"Journal entry number one. My name is Blake Belladonna, third member of team RUBY (RWBY)."
"It's been more than three hours since I was unintentionally teleported from Beacon Academy to an unknown location through a machine delivered from Atlas. I don't know how that is possible, what the machine was originally for, or if there even is a way back… But I am holding those questions for a later time."
"My most pressing matter right now is that I seem to be on a snowy mountaintop, possibly a taiga, but the wildlife is… Unrecognizable. Throughout my time as a student at Beacon and as a former White Fang member, no map or mission showed me this place, as even I have difficulty differentiating the edible from the poisonous when I first foraged a while ago. No extra clothes, no food or water, no bags, only my weapon and this Scroll. My semblance is working just fine."
Blake stands up to distance herself from her Scroll recording her, and proceeds to leap back and leave a clone of herself using her Semblance. After five seconds of letting the clone stare at the recorder, she forcibly waved it away.
She pulls out her weapon, Gambol Shroud, and unsheathes the katana as it transforms into the pistol form and fires at a nearby branch, which works as expected and snaps it off from the tree.
"Dust still works in this place as well."
She moves closer to the recording.
"But communications are next to impossible as I couldn't even send a text to my teammates…"
Blake takes a deep breath before continuing, "which brings me to my next concern, I still haven't figured out how to get down from here or if potential help will arrive, but I will see what else I come across as I explore tomorrow. As I was foraging a while ago, I noticed that this landscape is unique. I can make out a gigantic horned skull in the distance and what I assume is the island's 'ribcage' so I might be stranded on a titanic corpse, possibly from a different world entirely."
"The ruins on the mountain imply that there was a civilization here… I don't know if there are still people, but if there are, my guess is that they live on the 'abdomen' of the island. If there aren't… Well, I guess I'll be keeping myself busy getting used to everything. That will be all for today. I will use the remaining time for temporary shelter and fire before the sun finally sets as I have some materials that I could improvise to protect me from the freezing snow. Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long, and even Zwei, I hope to see you sooner than this recording or even the next recordings."
BEEP!
"She smacked me just like you did the first time. But from the back side!"
"That's great, Hooty…"
"She called me a Beowolf, Luz. Does that mean-!"
"Just wait."
"Luz, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks, Amity. I just need to process this."
"Alright, alright kid, lemme get this straight…" Eda starts.
"Okay, calming down, calming down," Luz recites to herself.
"She's a human."
"Uh huh."
"But she's not from where you live?"
"Yes."
"What else do we know?"
"She mentioned that she's a huntress-in-training, I just didn't think it was an actual thing."
"She also said she has a weapon, a power called a semblance, and a team," Amity adds.
"A semblance and a team… Do you think she fights actual monsters?" Luz asks
"She did call King a Beowolf and gave him a description, so I'd say yes," Eda shrugs.
"This is so awkward, we have another human in the house, but she's from somewhere else entirely and didn't come in the same way I did… How do we deal with this?"
The entire group has huddled over to the kitchen, leaving Ruby alone on the couch with Zwei as they discuss this new revelation.
"What do you think, Zwei?" Ruby asks as she pets him in the head.
Bark!
"Yeah, it looks like we're in bigger trouble than we thought… Even Luz seems to be stressed out. Do you think we'll get back home at all?"
Ruby then pulls out her scroll and tries to call her team again.
Yang? Still 'busy'.
Weiss? Also 'busy'.
Blake? Out of reach.
Same result as a while ago, it seems.
It's only been a few hours, but Ruby wanted something to ease her mind. Her mental preparation for the Vytal Festival Tournament all shifted into taking all of this in. It's all a wonderful sight, daresay a magical experience. But the atmosphere of the entire Owl House situation has started to sink in, aggravated by the middle-aged woman with gray hair and a golden fang that busted in and talked to Luz, who she recognized as the same person on the wanted poster behind the couch.
So… As it turns out, Amity led Ruby to a human with a highly wanted witch, possibly meaning constant hounding by police force… Or does this world have more bounty hunters? Does this mean Amity's family business is shady as well? What will my friends and family think of this?
Dad's gonna freak out if he knew about all of this right after we captured Roman Torchwick.
Dad… I wonder if anyone's found out we're basically missing right now… Ozpin probably would.
Sighing, Ruby then just looks through the photos of her and her friends. Among the pictures in the gallery, she spent the most time staring at… Well…
The bunk beds they designed during their first week at Beacon (it really was a dream turned into an achievement),
The aftermath of the food fight with team JNPR (shortly after Glynda and Ozpin left them alone to clean themselves up),
The time they went investigating with Sun and Neptune (she did not want to forget their new outfits),
Their dresses for the Beacon Dance party (plus two more photos, one of Jaune's dress and another of Penny with her… Escorts),
And the time she even stole a picture of the team and professor Oobleck during their mission at Mountain Glenn (Luckily, the professor didn't catch her).
The nostalgia kicking in helped her regain a bit more hope. Things always manage to work out better as long as they're all in it together. They really have come a long way.
"Hey, you, new human!" Someone snaps her attention away from her Scroll. Looking up, Ruby saw King standing at the table in front of her.
She nearly jumped again out of battle instincts.
Grrrrr…
Zwei growls at King from the floor, sizing him up.
"Nye!" King yelps a bit, before pointing at Zwei, "I am the king of Demons, and I hereby order you to stand down unless you want to face my wrath."
Ruby pockets her Scroll and calms him down, "it's okay, Zwei. He's our friend, he's not gonna hurt us."
Zwei slowly backs away, keeping eye contact with King until he climbs up the couch and snuggles beside Ruby instead.
"I see you have complete mastery in taming him. Are you an experienced Beast Keeper? You don't seem to look the part," King asks Ruby with intrigue.
"Uh… Maybe? If you consider Zwei a Beast Demon- Look, I'm not from around here, so I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be saying except what Amity told me on the way here," Ruby answers.
"Oh…" Putting a claw-like hand to his chin, King then changes the topic, "well, in that case, I'll just ask about what you called me a while ago."
"You mean a 'Beowolf'?"
"Yes, you identified me as if I'm from a species," King replies, quite excitedly in fact as he pulls out a book thick enough for him to hug (encyclopedia?), a sketchpad that frames him up to neck, and a ballpen with a toy gem at the top, "I wanna know all about it."
"Why?"
"I demand knowledge and the chance to meet them! I'm sure that they are as formidable and terrifying as I am, and with them by my side, my great and powerful army will grow and guarantee victory in every conquest!" He exclaims as he waves his arms in the air, swinging the pen around as well.
He's a cute one, even when he's trying to be epic. It's like a kid wanting to hear a bedtime story.
This takes her back to the times her family would read Ruby and Yang bedtime stories as well.
Chuckling, Ruby complies, "alright, but be careful, I am a huntress, so…"
"Are you planning on letting her stay with us?"
"Uh…"
"Look, kid, as fun as it is to have more interesting people in the house, it's not easy keeping track of four more people and one dog. Plus, I don't think Hooty's planning on expanding anytime soon."
"I can reach for the sky and swallow a door!"
"Go watch from the door instead, Hooty!"
"But she says she's a huntress-in-training."
"She doesn't have her weapon, as unbelievable as it sounds on so many levels."
"If her team can help, that'll make things easier for everyone, right? We can just start with helping her find her friends. Even though we haven't figured out how they'll get back, at least they're together wherever they go or stay."
Eda looks back to see Ruby entertaining King. She could even make out King drawing what looks like himself, only less buff and more lean with bony additions to elbows.
I swear, I think we have a strange way of banding together and connecting…
With a sigh, Eda relents and walks towards Ruby as Luz and Amity follow behind shortly.
"Huh… Interesting, so they don't talk?"
"Haven't heard a single one speak yet. I've been told by a teacher… Professor… Er, Doctor… That as they age, they learn and adapt, even wait for a bigger opportunity. But I haven't encountered one old enough to talk."
"If they are truly my kind, then that only means that I am destined to become their rightful ruler! Capable of reading, writing, speaking, and even drawing at such a young age compared to them, I shall impart to them the gift of knowledge! Yes! The most dangerous weapon of them all!"
Ruby chuckles imagining King standing above a boulder shouting at a bunch of Beowolves, but then seriously considers the possibility of the Grimm in general being capable of such things.
She suddenly grew more nervous with each subsequent chuckle.
Nevertheless, she continues, "some even get to grow their bony armor on like their shoulders, back, a bunch of other places, and become way stronger."
"Bony... Armor… Grow…" King notes in his illustration of the Beowolf.
"The ones I saw are called Goliaths and… Do you know what an elephant is?"
But before King could answer, Eda clears her throat and Ruby starts paying attention to the middle-aged woman in front of her..
"alright," Eda starts, "so… We talked about it and we decided that you get to stay for a couple of nights-!"
"Eda!" Luz sharply calls out.
"Until this whole thing blows over and you and your friends get to go back home or something," she amends.
"Thank you," Ruby replies with a great sigh of relief, as if an invisible weight has been lifted from her.
Maybe she isn't that-!
"But!" Eda wasn't done, "just like Luz, I'm going to have to ask you to run some errands for me as well. Do we have a deal?" She asks, stretching her hand out.
I take it back. I'm a little worried… But then there's Luz so…
"Deal," Ruby accepts, shaking Eda's hand.
Luz pumps a fist in victory as she exclaims, "yes! It's gonna be like a big slumber party!"
That line sure sounds familiar.
Eda pulls back her arm, but accidentally leaves her hand in Ruby's grasp. Ruby didn't realize this until three blinks later as she stares down at her own to see that she's still holding Eda's.
"GWAH!" Ruby yelps out as she flings her arms in the air in fright, tossing Eda's hand in the air.
Eda catches it and pops it back into her hand with ease.
"Do huntresses squeal like that?" King asks, garnering a laughing Luz and a smug Eda.
"Okay, so you couldn't call one of your teammates at all?" Luz asks.
"Not at all, hers didn't even ring, either she's too far out or hers is broken," Ruby confirms as she holds up her device to the group.
"Ooh~ Shiny," Eda comments as her pupils slightly dilate.
"And we're sure that she's within the Boiling Isles?"
"Are there other places?"
"Yeah, there are, but let's focus on our own," Eda waves away the notion of going further beyond right away, "maybe we can start with the arms and legs."
"How are we going to get there?"
"Hmm…" Luz and Eda ponder.
"Sorry if I wasn't able to be of much help. I'll make it up to you tomorrow," Amity apologizes to Ruby as she (and Zwei) walk her to the door.
"You did a lot already, especially bringing us here. We can't thank you enough," Ruby replies.
Bark!
Zwei chirps in with Ruby.
"We should be the ones making it up to you," Ruby adds, as if interpreting what Zwei said.
Amity chuckles as she kneels down to pet Zwei, "Uh… Sure, yeah. That'd be nice."
Ruby looks behind her to see Luz and Eda busy before whispering to Amity, "just to be clear, you guys aren't, you know, being hunted by the government?"
Amity raises an eyebrow before realizing, "oh! No, no. Well, Luz's mentor is, but I don't think they're evil. At least, not from what I've seen of Luz… She's genuine and sincere."
Luz rushes out and giddily taps on Ruby's shoulder, "say, Ruby… What do you think of bunk beds?"
Ruby gasps in return, "I. Love. It. Here! I got a picture of the bunk beds at my school dorm, check it out!" She squeals as she pulls out her scroll and gives it to Luz with a picture of the room.
Luz gasps in awe, "Whoa! You and your friends did this in school? They let you?"
"He he he~ Yyyep! Mine's the top left."
"Quite the risk-taker, huh? I'm scared. You could've crushed whoever was sleeping underneath you if the ropes snapped."
"Luz! I found a spare!" Eda shouts as she dusts out a mattress from the side shed.
"On it!" Luz replies before glancing at Amity to invite her, "you're always welcome to have a sleepover at ours, though I won't promise anything grand like yours."
"Me…" Amity chuckles before supposedly spiraling as her face gradually becomes redder, "Having a sleepover…"
"With you…"
"In pajamas and pillows…"
"Beside each other until we sleep?"
Amity slowly takes a step back before abruptly sprinting away, "WouldyoulookatthetimeIgottagoIpromisetohelpyououttomorrowseeyou."
Ruby and Luz scratch their heads, "what was that about?" Luz asks as she heads inside.
"Maybe she's just in a rush," Ruby answers based on what she observed of Amity.
"Tah-dah!" Luz presents to Ruby a white mattress suspended in mid-air by a bunch of vines interlocking with each other, similar to a hammock, and connecting to opposing walls. Following that is a ladder leading up to the bed. It's simple and messy, but it'll hold.
Ruby looks up in awe as she gasps, "No. Way. You did that yourself?"
Luz hums triumphantly, "You better believe it! Now it'll be just like your double-decker bed with me sleeping on the bottom," she pats her bed below Ruby's.
"But what if this thing breaks?" Ruby asks as she tugs the ladder, she can make out more vines acting as tethers to the ceiling so that the hammock wouldn't tip over as she climbs up or down.
"Nah, I wouldn't worry, my plant magic is strong enough to hold you... I hope..."
Ruby then takes off her combat boots and sets them near the door before hopping onto her bed with Zwei using her semblance. She then fluffs the spare throw pillow, takes off her cloak and lays it onto herself like a blanket. Her exhaustion catches up to her as she suddenly yawns and rubs her eyes afterward while Zwei finds a comfortable position near her stomach.
It's almost like I'm in a cocoon…
"It's kinda amazing… That you can do magic… Luz… You better… Show us… How," Ruby drowsily ends as everyone gets ready to sleep.
"Soon, Ruby. Goodnight everyone," Luz bids as she closes the lights and goes to her own bed with King tucking himself in.
What in the name of Remnant is this thing following me?
A ponytailed heiress thinks to herself as she hides behind another shelf, trying to comprehend the creature looking for her. It's like an old Christmas tree with one eye at its center, floating on top of a smoky platform while in one of its hands is a lantern. If that isn't enough, it growls as it turns around.
Covering her mouth to muffle her pants as she inhales through her nose, she sneaks a glance to her left. Nothing except skeleton rats (just how?) and cobwebs.
To her right? Same as well.
But the fog surrounding her legs tells her that the pursuer is close by. Possibly right behind the very shelf she's using.
She steadies her breathing and clutches a long rectangular red contraption closer to her chest.
Stay quiet, stay very, very still
She can feel her knees stiffening at the chill of the atmosphere. A drop of sweat runs down the side of her face as her eyes dart around for a potential exit.
You are a huntress, Weiss. Grimm or not, you have to keep it together.
Swallowing the suffocating lump of uncertainty, she gains her bearings and pulls out her rapier, ready to strike-!
VVVIIIRRRRRRRRRR!
Or flee.
VVVIIIRRRRRRRRRR!
A snarl erupts from behind her.
Weiss points her rapier to her left, causing her white glyphs to grow and glow on the ground, she hastily zooms herself away using them before noticing the large doors on her right.
Without looking back, she smoothly glides across the floor, redirects her attention towards the exit and charges towards it as she feels the fog slowly losing its reach on her.
As she attempts to push open the doors, they do not budge, it seems to be locked in place. If she didn't know any better, it might as well have been a wall designed like doors to trick would-be escapers.
VVVIIIRRRRRRRRRR!
Grunting in frustration, she pulls out a white device and opens it, revealing that she's been receiving a call from a certain red-hooded girl.
…
…
Ruby Rose… I swear, if I find you, I WILL KILL YOU!
The fog starts growing near her.
Realizing that the call is giving away her position, Weiss ditches the device altogether and hides behind a column near the walls.
The creature approaches the same place Weiss was and looks around the vicinity before hearing the vibrating scroll underneath it. It backs up and picks up the device, inspecting it with its one eye and sniffing it before looking around again.
Once the call ends, the pursuer looks back on the device and shrugs, pulling out a card from underneath itself and places it against a part of the door. The card glows and the doors hum before groaning itself open.
Huh… So that's how you open it.
The creature floats through and the heiress sneakily follows, not letting a single tap from her own high-heeled boots escape from her steps.
As she enters this new room, more of the ambient moonlight is welcomed through the windows and she now realizes that she's been snaking her way around an old connected library of sorts.
Sticking to the walls of this newer and fresher library, she places a hand on the books and carefully watches out for the pursuer.
Click!
Looking at the source of the noise, it turns out one of the books her hand has been holding in the Romance section isn't really a book.
Great…
The fog starts encroaching itself upon her, that's her cue to hide. But where? How?
Weiss frantically looks for a distraction as the secret door opens itself. Glancing at the books themselves, she decides (reluctantly, but necessarily) to pull out as much as she can with one hand and let them drop to the floor, making more noise and scattering some dust. As the door fully opens, Weiss hurriedly walks inside and forces the door closed with another white glyph and keeps it locked with a focused black glyph.
She sees the fog creep out from under the secret door as the creature presumably walks around the false crime scene she set up.
The fog grows more intensely. It is approaching the secret door. Gritting her teeth, she points her rapier up closer to her eye level and repositions her feet.
Any second now.
Any… Second…
!
VVVIIIRRRRRRRRRR!
"For crying out loud, what do you even do with this?" She hears an old male voice ask to nobody in particular from the other side of the door. Probably fumbling around with her scroll.
"I'd like to press this gem in the middle, but if it belonged to somebody, I'd better…" The chatty monologue slowly fades as the pursuer finally drops the chase.
Exhaling a breath of relief she hasn't realized she's been holding for who knows how long. She lets her rapier slip from her hand and she collapses onto the floor.
That was a close one!
A gentle, orange-yellow light erupts from behind her, turning around, Weiss sees a study table with lit candles and an assortment of books stacked neatly to the left side.
"Huh…" She approaches the table and grabs the topmost book, no need to dust it as it looks recently used.
"Guess I'll be here for a while," Weiss declares as she sits down on the chair and starts reading.