Humanity began… insignificantly.

It was beneath the Gods. It was beneath the Fairies. It was beneath the Phantasmal Beasts.

Above all else, it was beneath the World.

But ever-so-slowly, it grew. It blossomed into shining civilizations—and when the onslaught came from those who stood above, Heroes emerged to defend their brethren.

Yes—once, Heroes were real. They were the pillars of humanity in its prime. They orchestrated the world's descent from an Age of Gods into an Age of Man, forced the World to obey the Will of Humanity, and ensured prosperity for their many progeny.

But everything eventually dies—and Mankind is no longer supreme.

This world was meant for Monsters.

And someday soon, they will set this world aflame.

-Salem

Not every Hero is a knight.

Sometimes, Heroism comes in the simplest of things. Lending an ear to hear someone's troubles, feeding the downtrodden when nobody else cares… these things make a difference.

Our world is cruel, full of Grimm tidings and inevitable dooms. But every time a simple soul takes the steps to make a difference, we delay the end once more.

She did that every day. It was all she ever did in this life.

I will miss her immensely.

-King Ozymandias, eulogizing his royal chancellor

Ruby Rose walked into "From Dust Till Dawn" with an empty magazine, a very busy mind, and a very cheerful grin for a late-night visit to a dust shop.

Her silver eyes glinting with excitement, she tapped the glass of the store's counter. "Excuse me. Where can I find the latest issue of Weapons Monthly?"

Grumbling to himself, the old shopkeeper pointed over his shoulder to her right. Leaning to the side, Ruby saw a small magazine stand—full of beautiful, perfect weapons catalogues. "Great, thank you!"

Halfway to the stand, though, Ruby froze.

She'd almost forgotten what she came here for in the first place!

Turning to face the clerk again, her smile shrunk for a moment, a bit of shame in her voice. "Oh, by the way, would you mind grabbing some Gravity dust rounds for me too?" She patted her lovely sniper rifle/scythe. "Crescent Rose needs a treat tonight."

The old man raised an eyebrow, but nodded—grumbling again while he did so.

Ruby grinned, running over to the magazine stand (although it was an effort to avoid using her Semblance to get there faster). This month's issue of Weapons Monthly was supposed to include a breakdown of the solution for creating Multi Action Dust Weapons—and although Uncle Qrow had already told her that the magazine's solution was impractically expensive even for a full Huntsman, Ruby still couldn't wait to see.

After all, not every Huntsman (or Huntress) could unlock their Reality Marble as quickly as Qrow had. Ruby (and her eventual team), would probably have to compensate with weapons for a good deal of their career—and that was if they ever unlocked it. A lot of Huntsmen never did.

Welp, time to stop depressing herself, and get back to geeking out about weapons.

Popping on her headphones, Ruby grabbed this month's issue, pulled her cloak's hood down, and began to read.

\TAoG/

Ruby was still reading when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Turning around, she saw perhaps the most stereotypical goon that had ever existed. Just… the boxy black suit and red-tinted shades alone reinforced the image. Once you combined them with that pretentious fedora, crude-steel blade, and cocky stance?

Bad guy central.

Still, Dad didn't raise her without manners. "Yes?" she answered the guy she'd already decided to label Goon #1.

Goon #1 waved his low-quality sword at her. "I said, put your hands in the air, now!"

Well, that made her next move a no-brainer. But… Ruby's eyes darted past the guy 'threatening' her. Was that more people threatening the store's clerk?

Okay. What did Uncle Qrow say to do in situations like this?

First, make sure you're not attacking unprovoked.

Easy-peasy. "Are you… robbing me?" Ruby asked, a subtle glint of impending violence in her eyes.

The goon bellowed back at her, jabbing his jagged weapon forward. "Yes!"

Second… kick the bad guy's ass.

Wow. That was simple.

Sidenote: Qrow really needed to start holding back his language. She was pretty sure he'd given her that lesson when she was only nine!

But regardless of how he delivered it, her Uncle did have good advice. She didn't have room for Crescent Rose in here (unless she wanted to set off a serious Dust explosion), so she'd have to go hand-to-hand.

Backing away from the blade in front of her only slightly, Ruby focused her Aura into her legs—jumping up and grabbing onto the bookshelf to her left. Using the shelf as a fulcrum, she spun herself around towards the goon, extending her right foot and releasing from the shelf.

In a single clean motion, her foot connected with his chin—snapping his head back as Ruby's Aura-enhanced motion sent them both careening through the store's front window.

He landed on the street in a limp pile. Meanwhile, Ruby at last unfurled her scythe, swinging it towards the shop and into the ground while mid-air to kill her momentum.

With a jolt, she landed on her sniper-scythe's shaft, perfectly parallel with the ground.

That. Was. Awesome!

Suddenly, the rest of the robbers rushed out of the shop, toting their ill-gotten goods, and Ruby's eyes narrowed.

Time to repeat the awesomeness!

The obvious lead robber (dressed in what her sister Yang would call an 'old man jacket', and what any normal person would probably call a 'white overcoat') called out to his compatriots, his furious eyes clearly trying to bore a hole into Ruby. "Well? Get her!"

Ruby knew she should be taking this seriously, but she couldn't help but giggle internally as the goons rushed her. Their boss was just hopelessly incompetent.

If you want to take me down, why don't you come over then, Bad Guy Boss? All you're gonna defeat tonight is that cigarette you keep puffing on!

Ah well. So long as he kept away from the cashier while she dealt with these mooks, who cared?

Speaking of which—as the first guy began to enter her reach, Ruby jumped into the air, grabbing onto Crescent Rose's shaft with her left hand and swinging her body around the pivot point into his nose.

But even though the strength of her Aura-enhanced blows meant these guys only needed one hit, she had to admit they were persistent. Two more guys were approaching from the left and right—so with a mild strain from her arms (and a pang of pain in her bank account), Ruby shot her last Gravity Dust round to propel the scythe out of the ground. Careful to guide the force so that she'd struck with the blunt side of her Scythe's head, she spun with the force into the goon on her right, bouncing his head off the concrete as she twisted her scythe into a vertical spin.

Her timing was perfect—just as the scythe's blade completed its rebounding vertical revolution, the third goon reached weapon range. All it took was a little horizontal twist, and she'd battered him across the torso with enough force to knock him out when he hit the ground.

Bad Guy Boss was obviously furious at this point—enough to finally stop smoking, at the very least. Her weapon ready, Ruby watched him grumble under his breath and grind the butt of his cigarette into the ground with his cane. Behind him, she could see that the store clerk was still frozen in fear.

The bad guy was talking to her, now. "Well, Red. I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening."

Ok, that was it. Nobody nicknamed their opponents insultingly except her. And even then, she only did it in her head!

Tensing up, Ruby prepared to take the final bad guy out—but it seemed he had plans of his own.

Bad Guy Boss raised his cane until its butt was level with her, revealing a clear gun barrel bored straight down the cane's center. Then he flicked a switch—and the weapon's sights popped up. Then he smiled nastily, continuing his monologue where he left off. "As much as I'd love to stick around, I'm afraid this is where we part ways."

He pulled the trigger—and a full Burn crystal shot directly towards her.

Ruby couldn't dodge that kind of blast power on the ground. The concrete would literally quake all around the explosion, expanding the indirect blast radius tenfold. And she couldn't just boost her defensive Aura and tank the explosion—the light and noise would disable her for too long, and Bad Guy Boss (name pending) would be able to easily escape.

So instead, for the third time that night, Ruby Rose chose to go vertical. Throwing her Aura into her legs and activating her Semblance, she flung herself twenty feet into the air as a cluster of roses, shifting back out of her Semblance form just in time to flip backwards from the explosion at her jump's apex.

Carefully controlling her spin, Ruby managed to land on a solid chunk of the shattered ground. At first glance, her opponent was gone—but once she looked over her shoulder, she spotted him climbing up onto a nearby roof from the building's service ladder.

Although all she wanted to do was chase the bad guy, Ruby knew what to do (though the lesson came from Taiyang, this time).

Always check on the victims.

Carefully, Ruby turned her head to make eye contact with the clerk, who now stood outside the shop—presumably staring at the absolutely wrecked road in front of his source of employment.

She shrugged at that, speaking with the calm authority of her Huntress idols (well, idol, singular. In her eyes, Summer Rose had no equal). "...You okay if I go after him?"

The shopkeep mumbled his assent.

Ruby Rose turned to pursue the criminal. Scratch that—Ruby Rose turned to catch her prey like the Huntress she dreamed of becoming.

Thankfully, with a speed Semblance like hers, it was pretty hard to outpace her.

In moments, Ruby had popped up on the rooftop in front of Bad Guy Boss, leveling the point of her scythe's blade (now angled in an almost spear-like position) at his throat.

"Hey!" she shouted, drawing his attention to her threat.

Say what you will—this bad guy had nerves of steel. When he looked at the blade, his heavily made-up features barely even twisted into a grimace. "Persistent."

Ruby was a bit worried. Why didn't Mr. Bad Guy Boss look concerned?

Thankfully, she got her answer rather quickly (albeit in an unfortunate manner) as a roar of noise began to build in the area.

When the noise had reached its peak, she could tell the source was directly behind her—and Ruby couldn't resist. She was too worried to avoid glancing over her shoulder.

Sadly, Ruby only had a moment to take in the Bullhead hovering behind her with its side-door open before Bad Guy Boss had taken advantage of her momentary distraction to escape.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him lean slightly back from Crescent Rose's blade, then sweep her legs with his right. It took only a moment for Ruby to recover into a stable stance with a bout of Semblance use—but by then, it was too late.

Bad Guy Boss had done his own vertical jump into the cargo bay of the Bullhead. And already, the aircraft was soaring higher and backing away from the building—too far for Ruby to reach it with her own jump.

Bad Guy Boss had beaten Ruby Rose in the stupidest way possible, and both he and his (presumably also-criminally-active) pilot were going to get away.

Or at least, that's what Ruby thought—right before the most badass Huntress she'd ever seen levitated onto the roof, snapped her riding crop at the Bullhead, and froze the airship mid-flight by sheer force of will.

Ruby just… gaped. The purple glow of the Huntress' Semblance surrounded the Bullhead completely. This Huntress had to know at least a few lines of her Aria—otherwise, Ruby literally could not believe this Huntress' Semblance had that much power behind it.

For a brief span of time, Ruby just watched as the purple force dragged the Bullhead closer. But it couldn't have been more than thirty seconds before a counter-attack emerged from the shadowed bay of the Bullhead.

Ruby felt the heat more than she saw the actual attack as the shards of hot… something jetted down from the aircraft and exploded at their feet—forcing both Ruby and the Huntress to combat-roll onto a different section of the roof.

But despite all of that, the Huntress didn't let her mental grip on the airship go. In fact, the Bullhead was close enough now that in only a few moments, both Ruby and the Huntress would probably be able to jump up onto the airship and take down the bad guys in close combat (though hopefully not hand-to-hand. Ruby was… not great at prolonged hand-to-hand).

Now, at that moment, Ruby should have been feeling awesome about their chances in the fight. And for a second, she genuinely was. She could feel the impending victory like she'd felt her mother's impending kisses every night before bed, like she always felt the shockwaves from her sister's inevitable punches whenever Ruby was in danger.

Then, Ruby spotted a red glint in the shadows of the Bullhead's bay—and as an all-consuming desire for her blood began to screechily gnaw at her mind, Ruby Rose (for the first time in a while) began to feel afraid.

Ruby saw the red glint get pulled back, feeling the bloodlust emit from its ominous depths.

Ruby heard the ominous whisper echo in her mind, feeling the ripple in reality itself as the weapon's wielder declared their weapon.

"Gáe Bolg."

And finally, Ruby felt the tingle on her skin as the (partial, she somehow knew) Gáe Bolg flew through the air, a wicked-red Spearhead on an obsidian arrow shaft.

In seconds, a corona of wicked red light had built around the barbed projectile, burning at Ruby's eyes as she tracked its path.

Suddenly, Ruby realized something—the Spearhead wasn't coming for her.

Instead, it was headed straight for the Huntress beside her—and Ruby couldn't help. Intuitively, she knew that this weapon would tear through Crescent Rose like wet paper—and Ruby didn't have any rounds with which to attempt shooting the Spearhead off course.

But apparently, although Ruby knew she couldn't stop the blow, this Huntress thought she could.

Emerald eyes glimmering, the forceful Huntress spoke… and suddenly, Ruby knew who this was.

"I am an inevitable force

Built from violent will and firm passion"

Ruby had never seen this before, but she knew what it was.

Glynda Goodwitch had just recited the first two lines of her Aria, that which fundamentally defined her and her Reality Marble. And as a result, Ruby now knew her—and Glynda's Semblance had strengthened enough to slow the Spearhead's progress to a crawl.

But the (incomplete) Gáe Bolg was still coming. And Glynda only had three feet of distance left between that deadly Spearhead and her heart.

First, Ruby watched as Glynda let the Bullhead go, staring at its engines as its passengers fled while a Huntress fought for her life against their weapon.

Then, silver eyes quivering, Ruby watched as the purple Aura around Glynda flared into an incandescent glow—and the pert lips upon Glynda's hardened features parted once more.

"My commands have been issued, and my subjects shall obey.

Apathetic to free will,

Aloof to true empathy,

Personal humanity is sacrificed for the sake of all Humanity."

As the spear closed in on Glynda's chest, Ruby… Ruby didn't know what to say.

The purple glow around Gáe Bolg was so bright now that it left afterimages in her eyes when she blinked, and at the edges of Ruby's vision, she could almost see another world trying to override things—a world of obedience and force, where the will of its Creator was all that mattered be it physically or mentally.

But the Spearhead still hadn't stopped. The Bullhead was long gone at this point, the Spearhead's wielder wasn't even there, and Glynda had completed six full lines of the Aria that most Huntsmen never even got halfway through—yet Gáe Bolg kept coming.

Glynda hadn't flinched. Her porcelain face was still as calm as ever. But as the now-incandescent Huntress once more spoke her Aria, Ruby could hear (if barely) a new tremble in her voice.

Glynda Goodwitch did not want to die.

"Despite my life's tragedy, I will never regret these costs."

The telekinetic light flared, washing over the roof.

And suddenly, Ruby heard a distinctive voice in her mind.

Ruby Rose. You're that dusty old Qrow's niece, right?

Ruby was… oddly, not confused. Glynda's Aria explained this. Her will would be enforced to the limits of her power—and once Glynda was powerful enough, that applied not just physically, but mentally as well.

She nodded.
Very well. Glynda responded, her mental voice surprisingly placid.

Then, Ruby heard the stress creep in. Ruby… I'm not going to survive this. I only managed to figure out that last line of the Aria at this moment—I'm not going to be able to save myself with a Reality Marble.

Ruby was listening to Glynda.

But she was also staring at the Spearhead. It was almost at Glynda's Aura—almost ready to pierce the Huntress' last protective barrier.

Ruby, I need you to tell Ozpin something when he gets here. Tell him… the thief of Fall is in Vale.

Ruby didn't know what that meant. But she couldn't let Glynda give up. She could do so much more good, could teach so many more future Hunstmen. Glynda could… could give Ruby an autograph, or teach her how to use more than just a scythe in combat.

Glynda was a good Huntress! And good Huntresses (like her Mom, some dark crevice of her mind whispered) didn't deserve to die!

Tears pooling at the edges of her eyes, Ruby watched as Glynda gave her a wan smile, and the Spearhead began to grind on amethyst aura. But despite that, we do, Ruby. We do die. And I really am sorry—I would have loved to give you my autograph.

Ruby watched as, with an effort of will, Glynda banished the fear from her face and narrowed her eyes. She watched as the Spearhead's malevolent aura bored through Glynda's beautiful purple soul. And she watched as, with a stiff upper lip, Glynda Goodwitch spoke once more.

"So let it be ordained…

Absolu-"

Glynda stopped.

Ruby knew that the Huntress had scoured her soul with every bit of will available —and that, despite all her efforts, Glynda could not find the final words of who she was.

With an unceremonious crack to herald her Aura's collapse, the Spearhead pierced Glynda's heart.

She was dead before her body hit the ground.

\TAoG/

Ruby Rose didn't move much after that.

She just sat on that roof, alone apart from a single bloody corpse—and she wept.

Eventually, she heard the click of a pair of dress shoes walk across the roof.

Sniffling, she looked up.

Ozpin—Headmaster Ozpin, more accurately—stood over Glynda Goodwitch's body. Adorned in a red mantle draped across the shoulders of a tight black three-piece suit, Ozpin should have seemed solemn in that moment—but instead, as he knelt to swipe his tanned fingers across Glynda's eyes, Ruby couldn't help but see a look of shame in how he carried himself.

Then Ozpin glanced over his shoulder at her, his steely-gray irises glinting in the night's faint starlight.

For a moment, he looked taken aback.

Then, recollecting himself in a matter of seconds, he spoke.

"Ruby Rose… you… have silver eyes."

A/N: Some of the lore introduced here will be explained in the next chapter. The rest you'll have to wait for.