Riku was running down the beach to Sora's house when he bumped into a person he had never met before. Which was strange because he was pretty sure he knew everybody in the town.

She was an older kid (or maybe a younger adult?) Wearing clothes that had to be uncomfortable, an open heavy red coat with a black patch across the shoulders, a tank top with a high neck under it, and when she turned, one hand stretching out to help Riku up, he saw she was wearing a lion mask on her upper face.

"Oh," she said in a voice that Riku could only describe as broken, even as she offered her hand, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get in your way… Riku, right?"

"How do you know my name?" Riku asked.

"Terra mentioned you, I just made a guess," the girl said.

"You know Terra!?" Riku said, "How is he?"

"Not… Not good," the girl frowned, taking off a mask to show him pretty silver eyes, "Anyways, I'm Ruby, a Keyblade Master and I came to see him."

She nodded at where Sora was building a sandcastle with Kairi. Her gaze seemed to stare beyond them, a frown on her lips and her hand opening and closing as if to grab something.

"Do you want to meet him, Miss…?" Riku asked.

"Fr- Ruby," the girl said, "my name is Ruby."

"Do you want to meet Sora, Ruby?" Riku asked.

"Sure," she said, and Riku grabbed her hand, pulling her along.

"Sora!" Riku called when they were close enough, "Miss Ruby wanted to see you!"

"Miss Ruby?" Sora said, looking up at them, before pausing, "Do I… Know you? You look familiar…"

"We've never met before," Ruby said, smiling with a sad look, "I'm just a wandering minstrel."

"Minstrel?" Sora asked.

"It's an old word for someone that tells stories, Sora," Sora's Mom said, walking closer, "is that what you do, Miss Ruby?"

"Yes, I collect stories and tell them to those who need to hear them."

"Can you tell us a story, then?" Sora asked excitedly, and Ruby put a finger on her chin.

"Sure, how about I tell you the story of the Wanderer's World?"

—

Yang stared at Ruby, mouth hanging open. What did she mean, she had lost her Aura? Before she could ask, she watched Ruby place her hand to her gut and mutter something, glowing green light forming over the wound. Finally, she asked, "What do you mean 'it's gone'"?"

"'My soul,'" Ruby started, looking upwards as she did, "'corrupted by vengeance; hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey; in my own salvation; and your eternal slumber.' I lost everything, Yang, gave it all up in my war against Darkness. But it was worth it, for you and Dad."

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Yang demanded, "You think we'd want you to break yourself like this for us!? That's the last thing we would want!"

"She's right, Rosebud," Tai added, hopping into the arena.

"Maybe," Ruby said, "but it wasn't your choice to make, you weren't there, it was mine. And I made the only choice I could live with, to bear the weight of a sleeping heart until the time it returned. It was a long journey, but I'm here."

"Then why don't you sound happy!?" Yang demanded.

"I think… I forgot what that feels like," Ruby said after a minute, "I'll be back in a couple. I should probably pick up my stuff."

Before Yang could ask what that meant, a black bloom appeared around Ruby, disappearing a second later to reveal she had disappeared. Settling her heart, Yang began to walk towards Ozpin's office.

—

Ruby walked into the long untouched mausoleum, "Hey guys, I'm back. Just to grab my stuff, then I'll be off…"

Ruby took off the black coat and tossed it on the floor like a used rag, before doing the same with the shirt she was wearing under it, which was now perforated with a large hole. Grabbing a sleeveless turtleneck, she pulled it on over her, luckily untouched, bra. Then she grabbed a familiar red leather coat, pulling it on and finding it still fit her perfectly.

"I went back home," she said, "Yang wasn't happy with me, but I guess that's to be expected. Siblings don't often see the bigger picture. I mean, you all were as close as it, and you never did…"

Ruby picked up the discarded clothes before walking over to a heavy black chest, picking it up and slinging it over one shoulder. Sye looked over the sarcophagi representing her class and the one below under Master Odin, alongside the man's itself, she sighed.

"...I would have felt the same way if I could," Ruby admitted, before stepping into the darkness corrupted version of Scala as Caelum. From there, she opened a portal back to the training room at Beacon, walking through and blinking.

"Where'd Yang go?"

—