With the release of Volume 8, some new aspects of the story's canon will be revealed. Previous chapters may be modified to fit the canon timeline in the future, though not all of them will. Hard to believe it's been a whole year.

Having left Oscar to rest in Pietro's old pharmacy for now, Grimm Ruby wandered the ruptured streets of Mantle aimlessly. It was one of the few places to have any heat, due to the machines the owner built to keep the place working, if only barely. It had only been a few hours since the end of the Grimm attack, and though it was successfully thwarted, the already fractured city sustained much damage. Some of the few people that still resided here, having come from the crater, did so either out of a sentimental attachment to their former home or simply to breathe some fresh air. Even now, some of them ended up losing friends or family in this ordeal.

Grimm Ruby would occasionally cross paths with some of these poor souls as they wallowed. Their collective sadness was so pervasive that it could still sense each individual person from at least half a mile away. The Grimm may have been slain, but nothing had really changed in the grand scheme of things. The working automotives were still absent, and the traffic lights still operated needlessly. Today was exactly like the night before, but with the added light from the sun to make the tragedy that much easier to witness. Seeing what had become of Atlas' underbelly made it wonder if these people could even be helped, or if trying to protect them only delayed the inevitable.

As the seed of doubt had been planted in its mind, Grimm Ruby quickly seethed with rage, unconsciously releasing a few embers of its dark flames. It silently cursed itself for even considering the idea of treating these people as a lost cause, if only for a split second. Once it realized that it had unwittingly singed the ground underneath it, it carefully buried the "evidence" of its burden underneath bits of dirt and gravel. It was still torn between the idea of letting anyone else know of the God of Darkness' involvement or just keeping that information to itself.

On one hand, this might be a beacon of hope against Salem, who had been an indestructible threat to mankind for eons. On the other, the mere suspicion of the gods using this world and its people as their playthings suggests that finally ridding this world of Salem may only be the herald of an even worse threat. It remembered the way the God of Darkness manhandled it, just for speaking out against his methods. He twisted its limbs and hurled it to the ground like he was crumpling up garbage. What would he do if someone else rebelled against the gods all over again?

Grimm Ruby looked up at the morning sky, wondering if the God of Light was watching over the world right now. Its attention then turned to its scythe, wrapped around its shoulder like a pauldron. Even in this twisted shape, the eyeball on the scythe's blade remained visible over Grimm Ruby's arm, watching everything as the events as they occurred. It quietly closed its eyes and recalled that moment.

"My eye…will always be watching you."

That was the God of Darkness' decree. Thinking back now, Grimm Ruby wondered if it was wise to even confide to Ozpin. The stress of the situation it was in made the sentient Grimm forget the fact that the god it feared could have listened in on the entire conversation…until now. Or perhaps, if Weiss' theory was correct, Salem could also have listened in on the conversation as well. Now it wondered if they could delve into its thoughts. The more it dwelled on the subject, the more paranoid it became.

"You are mine to command! You will ALWAYS be mine!"

Grimm Ruby hadn't spent more than ten minutes with the destructive deity, but it made such an impression on it that his very presence actually seems to linger days afterward. Did it even matter that it spoke to Ozpin about it, in the grand scheme of things? What if his power lets him see not only its surroundings, but its thoughts as well? In fact, what if Salem could do such a thing? It would make ending this conflict that much harder.

"Think of it as an experiment; a way to ascertain your power."

What if the God of Darkness was involved with this attack, just like the last one in the snow field where it first set foot on Remnant with Ruby in its arms?

"Wherever you go, Destruction shall fallow, and with it, all of Creation shall understand its greatness."

Would this god actually let innocent people die before they even have the chance to offend him, just to prove some point?

"Do not think of rebellion. The last group of mortals that dared try were wiped to extinction."

And now, its thoughts went back to whether or not people would rebel against the gods again…and what would happen as a result. Though their actions certainly shaped the world, the people think of the gods as little more than fantasy. Even the original Ruby herself treated them like a fairy tale before Jinn showed her the truth. How would the world react if they knew they were essentially being held hostage by beings with powers beyond any Semblance or Dust?

As worry after worry compounded in Grimm Ruby's mind, complemented by the sorrow all around it at this moment, its face twisted into a broken agony. Even now, it could see the horrible aftermath of Salem's attack on Atlas in its mind through the original Ruby's memories. They were fractured and out of order, and some scenes seemed to blend in with others. It recalled the enormous whale Grimm that hovered above Atlas; the harbinger of Salem's attack at the time. It recalled the infighting between Atlesian military and Mantle citizens, and the stress of being caught between it all.

Just as Grimm Ruby seemed to have some semblance of control over its mind, its thoughts shifted toward the God of Darkness again, and the utter helplessness it felt in his presence. It couldn't stand to think about it anymore, and forced its eyes open. At that moment, it realized how quiet its surroundings really were. Not a single person had actually been nearby all that time. Even as their pain lingered in the air, its only real company was the sun in the sky.

Out of a strange longing for the light it lacked, Grimm Ruby stared into the sun; something that would usually cause one discomfort. Oddly enough, the sun's glare didn't cause its eyes any strain. Even a normal human would have to turn away to keep from going blind. Doubly perplexing was how this light caused it no discomfort, yet the mere afterglow of Ruby's silver light would force it to turn away.

"Ruby," Grimm Ruby wondered out loud. "How do you do it? How do you hold on to your hope…when everything's so…horrible?"

The sun offered no response. Even when basking in its warm, welcoming light, Grimm Ruby could only sense the sorrow and grief of the people around it. Same shattered lives, same lost homes; it's one thing to feel empathy for others like a normal person, but it's another when their collective pain forces itself into one's heart. For Grimm Ruby, it's gotten to the point of being all-consuming.

"All I can see is darkness," it continued rambling. "We haven't made a difference. We haven't helped anybody! I just…"

One person's grief stood out to Grimm Ruby amongst the rest, and it hurt more than anything else. It sensed a mother that lost her child to the Grimm last night. It, and by extension, the original Ruby, never lost a child in their lives, or even had one for that matter. However, both Rubies possessed a lingering grief that was similar to the one it felt now: Summer Rose's death. Just like that, yet another flashback went through its mind. It was that moment that Ruby came face-to-face with Salem for the first time, albeit through a Seer. It only took seven words from the witch to completely break Ruby's bravado and hopeful words.

"Your mother said those words to me."

Noting that past grief, the pain of losing a child was very similar, yet very different. Almost…backwards. There was the same reminiscing on "what could have been," but this one had a guilt that losing a mother didn't have. Out of some morbid need to understand, it followed the source of the grief, taking in the painful thoughts as they raced into its mind. The guilt was always first and foremost, with each step. These feelings were so all-consuming that they coalesced to form another memory: one that the original Ruby never experienced.

It was the last words this mother said to her child.

"Just be back before dark, okay?"

"What is this?" Grimm Ruby asked itself. "Whose memories are these?"

The image in its mind vaguely resembled a young girl walking in Mantle, though some parts were blurry and others were monochrome. It was like looking at the image of an old video projector that had dirt in its lens, and even that term wasn't entirely accurate. At first, it couldn't recognize her, even with her sweet laughter. When the young girl looked up and revealed her face, however, it noticed the resemblance between her…and the young girl that died by that Megoliath's tusk in the Grimm attack last night.

Grimm Ruby gasped in horror; the happy girl in its mind slowly became drenched in her own blood as it seeped through her facial orifices. Its claws clutched both sides of its head as it fell to its knees, but the horrific image wouldn't fade. The sweet laughter became distorted as the few clear parts of the memory began to twist into a hideous, deformed landscape. The girl's body twisted along with the landscape, and a giant bloody gash burst out of her stomach, revealing a thick white tusk.

"My baby!"

The girl's bloody body twitched erratically as her four limbs twisted with sickening snaps. Her mother's heartbroken voice echoed through the air.

"What have they done to my baby?"

"I'm sorry," Grimm Ruby said with corrosive tears streaming down its eyes.

"My baby would still be here if I didn't let her outside to play!"

"I'm sorry!" it exclaimed again, closing its eyes as more tears fell freely.

"I failed her as a mother! She was all I had and now…I…I…"

"No! It wasn't your fault!" Grimm Ruby shouted in the air. "I'm the one that failed! I wasn't fast enough!"

The terrible laughter filled its mind one more time. More blood seeped from the girl's body as her torso was twisted like one would squeeze the water out of a rag.

"Stop it!" Grimm Ruby snapped, forcing its eyes open. Just as it thought the nightmarish imagery would drive it insane, it stopped the instant it heard a loud gunshot. Once more, it returned from its fantasy and found itself with dark flames underneath its body. Everything was quiet now. It didn't sense that woman's sorrow anymore. Though it was initially confused as to why the negativity disappeared so quickly, it didn't take long to put the pieces together.

The gunshot wasn't part of those memories. It was real, and the implications of what caused it made Grimm Ruby sob indignantly. It was too cruel. Two people now died for its failing. Its whole body quivered, and it looked to the sun for some kind of comfort. The sun, however, offered nothing of the sort. It merely shined as it always did.

"Oh my god," Grimm Ruby muttered, still clutching its face. "I am losing my mind. No wonder Ozpin kept so many secrets."

It took a moment to collect itself before considering the idea of burying its own flames again. Before it could act on that idea, a young voice called out to it from behind.

"Es-coos me?"

Grimm Ruby turned around to see who this voice belonged to, and saw a small child wearing a thick coat and pants. He wrapped his arms around himself in an attempt to keep himself warm. He looked no older than five, and it didn't recognize him from either Ruby's memories or its own horrible fantasy. What it did recognize, however, was that this small impressionable child was face-to-face with something that unconsciously started a fire with its own anger and corroded the dirt with its own tears. It turned away, not wanting this innocent child to see its face, yet it didn't try to run from him. Running would leave a trail of flames across the dirt.

"Uh…w-what are you doing up here?" Grimm Ruby asked hesitantly. As it did, it wiped the tears off its face only to realize that it ended up leaving rotting patches all over the ground.

"It's too cold," he said with a glum expression.

"It's too cold? Well, maybe you should go back in the crater where it's safe. I'm sure your family's down there all bundled up."

The boy shrugged and looked down. Grimm Ruby's attempts to start a topic of conversation ended up getting awkward, as most 'getting to know you' moments do.

"It's too cold down there, too," he said after a brief pause.

"It's too cold down there?" it reiterated. That wasn't good. The only reason anybody even survived Salem's attack on Atlas at all was because they evacuated down there beforehand. If the conditions have become too frigid even there, they would surely die.

"You make warm, right?" the boy innocently asked.

"Uh," Grimm Ruby said, its eyes flicking left and right. "Yeah. Yeah, I can make…uh, warm." It make sure not to mention the painful circumstances behind the flames underneath it. "Yeah, that's what I was just doing…because it's…uh, really cold."

"Um, can we have some warm, too?"

"Oh, heheh! Yeah, I was, uh…just finishing up here," Grimm Ruby said with a forced smile. It looked down on the scorched ground as the dark flames began to die down. "Ground needs warm, too."

Just after saying that, Grimm Ruby realized how stupid its own lie was, but the boy didn't seem to notice or care. He simply walked across the snow from the footprints he made the first time around, even as the snow was deep enough to reach his thighs. Noticing his struggle, Grimm Ruby walked around, and eventually in front of him.

"Here, maybe I should be in front."

"Ah-kay!" the boy exclaimed.

One advantage with being able to channel flames with every swift step was that they caused thick snow to melt in front of it, allowing quick movement even in frigid climates. At first, Grimm Ruby stopped every few steps to look back and see if any sparks could end up burning the young boy, but the flames died down from the heavy snow as quickly as Grimm Ruby moved. The ground ended up being damp from the melted snow to the point that one could walk across the sentient Grimm's footsteps like a muddy trail.

Even now, the lingering sorrow of those that live here still pervade Grimm Ruby's mind, but the young boy behind it served as a suitable distraction. His jumping on the muddy ground and splashing water on their legs was reminiscent of a particularly carefree moment in the original Ruby's childhood, when she would jump on a puddle in a rainy day and splash water on her sister. Moments like that were before Atlas, before Beacon, and even before Signal.

And now, walking in the crossroads between hopeless despair and childish innocence, Grimm Ruby quietly pondered to itself how its life led to this moment. In the span of three days, it rose as a terrifying monster, acted like a Huntress, and was now…a glorified snow plow. Two minutes ago, it heard a bereaved mother commit suicide, and now it's a snow plow. Something in its already artificial life had gone very wrong.

Fortunately, the trail didn't lead very far before it led to a large fenced area with a large pile of debris. A young boy could only go so far without supervision, especially when a slightly older girl died last night. Word must get around quickly in times of famine, but what was even more bizarre was how…cheerful this boy was. Anybody with an ounce of sense would think he'd be terrified and cling to his parents right now.

"Hey, don't you think your parents would be worried about you talking to strangers?" Grimm Ruby asked.

"I dunno," he shrugged. "My mommy and daddy went to a heaven. My Unkie Herb said so."

"I…I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"Maybe they'll come and visit us sometime. I never been to a heaven before."

"I…" Grimm Ruby paused briefly. It was both sweet and heartbreaking that this little boy what the real implications of his parents "being in heaven" really means. Once more, it was reminded of the original Ruby's life and how she lost her mother at such a young age. Back then, she didn't understand the implications, either. In a bizarre way, the two could relate.

"Yeah," Grimm Ruby said, forcing a smile. "Yeah, I'm sure they will."

"I hope they bring lots of hot chocolate," the boy said. "It's really cold."

"Hot chocolate is good on a cold winter day," it recalled out loud from the original Ruby's memories, only to displease itself when it recalled its lack of taste buds. "At least, it was."

"Yeah-huh!" the boy said. Grimm Ruby couldn't help but let out a quiet chuckle at the sight of him skipping ahead of it toward the debris. It was then that it also noticed one of the entrances that led underground. No doubt it led toward the crater. That would explain how a child could wander outside so quickly after a Grimm attack. Its joy quickly faded when it saw more people standing around the pile, trying in vain to keep themselves warm. There was already a small fire in the center, but the freezing cold air made it difficult to even keep it alight.

"Sonas! There you are!" an older man yelled from the crowd. "What'd I tell you about talkin' to strangers?"

"Stranger's gonna give us warm!" he answered cheerfully.

"Stranger's probably got business elsewhere!" the older man exclaimed, then pointed at Grimm Ruby. "You're obviously not from here, or you'd know how stupid you are for wearin' somethin' like that!"

"Wearing wh—" Grimm Ruby began to say, only to stop when it realize he was referring to its Grimm-like appearance. "Oh…uh, yeah. My, uh…'cosplay.'"

"We were just attacked by Grimm not too long ago!" he said. "Still, thanks for bringin' Sonas back to us. If he weren't there behind you, you woulda got shot, lookin' like that! I know self-expression's all the rage with you young folk, but you can't make stupid decisions like that if you want to live to my age!"

"I'll, uh…keep that in mind," Grimm Ruby said with a nod. It was just less complicated to let him assume it was just wearing makeup than letting him know he was actually talking to a Grimm. It then turned its attention to the debris. "You trying to make a bonfire?"

"What's it look like? It's below freezing today, both inside and outside! It's like them damn Grimm chose today to kill us!"

"Chose? I didn't know today was gonna be cold. How did they—" Grimm Ruby inquired, then approached the debris. "Well, whatever. Let me try."

"No point," Herb said. "Scarlet's been trying for two hours. Cold air keeps putting it out."

Grimm Ruby glanced at the young lady behind the debris with a rock and a stick. She was striking the two together, hoping to get a spark.

"Got another team of Huntsmen all bunkered inside," the older man said. "Blonde girl around your age's actually usin' her hair as a campfire. Not a lotta good that'll do when her strength runs out."

"Yang," Grimm Ruby muttered, then yelled at Scarlet. "You there! Back up! My fire's not normal!"

"Fire?" Scarlet asked. "Hey, I'm the only one trying to light here, so if you wanna help, grab some rocks and—"

Dark flames coursed through Grimm Ruby's body before she had the chance to finish that sentence. Its red eyes glared more brightly than usual from its rage-filled face.

"Don't…need…rocks," Grimm Ruby said with a voice more distorted and monstrous than usual. With claws that singed red with heat, it sank them into the debris as the rest watched dark flames burn the entire pile. For the young boy, it was an incredible sight, given how loudly he cheered. For the rest, Grimm Ruby could sense worry from them. In less than a minute, the debris was completely engulfed into a huge bonfire that was visible to anyone as far as fifty feet or so from it.

"Oh my g—" Herb muttered, only to be cut off by the sounds of cheering children. Based on the echoes around them, there was more than one. In fact, there were several: a girl, a boy, and the same boy it met earlier.

"More…kids?" Grimm Ruby asked as the flames around its body started to dissipate.

"Ah, you're not the only one that could be careless, what with that makeup and all," Herb explained. "The real little ones can't even understand the predicament we're all in. Barely any edible food, cold enough to make our bones stiff, and we can't grow anything new. You know what they do with our frozen food?"

He pointed at the piles of snow nearby the fence, with withered carrots and cucumbers assorted along the ground. Behind them were two structures built by child hands, using some of the frozen vegetables and some sticks to decorate them.

"They made…snowmen," Grimm Ruby muttered in amazement.

"Aye!" Herb said with crossed arms. "I've heard of makin' lemonade outta lemons, but these little ones find a way to brighten your day no matter how bad things get. It's amazin', really."

"That's…that's it," Grimm Ruby muttered, then looked up at the sun again. "Hope."

Just as despair and suffering persisted all around it, innocence still existed even in the worst of times. It was unusual to see any smiles at all, given the desperate situation these people were in, yet it somehow felt fitting. The story of the Two Brothers, told by Ruby's uncle, Qrow, even stated that no matter how many times the God of Darkness destroyed his brother's creations, life always returned. By extension, the constant efforts of his creations, The Grimm, had similarly failed to completely snuff out the light, as they always have. For every person wallowing in their own despair, there was one that had the strength to smile, or even help those less fortunate.

"This is hope," Grimm Ruby whispered, glancing at its claws. "It was all around me all along, and I couldn't even see it. I couldn't sense it. All I could see was the pain…the sadness. I really am a monster, huh?"

"But I thought you were cos-playing," one of the boys said. Grimm Ruby turned to his direction, unaware that anyone would actually respond.

"Mon-stahs are s'posed to be all Raaaaah and Riiiiip and Smaaaaash," Sonas explained, making silly gestures with his hands.

"Well, they are, but," Grimm Ruby explained, stopping mid-sentence when it recalled all the horrific things it did to its fellow Grimm in the name of "helping others." As much as it hated its own kind, and as much as they deserved their ends, it couldn't deny that it displayed the very cruelty this boy described as "monstrous."

"But what?" one of the boys asked. Before Grimm Ruby could elaborate, it felt a small hand trace across its back. When it turned to see who was responsible, it noticed the young girl poking its back.

"Uh…hi?" it said awkwardly, unsure of what to make of her.

"If you can make such big warm," the girl asked without so much as a greeting, "how come you're so cold?"

"That's…uh," Grimm Ruby said, but paused in between words. It was genuinely curious as to how that leap of logic would work. "The snow…maybe? I…really don't know."

"Hey, look!" the girl exclaimed, then breathed heavily into Grimm Ruby's back. It felt her finger make a crisscross pattern on its back. "I can play tic-tac-toe!"

"Ooh, I wanna play!" one of the boys exclaimed, rushing across the snow to the girl.

"Hey, what are you kids—" Grimm Ruby tried to ask, only to be interrupted by the kids' new game.

"I wanna be 'X,'" the girl said. She traced her finger in a smaller crisscross pattern over Grimm Ruby's back again, then the boy traced a circle. As the two traced Xs and Os across the moisture on the sentient Grimm's cold hard back, it thought back on all the Grimm it slaughtered that made this possible.

"I just heard someone commit suicide five minutes ago," Grimm Ruby muttered to itself. "How is this even happening right now?"

Before anyone could answer its rhetorical question, it noticed Sonas get dangerously close to the flames.

"Careful, that's not norm—" Grimm Ruby tried to warn him not to touch it, stopping when it saw the boy brandish a small stick in one hand and a plastic bag with the other. It was unsure of what he was doing until he pulled something small and white out of the bag and stuck it on the end of the stick. He held it over the flames, watching the white mound burn by the dark flames with a smile.

"Marshmallows?" it asked, dumbfounded at what it was seeing.

"Yeah!" Sonas exclaimed. "They taste real good then they're not all frozed up!"

The sentient Grimm was left speechless. All that time it spent agonizing over past tragedies and the lives that could be lost if it made the wrong choice, it realized that it hadn't really been living at all. Ozpin was right. It was stuck in the past. It had to look forward, or at least try to. It gave one last somber thought toward the people who, even now, are still extraordinarily sad. Even now, there are people here who lost loves ones and even lost the will to live on.

Yet not all was lost. There were still smiles. Their efforts, even its own efforts, made this possible. There was good still in the world, just as the original Ruby understood, but as a Grimm, this Ruby could sense only negativity. Rather, the negativity of those around it forced its way into its heart, willingly or not. It is therefore, ironic, that its clairvoyant perception toward suffering had actually blinded it, rather than enlightened it.

Perhaps these children was the light that the story of the Two Brothers truly symbolized. It looked up at the sun once more, letting the light shine upon its monstrous face. And perhaps, even under the threat of witches and gods, innocence and kindness can still shine in the unlikeliest of places.

"Okay," it said to itself. "If people can be strong like this, then so can Ruby and everyone else. I won't do what Ozpin did."

It glanced down at the scythe coiled around its shoulder; its eye still watching as it always has, as it always will.

"I'll tell them about…him."

Perhaps this is what it truly means to hope.