"ATTENTION TEAM RWBY!" Ruby yelled as she flung open the door to Team RWBY's dormitory, drawing a startled look from Blake as she fumbled for her book. "Uh… Blake? Where is everyone?"
"Weiss is helping your sister get everything ready for tomorrow. From what I hear, your sister's really going all out."
"Tomorrow…" Ruby rolled the word around on her tongue. "Tomorrow…"
"Our one year anniversary, remember? Since we started dating; one Year to the day since Yang left that trail of Tuna…"
"Oh yeah! The room smelt like fish for the rest of the day! What was at the end of that trail anyway?"
Ruby raised an eyebrow at the sudden blush that infused the Faunus's cheeks. "Nothing too important…" mumbled Blake.
"Uh huh. So do you have any idea where Yang and Weiss actually are?"
"Not really. What's going on anyway?"
"We've got an assignment in the Emerald Forest tomorrow. Weiss and I can take care of it though, it's only a few Beowolves. We'll let you enjoy tomorrow it's no biggie. See you!"
With that, Ruby left as quickly as she'd arrived.

"See!? I told you we needed to be contactable!" Weiss snapped at Yang. It was dark outside their window, the preparations for the next day having taken longer than Yang had initially said, and the Heiress was in a foul mood when Ruby had told them of the change of plans upon their return to the dormitory. "What if the mission had been today? What if it were more than Beowolves! Ruby and Blake would have had to go one alone and if there had been a Death Stalker?! Or multiple packs of Ursa! Even we can't fight too many at once!"
"Please don't fight guys…" pleaded Ruby. "I'm tired it's really late let's just go to sleep."
"Relax!" Yang laughed as she walked over to her bed. "Nothing bad happened! I'll be more careful in the future that's all! Look, I promise I'll take my pad with me tomorrow. Happy?"
"Fine! You're lucky it is just Beowolves! Otherwise you'd be skipping tomorrow for this mission!"
"Weiss…" Ruby pleaded, tugging at her arm. "Let's just go to bed."
"Fine." Relented Weiss, allowing Ruby to pull her under the covers as Yang slipped in next to an already sleeping Blake. Weiss smiled softly as she felt Ruby wrap around her.
"Weiss? You smell like Tuna."
The other girls giggle was enough to stave of Weiss's grimace, and a smile returned as she slipped into sleep.

The Emerald forest was quiet that day, save for the voices of two lovers as they walked, eyes peeled for Grimm but otherwise quite relaxed, soaking up each-others presence.
"Come on!" Ruby pleaded, "It wasn't my fault!"
"It most certainly was! Ruby Rose you are a dolt!"
"Yeah but I'm your dolt, princess."
"Ugh! Do you have any clue how insufferable you are?"
"Well I can't be that insufferable or you wouldn't be dating me!"
Weiss paused, thinking. The girl had a point. "Ugh. Every time she does this!" she muttered, pecking Ruby on the side of the head, completely unprepared for Ruby grabbing her head and pulling her into a breathtaking kiss.
"That's more like it…"
"I'll… bear that in mind…" panted the white-haired girl.
"Shouldn't be too long now! We've been walking for ages!"

They arrived in a clearing not long afterwards. That's when they saw the first Beowolf.
Eyes glowing red, it slunk from the trees, followed by another, and another.
"Is… is this it?" Ruby raised her eyebrow. "I was… kinda expecting more." Shrugging, she pulled Crescent Rose from beneath her cloak, extending it into a rifle. Swiftly, she took aim and fired. That's when things went to hell.
Beowolves poured from the trees, a numberless horde thundered towards the lovers and countless howls filled the air. Taking a step back, Ruby extended Crescent Rose into a full Scythe, then propelled herself into the masses.

Ruby swept Crescent Rose on an arc before firing a shot, propelling her above the Beowolves before another flurry of shots sent her back into the beasts, blood flying as she severed limbs and heads. Occasionally darting about with her semblance, Ruby moved about the battlefield, never staying in one place except to finish off a foe.
Weiss, in contrast to her partners wild movement, kept the fighting restricted to a spiral pattern, moving only to evade or attack, Myrtenaster glowing yellow as she deftly parried, slashed, dodged, thrust and parried again, moving the spiral outward as the ground below her turned muddy with blood. Switching Myrtenaster to light blue she swung the rapier, freezing the Beowolves surrounding her before spinning her blades dust compartment to red and bursting the barrier with a wave of fire just in time to see an Ursa thundering towards her. Frantically, switching Myrtenaster's setting to white Weiss began conjuring glyphs, Using them to jump higher and higher, trying desperately to reach a better position from which to fight, only to see three Ursa closing in on a wildly spinning scythe.
"Ruby!" Spinning Myrtenaster to violet, she launched herself at the Ursa closest to Ruby, feeling the blade bite into its neck before pulling it from the dead beast and switching back to yellow before she felt a sharp pain in her side and she was propelled to the side of the clearing. Using a tree to try and pull herself up, she gasped, clutching her left side as blood welled from where the Ursa had struck her. Forcing herself to her knees, she looked up as three things happened. The Ursa that struck her charged. Rose petals drifted through the air, and Ruby was hooking Crescent Rose around its neck, firing off a shot to decapitate it and jump down next to Weiss before reloading. There was fear in Ruby's eyes, fear and determination. She was not going to let Weiss down as she spoke one word.
"Hide."

Turning, she disappeared in a flurry of rose petals, using her semblance to dash to the horde of Grimm, gunshots ringing and limbs flying. Ruby launched herself into the air regularly, sending bullets into the heads and necks of any Grimm that made a move towards Weiss. Finally, when she was certain she had their full attention, she launched herself away, the horde of Grimm on her tail.
Ruby was terrified as she launched herself through the Emerald Forest, she couldn't get Weiss's horrible wound out of her head, and she could no longer keep the Grimm from turning back for her lover. But she had to keep their attention. She had to get them away from Weiss. That was all that mattered.

Ruby kept the chase up for over two hours, and she was exhausted. That's when she hit the ravine. Stumbling to a halt, Ruby despaired as she saw the ravine where Team RWBY had made its debut kill, the decapitation of the Nevermore at the top of the towering cliff on the other side of a long drop. Tears began to slide down her face as she turned to face the horde of Grimm. The Beowolves had spread out, trapping her. The Ursa were advancing slowly in a loose semicircle. A group of Boarbatusk had joined the horde, when did that happen?
It didn't matter. She was never going to see Weiss again; or Yang, the amazing sister who had been there for Ruby her whole life; or Blake, the Faunus who understood every problem Ruby had ever come to her with, indeed, who was the one who had read the signs and told Ruby to ask out Weiss in the first place. Weiss, her girlfriend and lover, her own personal princess to look up to and talk to and love, hers was the face Ruby saw whenever she closed her eyes. Blinking back her tears, Ruby spun Crescent Rose, embedding the scythe tip in the ground.
Locking a fresh clip into the weapon, Ruby opened fire at the closest Ursa.
The Grimm horde surged forwards as Ruby launched herself, spinning, through the Beowolves, cutting them down in higher numbers than she would readily count, yet still more came in an endless horde. Rose petals flew from Ruby as she used her semblance, reloading mid-fight and locking in a clip marked with four arrows, pointing outwards.
The muzzle flashes changed from white to black as she surged into the Grimm, pushing her tired and aching body to its limits. Then she launched herself through the mist of blood into the path of a charging Ursa.
Ruby flew through the air when it hit her, Crescent Rose falling form her hands, trampled by Grimm, stomped beneath the hooves of Boarbatusk and the claws of Ursa. Semblancing, Ruby picked herself up from where she landed.
Running for Crescent Rose, she ducked under Ursa and between Beowolves, tearing her cloak when it snagged on their claws and lunging for her beloved scythe when a Beowolf caught her leg. Screaming, her fingers found the handle, pulling it towards her and firing. Crescent Rose shuddered at the recoil as Ruby was ripped from the claws of the Beowolf, clinging desperately to the scythe. Landing near the ravine she pushed herself up, leaning on Crescent Rose, her savaged leg all but useless.
Ruby used Crescent Rose to launch herself into the air one last time as an Ursa charged, before firing a final, shuddering shot to bring the blade down onto its armoured back.
Crescent Rose shattered.

Ruby flew backwards, lying where she landed, too stunned to move, staring at what used to be her beloved Crescent Rose. Faintly, Ruby heard gunshots, then a scream. Suddenly, there was Weiss, on her knees next to her, sobbing.
"Ruby?" Weiss's voice sounded faint, as though heard from a great distance. Bloody hands clutched at Ruby and warm tears splashed on her face. "Ruby? Ruby? No nononono don't leave me! Ruby please don't leave me! Ruby? RUBY!"

Weiss clutched Ruby to her chest, tears streaming down her face as Yang and Blake, contactable for once, held off the Grimm. Weiss hunched over the lifeless figure in her grasp, sobs wracking her body as blood the colour of roses stained the ground beneath her.