Chapter One: Purgatory.

When Neo opened her eyes, after being swallowed whole by the surprisingly menacing rainbow tree, her eyes fluttered around in disbelief. It was like a dark, starry sky with an odd greenish hue across the horizon. If you could even call it a horizon. There was no landscape. Just green wisps which floated around in the air. No sound, either. Except… the distant sound of metal against metal. Not a rhythm of battle, like Neo was used to hearing that sound in, but rather a beat. A continuous. Monotone. Repetitive. Sound. Of metal against metal.

Part of her wanted to try and catch one of the wisps…but she didn't want to try and push her luck when she was already trying to get a second chance in life. She found herself just…walking towards that noise, unable to really explain why. Was it curiosity? Or desperation? Perhaps both.

Before she knew it, however, she found herself looking at a strange, humanoid figure. They seemed to be comprised of metal scraps and bandages, but there was also a strange wooden branch which inexplicably dug its twig-like branches into its spine and shoulder. Stringlike hair was untidily contained by a headband, and it swung a hammer against, assumedly, an anvil in front of her. Neo wasn't certain because the blacksmith stood between her and their creation in the making.

Then, both of them stopped at roughly the same time. Neo stopped walking forwards as the strange blacksmith stopped bringing down their hammer. With a pair of tongs in its left hand, it raised a glowing, metallic blade. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was one of their newest creations in the making, and the glow of the blade was due to the heat of the forge, as opposed to any magical nature. They spoke with a feminine, but oddly astral and dronelike, voice.

"Neopolitan. You are right on time."

Naturally, Neo did not reply. She couldn't break the silence which had loomed over her ever since she was born. Instead, she stood there in awe for a moment, before offering a simple curtsy as a sign of respect.

"Fear not. I know you're not a talker. In truth, I prefer not talking at all in comparison to those who speak in riddle." The Blacksmith placed down her tools and glowing blade upon the anvil, before turning to face her. Their face was metallic, but her mouth moved as if it were flesh. Their eyes were empty…but certainly not soulless. A pair of chains dangled from her head like two out-of-place strands of hair. "I am sure that you are concerned about your future. Miss Rose was under the impression that she was going to die when she arrived. But…I sense that you have a greater understanding of the tree than she does."

Neo nodded, slowly. In truth, she didn't know much about the tree. Like Ruby, she thought the tree – and ascension as a whole – was just a fancy way of saying 'death' until only recently. However, the details were lost on her. Her rival had emerged from the tree with a new resolve to fight anew; a far cry from the sad, broken wreck which Neo had left her as.

"Unlike her, however…I sense that you already know what you want to become." The woman continued, before stepping forward. Neo and the woman were now not far apart from each other, and it only served to prove how much taller this metal entity was in comparison to her. She was at least two heads taller than the mute, and much broader too.

Neo wondered how this woman could determine so much about her when she hadn't said anything, or even tried to convey her message. To her surprise, that question was soon answered as a series of green wisps floated past the two of them.

"I read volumes in the words you don't speak. I may not exactly read your mind…but I can feel what you desire. I want you to close your eyes…and focus on what you truly want. Then, when you are ready, open your eyes," the blacksmith instructed. Neo diligently obeyed.

A torrent of passions flooded her head in an instant. Dust. Riches. Power. But, in spite of all of those tempting offers, she knew she didn't truly desire any of that. If power were all that Neo really wanted, she would have taken over the Ever After as soon as Little Red was out of the picture. But instead, the vacuum of purpose had sucked everything away, leaving her bare and vulnerable. That vulnerability was exploited by a certain hellspawn of a feline.

What Neo genuinely wanted…was to let go. To get rid of her past regrets for good. Move on from her troubled life and finally be able to just…be herself. Whoever that was. She didn't want to be tethered down to the legacy of her partner anymore. Didn't want to have nightmares every night because she was too dependent on someone who could no longer guide her. Didn't want to chase revenge anymore. It just left her so…empty. If such a thing had destroyed her with Ruby, she knew it would happen again with Cinder. She wanted…to start over.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a position all too familiar. And yet…it was different to how she remembered it.

Ruby Rose, hanging off the side of the airship, clutching onto her oversized scythe. Roman Torchwick, standing over her… pitying her. And her. Standing by his side. And she saw all of it from a new perspective. As such, she quite literally saw herself.

"I may be a gambling man, but I know there's some bets you just don't take." Roman spoke as Neo watched herself smirking a villainous sneer. The needle-like point of Hush extended and sparked across the metallic hull of the ship as Neo stepped closer to Ruby, before holding the point to her neck.

"Like it or not, the people who've hired me are going to change the world. You can't stop 'em. I can't stop 'em. You know the ol' saying… If you can't beat 'em…-!"

And then, time slowed down as she saw Ruby pull herself up and extend Hush, causing the winds of the ship to yank Past-Neo off the side of the ship and begin careening down into the Grimm-infested skies below, whilst all Past-Neo could do was gasp in surprise and hold on tight.

"NEOOO!" Roman cried as he watched her partner-in-crime fly off the ship and begin descending downwards, helplessly.

"I don't care what you say!" Ruby shouted as she pulled herself up onto the ship whilst Roman had been distracted. "We will stop them! And I will stop you! BET ON THAT!" She dashed forwards, flower petals in the breeze as she raised her fists. Roman fired a blast of dust from his cane, The Melodic Cudgel, caught it with the curved handle and then sent it out in a shockwave which caught Ruby in its arc.

Filled with rage, he dashed forwards, uppercutting Ruby with the cane, then jabbing her with the end in her stomach, before firing once again at point-blank whilst Neo couldn't bear to watch. Ruby landed hard on her back and couldn't bring herself to stand up immediately.

"You've got spirit, Red. But this is the REAL WORLD!" Roman cried, stepping forwards and beating her back down to the ground. "The real world is COLD!" He continued, raising his cudgel to bludgeon Ruby with. "The real world doesn't care about SPIRIT!" He lifted the cane again, but Ruby kicked him in the shin, making him recoil back with a grunt.

"You wanna be a hero?! Then play the part and DIE LIKE EVERY OTHER HUNTSMAN IN HISTORY!" He bellowed, looming over Ruby who could only just bring herself to stand. Grimm continued to circle overhead, drawn in by the sudden, sour emotions. Roman continued to batter Ruby as if she were a golf ball and his cudgel was his golf club.

Ruby began crawling backwards, battered and bruised… but still, Neo watched as Roman continued his speech.

"As for me…I'll do what I do best! Lie. Steal! Cheat! AND SURVIVE!"

However, no sooner had he finished that sentence, a massive Griffon swooped down and engulfed him in its beak, swallowed, and unleashed a deafening roar. It charged at Ruby, who managed to kick it into the cockpit of the airship, engulfing the majority of the ship in a large explosion which Ruby was lucky to survive at all.

And then, the vision faded away and Neo was left staring at the very weapon her partner once used. His Melodic Cudgel. It stood in an ornate, glass casing, just floating in the air in front of her. She could hardly look at it, though. It carried too many memories. In truth, see Roman's last moments had finally given her some closure. However, all it did was cement those awful feelings of regret.

Ruby Rose, though she was fighting against them, had not been the cause of Roman's death. The girl had merely been defending her life – no different to what the two had been doing when threatened by an Immortal Witch to do their bidding or be torn apart by angry Grimm. She had imagined that Ruby had managed to get a lucky shot off or decapitate him whilst he was grieving the loss of Neo. Much like she was grieving him, now.

Ruby was innocent. Always had been. And Neo had done such terrible, unforgivable things to her. She had driven the girl into what both of them had thought to be suicide… because of a crime for which she was not to blame. She should have listened to her when Ruby pronounced her disbelief when it became clear that Neo still had unresolved problems with her. Little Red was too determined to be the hero. Killing people wasn't what heroes would do. Even if she had killed Roman, Neo knew it would have been far more in character for her to try and make amends. Just as she said, Neo had wasted her time. So long. So, so long, she had striven for revenge. To the point that nothing else mattered.

Neo felt her lips quivering involuntarily. Her eyes beginning to tear up. Her knees beginning to shake. And yet, she covered it up with her semblance just as reflexively as ever. She had been so used to hiding her feelings from everyone that she now did it without realising it. As soon as she looked down to see her hands weren't trembling, she turned off her semblance and looked at herself in the reflection of the glass casing.

For the first time in a long, long time, she beheld the sight of a sad, scared young woman who had caused more harm than good in her quest to finally get even. Her eyes were white with fear, and tears were freely running down her face in two separate streams. Then her legs failed her, and she collapsed onto her knees and began to cry. She heard the closest thing to her own voice, and it was the sound of her ugly crying at the sight of herself.

She then felt a hand upon her shoulder, but she knew that it could only have been the blacksmith trying to comfort her. Neo had expected her to say something reassuring but, instead, they just let her cry it out. When she had finally dried her own tears, she looked like a total wreck. Her makeup was ruined, her hands and nose were covered in mucus and her eyes were red and puffy. She turned to the blacksmith, thinking only one thing.

'Do I even deserve a second chance?'

"Of course." The blacksmith replied, as if she had read her mind again. "Ascension is for everyone, no matter how lacking they believe themselves to be. You may have done some terrible things. But that does not mean that you are a terrible person. The fact that you show remorse for your actions is proof enough of that."

'Ruby came back as herself…do I have the same option?' Her eyes must have shown her thoughts again because the blacksmith just nodded. 'Can I change some things about myself?'

"That depends on what you wish to change," the blacksmith replied. Neo had already figured out that the metal woman was definitely reading her thoughts but, in truth, she didn't really care. If anything, it made communicating easier. If there was anyone that she wanted to be able to effectively communicate with, it would be the person directly in charge of what comes after death.

'I…cannot move on with the weight of my past upon my shoulders. Could you…make me forget my trauma?' She thought, selfishly.

"Such a thing is possible, but I warn you that it comes with a great cost. Taking absolutely everything would make you an infant in the body of an adult. Unless, of course, you wish to simply be reborn from nothing."

Neo shook her head. She wanted to be fixed. Not remade.

'Can I give a list of memories I want to keep? Or experience from this life to transfer over to the next?' She asked, internally.

"That would be best if you intend to keep your current form. Take your time and be sure not to forget anything. Such would be a cruel irony." The blacksmith offered her a handkerchief and Neo accepted gratefully. After drying her face and hands, Neo took out her scroll and began to type out the things which she wanted to remember.

- My combat skills.

- My current knowledge of the world of Remnant.

- My understanding of language and forms of communication.

- My current knowledge of technology.

- My personal details. (Name, age, birthday, etc.)

She looked over her list a few times, just to make sure that there wasn't anything that she was missing. It pained her to not write various parts of her past into the list, but having no memories would be better than fragmented memories. It was especially painful to choose to forget Roman, as if he meant nothing to her, but the opposite was true. It was because he meant the world to her that she had to let him go. She couldn't do it by herself, so forcefully cutting him from her memories felt like the only option if she ever wanted to live a normal life. Neo was certain that Roman would forgive her if he were still watching from on high.

She looked down at the list again…and added one last thing.

- Remember to tell Ruby Rose that I'm sorry.

Satisfied with the list, she showed it to the blacksmith who read each point carefully.

"You want a completely fresh start, don't you?" She asked, smiling at the last bullet point. "Then I think I have just the thing for you…"

Neo blinked in surprise. Or confusion. Just the thing? What in Remnant could she have in mind?

"Are you aware of the existence of parallel worlds?" She asked. Neo neither shook her head, nor nodded it. She only knew it as a theory, but to know such things actually existed was new to her. "If I return you to your home dimension, you will be tried and persecuted for crimes you committed in your past. Crimes which you will no longer have any recollection of. Amnesia is not a defence which can get you pardoned, and legal fees are pricey. Even if you manage to avoid serving prison time, your name will forever be tarnished by what you were accused of. If I put you back before those crimes were committed, history would not play out as it did and, as such, you would be wiped from existence. In order to give you the fair chance at life which you desire, I will put you in a dimension which runs as closely parallel to the world you came from as possible. Because you are not native to said dimension by technicality, you will not be at risk of being purged from existence just by being there. You will see lots of events play out similarly to how they did in your home dimension. However, now you have the agency to see it all from a new perspective. Will you fight for justice? Or will you go back to your criminal roots? It is not my position to interfere."

Neo was, to put it in the simplest terms imaginable, mind blown. Parallel dimensions? Purged from existence? Amnesia is not a pardonable defence? Oh, wait. She knew that last one, already. But still, it was a lot to take in. And this deal seemed too good to be true. Was she really okay with just avoiding punishment for all of her past atrocities? Not entirely. It would not feel right to evade justice for her crimes but, at the same time, she could not have the fresh start she desired if she accepted punishment. Unless…she made up for those mistakes in her new life. For every life she took in her past, she would save twice as many in this life. That would be her goal.

To the blacksmith, she nodded in agreement, but held up a finger as if to tell her to wait one moment, before adding one last thing to the list of things to remember.

- Be the best person you can be.

"That's a noble goal. One I am certain that you will achieve."

Those words were the last thing Neo remembered. At least…it used to be.