A/N: We're almost there! Just a few more chapters until the end.

A big thank you to the people who have reviewed this, seeing people enjoy this story that started in my head is a great feeling.

VVVVVVVVVV

Ruby felt the ringing in her ears and the pressure in her head finally begin to diminish as she struggled against the rubble piled onto her back. It looked like Richter's gamble paid off. They were still alive, but finding a way to stop Alice, that was going to be a problem.

She managed to prop the bottom of Crescent Rose on the ground beneath her. Pulling the trigger, Ruby shot the rest of the debris that was piled on top of her. It crumbled away and she was able to breathe in some sweet fresh air. Looking to her right, she spotted Richter throwing a boulder off of him with his left hand, the other was using Dyrnwyn to keep himself from falling over. Her childhood friend's clothes and skin were currently smoking which made sense as he had taken the worst of Alice's attack.

Looking to her left, Ruby saw Ren had dug himself out, despite the right side of his body being a bloody mess. Nora was still lying supine and unconscious. Although Ren was hovered over her, Ruby could see that the stoic hunter was keeping one eye on Alice's position.

"Just as I planned it." Richter said through a pained voice.

"I think I have a concussion…." Ruby mentioned.

"Well a concussion is better than being dead." Richter reasoned.

Ruby turned her attention to the stoic huntsman. "Ren? Are you okay?"

"I'll live." Ren stated simply. "So will Nora, but it would be wise not to get hit by something like that again."

Ruby nodded, "Agreed."

Movement in front of the petite huntress caught her eye and Ruby looked forward to see the something was rising from the blood pool Alice had formed.

"She's up to something." Richter said.

A deep frown was etched in Alice's features. "Still alive? This will not do. It's insulting to have trash like you still breathing. I must be rustier than I thought."

Ruby watched in horrified fascination as the things rising from the blood pool began to take shape. Arms, legs, skulls, all bone, it looked like skeletons drenched in blood. They were armed with swords, axes, spears and other various weapons and they were all pointed in their directions.

Alice's frown reversed into a smirk. "Oh well, this should fix things."

Richter blinked, "Did she...just make those skeletons out of blood?"

Ruby fought to keep the look of disgust off of her face and failed. "This Alice is getting grosser by the second." The petite huntress couldn't help but notice that the skeletons were leaving the blood pool to pursue them. She shifted Crescent Rose into gun-form, it could be useful information for the future, but right now they needed more immediate action. "That's fine though, nothing a few bullets won't solve!"

Ruby heard Richter shift Dyrnwyn into revolver-form and out of the corner of her eye she saw Ren raise the pistol in his good hand to take aim. The trio of hunters opened fire on the skeletons. Numerous bullets struck the group of skeletons, but surprisingly, the skeletons took a lot of shots before going down.

"That took a little longer than I thought it would." Ruby said.

Richter didn't respond right away, instead examining the dissolving bodies of the skeletons. "That's because they were using aura."

Ruby's head instantly snapped to his direction. "You're certain?" Her childhood friend's face set in determination.

"Positive." He replied.

"How in the world can skeletons use aura?" Ruby asked, confused. Aura was the manifestation of one's soul and last time she checked, skeletons were dead and thus, didn't have a soul.

Alice's laughter pierced through the petite huntress' thoughts. "Noticed my skeletons are pretty tough huh?" As she spoke, another group of skeletons began to emerge from her blood pool. "Reinforced from the aura of those I have slain."

Ruby's eyes widened as she absorbed Alice's words. Did Alice have the power to forcibly take someone's aura and use it for her own purposes? That was an alarming thought. There was no more time to dwell on the subject however as the new group of skeletons, all armed with bows, began to nock arrows.

Alice's smile showed teeth. "I'll add your auras as well, once I have ended your worthless lives."

The skeletons released their arrows, arcing them upwards. Ruby's first instinct was to grab Ren and Nora and leap away again, but as she turned towards them to carry out her plan, she hesitated. Neither one looked like they were in any condition to be moved, she might end up even hurting them even more. In that moment's hesitation, the petite huntress realized she had made a mistake. The volley of arrows had reached the peak of their height and were now descending down upon them. Ruby let out a curse, her window of opportunity had faded.

A flash of grey coalesced into Richter's form in front of her. Ruby watched as her childhood friend made a waving motion with his right hand and a wave of grey flame engulfed the volley of arrows, disintegrating them before they could reach their targets.

Ruby then noticed that the skeleton archers were wide open. None of them had arrows nocked for another volley. She smiled to herself, this was her chance!

Using her semblance, Ruby darted forward. A scarlet blur through the forest as she zipped by the group of skeletons, Crescent Rose flashing out in scythe-form. While half the skeletons had a makeshift aura to take her hits, they were still knocked a good distance away from her, putting them out of the fight, at least temporarily.

The other half were chopped to bony bits and Ruby saved the last one, using its back as a springboard to reach Alice, who was still floating in the sky. Ruby executed a diagonal slash, intending to open the pale girl up from left collarbone to right hip.

However, Alice simply extended her right hand and blocked the slash with a wall of blood.

Not done yet, Ruby spun counter-clockwise, completing a rotation and slashing at Alice's waist. This time, the pale girl pulled back her right hand and extended her left, blocking Ruby's second slash with yet another wall of blood. Gritting her teeth, Ruby performed an overhead slash, aiming for Alice's forehead. Once again her slash was met with a wall of blood, Alice had extended both of her hands this time.

The pale girl smirked at the petite huntress, their faces only a meter apart. "You'll have to do better than that silver eyes." Alice practically whispered, burying her foot into Ruby's stomach.

The silver-eyed huntress felt the air leave her lungs as she crashed back down to the ground spine-first. Even as she struggled to breathe again, she saw the bloody skeletons begin to surround her. Ruby's grip on Crescent Rose tightened, but she couldn't get her body to respond right, if she didn't get to her feet in the next few seconds...

The sound of a sword whistling through the air caught her attention and she looked up to see Richter cutting a path to her with Dyrnwyn. Although the skeletons had an aura to protect them, they didn't have the fighting skill to keep up with Richter, although they could possibly overwhelm them with numbers. Ruby watched as a skeleton wielding a sword and shield tried to bar Richter from reaching her. With a quick slash, Richter swatted away the skeleton's shield and then impaled him through the ribcage. He flicked the skeleton off of his blade behind him, not even looking back. Ruby smirked, her childhood friend would never admit it, but he liked to show off now and then. It was cute how he tried to hide it.

"So, maybe next time you let me know when you recklessly charge into an army of undead." Richter said dryly as approached her.

Ruby rose to her feet, finally starting to get some air back into her lungs. "I thought I had an opening, but I couldn't get through her defenses."

Richter winced in response. "Tell me about it." He looked up at Alice, a grim expression on his face. "As we are now, we can't beat her in a straight-up fight."

Ruby frowned as she kept an eye on the skeletons surrounding them, so far they were keeping their distance, but that could change at any second. "And I don't think she'll fall for the same trick twice." She added.

"We're in a bad way here." Richter admitted, "We should retreat."

She eyed the way Richter had come from, now crowded with skeletons. "Well, our way back to Ren and Nora is kind of crowded."

Richter smirked then, "Give it a moment."

Sure enough, several glyphs began lighting up under the bloody skeletons. A moment later, they detonated, sending the undead into the air.

Richter looked at her then, still smirking. "Shall we?"

Ruby mirrored his smirk. "Last one back buys dinner!" As soon as the words left her mouth, she activated her semblance and took to the skies, slicing up any mid-air skeletons that were in her way with Crescent Rose.

"Wait? What!?" She heard Richter shout out in confusion as his composure slipped, he leapt after her, repeating her action of slicing up the mid-air skeletons in his way with his weapon. The two raced through the compromised line of undead, leaving a trail of sliced up bones in their wake. It was a close race, but Ruby edged her childhood friend out thanks to her surprise and her semblance.

The pair landed near Ren and Nora in crouching positions. There was a moment of silence before Ruby looked at Richter, her eyes half-lidded and a cocky smirk on her lips.

"So…." She started.

Richter raised an eyebrow at her. "So….?"

"Where are you taking me to dinner?" Ruby asked slyly, she didn't think it was possible, but she thought she saw Richter's cheeks turn an even darker shade of red.

"Are we really discussing this now?" He asked, exasperated.

Ruby's smile widened, "Yes."

She watched Richter roll his eyes. "Some place that has strawberry shortcake..." He answered her.

"You know me so well." Ruby remarked.

"Unfortunately." Richter replied with a smile.

"Hey!" Ruby pouted, jutting out her lower lip. Despite outward appearances, inwardly she was glad to have this back-and-forth with Richter again. It was one of the things she sorely missed about him.

"As entertaining as this is..." Alice's voice interrupted them. Richter and Ruby returned their attention to the floating pale girl. "Even the best entertainment grows old if exposed to it too much." She raised her right hand. "It's time for you all to disappear."

The bloody skeletons began shaking, leaning backwards as if being pulled by an invisible force. One by one they were pulled to the center of the giant blood pool, slowly at first, but then the speed ratcheted up. Some skeletons were pulled so violently it ripped off their upper torsos, leaving behind the legs, which kept trying to walk forward. The bloody skeletons converged, melted and then reformed into three separate large deformed heads. Each one holding an aura ball within their open mouths.

"This is bad...!" Ruby heard Richter say, a deep scowl on his face.

He was not wrong. Richter had barely been able to hold off one blast from a single deformed head. Three was way too much. They could try to dodge, but that wasn't a guarantee for safety and Ren and Nora didn't have that option.

Ruby frowned, there was something she could do, but Uncle Qrow had been pretty clear on his instructions. The silver eyes power that she possessed could get them out of this mess, but it took its toll on her body. A massive toll, if her uncle was to be believed. The first time she had used it subconsciously and had defeated Darion Shiver with it, a man who had picked her team apart. Now she could do it at will, but in her current state, she would only be able to use it for a short duration. Just enough to protect Richter and her friends from the blast Alice was building up.

She was about to bring out the power within her when Alice suddenly doubled over, clutching her chest tightly. The three deformed heads in the blood pool abruptly lost their shape, melting back into the pool. Alice's eyes were wide with shock.

"It can't be…!" The pale girl spoke. "Someone…has destroyed my heart!?" She began coughing profusely, blood spilling from her lips.

"Something's wrong with her." Ruby stated

"Good." Richter responded, shifting Dyrnwyn into revolver-form and firing at Alice. Despite her weakened condition, the pale girl reached up and blocked the shots with her right hand. "Shit." He cursed, lowering his weapon.

"...Damn you, offspring of Man." Alice hissed between bloody teeth. "You may send me back to oblivion…"

She spread her arms wide then and Ruby was forced to brace herself as the wind around Richter and her picked up. To the petite huntress it almost felt like she was in a tornado. Ruby crossed her arms in front of her in order to protect her face from the buffeting winds. She cast a glance up at Alice and her jaw dropped at the sight that greeted her.

For her sight of the mountain range in the distance behind Alice was blocked, by a massive tidal wave of blackish-red blood, and it was pointed in their direction.

Alice's face was set in grim determination. "…But I will scar this land beyond repair before I go!" She declared.

"Oh man…." Richter said.

"No…." Ruby heard Ren speak with dreadful awe behind her.

The petite huntress looked on helplessly at the tidal wave of blood rising before her.

VVVVVVVVVV

Turthus Village

A mother was currently cooking a pot of beef stew for her family. The father was in the living room, watching television. He was an averagely built man with black hair that was greying on the sides. His square-rimmed glasses reflected the light from the television so the mother couldn't see his eyes.

Meanwhile the son was out playing in the front yard. The toddler was riding around the yard with a Dust-powered tricycle, trying to make engine noises as he crisscrossed the yard. The mother paused in attending to the stew to smile at her son, he seemed to be enjoying himself quite well.

However, the boy's pleasant expression soon turned to surprise as he looked out west. He pointed a tiny finger in the direction he was looking, his mouth open in awe.

"Momma! Poppa!" He called, "Come outside!"

The two parents were out the front door in a heartbeat, responding to their son's call. They thought he was in some sort of danger, but as they neared him, they saw nothing in sight that intended him hard. Confused the parents finally looked to where their son was pointing.

And the color drained from their faces.

To the west of Turthus, instead of the usual mountain skyline they were used to seeing, was a massive wave of what looked like blackish-red blood. It was currently aimed at Turthus.

"A bunch of red water!" The son exclaimed excitedly. "Can we swim in it?"

"Heavens above have mercy..." The mother whispered, clutching her son tightly to her. The father looked on at the tidal wave, his lips pressed tightly together as he wore a solemn expression.

They were about to be wiped out.

VVVVVVVVVV

Cinder Fall watched Alice form the massive tidal wave from the cliff she was occupying and grinned. First Turthus, then Vale, then the rest of the Kingdoms. One by one they were going to be torn down. The day she could look at Ozpin's arrogant face and cut him down seemed to be fast approaching.

"Beautiful…." She said as she continued to watch the soon to be over battle playing out below her.

VVVVVVVVVV

"If you have any plans Ruby, now would be the time to use them." Richter said to her, his voice grim.

"Just one." Ruby replied, she didn't even know if she would be strong enough to repel something like this, but there was no choice, it was either try or die.

Despite coughing up more blood, Alice had a maniacal grin on her face. "My only regret…is that I could not drench all of Remnant in blood! Now DIE!" She screamed, extending her right hand and the tidal wave of blood surged forward.

Her face set in determination, Ruby closed her eyes, searching deep within herself for the wellspring of power and drawing it out. It felt like a dam had burst inside her as she felt unfathomable power course through her entire body. So strong was it that it levitated her off the ground by half a dozen meters. When she reopened her eyes, she felt like a different person.

One who could take on anything.

Ruby heard Richter gasp on her right, but she couldn't pay more attention. The giant tidal wave of death took priority. Not quite sure what to do and acting out of instinct. Ruby extended her hands and channeled her power through them. The tidal wave reached them.

And abruptly parted before her.

"Ruby….holy shit…" She heard Richter breathe out. The tidal wave of blood had been deflected to each side of them. The wave was higher than the trees. For the moment she had saved them, but she felt Alice push more power into the tidal wave.

Inwardly surprised at how calm she was, Ruby drew on her silver eyes power and began to push back.

VVVVVVVVV

Turthus Village.

"I'm scared!" The son screamed, the parents huddled over their child, intending to do whatever they could to shield him from their incoming doom. They knew it was futile, but they had to try.

"I know son!" The mother replied, "Just close your eyes it'll all be over soon…"

The parents watched helplessly as the massive tidal wave of what appeared to be blood surged forward towards their village. As they said their final prayers in their minds the most unexpected thing happened. The wave suddenly parted, and although it passed perilously close to the village, it did not touch a single building. The trees however, were washed away like they were toothpicks. The parents had no words for what they were seeing, it was as if they were witnessing a divine intervention of some sort.

"Wow." The son said, having opened his eyes to see that their village was spared, at least for the moment.

VVVVVVVVV

Cinder frowned as she saw Alice's tidal wave get parted. What in the hell had the power to avert a disaster like that? She got her answer was she saw something glowing the color of pearls right where the wave was being parted. The dark-haired fugitive spotted what looked like wings constructed from glowing aura sprouting from Ruby Rose's eyes. The petite huntress currently had her hands extended and Cinder realized she was the one holding the tidal wave at bay. One little girl was going to ruin everything.

Her frown deepened. This would not do, this would not do at all.

VVVVVVVVVV

Richter couldn't believe what he was seeing. A whole tidal wave, split in two, by just Ruby herself. Looking at her now, with the wings of aura sprouting from her glowing eyes, Ruby looked more like some sort of vengeful angel than a huntress, beautiful and terrible at the same time.

Finally, Alice's attack expired and the last of the tidal wave of blood flowed past the group. At first glance it looked like they were trapped on a wintry island, surrounded by a lake of blackish-red blood. It painted a real morose picture in Richter's head.

"Damn you!" Alice screamed, shaking Richter out of his thoughts he looked up into the sky to see the pale girl still levitating there, her left hand clutched tightly to her chest. "Blasted silver-eyed bitch!"

Ruby lowered her hands, which had been raised to repel the tidal wave and looked up at Alice. Richter noticed that she seemed to almost be in a daze. She shifted Crescent Rose into gun-form and out of the corner of his eye, Richter saw Alice brace for an attack…

Alice suddenly reeled forward as Ruby shot her in the back of the head with her weapon.

Richter blinked and looked at the spot where his childhood friend just was. Gone, she was there one second and the next she was behind Alice in the air.

Alice growled and spun around, swinging her right claw in a wide arc, but Ruby was already gone. She grunted as Ruby shot her in the left hip. Again, Alice took a swing at Ruby and again the petite huntress moved at impossible speed, this time shooting the pale girl at the base of her spine. Ruby then followed it up with two shots to Alice's belly, then three to the right leg, then four to the left shoulder.

Steadily Ruby increased her speed until she seemed to be everywhere around Alice at once. Richter did his best to keep up, but even he was struggling to keep track of where Ruby was with all the afterimages and red blurs. The sound of Crescent Rose firing didn't stop for a dozen full seconds until finally, Ruby landed in a crouching position right in front of him.

Alice's bullet-ridden body began falling head-first down to the ground. The pale girl's blood leaked from countless wounds all over her skin. Ruby twisted back around to face her falling enemy, shifting Crescent Rose back into scythe-form and digging the blade into the ground. She loaded the sniper rifle and channeled her pure-white aura into the weapon, her glowing eyes blazing with power.

"Disappear…" Richter heard Ruby say, her voice barely a whisper, and then she fired her weapon. It was unlike anything Richter had seen Crescent Rose fire before. A powerful beam that put a hole through Alice's torso big enough for him to stick a hand through easily. The beam knocked the pale girl far away from them. Richter watched in disbelief as the body disappeared back into the treeline, a tiny dot in the distance.

Alice's attempt to wipe them out had been thwarted. Richter shook his head, they should be dead right now, but one girl, one he had known since he was a little kid, had stopped her. The grey-cloaked demon looked at his childhood friend, her scarlet cloak billowing in the wind. Ruby's eyes were a shining white void as she continued to stare off in the direction that Alice's body had fallen. Richter's eyebrows furrowed as he delved into his thoughts. Just what was Ruby exactly?

"Ruby..." Richter started, but found he was unsure of what to say. She looked at him then, with those glowing eyes of hers and the grey-cloaked demon found himself wincing from her withering gaze. Simply looking into her eyes sent jolts of pain through his body and he clenched his teeth to keep from crying out. The grimm part of him was boiling within him.

The pain subsided mercifully and Richter admitted himself to let out a small sigh of relief. However, the relief was short-lived, as Ruby had closed her eyes.

She had also gone limp and was going to fall face-first into the ground, had Richter not rushed forward and caught her in his arms. He set her down gently on her back, cradling the back of her head with his right hand.

"Is she okay?" A voice said from behind him. Richter had almost forgot about the boy dressed in the green shirt and white pants. What was his name? Ren, that was it.

"She's passed out." Richter reported to Ren. "Using a power like that must have taken a lot out of her."

"She saved us all though." Ren said.

"That she did." Richter replied, looking on at Ruby with concern. This glowing eyes power of hers, it was amazing, but it was also dangerous. It could not be healthy passing out like this after each use.

"You're lucky to have someone like her." Ren suddenly said. "You know that right?"

"Yes, I do." Richter spoke softly, not looking towards the stoic hunter.

"Every waking day she searched for you." Ren informed him. "Even when everyone else considered you dead. She never stopped believing you were out there somewhere."

Guilt stabbed at Richter's heart, this whole time he had been concerned with losing control of his bloodlust and hurting Ruby, or worse. He had never thought about how she would be affected in his absence. He felt like the biggest jerk at the moment.

"I'm not sure I deserve someone like her." Richter admitted.

Ren fixed him with a stoic gaze. "To be frank Richter, I'm not sure either." The stoic hunter confessed. "But I trust Ruby's judgement and if she considers you as someone special to her." His gaze softened slightly. "Then I will abide by that choice."

Richter looked towards Ren at that point, nodding to the stoic hunter in thanks. It wasn't much, but it was still one step closer to acceptance. Perhaps with Ruby's help, he could make this work after all.

Movement suddenly caught the grey-cloaked demon's eye, something was coming, and coming fast. He reached out with his left hand and grabbed an arrow out of the air, intercepting it before it could lodge itself in Ruby's head. Richter took a moment to examine the arrow and realized it was made by a familiar obsidian.

There was no more time to dwell on it as more arrows came flying towards himself and the unconscious Ruby. Before he could make a move however, the arrows were shot out of the air. Richter looked ahead and to his left, where Ren was currently sitting with the heavily injured Nora. The stoic hunter was holding a smoking pistol in his left hand. Richter had to admit, he was impressed, Ren could shoot, that was for sure.

He was about to thank the stoic hunter when an arrow suddenly lodged itself into Ren's left shoulder, causing him to grunt in pain and drop his weapon. He collapsed onto his left side.

A figure landed in front of Richter, about a dozen meters away. A familiar figure wielding a bow, in a red dress, with dark hair, and amber eyes. Richter involuntarily growled, oh how he hated those damned amber eyes.

"Damn you Cinder." Richter snarled. "I would have figured you'd be long gone by now."

Cinder smirked in response, nocking an arrow. "I have some unfinished business here first."

Richter noticed her aim was off, she wasn't aiming at him. The grey-cloaked demon's eyebrows rose to the top of his forehead in realization.

"You're after Ruby." He stated.

"I can't let someone like her continue to live." Cinder confirmed. "She will be a detriment to our plans."

"Detriment? You mean she has the power to stop them outright." Richter replied, he set Ruby down, making sure to keep his body between her and Cinder. Standing back up again, the grey-cloaked demon drew Dyrnwyn, gripping the blade tightly in his right hand as he stood to his full height.

"It doesn't have to be this way you know." Cinder said. "Walk away now and you'll be spared from our wrath."

Richter responded with a harsh laugh. "You must think I'm a complete idiot if you think I'll let you lay a finger on Ruby."

"No, but you are pragmatic, at least you were the last time I checked." The dark-haired fugitive's amber eyes narrowed. "You felt it didn't you? That searing agonizing pain when she used her new power." Her smirk grew slightly wider. "If you continue to associate yourself with Ruby Rose, her power will kill you."

"Even if that's true, I'd rather die by her side than live knowing she was killed by a failure like you."

Cinder's smirk vanished completely. "Excuse me?"

It was Richter's turn to smirk. "Surely with all your intellect you've realized it by now." He said mockingly. "You failed to make me your weapon, you failed to infiltrate Beacon successfully and now you've failed to use Alice in whatever plans you were scheming." His eyes narrowed and his smirk lengthened. "It must be hard for you to accept being such a failure."

Fire manifested in the dark-haired fugitive's eyes as she glared daggers at him. Richter glared right back, unintimidated by her display. Finally, there were no more interruptions, no more threats to innocents. This time there was nothing else to get in his way.

This time, he would kill Cinder Fall.

VVVVVVVVV

A/N: The stakes are high for this upcoming battle. Can Richter prevent Cinder from killing Ruby? Or will She succeed and eliminate the biggest chance the four kingdoms has to stopping their master plan? Find out next chapter!