Morning came, and as the sun's rays started shining through the many windows of Beacon Academy, a small number of people who had been up all throughout the previous night, were not as happy and cheerful as their peers. While the majority of students and staff were busying themselves with their normal daily routine, the three members of Team RWBY, Professor Ozpin, and Glynda Goodwitch were all silently going over the events that had transpired the night before as they all stood outside the entrance to the vault under the school. None of them could believe it; not only was Ruby alive, but she had broken into the school and stolen the Relic of Choice... for as Ruby had phrased it: 'Her Queen.'
"I still don't understand... how was she able to get into the school?" Glynda asked as she slowly looked to Ozpin.
"That is my fault," Ozpin admitted, his face a complete mess, as he had not gotten any sleep. "When she was declared dead, I refused to believe it and did not mark her as such in the school's security system. All of the codes in her scroll are still viable for use."
"Ozpin, what were you thinking?" Glynda snapped.
"I surely wasn't thinking that this would happen! Why would I, Glynda? What could possibly prepare any of us for the fact that Miss Rose would side with the enemy and come back to steal the Relics?" Ozpin yelled back.
Yang shook her head as she held an ice pack to a bruise on her throat, then looked at her teammates. The three of them were all exhausted and sore from having to fight Ruby, and while they were all feeling very much the same as Ozpin, they felt like they were responsible for the Relic having been stolen.
"It doesn't matter! You should have followed protocol and rescinded her codes the instant she was declared dead!" Glynda said in a tone that was normally not heard by others.
Weiss groaned a bit and stood up from where she had been sitting on the floor.
"Will both of you stop it!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. "This isn't helping anyone! Sure, we all screwed up. But now we need to pull ourselves together and figure out what Ruby is going to do next."
Ozpin and Glynda stopped their argument as they looked to the three remaining members of RWBY, then hung their heads as the two of them realized that Weiss was correct.
"Now... Ruby had the Relic of Choice, and apparently the power of the Fall Maiden. So it's safe to assume that she's going to be going after the other three Maidens and Relics, right?"
Ozpin turned his head to look at the open vault, tightening the grip on his cane. "Yes. She told me that Salem had tasked her with gathering the four Relics. But in order to do so, she'll need the power of each one of the Maidens to open the vaults."
"Well then we're fine. It's not like Ruby knows who the Maidens are," Yang said quietly.
"I wish that were the case..." Ozpin began.
"Ozpin... you can't be serious," Glynda asked as she crossed her arms.
"She was going to burn down the school. I couldn't let her harm all of those innocent people. What would you rather I have done? Watch as the Academy is reduced to a flaming pile of rubble?"
"What did you tell her?"
"I told her of the Spring and Winter Maidens..."
"Raven and Fria... we need to warn them. If Ruby already has the power of the Fall Maiden, they won't be ready for her. Not with the power of a Silver-Eyed Warrior paired with it," Glynda said in a hushed tone.
"Wait, Raven? As in my mother?" Yang asked as she pushed herself to stand, Blake helping her up. "My mother is one of the four Maidens?"
Ozpin nodded. "Yes, Raven Branwen is the current Spring Maiden. Though I'm afraid that may not be the case much longer if we do not hurry."
"Then send us after her. We can warn her and bring her back here so Ruby can't get to her," Yang suggested.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Miss Xiao-Long. We have been unable to stay in contact with your mother for several years. Her and her tribe of bandits have been able to stay hidden for quite some time. The only thing that we know for sure is that she is somewhere in Mistral. But beyond that, we know nothing."
Everyone was quiet for several moments as that bit of information sank in. With little else to go on, there wasn't much hope to find Raven before Ruby did. In fact, the only potential saving grace was that Ruby was as clueless about where Raven was.
"What about the Winter Maiden? This... Fria?" Blake asked finally.
"The Winter Maiden is safe. She is currently in the protective care of the Atlesian Military. She's older than the others, and is rather fragile in her old age. So General Ironwood did Ozpin a favor and decided to look after her until she passed her power on. She's currently comfortable and safe in Atlas." Glynda explained.
"Not if Ruby has anything to say about it. If she gets the chance, she'll rip through the Atlas Military compound like a flaming knife and take the power from Fria."
Weiss shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I still don't understand. Ruby kept saying that she had been lied to. What did she mean? Why is she doing all of this?"
Ozpin let out a long breath as he turned to look at the three teammates.
"She was referring to me. I haven't been as honest with the four of you as I should have been. Somehow, Salem found her and told her the truth that I have kept from all of you. She apparently was promised vengeance for my deceit and for lying to her mother, Summer Rose. I believe that Salem is using those things to manipulate Ruby into working for her; as Miss Rose is hell-bent on getting the relics for Salem to spite me." Ozpin sighed and hung his head. "I do believe that Miss Rose... Ruby, is lost to us now."
"No! I don't believe that; I refuse to believe that. My little sister is still in there somewhere. She's just confused! I mean, she hesitated last night. She easily could have killed all three of us, but she didn't! I know that we can stop her, convince her to stop this before she goes too far." Yang argued. "We just need to try! We can't just give up. If it were any of us, she'd say she same thing!"
Weiss and Blake looked at Yang for a few seconds, the expressions on their faces showing just how uncertain they were about it all.
"Yang... you saw what she did. What she said... I don't think she's going to stop," Weiss warned.
"Weiss, come on! This is Ruby we're talking about. I know my sister, and I'm not about to give up on her because some crazy Grimm lady has messed with her head!"
"That's enough, both of you," Glynda interrupted. "I understand the fact that you are both concerned, and while I wholeheartedly hope that Miss Xiao-Long is correct, I also cannot ignore the fact that Miss Schnee may have a point. However, in either case, we need to work quickly to try and stop Ruby from going too far."
Glynda paused and looked over to Ozpin as the man turned away to return to the surface.
"That is why I am going to allow you three to go after your leader in the hopes that you can bring her home. But just to be clear:" Glynda stopped and held up a hand. "If Ruby is at any point about to take the power of ANY of the other Maidens, despite your attempts to stop her, I am hereby ordering you to terminate Ruby Rose. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
The three members of Team RWBY were quit for several seconds as that order sank in, none of them wanting to believe that they had heard it. But as they all looked at each other, they all collectively sighed and nodded.
"We understand. We'll bring her home, Professor."
When Ruby woke up several days later, everything hurt. She felt like she had been subjected to several hours of having to work out all of her muscles, with a dull throbbing sensation that permeated every one of her limbs and her head. Her head felt like it had been used as a punching bag, and when she opened her eyes, she immediately wanted to scream from the pain that the light sent searing through her skull. Overall, Ruby felt awful, physically. But mentally..? Ruby felt... weird, confused almost. Like some sort of fog had mixed into her head and totally screwed up all of the memories from the last couple of days.
The last thing she could remember, clearly was that she had gotten done talking to Ozpin about the Maidens. She'd broken into Beacon, and the CCT Tower, and she'd gotten so angry when Ozpin had started trying to talk to her like she was some sort of a child. As Ruby sat up, the memory started getting clearer and she couldn't help but tighten her fists as it all came flooding back to her.
"This is not a path you want to take. She is just going to use you until she gets what she wants."
Ruby shook her head and squeezed her hand into a fist until her knuckles popped. "He doesn't get it... That self-absorbed, selfish, lying coward..." Ruby rubbed her face with her hand, then let out a long sigh before she stood up off of her bed.
She didn't even remember returning to Salem's fortress... but apparently she had. With her mask and boots, as well as Crescent Rose all neatly organized on top of the dresser she'd been given, Ruby must have gotten back late and practically crashed as soon as she got there. The Relic was neatly placed upon her folded up cloak, and Ruby stared at it for several seconds before she walked over and picked it up, carefully turning it in her hands as she examined the shining golden crown.
"All that trouble over something so simple..." Ruby muttered to herself before she set the crown back down again.
Out of curiosity, Ruby pulled her scroll from her pocket to check what time it was, then froze as she saw just how many messages she'd received from her former partner.
W: Where are you?
W: Ruby, please don't do this.
W: I'm sorry
W: Please, talk to me
Ruby stared at the screen for several seconds, unsure of what to do, if she should answer any of the messages at all, or if she should ignore them. She gently bit at her lip, then unlocked her scroll, starting to type a response.
R: Leave me alone. I'm not coming back, and I'm not bringing back the Relic. I told you, I've made my choice.
Ruby frowned as she sent the message, then threw the scroll on top of her bed before grabbing the Relic off of her dresser, heading for the door as she brushed a few strands of hair out from in front of her face. As she left the room, her scroll buzzed quietly as another message was received.
W: I miss you.
As Ruby closed the door to her room, she kept her head down as she passed a few Grimm, with one or two of them growling at her or staring at her as she passed by. One Beowulf was stupid enough to actually take a swing at her, but when its clawed paw got too close, Ruby simply snatched it in mid air and snarled before she looked the Grimm in the face. She didn't show any fear. In fact, she showed no emotion at all as she engulfed her forearm in a fire that would be hot enough to melt metal, the flames quickly traveling down her arm and igniting the Grimm for a few moments before the large wolf-shaped Grimm was vaporized completely.
Ruby shook her arm, a few black ashes falling off of her hand, and she turned her head to look at a couple of other Grimm that had been watching, only for the Grimm to look away and leave Ruby alone. She couldn't help but smirk a bit as Ruby dropped her arm to her side as she continued through the fortress, making her way to the main hall where she knew Salem could be found. As Ruby slowly pushed the large, almost castle-esque door open, she was greeted by the sight of one of Salem's other followers quietly sharpening the blades of his weapons. Tyrian Callows... someone that Ruby had met only a couple of times in the past, and each time she felt uncomfortable around the man.
Tyrian had once been sent to capture Ruby, a couple of years ago. It was shortly after the attack on Beacon Academy, when Ruby had first triggered the use of her Silver Eyes. Salem had sent Tyrian after her in the hopes that he would be able to capture her and bring her back to Salem. But her teammates had proven to be too much for Tyrian to handle. Tyrian had ended up fleeing after Ruby had cut off the end of his stinger, something that he had promised she would regret; but she never saw him again after that. At least, not until a few days ago. They met for the second time just as Ruby was getting ready to leave for Beacon, with the man giving Ruby a very devious grin as he wished her luck.
'Good luck, my Little Flower... May we meet again after you return with the Relic for our Goddess!'
Tyrian had then proceeded to burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter as he left, making Ruby's disdain for the man be cemented as she was reminded just how insane the man was.
As Ruby made her way into the hall, she was utterly quiet, the only real sounds she made were those of her feet as she walked down the hall. Tyrian looked up from what he was doing momentarily, watching her pass with a giddy grin on his face as he saw that Ruby held the Relic in her hand, and he couldn't help but giggle quietly as he sat up straighter in his chair. Ruby rolled her eyes and ignored him as she passed, instead focusing on how Salem was staring out through one of the large windows at the other end of the chamber. When Ruby reached the small set of stairs that lead up to Salem's throne, she promptly dropped to one knee and hung her head.
"My Queen, I've brought you the Relic of Choice."
Salem seemed to be a bit surprised when she heard Ruby, the woman stiffening up slightly before she turned around, her hands clasping together in front of her as a wide smile grew on her face.
"Ruby... Welcome back. You've done well, I se," Salem said softly as she leaned over just a bit to take the crown from Ruby's grasp. "I trust you did not have too much trouble in collecting it?"
Ruby shook her head a couple of times. "No, nothing I couldn't handle. Just..." Ruby trailed off and went quiet as she looked to the side.
"What is it, child. Speak your mind," Salem said as she sat in her throne, Relic resting on her lap for now.
Ruby stood up after a moment, folding her hands together behind her back as she let out a short sigh. "Ozpin tried to stop me, in a way that I should have expected, but it still caught me off guard. I... hesitated."
Salem brought a hand up from her lap and tapped her chin as she hummed softly, looking Ruby over for any signs of being hurt, and upon finding none, she smiled gently. "You do not seem like he put up much of a fight. Even if you hesitated, that fool couldn't hope to stand a chance against you as you are now."
"It's not Ozpin I'm talking about... I meant my- Team RWBY. He sent them to try and stop me from getting to the Relic," Ruby clarified.
Salem's smile faltered and she frowned slightly as she let out a short sigh. "Ah, I see. I had wondered about them. I suppose it was only a matter of time until you ended up having to face them. I just hoped it would be much later than now," Salem said as she looked Ruby over once more. "You are well though, correct? I don't see anything to suggest that they hurt you."
Ruby shook her head, rubbing at her scar momentarily. "I think I am. I don't remember the fight, to be honest. I blacked out."
Salem raised an eyebrow at this, then craned her head to the side as her expression changed to a more curious one. "Blacked out? That is strange. I wonder..." She paused as she stood again, reaching a hand out to cup Ruby's chin, tilting her head back so that Salem could look at her face better. "Have you been experiencing anything else? Anything strange?"
Ruby blinked a few times, then nodded as best she could while Salem held her chin. "I thought I was hearing things... I kept hearing someone talk to me, but nobody was around." Ruby paused and narrowed her eyes slightly. "It only happened a couple of times. And whenever I get mad, I feel this... itch. Like an urge to lash out at people. Why, is something wrong with me?"
Salem hummed a bit as she turned Ruby's head from side to side, taking a few moments to look over her face before she release her chin. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. It is probably just a mild... side effect from the Grimm. It tends to pull pieces of one's personality along with the powers of the Maidens. You're merely exhibiting signs of Cinder's personality. But I am sure it will fade with time."
Ruby blinked a couple of times as she listened, shivering slightly at the idea from having a part of Cinder stuck in her head; but she nodded her head and let out a small sigh. "There was one other thing I wanted to ask. Ozpin told me the names of only two of the Maidens. Raven Branwen and a woman he simply called Fria. He said he didn't know who the Summer Maiden was. Does that mean I won't be able to obtain the Relic from Vacuo?"
Salem smiled as she returned to her throne, shaking her head gently. "No, it is of no consequence. We will still be able to retrieve the Relic. We shall just need to use another method to do so. Fear not, my Little Rose. Ozpin's games won't be a problem for us much longer."
Ruby nodded her head, her hands folding together in front of her as she stood there. "I understand."
"For now though, I believe it is time for you to hone your new skills. Until I determine the location of the Winter and Spring Maidens, you are to remain here. Tyrian will assist you in training, in order for you to become better acquainted with the powers of the Fall Maiden. He will push you to your limits, but I have faith that you will be fine."
Ruby lifted her head in shock, then looked over her shoulder to see Tyrian giggling like a maniac. "Surely, you can't be serious? Tyrian is insane, he'll-"
"I am well aware of the history you have with Tyrian. But I have instructed him to keep personal vendettas and feelings out of the way when the two of you are training. Now go, take some time to rest, for tomorrow you begin bright and early," Salem said in a firm tone.
Ruby looked forward again, her face calm and relaxed as she bowed her head. "Yes, My Queen. As you wish."
Tyrian continued to cackle as Ruby turned and made for the exit to the chamber, watching Ruby intently the entire time. "Oh we're going to have so much fun you and I! I can't wait!"