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Towards the outskirts of Vale, one would find a roaming landscape of dense forests and barren farmland. With winter fast approaching, few reliable sources of cover remained. Anything the first few miles inland from the coast was easy picking for the Grimm. Even the most inexperienced of travelers knew you’d need protection. After Beacon fell, no one was foolish enough to travel Eastern Sanus ill-prepared.
As the dark-grey sky loomed overhead, Ruby took a good whiff of the air; the moisture was palpable. If it wasn’t raining now, it’d only be a matter of time. She adjusted the hood of her cloak, pulling it firm against her hair. The cloth was far from the golden standard of keeping dry, but it would do.
From her spot leaning against a tree, the reaper turned to her team–everyone else huddled around a dim fire. Blake and Yang shared a blanket for cover; the wool’s color had faded over the years. The bumbleby duo shared a canteen filled with the team’s dwindling water supply. In between sips, the pair would share a fond glance or return to watching the flames.
The insulated clothes they had salvaged from Atlas years ago provided cold resistance but only did so much. Weiss was proof of that.
Her partner clung desperately to a fur coat, hands shivering as they rubbed together. If the former heiress with tolerance for even the harshest of chills struggled, they’d need to do something before long.
With the magic coursing in her veins, the brunette felt little of the wintry frost; it was the reason she’d given the others her share of bundled clothing and bedding. She held out a fingerless-gloved hand, a flame flicking to life at the edge of her exposed fingers. It danced between her thumb and index, vanishing as she dispelled the power.
Ruby sighed; for now, it was fine. In a few weeks, her team would reach the outskirts of Beacon. From there, the four would begin searching for the Vault of the Fall Maiden. The remnants of Team RWBY’s school had to have some supplies left–she wouldn’t worry for now.
As a stray breeze tickled the edges of her face, the reaper held her hand in front of the fire, calling upon the blaze to die. “The storm is catching up. We need to move.” Yang met her eyes with a groan but nodded as she moved to stand. Blake didn’t respond, wincing as the pain in her poor leg flared up; her partner quickly offered a hand, shooting a sober look to their leader.
Weiss clicked her tongue, “Ruby, we need to rest.”
The brunette shook her head. “There’s no time or cover out here. The last thing we need is to get caught by a hound.”
Her partner didn’t back down, meeting her gaze with a fierce glare. “It won’t help if we’re too exhausted to fight!”
Ruby looked away. She didn’t like arguing and now wasn’t the time. “We’ve got half an hour, tops, before the rain is on us.” She gestured to the surrounding barren field, “Unless we find something, it’s only a matter of time till one of us gets a cold from being drenched. We need to move. Now.” Without waiting for a response, she extended her hand, calling upon the flame to return to her.
From how her team shivered, the temperature difference was immediate. Ruby called on the magic in her once more, providing temporary relief from the elements. Using the power for longer intervals would drain her, but no one else needed to know that.
The former heiress was standing now–eyes closed as she bit her bottom lip. “...Fine.”
Returning Crescent Rose to its compact form, the crimsonette began stowing away their things, stopped by a hand resting on her shoulder. She looked back, finding her partner’s complicated expression.
“Ruby, can we talk? Please?”
She shook her head, brushing off the contact. “After we’ve made camp for the night.” Thunder rumbled overhead, growing louder with each outcry. Leading her team due north, she almost missed Weiss’ final words.
“...You always say that.”
Weiss missed her partner. To any stranger, the statement would have seemed absurd. The leader of Team RWBY was very much alive and well, carving their path closer to the inland of Vale. The former heiress meant her words in the metaphorical sense. Ruby was still present. But she wasn’t the same girl her team had known at Beacon.
The truth was, she hadn’t been the same since The Ever After.
It had culminated in her, Yang, and Blake’s fault; their negligence–the last straw to drive their leader over the edge. Weiss never stopped blaming herself, taking in the ghost of her partner.
How far the pair had fallen. From dates–but–totally–not–dates–because–they–were–too–embarrassed–to–admit–it–to–each–other in Atlas to standing at opposite ends of a crossroads, looking at a stranger.
When Ruby first remerged from the tree, they assumed her strange demeanor would subside if given time. It didn’t. When the four arrived at a Vacuo awash in flames and overrun with Grimm, the reality of how long it had been since their disappearance set in. Blake, Yang, and herself struggle to control their emotions, but not their leader. The brunette didn’t so much as flinch, picking off the creatures of darkness with methodical precision. Most bizarre, the girl favored her rifle over her scythe, explaining it saved energy when questioned. While concerning, finding out what happened came first.
The city of sand was devoid of life, occasionally littered with a corpse. Still, Ruby didn’t falter, brushing past the numerous bodies without a second thought. It was then the three of them began to grow increasingly worried.
Team RWBY happened upon Mercury and Emerald, the latter wielding the power of the Summer Maiden. The pair were guarded by a trio of hounds, searching for something.
Ruby didn’t respond to their taunts, mercilessly carving through the pack in search of blood. Her fighting style had matured, going for efficiency instead of flashiness. Every bullet’s position was calculated, the swing of her blade predicting the enemy’s path. In comparison, the rest of her team felt next to worthless.
Once everything settled, the crimsonette held her scythe against Mercury’s neck, demanding to know where Cinder went. When the man didn’t comply, she claimed his life with no remorse, moving on to Emerald like she hadn’t just killed someone.
It was then the three of them knew something was wrong.
Emerald, in tears, confessed everything she knew before being silenced in tandem. Ruby closed her eyes as the Maiden’s magic coursed through her for the first time. Against the scorching desert sun, her new control over water helped to offset some heat. Slinging Crescent Rose over her shoulder, the reaper headed toward the vault without waiting on the rest of her team.
They scrambled to catch up, paling at the two fresh kills.
Something was definitely wrong here.
Unfortunately, Shade Academy had long since been without the relic. With time wasted, Ruby fumed, calculating their next course of action. Cinder was apparently in Vale, searching fruitlessly for Beacon’s vault. If the four were lucky, they’d catch her by surprise. Halfway out the door, the brunette’s team stopped her. The trio claimed they needed to stop for rest; to plan a strategy. The leader disagreed, citing her plan to claim the power of the Fall Maiden along with the Relic of Choice. Pointing to the sun still high in the sky, Ruby argued waiting around would risk precious time. “The sooner we can get to Vale, the better.”
Her partner wasn’t having it. “What’s gotten into you, Ruby? Why are our needs unimportant to you all of a sudden?”
Ruby didn’t understand why everyone was so upset. Since they’d left The Ever After, she’d catch Yang sending concerned glances when she thought her sister wasn’t looking or Blake often glancing at her as they traveled, her face creased with worry. Worst of all was Weiss, sometimes treating her like a stranger.
Ruby didn’t understand. Her purpose was to be a leader and stop Salem. Everything else came second.
“We’ve still got the rest of the day. No point in wasting it sitting around-”
“Can you stop for even a second?!”
The brunette froze, shocked at the outburst coming from the typically reserved woman. Her sister and Blake were equally stunned, glancing between the partner duo in uncertainty.
“Ice Queen?”
“Guys, can we just calm down?”
Ruby shrugged, continuing outside to prevent an argument before it cropped up. She didn’t want to fight. She registered the frustrated grumbling of her partner as the rest of Team RWBY faltered into silence. Even with most of the city of sand in ruins, it couldn’t hurt to scavenge for supplies.
As she predicted, the darkened sky gave way to a modest downpour, slightly mitigated by Ruby’s flames. To keep their vision clear, she summoned the power of the Spring Maiden–the wind changing the rain’s direction, now blowing away from the team. With no end in sight for the dreary weather, she resigned herself to keeping the magic flowing–a regret for her future self.
Ozpin had never bothered to mention multiple of the Maiden’s blessings weren’t to be wielded by one person. Channeling the old magic was taxing in its own right; multiplying that was a recipe for disaster.
Using her abilities in short bursts would dampen the long-term effects temporarily, but Ruby knew she was running on borrowed time. It didn’t matter, only stopping Salem did; that was her purpose.
An hour in, her head began to spin, sounds growing muffled. They had trudged empty field after field, stumbling across the occasional Grimm or animal in the distance. The grass steadily grew swamped with excess water, dirtying their clothes. After the second hour, Blake’s limp grew worse; they’d need to stop soon.
Before anyone could object, she asked, “Yang, could you support her on your back?”
Her sister smiled good-naturedly but shook her head. “Arm's actin' up, sorry.”
‘Ah, right.’ That. Team RWBY’s encounter with Cinder had left the four heavily damaged, mostly physically. In the aftermath of her ambush, each member walked away differently. Ruby gained the power of a second Maiden, Yang’s arm was damaged, Blake’s leg still hadn’t healed months later, and Weiss’ left eye only gave a blurred view. Since then, the blonde’s prosthetic began to malfunction. Without a proper Atlas technician to perform maintenance Yang was out of luck. Even Ruby couldn’t decipher the jumbled mess of complicated components and wiring. “Blake, how far can you manage?”
Weiss scoffed, but the leader chose to ignore it for now.
The Faunus took a breath. “How much longer till we can stop?”
The crimsonette eyed the horizon, spotting a close cluster of leaved trees. “Not far. Here,” Ruby offered a hand, “hop on.”
Though she wasn’t one to rely on others often, Blake didn’t argue. “Mhm.”
When her mounting exhaustion flared under the additional weight, the brunette repressed a groan. Now the rest of Team RWBY needed warmth and relief from the rain. She could handle it. Not much farther now. Each step was heavy, sinking a few inches into the mud. No one spoke, born from a combination of fatigue and tension.
Their “shelter” for the night consisted of a canopy of six pine trees, young age evident by the meager height. Regardless, it would provide shelter from the rain; that was enough.
Helping her teammate settle against a dry side of the bark, Ruby set out a small collection of logs they’d brought along; the number was dwindling. Ignoring the growing buzz at the back of her head as she summoned the magic, the brunette enchanted the fuel, protecting the modest blaze from any rain.
Without waiting for a word, she deployed Crescent Rose into its sniper configuration. “I’ll take the first watch. Don’t save me a portion.” Activating her semblance, she shot up the closest tree in a flash, finding a worthy perch.
Someone below said something, probably Weiss. Another deeper voice replied-her sister.
Closing her eyes, she took in every sound: the light tap of each raindrop, the faint whistling of the wind, a far-off howl from something inhuman, and the opening and closing of packs. Ruby blinked, studying for any sign of movement beyond camp. Damn all.
Another howl, its pitch dangerously low to be considered a wolf. The reaper raised her scope in the last direction she’d heard. She held steady, watching the darkness like a hawk. Rain pelted her cloak, dripping on her effortlessly. The beast was out there. Somewhere.
Ruby would find it, and she did. There it was.
About two-hundred meters off–a lone Beowolf looked their way, sniffing the air.
She held her breath, lining up the shot. The world grew still. Silent. Everything but her rifle and prey dwindling into nothingness. With her scope set, a finger hovered above the trigger, waiting with an insatiable hunger to finish the kill.
Who was she to deny her purpose?
She pulls, and a bullet is ejected into the open air, soaring to strike the intended target. In the blink of an eye, the Grimm’s head splits open, the rest of the body already dissolving. With a satisfied sigh, she lowers her rifle. A faint scent of stale toasted bread and meat wafts into her perch.
How enticing… the same meal they’d had for ages, no doubt amongst the dwindling supplies in their stock.
It didn’t matter; Beacon would have something.
The trek didn’t get easier. Unfortunately, Blake’s worsening injury wasn’t a one-off incident. Each day, the distance she could travel lessened until putting weight on the leg wasn’t an option. Ruby didn’t mind carrying her teammate, she always offered, but it was slowing them down.
Falling behind ran the risk of Salem gaining another relic. If left unchecked, her army of hounds would only grow. Team RWBY couldn’t afford to waste time, yet here they were, forced to stop behind schedule. The dilapidated cabin was far from secure but provided ample shelter from the wind and rain. Most of the wood had rotted, creaking under every step you took. An almost-nauseating stale air surrounded the space, permeating their clothes. Shards of glass and broken furniture littered every corner of each room.
But that didn’t matter. What did were the collections of claw marks littering the front porch–the mark of a Hound.
They shouldn’t stay here, Ruby knew, but carrying the Faunus while utilizing her powers had taken a heavy toll. Each step was unsteady, accredited to a lack of rest.
She eased Blake onto a dusty couch, helping her get situated. Her teammate gave a grateful nod but winced as she stretched across the furniture.
The brunette wasted no time examining their remaining supplies–growing fewer by the day. Their waterskins could use a top-up, no issue due to her magic. Food was different–every portion of proteins and grains was low. She’d spotted a dear not long after they’d arrived. ‘Might not be a bad idea to hunt while checking the perimeter.’
She checked her ammo. ‘Fuck.’ Only two full cartridges remained, totaling a measly twenty-four shots. Relying on her scythe so far in the wild would waste vital energy for future travel. Everything counted. Ruby didn’t notice her sister kneeling until a familiar warmth clung to her side.
Yang met her eyes with a tense smile, voice low, “Finally got Blakey asleep. How’re supplies?”
Ruby looked back to their collection of packs with a sigh. “We’re too low on the essentials to be sitting around for even a day.” The reaper knew her team needed rest, but RWBY didn’t have time.
Her sister grimaced, “I know, Rubes. But we all need rest.” Lilac found silver. “Even you.”
Ruby held back a snappy retort. She didn’t need rest. She needed to find and stop Salem once and for all–that was her purpose. The brunette checked her rifle, slinging it over her shoulder. “I’m going to hunt while on patrol.” When her sister moved to follow, she held out a hand. “Don’t. Save your energy.”
Yang didn’t press, nodding.
She was out the door, following the ever-grey sky with her gaze. Ruby wondered if the sky hadn’t been blue because of the rainy season; or thanks to Salem’s rampant destruction. The closer you were to civilization’s remnants, an inferno was always around.
It didn’t matter; only stopping the Grimm Queen did.
The abandoned farmland casts a surprising amount of shadows in the evening light. Apart from the dilapidated shack that might have once been considered a house, razed fields littered the land. Upon closer inspection, the soil was unsalvageable, the color of soot.
‘No wonder the previous owner didn’t stick around.’ Given the lack of skeletons, it was unlikely someone had died.
Ruby pressed on, following the half-collapsed outline of the property’s fence. Around a mile, the barrier vanished into the ground. Turning around, their temporary shelter had shrunk to a speck in the distance. Securing her weapon’s compacted form to her belt, the reaper summoned a small flame as she walked.
The ember dispersed as a massive clawed paw carved the space where Ruby had stood. Remerging from her cloud of petals a short distance away, her stomach coiled at the sight.
A Hound had found them.
While more of a nuisance to deal with unlike other Grimm, the brunette feared its ability to summon the witch. With one howl, a Seer would find them within moments. Stopping Salem was all that mattered, but that didn’t mean her team possessed the necessary strength then and there. Standing a chance was their whole motivation for hunting down the relics.
Ruby’s efforts wouldn’t mean a damn thing if it all went wrong here.
The beast stood at triple her height, a commanding presence on two legs. Notably, this one had lost an eye–jagged scars occupying where the organ would be. Lowering its head, their gazes locked on equal level, waiting for the other to move first.
This was why Ruby hated the former silver-eyed warriors; damn things were too intelligent for their own good.
Her arm inched back, feeling for the mode switch on her weapon.
The hound’s maw hung open, viscous shadow dripping from the teeth.
She felt the trigger, calculating how much time it would take before she could fire.
Its jaw tensed, readying for a call.
Her prey acted first, and the brunette was quick to follow. Dousing the tip of her scythe with the scorching blaze of fall, shifting her weight to alter the strike’s path. With a satisfying accuracy, the beast’s summons cut off, as its vocal cords ceased to be. Submerging the rifle’s barrel within the oozing corruption, Ruby unloaded an entire clip, creating more distance with her semblance as her eyes delivered the final blow.
The unfortunate soul trapped within the Hound had vanished before her light dulled.
Ruby counted the seconds of her encounter–twelve, a personal best. ‘But not fast enough.’ Her team had only faced one at a time; a second or third could spell certain doom if they weren’t ready. Ruby would be; it was her purpose.
The light-headedness was back, and she wondered why her face felt damp.
‘Oh.’ Her nose was bleeding; that hadn’t happened before. While a clear indicator of declining health and a need for rest, she’d ignore it like every other time. Amongst the four of them, someone always had to be ready; she could handle it.
Or not–in the blink of an eye, one of her arms was slung over Yang’s shoulder as they trudged back to the house. Her vision weaved in and out, the passage of time indiscernible. Eventually, Ruby felt herself propped against something soft. Forcing her eyes open, she spotted her sister at work dusting off a nearby blanket.
Situated in the dingy living room, the remaining two members of their team were somewhere else.
Yang smiled at her. “And you lectured me on resting up.” With a final shake, a pathetic cloud of dust was kicked into the air. The blonde kneeled to drape it over the brunette. “So what was it this time? Stray Nevermore? Apathy?”
Ruby took in the quilt’s tacky, tattered checkered pattern; the reds and greens had given way to something in-between. “Another hound.”
Her sister’s hands froze. The blonde’s groan was a pathetic attempt to hide the tremble in her words. “Don’t tell me you used your eyes.”
She hesitated to respond. “...There wasn’t a choice.”
Yang looked at her with pity, exasperated. “Rubes, you can’t keep doing this to yourself.”
Ruby disagreed. “I can handle-”
“No, you can’t!” Yang’s hair lit afire briefly before flickering out, but the fire in her eyes remained. “If you could handle it, explain why I found you in a pool of blood. Tell me why I had to carry you back.”
She didn’t answer–telling in its own right. Her sister let out a breath, joining her on the floor. Yang didn’t speak, settling her head against Ruby’s shoulder. They eyed the remains of the brick fireplace on the other side of the room. In the interim, she felt sleep call at the edge of her mind but held onto wakefulness. The reaper wondered where Weiss and Blake had wandered off to, curious if they had planned this talk.
Ruby didn’t want to talk, but Yang didn’t give her a chance. “Being a team out here means taking things in shifts. Now that I think about it, you always volunteer for everything but sleep.” Lilac bored into silver. “Sis, everyone needs rest.”
The brunette didn’t agree. “I’ll rest when we’ve finished everything with Salem.”
Yang shook her head. “Hell no.” Getting up to light a fire, she met her sister’s hardened expression. “Blakey and Ice Queen just left for watch duty. Until they’re back,” she tossed one last log in, “you’re getting some shut-eye, capeesh?”
With little choice but to comply, Ruby shrugged. “Fine. But not a moment sooner.”
Her sister smiled. “I’ll take it!” Returning to the previous spot, Yang was out cold in seconds, leaving her leader alone once more.
The crimsonette ignored the unfamiliar pang in her heart. ‘Only for a moment.’ Unprompted, her body gave in to slumber.
…
Drifting awake, Ruby took in the darkened appearance of the space. The fire had all but died, illuminated only by the occasional ember. She stood, allowing her back a pop after stretching. Noting she wasn’t alone, the reaper knelt beside their now-restocked wood pile. Judging by the piece’s shoddy cut angles and mismatched sizes, her sister must’ve been responsible. Shaking her head in bewilderment, the brunette swept aside the charcoal with some of her wind. With a summon, her flames warmed the room once more.
Looking away, Ruby noted the two slumbering presences embracing on the ratty couch. Blake and Yang held each other tight, the latter’s prosthetic deposited alongside the team’s belongings. Their chests rose and fell in tandem, performing a dance exclusive to each other.
Like a ghost, Ruby observed from the darkness, questioning the unfamiliar feeling in her… everything. The scene felt familiar, but she didn’t know why. Searching for an answer, her mind ached as the fog clouding it remained unmoving.
Disjointed fragments filled her visions; flashes of white hair and nervously shared touches. A falling of snow sheets covered a small cottage while someone tiptoed the edges of what Ruby could see.
Weiss. Why wasn’t her partner sleeping?
Train of thought forgotten, the crimsonette stealthily made her way to the front porch; leaning against the railing with Myrtenaster at the ready stood the former heiress. Pale-blue beacons searched the new arrival for only a second, hastily turning away with disinterest.
“You should be inside. The current watch duty falls to me.”
Her partner’s tone was devoid of emotion, something a part of Ruby swore shouldn’t be the case. Focusing on the foreign ache in her chest brought forth a wave of nausea, so she didn’t push. “I made a fire. You should rest.”
Weiss sighed, hanging her head. “We are not going to have this conversation.”
The brunette let the silence hang between them in the night air, listening to the wind as it whispered in her ear, bringing warnings of looming destruction. Allowing herself to focus, she pictured a looming shadow, lashing out at everything in its path. From the wails it emitted, this couldn’t be a hound. How wonderful, Salem had finally finished her latest pet project.
“It would help for all of us to be combat read-”
Weiss turned to her, fury in her gaze. She was on the verge of tears but kept them at bay through sheer willpower. “Don’t. Don’t you dare use their words. After everything, you have no right to stand where she should.” Her partner’s lip trembled, searching silver for any sign of the girl she used to know.
A girl, Weiss knew, didn’t exist anymore.
With a humorless laugh, the heiress noted the lack of emotion on her leader’s face. The person before her might look like Ruby and go by the same name, but they would never be her partner. Weiss broke her promise to be the best teammate ever when it mattered most, failing her world.
She’d never forgive herself, never accept this pathetic imitation like Blake and Yang had, but having to spend every day near it didn’t help.
Hands falling to her sides, she couldn’t bear to keep up the fight. “Fine. Run yourself ragged for all I care.” The heiress stomped inside–her piece said–all too keen to forget this night like all the rest, to dream a lie of the four of them still together. Still happy. The sweetest of all lies–that her heart never left.
Unbeknownst to her, Ruby stood frozen, extending a hand to tell her something. The crimsonette didn’t know what, just that a part of her couldn’t stand seeing Weiss upset. A discarded part of her that should be long-forgotten yet stubbornly remained.
Ruby called, and Ruby answered. But no one heard.