With extreme care Ruby poked her head over the summit of the hill. Her position wasn't ideal. The rising sun was right behind her, and she was very aware of the risk of being silhouetted against the terrain. Even so, her curiosity had gotten the better of her.

Her latest travels had taken her into the Vacuan wilderness. Rather than the jungles of the south, this time she found herself in the plains and savannahs of the north. She was so far isolated from civilization that she couldn't even begin to pick up a signal from one of the CCT booster relays.

It had almost broken her the first time she'd noticed. She'd realised it was coming of course—every time she'd pulled out her scroll the signal had been a little bit weaker ̶ ̶ but, when it had disappeared entirely, she'd been alone.

Solitude had not been unknown to her over the past two years. On occasion it had even been sought after. But that was before she'd reconnected with the most important people in her life. The pain only became more acute with the awareness of the wound. She'd missed Yang terribly in the time they'd been separated, but it had only been a dull ache. Now that she'd talked to her sister again, heard her laugh, seen her smile, salt had been rubbed into the open laceration.

Still, the pain she was in now was far superior to the agony of ignorance. She knew Yang was ok, and the same went for her dad, Blake, and Qrow. They were safe in Vacuo, and in the palace no less. She didn't have to worry.

Any conversation with them had left her elated and satisfied. She loved them all, but theirs weren't the names her finger hovered over most in her scroll. That honour was reserved for Weiss. Sometimes she didn't even press the button. Other times she couldn't resist the urge.

When they talked Weiss was just… Weiss. Not the Ice Queen, but the girl she'd first encountered on the air dock at Beacon and later fallen hopelessly in love with. They didn't discuss politics or international business relations; instead Weiss only asked how her day had been, and listened in rapt attention as Ruby recalled everything that had happened to her in minute detail. Nothing seemed too inconsequential. Weiss just stared into her scroll with a distant smile on her face.

They might have broken up by every definition of the word, but Ruby didn't quite feel that way. She honestly didn't know what she felt. Her love for Weiss was undiminished, perhaps only increased since that wonderful night and morning back in Atlas. She loved Weiss, and in those calls she saw why. They couldn't be together at the moment, not while Weiss ruled, but she was changing. Ruby was sure of it. Or at least she hoped it. Hoped a future together might just be possible.

With the very last remnants of her signal, she'd sent Weiss a text telling her not to expect a call anytime soon. That had been over a week ago, but whether she'd received the message was anyone's guess. This deep into the Grimm-infested wilderness, there was nothing around for hundreds of miles or more. That was why the sight below had piqued her interest.

A camp had been established with a dozen or more tents in neat lines, all surrounded by primitive earthworks. By itself she might have been able to write it off as an expedition of prospectors or refugees. But there was no mistaking who the people milling around below her were.

They were soldiers. Plain and simple. Even without their identical uniforms and rifles she would have been able to tell. Their regimented body language was too distinctive, and that wasn't counting the five tracked infantry fighting vehicles.

They were a dead giveaway. Vale didn't use them ̶ ̶ preferring the more advanced Atlesian Paladins for providing ground support to their infantry. The tanks were Vacuan, painted tan to blend into the desert.

Unless her math was a long way off, she was in Vacuo. They had every right to be here. They could have been on a training mission, or hunting down Grimm, but her gut told her otherwise. There was nothing around. From the way they'd come ̶ ̶ and the way they were going ̶ ̶ they could only have one destination. The Valesh border.

Something had happened. Something big. And something that she'd missed. Armed as heavily as they were ̶ ̶ short of stumbling across a Goliath ̶ ̶ the column below her wouldn't encounter any resistance capable of stopping them. If they were really heading to war, the small wooden palisades of the villages would prove no barrier.

It was suicide of course. Vacuo may have been able to fight Vale to a bloody standstill ̶ ̶ even with the Tinmen ̶ ̶ but they stood no chance against an Atlesian retaliation. Once again, Weiss would be forced to make a choice which cost lives. Either Weiss had to order her forces to repel the invaders, or allow them to do whatever they wished to the settlers on the border.

This at least was a decision where Ruby couldn't see an easy alternative. In the Atlesian civil war, a different one could have been made. Here, lives would be lost either way. She was sure that each death would weigh heavily on Weiss' shoulders no matter her decision. In moments like this, Ruby could only be glad that didn't bear the burden of such colossal responsibility. She could see how it had changed Weiss.

Even unsure of their motive for being here, the noble and honourable thing to do would be to walk down into the camp, ask them, and if their intentions were impure, stop them. That's what she would have done a couple of years ago. Or at least tried to do.

Now though, honour was dead. She might be able to take out that battalion, or they might overwhelm her, but it wouldn't make any difference. Not in the long run. If Vacuo was really moving to war, there would be scores of battalions just like this one.

She wasn't a hero. Heroes, true heroes, didn't exist anymore. Not like they once had. Knowing that she might be abandoning people to die, she ducked below the summit and crawled away. Shame found her. Deep burning shame, but it was shame tempered by self-preservation. She couldn't save everyone. It had taken her a long time to learn that, but learn it she had.

Her only issue was that the battalion was in her way. What she'd told Yang had been the truth. There was something out here. Something close. Something important enough that, on occasion, it even managed to upstage Weiss in her dreams.

She didn't know what she was chasing. It wasn't a story from her book, but she trusted her instincts. They told her she was on the right track. Whatever it was, it had to be important. Never before had she dreamed so vividly about an unresolved concept.

Dreams of Weiss ̶ ̶ or, in the early days, nightmares ̶ ̶ were always so real that she'd almost been able to touch her, hold her, kiss her. She'd always woken with a pulsing heart full of longing and regret. It was still the case, but at least now she'd been able to alleviate the feelings by calling.

Whatever she was pursuing was just as vivid. Not in what it was, but in the knowledge that she had to know. Had to find out. Often it would be Weiss telling her to go east, or to turn slightly north the next day. Listening to dreams was crazy. She knew that. It was enough to get her locked up. But at the same time they didn't feel quite like dreams. They were more than that. More tangible. More real.

With a battalion across her path and on the lookout, she'd have to be careful. Technically, now that Weiss had lifted the arrest warrant, she wasn't a criminal in Vacuo. But soldiers were unlikely to look favourably on anyone watching their movements. Especially if they were indeed headed towards Vale.

It would cost her time, but she'd have to head back into the forest she'd only just left. How the soldiers were going to get through it with their vehicles she didn't know ̶ ̶ they might just be powerful enough to drive in a straight line. Resolved, but irritated, she crept back beneath the canopy. She hadn't gone far when voices drifted to her ears.

"How come I got stuck on water detail again?"

"Because we can afford for you to get eaten, but I have to watch your sorry ass to make sure it doesn't happen. Now keep your eyes open and get back to work."

"It wouldn't kill you to help."

"Probably not, but I'm pulling rank."

That at least removed the last bit of doubt from Ruby. They were Vacuan by their accents. She hadn't considered the small stream she'd camped by last night. Though any convoy that large would be well-provisioned, topping up their supplies was an opportunity that was too good to waste. Not that the soldiers sounded happy about being assigned the extra work.

They were bored and, as bored people were liable to do all over world, would likely talk. There was the potential to overhear some vital piece of information. She snuck closer, gently levering branches aside and sticking to the undergrowth until they came into sight.

One of the soldiers was standing up, a Vacuan rifle cradled in his arms. The other crouched next to some barrels, pumping water from the stream by hand. He'd removed his helmet and the exertion had left his brow sopping with sweat.

"Damnit," the soldier manning the pump swore. "The filter's clogged again."

The other soldier swore too. "If you actually used it properly this wouldn't keep happening. We're already going to get bollocked when we get back as it is."

"Well, if you did more than stand there the hose wouldn't be resting against the bed."

The pair of them continued to argue as they leant over the pump and began disassembling it. Ruby backed off. She doubted she'd hear anything of merit after all. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She froze instantly. Something was wrong. Without moving she scanned the area. The two arguing soldiers, the stream, the trees and flora, and a pair of glowing red eyes.

She wasn't the only one watching the soldiers. The Ursa crept closer, entirely silent despite its bulk. Distracted as they were, the soldiers weren't aware of it. Ruby was caught in a moment of indecision. She could shout a warning, let them know, but that would reveal her presence. The few seconds she spent thinking were ones the Grimm made good use of. It closed in until it was only a dozen feet or so away, and then it charged.

At heart she was hunter, and her heart only allowed her to do one thing. "Watch out!"

She darted through the undergrowth, branches snagging at her skin and clothes. The heads of the two soldiers snapped towards her. She ripped Crescent Rose from its magnetic harness. Their eyes widened as it uncoiled. Only when it was nearly upon them, the ground beneath them shaking as it let out a mighty roar, did one of the soldiers begin to turn towards the Ursa. Too late.

Too late for them. Not for her. The instant she was on solid footing she flared her Semblance. Time slowed. A wind ripped through the clearing that at one time would have been trailed by a red cloak. Her shoulder smashed into the kneeling soldier, knocking him from beneath the Ursa's descending claws. They slashed her instead. Her Aura held. She used the momentum to spin, Crescent Rose whistling through the air. The tempered steel bit deep into black flesh.

The Ursa roared again, this time in anguish. She ducked the attack that seemed to come ever so slowly and took the limb off at the elbow. Blood flew free. The Ursa's bulk crashed to the ground. She drew a line up its side. Ribs snapping one by one under her blade. Gruesome music filled the air. Ruby danced to it. Lived for it. Crescent Rose was hungry and only one thing could sate its appetite. Again and again it drank its fill until the Ursa ceased to twitch.

The world hit Ruby with a vengeance. It crashed into her as she stopped powering her Semblance, demanding to take back the balance of time she'd stolen from it. Her muscles ached with fatigue, but not badly. She powered through it.

The two soldiers had barely moved. The one she'd saved still sat on his backside. They were both staring at her with open mouths. Blood had sprayed across them. It was then that she realised it was likely only a few seconds had passed. She must have been a blur to their senses.

The soldier on the ground swore again, his eyes moving between her, the dripping scythe, and the parts of the Ursa that were scattered around the clearing. She held up her free hand palm forward. "Hi."

"Hi." The soldier responded weakly, half-waving at her. His close brush with death had left him in shock.

"Are either of you hurt?"

The superior checked himself and his friend. "No."

"Good." Ruby still didn't quite know how to approach this situation. They weren't exactly being friendly to her, and their gazes still rested on the scythe. They both jumped when she retracted it, snapping it to her belt ̶ ̶ she'd have to clean it later. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"You're a huntress?"

"Yep." Not a licenced one, but they didn't need to know that.

"Well, thanks." The veteran hauled his partner to his feet. "We might have been in some trouble without you." Their rifles would likely have only angered the Ursa.

"No problem." It always felt great to help people. She'd done good here today. Probably. She did her best to forget where she thought the soldiers were heading and what they might do when they got there. The greys of the world suggested it might have been better to let the Ursa be.

The soldier looked her up and down. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

Ruby resisted the urge to ask the same question. "Just travelling."

"It's a nice area for it." His hand hooked into his belt. "You sound like you're from Vale right?"

She squinted at him, not liking the question. "Yeah…"

"Then the least we could do is to offer you some food. Why don't you come back to our camp?" It was said in a light tone, but his levity didn't reach his eyes.

Ruby wanted cry. She wanted to scream. Was nothing ever simple? Once again, all she'd tried to do was to help people. To live up to her hunter's vows. And what did she get for it? A single thank you and the suspicion that she was a Valesh spy. It was so unfair. She could have tried to talk her way out of it, but what was the point. They'd never believe her.

"There's another one!" She pointed into the undergrowth behind the two soldiers. Their heads snapped around. When they glanced back, they found only rose petals floating on the wind.


Ruby was close. She knew that much. Weiss had told her so ̶ ̶ dream Weiss, not the real one whom she missed so much. Her travels had taken her deeper into Vacuo now. Not all the way to the desert, but the sun was getting more unbearable every day. It wasn't quite the same discomfort as the rainforest. There the humidity had been the real killer. Here it was the purely the heat which sapped her energy.

Still, at least she was able to find shelter in the copses of skinny trees that littered the arid grasslands. It was a surprise that no one had attempted to settle here, but then again the Grimm provided the answer to that quandary. She'd been able to avoid them, farmers would not.

It would have been nice to say that they were the only threat she'd encountered in the past few days, but she couldn't. Several times she'd passed over ground torn up by tracks and flattened by boots. Her guess had been right. It hadn't been a lone battalion on a training mission. Vacuo had mobilised its forces. War was coming.

Her only real option was to try and avoid it entirely. As a Valesh native, her patriotism cried out for her to defend her homeland. But in school they'd all been taught the futility of that way of thinking. People should only fight for what they believed in. She believed in the vows she'd made as hunter. What Ozpin had done was wrong. Perhaps she should have stood against him more overtly, but she knew that Vacuo wasn't thinking of good, only of gain.

The world wasn't black and white anymore. It had never really been. That had been a childish way of thinking. And in a world of shifting hues of grey, sometimes the best thing to do, the right thing, was nothing. She couldn't stop the war singlehandedly. She could only be there to pick up the pieces when it was over.

That is, after she'd found whatever had been captivating her sleeping mind. The terrain around him almost looked familiar. Sometimes she glimpsed the skyline and was struck by an intense feeling of déjà vu. As if she'd been here before. No matter how impossible, it was as if she'd been here before. But as more often proved to be the case, the impossible was only the improbable.

She recognised the seven hills that rose before her. The wide river that meandered its way alongside them. The large floodplain next to it. Ruby recognised the geographic features, but not the flora. It seemed wrong somehow. As if something else should have stood on and around those hills. She didn't know how she knew that. No amount of searching in her mind was able to recall even a single story about this place.

With the sun beating down, the cool water of the river called out to her. Still bodies of water in the wilderness were often best avoided, but flowing rivers like this were usually ok. Just as long as there weren't any aquatic Grimm living in it.

With that rather distressing thought in mind, she swirled her hand through the water. The instant cold was a drug that the rest of her mind couldn't say no to despite the danger. She shrugged her rucksack off and lowered it to the dusty ground before stripping off her clothes. At one time she might have been self-conscious about skinny-dipping, but it wasn't like anyone would just stumble across her.

Making sure to leave Crescent Rose right on the bank, she stepped into the river. The sides were steep enough that she was able to submerge herself up to her chest within a few steps. The water was a balm on her fatigued muscles. She was without a doubt in the best shape of her life, but trekking dozens of miles a day, carrying a rucksack containing all her possessions, and lugging her beloved weapon along would take its toll on anyone.

The current of the river was strong. Not so much near the banks, but as she neared the centre she had to swim against it. Not wanting to be separated from Crescent Rose, she returned to bank and just sat with her back against the earthy clay. Personal hygiene was difficult to satisfy while travelling. She tried. Whenever she found water that wasn't stagnant, she bathed. But, more often than not, she couldn't go out of her way to find a big enough pond or stream. Most of the time she had to make do with just a cloth, and when she couldn't find a water source, not even that. Very rare was the occasion when she could just sit like this.

The river must have had a name. In fact it had probably had many different names over the ages. Each group of settlers or travellers inventing their own. What would she call it, if she had the power? She might actually. Who decided when the ancient name of a long forgotten river was no longer relevant? There must have been someone in a cobweb-filled room somewhere. Maybe her name would stick. So what should it be? The word on the tip of her tongue didn't make any sense to her, but it seemed so right. The River Tiberius.

Reaching back to her pack, she pulled out a bundle of leaves she'd picked a couple of days before. Natural free herbs were so much more convenient than carrying around a bottle filled with chemicals. With a smile, she had to admit to herself she might have turned into a bit of hippy. She washed herself thoroughly, scraping away days of accumulated dirt from her skin and leaving it red but, more importantly, clean. She crawled out onto the bank and sat nude beneath the sun.

The half an hour she taken to pamper herself was one that had been well spent. By the time she was dry and clothed again, she was ready to meet whatever challenges the day would bring. What they would be, she didn't know. She no longer had the subconscious urge to keep moving forwards. It was as if she'd arrived at her destination.

The river. These hills that tugged at her impossible memory. They were important, and she pledged to find out why. The nearer she got to the base of the first hill, the more excited she became. It was a natural formation, but it was a natural formation tempered by the hand of man. The steps carved into it were long eroded ̶ ̶ judging by the weathering this might have been the oldest settlement she'd come across ̶ ̶ but the stone had definitely been placed and carved. Bending down, she was even able to see some of the individual tool marks.

That was where she ran into a problem. She hadn't expected to discover anything that required careful documentation. The numerous calls she'd made had drained the battery on her scroll and most of the spares. Very aware of the limit, she only took a few quick photos before sliding it back into her pack.

They might have been worn and barely distinguishable as steps, but they still bore her weight. She climbed up them. From her new height she began to notice patterns in the ground that had been indistinguishable from the same level. They were too straight to be natural. They could only be the remnants of what had once been foundations. The city had been large, and it was almost entirely gone. That was either a sign of some form of destruction or extreme age. At the moment, her money lay straight in the middle.

It wasn't the most exciting piece of archaeology she'd ever done. Short of a few stones sticking from the ground, there really wasn't that much to it. Every time before she'd at least been able to go in a few ruined buildings. Here there was just nothing. Perhaps the city had been attacked by Grimm and a fire had run rampant through it? That might have explained it if the people who had lived here had been carpenters, but the steps alone were evidence that they'd worked with stone. What else could remove rock so completely? A natural disaster maybe. A huge one. Or an invading army had quite literally razed the entire city to the ground. What crime could have warranted that she didn't know.

She found the first groupings of cut stone that could be described as a building. They were partially covered with dirt and whatever plants had managed to push their way through the gaps, but they were foundations. The building had been large, and judging by the circular cylinders broken off half a foot above the ground there had been pillars holding up the roof. The civilization had had a definite understanding of physics and architecture.

Ruby leant down, tracing the rough stone with her fingertips. The sensation was almost hypnotic. She fought back a yawn. She hadn't slept much that previous night, and the half an hour spent sitting in the warm sun after her swim had left her drowsy. Absentmindedly, she hummed a simple tune. It resonated within her, seeming to come from everywhere. The overgrown grass was a comfortable mattress.

She was tired, so tired. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to drift off to sleep. She did so, pillowing her head on her arms. For once she didn't dream. Weiss didn't find her. She rested uninterrupted and woke to a bright morning.

When she opened her eyes, the city was filled with people.

A/N: So it has been a long time since we've checked in with Ruby. There has been a lot of other ground to cover first. Still, she's been busy.

I hope you enjoyed and please leave a review.