This is a nightmare come to life for Ruby.
Metal claws chase after Ruby and Adam. The Scarecrow —quick, lethal, and down right vicious— cut and tear through the crimson-lit street.
Ruby keeps her eyes forward while running. Qrow's metal grinding shriek and claws shredding the asphalt close behind sends a shiver down her spine. Why is he a Grimm? Why is he chasing her? Does he not recognize his own niece? If only she had Crescent Rose. Not only could she defend herself, but to also gain more speed and get away.
Even though she's agile and has good reflexes, it's not enough to get away from the Scarecrow. To make matters worse, her aura is broken —thanks to the mysterious faunus guy running in front of her. Meaning no semblance to rely on.
Ruby screams, one of the claws scratching across her back and tearing through her hood and clothes. Adrenaline is still pumping and she keeps running.
She reluctantly looks back at the Grimm. Seeing how he chases after them on two black, lanky arms and legs with the other arms being free to attack. One of the arms —the only arm not grafted with metal— holds his scythe, ready to swing. His two giant black wings spread out, ready to take flight at any moment.
That's not him! That's NOT Uncle Qrow! Her thoughts ramble in a panic. Come on, Ruby! Think! What to do?! What to do?!
She looks to Adam. Who is this guy? First, he tries to kill her. Then, there was an explosion with Sun —and Blake apparently? And he called this monster a scarecrow and took off running.
Why was he trying to kill her? What's his connection with Sun and Blake? What happened to Remnant?! Did Salem win?! So many questions to ask. So many answers she wants to know. And she's gonna get those answers, starting with him.
"Hey!" Ruby yells out to the fanus. "We gotta do something!"
Adam keeps running.
"You hear me?"
Silence.
Ruby lets out a small growl. "The silent treatment isn't helping! I don't know why you tried to kill me, but if we don't do something we're gonna die!"
The faunus looks at her. A cold, observant, and questioning look, something Blake used to do back in their Beacon days. He seems to contemplate for a short moment.
What is with this guy? What is he thinking about?
Adam suddenly grabs Ruby's arm and yanks her towards him. A gust of wind blows behind Ruby followed by the sound of metal cutting the street. It's the scythe —missing her by mere inches.
Ruby swallows.
"Here!" Adam shoves a small blue bottle in her hand. "Drink it and use that semblance of yours!"
"W-What does it do-"
"Just shut up and drink it!" The fanus cuts her off, making her jump. "I'll buy you time!" Adam draws Wilt and runs off towards the Scarecrow. He too seems pretty agile. Ducking under the scythe and slipping through some of the metal claws. Only using Wilt to guard if the Scarecrows attack seems too quick of him to dodge —which is most of them.
Ruby looks at the blue bottle with curiosity.
Elixir? She reads the hand written label. Like from a video game?
Adam's grunt snatches her attention towards the fight. Adam does his best to hold his ground against Qrow. He manages to avoid getting cut in half by the scythe, but the claws are the real problem. He and the Scarecrow dance with one another. Wilt clashing with the claws, with a few slipping through and cutting the faunus.
Ruby snaps out of her gaze and puts the bottle to her lips. She gulps down the cool liquid, getting a sweet taste that dances on her taste buds. She feels a tinge run through her body with an urge of energy, like a car battery getting a jump. She looks at her hands, red energy coursing through.
Her aura is back. Now they can get outta here.
She hits the gas and blasts off in a burst of rose petals. The gust of petals snatches the faunus like a ragdoll —earning a grunt from him— and makes a sharp turn down an alley.
The Scarecrow gives chase.
Ruby sees the other end of the alley and pushes everything she has into her speed.
She can't help but feel as if she's running from a train thrashing through the alley. Multiple metal claws drag and tear along the ground and walls with Qrow's shrieking Inching closer and closer behind her.
Come on, Ruby! Come on! She grits her teeth, pushing further. She didn't expect this thing to be able to keep up with her, especially at this speed. And what makes matters worse, she's carrying extra weight. So she's not going as fast as she normally would.
She makes it out into the street but the Scarecrow is closer than she thought. He lunges out of the shadows and swings his scythe. Ruby makes a hard left turn, barely getting nicked by a mere few inches. The sudden shift in weight and direction makes her swerve and lose control.
"No! No! No!" Ruby panics. She and Adam hit the street rolling. She winces, her world spinning as she sits up with a groan.
"Ru…by…" Qrow's distorted voice wheezes out.
Ruby gaspes. She jerks her head towards the large grimm, seeing him shuffle towards the pair and dragging his scythe behind.
"Stop…Kid..do. This isn't…you…"
Ruby looks upon the monster's face once more. His expressions are blank. Skin a ghostly white. Eyes black and burning scarlet red. This can't really be her uncle, can it? Her heart aches, feeling as if it's being ripped up in her chest. She can't take it.
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby cries out with teary eyes, grabbing the grimm's attention. "You have to stop! Please! Don't you recognize me?!"
Qrow stops, looks upon the crying girl, and jerks back violently. His face twists as he grabs his head with two claws, letting out a scream with an agony that tears Ruby's soul. "It's not your fault kiddo! It's not your fault!"
"Not my fault?" Ruby whispers.
Adam steps in front, standing between her and the Scarecrow. Qrow stares him down, snarling and bearing his sharp metal teeth. The faunus slides Wilt into Blush and holds a stance.
"Hey," He grabs Ruby's attention. "Get those rose petals ready again."
Ruby gets up, eyeing the strange man in anticipation and wonder.
His aura becomes visible, a rosy red color flows from his body and his hair glows a bright red. Ruby watches in awe. It reminds her of Yang when she gets fired up, minus the red eyes and fire. The scarecrow charges with a shriek. Adam draws Wilt with a swift strike, creating a red slash that cuts clean through the base of a nearby building.
That flash!
She remembers seeing a red flash moments ago. The same red flash that caused her to almost get buried under a collapsing building. That was him?!
The tall building leans forward and falls. Ruby gasps, springing into action and snatching Adam away in a gust of petals. The building crashes on top of the giant grimm, cutting off his loud shrieking.
Ruby races to stay ahead of the rolling dust cloud. She cuts around a corner of another block, runs up a building, and flies through an open window.
Her semblance gives out. The pair drop from the petals and roll across an apartment living room. Ruby slams her back against a dresser, wincing from the claw mark she got from the Scarecrow.
She takes in her surroundings. The living space isn't what she would call roomy. Red paint on the walls peel with cracked concrete showing underneath. Old, left behind belongings litter the old wood floor with a mix of smashed glass —probably from the window.
A musty smell lingers in the apartment. If Weiss ever saw a room like this, she would've demanded the place undergo a deep cleaning and a major makeup. Or she'll just straight up leave if it's too much for her. The living room is dark, of course, with the only light being the blood moon shining through the busted window.
What happened here?
A metallic click grabs Ruby out of her thoughts. Adam points Blush at her while jumping to his feet. Ruby jumps and puts her hands in the air.
"Ahh! Don't shoot!"
"Who are you then?" Adam responds in a calm yet demanding tone.
"I-I'm Ruby Rose. W-Why were you trying to kill me?"
Adam scans her from head to toe and cautiously observes the room. "Where's the Wolf?"
"The what?"
"Don't think you can play me for a fool," Adam growls but keeps his voice at a normal tone.
"I'm not!" Ruby yells. "I really have no idea what you're talking about! What wolf? And what happened to Remnant?! Did Salem get the relic from Atlas?! Did she get all the relics?! And what was that thing back there?! What happened to my unc-"
"You need to calm down," Adam cuts her off. "Before that thing or another grimm finds us. Now, what are relics?"
"What happened to my uncle?"
"I'm the one asking questions here." Adam growls.
"And I have questions too!" Ruby shoots back. She takes a breath. "Can you put the gun down?"
Adam holds his aim.
"Please," she begs him. "It's really hard to talk this way."
He eyes her for a moment before pulling up a chair and sitting down, lowering his aim but still having a firm grip on Blush.
Ruby stares at the gun-sheath. "U-Um…"
"This is as comfortable as we're gonna get. Now talk."
/-/
"Lemme get this straight," Adam scratches his head. "They're magical items made by the gods, and you were in Atlas trying to get one?"
"Well, actually, we went to Atlas to give our relic to Ironwood. But he…turned against us, and Salem attacked." Ruby answers.
"That doesn't make sense."
"Huh? I said this in my broadcast to all of Remnant."
"What broadcast? None of what you're saying makes sense," Adam growls with straight frustration mixed with his confusion.
"What? Why?"
"One, Blake never went to Atlas. Two, if these all-powerful, god-given relics were real, then the Wizard would've been obsessed with getting them before the Witch and her maidens. And three, we would've known if Atlas had something like that."
Wizard? Witch? Who are they? And didn't everyone get my message?
Something isn't right here. She can feel it in her gut. Ever since she took a dive into that mysterious sea, saw all those stars, and came out of that black goo; everything has been flipped upside down. Honestly, this feels like one of those fairy tales she read as a kid —be its far from gumdrops and rainbows.
Never mind that right now, she shakes out of her thoughts. "My turn. What happened to my uncle? Why was he a grimm?"
Adam tilts his head slowly, eyeing her with an analyzing stare. "I don't know."
"Huh?!"
"I don't know how he ended up like that. Now for my question."
"Hold on! You mean you really don't know anything? You called him a scarecrow back there!"
"Just cuz we've given it a name, doesn't mean we know anything about it."
"B-But…" Her eyes fall to the floor. A part of her wants to push the question, pry what answers he does have out of him. But what if he really doesn't know? It's just like with the hound. It was a person, but no one knows how they became that way. Obviously, Salem was the reason. And in the case of Qrow, that's the only conclusion her mind comes to.
"Why did you destroy Atlas?"
"Huh?"
"You heard me," Adam locks eye contact with her. "You caused Atlas to fall."
"What?! I don't know what you're talking about! When did this happen?!"
"Less than a month ago."
"A month ago?" Ruby perks up waving her hands erratically. "No no no no, there's a big misunderstanding! I-I was just in Atlas! We were fighting Ironwood and Salem, and evacuating the people to Vacuo! A month ago I was in Mistral, trying to stop the fall of Haven!"
"Haven?"
"Um, yeah. Haven Academy. It's like Beacon."
"I know what Beacon is," Adam remarks. "But there was never a Haven Academy in the Witch Kingdom."
Witch Kingdom? Ruby wonders in her thoughts.
She never heard of a place like that, never in her life. There is no Haven Academy? He's joking, right? And how did she cause Atlas to fall? If anything, the blame falls on Ironwood and Salem. All she did was evacuate people to Vacuo.
Adam's finger taps on Blush, dragging Ruby out of her thoughts. She tenses under his intense gaze, his tapping making her uneasy. She winces, her adrenaline finally wearing off and her injuries screaming with every heartbeat.
The three gashes running down her back being the loudest of them all.
"Ow! Gosh this hurts…"
Adam's walkie-talkie buzzes to life with scrambling voices. He raises from his chair, sliding Wilt back into Blush, and starts towards the busted window.
"Um," Ruby speaks up. "Do you have anything to help with the pain?"
The faunus stares at her for a moment, a contemplating stare. He reluctantly sighs and tosses a small first aid pouch at her feet. Ruby snatches it up. She rummages through the pouch and goes to work on cleaning her injuries. Luckly, her aura is back. Sadly, it doesn't heal at a crazy rate.
Could really use Vomit Boy right now.
She pats the gash on her cheek with an alcoholic pad. She winces, "This really hurts, you know."
"I was trying to kill you," Adam said plainly while standing by the window.
Who exactly is this guy? Ruby watches him while he messes with his small radio, calling for Sun and Blake. If she remembers rightly, Sun called him Adam on the walkie talkie. Actually, she recalls Blake mentioning that name one time before. Speaking of which, her team fell into that abyss as well. Did they make it out okay?
She slips out her scroll —letting out a breath of relief that it works— and tries to contact the rest of her team. The screen turns to static with the bold red words 'No Signal'. She frowns and tries to search for an available network to hop onto. 'No tower found' appears on her screen.
What's going on? The range of a CCT tower is massive. How am I not in range?
"Ad…am…" A female voice calls through the static of Adam's walkie-talkie.
Adam turns the knob on the radio, clearing up the channel. "Blake, do you copy?"
Blake? Ruby jerks her head towards him.
"Adam?" Blake's voice calls from the other side. "Where are you?! We barely got away from Little Red!"
"Sorry," Adam apologizes in a calm tone.
"Sorry?!" Blake repeats. "We almost died and you're sorry?!"
Adam remains quiet; stone faced to Blake's ear chewing.
"Blake," Ren's voice calls from the background. "You need to calm down."
"Yeah. Do you want her to find us again?" Sun chimes in.
Blake lets out a frustrated sigh before taking a breath.
"You've calmed down?" Adam asks plainly.
"I'm sorry. It's just… We got separated from Fox."
Fox? From Team CVFY? Ruby somewhat remembers the guy. Tall, dark skinned guy who's blind —she thinks. She never really interacted with the guy much outside of school.
"He's a good huntsman. He can hold his own, I'm sure." Adam reassures her. "What about the Atlasian survivors?"
"All of them died in the manta crash, except for one. Marrow -I think his name was. He's with Fox."
"Blake?" Ruby calls out as she walks over to Adam, an uncontrollable smile splitting her face. At least she knows one of her teammates is alive and well. "S'that really you?"
The radio goes silent. The complete opposite of what she expected to hear. The silence lingers, making Ruby's smile slowly change to a look of concern. "Um. Blake?" She calls again. The air suddenly becomes heavy, a feeling she can't seem to shake off. "A-Are you ther-"
"Adam. Who is that?" Blake responds with tension clear in her voice. "Is that who I think it is?!"
Adam takes a breath. "Yeah, it is."
Another moment of silence lingers, making Ruby bite her lip. "Um, Blak-"
"Listen to me good, you monster," Blake's tone doesn't go any higher than a normal inside voice, but the sheer venom in her words cuts Ruby and makes her flinch. "Let. Him. Go. Or I will make you regret it."
Wait. Why is she talking to me like that?
Ruby stares slack-jawed. Never did she dream of Blake speaking to her with such hostility. Just a few hours ago, they were fighting together side by side. She even tried to save Ruby from falling into that abyss. So what happened?
Ruby didn't try to fight back her tears. "Bla-"
"I'm not being held captive," Adam interrupts Ruby. "Blake, you said that you got away from Little Red just now, right?"
"Yeah?"
"And you found her on the east side of the city, right?"
"Yeah. What are you getting at?"
"I'm all the way on the west side. So how can she be in two places at the same time?"
The radio grows silent.
"Yeah. That's something I've been trying to figure out. She even claims she tried to save Atlas."
"Save it?!" Blake blurts out. "She destroyed it! We saw it on the CCT broadcast before the towers went down!"
"I know."
"We'll talk about this at the rendezvous point. Adam, watch your back, okay?" Blake ends the call.
Ruby keeps her eyes on the radio, perplexed and —quite frankly— torn with a wreck of emotions. But the biggest question that eats at her mind is: What the heck happened when she fell into that abyss?
She recalls that weird place with different versions of herself. And how everything went white after touching that star…
Wait, hold on. Was I sent to another world? Or something?
That has to be the answer —as crazy as it may sound. But it explains why it sounds like there is another Ruby running around. An evil one from the sounds of it. Her? Evil? No way! There's not a single evil bone in her body —she thinks. She had seen stuff like this in comics before, so could an evil Ruby really exist?
A large shadow passes in front of the window, blocking out the crimson moonlight from outside. Ruby follows Adam to the window and peeks towards the black sky.
Her mouth drops.
A gigantic black creature looms over the ruined city, eclipsing the moon. Due to its sheer size and wingspan, Ruby can't get a full look at it. But, if she's being honest, it looks like a colossal manta ray —with a giant red eye?
"Whoa!" Ruby leans on the window to see more of this thing as it silently and slowly passes overhead. She sees other grimm flying around it, screeching as they soar the skies. Ranging from Nevermores to Griffons to Ravagers to Sphinx. Even wyverns, but much, much smaller than the one she saw at Beacon. "That thing is huge! What grimm is that?!" It's way bigger than that whale I saw in Atlas! Bigger than an airship!
"The Harbinger," Adam mutters as they watch the gigantic beast. "It's heading east. She must still be over there."
/-/
"Wait. Back up a minute," Sun rubs his noggin, feeling his brain about to burst. "So you weren't joking when you said you found her on the west side?"
"Why would I joke about that?" Adam said plainly with his back against the wall and arms crossed. He acts as a lookout by a window of an old industrial factory the group met up in. Old, rusty machinery nestles together, filling the spacious factory with plenty of hiding places —and escape routes in case they have to bail. Hopefully not.
"Hey man," Sun shrugs. "You're a hard case most of the time. So I don't know what your sense of humor is."
Adam groans.
"But is this really Little Red? She seems —I don't know— different from when we last saw her."
"U-Um…" Ruby sits in a chair, looking between Sun and Ren. She twists her hands as she rack her brain for something to say. It's not like she never spoke with them before, it's just that they are not her Sun and Ren.
"There is something off about her," Ren said with his arms crossed and chin resting between his thumb and finger. "A bit older, maybe?"
Older? Ruby blinks from the comment. Yeah, I've gotten taller. But I don't look too different from when I was in Beacon, right?
"This is rather strange. First, she was trying to kill us. Now, she…barely talks." Ren adds.
"You can talk, right?" Sun asks.
"I-I can talk!" Ruby's nervousness squeaks out. "It's just… I um… You said I tried to kill you. Do you mean the other me?"
Both boys look at each other and say in unison, "Other you?"
"Well, yeah…. I mean…" Gosh this is hard. What am I supposed to say?
"Hey Blake," Sun calls out. "You gonna ask her any questions? Or you just gonna look grumpy the whole time? Even Adam talked more than you."
The group turn their attention to Blake, the only one of the group who hasn't said anything since the meet up. She leans against one of the old machinery, spaced out with a contemplating look on her face.
"Hello? Remnant to Blake."
"Shut up! I heard you the first time!"
"Yikes! Okay! Okay!"
Blake sighs, pushing off the machine and walks over to the group. Ruby keeps her eyes down, only watching the fanus' feet as she stops in front of her. She grips her skirt, feeling Blake's yellow eyes burning holes into her. Finally mustering up the nerve, she slowly looks up to make eye contact with the faunus.
"Um. H-Hey Bla-"
"Who exactly are you? And you better give me a straight answer."
"I-I've already told you guys who I am."
"How did you end up on the west side of the city?"
"Well… I uh…"
"Answer the question!"
"C-Cinder knocked me off of Ambrosius' portal things and I woke up in a lake! A bunch of grimm chased me through the forest and I tried to lose them in the city! A building tried to crush me but I got away, then that guy with the katana comes outta nowhere and tries to kill me! And then… then this grimm that looked like my uncl-"
"Wait. Hold up. Hold up. Hold up. What?" Sun interrupts the rambling girl. "Did you say Cinder? And who the heck is Ambrosius?
Ren raises an eyebrow. "That account was…"
"Weird, right?" Sun said. "Ya know? I think she might be a clone."
"A clone? Wouldn't clones retain the memories of the original? And why would she create a clone of herself?" Ren asks.
Sun shrugs. "Decoy maybe? Acting as her old self to throw us off?
"That… makes no sense."
"I'm not a clone!" Ruby shakes her fists in frustration. "Everything I said is true! I'm just as confused as you guys!"
"This is getting us nowhere," Adam chimes in. "Her retelling of events are either different or never happened. Like when she said that she tried to save Atlas."
"I did try to save Atlas! I did everything I could! I… Things didn't go as we hoped…"
"We? Who is 'we'?" Blake throws another question.
"Alright, let's calm down for a minute," Ren said. "Obviously there is confusion here and throwing more questions won't make things better. Blake, the last time we saw Ru-"
Blake glares at him.
"...Little Red. Did she ever look at us like that?"
Blake looks back to Ruby, their eyes locking for a second time. Sitting in front of Blake right now, is a scared, confused, and conflicted girl; with the eyes of an innocent person being wrongly accused.
Blake clenches her fists and scowls. "You know what Ren? Since you have much better people skills, you do this." She storms off.
"Hey, Blake!" Sun goes to chase after her.
"Leave her alone Sun," Adam stops him, pushing off the wall and going after her. "I got this. Ren."
Ren sighs, activating a pinkish hue around his hand. "I know." He follows after Adam.
"Hey, why can't I talk to her?" Sun argues.
"Because I'm better at it than you are," Adam remarks. "Take my spot as lookout."
Sun frowns as he watches the boys disappear behind the old machinery. He groans loudly, locks his hands behind his head and mosey over to the window. "'Because I'm better at it than you are.' 'Take my spot as lookout.' Whatever man."
This is definitely not my Remnant. Ruby thought. Of course it's not. Especially when you hear that there is an evil you killing people. That eats at her mind just as much as Qrow becoming a Grimm.
Little Red.
That's a nickname she hadn't heard in a long time. The last person to call her that was Roman —before he was eaten. Why did this other Ruby become evil like everyone implies? Did she join Salem? What? No. No. That's crazy. Brainwashed! Maybe she was brainwashed?
She can imagine just how much this may have hurt the people around her other self. Well, Sun is acting as the laid-back, joke cracking goofball —oddly. Ren is still cool and level headed —on the surface. As for Adam, well, she never met him before until now. So she doesn't know alot about him. But Blake… She wonders what kind of history Blake and the other Ruby had. Not just her. What about their Yang? Their Weiss?
Ruby looks up at Sun for a moment. Something is crawling up his back. Something small. She leans forward and squints her eyes. It looks like a black spider with white on its body.
Oh no. She gasps. "Sun!"
"Huh?"
"S-Spider! Grimm! Grimm!" She points.
"Grimm?! Where?!"
Before he could catch it, the spider had already crawled up to his shoulder. Sun sees it and freezes, stuck making contact with all eight crimson eyes.
It hisses.
"AHHHH!" Sun freaks out. Flailing his arms and knocking the creature off him. The spider hits the floor and rolls back on its legs, hissing at the huntsmen.
"How long was that thing on me?!"
"Kill it! Kill it!" Ruby yells. Both of them try to stomp the Grimm. Yes, it's a Grimm, but it's small. Small enough to be crushed underfoot.
Adam, Blake, and Ren come bolting around the old machinery, weapons drawn with Ruby being their primary target. But all that changed when they see her and their goofball-of-a-teammate trying to stomp a spider that is —surprisingly and very alarming— jumping out of the way.
"Don't just stand there! Help us kill it!" Sun yells.
The spider scurries off, evading the huntsmen and slips through the small spaces of the machinery.
"A Grimm that size usually travels in groups," Ruby says. "Why did it try to attack us by itself?"
"That wasn't meant to attack us." Ren replies, alarmed.
"It was a scout! Where did you find it?!" Blake asks.
"I-It was crawling on Sun's back!" Ruby points to the monkey fanus.
"Hey! I didn't know it was there!"
"Uh guys," Ren said with a horrified look of realization. "I think she might've planted it on Sun before we escaped."
"Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! That thing was on me the whole time?!"
"We need to go, now-" Before Adam could finish, a loud screech followed by a crash erupts from the upper level of the factory; showering the ground floor with chunks of glass and metal.
"Take cover!" Ren yells.
Ruby slides under the assembly line, tucks into a ball, and shuts her eyes tight. Debris beats down around her; glass shattering on impact and metal ricocheting off the concrete.
The shower ceases.
Opening her eyes, she remains still for a minute; scanning the area before crawling out. She sees the rest of the group coming out of their hiding places. Luckily, no one got hit.
A low growl calls from above.
Everyone freezes. Every eye looks up to the source of the beastly growl, an unpleasant and familiar face staring back at them.
"Uncle Qrow…"
"Wait. I thought you said that building killed him?" Sun said to Ruby and Adam, seeing the snarling beast hanging off the upper floor.
"No. I said I doubt it was enough to kill him," Adam replied. "It was meant to slow him down."
"W-What do we do?" Ruby asks. "He's too fast for us to get away on foot."
"Whatever the plan is, we need to do it fast." Ren urges the group. "If he's here, then she's not far behind."
"Hey," Adam grabs Ruby's attention. "Can you use your semblance to get us outta here?"
"I can try, but I wouldn't be as fast as I normally would."
"The melting pot," Blake draws their attention to a giant pot hanging from the ceiling. "Some of us have to distract him while the others cut the chain. It'll swing into him and buy us time to escape."
"Good. I'll take the brunt of his attack. Sun and Ren flank him. Blake, you go with her." Adam said.
"What?! Why her?!"
"Uh. I don't think I can take that thing head on." Sun opposed.
Qrow springs into the air and flaps his giant wings, filling the factory with an echoing screech as he swoops in on his bickering prey. The group breaks up and Adam fires Blush. In a fluid motion, he switches from Blush to his grappling gun and fires at a wall. The cable yanks him out the way, nearing getting snatched by metal claws.
He feeds Blush with a fire dust cartridge, loads it, and dumps a payload right in Qrow's face. The giant fireball shakes the old factory and the scarecrow staggers back, recoiling violently.
"Move!" Blake orders Ruby and yanks her along.
"I don't have a weapon! How am I supposed to fight?!"
Adam overhears this and looks directly at Qrow's scythe. The boys exchange looks and nods. Ren takes off, emptying his mags on the grimm with Adam not far behind him. Sun hangs back, claps his hands together, and summons two yellow, hard light clones.
The first clone slips in the midst of the chaos and kicks the grimm right in the face. The second acts as a footstool for Adam, throwing the fanus into the air.
Adam flies straight for Qrow's scythe wielding arm, holding his blade inside of Blush and strikes. Wilt tastes beastly flesh and the scarecrow screams with black blood spewing out of his severed limb. Now riding on its back, Adam tosses the scythe to a surprised and awestruck Ruby. "Go!"
Ruby snatches up the scythe and takes off with Blake. Qrow's inhuman shriek mingled with metal claws and gunfire echoes behind the girls, Ruby couldn't keep herself from glancing that the scythe in her hands.
She notices Blake watching glass tubes that run along the walls, tangling into a network that spreads throughout the factory. "What're we doing?"
"Looking for the main generator," Blake replies as they run up the stairs to the second floor. "All the pipes lead to a single power source. We'll need it if we're gonna move that melting pot."
Ruby observes the state of the factory. Being a weapons geek and a technophile, her brain immediately starts taking in the conditions of the old machinery and possible problems. There is no guarantee this generator will run. And if —and that's a big if— they do get it up and running. How long will it last?
And more curiously, a generator sends power through wires, switches, and circuit breakers. These tubes look like they are for water or some other liquid. What kind of generator are they looking for?
"There!" Blake yells as she sprint to their objective.
They found it, indeed. Said machine is built into the wall with the usual gauges and levers, all the tubes that travel the factory conjoining as one through the contraption. A far cry from the expected digital touch screens.
There is one question: How are they gonna turn it on?
Blake pulls out a cylinder-like capsule for her pouch, a yellow glow can be seen inside of it.
Lightning Dust! Ruby recognizes the color. So this thing takes Dust, huh? Makes sense, giving how stuff like this is common in her world.
Blake slides the capsule into a compartment and locks it in. She bumps Ruby out of the way —Ruby frowns at this, of course— and grabs a lever. "Please let this work," she whispers and pushes it up. Dust is sucked into the contraption and the old rust bucket finally wakes up.
It rattles and whines as it comes back to life with new found power. Its panels and gauges light up and a yellow glowing liquid flows through the tubes. Lights flicker overhead, the old machines rankle and clank with sprockets and gears, and the once slumbering factory wakes up —eager to work.
Wait. What's that yellow stuff? Is that Dust?
Ruby watches in awe as the once still and quiet building erupts with industrial life. A loud crash followed by Qrow's beastly scream jerks her attention towards the ground floor. Her uncle-turned-monster rams into moving machinery. The boys duck and hide behind moving parts of the factory, each obstacle slowing down Qrow's monstrous speed and making the fight more manageable.
Blake runs for the panel that controls the melting pot.
Ruby goes to follow her but a sudden ringing in her ears stops her in her tracks. She winces as the ringing grows louder.
And louder.
And louder.
And louder.
Like tens of thousands of bells playing a symphony in her head. Her head throbs and her eyes start to glow. She lets out a cry, stumbles, and catches the rail.
"What's wrong with you?!" She screams at her stupid eyes. "Where were you when I needed you?!"
A large shadow darkens the sunroof of the factory; a pair of large wings stretch out as the shadow grows.
"BLAKE!"
A wyvern smashes through the sunroof, coming down with a rain of glass on the fanus. Blake —with her cat-like reflexes— backflips; leaving behind a shadow clone in her place. The winged lizard lands on the platform with its massive size. The structure bends and whines underneath the beast, seeming to give way at any moment.
Blake growls under her breath as she draws Gamble Shroud. "Just our luck."
The reptilian beast towers over the fanus, red eyes shining down on her with sadistic glee. Its chest glows with an orange hellfire from deep within and a row of pointed sharp teeth regard her with a hungry smile. It spreads its massive wings and lets out a bone rattling roar, shaking the platform even more.
Please, work this time. For me, okay? Ruby begs her silver eyes as she tries to clear her mind and concentrate on fueling the light inside her. Thinking about how much she wants to see her friends and family again. How she wants to help these people, even though they are not her friends.
"Hey!" She yells out to the dragon. She feels the light coming, building up inside her. She focuses her eyes on the grimm. Any moment now.
Nothing. The light fades from her eyes, going back to dormancy.
"No! No! No! No! No! Wait, come back!"
The dragon draws a roaring fire from its chest and steps forward.
Blake runs.
The grimm breathes.
"Blake!" Ruby screams. She moves, leaving a trail of roses and scoops Blake up off the platform. The fire misses them but —unfortunately— hits the generator. The machine explodes and the fire mixes and travels through the tubes of liquid dust. Machinery explodes and the fires spread.
The reawakened factory ignites into a great yellow inferno.
Ruby and Blake drop and roll on third floor. She uses Qrow's scythe to pull herself up, jaw dropped at the immediate change of the environment. So much for Blake's plan. Talk about bad luck.
Blake groans as she pulls herself up on the rail. She slams her fist on the rail, gritting her teeth in frustration, and mumbles something about the Scarecrow." The wyvern bursts out of the golden flames with a scream, fire and electricity rolling off its wings.
"Ladybug!" Ruby yells instinctively.
Blake pauses and stares at the girl for a second. But like clockwork, the girls spring into action. They quickly jump off the platform as the dragon bulldozes through. Blake uses Gamble Shroud and dangling chains from the ceiling to swing around while Ruby runs along and leaps from support beam to support beam, pinballing to stay in the fight.
Ruby had her fair share of crazy and intense battles. From dragging a Nevermore up a cliff —by its neck! To fighting the White Fang on a runaway train. Riding a rocket-for-a-locker to an airship in the midst of a grimm horde. Playing hopscotch with Cordovin's missiles and jumping down the barrel of a cannon. And staring down a leviathan —which nearly got her killed.
This is just another one to add to that list. Just one slip up and she can end up getting eaten by the wyvern or fall to a fiery grave. The black beast swings back around, mouth open for another bite. Blake slings from a chain and creates a shadow clone to take the bite.
The clone explodes into ice inside the dragon's mouth, freezing it shut. Ruby flies in, grabs Blake by the hand, and lands on the beast. They start running. Ruby drags her uncle's scythe down the dragon's back while Blake hacks away. Scales fly and black blood splatters on their clothes.
A sense of nostalgia and battle high crawls up Ruby's back, taking her back to her initiate exam. The girls jump to another walking platform, just in time before the beast slams into a wall and falls to the ground floor with a big shake. It thrashes around the fiery rubble as it gets back on its feet. An orange glow comes up its throat, melting the ice over its mouth.
"We have to get out of here," Blake covers her mouth with a cough. "This smoke isn't good for us."
Ruby couldn't agree more. Her hood isn't doing much to protect her mouth and nose from the smoke. She looks to the ground floor. Fiery rubble falls upon the battle between Qrow and the boys. Adam seems to be taking most of the Scarecrow's attention, creating opportunities for Ren and Sun to flank and go in for the attack. Two fights are going on here and they need to end. Quick.
"I have an idea," An lightbulb goes off in Ruby's head. "Follow my lead."
Blake stares while covering her coughs.
"Come on. I've been helping so far. Can you at least trust me? Just a little bit?"
The fanus relents with a sigh, giving Ruby the go ahead. With that, Ruby leaps off the platform. She holds her breath against the smoke during her dive and lands on the beast. The dragon breaks the ice with a deafening roar and takes flight. It tears through the upper floors in a frenzy-filled rampage, crashing through support beams and platforms with the girls clinging to its injured back, showering more debris to the ground floor.
"Hey!" Sun yells from below, nearing getting crushed by debris. "Can you watch where you're flying that thing?!"
"We gotta get to its neck!" Ruby tells Blake over the rushing air and smoke. We climb, gripping tight and bracing themselves when the giant reptile smashes through more flames and metal.
Ruby takes the scythe and lunges, the blade hooking around beastly flesh and black blood. She pulls. "Help me stir it into the other one!"
Blake grabs the scythe and yanks. The dragon cries in pain, its direction changing and swinging back around towards the boys and the Scarecrow. The girls yank harder on its neck.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! What're they doing?!" Sun yells.
"Move!" Ren shouts as the boys run for safety, ignoring the Scarecrow.
The scythe rips through muscle and neck bone, gushing black blood from the reptile's neck. Ruby grabs Blake and flies out of there. The headless dragon rams into the Scarecrow and sends them both crashing through a wall, forging a path to freedom.
Ruby wastes no time. Rose petals snatches up the group and fly out of the burning factory —right before a huge firework display of yellow flames and lightning. They race through the factory yard, flying through a labyrinth of shipping containers.
She bursts out into a wide open area, drops the group, rolls, and sprawls on the ground.
She stares at the black sky; watching down on the huntsmen with it's single red eye. Shes exhausted and her lungs scream from the lingering smoke. The rest of the group cough and groan as they recover, fresh air filtering the smoke out of their lungs.
Now that they're out of the factory and got away from the Scarecrow, what now?
"What's taking her so long?" Sun groans while getting up. "How hard is it to open a portal and get us outta here?"
Portal? Is he talking about Yang's mom? Ruby calls back to Haven Academy, how Raven used portals to bring Cinder and her minions right to them.
A sudden gust of wind blows over them, leaving behind a trail of rose petals to dance and twirl in the air. The group freezes and snaps their gaze to Ruby.
Ruby jumps back, waving her hands in denial. "T-That wasn't me!"
Sun looks up to a nearby industrial crane. His jaw drops and fear fills his eyes. "Aw crap… G-Guys…"
The party follows his gaze. A red hooded girl perches on top of the crane, an all too familiar red scythe clutched in her hand. A black fog or mist lingers around her, forming together and manifesting as a wolf's head. It resembles very closely to a Beowolf; white mask, fiery red eyes, and a maw full of crimson sharp teeth. She stands with the wolf in front of the blood moon; a reaper looming over the party.
Oh my gosh, are Ruby's first thoughts upon seeing the girl. There really IS an evil me!
And alongside that, she notices the girl is wearing her old clothes, clothes she hadn't worn since beacon. In fact, she looks the same exact age from around that time!
Their eyes meet and Ruby holds her breath. The hairs on her neck stand up and her heart races, pounding over.
And over.
And over.
Ready to burst at any moment.
There she is, the other Ruby. Right there, looking down on the party from under her hood. Ruby finds herself tangled in a trance, caught in the grip of Little Red's silver gaze. A cold, expressionless gaze; void of the energy and spark she's pretty sure those eyes once held. Something Ruby knows for a fact doesn't suit herself.
Like looking at a dark reflection.
Little Red wasn't the only one Ruby couldn't look away from. Next to her was the ghostly beast, the Wolf. Snarling and bearing its crimson pointed teeth. But what catches her attention the most are it's eyes. Fiery red eyes fueled with life. Enthusiasm. Energy. Spark. Things that the other Ruby should have. No. Things that ANY Ruby Rose should have —Or so she thinks.
She quickly notices the wolf holding a dark skinned man by the collar. In fact, this man has a dog tail. "Marrow?" She recognizes the fanus as one of the Ace Ops. "Marrow!"
Marrow wakes up, and the most frightening wake up he'd ever have. He is hanging off the side of the crane —by his collar!
"Ahhhh!" Marrow freaks out, flailing his arms and legs wildly as he dangles in Wolf's teeth. Little Red seems unfazed, nor does she acknowledge his panicking. "Help! Get me away from this monster!"
"Crap man! What're we gonna do!" Sun pulls his hair in a panic.
"The survivor is alive," Adam answers. "We'll have to rescue him."
"Easy for you to say!" Sun barks. "You think we'll get to him before she rips his soul out?!"
R-Rips his soul out? Ruby blinks in shock of what she just heard.
Blake scowls towards Little Red; gritted teeth and clenched fist. "Now is not the time to argue Sun."
"I'm not arguing! I'm clearly freaking out!"
"Shut up! Both of you!" Adam barks. He slips out an elixir from his pouch and gulps it down. He grips Wilt's handle. "I'm gonna cut down the crane! When I do, the rest of you grab the survivor and run!"
"What?" Blake perks up. "And leave you behind?!"
"I'm a heavy, Blake! You know very well a scout won't last long against her!"
Ruby looks at the group. Everyone is visibly exhausted from the chaos in the factory. She can feel it herself, especially having to carry all that weight with her semblance. That blue bottle Adam drunk. She remembers how it brought her aura back, giving her just enough push to get away from the Scarecrow. Maybe it's some type of energy drink for aura?
A large shadow flies over the group with a loud flap. The scarecrow drops in front of the group, striking even more dread in their hearts. The party quickly notices major differences in his appearance. His giant black feathered wings are replaced with the wings of the wyvern, red and transparent. And the arm that Adam severed off, is now the head of the slain dragon.
"What…is…broken…" Qrow said in his wheezing, distorted voice. "Can be… reforged!" He raises the dragon head in the air and it comes back to life, spewing a raging fire.
"Oh come on!" Sun yells. "He can do that?! There's no quiting with this guy!"
"You do remember he can graft things to his body, right?" Ren asks.
"Yeah, metal! Not other grimm!"
Beastly howls fill the air from all directions. A few Beowolves leap out and perch on top of shipping containers, regarding the huntsmen with hungry and bloodthirsty eyes. Ursi and Beringel emerge from the shadows of the factory yard, wanting in on the hunt. The number of grimm continues to swell as more and more beastly cries fill the night, ushering in Deathstalkers, King Taijitu, Nevermores; more bigger and nastier beast.
Droves upon droves pour into the yard, surrounding the party like a black tide filled with burning eyes, and drooling, snapping mouths.
Everyone stands back to back. Clutching their weapons with a few of them swearing under their breaths, saved for Ruby and Ren. Ruby notices how the horde isn't making any moves to close in. As if something is holding them back, despite their urge to lunge in and rip the huntsmen to shreds.
"Wolf," Red calls her companion; her voice sounding just as expected. Like Ruby's; soft spoken and gentle. "Are you upset?"
"I am." Wolf replies in a deep, beastly voice.
"Why?"
"Because it's been a long hunt without a SINGLE satisfying kill."
"What about the airship?"
"They died on impact!" Wolf growls.
"Or the blind one?"
"He was too easy to catch!"
The party tenses up after hearing about Fox.
"I can't die here!" Marrow screams his lungs out. "Not till you burn for what you did to Atlas!"
Wolf brings the dog fanus in front of Little Red, her expressions unmoved. "Stop fighting, please. Sometimes death is a mercy."
"So annihilating an entire kingdom is showing mercy?! Who do you expect to swallow that crock!" He screams in a sob. "Everyone… The General…"
"General Ironwood helped Ozpin, making him just as responsible for this. Then he tried hiding behind his fleet. How he died, showed how he lived."
"That Ironwood," Wolf chuckles with a grin. "That was a thrilling hunt. He thought himself to be an apex predator -until a real predator came along."
Marrow points at the girl, eyes filled with rage. "Stay- AHHHHH!"
Little Red grabs at his chest, gripping his aura, and starts ripping it out. Slowly; seemingly with a sense of care. Marrow's bloodcurdling screams raise higher, mingling with the snarls and howls of the horde.
As much as she wanted to, Ruby couldn't look away, frozen in place. She watches Marrow's light blue aura rip out of his body, leaving a empty husk behind to hang lifeless. Limp.
Wolf drops the body and chases after it. He gives a hungry smile and snatches his prey right above the horde. He tears into the corpse; teeth ripping into flesh and cracking bone.
The horde stares at Wolf with disappointment; like children watching someone eat their favorite candy.
Red absorbs the aura. Her red bleeding over Marrow's light blue. Consuming it. Becoming one. "Rest. Everything will be fine."
She brings her attention back to the huntsmen, mainly to frozen and jaw dropped Ruby. "You, who are you?"
Ruby jumps with a shiver.
"I couldn't shake the feeling something was off, but I couldn't put my finger on it."
"She looks like you, Red," Wolf said with a sniff. "And she smells like you."
Red tilts her head, her expressions remaining cold and blank. "Hm. Weird."
What should I say?! What should I say?! "W-Why are you doing this?!" Ruby blurts out. "Is Salem making you do this?!"
"Don't waste your breath," Blake said in the coldest tone Ruby has ever heard from her. "There's no getting through to her."
Wolf cackles. "That power hungry witch wishes she could do a fraction of what WE can do!"
Without warning —and for poor Ruby— the splitting headache from earlier strikes again. She drops to her knees, grabs her head with both hands and cries out in pain. Loud ringing filling her ears as her eyes glow. Though this time, she hears a woman's voice. It's muffled at first, but it clears up enough for her to make out two words.
"Ruby…stop…"
"H-Hey! What's wrong?!" Sun asks.
Little Red screams as well. Grabbing her head but managing to stay on her feet.
Like a dog trying to protect its owner, Wolf lets out the most vicious growl that shakes the group. "Shut up! You're dead! Dead! You left us! You said you'd stay but you left us!"
"H-Hey. Has she done that before?" Sun asked, looking just as perplexed as the group.
Ren shakes his head. "This is new."
Adam tightens his grip on Wilt and scans the horde for weaknesses. "I'm gonna cut us a path, someone grab the girl and we'll run for it."
Little Red points at the party. "Stay!"
Everyone freezes.
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Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
For those for you who are reading The World We Live In, chapter 7 will be next to be uploaded. It's currently in progress.