Weiss looked around the dock, how could she have forgotten to ask Ruby where they were supposed to meet!
Weiss reached for her scroll, praying Ruby had remembered to take hers with her, when a voice whispered in her ear.
"Who're you looking for?"
Myrtenaster had cleared its sheath and was halfway to its target when Weiss realized she was trying to skewer her partner.
Ruby caught Myrtenaster lazily, her left hand rising with unnatural speed, petals trailing behind it, before she wrapped it around the blade. Weiss staggered as her blade suddenly stopped all momentum, letting go of the hilt.
Ruby flipped the blade, catching the hilt in her right hand.
"Any particular reason you just tried to turn me into a shishkabob, Weiss?"
"Don't do that!"
"Sorry."
Ruby handed the rapier over to Weiss, who sheathed it at her side.
"How did you know where I was?"
Ruby raised her hand, holding her scroll between two fingers.
"These have trackers in them, remember?"
"You forget to bring that with you half the time."
"I didn't have it for twenty years, sue me."
Weiss took in Ruby, who was wearing a pair of pants and a tail coat. Leather gloves covered her hands, explaining why she hadn't cut herself. It reminded Weiss of what Ruby's uncle wore.
"What's with the change of clothes?"
Ruby shrugged, "I haven't really worn this since I got back, and trust me, while I like not having to cover my entire body anymore, I spent good money on these."
"Ok."
Weiss walked alongside her friend, "So where are we going?"
"Dunno, you choose."
Weiss blushed lightly as her stomach grumbled, she had been too worried before her meeting with her father to eat.
"Why don't we get something to eat? I know a place nearby."
"Sure, lead the way."
Weiss watched her friend as they walked along.
"You don't have a weapon with you?"
Weiss couldn't remember a time Ruby had gone out without a weapon since she came back.
"Got a knife hidden on me."
Of course she did.
Settling down at the table, Weiss couldn't help but notice how out of place Ruby looked. When she went to crack her neck, what little of the tattoos across her body that weren't covered by her new outfit were visible.
"So… how's everyone doing?"
"Blake's angry at you."
Ruby grunted, tapping her fingers on the table.
"Did you, uh, get anything from him?"
"No."
Oh.
"So, um-"
"Weiss, small talk is hard enough when you're not trying to use cold blooded torture as the topic."
Weiss huffed, searching for anything else.
"So, 'mama'?"
Ruby snorted, a grin threatening to split her face.
"Don't remind me."
"How'd that one happen?"
"I'm still not sure myself. She just started following me around one day, said she didn't know who her mother was and that I smelled like a dragon…"
Ruby trailed off, her eyes widening.
"Ruby?"
"Don't worry about it, I'll tell you all later."
"So she thought you were her mother?"
"Something like that, I didn't have the heart to turn her away."
The waitress came, taking their orders.
"Speaking of parents, what happened with your dad?"
"I had an argument with him."
Weiss watched as Ruby shifted, looking uncomfortable.
"Do, uh, do you want to talk about it?"
"It's a long story."
"Weiss, that's my excuse for not talking about my problems."
"I'm not allowed to say I don't want to talk about it?"
"You are. I'm just saying, don't use my excuse."
…
"He wanted me to leave Beacon."
"So you do want to talk about it!"
Weiss scowled, looking at her friend, who was tittering madly.
"Ruby, are you alright?"
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"You seem a lot more cheerful than normal."
That wasn't quite right. Ruby seemed almost… intoxicated.
The perpetual pallor and cracked lips that had characterized Ruby had faded almost completely.
"I'm fine! So, your dad wanted you to leave Beacon. I'm guessing you told him no?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I realized if he was in my life, I would never be in control."
"I know exactly what you mean."
"How?"
Ruby turned her head to the side, refusing to meet her eye.
Maybe it was because she was talking about her father and she was imprinting that onto the situation, but Weiss said said the first name that came to mind, instead of what she would later admit was the more logical answer.
"Uther-"
Weiss trailed off as Ruby's head snapped back to her. As Weiss stared into the wide eyes of her friend, she understood why Ruby kept them half lidded. The glassy stare seemed to burn into her skull.
"Weiss, never imply something like that about Uther again."
"Of course, sorry."
Ruby nodded, before leaning on her arm.
"Anything else you want to talk about?"
"He threatened to make life hard for you and the Ebon Blade."
"Weiss, that's normal. We're all big boys and girls, we can deal with it."
"You're not taking this seriously, my father has a lot of sway."
"Weiss, I'm used to the game of politics. I don't like it, but I'm used to playing it."
"Sometime, you're going to tell me exactly what happened while you were on Azeroth."
"If you want to take your mind off the doom and gloom, I'll talk about it now."
"Really? You don't seem to like talking about it much."
"Let's just say I'm feeling 'more cheerful than normal'. What do you say, want to take your mind off your father for a bit?"
Weiss felt her lips tug, "Sure."
"Right then. How about I tell you about the time me, Liam and Tess hunted a headless horseman?"
"Looking for a dead body?"
"No. He was undead, wasn't one of ours, though."
"Ok, I want to hear this story."
-X LINE BREAK X-
Neo covered her mouth, blocking the whirling sand.
Where was she?
Time.
Well that was helpful.
The sandstorm receded, color bleeding into the sand near her.
Watch carefully Neo. All that matters is this moment.
A statue formed from the sand, and further along a giant pillar rose into the sky. Above it hung the moon.
From the edge of the sandstorm stepped a girl. In the first second she was a bulge, in the second a sand colored mockery, and in the third color flooded her.
The tips of her hair were red, the locks darkening as they went along. She wore a black blouse, skirt and bodice, a familiar red cloak worn over it, cross shaped clasps keeping it in place.
She ran forward, passing the statue before stopping, looking around.
"Where'd she go?"
A chuck of sand landed behind her, before parts of it were blown away.
You'll forgive the theatrics, I hope. I'm recreating this event and I can't cause them to appear from nothing.
The sand finished basting away. The woman had an unattainable beauty. Silver hair, silver eyes, silver robes, even her skin was silver, defying all logic. All looking like they had trapped Moonlight in human form.
"Not Human."
Hello, Ruby. The woman spoke without opening her mouth.
The girl, Ruby, whipped around, staring at the woman.
A long moment passed, and neither spoke. The sand forming the ends of glossimer robes of the woman wore and the cloak the girl wore simulated a breeze, leaving them billowing.
"Pretty."
The word came from the girl, and she didn't even seem to notice she said it.
The woman raised her hand, to her mouth, and laughter like a wind chime came, despite her mouth still not opening.
It has been a very, very long time since someone reacted like that.
Ruby shook her head, like she was trying to clear her head.
"Uh, Who are you?"
My name is Elune. And I need your help.
"Oh, I can get Professor Ozpin for you!"
Ruby turned, only to stop. Neo wasn't sure how this actually played out, if this really was the past, but to her it looked like the sand making up Elune broke up and rushed past her, before reforming.
Not Ozpin. You.
"What, but," Ruby looked behind her, "You were just…"
Don't worry about that. I need your help Ruby. We need your help.
"With what?"
Saving a great many people.
"Then wouldn't it be better to ask Professor Ozpin for help?"
No. It has to be you.
Ruby shifted, biting her lip.
"People will get hurt if I don't help?"
More than you could imagine.
Ruby seemed to think, before nodding sharply.
"Alright, I'll help."
Elune smiled, and, like everything else about her, it was perfect.
Thank you, please take this gift.
Elune reached out, the tips of her fingers, releasing bolts of light that struck Ruby's eyes, which started to glow.
Ruby's eyes widened, before she collapsed to her knees, burrowing her eyes into her hands.
"It… It burns!"
Ruby raised her head looking around.
"I… I can't see! What did you do to me!"
Elune reached down, resting her hand on Ruby's back, before they both exploded into sand.
And that, is how all this started. The girl doesn't even remember she volunteered.
"What was the point of showing me this?"
The voice that came out was rough, broken from years of disuse. A mockery took shape, one Neo recognized. An old partner long since dead.
Because, 'All that matters is this moment', Because this moment, is every moment.
Around them the sand shifted, again and again. Men and women clashed, and Grimm prowled the outside of the battle, ready to pick off the survivors. Faunus, huddled in ramshackle huts, disease ravaging the already starving population. Four beings, given to four girls, while an old man looked on.
-X LINE BREAK-
Glynda resisted the urge to burrow her face in her hands.
An army that could only be defeated on their own territory? How did you beat something like that? It would take an invasion, one that Remnant just didn't have the forces to survive.
Ozpin took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Is there anything good you can tell us?"
The grey haired man across from them nodded, "They don't know that you exist, and even if they find out, you have the support of one of the only worlds to succeed in defying them."
"You would help us? You don't know anything about us."
"I know that the idea of being able to get back to Remnant kept Ruby Rose going when she was at her lowest. Anything that could keep her going like you did has to be worth something."
Glynda stepped in, frustration at all the events surrounding Ruby Rose finally breaking through.
"You would trust one girl on this?"
The man's blue eyes shifted to her, an amused twinkle in them.
"If you think that she's just a girl, you haven't been paying attention."
"You put a lot of trust in her. I'd say even more than she does in herself."
"Ruby has a guilt complex a mile wide. She helped save Azeroth at least four times, but she will never admit to that. She is of the Iron Vanguard, she is one of the Last Defenders of Azeroth, she is the Kingslayer, the Nightmare's Bane, the-"
"I think they get the point, Khadgar."
Khadgar seemed to slump, the wind taken out of his sails.
"Do you not want our help? Because we can pack up and leave."
"Could you give us a few days to discuss this?"
"Of course."
"Glynda, could you be so kind as to show them to the guest rooms?"
"Of course."
The four of them stepped into the elevator, waiting.
Glynda pursed her lips, thinking.
"You said you know Ruby rather well?"
"Going on, oh, four, five years now? Kalec has known her for longer. Didn't she used to live with you and Jaina?"
"If you can call hiding in the basement for weeks on end 'living with'."
"She left?"
"Only when whatever she was using to keep the Endless Hunger at bay died. In her defense, she never liked to show weakness, and the damage she took on Theramore took a couple months to fully heal."
Khadgar recoiled, a wince on his face.
"Ah, yes. That would explain it. Anyway, you had a question I take it?"
Glynda filed away the name Theramore for later, before speaking.
"What happened to make her so violent?"
"It's in the nature of Death Knights. They were born to kill, their entire existence revolves around it. They don't need to eat, or drink, or sleep. All they need is death and destruction."
"And you trust them?"
"They direct their impulses at things that need to be destroyed, so yes."
They stopped at the doors to the rooms, and Glynda saw the three off, before heading back to the office for the inevitable meeting.
-X LINE BREAK X-
Khadgar leaned Atiesh against the wall glancing around the room.
Lamps, bed, Ruby, desk, chair-
Khadgar lept back with a yelp, and Atiesh jumped into his hand.
"How-"
"Illusions. I've been following you since you stepped out of the elevator."
Right. How could he have forgotten Ruby's love of mind magic.
"Shouldn't you be leading the Kirin Tor?"
"I managed to convince Rhonin to come out of retirement."
"How'd Vereesa take that?"
"Oh, you know, well enough," Khadgar coughed into his hand, "In unrelated news, she might want to kill us both."
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
Khadgar settled down, walking over to the chair.
"I take it you have questions."
"Just one at the moment."
"Ok, shoot."
"Why didn't any of you think to just ask?
"What?"
"I've spent years trying to repent what I did under Arthas, you know this. I would have done anything to pay the debt of blood I made, you know this. So tell me, why is it that not a single one of you thought to ask when you KNOW I would have said yes? Why did you all go behind my back with this gambit?"
"I-"
"Was it because you didn't trust me?"
"NO!"
"Then why?"
Silence followed her, before Khadgar answered.
"I don't know."
"What do you mean, 'You don't know'?"
"Azeroth didn't tell us why, only that we needed to."
Ruby sank down onto the bed, rubbing her head.
"It's times like this that I really, really, wish that my conscience was still suppressed."
Khadgar opened his mouth, only for a sharp bark to stop him.
"SHUT UP! I don't want to hear another word from you."
Ruby rammed the heel of her hand into her skull, growling.
"I said, shut up! Sylvanas, Nathanos, start talking, I don't want to hear a word she says… I don't care about what, just talk!"
"Ruby-"
"Do you want to know the part I'm really angry about? It isn't that you kept this a secret, there's plenty of people who can be mad at you for that."
Khadgar stay silent.
"It's the fact that you got one of my friends involved. They shouldn't be involved in this."
Ruby stood up, pacing.
"Uther, Liam, Krasus, Varian, Jaina, Thrall, Koltira, Illidan. Every single friend, everyone single loved one that I lost to the Legion and Void Lords. I don't want to add anyone else, and while I know I can't stop you from being involved, I could have kept Blake from getting tied up in this mess, but then you had to get her involved!"
Khadgar remained quiet, listening to the ragged gasps coming from his friend.
"I think we both know, that if you had truly wanted them to be unharmed by this conflict, you would have never come back here."
"I had thought that by coming here, I would finally be done!" Ruby turned to him, "I don't want to do this anymore, Khadgar. I'm tired. Tired of walking into a room of my friends and wonder which one of them won't be there the next time, of getting maimed every couple of months, of trying to retire and getting dragged back to the fighting. I was happy in Gilneas, but the Red Dragonflight showed up and dragged me into the fight with Deathwing. I was happy exploring Pandaria, but the Alliance and Horde had to fight over it. I was happy on Draenor, but I had to go back to Azeroth to fight the Legion."
Ruby collapsed backwards onto the bed, shaking, "Did you know I tried to pass everything as happening on Remnant when we first got back?"
"I did."
"I hoped that if I just pretended that the last twenty years had never happened, I could just… go back. I lied to my sister, let her think that she hadn't noticed that I wasn't there, because I just wanted to be the little girl I was back then again."
"Ruby-"
"Make someone else be the Life Binder, I just want to be Ruby Rose."
Khadgar laid his hand on hers, "We'll find a way to deal with this. I'm not going anywhere, neither is Tirion, or anyone else."
"I-"
"It's going to be fine. We're going to deal with the Old Gods here, and then we can deal with everything else."
"I need a drink."
"You'll love this. Odyn's sending some troops once we get the portals up."
"Nooooo."
"I think he plans to send Radulf, he doesn't need you murdering his champion."
"Don't scare me like that!"
"I guess I caught you off guard."
Ruby cracked a smile.
"Did you think we were barking mad?"
The chuckles started.
"That we were biting off more than we could chew?"
"You're the worst."
Khadgar settled down at the desk, stretching.
"Do you know where we could get a map? I've heard so much about Remnant, I want to see what it looks like."
"Yeah, I can get one."
-X LINE BREAK X-
"Lady Proudmoore!"
"Yes?"
"It's Lord Sunstrider! He's here!"
Kael? Jaina lept to her feet, and knew Aegwynn had slipped behind her.
Sure enough, leaning on the wall of Theramore was Kael'thas, Al'ar roosting beside him, crooning softly as Kael ran a hand down his neck.
"Kael!"
"Jaina?"
"What are you doing here?"
"I need your help."
"How?"
"I made a terrible mistake," Kael'thas seemed to spasm, obvious even under his cloak.
"The Legion, they want to use the Blood Elves."
"You haven't-"
"Never, I refuse to be a puppet, like Ruby, like Arthas."
"Then why-"
"I can't fight it much longer. I need you to end this."
"Kael, I can't-"
"Please, Jaina. I refuse to serve the Legion, but I can't fight it much longer."
"And you won't have to, If she won't do it, I will." Aegwynn spoke up, looking down at the lord.
"Thank you-?"
"Aegwynn."
"Ah, like the Magna."
"Something like that."
Kael'thas nodded, before looking at the guard standing to the side.
"Would you help me up? I would prefer to die standing."
Al'ar made a noise, cocking his head as Kael'thas was helped up.
"Well, old friend, this is goodbye."
The Phoenix flapped his wings.
Aegwynn pulled out a stiletto, and stepped behind the Blood Elf. Kael handed an envelope to the guard. Jaina could see the bones in his hand, which shook like a leaf.
"Make sure that gets to Regent Lord Lor'themar. It contains my last orders."
"Ready?"
Kael'thas stood tall, looking at the setting sun.
"Yes."
"Shorel'aran, Belore'dorei."
Aegwynn stepped forward, and slit Kael's throat in one swift move.
Red spilled down his neck, tainted with flecks of green.
The Sun King stood for a brief second, before collapsing.
"Bring his body in, and fetch us a shroud. Send a message to Orgrimmar."
Al'ar took flight, a low mournful note coming from his throat. He circled his master's body once, before fading away.
Jaina stood there, watching as the body cooled, as the guards came with a shroud of red, and took it away.
By the time Aegwynn took her by the shoulders and guided her back though the city to the keep, the sun had long since set.
Settling down at her desk, Jaina stared at the flickering candle. Kael had always been proud of his skill with fire…
The clatter of metal on wood broke her from her thoughts. Aegwynn poured out the cup of tea, before placing it in front of her. How long had she been sitting there?
"Why?" The accusation came out as a croak.
The former Guardian leveled a glare at her.
"Don't speak to me like that. I should be asking why you didn't do it yourself."
"You killed him!"
"And in doing so, saved him from a fate worse than death. You saw it as well as I did, his very blood had been tainted with the Fel."
"The Orcs had Fel in their blood, they're fine."
"They didn't have so much that you could see it. He's lucky he didn't wait longer."
"Or what."
"Or he would have become one of them. Is that what you would like? For him to be a demon?"
"No! But there must have been something else we could have done!"
"I've fought demons since before that boy was born. Once someone gets this far along, there is nothing that can be done."
Jaina grabbed a piece of parchment, and started to write.
"Nonetheless, I'm afraid I can't keep you under my employ."
"Is that a dismissal?"
"It is."
"Know this, girl, there will be a day you will need me, and you will regret this decision."
Jaina watched her go, before directing her eyes to the candle again.
-X LINE BREAK X-
"Archers! Nock! Shield bearers! Lock ranks!"
Velann looked across down the hill, where countless undead marched forward.
Her father, skin blackening, flashed across her mind.
"Frost mages, freeze them in their tracks! Archers! Draw!"
Velann drew upon the Arcane, releasing it in a wave of frost. Hundreds of others followed with it.
Some of the undead couldn't handle the snap freeze, shattering. Other, attempted to continue onward.
"Fire mages! Light the poor bastards up! Archers! Loose!"
All down the line, the order was repeated, and a storm of fire and arrows rained down upon the front lines of the undead.
It didn't matter, for each that died another six took it's place.
"Again!"
The tide smashed into the wall of shields. Each time one of their fell, another brother stepped in to take their place, each time one of the dead fell, they were trampled over in the fervent rush for blood.
Velann wasn't sure what happened, everything was happening too fast, but the order from Highlord Tyrosus came.
"BREAK RANKS!"
Velann watched from her vantage point as the Argent Dawn struck.
Tyrosus stuck with his hammer, leading the Paladins in the charge. The Shamen pooled their strength to bring down an actual storm.
And then there was Mograine's son. Swinging the sword of this father, everything that crossed into its path turned to ash.
Then, from the side, a single man crashed into the undead. Golden armor, with glowing pauldrons. Velann felt her heart soar as she saw the last surviving founding Paladin.
Then, a group of paladins collapsed.
"Let the heralds of the damned proclaim our victory, for Kel'thuzad stands before you now!"
Velann felt her blood freeze as the Scourge's reinforcements came, led by the lord of Naxxramas.
Something snagged her by the back and she was lifted into the air, struggling, Velann looked at the gargoyle.
Grabbing it by the leg, Velann let the ice crawl up it, before driving her sword into it.
Crashing into the ground, she closed her eyes as the wave of undead grabbed her.
When she opened them, a face that had haunted her nightmare's loomed over her.
"Hello! What's your name?"
"Velann."
"Well then, welcome to the family! Come on, stand up, let's get you a weapon."
"Don't get too attached yet, Ruby, she might not survive training."
"I don't know, I think this one is special."
"You have said that about literally every other one we've seen."
"Call me an optimist. Someone around here needs to be."
The woman grabbing Velann by the hand and helped her up.
Velann finally got a look at the man who had been speaking. It was a face that she had never seen in person but caused nothing but dread in the hearts of millions.
Arthas Menethil.
The other woman started to walk away, twirling a knife in hand.
"That's mine."
"Hmm?"
"That knife, you took it from my father."
The eyes flickered down at the knife, before locking back onto Velann. Purposefully, the knife was slid into the sheath.
"I'll tell you what, complete training, and I'll give you this knife back. Ok?"
Velann nodded.
"Good, now, let's get you a sword."
-X LINE BREAK X-
