. So.

It's 2016.

I've last updated this in 2014.

..

I'm sorry.

I've changed quite a bit since then and I think my writing reflects that now, so I apologize again if you think it changed for the worse.

But… thanks for waiting. Let me answer these long-standing reviews and then you can finally read the fourth chapter of The Soul Ruby.

Hazzamo- Yeah, but one can dream. And yes, yes she is. Though I don't understand what glasses you mean…

rwbybomb21- Aw shucks, thanks man. That makes me both feel really good about writing it and bad about taking so long to update. They did, I promise! I'm not just saying it to make you feel better, they really do!

necrofantasia- True, they are enemies of mankind, true, it is a little hypocritical, but the point is she was a little stunned by Ruby's simple brutality. Think about it, a fifteen year-old girl ripping apart anything, even if it was a monster, into shreds is not exactly what one would expect. What made it worse was the fact that it was done without anger or hatred or anything. If anything, Ruby just looked bored the whole time. That's why Glynda was concerned. Anyway, it's just a matter of over exaggeration on both parties parts. Ruby could have toned it down and Glynda could have reacted less. In regards to Weiss…. Second part's mentality, agreed, first part, no comment. To be fair, Soul is not exactly the most observant at the best of times…. but thank you though.

Lazarus- It is, thank you. I didn't succeed this time around but who knows? Ozpin may suspect but he doesn't have any concrete proof and Ruby has no plans to give anyone any.

Animalia Doubatsu- Maybe she will, maybe she won't, maybe something else altogether will happen. Who knows?

Queenlyn K- It is a little sad. Poor Soul, all alone…. right? I will do so now.

Sakura Chara- Thanks! I thought of it since I had listened to that song recently and went, "Hey, that sounds kinda like Soul." Also, I wrote that before it was confirmed that he was Yang's uncle, not Ruby's. I guess a little retconning is in order…

5th Dimension- You are completely right. It's been so long that now I understand how annoying those were, especially when I read over some of my old stuff again. I thought it was funny at the time but now I see they were unnecessary and detrimental. I'm going to try to avoid those from now on.

And to everyone who said they liked the story so far but want another chapter, thank you. I hope I don't let you down with this!

Once last thing. Since the last time I updated, this story has now over 130 favourites and nearly 170 follows, in addition to having 37 reviews. Thank you, everyone, for that, even though I don't deserve it for taking so long to do this. I want to make sure I earn those stats so I will try to get close with this chapter.

Time to stop blabbering and to (finally) get on with the show!


Ruby and Weiss stared at each other, one blankly and the other with wide-mouthed shock, before the cloaked teenager turned around and started to walk away, leaving the heiress lying on the ground.

Said heiress blinked in surprise before narrowing her eyes. "Hey!" She yelled at the leaving girl while she stumbled onto her feet. The shout caused the girl to stop but she didn't turn to face her, leaving Weiss to stare at the dark red back to her hood, slightly obscured by the scythe hanging on her back. This only made Weiss even more annoyed.

"...What is it?" The voice was neither annoyed nor confused, it merely asked a question with the least amount of interest possible for it to still be a question. If Weiss hadn't already met this girl before, the nothingness in her tone would have thrown her off. As it was, it only fueled her next words.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Distract her, yes, keep her occupied until the right moment comes… Gripping Myrtenaster tightly in her hand, she silently creeped just a little closer to Ruby while she talked.

The cloaked figure remained silent for a moment before responding. "Searching for the objective."

"And just leaving me here?!" Weiss moved another foot closer, Ruby now only a yard or so away. Just a little more… Just a little longer…

"If you cannot keep up with me, then you do not deserve to be my partner." Her voice had the faintest prickings of…. irritation(?) in it. Weiss saw her tense somewhat, her cloak rippling slightly as she restrained the urge to start moving again. "Now, stand up and let us proceed."

There! "Who said anything about being your partner, you arrogant little twit?!" Taking advantage of Ruby's momentary occupation with preventing herself from leaving, Weiss launched forward with the aid of a glyph, Myrtenaster held at the ready to pierce the prick through. I have her this time! There's no way she'll avoid it, I'm coming in too fast from too close. Maybe she'll learn to appreciate her betters now, the cocky s-!

She didn't understand it. One moment she was flying towards Ruby, the next she was flat on her back with Ruby perched on her chest. She tried to lift herself off the ground in order to either shove the infuriating twat off her or lunge for her fallen Myrtenaster, but a sudden cold feeling at her throat made her freeze mid-movement.

"I thought you would have learned by now," Ruby intoned as she held Blood Rose against Weiss's throat, the dark red sharply contrasting against the heiress's pale skin. Staring straight into Weiss's stunned blue orbs, she slowly pulled Rose Thorns out of its holster before pressing it against her forehead. "But I suppose not. No matter. This allows me to make things quite," With an almost lazy flick of the thumb, she pulled back the gun's hammer until there was a loud click, "clear."

Even if the blade at her throat wasn't discouraging her from moving, the heiress would have still froze in shock. This…. wasn't happening. She was not being threatened in the middle of initiation. She was not being held at gunpoint and her life moments away from being taken away by her alleged-partner. She was not about to have a panic attack. She was not…. absolutely terrified.

"There is two options I am giving you," Ruby continued, either unaware or uncaring of the pinned girl's state of mind. Based on her experiences with her so far, Weiss was almost certain it was the latter. "Your first choice is letting yourself be my partner. If you choose that, I will release you and we can carry on with finding the objective. However, this means that you will cease attacking me and I will cease my retributions to such attacks. We will both leave the other alone."

"A-a-and the s-second?" Weiss stammered out, the stutter caused by both apprehension and the fact that the movements of her throat was causing the blade to almost pierce her skin.

The cloaked girl did not reply at first. Instead, she held the blade ever so slightly closer to Weiss's throat, close enough that the slightest twitch from the heiress would cause her to slit open her own throat. Only when the Weiss's eyes widened even wider and gone absolutely motionless did Ruby speak. "I'll end the problem for both of us right now."

Silence reigned for a moment, wide blue eyes staring into cold silver ones for several tense seconds before the sword moved away a little from her throat, far enough to not immediately cut open her neck but not far enough for Weiss to consider making a run for it. "Your choice?" Ruby asked in a voice that betrayed nothing, said nothing, was nothing. It was the emptiest sound Weiss had ever heard.

In any other circumstance, Weiss would have protested. She would have argued, saying that this was ridiculous. She would have fought, unwilling to give up so completely to anyone. She would have struggled, trying anything at all to escape her foe. She would have done something to avoid making the choice.

But for the first time in her life, Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee company and potentially one of the most important people in the world, was scared. No, beyond scared. Terrified. She was terrified with her situation, at being literally a hair's breadth away from death. She knew she could be killed at any time by Grimm, it was part of the job description. She also knew there was a chance of being killed by criminals or insurgents, it was rare but it happens. Heck, every day she took a breath there was a chance of being murdered simply for being the Schnee heiress. She understood that.

But to be threatened in the middle of initiation by a girl she had met, even one that annoyed her to no end?

To be fair, something similar to this had happened the first meeting, but at the time she was a little too indignant to notice. This time, however, there was no such feeling to dull her perception.

She gulped and felt the edge of her throat skim the blade. Oh, damn it…..

"F-Fine, fine!" She half-yelled, half-muttered. "I'll b-be yo-your partner!" For now, at least. She'll definitely track down Ozpin later about getting a different partner…. or maybe getting the prick kicked out, whichever was easiest.

Ruby did not let up immediately. She kept the blade against her throat and the gun against her forehead. Weiss had to hold in a shiver as the cold metal remained pressed against her skin.

"Are you sure?" The cloaked girl asked, sounding almost bored. "I will not give you another choice so you should be certain of this one."

Her fear morphed into annoyance as Weiss was reminded once again why she had issues with this girl. "I'm sure, brat! Now let me up already!" The moment the metal left her skin, she took a huge breath of air, both to refill her empty lungs and to calm her own pounding heart.

Her former (at the moment) target stood up off of her and walked a few feet to the side, giving her time to recover and pull herself to her feet. She took it, using Myrtenaster to prop herself up while she tried to pull herself into a standing position. There was a few lingering wobbles (only her blood rushing to her legs, she told herself) but, finally, Weiss Schnee was steady on her feet and ready to go.

"Hmmph!" She huffed, holding her hands to her hips haughtily with Myrtenaster tightly grasped in one. "Now that I'm ready, we should go…" Weiss's eyes darted around for a moment before settling on a random direction, "...that way!" Without waiting to see if the scythe-wielding girl was following, she set off, nose held high only coincidentally enough that she couldn't see the girl if she choose to follow.

Which, based on the lack of sounds of footsteps behind her, she wasn't.

Weiss spun around, only to see Ruby walking in the complete opposite direction. "Hey!" She yelled, torn between following her or remaining on her course and deciding to not worry about it quite yet. "Where are you going?! The temple's this way."

It took a few seconds for the heiress to realize that wasn't the wind going through the trees, it was the frigh- annoying girl replying. "What?!" She yelled, slightly irritated that she'd missed the scythe-wielder's reply.

This time, the words were just barely loud enough to hear over the general forest ambiance. "I saw the temple from above when I was launched. It is this way. Either come or stay behind."

Weiss thought about it. If she stayed behind, she wouldn't have to deal with Ruby and she could make her own way to the temple. She was already on the right path, after all. On the other hand, she might fail initiation without her, eugh, 'partner'. And there was always the tiny, tiny, tiny chance she was going in the wrong direction.

However, on the other other hand, she would be going with Ruby.


"Ruby?" Soul's voice was extremely quiet, so quiet that Ruby almost didn't hear over the sounds of the forest and Weiss stomping off in the wrong direction.

"Hmm?"

The scythe's eye was flicking back and forth, seeming almost… nervous. The blade vibrated a few times, seemingly mulling over the question he was about to ask before he worked up the nerve to speak up. "D-did you mean what you said? You really w-would have… fixed the problem for both of you?"

"Yes." The reply came instantly, without hesitation or the slightest trace of shame just as Weiss yelled at them from a distance.

Soul took a moment to process this, giving his meister time to tell her partner she was going to the temple. "Y-you really wo-" The rest of his sentence was drowned out by Weiss screaming "What?!" at them, nearly shaking the leaves off of the trees in the process.

Ruby didn't flinch, didn't even frown in the slightest, but Soul knew that Ruby was not happy. "I saw the temple from above when I was launched. It is this way. Either come or stay behind." She told her, barely raising her voice enough to be heard. The scythe visibly gulped, the shaft actually developing an bubble of metal sliding down its length for a brief second. Ruby would never raise her voice for anyone so they could hear her, never. The only time Ruby ever raised her voice was when she was annoyed.

And annoyed for Ruby meant pissed for anyone else.

"Ruby, you okay?" Soul asked Ruby hesitantly, the hesitation this time coming not from his fear of the answer, but just plain fear itself. He could handle annoyed Ruby, she'd never do anything permanently damaging to him. Anyone else, though…

"If no Grimm come for her, I will attract them here myself." Most people would have thought that to be an idle threat. No normal person would willingly ever intentionally attract Grimm, especially if it was to maim their partner. No one was that cold, right?

…. They've never met Ruby. Even if they did, they'd never have the chance to say that about her.

Soul tried to swallow down his initial panic and keep calm. Be cool, be cool, be cool, be cool or an innocent (if aggravating) girl will be ki- hurt. An innocent girl would be hurt. He had faith in Ruby that even she wouldn't go that far…. so easily. "Easy, Ruby, don't be uncool. She's just new to this, just like you."

"I would not attract so much attention to my position."

"True, true." Any further comment was cut off by Weiss running up to Ruby close enough that she would hear him if he spoke again. Instead, he remained quiet, hoping that the heiress had enough sense to not give Ruby any more reasons to… 'deal' with her.


"Hmm… that worked out about as well as could be expected," Ozpin idly commented, taking a sip from his coffee mug while he watched the pair go through the forest on his Scroll. Behind him, Glynda fumed. The only reason she hasn't already went to go disqualify Miss Rose from initiation was because Ozpin asked her not to.

"Professor Ozpin," She began, eyes furrowed, "Are you sure we should continue to allow this… this… debacle, to go on?!"

Professor Ozpin didn't even bother to turn towards her before responding. "Calm, Glynda. The two have become partners and that is all that I asked for."

"But she threatened to kill her partner!" Glynda protested, clenching her right hand around her riding crop.

"But she didn't."

"But she threatened-!"

Ozpin cut her off before she could continue. "Glynda, Ruby Rose will not kill Weiss Schnee, I promise you. No matter what happens, Weiss Schee will not die by Ruby's hand."

For a moment the blonde professor fumed, her hand turning almost deathly white from the tightness of her grip on the riding crop, before taking a deep breath and calming down. If Ozpin promised something, that meant that it will happen exactly like he said, no matter what. If Ozpin promised to tear the moon down from the sky onto Beacon, she'd wait over in Vale with a set of binoculars. There was no way on Remnant that the headmaster would ever break a promise.

She'd seen what happened the last time someone tried.

"Very well, I will not interfere…. For now," Glynda told him with reluctance. Her eyes narrowed as she continued. "However, if Ruby ever dares to attack, threaten, or even look at another student strangely, I will not hesitate to…. 'Punish' her most severely. Do you understand, Ozpin?"

Professor Ozpin smiled cheekily, not that Glynda could see. "I do. I don't know how she'll be able to participate in your combat class if she can't attack anyone though."

He laughed silently when he heard behind him the esteemed Professor Goodwitch, renowned for being one of the most level-headed Huntresses in the world, curse so vehemently that a drunken sailor's ears would burn.


"Do you have any idea where we're going?!" Weiss demanded from her silent partner as she followed her through the forest. She kept an eye for Grimm while she talked to the cloaked girl. She did not want to get caught off guard again since the last time that happened she got partnered with Ruby.

"Yes." Ruby replied. She hadn't turned around once, not to look at Weiss or to observe the forest in case of Grimm attack. At least, as far as Weiss could tell she didn't look. Who knows? Maybe she could see out of the back of her hood. At this point, it wouldn't surprise her.

"Really, now?" Weiss scoffed. "Then where's the temple?"

When the scythe-wielding girl stopped moving and didn't respond, the heiress thought she finally got her for once. A triumphant smirk on her face, Weiss thought she couldn't afford to let this moment of opportunity pass her by. "Don't tell me you don't know where the temple is? Oh my, after all that threatening and leaving, you don't know where you're going?"

"Quiet." For once, the cloaked girl wasn't just replying. She was commanding. Unfortunately, Weiss didn't quite pick up on that little detail.

"Oh? Can't stand not being a good Huntress?" All this gloating was making Weiss really happy, the happiest she's been since she met Ruby. For once, she had the advantage, and she was going to milk it for all it has! "Admit it, you're just as lost as I was! You have no idea where we-"

"I said quiet." Weiss flinched when Ruby suddenly swung her hand towards her, her mind automatically going back to the incident for a few minutes ago. But the cold girl was merely covering her mouth which, while uncomfortable and not appreciated, was still better than the other possibility.

Before Weiss could protest or slap away the offending appendage, Ruby gestured towards the ground in front of her. There, before Weiss's widening eyes, was a massive black feather.

A black feather? What type of Grimm- oh no.

Suddenly, as if confirming her worst fears, a distant squawk rang out overhead and, seconds later, another feather slowly drifted down onto the other feather. Only then did Weiss's partner remove her hand from her mouth.

After the obligatory spitting and rubbing the taste out of her mouth, Weiss took another look at the feathers before she spoke. "Is… is that from what I think it is….?"

"Nevermore," Ruby answered emotionlessly, like she didn't care she was talking about one of the most dangerous aerial predators known to Remnant. "Based on the size of the feather, a Giant Nevermore." She probably didn't, thinking about it.

"Hmm…." Outwardly, Weiss was nonchalant about the whole matter but on the inside she was nervous. Nevermores, especially Giant Nevermores, weren't something a pair of initiates could take down. A full team of them, maybe, but definitely not just a pair. "I think it'd be best if we leave it alone for now. As long as we don't draw its attention, we should be fine…. Right?"

She waited for the scythe-wielding girl's response, not exactly paying attention to the girl's actions since she was too busy looking at the sky to try and spot the Nevermore. As such, she didn't notice what the girl was doing until she heard the click of a gun hammer cocking back. Eyes widening, she looked down at Ruby, just in time to see the cloaked girl pull the trigger of her white pistol.

"No-!" Bang! Birds squawked and flew away from the treetops when the gunshot rang out in the forest. The Schnee heiress could only look on in shock as her partner sheathed her pistol and pull her scythe off her back, knees bending into their normal combat-ready stance. Ruby glanced at her, her dull silver orbs showing not the slightest twinge of emotion in their depths.

"Get ready."

Weiss stared, open-mouthed, at the girl for a few moments, not fully comprehending what Ruby just did. When the first wave of razor-sharp feathers came piercing down towards them seconds later, causing the two to scatter in opposite directions, the ivory-haired girl could have sworn she saw the tiniest beginnings of a frown on the cold girl's face. But that was just her imagination, right?

Weiss ducked behind a tree just as the next wave of feathers came, the surprisingly solid projectiles piercing the tree so deeply that they nearly managed to puncture through the thick trunk. The heiress gulped and prayed that the tree was a hardwood.

Nearby, she could hear gunshots going off repeatedly, occasionally pausing long enough for the thump thump thump of giant feathers hitting the ground to be heard. "Can you stop shooting already?!" Weiss yelled during one of the split-second pauses between gunshots and the Nevermore's relentless attacking. "Can't you see it's not working?!"

"It is causing the Nevermore to come closer." She almost didn't hear the response coming from the scythe-wielder since it was rather quite quiet compared to everything else going on. When Weiss eventually processed what Ruby was saying, her right eye started twitching.

"That is NOT a GOOD THING!"

SQUAWK!

Any further comments by Weiss or responses from Ruby were cut off by the Nevermore tiring of the game they were playing and swooping down to land between the two girls. It screeched loudly, stripping the leaves from the trees and nearly driving Weiss down to her knees. As it was, it still distracted the white-wearing girl long enough that she didn't notice the talon coming in to swipe at her until the very last second. She just barely managed to jump away from the trunk before the Grimm's claws tore into the wood, ripping it into pieces. The upper-portion of the tree, now without any support, collapsed onto the Nevermore, entangling it in its branches and causing it to squawk as the wood dug into its skin while it tried to escape.

As she ran away from the ruins of the tree and its captive Grimm, Weiss saw Ruby already running in with her scythe at her side, cloak rippling as she suddenly activated her semblance and appeared at the Nevermore's side, scythe already mid-slash.

The Nevermore screeched the moment the scythe's blade cut into its flesh, a few feathers drifting to the ground before dissipating into the wind. Cawing, it swiped at Ruby with one massive wing, the cloak-wearing girl vanishing in a flash of petals just as the wing smashed the ground where the scythe-wielder was. The Nevermore cocked its head, trying to find where the little pest scratching at it went. In the process, it forgot to watch out for the other little pest it had been chasing just moments before.

CRAAWWWWKK! The Nevermore cried out as it felt something pierce its foot, sending more pain coursing through its body than that time it landed on a fully-grown Alpha Beowulf. The pain those bone spikes caused was nothing compared to the pain from the object embedded in its foot. It hopped around on its good foot, trying to shake whatever was in its other foot off while knocking over most of the trees nearby in the process.

Weiss hung onto the hilt of the embedded Myrtenaster for dear life as she was whipped through the air, a white blur hanging off the Nevermore's clawed foot while it danced around. She couldn't afford to use a glyph to boost herself out, she'd lose Myrtenaster for sure. She already didn't want to be fighting the avian Grimm, there was no way she was going to even attempt it without a weapon.

Just why did Myrtenaster have to get stuck?!

Eventually, the wild motions worked the blade out of its skin just enough for gravity to take over, pulling the blade and its wielder back towards Remnant. As Weiss plummeted towards the ground, a white glyph appeared underneath her and launched her outside the Nevermore's wingspan. A good plan, considering the wing swipe that came moments later.

Ducking into the trees still left standing at the clearing's edge, Weiss watched the Nevermore stomp the foot she injured a few times, apparently testing it to see if it was alright. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the red of Ruby's cape peeking out from behind a tree across the clearing. She only saw it for a split second before it vanished, reappearing halfway up the creature's wing along with the flash of descending metal.

The Nevermore cawed and shook its wing wildly, much like it had when Weiss stabbed its foot minutes before. Just like before, its attacker hung on by the dint of its metal but, unlike before, that attacker had no plans of getting off. Instead, Ruby hung on, one hand clutching the scythe while she drew out a pistol (Weiss thought it was the white one but she couldn't tell for sure) with the other. She fired at the creature's mask, cracking it slightly and making the Grimm squawk in irritation but ultimately not accomplishing much.

Weiss gritted her teeth as she watched her emotionless partner (oh, how much it hurt to even think about that word applying to her) shoot at the Grimm. On the one hand, this was her chance! Let the twit fight the Grimm and fail initiation! Oh, she'd help if the prick was about to die (probably), she was just going to let her get a little injured fighting the beast, just enough to be unable to become a Huntress. A little cold, true, but wouldn't that be exactly what the girl would think if she was in Weiss's place? If Weiss was out there fighting the Nevermore and Ruby was standing right here, wouldn't she make Weiss handle on her own and if, by some cosmic misfortune, she couldn't handle it, well, stinks to be her?

Wouldn't that exactly how Ruby would think?

Weiss scowled as she rushed out towards the Grimm's taloned feet, spinning Myrtenaster's barrel until it landed on the blue Dust canister.

That is exactly why she will help. There was a sense of duty involved as well, a duty as both a Huntress to defeat the Grimm and as a partner to assist her teammate, no matter how annoying they may be. But, above all else, she will do it to spite Ruby, to prove that she, Weiss Schnee, was a better person than her, even if it was just in her own mind.

Weiss mentally sighed just as she reached her target. Had she really become this petty? Doing something good only to spite another? Winter would be so proud right now.

The Nevermore swiped at her with one taloned foot while it still tried to shake off the pest clinging to its wing. Weiss ducked beneath the wild slash and lunged at the beast's other foot, Myrtenaster's point nearly gleaming as it sped towards the Nevermore's vulnerable ankle skin.

Frrrccckkkk! Ice spikes the size of minivans erupted around the creature's foot, eliciting a surprised squawk from the creature and causing it to start wobbling. It bobbed up and down on its frozen foot, desperately trying to maintain its balance but, against its will, it slowly started to lean hazardly towards the ground, only seconds from falling.

Weiss smiled. Finally, something good! Once that Nevermore hits the ground, she and Ruby could attack its weak points easily, like its eyes or its unprotected throat. In fact, they could cut off its head altogether! Even now, she could see Ruby starting to rise back onto her feet on the creature's wing, pulling its scythe out of the Grimm's wing in preparation for making much deadlier attacks.

She almost giggled in delight. Taking down a Giant Nevermore with only a pair of initiates, imagine what the teachers would think! They were see how strong they were and would certainly pair them up with others just as strong… such as Pyrrha Nikos! Then they could become the greatest team in Beacon and become the most respected and powerful Huntresses to ever live! Nothing could stop them now!

The ice shattered into thousands of pieces, shining in the sun like the shards of a mirror.

RAAAAAWWWWWKKKKK! Weiss nearly collapsed at the sudden sound of the Nevermore's screeching. Clamping her hands over her ears, she dropped Myrtenaster in the leaves and crouched down, trying anything to escape the infernalabominableearwrackingsoulcushingmindbreakingwhywontitstopwhywontitstopwhywontitSTOP?!

The screeching stopped and Weiss looked up, only to see massive bleached talons wrapping around her. Eyes widening, she lunged towards the fallen Myrtenaster, just barely managing to wrap her fingers around the rapier's hilt before the Grimm captured her in its claws. She screamed, swinging Myrtenaster wantonly in a desperate attempt to escape the dark cage she now found herself in.

No! Please! Not like this! NOT LIKE THIS!

Weiss breathed heavily, nearly hyperventilating before she paused. Taking several deep breathes, she managed to calm down. Okay, the Grimm hasn't crushed her yet so she still has a chance. The first thing to do before she cracked open the Dust stores was to figure out what was going on outside. She didn't want to blast her way out, only to plummet to her death from several hundred feet in the air.

Just as she thought that, she starting hearing a soft thumping sound. She gulped and started hoping, praying it was just Ruby attacking the Nevermore. Surely it was, right? That'd be the kind of thing she'll do when her partner's captured, right? Weiss could only scoff at her silly thoughts. There was no way that was the case. At least, Ruby attacking simply for her sake.

When she felt her stomach drop, Weiss knew the truth, as loath as she was to admit it.

The Nevermore was taking off.

Weiss bit her lip nervously. She was caged by a Grimm about to go flying through the air high above the forest, where even the tiniest attempt to escape would lead to a very painful death via impact, if she wasn't unfortunate enough to be speared through by tree branches on the way down. For the time being, she was completely trapped and her only chance of survival is her terr- annoying partner with all the empathy of one of her company's androids somehow mustering enough concern to both free her and prevent her from falling to her death.

Maybe the Dust idea wasn't such a bad plan after all….


"Rubes, I'm starting to think this was a bad idea!" Ruby ignored the talking scythe as she dug it deeper into the Nevermore's flesh, desperately trying to make sure it wouldn't loosen enough to slip out from the beast's body. The red eye of the scythe seemed to swivel, turning downwards to face its meister with a concerned look. "I know you know that I find flying cool but this might be pushing it!"

The initiate did not deign her living scythe's concerns with a response, instead focusing on the situation at hand. Despite certain… setbacks, her initial plan to attract the Nevermore in order to use it as a way to strengthen Soul was going well. It was weakened and in pain, its ability to fight impaired due to the lacerations she and her 'official' partner inflicted on the Grimm's talons. Even the fact that she was currently riding the Nevermore was advantageous, since it caused the Grimm to be completely unable to attack her as long as Soul maintained his grip in its flesh.

The only problem, really, was the fact that the Schnee was currently trapped in the Nevermore's grasp.

If it was a simple matter of choosing whether or not to let her 'official' partner live or die, Ruby would not care either way. She had threatened to kill the girl, yes, but now that she choose to be her 'partner' for the initiation, as long as she abided by the agreement they made the cloak-wearing girl would make no moves to either preserve or extinguish her life. In the end, if that was all there was to it, it did not matter to her.

However, as little as she cared personally for the matter, Ruby knew the faculty would care, would care a lot. There was little doubt in her mind that if the Schnee were to die during this examination, she herself would fail. Even if by some chance she was still allowed in, she would be looked down upon and mistrusted for as long as she stayed. Eventually, she would tire of it and would fix the situation herself, which would have the same result as just letting the girl die now.

She did not care about being a Huntress. She thought it rather ridiculous, really. However, Soul thought it to be, and she quotes, "the coolest thing in the world!". Ever since they were children, Soul had wanted to be a Huntsman. It was her duty as his meister to help Soul accomplish his dreams, especially since it was the first and only one he talked about for them since that day in the park so long ago. If he wanted to be a Huntsman, then she would bear the chore of it for his sake and his sake alone.

It was the best thing she could possibly think of doing for her best friend.

Thus, the current predicament they were in: saving the heiress so they could get into Beacon and become the Huntsman team Soul wanted them to be.

"Are you still stuck tightly, Soul?" Ruby intoned as she scanned the Grimm's body, looking for any weaknesses or lapses in motion that could present an opening for her to make a move. Aside from its general fatigue and the wounds on its claws, there was none. The fatigue didn't make it weary enough to make a mistake and attacking the claws would only cause it to drop the Schnee, rendering the whole issue moot.

"Huh?" The eye on the scythe blinked dumbfoundedly before his brain caught up with his meister's question. "Umm…. I think so, yeah, but I can already feel my blade starting to slicken from the monster's blood. Wait, er, do Grimm have blood?" The scythe adopted the closest thing a sentient weapon relying on a single eye for expressing itself could for a thoughtful expression. "It isn't alive so it probably doesn't…. But it also eats and junk so it must have something passing as organs in there…. Maybe that thing we cut out of a Beowulf earlier was one?"

"Soul." The slight sternness in the voice of his meister brought the Demon Weapon out of his brief musings on just how organic Grimm were and back to the present.

"Ah, whatever, it's slickening on something, so hurry up with the planning there before I lose my grip, Rubes!"

"Understood." If the only weakness she could see at the moment that she could something with was the claws, then she had to think that would a) take advantage of its wounded feet while b) not letting the Schnee fall to her death as a result.

If she attacked it, the girl would fall. If she tried to pry it open, the girl would fall. If she even left it alone and attempted to do something different elsewhere on the Grimm, the girl would fall.

She could not think of anything.

"Soul."

The scythe didn't respond verbally, acknowledging his meister with a grunt instead. It was slowly becoming harder and harder to stay stuck in the Grimm's flesh and it was taking almost all his energy just keeping his meister and him on.

"Ideas?"

Almost snarling from the painful strain on his weapon form, the Demon Weapon could only groan out a few words. "No...clue… too… bad… gravity…." Further thought was interrupted by his blade sliding a few feet in the Grimm's body, lengthening and eliciting a thundering screech from the massive monster. Beneath its body where the two couldn't see, its grasp loosened almost imperceptibly, just enough to allow its captive to peek outside.

"Ruby… hurry…!" In a few seconds, he would lose all the strength and then both he and his meister would fall to their deaths. Aura or no Aura, nothing could survive a fall from this height. He didn't want that to be their end. Falling off a Grimm and splattering on the ground was not a very cool way to die.

The girl clothed in red did not respond, her mind busy coming up with an idea. Not a great idea, granted, but an idea nevertheless. It might even be enough to save the Schnee. If gravity was what was endangering the heiress, then all she had to do was make it no longer an immediate problem.

"Stay on, Soul." Without another word, she let go of the boy-in-scythe-form and, pressing herself against the Grimm's body so that she wouldn't be blown off by the wind, she started crawling towards the nearest wing.

"No… choice…!" Soul didn't even notice that his meister had left him, all his attention focused on staying in the Nevermore. Even his eye, his perpetually-open red eye that creeped out most people who see it, was squeezed shut in his exertion.

As such, he didn't see his meister arrive near the edge of one of the monster's flapping wings. He didn't see her draw out Blood Rose and raise the blade above her head. He didn't see her plunge it into the Grimm with all the strength she possessed. He didn't see her nearly go flying off as the Nevermore shrieked and suddenly plunged downwards, going lopsided as the wounded wing went down and the other went up.

He didn't see that his own blade was slipping out of the Grimm's flesh as they fell from the heavens.


Several minutes earlier

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

Ever so slowly, Weiss felt her nerves start settling. With every breath, she let a tiny part of her tension out, relaxing her body and letting her mind climb down from the mountain of panic it was on. It was still on its slopes, granted, but no longer was she absolutely terrified.

Thank goodness Winter taught her a breathing technique to calm down long ago, back when she still sang in front of crowds and got butterflies in her stomach beforehand. Her sister had returned home after her first semester at Atlas Academy and was going to watch one of her performances for the first time when Weiss had a panic attack, almost hyperventilating from stage fright while moments away from stepping out onto the stage. Winter just looked at her and, with a shake of her head, told her breathe. She then demonstrated what she meant when Weiss only continued to panic. Breathing deeply in and out, she kept going until Weiss did it too, her stomach calming as result. Once Weiss felt better, Winter patted her on the back and sent her out, telling her that if she started to panic again, just take a moment to breathe and everything will be better.

To this day, Weiss followed her older sister's advice. Before she stepped off the ship at Beacon, before she entered the academy proper, before she launched off into the forest, she breathed. It never failed to calm her nerves. Even now, as tense as being trapped in a Nevermore's grasp who knows how high in the sky, she was much calmer than one would expect her to be.

Clutching Myrtenaster tightly, she began to feel around her dark prison with the wind whistling outside its walls, trying to see if there was any weak spots in the Nevermore's grip for her to take advantage of. If she could pry open the Grimm's hold just a little bit, she might be able to squeeze out and attempt to climb to relative safety on its back. Or perhaps she could somehow angle the claws in such a way that she would fall diagonally instead of straight down, so that she could redirect her momentum with one of her glyphs and land somewhat safely in the trees.

Weiss nearly snorted when she realized that idea was identical to her original landing strategy. Guess Headmaster Ozpin really was preparing them for life as Huntsmen with those launch pads!

Feeling the bony walls of her cage, Weiss followed their curves downwards, where all the claws met at one point. There, she noticed that they overlapped badly, leaving a small gap that she could slip her hand inside.

The Schnee heiress smiled grimly. If her hand could fit, then so can her blade.

Unfortunately, the moment the tip of her rapier touched the Nevermore's claws, the dull whooshing sound she'd been hearing became a full-on roar as air suddenly rushed in from where the Grimm had slightly opened its claws, letting in both the howling wind and a small beam of light.

With a yelp, Weiss scrambled to hold onto the walls with one hand while still holding Myrtenaster with the other. If she fell now, she couldn't save herself. If she tried to change the direction of her momentum with one of her glyphs while going straight down, she'd only snap her own neck from whiplash or simply splatter against the surface of her own glyph if she couldn't even perform the redirection well enough. That wasn't even thinking about whether or not she'd be able to summon a glyph before the trees greeted her.

At this point, she'd rather chance the Nevermore.

(Un?)fortunately, her wish was granted when the Grimm shifted its claws and sealed the gap, sending Weiss into darkness once more. Sighing with relief, she relaxed her body and slumped against her cage's walls, glad to have avoided a painful death via gravity for the time being.

If that was what happened when she barely tried to interact with her prison, then there was nothing she could do in here without killing herself. Any attempt to blast her way out with Dust, cut her way through, or simply prying apart the Grimm's claws with her Aura and adrenaline in tandem would result in death, one way or another. She wasn't suicidal by any stretch of the means (her interactions with a certain scythe-wielding twit were not intentionally suicidal so they didn't count) so she had no choice but to wait and hope that somehow, someway, her partner would summon the inclination to save her.

She scoffed at the very thought. Just a little while ago, she was ready to teach that rude nitwit a lesson about respecting others with Myrtenaster and now she was relying on that same rude nitwit to save her from a Giant Nevermore that the cloaked girl had summoned herself!

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Just then, a overwhelming SQUAAAAAAAWWWKKKK filled her ears and rumbled in her bones, causing Weiss to cover her ears in an attempt to block the sound out, even as her hands vibrated in the same tune and merely added to the dim. Then, to her fear, she saw light begin to seep back into the cage as the walls began to adjust slightly, the familiar sound of the wind swelling up in a crescendo once more.

"NO!" She lunged (well, as close as one could lunge in such a cramped space) back against the nearest claw, eyes squeezed shut as she tried to grab on to it as well as she could from her sealed prison, praying to anything that could hear her that she wouldn'tfallwouldn'tfallnotfallnofallpleasenofallohforsakeofAtlaspleasedon'tfallIdon'twanttodieIdon'twanttodieIdon'twanttodielikethispleasedon'tletmeFALL!

When she didn't feel or hear the air swirling around her, she cracked open an eye and saw that all that happened was simply a crack had formed in her prison, letting in some light and a view of the world outside. Hesitantly crawling over to the opening, fearful of causing a shift that'd result in her demise, Weiss pressed her face up to it and took a peek of the outside world.

At first, all she could see were the massive wings flapping, creating little whirlwinds that pushed it up into the sky. Then her eyes refocused and saw the forest rushing past beneath them, green twigs that rushed past them like they were on the Vale Freeway. After watching the world go by for a few moments, Weiss sighed and pulled away from the gap.

Well, aside from the panic attack it gave her, the sudden opening in the walls of her cage offered her nothing new. It merely reinforced the idea that trying to escape on her own would end up badly for her, since now she could see properly how high up they were and how little chance she'd have surviving a fall from here. Unless Ruby did something, she'd either end up dead or back at the Nevermore's nest, a fate worse than death if the tales her sister told of some of her comrades' fates had any truth behind them.

Still, it was a little strange that the Grimm would suddenly shift its grip like that, since it had been rather steadyfast in its grasp of her for several minutes now. What had changed?

Almost as if she tempted the gods to answer, a RAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWKKKKKKK filled her eardrums once more and suddenly her prison tilted, going sideway and making her tumbling about in its confines. To her terror, the Nevermore finally released it claws from their locked state, sending her off into the elements without a single thing to hold on to.

I'mgoingtodieI'mgoingtodieI'msorryWinterI'mgoingtodie. She didn't even have time to shut her eyes before momentum took hold and she went soaring upwards into the sky.

Wait a second, she was soaring into the sky?

Nearing her apex far above the falling Nevermore, Weiss could see her red-clad partner currently holding onto the hilt of her sword for dear life on one of the Grimm's wings and realized what had happened. Hmm… clever. Ruby knew she would have died if the Nevermore had released her straight downwards so she had attacked it in such a way that, instead of letting her fall straight down, the avian monster ended up catapulting her into the sky, where she'd have a chance of changing her momentum without gravity immediately getting in the way. She had to hand it to the smaller girl, she was pretty intelligent for a sca- irritating partner.

Weiss had just flicked the barrel of Myrtenaster to the appropriate Dust compartment for redirection when she realized something. Narrowing her eyes, she watched the monster fall out of the sky for a precious second, her ascent slowing and coming close to stopping altogether, before she flicked Myrtenaster another notch and put it on the red vial. Summoning a glyph just before she would have stopped going up altogether and then started falling, the Dust-user let her art fuel both her blade and her body, giving both a red shine that, unless one at them exactly right, was nearly imperceptible to the eye. She lifted her blade, aiming the tip right at the back of the beast's skull.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

She launched off the glyph straight towards the descending Nevermore, careful to keep her aim steady and her mind concentrated. If she made even the tiniest mistake, she would end up a blood stain on the ground or a shattered corpse falling off a Nevermore.

An air cone formed around as she continued falling ever faster, going so fast she could have sworn her ears popped from the sudden change in altitude. The tip wavered, and it was only her countless hours practicing with the rapier that let her keep her aim on target. Myrtenaster began to shake violently, not meant for the strain of a precise air-to-air combat strike. Weiss gritted her teeth, willing the blade to hold on for just a little longer.

She came closer, and closer, and closer, and closer, and…

Shick.

The turning of the avian monstrosity as it fell nearly ended both her attack and her life but at the last moment, she shifted to the left just enough that the spinning wing missed her by a foot, allowing her to plunge into the Grimm's skull blade first. It was extremely dark for several moments, and she felt herself pierce and get covered by who knows before eventually she came tearing into the beast's throat and plunged back out through its beak, looking like the goriest form of vomit to ever exist as smashed bits of what might have been its brain and what could be its blood came out with her.

A savage grin formed on Weiss's face even as she summoned another glyph to redirect her into going nearly horizontal. HAHAHA, take that, you stupid hunk of feathers! You tried to hold me but you should know that NOTHING CAN EVER KEEP A SCHNEE DOWN! HAHAHA, I KILLED A GIANT NEVERMORE SINGLEHANDEDLY! EVEN PYRRHA NIKOS COULDN'T DO THAT! MWAHAHAHA, I AM THE GREATEST! NOTHING COULD BEAT ME! NOTHING COULD TOUCH ME! I AM INVINCIBLE-!

Her mental showboating was interrupted by a tree that had decided to be in her way. Her eyes widening as she realized she couldn't slow down in time, Weiss ended up smashing through the tree and her once smooth and controlled descent became a cartwheeling affair that sent her careening into branches and leaves and, occasionally when the tree was tall enough, tree trunks.

If it wasn't for her Aura, she'd been cut up to shreds within the first few pieces of flora alone. As it was, it weakened her severely and ripped up her clothes, reducing her jacket to rags and making her show off a little more skin than she was comfortable with.

After tumbling through the canopy for roughly a city block, she exited the trees when the forest suddenly opened up into a clearing, causing her to crash against the ground and upturn the earth for several yards until, finally, she slowed to a stop. She crawled out of the newly-created trench and spat out a wad of dirt, then looked down sorrowfully at the mess she made of herself. In the stories, when a hero slays a giant monster, they didn't usually end up crashing to earth and becoming a human mud pile.

"Damn it!" She swore, too worn out from all that happened to really care about being 'a proper lady' anymore. That was it, she was done with this initiation! If they didn't pass her for what she just did, she didn't care about going to Beacon anymore, disgrace or not!

"So…" The voice intruded on Weiss's thought process and she whipped around, Myrtenaster at the ready to fend off any Grimm about to attack her. Instead, she saw a smirking blond standing in front of the ruins they were supposed to be looking for, a black-haired girl with a bow standing closely behind. "...Rough day?"

Weiss felt her left eye begin to twitch.


"My word…" Glynda Goodwitch breathed out in surprise as she watched the Nevermore's corpse strike the ground in the distance, the great plumes of dust rising into the sky mixing with the black smoke that signaled the beginning of the Grimm's disintegration.

"Yes, it was rather impressive for only the two of them to slay it." Ozpin didn't share the same sense of surprise in his voice but, instead, it suggested a tone of acknowledgment, like he had known this was going to happen and was simply waiting to see it. "I did tell you it would be a rather special partnership, didn't I, Glynda?" Only years of dealing with the man allowed the combat teacher to hear the smugness in her boss's tone. It made her grit her teeth. Oh, how she hated when he got all smarmy like that!

"Don't try to tell me you knew they could do something like that. You only said it because you thought their relationship would entertain you." When Professor Ozpin looked away from her, whistling, Glynda sighed at the man's childishness. To the rest of the world, he was a famous Huntsman worthy of any citizen's respect for both protecting them and training the next generation to do so, but to her, he was an immature boy in a grown-man's body. At least, when he wasn't trying to be serious…

"Still," The blonde professor continued, tapping her riding crop against the side of her face thoughtfully, "It speaks wonders for their future potential, even if now the Schnee girl can't stand the sight of her partner and Rose would be just as likely to abandon her as to help her."

With a frown, she snapped the riding crop back against her leg so suddenly that, were Ozpin not already used to her mannerisms, he would have jumped in shock. "However, this must not go to their heads! Slaying one giant Grimm, a Huntress does not make. They need to understand that they need to still train and learn to work with one another. The Schnee will have issues with that in particular, since she was the one to kill the Grimm. She'll think she's ready for anything while her partner just lurks around somewhere, doing who knows what to who knows who! Then, on their first mission, their plans will collapse and end up destroying their entire team! I will not allow that! If I personally have to make those two learn to work together, then I shall! I will make them into a partnership unshakeable by the very moon or I will kill them in the process, I swear!"

Ozpin could only smile as he took a sip of his coffee. "I wish you luck, Glynda. Heavens know you'll need it with those two." As Glynda returned to her Scroll and started creating 'lessons' for those two while still monitoring the other initiates, Ozpin did the same, turning on the camera feed that was closest to the fallen Nevermore and watching to see what would happen next.

Only a day since school started and already his decision to let the scythe-wielder in has paid dividends. She may have not been the simple soul he was looking for but she did bring in a certain mindset the rest of the students needed to see. They needed to see what it was like to be broken like she was and how it feels to interact with someone like that. It'll prep them for the field and for later life, where the experience will hopefully be a guiding post for them to help heal their own brokenness or even, hopefully, avoid it altogether. He only wished he had one like that long ago…

He shook his head, forcing the encroaching memories back into the corners of his mind. That was the past and things were different now. There was no good in thinking about those times. No good at all.

Besides, the girl had something he hadn't: a partner. Not the partnership the school forced upon them, not comrades forged from battle, but a partner in all she does, a partner that lives her life with her and gives her something to anchor her to reality. At least, he hoped she did. That scythe was almost certainly a Demon Weapon but he still wasn't sure yet. Only when he was 100% sure could he start putting certain ideas in place…

His train of thought had to make an unscheduled stop when the events on the Scroll took a turn he hadn't been expecting. Eyes widening, he pulled it so close to his face that it nearly touched his nose (causing Professor Goodwitch to raise an eyebrow at the action) and watched very closely as, for the first time since he met her, he saw Ruby Rose begin to lose her cool.


Within the past few minutes

"... Well-done." The one who had earned such a rare compliment from the cold girl was nowhere near her but Ruby did not care. Those who earned praise from her, recieved it once, no matter if they were present or not. It was their own fault for missing out on the event.

She stood up on the wing of the dead Nevermore, hands tightly holding Blood Rose's hilt to keep her steady on the shifting limb. The caricature of a bird was already starting to dissipate, feathers losing their composition and changing into that black smoke characteristic of dying Grimm. It was vaguely similar to the energy she saw coming off the Beowulfs she killed with Soul earlier but, unlike that energy, it was actually smoke, much more gaseous and able to be shifted by the wind than that energy could ever be.

When she was fully upright, she bounced on the wing a few times, acclimating to the way it jumped and shifted in response she moved before pulling out her sword and flicking off the blackish-reddish liquid it accumulated in the Nevermore's wing, Resheathing the black and red blade, she carefully made her way across the Grimm's wing towards its back where she left Soul.

She wasn't particularly concerned about the Schnee for the time being. Rather, she wouldn't have been if she had ever cared for the heiress's well-being in the first place. She seemed to be a fairly competent fighter for being a spoiled princess. She'd make her way back eventually if she wasn't smart enough to head for the relic instead. If she somehow got lost, oh well, no great loss. She only took an 'official' partner to appease the faculty anyway. It wasn't her fault if she got lost so she couldn't be blamed for it. Both they and Soul would just have to deal with it.

Speaking of Soul…

"Soul." The human scythe didn't immediately respond, an act so surprising that Ruby almost bothered to think about widening her eyes. Stepping onto the Nevermore's back proper, she walked over to where she'd left the Demon Weapon, ignoring the slight squelching noises her boots made in the rotting flesh.

He had sounded rather strained when she carried out her plan, maybe he fell asleep while still in weapon form. Normally she'd be quite annoyed with such a thing, especially since they were in the middle of something important, but due to the circumstances she'd allow him that small moment of rest. Or perhaps his blade sunk too far into the Grimm's body, smothering his voice as he tried to communicate with her. Doubtful, really, because of how loud he could be, but who knows? Maybe she finally got through to him about speaking a little quieter.

"Let's go, Soul." Arriving at where she thought she left her true partner, Ruby reached down and grabbed his handle, ready to pull him out of the Nevermore's flesh. Or, rather, she meant to, but all she felt was air.

Ruby's heart stopped for a split second before resuming its beat. Lasering in on where she thought he was, she examined the body, trying to see if the laws of nature changed to the point where she was capable of making a mistake. No, there was the furrows in the skin where he had originally been stabbed in, there was the trench from where he slid, there was the jagged wound from where he had fallen off the Nevermore…

Wait….

No…

"Soul." There was no way he had fallen off the Nevermore. No possible way. He was not that inexperienced. He knew better than to let go at the wrong time.

"Soul." He was probably doing another prank. She was willing to bet he was hiding underneath the Grimm or something, ready to pop out and try (and fail) to scare her. She's definitely going to pound him on the head if that was the case.

"Soul." They hadn't been far apart from each since they were five years old at the park. They hadn't left each others side since the night that changed everything seven years ago. He wouldn't leave her alone. He promised he wouldn't….

"SOUL!"

He wouldn't leave her! He wouldn't leave like everyone else she loved did! He wouldn't! HE WOULDN'T!