Finding him was harder than we thought.

We spent hours sailing in the ocean, waiting for the radar to pick something up.

The sun had already set in the horizon, and I started to wonder if (Y/N) really was in the ocean. What if he didn't know he could breathe underwater? I was so unsure if we'd even find him at that point.

I was leaning on the guardrail, looking down at the reflection of the black sky in the ocean.

I hoped we could find him. I didn't want him to stay that way. I didn't want anyone to hurt him. I calmed myself down. Everything would be fine. We were looking for him, we were going to bring him back, and we were going to make him a faunus again.

Everything was going to be the way it was supposed to be.

"Good evening, Ms. Rose," Oobleck said, walking up next to me.

"Hi, Dr. Oobleck," I said.

"Are you... thinking about (Y/N)?" he asked.

I nodded.

"I've been thinking too," he said. "Ruby... have you ever taken it into consideration that... maybe... you're being used?"

"What do you mean?" I said.

"I mean... what if they're using you... to lure (Y/N) into a trap?" Oobleck said.

"I-I guess that... could happen," I said. "But Ozpin isn't like that. Is he?"

He sighed. "Listen, Ruby. No matter what happens, I want you to know that... I really do care about (Y/N)."

And with that, he left.

I was so confused, and I started to grow afraid. Were they using me? Was I being used to lure (Y/N) into a trap? No, Ozpin wouldn't do that. Would he? Well, maybe Ironwood would. But Ozpin wouldn't. And he was the one giving the orders.

Then, the alarms went off.

"Godzilla spotted!" the voice came from the speakers. "Godzilla spotted! All hands on deck!"

I started to panic. What was happening? Were they going to hurt him? Were they going to keep their promise?

I didn't know what to do!

Suddenly, there was practically an explosion of water in front of the boat, soaking almost everyone on board. I managed to take cover before it could catch me.

As I looked to the front of the ship, I saw (Y/N). He was just standing there, waist deep in the water, staring at us.

I made my way to the front of the boat, seeing Atlesian Knight-200s and Atlesian Soldiers standing ready with guns and rocket launchers.

I walked up to Ozpin.

"You aren't going to hurt him right?" I said.

"Of course not," he said.

"Then why are they aiming their weapons?" I asked.

"It's just a pre-caution," Ozpin said.

"So... he'll be okay, right?" I said.

"Ruby, I have no intention of hurting one of our students," Ozpin said.

I heard growling, and looked up to see (Y/N) baring his teeth at us.

"Try to keep him calm," Ozpin said. "Keep him from attacking us."

I nodded, and started to slowly make my way to the front of the boat.

The moment (Y/N) spotted me, his expression softened, and he looked at me with loving eyes. And those loving eyes let me know he wasn't going to attack. And, hopefully, if he didn't attack, neither would the soldiers.

"Hey, (Y/N)," I said, stopping at the very front of the ship.

He looked down at me, with a sad expression.

"Not what you wanted, huh?" I said. "Listen, we're going to bring you back, and we're going to find a way to turn you back into a faunus."

He looked up at the others, seeming unsure of what to do. I knew he didn't want to change back. He clearly felt safer in this form.

"Hey," I said.

He looked back down to me.

"You remember our plan?" I said. "We were going to leave. Start our own life together. Not going to be the easiest when you're like this."

His expression softened, and he started to lower himself to my level. I placed my hand on his nose.

"You're going to be okay," I said.

I rested my head on his nose, and closed my eyes.

"We'll be together," I said. "Just you and me."

He closed his eyes, finally calmed.

Then, it happened.

"OPEN FIRE!" Ironwood shouted.

(Y/N)'s eyes shot open, and I spun around in complete shock.

The soldiers and androids fired at (Y/N), and he reared up, roaring in shock and fear.

"STOP!" I shouted.

But my screams were unheard through the sounds of gunshots, and (Y/N)'s roars.

Then, the soldiers fired rocket launchers. I watched in complete horror as dozens of rockets crashed against (Y/N)'s body, until he was completely covered in smoke.

I covered my mouth, tears falling. They killed him. They actually killed him. Not only that, but they used me.

Then, the smoke started to clear, and my jaw dropped in complete shock as I saw (Y/N) standing, completely unfazed, in front of us.

I sighed in relief. Either he was immune to our weapons, or his aura protected him. Either way, I was glad he was alive.

Then, (Y/N) looked down to me. And the look on his eyes completely broke me. There was no love. There was no sadness. There was no confusion. I couldn't even see (Y/N) in those eyes.

There was nothing but hate.

He reared his head back, and let out the loudest roar I'd ever heard from him. I covered my ears, but not even that could block out the deafening volume of his roar.

(Y/N) gave one more hate-filled glare, before diving back down into the ocean.

I couldn't believe it. They tricked me. They used me. They tried to kill him. How could they? But that was the least of my worries.

What hurt the most, and still hurts, was knowing that (Y/N) hated me.