Chapter Text
It must've been difficult for Cinder. Once, she'd been on top of the world, an heir apparent to the most covetable powers in existence. Salem had the upmost trust in her, to the point that she'd been sent alone to Vale with the responsibility of conquering it on her own.
Then, Ruby appeared on the scene.
Now, the sad little heap that had once held its head high was flying off to Vale with instructions to report in to Ruby weekly with progress reports on her tracking of Amber. If she didn't provide suitable results on a regular basis, the same girl that had replaced her and saved her would hand her over to Salem.
Externally, Ruby had taken the fall of Fall and used it to her advantage, snagging a minion of her own for the first time to make her queen proud. Since Cinder had tried to manipulate her before, she was more than happy to humiliate her and put the vile woman in her place – beneath Ruby.
In the privacy of her own head…Ruby didn't know.
Cinder's gross kisses had bothered her, a lot, but they hadn't truly enraged her to the point that she would subjugate Cinder so thoroughly. She wasn't lying about needing Cinder to find Amber, and that was the driving factor behind her making such a big deal of hurting Cinder.
In fact, it was out of mercy that Ruby had kicked Cinder's face in. After such disobedience, Salem would never have let Cinder live if life itself wasn't worse than death. To a proud, ambitious woman like Cinder, being made the underling of a minion was equivalent to torture, and Ruby had also been forced to let Salem inflict some conventional torture on Cinder, just to assuage her bloodlust.
Did Ruby hate Cinder? She was certainly an antagonist to everything Ruby stood for, and any kindness she'd shown Ruby had been forced under the literal threat of death, but hatred…
Hatred was for Tyrian, who killed recklessly and seemed to derive an unhealthy degree of personal amusement from it.
Hatred was for Raven, who betrayed her family and used her powers to torment innocent people who'd done nothing wrong.
Hatred was for…who'd sent Ruby to…who'd asked her to go willingly into the arms of…
Best not to go there.
This entire thing seemed a lot more manageable now that Ruby had laid out a plan and was prepared to stick with it. It might have appeared to be an impossible mission at first, but that was only because she had no clue where to start. Now that Raven had revealed herself and shown just how immensely powerful she was, Ruby knew what she had to do – chase after that with everything she had.
Once again, she was being sent on a mission with Tyrian, but it was to Atlas rather than Vacuo this time around, and Ruby's role in it was to be far more active.
"With our Valean operations…diverging from the original plan, the White Fang's presence there is no longer beneficial to our long-term goals," Salem had explained. "They were originally going to be participating in the fall of the academy. However, the Fall maiden being under our control was essential to the plan, and one of the main goals was the death of Ozpin. As we are both behind and ahead of those objectives, and since Cinder's time shall be spent tracking the maiden rather than fomenting mayhem, the academy's collapse must be indefinitely delayed."
Ruby had held back a relieved sigh at that – Yang was safe, and it was because of her. So many times on this mission, she'd been forced to take part in evil actions and ignore chances to do good. Getting to actually save lives without having to stress over whether or not it compromised her cover felt really, really swell.
There're going to be ups and downs, and that's life. Maybe more downs than ups, but I'll just have to savor the victories when they come.
Ruby kept these thoughts to herself, since Salem was under the impression her young charge was an up-and-coming anarchist. "What shall I be doing in Atlas with the White Fang, your grace?"
"Their Faunus forces need manpower to fulfill their goals of bringing their issues to the world stage's center, and I promised them aid via Cinder. I fulfill my promises. Their leader, a…'spirited' young man by the name of Adam Taurus, has been remarkably understanding, and it is my intention to reward his flexibility in rewriting our old plans. You shall be disguised as a Faunus and sent with Tyrian to fight on Taurus' behalf in Atlas."
Ruby nodded. The White Fang may be something she hated, but there was basically nothing she hated more than that look on Raven's face when she'd ravaged Temeria. Human beings and Faunus were set ablaze by her own two hands for the crime of being in a normal place at an inconvenient time, and she acted like it was spring cleaning.
"Atlas, then…I'll pack my winter coat," Ruby said, rising from her kneeling position. "What's the endgame, here?"
Salem cocked her head slightly. "Endgame? To what do your refer?"
"Just…how is it going to help you? Is this another thing where we're trying to indebt the Faunus to us, or is their work in Atlas benefitting our organization?"
Salem turned away from Ruby and began walking towards the door. Its squishy membrane opened up for her as she approached.
"There is no ulterior motive. I promised assistance to their cause, and I fully intend to grant it."
"B-B-But…"
"As I've told you before, young Rose, I am still a human. While concepts like mercy or sympathy may have been lost to my eternal march, I am not without honor entirely."
Before Tyrian could even open his mouth to waggle that twisted tongue of his, Ruby had told him to stuff it. She was far too busy with her Faunus disguise to deal with his multi-lingual chicanery.
Adam himself knew that his point of contact 'Cinder' was sending some of her 'henchmen,' and that one of them was going to be a human huntress. According to his responses, he didn't care, as long as they were strong enough to fulfill their duties. From the sound of it, Ruby intuited that this Adam fellow was a really swell and accepting guy. However, the average Faunus of the White Fang wasn't so open-minded, so Ruby needed to pretend to be a member of the species herself.
To that end, a disguise had been devised. Ruby, using the Scarab Grimm within her arm, would be able to briefly manipulate the skin around her hand to appear an inky black. She would be calling herself a spider Faunus, for apparently Adam's troops were already familiar with such a trait and would be open to the idea of it being genuine.
The alternative was clip-on cat ears, so…
It was so weird, to look down at her arm and be able to mentally manipulate the color. According to Salem, who had pioneered the visual distortions many eons ago when she had been a pure white, it wasn't actually the skin changing color but thousands of micro-veins beneath it. The Scarab leached Grimm blood, and based on how quickly it diffused into her bloodstream, something scientific happened, and it did some stuff, and…well, Ruby didn't fully understand what was going on inside her body, but it turned her arm black, and she could control it, so that was kinda cool, she guessed.
Okay, it was super awesome, and Ruby was already testing to see how far the effects would go (not very far) and if it could do any other colors (not red, so it didn't matter).
"Was hast du vor, Kind?"
Ruby looked Tyrian's way briefly, then turned back to her arm. "I'm just trying to get the disguise perfected, assuming that's what you're asking."
"Dies ähnelt Blackface. Du ruinierst meine Kultur."
Ruby sighed and did her best to tune him out.
"Eine Warnung vor Adam..." Tyrian stuck out his tongue and waved his finger in a circle around his head. He then went back to normal almost immediately.
"Adam," Ruby repeated. "You're telling me something about him?"
Tyrian nodded, and Ruby swiveled around in her copilot's chair to face him. She supposed that the idly time spent flying to Atlas would be well spent trying to finally figure out how to understand Tyrian.
"Okay, so…then you just went zany for a second, but you went back after that. That means you weren't actually losing your mind, just…hmmm…you mentioned Adam. Is he nuts or something?"
Tyrian nodded, then clapped his hands politely. "Du bist ein Einfaltspinsel."
Ruby smiled back. "Thank you."
She wondered if the others actually knew what he was saying, or if they were like her and just pretended to get it while figuring out most of the messages from context clues. Because, in the end, if only Tyrian spoke crazy, no one would know if you pretended to understand him or not. There was no right answer, and no one could call you out on a misinterpretation.
"Hey, you're a Faunus," Ruby said.
Tyrian looked at her.
"Er, I mean…well, you're with Salem, so that means you don't care about the laws, but most Faunus who are willing to rebel against society are part of the White Fang. Why are you with her…with us, instead of with them?"
"Fleischklößchen. Sie kocht verdammt gut, Ruby." Tyrian pantomimed biting something and patting his stomach.
"I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you just said something dumb."
He shrugged.
"Do you care about…"
Ruby trailed off, and Tyrian turned back towards her with renewed interest. He gestured for her to continue, a relatively pleasant smile on his face for a man so horrifying. "Bitte, bitte."
That meant go on, then. Ruby asked her question. "Do you care about the Faunus? I'm not trying to be mean, but it has never seemed to even matter to you. Every other Faunus I've met have a huge sense of community because they're forced to band together because of the discrimination, and they almost always spend time and live with other Faunus. You spend much of your time with humans…I don't think I've ever seen you express any interest in equality or those kinds of causes. Do you…Do you not do that? Do you not fear being mistreated by humans?"
Tyrian's weapons opened up and pierced the arms of his pilot's chair.
"Niemand macht Tyrian Angst," he said, a ruthless smile of violence on his face.
Ruby shivered. She was fairly certain she understood what that meant.
Telling Salem she would pack her winter coat had mostly been a flippant remark, but Ruby ended up being unironically quite glad she'd brought it. Atlas felt like she'd decided to empty out the contents of a freezer into a kiddy pool and bathe around in them. Never before had she experienced such a frigid cold, not even when the heater had died in December back in their cabin in Patch, where a baby Ruby had spent an entire morning in the cold while Dad hurriedly chopped wood for their fireplace.
Daddy…oh gods, I miss him and Yang and Uncle Q–
No. No, Ruby would focus here. Her daddy still loved her, and he'd shown it repeatedly by trying to help her when last they'd met. At the time, abducting her might've seemed like a bridge too far, but with the benefit of hindsight, Ruby could be rational enough to tell that it was an act of pure love. Dad had no knowledge of her mission, and if Ruby really had snapped and murdered a bunch of people in a crazy rage, Dad would have been risking a lot to try and take her in alive and hide her from the police. The fact that Ruby could literally kill people and he didn't turn on her said a lot.
It would all go away eventually. Goodwitch would tell everyone the truth, and Ozpin would come back and corroborate her story, and no one would hate Ruby ever again. Working with Adam and getting stronger was the first step. With that productive mindset, Ruby trudged through the snow alongside Tyrian to greet the White Fang.
Though she had never seen him before, Ruby could instantly point Adam out. It wasn't the bright hair or the eyepatch (though those certainly screamed main character), but the way he walked past the other Faunus. Everyone stepped aside to make way for him, and he seemed to expect it from the way he didn't hesitate in his step. It was obvious that he was the king here.
"Allies of Cinder. Welcome to the White Fang."
Ruby and Tyrian nodded. The entire camp was watching them, so Ruby didn't risk saying anything for fear that it would be wrong. Body language was much simpler and far less likely to be misinterpreted or come out as a pitiable squeak.
"I am Adam Taurus, the branch commander of Vale. Though, I do appear to be a little far from home."
The crowd of Faunus around them laughed. It was mostly just whichever Faunus had poked their heads out of the thick tents that had been erected throughout the campsite, which seemed to be a rather sizeable number. Ruby figured that most of them were probably either grunts or soldiers, given that only Adam and two Faunus next to him wielded visible hunter melee weapons.
When the laughter died down, Adam spoke. "And I'm sure you have an explanation."
Ruby looked about the camp. Everyone here was Faunus, and many of their traits were particularly visible and attention-grabbing. There were mostly mammalian ears, tails, or claws, but Ruby could count the odd patch of reptilian scales or avian wings and talons. The spider girl she'd ripped off with the arm things couldn't be seen, but there were plenty of Faunus women wearing gloves who it might've been.
Wait…Wait, was Adam expecting her to respond?
She ran over the conversation again in her head. He'd introduced himself, said he was far from home, and said…
Ruby looked at the Faunus again. His arms were crossed, and though he didn't seem to be tensed for combat, he was clearly upset. The brief looks of intrigue from when they'd arrived had all been replaced by insulted stares.
She looked to Tyrian, begging him with her eyes to speak on their mutual behalf.
He chuckled slightly and nodded. "Ich bin nur wegen der Fleischbällchen hier. Antworte ihm selbst, Kleiner."
Ruby nodded at that and looked back at Adam, satisfied that her travelling companion had sufficiently spoken.
The bull Faunus' brow furrowed in frustrated confusion. "What the fuck was that supposed to mean?" he asked.
"W-Wait, you don't understand him?"
"It was gibberish!"
Adam didn't understand Tyrian. That meant…
I'm not crazy!
"Oh thank go– errrr…okay. So, the reason we pulled out of Vale, then." Ruby scratched her forehead. "Right."
She couldn't rightly tell Adam that Cinder had lost favor with Salem, and mentioning that their original goal had been to use the White Fang as an accessory to realize Salem's true desires would be received equally poorly. If Adam knew that there was internal turmoil within Salem's circle, he might lose faith in the ability to deliver. That meant it was time for Ruby to use the old noggin and improve a good excuse.
"Yeah, so…about that…"
"We spent nearly two weeks stealing Dust," Adam butted in, before Ruby could even answer. "I lost many of my best men, only to be informed that your people no longer had any interest in Beacon. Cinder didn't even show respect by informing me in person. One of those useless minions of hers delivered the message – the green haired one."
"Yeah, I can see how that would upset you," Ruby said, stalling for time as best she could while she desperately racked her brains for a good excuse to mollify Adam. "Cinder really dropped the ball on that one, sending Emerald as a messenger."
"I know she did; I just told you. What I don't know is why she felt it was appropriate to do so, and why I should continue to offer her my support after this."
The White Fang Faunus around them were all nodding in agreement, and some of them were holding their guns. To be fair, they had been armed when Ruby had arrived, but now that the general sentiment was turning against her, the weapons seemed far more visible.
He did offer me a lifeline, though, whether he meant it or not.
"If you want to know why it's to our mutual benefit to work together, perhaps a demonstration would be beneficial."
That got a curt nod from Adam, the first sign of approval she'd seen in the entire time. "You were sent to bolster our forces. Demonstrate your prowess in a spar, and our alliance shall stand. Ready whichever of you shall do it."
He turned his back to them and began to speak to his lieutenants.
Diplomacy achieved. Now Tyrian can just curb-stomp Adam, and we can get down to business.
Ruby glanced at the scorpion, who was currently staring at Adam's direction with saliva dripping down from his gaping open mouth.
…or I guess I'll be the one to do it, since Tyrian might just go crazy and murder our point of contact if I let him loose.
"I'll do it," Ruby said. When Tyrian's head sagged, she quickly added, "The whole point of this is for me to grow as a fighter. The best way to do that is to fight."
"Ok," Tyrian said, phrasing the word like a curse. Sulking, he retreated to the outskirts of the ring of people that was slowing forming from the crowd.
Adam seemed to have finished readying up and was now standing opposite the circle with his sword drawn. In a shocking display of stupidity, he had taken off his shirt to fight her bare-chested, revealing his muscles to the crowd and to the icy cold. How the heck was he not freezing his pecks right off?!
Tyrian mentioned this guy was crazy. And that's got to mean something, given that it was Tyrian who said it.
Ruby couldn't help but wonder if it was just a tactic to take away her focus. There could be no benefit to removing his clothing in this weather, and while his nipples might've been frozen enough to be considered edged weapons, it was probably more harmful to Adam than to Ruby.
Was he trying to seduce her, like Cinder? It sounded absurd, and the likelihood that two evil villains would do the same tactic of using romance as a weapon had to be low, but Adam's body was certainly fit. If it weren't Ruby here but some other woman who was into men, he might've gotten an edge by distracting them. Besides, she could think of no other reason for stripping right in front of her.
"Just so you know…" Ruby called out, deploying Crescent Rose with a flourish, "…I'm, like, only fifteen."
Adam's good eye flicked to the side, then back to Ruby. "What?"
"I'm not going to take my top off, it that's what you're hoping for," Ruby said.
"I'm not –! Argh, damn you, trying to distract me like that. You won't play your mind games on me, hu…girl. Let us fight."
Ruby nodded. "Okay, but under no circumstances will we do any sex. Deal?"
Adam snarled at Ruby and charged her.
Coming Soon – Ruby's Scythe
And now, a tip from Ruby:
Ruby's Tip #144 – Tired of your neighbor's dog waking you up at night with the barking? Flee the country.