A Bleeding Heart for Two
Chapter 1
Today's the day She thought with innocent conviction as she pulled a red wagon carrying a small precious cargo.
I'm going to get my family back together.
The young girl of only 8, with bright blonde hair, and deep violet eyes, marched on with a determined look on her face.
On one more older, and more mature, it would have probably been more impressive, but on the young naive girl, it was simply adorable. A look that expressed just how much confidence she had in the success of her idea, of her "mission". It showed the unbridled excitement she had as she walked on to what she was sure was going to be the answer to all her problems.
Not hours before, the young girl had found pictures and even a few letters explaining to her that she had another mother, or, well, her real one. The one she knew and loved had died a little over a year ago, and those still stung deeply. But the discovery that she had another one, one that was alive, made her confident that all she had to do was find her, and she could have a happy family again. A family of her, her father, and…
Her sister.
Speaking of her dearest little sister, the young girl turned back to glance at the precious cargo in the wagon. The precious cargo being her younger sister by two years. They looked nothing alike, what with her younger sister's black and crimson locks and silver eyes, but the blonde was too young to fully understand the implications of all that, nor did she truly care.
The young girl in the wagon, Ruby, was her baby sister, and she would do anything to protect her, to keep her safe. That's what big sisters did after all. Look after their younger siblings. And that's what she was doing right now, trying to make her little sister smile again by giving her another mother. It was all going to end with smiles and happiness, with everything going back to the way it should.
Still, filled with a child's confidence and ignorance of the world around her, she continued on, deeper and deeper into the forest where the picture she found led. The path to the house in the picture was well worn, and wound it's way through the forest. The sound of leaves crunching underfoot as she hummed cheerfully to herself the only sounds reaching her ears. Overhead the sky was dark and cloudy, casting a great shadow over the forest, and holding a trembling sense of foreboding, as if it was the only witness to what this girl was doing, and knew what lay down that path she walked.
But, unfortunate as it was, the sky wasn't the only witness to this young girl's pilgrimage. Something the pure young girl would soon discover for herself.
With each step she took toward the inevitable end, she came ever closer to discovering a truth that wasn't meant for one so young.
Soon, she arrived at her destination.
The house lay before her. It was bright, happy, and lively. Warm, inviting, light shining through the windows. The path to the front door paved with large white stepping stones, and fountain on the patio off to the side filled with crystalline water.
At least, that's how it was in the picture.
But as the young girl put the picture down, she saw what it had become.
Dilapidated, and abandoned. Weeds grew from between the cracks in the pavement. The windows showed nothing but the dark emptiness that resided inside the house. The once filled fountain now dry, and empty.
And with that sight, the young girl's dreams began to die.
She began to realize that there was no one waiting here for her. That this wasn't the magic cure that was going to fix her family.
This was all pointless She thought, tears forming in her eyes as it all sunk in. There's nothing for me here.
But, here, she was mistaken.
In fact, there was a point to all of this, there was something waiting for her here. And that something, was about to makes itself known to her.
As she began to sob, her sadness in her soul poured out of her. What she didn't know, couldn't know, was something out there felt it, tasted it, and reveled in the taste of despair coming from her. It had known she was there, and it had taken interest in her. How could it not, she was a bright beacon of light in the darkness of the forest. But now, her light soured and twisted with despair.
And the darkness saw its chance to swallow the light.
GRRR
A growl echoed out from around her, causing her to open her eyes and look around.
And she soon wished she hadn't.
Numerous large forms emerged from the forest around, each one towering over her, their pitch black fur blending in completely with the shadows around them. Their hungry red eyes stood out in the darkness, all of them locked onto the bright blond girl. They somewhat resembled bipedal wolves, though they each wore bone white masks with red marking on their heads, as well as having white spikes of bone coming forth from their arms and back.
No...She thought, her despair turning to terror. Though she might have been young, she was old enough to know what it was that stood before her. Soulless monsters of the darkness, who only sought to devour humanity.
Grimm She realized.
There was no hope of escape for her. They would surely chase her down, and there wasn't even the barest chance she could fight them off. They were going to eat her, tear her to pieces, and nobody was ever going to see her again.
She realized all of this, and as much as those thoughts horrified her, the ones that she had next struck her soul most of all.
...Ruby She thought, once again remembering her precious cargo. For a moment, she was happy that Ruby was still asleep, then she would be spared the horror of her inevitable grisly end.
But it was not to be.
"Yang?" A small, squeaky, and tired voice asked behind her.
Spinning around at the sound of her name, Yang was met with her little sister's large, confused, silver eyes, staring right back at her.
"Ruby?" She said back, speechless as horror took hold over all else.
"What's going on? Where are we?" She asked innocently.
But Yang couldn't answer, consumed with horror and regret as she was.
What have I done? She realized, knowing that she had failed in her duty as a big sister.
Instead of protecting her baby sister, she had pulled her to her death, all on her own. Ruby had no idea what was happening, she was asleep when Yang put her in the wagon. She had wanted to surprise her with their new mom. Not...this.
And now, due to her own impulsiveness, they were going to die. Her own death was one thing, and while she feared it with every fiber of her being, it was her own fault. She had done this to herself. But Ruby, on the other hand...that was all her fault. Ruby didn't deserve to die, not for her mistakes.
And with that, Yang remembered, she was supposed to protect her little sister.
No matter what She thought.
And with that, conviction and courage began to build within her. She knew she was going to die here. And she knew it was a long shot. But…
If it had even the slightest chance of working, if it gave her baby sister even a few more minutes of life, then Yang was going to take it.
So, as the Grimm slowly closed in from every angle, their claws twitching and mouths drooling in anticipation, Yang bent down, and picked up a loose rock from the once immaculate path under her feet. Steeling herself for what she was about to do, she gave one last look at her little sister, and said, "I'm sorry Ruby.".
And with those three words, Yang turned back around, braced herself, and threw the rock. The universe decided to grant her the smallest of mercies, and her aim was true, and the rock struck its mark. The hungry red eye of one of the Grimm around her.
It howled in rage, stunned by the blow. Using the opening, Yang ran past it, all the while shouting and yelling at them at the top of her lungs, trying to attract her attention. And it worked. The Grimm, were both distracted by the attention the young blonde was drawing to herself, and angered by her attack on them. So, with a loud howl amongst the pack, they all ran after her.
As Yang ran deep into the forest, never to be seen again, Ruby held out an outstretched hand, and could only whimper, "Yang." as tears began to fall from her eyes.
Her older sister had left her. She wasn't truly old enough to understand why she did it, not yet, but to her, her older sister had abandoned her. Now she was all alone.
Except...that wasn't quite true either.
While all the mindless young hounds of the pack had left, one had not. It wasn't young, nor mindless, like the others. No, this one was old, this one was ancient.
It dropped down from the tree it had perched itself in, landing gracefully with barely a sound. Still, Ruby noticed the action, and turned to see the being crouched on the ground. As it rose to its full height and slowly began to approach her, Ruby couldn't help but instinctively know the danger of this being.
It bore a vague, passing resemblance to the other Grimm, but this one was covered from head to toe in plates of alabaster white armor. Despite this, it moved silently and gracefully. It was as if shadows were flowing through the air like water in a river, carrying undeniable power with each fluid movement. It was taller, more streamlined, and lithe than the others.
It's long white claws stretching down to the ground, occasionally making a deep scratch in the earth beneath it's feet. It's armored white tail swished gracefully behind it. It's eyes, though...
It's eyes were something else.
They weren't the solid, hungry, red of the other Grimm. These were like twin crimson flames burning with a myriad of colors in it's eyes. They were deep, and entrancing, Not just filled with hunger and hate, but curiosity as well.
This creature was curious about the young, pure, soul before it. It had silver eyes, something it hadn't seen in quite a while. The Silver Eyed ones were dangerous, it knew that. But it had never encountered one so young, one with such a pure soul. It knew it would probably never get another chance like this again. No hunters or other humans were around to disturb it, none close enough anyway. It could sense a hunter making it's way in this direction at great speed, but it wouldn't be here for many minutes.
More than enough time for the Ancient Grimm to sate it's curiosity. So, eager to see what it tasted like, it grasped the silver eyed girl in one claw, holding her still while she struggled and whined. It stopped her struggling with a firm stare, it's gaze sending her into a dull trance, making her more open to what it was about to try and do.
So, without wasting anymore time, it raised its right claw, and plunged it into the young girl's chest.
But...it was...different...than how a normal Grimm would do it. No blood poured from her chest, no grisly sound of it's claws rending her body to pieces. No, instead the claw went inside her like sword plunging into a thick pool of tar. The Grimm's claw reached inside her, diving past her physical form, and reaching to the core of her being.
Her soul.
It grabbed hold, and began what it had done a thousand times before. It feasted on it. It drained her soul directly, feeding of it in a way only a being like it could. As it did, the young girl's body was rocked by convulsions.
Odd… The Grimm thought. Normally draining humans of their souls didn't prompt this kind of response, not unless they had a strong will. To see it happen from such a small girl was surprising. Still, it shook it off and continued.
Then, it all went wrong.
The girl's eyes flashed with silver light pouring into them, a new power filling her body. This new power ejected the Grimm from the young girls body, and sent searing pain coursing through its claw.
Still, as fast as it was, it wasn't fast enough.
As the Grimm held its claw in pain, wondering what had happened, it noticed something. Something...wrong. The thing that it had tried to consume was inside it, but not as it should be. It was alive within, moving inside the hollow shell of it's being. There was something now, where normally there was nothing but an empty hole.
Which meant there was nothing to oppose the intruder's existence.
The foreign entity within the Grimm latched on, having nowhere else to go, and began to fill the hole.
Feeling a new pain in it's claw, it looked at only, to feel something completely foreign to it. Something indicative of the changes already occurring within.
Horror, and fear.
It's claw was writhing, contorting into impossible positions. The bone white armor began to melt and coat it's ebony fur. It's claw began to shrink, growing smaller and smaller, its proportions changing as well. The changes spread up it's arm, and continued from there. Soon, the white on it's hand changed again, gaining color, flexibility, and becoming...skin.
It was a searing pain it had never felt before, not even in its most dangerous battles with humans. It felt like it's entire body was being ripped off, only to be replaced with another.
Unfortunately, that's almost exactly what happened.
Qrow pov
With speed that would impress even the most skilled of hunters, Qrow wove through the depths of the forest, searching frantically for his nieces. If anything happened to them while Tai was in the current state he was in now, Qrow knew it would utterly break him.
He cannot let this happen.
He cannot let the final piece of Summer die away.
He cannot let his sister's daughter die.
He cannot let these two beams of hope die.
Qrow gritted his teeth and drove himself past his limits, determined to find his nieces in time. He didn't even register his surrounding anymore, ultimately trusting his instincts to guide him past stray branches and crooked twigs.
Everything around him faded as he began to focus on his one objective:
Find Ruby and Yang.
And he will search the entire forest over and over again until he does.
In the corner of his eye, Qrow noticed a flash of bright light and quickly slid to a stop. Sliding behind a tree, Qrow peeked past the tree to realize it wasn't an attack aimed towards him.
But it still could've been an attack of some sort.
Qrow panicked and quickly ran in the direction of the bright flash of light, hoping that it both wasn't them and was them. If it were them, then that meant they were in serious trouble, but if it wasn't Ruby and Yang, then that meant that Qrow would have to keep searching for them.
Then it struck him.
He was heading towards Raven's abandoned house.
Qrow felt like hitting himself repeatedly for his stupidity, there were only few things that the girls would've traveled the forest for and his sister's old house was the most obvious option.
Quickening his pace, Qrow leapt up into the trees as he got closer and closer to his destination. Fear plunged into his heart as his thoughts took him to the worst possible outcomes, such as the girls being surrounded by grimm, or getting eaten alive by them, or maybe even-
Ok, no, this is not helping. You've gotta stop worrying and start focusing Qrow thought, shaking his head free of any distracting thoughts. He can't afford to be inattentive when his girls were in trouble.
When Qrow arrived at the abandoned house, the sight of a red hood gave him hope and relief. There were no grimm in the area, so he jumped down towards the wagon with a smile etched on his face.
"You kids drive me crazy, you kn-" Qrow's words died on his tongue as he took in the sight across of him. He blinked once. Then twice. But no matter how many times he did, the scene stayed exactly the same.
He couldn't fully register what exactly this was.
Qrow blinked once more at the wagon, finally accepting that it was real and he wasn't crazy. He'd figure out later why exactly there were two Rubys in the wagon.
Looking around once more, he noticed that a certain fiery blonde was missing from the area. Glancing back at the wagon from the corner of his eye, Qrow figured he'd take the two redheads back home to Tai before continuing his search for Yang.
As he started heading back with the redheads in the wagon, he took a final glance at the wagon and sighed.
How exactly was he going to explain this to Tai?
Surprise A/N:
Red(AKA: AngelWolf101 ): shit
Red: what
Red: i wasn't prepared for this
Red: i wasn't ready
Red: help
Red: I mean
Red: Hello
Red: people of the internet
Red: who dare read this
Red: help me
Red: these people are crazy
Red: this is my only way of communicating without them noticing
Metal( AKA: metaldragon868 ): it's a good thing you're not fucking this up
Metal: cause this is the final take we're using
Red: what
Red: we are
Red: shit
Metal Dragon: oh yeah
Metal Dragon: and it's all gold
Red: i didn't know this
Red: i
Red: help
Red: call 911
Red: help me
Red: i'm being forced
Red: to write this shit
Red: i mean
Red: this gold
Metal: nah, you're doing great
Metal: just introduce the story, the other shits, and we good
Red: i
Red: so this
Red: is a collab
Metal: yup
Red: between 5 awful, i mean amazingly great, writers
Metal: well, three pieces of shit who couldn't be here
Metal: and the two of us
Red: like this fuck, i mean this guy, Metal
Red: and me
Red: Red
Red: yeah
Red: and uh
Red: we all created The Order
Red: because of Metal's simple motherfucking question
Metal: yup
Red: "What would Ruby/Ruby be called?"
Metal: kind of snowballed out of control from there
Red: yeah
Red: we were doing great
Red: and then it crashed and burned
Red: but then
Red: it rose from the ashes
Red: and was bigger and better
Metal: basically we said, "Fuck it let's start over"
Red: which is now called, "A Bleeding Heart For Two"
Red: i swear
Red: i didn't need to look it up
Red: for that answer
Red: i swear
Metal: lies
Red: please don't hurt me
Metal: pulls out knife
Red: help me