Chapter 35
The Sith forces launched an attack on Atlas and Mantle. The attack was not meant to bring down the cities but to test the defenses of Atlas, and its mighty shields. The Sith forces learned everything they needed to know. After the battle, Ruby embarrassed herself because Neo flirted with Oscar, which went over his head.
Oscar was reading over a text of Jedi lore during breakfast. He was reading a tale of a Jedi known as the Hero of Vytal. They lived a few centuries ago and had taken on an army of Sith to keep Vytal safe. The Hero was a powerful Jedi master who gave up their life to stop anywhere from fifty to one hundred Sith. There were different versions of the tale. It was interesting to see how the histories disagreed.
"I heard the higher number." Ozpin's voice told him.
"I'm trying to learn." Oscar said.
"I'm just saying…" Ozpin started
"You aren't going to ruin another book for me. I don't care that this is history. Shut up." Oscar said.
Oscar took a bite of his bacon as he continued to read. He felt the seat next to him fill, and he looked up to see Neo. She had a smirk on her face as she stole a strawberry from Oscar's fruit bowl. He hoped he had another one. He loved strawberries. Neo had her breakfast with her. She started signing, asking about what he was reading.
Oscar started telling her. She didn't seem too heavily invested in the Jedi texts. She was still listening, but not really caring.
He felt someone nearby was annoyed. He looked up and saw Ruby. He saw her face tense up as she saw Neo.
"Let the show begin." Nora said from another table. Jaune looked over and saw what was going on. Oscar could sense Jaune and Nora enjoying this. He didn't get what was going on.
"Oscar… How do you not understand?" Ozpin asked.
Ruby sat across from Oscar, pretending Neo wasn't there.
"I really need to learn sign language." Ruby said. "You two seem to be hitting things off really well."
"Learning sign language is a very useful thing. Ozpin says normally, you would have learned it by now." Oscar said. He felt the tension at the table. He looked between the two sitting with him. Neo had an innocent look on her face, but when she turned to Ruby, Ruby's face became more tense.
He didn't know how that was possible, but it was.
"Ruby… are you okay?" Oscar asked.
"I'm fine." She said forcefully.
'Did I do something wrong?' Oscar asked Ozpin.
"How can you be so smart and yet not see it?" Ozpin asked.
'Can I get any hints?' Oscar asked.
"No. You won't learn otherwise." Ozpin said.
'You are enjoying this too much.' Oscar said.
Oscar reached for his fork, only to notice it missing. He looked over and saw Neo twirling it between her fingers.
"Neo… did you mean to take my fork?" Oscar asked. She turned and looked at her tray. She put Oscar's fork down and picked up her own.
"Sorry." She signed.
"Honest mistake." Oscar said.
Ruby looked at Neo. Oscar couldn't see what Neo was doing, but he could feel the frustration coming from Ruby. He found another strawberry in his fruit bowl. He picked it up with his fork and saw Ruby staring at it. He wondered why Ruby was so intent on the strawberry. He knew strawberries were one of, if not her favorite foods, but she had asked before and he'd given her some. But she didn't ask now.
"Do… do you want it?" Oscar asked. Ruby had a slight blush come to her face.
"No, I'm good." Ruby said. Oscar ate it. He really didn't know why they were acting so weird. Oscar looked around, seeing the others and trying to get a hint at what was going on.
There weren't too many more incidents during breakfast. Oscar finished first and left. Ruby turned to Neo after he was out of earshot. Neo's demeanor had completely changed as soon as Oscar was gone. She was smug and relaxed, looking at Ruby.
"What are you trying to get at with him?" Ruby asked. She needed to protect Oscar! He was too innocent and precious to see the obvious threat that was right in front of him. She would snatch him up and turn him into a gangster if she had her way... probably.
Neo started signing and stopped. She turned to Nora and asked her over. Nora didn't even take a second to move over. She started translating. She was having way too much fun with this. She lived for this kind of Drama.
"She says 'Why are you so worried? He's a free man.'" Nora said. She loved this.
"I'm looking out for my friend." Ruby said. Ruby emphasized the word Friend. Because that's what they were. That's all they were.
"She said 'Really' while extending the sign." Nora said. Ruby got that she was extending it.
"Yes, I am." Ruby said. She really didn't like what Neo was doing. She didn't like how Neo was acting around Oscar. She did... like her stupid face!
"She just asked why you're being so protective of him." Nora said.
"Because he's a great friend." Ruby said. She got up and left. She took her breakfast with her, not being able to sit by Neo.
"Wow." Nora said. "She's down bad for him. I didn't know it was this serious!"
"Clueless." Neo signed. She held a strawberry in her hand. She shook her head. Those two needed a push or two. She'd be happy for Oscar. He's a good kid. She ate the strawberry.
Ruby was training her muscles. Yang had convinced her that she needed to get some more muscle, especially with her form of lightsaber combat. Her speed had taken her far, but she needed to add some strength. But she also knew that this would help her get stupid Neo flirting with Oscar out of her mind for a time. So she was multitasking.
Yang was helping her. She was much stronger physically than at Beacon. But she hadn't been able to do much specific training because they didn't have the right equipment. But Yang pointed out that she lost that excuse.
So there was Ruby, with Yang showing her how the machines worked. These were hunter-rated machines, so they could take a lot of abuse. And had a lot more weight. Ruby for once was glad to be distracting herself from her thoughts recently. The pain in her arms kept the thoughts of Oscar and Neo out of her mind. She didn't want to think about why Neo talking to Oscar… flirting with Oscar… bothered her so much.
"Ruby, you look like you want to kill that punching bag." Yang said.
"My arms hurt." She said. She didn't know what that meant really. She just needed to get something out there to get Yang not to talk about it.
"You sure that's the reason." Yang asked. Yang knew. Of course, she knew that there was something going on.
Ruby would rather fight an entire army of Sith than talk to Yang about this right now. But she knew that Yang would probably keep pushing her.
"I don't want to talk about it." Ruby said.
"Alright." Yang said. That did surprise her. Yang was normally a lot more persistent than that. Ruby stopped with the machine and looked at Yang. She let out a breath.
"Thanks." Ruby said.
Torchwick was looking over some of the drone footage when Neo snuck into the room. Torchwick turned to see her. She wasn't really supposed to be down here, but he didn't mind.
He was bored of watching the same video from so many different points of view anyway. Neo sat next to Roman and went over all the underground activities that she had done in his stead. He was impressed by what she had done. She had started making deals with people that he struggled with. It was difficult for her at first after losing a few important clients, but she was able to get some new ones. He wondered how she slipped the Jedi long enough to make some of those deals.
"I got two lightsabers, which I broke down into the parts and sold them to a few different buyers. Apparently the parts to lightsabers are sought after." Neo signed.
"You didn't sell the crystals, right?" Roman asked. "That might be pushing Tin Man too far."
"Of course. I gave those to Arslan to deal with however she wanted." Neo signed.
"Good. Hey, do you see anything strange here?" Roman asked. He moved back and grabbed his coffee from a table in the center of the room. Neo watched the footage. She stopped. She turned to Roman and paused the video.
"Are those pillboxes?" Neo asked.
"I thought the same thing. They weren't there before the attacks, and they're empty now." Roman said.
"Did the Sith retreat before setting them up?" Neo asked.
"I don't know. Brick and Fixer are checking that out. I guess they could have left them for when they come back." Roman said.
"Risky." Neo signed.
"Kyra thought the same thing. She said it was probably trapped. Brick said the Sith were too cowardly… or whatever the word was in that Mandalorian language… to leave a trap like that. Fixer just saw something he could hack. Ghost didn't really give a shit. He cared more about finding where the Sith came from. Nisha was on board with that." Roman said.
"And you're here?" Neo asked him.
"Hey, I'm going to try to convince Tin Man that we could use a second team. Get an even dozen misfits here." Roman said.
"How well do you think that's going to go down?" Neo asked.
"Like asking you not to mess with Red and the kid." Roman said. Neo was shocked for a second he learned about that so fast. But then she remembered it was Roman.
"It's fun seeing her squirm." Neo signed back.
"Same side now, just remember that." Roman said.
"I can still have fun and be a good guy." Neo signed.
"As long as you don't push it too far." Roman said.
"How far is too far?" Neo asked.
"I'm not going to tell you. You'd make it a checklist." Roman said. Neo gave him a mock hurt face. Then she nodded. She liked being an instigator.
Mace Windu walked the halls of Atlas Academy. After going over everything about the defense of the city he had a few free hours that he wanted to spend checking in with Ruby. He noticed how she had changed since they last were able to train together. She was able to access Vaapad. But it was an incomplete version of the form.
He didn't feel her in her dorm. Weiss confirmed she wasn't there and said she was going to train with Yang. The AI known as Penny offered to direct him to Ruby. He knew of Penny when she was still alive. Or whatever counted as alive as she could be, being a robot as he later discovered. He knew that Ruby had a connection with her.
Mace listened to Penny. The halls sort of reminded him of the Jedi temple. He wouldn't be surprised if the architects had access to the Jedi temples around the galaxy. He remembered hearing that Beacon was the remnants of Starlight Beacon. He had no idea how it got to Remnant. He wasn't around when it vanished.
He stopped at the gym. He would have thought that Ruby and Yang would have been in one of the dueling centers. He opened the door and entered. He found Ruby at the weight stations. Yang was next to her encouraging her along.
"Knight Rose." Mace said. Yang and Ruby stopped and turned to Mace.
"Master? What are you doing?" Ruby asked. Mace looked over at Yang and back at Ruby.
"I didn't expect to see you like this." Mace said.
"Like what?" Ruby asked.
"Almost killing yourself with weights." Mace said. Yang went overboard. Ruby went overboard.
"I can handle it." Ruby said.
"Not like this. You need to build up to that level. Your muscles aren't developed enough to handle the weight Knight Xiao-Long has been adding to you." Mace said. He turned and Yang realized her mistake.
"Oh… Yeah… I did get carried away." Yang said.
"I was coming to check in with you. Your Vaapad is good but incomplete." Mace said.
"I know." Ruby said.
"You know that you need physical strength then, don't you?" Mace asked.
"Yeah." Ruby said.
"You have the force and an aura. That puts you in superhuman strength levels. For a normal person. We are not normal. We aren't fighting normal. We are fighting people who have those same advantages. You're on the right path. But what you're doing right now is not the answer." Mace said.
"What is the right answer then?" Ruby asked.
"Start this slowly. You're going to feel the pain in your muscles. You may find it hard tomorrow to move. I'll check in with you later. You should probably go somewhere where you can get heat on your muscles." Mace said.
"I'll make sure she does." Yang said.
"Good. Master Plo Koon wants to check in with you and Knight Valkyrie soon." Mace said. He left.
Yang turned to Ruby.
"He's right. I went overboard. Sorry. There's a pool that has a spa. Only for the hunters." Yang said.
"I don't have a swimsuit." Ruby said.
"Yes you do." Yang said.
"What, at Patch?" Ruby asked. Ruby rolled her eyes, but Yang stood there with a smirk. Ruby didn't like that. Oh no, did she get Ruby a bikini? She hated bikinis! She felt so exposed.
"No. I got all of us on team RRWBY a set." Yang said. Yang reached into her gym bag and pulled out her set, and a set for Ruby. Ruby looked at hers and didn't immediately hate it. It was a two-piece, but modest enough for Ruby to wear it. The bottoms were almost mini shorts. Okay, this was better than she thought. Yang kept Ruby in mind. Ruby smiled at this gesture from Yang.
"Admit it. I got an eye for style." Yang said.
"Fine. You do." Ruby said. Yang held up her swimsuit was much more classical bikini. It was yellow. Just the kind of thing that Yang loved wearing. Ruby rolled her eyes.
"Head over as soon as you can. The earlier we get those muscles heated the better." Yang said.
"Fine." Ruby said.
Oscar had finished his day of training and decided, with some advice from Ozpin, that he should get some heat on his muscles. He understood the concept. He didn't disagree with Ozpin either. He grabbed his orange set of trunks and everything else he was going to need. He was wondering if he should grab his green shirt when Rosa entered the room.
"What are you doing?" Rosa asked.
"I finished my training, so I've decided to check out some of the amenities that Atlas provides. Specifically, the hot tub." Oscar said with a smile.
"Oh, the pool." Rosa said. "I just thought you would have been one of the people sent to check out everything outside."
"Pyrrha's already going. They got other Jedi going as well. I didn't need to go." Oscar said.
"Is Neo going to the pool?" Rosa asked.
"I don't know. Hey, I've noticed Ruby and Neo have been acting weird since last night. Did I do something wrong?" Oscar asked. Rosa let out a sigh and put a hand on his head.
"You are a fucking idiot." Rosa said.
"How?" Oscar asked, offended.
"I have no idea how you can't see what's going on." Rosa turned away. Oscar heard her mumble "I'm the asexual here."
He didn't know why she brought up her sexuality. He grabbed his bag and left the dorm. Rosa stood in the kitchen.
"How can he not see?" Rosa shook her head. She was about ready to lock them in a room.
Pyrrha was in the field and used her semblance to spot the mines and bombs that the Sith left behind. Jaune was with her, using his semblance on her to amp her. They had figured out why the Sith fled so quickly after one of Winter's ships was heavily damaged from a seismic bomb halfway between Atlas and one of the smaller cities. No one in either city was close enough to hear it. But it did enough damage the Ship was in repairs. They had a small escort of two V-Wings which were destroyed in the attack.
The Jedi were asked to help find them. They had a few mines go off. It was then that they limited the number of people who could get the mines. Only those who could detect the mines, including the minesweeper clones, were allowed out.
The Sith were trying to keep them in Atlas. Pyrrha didn't like the idea. Jaune hated it.
"I think they're planning on attacking the other cities." Jaune said.
"You do?" Pyrrha asked.
"Yes. Why else would they want us here? We're stuck in Atlas for now. They know we don't have the other fleets with us. They can attack a city before we have a chance to respond to them." Jaune said.
"Have you told Ironwood your thoughts on the issue?" Pyrrha asked.
"Not yet. I just came up with it." Jaune said.
Ruby was in the spa, feeling the heat on her arms and back. She hadn't realized how much she had used and abused her muscles today. She realized that she was in fact going to feel all this tomorrow. She also knew that if she hadn't stepped in here, it would be so much worse. She wondered if she was going to have to get carried out of the spa by Yang. She had her eyes closed as she relaxed. Yang sat in the spa next to her.
"You good?" Yang asked.
"Everything's going to be sore." Ruby said.
Yang just laid back. She enjoyed the warm water, and a moment to just hang out with Ruby. They were around each other a lot, but they didn't really get the chance to just relax. Part of being badass Jedi who needed to save the world, but she was also Ruby's sister.
Ruby didn't have a care in the world. She was just existing in the warm water. Yang smiled at the moment. Ruby didn't have her eyes open. She was just relaxing.
Yang heard the door to the Men's locker room open and saw Oscar there. This just got better. She waved at Oscar as he moved toward the spa. He hadn't seen Ruby yet. Yang saw that he still had the bandages around his neck.
"Those waterproof?" Yang asked.
"I'll try not to splash." Oscar said. Yang saw he chose not to wear a shirt like the last time he went swimming.
Ruby had opened her eyes and turned to see Oscar. She saw him without his shirt and saw his physique. Being a farm boy, and his additional training had left him with some well-defined muscles.
"Hey Ruby." Oscar said. He got in and sat down.
"Hi." Ruby said. She thought she would be more comfortable if Neo wasn't around him. But why did he have to not wear his shirt? Her eyes finally went up to the bandages… her other thoughts were gone. She remembered how he reacted in Argus when Luctus grabbed him by the throat. She looked away. Why was she feeling so conflicted around him? This was her friend. She tried to sit up, but her muscles were yelling at her. She let out a pained grunt as she moved.
"Are you okay?" Oscar asked.
"Going to be." Ruby said.
"She went overboard in her training today." Yang said.
"It's your fault." Ruby said.
"Fair. But you got poor Oscar here worried about you." Yang said.
"Are you not worried?" Oscar asked. Yang didn't expect it to be put around on her so quickly.
"Of course I am." Yang said. She brought up her hands.
"Sorry. She's your sister. Of course you'd be concerned." Oscar said.
"It's okay. Long day?" Yang asked.
"It could have been worse. Before they sent everyone back after finding the mines I was in one of the downed walkers. The damn thing nearly collapsed on me." Oscar said.
"How?" Ruby asked.
"I was trying to get some data on the computer when one of the mines went off. The integrity of the walker wasn't that good already, but it started collapsing in on itself. I had to blow a hole in it to get out safely. Didn't even get any info. Then I got sent back." Oscar said.
"When'd that happen?" Ruby asked.
"What time is it now?" Oscar looked at a clock. "Bout Four hours ago. Then I got some training in with the others. Arslan hits hard." Oscar said.
"I thought you were a master of Soresu. What happened?" Yang asked.
"We weren't doing lightsaber combat. I got really unlucky getting her." Oscar said.
"You lived." Yang said.
"You don't have any broken bones." Ruby said.
"I guess there's still some things to be happy about then." Oscar said.
Ironwood felt it in his office. The relic of knowledge. Ozpin said it still had questions. Two of them. But what two questions would be able to give them everything they needed to defeat Salem?
He went over to the secured lockbox and grabbed it. He felt the power in it. He felt the heat from the relic. Two questions for the rest of this century. Any knowledge they would need.
But he didn't know how to open it. He could ask so many things. Ozpin told him that the relic can't tell the future. It knows all past events. He couldn't ask how the Sith were going to attack Atlas. He wondered if something like "How can we kill Salem?" would be unable to be answered, seeing as it was an event in the future.
He didn't know what he needed to do. What piece of information was missing that would reveal the puzzle piece? He had to believe that there was an answer. He had to have faith that there was a way to kill her.
But he knew they were missing something. Was their focus on the wrong thing?
Oscar was the first one to get out. He was getting too hot.
"Can't take the heat?" Yang said.
"No, I can't. I guess this is what crabs feel like." Oscar said. Ruby watched him get out. She watched his muscles move as he did. She kept her eyes on him as he walked away. As soon as he went into the locker room, Yang tapped Ruby on the foot.
"See something you like?" Yang asked.
"It's… not like that." Ruby said.
"What did he say to you before he left?" Yang asked.
"He said something?" Ruby asked. Her face turned red as she realized what she admitted.
"He said he hopes you feel better." Yang said. "But your sweet tooth must have gotten to your eyes."
"Shut up." Ruby said. She lowered deeper into the water.
"It's okay if you like him." Yang said. Ruby stood up.
"It's not like that!" Ruby said. She felt the cold of the air. She looked down and saw her skin was a few shades redder than she was used to. She may have stayed in the spa for too long.
"Ruby, you really shouldn't cook yourself." Yang said.
"There's nothing going on between me and Oscar." Ruby said.
"Ruby… you sure about that?" Yang asked.
"Yes." Ruby said.
"Then why are you acting so weird?" Yang asked.
"I'm not." Ruby said, turning around. She couldn't face Yang right now.
"Who are you trying to convince?" Yang asked.
"Why do you care so much?" Ruby asked.
"I'm your sister. It's my job to make sure you don't do dumb shit." Yang said.
"I can handle myself. Also, you should stop cursing so much." Ruby said. Yang knew she didn't care. She acted like this when put in situations where she didn't really know how to handle things. Ruby superficially attacked Yang. She'd feel bad about it later. Yang will blow it off.
Ruby was getting changed. Why did they all keep saying things like that? She knew that Oscar used to like her… but after what she did in Argus… she had doubts. She didn't know why she felt like that would be a bad thing. She wished now that she hadn't gone so hard in training now, because she could only focus on her thoughts. She could read some Jedi history…
She needed to start learning more about what the old Jedi were like. Maybe Oscar could… Jaune. Jaune could help her.
Why was she avoiding Oscar? She wanted to be around him. She knew that Oscar had total faith in her. He helped her take down the Leviathan. Could she have done it without him?
Ruby had an idea. This would prove without a shadow of doubt how she felt about him. She would allow him into her mind. That was how she learned he had a crush on her. It was only fair if she gave him the chance to see her mind.
Oscar was on his way back to his dorm when he heard Ruby call out to him. He turned and saw her waving her hand.
"You're already out?" Oscar asked.
"Yeah, I was looking like a strawberry. I had a question." Ruby said. She was trying to figure out how to ask it.
"Yes?" Oscar asked.
"You remember how I went into your mind… what am I saying of course you do." Ruby said. Oscar stiffened.
"You don't need to apologize again for that. Was that what's been bothering you?" Oscar asked.
"No. Not that… I was just thinking that it was really unfair what I did… and…" Ruby started.
"Ruby… You've already apologized enough." Oscar said.
"I know. I was going to ask if… you wanted to go inside my mind. It would make us even." Ruby offered.
"Ruby. No." Oscar said. Ruby wasn't expecting that.
"What?" Ruby asked.
"It was a mistake that you went into my mind. It was a violation of privacy. It was wrong. It's not something that I want to do to you." Oscar said. He didn't know where this was coming from.
"Yeah." Ruby said. "Um… forget I asked."
"Wait, Ruby, what's wrong?" Oscar asked. Ruby didn't look at Oscar. "Ruby, you wouldn't hide something important from me, would you?"
Ruby didn't know why that comment stung. He trusted her completely. She thought she trusted him completely. But with what everyone's been saying and with Neo…
"No. It was a dumb idea." Ruby said with a smile on her face.
"Ruby." Oscar said.
"Just forget I said anything." Ruby started to walk away but Oscar grabbed her wrist. She stopped and her face began to heat up.
"Ruby, why did you ask me that question?" Oscar asked. Ruby was trying to think of a what to tell him without saying the actual reason. Then she remembered why she went into his mind.
"I was just wanting to show you back home." Ruby said.
"Don't you have pictures?" Oscar asked, letting go of Ruby's wrist.
"I do, but it's different in person." Ruby said.
"We can go there eventually." Oscar said. Ruby stopped for a second. What did he mean by that? Was he saying that he wanted to stay with the group after everything was over?
"You're right." Ruby said.
"Ruby… have I done something to make you mad?" Oscar asked. Ruby didn't know where this was coming from.
"No! Of course not. Why would you think that?" Ruby said.
"It's just… It feels like you haven't been comfortable around me since you saw me and Neo talking." Oscar said. How could she tell Oscar she wouldn't be mad at him in that situation?
"Then there was breakfast where you were mad and annoyed. You felt nervous when I got to the pool. Did I do something?" Oscar asked.
"No, Oscar. You didn't do anything." Ruby said.
"I don't get it then." Oscar said. "We're still friends, right?"
Ruby felt the confusion and pain in that question. She had done this to him. She kept hurting him. She quickly wrapped him in a hug. Oscar wasn't expecting it, and neither was Ruby.
"Yes. We're still friends. I'm sorry." Ruby said. Ruby hadn't meant to be driving him away. Why was she like this? She ended the hug and left. Oscar was still standing there, trying to figure out what happened.
"Oscar. One of you is going to drive me insane." Ozpin said.
"Is she mad at me?" Oscar asked.
"No. Very much the opposite." Ozpin said.
"What do you mean?" Oscar asked.
"Once you figure it out, you will finally understand why this is so frustrating." Ozpin said.
Vox gathered the information from his bombs. While he hoped it would do more damage on the enemy ships, it did enough. One of the Fourth Fleet's battle cruisers was heavily damaged and needed to be repaired. It also took out two more fighters.
The principle concept worked. But it could be improved. It could be made smaller, and more compact. He hoped that they could make these small seismic charge bombs small enough that they could have them be used by bombers.
Vox went to Memores who was working on creating the prototypes of the ships the Sith army would use. He found blueprint files of some of the ships the Republic used from the down Venator a while back. The White Fang were able to get the raw data and get it to the Sith before the train.
He was able to finally decode some of the ships. The whole databank hasn't been fully decrypted yet. There were clear areas lacking. He found it easier to decode the ships from worlds that were further from the core. He found the blueprints of something called a Z-95 headhunter, something called an N-1 Starfighter, and something called a V-19 Torrent. None of those were bombers.
He was able to get a bomber. It looked like the main bombers the republic itself used, the Y-Wing. But he was still building the prototype. He looked through the records of the Sith starfighters of the past. He was trying to figure out if they could use any Sith ships' designs or if the Republic had the better ships.
Vox stood in the doorway of Memores's workshop.
"What are you doing Vox?" Memores asked.
"I was coming to say that the test went well. We forced one of the battle cruisers to return to Atlas for repairs." Vox said.
"Good." Memores said.
Ruby was back in her dorm. Weiss was out, thankfully. She really didn't want anyone around her right now. Why did she have to be so stupid?! She just made everything worse. Why was she like this?
She got up and went to her bathroom mirror. She grabbed the sides of the sink.
"Okay, It's just Oscar. Oscar, who I've known for a few months. Oscar, who's always been nice, and kind, and thoughtful, and… ugh!" Ruby let go of the sink. She didn't hear the door to her dorm open.
"This is so stupid. I don't get flustered! I don't get weird about people sitting in a spa! What's wrong with me?" Ruby asked out loud. She tried to figure out why she had been acting like this.
"Okay, let's just… break it down. I see Oscar talking to Neo…" Ruby felt frustration fill her at just the thought of Oscar talking to Neo. She really shouldn't let it get under her skin. But it did and it bothered her a lot and she still didn't know why. Or she couldn't admit why to herself.
"Okay, bad example. I see Oscar just… doing his usual thing, and it's fine! But the second he's at the pool and coming to join Yang and I in the pool and I see he's not wearing a shirt and—no. No, nope, nope! I am not going down this road!" Ruby said.
"Stop being weird, Ruby. He's just Oscar. You're not falling for him or anything. That would be weird. He's your friend." Ruby said looking into the mirror. She finally noticed that someone was in the room with her.
Thankfully not Oscar, because she was afraid she would actually die if he was here. But it was Weiss. Just staring at her. Judging her.
"Shut your face!" Ruby shouted.
"Go on. You've almost made a discovery." Weiss said.
"Don't make fun of me!" Ruby said.
"You're already making enough of a fool of yourself." Weiss said.
"I don't want to hear it." Ruby said. Weiss stood up straight. She moved to Ruby with a frustrated look on her face.
"You know what. No. You will hear it." Weiss said. She held her finger out at Ruby's face. "Get over yourself. Stop being so stupid. Admit to yourself at least the truth."
Ruby took a step back and hit the sink.
"You don't know how this feels." Ruby said.
"Did you forget about Neptune? I asked him out." Weiss said. "That fizzled out in the end, but I still realized that I was interested."
"Not good enough. You didn't have to be around Neptune all the time." Ruby said. Weiss took a deep breath. She pointed toward the door.
"Across the hall. Pyrrha." Weiss said.
"That's…" Ruby started Weiss waited to hear her complaint about how Pyrrha didn't count.
"Wait… I never said I liked Oscar." Ruby said.
"You know what, you're right. You obviously don't like him. So why don't I go after him? He's a handsome young man who has great qualities. Don't you think it could work out?" Weiss said. She was looking at her nails as she said that. Weiss needed to push Ruby. She needed Ruby to finally stop denying what was so obvious to everyone else but her and Oscar somehow. So she pulled a desperate move.
"No!" Ruby said. She clenched her fists. That idea infuriated Ruby. She didn't want Weiss to be with him. She couldn't allow Weiss to be with him!
"Why not? You. Don't. Like. Him." Weiss said. Weiss looked Ruby directly in the eyes. The challenge was there.
Ruby kept telling herself that. She kept saying they were just friends. That she didn't want to change that. That it would be weird if she had feelings for him. She told herself that Oscar couldn't really like her. That it was just a crush he had. That it would go away. She told herself that she couldn't like Oscar like that.
She had no idea when it changed. Part of her told her they hadn't known each other long enough for her to have feelings for him. But she has seen him every day, been with him and by him every day, for months now. She hurt him, and she thought she ruined everything.
She needed him. She didn't know when that changed. But she did need him. She needed him with Luctus. She needed him with the Leviathan. She needed him against that damn Beringel.
She always thought he was cute. She realized she thought he was handsome when they were all together in Mistral.
And she almost fucked it all up.
And she was doing it again.
Why was she so terrible when it involved him? Why couldn't she just understand her own feelings? Why was she so afraid?
"Maybe Neo should go for him." Weiss said. Ruby glared at Weiss for that.
"I refuse to let that happen." Ruby said.
"Why?" Weiss asked. "Say it."
She didn't want to say it. She knew why. She had known for a while. She just couldn't get herself to say it. She was too afraid of what would happen if she admitted to everything. She was afraid that things would change. But the image of anyone else with Oscar filled her with dread and fear. She didn't want to say why but she knew she was going to have to admit her feelings.
She didn't want anyone else to be by his side. Not Neo. Not Weiss. Only her! She had to finally make up her mind. She had to finally realize what she had been hiding from him and from herself. She wanted to be by his side, and she wanted him to be by her side. No one else!
Ruby didn't know when everything changed. Maybe it was in Argus when she realized who he really was. Maybe it was when she saw everything. Maybe it was when she saw how much she wanted to stay near him. Maybe it was on the dance floor. Or maybe it was all the times he didn't make her feel like a worthless team leader, friend, or person. When he made her feel like she didn't ruin the game after the dance. She realized something. She's known for a while. She was just too scared to admit it. Because if she did, and she was too late, she may never forgive herself.
"Because… I like him. I don't want anyone else to be with him." Ruby finally said.
"Look. You didn't die." Weiss said. Ruby looked at Weiss. Ruby hugged Weiss.
"Thank you. This is still so strange." Ruby said she hadn't ended the hug yet.
"But it's going to be this way. Be honest with yourself. And him." Weiss said.
"What if he doesn't like me anymore because of what I did?" Ruby asked.
"Fear is the path to the dark side, as Master Shaak Ti likes to point out." Weiss said. "Besides, he likes you."
"Are you sure?" Ruby was still holding onto Weiss.
"Yes." Weiss said.
"I'm going to Pyrrha." Ruby said. She let go of Weiss.
"Ruby. You can be really dense sometimes." Weiss said.
Ruby had said it. She had let the thought out into the world. It couldn't be taken back now. She had to live with the consequences. She had to see this through till the end. She thought about what the others would say once they learned what she said. They'd probably just tease her.
Ruby knocked on Jaune and Pyrrha's door. Pyrrha opened the door.
"Ruby? Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked. She saw the look on Ruby's face, one she didn't recognize.
"Yes. Pyrrha… can I talk to you about something?" Ruby asked.
"Yes. Come on in. Jaune's not here. He went out to grab us food. He'll be back in a few minutes." Pyrrha said.
"Thanks… but I really need to talk to you, not him." Ruby said. That surprised Pyrrha.
"Is everything alright?" Pyrrha asked.
"Yeah. Okay, so, uh… how did you know? Y'know… with Jaune?" Ruby said. Pyrrha didn't expect that from Ruby. She brought her hand up to cover her faint smile. She didn't want to make Ruby think that she was mocking her.
"How did I know what?" Pyrrha said, tilting her head. Pyrrha didn't want to let Ruby get away from this so easily if this is what she thought.
"That you liked him!" Ruby said. Her face was turning red. She was right. Did Ruby finally realize it herself? She was glad that she had stayed behind to relax.
"Ohhh." Pyrrha said, letting out a small chuckle, and dropping her hand, revealing the smile. Ruby slumped against a wall in the room and brought her hands to her head.
"Ugh, I hate this!" Ruby said.
"That's normal." Pyrrha said.
"No, it's awful! I keep acting weird around him. And now I think I made Oscar feel like I don't even like being around him, but that's not true at all! It's the opposite! And I think I hurt him again. And I just freeze up whenever I see him. And seeing him with Neo really pisses me off!" Ruby started ranting. Pyrrha enjoyed the show.
"Have you talked to him about how you feel?" Pyrrha asked.
"NO! I just realized myself. But what if he doesn't like me after Argus?" Ruby asked.
"You should go talk to him. But I understand that hesitation. Back at Beacon, when I first realized I had feelings for Jaune, I didn't know how to handle it either. I found myself overthinking everything. Should I say something? Should I wait for him to notice? Did he even see me that way?" Pyrrha said.
"Right?! It's the worst!" Ruby shouted.
"While my timing wasn't the best… I still did ask him. I reminded myself that, no matter what, I wanted to be in his life, even if it wasn't in the way I hoped. But I had a few clues that he would agree." Pyrrha said.
"Like what?" Ruby asked.
"The small things. The trust we had in each other. The looks. How he reacted around me as well." Pyrrha said. "Kind of like how Oscar acts awkward around you as well. Or how he checks in on you."
"What?" Ruby asked.
"It won't stop overnight. But Ruby… I think you already know how Oscar feels." Pyrrha said.
"I do?" Ruby asked.
"You told me he was worried you didn't want anything to do with him. That doesn't sound like someone who's moved on, does it?" Pyrrha asked. Ruby just looked at Pyrrha, like she was finally considering what she was saying.
"No. I guess it doesn't." Ruby said. Pyrrha had one last bit of advice to give Ruby.
"Talk to him. Be honest. If there's one thing I learned with Jaune, it's that sometimes, the only thing holding us back is ourselves." Pyrrha said.
Ruby nodded her head. She left the room. Pyrrha smiled as Ruby was finally going to be honest about her feelings.
Kaiser began to organize the teams for the next strikes. The goal was to get in quickly, do as much damage, and get out. It was to test out the reaction speeds of Atlas. He wasn't the one who chose the places of attack. Ira did. Ira would lead one of the attacks on a small town. Kaiser was pretty sure they were going to kill the defenders and take the rest of the population back to Salem's realm.
He didn't know what happened after that. He didn't want to know. It was easier on him if he had no idea.
He was coming up with the plans when Valum wrapped her arms around him. She looked over everything. She was wearing some sort of perfume that danced in Kaiser's nose. He saw the troop movements aboard the holomap. The settlements weren't covered by shields. The one city they were going after was. That was where the main focus of the attack would be. They were sending Ferox and Avaris to lead the attack on the city. It was a test for both of them. Salem wanted to find those who were worthy enough to join the Dark Council, and those two were some of the candidates. Cruor was a part of Requiem's attacks. If she succeeded, she'd almost be guaranteed a seat.
The seats were filling up. Once they were all filled, Kaiser believed everything would start moving along faster. Kaiser felt Valum kiss him.
"You're going to bring the alliance to its knees." Valum said.
"If we ever figure out how to take down those shields, our victory will be assured." Kaiser said.
"Is that why we've been training so many spies?" Valum asked.
"That is Lilith and Nihil's domain." Kaiser said.
"What's the plan with Amity Tower? Are you going to bring that down?" Valum asked.
"It is one of the keys to victory." Kaiser said.
"Then it must come down." Valum said.
Ruby stood in front of the door to Oscar and Rosa's room. She had been pacing outside of the door for a few minutes now trying to think of what she was going to say. 'Hey Oscar… you come here often?' Gods she might have to kill herself if she actually asked that. What was she supposed to say? 'I think you're pretty hot.' That was way too aggressive. And this isn't what she sounded like. 'Every time I see you my brain makes me vomit words.' True, but terrible.
"Why couldn't you hit on me?" Ruby mumbled to herself. Ruby kept trying to figure out what to say and didn't see Blake standing there. Blake said nothing as she watched Ruby pacing back and forth.
She thought about what Yang would do in this situation. She punched herself.
"Ruby, what are you doing?" Blake said. "Why did you punch yourself?"
"Yang would do that." Ruby said.
"Whatever this is, punching yourself won't help." Blake said. "What is this about?"
Ruby's face reddened. And not just where she punched herself. Blake realized they were standing next to Rosa and Oscar's room. Her eyes widened.
"Oh my gods. It's happening. You're going to…" Ruby put her hand over Blake's mouth.
"Shut up." Ruby said. "Do you want to tell all of Atlas?"
Blake moved Ruby's hand.
"I knew it. Just like my books." Blake said.
"That's disgusting Blake. I'm not going to ask him to do anything those characters in your books do." Ruby said.
"Yet." Blake said. Ruby's face heated up at the insinuation from Blake. NO! SHE WASN'T GOING TO EVEN GO THERE WITH HER!
"Blake, I love you, but I really need you to shut up." Ruby began pushing Blake.
"You got this." Blake said. Ruby opened the door and pushed Blake back into her room.
"Gods, why does she have to be like that?" Ruby said. She took a deep breath. She needed to get to Oscar before something else happened and she lost her courage again.
Ruby decided preparing something was the worst option. She stood there in front of the door. Gods, why did this have to be so hard? She raised her hand to knock on the door. Everything felt slow. Her heart was beating too fast.
Ruby Rose had faced off against all manner of foes. She had been in war. She had stood against Sith magic. She faced off against armies of White Fang and Sith alike. She faced off against hordes of Grimm and had killed the amped Leviathan with less worry.
Part of her was screaming this was the worst thing she could possibly do. That she needed to turn back now.
She had to ignore that part of her. It wasn't easy. She brought her fist down. It hit the first time. There was no going back now. That part of her was saying just to ask for Rosa. Ask for time with her teammate to do something.
She knocked a second time. The voice told her to run. Run now. Use her semblance and get out of there. Tell them it was a prank later. It was lame, but it would be preferable to this!
A third knock. She forced herself to wait. It felt like minutes. The voice was telling her to get out of there. Nothing good was going to come of this! She took a deep breath and started to calm herself. Oscar opened the door.
"Oh, hi Ruby." Oscar said.
Just talk to him, Ruby. Be honest. Just… just go and do it. There was a new voice in her head. Ruby caught herself looking at his lips. She quickly moved her eyes to look into Oscar's eyes.
"Uh… everything okay?" Oscar asked. Ruby could feel her heart beating. It felt like it was about to jump out of her chest any second.
"Yeah! Hey, Oscar, can I talk to you about something?" Ruby asked. That voice of panic was just screaming. The other voice was also screaming, just in triumph.
"Yeah, of course." Oscar let Ruby into his dorm. She found a chair across from the bed. She tried to remember how to sit without panicking. She sat down, and the voice was yelling about how she looked so weird sitting like she did. The other voice said it would beat up the panicking voice. It sort of sounded like Weiss. Oscar sat down on his bed. She started counting the freckles on his face to keep herself grounded. She felt like running, puking, and generally, wanting to do anything but this.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" Oscar asked. His hand went to the back of his neck. Oscar wasn't wearing his jacket, and the muscles in his arms filled out the shirt he was wearing. Gods she likes them. She forced herself to focus.
"And… did someone punch you?" Oscar asked.
"No, that was just me." Ruby said. She didn't know why she would admit that. She saw him start to form a question. But she really didn't need him to ask about it.
"I just…" Ruby started. Oscar focused on her. Why did this have to be so godsdamn hard? She tried to meet his eyes, only for her brain to go completely blank. Oscar just blinked, waiting for her to continue. Dammit! She was being weird again! Why was she like this? Ruby groaned, dragging her hands down her face.
"Ugh, this is stupid!" Ruby said. She leaned back into the chair.
"What is? Ruby, are you sure you're okay?" Oscar asked. Normally she adored how quickly he was to check in with people. But right now she couldn't stand looking at those handsome worried eyes that were looking at her.
"You! I mean—not you. Just—this!" Ruby let out a scream. Oscar began to reach out his hand for her. The part of her that got her into this was starting to scream again.
"This whole thing!" Ruby screamed while gesturing between the two of them. Oscar moved back. Did he think she was trying to say he was stupid? No! She'd never say that. She had to fix this.
"Uh… what thing?" Oscar asked. Ruby let out a groan before slamming her head into the desk.
"Ruby! Are you okay? Seriously, what's going on?" Oscar asked. His voice was full of concern. She brought her head up. Oscar was looking at her forehead. She knew she had a red spot there.
"See?! That's the problem! You don't even know!" Ruby said.
"I… don't?" Oscar asked.
Wait. He didn't know? He didn't know! She wasn't the only clueless person here. She almost grabbed Oscar. She could see it. She would stand up and grab his collar. She'd drag him up to eye level. Then she'd kiss him. Everything would be better. They were just two clueless idiots.
"Okay. Let me try this again." Ruby said. She sat back up and took a massive breath.
Just be honest, Ruby. Just say it. Ruby took another look at the face of Oscar. He was so concerned for her. She felt her heart skip a beat seeing the concern he had for her. It was different from the others. This was just for her.
"I like you." Ruby said.
There. She said it. Oscar heard it. She was as open as she could be. She saw his face blush.
Oscar was on his bed. One of his best friends had been acting strange ever since he and Neo talked after the battle. She had been a nervous mess. He found it worrisome and wondered if he had done something wrong to her.
But the words bounced around in his head.
"I like you."
He knew that she didn't mean as a friend. Ruby's face was completely red; besides the marks she gave herself. There was so much worry in her eyes. So much fear for what he would say. She was open with him. His mouth was hanging over.
He tried to make a sentence… but nothing was coming. He was just stuck with his mouth open. His brain was still trying to catch up to what Ruby said. Ruby began to look concerned for him.
"Oscar, for the love of… SAY SOMETHING!" Ozpin shouted. Oscar could feel him… walking away in frustration.
"Like, really like you. And I've been acting weird because I didn't know how to handle it. And I thought that maybe… after we fought… you stopped liking me. And I was afraid I realized it too late, and…" Ruby started saying.
That was enough. He finally got control of his words back.
"No." Oscar said.
"What?" Ruby asked. She looked like she was about to cry. Oscar just realized how that sounded. He brought his hands up.
"No, I… I didn't stop liking you." Oscar felt his heart beating way too fast and felt like he was on fire. "I, um… I still like you."
Ruby didn't say anything.
Oscar didn't say anything.
Neither of them said anything.
Ruby had a massive smile across her face. She started laughing and Oscar found himself too. His brain finally started working again.
Now he understood why Rosa called him a fucking idiot. He was.
"You do?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah. I just… didn't think you felt the same way." Oscar said.
They were both completely clueless.
"You're just as clueless as I am, aren't you?" Ruby asked. They both were smiling and had massive blushes.
"Uh… maybe a little?" Oscar said while scratching his face.
"Wow. And here I was, stressing over nothing." Ruby said.
"Guess we're both kinda bad at this, huh?" Oscar said.
"Yeah. But… maybe we can figure it out together?" Ruby said.
Did that mean… were they dating?
"THANK THE FUCKING GODS!"
Oscar had forgotten one thing in the entire time that Ruby was here. Rosa was still in the room.
Rosa stepped outside of the bathroom slamming the door behind her. She was pissed. She was fucking pissed. Rosa's hair was still wet from washing it. She still had a towel around her neck. Ruby and Oscar both jumped and almost fell out of their seats.
"YOU FINALLY SAID IT, YOU IDIOTS!" Rosa pointed at them with fury behind everything.
"Do you have any idea how fucking exhausting it's been watching you two dumbasses dance around each other like a couple of awkward younglings in their first goddamn spar? Holy shit!" Rosa screamed. Oscar realized the door was open now.
"R-Rosa?! You were in there?!" Ruby asked.
"Yes! I was trying to relax before bed, and then you two decided to have your big emotional breakthrough ten feet away from me!" Rosa groaned and dragged her hands down her face.
"I swear to fuck, if I had to watch one more round of 'Does she like me? Does he like me?' I was gonna lose my goddamn mind." Rosa said, her hands shaking from the built-up rage.
"W-We weren't that bad, were we?" Oscar asked.
"Don't make me make Ozpin find a new host farm boy." Rosa said.
"Oh my gods, shut up. Please." Ruby said, covering her face with her hands.
"No! You shut up! You finally admitted you like him! Fucking congratulations! I was this close…" Rosa held two fingers an inch apart. "To shoving you into each other and locking you in a closet!"
"This is so embarrassing!" Ruby said.
"I, uh… didn't realize it was that obvious." Oscar said. Oscar had never felt a whip strike, but Rosa's eyes were a close facsimile.
"Oh, please. Neo figured it out weeks ago, and SHE DOESN'T EVEN FUCKING TALK!" Rosa said.
"Wait… Neo knows?" Ruby said, peaking between her fingers. Was that why she did what she did?
"Oh yeah. She's been having the time of her life messing with you over it." Most of the rage was gone. But Rosa was nowhere near done. Oscar felt her enjoying this.
"But, hey! Now you two are finally on the same page! Fucking finally!" Rosa said. "Congrats, farm boy. You managed to bag our Ruby. No pressure or anything, but if you fuck it up, I will haunt your ass from beyond the grave. And Ozpin's too."
"What am I being threatened?" Ozpin asked, without anyone but Oscar being able to hear.
"Uh, got it. Noted. No pressure." Oscar said. He chose to ignore Ozpin's protests. He wasn't sure he really wanted to get the answer to Ozpin's question.
"This is the worst night of my life." Ruby said. Any rage was gone from Rosa she had a giant smile on her face. She slapped Oscar on the shoulder. He was pretty sure she put some force behind it because it moved him, and it stung.
"Nah. It's the best because now I can finally fucking sleep knowing you two aren't gonna combust from sheer stupidity. I'm going to bed. Try not to fuck this up, lovebirds." Rosa said.
"Oh my god, Rosa, please keep going. This is gold." Yang said.
Ruby felt Blake and Weiss were also outside. Yang was holding back from laughing.
"Blake, stop laughing." Weiss said.
"You're smiling." Blake said.
"I am not! I'm just relieved this nonsense is finally over." Weiss said.
"Yang! Blake! Weiss! You guys were listening?" Ruby asked.
"Hard not to with Rosa's shouts." Yang said, barely holding back more laughter.
"Hey, at least we don't have to suffer through Ruby and Oscar being oblivious anymore." Blake said.
"Exactly. Look at the positives." Yang said.
"What just happened?" Oscar asked.
"Congrats. You two are dating." Rosa said.
The attack started. Ira made sure that the settlements were taken over quickly. They didn't need to kill too many people. The guards in town, a Jedi who thought he could hold off their forces long enough for the civilians to escape, any fool who tried to fight back. They didn't have to kill many to get the rest to go to Salem's realm. Salem would ultimately decide what to do with them but probably be put in the jobs that still needed to be done, but the Sith didn't want to do.
Vox was technically in charge, but Ira was over them until Salem decided what to do with them. Ira saw as Cruor returned from her attack. She had brought back with her another town's worth of people, and two Jedi lightsabers.
They were going to have a lot of jobs soon filled in.
Atlas received word that two of their cities were under attack. They couldn't send troops on land, so they had to risk it and send the ships to protect the cities. There were two different cities that were being attacked. They were in opposite directions. Ironwood had sent out two of the battle cruisers to stop the Sith.
"It may be time to call in the other fleets." Ghira's AI told Ironwood.
"If we do who will defend the other kingdoms?" Ironwood asked.
"They want to take down Atlas. We know that." Winter's AI said.
"It may be another trap." Ironwood said.
"We do not yield to traps." The AI Ironwood said. He found that one to be the most disturbing of all. He didn't think he sounded like that, but the others said it sounded exactly like him. It was a voice of reason when he wasn't thinking straight.
"The Sith have left Mistral. I will call upon the Third Fleet first." Ironwood said.
"A wise choice." Asha's AI said.
The cruisers left Atlas airspace. Everyone held their breath as they crossed the same perimeter as the previous battle cruiser. Nothing happened. The captain of the ship let out a breath. They were moving as fast as they could to defend the city of Dalglish.
Ferox had walked through the streets of Dalglish without much problem. He fought a few of the defenders. If you could call those fights. He had a massive Warhammer on his shoulder as he walked through the streets. It was covered red in the blood of anyone who was foolish enough to try to fight him.
They called him a savage. Salem had told him that's what his name meant. He leaned into it. Some believed they could move mountains with help. Ferox believed he was more unmovable than any mountain. Some believed that he was too evil. He had a lightsaber. He was good with it, but he didn't use it. He wanted to feel the blood stain his grey skin.
He found a Jedi. She tried to stand against him. She was fast. But she wasn't tough. All it had taken was his semblance to kill her. The shockwave hit her. She flew back and slammed into a wall. He stood over her and snapped her neck.
He went to find the shield generator. He got close before the ship arrived overhead. That was his cue to leave. Unfortunately, he had to leave. He knew that he could be killed and that he would be if he didn't leave.
He hoped he had done enough damage before he had to return.
Avaris slipped through the shield defenses. The troops they were leading were outside the shield waiting for them to bring down the shield generator. Avaris wanted to be the first one there. She wanted all of the credit for taking down the city. Her opponent, the savage, was finding more enjoyment out of killing than in completing his assignment. She had no idea how the savage was even considered to be in the running for a seat.
He would best be placed at the front line… where he could easily get killed. She was far more tactical in her fights. Which was easy since the savage was bringing all the enemies right to him. She was able to pick off those who were important.
She had just finished snapping the neck of who she thought was an officer in the guards when she heard the ship coming. It let out a single blast and wiped out the troops they had outside. Avaris quickly searched the man and found a card with numbers on it. She hadn't had enough time to fully study what the numbers meant. She needed to get out of there. She could feel some powerful Jedi on that ship.
Avaris created the portal and stepped through. She was the first one back, so she was the one who got to report how long it took from the start of the attack to the ship getting to the city. It was something the savage probably forgot about.
Salem had gathered more workers and more information. This would work in the end. Cruor had taken down two Jedi while capturing the whole town and going back to help destroy the shield generator in the city of Suri.
Salem needed Cruor in the Dark Council. She had similarities to Nihil with focus. They were both powerful Alchemists. But where Nihil focused on her Miasmas, Cruor focused on poisons and potions. She both healed and killed. But she knew that Cruor had more to bring to the table. She was a stealthy woman, like Lilith. Her semblance was powerful on the battlefield as well, being able to siphon the health of an enemy and use it to heal an ally. She would be a more front-line fighter, unlike Nihil in that respect.
Cruor also was a medical mind, being a doctor and battlefield medic. She was so many things. But she was not the master of any of those. Her mastery was in the dark side of the force. She would have been a powerful Sith inquisitor back during that old Sith empire.
Salem had decided to give Cruor the Sphere of Blood. She would be in charge of training medics, training Sith on the use of her dark healing powers and creating the group of Sith that would keep everyone else alive.
Cruor had power. She had skill. She had intelligence. She would be a powerful pick. Unfortunately, Ferox would not be a wise choice. He had been far too reckless. She would never make him a member of her dark council. She would still use him on the battlefield. But she knew his destiny was to die.
Avaris was hampered by Ferox. But she also wasn't fast enough to destroy the shield herself. That would be weighed. Ruptor was another candidate who would never join her council. There were seven Sith left, and two seats. Perhaps there were eight. Salem's eyes flicked over to Valum, standing behind Kaiser.
"The attacks today were successful. They were planned out well. We have a new member joining the council, Darth Cruor." Salem said. The other members of the Dark Council were there. No one clapped. She knew half of these people would just as soon as kill each other as acknowledge their existence. It was part of her goal. She needed them never to assume they could challenge her.
"Two seats are left. We are close to done collecting information. Soon, we will look at the weaknesses of the enemy's strategy. As we discovered when we attacked, the shields the enemy is hiding against can be gone under. That is how we will get any heavy equipment into the city. Darth Kaiser, please explain to everyone your idea." Salem said.
"We learned during the opening skirmish that the shields don't go all the way around. We learned this by bringing two troop transports from underwater into the bay in Mantle. As we know, Mantle has a massive hole in it where Atlas used to be. The basic idea is to create a tunnel that will go under the shield. The walkers are able to climb even at a 90-degree angle. We bring the walkers into the city that way. We believe the first of the shields around the city are in Mantle. For us to take the school, we need to take down that first shield. As far as we know, Atlas Academy has two maidens and two relics inside of it, as well as the being the headquarters of the enemy. It is our goal." Kaiser reported.
"How will we be able to create these tunnels?" Nihil asked.
"There are many mines in that hole in Mantle. We wouldn't need to dig far to get to some of them. There will be the risk of cave-in, but it is the best chance we have right now." Kaiser said.
"Darth Memores, how much longer will it take before we have the prototypes ready?" Salem asked.
"Most of the hard work is done now. I have taken ideas from all the ships that I have been able to find, converted the materials to what is available on Remnant, and have created three blueprints for ships. I Have sent the schematics to all parties who need have been working on them, and to you as well, Lady Salem." Memores said.
"Good. Darth Vox. Your Seismic charge was able to take down two enemy starfighters and heavily damage a battle cruiser. Impressive. Though the cost of making them is high." Salem said.
"Much of the cost will vanish once we are able to have bombers. Much of the technology was installed because of how the bombs themselves went up and were remotely launched. I have created a new type that will work with the bombers we are creating." Vox said.
"The Jedi have created a stronghold against us. They have locked themselves into a defensive war. We have all the cards here. We get to determine when and where we fight. But we will destroy Atlas." Salem said.
Ruby didn't know when she had gotten feelings for Oscar. She didn't realize that she had fallen for his charm. She didn't know how long she really wanted to be with him.
But now, she had a date to remember. A date for when she admitted that she had fallen for him. A date where her friends had made sure she would remember by screaming at and laughing at her.
She was lying in her bed, feeling so much better than when she started this day. So much lighter. She didn't really know what it meant to be dating someone, but she would have to figure that one out. Eventually. She had gone through so much today, that her body was exhausted.
Weiss had finished getting changed into her pajamas when she stood over Ruby. She was taking everything out of her hair.
"You really were an idiot for way too long." Weiss said.
"Thanks, Weiss." Ruby said in a sarcastic tone.
"I'm not done yet." Weiss said. "Congratulations. It took a lot of bravery. Even if we all knew what the answer was going to be. Just be sure not to lose focus. We have a lot of challenges ahead of us."
"Come on, Weiss. I'm still me." Ruby said.
"Yes, you are."
After Oscar woke up the next day, he asked Ozpin if yesterday really happened.
"Yes Oscar. You and Miss Rose are dating." Ozpin said, sounding like he wanted to talk about anything else.
"Isn't it kind of weird for you?" Oscar asked.
"Originally, I wanted you not to date anyone of them. But Oscar… I would die a dozen more times than have to sit through one more session of you wondering if she likes you. I am not a violent man by nature, but I wanted to hurt you recently." Ozpin said.
"And I want to get rid of you from my head. But we're both out of luck." Oscar said.
"I will… leave whenever you and Miss Rose are together. That is the preferable option here." Ozpin said.
"We weren't that bad were we?" Oscar asked.
"It has been hundreds of years since I was in a mind this Young. That was the worst torture you could have inflicted on me watching you and Miss Rose." Ozpin said.
"Got it." Oscar said.
"Is Ozpin giving you a lecture?" Rosa asked while brushing her teeth.
"Apparently I was torturing him." Oscar said.
"He's goddamn right!" Rosa shouted.
Ruby barely was able to get out of bed. Every muscle hurt. Weiss gave her no sympathy. She struggled to even get changed. She let out a pained groan as she was putting her shirt on and Weiss helped her out. She rolled her eyes.
"Do you need to get a bacta bath?" Weiss asked.
"That would be amazing." Ruby said.
"Too bad." Weiss said. "We'll get you some cream or something."
"I'd need someone to apply it." Ruby said.
"Honestly Ruby. We're the protectors of the world. How are you going to hurt yourself so bad from going to the gym?" Weiss asked.
"I don't see you going." Ruby said.
"I do go. I just don't try to kill myself." Weiss said.
Ruby somehow made it down to breakfast. She was in pain the whole way, and Yang was telling her that they'd probably need to go back to the spa today or get her to a muscle massage therapist. But she made it. There was no Neo today. Arslan was missing too. Apparently, Neo took Arslan along on some business of hers.
Ruby was enjoying her breakfast when Oscar sat across from her.
"You look like you lost a fight against Yang and Rosa." Oscar said.
"Everything hurts." Ruby complained. "Worked too hard yesterday."
"Well, today is an easy day for us. The masters told us our job is to keep the city safe. They're inspecting the cities the Sith attacked yesterday." Oscar said.
"Right." Ruby said. They fell into an awkward silence.
"So… what do we do now?" Oscar asked.
"I have no idea." Ruby said. Ruby felt a grape hit her in the head. She turned to see Nora sitting at the table next to them.
"That should be obvious." Nora said.
Ruby and Oscar just looked at her. Jaune leaned forward to look at them. "You two might as well come over here." Jaune said. Ruby really didn't want to move. But she did. Oscar followed her lead.
"Okay, so what do we do next?" Ruby asked. Ren sipped his morning tea. Pyrrha shook her head.
"A date." Jaune said.
"Speaking of dates, here you go." Nora handed Ren the dates that she found in her food.
"I still don't know why you don't like them." Ren said.
"They have none of the texture of the rest of my oatmeal." Nora said.
"Neither do the blueberries." Ren said as he ate one of the dates.
"I can squish those." Nora said.
"You can do pretty much anything for a date. Most people go someplace fancy, but if you want my opinion on that, waste of money." Jaune said.
"It's not always a waste…Just most of the time." Pyrrha said.
"We're not fancy people." Ruby said.
Ironwood looked at the relic once again. It had to contain the answer to Salem's defeat. Ironwood remembered what Ozpin told him about the origins of Salem. She was an immortal Sith Lord who every few centuries needed to find a new host body. He compared the process to the old Sith emperor he called Vitiate.
But information on Emperor Vitiate was sparse. He knew that the Relic would have the answer. But he needed to know how Emperor Vitiate was killed. That would give him a hint on how to defeat Salem, or so he hoped.
He needed to talk to Ozpin about it. He trusted Ozpin.
Qrow stepped into the room. He had been out on another mission. He had been sent looking for information on Sith's plans. He held in his hand two Sith lightsabers. He placed them down on the desk.
"The Sith didn't like me poking around that settlement. By Suri. Found out that the Sith took everyone in the town and brought them to Salem's realm. Them and a few other towns. They needed slaves." Qrow said.
"The towns reported…" Ironwood began but stopped. He slammed his fist on his desk.
"Damn. They broke into our codes out there. We need to replace the codes in the outlining regions as fast as possible." Ironwood said.
"I liberated the town. But there's no one left. The Sith are worse than we thought." Qrow said.
"Did you learn about their plans?" Ironwood asked.
"The attacks were to test our reaction time." Qrow said.
"All that death to answer a simple question. How terrible can the Sith be?" Ironwood asked.
"What are you doing with the relic?" Qrow asked. Ironwood realized he was still holding it.
"Hoping I could find an answer. But unfortunately not." Ironwood put the relic back.
"What was the question?" Qrow asked.
"Who was Emperor Vitiate? And why does Ozpin always talk about him when talking about Salem?" Ironwood asked.
"The old Sith emperor?" Qrow asked.
"Yes. The history is murky on that. I think they wanted to hide how he came to be. The Jedi destroyed almost everything they could about him." Qrow said.
"It seems Salem learned the same secrets he did. Or so I assume." Ironwood said.
"We could ask the relic itself about to connection Vitiate has to Salem." Qrow said.
"But does that allow us to beat her?"
Author's Notes: Rosegarden. I do not apologize.
For this chapter, the thesis was given by Ironwood about a quarter of the way through. The Heroes were focusing on the wrong thing. That was shown by doing the Rosegarden ship stuff, and how that was in the foreground, whereas all the plot-relevant stuff was in the background. That is why I spent so little time on other perspectives this chapter. But I did reverse that at the end.
Also, for the breakfast scene in the start, Strawberry = Ruby.
Next chapter I was thinking about spending a lot of time on Sun in captivity. It will be a dark chapter. Probably the darkest chapter in the story so far. It would go into the mentality of Sun as his days keep stretching locked up in the cell. It will not be comfortable.
We got a review from CT7567Rules.
Glad that I got the point of the attack across well enough. I don't think Pong Krell fabricated the orders because of how bad Umbara was.
Kaiser believes he found the way in the city.
Thank you for the list of what we can expect to see on the Republic side.
May the Force be With You
-DragonZlayerx12