Howdy boys and girls! Now, this time we have a prompt, but its more like a prompt I gave myself. If you haven't listened to Hollow Moon, Bad Wolf by AWOL Nation, I suggest you do. It's a good song, and the complete backbone of this one-shot. I have had this idea haunt my dreams for months now, but I could never formulate it in RWBY. But now I believe I can! It may be a stupid idea, it may not. But right now, I'm rollin with it! And come hell or high waters, I will get this idea in RWBY writing!
Bold Italics are song lyrics, because I thought adding them in here and there would be like a guide for the story.
I've been running from it all my life time.
Ruby Rose. Most people would describe her as a normal girl. She was normal for the most part. Aside from being a bit childish, she had nothing too different from the average 16 year old girl. Except maybe, one thing...
"Huff Alright, that's the last of my things! I may not have much, but it sure is heavy."
She kept moving from place to place, which eventually turned into towns. She was now in Vale, thinking it would be safer to go somewhere with a lot of people around, and a lot of empty apartments to move into. She'd been in Vale for about a year and a half now. And in that time, she has moved 3 times, gone through 4 jobs, and has a long time girlfriend named Weiss.
"Well, this place looks good. Maybe it will finally give up soon."
... But, the big reason she kept moving, was that horrible monster. It has followed her for as long as she can remember. But now it's trying harder than ever to get to her. She's seen what it can do. She saw it move with speed and agility not completely possible by normal means. She saw it use super human strength. She saw it turn people into whatever it was, with just one bite.
"Oh, wait! I was gonna give Yang and Blake a call when I got to my new place."
Ruby tried calling the two, but no answer. She just left a message, and hung up. When she looked at her phone, however, she realized the time.
"Oh crap! I had a date with Weiss today! There's still time, I can make it in five minutes, I think..."
Ruby had been dreading this date with Weiss. Normally she loved any time she could spend with her, but this wasn't going to be a normal meeting. Ruby was going to end it with her, for Weiss' protection. She didn't want to risk Weiss getting in the crossfire, and Ruby knew she'd be leaving Vale soon.
"Alright! I made it, with about 20 seconds to spare!"
Ruby made her way into the small cafe her and Weiss frequented. She saw her girlfriend, all clad in white as usual, sitting at their normal spot on the back wall.
"Hey, Weiss!"
"Ruby, I almost thought you weren't going to make it. But come, sit down, tell me about your new place."
Ruby took her seat, but she knew neither of them would be there long.
There's nothing wrong with you I'm searching for my right mind.
"Well, I would really love to, Weiss. But... There's something I have to say."
"What? What's wrong Ruby?"
"I... I'm s-sorry Weiss, but I don't want you getting hurt. And I don't want you to be stuck waiting for me to come back some day. I k-know I'll be leaving Vale soon, but... I'm sorry Weiss. There's nothing wrong with you, I just have a lot of things happening right now."
"Wait, are you, breaking up with me?"
"I wish I didn't have to, but I couldn't put you in danger!"
"Danger of what?! Ruby, you know I would stay with you for as long as it took to fix whatever you need to! I don't care if you leave, I can go with you! Any danger you have, I want to share, so you don't have to take it alone! I want to be there for you Ruby!"
"I-I'm r-really sorry W-Weiss. I couldn't let you get hurt because of m-me."
Ruby, tears now starting to stream down her face, left the small shop in a hurry. She knew that Weiss would be in tears just as much as her, but she needed to do this. She couldn't take a risk with Weiss' life.
Knowing she'd need some more dust for her trip, so she went to the closest dust store she could find. It was already getting late, so she wanted to get in and get out. After about five minutes of browsing the dust for sale, she noticed a group for four enter the shop. The store itself was a little crowded, with people getting their last minute shopping done before it closed.
Oh, you should have seen it they were resting on the restless.
What she didn't see on these four, were their gas masks. From their jackets they pulled small canisters that were primed and thrown. The four had weapons on them, so they made sure no one got out. Eventually, everyone in the store had passed out, but Ruby was barely clinging on to consciousness. But after seeing the four, and everyone else unconscious, she couldn't stop herself from blacking out.
"Ugh, where am I? My head hurts, so, much!"
Ruby was in a room. A pitch black room. There was one light on, that hung right above her, but the origin of the light couldn't be seen.
"Welcome to Purgatory, Ruby."
"Wait... I know that voice..."
Blake stepped out of the shadows next to the scared teen.
"Blake? What are you doing here?"
"I'm sure you have so many questions. But here's something you probably didn't expect..."
Blake pulled the bow off her head, revealing the cat ears she had. One even had a piece taken out.
"Yeah, I'm that thing. The one I know you're thinking of right now."
Ruby didn't want to believe it. One of her best friends, was the thing that tormented her the most.
"Y-you can't be t-that thing! B-but why?! And what do you mean Purgatory?!"
This happened literally - I woke up I was headless.
"Well, yes I am that thing. And I mean you're dead, Ruby. When those white fang activists gassed the place, they decided to leave a message and kill most of the people they knocked out. The only survivors were faunus themselves.
"W-wait, s-so I'm..."
"Yeah, you're dead. You're body is dead, really. Even more specifically its headless. That's probably why your head hurt so much when you got here."
"Oh, my god..."
Ima make a deal with the Bad Wolf so the Bad Wolf don't bite no more.
"Well, don't worry Ruby. I can bring you back."
"What?"
"Think of me almost as an ethereal being. I'm immortal and I can bring people back from death. But, you'll have to make a deal with me."
"What? What do you want? I'll do it!"
"Are you sure? I thought you humans tried to avoid Faustian deals."
"I don't care! Just tell me what I have to do."
"very well. Allow me to turn you, and you can come back to life. to be honest, its the only way you'd ever come back anyways."
"... Fine."
Motherfucker I'll be back from the dead soon.
"Well you're easier to deal with than most at least. But now, you're passed the point of no return. Just to let you know, since you are my friend, you can go wherever you want to when you resurrect. I do mean, anywhere. Also, to turn you, I'll kind of need to kill you again,"
"Wait, does this mean I'll have to start killing people, like you?"
"You will start to get the urge to populate by turning others, which is also killing them for food, so yeah."
Blake walked up to Ruby, and when she raised her hand to grab her shirt collar, the younger girl flinched a bit.
"Don't worry Ruby, this won't hurt for long."
Blake put her face right next to Ruby's neck. The redheaded girl could feel Blake's breath on her,which made her think even more, of how someone like Blake, her best friend, who would have never hurt anyone, was the beast that haunted her nightmares for years.
"By the way, where do you plan on going, Ruby?"
I'll be watching from the center of the Hollow Moon.
"The hollow center of Remnant's broken moon. I won't be able to hurt anyone there."
"Well, I guess I can understand that, but I warn you, it's going to be hell up there."
Ruby could feel Blake's tongue on her neck, preparing for the pain. Said pain came about a minute after she felt the faunus girl's lips make contact with her throat. When she saw Blake back away from her, with blood on her face, she knew she was dying.
"See you around, Ruby..."
Ruby woke up in what looked like a cave. There was a stinging pain in her neck that faded away after a minute or two. She figured it was from Blake. She got up to examine the cave she was in, to find that the cave was massive. She could spend weeks in the cave, and still never see all of it. But near the area she woke up in, there was a whole in the wall, with light shining through. A telescope laid next to it with a note attached.
Ruby, I figured you'd want to see the world, even from here. So I got you this telescope. You're going to be alone here, so I'd get used to it.
Oh, oh my god I think I might have made a mistake.
Ruby started to quickly realize how horrifying it was to be alone in this cave. Even if she could see the people from the place she used to inhabit, it would never make up for the loneliness. She felt like it was a mistake coming here. She missed Weiss, she missed Yang, she missed everything she used to have. But she'll never see any of it again.
Waiting patiently was waiting taking up space.
"Well, there's nothing I can do now. I just have to wait, and hopefully someday I can get out of here."
Ruby kept this mindset for a few days, which turned into weeks, then months. Two months to be exact. She slightly cursed her immortal body for not dying and giving her peace. After a certain point, Ruby even started to go slightly mad.
The Earth below is above my feet when the clock is laughing at me.
Ruby could feel the days go by like nothing. She looked at the clock to check the time, but she couldn't tell what it said, on account of it laughing in her face at her mistakes. It was one of the things Blake left her after about a month. She hated that clock, always laughing at her mistakes when she looked at it. But when her back was turned and her gaze averted, it was just a normal clock. She hated the madness, but it was the only thing she had.
When copy cats and the lazy brats are the last thing I want to see.
Ruby had started hallucinating clones of herself. They kept her company and all, but they got annoying. The worst part was that Ruby was actually trying to grip back onto sanity before she lost herself.
"Hey, would everyone just shut up for an hour or two!? I can't even hear my thought's over here!"
Ruby went back to her thoughts, appreciating the peace and quiet she had now. She did have a lot to think about in this past 3/4 of a year she'd been in the hollow moon. She was surprised to see, that Weiss still hadn't completely gotten over Ruby, and hasn't found anyone else yet. Hoping, and waiting that Ruby would come back to her. Her thoughts of Weiss was the only thing that's bringing Ruby back to sanity. Every time she thought of her white-haired love, she regained a piece of her mental stability.
No, my enemy is a friend of mine in a friendly place to be seen.
A lot of times, however, her thoughts always came back to Blake. She'd seen the faunus-in-hiding through the telescope a few times. She tried staying away from people, now that most know of what she really is. But that obviously didn't stop Yang from staying by her.
"Oh good for Blake. The bitch gets to ruin my life, and she gets the woman she loves! She gets to stay home! She doesn't have to live in the goddamn moon! I can't believe this! My friend of so many years, turns out to be the thing terrorizing my life, and then I get stuck here because of it all!"
The fact of Blake lying to her all this time was the worst part of it. She always promised Ruby she'd help her, and that she'd make sure nothing happened as long as she was close by. But in the end she was the one chasing her. But Ruby couldn't help but feel the anger fade over time. A year alone had drained her of any hatred she had for the girl. She knew she was just following her instincts, she couldn't stop it. And Blake was even considerate enough to help her through the whole revival process.
Hey, you know I'd run away for a couple years just to prove I've never been free.
Ruby knew that no matter how much she ran, no matter how much she hid. She'd never be free of Blake. It was inevitable. But it wasn't all bad. She got to watch her friends from a distance. She knew they were grieving over her, but they were alright. She'd be at peace just knowing everything was going to be alright, at least for them. Hopefully one day she could rejoin them, but so long as they lived on, she was happy. Ruby hadn't even thought of escaping her lunar prison in a while, but every time her thoughts shifted to the love she had a year ago, with Weiss. She loses that inner peace she built up for a year. If for only a moment, she feels like she needs to be back to her. She knew she can't just lie down and take this. She had to get back to her friends, her family, her Weiss.
They will never find me here.
"I-I know I'll think of something. I know I will! They'll never find me here on their own. So I have to make a way back, If it takes all my energy, all my strength, all my will and drive, I Will return to Vale!"
"Good, that's just the thing I wanted to hear."
For the first time in a whole year, she heard a voice that wasn't her own. She tried passing it off as another hallucination, but Blake was there.
"B-Blake? What the hell are you doing here?"
Ima make a deal with the Bad Wolf so the Bad Wolf don't bite no more.
"Look, Ruby... Thing's haven't been well for me. People are starting to hate me, and I think Yang and Weiss found out about what I did to you. I had to come clean to them, and now they loathe me. They even gave me a nickname, the Bad Wolf, since I'm like a werewolf or something. Ruby, just, make another deal with me."
"Yeah, because we see how well the last one went."
"Please, just, hear me out. I will kill you again, so you can go to purgatory. I go there, kill you a third time, and you go back to Remnant to be with us."
"What do you get out of this, huh?"
"Nothing. It's just... This year has been absolute hell, for me, Yang, and Weiss. Ruby, we need you back. Please."
Ruby turned to face Blake. Flashing one of her childish grins she used to give. The first in an entire year, but also the first of many to come.
"Well... When you say it like that I guess I can't refuse..."
Huff, huff, huff. I spent a good four hours straight writing this. It's the longest thing I've written, at close to 3,000 words. It was difficult, but I've done it. If you managed to get through all that, you are amazing, my friend. I feel like I'm dying from all this writing. Please, for the love of god, please follow/fav and drop a review, and I will see you all in the next installment. Byee! I'm gonna go make a sandwich, I'm hungry as hell after four hours.