"I warn you against shedding blood, indulging in it, and making a habit of it, for blood never sleeps."
- Saladin
"Red Riding Hood thought to herself: 'As long as I live, I will never leave the path by myself to run into the wood, when my mother has forbidden me to do so.'"
- Little Red Riding Hood (The Brothers Grimm)
Legends.
Stories scattered through time.
Tales and memories of conflict echo through the ages, of the eternal struggle of life.
Man against beast.
Light against darkness.
Order against chaos.
Control against freedom.
Nonetheless, life continues on. Life endures and pushes through, moving past the boundaries and flourishing into something brand new.
Strife is the eternal constant, the driving force that the world builds itself upon. It has been that way since the very beginning, and it will continue until it consumes its creation entirely.
However…
…perhaps a simpler soul is all that one truly needs.
Someone with the heart and compassion to realize that it is not hardship that moves the world around, but the faint ember of hope that lies in all hearts despite it.
A hope that the dawn will rise to sweep away the cold fear of night.
A hope that tomorrow will come, better and brighter than ever.
A hope that inspires one to fight on despite all that stands before them, reaching for the distant star of victory.
Downtown, Vale
The shattered moon of Remnant overlooked another beautiful night out in the city.
The golden glow of lamplight illuminated calm streets. A few people walked along the sidewalk, passing by city blocks lined with structures of brick and concrete. Some old cars rested on the side of the asphalt road, undisturbed and adding a splash of color in the night.
The din of traffic lights disturbed the peaceful calm, making a presence just above the low chatter of passersby in conversation.
It was a simple life, led by simple souls.
And Ruby Rose was a soul who enjoyed such a life to its fullest.
The young girl strolled down the street in a black dress, her wide silver eyes darting all around her from under a bright crimson hood and cape. Her mouth gaped open in sheer awe of the sights that surrounded her, glimmering into a brilliant smile.
"Wow… I almost forgot how much the city comes alive at night!"
Living further away on the small island of Patch, Ruby made trips to the city of Vale on occasion, but never enough to feel truly familiar with the thriving capital of the Kingdom of the same name.
Therefore, she treasured every opportunity she could snatch to venture outside of Patch, and Vale was a perfect destination.
"Kinda wish Yang was here… soon she'll have less time to hang out once she's in Beacon…"
Ruby mumbled to herself, switching tracks on her headphones as she let the music guide her movements and uplift her mood.
"Ooh! I love Void_Chords!"
Humming a tune and miming an air guitar with wild gestures, she bounced down the street and got back on track with a pep in her step.
"Gotta get Yang a present to celebrate!" Ruby grinned with determination blazing in her eyes, pressing on to explore the city further.
"Now what would she like…?"
Ruby pondered out loud, cocking her head about through various shop windows on the roadside.
"Music? Eh… maybe another day." Ruby walked past a record shop.
"Some snacks? Uhh… darn it, I forgot she's on a diet!" Ruby eyed the strawberry cheesecake in a bakery with eager, starry eyes.
"A new scroll!..." Ruby turned to stare into an electronics shop.
"...too expensive."
Then promptly skipped onward.
After a good hour of scouring the city, her hands wrung around her cape, wrapping it around herself as a sort of blanket as she groaned to herself.
"Ah, man! It's getting late! I don't know what to get her! Think, Ruby!"
Hopping in place like a lit crackler, Ruby's boots tapped incessantly against the floor as she tried to think her way through this pressing dilemma of hers while her hands continued to tug her cape closer over herself.
She loved her sister dearly, and the thought of letting her down tore at her greatly.
"What to do…"
Then a car passed by the road, drawing Ruby's eye across the road to a lit shop proudly presenting its name up front, "FROM DUST TILL DAWN".
Ruby's eyes sparkled with familiarity.
"Ooh! Punny! Yang'll love it!"
Trotting across the road, she entered the modest Dust shop without a moment of hesitation, smiling widely as she drank in the welcoming atmosphere of the establishment.
The lights cast a golden warmth to complement the wooden furniture, allowing Ruby to see the bright, vibrant colors of Dust shine through the crystals and tanks all throughout the shop.
Dust was the lifeblood of the world they lived in, it was the miracle that empowered the cities and allowed humanity to push back against their enemies.
Without Dust, the Remnant Ruby knew would simply not exist.
Ruby's eyes danced along the rainbow of colors all around the shop, giving a quick nod to the elderly shopkeeper before her eyes locked onto a new prize.
"Weapons Magazine! The newest issue!" Ruby's smile exploded tenfold as she snatched the magazine from a bookshelf and eagerly flipped through the pages.
"I can't believe it's out here! Thought Patch wouldn't get it for another month! Vale just has everything, huh?..."
Ruby's eyes danced along the pages, a twinkle forming in them as her excitement and wonder at each crazy design of weapon presented itself to her.
Ruby always had an eye for these things, it was a passion that she held very dear to her. After all, a weapon was the extension of one's own self, a display of your personality and creativity just as much a tool to fight back against whatever stood in your way.
It was a philosophy that Ruby took to seamlessly, these thoughts bringing her to the heavy device strapped to the small of her back underneath her cape.
"Crescent Rose…"
Ruby continued to browse, her expression glowing as she read through more designs and weapons.
"Foam grip would be comfier… Ooh! Triple transformations! What should I make mine? The rifle's cool enough, but Uncle Qrow has that and he's the coolest! So then-"
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something shine.
Peeking over her little piece of paradise, she gazed down the path and locked onto a figure standing over a shelf.
She couldn't make out his face, covered by a white hood. His hand traced over several book covers on the shelf, but what caught her eye was not the sword at his hip but his other arm.
Covering his left forearm was a large bracer covered in a metal plate, decorated by an engraved triangular insignia, and ending in a fingerless glove. His hand was in constant, rhythmic motion, flicking up and down.
Turning her eyes downward, Ruby could make out the sight of a tiny, thin, metal blade retracting and extending from underneath his wrist.
Ruby's eyes widened at the sight. She had seen all kinds of weapons and loved to see just how creative and insane people could get with their designs. The man she watched seemed to carry very simple weapons by comparison.
Swords were the quintessential weapon, and so many variations could be spun on them Ruby could barely list them off the top of her head.
However, that strange… hidden blade caught her eye. She had hardly ever seen the like.
Many in Remnant settled to carry a single weapon with multiple forms, a veritable all-in-one multipurpose tool to handle any situation with ease. Furthermore, it added to the belief in the significance one's weapon held to one's sense of self.
With a single look at that bracer, Ruby could tell with a blink of an eye that this blade, despite its far inferior size, was far more his personal weapon than the sword on his belt.
A sight that completely baffled her.
Swallowing a nervous gulp, Ruby took a cautious step forward as she summoned her courage to approach the young man.
Slowly but surely, she creeped closer, keeping her silver eyes trained on him as he continued to scan the bookshelves, seemingly lost in thought.
Ruby stepped as carefully as she could, trying not to alert him. Part of her was unsure why she was being so cautious, though…
Was it out of a desire not to disturb him?
Or perhaps was it because she felt an air of mystery leaking from his entire presence?
Or maybe it was because of the bad vibes she was receiving from that bracer-mounted weapon he had-
"What is it?"
Ruby yelped and staggered backwards at the sudden question, taken by complete surprise as the boy now turned his head to face her.
His eyes were an icy blue-gray, his lips tightly knit in a seemingly permanent expression of annoyance. Ruby could feel his gaze piercing through her, as if it could freeze her completely solid with his frigid demeanor alone.
"Well?"
He spoke again, snapping Ruby out of her state of shock.
"A-ah! I'm sorry to bother you! I-it's just… I was wondering about that bracer of yours! It looks like nothing I've ever seen! Is that your weapon? What about that little blade? How-"
Ruby continued to stammer along, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment with a nervous smile. While she rambled, she inched closer to the object of her intrigue, reaching out a hand hoping to touch the bracer.
"Hey-! Hands off."
The hooded boy lightly shoved her hand away, his gaze flickering to the side as his frigid aura remained unchanged. Tucking away his bracer arm, he took a step back away from Ruby, confusing her.
Ruby kicked herself mentally. She was never much of a conversationalist or a sociable person, that was always Yang's department. Her sister was popular all her life, while Ruby was content to stick to herself and toy with her family and Crescent Rose.
While she enjoyed this simple way of living her life, Ruby was always left nervous when it came to meeting new people, much less when they looked at her like they wanted nothing more to be elsewhere.
"Oh… I'm sorry. I-it's just… I'm seriously into weapons, I really dig how wild their designs could be, so I thought your bracer looked so cool! I didn't mean to bug you!"
Ruby giggled anxiously, before taking a step back and clapping her hands in a praying gesture, hoping to appease him in some way, to hopefully ease the frigid air between them.
Silence followed, the hooded man's mouth slowly hanging open as Ruby's nervousness only brewed further, not helping at all to ease the tension.
"You… think it's… cool." The man muttered, almost unsure of the words he was speaking. Almost as if he was confused, if a bit embarrassed at the implication.
"So I'm not the only one…" Ruby cringed mentally before speaking up again.
"Y-yeah! I really like unique weapons! With them you can really tell a lot about someone! Little things in the details and design, it says so much! My sister has these crazy shot-gauntlets called Ember Celica for example! They help her pack a mean punch and move around in the blink of an eye! Simple, but you can count on them to get the job done, just like her! O-oh, not like I'm saying simple is bad, it's just-"
"Hey, kid."
Ruby abruptly stopped when the hooded man interrupted her, making her realize she was rambling again. Thoroughly embarrassed, she felt heat rise into her cheeks as she gripped her cape once again, nervousness once more taking ahold of her.
"No offense at all… but I like my personal space. So… just leave me be, and we'll be good. Alright?" He spoke plainly, his voice rigid but wary all the same, Ruby feeling the sting of guilt in her heart as she stepped backwards.
Lowering her own hood over her head, Ruby dejectedly turned around and started to walk away. "I… Alright. I'm sorry for bothering you…"
Ruby hugged her cape closer to her body as she felt sadness creep over her. She had stepped too far and now she had been a bother to that man. What kind of girl was she if she let that happen? How-
"Um… what you said back there… about the uniqueness of weapons…"
Ruby's face lifted as she slowly turned back around, facing the hooded man as he raised a finger to his chin, scratching nervously.
"It's an interesting perspective. Well spoken."
The words were subtle, but they washed Ruby's sadness away in a blink of an eye, especially when she noticed the tiny visage of a smile on his face.
"He doesn't hate me! Thank goodness!" Ruby screamed mentally as her smile returned in full force.
"Hey, thanks-"
"Shh!"
Ruby stopped suddenly as her new friend abruptly shifted in tone, turning to face the door and his entire posture suddenly guarded and on edge, as if preparing for something.
Leaning against one of the bookshelves, Ruby could only blink in confusion as he raised his bracer arm, squinting as he did so, almost like he was trying to stare right through the shelf.
"H-hey, what's going on-" Ruby whispered awkwardly, not knowing what to do.
"Get down. Be quiet!" The man gestured for her to drop, leading Ruby to crouch next to him by the shelf.
Ruby waited amidst tense silence, which was promptly broken once the door's chime rang out, followed by the shuffle of footsteps. Peering slightly around the shelf, Ruby caught sight of the new patrons of the shop.
Almost all of the men were clad in black suits and hats, bearing shades colored the same bright blood red as their blades. Strolling in en masse, the man she could only assume was their leader stepped in, puffing smoke from a cigar nestled between his fingers as he twirled a cane in his free hand.
This man was quite a character, curls of orange hair concealing his right eye peeking from a bowler hat. Dusting off a white suit, he strode up to the cashier and rested his arms atop the counter, a devilish smile on his face.
"Man, do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late? Lucky us!" He declared, right as one of the men beside him raised a pistol to the old cashier's head, causing all the customers to panic, filing out of the shop as the old man raised his shaking arms.
"P-please! Just take the money and spare me!" He begged, frightened for his life.
The ringleader however, shook his head and waved his cigar in his face gently. "Hey now, calm down old man. I'm not here for money."
Turning to his henchmen, the ringleader nodded as he placed the cigar back in his mouth. "Help yourselves, gents."
The men started getting to work, revealing bags and canisters. One group went to the tanks, siphoning as many processed Dust as they could into their containers, filling their bags with as much as they could carry.
Another group remained at the counter, slamming a bag on top and once again pointing a gun at the cashier.
"Fill the bag. All the crystals you got, on the double!"
Ruby watched the old man work while shaking fearfully from head to toe. Receding back behind the shelf, she could only sit in silence, wondering what to do next.
"Looks like they're robbing the store…!" Ruby muttered, as the hooded boy beside her nodded silently.
He continued to lean against the shelves, turning his gaze between her position and up beyond into the store. His expression was locked in one of internal conflict as his bracer hand shifted and fidgeted, as if a nervous tic.
Inhaling sharply, the hooded boy turned to squarely face her.
"Listen to me. You need to get out of here now. I'll distract them, and when I do, you make a break for the door, got it?" He whispered to her, his voice grave and firm.
Ruby blinked in confusion, turning over the shelf to the door, between them the large group of henchmen currently stripping the store down one shelf at a time.
Ruby stood silent before she turned back to her acquaintance.
"B-but what about you?" She asked.
The man blinked much like Ruby initially did, as if trying to process her question and it not computing with his brain. Shaking his head, his frown deepened.
"Don't worry about it! I'll be fine! You just get out safe, you hear me?!" He insisted amidst clenched teeth and a hushed voice that struggled to contain itself.
Narrowing his eyes, the man assumed a stance, eyes trained underneath his hood. Ruby took that as her cue to get ready as well, hands on the ground as she took a knee, her internal energy building as she prepared to move.
The man raised a hand as Ruby looked over her shoulder to take notice. Grinning, she continued to let her Aura surge, her soul flowing with her inner power. She could feel something similar rise within her ally as he slowly raised his hand.
One second passed.
Two.
On three, he swung his hand down.
NOW!
Ruby summoned her Semblance, the hidden power of her Aura as she felt her body disassemble and reform as a flurry of bright red rose petals, a blur of crimson moving faster than bullets could fly as she rounded the shelves and into the fray.
She heard a loud crack as the air suddenly filled with a thick smoke, covering the entire store in a dense fog, sending the robbers into a blind panic.
"Wha-"
"The hell-!"
The seconds ticked by like hours as her mind was split. Moving as fast as she did, the smoke cut apart in her wake, but she also had to act within fractions of instants.
She remembered how the hooded boy insisted she run, to make it through the door and to not look back. She could have easily done so, she had every confidence that boy could handle himself. She had seen that bracer and what had intrigued her the most about it was what she could discern about its purpose.
Many weapons in Remnant were big and flashy. The most prominent were wielded by the Huntsmen and Huntresses, noble and brave warriors who defended the people against the ravenous Creatures of Grimm.
They fought against monsters larger than life, mindless and savage killing machines that overwhelmed their quarry through vast size, uncountable numbers, or sheer brute power. Thus, most weapons in the world were built to stand against hordes, to slay giants, and to match that power with every bit the wielder's own.
However, that hidden blade was small, concealed, and from what she could tell, very delicate. It was a weapon not to be seen by passing eyes, to be seen by none but whoever would feel its fatal kiss.
Grimm were not smart or observant enough for this to be a factor, and if he were to use it as his main weapon against them, the hooded man could easily snap it from sheer overuse in a pitifully short span of time. That is, if he didn't make a single fatal mistake and break them with sloppy handling.
That left only one conclusion, one that chilled Ruby deeply.
That was not a blade meant for Grimm.
It was an assassin's tool.
A blade designed entirely around the purpose of dealing a swift, decisive strike when a target least expected.
A weapon built to deal almost exclusively with people.
Who was this guy to carry such a device? What was his story?
She had every confidence that this man could easily handle fighting other people if his weapon told her anything, all without even considering that sword he carried on his person as well.
She could run and leave him to his devices. Even if he held such a sinister weapon, she still noted that flicker of kindness in his actions when they talked, even if he was standoffish and icy.
She saw that hint of a smile and knew he had to be a good person at the very heart of things.
He could very easily fight off everyone in the store and emerge in one piece, and Ruby could leave and act like tonight never happened.
However…
"OVER HERE!"
…that wasn't how Ruby liked to do things.
Ruby sharply turned away from the door as soon as she activated her Semblance and instead turned to the gang's leader.
Rushing behind him was her new friend, his bracer arm wound back as the blade underneath jutted out menacingly. His expression was cold, but immediately upon seeing her as well as her battle cry, his face morphed into pure shock as he took a dive, rolling on the floor.
"GKHH-!"
Just in time as Ruby's body slammed directly into the ringleader's body, causing him to crumple on the floor in a heap.
As she moved, the smoke in the air blew away in a flash. Her body reformed as the henchmen all recovered amidst the clearer air, all locking eyes with her, their leader, and the hooded boy.
"W-what the hell?! I told you to run, you foolish girl!"
The hooded man yelled out in frustration, growling as he rose to his feet.
"I can fight! So that's what I'm gonna do!" Ruby proclaimed as she reached for the weapon strapped to her belt.
"IDIOTS! DO SOMETHING!"
The gang leader yelled out furiously as he started to rise as well, propping himself on his cane with a murderous glare in his visible eye.
Moving into action, the large group of goons raised their weapons at the pair of them.
"HANDS UP!"
Ruby acted without a moment's hesitation.
"GET DOWN!"
Yelling at the hooded boy, she immediately reformed her Semblance, bursting into a mass of rose petals and rocketing into the first goon she could reach, sending him flying through the window as it shattered into thousands of fine shards in her wake.
Reforming herself, Ruby felt her hood slide off her hair as it flowed free in the wind like her long cape. Pressing a button, the mechanism of Crescent Rose's transformation function triggered. Metal slided and unfurled, extending and blossoming into a truly massive weapon.
Crimson plates unfolded and revealed a long shaft. Ruby's fingers wrapped around a trigger mounted on the grip as the weapon's long and curved blade was released from the gun's barrel.
Now a humongous scythe nearly twice her own height, Ruby grinned widely as her beloved Crescent Rose emerged once more, eager to play.
Spinning the weapon's massive weight around, she slammed the blade into the asphalt road with such force it cracked under her boots, facing the crowd of angry gangsters as they raised their own weapons at the ready, eager for battle.
"She's got such a big weapon… and a Semblance… She a Huntress or somethin'?" One man asked.
"She's too tiny! She's gotta be a student at least! One of 'em Beacon squirts!" Another barked.
"Whatever! Either way, she's dead!" The third shouted, as all men moved in, hungry for blood.
Ruby was just as eager to deny them.
A volley of bullets rained her way, and Ruby dissipated once more into her Semblance, bullets sailing through the petals as she dove between them and straight at the gunmen.
No matter how fast they shot, she would be faster.
Reforming in an instant, she spun her scythe and cleaved the weapons into piles of scrap, using her weapon's blunt sides and massive weight to slam into her attackers, knocking them aside into submission.
Those with blades rushed in as well, but Ruby was much quicker, kicking her feet off the ground and clenching the trigger on Crescent Rose, causing a powerful shot to explode from the barrel at the scythe's head.
The force of the blast launched Ruby backwards and into her attacker, Ruby kicking him in the gut and flooring him, using her momentum to spin her body and wind up a massive slam, firing her gun again to force the blade rocketing into the ground with a massive shockwave, stunning everyone around her.
While Crescent Rose was much larger than Ruby was, she used this to her advantage, wielding her body in conjunction with her weapon in a true and deadly harmony. Something these men couldn't match at all.
More men moved in from all sides, but Ruby grinned as she gripped her weapon tighter, still embedded in the ground and swung her body with all her might, landing a mean roundhouse kick on two goons as the weapon spun and eventually came loose, Ruby then winding up another swing as she slashed in a sweeping motion, knocking back all the thugs that surrounded her.
Turning back to the store, she recalled the gang leader.
Gasping, she ran to return, only to see a battle was already going on inside.
The ringleader wielded his cane like a weapon, trying to deflect the strikes of her hooded friend, who was now resorting to using his sword.
The hooded boy swung viciously, trying to wear the leader down as he grunted, holding up his defense as he could only hold on while her friend left little in the way of striking back.
Swing after swing landed, and the leader could only growl in frustration. Eyeing one of the Dust crystals dropped on the floor, the leader then promptly pushed her friend off and pointed his cane's bottom at the crystal.
Ruby's eyes widened as well as her friend's as a small target sight flipped out from the cane as she could only brace for-
*KABOOM!
A great explosion rang out from the Dust shop, causing Ruby to panic, remembering that they were not alone in the shop.
The gang leader stumbled out first, breathing heavily and adjusting his bowler hat.
Sweat dripped from his forehead, his back hunched as he could only catch his breath. Meanwhile, Ruby could only stare in shock and deep fear, remembering the old man who was still inside.
*schink
A brief second passed before Ruby processed the sight of the gangster's eyes going wide and turning to just barely catch her hooded friend's arm as he leapt out from the smoking window, blade extended menacingly from under his wrist.
The hooded man slammed into his target, his hand trembling as he struggled to push it down into his body.
The gangster wasn't doing much better, fighting for his life as he could only grit his teeth and struggle against this killer's blade.
"Gkhhh! I can't die here! Not yet…!" He growled, as the hooded boy only bared his teeth and pushed harder.
Ruby could only watch, unsure of what to do. Looking up, she caught sight of the old man stumbling out of the door and nervously moving away from the battle.
Ruby breathed a sigh of relief, happy that he was safe. Now to worry about what was happening between the two men remaining.
While they were prevailing, the idea of this man just… killing the gangster didn't sit right with her at all.
"H-hey! That's enough already! We've won, so let's turn him in once the police get here!" Ruby called out, causing her hooded friend to look up from his target, face puzzled.
"What-"
A second too late as the gangster drove a knee up into his attacker's stomach, pushing his body off and spinning back on his feet.
Immediately turning to face their enemy, Ruby gritted her teeth and prepared to rush him, Crescent Rose at the ready.
Just as she was about to run, she noticed the ringleader raising his cane at her. Suddenly remembering, she reacted.
"That explosion-!"
*KABOOM!
Diving out of the way, she barely escaped the ball of fire that blew chunks of road all over her. Covering her face with her cape, Ruby shook her head and came back to her senses as she scanned her surroundings, finding her attacker completely missing.
"Agh…"
Suddenly remembering her friend, Ruby rushed over immediately.
"Oh hey! Are you alright? Can you get up?"
Ruby reached out a hand, leading her friend to take it as he stared off and pointed with an alarmed expression.
"He's getting away!"
Ruby followed his finger and gasped, seeing a familiar white-suited man scaling one of the nearby buildings, nearly at the rooftop.
"Not if I can help it!" Ruby declared with determination, hoisting her weapon high, only for her friend's hand to slap onto her shoulder.
"No! He's mine! You'll only be in danger!" He protested loudly, but Ruby was a stubborn girl, especially in the heat of things.
"Then let's get him as a team!" She replied without a hint of hesitance.
Her hooded friend paused for a moment, his eyes flickering as if processing her words like a lagging computer.
Then he sighed begrudgingly.
"Fine."
Ruby's grin multiplied in size as it morphed into one of mischief.
"Sweet! Now hold on tight!"
"Wha-"
Ruby suddenly activated her Semblance, enveloping her friend and herself in rose petals as they shot through the sky in a formless blur of red and white. Skating across the road and up the side of the building, Ruby reformed on the roof, dropping her dazed friend beside her.
"Stop right there!"
Ruby called out to the figure standing on the building's edge, stopping just before the end of the roof.
"Nowhere to run, Torchwick! Surrender!" Her friend called out, Ruby mentally registering their enemy's newly dubbed name.
Torchwick stopped and turned with a cold glare. "Why? So you can throw me to the cops… or to give me a quicker death?"
Ruby cringed at the morbid question, barely registering Torchwick's next words before she heard the distinct noise of loud jet engines.
"Sorry, but I've got places to be."
Just as these words were drowned out by the scream of the engines, a tiltjet airship emerged from the alley below, rising and flashing spotlights to blind the pair. This caused them to raise their arms and stagger back as Torchwick promptly boarded the craft.
"You're dead!"
Her friend rushed off, racing in a mad dash for the craft before it could pick up in altitude, his hidden blade jutting out eager for the kill.
Ruby was about to join him until she heard Torchwick's voice rise up amidst the engine's scream.
"End of the line, Little Red!"
He tossed something that glowed bright red at her, something that caused her hooded friend to stop dead in his tracks and snap his head back to directly face her with an urgent grimace on his face.
Before she could process Torchwick firing a shot from his cane, she felt someone tackle her to the floor, right as the surging warmth of flame blanketed them.
*KABOOOOM!
Slowly opening her eyes, Ruby could only gape in wonder as she saw a bright glow of purple light amidst the rattle of gunshots.
Dispelling the flames away from her, a glowing sigil shielded her from the bullets, raised by a blonde bespectacled woman in white, raising a black riding crop that rang with power in tune with the sigil.
Ruby gasped as she could immediately tell who this person was.
"A Huntress…!"
Paying her no mind, said Huntress dispersed the sigil and redirected her Aura's power onto the ship, focusing through her weapon as a sort of wand as a faint purple glow enveloped the Bullhead's entire frame.
Ruby gawked at the sight of the large vehicle slowing down every passing second until it began to descend to their location, all while the engines were roaring at full strength.
"She's pulling that thing towards us… how powerful is she?!"
Alongside this power, the Huntress summoned her power to direct the pieces of shrapnel and rubble that surrounded them, causing the shards to glow purple as they flowed like leaf litter to surround her.
Grunting, the Huntress flung them at the ship, bombarding the engines as they began to sputter and belch smoke from the damage.
As the ship inched closer to the ground, Ruby's eyes widened again as the door opened, revealing the shadow of a figure whose hand stretched out, glowing like a savage flame.
Underneath them, Ruby gasped as a cluster of fiery sigils screamed into existence, threatening to explode and swallow them in a great inferno. Seeing this, the Huntress promptly released her hold and swept her weapon to push them out of harm's way, rolling to safety.
They both looked up to see the Bullhead now racing into the distance, untethered by the Huntress's power.
Now alone, Ruby could now breathe a sigh of relief that this crazy battle was now finally over, her first real battle against people like this.
While this was the case, she then focused onto a different realization standing beside her, dusting her blouse off with an irritated scowl.
"Y-you're… a real Huntress! I-I…" Ruby could only stammer, starstruck.
These were the warriors that defended the people of Remnant! Heroes who saved lives all over the world! The very kind of people Ruby had always dreamed of becoming!
However, the woman frowned deeply at Ruby, her emerald eyes piercing through her as if judging her deeply. She then spoke, an authoritarian and stern voice emerging from her lips.
"You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady. Furthermore, where is your partner?"
Ruby blinked, confused.
"Partner?"
The woman raised an eyebrow. "The person who saved you? Right when that first explosion happened. I couldn't shield you from the blast, but thankfully they managed to move you out of the way in time."
Ruby paused, remembering that stranger in the hood. How he had turned back to get her out of the way from Torchwick's attack. Now he had all but vanished without a trace, as if he was never here in the first place.
Not that Ruby would forget him so easily.
"He saved me… Even though…" Ruby pondered to herself, only to squeak as the older woman continued to stare discerningly, her eyes narrowing.
"He's gone… I-I'm sorry, I really don't know! I'm just as confused as you!" Ruby admitted, bowing her head a perfect ninety degrees, prompting the Huntress to sigh deeply.
"Very well. Come with me, young lady. We'll continue our discussion at the police department." She declared.
Ruby's face blanched white as a roll of sweat trickled down her forehead.
"P-police department?"
Not too far away…
Altaïr cursed under his breath as he rested against the chimney, leaning his back against the warm brick.
Not only had he failed to eliminate Torchwick, but he had fumbled three chances to strike the killing blow. He cursed his inability to complete his mission, his incompetence, and the voices of doubt whispering in his ear.
"Damn… if only she listened…"
He thought back to that odd girl, pestering him about his hidden blade, fighting against Torchwick's men all on her own with that absurdly large gardening tool.
She appeared just as naïve and innocent as those doe silver eyes, but Altaïr could not deny that she was frighteningly skilled with that scythe, well beyond her years.
He stared back at his bracer, observing his blade as he flicked it out once more.
Out.
In.
Out.
In.
A ritual of sorts.
A nervous tic he had developed over the years, as a way to distract his mind of turbulent thoughts and distractions. The rhythm of the blade is steady and sure, allowing his brain to relax and process his surroundings better.
"Curse these hands. Is this what you meant when you said I lost sight?"
Altaïr bemoaned his weakness and sank deeper into his brooding when another sound rang out.
His scroll sounded a ringtone and he retrieved the small device, opening it to find a blank number, marked by an Assassin insignia.
Sighing, Altaïr mentally prepared himself.
"Altaïr. How goes your preparation for Beacon?"
Altaïr sighed.
This was the reason he was out in the city in that Dust shop. He was there to procure supplies and Dust to prepare for Beacon Academy's famous initiation exam.
A test known for weeding out and determining truly powerful prospective Huntsmen and Huntresses by pitting them against real Grimm.
Quite a brutal test, but effective.
Altaïr was confident, as always that he could enter the Academy without issue, but he'd be a fool to take the exam without even a single ounce of Dust on him.
"I have the Dust, Mentor. Trust that I will enter the Academy with flying colors." He reported monotonously, just as he heard a light chuckle on the other side.
"Well, I certainly don't doubt your ability, Altaïr. However, do not forget why I'm sending you there. You have a long way to go before you can reclaim your honors." The voice replied, causing Altaïr to groan mentally.
He clenched his fist at the thought.
Of course he hadn't forgotten. If he was to ever reclaim his title-
No, his honor, he had much to do.
"I understand, Mentor. You have my word." Altaïr sighed.
"Good. However, that is not my reason for calling. I'm currently watching the news, and there are reports of a Dust robbery being thwarted in Vale. Anything to report?"
Altaïr paused, recalling the battle that had just recently occurred, and cringed as he prepared to report his failure.
"Yes. The Dust shop I browsed was being robbed by Roman Torchwick. He had many men with him, all armed. It's strange, though… he didn't take any money, just the Dust." Altaïr relayed over the scroll, causing the Mentor to hum in contemplation.
"Hmm… interesting. Did you manage to assassinate him?"
Altaïr cursed internally and bit his lip, spilling out the truth.
"No… There were civilians nearby. The cashier and a young huntress-in-training. Together, she and I were able to dispatch Torchwick's men, but he shot at her before I could land the killing blow." Altaïr admitted.
There was silence for a moment, before his Mentor asked another question.
"I trust she is safe, then?"
Altaïr hummed and nodded. "Yes. After I had shielded the girl from the blast, a Huntress arrived on the scene and I made my escape. I believe it was Beacon Academy's Glynda Goodwitch."
The Mentor made no reply, leaving Altaïr anxious. He had always reprimanded him for failure, especially so after the last one that sent him on the path to Beacon in disgrace, and he was expecting no less.
Then he spoke.
"Very good, Altaïr. You did well tonight."
Altaïr froze in shock, unbelieving of the words he was hearing.
"But Torchwick-" He began to protest, but was cut off.
"Can be dealt with another day. More importantly, you prioritized the lives of the innocents around you before your target. You still have a long way to earn your redemption, but you are learning your lesson. This pleases me, my boy."
Altaïr paused for a moment, memories flowing through him as he sighed with a smile on his face.
"Thank you, Arno."
The Mentor's voice continued to speak after. "Do not forget your assignment, Altaïr. You may have done well tonight, but you must still prove yourself, and that begins at Beacon Academy. Learn to fight with brothers and sisters, to wield your bonds in battle, and remember what we Assassins stand for."
Altaïr nodded and stood, turning his head up to face the shattered moon far overhead.
"I understand. I'll report back once I've passed the exam." Altaïr responded into his scroll.
"Very well. Safety and peace, Altaïr."
With that, Altaïr hung up and faced the edge of the roof, gazing down far below, focusing his vision on a soft spot on the ground.
Raising his arms, Altaïr recalled the words and his memories, remembering why he was here.
Remembering what he stood for.
Remembering what he had neglected, leading to his ruin.
Remembering what he had to reclaim.
"I work in the dark… to serve the light."
He took a deep breath.
"I am… an Assassin."
Altaïr jumped.
AECE