RWBYr V4r - Rose on the Shore

by InvInFuture

A complete rewrite using RWBY V1-V3 as foundation to construct V4 from ground up without what show does. No God Brothers. "Four beacons of Civilization have fallen dark. Four Kingdoms, inching towards conflict. Four Myths that laid the foundation of the world. Four women, divided across the world, as they search for meaning to their wounds. An endless Cycle, a Tale, and a Lie."

9. Plutonian Shores

CHAPTER 9 - "Plutonian Shores"

---

January 29th, 797 E.A
Commercial District, City of Nemea, Kingdom of Mistral Territory

Ruby Rose trod the streets as her mind spun back and forth, reeling from the meeting with Pyrrha's mom.

It had been over a day now, and she still couldn't think about anything else despite the situation they had found themselves in - did that make her a terrible person?

Pyrrha is gone. She's gone.

Ruby never dared to even think about that before - most of these last few months felt like a dream or a nightmare, them all wandering.

But Pyrrha had perished - she would never return no matter what they did or didn't do.

The moment when the arrow pierced her chest was the last time Pyrrha Nikos had existed in this world.

Ruby could turn over mountains and drain the oceans - that would not change.

She was helpless to stop it - and now she was powerless to change the outcome.

No matter how much she longed for closure, meeting Cyanea Nikos had only brought the memories of Cinder's smug smile to the surface.

And now Jaune had decided to lecture her on what she should or shouldn't do. What gave him the right? He didn't see her die. He wasn't the one that failed - again and again.

It was easy for him to run his mouth, it was easy for him to act like he knew better, it was easy for him to moralize.

She stopped in her tracks.

But was she willing to do things she claimed she was - to chase Cinder to the ends of the world - was it worth it?

The moment when she fought Roman on that ship - the way she felt that night - her dreams reflected that like a mirror.

Ruby never realized she was capable of that - she never knew what kind of emotions she had held back.

She kept the sword always at her side now - she wouldn't dare to leave it ever since it almost got buried in that tavern in Kulhara.

She picked it up back then in the arena - her last remaining memento of another dead friend. Why did she take it with her on this journey when she could lose it at any moment?

Ruby roamed Nemea, bidding her time till the trial's start as if trying to find an answer to her despair from those streets.

But all that had greeted her was more monuments marking the long gone history - and the stone couldn't tell her what she had to do.

A city that spanned a millennium - built upon heroes and fairytales through the ages.

But she couldn't find them here - neither those heroes nor that feeling she used to have.

Ruby froze - in front of her, at the end of the street, once again roamed the familiar visage of a red-haired woman in armor.

Ruby rubbed her eyes.

The figure stopped, turning her head towards her as their eyes met.

No, not this time!

Ruby burst forward through the street. Petals falling, she weaved through the crowd, avoiding the passersby.

In front of her, the woman who looked like a dead-ringer for Pyrrha turned around, vanishing in the alley.

Ruby bolted after the ghost.

Nothing. An empty alley covered in rust, garbage dumpsters lining the wall.

Ruby marched through the alley, her eyes scanning the surroundings for movement.

"Show yourself!" - She shouted.

Nothing.

She held her breath.

Ruby peered into the rusted hues around her, the smell of garbage invading her nostrils.

One step. Two steps. Three steps.

Ruby shuddered as if expecting someone to jump out at her.

Nothing. Rats scurried beneath a dumpster, screeching.

As Ruby stumbled forward, she felt a sense of weightlessness envelop her as the ground vanished beneath her foot.

She reeled backward - an open sewer lay in front of her.

Well, this would have been awkward.

As she trekked forward, a wall greeted her in front of her - a dead-end.

A pointless detour. A pointless detour. A pointless detour.

Her muscles tensed up as she gripped her scythe in her hand.

Ruby screamed as the dumpster to her left split apart, torn in two by Crescent Rose.

Putting her weapon away, she took a deep breath - and then another, shaking.

Am I losing it? Is this where I am now? Raging at her friends? Arguing with Jaune over who cared about Pyrrha more as if it were some competition? Chasing ghosts? Thrashing alleys in anger? Who am I?

Ruby stumbled back into the street.

She had no time for ghosts.

She strode through the streets, her cloak hugging her, separating her from the world around her.

It always had done this for her - a reassuring touch of red fabric, hiding her from the world - filled with death, red like roses.

As she left the Commercial District and entered the area between it and the Residential District, Ruby strode towards the gate leading into the Inner Districts of the city - the Administrative and Industrial Districts and in their middle - the Central Forge where the trial was to be held.

The gate ahead was where the team had agreed to rendezvous as they were to face the trial together.

Ren had spent the last day disappearing and reappearing, having wandered off early in the morning. Nora had been visiting local blacksmiths to have a new hammer made, but she didn't seem to have much luck.

And Neptune? Neptune always had struck her as bizarre - whenever asked about anything in regards to mythology or history, he could gush for hours - her perception of the boy was akin to a history and beauty product encyclopedia, always ready to dispense his knowledge and yet at other times he would seem completely clueless - someone who had grown up groomed for specific knowledge, and position, yet was more than willing to push himself out of his comfort zone, to find himself.

She stared at a cafe on the other side of the street, the smell of bread and coffee filling the air.

I would KILL for a well-made apple pie, like the one Dad would make…

She chuckled to herself - no matter how things had changed, her thoughts would still gravitate towards sweet stuff - one constant in her life that made sense even as everything else fell apart.

But she had no time for that either.

She gritted her teeth as she marched towards her destination.

Two marble columns dwarfing the buildings around them greeted her - colossal and ancient monuments that had likely dated a thousand years ago towered ahead, separating the outer Districts from the inner Districts of the city - the pathway to the Central Forge. On the arc above them, those who built this city had left the inscription in gold - Ruby couldn't recognize the language, but some letters were familiar.

Of course - this was a monument in an ancient city on another continent - nobody would write it in Old Valean.

She attempted to mouth off the letters.

"Gnafi satin? Gnofi? Gnothi? Gnothi Auto?"

A burst of laughter echoed behind her. Ruby turned around to see Nora and Ren coming her way.

"You trying witchcraft or something?" - Nora tapped her shoulder. - "Hey, there."

"Just trying to make sense of this stuff." - Ruby's cheeks flushed red.

"That's Old Nemean. It means Know thyself." - Ren said, walking past her. - "Come on, let's hurry. It's about to begin. Neptune's already there."

Did Ren seem off somehow? Ruby stared at him move.

"Come on, Ruby." - Nora strode past her, slapping her on the back of her shoulder. - "We're winning this one way or the other."

"Nora, for the last time - we aren't fighting our way out of the city."

"No promises, Ren."

Slogging forward, Ruby looked back at the arch now behind them.

Know thyself.

Who was she now?

After all the deaths, after what happened to Yang?

The ideals she built herself from, she took from her mother, whom she did not know.

What did it mean to be a Huntress for her in a world where Huntsmen ranged from selfless heroes like Pyrrha to the worst of the worst?

She clung to her mother's ideals, Penny's sword, and Pyrrha's justice - things that would never return.

Know thyself.

Easier said than done.

---

January 29th, 797 E.A
Central Forge, City of Nemea, Kingdom of Mistral Territory

The figure strolled forward through the entrance - a red carpet rolled out for her and others.

As she walked along, playfully twirling her umbrella, the serious men and women ahead bowed – as if to a queen.

She wasn't used to something like this, so any time an opportunity presented itself, she couldn't help but get lost in it.

The Girl never had others looking up to her or treating her like a princess.

She wasn't some beggar, no, but she also never really experienced this empathy thing others seemed so fond of. Maybe that's why she couldn't share it with others, too?

It didn't bother her too much - a corpse there, a dismemberment here - she could float through her life as if flying with her umbrella.

The Girl could barely remember why she was this way, just like she couldn't remember whether she could ever speak - before all this, before "Neo" came to be.

She could not remember when she had learned her art but, by now, it would come to her naturally - the dance of taking away life, the muscle memory of how to use various weapons, the skillset needed to impersonate any person that came her way.

Why was she this way? Why couldn't she do this emotions thing others treasured so much beyond the joy she got from her art? The Girl did not care.

She enjoyed her art, and numbness suited her - a life where she didn't want anything else and would amuse herself with the tears, the terror, and the struggle.

Not until that day when The Girl actually got to experience what it meant, anyway.

Now The Girl would have thrown away everything that had made it happy had that undone the last few months.

The Girl sauntered towards her seat as the lady with purple hair said something to her.

The Girl didn't answer. She just nodded.

She did not know who this woman was, but the face she was wearing likely did - anything beyond a simple greeting would have given the game away.

The Girl couldn't allow herself to fail now - not before she had made her move.

She sat down with all the air and grace of a noble she could muster.

She leaned back, deeper into the seat.

Inside, her blood boiled, threatening to tear her apart.

The whole Everforge Court thing was a major wrench in her plans - she never expected nobles to select this case for their little show.

But she couldn't let this distract her - The Girl worked on it for too long - she couldn't let her art piece get ruined.

Everforge Court would be the first shot taken at her opponent - the despicable woman who had taken everything from her.

She couldn't let this opportunity slip away.

---

January 29th, 797 E.A
Central Forge, City of Nemea, Kingdom of Mistral Territory

The Central Forge towered over them as Ruby Rose strode forward - with every step, she couldn't help but feel like the building kept growing bigger and bigger.

A stone bridge greeted them ahead, leading over a chasm - Ruby could see heat emanating from below.

The Central Forge was surrounded by the bottomless abyss, with three bridges over it - from the east, the bridge connected it to the Judicial District, allowing to bring the convicts over it. From the north, it led to the Administrative District so the judges and the nobles could enter, and in the west lay the bridge for the commoners, which they were about to cross now.

As they walked through the bridge, Ruby couldn't help but walk to the side, looking down into the void below - she couldn't see much but the glow of the forge's furnace system deep below - to the south giant steel pipes connected it to the Industrial District.

On the lower floors, machinery generated heat and energy to power the city and Industrial district, including factories and smithies.

In a way, the City was one massive forge - its pipes and infrastructure stretching deep below.

Some people would say the Forge's infrastructure was the result of Mistral's technological advances over the centuries, while others suggested a far more outrageous theory but the one that Ruby was fond of - the idea that the mechanisms below were ancient, not having changed since the dawn of Ever After.

A power source capable of supporting an entire city dating back a thousand years or more - it hardly seemed possible and yet was true - a reminder that myths and fairytales hid a period of Remnant information about which was lost forever.

A monument of a bygone age that continued to hold influence and meaning well past its age and into the future - to Ruby, an idea like this seemed far more alluring than the more mundane alternative.

The Central Forge fit the idea of an antique monument better - a square three or four-story building above the ground, like a giant marble column reaching for the sky - a yellowed gray structure decorated with intricate patterns and windows - a sculptor's dream come true.

Ruby could remember Weiss gushing over architecture books in the library, and the ideas of how to handle heating and energy systems in Atlas came from Nemea's infrastructure.

For a refined heiress, Weiss could be such a nerd about this stuff. I could listen to her for days about engineering, architecture, machinery - all things that couldn't be further from her position as a Schnee. And yet I never asked her more - never got to know her further than that. What a leader and what a friend I ended up being.

Chitter-chatter - like ocean waves, had reached Ruby's ears as they approached the other side of the bridge - the trial audience had begun to gather.

Right ahead stood the main entrance, marked by four bronze columns. Each of the columns had the title of Mistral's city-state inscribed on them - except the fourth one, which had its inscription plate removed.

"Guess they had to make space for shiny new Argus, huh?" - Nora said.

"Well, Midhart was almost a century ago, and it ain't coming back." - Ren shrugged. - "There's no point in agonizing over what's now an ancient history."

"Yeah. Sure. Okay. Whatever."

"Nora, what's wrong?" - Ruby said. - "I'd have expected Neptune to obsess over this stuff, but not you."

"It's nothing, forget it." - Nora hurried ahead.

Neptune's words about Midhart, from back then in the cavern, rang in Ruby's head. That lake will one day be just a lake.

Will Vale suffer the same fate if it's not retaken - another monument of the bygone age? Is there a point in any of it if all are things destined to wither and die?

As they moved forward, they entered the Central Forge's Reception Area, which had reminded Ruby even more of a museum - towering pillars marking the entrances - the hall filled paintings, busts of Mistral's noble families, and various exhibits.

Near the center of the area, leaning against a stone statue depicting a massive snake, stood Neptune - already waiting for them.

"I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to touch this stuff." - Nora said.

"You guys are late."

"Some last-minute stuff came up. Sorry." - Ren said.

"So, how does this go again?" - Ruby said, gripping her cloak with both hands.

"We give our names to the lady at the reception, surrender our weapons, and get the seat numbers," - Neptune said, pointing ahead.

Beyond the reception area lay the metal detector, two guards positioned right next to it. The Court Guards all wore ceremonial red-on-black uniforms, each of them armed.

"So much for storming the place." - Nora looked genuinely sad, exhaling. - "Not that I would."

"That won't be needed." - Ren said as he stepped forward, his face not betraying the slightest emotion. - "Just state your names and they'll let us pass. We're on the exempt list."

"Ren?" - Nora grabbed Ren's arm. - "What did you do?"

"Called in a favor. Long story, too long to tell now."

"I thought you said we aren't fighting our way out of the city?" - Nora said.

"We're not fighting our way out, but be careful. If Jaune got framed, which he obviously did, so expect hijinks at the trial.." - Ren placed his hand on Nora's as he turned towards Ruby and Neptune too. - "Just let's not flaunt our arsenal."

"What do you mean?" - Ruby said. - "What hijinks?"

"Let's just say that, after Vale, paranoia is becoming a quite healthy habit."

Ruby gritted her teeth.

Vale, Beacon, Cinder - she still had no idea where that despicable woman was or what she had planned.

Indeed they had already experienced someone close to them getting framed and people seeing and believing things that shouldn't have been possible. Cinder's goons had at least two people capable of something akin to illusions.

Could this have something to do with her?

A cold chill ran through Ruby's spine as she realized that some part of her hoped this was true.

Although, Remnant was a vast land spanning multiple Kingdoms it had become awfully clear that there were more things wrong with it than just Cinder.

For example, the White Fang was noted to be most active in Mistral, and yet throughout their journey, they hadn't encountered a single instance of their activity, let alone the Faunus. Of course, they hadn't visited most of the major cities before, but with Nemea segregating the Faunus and humans and where they can or can't live, one would think they would have at least heard someone talk about the White Fang through the city.

But there was nothing. Would the people like that pass up an opportunity to build on what happened at Beacon or the chaos they caused? Or was this a calm before the storm?

Not to mention the political games Cyanea mentioned.

Politicking and conspiracies - as fun as they were to read about in the stories, the real ones made Ruby's head hurt.

The world used to be so simple - good guys and bad guys, easily separated and recognizable. When did she start to question the underlying reasons behind everything around her?

When did she realize how naive she used to be?

Cinder's teams spent months at Beacon - how many times had Ruby interacted with Emerald without realizing the threat she held?

Now, after the dust had cleared, after all the things she had seen since she entered Beacon to ending up here, Ruby couldn't help but question everything around her.

But her doubts weren't helping right now.

They'll have time to speculate afterward - for now, if they could free Jaune in more conventional ways, they will and move on.

If that fails?

Ruby couldn't deny there was a certain allure to Nora's jokes about breaking him out by force.

She didn't spend the last few days just aimlessly coursing through the city.

She wasn't going to let another of her friends die.

Either way, that still didn't explain how Ren had achieved this.

"What's up with you coming and going all the time since we got to Nemea?" - Nora said. - "Again, what did you do?"

"I can't, Nora. Not right now." - Ren gripped her shoulder. - "Please."

Ruby turned away from them - the interaction puzzled her and it became awfully clear that there was something Ren wasn't telling them.

As the Court Guards let them through without a fuss, the group entered the main hall.

The interior barely resembled a forge, if at all.

According to Neptune, the Forge was generally used for Council meetings and ceremonies - the actual judicial use here has been rare and maybe happened once in a while when the nobles felt like they needed entertainment or wanted to make an example of someone.

The Control Rods were a necessary safety mechanism used to put the forge into the over-drive, still useful for the ritual but the actual central forge hasn't been used in centuries now - most of the forge equipment has been moved out of there. Only the lower levels remained operative, providing power to the city.

Ruby couldn't help but wonder - just how sound was the logic to turn the heat up and down, up and down from something the entire city had depended on?

"Doesn't it sound stupid to you guys? Dad always warned me not to play with the kitchen stove, but these guys are entertained by turning it on and off."

"Maybe it helps them show off that they can? Turn it off, I mean." - Neptune said.

Ruby didn't want to think about that, but it made sense - each trial was the reminder of the Forge's existence, another verse added to the legend.

It made the Forge stay in the people's heads - the idea that the city is dependent on something that can be controlled and turned off and on - and that the nobles are the ones who hold all the keys, literally.

A reminder that just like the nobility decided whether the convicts lived or died they could decide the fate of the entire city, let alone a Kingdom.

The Judicial District, which handled the normal cases and had its courthouses might have managed justice and order in the Kingdom, but it was the people in the mansions of the Administrative District and in the other Hearts that held the keys to real power.

Unlike Ruby had expected, this trial stuff didn't take up the entire building - she could see rooms and hallways all around - lots of places for judges and officials to do their important stuff.

With each step, this seemed more and more like a prim and proper government building.

As they walked past the reception and into the square hall that comprised the middle of the building, the whole place reminded Ruby of Beacon's central auditorium - which was close enough as this place likely had been used for all sorts of lectures and meetings, too.

The whole place was pretty close to how Neptune had described it.

Gray marble covered the walls, and paintings - depictions of various moments in Mistral's mythology - lined them.

Beneath their feet lay thick stone square slabs, black and white - arranged like a chessboard.

Red carpets lay on the path from each entrance leading to the center.

The audience seats were separated into two distinct parts - in the southwest parts of the hall, near the main entrance they had just gone through lay the audience seats. And at the top, on the northernmost part, with its entrance for the Administrative folks, lay the bigger elevated area containing the seats for the Everforge Court - the nobles who would "judge" the convicts.

In the center of the hall stood an elevated podium - a stage of sorts, just like in a proper auditorium - but less elevated than both sets of seats.

In the end, the nobility would sit at the most elevated portion of the hall, looking down upon everyone, and the speakers at the podium would be at the lowest, sandwiched between the nobles and the commoner audience.

As the group strode forward, they took the small five-step stairs on their right into the audience seat area, searching for the numbered seats they had been assigned to.

A multiple-aisle arrangement of four rows, each around eighteen seats total, connected up like steps in the stairs, each seat numbered.

The seats themselves were ornate, covered in velvet, smelling like paint.

"Huh, we all got the front seats somehow, talk about lucky." - Nora said. - "Whatever happens, we'll see it up close."

"That's certainly a coincidence." - Neptune said. - "What are the odds?"

Ruby had gotten seat number two, Neptune - seat number four, and Ren and Nora - seats number five and six - all front seats.

Ruby glanced at Ren.

What are the odds, indeed?

In the middle stood a speaker stand - complete with microphones and other kinds of gizmos.

To the southeastern part of the podium, the workers hurried to affix a metal cage with a seat inside as the audience gathered - another sign that the actual court function of this place wasn't used much.

Traditions, Theater, Ritual - is that all that myths and legends were now?

As the audience rumbled and chattered among themselves everyone eventually found their seats.

Up ahead, the nobility audience seats had also slowly filled up, some seats notably empty.

What struck Ruby the most was that from first glance you couldn't even tell the difference between the people that sat over there and people that sat around Ruby and her friends - yet that group of one hundred and twenty individuals held far more power than the others put together.

A society where roles mattered more than accomplishments.

As the man in a black shirt stepped onto the podium most of the audience stood up.

"Silence, Silence." - The Speaker said. - "We gather here today to pay tribute to our forefathers and to the sacrifices that made our great Kingdom possible. As per tradition, I will now recite the Tale of this Kingdom's origin!"

The Court Guards all stood up saluting - this was the cue for the audience to sit down, according to Neptune.

As the audience sat down, the entrance opposite the one they all had entered opened, and in came Jaune. Four court Guards led him to the central podium, seating him inside the convict cage.

The guards closed the doors - two remained stationed by the convict cage, while the other two marched downwards again, taking a seat by the audience seats.

"You get why it's political theater now?" - Neptune whispered. - "The theater part is pretty literal."

Ruby gritted her teeth.

Theater with human lives as the props.

"If it's all for the show, how are we expected to save him?" - Ruby said.

"I wouldn't give up hope, yet, Ruby." - Ren said. - "This could end in pretty surprising ways."

"Seriously, Ren, what did you do?" - Nora leaned in.

Ren, once again, did not answer.

Up ahead, the Court Speaker resumed his speech.

"Once upon a Time, in the days before Kingdoms, before there was the light and the dark, the world had only known the Void Above - the empty that had stretched as far as time itself. There, in that void wandered the gods like the stars. This is the tale of a lone star, Anima, who would wander astray and crash into the Land Below."

The two Court Guards stationed by the Forge keys began to rhythmically beat the drums.

"As the star fell upon the Land Bellow, the bright impact of its divinity had made even death recede, forming the first shadows. In that light, blossoming in her radiance, the tale of Man began - the crater where the star had landed giving way to life upon the Land, the first Kingdom, our Kingdom!"

The sound of the drums had evolved into a melody, accompanying the story beats.

"Do you think any of that stuff is true?" - Ruby said.

"Learning folk legends of a city helps understand what people value and how they live," - Neptune whispered. - The order of how the cities were founded is likely true and Vale did get settled by people from Anima. But that doesn't explain The Faunus at all. Most cities have tales that make them seem bigger. Learning helps to see what people value and how they live, as long as you separate what's real from what's fake. For example the whole falling star and gods stuff? It has to be fake. Either way, shush."

"Sorry."

Ruby's eyes scanned the hall - as she counted the number of Court Guards present, Nora's wish to fight her way through this grew even more impossible.

Two Court Guards were stationed by the entrance they all had come through. Another two stood. Another two awaited further up in between the Central Podium and the audience seats. And another two were stationed guarding the elevated platform that took up the top half of the square hall - the one hundred twenty seats of the Everforge Court.

Fourteen Court Guards surrounded the pedestal with the Forge Keys, seven on each side. And even the ones beating the drums were likely still Huntsmen or at least as good. Beyond them lay the door to the bridge to nowhere that the condemned would walk.

And then two more were stationed right next to Jaune.

Twenty guards in total, all armed, all likely experienced soldiers or Huntsmen. And there were even more beyond the Forge - what's with this being in the very center of the city and all?

All they could do was rely on the people they had convinced, hoping it was enough.

"The Void Above had thought its Star tainted now and condemned her to never reunite with her brethren, living out her life on the Land Below." - The Speaker said. - "The Man under the star's guidance built a mighty city in the crater."

Ruby had missed parts of the speech, but that was fine - she knew this legend, and Ruby hadn't come here to listen to ancient stories.

The gist of the myth was simple - a star crashed upon the land, giving birth to life - to humanity. Humanity then built a city, Youdu, the oldest one on Remnant.

Eventually, as humanity grew, they got interested in what was beyond, and one of Anima's sons, Mistral led a crusade to the west, his armies fighting "the shadows" - likely the myth's depiction of The Creatures of Grimm.

King Mistral built a great Forge in the west as the war continued. He knew that the death toll was just too big, and they needed something more to face the terrifying beasts.

The myth said that when the days grew darkest and the shadows began pushing the soldiers back, King Mistral had crafted the first Huntsman weapons there - the first weapons on Remnant to use Dust - making enough in a single night for his entire army. But King Mistral paid a terrible price, expending his life force to accomplish this feat and leaving the mortal realm behind - in the morning all his soldiers had found was a forge filled with weapons imbued with Mistral's knowledge.

His mother, Anima, would lead the war, moving north and sacrificing herself, putting a stop to the threat.

After the war, the men gathered, naming the Kingdom after their leader - Mistral.

In the place where Mistral had disappeared, around the Forge, humanity built the city of Nemea, the Second Heart of Mistral. And in the place where Anima had perished, turning into a giant Anima Tree, humanity had built the Dragon Fortress, Ryugu-jo, the third Heart of Mistral.

And myth Anima's sacrifice eventually led to the foundation of the Church of Anima - a religious belief that all souls had originated from her, her sacrifice having redeemed all.

"We have assembled in remembrance - to reaffirm to our founders that this Kingdom still traverses the path of righteousness as it was intended!" - The Speaker raised both of his hands, concluding his speech. - "May the court session proceed."

The Everforge Court nobles clapped, talking amongst themselves.

"What now?" - Ruby said.

"Now comes the part where we hope real hard the people we managed to convince come through and, coupled with Jaune's statements and internal politics, it's enough." - Neptune said. - "And then the nobles will argue and hopefully everything ends well."

Ruby gripped the handles of her seat, digging her nails into the velvet and the wood beneath.

This wasn't a court of law. These people weren't judges or the jury - just bored nobility treating this as entertainment.

There was no defense either - the one hundred twenty nobles would just argue with each other before making a decision.

Whatever Jaune was about to say - whatever he could or couldn't answer - likely wouldn't matter.

And even if they were successful here, Jaune would still have to go through the proper legal proceedings and another trial, this time a real one.

The Everforge Court was going to be just a bunch of nobles bickering over whether they should sacrifice a person.

Ruby wanted to throw up.

Her world, her dreams - a thousand-year-old myth twisted, re-purposed, and redressed into something resembling a sermon - a theatrical play for the most powerful people of this city.

Was there anything real in those tales?

Ruby longed for a world where myths and fairytales were an inspiration to be better rather than a tool.

Yet she lived in one where the meaning behind them - bravery, chivalry, and justice - were left to rot in the books.

Welcome to the real world, indeed.

---

January 29th, 797 E.A
Central Forge, City of Nemea, Kingdom of Mistral Territory

He could feel his feet cramp - Jaune Arc had been standing at the Speaker's Stand for a whole hour now. No matter what he said, no matter what he did - the nobles kept arguing.

Did they even see him as a person? Or just a prop in their squabbles?

This was his life on the line, but for them, it was just another Tuesday.

The Speaker's Stand had become a shield for him - his weapons having been taken away for obvious reasons.

Jaune felt as if he had just eaten nothing but sand - his mouth was dry, his eyes hurt - he couldn't sleep last night, the confrontation with his friend replaying in his mind - was this going to be the last time they spoke? And ahead a hundred or so people, all looking down on him, were lost in a heated debate, sometimes throwing him a question or two.

"When have you arrived at Mistral, Mister Arc? What drove you to travel here and assassinate our esteemed colleague?"

"I, uh, didn't? I mean, I did travel here but it was not for something like assassination. There's no reason for me to do anything like this, as I said already. And the timing doesn't add up - we made landfall on January 7th near Argus - there was no way for me to carry out all these acts here in Nemea and around while I was on the other part of the continent! That's not how traveling works."

"Well, the eyewitness accounts and the live recordings say otherwise, Mr. Arc." - The Speaker interjected behind him. - "And you were in Kulhara where the last murder had taken place so at least one lines up."

"Look, no, listen. I, uh… It's not me."

"How do you explain the cameras then? The eyewitnesses seeing you drag that poor man into the warehouse where you would execute him?"

"There are Semblances that can make illusions, both tangible and physical, are there not?!" - Jaune felt sweat drip down his forehead. - "We live in a world where anything is possible!" "But what about Kulhara?" - The Speaker did not relent and Jaune could from the faces of the nobles that they enjoyed this. - "You were at Kulhara, yes?"

"Yes, but, again, why would I do this? We were there for a day maybe a bit more and we barely had time to do anything before that Grimm attacked the town. And then we were no longer there."

One of the nobles in the audience stood up. A woman with short purple hair - a bob cut. "Are we supposed to believe you just, what got spirited away from there?" - The woman spoke, leaning forward onto the seat in front of her. - "Days are missing between the incursion of the next time you showed up. Who's to say you didn't spend all of that time in the town?!" "Spirited away - that's exactly what happened!"

"That's Levante family head, Miss Viola Levante, you better address her properly, boy." - The speaker whispered behind him.

Jaune froze.

"Nice job likely pissing off one of the most influential people in here, idiot"

He gritted his teeth.

"That's exactly what, um, happened…Miss?" - Jaune repeated. - "The thing, the thing just moved us, somehow, somewhere, I can't tell you how or where."

"So you, what, expect me to believe in fairytales?" - the woman, Viola, shouted.

"There is a precedent, you know." - A man in a dark green coat next to her spoke up. -

"Grimm particles do warp time and space. It's not that unlikely older creatures of Grimm like The Goliaths or The Behemoths, could do the same. It's why some of The Behemoths are lightning fast despite being so massive."

Jaune struggled to see his face - a middle-aged man with a trimmed beard and what seemed like a designer's scarf.

"And there were eyewitnesses of him and his group vanishing among the fight too." - another noble said behind them. - "Like, literally totally vanished on the spot!"

The purple-haired woman turned around, shouting something - Jaune couldn't quite understand the language. The back row behind her recoiled from her voice.

"One murder out of many, I am sure you all are aware." - Viola turned back to Jaune. - "Lots of death had followed you, including a smuggler captain. You said you had made landfall where near Argus? There's a pile of corpses there too. A smuggler captain and his crew all dead by the sword, Mister Arc."

"Okay, listen, If I were to make this crazy journey murdering a bunch of people, why would I kill my only way out of this Kingdom? None of this makes sense." - Jaune's head spun. - "What kind of killer travels to another Kingdom illegally, kills droves of people all around with no discernible pattern, and then also murders his only way out of here?!"

"You do realize that your illegally entering our Kingdom doesn't exactly help your case here, Mister Arc?" - Viola said. - "Our Kingdom has a long-standing tradition of not taking too lightly to those who tread on our borders and our way of life."

"But just because the ports were closed, it didn't suddenly become illegal to be in another Kingdom." - The Green Coat noble interjected. - "Ever since the Post-War Remnant Act, free travel is permitted between the Kingdoms and people can't be punished for being in another Kingdom. The illegal crossing is a misdemeanor at best. Something one would pay a fine for. Certainly, nothing that one dies for."

"You are right, my friend. It isn't illegal. But maybe it should be?" - Viola smiled. - "For far too long our Kingdom had suffered from people like this. And unpredictability always begets trouble." "Are you sure you aren't just jealous of all the bustling trade opportunities your family missed? It's the only reason you had motioned to close the ports in the first place" - An old man in a gray tunic spoke from in the front. - "Jealousy."

"Tramontane dogs should shut their mouths." - Viola growled.

"While tactless, however, the man does have a point." - The Green Cloak said, standing up from his seat. - "As it stands, the only crime the evidence can reasonably convict him for is the one caused by your own very interest, Miss Viola."

Jaune struggled to breathe, hoping the nobles wouldn't end up killing each other before they could reasonably free or doom him.

He had seen similar bickering before when his family would watch the transmissions of Vale's Council gatherings - in a way it was a relief that no matter which part of Remnant they had ended up in, the politicians would be all the same. No matter what some things would still stay constant.

"Hey, Arc, Arc, Jaune. Isn't this the dude who fought in Vytal?" - Another noble shouted. - "I saw his match on TV, I'm pretty sure."

"Yes, well, apparently Jaune boy here was on the same team as Pyrrha Nikos." - The Green Coat said. - "Let that sink in."

The court was abuzz with chatter.

"Is that true? You knew the Champion of Mistral?" - Viola said. - "Some say she is dead."

"Yes I did." - Jaune paused, words stuck in his throat. - "And yes she is. The goal of my journey has been to bring her stuff back to her parents, to honor her memory, you see."

"Sure would help if the esteemed matriarch of Nikos family was here, huh?" - Viola said.

"It's not surprising for Nikos's family to grieve now." - The Green Coat added. - "What happened back in Vale shook many people and with the towers down, many parents have yet to learn about the fate of their children. Well, either way."

The Green Coat walked away from his seat, to the side, past Viola and other nobles.

"All I see here is a young huntsman with no notable criminal record whom an esteemed Champion of MIstral trusted and who is only bound hereby by circumstantial evidence."

"We all know Nikos family aren't the best judges of character." - Viola laughed. - "That means nothing if he can't prove his innocence"

"But we also can't prove that he did it. The questions his testimony brings in are reasonable and logical. And we aren't equipped to investigate the case, are we? It's the job of the Judicial District, not ours." - The Green Coat walked down the stairs leading to the middle of the hall. - "All I know is that I can't condemn this man to death as he is."

Jaune took a deep breath - this wasn't the first time he had voiced all of his concerns with this whole thing, but it was quite clear that none of the nobles had read his testimony after his arrest. Or if they have, they sure played it like they haven't - waiting for him to say it all over again here - all for show.

If it hadn't been for the noble in green coat, this would have likely gone worse - Ruby's plan might have a chance to succeed and save him.

"Have you grown soft after these years, my friend?" - Viola said. - "It's not like you to let emotions get the better of you."

"Oh no, I am not the one whose emotions influenced them, my dear." - The Green Coat strode past the central podium, his voice ringing through the hall. - "We all know how personal these murders are to you since your brother was one of the first victims. That is the sole reason you put up this case for the Evercourt tradition, haven't you?"

"Have some class talking to a founding family member, you ingrate!" - A noble shouted from behind Viola. - "Only Sirocco's bastards would act this way!"

"I am sorry if my words offended you, Miss Viola." - The Green Coat bowed. - "I am sure a person of such stature is way beyond petty grievances or revenge. You wouldn't use your highly-esteemed status just so you can see to it that the perpetrator dies. It was unwise of me to doubt you."

The Green Coat took out his Scroll, buzzing.

"And yet another turn to this case. I was just informed that the Department of Harmony had apprehended another suspect - a blond Faunus boy." - The Green Coat's eyes were focused on his Scroll, reading. - "It seems his semblance allows him to alter his facial structure. He claims he just impersonated a random person he had seen on TV to carry out a crime of petty revenge. He has confessed to the murder of your dear brother, it seems."

Jaune stared at the man, trying to comprehend his words. Now? Of all times? That sure is a convenient and dramatic timing.

"Revenge?" - Viola stared past Jaune and at the Green Coat.

"Yes, well, your family aren't exactly the biggest friends to the Faunus. We all know what kinds of business Family Levante runs and your vested interest in the Menagerie project. It makes sense some of the animals would view you as a target."

The Green Coat put away his scroll, striding towards the Forge Keys.

"Either way, this puts a wrench into the whole serial killer idea here. More doubt and more uncertainty."

The Green coat walked over to one of the Keys, pulling it out.

"I can't in good heart condemn a man that might as well be an innocent - my reputation doesn't allow it you see. You know how it would go - the very next day newspapers would be ablaze with the news about the nobles having condemned an innocent - a huntsman from Vale who had come to honor the death of one of their own - a hero known through Mistral"

Another fifteen or so nobles sprung up from their seats, rushing past everyone, excusing the others, as they tripped over themselves to follow The Green Coat's example.

Jaune tracked them as they moved and did the same thing with their keys.

Neptune's idea was right, it seemed - the weaker nobles looked for the more powerful for example. Some did it because of their uncertainty and others likely sat in Green Coat's pocket.

Jaune turned towards Viola, who was silent, observing what had happened.

And then she smiled.

Viola slowly strode away from the Everforge Court seats, following Green Coat's example.

"I agree, my dear friend." - She said. - "How can we condemn this innocent man for the crimes of a Faunus." She moved past Jaune without even a glance, promptly tearing out a Key too.

Chaos ensued in the seats of the Everforge Court - dozens of people bolting from their seats, rushing to follow the woman's example.

Jaune counted each one that marched past him - at least thirty of them - a sign of the influence the Family Levante seemed to hold.

As the nobles shifted back to their seats, Viola lingered in place. She then turned towards the Everforge Court.

"Everyday violent criminals assail our society, stealing precious lives and disturbing the order our Kingdom had thrived on for years! Cases like this should make the hold-outs reconsider their position on the matter of The Faunus Relocation Act - if the Department of Harmony's claims hold we have a killer Faunus on our hands - likely a serial killer too! You all have seen what those animals did at Beacon, you heard the rumors of the White Fang rushing alongside the Grimm!"

Viola strode closer to the center as she spoke.

"What does it take? Was the hostage crisis at Haven Academy not enough - the Faunus beasts daring to hold the entire faculty body captive? How about the raids and the destruction of the railway system? Did they think we'd forget of the situation at Argus, of the White Fang vermin crawling in Midsummer Forest?!" - Viola raised her voice. - "And now an esteemed member of our nobility lay dead at our feet, murdered by an animal! Do we really want a repeat of Vale here in our fair city, in our glorious Kingdom?!"

Some of the Everforge Court nobles applauded - Jaune couldn't tell how many, but quite enough for the court to echo like the ocean waves sweeping towards him.

Viola Levante sauntered past him and onto her seat, greeting every noble along the way.

Jaune struggled to shrug off the unsettling speech, counting the keys - nothing else would matter if he couldn't live till tomorrow anyway.

Altogether, forty-five keys had been removed. His life hinged on nine more.

Nine more keys - nine more people - another nine nobles.

What could he do? Barring a miracle his life would still be forfeit.

The only thing I can do is, to tell the truth. Some of them seem like they'd falter.

"When I came to Beacon I wasn't the best kind of person. I was clumsy, and I was a poor fighter, but worst of all I was naive - I expected the world to treat me as a hero straight away. I expected being a Huntsman entitled me to things, but in reality, I didn't even know what being a Huntsman meant." - Jaune said. - "But then I met Pyrrha Nikos. Would you all believe me if I said that I didn't know who she really was? Till that day, the name came and went, just another far-away celebrity."

The nobles had all seated themselves, listening.

The forge beneath them began to rumble, the time limit almost up - the activation drawing close.

Jaune's legs shook, his palms sweating.

He had understood that this wasn't a court of evidence, but rather a performance of emotion and interest.

The convenient interruptions from the Green Coat and the actions Ruby and his friends took up in the last few days had done everything possible in terms of aligning their interests with theirs.

All he could do now was to appeal to emotion.

Tell the truth about who he is. Tell the truth about the woman most of them likely heard of, and some might have even met. He wasn't that good of a fighter and now he had no weapon either.

The only way he could fight his fate was with words - by baring his soul naked and hoping there were those among nobles whose hearts were not made of stone.

"But that day I met a nice and friendly girl, who then proceeded to save my life, actually - way before we became a team. Every step of the way after, she had been there - a teammate and a friend - more than willing to help others, including the silly old me. I did not really know how much had laid on her shoulders back then, and I have said and done things that have likely hurt her and not just her. What can I say? I was stupid. But Pyrrha did not give up on me - every time I had faltered, she was there."

Jaune glanced towards his friends, who were listening too - he could see their faces strained. He looked at Ruby, who looked pale.

Even if this wouldn't help, this was the only way he could say all of this to her now - to explain why he felt the way he did and why he wouldn't want her walking a path of revenge.

If this were to not work, this was his last chance to.

"Pyrrha was always the kind of person to rush head-first into danger if it meant saving others - no matter how risky the situation, no matter how hopeless - she would be there at the frontlines if it meant she could shield an innocent. I have only realized it way too late but, through the months at Beacon, Pyrrha had shown me what a Huntsman should be. She was exactly the kind of Huntress, kind of person this world needed." Jaune took another breath, gripping the sides of the Speaker stand.

"She died like she lived - protecting others, no matter how hopeless the situation got. I couldn't be there for her when she did when she fought her final fight. I couldn't help or do anything for the woman who had changed my life."

Commotion and rustling sounds came from the Everforge Court seats - another three nobles rose, rushing towards the Key stand.

As happy as this had made him, Jaune knew he was still six short.

Yet his eyes were fixated on his friends instead.

"Amidst the tragedy that hit all of us, that changed the world, a bright shining star grew cold, taking away some much-needed warmth from this world. The last thing I could do was to honor her - to travel to her homeland, to find her family and tell them what had happened, to give them comfort by bringing back her belongings to them. That's all I wanted to do. That's all I came here for." - Jaune paused, his eyes fixating on Ruby. - "If I were to die here today, at least I'd die knowing that I could do something for my late friend, even if I hadn't managed to become the man she hoped me to be. I really don't want to die, though."

Silence.

Jaune looked up.

It was dumb of him to expect to move them by pouring his heart out, but at least he got those words out with his team and Ruby present. If anything, they needed to hear this.

I guess this is it. This is the end. I'm sorry I couldn't live up to your hopes, Pyrrha.

A noise and chatter broke out again, a shiver running down Jaune's spine.

He glanced at the Everforge Court - and sure another six nobles had begun to move.

Jaune's heart beat so fast it could burst through his chest. The six nobles moved, glancing at each other - one stumbled upon the corner of the seat, before gathering himself and rejoining the others

One by one they walked past him, stealing small glances at him.

One by one they struggled with the Keys, removing them.

Six remaining, five remaining, four remaining.

As the last four nobles came upon the key stand, Jaune's heart trembled.

A sharp pitched-cracking sound rang through the hall as if a mirror shattering - Jaune's blood froze cold as couldn't believe what he had seen in front of him.

One of the four remaining nobles drew her sword - at least he thought it was a sword - promptly burying it inside the nearby another noble before he could pull out the Key.

The noblewoman had changed, and instead, a young Girl stood there, holding an umbrella.

"Behind you!" - Jaune screamed, stretching out his handcuffed hands.

Before the other two nobles could turn around, the girl grabbed one of them - a swift kick to their legs bringing them to the ground - she then once again drove her weapon down, extinguishing their life.

The fourth noble screamed, stumbling backward from the scene, as screams and chaos enveloped the hall, Court Guards rushing towards the girl.

The stage welcomed a completely different genre of play upon

---

January 29th, 797 E.A
Central Forge, City of Nemea, Kingdom of Mistral Territory

Screams and chaos polluted the air, and people rushed over each other toward the exits.

One of the guards that had rushed forward flew back, hitting the Audience seats above them, lifeless, blood dripping onto the velvet.

As Ruby Rose watched what unfolded in front of her, with every ticking second she felt as if she were to stand face to face with Death Itself.

"Nora, hide" - Ren said. - "You don't have a weapon."

"No!" - Nora said as she grabbed a fallen Guard's shock baton. - "This ain't a hammer, but it will do."

Ruby observed Nora - breathing heavily, gripping that damn case in one hand and the baton in the other.

"It's good they haven't taken our weapons." - Neptune said as he took out his Tri-Hard.

Ahead of them, death danced among the crowd of guards.

The girl with an umbrella weaved to the sides, moving between armed figures, shifting just out of the reach of their blows and stabs.

Light as a feather, she pierced one guard after the other, the tip of her sword greeting them to eternal rest.

A brown-haired Court Guard had attempted to jump her from behind and now staggered backward, blood gushing out of his shoulder and neck. Soon he, fell over, others stepping over its now lifeless form.

A woman in a green Department of Union uniform clasped her severed arm as the girl's blade descended upon her face.

One body after another, as the distance between her and Ruby slowly evaporated, the intent behind the girl became glaringly obvious.

She was here for her.

Everything fell into place - the murders, the ghastly visions of Pyrrha all over town.

Her friend's plight wasn't Emerald's illusions or tricks - Cinder's group had always had another person capable of trickery and deceit - a far more tangible physical one yet limited to mere reflections rather than hallucinations.

Only one person had the skill and sadistic conviction to leave a trail of bodies through the entire continent just to frame a person close to Ruby.

Only one individual would have wanted to watch the trial so closely - to savor it.

Only one monster was strong enough to not worry about getting caught.

The girl with the umbrella had faced them before - both times unbothered about taking on the entire Team RWBY all at once.

A mysterious silent companion of late Roman Torchwick - the last time Ruby had seen her, the Girl floated away screaming into the sky.

Why was she here? What did she want? What was Cinder's plan behind this that had made her unleash her lackey in such a chaotic fashion?

As Ruby lunged over the seats, Nora, channeling her Semblance into the shock baton bolted at the Girl who swiftly dodged to the side as Nora hit the stone floor next to the central podium.

The ground cracked from the impact and transfer of energy as if lightning had struck it.

The Girl With the Umbrella spun around, kneeing Nora in the face. As Nora stumbled backward, The Girl gripped her wrist, twisting it, knocking the shock baton away.

No. Not Again

Ruby propelled herself forward, her leg pushing against the velvet seats, closing the distance between them, screaming as she triggered her Semblance.

She shifted her Crescent Rose into the sword. As she swung it, lunging towards the duo and over the rushing Guards' bodies.

The Girl With The Umbrella pushed Nora to the side, facing Ruby, looking right into her eyes as Ruby approached - The Girl raised her weapon, exhaling.

Impact weaved through her arms as the weapons clashed.

"What do you want?" - Ruby screamed. - "What is Cinder planning?!"

The girl didn't answer she merely shifted downward, letting the momentum guide Ruby, who stumbled forward.

Electricity jolted through Ruby's body - the Girl kicked her in the ribs

Ruby wanted to scream, but all air had left her lungs from the impact, her left side melting in pain as if someone had poured hot lava over her body.

Pain coursed through her back as she hit the Speaker's stand and she flew backward.

Ruby pushed herself to the side with her right hand just as the girl flew upon where she was, now hitting the empty ground with her sword.

Yang had said the girl toyed with her during their fight and Ruby's experiences fighting her and Roman on that ship matched up with that idea, but this was different.

The attacks were precise and lethal - the girl's face devoid of any smug smiles she had before.

The Girl with the Umbrella was here to kill her, but why? Beyond passing glances and confrontations, Ruby had no idea who this girl was.

As Ruby recovered, springing upward, a man with iron chainmail armor and a spear rushed the girl from the side, but all Ruby could see was the split-second moment when his spear had been torn apart in two, shredded like paper.

And then the chainmail split open, aura breaking as the man slumped to the ground - gaping wound on his chest.

Ruby rushed toward him reaching out her hand to check if he was breathing

She froze. Too late again.

Ruby instinctively activated her Semblance, jumping backward before she could finish the thought as the sword swung and Ruby could feel the tip graze against her aura.

Before she could react a hand gripped the collar - the girl pulled her closer, grinning.

A grin unnaturally wide as if to split her head in two.

Just for a split second Ruby could see the visage from her nightmare, before the impact of The Girl headbutting her reached her.

She could hear Crimson Rose flying out of her hands, the metallic sound hitting the stone dull gray floor.

Ruby gasped for air as she once again hit the ground on her back.

Nausea washed over Ruby as she hit the ground, The Girl With The Umbrella leaning onto her from above, her knee buried into her ribcage and her hand on her neck.

Aura could protect Ruby from injuries, but that did not mean it could stop the transfer of kinetic energy from blunt attacks. Not to mention that with the force the girl had attacked her, Ruby could only take one or two sharper ones either way.

And then, without her Semblance, Ruby would truly be useless.

The eyes burning with fury greeted her - the fury Ruby could recognize because she saw something similar every time she looked in the mirror.

The Umbrella girl was here for revenge.

The sight in front of her grew blurry as she gasped for air.

A sense of deja vu.

For a second, the view shifted to Roman Torchwick gripping her neck in that nightmare.

She moved her hand around, frantically searching for Crimson Rose.

"Get off her!" - a scream rang from somewhere behind the girl.

Energy bolts from Neptune's Tri-hard followed, but the girl, seemingly effortlessly, deflected them with her sword.

Then, Jaune rammed her from the side, heavy metal cuffs facing forward, tackling her off Ruby.

Ruby sprang to her feet, just in time to see the girl kick Jaune, interrupting his rush.

The Girl grabbed a a chair, throwing it at Neptune, right in the head.

She sprung forward, right behind it, socking him in the jaw, aura breaking, the impact sending him downward as his head hit the central podium ground.

As Ruby grabbed her Crescent Rose off the ground, another three Court Guards rushed the girl with an umbrella - one armed with an energy crossbow and two with swords

As Ruby took a single step forward, The Girl effortlessly gutted one of the guys with the sword, his body slumping onto the girl as she pushed it away.

A barrage from the crossbow followed but was met with a shattering sound, bolts hitting a tangible illusion.

The unfortunate guard realized far too late that the girl was right next to him already - objects in the mirror were closer than they appeared.

The third guard followed the example of the civilians, running towards the Forge doors, trying to get them open.

Thus, at least twelve out of twenty Court Guards had lost their lives.

Yeah, there's no way I can take any of her hits.

Ruby pushed Crescent Rose in front of her, barely blocking the girl's attack.

With precise lethality, the girl with the umbrella had wasted the majority of the guards and soldiers she had engaged. Ruby had no time for distractions - thinking about anything but the opponent ahead would cost her her life.

Crescent rose crackled as the cracks had become more pronounced - as anger had guided her fighting style, the wear and tear slowly crept up on the weapon.

She had planned to get it repaired in Nemea, but with everything that had happened, she never got the time to.

Months ago this would have been her priority, no matter what.

Hit after hit as the girl unleashed a barrage of piercing attacks, Ruby, blocking them, begged Crescent Rose to hold itself together as shrapnels of chipped away metal and paint flew around them - an unlikely sight considering just how sturdy the huntsmen weaponry is designed to be, having been intended to defend and attack beings more than twice their size and mass.

As someone who had been obsessed with weapons and building them, it only took a few clashes for Ruby to understand what she was dealing with - since the girl's umbrella wasn't a Huntsman weapon it didn't transform into a gun, and the entirety of its structure had been made to ensure extreme density of the blade, likely via employing gravity dust to compress the metal.

The result was a blade designed for maximum efficiency that could pierce and slash through metal and concrete alike - it was not a weapon to fight the aberrations plaguing the land but rather a tool to slice through bones and break defenses and weapons of its target. Its only transformation function was that of discretion and reach - a weapon of a killer, an assassin - a stark contrast from Roman's more simplistic design.

How? What kind of a blacksmith could have achieved something like this? Just who was this girl whose ire Ruby had earned?

Shots from about twenty steps to the side interrupted the barrage. Ruby stumbled backward, rolling over a stone table the Speaker sat by during the hearing. She turned towards the direction of the shots and saw Ren rushing towards them.

Up ahead, the Girl grabbed a sword from one of the downed Guards as she jumped upon the Speaker's stand.

"Ren look out!" - Ruby managed to scream as the girl threw the sword at him, shattering his Aura.

"If she wasn't a murderous criminal, I'd be impressed." - Ren said, wincing.

The Girl hopped from the speaker's stand, lashing out forward towards Ruby - for the first time in her life Ruby could feel the murderous intent radiating towards her.

Ruby, barely having enough time to react, lifted her the compact form of Crimson Rose to defend against what was coming.

As the tip of The Girl's umbrella sword made contact with Crimson Rose, Ruby could feel a chill emanating from it.

As she glanced at the girl's weapon Ruby realized this was a mistake.

The tip of the sword had grown dark red as if coated in the blood of the Girl's enemies.

And then it tore right into Crimson Rose, cracks forming through the metal as it entered.

Ruby jumped backward - a gaping hole in the Crimson Rose, the corners of which unnaturally bent as if pushed aside by some incomprehensible force.

The Girl rushed forward once again - Ruby could swear she saw air bend itself around the blade.

Then, a shadow obscured the view of the girl - Nora jumping in front of Ruby as the blade landed, clashing against the weird case in her hands

Weird whirling and gurgling noise reached Ruby's ears - the creepy box Nora had in her hands vibrated once again, just like during the hearing. Listening to the sound, made Ruby's head pound with another headache.

The box shrieked.

And then light bleached the world white.

---

Sometime in April, just before the Summer.
A familiar place.

Nora Valkyrie had once again found herself walking the streets of that long-gone city.

Midhart they had called this place - one of the Hearts of the Kingdom of Mistral - the midway logistics center at the heart of the continent of Anima that had connected the other three hearts.

Even if Youdu was the oldest city, most had called Midhart the throne of this Kingdom.

Why did she know this?

Nora took another step forward, wandering the empty streets - the last time she had been there, this place was bustling with people, the mysterious woman at the center of it all.

Now the city stood silent.

Or rather, the city was no longer there - this was just a memory recreated back then in the cave.

Nora strode to the crossroads - a road intersection between four skyscrapers.

The traffic lights had long since given up assigning meaning to the colors that shone inside.

The Longing to go there gnawed at her chest - there had to be something here.

There, at the center of the road, stood a worn-down wooden table, scarred by time-chipped corners, mold, and cracks.

On it lay an antique clock - Nora just had to rewind it, and she would see what she wanted to know.

She wound the clock back, and as its hands moved backward, the scenery around her played out in reverse - as if a video recording rewound.

Suddenly Midhart was bustling with people once again.

A bright Monday morning.

People in cars and buses drove to work. An old man sat on the bench reading a newspaper.

The screen on the skyscraper in the intersection lit up - an announcement that marked the beginning of the end for this city - the joint declaration of Mistral's city-states allying with Mantle that had begun The Great War.

Nora wandered between the people, observing - some were annoyed, others cheered and quite a few of them just ignored the announcement going about their day.

The idea that their great Kingdom could end up on the losing side wasn't even on their mind - they might have had their disagreements with the other Hearts over how to handle the Faunus issue, but nobody even dared to doubt their Queen.

Nora stared at the antique clock in her grasp, pushing the hands further, as the scenery shifted, speeding up.

This was not a mere traffic jam but rather a protest.

A clash between different groups of people - ones supporting the war and others against it - the city had split in half.

On one side stood people with posters and slogans urging for equality and peace. On the other, a group of people demeaning and cursing the Kingdom of Vale and the Faunus.

Nora strode through the frozen crowds towards the tallest building.

Even though she had taken only a few steps, she had somehow found herself on the top floor, staring the familiar woman in the face.

The woman argued with her advisors, shouting and emoting, yet Nora couldn't hear the words as if watching a silent movie.

The woman froze.

"He's here." - She whispered as she ran to the window. - "The bastard decided to do it after all."

This time Nora could hear those words.

The woman with chestnut hair burst the window open and jumped outside.

But instead of falling the woman floated up, storm at her fingertips.

Nora ran towards the window, but could barely make out the woman up in the sky above.

The woman flew up, thunder and lightning in her wake.

The skies darkened.

The storm clouds gathered in seconds, moving and grinding against each other.

Wait, those weren't clouds that were moving.

Nora strained her eyes to look past the curtain of the sky.

Soon she had witnessed it - a form slithering, wriggling above.

A giant shadow.

The shadow solidified, black smoke given form - a serpent writhing in the sky, dwarfing even the city.

Nora somehow knew what the serpent was.

An Elder Grimm lingered in the clouds - one of the few that hid in the shadows of this land - The Grimmserpent.

Nausea washed over Nora like the ice-cold ocean.

She had seen a being like this before - the dragon at Beacon.

The woman, up above, shone like a sun beneath its shadow.

The bright spot in the sky above grew dimmer and dimmer, till it vanished.

Nora's heart sank as she realized what it meant for the city.

The ground trembled as the Grimmserpent descended upon the valley and the city.

The walls crumbled and screams filled the streets outside.

Nora screamed, covering herself as the ceiling gave its way, crumbling on top of her.

And then nothing.

She opened her eyes.

She, once again, stood on the sky, just like back in the cavern, but the apparition that wore the Queen's face was no longer there.

She looked down to see a magnificent city crumble to pieces as the mirage dispersed, the particles eating away at anything living before they became impossible to detect.

Gone were the towering skyscrapers and the city. Even the valleys and the farmlands have all perished - flattened by something massive that had befallen the valley.

All that had remained was water swirling, rushing in - to hide what had happened, the dams holding back the tide having been broken.

Hundreds of thousands of people perished in mere seconds.

Nora realized what day this was - Year Seven Hundred and Seventeen in the Age of Ever After.

March, The End of The Great War.

The Fall of Midhart.

With Midhart crumbling, Mistral's economy and logistics network withered away - the whole Kingdom too demoralized or distraught to continue the war effort.

And without Mistral, already fallen apart, The Kingdom of Mantle finally gave way, the conflict that had lasted five years ending in a mere instant.

With three out of four Kingdoms in shambles, the Great War came to a halt - the Kingdom of Vale stood as the only one unscathed.

Vale reached out their helping hand towards Mistral and Mantle, and thus the Kingdom of Atlas as well as the City of Argus were born.

Midhart had faded away into the annals of history as people moved forward past the tragedy that had befallen them.

But there was a contingency.

In the underground, beneath the city, there lay vaults and laboratories, now crushed into ruins and caverns.

Deep, at the heart, there lay a container - the case Nora now held, housing something important - something she had used to trap the weakened Wanderer inside.

But deeper below there used to be another lab - and there lay the cryostasis units with children inside, countless children.

What's in the container lay dormant - undetectable lest the certain immortal pulled his weight to get it destroyed - a DIY set of tools for a rainy day.

The item lay there lifeless, protected, and hidden from the immortal's sight.

The children would wake up over the years.

And one of them, one day, when the time is right, would take the case and bring what's inside to Nemea where it was originally forged - a process necessary for what's inside to resonate and activate.

It wouldn't be a choice they made, but rather a longing, an inescapable destination they'd find themselves in.

Nora knew this. Why did she know this?

She also understood that bringing a high density of Grimm particles like the Wanderer into the forge was bad, very bad - just like the Beacons in that cavern, what lay beneath Nemea was very sensitive to this kind of energy - as the case resonated with the system beneath, the Grimm particles that had made up The Wanderer could lead to disastrous consequences.

Nevertheless, whatever was to happen in Nemea, once the case and what's inside was activated in the presence of the Forge's resonance frequency, Nora knew she would have to then bring it somewhere else too - somewhere special.

She gritted her teeth.

What if I don't want to do this?

Nobody was there to answer her - the voice in the wind was her own.

Her ears rang louder and louder.

As everything faded to black, a vision greeted her.

The face of the one responsible for this.

The face of the one that had brought this city to ruin - the man who had unleashed death upon thousands of lives just to grind the war to a halt.

She knew this person. She had seen him before, heard him talk.

She had seen him wander Beacon's halls.

She had seen him sit atop his tower.

Professor Ozpin they all called him, but that was just one of many names the immortal had gone through.

Nora screamed, her voice surging through the washed-away canvas around her.

The world faded away into nothingness.

Just white noise, buzzing.

Nora felt a cold, wet stone street beneath her.

As she opened her eyes, cold evening air caressed her face.

She moved her legs, then her hands as if to reaffirm she still had them.

Nora then jolted up, turning her eyes towards the buzzing sound ahead she saw The Forge building vibrating, surrounded by an eerie glow, like Dusklight would dance in the sky, far in the arctic north.

She sat up, her head spinning.

Nora's eyes scanned her surroundings as she realized her hands were empty - the case she carried around was nowhere to be found.

As she looked to her left, she could see Ruby kneeling, tears flowing through her eyes as Ruby sobbed.

"What happened?"

Ruby did not answer, sobbing.

---

Moments earlier…

She wanted to tear herself apart, to burst into the smallest pieces possible, to scatter like petals, burning to ash, painting everything red.

Staring at Nora's body, breathless on the ground, Ruby Rose screamed.

She lunged toward her friend, cradling her in her arms, trying to detect her pulse.

Her head pounded, pulsating beat like a barrage of explosions deep inside her skull.

The case that Nora's hand still gripped whirled and growled, gnawing at Ruby's brain like a scream.

Life, Death, Good Evil, Happiness, Despair, Creation, Destruction, The Hungry City, The Uneven Priest, The Plague Doctor, and all the ice cream in the world as they cried to make them whole.

Ruby shivered, her brain, like a broken record, playing gibberish over and over again.

There was sand under her legs, brushing against her skin, ocean waves rushing somewhere beyond the horizon - a longing as high as the moon flowing through her body.

As void above, so neath the land - a veil of dread - its vastness grand.

Ruby screamed, growling, her voice cracking, her throat burning up - this won't happen again, she won't let it happen again, she will save them all no matter how much it took from her.

Huntress, she is a Huntress, Ruby is a Huntress and her job is to fight monsters.

She lunged forward at the monster in front of her, gripping a blade from her belt.

Her roar burst into petals as The Monster With an Umbrella reeled backward.

There was a difference in time, the difference in movement, the difference in meaning.

Ruby watched The Monster With an Umbrella, like a video recording, slowed down, skipping back and forth.

She was never fast enough.

So she would move so fast that even time itself would not be able to catch up next time.

The petals burned as her eyes hurt, the all-encompassing all-accepting glow of the moon gnawing at her soul reflected in them.

Beneath its gaze, all things must fade - its chilly grasp you can't evade.

Ruby stretched out her hand, gripping the Monster's shoulder tight - she followed the Monster's eyes to wander slowly towards the sensation.

Ruby swung the sword, clashing against the Monster's umbrella - with a slight tap, she pushed it away, the Monster unable to apply the necessary pressure.

Ruby spun around herself, the handle of the sword connecting with the Girl's shoulder, as the force of momentum from her movement threw the girl across the hall crashing into the the bars of the convict cage at the central podium.

For ages past, upon a time - one thing beholds - its truth sublime.

The scene where she sent her flying on that airship repeated in her mind, again and again, Roman Torchwick shouting The Girl's name.

The fear in the girl's eyes as she disappeared beneath the clouds, unable to do anything.

The terror in Roman Torchwick's voice.

As the moon does stare, from on up high - all things must die, end whispers nigh .

How Ruby wished that would have been the end of that girl - she could imagine the air currents tearing the umbrella apart, sending her tumbling down to her death.

Ruby jumped towards her, but her legs protested, stumbling along the way.

A girl enveloped in rage stood in front of her, screaming at her.

A mirror.

The headache hit her like a hammer smashing against her skull, the impact vibrating through her brain.

The recording ahead sped up once again, The Monster, The Girl With the Umbrella - Neo - moving faster and faster.

What was that? What happened? What did I do?

Her eyes hurt as they threatened to crawl out of her eye sockets.

The ground trembled beneath them, vibrating as the fifty-four keys in total hadn't been removed.

Ruby inhaled as much as she could, gripping Penny's sword - she wasn't that used to fighting with blades like this, even Crimson's Rose's sword form had seen very little use.

She jolted forward, swinging the blade to block the attack.

Gritting her teeth, she activated her Semblance once again.

The sensation from before didn't repeat.

Ruby lunged to the side, deflecting a piercing attack,

Was the one named Neo moving slower? Her attacks have gotten easier to predict, easier to react to - even if she couldn't match her speed and prowess, she could keep up with her attacks now.

Neo hasn't slowed down physically this time, Ruby was sure of that, but she could react to her attacks now.

Did Ruby's perception change, speeding up somehow? The girl seemed to move as if in slow motion now.

"Semblances are a living part of yourselves - as you grow and mature and change so will they - they are reflections of your soul, of who you are, of what you have become. It's not unusual for them to adapt, change, or evolve."

As the words from back at Beacon rang in her mind, Ruby focused herself.

Whatever had happened, had nudged her Semblance further into an unknown territory.

Ruby propelled herself from the ground with her hand, rolling through the ground, bursting into petals, and sure once again, for a split second, she could see the Neo's movements clearer, react to it better - alas this seemed to only last during the actual burst of her Semblance.

In this case, Ruby simply crashed straight into Neo.

I can work with this.

As the Neo attempted to regain her balance, Ruby, another burst of petals trailing behind, flew at her, swinging her sword, using her momentum once again as she knocked the umbrella off her hands.

Neo gasped reaching for the weapon.

Ruby's head hurt, body ached, but somewhere deep a torrent of anger drove her forward, despite her broken Crimson Rose and pain.

She won't let this one leave - to hurt anyone ever again.

Ruby gripped the sword - her memento of a dead friend - tighter, as she propelled it forward towards Neo.

The sound of a mirror, shattering rang around her - this time Neo's aura dissipating, as Ruby's sword plunged deep into her gut.

No, she doesn't get to keep the sword.

Screaming, Ruby kicked the girl in the chest with all her might, freeing the blade as the girl tumbled backward.

Ruby stared at the blade in her hands, dyed in red as the extent of what she did dawned upon her.

Ruby froze, looking at Neo stumbling backward on the ground, gripping her bloody side.

Is this what I want to be? Is this the path this anger leads to?

In front of her, Neo, grabbing her umbrella, stumbled away into the hallway leading to the Judicial District.

Should she chase her?

She turned towards Nora on the ground.

Beyond them, the remaining audience members rushed towards the exit.

"Nora!" - Ren's voice came from behind Ruby as she saw him limping towards them. - "Is she okay?"

"I, I don't know. She just fell to the ground after she blocked Neo's attack with that damn case."

Up ahead, near the central podium, Neptune helped groaning Jaune stand up.

Around them, all over the hall lay dead bodies of Court Guards and the nobles.

The central forge, the safest place in Nemea, had turned into a graveyard.

How could a single girl in mere seconds lay waste to so many people? Just what was this Neo?

Ruby glanced around - yet again she stood amidst carnage and death, her friends hurt and battered by an oncoming tide.

"She's breathing, but barely." - Ren said, his ear on Nora's chest. - "We need to get her out of here.

Ruby stared at the case in Nora's hand - was her mind playing tricks on Ruby or did it seem to vibrate?

"Um, guys, that's not good." - Neptune pointed at the floor around the Forge Key stand. - "What the hell is that?!"

The floor was, simmering, bubbling up, the stone itself melting away like burning plastic, gaps into the lower structure of the forge opening up.

"I think we need to very quickly get the hell out of here!" - Neptune screamed, dragging groaning Jaune on his shoulder. - "How are you feeling, man?"

"Like someone whacked me with an airship in the face." - Jaune coughed, turning his head towards Ruby. - "What a weird day huh?."

"Neptune is right, we need to get out of here." - Ruby said.

"Ruby!" - Ren shouted.

As Ruby's attention jumped back to Ren and Nora, she noticed the ground bubbling up beneath the case too - the case and the forge building resonated, reacting to something, but what?

A high-pitched wailing scream, like the deathly gasp of an infant filled the air.

The case howled.

And then it burst open, black fog filling up the room, creeping over the stone floor.

Ruby's blood ran cold, as she grabbed onto Ren and Nora activating her Semblance bursting forward.

As the three of them flew in the air propelled by the inertia, Ruby turned her head towards Neptune and Jaune.

"Guys run! It-"

Before she could finish a sentence, the black mist enveloped her friends, filling up the whole center of the hall, expanding.

The walls, the ground, the podium - everything began to melt - and as the head emanating from the melting surfaces touched, sparks began to fly.

Ruby could feel air pressure wash over them as her semblance propelled them out of the Building through the general audience exit into reception.

Her feet touching the ground, she gritted her teeth, activating the Semblance again, propelling them three further towards the exit.

She couldn't just carry them - there was no time and she did not have the strength to carry two other people at all.

Beyond her, in the Everforge Hall light grew brighter and brighter - as if someone had dropped a sun in the room - a massive heatwave melting everything in sight.

As Ruby tumbled out of the building and onto the bridge, she forced herself one more burst of petals onto the other side.

Finally landing on the other side of the chasm separating the Forge from the rest of the city, Ruby let go of her friends, gasping for air.

She turned around, on her knees, watching the burning glow, its columns, and decorations all slowly melting.

As she gazed upon the melting monument of heroes and fairytales, realization began to sink in.

Why?

---

January 29th, 797 E.A
City of Nemea, Kingdom of Mistral Territory

The world - painted red. The heat emanating into the night sky was red. The falling tears? Blood red. Blood covered the myth today and it was all her fault, everything was her fault, it was always her fault, it will always be her fault.

Ruby Rose screamed, till she could no more - that's all she could do.

She was never in control of the world around her, no matter how much she had deluded herself - she never had done anything to make things better - she just reacted.

And now, as the play of life and death had concluded, even more of her friends had disappeared, this time in the searing heat of deep below clashing against the dark ocean currents.

Screams were heard from a few blocks as sirens blared - firefighters rushing towards a hazard, soldiers, and cops moving to rebuild order.

Ruby stared at her hand, still gripping her lost friend's sword - she wanted to clean it, to polish it until all that could be seen on it was the world reflected upon it - not red.

"Ruby? What the hell happened? Ruby?" - Nora's voice rang.

Ruby tilted her head - her friend's eyes locked with her - confused, but alive.

"We should be asking this." - Ren said, heaving up from the ground. - "Your case did this, Nora."

"Hey, I didn't know what was gonna happen! And I sure didn't expect psycho-icecream to appear and murder a bunch of people either."

"Guys, let's not" - Ruby said, her voice coarse as she hugged herself. - "Please"

"You should have left it with our things. Why did you bring it here? You never think about the consequences of your actions, ever." - Ren ignored her, turning towards Nora. - "Or are you hiding something?"

"What? No!" - Nora said, taking a step back. - "I just, uh, I have a lot on my mind okay? And the case is all weird and I felt weird and I didn't mean any of this to happen! I never would have if I knew."

Ruby watched her two remaining friends - now in a stand-off

Nothing she said could reach them.

"I always said that your impulsiveness would get us killed one day."

"Wait." - Nora froze" - "Where's Jaune and Neptune?"

"They didn't make it." - Ren said.

Ruby gritted her teeth.

She failed again - this was all her fault once again, and she failed.

"I didn't mean for any of this to happen." - Nora fell to her knees. - "She just said to bring it here, I didn't know this would happen."

"She? Who is she?"

"There's a voice in my head and I sometimes see this person and she tells me stuff. It started in the cavern with that case."

"Nora, why didn't you tell us this before?" - Ren lunged towards her. - "Do you know how reckless you were?"

"I panicked, okay? I couldn't think clearly. I believed I could handle this, I should have told it all the moment it happened, but I couldn't."

"Yes, you should have. Why didn't you?"

"Are we really doing this?"

"If you weren't keeping secrets, we wouldn't have to!"

"Oh, you are the one to speak. Why didn't you? What did you do? The weapons check? The silent treatment? Don't tell me you had nothing to do with all the weird coincidences in the hearing!"

"Now is not the time Nora."

"No!" - Nora bolted back up, gripping Ren by his collar. - "Since we are really doing this, answer me. What did you do?"

"I made a deal, okay?" - Ren gripped her hand by the wrist. - "I made the deal with someone in Harmony. They would take care of my friend's trial issues and even handle the judiciary process if I promised them something."

"What did you promise." - Nora let go of his collar. - "What did you promise them?"

"In a year, when my Huntsman training ends, I would enlist into the Department of Harmony as a recruit. I would move back to Mistral and continue my family tradition. In exchange one of their own, the noble, the one in the green coat, would handle everything else - the questions, the message he got - it all was part of the plan they had concocted, Nora."

"And letting us keep the weapons?"

"Worst case scenario. If the plan didn't work out, the noble in green coat had planned for a distraction of some sort during which we would have to free Jaune and rush to the Judiciary District, where the Department of Harmony would handle everything else."

"What was that about keeping secrets, again?" - Nora took a step backward.

"I know." - Ren said.

Ruby clenched her fists.

They weren't a team.

Team RWBY was imperfect, but there was a bond there between her and her friends - a connection strong enough to risk their lives for each other, at least up to a point. Team JNPR was the same - she was sure of that.

The people here on this journey weren't Team RWBY or Team JNPR - they never were a team - just broken pieces of two broken groups traveling together, pretending - friends unwittingly seeking solace in each other.

Each of them had traveled a separate path.

Each of them hid secrets and had completely different goals.

"You shouldn't have chosen that without telling me, at least." - Nora said. - "Always together, remember?"

"I know. It's just, it's a lot - everything that happened these last few weeks - it's too much."

"Well at least you won't have to do it now, since it all went to hell." - Nora looked at the ground. - "Silver linings, right?"

"Nora, it's more complicated than that."

"What could be more complicated than our friends dying in a fiery inferno?"

"My father. He is alive."

"But we both saw…"

"Yeah. I'll explain later. No more secrets from now on."

As silence befell the group, Ruby wiped the tears with her hand.

The sirens kept blaring, and the voices grew closer.

They stood just at the end of the bridge near the path to the outer districts - If they hurried, they could still disappear among the people.

"We need to move." - Ruby said.

"Wait, where's the case?" - Nora sprung towards the bridge. -"It's still inside?" It can't be inside!"

"If they'll find it, they'll likely implicate you in this." - Ren said. - "There's recordings, likely. And they inventoried our belongings when they brought us to Nemea."

"And now it's in the middle of that building, burning a hole through the floor, Grimm oozing out of it" - Ruby added.

Around them the city went dark as the forge shut down, power severed - the building burning, melting.

"Wait, let me try something" - Nora said.

She stretched out her hand.

"Please work, or I will look real stupid"

The humming sound grew louder and louder towards them.

Soon, a massive metal case came in flying, crashing right behind them into the bridge corner of a building.

"That will do." - Nora said as she hopped over to the massive metal case, struggling to get it free from the wall.

With a few pulls, she managed to, turning around back to her friends.

"What was that?" - Ren said.

"Ruby's right, we need to go. Once we are away from here I will tell you both everything I know, I promise."

Nora moved towards Ruby.

"You sure that Jaune and Neptune, well, you know?" - She looked her in the eyes.

"Yeah, I saw it happen." - Ruby covered her mouth with her hand. - "I'm sorry."

Ruby wanted to vomit.

"How did it, you know, happen?"

"I don't know. The black fog and fire and everything enveloped them in seconds before they could react." - Ruby clutched her sides. - "It went by so fast once the black fog spread.

"Wait, wait, wait. Black fog? Similar to the one in Kulhara, which threw us to the bottom of that Cavern?" - Ren said. - "Could they have been spirited away somewhere?"

"But how would we find them?" - Ruby sobbed, biting down her lip. - "They could be anywhere.

"First we need to leave. Let's go" - Ren said. - "Plans can wait."

"Wait." - Nora stared at Ruby. - "Your hair, what happened?"

Screams and voices grew ever closer.

Ruby scanned the road ahead, as she could see movement and people gathering to observe the catastrophe unfolding.

Soon anyone even remotely tied to the law and order of Nemea would be swarming this place too.

If they were to get caught, not only they would likely rot in jail, but Jaune's case would worsen too.

They couldn't let themselves be seen.

Ruby grabbed Ren and Nora by their hands.

"Quickly into an alley." - She dragged them into the darkness.

Ruby looked behind as she moved - beyond them, flashlights illuminated the streets - Huntsmen, soldiers, guards, cops, and the weird people in shifting uniforms like before - entire crowds rushed towards the central forge.

Here they were, in an unfamiliar city, blindly rushing away.

Soon, a dead-end greeted them - an expected outcome, considering the situation.

Wind rustled newspapers scattered on the ground, a cat rummaging through them while sirens blared, in the distance.

A broken down torn leather couch lay upside down against the wall in front of them.

Ruby chuckled.

A deja vu.

She was stuck in a loop - back and forth, back and forth, always the same outcomes.

No matter how much she had rushed forward, she would find herself back in the same place.

A Repeat, a Redo, a Return, but never a Rewrite - always the same outcome.

"Well that didn't end well." - Nora said.

Ruby spun around - navigating streets she didn't know was harder than it seemed - the city trapping them like a maze.

They needed to get back to the place they stayed at and quickly.

The group slouched back, retracing their steps, hiding in shadows, searching for a way forward.

Soon Ruby had found herself back at the familiar columns separating the Inner and Outer Districts.

The trio mingled into the crowd, rushing around in panic like the ocean.

Jaune and Neptune were gone - either lost somewhere or worse - and what happened in the Forge was down to send ripples through the city.

Yet again she had been in the center of a tragedy and couldn't do anything about it.

Know thyself.

Ruby glanced back at the inscription above.

Who did she want to be? She couldn't just return to how she was, but she wasn't sure she wanted to be that girl with the umbrella either.

Her gaze darted between Ren and Nora, walking silently by her side.

Who were they right now?

Just three lost souls - wandering the shore, waves of death crashing at their feet.

---

Somewhere unfamiliar…

The thick fog called the sky obscured the stars.

In the dark, cold was the one thing that greeted Jaune as he came to his senses - his face rubbed against the dry dune beneath him.

He jolted up, his hands gripping grains of sand between his fingers.

The dunes, as far as one can see, stretched out towards the horizon, melding with the clouds above - the gray emptiness blurring together with the sky.

His head rung, pain coursing through his brain - had Jaune been binge drinking like his dad, this was likely how he would have felt in the morning.

Grasping his head, he stood up, sand rubbing against his fingertips.

The desert around him hummed as night winds weaved through the dunes, sifting the sand.

He scanned the area.

A familiar figure lay a few steps ahead - Neptune, face first into the sand.

"You alive there?" - Jaune said, sprinting towards him.

"Barely." - Neptune said, stumbling up. - "What the hell happened, man?"

"The black mist caught us back in the forge.

As Neptune crawled back up, his eyes widened.

"Where are we?"

"I have absolutely no idea."

Jaune's hands swept through his hoodie, fruitlessly attempting to clean the dirt and sand.

No matter in which direction he had looked, nothing but sand loomed around them - just where did they end up?

He looked up - the night sky was dark gray as if fog had hung above them.

"Dude, your head is bleeding." - Jaune said.

"Oh? Could have been worse. Those other guys didn't seem so lucky." - Neptune winced, touching the blood on his forehead. - "It's not as serious as it looks, don't worry."

Neptune crouched, taking out his scroll.

"Anything?" - Jaune said, still looking around.

"Nothing, the damn thing refuses to work. Might as well be holding a slab of metal in my hand right now." - Neptune groaned. - "Technology!"

"It didn't even turn on? Weird" - Jaune walked closer. - "Did it break during the entire mess?"

Neptune put away his scroll, lifting Tri-Hard from the ground as he messed with it.

"My weapon's dead too it seems. Which makes zero sense - it's not broken - I know the damn thing like the back of my hand."

Blistering cold gnawed at Jaune, piercing him to the bone.

Their voices were the only sounds in this place, among the humming wind - Jaune found himself stuck in a vast, infinite emptiness, and yet he felt as if he was locked inside a tight cramped box instead.

"That's not reassuring, man." - Jaune said. - "We need to find people or cover before Grimm find us."

"Yeah, good idea. Which way, genius?"

"Well, we certainly can't stand around here either, so whichever, I guess?"

"Wait. Stop!" - Neptune shouted.

Jaune froze.

"What?"

"Shhh."

Neptune tensed up, looking at the horizon.

"I think there's a shore in that direction. You could hear the waves if you listen."

"You sure?"

"Look, man, I am the one with the phobia here. I would know the sound of rushing water miles away. Listen."

Jaune shrugged as the duo continued to sift through the dunes.

And sure, as they moved, Jaune could hear the sound of waves more and more clearly.

In fact, he could swear they spoke, whispered to him. Which would be nonsensical of course, waves couldn't speak.

Could they?