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An Eldritch Abomination's Guide to Normalcy
🕑 Added 2023-10-08 02:49:02 +0000 UTCSecond chapter for Eldritch Jaune. This story puts more focus on Ruby. Don't worry, we'll go back to Jaune next chapter.
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Ozpin was a man who'd been through much. He'd been a warrior, a king, a sage, a scholar, a spy, a general, and many other things that would take a lifetime to parse through. Each life was as storied and varied as the last, and in all his lives, he'd spent every waking moment fighting against the machinations of the woman he once loved, fighting a secret war knowing that there'd be no end.
He was a man who'd gained little and lost much in his multiple lives, and yet he took it all with grim determination, knowing that if he failed, Remnant would fall. No matter how many times he stumbled, how many times he'd lost allies and friends, how many times he was driven to the edge of despair and broken beyond salvation, he refused to give up. Such was the eternal burden he chose to bear.
This same man was now rocking back and forth inside his office in a fetal position. Were anyone to walk in, they would hardly recognize Beacon's respected headmaster. His eyes were wide, knees pushed up against his chest as he hummed softly to himself in the room's dark interior. There wasn't a shred of light to be seen inside and dark curtains blocked the fading sunlight from the afternoon sky. It was akin to a child hiding under a blanket hoping the monster wouldn't get them.
That was how he felt now. A child, helpless and scared before the monster that crawled out of the closet. But this was no monster. No, it was far worse than that. Monsters conjured up many images, but on some fundamental level, they were still understandable. The human man conjured terrifying images, certainly, but they still had limitations. One couldn't imagine what they didn't understand, after all.
Which was what made the abominations at his school so terrifying.
Ozpin was not a man to be easily frightened. He'd come face to face with the Brothers themselves and fought against an unkillable witch for centuries. Hell, he'd even slept with her. Four times. Salem's kinks were enough to give even the most degenerate perverts pause, and yet he managed to go through it all. Nothing she could do to him now could surpass the horror of the horse and the radish.
And yet even he was reduced to a near-sobbing wreck. Salem was a monster in more ways than one, and yet even she was nothing more than a puppy dog in comparison to some of the things out there. There were beings - if one could even call them as such - that defied any and all explanation. It was like looking at something that should not be and yet it was.
The Brothers were beings of unimaginable power and pettiness, but he could at least understand them. In some ways, they were more human (or Faunus) than they cared to admit. They were all-powerful children who refused to share their toys. Even when they destroyed all of mankind, it at least took them some effort and one could look and even converse with them without being driven to madness.
He was only made aware of the existence of these unimaginable horrors because he'd somehow found himself bonded to an occultist in a past life. He'd been a most disagreeable host, and a rather short one since it didn't take long before he tried to summon one of the beings from beyond the stars. He'd barely managed to wrest control and kill the body before he too was driven irreversibly mad by knowledge of things man was not meant to know.
Ever since then, he'd done his best to ensure any and all future hosts were kept far away from any sort of interest in that madness. The war with Salem was a torturous existence, but it was one he understood.
And now all his attempts at distance had failed when two of them decided to walk right up to his school.
The first was this 'Jaune Arc'. He didn't know what its real name was, and for the sake of his sanity, he'd keep it that way. He'd heard from Peter about students in the lockers who had experienced a group manic episode. One of them had mumbled something about hearing a name and then felt the urge to bash his head against the wall in a desperate attempt to purge the knowledge from his mind.
He didn't take any chances. He deleted all footage from the lockers that day and closely monitored those that passed Initiation. So far, no one seemed to remember the name they heard, but he'd still keep an eye on them.
Yet none of it was a real solution. Ozpin had barely noticed its appearance before Glynda had captured it, thinking it nothing more than a wayward student. She didn't realize just how close she came to a fate worse than death. The Brothers were fearsome, but those like 'Jaune Arc' were in another league altogether. Even hearings its name was enough to drive one to madness. A single glimpse of its true form would drive even the most willful souls to death and despair.
Ozpin had no idea why it showed up and decided to take a human form, but right now he considered it a blessing. For all his powers and myriad of abilities, he was nothing more than a helpless babe to these reality-warping abominations. James would've hated to hear it, but all of them were. They could no more stop its plans any more than an ant could stop a Goliath.
One was bad enough. Two was enough to make him consider jumping off the roof and trying his chances with the next incarnation.
Ruby Rose, daughter of Summer and Taiyang. A pure and simple soul gifted with the powers of the Silver Eyes. In many ways, she could've been a shining beacon (pun not intended) for the new generation of Huntsmen and Huntresses.
Now she too was an abomination from beyond the stars. He sensed her as soon as she arrived on campus. His magic may have been diminished, but it was still enough to send alarms blaring. The primal fear of something wrong. He'd assumed it was this 'Jaune Arc' at first, and he found it hard to believe that Ruby Rose, of all people, had become a being so anathema to sense and logic.
But perhaps he shouldn't have been surprised. For weeks he'd heard rumors about a cult spreading across Patch. He paid it no mind - Remnant didn't have much in the way of centralized religion and cults rose and fell about as often as independent villages. Something like that appearing in Patch was odd, certainly, but not enough to draw his attention or to investigate further.
What a fool he was. Clearly, Ms. Rose - or whatever being took her place - was making an effort to cultivate worshippers. He'd checked again earliet today and found out that the cult's teachings had spread all throughout most of Patch. Taiyang still seemed blissfully unaware of his daughter having created a cult following, but he expected that wouldn't last for long.
It was reductive to call these beings evil. After all, was fire evil? No, it simply spread without a care of what it helped or harmed. These eldritch beings didn't see the world the way a Human or Faunus would. They did what came naturally to them. Spreading cults and driving mortals to madness was as normal as breathing; it was something they did without even thinking about it.
Yet that was of small comfort to him now. While they weren't actively malevolent, their actions left chaos and death in their wake.
And there were two of them in his school.
Ozpin rocked back and forth and laughed to avoid sobbing. If Salem were to see him now, she would've been amused. Fool. For all her power, she was nothing more than a gnat to those two. He still remembered the footage of Ms. Rose destroying any Grimm that attacked her. She didn't even have to attack them. They'd destroyed themselves in their futile efforts to harm her. Salem would survive if she attempted the same, but only because of her curse.
And even then, there were far worse fates than death when one involved themselves with the unspeakable.
For the first time in his long life, Ozpin didn't know what to do. Stop them? He would if he could, but he could no more do that than he could convince the sun to stop being hot. If they wished to destroy Beacon and eradicate all life on Remnant, they could do so. It wouldn't have even taken an active effort. Simply appearing in their 'natural' forms would be enough to drive all of them to irreversible madness.
Perhaps that was their plan? Were they spying on the Huntsmen just in case they proved troublesome? A foolish thought - even the assembled armies of Remnant were nothing before them - but perhaps it was something he could use to his advantage. He had no idea of the intentions of this 'Jaune Arc', but Ms. Rose clearly had plans for spreading her reach if the cults were any indication. Was she looking for Huntsmen to become her worshippers?
...
Perhaps...he could convince her that mankind could be spared so long as they worshipped her? Perhaps she could even protect them from this 'Jaune Arc' and Salem...
Ozpin took a deep breath and stood up shakily, hands firmly grasping the edge of his desk. Yes, he would convince her that the Huntsmen could be her most devoted and thus they were all worthy of living.
After all, was submission not preferable to extinction?
He took another deep breath and gritted his teeth. He could only imagine what things this 'Jaune Arc' was doing now, what nightmares he was preparing to spread.
Nora woke up to Jaune T-posing in the middle of the room.
The Valkyrie rubbed her eyes and looked again, trying to make sure that she wasn't seeing things. Nope, there was Jaune standing in the middle of the room with his hands stretched to the left and right. He was facing the door and didn't move a muscle, his mouth curled up in an open-toothed grin. Anyone who stepped inside would've immediately seen him asserting his dominance.
...
This was fine.
Nora curled up to go back to sleep.
"Wake up!" Weiss grabbed her blankets and yanked them off. Rude. Nora groaned and looked up at the white-haired princess through half-lidded eyes. It was too early for this, "Do something about him!" Weiss yelled, gesturing to the only guy on team NWBJ.
"Why?" Nora yawned.
"Why?! Isn't it obvious?!"
"Nope." Nora tried to go back to sleep again, blanket be damned, but of course, Weiss refused to let up.
"He's acting like an idiot!" Weiss hissed, gesturing again to Jaune.
"Ugh, why don't you ask Blake or something?" Nora groaned.
"She's been ignoring me since last night."
"Probably cause you said all that mean stuff about Faunus." She pointed to Blake who was reading a book on her bed and completely ignoring them all.
"Not the point." Nora was pretty sure it was, but whatever, "You are the team leader, so you have to ensure that all of us act appropriately."
"Shouldn't I get to decide what's appropriate or not? Since I'm the leader and all."
"No! Fix this!"
"Ugh, fine!"
Nora hopped up to her feet and stretched her arms above her head. She didn't see what the big deal was. Alright, so Jaune was kind of a weirdo, but what Huntsman wasn't? They signed up to spend the rest of their lives fighting against the unending horde of Grimm. No normal person did that! She was a weirdo and proud of it! She'd scream it from the rooftops!
Still, she'd at least talk to Jaune so Weiss would stop whining.
"Heya, Jauney."
"Hello, Nora." He tilted his head to look at her, still smiling with that frozen grin of his. See, a normal person would've thought that was creepy, but not her. She was used to people being zany. Like the times she found Ren worshipping at an altar screaming 'HYUKHNU FTAGHN!'.
"So...whatcha doing?"
"Being Normal."
"Right." She looked back to Weiss and shrugged, "He's just being normal, so there's no problem."
"Yes, there is!" Weiss stomped over to where they were and shoved a finger at Jaune's face, "You're not acting normal in the least!"
"I'm not?" He finally twisted his body to match his head. Nora could've sworn she heard something crack, "But Weiss, you were the one who said that it was not normal to touch yourself. I'm doing exactly the opposite and ensuring that my hands are not touching any part of my body."
"So...this is your fault?" Nora looked at Weiss with a raised brow.
"Wha- don't blame this on me!" Weiss threw her hands up.
"Look, who cares if Jaune's T-posing? We're all weirdos here."
"I resent that," Blake said, finally speaking up. She still didn't look away from her book, but at least she was paying attention now. She wasn't wearing her bow from yesterday either. Probably didn't see the point now that Weiss knew.
"Are you saying I'm not acting normal?" Jaune asked.
"No! A normal person doesn't stand in place with their arms outstretched!" Weiss stomped her foot, "Stop acting crazy!"
"What should I do then?"
"Stop standing in place for hours! Stop stretching your arms and grinning like a maniac! If anyone walks in here they'd think you were some kind of freak!"
"Hmm...you seem to know a lot about being Normal."
"Most people do." Weiss sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Nora just wondered why she even bothered waking her up if she was gonna fix it herself anyway, "You want to be normal? Stop acting like an idiot!"
"I doubt you know what's normal for the average person." Blake scoffed.
"Shut it." Weiss snarled. Her pale face was practically steaming. Nora probably could've burned marshmallows with how hot her skin was, "Ugh, this is the absolute worst. I couldn't have landed on a worse team..."
"I didn't exactly want to partner up with a racist either." Blake rolled her eyes.
"I'm not racist!"
Blake raised a very unimpressed brow, "I can't tell if you're lying or just that in denial."
The two continued to bicker, ignoring her and Jaune completely. Nora sighed and looked at her partner. He wasn't T-posing and grinning anymore, he just looked more confused than anything. He reminded her of an overgrown puppy. She would've petted his head, but apparently, people didn't like that. Weirdos. She would've loved it if people patted her on the head.
"Just ignore Weiss."
"But...I want to be Normal."
"Eh, being normal's overrated." Nora shrugged, "Who wants to be just another face in the crowd? Live it up! Make sure everyone remembers you!"
"I still want to be Normal." He shook his head, an oddly determined look on his face, "I've spent mil- uh, a long time being Not Normal. I want to be Normal now."
"Huh. Well, whatever floats your boat, I guess." She wouldn't judge.
Weiss and Blake argued so much that they almost missed the bell for class. The four of them rushed out and met team RPYR, their sister team looking just as rushed. She barely got the chance to say hi to Ren before they were all running for classes. Weiss kept whining the whole time about how this was all of their fault and this was a terrible start to her time at Beacon. Bla bla bla.
The first class was boring. Grimm studies sounded awesome. Talking all about how to kill Grimm and maybe even hearing stories from someone who'd been through a lot of stuff. Instead, the professor just rambled on and on about the time he was camping and didn't have the right tea leaves or whatever. She was practically asleep a half hour in, and so was everyone else except Weiss and Jaune. Weirdos.
She was practically off to dreamland when the professor suddenly revealed a cage with a Boarbatusk inside, "I've always been of the mind that nothing beats personal experience!" The professor laughed, completely ignoring the past hour he spent ranting about nothing, "Now, who would like to demonstrate their capabilities against this fierce beast?"
"I shall-"
"Me!" Jaune suddenly jumped up, cutting Weiss off. The princess gave him an irritated glare, but he completely ignored her, "I shall be a Normal student and volunteer for this, professor."
"Hoho! I admire your enthusiasm! Very well then, change into your combat gear and show us what you can do."
Jaune went off to change while the rest of the class slowly woke up, Nora included. Weiss was fuming, annoyed that she lost the chance to show off. Yeesh, talk about high maintenance. Nora felt sorry for Blake.
Jaune came back a minute later in his normal outfit, sword and shield. Nora rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up. None of them got the chance to fight any Grimm at Initiation yesterday so she was excited to see what her partner could do.
"Are you ready, lad?" Professor Port asked.
"Ready." Jaune spread his feet apart and held his sword awkwardly with both hands. Oof, that looked rough, but maybe he was one of those function-over-form types. She and Ren were self-trained too.
The prof opened the door to the cage and stepped aside. Gleaming red eyes burned with rage and the Boarbatusk howled before charging straight towards Jaune. He didn't look scared in the least and stood his ground even as the Grimm got closer and closer. Was he planning to block it? No, he wasn't even raising his shield. Oh, maybe he was planning to split it in half like those knights from the old movies she and Ren managed to 'borrow'! That'd be awesome.
The Boarbatusk was close to making contact when it suddenly stopped. No, seriously. It went to a dead stop and aborted the charge, barely managing to break just inches before it ran Jaune through. The two of them stared at one another for a moment, Jaune's face knotted in focus while the Boarbatusk's was oddly calm.
*SQUEEEEEE*
The Boarbatusk turned tail and ran back into the cage, squealing the entire time. The entire class, Professor Port included, could only watch without a word as the thing crashed inside, somehow managed to close the door and locked it up again.
...
What the fuck?
"Did I win?" Jaune asked, looking more and more like an overgrown puppy.
"Ah...I suppose?" Huh, the prof actually looked speechless, "I daresay that I've never seen that before in all my years of being a Huntsman."
"...What in the hell is wrong with him?" Weiss muttered next to her.
"Beats me." Nora shrugged.
Jaune went back to his seat and looked at Nora excitedly, "Did I do good, Nora? Was I Normal?"
...
"Yeah, sure." Nora grinned and patted his head. From behind Jaune, Weiss choked on the air and went red again.
Things were...okay.
That was the thought that ran through Ruby's head on repeat as they walked to their next class. Things were okay. There were no cults or other weird stuff ever since she showed up in Beacon. Sure, Grimm still killed themselves every time they attacked her, but that wasn't anything really bad. She was studying to be a Huntress. Killing Grimm easily was only good for her.
The only thing she was bummed about was how she never got the chance to use Crescent Rose nowadays. Her baby was feeling really lonely.
Ruby took a deep breath then clenched and unclenched her fists. Things were okay. As long as she just ignored those weirdos calling her a 'Child of the Stars', everything would turn out great. She'd go through Beacon, graduate, then spend the rest of her life being a Huntress. And hey, since she was invincible now, she could help people even more without having to worry about herself! It was a win-win!
...
...Right?
"Rubes, you alright?" Yang asked, bumping their shoulders together.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Ruby forced a smile. Yang, Dad, and Uncle Qrow were really awesome with helping her. They had no idea she was dealing with so much stuff, but they were always there when she needed them, "Just...thinking about what happened back at Grimm Studies." It wasn't even a lie. The guy from their sister team - Jaune - made a Grimm run away from him. She'd never seen that before.
"Yeah, that was super weird." Yang put her hands behind her head and eyed Jaune. Team NWBJ was walking ahead of them, "Think that's his Semblance?"
"Maybe..." She doubted it, though she couldn't exactly explain why. Just a gut feeling.
The next class was Combat Studies. Huntsmen were expected to fight Grimm, but they weren't the only evils in the world. There were criminals, bandits, and terrorists that the Huntsmen were expected to deal with when the authorities weren't enough. Heck, the only reason she got to Beacon early was cause she (almost) stopped Roman Torchwick. Stupid Bullhead.
"Good morning, class," Glynda Goodwitch greeted them. Even though she was totally unkillable now, Ruby still felt a shiver go down her spine at the older Huntress' cold stare, "This is Combat Studies. Here you will be learning how to fight against your peers. Battles are randomized to ensure fairness and I will brook no complaints or excuses. You all are here to learn and improve, not slack off. Are we clear?" They all murmured back, "Good. Now, let's begin."
The screen above the small arena went through everyone in class. Ruby's breath stopped - not that it mattered since she didn't need to breathe anymore - when her picture appeared to the left while Weiss appeared on the right.
"Ruby Rose vs. Weiss Schnee. Get in the arena."
Ruby cringed. She wasn't scared of getting hurt, but she hadn't fought people ever since she...changed. Grimm tore themselves apart whenever they attacked her. Jaws split apart when they bit, claws sheared off on contact, and a Deathstalker she ran into in Initiation had its stinger split in half when it tried to impale her. Weiss had Aura, but she still didn't like the idea of her getting hurt.
She debated making up an excuse before Professor Goodwitch glared at her for being so slow. Nope, nope, nope. Alright, she'd just...not let Weiss get a hit in. That would work, right?
A minute later and the two of them were standing across one another in the arena. Weiss looked angry. Not at her, just angry in general. Ruby cringed again and tightened her grip on Crescent Rose. She hated how unfamiliar it felt in her hands. A year ago, Crescent Rose was practically another limb for her. Now she felt like she was weighing herself down every time she was using it.
"Begin."
Weiss charged towards her with surprising speed, the tip of her rapier aimed at her chest. Ruby's eyes widened and she dodged the quick stab, stumbling back and barely avoiding the slash aimed at her face. Weiss wasn't angry at her, but she didn't have any problems taking her anger out on her all the same. Her attacks were fast and didn't give Ruby the chance to catch her breath for even a second.
The next stab would've caught her right in the gut. Ruby used her Semblance on instinct before she remembered that it didn't work anymore. Instead of speeding away in a burst of rose petals, she just disappeared completely. Weiss' rapier only met air and she looked around in confusion as Ruby suddenly reappeared on the other side of the arena. The air behind her seemed to shimmer and tear as if it realized that something was very wrong.
Ruby looked at the crowd and winced at Yang's wide-eyed look of shock. Yang knew what her Semblance was and teleporting definitely wasn't it.
Weiss regained her footing and charged her again. Ruby squeaked and teleported to the other side of the arena for the second time, "Stop running away!" Weiss shouted. Instead of another charge, she summoned glyphs all around the arena and used them as springboards, jumping from one to another to keep her from seeing where she'd attack next.
Ruby did her best to keep focus despite Weiss' chaotic movements. She had to time this just right.
Weiss jumped to a glyph above her head before she kicked down, rapier pointed forward like a javelin. Ruby raised Crescent Rose to block the attack just in time to see the white-haired girl smirk. Another glyph appeared under Weiss' feet and she used it to flip over to Ruby's back.
"Got you!"
Weiss slashed her across the back...and shattered her rapier on contact. Ruby looked back and gasped at the sight of the beautiful weapon broken into numerous pieces. She hadn't been hurt in the attack, but it felt like she'd been stabbed clean through the heart.
Weiss herself was sitting on the ground in shock, looking down in stunned silence at her destroyed weapon, unable to say a word. The rest of the class was similarly quiet with even Professor Goodwitch only being able to look on in open-mouthed shock.
"I'm so sorry!" Ruby cried, kneeling down and scooping up as many of the metal shards as she could, "I didn't...I can help fix this, I promise!"
"Myrtenaster...shattered..." Weiss said, voice soft and expression numb.
"W-We can rebuild it! It'll be better than ever!"
"Better...? I spent thousands of lien to commission the best weaponsmith in Atlas to build Myrtenaster for me and you think you can just piece it back together like it's no problem?" Ruby winced. Oh, she felt really bad now, "Just...Just leave me alone. It's not your fault anyway."
"But-"
Weiss picked up all of the pieces she could manage and awkwardly shuffled her way back to where her team was. Ruby only felt guiltier when she heard the other girl sniffling and trying to hold back her tears. She sat in her chair and pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging her legs tightly without a word. Blake looked sorry for her and patted her on the shoulder, which Weiss accepted without a word.
"Winner, Ruby Rose," Professor Goodwitch said, which felt like rubbing salt into the wound.
Ruby walked back to her own chair and ignored the way everyone but Jaune looked at her. Ugh, this was the worst! There was nothing more heartbreaking than the sight of a destroyed weapon, especially something that had so much heart and care put into it. Weiss might not have been the one to make it, but it was obvious that whoever did was proud of their work. And she ruined it.
"Hey, it's not your fault..." Yang pulled her into a one-armed embrace.
"Yeah..." It was her fault, but what could she say? That was invulnerable now and weapons might as well have been glass to her? She'd sound crazy.
"...We should continue," Professor Goodwitch said.
The next pair to fight was Jaune and some guy called Cardin. Ruby only half paid attention as the two got up onto the arena. She was still focused on trying to make it up to Weiss. Assuming Weiss didn't hate her too much to accept her help, at least.
"Begin."
Ruby looked up in a daze just in time to see Cardin charge towards Jaune. One swipe of his mace was enough to knock the sword off his hands and Cardin grinned before he smashed the mace into Jaune's chest.
He expected Jaune to be knocked away from the force of the blow - they all did. Instead, the mace easily crushed through his armor and embedded itself inside his chest cavity.
The sounds of cracking bones and mulched guts echoed through the classroom. For the second time that day, everyone watched in stunned silence at what happened in the ring. Jaune was dead. The mace had torn through his chest and came up through the other end, the metal glistening with fresh blood.
Almost all of them (Nora looked eerily calm for some reason) were horrified, but non-moreso than Cardin. His smug look was gone, replaced with an expression of utter horror at the murder he'd just committed. It wasn't his fault - how could he have known Jaune would have his Aura down? - but it didn't change the fact that he was practically holding Jaune's gored body in his arms.
And then Jaune started talking.
"Have I lost?" He looked at Cardin and then Professor Goodwitch, completely ignoring the gaping wound in his chest, and the look of utter horror from everyone sans Nora, "I can still fight."
He grabbed Cardin's mace and tried to pull it from his hand. The sounds of squishing organs got louder and Ruby suddenly felt the urge to puke. A few others couldn't hold it in and ran out, their faces green, "Ugh, I think I'm gonna hurl." Yang said next to her.
"H-Hey, leggo of that!"
"Isn't disarming someone allowed in a fight? I'm trying to disarm you." Blood-soaked hands kept trying to pull.
The two struggled for a moment before someone, she wasn't sure who, pressed the button near the grip that activated the mace's secondary mode. The Fire Dust crystal inside the mace's head lit up for just a second before it exploded. Jaune was flung clear away from the arena and splattered against the wall with a meaty thud. Blood and guts spilled across the white surface and Ruby clenched her hands tight to keep from vomiting at the sight of Jaune's entire left torso being gone altogether.
Jaune just stood up again, completely ignoring the fact that his entire upper body was hanging from the left and barely held together by skin and entrails.
"I was taken out of the arena. Does that mean I lost?" he asked Professor Goodwitch.
"Um...yes, yes it does."
"Oh." And then he started walking back to his seat, hanging guts and all. This time everyone, Weiss, Blake, and her entire team included, decided to run. Ruby lasted just a bit longer before one of his intestines dropped and she had to run too. The last thing she saw before leaving was Nora chatting with Jaune like nothing was wrong.
They all silently agreed to go to the bathroom and do what they had to. Ruby took one of the stalls and emptied her stomach. Ruby closed her eyes and tried to forget the sight of blood and guts. Huntsmen were expected to deal with some horrible stuff, but this was different. The Grimm just disappeared after you killed them and Aura meant wounds didn't really show up.
Ruby heaved for almost a minute. Once she finally felt better, she opened her eyes and looked down.
...
There were crystals where the puke should've been. Ruby rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Nope, there were crystals there. Crystals of multiple colors. White, black, red, green, blue...the toilet looked like some kind of jeweler's safe.
Did...Did that come from her?
...
Swallowing down her hesitation, she reached out and plucked a clear blue, marbled-sized gem from the top of the pile. It thrummed with unreleased power. Like a Dust crystal, but different somehow.
A knock on the door nearly made her drop it, "Rubes, you still there?"
"Y-Yeah, just finishing up!" She pocketed the blue gem and flushed the toilet. The pile of multi-colored crystals shrank just a bit before the toilet clogged, "U-Uh, I'll be here a while! Go on without me!" She tried to flush the toilet again and cringed at the sounds of the pipes backing up, "Come on, come on..."
It didn't work. Ruby groaned and peeked out of the door. The restroom was empty now. She looked left and right before she darted out and grabbed the plunger close to the side. Looking down at the toilet, she brandished the plunger like a weapon.
She couldn't leave any proof.
It took almost half an hour before she finally got rid of the evidence. Ruby panted and set the plunger aside. Okay, so she was invulnerable, could teleport, and could puke up not-Dust crystals. This was fine. Everything was fine. There was absolutely no reason for her to panic at all.
She washed her hands and left only to immediately bump into the headmaster waiting outside, "O-Oh! Morning, headmaster!" Ruby greeted nervously, not even thinking to ask why he was waiting outside the women's restroom.
"Yes. Good morning, Ms. Rose." The headmaster smiled down at her. Was it just her imagination, or did he look stiff? "I heard about your sparring match with Ms. Schnee."
"Oh, y-yeah..." Was he going to yell at her? Suspend her for destroying another student's weapon? Or maybe even expel her! There was nothing worse than destroying someone's weapon! "A-About that."
"No need to explain yourself. I just hope that your experience hasn't soured your view on our aspiring Huntsmen?"
"Of course not! Weiss was super good at fighting! It's not her fault that..." That she was some kind of abomination from beyond the stars.
"Hm. I see. Very good. Very good." He nodded, still as stiff as before, "I hope that positive opinion continues in your time here. Our aspiring Huntsmen are very valuable and I'm glad you see that." He looked at his watch, "Excuse me, I have something to do."
He turned and walked off before she got the chance to say anything back. What the heck was that about? Shaking her head, she walked away and tried to ignore just how weird today was. She had to check out the gem in her pocket too. The idea that it came from inside her freaked her the heck out, but she couldn't just ignore it forever. It'd be fine. She was still okay.
She wandered around aimlessly instead of going to the cafeteria for lunch. She didn't need to eat anymore, and even if she did, she didn't have much of an appetite considering everything.
Ruby spent the next few minutes trying not to think as she walked along the outer courtyard. It seemed like every day there was a new weird thing coming up about her. If she could go back in time, she'd do anything to make sure that she didn't step anywhere near that darn comet. She sat with her back against the wall and hugged her knees tight. Maybe if she pinched herself hard enough this would all be just some bad dream.
"Hello, Ruby."
Ruby squeaked and looked up. Jaune was there, thankfully without his guts spilling out. In fact, if she hadn't seen what she did earlier, she would've assumed it was all a dream.
"Hey, Jaune." She let out a soft breath.
"Are you okay?"
"Just thinking about some stuff." She sighed and ignored images of his body being torn in half, "A buncha things happened to me a month ago and I'm still trying to get used to everything."
"A change in circumstances is what it's called, right? I feel the same."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. I've lived the same life for a...long time, and now I'm trying something new."
"Well, being a Huntsman's definitely that." Ruby giggled, "So, uh...could I ask what the deal is with your..." She gestured to his torso, "You got pretty messed up back there."
"Huh? Oh! Yes! I was 'messed up." He nodded eagerly.
"Uh...and how did you heal fix yourself up?"
"It is my 'Sembalancer'."
"Do you mean your Semblance?"
"Yes. That is what I said." More nods, "I cannot shield myself from wounds, but I can heal extremely well. Nora saw it happen before and as such was used to it. I'm sure everyone else will understand."
"If you say so..." She shook her head, "Could you help me up?"
"Of course. That is what Normal people would do in this situation."
He offered his hand, which she took after some reluctance. A chill ran across her entire body as soon as their palms made contact and she felt...a lot of things. It was hard to describe all of the myriad emotions, but one feeling did stand out.
She wanted to tear his fucking head off!
Ruby pushed Jaune off and hefted her scythe, ready to cut his head clean off his shoulders. Jaune stumbled back and growled, the flesh pulsating like there were maggots underneath the skin.
"You...starspawn." It wasn't what he said, but it was what she heard.
"Formless one," she growled back, every letter dripping with disgust. Like him, it wasn't what she said. What truly came out was indecipherable growls, clicks, and the sounds of shattering glass.
And just as soon as the all-consuming hate overwhelmed her, it was gone. Ruby's look of disgust faded and she gasped, looking down at Crescent Rose and her shaky hands.
"Wh-What was that?"
"You are-"
"I'm not." Ruby shouted, eyes wide and desperate, "I...I don't know what you are, but I'm just..." She took a deep, shuddering breath, "I'm Normal! Just a Normal girl with Normal knees!"
"You cannot feel me. I felt what you truly are as soon as we touched."
"No, shut up!" Ruby stamped her foot. Crystals sprouted out from the ground, all of them brimming with power, "It's all that stupid comet's fault! I didn't ask for any of this!"
"Wait...you were human?"
"I am human!" Ruby growled. Yes, she'd turned into some kind of reality-warping abomination, but she was still a human underneath all that! "And I dunno what the heck you are!"
"You called me by what I am, but it was instinctual." He put a hand on his chin, "Our...'races' are enemies. Hatred for one another is in our very being."
"What? No, look, I'm human, not whatever you called me! Just...Just stay from me!" Ruby turned around and willed herself to leave. She didn't care where she went, only that it was far away from him.
She blinked and looked around. She wasn't at Beacon anymore...she wasn't even in Remnant. She was surrounded by darkness and cold and in front of her was Remnant in its entirety.
Space. She was in space.
Ruby screamed, but of course, there was no sound. She flailed around in a panic, floating in the void helplessly before she shut her eyes again and imagined her dorm room. Takeherbacktakeherbacktakeherback-
"Woah!"
When Ruby opened her eyes again, she found herself sprawled out on the floor of their room. Yang looked down at in both confusion and worry, a towel wrapped around her shoulders. She'd just finished taking a shower.
"Y-Yang?"
"Where'd you come from? Coulda swore I was the only one-"
Ruby sniffled and tackled Yang in a bone-crushing embrace. She didn't ask and just rubbed soothing circles across Ruby's back.
Poor Ruby. Being an abomination from beyond the stars isn't easy, huh? She's got no idea what's happening and keeps making things worse for herself. Meanwhile, Ozpin thinks she wants to take over the world and is preparing to offer mankind to her so she can protect them from Jaune and Salem.
Like I said, next chapter will focus on Jaune again. Also, for those hoping for Lancaster? Yeah, not likely given what Jaune reveals in this chapter. Kinda hard to romance someone you instinctively hate.
Question:
1. What do you guys think of Jaune's personality? Originally, I planned for him to be more immature and zany such as him having a spaz attack when he accidentally caused the locker rooms to go mad from the revelation.
Now, he just wanders off and figures 'it'll be fine'. He has a more detached, apathetic personality, which I thought made sense since he's an eons long eldritch monster.
Ruby ended up getting more of the panicky personality since she's a human that became a star spawn just a month ago and is still getting used to everything.
2. Out of curiosity, what do you guys think Ruby is right now? Reviews from the last chapter seem torn on whether she's the original Ruby Rose who got turned into an eldritch monster or she's whatever was in the comet that killed/consumed the original Ruby and is using her memories to form an identity.
Comments
Joshua Hunt
Nora the bastion of sanity. Who saw that coming? Her throwing up gems is really creative, quite the concept.
