Chapter One: Shatter

re:Bound

A Fanfiction By Allison Illuminated

Chapter Publish Date: 6/19/17

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, and I am not affiliated with Rooster Teeth in any way.

Trigger Warnings: This work will contain imagery of violence, major character death, bullying, abuse, racism, and depression, alongside mentions and non-graphic allusions to sexual abuse, harassment, and rape.

Ice is a fickle mistress.

The pools of evil flow dark in the night, pulling the idle traveler down to rest in its sandy graves. Humanity, in its ever-present fight of self-preservation, froze the waters over to conceal the ocean depths and build their monuments to nothing. For centuries, civilization stood tall and proud, and in their wisdom, declared ice to be unchanging granite and marble. Lowly villages gave rise to spires and fortresses, technological marvels of dust and the cities constructed by its powers.

However, for all that Winter shall turn to Winter, so must Winter turn to spring. As the ice wears away, its crystalline fractures become too much to repair.

After all, melting ice never breaks even.

The glass spilled through the air in slow motion, jagged edges spiraling through the cool night air. Reflections in the foggy depths were lost in a crimson tide, tumbling down to Remnant in a collapsing wave. Perhaps it was the red dust spilling through the air, a kaleidoscope distorting the world around them. Maybe it was the scarlet drops of blood, dripping off the sharp edges hurtling toward the ground. Most likely, it was the young girl accompanying the cloud left behind in Roman Torchwick's wake.

Ruby Rose hit the ground. Hard.

Spinning to one side to avoid a burst of dust powered bullets, she sprang to her feet and unleashed her scythe as five grunts walked up to flank the well-dressed orange haired man who had sent her flying. Hastily brushing sweat and blood away from a cut over her left eye, she winced as she tensed, ready for the attack.

"Okayyy… Get her!" Torchwick said, lazily leaning back on his cane as his men rushed into action around him.

Ruby narrowed her eyes as she sprang into action. Alright, I'm gonna knock them out so the police can get them.

She slammed the tip of the scythe into the ground, driving the powerful blade into the black pavement. Grabbing the handle, she used it to swing herself around and land a roundhouse kick directly into a grunt's face, laying him out flat on his back. One down.

Yanking her scythe back out, she ducked and rolled to avoid another explosion of red dust where she had been standing. Aiming the back of her scythe at her aggressor, she launched a stun blast into his chest, sending him flying backward into the brick building behind him with a resounding crash. Two- Wait!

Desperately swinging the blunt end of her scythe around behind her, she swept the legs out from under two grunts who had snuck up behind. As she finished her rotation, she came face to face with the fifth grunt. Eyes widening, she brought her weapon up to counter a downwards blow from his sword. Feinting to the side, she brought the blunt end of the scythe up once again and sent it crashing down on his head, knocking him out cold.

Shots rang from behind her. Using her gun to launch her at a nearby tree, she saw that one of the grunts she had tripped was taking careful at her with a dust-filled pistol. Strafing him with consecutive cannon blasts, she flew past him. Digging her scythe into the ground again, she reversed her momentum and kicked him into the air. Pushing off of the ground, she did a backflip as she sent the blunt edge crashing down onto his head.

There, that's five. Wiping blood off her forehead once again, Ruby narrowed her eyes at Roman. I know this guy! He's Vale's most wanted criminal, locally at least. He was on the news last night!

"You were worth every cent. Truly, you were," Roman muttered as he dropped his cigar and ground it into the dust shop's floor with his cane. "Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening, and as much as I'd love to stick around, I'm afraid this is where we part ways."

Ruby grinned victoriously as she heard sirens in the background, but that smile faded instantly as Roman's cane clicked back to reveal a scoped shotgun, pointed straight at her head.

Act now! Firing her gun into the ground, she leaped over another red dust explosion and landed with her cape billowing around her. Head snapping up, she wildly cast her gaze around as she realized Torchwick had disappeared. A movement caught her eyes, and she turned to see him climbing a nearby ladder to the top of a nearby building.

Time slowed.

She knew she had split-second decision to make. The dust shop behind her was in ruins, and she could see the shopkeeper cowering behind the counter as he nursed a wound from the explosion of glass on his shoulder. She had to check on him, just to make sure he wasn't in grave danger. That way, she could stop the grunts from getting away too, and tell the police what had happened. Yang would want her to stay down, anyways. But...

If Torchwick got away, who would be there to stop it from happening the next time?

In that moment, Ruby chose Torchwick.

Springing to her feet, Ruby disappeared in a cloud of rose petals and sprinted up the ladder at top speed.

Roman's eyes widened as a hand grabbed his ankle at the top of the ladder. "Red?!"

Dangling from Roman's ankle with a single hand, Ruby grunted as she swung her scythe around with a single hand and dug the tip into the edge of the building. For all of the strength training she had done in her years and years at Signal, she still had trouble handling her monstrous weapon without a solid double grip.

Roman pointed his cane at her head. "You're persistent, I'll give you that. This ends now!"

She let go of his ankle, swinging away from him as she hung onto Crescent Rose with a single hand. Roman grinned as he slowly backed away, sending another blast at her. Gritting her teeth, she swung away again as he took off across the roof at a full sprint, yelling into a small mic on his shirt, "I need you now!"

Ruby's eyes widened as she saw the dust crystal Roman had dropped. Springing into action, she launched her self and her scythe into the air with her semblance as it exploded beneath her. A chunk of shrapnel crashed against her right arm as she launched herself of another towards Roman. She screamed as she hit the ground running, barely keeping a hold on her weapon.

Three yards away from the edge of the roof, an airship rose up with an open platform facing towards Roman. He hesitated for a moment, then took the running jump.

She had already come this far. She wasn't going to let him get away now.

Shooting forwards with her semblance, Ruby brought her scythe over her head. Springing from halfway across the roof, she took a wild leap towards the criminal, already halfway through his jump.

For a moment, she was on course to collide with Roman. Then, she brought her scythe down.

By the time it occurred to her which side she had swung down, it was already too late.

Roman screamed as the sharp tip of her scythe collided with his face. The blade tore through his neck and upper torso before Ruby's semblance send her hurtling into the criminal at top speeds, driving them underneath the aircraft and onto the pavement below.

An intense burst of pain shot through Ruby's head as her already injured right arm collided with the ground, hearing an unhealthy snap as it did. She yelled wordlessly in pain, depleted aura barely having held the rest of her body together. Remembering the airship hovering above her, she forced herself to open her eyes.

She would regret that for the rest of her life.

She was lying on top of Roman Torchwick's mangled body, surrounded by a pool of blood. His face was pale and his eyes unseeing, or at least what was left of them. A massive gash ran from his left eye to his stomach, his skin torn raggedly like a piece of paper. His neck had snapped in the fall, and his head hung to one side like a rag doll.

He was undeniably dead.

Roman Torchwick was dead. Because of her.

Ruby Rose had killed Roman Torchwick.

I killed him.

An explosion above her caught her attention, and she looked up to see the hovercraft take to the air, launching a missile into the building above. Ruby closed her eyes, knowing she was too weak to get out of the way.

When the rubble never made impact, she opened her eyes again to see a regal woman in a purple getup with blonde hair standing over her. The glyph she had just cast sent the rubble flying back at the receding airship, where it exploded in a cloud of fire. The woman watched it disappear, then knelt down next to Ruby. "Child, are you okay?"

I killed him.

Silently, she shook her head as her eyes drifted back down, to her bloodstained hands and arms. She- How could she- No, she couldn't have done this. She- She- She was only going to knock out the robbers for the police to capture! This- No, it couldn't be her fault. It was an accident. If he hadn't been shopping there-

"Glynda. Get Miss Rose away from him. Now."

The new speaker was male, and Ruby's eyes widened as she glowed purple and was pulled away from Roman. She screamed again as her arm moved, and Glynda cursed. "My arm!"

The scene was even worse from a distance. Roman's body was lying in a small crater, next to Crescent Rose. Her blade was soaked in blood. Was it even her blade anymore? How could she have-

Sirens sounded, and the purple surrounded Ruby again as she was lifted onto a stretcher. Her eyes widened. The shopkeeper! "Stop, I have to go, I have to check on the shopkeeper!"

"Quick, she's going to hurt herself! Put her under!"

A sharp pain bit into Ruby's arm, and her world faded out to black.

"Dad, she's coming to!"

Ruby's eyes blinked open to see two concerned faces staring down at her. Sluggishly, she murmured, "Yang? Dad? Wha..." She frowned, trying to think through the haze that filled her head.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled, then gave her a rough hug. "You're okay! We were so worried after Ozpin came and told us that you had been injured."

She blinked slowly, not yet fully computing her surroundings. "Where am I?"

Yang released her, and Dad leaned down and hugged her as well. "You're at Shelter Hospital in Vale. We're just glad you're okay, honey."

"Oh." Ruby yawned as the anesthesia came back in force, and she gently closed her eyes as Taiyang settled her back down on the bed.

"Dad, is she really okay?"

"She's alive, Yang, and that's what matters."

"I know, it's just… She hasn't stopped frowning since we've been here."

She drifted in and out of consciousness for what seemed like an eternity and a half. When she was awake, either Dad or Yang or a nurse was there to talk to her through the drugs.

When she was asleep, she dreamed.

Everything seemed so distorted through the red fog. She saw her dreams like a window, fractured sheets of shattered glass, spinning through the evening air. Sometimes, Torchwick would make the jump and get away. Either he would shoot her, or she wouldn't get there in time, or she would forget to activate her semblance, or she would have just stayed with the shopkeeper. Sometimes, she never even made it through the grunts, disarmed and tortured, captured, or killed.

Sometimes she traded places with him. They were both murderers, after all. She would stare down the barrel of her cane and shoot him in the head, or he would rake a scythe down the length of her body. He would capture her, too. The questioning room was black and white, or would be if the scarlet film hadn't painted it crimson. They would come one by one, her family and teachers and friends.

Torchwick only ever asked her, "Why?"

And then Torchwick was gone, and others Ruby knew found themselves underneath her scythe. She wielded the instrument of death, after all. What difference did it make, whether she killed a friend or foe? His grunts. A shopkeeper. A Grimm, a nameless terror that had plagued her dreams for years. Her Signal friends. The blonde woman. Dad. Yang.

In her dreams, Ruby desperately called out. Help me, please! Make this stop! Make this go away!

One time, she woke up shaking. Curling up as much as possible, she whispered "No, no, no, no, no..." over and over again, trying to make everything disappear.

"Ruby! Ruby! Calm down, please, it's me, it's Yang, I'm here. Nurse!"

Shaking her head, Ruby curled up even tighter until she felt another wave take her under, sending her back into unconsciousness.

This time, her dreams were different. Stumbling through the fog, she saw a hand reaching out towards her. Recoiling, she drew Crescent Rose and waved it out in front of her. The scythe still had bloodstains on it as she yelled, "Go away! Leave me alone!"

"No."

The hand disappeared, and the person behind it reappeared next to her, touching her bare shoulder. Ruby turned to stare at the person next to her as a wave of calm washed over her body.

The girl was shorter than her, which caught Ruby's attention because nobody was shorter than her anymore. Half of her hair was bubblegum pink, while the other was a rich dark brown. Similarly, her eyes were two entirely different colors. She was entirely naked and was looking at Ruby with the strangest expression in her eyes.

"Who… are you?"

The girl gave her a hard smile. "Neo. Are your dreams gone?"

Ruby nodded, and Neo vanished from her dreamscape. Looking out into the blackness around her, she was finally able to fall into a deep slumber.

Ruby smiled as Yang walked into the hospital room. "Hey, Yang."

Her sister smiled tiredly as she settled down in a chair next to Ruby's bed. "Hey, you're awake."

She nodded, fidgeting in her bed. She had only been awake for two hours, but she had already run through all of the games on her Scroll, read all of the eBooks she had downloaded, and gone through all of her good ideas for waiting (juggling the tissues and water on her bedside table). "This sucks! I hate staying in bed!"

Yang bit her lip and frowned. "The doctors said they can let you go tomorrow, but they want to make sure that your cast is good. Are you… okay?"

Ruby stared at Yang's worried expression, fiddling her thumbs underneath her flimsy hospital sheets. The doctors had taken her off of painkillers the day before, so her arm was throbbing with a ghostly pain she couldn't quite ignore. No. She gave Yang her best smile. "Yeah, I'm just bored! Don't worry about me."

Something crossed through Yang's expression, and she leaned back in her chair. "How can I not worry about you? My little sister goes after Vale's most wanted criminal and came back with a broken arm that needed two reconstructive surgeries! Ruby, we thought you- that you- you-" Unable to finish her sentence, she embraced her as tightly as possible. "I'm just glad you're alive."

She returned the embrace with her uninjured arm. "I'm glad that I'm alive too."

I shouldn't be alive.

Yang broke the embrace and glanced down at her scroll. "Look, I've got to be back at school by seven, but-"

Ruby's eyes lit up. "School? You're at Beacon now! How's that?"

"It's good."

She waited patiently through a pregnant pause before realizing that Yang wasn't going to say anything else, and was staring off at the wall. "That's… it?"

"Mhm."

"Oh, come on! You gotta give me more than that! Is it as cool as it looks in Beacon 3: Return of the Grimm? Are there lots of awesome weapons? What about the people? Have you done awesome fighting like wa-cha ka- ow!" Ruby winced as her arm gave a sharp pang in the middle of her combat demonstration.

Her sister shrugged, not taking her eyes off of the wall. "It's pretty cool, I guess. It does look a lot like the game. A lot of people have swords-"

"Really? What kind of swords? Did you get to see their components? What do they do?"

Ruby flinched as Yang got to her feet and spun around to look at her. Yang gave her a hard stared and took a deep breath before her red aura faded around her. "Hey, Ruby, is there anything that you want from the hospital shop?"

"Yang?" She stared up at her big sister. "What's wrong? Did I say something?"

"No, it's- I mean, there's nothing wrong. Really, don't worry about it. Anything?"

"Well..." Ruby thought for a second, then she grinned mischievously. "Does the shop have any cookies?"

Yang rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure that there are cookies. I'll be back, okay?"

"M'kay."

Her sister left the room, and she sank down into her pillow as she left. What's up with Yang? She's acting all funny, like that time she was making a lot of noise in her room and wouldn't tell me what it was.

Maybe Yang was angry at her because of what she had done. Actually, now that Ruby thought about it, that had to be it. She was a murderer after all. Was she going to go to jail? She frowned as she thought about it; what if they didn't have red jumpsuits? At least there were cool weapons in prison. She thought back to a prison video game that she had played a while ago. She had made an awesome pipe sword out of bedsprings and toilet paper, and she probably could recreate it if she had to. It would be sad that Yang and Dad wouldn't be able to come and visit her, but they probably wouldn't want to anyways.

She tried to roll over, but the tug of the IV cables stopped her. Angrily, she stared at the white cast on her arm. See, if I was dead, this wouldn't be a problem! Sighing, her thoughts drifted off toward Ro-

Nope, she was not going to think about that. Reaching over, she grabbed her Scroll and turned on the holoscreen across the room.

When Yang came back, Ruby was halfway through watching Grimm Hunters X: Revenge of the Fallen. She looked over as Yang put down a pack of chocolate chip cookies on her bedside. "Here you go. You're watching this terrible movie again?"

"Hey, it's not terrible!" she protested. "Elisse is awesome!"

"You only like her because she has a hammer. All video game movies are terrible!"

"Nope."

"Whatever Ruby."

"..."

"..."

"Yang?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you hate me now?"

Yang flinched back as if she had been struck. "What? Of course I don't! How could you possibly think that?"

Ruby sniffled, and she felt her tears starting to gather. "But don't you ha- hate me after what I did?"

"Ruby..." Yang embraced her again. "What you did… It was self-defense. Torchwick-" Ruby flinched, and Yang hugged her tighter. "He was a criminal, Ruby. He's killed tons of people, and he would have killed you and even more if you hadn't stopped him. You can't beat yourself up over this! Please, just- Dad and I love you, Ruby. That will never change. Never."

Ruby started to sob into her shoulder, and for a long time, the two sisters just sat there, holding each other tightly as possible. Finally, Yang broke away. "Look, I have to catch the ride back to Beacon. I'll- I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Okay."

Despite herself, Ruby smiled as she watched Yang go, before turning to the pack of cookies that she had left behind. A hungry glint filled her eyes as she reached towards them ravenously.

Some things just never change.

That night, Ruby dreamed about Neo.

"Miss Rose. May I come in?"

Ruby looked up to see a man with silver hair and glasses standing at the doorway. Quickly, she turned her scroll off and said, "Um, hi. Sure. Who are you?"

He nodded graciously as he swept into the room, sitting down at her bedside. "My name is Ozpin. I trust that you have been making a speedy recovery from your surgery?"

"Yup. The nurses here are all super nice, and they say that my cast can come off in a week!"

He smiled. "Medical technology these days is truly a marvel. Now, since you didn't recognize my name, I assume that you were unaware that I have been overseeing your medical process?" Ruby shook her head. "Well, you are quite the lucky girl right now. For a moment, we were worried that we would have to amputate your arm, but we were able to save it. You took quite the blow when you hit the ground."

Ruby's gut sank as she cast her eyes down towards her arm. "I guess so."

"Tell me, Miss Rose. Why did you decide to go after Torchwick?"

"I- I- He was going to get away! I didn't- I- I mean..."

"Ruby." She stared up at him with frightened eyes. "You are not at fault for the death of Roman Torchwick. You must understand that."

"But-"

Ozpin shook his head. "You have received a fine education at Signal Academy, and you should be feeling proud of your abilities. Otherwise, you would most certainly be dead right now."

"Oh."

"Why do you want to become a huntress?"

Ruby thought about that for a second, ignoring the cold feeling in her chest. "I guess it's because I want to protect people like my mom did."

"Roman Torchwick was a criminal, Miss Rose. He has killed hundreds of innocent people and committed every sort of crime you can imagine. Were you not protecting people through your actions?"

She shook her head vigorously. "But that's different, I-"

"You stopped one of the most dangerous criminals in Remnant. You saved lives through your actions. Regardless of what you may be telling yourself, you are a hero. Is that not what you wanted, to protect?"

"No! I never wanted to be a- a- murderer!" Ruby shouted, sitting up straighter in her bed. "How could you say something like that?"

"Ozpin!" Ruby looked up in surprise as her dad barged into the room. "What are you saying to my daughter? I thought we agreed-"

"Quiet, Taiyang. She has to understand this." He spoke with a quiet intensity that demanded attention, attention that was ripped out of Ruby like a broken valve. "Do you remember the proverb that you were told on the first day of combat class at Signal?"

"Um..." Ruby's brow furrowed; hadn't she slept through that entire class? "Wasn't it something like 'The worst monsters are never the Grimm, but come in human skin?'"

"Ruby," Ozpin's voice carried a vulnerable tone that hadn't been there before. "I wish that I didn't have to teach you this lesson now, but I am afraid that I have no choice. You are too young, but we are short on time. Young hunters and huntresses are idealistic, and this is always the hardest lesson to teach. There are good and bad people in this world, and it is our duty to protect the good and innocent, at any cost. There is a reason that hunters are trained in combat against humans. When the innocent come under fire, there are times when hunters must take a human life to protect them."

"No..." Ruby shook her head, "No, that can't be true!"

"It is. I am sorry, Ruby. However, you have done nothing wrong. The council has already commended your actions."

Ruby's eyes widened. "No, I can't believe that!"

Ozpin sighed. "What do you intend to do when you are discharged tomorrow?"

"Oh, um..." Ruby thought about it for a second. "I guess I'm just going back to Signal, right? The term started last week, right?"

"You will be going back to school tomorrow. However, that school will not be Signal."

"Huh?"

Her dad finally stopped leaning back on his hands against the wall and knelt down next to Ruby. "Ruby, Ozpin is the headmaster at Beacon Academy. He and I have both agreed that it is in your best interests to go there."

Ruby stared at Taiyang slack-jawed. "What? But… I'm fifteen!"

Ozpin stood up and started to walk towards the door. "We have decided that you are a special case, Miss Rose. Our psychological services are the best in Remnant, as are our classes. You have clearly already proven yourself to be adept with your weapon, and we wish to see you continue to progress. The choice is yours of course. Would you like to attend Beacon Academy?"

"Yes! Of course I want to go!" Ruby squealed, before remembering why she was getting the invitation in the first place.

"Miss Rose, we understand what you're going through right now," Ozpin said as he twisted the doorknob open. "Please think about what I told you. Oh, and also?"

"Welcome to Beacon."

[A/N] Welcome to the world of re:Bound! This is my first foray into the RWBY fandom, and I really love the way this story is going already. Feel free to leave feedback, positive or negative; I've done research and I'm fairly certain I've got Canon down, but I probably missed something. Concrit is absolutely welcome, especially on old chapters!

[Edit 2/11/18] Grammar. Also, it's crazy to come back to this chapter and see how much it's grown!