This is kind of a mess because I wrote it while taking a break from studying for my exams, but I think it turned out okay. Spoilers for up to the V9 clip released at RTX. Enjoy!
For a long moment after landing on the beach, Ruby lies still and tries to catch her breath. It feels like Neo's hands are still wrapped around her throat, and every muscle in her body is sore and aching.
But as tempting as it is to just lay here in the sand and take a good long nap, she can't stay here. Eventually she manages to bring her breathing rate back to something approaching normal, and the fire in her throat dulls enough to be bearable (so long as she doesn't swallow). With a groan, she pushes herself to her feet and turns around to get a better look at her surroundings.
She has—absolutely no idea where she is.
Somehow, it appears that she's ended up on an island. The sandy beach that she's standing on quickly disappears, overcome but a vast forest that stretches as far as she car see. In front of her, on a higher portion of the island, is the tree that she and Neo had landed in earlier.
And speaking of Neo—Ruby can't see any sign of the other girl, but her apparent absence only makes her even more wary. She needs to watch her back.
She needs to find her team. Weiss, she's not sure about, but she knows that Blake and Yang had fallen as well, so they must be around here somewhere. Calling out for them to see if they're anywhere nearby isn't an option, not with the possibility of Neo still lurking nearby. Plus, who knows what else might be hiding in the trees?
(Not to mention that she's pretty sure that talking any louder than a whisper isn't really an option for her right now.)
She decides to search the beach first. With any luck, the others will have ended up somewhere nearby, and she won't have to walk far to find them. Plus, staying on the beach will allow her to keep a better eye on her surroundings—if Neo is lying in wait out there, she'll be able to see her coming—and she's not in a hurry to delve into the unknown depths of the forest.
So, she takes a deep breath, squares her shoulders, and starts to walk. The sun shines brightly overhead, the sand squishes wetly under her feet, and the waves crash quietly onto the beach. Wherever she's ended up, it's beautiful here.
And—it's hot. After the last month of so spent in the chill of the kingdom of Atlas, Ruby quickly finds herself sweating, squinting against the bright sun beating down overhead. It'd be nice to take a break, sit down, and maybe remove some of her layers, but there's no time. She's got to find the others.
Plus, at this point, Ruby's pretty sure that if she stops now, she won't be able to start walking again.
It's starting to feel like she's been walking for hours, but it's difficult to tell how far she's made it. Besides the massive tree up on the cliff, the rest of the island looks mostly the same, with no obvious landmarks to mark her journey by. Even though she can't really tell how far she's walked, she's starting to get a sinking feeling that her fight with Neo must have pushed her further away from where Blake and Yang ended up, as she hasn't seen a single trace of them.
And then a flash of red catches her eye.
At first, Ruby thinks that it's a trick of the light, but after blinking several times, it becomes clear what she's looking at: it's Crescent Rose.
The sight of her beloved weapon gives Ruby a small burst of energy, and she immediately rushes over to the scythe. Although, with how exhausted she is, it's probably more of an exhausted stagger. She sinks to her knees next to her baby, relieved to see that the weapon looks largely undamaged.
And that's when she hears her name.
"Ruby?" she looks up to see her sister staring at her, her eyes wide, her expression a mix of concern and relief.
Weiss and Blake are standing next to her. She's found her team.
The wave of relief that hits her is so strong that she can barely keep her eyes open. She manages a wobbly wave. "Hey guys," she calls quietly. Even her voice sounds tired.
She doesn't remember closing her eyes, but her friends' faces are quickly replaced by darkness. Vaguely, she thinks she might hear worried voices calling for her, but her eyelids are too heavy to lift. It's okay, though. She's safe now.
After all, she's home.
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