The Source

by GMaster1991

After the Fall of Haven, Ruby searches for a way to finally gain control of her Silver-Eyed power, and finds an unexpected ghost of her past. (This is my personal prediction on what might happen on the show a few volumes later. This was originally a One-Shot, but it expanded into something much more! Warning: HUGE Volume 4 spoilers!)

1. The Source

On a cold and stormy night, a lone Huntress wearing a crimson cloak stood near the entrance of a foreboding temple that laid within a frozen tundra. Compared to the bustling and living cities of her youth and the ravaged and dead villages that she had recently witnessed when traveling to Haven, this place was altogether different. Neither living nor dead, this place looked and felt completely untouched by either humans or Grimm for years.

Ruby's lonely journey began due to the actions of a cowardly lion. One she thought she knew... Professor Leo Lionheart, the headmaster of Haven Academy, had committed an act that some of his peers would have believed to be unthinkable. When he first made an inspiring speech to the students of Haven about looking toward the future and never giving up, she thought of him in the same way she thought of Ozpin. He was mysterious, and didn't elaborate much, but it was all for everyone else's good. Over time, she even began to look up to him. Her time in Haven was very reminiscent of her time in Beacon, and after she reunited with the other members of Team RWBY, she even felt like she was just a student again, and that the Fall of Beacon was nothing more than a bad dream.

The Fall of Haven was a rude awakening from her happy fantasy. Professor Lionheart was working for Salem as an informant all along. Her uncle, Qrow, trusted him. His students trusted him. She trusted him. Even Ozpin trusted him. And before anyone knew it, it was the Fall of Beacon all over again, and perhaps more importantly, the Relic was missing. The whereabouts of the Relic haven't been verified, but there's no doubt that it's now in the hands of Salem and her very own team, WTCH.

Now, Ruby and her friends have been scattered into the world once more. When Beacon fell, she at least had some friends to accompany her. They called themselves Team RNJR (or JNRR). Now, she couldn't even find them, the rest of her original team, or anyone else she knew for that matter. She was alone. Were her friends and family more fortunate than she was? Where they even alive? She didn't know. But she wouldn't give up here. Not now. Not ever. She promised her sister that she would do whatever she can, wherever she can, and hopefully do some good.

Apparently, Team WTCH had 'dealt with the Silver-Eyed Warriors before'. Lionheart's scroll was filled with information about the old legends, and he would pass that information to one of Team WTCH's members, Watts, who would then deliver that information as a messenger to the rest of his team, as well as Salem. Naturally, the Silver-Eyed Warriors were no exception. Their combat prowess, their advantage over Grimm and the Maidens, their weaknesses, and the source of their power. It was all there in his scroll. And Ruby's got it. That was the one thing that gave the heroes some hope. Their one advantage. She's got the scroll, and the latest information on it, before Salem or anyone else did.

The source of the Silver-Eyed Warrior's power was certainly the key. The date in which that information was saved onto Lionheart's scroll was only mere days before the Fall of Haven, and based on the message that Watts sent Lionheart, he would only meet with him every few weeks. This information included a map of Remnant, and a series of circles with X's over each of them. All except one. The remaining 'un-X'ed' circle was drawn over Anima's snowy northern region, far from Haven, and days away from any other sign of civilization. Ruby had only ever tapped into this power once, during the Fall of Beacon, when she witnessed Pyrrha's death. She didn't know how she did it, and she didn't know how to use it again, even during the Fall of Haven. But with the information on Lionheart's scroll, maybe that could change.

After weeks of walking and no sign of any of her friends or family, she was finally here. The exterior of the temple was white and cold from the snow, but appeared to be fairly small. And on the inside... No torches, artifacts, tombs, or other 'ancient templey' stuff. Just a large set of spiral stairs that lead underground and a big hole in the center that's large enough for Ruby to fall in. Almost disappointing, actually. She was expecting more 'giant rolling boulders' or 'bottomless pits' like in the movies, but like every fairy tale since... ever, it's what's on the inside that counts. Right?

Without any other visible options, she began walking down these stairs. And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... After a couple of minutes, it was getting too dark for her to see. Fortunately, Lionheart's scroll could be used as a weak flashlight. It didn't illuminate much, but it was enough for her to see the next few steps in front of her. With that, she kept walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And walking... And WALKING... And WALKING... And WALKING!

After about another twelve minutes of this insanity, Ruby was sorely tempted to simply jump down the hole. The hole was too dark for her to determine whether or not there was a safe landing, though, so she bent down and held out Lionheart's scroll in a really futile attempt to see how far left there is to walk. She still couldn't see the bottom. She thought about dropping the scroll down the hole actually goes, but thought that it might break when it hits the bottom (assuming there is a bottom). Then, she got a better idea. While she was at Haven, she paid for a little plastic ball to amuse herself with on her free time, back when the world started making sense again. She pulled it out of her belt pouch and lightly tossed it down the stairs and listened to the noise it made as it bounced... And bounced... And bounced... And bounced... And bounced... And bounced... And bounced... And bounced... And bounced... And bounced... As the sound of the ball bouncing continued to echo from below, Ruby slowly began to slouch lower and lower, while her eyes and mouth slowly began to open wider and wider. What kind of sick monster designed this place!? Ruby was tempted to just use her Semblance and dash around these stairs to the bottom, but decided against it. She needed to keep her Aura as high as possible for when the inevitable 'outrun the giant rolling boulder in the narrow corridor' thing happens later. So, she just kept walking. She could still hear the ball bouncing below her...

After probably eighty-seven centuries of walking, Ruby was finally at the bottom. Was it centuries? And was it eighty-seven, or eighty-eight? Does it matter? The point is that walking down here took forever and whoever designed this place is an evil monster that deserves to be devoured whole by a Griffon. The light from the scroll could only illuminate a few feet ahead of her, but she couldn't see any walls. She must be in some kind of large 'chamber room'. She slowly continued forward looking for any bottomless pits and listening for giant rolling boulders. They have to show up sooner or later, right? After a minute of slow walking, Ruby could see a faint light emerging from in front of her. She slowly approached this light and noticed that it was not only getting brighter as she drew closer, but larger in size as well. At this point, she could turn off the scroll without losing any visibility. She started walking at a normal pace, and noticed that the light grew wider and brighter at the same pace that she was moving. Was this chamber actually reacting to her presence? Ruby could now see that the light was initially coming from a pedestal. There were also pillars around the chamber holding the ceiling up and life-sized statues that were sticking out of the pillars. She could also see the (mercifully shorter) set of stairs leading up to the top of the pedestal, and ran toward them.

As Ruby witnessed the light getting brighter as she ran toward the pedestal, she had an idea. Just a small one. A little fun after all the death, the destruction, the angst, and the eighty-something centuries... It couldn't hurt. She ran backwards, away from the pedestal , and witnessed the light growing dimmer as she was moving further away from it. Then, she ran toward it again and the light grew brighter. Then, she ran from it again and it grew dimmer. She kept repeating this over and over again. Brighter. Dimmer. Brighter. Dimmer. Brighter. Dimmer. Brighter. Dimmer. Brighter. Dimmer.

Before Ruby could command the room to 'let there be light' again, she felt something slap her in the back of her head... hard. After the brief shock that came from the blow, she extended her Crescent Rose and turned around, ready to attack whatever it was that struck her, only to see... one of the pillar statues instead. Did she really just get slapped by a statue? She approached the statue, keeping her guard up, and waiting for it to strike again, but it remained motionless. She started feeling around the statue, trying to move its arms, its nose, its legs, and even poked its eyes. Still, there was no response. Whatever it was that slapped her had only proved that one thing was undeniably clear. Whoever designed this place is an evil monster that deserves to have their limbs tied to ropes attached to the hind legs of Nuckelavees and pulled apart.

In any case, it was time to stop playing with the lights. Ruby walked toward the pedestal again, and then stopped and quickly turned her head toward the statue. She started walking toward the pedestal again, and quickly turned her head toward the statue again. When she confirmed to herself that the statue wasn't following her, she walked up the stairs of the pedestal and stood on top of it. The light in the chamber was at its brightest when she was standing on the pedestal, and she could see everything in the chamber now. The stone walls had glowing silver lines engraved in them, like the whole chamber was a piece of ancient technology. For all Ruby knew, it probably was. There was a clustered pile of large cube-shaped stones on top of another higher platform directly in front of her. And that appeared to be it. No death traps or giant rolling boulders after all of that walking. It was actually kind of disappointing.

When Ruby started walking to the edge of the pedestal to get a closer look at the other platform, a portion of the floor positioned below the pedestal rose up and hovered directly adjacent to the edge of the pedestal. It was weird, but she already got this far and decided to play along. She stepped onto the hovering stone, and saw another portion of the floor rise up adjacent to the stone she was already on, but it was hovering slightly higher. It was obvious, now. Ruby nodded her head and had an expression of fake enthusiasm on her face. More stairs. Wonderful...

Fortunately, this pattern of 'pieces of the floor rising as steps to walk on' only went on for about twelve more stones. When she reached this last stone, something much more interesting happened. (Finally...) Many pieces of the wall on the left and right sides of her burst outward and hovered in front of her in an oval-like formation. These stones started spinning in this formation until a faint light came from them, much like from the pedestal. These faint lights turned into beams that fired into one another. The very center of where these beams touched, which was inside the oval-like formation of stones, appeared to 'erupt'. Blinding light came this eruption, forcing Ruby to cover her eyes. She squinted and tried to look at what was making this light. It was difficult for her to see, but she could make out a bright blue sky, something green at the top, and the sun at the bottom of the image. Was this really just an image, or another dimension?

Ruby uttered the first word that came out of her mouth in days, "Oh my god..."

She slowly approached this 'image', and could see that the sun in the bottom of the image was what was caused this blinding light, just like the real sun. Weird... It was night time when she first found this temple. She took a look at the scroll to see what time it was, and it wasn't even midnight yet. Now, this made even less sense. When Ruby got close enough to this 'image', it appeared to start rippling like it was water. Without warning, the image start to twist and distort as tendrils came out of it toward Ruby! The tendrils quickly wrapped around her arms and legs, and she could feel burning heat on her left leg. She couldn't reach her Crescent Rose, and after a brief period of struggling, Lionheart's scroll fell out of her grasp. Afterwards, more tendrils came from the image right toward her face! She tried to shout, but the tendrils wrapped around her face. One of them went in her mouth, and she could actually feel the blue sky go down her lungs! Even more tendrils came from the image and wrapped themselves around Ruby's back in a coil. Finally, the tendrils pulled her toward the image, and it engulfed her.

When Ruby regained consciousness, she was lying on her back and could hear running water. When she slowly opened her eyes, she could see green directly above her and blue around her. She slowly sat herself up and saw a tree hanging upside-down from the green above her! That green that was above her... It was grass! She frantically stood up on her feet and see more of her surroundings. The sound of the running water came from the right side of her. When she looked in that direction, she could see a small upside-down waterfall pouring upward into a pond above her. Or is it a 'water-rise'? When she looked on her left, she squinted at the sight of the sun coming from below her in that direct... Wait, what? She looked down toward what she was standing on. A thick bed of white roses, but they looked translucent. She could also see through these roses and perceive the sky directly beneath her!

Ruby bent down to touch the roses, but discovered that her hand passed through them as if they were thin air, "Oooookaaaaay... Weird."

She couldn't feel like she was actually standing on anything, either. She bent further down to try to touch whatever was keeping her from falling down... or up. She did get to a point where her hand was clearly touching a flat surface, and it was on the same level where her feet were, but she couldn't feel what she was touching. She started walking around a little in this bizarre 'rosy-sky', and she could clearly tell from the translucent roses that she was actually moving, and not just floating in midair. After a little more aimless walking, she could see an image that was floating behind where she was initially laying down until she regained her consciousness. Within it, she could see a pedestal and statues within a dark background, exactly like the ones that were in that underground part of the temple. Okay, this was starting to make a little sense now. Those images are kind of like portals between dimensions. Probably...

Ruby thought about leaving this weird upside-down world for a brief moment, until she remembered why she came this far in the first place and shook her head. Not yet. Whatever this was, wherever she was, she couldn't just leave empty-handed, especially after seeing two academies fall. She turned around and walked the other direction. At this point, there was no clear destination in mind. She was still looking for the source of the Silver-Eyed Warrior's power, but that was clearly easier said than done. What does it even look like? How would she know if she even found it? What if she can't pick it up and take it with her?

There wasn't anything noteworthy on the grou... er, sky that she was walking on, so she looked upward for anything of significance. Maybe the source is in something upside-down? It didn't take that long to find something. It looked just like the entrance to that temple she found, only upside-down and much less morbid looking. The top of the upside-down temple's entrance was only a little higher (meaning closer to the ground above, not the sky below) than where Ruby was standing. She was able to climb onto the ceiling-floor of this temple without wasting any Aura for her Semblance. That's good. Sooner or later, some giant, imposing, Cthulhu-inspired, Huntress-devouring, Harbinger of Doom was going to show up, and she would need to retain as much of her Aura as possible to kill it. It was so obvious! There was virtually no resistance or danger the entire time she was traversing the temple, aside from a statue that probably slapped her. If this 'source of the Silver-Eyed Warrior's power' was such a big deal, then something had to be guarding it... Right?

In direct contrast to the dull interior of that other temple, this one actually looked bright and lavish. There were more of those translucent white roses growing everywhere, from the ceiling-floor to the floor-ceiling, including the walls. She could also see where those god-awful stairs began, except they were above her now. Also, there was a huge ray of light instead of that dark hole. It came from the middle of those stairs that was beaming straight down toward the ceiling-floor below it. In a nutshell, this whole place had the feeling of a 'boss room' in a video game. Ruby extended her Crescent Rose in kept her guard up in anticipation for the 'big, scary, Harbinger of Doom', but nothing could have prepared her for what she was about to see...

There was a robed figure sitting down in the roses that was as white and translucent as they were. Ruby's eyes squinted a little when noticed this figure, and after a few seconds of standing still, she ran toward the figure to get a closer look. When she got close enough, the robed figure ended up noticing Ruby and looked at her. The figure's skin was translucent just like her robe, but it had glowing silver eyes! Ruby gasped as her eyes and mouth widened. This figure... This ghost was...

"Mom..?"

The ghostly figure stared back at Ruby with equal astonishment, "Y-you..? Could it really be..?"

Ruby collapsed on her (normal, and in no way 'bee's') knees and her grip on her Crescent Rose loosened. It fell through the translucent roses and onto the ceiling-floor. The ghostly figure was visibly shaking at the sight of Ruby and slowly extended its hand toward her. Ruby silently responded by slowly extending her own hand to touch the ghostly figure's. Both hands completely passed through one another, and Ruby didn't feel like she was touching anything. After a brief moment of this, Ruby pulled her hand back and pulled back the hood from her hair. The ghostly figure responded by doing the same.

When Ruby saw the ghostly figure's short red hair, her eyes started watering and her open mouth curved into an open smile, "Mom..!"

The ghostly figure lowered itself down so that it was sitting on the same height that Ruby was kneeling and drew a bit closer while smiling, "I-it really is you..! My little Ruby!"

Ruby attempted to wrap her arms around this ghostly apparition of her mother, Summer Rose, but just like with their hands, her arms passed through her as if she were thin air. When Ruby noticed this, her smile faded, "I can't even... give you a hug."

Summer's smile also started to fade. Ruby unwrapped her arms and frowned, "You're... You really are... dead."

Summer closed her eyes and nodded, "Yes."

Ruby took a second to hold back her tears, "U-um... Sorry... I'm just... It feels so weird seeing you again. B-but it's like a happy weird. A-and... Um..."

Summer started smiling again, "I know! I... I never thought I would ever see you... or anyone else ever again! How did you know to find me here?"

Ruby was confused, "Huh?"

Summer was equally confused, "You... You didn't know I was..?"

Ruby was really confused, "What are you talking about?"

Summer noticed the Crescent Rose buried under the translucent roses and the ammunition on Ruby's corset and made the connection. The look on her face was one of dread, "You're a Huntress..."

Ruby didn't notice her mother's reaction and swelled with pride, "Oh! Uh... Yeah, I made a bunch of new friends, we fought a lot of Grimm, Dad's, uh... you know, Dad. Remember? I talked to you at your grave and..."

Summer frowned and her eyes drifted downward. That was when Ruby figured it out, "You don't know..? I visit your grave every now and then, and every time I do, I tell you about all my experiences and how I've grown as a ..."

Ruby paused and observed the complete silence around her, "You couldn't hear me. At all..."

Summer was shivering as she held back her tears, "N-no... I... I don't know anything..! About you... About your sister... About your father... I... I..."

Ruby was both sad and confused, "But I thought people watch their loved ones from the sky after they die... You know, like from Heaven? I was just walking on the sky a little bit ago and..."

Summer interrupted with a somewhat frightening look on her face, "This is no paradise!"

Ruby was caught by surprise by Summer's sudden outburst. Summer turned her face away from Ruby and spoke somberly, "Of course... I should have known."

Summer paused for a moment, "The Silver-Eyed power... You want to use it... To wield the fullest extent of that power... That's why you came here."

Ruby was about to ask her how she knew, but Summer already answered it, "It's the only reason anyone would come to this... stagnant place."

Ruby started to share her mother's dread now, "But... If this isn't Heaven... Where are we? And why are you here?"

Summer kept her face out of Ruby's sight, "I don't know who could have made this place or what it represents... As for why I'm here..."

A single tear came out of Summer's eye as she just barely kept herself composed, "This is my eternal prison."

Ruby's dread grew when she heard that, "You mean like..."

Ruby was afraid to even finish that sentence with the word 'Hell' and tried to rephrase it, "I mean... You protected Remnant. You were a real hero. You were a wonderful mom. How can you be..?"

Summer's miserable expression hasn't changed, "It's not that kind of prison. It's not like there's much of a difference, though."

Ruby felt as if a Grimm was trying to claw out of the pit of her stomach, "So... You're trapped here."

Summer's misery grew worse as she held back tears again, "Y-yes..."

After a brief moment of silence from them both, Ruby pulled herself together from her dread, "What do I have to do?"

Summer looked back at Ruby with a puzzled glance, "What?"

Ruby grew more serious and determined, "Mom, tell me how I can save you!"

Summer lightly shook her head in denial, "Ruby, I'm dead. You can't save me."

Ruby spoke in a whisper and held back her tears, "Then... At least, tell me how I can help you rest in peace."

Summer looked downward and spoke in a monotone whisper, "If only I knew..."

At only 16 years old, Ruby had already endured so much tragedy and heartbreak. She watched one Academy fall through infiltration and another fall through betrayal. She watched one friend get sliced to pieces and another friend get burned to ashes. She watched her sister fall apart emotionally after she lost her arm and her uncle nearly die from a venomous wound. But this has to be the worst thing she's ever seen! If this was truly her mother... If sadness and misery could actually persist eternally beyond death... Was this actually too much to endure? Could she finally fall apart, right here, right now?

Shivering and biting her lip, there was only one question Ruby that could even ask, "Why? Why is this happening?"

Summer solemnly wondered that herself, but she might know the answer, "This must have happened from a mistake I made... a long time ago. My memories... aren't what they were, but... I know the reason why. I always knew."

Ruby moved to sit next to her mother's ghostly form and tried to grasp her hand, pretending that she could feel it, "Tell me."

Summer hesitated for a moment, but nodded her head and mimicked Ruby by pretending to grasp her hand, "It all started when you were a baby. Whenever I wasn't tending to my family, I spent my life fulfilling my duty as a Huntress to protect the people of Remnant in whatever way I could. Most of my efforts went into fighting. I fought the creatures of Grimm. I fought bandits. I fought criminals. Occasionally, I even fought other Hunters. I was already blessed with knowledge and experience, and I would win almost every time, but... no matter how much I did or how hard I tried, there were always victims. People died. Villages burned. Lives were ruined. And in spite of my great triumphs, it was the tinier failures that weighed on me. These failures grew into doubts upon myself, and those doubts eventually grew into... fear."

Ruby felt like she was seeing a side of her mother that she never saw before, "What were you afraid of?"

The sound of that question made Summer hold back her tears, "Losing my family... I was afraid that one day, you and your sister's lives would be threatened. I was afraid that your father and I would fail to protect you. I was afraid that I would fail to protect him. When I confided in him, he would comfort me. He would tell me that 'everything would always be as rosy as I was'."

Both Huntresses shared a laugh with one another, before Ruby's smile faded, "You know... Yang told me once that Dad really shut down after we lost you."

Summer was holding back more tears, "He did? He was always the stronger one of the two of us. E-even after... I can't even imagine him of all people just... I really meant that much to him?"

Ruby was also holding back tears, "Of course you did! Dad, me, and Yang, we all loved you!"

A single tear came from Summer's smiling face, "I loved you, too. And that's why I wanted to protect you all, at any cost."

Afterwards, Summer paused for a moment to think, "Now... Where was I? Ah. I don't quite remember... how much time passed since I confided in your father that night, but I do remember... a great battle between many Huntsmen and Grimm that lasted several days."

Ruby listened in like this was one of the old stories she was read as a child, "Were you guarding something? Maybe a Relic or a Maiden?"

Summer grasped her head and closed her eyes, "I... I'm sorry. The foundation for that great battle escapes me. I've been trapped here for so long. My memories aren't what they were. But... I remember that when the battle was over, I was the only Huntress that remained alive. I remember the sadness that came from the sight of my fallen comrades... My friends... And I remember the relief I felt knowing that your father wasn't present in that battle... and I remember... him."

Ruby was curious, "Dad?"

Summer kept trying to remember, "No. I knew him from... somewhere before. It's... It was..."

Eventually, Summer gritted her teeth in frustration, "Nrgh! I'm sorry. I can't remember a single thing about that man anymore. All I can remember now... is what he asked me. 'Do you possess a simple soul?' Something like that."

Ruby thought about that question for a moment, "Mmm... Nope. Nobody's ever asked me that before. Sorry!"

Summer smiled and shook her head, "I guess it can't be helped. It doesn't really matter. What really mattered was what he told me that day. Ruby... We are both part of an ancient bloodline that persisted since before the rise of the Kingdoms."

Ruby continued where Summer left off, "The Silver-Eyed Warriors. I already know. Uncle Qrow told me. He said we had special powers."

Summer nodded, "Qrow? I see. But it's not as simple for us to truly wield that power. There have been times where one from our bloodline have tapped into this power by accident, through great emotional distress."

Ruby immediately recalled the sight of Pyrrha's death with great sadness, while Summer continued with the exposition, "But these events can result in grave injury, and even death, toward the people around us... as well as leave us vulnerable after the use of our power in this way strains us physically when coalesced with the emotional stress. That's why... when the warriors of our bloodline, our own ancestors, were born, they would be taken from the arms of their parents and subjected to agonizing and bloody rituals each and every day of their lives until their ninth year. These rituals would push these infants and children into their absolute limits, leaving them in constant pain, both physically and emotionally."

Ruby's response was quiet and somber, "That's terrible."

Summer nodded, "It was. This suffering left the children emotionally numb, but also with constant nightmares. In other words, these warriors could use their power at any time, with no provocation, but they were also desensitized to their own suffering, so that the creatures of Grimm could not feed off of their negative emotions. With perfect control of their power, and absolutely no fear, pity, or remorse, they were the perfect warriors in battle... and broken shells everywhere else. With the rise of the Huntsman Academies, it was believed that there was no longer a need for our bloodline and those cruel rituals, and so they were unanimously banned throughout Remnant, and these perfect warriors faded into mere legend. The man I met that day... Even he didn't know exactly how these rituals were performed, but he claimed to have discovered another way."

Ruby understood where this was going, "The source of the Silver-Eyed Warrior's power."

Although Ruby didn't know why, Summer was getting visibly nervous about this topic, "Y-yes."

Ruby, on the other hand, was getting more hopeful, "Then, you know where it is! Can you tell me how to get to it?"

Summer looked horrified and shook her head, "N-no! No, I can't!"

Ruby was confused, "You can't? Mom, please try and remember! Everyone and everything in Remnant could be at stake, and if something isn't done soon, then..."

Summer gritted her teeth and kept shaking her head, "No, I remember this perfectly! I... I just won't let you suffer the same fate I did!"

Both Huntresses were silent for a brief moment, before Ruby reacted with even more confusion, "You mean... You're trapped here because you used the Silver-Eyed power?"

Summer calmed down and nodded, "Yes."

Ruby was still confused, "Wait, that doesn't make sense. If our bloodline... Those people with the silver eyes that came before us... If they used that power, why aren't they trapped here?"

Summer quietly answered, "Because they never tapped into the power at its source. Only I did."

Ruby started to understand, "You didn't go through those rituals, so the source was the only way you could use that power. Right?"

Summer stayed silent for a moment, before Ruby asked again, "Mom? Please... tell me."

After Ruby's prodding, Summer relented, "Okay. I'll tell you... everything. Maybe then... Maybe if you know the truth, you won't go through with this. Please..."

After witnessing all of the pain Ruby witnessed, she wasn't about to make any promises, "We'll see about that."

Summer was already nervous after hearing Ruby say that, "The man that I mentioned earlier... The one I can't remember now... I met him before in life, and I felt I could trust him. He was the one who told me where to find the source."

Ruby turned around to look at the image that most likely leads back into that temple, "You mean that creepy temple... where that freaky tentacle orb thing is?"

Summer nodded, "Yes. I didn't have any real idea what to expect, or if that information was even accurate, so when I made that journey, I asked a fellow Huntress of mine to accompany me. There was a lot of walking before we discovered that place, and as we were exploring it... I remember there being two things that were on my mind. The first thing was that I wanted to do whatever it took to make Remnant a world where you and your sister could live without fear of the creatures of Grimm."

Summer became a little angry all of a sudden, "The second thing... The second thing was that whoever it was that designed that temple deserved to be gruesomely ripped apart by Beowolves."

Ruby burst into laughter, so Summer waited for Ruby to regain her composure before continuing, "When we... eventually reached the temple's inner sanctum, we had to solve... a riddle... before we would discover that, uh... gateway between worlds. I remember there being a lot of statues. We had to rotate them in a specific order, while avoiding any 'false statues' that could attack us if we came too close."

Ruby had a moment of realization just now as it explained quite a bit about that temple. That explained the statue that slapped her earlier. It also explained why all Ruby had to do was stand on a pedestal and walk up stairs to reach that gateway into this world. Her mother had already did the hard part of unlocking it when she was alive, and it's not like anyone came to 're-lock' that gateway or something. No wonder it felt so easy...

Summer continued her exposition, "When the last statue was in place, I remember hearing some kind of 'unlocking' sound. I remember... seeing this light coming from the center of the inner sanctum. My friend and I... We went toward this light, and it became brighter as I drew closer to it. The light didn't change from my friend's movements, so I was very sure that it was... responding to me... Acknowledging my presence... I remember witnessing the very ground next to us rise to form a floating path, and we saw the gateway open before us. As we drew closer to this gateway, these... things emerged from it and attacked us both."

Ruby took a 'guess' at what these things was, "When you say something emerged, you're talking about the tentacles, right?"

Summer cringed for a second, "Yes. Those things grabbed us and.."

Ruby couldn't resist cracking a smile, "You mean the tentacles?"

Summer tried to act annoyed, but also couldn't resist cracking a smile, "Stop saying tentacles!"

Both Huntresses shared another laugh, before Summer continued with the exposition, "When we were both ensnared, I could only watch helplessly as..."

Summer's disposition immediately turned into one of sadness, "The gateway... ripped her limbs apart! I will... never forget the agony I saw on her face! Then, it... squeezed her! It crushed her! I remember the blood seeping out of her body... The snaps that came from her breaking bones... And the screams! I couldn't save her... I couldn't do anything but watch... I watched as every ounce of her body was devoured by that... gateway... leaving no trace of her. Not even a piece of hair or a drop of blood... Then... the gateway pulled me in... unharmed... and when I woke up, I was here."

Ruby had her hand on her cheek as if she was thinking, "So, the gate let you in, but not your friend. Maybe it has something to do with our bloodline..? Wait, you couldn't have just died right then and there. I'm still alive. I think."

Summer validated Ruby's guess, "Yes, I was still alive then. And yes, I do believe that the gateway is sentient enough to harm those outside of our bloodline. After I discovered the source..."

Ruby's eyes widened in anticipation, "It's here?"

Summer looked at Ruby with a mix of regret and fear, and avoided her question, "I... returned to Remnant... through the same way I came in. The gateway pulled me back to the temple's inner sanctum when I approached it. After I left that temple and returned to civilization, I saw that man again. I remember that he was very busy with... something. Yes, he was talking with some of the Huntsman-in-training... Advising them... What was it?"

Summer closed her eyes and shook her head, "No... I don't remember. But I do remember the way he looked at me. He told me to 'live on for the friend I lost and the family I still have'. He knew. He knew that I had succeeded."

Summer paused briefly before continuing the exposition, "The next time I saw your father... He noticed... Said something about my eyes. I looked in a mirror, and saw light pouring out of my eyes. I turned off the lights, but I could still see clearly. He said that 'my eyes light up the room'."

Both Huntresses laughed a little more before Summer continued the exposition, "I remember protecting another village from the Grimm after I drew from the source. I didn't have much time to discover what this power actually did, but I learned very quickly. When I saw the Grimm coming toward me, I drew my weapon and... I felt something leak out of my eyes before I could strike a Beowulf. Whatever it was... it flew right into that Beowulf and froze it stiff! As more and more of... whatever it was... came from my eyes, I could see that Beowulf disintegrate into black ashes instantly! The same thing happened to the other Grimm around me. They would freeze and die before me!"

Ruby recalled the old story that her uncle Qrow told her, "A single look could strike a Grimm down... just like Uncle Qrow said."

Summer nodded, "Yes. But that wasn't all... I didn't know it at first, but I could also use this power to affect the world around me. I remember witnessing a great fire engulf one of the building in that village, and I looked around trying to find something to put it out. Then, all of a sudden... it came out of my eyes again... and went toward the sky. Then, it started raining."

Ruby responded with awe, "You wanted to put out the fire, and your power made it rain."

Summer nodded again, "Yes. In the short time I had this power, I could do... anything. Whenever I wanted something... Anything... The world itself would do my bidding. Every time I went into battle, my very presence would simply end it the way I wan... No, the way I commanded it to. No more innocent lives lost, no more destruction... I remember growing a little more... prideful every time I used this power. And... why wouldn't I? I felt like a god! I remember using this power outside of battle many times. I remember using it to bend the branches of a tree toward the ground, so a crying boy's cat could get down safely... I remember using it to open the contents of a vending machine when it wouldn't take my Lien... I even remember using it to turn on the TV when your father lost the remote."

Summer slowly lost any positivity in her emotions, "But... I would later discover that there was a grave price to pay for using this power. I remember waking up very early one morning when my foot started aching. I felt like someone just stabbed it, so I went to the bathroom to take a look, and I saw a big hole in my foot that was filled with what looked like... silver dust. I tried to use my power to heal my wound, but the flesh on my foot started... cracking. I showed your father later that morning, and we both agreed... that I had to stop using this power. I promised him that I would never to use it again, but... I couldn't... No, I didn't keep it. Every time I saw danger... Every time somebody's life was on the line, I was afraid... that my mundane skills wouldn't be enough. It was... compulsive... like a reflex. I... I just couldn't leave anyone to die. No matter what the situation was, I felt like I had to save everyone. Your father must have known... I remember him looking at me with such sadness in his eyes. Neither of us wanted to bring it up. Some amount of time after that, your father and I went into battle against the Grimm... together. He must have been afraid that I would use this power again, so he kept an eye on me. I remember my more mundane skills growing rusty since I hadn't used them for a while. I remember missing even motionless targets multiple times in a row. I remember there being so many Grimm that day, but for experienced Huntsmen like us, it should still have been a simple assignment. But I kept making silly mistakes. Your father kept getting hit again and again as the swarm of Grimm outnumbered us like a tidal wave. And that's when I felt the fear again... I couldn't fail. I couldn't let him die. I couldn't lose him! That's why... I used it again."

Ruby was anxious about where this was going, "The Silver-Eyed power."

Summer was holding back tears again, "Yes. It was the reason I came to this place in the first place. I had to protect my family at any cost! I remember using this power on every Grimm I could see... again and again and again. I remember feeling like my skin was being pulled apart, but I just kept using it! And then... I felt my body collapse. I remember seeing silver dust evaporate into the air above me... and I remember the look on your father's face as he was begging me to 'stay with him'. And... I remember apologizing to him over and over... for leaving him... For leaving Yang... For leaving you... And then... I woke up here, in this place... like this."

The look on Ruby's face was one of pure misery, "And that's how you died."

Summer's voice grew quiet with guilt and sadness, "Worse... I'm trapped here. Every time I try to leave this place, I get... pulled back toward that light."

Ruby watched Summer demonstrate this by walking away from the light beaming from the hole in the floor-ceiling, and after taking a few steps, she could see her get pulled backwards like she was made of metal and the light was a giant magnet.

After seeing Summer sitting in the translucent white roses, yelling in frustration, Ruby could easily interpret what that light really was, "That's the source."

Summer immediately looked at Ruby with fear, so Ruby knew she was right, "That's why it's been pulling you back. You became part of it."

As Ruby's face turned angry, she extended her Crescent Rose and aimed the gun end of it toward the light, shooting at it several times. Nothing happened. That was when the gravity of the situation really struck Ruby.

Summer looked at Ruby with even more guilt, "The source is eternal. It never fades. It's only light. You can't 'kill' light."

Ruby looked back at Summer while holding back more tears, "Mom... I'm really sorry. I... I wish I could help. I wish... I could do something."

Summer closed her eyes and gave Ruby a light smile, "You can do something."

Ruby put away her Crescent Rose and moved her face closer in anticipation, "What?"

Summer kept her eyes closed and her mouth smiling, "Leave this place. Leave the source of the Silver-Eyed power behind, and don't look back. Don't let your fears or your failures consume you. Just live... Live for the people that haven't left you. Do your best with what you have. Ruby, please just... hold on to your hope. Hope that one day, no matter what happens... you will be with the people you love and cherish forever... in death. I... I failed you. I failed my family. I put the needs of Remnant and its people over the ones I love. I guess... this is the punishment I deserve."

Ruby was shocked to hear something like that come from her, of all people, "No! Mom, don't say anything like that!"

Summer opened her eyes and looked downward in despair, "I am trapped in this place, and the gateway will not allow anyone without silver eyes here."

Summer started to quiver uncontrollably as her voice was stifled, "Taiyang... Yang... I... will never... see them... again."

Summer finally collapsed. She hugged her knees and laid down in the translucent white roses, sobbing uncontrollably, and all Ruby could do was watch helplessly as Summer apologized profusely, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't know! I never knew this could happen! I... I can't make things right! I'll never have another chance! I'll never tuck you in bed again! I'll never make you cookies again! I'll never be a part of your life again! I..."

The rest of Summer's apology was incomprehensible. Ruby was already heartbroken when she saw the fate of her mother, but this? This was the sight of her mother, the great baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters, completely broken!

Ruby knelt downward and whispered a song in Summer's ear,

"Red like roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest.
White is cold and always yearning, burdened by a royal test.
Black the beast descends from shadows.
Yellow beauty burns gold."

Summer calmed down a little and looked up at Ruby, "You... You remember that song?"

Ruby smiled while holding back tears, "Yep. Dad told me how you used to hold me as a baby. You sang that song for me when I was crying, and I'd go to sleep."

Summer was both happy and sad now, "That's... nice. I'm so glad to have been a part of your life... even if it was only a little bit. But... you don't have to remain in the past anymore. You can't help me. No one can. Forget about the source... Forget about me."

Ruby slowly stood up straight with a stern look on her face, "Nope!"

Ruby walked through Summer's ghostly form, toward the source.

Summer saw Ruby walking toward the source, "What are you doing?"

Ruby didn't answer, and Summer was growing terrified, "What are you doing?"

Ruby stopped for a moment and answered without looking back at Summer, "I guess you never heard... All that stuff I told you when I was visiting your grave... Beacon and Haven have fallen! So many villages have burned to the ground! Countless people have died! And now, there are more Grimm than ever! At this rate... I really think we might lose. That's why I came here! That's why I need this power! I'm not strong enough to help anybody... the way I am now... and I'm really scared. I'm scared of seeing someone else die because I wasn't fast enough to reach them! I'm scared of watching another Academy fall because I wasn't strong enough to fight with them! And I'm scared of being trapped here in the end, because I'll never know if there's anyone out there that will still need me when I'm gone! But I'm not going to just let it end like this! I'm not going to just sit there and watch the rest of the world burn! I'm not going to let my fears stop me!"

Summer tried to stop Ruby by grabbing her, but it was completely futile, "You can't do this!"

Ruby saw from the translucent hand sticking out in front of her that Summer was afraid for her, "Mom, you've been stuck here for longer than you can even remember. Your memories aren't what they used to be. So, maybe you've forgotten... that you were a leader once. You were the leader of Team STRQ, and it wasn't just about you. And now, I'm a leader, so it's not just about me. When I was first enrolled to Beacon, I was the leader of Team RWBY. And after Beacon fell, I rounded up the remains of another team and became the leader of Team RNJR. Now, Haven fell, and I haven't heard from any of them since! I don't know if they're even alive... and I'm scared to find out. But I have to search for them! I have to try, and maybe this power can help me find them! Maybe we can still win! Maybe there can still be a happy ending for the people who are still with us! I know that's what all of my teammates, my friends, would want more than anything. Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, my sister, Yang, Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren... They're all amazing in their own way and they deserve a great leader! I'm not allowed to be a failure."

Summer could only watch helplessly at what Ruby was about to do, "But... You'll damn yourself."

Ruby stopped again and couldn't stop the tears from flowing anymore, "I know."

When Ruby stepped into the light, her body felt like it was burning everywhere. She collapsed on her knees and screamed, with silver light beaming out of her eyes and mouth. Some of the translucent white roses were turning red... An eternal reminder of the pact that Ruby was making.

Summer collapsed on her knees for a different reason and whispered to herself, "Why? Why is this happening?"

When the process was finished, a huge shockwave erupted from Ruby, and she fell to the ceiling-floor. Her eyes were glowing and oozing with power. She could feel it! After taking a moment to catch her breath, she pulled herself up and saw Summer, more miserable than ever.

Ruby took a deep breath and walked toward Summer, who had a blank look on her face, before kneeling down to her level, "Mom? I know that having to see me go through with this... and knowing that I'll just end up being separated from Dad, and Yang, and my friends... is horrible for you. And... it's okay if you don't want to say anything to me. But I just want you to understand. Okay?"

Ruby took another deep breath as Summer remained silent, "As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves! I wanted... to be just like you. And if I just stopped... If I just gave up after seeing you like this... I wouldn't just be betraying those people. I'd be betraying myself."

Ruby took another deep breath, "I made a lot of friends at Beacon. It's where I met my teammates... Both teams. They're... kind of like another family to me... and they know that I would do whatever it takes to help them. But there's more to it than just that. All of my teammates... They all have friends and family that they care about that lived outside Beacon... and I know that they would do anything to help them. So, as a leader, I would be responsible for helping those people, too. And those people... They would have people they cared about... so I'd help them, too. What I'm trying to say is... that everybody in the world... Every person, every pet, every living thing... We're all connected. We're all like one big family! And that's why it's so important for me... No, for everyone... to help as many people as we can, even total strangers. That's what you did... That's all. You didn't put the people of Remnant over us. You put them with us... just like I am now. And... whenever I see someone get hurt... or die... because I couldn't protect them, then... I feel like I..."

Ruby and Summer both spoke this sentence simultaneously, "Haven't done enough..."

Both Huntresses looked at one another, before Summer had a much calmer disposition than earlier, "Yes... I knew that feeling. It was a long time ago."

Ruby smiled more than she ever had for a while, "Yeah. You always knew. It's what you taught me. I guess it's like they say: like mother, like daughter!"

Ruby stood back up and spoke with hope again, "Mom, I know I've only been here for a little while, and I know that being stuck here can get really lonely for you, but I have to go now. I have a lot to do back in Remnant. A lot of people are counting on me! But... when it's all over... When I'm finished doing everything I can as a Huntress and a leader... I'll die someday... and then, I'll... I'll keep you company."

Summer's eyes and mouth widened in realization, "What are you..? You... you tapped into the source... just so I wouldn't be alone?"

Ruby gave Summer one of the sweetest smiles she ever gave anyone, "Yep! The people I grew up with, and the people I met at Beacon... They're all family to me, and I'm gonna miss them someday, but at least they'll have each other. You won't... You won't have anyone else here, so if I can't find a way to help you, then at least I can make sure you don't go through this alone."

Summer cried out tears of joy, "I... I don't know what to..."

Ruby had a look of contentment on her face, "It's okay. You don't have to say anything. I love you, and I always will! Just... hang in there. Okay? I'll be back here before you know it! Wish me luck!"

Summer dried her tears and, in her ghostly state, grabbed two of the translucent roses: one white and one red. She tied them together in a band and held it toward her heart. After so many long years of guilt and loneliness, she finally had something to look forward to, "T-thank... you!"

Summer shouted to Ruby as she was walking toward the gateway, "I love you too! I love you with all my heart!"

Ruby took one last look at Summer and smiled, before walking toward the gateway back into Remnant. As she drew closer to it, she braced herself for tentacles. No, wait... Tendrils. Tendrils! (That came out wrong.) When they grabbed her, she didn't struggle this time. She just closed her eyes and clamped her mouth shut. When she was thrown back into that room in the temple, she landed on the cold ground on her feet and one of her hands. Way more dignified than losing consciousness... Immediately when examining her surroundings, Ruby could tell that she could see better in the dark room. The light in the pedestal was a bit dim, so just having this Silver-Eyed power was like having night vision. She remembered dropping Lionheart's scroll here earlier, and took a moment to look for it. Without warning, Ruby felt something come from her eyes. It was strange. It was as if her eyes were pointing her to where the scroll was. It was kind of like a compass in a first-person perspective video game that told her where to go. This is convenient.

When she found the map, she held out her arm and walked over to pick it up. Once again, without warning, Ruby felt something come out of her eyes. This time, it shot toward the map and flung it right at her hand! This... is insane! Could the Silver-Eyed power really do anything? There was only one way to find out. It was time to test them out. She walked toward the statue that slapped her earlier, and she was going to see if she could destroy it! It's just like trying out a new weapon. In order to use it effectively, she had to know the exact parameters.

Ruby made a ridiculous gesture with her arm covering her eyes, and then slowly uncovered them while saying the equally ridiculous phrase, "Ruby Rose commands you!"

She pointed at the statue and shouted, "Die!"

Once again, Ruby felt it come from her eyes and it shot toward the statue. After a brief moment, the statue started cracking. Then, the statue shattered, along with the entire pillar attached to it! Ruby gasped at the sight of this. After another brief moment to take in what she witnessed, Ruby grinned! This... is... awesome!

She knew she couldn't just keep using this power constantly like her mother did, so it was time to stop now. She had to be careful, not just for her own sake, but for any time someone is around her. While she intended to destroy the statue, the pillar attached to it ended up going with it. Obviously, that meant that this power had a small area of effect. Anyway, it was time to go now. She walked back toward the... Ruby heard a crunching sound comes from under her foot. It was that little plastic ball she threw down the stairs earlier. She picked it up and put it back in her belt pouch.

Now, she walked back toward the stairs... Those same long set of stairs... Okay, maybe she could test the Silver-Eyed power one more time? If she combined this power with her own Semblance, could she fly? There was a big hole in the middle of the stairs that lead all the way at the top. While looking up, Ruby spread her legs and bent them downward, ready to leap straight up. When her eyes started to shimmer, she jumped straight up... and kept going like a rocket! She reached the top in mere seconds, and when she was about to hit the roof of the temple's entrance, her natural Academy-trained reflexes took over and she flipped, hitting the roof, feet first. The roof of the temple's entrance cracked upon impact. After she hit the roof, gravity pulled her off of the roof. Ruby's eyes had small glowing tendrils coming out of them, just like when she accidentally used this power before Beacon fell. The tendrils changed shape to resemble wings, which slowed Ruby's descent and let her control where she would land. She glided outside of the temple and landed outside, feet first. There was nothing left here, so it was time to go.

When Ruby landed, she stood up and quietly thought about what her mother's ultimate fate... A fate that she will one day share. From here on, there was no going back now. The only way left for her was forward. And so, she goes to find her friends... Her teammates... No, they were her family now... just like her father, her sister, and her uncle. She could search all over Remnant now, using her newfound powers to track them down. Hopefully, some of them already found each other. And when they join together again, things will be different. This time, they won't fail... Not again. This time, they'll win! Team WTCH, the White Fang, the Grimm, and Salem... They can all bet on that!