Ruby: A Different Path

Chapter Six

        "Nothing?"

        "No, sorry." Ruby hated lying and the incredulous policeman certainly didn't believe her.

        "Your headmaster said you remembered everything." He said pointedly.

        "Yeah... but that was yesterday. The painkillers they have me on make everything fuzzy and most of what happened in the last couple of days feels like a dream. I can't be sure how much is real memories anymore." Partial lies, at least. She did feel fuzzy but remembered Roman Torchwick's smug amusement and exactly where that warehouse was located. The number escaped her but she could describe the area well enough for them to get there.

        "Very well," he sighed, clearly disappointed. "If you remember anything please let us know, Miss Rose."

        "I will. I'm really sorry." That much she didn't have to lie about. She hated this so much. She wanted to go after that guy before he hurt anyone else but Cardin was right. It was her job to learn how to handle Grimm and people like him but she wasn't prepared to fight him yet.

        The annoying drugs dragged her down again into a troubled sleep.

        "Hello, Red." The voice ripped her out of sleep and she tried to roll away. Close... He was so close... "I think we need to have a little chat."

        Opening her eyes took monumental effort. She gasped but couldn't seem to get her tongue to work. Her limbs felt distant and impossibly heavy.

        "Yes, it will be mostly one sided." He smiled with infuriating satisfaction as she struggled but moved little more than her eyes. "You are a bit more feisty than we expected. Troublesome. It seemed wise to make use of that IV drip to keep you still. The paralysis will wear off eventually. I've been informed that this hospital stay has brought you to your senses but I think a little more clarity is in order." He leaned closer, the scent of cigar smoke and peppermint filled her lungs. "We both have a reason to live. You have quite a few reasons to live without interfering with my business. Yang Xiao Long, Cardin Winchester, Sky Lark and Dove Bronzewing to name a few. We know who they are, we know how to find them and if you give us reason, we will kill them. Starting with your sister. Are we clear?"

        She felt a tear escape and he nodded. "Good. If it makes you feel better, we only kill when we have to. If people don't fight us or get in the way, everything is considered to be going according to plan. Go to school, read your books, kill off the Grimm and don't worry about us. Hopefully this is the last time we meet. Nice talking to you, Red."

        She listened to him stroll casually out of the room. All she could do was lie still and cry. He could have killed her. It would have been so easy for them to put poison in the drip instead of something to paralyze her. Rage warred with terror through the long night. She had to do something! They would be watching... If she did anything they would kill Yang! But Yang was a great fighter and with a bit of warning she could take care of herself, and she had her team! They weren't likely to go for a fair fight, though...

        Ruby was briefly glad for the paralysis. She was sure if it hadn't been holding her down she would have brought nurses and doctors running. In her head she screamed and wailed and threatened but there was no way any of it would do any good. When she finally calmed down she felt drained and too tired to care about anything. She was tired of everything, so very tired and ready to just start a new life on a fishing boat somewhere.

        She had hoped sleeping would make her feel better but it didn't. She woke feeling lethargic but able to move again... not that she could think of any reasons to do that. They said her back was healing perfectly and she would be up and about shortly. It didn't matter.

        Her team brought books, lecture notes and homework but even their debates and good natured bickering didn't make her feel better. Only Cardin had the pained look of understanding. She didn't have to tell him what happened, he knew. From the haunted look in his eyes she was pretty sure he had a similar visit.

        The other two were surprised at how subdued they were but didn't try to push them to talk about it. Ruby just did her best to get through the assignments so everyone would leave her alone. Once they had finally returned to the dorms she turned her attention to the future. To what needed to be done when she could move freely again.

        "Don't."

        She jumped a little at the sudden sound and looked up at Cardin. "Don't what? Lay here? I can't do much else."

        "I may be a bit self-centered but I'm not stupid." He sneered. "I know that look and I know people like you.... so... Don't."

        "No idea what you're talking' about." She closed her eyes, the only polite form of dismissing company she really had.

        "Don't do that, either." He snapped. "You aren't like the rest of us, kid. You aren't at Beacon for fame, wealth, or power. You are there to help people. You're there to be a hero."

        "So?"

        "So, don't." He said sharply again, moving to sit next to the bed. "I can see those stupid 'hero' wheels of yours turning. You think you're endangering people you care about and having evil people like that roaming around eats at that overdeveloped sense of justice of yours. You are trying to figure out a way to distance yourself and do whatever you can to take out as many as you can on the way down."

        She opened her eyes and stared at him, shocked at his painfully accurate summary of everything she had been thinking about since Torchwick's visit.

        "Don't."

        "But... I have to. I can't live with this hanging over me! Over all of us. I have to do something!" She insisted, tears threatening again.

        "You do and they win. Even if you succeed." He shook his head and sighed. "I swear you can be so stupid sometimes... Ruby, if you take them on they will put all their effort into taking you out. Fully trained you would be a force to reckon with but if they can get rid of you early on, before you become the hero you want to be, it will be a favor to every criminal that would rise in what would have been your lifetime. You have to let them go for the greater good. Don't take a true hero from a world that needs all they can get."

        She watched him silently for a few minutes, taking in his unexpected speech. That was really how he felt? Finally she settled on something to say. "Why are you at Beacon?"

        His gaze dropped to the floor. "I'm not like you. When I saw hunters, I didn't see heroes... I saw powerful people. People who could do what they wanted and no one could stop them. That was what I wanted."

        "Is it still what you want?" She asked. She had figured power was his driving force but it was still a little disappointing to hear him say it.

        "That's part of what I was trying to figure out when you came looking for me. I still don't know." He admitted unhappily. "All I know is that I don't want you sacrificing yourself for no reason and that is exactly what would happen if you go against them. Please... don't."

        "What am I supposed to do? I can't live in fear!" She blinked back tears angrily, so frustrated she wanted to scream but that wouldn't do any good, either.

        "Graduate." He said firmly. "With honors. Become an unstoppable force first... then act against them with your team by your side."

        "I couldn't ask them to risk their lives..." She said bitterly. Honestly she wasn't sure they could be convinced to stand against potentially impossible odds. They were nice enough but not exactly the most brave people she'd ever met.

        "It doesn't have to be your current team. Just don't go alone." He stood and his expression went from concern to his usual arrogant smile. "See you at school, huh?"

        "Yeah..." She sighed and buried her face in her pillow again.