A Withered Rose, Chapter 1: A New Seed

It was another beautiful morning here in Vale. The sun was peeking over the horizon, ready to wake up the sleeping kingdom. But, its citizens are not the only ones it woke up. On Remnant, there are also these creature called Grimm, Monsters that roam the land soon after the dawn of mankind. We were almost wiped out, if it weren't for the Huntsmen. Speaking of which, it's up to us Huntsmen to keep these creatures of destruction at bay. Well, technically i'm still a Huntress-in-training so i don't get to fight any Grimm, not yet. Anyways, this isn't the only roll they have. They also serve as peace keepers and also super cool heroes in times of chaos who saves those in danger. *deep sigh* They are so cool...

There are plenty of combat schools all across Vale that trained their students the basics of pretty much every field. From weapons, to combating different kinds of Grimm, Aura, even landing strategies from falling from a very, and I mean VERY high point! They do this to ensure that every student will be prepared with the skills and equipment necessary for their stay in Beacon, Vale's most esteemed academy producing the most top-notch Huntsmen around. Too bad i still have two years left here in Signal before I graduate. It's always been my dream to be a huntress ever since I read about the heroes of old when I was a kid.

One by one, the students of Signal rose from their beds to get ready for the day. Except for a certain young, silver eyed girl with short black hair. That's me, Ruby Rose and right now, I wasn't feeling too good. To be honest, I really didn't want to get up anytime soon but, duty calls, I guess.

I was woken up by the noise of an alarm and my poor head was bombarded by a head-splitting headache. "Ugh... I'm going to kill her." I groaned, plotting my revenge against Yang, my sister. You see, in celebration of her graduation from beacon, she invited me, along with some of her friends, to a night club she knew about. I told her that it wasn't such a good idea, but she was prepared for that and bribed me with a week supply of cookies so i thought "How bad could it be?"

I ended up passing out, drunk in the middle of it. Don't get me wrong, it was fun but, now i have the biggest hangover so i'm not doing that anytime soon.

I reached for the clock and kept falling to turn it off until frustration took over and i threw it out the window. "Oops," I sigh, making a mental note to buy a new alarm. I decided that staying in bed would be a bad idea, so I got out of bed and got dressed in my combat attire which consist of a black blouse, black stockings which covered up my legs and skirt with red trimming and black combat boots complete with my red, hooded cape. I was a bit thankful that she at least changed me into my pajamas last night but, it did little to douse the flames of hate. "I'll have my revenge Yang, just you wait..."

When I got the cafeteria, I heard someone call out, "Ruby, over here!" I turned to where it came from and saw Yang sitting at our usual table with an obnoxious grin on her face. "Saved you a spot." She said.

Yang had beautiful long, blond hair that reached her hips and cerulean eyes. She was wearing combat attire as well, a yellow tank top underneath a tan jacket complete with an orange infinity scarf wrapped around her neck, black biker shorts with an elegant, black boots and fingerless gloves. She wore a utility belt as well if she needed to bring somthing.

As soon as I took the seat, I slumped my head on the table, the noise making my headache worse. "What's the matter rubes?" She asked in a playful tone. "Had one too many drinks, huh?" I sighed in misery. "I hate it when you corrupt me like this... Yeah... You could have warned me, you jerk..." I muttered yet she heard me much to her amusement. "Aww, come one little sis, it was your fault that you drank too much," She said with a smirk. "Besides, I did warn you. You just THAT drunk after the first bottle." I blushed at her remark before looking away with an annoyed huff. "Anyway, I have something that will cheer you up," She said as I heard a plate being pushed in front of me. I was I about interject when I smelled the sweet smell of cookies. I checked if it was real and sure enough, the plate was full of it. I groggily took one and took a moment take in the smell of... strawberries?!

"Okay, you're forgiven," I said with a smirk before taking a bite. "For now at least." I heard she chuckle in amusement as she ruffled my hair. "So, when are you leaving for Beacon?" I asked, a bit sad that she wasn't going to be around anymore. "About a week," she answered. She noticed the solemn expression on my face and gave me a comforting hug. "Don't worry about it, sis. You'll catch up in no time." I gave her a wistful smile as i returned the hug, "That doesn't mean I'm not gonna miss you."

She broke away from our embrace and was about to say something, but stopped. Her eyes were wide in shock and confusion making me raise a brow. It was rare of her to show that look. I looked around and noticed that everyone was staring in the same direction, dead silent much to my confusion. I followed their gaze and gasped at the sight.

In front of the doors that led outside was a young woman in an outfit that was that was similar to mine, covered in blood, limping inside as she used her scythe to aid her steps. Wait, is that Crimson Rose?! I my hand snapped for my weapon and I was relieved that it was still there. 'Who is she?' That's when i noticed the strange mask she was wearing. It was white and the red lens that hid her eyes are commonly seen among the Grimm. 'Is she a part of the White Fang?' I thought, reaching for my scythe, but stopped. Was she really a threat in her condition? 'Even if she is one of them, helping her is right thing.' Her clothes were torn, her right hand was pressing on a wound to her side, and there was a large gash running down her leg, which caused her limp. I shook the thought aside, 'And by the looks of it, she doesn't have much time left.'

One of the students broke out of the shock and said, "Somebody call the paramedics, quick!"

"There's no time for that!" I yelled as i ran towards her weakening form. "She'll bleed out before they get here! Yang, help me out here!" She nodded and carried her by her left arm, while i was on the other before we made our way to the school's infirmary. We rushed through the hallways, sending a quick "Sorry" to anyone we bumped in to. We burst through the door, surprising a rabbit Faunus that was tended the ill. She was about to lash out on us when she noticed the wounded we came in with. "Oh dust... Quickly, put her on the bed." We did so with care before she inspected the wounds. "She lost a lot of blood and her aura exhausted. It's a miracle that she survived for this long." Said person snorted with a smirk, "That's what they all say." We gave her a look, unable to believe that this happened to her before. "All of you, just give me some of your aura and I'll do the rest."

"What are you going to do?" I asked in worry and she gave me a comforting smile. "Trust me," We looked at each other for a moment before we hesitantly raised our hands and closed our eyes in concentration. From there, our aura began to flow into her battered body. After a few seconds have passed, I took a peek at what was happening and gasped as i saw her wounds began to close and heal at an extraordinary rate. "Wow, now that's what i call a quick fix." Yang said making the nurse cringe while I shook my head with a smile at my sister's antics. "Thank you for helping her Mrs. Scarlatina." I said to the nurse. She nodded, "It was no trouble. Now, as much as I want to research on this phenomenon, I have other duties to tend." She said before tending to the other patients. I looked back at the woman in black took a good look at her armor. It was white just like those seen on the grimm as well. 'But, that can't be right' I thought. 'They usualy fade away along with the rest of their bodies.' My pondering was stoped when she slowly sat up, looking around in a hase before she gave a look filled with melancholy. "Hey," I called as i sat beside the bed. "Are you okay?" I asked in concern. "So it true..." She whispered much to my confusion.

"Excuse me?" I asked. 'What could she mean by that?'

She opened her mouth to answer but closed it, unsure if she should tell us. Yang, seeing this look before, decided to intervene. "You don't have to, though," She said. "You can tell us when you're ready." She then gave me a sly look that made me shudder. That was never a good sign. "Ruby~" she sang, placing her hands on her hips. "Aren't you suppose to be in class?" I paled, "What time is it?!" She looked at her scroll and said, "7:05."

"I'm late!" I screamed before disappearing in a trail of roses.

?'s PoV

As Ruby left, I saw an amused smile crept on Yang's face... I still can't believe it. I'm back here in signal, back in the past and yet everything is so different. Yang shook her head before facing me one more. "So," she hummed whilst she brought a chair beside me and sat on it backwards. "What did you do to get so Yang-ed up like that?" She said with a pun. I snorted, fondly remembering her doing does back in my time. "Yang-ed, really?" I asked to her amusement. "Cause I mess up anyone who messes with me." She boasted, flexing her arm as she gave me a wink. "I'm sure you do." I said with a smile before sighing. "My... home was destroyed by a pack of Beowolves," I answered solemnly. It was true... in my future, Vale was no more. Another war broke out between the faunus and humans which lead to the destruction of man. For the grimm of ancients saw this as the right time to strike. All of the kingdoms fell one by one... until there was nowhere left to go.

I was surprised, but at the same time knew that she would comfort me and just noticed that her arms were wrapped around my neck as she pulled me into a comforting embrace. "You really have it hard, don't you?" She asked joking manner. "I guess I do..." I hummed, placing a hand on hers as I enjoyed the her warmth. After a moment has passed, she broke away from the hug and said, "If you need anything, just ask, okay?" She offered. I nodded and I had the most mischievous idea. 'Payback for all those years of puns, Yang...'

"There is one thing," I said in a sly tone. "Shoot." She answered in a cheery voice.

"Would you believe me if I were to say, 'I'm from a different reality?" I asked off-handedly. She raised a brow, "Reality? Like another dimension or something?" She asked to which i nodded. She snorted with a smirk, "Like that could ever happen. You couldn't possibly- eh?" I removed my hood to reveal my long black hair that reached my waist which had red highlights on the tips. With a smirk, I asked her, "Any guesses?" She just stared at me with wide eyes trying to voice out her thoughts but couldn't. The look on her face said it all, she was bewildered and I had to cough a laugh. 'And now for the mask. I was about to remove the mask before Yang decided to stop my hand. "Is something wrong, Yang?" I asked, innocence covering my voice as i did. It got me the desired effect, making her recoil in fright at how familiar that phrase was. I snickered much to her annoyance and she decided enough was enough. "Would you cut that out?! And would you stop imitating my sister? It's creeping me out." I smirked mentally, 'gotcha!'

I put out the sweetest smile I could muster and told her, "But Yang, i am your sister." I took off the mask to reveal my silver eyes and a scar could me seen running down the right one.

"Ru-RUBY?!