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Chapter 13 (Ruby): Progress

Weeks had passed since the ragtag group had departed from Patch for Haven. Initially, the older kids had tried to convince (Y/N) once or twice to return to the safety of the Xiao-Long family home, when they realized the little dragon wasn't budging, they refocused their efforts on making sure (Y/N) would be able to keep up in a fight. Through the efforts of Jaune, Ren, Nora, and Ruby, as well as the several odd jobs the group had picked up during their travels, (Y/N) was shaping up to be a formidable fighter.
Speaking of odd jobs, today was yet another detour from their main goal to help out a local village. A Geist, a fairly rare and versatile species of Grimm, had been causing all sorts of trouble, and with the Kingdom in chaos due to the Fall of Beacon, there weren't enough Huntsmen to deal with it. Fortunately, the local blacksmith had the perfect payment in-line for the Huntsmen-in-training and the dragon which made the job too good to pass up. So, that was how the group had found themselves out in the woods on a Grimm hunt. Ruby had gone ahead to draw the creature into a nearby clearing for an ambush. (Y/N) had offered to do it himself, since while Ruby was technically faster due to her Semblance, he was a much more nimble flier which meant he could better dodge the creature's attack and weave through the trees. However, his suggestion was shot down and he was relegated to lookout for the ambush team.
From his perch in the branches, he heard Nora and Ren once again arguing the naming logistics of their team.
"I'm just saying, there's more members of JNPR on the team than RWBY. It just makes sense to go with that one."
"But 'Junior' isn't a color." Ren pointed out.
"Well, neither is 'Ranger'." (Y/N) butted in.
Nora groaned. "Ugh, how can I be more clear? One...two...three! That's more than one."
"I'm here too."
Ren ignored (Y/N). "But we're helping Ruby with her objective. Wouldn't that make her the leader?"
"Guys." Jaune finally interrupted. "We need to focus. Also, JNRR is way cooler."
(Y/N) raised a brow. "Yeah, no. RNJR is a way better name." Suddenly, the boy perked up and leapt from his perch. "Heads up."
The ground suddenly began to rumble as Ruby shot out of the trees from the cliffs above, shooting at an unseen enemy. A golem of mismatched boulders tore through the tree line and hobbled after the girl, plunging off the cliff. Ruby yelped as she fell, only to have her descent slowed by (Y/N), who hastily flew her to a nearby branch.
"Thanks (N/N)." She said as he mocked a salute with a smile.
The Geist quickly got back up and swung at the tree. It shattered on impact and went flying as the siblings jumped out in different directions, trying to keep their enemy moving and confused. On the group, Jaune motioned his team in for an attack.
"Let's get that thing off them!"
Jaune moved along the perimeter of trees as Ren jumped into the branches, staying hidden in their shadows. Nora in contrast shot into the air with a shout, joining Ren. That split second distraction gave (Y/N) time to land on the Geist's arm and blast a fireball at the Grimm's mask. Unfortunately, it missed, harmlessly bouncing off the stone as the beast swung its other arm at him. (Y/N) was already long gone and all the Geist accomplished was leaving fissures in the arm he was perched on.
"Come on, give me a clear shot." (Y/N) muttered under his breath as Ruby swarmed around the creature in a fury of rose petals, pelting it with bullets. Nora joined in, launching a barrage of grenades at its back as Ren also fired at it while jumping through the treetops. The Geist swung frantically at him, only managing to hit the air.
"(Y/N)!" He called out as he began running up the creature's arm.
The dragon positioned himself above the Grimm as Ren jumped into the air. The dragon grabbed the older boy's arm and launched him at the Grimm's face. Unfortunately, the creature had enough sense to guard the mask as Ren harmless grazed the stone, landing next to Jaune.
"We gotta get in closer!" The blonde yelled out.
"I got-!" Ruby interrupted (Y/N) as he readied himself.
"How about this!?"
In a burst, she fired a Lightning Dust infused shot at the creature's arm. For a moment it froze, but as the static faded, it struck the earth causing a shockwave that sent Ruby and the boys flying. Nora and (Y/N) dove down, helping Ren and Ruby keep their footing, while Jaune had a very unfortunate landing against the root of a tree, causing him to let out a broken squeal.
"You'll be fine without a weapon...you're the strategist!" He mumbled sarcastically. "(Y/N) doesn't have a weapon either...(Y/N) can fly and breathe fire!"
(Y/N) winced as Nora growled.
"THAT'S IT!"
She ran at the Geist, reverting her weapon to it's hammer mode. As the creature punched out at her, she swung down, shattering its arm thanks to the crack (Y/N) had tricked it into making earlier. Adapting, it flung the broken stones at Nora. Ruby sliced up the largest one as (Y/N) tail whipped the smaller stones away. The three were then forced to jump away as the creature lunged with it's remaining arm. The Grimm followed after (Y/N), firing the stone pieces at him.
"(Y/N)! Get out of there!" Ruby yelled as she began sniping the pieces down.
The dragon was easily dodging the creature's attack, forcing the recovering Jaune to also dodge the incoming rocks.
"Hey, be care-!"
At that moment, (Y/N) knocked a boulder away with his tail, directly into Jaune's face, causing the older boy to skid into a tree once more.
"Sorry, Jaune!"
"It's fine..."
Running out of the broken stone shards, the Geist summoned it's arm and plunged it into a hollow tree trunk, replacing the missing limb. As it swept the ground, Jaune ran for his life.
"His arm is a tree! HIS ARM IS A TREE!"
"Hang on!" (Y/N) yelled as he scooped up the blonde and struggled to get him into the treetops.
Ruby, seeing the open, switched her Dust shots to fire. "Big mistake!"
The shot hit its mark, but it only set the limb on fire. Jaune immediately latched on to (Y/N) again as the Geist began to wildly swing.
"BIG MISTAKE!"
(Y/N) pulled them out of range, but given that he was weighed down, he couldn't effectively dodge like he had before as they were pulled to the ground. The creature prepared to attack them, only for Ren to come to the rescue, tossing one of his Storm Flowers and grazing the mask. The golem stumbled back and fell, letting Jaune and (Y/N) get back to their feet.
"Thanks Ren." The dragon said as Jaune assessed the situation.
"Okay, how do we do this?"
"His body is too thick to break through." Ren pointed out.
"But it's not protecting its body, just its face." (Y/N) retorted.
Nora jumped in. "We can't get to its face if it can just add new limbs!"
"We can't break it!" Ruby shouted.
"Erh..." Jaune grumbled. "If we knocked all of its limbs off at once then went for...!"
"It's getting back up!" (Y/N) yelled.
Jaune then faced them. "Guys! I got it! We hit it...harder!"
The dragon facepalmed as Ren looked more than skeptical.
"Is that it?"
"Nom serious! Just like (Y/N) said, it's keeping us from its face! If we kill the limbs, we'll have a shot to kill the whole thing!"
"All right." Ruby agreed. "Come on, team. Let's do this!"
Nora raised her hammer. "Yeah!"
Ren nodded. "Right."
Jaune surveyed the field. "Ren, left. Ruby, right. (Y/N), from behind. Nora, ready to try out the new upgrade?" She nodded and ran off. "Right, and I'll-,"
"Heads up!" (Y/N) warned as the Geist again attacked the blonde boy.
As Ruby, Ren, and (Y/N) distracted the Grimm, Nora began to charge up. Jaune also jumped in to help distract the creature. The dragon pelted the golem with fire, but every time he went to get in close, Ruby would cut him off, much to his annoyance.
"READY!" Nora yelled.
Ruby jumped back, getting into position, as Jaune called out to them.
"USE EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!"
Ruby burst at Nora, picking her up in the storm of petals before using the momentum to launch the red head like a cannon, shattering the golem into pieces. With its shell destroyed, the Geist revealed its true form and attempted to flee. Ruby took aim, only for (Y/N) to beat her to it. Diving like a hawk, his claws sliced through the Grimm's face, causing it to dissolve. As he stood up, Nora and Ren nodded to him, impressed, though Ruby looked much more concerned. Before he could say anything, Jaune tiredly ran to the front of the group.
"Another victory for Team JNRR!...All right, y'know, okay, (Y/N), I think you're onto something. It...it's just not sounding great anymore."
The boy snorted. "It never did."
(Timeskip)
The village head shook Ruby's hand. "We truly can't thank you enough."
"Just doing our job, sir!" Ruby insisted.
"That Geist had been plaguing our village for weeks. We were beginning to wonder if we'd have to relocate."
"Well, we are on our way to Mistral, you could always come along with us if you don't feel safe!"
The man chuckled. "Heh...I take it you're not from these parts. Anima is a large continent. I'm afraid our people would never survive the long trek to Mistral. It may be safer in the Kingdoms, but we prefer our way of life. I just wish we could pay you more."
"Our previous arrangement is more than sufficient." Ren assured him as they all bowed.
The head nodded and led them back to the blacksmith, a tall, brawn, Faunus with a chipper attitude. He slammed a set of white and gold armor onto the table.
"There you go, son! It's gonna be heavier than you're used to, but you'll thank me the next time you go up against a set of claws!"
Jaune stared at his new equipment in awe. "Wow...uh...I don't know what to say."
"Don't gotta say anything! Just put it on! I'll go get the rest."
The blacksmith left the room. (Y/N) saw Jaune staring hesitantly at the piece of armor.
"Go on, try it, Jaune." The dragon insisted.
"Oh, right..." Slowly, he took off the smaller set he was wearing and placed it next to the new one. "Guess I was gonna grow out of it eventually..."
"A sign of progress." Ren stated.
Jaune nodded slightly. "Progress."
Ruby gasped as Jaune turned towards them as (Y/N) bit back a snicker. There was a cute rabbit on Jaune's hood, something neither of them had ever noticed before.
"What is that!?" Ruby laughed.
Jaune looked offended. "What? My hoodie? I've always had this!"
"It's got a cute little bunny on it!" Ruby blurted out, bending over in laughter.
"It's Pumpkin Pete! Y'know, from the cereal?"
"What did you do!? Send in a box top for a prize!?"
"Yeah! Fifty!"
Ruby could contain herself, falling over with tears in her eyes. (Y/N) seriously struggled not to do the same. Poor Jaune looked like a kicked puppy.
Ren shrugged. "Well...I suppose we don't have to grow out of everything."
Luckily for Jaune, the blacksmith returned, branding two very different sets of weapons.
"Can't have Huntsmen without their weapons!" Crocea Mors was the first placed on the table. "Made all the modifications you asked for. That was some fine metal you brought me. Accents the white nicely. Where'd you get it from?"
(Y/N) felt a pang in his heart, having difficulty looking at the sword and shield's new modifications. He wasn't sure how Jaune got the metal, but he doubted it would make things hurt less by knowing. Jaune seemed to have a more positive outlook, half smiling at the new pattern at the bottom of the shield.
"From a friend."
The blacksmith nodded before turning towards (Y/N). "And for the little man here." He set down a pair of silver gauntlets. "You never forget your first weapon. Light, to not hinder movement, but durable enough to take a hit. And I figured you'd still wanna use your claws. I was a little shocked you said you were a brawler, but something tells me you pack a bigger punch than you look."
(Y/N) stepped up, placing a hand on the...his new weapons. This reminded him of the Ember Celica...of Yang.
"Something like that." He finally said.
Ruby, Ren, and Nora stepped out to let the boys acclimate to their new gear. Eventually, they joined the group and Ruby and Nora were immediately dazzled. Jaune drew his sword and shield as (Y/N) put his gauntlets into blade form. The blacksmith followed them, nodding.
"They clean up all right, don't ya think?"
"Certainly do." Ren agreed as they walked over.
"I still think a grenade launcher would've really brought the look together." Nora said. "And (Y/N) would handle a hammer way better!"
The dragon snorted, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a nervous look on Ruby's face as she looked at his weapons. Seeing him looking at her, she quickly smiled and raised a fist to the air.
"Nothing's gonna stop Team RNJR now!"
"Team JNRR!"
"Still not a color." Ren pointed out to Nora.
(Y/N) rolled his eyes. "You know, I'm on this team too."
"It doesn't matter what we're called." Jaune insisted as he sheathed his sword. "As long as we're together."
The blacksmith crossed his arms. "You kids sure you won't stick around? You've been real good to this town."
"Sorry, but we've got another mission." Ruby insisted.
Nora held up her fist. "Make it to Haven Academy, no matter what!"
"We've heard the next village over has a working airship." Ren said in an asking tone.
The blacksmith rubbed his chin. "Mmm...no way to know for sure. Scroll signals were bad enough out here when Beacon Tower was still up. Haven't heard from Shion village in a while."
Ruby sighed. "Well...there's only one way to find out!"
The group headed out, bidding goodbye to the villagers. Jaune went through the necessities checklist.
"Food?"
"Check!" Nora answered.
"Water?"
"Check!"
"How 'bout ammo?"
"Lock and loaded! Thank you, Schnee Dust Company!"
Ruby's expression fell immediately. She could only wonder what Weiss was feeling right now, what all of them were feeling. She felt a hand on her arm and saw (Y/N) give her an understanding nod. He missed them too.
"Got the map?" Jaune continued.
"Ren's got it."
"No I don't! You have it."
"Wait, what?"
"Guys, please tell me you're joking."
"You know, I could just fly ahead and tell you the route." (Y/N) suggested, snapping Ruby out of her funk.
"Oh that is not happening."