Author's Notes

The end of days.

This is the final chapter of Remnant's Greatest Hero, and of the entire Origin Story saga.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!


Chapter 7 – Ruby and Everyone

Ruby Rose, Remnant's greatest superhero, was in a bit of a bad mood.

It was the second day back from break, and the new students had just completed their own initiation. Ruby and Team Exuberance had just resumed their classes, but this wasn't the reason for her foul state of mind.

Weiss had returned from Atlas and seemed a whole lot better having been able to say a complete goodbye to her sister. She now wore a pair of sabers across her back in addition to the rapier at her waist, but this wasn't what was bothering Ruby.

Pyrrha had tentatively agreed to resume her role as Ruby's chatting/sparring partner. She was a bit iffy about the whole thing, but Ruby had promised to not lose her shit again, so Pyrrha said yes. She had insisted there they also bring along at least one member of Team Exuberance as a witness, but that wasn't the source of Ruby's irate state.

Blake and Yang were being all kissy-kissy again, but that wasn't why Ruby frowned so much.

"You fucker," she fumed, fists shaking as her rage approached the brim. "You absolute motherfucker."

"Miss Rose, please."

"You said it was reincarnation." Ruby pressed him right in the chest, pushing slightly. "You didn't say you'd be eating up some little boy's soul."

Oscar Pine wasn't himself right now as Ruby argued with him. The mannerisms perfectly matched those of Headmaster Ozpin, and that was only pissing Ruby off more.

"I was already dying; this change would have happened eventually."

Ruby's eyes narrowed, and she flung her hands up in mock acceptance. "Oh, oh, of fucking course! Well, then why don't we just kill this kid and sent you into your next body, since he's going to die eventually?"

"Miss Rose! I remind you, everything you say can be heard by Oscar."

"Alright, then. Listen up, Oscar: your new friend is a sack of shit." She poked him in the chest and pushed him back slightly. "Ozpin, you were still alive when I killed you."

Oscar had the motherfucking audacity to almost snicker a little at that, but Ruby's immediate scorn wiped it off his face.

"This isn't a laughing matter. You would've survived for days, weeks, months, maybe even years! That was time Oscar could've had, time that he never gets back."

"It was my choi–"

"NO IT FUCKING WASN'T!" Ruby screamed at the top of her lungs, loud enough that the upper floors of the CCT probably overheard. Hell, they probably felt it. "YOU MADE ME CHOOSE!"

"Mis–"

"Don't you Miss Rose me, buddy." Ruby turned away from him; if she looked at that child who she'd deprived of his very soul any longer, she might've been sick. "You made me choose to do something that I didn't fully understand. Yeah, you asked me to go to Salem, but you left out that she was a special type of monster. If you ask someone to close their eyes and stand in place but leave out that they're on a train's tracks, you don't get to say you didn't kill them."

"What's done is done, Ruby."

That little syllogism was too much. Ruby's rage exploded, and she backhanded Oscar Pine with enough force to knock him head over heel.

I…damn it. Hopefully he doesn't feel it and Ozpin does.

"I suppose I deserved that," said the fresh-faced boy who was younger than her. He was actually the youngest candidate to ever pass Beacon's recently administered initiation, or perhaps the oldest depending on how you looked at it.

"That and more. You used me. You're using this kid." Ruby frowned. "You're using everyone at this school."

Ozpin…Oscar shook his head at that last one. Ruby needed to remember that there was a boy caught in the middle who deserved nothing of what his mental companion did, lest she lose her temper again.

"The huntsmen and huntresses of Beacon know what risk awaits them. I do my best to minimize it, but –"

"Do they know about the relic?" Ruby asked. "You're using them as a private security force to slow Salem's forces if they ever come for them."

"Never has an academy come under attack, and they ideally never will."

Ruby shook her head. "But why place the relics at the academies, then? You may truly believe Salem would never attack these schools, but as far as I can tell, the only reason you store the vaults at Beacon and the other schools is because you want us, the unaware children you're in charge of protecting as they grow into the kingdoms' defenders, to be that last line of defense in case something ever goes wrong."

Oscar said nothing. At least he had the decency to look ashamed.

"If you have a better reason, I'm all ears."

Oscar opened his mouth. "If Salem gets her –"

"I know! I know, because I fought your battles for you and got the keys that you lost! That's not what this is about, Oz. You've forcibly enlisted the academies to fight your own private war, or at least you're intending for them to someday. That's bad, but we're hunters – we know our lives will be put on the line. What's inherently wrong about what you're doing is that you don't tell people that these battles are even coming."

"What difference would it make?" he asked, as though he truly couldn't see an answer that was so obvious to Ruby it may as well have been painted on the CCT in neon lime paint.

"The difference, you son of a fucking Grimm, is that they need to know what they're up against. If they do, they'll be better suited to handle it. Dust, some might even decide that they aren't up for the responsibility and resign." Ruby glared at the tiny boy.

"I…I see the parallels, Miss Rose." Oscar cleared his throat. "You have my apology for sending you out on this quest without arming you with the appropriate tools."

"Oz, if you're truly sorry, you wouldn't keep making the same mistakes."

"We cannot risk a sizeable portion of our hunters deserting." Ozpin, for Ruby could deny no longer that it was him in charge and no farm boy, shook his head. "I'm sorry, but my decision is final."

Deserting…he probably would've called it deserting if I hadn't completed my mission. He indebted me to him by laying down his life, forcing me to continue unless I wanted his 'death' to be for nothing.

Ruby could stand this man's presence no longer. Hate in her heart, she stormed off to the elevator, glaring at the boy whose life she'd ruined all the way until the door closed.


So much of this new life hurt her emotionally. Obviously the killing had been worse, by leaps and bounds, but she'd served her time in Ozpin's military, she'd done her duty, and now life was just fizzling back to normal. There was no moment of victory, no triumphant scream of joy as all of the world's problems went away. Instead, more just kept cropping up, again and again.

Little Baby Ozpin Junior was only one of the many problems, albeit the greatest. What really bugged Ruby was the way he just expected her to accept it and move on. He knew, and so did Goodwitch and Ironwood and Theodore and everyone else, and none of them were perturbed by it, so they expected Ruby to just snap into form like they could. The team, too – for all that Ruby loved Team Exuberance, she'd lost count of the times their patient little waiting for her to get over her issues had turned rather impatient.

I changed. I changed, and they expect me to change back.

But it's not just me that's different. The entire world looks different. Every time I look a Grimm in the eyes, I know that that's feeding into whatever Seer is closest, and a dark god herself is watching me. Even if it doesn't change the Grimm itself, I'll always be burdened with that knowledge. I'll always see the Grimm and remember what's on the other end.

Ruby kicked a rock as she aimlessly meandered through Beacon's empty courtyard. Classes were in full swing, but she got to choose if she attended or not, and right now, her own self-reflection felt more important.

She wished she'd never killed Qrow. Well, obvious, but she wished she'd never been brought into Ozpin's confidences. Ignorance was bliss, right?


No.

No. No, ignorance was not bliss. This wasn't a dirty dark secret like seeing her parents 'wrestling' that Ruby would have been better off just ignoring or never having seen in the first place. The knowledge of Salem was an insidious rot that was festering in the darkest corners of the world. Lionheart had been the type to pretend it would all be safe as long as he stayed happy, and Ruby didn't want to be like that.

She'd had a horrible time in the field. Horrible, with a capital H, and a capital O, and a capital R, all the way to the capital E. But she didn't regret it.

Because this problem won't just go away if I don't look at it. Salem would still be out there, plotting the downfall of humanity and the Faunus. This isn't a blemish on the skin that needs to be covered up with powder and makeup; it's a cancer that's going to keep growing, malignant and vengeful, until it one days expands large enough to kill us.

It was no different with Oscar Pine. Just because she hadn't known that Ozpin was taking over a boy's life for his own ends didn't mean that Oscar was safe. Ignorance was not bliss, not in the way that mattered.

What Ruby didn't know could hurt her. It had. Mom had died to Salem. The witch of Grimm always been there, in the dark corners of Remnant, even before Ruby had met her.

I'm glad I did my mission. It was the worst part of my life, but I got the maiden powers back into the good guys'…far away from the bad guys' side. If I'd remained the stupid little girl who threw up until her dreams of initiation faded away, Raven would be burning villages, and Salem would be collecting relics.

I'm glad I did what I did. I just wish…I just wish that'd I'd been given the…

Ruby decided she knew how she wanted this origin story to end.


Every fiber of Ruby's being was screaming with action as she burst through the doorway to Team Exuberance's doorway an hour after her introduction to Oscar.

"I need your advice," Ruby said, panting for breath.

All four girls stared up at her blankly.

"Please, I need your advice."

For a long time on her mission, she'd been going along with it just because Ozpin and Goodwitch had told her to, and she was used to obeying what adults asked of her. Then, somewhere long the way, she'd gone beyond the original scope of her mission and had to start making choices on her own – how much to obey Salem, who got to live and die on each mission. That had gone rather poorly, as Ruby had been entirely isolated and in a bad place mentally.

Now, she was surrounded by people who she could go to for aid. There was no need for her to decide everything on her own; she could just ask for advice, simple as that.

"What's up, Rubes?" asked Yang, setting down her pencil.

"I…I'm thinking about doing something stupid. And I guess I want you all to agree with my choices so they don't feel as rash."

"Stupid? You? Impossible."

Ignoring Weiss' sarcasm, Ruby powered on. "It's about the mission I went on, and why. I spoke with Ozpin – he's back and all – and I think that there's something I need to do."

"A-Are you leaving?" Yang asked.

"No. Never. But I have something that I know is right, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can do it. The problem is, I have to break a bunch of rules to do it. It'll also piss off Ozpin."


The girls were gathering the entire school in the courtyard when Ruby visited Goodwitch. According to Pyrrha, they were telling people that Yang nudes were about to be leaked, which was a surefire way to gather the entire student body (both male and female) in one place.

Ruby had been given the code to the headmistress' elevator, granting her unlimited access. Goodwitch had outwardly said it was so Ruby could enter in case of an emergency, but they also both knew that it was so Ruby could come to speak with her directly, as she was now.

"Miss Rose." Goodwitch was signing some papers when Ruby come in. "How may I help you?"

Ruby looked Glynda dead in the eyes.

"You used me."

That got her full attention. "I…"

"You used me. You sent me out to Salem and risked my life. You and Ozpin."

"Miss Rose, I'm aware that what I did was unethical, but –"

"I forgive you," Ruby said curtly. "But you two are still using people, and I need your help to stop it."

Goodwitch's brow furrowed, and she tilted her head in doubt. "There are no other spies in –"

"I'm not talking about spies. I'm talking about the relics. Beacon is built on top of a vault holding one, and the students don't know about it. I think we should tell them."

"Tell them…about the relics?"

Ruby nodded. "Specifically, I want to show them a relic. That's why I need your help, to get the location of the vault."

Goodwitch removed her glasses. "Knowledge of the relics is –"

"I think we should also tell them about my maiden powers. And about Salem."

"Ruby, that's impossible."

Ruby refused to back down as Goodwitch stared at her in utter bewilderment. "Maybe, but they have a right to know."

Goodwitch just took a second to blink a few times. She seemed to be expecting some sort of better explanation for why Ruby was proposing this absurd plan to her, but none was coming.

"Did you ask Ozpin?"

Ruby nodded. "I did. He refuses to. But I'm asking you now."

"Miss Rose, once we release the secret of Salem, there's no telling how far it will spread."

Ruby nodded. "I know."

"Attendance to the academies could drop drastically."

"It could."

"Then why…?"

"Because I don't want anyone else to ever have to go through what I did again and not understand why they had to die. Winter Schnee bled out in the mountains of Vacuo cursing my name with a heart full of pain and anger and hatred. Fell Pickerel lost his life because Salem knew she could curb knowledge of her existence if she killed him. But if the entire world is told, on our terms, starting here in Beacon, we can unify mankind." Ruby inhaled. "That, and because it's the right thing to do."

Goodwitch shook her head. "I can't, Miss Rose. I just can't."

Ruby knew that it was going to be difficult. This woman had devoted her entire life to keeping the war secret, and her loyalty to Ozpin and his choices was immense. But she was still her own person, and a huntress in charge of children at that. If Ruby could get through to her, that would be the way.

Scooching forward in her chair until she was close enough to lean on the headmistress' desk, Ruby brought out the big guns.

"Do you feel wrong about what you did to me?" Ruby asked, noting the discomfort in Goodwitch's eye. "Sending me out against Salem without realizing what I was up against?"

"I do." Glynda leaned forward and placed her hand on Ruby's. "You know I do, Ruby."

"Then why is it different for the students of Beacon? Salem is coming for the relics; that much is known as a fact." Ruby gripped Goodwitch's hand tightly. "Please, ma'am. As long as they don't know the full truth, they can't choose whether they're ready to lay down their lives for your war. I'm begging you, Miss Goodwitch…Glynda. Please, give them the chance to make their own choice. The chance that I never had.


"Behold the glory of the spirit of choice, Komahiki!" The bright blue man slapped his rotund stomach, one so large around that it even put Port's to shame. "And rejoice!"

"…and these relics can grant power," Ruby explained to the crowd of hunters in front of her. "Like this one. It's choice."

"Choice, the finest of the gods' gifts!" said the relic spirit. "Now, what do you wish to see, child? Be warned; this vision shall cost you –"

"Yeah, I don't really need whatever you're selling," Ruby said. "I just needed you to be proof that the relics do stuff." She held up the crown. "You can go back in."

"I…but…the vision of choice…"

"Thank you, Mr. Komi…Koha…Mr. Spirit man." She smiled as politely as she could. "That's all."

The entire crowd was spellbound as the unhappy spirit was sucked back into his relic. Ruby supposed that a giant floating strongman that looked like he was carved from a giant blueberry would have that effect.

Or it may be the fact that I'm levitating in the air fifteen feet above them all. Or it could also be the thunderstorm I summoned and dispelled just a minute ago to prove to them all that maidens are a thing.

Ruby had decided that, in order to ensure no one doubted the truth of her explanation, she would give out an abundance of proof. Perhaps she was overcompensating, but it didn't hurt to bust out the relic of choice – a fitting relic, given the motivation behind her actions.

Goodwitch stood in the crowd of students, her arms crossed. She wasn't fully on board, but this was the woman who'd spent a year guiding and nurturing these students. Ozpin's loyal henchwoman or not, she felt enough compassion for her charges that she had agreed.

As for the body-jumping wizard himself, he was on the line with the other headmasters, no doubt spelling out a picture of doom and gloom and warning them to prepare for the fallout. As a tiny human barely in control of his own weak magic, he had no way to stop this from happening and had resorted to damage control instead. Ruby was okay with that; in fact, she welcomed the aid that they could bring in combatting the surge of negativity that would come. Ruby knew that this choice to reveal Salem would have some consequences. Every choice did.

But Salem is coming for the relics. She knew where two maidens were before I arrived, and she knows who I am. This war isn't one where we can have a permanent victory, so how we choose to fight matters more than destroying our enemy. And I choose this.

There was some element of self-indulgence to this, in addition to the altruism. Yang, Weiss, Blake and Pyrrha were all absorbing this information like sponges and water. The pair of bumblebees (Ruby had decided to call the happy couple that, because she knew how to spell) had already gotten half the picture from Dad, but the missing information about the relics and who Salem was gave them the rest.

For Blake and Weiss, who had been particularly disturbed by the deaths that Ruby had caused in Hibernance and Mount Serathusa respectively, knowing that it had been done to literally prevent the end of the world helped them understand. As for Pyrrha, she now knew why Ruby had nearly snapped upon revealing even the tiniest of clues about Salem.

They often said that the best advice to give to kids was the stuff you'd wished someone told you when you were that age. Well, Ruby had been aged by her experiences so much that these hunters-in-training all felt like kids to her, and she definitely wished that Ozpin and Goodwitch had leveled with her before cutting her loose.

"We aren't expecting Salem to come for the relics – her human agents were recently all killed or captured, but she controls the Grimm, and she's –"

"She controls the Grimm?!" shouted a terrified voice from the crowd.

"We're doomed!" said someone else.

"NO! No, we aren't," Ruby announced firmly. "I've met Salem. I've dined with her. I've seen her torn in half and grow weakened so much that she lost her control of the Grimm. Hell, I even hugged her once. It might sound horrifying, a Grimm queen, but she's still a human at the core. Something more as well, but still a human. I've seen her falter, and I've seen her fail. She can be defeated."

Ruby could tell that she was losing some of the crowd, but whether they decided to keep the fight alive or run and hide, it wasn't her call to make. These were kids, almost all of them under the age of twenty, and they didn't deserve to be unwittingly conscripted. They were hunters defending humanity, not soldiers fighting their commander's wars.

Oftentimes during her mission, Ruby had worried that all of the death she'd caused needed to have a greater meaning. Getting the maidens away from Salem was a good one, to be sure, but this – changing the way this battle was fought? Going on a quest that opened her eyes to a fundamental flaw in the way that the academies were run, and getting to fix that? That was a good cause. That was worth it.

Ozpin had said earlier that what was done was done, and the truth was now out in the open, out of the bag, never to be put back in.

Ruby kind of liked it that way.


Author's Notes

'Ruby decided she knew how she wanted this origin story to end.'

Actually, it was *me* that decided to write this because I decided that this was how *I* wanted this Origin Story to end.

That's right - it's finally over, for real this time. No tricks, turns, or twists. The Origin Story saga is complete, and we now will be saying goodbye to good, evil, and neutral Ruby. I won't be adding in any more endings or continuations, as it's time for me to move on to new projects. Since most of my time was spent writing Job Security as of late, we don't have any new stories until I finish what I've only just started a little under a month ago (currently about done with Part 1 of 3, but I expect the remainder will take a lot longer).

A lot of people have expressed concern about just how much Ruby was or wasn't sharing, and whether or not her team was going to just accept it. Well, as we say, she was tight-lipped, and it nearly tore apart her relationship with all of Exuberance. Weiss couldn't understand why Winter had died, Blake thought that the lives lost were too great, Yang's heart was weighed down by Ruby's changes, and Pyrrha had her life threatened with no justification. But now, they can at least start to understand the full extent of how much was at stake for Ruby and her mission.

As I said at the beginning, Hero was written on an impulsive idea I had and desperately wanted to see realized, and I liked it so much that I almost want to make it canon. But hey, it's all fiction, so we can each decide what is or isn't canon for ourselves, right?

I hope you had as much fun on this journey through Ruby's Origin Story as I did. Please stick around and give my other stories a glance if you haven't already.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!