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Ruby looks up at Jinn. “What is being hidden from us?” She has just enough time to see Ozpin leaping forward, shouting something that is lost before the world goes white.
Jinn starts speaking, telling a tale of a young girl named Salem, wracked with grief and searching for a way to bring her fallen love back; Ruby is unable to do much more than stand and watch, eyes wide with amazement, confused by the story unravelling before her very eyes. Suddenly, the scene flickers, and she is brought to a whole new place, filled with different characters. A wave of dread washes over the silver eyed girl. It’s Qrow and her mother, Summer Rose, locked in a battle with the most fearsome Grimm Ruby has ever had the displeasure of laying eyes on. Qrow looks different, a little younger perhaps, and without the weary bags underneath his eyes that now plague him day and night. The Grimm snarls as Jinn’s voice resonates through the forest landscape around her, causing Ruby to jump. “Qrow and Summer Rose were down to their last straws, exhausted from fighting beasts for weeks on end, and realizing that it would take more than just their swords to defeat this particular creature.”
“Summer, we can’t keep doing this,” Qrow gasps, skidding out of reach of a massive claw just in time. “Your eyes.”
Summer Rose nods, and Ruby can practically see the silver fire blazing in her eyes. “Right.” She begins to walk forward, shaking off her hood and staring down the monster in front of her. The expression on her face hardens, it says, I won’t let you hurt my friends- hurt my family. You won’t hurt the people I love. You are never going to hurt anyone ever again. Then, she cries out, stumbling to one knee over a root in the ground. Summer Rose’s eyes flash, but they’re pointed down, completely missing the Grimm and failing to turn it to stone. The animalistic creature before her swipes, catching her kneeling figure with a giant claw in the back, and impaling her all the way through. It lifts her off ground before flinging her carelessly into a tree off to the side.
Tears begin to bead in Ruby’s eyes, “Mom? Mom!” she rushes towards the broken figure slumped against rough bark, reaching for Summer Rose’s hand. But she passes right through. It’s almost like she’s not there, the seemingly solid figure before her turning to mist wherever Ruby touches her. The wetness in her eyes slips down her cheeks and she curls into herself, just a little. “Mom,” she whispers brokenly, no longer expecting an answer.
A shattered cry sounds from across the clearing, and Ruby jerks her head up to see Qrow, features burning with anger and horror. He charges the unsuspecting Grimm, sweeping his scythe down in one fluid motion and cleaving its skull in two. Hastily, he retracts his weapon, ignoring the Grimm as it turns to dust behind him and sprinting towards his battlemate’s bleeding body. “Summer?” he sobs, taking the hand that Ruby couldn’t in his.
Her eyes squint open, “It’s okay,” she breathes, a bit of red dribbling out the corner of her mouth. “I love you.”
Qrow squeezes her hand tighter, pressing his face to her chest, seemingly unaware or uncaring of the blood smearing his skin and outfit. “Please don’t go,” he whimpers, “I don’t know if I can live without you.”
Summer Rose lifts a shaky hand to pet his hair gently. “You can and you will,” she says firmly, “Ruby needs you. She needs her father.” A single tear slips down her face as she tilts it down to press a kiss into Qrow’s hair, and her nose is still buried in his scent as her silver eyes finally darken.
“Summer?” Qrow questions, pulling back. He closes her eyes, shoulders quaking with the strength of his anguish. “I’ll love you forever.” With that, Ruby watches as Qrow stands up, half slicked with blood, and stumbles away.
Ruby is reeling, the words in her mind on repeat as she tries to compute all the knowledge she has just gained. Ruby needs you. She needs her father. But Tai is her father. Uncle, her brain provides. Yang is her half-sister. Cousin, the unhelpful voice pipes up in the back of her mind to correct her. Qrow wasn’t her- he was just-
“Qrow?” Ruby is snapped from her thoughts by the sound of her father's, no, her uncle’s voice. She’s standing just inside her own house, and she peeks over Tai’s shoulder to see Qrow standing in the open doorway. Qrow is cleaner than when she last saw him, hair no longer caked with blood, but his outfit still stained. Tai seems to notice as well, foreboding sinking into the lines on his face. “Where’s Summer?”
"Tai... She's not... coming." Silent tears immediately begin to slide from the dark-haired man’s red eyes, and he collapses against the hug Tai pulls him into. Ruby watches, heart clenching, as Qrow is helped through the door of her childhood home and led to the couch. She watches as Tai tries to comfort him, crying himself. She watches as Qrow explains what had happened. “It’s all my fault,” he concludes, lifting an arm to wipe his eyes with his sleeve. “My semblance-” his voice breaks, “She just tripped. It’s not fair!”
Tai rubs a soothing hand up and down Qrow’s back, “It’s not,” he agrees, “But it’s also not your fault.”
“Don’t lie to me,” Qrow spits, standing up and moving to pace in the corner. “You know I’m not safe to be around. Everything for the past two years has been fine. Great, actually. I should’ve known it was all an illusion. I can’t risk hurting anyone else.” He stops wearing a path in the floor and Ruby can tell that he’s already made up his mind. “I can’t risk hurting Ruby.” He stands there, waiting for Tai to argue.
“You don’t mean-” Tai inhales sharply, “You can’t leave her. She needs her father.”
“Funny,” Qrow says drily, “That’s exactly what Summer said.”
“It’s true.” The tears prick again at Ruby’s eyes. Her real father didn’t want her?
“Well, why don’t you be her father then?” Qrow growls, “I need a drink.”
“Qrow, wait!” Heedless of Tai’s plea, Qrow turns into his bird form, flitting out the open window, not bothering to look back.
The house around her disappears and Ruby is back in the icy cold of the real world, looking around at the reflected disbelief on all of her friend’s faces. Lastly, she hones in on Qrow, head in his hands, crumpling to the ground. How is this possible? How could she never have known? How could he never have told her? She vaguely comprehends Oscar falling to his knees, mentally battling Ozpin, but all she can do is stare at Qrow. Her father.
He lifts his head out of his hands, red eyes appearing to be even more so than usual. He seems defeated. He croaks, “I’m so sorry kid, I-”
“How could you never have told us?” Yang yells, already scorching, hair glowing with an intensity and ferocity Ruby has never seen. “At the very least you should have told Ruby! She had the right to know!” Ruby knows that her anger is explosive, and saying the smallest thing might be enough to set her off. That would probably be a bad idea, considering how ready she looks to punch Qrow in the face.
“Are we just going to ignore the fact that there are gods and stuff? Like real, actual, gods?!” The glower Yang directs at Weiss is, for once, enough to shut her up, because she quickly retreats without another word.
Yang starts advancing towards Qrow, who, to his credit, doesn’t even flinch. “You slimy little-”
“Yang, stop,” Ruby grabs her arm, pulling her back. “Please.” Ruby is overwhelmed, and yeah, kind of angry, but she also loves Qrow, even if he has been lying to her about who he really is. Who she really is.
“But Ruby, he-”
“Please,” the pain leaks out in her voice, and she surprises even herself by sniffling. “I don’t think I can do this,” she looks between her cousin and her father, “Not if you two are fighting.”
Yang takes a deep, calming breath, looking ashamed. “I’m sorry Ruby, I didn’t mean to… y’know,” she mumbles.
Ruby roughly scrubs her eyes with the heels of her palms, turning back to Qrow. He’s still sitting on the ground, anguish clear in every rigid line of his body. Ruby goes to sit next to him, only noticing the almost imperceptible trembling of his hands and shoulders once she gets closer. She leans into his chest and he hesitantly closes his arms around her, making her feel warm, making her feel safe. “I’m sorry,” she hears him murmur lowly, still holding her close.
Ruby curls up a little, leaning more weight on his lanky frame. “Just don’t leave again, okay? Don’t leave me.”
“I promise,” he says, and Ruby can tell he means it.