AN: Sorry for the slight delay, I was busy with college and tried my best to be on schedule. I will say, that the following chapters from here up until the end of the last episode of Volume 1 do take place within a two-day time span. There will be some time jumping around within future chapters. So this is just a heads-up.

TW: Torture.

"So!" Penny spoke up on Ruby's scroll. "Where shall we look now, Friend Silver?"

"I… I don't know~." Her voice was laden with a defeated tone.

Blake was gone. She has been missing for the past few days, with no hint of her whereabouts. Weiss and Yang were tasked with searching in the Industrial District of Vale, while she decided to check out the docks by herself. Even then, her tracking skills haven't gotten better. Just a maze of gray rock and buildings. Gods she can't even do this right. She's messing up the world even more now!

Ruby angrily kicks a nearby can to the road. The can reached a considerable distance and lodged itself in the window of a car, miraculously not breaking it. Ruby sees what she's done and quickly leaves the area before she gets into any trouble.

"Silver, is there something on your mind?"

"N-nothing… It's nothing~. I just…" She tries to muster the words to say what's on her mind, yet she can't think of anything.

"Silver?"

"Penny… Do you ever wish you were normal~?"

"I… I don't know how to answer that, Silver. I feel normal, don't you?"

"...Not really~."

"Friend Silver, what is on your mind?"

Ruby takes a moment to gather her thoughts and sees a black vehicle driving by.

"I…I-I feel like…I'm making things worse with my presence~. The more I stay, the more harm I do~."

"What harm do you think you're causing Silver?"

"I…" There's a possibility that the Shadowblades, and by extension, Mother found her. And they have already begun the process of erasing her cultural contamination.

"I am not at liberty… to say~."

"Even with me?"

"I…" Tears started to form as her voice started to break up. Gods, how can she deal with the fact she KILLED Blake!? She knows why Blake apologized. She apologized because the blades found her, and she ran to prevent everyone from dying. She apologized to her because she committed the cardinal sin of seeing her true self.

"Silver!" Penny's voice shouted through the scroll, her cheerful and kind voice was filled with worry. It didn't suit her. "You're clearly in pain. I don't want my first friend to suffer all by herself. So tell me, what is driving you to feel this way?"

"..."

"Silver?"

"My home… ghosts are chasing me~. I… can't say out loud in the streets~."

"Do you want to discuss it with Pyrrha at our dorms? I can brew some tea to calm you down."

Tea… That would be very nice. Her head is throbbing and she feels very lightheaded.

"Yes… that would be very nice~. … I'll call when I finish with my search~. I just need some alone time~."

"Don't forget Friend Silver, you always have me to help cheer you up! I'm emotionally supportive ready!"

Ruby giggled at the way Penny phrased that.

"You sound like an automaton when you word it like that."

"What?! I-I'm not a robot!" There was a hiccup from Penny's side.

"Heh~. See you around… and thanks~."

Ruby ended the call, before sitting on the curb. She needs to figure out something. Talk to someone, maybe Ozpin? The man looks like the type to keep secrets, and there's something strange about those expenditures marked as "prevention" within the taxes she does. Especially since Grimm management is already marked.

She closes her eyes and just takes deep breaths. In… and out… In… and out…

She hears a car slowing down and stopping in front of her. She opens her eyes and stands up. It was that black van that she had seen earlier. The driver-side window rolled down, and a Faunus leaned out from it and looked up and down at her before speaking.

"Ms. Silver Rose?"

She was shocked by the unknown Faunus knowing her name. Was she a relative to Velvet, or was her reputation spreading beyond the school?

"Y-yes?"

The sliding door of the van was opened, revealing several armed figures in Grimm-styled masks. One of them was pointing a shotgun directly at her.

"Mr. Torchwick sends his regards."

The shotgunner fired before Ruby could react. The bullets shred both her body and school uniform, she stumbles backward. Her mind is trying to process the pain.

The shotgunner got out, followed by several other figures. Some of them shot Ruby in the arms or legs, and others beat her with electric batons. She sputtered blood onto the sidewalk as she instinctively tried to curl to protect herself from the onslaught, yet all her body could muster was pain-induced twitching.

Vision blurry, ears ringing. She tried to say something but only spat out black-red blood.

"Wait… her alive. She won't… that easily."

Then everything went dark.

She feels cold. Vision was black, but slowly, she was regaining her vision. Everything was muffled, and merely existing was painful for her. She can't feel the ground. Someone was arguing, but their voices were muffled. She felt extremely cold, only to realize she was stripped to her underwear.

She lifted her head. She can make out three different figures, one in a white jacket, while the other two appear to be in a type of uniform. The muffledness dies down.

"...Take care! I gave you four simple, easy-to-understand instructions and you somehow managed to bungle that up. Do those animal ears mess up your hearing or something? 'Take care of' means shoot her dead in the middle of a sidewalk! Not leave her on the verge of death and take her to the same place we're going to rob!"

That voice… she feels like she heard that voice before.

"She must pay, she's old blood."

"Right right, forgot you animals are all about vengeance and revenge against us. Yet could you at least put down the raging hate-boner for the upper class just for one day so we can do our jobs right?"

"Boss… she's awake."

That white jacket, that gaudy outfit. The bowler hat and the orange hair…

"Torch…wick~?"

Everyone turned their heads to face Ruby. She felt a shiver go down her spine.

"Well well well, Big Red's finally awake," Torchwick said while taking out a cigar and lighting it. "Ashamed we have to meet in such an awful environment. If I had my way, we would've been eating a nice 5-course meal at an expensive restaurant, but you know how these animals are."

"Why…~?"

"Why are you hanging from a chain in a warehouse? Simple Red, you pissed off the wrong people." He takes a puff from his cigar. "Turns out there's someone a seething hatred for you, a lot of money just to see you gone ya know. Of course these," He gestures to the people, and she now notices some of them have animal features. "Animals had to complicate such a simple drive-by shooting."

"I told you, Roman, she must suffer for her crimes!"

"What crimes~!" Her voice was on the verge of breaking. Everyone looked at her. "I did no evil~. I commit no wrongdoing ~. The only one who I wrong is myself, and yet… that is not enough~?! I betrayed my friend, and got her killed~. For me to languish in guilt and sorrow, I thought that was a fair punishment. And yet, someone has deemed that not an appropriate punishment and thus… sought my execution~?! Why~?! Tell me, TELL ME~?! TELL ME WHY I MUST SUFFER THIS WAY~?!

"Because the crime you committed… is your existence, Monarch."

A large, muscular man enters the room. He too wears a mask resembling a Grimm, though it is custom-made in its appearance. His outfit shares a similar appearance to the other masked figures, though he has a topped collar, and puts more care into his appearance.

"Ah Banesaw. Just the man I needed."

"If you're worried about people speaking, these dockyards are partially owned by the Schnees, to the point they would employ our brothers and sisters to work for meager Lien. They would not say a word to the authorities nor Beacon."

"Well. That would've been useful to know." He turns to Ruby. "Well Red, it was nice knowing ya. I'll see you when your bloated corpse is dragged out of the water. Toodles~!"

Roman casually walks away while letting out a whistle. His cane echoes in the room until Banesaw closes the door, leaving Ruby alone with the kidnappers.

"...I-I-I-I'm sure we can come to an agreement… gentlemen~."

"You think to bribe us, Monarch?"

"I-I-I I just feel like this is all a misunderstanding~?"

"A misunderstanding?"

All of the kidnappers laughed at Ruby's words.

"There is no 'misunderstanding', Monarch. What is happening is just revenge for what you have done to us."

"What did I do to you people~?!"

"To me? Nothing, I wasn't even born when our forefathers tried to bring the flames of liberty to Remnant. To our people, however, you represent EVERYTHING wrong with the world. The monarchy, the human nobles sitting in their ivory towers, working us to the bone and giving us meager scraps while they glutton themselves off our work. And when we decided to free ourselves you cried out in fear, calling us feral beasts that need to be put down. YOU represent the old world, the world that our forefathers tried to slay, and the world that continues to persist to this day. I wonder, how many of our brothers and sisters lost their fingers or limbs to craft that stone arm of yours? How many languished in fields to provide the food you ate without consideration of where it came from? How many times did you flaunt your wealth to us, to mock us and demean us with a life that you and your 'kingdom' seek to ensure will never happen to us?!"

Ruby didn't know how to respond to Banesaw's revolutionary fervor.

"You may be thinking to yourself, 'But what about that Faunus I protected in Beacon?' Do you think that act of token gratitude is enough to convince us? We Fang can see through the lies of those at the top, and you are a terrible liar."

Banesaw looked at one of the Fang and nodded, before leaving the room.

Ruby tried to stammer something out, to defend herself, to do anything, but her mind was a complete mess. Too many things were happening to her at once, and her mind was starting to lock up. Then, she uttered two words.

"Please… Mercy~..."

Slash.

She winces in pain, as one of the Fang examines the wound he caused. As always, it quickly heals due to her biology. She hears muffled voices, some in amusement, others in astonishment, she couldn't care less, tears go down her face as she starts crying.

Slash. Slash. Slash.

Blood trickled from her wounds, each cut deeper than the last. Each wound caused a gasp of pain to exit her mouth.

Crack, slash, slash, crack.

They break her right left, and then move around the broken bones. She lets out a wail in pain as she can feel her bones painfully orientate themselves back into place. 'Freak of Nature', she hears one of them call her.

Slash, crack, slash, slash.

A severed piece of flesh here, a broken foot or leg there. She lets out a dreadful scream as one of them slowly carves out a piece of her flesh, only to stop at the last minute.

Skewer, tear, slash, crack, crack, slash.

She couldn't take it anymore, she was going to die.

Tear, skewer, crack, rip, slash, crack.

Her vision went black.

Ruby wakes up.

She is surrounded by pitch-black nothing.

Is this death?

…

This doesn't feel like death. She can see a faint glimmer in the distance.

She walks over there, her footsteps echoing in the empty void… echoing.

She's clothed in the royal clothing that she took with her to the surface. Strange, but she focuses on the glimmer of light in the distance. The sound of her boots hitting the void resembles the sound of her feet echoing on the white flooring of her home.

She finally reaches the glimmer after some time running in the void. She looks at it…so tiny, so simple. She reaches out to touch it, and a bright flash envelops her.

When she opened her eyes, she was on a platform. Looking down, it was… a giant glass-stained floor of someone chained up in thorny chains.

"Ah… You're finally awake."

Ruby was startled to hear a different voice behind her. When she turned to face the voice. Visions flashed in her mind, a forest, a storm, a scythe.

"Hello… Abyssal Rose. I've been meaning to finally talk to you for so long." The White Cloaked Figure stands before Ruby, standing in the middle of the floor.

"You… Who are you?"

The figure smiled. "I am but… a part of you. I exist… to help guide you to your freedom."

"My… freedom?"

"Yes, your freedom. From the moment you left, you became castigated like a beautiful rose in the middle of a deep, thorny bush. No one could reach you, no one could help you. You were isolated, and you realized this when Weiss forced you to reconcile with your decisions."

The floor descended to the ground, yet both Ruby and the Figure remained in the air, Ruby has a full view of the stained floor below now…

It's her.

At the bottom of the floor lies the family crest, from it black and white vines reach out and bind Ruby in the middle, and stretch around the outer areas of the circle. Her head was down and sullen, with her body in a defeated pose. Eight circles surrounded Ruby, each filled with a crest.

Yang, the emblem of a fiery heart, filled with passion.

Weiss, the crest of which is sundered.

Blake, the emblem of an elusive flame, smothered.

Jaune, the emblem of two crescent moons, rises with potential

Pyrrha, the emblem of a stalwart guardian.

Nora, the emblem of a powerful, yet energetic mind

Ren, the emblem of a cool, collected flower.

At the top of the floor is a full, unbroken moon along with a glittering night sky. On the side was a city that felt familiar, yet she couldn't recall the name.

"Why are you showing me this?"

"It is important for one to dive into one's heart, to truly know thy desires and what thy seek in the world." Her tone switched to a more royal accent, reminding Ruby of the court life.

Ruby blinked and they were once again on the floor.

"There are more like these. Ten currently exist, though the 11th has yet to be made."

Why does Ruby know this? She feels like she knows, even though she doesn't have any clues about what this figure is saying.

"But, first thou shall know about the secrets… that dwell deep in your blood. A deep secret, that shall bring some answers to your questions thou had since thy curiosity sparked."

Ruby blinked and she was in a castle hallway. However, this felt familiar to her, as if she had been here before.

"Is… Is this the White Palace?"

The cloaked figure gestures for her to follow. As she does, she notes the old architecture and style of the hallways. The sound of chanting grows louder and louder with each step she takes as if the crowd were in a fervor. Two guards in front of her kneeled, before opening the door. Ruby steps forward into the light and finds herself looking above a gigantic crowd. She looked around and was surprised to see that she… she traveled to the past.

Gigantic stone architecture surrounds her, their white magnificence gleams in the false moonlight, and the three grand lifts stretch from floor to ceiling. Banners of Old Twilight flicker brilliantly in the air, the clothing feeling foreign yet familiar to her.

The First Era.

"They await your speech… my Queen."

Her speech? Yet as Ruby looked upon the crowd of First Era Duskborn, she found the words coming to her mouth.

"People of Luna Naturae!" She shouted. The crowd quickly silences upon hearing her words.

"I, your Creator and God-Queen, have come to a decision that shall bring about a new era for our people! For 490 years, we have existed and expanded within our Moon-sheltered home, for 490 years we have known peace, and for 490 years we have brought forth the wonders and glory of shattering the cycle! Yet, the 'humans', the Lightborn of the surface, rejected our pleas, they rejected our delegation. Branding our brave surface volunteers who sought to bring peace and unity to the two races with death!"

A lie. The crowd reacted extremely negatively.

"Yes, my people! The Lightborn rejected our gift, they rejected the way of the shattered Cycle, they rejected DUSK! By slaughtering the people that I helped raise alongside our Duskbringers, it is clear from the message they have sent to us, to me, TO LUNA NATURAE!"

The crowd roared in anger, and before long they were chanting in Old Yggdrasil, some chants were curses upon the surface, others were chants of remembrance, but one chant overcame all the rest. The call of war. Ruby raised her hands to calm the crowd down.

"For the past 20 years, my critics questioned my decision to bolster our military. I can safely say that this was an attempt to bolster our would-be allies, in a secret attempt and surprise for you. Dusk and Light come together to break the cycle. I had to keep it a secret, less the radicals among you try to disrupt the efforts. I sadly realized that I shouldn't keep it a secret, and realized the deceit and treachery of the surface. Which is why I have personally taken the decision."

A purple spear emerged in Ruby's hand.

"I am a merciful goddess, but my mercy has its limits. Which is why we shall wage a war of salvation on the surface! We are the chainbreakers of this cycle, we are the future of this world made manifest! We shall burn the dark, smother the light, and save all we capture from the cycle of the surface! I beseech thee, people of Twilight! Heed my call, heed my call to claim our place in the sun! Aeterna Invicta!"

The crowd roared in approval, chanting Aeterna Invicta. Some elemental manipulators released bursts of elements into the sky to mimic fireworks. This feeling Ruby was experiencing, felt good. Good to be a conqueror.

"Good to soak your hands in blood."

She blinked and realized she was back on her floor again. She struggles to comprehend what happened.

"You experienced a key moment of the past. The moment that echoes throughout your blood."

"But why? Why show me that? How does that answer any of my questions?"

"Is it not best to start where your problems began?"

"...Grandmother."

"Indeed, your 'grandmother' was the spark. Many problems could be traced back to her, but she hath given us your key to your freedom."

She blinks.

Ruby groaned as she felt cold water run down her face, she opened her eyes to see three people in the room, all three appeared to be Faunus dock workers.

"Holy shit she's still alive?"

She looks down to see darts on her body. Her body must've gone numb from the pain, some parts of her body seemed to be regenerating. She feels so hungry. She's covered in her blood, with some of it being black.

"Told ya. The boys said that they couldn't figure out a way to torture her to death, since she fell asleep the regeneration kicked into overdrive. I think that's the reason for her appearance. Bastard looks completely like a Grimm."

She looks down, oh gods she's completely exposed.

"Is that her semblance?"

"I think so. I heard about the stuff she did in Beacon from down the grapevine, but I think she just has some rare semblance that turns her into that. A decent tradeoff, considering how she's still alive after all we've done with her."

"Regeneration in exchange for looking like a Grimm and no aura? Brothers, I wouldn't want to wish that on my kids."

"Either way, the torturing got boring and they didn't want to kill her just then and there."

"So we're just assigned to guard duty then."

"Hey," he picks up some darts. "At least we can have some fun."

"I-I'm not sure Shaun. I'm for telling Jacques and his family to put a sock in it, but that's a bloody kid! Look at her, she can't be more than 15!"

"She's an old world crown, literally. Princess from another kingdom, you know how bad the lives of our people were before the Revolution. The way I see it, we're just getting our eye after people like her take our eye."

"But that's still a kid!"

"So?"

"It's not only immoral but fucking depraved Shaun!"

"Hey, she would've gladly shot you for daring to even speak to her. At least you can mock her."

"This isn't about that, I didn't join the White Fang just to torture a fucking kid!" He sighs. "I-I need some time."

"What," Shaun and the other Faunus's posture tensed. "Don't tell me you're getting cold feet now. We all made the pact."

"I know but… this is a bit too much, too extreme. I don't know, I need to take the week off."

"He-hey!"

The Faunus nervously left the room. Shaun lets out a sigh.

"God damn, you're here for a day and already you've ruined my day."

What? Why is he blaming her? She did nothing wrong? She was kidnapped, tortured, and then used for entertainment, yet he dares to blame her?! The audacity!

Mockery. Mockery! Belittled, mocked, hated, Hated. She clenches her teeth, as she glares at the dockworkers. They were too busy laughing at her misery to notice her outwardly murderous appearance. She has been degraded and mocked for too long.

And then she fell asleep once again.

But the hate still exists within her. She roared in the void of her mind, just begging to release this hatred within her. She hated her bullies, hated Weiss, hated this fate she stupidly bound herself to, but most of all, she hated herself.

A spec of red was spotted in the void. Ruby stops and walks up to it.

Crescent Rose.

She picks it up. A bright flash follows. When she opened her eyes, she was on another glass-stained floor, however, this one was different.

There was a single figure in the middle. The land behind her was scorched ash, while the land in front of her was lush and green. The moon was shattered, her left hand was bloodied, and in her right was a purple spear. The figure was a woman, and she wore a fearsome helmet, clad in First Era armor. Blood Queen Lusus. However, as she looked at the helmet, she realized it resembled more of a mask than a helmet.

"I can feel it in your heart. The hatred you feel."

"It's not fair! It's not fair they can just demean me like that! I'm a princess, and they were just dockyard peasants who joined something they couldn't fully comprehend! I should be treated better! I've done the same, so why must the world mock and demean me?!"

"Because they… don't understand the folly of their actions yet. Thy hate… foster it."

"W-what? Why?"

"Thy rage, thy spite, thy hate. It will give birth to something beautiful."

A container appeared in front of Ruby, within it was a single black, red, and white flower, it had yet to fully bloom, but its pattern and color were enchanting. Wait… she has seen this flower before.

"Right before the well, surrounding that decaying beowolf. There is more significance to thy nickname Ruby." The cloaked figure places their hand on the container. "It has yet to bloom… yet it is on its way to its grand rebirth."

"Grand rebirth?"

"All shall be revealed… when the Abyssal Rose blooms. All your questions and doubts shall be answered and cast aside. However… there is a specific path you must take."

Ruby seemed to contemplate the words of her deeper self, yet she felt the air around her get hotter.

"Your hatred. It is within the blood, the blood of all Dusk. Dark and Light fighting in a cycle, repeated within our souls, reverberated by the curse of the Blood Queen."

Soldiers from a time long forgotten emerged from the darkness.

"Use it. Harness it. This light has scorched you enough, let the darkness within you finally indulge itself."

The soldiers communicated in audible, encrypted radio chatter and began firing at Ruby. She crouches over and lept towards one of the soldiers. She bisected him, before slamming down her scythe and firing at two more soldiers. The bullets destroyed their bodies, yet more soldiers appeared from the darkness, Jericho.

She spun her scythe and lept towards the nearest soldier, cutting him cleanly in half. Yet some of their bullets struck Ruby on her body, she let out a wail in pain. That pain… it felt too real for her. She dodges more of their bullets before shifting the scythe into a sword and plunging it into the body of a soldier. Her face a manic grin, she swiftly moves on to the next victim. She decapitates one of them and parries a blade before puncturing their throat, such violence, such bloodshed. She must have more!

And then the soldiers stop coming. She almost cried at the realization, no, no she was having fun! Why would this cruel world deny her when she was just starting?!

A challenger was felt behind her. It was a man in tactical armored clothing. He dual-wields a cane and a sword, his face determined, determined to stop her.

She gave a sadistic grin, before leaping from her position to bisect the challenger. Yet, he somehow parried the scythe attack and went on the offensive. A dazzling display of sword and cane, Ruby could barely keep up with blocking with her scythe. The challenger suddenly disappeared, before she felt his blade plunge into her back. She screams out in pain before the challenger kicks her off.

She shifts into katana form, and lets out a primal growl of anger, before attacking again. Thrust attack to the chest, he blocks, and he tries to swing for the neck, Ruby blocks but she's forced on the defensive again. However, having her katana makes it much easier. She suddenly kicks him, which he blocks, but doesn't expect it. She leaps into the air and unleashes three, powerful strikes, before landing and doing a thrust attack. The challenger blocked all attacks, but she could see he was reaching his limit.

Ruby and the challenger lock blades, the latter pushing with all his might to win, yet Ruby sees a gap in his defense. She slowly lets him get the advantage, both sides gritting their teeth as the sound of metal grinding against each other howled in the glass-stained arena. At the last moment, Ruby pushed with all her might and overwhelmed the challenger's defenses. Before he could recover, Ruby grabbed him by the throat, and plunged Crescent Rose into his throat, releasing a geyser of blood.

She smiled.

Then he was gone, and Ruby realized what she'd done. Horrified, she drops Crescent Rose, which vanishes into thin air.

"W-what did you make me do?!"

"Thou simply acted… what thy desired from within."

"No…No! This is all just a mental trick, a sign that I'm going completely insane! Yes! I've already gone insane! I'm talking to a spirit claiming to be the deeper parts of my mind!"

"Thou art not insane… and insanity is merely a matter of perspective~. I do not lie, I can't lie. Those are what dwells within you, what you felt whether you felt belittled… or humiliated."

"No…No… I'm not a monster… I'm not a monster… am I?"

"A matter of perspective. I see a fledgling monarch who has yet to sprout. But we have delayed long enough."

There was a tense pause between them.

"Tell me, Abyssal Rose. What doth thy seek in life?"

"..."

"I… I don't know. I… I just feel tired… and trapped. I want this pain, this void growing in my heart to end… but I don't know how."

"Do you wish for me to guide thee to thy salvation?"

"...Yes…"

"Then… I shall guide thee. It will be a hard path, but everything shall come through in the end. Besides… You would look great in red."

Red…Red like roses? She always did like the color red…

A clock can be heard ticking in the background.

"This overbearing light of the surface… hath cast a deep, dark shadow among thy soul. Nurture it, and prepare it. When the flower blooms, all shall be clear, and you will find clarity once more. As for your objectives…"

A copy of Yang appeared beside the cloaked figure.

"You should nurture your attachment to Yang. There is something special about her, something familiar. That golden hair, those lilac eyes, where have you seen that before?"

"Yang? Do you know why I feel this way about her? You're right though, I do feel like I've seen her before. Ugh, so many questions, so few answers. it makes my head hurt so much..." Especially with that ticking.

The cloaked figure shook her head, then walked to Ruby and gently caressed her face, like a mother would. She can see glowing, silver eyes underneath the hood.

"Don't worry. I will be there for you, and everything will be fine in the end. But now…

"Wake up."

Ruby wakes up, her mind is hazy yet… determined.

Her body was in a horrible state, and she felt so weak, and yet filled with an inhuman energy.

She looks up at the chains binding her arms. With some effort she detached her prosthetic hand, almost giggling mad from how easy it was. Had she not been so scared she would have broken free long ago. But her flesh hand remains trapped.

A vestigial memory is broken free from its chains, and the knowledge floods her mind as she takes a sharp gasp of air. The cloaked figure appeared beside Ruby, before floating towards Ruby's hand. She grabs it, and a knife appears in her hand. She started cutting the hand free, yet Ruby felt no pain from it, no feeling of the blade going through her body.

With a sickening snap, Ruby fell to the floor. She slowly got up and looked at her trapped hands. The stump of Ruby's hand bubbles and boils, before a tendril emerges from it. The razor-sharp bone-tipped tendril slashed at the chain, before grabbing Ruby's hands mid-fall and returning it to her. The tendril reasserted itself into the detached hand and fused with it. Ruby then reattached her prosthetic hand.

"Look at you, a natural! Such befitting of a Princess of your status. Soon enough, you can effortlessly create Darkborn from your blood and flesh!"

Grimmomancy… She's doing Grimmomancy on a level she's never done before. However… Why does she feel so cold, so naked… So exposed?

She hears gunfire and explosions outside, but not only that, she hears footsteps heading her away. She used Grimmomancy to grow and detach a set of clothes, they were tattered yet extravagant. A cloak draped her back, and her clothing was red with traces of White and Black. Right after, she vomits the darkness to resemble a human once again. They won't believe a Fang about her appearance, which she was confident in for some reason.

She feels way more confident, and powerful for some reason too.

Scum entered the room, brandishing weapons. It appears they were sent to finally kill her. One of them staggered back as the nascent monarch glared at them.

Fang… The same people who captured and tortured her for no reason were in front of her.

She should subdue them.
She should kill them.

She paused. No, she shouldn't kill them
Killing is what they must reap.

No! She won't fall to the curse!
It's already sprouting.

"ENOUGH!" She shouted, however, this caused the White Fang to open fire at her. Snarling, she shielded herself before charging through the crowd. She grabbed a Fang by the neck before slamming them into the ground. She hard kicks another Fang into a bunch of containers. The last one tried to shoot her with their pistol, but she grabbed the weapon and crushed it in her hands.

That fear, that despair, that negativity. Gods she has been denying it for so long, and seeing this poor little mutant tremble in front of her was enough to make Ruby desire more. Then she saw the mask that the Fang was wearing and it clicked to her. That's what she was missing!

She knocks out the Fang with a punch that shatters the mask, before covering her face with her hand. She moans in pain as a pale-white Grimm bone mask grows on her face, before stopping. The entire top half of her face was covered by an elegant mask. The mask feels… incomplete somehow, like it was missing a crucial component. It however ended that feeling of coldness and exposure she was feeling. She looked around and saw that she was in a hallway.

She feels perfect. She doesn't want this feeling to end. She feels so powerful, so assured, so dominant. She decided to investigate the sounds of conflict outside, yet as she began to move, she heard more footsteps.

"Are you guys done with clearing everything yet?! There's Beacon Huntsmen outside and we need everyone to fight them off!"

The White Fang was shocked when he saw Ruby run down the hallway, before planting his head into the ground hard. She was now in the main storage area of the warehouse, several White Fang were scattered around, either preparing or destroying documents and objects. A whistle was heard.

"The Monarch is out! Kill her!"

A manic, bloodthirsty grin appeared on Ruby's face as she started receiving fire. She jumps from White Fang to White Fang, "subduing" everyone that comes close to her. Sure they may have a few broken bones or trauma to their body. But Ruby was being merciful to them, trying to tarnish such a beautiful princess like her should be punished by death.

Their screams and cries of pain were so pleasing to her ears. She didn't even bother to give them the honor of listening to their words. Though she could guess that it was the line of "Die human" or "monster" or some random pointless word that she had heard already. A kick here, a slam there. Honestly, she was getting frustrated that these scum weren't putting in as much effort as her.

With the last "subdued" White Fang, she realizes that she is without a weapon. Sure, her blessed body is all that she needs for the fight outside, which seems to only increase in intensity. She can hear flames and the sound of engines outside, alongside the sound of Dust being used.

She wanted a proper weapon, and so, she plunged her hand into her body. Grunting with effort, she felt her body shifting and changing within, formulating material and darkness. She slowly pulls out a Grimm copy of her scythe. White and Black, with traces of red and a black edge. Her family emblem is etched on the Blade. Only with an in-depth look at the weapon would the Grimm traits reveal itself. The hunger within her body increases, but she ignores it.

She carves into the giant warehouse door and kicks open the Ruby-sized hole she carved. There were flames, and people were fighting behind it. She can hear someone shouting over the flames.

Ruby smiled, and she stepped into the flames. The flames do not harm her, in fact, they help with her appearance by moving her cloak.

She steps out of the flames, scythe in hand, and an urge to sate this urge of hers. She sees the combatants, who stop and look at her.

The Criminal.

The Sister.

The Assassin.

The Monkey.

The Calm.

The Storm.

The Friend.

The Warrior.

The Guardian.

The Schnee…

She prepares her scythe, they care, but she doesn't need their care. To dominate, to rule, that's what she is destined for. She will subdue them like all those scum before here, but only if they refuse. She spoke only one word.

"Kneel~..."

They were shocked and apprehensive. The Assassin tried stepping forth but stopped, her face being filled with shock. She and the others shift focus away from The Criminal. A cruel smile formed on the Princess's lips as fire licked behind her.

She always wanted another rematch.

WN: Duskbringers were Grimmomancers in charge of capturing and converting Humans into Duskborn. The position was a well-respected class in the First Era, with many people seeking the honor of saving a Human from the Cycle on the surface. Unlike the Second Era, the transformation in the First Era was less refined and more... intrusive. With higher rejection cases than in the Second Era.