#ruby ritual update

0179: As the Great Australia Turtle shows us, patience is a virtue - you should wait until you're in less trouble to sneak into Ozpin's office. Still, that doesn't mean you can't plan ahead! Start making plans and checking out the security if you can; if you're going to be sneaking into the headmaster's office you're going to want to have a plan, both to get in and to leave quickly. -L

While your probation makes actually stealing anything from Ozpin’s office foolish at best, there’s no harm in a bit of recon.

Getting into the office is as easy as getting on the elevator, as anyone is free to visit the headmaster. Getting out with whatever your other self wants without being discovered will be the hard part.

“Ruby are you sure this is a good idea?” Asked Yang mentally.

“Relax sis, all I’m doing is recon. If Ozpin is there then I’ll just tell him that I want to know how the hunt for dad is going.” “Well yeah there’s that, but I mean the part about doing what Anti-Ruby wants you to do. She was going to try and kill you back during the dream remember.” “...Well at the very least we can figure out exactly what she wants.”

The elevator arrives at Ozpin’s office, and the doors slide open. Ozpin isn’t in the room, which makes things a bit easier.

As you glance around the room you realise that there no security cameras. After all, why would there be? The only things that are actually in the room are a desk and a chair shaped like… Well… You don’t really want to say what it looks like. All in all it’s less of an office and more of an audience chamber.

“What the hell…” You mutter to yourself. “She said she wanted me to steal something, but there’s nothing here to steal.”

“I bet there’s a secret room,” says Yang. “If anyone in the world has a secret room in their office, Ozpin does.”

“Good point. Alright let’s spread out and see what we can find.”

As you are checking out the gears on one side of the room (which your mechanical expertise quickly informs you have no actual function, which means that Ozpin probably only had them installed to look cool) Blake calls out from the other side. You walk over to find that she had slipped under one of the floor tiles, and with her help you pry it up to reveal a thick metal door embedded in the ground.

“This is it!” You declare excitedly. “Only it looks like we’ll need a key.”

“Ozpin probably keeps it on him,” responds Blake. “But if we steal it he will immediately know that something is wrong.”

“We don’t need to steal it,” says Weiss. “If I can just get a good look at it, I can make a copy out of ice.”

With the plan set, you replace the floor tile and leave, being careful to leave no evidence that you had searched the room. Until you figure out a way to get Ozpin to take out the key so you can get a good look at it, you will not be able to steal whatever it is that the other Ruby wants.

One free time period before the end of term holidays

Spend time with Weiss

Spend time with Blake

Spend time with Yang

Spend time with Nora

Spend time with Pyrrha

Spend time with Ren

Spend time with Penny

Learn of Yang’s hidden memories (see part 0160) There is no rush to do this, so don’t feel bad about leaving it for later

The number is 0180

0170: Who the heck is this Naga person? Lets check 14.1.7.1.

“This place is awful.” You murmur as you proceed down the hallways. “Was it really like this when you were held here?”

“It was less run down, but they did keep us in pitch darkness.” Responds demon Blake. “It doesn’t bother me any more, but back then I thought I was going to go mad.”

“I’m kind of glad I don’t remember all of that…” Remarks human Blake, before stopping suddenly, one of her ears twitching. “I think I can hear someone in a cell up ahead.”

You all dash forward to the cell in question. You don’t recognise the name on the nameplate, ‘Naga’, but no matter who it is you should still rescue them right? After finding the correct key, you unlock the door. Inside is someone who appears to be some sort of reptile faunus, if the scales are anything to go by. She sits quietly curled up in a corner.

“Um, excuse me! We’re here to rescuGYAAAK!”

As soon as you begin to speak, the woman abruptly lunges forward, her hands wrapping around your throat as she begins to strangle you.

“DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DI-“

She is interrupted as the Blakes come to your rescue, simultaneously delivering her two devastating blows that knock her off of you, out cold. You stagger to your feet, gasping for air.

All of a sudden, in response to the sound of the struggle, inhabitants of the cells all around you make themselves known, slamming on their cell doors and reaching through bars.

“IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!” ”YOU DAMN HUMANS!” ”I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL KILL YOU!”

Human Blake ducks out of the way of a flailing arm. “They’re… all faunus. They seem to have been driven into some kind of frenzy. Is this the result of the experiments that they performed on us?” ”No.” responds demon Blake. “Well… maybe. I’m not really sure what the exact effects of the experiments were, since we didn’t come into contact with any of the other prisoners. However, these aren’t the prisoners that were kept in the laboratory with me. I think these are real people, trapped in the dream just like us.”

Your jaw drops open. “Wait what? If that’s true, then why are they keeping all these people in here? And what have they done to them?”

Demon Blake shakes her head. “I don’t know. But I think this might have been what this dream world was meant for before we got caught up in it all.”

“Whatever they’re doing here, we need to get out of here before the noise attracts something bad.” Says human Blake.

Given the mental state of the prisoners, you decide to leave them in their cells. Hopefully you can help them by ending the dream.

Where to next?

Cell number: 1.4.1.13

Cell number: 17.18.15.23

The number is 0171.

AN: I flipped a coin to decide which one of the only two prompts I recieved that I would use.

0178: Are you sure there's nothing else you'd like to tell us, Pyrrha?

“...Is there something you're not telling us Pyrrha?” You ask.

She jumps slightly, startled by your question.

“Wha… What do you mean?”

“You’ve been scratching your arm for ages, and it’s drawn blood. Did something happen to it in the dream?”

She looks down at her arm in surprise. “I… I didn’t realise that I was doing that…”

You place your hand on Pyrrha’s gently. “Pyrrha… I really don’t want to force you to come out with something you don’t want to talk about, but with something like this I really think that bottling it up is just going to make it worse for you in the long run. Whatever you saw, just know that we’re all here for you one hundred percent.”

Pyrrha glances at Nora and Ren, who give her a reassuring nod. “You’re right. And it’s also not fair on the rest of you if I keep it to myself. It’s just that…. It was so strange. Everything that you all experienced seemed to come from somewhere, like a memory or some sort of hangup. But with this… I don’t understand where it came from.”

“...Everything I told you about the village being under attack was the truth. At first it all seemed about as normal as an attack from a horde of slavering monstrosities can be. Then one managed to get over the walls and injured someone. That person… They turned into some kind of half-human half-Grimm mutant, and started attacking anyone in sight. Before long, every single person in the town was like that; I had never seen or heard of anything like that happening before.”

She grips her wrist tightly with her other hand. “One caught me by surprise and cut me. The next thing I knew my arm started changing like the others. I was desperate… So I cut it off.”

“YOWCH!” Nora exclaims in horror.

Pyrrha nods. “I did it quickly, but it hurt. The dream ended right after that happened, but… I can still feel it. I can still feel the infection under the skin of my arm, wriggling. It’s probably all in my head, but that’s why I didn’t want to talk about it.”

“That’s… rough.” You say.

Wow nice going brain, our friend is in distress and all you can think to say is ‘That’s rough.’ Good job!

“Eh I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” says Nora. “The only person in this room that’s turning into a monster is me.”

Ren tries to protest. “Nora you’re not…”

“Yeah I kind of am.” With that Nora gets up abruptly. “Um… Thanks for all of this but I need some time alone. I’ll be back for the meeting with Miss Goodwitch.” With that, she darts out of the room before you can voice any kind of protest.

With Nora gone, the others soon follow suit. You were kind of hoping that things would go better than this, but at the same time you feel glad that your friends are not keeping anything bottled up inside.

*Your experiences within the dream have brought you closer together. +500 relationship points for Yang, Weiss, and Blake. +250 relationship points for Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha*

The next morning you all head over to Miss Goodwitch’s office early. Qrow is already there, so you wait outside until they finish.

It’s hard to hear any of the conversation coming from inside. At one point Qrow attempts to raise his voice, but is quickly cut off. Soon after, he emerges from the room. Upon shutting the door behind him, he takes a flask out from his pocket, uncaps it, and gulps the contents of the whole thing down in one go.

“Here’s a little bit of advice,” he says as he wipes his mouth off. “NEVER piss off Glynda Goodwitch after you graduate, because at that point she doesn’t have to filter her threats anymore.” He shakes his head. “I already filled her in on everything you told me about that demon, the nameless guy in the cell, and that Emerald girl, so unless there is anything else that you left out then don’t worry about giving any kind of report.”

You nod. You didn’t mention to him anything that might incriminate you or your friends, but otherwise you filled your uncle in on everything that occurred the previous day.

“Good.” He says with a small smile. “Good luck with your first major roasting from Goodwitch.”

With that, the four of you head inside. Immediately upon entering the room, you can feel the cold fury radiating off Miss Goodwitch. You line up in front of her desk, and only then does she speak.

“This is now the fourth major incident that this team has been involved in since the start of the term, fifth if I was to count the circumstances through which I first met you Miss Rose. Now I understand that most of those occurrences were completely out of your control, and each time you acted admirably when thrust into such a dangerous situation. However this time you consciously chose to put yourselves in harms way, and I will not tolerate that.”

“But Miss Goodwitch…” You start to say, intending to point out the fact that without your intervention Qrow might have still been trapped.

“But nothing! You are trainees! Children! That uncle of yours was an utter fool to bring you to a location where he knew that an enemy strong enough to subdue someone as strong as your father may have been waiting, and while that was his mistake not yours, you still chose to go marching in after him without calling for backup. I understand that you are concerned about your father’s disappearance, but that does not excuse such recklessness.”

She turns to your teammates.

“And you three are certainly not innocent in this matter either. As Miss Rose’s teammates your job is to keep her in check when her emotions may be clouding her judgement, not blindly follow her into danger.”

Miss Goodwitch sighs and shakes her head.

“All four of you will be receiving a three hour detention every day for the next two weeks. Furthermore, starting immediately you will all be on probation, which will only be lifted when I see fit. Should another incident occur that can be compared to this one in any way, or if you attempt to involve yourself in the search for your father once again, you will be expelled immediately. I trust that you understand what that would mean?”

You all nod. Expulsion would revoke your weapons licence, and forever bar you from becoming a huntress.

Miss Goodwitch’s expression softens somewhat.

“Please understand that I do not want to be so harsh after you have been put through such a traumatic ordeal, but I would rather have you alive as civilians, than dead as hunters. This is your final chance to prove that I need not fear that second eventuality. Dismissed.”

What should you do now? (because of your punishment assignments, you only have two free time periods before the end of term holidays) Please specify any specific action that you wish to take with your chosen character

Spend time with Weiss

Spend time with Blake

Spend time with Yang

Spend time with Nora

Spend time with Pyrrha

Spend time with Ren

Spend time with Penny

Attempt to sneak into Ozpin’s office and fulfil your promise to Overlord Ruby (see part 0125) given your current probation this is inadvisable

Learn of Yang’s hidden memories (see part 0160) There is no rush to do this, so don’t feel bad about leaving it for later

The number is 0179

0177: No one wants to go first? Then we will. Get Weiss, Blake and Yang to come out as well, and we'll begin the talking, even if it seems uncomfortable to do so. Once we're done, floor's open, but no one leaves the room until everything's been talked about. And you mean NO ONE LEAVES until EVERYTHING is said.

0177: Maybe you can go first? Help ease things in. If Weiss, Blake, and Yang want to share, that might also help.

...To tell the truth, you don't particularly want to go first either. But you're the leader, so you should probably lead.

“I saw my mom.” You tell them. “She was so… real. I wanted to go to her so badly. But… My mom is dead, so it couldn't have been her. The dream had me in some kind of trance or something, so it was hard to snap out of it, but I managed somehow. It’s all a bit hazy though...”

“Geez… That sounds rough.” Says Ren sympathetically. “I was lucky enough to not see my parents in mine.”

“What happened?” You ask.

“...When Nora and I were young, our village was attacked by demons. It was basically a repeat experience of that.” “That sounds horrible.” Says Pyrrha.

“It was, but I’ve had enough nightmares about that day that I was able to figure out it was all fake fairly quickly. After that I went to find Nora, and… Nora do you want to tell them about this bit?”

Nora hesitates for a moment, but then nods. “I was in Beacon, only everything was made of storm clouds. I walked around, trying to find someone else, but I didn’t find anything until I went to the cliff where we fought The Spark…” Oh boy you think you see where this is going.

“I saw… me. Only it was like you took a hurricane, zapped it with ten bajillion volts, and then stuffed it all a mould that looked like me. She said some stuff about needing to beat me so that she would be ‘the number one Valkyrie,’ and then she attacked me. I almost feel sorry for all the Grimm I’ve smashed if that was the expression I had when I squished them… Almost.”

“What happened next?” You ask.

She scowls. “I lost. I think I might have been able to do it if I hadn’t been so freaked out. If Ren hadn’t shown up when he did I would have been a goner. Together we were able to hold her… me… whatever the heck she was, off until you ended the dream.”

“Ok so I wasn’t the only one who tried to kill myself in the dream.” Weiss mutters inside your head. “That’s somewhat comforting.” “Oh yeah! Weiss, Blake, Yang: you guys should also tell the others about what happened to you.” You exclaim.

“I… guess that sounds like a good idea.” Blake says hesitantly. “I’ll go first, get it over with.” Everyone in the room listens in horror as Blake recounts the experimentation and imprisonment she went through before her transformation. You don’t feel as queasy, on account of having heard it all before, but nevertheless the fury that you feel towards Blake’s captors has not diminished.

As Yang begins her turn, you listen up, as you still don’t know the full details of what happened to her.

“Everything played out exactly the same as the day of the forest fire. I was out on my morning jog through the woods, when I heard some weird chanting. I went over to check it out, and stumbled on a bunch of cultists doing a ritual. Most of them were wearing the usual cultist robes, but there was one guy off to the side who was wearing a suit, and was just watching. I didn’t get a good look at his face. In the middle of the ritual circle there was some kind of bowl…” “Wait what?” You exclaim. “A bowl? That sounds like what happened with me!” “Bowl-like ritual vessels are not uncommon.” Comments Weiss. “It’s possible that it might just be a coincidence.”

“It’s just as possible that it isn’t.” Responds Ren. “Let’s not just ignore the connection here.” “Well in any case,” continues Yang, “it went about as well for these guys as it did for those dumbasses who kidnapped Ruby way back then. They finished their chant, the runes on the bowl started glowing, and then BOOM! The bowl blew up, and the cultists got mulched by the explosion. Mr suit might have survived though, he was pretty far back, but I was too preoccupied with the giant flaming arm that was worming its way through the tear in reality that the explosion made to be paying attention to him.”

“That sounds freaking awesome…” Nora murmurs.

“It would have been if it hadn’t literally knocked me through a tree. I passed out, and next thing I knew I was with Weiss.”

“Your demon half dragged you to safety.” Says Weiss. “We talked for a while, she said that once everything was over I should ask you about…. Well I think I should probably save that until we’re done digesting our current series of traumas. In any case, I think it’s my turn…”

After Weiss finished telling everyone about her daddy issues and attempted murder/suicide, there was only one person who had not talked about their experience in the dream.

“Alright Pyrrha, you’re up.” You say.

“Alright…” She says, and takes a deep breath. “My experience was similar to Ren’s. I was in a village that was under attack by demons, mainly Grimm. I was the only person there who could fight. I tried my best to stop them, but as soon as they started coming over the walls it was all over. If the dream hadn’t ended when it did I might have been killed. I’m not really sure where my part of the dream came from, since I’ve never been in a village like that before. Maybe it’s because I haven’t gone through anything in my past like the rest of you all did.”

You notice that Pyrrha’s arm scratching has drawn blood.

Is it time to wrap things up? (If yes, then timeskip to your meeting with Miss Goodwitch)

The number is 0178.

Because of its length, 0173 will be going below a readmore.

0173 Use the darkness as an excuse to hold onto the Blake's hands. Gotta keep track of where you each are in pitch darkness..! Wait, wouldn't they be able to see in the dark better than you? Ask Demon Blake what your new friend looks like.

0172: Open the door. It's between getting caught by that thing when you're exhausted, and dealing with whatever this is while you are still somewhat fresh.

0172: Take a deep breath, and go inside. You do NOT want to be on the receiving end of whoever that is.

With only a moments hesitation you do as the voice says, unlocking the door and snuffing the torch, before the three of you dive inside and slam the door behind you. You can feel the presence of the person in the cell with you but the pitch darkness renders it impossible for you to see what they look like.

“Great! Now no matter what happens, stay quiet and let me do the talking. I know how to handle this.”

You sit down and wait quietly. Scarcely a minute later, you feel a chill run down your spine as the presence draws near.

“An intruder passed by this cell. Which way did they go?”

“They’re in here! Just open up the door and you’ll have them!”

Ok so they immediately sold you out. That no good dirty…

“Do you honestly expect me to fall for that?”

…Wait what?

”Well it would be nice if you would. I’d get to stretch my legs, see the world, and also inflict upon you the kind of revenge that only someone that’s been locked up for eight thousand years is capable of.”

“It’s ten thousand years now. One would expect that such a long time would have dulled your impudence.”

”Ten thousand? My how time flies when you’re having fun.”

“If you two are done,” a third voice cuts in, “I would like to get out of this hole.”

You stifle a gasp. You recognise that voice, that’s Emerald.

“I decide when we leave Sustrai.”

“No actually, I do.” Emerald responds with no small amount of smugness. “Unless you figured out a way to get out of the dream on your own… No? I thought not. But if you really want to stay, I’ll leave you here. Don’t worry, I’ll come back for you in about a month or so.”

”YOU IMPUDENT LITTLE…”

“If you have a complaint, then feel free to take it up with Cinder. I’m sure she’ll be happy to pass it along.”

It makes a strangled choking noise.

“Why you… Very well. I will concede this time.”

”That’s what I thought.” Emerald finishes.

All of a sudden, both of their presences seem to just disappear from outside the cell. As soon as they do so, the person in the cell with you lets out a chuckle.

“I love that girl. She has Mr high and mighty on a leash and she knows it. Sure, inside the dream world he can break almost anyone without a problem, but that’s not much good to him if he’s stuck in here isn’t it? Not to mention the fact that for all his power, all I need to do to lie to him is tell him the truth. Isn’t that great? In any case, they’re probably gone, but I’d wait another five minutes just to be completely safe. Why don’t you talk to me for a while, it has been a very long time since I’ve had a good conversation.”

What now?

The number is 0173.

0175: Think a kiss will wake her? That's how it always goes in the stories, but let's save that as a last resort.

0175 A KISS TO WAKE THE CURSED PRINCESS

“Should I try kissing her?” You suggest. “That’s how it always works in stories.”

The look that demon Blake gives you is indescribable.

“Ruby… this is kind of getting out of hand. First Weiss, then Winter, and now you’re trying to kiss a dream demon. At this rate you’re going to end up dating every single girl on the planet. I’m surprised that you haven’t tried to flirt with the demon version of you yet.”

“Uh… Yeah… That would be pretty weird wouldn’t it.” You say, awkwardly trying to hide your embarrassment about how close she just came to the truth. “Wait a second… Doesn’t every girl include you?” Demon Blake’s face flushes red. “I… We’re getting off topic here Ruby, just try something.” “I never thought I’d end up being a third wheel to myself, but here we are.” human Blake mutters.

0175: Tickle her!

Well this kind of seems like a stupid idea, but what have you got to lose? You crawl across the enormous bed over to her, and begin tickling her.

“Tickle tickle… Wakey wakey…”

You feel silly, but the demon begins to shift in her sleep, so you redouble your efforts.

“Come on… Wake up demon…”

Suddenly, one of the demon’s arms shoots out to the side, grabs a pillow, and hits you on the back of the head with it so hard that you end up faceplanting into the bed. “STOP IT DAMN YOU!” The dream demon screeches, having been the one to swing the pillow. “I’M TRYING TO SLEEP!”

At that moment, the world around you shatters like glass.

You sit up. You were lying in a bed. You’re not sure if someone put you there, or if you climbed in yourself under the influence of the dream. There are more beds all around you, all containing occupants in various stages of waking up. You notice Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha nearby. Ren looks bad, Pyrrha looks worse, and Nora looks traumatised. To say that they had a rough time seems to be an understatement.

Yang, Weiss and Blake are all back where they belong. Blake is back together, and feeling somewhat disorientated by the sudden rejoining. You learn that Yang and Weiss had been blocked from entering the prison by the landslide from earlier. Weiss was more than a little embarrassed to learn that she was the only one who had a fight between her two halves.

Deep in your soul, you can vaguely feel the presence of the other Ruby, but you don’t try to contact her. Soon after that, things started moving quite quickly. One of the huntsmen that accompanied Qrow called for backup immediately upon waking up. Before long the dream healing shop was swarming with hunters. The Faunus that had been so violent in the dream, were, for the most part, far more docile upon waking up. Many of them seemed empty, like they had lost something vital in the dream. Thankfully, some of them weren’t that far gone, but the most whole among them was confused and forgetful. They were taken away by the hunters, either for questioning, or so that they could be given proper help. You hope that whatever was done to them wasn’t irreversible.

The dream demon’s real world quarters was found in the attic. As expected, it went straight back to the demon world upon being woken. You’re glad to see the back of it. You're not sure what exactly happened to the voice in the cell, they didn’t have had a body that they could have used after the dream ended. They seemed confident enough when you spoke to them though, so you put your worries aside. When the hunters reviewed the shop’s security footage, you discovered that your dad had in fact been there. He had been taken in, given treatment by a very nervous looking doctor, and then was taken somewhere else once he had been stabilised. You didn't find him, but at the very least there was now a trail that could be followed. It’s night time when you arrive back at Beacon. You're informed that you have a mandatory meeting with Miss Goodwitch in the morning. Given that your team rushed into the shop without taking the time to wait for backup, you are not looking forward to this talk. You doubt that you're going to get any sleep tonight, or for every night for the next week, but there’s a long time till morning.

What should you do in the meantime?

Spend time with your teammates (specify who)

Waste time until morning

Other (please specify)

0176: Nora had the Spark shove part of itself inside her, right? Team Meeting(tm) time! Where we'll discuss everything that happened in that dreamscape. EVERYTHING.

Yeah a team meeting probably is the best solution. Letting your team just stew on what they went through individually can’t be healthy. It's best to tackle it as a group.

Once everyone has had time to grab a bite to eat and shower, you gather in the dorm. Ren is cleaning his weapons, Pyrrha is vacantly scratching her arm, and Nora is listlessly taking bites out of a chocolate bar.

“Alright team, you probably all know why we’re all gathered here. That weird dream world seemed to try and keep us trapped in our hangups and trauma, and keeping it all bottled up is just going to hurt us in the long term, so I’d like us to get it all out on the table right now. Any objections?”

“None from me,” says Ren. “I think it’s a good idea.”

Nora shifts uncomfortably. “Uh… Ren and Pyrrha have already seen mine so I guess it’s fine…”

There’s an almost imperceptible hesitation from Pyrrha before she shakes her head. No objections from her either then.

No one volunteers. You notice their eyes darting around to look at everyone else in the room. It seems that despite their agreement, none of them want to go first.

How are you going to break this stalemate? The number is 0177.