章 712: 55
Earlier that day:
"Do you have everything you need?" asked Oliver, glancing up from his newspaper, as Ashley gathered everything for her shift at work.
"I do," said Ashley, giving her father a sunny smile. She hefted her pack and set out the door, exchanging one last farewell with her parents. After that, it was a short trip down to the ground floor and out the door.
She had barely set foot out onto the street, when her scroll rang. Picking it up, Ashley was surprised to see Chrys calling her. She wondered if he needed something. He'd occasionally asked her to pick up some item or another on the way over, reimbursing her after she arrived.
"What is it?" Ashley asked, answering the call. "Do you need something, Boss?"
"I just need you to get here quickly," said Chrys, his tone strangely urgent. "We need to talk."
"Chrys...what's wrong?" asked Ashley, her pace already quickening in response to his words.
"Listen, Ashley, we're in serious trouble," said Chrys. "You remember what happened to Tukson, last Sunday?"
Ashley nodded reflexively, even though she knew Chrys couldn't see her. "I do," she said.
"Yeah, well...it wasn't some racist human who did him in," said Chrys. "The White Fang killed him."
"What?" gasped Ashley, coming to a halt.
"I...I talked to him not long before that," said Chrys. "He was planning on getting out, and heading for Vacuo. I guess the White Fang found out, somehow. So they killed him before he could get away."
Ashley's legs began to shake.
"Listen, just get here as fast as you can," continued Chrys. "We need to make plans. We'll need to get you and your family out of Vale. I thought things had gone south, after that last meeting. But I never thought they were this bad. We've got to get away, before they find out about you."
"Me?" wondered Ashley.
"Yeah," replied Chrys. "If they find out you're friends with a Huntress, even a student-one, I don't think they're going to take it well. We need to get you and your family to safety."
"But what about you?" asked Ashley.
"It's my fault you're wrapped up in this," Chrys answered. "So I'm gonna take responsibility. Don't worry, I plan on getting out of dodge, before I wind up like Tukson. But getting you and your parents out comes first. Get over here, and we'll come up with a plan."
"All right," said Ashley, walking again. As she pocketed her scroll, she picked up the pace of her walk, quickly making her way along the streets towards the commercial district, and the flower shop.
When she arrived, Ashley was immediately struck by the sense that something was wrong. The bell rang as she opened the door and walked into the shop. But she heard no sounds from the back, not even Chrys' usual greeting, in case the person coming into the store was a customer.
"Chrys?" she called. "I'm here. Where are you?"
Silence was her only response. An uneasy quiver in her stomach, Ashley stepped around the register, and made her way through the door into the back. "Chrys…?"
Behind the door, the back of the store was an office on one side, and a storage room on the other. A door led to the office where Chrys kept his ledgers and terminal, for keeping track of his supplies, profits, and expenditures. Outside that door, the room was occupied by shelves, holding stacks of pots, bags of soil and fertilizer, and racks of seed packets, amongst other things. Anything that wasn't the flowers themselves was stowed back here.
Opening the door to the office, Ashley glanced in to see it was empty. "Chrys?" she asked again, pulling back, and looking around some more. She walked along the rows of shelves, then paused, hearing the sound of the sole of her shoe stepping in something wet. Looking down, Ashley gasped in horror, seeing a pool of bright-red spreading across the gray of the floor, the liquid spreading out from beneath the shelf, apparently originating from the next aisle over.
Rushing, Ashley darted around the shelf, and found herself staring down at her employer. Chrysanthos was sprawled out on the floor, blood pooling around his body, from where it had been spilling out of an incision made into his neck. Before she could stop herself, a scream tore its way out of Ashley's throat, and she stumbled back, before losing her balance and falling down onto her butt, reflexively continuing to push and scoot away from the grisly sight.
Then she heard the bell ring from the front. Ashley looked up. Her first thought was that a customer had come in. If that was the case, then it was someone she could ask for help. She needed to call the police right away. But then she heard them speaking.
"Sounds like she found him."
"We really need to do this? She's just a kid."
"It's the boss's orders. Besides, if she's a traitor, like the florist, then it's what she deserves."
A strangled whimper made its way out of Ashley's throat. Now she realized what had happened. Apparently, the White Fang had found out about Chrys too. They'd killed him, just like they'd killed Tukson. And now they were going to take the opportunity to kill her too.
Frantically, Ashley looked around. Then it struck her. There was a back entrance to the store, where Chrys took his deliveries. The White Fang's people had come in through the front. So she could get out through the back, before they could find her. There was no time to waste. Ashley forced herself up, and began a stumbling run towards the back door.
Right as she threw herself against it, to knock it open, Ashley heard someone shout from the direction of the front of the shop. "Hey! Stop!"
Ashley ignored the shout, and lunged out the door, stumbling out into the alley behind the shop. She frantically looked right, then left, trying to figure out which way to go. The alley opened both ways, so at least she didn't have to worry about being cornered up against a dead end. Then she caught a glimpse of movement to her left, and saw someone coming around the corner of the building. The person was wearing a pitch-black hoody, but Ashley caught a flash of white beneath that hood-A mask!
Not needing anymore impetus, Ashley turned right, and rushed for the street. As she did, she heard the door to the shop slam open behind her, followed by the sound of shoes rapping against the pavement in her wake. Dashing out into the open, Ashley glanced to her right, only to see another person come around the corner, from the direction of the shop, prompting her to turn left.
And so the chase began. Ashley ran as fast as her legs would carry her. As she did, her mind worked desperately to figure out where she could go. But she would always be distracted by the sight of one of pursuers, rounding a corner, or waiting down a side-street, forcing her to quickly decide on a new path.
Then she hit upon an idea. Ruby! If she could just get to the air-docks, maybe she could catch an airship to Beacon, before her pursuers caught up with her. Even if security wouldn't let her aboard without a pass, at least there would be people around who could hopefully hold off the White Fang pursuing her long enough for her to get permission.
However, as she continued to run, Ashley realized that she was only getting farther and farther away from the docks. In fact, they were in the direction almost directly opposite the way she was currently heading. However, a glance over her shoulder showed her a vision of one of those black-clad people running after her. Doubling back was not an option.
Worse, the streets of the commercial district had given way to the more deserted ones of the industrial district. Ashley now found herself running between warehouses, empty, with most of the workers home for the weekend. In her panic, she'd run into a place with fewer witnesses, an ideal space for the White Fang to dispose of her without interference.
Her strength was giving out too. Panic had lent wings to her feet, but Ashley's legs were burning from the strain of running, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She needed to find a place to hide. Perhaps if she ran into one of the warehouses, she could find a spot to hide, while she figured out what to do next. At the very least, she needed to find a place to catch her breath. But all the warehouses would be locked up.
Then she saw her chance. Ashley's flight was carrying her past a construction sight. A framework of steel girders rose up from the earth, holding the floors and walls of a partially-completed building, the entire area dotted with stacks of pallets, bricks, and other building materials, providing ample cover for her to hole up behind. Cornering sharply, Ashley dashed into the empty lot. She scrambled onto the ground floor, then spotted a set of stairs leading up to the partially complete floor above. Quickly, Ashley ran up those as well. Up there, she found herself amidst a maze of boxes and scaffolds. Running a little farther, she ducked behind a stack of empty pallets, and slumped down onto her butt, leaning up against them, gasping for breath. Reaching behind her, she pulled her tail down and around to her front, hugging it to help keep it out of sight.
As quickly as she could, Ashley tried to get her breathing under control, not wanting to give herself away. Forcing herself to breathe more slowly, she struggled against the hammering of her pulse in her ears, her limbs quaking from both her fear and her exertion. While she did that, she heard faint shouts.
"-didn't get away, did she?"
"Not a chance."
"The sun's setting! Get those lights on!"
They were looking for her. That much was obvious. Now Ashley realized she'd made a grave mistake. As large as the building was, by running up and hiding on one of the upper stories, she'd essentially trapped herself. All the White Fang had to do was watch the ways down, and she'd have no way of getting out without them spotting her. She was a squirrel-faunus and, like a squirrel, she'd now been treed, with the White Fang below baying for her blood like a pack of hounds.
What do I do? Ashley thought, looking around, trying to think of some solution to her dilemma. I should call the police!
That was a possibility, but Ashley wasn't sure the police would be able to figure out where she was. She hadn't been keeping track herself, so she couldn't give them much more than "a construction site in the industrial district." Worse than that, even if it had been against her will, Ashley herself had been inducted into the White Fang. What if the police just arrested her, along with the rest of the White Fang pursuing her? She'd heard about how they were accosting innocent faunus over the slightest suspicion. There was no way she could expect anything better. Ashley let out a defeated sigh. If only I'd been able to get to Beacon...Wait! Beacon! Ruby!
That's when it struck her. There was someone she could call, someone who'd faced down the White Fang before, a friend that she could contact. If she couldn't get to Beacon, and safety, then the next best thing was to get Beacon to come to her, in the form of Ruby. It was tenuous logic, but the best Ashley could think of, under her current pressure. Ruby had saved her once before, so Ashley prayed that Ruby could save her again.
So, with trembling fingers, Ashely pulled out her scroll, almost dropping it in her nerves, selected Ruby's contact, and placed the call, praying that she could get through.
Present:
For the moment, telling Ozpin about her encounter in the hallway became the furthest thing from Ruby's mind. "Tell me where you are," said Ruby, her tone firm.
"I...I don't know," Ashley answered. "I'm in a construction site, somewhere in the industrial district. I'm hidden, but the White Fang are looking for me."
Ruby frowned, wondering what other clues Ashley could give her to allow her to figure out her friend's location.
"Ms. Rose..."
Ruby looked up to see Ozpin watching her with a stern look. He nodded at her. "Tell your friend to stay on the line," he said, "and place your scroll on my desk."
Ruby nodded. "Stay with me, Ashley," she said, before pulling her scroll away from her ear and setting it on top of Ozpin's desk.
There was a flicker of light across the desk's surface, then a holographic image of the information on Ruby's screen appeared in the air over the desk. It showed a picture of Ashley's face, along with her name.
"Keep her talking," said Ozpin, already tapping at an interface on his side of the desk.
"What can you tell me about the building, Ashley?" asked Ruby, leaning forward, planting her hands on the edge fo the desk.
"It's at least four stories...I think." Ashley's voice now came from speakers on the desk itself. "I'm on the second floor. Ruby, I can hear them! They're getting closer!"
"Keep your voice down, if you can," said Ruby. "We're working out where you are."
"A-all right," said Ashley.
"We can find her, right?" asked Ruby, looking to Ozpin.
"As long as she stays on the line," said Ozpin. "This is the CCT Tower of Vale after all, so it's the main point of reference for all location software, used by all scrolls throughout the Kingdom. Pinpointing her position will take a minute, at least."
Ruby nodded, then turned her attention back to her friend. "What happened, Ashley?"
"I...I was g-going to work," Ashley began to explain. "Chrys called me, and said we had to talk. W-when I got there, he...h-he was..." The strangled sob that followed told Ruby all that she needed to know.
Despite not knowing the man all that well, Ruby felt the pressure of tears building behind her eyes. Chrys had always seemed like a fairly nice person, nice enough that Ruby felt guilty that the only reason she visited his store was to meet up with Ashley. And now he was gone. How could they do that?
Still, she had to keep it together, for Ashley's sake. "Then what happened?"
Ashley sniffed. "I screamed. Th-they must have been watching the sh-shop. They c-came in the door, and...and I ran."
Ruby frowned. "You got away?"
"S-sort of," said Ashley. "They c-came in through the f-front, and I...I went out the back."
"Was Chrys in the front or the back of the store?" asked Ruby.
"The back. Why?"
Ruby frowned, meeting Ozpin's eyes across the desk, noting the same suspicion in his gaze that she felt. The White Fang had killed Chrys in the back of his own store, so there was no way they would have missed the back exit. If they had been planning to catch Ashley too (though why was still something Ruby was trying to figure out), then there was no way they could have overlooked so obvious an exit. Someone should have been waiting for her, behind the shop. That someone wasn't meant...She was meant to escape.
"How did you end up in the industrial district?" asked Ruby.
"They w-were chasing me," said Ashley. "Whenever I saw them, I went down a way that was clear."
That's too deliberate, thought Ruby. In other words, Ashley's pursuers hadn't tried to entrap her, but kept leaving a path of escape open. They'd done that in order to guide the path of Ashley's flight into the industrial district. If that was the case, then she was likely right where they wanted her. But why?
Why go after Ashley at all, for that matter? She was a faunus, one of the ones the White Fang was supposed to be fighting for. Even considering Adam's hardline stance, and anger towards faunus who didn't fight, singling out a single person like this, particularly a civilian like Ashley, was excessive.
Maybe because she goes to school with humans, thought Ruby. But that still seemed excessive for such an elaborate method of herding her to a particular location. If they'd wanted to kill her for that reason, then it would have been best to simply trap her in the shop and kill her there.
There was only one other reason Ruby could think of why Ashley would be targeted. When she thought about it, everything clicked into place. Her eyes widened. That had to be it. And, if that was the case, the real reason behind this was...
"I've almost got her location," said Ozpin, tapping his interface again.
Then an electric squeal echoed across the line. Ruby yelped, a sound that was echoed by Ashley on the other end. The surface of Ozpin's desk flashed, and the holographic image went staticky, flickering and jumping.
"Ashley!" shouted Ruby. "Are you still there? Can you hear me?"
"Y-yes," said Ashley, her voice buzzing heavily. "I can hear you."
Ruby let out a breath. "Thank God."
"They must have a jammer," said Ozpin. "It isn't strong enough to knock out the connection with the CCT completely. But it's prevented me from getting an exact fix on her location."
"Do we have a general idea?" asked Ruby.
"Within a hundred meters," said Ozpin.
"Good enough," said Ruby, picking her scroll off the desk. "Professor..."
"I will have a bullhead waiting at the docks for you," said Ozpin. "You need to keep Ms. Forrest on the line. I'll contact your team and sister-team."
"Thank you," said Ruby, giving the Headmaster a grateful smile. "And can you make it two bullheads?"
Ruby kept Ashley talking, while she waited for the elevator to descend, and even as she dashed across the campus towards the docks. There, Ruby was relieved see that she'd arrived only seconds ahead of her friends. As it had turned out, once Ozpin had filled them in, they had run outside the dining hall, and called their lockers, right then and there, rather than waste precious moments running to the locker room to arm up. Glynda probably wouldn't be happy, but her ire was worth it to avoid even a single wasted second.
"What's the plan?" asked Jaune, as the others arrived.
"My team with me," said Ruby. "We're going to the industrial district. Ozpin gave me an idea of where Ashley is. Once we get there, I think I can find her. Once we do, we take out the White Fang, and get her to safety."
"Wait! What about us?" asked Yang, looking over at her own team. "We should be going with you, Ruby."
"No," said Ruby, locking eyes with Ren. "I need you to head somewhere else..."
On the bullhead, Ruby resumed her conversation with Ashley, keeping her talking, if only to help her from going completely panicking. It was also helping to keep Ruby from panicking to. Hearing Ashley's voice was an assurance that she was still alive after all.
"They're getting closer!" Ashley whispered.
"Just keep it down," said Ruby. "Leave the scroll on, no matter what happens."
"Okay," said Ashley. "Wha-what do I do if they find me."
"Cooperate with them," said Ruby. "I don't think they're going to kill you right away. Stall as much as you can."
She heard a shouting voice in the background, which drew a squeak from Ashley.
"We know you're around here, somewhere!" shouted a harsh, male voice. "Come out!"
"Stay put," said Ruby firmly.
"The longer this takes, the harder it's gonna be on you!"
"Just listen to me," said Ruby.
"Okay," Ashley whispered.
"We're almost there," Ruby promised her. "We will save you, Ashley."
"I believe you," said Ashley, her voice calming.
"We're coming for you," said Ruby.
"Get those lights on!" shouted a voice, sounding closer now.
Lights? Ruby frowned. Faunus have superior night-vision. Why would they need lights to help them search? Then her eyes widened again. Oh! It's not for them. Her suspicions about the real reason behind this were getting firmer with each passing second.
A crack, the sound of a gunshot, came through, the volume causing the speakers on Ruby's scroll to pop, making her yelp. It was a sound echoed by Ashley. Fortunately, it was frightened, rather than pained, telling Ruby that Ashley was still uninjured...for now.
"There you are!" called out that harsh voice again.
"Ruby! They've found me!" Ashley kept her voice down, but the panic was returning.
Ruby directed a frantic look at Weiss, who quickly leaned into the cockpit to confer with the pilot. Leaning back out, she held up two fingers.
"Just a few more seconds," Ruby called into the scroll. "Try and play it off, like you think they don't really know where you are, like they're bluffing."
"They shot the corner of the pallets," Ashley whispered back. "I think they know."
"Yeah, but we're so close. Give me every second you can buy."
Then the harsh voice called out again. "You know, those things won't stand up to Dust-rounds. I can shoot you right through them."
When the gunshots came, Ashley screamed. "Are you all right?" Ruby asked frantically, hoping her friend hadn't dropped the scroll.
"Somehow," said Ashley. "But they scared me. It was right over my head."
Ruby pictured it, the pallets stacked over Ashley's head erupting in a cloud of splinters, as Dust-rounds tore through them.
"Get out here, now!" snapped the voice. "Play nice, and I might just be convinced to make this quick."
"What now?" Ashley asked.
"Now...do as he says," said Ruby.
An inarticulate squeak was all Ashley was capable of.
"Put your scroll on the floor, and leave it behind," said Ruby. "That way, I can still hear what's going on. Take it slowly. You're tired and shaky. Play it up, and take as long as you can going out to meet them."
"O-okay." There was a click of the scroll being set onto a hard surface. Then there was silence for a few seconds, before Ruby heard Ashley's voice, more distant, but at a more normal speaking volume. "P-please don't shoot!"
"There you are, traitor," growled her tormentor. "Get out here."
Ruby could hear Ashley's uneven footsteps, imagining them being halting, Ashley needing to lean on the pallets as she walked. But she'd appeared, and that was prompting her pursuers to hold off on attacking her, for now. If they were up to what she thought they were, Ruby figured there was a good chance they'd want to keep her alive...for a little while longer, at least.
"Ruby!" Weiss called from near the cockpit. "We're here!"
Ruby nodded, getting to her feet. "Open the doors," she called.
The pilot obeyed, and the wall on one side of the passenger bay folded upward. Immediately, Ruby found herself staggering, buffeted by the wind, and the backwash of the bullhead's engine, as the airship switched to hover-mode. Ruby found herself looking down across the sparsely lit industrial district, all but deserted at this day and time. Seeing the blocky shadows of the buildings below, Ruby knew Ashley was somewhere down amongst them. But where...?
She didn't have time to be indecisive. Every second was needed. Ruby swept her eyes, looking anything that might be the location Ashley had described, while the pilot slowly turned the airship around to give her a panoramic view. Finally, Ruby spotted what she was looking for, a partially-constructed building, naked girders rising up from a space between two other buildings on either side. She couldn't afford to be wrong though, so Ruby needed to confirm her suspicions.
Closing her eyes, Ruby sucked in a deep breath, then Projected her Aura out. This wasn't the forceful Projection she had practiced continually with her friends, but a gentle washing outward of her Aura, Extension. Through it, she could sense everything it came in contact with. If she expanded it all the way around herself, her reach would be too limited to effectively search the area Ozpin had narrowed Ashley's position down to. But, by channeling it in a single direction, Ruby was able to Extend her Aura farther, easily reaching the skeleton of the building.
As it washed over the building, Ruby was able to feel it through her Aura. Indeed, there were four partially-finished floors, but only the second was accessible from the ground without the assistance of a lift. On the second floor, she found Ashley's presence. She could feel the other girl's fear, as well as the malice of the unlocked Auras that were gathered around her.
"I've found them!" Ruby announced.
"We'll get over to them," said Pyrrha.
"No time," said Ruby. "Launch me!"
"What?" exclaimed Weiss.
"Launch me, then come after," said Ruby. "I need to get there now."
"Don't waste time," Jaune shouted at Weiss and Pyrrha. Pulling his weapon off his hip, Jaune slipped his arms through the straps and opened it up into its shield-mode, leaving the sword inserted, while he braced the shield with both arms.
Ruby took a deep breath, then channeled her Aura into her feet, converting it. She jumped back, planting the soles of her sandals against Jaune's shield, as the Aura around her feet crackled and sparked. At the same time, Jaune's shield was outlined by the black of Pyrrha's Semblance, Pyrrha raising her right hand to channel her power.
It was something that had first become apparent during Ruby's first match with Pyrrha, and something they'd experimented with, both during their subsequent bouts and their team training. The electricity produced by Ruby's Manifestation could be affected by Pyrrha's magnetism. Because of that, even though there was no metal in Ruby's sandals, Pyrrha was able to keep her feet anchored to the shield, through the application of electromagnetism, holding the electric field Ruby was generating against Jaune's shield.
Frowning, Weiss drew and pointed Myrtenaster at Jaune and Ruby. There was a flash, and a black Glyph appeared at Ruby's feet, holding her in place even more firmly. Another second, and the hum of Ruby's electricity grew even louder.
"Now!" shouted Ruby.
Weiss flicked her fingers. Her Glyph turned white, then flashed to red. At the same time, Pyrrha reversed her Polarity, switching from attraction to repulsion. The combination of the two, along with the expulsion of Ruby's Aura out from her feet, launched her out of the bullhead's bay like a rocket. Ruby's cloak flared out behind her, while she flashed through the sky, leaving a trail of scattering petals in her wake, like a crimson shooting star. The entire bullhead rocked, tipping and drifting in the wake of her departure, before righting itself once again.
"That dolt," grumbled Weiss, pushing herself up and away from the wall, before turning to the cockpit again. "Get to that construction site," she said, pointing it out to the pilot through the canopy. "That's the target zone!"
"On your knees," snarled the soldier, looking truly monstrous in the glare of the powerful floodlights that had been switched on.
"W-why are you doing this?" whimpered Ashley, doing as she was told.
"We've heard what you've been doing, traitor," growled the man, prodding the back of Ashley's head with a rifle. "Consorting with a Huntress, and a human one at that...Disgusting!"
"It's not wrong," Ashley replied. "She's my f-friend."
The soldier threw back his head and barked out a harsh laugh. "You hear that, guys?" he called to his compatriots. "This idiot thinks that Huntress is a friend." Laughter echoed around them.
He let out a wordless snarl and jabbed the back of Ashley's head harder, making her yelp in pain and fear. "You're an idiot," he growled. "I bet that little bitch wouldn't lift a finger to help you."
"That's not true," Ashley whimpered.
"Well...you'd better hope so," said the soldier, a sick, vindictive tone in his voice. "We went through a lot of trouble, you know."
"What?" gasped Ashley, turning to look at him with wide, trembling eyes.
The man's grin sickened her. "We picked up your signal," he said. "We figured you might be calling your 'friend.' In fact, you could say we were banking on it."
"What?" Ashley repeated, finding herself breathing harder, panic beginning to set in.
"Yeah," said the soldier. "The boss seemed to think it was worth trying. Me, I've got my doubts. A dumbass Huntress wouldn't go out on a limb for a civilian bitch, like you, much less a faunus. Face it, you've been left high and dry."
Ashley found herself sweating in fear. She didn't believe the man's assertions. However, if what he said was true, then Ruby was...It's a trap!
Suddenly, she found herself hoping Ruby wasn't really coming. The thought of being the instrument that led her friend to her death sickened Ashley, to the point that she felt as though she might not want to live to find out if her tormentor was right.
"No one's coming," growled the soldier, aiming his gun at her. "I should go ahead and put you out of your misery."
Then Ashley heard it. It was faint, at first, the sound of a voice carried over the wind. However, as it grew louder, Ashley found her eyes spilling over with tears again, but for a different reason this time.
"aaaaaaaaaaasssshhHHHLLLLEEEEEEYYYYYYYY!"
The White Fang soldiers surrounding her heard it too, their heads perking up.
"What the-?" grunted the man who'd been taunting and prodding her.
Despite everything she'd just heard and learned, Ashley couldn't stop a relieved smile from breaking out across her face. All it was was Ruby shouting her name. But, to Ashley, it was the most wonderful sound in the world.
A streak of red flashed between the girders, flying through the building. Ruby slammed into their midst with an explosive impact that made the entire building rumble, girders groaning and creaking. Akaibara flew out of its sheath with an almost deafening ring. Before the soldiers could even begin to respond, Ruby struck, her blade flashing through the air like a streak of light, her movements impossible to follow. Not a single shot was fired, not a single enemy blade was swung. Before the White Fang soldiers could even think of responding, they were blown away, Ruby striking them down with swift speed and efficiency, taking all of them out in just a tiny handful of seconds. Ashley caught a glimpse of the soldier who'd been harassing her slamming into the stack of pallets she'd been hidden behind earlier.
Then all the noise faded, with only faint echoes returning. Looking around, Ashley saw the entirety of the group that had come after her laid out. One woman was imbedded in a pile of cinderblocks, sprawled out in the indent she'd smashed into them, almost like a stony couch. Another was folded over a piece of scaffolding like a rug, hung out to dry. The rest were sprawled out here and there.
And there was Ruby, standing right before Ashley, her cloak still stirring from the tempest her arrival had stirred up, sword held out and ready. To Ashley's eyes, Ruby looked like the heroic figure of every fairy tale she'd ever read or been told.
Then Ruby sheathed her sword and turned to face Ashley, a frantic look in her eyes.
"Ruby..." Ashley whispered, her heart thundering in her chest.
Ruby's face broke out in a relieved smile. Before they even realized what they were doing, they threw themselves at each other, seizing one another in a tight hug.
"Ruby!" cried Ashley, pressing her face against her friend's collarbone. "You came!"
"Thank God," Ruby breathed. "You're okay. I'm so glad you're okay."
Ashley was surprised to hear a sob in Ruby's voice. Pulling back, she saw that Ruby was crying too. "Ruby...?"
"I was so worried," said Ruby, using a thumb to brush away some of Ashley's tears. "If anything had happened to you..." Ruby sniffed, then hugged Ashley to herself tightly.
Now Ashley realized that, in her own way, Ruby had been just as frightened as she was. Despite that, Ruby had been a rock of calm, the only thing keeping Ashley from sinking into the depths of her own fear. If Ruby hadn't kept her talking, kept talking to her, Ashley might have gone mad.
Still... "You came...you actually came for me," Ashley sobbed.
Ruby leaned forward, resting their foreheads together. "Of course I did, silly," said Ruby.
The whine of jet engines filled the air, prompting them to look up. A familiar bullhead drifted over head, and a trio of figures dropped down from it. Weiss and Pyrrha landed with picture-perfect crouches. However, Jaune yelped as he landed, his legs folding up beneath him and dropping him onto his butt.
"Still working on the landing strategy," he groaned, rubbing his behind as Pyrrha pulled him to his feet. Then he staggered towards Ashley and Ruby, Pyrrha and Weiss walking alongside him.
"This is all wonderful," said Weiss. "But we need to get out of here. The White Fang might have reinforcements."
"Oh, they do," said Ruby, her tone dry.
As if summoned by her voice, the crack of a gunshot echoed through the air. It was accompanied by the ping of metal against metal. Then the bullhead above lurched, as something detonated against its starboard engine. The airship shuddered and spun, before it began to turn away, trailing smoke.
"There goes our ride," said Weiss, holding her scroll up to her ear. "We need to get a clear landing zone, before we can get a pickup. Worst case, we'll have to just head for the air-docks on foot."
"It's not going to be that easy," said Ruby, letting go of Ashley.
Turning away, Ruby faced towards a darkened section of the second floor, created by the shadows thrown by all the floodlights that had been turned on. A slow clap echoed out from the darkness, the tempo lazy. It was accompanied by the sound of shoes scuffing against the building's floor. The light from the lamps caught on and reflected off of something red, the color shining almost demonically out of the darkness. Then the light illuminated more, the outline of a body, a jacket, and a mask.
Ashley's eyes went wide, and her pupils contracted, as the horned head of Adam Taurus seemed to melt out of the shadows. Ashley imagined that this was what it must be like, out in the wilderness, to have one of the creatures of Grimm come upon oneself in the dead of night. If Ruby had looked like a hero out of a fairy tale, then Adam was a monster, straight out of her deepest nightmares.
He walked sedately towards them, stepping boldly out into the center of one of the illuminated areas, where the lights were oriented towards each other, throwing his shadow three different ways. He regarded them with a smug smile as he applauded them mockingly.
"Well well, so the righteous Huntress makes her grand entrance and saves the day," declared Adam.
The sound of his voice chilled Ashley to the bone. Her legs gave out, and she began to fall. Ruby turned sideways and caught Ashley, before she could pitch forward onto her face. Despite her worry, Ruby's gaze never left Adam.
"So I guess this is what you wanted," observed Ruby dryly.
"That's right," agreed Adam, lowering his hands, his left going to the weapon holstered at his waist and pulling it free. "At the very least, that traitor was useful. This almost makes up for her crime of trying to abandon her brothers and sisters."
"Brothers and sisters...?" Weiss gasped. "Ashley you were...in the White Fang?"
"I..." Ashley couldn't bring herself to speak, her fear of Adam, and her shame at the secret she'd been keeping from her friends cutting off her voice.
Ruby lifted a hand to her cheek, and gently brushed her index finger across it. Ashley looked up to see that Ruby was now looking at her, risking taking her eyes off Adam, just so that she could smile warmly at Ashley. There was no anger or suspicion in her gaze, only affection and care. "It's okay," she said.
"But-" Weiss began.
"No," said Ruby, her tone firm and steely, making Weiss' jaw snap shut with an audible clack of teeth. "We have a job to do." She fixed Weiss with that unwavering gaze of hers. "I'm counting on you."
Weiss sucked in a breath, then drew herself up. "Of course," she said, a trace of her old haughtiness creeping into her tone.
Ruby nodded, and leaned in closer to her team, who also closed in. Adam frowned, noticing that Ruby appeared to be whispering something to the rest of them.
"Are you sure?" asked Pyrrha.
Ruby nodded.
"But he's by himself," Weiss pointed out. "We can take him down together."
Ruby merely shook her head. "He's not by himself."
Reaching up, she unclasped her cloak. In a single motion, she swept it off her shoulders, swirling it around to drape over Ashley instead, wrapping her up in the red fabric. Then Ruby carefully lowered Ashley to the floor, before stepping away.
"I'm not sure about this," said Pyrrha.
"Let's just do it," said Jaune in a firm, commanding tone. "Form up."
While Ruby stood back up and turned towards Adam; Jaune, Pyrrha, and Weiss encircled Ashley, turning their backs to her. Jaune and Pyrrha raised their shields, while Weiss raised her rapier straight up in front of her. All three of them bowed their heads and closed their eyes, seeming to be focusing or concentrating on something.
"So...you're going to face me alone," observed Adam, his smirk returning. "You're really that confident in your victory?"
Ruby smiled back. "It's not about confidence," she replied. "It's about need."
"How so?" wondered Adam.
"Maybe, to you, fighting and killing me is the end," said Ruby. "But, to me, fighting you is just the means. We came here to save Ashley, so that's what comes first, no matter what else might be happening."
That wiped the smile from Adam's face, his lips curling back in a growl.
Ruby giggled at that. "Why so angry?" she wondered. "You're the one who put Ashley in danger to bring me out here. Did you think I was just going to forget about her to throw down with you?" Then her smile faded, and her expression hardened. "Besides, I know you."
"You know nothing about me," snarled Adam.
Ruby's smile returned, but it was thin, an angry smile. "I know you're shallow and petty," she replied, prompting a jolt of surprise and another angry exhalation from Adam. "You're the kind of guy that, if you can't win, you'll make sure I lose. That's why I know what's really at stake here."
Adam's left hand clenched so tightly around Blush that Wilt began to rattle within it. His entire body trembled with pure rage. "You arrogant witch," he snarled. "You think you're so smart, Huntress? All I needed was the right bait, and you jumped headlong into my trap."
"Yeah, but I knew it was a trap already," said Ruby, smirking. "You made it way too obvious."
"He did?" wondered Ashley.
"Sorry, Ashley," said Ruby, flashing her friend and apologetic smile, "but it's obvious they let you run. Then they herded you here. They figured you'd call me."
"But then, I..." Ashley began to tear up again.
"It's okay," said Ruby, turning back to Adam. "A trap is only as good as the one who sets it...and you're a pretty sad trap-maker, Taurus."
"You're really that confident, are you?" asked Adam.
"It doesn't matter how confident I am," Ruby replied. "Ashley needed me, so I came."
"Don't bore me with your hypocritical posturing, human!" shouted Adam, pointing accusingly at her. "You never would have done this for just any faunus, just the one you happened to befriend."
"I'd like to think otherwise," said Ruby. "But you're probably right that I was only able to do this, because Ashley is my friend."
"Able to...?" wondered Ashley softly.
"Because Ashley is my friend, she thought to call me," explained Ruby. "Because she called me, I was able to be here for her. So, yeah, I guess it's because she's my friend." She narrowed her eyes. "And besides, if we're talking about hypocrisy, you take the cake, Adam Taurus."
"Do tell," said Adam.
"You threaten, intimidate, and even kill the very people you claim to be fighting for," said Ruby, her voice hardening, like steel. "It's like I told you at the docks. In the end, you don't really care for your cause. You can talk all you want about how irredeemable we humans are, or how someone like Ashley is a traitor, just because I'm her friend. But the truth is that, when you're angry or frustrated, you want to hurt someone, because that's what makes you feel better. You want to kill, and you use pretty words, like 'justice', as an excuse.
"Face it, Adam Taurus...you're hollow."
A low growl emerged from Adam's throat, slowly building in volume, until it forced his mouth open and he roared in fury, throwing his arms out to the side. The sound was so intense that it could be felt as much as heard. In the face of that noise, Ashley whimpered and hunkered down within the protective circle of Ruby's teammates. Finally, after letting out all his rage in that sound, Adam lowered his head, panting slightly.
"I should have known better than to waste time exchanging words with you," he snarled. "I will remove your head and have it mounted on a pole, and plant it right before the steps of Beacon! I will kill those worthless fools behind you, then gut that traitor, and you'll die, knowing that she will die, because of your failure."
Ruby's smile faded away, and her expression hardened. "We'll see about that," she said. "You made a serious mistake, Adam." Her left hand closed around Akaibara's handle. "You threatened someone dear to me. You put lives in the danger, for the sake of your stupid grudge. You want to play the monster, then fine." Akaibara rang as it emerged from her sheath, the crimson blade's Aura swirling through the air like a maelstrom, before curling inwards on itself, condensing around the sword, and Ruby's body, merging with her own Aura, as Ruby split the blade and took up her starting stance.
"I'm a Huntress," intoned Ruby, "and a Huntress fights monsters."
Adam grinned, then barked out a harsh laugh, even though his every hair was standing on end. "All this conviction...for a single pathetic, worthless girl, one who's done nothing but sob and cry, ever since you've come here."
Ashley winced.
"Of course," Ruby answered. "That's what a Huntress does. If someone is crying and afraid, it's my duty to protect them, and change the meaning of their tears."
Adam took a deep breath, clenching his right hand into a fist, holding his arms out slightly, his entire posture rising and falling in conjunction with his inhalations and exhalations. "An answer for everything, it seems. Fine!" He lifted his gaze up, his eyes staring past Ruby and her friends, slightly over their heads. "Do it!" he barked.
A loud clunk echoed through the empty building, and, all at once, the lights went out, plunging them all into darkness. Pitch-blackness descended upon them. There were still light-sources: the moon and stars, lamps from the streets outside. But, compared to the illumination from before, the darkness that suddenly descended seemed ominously absolute.
Within that darkness, Ruby caught a glimpse of red, the markings on Adam's mask, and the red components of his outfit, seeming to glow softly. They were soon joined by a new source of red, the blade of Adam's repaired sword, which he slowly drew from its sheath.
"We will see just how far your convictions can carry you...when you fight on my ground," said Adam. "Here I come!"
With that, he rushed towards Ruby, and the battle was joined.
Adam vs Ruby: Round 2
And so, a recipe that, hopefully, you might be able to try, while you're weathering this lovely little pandemic we find ourselves in.
A little while after the holidays, I got into experimenting with milk-washing, after one of the more recent Good Eats episodes introduced a milk punch recipe. The main issue for me, and one that kept me from trying the recipe from the episode as is is that milk punch is typically a booze recipe...and I'm a teetotaler. Surprisingly, a search for virgin or non-alcoholic milk-punches turned up next to nothing, except for those milk punches that don't involve milk-washing. Still, the principle is simple enough. All you need is an acidic liquid with a ph of 4.6 or less, and you can make the milk curdle. Fortunately, most fruit juices fall into that sweet spot, which makes it pretty easy to build a base solution to work with.
The downside is that there is some...special equipment...required to pull this off. It's nothing super-expensive, but some of these things you may need to order and have delivered. Plus, I know that the current situation is making the availability of certain items limited. I've managed to consistently find the ingredients I need at my local grocery stores, but I know that may not be true for everyone. Even so...I decided to go ahead and put up this recipe.
Ruby Rose Milk Washed Punch:
Special Equipment:
A pitcher that can hold over a quart.
A large strainer.
A large jar or saucepan that can accommodate said strainer
A large coffee filter, preferably in the 1.5 gallon range.*
A kettle (electric preferred)
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups of water.
8 Earl Gray tea bags (or black tea of your choice).
60 grams of granulated sugar.
1 cup of cranberry juice.**
4 oz of apple juice.**
2 oz of fresh-squeezed lemon juice.
2 oz allspice syrup (recipe below).
1 cup of whole milk.
Instructions:
Heat water in a kettle to 208 degrees Fahrenheit. (If you don't have a kettle where you can set the temperature, bring it to a boil, then take off the heat and hold for a count of twenty.) Pour the water over the teabags in a four-quart measuring cup and let steep for three minutes. After three minutes, remove the tea bags. Do not squeeze or wring them. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Then add the cranberry juice, apple juice, lemon juice, and allspice syrup. Allow to sit for at least twenty minutes to let the temperature drop.
Pour the whole milk into the large pitcher. Then pour the tea mixture into the milk. Let sit on the counter for one hour.
Set the large strainer over the mouth of a jar or saucepan and press the coffee filter down into the strainer. Pour the mixture into the filter. You may have to pause and wait for it to drain down a little, before pouring the rest in. Wait until the liquid drains completely (approximately one hour). Once the liquid has filtered through, pour back into the (cleaned) pitcher, chill, and serve.
* No matter where I looked, coffee filters in this size were not available for purchase in local retail stores, not even the big discount clubs, like Sams or Costco. I wound up having to go online and ordering some. They generally don't come in boxes less than 500 though. If you're only looking to experiment, I've actually found that I could ask the folks at my local Starbucks for a few of their large coffee machine filters, and they were happy to give me some. So if you're just trying it out, probably start by asking them or your local coffee shop. I don't know how the current situation might affect their willingness to hand them out, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Just be sure to have a ziplock bag or something similar to hold them for transport home. If that doesn't work, you can do it with multiple layers of cheesecloth.
** Look for 100% juice with no added sugar. It's supposed to be sweet, not tooth-rotting.
Allspice Syrup:
Equipment:
1-quart saucepan.
Spice grinder or repurposed coffee grinder.
Small strainer.
2-3 layers of cheesecloth.
Condiment bottle.
Ingredients:
1 cup of water.
1 cup of sugar.
1 tablespoon of freshly-ground allspice.
Instructions:
Combine water, sugar, and allspice in the saucepan. Bring to a boil on the stove, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Once the mixture begins to boil, drop the heat to low, cover, and allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Then turn off the heat and allow to steep for 45 minutes.
After 45 minutes, pour the mixture through the cheesecloth and strainer into a small measuring cup to remove the solids, then transfer to a condiment bottle for storage and serving.
Addendums:
This recipe takes a more traditional milk punch recipe, and swaps out most of the main ingredients for non-alcoholic substitutes. The base recipe called for ruby port, rum, and allspice dram; for which I substituted cranberry juice for the port (because it's also red), apple juice for the rum (I googled "non-alcoholic substitutes for rum"), and allspice syrup for the dram. Aside from that, the process remains the same.
This recipe, call for the mixture to be strained once, which was what the recipe I based it off of called for. I noticed that straining it only once does leave the mixture a little tiny bit cloudy. Most other recipes I looked at called for filtering the liquid back through the curds at least one more time to get that perfect, crystal clear punch. However, when I did that...it took a long time for the liquid to filter through a second time...like six hours...seriously. I suppose you could just use another empty coffee filter, though I'm not sure what effect that would have on the final product. So, unless you're doing this for a party or guests (which is unlikely under the current circumstances), or you can afford and are willing to wait that long, you can go ahead and give it that extra straining, though I didn't notice any difference in taste.
Aside from that, you can tinker around with the amount of added sugar. I've tried everything from 85 grams to 60 grams (my personal recommendation) to 40 grams to none. I did note that the no-sugar-added punch came out a bit thinner and more watery on the texture side though. Again, look for unsweetened juices and then adjust the sugar-level yourself. I've also played around with different quantities of milk, up to a 1 1/2 cups (mainly because, since I don't drink whole milk normally, I just bought the small bottles, which usually don't come smaller than 12 oz, and just decided to use the whole bottle, rather than go through the trouble of measuring). The extra whey protein from the larger quantity of milk gives it a slightly richer mouthfeel, but the extra fluid waters down the flavor a little.
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