The world was dead. The oceans had dried long ago, the air was thick with poison, and where once cities and nations stood was only endless stretches of sand. On the withered husk that was once a planet teeming with life, two figures fought for dominance.

On one side was the angel. It fought for its Lord, and the order it pledged its existence to. It had thrown away its thoughts and feelings long ago. It was nothing more than a machine doing what it was built to do.

On the other side was the demon. It fought for freedom, to create a world where one could shape their own destiny. To increase its power it consumed humans, demons, and angels alike. In the end there were few beings that could match its strength.

The angel swung its sword and fired innumerable spears of light at the demon. Each one burned hotter than flame. They would destroy anything that they touched.

Except for the demon. The darkness it commanded was just as powerful as the angel's light. The demon ran through the spears. Each step it took shook the ground. It leapt at the angel and struck with its fist. The impact of the blow was like a hurricane. The angel drove its sword into the ground to keep from being blown away.

The two exchanged blows. Each swing of the angel's sword had the power to split mountains in two. The demon's fists could tear holes in space. The two were equals in power. They had clashed several times before, but after today there would not be another.

The angel took to the air and gathered its strength. A massive blue ball of swirling energy appeared over its head.

The demon grinned at the challenge and summoned its own power. It gathered its energy into its hand, until it formed into a mass of dark red energy.

The two monsters prepared to end their long, bloody battle. Watching all of this was the human, their body broken beyond repair. Despite all of their efforts, the battles they fought, and the comrades they had lost, this was the result. There was nothing more they could do but watch as the two beings fought for control of a world that had long since died away.

The two attacks collided, and everything around them was destroyed, including the human neither one knew was there.

XxX

Ruby's head was throbbing when she woke up. She had the same dream again. Ever since that day in the tunnels she'd had the exact same dream every night.

"Hey Rubes," a voice called out to her.

"Hey Yang," Ruby responded.

Yang took a closer look at Ruby. "Hey, are you okay? You don't look so hot."

Ruby smiled at her sister. "I'm fine, really."

Yang shrugged. "Okay. I'll meet you in the forest."

Yang grabbed her things and left the room. Ruby went to the bathroom and splashed water on her face. Looking in the mirror she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Same red and black hair, same silver eyes, same round face. She wasn't missing any limbs and her face wasn't scarred and burnt beyond recognition. The person she kept seeing in her dream couldn't have been her.

But at the same time she couldn't shake the dread that the dream brought. She had read countless stories about people who dreamt of the future, and the thought that what she had imagined could happen shook her to her core.

Ruby vigorously shook her head and pushed those thoughts out of her mind. Her team was waiting for her. She left her room and went to retrieve her weapon.

On the way to her locker she noticed a pair of students mingling in the hallway. One was a well-built blond boy, the other slim with long black hair.

Ruby waved at her friends. "Hey Jaune, Ren. What're you guys doing?"

Jaune raised his fist. "I'm trying to get Ren to teach me that aura strike thing he does."

"And I've told you that I can't do that. If you make a mistake with that technique you could lose your arm," Ren replied.

Jaune threw his hands up in exasperation. "Aw come on. What's life without a little risk?"

"That technique took me years to learn. It's not something just anyone can do."

Ruby started laughing. "Good luck." As she started to walk away a thought crossed her mind. "Can I ask you guys something? Have you ever had a really weird dream?"

Jaune nodded. "Yeah, one time I dreamt that I was buried under a giant pile of marshmallows."

Both Ruby and Ren looked at Jaune.

Jaune blushed slightly. "What? You asked."

Ruby shook her head. "Never mind. I gotta go."

After grabbing her weapon from her locker she made the journey to the forest.

XxX

When Ruby arrived the first person she noticed was her partner with her arms crossed and a stern expression on her face. Her foot was rapidly tapping against the ground.

"You are late," Weiss said.

"Hello to you too," Ruby replied.

Weiss pointed at Ruby. "You're the one who called us out here, I expect you to be on time."

Yang waved dismissively. "Who cares about time? She's here now isn't she?"

Weis scoffed. "There is nothing wrong with being punctual."

Blake yawned. "Why are we out here again?"

Ruby's smile fell off her face. "Because we need to step up. We failed our mission and a lot of people got hurt. That can't happen again."

"Not that I disagree, but I didn't fail my objective."

"Hey, next time I see that little midget I'll clean her clock," Yang interjected.

Ruby sighed. "That's why we're here." She smiled again. "To that end, Team RWBY's super amazing training is about to begin!" She pulled a sheet of paper out of her pocket. "Yang, you and Weiss are going to spar while I work with Blake."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Why do I have to fight Yang?"

"Because you got manhandled. You've got the techniques down, but if the enemy overpowers you then you're at a disadvantage."

Yang snickered.

Ruby continued. "And Yang, you were just out skilled. You've got the power, but it doesn't mean anything if you can't hit your opponent. That's why you're going to fight Weiss."

Yang ground her teeth at the sight of Weiss' smug grin. "Fine. What about you and Blake?"

"I need to work on my defense. I can't really think of any areas Blake needs to improve in."

Blake's bow wiggled. "Yeah, I'm pretty much perfect."

Ruby raised her weapon. "Let's get started."

She shot towards Blake like a rocket and swung her scythe. Blake was cut in half, the two parts of her body falling to the ground. The pieces faded away as Blake appeared above Ruby. Blake swung her weapon and struck Ruby in the back of her neck, sending her crashing into the ground.

Ruby staggered to her feet breathing heavily. "How did you do that?"

Blake sheathed her sword. "You're fast, but when you move in a straight line like that it's easy to dodge."

Ruby rubbed the back of her neck. Her aura kept her from getting seriously injured, but it still hurt like nothing else. "Got it." she looked around at the trees surrounding her and got an idea. She shot towards a tree and banked off of it into another. She went from tree to tree faster than most would be able to follow.

Except for Blake. Her eyes could track almost anything. She tightened her grip on her sword and waited for her chance.

Ruby closed the distance between her and Blake. Blake prepared to counter when Ruby activated her semblance a second time and changed direction. She swung her scythe and struck Blake in the side. She waited for an opening. Sure enough Blake had avoided the attack with her semblance and was preparing to counter. Ruby spun her weapon and pointed the barrel right at Blake. Blake's eyes widened as Ruby pulled the trigger. The bullet struck Blake in the head and sent her to the ground.

Ruby landed and brushed off her clothes. "How was that?"

Blake rubbed her forehead. "Better."

In another part of the forest Yang and Weiss were staring each other down.

Yang cracked her knuckles and donned her gauntlets. "You ready Ice Queen?"

Weiss drew her sword. "I was born ready."

Yang charged towards Weiss and swung her fist towards Weiss' face. Weiss dodged and stabbed Yang in the stomach. Yang recovered and punched at Weiss again. Weiss stepped to the side and stabbed Yang below her armpit. This continued for a moment. Yang couldn't land a solid hit on Weiss. The way she moved was like she was dancing. She used quick strikes to throw Yang off balance. Yang was like a helpless child before Weiss' technique.

She spun the cylinder on her sword and loaded the ice type dust. She stabbed at the ground and encased Yang in a pillar of ice.

For a few seconds nothing happened, then the ground shook and the pillar exploded. A yellow streak shot towards Weiss. Before Weiss could react Yang buried her fist into Weiss' stomach and sent her flying into a tree. Weiss rolled onto her side clutching her stomach.

"Alright, I think that's enough," Ruby said. She walked in between the two of them. "This went way different in my head."

She helped Weiss to her feet. "You were doing pretty good there for a second."

Weiss brushed herself off. "I had it under control."

"If this were a real fight Yang would have killed you."

Yang grinned at Weiss.

Ruby turned toward her sister. "Yang, you rely too much on your semblance. That's how you lost last time. You need to start thinking of a better way to fight."

"Alright alright," Yang said with a grin. "When did you become all responsible?"

"I don't know. I just feel like something's about to happen, and we need to be ready for it."

Yang wrapped her arms around Ruby. "You're worrying too much. We can handle anything that comes our way."

"You're right."

Ruby saw something in the distance. It looked like a person sitting in a chair. They slowly moved out of her view.

"Did you guys see that?"

"See what?" Weiss asked.

"I looked like someone in a wheelchair."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "A wheelchair? How would anyone have gotten down here in that?"

Ruby grabbed her weapon. "They might be in danger. I'll be right back."

She sprinted off into the forest.

Yang sighed. "Some things never change."

Deep in the forest Ruby tried to find a sign of the person she saw. She kept getting glimpses of them but wasn't any closer to catching up to them. That made no sense. Wheelchair or no there were few people who could outrun Ruby at full speed.

As she weaved through the trees she caught another glimpse of the person and sped up. She took another step but instead of the soft forest grass her boot landed on hard stone. All of the ambient sounds of the forest were gone, replaced with complete and total silence. Ruby was standing in a corridor with burning torches hanging on the walls. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

No one answered. The hall extended forever in either direction. Ruby sighed. There was nothing she could do but move forward.

She walked for what felt like hours. There were no signs of life anywhere. The silence was starting to get to her. She kept going until she saw a door in the distance. With renewed vigor she ran toward it. It was an ordinary looking door with a normal looking knob. She tested it and found that it wasn't locked. She slowly opened the door and went inside.

There was a man typing furiously on a laptop. The screen was the only source of light in the room. Like Ruby had thought, the man was in a wheelchair. He had grey hair, glasses, and wore a red suit. He kept typing like he didn't notice Ruby enter.

Ruby waved at the man. "Um, hi."

The man looked up at Ruby. "Hello."

There was a long silence. Every second that passed only heightened Ruby's discomfort.

"Where am I?" Ruby asked.

"This is a place known as the Expanse. It's something like a dimension outside of our own."

Ruby didn't understand it at all. "Okay. My name's Ruby Rose. What's your name?"

The man placed a hand on his chin. "My name is Stephen. Are you a hunter from Tokyo?"

"What's a Tokyo?"

There was another awkward silence.

Stephen coughed. "Are you American by any chance?"

Ruby shook her head. "No idea what that is either."

Stephen adjusted his glasses. "I see. Where are you from then?"

"I'm from Patch, but right now I'm living in Vale."

"Hmmm. This may sound like a strange question, but what planet are you from?"

"Remnant."

Stephen went back to typing at his computer. "I see. Remnant, a planet under siege by creatures called Grimm, governed over by two gods of light and darkness, only four thousand years old. Fascinating."

Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "Where are you from?"

Stephen adjusted his glasses. "I am from a place called Earth, but that isn't important at the moment."

"Are you sure? Maybe I can help you get home."

"That won't be necessary I assure you. More importantly the fact that you are speaking with me is quite significant. You will soon be at the center of a great upheaval. The world as you know it will soon come to an end, and you will decide what shape the new world takes."

Ruby took a moment to process what she had just heard.

"The world is ending? Isn't that really bad?" Ruby said.

"That is merely one possibility. As I said, you will be the one to decide the fate of your world."

Ruby sighed. "I have enough on my plate as a Hunter, and now this too? I can't catch a break can I?"

"Do not worry, I will offer you some assistance. You should find it when you wake up."

"What do you mean 'when I wake up'?"

XxXxX

Ruby felt someone shaking her.

"Ruby, come one Ruby wake up."

Ruby slowly opened her eyes. "Where am I?"

Yang's face was filled with worry. "You're in the nurse's office. Blake found you passed out in the forest."

Ruby looked to her side and saw Blake and Weiss standing next to each other.

"How long was I out?"

"Almost three hours," Weiss said. She walked up and looked down at Ruby. "What happened?"

Ruby sat up in her bed. "I was running through the forest, and I saw this guy, and next thing I know I'm in some kind of dungeon."

"A dungeon?" Blake asked.

Ruby nodded. "Yeah. And then I see this door, and I go inside and there's this guy typing on a computer."

"What guy?" Weiss asked.

"He said his name was Stephen. He said that he wasn't from Remnant. He told me that the world was about to change. It sounded like something really bad was about to happen."

Yang sighed. "At least you're alright. Maybe you should talk to Ozpin about it."

Ruby got out of the bed and stretched. "Sure."

As she was walking out of the nurse's office all four of the girls' scrolls let out a strange jingle. A woman's voice came from the scrolls at the same time.

"The Demon Summoning Program has been successfully installed."