A young girl stumbled through the woods, the howling of the monsters echoing ever closer.

The wind whipped around her as she called out for her mother. She let out a strangled cry as she tripped over a loose tree root and fell to the ground.

The growling of the beasts increased in volume as she lay, unmoving from exhaustion.

"Mommy!"

The girl cried out one last time before succumbing to the darkness that rushed to envelop her completely.

The last thing she saw was the glowing red eyes of the Grimm closing in.

Ruby awoke with a start, the final images of her dream fresh in her mind's eye.

She took a few deep breaths to steady her rampant heartbeat as she took in her surroundings.

She was sitting in the cabin of an airship, her teammates sleeping peacefully around her.

She smiled at the sight, knowing this might be their last chance for a fulfilling rest before they reached their destination - Team RWBY had been sent on a simple mission to clear out a mass of Grimm who had been terrorizing a nearby village.

Her smile slipped back into a frown as her nightmare pushed against her memories.

It had been many years since she had last been plagued with such visions. Not since…

Ruby quickly pushed the thought out of her head. She had a mission to focus on and now really wasn't the time to deal with the unpleasant memories that were resurfacing.

The young leader didn't dare attempt sleep again, so she resolved herself to just sit and watch over her teammates and friends.

Ruby collapsed her scythe as she watched Weiss remove her rapier from the disintegrating carcass of the final Grimm.

They had been battling the soulless beasts ceaselessly since their landing at the edge of the forest.

It was evident the task was much more challenging than expected, and all four girls were thoroughly exhausted. There was still much to be done.

Ruby looked around at her friends. Weiss appeared on the verge of collapse, and Blake and Yang weren't looking much better.

The Faunus had received a nasty blow to her side which had resulted in a nasty gash. It didn't appear to be fatal, but still must have hurt.

Taking in their sorry state, Ruby made a quick decision.

"You three can start setting up the campsite for the night," she said. "I'm going to go ahead a bit to scout out our path for tomorrow."

Her teammates looked up with a tired shock.

"You can't possibly be thinking about heading off on your own!" Weiss exclaimed. "It's way too dangerous!"

"I'll be fine," Ruby assured. "Besides, I'll have Crescent Rose with me!"

Weiss sighed, but let it go, too tired to argue anymore.

Ruby watched as her partner set about gathering up wood to build a fire. There seemed to be something else bothering the heiress, but it probably wasn't very important, otherwise she would have said something.

"I don't like it," Yang said. "Weiss is right; we don't what's out there. At least let me come with you."

Ruby shook her head.

She knew her sister had overexerted herself already today. Her aura levels were dangerously low and she really couldn't afford running about in the dark.

"Sorry, Yang, but I can do it quicker if I go alone. Just give me ten minutes, and if I'm not back, come find me."

The blonde sighed but nodded reluctantly.

Ruby gave her one last comforting smile before running off into the trees.

Once out of sight, Ruby slowed to a walk.

Yes, she did want to scope out the nearby land, but she had another reason for heading off alone.

Something had been bothering her for a while now. Come to think of it, it started on the airship….

Ruby sighed heavily. She knew now wasn't the time to recall her mother's death. She had come to terms with it years ago, but it still brought pain and sadness whenever she thought of it.

And what could have possibly caused the memory to resurface? And so vividly too…

Her troubled wondering was brought to an end as familiar gunshots echoed through the trees.

Pushing aside her worries for the time being, she spun on her heel and raced back to the campsite.

When she reached her destination, Ruby was met with the sight of her sister and Blake battling an Ursa Major for all their worth.

Without hesitation, she unfurled her scythe and lunged into the fray. Within a few moments, the three had emerged victorious and dispatched the beast.

Panting heavily, Ruby made a worrying discovery.

"Where's Weiss?"

Yang shook her head and shrugged.

"We don't know," she admitted. "When the Grimm came, we got forced apart."

At this point, Ruby's worry was nearing full on panic levels. Blame it on adrenaline or lack of sleep, all she knew was she had to find Weiss.

"Which way did she go?"

Blake pointed across the campsite.

"She pursued a couple Beowolves in that direction."

Ruby nodded determinedly and started in the indicated way. She felt the others follow behind her and let out some tension she didn't know she was holding.

They were a team. An unstoppable one, at that. Weiss would be fine. Everything would be fine.

Everything was not fine.

They walked blindly through the woods, trusting only Blake's enhanced senses and the general direction Weiss disappeared to.

After a few minutes, they emerged into a small clearing, and froze at the scene in front of them.

Ruby cried in anguish as she took in what she saw. The scene was so similar to something she had seen all those years ago.

Grimm corpses dotted the clearing at various levels of disintegration. But no one paid them any mind.

In desperation, Ruby rushed across the clearing, hoping against all odds that the past wasn't repeating itself.

Blake and Yang shook themselves out of their stupor and followed their leader across the soiled ground.

Ruby reached her goal and felt her heart jump in her throat and stick there.

Gently, she picked up the white cloth, now stained red and brown.

Any lasting hopes the trio had were broken and forgotten when Yang picked something else up.

The rapier shone an ominous red as the moonlight reflected of the blood coated blade.

Weiss would have never left Myrtenaster behind.

Ruby dropped her scythe at her side and sunk to her knees. Her remaining teammates did what they could to console their leader, but they themselves were having trouble processing it all.

Their shocked mourning was cut short as more Grimm entered the clearing, drawn by their sorrow.

Blake took a shuddering breath to steel her nerves as she reached for her weapon.

"Come on guys," she called softly. "Let's finish this mission so we can get back to Beacon."

Yang stood up, pulling Ruby with her.

"It's what Weiss would have wanted," she assured.

Ruby stared at the tattered jacket and rapier before numbly extending her scythe.

"For Weiss."

AN:

I am sorry. I am angry at myself as well.

I am planning on continuing this. I just can't promise when that will be. Thanks for reading, and I'll get back to you with more as soon as I can.