Shadow of the Reaper

by BatmanRules256

It was said that if you make a wish on the silver rose emblem and bathe it in moonlight, it will come true. Ruby wished to protect someone close to her heart. Of course, wishes have odd ways of being granted. The forces of evil are gathering, but will the silver eyed Reaper be able to put a stop to a war started a generation ago?

2. Therapy

Chapter One: Therapy

"So, sprite, what will it be?" The criminal asked, swinging his cane with reckless abandon. "I mean, I could kill your sister and mom, but I don't want to be mean, now do I?"

The sprite said nothing, sniffling and crying.

"Well, if you're going to be indecisive, I'll just have to make the decision for you," The criminal aimed the cane at Ruby, the end opening up like a gun. He squeezed the end and the shot rang out. Ruby saw the bullet moving in slow motion toward her, spinning and arcing.

It almost looked like a rose opening up with the petals bursting off like the air a typical bullet would leave behind in the air. The impact from that bullet nearly snapped her neck with the impact. She saw the ceiling for about three seconds before she saw she was looking at the floor. Blood dripped onto the ground from her forehead, the burning sensation from the bullet being masked by the numbness washing over her.

The ground hit her like a load of bricks, colliding with her at the most painful juncture. It also seemed like slow motion, but the impact felt like she had jumped off a two story building, the impact feeling as if it lasted for hours.

Her blood fell into her eyes, stinging as she looked at her sister. She stared at her amulet, which was covered with her blood. She reached for it, clutching it as the moon hit it. The shine seemed to come from behind it even with the blood. She held it, her instincts telling her both to say something and to place the amulet back and just accept her fate. Before she could say anything, she made one last, silent wish to the amulet, one she truly wished for, even beyond her mother's arrival. The amulet seemed to give off a fog; a red creature with shadows for a face burned its image into her mind, offering out its hand, a long red cloak billowing behind it.

It reached in to Ruby's chest, ripping out her heart, the shadows where its face began opening into a sharp and pointed mouth, devouring the heart. It moved closer to her, opening its mouth as it closed over Ruby's head.

The crimsonette sat up, sweat having soaked her sheets as she stared at the door. Weiss had kicked the door open, holding her rapier as she looked around.

"What happened?! Why'd you scream?!"

"I-I just had… a bad dream," Ruby gained some composure, panting as she looked down at her chest. Her amulet was still there, even the stains of blood gone as she looked at the officer.

"I see," Weiss put her rapier away, sitting next to Ruby, wrinkling her nose in that way she did when she sat down in something wet. "Care to talk about it?"

"N-No thanks, I wouldn't. It was just… too real."

"That's how dreams work. Now, I need to get to work, but I can stay home if you need me to. You two were in pretty bad shape when I found you."

"That was three days ago, Weiss."

"Yes, and I found you with a bruise and your sister with a hand shaped mark on her face. You may have repressed some memories when you received that bruise, but even Neo doesn't want to talk much."

"How much does she talk at all?"

"I can usually get something resembling a word every so often. But, now she's totally silent. So, we must be patient with her. Now, your therapist will be here in a couple of hours, so try not to do anything stupid while I'm gone."

"I was traumatized and you think I'll do something stupid?"

"When you broke your arm, you thought you could just jump off the bannister to be a superhero like X-Ray and Vav."

"Oh yeah, uh, sorry?"

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Doctor Oobleck, who had to deal with your screaming because you thought the cast was permanent."

"That's what Yang told me would happen."

"Even before I dumped her, I knew a lot of what came out of her mouth was shit. Why would you have believed that?"

"I was six!"

"Oh, that's right. I assumed you were older. I could still see you doing something like that."

"Is this about the time I tried to skateboard off the roof and into Coco's pool?"

"You what?!"

"Uh, you should get to work, Weiss," Ruby gulped, slinking down into the covers to hide from the officer's glare.

"We'll talk about this later. For right now, wait for the therapist."

"Why do I have to do this at home anyway?"

"In case your memories of whatever happened returned, you'll have someone who can help you get through any conflicts. The mind is a very powerful tool and I'd hate for yours to be hurt because it couldn't handle the memories it was trying to bring into itself. That and I don't ever have time to drive you to his office. This therapist specializes in cases like this."

"That sounds so weird when you say it. But, whatever. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now, I better not catch you doing anything stupid or it'll be your hide on the line."

"You know those old sayings from when you were a kid don't work, right?"

"Those were from my father's time. For your information, it means I'll wear you out with a belt."

"O-Oh. Uh, at least by me dinner first."

"Dolt," Weiss sighed, leaning forward to kiss Ruby's forehead. "Now, be safe. I've left you some food to warm up. Penny will be along to play with Neo and keep her mind occupied for the moment.."

"Cool," Ruby grinned. "I'm gonna get her to do something fun."

"It better not be what I think it is."

"It won't be dangerous. Just fun."

"For you, there is no distinction."

"I just want to have some fun."

"Well, you've been complaining of headaches as well, so be careful. And wash those sheets, they feel gross."

With that, Weiss left, taking her rapier with her to her office. Ruby was left alone with her thoughts, looking around the room for her game console. She didn't want to think of whatever the fog demon was, not sure what it was… perhaps she watched too many monster movies the night after her home was broken into.

She glanced at herself in the mirror, looking at her disheveled hair. She gasped audibly as she looked at her eyes. What had previously been reddish brown in color was now a prominent silver color, shining like the emblem she held around her neck. She wondered how Weiss hadn't seen it and commented on it.

"The power of the moon is strong with you," The voice was in her head, causing her to jump backward, turning all the way around to see who had spoken. She saw no one, deciding that she needed to see a therapist for more than one reason.

Setting up the console, she decided on an adventure game with brutal difficulty to challenge her skills as a gamer. While the game loaded, she gathered up her sheets, throwing them into the washer, setting it to the correct settings. She also decided to grab a shower to clear her head and get the notion of voices out of her head.

She walked into the living room to see Neo eating a bowl of her favorite cereal, Pumpkin Pete's Peanut Butter Crunch-A-Munch, with the icon on the front one Pyrrha Nikos, a woman with fame on level of that of royalty. Of course, Ruby always thought she seemed disinterested in commercials. Maybe she was over fame. She did come from a wealthy family, who was said to have influence over all of Remnant in terms of how they'd invested their time and money.

"How can you eat that stuff?" Ruby sat down, getting out some chocolate chip cookie cereal with a picture of a corgi on it. Weiss utterly refused to get a dog, but Ruby would keep begging until she got her way.

Neo pat her tummy, grinning as she continued to eat the, hopefully not, pumpkin flavored peanut butter cereal. Ruby felt like gagging, and not like in the way that girl on the bus had pictures of in her book. Speaking of that weirdo…

Ruby turned to the window as some movement caught her eye. She gasped as she saw a girl in between her and Neo's ages face upside down in the window. The ginger hair fell down past her head as she waved with one hand.

"Who are you?!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Salutations!" The warbled sound of her voice through the window pane came, causing Ruby to feel her heart drop as she saw the girl drop from sight. Ruby ran over to the window, peeking out to see the girl on the ground, unharmed, still waving.

"Are you okay?!" Ruby opened the door, helping her up to her feet.

"I am fine, friend Ruby!" The ginger said, bowing her head. "I have been perfecting my handstand and I wished to show you my skills!"

"Penny, please don't scare me like that again," Ruby sighed as Neo continued eating her cereal. "Your older sister's already strict enough when you're behaving like an average person."

"I am above average, friend Ruby!" Penny gave a salute. "And, big sister will not know about this, as she is off courting someone and will return when she is finished discovering her womanhood."

"I don't even want to know," Ruby sighed once again. "How is your soul adapting to this body?"

"The stiches aren't even visible anymore!" Penny pointed to her back, lifting her shirt to point to a barely visible line where it seemed to have been sewn in. "Papa says that I'm becoming more stable by the day."

"Good for you," Ruby pat her on the head. "Just… don't get hurt like that again. Your papa can only do it so many times before his heart gives out."

"I will not make papa sad again, friend Ruby. I will bring the sunshine to his life."

"Good," Ruby smiled. "Still wish to be an officer like Weiss?"

"I shall be the bestest." Penny proclaimed with another salute. "I am taking the entrance exam as we speak."

"That means you're doing it right now."

"Oh. Well, I will be doing it when I return home."

"Do you think your sister will be alright with that?"

"I think she will be thrilled."

"I don't think we think of the word 'thrilled' as meaning the same thing. But, wanna come in?"

"Sure, friend Ruby!"

"Cool. You'll just have to take Neo to your place when my therapist comes."

"Why are you seeing a rapist?" Penny asked.

"That's not what that is, Penny. But, Neo doesn't have one because Weiss doesn't trust anyone to be able to properly communicate with her in a way that brings her true feelings forward. That and the fact that she doesn't want Neo to relive what happened."

"What happened, friend Ruby, to you and friend Ice Cream Girl?"

"We just ran into a bit of trouble," Ruby couldn't see Neo eyeing her pendant, watching it as if it could bite. "Don't worry too much about it. Just… be careful in that exam. I know you're older than you look, but… just be careful, alright?"

"I promise I will help keep this city safe as best I can, friend Ruby." Penny held out her hand to Ruby, who took it. Penny gave it a squeeze, which caused Ruby to feel her bones shift and nearly crack. She tried to hold in her reactions until Penny had let go. The ginger smiled, her green eyes practically sparkling.

"Let us go find bugs, friend Ice Cream Girl." Penny beckoned to Neo, who had finished her cereal and had decided to follow her.

Ruby watched them leave, confident in Penny being able to keep Neo safe. She was odd… sweet, but odd. Of course, the circumstances of her birth… and rebirth. She knew she retained her memories each time. Her skills and strength were of nigh inhuman capabilities. Professor Polendina was a very exceptional man. He was the first and when he died, the last, to create true life from nothing. The endless cycle of rebirth and restoration of a single soul was a miracle in and of itself, but for what Weiss knew and had shared, it wouldn't last much longer.

Ruby sat down on the couch to watch TV while she waited for the therapist to arrive. After about another hour, she heard a knock at the door. She got up to open the door, being greeted by the professional gait of the woman on the other side.

She wore a light blue sweater and dress pants over a button up shirt. Her black hair was cut to above her shoulders, being smoothed into pointed tips to give it a natural, yet fictional look. Her dark brown eyes were looking right into Ruby's, through the glass of her red glasses. On the finger of the hand that held her papers, there was a wedding ring that was a saffron color, looking to Ruby a bit ugly, but to each their own.

"You must be Ruby," The woman said, looking at her.

"What tipped you off?" Ruby asked, tilting her head.

"You're dressed in a lot of red," The woman gave a small laugh. "I'm Terra Cotta-Arc, your requested therapist. Pleased to meet you."

The woman held out her hand. Ruby looked down at it, taking it in her own. She immediately felt an odd feeling of nausea, something in the back of her mind telling her to release her hand. It was like a jolt of electricity running down her spine. She let go of the woman's hand, noticing how strong the woman's grip was. The therapist seemed not to notice this change of posture with her, or chose not to comment on it.

"Have a seat," Ruby felt odd, the woman giving her the oddest of feelings. She shrugged it off, despite the feeling being deep in her core.

"Thank you," Terra sat down, her gaze fixed on Ruby in an almost analytical way. Ruby fought the urge to just walk away and hide in her room, knowing that she was mostly doing this for Weiss, who would be genuinely upset if she didn't go through with it.

"So, tell me about yourself," Terra pulled a notepad from her briefcase she was carrying. "I don't often get home visit requests, but your mom insisted it be here because it was closer to her work."

"Well, I suppose that's the case. But, I'm seventeen this year and I like to run track."

"Track?"

"I'm not super good, but Weiss made me take a sport and I don't like the aggressive ones."

"Because you don't prefer violence?"

"Oh, no I love violence, but I don't want to get hurt because Weiss will freak out. She's a doting old maid at this point."

"She's her own interesting character, I've heard."

"Heard what?"

"Well, her family situation wasn't the best. She's nearly a famous case around my office. But, I suppose you already know that."

"I knew that she didn't like to talk about her past. She tries to be a good parent, even if she seems overbearing. She takes me and Neo to her old man's grave every month."

"Why is that?" Terra looked at the now silver eyed girl.

"Why else do you visit a grave?" Ruby rolled her eyes. "To speak to the dead and ask for advice."

"I see." Terra said. "So, if I were to give you two colors, gold or silver, which would you prefer?"

"What the hell type of question is that?"

"It helps me get to know you better."

"Well, silver I guess. I just really don't like the color yellow."

"Well, that's interesting. Why would that be?"

"My shitty sister is yellow."

"Let's try to keep the language out of this." Terra held a hand up. "Also, while I do encourage free speech, let's not try to make fun of people's skin in the first session, alright?"

"The fuck do you mean? She just wears a lot of yellow and is a blonde. Bitch is tan more than anything else skin wise."

"This would be your older sister, correct?"

"Of course, duh." Ruby feigned her apathetic nature, knowing this therapist was gonna have to work to get anything worthwhile out of her.

"And, why do you dislike her?"

"She was dumped by Weiss. That's pretty shitty."

"I suppose people grow apart. But, that's not necessarily unnatural."

"It is when she hit Weiss."

"Ah. Now, this is information. Thank you for that information. It must have hurt to open up about that."

"Not as much as Coco hurt Yang for hitting Weiss," Ruby crossed her arms. "Bitch deserved it."

"Well, I would like to know why you chose Weiss over Yang," Terra wrote in her notepad. "Even in abusive relationships, people can tend to choose their family over outsiders."

"Yang was a butt. Even when she did fun stuff with me, there was always an edge of rubbing it in Weiss' face. My mom really liked Weiss… er, as a daughter almost, I mean. I don't know why Yang liked to hit Weiss, but it doesn't matter to me. Anyone who does something like that deserves to have their ass kicked."

"Interesting," Terra said.

"What does this have to do with the incident I don't remember anyway?" Ruby glared. "You're just getting a sob story out of me."

"An important part of sessions like this is building an understanding of how one thinks," Terra leaned back on the couch. "By, having you open up about your sister and Weiss, you've become a little more open and might be able to understand what happened more."

"I… I guess I see your point," Ruby grumbled. "I suppose I wouldn't open up to someone I just met about something I found traumatic."

"Of course," Terra said. "But, your feelings for your sister are clearly more surface level and are quicker to come out along with your feelings regarding Weiss."

"I… I guess you're right."

"Now, I don't expect you to try to tell me what happened yet. I believe your mind has repressed such memories as a self-defense mechanism to protect itself. But, I suppose we could talk about other things and see what we come to."

"Like what?"

"Well, that very pretty amulet for example. I mean, I've never seen such a pretty silver color before. Where did you get it?"

"My mom gave it to me."

"I see. Have you heard of some of the stories they tell about Roses?"

"Say nothing to her." The voice in Ruby's head nearly made her jump, Terra making no expression at it either. Ruby didn't want to follow the voice, but this woman had made her uneasy since she got there and she wasn't about to open up with something that wasn't common knowledge.

"That I should stop and smell them?" Ruby suggested.

"They say they're powerful talismans that harbor the powers of creatures from another place," Terra wrote in her notebook. They're said to come from the moon."

"The moon?" Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Yes, the moon. At least, that's what the books in the library mention about what cultish religions believed."

"There's actually a cult that worships the moon?"

"Yes. They believed that monsters from the moon would give them power. Some of them were even among some of the older records of Huntsmen and Huntresses."

"You believe in them as well?"

"Weiss Schnee is one of them, is she not? The self-proclaimed last of her kind?"

"That's more in reference to her being a witch than a Huntress. She said her old man was a Huntsman, but he died years ago."

"I suppose there's a lot of things we wish we didn't know, but did."

"Okay, look, you're being really weird. The therapist I've been seeing since my mom died was intrusive, but only did it to provoke a reaction. You're just downright nosy. You're here to help me not have a psychotic breakdown if my memories return and Weiss seems to trust you. So, stop with the nosy questions about dead cults and just ask what you wish."

"Oh, this session was more of an icebreaker. I wished to get to know you and now, I will give you a chance to get to know me. I suppose you're only doing this for Weiss' sake anyway."

"Fine. I was going to demand that next. What's with the ring?"

"It's a wedding ring. I know some people think the color is a bit ugly, but I happen to like it. It's very much like my wife, whose name is Safron, like the color of this ring."

"The color reminds me of puke," Ruby said it, offhandedly. Terra looked down at her ring, shrugging.

"I suppose it does. Safron remarked that when we got them. But, it's irrelevant, as it's a token of love. She has a ring the shade of terra cotta."

"At least that's a less pukey color."

"I suppose so. I am glad you are opening up a little."

"Well, when you're not asking grilling questions about my personal life, then I suppose I'm a bit more friendly."

"Well, I suppose we can continue with this conversation."

Weiss

The chief sat at her desk and stared at her papers. She sighed, watching as her attendant walked in. A woman with the tail of a cat and a personality to match, this was Neon Katt. She walked over to Weiss, stretching across her desk in a manner that would be seductive for anyone other than her. This was more clumsy and normal for her, Weiss glaring at her.

"What have we talked about laying over desks like that?"

"But, Weiss, I'm booooooooored. There've been no calls and you haven't wanted me to do anything with that case of the Dust shop."

"What about it?" Weiss' eyes narrowed.

"Well, you remember when we were investigating those reports of the Dust shop being attacked with gunshots a few days ago?"

"Right. We found those men dead with Dust rounds in their foreheads with what looked like a rose petal."

"Well, get this; the cameras picked up a pretty strange sight. You're gonna want to see this."

Weiss sighed as Neon got up, running off and grabbing a TV with a VCR. She grabbed the tape, placing it in.

"Weren't you supposed to only use DVDs?"

"I ran out and this was left over. Now, watch!"

The two watched the security footage, watching the dimly lit room as there stood a shape, almost like a mannequin with a sheet over its head. Weiss knew that shape, squinting as she looked at it. It was a person in a cloak.

A man walked in, one of the cadavers they had found, looking like he was inspecting the place. They watched the person in the cloak pick the man up, throwing him with one hand into the wall, smashing through it. The person walked out, rose petals trailing off as they did.

"I've seen this somewhere before," Weiss muttered, trying to put her finger on it.

"There's more." Neon said, placing in another tape. This one was an outside camera from the building. This showed a man in white, the leader of the group.

"Roman Torchwick…" Weiss growled, clenching a fist. "He was behind this robbery. He must have fled. That's why we never found him there."

"About that…" Neon said, pointing to the body in Roman's hand.

"Neo!" Weiss gasped. "He kidnapped her… my poor baby… but… why? We're going to make sure he comes to justice… after I have five minutes alone with him."

"I don't think you'll get the chance," Neon said.

"Why not?"

Neon pointed to the TV as it showed in most gruesome fashion the dismemberment of Roman Torchwick. Weiss put a hand to her mouth, hoping she wouldn't be sick as she saw his arms and head detach from his body. The cloaked figure picked Neo up, disappearing in a flurry of rose petals.

"This person found Neo and Ruby," Neon said.

"Ruby isn't in this picture," Weiss said.

"I think she went after Neo and found her here." Neon said. "We found Ruby completely unconscious and it seemed she had been for several hours. But, what do you think about this?"

"I think we should look into this red cloaked person. I won't let any vigilantes be running around my town."

"Right. I'll get my guys on it right away. We'll investigate privately so we don't attract attention. This is almost like those cases twenty years ago."

"You might be right… do look into it. I'm going to make plans to see my girls. I don't like leaving them alone after all this, especially knowing Neo was kidnapped by that monster."

Ruby

The crimsonette was looking at herself in the mirror of her bathroom. Her therapist had left nearly an hour ago, leaving her to her own devices. She stared at her eyes, trying to understand why they had become this color. She saw her pendant glinting in the setting sun. She stared, still panicked at her eye color. It wasn't everyday someone had a complete eye color change after all. Out of the corner of her vision, in the mirror, she thought she saw someone looking at her, but quickly turned around to see nothing there.

"I'm getting paranoid," She looked back at the mirror. "I don't remember where I was that night, I keep having these dreams and I feel like something's happening to me. But, what could possibly be happening to me?"

Outside the window, the two gold colored eyes stared, watching her from the shadows. They narrowed, watching with intent and curiosity, the twitching bow acting as if it heard the mumblings of the crimsonette. It was odd.

Terra

The psychiatrist entered the building, taking the elevator all the top. She stepped out, bowing to the redheaded princess on her throne.

"My princess," Terra bowed to the royal on the throne. "I've found some interesting information."

"Oh?" The princess leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand. "Do tell. What sort of information did you gather from that woman's house?"

"I believe I've found someone who has a connection with the Reaper."

"Oh? And, who might that be?"

"The oldest daughter wears the Rose pendant. Her mother may have had connections."

"I see. What else did you discover?"

"She might not even be aware of this power, if it exists. We should make sure we get the information."

"Well, this is good news. Having the Reaper dealt with will be beneficial. Then, we will continue our conquest. Have one of the seven come here and I'll send her to handle this. No sense wasting all their efforts for interrogating a single teenager on where she got a medallion."

"It's as you say, my princess," Terra smirked, the woman standing next to the princess giving a smirk of her own. "I suppose Blossom may work best here."

"Then, have her obtain the girl in two days at her school. I would like to discover who the Reaper is so that I may destroy her. Tell Blossom she may kill if she wishes, but only after getting the information she wants."

"As you say, princess."

---

So, here, we have chapter 1 of Shadow of the Reaper. I like the way I'm taking this story and I hope you do as well. I'm sort of taking ideas I had for the original and working them in better than I had before. Hopefully, it turns out great.