Preparations

                                    

                                          


                          
I was crying the whole way back.
                          
When the boat docked, I walked over to the deck, tears staining my eyes.
                          
"Ruby?"
                          
I turned to see my teammates walking up to me.
                          
"What happened?" Yang asked. "Where's (Y/N)?"
                          
My head dropped, and more tears rolled down my cheeks.
                          
"H-He hates me," I cried.
                          
"Oh please," Weiss said. "Even in a form like that, I'm sure he doesn't hate you."
                          
"H-He does," I said. "T-They were using m-me. A-And now he thinks I-I lured him into a t-trap."
                          
The group exchanged shocked glances.
                          
"They... used you?" Blake said. "How did they use you?"
                          
"They used me to lure him in and kill him," I said. "But their weapons didn't do anything to him. And now he thinks I helped try to kill him."
                          
"They... used... you?!" Yang hissed, her eyes starting to turn red.
                          
Then, I heard behind me, "How did that not work?"
                          
I turned around, and saw Ozpin making his way out of the ship with Ironwood.
                          
"That should've killed him!" Ironwood said. "Nothing has survived those weapons!"
                          
"Perhaps we need something bigger," Ozpin said. "(Y/N) may not have been the bravest faunus, but he was still impressively powerful."
                          
My sadness turned to pure rage, and I stormed over to Ozpin before Yang could even take a step.
                          
"This was your idea?!" I shouted.
                          
Ozpin looked down to me.
                          
"Ms. Rose, please--"
                          
"How could you do that?!" I shouted.
                          
"Ms. Rose, I understand your grief," Ozpin said, "but you don't know what a Godzilla is capable of--"
                          
"Oh don't give me that 'you don't know what he's capable of' nonsense!" I shouted. "Look at him! He's huge, and your weapons can't hurt him! He could destroy an entire kingdom if he wanted to! But he wouldn't want to if you hadn't used me to get to him!"
                          
"Miss Rose, we didn't have a choice--"
                          
"I DON'T CARE THAT YOU USED ME!" I screamed. "WHAT I CARE ABOUT IS YOU TRIED TO KILL HIM!"
                          
Everyone turned to me, wide-eyed.
                          
"You think you're trying to help!" I said. "But you only made things worse! He won't destroy the kingdom! I refuse to believe it! But if you keep this up, you're giving him a pretty logical reason to!"
                          
Silence.
                          
I probably would've been surprised that I'd left Professor Ozpin himself speechless, if not for my rage.
                          
"She's right, you know."
                          
I turned, and to my surprise, I saw Oobleck.
                          
"I remember you telling me once you've made more mistakes than anyone," Oobleck said, walking up to Ozpin. "Well, this is absolutely one of them. (Y/N) had no intention of harming anyone. But now that he's been imprisoned, and attacked, I don't think anything will keep him from seeking revenge."
                          
Ozpin sighed. "Whatever the case, he's going to attack. I have no doubt. We need to be ready. Ironwood, prepare your men."
                          
"Yes, sir," Ironwood said.
                          
"As for all of you!" Ozpin said, referring to all the students and staff standing at the docks. "We need to get all the civilians out of the kingdom!"
                          
"This is ridiculous!" I said. "(Y/N) isn't going to hurt us!"
                          
Oobleck pulled me aside. "I know you may think that. But you and I both saw how he looked at you. Maybe before he had a reason not to attack, but I don't think he cares anymore."
                          
I lowered my head, and could feel a stab at my heart as I remembered the look he'd given me.
                          
"You go back to your dorm," Oobleck said. "You deserve a rest after everything that's happened."
                          
I nodded, and headed back to Beacon.
                          
A few hours later, I was lying in my bed, crying about the recent events, with Yang trying to calm me down.
                          
"It's okay," she said. "We'll figure something out. (Y/N) really cared about you. I'm sure you can reason with him."
                          
"I-I-I c-c-can't!" I cried. "H-H-He hates me! H-H-He'll never listen to m-m-me again!"
                          
Weiss was leaning against the wall, trying to keep her composure. "It's our fault. We should've helped Ruby protect him more. If we had just been there with him more... maybe he wouldn't have..."
                          
"Maybe..." Blake said.
                          
I calmed myself down a bit to talk to them. "I-It's not your fault. You didn't know this would happen."
                          
"I guess you're right," Blake said.
                          
"Whoever's fault it is, right now we need to find a way to get to the (Y/N) we know, and save him before he hurts someone," Yang said.
                          
"As much as I like that idea," Weiss said, "I don't we can save him. Even if we can, we won't be able to do it before he hurts at least a couple dozen civilians."
                          
I lied back down. "We had it all planned out."
                          
"What?" Blake said.
                          
"We were going to leave," I said. "With you guys, and maybe JNPR. Start a new life together. Just us. But then Cardin had to come in and--"
                          
I stopped, and I continued sobbing, as all my memories of him came flooding back. I missed him. I missed the way he stuck by me. I missed how clingy he was. I missed how kind-hearted he was. But now it was all gone.
                          
But as much as I hated everything at that point, it was about to get so much worse.