Note: Ah, one final chapter out before that con artist fuck gets back in charge. No, I don't like him, that should be fucking obvious. Fuck him forever. Anyway, I plan to keep writing at this pace until he does something stupid to fuck up my life and this whole country. But hey, got through it once before, and will get through it again. Dance in the flames and all that. Anyway, on a story-related note, this chapter is double-length because why not lol. Enjoy.
Ruby had a phobia of panel shows—okay, phobia was an incredibly strong word for something she just didn't care for. But like… how was one supposed to enjoy panels? A bunch of talking heads all yelling over each other on political points, blustering and huffing until her senses were overwhelmed. Never enough time to explore one topic before being whisked to the next. Edits, cuts, and predetermined questions causing certain viewpoints to be emphasized over others. But fine, Ruby would play this little game if it meant appeasing the Vytal Committee and winning a few more converts to her side.
The panel discussion room was divided into two sections. The set, brightly lit, featuring a round, steel-topped table around which four chairs were placed; and everything else, a chaotic mess of cameras, audio equipment, interns, catering, headsets, and so many studio lights that looking at it felt like staring into the sun. Ruby tried to ignore the madness, even as people repeatedly came up to her to whisper in her ears. No swearing. Here, an adjustment to your eyeliner. Act natural, they love you. How did any media ever get made with this much craziness behind the scenes?
She was led to the circular table and sat on a mostly featureless, grey set. She had seen these types of videos on the internet before. No flags. No visuals. No background. A single, muted color would be all that surrounded her, meant to deprive her sentence and sharpen focus on her words alone. She would have preferred they give her something more stylish, like one of those cool analyst rooms they had on sports channels. Not that she watched sports, of course. But boy, was her dad ever invested in those outcomes.
The table was equally plain and featureless, save for four branded water bottles. Hya Water. Drink of Champions. Full of electrolytes and artificial flavoring stuff. Ruby became thirsty by the sheer absence of something normal to drink. But, she didn't have much time to dwell on that. She wasn't the first to arrive for the interview.
Jessica Cruz, meek and closed and so very green, sat uncomfortably at the table as a make-up assistant brushed her hair. She recoiled under each touch, like a cat resisting its daily grooming. She noticed Ruby out of the corner of her green-marked eye and suddenly sat up straight, causing the brush to pull sharply at her bang.
"Ow," she muttered before Ruby drew close enough to hear her. "I-I mean… hello. How are you?"
Ruby walked around the back of the table, pulling up a chair next to Jessica. "Hi. You are Jessica Cruz, right?"
"You know me?" Jessica said with surprise. Her shoulders tensed and her breath jammed in her throat.
"Yeah," Ruby smiled. "I remember watching you in a tournament last year. You were really good."
Jessica released her breath. "Oh. That's… well, thank you. I appreciate that."
Ruby extended her gloved, black-fingered hand. "Ruby Rose. Nice to meet you."
Jess grabbed it tenderly, the imprint of her ring buried in leather. "Nice to meet you, too. I'm… familiar with you as well."
"That's not too surprising," Ruby said with a nervous laugh. She sat down at the table, scratching the back of her head. "So, uh… you ever do one of these panel things before?"
Jessica shook her head.
"Yeah. Me neither," Ruby sighed. "Just… be comfortable, I guess?"
Jessica stared at the many cameras staring at her. She pouted and placed her hands in her lap. Be comfortable. Yeah. Sure. Awesome.
The two sat in silence, waiting for the next person to arrive. People moved. The lights were adjusted. Time flew… slowly. Ruby sat there, and Jessica sat there. Ruby occasionally looked over at Jessica, and Jessica felt Ruby looking at her and looking literally anywhere else. Usually toward another person. So then she looked at the floor.
And time passed.
And some more time passed.
Wow, something was taking the other panelists long.
Oh, wait, there was a clock there—only thirty seconds!
A thought appeared in Ruby's mind. Small… talk… small talk. She should make small talk. Just a lil' chit-chat with a fellow competitor. Ruby cleared her throat, and Jessica cringed as if a bomb had gone off in her eardrum.
"So… how do you fight?" Ruby asked gently. Jessica sweated under the intensity of the studio lights.
"Uh… ring." She held up her hand and twisted it to show off her weapon. "I use my ring. Ring weapon."
"Ah. I see." Ruby did not see. "You excited for the Festival?"
"I… I guess."
"Cool. That's cool."
"How about you?"
"Oh, sure. It's very nerve-racking though."
"Okay."
A full twenty seconds of silence passed. Ruby checked her Scroll, and a producer immediately asked her to turn it off for the panel. Then, ten more seconds passed.
"I, um…" Jessica said softly. "I actually tried to talk to you earlier."
Ruby was taken aback. She did? Oh, right! At the museum. She distinctly recalled a little green woman coming up to her, but she just assumed she was a fan and dismissed her. She felt awful for not recognizing her and was determined to make up for it.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," Ruby said quickly. Jessica shuddered.
"You didn't hurt my feelings. I'm not a kid…"
Jessica's pout worsened, and now Ruby was doubting herself even more. "Oh. Sorry. I just meant—you know, forget it. Not… I mean, don't forget that I'm sorry. I am sorry."
Jessica sighed. "No, I know. I'm just… it's not easy for me to talk to people, so I understand."
Ruby laughed awkwardly. "I feel you there."
God, it was hot. Was she hot? It was hot. These other students really needed to show up soon. Ruby grabbed onto the branded water bottle and examined its nutritional information. Ugh, sugar. Sweeteners. She just wanted water. She could probably ask for water, but she didn't want to be a burden. She would just suffer quietly. She unscrewed the bottle cap, and raised the dumb water to her lips—and almost got impaled for the pleasure.
A pencil—a simple, boring, sharpened number two pencil—flew at her out of nowhere, spiking through the bottle like an arrow. It tore straight through the plastic on both ends, carving through the water, and nearly impaling Ruby's fingers. By sheer grace, it passed through the gap of her index and middle finger, leaving her unharmed except for the psychic damage. She jumped back in shock, dropping the water bottle on the ground. To her amazement, it barely leaked, the pencil serving as a perfect barrier within the wound. Aside from a small spurt on her finger, she didn't feel a thing.
"Bullseye!"
The voice that rang out through the set cut through the chattering madness. Ruby raised her guard, though it was unneeded. A woman—no, really a child—sprinted through the set despite the frantic calls of the producers. She was a sloppy little thing. Baggy sweats and white canvas shoes. A red jumper with the strings at uneven lengths. Her short purple hair was hidden beneath the rim of a beanie, as was half her face. She was shorter than even Ruby, some four-foot dumpster ball barreling forward with the grace of a steamroller. The grin on her face made it obvious. She was the perpetrator of this sudden attack. And she damn sure wanted Ruby to know.
She sprinted to the table and jumped onto the surface, crawling across it on her hands and knees. Jess backed away, startled. Ruby braced herself to be punched—or maybe, given the girl's posture, bitten. The rambunctious kid rose to her knees, striking an off-kilter pose with her arms in a way that only someone with a half-developed brain would think was cool. A grey-blue eye winked at Ruby as her grin widened.
"Ruby Rose… we meet at last!" the girl announced. "Did you like my little trick? Appreciate it while you can. It's the only one you'll see coming."
Ruby stared at the child. Her brain ran through the options. Someone's kid that accidentally wandered onto the set? An intern's sister. Wait, this little brat was the one who threw that pencil at her? She could have been killed—okay, not killed, it was a pencil, but still! Hold on. Did that mean…
"May! Get down from there!" one of the producers ordered. May rolled her eyes and then rolled off the table, landing in front of Ruby with a thud. She brushed herself off and adjusted the rim of her beanie, making sure to keep her eye hidden. Not that there was anything to hide. It was just cooler that way.
"Ugh, grown-ups, right?" she grumbled. "Makes you wanna say 'Fuck you' to the whole world."
"I'm sorry, are you—"
"Oh. Name's May Zedong," the kid introduced herself. "Team BRNZ. Shade Academy. The Sniper Supreme. Made it up myself."
She extended her hand, and Ruby just stared at it like a stranger. This kid? A Vytal contestant? No way. She looked like… young. Real young. Her voice was squeaky and the way she spoke was far too idealistic.
"Sorry, just… how old are you?"
May snickered. "Me? I'm the youngest Vytal contestant in history. I'm sixteen."
Ruby tilted her head. She was way off on the age. But hang on…
"I don't mean to intrude but," Ruby said awkwardly. "I'm pretty sure I'm the youngest Vytal contestant in history."
"Nope. You ain't."
"Are you sure?"
"Yep. I checked."
"Because I'm also sixteen."
"October 31st."
"And your birthday is…"
May grinned. "November 1st."
Huh. A real, genuine huh. Two Vytal Huntresses, born mere hours from one another, each making history. She never really cared about the prestige of being the youngest Vytal contestant, but it still stung to know that she was bested, even in something so minor. But hey, she was beaten fair and square. It was best not to dwell on it with so many more important things at stake. She noticed that May still had her hand extended, waiting for a proper greeting. She supposed she owed her that much.
"Uh… Ruby Rose," Ruby said nervously. She barely moved her arm before May snatched her hand and shook it with gusto.
"It's so cool to finally meet you! I've been dreaming of this moment basically forever! Not forever forever. I only found out about you a few months ago. But the second I did, I realized that it was my destiny to cross paths with you. You're amazingly talented—the Huntress of a generation. I knew that I couldn't bear to never meet you face-to-face."
Ruby tried to smile. A fan. Okay. That made sense. She said she was a sniper? Hey, that was something they had in common. Sniping was awesome.
"Well, I'm glad to be someone you can look up to," Ruby said. May, however, let out a bellowing laugh.
"Oh, I don't look up to you," May stated. "You're my nemesis."
Ruby blinked. "What?"
"I'm going to shoot you."
What?
"Uhh…" Ruby pulled her hand away, but May's enthusiasm was maintained.
"Like, okay, that sounds bad," May clarified. "And it's not like I want you dead, or anything. You're super cool. But all I've ever wanted to do was fight you, Ruby. I want to go all out against you, sniper vs sniper, child prodigy vs child prodigy. It's what the world deserves. Standing across from you on that battlefield, seeing you in my scope—" May struck another pose, taking up a sniper's squat and grinning wildly as she mimicked pulling the trigger. "I'm really hoping we get paired together in one of the rounds. Fighting you would be the biggest honor of my life, ma'am."
Somehow, this didn't make Ruby feel better. The clarification that May only wanted to shoot her for the glory actually gave her whiplash. Her cheeky, innocent smile spewing out violent desires brought the full horror of Vytal into view. Once more, the crushing weight of guilt flattened Ruby's chest. Her biggest fan wanted to shoot her in the head. This was the world that she was fighting for, the people that she swore to defend, the lives she inspired.
All Ruby could do was smile and nod, fear seeping through chattering teeth. "I… hope you do well."
May jumped back to her feet and winked. "Trust me. I don't need hope." She plopped herself down in the third chair, sandwiching Ruby between two very different personalities. She kicked up her feet on the table, only to immediately be shot down by another producer. With a reluctant sigh, she tapped her fingers against the desk as Ruby sat down next to her, still shuddering from nearly being impaled. "So, who else is in this thing?"
Ruby shrugged. They were missing one panelist. She was hoping for someone more talkative than Jessica to guide the conversation, but someone less eager to talk about shooting her than May. She probably didn't have a good chance of that. Everyone wanted to shoot her to some degree. But who specifically? Well, she could run through some possibilities. A stern rival would make for an interesting panel show—maybe one of the NDGO girls, who were allegedly quite nasty to deal with. Or would Team NTMR make a better show? She was sure the public was begging for Alyx Nevermore to explain her actions. Though, would they be allowed to participate at all? They were already banned from the Showcase and only arrived for the IDs because it was necessary. This seemed superfluous. Wait, what was she thinking? One student from Beacon, one from Haven, one from Shade… of course, the last student would be an Atlasian!
The only question was…
Oh…
Well.
Shit.
She shouldn't have been surprised. The universe would never deprive her of drama. Entering on the other side of the room, dressed in her blue uniform and guided by multiple production heads, was the Living Weapon herself. As Penny Polendina's gaze fell upon the set, it inevitably turned to Ruby, and the two shared a solemn gaze.
"You want to learn from me, right? Right? Well, this… this horrible thing… this isn't something I would ever do."
"Ruby, what are you talking about? This is exactly what you would do."
The last words they had ever spoken to each other. The last thing before Penny ruined everything.
Ruby wondered if Penny had the same words playing on repeat in her mind as she approached the table, if her perfect, manufactured memory could replicate every detail of Ruby's heartbreak. The producers were whispering something to Penny, but the android could not hear them; her nods were as halfhearted as her loyalties. When the time came to sit down, Penny stared at her seat for a long time, wavering. This was her chance to flee once again, scurry down the corridor with some pathetic excuse as to why she could not sit and speak. She thought, perhaps, of the consequences of her rebellion. Would Clover punish her in the same manner as Ironwood? Did that even matter? Could she sit here, with a straight face and cheerful disposition, and act as if the world was not going to burst into flames if she failed?
Penny sat down across from Ruby, eyes remained firmly glued to the floor. Ruby wasn't impressed.
She opened her mouth, searching for something to say. But, for some reason, nothing was coming to mind. More accurately, everything came to mind, so much that all the thoughts created a traffic jam in her throat. All of these things she needed to say to Penny, and yet, with all of these cameras, it was a terrible idea to say any of them. Despite the openness of the set, Ruby felt as trapped as she did in the Vault. Fortunately, one person among them was eager to speak their mind.
"Hi, there," May said with a warm smile, shoving out her digits toward the weapon sitting next to her. "May Zedong. Sniper Supreme. Nice to meet you."
Penny nervously glanced over. "Penny Polendina. Living Weapon."
May's eyes lit up. "Oooooooooh, that's such a cool nickname. That's because you have all those different weapons in your limbs, right?"
May leaned in, admiring the sleek black metal of Penny's forearms. Her imagination went wild with all the different gadgets and blades and instruments of torture that could be lying beneath the surface. Maybe a sniper rifle? That would be so compact she wasn't sure how it could be utilized properly. Penny slightly pulled her arm away from May, embarrassed, though the youngest Huntress student followed it like a dog trailing a scent.
"Um, please stop."
"Never," May whispered excitedly. "You have to give me the rundown of all the stuff you got in there. Please?"
"I don't think that's appropriate."
"I'll win you over eventually." However, she suddenly turned toward Ruby. "Hey, Ruby, I didn't ask. What's your nickname? Is it something like really awesome?"
Ruby cleared her throat. She probably should have put more thought into this. "My nickname is, uh… the Red Angel."
May gasped. "Yo. That's so sick."
Ruby smiled painfully. "Yeah."
"The Red Angel… dude, I'd kill for a name that awesome," May smirked. "Maybe literally, if you know what I mean. I'm just messing with you."
Ruby did not laugh. She looked for Penny's reaction. Penny did not give her one. But she knew its importance. Feared it, even.
"Hey, what about you, Jessica?" May asked. "What's your nickname?"
Jessica turned away. Those lights hadn't gotten any cooler, and while she was young, she was observant enough to notice the tension between Ruby and Penny the moment the latter sat down. There was a tension there she did not wish to burst, though honestly, she didn't want to talk about herself either. In fact, the less she could say about her life, the happier she would be.
But her nickname. Yeah. How to possibly explain that one?
"I'm, um…" Jessica said uncomfortably. "The Green Lantern."
May stared at her. Ruby and Penny processed the name, though didn't comprehend it.
"Huh?" asked May.
"What?"
"Green… Lantern? Like, for lights?"
"Yes."
"Uh, why?"
"It was given to me actually."
"Yeah. Why? Like, green I get. You're very green. You got green all over."
"I do."
"But… of all the things to call yourself, you go with a lamp?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"It's complicated."
"It's stupid," May snickered. "Red Angel? Cool. Cool as hell. Green Lantern? Dumb. No offense."
Jessica sighed heavily. "It feels pretty offensive."
"Hey, when is this going to start?" Ruby asked suddenly. She wasn't very interested in sitting next to a crying Huntress, even if she agreed that the name was really bad. Seriously, she could not think of anything less intimidating than a flashlight. But like, she wasn't going to say that out loud. This panel was supposed to be more uplifting than that, right? And now that all four of them were seated, she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Somewhere secluded where she could talk to Penny without restraint. She just needed these people to start this panel already.
One of the producers took charge. Tall woman. Bouncy brown hair. Nice pantsuit. She stood in front of the table with a gentle yet authoritative energy.
"Hi, everyone. Thank you for coming," she said, not addressing Ruby directly. "How many of you have ever participated in one of these panels before? None? Okay, then. It's a very straightforward process. Here's how it's going to work. Ruby, we're going to start with you. Do you see that teleprompter right there? You are just going to read what comes up—it's basically a short introduction where you explain the premise of the show. Then, we're going to hand you some cards with topics on it, and we just want you to react normally to them. Don't try to play anything up. Viewers value honesty. We'll get through maybe eight questions, and then you'll be on your way. Sound good?"
Ruby nodded, though it was May who spoke on behalf of the group. "Yes, ma'am!"
"Great. Okay, everyone! Quiet on set! Quiet!"
Ruby took a deep breath. Okay, she could do this. A few short questions, a few charming answers, and she was out. Jessica seemed like she wouldn't cause many problems. May? Overzealous, and the killing thing was unsettling, but she could manage. And then Penny… well, she'd deal with Penny after, she guessed. But this? She could make it work. Deep breaths. In. Out. Calm. Be like Yang. Charming. Smooth. Seductive—not seductive. Scratch that. Don't try to be seductive.
The set became quiet. The burning lights focused on Ruby's cheeks. Words appeared on a teleprompter. A producer pointed a finger at her. Go time.
"Hello, everyone!" Ruby said cheerfully. "My name is Ruby Rose, and I represent Beacon Academy in the Vytal Festival."
She turned to Jessica. Jessica said nothing.
Jessica said nothing.
Jessica said—
"Oh, uh, my name is Jessica Cruz," Jess stuttered quickly. "I represent Haven Academy—"
"My name is May Zedong, and I represent Shade!"
Penny tepidly looked into one of the camera lenses. "I'm Penny Polendina of Atlas Academy."
Ruby kept her smile as big and bright as possible. "And today, we are here to answer your questions about participating in the Vytal Festival!"
And scene. Great. Applause all around, well, at least in Ruby's head. The Committee people seemed to think so, since they didn't make them re-do it. Someone calmly approached her with a large white index card, handing it off to her like it was something prestigious. Ruby read the question on it silently. Her smile wavered slightly. With a nod from a producer and the silence continuing to swamp her, she spoke the first question out loud.
" supercoolnoodles on KnightsPage asks: Why do you think you have the best chance of winning Vytal?"
Ruby awkwardly slapped her card against the table. "So, uh, who wants to go first?"
She didn't have time to finish before May shot up her hand. "Me! Me! Let me go!"
Ruby blinked. "Sure, May. Go ahead."
May slammed both of her palms against the table and mugged for the camera. "Because I was born for this. Being a sniper means always staying two steps ahead of your opponent, and I have been outpacing literally everyone since I was born. I am the youngest woman to ever compete in Vytal, not because I'm inexperienced, but because I am so far ahead of the competition that they had no choice but to recognize my greatness. There are a lot of good people in Vytal, but none of them are equipped to take down someone from the ranges I can. All I gotta do is point, pull, and bam! You're looking at the newest Vytal winner."
Ruby nodded politely. Was she supposed to challenge any of that, or… "Okay. T-Thanks, May. Who else wants to go?"
She turned toward Jessica. Jessica did not want to go next. She turned toward Penny. Penny wasn't even looking at her. Penny wanted to fly into the sun. Ruby turned inward, and she didn't really want to go next either. Tooting her own horn felt weird without the others by her side. She'd go last, she decided.
So, the three sat there.
…
And sat there.
…
…
…
Just… needing someone to speak…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
Okay, fuck it. Ruby cleared her throat. "Um, I guess I have the best chance of winning Vytal because… uh… it's… very important to me. My, uh, mom… she never got to participate in Vytal, ever. So that was, um, something she wanted to do. And I think, uh, it would be cool to, you know, win something for Vytal—in Vytal, I mean—for that. And like… I know I'm really good at, uh, fighting. Like, I train really hard. Not saying you all don't train hard. Like, we all train hard. But like, you know, I do a lot of strategizing and planning and stuff, and that… uh… it's great. It's really great. And my team is really motivated and we are looking forward to fighting everyone and having a great time. Thanks."
Great job, Ruby. Strategizing and planning and stuff. No notes.
Ruby stopped staring at the camera—oh, god, she was staring right into that camera unblinking that whole time, wasn't she? She waited for a response, but May didn't feel like giving one. A response wasn't anything she had practiced in the mirror beforehand.
So, then, Jess and Penny.
…
…
Jess and Penny.
…
Jess and Penny.
…
Jessssssss and… oh thank god, Jessica opened her mouth.
"I, well… what was the question again?" Jessica whispered. Ruby handed her the index card, and Jessica read it carefully. "Oh. Okay. I have the best chance of winning because… I have the most experience here. I think, um, that's a good reason."
Ruby and Jessica were prepared to move on, but May stopped them. "You have, like, two extra years of experience on us. That barely counts."
"Well, no, I have…" Jessica paused for a moment, then meekly sighed. "No, you're right. I guess it is two years."
"So, not that impressive."
Jessica shrugged. "I guess not."
…
…
…
Ruby took the index card back from Jessica's limp grip and finally turned to the one person at the table she was dreading engaging with. "So. Penny."
Penny kept still.
"Why do you think you have the best chance of winning?"
Ruby wondered how many people in the room could pick up the sudden malice of that question. It was, in essence, a dare. What makes you think you can beat me? But Penny did not take the bait. With her posture squared and her words sharp, she gave a clear answer.
"I am the best equipped to defeat my enemies," she stated, "and I refuse to accept defeat."
An image appeared in Ruby's mind: Penny, half of her face torn off from machinegun fire, fueled by revenge. A bullet to the face could not stop her. A Maiden could not stop her. And for the first time, Ruby truly considered the question that most terrified her. How were any of them supposed to stop her?
She didn't have too long to think about it. Sensing the conversation had come to a close, the production assistant returned. She swapped out Ruby's index card for a new one, and Ruby prepared to read the next question. She hesitated slightly.
" BeetleBoops on KinghtsPage asks: Who at the table has earned their spot, and who here do you think is overrated?"
So that's how it was going to be. Figured. Of course, the questions were designed to stir the pot. Who would watch these things if not for the juicy, delicious drama? Well, Ruby wasn't really interested in starting petty drama. Team RWBY's drama was far more sophisticated. She decided to ignore May jumping in her seat and immediately answering the question herself.
"Honestly, I think everyone here has earned their spot," she said calmly. "We all had to work very hard to make it to Vytal, and our headmasters chose us for a reason. So, I definitely think we are all worthy, and none of us are overrated."
"You really think so?" asked May.
"Yeah."
May squealed. Her hero, her rival, just said she was worthy of a spot in Vytal. What better affirmation could there be? After two semesters of putting up with some, to put it lightly, bullshit, she was happy that someone was recognizing her talents.
"I think you are totally worthy of this spot, too," May said. "I mean, how can you not be? You're the Hero of Vale. This tournament wouldn't be happening if not for you."
"Thank you. I appreciate that."
May squealed again. She was thanked. Chills. Literal chills.
"Anyone else?" Ruby asked. Jessica and Penny said nothing again. Neither seemed like shit-talkers, so she didn't expect much. But, she would give them twenty seconds to speak up.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Sixseveneightnineten.
Eleven.
Thirteen.
Fifteen and a half.
…
…
Screw it, twenty. Twenty seconds. Nothing. Awesome. Next question.
Ruby waved over a production assistant, and she approached with another card at the ready. However, before she handed it off, she leaned over the table and spoke with passive-aggressive softness.
"Hey, could we please get a little more engagement with each question? Just to get a bit more footage, okay? Thank you."
Ruby said nothing as she exchanged the cards. She didn't really think she did anything wrong and probably wasn't going to change anything. But, she did brace herself for the next question.
" BumpySteven17 on KnightsPage asks: How do you feel about Team RWBY's goal of changing the perception of Huntsmen?"
Ruby laid the card flat on the table and waited. She sized May, Penny, and Jessica up, wondering which one of them would take the bait. In the end, Jessica was the first to speak, though it was with her usual gentleness.
"I'm sorry. I'm a bit out of the loop," she confessed. "In what ways are you trying to change being a Huntress?"
Ruby was dumbstruck. How isolated did a person have to be to not be familiar with Team RWBY and their mission? Someone with no idea who she was. It was…
Well, honestly, it was fucking amazing.
"Oh, well," Ruby stumbled, "I think this is in relation to us speaking out against Huntsmen abuse. I know that's been pretty contentious."
Jessica nodded slowly. "I see. Sorry, I'm only somewhat familiar with this sort of drama."
"I wish I could be like that."
"Heh." Jessica sighed, nervously tapping her index fingers together. "I mean, based on some of the things I've heard about you, you seem like you care about helping people. Like… the reason I became a, uh, Huntress is because there were some people in my life that I couldn't help, and I didn't want any of that to happen again. When you became a Huntress, were you always planning on getting into activism?"
"No," said Ruby. "Honestly, it just kind of happened to me. I wanted to be a Huntress because of my mom. She'd read me these bedtime stories about Huntresses as a kid, and that made it seem like the coolest job in the world. I guess I just wanted to play the hero."
"But it's a lot harder than you'd think. Right?" Jessica asked with a small smile. "Do you ever think about giving up?" She studied Ruby carefully, and Ruby picked up on her attentiveness. It must have been hard to get this green lamp out of her shell.
"I… I can't," Ruby said firmly. "I mean, I almost did. I almost quit being a Huntress last semester. I don't know if I ever told anyone that. But yeah, during winter break, I almost threw in the towel. But what I realized is: There are a lot of bad things out in the world, and they want you to give up. They want to be able to do everything they want without anyone standing up to them. I had this power to do something meaningful, and if I chose to just sit around, what would that make me?"
"A coward," Jessica answered, though she immediately bit her bottom lip. "Sorry, that was rhetorical, wasn't it?"
Ruby shrugged. "It was, but like, you're right. It still is pretty hard though. I mean, I have all this influence, but I'm still worried that I'm not doing enough. Like it's just too much to handle."
"There's always going to be problems. But standing up for anything is worthwhile," Jessica stated. "A friend of a friend once said something. Even a tiny spark can light the way. Be the spark. It helps get me through tough times."
"Like what?"
"Well…"
Jessica paused, stopping herself before she went further. The pause was just long enough for May to get utterly bored and spring into the conversation.
"So, anyways," she said eagerly. "I think you are doing awesome, Ruby. I love it."
"Oh. Thanks." Ruby looked past May for the last member of the panel. "Penny. Got something you want to say?"
Penny remained frigid. She contemplated her answer, then spoke plainly. "No comment."
Ruby scowled. Something about that response pissed her off, but she couldn't tell exactly what…
Question Three Ended. Question Four began.
"borgporg asks: Is it okay to bend the rules as a Huntress?"
"What kind of rules?" asked May.
"It didn't say," Ruby shrugged. "Like, maybe not following direct orders."
"Oh, well we know what Penny is going to say about that," May groaned. "Atlasians are all about their rules and regulations."
Penny said nothing.
"It's hard being in Atlas," Ruby attested. "It's very strict there. There are obviously consequences for violating orders. But—"
"I mean, it depends, right?" Jessica said, interrupting Ruby's train of thought.
"On what?"
"Like, in your activism, don't you… complain about people abusing their authority?"
"Oh. Do you think the question meant something like that?"
"That's not really bending the rules though," May sighed. "Like, would the person really be asking if it was fine to abuse their power? Because the answer is obviously no."
"Good point. So, I guess they meant the first thing," Ruby figured. "In which case… yes. You should be fine bending the rules to do the right thing."
"I'm actually okay with that," Jessica said to the others' surprise. "Authorities aren't always the best."
"Yeah, adults are lame," May agreed. The three of them nodded together. Penny said nothing.
Question Five.
" patriciarsky1er asks: Are there any…" Ruby re-read the question and stifled a laugh. "Are there any Huntsmen competing that you think are hot?"
Jessica shook her head, refusing to speak. Ruby threw up her hands in defeat. She couldn't just say Weiss. Now was not the time to be dumping that on her girlfriend's head. She settled for a "No comment," and moved on.
"Um… you know Mercury Black?" asked May.
"Yes?" said Ruby.
"Would."
"Okay."
Penny did not answer the question. Ruby didn't expect her to.
Question Six.
"14Mikey asks: Is it better for Huntsmen to be on teams or work in military units?"
Ruby suspiciously looked at Penny. If there was ever a question set up for the Atlasian, this was it. But like every time before, Penny sat and waited, unwilling to participate.
"I… don't know if I can give a perspective on this," Ruby admitted. "I did spend some time in Atlas, so I got to see how their system worked. However, I kept my team throughout. Obviously, I preferred them. They are my family by now."
"I've actually had a few different teammates," Jessica stated. Ruby looked at her with surprise.
"You have?"
"Yeah—before we… well, like, it took a while to settle, I mean," Jess clarified. "It's very hard to find people you can trust and be dependent upon. I trust my team now, but it wasn't always like that. I can imagine that working in a larger unit would be much harder."
"Those are basically my thoughts," Ruby agreed. "Plus, it's easier to coordinate a smaller group."
However, May let out a frustrated groan.
"Can I just say something really quick? This morning, my teammate posted something on his socials that's really uncool. I just want to publicly distance myself from that."
"Wait, what happened?" asked Jessica. May was close to answering when one of the producers called to her from the set.
"Please refrain from talking about that incident with Mr. Stallion this morning," they informed her. Jessica scratched her head, and May released another frustrated groan.
"Sorry. It's just… ugh, it can be the worst, you know," she said glumly. "When Professor Theodore put me on my team, I was so excited for the opportunity. Like, I always imagined roaming around the streets with a badass group of lady Huntresses, outwitting criminals with our feminine wiles. But my actual teammates are just a bunch of egotistical dicks."
"No swearing," said the producer.
"They are egotistical… I don't know, jerks," May pouted. "Roy is completely obsessed with his looks and his social media profile. Nolan just likes hitting on boys, and Brawnz… all he does all day is belittle me. He doesn't think that women should be Huntsmen, and it drives me crazy. I know that I'm the one carrying our team, but he refuses to recognize me. Just once, I'd like to show them what my actual skills are. Then I could die happy. I don't know. Like, do either of you have major problems with your team members?"
"Me? Not really," said Jess. "I get along with my team very well."
Ruby was familiar with Brawnz through Coco, and honestly, part of her wanted to tell May to just abandon him. He didn't deserve to find success as a Huntsman with such backward views. But that would be pretty hypocritical, no? Like, Weiss's views were abhorrent at first, and Ruby had kissed her on multiple occasions. She had to believe in the power of redemption. Still, what advice could she give in this situation?
"I hated my team at first," Ruby said. "Sometimes, when you have very disparate personalities and backgrounds, it takes a while to form genuine bonds. But, maybe you will eventually?"
"They don't think women should be Huntsmen. How I am supposed to work with that?"
"I don't know. That is really hard."
"Sexism sucks," Jess agreed.
"Yeah," May sighed.
"Well, maybe you can focus on what you have in common," Ruby suggested. "Like, that's how I bonded with my team. We tried to emphasize the goals we shared. Is there anything you and your teammates get along with?"
"Nope."
"Nothing?"
"Well, uh…"
Okay, harder than she thought.
"Like… do you want to… shoot people together?"
Darn. And she was doing so well.
"Shoot people?" May asked.
"Y-Yes."
"What?"
"It's a surprisingly good method."
Jessica looked at Ruby strangely. "I don't understand what you mean by that."
Don't dig the whole deeper.
"I just meant… um…" Ruby tried to find the proper wording. "Like, not necessarily shooting people. I mean, sometimes you do have to shoot people as a Huntress. But more like… find someone you dislike and work towards stopping them? Uniting against something you hate instead of rallying behind something you like can be more effective. And then you can focus on like making them miserable instead of… making yourselves… miserable…"
Deep hole. Super deep. Extremely deep. Jessica seemed completely detached, now looking at Ruby with some quiet disdain. The choice of verbiage probably set off some kind of trigger. May, still finding her team situation hopeless, had basically discounted everything Ruby suggested from the moment it left her lips. Even some of the camera crew were looking at her like a vile weirdo.
Okay, bad answer. She could recover from this. She just had to explain herself properly. She summoned up some new phrasing and opened her mouth. Only, it wasn't her words that reached the others first.
"You never know who you can trust."
Ruby's eyes snapped to her right. Penny didn't mean to speak. It was an accident, an instinct, some glitch in her matrix that caused her thoughts to just slip into the open. But despite that slip, it was the most certain she had sounded since the panel began. Ruby became cold, focusing on the android, waiting for her to run her mouth. She held her tongue instead.
There it was again. That thing that made her blood boil.
"What does that mean?" Ruby asked bluntly.
Penny just shook her head.
Ruby felt her heart race faster.
"You clearly want to add something to the conversation," Ruby challenged her. "Do you want to say what you mean?"
Penny shook her head again. She had said more than enough. She just wanted to move on, finish the last two questions, and leave this room forever. And something inside Ruby snapped, something she didn't realize had barely been held together all along.
Ruby finally realized what pissed her off.
"Can you at least look at me?"
Penny flinched. She had been caught. Not once since sitting down did she ever lift her gaze.
"After everything that you did," Ruby said, voice trembling, "all of the chaos that you caused and the people that you hurt… the least you can do is look me in the eye. Or is that too much to ask of you?"
Penny said nothing.
Nothing at all.
No matter how much Ruby wanted her to. No matter how much she screamed inside.
Jessica and May were clueless about their history, but the power of Ruby's words was enough to keep them quiet. Penny fidgeted under the pressure, and Ruby waited for a producer to step in to ease the tension. But it never happened.
Eventually, Penny raised her head. Her sorrowful green eyes stared beneath the brim of her Atlasian military cap.
"Okay, Ruby," she said softly. "I'm looking at you."
The cameras were gone. So were May and Jessica. The questions didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Ruby saw in Penny's eyes all of their past together, the broken vitriol that led her to threaten their lives. It crashed on her like a wave. Ruby could only bear her attention for a moment before she was forced to shut her eyes, overflowed with emotion. Her entire body tensed, pins and needles running down her skin.
"I am so mad at you."
Penny frowned. "You are? That's… unsurprising."
"Yeah. And I'm not even as mad at you as the others," Ruby confessed. "I mean they are… they're furious. Blake wants to kill you. Pretty sure Pyrrha does, too. I'm not that far, but yeah… it's hard to put into words just how frustrated I am."
Penny felt the urge to leave. She could fly away if she wanted to, move so fast that the producers could never catch her. But she stayed. She stared. Ruby was right. She owed her that much.
"You have every right to be frustrated," Penny agreed. "To tell you the truth, I'm amazed you can even speak to me. I would have thought you would raise your voice."
"I…" Ruby sighed. "I don't think I can scream at you. I want to but… I can't."
Ruby had to choose her words carefully. With the cameras on her, a slip-up could prove catastrophic, for her and Penny. And really, she wasn't sure Penny deserved that. There were so many ways Ruby could get back at her. Petty, awful things. Exposing her true nature? Yeah, the thought crossed her mind. But she would never do it. For all of her bad decisions, ruining her future like that still seemed too cruel.
"It was hard, thinking of what to say to you," Ruby admitted. "Because there's honestly so much."
"You and I agree on that," Penny said. "When I saw you at the museum, I reacted poorly. I was hoping I wouldn't have to face you before the tournament. I understand now how naïve that is."
"You didn't want to face what you did because you know it's wrong," Ruby explained. "You've always known it's wrong. You've said as much."
Penny tried not to wince. Her own words during the Vault came back to her. An objectively wrong moral choice. How far she had fallen.
"I suppose I have you to teach me that."
Ruby didn't find the point amusing. "If this is your way of blaming me—"
"It isn't. I just mean—"
"I know what you mean," Ruby stated. "But I don't want to hear it. This is on you. You have to deal with the fact that whoever gets hurt from here on out is your fault alone."
"Ruby, you understand the circumstances I was in," Penny protested. "It's been weeks, and you still have not given me a satisfactory answer. I wish to ask you the same question. What would you have me do?"
Ruby took a deep breath. She didn't have an answer. She wished her brilliant mind could conjure another path forward because it was the one thing that tethered her to blame. If she had been more convincing then, more creative, she could have rescued Penny from Ironwood's control and secured the Grail. Neither of them liked the feeling of being cornered with a gun against their head—though Ruby hadn't forgotten who was holding the weapon.
"Penny, that doesn't matter."
"I think it matters quite a lot," Penny said, frustrated. "Perhaps I am not in a position to voice my grievances, but I am mad at you as well. For not listening to me."
"I did listen, I just—"
"Rejected it immediately, yes. I know. And it did not feel good being turned down by someone you thought would care about you."
"And if that was the biggest problem we had now, then I would apologize," Ruby said defensively. "But then you had to…" Ruby stopped herself before she said too much. It was harder and harder to keep her mouth shut, unable to express her feelings to her adversary without the details to make it make sense. But Penny trying to turn this onto her was maddening. The last thing she needed was to be reminded of her screw-ups.
The producers were hesitant to intervene. Such intense personal drama was fantastic for television, even if most of it was incomprehensible. However, someone from the set called out to them, attempting to pull the conversation back on track.
"Ladies, if you don't mind—"
"Please, give us a moment," Penny asked. Even then, she didn't look away from Ruby. She couldn't. "Ruby, perhaps you won't believe this, but I would have followed you over Ironwood."
The words phased through her, unable to make sense.
"If… if you had actually explained how you would keep me safe, I would have entrusted that… object… to you."
No. Bullshit. If she would have turned on Ironwood, she would have done so before.
"I was scared and hurt, then. I had to prioritize my safety like you had done in the past."
Deflection. Ruby never endangered the whole freaking planet.
"And I am not trying to blame you, because I could not think of a plan either."
Don't let the puppy eyes affect her reasoning. Don't feel pity for a weapon following its orders.
"Ruby, despite the paths chosen, I still care about you. Even then, I cared about you. I considered you a friend."
Ruby almost laughed at the word.
"I feel like you are owed a satisfactory explanation. Both for appeasing your own conscience and for when this tournament is over."
When it was over? She didn't understand at all.
"Ruby, please," Penny begged. "I have felt more alone in the past several weeks than I have during my entire life. You and your team were maybe the only people to ever understand what I was going through. And if you could just see that nothing, I did was personal, that I was never once motivated by a desire to hurt you—"
"Then what?" Ruby asked coldly. "Then it wouldn't hurt as badly?"
Penny bowed her head in shame, eye contact broken.
"I put… so much trust in you," Ruby confessed. "I would have done anything to keep you safe. You know that, right? I really wanted to help you, even though all you had ever done was cause problems for us."
Penny grimaced.
"But… but what am I supposed to do now?" Ruby asked, shaking her head. "It's too far gone now. Even if I win, everything can't go back to normal. Not with us. That trust is gone now. No matter what happens, even if all this disappears, I can never rely on you not to betray me again. Trust is the only thing I have, and it's just…"
Ruby lost the words. Penny ate away at her as each second passed.
"It doesn't matter if you regret it, or if I understand it. You hurt my friends. They are the only thing I have, and because of your selfishness, they're in danger. The world is in danger, and that's because of you. I don't care if your decision was reasonable, or if I would have done it, because when you made that choice, you picked a side. You chose Ironwood, so that makes you my enemy. And that sucks, because I didn't want to be your enemy, and I didn't have to be your enemy. But that's where we are now, and we're stuck here in this place neither of us wants to be. And that's infuriating because I wish there was some way to fix this. But there isn't. I have to stop you. Or else it's all gone. So, I can't really care if it hurts you. I can't let myself think like that. I'm sorry, Penny. But it's over between us."
Penny remained quiet. Whatever efforts Ruby made to keep their actions a secret, they were mostly abandoned. It had become far too much for her to handle, and this was maybe the only chance she had before the fighting started to tell Penny everything she felt. For all of her stammering, Penny was right about one thing. They both deserved to know the truth about where they stood. Ruby needed to cut her off cleanly now before her feelings had a chance to do real damage.
May's eyes darted between Ruby and Penny, trying in vain to follow along. She leaned over toward Ruby. "Uh, so were you two dating or something, or…"
"Not now, May," Ruby shot her down without a second thought. May recoiled, the rejection stinging her hard. Ruby leaned back in her chair and sighed. "God, I just… I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Everyone is in danger now because of you. I have to be the one to keep them together, but it's spiraled so far out of control that I don't know how I'm supposed to contain it. I know I have to win Vytal, but I just…" She ran her gloved fingers through her hair. "This isn't what I wanted."
Penny remained perfectly still, like a statue, absorbing, listening, feeling. She didn't want to say anything. But something inside compelled her forward, the words coming out before she could stop it.
"I did not want this either… but I don't regret what I did."
Ruby snapped to attention. "What?"
Penny chose her words carefully. "You said that it didn't matter if I regretted my decisions. But I don't regret them. Everything I said was to justify why I don't regret them. I am disappointed with how this has played out, but given the information I had, I would make the same choice again. I suspect you would, as well."
Ruby couldn't form the words as her anger began to bubble over. All of Penny's emotion, her remorse, was stripped clean, revealing the machine gears beneath the surface. Penny's gaze had returned to her as a sharp and ruthless spear, single-minded on its target. She had misunderstood Penny from the moment she stepped into the room.
She didn't want forgiveness, or friendship, or something so weak. She needed closure. And Ruby had just handed it to her.
"It doesn't matter what either of us want. That is perfectly clear now," Penny claimed. "All I can do is focus on what is in front of me."
"Penny," Ruby pleaded, "you don't—"
"Have to do this? You just said there was no turning back," Penny stated. "I am the Living Weapon. That is my purpose now. If we cannot co-exist on friendly terms, there is no use clinging to worthless things."
"You're burning through my sympathies really fast," Ruby warned. "Don't make me hate you, Penny. This doesn't have to become personal, but it can. And you don't want to fight that."
Penny could see the darkness manifesting behind her, the ancient power of the Fables desperate to be unleashed. But Penny wasn't afraid. She was built for this.
"I don't desire to fight you in the tournament, Ruby. I hope I never see you, for your sake as well as my own. Or Weiss. Or Blake. Or Yang. And yet, we know what each other is capable of. If you don't hold back, you will destroy everything in your path. So will I. That will only lead us to each other."
Penny suddenly stood up from the table, eyes as fierce as ever. Ruby's friend was gone, buried in a Vault hundreds of feet beneath the ground. All that was left was a monster of her own creation.
"It will never be personal between us. You have my assurance of that. I will be as cordial to you outside of the arena as you will allow, though I doubt we will meet again willingly. I truly hope that you remain unharmed. But if we cross…" Penny cast her one final glare before turning to leave. "I will do everything to ensure my Kingdom's victory… Red Angel."
The producers shouted at Penny to stop. She ignored them. With confident strides, the Living Weapon left Ruby alone. Ruby nearly chased after her, stopped only by some subconscious voice in her head telling her that it wasn't worth it.
She wanted to give Penny the benefit of the doubt, even now. But she couldn't. Penny insisted it wasn't personal. It felt pretty fucking personal.
The panel ended shortly after. No point in continuing with only three of the members remaining. The Vytal Committee got all of the material they needed to make an entertaining show. Ruby shook May's hand and shook Jessica's hand, and she left the studio shortly after. She wondered what they thought of her outbursts. Then, she realized she simply didn't have the ability to care.