Hello and welcome to my first RWBY fic on this archive. This will be a dark story.
This is an concept I think would be interesting to explore. You've read to summary, so I'll let ya'll dive into the story. Enjoy.
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Ambrosius was right. Don't fall, he warned her. Now, Ruby sleeps alone in the dark. Fallen off the face of her world. Fallen out of space and time.
Ruby tosses and turns, groaning and twitching from her nightmare. The scene of Yang taking a hit from Neo plays in her head. "Ruby!"
Her fight against Cinder and Neo flashes before her eyes -changing like television channels- with Atlas and Mantle screaming through each scene.
"Yang!" Blake screams.
"Yang- Wahhh!" Ruby jolts awake, caught in the grip of a dizzying somersault. She manages to find her balance somehow, stopping her flips and freeing herself from the nauseating rollercoaster.
Her head swims and her body feels light. Weightless, actually. She can't feel the ground beneath her feet. Honestly, she can't tell if there is a ground. Like she's floating in the air.
Her sight comes back and with a shocking surprise. She's floating in the middle of a boundless black void!
Nothing there but her and an ocean below her. Wait? An ocean?!
The sea glimmers with a mysterious light shining through it's calm and clear waters. The soothing sound of the swaying tides breaking the dead silence of the void.
Where...am I? How did I get here? Ruby snaps out of her dumbfounded gaze and racks her brain for answers. Everything is hazy at first until it all comes back to her.
"That's right," she recalls the events prior to waking up in this strange place. "I fell."
"Blake? Yang? Weiss?" She echoes for her team, hoping to see someone, anyone, that fell with her.
Her weight suddenly comes back, but not in a way she expects. She plummets to the waters below.
She screams, her thoughts scrambling on what to do as she races for a dive. Her semblance won't do anything for her, there is nowhere for her to go. She's in an empty void with a boundless sea.
Oh crap! Oh crap!
She pinches her nose, holds her breath, and braces for impact. She hits the water, splashing through the cold surface and sinking to it's depths. Bubbling water fills her ears.
She swims for the surface but realizes that she couldn't, something is pulling her down.
She kicks her legs and swings her arms with all her might. Still no results. She sinks deeper and deeper. Her lungs ache, closing in on itself as she runs out of air.
Is this how it ends? Drowning in the depths of a bottomless sea? What will happen to her? Will her body float to the surface? Or will she continue to sink? Does anything live in these waters? Will her corpse be food for them? What can live in these dark depths? These pressures?
She gives in, unable to hold any longer, and opens her mouth. Instead of water flooding her lungs, air comes in. Ruby gaspes with a deep breath of fresh air.
Am I…breathing underwater?
She takes in another breath, cold and refreshing air filling her lungs.
Specks of light twinkle in the depths below. One by one their numbers swell, coalescing into a sea of stars and galaxies.
Her mouth drops, a universe growing before her very eyes. The stars glide pass her at a slow pace, each one echoing with voices that oddly sound familiar. In fact, they sound like her voice.
Then she sees them. Reflections. Images of many different Rubys —many different versions of herself— within the stars.
"Wildmage!" A familiar female voice yells out. "Monster!"
Professor Goodwitch? Ruby jerks her head towards the star where Glynda's voice came from. She sees Glynda, wearing some kind of purple robe, facing off against another version of Ruby wearing a gray robe.
"The only monster here is you!" Her other self screams at the professor —that's if she is a professor in this scenario.
What's a wildmage? Ruby wonders while watching speechless.
A loud grunt snatches Ruby's attention to another star.
She sees herself and Jaune fighting against Cinder and Emerald in the grand hall of Haven Academy. She remembers this —well, the battle at least— but her and Jaune never tag teamed against Cinder nor Emerald that night. She notices that this version of herself and Jaune looks slightly different —in terms of their style.
Jaune's attire looks more knightly and well protected than his usual gear and herself having a slightly different red hood and attire, her hair seeming to be tied up in a small bun or ponytail.
Ruby watches herself get flung through the air by Cinder, hooking a pillar with her scythe, swings around, and lands next to Jaune.
"Rose Knight," she mumbles their team combo before taking off with Jaune right behind her.
Ruby watches in awe as her other self and Jaune puts the pressure on Cinder and Emerald with a cycle of fluid and synchronized attacks.
"Rose Knight?" Ruby repeats. The name sticks with her, like some kind of catchy song or phrase. She never thought of a team name for her and Jaune. In fact, it sounds cool.
Her eyes wander, seeing more versions of herself within the stars. Some as huntresses, magic users, criminals, assassins, and others far grittier and weirder than she can imagine.
"Heroes, blinded by righteousness. Evil, driven by power and greed. It's all the same." Ruby hears another voice identical to her's coming from a nearby star. "If it takes a stronger evil to stop the wizard and witch, to end this cycle. Then I'll become that stronger evil."
What are these things?
She reaches for the ball of light, wondering what would happen if she touches it; a comforting warmth gracing her palm. It reacts to her, burning brighter and growing in size.
"WHA!" She covers her eyes, the light blinding her with everything fading to white.
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Ruby jolts awake underwater. Instead of air this time, water fills her lungs. Her eyes shoot open and she frantically swims for the top. She bursts through the surface, gasping for air, eyes stinging, and splashing around.
She finds her way to land, leaping out and hitting the dirt with a splat. She coughs up water, smearing mud on her face as she drags ashore; like a creature emerging from the depths.
Lungs and nostrils burn with each breath while she rests, her cold and soaked clothes sticking to her skin and weighing her down.
After a moment to regain her strength, she tries picking herself up. She grabs onto a tree and climbs to her feet, leaning on it for support as her legs shake under her weight.
What was all that? What happened to me back there?
A sea of stars and galaxies within a bottomless sea in a boundless void? Many different versions of herself living different or similar lives? Where the heck does she even start to make sense of all this?
She takes in her surroundings. Where is she? Is she still on Remnant? The answer to her question fills her with horror and confusion when seeing the foregin world in front of her.
Thick black clouds blankets the sky —blocking clear blue day and starry night. It swallows the sun, leaving a reformed red moon to shine in it's place. Black little specks linger and dance in the air like falling snow, stretching through the land.
The frigded air nips through her soaked clothes, but she notices that she can't feel the wind, nor hear any signs of life for that matter. From the many months she has spent traveling with Team RNJR, there has always been signs of nature. Chirping of birds, scurrying of smaller animals, even the rustling of trees. None of that is present.
It's as if the world is just -standing still.
Not only that, everything seems to have been drained of color and life. Trees; naked and rotted. Grass; brown, wilted, and in patches. The water she came out of, a lake, appears black —like the goo that birthed the horrid creatures of Grimm themselves.
She stares baffled. Where am I?
A beastly snarl snaps Ruby out of her shock. Large numbers of crimson eyes loom in the darkness of the dying forest. Beowolves, Ursi, and other creatures prowl out of the shadows and into the open field. Their numbers seem to grow endlessly as their black and armored bodies emerge from the dark.
Having regained her strength, Ruby reaches for Crescent Rose but only grabs at air.
Oh no!, she gasps. She forgot. Crescent Rose fell into the abyss before she did. Alright, plan B. She focuses her eyes, trying to clear her mind and concentrate on thoughts of her friends and family.
'Life must be protected.' she remembers the words of Maria. Nothing happens. She tries again. Still nothing, not even a flicker of light. Not good.
A beowolf lunges for her with a swipe. Ruby ducks and takes off in a burst of petals. An ursa snaps its jaws at her, it's pointed teeth seeking for her neck. She slides between the beast's legs and continues running.
Every beast out in the field chases after their prey in one big drove. Ruby appears as a flash of red fleeing from a tide of black snarling and hungry mouths.
What do I do? What do I do?!
She runs through the rotted forest. More grimm bolt out of the shadows from her right, joining in on the hunt, deliberately knocking down and jumping over each other as they race to cut her off. Lucky for Ruby, she's small, light, and quick on her feet.
She cuts around a tree, causing a Beowolf to slam into it. Slides under a rotted tree root, an Ursa smashes through. A giant hand reaches out from behind a tree just a few feet away from her. She digs her heels in the dirt and propels herself backwards, her head nearly getting crushed by the hand.
A Beringel emerges from the tree, beating its chest with a roar that mingles with the other beasts.
Ruby collects herself. Keeping her mind focused on escaping instead of what could've happened if she'd got caught, especially with the Ursa charging in behind her.
Uncle Qrow always said that in situations like these, use one against the other. The Grimm may learn and adapt, but at their core, they are still beasts. Savage and vile.
Duck or jump?
She quickly weighs her options as both Grimm charge for her. Taking both Grimm's capabilities into account, she makes her decision and jumps with a trail of rose petals, her semblance giving her height.
The Beringel misses Ruby and hooks the Ursa right in the jaw.
She lands on the gorilla's head, pushes off, flies through the air, and slips through more Grimm. Too nimble, too quick.
Never in her life did she imagine running from Grimm. Combine with her not having Crescent Rose and her silver eyes not working, can things get any worse?
She finally breaks out of the forest and into the outskirts of a city. A decrepit and abandoned one at that.
She recalls the ruined city -surprising herself- even though it's been a long time ago. Well, how can she forget the time when Roman and the White Fang breached Vale with a runaway train?
I'm on Mt. Glenn? Then Vale is close by!
This is great news! Now all she has to do is somehow lose the horde in the city and then phone for a bulkhead to pick her up.
She makes a beeline for the ruins. Dirt road turns to pavement as she flies through the empty streets with the starving drove not far behind. More grimm crawl out of every nook and cranny of the block, wanting a piece of their next meal.
Exactly what she needs…
She approaches an intersection, planning to make a right turn until a small part of the drove -who got the wise idea to break off and go around- cuts her off.
"Crap!" Ruby said in a hushed tone, sliding to a stop.
They played her, caught in the middle of the street between two hordes of drooling and snapping teeth.
"Come on. Come on," she makes another attempt at her silver eyes. Still, nothing. "Argh! Work stupid eyes!"
Both hordes charge in for their dinner.
She sees a sudden red flash appear from the corner of her eye and then disappear just as quickly. The base of a nearby apartment building collapses, tilting forward as the whole thing comes tumbling down. It's big. It's wide. And Ruby has nowhere to go.
A crazy -or as Weiss would say suicidal- idea comes to mind. Ruby looks up at the tumbling building, seeing windows she can jump through.
Yeah, crazy AND suicidal indeed.
She jumps, wrapping herself in her hood, and flies through an open window. She zip across a living room, bust down the door, and careens down the twisting hallway. She makes it to the end and bursts out the side window, making it out just by a hair before the entire apartment crashes into a huge cloud of dust and debris.
She flies to the next block over, getting as close to the ground as she can before her semblance wears off, drops, and rolls on the street. She sprawls on the road, staring up at the red moon hanging over her.
"That was a close one," she chuckles through her panting, heart hammering in her chest and her nerves still shaking from her daredevil stunt. Not the craziest thing she's done, compared to playing hopscotch with missiles and jumping down a cannon.
If Uncle Qrow were here, he'd probably turn into a bird and do the same thing.
She hears a faint thud in the distance to her left. She tenses up, listening for the sound. She hears it again, one thud after the other.
Footsteps?
She jerks her head toward it, seeing someone walking her way. Finally, someone she can talk to. Hopefully give her a ride to Vale.
She hop to her feet.
The stranger walks with purpose, the tail of their black mantle waving in the air.
"Um, excuse me," she speaks first with a wave. "I'm Ruby Rose, a licensed huntress. Do you know how I can get back to Vale?"
The stranger reaches under their cloak, the sound of steel sliding out of a sheath being the only response she gets. Ruby jumps back, seeing a crimson blade glimmer in the red moonlight. Before she can say or do anything, the person takes off sprinting, flipping out their sheath and starts firing.
The bullets come fast, hitting the panicking Ruby in the shoulder and the chest. They bounce off her aura -lucky for her- but sadly it doesn't negate the pain.
She winces, turns tail, and speeds off. Something wraps around and yanks her leg back, making her face plant on the asphalt.
She looks back, a cable from a grappling gun wrapped around her ankle and dragging her to the attacker. She grits her teeth, places her footing, and blasts off with rose petals.
She feels the weight of her attacker being pulled along with her, but she doesn't care. She's gonna give them one heckuva ride. Ruby hits the gas, flying down the street and swinging around every corner.
Her attacker keeps a tight hold on their grappling gun, no matter how many turns she makes to shake them off. Another turn is closing up, and she has an idea.
She beelines for a building, full speed ahead, and makes a really sharp turn before she hits the wall. The momentum snatches the person and slams them into the wall.
They let out a yelp, a cry of a man.
She comes back around full circle, scoops up his sword and sheath, and keeps a good distance between them. She observes the man's weapon with curiosity. The sheath is black and made of metal. A trigger well sits on the underside of the sheath with a magazine clipped in. A small hole, the barrel, sits just above where the sword slides in.
The first thing that catches her attention about the sword is the crimson steel. Actually, the style of the blade helps her recognize it more.
A katana?
She hears a grunt and jerks her eyes up.
The man is getting to his feet.
"Don't move!" She commands him, pointing the gun-sheath at him with no idea of how it actually functions.
He ignores her, standing up and removing his hood. The blood moon shines down on the two, exposing the man's face.
He is a young man -much older than Ruby. His red hair pops out from his all black attire, even more so with the pair of horns sticking from his head. Three long scars run over his left eye. His right eye, baby blue in color, stares at her with the most hateful glare.
A faunus? She notices the horns. "Who are you? Why are you attacking me?"
He continues to glare, taking a stance as if anticipating something from her. His eye scans her from head to toe, studying her. He reaches down, keeping an eye -no pun intended- on Ruby, and picks up a rusty pipe.
"I'm warning you," Ruby swallows her nerves, her heart pounding and finger itching on the trigger. "I'll shoot."
The faunus grits his teeth and breaks into a sprint.
Ruby gasps and fires a shot. The man ducks and keeps running. She fires two more shots. He does an acrobatic flip and slips through.
"Raahhhh!" He yells in anger, lunging forward with the pipe over his head. He smacks Ruby hard.
She hits the ground, head swimming, and vision blurry. She rolls over and sees a blurred figure walking up to her, arm cocked back with the pipe. Ready to swing.
She fumbles for the gun-sheath, grabs it, and aims for another shot.
The pipe smacks it out of her hand and starts hitting her. Her aura takes the blows -still doing nothing about the pain- but with his relentless onslaught, it might not hold up for long. She reaches for the katana but her hand gets stomped underfoot and she takes another blow.
'Crack'
"AHHH!"
Her aura finally breaks, shattering as if it were glass. The fanus lets up on his beating, tossing the pipe aside, and reaches for his katana.
STOP HIM, is the first thought that screams in Ruby's head. She scrambles for the katana, wrestling for control. The man punches her in the head, again, again, and again. Each blow makes her see stars and feel lightheaded, but she holds on.
Her life depends on it.
She bites his finger.
He screams in rage, snatches her up by her collar, and slams her hard on the street. His hand clamps down on her throat, choking her while he grabs his katana and raises it in the air, ready to run through her. "The war ends."
Ruby grips both hands on his wrist, struggling to break free but his strength far exceeds her own. And even if she did have the strength to move his hand, he's still on top of her.
She can't die here. What about her team? She still has to find them. What about the people of Atlas and Mantle? Did they make it to Vaccuo? What about the relic? Did Salem get it? Did she gather all four relics?! Is she the reason why Remnant looks like this?!
A lot of these questions and more races in her head.
"Adam!" A walkie-talkie buzzes to life on the man's collar. The faunus -Adam apparently- ignores the call, his glare fixed on Ruby, about to deliver the killing blow.
"Adam!" A familiar male voice yells from the walkie-talkie. "We need you! We found Little Red!
Adam pauses.
Sun? Ruby recognizes the voice.
"What do you mean found? I have her right here."
"What?" Sun replies. "If you're joking, it's not funny! She's here with the Wolf, man! And she already got to those Atlas guy- Blake watch ou-"
An explosion cuts off the call. Adam snaps his head towards it, seeing black clouds of smoke a few blocks away.
"Hey!" He yells into the walkie-talkie. "What happened? Hey!" He only receives buzzing in response. He looks at the bruised and split-lipped Ruby, confusion clear on his face. He loosens his grip on her throat, allowing her to gasp for air. "Start talking. Who are you?"
Ruby winces and coughs.
The faint sound of metal dragging on concrete grabs their attention to a street corner. It screeches like nails on a chalkboard, growing louder and closer.
"Ru...by…" A wheezy voice calls from around the corner. A large black hand slides into view, blade-like fingers scratching the wall and grabbing the corner of the building.
That voice… Ruby freezes, eyes locked on the giant hand -if she can even call it that. The hand seems like a mix of organic and inorganic. Flesh fused with random materials, metal being the main thing she sees.
Is it some type of Grimm that can talk? She recalls the tragic encounter with the Hound, which turned out to be a person with silver eyes. Is this thing the same? And most importantly, why did it say her name of all things? Why did it sound so familiar?
Adam let's go of Ruby and slowly stands up, backing away with anticipation. Ruby -on the other hand- hops to her feet, keeping her eyes on the corner.
A huge grimm shuffles out into the street. Black feathers conceals it's entire body, acting as a giant cloak of some sort. The sound of metal scratches and scrapes the road with each shuffle. It drags something in it's other hand.
A scythe? Ruby narrows her eyes on the weapon, the moonlight giving her a good look of it's shape, size, and design. Wait. That belongs to…
"The Scarecrow," Adam says in a hushed tone, inching away and scanning the area for some reason.
The Grimm turns, the moon revealing it's face. A man with pale skin, black hair, and black and red eyes with a black substance running down his cheeks.
Ruby's heart drops. No wonder the voice sounded familiar. "U-Uncle Qrow?"
Qrow -Scarecrow, as Adam called him- jerks his head towards them, twisting his neck at an angle as if it were snapped.
"Ru..by!" He goes into a frenzy and flails his arms. His cries sound like grinding metal mixed with his voice. The black feather cloak spreads out into a pair of giant black wings, showing off his black elongated body.
Random mechanical parts hold together, functioning as makeshift prosthetics for his hips, parts of his legs and odd number of arms. All fused and connected between flesh.
"What happened to you?" Ruby whispers. Tears sting her eyes and run down her cheeks. This has to be the work of Salem.
The Scarecrow charges.
Adam runs off.
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They say your opening line and first chapter is really important for your story. Your one chance to capture the reader.
If you liked this chapter, I have another RWBY related story that I'm currently posting. It's a RWBY x Bloodborne crossover. If you like crossovers and you like Bloodborne, go have a look.
I have a third story I'm cooking up. It centers around Summer but I'm holding the details.
Until next time, take care.