Hey everyone!
I'm back with another chapter! Transitioning back to civilian life feels pretty good, even though I'm in the Reserves only for this year. I'm currently in Bible College, and praise God, one of my classes has ended, giving me enough breathing room to write.
One more thing before moving on to the story. Originally, I wanted to end this chapter with Ruby and Red meeting again, which would've started off chapter 11. But all I wanted to fit in would've made the chapter too long, especially with the last few things I wanted to set up before Little Red hits the stage again. So, this chapter and chapter 11 will be two-parters. It sucks, but I won't half-bake anything.
Anyway, I've held ya'll long enough. Enjoy the chapter!
Once again, Ruby is the center of attention, the main subject of back-and-forth discussions and obsessive observation.
Summer stands next to Ruby —who is sitting on an examination table— and watches sorcerers and researchers swarm about in Ozpin's lab. Some clutter in groups, talking amongst themselves and pointing at an enlarged retina image of Ruby's eyes displayed on a screen. Some individuals sit on stools, hunching over microscopes and examining extracted blood and tissue samples. But what draws her attention the most are two large screens, both displaying separate wavelengths. The screen on the left shows a long red squiggly line and the screen to the right shows another long squiggly line but with an emerald green color.
These men and women seem deeply drawn to their work. Despite there being an end of the world crisis going on above their heads, they all seem oddly enthusiastic. So much so that discretion is something they have forgotten about or just don't care for. Whenever a group isn't actively working or eyeballing computer screens, they will stand there with analyzing stares, pointing at Ruby as they discuss amongst themselves.
Ruby shows clear signs of discomfort each time this happens. From rubbing her arm, looking away from them, or squirming slightly under their gaze. Anything that would communicate her discomfort to them. But none of them seemed to care.
Summer grows increasingly agitated each time it happens, reminding her of how these people used to watch her Ruby as she went through her training. But what can she do to physically stop them? She's a ghost. She lets out a frustrated sigh.
"So…." Ruby grabs Summer attention, looking down at her feet and swinging her legs. "I've been wondering, I'm the only one who can see you?"
"Are you sure it's a good idea to talk to me right now? They'll think you're talking to yourself."
"They're staring at me like I came from outer space!"
"You're from another world."
Ruby pauses. "Well… Yeah, but… Look, what I'm saying is that they're creeping me out. And if I don't talk I'm gonna freak out. So, will you please answer my question?"
Summer's expression softens as Ruby attempts to cope with the situation. She can't blame her. She was in this position as well once upon a time. "Yes, you are the only one who can perceive me. Well, the only one here. The other is my Ruby…"
"Oh right, back in the factory, when you were telling her to stop."
Summer nods somberly.
"Have you…tried talking to her? Convince her to change her mind?" Ruby asks.
Summer frowns but answers anyway. "I have, more than once. The last time I've tried reaching out was when she was chasing after you and the others. And…you saw what happened." She refers to the rose forest Red had created.
"Oh… Has she done that before?"
"Mhm," Summer nods. "It was the same as the last couple times. She would react as if my voice is causing her pain and that wolf would lash out. Like it's…protecting her."
"Really?"
"Well, what do you call it when a dog lashes out when its owner is in danger?"
"Good point. So what about your Yang? Have you tried talking to her?"
"I just told you that no one else can see nor hear me. So how am I supposed to talk to her?"
"Well…" Ruby thinks for a moment. "I've seen a lot of ghost movies and heard ghost stories. Maybe you can try writing something for her. Or talk to her in her dreams? Or maybe, uh…. Use someone to talk to her?"
Seriously? Ghost movies? Summer arches an eyebrow. "Use someone?"
Ruby rubs the back of her neck sheepishly, keeping her gaze on the floor so people won't notice she's seemingly having a conversation with herself. "Yeah, you know. Like….possession?
"Possession?" Summer blinks a couple times at the silliness that came out of Ruby's mouth. "Ruby… First of all, real life isn't anything like the movies or the stories people tell. Second of all, I don't think I can do that. And I don't want to find out. And lastly, I don't think Yang would react well if someone came up to her saying that they are me. Remember what she almost did to you in your cell?"
Ruby's cheeks turn a little red from embarrassment and let's out a sheepish chuckle. "Yeah. That…did sound stupid."
Just then, the double doors leading outside swing open and an unexpected, all too familiar face walks in. Cinder. Or rather, Salem, in this case.
"Well well," Salem's eyes light with an amber spark and a gleeful smile cracks across her face. "You weren't lying, Ozpin. The multiverse IS real." Her gaze fixates on Ruby, a child-like fascination shining in their amber depths.
"Please don't scare her," Ozpin walks in after the witch along with Glynda trailing behind him. "We need her cooperation for our efforts."
"I'll be on my best behavior," the witch claps her hands together with a nonchalant tone. "Now, let's have a look at her." With long strides, Salem quickly makes her way over to Ruby. The lab goes quiet and everyone jerks their heads to the witch's unexpected appearance. Ozpin waves his hand, seemingly spreading a wave of reassuring comfort over the sorcerers and scientists, prompting them to continue working.
Salem gets dead in Ruby's face with a gleeful smile, making the young huntress lean back as far as possible with awkward discomfort on her face. "U-Um-"
"Hold still, girl," the witch commands, grabbing Ruby's jaw with a single hand, forcing her head to turn as she examines her closely.
"Get your hands off of her!" Summer lashes out, forgetting for a moment that no one except Ruby can hear her scream. She clenches her fists and growls lowly, helplessly watching the infuriating scene unfold.
"Hm, she does look exactly like her, right down to the slightest detail. Though…a bit older and more filled out." Salem remarks as she continues to analyze Ruby with a critical eye. "And her aura, it has the same red color as Little Red's, but…" She pauses, forcing eye contact with Ruby as she studies closer. "I'm…noticing some underlying differences."
"You can see it too," Ozpin said expectantly.
"Well, she lacks the foreboding black of that pesky wolf. So that much is obvious. But aside from that, I'm seeing some small distinctions.
"Uh… Can you please let go of me?" Ruby whimpers a small protest, trying to pull free from Salem's firm grip.
"Stop squirming, girl," Salem responds with slight annoyance, forcing Ruby's head still. "I'm not done looking at you."
Summer's anger burns and eats her up inside. If she had a physical body, she'd deliver a clean punch to the witch's jaw and dislocate it. And if that doesn't do much, then she'll smash her with a hard light hammer.
"Lord Wizard," a sorceress runs up to Ozpin with a Scroll in her hand. "We have an update on our studies. These findings will help us move forward with the project."
Project? Summer perks up at the woman's words.
Ozpin's serious demeanor does a one-eighty, greeting the woman with an inviting smile. "That's good to hear. Please, share with us."
"Us?" The sorceress pauses, looking over at Ruby and Salem, mainly at the witch. "Are you sure, sir?"
"Ms. Rose deserves to know what we're doing to get her home. It is part of our deal, after all," the wizard gives Ruby a small smile but falters into a cold glare when he flicks his gaze to Salem. "As for the witch, her survival hangs on a thread like the rest of us. So, we've come to a mutual agreement. One I trust she wouldn't break." That last part comes out with a subtle hiss as if it was meant to be a warning.
"My word is my bond," Salem holds up her hand as if swearing a pledge.
"Very well, sir. I wanna start off with the simple stuff first," the woman taps on her Scroll, pulling up two DNA strands. "It took longer than expected, but after running and comparing Ms. Rose's DNA with a digital copy of Little Red's we had stored in our system, it's a match. They are, without a doubt, the same person."
"I thought that much was obvious," Glynda remarks.
"Well, yes. Biologically speaking, it is obvious, but it's when we delve into her aura that we start finding subtle differences," her fingers once again tap away on her screen, bringing up two identical wavelengths parallel to each other. She holds up the Scroll for everyone —mainly for Ruby—seeing a red wavelength on the top and an emerald green wavelength on the bottom. The same ones on the large screens earlier.
"What are those?" Ruby asks, tilting her head and clearly confused.
"This red wavelength is your aura signature, Ms. Rose. We've extracted a piece from you via the aura transfer machine. Remember?"
"Please don't remind me," Ruby frowns at the mention of the machine, rubbing both of her arms with a shudder. "So uh, what's an aura signature?"
"To put it in simple terms, it's basically a DNA strand for your soul, in a spiritual sense. We believe it houses what makes up a person's soul. Memories, emotions, and personality," she points to the second wavelength. "The blue wavelength at the bottom is a piece of the auric flow drawn up from the wellspring. As you see, they look identical in terms of wave frequencies, but there is a small but major difference."
"What would that be?" Glynda raises an eyebrow with peeved interest.
The woman scratches the back of her head, seeming confused about how to continue. "I don't know how else to say this but… She has a different code."
"A code?" Summer says aloud, despite no one but Ruby hearing her.
Ruby blinks a couple times as she tries to process. "What?"
"I'll put it like this. We all have a…spiritual code. Everyone here has a code or whatever that matches the auric flow of this universe. You, on the other hand, don't. In every sense of the word, you and Little Red are the same, but it's this feature alone that allows, I guess, the multiverse to tell you two apart.
"That's surprisingly simple and complex," Salem muses before looking at Ruby. "Did you get all that, girl?"
"I…think I get it." Ruby nods. "It's like having two of the same weapons, but each having a different serial number to tell which is which."
"Yes, exactly," the woman agrees.
"Two identical souls in the same universe," Salem continues to chew on the thought. "The concept of the multiverse is still new to me. But since this deals with the spiritual, I wonder….," she looks back at Ruby. "Have you experienced anything unusual? Visions? Dreams? Memories that aren't yours?"
"Dreams?" Ruby echoes back with confusion before her memory jogs itself. "Oh! Yeah, I did. I saw Little Red's memories in my dreams. I saw the great war and…I saw her mom die in her arms."
"Ruby…" Summer whispers to herself, the sad memory of seeing her daughter's crying face before her death bringing an ache to her ghostly heart.
"What made you think to ask her that?" Glynda asks Salem.
"Just a hunch," the witch answers with an air of intrigue in her voice. "Each time I possess someone's body and assimilate their soul into mine, I inherit their memories along with their personality traits. This is because there are two souls mingling in one body. Now in the case of two identical souls sharing a universe…," she smiles musingly. "You have to suspect some spiritual overlap."
"Speaking of her aura signature," the woman brings things back on topic. "Lord Wizard, we've capsuled and dropped a piece of her aura into the emerald current of the flow. We picked up an aura signature with a code that matches hers."
"That matches mine? Y-You mean…" Ruby's eyes light up, her silver gaze shining with a gleam of hope and excitement at the news she's hearing.
The sorceress nods. "We believe we've found your home, Ms. Rose."
"Oh my gosh," Ruby looks like she's about to spring from the table. Her ecstatic smile broadens and her fist clench tightly, shaking with barely contained energy. "I can finally go home."
"Not yet," Ozpin chimes in. "We still have to find a way to get there. And there is still the issue with Little Red. Remember our deal?"
"Oh… Right… Sorry, I forgot."
"Please proceed with our progress. I would like to hold up our end of the bargain for Ms. Rose." Ozpin tells Glynda and the sorceress before turning to Salem. "And you, we need to speak in private."
"Are you sure about this?" Summer asks Ruby once everyone has left her alone.
"Sure about what?" Ruby tilts her head with a couple confused blinks.
"Fully trusting these people," Summer replies as she watches Ozpin walk off with Salem. "Especially him. You already know he's willing to do anything to save humanity. And not to mention, the very person who sparked the Great War is standing next to him."
Ruby's eyes lingers on the two immortals, seeming to contemplate her answer. "Well, I really don't have a choice. I have to trust him if I want to go home," she pauses for another moment, her silver gaze becoming distant as if remembering something. Her grip squeezes the edge of the table. "I need to get home. I have to…"
She gives another brief pause, sighing and coming back from her hundred yard stare. "To be honest, after everything that's happened and seeing everyone's lives down here, a part of me wants to help them. And…I wanna try talking to Little Red."
Summer frowns at that last part, remembering how things went for her when she tried reaching out to her daughter. "I told you she wouldn't listen to me. What makes you think it'll be any different for you?"
"No one knows us better than ourselves, right?"
"...I'm her mother." Summer remarks flatly.
"Uh…" Ruby scratches the back of her head. "Lemme try again. I've been thinking about everything that's happened and what everyone is going through. I…really can't imagine myself turning evil for any reason at all. After seeing her memories, I understand the pain and hurt she felt during the war. But this… Killing people? Taking it out on the world? It isn't right. It doesn't justify it. It really bothers me. So I wanna talk to her and hopefully get her to see what she's doing is wrong."
"And if you do get her to see that, then what?"
Ruby pauses for a moment. "I… I don't know. Go back to my world, I guess?"
Before Summer can give a response, Ozpin and Salem come back from their private talk.
"I'm starting to think this alliance of ours might be fruitful after all," Salem coos as she circles around the table, eyeing Ruby with a glint of excitement. "For the longest time, I wondered what made your silver eye warriors so formidable. Now you've given me the opportunity to…look into one."
"Um. What is she talking about?" Ruby asks worriedly. Even Summer eyes the witch with a suspicious stare.
"Ms. Rose," Ozpin stands in front of Ruby, both hands resting on his cane and looking down with apologetic eyes. "We need to…probe deeper with our studies."
Ruby cocks her head. "Deeper? What do you mean?"
"The studies we've done on you so far have been…surface level at best. Given that you don't know how to wield nor activate your silver eyes, we've been stuck on how to fight against Little Red?"
"Wouldn't going after her eyes help? I remember reading that in the records. And it also happened to another silver eye warrior in my world." Ruby said, referring to Maria.
"That, too, is surface level. Injuring the eyes will slow down a silver eye warrior, just like any other injury. But that doesn't extinguish what really drives their strength. We need to dig deeper and find out what it is."
Ruby's confusion is still palpable, cocking her head and blinking a couple of times. "So, by digging deeper, you mean…"
"We're gonna poke around in your soul. Well, I'll be doing the poking, that is," Salem answers from behind with a sweet tone. She slides her hands over Ruby's shoulders and presses down gently.
Ruby jumps and lets out a small squeal, the unexpected contact making her stiff.
Summer growls, balling her fists as her motherly instincts make her alarm bell go off. Poking around in someone's soul? What does that entail? What are they going to do to Ruby? Again, if she had a physical body, she'd be more than happy to give the witch a nice hook to the jaw. Double for Ozpin.
"W-Wait! M-My soul?!" Ruby stammers, her face turning a bit pale from Salem's words.
"Mhm," the witch responds, twirling a lock of Ruby's hair around her finger. "We need to know what makes you tick. From your bestest dreams to your wildest nightmares. I want to see it all."
Ozpin sighs with a hint of annoyance from Salem's choice of words. "Stop. You're making her uncomfortable," he chastises sharply before bringing his gaze to Ruby. "Despite Salem's…choice of words, what she's saying is true. We're going to look into your mind."
"I…don't know about that. That just feels…" Ruby trails off with discomfort.
"Ms. Rose, I am searching for a way for you to return home. And in return, you promised to let me study you, to save humanity. Wasn't that our deal?"
"Yeah, but… I didn't expect-"
"If we die, you can't go home. You…do realize that, don't you, Ms. Rose?" Ozpin's soft demeanor fades a bit, allowing a subtle glint of cold calculation to glimmer through. He doesn't have to say it, but his eyes and words are enough to tell Ruby that she WILL cooperate.
"I… I…" Ruby stammers before relenting. "Okay… I'll… I'll do it."
"Well, that settles it. Now lie down," Salem orders Ruby, gently but firmly pushing her to lay her back on the table. Ruby looks up at the witch as she stands at the end of the table above her head. Salem drags her fingers near Ruby's temples, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she makes eye contact with her.
Summer continues to watch from the sidelines, her gut feeling still punching at her.
"And remember," Ozpin says to Salem before the procedure begins. "Try not to break her soul."
"Huh?!" Before Ruby can react, Salem presses her fingers against her temples, throwing her into a deep sleep.
"NO!" Ruby's chilling wails fill the laboratory.
Summer watches in horror, seeing Ruby squirm and fight helplessly in her unbreakable slumber. Her wails and groans are a mix of pain, grief, and sorrow, any emotion Salem digs up from the depths of her soul. The witch's eyes are closed, and her fingertips remain pressed against Ruby's temples, their auras linked together as a red and purple chain. Every scientist and sorcerer observe in silence, none of them tearing their eyes away from the scene or plunging their ears to block out Ruby's cries.
Ozpin stands off to the side with Glynda, hands resting on his cane and eyes glued to the scene with a calculating gaze.
He's really not gonna stop this, is he? Summer glances over to Ozpin before looking back to Ruby. She knew it. She freakin' knew it! Nothing good was meant to come from this so-called study. Moments ago, everything seemed fine until Ruby started screaming her head off. She knows they have to find a way to stop her daughter, but digging around in someone's soul just to do it? And with the way Ruby is screaming her lungs out, this may as well be torture!
"Yang! Weiss! Blake! Where are you!?" Ruby continues to scream and fight in her sleep, Salem's magic having a tight grip on her mind.
"Lord Wizard," Glynda speaks loud enough for Ozpin to hear her over Ruby's shrills. "Have… Have we gone too far?"
"It's too late for that, Ms. Goodwich," the wizard replies, his eyes still glued to Ruby and Salem without a hint of remorse. "We may never get a chance like this again. We have to keep going, for humanity's sake."
Summer growls through clenched teeth. Humanity's sake my-
"MOM! MOM!"
Summer snaps back to the screaming girl, memories of her Ruby resurfacing again. She has to do something, but what? She's a ghost, what can she do? At that moment, her mind goes back to the conversation she and Ruby had earlier and the silliest thought came to mind.
"I can't be serious!" She shakes her head and chides herself. "Possession?! Really?! How can I even do that?!" She looks back to Ruby and Salem, seeing their auras mingled together. If Salem can somehow get into Ruby's soul, can she do the same? Her gaze drops to her ghostly hands, a shimmer of her own aura flowing out as a white mist. She can't believe she's actually suggesting it.
This better work…
Throwing her faith behind this seemingly ridiculous hunch, she grabs Ruby and pours her aura into the mix.
"What the…." Summer's words fall short, and her thoughts draw a blank.
She finds herself standing in the middle of a rose field, stretching as far as she can see. The sky, or what she believes it to be, is completely white with rays of light shining down. She lifts a hand like a visor and scans for the sun but sees nothing. Her gaze drops to the giant mirror-like structures standing tall in the meadow around her. Inside the mirror, she sees reflections of Ruby's memories, each playing like a large movie screen behind glass. Summer watches some of these memories play out, seeing moments of Ruby's life that are no doubt her happiest.
She sees an image of Beacon in one of the mirrors. Everything is different from the one she remembers. There are no children being relentlessly drilled by screaming huntsmen. No high walls to keep them locked up like caged animals. All of it is replaced with smiles, laughter, and kids being allowed to be…kids. Ruby really did come from a better Remnant.
She takes her eyes away from the memories and takes note of herself. Her body is solid; like she can finally feel her own weight. She repeatedly clenches her hands, making solid fists she can feel instead of disembodied hands. How long has it been since she last felt anything?
"Hm. I wonder…" Summer stretches out her hand and closes her eyes, a silver light shimmering underneath as she concentrates. In a flash, a tomahawk made of pure white light appears in her hand, her fingers wrapping around and grasping it with a tight grip. A small gasp of surprise escapes her lips from this. She swings the tomahawk, instantly changing it to a great axe. Then a scythe. A halberd. A gauntlet. A great hammer.
"How?" She asks herself, wondering how in the world she can use her power in this dream world.
Before her mind can dig any deeper, she notices something in the distance, past the field of memories and roses. She sees a giant door. No. A wall. One of those high walls used for keeping people out and locking something in. Like the walls of Beacon. She sighs heavily at the memory but pushes it aside and walks towards the wall.
The area around her gradually changes as she steps closer to the door, the lush and vibrant rose field turns to a wilted and dried wasteland, and the white sky dims out to a foreboding black. Summer looks up at the giant door, immediately noticing that it's cracked open, wide enough for a person to slip through. A soft breeze reaches through the door and brushes her cheek, carrying a black fog seeping out with an eerie grace. Something is behind this door, but what? Where is Ruby and the witch?
The doors answer her unspoken question with a long groan, slowly morphing into an echoing wail sending a chill through her soul.
"Ruby…"
She has her answer and knows where she must go.
Summer pushes open the doors and steps into the whispering shadows of Ruby's mind. The darkness around her fades away in seconds, placing her smack dab in the middle of a kingdom under siege. She recognizes this place.
Atlas.
Standing on the high rooftop of a building, Summer witnesses a raging war at the edge of a floating kingdom. Hordes of Grimm clash with Atlesian forces, beasts against man and machines, with both sides struggling to outmuscle each other. A gigantic black whale rests beyond the horde, deploying more Grim to feed the conflict.
Is this…when Ruby attacked Atlas? She wonders, thinking back to when Little Red wiped Atlas off the face of Remnant. No. This is different. She had that manta ray, not a whale. And there were a lot more Grimm…
She sees another wall just beyond the whale and the black tide of Grimm, another door leading deeper into Ruby's subconsciousness. Ruby's painful wails echo over and drown out the bellowing roars of Grimm and the thundering firepower of the Atlesian military, a more haunting cacophony than the war can ever make. What is Salem doing to her?
Hold on. I'm coming.
Beacon Academy; even in another timeline this place turns to rubble and ash.
Summer stands in front of another large gate; its towering frame is left cracked open and leads to yet another part of Ruby's mind. What buried memory will it take her to this time? After passing through that first gate, Summer witnessed a lot going on in Ruby's head. Each gate she pushed through led from one bad day to another. The events leading to Atlas' fall. The battle at Haven. Tyrian hunting her and poisoning Qrow. And now…
She looks back at the blazing school, watching the voracious inferno swallow it all with suggestive shadows of monsters lurking within its flames. It's ironic. She saw this place in Ruby's happiest memories, but now…
Turning her attention back to the massive gate, she pushes it open and slips inside.
Immediately after stepping through, Summer finds herself in the middle of a forest. It is nighttime, at least that's what it appears to be. The sky is still dark with looming clouds overhead, but a faint light lurks behind the darkness, not completely shining through.
"NO!"
Ruby's cries are much clearer now —a lot closer. Without a second thought, Summer takes off in the direction of Ruby's voice, the constant cries and pleads pushing her into a hard sprint. She bursts out of the woodline, coming up on a cliffside where she immediately spots Ruby and Salem at its edge. Ruby is on her knees, groveling in front of a small stone grave with the witch standing next to her.
Salem looks nothing like she does in the waking world. Nothing like Cinder. Summer can't see her face, but the straight blonde locks of hair running down her back are enough to show this is what she actually looks like. But what draws Summer's attention the most is another giant wall in front of the cliff, this one being closed tight. The witch rests her hand on the door, gently caressing it as she speaks to Ruby.
Summer rushes, her stride not losing an ounce of speed. Can she fight while in someone else's head? She's about to find out. Her soldier instincts kick in, acting with movements so swift and intentions so clear, she summons a giant hammer of light with both hands, lunges at the witch, and swings.
To her dismay, Salem vanishes like a phantom, avoiding the great hammer as it slams against the massive gate with a loud, echoing bang.
Salem reappears a few feet away, raising her eyebrows with a glimmer of surprise in her light blue eyes. "This is…unexpected," the witch tilts her head in curiosity. "You're dead."
"Get out of her head. Now." Summer demands coldly as she turns around to face her.
"No, I don't think I will," the witch chuckles smugly. "Not before I get her to open this door here. I've come this far, and I'm too invested to stop now."
Summer gives a quick glance at the giant door behind her, noticing shimmering white light peeking over its walls. "What's behind the door?"
"Not sure yet," Salem answers with a slight shrug. "Most likely a memory her subconscious keeps locked away, like the others. You saw them, didn't you? This girl has a lot weighing on her mind, wondering what things could've been and whatnot."
"Mom…" Ruby's voice comes out as a choked-up sniffle.
Summer looks down at her, seeing the sniffling girl clutching her fingers tightly on the corners of the small gravestone. She notices writing engraved on the face of the stone, a name she easily recognizes.
Summer Rose. Thus kindly, I scatter.
It's strange seeing her name on a grave that isn't hers.
"I sense a power behind this door," Salem says, looking up at the shimmering light peeking over the wall. "Thanks to her, I'm starting to understand what gives you silver eye warriors your formidable strength and tenacity. And thanks to her…weak will, I have an idea of its weakness."
"Weak-willed?" Summer repeats with a hiss, snapping her gaze back at the witch. "You screw around in someone's head and have the nerve to call them weak-willed?"
"If these mental walls are not a clear message, then what is?" Salem's expression turns serious, her patience finally wearing thin. "Now, unless you're willing to tell me how to best Little Red, I strongly suggest you move."
"Get… Out…." Ruby manages to say through her sobs, slowly getting back on her feet."
"Did you say something, girl-"
"I said GET OUT!" Ruby screams at the top of her lungs as she whips around, her pain clear in her eyes and tears still streaming down her cheeks. "You had no right to put me through those memories! No right!"
"No right?" Salem arches an eyebrow. "Girl, I'm not here to play therapist. I'm here to learn about those eyes of yours. Now quit being selfish and open that door."
"Selfish? You think I'm being selfish?!"
Salem rolls her eyes with a scornful scoff. "I don't have time for this." She shoots out her arm, morphing it into a giant tendril barreling straight for the pair. Summer tries to push Ruby out of the way and take the brunt of the force, but the tendril is too quick. The witch slams and pins the silver eye warriors against the door, pressing with enough force to squeeze the air out of their lungs —if this were in the physical world.
Summer grunts through clenched teeth, struggling against the tendril with all her might. Ruby —on the other hand— let out a strangled cry, completely powerless against the witch. Tears stain her cheeks, and her eyes are full of sheer terror and panic.
"You've wasted your time coming in here, White Death," Salem calls Summer by the nickname given to her during the Great War. "That girl is the only one who can push me out. But her mind is so weak that I could've devoured her soul if I wanted to. I'll admit, if it weren't for Ozpin, I would've done so and learned about those eyes that way. Oh well…" She sighs and closes her eyes for a brief moment, opening them to show a different set of eyes.
Those cocky, light blue eyes quickly change to black and glowing red, a jarring glimpse of the twisted monster behind her normal appearance. "Open the door. Now." she hisses at Ruby with an inhuman echo, pressing harder on the two. "I would hate to have an accident."
Ruby cries out even more from the crushing pressure, but she won't give in. She still has some fight left in her, but for how long? Summer —fighting through her own share of the pain— remembers what Salem said moments ago. If Ruby isn't strong enough to push the witch out, then maybe… She thinks back to the war, how she used her power to help soldiers in her company keep their minds together and embolden them through the toughest battles.
She reaches for Ruby's hand, stretching and fighting for every inch.
"What do you think you're doing?" Salem's words come off more as a demand than a question.
Summer grabs Ruby's hand.
"We need to stop this! Now!" Glynda shouts.
The situation with Ruby has grown a lot more violent. Ruby's screams have become fierce and bloodcurdling, swinging her fists and kicks wildly. Salem's jaw clenches with gritting teeth and extra effort, struggling to keep hold of Ruby's mind.
Ozpin stares in shock and awe. In his eyes, he watches the air come alive with Ruby's aura swirling against Salem's in a fight for control. In the midst of this spiritual warfare, he notices a third color fighting in the struggle, helping the red aura. White.
White aura? Where-
"Ozpin!" Glynda shouts his name rather than his title, snapping him out of it. "We're stopping this! Now!"
He nods; the situation is escalating. But a part of him, the part that wants to learn more about silver eyes, begins to wonder. What if Salem is close to unlocking what they are looking for? What if interfering would cause them to lose that chance?
Suddenly, everything stops abruptly. Salem's eyes snap open, coming back to herself and staggering back from the table. Her eyes burn with a crimson glare of disdain and fury, her teeth gritting into a snarl. "NO!" She shrieks. "I was so close!"
Ruby jolts awake with a deep gasp, eyes flying wide open and looking around frantically.
"Ms. Rose?" Ozpin calls out as he moves to check on her.
Ruby snaps her gaze at him, a look of rage staring him down. She jumps off the table and backs away. Ozpin pauses, raising both eyebrows with a perplexed stare. Ruby's anger and reaction towards him isn't what makes him pause. With what he allowed to happen, her anger is valid.
White aura flows from Ruby's soul instead of her usual red color. "You're…not Ruby Rose…"
"Don't ever touch her again!" Summer bellows at Ozpin. Her anger and disgust aren't just aimed at him; her voice stings with enough venom to make the entire lab visibly recoil. With full control of Ruby's body, she wraps herself in Ruby's cloak and blasts off with a burst of petals, crashing open the lab's double doors and taking off down the hallway.
"Alert the guards!" Glynda yells an order, quickly snapping out of her shock the moment the whirlwind of rose petals bursts out of the lab. No one in the lab dares to move, still reeling from the impact of Summer's voice. Glynda looks around. "Why are you standing around? Alert the guards! I want every access point to the city blocked off! She must NOT leave the upper level!"
Ozpin closes his eyes and sighs tiredly under his breath. At the rate things are going, the situation won't be easy to contain. The best they can do is secure and contain Ruby before she flees into the city. He can at least come up with some excuse for the coming commotion. But if the masses were to see her face…
He looks over to Salem who is visibly seething with anger. Suppose this is the first time she loses to someone in a mental duel. From what he saw, Ruby didn't win alone, especially not against someone like Salem.
"Summer Rose…" Of all things to happen during this experiment, the soul of one of his best huntresses —a silver eye warrior, mind you— turns up in the body of a girl from another world —who also has silver eyes.
Hm. Interesting.
He focuses back on the witch. "Salem, tell me what you saw."
Welcome back everyone!
I hope you've enjoyed the chapter. I'll try to chapter 11 out as soon as I can. But until then, Outlandish Storyteller, sighing out.