Yes, that's right everyone! I'm back and with a new chapter! I apologize for the long wait. Army life sure eats up a lot of the time. I'm sure some of you are eager to see what will happen next, so I'm not gonna waste ya'll time. I'll save my announcements for the end.
Anyway, hope you all enjoy Little Red chapter 4
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"Ruby," a woman calls out to her.
That voice again. Who is that?
"Ruby!"
Ruby groans and slowly opens her eyes. Her vision is dim and blurry, but she can see the shape of a person crouching over her.
"Who… are you?"
She can't make out the woman's face but what she can see is a white hooded cloak. Wait. A white cloak?! Her eyes snap open and she shoots up. "Mom?!"
Bam!
"OW!" Sun yelps in pain and tumbles backward. He grasps his forehead with both hands and squirms. Ruby groans from the throbbing pain.
"What was that for?!" Sun whinces.
"You were crouching over her…" Ren said in a deadpan tone.
The pain finally fades and she opens her eyes to her surroundings. Eyes adjusting and getting an eye full, the sight immediately snatches her breath away. And not in a good way.
The factory, no, the factories and the shipping yards underwent a drastic and very...unnatural…change. Gigantic black roots reach out of the ground, tangling together and ensnaring metal, concrete and asphalt in a forest of gigantic trunks and branches. Wait. No. These aren't giant trees. The roots are actually vines and the branches are thornes.
Roses! A dark forest of gigantic red roses! Ruby's jaw hangs with an awestruck stare. The tall flowers reach up and cover her view of the sky with crimson moonlight shining through. What happened here? Did Red do this, she wonders.
"Are you okay?" Sun grabs her attention, holding out his hand to her. "Where's Adam and Blake?"
"I-I don't know," Ruby replies and takes his hand. "The last thing I remember was fighting the other me. There was this loud ringing and a voice, then the other me started screaming."
"I heard the screaming part," Sun replies. "But what ringing? And what voice?"
"We need to move," Ren states, while looking over the edge of the giant vine they are on. Ruby looks over with Sun, her heart skipping a beat from what she sees. Below them, in the depths of this forest of black stemmed roses, a black fog lingers with glowing red eyes and snarling mouths staring back at him. Waiting for them to fall.
"Grimm…" Ruby said in a whisper.
"Why are they just sitting there?" Sun asks.
"They're watching," Ren replies. "And waiting."
Sun sends him an uneasy look after hearing that response. "Waiting for what?"
"Us"
"Dude. Does she get a kick out of this or something? This isn't like her."
"She's not the Ruby we knew anymore and she never will be again. We have to remember that."
Ruby bites her lip. She can sense some odd truth in what Ren said. From what she's seen and experienced, Little Red is like a completely different person from her. In the most terrifying way she could ever imagine. If she had to compare, she'd say that Red is equal to or worse than Salem.
Actually, no. Salem always sent Grimm and her henchmen. Red sent Grimm and herself. And Salem definitely never surrounded Ruby with grimm, and then let her go just to hunt her down for hide and seek.
"We have to find our way out of the city," Ren said to the pair, earning a look from Sun.
"And leave Adam and Blake behind?! They are still out there some- "
"You've heard what Adam said,'' Ren cuts him off. "We HAVE to get out of here. We lost a member of our team and all the Atlasian survivors are dead. Mission failed, Sun."
"Fox died because we weren't there to back him up!"
"Even if we were, we would've died along with him! Adam is the heavy on our team and he can only do so much against her! We can't beat Little Red in a head on fight, we have to go while we have a chance!"
Sun stares at him with his mouth agape, "Dude, why do you sound like Adam?"
"Ren," Ruby calls out to him. She's never the type to leave anyone behind in her world, especially a comrade. Neither was Ren in that regard. "It's not like you to leave someone behind. We should at leas-"
"Shut up. I don't wanna hear your voice. Just…keep quiet."
Ruby pauses, lips stopping in mid sentence and at loss for words.
Bang!
The crack of a gunshot snatches them out of the moment. Not a minute after the crack, a bronze javelin rockets and smashes into the giant vine with a loud boom!
"Run! Move!" Ren yells.
Oh crap, oh crap! Ruby breaks into a sprint, following closely behind the boys. The vine slowly crumbles, tilting to one side and creating an incline for the trio to run up. They jump to the safety of a stronger and more stable vine, just in time to see the vine they were just on to break apart and plummet into the black fog below.
"That was waaay too close for comfort," Sun pants. "I'd rather deal with the grimm than get caught in that fog."
"Why? What about the fog?" Ruby asks.
"You…don't wanna know."
"Guys, up top!" Ren yells.
The Spartan, Red's contender in this twisted game, comes down on the trio with Akouo —her shield— and smashes into the vine. Plumes of dust clouds the area, entering Ruby's lungs and blinding her vision. She slips out, just in time to catch sight of Ren getting back-handed by Akouo. The shield explodes with a shot, sending Ren soaring across and into the trunk —or stem in this case— of a rose.
"REN!" Ruby and Sun scream.
Pyrrha holds out her right hand, calling Milo —her spear/javelin rifle— back to her as she strides towards the pair.
"Here she comes! You got my back?" Sun said as he takes a stance with his gun-chuck staff, Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang.
Ruby swallows, grips Harbinger and gives a vigorous nod. She's running on pure adrenaline right now. It's the only thing keeping her going really. But that alone can get her so far, she knows it. She can feel it. Signs of exhaustion sets in every muscle in her body, the biggest parts being her legs. She's used Petal Burst way too much, especially having to carry multiple people.
'Don't think I can do another one. Maybe if I had one of those potions…'
"Here," Sun tosses her a blue bottle of elixir, as if he read her mind. "Can't have you collapsing on me."
"Vale!" Pyrrha throws her shield with a bellowing warcry. It comes by fast and the pair ducks, passing right over their heads with a gust of air and lodging deep into a rose stem; demonstrating the power behind it. Sun tosses up his staff and summons two hard light clones with a clap. The clones charge in, taking Pyrrha head on.
The Spartan backsteps one of the clones' swings, reaches out with her semblance, dislodges Akouo, and sends the shield flying back towards her. The shield breaks through the clone's back and tears it in half. Pyrrha slams her fist into her target, driving it straight into the vine and scattering it with a big crash. With Akouo back on her arm, she parries the second clone with a swing and stabs Milo through its torso. She grabs it by the neck, hoists it up, and cuts it in half with a fearsome yell.
So quick…and strong…
Ruby remembers seeing Pyrrha in action before. Well, her Pyrrha. Seeing how she held against a group like Team CRDL all on her own —well, Team CRDL was never an all that strong team compared to Team CFVY. But now that this Pyrrha is a grimm and with such brute strength… This is going to be more than just a problem.
Sun flanks Pyrrha, plants the tip of his staff on the vine and lifts his body for a kick. Pyrrha blocks the kick with Akouo, the faunus planting both feet on her bronze shield. Ruby watches in awe, popping the top of her elixir, ready to chug it down.
"Of course that wouldn't work," Sun said expectantly with a smirk. "But I was counting on that."
Pyrrha growls and swings Milo, meeting Sun's staff with a loud clang. Ruby sees Sun's tail reach around Pyrrha's shield and stick something on her arm. Before she can guess what he did, Sun springs off of Akouo and Pyrrha explodes. A black cloud of smoke spreads through the area and pieces of bark fly.
Was that a bomb?! Ruby thought, shielding her face from the flying pieces of wood. Pyrrha's javelin spear bursts out of the smoke, going into the air, and rockets straight for Sun.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sun yells in surprise. Quickly clapping his hands together, his clone grabs him and throws him downward; taking a devastating hit as the javelin scatters it to pieces and crashes into the trunk of a rose with a thunderous boom! Pyrrha charges out of the smoke the moment Sun lands, gunning straight from him with the weight and momentum of a runaway freight train.
Ruby tosses her empty bottle away, having chugged it down and feeling a surge of her aura returning, and blasts in a burst of petals. She snatches Sun by his collar and flies off to a nearby building entangled with the rose forest.
Boom!
A loud crash erupts behind them along with the thunderous sound of something massive collapsing. Both Ruby and Sun drop onto the rooftop and roll.
"Nice save back there," Sun compliments with a groan, getting to his feet and offering Ruby a hand. "But you should try working on your landing."
"Got it," Ruby groans and takes his hand.
The loud thundering of debris quickly grabs the pair's attention, making them both swallow hard at the scene. The giant tree —or rose— collapses into more root entangled buildings, clouding the area with plumes of dust and debris. What kind of crazy power does being a grimm give someone?! A giant tree trunk bursts out of the cloud, flying straight for the pair. It's coming fast!
Sun grabs Ruby by the shoulder, "Move! Run, run!"
The tree smashes into the rooftop, tossing the helpless pair into the air with a mess of concrete, metal, and thrones. Ruby's world swirls in a dizzying flip. She lands hard, skidding across the roof and goes right off the side. She doesn't have time to react. A strong hand grabs her by the wrist, saving her from certain death.
"I gotcha!" Sun said through a grunt. "That was a close one!"
Ruby comes to her senses, blinking and shaking off her dizziness. She lets out a gasp when she looks down. It's a long drop, one she definitely wouldn't have survived. Honestly, hitting the ground would've been the very least of her problems, especially with a black horde of fiery eyes and snapping mouths waiting below like an audience watching in anticipation. If it weren't for Sun, she might've…
Sun looks up, eyes widening with horror and disbelief. "Oh you gotta be kidding me!"
Ruby raises an eyebrow and looks in the same direction as Sun, her heart sinking as the same fear grabs a hold of her. Pyrrha levitates before them. Iron and steel clad her from chest to toe, replacing the white bone plate armor she had earlier, like a makeshift armor made of various scraps of metal. Her armor isn't what catches their action the most. A pair of large black wings, clad in metal, span out behind her. She stares down at the huntsmen with fiery red eyes, giving the presence of a twisted valkyrie descending to destroy them where they are. The Spartan growls, gripping Milo and Akouo.
Pyrrha's wings spread out, using her semblance to draw any and all scraps of metal to her. The scraps swirl around her like a tide, forming together as an arsenal of makeshift spears in the process. Pyrrha lifts Milo in the air, as if preparing to command her attack.
They're in a tight spot, a deadly kind of tight spot. Ruby hangs on to Sun's arm for dear life as she dangles high above a beastly audience that roar and screech for her to fall. Sun himself seems to be giving it all he has to keep Ruby from falling. They're stuck. Ruby looks down, seeing giant vines and thorns they can drop to, a long drop. Another reckless and crazy idea comes to mind.
"Sun!" Ruby calls out to the faunus, "Jump!"
"Jump?!" Sun flinches with a crazy look. "Jump where?!"
"Just do it!" Ruby plants her feet on the wall and yanks the faunus off the edge.
"Hey, what the- AHHH!" Sun screams at the top of his, shouting crazy, lunatic, psychopath, madwoman, anything he can think of to describe Ruby in the moment. Ruby ignores the shouting faunus and keeps her eyes forward with a nose dive. Pyrrha fires her arsenal of spears, chewing the building into a cloud of dust as it chases after the plummeting huntsmen.
Ruby grabs a hold of Sun, wraps them both in her hood, and flies off in the burst of petals. She hears Pyrrha wailing behind her like some sort of vengeful spirit, no doubt she's giving chase. A spear shoots past Ruby, nearly missing her. Yeah, she's definitely behind them.
The fight now turns into a game of cat and mouse around the rose forest. Petals race from thorn to thorn to dodge a barrage of spears, cut between buildings to escape chasing saws, and flying over large distances. Any kind of maneuver that can shake off their pursuer. A loud explosion breaks out overhead, sending giant thornes crashing down. Ruby hits the gas and pushes hard. Pyrrha is close behind.
A faint gunshot cracks in the distance with a quick flash of blue and a bolt of lightning zipping past Ruby. Pyrrha's irritated screams along with the sound of electrocution tells Ruby that whoever made that shot had hit their mark. She makes it out, clear from falling debris and leaving the Spartan to get caught. Pyrrha's wailing echoes as the falling debris drags her deeper down into the black abyss.
Ruby finally stops on a branch and falls to her hands and knees, grateful to have some breathing room.
"Man, everything's spinning," Sun woozily falls back on his butt. "I don't think I can take one more ride on your semblance."
She can't blame him. Her arms and legs shake and her body is starting to feel like jello. She lost count of how many times she used her semblance, let alone repeatedly carrying extra weight. Those potions, elixirs or whatever those blue bottles are, may have given her the boost she needed, but she is fresh out of aura and her body is past its limit. She can feel it.
Ruby collapses.
"Hey!" Sun crawls over in a panic. "No no no! Don't pass out on me!" He shakes her frantically, doing all he can to keep her awake.
A series of clinks and clanks, steel meeting steel, break out overhead. Ruby is exhausted and laying face down, but tries to muster enough strength to lift her gaze towards the sound. She spots Blake tumbling down, stuck in an uncontrollable flip. A gust of petals slams into the faunus, snatching her up like a ragdoll. Little Red appears from the petals, levitating in the air, and holding Blake by her throat.
"Blake…" Ruby's spirit wants her to move, to help Blake, to stop this evil version of herself. But her body, her muscles, they all said no.
"Ruby," Blake gasps, struggling to break free from Red's strong grip on her throat. "Don't… Please… I'm sorry." Tears roll down her cheek and sobs take over her words. "I shouldn't have left! Those people we killed! Those civilians we burned! I shouldn't have left you with that mistake!"
Red reaches towards Blake's chest, grabbing a hold of her aura with a snatch. Her expression remains cold and calculating, despite Blake's cries of pain. "Don't fight. Let go, Blake."
"Blake!" Sun panics. He detaches his staff into his pair of gun-chungs and opens fire. A black fog manifests and absorbs the bullets, as if it's eating them. Wolf, snarling with crimson teeth and fiery eyes, appears next to Red and bears his jaws at the monkey faunus.
Blake manages to use her semblance to escape Red's grip, leaving a fiery clone of herself in her place. The clone explodes, igniting a giant fireball right in Red's face and engulfing her in a black cloud. Ruby expects to see Red tumble out of the smoke cloud and into the black abyss of the forest. But no. When the smoke finally clears, Red remains in the air. Clothes and skin unsigned. Blake lands in front of Ruby and Sun, realizing she made a fatal mistake.
"Blake, we gotta run," Sun said while giving an exhausted Ruby a piggyback ride. "And fast!"
"Why? What's happening?" Ruby asks, still fighting off her exhaustion.
Sun swallows. "Blake got us killed."
"Go…" Blake said as she backs away, watching Red lift her hand in a steady motion with her palm glowing a bright orange. "Go go go!" Blake pivots on her right foot and breaks into a sprint. Sun takes off right behind her, tucking his arms tightly under Ruby's thighs and keeping her close. Ruby musters what bit of strength she can —even though her arms feel like noodles— and holds on for dear life. If she could, if she had the strength, she would use petal burst to help them escape. Those chances are gone now. She feels like extra weight, and she hates it.
Ruby looks back, expecting to see her dark counterpart giving chase. Instead, she witnesses something worse. Red holds her hand high in the air, a small orange ball shining as if she's holding a miniature sun. She swings her arm, throwing back the giant explosion she absorbed from Blake. The fireball chases after the fleeing huntsmen, and it's catching up fast.
Adam drops from above and lands in front of the group, hands gripping Wilt and Blush. "Keep running!" The group passes the bull as he walks towards the incoming explosion.
Is he crazy?! Ruby thought while looking back in horror. He'll get roasted alive!
She watches him continue to walk forward with stride, unsheathing his crimson sword like a hero ready to battle Hell itself. Adam appears as a small black silhouette standing in front of a large sun. He takes his stance and blocks the fireball, no, not block it. He's…absorbing it? Ruby unknowingly holds her breath while watching this. Adam's hair starts to glow its usual crimson as the fire is sucked into his sword, or aura? She can't tell which is happening.
Adam takes the energy and slides it into Blush. He draws with a swift strike, releasing a wave of fire towards Red.
Red floats there, unfazed by the fire coming back at her.
Wolf growls, "He wants to play catch with us!"
"He'll lose." Red replies coldly. She absorbs the fire with her hand, seemingly catching it in her palm. She throws it back. Adam absorbs the fire with Wilt again and swings another wave of fire.
"Are they really playing catch with a giant fireball?!" Sun asks the obvious while Ruby and Blake watch with bated breath. Red and Adam continue their passes, the fireball getting stronger with each one.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Trapped in a deadlock.
Adam prepares to swing Wilt once more, ready to push his semblance with more power and force. Wolf manifests out of thin air and tears off Adam's arm with a swift bite as he flies by. The bull falls to his knees, his scream filling the air with agony and sends a chill down everyone's back, more so to Blake.
"Adam!" Blake rushes to him, her voice filled with absolute terror. "Adam!"
Wolf returns to Red's side, clenching Adam's blood dripping arm in his crimson teeth before swallowing it whole. Ruby clings to Sun's back even tighter. She can feel him trembling and his body locks up. She hears his breath leave his body as fear shows through his eyes. From what she understands, given the different classes of huntsmen in this world, Adam is the strongest out of all of them. He was the Yang of the team, the tank. And he's down. The bull cries out, squirming and clenching where his arm used to be.
Blake is in a panic, blood drenches her hands as she applies pressure and instructs Adam to slow the blood flow with his aura. Her words are lost in his agony.
Adam passes out from the pain.
"Their heavy is down," Red said, gazing down at the scrambled team and landing with an intimidating grace.
Wolf growls with excitement that befits a hunter. "Yes! YES! They ran! They struggled! They failed! Now for the kill!"
"Hold on, Wolf," Red holds up her hand to stop the bloodthirsty shadow.
"What is it, Red?! They're right there! They're wounded!"
"The game is ending. Let's give them a chance to change their minds before it does." Red looks at the party. "So, will you make it easy for yourselves this time?"
"Stop," Blake's lips tremble with a plea before looking at her former leader and friend. Her eyes flood with guilt and tears that run down her cheek. "Stop this already, Ruby! If this is because of me, I said I was sorry! If you wanna kill someone, kill me! Just let the others go!"
"The tears and pleas of a coward," Wolf gives a deep chuckle with tears of his own streaming from his eyes. "So appetizing. This one is mine."
Red holds out her hand, stopping the wolf before responding to her former teammate. "This isn't about you, Blake."
Blake perks up at Red's answer. "Then what? What is this all about?!"
Ruby and Sun remain quiet, waiting in anticipation for Red's answer.
"A second chance."
"A second chance?" Blake's with confusion. "What is that supposed to mean?!"
"If I explain it, you won't understand," Red said with a straight face. "You never will. How can you? You'll just tell me what I'm doing is wrong and I need to stop."
"Of course I would!" Blakes snaps. "You're killing people, Ruby! Don't you think the Great War has already done that enough?!"
"Stop calling us that!" Wolf barks at the faunus, his tears flowing more. "Ruby Rose is dead!"
Red gently strokes Wolf, seeming to calm him down a bit. "You're right, the war took a lot from us. Always taking something from us. Friends. Family. Even our childhood. Everyone around me made sacrifices. Pyrrha. Velvet. My Dad ….And my Mom. I wanted the war to stop, so I had to make a sacrifice too."
"By killing Remnant?!" Blake screams.
"Not entirely"
"Then what?!"
Red stares at the angry faunus in a moment of silence. "Ruby Rose." Wolf reacts to the name, letting out a guttural growl with more tears streaming from his fiery eyes.
"What?" Blake blinks.
"My sacrifice. It was Ruby Rose."
What the heck does that even mean?! You're not making any sense Ruby!"
"It doesn't matter anymore!" Wolf screams, his outburst causing Blake to jump in her skin.
"Please look at your situation Blake," Red said calmly. "Humanity will meet their end, by scythe or by teeth. Please, make things easy for yourself."
"Monster," Ruby growls through grit teeth. She can feel the anger building up in the pit of her soul, like a raging inferno ready to blow. "MONSTER!"
Red looks at a teary eyed and furious Ruby.
"You're not me! You're not! You're a killer! A demon! A monster!" Ruby bursts with ridicules and insults like a raging fire. Tears roll down her face as she doesn't even stop to catch a breath. There is no way this Little Red is Ruby Rose. No way! "I would never do this to Remnant! Never! Especially to the people I love and swore to protect! That's just something I'll never do! Ever! You're no hero! You're just like Salem! A monster!"
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Wolf fires back at Ruby. "What do you know?! You're a nuisance! Your scent is annoying! Your voice is annoying! Your presence is annoying! I'll swallow your body and soul whole! I'll give you a second death!"
"You're right. I'm not who I used to be anymore," Red replies in the same calm and emotionless voice. She looks down at her hands gripping around Crescent Rose, as if she's reflecting on something. "Heroes, blinded by righteousness. Evil, driven by power and greed. It's all the same. If it takes a stronger evil to stop the wizard and witch, to save Remnant. Then…" Red flips her scythe and Wolf snarls and bears his teeth in response, both ready to deal the killing blow. "I'll become that stronger evil."
The party is trapped, cornered like rats. Red is too fast for anyone to get away and they are definitely not in any shape to fight her off. Ruby tightens her arms around Sun's neck. She's recovering, but doesn't have any strength to do anything. Blake throws herself over Adam, eyes shut and waiting for the end.
Ruby sees a figure drop from the branches, coming down directly above Red. It's Ren! She wondered where he had been.
He's alive! Ruby lights up for his well being but tries not to give away his position to Red.
Ren plummets with StormFlower in his hands, both blades raised above his head and aiming for Red's skull. His semblance masks him in a gray color, hiding his presence and intentions from the silver eyed warrior.
"Flora," Red calls out to the forest. "Restraint." Right on cue, thorns and vines lash out of the forest and snatches both of his arms and legs. The vines twist Ren's arms, forcing him to drop his weapons.
Ren cries out in pain. "NO!"
"Ren…" Red said calmly, turning to face the struggling huntsmen while the thorns wrestle him to his knees and bring him to eye level. Red strolls up to him with her scythe, staring into him with her cold silver eyes.
"Sun, gimme another one of those bottles!" Ruby demands, trying to wiggle her way out of Sun's arms. Her muscles scream at her for moving, the strain from pushing her semblance still having its toll.
"What? Are you crazy?! You can barely move!" Sun protests.
"I don't care!" Ruby shouts fierce determination, her silver eyes getting a slight glow of conviction. "I have to fight! We have to fight! We can't let him die, no matter what!" She fights and pushes against the strain, her eyes glowing more as she kicks and wriggles to break free from Sun.
Sun fights to keep a hold of her. "Stop! What are you doing?! She'll turn you into minced meat or dog food!" Sun motions the last part to Wolf, floating between the party and Red with a snarl.
"I don't care! I have to stop her! I HAVE TO STOP HER!"
Little Red perks up and turns around. Even though she remains expressionless, she seems to eye Ruby with a slight look of interest.
"Red," Wolf calls out. "Did you feel that?"
"Slightly," Red said while locking eyes with Ruby. "Conviction"
"Don't just stand there! Go!" Ren yells. "Forget about me and Adam! Run!"
Blake perks up, "What?! We can't-"
"Wake up, Blake!" Ren cuts her off. "You can't save me! And Adam will just be extra weight! Go! Run!"
Wolf cackles, "Yes! Run! Make it more fun!"
Red turns her attention back to Ren, coming face to face with a glaring and hate filled huntsmen. "This is for the best, Ren."
"You keep telling yourself that. Monster." Ren said through clenched teeth, showing no fear towards her.
"I will…" Red delivers a hard kick to Ren's stomach, knocking out his breath and forcing him to hill over for air. She grabs his jaw and yanks his face back up. She spews a black fog from her mouth and right into Ren's face as he gasps for air, entering his lungs.
"REN NO!" Blake cries, her and everyone else being helpless to save him.
Ren coughs uncontrollably, as if his desperately trying to cough up something out of his lungs. Red walks away and releases the vine, letting Ren fall to his hands and knees. He hacks and groans in agony, coughing up fog, blood, and…rose petals?
"N…NORA!" Ren screams. Black roots and thorns burst out of his back and chest, sprouting into a small black tree that lifts his body off the ground. Blood drips from it's branches with buds sprouting into roses. Ren's aura, his soul, leaves and travels to Red, her red aura consuming his pink.
Ruby snaps. "STOP IT! HE WAS YOUR FRIEND! STOP KILLING!" She cries and wails with eyes full of rage and tears. She can't stand this, seeing herself commit cold blooded murder is too much for her. Ruby feels something inside her starting to change, a crack in her emotional dam and leaking out something she doesn't want.
Her mind flashes back to her world. To the people she loves and the hardships they had to face, starting from Beacon all the way to Atlas. A flood gate of memories making that crack bigger. In the midst of her anger mixed with sorrow, she feels an unbridled want to take down this twisted counterpart. Do anything, try anything, to stop her. To bring her down.
But then a simple harsh question hits her. How can she stop her? How can she stop Little Red?
"Who's next?" Wolf ask eagerly with excitement, looking between each of the huntsmen like a child in a candy store. "Who's next?!"
Ruby strolls towards her victims, ready for her next kill. "Everyone."
The roaring sound of a gatling gun goes off overhead. Red is quick on her feet. She zips off in a burst of petals, fleeing a barrage of explosive rounds.
"Yeah, you better run!" A female voice shouts from above. Ruby looks up and catches sight of a fashionably dressed girl with shades holding a huge gatling gun, Gianduja.
Coco!
Coco channels her aura into her gatling gun, the dust in the rounds glowing in response. She opens fire again, laying down a relentless hailstorm of explosions. It's like an entire artillery battalion is packed in her gatling gun. Petals zig-zag while running from the bullets. Red flies through the air and slips between the barrage with her scythe, speeding straight for Coco.
A bright streak of blue lightning cuts Red off in mid air and smacks her with a thunderous boom! Red doesn't even scream from the hit as she spirals through the air and smashes through a building.
Ruby lights up even more glee upon seeing a familiar ginger haired girl with a grenade hammer she knows all too well. "Nora!"
"It's the Heavies!" Sun cheers at the sight of back up. But all that cheering quickly disappears when he sees a black fog form around Nora and Coco. "Hey! Watch out!"
Wolf lunges for Nora. She may have gotten a hit on Red, but she also left herself open for Wolf, and he's not passing up this golden opportunity. But sadly for Wolf, a pair of purple circles — whirling portals from the looks of it— suddenly appears and swallows up his prey. The portals reopen by the party, Nora and Coco tumble out of the circles and hit the ground hard.
"Ow!" Nora groans with annoyance. "What's so hard about giving someone a warning?"
"Tell me about it," Coco chimes in. As soon as the girls recover and notice Ruby on Sun's back, their minds immediately switch back to fight mode.
"Hey, why are you carrying her?!" Coco screams at Sun and points Gianduja at him —mainly at Ruby.
Nora hops to her feet with Magnhild at the ready, "Didn't I just knock her into next week?"
Ruby swallows. Here we go again.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait! She's not Little Red!" Sun protests as he jumps back from their weapons.
"Then who is she?!" Coco immediately asks the question, not taking her aim off of Ruby.
"Would you stop pointing that thing at me?!
"Drop her and get out of the way then!"
"Sun!" Another familiar female voice calls out from behind the group. Drop her! Now!"
Professor Goodwitch? Ruby recognizes the voice.
Glynda approaches the surviving members of the party in stride, her wand gripped in her hand and a glaring look in her eyes. Ruby immediately notices a difference in Glynda's appearance. The very first thing that draws attention is the oversized black and purple witch hat that droops down. Her black and purple cape she is known to have reaches down to her knees.
At her side is another face Ruby recognizes. A large young man, wearing a green short sleeve robe, shoulder guard on his left shoulder, and a giant sword on his back. She recognizes him for sure, he's on Coco's team. Wasn't his name Yatsuhashi, or something?
Glynda points her wand at Ruby, her green eyes starting to glow a bright purple as her aura manifests around her. She never blinks from her glare nor does she take it off Ruby, "Sun, put her down."
"Hold on, let's just slow down for a bit and let me explain," Sun said as he tries to defuse things.
"You're not the one we need an explanation from," Glynda tells him. "It's her."
"Sorceress Goodwitch," Yatsuhachi chimes in. "Is this what you meant by sensing kindred spirits?"
Glynda keeps her wand and gaze on Ruby. "Yes. I was wondering why Little Red's aura seemed to split in two. Maybe she cloned herself?"
"I-I'm not a clone! I'm not even from this world!"
"Can we please worry about this back at the Vault?!" Blake snaps everyone back to reality. She's still at Adam's side, a tourniquet strapped around his severed arm and twisted as tight as she could get it. "I don't know how much blood Adam has lost and his pulse is faint. Can we please get him the help he needs!"
Glynda sighs. "Yatsuhashi, you're carrying him."
"Yes ma'am," Yatsu replies and rushes over to the bull.
"Hey, where's Fox?" Coco asks, looking around for her teammate.
"And Ren," Nora asks as well. "Where's Ren?"
Sun winces and looks away while Ruby shuts her eyes tight and hangs her head. Nora looks between them with a slight look of fear. "H-Hey, you're scaring me-"
"I'm sorry Nora," Ruby said through clenched teeth and tears, her fist balled up with so much might. Even though this isn't her Nora, she can already imagine what is going to happen next. She's bracing herself for it. "I'm so sorry…"
"What're you-" Nora's voice stops abruptly. Ruby doesn't look —she doesn't want to— but she already pictures the horrified look on Nora's face when she sees Ren.
"NOOOOOOO!" Nora shrieks in the most heart wrenching cry that almost makes Ruby breakdown right there. "REN!" She falls to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Oh my god…" Coco's face twists from the sight of Ren's death. "Sun… Is Fox…"
Sun doesn't look at her.
Coco snatches him by the collar. "Don't do that! Don't get all tight lipped on me! Is Fox really…" She trembles with rage and grief. She lets go of the faunus, throwing up her hands and swearing and cursing Red as she goes.
Glynda —more focused on the situation than grieving the deaths— slides her hand over her wand, channeling her aura with a purple glow. She waves her wand, writing some kind of purple glowing language in the air. She slices the symbols with a swipe of her wand, creating a weird, long glowing crack in the air.
Every gesture and movement Glynda makes with her hand makes the crack grow wider. She grabs the crack with her bare hands and breaks open the fabric of space, opening a portal to a completely different location.
Wait, hold on! How the heck did she do that?!
Ruby is dumbfounded. Could her Professor Goodwitch do that? Maybe. The headmistress is known to reconstruct and levitate things with her semblance. Ruby stares at the portal. It looks dark on the other side, saved by an emerald green light that illuminates everything. She swears she can make out buildings in the emerald glow. Just what is that place?
"GOODWITCH!" Wolf's guttural roar echoes as one big voice of unbridled anger. Wolf immediately manifests and lunges for the party, straight for Glynda. The sorceress quickly puts a barrier to deflect the beast, hungry teeth hit the barrier with a huge boom. Glynda grunt as she withstand the impact of the savage monster. She musters all her strength and pushes him back.
Wolf recovers and floats in the air, snarls and yells with fiery eyes filled with tears and unbridled hatred for Glynda. "People like you don't deserve to exist! Ever! You don't deserve a second chance at life! You WILL face a second death!
Red appears from her gust of petals, levitating next to her raging companion. Her cold gaze stares directly at Glynda. "Sorceress Goodwitch," she looks from Glynda to the portal she opened. "So that's where you've been hiding everyone. Ozpin is there too. I can feel his magic. I can finally put this task behind me."
"Stop standing there!" Glynda screams at the party. "Get through the doorway! Now!"
Yatsuhashi is the first to go, carrying Adam on his back. Everyone scrambles and follows after him, all except Nora.
"You…." Nora clinches her hammer so tight her knuckles turn white. "YOU! MONSTER!"
"Nora Valkyrie, stand down!" Glynda orders.
Nora ignores her, eyes filled with her own unbridled hatred for Red. She takes out a capsule of lightning dust and slides into the handle of her hammer. Magnhild thunders to life with crackling blue lightning. Nora screams a fearsome battle cry as her semblance kicks in and channels the powerful current into her. Her eyes glow a bright blue.
"Fauna," Red calls the horde. Beastly roars and cries rise from the depths of the rose forest, their beastly audience waking up. "Hunt." Grimm rise out of the depths as a giant black mass of burning eyes and snapping mouths. All of them heading straight for the portal. Qrow, the Scarecrow, swoops in on the hunt with his metal grinding shriek and dragonhead-for-an-arm glowing with a raging fight. Pyrrha, the Spartan, bursts out of the depths with her twisted valkyrie appearance and lets out a distorted cry.
The world seems to grow darker as the grimm draws near, darker than it was before. Red keeps her straight face while Wolf cackles with a sadistic joy for the hunt. Red holds out her free hand and her silver eyes glow a bit brighter. Light gathers into her hand, manifesting into a javelin that looks identical to Pyrrha's Milo.
The world continues to grow darker and darker, with Glynda's portal, Nora's lightning, and Red's silver eyes and spear being the only light to shine through.
Ruby instinctively tightens her hold on Sun, watching on in horror and awe.
"That's not gonna stop me!" Nora shrieks as she wind-up her hammer back and takes a stance as if she'll blast off at any moment. "I'll smash through them! And then I'm gonna smash you into a red smear on my hammer!"
"Nora…" Red looks at the raging huntress for a moment before raising her spear made of light and throws it.
Glynda puts up another barrier, a large wall of aura. The spear strikes the wall and explodes violently, but the wall still stands.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Nora screams at the sorceress.
"We're here to rescue the team, not fight Little Red!" Glynda screams back. "Stand down!'
Nora ignores her once again and wind-up her hammer to try and break through the barrier.
Glynda points her wand at the heavy hitter. "Restraint!" Nora grunt and yells as her body locks up, unable to move.
"Someone get her! Now!" Glynda commands.
Sun sets Ruby down on the other side of the portal and runs back with Yatsuhashi, both of them carrying back a screaming and shouting Nora while Glynda keeps her locked up. A loud crack grabs everyone's attention towards the barrier. A big long crack stretches across and is starting to spread. The horde piles against the barrier, slamming and clawing with the hell bent desire to break through and consume.
"Come on! Run! Get through!" Ruby manages to pull herself up on a guardrail, her legs still shaking and feeling like jello. The sight before her is unlike anything she's ever seen in her Remnant. Glynda's barrier acts like one of those big glass windows Ruby has seen in the zoo or the aquarium as a kid. But instead of animals and fish, it's red eyes and teeth behind it.
And it's breaking.
Glynda makes it through to the doorway shortly after Sun and Yatsuhashi carries Nora in — who's still screaming her lungs out. The sorceress spins around with her arms out, ready to close the portal. Red walks out from within the horde, stopping right in front of the barrier. She watches the huntsmen with the same cold silver stare. Her eyes hover over each and every person before fixating her gaze on Ruby.
They lock eyes.
Ruby tenses up and her breathing becomes shallow. Something about Red's stare and demeanor sends a chill through her. She watches Red raise up her hand and casually press it against the barrier. The barrier cracks louder, growing even weaker. Seeing this, Glynda brings her hands together with a loud clap, closing the doorway shut with the fading sound of the barrier finally scattering with a huge crash!
Huge sighs of relief come from the huntsmen. They can rest easily. For now.
Ruby, on the other hand, can't stop herself from shaking. She swallows a knot in her throat and shakes her head, trying to get rid of the image of Red in her mind. Her heart and mind races as an inner conflict of emotions rage within her. With the enemies and monsters she has fought and seen, she has never met anyone that makes her want to run and hide, but —at the same time— confront for spitting on everything that makes her Ruby Rose. This Little Red, this other Ruby, is everything that goes against her character —who she is.
Finally managing to calm herself down, Ruby looks out from the guard rail and gasps, taking in the sight in front of her. It's an Emerald City! Well, she doesn't know if she can call it a city from the looks of it. All the buildings aren't very tall and they nuzzle together. The architecture of the buildings look makeshift-like, as if the people here built this city out of any scraps of metal they could find. But with close inspection, Ruby can see stone reaching from the ground and mixing in the architecture, making it sturdier than what it looks.
A giant emerald glow illuminates in the distance —appearing to be in the city's center— and bathes the city with an emerald look. In fact, because of the emerald light, Ruby realizes that they are in a chasm, especially seeing the rocky ceiling above.
Wait. Are we…underground?
"Sorceress Goodwitch, WAIT!" Ruby hears Sun yell out followed by the beat of a high-heeled step behind her. Ruby turns around and immediately takes a wand to the jaw.
Everything spins and cuts to black.
/-/
Well, a lot happened in this chapter. The fight against Pyrrha, Ren's horrible death, Adam getting the Yang treatment, Nora's fit of rage, etc. Best believe with all the thing Red has done, Ruby won't have a smooth interaction with characters of this alternate Remnant. Just wait til Yang finds her.
If some of you are wondering if Ruby and Red will interact more, they will. The story is about them. Well, more so to Ruby.
Before I sign out, I want to announce some project I've been working on"
First, I've been working on a Summer story. Don't wanna spoil anything but it loosely connects with this story.
Second, I'm working on my first RWBY AU story. Its a Ruby centric, clockpunk AU. If you don't know what clockpunk is, it is literally steampunk but with cogs, sprockets, and gears. I'm writing Ruby's character as that same energetic girl from the show with her love for weapons and technology/inventions being a really big part of who she is. In the story, shes still wants to be a huntress but also an Artificer(Inventor). So yeah, she tinkers alot.
And lastly, after Little Red is done, I've been thinking for writing similar stories for the rest of Team RWBY. I have ideas of what Weiss, Blake, and Yang's dark counterparts would be like. When making dark counterparts, like with Red for example, I look at the character's character and start thinking what could happen if certain things happen or didn't happen in their lives.
Anyway, that's all I have. Until next time. Outlandish Storyteller, going dark.