Chapter 29

Mirror, Mirror, Tell Me Who is Red Like Roses?

The caped-girl sat silhouetted against the shattered moon hanging behind her as a Beowolf crept into the cross hairs of her sniper rifle. She had a steady finger on the trigger as its life hung in the balance. Underneath her hood Ruby's face was calm and as cold as the air she was breathing.

Paranoia played in her mind of what if the Beowolf was tracking her team or soon discovered their location? What if the creature brought its pack with it?

They were all just excuses for her wanting to pull the trigger. She brought the cross hairs onto the beast's chest and steadied her breath.

"I thought you could use some company," Weiss said, poking her head around the corner, "and I figured you could use a jacket."

She held up her expensive white jacket and noticed her partner scratching her finger on the trigger. "I wouldn't advise making that shot unless you happen to have a silencer," she advised cautiously.

Ruby sighed letting out the breath she'd been holding. 'Bang...'

She removed the cross hairs from the Beowolf's chest and cradled her rifle as if it were a child.

"That was the one thing I couldn't fit onto Crescent Rose." She scooted over and made a place for her partner to sit, and walking out on the small ledge Weiss laid her jacket over the caped-girl who nodded in thanks. "It added too much bulk on the barrel, and to be honest kinda took the fun out of shooting. I love hearing my baby yell."

"Yes," Weiss eyed the pair incredulously. "I can see how a silencer of all things would have made her too bulky. She is a rather petite girl after all."

They both chuckled at the absurdity. "Okay, maybe I went a little overboard in designing her," she admitted, "but you have to admit she has style."

"And a complete lack of subtlety."

Ruby shrugged. "I guess there's nothing subtle about a six foot sniper-scythe is there?"

Her partner shook her head. While Ruby and Crescent Rose did indeed have their own rather unorthodox style, they were also one of the most dangerous pairings in Beacon Academy's history. There was nothing subtle about the overgrown gardening tool and hyperactive girl in the middle of a fight. They were both in your face and at least one step ahead of you, and just as much a nightmare to face as a godsend to fight beside.

Sometimes they terrified the heiress. She'd been on the wrong side of Crescent Rose more times than she could count, but had also been saved twice as many times by the pair.

"How did you build her?" she asked, hoping to get the conversation started. Ruby had told her virtually everything there was to know about her baby in the past, but Weiss had a little habit of tuning her partner out when it came to weapons. She could talk about them for hours at a pace that put even her top speed to shame, and Weiss didn't understand half the words she said anyway.

Early into the first semester, perhaps even the first week, Weiss had heard enough about the sniper-scythe and said she'd read the instruction manual someday if that would get her to back off. She'd been pleased with herself believing her partner likely wasn't literate, but had let out a small scream when a large binder was dropped in front of her with 'The Best Weapon Ever: Crescent Rose' written across the cover in red crayon. Inside had been several thousand pages of detailed explanations to all parts and functions of the weapon along with visual aids that combined with her handwriting caused the heiress' eyes to hurt and gave her a migraine.

Just as Weiss began to regret her conversation starter, her partner looked lovingly into her weapon and smiled like a proud parent. "I built her in Signal's machine shop, and modeled her after my uncle's High Caliber Sniper Scythe. His doesn't have all the cool toys though."

"So what you're saying is that his doesn't have a flashlight, shotgun, laser pointer, thermal scope, med-kit, and bottle opener attachments?"

Ruby drummed her fingers on the rocky ledge beside the gargoyle. "Have I mentioned I may have gone a little overboard?" she said unashamed.

"You have but do continue."

"Crescent was originally going to be an assault rifle with a scythe extension, but I was dead set on my baby being a sniper-scythe like my uncle's."

"How old were you when you built her?"

"Twelve."

Weiss nearly choked. She had built one of the deadliest weapons she had ever seen before Myrtenaster had even been completed.

"I was complete garbage before my Uncle Qrow though," she continued. "He tutored me outside of school, back when I was still in basics at Signal. He helped me out a lot back then..."

Ruby was still smiling but Weiss could sense her mood had dropped. "He was on the same team as your parents, right?"

She cringed as the question came out of her mouth afraid of how her partner might react but Ruby only nodded. "It's why you've been pushing us so hard isn't it? Why you want to win the Vytal Festival so badly."

Ruby nodded again but was silent. If she had anything to add she was keeping it to herself.

Weiss bit her lip. She didn't want her partner to shut down now, not this early. She took a deep breath and put a hand on her weapon's hilt.

"This is Myrtenaster," Weiss said, drawing the elegant rapier. "She was forged by the greatest smiths and engineers in Atlas, and took more than a year to complete."

She leveled the blade on her hand showing it was perfectly balanced. "When I was a little girl, my grandfather saw that I had a special talent for fencing. He hired the best professional tutors money can buy to teach and train me for competitions, and I thanked him by winning the Atlas Junior Fencing Championship when I was only fifteen."

"What?!" Ruby exclaimed having never heard this before.

Weiss nodded but seemed uninterested in the accomplishment. "Papa, I mean my grandfather, he commissioned Myrtenaster for me before he passed. He wanted the finest weapon for his favorite granddaughter..." She smiled fondly at the blade but frowned when she saw her reflection.

Her hand absently drifted to her scarred left eye and Ruby took notice. "Did you get it from a duel?" she asked hesitantly. Her partner never spoke about the scar, and while the team had learned to avoid mentioning it due to the foul mood it always put her in, it never drove off their curiosity.

Weiss' eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips. "A faunus did it." she said bitterly, "and they wore a Grimm mask..."

Ruby's heart skipped a beat and the heiress quickly shook her head, lowering her hand realizing what she had said.

"Anyway," she coughed, taking several breaths, "Myrtenaster is a Multi Action Dust Rapier capable of carrying six dust crystal vials at a time. She is made of the lightest and most durable metal on Remnant, and my grandfather spared no expense in creating my baby."

The caped-girl ran her hand across the blade instantly felt goosebumps from the years of her partner's aura at work. Even when the rapier was set aflame, Ruby swore it still gave her chills.

"S-she suits you," she said at last.

"You think so?" Weiss smirked.

"Sure, she has style and there's nothing subtle about her."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"You've fought me with a flaming rapier, Weiss. Make all the jokes you want about Crescent Rose, but she does not have a flamethrower."

"Only because I made you put it back in the armory."

"Yeah, about that..."

"You put it back in your locker didn't you?" Weiss shook her head but honestly wasn't surprised, and could barely keep her grin hidden.

"Maybe..."

The heiress sighed before chuckling. This was going better than she expected. "So Ruby..." she left hanging on the breeze.

"Yeah?"

"What's going on in that quirky brain of yours? You aren't fooling us with that tough girl act. We know something's bothering you, so spill."

Her partner was right, she wasn't exactly subtle. Weiss tried to keep her tone jovial but at the same time was obviously concerned about her.

Ruby brought her knees in close to her chest as she clutched Crescent Rose for comfort. "I had a lot of time to think when I was lying in that hospital bed." She looked down so that her hood covered her face. "All I've ever wanted is to be a huntress, Weiss. When Yang used to read bedtime stories about the huntsmen, I've have dreams of going on crazy adventures saving people from monsters. I wanted to be just like my mom, but she wanted me as far away from the huntsmen as possible."

Weiss blinked not having expected that, but before she could speak Ruby continued.

"Mom didn't want me growing up to be like her," she said, reading her partner's mind before wiping her face on her sleeve, "but she's all I've ever wanted to be..."

The heiress reached out but her unsteady hand fell short and she mentally cursed herself.

"I was laying in that hospital bed thinking that I'd ruined everything. I'm supposed to be a huntress but I can't even take care of myself, and I nearly cost everyone their first mission."

"Ruby-"

"No, Weiss," she interrupted, "don't tell me it didn't hurt when I know for a fact it did because it nearly killed me."

The heiress' eyes widened at how angry her partner sounded with herself and how her jaw tightened. Even her aura which normally felt gentle and as sweet as a rose had grown thorns.

"The first mission for a team is a right of passage and the first step to becoming huntsmen and huntresses. You don't know how much I hated myself for taking that from you, and from Blake and my sister..."

"Ruby-"

"I'm not like you three." She tightened the hold on Crescent Rose turning her knuckles white. "You all worked hard to get to Beacon and I skipped years of training and tests to get here. When Ozpin offered me a spot at Beacon all I needed was my dad's signature on a paper. I'm not the prodigy you and everyone else thinks I am..."

Ruby was silent as she waited for her partner's response, and began twirling her cross pendants out of nervous habit.

Weiss took a deep breath. "Dolt." Ruby looked up. "First of all we never held it against you for getting injured, or thought less of you. Idiot," she added.

The caped-girl opened her mouth to protest but Weiss wasn't finished. "Second, you are not holding us back. In case you hadn't noticed, besides against your sister and Pyrrha, you've never lost a match in Goodwitch's class. You've left more than half of the class flat on their backs, Blake and myself included, and more times than I care to say aloud."

"But this is different, Weiss," she argued.

A thought occurred suddenly occurred to her, possibly a residual from her partner's aura. "You're worried about being sent back to Signal aren't you?"

Ruby nodded.

"That would never happen," she insisted. "You're our team leader for God's sake."

"Freshmen get sent back for training all the time, Weiss, even leaders. Why should I be any different?"

"Because you are different."

"No I'm not and I wish people would stop saying that!" she shouted. "I'm not a prodigy!"

Her shoulders slumped she leaned back to look at the moon, her eyes having the same twinkling shine. Weiss scooted closer and put a hand atop Crescent Rose lowering it.

"Yes you are," she promised, "and you'll win the Vytal Festival just like your mom did."

Weiss hoped that would light a fire in her. Every time the tournament was mentioned Ruby was always filled with energy, but this time she just shook her head.

"Don't tell me you're giving up on the tournament!?"

"No, it's not that, Weiss. It's just my mom never actually won the Vytal Festival."

"What? But Yang-"

"Her team won," Ruby corrected. "Three years in a row."

"Three?!" Even Weiss with her limited knowledge of the tournament knew what kind of unprecedented accomplishment that was. It was extremely rare enough having repeat champions in the modern biannual format, let alone three time champions in past, arguably much more difficult configurations.

"They won their freshman year all the way up to their junior year. Their senior year they were all contenders to win the graduate's championship, all except my mom. No one thought she could win because she was a support fighter." Ruby turned and smiled. "She was kind of like you."

Weiss turned away at the mere thought of being in the same league as her mother. She was still getting used to the idea of being a supporter, and quite obviously Summer had been a remarkable huntress.

"But against all odds she made it to the finals." Ruby couldn't hide the pride on her face even with her hood and darkness. It shined as brightly as the moon. "She beat everyone including Dad and Uncle Qrow who were the favorites."

"That's incredible."

"But she still lost in the finals," Ruby's tone dropped but she still sounded proud.

"I'm sorry..."

"It's alright, Weiss. Mom always said she'd rather be runner-up with her team than a champion by herself. She always put the teammates ahead of herself..."

"Your mother sounds like a really smart lady."

Ruby looked as though she couldn't decide if she wanted to laugh or to cry. With her head up and turned to the side Weiss was left guessing. An awkward silence fell between them and the heiress felt a chill.

"What happened to her? I mean what happened to her team after graduation?"

She remained silent and Weiss was afraid she'd pushed her partner too far.

"Please, Ruby." She slid Crescent Rose to the side. "Tell me about them. Tell me about your mom."

The heiress thought the awkward silence was doomed to last forever, but at last Ruby put her weapon down for the first time that day. Never turning to look at her partner she continued her story.

"Shortly after graduation Dad and Yang's mom got married. They were partners together at Beacon, and they really loved each other..."

Weiss could sense some unease from her and remembered what Yang had said about the subject being awkward for the half-sisters, but particularly for Ruby.

"They settled down in Patch, and my Mom and Uncle Qrow joined them again as a team carrying out missions for Signal. Yang was born not long after that, and for a few years they were happy..." There was a bittersweet tone to Ruby's voice, and Weiss knew it had to feel strange for your father to have loved another woman who wasn't your mother, especially when that woman was your sister's mother.

"But something happened on a mission...Yang's mom...She didn't make it..." Ruby took a deep breath and tugged at the cross necklace hidden by her clothes. "It broke Dad's heart, and Mom missed her best friend. And one night Mom and Dad erm, well they uh.." she stuttered, "they comforted each other..."

It never seemed to bother her sister, but she couldn't help being more self-conscious about what happened. It didn't exactly paint her parents in a nice picture to some, but particularly her mom...

'She's illegitimate,' Weiss thought before immediately scolding herself for thinking such a thing. The heiress had been brought up a certain way and now she wished she could scold her whole family too.

'They were lonely and in mourning. You have no right to judge them.'

"Don't worry about i,t Weiss," Ruby giggled, knowing what her more proper partner was thinking.

"Huh? What?! Worry about what?!" she nearly shouted. Her normally pale face was now as red as Ruby's cape.

"You were thinking of the kind of sword Jaune carries, and Yang's nickname for Cardin."

"No!" She held up her hands. "I mean sorry, I mean I don't know what you're talking about!" She didn't seem to know whether she should cover with ignorance, aggression, or apologies so she covered herself in all three to Ruby's amusement.

"Relax, Weiss, I don't mind. I just don't want you thinking badly of my mom or day. It was a really hard time for them."

"I understand," she said before coughing. "Please continue."

"They were going to get married after I was um-" she paused looking for the right word.

"-announced?" Weiss suggested.

"Announced-" She nodded, "but they wanted Uncle Qrow's blessing who kind of disappeared after his sister died. Eventually though, two weeks before I was born, Mom and Dad got married."

"Sounds like a fairy tale," Weiss said happily.

"Yeah, I guess it kind of does."

"What happened next?" she asked pulling out a handkerchief.

"A little while after I was born Mom and Dad started fighting. They never got divorced, at least I don't think so, but they thought it'd be best if they separated. She took me to the Patchwork Mountains and raised me there."

"Patchwork..."

"We had this amazing little cottage with a strawberry garden. Yang would stay with us every summer and we'd play in the forests pretending we were huntresses. She used to push me in an old tire swing then we'd both take turns pushing mom." She lowered her face. "Then one day the Grimm came, and mom...she left me..."

The wind gusted and the pair had to turn their heads.

"Ruby, I'm so sorry," Weiss choked.

"Mom went out of the cottage to protect the village. She told me she'd be right back, but she never made it out of the garden..."

The heiress was speechless having never heard her partner voice sound so agonized.

"She told me she'd be right back!" she cried, smashing her fist into the gargoyle.

Rose petals flew through the air and Ruby's cape began flowing against the wind. Weiss scooted closer to her partner and put an arm around her. She could feel the sting of her aura and all the bitterness and sadness it housed, and it took her breath away to feel how unstable it was.

Ruby's petals scattered more and more and even though her face was covered, Weiss knew what she was feeling as it was all coursing through her. She wished she could flare her semblance like Yang and make her partner feel better but knew she'd only make her feel even worse.

They sat there in silence for what seemed like hours as Weiss absorbed the brunt of Ruby's aura. She let it hit her wave after wave like punches to the gut as she was afraid it might attract Grimm. Eventually she felt the aura die off and heard Ruby's sing-song voice.

"Red like roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest."

Weiss had never understood those words but they suddenly made sense, as did all the other things her partner cried out during her nightmares. "It's blood that's red like roses isn't it?"

Ruby didn't answer, instead she continued in the same sing-song voice.

"And thus kindly I scatter the last rose of Summer..."

When the petals didn't stop Weiss became worried and grabbed her hand.

"I don't know how I got out of that hospital bed Weiss, but I don't care. I'm seeing this mission through to the end."

"Even if it kills you?" she choked.

Ruby didn't answer. She simply flared her aura again and rose petals blinded Weiss' vision who felt her stand up.

"Wait, Ruby. Where are you going!?" She grabbed her partner's arm afraid of what she might do.

The caped-girl removed her hood and Weiss was surprised by what she saw. Tears were still on Ruby's cheeks but she was wearing a bright smile, and her silver eyes were glowing in the moonlight.

"It's cold out here," she said simply, "and it's way past my bedtime..."

Weiss handed her partner Crescent Rose who attached it to her belt.

She smiled and gave her partner a hug. "Thanks for looking out for me, Weiss."

The other girl couldn't say a word or return the gesture, and only after she released her was she able to speak.

"Goodnight, Ruby..." she murmured, watching her leave and feeling lonely all of a sudden.

Weiss sighed at the prospect of her partner being alone but found solace that Yang and Blake would be there to keep an eye on her. They wouldn't let Ruby do anything stupid.

'She just wants to be left alone. You can relate to that...'

A chill ran down Weiss spine and she began rubbing her hands together for warmth before pausing.

"That dolt! She took my favorite jacket!"

(A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. I tried to match Ruby's backstory and emotions with Red Like Roses Part 2 and I hope I succeeded. I wanted to capture the feeling of the loneliness she must be feeling but also the bitterness that the song represents. We also got some more information about Weiss and her scar but nothing definitive. There are still a lot of things to learn about their characters. I also hope it wasn't too dark or went against the show. I really like Red Like Roses Part 2 and wanted it to be a reflection of Ruby. Once again thank you for reading and all of the support each of you have given me. You are all fantastic. Things will be picking up from here on so strap in. All credit goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who has made this story possible. God bless)