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It had been such a simple assignment. They were still resting and more importantly recovering from their time in the Ever After, but the people needed to see their savior in action, so Team RWBY was assigned a patrol in an area with little to no Grimm activity.
Weiss still scoffed every time she heard that. Ruby Rose, savior of the world. Now, it was true that Ruby had been the one to speak in the message, but it was all of their combined efforts that made it happen.
Weiss wasn't upset about not receiving credit, she just knew Ruby wouldn't want the focus, and the pressure that comes with it.
There had been maybe three Grimm the whole two days they'd been in the desert. It was almost relaxing if not for the fact that it was miserably hot and it was impossible to keep the sand out of her boots.
The assignment really couldn't have been easier.
So how had she ended up in this situation? Slung over the arm of some bandit, being carried off to who knows where. *Again.*
Why was she the only one this happened to? It's not as though her name carried any weight anymore, she wouldn't exactly fetch a high price. She wasn't worth the effort.
To make matters even worse for the bandits, she didn't need to be armed, so their possession of Myrtenaster was only temporary.
And as if all of that wasn't enough? Ruby would wipe them off the face of Remnant. Obviously bandits weren't the smartest people, but these one truly took the cake for dumbest men alive. Their target priority had been incredibly skewed. It was likely they didn't know who they were dealing with, but being *that* unable to size up an opponent was laughable.
Eventually she was placed in a cage, and left there without so much as a word. Not that she minded. She didn't *want* to talk her way out of it with some drooling brute. Though she did wish the cage was at least shaded, instead of being in the center of camp directly under the blazing sun.
All she could do was sigh, and wait for Ruby to show up.
Breaking out would be easy enough, taking care of these brigands would be easier still, but there was something romantic about letting Ruby come and "rescue" her, and gods knew they could both use a little more romance right now.
Her eyes danced around the camp, observing her pseudo-captors and marveling at just how incompetent they truly were. Half of them didn't even keep their weapons on them. How could you kidnap someone and then expect no retaliation or attempts at rescue? They'd left obvious footprints the whole way back, did they think no one would follow, or were they just that overconfident?
Honestly, if not for the need for sleep, they never would've laid a hand on her. Her team had admittedly grown a liiiiiitle lax in their watches. Due in no small part to Blake and Yang being all lovey dovey the whole time. Why they insisted on that during missions, Weiss would never understand.
Ruby and Weiss were of course just as in love, if not more, but at least they had the decency to keep it behind closed doors instead of flaunting it in public.
She sighed, laying down in the hot sand. Not much to do now besides wait for Ruby to make the distraction Weiss was sure would come. She let her eyes close, listening closely to all the sounds surrounding her, waiting for them to change.
It wasn't like Weiss to disappear like that, Ruby thought. She was usually the first one up, and the last to stop complaining about it, but today she was neither. Blake and Yang hadn't seen her either.
Ruby looked around the temporary campsite as if Weiss could simply be hiding behind the... nothing around them. She sighed. She knew she should be worried, but it was almost hard to be when it was Weiss.
Nothing on Remnant could really threaten Weiss and get away with it. At least, nothing that would have stopped at just Weiss.
At last her eyes landed on the myriad footprints heading away from Weiss's bedroll. A heavy sigh escaped her lips, drawing the gaze of the older girls, still readying themselves for the day.
"Weiss got kidnapped again. You two head back, I can go get her."
"She really has terrible luck with bandits doesn't she?" Blake commented, clearly finding the situation funny.
"I know, it's the worst. You'd think at some point they'd wise up, but nooooo, let's just kidnap the pretty one, surely she's as weak and dainty as she looks, right?"
"You think Weiss looks weak?" Yang teased, poking Ruby in the side.
"That's not what I- Shut up Yang! Just... go tell someone what's going on, and let 'em know I'll be back in a bit."
"You know this is only going to reinforce the whole 'savior' thing, yes? 'Ruby Rose wipes out bandit camp singlehandedly to save a lone girl' is quite the inspiring story."
Blake had a point, but Ruby hated hearing it. Her shoulders slumped and she threw her head back.
"Ugh, I know! It's so annoying! Tell 'em Weiss rescued me or something."
"Or you could let one of us go get her?"
"And miss out on all the brownie points I'd get for being her knight in shining armor? No chance. Head back, it won't take long. I'll deal with whatever people wanna say the same way I always do."
With that Ruby set off, not wanting to hear another word of the inevitable teasing that would follow. Despite the wind's best efforts to blow sand over them, the tracks were remarkably easy to follow. It was as if they wanted to be found.
Most of what she'd heard about Raven's tribe had been second hand, and even after meeting Raven Ruby knew frighteningly little about her, but it was still incredibly obvious that they'd never be so careless.
Of course the thought crossed her mind that it was deliberate. Bait laid and a trap set to nab whoever came after the former heiress. But if it was a trap it was a bad one, because anyone who saw it would think it was a trap. But maybe that was the intention. It was a double... triple bait?
Either way it didn't matter if Ruby just knocked 'em all out before they could grab her. It's not like they were faster than her. Ragtag group of bandits were likely to have one or two people with their semblance unlocked if they were lucky. She wasn't worried about it at all.
The camp was found quick enough, only a few miles from where they'd been. She was thankful more than ever that Weiss had pushed the idea of goggles on her. Ruby had never been opposed of course, but Weiss had insisted 'you need to protect your eyes' and Ruby wasn't going to argue with Weiss when she got all demanding like that. They were certainly useful now though with the sand blowing all over like it was.
Her finger twirled around the small braid framing the right side of her face as she studied the camp through her weapon's scope. Weiss had also insisted on that change. 'It gives me an excuse to play with your hair' she had said when she first put it in. She'd been awfully direct with her feelings since the Ever After.
Ruby could understand really. The lack of open, honest communication had caused... problems to say the least. Granted that was mostly from her, but it was nice that Weiss was putting in the effort too.
At long last her scope settled on Weiss, lying back in the sand, awaiting her rescue. Her mind wandered, thinking of how nice it would be to take a trip to the beach once this was all over. Unfortunately her mind also wandered to what Weiss would be wearing on said beach and a heat hit her face that had nothing to do with the sweltering desert.
She shook her head, trying to dispel the vision only to find it replaced with yet another. Something about Weiss and sunscreen, which was gone as quickly as it came as she forced herself forward and into danger. No time for thoughts like that when your life is on the line.
There were no Grimm present of course, but the idea of rushing in to protect her girlfriend elicited the same sorts of feeling that she would use to activate her eyes. There was maybe a subtle glow to them, if the light reflecting off her goggles was any indication.
Now, she could go in there and take 'em all out in a matter of seconds. It was doubtful the camp would hold up if she used that trick she'd used back in her school days. It had just been a food fight so she was holding back considerably, but throwing the whole cafeteria with her semblance, when scaled up to be a bandit camp instead, would be pretty effective. Unfortunately, Weiss was right in the middle of the camp.
She'd be fine, of course, but Ruby would never hear the end of it all the same.
Stealth was distinctly not her style, so maybe just walking up to the front gate? It would, with any luck, draw attention from Weiss at the very least.
Yeah, why not? She'd probably get scolded for being reckless, but she really didn't mind Weiss's scolding. It came from a place of love obviously.
"Oh look, she's come to rescue her friend," one of the bandits stationed out front said.
"We can probably just grab her too. She's cute, but I doubt she'll fetch the same price as the other one."
Ruby couldn't help but roll her eyes. The gate guards were easy enough to dispatch. She was careful to hold back considerably. It was likely these guys didn't have their aura unlocked. Roman hadn't either, but he was something of a special case and she had been a child. Now though, she could easily end a life without meaning to if she wasn't careful.
Shouts of alarm were resounding through the camp already as a large number of them rushed the entrance of the camp, all funneling towards one place and making it remarkably easy for her to dispatch them quickly.
Their leaving Weiss unguarded had been, as expected, a mistake. Ruby watched sand erupt from the center of the camp. She had to hurry up, otherwise Weiss would take out the majority and she could no longer claim this a rescue.
Dropping her eyes from the white blur in the center of the camp she focused once more on the helpless bandits before her. Using the back end of her scythe was sufficient. Still solid, still very able to break bones, but at least they weren't being cut in half.
As expected most of them were worthless in combat. The type that prey on ordinary citizens by just having a sword, never bothering to learn to use it.
When one managed to stay standing after a hit her eyes locked on him instantly. Jamming her legs back into the chest of another, she propelled forward and swung Crescent Rose again, aiming to hit with the blade this time.
The blow connected, but didn't cleave through his aura as she'd expected.
She thought it had felt odd the first time, but now she was certain. Crescent Rose was MUCH heavier than before. Maybe four times its initial weight? Far from unliftable, but much too heavy to be used as a weapon for practically anyone else. Her eyes locked on the man's face. He was smirking. Confident. This must be his Semblance. She tried again, lugging it behind her as best she could with its immense weight fighting her every step. Maintaining his notion that he had the upper hand was critical here. When the blade made contact with his aura she felt it double again. Her weapon was thirty pounds, already a ridiculous weight for a weapon. Doubled three times, it was now two hundred and forty, and hardly liftable.
She let it fall to the sand, pretending that she was unable to lift it. Of course it was only half pretend. Strong as she was, swinging a blade this heavy just wasn't going to happen. He smirked and kicked the blade away, doubling its weight once more. That was probably good enough.
The instant she felt the weight increase, Ruby activated her own Semblance. Weight didn't matter in Petal Burst, her movements wouldn't be hindered at all. She did a quick lap of the camp to build up momentum before coming straight at the offending bandit, rematerializing Crescent Rose and slamming the nearly five hundred pounds of steel into her opponents chest at a velocity he could never hope to contend with.
His aura shattered on impact and she felt the weight recede as she slammed him down into the sand, smiling at the others as if it had been child's play. Which for the most part it had. Not the worst workout in the world though.
She turned her attention to the remaining few, watching them drop their weapons, flee, or both.
With that settled, it was time to find Weiss. It wasn't very hard to at all, she just looked for white, which stood out like a sore thumb in the ruins of the encampment.
As she approached Weiss swooned dramatically, falling directly into Ruby's arms.
"My savior! Whatever would I have done without you?"
"Laid there and took a nap from the looks of it."
Weiss smiled, craning her neck up to plant a well deserved kiss on Ruby's lips. They were both covered in sand, so it was grittier than usual. Ruby loved how soft Weiss's lips were, but this was an altogether unique experience that she wouldn't soon complain about.
Ruby's hand found the small of Weiss's back, and pulled gently until their hips were pressed right up against one another's.
"Thank you for saving me," Weiss whispered, her breath hot against Ruby's lips.
"I'll always save you, Weiss. Even when you don't need it."
Ruby could feel the smile form on Weiss's lips, and she responded with another deep kiss.
"Do we have to go back?"
Ruby could understand the question, but found her mind spinning around an answer as she replayed the sight of that small string of saliva being broken by the former heiress's lips.
"Uhhh, not immediately, I suppose, but we should start heading that way."
"Maybe we take the scenic route? It's so rare I get time alone with you these days."
Ruby nodded.
"The scenic route, yeah."
Weiss threaded her fingers into Ruby's and began walking much slower than usual, while Ruby allowed herself to be dragged along without complaint.
Just as they settled into a comfortable pace, they felt the ground rumble beneath them. Ruby sighed before taking a deep breath, readying herself to unleash her eyes. She lost all concentration when she felt Weiss's small hand cover them gently.
"Maybe don't end the fight before it begins. Scenic route, remember?"
"You really wanna put us both in danger?"
"It's not dangerous. If things start to go South, you can just blast it with your eyes and be my heroic savior again."
"You really gotta stop calling me that, but fine. No summons for you if I don't get to use my eyes."
"That sounds reasonable to me," Weiss agreed with a nod.
As the ground split beneath them, neither bothered to strike at the jet black scales breaching the surface. It would likely be too hard anyway. Instead they waited. Watching the movements carefully. Neither had seen this type of Grimm before, but then, neither had spent very long in the desert.
When it emerged fully they heard the sliding of two sets of eyelids opening, revealing beady red eyes, small, and clearly hardly used. It's legs were short and stubby, and it's body long and slender, if gargantuan.
It pressed its jaw to the ground, and began emitting vibrations. The sand already made for poor footing, but with the rumbling unsettling it further, both took to the air, Weiss creating a glyph for each of them to plant their feet on.
"Aww, this one's kinda cute! It's like a big burrowing lizard!"
"Only you could find a Grimm cute. It's a mindless beast of destruction, Ruby, not a pet."
"I know, but look at its little legs! You can't tell me that's not cute!"
"I can and I am." Ruby stuck her tongue out childishly. "So, eyes?"
"Eyes."
The beast lifted its head from the sand once more and looked around slowly. Without being able to use the vibrations, it had to rely on much weaker senses, something they were more than happy to take advantage of.
Ruby shifted Crescent Rose to its war scythe configuration, and leapt from the glyph, perfectly in sync with Weiss's own jump, and plunged the blade into the beasts nearest eye. She could feel it recoil immediately, a horrid screeching echoing across the sand as tar-like blood gushed from the now blind creature. Once their blades were free both couldn't help the disappointment that fell over them.
"It's still alive? Man, I thought for sure that would be enough to finish it off. Where else are we even supposed to hit it? No way we're getting through those scales easily."
It was obvious from the moment they saw the offending keratin. It had to be tough to withstand the pressure, and constant abrasion of the sand. And yet, they had to pierce it. By their own rules, without summons or special eyes.
"So, how do we wanna handle this?" Ruby asked, ignoring the writhing lizard on the ground.
"Initiation? The Nevermore. I think we could pull it off again, even without a convenient cliff nearby. We're both much better by now, it shouldn't be difficult."
"Sure, that could work, but how are we gonna get it to raise its head?"
"...Ruby what are you standing on right now?"
The redhead in question looked down at the brightly glowing rune beneath her feet, realizing at once what Weiss had meant.
"Oh. Right."
Weiss formed a larger glyph below the beast, sending its head up into the air. Forming a time dilation glyph under Ruby to speed her movements beyond what her regular gravity glyphs could manage, she sent her lover flying toward the Grimm's throat using the glyph she'd already been standing on.
It took effort, there was no denying, but not nearly as much as Ruby had been expecting. Soon the head was cleanly severed from the rest of the body, and turning to smoke in the sky.
Rather than being caught with another glyph, Ruby found herself landing safely in Weiss's arms.
"There, now I've saved you, and we're even."
Ruby rolled her eyes, but happily accepted the kiss planted on her cheek.
"We should get moving. It could take hours to walk back."
It was Weiss's turn to roll her eyes.
"I suppose it will. Let's just hope my legs don't give out, otherwise you may have to carry me the rest of the way."