Arc 2 - Chapter 18 - Purposes & Powerless

Ruby lay awake in the night, inside the tent gifted to her, suffering the fast-fading hope that this was all a terrible, terrible dream.

Everyone experienced those dreams where you lived a full lifetime at least once. Maybe that's what this was, and if so, then she was taking her damn time waking up. Ruby would close her eyes and beckon for her real body to get up for a late drink, or need to pee, or whatever. Then, she'd open her eyes, still find herself swaddled under the heavy fur cloak she'd been given, staring aimlessly around in the darkness of her tent, alone. That was how it had been for hours now.

In the end, it only served to drive the fact deeper into her terrified heart… that this felt all too real to be fake. Too fact to be fiction. She was beginning to think, after hours lying awake in the darkness, under a huge fur cloak to ward off the winter cold, that she was well and truly in another universe entirely. No other ideas made sense.

The Princess, who apparently, was the heir to the throne of some far-off kingdom, had to be another Ruby Rose from an entirely different universe. No other ideas made sense.

They'd given her a tent to sleep in, some soup to warm her up, and had promised her a safe escort to the nearest village on the way to someplace called the Shadowlands. The hell kind of place was named the Shadowlands? Couldn't be any place good, Ruby was confident in that.

Ruby began to cry again, blubbering like she had a few hours ago, tears dropping in her soup, and trying to explain her situation to the Princess, to no avail. She'd just mentioned something about not having seen teleportation powers before. So now superpowers were a thing, and not nearly as exciting as Ruby had always imagined. Ruby had only wanted to go home, but was bad at remembering addresses and so couldn't tell the Princess, only to then realize that it probably wouldn't matter anyway. Asking where she was didn't help either, since the princess only ever said, long beyond the northern valleys, past the white lake, and such other things Ruby was not even close to understanding.

Then, of course, she'd met the Princess's husband and nearly wet herself. This hulking warrior in heavy black armor, thick and strong, and with a voice so deep that it made her feel cold. He was scarier even than that demon that attacked her. Which yes, demons existed. Her husband, called The Wolf, had been kind enough, so perhaps he didn't realize the scary image he presented. Nonetheless, meeting him had not inspired the confidence of protection that the Princess had promised. And certainly no promise of getting back home.

The two of them were on a mission apparently, but Ruby hadn't asked about it, on account of bawling like a baby for hours.

What was she going to do? If this wasn't just some horribly stretched-out dream, then how would she ever get home? Could she ever get home?

Ruby turned over, pulling the fur cloak tighter around her, big enough to cover her body and keep in the warmth. Smelled good, at that. Smelled like someone she knew. She tried again to get some sleep.

Then she heard something. A strange howling, wolves it sounded like. And they sounded close too. Ruby imagined that the wolves in this place may look like the giant one she'd cowered against. And since the Princess made no big deal out of it, that had to mean she'd fought them enough to be used to it. Which meant there had to be a lot of those monsters.

Ruby, scared and sniffling, crawled out of her tent, the fur still wrapped around her. She looked around the small campsite for her protectors. "Princess?"

She was there by the empty fire standing with her armored husband, both in each other's arms. They had their faces raised to the sky, and from their mouths came that wolfish howling.

Somehow, this evolved Ruby's total fear to unfathomable confusion, as if that wasn't the case already. Drugs. Ruby had somehow snorted an entire line of Dust in a moment of weakness, like those gangsters in the movies, and was suffering an incredibly trippy hallucination. That had to be it.

Ruby tucked back into her tent, curled up, and tried to sleep, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. She wanted her dad, her uncle. She wanted Yang, remembering that sound of her voice of horror as Ruby was sucked in by whatever force had taken her. Who was to say Yang wasn't somewhere in this world too, being chased by those monsters, but with no clone of herself to rescue her? Ruby hoped and prayed that wasn't the case.

She couldn't stop crying, despite wanting to. Might as well get them all out now. She wished Jaune was with her. With his strong arms around her, the smell of him in her nose, eerily similar to the cloak, feeling safe and warm next to him. Would she ever see him again? Ruby had to consider the very real possibility that she wouldn't.

So she wrapped her arms around herself, which was nothing like enough, and let herself cry. All alone.

Ruby blew out a great heave, her lungs on fire, as she struggled through the deep snow that very next morning.

The boots she'd been given were soaked through. But then, they had been for the last two hours, the longest constant walk she'd ever faced, especially through snow and forest. How Ruby wished now that she was in better shape. Shouldn't have eaten those damn cookies. She had no idea how she'd even gone on this long.

Then again, when your life depends on it, it probably wasn't too hard to find extra motivation.

Ruby was still in her pajamas though, which might have been bad, but this cloak was warmer than an electric blanket somehow. Her feet didn't get such warmth, cold to the point of numb slogging through that snow, her toes on the verge of snapping off. But she slogged on, even wheezing as she was, tailing the Princess and her husband, who she was, unfortunately, slowing down.

They only took breaks during demon attacks, and while they dealt with the beasts, she fought her own battle in warming her feet and trying to steady her breath. Hiking and hiding, hiking and hiding. On and on it went, for hours.

Eventually, Ruby had to stop, legs shaky, hands on her weak knees, puffing like a beached fish. She was finished. Couldn't go on anymore. Maybe the Princess would just leave her behind, fed up with the crybaby she'd picked up.

A shadow loomed over Ruby and she looked up to see the Wolf looking down at her, a shadow before the backdrop of a gray sky. Ruby fumbled her words. "I-I'm sorry. I'm trying to keep up, I swear."

"It is alright," he said in his gritty voice. "You show much resolve."

"Er, thanks." Ruby heaved again, feeling like she might throw up.

"However, we have a lot of ground to cover today. We cannot slow down. Forgive me."

"For what?"

Ruby hadn't been able to do more than squeal when he kneeled, scooped his arm behind her knees, pressed his shoulder under her thighs, then in one smooth motion lifted her onto his shoulder pauldron. Ruby had to grab his helmet to keep from pitching over. He wrapped his long armored arm around her legs, securing her as tightly as a seatbelt.

By now, the Princess had come sauntering up with an amused smile. "I do believe that is my spot," she said playfully.

"I'm afraid I must neglect you this time, my love." said the Wolf impassively.

"Must you? I see more than one shoulder."

The Wolf sighed, but that didn't stop his wife. She climbed him like he was a cliffside wall, slung her legs over, and sat on his other pauldron, looking across at Ruby with a pretty grin. Was that conceited to say? "It's quite comfortable, is it not?"

Ruby had to admit it kind of was. Lots of room on his broad shoulders. She looked at the Wolf with a healthy amount of humiliation. "I-is this okay with you? I don't want to be a burden."

"You are no burden." The Princess smiled down at the Wolf, looking at him upside down. "Is she, my love?"

"She is light in weight."

The Princess chuckled. "He always knows the right thing to say."

"That may be due to my saying very little."

Ruby scrambled to hold onto The Wolf's gauntleted wrist as he began to trek on forward, seemingly not slowed even with two people's weight to carry and the snow getting deeper. It was a little embarrassing, Ruby had to admit. But it was this or struggle on through the snow and fall behind. And that choice basically made itself.

Ruby even managed to enjoy the view of the faraway mountains.

"So what is this Shadowland place? I mean, why are you going there?"

They'd set camp before the night began to settle in, the sky the color of flames as the sun set behind the shadowy distance. Ruby and the Princess now sat before the campfire, warming their hands and feet near the crackling flames in a great circle cleared away snow. The Wolf had gone to eliminate any demons nearby, seemingly immune to tiredness, and Ruby was starting to feel a little more comfortable now, knowing someone as staunch as he was around to protect her. She'd really lucked out, despite being a whole universe away from home and likely never going to return.

The Princess stared into the fire for a long moment, as though captivated by the question Ruby asked. "Winter has been long, but it will come to an end soon. Spring will be upon us before we know it," she paused. "I will have to return to my kingdom and rule. Before that, I must bring my beloved uncle home from exile."

Exile? Her uncle? Considering the Princess looked just like her, Ruby had an idea of who her uncle may be. Though, who knew in this strange new world? "And he's in the Shadowlands?"

"He is, and has been for a long time."

"Why?"

The Princess's frown set in and Ruby wondered if she'd crossed a boundary. "My uncle… he has yet to forgive himself. His heart is tortured with guilt and regret. I venture now to bring sense to him, to return him to his proper place, and forge my family strong once again."

So even in another universe, Ruby's family was messed up. She shook her head at the idea, less funny and more tiring, like seeing the same type of story beat used in many different books without any innovation. Seemed she couldn't escape her family's troubles even in another universe.

"Family, am I right?" Ruby joked.

She smiled weakly. "Indeed."

"Sometimes, it just makes you want to get away. Stay away, even." Ruby sighed. "So, if you now have to go back, why did you leave the kingdom in the first place?"

"As you said, sometimes one must escape the embrace of family, for even love can be like a prison if corrupted. You must escape if you are to find a form of happiness beyond them. When my love came for me, I did not try very hard to resist. I was starved for freedom, in some ways more than for my family to heal from our pains, our losses."

Ruby swallowed, feeling and understanding the Princess's words more than she expected to. Had she not felt the same? She remembered being so happy to be away from her family for that awesome week with Jaune and Miss Peach. Nothing but fun and joy, like how it used to be at home when her mom was alive. While she'd wanted her family to get better and move on, all that time in such a miserable environment had made her crave an escape rather than a solution. At the time, she hadn't given much thought to anything but being free of them for a while. But that was the thing about it. You had to return eventually. You had to face what was waiting for you, even if you didn't want to.

The Princess parted a lock of hair behind her ear, silver eyes set afire by the flickering bonfire. "I must return to my family. I must retrieve my uncle and bring him home. That is my purpose now."

Ruby nodded, understanding that much. "At least you have your husband for help."

She smiled thinly. "I do. For now."

"For now?"

The Princess stood and brushed herself down, then smiled at Ruby. "I suppose I will retire early. I suggest you do the same, there is still ground to cover tomorrow. The Shadowlands may be close, but it is still days away. Don't worry, we are sure to pass a village that will take you in."

Ruby nodded and watched the Princess amble off toward her tent, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Some half an hour later, she saw the Wolf emerge from the night and approach the fire, the light flashing on his dark armor. Still a little scary, but not so much anymore. "Has my wife retired for the night?"

Ruby nodded, watched the big man take a seat in front of the fire, the fur cloak spreading out among the grass like a dog's tail when it was about to nap.

"Aren't you going to join her?" asked Ruby. "Get some rest yourself?"

"I do not sleep."

"You don't? Why?"

"It is not my purpose."

His purpose? The Princess had said something about that too. It was sounding like something predetermined. As if they were puppets simply acting out the inventions of another's mind, mere gears in the machine. That sounded bad, but they didn't seem to be bothered by it. As if they were driven by some purely instinctual motivation beyond even their understanding.

"So what was your purpose? Like, before all of this?" asked Ruby, curiously.

The firelight set on his wolf-like helmet, spread all across it, but not at all breaching the darkness of his visor. "I was to free my beloved from the chains of an endless summer. I was to bring the cold and the dark, to set a new order."

Ruby had no idea what any of that meant and doubted further elaboration would help. "Well, why is it your purpose?"

"I do not question what I must do. I know only that I must do it."

"Where are you from?"

That question, the Wolf seemed to have trouble with. He'd leaned closer to the fire, as he might find the answer there. "I… do not know."

"You don't know?"

"It seems I cannot remember."

"But you do come from somewhere, right? Like, you have a home?"

"It is possible." Another pause. "But for now, I must serve my beloved's purpose. That she may return to her homeland free of reservations. That is what I must do."

"What about after that?"

"If I have another purpose beyond this, I do not yet know it."

He was either really stingy on the details, or was being genuinely honest and was as clueless about this adventure as Ruby was. It was kind of adorable, actually. A little chip out of his seemingly perfect armor. A human inside that beast. "So, you're doing this because you have to? Not because you want to?"

He was quiet for a moment. "Who is to say that what I desire and what is my destiny are not the same?"

"You could just say you love her."

"I believe that is what I said."

Ruby smiled a little. "You know, she and I look the same. Isn't that a little strange to you?"

He glanced up at her through that dark visor of his. "You are similar, yes. But I'm afraid she is prettier than you."

Ruby laughed out loud at the injustice of that. Somehow, she was unable to compete even while being the twin of another girl. The Wolf didn't join her, but it didn't seem like he was annoyed either. "Well, sorry for not matching her beauty."

"I suppose I must forgive you." Ruby detected the smallest trace of humor in his voice. He stood then. "There are no demons to worry on, and my presence will keep most wandering at bay. You had best get some rest. The day will be long on the morrow."

Ruby nodded and watched him head off, towards the forest or to the Princess's tent, she wasn't sure.

She stared into the fire. Warm and safe now. Even managed to get a few laughs in, despite everything. Now alone, the worries crept back in. Desperate questions nagged at Ruby's mind. In some way, she envied that the Wolf did not know or even seem to care where he came from. He was content with his purpose, whatever that actually meant.

Would she ever get back home? Was there anything she could do? Or was she just completely powerless?

Ruby's lips pursed at that word. Powerless. An all too familiar feeling in her life since her mother died. And here in this world it was no different. It was worse, in fact. Unable to even match the people who were kind enough to protect her. Just once, she'd like to be able to protect herself. To comfort and save someone else.

And the chains broke.

Ruby felt something change in her, deep inside, like something had been waiting to surface. A faint warmth erupted into a swirling fire. She hadn't moved at all from her spot in front of the fire, and yet somehow her clothes had changed.

Ruby stood up in shock, accidentally dropping the cloak as she stared at herself. Instead of her old anime top, she wore a white blouse tucked behind black corset. She didn't remember having those in her drawer. A black skirt too that looked a little damaged. High stockings with some rips in them tucked into black combat boots. All of them buckled together with belts, crosses, and roses.

As if the very thing had rejected the fur coat she'd been wearing, a long red cape swayed over her shoulders, tied like a scarf around her neck. The fabric was so thin, and yet it kept in the warmth better even the cloak somehow.

Ah, but we're not done, said the universe. Because in her hands, handle and blade both longer than she was tall, was a massive scythe. Redder than red. Deep as blood, and with an edge that suggested a use less than friendly. It was so light in her hands, or rather, she had suddenly gained the strength to hold it. It felt good in her hands. It felt right.

How in the world? Why in the world? Just what was going on? Ruby had more questions now than ever.

There was a howl in the distance, far off and away, but Ruby could tell that it was not The Wolf's or the Princess's. Unless some other freak out there was howling in the night, she had to guess it was a demon.

She looked at the weapon in her hand, then smiled. It couldn't hurt to scout it out, in case the monster drew close to the camp. If she got in trouble, she'd just scream and The Wolf would come running.

But somehow, with plenty of rest by now, a strange strength in her arms, and a big freaking scythe to swing, Ruby began to think she might be alright.

If she swung it hard enough, perhaps she could take off its head like the Princess had.

Not as packed a chapter as I usually do, but well, we are nearing the conclusion. Loving the theories and excitement. This arc has been such a ride. Anyway, see you in the next one.

ISA