Hello everyone! I hope you guys will enjoy this new chapter I have made. Anyway, have a great reading my friends, I will start to work on my next chapter. I'll see you all soon, bye.

A Shattered Life

Chapter 44: Loss

Hydrox and the two girls made their way through a forest that seemed ancient. The trees were thick and old, roots that were twisted, it might once have been filled with bird-songs and animals that roamed freely. But now it was ages past its former glory. It's canopy was so dense that they could barely see the occasional streak of sunlight that rarely touched the forest floor, even its thick vines were slowly taking away the last remnants of a broken house that stood a few meters in front of them. "We should take shelter inside that building for a couple of hours, she needs to rest." Said Hacelen as she looked at Ruby's wounds. "She won't last long with those injuries."

"I know that but we can't stop this place is probably filled with Grimm or bandits so we must keep moving." Replied the old man with his usual tone. But as he was about to take the next step forward, Hacelen grabbed his arm and it was clear by her expression that she wasn't happy with his choice. "D-Dammit! Listen, clean the wounds and bandage her legs, I will then carry her but we can't stay here because if we do we will die, now hurry up." With that said, Hacelen agreed to his terms.

"Come here and take a seat on that rock." She told her, but then she noticed something in the girl's eyes. They had no light in them, that joy and happiness went away the moment Salem took Geo's life. Now, she was in extreme pain and saddness. "I don't have bandages but this will do." Hacelen removed what was left of her cape and riped it in half. Then she cleaned the blood from the red warrior's legs, no sound came from the girl's mouth. "...I'm sorry we couldn't do more to help but know that we won't let his sacrifice be in vain."

Ruby grabbed the amulet that Geo gave her months ago. "...If I had been faster, I-I could have saved him." Her hand turned into a fist. "H-How can I be a hero if I can't even save one person! I-I let him die right in front of me and I couldn't do anything!" Ruby was angry. "All he wanted was to be left alone but its like the world was against him, against us!" Her heart hurt.

Hacelen didn't know what to say there were so many feelings in the girl's words, feelings that she had never knew, so she remained silent and kept treating Ruby's injuries. "B-But then he had that stupid pride of his, every battle was his own and he never ran away. He could have escaped the airship with the others but no he decided to stay and fight against that monster so everyone could evacuate." Her eyes were teary. "That...that stupid, reckless, brave fool...my fool...my Geo."

"He believed in you, you know?" Hydrox approached them. Ruby raised her head and looked at the old Casterwill. "During my last battle with him he told me that you would be the one to save this ruined world, and I am starting to see why." He turned his back. "Your feelings for those you love gives you power, your will to protect them that's why I could never beat Geo. But that's not all, your hope is incridible and none of us can match it. I don't know where you got it from but damn isn't it powerfull."

"D-Did he really belive in me?" She asked.

The old man nodded. "More than you think my Queen." He then got down on one knee and said. "I know your pain girl better than you think but we can't stay here so get on my back, I will carry you." Hacelen helped the young red haired warrior getting up and then placed her on Hydrox's back. "Right! Lets keep moving forward maybe we will find a village that's nearby or at least a military outpost."

"Can you really carry her? I mean you still have some ribs broken."

"I work through the pain, like I always have." He replied before moving forward.

Falling leaves tumble from the interlocking branches above them. Hacelen stared at the falling leaves, for her it was quite breathtaking, at the most. First a green leaf, then shortly afterwards a yellow leaf stained with bits of orange and green. They hit the ground lightly making no sound effect. "Stop waisting time staring at dead leaves and keep moving." Barked the old Casterwill with a bitter tone. "I need you to stay focus Sum-I mean Hacelen, you must watch our backs."

"Of course."

Bugs zipped in and out of Ruby's ears while they kept walking, humming and buzzing their little annoying songs. A mosquito landed on her skin, but she quickly slapped it away. The young girl was in no mood for anything but she tried to remain calm, but how could she? "I know this isn't the time or place but I must ask you, where's the artifact?" He asked. "Only a Casterwill can be its guardian."

"Ozpin..." She whispered. "Ozpin has it."

"Not for long."

Suddenly, the sound of engines were heard and they were getting louder by the second, until they saw two Bullhead airships approaching. One of the ships landed near the group and when the doors opened, Ruby's heart just startedto hurt even more. Sunny and General Avala got their weapons out as they didn't know these two strangers that were with the young Queen. "Hold there!" Shouted Avala. "You are not going anywhere with that girl, she's coming with us and if you have hurt her then I will kill you both."

"Stop!" Said Ruby. "They are...they helped me survive." She got down from Hydrox's back.

Sunny ran and imidiately hugged the red warrior with all strength. "I was really worried about you. I-I thought something bad had happened but you are safe now." A smile spread across her lips. "But umm, where's Geo? I thought he was with you." Ruby's silver eyes lowered, she didn't had the courage to tell her. Sunny's fear grew. "W-Where is he? Y-You know where he is right?"

General Avala took a good look at Ruby, by her expression she knew what happened to him. "...How did he die?"

"What?!" Sunny was shocked.

"H-He..." Tears came to surface. "He sacrificed himself to save us." She bursted into tears. "I-I'm sorry..."

Sunny was heart broken, the little boy she had taken care of for many years was now gone and she wasn't able to do a single thing to help. The boy was like a son to her, she taugh him how to use Dust, she helped him when he was in school and always treated him when he was sick. All of those sweet memories are all that remain for her. "I...I-It wasn't your fault sweetie." She embraced the crying girl in her arms, although Sunny herself was crying as well. "Y-You loved him as much as I did and I-I know you did your best."

Avala simply turned her back and went back inside the Bullhead, although she didn't want to show it she was in deep pain as well. Then, a man with a cane approached them. "It seems something terrible as transpired and by how things look, I can assume that the young Prince has fallen."

"It's King to you!" Said Hydrox.

Ruby rose her head and saw him. "You...YOU! BASTARD!" With rage and tears she launch herself towards the Headmaster of Beacon but both Hacelen and Sunny grabbed her just in time. "How dare you show your face! You are nothing but a monster like Salem, you and Aiden used my Geo to do your dirty work and he did it because he admired you both but all you did was use him." Said Ruby in pain. "You took advantage of him just because...he was Salem's son."

"So, you know and from you just said it seems Geo found out as well." Replied Ozpin. "It was for the best you know, him dying because now the world doesn't has to deal with another demon." He walked towards them. "Geo was a killer and he was a good one too, Aiden made sure of that. But that only shows the darkness that was within him, you must understand Ruby, the boy you loved was nothing but a Grimm that needed to be put down like a dog before he could cause problems.

"Shut up!" Shouted Ruby. "He wasn't perfect but he tried his best to do the right thing, he saved me and so many others so how dare you call him a monster! And I don't care if he was half-Grimm I still loved him, but don't you dare call him something he wasn't." Her anger grew. "He knew you know? That you were the one that ordered Tyrian to murder him and his family."

Ozpin was baffled. "H-He knew?"

"And you know what he wanted to do?" She approached him. "Be left alone. That's all he wanted, he just wanted to live his life. He wanted to get revenge on you for what you did but in the end he decided to just throw it all away, all of the dark thoughts that were consuming him. Geo did that because he knew there was no point in this endless cycle of hate!" Ruby launched her fist and it smashed in Ozpin's face, breaking his glasses. "...All you saw when you looked at him was a monster just because he was Salem's son, but I saw him for who he really was. A man that never ran from a fight and always did what was right in his eyes."

"Well said." Hydrox supported her.

"Hm, a man is born from a couple that is in love and know what love is, but Geo was born from pure darkness he had no real love for you he was just using you for fun." Ozpin grabbed his cane and got up. "But we don't have to worry anymore the boy is dead and that's what matters." He turned his back and made his way towards the ship. "You are no longer welcomed in Beacon, you have served your purposed and now I do not need you. I thought you were like me and would do anything to save the world but it seems I was wrong about you, go do something else because you will never become a Huntress."

"I would rather be a nobody than to be like you." Replied Ruby in disgust.

Unknow Location

Enourmous pillars were scattered around the region and beneath them were dark clouds shooting thunder everywhere. Near the bottom of a pillar there was a young boy with just one arm and one eye, holding the wall of the pillar tightly so he wouldn't fall into the darkness. He seemed confused and afraid as he didn't know what was going on. "...W-Where am I?" He searched his surroundings.

"Awaken at last are we?"

"W-Where am I?"

"Well, this is the after-life but I won't bother to explain it to you because I doubt you would understand." Replied the voice.

"Who are you?"

"Excellent question! Not the right one." Said a dark spider with bone-like armor on its legs and head. "The right question would be. Who are you?"

"...I..."

"Hehehe!" Laughed the spider. "You should start climbing then 'I'. But be careful not to fall otherwise you will lose more than your soul."

The young man started to climb the pillar. "That's it! Up you go."