Volume 6, Episode 1: Echoes Of The Past

Ruby was under stress and pressure.

Ever since she heard about Arkos, a dark warrior with an even darker backstory, she felt as if the happy memories of her past were being used against her. She had always known Arkos as a young and brave couple. But now it was known only as a merciless warrior who would kill anyone that stood in its way. She felt like it was too much for her to handle, but she had support from her family to get her through.

"This man who's doing these terrible things ISN'T Jaune and Pyrrha's child." Weiss had assured her a few days earlier. "They would've only wanted a brave Hunter who always did what was right and desired to become Remnant's greatest hero, not one who would try to tear countless of families apart and hurt people."

Her son's team had told her of Arkos's origin, and a part of her wished she hadn't known ever since. The memories continued to flow.

"When I imagined Jaune and Pyrrha having a kid," Ren had said. "This is NOT what I pictured."

"Our kids told us about a certain individual who Arkos fears; one who is capable of stopping him." Yang had told her. "But no one knows who that person is, and I don't think it's worth the risk to see if it's any one of us."

Ruby had always known herself to be such a great leader. But for the first time in her life….

She had no idea what to do.

She could only hope that Rudolph knew what to do as she began to fall asleep in bed. If Ruby was ever in danger…

She would always have her family to fight by her side.

…

When Ruby woke up, it was still dark. Weiss wasn't beside her in bed. In fact, it seemed like the place was abandoned.

"Is this what Arkos felt like?" Ruby wondered. "To be completely isolated from everything he loved for over 20 years?"

Ruby then gasped as she heard the sad crying of a baby. As she went down the corridor in which the crying was coming from, she felt as if it was getting longer and darker. Before long, she saw the source in a completely dark room.

Adrian Cotta-Arc, still a little baby, was bawling his little lungs out. Beside him was a body, with a sword impaling it in the chest. Ruby went in for a closer look…

And then her heart stopped.

"JAUNE! NO!"

As she rushed over to her friend, she knew it was already too late. Jaune Arc was already dead, with Crocea Mors buried deep in his heart. Still desperate, Ruby grabbed the sword's hilt and tried to pull it out. But even with all her might, the blade wouldn't budge a bit.

Ruby fell to her knees, her eyes weeping as she stared into Jaune's cold ones. She then turned to Adrian, who was crying even louder.

"I'm sorry." She sobbed, her tears as strong as the baby's. "I'm so sorry." She hung her head in sadness as she said this. As she opened her eyes to look as the baby…

He was gone.

Jaune's dead body was gone as well. As was the sword. All around Ruby swirled nothing. She was all that existed for now. Ruby's grief turned to horror as she saw what appeared to be red, white, black, and yellow blood flow down an invisible wall. Whether the blood was from her team or her son's was something Ruby dared not to think about.

"Why is this happening to me…." Ruby whimpered. Her very past was taunting her. But that was when she heard a voice she never wished to hear again.

"Hello, old friend."

Ruby whirled around to see pure darkness swirl into a figure. The figure emerged as a black woman with a white face and red eyes. She knew who this was instantly.

"It's been such a very long time." Salem taunted.

"You're not real." Ruby growled. "I killed you! I ended a war YOU started! I-!"

"I know you, Rose." Salem said. "In reality, you have completely forgotten what you did to me in the first place."

Ruby reached for her weapon and drew back an arrow.

"It's useless to resist."

The arrow crumpled into dust. Ruby then snapped the bow in half to change it into its melee mode, which she had installed recently. However, the dual blades met the same fate as the arrow.

"Of all the faces I hate," Ruby snarled. "Why did it have to be you?"

"Because you fear me." Salem said. "You even said it yourself, remember? Because I could kill people. Because I could take anything you cared for so deeply away from you. Because I could kill YOU. Because I hunted those with silver eyes, like you."

"I overcame those fears!" Ruby retaliated. "To finish you off for good! And now that you're gone, I don't worry about what I could lose!"

"Not even your very own family?"

"Like I said, you don't exist. You'll never be able to hurt them."

"What if someone else does?"

Ruby was silent.

"It could be at the hands of these new threats you face. Juggernaut, Arkos, Chaotica, Deceiver, Spectre, any single one of them…"

Ruby's fists were clenched tightly.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?!" She screamed.

"To remind you." Salem laughed. "That no matter what, I will always be a part of your past. A past that will forever haunt you. Until the end of your days."

Salem then grew twice her size, making Ruby's heart pound with fear. Salem then screamed like an inhuman banshee as her jaw lowered lower than humanly possible, and she lunged inhumanly fast toward Ruby, intending on swallowing her whole.

Ruby screamed as she covered herself. Time itself seemed to stop as the nightmarish face creeped closer and closer towards her, the red eyes burning into her soul.

Ruby found herself unable to move, and completely weaponless. Salem's maw came closer..

Closer….

Closer….

AND CLOSER!

…

Ruby basically jumped out of bed, her heart trying to break out of its bony prison. She must have screamed, yet her wife was too asleep to hear it. It was still in the middle of the night, yet the poor Huntress was gasping and panting as if she had been kissed way too hard. Ruby got back into bed, turning over to whatever gave her comfort.

Needing to fill her afraid heart with love, Ruby happily nuzzled Weiss's silky milky white hair. It felt incredibly soft. She sighed happily as she gave it a cute peck. Without trying to wake her up, Ruby gently wrapped her arms around her babe's waist. Safe in her embrace, all of Ruby's worries faded into nothingness.

All she had to do was let go of the past,

And only focus on the present.