Ruby Rose, the cookie consumer and scythe wielder, was returning to Beacon after an afternoon of shopping with her teammates. Weiss, Blake, and Yang walked behind her, a small conversation about boys going on between them. Although, Weiss and Blake seemed disinterested while Yang seemed to be holding the topic aloft on her own, relaying to the two others of her current interests and likes.
With Crescent Rose attached to her back, Ruby walked ahead and paid no attention to their conversation.. All that mattered to her were the dozen of freshly baked cookies bagged in one hand and a newly bought box of ammunition for Crescent Rose bagged in the other. Humming happily to herself as she skipped, Ruby slowly put more and more distance between herself and her partners. She didn't stop skipping until she arrived to the Airship Transportation Station that would take back to Beacon.
Looking back, Ruby couldn't see any sign of her partners anywhere down the street.
Ruby stared sadly down, saying in her perky voice as she looked at her bag of cookies, "Awwwwww man. They'll take too long."
Ruby feared that if her partners took too long then her cookies would no longer be warm when she got to Beacon and got milk to go with it from the fridge.
"Gah." Looking at the bagged box of ammunition in her other hand, Ruby took out the box and emptied its contents into the various empty cartridges she had attached to her belt, wrapped around her combat skirt. Each clip varied from their Dust abilities; fire, water, ice, lightning, gravity, and then just the normal .50 caliber bullets.
With that settled, Ruby crossed her arms and continued looking down the street, with still no sign of her slow poke friends. Giving puppy dog eyes filled with longing at her cookies, Ruby slowly made her decision. No cookies were going cold on her watch.
Using her lien card, Ruby swiped it to receive entry into the airship. Above on the side panel of the airship, written in small lights, were the words 'Beacon Academy'. Smiling, she stepped into the airship.
As the ship started to take off for the academy, Ruby pulled out her Scroll, a communication device, and had a brief conversation with her sister.
Ruby: I'm headed back to Beacon without you guys. What's taking so long?
Yang: Okay! Idk, Blake saw a newly released book from her favorite author and made us stop for her.
Ruby: Oh no! I bet it's gonna be more filth!
Yang: Well, she is blushing right now so I think you might be right.
Ruby: EWW! Are you guys almost done?
Yang: Awww. Is my little sister worried about me?
Ruby: NO! Can't I just ask a simple question?
Yang: Hahaha! But ya, we finished a minutes ago so we're almost to the airships.
Ruby: Okay, I'll see you at the room soon then.
Yang: Later!
Ruby: Bye!
Smiling, Ruby shut her Scroll and slipped it back into a pouch attached to her belt. With the bag of cookies gripped in her hand, she sat down and looked outside the window to view Beacon Academy. When she had first been in this airship only a few months ago she had marveled at the majesty that was the academy. Now was no different. Located between a forest and a steep cliff, and looking like it was designed by the gods, one could say it was possibly the most beautiful sight in all of Vale.
It was only 10 minutes after the airship had taken off did it now land. Ruby made sure she was in front of everyone else when the doors opened.
Using her Semblance, Ruby took off towards her room in a flash, leaving a trail of dissipating rose petals behind her. Nothing distracted her until she ran through the Common Grounds and noticed Ren limping. She would've stopped had she not looked down and noticed Nora clutching to his foot.
"But Reeeeeeeeen…"
"No, Nora. Last time you ate all of them, so I'm not making them anymore until you learn your lesson."
"B-But…. Awwwwwwww!"
Nora still hung onto Ren's foot even though her request for him to make pancakes was rejected. Ren limped forward as Nora let her face drag in the grass, groaning in defeat.
Picking up her pace, Ruby shot through the entrance door of Beacon and dashed through the halls. She could almost taste the sweet taste of chocolate on her mouth at the thought of eating her cookies.
However, that feeling was ripped from her mind when someone had grabbed hold of her hood and stopped her. The sudden stop deactivated her semblance and cause the momentum in her legs to be thrown up, causing Ruby to fall on her back. Groaning in only slight pain, Ruby noticed Professor Oobleck appear above her, taking a quick sip from his coffee filled thermos.
When he spoke, he spoke intelligently and very quickly, as if his coffee was causing him to talk at a faster rate, "Well, Miss Rose, I hope you do understand that while running in the halls is fun it is both a hazard and a troublesome act for us teachers to stop considering half of any class are always late for their lessons. However, I am willing to grant you a warning only this time because, as you may have noticed, I am on my way to a very important meeting that requires my full attention. Please do think about this next time you run in the halls again, Miss Rose. Goodbye for now."
With that, Professor Oobleck left, walking down the opposite end side of the hallway that Ruby was headed. When he was out of sight, Ruby looked left and right to make sure no other teachers were around. When she saw nothing, she vanished and left a cloud of rose petals in her wake.
Weaving around students, Ruby made it to her dorm room and unlocked it with her key. Running inside, she slammed the door behind her and leaned on it with her back, sighing in satisfaction. When her joy of making it to the room subsided, her eyes darted to her right and landed on a large, white machine, the fridge.
The idea of a glass of milk and warm cookies struck Ruby again, commanding her to throw open the fridge door and retrieve the milk. After she grabbed the jug by the handle, she held it high in the air, as if holding a valuable treasure she had just acquired.
After striking the pose, Ruby poured herself a glass of milk and put the cookies on a plate. The sight of her cookies sitting next to their favorite shared beverage almost brought tears to her eyes.
Snatching a cookie from the plate, the heroine dunked part of it into the milk and held it up to her face. Her eyes closed as she bit into the savory treat. As she chewed, she detected something on it's surface and, using her tastebuds, discovered it to be salt. The sweetness on the chocolate and the saltiness of the salt combined together made Ruby's mind explode from the flavor.
Outside her closed eyelids, the world melted and reformed around her, ripping her from her dorm room and leaving her in the middle of a village. When Ruby opened her eyes, her jaw slacked. The cookie in her hand had then fallen to the floor, to now be eaten by the ants.
"Wha-?" was the only thing she had to say to the situation. One moment she had been in her room, but now she was outside in a, "...village?"
People bustled around, not many, but some. Their attire was very similar to what people in the world of Remnant wore. This didn't surprise Ruby that much because she still believed she was in her own world. What she saw before her was not something our of the ordinary. Houses lined the streets while small children ran around and chased bugs. Other people were talking to one another while others were walking along, minding their own business.
Ruby was boggled at the idea of her being transported to another part of Vale, but what made her more nervous was the thought of having to ask someone where she was and risk looking stupid. Looking around, Ruby glanced at every adult nearby, judging on whom she should ask.
"Him? No. Too scary. Her? Umm, nah. Too mean looking. Oh, him? Maybe not. He's so tall it scares me."
"Subaru-kun, we must leave now."
Rem tugged at Subaru's sleeve, getting his attention while he stretched out his hips.
At the notion, Subaru looked at Rem questioningly, "What? But we haven't finished our midday calisthenics." He gestured to the group of villagers in front of him who were copying his every move, including his gesturing to Rem with his hands.
Rem nodded sadly, "Rem understands how important it is for Subaru-kun to finish his exercising, but we are urgently needed at the mansion." She, again, pulled at his sleeve.
Subaru looked into Rem's blue eyes, sensing nervousness, and finally agreed, "Okay, fine. I don't know how you know we're needed, but good thing you have that ability or else the mansion would be in chaos without us."
His little quirky attitude brought a smile to Rem's sullen face, "Yes, Subaru-kun. That would be bad."
With the calisthenics halted to a stop, Subaru said his goodbyes to the participants and walked away with Rem at his side, carrying a bag of appas.
Rem looked back over her shoulder, the smell of the witch still lingering around her nose.
Ruby had been able to talk to a large man, who had approached her when he saw she looked lost. The man's looks were to no importance to Ruby for he looked no different from you average man, but he did agree to help her so he was nice enough to remember.
Ruby dug the front of her combat boot into the dirt, "Um, can you tell me where I am?"
"Why this is Irlam Village. Do you need directions to somewhere?"
Ruby didn't recognize any place in Vale named Irlam. She thought that maybe she was just in a nearby town that was off the map. This place did seem small enough to pass undetected, but even then it was unlikely.
"Yes. Can you direct me to Beacon Academy by any chance?"
The large man rubbed his chin, "Beacon Academy, eh? Never heard of such a place." He shrugged his shoulders, "Perhaps you're looking for Beacon Bakery? That place is over in The Capital just a few miles south of here."
Ruby couldn't believe what she was hearing, so she exploded in surprise, "What?! Beacon Academy! The school that trains Huntsman and Huntresses! Everyone knows what it is! It's on every major map!"
The man backed up at Ruby's sudden outburst, "Woah, woah, little lady. Easy there. There's no place in Lugnica called Beacon Academy that trains whatever a Huntsman is."
Ruby couldn't believe her luck. Here she was, transported to a place called Lugnica and now the people that occupied it are saying they have no idea what Beacon Academy was. Her mind created different solutions; the man could've been playing tricks on her, but this was easily thrown aside. What reason did this man have to play a trick on her? Another solution was that maybe she was in an unknown village that had found itself between the 4 major kingdoms among the grimm. However, this was also tossed aside, for the people in the village looked the least likely to fight off unknown numbers of blood thirsty monsters. If this man had no reason to lie to her then…
"Sir?"
"Yes?"
Ruby looked at the man in the eyes, "What's Dust?"
The man rose and eyebrow and chuckled nervously as he looked at Ruby.
"Umm, like the thin layer of dirt that collects on stuff?"
"No." she stepped closer and the man stepped back. "Like the ones with magical properties; fire, ice, electricity, and so on?"
Having enough, the man stopped Ruby's advancing with a hand to her head, "Alright, little girl, you just described a Crystal. So that solves your question."
"So you can turn it into a fine powder and use it that way as well, right?"
The man shrugged and put his hand down, "I mean….I guess. Never really thought about it."
That settled it. Ruby completely ignored the possibility of her being in a different world and relied on her gut to believe she was just in a different part of the world and needed to find a way back. However, these people weren't going to help, they didn't even know what Beacon was. Her only hope was to find someone of higher power.
Ruby wiped her face of any hostility or panic and replaced it with cheerfulness, "Thank you, sir. But I do have just one more question."
A smile appeared on the man's face as he looked at the cloaked Huntress, "And that is?"
"Is there anybody around here that can help me find where I'm going?"
Subaru and Rem placed their bags onto the kitchen counter. Another way to say it would be that Rem gently set her bag onto the counter while Subaru tried to do the same but ended up tipping his bag over and spilling most of the potatoes onto the floor.
Ram, who was at the stove, instantly face-palmed, "Barusu, what are we going to do with you?"
Subaru's reply started off as a mock and then changed into a serious suggestion, "Oh, yeah, yeah, Barusu, what are we going to do with you? Oh, I don't know. Maybe be nicer!"
Narrowing her eyes, Ram approached Subaru slowly until she was mere inches from him. He looked at her fearfully while Rem stared at both of them worryingly.
Subaru chuckled nervously, "Ahehe, about that thing I said earlier…"
As his sentence trailed off, Ram grabbed one of Subaru's ears and twisted until he slowly fell to his knees, begging for mercy, "OW WOWOWOWOWOWOW! I'M SORRY OKAY? PLEASE STOP! I SAID I WAS SORRY!"
Ram stopped after Subaru's second apology. She was going to make him pick them up, but then Beatrice walked past the doorway and looked in, looking annoyingly at the potatoes on the floor, "Again?!"
Puffing out a small breath, Beatrice rose a hand and the potatoes levitated into the air and placed themselves back into the bag. This random act of kindness made Subaru turn around and give her a big smile and a thumbs up, "Thanks for the save, Beako!"
"Hmph!" Beatrice pointed her chin up and walked away.
Subaru turned back around to meet Ram's steel gaze.
"You may have seduced my sister and Lady Beatrice, Barusu, but you will never get to me even if you were the last man on Earth."
Subaru said unenthusiastically, "Charming."
Ram flicked her hair out of her eyes, "I try."
While Ram and Subaru were to peel the potatoes, Rem said she would tend to the garden so less work would required of them afterwards.
Subaru had looked at her questioningly, "Are you sure, Rem? All by yourself?"
"Yes, Subaru-kun. Rem can manage."
In the end, Subaru agreed with Rem and stayed with Ram, to be scolded by her with every potato he peeled horribly.
The real reason Rem had gone outside was to monitor the front for danger. There was no doubt she had smelled the Witch in the village. Rem feared they would come to the mansion and attack them like they had attacked and destroyed her own village all those years ago.
The wind started to pick up speed as Rem grabbed the gardening shears and started trimming the bushes next to the mansion's entrance. She stayed on the same bush for 10 minutes, staring down the path that led out of the mansion and into the forest.
Not long after, the sweet smell of the witch reached Rem's nose, filling her head with hated memories. Then, from down the path, Rem saw the color of red pass between trees until they broke the edge and were out in the open, only a few yards from the mansion's gates. The sight of them made her eyes narrow and her hands clench into fists, anger rising inside her.
What stood in front of Rem was a figure wrapped in a red cloak, held closed with a cross shaped pin. Their hood was up, making it hard for Rem to make out their face. Covering their feet were heavy looking boots that looked foreign to her. The only thing that Rem was mildly interested in was how the cloak flowed in the wind, rose petals falling from it and blowing towards the trees, seemingly from nowhere.
Ruby stared ahead, towards the blue haired maid who stared back. She thought inside her head how cute the maid outfit looked on her. If the man back at the village had been correct, then this must've been Rem.
Her red cloak wrapped around herself tightly, Ruby slowly walked towards Rem.
When she was close enough that she could be heard over the wind, she said loudly to the girl ahead of her, "Hello! Um, is this the Roswaal Estate?! I was directed here by-!"
Rem didn't let Ruby finish her sentence by rudely interrupting her, "I know who sent you!"
Ruby sensed lots of hostility in Rem's voice, but she didn't know why. She also didn't ignore the fact of why Rem had interrupted her.
She already knows I came from the village?
It didn't seem possible since blue hair like Rem's would've stood out so much in the village that it would've been nearly impossible to see her. Ironically, that's exactly what happened. In her mind, Ruby came to the conclusion that the man must have had a Scroll and contacted Roswaal himself and sent Rem to fetch her.
However, Ruby didn't like the way Rem was staring at her with menacing eyes so she tried to talk cheerfully as if she meant no harm because apparently, Rem and her sister, Ram, acted as guards as well.
Pulling out her own Scroll, Ruby held it up for Rem to see, "Oh, so he must've used his own, righ-?"
The scroll that was in her hand disappeared. Where it once stood was a long chain that flowed and flowed until a sudden stop made it go slack in her hand. She followed the chain to see Rem holding a metal stick attached to it and then followed the other end to see it attached to a spiked iron ball at was embedded into a tree. Rem tugged the chain, tearing the ball from the tree and making the now destroyed Scroll to fall to the floor.
Ruby disappeared and reappeared in her place, the Scroll now in her hand. She looked at it's destroyed structure and said nervously, "Yeah, uh, I was gonna get a new one anyway." She placed it back in her pouch.
Ruby looked back up at Rem, who now held the iron ball in one hand and the stick in the other, the weapon she held was an exaggerated version of a morningstar.
Despite how deadly Rem was acting towards Ruby, Ruby still stayed positive and admired Rem's strength, "Wow! How heavy is that thing? And you can carry it all on your own? That's sooooooo cool."
Rem studied Ruby's actions, declaring her as a psychotic member of the Witch's Cult.
She could smell the Witch's scent all over Ruby, and decided she needed to end this before more Cultists came. Holding the iron ball high, Rem yelled at Ruby, "Heed my warning, Witch Cultist! Today you will only be know as the SCUM beneath Rem's foot!"
With that, Rem threw the ball with all her might, but Ruby easily rolled out of the way and removed Crescent Rose from her back. For now, she only held it in its storage mode. She deemed it wasn't necessary to use unless Rem refused to stop attacking.
Looking at the small crater Rem had created, Ruby said nervously, "Ummm, I think I'm missing something here!"
The rage inside Rem's eyes could not be contained. She believed Ruby was a Cultist, a member of which killed her family and ruined her sister. She saw no reasoning, no logic. She only wanted justice. As Rem swung the chain at Ruby, she yelled out with absolute fury, "You are the poison in these waters! I will be the one to clean it!"
Before Ruby could think about dodging, she looked at the incoming spike ball and had just enough time to place Crescent Rose in front of her. The ball hit hard, creating a loud banging sound as Ruby flew back 10 feet with Crescent Rose.
In mid-air, Ruby twisted and turned Crescent Rose into its scythe form. The gears inside turned and clicked, locking things into place and taking shape into Ruby's signature weapon. The red painting on the large scythe matched the color of Ruby's cloak and the highlights in her hair.
Throwing it blade-down, Ruby dug Crescent Rose deep into the soil to stop herself from flying further. At the very end top of the scythe was a barrel, one that shot .50 caliber bullets at anything that was unlucky enough to attack Ruby. As of now, Rem was in her sights.
However, Ruby didn't see the reason to fight just yet. Obviously, Rem was getting the wrong idea, leaving Ruby confused. So she wanted to help if she could.
Again, she called out to Rem unsurely, "Um, I think you may have me confused with someone else. I don't know what a Cultists is."
Rem swung the chain again, only to miss again when Ruby dodged to the side, "Lies! You even dress like one so how can you deny it?!" Again she swung and missed. The more Ruby evaded her attacks the angrier Rem got, "RRAHHH! You had no right to take my family!"
With that weapon, Rem would have an edge and keep her at a distance. So Ruby had to disarm her so she would submit.
When the ball came rushing towards Ruby again, she darted forward and hooked the scythe against the chain. She pulled the trigger on the handle, recoiling the scythe and making the blade cut straight through the metal links easily like butter. The iron ball went sailing into the woods while the chain slacked. Rem held the handle in her hand in shock, then rage. Her weapon was cut down so easily it induced more rage.
Rem swung the chain again at Ruby, only for it to be cut even shorter. Rem stepped closer and closer to Ruby, swinging her chain rapidly, and each time Rem swung the chain, Ruby would counter it with her own swing of her weapon.
By the time Rem and Ruby could see each other's faces clearly, the chain was almost down to the handle.
It was at this point that Ruby didn't think Rem was going to be reasoned with. She knew Rem was just confused, so she hoped to subdue her at some point and make her see her wrongs. However, that plan would prove to be difficult if she was going to compete against Rem's demon strength.
Ruby had no fighting power, she could only rely on her speed and mastery of her scythe and sniper rifle mix of a weapon. Her strength alone would probably get her nowhere.
When Rem stepped close enough, she let out a punch that connected with Ruby's chest. The impact knocked the air out of Ruby's lungs and made her eyes nearly pop from their sockets.
Ruby's entire ribcage would've shattered had it not been for her Aura that protected her from harm. However, it didn't relieve the pain. The punch sent Ruby flying back into the trees. She would've flown more, but one tree decided to stop her by being in the way. The impact shook Ruby's body and bones violently, making them hurt like hell.
Falling to her knees, Ruby used the staff of Crescent Rose to get to her feet. Her back was hurting and her body was aching, but she couldn't give up. Ruby didn't want to die.
Blood trickling out the corner of her mouth, Ruby glared back at the blue maid ahead of her.
Rem glared back. However, her's were more fearsome, making Ruby almost cower before her. From Rem's mouth, she spat, "You live, how?!"
Ruby wondered what semblance Rem could've had to give such amazing strength, "Honestly, I'm wondering the same thing!"
Raising her hand, Rem shot a sharp spear of ice towards Ruby, who then swung her scythe and cut it out of the air.
Rem grunted and shot another, only for Ruby to slice at it again. As if taking a deep breath, Rem pulled her arm back a little for a few seconds before pushing it back out, a volley of ice spears shooting from her palm.
With years and years of practice put into her weapon, Ruby expertly swung her scythe in rapid, fluid motions, destroying each and every spear before it even got got close to hitting her.
Swinging Crescent Rose down, Ruby embedded the blade into the ground and lined up a shot. She fired a bullet that headed straight towards Rem's hand. However, the constant onslaught of ice stopped the bullet in mid air.
When Ruby noticed it hadn't worked, she jumped to the side to avoid getting filled with holes.
Rem followed Ruby with her hand until her spears just stuck into a tree that Ruby hid behind. The fact that she wasn't dead yet made Rem growl as she walked towards the tree.
From behind the tree, Ruby was replacing the clip of her scythe slash gun hybrid. She clicked a button and Crescent rose folded into itself to turn into it's blocky sniper rifle form. From there she discarded the normal cartridge and replaced it with an almost identical one, except the new one had a snowflake painted on it's side.
Ruby bolted a bullet into the chamber and peered around the tree to see a furious looking Rem coming towards her. With her approaching, Ruby spit the bloody saliva she had collected in her mouth onto the dry dirt.
Ruby clutched her rifle close, "Oh god, here we go." Stepping out from behind the tree, she quickly shot two rounds at Rem's feet, making her stop in her tracks.
Looking down at the two holes just at her toes didn't make Rem more mad, but interested. Ruby had a weapon unlike any she had ever seen. She would have to ask Ruby where she gotten it from as she tortured her.
However, she knew questions like that would have to come later. Right now, she wanted to avenge her family and protect the ones she loved in the mansion. Her murderous looks returned towards Ruby.
Before she could take a step forward, Rem felt a cold sensation travel onto her foot and slowly up her leg. Looking back down, she saw that ice had started spreading from the two minute holes in the ground and were slowly releasing ice that started to encase her lower body, turning her into one big misshapen ice cube. During the time it took for her to realize what was happening, the ice had already traveled up to her knees. She tried to budge her legs, but found that she couldn't even get them to twitch.
Rem realized she was wasting a perfect opportunity and threw another spear of ice towards Ruby. Like she had done many times before, Ruby managed to dodge the incoming missile. Steaming, Rem summoned another crystal of ice in her hand, but Ruby had anticipated this and shot it.
A small nick on her finger made Rem pull her hand back, but from the cut in her finger came ice. It started to spread down her finger and onto her palm. The other fingers suffered the same fate while the ice started to expand, leaving a ball of ice that covered her hand. She tried to remove it by punching it with her other hand, but left no clear indication that it was doing anything.
Not yet giving up, Rem raged onto Ruby, "Filthy Cultist! I'll kill you!" With her arm now encased from the elbow down, she tried swinging it to hit Ruby. Not even coming close.
Ruby sighed in content when she saw that Rem wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. She then removed the ice cartridge, salvaging what bullets she had left, and entered in another cartridge. This one had a lightning bolt painted on the side of it.
Loading a bullet into the chamber, Ruby said apologetically to Rem, "I'm sorry about this. Really, really, really, sorry, but I have to knock you out."
Ruby aimed her shot towards the ice that collected around Rem's feet, meaning for the thin layer of water on it to conduct the electricity and shock Rem unconscious. But Rem herself thought Ruby was going to shoot her leg. Sensing she was in danger, Rem yelled out loudly and tugged her right leg. The yell caused Ruby to lower her gun and try to quiet her down, "No, no, no, no, no, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just making sure you can't hurt me is all."
The ice keeping Rem in place began to crack. Ruby looked down at the large cracks forming in the ice and went wide eyed just as Rem's foot broke free and threw ice at her face.
When Ruby wiped her face and shot at the ice, Rem was already free of it. The bullet broke through the frozen water and made a loud buzzing noise as electricity flowed from the Dust inside the cap. Small bolts of electricity shot out from the ice for a second before the buzzing stopped.
Rem swung her arm into a nearby tree, shattering the ice around it, and stared daggers at Ruby.
Scared out of her wits, Ruby looked down at the bits of ice around Rem and then back up at her evil eyes, letting out a pathetic, "Meep," before running further into the woods.
Securing her own life was all Ruby could think about as Rem's thundering footsteps followed closely behind. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as the crazed demon chased her. Looking back, Ruby only saw the maniacal look Rem was giving her as she slowly lessened the distance between them.
Before Ruby could activate her semblance and take off in a poof of rose petals, Rem grabbed onto Ruby's cape and stopped running.
The same sensation of being pulled back by Oobleck was the same thing Ruby felt as she fell to the floor. Only this time, Rem wasn't looking to scold her, but end her.
Like a bullet of its own, Rem's fist came down fast towards Ruby's unprotected face, but only ended up creating a crater in the grass and dirt.
To avoid getting her skull flattened, Ruby had rolled to the side and gotten back onto her feet. Another pressing feeling on her neck told her that Rem still had her by the cape. To avoid a death with an unknown amount of pain, Ruby unclipped the cape from around herself and disappeared when she took off.
Rem was left alone with Ruby's red cape.
She couldn't help but feel that she had betrayed her family by losing the 'cultist'. In her anger, she ripped the cape in two and threw each half to opposite sides as she sniffed the air. The smell of the Witch was bitter to Rem's sensitive nose that was able to pick up where it was coming from if the source was close enough.
The sounds of Ruby's escape was covered by the howling wind blowing noisily through the trees. Luck for her it prevented Rem from instantly tracking her the second she ran. Running past trees and more trees, all Ruby saw were trees and the occasional bush, but all she could see were trees in every direction. It wasn't until she rushed into the road did she discover that she was on the main path to and from the mansion.
Having lost her sense of direction while running from her attacker, Ruby looked down each leading side and tried to imagine herself walking down it. Her idea was to try and remember if any of it looked familiar depending on which direction she first walked from.
Perhaps, if she made it to the mansion before Rem found her, she could politely ask this Roswaal person to tell Rem to back off. A crashing noise behind her made Ruby make a decision much faster than she would've liked, and ran left.
Ruby ran as fast as she could, her Aura slowly depleting. The first blow from Rem and created a huge dent in it and almost knocked her to next week, but she held on. She felt she couldn't use her semblance as effectively like before. Trying it out, she found that she was only able to use it for 2 feet before she was forced to slow down. She would need to conserve her Aura in case Rem caught up.
Looking back, Ruby's eyes filled with fear when she saw Rem run out from the trees and look directly at her.
Ruby put a little more desperation in her steps, "Speak of the devil."
After turning a slight curve of the road, Ruby saw the impressive mansion ahead of her. Last time she had seen it, she was able to marvel at its beauty without someone trying to kill her.
Freedom, it was so close yet so far. She was past the gates and running across some garden when Rem blocked her path with a dozen icicles larger than Ruby's own body. If they had hit her, Ruby would've been…
"I'm dead." She turned back around to face Rem, but any determination she had left in her quickly dispersed when she saw just how outmatched she was. Rem had a dozen more spears of ice the size of Ruby's own body just floating above her, ready to pierce and sever her flesh. While Rem looked like she hadn't broken a sweat, Ruby was literally sweating from overuse on her Semblance that took from her already low Aura.
Ruby expertly switched ammunition, slipping a cartridge in that had four arrows pointing towards a central circle painted on the side, gravity.
Rem stood, her back straight as she stared into Ruby's silver eyes. She could sense the fear coming from them and smiled darkly. In her head, Rem thought Ruby was going to be just one of many that she would slay.
"I will avenge my family, Cultist! And I will start by killing you!" Rem extended her arm out towards Ruby, and the pillars of ice began to fall towards her.
Ruby stared at complete awe at the power Rem had control of. To be able to fight so powerfully with what she can only assume are spells was amazing to her.
She almost stared for too long at death in the face for the pillars were falling fast. Loading a bullet, Ruby shot her gun at the wall behind her. A black muzzle flash emerged from the barrel and sounded a small bang. The raw power of the gravity bullet completely shattered the ice wall behind her. The recoil of the bullet was also extremely powerful. It threw the light weight Ruby at a high speed towards Rem, who barely had time to raise her arms to defend herself.
Spinning in the air, Ruby swung Crescent Rose around so the blunt side hit Rem's side with an incredible amount of power. Rem flew a great distance and came crashing into the side of the wall of a great fountain. The impact cracked the stone and made water leak out slowly.
That's it!
Coming up with a 'foolproof' plan as Ruby would put it, Ruby started running towards Rem. To aid her, she shot a gravity round behind to propel herself forward and give her a burst of speed without using her Semblance.
Ahead of Ruby, Rem slowly got to her feet, her vision doubling.
When Ruby got within 10 feet of Rem, she turned Crescent Rose into a scythe and stuck the blade deep into the ground, pulling the trigger. The resulting knockback made the blade cut across the grass a few inches. The bullet cut through the air until it hit the crack in the fountain's wall, shattering it open with a small explosion. Water spilled out and flowed onto both the ground and Rem.
The cold water brought Rem back to her senses as she stood up gasping at the freezing water. From head to toe, she was soaked. And more water was flowing from the hole and hitting her legs. The anger she felt dissipated and turned into shock, but when she looked back at the smirking Ruby, her anger returned.
Ruby let the gravity cartridge fall to the floor, and put in the lightning one.
Just as Rem took the first step towards Ruby, Ruby let the bullet fly. A bolt of electricity zapped from the cap as it traveled towards Rem and hit the ground that flowed with water at her feet.
However, Rem paid no attention to the bullet and continued to march towards Ruby. With no sudden warning other than a faint buzzing sound, a strong electrical current began flowing through her body.
She tried to scream, but what came out of her were mangled gasps of pain as the electricity continued to make her body convulse. Fighting the pain and her spasming muscles, Rem struggled to move her feet towards Ruby. Her eyes were trained on the little red girl that had caused her this pain she now could barely endure.
Rem raised her hand, thin bolts zapping between her fingers, and created a spear of ice. Before she could launch it, the bullet gave off one last burst of electricity, making her eyes roll up into her head as she fell to her knees. The steam from evaporated water drifted off from Rem as she groaned in pain one last time before falling to her stomach.
Ruby removed Crescent Rose from the ground and folded it back up into its storage mode and fell back onto her butt. With Rem out of the way, she would be able to get to the mansion peacefully. Laying onto her back, Ruby decided Vale could wait just a few more minutes while she rested for a bit.
Fate, however, had other plans for Ruby other than allowing her to sleep one off.
The uneven rustling of grass gave the hint that something wasn't right. It moved faster than what the wind allowed the grass to move while it flowed between the blades. Ruby looked away from the sky, just in time to see Rem come barreling towards her with a large, sharp pillar of ice floating above her. When she rolled backwards and onto her feet, the pillar sunk deep into the dirt where her abdomen had once been.
I'm being fair in not killing her! Can't she be as nice and NOT try to kill me?!
Ruby looked up at Rem, bewildered that she had regained consciousness so fast. That was when she noticed it.
A glowing horn stood on top of Rem's head. Ruby had no idea where it came from or what it did, but the glow from it glinted in Rem's eyes, giving her a more threatening look.
As if tired, Rem took in deep breaths every time she inhaled. She bared her teeth at Ruby, challenging her to the death.
Rem conjured another spear in her hand, but Ruby was just as fast unfolding her scythe and smacking it from her palm. Again, Rem summoned two more spears, only for them to be cut down before they could even be launched. This time, multiple spears of ice formed around Rem and launched at Ruby one by one.
Ruby hopped to get her feet off the ground and shot her rifle, the recoil blasting her to the side as the ice crashed down. Yelling with fury, Rem launched the other spears at the dancing Ruby who dodged each one with expertise. In her own world, dodging a bullet with the help of Crescent Rose was no problem to Ruby, so something like Rem's spears was a piece of cake.
Deciding she had had enough of this, Ruby turned and ran to the mansion, using the recoil of her rifle to reach it faster.
Seeing her target run, Rem gave chase once more. Taking in more mana from the air with her horn, she was able to run much faster and caught up to Ruby just as she reached the front doors. Lunging forward, she tackled Ruby and sent them both crashing through and into the mansion. Splintered wood flew everywhere as Rem and Ruby fell to the floor, trying to gain the advantage over one another. Crescent Rose slid off to where Ruby couldn't reach it.
Subaru had been walking near the front door with a silver plate in his hands topped with a teacup and a teapot, on his way to visit Emilia. However, both of those tickets to Emilia fell to the floor when Rem and Ruby came crashing through a hole they had created in the doors. It was so sudden, Subaru had yelped like a girl and dropped the plate, cowering into himself at the loud noise.
"OH FUCK ME!"
Rem and Ruby got to each others feet and brought their fists up. Rem went for the first punch that connected with Ruby's jaw. Her head was knocked to the side violently as the feeling of pain rushed through her. She could feel her Aura depleting further. Seeing stars, Ruby threw her entire weight up into an uppercut that barely scraped against Rem's neck and slammed into her chin.
The punch didn't have much force considering Ruby's strength, but it still made Rem take a few steps back. Shaking her head, Rem swung again at Ruby's face but ended up punching rose petals.
Behind Rem, Ruby appeared and landed a kick to her back, sending her to the floor. Rem tucked her body and rolled into the fall.
Now back on her feet, she turned and lunged at Ruby, her hands aimed at her throat. However, Ruby again exploded in a cloud of petals and snuck behind her.
Rem sensed her this time and summoned an icicle in her hand. Turning around and swinging it, she would've cut Ruby open if Ruby hadn't stepped back suddenly.
Grabbing hold of the arm with the icicle, Ruby tried to pry the ice dagger from Rem.
Rem easily lifted Ruby off the ground since she was holding her arm, and brought her down onto the floor.
Her Aura level now dangerously low, Ruby was forced to let go of Rem's arm because of the pain that traveled up her back. Now with complete control, Rem brought the dagger down towards Ruby's silver eyes.
Death stared Ruby in the face, but she stared back and spat in it's face.
Ruby tilted her head so the dagger cracked open the marble floor. Rem soon found Ruby's foot smacking into her face, knocking her away.
Pain and a burning feeling crept across Rem's face. When Ruby scrambled to her feet and looked at her, a visible, red boot print covered the entire left half of her face. A red, bleeding cut from the thick soles stretched across Rem's cheek.
"RAAAAAAHHH!" Rem charged Ruby and grabbed a hold of her neck. Ruby tried to use her Semblance, but her Aura level was too low.
With Ruby still in her hand, Rem pushed her past the staircase and slammed her into a wall. From behind her, she could hear the faint sound of Subaru calling out her name, but she couldn't pay him much attention for she was too focused on killing the 'Cultist' before her.
Ruby's eyes went wide as she tried to breathe with Rem's iron-like grip closing her esophagus. She opened and closed her mouth, trying to take in a single bit of air, but she couldn't even whimper.
Rem lifted Ruby off the ground slightly and watched as her feet kicked at her, doing nothing. Rem was lost in vengeance, she couldn't see that the girl before her was innocent and in need of help. She couldn't see that Ruby just wanted to go home, back to her friends and family.
Ruby's vision started to fade in and out the longer she didn't do anything to help herself. Waving her arms at her sides, she felt the cold rim of a vase and tried to grab it. Groping the air, she managed to hook the rim against her index finger and pull it closer. Stars started appearing in Ruby's vision.
With just one finger, Ruby lifted the vase and jerked it up so she could hold it properly with her hand. She slowly lifted the vase higher and higher until it was as high as Rem's shoulders. But then her body went limp as the vase fell from her hands and smashed to pieces on the floor. The smashing sound was the second to last thing Ruby heard before succumbing to the darkness.
The last thing she heard was a loud banging noise and an innocent, "OW!" coming from Rem as she released her.
Ruby fell to the floor in a heap and lost unconsciousness.
When Ruby opened her eyes again, it was morning. She shifted in her place and realized she was in a comfy bed that had a comforter that was so fluffy she wanted to just stay in it forever. Seeing the early sun's light, Ruby realized that Rem must've brought her Aura to a dangerously low level and made her fall into a coma for a short while. That would explain how she'd been asleep for so long.
Light filtered into the room from behind the thin white curtains that covered the window. Regaining her ability to understand what was happening, Ruby shot up and found herself in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room. The decor screamed royalty and the bed was like the symbol of comfort. Holding the comforter in her hand, Ruby rubbed it against her cheek, enjoying the softness it had. Getting off the bed, Ruby noticed she felt a bit different.
Looking down, she noticed she wasn't in her usual attire, and panicked. What she wore was a white nightgown. That meant someone must have undressed her and put her into this.
"Ahhhhhh! Where is it? Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?"
Throwing open the wardrobe, Ruby removed all of its contents onto the floor, not finding her battle outfit. Not even minding how expensive the lavish room must've been alone, Ruby tore it apart just to find her most precious clothes and weapon. After what seemed like only a few seconds for Ruby to flip the room upside down, she made haste for the door and threw it open, ready to yell.
A pink haired maid, however, stood in her way. In her hands was a bundle of clothing colored red and black with Ruby's combat boots on top. Ruby noticed that the girl looked almost identical to Rem had it not been for the differing eye color, hair color, and hair style. Still, Ruby whimpered in fear, taking her clothes and boots before disappearing in a flurry of rose petals.
Ram, Rem's twin sister, stared unamused at the trail of petals that created a path to the bed before dissolving on the floor. She sighed and walked up to the bundle of blankets Ruby hid under. Consciously clearing her throat, she poked the soft mass, making Ruby poke her head out one end.
Ram walked to the side that Ruby's head was sticking out and said in a monotone voice, "You are awake, dearest guest. I am glad to see that you are healthy…" she looked at the mess Ruby had made and the one she would have to clean later, "...and well."
Ruby retreated into the blankets slightly, causing her voice to be a little muffled, "O-Okay, thanks."
"I am also sorry about the bad impression my sister may have presented to you first hand. Allow me to be the first to say that my utmost apologies are directed towards you."
"Bad impression? She tried to kill me!"
"Yes, my sister is a hard worker so she takes her job very seriously, even when it comes to unannounced visitors that act strange."
Ruby grumbled, "She was the one who started it. I was just walking along."
"Then perhaps there is something she hasn't told me yet." Ram walked back over to the door, side stepping around a fallen chair, "My Master wishes to apologize to you in person. If you don't mind, breakfast will start shortly so I suggest you change as soon as possible. I will be outside."
"Oh, no wait!" Ruby's head disappeared into the blankets. The soft bundle of the finest material shook violently on the bed as Ruby changed underneath. Within only a minute, Ruby emerged from the mountain in her combat uniform. Her face twisted into a smile at the act she'd just committed, "Ta da!"
"Not another one." Ram rolled her eyes and groaned as she walked out the door.
Ruby didn't understand the meaning of her words, but followed with a smile anyway.
"Sooooooo Miss Rose, what iiiiiiiiis it that you wish to know?"
The elegant dining room was what Ruby would imagine kings lived in, but the man, Roswaal, who sat at the head of the table didn't look like any king. If anything, he looked like the jester that would entertain the king. But alas, before she could make any assumptions out loud, Ram had introduced her to him as her Master at the start of breakfast. The only other thing that creeped her out, other than his looks, was how he sometimes dragged out a vowel at random.
After making an exceptionally polite and proper apology, Roswaal had asked Ruby for anything she desired, for having gone through so much trauma the day before. When he asked that, Rem, who stood beside him, lowered her head with a guilty look on her face.
At once, Ruby accepted the offer. Her goal was to figure out how to get home in this apparently uncharted land.
"Suuuuurely you must want something eeeeelse. Riches? Wealth? Faaaaaaame? Asking for something sooooooo small would seem like a waste, riiiiiiight?"
Ruby nervously started playing with her spoon, "Um, no, hehe. I just want to find my way back so I can be with my best friends again."
"Friendship iiiiiiiiiiiiiis valuable. I am happy to see that youuuuuuuuuu value it over your own wants."
Subaru, who stood next to Ram, was starting to doze off from all the talking. Everytime he nodded off, Ram would elbow him in the ribs, making him silently yelp in pain and whisper about how that hurt. His pain brought a smile to Ram's face.
"I-I guess so?"
"Hmmmm, quite. So wheeeeeeeere is it that you seek?"
"Um, Vale."
Roswaal paused before replying, his eyes studied Ruby closely, as if analyzing her.
Then, he said confidently in a voice that added more to his mysterious nature, "Ahhhhh, yes, Vale. Such a magnificent siiiiiiight. Truly a majesty of iiiiiits own."
At this, Subaru perked up and stared at Roswaal with confusion, "What are you tal-!"
Roswaal raised a hand to silence Subaru. The gesture alone annoyed him.
"I'm not a dog! So you can quit it with the all powerful ac-HAAAHHHHH!"
Before he could finish his rant, Ram punched Subaru in the side, making him hop on his toes in pain, "Ah ah ah ah ow ow ow. God damn it, Ram, that hurt!"
Ram glared at the pained Subaru, "I should hope so."
As Subaru continued to cower in pain, Ruby spoke up, trying to ignore what just happened, "So if you know about Vale, then where are we?"
"My dear, Lugnica iiiiiiis merely located just north ooooooof Vale."
Ruby got up, excited, "Great! So I can leave right now?"
"No, no, no, you muuuuuuust recover from your injuries. I'm certain youuuuuuuu still feel weak, do you not?"
"Now that you mention it…" Ruby grasped her shoulder and moved her arm around, wincing at the slight pain she felt.
Roswaal happily brought his hands together, "Then it is settled. I wiiiiill have a ride for you ready tomorrow morning."
"Thank you."
"Please, it iiiiiis the least I can do under the circumstances."
In front of Ruby, Emilia looked back in forth between Ruby and Roswaal, trying to figure out why he was doing what he was doing.
"Rem, would youuuuuu kindly give Miss Rose a tour of the mansion, something foooooor her to do while she stays here."
Rem went rigid at Roswaal's request slash command and blushed, "Uh, uh. Yes, Master Roswaal."
She looked at Ruby, who also didn't look very happy about the decision.
Ruby raised a finger, "Um, no offense, but could I be with someone else?"
Rem looked away sadly when she heard that. Even though she knew she deserved to be left out by Ruby, she still couldn't help but feel sad at the rejection.
Roswaal chuckled, "I can seeeee how that may be a problem for youuuuuu. But Rem is perfectly capable ooooooooof staying under control. Perhaps it would be best of you were alsoooooooo accompanied get Subaru-kun."
Now having just recovered from his previous injury from Ram, Subaru interjected again, "Hey! Don't sign me up for stuff I may not want t-GAHHHHHH!"
Again, Ram punched Subaru into submission until her was rolling in the floor in pain. Ram looked truly happy now, a big smile on her face.
After the tour, Rem tried to apologize to Ruby about what happened.
Rem was on her knees in front of Ruby, her hands clasped together above her head, "Please forgive, Rem! You smelled of the Witch so I assumed you were a Cultist." Behind her, Subaru patted one of her shoulders in a comforting manner.
Ruby was surprised to see this side of Rem considering she had only seen her as a killing machine before. Now she was begging for forgiveness because of her ignorance on Ruby's history.
According to Subaru, what happened after Ruby went unconscious was that he had picked up the platter he'd dropped and slammed it on top of Rem's head, snapping her out of her murderous rampage. He had managed to get it into Rem's mind that Ruby could have been like him; stinking of the Witch, someone whose followers killed almost her entire family, but unable to explain why. He gave the suggestion that maybe it was something no one could explain. Puck gave his own opinion that Ruby was a good person after he checked her mind and determined that she was, in fact, more pure of heart than Subaru. At the time, everyone looked at Subaru, who just shrugged with a smug smile, "I don't doubt it."
Ruby ended up accepting Rem's apology, in exchange for a batch of cookies that Rem supposedly knew how to make easily.
Happy to do anything to make up for what she did, Rem started making cookies while Subaru and Rem watched.
From the very start, Subaru could tell Ruby was from another world. The only problem he had about that was where she came from. He'd never heard of Vale so it only made him wonder just how many parallel worlds were out there. But he didn't want to bring this up to Ruby. Roswaal had purposefully avoided the fact that Vale wasn't from his world and accepted what she said. He must've done it for a reason. Subaru just didn't know the reason.
"So, uh, Ruby, you like cookies huh?"
Subaru looked surprised at how much Ruby represented a happy puppy. Her nose twitches at the sweet smell of chocolate that wafted through the kitchen. He could practically see her invisible tail wagging behind her.
When Rem finished the cookies, she carefully placed them on a plate to cool. Ruby, however, couldn't stop herself from grabbing one and biting into it. The pupils in her eyes slightly expanded when the soft, gooey chocolate leaked onto her tongue.
Rem looked at Ruby, trying to figure out what she was thinking, "What do you think?"
Rem's answer came not too longer after from Ruby's action of shoving more cookies into her mouth.
The oven mitts still on her hands, Rem clapped happily like a little girl who'd just gotten a pony for Christmas, "Yay!"
Subaru look on in horror and shock as the cookies disappeared down Ruby's gullet, never to be seen again.
"Can you explain you little charade at breakfast, I suppose?"
"Meeeeerely a false sense of hope foooooor young Miss Rose."
"Explain."
"Hehe. You haaaaaaven't been reading, have you? You see, tomorrow weeeeeee will not see Miss Rose in any case."
Roswaal closed the little, black book he had laid out on his lap. Him and Beatrice were currently in his study.
Beatrice stood in front of him, disregarding the fact that he had his gospel out.
"Why is that, I suppose?"
"A reason thaaaaat even I am unsure of, but I believe the outcomes, and knooooooow that Miss Rose will vanish by tomorrow morning."
Ruby ended up following Rem and Subaru as they completed their daily chores. It amused her to watch Subaru mess up completely and have Rem give helpful, encouraging tips while Ram mocked him and refused to use encouragement.
"Barusu, why are you so useless?"
Subaru cowered against a bush, holding his finger that had a cut in it from when the scissors in his hand slipped and nicked him, "Oh that hurts hearing it from you, Ram-chi! Not like I HEAR IT EVERY DAY!"
Ram smiled innocently, "Ha. I only point out the obvious."
Despite the cut being small, Subaru still grimaced in pain, "Obvious my ass!"
Rem produced a roll a tape from somewhere, Ruby didn't know where, and began bandaging Subaru for the third time that day.
Subaru thanked Rem, but then caught sight of the certain silver haired Emilia walking into the garden and snapped his fingers as he jogged towards her, "Don't wait up on me guys, this may take a while."
Ram sighed, "I'm sure his absence during this job will be beneficial for ALL of us."
Ruby watched Subaru skip towards the girl know as Emilia, "So what's with him and Emilia? Are they dating?"
Ram scoffed, "In his dreams, but even then it may be unlikely. Barusu has been nothing but a thorn in our sides."
Rem pouted, "Nee-sama, don't speak so lowly of Subaru-kun. He did save Nee-sama and I in the forest."
"He may have done so, but he still has no manners."
Ruby kept watching as Subaru called out to Emilia. But when she looked at him with a smile he tripped and fell on his face. Emilia rushed to his aid and held his bleeding nose up. She took a handkerchief from Subaru jacket pocket and wiped the blood away. Then she held his chin while a small shower of snowflakes fell from her hand and onto his nose. After a second, she let go of his chin and let Subaru wiggle his nose around, the bleeding now stopped. Subaru then smiled and looked to be thanking her, but Ruby couldn't hear from there.
The entire gesture brought a smile to her face.
Ruby straightened the nightgown she wore and got ready for bed. Before she could blow out the candle and head to bed, a knock came from her room door. Setting the candle down on the table, Ruby walked to the door and opened it.
Hands held together, Rem stood in the doorway with a guilty look like the one she had on her face in the morning. Seeing her made Ruby just a bit uneasy, but overall she felt their problems with each other were resolved as much as possible in just a single day.
Smiling, Ruby happily greeted the blue maid, "Hi, Rem."
"Hello, Ruby-sama."
Honorifics were something that Ruby had never heard of in Vale or in Remnant so she just assumed it was something people in Lugnica did. She could only assume the 'sama' part was a good thing.
"Please, just call me Ruby."
At this, Rem smiled happily, "Really?"
On the inside, Ruby was confused, but didn't want to seem out of touch so she reluctantly agreed, "Uh, yeah sure, why not?"
"That makes Rem so happy! Thank you, Ruby-sam…uh, Ruby." Rem looked visibly happy.
Ruby just waved a hand in front of her like it was no big deal, "Oh, it's nothing. I'm happy to do so. Uh, hehe."
Rem looked relieved that Ruby would go so far as to allow her to be called her friend even though what she had done had hurt her.
Feeling tired, Ruby asked, "So, uh, what was it you wanted to say?"
Rem rocked back and forth on her heels and toes, "Rem just wanted to make sure you were ready for bed as you will be leaving tomorrow."
"Ah, I'm ready so don't worry about it."
"Okay, just wanted to be sure. Now Rem must get Nee-sama ready for bed as well."
Ruby raised an eyebrow at the thought of Rem tucking in her own sister. Wasn't she old enough to that by herself?
Though, she didn't question it and said her good night to Rem, who said her own farewell. When Rem left, Ruby closed the door and sat on her bed. She liked it here. After officially meeting most of the occupants of the mansion, she could say that she enjoyed every one of them. Rem was a sweet heart once you got to know her, Ram was a bit distant, but overall, Ruby enjoyed her company, Subaru was an interesting character who acted differently than everyone else in a somewhat carefree manner, and Roswaal was like her Headmaster, Ozpin, only a lot more mysterious.
However, she never got to officially meet Emilia or Beatrice, she got the feeling they were ones who kept to themselves. For when Subaru opened the ballroom and it turned out to be Beatrice's Room, she'd blasted him out the door and shut the door. And when she came across Emilia in the halls, Emilia had only said her 'hello' and 'how do you do' before excusing herself to go to her study.
As Ruby fell asleep, she thought that maybe tomorrow she would ask what products Emilia used to look so beautiful because it was really working on her. With that, Ruby closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
When Ruby opened her eyes, she knew she was dreaming. The 'world' around her was dark and empty. The only thing she saw was the thin wisps of fog or smoke floating through the air in front of her.
Ruby felt herself floating, not in water, but in the air, without touching the floor or any walls. She kicked her legs but they hit nothing. She tried to speak, but nothing came out of her mouth, She tried to make anything out in the darkness, but it was too thick to look past.
Then, in front of Ruby, a feminine figure seemed to either emerge from the darkness or was formed by it. The figure only came close to Ruby but didn't touch her. Ruby tried to talk again, but not even a grunt escaped her lips.
The woman was shrouded in darkness and seemed to be wearing a dress with a black lace veil covering her face, making it impossible to see her facial features. Tilting her head, the woman studied Ruby before shaking it.
Ruby could only assume it was the woman's voice that echoed inside her head, "Perhaps, not."
The woman extended an arm towards Ruby, smoke following its path, "I am sorry for wasting your time. Return."
The woman opened her eyes. Two white glowing orbs shone brightly through the veil, nearly blinding Ruby. From the woman's finger tips came thin lines of smoke that moved like snakes through the air, towards Ruby.
Eyes widening, Ruby struggled in the air as the lines curled around her and started covering her. She swung her arms around, but the smoke seemed to be a solid, and pinned her arms to her side until it just about covered her entire body. The thick, black smoke traveled up Ruby's neck and slowly started seeping into her mouth, ears, nostrils, and eye sockets. Plugging her mouth and nose, she started to suffocate. Trying to prevent the smoke from entering any further, Ruby successfully shut her eyes and mouth.
The feeling of helplessness disappeared.
Opening her eyes, Ruby found herself back in her dorm room. But something was off, not about the room but about Ruby.
Her mind was different. It held no memories of the her visit to Lugnica. There was no trace inside her head that could've gave any hint that she, herself had crossed over to a parallel world and fought with a demon, living to never tell the tale.
Before her was a table with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk on it. She was back home. But she didn't think she'd ever left.
It took a while for Ruby to regain her bearings. Being affected by the Witch in a way only few could recall had most likely confused her train of thought. She was snapped out of it when the dorm room door opened and Weiss, Blake, and Yang entered.
Yang was telling the punchline of a joke and wasn't getting the reaction she expected from her friends, "Oh come on, guys! It wasn't that bad."
Weiss and Blake gave their own opinions separately.
"Terrible."
"Horrible."
"Vulgar."
"Barbaric."
Yang just shook her head with a smile, "You just just don't know humor." Then she saw Ruby and said hi before moving towards the beds to lie down.
Ruby waved back with an unsure hello. When her teammates disappeared into the bedroom she looked down at her hand. She held a cookie with a bite taken out of it, the very same one she had before she was pulled from this world.
Instantly, any thoughts of uncertainty left Ruby's mind as she remembered why she was here in the first place.
Grabbing hold of the cookies with both hands, Ruby shoved the entire treat into her mouth. Her expression fell as she chewed.
"Aw man. It's cold."