Blood of The Rose

Chapter 3: Smiling Jack

Downtown Los Angeles

Ruby tried to hold onto her uplifted mood from Jack's morale boost, but her confidence waned as she went through the door from the office and headed down the stairway. That last door at the bottom led back out into another alleyway, close to where she'd seen all of that supernatural stuff going on previously.

She clasped her cold hands together nervously, rubbing them before cautiously opening the door. Of course, it opened outward so that she couldn't see behind it, but she closed her eyes and tried to listen.

Nothing.

With a resolute sigh she eased herself out of the building, into the alleyway…

And right into the sights of two more Sabbat, dressed much like the others in leather jackets and toting machine pistols.

"Oh, fuck me," she groaned.

They didn't give her much of a chance to react as they opened fire. Ruby screamed, diving headlong for the only cover she could see, a battered but rather sturdy-looking dumpster.

The door to the garage, of course, had already closed behind her with no handle on this side, so this was as good a bet as any.

As Ruby ducked instinctively from the metallic pinging of bullets ricocheting off her cover, she looked down at herself incredulously. And at the several holes she now sported in the side of her red hoodie.

"They shot me!" she raged. "Those fucking assholes shot me, I have holes in me!"

The earlier fear was now replaced by anger. She inched around the other side of the dumpster, just in time to see Jack drop down from the roof. Moving inhumanly fast, her mentor slit the throat of one opponent with a knife he pulled from somewhere, then lifted the man off his feet, effortlessly breaking him over his knee. The corpse had just begun to turn to ash when the other combatant whirled around, but Jack suddenly rushed forward faster than Ruby's eye could track, even faster than before. His hands glowed with an unearthly light as he slammed both fists into the Sabbat's chest, sending the thug flying. His broken body disintegrated to ash as he tumbled down the alley past where Ruby was hiding.

The brunette gasped loudly. "Oh my kittens, I wanna be like him!" she giggled, jumping out from her cover and skipping forward towards her savior.

"Fuckin' waste o' unlife, these Sabbat vatos!" Jack grunted in disgust. "D'ya get winged?"

Ruby came to a halt a few feet from the other vampire as he looked her over. Glancing down, she poked a finger curiously into her side, morbidly fascinated. It hurt, but she wasn't screaming in agony like she imagined she'd be the first time she got shot. Not that I ever dwelled on such matters, nooo…

"Hey hey! Look at them potholes!" he chuckled. "Those'll close up soon enough - better feed though." Giving a quick sniff, Jack's head swiveled to face an outdoor stairwell that made a sharp turn at the bottom, evidently leading towards a building's basement.

"There's someone down the stairs here. He's not the freshest catch but he'll do."

Ruby looked up from her macabre exploration of her insides. "What's the difference? Blood's blood, right?"

"Whelp, when it comes to feeding, it's the quality blood you're looking for, not the quantity. Bums and lowlife don't pack the same punch that a healthy, well-bred human will. Juicebags with a pedigree, that's where it's at. But you gotta take what you can get. Wait till you get a Ph.D., kiddo. Ohhh, that's the good stuff."

The brunette shrugged, feeling oddly calm about the whole thing by this point. She was fairly certain there was some sort of hysterical breakdown in her near future, but she'd worry about it when it arrived. "If you say so."

"Well, you got a different problem all of your own that you gotta keep in mind, too."

"I do?" Ruby sighed softly. "Well, we wouldn't want to make it too easy on me, would we."

"Atta girl. Yeah, so the problem for you is that you're a Ventrue."

The silver-eyed girl blinked uncertainly. "A what now?"

"Ventrue. Ahh, damnit, I really don't have the time to… Okay. So Kindred, we're all split up, y'see? Into clans, sorta like… Okay. Think of them as bloodlines, descendents of one great-grandaddy vampire who sired the others in his clan, real ancient motherfucker, with me so far?"

Ruby just nodded solemnly, paying close attention and filing everything away. More things to ask about later as more questions arose. It was quite the list she was compiling, but the more she learned, the more she uncovered that she didn't comprehend.

"Each clan has their own ways of doin' stuff, their own abilities. I'm not gonna get into it all right now, there'll be time for that when you get back here to LA. But I saw your sire there on the stage, he was definitely a Ventrue, which means you are. Ya dig me?"

"Um, yeah. Totally diggin' you so far." Ruby worked very hard to keep the smirk from her face, but Jack still gave her a suspicious glance before he continued hastily.

"So what it means for ya here, bein' a Ventrue, is that you're a blue blood. Meanin', your clan weakness is that you gotta drink the good stuff. So that bum down the steps? He's not gonna do much for ya, might not even settle well, but it'll have to do in a pinch. Just… Just keep it in mind, okay?"

"Okay," Ruby murmured.

"Right. Remember what I said though, no matter who you're feedin' from, don't kill 'em - least not the innocent ones. You're a monster now, make no mistake - one of the damned and the fallen. You need to hold onto every last shred of Humanity you have."

Those last words sent a chill through her already cool body as she stared at the staircase unwaveringly. "Let's say I get a little... overzealous…" she whispered, almost afraid of the answer. "What happens then?"

Jack sighed heavily. "An innocent's an innocent. You kill one, even a worthless bum, even by accident, and it's gonna cost you a piece of your own Humanity, bring you closer to that Beast you got wellin' up inside you."

That got Ruby to glance over at him. "B- Beast? What exactly does that mean?"

His voice dropping into a somber growl, Jack lowered his head slightly. "The Beast - it's always there, waitin' to take over. When it does, it's like a wild animal wearin' your skin… desperate, scared, reckless. It'll do anything to survive and it's you that has to deal with the consequences."

"Well, shit," she breathed. "Wait… So I can't kill anyone? That seems a little, uh, restricting."

Jack's head snapped back up, sardonic grin once more in place. "Ah ah ah! I said innocent humans. If some asshole levels a twelve-gauge your way, you drain 'im, skin 'im, and bash in his skull. Self-preservation is a vital part of Humanity, after all. My favorite part, in fact."

Ruby nodded as he chuckled wryly. "Yeah, okay. I think I follow."

"The only way to fight the Beast is to keep in touch with your Humanity, and don't go hungry. It's a fine line. Got it?"

"Yeah… Yeah, I got it."

"Alright, now go feed. Careful, though… he's gonna drain fast."

The brunette nodded wordlessly and stalked forward. She eased herself down the dimly-lit stairwell and around the corner, where, sure enough, a rather sad-looking homeless man sat huddled in the corner.

She swallowed guiltily. Okay, just a little bit… Just enough to heal me, right? Not enough that he'll… miss it… Oh, God. I don't like this at all…

She pushed down her reservations, though, and padded over to the oblivious man. He must have drunk himself into a stupor not to have woken up to the earlier fighting, so she didn't bother being terribly stealthy. Her nose wrinkled up at the smell, and once she bit down, again at the taste. She managed to choke down a few gulps before carefully sealing him back up. After checking on his pulse, she walked away with one last concerned glance over her shoulder.

As Ruby headed back towards Jack, an inquisitive finger probed her wounds. Finding them closed up she let out a satisfied sigh.

Yeah, it was nasty… And I really didn't like doing it… But, at least now I know. I just hope it doesn't come to that again.

Once he spied her approaching, Jack wrinkled his own nose up sympathetically. "Not quite as good, huh? Eh, you could do worse. There's some rats down the way. You think I'm kiddin'? Some Kindred can survive feedin' on animals, if they can stomach that kind of thing. Blech. Not you, though, don't even think about it, a Ventrue tries shit like that and they'll vomit up every stored ounce a' blood they got. Well… 'polite' Kindred society looks down on that kind of thing anyway."

Ruby shuddered in response. "Yeah, I can see why." Ugh… rats…

Just then Jack's head perked up, and he made another cautious sniff. As he leaned towards the fence gate there, he grabbed hold of Ruby's shoulder and pushed her behind him.

"Keep it down. Got someone around the way here."

Ruby tried to peek around the taller man curiously. "Just one guy?"

"Not too much of a threat by himself, but you never know if there's more in shoutin' range," he mused, still peering into the darkness dimly lit by fires. "You're gonna have to sneak past."

"Ummm… okay. Sneak where?"

"The building across from us, with the garage door?" He indicated where he was talking about with a quick jerk of his chin. "There's some double doors on the far side. I'll meet you inside. Just stay low and stick to the shadows. And don't let him see you."

Ruby nodded hesitantly. "I- I'll do my best," she gulped. "Guess I'll see you in a minute? I hope?"

He gave her a confident wink before easing the gate open just enough for her to slip through. "Alright, go."

Ruby glided forward on noiseless feet, stealthy as a ninja as she effortlessly avoided detection.

At least, that was what she was going for.

In reality, she felt like a clumsy toddler trying to avoid being seen by parents while sneaking into the cookie jar. Creature of the night, my skinny ass…

Whatever skills a Ventrue possessed, sneaking sure wasn't one of them.

Still, she miraculously managed to get past the wrecked cars, sticking to the shadows as she approached the single vampire who stood about, looking around in confusion. His attention was turned away by a sudden explosion close by, and the brunette took advantage of the distraction. With a surge of adrenaline (Wait, do I even have adrenaline anymore?) she darted around the corner, up the few steps, and bolted through the door that was mercifully unlocked. As she eased the door shut again, she leaned against it with a sigh of relief. Ruby glanced up to survey her new surroundings… only to spy Jack standing there nonchalantly.

Are you fucking kidding me? How does he keep doing that?

"Keep it quiet, they're inside here," Jack murmured distractedly. "Seems that shovelhead outside just got separated from his pack. Heh, he's probably greener than you."

"Seriously?" she snorted. "That's pretty damn green."

Jack chuckled in response. "The Sabbat, you see, they don't have the most rigorous training program. In fact, that poor sod is lucky if he knows he's a vampire."

"Really? How can that be?" But then she remembered how hard her brain had worked against her, refusing to admit to herself just what she had become even with fairly certain evidence right in front of her.

"Ah, he was probably just turned and beaten over the head. They like to do that… make shock troops, cannon fodder."

Ruby fidgeted nervously. "Well… should we take care of him?"

"You sure about that, kid?" Jack asked, eyeing her skeptically. Ruby nodded hesitantly in reply.

"Yeah… Yeah, I'm sure, I'm… Yeah. I'll take care of him."

"Right. Well… Likely be doing him a favor. He's wounded too… Okay, then. Put him out of his misery. He is a vampire, so be ready."

"Right," she nodded, a little more firmly this time. "I've got maybe just a little frustration I need to work out."

Jack offered her a confident smirk. "Go get 'im, kiddo."

The brunette slowly made her way back down the hallway, finally feeling a bit more in control of something, even if it was based on violence. She really didn't get into too many fights as a kid, but those she did were beside her more volatile sister. After the first time Ruby stood up next to her in a confrontation, Yang took her aside and taught her how to brawl. She was twelve at the time.

Between the two of them, they'd gotten the reputation not to be messed with, even though she'd always been the smaller and scrawnier of the duo. Of course, it didn't matter once everything started to fall apart, as she was just shunned anyways, even without her sister around to protect her.

Squaring her thin shoulders, Ruby pushed the door open to stride confidently outside.

She only got to the bottom of the steps before she practically ran right into her target.

With a startled yelp, she flailed backwards, tripping and landing on her ass. That likely saved her, as the tire iron wielded by the Sabbat thug went whistling past the space where her head had just been.

Quickly recovering, Ruby let out a fierce yell as she surged to her feet and tackled the vampire. He landed on his back, the tire iron dropping from his hand as she straddled his chest, pinning his arms to his sides with her knees. She immediately began to wail away on his face, her lips pulled back in a grimace and a growl rumbling in her chest.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been at it when he suddenly wasn't there anymore, his body fading away into ash.

Normally by now she'd be panting heavily to regain her breath, but not anymore. Standing up and brushing the deceased's ashes from her jeans, she bent over, picked up the tire iron, and calmly headed back inside.

Yep, I'm a badass. Against one lost, already wounded vampire… C'mon, just keep that confidence up. I can do this.

Jack gave her a familiar grin as she approached. "Nice. Well, that's that. Sounds like we got another pack movin' in, though. The Sabbat're goin' all out. You better head underground, avoid stray bullets."

"Yeah, don't really feel like getting shot again…"

"Alright, head down into the basement, through the grate in there. Keep that tire iron handy. I'll be there in a minute."

Ruby nodded, grasping the tire iron in both hands as she eased herself into the next room. Sure enough, on the floor was a grate that led down into the basement. She pushed it aside and clambered down the ladder, her weapon clumsily held in her fingers while she descended.

Until it dropped from said fingers, landing on the concrete floor with a resounding clang.

The brunette fledgling sighed, pressing her face against the ladder. "Worst. Vampire. Ever."

Fortunately, no one rushed in to check on the disturbance, so she dropped the rest of the way and scooped up the tire iron. She soon found out why when she opened the next door, entering into a room barren save for the smirking form of Jack.

"Oh come on, now!" Ruby sputtered indignantly. "Seriously?"

The elder vampire just gave her a cheeky wink before looking around the room warily.

"Not sure what's goin' on. Sounds like the Sabbat's gettin' scattered. I'm gonna keep an ear to the ground. Be careful goin' forward here… could be a whole mess of 'em holed up."

"Great," she sighed. "Just my luck."

She pushed on ahead and through the next door. This room was piled up with boxes and crates, though as far as she could tell nobody else, living or dead. Even so, once she'd closed the door behind her she crept forward cautiously, tire iron held at the ready.

Hearing a squeak, she glanced down to see a rather obese rat as it scurried over the tops of her converse shoes.

The brunette managed to clamp a hand over her mouth to prevent the shriek from escaping. She closed her eyes, irritably lambasting herself.

C'mon, I'm a vampire, a freaking creature of darkness now, why am I still scared of… rats…?

She let out a shudder as she reopened her eyes and started forward again towards the next door. "Fucking rats," she grumbled to herself as she turned the door handle carefully.

It opened onto a hallway, stretching both ways. To the right, Jack stood by, waiting patiently for her. Ruby sighed resignedly. Maybe it's some secret vampire power, teleporting?

"I think they're clearin' out. There's no need to go stirrin' up the hornet's nest till we know the score, though. Head through here… you'll come to an elevator around the way."

"Right… I'll meet you over there, then."

"Yup. Don't let 'em catch ya."

The next room Ruby moved through actually had one of the Sabbat grunts in it, fortunately facing away from her and staring at the wall in confusion. She almost felt badly for bashing his head in.

Things didn't go so smoothly in the adjoining storage room. She almost missed the vampire hiding amongst the crates, at least until he hurtled out at her, howling furiously. When he hit, her tire iron went skidding away from her grasp and into the darkness. She wrestled on the ground for a moment or two, somehow managing to wiggle out from under the clumsy vampire, until she could get behind him. Once again drawing upon some instinct, she twisted his head viciously, snapping his neck and turning him to fiery ash.

Ruby spent a few precious seconds looking for her lost weapon before she stood up, suddenly chagrined by the errant thought that crossed her mind. "Fuckwaffles. Why didn't I pick up one of those machine pistols in the alleyway? Stupid, stupid, stupid… I am seriously the worst vampire ever…"

She gave up on her search and headed through the next doorway, once more ending up in a concrete corridor. And once more, Jack was there, though this time in a more relaxed stance and with a wide grin on his face.

The brunette wasn't even fazed anymore, just taking it all in stride by this point.

"Fuckin' humans. Gangbangers protectin' their turf." Jack chuckled loudly, shaking his head in mirth. "Ah, man, I'm here thinkin' it's Sabbat movin' up in here… it's the fuckin' locals about to take one for the hood."

"Huh. Well…" Ruby peered up at him hesitantly, ruffling her red-tipped messy locks of hair with her fingers. "So what do we do?"

He grunted in response. "Ugh. They probably seen too much. Here… take this thirty-eight. Fuckin' peashooter, but a few shots and it'll take down a human."

From behind his waist he produced a small revolver, handing it over to Ruby who eyed it skeptically.

"Well, I'm gonna want it back so don't go die and lose it. I don't use guns much. They're noisy, they're clumsy, practically useless against vampires. But still, a Kindred's gotta keep up with the times, and in modern day Los Angeles, that means comin' strapped."

Ruby glanced back up. "Useless against vampires?"

"Well, yeah, some are more lethal than others, of course. Watch out for those shotguns - ouch - those things can smart, I tell ya."

"Um, yeah…" She was staring at the gun in her hands once more, perplexed.

Jack looked at her, eyebrows raised. "Kid, you ever even shot a gun before?"

Ruby just shook her head forlornly, not looking up this time. With a rather put-upon sigh, Jack quickly gave her some pointers, demonstrating how easy it was to operate a revolver. "Six shots, no reloads. Point and squeeze, okay?"

She nodded once more, a bit more confidently this time. The brunette supposed it was just as well she hadn't grabbed one of the machine pistols, likely would have shot her foot off by this point.

"Okay, then. Head up and clear out what's left of 'em. Can't have them runnin' their mouths about any o' this. I'm gonna make sure there's no stragglers around outside."

Without a backwards glance, knowing she would see him soon in any case, Ruby headed for the elevator, revolver clutched nervously in her hand.

As she rode it slowly up to the ground level, she closed her eyes and tried to center herself.

Okay, I've managed to get past actual vampires now… And when did I ever think I'd be saying something like that, anyways? How freaking cool is… No, no, focus. Okay. Just some gangbangers. I can handle this, sneak up and ambush them. I got a gun. I have no fucking clue what I'm doing with this gun… But I have a gun.

The door slid apart noiselessly as she opened her eyes once more and headed inside the small warehouse in a crouch. There were tall shelves lining the crowded room, forming aisles to walk along. As she headed towards the right, she immediately spied someone with a bandana wrapped around his head on the other side.

Perfect! Ambush time!

With a steady hand she lifted the gun, sighted down the barrel as Jack had showed her, and carefully squeezed the trigger.

And missed.

"Shit!" she yelled as voices began to shout to each other in alarm. "Shit fucking fuckity shit!"

From what she could tell there might only be two gang members, but the element of surprise was wasted more surely than her uncle locked overnight in a liquor store. She could hear pounding footsteps as the gang members ran around the shelves towards her.

I am the worst fucking vampire ever!

She held her gun up as the first gangbanger rounded the corner. It was the one she'd shot at, and he had a baseball bat in his hand. The brunette opened fire frantically, managing to wing him a few times before he closed with her. Her swung wildly, which she somehow managed to duck under before raising her pistol up under his chin.

"Dodge this," she smirked before sending the next round up into his skull.

As he fell backwards in a spray of blood, she crowed excitedly while dancing around in a circle.

"Oh, yeah, I'm Trinity, motherfucker! Eat it!"

With a squawk she dodged to the side as the second one arrived with a gun of his own, similar to the one she clenched determinedly in her hand still. He managed to hit her a couple of times as she rolled across the floor, scrambling for cover. She pointed her own gun at him and squeezed the trigger, only for it to click on an empty chamber.

Dammitall, can't even count rounds… she groaned to herself. You know what? I'm done, I am so done here… it's snack time.

Ruby jumped to her feet and darted around the corner where the remaining gang member had ducked. He was frantically trying to reload when she jumped onto him, straddling his waist with her legs while she clamped down on his neck. She quickly drained him dry, riding him to the floor until she could feel his heart stop.

She stood back to her feet slowly, looking down at the pool of blood that had been wasted in her messy feeding. At least now she was fully healed, not to mention feeling pretty great now.

With a smirk the fledgling vampire picked up his gun and rifled through his pockets for ammo and cash. She found a few reloads of what looked to be another thirty-eight, as well as about fifty dollars in bills. Jumping up, she trotted over to the other corpse and did the same, retrieving about another sixty dollars. As Ruby stood up once more she hefted the wooden bat with a grin, remembering her days on the softball team back before her dad died.

"Now this I know how to use!"

Her smile slowly faded as her memories turned towards when her mom, dad, and sister would watch her play when she was younger. Then, as she aged, just her sister and dad. Then just her dad, and when he couldn't stay sober enough… Nobody.

That was when she'd quit.

Sighing resolutely, she gripped her new bat and turned to march towards the exit where Jack, naturally, was already awaiting her presence.

"That's it, kiddo. Just like that and it's all over. Everyone slinks back to their corners of the city for the night."

"That's it?" She felt like with everything she'd been through that evening, it should have resolved with something more… momentous. "It's over?"

Jack nodded amicably. "Until the next night, when the Camarilla finds some way to strike back. Parry, dodge, spin 'n all that crap. And so on, and so on, and so on…"

Ruby pinched the bridge of her nose. "So is this normal?"

He grimaced slightly before replying. "Well, to be honest, you came at a, well, an interesting time, let's say. The Camarilla, the Sabbat… well, in LA these are the news kids on the block. There's already plenty o' Kindred had stakes down in California long before them. Now, we got every ancient Kindred rivalry playin' out all over the city. Lotta tension out there. Lotta fear. Lotta jittery, high-strung predators clingin' to their little pieces of eternity."

"You're losing me here, Jack," Ruby replied, perplexed.

Outside, though, the sound of a car horn sounded to interrupt their conversation. Apparently her taxi to Santa Monica had arrived finally for her.

"Oh, boy," Jack grunted. "Well, I think they're lookin' for you outside, guess you got a cab to catch. Was hopin' to fill you in on a little more, but… Ah, hell, you'll figure it all out."

Personally, Ruby was highly skeptical of this claim, but still handed over his gun with her thanks, keeping the gangbanger's gun in her hoodie pocket and the bat over her shoulder. "So this is it then, huh? Um… Thanks, Jack, for everything. Really."

He gave her a wink and a nod as she headed towards the door leading outside. "If you make it back, stop in at the Last Round - it's this bar downtown here. I'll fill you in on the politics. Now that's the stuff that'll kill ya."

The two of them shared a wry chuckle. Ruby looked back at him once more, somewhat forlornly, as she was leaving the only person this entire evening who truly seemed to give more than two shits about her.

"Good luck, kid," Jack murmured with a confident grin.

The brunette nodded wordlessly and exited the building, closing the door behind her.

At the curbside of the street outside rested not a cab, but a decent-sized black limousine.

Wait, what? I thought there was supposed to be a cab?

As she stood there, once more perplexed, the window in back rolled down to reveal the face of the grey-haired bespectacled vampire from the theater balcony.

"Ruby Rose," he greeted her levelly. "My name is Ozpin. Why don't you hop in, we have much to discuss on the drive to Santa Monica."

A/N: And that, ladies, gents, and those who prefer non-gender-binary forms of address, was the introduction of the game in full. From here on out, things will drift back and forth, sticking to the gameplay one moment while going way off-rails the next. Speaking of which, you can see where more of the dialogue deviated here regarding the Ventrue feeding habits. Also I made a few jabs at Jack's apparent ability to teleport around, as those who have played the game can appreciate.

And yes, Ruby is Ventrue. Much of this story will be her struggle not only with being an actual vampire, but of the expectations on her from her clan. For those unfamiliar with the clan system from World of Darkness, be patient, the beginning of the next chapter will be much more revealing than the talk with Jack was in that regard as Ozpin fills in some of the cracks. As far as the other Team RWBY members go, at least one will turn up next chapter. Any bets as to who it might be?

Much love for my Beta and collaborator, Live to anger the World! And abundant hugs for my lovely reviewers from the last chapter: A couple of Guests (yep, JNPR will make appearances, and right there with ya on Pyrrha, she's my girl; nope, no Penny), kaiju62, zerosabers, AntonSlavik020, carpenter656, Heil96, TacoKing23, Blacsparrow, TacoKing23, and Reaper Whisper. I am super excited at the feedback so far, both from lovers of the game and those who have had no experience playing it. 30 followers and 20 reviews, that's pretty damn awesome. Thanks for the support, means I'll definitely be diving into this head-first! Fear not, I'll still keep it so that anyone not familiar with VtMB will still understand what's going on!

Stay shiny!