A/N: This is a sci-fi AU inspired by (but very different from) the show Noein, which was my favourite back when it first came out. I recently rewatched it and got this idea.

Let me know what you think!

love is the blood which binds

"Mister, are you alright-?"

The voice which greets him is far too sweet. He has never heard this voice, high and lilting with unabashed youth and concern. It resonates in his newly-reformed eardrums, rumbling through his cavernous chest through his hollow, spasming heart, finding its way into his very soul.

A quick mental scan of his readings proves that his vitals are stable. The scream which splits the air in two from about half a klick away, however, proves that not everyone has made the jump in one piece; based on the guttural strength of that roar, he can only assume it is James. He's got a mouth to scream left, so he'll be alright, he thinks, performing a full-body scan before the speaker before him can even take another breath. He can still give commands. That's good enough.

The cry of pain fades, leaving behind faint whimpering and hushed assurances filtering into his ears. A look at their trackers shows that James is not alone; Winter is with him, so everything should be fine.

Peering through thick, dark lashes, he manages to look around. For a moment, he is absolutely stricken by the winding of the shapes around him, sturdy trunks reaching high into the heavens. Is this a forest? How long has it been since he has seen greenery? Does this place have seasons?

"Hey, do you need help?" The shy voice is stronger this time- closer.

With that, his attention is drawn back to the speaker before him. Blinking slowly, he squints until he can make out a faint silhouette half-painted white in the moonlight through the thicket; and suddenly, he knows where he is.

Crimson eyes flash as his body settles into this new plane, the muscles forming in his legs snapping together like rubber bands pulled taut for too long. His hand snaps upwards, his fingers wrapping around the dimensional tether, the glowing cord ready to be reeled in upon a moment's notice. He sucks in a breath, then releases it, every fiber of his being screaming in revulsion, in disgust, in horror.

The scenery around him- it is so familiar that it feels more like a memory, or perhaps a daydream. The biting chill in the air says that it is anything but, though; whether that cold comes from the weather, from the ice-Dust keeping him tethered and corporeal, or from the fear, he does not know.

The child does not seem to understand his confusion. Yet, she does not waver- a spritely thing of barely ten years old, her wide, innocent eyes look up at him with a mix of trepidation and confusion and genuine, gut-wrenching worry worn as plain as day upon her face.

He knows this face. He knows it, has carved each curve, each plane, each lash and pore and muscle into his very being. Before he can stop himself, his hand- shuddering and twisting, barely able to maintain any coherence in this dimension with such unsecure coordinates- reaches out towards the girl, desperation lacing every motion.

Her cheek fits into his ragged palm perfectly. She is warm- warm, and soft, and so real that he almost sobs. "What… is your name?" he gasps, voice hoarse and gruff, rumbling out from vocal chords which haven't settled back into their usual place yet. Dry, heaving coughs spill forth from his lips, sputum spluttering out onto the sleeve of his cloak.

Despite the aggression in his words and approach, alongside this sudden familiarity in his touch, she does not pull away, those eyes widening further as she lifts her chin and steps closer, looking up at him in utter curiosity. The light emanating from the dimensional tether glows, blue-green Dust filtering through it stabilizing him also illuminates her face amidst the shadows of night.

This girl has silver eyes. They glow with a shimmer that is otherworldly, cast in the light of the moon and his tether.

He knows these eyes. Please don't say it is so. Please, please don't be-

"My name is Ruby," she murmurs at last.

And just like that, Qrow's heart shatters into absolutely nothing.

Clearing his throat roughly, he lifts her chin. There is no mistaking it; these eyes glimmer by no trick of the moonlight, but by untapped power swirling within. These eyes are the key, he thinks.

It's always her eyes.

Croaking, he spits out, "Why… aren't you running, kid?"

For a moment, the little girl sucks in a breath, fear flashing into those eyes as his hand twists and morphs against her flesh as if possessed by another creature crawling along each bone, swelling the skin to near bursting before his matter settles into the coded state in which it is meant to be observed. Then, she relaxes, closing her eyes-

And smiles.

"I… you look…"

He does not answer. His Scroll flashes to life upon his waist, the communication channels springing to life unbidden. He can hear James speaking into the earpiece, pained yet authoritative- Roman leering voice is yelling back- Barty attempts to calm everyone down, and Winter cuts in coldly-

Taiyang calls him privately, his voice cutting through the senseless chatter which Qrow happily ignores. "You alright, Qrow? Your coordinates haven't moved. Did the transfer steal a leg?"

Qrow does not press the device to respond. He barely dares to open his mouth in the face of the young girl looking up at him with a face he thought he had long ago forgotten.

Finally, Ruby finishes her thought. "I guess you look… kinda like my aunt. Is that weird?"

He almost vomits. "What's your mom's name, kid?"

She pouts, all youthful innocence. He briefly wonders whether she would feel so comfortable pouting, barely two feet away from this floating specter of death which has teleported into her world, if she knew just why they had arrived; he does not get to ask on that, though, for she replies, "One, my name's Ruby. And two-"

She finishes her thought, but before she can press him for an answer, his face snaps up to the edge of the clearing. He can hear the bushes rustle, with young, childish voices calling out, "Ruby, where are you? Ruby? Where'd you go? The bathroom's on the other side of the camp, silly!"

Qrow's hand recoils from Ruby as if he had touched the hottest flame, his entire body stinging and buzzing in disgust and fear and horror as he slaps the Scroll at his waist, his other hand winding tightly around the dimensional tether's string. "I'm withdrawing," he announces hurriedly into their communication line.

Then, he pulls the Dust-cord. The gears in a distant plane begin to churn, the ripcord tightening; then, the world shifts, particles squeezing and stretching, light flooding his vision as his entire body is disassembled until all that remains is the faint taste of bile in his broken-down mouth, and the image of silvery eyes engrained in his heart.

"And two," little Ruby had said, "my mom's name is Summer Rose." She had tilted her head, sweet and curious and blissfully ignorant. "Why?"

Even incorporeal, transient, shifting into nothing but data coded and transferred through time and space, his silent answer rings true beyond a shadow of the doubt.

…because I'm going to have to kill you, Ruby.