Volume 4, Chapter 2:
It all happened in a matter of minutes, it felt like time went between slow and fast. How did it go from something smoothly to chaotic. That is what happened in the evacuation from Atlas and Mantle to Vacuo. And it all started with an explosion followed by running and screaming by the crowd.
Yang: RUBY!
She couldn't react on time as she saw Neopolitan coming right at her only to be pushed aside by Yang. The next thing she saw placed her in a frozen trauma, seeing her big sister lose her aura and fall off the bridge...
The next thing that occurs for her is getting hit by one of Cinder's explosions followed by a kick from Neo that strikes her and loses Crescent Rose that falls off the bridge as well as Ruby tried to catch it.
Ruby: *gasps* N-No! NO! NO!
Now, Ruby held on from Neo's ankle as Cinder was on top of both of them and snatching the Relic of Knowledge from Neo. She looked at the corner of her eye and also noticed the Doctor jumping towards the TARDIS to try and catch her.
Cinder: And you...should have never been born...
Everything went black for Ruby as she felt herself fall off. Until she opened her eyes once again only to see Blake by her side, catching her and holding on to Gambol Shroud but Cinder cuts the rope and sends them both falling but saw the TARDIS below them.
The Doctor: I GOT YOU!
They both held each other close and tried to fall right on the TARDIS until an explosion hits the police box that sends her flying a bit back as Ruby and Blake both continued to fall with the faint scream of the Doctor towards them.
The Doctor: NOOOOOOOO!
The next time Ruby opened her eyes, she was alone and still falling but could still hear faint noises from what was happening on the bridges.
Weiss: JAUNE!
Jaune: NOOOOOOOOOOAAAUUUGHHH!
Ashad: DIE!
Dalek Khan: EXTERMINATE!
The last thing Ruby heard was firing shots followed by screams of Cinder Fall before everything went pitch black for her completely...
What felt like eternity, the only noises that was heard in the back were waves that sounded like the ocean followed by birdlike noises as well and trees being blown by the wind. She didn't want to open her eyes; she wanted to remain the pitch darkness but a voice was heard faintly.
Penny: Ruby... Ruby!... RUBY!
This jolted Ruby wide awake, gasping for air and looking around like a lost animal. She continued to catch her breath and surveyed the area to see herself on what looks to be a beach and she dusted the sand off herself. She got a realization and looked for her Sonic Screwdriver gifted by the Doctor. She found it and activated it to scan the entire area but her Sonic gives out an error like noise as she looked at it to see that not even the Sonic could identify where she's at.
She turned around and in front of her but far away was a large, colorful tree surrounded by a strange, tropical like forest. Ruby stared at the tree in a mix of confusion and amusement before taking a deep breath and making her way to the forest. The walk felt long and somehow the same?...There have been multiple paths in her walk where she felt like she was going in circles especially after noticing the same forest part and a strange, colorful bird nearby.
Ruby: *sighs* Oh, Doctor if you were here, you would most likely have the perfect explanation for this.
Ruby continued to walk through this place though it did remind her of the plant planet X'aphoria where they met the plant clone of Weiss, Vine Weiss. She stopped as she heard little noises nearby and looked to see a mouse trying to pull a sprout from the ground on its own but couldn't do it at all. Ruby felt for the mouse and approached it, pulling it the sprout of CHEESE?!
Ruby had to blink and do a double take to make sure she wasn't just seeing things before giving it to the mouse as it began to eat. Ruby watched on with a small smile but let it out a sigh of desperation.
Ruby: Now if only you could help me...
Mouse: *gulps my food and looks at her* I could try.
Ruby just stared at the mouse before screaming which also caused the mouse to scream from being startled as well.
Mouse: Why are you yelling?!
Ruby: *flabbergasted* I. Uh. Because. You. Oh! You're-
Mouse: Did you wanna share? Oh, I guess it's only fair...
Ruby: No, that's- that's alright. Uh, I guess, uh...I've just never really spoken to, uh...a mouse before?
Mouse: Hmm, well, I guess I've never spoken to a...you before. What are you?
Ruby: Oh, uh, I'm a human. *Looks at the mouse that's confused* A girl? A Huntress?
Mouse: That's a lot of things.
Ruby: I'm... *sighs* I'm Ruby Rose.
Mouse: And to Ruby Rose is...your purpose?
Ruby: No. No, that's my name. Do you have a name?
Mouse: I'm still young, so...not yet.
Ruby: *thinks* How about I call you...Little, for now. Would that be alright?
Little: Hm, how does one...Little? *Looks at Ruby* What's wrong?
Ruby: I'm...uh, have you seen other people? Humans, like me.
Little: Exactly like you?
Ruby: No, not… exactly like me. I mean, we're similar, but different.
Little: I'm sure it'll make sense eventually.
Ruby: Um...one would have long, blonde hair, the other has...well, uh uh...cat ears?
Little: *yelps* CAT?!
Ruby: Sorry! I should've known. I've seen plenty of cartoons.
Little: Well, I've never seen anyone who does, or doesn't, look like you. But, maybe someone in my village has. They're always out foraging, you know, since we need food and stuff. *Looks at the cheese sprouts* Speaking of which...a few more of these wouldn't hurt!
Elsewhere in the forest as well, another Sonic Screwdriver is being used to scan the area but just like Ruby's, it was to no avail. Blake sighed in frustration before looking around her surroundings. She woke up alone with no sign of her friends nor Gambol Shroud.
Blake: Where could you guys be?...Where are we even?...*looks around*
As Blake walked further, she saw a pile of vines all tangled up on the ground and noticed Gambol Shroud to her relief. She noticed the vines and thought back to Vine Weiss.
Blake: This...can't be X'aphoria right? My Sonic would have detected it.
She shook those thoughts off and went to grab Gambol Shroud, but the ground shook for a moment as the vines came to life and wrapped itself around Blake, trapping her as she struggled to get out. Her thoughts immediately came to Vine Weiss and was going to call her out until she saw fleets of mice emerging and cheering on trapping Blake to her confusion.
Mouse #2: The trap has been sprung!
Mouse Leader: Justice befalls our prey! And on this day, we were not the prey, but the hunters!
The fleet of mice cheered on as Blake continued to try and get herself out. In the corner of her eye, she spotted the color red and got a complete look to see Ruby nearby to her joy and relief.
Blake: Ruby! Heyyy!
As Ruby continued to walk and a bit disgusted feeling Little drool on her while they are asleep, she heard a familiar voice and looked over to where it's coming from. She ran to it which woke Little up and both of them spotted Blake all tangled up.
Ruby: Blake!
Little: Oh, hey, it's your cat friend. *yelps*
Mouse Leader: A new adversary approaches! We must liberate our kin!
The fleet of mice charged at Ruby which kinda scared her until Little jumped off her shoulder, to her cape, and onto the ground to stop the Little army. She went on to explain to them the situation and that these humans especially the cat ears human meant no harm to them were just trying to find their home. All of them gasped as the Mouse Leader approached Blake and freed her. Blake went over to Ruby as the two shared a tight embrace to see each other okay.
Mouse Leader: You have our sincerest apologies! Please understand that our kind is a bit skeptical of cats...and snakes...and cats.
Blake: We understand. If...we could ask, have you seen anyone else who looks like us? Long, blonde hair, looks kinda scary but isn't?
Ruby: *chuckles softly* But could be if she wanted to.
The Mouse leader shook its head as Ruby thanked them before her, Blake, and Little made their leave.
Blake: I thought we were back in X'aphoria but my Sonic can't detect the area exactly.
Ruby: Same as mine. It looks like X'aphoria but I don't think it is at all. *Points to the cliff* Before all of...this, I was trying to go to that cliff over there. I figured going to higher ground and getting my bearings would be good.
Blake: Sounds like the best option for now. *shrieks*
Little: *crawls up to Blake* If you wanna go to the cliff, I can help with that. I don't have anything to do yet.
Ruby: Yet?
Little: I can be your trusty guide.
It didn't take long for the trusty guide to fall back asleep on Ruby's shoulder which was enough to make her giggle and cheer her up as her and Blake continue walking through the forest.
Ruby: Or...I guess we could figure it out ourselves.
Blake: At least they got us to this path. We need to hurry. Yang's been down here the longest and we still haven't found her.
Ruby: I was wondering...if we fell, then are there others down here too?
Blake: *thinks* We were the first to fall alongside Neopolitan. Weiss could have fallen if they killed her but then maybe she didn't.
Ruby: I...I heard Cinder scream before knocking out as I fell.
Before they could work on that situation, a loud roar startled the two alongside a terrified Little. They ran up to the top of the cliff and spotted a strange, horned, masked creature twitching around and snarling like it's on rabies.
Jabberwalker: Seeking...Searching...Scouring...Stalking...Searching...Stalking...
Little gasped and his inside of Ruby's cape but it was caught on by the Jabberwalker as it turned to face Ruby and Blake.
Jabberwalker: Detecting...Listening...*snarls* DANGER! DEATH! BITE! RIP! TEAR!
Blake pulled out Gambol Shroud while Ruby reached to her back for Gambol Shroud, only to remember it was missing. She stood back and watched as Blake was an alarming distancing between her and the creature. Blake charged forward until another voice boomed through the area.
Yang: I said I wasn't done with you yet!
That voice belonged to Yang as she launched a large boulder came flying through the air and made a direct hit to the Jabberwalker which roars in pain then twitches and retreats to a cliff before disappearing from sight. Yang panted more before falling on one knee but the most noticeable feature was her prosthetic arm was missing.
Ruby: Yang! I–
Yang: Dammit! You weren't supposed to be here...
Ruby: *kneels down* If you thought we wouldn't come for you, then you must've forgotten who raised me. What happened to your arm?
Yang: I don't think you'd believe me if I told you...
Little: *pops up* Why not? You seem trustworthy.
Yang: *blinks and looks at Ruby confused* Uh, Ruby? What is that?
At that exact moment, Yang got tackled full force to the ground as she tried to look up but felt a familiar and heart racing embrace from the only person that could make her heart beat double than normal. The best partner she could ask for and the girl she loves.
Blake: *hugs her tightly* Yang...
Yang let out a small blush before returning the hug to Blake and lightly placing her lips on top of Blake's head while Ruby watched with a bittersweet smile. She knew her sister and Blake had something and it was meant to be after everything they went through...but only reminded her of the potential she would have had with Penny...she only hoped she was still up there and didn't fall.
Blake: *stands up with Yang* Okay, so that's three of us now. We don't know if it's just us or others fell.
Yang: It must have gone pretty bad, huh?
Blake: Most likely but Ruby did say something about hearing Cinder screaming.
Yang: *looks at Ruby* Did she...
Ruby: I...I don't know...all I could hear faintly was Khan and Ashad battling it out before Cinder's scream was heard like if she was shot by both of them.
Yang: She's better off dead anyway!
Blake: But Neo is still around here...somewhere...Yang! Your Sonic Sunglasses, have they been having the same problem of not identifying what this place is?
Yang: Sorta. *Pulls them out* At first, it looked like it was scrambling to detect it before no answer was given. But, if anything we learned from the Doctor about all of time and space, this is different from the usual.
Ruby: Meaning?
Yang: This isn't any ordinary planet. We're in some sort of pocket dimension. Trapped inside of it. *thinks* Like the Orb! We are trapped somewhere in some kind of loop bubble which time can go fast and slow at the same time.
Blake: Woof. I didn't know you were an expert as well on time and space *bumps her shoulder*
Yang: *blushes softly* Doc talks so much about it and gives out examples as well to demonstrate it kinda caught on with me. Anyway, back to the serious discussion. So, we have no idea what happened to the Relic? Or what happened to everyone in Vacuo? Or where Neo is?
Blake: Maybe everyone else made it?
Ruby: The TARDIS was rescuing anyone who was falling while we were handling the bad guys. It's a most likely.
Yang: We probably would have found Weiss already or she would have found us if she fell. This probably means she didn't...hopefully...
Blake: *sighs* Okay. Ruby's weapon is still missing. Yang's arm was stolen. I think we focus on getting everything back, then we can figure out exactly how to get out of here...Wherever this pocket dimension really is...
Blake gets an idea in her mind as she passes through a few vines and trees in which Ruby and Yang follow behind her until they saw an extraordinary view of this unknown world with the giant tree in the far center.
Blake: I know this might sound crazy...
Yang: Nothing's crazy ever since travelling with Doc.
Blake: Still, maybe this will... I think we're in a fairy tale.
The three girls looked around the entire view besides the giant tree such as a red castle, the tropical forest, and even a land filled with sweets. They didn't know where they truly were but they knew they were on a brand-new adventure of a lifetime.
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
Elsewhere, it was pitch black and cold...
The last thing she could remember was being impaled by Cinder's Grimm arm, her blood dripping, her body feeling weak, her air slowly reducing by the second...
Jaune and Weiss tried to save her but she didn't wish to. She wanted to make it right, she wanted to save someone she cared for...
And she went on to hand the powers of the Winter Maiden to Winter Schnee...
She promised she was going to be there by her side always and yet, somehow...
She wasn't...
Everything happened so sudden, it was giving her nightmares in this darkness and voices of her friends screaming for her until that ONE voice was the cause to wake her up.
Ruby: PENNY!
Opening her eyes and jolting up like her android self, Penny gasped for air, trying to calm herself down and regain composure. After a minute of doing so, Penny had to take a moment in and realize that...
She was still alive...
She was supposed to be dead! The wound was fatal, she lost a lot of blood, and she even told Jaune to sacrifice her so she can help Winter...
But was she still here...
Penny tried to feel herself, making sure this wasn't all just some sort of dream until she reached her chest area and felt something...metallic and cold...
She noticed she was no longer in her own clothes but in some sort of hospital gown, similar to one Fria wore. She lifted the gown and to Penny's horror, she saw some sort of machine on her chest. This is what was keeping her alive.
Penny: T-This can't be right...
She looked around the room as it looked empty and old with wires hanging around some parts, holes on roofs, and cracks on walls. But she did notice a cart with a tray of medication. She looked over her arm again and noticed needles on her skin that were wired to an intravenous machine.
Penny: Where am I?...
Grabbing the machine to help her walk on the cold floor, Penny made her way to the door and quietly opened as everything seemed eerily dark and silent. She looked outside to see an empty and messy hallway.
Pain...
She heard a voice. It sounded...monotonous...
Penny: H-Hello?...
Pain...Pain...
There it was once again, that monotonous voice which gave Penny the curiosity to find out what was it and if they needed help. She quietly made her way to where that voice was coming from as she noticed other rooms with windows. She approached one and took a peek inside to see beds with patients covered up. It was horrifying her and decided to move along.
Pain...Pain...Pain...
Penny continued to listen closely to where the voice was at and approached the last room at the end of the hallway which happened to be the bigger room. She made her way in and to her horror, she saw multiple patients on wheel chairs, all covered up from head to toe with white latex bags, like something she would see from a horror film...
Patient: Pain...Pain...Pain...Pain...
Penny got startled hearing that voice again and looked over to see a patient in the far-right end, pressing a button from its intravenous machine which has been causing it to speak out the word, Pain.
Penny: A-Are you okay?...M-My name is Penny...I can help...
The patient suddenly stopped pressing the same button to say the word, Pain, which left Penny a bit confused and worried. She thought perhaps it needed company as she slowly and carefully held its hand. The patient grabbed Penny's hand aggressively which scared her until it began to speak the monotonous but with a much grimmer message.
Patient: Kill. Me. Kill. Me. Kill. Me. Kill. Me.
Penny tried to break free but struggled for a moment until she finally released herself but fell on the floor as the patient tried to stand up on its own as well, repeating that same, horrifying message to her.
Patient: Kill. Me. Kill. Me. Kill. Me. Kill. Me.
Penny got up and was walking backwards until she was met with a wall as the patient was getting closer to her and reached its hand out to her. She felt like she couldn't breathe once again and wanted to wake up from this hellish nightmare...
Suddenly, the patient didn't reach her and it stopped repeating that message. She slowly opened her eyes and noticed the patient being injected with a syringe, causing it to fall onto the ground completely as a Masked and fully cloaked figure was behind the patient. They picked up the patient and returned them to their wheel chair before approaching Penny.
Masked Figure: Would you care for some tea, Miss Polendina?
Penny: H-Huh?...
Masked Figure: Ah, yes. Apologies for the scare, my patient did not receive its medication on time today.
Penny inspected the figure as it was fully covered in winter like thick clothes, gloves, a warm jacket with a large hoodie to cover most of his head and a fully covered phantom mask. His voice was very raspy as well.
Doctor Simm: I am Doctor Simm. Come, I will get you out of here and treat you for a drink.
Penny: B-But these people are they okay? W-What happened to them?
Doctor Simm: *sighs* My dear...these were survivors who either did not escape on time or I found them on the collapse between Atlas and Mantle.
Penny's eyes looked soulless after hearing that gut wrenching news from Doctor Simm. More traumatic memories were coming back from that battle on the bridges and seeing her friends fall. She held her head as the masked doctor approached her.
Doctor Simm: Let us go now, my dear. You need to sit down and a cup of tea will help as well.
They two left a room, unbeknownst to Penny that as they left the room, all of the patients were looking at her. This was no ordinary urgent care facility and Doctor Simm wasn't any ordinary doctor...
As the two walk inside Doctor Simm's...office...it looked very messy and unorganized but it didn't matter to Penny with everything she's seen and heard so far. She approached the window in his office and her heart dropped...
She saw a clear view of the Atlas Kingdom...destroyed...flooded...gone...
Doctor Simm: You and the others did enough to save people. Do not blame yourself for this unfortunate sight. For this was the General's fault, not yours.
Penny: It could have all been prevented...
Doctor Simm: Sometimes my dear, we can't argue back with what life chooses for us. Sometimes we just have to accept it and move forward. And if we refuse, life punishes us in the cruelest ways.
Penny could only look on at the gut-wrenching sight that was once her home, her kingdom, her duty to protect, and now it's all gone...
Penny: I should be dead...*looks at him* I died. How am I still here? Alive?
Doctor Simm: The machine on your chest is a defibrillator. Every patient here has one. It's a modified version made by me to send a strong electrical charge, enough for the heartbeat to maintain normal pulse. You were seconds away from dying my dear, I was not going to let that happen so I brough you here, did a bit of surgical work, and kept you alive because of that machine.
Penny felt the defibrillator on her chest which worried her for how big it was and how it was keeping her alive. Now she was truly feeling weakened and needed to sit down as Doctor Simm poured her a cup of tea.
Doctor Simm: Never knew how it works?
Penny: *shakes my head* I was never human. This was recent-
Doctor Simm: Yes Yes, we know you used to be a robot but the only good one here. You did good helping us.
Penny: *sips my tea* But...why are you here? Why didn't any of you leave? How did you even get me out of that bridge?
Doctor Simm: All very good question, Ms. Polendina. Very impressed. Gold Star. *sighs* My dear, a doctor's duty is to help cure their patients, one way or another. This place isn't the hospital I would attend them, with no help from anyone to get to those portals, I chose to stay behind and evacuate my patients to somewhere further before Atlas would fall on top of Mantle. I found this abandoned base and made it into an urgent care facility. As for you, my dear, I went to the portal in hopes for help but I saw so much...horror...people were falling, running, screaming while your friends fought those bad guys. I found you on the ground, bleeding so much, and how can a weak man like me do much more? Instead, I brought you with me as the portals closed and a few minutes later, Atlas fell.
Penny looked down to take in the moment and realize just how much happened in a matter of minutes and how it affected people. The burden in her grew knowing that some people did not make it and others are here, being treated by this masked doctor. She could only look back at the window as a single tear fell from her. As she continues to look out, Doctor Simm only stared at her with a smile but noticed a patient at his door, also staring at Penny before making eye contact with Doctor Simm.
Doctor Simm: *puts my finger on my mouth* Shhhhh...