Archive of Our Own

Ruby’s nose wrinkled at the smell that wafted up from the grate in the street as quickened her pace. She had a meeting to get to, and it wouldn’t do to smell like…well, whatever that had been. 

Other members of the Syndicate might insist on being driven everywhere, but Ruby was different. She enjoyed being out, and about with the people they helped rule over. 

She’d argued, relentlessly, with her family that in order for them to best rule over them they needed to see how they lived, and how the other families treated their own citizens so as to know how to do right by them. 

Of her family, only her Uncle seemed to give her words any real credence, which was honestly why he was her favorite. Not that she disliked, or didn’t love her parents, but well…it was easier to get along with her uncle for a reason. 

Her dad might have taught her how to throw a punch, but her uncle showed her how to win a bar fight, and every underhanded dirty trick there was to know. Of course that wasn't to say her mother's hadn't taught her anything. Summer Rose was known as the Pleasant Killer for a reason. She would be entirely cordial, and pleasant with you right up until she slit your throat. 

Of course even if she could take care of herself, anytime she ventured into territory belonging to one of the other families she found herself accompanied by a retainer. Who that was varied by the day, but not even Ruby would fault her parent’s worry, even if she usually paid for a more neutral mercenary to accompany her over their protests.  

The peace in the city was tenuous at best, with each of the four families ruling over their quarter of the Great City of Remnant, which as far as they knew contained the absolute last bastion of humanity. 

She gave a brief glance to the towering walls of the Ghost Gate, an incredibly highly advanced piece of cloaking technology inside the barriers that shielded humanity from attention of the Grimm, the results of a parasitical virus that mutated those who felt particularly strong negative emotions into near feral monstrous versions of themselves who only had a mind for destruction.

If not for the Ghost Gate…well it wasn’t a far stretch to say that humanity might well no longer exist. 

It was still strange to her, the notion that outside of their city, even one so large as Remnant, that a entire nearly untouched world was ready to explore. 

Not that she was idealistic enough to think humanity could handle the Grimm, she’d seen the footage that had survived, and it was absolutely the sort of thing to give one nightmares. 

No, any progress made enlarging Remnant’s borders was done painstakingly slowly, and expeditions to the outside were exceedingly rare, and highly dangerous with a plethora of decontamination, and quarantine procedures to keep everyone safe. 

For now she put it out of her mind, and continued toward the Remnant Police Station, the one armed force allowed, outside of the families private standing ‘milita’s’ of course, that they all oversaw in a public joint effort to show unity to the citizens of the city. 

Inside was a different story however, with each family’s service members clearly displaying their loyalty for all to see, save for a few brave souls who served as bridges between branches when a crime involved another family. 

Not that they were unable to work together, or form friendships with one another, in fact, crime that threatened multiple families, smuggling, and the like, was one of the fastest ways to get the various families to put aside their differences, and work together for a time. 

It was more that such friendships were the exception rather than the rule, such as her uncle’s friendship with a few members of the Schnee Syndicate, although she knew he loathed General Ironwood in particular. 

She knew their father had talked to him more than once about his friendships, but her uncle was entirely unapologetic, and apparently it wasn’t enough of an issue for her dad to try, and force a resolution. 

Not that she thought he’d try it. For as much as they sometimes bickered they were as close as brothers, and really, they were supposed to show a united front with the other families, at least in public, so he could hardly try and be too mad at him without coming across as a hypocrite. 

She herself got along pretty alright with a few members of each of the other families around her age. 

Her uncle had merely said to follow her heart instead of thinking about the family’s image, and she’d be fine, which she’d taken to mean she was doing alright for herself. 

She breathed in a sigh of relief at the cool air as she entered the station, nodding to the uniformed guard who buzzed her in. 

“Vernal is waiting for you,” the man, who must have been new because she’d never met him before, stated. 

She thanked the man with a grin as she made her way by heart through her family's section of the building, and into the main conference room in the center where business would be discussed today. 

She swiped her badge, and walked through the metal detector before being allowed into the room, Vernal already waiting there, demolishing a sandwich she’d apparently packed for lunch. 

“Heya,” Ruby greeted with a grin. “We the first ones?” 

Vernal swallowed, and shook her head. “Nah, Amitola is being dramatic,” she stated nodding toward what appeared to be an empty corner until Ruby snickered. 

“Well that's a shame because that means I have less people to share these brownies with,” Ruby said cheerily to the room as she removed the small container she’d brought with her. 

The door slamming had them both look up as Ilia then ‘rewalked’ into the room trying to pretend the chameleon Faunus hadn’t been standing there before. 

“Oh, look, my favorite member of Starq!” Ilia said with a beaming smile. 

Ruby giggled, and offered the container to Ilia who instantly shoved one entire brownie into her mouth, and took a second she would eat at a more normal pace. 

“How are these so good?” Ilia complained as she watched Vernal take one she shared with Ruby. 

“Practice,” Ruby supplied glibly. “No Blake today? I was gonna return her book.” 

“No, she’s had…something come up,” Ilia said evasively. Vernal narrowed her eyes at that, but Ruby merely shrugged, more than used to it. 

“Okie dokie. Let her know I said hi.”

“Will do,” Ilia agreed. “So who else is gonna be here?”

“Supposed to be Nora Valkyrie, and Goodwitch for the Coven, Ironwood for the Schnee,” Vernal stated.

“No one else?” Ilia asked curiously, and with a faint hint of suspicion. 

Vernal shrugged, and Ruby didn’t bring up that she knew that Weiss was currently being ‘punished’ with work that would normally be ‘beneath’ her, although for what the other woman hadn’t told her. 

The fact that she’d told her that much was only because of how close they were, well close relatively speaking considering they were both children from opposing families. 

She was fairly sure Weiss’ own family was not as liberal in allowing her to hang out with non approved friends, i.e. bootlickers, and sycophants. 

“Well,” Ruby said, trying to keep an upbeat attitude. “At least we know he won’t want any brownies.”

“More for us!” Ilia cheered before the sound of approaching footsteps echoed on the flooring outside. 

A few moments later, Goodwitch, and Nora Valkyrie both walked in. 

Ilia, and Vernal offered nods which were returned, but Ruby beamed at Nora, and even behind the mask the other two wore, something which only the highest ranking members of the Coven did, she could tell Nora was pleased to see her. 

“Are those for me?” Nora asked, looking at the brownies. 

“Psh, nah,” Ruby said as Nora huffed until Ruby brought out a new container. “These are. With some for Ren. I…hope he’s better soon. You’ll tell him right?” 

“I…yeah. Thank you,” Nora said sincerely as she gently took the container, and hugged it to her chest. “Thanks,” she said again. 

“No problem. We gotta go bowling again, or something once he’s better.”

“I…”

“I’ll make sure your well wishes are passed on,” Glynda remarked with a nod at the heiress, or one of them. Most knew that despite her popularity with the general rank, and file Starq were most likely to eventually leave the family in Yang's hands, which was...not an overly popular choice among quite a large portion of those who knew.

Ruby grinned widely as once more, precisely two minutes until the meeting began Ironwood was admitted into the room. 

“It’s good to see we won’t be wasting any time,” Ironwood remarked pleasantly, or at least as pleasantly as most had heard him. 

Ruby offered a small wave that he almost appeared to smile at before he schooled his features. 

“Thank you for coming. Today I have a fairly important matter to broach with you all,” he began as he put a slide onto the projector into the room, and the rest turned to look at what had just been posted. 

“The water pumps?” Ilia asked. 

“Correct,” Ironwood agreed. “And the desalination equipment. As you all know Remnant was thankfully constructed with access to an ocean to allow us to make use of the world’s water supply to grow our crops, and for all of our day to day needs, as well as an extra source of food.”

He clicked onto the next slide which showed the normal guard postings around the area. Each family contributed dozens of security at all times to both the equipment, and surrounding areas, and should any contamination be found it was set up to ruin the entire system, a sort of mutually assured destruction to keep them all honest. 

“That looks pretty normal, although I think Deery is sleeping on the job,” Ilia muttered at the member of the White Fang who was sitting on a box. 

“Indeed,” Ironwood agreed with only a small hint of annoyance in his voice. “However, recently we’ve come to notice a new group. They appear, and disappear quite quickly. Their logo is the image of a rising sun, either on their clothes, a mask, or the more devoted, as a tattoo.”

A new slide appeared showing a fairly grainy image of what had to be such a person, the mask was a bit fuzzy until another slide was shown which had a more crisp image. 

“Do any of you recognize them?” 

“Looks kinda like anyone, especially with them all covered up,” Nora admitted with a flick of her hand. 

“I’m aware, but I’m also aware that they’ve been using the sewer system to move around for the most part, an area you control rather well.”

Goodwitch bristled at the barely there accusation that wasn’t, as she stood up to her full height. “If you have something to say then don’t be a coward, James,” she said, her voice perfectly neutral, and still somehow sharp enough to cut at the same time. 

“I’m merely stating they must be rather talented if the Coven hasn’t had even an inkling before now that they existed,” Ironwood retorted in an equally pleasant tone. 

“Um,” Ruby cut in with a raised hand as Ilia smirked, which she hid behind her hand. 

“Miss Rose,” Goodwitch said, nodding to indicate she was free to speak. 

“Do we know what they want, any of them, or how long they’ve been operating?” Ruby asked. 

“Well James?” 

“Specifics are lacking at this time,” he began only for Nora to snort. 

“Super good spy network,” Nora remarked as Vernal laughed openly. 

“Hey, come on. No fighting,” Ruby broke in before they could start arguing, and the meeting turn into shouting. That happened more than enough in the past when her parents had brought both her, and Yang to these meetings to see how they worked. It was...not a lot of fun. 

There was a reason relations between the groups had turned sour more, and more, and why Ruby had been sent to handle more of these types of discussions.

“Ilia, do you guys, uh know anything?” Ruby asked her sorta friend who gave her a mild look as if debating if it was worth mentioning before she shrugged, and drummed her hands on the desk.  

“We’ve had some spillover. They don’t seem to discriminate in their targets, but so far it’s been mostly just minor thievery. We did manage to get their names out of one of them.”

“And what was it?” Ironwood asked as Ilia gave him a side eye, pointedly ignored him, and turned back to Ruby. 

“They call themselves the Dawnmakers.”

“A rather pretentious name,” Goodwitch muttered under her breath. 

“On that we agree,” Ironwood spoke up next. 

“Vernal?” Ruby asked, noticing the woman had zoned out. 

“Sorry. I just noticed that the mercs have been getting more work lately, and we’ve had a few of our own attempted break-ins.”

“You think they’re connected?” Ruby asked. 

“I’d be shocked if at least some of them aren’t. Some crime is to be expected," Vernal offered with a shrug. "I don’t know now about the other sectors, but ours is up across the board. Not too much, not yet, but enough to notice.”

“There has been some increase,” James said succinctly if not reluctantly and without detail. 

“Honestly, not much on our end,” Nora threw out with a shrug. 

“That makes sense I guess,” Ruby mused. 

“Miss Rose?” Ironwood asked as she blinked. 

“Sorry, but just if they are hiding in the Coven’s territory in the sewer then stealing from them would mean they’d spend more time, and resources looking for their missing stuff, so you know, why do that when they can just leave it alone, and make them look guilty instead?” 

Goodwitch’s posture relaxed fractionally at that. 

“It’s not an unfounded assumption, but that doesn’t mean of course, that there might not be those in the Coven aiding them for turning a blind eye. I don’t think I have to explain how much we all depend on those pumps, and machinery working.”

“Duly noted,” Vernal said, tapping her hands on the table looking bored. “Was there anything else?” 

“The latest reports as promised,” Ironwood stated putting a few copies of a disc onto the table that each of the others picked up before transferring them, and then handing the main copy back to Ironwood. 

Ilia followed, then Ruby, and then Nora each with none of the gravitas one would expect, and instead more like a group of actors performing their part by habit, having long since grown tired of the performance. 

“Oh, can you give Weiss my letter, and some muffins?” Ruby asked Ironwood, as though it was normal to use one of the most highly ranked members of the Schnee family as a courier. 

“You are aware there are normal proper procedures for this?” Ironwood asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“Oh just take them, James,” Glynda admonished the man who still remained looking at the waif for answers. 

“Yeah, but they’ll still be nice, and warm this way.”

“Is that so?” 

“Yeah, and you can have one too if you want!” Ruby bargained. 

At last, the man shook his head in amusement as he accepted the plastic containers. “I’ll make sure they get back to you.”

“Okie dokie. Tell them all I said hi!” Ruby reminded him as she handed him an open envelope. 

“Why not seal it?” Ilia asked. 

“They’ll just read it before it gets to her anyway,” Ruby said with an uncaring shrug. 

With that, a few more minor issues were discussed before they broke up the meeting letting all the representatives be on their way. 

“Raven’s not going to be happy you went so soft on them, or shared information so freely,” Vernal said out of the side of her mouth once they were a few blocks into Starq territory. 

Ruby only shrugged. “If mom has a problem with it she can send Yang, or go herself. They send me for a reason.”

“They’re going to think you’re weak, and weakness…” Vernal was cut off as Ruby pinned her with a stare that chilled her to the bone. 

Am I weak, Vernal?” Ruby asked, pleasantly, but her silver eyes were dead, the eyes of a killer if they needed to be. It was hard, incredibly so, to remember that despite her outgoing cheery disposition she’d been trained since she could walk to kill, and was, in fact, very good at it. 

She just preferred not to be. 

“N-no,” Vernal assured the woman who might one day be her boss, but definitely still outranked her in the family. 

Ruby looked at her for a  few more moments before she grinned brightly. “Alright then!” and began humming after giving Vernal a pat on the shoulder. 

On second thought, maybe Raven really didn’t know just how terrifying her daughter was. 

“You did well,” Goodwitch offered as praise, while she eschewed the offered brownie from Nora. “You’re still too attached however.”

“I’m really not.”

“To Miss Rose,” Goodwitch clarified. 

“Just because she’s not part of the Coven now, or maybe ever doesn’t mean she’s not a good person.”

“I didn’t say she wasn’t, but Starq are family first,” Glynda reminded her as they swept into one of the buildings that were kept as a front, a pharmacy. “When push comes to shove, and she is forced to choose, to whom do you think her loyalty will belong? Her family? Or will she see the truth?”

Nora pinned her with an annoyed stare she could feel even behind her mask. “If you paid attention, or knew her half as well as you pretend you’d know the answer yourself.”

“And that attitude is why she is a weakness to-”

“She’d side with whoever was right, even if that meant going against her family.”

For a moment it appeared Glynda might argue against her before she shook her head. “Let’s hope your estimation of her is correct then, and perhaps she’ll have a place with us yet if her family continues to disapprove of her fairness doctrine.”

Nora snorted. “Fat chance. She’d probably start her own mercenary company just so she could keep talking to all of us.”

Glynda sighed, but was forced to concede that was likely correct. “She would need the protection of one of the families.”

“We all know several people who would take her in if she actually did get kicked out,” Nora almost teased. 

“I was hoping for almost anyone else,” Goodwitch admitted as she tapped in a twenty character password Nora would never hope to remember into the keypad which allowed them access to the chambers of Ozma who was lying in bed. 

“I trust the meeting went well,” he asked pleasantly as the body of Ren put the book to the side that he’d been reading to give them his full attention. 

“Miss Rose was a font of information as per usual,” Goodwitch stated. “And there’s a new group called the Dawnmakers who might become a true nuisance for us.”

“Ruby got Ren some brownies…is he?” Nora asked trailing off nervously as she removed her mask. 

“The integration is going well. We can talk in a few minutes, Glynda,” Ozma stated as the woman nodded, and moved outside the room to give the younger couple privacy. 

With a shudder pink eyes looked at her softly in concern, the sort of concern that could never be faked. “Nora,” Ren said simply as she crashed into him.

After a few moments, she sniffed, and removed her mask as he lifted a hand to lightly trace her cheek ignoring the fact that one of her eyes was jade, and the other blood red with strange veins growing out of it. 

“How are you?” 

“I should be asking you that question, you dummy,” Nora groused as she lightly shook her container. “Ruby made brownies. She…hopes you’re gonna get better soon, wants to go bowling.”

“A simple soul. An honest one,” Ren said, for a moment sounding like Ozma before with great effort Ren shook his head, and was back to normal. “Sorry.”

“No, we all knew what would happen. I’m just glad that…you’re still in there. You are, aren’t you? This isn’t…a trick?” 

“No, Nora. I promise, vow to you, that he’s only a part of me, and soon…”

“Right, temporary. Thankfully. He can’t make pancakes anywhere near as good as you can,” Nora joked through watery eyes. 

“Some immortal,” he teased back as Nora leaned against him, eager to soak, and bask in the limited time they had together nowadays. 

“Oobleck is hard at work. He thinks he might have a lead.”

“Later,” Nora demanded as he smiled, and merely held her closer, taking the time to feed each other brownies, save a few for their other friends. 

“Thank you, General,” Weiss said diplomatically as she accepted the baked goods, and letter from Ruby. 

“Not a problem, always happy to help,” Ironwood remarked as Weiss looked at the container, and then at the man. “Helped yourself, did you?” 

“She offered,” Ironwood said with a shrug. “I wanted to make sure they were on the level, and not poisoned. It would have been rude.”

“Terribly,” Weiss deadpanned. “Any horrific secrets in the letter I’m sure you read?” Weiss asked, nearly sniped, but well, she was in enough trouble as it was. 

“She apparently wants to go bowling at some point with ‘everyone’,” Ironwood remarked with a small shrug. “Otherwise, mostly asking over how you are, and when you can speak with her.”

Weiss scowled. “Ask my mother.”

“She only wants what’s best for the family,” Ironwood tried to placate her as she turned chips of a glacier his way. 

“While putting me on display to sing, and dance when she wants, and keeping me in a gilded cage. I was hoping my father was an anomaly, and not both my parents.”

“Miss Schnee,” Ironwood cut in, raising his voice, anger simmering underneath. “Your father was a horrible man, Willow is nothing like that."

“I believe the proper address is Ms. Willow, or Ms. Schnee from you, General,” Weiss said not at all phased by his anger, real or manufactured. 

For a moment, his jaw twitched before he let out a hollow laugh. “Of course. My apologies. I can…speak on your behalf if you wish. Perhaps even get a promise to allow you to spend time out of the manor?” 

“I’m sure the price would be far too great to shoulder. Likely as not microphones recording everyone’s interactions meaning that once they found out there would be no more meetings. Quite the bargain. A potential afternoon of fun, and all it would cost me is any chance at friendships from there on out.”

“The others surely do the same,” Ironwood began before Weiss raised her eyebrows, and he was forced to backpeddle. “Perhaps not Miss Rose, but her sister if she is there, and all of the others surely record nearly every interaction. It’s the proper thing to do.”

Weiss merely leveled a bored look his way. “So you say. Thank you for the delivery, I know you have better things to do, but I appreciate it,” Weiss said offering cold gratitude. 

She, and the General had a cordial relationship, at best. Occasionally they could put aside their animosity and work together, but he was far too paranoid for her taste. The fact that even he knew that such subterfuge wasn’t something Ruby would partake in was quite the achievement though. 

Of course, that could also be because everyone knew about the legendary blow ups that happened with the Starqs, and was hoping to headhunt her if push came to shove. 

Weiss didn’t know if it would, but was of many different minds about it. 

For now, she bid him farewell, and sat down to eat the blueberry muffins, and read the letter she’d received. 

Her eyes picked out the hidden words, and ran through the cipher they’d made in her mind as her mouth turned up at the corners. How delightful. She really needed to do something nice for Ruby soon. 

“Welcome back,” a man greeted Ilia as she stepped into the inner chambers of the White Fang.

“Sir,” Ilia said kneeling at once. 

“You, of all people don’t need to stand on ceremony here,” Ghira remarked with a laugh sounding rather chuffed. 

“How…is she?” Ilia asked as his face tightened for a moment.

“I’m told she’s doing better, but it certainly doesn’t seem that way. Whatever poison they used was extremely potent.”

“No luck getting it analyzed?” Ilia asked, even though she knew the answer already. It was part of a gambit she was planning on taking. 

“So far, no. Blake, and Adam refuse to leave her side in case someone else wishes to finish the job.”

“And Tyrian?” 

“Looking for vengeance at present,” Ghira said mildly as if any other option wasn’t worth thinking about. “Of course when we have nothing to go on, aside from a body.”

“About that?” Ilia cut in. 

Ghira leaned forward in his seat, suddenly very interested. “You know something?” 

“At the meeting with the others. The group is called ‘The Dawnmakers’. I made sure it was on the scroll,” Ilia said sincerely as she held it in the air, and one of his guards took the scroll to the man. 

“Well done. Anything else of note?” Ghira remarked sounding eager to dive into the device, and find out more. 

“They might be operating in the sewers, and targeting the water and desalination equipment.”

“I’ll make sure to shore up the numbers down there,” he promised. “Anything else?” he asked, almost sounding worried what her answer would be. 

“Ruby gave us brownies,” Ilia said with her first hint of levity since speaking with him. 

He chuckled. “At least something is going right. You wanted a favor?” he asked clearly knowing her all too well. 

“I, or Ruby, might know someone who can test the poison. We don’t have to say someone was sick, or Miss Belladonna is hurt,” she rushed to clarify as she flicked at her long ponytail pointedly to make her meaning.

“Someone will put together that she hasn’t been seen in public soon, and if it’s leaked…”

“I know, but…I want her to get better,” Ilia whispered. “And they’re discrete. And-”

A heavy hand settled on her shoulder. “You have a good heart. I’ll…consider it. Let’s go see her for now.”

“Yes, sir,” Ilia said as she shot to her feet. 

Hopefully things would work out for them, for all of them. 

She ignored the shudder she felt even thinking those words.