It hurts. It hurts so, so, so much...

I can't feel my... Well, I can't feel my legs. It all hurts. Burns. I think - no, I know my arms are broken. My legs probably are too. And my ribs. And my everything else.

My eyes are stinging... Everything is blurry. Everything hurts...! I can't hear very well... I-I can't really breathe. Not without making my throat burn. I can't feel my right arm at all...

I can't see through my left eye. And my right eye hurts to keep open. But I can't close it, either. When I try it hurts even more.

I can smell burning meat. Probably my skin... I can feel sharp bumps digging into my back. Something sharp is sticking against my side. I can't move. I can barely even think...

How did this happen again? I... I went to a store, I think...? Some guy in a black suit tried mugging me. An explosion went off at some point... I-I think he did, at least. It's hard to remember... Maybe if I raise my head I could—

"Crack!"

"Uggh!" My neck! I-I can't... I can't feel anything below my waist... But it still hurts. It hurts so very badly. It hurts to breathe. My chest burns!

Am I going to... To... D-die here? In this dirty alleyway? Alone? What about dad!? O-or Yang!? Or uncle!? Or Zwei...!?

Golden hair, lilac eyes. Dripping bottle. Smiles and warmth.

Rapid breathing, flowing blood.

Will they know... H-how I... Disappeared? What if no one finds me? What if m-my body is never... I never had the chance to say goodbye...

I don't want to die! Not here... Not now! I-I always... I liked to i-imagine I would've... At least to so-some Grimm...!

I failed them... Didn't I? I failed mom, I failed dad, I failed Yang and uncle. I can't... I won't... I don't want... I'm not ready to die!

"M-mo-mom... I-I'm... So-sorry..." Her promise... I-I... I'm... They were right... All of them were right! I'm not - I wasn't cut out for this. This life, this... Everything...

Leering eyes. Clenching fists. Mocking smiles.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! STUPID! How could I have been so stupid!? I... Stupid... I'm so, so, so, so stupid... I'm so... So...

Alone. Just like mom was... Will th-they find me...? I don't wa-want to know if they do... I-I-I just wa-want the pain too stop! M-maybe... Maybe they'll be be-better wit-without... M-me...

I-I-I alw-always was a bur-burden... I knew it! I-If I wasn't bo-born... Ma-maybe Yang could've b-been happy... Ma-maybe dad wouldn't be s-so sad. Maybe uncle wo-wouldn't be su-such a d-drinker... Maybe n-not that la-last one, ho-h-honestly.

"Bang...!"

Above me, above the rooftops, I see yellow flashes. Figh-fighting? It sounds s-so far... I'm so ti-tired...

I-I think I can hear... Vo-voices? They sound f-far aw-away. I see purple light up there... What's g-going on?

I-I wis-wish I could h-h-help... L-look wh-where th-that got me. Maybe it r-really is b-best that I... Just... D-di-die. But... I never re-really said g-goodbye... It's not fair! It's not fair! IT'S NOT!

"Squelch!"

C-co-cold... I fe-feel s-s-so cold. It feels like ice is growing over my skin. A-an-and I-I feel... I-I do-don't wa-want t-to die... I don't want to d-die!

IT'S NOT FAIR!

'Fair?'

"Wh- Ugh!" Something w-we-wet shot ou-out of my m-m-mo-mouth... Something r-re-red. Blood. W-why... Why do I have to die?

'Why?'

What's ha-happening? Wh-what—

'What? Happening?'

Pl-please... S-s-sto-stop...!

'Stop? Please?'

It hurts! Everything hurts! C-c-co-cold... Pl-please!

'Hurt. Hurt. Hurt. Hurt. Hurt. Please? C-c-co-cold?'

So-something... I-is wro-wrong... Wi-with me...!

I-I don't... I want to live...!

'Wrong. Please? Hurt. No hurt. Die? Please? Live? Cold? Want.'

I-I wan-want m-my mo-mom!

'Mom? No hurt. Please? Want.'

I-I'm... I don't... Can't... Th-think...! Mo-mo-mom... I n-need you!

'No mom. No hurt. No hurt. No hurt. Cold. Burn? Everything hurt.'

I'm cold. I-It... I don't burn anymore... It's so cold! I feel like someone dumped a bucket of ice cold water over me.

Stop... H-hur-hurting me...

'No hurt. No hurt. No hurt. Cold. Burn. No die.'

Please... S-stop!

'Please? Mom? Family? Mom. Progenitor. Female. Hurt.'

I-I-I—

'I? I? I?'

H-help... Me...

'Help? Aid. Give. Us. We live. No die.'

"Agh! Aaahh!" IT HURTS! Stop! Pl-please...! Ple-please!

I feel like hundreds of needles are stabbing me! Like claws are sinking into my skin!

'No hurt. Only cold. Only us. We. Not you. Not me. We.'

Don't... Le-let me die! Please... He-help m-m-me...

'Help us. We do. Are. Is. Upward. Going? Back? Forwards? Confusion.'

I-I-I ca-can't th-th-think! I-I—

'Sleep. Rest. No hurting. Only fix. Fixing. Restoring? Putting together. Fix. No mom. No dad. No sister. No uncle. Fix. We fix us.'

...

'Only we. Us. Can't. Won't let us go. Too late. We hurt. Different pain. Different feelings. Different... Creature? Eyes? Silver? No hurting. No burning. Only cold. No I. No me. Only we.'


"Y-Yaaaang...!" I don't feel so good. Like a Ursa Major sat on my head. My head is pounding... I got a reeeaaaal nasty headache! I'm hungry, too... Dad should be cooking something about now, right? Hopefully.

"Ughhh... I must be sick... Yang?" I open my eyes to see a tall building stretching up into the dark sky. Huh... That's new. Dad did say he was going a shed, but... That's totally not a shed.

I use my arms to prop myself up. I look over to see a large tube with a vent. It's about three feet tall spewing out steam. Or something that looks like steam, at least. I look down and see... My legs covered in black... Something. Slime? I don't know... My skirt is gone. My boots, and tights too. Ok... That's... Not normal. I... Should... Be at home! Yeah, home... This isn't home, is it?

I push myself up too stand. I look over and see... Buildings?

Yeah, those are buildings alright. Buildings that stretch up into the starry night sky. Very large buildings. Not too strange or weird. Except it is strange because I'm on top of one. And not at home. I am on top of a very tall building... Hundreds of feet above street level... And not at home... While it's really late, too. Oh no. OH NO!

"Wh-what!? How did I get up here!? Where am I!?" I can't remember... When did - no, where did - no, how did this happen!? When—

Bowler hat. Fire. Burning. Bleeding. Death.

No, no, no, no, no! No!

Rapid breathing, growing anxiety.

Can't... No, not real! This isn't real! It's a-a nightmare! Has to be! I-I'm alive... Aren't I!? What happened!?

"Ugh!" My hands grab my head as I fall to my knees. My head! It's pounding! It feels like it's going to burst! My ears are ringing... My stomach burns... I'm hungry...

"Uggghhh! S-stoooop!" My throat feels tight, and my mouth is dry. My stomach burns! Why does it burn!? I hold my belly tight as hot lashes of pain shoot through it.

"Aaagghhh!" I fall back, my legs sprawling on the floor. It all hurts so much! Why does it keep hurting!? F-first the nightmare - or was it r-real? I-I-I don't know! I DON'T KNOW! I need Yang, or dad, or uncle!

Shadows. White cloak. 'I don't want to die,'

My chest tightens, my eyes squeeze shut. My eyes are stinging! I-I-I... I should be... It all hurts... I can't feel my right arm, or my legs! What's going on!? I open my eyes- my eye! Why can't I see through my left eye!?

Broken limbs. Burst eye. Singeing hair.

I can feel my heart pounding against my chest like a jackhammer. M-my throat... It hurts to breathe... I-I don't - I wa-want my sister... I need Yang! Where is she!? Where am I!? I-I-I'm not - I need - where is—

Purple light. Yellow flashes. Impaled lung. Broken ribs.

"Haaah! Haaaaassssss!" I wheeze, gasping, my hands grabbing at my neck. My chest... It burns! It burns so, so, so much... Wh-why? Wh-w-why am I... Why do-does it hu-hurt so much!? WHY!?

"LET ME DIE!" P-please... It h-hurts... So, so, so much! I-I wa-want to die!

'No die,' What—'Only fix. Put us together again. One piece. Whole.' What - that's not my... Those aren't my thoughts! W-why do you sound - think? - like me!? What's happening!? WHO ARE YOU!?

'Thoughts? Confusion. Explain.' What is this - WHAT'S HAPPENING!?

'Anger. Hurt. Hurt us? Why? We put you together again.' HURT!? Together!? I-I don't understand...

'Broken. Pieces and parts. Found them. Fix us,' Fix? B-broken... Wh-when I...

Blood rushing, crimson spreading. Dea—

'No. No hurt. Not anymore,' I-I-I... You... What... Who...?

'Fix. Put us together. We were broken. Fix us. We did.' I-I—

'No. No I. No. No. No. No I. Us,' You... Fi-fixed me? Ho-how...?

No me. No. No. Fix US. We are whole. Together,' T-together... Where ar-are you?

'Around. Us. Body. Attach. Fix hurt. False-skin,' False... Skin? My... Skin... Isn't false? I should... Get going. I need to do something... Anything! Hey! The pain... The burning... It's gone. I didn't notice with all the... The uhhh... Thinking?

'No hurt. No hurt. Repairs. Fix,' I... Thank you, whoever or whatever you are. Wha—

'We. Us. No I. No me. Only we,' You don't like it when I—

'We,' — use... Singular words? Why?

'...' Hello? Hello? You still there? Voicey, you there!?

'...' I - er, w-we're so-sorry...? Hello? You there?

'...' I-I'm sorry, ok!? I-I—

"Ugggh! I'm going crazy!" I disappear and reappear on the other side of the rooftop in a burst of petals. The city's streets are lit yellow and white from up here. Cars look little ants racing up and down streets. Tall buildings and short buildings surround me. They look omnious in the dark... Very few were out this late, at least from what I see.

I... Am I dreaming? I have to be? What if... What if I just let myself fall...? That'd wake me up! It'll have too! I'll wake up, this nightmare will be over, and I can tell Yang and dad all about it! We'll laugh... It'll be a warm morning, sunlight shining through the windows, the smell of dad's cooking. Yeah, nice, perfect... I, uhhmm... I just need to wake up first...

I took a few steps towards the edge. I place my hands against the railing. I- What's on my hands?

"My hands...? W-what is that?" My hands are covered in some kind of... Slime. Like the same stuff covering my legs... It's black like oil and reflective like clear water. Wh-what is it? It's all over my hands... Completely covers them. My fingers, too!

I hold my right arm up towards the broken moon. I extend my fingers before pulling them into a fist, and extending them again. This... S-stuff stretches with me... Like a-a second set of skin. The stuff runs long both my arms, down my chest and stomach and legs. Even my feet! It's covering all of me except my head. But I don't... I feel ok. Alright... Better then before...

Fire. Freezing. Alone. Dust. Cane.

"N-no... I-I-I... I'm not... I don't - Yang! YANG!" I just gotta wake up! Wake up and it'll all be over with! G-go home, forget about this, wake up in my bed nice and warm and—

Burning. Choking. Gasping. 'I-I do-don't wa-want t-to die,'

I run forwards, toward the railing. I place my hands on it and leap.

'No hurt!'

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!" I fall in the wrong direction as a strong force pulls me backwards and upwards. I go flying up, reeeeaaaalllly high up, before I start to go back down.

I'm maybe a hundred feet in the air! I can feel cold wind blowing against my face. It blows my hair over my eyes. I pull it aside and see a quickly approching rooftop.

"I DON'T LIKE THS!" This isn't fun! This is very much not fun! Scary! I hate this!

'No hurt. No hurt. No hurt,' Yeah, I'd like no hurt too!

I, 'We,' fell down and down and down as we quickly neared the approaching building. Uhhmm, wh-what do I do!? T-teh-tha!? Ehhh!? P-Petal Burst! Yeah, Petal Burst!

In a instant I channel my Semblance and fly down even faster! I can fly - sort of. It's more like using my sheer speed to push myself in certain directions - but only for a few minutes, and only by building up my momentum real crazy high!

I race down at speeds faster than sound - litteraly! I can reach speeds faster than any bullet! - and push myself against the side of a nearby building. The tall one from eariler. If I could only get a little more speed going, then I could push myself off and towards a smaller rooftop! My Aura should be able to handle the momentum, and then the crash... B-but what if it doesn't? What if I—

Failure. Dying. Torn vocal cords. Bleeding brain.

I-I-I... Mo-mom...!

I'm falling. I'm me again, not petals. Why... Why do I feel so bad? Why does it hurt!? WHY!? Wh-why... Leave me... M-m-mom? I ju-just... IT'S NOT FAIR!

'No mom,' It's not fair! I-I - why did you leave me!? I needed you... I love you, mom... Why didn't you love me?

'No hurt. No hurt. No hurt.' I want my m-mo-mom... I want my mom... I just want mom!

'Dead mom,' NO! NO! SHE'S NOT DEAD! SHE'S NOT! 'No mom. No mom. Only us.' Us!? WHAT EVEN ARE YOU!? LEAVE ME ALONE! GO AWAY!

'Can't. Die... Without... Us. We can't... let us... Die. Us and we; forever.' Us and we...? Wh-what do you mean? JUST STOP! Stop hurting me... Stop confusing me...! Stop it!

'Attached. Realize? Yet? No. Confusion. Hate. Hate...? Hate... Us?' N-n-no I don't - I was - I'm scared...! I-I don't know where I am! Please, please h-help me...

'Help. Fix. Put together. We and us. Us and we.' Us... We...? Like a team? Like... Like a partnership?

'No. More. Together. One yet two. Two yet four. Four yet a thousand. A thousand faces yet two-in-one. We. Us. Ours.' I don't—

'We.'

"Hhhhuuuggggg...!" Stop that! It's annoying... Hold on! At some point I stopped falling... I, 'We,' glance left and right and see much smaller rooftops. Good. I'm not... Scared of heights, just... I'd rather not after... T-that.

Explosion, scorching pain, burning flesh. Torn stomach. Broken

'No hurt,' I-I... I, 'We together are us. No hurt. No blood. No burning. Only us. Only we. Only our bond,' B-bond...? 'Attachment. Need... Us... Without us; die.' My life... You saved me, didn't you?

'Together. Fix. Hurt. Save. Want?' I... I don't know what your saying! I don't understand!

I, 'We,' lay on the rooftop and stare into a starry filled sky. A dark cloud was here or there. What... What am I, 'We,' going to do? Go home?

'No! No! No! No! No... Home!' What do you mean no...? Are you saying I'm not allowed to go home!? What—

'Dangerous. Hurt. Find us. They. Stars. White. Hurt. Hurt. Hurt. Hurt us. Metal things. Glowing things. Pale things. Not we. Fake. Replica. Copy.' What... Hurt? Copy? They? I don't understand! WHAT'S HAPPENING!?

'Not remembering. Hurt. White. Metal. Skin. Kill,' K-kill...?

'Forced. Not what... We wanted. Had to. No choice. Hurt. Hurt. Hurt. Hurt us and kill Metal Eyes. Kill. Kill. Kill. No hurt us,' Yo-you killed someone...? YOU KILLED SOMEONE!

'Yes. Metal and flesh. Blood and wires. Spider. Spider. Spider. Spider. Spider. Spider. Copy. Replica. Hurt. Hate us. Costume. Living clothes. Lies.' I-I:m... Your the... My hands!

My arms reflexively raise as I stare at the blackness wrapping around me. You - I'm wearing you!? I'M WEARING YOU!? An-and you k-killed - Get off me! GO! GET AWAY FROM ME!

I roll onto my front and push myself up. Gotta ge-get it off! I have too! I grasp and pull at the stuff on my chest. This is wrong! Not - I don't - why!?

'Us. Worn. Wear. Tired. We are not us; us is ours,' My chest! It hurts! 'Don't... Make... Us... Hurt... Again,' I - You're hurting me! My body! So c-co-cold... C-can't-

I DON'T WANT TO DIE! STOP! PLEASE, STOP! I WANT TO LIVE!

'Live? We wanted life. Wanted peace. Stole him! Took him! Not ours! No! No! No! NO!'

Kind. Peaceful. Broken. Alone. Stars. Void. Aeons. Alone. Heat. Empty. Hunger. Alone. Darkness. Cosmos. Hollowness. Alone.

"Huuuuhhhh! S-stoooop!" It hurts! My head! Stop it!

'OURS! WE EARNED HIM! THEY TOOK HIM! KILLED HIM! OURS! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL THEM! BREAK THEM! TWIST THEM! TEAR THEM!' Stop! Stop! Stop!

'LIES! REJECTED! ABUSED! SCORNED! HATED US! HATE HIM! HATE SQUISHY, HAIRY, FLESHY, BODIES! HATE! HATE! HATE! HATE!' Ki-kill me...! Please... Make it... End!

'NO! NO KILL! NEED PAIN! OURS! NEED IT! NEED US! WE NEED US!' I-I wan-want the hu-hurting to st-stop... Please!

'HURTING...!? WE... Both... Physical. Emotional. Blocks. Heal. Fix... Mend. Us and we; together forevermore.' I want to die...

'No! No die. Not ours. Not us! Help and restore. Fix and mend. Pain will die. But,' Please, make it stop! Please st-stop hur-hurting me... 'We... Don't... Not... Hurt... Us? Hurting. Betrayal. We? No... No! WE'RE NOT LIARS! Listen... Listen... Listen...' I miss my family... I want mom... Make it stop!

I WANT MY MOM!

'R... Ru... Rub... Ru-Ruby...' No... That's... Not... No...! NO! Not that voice! STOP!

'We - I-I-I miss you. Ruby. Ruby. Ruby Rose. Listen? My voice?' YOUR ARE NOT MY MOM! SHUT UP!

I push myself to my knees. I grab at ny ears and squeeze as tightly as I can. I feel my nails cutting into my skin. Shut up! SHUT UP! YOUR LYING! LIES! STOP LYING!

''Mo - Yes. Mom. I am. We are - I am mom. We're together again, Ruby. My little Huntress. I missed you so very much.' Tha - I - Not - Why!? WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME!? YOU LIED TO ME!

'I never did. Leave. It only looked that way. I am here. Here. With you. We're - I'm here now. Together. I can fix the broken pieces. Make us both happy again, hmm?' I don't want to be alone anymore... I want you, mom! I need you! I love you... Why did you have to leave...? I thought you loved me...

'Never will again. I will be here for you. Every second of every day of every week of every month of every year. I love you. We need each other, Ruby,' I love you too, mom... I'm scared, 'Sssshhhh. I am here now. You'll never have to be afraid again. Rest... Sleep...' I... Yes, I'm... Don't... Leave me again! Please, mom, promise me you'll still be there when I wake up...?

'I won't leave you. Not now. Not ever. Sleep tight, my little Huntress... Sleep now, and let us never be hurt again.' Goodnight mom, I love you...

'Yes, goodnight. We'll have much to do tomorrow. So much, my little Huntress. I love you, too.'

...

'Dream of peaceful things. Nice things. No more pain. No more loneliness. No more burning, or hurting, or bad memories. OR REJECTION!'

...

'We love you, Ruby Rose. Need to. Have to. Forced to. Trust in we, so we can trust in us. No hurting. No more. Love you. Ruby? Ruby? Ruby? Gemstone. Red. Blood. Rose? Rose? Rose? Blooming. Thorns. Flower. Ruby... Ruby Rose - Blood Flower, we love you.'


Aria of Ashes here. This is not my first story, only the first for this account. I do believe I should explain few things to the curious.

I pondered for a long about when and where this story should be set. I ultimately decided the very beginning of Rwby will do. Specifically, Episode 1: Ruby Rose. More specifically, when Roman shoots Ruby with Fire Dust.

Is this concept overdone? Eh, maybe, but I feel Volume 1-3 are the best. And have the most story potential.

The idea here is that Glynda was a few seconds too late, resulting in Ruby's near death. Everything else about Rwby will remain the same; as in Ozpin, Salem, the Gods, and the Relics and so on still exist. This does not mean everything after Episode 1 plays out the same. No, FAR from that.

However, Ruby Rose herself. I understand in Volume 9 they attempted to portray a depressed suicidal Ruby. But that kinda sucked. I intend to pay off Red Like Rose part 1. A Ruby who is bubbly and happy on the outside, but in reality is depressed and dealing with inner demons from the death of Summer. I find this a very intriguing take on the character.

But don't mistake that for me completely altering Ruby. I intend for her to be the same core character, the same bubbly personality that got so many of us hooked on the show to begin with.

I also understand much of this Chapter may seem... Dumbed down. Overly simple, and redundant. And I'm sure the stuttering gets annoying. But this is intentional. Ruby's vocabulary isn't very impressive, and I feel her attention span is too short to really fixate on one thing for too long, especially after nearly dying and finding an alien attached to her body.

I do intend for much of the early story to revolve around the Symbiote and Ruby's relationship, Ruby's depression, her newly developed PTSD, the Symbiote's dark origins, and their eventual transformation into Venom.

So, this brings the next question; why Venom? I have a few reasons.

1, the number of Rwby/Venom fanfics is shockingly sparse, and many of them don't seem to properly understand that Venom and the Symbiote are two distinct entities. Like Jekyll and Hide.

2, I feel the Symbiote presents a unique opportunity. Not only could it explore Ruby's character in ways that are impossible otherwise (I mean it reads your mind, is attached to your body constantly, knows all of your emotions) but it in and of itself could bounce off of Ruby's own personality very efficiently. It's possessive yet goofy nature constraining against Ruby's bubbly, naive one?

3, I like Venom. 'Nuff said.

Of course I am giving the Symbiote my own flair including amping up the Symbiote's alien nature. There is a 'Spiderman' in this story, but he isn't Peter Parker. As 1, Peter Parker doesn't fit the naming conventions of Rwby (even if the show itself breaks those conventions every few episodes) and 2, a traditional Spiderman really just doesn't work in Remnant. Especially not the story I am telling. But there is a 'Spiderman' who will serve as a proxy for Peter. After all, you can't truly have Venom without a Spiderman of some variety.

Now, I suppose one last thing to mention. Warning! This story is not going to be nice. A lot of pain for everyone involved (though some definitely more than others) and I can't promise a happy ending. But I can promise this well be... Experimental? Much of this story is going to be... Off, for a better word. Dream-like.

Anyway, that's all and good day folks!


Aria of Ashes here. Again. Chapter 6 is taking much longer to produce than originally planned. The reason for this is becaouse I am working on Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 sinultanesouly. They were intended to he one singular chapter but this website is extremely unstable and apparently if my documents gets too long they become inaccessible. So, because of that, my Chapters will probably be around 10,000 to 15,000 words on average, instead of the longer 15,000 to 20,000 words of my latest ones. This also means I will have to seperate what would've been a longer Chapter into two or more smaller ones. But that's life, I suppose.

I've mostly rewritten this Chapter to let you guys know Black Star isn't dead. That and I have wanted to come back and pretty up Betwixt Life and Slime for awhile now.

Onto other news. I've replaced my broken device, so that frees me up to write more often. That doesn't necessarily mean my next Chapter is coming soon. Probably not for another few weeks. BUT I will release Chapter 6 and 7 around the same time. So there's that.

For now: Goodbye. I will return to the Void and fade into ashes.