Chapter Text
“Legends… tales told from generation to generation. From father to son, from mother to daughter.
Humanity has told and fallen in love with legends, the romance of fantasy forever appealing. Yet they are unaware of the stories that came before.
Tales that made the world they live in.
Man came from the dust, surrounded by the apathy of a cold world. On all fronts they were opposed by beasts who wish nothing more than to devour their souls.
All chances of survival were slim yet they survived.
Perhaps they should return to that. That moment of almost certain death.
The people of man can build kingdoms high up in the sky, set up guardians that will fight for generations in a war they are ill equipped to understand, but it is fate that they are to die and be forgotten.
It is man's path to grow arrogant and destroy themselves unless through some divine intervention. It is absolute as fate is the ultimate decider for all mankind.” - the voice of the witch
“Or perhaps instead of predestination of fate, humanity can avoid its peril by stepping back from its arrogance.
Perhaps to do so it needs a symbol, something quaint, unassuming yet brimming with possibilities.
All humanity needs is one small spark.
A humble little soul.” - the voice of the wizard
|----|
The air was cold, winter had come and gone as Ruby could see the snow melting, falling from the red leafed trees and landing on the softened dirt.
Just a little farther.
Ruby kept walking, her boots thumping against the ground picking bits of newly forming mud.
As she trekked through the mud a small black and white corgi followed after her, barking happily. It was Zwei. “Hey boy” Ruby spoke in her usual baby voice when addressing Zwei as she knelt down to pick him up, before placing him in her hoodie.
Ruby kept walking as she remembered these woods. She can't recall exactly why she remembered this part of the forest- even before her first time prepping for mother's day-- but her body recognized it.
She soon came to a clearing, the snow covered red leafed trees seemed to flee into a circle formation, as its center was a small grave surrounded by a field of white roses.
Breathe in, breathe out
Ruby walked up to the grave, kneeling down and reaching into a bag she was carrying. She pulled from the bag a small photo of a woman not too dissimilar to Ruby cradling a small child with dark red hair, alongside a man with blonde shaggy hair and a girl who shared a similar hair as her father.
Ruby placed the photo down in front of the grave as she looked at the text engraved. It was written in old Valean but she could translate it a good bit.
Summer Rose.
563 AG. - 610 AG.
Beloved huntress, wife, mother, and teacher. May you be remembered by all of your loved ones and your teammates. Requiescat in pace.
Ruby sighed softly as she stood up, her arms going to her side as her hands retreated into her jacket's pockets.
She stepped back taking in the air. It was nice, it brought back memories, pleasant ones, primarily Christmas and the family dinner, everyone smiling, laughing… her dad and Qrow getting along before they-
krik
Ruby heard it, a twig snapped, then came the growl as she felt it, something in the air itself seemed wrong.
She looked towards the sound of the snap as she reached into the bag. From where she assumed the sound came from was a bush that rustled as she could see a shape.
That shape quickly came to view as it resembled a small wolf with a mask made seemingly of bone and a body composed of a black tar-like substance.
A Wulg, by itself? It seems to be pretty daring. Just have to remove or break its mask. Shouldn't be too hard for Rose-Array.
The beast- a Wulg- growled at her. It was odd, normally younger Grimm hunt in packs before shedding that nature as they get older. Guess she stumbled upon- wait.
Ruby listened around her as more rustling came from the forest with more growling being heard.
Ah so it is a pack, welp, no better time than now to test what uncle Qrow and Professor Peterson taught her.
She grasped onto an item in her bag as the pack of Wulgs encroached. But as the first one grew closer- suddenly a sickles blade had pierced through its mask as Ruby wore a smirk.
Fun time.
Ruby's hand grasped onto a beaded chain as she lightly tugged on it. The sickle popped out of the mask as the Wulg evaporated into ash.
The sickle hung low to the ground as Ruby looked at the other Wulgs.
Her grip tightened on the beads before she began to rotate her wrist, which caused the beads attached to the sickle to begin spinning. The sound of the chain and the blade slicing through the air sounded like music to her ears.
“Remember Ruby” her uncle's voice rang through her mind- “When it comes to scythes the main objective is not an immediate kill, it's cornering your enemy and taking advantage of the curve. Since you've got a weapon on a chain-” as her uncle's voice played in her head she threw the sickle as it seemed to curve around three of the Wulgs
“You're able to be a lot more creative with how you get the advantage” at those words Ruby yanked back on the chain as in instant the beads ensnared all three Wulgs.
The rest of the pack didn't seem to falter at the ensnaring of the other three as they quickly made their move, running towards her.
“You my dear girl are a prodigy, but your knack for fighting should not become arrogance, assess your options and quickly, you don't have all the time during fights.” Professor Peterson's voice butted into Ruby's mind as she, much like her foes, quickly made her move, yanking the chain around as it dragged the trapped Wulgs along with it.
At that motion she managed to slam the captured Grimm against two others causing their masks to crack on impact.
Yet there was still one left and it was approaching- fast.
I don't have time- maybe I could take a hit? No that's ridiculous it's a Grimm it'll kill me it gets a hit in-
“Though you can assess the situation, remember your instincts always have a backup plan” the professor's voice rang out once more as all of Ruby's thoughts silenced. Her arm instinctually tugging back on the chain, her legs running towards the Grimm.
The sickle seemed to fly to her hands as in an arc Ruby raised her blade before stabbing down, the sickle’s tip pierced the Grimm’s mask with it bringing only a deafening-
KRAK
The beast made a whimper before turning to ash and blowing away with the wind. Ruby stood there, her body shaking albeit only a little.
It took a few minutes to recognize the quiet that surrounded her, leaves still falling and the Wulgs that were slain evaporating, as with the air entering her lungs, cold and smooth, her mind raced.
Holy shit- holy shit- HOLY SHIT I DID THAT?! DID YOU SEE THAT?! That was so cool! Oh I gotta tell Qrow, HE’S GONNA BE SO IMPRESSED and Yang's gonna be SO JEALOUS! OH HELL YE-
Arff!
Almost in a snap Ruby was brought back to reality as she looked back at Zwei. The corgi peppering her face with licks.
She giggled before putting Rose-Array back into the bag and taking Zwei out of her hood. “Yes yes I know it's dinner time. Come on, I'm sure dad is making the pancake tower tonight.” she said as her fingers began to scratch the canine's belly. With Zwei's tail wagging happily.
[----]
Ruby's feet stopped in front of a small cabin, with smoke coming out of the chimney as she could smell it, the scent of blueberry and pancakes wafting out of the open windows and into her nose.
Yep, dads cooking.
Ruby walked towards the door with Zwei now on the ground following her. Ruby reached out only to feel finally her hands shaking.
Damnit she thought she could handle the adrenaline crash without any physical side effects.
She grumbled before breathing deep, closing her eyes as for a second, everything vanished, just her, at peace. Ok she was ready.
With the grasping and turning of the door knob, the door slid open as she saw her older sister pounding her fists on the table in a rhythmic fashion.
“Pancake tower, pancake tower, pancake tower” her sister- Yang- chanted as her practically golden hair was tied up in a bun and seemingly still damp from her shower, given the scent of lavender that permeated around her.
Ruby was about to say something only for Zwei to bark, causing Yang's head to turn towards Ruby's direction.
“Heya Rubes!” Yang practically blurted out as she stood up preparing to bear hug Ruby, towering over the girl, as she could see Yang's abs due to the tank top she wore.
“Hey Yang” Ruby mumbled as she ducked under Yang's now open arms causing the blonde to turn around in confusion with Ruby walking past her.
“Don't forget to come down to eat dinner dear, it's pancake challenge night” Ruby heard her father's voice issue from the kitchen Ruby simply making a grunt of recognition before heading to her room.
When she made it to her door she got a good look at the “NO BOYS ALLOWED!” Sign she had tapped on with fake caution tape being attached to it. She remembered when her father questioned her about it, naturally assuming his- at that point- teenage daughter was sneaking boys in.
She wasn't, she was just sick of some of her fellow classmates in signal barging in. She shook her head slightly before chuckling, her hand outstretching for the door knob.
The moment her skin made contact with the cold metal she felt her body shiver a little, she quickly turned the knob as the door opened revealing her- quite frankly pigsty of a- room, covered wall to wall in celebrity Huntsmen and huntress memorabilia as well as some blueprints resting against the corner wall of her room along with a desk that had lamps pointing their iridescent lights towards the plane of the table.
She walked over to her bed, taking off her bag and placing it down on the small desk that sat in her room before flopping onto her bed, closing her eyes and breathing in.
She rolled across her bed until she was staring at her ceiling, her mind beginning to wander.
This weekend is Beacon’s entrance exams, Yang’ll be going and I'll be left with Dad and Zwei… still stuck taking classes at signal. Granted nothing wrong with that but still! That's as boring as boring can get!
If Ruby had to be honest with herself, a part of her desperately wished she could attend Beacon, she was already proficient at combat school- well proficient enough. Certainly more than that annoying “Ivory Mayday” who couldn't even wield a blast shotgun correctly- and she was a quick learner but… she couldn't attend due to the age requirement and needing to have four years of combat school training, she was just two years short though!
She groaned, covering her eyes with the palms of her hands, as she kicked her feet into the air.
Then she heard it, her stomach grumbling, loudly at that. As Ruby's mind drifted to a large jar that was filled to the brim with peanut butter and chocolate chunk cookies, ugh it was causing her mouth to water!
Ruby sat up, grumbling softly before taking off her jacket and going to her closet.
Time for a change in wardrobe.
After a few seconds of deciding what Ruby would wear she settled on a black long sleeved hoodie and a rather extravagant looking “combat skirt” with red frills sticking out the edges. She slipped on some combat boots before catching a glint out of the corner of her eye.
A belt buckle, shaped to resemble the flower of a rose set aflame, it was metal and the paint had chipped away years ago but it still reflected light brilliantly all the same.
Ruby reached for it, wrapping her fingers around the cold metal before looking at the back, inscribed were a few words.
“For those who come after, my beloved daughters Ruby and Yang”.
She sighed softly as her mind drifted to another kind of belt buckle, this one being a broken heart also aflame, it was her father's emblem and the buckle was given to yang, it was the twin to Ruby's buckle, with the same inscription engraved on the back.
She placed the buckle down, hesitantly getting one last look at it before walking over to her Boarbabank, the cartoonified ceramic grimm looking at her with its blank yellow painted eyes.
She soon flipped it over and popped off the cap that was placed at its belly, turning it back over some coins and rolls of paper fell out.
200 Lien saved just for this.
She grabbed the rolls of the cash as well as some of the coins before putting them in her jacket's chest pocket.
She quickly made her way downstairs past the table and her family, hearing her father calling out “Where are you going kiddo?!”
“Out, wanna get some more materials for my project!” Ruby replied, her words blurring together but she couldn't really care.
As Ruby's feet bounced off the ground, pushing her forward she soon saw the landscape around her change from the standard trees and forest to the much more urban Buildings, some small shops, some restaurants, even a few closed down Schnee dust company buildings.
Her feet soon went from bouncing to striding across the concrete sidewalk as she began to hum softly, reaching into her pocket before grabbing out a pair of ear buds.
She would slip both into her ears and tap on one of them, as music began to play.
Ruby walked throughout the city until stopping at a small building painted a faded olive green, with a large window on the front as text was displayed showing the words “Dust till dawn”.
She hurriedly opened the door before entering the building, her eyes lighting up at the sight that laid before her.
Weapon components that were compatible with dust crystals, a line of tubes that each held a different elemental type of dust, and finally the magnum opus, at the center of the building was the variety section. Filled to the brim with all sorts of knick nacks from dust powered toys to comic books!
Granted the last one wasn't dust related at all but hey it was something Ruby enjoyed so to her this place was a godsend.
As she moved towards the middle to build her eyes skimmed through each comic finding some that were interesting and others that were… boring.
Until her eyes landed on a cover for what she assumed was a new comic “The girl and the knight”.
She would soft grasp it before bringing it close and skimming through the pages, her eyes absorbing all the info she could until-
Ring ring
Oh! More customers must have entered.
As Ruby turned to look at the door she saw a man walk into the store. He wore a white vest, a set of black dress pants, and Small fedora, add that with a predominantly black cane that had a metal handle.
To Ruby he honestly looked pretty dumb but she didn't exactly have the right to judge fashion.
“Do you have any idea how tiresome it can be to find a dust shop that sells from 5 to 11.” The man seemed to grumble as he spoke, grasping his fedora before slowly bringing it down, letting his red locks fall free to his neck.
“If you have such a problem with it you could use your scroll to find this place.” The shop keeper- an older man who was beginning to go bald- spoke as he motioned to the white and gold colored device that was inscribed upon a poster on the wall behind him.
The red head grumbled setting his fedora on the counter. He moved the hand that held his cap to his hair before smoothing his locks out.
“We both know what I'm here for, just the usual.” The originally fedora-wearing man spoke, only for the shop keeper to outstretch his hand, pointing to said outstretched hand the shop-keep cleared his throat.
The two men looked at each other, the well dressed red head grumbling before snapping his fingers as a few other men- these ones in black suits- entered, carrying- WERE THOSE RIFLES?!
To Ruby she immediately noticed that the other men's guns looked like atlas tech, but it didn't add up in her head, why would he-
Oh no
The men that most recently entered soon pointed the barrels of their rifles towards the shop-keep, causing the older man to raise his hands up into the air in surprise.
“I'm a bit short on lien my good man, I'm sure you can understand, after all aren't I your best customer” the red haired man's voice was much smoother, almost disarming were it not for the fact his men were pointing their weapons at the shopkeeper.
Ok Ruby, this is a robbery, you trained for this just grab rose-aray-
Ruby reached for her bag only to find it missing, she went wide eyed as she tried to think of how did she-
IT'S IN MY ROOM! I'M SUCH A MORON UGH! Ok… ok, think Ruby, you're without your weapon and you need one.
As Ruby looked around the store she began to quietly back away only to step on what could only be a cracked tile as what sounded was a small but apparent “Click!”
The armed men as well as their leader looked to where the sound emanated only to stop only Ruby.
Ruby could feel a pit begin to form in her stomach, her palms and forehead began to sweat.
Silence, sheer, deafening, silence, echoed throughout out, as before Ruby knew it one of the men pointed his rifle at her.
Instinctively Ruby felt her body jerk to the side as the man pulled the trigger, a bullet firing through the barrel and fizzing past Ruby- wait
Fizzing?
With a deafening BOOM Ruby felt herself be propelled into the shelf behind her, knocking it and herself onto the ground as the bullet detonated, sending pieces of small metal grazing against her skin.
Ruby's vision blacked out for what felt like a minute, she fell for the easiest trick! A fire dust round, of course they would have a fire dust round!
Damnit! I need to get up!
Ruby rocked her body forward, causing her to get back on her feet, her aura already kicking in as she felt the cuts on her face begin to already produce blood and it was scabbing over.
It would be really nice if my semblance decided to form now! Come on body, I need a pick-me-up!
Ruby stood up as she noticed a few of the men protecting themselves and their boss, with the one who fired having a small hole in his neck.
Feeling her feet already beginning to move, Ruby looked around before spotting it- an ornate scythe with a flame pattern across the handle.
Wrapping her hands around it Ruby yanked it off- woof! This was way heavier than she expected.
Ruby ran with scythe in hand as a few of the other armed men began to panic readying their guns
Ruby turned the scythes blade away from the group before hammering the blunt side of the scythe in-
TINK
Ruby went wide eyed as the leader blocked her attack with his cane. His eyes narrow before he placed his fedora back on his head.
“Listen kid, my men and I aren't violent people, all I want is some dust, you can understand that right?” The leader spoke, again in a disarmingly calm, silky smooth voice.
“Your friend fired at me and if it wasn't for my aura and my athletics I'd be smithereens, so excuse me for saying this but- BULLSHIT ON THAT!” Ruby retorted, her arms still applying pressure to the scythe yet he seemed to barely be trying with his cane.
He grumbled, rubbing the bridge of his nose before making a motion with his hand to his men.
The remaining grunts nodded before breaking open the glass casing which the register sat upon before beginning to grab the differently colored crystals and stuffing them into bags.
“Kid, my men and I aren't in the mood for playground squabbles, so I'd advise you to run back home and read comics till your brain rots. I'd really hate to stain my new vest with some brat.” He seemed so calm while speaking, that was until he closed the distance between him and Ruby before meeting her with a punch to the stomach.
Ruby lurched as she released the scythe, falling to her knees and gasping for breath.
A punch to the gut?! Low blow!
Before Ruby could do anything she looked up to see the man raising his cane over his head, the metal handle now clearly showing off the rather gruesome looking spike.
No, not like this, this can't be it already!
The man swung the cane towards