#May have to expand Weiss and Blake's sections cause they're so much shorter than the Ruby and Yang section... | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rwby-echo · 3 years

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I mentioned posting the first chapter of ECHO for you guys to see, so here it is!

Please keep in mind that the final version that gets posted with the whole fic will probably be different as things get tweaked. Everything is gonna get tuning as writing progress continues.

Preparations

Patch, the Kingdom of Vale...

Summer’s Perch, they called it, back in the days when their mother still lived. Yang could still remember finding her here on many a clear afternoon when she was little, when Summer would kneel and wait for Yang to leap into her arms; in those days it was safe enough for a child to wander, for no Grimm dared to haunt these woods while her mother was here. Even now, on clear days she half-expected to find her mother standing on the overlook, miraculously alive and waiting with open arms after so many years.

“Guess this’ll be the last time we can visit for a while,” Ruby said, her tone somber as she stared out over the open expanse of sea beyond the cliff’s edge. She fidgeted and balanced briefly on one foot, rubbing the top of her shoe against the bare back of her calf to relieve an itch. She was dressed for the late summer heat today: a dusky orange t-shirt, dark green skirt, black ankle socks, and orange sneakers. Even the red hooded cloak she loved so dearly had been left behind, thanks to the heat. The only heavy piece of gear she kept on was her ammo belt with her compact-form scythe resting at the small of her back; Patch was a quiet little island, but Grimm still somehow managed to find their way into its wilds regardless.

Yang nodded in agreement as she knelt and placed the bundle of white roses before the memorial. ‘Thus Kindly, I Scatter’, said the words engraved below her mother’s name. Yang had always disliked that; she found no poetry in death and loss. A sharp pang of annoyance flared up at reading that again, given strength by the heat. It was getting to be a bit much, despite her being dressed for it in a green crop top, tan fingerless gloves, chocolate brown shorts, white ankle socks, and yellow sneakers. Even her long golden hair, normally left wild and free, was tied up in a loose bun at the back of her head to keep it off her neck and back. Ember Celica was already on her wrists; the set was compact enough in its collapsed form that she was able to wear it comfortably during day-to-day tasks.

The waves continued their relentless march against the base of the cliff far below, while seabirds wheeled and called far above. A breeze meandered between the two girls, providing only fleeting relief from the summer heat. This was their mother’s favorite place to sit and contemplate, back when she was still with them; now it served as the closest thing she had to a grave. That, at least, would change if the sisters got their way.

“You ready?” Yang stood and dusted her knees off.

“Yeah,” Ruby replied. “We’re on our way.”

“Still can’t believe you skipped two years,” Yang said, a chuckle bubbling just beneath her words. “You’re trying to make me look bad.”

“What? Noo!” Ruby gave Yang a playful shove and ended up almost knocking herself off her feet—pushing Yang was like trying to move a rock. “I only did it cause I had to catch up with you!”

“Yeah yeah,” Yang said, waving Ruby off with a playful smile. “That excuse won’t work forever.”

The two fell into mutual silence again as they stared out over the ocean.

“You think we’ll be able to do it?” Ruby asked after a while. “Dad and Uncle Qrow looked for years.”

“We’ll find a way,” was Yang’s simple, determined reply. “I don’t care how long it takes, we’ll find mom and bring her home.”

They watched the waves and the seabirds for a time, then Ruby lifted a hand to the sun and checked its progress through the sky. “Lunchtime already?” She turned to Yang. “Wanna head back?”

“Yeah, I’m getting hungry now that you mention it,” Yang replied. “Let’s go.”

The forest was cooler than the clifftop, with enough canopy above for adequate shade and enough space between trees to allow the breeze to enter. Verdant shadows pooled between roots and under particularly thick sections of canopy. Something hovered in one such thicket, flickering and shining silver-blue in the partial light.

Ruby whipped her head around to look, having caught sight of it out of the corner of her eye as she passed it by. She grabbed Yang by the arm and gave her a tug, pointing at it. “What’s that?” she whispered, keeping her eyes on the thing as she leaned a little closer to Yang.

“Whoa,” Yang said when she caught sight of it herself. “I’ve never seen fire in that color before.”

“Let’s check it out.” Ruby released Yang and was already away before she could say otherwise, moving at a jog just in case the fire decided to leave anytime soon.

“Ruby, wait!” Yang called as she ran after her.

The air seemed to grow colder as Ruby entered the thicket, but the fire remained where it was. Now that she was closer she could see that the flame itself wasn’t clearly defined—it was diffused, almost like morning mist—and at the heart of the thing burned a tiny brilliant white core.

“Don’t touch it!” Yang yelled as Ruby got within reaching distance.

“I wasn’t gonna touch it!” Ruby replied as she looked back at Yang, indignant. It was a half-lie, but she wasn’t about to admit that to Yang. “I just wanted a better look!”

Yang slowed to a walk and carefully stepped over the last large root that lay between herself and Ruby. “What is this thing?” she asked as she caught up. “Some kind of dust phenomenon?” Yang braced her hands on her hips and glared at the thing, as if doing so would intimidate it into revealing its secrets.

Ruby peered closer, with a bit of regret that she’d left her tinkerer’s goggles at home—the magnification options on those would’ve given her a closer look.

“Don’t get too close,” Yang cautioned.

“I know!” Ruby hissed, shooting a quick glare at Yang. She took a step back all the same. Now it was even harder to make out what was going on with this thing. If only she had her goggles. She paused, having hit on a realization. “Aha!” Ruby said as she took her scroll from a pocket hidden in the folds of her skirt and opened it up.

“Ooo, good idea,” Yang said as she got her scroll out as well. “Maybe Dad or Uncle Qrow will know what this thing is.”

“Yeah if I can get a good picture,” Ruby grumbled; capturing the thing on camera was proving more difficult than she expected. “Why won’t it focus?” she added as she gave the screen a few irate taps.

A twig snapped behind them, and they whirled to face the source of the sound: a sizable cluster of bushes that could hide a man-sized Grimm with ease. The two pocketed their scrolls and Ruby took Crescent Rose from its magnetic clasp while Yang deployed Ember Celica. The pair of them stood stock-still as they watched the cluster of bushes, weapons at the ready.

Tension drew taught in the air around them, seeming to crowd out the ambient sounds of the forest. Seconds crawled by, but nothing stirred within the stand of bushes. The pair were about to stand down when a howl rang out above and a small beowolf dropped down on them from the canopy.

“Hya!” Yang yelled as she punched the beowolf on the nose.

The beowolf slammed into the ground, bounced twice, and landed in a heap some distance away.

“That’s it?” Ruby asked, after a few moments of puzzled silence.

“I was expecting something bigger,” Yang added as she straightened. “Anyway,” she said, turning to Ruby. “Let’s try getting pictures of that weird flame thing again.”

They turned to where the flame had been before, only to find it gone.

“Where’d it go?” Ruby said as she frantically searched the near side of the thicket.

Yang conducted a slower, more thorough search as Ruby darted around the other side and back.

“Aww, it’s gone,” Ruby said, still looking over her shoulder as she returned to Yang’s side.

“Did you get any good pictures?”

“Nah, they all came out blurry for some reason,” Ruby replied as she took her scroll from her pocket again and opened it. “See?” She turned it around to show Yang that, indeed, all the pictures she’d taken hadn’t focused properly.

Yang took out her scroll to compare. “Yeah, I wasn’t able to get anything better,” she said as they held their scrolls one over the other—the flame came out as nothing more than a pale misty blob against the green backdrop of the forest in every single picture. “Too bad, I wanted to know what it was.” She paused and looked around again, having noticed something. “Hey, did it get warmer all of a sudden?”

Ruby paused to note the temperature herself. “Huh... Maybe? It was almost chilly a minute ago...”

A grumbling growl interrupted any further discussion. They turned to find the beowolf starting to recover itself, scratching at its snout with one paw as it started to rise.

“Wellp, better finish this thing off,” Yang said with a shrug as she pocketed her scroll. “Care to do the honors?” she asked, gesturing toward the Grimm with a grand wave of her hand.

“It’s only fair,” Ruby said with a gracious smirk as she pocketed her own scroll and deployed Crescent Rose’s scythe form. “You already got your hit in and this thing let the fire get away. Time for some payback!”

The beowolf was on its feet now, baring fangs in a snarl as it watched their approach. Now that it was standing still—and not actively being smacked around by Yang—the black empty sockets where its eyes should have been were clearly visible.

Ruby paused despite herself. “Great, it’s that freaky no-eyes beowulf again.”

“No kidding,” Yang said, looking at the beowulf with distaste. “Wait. Again? Like the same one?”

“Well yeah I—” Ruby stopped herself to consider the word choice she’d used. “Could it be the same one? I killed one exactly like it last week.”

“I killed one like this near the house just a couple days ago,” Yang said, frowning as she watched the snarling beowulf. Grimm were creepy enough as it was, but the empty sockets just made it look worse.

“Seriously?” Ruby asked, looking at Yang with surprise. “Wait so, does that mean this thing reincarnates?”

“Grimm can’t do that,” Yang replied, about to wave the suggestion off. Then she stopped herself. “At least I don’t think they do? I don’t remember learning that from combat school.”

The beowolf chose this moment to charge at them—and was swiftly dispatched by a single slash of Crescent Rose. It fell to the ground, its torso cut almost completely in two, and began to disintegrate into fine ash.

Ruby and Yang watched it eagerly, in case the resurrection took place before full disintegration could occur.

Soon nothing remained of the beowulf, not even the tiniest dusting of black ash.

“Hmm,” Ruby hummed, puffing her cheeks a little in annoyance. “Well I guess it’s still killable anyway.”

“Maybe it’s a new type of Grimm?” Yang offered.

“They’re kinda trash if that’s the case,” Ruby replied as she collapsed Crescent Rose and clipped it at her back.

“I mean, creeps are trash too, so?” Yang shrugged.

“Yeah, you got a point there,” Ruby admitted. “I just can’t shake the feeling that it was the same one as before...”

“We can always ask Dad about it when we get back,” Yang said, already turning back toward the path. “Let’s go, I’m starving.”

Ruby paused, casting a final reluctant glance over her shoulder before following Yang back to the path.

The walk back was pleasant enough, with no more Grimm or mystery flames to bother them. Birdsong and insect chatter filled the forest as they made their way through the trees, occasionally joined by the soft whisper of the summer breeze.

They entered through the back kitchen door and were immediately greeted by the flurried sound of Zwei’s feet against the floor upstairs. His barking soon followed, and within seconds he was down the stairs and into the kitchen where he ran excited circles around the two girls in his excitement.

“Hello you silly Zwei were you taking a nap while we were gone?” Ruby said in her doting talking-to-pet voice as she knelt and scratched Zwei’s back with both hands. “Do you want a little snackies after we make lunch?”

“Ask Dad first, he’s still on a diet,” Yang said as she too knelt and gave Zwei his scratches. “We can’t have you turning into too much of a chumby boy, no we can’t!”

Zwei plopped down on the floor and wriggled under their scratching fingers, yapping and panting happily all the while.

The two sisters withdrew, and Zwei lay there panting for a few more breaths before scrambling to his feet and giving them a begging whine; he knew what the word “snackies” meant.

“Only if Dad didn’t give you anything earlier,” Ruby said, waving a finger at him.

Yang went to the fridge while Ruby took the bread from the bread box and set it on the counter.

“Hey, did Dad say we would have guests today?”

Yang looked up from the sandwich meat, lettuce, and condiments that she’d crowded into her arms and toward the kitchen table; four empty glasses had been left there, the remnants of their ice still melting away. “He didn’t mention that,” she replied as she put her armload of sandwich makings on the counter. “Wonder who it was.”

“Maybe someone from Signal?”

“Yeah maybe,” Yang agreed as she went to the sink to wash her hands, removing her gloves and Ember Celica and setting them on the counter as she did so. “Fall semester does start in a few days.”

The front door opened and closed as the two put the finishing touches on their sandwiches. Zwei started up with the barking again and lost traction on the hardwood as he ran for the front door, getting giggles out of Yang and Ruby as they watched.

“We’re home, Dad!” Ruby called as she put the lid back on the mayo.

“Oh, good!” Tai called back. He appeared in the doorway soon enough with Zwei on his heels, grabbing two of the glasses from the table as he passed and taking them to the sink. “How was it out there?”

“Fine, pretty hot though,” Yang replied. She took a bite of her sandwich while Ruby continued the report.

“We found some weird stuff on the way back,” Ruby added, her excitement rising again.

“Weird how?” Tai asked slowly, worry beginning to gather on his brow as he watched them.

Ruby took her scroll from her pocket and opened it up with one hand, her sandwich still in the other. “We saw this cold flame thing in the woods and then a reincarnating no-eyes beowulf attacked us,” she said as she tapped through to her gallery with the pinky of her sandwich-bearing hand. “See?” She turned her scroll to show him the best picture she’d managed to get of the flame.

“Dangit, we should’ve taken pictures of the beowulf too just to be sure,” Yang said as she leaned against the counter.

Tai leaned down and squinted at the picture, obviously puzzled as to what he was looking at. “Some kind of weird mist ball?” he guessed.

“It looked like some kind of weird misty fire with a little glowy bit in the middle,” Ruby corrected him. “None of our pictures came out, though. Have you ever heard of something like that?”

“And it kinda felt like the air got colder when we were close to it,” Yang added.

“I can’t recall anything off the top of my head...” Tai said slowly, still squinting at the picture. “Some sort of ice dust phenomenon maybe? But why would it be out in the forest...” He straightened. “So what’s the other thing you mentioned? A reincarnating beowulf?”

“Okay so first off it has no eyes, just empty sockets where the eyes should be, and I killed it last week, then Yang killed it a couple days ago, and then I killed it again today,” Ruby explained, pointing to herself and Yang in turn as she spoke. “It keeps coming back!”

“You’re sure it’s not just three different beowulfs?” Tai asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It was small and I’ve never heard of any other Grimm having empty eye sockets like that,” Yang cut in. “Like, it’s either a new type or it’s one Grimm that keeps coming back.”

“So...?” Ruby looked up at Tai expectantly, as did Yang.

“Now that I think of it, I may have heard of something like that,” Tai replied. He paused, eyes closed as he sought the memory. “It might be a Nemesis Grimm, but I’m not sure,” he said, opening them again. “They were supposed to have stopped appearing a long time ago.”

“A Nemesis Grimm?” Yang pushed off the counter, her attention locked on Tai.

“They’re Grimm that somehow become attached to a specific person, and they do resurrect after being killed. Not much else is known about them, though.” Tai paused, brows drawn together with worry. “Definitely keep an eye out for that one, let me know if it pops up again. And you should ask Professor Ozpin about it once you get to Beacon, he’ll know more about it than I do.”

“So we can just walk up and ask him about stuff like that?” Ruby asked.

“He’ll want to hear about it, trust me,” Tai replied. Then his expression brightened, and he clapped his hands together. “So, are you guys all packed up? We’re leaving early tomorrow morning so make sure it’s all done by tonight.”

~~~

Ruby and Yang finished their packing later that night, just before bed. The new empty spaces on Ruby’s bookshelf gave the still-present books room to flop onto their sides, and one caught her eye as she righted them again: a thin hardback by the name of Urban Legends and Mysterious Happenings. She picked it up and opened it at random, flipping to and fro through the pages. It had been a while since she last read through it, and this would be her last chance if she didn’t bring it with her to Beacon.

One entry in particular stood out, of mysterious lights or flames seen out in the wilds that would drift away if someone got too close, eventually leading them into a mire or some other natural hazard. Some of them were even said to make their immediate surroundings colder than usual.

Ruby stood and hurried over to Yang’s room. “Hey Yang,” she said as she let herself in. “Look at this!” Ruby offered the book to her, still open on the entry about mysterious lights.

Yang stood from where she was packing clothes on the floor and accepted the book. “Huh,” she mumbled as she read through the entry. “Yeah that looks like what we saw.” Her eyes wandered to the end of the entry. “So top theories: some kind of ice dust phenomenon,” she said with a nod, as that had been her first guess earlier, “Someone playing tricks with their semblance, spontaneous combustion of swamp gas...” Yang skimmed a little more, then handed the book back to Ruby. “I’m guessing ice dust.”

“Maybe,” Ruby agreed reluctantly; something told her it wasn’t so simple, but she couldn’t put her finger on what. She returned to her room and, after a brief moment of consideration, tucked the book into her bags.

~~~

Schnee Manor, the Kingdom of Atlas...

“So explain again why Atlas Academy isn’t good enough?” Whitley asked. He was leaning against her open bedroom door with his arms crossed over his chest, yet again being a pest about her decision to leave. “It was good enough for Winter.”

Weiss rolled her eyes, the gesture hidden by the fact that she had her back turned to him. “You just don’t get it,” she said for what felt like the dozenth time as she carefully arranged and packed various dust cartridges into Mertynaster’s case. “I’m the Schnee heiress, Whitley. I have an illustrious legacy to live up to, and before I inherit the company I want to make a name for myself on my own merit. Beacon is far enough away to accomplish that without being totally backwards like Shade is.”

There was no immediate reply from Whitley. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence Weiss turned to him and found that he was glaring at the span of floor between them, his fists clenched at his sides. This gave her pause; it was a departure from his usual needling and standoffish attitude, more direct than she was used to.

“What’s this really about, Whitley?” Weiss asked, equal parts suspicion and concern in her voice. “Did father put you up to this?”

“Nevermind...” Whitley grumbled. He turned and left without another word.

Weiss let out a loud, exasperated sigh and returned to her packing.

The sound of someone else filling the doorway got her attention some time later, as she was closing Myrtenaster’s case. This time she turned and found her father standing there, as expected. Weiss took a deep breath and steeled herself for one final discussion on the present matter.

“All packed up?” he asked, hands clasped at his back as he watched Weiss.

“Almost.”

“Good.” Jacques stepped into the room and took a small stack of envelopes from an inner pocket of his jacket. “I have a few business associates that I’d like you to meet during your stay in Vale. All have been notified that you will be paying them a visit sometime in the future, so do be sure to call ahead of time before you drop in.” His tone had a finality about it that suggested this was not up for negotiation; Weiss would be going to Beacon as she wanted, but this arrangement would be part of the price.

“Very well.” Weiss strode over and accepted the envelopes from him. “And these?”

“Just a bit of correspondence, make sure you deliver them accordingly when you visit.”

Weiss kept a disinterested expression despite her annoyance. Her father just had to go and give her a little delivery quest to make sure she paid visits to all the associates she was supposed to. She would’ve done it regardless since it pertained to her eventual position in the Schnee Dust Company, but being directly strong-armed into it made things just a bit more insufferable. She flipped through the envelopes and glanced over the names: Aldwin, Lark, Rivenmire, Gerhart, Winchester, and a few others... None were familiar to her, but she would find and meet them soon enough once she arrived in Vale.

“I’ll see to it that they get these,” Weiss said as she straightened the stack of envelopes against the palm of her hand. “Anything else?”

“Conduct yourself with grace and poise,” Jacques replied with a flourish of his hand. “Make alliances accordingly and be on the lookout for new opportunities. And above all, do not do anything that would endanger our family’s reputation.”

“Of course.”

“Good. I will expect regular updates on your progress,” Jacques said, a hint of smugness to his smile. “Anyway, I’m off on business for the next few days so we should say our goodbyes now.”

“Did something happen?”

“No, just a few supply issues on the other continents, nothing major.”

~~~

Somewhere in the northern reaches of Forever Fall...

Blake removed the snarling chimera helmet and shook her hair out, happy to be free of its confines. The helmets were the latest tech, fully connected communications-wise and while hiding everything about the wearer’s face and head, but she would be the first to admit they were a tad stuffy at times.

“Glad we were able to pull off one last mission together,” Ilia said as she too removed her helmet and let her long curled ponytail unfurl.

“Did they give you a new partner yet?” Blake asked, looking at Ilia across the little mobile equipment room that served the Chimera Corps during away missions.

Ilia paused. “The Council’s new law goes into effect soon, so I won’t be able to sign up again until I’m twenty anyway.”

“Yeah but I’m sure General Kuvalaya could get them to make some sort of exception—”

“I’m gonna take a break for a while,” Ilia stated, before Blake could say anything more. “Work on myself, see what else I might be good at other than fighting.” She stared down at her own horned chimera mask for a few moments. “I think I have a right to that, especially now.”

Blake gave no reply, her mouth drawn into a tight line as she took off the bulky black outfit that served her during missions—high defense, equipped with smoke dischargers, and designed so that the form of the body underneath was hidden to further muddle any potential identification.

“You’re mad at me,” Ilia stated, no doubt having sensed the tension in the air.

“Just disappointed,” Blake admitted quietly. She put her helmet in its slot and started to do the same with the rest of her gear, now dressed only in the skin-tight undersuit that interfaced with the outer armor.

Ilia sighed, and Blake’s ears flattened at the sound. “Were you disappointed with Adam when he left too?”

Blake slammed her locker shut and let the question hang in the air between them, her heart pounding with rising anger; the sense of betrayal still lingered, even years later. “There are people out there who need our strength,” she began, struggling to keep her voice level at first. A few tattered pieces of that final, explosive argument with Adam tried to crawl to the front of her mind. She shoved them back. “I simply think it’s our duty to help them directly.”

“It’s harder to give aid when you’re suffering yourself,” Ilia said as she too closed her locker—quieter than Blake had, but with a bit more force than was required. “There are plenty of other agents to help the people out there. Older agents.” A pause, while Ilia took a deep breath and collected herself. “I can’t do this anymore, Blake. I’d rather come back in a better state than run myself into the ground like I have been all this time.”

The realization ran through Blake like a cold lance. “I didn’t—”

“I didn’t want to talk about it,” Ilia said quietly, cutting her off. “I neglected myself for too long after everything that happened, but now I’m going to fix that. Anyway...” She turned to Blake. “I know you don’t agree with your dad sending you to Beacon, but I think you’ll be able to make the best of it. Just give it a chance, yeah?”

“I’m sorry, Ilia.” Blake turned to face her, ears folded back in shame and her eyes downturned. “I don’t know how I missed—” She lifted her head to regard Ilia. “I shouldn’t have—”

Ilia gave her a small, if sad, smile. “It��s okay,” she said before Blake could finish. “I was ignoring it myself too, so...” Ilia trailed off. She sought the rest of the sentence in a corner of the room, failed to find it, and looked back to Blake. “I don’t know. You care so much for our people, and that’s so important, but sometimes your friends need you to listen too.” She fell silent for a few moments, then continued, “Just, keep that in mind, okay?”

“I will,” Blake replied. “I promise.”

#RWBYECHO WIPs #Ruby Rose #Yang Xiao Long #Weiss Schnee #Blake Belladonna #Taiyang Xiao Long #RWBYECHO Fic #May have to expand Weiss and Blake's sections cause they're so much shorter than the Ruby and Yang section...

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