85

Chapter 85

It took all of Ruby's willpower to keep that name from escaping her lips. As it was, the confusion and fear had momentarily paralyzed her, numerous realizations descending upon her all at once, stopping her voice in her throat.

Cinder had Jaune's scroll. Jaune had not yet come back to Beacon. That could only mean one thing, that Cinder had Jaune, in whatever context that meant. But what that meant was still a baffling mystery. However, the one thing that Ruby knew for sure was that this was bad. There was no way Cinder was doing this with good intentions.

Had Cinder realized that Ruby, and by extension the authorities at Beacon, were onto her? Was this some gambit to get them to back off? That didn't seem likely. It would have been more expedient for Cinder and her people to simply disappear, while on their "mission," vanishing without a hint of what they were doing and where they were going.

For the time being, Ruby decided to play dumb. If her worries were correct, then Cinder would call her bluff. If not, then maybe there was still something she could learn about the situation, beyond exactly what Cinder wanted from her.

"W-who is th-this?" asked Ruby, not needing to fake the frightened stammer that crept into her voice. "Where's Jaune?"

"Jaune Arc is all right for now," cooed Cinder. "How long that remains the case is dependent on your behavior. As for who I am...let us just say we are...acquainted."

Ruby swallowed, her mind able to piece together a few facts about the situation now. Cinder didn't seem to suspect that Ruby knew about who she really was, unless she was just playing along. She hadn't bothered trying to disguise her voice over the scroll, which was either a sign of great confidence, or a sign that she knew she didn't need to bother.

"Wha-what do you want?" stuttered Ruby, her heart thundering in her chest.

"Oh...I think you know," said Cinder. "But...for the sake of fun, I'll pretend. Let's just say that you have something that belongs to me, and I wish to claim it."

"I…do...?" Ruby didn't have to fake confusion. She was genuinely confused. Of all the responses she'd expected, this one was not one of the ones she'd anticipated. What do I have that she could want?

"Fine then...play dumb with me, if you wish," said Cinder. "Just know that you are risking your dear partner's safety for toying with me."

"Fine," said Ruby, feigning resignation. "Let's get more specific. What do you want me to do...specifically?"

"To the point...good," said Cinder smugly. "The final airship from Beacon will soon be departing, and you are going to be on it...alone. We are watching you, and we'll know if you try to bring anyone else in on this."

Ruby swallowed, glancing around nervously. Thanks to the mission in Mountain Glenn, RASP, RYNB, and CPPR all knew about Cinder's connection with the White Fang, and that she had been the one calling the shots there. Ozpin had also revealed that Cinder had, through some means, taken some measure of control over the CCT. He and his people suspected a virus.

They had already confirmed that it had allowed Cinder and her people to tamper with the security footage around Beacon's campus, which presumably meant that they could also monitor the security feeds themselves. Of course, given that every scroll used by every student at Beacon interfaced with the CCT on a regular basis, Ruby wouldn't have been surprised if her own scroll was infected by the presumed virus, allowing Cinder to monitor her activities, which was disturbing, to say the least.

No! she thought. The uneasy feeling that had been dogging her since the previous day finally crystalized. It wasn't her scroll that had been infected, it had been Jaune's. During his conversation with Saphron, Jaune had plugged in his scroll to receive the pictures of his nephew from her. That had to have been the time when the virus Cinder had implanted had found its way onto his scroll. No wonder I couldn't find him with the locator app. Lulled into a false sense of normalcy by the conversation with his sister, they'd briefly lowered their guards, forgetting Ozpin's warnings about the virus. Ruby was silently kicking herself for not realizing it sooner. It was a bitter oversight to make.

Meanwhile, Cinder was continuing with her instructions. "Once you arrive in Vale, you will be able to use your scroll's locator app to find your lost little partner. I suspect you will know what to do from there."

"Yeah," said Ruby, feeling sick to her stomach. Then she took a deep breath. "How do I know Jaune's still alive? All you have is his scroll right now."

"Clever," said Cinder. "It would seem you're not completely naive. Well then...some proof..."

A tone signaled the arrival of a text, this one with an attached image. It showed a frightened Jaune, tied to a chair, a gag over his mouth. There wasn't enough in the frame for Ruby to make out where he was being held. He was definitely alive, looking relatively unharmed. At least it seemed that Cinder and her cohorts hadn't done anything to hurt him, beyond what they'd done to take him hostage in the first place.

"And, in case you think that this is a saved photo from earlier..." continued Cinder, already anticipating Ruby's next question.

"Ruby...!"

"Jaune!" exclaimed Ruby, recognizing her friend's voice over the line.

"Ruby, don't-!" Jaune's voice was cut off, muffled sounds replacing it, making Ruby suspect he'd just been gagged.

"As you can see and hear, your friend is alive...for now," said Cinder, taking the scroll again. "How long he stays that way is up to you, of course."

"Of course," grumbled Ruby.

"Now then, best be off with you. You have a flight to catch. Don't be late. Remember, not a word to anyone. We will know."

Cinder ended the call there, the line going dead with a click. For a moment, Ruby stood there, a terrifying chill running down her spine. Of course, even if Jaune was still alive, Cinder might well be disposing of him, even now, after he'd served his purpose. It wasn't as though Ruby could keep calling to confirm. If Cinder hadn't killed Jaune yet, pestering her for proof was likely to prompt her to kill him, out of frustration, if nothing else.

Ruby looked down the hallway towards her dorm room. Weiss and Pyrrha were right there. Maybe she could meet with them and form a plan. But that didn't seem likely. Ruby didn't know where the cameras that monitored Beacon were located. They were remarkably discreet in their design and, unlike living observers, possessed no intent for Ruby to sense. There could be some in this hallway. They might or might not have a view of the door. Ruby couldn't take the risk that Cinder might see her meeting with her other teammates. Not to mention she would know something was up if they all left together. Cinder had picked her timing well, choosing to make Ruby leave on the last airship from Beacon, ensuring that her teammates couldn't follow on a later one.

There wasn't much time to debate what to do, sadly. Ruby was glad she'd changed back into her combat outfit at least. She was also glad she hadn't hung up Akaibara yet, her sword still resting at the small of her back. At least she wouldn't be going in defenseless. Sadly, there was no more time to hesitate. Ruby made her way down the stairs and out of the dorms. She had an airship to catch.

True to Cinder's promise, when Ruby stepped off the airship in Vale, she was able to bring up the location of Jaune's scroll on her app. With assistance from the CCT, Ruby was even able to overlay it with a map of Vale, so she wasn't left wandering down streets in the general direction of the yellow blip that represented her partner's scroll. Her sandals scuffed softly against the concrete sidewalks as she made her way towards the location, keeping her wits about her.

Not far away from he destination, Ruby was able to sense Neo's presence. The diminutive girl was watching her warily, but without any sign of overt hostility, which Ruby didn't know what to make of. She suspected that Neo was, in some way, trying to get herself and Torchwick out from under Cinder's thumb. If that was the case, then Neo was very unlucky. Her warnings were still on Jaune's scroll, a ways down on the list of message threads, but easy enough for Cinder to find, if she looked.

Still, that was a secondary concern at best. Right now, Ruby's main focus was on saving Jaune...and trying to figure out just what Cinder was after. Cinder had said that Ruby had something that "belonged to her." What that was, Ruby couldn't figure out for the life of her.

The signal from Jaune's scroll led Ruby to what looked like an empty and abandoned lot, deep in the Kingdom's industrial district. The burnt out remains of what appeared to have once been a factory of some kind rose up around her, though the ceiling had long since fallen in. As places to go, it was probably perfect for Cinder's plans. It was empty and isolated, well away from prying eyes, especially at this time of night. If things got...noisy...it was unlikely that anybody would notice and raise an alarm. Even if they did, it would be a while before the police arrived to investigate.

Stepping through the empty arch of a crumbling doorway, Ruby found herself navigating the factory's rubble-strewn floor. A massive, twisted piece of ruined machinery of some kind dominated the space near the wall on her left, while crumbled chunks of masonry dotted the floor all around her, presumably coming from the ruined ceiling. Up above, chunks of steel jutted from what remained of the walls. There were even the decaying remains of a gantry, which terminated in a jagged mess of torn metal.

It was the kind of setting that was favored by horror movies, not that Ruby had seen any since coming back to Vale. But she could imagine some deranged stalker, hunting a gang of helpless teenagers through this mess of rubble. If anything, that was her position right now. Cinder's cohorts might well be stalking her, even now. Ruby kept her senses Extended, on watch for the first sign of an attack.

Stepping around a large pile of rubble, Ruby's body shuddered in relief when she saw Jaune. Immediately, she was able to sense the presence of his Aura, a sure indicator that he was alive. He was still tied to a metal folding chair, the one she'd seen in the picture. At present, he was slumped forward against his restraints, possibly unconscious. Said chair rested out in a rather open space, far away from any potential cover.

Ruby's first impulse was to rush to his side and check his condition. However, it was all too clear that she was being baited. Even with Jaune right in front of her, she couldn't allow herself to be distracted. Cinder and her team were here somewhere. Carefully, Ruby stepped a little closer to Jaune, her hand going to the handle of her sword. With a whisper of steel, Akaibara slid free. Her guard up, Ruby advanced a little closer, looking for any signs of danger.

She risked another glance at her scroll. The signal from Jaune's scroll wasn't coming from where he was, directly in front of her. It was coming from a little bit behind him and to the right...behind another pile of rubble that obscured her line of sight. Carefully, she Extended her senses in that direction. Immediately, her awareness encountered the twisted monstrosity that was Cinder's soul. She was standing just behind that pile of rubble, presumably ready to stride out when the time was right. From her poise, it was clear she had a preference for drama over practicality.

Despite that, Ruby feigned ignorance, sweeping her Extension around her immediate area, checking for signs of Cinder's cohorts. Mercury was crouched atop the remains of one of the beams above, a position that would allow him to drop down almost right on top of her, when the time was right. Emerald was farther back than Cinder, hidden behind a cracked pillar with nothing for it to support any longer. That made Ruby frown pensively. Was Emerald farther back so she could provide ranged support with her revolvers? Or was she the illusionist Neo had warned them about, and was keeping out of the way so that she could use her ability more freely?

Only one way to find out, I guess, thought Ruby, already thinking ahead. Her first priority was Jaune. She had to make sure he was safe...at least safe for long enough. She had almost reached him. Ruby had thought that Cinder was going to cut her off, in order to continue using Jaune as leverage. But Cinder continued to wait out of sight.

Here we go then, thought Ruby, closing the distance between herself and Jaune. He was still bowed over, apparently out cold. Still holding her scroll, Ruby held out her right hand, gently touching the first two fingers to the back of Jaune's head, sending a pulse of Aura through them. Jaune flinched slightly, and Ruby could sense the bruise at the back of his head, presumably where he'd been hit to knock him out.

She could sense him stir, his consciousness returning. Crouching down beside him, Ruby pretended to inspect him for injuries. Using the hand she was still holding at the back of his head, Ruby kept Jaune's head bowed, keeping him from lifting it up to betray the fact that he was awake. "Keep still," she whispered softly. "Pretend you're still out."

The fact that Jaune didn't move indicated that he heard her and was obeying her instructions. Carefully, Ruby sliced the ropes binding his arms and legs to the chair, before moving to remove the gag. She held up her hand fingers to his neck, as though checking for his pulse. "Jaune," she said in a louder voice. "Come on! Wake up! I'm gonna get you outta here!"

Jaune shuddered, and let out a low groan, forcing Ruby to hold back a smile as he played along, pretending to slowly come-to. As he did, Ruby could sense his Aura, going to work to heal the rest of the damage to him. Once again, she found herself marveling at an ability to do what no ordinary healer could. It made for one impressive trump card in this situation.

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid that you won't be doing that," cooed Cinder. Like an actor waiting for her cue, she strode confidently into the open, fully extending each leg ahead of her with each step, swaying her hips confidently.

Ruby looked up, rising to her feet, taking Cinder in. As she did, she silently slipped Jaune her scroll, the message she'd discreetly typed on the screen for him to see. Reading it quickly, Jaune carefully hid the scroll from sight, covering it with his hands, while still feigning being just barely on the edge of consciousness. She stood warily between Jaune and Cinder, raising her sword in a warding gesture.

Cinder was dressed in, what Ruby assumed to be, her real combat outfit. It consisted of a dark-red, off-the-shoulders minidress, with a v-neck that showed off a generous portion of her cleavage. Its collar and the hem of the skirt were decorated with designs in gold embroidery, with the short skirt showing Cinder's legs to her advantage, something she clearly knew, from the way she walked. Furthermore, it was slit along its right side, the slit running up towards her hip, where it was topped by a blue, feathery accessory. Her eyes gleamed with the vicious malevolence that Ruby had sensed being barely held in check during their first meeting, and carefully restrained during their fight in the tower. This was Cinder truly presenting herself as herself, not pretending to be a student or remaining quiet for the sake of her infiltration.

She moved and carried herself with the appearance of someone who knew she held all the cards. She knew she had the advantage, and so did Ruby. Thanks to her own tricks, Ruby wasn't at as much of a disadvantage as Cinder might have thought, but only by a little bit. Aside from walking right into their trap, Ruby was still tired from her fight with Kyo. She'd recovered somewhat in the hours since, but her cloak still looked a little ragged at the edges, betraying the fact that her Aura wasn't fully topped off.

"Welcome, Ruby Rose," said Cinder. "I'm so glad to see that you're being cooperative. We wouldn't want dear Jaune to suffer an unpleasant fate, would we?"

Ruby growled in frustration. "What do you want?"

"Why...I figured that would be obvious," said Cinder, her tone taunting. "Do you truly think you can still hide it...what you really are?"

What does she mean by that? wondered Ruby, baffled by the insinuation. Cinder was suggesting that Ruby was...something. But wasn't Cinder the one who...? Oh... Ruby suddenly got an idea of what Cinder might be implying.

"I understand why you would go to such lengths to hide it," explained Cinder, stalking forward until she was just a couple meters away from Ruby, before coming to a stop. "I'm sure that Ozpin has told you that you were destined to do great things, that you had the power to change the world. The latter part might have even been true. But...I'm sorry to say that destiny was never on your side."

Wow...she's really getting a kick out of all this cryptic conversation stuff, thought Ruby, her expression deadpan.

"That's the unfortunate reality of this situation," continued Cinder. "You were promised a power that was never yours. You just aren't worthy of it. But I am. So I will take what's mine."

So that is it, thought Ruby. Cinder thinks I'm a Maiden. How on earth did she come to that conclusion?

Then again, it didn't take too much reflection to hit upon Cinder's reasoning. Given that she possessed a Maiden's power, and knew the difference between what that power and what using Dust looked like, she must have realized that Ruby wasn't using Dust in her fights. But Cinder apparently lacked the proper context to understand that Ruby's abilities were the result of her mastery of Aura, and so assumed it to be a product of magic instead. Because of that, she had come to the erroneous conclusion that Ruby was one of the four Maidens.

It also explained the reasoning behind Cinder's behavior in Beacon Tower, on the night of the dance. Cinder had openly attacked Ruby because she had wanted to test her, to find evidence that Ruby was a Maiden. And, from the look of things, what Cinder had seen had made her certain.

Boy...isn't that ironic? thought Ruby. She might not have been a Maiden, but she knew one.

Now then...the real question was how to approach this. Her initial priority had been making sure that Jaune was safe. Now that she'd gotten him conscious, and he'd healed himself, that problem was taken care of, which meant that her new priority was making sure that she took Cinder down.

Maybe Ozpin and Ironwood had been too cautious, and they should have gone after Cinder sooner. Maybe not. It was hard to tell. Had Cinder not gotten it into her head that Ruby was one of the Maidens, then she would probably still be carrying on under the guise of a student, happily assuming that no one had any idea what she was up to.

But now, Cinder had played her hand. If Ruby didn't take her down, and Cinder got away, she would know the jig was up, because she had given herself away. And while she might have been thwarted for now, she and her allies would be able to disappear, and fall back to come up with a new plan. Sure, they wouldn't have the advantage of anonymity that they'd enjoyed before. But that probably wouldn't slow them down all that much. So Ruby had to make sure that she brought Cinder down, here and now.

So now the question was how to approach this confrontation. She could continue to feign ignorance (not that she had to pretend that she wasn't a Maiden). But Cinder was making it clear that that wouldn't fly. So then, Ruby figured the next best thing was to play along, see what else she could wrangle out of Cinder in this conversation, before things got...dicey.

It was clear that, just like Adam, Cinder had a love of drama. Seriously, what is it with the bad guys and strutting around like they're in a stage performance? Cinder didn't merely want to win against Ruby, she wanted to flaunt her victory. She wanted to drive Ruby into a corner, then lord it over her, until she was ready to deal the final blow. It was the same kind of urge that had prompted Adam to conceive of a needlessly complicated plot to draw Ruby into a bald-faced plan to kill her. And, just as with Adam, Ruby had seen the setup coming from a mile away.

Not that that made things easier in this case. Cinder was no Adam Taurus. She had power that Adam couldn't even dream of, even if her power was incomplete. Ruby felt that their fight in Beacon Tower was more of a scuffle to someone of Cinder's caliber. What was more, Cinder wasn't alone this time. She had backup in the form of Emerald and Mercury, and possibly Neo. She would be fighting uninhibited, not merely testing the waters this time. The thought of facing that twisted, mutilated soul, of having that hungry malice focused entirely on her, made Ruby feel slightly faint.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, breathing out her tension through her lips, letting a wave of soothing calm spread through her. It's not hopeless by a long shot, she thought. I can do this. Cinder's nothing, compared to Kyo-nii.

As terrifying as the state of Cinder's soul was, it belied the fact that the incomplete nature of her power resulted in idiosyncrasies that inhibited her in battle. In some ways, Ruby suspected Cinder might have been more formidable before she'd gotten her hands on the Fall Maiden's magic. Relying only on skill, technique, and Dust would have likely made her more creative. Her techniques would have been more refined, and she wouldn't have had to work around bothersome limits imposed on her by the fact that she was missing much of the Maiden's full power.

Opening her eyes, Ruby smirked. "Fine...you got me," she said, pulling back her lips to flash Cinder the smallest of grins. "But boy are you entitled."

"Excuse me...?" growled Cinder the look of smug superiority slipping from her face.

Ruby giggled, not even really needing to fake it. "I wonder just who died and made you queen of the world, that you apparently get to decide who's worthy of this. It sounds to me like Little Miss Fall is just a spoiled little girl, who's gonna throw a tantrum anytime she doesn't get exactly what she wants." Ruby pursed her lips playfully. "Awww...Does Widdle Miss Fawl want mowre powa? You want some magic? How about telling me what the magic word is, huh?"

The reactions Ruby got were telling. Predictably, Cinder clearly did not like being talked down to, especially not with baby-talk. Ruby could feel smoldering rage become blazing rage through the angry ripples of Cinder's Aura, not that the snarling grimace on her face didn't betray her feelings all on its own. Her two subordinates were reacting too. From her place of concealment, Emerald was seething with indignation, while Mercury was actually having to stifle his own mirth. Jaune, of course, was confused. He had no idea what they were talking about, of course. Ruby could only hope that that confusion wouldn't keep him from remembering what he needed to do.

"You think this is funny, you little brat?" growled Cinder. "And here I figured you'd play along, if only so your little boyfriend doesn't have to die."

"I'm not that stupid," replied Ruby, keeping her voice smug. "You never had any intention of letting Jaune go, no matter what I did. After all, he knows who you are, and what you've done. You obviously don't want witnesses, or you wouldn't have gone through the trouble of calling me all the way out here, on my own."

"So you have some awareness of your situation," said Cinder. "But you don't seem to understand just how grave it really is."

"Oh, I understand plenty," said Ruby. "You're the one lacking in understanding. You're so hungry for power, so desperate, so clawing, that you've almost completely shut down your ability to think about anything beyond your own wants. And now...that's really bitten you in the butt. You just haven't realized that yet."

The angry glow in Cinder's eyes wasn't just metaphorical anymore. In fact, orange flames were now streaming from the outside corner of her right eye, while her irises gleamed with malevolent light. The more angry Cinder got, the more agitated her power became, and the more Ruby could sense the instability of Cinder's condition and, oddly, the less frightening Cinder became.

One thing was clear, while Cinder definitely craved power, it wasn't entirely for its own sake. What Cinder truly craved was respect and/or fear. If she couldn't get the former, she'd settle for the latter, so long as she received some form of the deference she clearly thought was her due. In fact, she might have preferred fear. It also explained her tendency towards the dramatic. Adam's had been born from pure spiteful vindictiveness. Cinder's dramatic tendencies came from a desperate desire to stand over others.

The real reason she'd gone through all this was so that she could assert her superiority. She'd manipulated Ruby to bring her out here on her own, to show that she could control Ruby. She'd put on this little play to rub in just how much better she thought she was. It was all in service to her ego.

So...by kicking that ego, and knocking Cinder down a few pegs, Ruby was chiseling away at Cinder's effectiveness. All things considered, successfully stealing Amber's power might well have been the worst thing Cinder could have done to herself. It had stoked her sense of entitlement and stifled her ability to fully think critically, and now her every action was colored by her focus on her own gratification. Give a mouse a cookie... as the old story went.

Or perhaps it was that hunger Ruby sensed. If it felt so severe from Ruby's perspective, she could scarcely imagine what it was like for Cinder. Ruby had to imagine it was like the sensation of starving, of a stomach so empty that it was agonizing. Yet no amount of eating could fill that void, and it would only continue to torment Cinder, until she finally claimed the missing portion of the Fall Maiden's pwer. Perhaps that hunger had driven her to seek the magic she thought Ruby possessed, thinking that that might assuage that void within her. In either case, such a sensation might well have filled Cinder with such an intense sense of want, that it had stifled her more rational aspects. Regardless, such a condition didn't leave Cinder well-disposed to being taunted.

"Little fool," growled Cinder. "I'm going to enjoy taking your power." Her cruel smile returned. "I'm a little...lacking...in the component I had last time. So I'll just have to take it the old-fashioned way...by making you suffer, until my face is the last, and only, thing on your mind, when you finally die."

"Oooooooh...Breaking out the big guns, huh?" asked Ruby, still grinning. "You're really gonna be disappointed then." That was true, in more ways than one. Even if Cinder succeeded, she wouldn't be getting what she wanted, because the magic was never in Ruby to begin with. Of course, in that particular situation, Ruby would lose too, so Ruby would rather that Cinder be the only one disappointed.

Cinder shifted. It was a collection of small changes; the way her feet slid further apart, her spine and knees bending slightly, her hands drifting away from her sides; that betrayed her shifting into combat mode. Behind Cinder, from her cover, Ruby could sense Emerald's Aura growing stronger, gathering about her head, before reaching out towards Ruby.

It was that approaching Aura, almost like the classic Projection Ruby had practiced since the beginning, that made her wary. When it came in contact with Ruby's own Aura, nothing happened. Instead, it slipped past without the slightest bit of resistance. Emerald had a healer's touch. But mending hurts was clearly the furthest thing from Emerald's mind. Emerald's Aura still carried her animosity, which made it all the more unusual that it was able to slip past Ruby's guard so easily.

From above, Ruby sensed Mercury go into action, dropping from his perch, and plummeting down at her. The strange thing was that, while she could sense his movement through her Extension, Ruby didn't hear a thing, not a single sound from the human-sized object dropping through the air at a quickly increasing velocity. As Mercury closed in, one foot extended, Ruby began to feel the surge of air that preceded his arrival, and dove forward.

Mercury's boot slammed into the concrete floor, soundlessly. Ruby's dive took her into a roll that allowed her to briefly look back at where she'd been standing. She could see the concrete breaking, but saw no sign of Mercury. Then there was a faint flicker, his body appearing, almost like static on a screen, before flickering out of sight again. But her Extension could still pick up on him.

Coming back up to her feet, Ruby split Akaibara, holding out Ibara to ward off Mercury, while Bara flicked out to cut an incoming fireball from Cinder in two. Cinder's Aura and expression both betrayed her surprise and confusion. Ruby could sense similar confusion from Emerald. And, when Ruby's stance indicated that she knew where Mercury was, Emerald's uncertainty grew further...and Ruby caught a glimpse of Mercury's outline flickering into view again, before being wiped away, as Emerald tried to double down and concentrate.

So that's how it works, thought Ruby. Emerald had been the illusionist that Neo had warned them about. But Emerald's illusions worked differently from Neo's. Where Neo manipulated light to create false images, or make herself invisible, Emerald's ability appeared to interfere directly with a person's senses. She had manipulated Ruby's vision and hearing to try and hide Mercury from her.

This is dangerous, thought Ruby. While she could still track Mercury through her Extension, Ruby wasn't certain how long that would last. Even with what she'd just learned, the full scope of Emerald's ability was unknown. Was she limited to sight and sound, or could she affect other senses as well? Would she be able to interfere with the things Ruby sensed through her Aura?

The best approach would be to make sure that she didn't have to find out. Taking out Emerald was the first priority, in this situation, ensuring that she could fight unimpeded. But Ruby couldn't act directly. If her enemies clued in to her intentions, then they would act to stop her, and the job would only grow that much more difficult. Better to continue to act like she had no idea what was going on, and hopefully find a way to shift the battle in Emerald's direction, then take her down before Cinder or Mercury could try and prevent it.

Of course, there was one more thing to get done, before Ruby got to that. Here goes...

The tiny scrape of Ruby's sandals against the concrete floor was the only warning her opponents got. The next instant, a flicker of red crossed the space from where she had been standing, rushing straight for Cinder. Ruby attacked with a descending slash from Bara. Fiery flashes lit up Cinder's hands, and her two curved, black, glassy swords rose to meet it, crossing together to catch the descending blade.

Ruby quickly retaliated, swinging Ibara in low, slashing across her body, aiming for Cinder's stomach. Quickly disengaging, Cinder danced back, swinging her right-handed sword down to intercept the slash, while still warding off the attack from above with her left. For the next few seconds, the air filled with the sounds of rapid clangs as Ruby and Cinder exchanged blows at a furious pace.

Behind her, Ruby sensed Mercury preparing to go on the attack. As soon as he took the first step, Jaune burst out of his seat, shedding the bindings holding him in place, and booking it in the opposite direction, heading for the nearest exit he could find.

"Crap!" shouted Mercury, checking his rush, and immediately shifting his weight to kick out behind him. A bursting sound accompanied a flash of silver, a bolt of what seemed like compressed air shooting out from the sole of his boot, flying right at Jaune, and catching him in the small of the back. Jaune pitched forward, slamming front and face-first into the ground. However, he quickly got his hands back under him, and got back to his feet, shrugging off the hit with an ease that surprised Mercury.

Cinder's eyes widened, and so did Emerald's. They had both assumed that Jaune had yet to fully regain consciousness. On top of that, he'd taken a hit in the back from Mercury's shot and kept going. They were mostly unaware of Jaune's impressive Aura-reserves. It had helped that, anticipating an attack from behind to keep him from escaping, Jaune had used Flow to shift most of his Aura behind him, covering his back, and keeping Mercury's bolt from inflicting any real damage.

Of course, with his limited skill at Flow, Jaune had neglected to maintain enough coverage of his front. It hadn't helped that, not knowing where the attack would fall, he'd spread his concentrated Aura across the entire back of his body, from his head to his feet. As a result, he wound up bloodying his nose and scraping his face against the floor. But that wasn't enough to keep him down. Even as he got up, he put his Aura to work, healing the damage rapidly, the wounds closing in an instant, and he continued to run.

"That son of a-!" Mercury began to shout, turning to launch another attack.

But he was cut off as Ruby abruptly disengaged from Cinder, bouncing away in a flash of red, flickering across the floor at Mercury, closing the distance between them in a blink. Jaune's sudden escape hadn't just caught Mercury and Cinder off-guard. It had also surprised Emerald. The resulting distraction caused her control over her Semblance to waver, allowing Mercury to appear before Ruby's eyes and ears. Now she closed in on him with incredible speed.

Having gone into a spin to launch another kick that would allow him to shoot another bolt after Jaune, Mercury was now in a bad position to counter as Ruby suddenly appeared in his space, her swords streaks of red, slashing at him from both directions. So, instead of continuing to try and fire after Jaune, Mercury put an extra twist into his hips. At the same time, the foot he'd previously kicked out with, which was now descending toward the floor, discharged a blast of silver wind, which launched Mercury's body up and off the floor, while another burst of wind expelled from the sole of his other foot, sending him into a rapid spin, carrying him up and over Ruby's swords.

Ruby moved to follow up her attack, intending to catch Mercury before he could evade again. However, her senses blared a warning that an attack was coming from behind her. Reflexively, she channeled her Aura through her cloak, flaring it out, while turning her body, using the hardened garment to catch the arrow that Cinder had fired at her back, deflecting it away. The stall gave Mercury enough time that his spinning jump carried him out of the immediate reach of Ruby's swords.

Landing, Mercury shifted, casting his gaze back at Jaune, who was now nearly out of the empty building. Shifting his weight, Mercury prepared to pursue.

"Stop!" shouted Cinder, catching Mercury's attention. "He can't do a thing right now. We'll hunt that idiot down later, if Neo doesn't do it for us. Ruby comes first!"

Ruby dipped her head forward slightly, using her hood to obscure her triumphant smirk. That's what I'd thought you'd say, she thought. In the end, what Cinder wanted took precedent over maintaining control of the situation. The thing she she'd been hunting for was right before her eyes, or so she thought, so her priorities had shifted to procuring Ruby's "magic" first.

It helped that Cinder probably assumed that, having a hold of Jaune's scroll herself, Jaune wouldn't be able to call for help. He'd be left stumbling through Vale, with Cinder sending Emerald and Mercury after him, as soon as they took down Ruby. Of course, they'd failed to notice that Ruby had slipped Jaune her scroll, while she'd been reviving him.

Of course, there was one major wild card in this situation, one that Ruby knew to be hanging around. The real question was what Neo would do. If she attacked Jaune right now, he'd be pretty much helpless before her. Unless Jaune could use Ruby's scroll to call his locker, he would be in a serious pinch.

Of course...that was assuming Neo tried to stop him. Ruby had gotten a better picture of Neo's intentions right now, and could only pray that her guess had been right.

At the moment, the only thing Ruby could do was fight for herself now. She had to believe in Jaune, that he could come through for her. In the meantime, she needed to focus on the fight at hand, which would only grow trickier, as she felt Emerald's will and Aura focus on her once more. Now Mercury and Cinder both began to flicker, not fading from sight, but flashing from place to place, appearing to teleport. Through her extension, Ruby could sense their real movements. She could only hope that Emerald didn't catch on, and interfere with that too, assuming she could.

Two opponents closed in on her from either side, while a third waited in hiding, hijacking and disrupting her senses. Taking a deep breath, Ruby prepared for the fight of her life.

Jaune burst out of the abandoned factory, rushing across the empty lot, which had once served as parking for the workers. Reaching the edge of the lot, Jaune stopped, turning around as he saw flashes of orange, red, and silver within the warehouse, accompanied by angry explosions and thunderous cracks.

It looked as though he wasn't being pursued right now, which meant that here and now were as good a place as any. First things first, he had to call in his locker. Then he had to call Weiss or Pyrrha, and let them know what was going on, then Ozpin, if Jaune could reach him.

Reaching for his pocket, Jaune was about to pull out the scroll Ruby had handed him, only to stop when the space in front of him shattered like glass, revealing a familiar diminutive girl, clad in white and brown, with two-toned hair.

"Crap!" exclaimed Jaune, forgetting about the scroll for a second, instead holding up his arm to ward off the kick Neo launched at him. He grimaced as the heel of her boot punched against the muscle of his arm. Fortunately, Jaune's practice with Flow had allowed him to concentrate his Aura in time. Ruby would have probably considered it laughably slow, but it was enough for now...

Or so he thought, until Neo used the recoil from the impact of her boot against his arm to kick up, so that she could bring her other leg around, and slam her opposite foot into his stomach, driving the air from Jaune's lungs and knocking him onto his back. The force sent him skidding back across the ground for a short distance, while Neo touched back down, her closed parasol held casually in both her hands.

Well...so much for that plan, thought Jaune, struggling to get to his feet, and regain his wind. Neo stood there...eyeing him. Given the nature of the situation, Jaune had expected to see a superior smirk on her face, the look of a girl who was enjoying toying with a weaker opponent. Neither of them was under any illusions that Jaune would be an actual threat, especially unarmed. The only thing Jaune had going for him was his Aura-reserves, and those, while substantial, weren't infinite. Neo would wear him down eventually, practically at her leisure, given that he had virtually no hope of landing any blows of his own. However, the look on Neo's face was serious...and pensive.

Standing up, Jaune managed to suck in a breath of air, hunkering down and preparing himself to take a beating. However, much to his surprise, Neo made no move to follow up on her last attack, continuing to watch him curiously. Slowly, Jaune lowered his arms, prepared to bring them up as quickly as he could, in case this was a trick to make him lower his guard.

Then, to his surprise, Neo pulled out her own scroll, tapping on the screen for a few seconds, before holding it up for him to see.

"Can she win?" Neo asked.

"Who...Ruby?" wondered Jaune.

Neo nodded.

"I...I'm not sure," said Jaune, his answer clearly one that Neo didn't like, from the frown that appeared on her lips. "Listen, I don't even know what that Cinder-woman is capable of, but Ruby's strong. I believe in her. But she had a rough fight earlier today, so she's not at her best."

Naturally, that assurance didn't really make Neo any happier.

"You don't like working for her...do you?" asked Jaune.

Neo's lips pulled back to bare her teeth, a tiny flash of white, and then it was gone. Still looking serious and upset, she shook her head.

Jaune gave her a rueful smile. "Then you'd better at least let me call in the cavalry," he said. "I don't know for sure if Ruby can win now. But she'll have a much better chance if I can get her help."

Neo shook her head vigorously, before tapping out another answer on her scroll. "That's not good enough! I need to be sure."

Jaune's smile widened slightly. "I don't think you have time to be sure," he pointed out. "Cinder has my scroll, you know."

Neo's eyes went wide, then blinked. When she opened them again, the pink and brown of her irises had been replaced by off-white, almost indistinguishable from her sclera.

"I never did get around to deleting your messages," said Jaune. "Cinder might not even bother, if she gets what she wants out of this fight. There's every chance she could just toss it. But she might still have a use for it. She might keep it. She might look through it. Are you willing to take a chance on that...or do you need to be sure?"

Neo reeled, almost as though Jaune had actually hit her, as impossible as such a feat would be for him. She blinked again, pink and brown returning to her eyes, which she then narrowed in a glare at him.

"Well...it's your call," said Jaune. There was no taunting in his tone, only resignation, the acknowledgment that Neo was in control here.

Neo sighed, a look of resignation washing across her own face. She gave Jaune a fractional nod and stepped away, turning around and looking at the factory.

Jaune pulled out Ruby's scroll, bringing up the call-app, and punching in the code for his locker, which would bring it to his location. Looking up, he could see that Neo was still there, watching the factory anxiously, the sounds of battle continuing to ring out from within it. Jaune took a couple of steps over to stand behind her, cautiously reaching out and resting a hand on her shoulder.

Neo turned to look at him dourly.

"Let us help you," said Jaune, giving her a smile. "Then you won't have to live in fear of her ever again."

Neo let out a soundless sigh, before holding up her scroll again. "Just call your friends already, idiot." Then she vanished with a flash.

"Right," muttered Jaune, stepping away from Neo had been and dialing Pyrrha's scroll. From above, he heard the hiss of his descending locker.