Ruby's visits. With Cedric's gratitude towards her having worn off, Ruby had gotten an up-close and personal demonstration of just how much of a standoffish asshole this kid could be. Kids really were cruel. Cedric seemed to have taken every ounce of that cruelty from all the children in the orphanage, and intended to use every ounce of it to tease Ruby and get a reaction out of her. Ruby had not yet learned how to deal with the teachings of children much younger than her. So, unfortunately, she fell for it every single time.
"My, my, it's lively here today." Citrine Gosling suddenly entered the room with a pleasant smile like usual. "I'm so glad to hear that all the children love your stories so much, Ruby."
"I'm glad they like them too." Ruby admitted. "The life I live isn't always pleasant, but I'm glad I'm able to cheer them up with the glamorous aspects of it."
"You certainly do have some interesting adventures." Citrine noted. "Forgive me, I've listened in on a few of your stories."
"Oh, no worries." Ruby smiled.
"Do you ever worry that the bad guys you've beaten will come for revenge?" Citrine asked curiously.
"No way!" Ruby said, putting on a brave face in front of the kids. "If they do that, I'll just beat them up again!"
"My, my, ever the optimist." Citrine chuckled. "Are you sure you're okay with having a target painted on your back? You are still a child, after all."
That made Ruby pout slightly. After everything she had been through, she really hated being reminded that she was still a child. It felt as though nobody was taking her seriously, when she had already done so much with her life. However, she quickly regained her composure and smiled again at Citrine.
"I have to be okay with that." She claimed. "I'm a Huntress, remember? Stepping into danger so you all don't have to is my job."
All the children except for Cedric cheered at Ruby's brave declaration. Ruby felt a major confidence boost at all these children praising her. When her dad suggested they take a vacation to get away from it all, she was certain this was not what he had in mind. However, she had to admit, it was doing wonders in bringing her back to her usual self.
A half an hour later, Ruby was leaving the orphanage. On the way to meet her dad and Yang, she suddenly found herself crossing paths with Gardenia LeSouhait. She brightened up at the sight of her dad's old classmate. Gardenia may have appeared prickly, but something about her made Ruby certain her heart was in the right place. She noticed that Gardenia seemed to be spacing out, however, that did not stop her from greeting her.
"Good afternoon, Ms. LeSouhait!" She said sweetly. Gardenia broke out of her trance. She smiled politely when she saw Ruby approaching her.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Rose." Gardenia said to her. "Gardenia is fine. You may be in training, but you're still a Huntress. One that isn't working for my bureau. Technically speaking, that means we're of the same rank."
"Only if you just call me Ruby." Ruby countered. That got a faint smile out of Gardenia.
"Fair enough," Gardenia chuckled.
"On patrol?" Ruby asked curiously.
"No," Gardenia shook her head, "just checking in on a few supplies that are supposed to be coming in tomorrow. Every once in a while, the bureau I run needs a proverbial refueling of supplies. I take it upon myself to make sure that goes swimmingly."
"You don't have someone lower in rank doing that?" Ruby was surprised. Gardenia shook her head.
"I find it's best to take care of such things myself." Gardenia replied. "Sometimes, the best way to ensure things go well is to handle it yourself. How are the children at the orphanage? A few of my men have said they've seen you leaving from that direction."
"Oh, they're fine," Ruby promised, "they're very sweet. Very chipper too. Well, except for Cedric. He is living proof that kids are cruel."
That got another laugh out of Gardenia. This girl was pretty easy to talk to. It seemed she had more of her mother than her father. That was likely why.
"They're in high spirits? In spite of a few of their own disappearing?" Gardenia asked.
That made Ruby's smile fade slightly. She had been having so much fun with these children, she had honestly forgotten that a few of them had disappeared, according to Cedric.
"I think so." Ruby replied.
"They're children," Gardenia noted, "I honestly have to wonder if they even realize what's happened to their friends. For all we know, they might just think the disappeared kids have just gone away somewhere. I suppose they do say ignorance is bliss, right?"
"Maybe," Ruby shrugged, "but there is something to be said about the truth, right?"
"Some people are incapable of handling the truth." Gardenia pointed out.
"And what about the rest of us?" Ruby asked. "Don't we have a duty to find the truth so that we can put a stop to this?"
"I have that duty." Gardenia corrected. "You may be a Huntress, technically, but your duty right now is to grow up strong, smart and kind."
"Everyone tells me that," Ruby frowned.
"They're not wrong to tell you that," Gardenia insisted, "you're still a child, Ruby. You still have much growing up to do. That's not a bad thing. When you're young, you still have a far greater capacity to improve, to be better than all of us."
"Can you catch whoever is taking all those people?" Ruby asked. Gardenia swallowed hard at this. The memory of discovering that Grimm was once human was still fresh in her mind. It made her come to a very disturbing conclusion. The possibility that the Grimm was once one of the missing people. The problem was that right now, they had no way of performing identifications. She requested attempts to perform checks for dental records, but had received nothing so far.
"We're doing everything we can." Gardenia promised. "And we will catch whoever is doing this."
I just wish we had some kind of lead to work with other than a Grimm that was once a human according to autopsy reports. That thought still made Gardenia sick to her stomach. Who would be twisted enough to do something like that to a person? Who was even capable of doing something like that? They were questions that Gardenia was not certain she wanted answered. However, she knew she had to get them answered if she wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery.
"Well, you did see me cut that monster down the other day." Ruby pointed out. "So, whether I'm a kid or not, if you need me, I'm just a call away."
"I understand," Gardenia sighed, "don't worry, we're all looking for leads. If they're still operating here, we'll find them soon. Enjoy the rest of your day, Ruby. Say hi to your father and sister for me."
"You have a nice rest of your day too, Gardenia." Ruby replied, before she got moving once again to where she was to meet with the rest of her family. After the girl left, Gardenia ran her hand through her hair, feeling the fatigue of the past several days catching up to her. She had to get her mind off of things. She had an idea.
"You're free to come to the bureau tomorrow, if you're that interested in the life of Huntsmen!" Gardenia called after her. Ruby froze in place. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at Gardenia.
"That sounds great!" She said chipperly. "I've always wanted to visit one of the bureaus! Thank you!"
Ruby ran off. That act of kindness and charity and how good it made Gardenia feel quickly wore off as the stress of the investigation quickly returned. Suddenly, her scroll rang. Gardenia saw the ID and breathed a sigh of relief. She now found herself hoping for a breakthrough. She quickly answered her Scroll.
"It's Gardenia, talk to me." She spoke into the Scroll.
"Ma'am," came the voice of one of the Huntsmen under her command, "we just killed a Grimm near a large entryway to the sewers. Per your request, we cut it open and found human organs."
Human organs again. That was not what Gardenia needed to hear. With this happening twice, that unfortunately confirmed her theory. The kidnapping victims were likely these human Grimm. She had no idea how she was going to explain this to the families of the victims.
I've no choice but to wait until we've confirmed it's 100% true before I make any statements. Gardenia concluded.
"Ma'am?" Came the voice of the Huntsman on the other end again.
"You said, it was near an entryway into the sewers?" Gardenia inquired.
"Yes, ma'am. It ripped right through the entrypoint."
That would explain how the culprit is moving around freely. I'm guessing they don't have a sense of smell…or don't give a damn. Gardenia noted, her gaze going towards a manhole. Damn it, I just had this suit pressed and cleaned too.
"How far do the sewers run?" Gardenia asked.
"The system runs through a few of the nearby towns, all leading towards the waste disposal plant near the coast." Gardenia hummed. That would certainly explain a lot. It almost seemed too convenient.
"Okay, stay by that entrance, call me if someone tries to leave it." Gardenia ordered. "I'm heading down to investigate, see if I can turn up any leads myself."
"Keep your nose held, ma'am." Gardenia rolled her eyes at that statement. No amount of nose-holding was going to protect her from what was coming next.
"Onwards and upwards…or in this case, onwards and downwards." Gardenia heaved a sigh. "I'm so glad I haven't eaten yet. Though, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to eat after this…"
With that, Gardenia descended into the sewers. Her expression became serious and investigative. Her eyes constantly darted back and forth as she scanned for clues. She soon came across markings. Arrows pointing in different directions.
Those were definitely not here before. Probably used for marking targets? Directions perhaps? At least I know I'm on the right track. So far, so good. Gardenia nodded.
Gardenia carefully makes her way through the sewers. She knew that if her hunch was correct, somewhere down here was the perpetrator. Or even worse, another one of their horrific crimes against nature. Or even worse than that, the perpetrator AND another one of their horrific crimes against nature.
Regardless, I need to be careful. Gardenia concluded. One false move and I'm in trouble.
Gardenia continued to make her way through the sewers. After what felt like a half an hour, she found herself wondering where she was at this point. She grumbled to herself, wondering if she should have at least taken a map of the county's sewer system.
Since I kept going in the same direction, I'm probably at least outside of town at this point. Gardenia noted. Then, as she stepped into an intersection of sewer tunnels, her Aura suddenly picked up an attack coming towards her. She immediately leaned her head back and avoided what appeared to be a single blade on a glowing chain. The chain was immediately yanked backwards. Gardenia then heard the sound of a gun firing. She instinctively dodged to different sides as what appeared to be spikes were shot at her. What the hell are those things?
"I see you're as fast as I've heard. Well, makeshift ambushes are never going to work on a seasoned pro."
Gardenia then got a look at her assailant. Rather, she looked at him as best as she could. His face was concealed entirely by a black plague doctor's mask with the number two on the forehead. The rest of his body was concealed by a heavy black trenchcoat. Gardenia scowled at him.
"You could not look more like a bad guy if you tried, freak." Gardenia told him. This gets a good laugh out of the man in the plague doctor mask.
"You're as blunt and rude as I've heard as well." The man added. "That alone is reason enough to get rid of you. And if I do get rid of you, my biggest threat will fall by the wayside."
"That's the keyword right there, isn't it?" Gardenia glared at the man. "If you get rid of me."
Gardenia then drops into a martial arts stance. The man laughs at her as he brandishes his two weapons, a bladed chain and a gun with strange ammunition that Gardenia has not figured out yet.
"You're really going to take me in close quarters? Very well, then you may call me the 2 of Clubs, and I'll be your executioner tonight." He taunted. Gardenia loosened her tie and collar, revealing three tattoos of a golden star on her neck.
"First, I wish to increase the strength of my body." Gardenia proclaimed as one of the stars suddenly vanished on her neck. "Second, I wish to increase the defensive capabilities of my Aura."
The 2 of Clubs watched in bewilderment as the second star vanished upon Gardenia making that proclamation. His eyes then narrowed, catching onto what was happening.
This must be her Semblance. But what the hell did she just do? She didn't really just wish to be stronger, did she? And it's not seriously going to work, is it? Before 2 of Clubs could even comprehend it, Gardenia was already within his defenses. Shit, she's fast!
Gardenia threw a haymaker at 2 of Clubs that the man barely avoided. The punch carried further, colliding with the wall. 2 of Clubs gasped when he saw the entire wall next to him crack and spread further and further down the sewer. 2 of Clubs laughed uncomfortably as he turned to Gardenia.
"Can't you hold back just a little?" He asked, putting distance between himself and Gardenia. "I mean, you don't want this whole place to collapse underneath us, right?"
"Your bluff would mean something if I wasn't certain we had already left Thimble." Gardenia replied.
"Ah crap, you got me." 2 of Clubs laughed uncomfortably before tossing his gun in the air and stabbing at Gardenia with a syringe. He then frowned behind his plague doctor mask when he saw the needle of the syringe break against Gardenia's neck. "Oh shit."
Gardenia then threw a knee right into 2 of Clubs' stomach. 2 of Clubs gasped in pain from the force of the blow. He felt his Aura kick into overdrive to avoid any internal damage done to his body. The impact knocked him away from Gardenia, but not before grabbing his gun out of the air. 2 of Clubs recovered and laughed more maniacally than uncomfortably.
"Well, if you're going to be like that!" He exclaimed before tossing three grenades at Gardenia. He gasped when Gardenia charged right into the line of fire. The grenades exploded around her. 2 of Clubs gasped again when the woman charged right out of the blast.
She should've felt that at least! He insisted to himself. 2 of Clubs recovered and landed in time to avoid a punch that destroyed the area he was standing on. Damn, so this is her Semblance…but something like this is utterly ridiculous! Semblances should be steeped in logic.
Gardenia LeSouhait's Semblance: Three Wishes. The stars tattooed on her neck each represent a single wish she is allowed to use. The stronger the wish, the longer it takes for the tattoo to return. Furthermore, all three stars have to be used before the cooldown period begins. However, only wishes that affect Gardenia's body directly can be used. Ironically, it was steeped in its own brand of logic, making it perfectly logical for a Semblance and the powers it granted. In this case, Gardenia's Semblance had enhanced her offensive and defensive capabilities from her Aura. Unfortunately, this required two of the three wishes.
"Okay then!" 2 of Clubs swung his bladed chain around. The chain slowly extended, encompassing a larger and larger attack radius.
I'll just keep increasing the radius of my attack and wear down her Aura. And if she tries to move, I'll shoot! 2 of Clubs declared inwardly. Gardenia then started weaving around 2 of Clubs' bladed-chain at speeds he could not aim fast enough. Seriously?
Gardenia leapt and moved her way through the bladed chain's radius. As she drew closer and closer, the bladed-chain became faster and faster, truly demonstrating how fast Gardenia's body was when she was empowered by her wishes. As she invaded 2 of Clubs' personal space once more, 2 of Clubs regained his composure and cackled.
"Just kidding!" He exclaimed before firing right at Gardenia's face point blank. It was at that moment, Gardenia saw what he was using as ammunition. He was using syringes as ammo for this uniquely-designed gun.
I'll shoot her right in the mouth and get the syringe's contents into her body that way! He declared before he gasped. Gardenia actually caught the needle between her teeth, stopping it. Then she spat the syringe right back at 2 of Clubs, hitting him right in the forehead. The blade then changed shape into a sickle as he yanked on the chain and pulled it back towards Gardenia, intent on impaling her from behind. However, Gardenia quickly threw a roundhouse kick that broke the chain made of Dust.
"Huh?!" 2 of Clubs exclaimed before Gardenia planted the foot she just kicked into the ground and then threw her other foot into 2 of Clubs' chest, sending him flying into the edge of the sewer pathway, planting him in the wall. He groaned in pain. "Well, shit. That hurt."
"The fact you're the one responsible for all of these disappearances is damn disappointing." Gardenia noted. "You're way too pitiful for me to call you some criminal mastermind."
"Well, now that's just rude. You know, I'm honestly not a frontline fighter, just a humble researcher." 2 of Clubs admitted. Gardenia's expression darkened at the mention of 'researcher.'
"What the hell did you do to all those people?" She demanded. 2 of Clubs just laughed, only to groan in pain.
"Fuck, it hurts to laugh right now." He admitted. "Well, as to your question…you already know what I did to them. As to how I did it, well, wouldn't you like to know. A good scientist can't just share his work…not unless there's a patent to be made money off of."
"You're scum." Gardenia said bluntly.
"To each their own." 2 of Clubs shrugged.
"Hold still," Gardenia told him, "I'm going to cave your head in."
"Hey now, don't you want to rip the mask off and identify your perpetrator?" 2 of Clubs laughed nervously.
"You've already told me what I want to know. You're responsible for this madness. I'm going to kill you. I don't care about who you are behind the mask." Gardenia told him with a dark expression on her face. That made 2 of Clubs laugh.
"Fair enough," Gardenia could tell he was smirking behind the mask, "what's behind the mask can be quite terrifying."
"I disagree, mask or not, you're still a monster." Gardenia proclaimed. That got another laugh out of 2 of Clubs.
"You're a completely different person when you're fighting. Not at all like the cool headed Vice Chief of the Bureau you usually present yourself as." He noted.
"I tend to lose my temper in the face of cretins like yourself." Gardenia countered nonchalantly as she approached the man.
"That's fair, you're brutal though, beating on a poor, hapless researcher, and there's really nothing I can do about it." 2 of Clubs complained. He then chuckled. "Well, nothing except for this."
Sensing danger, Gardenia spun around and kicked a Grimm right into the ceiling. Her eyes widened. The Grimm did not dissipate upon its destruction. That could only mean this was another one of 2 of Clubs' despicable experiments. She then heard more inhuman shrieking and realized 2 of Clubs had lured her into a trap.
"I had hoped to get out of here before they went berserk, but then you just had to show up. Try to appreciate the fact I'm wasting precious research specimens on you, Ms. LeSouhait." 2 of Clubs tried to lumber away from her.
"You think you can run?" Gardenia was suddenly snatched away from 2 of Clubs by the outstretched head of another Grimm. Its mouth had latched onto her left arm. It looked like the black head of a King Taijitu, but she quickly realized this was another one of 2 of Clubs' research subjects. She sighed. "Sorry about this."
Gardenia then hammered the head of the King Taijitu-Human hybrid. The mouth let go of him, hissing and shrieking in pain before falling to the ground. She then looked around, realizing she was now surrounded by four other hybrids that 2 of Clubs had created. She heaved a sigh as she adjusted her glasses.
"You're making me work a bit harder than I'd like here, especially when I was so close to completing my mission." She proclaimed. "Still, I don't think I should have to use my third wish on all of you."
The Grimm Hybrids all pounced on Gardenia simultaneously. The woman sighed again and adjusted her glasses.
"I'm sorry, the least I can do is end your suffering so that all of you may rest in peace." She said sorrowfully. Below the sewers, the ground began to shake. Minutes later, an entire section of the area collapsed entirely. 2 of Clubs, in another part of the sewers, cackled madly as he ran away from the fight, injured with his Aura working to heal him, but feeling satisfied regardless thanks to managing to get the best of a B-Class Huntress in his own way.
Meanwhile, back at the cabin rented by the Xiao Long-Rose family, Taiyang found himself wandering around the area, calling out for Ruby. He knew she had returned from her trip to the orphanage, but could not find her. Thankfully, his search was not long. He soon found her doing something that actually surprised him. Ruby Rose was in the midst of pushups. Zwei was sitting politely and watching her, yipping happily every time.
"Pushups, Ruby?" Taiyang was surprised.
"Yeah," Ruby smiled as she went through her pushups, "we have a little extra time before our next activity, right? Thought I'd just get a quick workout in before that."
"Yeah, but a workout kinda defeats the purpose." Taiyang pointed out. "What kind of workout even is this?"
"I just want to see how much I can do at once before I run out of time." Ruby replied. "The idea is to see how my stamina has improved along with my own upper body strength."
"How long has it been since you've started?" Taiyang could not help but have his curiosity piqued. "And how many have you done?"
"Umm…I started five minutes ago…so about three hundred pushups." Ruby explained, not missing a beat.
"That means you're doing a pushup a second, Rubes." Taiyang pointed out.
"Guess I have." Ruby said nonchalantly. Taiyang sighed.
"I get your logic, but this is still a vacation, sweetie." Taiyang reminded her.
"Yeah, but I can spare a few minutes." Ruby claimed. "Professor Kobalt's always working out too, every chance he gets. Maybe if I try to emulate him a little, I can get even stronger as well."
"That seems to be all you talk about nowadays…how to be a better Huntress." Taiyang heaved a sigh. He forced a smile. "Wrap up in five minutes. And next time, maybe keep your workouts to five minutes. We're all trying to relax here, right?"
Ruby sighed and put a stop to her pushups. She smiled at her dad.
"I guess I can stop here. We were going to go to that nice restaurant we saw the other day, right?" She asked.
"Yep, then hiking tomorrow." Taiyang told her. "So, tomorrow is definitely family time, okay sweetie?"
Ruby nodded. Taiyang sighed. We took this vacation for her to get a break, and she's still finding an excuse to work out…just a bit. I shouldn't push against this so much, but still…would it be worth trying to talk to this Professor Kobalt of her's.
Meanwhile, back at the sight of the fight between Gardenia, the 2 of Clubs, and the Hybrid Grimm. The rubble began to move about as it was disturbed. A dirty Gardenia LeSouhait then emerged with an irritated expression on her face.
"Shit. He got away." She said simply, adjusting her glasses.
Meanwhile, Dr. Stein slowly walked his way out of a limp as he made his way back to his clinic. He was currently holding onto some large grocery bags. One of the citizens of Thimble stopped him with a wave.
"Dr. Stein, it's good to see you in town today!" He exclaimed.
"I had time." Dr. Stein replied. "So, I made a run to the grocery store."
"Thanks for the appointment the other day, I'm already feeling much better." He said to the doctor.
"Always a pleasure." Dr. Stein said curtly, walking past his old patient.
"By the way, you were limping a bit earlier, are you okay?" Dr. Stein froze briefly at that question. Dr. Stein just smiled pleasantly.
"Don't mind me, just a bit worn out from hard work, so my legs were a bit weak." Dr. Stein told him. That got a laugh out of the patient.
"You work too hard, Dr. Stein. Have a nice night!"
Dr. Stein made his way back to his clinic. As soon as he was alone, his smile faded and he tossed his grocery bags on his counter. One of the bags fell over. His smile then returned, this time dark and mysterious. A plague doctor mask and a heavy black trench coat fell out of the bag.
"All these wonderful research subjects, just for little old me." Said Ray Stein, the 2 of Clubs. "What more could I want out of life?"
AN: No surprises or mysteries this time. The enemy is here and running around freely, turning the peaceful tourist trap town of Thimble into his own personal research laboratory. Sorry this took awhile, this chapter was tougher to write then I thought it would be. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter though, I'll see you next time. If you liked this, check out RWBY: Wild Hunt's TV Tropes page and feel free to add to it.