A dying Arc's wish.

18: Runaway Train

Ruby: She'd gone off to patrol the area hoping to secure the perimeter for camp. In the distance, Ruby spotted a herd of goliaths passing by a forest area. Her instincts kicked in as she readied her sniper and placed a finger on the trigger.

Oobleck: "I'm afraid all that'd do is agitate the creature miss Rose." Oobleck said walking up next to her and observing the beasts.

Ruby: "But what if they attack?" She asked not taking her eye off the Grimm.

Oobleck: He then put a gentle hand over the gun and lowered it to aim at the ground. "Frett not Ruby, those goliaths aren't senseless enough to attack outright." He said as Ruby relaxed a little while putting away her scythe. "I believe it's time we head back."

Ruby: "Right..." She said as a goliath looked their way as the huntsmen left.

Oobleck: "Miss rose, as your teacher and a fellow huntsman I feel as though I must ask." He said as they continued to walk. "What exactly is troubling you so much?"

Ruby: "What do mean?"

Oobleck: "I'm sure you're aware that the Grimm in the area seem to target you more often than your teammates. The most likely reason for that is the fact that negativity attracts them, things such as fear, anguish, anger, sadness. All things that can make it easy to fall prey to monsters. It especially becomes worse when that negativity is bottled up and never addressed."

Ruby: "I... Don't understand."

Oobleck: "Miss rose, you have something that is quite rare to many people. Support, you have friends, family and a team that cares for you. That is not something to take lightly, you have people who love you. People who would do anything to help you through thick and thin even at their detriment." He said as Ruby looked at him with her eyes widened. "You are part of a team for a reason, to lean on each other when needed. To share burdens too heavy for a single individual to bear. You needn't tell me your troubles if you don't wish to, but keep in mind that you are not alone in your endeavors." Ruby was taken aback by the statement as she didn't say anything the rest of the way back to camp.

Later that night

Ruby: Yang had taken the next watch as Ruby was starting to get some rest for the night. Just as she was about to sleep, she could hear Zwei get up and leave the building. Concerned, she grabbed her weapon and followed him outside. "Zwei?" She asked before spotting him peeing on a streetlight. "Really Zwei? You could've done that anywhere." Just then she heard distant chatter between two people as she snuck closer to see what it was.

WF Grunt 1: "Come on, we shouldn't be out this far." A Faunus said as his ally searched the area.

WF Grunt 2: "Could've sworn I heard something."

WF Grunt 1: "There's lots of Grimm out here, you probably just heard a Beowulf. Let's just forget it and finish up our patrol." He said as the two walked back down the street they came from.

Ruby: This was her chance to find out exactly where they were hiding. So, with Zwei following behind her, she tailed the White Fang grunts until they made their way inside what appeared to be a bunker hatch. "Gotcha." She said as she took out her scroll ready to call her teammates. 'Come on, pick up.' she thought only for her scroll to show that there was no signal. But before she could react, the floor started to crack and break under her feet. Ruby went to move but she fell through before she had a chance to escape. She fell from quite a high elevation, but thankfully her aura cushioned the impact. As Ruby looked around, she could see an underground city that'd been abandoned and decaying for decades. Tall structures and buildings were in a state of disrepair and on the ground level were White Fang soldiers and workers loading supplies and tech onto a train.