13 Sperata 1/3

"Yang!? What happened!?" Weiss shouted as she barged into the infirmary room alongside Blake and watched as Yang was shaking her sister with panic evident in her eyes.

"I-I don't know! She was fine a minute ago, and then the book started floating, then her eyes glowed and then nothing she just collapsed! Come on Ruby! Wake up!" Yang began panicking as she began to shake Rubys body harder, only for Rubys body to flail around limply.

"Yang! Calm down, there's another bed in here. Put her there and I will get the nurse" Blake said waiting for Yang to nod an pick up her sister. "Good" Blake said as she ran out of the room to search for a nurse.

"Ruby!" Summer shouted as she appeared in the doorway of the hospital room and quickly ran to her daughters side.

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"You-You died. And Arthur, his body! What happened to him!?" Ruby asked as she stared at Ashe her eyes moist from the sad and strange scene.

Wiping her eyes from the tears Ashe turned around and walked back to the gazebo and indicated to Ruby to sit on the one directly across from her, which she quickly took as she watched Ashe.

"That, was a memory, our last memory together." She admitted as a teapot and cups appeared before her surprising Ruby. Picking up the kettle Ashe silently poured both herself and Ruby a cup.

Picking up her own cup Ashe added two cubes of sugar and stirred it before taking a light sip. Entrancing Ruby at her elegance though out the entire process, every action refined and flowing, showing skill and beauty in every action she did.

"You really like staring, don't you?" Ashe asked once again with a teasing tone causing Ruby to flinch and blush as she thought 'She's a lot like Yang…'. "Anyways, I'm sure you have questions, but our time here is limited to say the least." Ashe stated as she pointed towards Rubys hands.

Looking down at her own hands Ruby began to panic as she saw her the table beneath her through her now transparent hands "Wh-Whats going on!? Am-am I dy-dying!?" Ruby shouted.

"Calm down, calm down. You're not dying, you are waking up." Ashe explained as Ruby took a deep breath in relief, before asking "Waking up? So this is all a dream then?"

"Oh, nonono, this is all real, this is the world within Arthurs… Book" Ashe explained to a still confused Ruby.

"How did I get here then? The last thing I remember is his book floating and a bright light. And is this really inside of the book? And why was I alone for so long?" She rapidly asked.

"Yeah, sorry about that. First time I'm dragging someone's mind into the Tome, it took me awhile to figure everything out." Ashe said as she guiltily scratched the back of her neck. "Anyways, we really don't have a lot of time left, so the reason I brought you in here was to ask if you would want to become one of Arthurs… Sperata." Ashe said with a wide, mischievous smile that sent shivers down Rubys spine.

"A-a Sperata?" Ruby asked nervous at what that would mean.

"It's nothing to worry about, it means… Partner, or trusted one in Latin" Ashe's devious smile only getting wider the more she spoke causing Ruby to gulp.

"An-and what does a Sperata do exactly?" Ruby asked feeling a bad premonition.

"A Sperata, is someone who travels together with the contractor and simply acts as a sort of friend and care taker to the contract holder. You also travel together on adventures and that sort of thing, think of it as what you are to Weiss currently, that is essentially what a Sperata does, plus, minus a few other things that you can go into later together with Arthur." Ashe now rested her head on her hand that was propped up on the table by her elbow.

"But what about Weiss then? I can't just become someone else's partner and abandon her" Ruby stated.

"Hmm, that's not a problem, you are technically only her partner while you are at Beacon, so you only really need to take up the part of a Sperata after the fact, or you know 'convert' her into another of Arthurs Sperata, then you are all partners together." She replied with a wide smile.

Ruby contemplated the thought very quickly, not even really processing it as she nodded and asked "Is that it? There's nothing else about it, there's no drawbacks right?" Ruby asked, guessing there was most likely a really big drawback.

"No, not really. The only drawback really is that a Sperata contract can't be broken or dissolved, so it is essentially a contract you will have until death, 'Well, that's not entirely true'" Ashe said her last words being muttered low enough so Ruby couldn't hear her.

Ruby of course squinted suspiciously at Ashe and said "And why are you asking me to be his Sperata and not him?" She asked suspicious of Ashes intentions.

"Oh, that's because Arthur can't actively create the contracts, the only time a Sperata contract can be created is if you meet with me, the first Sperata, I am for all intents and purposes Arthurs guide and smarter half" she stated as the world slightly shook in agitation at her bold statement.

"Oh, hush you. We both know it's true." She said to the world which only replied with a strange gurgling noise reminiscent of disgruntled grumbles which caused Ashe to giggle.

"Does that always happen?" Ruby asked as she clutched to the table due to the sudden shaking of the world.

"Oh, not really, you can just ignore that." Ashe said as she turned back towards Ruby with an even more mischievous smile "Now, what do you say? Can you become one of Arthurs Sperata?" she asked her smile not fading from its mischievous look, only becoming more gentle, calming Ruby as it reminded her of her sisters teasing looks.

"I-I… Sure, fine. What do I have to do?" Ruby said accepting the proposition stuttering her first few words as she contemplated if she should or not eventually deciding that it didn't sound that bad, even if she did suspect that Ashe was hiding something.

Hearing Rubys confirmation Ashe smiled widely once again sending shivers down Rubys spine. "Great! Good! All you have to do is sign, Here!" Ashe said as a paper scroll appeared in front of Ruby with foreign writing on it, with the only words being legible to her being the title on the page which said 'Sperata' the rest of the text was illegible to Ruby as it seemed to be from a different language.

"So, I just sign here?" Ruby asked as she picked up a pen that appeared next to the scroll "Yes, just sign there and the contract is complete" She said as she pointed to a small line at the bottom of the page which she guessed was where her signature went.

Nodding, Ruby quickly scribbled down her signature which included her name with a small rose taking the spot of the 'o' in Rose. "That it?" Ruby asked as she found that Ashe had disappeared from the Gazebo along with the field of flowers and the contract. "Ashe!?" Ruby shouted as she quickly began looking around for her, soon realizing that the world was getting darker until all the white vanished except for a small droplet of light in the distance to which she began walking.

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Slowly opening her eyes Ruby released a loud yawn as she stretched her arms. "Ruby!" Yang shouted as she tackled her sister in a bearhug "Oh, I was so worried! what happened? Are you okay?" Yang fired off question after question at Ruby.

"Yang… Ribs… breaking…" Ruby muttered as she lost breath.

Yang not willing to or simply didn't hear her didn't let her go. As such when Summer saw this she raised her hand and slammed it down onto Yang's head, knocking her out completely, sending shivers down Weiss and Blake's spines at how harsh Summer was to her own daughter.

"Was that really necessary?" Goodwitch asked as she watched Yang fall limply to the ground.

"She'll be fine, maybe a little bruised, but she'll be fine." Summer said getting rolled eyes from Glynda as she crossed her arms and released a sigh as she used her semblance to pickup Yang and placed her on another bed.

"Anyways, Ruby, how are you feeling? You worried us all when you collapsed like that." Summer asked getting nods from the others.

"Yeah, are you okay? It's not like you to just collapse like that" Blake asked

"I'm fine, I didn't really collapse. Ashe wanted to speak with me and made me an offer"

"Ashe?" Weiss asked

"Offer?" Summer questioned with a squint

"And where is this 'Ashe' person then? No one else had been in this room apart from us." Glynda asked cautiously as she thought 'Do we have an intruder on campus?'

"Oh, Ashe is the girl inside of Arthurs book!" Ruby said happily as she picked up the black and white book from the table next to her and showed it to everyone.

"She's…" Weiss began as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Inside the book?" Blake finished as she looked at the book in curiosity noting the black and white cover and the intricate engraving of a woman's portrait also noting the golden lustre coming from the pages of the book. Getting quick nods from Ruby in affirmation.

"Summer, I think your daughter has lost it…" Glynda stated getting a glare from Summer and Ruby who also looked shocked from her statement.

"I have not! Here let me show you!" Ruby shouted as she opened the book and flipped to the page 'In Memoriam' thinking 'This show memories right? Maybe it can show everyone my memories to?'. Thinking that the pages of the book slowly began to gain colour showing Ruby standing before a window peering into a hospital room with an ashen haired girl next to her that looked to be slightly older the Yang.

"Did that book just draw a picture on its own?" Blake asked wide eyed at the picture that appeared on the book.

"How is that even possible!? It's paper! Don't be ridiculous it's probably just invisible ink or something like that." Weiss argued

"Then how do you explain that the picture is moving?" Blake asked as she took a closer look at the picture noting that the Ruby in it turned to look at the girl and began speaking with her.

"I-I, I don't know! But paper just can't draw pictures by itself" Weiss argued still not willing to believe the truth of the matter.

"Well, it seems to be doing just that." Blake stated as she kept staring at the pages as it changed to another scene of Ruby sitting with the woman in a gazebo amongst a field of red roses.

"Ruby, when did this happen? You haven't moved from this spot at all." Summer gently asked.

"Oh, that happened when she dragged my mind into Arthur's book to chat with me." Ruby answered as honestly as possible, not thinking of any damages something like that could bring upon the world.

"The book, stole your mind?" Glynda sternly asked as she removed her riding crop from her boot.

"Y-yes? Only temporarily though, she said it was something like a dream"

"And pray tell, why did she steal your mind from your body?" Glynda kept asking Ruby who was now beginning to shiver under the combined stares of her mother, Weiss, Blake and Glynda.

"Ah, um, uh, sh-she wanted me to become one of Arthurs Sperata! Please stop looking at me like that!" Ruby said as she hid under the blanket of the bed she was put in.

"Sperata? And what does that mean then? It doesn't sound like anything from English." Weiss asked

"Sh-she said it meant partner or trusted one." Ruby said still hiding from everyone with only her eyes peeking out from under her blanket.

"Uh-huh, and why did she want you to become a 'Sperata' then dear?" Summer gently asked her daughter, noticing that Yang had awakened and was listening in as she nursed the growing bump on her head.

Thinking about it for a moment Ruby drew a blank and said "You know, I never really asked…"