Chapter Text
Ruby Rose
Ruby Rose
Ruby Rose
Ruby Rose!
Ruby suddenly raised her head from her desk, blinking several times to try to fully regain consciousness, she placed her hands on the wooden surface, feeling with her fingers how her own saliva stained them, although she didn't care much, she worked too much to worry about something like that.
“Ruby Rose!” Someone shouted her name again, Ruby stood up with difficulty, walking between her coworkers who also moved aside to avoid her, since she always had to go through the door due to the curious position of her cubicle, she worked in the Huntsmen guild of Vale for several years, she already grown accustomed to the shouting and the constant movement in the office, she endured it like a champion, although there were times when it was more difficult for her.
Ruby arrived at the place where she was called, the office of the guild head, the person who has absolute power over the employees and who has the ability to make decisions ignoring the rest, if they wanted to remove a mission from the board, they could do so, they could choose which Huntsman or Huntress carried out a job, absolute power, in short.
And unfortunately for Ruby Rose, she knew her boss too well.
The woman entered the office carefully, closing the door and sitting in front of her boss, still rubbing her eyes, Ruby straightened her back and managed to put on a perfectly white smile, trying to look kind to her boss.
Raven Branwen didn't fall for that old trick.
“You’re late and you fall asleep at your desk, if I wasn't used to it, I'd be impressed” Raven stated, her dark hair dyed white in places was tied back in a ponytail. She had a more formal and professional appearance, although any worker in the trade would say that she still looked threatening. “Do you want to explain to me what this is?”
Raven pushed a folder towards Ruby, the younger woman opened the folder and found a chart of a particular Huntsman, Oscar Pine, one of the best in the guild, his success rate was 100%, causing Ruby to become confused, was there something wrong with them?
“He always completes his mission successfully, I'm proud of my husband, is there something I'm missing?” Ruby asked, returning her gaze to Raven.
“Recently Oscar has been taking on lower ranking, less dangerous missions, simple things like escorting or clearing out Grimm outside the city. I may not be the leader of the Branwen tribe anymore, but I’m still a leader,” Raven explained, pointing out how Oscar had taken on much safer missions, the claim making a little more sense. “You’ve been assigning him easy missions because he’s your husband. I can’t allow one of the best men we have to be worn down by this.”
“Oscar is a father; our children fear every day that he won’t come home… I fear that too, I think I can afford to give him easy missions to ensure my children have a father” Ruby explained without a hint of malice, she was only speaking from the bottom of her heart, a heart that many people would describe as naive or enviable, either of the two.
"You don't have that power, I'm in charge here, and I take the decisions, I turned a blind eye because you're Summer 's daughter, but you have no benefits here" Raven sentenced with a sharp and cold voice, Ruby pressed her lips together a little tightly, unwilling to continue the discussion "He’ll go with Yang on a mission given by the SDC CEO herself, that’s in his level”
“What?!?” Ruby held back the urge to stand up, shaking her head. “With Yang?!? There must be something else that- “
“Don’t act like that, you’re 33, Ruby, you’re not a child anymore.” Raven looked down at her, grabbing a stack of papers and handing them to her employee. “Yang is your husband’s sister-in-law, right? They’ll get along anyway, here’s a quick note. There are plenty of new Huntsmen on the waiting list for their first mission. I trust your judgment will be neutral with young people more than qualified for their job, right?”
Ruby clenched her hands tightly, nodding her head. “Sure, I will.”
Raven didn't say anything else and Ruby didn't feel like continuing talking either, she took the stack of papers as best she could and left her boss's office, dodging her coworkers with even more agility than before, just at the moment she had to go through the main entrance someone opened both doors, hitting her and throwing her to the floor.
Ruby stared in disbelief at the stupid amount of papers on the floor, she also noticed that the noise suddenly stopped, her silver eyes filled with anger, prompting her to stand up to face whoever had thrown her.
What she didn't expect was that it was Yang, her sister, who had thrown her away.
“Ruby,” Yang called her name. The blonde’s expression didn’t seem particularly warm, rather, it was calm. “Ah, sorry, I didn’t know you were on the other side of the door.”
Yang walked past her sister, heading straight for her mother's office. Ruby felt someone take her arm and gently lift her up. She didn't have to look up to know who it was; she would recognize that touch anywhere.
“Are you okay?” Oscar asked, eliciting a small laugh from Ruby. “We arrived together by chance. I already finished the mission you gave me, the one with Grandma at that old village.”
“I hope you enjoyed that mission, because you might not get another one like that for a while,” Ruby replied, wrapping her arms around her husband’s neck and kissing his lips quickly but lovingly, noticing a scratch on his cheek. “That thing is ruining your pretty face.”
Oscar Pine was a very interesting man, he was younger than Ruby, 31 years old and one of the best Huntsmen that Vale had, although he graduated from Haven Academy, they met right here, in the guild, he was looking for a new mission in Vale and she offered it to him, Ruby had something in her soul that caused people to remember her, and he remembered her.
From then on, whenever he wanted a mission, he asked for a recommendation from her. He was a shy man but with a pure heart. Eventually, he asked her out, and well.
They have been married for several years.
“Well, you can give me the details later. Do you want me to wait for you? The kids would love to see us arrive together,” he suggested, his lips threatening to crash against hers even more boldly. “We can take advantage of the free time…”
“Sorry to interrupt,” Yang burst into the conversation, raising her right arm with her palm open in a greeting. “Oscar, my mother has already assigned us to a mission at the port and we have to go see what's going on. It's Torchwick. again "
“Torchwick?” Oscar repeated, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Ruby, this is important.”
“I can go with you if you want,” she proposed, drawing a small but real laugh from Yang. “I know I don’t have a weapon or a semblance, but… I studied Neopolitan a lot. I can help.”
“You can help?” Yang held back her urge to burst out laughing, patting her sister on the back a couple of times. “Look, Ruby, it’s nice that you want to help us, but we are professionals trained for this, we are on the front line fighting the bad guys and you, well, you give us the jobs, besides, you don’t even know how to fight, you studied economy at Vale University.”
“Yang!” Oscar raised his voice slightly, indicating to his sister-in-law that she was crossing a line.
“She’s right,” Ruby quickly calmed him down, smiling sweetly. “You can do this…I’ll go home with the kids.”
Oscar gave Yang a slightly harsh look, but said nothing, giving his wife a kiss on the forehead and leaving the guild, the blonde was ready to follow her brother-in-law to a new exciting mission, before she left her sister's sight she turned around, facing her once more.
“Aurum and Mai ’s birthday is coming up soon, they want to see you so you know, bring them presents and all that.” Yang smiled politely and turned around, leaving Ruby alone.
Well, not really alone, because her coworkers continued shouting.
This was just another day in her safe, sweet and monotonous life.
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Port of Vale, 8:55 PM, the day before.
Every robot with the SDC stamp fell to the ground with a simple movement or shot, no machine on this planet was capable of stopping her, she was not like the rest of living beings in this world, she was more powerful, more dangerous, she was an illusionist, and even something as lifeless as a robot could succumb to her false images.
Neopolitan easily destroyed the next robot that got in her way, and so she continued, her appearance evolved so much that her illusions were able to help her, she only needed to create an illusion that imitated the shape of those machines and they would destroy each other, it was a fun show to watch.
Besides, none of them were able to resist the blade of her umbrella, that was also a good weapon.
“Good job! Good job! You never disappoint me Neo!” Roman Torchwick He smiled sideways, pointing at his partner and lover with admiration and affection, genuine, actually “You never change”
Neopolitan hadn't changed much outside of her wardrobe, she was still quite short and kept the essentials of her appearance, such as her eyes and hair of different colors, alluding to ice cream.
Roman, on the other hand, looked kind of more mature and experienced. That young criminal was now a full-fledged boss, jumping from job to job and being the number one option for the big players in the business. He was very good with words.
And this was just another job.
The man approached the container, opening it with the help of an illusion of Neo, inside there was a considerable amount of boxes full of Dust directly brought from Atlas, Roman swished with satisfaction, tapping his shoulder with his trusty cane.
“Jackpot” Roman took his Scroll and dialed his temporary boss, the one interested in all this Dust “I have your new toy box, send me a couple of your men and I'm sure you'll have it in your hands in a couple of hours, Roman out”
Roman didn't allow his boss an answer, but simply approached Neo, lifting her by the hips and spinning her in the air, a gesture that became a habit for both of them when a victory was assured.
Roman caressed Neo's face, smiling painfully sweetly at him. "Just like I promised you, Neo, Vale is at our feet...and no one can change that."
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City of Atlas, 10:23 AM, the next day.
The floating kingdom of Atlas was known in Remnant as the pinnacle of luxury, contrary to what Mantle or Vacuo were, it was the cradle of the richest in the world and of the finest and most important families, after all, the main headquarters of SDC was in Atlas, and SDC belongs to the Schnee.
More specifically to Weiss Schnee.
Although, Weiss was in no mood to boast about her status or her legacy.
“Another container?!? This is the fifth of the week!” Weiss shouted loudly at the communicator on her desk, slamming it down with her fist, causing the worker on the other line to shrink in her seat. “Do we hire the stupidest people in Vale?!? Just solve this!”
“I-I'm sorry, Miss Schnee, it's just that...the police are not trained for this type of conflict” The poor girl explained, debating her move the intercom away from her ear to protect her ability to hear “Maybe you can …send the Dust by train?”
“And risk the White Fang stealing back what I’m trying to give Vale? No thanks.” Weiss grabbed a part of her hair, tempted to pull it out of stress. “What about the kingdom’s guild? Do they have any mediocre people who can stop this… Torchwick? Whatever his name is?”
“Mrs. Branwen has high prices for the people of Atlas, I thought you wanted to keep the costs down as much as possible.” The girl nervously scratched her hair. “Do you want…do you want me to call her?”
“If that woman wants a house, you ’ll go build it yourself, as long as they stop stealing my things.” Weiss cut the connection and took just a second to relax, running her hands over her face.
This was just another day for her, she didn't have to lose control.
It was what always happened, and in the end, she would end up losing control anyway.
There was no better word to describe her than stress. She wasn't new to being CEO of SDC, she already had a certain track record that supported both her family and her corporate decisions. The company's numbers were through the roof in all parts of the world, even Vacuo, the kingdom that for so many years refused to let her build a headquarters, accepted to made some deals with her, that was the level she had.
Jacques Schnee didn't raise a failure, he raised a beast, a woman capable of taking charge of any situation and resolving it in a matter of hours.
Although, honestly, she enjoyed having someone else do the work more.
Vale's situation was different from the rest, it was not the most dangerous kingdom in Remnant, that position had been Mistral's and would always remain that way, nor was it the most advanced in technology or politics like Atlas, but it had something that the other kingdoms did not have.
A Roman Torchwick.
Torchwick was a pain in the ass for anyone trying to stop him, he never stayed in one place and getting information from him was dangerous and risky, Weiss knew this from what several important people in Vale told her, she herself wouldn't set foot there, it was dangerous, she was too important to die at the hands of an idiot with a cane and a chick with an ice cream name.
And now he was stealing from her? Incredible, just incredible.
Weiss was preparing to leave her office when the door opened, a somewhat thin and pale blond man entered with some nerves, his blond hair was perfectly combed to the sides, giving him a young and fine vibe, in addition, his dark blue eyes always managed to attract Weiss 's attention, they also had the effect on her of curving her lips upwards.
There was her husband, Jaune Arc.
“I brought you donuts.” Jaune raised the tray he was holding in his hand as an offering. Weiss quickly approached him, grabbing one of the chocolate glazed donuts and roughly putting it in her mouth, moaning in satisfaction as the sugar hit her system. “Are you done solving the torch guy problem?”
“Torchwick,” she corrected, grabbing another donut and eating it in a manner much politer and worthy of her status, although she wished she could just swallow it and be done with it. “I’ll let a couple of Vale Huntsmen take care of that… I need to focus on Mistral and Vacuo, the school year is about to start and the shops are asking for more and more. Dust and - “
" Maybe It would be a better idea if you relaxed a little.” Jaune took her hand, giving it a gentle caress to reassure her “What do you say we go home and you spend some time with the kids? You don’t let them stay up at night to see you come home, hmmm? What do you think?”
Weiss felt a moment of guilt, but it quickly faded. “This is really important. Waverly and Roy will be okay. They have you.”
The woman patted her husband on the shoulder and left her office without saying another word. The hallway of the company, usually filled with different voices, became silent as the woman who had the entire company in her hand passed by. Weiss arrived at a section where there were multiple hallways that led to different areas, in charge of a specific kingdom. She fixed her hair a bit and put on her best unfriendly face, and walked forward.
She hadn't counted on her father, Jacques Schnee, coming out of a random door.
“Weiss, Weiss, where are you going with that face?” Jacques asked curiously, watching his daughter with considerable interest. “I thought you’d be in your office…”
“I have some unresolved business with Mistral and Vacuo, so I was going to speak with our representatives there,” Weiss explained as briefly as possible, trying to get past her father, but he interrupted her again.
“What about the other issue, the one with Vale? Did you solve it?” Jacques asked, and Weiss took a couple of seconds to answer, perhaps out of embarrassment, perhaps out of laziness.
“I put a couple of Huntsmen on it, I'll take care of that later now - “Again, he interrupted.
" Please Weiss, never in the history of SDC the Dust containers were stolen 5 times in a week, people are starting to talk about us, about Atlas's reputation, about your reputation, this is a more delicate issue” He stated, managing to perfectly feign indignation and anger “I was hoping that, as the CEO of this company and my daughter…you would take action on this matter”
“Father, I can’t make a trip to Vale now, I have a family here” she explained, hating how her voice threatened to become smaller than his.
“Of course you can, SDC is your family too and school is about to start, do you really want to leave those kids without the Dust they need?” Jacques’s lip trembled, giving the impression that he was genuinely concerned for the students. “Take this with a grain of salt, okay? Our Dust is the most important in all of Remnant and if one kingdom suffers, we all suffer. Perfection is the least expected of a Schnee, don’t be like your sister.”
Jacques continued on his way, leaving his daughter alone to think more about his words, and Weiss did, her father had a point, when people thought of Dust they usually also thought of SDC, she couldn't blame them, it was the largest distributor in the entire world and they made sure of it, trampling on anyone who tried to get into the business that belonged to them, it was an empire, an empire that she controlled and that she had to ensure its integrity.
She was really considering leaving her children for a few weeks for a petty criminal? Her mind is not working well anymore.
But she was really thinking about it, she was young once, she had the dream of becoming a Huntress like her older sister, the worst moment of her life was when Arma Gigas defeated her, taking away her opportunity to study to become an important person, to build her own story.
Those kids really deserve that too; they have the opportunity that she didn't have.
Weiss took her Scroll, calling Klein, the Schnee Manor butler “Klein, pack some of my clothes and call a limo. Also, schedule a flight to Vale in less than 5 hours. I have some stuff to do.”
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“Do you really have to go?” Little Waverly raised her hands for her mother to pick her up, which she did. Weiss always felt her heart sink when she heard her daughter being sad. Anyone who made her suffer would have to suffer her wrath, but here she was, causing her beautiful daughter anguish. “You said we could spend time together.”
“I know, I know,” Weiss kissed the girl’s hair, pulling her away slightly to look into her eyes. “Mommy’s only going to be gone for a few days. I need to stop a bad guy who’s robbing us, and you know what happens to thieves.”
"They end up in jail" The girl sobbed, Weiss extended her to Jaune, who gladly received her with one arm, since his son Roy was in the other, Roy was still too young to speak, so he had nothing to say to his mother other than trying to touch her so that he would hug her.
“I'll take care of them, I'd like you to stay here but if Jacques thinks it's best” Jaune murmured, swallowing his saliva to be able to speak better “It’s not important, angel, bring me a souvenir from Beacon if you stop there”
"Of course," Weiss kissed Jaune for a few seconds, causing Waverly to gag and improving her mood a little. The woman said goodbye to her family one last time and got in the car with Klein, heading to the port of Atlas.
Weiss enjoyed a high-quality red wine while reviewing what she would do on a tablet connected to her credit cards. She had to make the most of the trip to Vale. She didn't want to set foot in that kingdom again unless it was strictly necessary, so this was the opportunity she didn't want, but she would take it.
“Klein, could you see my mother after this?” Weiss said, attracting the attention of the plump but adorable old man. “I want you to babysit my kids with Jaune, if my father asks, I asked for it.”
“Of course,” Klein replied, giving the woman he raised as his own daughter a complicated look. “What about your sister? Should I let her know, too?”
“Father won't allow Winter to set foot in the mansion, I'll warn her to...stay away while I'm gone.” Weiss took out her Scroll and called her sister via video call. Winter only took a few seconds to answer. The older Schnee looked pretty good despite already being 42, her white hair fell like a waterfall over her shoulders, she was wearing a somewhat loose purple t-shirt and seemed to be cooking, as it was possible to hear the water boiling from the other side.
“Weiss,” Winter greeted her, putting the Scroll aside and continuing with her activity, chopping onions. “You’ll interrupt me for a moment, mother and son, Waylon says hi."
Winter moved the Scroll 's camera a little to the side, allowing us to see Waylon, a little boy who looked really similar to his father Qrow, his eyeres were red and his hair was white like the rest of the Schnee family, he also had that strange look in his face.
Weiss greeted the boy, and Waylon did nothing, not even seemed to want to move.
“I wanted to let you know that I'll be away from Atlas for a few weeks, I'm going to Vale” Weiss decided to get straight to the point, Winter adjusted the camera again, looking at her sister as she chopped perfectly. “I know you barely go there, but I still wanted to save you from seeing our father.”
“I appreciate it,” Winter sighed, taking the cutting board and pushing the onion pieces into the boiling pot. “You shouldn’t worry; I’ll find a babysitter who can watch the children. I have to get back to work soon.”
“Qrow isn't covering for you?” Weiss asked, remembering that Qrow, her sister's husband, also worked with Ironwood.
“He is an Ace Ops, it’s not the same,” Winter corrected , handing her son something, apparently a plush shaped like a black bird “General Ironwood needs me. He wants to retire and wants me to replace him soon. I’m going to miss spending the day with my kids.”
“I’m glad you’re doing well,” Weiss said. she smiled softly, letting her head fall against the seat of the limo. “I have to go, I love you, okay?”
“I love you too, sister,” Winter hung up, leaving Weiss and Klein alone again, heading towards the Atlas port.
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Ruby waited patiently on a bench by the side of the road, she knew how to drive, although it was questionable how safe it was to leave her behind the wheel of a car, she still had one of her own, unfortunately it had a serious problem with the engine, and without Oscar around for a couple of hours, she needed someone else's help.
The help of one of the people she loves most in the world.
A small, red car pulled up in front of her, the passenger window slowly rolled down, revealing the driver who would be taking Ruby home.
Summer Rose, her mother.
“Thanks for coming.” Ruby approached the car and opened the door, letting herself fall against the comfortable seat. She let out a sigh of contentment and closed her eyes, enjoying her mother’s kinda old but always good music. “Oscar was going to take me but Raven got in the way.”
“Whenever Raven gets the chance to annoy you, she will,” Summer laughed a little nostalgically, stepping on the gas and bringing the vehicle to life. “What did she do this time?”
“She sent Oscar with Yang on a mission to the port, the criminal… Torchwick and the one Neopolitan, her name is funny,” Ruby explained, holding back the urge to vent her frustration. “You know what she told me? That I’m protecting him!”
“And you are?” Summer asked.
“A little, yes, but it’s the only thing I can do to help him! You taught me that the life of a Huntsman is very difficult, and I know you warned me not to marry one, but I have no choice now!” Ruby let her complaints sink in, and Summer laughed, patting her daughter on the shoulder.
“I didn’t warn you, I recommended that you not marry one, we follow a very complicated life full of dangers” Summer explained, turning the steering wheel to the side and directing the car in that direction “Besides, no matter how much I tried to tell you the dangers of this life, you continued practicing with a wooden scythe behind my back, you even took my axe once”
“You grounded me for a month, I remember that,” Ruby scratched her head, wishing she could forget the worst punishment she’d ever received.
Summer nodded, giving her daughter a second to relax. “So Yang, huh? Did you have a friendly interaction with her?”
“She kicked me to the floor,” Ruby muttered, drawing another annoyed laugh from her mother. “I don’t like my coworkers seeing how my sister makes fun of me every chance she gets. It’s not my fault you and Taiyang had that one-night stand.”
Ruby didn't bother to sugarcoat the verbal blow, but she knew it wouldn't hurt Summer, they both created a form of communication where filters didn't exist, normal considering they both spent most of their time together, Tai sometimes appeared, but he had his own family with Raven.
Who would have thought, she abandoned him with their children Yin and Yang, Tai and Summer spent some time trying to raise both, having an encounter one night, and then, Raven returned, ready to resume her duties as a mother.
It only took two years, isn't that a short time? The much longer and more painful time was the Summer took tell Tai she was pregnant.
“Look, Yang just grew up thinking I was trying to replace her mother, I have no interest in telling her the truth,” Summer added, sensing the conversation was heading in a more personal and difficult direction.
“You should do it, we're the most dysfunctional family in all of Remnant.” Ruby looked to the side, momentarily distracted by the passing cars. “I offered to help them on the mission. Do you know what she said? That I was useless, that I didn't know how to fight.”
Summer pressed her lips together, digging her fingers into the steering wheel. “You may not know how to fight, but you do know how to provide for your family, and you’re good at math… I know you wanted to be a Huntress when you were young and that… I never supported your dream, but maybe it’s time to let go of that life you never had.”
“You’re right,” Ruby closed her eyes, swallowing a little. “I just…would have liked to have done more for the world, I don’t know, be like the heroes of fairy tales.”
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Yang Xiao Long was a…complicated woman, if you put it in a simple word, although she was not a simple woman.
Oscar had dealt long enough with the interesting and dysfunctional Branwen family, Rose and Xiao Long, who had left a legacy full of love dramas that haunted their children into adulthood, he started dating Ruby several years ago, he was in his first steps as a Huntsman and she already had some experience in the guild, they were a decent couple.
He was a man of action, she spent more time at a desk, she was also the one who managed the household accounts and cared for the children, a complete, but complicated woman.
Those were one of the few characteristics Ruby and Yang shared.
Ruby grew up wanting to be a Huntress but never having the chance to try, she graduated from a university in Vale with a degree in economy, had a few boyfriends, worked in banks, and ended up settling down in the Huntsmen guild of Vale, the closest thing she would get to the world she secretly loved.
When they started dating, Oscar met Yang and quickly understood how her head worked, she was someone with a strong and complicated personality, it was very easy to misinterpret her and to make matters worse she didn't do much to clarify things, she talked with no filter, she said what she thought and usually someone got hurt, but she was a good person.
She looked out for the safety of others, something she apparently inherited from her father, but she was still full of her mother's flaws.
That's what Ruby said, and he believed it.
Ruby and Yang didn't get along particularly well or bad, they didn't hate each other, but they didn't love each other deeply either, they were family and they did what was necessary so that the bond that united them wouldn't break, they went to parties whenever necessary, to their children's birthdays, and also to some other important events.
There was a lot that they both knew about each other but never sat down to talk about, such as the fact that Yang had a curious taste for disregarding her sister's help in the area of her work, and that Ruby possessed a certain degree of jealousy towards her, how could she not? Yang won the Vytal festival tournament, and was one of the best Huntresses in the kingdom.
A sister relationship that was not at all simple.
The press was already set up and ready at the scene. Someone leaked information about the mission to the media, and they wasted no time preparing for the big event. Yang was enjoying the attention, so she nimbly skidded her motorcycle into a turn, waving at the civilians.
Afterwards they could answer the reporters' questions; now they had work on their hands.
“Do you know how many times I fought Torchwick? I’d need my toes, and yours too.” Yang hopped off her trusty motorcycle. Oscar stepped away from her, brushing off his clothes. “The guy’s been a pain in the ass since Beacon. It’s a wonder no one’s been able to catch him.”
“I thought you were so good at it,” Oscar commented casually. He didn’t mean to insult or hurt her, it was just an observation.
“He’s elusive, he needs at least a couple of months of my time for planning and such, it’s not my area…besides, I’m a mother, that’s a much more important mission” Yang adjusted her gauntlets on her arms, raising her right arm to examine the weapon in more detail “You should talk to your wife”
“Hmm?” Oscar murmured.
“That she wants to get involved in this area of the work, she knows very well that she is not made for these things, but it seems that she is suffering from spontaneous insanity” Yang did not bother to soften her words, there was no need, she wanted to make a point clear “Remember that our job is to keep all the citizens of this kingdom safe, my sister is just another citizen, talk to her”
“Maybe.” He didn’t feel like continuing this conversation, and she accepted it.
Yang and Oscar turned their attention to the reported site, an abandoned warehouse that was used by a deceased councilor many years ago, the presence of Torchwick and Neopolitan had been reported there, that would be the location of the show.
“Mom said we might still be seeing each other from now on, so I want to show you how I do my thing.” Yang turned around to give Oscar a wild smile. “How do you start a party?”
“With a bang?” He replied, confused.
“With a Yang!”
Yang raised her fist and slammed it into the steel gate, knocking it far inward and hitting multiple individuals, Oscar's eyes closed a little to better see who he was facing, and there he could recognize them, they had white masks that covered their eyes and wore basic but very famous uniforms.
Were they from the White Fang?
“Goldilocks…what a surprise” Roman Torchwick was there as expected, although he didn't look exactly happy. "You're more annoying than a pebble in someone's shoe, you know that? "
“If it bothers you that I make every situation about me, then I’m unbearable.” Yang bumped fists, smiling graciously. “I’ve come with someone this time. I’ve spoken highly of you with my coworker Roman. I hope you don’t disappoint.”
Yang shot her gauntlets back and shot forward, colliding with Roman and knocking him to the ground, Oscar took advantage of the distraction and took out his trusty weapons, Timer, a pistol with an overly large muzzle that shot his semblance, and Shocker, a completely normal revolver.
He fired multiple glyphs towards all the White Fang members in front of him, they stopped in place upon receiving the impact, they couldn't even draw their weapons, Oscar wasted no time and pulled Shocker's trigger multiple times, breaking the glyphs and shattering their auras instantly.
He wasn't prepared to be slammed hard by a moving blur, his eyes caught Neopolitan trying to smash his head with her heel, but he managed to move to the side, abruptly standing up and throwing a punch to her face, one that she easily took.
Her body was completely shattered, as if it were glass.
Oscar was thrown against the wall by Neo, who let out a silent laugh and slowly approached him.
Yang and Roman fought in a pattern that they both knew perfectly, so many years of constant friction had shaped their brains when it came to fighting against each other, he already knew the blonde's most classic movements and had them well mastered, every time she tried to subdue him with constant punches he quickly moved away, and every time he did that and tried to shoot her with Melodic Cudgel would leap towards him, resuming the battle.
“I thought being a mother would slow you down a bit. I must admit I was wrong.” Roman had some difficulty speaking, forced to duck his head from a particularly dangerous punch. “How are your children?”
“They’re okay,” Yang tried to knee Roman in the jaw, failing miserably. “When you ’re in prison, I’ll take them to see you. You’re part of the family at this point and—”
Yang didn't expect Roman to move fast enough to slam his staff into her stomach, causing her to cough and stumble back slightly. Roman lifted his leg and slammed it violently against her, sending her tumbling to the ground.
“If there’s one thing you need to change, blonde, it’s your confidence.” Roman raised his cane slightly to drive it straight into her head. Yang firmly grasped the object and pulled it hard, snatching it from Roman ’s hand and breaking it with her hand.
“Wow,” Roman muttered, sniffling comically and wiping away a fake tear. “That was my favorite…”
“I think it’s time you stopped bothering this city…one lesson will do.” Yang’s lilac eyes turned red dramatically, announcing that she was upset.
Yang didn't expect Oscar to be thrown in her direction, much less with such force.
They both writhed in pain in their places, getting to their feet with difficulty, Roman let out a soft laugh, receiving a brand new cane from Neo. “The party is just getting started, I hope you’re ready.”
“Maybe I underestimated them a little,” Yang commented, recharging her bracelets.
Oscar let out a grunt of approval, raising his pistols. “We won’t make that mistake again.”
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Ruby got out of her mother's car and said goodbye. The Granville neighborhood was characterized by being on the outskirts of the city and being quite large, but it was still somehow part of the city, since security also reached there. It was a town that served as a connection to other cities in the kingdom, nothing too interesting.
The woman's silver eyes scanned the land; there were gigantic spaces that served as fields for various livestock, a business that the people of Granville dominated in recent years, since the other kingdoms were willing to pay for the best quality vegetables and meats.
Ruby would make fun of them, if it weren't for the fact that she was also a farmer, well, her husband was.
Oscar had been a farmer in the past, many years ago, she would kill to meet him at that part of his life, but all she knew was that he dedicated a large part of his day to animals and that he was an expert with the machinery necessary for harvesting crops, so it was not surprising that once married he started his own farm.
If Ruby had a list of things she knew that weren't work related, it would have a page full: extensive cooking knowledge, a basic understanding of diseases that livestock can suffer from, decent skill with (wooden) scythes, and the unique language that babies possess.
She was very good with children.
Ruby approached her completely ordinary house, inserting her key into the lock and opening her door, her gaze automatically falling on her son, Neithan Rose, who was sitting on the couch reading a book.
“Mom!” Ruby felt a small body hit her legs, when she looked down she found her daughter, Autumn Rose “I missed you so much mommy!”
“Really?” Ruby looked surreptitiously at Neithan, who simply stared at her. “Don’t worry, little one, I’m already here.”
Ruby took off her purse and placed it on the table, rubbing her face tiredly and superficially checking the state of the living room and kitchen. Her children were still young, but they were capable of taking care of themselves, at least if they were together.
She looked for Oscar, but she didn't find him, and it was already too late. "Where is your father? "
“He is not here” Neithan replied, taking off his headphones and sitting on the couch. Autumn quickly approached him, snuggling up to his side. “We thought he was coming with you, we heard the car…”
“It was your grandmother’s,” Ruby ran a hand through her hair, checking what was in the refrigerator. “Don’t you check who comes here?”
“Grandma was here?!? Damn!” Autumn let out an adorable squeal, crossing her arms.
“Language” Ruby took out several things from the refrigerator, orange juice, potatoes, and a couple of fruits “There is no milk…guys, what do you want to eat?”
“Meat!” Autumn shouted, Neithan didn’t say anything, so Ruby assumed he was okay with it.
The woman left the house calmly, she was dying to put on something more comfortable but there was no time, she had to prepare dinner for her children and for the imminent arrival of her husband, she would have to call him to let him know, and if Yang dared to come... then she would give her a piece, just one.
Ruby arrived at the barn and managed to identify several of the products they had ready for a farmers' event in town. The family always went there as part of a unique tradition for them. There was everything in these boxes: carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and especially several bottles of milk that had already been pasteurized, making them perfect for consumption.
This was her life, she would wake up, go out to work for 8 hours and take a couple more to return home, weekends were not for resting, they were for dedicating them to the farm, to the animals and the crops, taking care of her children and giving them all the love she could offer them.
That was it, that was what Ruby Rose was.
Was it normal to feel like…there was something else there?
It wasn't ugly, even though Raven was a bit rude and the work environment wasn't the most comfortable, she still had an enviable financial comfort thanks to the farm, they could even afford to sell part of what they harvested, who wouldn't want that?
But she wanted to do more, she wanted to be able to do something, this was a good, beautiful life, indeed, but she felt out of place.
She felt that her potential was elsewhere.
Ruby felt her heart stop when she heard a grunt, it wasn't a chicken or a cow, it was a person, a man. The woman clumsily touched the tools located on the wall, grabbing the most dangerous one, a rake.
If this person had a semblance, she was lost.
Ruby managed to identify the person, who was curled up in a corner near several power tools, especially chainsaws, grinders, and drills, which only made her more tense.
But not nervous.
“Hey, buddy, if you came to rob us thinking we were simple farmers, you’re wrong,” Ruby warned, holding the rake’s wooden handle tighter and firmer. “If you leave now…my husband won’t do anything to you, he’s a Huntsman.”
Ruby approached as cautiously as possible. The man looked somewhat short, wearing a green coat with a red scarf around his neck, orange gloves and boots prepared for difficult terrain, probably snow. He also had a rose brooch in his hand, which he held firmly on his shoulder.
She knew that brooch, it was her mother's.
Ruby's eyes widened as she realized the man was bleeding, and to make matters worse, he wasn't a man, but a boy, a teenager.
“Hey,” Ruby quickly knelt behind him, looking for any visible wounds on his back or neck. “Kid, look at me. I'm going to move you inside. I know a few things about first aid. Don't move.”
Ruby helped the boy lean against the barn, blinking several times in recognition, but ignoring it. Her eyes traveled to his abdomen to assess the damage. There was a sharp piece of metal embedded in it, perhaps puncturing an organ, which wasn't good at all; he was bleeding profusely.
“Do you have an aura?” She asked.
“Yes…” He replied, coughing slightly. “Why do you ask?”
Ruby stood up and took a few strides toward a steel cabinet containing various tools, such as hammers and screwdrivers. There she found what she was looking for: an aura revitalizer, capable of rebuilding a person's aura instantly. It carries the risk of after-effect pain and, if used excessively, could cause heart problems.
"Don't move." Ruby knelt in front of the boy again, taking the object in her hand and forcefully jabbing the needle into his heart. He groaned in pain, but his aura was instantly restored. The boy tried to pull the piece of metal out of his abdomen. Ruby pulled his hands away and did the work herself, cutting the skin on her fingers in the process.
"Shit!" Ruby moaned. The reddish, metallic-smelling liquid ran over her hands, but that didn't worry her; when she looked up, the piece of metal was no longer in his abdomen, and her wound was slowly healing.
"You don't have an aura," he said, eliciting a rather unamusing laugh from her.
“Not many people have an aura… I'm an economist, not a Huntress,” Ruby explained, pressing her lips together and doing her best not to moan in pain. “Look… I don't know who you are, but your face—”
He didn't let her finish. Ruby felt the boy's strong grip on her hand, which released a great burst of energy toward her. For an instant, a red aura surrounded the woman's body, immediately healing her wound.
Was that…her aura? Had he just unlocked it?
She felt different… stronger, more powerful. The fatigue she'd accumulated from herwork hours vanished in an instant. Her body was ready for multiple workouts in a row. How did she know that? She wasn't sure, but she knew.
“Take this.” He handed her a strange, somewhat large, red metallic object. Right on top of this was some clothing, also strange: a black blouse with a cape, a pair of somewhat thick black boots, and a red skirt made of stiff fabric. She could recognize it as combat skirt.
The boy's head fell to the side, fainting. Ruby was about to help him, but a scream interrupted her.
“Mom! Mom!” Neithan screamed as loud as his vocal cords allowed, Ruby placed her fingers back on the boy's neck, his pulse was much more normal, he was out of danger, now that she knew he was safe, she stood up, leaving the barn faster than ever before "Dad's on TV!"
Ruby rushed into the house with her son, the television was on showing a news channel, Autumn was sitting on the couch, her beautiful silver irises ruined by tears of worry.
Neithan looked curiously at the objects his mother was carrying in her arms, but he quickly stopped caring.
“Both Yang Xiao Long and Oscar Pine have had multiple difficulties against Torchwick and his lackeys, the police tried to enter to offer support, however, the huntress herself denied help and forced them to stay out of it” A lavender-haired reporter graced a live video, there they were, Yang and Oscar, fighting with all their might against Torchwick and several members of the White Fang “We are reporting everything live, stay- “
Ruby quickly turned off the television, breathing heavily, she hugged tightly the strange metal object and the clothes the boy gave her, feeling that whatever changed inside her was calling her.
“Mom,” Autumn called, Ruby looked down gently, meeting her daughter’s tearful eyes. “Dad is in danger; will you go help him?”
“She can’t do it,” Neithan stated to her sister, causing her to grimace and cry. “Mom doesn’t have a semblance; we must trust Aunt Yang…”
“Stay here” Ruby put her trust in her children and ran with all her strength towards the door of the house, leaving it and striding towards the street, as she ran she changed her heels to high boots, stretched the blouse over her neck and felt safe when it adhered perfectly to her clothes, the skirt of the same red tone was right on top of the cape, and she did not hesitate to put it on , and finally, she let the red cape fall down her back.
She continued running, putting on her hood, each step felt powerful and different, at any other time she would be dead from the effort, but now it was the opposite, she could run for hours, she felt like her body was like a feather and that she had total control of the wind.
She felt like she could fly.
Ruby held the weapon tightly and her body vanished into a cloud of petals, which flew into the sky and headed towards the city at full speed.
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Ruby ended up crashing into the roof of the warehouse, her body colliding with an old antenna, destroying it with the mere impact.
Surprisingly, it didn't hurt, not even a little.
Ruby made sure her hood was in place and looked out through the skylight. She could see her husband and sister fighting nimbly against their enemies, but they looked tired and stressed. They had been fighting for hours and the fight simply wasn't over. They all the chances of losing the battle.
But she was there, and she wouldn't allow it, she couldn't.
She touched metal object the boy handed her several time , the object expanded mechanically and transformed into a scythe, almost cutting her in the process, a hopeful smile appeared on the woman's face, who raised the weapon with determination.
Her hand shook as it met the handle, when was the last time she fought? She fought a few times against Yang, it always ended on the floor defeated, in college she talked to a boy casually and his girlfriend, who casually had a semblance, humiliated her in front of all her classmates, and one time Raven tried to teach her how to use a sword and ended up with a broken finger, which caused Summer's anger .
They all had something in common, Ruby was always scared when she got hit, but she never ran away, she never had in mind to run away.
She wanted to show her strength, even if she ended up on the floor in pain.
And now, her body screamed at her with pure ecstasy that this was her chance.
“Okay, okay,” Ruby sighed, running her hand down her red skirt. She didn’t have a chance to change her tights, but she was still unrecognizable. “I have to. Oscar needs help, Yang needs help. I can be that help. I can help them.”
Ruby leaped and dramatically crashed through the skylight, surprising everyone in the warehouse. She identified as best she could where she needed to swing her scythe. Her arms pulled the weapon hard and the blade sliced through the aura of multiple White Fang members. She repeated the same action several times, with powerful and forceful swings.
“Damn it! I said no one gets in the way!” Yang yelled at Ruby, unable to recognize her sister due to her hood, the silver-eyed woman propelled herself forward and drew a crescent moon with her weapon, forcing everyone to move aside.
Well, that didn't go as well as I expected.
“She’s a rookie” Roman acknowledged, smiling, “Hey! Red! You’re interrupting something here!”
Yang rushed to connect a punch to Roman's face, grabbing him firmly by the coat and lifting him up to slam him against the ground in the next instant, Oscar was distracted by the sudden appearance of the mysterious woman, giving Neo the advantage to try to pierce him with her umbrella, but Ruby did not allow it.
She firmly gripped her weapon and quickly spun it vertically, forcing Neo to pay much more attention to the blade due to the speed of the scythe, Neo created an illusion of herself and did a backflip, facing her opponents.
Ruby wasted no time, perhaps due to adrenaline or the need to keep her husband safe, but she launched herself into the attack, trying with all her might to hit Neo with a cut that would break her aura, but she couldn't do it, she was very agile.
Neo jumped on the scythe and kicked Ruby hard in the chest, knocking her to the ground and forcing her to keep the hood in place, Oscar fired multiple times in the direction of Roman's partner, managing to get her away from his wife.
“I didn’t expect this. Don’t the White Fang people learn how to use weapons? And they’re animals.” Roman felt every impact of Yang's fists on his chest, he endured the pain as best he could and returned the damage with his cane, but it was no use , he was still at a disadvantage.
Even worse when the mysterious Little Red Riding Hood hit him with her scythe, distracting Neo, who received a powerful shot to the head.
Roman quickly stood up, snapping his fingers once he was upright, Neo did a couple of acrobatics until she was next to him, bowing to her three enemies.
“It was fun, little prince, red, goldilocks” Roman spat out a little blood and his body collapsed alongside Neo's, announcing his departure from the fight.
“Damn it,” Yang growled, turning to confront the mysterious woman, who ducked her head slightly. “You! Do you know who I am? Who we are? We didn’t need your help!”
“Leave her alone, Yang, I think she deserves more thanks than a scolding,” Oscar intervened, trying to avoid another conflict. “Look on the bright side…we didn’t blow this place up with Dust.”
Oscar pointed to several metal containers placed one after the other behind Yang, she sighed trying to control herself, snapping her fingers to look a little tougher.
“Well, what does he call you—” Yang was surprised when the woman vanished in a cloud of petals and flew up through the same skylight she came out of. Oscar raised his head to watch her go, the cracked moon bearing witness to the mysterious hooded woman’s abilities.
That was a tough fight, and definitely an impressive one.
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Oscar returned home as soon as he gave statements to the press, his mind was already preparing his possible answers to the questions that his wife or his children could ask him, it was very possible that they had seen everything on television, so they deserved an answer from him.
Besides that, he had to see what he would do with that strange woman, because he easily confirmed that there was no Huntress from Vale with a semblance like hers.
The man entered his home carefully, being rushed by his children who hugged him very tightly, even Neithan, who used to save himself from displays of affection whenever he could, but now it seemed he had to do it, he couldn't blame him either, he must be worried about his father.
“We were so worried about you, Daddy,” Autumn sobbed. Oscar knelt down to wipe her tears and ruffle her hair, an action he repeated on his son’s. “It looked like you and Aunt Yang were going to lose…but you never lose! You’re our father!”
“You’re lucky that woman showed up to help you,” Neithan murmured, weakly wrapping his arm around his father’s. “I don’t know that Huntress, is she from another kingdom?”
“She looked really cool! Her scythe was huge!” Autumn seemed to have a spark of joy, moving away from her father a little to mimic the movements of that mysterious woman. “When I grow up, I want to be as cool as her!”
“Your father must be tired, let him rest.” Ruby approached her children and gently led them away from Oscar, indicating with a simple gesture of her hand that they should go upstairs. “Let me talk to him, alone.”
Neithan and Autumn agreed without resistance and went up to their rooms, Ruby and Oscar remained silent, not a single word, she took him by the hand and led him outside, where they began to walk towards the shattered moonlit barn.
Oscar looked at his wife for a moment. She must have been upset. How could she not be? Roman and Neo were powerful rivals who could have caused trouble for anyone, even him. Yang could have refused to accept the mission and they would return home together to spend a nice night with their children.
But no, he had to go out and put his life at risk, again.
“I know you 're mad at me,” Oscar muttered, drawing Ruby's attention, who looked at him in confusion. “You know, about Torchwick.”
“Oh” Ruby took a few more seconds to understand, he thought she was upset, good assumption, but wrong “I'm not upset with you, you're a Huntsman, it's part of your responsibilities”
“Even so, I know you’re afraid that something might happen to you one day, and I let Yang play with her ego, she put herself in danger, and so did I.” Oscar lowered his head a little, squeezing his wife’s hand tightly. “I’ll stay here for a few days, you know, to take care of the children.”
“That would be lovely,” she replied with a soft smile, kissing her husband on the cheek. “But I have a surprise for you…only…it’s a bit strange.”
Oscar raised his eyebrow in confusion. They arrived at the barn and Ruby turned on the lights, leading her husband to one of the corners filled with hay, where he could recognize a person lying with his back to them, shaking his head a little.
I was ready to ask questions. Who was he? What had happened? Why was there blood on the floor?
Her questions died when she recognized the boy, and realized how strange he was.
Ruby put on her best smile, helping the poor boy to his feet. “Honey…meet…Oscar Pine, Oscar Pine…meet…Oscar Pine? My husband.”