There was something strange about the knights and I couldn't exactly figure out what it was. They looked and sounded as I remembered them, but something was off and it was really starting to bother me.
"You understand that what you've done has caused mass panic?" one of the knights asked me.
"Yes," I answered shortly.
"And you also understand that we can't have that happen around here."
"Yes," I said again. These knights were a lot more intelligent than I remember them being. I only remember Atlesian Knights being capable of answering orders and giving out orders to civilians.
"And you can understand why you're officially viewed as a threat to the Kingdom of Vale."
"A threat?" I asked. "Don't you think that's a little extreme to say?"
"Not at all," said one of the knights. "We feel that this is the proper label to be given to a dangerous individual like you."
"What are you getting at?" I asked. They were beginning to slow down their pace. We were now standing in an empty hallway where nobody could see us.
"We've decided that eliminating you is the right decision," said a knight. They turned around and pointed all of their weapons at me.
"Did General Ironwood order this?" I asked. I looked around at each of the knights.
"No," said one of the knights. And they all shot off their weapons without another word.
I jumped right out of their circle and began to run down the hallway towards a safe place.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I heard my younger self say inside my head.
"This is the surprise you were talking about, wasn't it?" I grunted as I continued to run.
My answer came as giant eyes began to emerge from the walls. Each of them stared at me and widened as I ran past them.
"What is this?" I asked out loud.
Large, black hands emerged from their pupils and reached for me. I'd already thrown Crescent Rose away and my fifteen year old body wasn't that strong. I decided that the best solution was to dodge the arms and try to find a way out.
I focused my semblance on both my arms and used them to punch back at one of the arms. My punches were so fast that they were almost like bullets. It was enough to create a hole in one of the arms and send it reeling back. More came and as several more eyes started to emerge from the floor.
"I told you changing the past was impossible," said my younger self as more hands grabbed at my legs. "This is my reality and I have total control of what goes on in here."
I growled as I ripped off several fingers from a hand that had grabbed my arm. My arms were starting to get fatigued from the constant use of my semblance and my aura was being used up to push back any fatigue I was having.
"I'm not going to lose here!" I shouted as a hand sprouted from behind me and ripped out a chunk of my hair.
A large mouth had emerged and several snake-like tongues slipped out of it. They wrapped around my ankles and covered them in a slime-like substance. My combat skills were better when I had more open space to take advantage of my semblance. Tight areas like this were my weak point and this Grimm knew it. I cursed myself for falling into its trap and allowing myself to be tricked so easily.
"Now you're mine," said my younger self as the mouth below me opened. My heart was racing. There appeared to be no other option. Did I risk getting a tumor in my head by using the silver eyes?
"Move away, quickly!" A voice shouted from behind.
I jumped to my left just in time as a beam shot by me and struck one of the arms.
"AGHHHGH!" My younger self screamed. "You? How are you acting on your own?"
"Because I'm always combat ready!" said Penny.
My mouth opened up into a wide smile when I heard that.
She followed her beam with several swords that cut off many of the black hands that had sprouted. She then ran towards me and rolled me into her arm.
"Hold tight, Ruby," said Penny. "It's about to get rough!"
Penny rammed the walls with both her fists, creating a hole large enough for us to escape through.
"Don't think I'm letting you go so easily!" My younger self snarled. The black spikes I had dealt with earlier were beginning to sprout from the floor. Several of them tore into Penny and ripped out pieces of her body. One of them even managed to rip off a portion of her face, exposing her metallic facial structure.
"I'm well aware of that," said Penny. "That's why I'm leaving now." As a final message, Penny threw one of her swords directly into a giant eye that had been staring at us. My younger self screamed so loudly that it shook the entire building. The entire colosseum vibrated violently as her scream echoed in my head.
"Where are we going?" I asked Penny.
"Somewhere she can't reach us," said Penny. She jumped right through the hole she created, using her thrusters to give us a speed boost.
The place we were lead to was unlike anywhere else. It was completely dark. There were no signs of people or structures anywhere. I could only see Penny and myself.
"We're safe here," said Penny. She put me down and fell to her knees. Penny had definitely seen better days. There were several holes in her body from the spikes and the right side of her metallic face kept sparking. Despite all of this, Penny still managed to give me a smile.
"Thank you," I said, shaking a little. "I don't know if I would have escaped that."
"Of course," said Penny. "That's what friends do."
"But I don't get it," I said. "How were you able to save me? How did you even know I was going to be trapped?"
"I can't say for sure," said Penny. "I heard a voice telling me to help you and I came. That's all I can say."
I nodded at her. So much was going on and I couldn't keep track of it all. I had a feeling that this would be a regular occurrence when dealing with this Grimm.
"Do you at least know where we are?" I asked.
Penny nodded. "I do know that this is your half of your mind."
"What?"
Penny pointed past me. "Listen over there very carefully."
I walked over to where she pointed. It was just another patch of darkness that didn't look all that different from the rest.
"What am I looking for, Penny?"
"Lean your ear closer," she said.
"Okay," I said doubtfully. I did as she said and heard nothing at first.
"...Are you...robbing me…."
"But why? What do you get out of this?
"Yang? Is that you?"
I could hear all these memories of things I'd said years ago. I'd honestly forgotten some of them. They just kept coming and coming, as if they were calling for me.
I looked back at Penny and said, "what is this?"
"Your memories. Everything you've cared about is retained in your head. This is the part of you that hasn't been touched by the Grimm."
"So why do you know all of this?"
Penny stroked the metallic side of her face and said, "maybe it's because you hold me close in your memory. There might be others who are in the same situation as me."
That's when it struck me.
"Yang," I said out loud. "Weiss and Blake. They might be safe too."
"Could be," said Penny. "But I'm a little...damaged. I'm afraid I might shut down if I take any more.
"Don't worry, Penny," I said with a smile. "I'm not going to let that happen. I have an idea.
What is this? Mark III frantically asked. "All I'm getting is static."
"It seems like she's all on her own," said a voice in Mark III's head. "You shouldn't worry. Ruby can always fix a problem when she's determined.
"You think I don't know that?" Mark III grumbled. "She and I have probably known each other longer than you two have."
There was a knock at the door that put an end to Mark III's conversation.
"Come in," said Mark III.
The door opened and Yang stepped in. She smiled warmly at Mark III. Yang was probably the only member of team RWBY that Mark III felt a sort of connection with. Her arm had been a prototype for what would later become Mark III's body structure, and this made Mark III view Yang as a sort of relative.
"Yang," said Mark III cheerfully. "I thought you were watching Blake."
"She's fine," said Yang, eyeing Ruby. "How's she doing?"
"I don't know," said Mark III, turning her head away from Yang. "Her readings are coming up as static. I have a theory that this is because she's reached a part of her mind that not even I can observe."
Yang walked past Mark III and stood in front of Ruby, breathing slowly as she watched her sister's eyes twitch.
"Please be okay," Yang said softly, placing a hand on Ruby's head. "I know you always make it out, but that still doesn't stop me from worrying about my baby sister."
"Yang," said Mark III. "Do you think Ruby will ever like me?"
Yang smiled while continuing to look at Ruby. "Yes," she said with a smile. "Ruby sometimes has trouble accepting radical changes, especially when it has to do with people she cares about. I promise you that she'll eventually view you in the same way she viewed Penny."
"Do you swear?"
Yang looked over at Mark III and smirked. "What are you, fifteen?" she asked. "But yeah, sure."
Mark III held out her pinky and crossed it with Yang's robotic pinky.
"Thank you, Yang," said Mark III, "for trusting me after all I've done."
"Hey. The past is the past," said Yang. "I swear you can be just as fixated on it as Blake."
The two smiled at each other and then looked at Ruby, wondering how she'd make it out.