Ruby and the Guild
Prologue (Part 1)
Every story always has a beginning and an end. This story is no different. But usually, a story sits within a single universe, dimension, if you will. Single track of mind. But sometimes, a story, in order to be unique, choses bits and pieces from other stories. Just to stand out from the group. Is this another such story? I am unsure. But what I do know, is that the story from within originated from a story of heartbreak. The loss of a single individual spin and turns a single story on its head. The world of Remnant oddly enough, is no different. A world, as the name suggests, shattered by actions. Actions that one may not understand. But know this. There is always a light in the tunnel. Always. But sometimes there is an unexpected turn, a turn that even the creator did not envisioned.
It was a dark night, the moon in all its shattered glory was for once in the eon, not visible. Causing the stars to appear much brighter. This was something that brought Ruby much glee. The three year old child was sitting under the stars with her mum. Summer Rose. They were laying on the ground, on the grass to be precise. Staring at the unusual sight that was the sky. Stars aplenty. Laughs aplenty. And screams aplenty? Wait, what?! Summer jumped to her feat in surprise. She heard that scream. Ruby did too. That is when she sensed it. Something was amiss. Ruby could feel cold sweat run down her back as she too jumped. Something was seriously wrong with that scream. It... sounded fake somehow. But before Ruby could stop her mother, Summer was already gone.
That is when a new negative emotion reared its ugly head. Anxiety. Ruby hadn't felt that yet. So her young brain couldn't put a finger on it. But... suddenly she felt that her body moved faster than her mind could catch up. Something was terribly amiss. Summer had run that direction, but not returned. It's been five minutes as Ruby hesitated to run after her mother. Which is also why her body had moved before she could. Causing her to reach the place her mother went. She heard sounds of fighting in the distance. Metal on metal. A clear sign of a fight between people, not grimm. Terrified, Ruby ran faster. And as she made her way through the bushes. She saw it.
Her mother was injured. A bulky man stood opposite to her mother. He had no weapons, just a body made of steel. As Ruby tried to make sense of the situation. The man, suddenly pounced on her instead. Holding her hostage from her mother.
"Mom!" Ruby shouted terrified. Tears already visible on her face. She tried to struggle, but the man's sheer strength kept her from coming free.
"Let my daughter free, Hazel! This between us! My child has nothing to do with this!" Summer shouted enraged and terrified at the same time.
Ruby despite being stuck could feel her mother's fear. Whoever this man is. It was enough to put fear in her mother's voice. And while normally this would cause Ruby to cry harder. Somehow, the fight part of the fight or flight instinct kicked in. Calming her down as she sought for a way out. There had to be something. She scoured the open plains area out for another way. If struggling didn't work, biting and shouting probably would work either. And despite the way Ruby was stuck, her arms and hands were still somewhat free. So she instantly put her hand in her pocket and tapped the big red emergency button on the scroll. That way, her uncle and dad were atleast aware. This would ensure whatever would happen next. Now then, this Hazel man, was holding her tight and her mother stood opposite to him. Facing off, without attacking.
"Well... I am afraid that. That is where you are wrong. She too, has silver eyes you know." Hazel replied slightly bored.
Summer's eyes widen in shock at what Hazel said, "You don't mean..."
"Salem is not yet aware." Hazel denied. "But..."
"Name your price. Please... Spare my child." Summer said as she dropped her desire to hurt Hazel in fear for Ruby's future. But Ruby saw through Hazel's lie. And disliked this.
"Stop!" Ruby shouted, both scared and enraged. "He lied. I could feel it. He has me pressed close to his heart. His heart increased in speed when he said that lie!"
Hazel looks down, surprised at the child's bravery. Despite being put in an hostage type situation, Ruby's cool head sparked through. For a moment he frowns, as a tiny proud smile appeared on his face. This was one of those situations he hoped to never be in. But, he had received an order. Kill Summer. And he feared for his life if he refused. But... now an unknown variable had occured. He has now also met Ruby. He then suddenly closed his eyes.
The world slowed to a crawl after that. It happened incredibly fast. Havel let go of Ruby as he grabbed a hidden dagger he had on him as he rushed Summer. Summer was too distracted to move, but Ruby had made a decision that no child at the age of three ever should make. In that same exact instant. The moment Hazel had trusted his dagger, hitting Summer felt inevitable to him. When suddenly and out of nowhere, a small red blur got between him and Summer. Ruby had quite literally jumped between her and the dagger. Summer still had some aura left, but Ruby hadn't unlocked hers yet. Hazel, then had to make a split second decision. He made sure that if he struck the child, it would be non-lethal. In the end, he struck Ruby square in the chest. However, the dagger was quite long, and Ruby quite tiny. It may not have struck anything immediately lethal, but the sheer injury alone caused so much pain, it might as well have been called lethal.
As soon as the dagger struck Ruby, she could feel it. She was scared and angry. Very angry. Someone had attacked her mother and her. Her sheer volume of negative emotions. Woke up her silver warrior's powers. But... unlike what should happen. Something else happened instead, an unknown variable had gotten in the way. A dimensional disturbance occured the moment her magic activated. Causing a powerful beam of sheer white magic soar into the sky. One moment Ruby was still in front of Summer. She gave her mother a potentially final smile. As she was gone the next. Leaving behind her cape as a final reminder. Then a powerful shock wave occured out of whatever just now happened, slamming Hazel into a rock behind him with enough force behind the impact to instantly shatter his aura, and also crushing a part of his rimcage. Summer too, wasn't spared by the shock wave. However hers was far less strong. She was merely blasted into the tree behind her. It shattered her remaining aura as well, but it left no more injuries behind. Well, besides the emotional damage of seeing her child dissappear in front of her and being powerless to stop it.
Hazel was stunned, he looked up and saw a small crack in the air appear for a moment as the beam of white light disappeared. He saw the emotional stunned and injured Summer in front of him. He then pumped a healing crystal into his body. But before he had a chance to approached her. Ruby's emergency button had the desired effect. Uncle Qrow, her dad, Taiyang Xiao Long appeared out of the woods. They were combat ready as they took in the situation in front of them. Summer appeared to be in shock and Hazel... appeared injured atleast. But he was shocked at their sudden arrival. Hazel gave them a single glare, as he flees the area. Qrow was about to go on a pursuit after Hazel only for Tai to stop him. He shook his head at Qrow. Suggesting the Summer was more important. Luckily Qrow understood the hint as he approached Summer.
Tai and Qrow approached closer, only to cause two things to pause them. Ruby's cape was on the ground, but no Ruby anywhere in sight. And Summer appeared in a severe shock. The tree behind her crushed by something and the rock that Hazel stood in front of also appeared cracked. Something had pushed both fighters away. Tai inspected the cracks and Ruby's cape. But Qrow had a bad feeling about it.
"Summer. Where is Ruby?" Qrow asked worried. Summer did not immediately respond. Her eyes frozen in place and cold sweat flowing over her body. "Summer?" Qrow repeated in an attempt to get Summer out of her trance.
"..." Summer still didn't respond. But her eyes finally went down to the cape and also finally settled on Qrow. "Qrow." she simply replied, her voice devoid of all emotions.
"What?" Qrow replied confused.
"Ruby..." Summer said as she looks up. "Qrow... Ruby... She jumped in front of Hazel... When he, tried to stab me." She said after a while.
"What?!" Tai shouted shocked.
"She got struck. Then her eyes turned on." Summer continued without stopping. "Then a beam of light... Ruby looked at me, smiled, then vanished before my very eyes." Summer said, her eyes looking more and more shocked as the situation replayed in her head over and over.
"Resulting in a later shockwave?" Tai asked. Summer merely nodded in response, "Causing Hazel and my aura to shatter instantly."
"Is Hazel's aura shattering such a big deal?" Tai asked confused. Again Summer nodded once more, "His aura was still full. One shockwave and one strike on that rock was enough to break his aura somehow."
Qrow's eyes widen, "Then Ruby must have somehow directed the shockwave in his direction." He replied.
"My severely weakened aura also broke after striking that tree. Again breaking it in one strike. Before vanishing before my eyes. Leaving behind her favorite cape."
"You mean..." Qrow said as the situation finally sunk in.
"Ruby is gone... Potentially for good." Summer finished.
"My god." Tai said as he fell to his knees as the situation finally sunk in.
"Ozpin deserves to know." Qrow said suddenly and without warning.
"Why?" Tai asked slightly agitated at the mention of Ozpin.
"Ozpin liked little old Ruby. A lot. Enough that he made room for Ruby in his schedule. Atleast once a week, he would let Ruby visit Beacon early. Allowing him to grow quite close to Ruby." Qrow admitted, "He... will feel depressed from this. For a while."
"Fine. It's the least I can do." Summer said. She slowly stood back up. "Let's go. I will... preserve Ruby's cape for now. Let's go home first. My... other daughter deserves to know first."
"Alright. Time to go." Qrow said, a sad look brewing on his face. Tai was extremely sad, as he too nodded.
"A hero till the day she died... huh?" Summer mentioned. "Jumping in front of a knife to save another. How honorable."
Qrow and Tai could merely nod, saddened by the mention. The looked at their home, still some ways away. But close enough to let Ruby's scroll signal reach them. The rest of the walk back home was made quietly and focused on the terrible task at hand. Summer was already envisioning the reaction of Yang. Tai was focusing on Yang's future and Qrow was worried for Ozpin's sake. After a while, they reached the cabin. Yang was still awake, she just came back from a party at her friend's house. She sat tiredly in the kitchen. Drinking milk, which was unusual. And eating one of Ruby's cookies. Again, very unusual. But Tai, Qrow and Summer didn't take heed as a topic far heavier than Yang stealing cookies and drinking milk overtook the situation.
"Hey. How was the... walk...?" Yang asked, but the looks of the group betrayed an overal sense of unhappiness.
"Sorry Yang. I am the bringer of bad news." Qrow said as he spoke up for the group.
"What is it?"
"It's... about Ruby. She..." Summer replied instead.
"She is no more kid." Qrow replied. Yang looked at Qrow like he was an alien. "No... You are lying."
"We... have no reason to lie about that Yang." Summer said, "I saw her vanish before my very eyes. Like grimm, she just vanished out of thin air."
Yang stood stunned, as she calmly placed her milk down, and placed her partly eaten cookie on the table. She approached Summer to stare at her, then Qrow, then Tai. He mind didn't want to believe that or accept it. But once she saw no signs of lies or betrayal. "No. Please. Not my... little sister." she said, her voice getting tinier and tinier as her mind slow took in what was told to her. "No... Please. No." Yang said even more quietly. She then fell to her knees as soft sobbing began to fill the air. Summer too, stopped herself from holding down that tears as she too began to hug and cry in Yang's shoulders.
As Tai hugged them both, Qrow left the room to make an most important scroll call. She left the living room and entered his honorary room. A room with a bar and a bed in the back. He placed his scroll on the bar, tapped on his Ozpin contact. And contacted Ozpin immediately. He then made sure to tap on the video call tab. After several moments. Ozpin didn't pick up. But Qrow didn't give up. He would repeatedly call Ozpin until he would pick the scroll up. After a solid thirty minutes of waiting. Ozpin finally accepted the connection. Allowing Ozpin to see a tired and emotional Qrow on the otherside.
"What was so important that you needed to call me constantly?! I am talking about an important situation with James." Ozpin asked slightly annoyed.
"Oz..pin. I am the bringer of bad news. Terrible news." Qrow said, he suppressed his emotions as much as possible. Even though he really want to head to his bed and cry about it. He stood his mental ground.
Ozpin was slightly surprised at Qrow, for using his full name instead of a nickname. "What is the matter Qrow?" James asked in the background, "You sound sad."
"Estimated thirty minutes ago, we have lost physical contact with Ruby Rose. Summer's daughter. Acording to her, she vanished in front of Summer, after being stabbed by an agent of Salem, Hazel. We... believe that she is KIA, and..." "STOP IT!" Ozpin shouted in an uncontrolled shout as he disrupted Qrow's report.
"She is NOT KIA." Ozpin denied strongly. Taking both Qrow and James aback at the strong voice of denial.
"Ozpin! She vanished and left behind the cape you gave her!" Qrow shouted back this time, the emotional load of Ruby being gone finally broke him to a degree.
"I swear to the twin brothers. She is not dead!" Ozpin shouted.
"Bullshit! You explain to me then, how could she vanish. Right after using an uncontrolled amount of silver eyed warrior magic?! Explain that!" Qrow shouted, his eyes red and puffy as he stopped holding back the tears.
"Wait... She... What?" Ozpin said as his anger turns to shock.
"She overloaded Oz! I swear to fucking god. Unless you can explain why she would vanish in a beam of pure white. I say she is KIA!" Qrow shouted enraged.
"Fuck you Qrow!" Ozpin swore loud enough that Glynda at the bottom of the elevator could hear it.
"What?!"
"You heard me. I gave you the job to fucking protect her. From Salem's forces. And here I find out you not only failed. But also lost your cousin because you can't protect for shit!" Ozpin shouted enraged. That seemed to strike Qrow at his core. As Qrow suddenly stopped talking. Instead, Ozpin could hear a quiet sob fill the communications. As Qrow finally could no longer hold back the tears.
"You are right. I failed. But Ozpin..." Qrow said between sobs, "I am going to once more argue that you have been too hesitant. So while I could not stop them from killing her. You could have done something too. Something, anything."
"I..."
"But... that doesn't matter anymore. I have lost my little petal. My little reaper. And there is nothing I can do now. I sincerely hope you are right Oz. If she is really dead... Then I will lose myself in the process." Qrow said as the dam finally broke. He could no longer deny the situation. As he was no longer in any mental state to talk. Instead he cried. And loudly at that. Leaving the line open, for James and Ozpin to hear a full grown man cry at that situation at hand. Qrow's beloved cousin is now dead. Ozpin's best friend, Summer's own child, Tai's other daughter and Yang's only little sister.
James and Ozpin didn't bother closing the line. Ozpin looks at James. His shock very apparent. "James..."
"Yes, Ozpin?"
"I... will make a move then. Just to test the waters. I want your two best specialists. Hunt down Hazel to the ends of Remnant. I want him dead, no matter the price." Ozpin said.
James looks shocked at Ozpin, "Are you sure? Are you sure you are not just acting out on emotion?"
"I am sure, James. And yes, I am acting out on emotion. Deal with it. You wanted me to be aggressive? Fine. I am willing to switch tactics. Now do as I say, James. Hunt down Hazel with everything you got." Ozpin ordered. Then he cut the line to James. As he continued to listen to Qrow's crying. Which after a little while finally stopped. Only to hear a quiet sound of Qrow being asleep. He cried himself to sleep. After a moment, Tai entered the room and moved Qrow to his room. He closed the door to Qrow's room as he took a seat at the bar. He took out one of his strongest drinks at that bar, poured himself a glass and took a look at Qrow's scroll.
"Hey Ozpin. How are you feeling?" Tai asked.
"Guilty. I may have pointed fingers a bit too much at Qrow. Sorry for that." Ozpin admitted.
"I overheard that. Say Oz, about your tactics...?" Tai asked.
"I am genuinely switching gears. From passive to aggressive. So Tai... how about we strike back, and hard.. Hm?" Ozpin asked.
"Before I say yes. I must ask one more time. Are you absolutely sure, you won't regret it?" Tai asked, as he suddenly placed the still totally full glass back behind the bar.
"I lost the next generation of silver eyed warrior. If I don't go aggressive now. I might lose this... fight." Ozpin mentioned, "So? Agent Dragon fire? How are you feeling to do a bit of manipulation?"
"What are you thinking?"
"I need two people dead. And another school manipulated. So how about it?"
"Who needs dying?"
"Hazel and IT specialist in Atlas. Mantle needs to be manipulated."
"An IT specialist?"
"Arthur Watts. He is likely to join Salem's side soon. If he is gone, I will be happy. Mantle has shown expressive signs of siding with Salem. I need you to set them straight. By force if necessary." Ozpin explained.
"Manipulation it is. I will leave removing Arthur to either Summer or Qrow." Tai replied, giving a toothy grin for a moment. Only to switch more serious towards Ozpin. "What about Ruby?"
"I will continue to search for her. Leave that to me and my people. Good luck Tai. I haven't gone aggressive for... a long time."
"Good luck Oz. You will need it."