Chapter Text
Commonly, the first memory many remember from their childhood is of love from their parents, of the joy of innocent entertainment, or even of a nostalgic meal they enjoyed. For Ruby Rose, however…
A frustrated cry resounded, followed by the chilling crunch of bones as a robust, silver-eyed woman let a man's corpse fall to the ground. She sighed as she straightened her back while combing her raven, red-tipped hair back before stretching her hand out. Moments later, a large battle axe flew straight into her grasp before she wiped it clean of any trace of blood with a piece of cloth that appeared out of thin air.
Ruby Rose's first memory was a lesson in blood.
A young girl with similar features as the older woman stood terrified while staring at the dead man, whose eyes were similar to theirs.
The ax wielder threw her weapon aside as it vanished, then kneeled in front of her lookalike, the wooden floor of the cabin creaking under her weight. She raised a hand to wipe the tears that fell from her eyes, only for the little one to flinch away fearfully. With a defeated expression, she sighed and then forced her into a hug, keeping her head firm on her shoulder.
"You may not understand it yet," she muttered, snuggling against her. "But this is what we do. For the good of everybody."
"B-but mommy. That mister has eyes like ours." Pointed out the child with a trembling voice, the corpse still lying in her line of sight, which she couldn't turn away from.
The older woman separated herself from her daughter with a comforting smile. "I know Rosebud, but some of our own can still be bad guys."
"Why?"
The taller ravenette stood silent for a few seconds. She then shook her head while flicking a hand toward the corpse, which sent a powerful torrent of flames as her eyes began to glow. She took hold of her child and hoisted her into her arms.
"I'll tell you when you're older, okay? Why don't we go home? I'll make you cookies." She replied, glancing down at her, only to raise a curious eyebrow when she noticed the girl was patting her stomach. "Is something wrong?"
Ruby glanced up at her mother with a confused expression. "My tummy was hurting earlier, but I feel better now."
"I don't think we ate anything bad? When did it start?"
"When you took me here."
The silver-eyed woman marched toward the exit, stopping briefly to glance over her shoulder toward the burning corpse, whose flames were rapidly spreading throughout the cabin.
"Did it now?" She wondered before resuming her trek.
Two figures ran at breakneck speed through the forest, perfectly vaulting and leaping over any obstacle in their way. Both slowed down when the sound of gunfire reached them.
"No! We're too late!" Shouted Twilight, her cat ears pivoting in an attempt to pinpoint the exact direction of the sound.
Ruby dusted her cloak while rolling her eyes. "I'm not the one who banned the use of my semblance."
Midnight glared at her as her ears fell flat on her head. "And make me lose everything that I've eaten since last week? It's bad enough that I had to lay down for a few hours after the first time."
The ravenette scoffed and then began to pace toward the last direction the faunus' ears had pointed. "Just saying that we'd have been here way before any of them. Come on now, we both have business to attend t-"
She suddenly froze and held a hand onto her stomach, attracting her companion's attention.
"You okay?"
This sensation. She had felt it numerous times before. The confirmation of her suspicions, the proof that her enemies were nearby. Never before had it been this intense, as if an infinite void had replaced her insides.
" How is this possible? Did they…? " She wondered before dashing at full speed toward the battlefield with the help of her semblance.
"H-hey!" Cried out Midnight as she was left behind in a cloud of dust and petals.
Moments later, she had reached an elevated position from which she could observe the fight down below. She raised a hand to her eyes and drew a circle in front of them with a finger as they began to glow. "Golwg pell." She whispered with an odd echo.
Immediately, her eyes widened once she identified the various parties tangled in the fight. " The White Fang? Guess I should have seen that one coming. Twilight might be one of them or have been… Wait, she's—no, that's a problem for later. " She then caught sight of a group of bandits. They were harder to identify until she caught sight of a blonde woman fighting with someone she identified as Adam Taurus. " The Branwen tribe? Out here in Vale? That's… bold. Too bold. Gonna have to remember that. "
"Did you seriously have to leave me behind?!" Groaned Twilight as she finally caught up to her. She sat down beside the ravenette, panting slightly while squinting her eyes in an attempt to inspect what she had been looking at. "How are you even able to see anything from here? We're way too far away."
Ruby ignored her questions, opting to groan in turn when another individual caught her eye as they joined the fight between the two semblance users. "Weiss Schnee on top of that?! I'm trying so hard to not get caught in politics, and they throw the whole court at me."
The faunus' ears perked up in surprise before lowering as she glared down the slope. "A Schnee? In Vale?"
" And yet, not a single sign of them . Only this dreadful feeling. " She thought to herself, then sighed. "Better get going."
Both lept down the mountainside, using their aura to negate any potential damage.
Amidst the chaos and rain of bullets, three individuals stood in the middle, fighting one another on equal footing. A blonde woman from the Branwen tribe, the white-haired specialists from Atlas, and the bull faunus swordsman from the White Fang.
Through miraculous timing, each struck one another simultaneously, sending them backwards and creating a comfortable distance between each of them.
The faunus commander regained his footing before pointing his sword toward the foreign bandit. "I think we can both agree that this is going nowhere. Way I see it, we both want what's on that train." He then smirked mischievously toward the specialist, shifting his stance to point his weapon at her. "How about it? Fifty fifty?"
The blonde lowered her stance with a confused expression. She shared a glance with the white-haired woman, who simply glared at her before raising her hands once more. "Not my style, horn boy."
The man groaned while preparing himself for the oncoming fight. "You had your chance."
They all prepared to lunge at one another but found themselves stumbling when a screaming voice cut through the tension.
"Men! Boosters!" Ordered one of the leading Atlesian soldiers, reaching for the injector attached to his hip.
"Come on, boys! Boost up!" Followed a man on the bandits' side, earning cheerful roars in return as they did the same.
Adam snarled bitterly before facing his associates. "Brothers! Do not let the humans take the advantage!"
Both he and the blonde marauder reached for their own boosters while the Atlesian specialist's expression hardened cautiously. However, before any of the two semblance users could inject themselves…
"STOOOOOP!"
A few minutes earlier, a muffled impact could be heard, followed by a pained groan, as a White Fang member fell to the ground unconscious.
"You… didn't kill them?" Asked Twilight, her gaze wandering over the ten unconscious militants, which formed a long-range platoon.
Ruby knelt beside the man she had just knocked unconscious, rummaging through his belongings meticulously. "It wasn't necessary. So I didn't."
"Uh huh…" Muttered the cat faunus before raising a curious eyebrow toward her temporary companion. "Don't you think that they're going to continue attacking humans in the future?"
"Most likely, if that is their fate." She shrugged, stopping when her fingers brushed against an Atlesian injector. "What…?"
"What is it?" Asked the dark-haired woman, pushing her questions aside.
Ruby remained silent, reaching for the device, but winced away when a large crow landed next to her. She blinked a few times, staring at the bird, who simply stared back before sighing in defeat. "Right…"
She then disassembled the mechanism to remove the vial of liquid, scanning the strange concoction with narrowed eyes while slowly tipping the object from side to side.
"These boosters…" She wondered in a low voice before turning to Twilight. "Don't they look… darker to you?"
The cat-eared woman trutted closer to inspect the vial while sending an odd look toward the crow, which seemed to be analyzing the object as much as the cloak-wearer was. "I... can't say I've paid attention to the color that much before, but I think you're right?"
The red-themed woman lowered the cylinder onto the nearest surface and then placed a finger on one end. "Golau glanhau." She muttered as a soft, silver light emanated from her digit.
"What the-" Attempted to exclaim Twilight when something even more astonishing silenced her.
The liquid thrashed violently before separating in two; a light-green concoction remained near Ruby's fingers while a small amount of dark sludge hurriedly flailed against the opposite side of the vial. Immediately, the hooded-cloak-wearing woman grabbed the vial with enough force to shatter it when her fist suddenly went ablaze, annihilating any trace of the two substances. The sudden violent action caused the feathered creature to fly away fearfully while cawing in what seemed to be an accusatory tone.
"O-ok, I know you didn't have red dust this time." Stuttered her companion while taking a few frightened steps backward.
The ravenette ignored her, opting to use her semblance to rush toward the nearby battlefield instead, leaving both the crow and Twilight behind.
As soon as she reached her destination, the first thing that caught her eye was the three individuals in the middle having a battle so intense that no soldier could remain close enough without suffering any injury. Then she noticed how a soldier from the Atlesian military seemed to exchange a glance with the man leading the bandits before they both nodded at each other.
" Huh? "
"Men! Boosters!" Shouted the soldier, followed by the marauder chief and the White Fang leader.
Dread overtook her, and before she even noticed, her feet began to stomp wildly closer to the battlefield. Her heart raced anxiously, unable to imagine what horrifying effect these corrupt boosters could have on their victims. She raised a hand to her throat, resting her fingers on it, before uttering, "Mwyhau sain."
Both her eyes and her throat glistened momentarily as she took a deep breath once she was close enough to the battlefield.
"STOOOOOP!" She shouted, her voice loud enough to drown out the sound of gunfire, forcing the animal-eared faunus to either wince or cover their ears in pain.
Unfortunately, in the short amount of time it took her to reach them, a majority of the combatants had already injected themselves.
Barely a few seconds passed before they began to release horrifying screeches, falling to the ground as their limbs involuntarily thrashed around and clenched in odd positions.
"What the fuck!" Exclaimed the Branwen heir, gazing warily at the injector she had raised to her neck before throwing it aside frightfully.
Her action was mimicked by the faunus leader, who took a few steps away from his adversaries. He then gazed over his shoulder toward his writhing men before glaring at the ravenette. "And you are?"
Ruby had knelt next to a suffering Atlesian soldier to inspect the various reactions. If her suspicions were proven true, she had a vague idea of the end result—a dreadful outcome she had wished to avoid—but the addition of the aura booster could create an unprecedented event. It was a task she was reluctant to perform, but this matter needed to be documented and studied.
The man's neck had dark pulsating veins around the injection point, which seemed to stretch further with each passing heartbeat. Muttering the same word she used when inspecting the vial earlier, she ran her two glowing fingers along the soldier's neck, only to recoil in surprise when her contact charred his skin, amplifying his pain. She was about to resume her test when he began to gargle and choke on a dark sludge that poured out of every orifice on his head. Wasting no time, she pushed him away and reached behind herself as if attempting to take hold of something underneath her cloak, unsuccessfully.
"Wha- damn it!" She exclaimed before ducking backwards to dodge a bullet fired her way.
"I'm talking to you, human! What's happening to my men!" Roared Adam, aiming his smoking rifle right at her.
It was at this moment that Twilight emerged from the surrounding vegetation, stumbling in shock at the sight before her. "The hell is going on here?!" She exclaimed, then immediately parried a bullet with her sword.
"Blake…" Growled the bull faunus, holstering his rifle behind his back and gripping his sword, ready to pounce at the cat faunus.
Fortunately, his advance was stopped by the Atlesian specialist, who fired a few rounds of her pistol at him. "Can you really afford to get distracted?" She reprimanded with a glare, then lowered her stance with a sigh, setting her sight on Ruby. "You. I don't know who you are…" Her eyes scanned the ravenette from head to toe, lingering on the cloak she wore. "...but you obviously know something about this. What is that black substance, where does it come from, and how could those boosters be causing all of this?"
Her questions fell on deaf ears to the silver-eyed woman, who had been scanning the battlefield of suffering combatants and confused comrades attempting to aid their fellow men. Finally, she found among the crowd the two men whom she had seen nodding at each other earlier. They had joined one another and seemed to observe her analytically, passing comments among themselves that she could not perceive.
The bandit leader made one last comment with a smirk before swiftly stealing the Atlesian's tampered booster and injecting it into the soldier's neck. He then walked past the man, who slowly fell to the ground, joining the others in their misery, then spread his arms wide, still gazing directly at Ruby.
"Welcome, Sentinel! A bit late, don't you think? Especially after all the trouble you've been giving us." He screamed while taking a few steps closer to make sure he would be heard. "Oh well, at least you're here now. Nice to finally put a face on your reputation. That hood of yours certainly made finding you… annoying."
His comment made her finally realize that she hadn't raised her hood back onto her head. A terrible blunder for sure. She had been so diligent since the beginning. How could she forget now, of all moments?
The blonde raider glared at her associate. "The fuck are you talking about?! You did this?"
The man chuckled. "We are responsible for many things. I can't say that having both the White Fang and the Branwen tribe accept this job was planned, but I'm sure my masters won't complain. This amount of chaos is perfect!"
"Perfect…?" Wondered the Schnee.
The man reached into his jacket while ejecting the empty vial from the injector in his hand and took out another vial filled with a black substance to replace it.
"T-that's-!" Stuttered the white-haired woman, only to be interrupted by a wave of intense heat from her side.
Facing its origin, they were surprised to see Ruby, eyes glowing bright while a torrent of flames erupted around her, burning many of the infected soldiers surrounding her. With the help of her semblance, she burst forward, creating a violent wave of blaze which ravaged all that stood in its way. She took form when close enough to the man, vaulting over a corpse from which she stole a knife before lunging at the traitorous bandit.
His confident smirk never leaving his lips, he raised his free arm, covered in aura, to parry her strike. Only for her to use her semblance once more to place herself behind him. Fighting against the momentum she had accumulated, she braced herself to stab toward his heart.
It was then that she felt something rapidly approaching beside her, forcing her to leap away. She took the opportunity to throw the knife at her target, which was blocked by the arm of the mutating Atlesian leader, who had been the one who attempted to strike her.
His limbs pulsated while the dark coloration of his veins began to spread onto his skin. The dark sludge leaking from his head would vanish into the air as it fell to the ground, but the little that remained on his body seemed to progressively alter his body at a rather slow pace.
A chill suddenly ran down her spine, forcing her to look over her shoulder to see the massively engorged arm of another unfortunate victim right before it impacted into her with enough strength to send her hurling back to the ground. She painfully tumbled a great distance until she finally stopped right back next to the four… three semblance users. It would seem that Adam Taurus had taken advantage of the ordeal to flee.
"Ruby!" Called out a familiar voice she would never forget as a tall man landed protectively in front of her. A man who had taken care of her for years, Qrow Branwen. He held a greatsword with one hand and extended the other toward her.
The three other women gazed upwards at where the man came from, confused as to how he got here.
The ravenette stood up, stumbling momentarily while pushing his hand away, then grabbed the pistol on his hip and fired it at the bandit in the distance, specifically the injector he was about to insert into his neck, forcing him to dodge and use the mutated soldiers as cover. Her action was quickly followed by Blake and Weiss Schnee who fired their own weapon at the same target, most likely having understood the situation they were in. As for the blonde marauder, she gazed awkwardly at the shotgun strapped to her back, then picked up an assault rifle which happened to rest nearby.
A groan escaped the cloaked woman once the man had escaped their sight. She handed the firearm back to Qrow with a sigh. "I had him."
"Yeah, I could see that." He huffed humorously while holstering the weapon. He then reached behind his back, where a short sword had been strapped, and held it by the blade, pointing the handle toward her. "Your lack of weapons gave it away."
She glared at him while taking the sword, making a few practice swings before raising an eyebrow at the dark-haired man. "Couldn't you have gotten something… better?" She assumed a battle stance when many of the mutating fighters began to rise and approach them. "I guarantee that this thing won't make it through today."
"Can't say I had much time to do so." Replied the inn owner as he took a similar stance, analyzing the approaching creatures carefully. "Is this... what I think this is?"
An empty injector fell near them following his question. The mutating victims froze then slowly turned to face the direction where the bandit leader had taken cover, and were then suddenly overtaken by violent tremors, even those they had recently shot down.
Noticing that the burned corpses had no reactions, Ruby thrust her free hand toward a nearby group of mutants, which sent forth a new torrent of flames, effectively covering them in a deadly blaze. Unfortunately, she was too late as the other mutants burst into fountains of the dark substance, which oddly flew in the direction of the hidden raider, amassing into some sort of dark cocoon that progressively grew in size.
"O! Great goddess! Take me into your arms! Let me ascend as one of your chosen!" Preached the traitorous man from inside the envelope of dark flesh, his voice distorting the longer he spoke.
She cursed under her breath before side-eyeing the older man. "I think that answers your question. Stay alert; no one has had to face something like that for centuries."
He grunted before loading red dust bullets into his pistol. "That's just great." He then looked over his shoulder toward the three women, shocked beyond belief at the spectacle unfolding in front of them. "You ladies should probably get out of here. Things are about to get real messy."
The specialist was the first to recover and sent an incredulous expression their way, motioning dramatically toward the giant cocoon. "You mean to tell me that you actually know what's going on?!"
"No shit! Now run along before things get harder for us!" Qrow replied before wincing when the ravenette sprinted forward, leaving an intense wind pressure behind. "Damn it." He mumbled then followed after her, albeit not as swiftly.
Ruby ran toward the growing mass, which had easily reached quince her size by now, and ran her hand along her blade. "Trwyth fflam." She mumbled as the weapon caught aflame. She then slowed down enough for the dark-haired man to catch up to her before leaping over him while he raised his sword, flat-side facing her. She repeated her chant while gliding her hand across his weapon, earning a similar reaction before landing beside him and increasing her speed once more.
A crow flew over them, diving down toward the top of the cocoon. Qrow extended a hand in its direction, grasping at the air then pulling back with force. He vanished from where he stood before bursting from the corvus, sword raised, ready to slash downward. And so it was; with him falling from the air and with Ruby circling the mass, they cut through the protective casing with relative ease, causing the dark substance it contained to burst in a large radius.
The silver-eyed woman used her semblance to get her and the older man away from the blast, where both then observed apprehensively the aftermath of their strike.
The dark liquid continued to fall from the sky in a torrential rain while a figure could be barely perceived through the somber curtain.
"Ruby?" Wondered Qrow, his gaze never leaving the mass. "That's… not good, right?"
The rainfall of dark sludge slowly let up, allowing them to see the figure clearer by the second while the ravenette's eyes widened in shock. "No…"
The three other women, who hadn't left as demanded, followed their gaze and then offered three different reactions. The Branwen bandit squinted her eyes in confusion, unable to identify the silhouette in the distance; the Atlesian specialist stared in disbelief, her mind refusing to accept the first thought that came at the sight; while the cat faunus had a similar reaction to the silver-eyed woman, unable to hold herself back from muttering out loud.
"A… Grimm?"
The entity stood with a slouch on its digitigrade hind legs, resembling massive wolf legs. Thrice their size, it had two powerful arms littered with bone-like spikes and platings, ending with lengthy, razor-sharp claws. Similar spikes ran down its spine, surrounded by smaller plates that faded into its pitch-black fur. Larger plates protected its chest and legs. Its head was that of a monstrous wolf, covered by a bone-like mask with red markings and armored plating along its jaw. It turned to face them, bearing its serrated teeth while its red and orange eyes glowed menacingly. It then leaned backwards, spreading its arms wide, then released a guttural howl which echoed around them.
The few remaining survivors attempted to flee in fear, while others remained frozen. Unfortunately for them, the creature leapt from where it stood and tore through most in an instant. Blood and viscera dripped from its claws while terrified screams filled the air. It lowered itself on all fours, preparing to lunge at a cowering white fang member, but was interrupted when a wave of flames crashed into it, followed by a powerful dropkick to its side.
Ruby twisted mid-air to land on her feet before facing the shivering faunus. "Move!" She ordered before extending a hand toward a lost sword lying nearby. It twitched before flying through the air into her grasp. With a twist of her wrist, she wielded both swords in her possession, running her fingers along her new blade with a few whispered words to light it on fire, much like the other.
Qrow caught up to her, both standing in front of the creature, which regained its footing, preparing to fight once more. "So that's a Grimm? To think that these things were common once. Think we can bring it down?"
The silver-eyed woman remained silent, glaring at the creature as it snarled at them.
The dark-haired man sighed while readying himself. "Yeah, I'd rather not know."
"Cyflymwch fy symudiadau. Brysio!" Chanted the ravenette, eyes glowing before she suddenly vanished, darting faster than anyone could follow underneath the creature with a slide, narrowly dodging a strike from its claws.
"Bywiogi fy nghorfforaeth. Caledu!" She followed, standing back up and raising her swords in a cross formation to intercept another strike.
Gritting her teeth while she struggled under the monster's strength, she began to chant once more. "Gwella fy... ergydion... Cryfhau!" Then managed to push the claws away from her, making the grimm stumble backwards just enough for her to tackle it down. Straddling its chest, she spun her swords until she could hold them in a reverse grip, then plunged them about halfway into its neck. She was immediately swatted away, soaring through the air before tumbling against the ground, stopping only when she impacted one of the fallen train carts, piercing through it with an outline of her form.
The monster clawed at its neck in an attempt to dislodge the swords, now absent of their flames. One fell to the ground while the other pierced into its hand, an alternative which didn't seem to bother the creature. It then observed the train cart with a snarl, expecting to see the ravenette emerge at any time.
It was then that a large sword was stabbed into its back.
"She ain't the only one here, puppy!" Taunted Qrow before shifting with another crow, which flew further back. His sword had only reached about a quarter way in, despite his best efforts. "Damn. Tougher than you look, huh?" He muttered, shouldering his flaming blade.
"So... you hunt fairytales now, Qrow?" Suddenly asked the blonde bandit standing next to the dark-haired man, making him freeze on the spot. He turned to face her, meeting her glare while she crossed her arms under her chest.
"I'd love to chat, but I'm kinda busy right now, Yang." He grunted, glaring back at her, yet a twinge of regret could be perceived in his eyes.
She scoffed before nudging her thumb toward the Grimm. "Please, how hard could it b-"
Time seemed to slow down once she noticed how close the creature was in the corner of her eyes, claws extended outward, aiming to slice through both of them. Simultaneously, a blast resounded from the pierced cart where Ruby had been launched into. Next thing she knew, the blonde was thrown to the ground, lying underneath the ravenette, whose arms were spread wide while her glaring eyes glowed. A thin, hazy silver energy seemed to cover them in a spherical fashion, straining against the Grimm's claw just as the cloaked woman was.
"casglu… a gwasgaru!" She shouted, dragging both of her hands together, seemingly compressing the space surrounding her, before reeling them back and thrusting forward.
With a thunderous crack, the wolf-like monster was blown away, crashing into the mountainside. Before it could begin to recover, the silver-eyed woman spread her arms once more, grasping toward the various train carts scattered around them. With a pained grunt and grit teeth, she tugged with great struggle at the air and found herself sinking into the ground, much to the onlooker's stupor. Said shock was amplified when the carts began to tremble and hover over the ground. Ruby released a strenuous cry before finally thrusting her arms toward the downed beast, sending a mountain of train carts atop it.
She leaned onto her knees, panting and gasping as if she had almost drowned.
"W-woah…" Muttered Yang, propping herself onto her elbows, gazing with awe between the metallic mountain and the exhausted ravenette.
The cloaked woman glared at the approaching dark-haired man once her breathing had stabilized. "You could at least have pretended to worry."
He shrugged before nodding toward his shouldered sword, whose flame had seemingly extinguished. "Sword was still burning. T'was enough reassurance for me."
With an annoyed groan, she let herself fall as her legs buckled, unable to support her. Keeping herself up with her arms, she found herself inches away from the blonde bandit, who met her gaze with wide eyes.
"Uh… hey. Name's Yang. That guy's-"
"Your uncle. I know." Interrupted the ravenette before pushing herself into a sitting position, incidentally straddling the woman beneath her. "Don't hesitate to ask if you need help beating him senseless."
Qrow chuckled awkwardly while scratching his stubble. "Anyway, nice save there, petals. Though that's not really something you'd have concerned yourself with usually. What changed?"
Ruby stared at him silently before gazing down at the Branwen heir. When she turned to face him once more, her eyes drifted momentarily behind him as she answered. "It just... didn't feel right not to."
With a curious expression, the man looked over his shoulder, where Blake and Weiss Schnee stood, both processing the recent events. He then grinned back at her playfully. "Uh huh."
Having regained enough strength, the silver-eyed woman stood up, helping the blonde bandit along the way, then approached the older man. She requested him to hand over his sword, to which she slid her hand along the flat surface, reigniting its blade.
"Pretty generous with the flames today, huh?" Jested Qrow while taking a few practice swings.
"That's what mom used against those who fell to corruption. I at least know that works." She replied, a trace of grief lingering in her eyes.
"Right…" He sighed before sending her a comforting smile. "Why not try something else? You got the perfect practice dummy under there."
"Y-you- What the hell is going on?! How did you do all of that?!" Finally screeched the specialist, pointing at the cloak wearer with an accusatory tone. "I'll recognize that my family's semblance has a multitude of utilities compared to others, but nothing comes close to whatever you did. And without the use of dust! It's almost- it's as if it was-"
"...magic." Muttered Blake loud enough for them to hear. She stared incredulously at the ravenette, taking a few steps closer to the group. "Back at the hospital. That wasn't a joke, was it? You can actually use magic. H-how? How can something like that simply be forgotten to-"
A muffled roar interrupted the faunus, redirecting their attention toward the pile of train carts, which shook violently while a multitude of impacts could be heard underneath.
Ruby knelt to pick up a semi-automatic rifle while glaring at the three women. "If you want to leave here alive, I'd suggest running or stop asking questions."
The tricolored trio shared a reluctant glance, followed by Yang taking a confident step forward.
"I have questions for someone else. Better make sure he actually makes it through for that, right?" She smirked, taking hold of the shotgun behind her back, while Qrow rolled his eyes with a chuckle.
Blake stared at her sword, observing her reflection, before gaining a determined expression as she reached for her handgun with her free hand. She then met the cloak-wearer's gaze with a smirk of her own. "It wouldn't feel right to just leave like that."
She and Yang exchanged a nod of recognition, then stared at the Atlesian specialist expectantly.
"You- this is- ugh! Fine!" Spluttered the Schnee, taking place beside them, rapier drawn and pointed at the trembling mount while she held her pistol firmly.
Qrow and Ruby shared a confused glance as the three women stood ready to fight.
"Uh. No offense, but I don't think you'll help much." Interjected the older man, taking a few steps to place himself in front of them.
"Wh- you both got your asses whooped a second ago! Plus, isn't she exhausted or something?" Argued Yang, her eyes turning from lilac to red while she glared at her relative.
Blake remained silent and took a few steps closer to the ravenette, analyzing her tired form with worry. Meanwhile, Weiss had an offended expression and glared at the man, just as the blonde had.
Qrow scratched the back of his head before raising an eyebrow at the silver-eyed woman. "You got this?"
She eyed the three individuals beside them and then her surroundings before releasing a sigh. "No point in trying to hide it anyway." She pinched her thumb and middle finger together, raising them to her mouth, before releasing a loud whistle. "Sköll! Hati! Ymunwch â mi yn yr helfa swynol hon!"
Suddenly, two silver rifts tore through the air beside her, from which two wolves, as tall as the woman who summoned them, jumped through, snarling at the tumbling train carts before howling to the sky. One had bright white fur with streaks of intense flames, while the other had dark fur that emanated serene blue energy in a similar pattern. Both turned to gaze at the cloak-wearer, then snuggled their heads against her.
"Hey you two. Can the song wait until after we're done with this?" She asked, petting and snuggling back against them with a smile on her lips.
The hounds' ears fell flat in disappointment, releasing a saddened whimper as they separated from the ravenette. They then glared at the emerging claws of the grimm in the distance, lowering their stance and barking aggressively. Ruby inspected the magazine in her weapon while ejecting the bullet, which had been chambered in, before reinserting both and pulling the charging handle.
She patted the dark-furred wolf, then leaped onto its back. Gripping onto the beast and releasing a short cry. Immediately, the hounds rushed forward at breakneck speed, leaving streaks of their respective colors behind. They instantly caught up to the wolf-like monster, which had one of its arms limping and claws dragging against the ground. Ruby let herself slide off her mount as both lunged forward, slashing at the creature with their claws, covered with their respective energies, while the silver-eyed woman fired at its exposed joints. Unfortunately, the bullets did a minimal amount of damage; however, the hounds slashes had effectively torn through the grimm's hide, making it bleed the dark substance, which vanished into smoke.
Once her firearm emptied, Ruby cursed under her breath and threw it straight onto the creature's muzzle. "Hati!" She shouted as she leapt into the air. The dark-furred wolf lunged underneath her, giving enough foothold for her to jump further upwards to deliver a downward ax kick to the grimm's head while the hounds continued their assault.
Dazed from the strike, the creature stumbled backwards, flailing its functioning arm around and hitting all three of its assailants in a stroke of luck. It then roared before gazing at its broken arm, which began to twitch and bulge as the sickening sound of cracking bones resounded.
Ruby landed near the four onlookers and was swiftly joined by the two hounds, who used their muzzles to help her back up.
"I'm fine! I'm fine."
"Need help?" Asked Qrow, motioning toward the other three women with his still-flaming sword. "You look like you could use a couple of hands."
She glared at him while catching her breath, gaze wandering between the individuals next to her and the healing grimm further ahead. She then fell on one knee, causing the abnormal wolves to rush to her aid once more with worried whines. With gentle pets along their muzzles, she reassured them before replying with a sigh. "I'll need a few minutes. Distract it."
The hounds wasted no time, sprinting aggressively toward their monstrous kin with threatening snarls.
Qrow huffed humorously with a trace of relief before teleporting to another crow, which brought him atop Sköll. "Let's bag this puppy! No offense." He roared before sending an awkward smirk toward his mount, who simply rolled their eyes.
The three women, who had simply stood and stared in shock this whole time, slowly turned to stare at the ravenette, who glared back at them.
"You need me to pack you a lunch or something? Get to it!"
All three stumbled forward before sprinting to the best of their ability in an attempt to catch up with the mystical beasts.
"T-this is crazy! Why are we even considering this!" Lamented Weiss, using ice dust to slide along frozen glyphs she arranged in a path.
"I think we're way past considering, soldier girl!" Yang shouted back with a nervous laughter.
Blake observed their interaction from the side, lost in her own thoughts momentarily. " I was running for my life just a few days ago, and now I'm heading straight for certain death. " She ran past the corpse of a white fang member, which made her cat ears flatten against her head. " Maybe I deserve this… " She then looked over her shoulder, where Ruby could be seen mumbling something to herself while glaring intensely at the grimm they were rapidly approaching. " Or maybe this is a very weird form of second chance. "
They barely managed to leap over Hati, who had been knocked toward them by the creature. Further ahead, Qrow was using a mix of his ability to displace himself with a crow, which he seemed to conjure from his arms, and using Sköll as a platform to reposition himself and slash at the grimm. If it weren’t for the flames granted by the silver-eyed woman, he doubted he could have done as much damage as he did. "You kids are gonna help or what?!"
His comment made the specialist and the Branwen heir double their effort, while Blake's collar was suddenly grabbed by Hati, who threw her onto their back before sprinting faster than she was prepared for. She gripped onto its fur for dear life before suddenly noticing that they were leaping through the air, a few seconds away from the grimm whose jaws were spread wide, ready to bite onto them. Her heart raced nervously as she jumped forward, attempting to kick the creature's head much like the silver-eyed woman had done.
Unfortunately, it seemed to understand her plan, raising its head in her direction, moments away from snapping its teeth onto her. Not wasting a second, she used her semblance and used her double as a springboard, gaining just enough height to avoid getting eaten. She used the opportunity to deliver her intended blow onto its armored snout, forcing it downward and stunning it once more.
The dark-furred wolf bit down on the grimm's wrist and tugged the beast forward, an action that was mimicked by Sköll on the opposite arm. Their combined effort brought the creature down on its stomach, which was followed by Qrow running along its back until it reached one of its feet. He then angled his sword downward, concentrated his aura into his arms, and thrust into it, reaching only about halfway through.
"Damn it!" He growled when a shadow washed over him.
"Outta the way, old man!" Roared Yang, crashing toward him with her fist covered in aura.
He stumbled away right as she hit the blade's pummel with enough strength to bury it all the way in, piercing through the other side and into the ground, pinning the appendage down.
Blake and Weiss shared a glance before nodding at one another, albeit reluctantly in the faunus' case. She winced when a red glyph ran along her sword, coating it in flames. She then leaped onto the grimm's free leg and slashed all along the limb with as much strength as she could, leaving small gaps in its hide. Standing over her with the help of a glyph, Weiss stored away a vial of red dust and switched it with a light blue one. A multitude of similar colored glyphs lined the appendage, from which spears of ice were launched into the cuts, binding its last remaining limb.
The four fighters distanced themselves from the creature while the two hounds continued to tug on the monster's wrists, clawing at its head whenever it would attempt to bite at them.
"Now would be a great time to do something, Ruby!" Screamed Qrow, observing the grimm anxiously.
A large, glowing sigil suddenly appeared underneath the pinned creature. Its pattern was unrecognizable to them, but an overwhelming dread grasped at their hearts from its mere sight. It was as if an endless void awaited them should they step onto it.
They turned to observe Ruby, who had both of her arms forward and one knee to the ground. Her expression reflected the great amount of strain she was under as she began to chant.
"Endid esgynnol o'r deyrnas hollgyrhaeddol, rwy'n pledio am eich cymorth dim ond am eiliad." The space around the sigil began to distort and crack while sparks of silver energy struck the surroundings.
"Dduw fwytawr, bydded i ti ateb fy ngalwad." A rumbling growl echoed from the magic circle, overpowering any other sound in the vicinity.
Ruby closed her eyes and took a deep breath, lowering one of her arms as she stood back up. She then opened her eyes with an intense expression while closing her other hand in a fist. "Fenrir!"
Sköll and Hati leapt away right as the gigantic head of a wolf erupted from the sigil, swallowing the grimm whole in one bite before retreating back from where it came from, leaving no trace of its arrival behind.
A small breeze cut through the silence that had settled on the now peaceful battlefield. The three other women stared, wide-eyed and with low-hanging jaws, where the grimm laid.
Ruby allowed herself to smirk with pride while she sluggishly punched the air. "Yeah… how do you like… that!" She then stumbled forward, landing onto Sköll's back, who had anticipated her fall. "Right, the song."
She took a deep breath, but before she could utter a single sound, Hati gently bumped their snout onto her nose before nuzzling her. They then gently bit into her collar to lift her off of Sköll and sit her down beside a nearby train cart. Both sat in front of her, then howled as they vanished in a mix of ember and blue starlight.
"Thanks guys." She muttered with an exhausted smile.
Qrow knelt next to her, rubbing her shoulder with a comforting hand while inspecting her condition. They were soon joined by their temporary allies. Blake rushed to the ravenette's other side while the other two approached with uncertain steps, still in a stupor from their recent battle.
The void in her stomach had lessened, yet it unfortunately remained. She observed the disastrous aftermath, eying any unused injector she could find. She would need to dispose of those.
Suddenly, one of the doors from the cart they were laying on was forced open, revealing a trembling white fang member who fell to the ground.
"Is… is it over?" She muttered to herself before noticing the nearby group. "W-what happened to that monster? I-is it gone?"
Qrow chuckled before nudging his thumb toward the silver-eyed woman, who glared at him in annoyance. "And you'll never see it again, thanks to Miss Hero over there."
The faunus soldier sobbed, then fumbled her steps until she fell atop the cloaked woman, hugging her tightly and openly wailing while letting out the occasional words of gratitude.
Once a moment passed where she remained still, Ruby raised her arms awkwardly and patted the soldier on her back in an attempt to comfort her.
"Never thought I'd ever see a White Fang goon thank a human without sticking a dagger in their back." Chuckled Yang, earning a vexed glare from Blake.
"Not all of them joined because they hate humans. They just want to fight for a better life. Not like either of you two would know about that."
Sensing the obvious jab sent her way, Weiss glared back at her while taking a few steps closer. "Excuse you! You know nothing of my upbringing!"
"Yeah! What she said!" Retorted the blonde, joining the specialist's side.
However, it seemed that the Schnee had another opinion on the matter. "Don't you associate your sad existence with mine, you barbaric thief!"
The three-way argument drew the attention of the two fatigued fighters, who hadn't seen their new arrival's absence of cries or how she discreetly snaked her hand toward an object linked to her hip.
"You looking to get your face smashed in? I'm still good for another round!" Growled the Branwen heir, her eyes turning a threatening red while she rolled her shoulders in preparation.
Weiss took a few steps back, then raised her rapier in a neutral stance, holstering her pistol with a defiant glare. "Someone has to teach you the difference between a common bandit and the might of Atlas."
Gaze darting between the two, Blake lowered herself, ready to defend herself should the need arise. She carefully positioned herself in front of the three onlookers. Even if it had been with reluctance, Ruby still saved them in the end. It would be shameful not to repay the favor.
They barely had time to engage in their first move when the sound of an injector followed by a shocked gasp reached their ears. Turning toward the ravenette, they had to dodge aside when the White Fang member was launched away, tumbling on the ground before impacting against the mountainside.
Ruby stood in a hurry, hand on her neck, while she stared dreadfully downward; her pupils shrank into dots as they trembled. She lowered her wavering hand to inspect it, finding a small stain of blood along with a smaller spot of dark liquid. She raised her gaze toward the dark-haired man, who stared with equal fear back at her as he reached for her shoulder.
It felt as if the whole world had gone silent, and the only sound she could hear was her racing heartbeat. Her breath shortened and accelerated, her vision blurred, and her fingertips went numb. She could feel her consciousness slipping away while the substance in her neck wriggled painfully.
"Q-Qrow, I'm-"
The older man pulled her into his embrace, muttering words of reassurance, which she unfortunately couldn't hear. She wrapped her arms around him, gripping tightly onto his back. She could feel her eyes water as the cold grasp of anguish compressed her chest.
She did not fear death. No, what frightened her so much was her inability to accomplish her duty, to be forever unable to reach her goal.
She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. There was only one thing for her to do now. She separated herself from the dark-haired man, stealing his firearm from his hip and resting its cold barrel beneath her jaw. The lack of unbearable pain perplexed her, yet she found herself thankful that she could spend her final moments smiling at her caretaker, her guardian. The man who had grown into a reliant father figure.
She opened her eyes to meet his gaze, but was shocked to find herself alone. In fact, the trees, the carts, the mountains—all of her surroundings were covered by an unnatural darkness while the skies were stained a deep shade of red. Her head wiped from side to side, trying to find any trace of the people who were previously nearby, but found only the everlasting umbrage.
"W-what…?"
She gazed down at her hands and noticed how Qrow's pistol had vanished from her grasp, leaving her defenseless in this unknown landscape.
Suddenly, an invisible force locked onto her wrist, making her shriek in fright before sending a kick toward whatever attempted to assault her. Her unstable footing caused her to fall onto her back, yet oddly enough, what ached the most was the front of her upper body. It was a burning sensation, one she had felt before but couldn't quite identify in her panicked state. The sight that awaited her as she gazed at the sky certainly did not help. Instead of meeting the blinding light of a bright sun, she was greeted by the sight of a gigantic, blood-red moon. While it had no difference from the usual celestial body other than its size and color, she couldn't rid herself of this strange feeling which overtook her when her eyes locked onto the ominous object.
The feeling of someone's gaze resting on her.
" O, child. " Echoed a voice, coming from the moon itself.
It seemed to belong to a woman, holding maturity and power. Its owner spoke in a somewhat soothing tone, yet it caused an unbearable headache for the ravenette as soon as it reached her ears.
" Do not fear your end. Rejoice, for it will bring forth a new age. "
Tendrils made of coiling shadows descended from the sky, slowly reaching toward her while she crawled backwards frightfully.
" Find peace knowing that your body will become the vessel of a being greater than you could ever become. "
The shadows joined one another, then formed into a hand that loomed menacingly over the silver-eyed woman.
" Give in! "
She raised her arms defensively when the giant hand thrust toward her, letting out a frightful cry while she curled onto herself.
A moment of silence passed.
Then another.
She opened her eyes slowly, her heart beating as she lowered her arms. She was taken aback to discover she had vanished from the gloomy woodlands and mountain range. She was now sitting on a fractured stone platform of unknown origin, the size of a large room. She stared in perplexity before rising up and taking in her surroundings. Aside from the platform she was standing on, the horizon appeared to be an infinite silver abyss. She turned around and nervously staggered backwards, realizing she had been standing on the platform's edge the entire time. She took a step closer, allowing her curiosity to take over, and met the same silver nothingness that encircled her.
"I… know this place." She muttered to herself. Her vision blurred slightly while she raised a hand to her head as it throbbed in pain. "Why can't I... remember?"
She gazed deeper into the endless silver, the immense amount of magic flowing from it coursing through her with every breath she took.
"T-this… is this-"
The void inside her stomach suddenly returned with renewed strength. A chill ran down her spine, sensing the presence of a powerful entity that appeared behind her. Heart racing in her chest, she recalled the imposing voice of the red moon she had just encountered before tightening her fists as she faced the being.
The sight she was met with intensified her headache by the seconds the longer she stared at it. An entity stood about her height, having a humanoid figure with a few odd shapes prodding from its limbs in a blend of red, black and white. It seemed to have an arm proportionally larger than the other, with protrusions on a similar scale. Any other detail was covered by an unnatural blur, which only hurt the ravenette's eyes when she attempted to gaze past it. However, there was one unmistakable feature that could be seen with perfect clarity, one that made the ravenette's pupils widen in wonder:
Two dimly lit silver eyes.
The being seemed to observe her with curiosity. Specifically the area on her neck where she had been injected with the corrupted booster, although she had no clue as to how she could discern that fact. It then met her gaze, which made Ruby wince as she swore she could feel every cell of her brain throb. The mere thought of this unnatural sensation only seemed to amplify it, causing a never-ending loop of amplifying pain. She fell to her knees, fearing that her mind would implode at any moment, grasping tightly at her skull and barely holding herself back from screaming to the sky. Then, just as she felt her end come…
" Relax. "
A voice, distorted beyond recognition yet somehow just as soothing, cut through her ache, putting an abrupt stop to it.
" Safe. "
She slowly tilted her head, meeting the being's gaze once more, and found herself free from its harmful side effect. Instead, the strange feeling of familiarity she had felt earlier resurfaced while their connected stare seemingly exchanged this strange feeling they both shared.
They were lost.
They were afraid.
They were curious.
Together, they were alone.
Who were they?
What brought them here?
Why did they find comfort and apprehension in themselves?
By then, Ruby had stood back up, standing in front of the hazy figure while never breaking their visual contact. Despite these shared thoughts, she didn't know if it saw her in a similar fashion as she did, but this bizarre phenomenon was enough to convince her this entity meant her no harm. It was then that the being raised its normal-sized arm—an action she mirrored—grabbed one another in a handshake and then uttered simultaneously.
" Help /Help."