Part 1.
The ritual must go on: Burn the father, feed the child.
Far some time ago, in a land of four kingdoms, humanity fought tooth and nail for their survival against a threat from the darkness and the emotions it entailed. They were victorious for as long as the stalemate they found themselves in would allow it, with the discovery of Dust and Aura giving them an edge to stem away the natural evil in the world.
Tonight, the moon, broken in innumerable pieces by something long forgotten, shone gently through the clouds in the night sky upon the small figure of a red, fluttering cape in the middle of a forest.
The owner of said cape was a little girl, no older than five years of age, who walked slowly with trembling steps as she kept whipping her head side to side trying her best to not let anything to surprise her. In her attempt to remain vigilant, she was doing herself more harm than good as her nerves played with her senses. A snap of a twig here and there made her heart to skip a beat, a fallen leaf on her head meant a startled flailing of arms, the crow of a bird froze her pace for a few seconds.
But nothing was going to stop the young Ruby Rose.
"Mom, where are you?" She called out, cupping her tiny hands around her mouth. "Dad and sis are sad, please come back!" She continued. Every time she asked her dad about her, he and her sister kept telling her that Summer was gone. Her innocent mind interpreted as if she was gone, then that meant she would come back, right? There was no way her family would lie to her like that.
But her cries were answered by the wind shaking some branches and making their leaves weep like a lost soul. The child continued her pitiful search with what small resolution she had and made her way deeper into the woods, the crunching of leaves under her tiny shoes was the only companion she had at the moment. Stopping in a clearing, she stood there defeated. There was no sign of her sister of her father to help her in her quest, after all, they were unaware of the sudden incursion of the little girl. Even her uncle was out of the question, for he had gone away for a mission.
However, something else was aware of her lone presence. The growing desperation of the cries for her mother and the cold loneliness of her surroundings were akin to a smell to those which dwelled in the darkness. A growl came from a bush, then another and another one. Stalking from the foliage, without regard to the loss of the element of surprise as it wasn't necessary, three lesser Beowolves prepared themselves to pounce on the defenseless child. She was terrified, they noted, her fear wafting off her and attracting more of their kind.
Grimm were attracted to negative emotions and the darker aspects of humanity. They came in many different variants, all to destroy what was left of mankind: the four main kingdoms and the few settlements sprinkled in the vast expanses of wilderness. But Beowolves were often considered as the more common species of Grimm, with plentiful numbers they served as cannon fodder and with their generalist traits, they populated almost every corner of Remnant.
Ruby wanted to run away, she wanted to go back with dad and sis, but her legs didn't respond. She was numbed by fear, frozen like a deer in the headlights. Her head only formulated one thought repeated to exhaustion, "I wanna go home, I wanna go home." She was so focused in her imminent doom that she didn't hear any more rustling of bushes from another side of the clearing she was in.
The Grimm on the lead stopped, much to the girl's confusion, with ears perked up and swiveling from side to side. The appendages of all of them faced the same direction, to her right, where a faint tune could be heard. It was a melody of an accordion.
The Beowolves only listened for a second or two before sprinting back to where they came from. Ruby stood there, watching her would-be attackers flee as she thought "What could have scared them like that?" Their retreating forms disappeared in the shrubbery of the woods and they left her alone once again.
Feeling safe for the moment, she took shaky steps back. Whatever it was that scared off the Grimm was probably worse news for her. Yang and Dad were probably still asleep and she might get back home without getting in any more trouble. Ruby Rose had never been grounded before and she wasn't going to start now.
She didn't get far before she heard a thunderous rumbling quickly drowning out the eerie melody in the air. The ground beneath her feet shook and trembled like an earthquake, she lost her balance and fell on her butt. The trees in the distance groaned and creaked under some force Ruby was quickly getting scared of.
For the second time, she couldn't move. If she was scared by her earlier would-be attackers, she was absolutely terrified at the prospect of having to face something possibly worse.
The trees before her bent and suddenly fell down as two strange Grimm ran through. The beasts had white rounded heads, their muzzles pointed and had a couple of antennae growing from where the base of the skull met the black, long and wiry neck. The rest of the body was connected to the foot-long neck, it was covered in a strange red shell, like the bugs Ruby liked to watch in the yard. They had no arms to speak of, rather than having legs similar to those big bald birds that hid their heads in the sand, ostriches, Dad called them during a visit to the zoo.
Before the strange bug-bird Grimm trampled her, they stopped. The two-critter stampede died out and only left the accordion to fill in the silence of the forest. The little girl trembled under the curious gazes of the beasts before her, the night was getting too scary for her little heart to handle, and she peered behind them. She noticed they were strapped to large wagons and behind those, more and more carts drawn by more of the bug-birds, something like a caravan.
There wagons themselves were really big, she could see her room easily fitting inside one of these things, they were also painted in her favorite colors; red and black. But there wasn't anything written on them or any symbol to show what they had inside or whom they belonged to. What was a little disturbing, no one was handling the reins to steer the beasts of burden, but she could still hear the music coming from the wagon in the front.
"Hello, is anybody in there?" She shakily asked. She was too afraid to get closer to the wooden vehicles as she felt the strange Grimm staring at her, silently judging her with those empty eye sockets of them.
Suddenly, the music stopped. Then the wagon swayed as the sound footsteps came from it. A door on the side swung open and the little girl knew something was wrong with the man that touched ground before her.
The head was covered in what she could call a gray rucksack, with a white mask on it signaling he was facing forward. He had a barrel shaped torso with the upper part coated in red fur, on top of the strangest armor she had ever seen, it looked like what the Grimm pulling the wagon were covered with. His legs were short and stumpy, unlike his big arms in striped long sleeves holding something that made Ruby feel sick.
He held in his hands an overgrown worm. It was a bloated thing that writhed and squealed in its owner's grasp, and what was even weirder, the squeals of the worm sounded like musical notes. It was a living accordion.
"Babala, geno." He said in a strong accent. The language was something she didn't recognize. Maybe her dad knew what it was, he was a teacher, so he knew a lot of stuff she didn't. "Babala, geno." He repeated, approaching the shrinking girl.
She took a step back, another and another. Never letting her eyes off from the bug musician. "Please, don't hurt me!" She pleaded. He didn't stop until he towered over her, it took less than a second for the strange man to lift her and hold her like a baby, not entirely inappropriate given the size difference. His accordion left on the ground during the whole thing.
"Baba gundala…" He trailed off in that strange tongue. She tried to struggle in his grasp, despite knowing the futility of it, trashing and kicking and screaming in a tantrum. The bug-man didn't seem to acknowledge her movements and carried her off to the wagon he came from, she assumed. The rough burlap on his arms felt lumpy, hiding the limbs of unfeeling chitin underneath.
Ruby felt how the cold of air of the forest was cut by a blanket of warmth, but it wasn't a pleasant warmth like when she waited in front of the oven for her mother's cookies to be done. It felt wrong, asphyxiating. And even though she had her eyes closed, she could see a bright red hue through the skin of her eyelids.
Suddenly, a pressure like nothing she had ever felt fell on her head. She swore she could hear her brain pulsing against her skull in an attempt at fleeing out of her head. "I wanna go home." She cried with a red face, tears rolling down her cheeks and pulling her hands over her ears.
"Ah… the child is here. Just in time, called to fulfill her duties to the flame. Place her down. Let her see. Let her listen. Let her know of her role in the future of the ritual and the fate of this world."
She lost the feeling of the arms restraining her, in place was the firm woodwork of the floor. Cold to the touch and half-coated in splinters. "I want my mommy." She whimpered, feeling the painful little wooden pins dig in her skin.
"Stand, child of argent gaze. Show yourself to the crowd and let them bask in your glory yet to pass."
She obeyed, after all she didn't have any grounds to object to the man's demands. She could understand his words at the very least, his raspy voice sounded like her kindergarten teacher who always smelled funny after nap break. She didn't like that old lady. But now she didn't seem so bad compared to what she found in the forest.
She lifted her head and stood up as the voice told her. It was dark, but a few torches burned with red fire forming a wide circle around her. She found herself standing in the middle of some sort of ring. Mutterings fell on her ears and she could barely see countless masks with the same simple design as the one who kidnapped her.
Speaking of which, the bug-man who brought her here was nowhere in sight. Instead, there was what she could describe as a lanky vampire, a cloaked tall figure that had a big, round head with two large red eyes and hair styled into two horn-like peaks. There was no mouth to speak of, that was weird for a vampire. Yang had told her what vampires did in those horror stories those late nights when they should be asleep, but that did not prepare her for what the vampire-bug did.
He bowed.
He bowed, albeit at an unnatural 90 degrees angle, but he did so with no clear hostile intent.
"My apologies for the rough treatment. Brumm is not the most articulated of bugs, I myself made him regret his treachery to the flame. He won't be bothering us with his words anytime soon."
The girl did not respond to him, it was a mixture of awe, fear and surprise the responsible for her silence.
"Where are my manners? I am Grimm, master of this troupe." His long cape billowed in unnatural wind. Now that she took a good look at it, it looked like it was made out of a moth's wings. A giant red and black moth. "Now, your name, little Rose."
Shaking herself off her stupor, she answered. "Um… You already know my name?"
"Yes indeed, yet we have not greeted each other in a proper manner." He lifted a long and lanky arm and snapped his fingers. In the center of the ring, a metal bench materialized out of a burst of red fire. "The audience longs to know the name of the one who will determine the fate of this world."
"I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose." She said, unnerved. "How do you know my name?"
Grimm seemed to muse for a second on how to answer the girl, "Please, take a seat. This is a story predating the beginnings of your species." He turned to the bug-man Brumm standing still just out of her sight. "Brumm, go fetch Divine. Tell her to bring a gift for our little guest."
Brumm shuffled away and out of the wagon. "Um… Grimm?" It was strange that he shared the same name as the monsters that put humanity at risk.
"I know who you are, I know who your mother was, I know everyone in your bloodline who have gone, fought and died in their stand against the dark impostor. Your eyes mark you as the proper cradle for my successor, after all." He turned his back to her.
"What are you talking about?" She asked timidly.
"Do you wish to hear a story?" Grimm asked kindly, "If you are willing to listen, I will give you a gift."
"U-huh." She nodded. The vampire-bug snapped his fingers lazily and a mirage appeared above their heads, she looked up at the mirage to see a figure of a bug.
It was short, almost her height, and had a large white head adorned with small horns. There were empty holes where the eyes were supposed to be. It carried a nail in its stubby hand, the rest of the body concealed in a grey tattered cape. The word 'Knight' came to her as she saw the visage walk through the ruins of a forgotten kingdom.
"I was born in the ruins Hallownest, in the backwater town of Dirtmouth, after our pilgrimage to a dying kingdom. The flame burned brightly in the despair and uncertainty of the remaining citizens and guided us here through the actions of a hollow vessel. My predecessor gave the vessel, the Knight, a gift to help it journey the depths of that fading land."
"A gift?" She repeated, "Like the one you're giving me now?" Grimm nodded.
"The Knight was stuck in a similar position as you." He carried on, "You will face many a foe too great for anyone else in your quest to save the world," The girl marveled at the prediction. "Your fierce dance and song of battle should prove a good nourishment for the next of my kin." Grimm bent down to look at her in the eye, "A little bird told me of your desire to help others, but are you aware of its dangers?"
"I want to be a huntress like mom." She commented. "My sister wants to fight monsters and I want to be there with her."
"Good, I like your conviction." Grimm replied. "There is no need to persuade you to seek the source of the blight in this world."
The sound of dragging something heavy on the ground made Ruby turn her head to whatever it was. A large bug entered the wagon followed by Brumm. She could tell it was female by the half mask she wore and the frilly scarf she had. She sported a pair of long claws instead of arms and everything below the waist was like she was fused with a giant slug.
"My, my, what a pretty little thing wandered to our home." She cooed. "She smells strange, is she special, Master?" She slid up to Grimm.
"Very special indeed, Divine. Do you have the gift?" He extended his arm to her.
The bug-lady nodded feverishly and handed a shiny thing to the master of the troupe. "I will miss this precious treasure. Is she really ready to have it?"
Ruby piped in, "What is it?"
Grimm stretched his arm to drop a shiny badge of some kind in her lap. It had a simple design of a white mask with two black lines running down like slits for the eyes, all encompassed in a red background.
"This is a charm. An artifact made with magic of an ancient world. It will never leave your side and it will learn from your world. The Grimmchild has been bestowed upon you and you alone. Go ahead, put it on."
Her tiny hands fumbled with the badge. She was still scared out of her wits in her current situation, but the mention of magic and gifts made it easier on her young mind to calm down. She hadn't been hurt as of yet and aside from the garish appearance of the people of this strange circus, she could tell herself that she was safer here than outside in the forest.
"There's no pin in this thing. How do I put it on?" There was a strange indentation in the back of the charm. It bore two holes of deep black color with a few bright specks of white floating about. But there wasn't anything she could use to stick it in her cloak.
"Ooh, you don't know, do you?" Cooed Divine. She slid closer to Ruby and took the charm out of her hands. "Charms are not silly pins. They embolden the soul of the bearer; you have to give them your power so they can give theirs."
"Like Aura?" Wondered the girl.
"Yes, yes! You humans call it that. Long ago, in other lands, only few curious bugs dabbled in the power of the soul in their search for salvation, not unlike your kind, it seems." Said a delighted Divine. "Has your soul been unshackled, released from your inner self?"
"No…" Answered Ruby after figuring out what she heard, "My uncle Qrow told me he would in a few years. So I could train to be a huntress like mom."
The bug lady clicked her tongue, at least Ruby assumed she did, and said, "My, that won't do. That won't do at all. Master needs you to start your journey soon, your first steps will come whether you're ready or not."
"The child must have her soul unlocked" Interrupted Grimm. He extended a hand and landed it on top of Ruby's head, forcefully tilting it upwards for her eyes to meet bottomless red pits. "For the perpetuity to the Flame is a sacred one, lend your aid as a bearer for its next vessel. And make use of your gift to purge the impostor of darkness and the fool of the light."
The girl shuddered as she felt like she had eaten an entire tray of sugar-coated cookies with a gallon of hot chocolate. The sudden rush didn't distract her from the crimson light that grew from her chest, expanding outwards to her head and limbs. She felt stronger, like she could tackle the world, run ten laps around it and get back home before dinner.
"Wow…" She whispered. "My Aura's unlocked!" She bounced in her seat.
"That's it, yes!" Exclaimed Divine, "Your soul is free, your soul is ready." She fiddled with the Charm and placed it on Ruby's chest, just where her heart was.
"What is this supposed to-agh!" She stopped as she felt a jolt of pain. "What is going on?!"
"The Grimmchild is now part of you. He will guide you to the flames scattered across the world. When the time comes, you will come back to us and the cycle shall begin anew." Grimm explained.
The pain faded quickly, only leaving a cold and hollow feeling in her heart. Like something was siphoning part of it somewhere else, outside her body.
"It hurts…" She whimpered.
Divine lifted her chin with a claw and cooed, "Don't be like that, it will pass." She hugged the girl's head closer to her thorax. "It gets easier if you don't fight it."
Ruby didn't even know how one was supposed to 'fight' what she was feeling. The cold, chitin covered body that was keeping her movement locked did nothing to soothe the pain in her soul.
It soon subsided after a deceivingly short time. Ruby was left panting and shivering in response to the occupied spot in her soul. She wasn't an expert in matters of Aura and what it implied, she hadn't any knowledge about it to begin with, but even her inexperienced mind could tell that something was different with her recently unlocked Aura.
The faint clamor of a hundred cheers and clapping reached her buzzing ears. An unclear, moving mob of white and red matched the noise in the far edge of the ring.
"The Charm has done its work. You may rise from the bench." She heard Grimm say, satisfied with whatever result he witnessed.
She didn't stand up, too fatigued by the recent ordeal to comply. Divine hooked her claws under her armpits and lifted her up, allowing the bench to disappear in the same fashion it came to be. Ruby swayed in a dizzy spell, letting most of her weight fall on the bug-lady's appendages.
Once everything came clear to her senses, she could hear… no, feel, a new presence on the floor beside her feet. There, in front of her clearing eyesight, was a tiny curled up figure. Its disproportionally big, white head rose and fell with gentle snoring, wrapped in the black gossamer blanket of its wings, the head of the thing was very similar to Grimm's. If Ruby wasn't so terrified at the prospect of having a piece of her soul fueling the creature in front of her for potentially the rest of her life, she would consider it cute.
"The next vessel was born. A loyal companion for the rest of your life and beyond." Grimm said.
Ruby shook her head, dispelling the last dregs of dizziness from her mind. "Is- is it like my dog, Zwei?"
"A pet? No. It won't need food nor training, if that is what you mean. You will learn what it needs in time, you have a long time together before you do." He clarified.
She then asked timidly, "Is it mine?" A nod from Grimm. "Can I name it?" Another nod. Hesitant, the girl crouched down and patted the head of the Grimmchild, waking it up. The eyes opened revealing deep red as master of troupe. "I know, I will name you Crimson, Crimson Rose."
Crimson unfurled its wings and took to the air, much to Ruby's surprise, and let out a soft, squeaky cry. The newborn vessel landed on top of her head and curled up to sleep once again. It was very light, Ruby noted, for its size.
"I have a question." Said the girl. "Why me and not mom?"
It was Divine who answered this time. "That one was not long for this world. The fall of the kingdoms draws near, but your mother won't be there to witness it, but we will. It's what brought us here, after all."
"Everyone's in danger?!" Cried an alarmed Ruby.
"The flames of dying kingdoms guides us to the next successor. We witness the song and dance of the last hope of its salvation before it succumbs to despair or thrives in survival. The result matters nothing to us, but the audience is only satisfied with the wondrous spectacle it entails." He reached into his cape and pulled out a sizable, pale, brilliant rock. "It is why I am giving you this gift. There is no show in a helpless defeat, after all."
The rock was heavy, really heavy for her tiny hands. She couldn't appreciate the smaller imperfections due to the bright shine it emitted. Ruby didn't know what it was, even less what was its purpose, but she took it earnestly. "Thanks?" She said, unsure of what to say.
"A pale ore! A very fine one, I see!" Came Divine, "What is a painter without a brush, what is a smith without a tool, what is a warrior without a weapon?" She wondered aloud. "Very few are lucky to even see material of such quality, count yourself more than that to have one in your pretty hands." She finished.
"Nothing else can match its qualities." Reaffirmed Grimm. Turning his head upwards, he continued. "Now, it seems our time is over." A red portal opened behind Ruby, who was now holding the piece of ore in both hands. "If there is something unclear, voice it now or live your life in doubt."
Recalling something Grimm said at the beginning, she asked. "We will meet again, right?"
"Yes, child. But do not expect our next reunion to be as amicable." He bowed to Ruby, "Now, do what comes natural to you. Farewell."
He held the same pose as he saw the girl lose consciousness and drop down. He didn't move to stop her fall, someone else already did.
"My part is done," Said the person. "I brought you to the kid. Now do what you promised me!"
"Very bold of you to demand from me." Grimm said. He snapped his fingers, making the air ripple with an anguished noise. "But I always keep my word. Nightmares of her departure no longer hound your mate nor your spawn."
"Finally, I am ashamed I had to go to these lengths to cover for their weakness."
"Also, I erased the potato incident from Ruby's memory. Consider it a token of good faith." Added Grimm with a mischievous tone.
"..."
The silence was broken by Divine snickering.
"I will take my leave."
"Oh, before you go, tell us. Have you made your mind? We could always use some natives to work for us, our physiques are not exactly subtle!" Butted in Divine in a cheery voice, ignoring the pointed look from Grimm at her interruption.
"No. I will never join you. I've had my share or ancient beings fighting over Remnant, I don't need any more of that in my life." The woman carrying Ruby said. "But I cannot be at peace knowing my daughter wants to go to the very same place where everything fell apart for my team."
"She will face worse. It will be the first place to fall before the Dark Lady and more will follow. That is the purpose of our pilgrimage." Grimm summoned a blob of white light and another of shadow. "Watching the remnants left behind by those self-proclaimed Gods in their pathetic squabble is mere entertainment to fuel the Flame. They think themselves masterminds of this war, when they are just jesters."
The troupe master dispelled the blobs with a snap of fingers. "Now, run along. You made your choice, and don't even think of stealing our gift from the girl, Bandit."
Raven nodded. Even if her hands itched to grab her sword and throw herself at the vampire looking bug, she knew she had no chance to make even a few steps forward. She walked backwards, never letting her eyes off Grimm, as she entered her portal. The girl in her arms snuggled closer to her, hugging the dog-sized bug in her hands and almost dropping the pale ore she was given.
"You better get out of this mess alive. Summer would skin me if she found out what you've been set up to do."
Once she left, Grimm turned to Brumm, who stood silently behind Divine. "You will not attempt to stop the ritual. I was merciful to let you live through your betrayal, do not let my mercy go to waste."
"Baba gundala…" Uttered the musician, picking up his accordion and waddling his way out of the wagon.
Divine turned to her master, "Are we going to look over the girl?"
"No and we won't interfere. She will grow and flourish, I can feel it."
Raven saw her daughter shift in her sleep when she came out of her portal. She scoffed at seeing a band-aid in her cheek and a small bruise in her arm, no doubt from blocking hits like her oaf of an ex-husband did during spars back in Beacon.
The girl in her arms moved to snuggle closer to her chest, earning a grumble from the raider. She swore in that moment that she would never deal with another supernatural being ever again, even less for the child of the woman who pounced the moment she left.
She walked out of Yang's room, looking for Ruby's. She found a fuzzy ball of fur curled up in a ball in front of a door, it didn't take her a second thought to see it was that dog Ruby spoke about during her conversation with Grimm. She shooed it aside with a nudge of her foot, the beast didn't wake up, and made her way into a bedroom covered in drawings on papers haphazardly strewn on the floor. She placed the sleeping child in her bed and let the oversized bug to rest next to her pillow.
Her eyes were drawn to the shiny rock in Ruby's hands, she could take it and no one would say anything, but she wasn't willing to try her luck after the warning from Grimm. She settled with taking it and placing it over the nightstand.
"I don't want to hear that you squandered the power you have been gifted." She said aloud, "But I won't say I envy your position."
She drew her sword and sliced the air before her and crossed the portal back to her Tribe, with the intention of never wanting to see her again. Be it from the reminder of her departure from this family or not getting any more involved with this mess of a war between Ozpin, Salem and the newcomer Grimm, she didn't know.
A girl, a little older than Yang, was doing push-ups right in a tent Raven had designated as hers. She stood up as soon as she saw the figure of her leader coming out of the portal and reported to her.
"Raven. The bugs are gone but we are uncertain if they are coming back."
Raven shook her head. "They won't. I gave them what they wanted and we will be left alone." She then ordered, "Vernal, spread the word, we are leaving."
"Where to?"
"We are going to Mistral, as far away as we can from this mess."
Ruby Rose, of fifteen years of age, leader of the team RWBY, liver eyed huntress in training, groaned at the content printed on a flyer stuck to a post in the middle of Vale. She and her team decided to use this lovely Saturday to stretch their legs after a long week of exams and team exercises, using this opportunity to give her team some not so subtle hints of her upcoming birthday later this month. Yang told Weiss and Blake that Ruby was a little spoiled from having her birthday sharing the same day as Halloween, and as such, she used that day to gorge herself with candy and sweets regardless of her older sister's warnings of said indulgence.
"What gives, Rubes?" Asked the blonde, leaning to see what her little sister was reading.
"A circus is coming to the city." Replied the younger sister.
Weiss rose an eyebrow, "It doesn't sound so bad. Admittedly, I haven't attended to such places but I don't find the affront here."
Yang responded before Ruby could. "She doesn't like circuses. She's terrified of clowns."
"Am not!"
"And accordions, for some reason."
"Blake, tell Yang she's committing treason!" She pointed at the black-haired girl with a bow and yelled "Mutiny!"
"Sure, whatever. Behave Yang." She said with as much passion as a bored housecat.
"Is that so?" Asked the white themed girl. "A common phobia, nothing to be ashamed of."
Their team leader shook her head feverishly. "I'm not afraid of them, I just don't trust them and everyone knows that accordions are bad instruments." She justified.
"Yeah, right…" Muttered Yang. "Hey, I have an idea. How about we check it out and see if my baby sister is not afraid at all."
"Oh, come on." Whined the redhead, "Fine, but if I win, you're gonna have to give me some compensation for your betrayal."
Weiss raised her hand, uncertain. "Do we have a say on this?" She wasn't entirely against the idea, but she had different plans of spending the day studying some more.
"Might as well tag along. Otherwise they're not going to shut up anytime soon." Blake commented, already accepting their fate.
"So, what's the name of the circus?" Asked Yang, snatching the flyer from the post. "The Grimm Troupe?"
"What a strange name." Commented Weiss. "They could have chosen a name more… approachable."
"Well, what a better place for a group of huntresses to go, right?"
Ruby, for her part, was busy wracking her brain trying to stop her sister from taking them to that place. She remembered that name very well. It was too lucid for it to be a simple nightmare like her dad had attempted to convince her it was, and the gifts from Grimm were still in her possession. Even now, Crimson, bless his little whatever it had for a heart, followed her everywhere unseen by other people. Her family thought it was just an imaginary friend that would go away in time. But it didn't. It lived through her charm firmly placed in her soul.
The pale ore that Grimm gifted her was used to make her baby, Crescent Rose. She could swear the edge of her scythe never dulled or chipped, but it didn't discourage her from giving it weekly maintenance regardless. Her dad and uncle Qrow didn't appear to suspect from her lie of having found the mineral in a trip to the forest, but they did ground her for a month for going out unsupervised. Showing she had her aura unlocked because of it that day extended her sentence for another month.
Nevertheless, Ruby was still doubtful that this idea of Yang would end in anything good. Not that she didn't trust her sister, far from it, it all was just shaping up into a big coincidence.
"Something wrong?" Asked Blake. "You're unusually quiet."
"No, no. It's nothing." She waved her off. "I just hate it when Yang goes overboard with her teasing."
Weiss then asked the blonde, "Does it say the time and place of the show?"
"Yeah, it's supposed to be by the outskirts of the city by the western district, at midnight." She read.
"How strange, they better not expect a large crowd." Said the heiress. Going to the less populated part of the city at such late hour was not a good in any business standpoint, unless it was for the less reputable sort of entertainment.
Blake decided to give her input, "Sure, nothing points it all to be a bad horror movie plot. At all."
"Aw c'mon, kitty-cat. It's probably just bad marketing." She draped an arm around Ruby's shoulders, pulling her close. "Don't go around scaring my little sister with your 'bad movie' tropes."
"Yang, let me go!" Cried Ruby, trying to escape her sister's absurd strength. "I'm not scared."
"That's the spirit!" The blonde then pointed a finger upwards. "Now let us go!"
Weiss decided to burst her bubble, "We don't know if there are any bullheads headed there, let alone at that hour."
"Not with that attitude we don't"
"That doesn't make any sense."
"You don't make any sense."
As they argued Ruby scooted closer to Blake, watching how Weiss lost her patience. "Do you wanna head over to see the candy shop?"
"You go ahead, I'll make sure they don't cause a scene." She replied.
With that, Ruby turned and left. She was sure Blake could handle her other two teammates with a few words. She was a good mediator when Yang wanted to mess with Weiss, Ruby being herself downplayed by her sister and Weiss ignoring her altogether when she was upset.
She had a reasonable amount of time to kill. Candy could wait, she could go over to the dust shop along the way and get some more ammo for her baby and spend some time in the arcade too. Lien wouldn't be a problem, Headmaster Ozpin had granted her a scholarship due to her being accepted two years earlier, a prodigy he called her, in addition to the lien her dad sent her and Yang every month.
A weight fell on her head, followed by a squeaky whine and she smiled. "Of course, Crimson. We can go to see the pet shop for a new toy for you and Zwei." The Grimmchild let out a happy cry and flapped its wings and took flight next to Ruby.
In all the years since she acquired it, she hadn't found anything resembling a flame or the end of the world. The vampire-bug told her she was going to face him once she found them, or so she remembered it that way, there was no way for him to show up yet. However, that didn't mean she was all too eager to go to that accursed circus because of Yang, for it was true that she didn't like going there from that whole ordeal with Grimm. That night was firmly branded in her mind.
But not everything was somber. She was happy to see that not everyone thought that her friend was imaginary. Her dog was the exception to the rule and the two of them developed a quick friendship to the point of considering them siblings. She played with them, gave them baths, watched them sleep, it was an adorable bond in her eyes.
Still, Crimson had something that Zwei sadly lacked, it followed her everywhere except when she explicitly told it not to do so. She had gotten a few odd looks from her team when she was caught talking into thin air on a couple of occasions. But it didn't deter her from speaking to her friend.
She then decided to go first to the pet shop. After all, Blake was always ranting about Zwei sleeping on a pile of books and whatnot. Crimson and her best boy of a corgi needed a new bed and she could have it sent to her dorm.
It wasn't until a few hours later that she received a call from Yang telling her to come find them at the bullhead docks. The sun had already set and she had done what she aimed to do today. Apparently, they did find a bullhead with a destination close to the place where the circus would be, at least that's what she gathered in between the 'I told you so's and the 'Yang, stop taunting Weiss's from the call.
Ruby had little difficulty in finding her team, given her Semblance and the unique head of hair of her partner, she found them sitting on a bench waiting for their leader to arrive. Yang gave her a lazy wave motioning her to come closer.
"Hey, guess what?" She began. "Weiss said she was going to book us a room in a nearby hotel. There won't be anymore bullheads to Beacon until tomorrow."
The benefactor nodded and said, "Someone has to be responsible here. This oaf didn't bother in planning where we were supposed to sleep tonight."
"So, we're going or what?" Said an unfazed Yang, "We better leave now or we're gonna miss the best seats."
"I think there will be a lot of empty seats." Blake commented. "So, we're not in much of a hurry."
They boarded the bullhead and noticed they weren't the only passengers. A figure covered in a cloak was already there, the face was hidden but their frame was of a wide-shouldered person sitting quietly, almost as if they were asleep. It made sense, it was really late and there was nothing else to do but wait for them to reach their destination.
The vehicle lurched when it took off. The girls sat in silence across the person and distracted themselves talking with each other or simply looking at their scrolls. For the exception of Ruby, who couldn't help but stare at the strange passenger.
Her eyes were distracted by Crimson, who decided to land next to strange passenger and curl up to sleep, seeing as it didn't have any space to do so. She looked down to her scroll and saw a message from the deputy headmistress Miss. Goodwitch inquiring about her team's whereabouts. Given the past antics team RWBY had been involved with, she could fault her for thinking they were up to something.
'Don't worry Miss Goodwitch, we're going to spend the night in Vale. We'll be back tomorrow.'
She hit the send button and waited for the icon notifying her of the successfully sent message. All she could do now was wait and see if the professor didn't mind their little outing. She returned her gaze to her invisible companion, sleeping soundly and cooing at the little pats the stranger was giving it.
Wait. That couldn't be right.
"Psst, Weiss." She whispered to her partner. "You're seeing the same thing as I do, right?"
"Ruby, It's rude to stare." She flatly responded.
Suddenly, her dislike for circus didn't seem so unfounded anymore.
Author Notes:
So here you have it. Something I've been itching to write for quite some time and trust me, I wanted to have this chapter done earlier this week but I hadn't had any electricity for a few days. Don't worry, Legacy of the Void Mage is still ongoing, I'm using this story here to help me take my head off of things I have to deal with and return with a fresh mind to my first crossover. However, my intention with this story is to be a short one (I wish.)
Also, I found the potato incident in the comic completely ridiculous.
With that said, I sincerely hope this story is of your liking and please give me some feedback on what I should improve. See you later!