Ruby's mind was a whirlwind of chaos. Continuous images of hell and its demonic inhabitants flashed through her mind. Interwoven with those pictures were familiar black creatures, ones that she hadn't seen since… she didn't remember. It had been so long ago that the memories had faded over time. Suddenly, an image of 3 girls appeared in her mind. They all seemed so familiar. Ruby felt as though she should have known who they were. She concentrated, digging through her centuries of memories, hoping to find a clue. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her arm.

Ruby's eyes snapped open. She quickly ripped her arm out of what appeared to be chains, and smacked the offending arm toucher away from. She let a satisfied smirk crawl across her face as she heard whatever had touched her smack into the wall across from her. Demonic scum she thought to herself, before ripping her other arm out of its chain, and standing up, her other arm reaching to the small of her back where she kept Crescent Rose, only to find nothing. She frowned at that, bringing her fists up in a boxing stance preparing to bash the head in of the next demon that came at her. But none came. Ruby slowly began to take in her surroundings. Analyzing the area around her, searching for a threat, Ruby noticed something was off. She wasn't in a crudely built demonic sanctuary, or out in the umbral plains of hell. Instead, she was inside a well structured building. The architecture felt familiar, although she couldn't quite place her finger on where she had seen it before. What really threw her off was the person standing next to her. She stood just a little bit taller than Ruby, and had long black hair, with a large black bow on top of her head. Ruby frowned as she looked at the girl. She appeared to be seventeen, and had a very slim build. More importantly, she wasn't a demon. The next words that left the girl's mouth only served to increase her confusion.

"Ruby…" she said, a look of shock on her face. Suddenly the door to the room burst open, and a short, slim girl with white hair tied back in a long ponytail burst into the room, ready to fight. But she also dropped her stance, and brought her hand up to her mouth as she began to cry.

Suddenly, a strong pair of arms grabbed Ruby from behind. In a moment of panic, Ruby prepared to rip off the arms of whatever had grabbed her, but before she could, she stopped herself when she heard a familiar voice whisper into her ears. "Ruby. It's going to be okay. Your home now". At the

Memories flooded into Ruby's head. Of her time before she became one of the unchained predators. Before she was twisted into a being of rage by the demons of hell. Ruby began to relax, as she prepared to use her voice for something besides screaming in pure rage for the first time in centuries. "I'm… Home… Yang…" she said in a raspy voice.

Ruby and Yang stayed like that for a moment, the sisters happy to finally be reunited. Until Blake coughed lightly, interrupting the moment. "How about we get Ruby some clothes".

Ruby looked down at herself, as if just now noticing that she only had on undergarments. Not reacting she simply nodded her head as Yang grabbed a blanket to wrap her in and they walked off in the direction of their dorm.


Ruby sat across from Ozpin in his office, dressed in one of Yang's spare shirts and pants, her own now too small for her. She stared at the headmaster of Beacon, not quite sure what to make of him. Her memories had slowly been returning to over the course of the hour it had been since she had woken up. She remembered that she had used to look up to the man in front of her as one of the most influential hunters in the world, being a headmaster of one of the four great academies. She remembered the great joy she had felt when he had invited her to join his academy two years early. Now, she only felt suspicion when she looked at his neutral smile.

"I'm happy to welcome you back to Beacon, Ms. Rose," Ozpin said, his neutral smile turning to a genuine one. His change in expression helped Ruby relax slightly, though she didn't let down her guard. Ruby simply nodded, her facial expression unchanging.

"Now Ms. Rose, I need to ask you a few questions, just so we can get an understanding of what you went through while you were gone," Ozpin said, taking a sip of his tea. Ruby stared at him for a second, before slowly nodding her head. "First of all, where did you end up". Ruby blankly stared at him for a second, before opening her mouth. But no words came out. Ruby frowned and tried, again, only a rasping wheeze leaving her throat. Ozpin coughed before passing her a note pad and a pen. Ruby silently looked at the paper in front of her, gripping the pen like she hadn't held one in years. She slowly wrote out something before ripping off the page and passing it back to Ozpin.

Ozpin looked at the message that Ruby had scribbled out for him. Or rather the word. The handwriting was messy as if written by a five year old, but it was still readable. And it read Hell.

Ozpin's expression turned serious as he read Ruby's answer. He turned to look at Ruby's eyes. Her once brilliant silver eyes were now a dull steel. Her gaze was similar to hunters and huntresses that had been in service for years, and who had seen the worse the world had to offer. There was something different about hers, though. Ozpin wasn't exactly able to make it out, but it unsettled him.

"Am I meant to take that as you mean that metaphorically?" Ozpin asked, feeling as if he already knew the answer. Ruby shook her head again, and pointed at the paper. Sighing Ozpin moved on to the next message

"How long were you stuck there?" Ozpin asked. Ruby put her hand to her chin, as if thinking. After a minute or so, she looked back up, and shrugged. "You appear to be about 17. Am I correct to assume that 2 years is about how long you were stuck in there". Ruby shook her head again. "Hmmm," Ozpin said, contemplating her words, "Am I to assume that you were stuck there longer than 2 years". Ruby nodded. "5 years". Ruby shook her head. "Ten years". Ruby shook her head again. She wrote something on the paper again, before ripping it off and passing it to Ozpin. The barely legible script read "100". Ozpin's eyes widened at this. Ruby was at least 100 years old but still looked to be no more than two years older from when she left. Ozpin's thought process was cut off when Ruby pushed another piece of paper to him. 'Crescent Rose,' it read. Ozpin solemnly looked at Ruby, before explaining. "The head of the scythe was broken off when we found you. All that was there was the shaft. We are keeping it in the workshop until it is able to be repaired," he said.

Ruby frowned, but nodded. Then, she passed another piece of paper to him. This one read 'Suit'. Ozpin frowned. He was worried this topic would come up. "About that…" he started to say, "We were hoping you would let us hold onto it for examination".

Ruby glared at him, tapping the paper again, hard. Ozpin met her glare with his default neutral gaze. "Please, Ms. Rose, you must understand, the technology in your suit is very advanced, and it could propel us forward at least ten years". Ozpin noticed a change in Ruby at these words, whatever he had seen earlier in her eyes began to bubble up, her glare intensifying. Although Ozpin's expression didn't change, the unsettling feeling he had was only growing as Ruby's glare sent shivers down his spine.

"Ms. Rose, I really must insist. We will send it to Atlas to be closely inspected, and we will have it returned to you within the month". Out of nowhere, Ruby smashed the piece of paper, destroying the desk under it. Ozpin remained unflinching, staring at Ruby. They both held each other's gaze neither one wanting to be the first to yield. The tension in the room was palpable. Once it was clear that Ruby wouldn't let the matter go, Ozpin sighed. "Is it alright if we call a couple Atlas engineers here to examine it. It will remain in your possession, we will just take some basic readings of it". Ruby appeared to be contemplating Ozpin's words, before she nodded, relaxing back to her seat, the . She looked down at the mess in front of her, then looked back to Ozpin with an apologetic gaze.

"It's alright, I can get a replacement easily enough," He said, looking at the wreckage in front of him, "Now, about moving forward with classes. I plan to have you resume your education as soon as possible. The Vytal festival is coming up soon, and I plan to enter your team alongside team JNPR as the representatives for Beacon". Ruby Nodded. "Of course, you are free to decline, especially if you feel that you need more time to catch up to your peers".

For the first time that conversation, Ruby opened her mouth, and spoke, surprising Ozpin. "That… won't… be… necessary," she rasped out.

Ozpin smiled at this. "Perfect. I'll let your teammates catch you up on what happened while you were gone. You are free to go". Without waiting a second, Ruby stood up to her full height, and walked to the elevator. Ozpin didn't let his gaze leave her until the elevator door fully closed, and it had started descending.

He stood up, and pulled his scroll out of his pocket, calling his Vice Headmaster. "I'm sorry to bother you so late Glynda, but do you think you can swing by and fix something for me when you get the chance?"