A/N: Sup, I'm back. Thanks a ton to everyone who left review last time! Thanks a whole lot to Maassassin for beta-ing!
Uhhh... head kind of empty right now, have chapter.
Content Warning: Mentions of miscarriage, and canon-typical violence
WC: 5258
*Break*
At the summit, finally, she saw the landscape she had glimpsed from Choice's vision. The sun above shone down on the clearing before them, sending the surrounding rotless foliage shimmering like waves of gold. The potency of the divinity she felt this high up peaked, and it washed through her the same as warm waters on a tropical beach. It was peaceful, despite the daunting reality of what came next. Ruby's eyes fell upon the center of the clearing; the reaching canopy tree that turned sunbeams into the glowing leaves, and the island it sat on at the center of the bluest water she had ever seen.
Beautiful, much more so from her own eyes and not as a vision from Choice, or even the glimpse Jinn's tale had revealed to them years ago.
She stood with Oscar on the platform overlooking the clearing. He still held her hand, gazing upon the gorgeous sight like a graveyard in daylight. "Silver eyes," he said, his tone starting low like the beginnings of a fairy tale. "How I have come to understand them after many years, work so long as your will outstrips the target. Your desire to preserve life must be stronger than theirs to destroy it. The older a Grimm is the more difficult that becomes. Each year a Grimm ages their rage and their hate amasses; it becomes larger than the human mind can comprehend. But Grimm do not have souls, and they are not gifted with knowledge like humans are. It lessens the potency of their destructive desires, and allows them to be overcome by a pure and simple soul.
"And then there's Salem." Oscar's voice strained, she could hear him struggling to hold back the latent grief. Ruby squeezed his hand in solidarity, and he returned it. She watched him take a deep breath and hold it, before he exhaled and continued. "Salem has a human soul. As much as she's smothered and killed her own humanity, she still has a soul. With it she is cognizant of her own hatred, and that makes it that much stronger than any Grimm. But, it's still a matter of overcoming her will with your own. A feat no Silver Eyed Warrior has been able to accomplish, and after Jinn's vision I know why.
"Salem tried to kill herself in the Pool of Destruction." The two of them slowly walked down through the golden field. Throughout his explanation his eyes never left the tree at the center. "She sought death, but that's not what it did. According to Jinn, she became a 'being of infinite life that thirsts for the destruction of life.' At the bottom of the pool she didn't find the release she wished for. Instead she found the zenith of destructive desire.
"That act changed Salem's soul, in a way that was never meant for humans to reach naturally, making it impossible for a normal human soul to ever overpower her will. That's why the only hope of matching her is to perform a similar augmentation."
"And that's why we're here," said Ruby. At the water's edge they halted. She felt the barest tremor from their joined hands, so small she couldn't tell from which of them it originated.
"In Jinn's vision we saw Salem fall into it. We assumed that was what made her immortal, as did Salem, but it didn't. Her curse was laid by both the Gods, no single fount of their power can undo it. Instead, these are the embodiment of their principles. If the Pool of Darkness gave one an insatiable desire for the destruction of life," Oscar trailed off.
"Then the Pool of Light gives the desire to protect life." Ruby finished. "And silver eyes are fueled by that desire."
Line of vision finally breaking from the pool, Oscar's eyes, dark with unseen age, found her. "It's not quite as simple as just taking a dip though, otherwise Salem would have understood that when the Gods threw her into this one. There are two requirements that must be met: understanding and acceptance. Knowledge and choice.
"When Salem fell into this pool, she still did not understand the value of life and death, and she didn't fall willingly, so it had no effect. But by the time she jumped into the Pool of Darkness her situation had changed. After living with her curse for years upon years, all alone, she sought release.
"In a way she half learned the lesson the Gods wanted her to, even if it was at the cost of life becoming insignificant in her eyes. She craved death, so she made the choice and took the plunge, and what emerged is the Salem we know today." A bitter laugh left him, so weak it reminded her of a dying animal. Oscar turned to face her fully, his grip on her hand tightening.
"But I've already told you this story, and we're still here anyway."
Words unsaid hung heavy between them now, but Ruby remembered their echoes from when they had discussed this the first time: months ago, after she had worn the Crown and told him what it had shown her. Ruby remembered the horror and fear her recount caused him, the despairing realization that it eventually gave way to. Ruby remembered when they had argued, when Ruby had been so certain that this was the answer they needed but Oscar had dug his heels in the ground and begged her stop and think about it; risks and implications and nightmare scenarios of all flavors were hurled overhead, creeped out of dark recesses of the mind. Ruby remembered tears streaking down his face, remembered holding him as sobs wracked his body, remembered being clung to like she would disappear into motes of light. She remembered carding fingers through his hair and trying to sooth him that it would not be history repeating itself, she refused to let that be the case. She remembered the day after, when he stood before her with that depressing acceptance and a veneer of forced calm as he agreed to be her guide to the God of Light's domain.
It grieved her, but made her more determined. Some fears and doubts can't be so easily calmed, so she would put them at ease by proving that what he was afraid of wouldn't come to pass. Even with all the risks and unknowns laid out plainly to see, they still sought out the Domain of Light. They still climbed the mountain without turning back. They still stood over the blessed waters that could alter the very fabric of one's spiritual being.
Ruby didn't run from her choice, and Oscar didn't leave her to face it alone.
*Break*
Ruby's heart still tried to leap out of her throat as she staggered back over the rubble. She swallowed it down. The Goliath before her made its trumpeting war cry again. Her shoulders tensed when its call was followed by the sound of rumbling thunder. More giant footsteps. Her chest tightened.
More Goliaths. A string of colorful curses jumped off her tongue.
Like a well fitting glove, Ruby slipped into a mind meant for battle. Fleeing was not an option. It was too late; her soul had wept its negativity, radiated it from her pores and drew Grimm to her like a siren song. And now that she'd been spotted, they would not relent until she or they were dead.
The Goliath across from her stamped its feet and charged. Ruby fired a gravity round at the ground and sailed into the air. Clattering, Crescent Rose shifted to scythe mode. She spun and landed on its back, digging the tip of her blade into its nape.
It only sank in a few inches. She grit her teeth. Beneath her the Goliath bucked. Ruby fired another round into its neck, using the recoil loose herself back into the air. She flipped backwards, and landed high up on a rubble pile. From her perch she observed as the beast thrashed. The pounding footsteps of its kin drew closer.
Goliaths were huge, stupidly so. They were the largest of what were considered the common species of Grimm. Even the one before her, an average sized specimen and not an alpha, still measured up to nearly forty times her own height. They had hides that were impenetrable for almost all standard ammunition. Blades could work, but often required an extremely high velocity to pierce that was difficult for most to produce on their own.
Ruby's eye lit with a red fire. Most weren't Maidens. The Goliath trumpeted again as she stared down at it.
Mountain Glenn was close enough to Vale that the kingdom still performed regular aerial sweeps to keep track of Grimm populations. Using her Maiden magic to call down lightning and smite the oversized elephant was a no go. She didn't know what exactly was made note of in the field reports, but she knew that all of it ended up on the headmaster of Beacon's desk. While a sudden weather anomaly would only puzzle most, for an ancient wizard that knew the signs of magic usage it may raise some flags that shouldn't be up yet. And of course, gods forbid she draw in anyone with a camera.
No, she thought, keep it small, keep it efficient, leave no trace.
Ruby kicked off the ground. Her hands and feet tingled as magic surged from her skin creating jets to keep her aloft. When the Goliath charged again into the rubble pile she was already gone. It crashed behind her as she rocketed up.
Dewy air filled her lungs for the moment she floated. Turning over she saw the Goliath's spiny back and the thin sliver of unprotected neck. It seemed tiny from her current height.
Ruby hefted her scythe above her head. Then she fell.
Wind whistled past her ears. She tucked into a spin, increasing her acceleration. In the blur she fired two more rounds of gravity dust to go even faster. She plummeted down, upon the neck of the Goliath.
Crescent Rose severed halfway through the neck of the beast this time. The Goliath made a horrid screech, trunk flailing and trumpeting, reaching over to try and smash Ruby's head in.
Cussing she ducked the limb. Ruby gripped her scythe's handle and pressed a button. The staff rotated to a new angle, with her still dangling from it. She let the flame that had held her up trickle down to her feet, increasing the output. Tongues of crimson fire turned to jet propellers; she angled her blade and felt it begin to sink further in.
The Goliath screeched something unholy. It's thrashing grew. But Ruby didn't let up. Angered shouting escaped her, she poured more magic to her feet.
Her blade continued to sever glowing red sinew, viscera, and tendons. With a scream and a final push she made it through to the other end.
The giant head of the Goliath came crashing down. Pressure lost, she spun in the air before landing, embedding Crescent Rose into the dirt. Ruby perched on top of it.
Her handiwork lay on the ground, disintegrating. The great pair of ivory tusks were last to go, clattering on top of the fractured pavement before disappearing too.
She would have taken the moment to admire the sight, but the thundering of footsteps had turned to crashing roars. Stray pieces of concrete strewn about her trembled and bounced into the air with each threatening boom. She could hear them, now where were they?
Ruby's question was answered when one of the ruined buildings surrounding her exploded.
Red magic hastily bubbled from her skin to form a glassy dome over her head. Rubble rained down on her, sending clouds of concrete dust billowing throughout the clearing. Squinting, she saw two pairs of hateful eyes glinting in the fog. Trumpets sounded in a buzzing chorus.
The others had arrived.
*Break*
Now she looked down into the pool. She couldn't see the bottom. A gentle breeze disturbed the calm, sending ripples and stray golden leaves riding over the surface. The air smelled wet, crisp, clean like morning dew and sunlight. Her soul vibrated underneath her skin, a barely conscious pull to just sink into the water grew larger the longer she stared. Ruby took another deep breath and squeezed Oscar's hand. "It's time."
He squeezed back. "You can still say no."
"After we've come all this way?"
"It's a choice," Oscar insisted. "And you can choose not to do this to yourself. I know it may seem like the only option, but…"
Ruby grasped his hand in both of hers gently, tried to beam across some feeling of hope and reassurance to put him more at ease. "Trust me."
"I do," said Oscar, no hesitation.
"Then it'll be okay." He was scared; she was too, but she smiled at him anyway. The idea of her soul being twisted, changed in this well of ethereal, incomprehensible power, in the mirror of the pit that birthed the Grimm and their greatest enemy, was terrifying. But terror, fear, she had seen it warp a soul into so many ugly shapes.
She'd rather take the leap instead of die the slow death of a coward.
Making the choice to enter the pool here would change her, but change wasn't always a bad thing. Ruby wasn't the person she was when she was fifteen and Beacon fell, and that day she hadn't been the same person she was when entering Beacon. She wasn't the same person she was yesterday, and she wouldn't be the same person tomorrow. She peered down into the reflective blue waters, she definitely wouldn't be the same person tomorrow.
Ruby knew she wasn't perfect; she doubted that she was skilled enough, wise enough, kind enough to fulfil the role she took on. It was a constant battle against herself, but it wasn't just her opinion that mattered. Because Ruby was a leader. It hadn't been just about her in a long time. When she was younger she assumed that meant she couldn't fail, or she'd bring her team down with her. Now it meant more. They shared failures and weaknesses, but also successes and strengths. They saw in her all the things she thought she lacked. She believed in them, implicitly, and if they believed she was enough then she could be so. No matter what happened, she would remain Ruby Rose.
She threw her arms around Oscar's shoulders and pulled him into one last embrace, hands tangled in each other's hair, feeling each other's heartbeats they were so close together. They finally separated reluctantly; Ruby pressed a kiss to his cheek, then turned to face her decision. She stepped into the pool.
Water rushed up to her ankles as she took the first step. Her boots were thick, so she didn't feel the wetness, but a cool sensation seeped through the rubber and settled around her toes. A shaky breath filled her lungs and she took the next step, then another, and another. The water passed her boots and soaked her stockings, then the ends of her combat skirt. A cold jolt ran up her spine as the water gently lapped on her skin. Her body tingled and she felt the space behind her eyes hum.
No pain. Ruby waded further in.
*Break*
The sunbeams that threatened to break the clouds above finally cut through. The dust hanging in the air scattered, revealing two more Goliaths on either side of Ruby. Their eyes flashed with hatred. She stood up straight on her weapon, glaring right back.
Daylight was an illusion of safety. So many people assumed that the monsters that plagued them would disappear when the morning came, but that was not true. Even if Grimm were called creatures of darkness, their teeth lost no bite and their claws lost no edge in the sun. They could be just as vicious as they were under the cover of night, and just as active too. The only difference was that people could see their demise coming.
But Ruby didn't see demise glinting in the monsters' tusks; she saw an annoyance.
With a wave of her hand her dome of magic fractured, then burst in every which direction. Piercing screeches peeled from the Goliaths as the shards scratched their supposedly impenetrable hides.
If they had blood to bleed it would stain the ground. The one to her right bellowed in rage and charged, its chorus joined by the other. Ruby scoffed. If they were any older or wiser they would understand that they should be running instead.
Aura flaring, Ruby dissolved into petals, taking Crescent Rose with her.
She rematerialized on the tusk of the charger. Grabbing the inside curve, Ruby dropped down and swung right. Adding her magic to the motion, she pulled as hard as she could. Her ride veered off course, into another crumbling tower of concrete.
Ruby let her grip on the tusk slip just before the crash. She stood back while the building buckled and collapsed into a rubble storm over the Goliath. The wreckage blew away as the beast tipped and skidded through it on its side. Bony scrapes clattered along the pavement, glass and pebbles ricocheting.
She sprinted after it into the settling mess. Blade curving over her head, Ruby leapt into a somersault. She sliced clean through the downed Goliath's back ankles.
It trumpeted sharply, scrabbling to stand up. But it failed. Ruby jumped over it's massive body to stand in front of it's exposed belly. The second Goliath was making its way into the wreckage, looking to finish the job of the first. She rolled her eyes and dropped Crescent Rose's Blade in the ground. Staring down the scope, she fired several normal shells into its side. The bullets bounced off, but it served her purpose.
"Hey Dumbo, you fugly bitch," She spat. The Grimm's eyes shot to her. "Over here." It reared back on its hindlegs, falling down with a massive, ground shaking crash. It ran towards her.
Oh, Ruby had missed the days when Grimm were this stupid. A light chuckle escaped her while second Goliath rushed forward. But when it was an inch from her face, she dissolved again.
The ivory tusks bore into the prone Grimm's stomach, the satisfying crunch popping in the air. Ruby rematerialized on the other side of the mess, analyzing. After a moment of listening to the pierced Goliath's shrieks, she raised her hand. Crackling lances of electricity sparked into existence. Her arm dropped and the lightning loosed, right into the charging Goliath's throat.
It bucked up, tearing away its brethren's flesh on its tusks. She didn't pause: Ruby zipped through the hail of disintegrating flesh at the Grimm's exposed stomach. Her blade caught in the beast's chest cavity.
Up and down it reared. Ruby's grip clamped tightly around her weapon's shaft as she was flailed while hooked to the beast. It tried to fling her off, but she would not give. But with each violent jerk she felt her blade sink further into flesh. The Goliath's wails warbled louder, deafening her.
Ruby grit her teeth and repositioned. Magic fire licked at her feet again, thrusting her and her blade further down along the Grimm's exposed chest, slowly.
Abruptly she was almost jostled loose. Her legs wrapped around Crescent Rose's handle. The monster rushed forward, picking up speed. Disorientation took her for a second and she was flooded with confusion. Only a second, then she realized;
They were charging straight into a building.
Bang! Bang! Bang! They collided into one wall after another. She lost count, and could only hold on for dear life. Her Aura wrapped tightly around her quivered and tensed, stretched thinner and thinner as it was chipped away like the shrapnel of flying building pieces. An overwhelming cacophony of sound hissed in Ruby's ears, her lips zipped shut to avoid swallowing a mouthful of sheetrock.
Eventually, before her Aura broke, they ran out of walls to smash through. Ruby, finally able to orient herself, twisted on her scythe's handle. With a war cry, magical fire burst from the soles of her feet as she pushed.
And the Grimm's rib cage gave in.
Crackcrackcrack! Like a zipline, she rode the wave of momentum, propelling forward. Wind whipped her cloak behind her as she sliced through the underbelly, and glowing red viscera rained from above.
She came out on the other side. Landing on ruptured concrete, Ruby staggered forward a few running steps. She turned to look over her shoulder, and saw the Goliath swaying where it stood. Its gigantic legs trembled. Then it collapsed, making the ground rumble. Its gargantuan carcas fell into ash.
Blood ringing in her ears, she stood up over the disintegrating corpse. Ruby rubbed one ear, trying to get the buzzing to stop, while she glanced at the remnants.
Three Goliaths all on her lonesome. Not bad, all things considered. She was a little shaky and a little light -headed, her Aura still flickered a bit from that whole getting-rammed-into-a-building kerfuffle, but otherwise she thought that was pretty decent for a solo battle.
Pretty decent for being three months pregnant.
Ruby grimaced, a hand fell down to her stomach. The differences were minute, but she had been able to tell. Her balance was just slightly off, the weight distribution of her body left her teetering a little farther over after some maneuvers than she would have liked. That could have been close, far too close for comfort. A nauseous sensation filled her gut as the what-ifs flooded in. Anxiety twinged painfully, her heart tried to crawl out of her throat again.
With a frustrated huff, she collapsed her weapon and put it away. Her hands and her knees still trembled. Ruby tried to banish it, like the ringing in her ears. This wasn't the time or place, she had to find a safe spot to set a base while she waited to be picked up. She could have her regularly scheduled crying breakdown once she was back in the safe walls of her apartment. Exhaling as long of a breath as she could manage, she scanned the unfamiliar area of city she had been rodeo'd to so she could find out where she was.
But then Ruby was flying.
Ringing clattering crashing! Her body careened through the air. Aura shattered-she felt it break-and the windy knives sliced through her flesh. She spun: wildly, uncontrolled, limbs akimbo as she tried to find purchase on nothing. A coppery taste filled her mouth, and pain lanced through her back. Spiralling, panicking, nothing to grab onto, she-
For a dizzying, fraction of a second, she saw the cause:
The Alpha Goliath. Bigger than the last three, and absolutely livid.
*Break*
When she was up to her waist she turned around to look back on the shore. Oscar stood at the edge, tensed. His body leaned as far over the water as he could without pitching forward. Worried. His brow creased, expression twisted up and plain to see. Against his color drained face his freckles stood out, and his eyes sparkled with tears. Even from a distance she could tell he was holding his breath.
"Oscar." Calmly Ruby smiled at him, bright as she could. The silver of her soul flashed with every blink. She felt its eagerness to fly free, but she would hold it back until she said what was needed. "It's going to be okay, I'll be right back." She said easily, because she was certain they were true. "I love you."
At her words Oscar's expression crumbled. Tears leaked from his eyes and a small, stressed laugh tumbled from his lips. He returned her smile, still crying. "I love you too."
The image and the words glimmered in her mind. It flowed into her silver and fueled its glow, along with the memories of all their friends, of all the people that remained on Remnant. She felt it coalesce behind her eyes, under her skin, starting to spread past the boundaries of her. Bursting, she was going to burst.
Beaming, Ruby shut her eyes. Taking one last breath, she spread her arms at her sides-
And she fell backwards into the Pool of Light.
*Break*
She rolled before she hit the ground. Her fractured fragments of aura hastily scrambled together to protect her when she landed. Blood pooled in her mouth, coating her tongue with a metallic taste. It might as well have been molten iron, it burned her clean through when she thought about what it could mean, that she-that her-
Ruby spat out a wad of pink spit and glared up at the Alpha, lowered and ready to bolt. Massive tusks, eyes red, fiery and furious, the sensation of pure, vindictive malice. Its presence was worse than the other three, and she hated that she didn't feel it coming, that it snuck up on her, that it flung her through the air like some pathetic little ragdoll-
It charged without warning. Ruby cussed and grabbed for her scythe but-
It wasn't there.
There were thousands of connections her mind could make instantly in the heat of battle. Ruby's semblance let her body move at the speed of atoms, and while her brain wasn't nearly that fast it still had to keep up. So it took her less than a millisecond to realize Crescent Rose had been separated from her when she'd been knocked into the air, to realize that she faced the Alpha Goliath unarmed.
It had taken less than a millisecond, just like when she had tasted blood and immediately thought of the collection of glossy pamphlets sitting on her kitchen table.
Something broke, her vision turned milky. Teeth grit, Ruby's head snapped up to watch the last Goliath charge. Its footfalls boomed, thunder made manifest by nightmare.
But lighting was always quicker than thunder.
Unflinching in the face of death, Ruby shut her eye.
*Break*
Submerged, everything slowed down to a cold, electricity-charged crawl. For a second she was no longer on the planet, no longer made of mass, no longer bound to flesh. In that instance Ruby was only her soul. Everything that made up her was doused, examined, judged. Every doubt, joy, fear, hope, sin, virtue, mercy, memory-all of her flashed through her mind in a blur that lasted an eternity. Her life condensed to infinite seconds. If she could still feel her lungs they would be aching, but instead she was left with a manic desire to prove-something. Darkness encroached on the edge of her visions as she struggled to find the nameless, undefinable answer she needed to provide.
Then she saw Oscar, that smile, those tears. She saw all her friends' smiles, every spark they shared between them in the moments that collected the nectar of meaning. They overlaid together to form a beacon shining brightly to lead her back-where she needed to be, where she wanted to be, where her home was.
*Break*
She saw beloved ghosts that weren't ghosts yet, and still had the chance to breathe and grow and live. She saw a garden of sunflowers and roses. She saw a small freckled face.
She saw what she wanted, she saw life. And that was the spark.
*Break*
Ruby opened her eyes and her beacon became the sun. She reached out to grab it-
And the world blazed-
*Break*
Ruby ignited, lit with matches of memories, hopes, and righteous wrath. She opened her eye,
And the world blazed-
*Break*
-Silver
Flooding, everywhere. Her soul burned the world to its color. She was blinded, but so was everything else, with the light of her will: she knew they were safe, that her will outweighed the Grimm's.
After a few moments it faded and she could see once more, her vision trained on the ground. Ragged panting shook her frame as she felt the sun beat down on the back of her neck. Her ears twinged with the sound of silence, distrubed only by the distant caws of crows and her own labored breathing. Trembling, she looked up.
Ruby, eye still flaring wisps of light, stared at the petrified behemoth. Its stone tusks curved wickedly to the sky, casting shadows on the ground. For the briefest flash those tusks became a single feminine hand, reaching. She ripped her gaze away from it and took a deep breath.
The taste of copper coated her tongue again and she cringed. Carefully she patted down her body for injuries. Aside from general soreness she didn't feel lethally injured, but shock and adrenaline were powerful drugs. She had coughed up blood earlier, and the number of bad causes of that made her stomach churn. Blood filled up her mouth again, even if she hadn't hacked her lungs out yet she-
Wait- She stuck a finger in her mouth and felt around the sides. Almost immediately she ran over a raw, raised bump. When she pulled it away it came out red and slippery with saliva. To confirm she ran her tongue over the area a few more times, and again felt the copper tang bloom on the tip of her tongue each time she prodded the spot. Blood obviously seeped from it.
She had only bitten the inside of her mouth, probably when she'd been tossed by the Alpha. That was it, no other injuries. So, she didn't puncture a lung, nor have any other cause for internal bleeding. Nothing that could cause her to have a mis-mis-
Laughter bubbled out of her throat unbidden. It wasn't the happy kind. She was left wheezing from the cackling that slipped past, clutching her knees as she tried to catch her breath.
Eventually Ruby straightened up, holding a hand to her mouth to suppress the giggles. The manic energy drained from her, and she was exhausted. With little effort she directed her remaining Aura to stitch up the gash her teeth made Her feet dragged underneath her as she shuffled to where Crescent Rose had landed, tiredly attaching it back on her belt.
Her gaze landed on the petrified Alpha again. A thought popped into her head, and she chuckled. Without wasting another moment to mull over whether it was a good or bad one she pulled out her scroll.
*Break*
Several hours later in Mistral Oscar rose with the sun. His eyes opened on the inn ceiling blinking away the bleariness of his not-sleep. Memories retrieved from deep within his soul rose to the surface at his prodding, and now sat heavy in his head. After hours, days of searching and pondering and guessing he could finally grasp something tangible that resembled a plan. Mentally he ran through a checklist of materials he needed, already planning his day around retrieving them as quickly as possible. He needed to call Amber, set up a meeting time. He grabbed for his scroll. If he could convince her, then maybe he could-
He saw a notification pop up on his screen. A single message, from Ruby. Immediately, He clicked on it.
Ruby: I may have gotten a bit carried away
Those were the only words. The rest of the message was an attached photo of her, standing in front of a petrified Goliath, holding up a peace sign. She was smiling, but he could see the heavy exhaustion in her eye and how it tightened the corners of her mouth.
Oscar stared at it, unblinking. Then he hit the call button.
*Break*
A/N: ya know the entirety of what has happened in this chapter was originally a single bullet point, and was only supposed to be a quick little blip in the grand scheme of Ruby's storyline this arc. but then it exploded everywhere and now we have this.
I want to stress how freaking huge Goliaths are. I thought they were elephant sized but a little bigger, but nope. according to the wiki they're 66 meters/216 feet tall. now i'm pretty shit at spatially visualizing things, so that meant nothing to me until my little weebtrash brain recalled that the colossal titan from attack on titan is only 60 meters tall. think about that for a moment. now remember that Ruby saw a whole train of these fuckers as a 15 year old and her first reaction to the sight of them was the desire to go at them guns blazing. why was anyone surprised she jumped down the barrel of a canon. she's nuts. i love her so much
congrats on getting over the angst hump! I am estimating that this chapter (particularly part 1) is probably the heaviest this story is going to get. There's one more spot planned in my outline that might get close, but otherwise in terms of mood it is uphill from here! seriously, make it past chapter seven and I swear i'll stop traumatizing these beans (can't promise that for every other character slated to appear though).
I can at least promise something more lighthearted next update. It'll be an interlude from a new pov. after that, there'll be a short timeskip.
please, please, please leave a comment. even if you can't think of anything to say about the chapter (though I'd really appreciate it if you did), tell me what your favorite RWBY fight scene is. i watched a ton of them to write this chap so I'd love to compare. I think my favorite it Maria vs the Nevermore and Tock
uhhhh... trying to think of what else i should say here... all my thoughts leave me when i write these. follow me on tumblr ( iggysol) for fanart and preview snippets... I'm taking summer classes rn (wish me luck i have a presentation tomorrow aggghhhhh) but I'll try to update soon. have a great day y'all!