In the heart of the snow-filled middle of nowhere, two "roses" sat apart from one another. One was human; shivering with her arms crossed from the bitter cold and unnerved by the Reaper's very existence. The other was Grimm; unfazed by the cold, but concerned for Ruby's physical and mental well-being. Neither knew what to say or do; this was a situation that both parties never considered.
Without a word, the Reaper walked to a nearby tree and plunged its claws deep in its bark. A burning sizzle echoed in the air as the tree withered; what few leaves persisted against the cold quickly wilted and eventually rotted into ashes. The tree itself fell to the ground completely black and devoid of life. The Reaper tore off several pieces of bark with its claws and gathered them in one place. Ruby watched this "savage dismemberment" with discomfort. Not outright fear, but discomfort.
The Reaper dropped the wood next to Ruby and made a small pile. It knelt down on its knee and touched its claws at the tips above the pile. With a bestial growl and a vile expression, the Reaper flexed its claws downward. This caused the claws to glow red and ignite into dark flames which spread on the pile like a makeshift campfire. Ruby's discomfort lessened to a small extent; at least she could see what the Reaper was doing now. It looked back at her with a welcoming smile and broke the silence.
"You were cold," the Reaper said. "Careful. That's…not normal fire."
The Reaper turned its gaze away, not wanting to overstay its welcome. Its very voice was distorted enough to cause Ruby discomfort. It was her turn to break the silence now.
"Okay, I've gotta get this out there because nothing makes sense," Ruby said with a note of frustration. "Who are you? Where did you take me? How do you know my name? And why do you look and sound like some evil reflection of me, like in a comic book?"
"And we dived right into the awkward," the Reaper turned its gaze away. "Well, it's actually, uh…a really long story."
Both "roses" were silent once more. This was going nowhere fast.
"I guess I'd better start from the beginning," the Reaper said with a pause. "I'm trying to figure things out myself…which means I've gotta ask you something, too. Ruby, what's the last thing you remember…before you woke up?"
A question with a question. That wasn't the best way to break the tension. Ruby took her gaze off the Reaper and on the campfire.
"I…I remember wires around my arms and legs. Something was over my face; I couldn't see anything. My mouth was gagged. I was like that for hours until I ended up in some black room full of Grimm," Ruby explained with a pause. "And her."
"Salem," the Reaper finished.
Newfound terror spiked in Ruby's heart. She glared at the Reaper with suspicious unease.
"You know Salem?" Ruby said in an accusatory manner.
The Reaper regretted its words. It wanted to ease her worries, but that slip of the tongue ruined that. Now that it was out in the open, however, keeping secrets would just make things worse.
"She built me," the Reaper said with a sadness in its voice. "And I know what happened next. You got stabbed by these little Grimm tentacles. They did something to your mind; made you think about the horrible memories you had to live with."
Ruby was taken aback at how the Reaper could know that; her mouth went agape.
"Watching Penny get ripped to pieces, being too late to save Pyrrha, knowing how hard it was for Yang to lose her arm, searching for help when Uncle Qrow was poisoned by that psycho," the Reaper said that last word with bitter anger. "I could go on and on. You couldn't take your mind off of those moments, no matter how hard you tried. Those Grimm weren't powerful or fierce, but they could make people relive the worst moments of their lives, over and over again."
"How…do you?" Ruby could barely ask.
"Because I remember every single second of it," the Reaper answered with a calm fury and venom in its already distorted voice. "I remember because it's like I lived through that nightmare myself!"
All was silent once more. Ruby stared at the Reaper, unsure of what to think of it.
"I opened my eyes and saw myself standing over one of those black pools. When I looked down," the Reaper explained and looked at its claws. "I saw these…things where my hands should be. And when I saw you across the pool, I put the pieces together. I'm a copy; a fake. That's why I look like you. As for where I took you, I don't know."
"You took me here and don't know where we are?" Ruby asked with more suspicion in her voice.
"All I could think about was getting you out of Salem's castle, out of that torture," the Reaper said. "I didn't know where we'd end up when I did. I guess I didn't think things through. I'm sorry."
Silence was in the air once more. The closest thing to sound came from the dark flames between the two. After ten seconds, the Reaper tried to ease Ruby's fears again.
"Do you...remember anything else?" the Reaper asked hesitantly.
"I..." Ruby paused. "I don't know. It feels...it feels like a blur. It's like...bits and pieces."
"Uh..huh. Right..." the Reaper turned away and whispered. "Maybe she just blocked it out."
"What?" Ruby asked, not hearing what it said.
"N-nothing," the Reaper stuttered. "S-so, how are you handling all this?"
"I don't know," Ruby said. "It's just…this is a lot to take in."
"Yeah," the Reaper assured. "It's okay. I didn't mean to pry. After a little while, I think we should—"
The Reaper paused and suddenly stood up. It turned its gaze away from Ruby and toward the forest around them. Something was coming; something negative, filled with the desire to destroy.
"Should…what?"
"We're surrounded," the Reaper said blankly. "It's Grimm. They're really fast and they're coming at us."
"Wait, what do you mean we're surrounded?"
"I can feel their hatred for life. They're underground!" the Reaper yelled and looked at Ruby. "I know you've been through a lot, but you need to put it behind you! Take your mind off all the negativity! Think about the people who love you. Focus on them. Focus on the way you'll feel when you see them again. Use your eyes! It's the best chance you have to get through this!"
"What are you doing?" Ruby asked frantically.
"This is my fight, too. I won't stand by and watch someone get hurt!" the Reaper glared at Ruby with absolute certainty.
Ruby could only stare that this "fake," taken aback by its intentions.
Two roses;
Red and black.
Out of nowhere, several Grimm burst from the snow-filled ground. They appeared a bit like the Apathy in that they appeared in emaciated human shapes. Unlike the Apathy, however, these Grimm…these "Revenants" have two long black blades where their arms should be, which are used to borrow deep in the ground. There was also black smoke where their legs should be, which allow them to spin like drills. Finally, the Revenants were fast. Very fast.
Simple truth;
Can't go back.
The Reaper stood between the closest Revenant and Ruby. Its claws curled with such hostility that they burned with dark flames. Its eyes evoked such anger that they glowed in a faint red light. After the closest Revenant burst from the ground, it extended its blade-like arms toward Ruby to plunge them deep in her skull, only to find the Reaper in its trajectory. The blades struck the Reaper's skull instead, only to bounce off its skin with two scratches where deep gashes would be on an ordinary person, unshielded by Aura.
The Reaper ignored the blows entirely and grabbed the Revenant by the skull. Its claws dug into its skull with much more success; dark flames immolated the Revenant's screaming face from the inside-out. The Reaper pried its skull to pieces and punted the remains away like pointless trash, though its final moments of suffering mended the scratches on the Reaper's face. Some of the other Revenants nearby witnessed the outright contradictory concept of a Grimm defending life. Being incapable of comprehending these actions, they briefly tilted their heads and looked at the Reaper in confusion.
It all started with abduction;
I'm cursed to bring pure destruction.
This gave the Reaper the opening to run quickly toward another Revenant and grab it by its blade. Dark flames rose from each step the Reaper took during this sprint. It effortlessly lifted the Revenant over its head and slammed it into the ground. The Reaper pinned the Revenant's shoulder under its foot, ripped its blade arm off its body, and impaled its skull with its own weapon.
Infernal death lies in my wake;
Deep down, I know I'm just a fake.
The Reaper ripped the bladed arm out of the Revenant's skull before its body dissolved. The blade was no longer black, but a bright red that seared the very air around it. The other Revenants shrieked with an unusual hatred; one befitting a heretic, rather than a mere victim. They burrowed back under the ground, where the Reaper couldn't touch them, and circled around both Ruby and the Reaper.
I keep the evil locked away;
A nightmare every single day.
The Reaper chased one of them with the intent to ambush it when it emerged from the ground to attack. The very air around it ignited into dark flames that engulfed everything near its path, including the snow and trees.
The world around me shall decay;
I wish there was another way.
The Revenant emerged next to Ruby with the intent to attack her from the side, but the Reaper ambushed it by being in its trajectory. Like with the first Revenant, it tanked the initial attack with minimal damage. Unlike with the first Revenant, the Reaper used the burning blade in its hand to cut through it like a knife through butter. Its whole body seared red from the fire as the Reaper bisected it. Particles of the dissolving Revenant took the shape of a long pole in the Reaper's hand. It attached the burning blade to the tip of the pole; the resulting combination took the form of a very familiar scythe.
The witch's actions are to blame;
Without this mask, we are the same.
The Reaper's new scythe glowed red with the flames within the Reaper itself. A single red eyeball formed on the scythe's blade; a blinking testament to the Reaper's grotesque exterior. Red eyes and silver eyes stared into one another; the former assuring the latter of its true intent without words. Ruby saw so much of herself in the Reaper; slayer of monsters and wielder of the scythe. Her doubts in her look-alike began to fade, and she nodded with the first sign of mutual trust.
Beneath the monstrous face I wear;
This simple soul we both must share.
Without the negativity of doubt to hold Ruby back, thoughts of those she loves filled her mind. Several more Revenants ambushed Ruby all at once and at all sides. She dashed toward the Reaper with her back toward it. The Revenants quickly followed her with their own speed, but this left the fatal error of lining them up in Ruby's peripheral vision, all at once. With a final thought of love, the light of the Silver Eyes engulfed all of the Revenants at once. Their bodies dissolved completely into nothing.
Your power brings you love and light;
You give others the will to fight.
The remaining five Revenants still alive quickly spun underground, but the Reaper went into a predatory pursuit. With a burning effigy of the original Ruby's Crescent Rose in its claws and speed on par with the Petal Burst Semblance, it ran around her toward the Revenants, struck the ground with its scythe, and used the recoil to leap high off the ground. High above the area where the Revenants burrowed in the ground, the Reaper twirled its scythe to change its trajectory in mid-air and strike the ground like a meteor.
This awful power is my fate;
I channel it through all my hate.
Upon impact, the dark flames engulfed everything within fifteen feet of the Reaper's impact, including beneath the ground. Four Revenants burst from the ground all at once, covered in flames and shrieking in agony, though the fifth one remained hidden.
I may be loathed and feared by all;
I'll never be the witch's thrall.
One of them landed near Ruby, and the Reaper prioritized that one over the rest. It quickly bisected two other Revenants in its path and saw the one next to her borrow under the ground again before she had a chance to destroy it with her Silver Eyes. The Reaper ran straight toward the hole left behind, reached inside, and plucked the Revenant out. Its right claws punctured the Revenant's back; its face encased with its left. With its foot on the Revenant's back, the Reaper brutally tore its head off with a quick pull and tossed it aside.
Do all I can to save someone;
I'll rip and tear until it's done.
Meanwhile, Ruby saw the fourth Revenant behind the Reaper and dashed toward them.
You're a leader; I'm the reaper.
Our fates are war; clawing deeper.
The Revenant wrapped its blade around the Reaper's neck, but before either of them could do anything, Ruby flashed it with another use of the Silver Eyes…as well as the Reaper itself.
Unwavering, unyielding;
The soul is…incorruptible.
Like every other Revenant, this one dissolved. However, the Reaper screamed in agony; this was the first time it suffered real damage. Ruby clasped her hands over her mouth in shock. The Reaper's left arm and left side of its face was encased in stone. Her shock turned into fear when she saw the Reaper's jagged fangs and furious glare. The sudden shock and sorrowful remorse froze Ruby stiff even as the Reaper pointed its scythe toward her…
My heart is…in-cor-rup-ti-ble.
…hilt first.
"Behind you!" the Reaper yelled in pain.
Out of combat instinct, Ruby grabbed the Reaper's foul scythe and swung it behind her without even seeing what was there. When she felt the blade come in contact with the last Revenant, she saw flames engulf the scythe's blade. Split into two, the Revenant was flung backward and dissolved before it even touched the ground. The bulging red eye on the scythe's blade shed a single tear that came into contact with Ruby's arm…and burned through her dress and skin.
Ruby dropped the scythe and clutched her arm, screaming in agony. The pain was nothing like what she usually felt in combat; the pain didn't subside. The Reaper covered its mouth in shock with its right claws.
"It burns! It burns!" Ruby screamed.
She put her arm on the snowy ground in an attempt to soothe the pain, but found no relief. Meanwhile, Ruby's suffering strengthened the Reaper enough to escape the accidental petrification inflicted upon it.
"Ruby! What happened?" the Reaper asked with worry.
"The…the scythe! It's evil! Eeeviiil!" Ruby yelled frantically.
It took a moment for the Reaper to put the pieces together, but once it did, it showed immediate remorse. It was too obvious; it should've known better. The Reaper may have made the scythe, but it was still Grimm, and it didn't have a soul of its own, copied or otherwise. Naturally, the scythe's first instinct was to hurt someone.
"Ruby, I…I'm so sorry!" the Reaper apologized profusely. "I…I didn't think that…I mean, the Grimm was behind you and…I didn't mean for that to—"
"Your arm," Ruby interrupted, noticeably wincing in pain. "It turned to stone."
The Reaper paused and looked at Ruby's face with worry.
"You're Grimm," Ruby said in an accusatory manner.
"Yeah," the Reaper turned her gaze away. "I thought you figured that out."
"I…I guess it was kinda obvious," Ruby said with her face turned toward her arm. "Don't know how I missed that."
She wiped the snow from her arm to see the damage and the Reaper saw the fear in her heart.
"Oh my god!" Ruby yelled. "My arm! I…I can see my bone!"
The skin over Ruby's arm wasn't just burnt; it was gone entirely, leaving the muscles, bone, and tendons completely exposed. Meanwhile, the Reaper cut out a long piece of Ruby's cape with its claw.
"Here," the Reaper wrapped Ruby's wound. "It'll still hurt, but at least it won't be exposed."
The fear was still palpable in Ruby's heart. That gesture did nothing to ease her.
"All that power. The gloomy fire, the rotting away the trees, the evil scythe; you're like Destruction itself," Ruby looked at the Reaper with unease. "And Salem made you?"
"Yeah," the Reaper said dejectedly. "But…I'm nothing like Salem! That was an accident! I didn't mean to hurt you!"
"I know that," Ruby said and paused. "But how do I know you're really trying to help me?"
The Reaper didn't know how to respond. Its memories didn't come from someone that was untrusting. If anything, it remembered being too trusting once.
"Salem had me kidnapped, right? That means she didn't want me dead, so I believe that you didn't mean to hurt me," Ruby said without even looking at the Reaper. "But how do I know this isn't some elaborate scheme to take me back to her? You're Grimm. That means other Grimm are attracted to you. What if this fight was staged somehow? How do I know that somebody else, maybe even my friends, didn't already save me…and you killed them to take me back?"
The Reaper was heartbroken by these questions, yet it couldn't refute her point. She doesn't know; she couldn't have.
"You don't," the Reaper whispered and turned away again.
Both "roses" stood with their backs facing each other with a sorrow that affected them both.
"I've been lied to before," Ruby explained. "I've seen people turn against me, keep secrets from me, and it's getting hard to know who I can trust."
"I get it. It's okay," the Reaper assured. "But I can't leave you all alone, not when you're lost in the snowy wilderness with no food, water, or weapon besides your eyes."
"No, it isn't," Ruby said. "It's not okay. I shouldn't be like that. Assuming the worst of people; I never wanted to be that person. That's why…I'm gonna try."
The Reaper was instantly taken aback by this. Deep down, it knew it was a fake. In spite of that, this real person, the very person she was copied from, no less, considered her as one of many "people." Both "roses" turned toward each other at the same time.
"I'm gonna try to take you at your word," Ruby said. "I don't know if you're telling the truth or not. I know I'm risking my life even being near you. You could kill me, and you could attract more Grimm to me. But…you're risking your life, too. You didn't try to hide anything. Salem built you. Those were your words. It's not easy admitting that kinda thing, but I didn't even have to force that out of you. You just told me. And now that I know you're Grimm, I know I could kill you, too. And you're still here. You're not letting fear get the better of you. If I turned my back on you now, it wouldn't be fair to you, and that's not the kind of Huntress I want to be."
"Yeah," the Reaper said and gave a weak smile. "I get it."
Ruby met this smile with a weak one of her own. They weren't officially "allies," but who can say what the future will bring.