Oh, and one last point of clarification about this central location of yours, do not fall... Do. Not. Fall.
The last words from the spirit of Creation, Ambrosius. Those were the last words she heard... before her eventual plunge. It served not only as a warning but also to make sure that the sentence never came to pass.
But sadly... it did not work. And the last thing she remembered... was the fall. Her fall... along with the rest of her friends... first came Yang... followed by Blake and herself... she didn't know what had happened to both Weiss or Jaune... or even Penny.
She hoped they were all okay. Alive too...
In addition to falling down the abyss, she could also remember her opponent Neopolitan who had somehow tracked her down to Atlas... eager to kill her. For some unknown reason.
Neo, who kept attacking her, was also triggering her trauma and adopting the forms of her sister... Penny... and Oscar. It was the last few moments she remembered before slumber took her as the fall continued.
And the first thing that she felt when her eyes opened... was the cold wind. She saw a blanket of white all around her. Snow? Was this... snow? If it was... then that meant that she was alive... and kicking. For the moment.
Raising her shivering hands, she swatted away the snow and rubbed her eyelids... the snow was blowing heavily which made her shiver a lot. Standing up slowly, she shook the white blanket off her body and rubbed her hands together.
As the snow storm was increasing, Ruby was beginning to feel her aura shattering and her body stiffing from standing in the cold weather.
Shelter... have to... find... one... now...Ruby thought weakly in her mind, shivering as her body stiffened. She found her high-caliber Scythe-styled Sniper Rifle (Crescent Rose) in its compact form easily in the snow before her legs slowly began to move one step at a time.
She needed shelter and quickly before she froze to death from this damn winter! And she thought Atlas was a completely frozen patch of land!
She... needed... a shelter... her temperature... low... from cold weather...
A cave... something... anything! She walked slowly as her body was close to giving out... the icy wind was blowing heavily and making her freeze even more.
Her semblance wasn't an option since her aura was very weak and she wasn't strong enough to zip away... she wasn’t strong enough to use it and her eyes began to freeze from the cold air.
Despite her hands feeling like rocks, she used her remaining strength to rub them slowly before continuing onward... her vision slowly becoming blurry. It was... so cold and she was feeling so tired.
As she kept walking slowly and covering her mouth with her sleeves, she noticed something in the distance. A... she... she didn't know... keeping her walking slowly despite her energy draining more. Her aura was gone and the cold weather was getting to her.
Clenching her eyelids deeply, she was able to make out something. Grey... s-stone... it looked like... a rock? Large enough... entrance? A cave...? Probably... maybe? She took s-slower steps onward... reserving the energy as best she could.
With the last bit of her strength, she reached the end of the trail and saw what the thing was... it was a gaping hole. An open hole for a cave! She could hardly believe it! She found a warm shelter... Ruby entered the cave through the entrance and hoped there wasn't a wild animal inside to maul her to death. She didn't have the strength to do anything anymore.
To her relief, the cave seemed to be empty which was a good sign. It was a little cold but it was better than being in the winter wonderland where the snow was still blowing. Rubbing her hands together, they were eventually warm enough for her to finally touch the surface and stone walls without any sort of trouble.
Her 'warmed' fingers rubbed both of her eyelids and her vision was now cleared... finally. Before she decided to settle down and rest, she wanted to explore her temporary home to see what she would find. Hopefully, there were items to help her start a fire or something like that.
Her exploration eventually revealed some crates that were inside the cave... and new questions arose in addition to her current location. Why were there crates in this cave and what purpose did they serve? She continued to search the cave in the hopes of getting an answer.
Best guess that I can come up with is that this used to be a smuggler's cave of some sort. Abandoned though... wonder where the people went? Ruby thought in her mind as she walked over to the nearest crate.
Picking it up, she threw it at the wall and it shattered to reveal... nothing! There wasn't anything in it! Ruby was stunned... there had to have been something inside the crate. She was certain! Maybe she would have better luck with the rest... She hoped.
Ruby began smashing every other crate, looking for something to warm her from the cold. Like blankets or something.
To her frustration, almost all of them were empty! Well, safe for some that had frozen meat in them. It would solve her hunger problem at least.
Once she got a fire started, of course.
She continued searching and shattering said boxes... wondering if she could find a medical kit or something to help her warm herself.
"Come on, come on! There has to be something in here to help me out!" Ruby yelled in desperation and frustration.
Soon after reaching the last box which was smashed, Ruby found a survival kit with some other stuff like fresh bottles of alcohol.
“T-Thank god! Finally!” Ruby yelled with relief and started gathering all the firewood to start a fire... hmm, those alcoholic bottles could help with serving as fuel.
Collecting all the firewood that she could find, she formed it together into one to make a campfire. With a little patience and a small chance of the wind blowing... she might succeed.
Picking up two sharp stones together, she clashed them and tried to form sparks to which she was hoping to start the fire… with minimal success. She nevertheless hoped it would work soon since she was starting to get cold!
“Come on, light. Work, damn you!” She demanded.
She tried harder to get some sparks in the hopes that her campfire might be started… but nothing so far was happening. Damn it all to hell! She threw the stones away at the far back of the cave.
Slumping onto the ground, she groaned in frustration… only to halt as an idea came up into her head. “Wait a second. What if I do this…”
Trailing off, she took out a silver bullet from her belt and snapped it in half as she poured the powder onto the wood. “Okay, so far so good…”
Going back to grab the sharp stones, she got closer to the powder-covered wood and clashed them together as sparks began to come out as she pleaded. “Please light up.”
She ignited the wood and powder and started a fire which made her grin in relief. Finally! A place where she could rest for the time being…
She sat down and warmed up her entire body. "Ah, that's much better… at least one of my problems is solved."
Her happy face turned sour as she began to wipe a couple of tears from her eyes. “Yang… where are you?” She questioned with a sniffle.
And for that matter, what about the rest of her friends - Penny, Weiss, Jaune, and Blake? What happened to them?
She lay down near the fire and closed her eyelids as she could only sleep with the sound of silence and worry because her friends were still missing.
However, she sat up and shook her head. “No, I can’t fall asleep!” Ruby told herself in worry.
Her stomach growled and she decided to get something to eat like that frozen meat she found. A quick meal and then maybe she would get some rest.
Grabbing one of the preserved meat that was frozen, she activated Crescent Rose and pierced it on the tip of the scythe's blade. “Maybe after a quick meal I can get some rest... for now, stay awake and alert.” She told herself.
Using Crescent Rose, she held the meat by the fire as the ice melted and began to cook it up. Her tummy started growling once again as she rubbed it. “Just wait.” She pleaded with her stomach.
The meat was slowly turning into a deep crisp brown as Ruby licked her lips... she couldn't wait to bite on it. Right now, she was dying to put some meat into her system.
Once it was cooked enough, she removed the pierced meat from the fire and waited until it was cooled down. She brought it over to her lips and then took a bite, she began to chew it with her mouth closed... so much better. The heat from the meat gave her a little bit of her strength and energy.
Smiling to herself, she continued to eat until the piece of meat was gone. The warmth gave back a little more of her energy... she sat by the fire and continued to warm herself. The meat was a little salty though... she could use a drink right about now. Hmm... there was the alcohol.
Ruby frowned and shook her head. "Not exactly in the mood to become an alcoholic... at least at this very moment." She admitted.
She paused and looked at the remaining crates that she didn't smash or examine. Perhaps there was something else that she could find to quench her thirst. She got up and began rummaging through the boxes yet all she found was the meat that was frozen.
“Just meat only, huh?” She asked with an annoyed sigh.
Refusing to give up, she rummaged through another box and found... alcohol. Really... just alcohol and meat? That's it?
“Huh... shame that Uncle Qrow isn't here. He'd love this... a paradise filled with liquor.” Ruby admitted with a small smile, thinking about her uncle.
She continued the search for a drink but was having limited success. Until she stumbled upon a box that contained... bags of coffee beans. Was that all that there was in these boxes? Meat, coffee, and alcohol? Was this a smuggler's den or a cafe? Ruby couldn't tell.
"Coffee, eh? Well, I do need something to keep me awake... problem though is that there isn't any milk around nor a coffee machine to make it for me. Damn it." Ruby swore with an annoyed look.
Ruby kept her gaze over the bags of coffee beans when her ears perked up as she heard footsteps that were getting closer. Ruby raised her brow... who was approaching? Was it someone who had found themselves in this frozen wasteland like her?
She turned around, preparing Crescent Rose to take the intruder on and she saw Neopolitan!? Alive and... very pissed. With her umbrella prepared... ready to kill her!
A diminutive young woman whose long hair that was loose was colored in both half-pink and half-brown with white streaks in the pink. She had pale white skin and two different colored eyes – brown on the left side and pink on the right side that beheld fury in them.
A bowler hat rested atop her head and her attire consisted of a chocolate brown jacket that started just below her shoulders and above her chest and had a pink interior, two brown belt shoulder straps, and twin gray button seams. She wears a gray scarf similar to her boss's and a white three-gray button-up vest-style top that is strapless and cropped exposing her midriff.
She also wore a pair of chocolate brown detached sleeves with puffy tops and pink trim alongside a pair of white funnel-cuffed gloves with gray button detailing. She also wears white belted pants and black and white spat styled ankle boots with cutout detail just above the ankle. The back of her jacket was shown to have a small, coned ice cream key chain that was covered by her hair.
She gritted her teeth in fury as Ruby twirled her scythe around. "Back for Round Two, bitch?"
Neo wanted nothing more than to continue from where she left off and destroy the bitch right there and now, but she collapsed and sneezed as she felt weak and cold. Ruby could also see her shivering but she still kept her stern gaze on.
Well- Ruby thought in her mind but didn't continue as her gaze was directed at the fireplace when she saw the flames dying, making her panic.
“NO, NO, NO!!!” Ruby put down Crescent Rose on the ground and rushed to grab some of the destroyed wood from the crates which she threw in the fire.
Neo, rubbing her shoulders, just watched her until the reaper turned to her. “Get me some alcohol! There's some in the boxes!” Ruby ordered quickly.
Not wanting to disagree due to the temperature being very low at the moment, she got up and rushed forward into the open box, pulling out the booze and handing it over to Ruby who poured it over the nearly lit-out fire.
As if by magic, the flames began to once more dance lively much to her relief. She wiped the sweat off her face and sat down by the fire to warm herself more.
Sighing in relief, she offered a spot for Neo to warm up too. She took the offer and sat down to warm herself up... away from Ruby.
Ruby decided to take the initiative before either could do something that they would both regret. “Look Neo, I don’t know where we are at the moment and I know that right now we're hardly prepared for a fight... so I propose a truce. What do you say?” Ruby asked, looking at Neo and putting Crescent Rose down.
Her intention was not to start a fight or escalate it. Right now, her suggestion just seemed like the most logical thing at the moment. However, Neo only ignored her and kept warming herself. It worried the little reaper a lot... was she about to attack her?
Soon enough, Neo got up and held her umbrella... Ruby was ready for an attack. Yet the little mute just threw her umbrella next to Ruby's compact scythe. She gave a simple nod to Ruby... the message was clear:
They would not attack one another. FOR NOW.
Ruby sighed in relief... at least she was willing to listen to reason. For now though... the situation was already tense enough as it is. What with both of them being stuck in this cave while the ice storm kept blowing outside?
Who knows when their pointless fighting might resume?
Actually... considering the exact moments during the Fall from the Central Location, a single question had been on Ruby's mind since that event: Why? Why was Neo trying to kill Ruby? Why join with her mortal enemy and that pest of a bitch, Cinder Fall? Why... just... why...?
She wanted answers and right now was possibly the best chance of getting them. Ruby however had one slight problem with her line of reasoning: Neo was mute. She never talked and instead used actions rather than words.
Ruby wasn't sure what she could do. She could ask but wouldn't be able to gain an answer... not without giving Neo a piece of paper and some pens to write down on. Plus, Ruby did not know hand sign language, sadly.
But like her older sister Yang once told her: If you don't gain an answer, you'll miss your opportunity forever.
Ruby nodded to the memory and then took a deep breath before asking. "Neo, why do you want me dead?" She questioned.
Said assassin only spared her a simple glance that didn't convene any emotion before turning back to warm herself by the fire. Her response annoyed Ruby who pouted heavily.
"Hmph... figures. Whatever. I'll leave you alone. Enjoy the cold treatment." Ruby declared, getting up and taking Crescent Rose with her. If Neo was going to act like that, then that was fine.
The cold was a much better alternative than this bullshit... but before she could take a step out, she was grabbed by the hood and dragged back inside.
Neo sat her down and gave her a sharp glare... as if telling her: *DON'T MOVE. FROM THE SPOT.*
The reaper could only just blink at this sort of response. Why did she decide to pull her back into the cave? Ruby didn't want to deal with this right now!
"Why?" Ruby questioned slowly yet the only response that was given was a sharp glare from Neo who continued to warm up by the fire.
“Look... can't we just let bygones be bygones? We need to establish some form of trust here. I can't be given the cold shoulder constantly.” Ruby admitted.
Neo kept warming up and didn't pay any attention, which was making Ruby reach her ultimate limit. She was beginning to lose her patience fast... this ongoing silence of not getting an answer was getting on her nerves!
The silence finally made her lose her temper. "WHAT IS YOUR FUCKING PROBLEM, SISTER!? What did I do to garner such hate from you!? Help me understand!” She demanded an answer.
Neo just kept warming herself, ignoring the reaper.
The action caused Ruby to groan in annoyance. "I try my best to be civil... Yet you are actively trying my patience. Guess I really shouldn't be surprised... You're just like your boss - a complete sociopath." She admitted truthfully.
Neo froze... Anger building up in her. How... how DARE SHE!?
Ruby noticed that she took out her still-functioning scroll and started it up... typing in a message of some sort. Was this it? Was this her chance to gain an answer as to why she hates her?
Soon, Neo was holding the scroll with the message that she wrote a few seconds ago: That psycho... was my boss... Whom you killed and took away from me. Take it back... NOW!
She was barely holding onto said scroll because her anger was visible... ready to release at a moment's notice depending on Ruby's response.
As for Ruby, she only stared in disbelief. That... That's it? That's her sole reason!? HER BOSS!? HIS DEATH!? That's IT!?
Ruby smirked coldly. "You sent me... My friends... Down the hole... All because you think... THAT I KILLED YOUR FUCKING BOSS!? THAT'S THE REASON WHY!? YOU... YOU ARE THE MOST PATHETIC IDIOT I'VE EVER HAD THE MISFORTUNE OF MEETING!" She yelled in anger.
Ruby breathed slowly as she clenched her fists in anger... then she said something that made Neo snap completely. "Your parents must be very proud to have a monster like you."
The midget assassin dropped her scroll on the ground and stood up... fists clenched and ready to tear her apart! She no longer cared!
Both girls charged forward and began beating the crap out of one another as Ruby punched and pushed Neo back who wiped some blood of her face. SHE'S FUCKING GOING DOWN!
Neo, glaring at the reaper, charged forward and started to throw her punches in as Ruby blocked the oncoming attacks. She tackled her to the ground and began to slam her fists into her face... all the while glaring at her. “You’re a bitch!”
Neo glared back and threw one punch at Ruby... both of their fists clashed with one another.
“WHY!? WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST LET GO OF HIM!? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO TARGET MY FRIENDS!? WHY ME!? I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH TORCHWICK'S DEATH! I DIDN'T KILL HIM!!!" Ruby yelled with tears of anger in her eyes that were dropping down.
Neo just glared at her as Ruby kept crying “Why couldn't you just let it go!? Why!? Why did you have to target my friends and me!? Why... why... WHY!?" She demanded the answers.
Neo took the opportunity to kick her away as she stood up and glared, intending to take her down and finish her off!
Ruby, crying at her attempts, glared at her. “You are a monster! You don’t even give a damn about anyone!!! You don’t care about how I feel! You don’t care about the people you killed! Do you have any idea how many you killed when Atlas was destroyed and you helped Cinder!? My friends are possibly dead because of you! A country was destroyed! You don't give a damn about nobody but yourself!” She yelled.
Neo however didn't bother with her plea and instead picked up her scroll to write another message which was as follows: Do you honestly think that I give a damn about how many people I killed and Atlas falling!? I don't give a shit about any of that! I hardly care about you or your friends at all! You and your pesky friends have been nothing but thorns in mine and Roman's side for far too long!!! WHY THE FUCK COULDN'T YOU JUST GIVE UP AND WALK AWAY!? ANSWER ME THAT!!!
“YOU AREN'T THE ONLY THAT LOST PEOPLE!!!” Ruby screamed in frustration.
Neo typed another message: Now you know how it feels... doesn't it, bitch?
Ruby clenched her fists in anger. “You’re… you… you want to finish this!?” She demanded.
Neo put the scroll down and clenched her fists in pure anger. Of course, she wanted to finish her!!!
They ran towards each other and threw punches simultaneously in their cheeks or all around. It wouldn't end until either one of them was defeated or ended up killing the other.
“Bitch!” Ruby yelled angrily.
Self-righteous Judas!, Neo thought in her mind.
Another punch! Followed by blocking and ongoing attacks...
“Your parents would roll in their graves if they saw you right now!” Ruby criticized harshly.
Bitch! You have no idea what my parents were! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!!!, Neo thought in her mind.
How dare she criticize her!? She had no right to do so... she hadn't suffered like Neo had! This was why Neo hated her! She hated her because she was everything that the assassin wasn't!
She never had anything! She never was able to have a happy family! She never was able to make friends! SHE NEVER HAD NOBODY! All she had was Roman... until the bitch known as Ruby Rose took her from him!!!
She had nothing! NOTHING!!!
...But she would soon have one thing: revenge. And it was a dish best served cold!
Ruby and Neo continued punching and facing off against one another... as they rushed forward and prepared to kill one another... only for them to immediately miss and crash on the ground simultaneously... their Auras were heavily depleted and both were exhausted and getting cold.
Ruby breathed slowly and turned to see the fire... which was starting to cool down, making her panic. She... she needed more fuel... but she was too tired. Ugh...
She hated to do this... but she needed all the help she could get. “Neo... get more alcohol... let's focus on the fire and keeping ourselves warm... then later we'll resume our feud... deal?” Ruby asked as she rubbed her shoulders.
Neo immediately froze and got up to search the boxes for more alcohol. There had better be some more!!!
Her search eventually proved fruitful as she found more bottles along with some blankets... hmm, works for both of them. Not like they had any choice... the fire was about to go out and it needed more fuel PRONTO!
Showing them to Ruby, Neo walked over and poured all of the liquid into the fire which went back up and lit the room some more. Next, she covered both herself and Ruby with the blanket...
Much as she wanted to hurt her mortal enemy, she wasn't eager to freeze at this very moment. Perhaps when it was much more warmer they would resume their fight.
It all depended on whether or not Little Red was eager to continue from where she left off... and if she would take her words back.
“Are we done fighting?” Ruby asked the obvious question in the room.
Neo gave her a look that said, For the moment.
Right now they would keep themselves warmed up by the fire but later they would possibly resume the conflict between one another. They stayed together without moving a muscle.
As they were warming up by the fire, however, they were caught off guard by a small round object being thrown into the cave… It soon let loose and released a large electrical stun that made them both collapse on the stone floor.
Someone stepped into the cave... it seemed to be a mysterious hooded person. Who they were or what their goal was remained unknown...
They were wearing a set of winter clothes and their face was obscured by a mask of winter getup. Soon enough, other people joined alongside them as they turned to the group.
"Take them to our village... we'll have some questions for them." They ordered their subordinates, its tone hinted of being a female one.
"As your wish, Master! We obey you, Master!" They all replied... a hint of cheerfulness in their tones.
In no time, the followers all picked up the two mysterious human girls and their weapons... following this, they all departed out of the cave as the fire soon died down.
In the frozen wasteland, only the followers and the hooded woman in winter clothes walked... along with their captives in tow. She had lots of unsavory questions for them... and answers to gain as well.