A/N: Salutations, everyone! Y'all ready for this monster of a oneshot? Alright, I have a few things to mention before we get to it.

1. The main pairings for this fic are Ladybug and Freezerburn, but the Pollination (Ruby x Weiss x Blake x Yang for those who don't know) is also quite real as will become more apparent and relevant as the fic continues. On that note, however, Ruby and Yang are not related whatsoever in this story. Take that as you will.

2. This fic is an AU based off the demo for a video game called Indivisible. Absolutely no knowledge of the game or the ideas in its current development are needed to understand and enjoy this story. All the details have been explained within the story, and most of it is stuff I've just expanded on in my own way anyway because not enough information about the game is available yet. Basically I very much enjoy the demo and the ideas for the plot and gameplay and I thought it could work well in a RWBY fic. If you would like to look up info about the game Google is your friend, and if you would like to try the demo it is available for free on PS4 and Steam, but, again, no background research or knowledge on the game is necessary to understand this story at all. If you have played the demo or read through details on Indivisible's funding page you'll probably catch all the nods I made to the universe in this story concerning the environment, Ruby's powers, and a few other elements, but that's it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of RWBY or Indivisible! This fic was written for fun and is for entertainment purposes only!

Enjoy guys! I hope it's a fun journey!

Connection

"Zwei, wait!"

Ruby huffed, leaping down a large set of jagged rocks after her corgi, her red hooded cape flaring in ripples behind her. The black and white puppy seemingly ignored her, barking innocently as he hopped down the last few rocks and shot forward across a marble viaduct.

"Where are you going?" Ruby called again, swiping away shoulder length brunette strands with red tips out of her silver eyes just to see she had almost made a fatal misstep into the mist that shrouded massive hills and bodies of water probably about two hundred feet below. She jumped to the left instead of to the right, her knee high black boots getting a solid grip on the stone before she landed on the flat, and hopefully stable, bridge. After adjusting her red beaded headband she immediately chased after her childhood pet, her speed impressive as she zigzagged out of the way of dangerous cracks and crumbling sections of the bridge, keeping her footfalls light.

Despite her speed, though, she couldn't catch up to Zwei.

The pup didn't seem to have a care in the world, zooming across the bridge excitedly, as if he were racing someone Ruby couldn't see. When he reached the end of the bridge he climbed a few granite steps and disappeared into a large, dark doorway, its edges embraced by broken marble statues and twisted roots that were probably hundreds of years old.

"ZWEI!" Ruby yelled worriedly once she couldn't see him anymore. "Dammit," she murmured under her breath, running even faster across the bridge. Zwei had never run from her like this before. Ever since they were forced to flee their village a few months ago, Zwei had stuck by the fifteen year old girl's side no matter what obstacle they stumbled across, whether it was monsters, poisonous plants, or White Fang members.

Yet something had excited him so much that he ran from her. Just what was it that caught his attention? Was he trying to show her something? If so, what was the rush? Couldn't it wait the extra few minutes it would take to walk there?

Ruby took a moment to catch her breath once she was in front of the doorway, deciding to survey her surroundings. She was pretty high up. Higher than she wanted to acknowledge, honestly. Barely pushing five feet herself, everything seemed bigger to her, and as she looked over the edge she noticed this ruin hugged by ancient trees reached farther down than the mist allowed her to see.

It was probably crazy deep.

Maybe it led somewhere? It had to. Places like this never had just one entrance. It was completely unknown territory, though. Ruby prided herself as an explorer; someone who loved adventuring and discovering new places, but something like this she knew she had to mentally prepare herself for. Judging from the darkness of the doorway alone, the entirety of the ruin was probably just as dark, if not darker, and she unfortunately ran out of oil for her lantern yesterday. Anything could be in there; monsters, magical traps, anything. Or maybe nothing was in there.

But, either way, Zwei wandered in there and she had to find him.

Taking a deep breath, the brunette stepped inside, her fingers flexed and ready to show off her martial arts skills Uncle Qrow had taught her whenever it was necessary.

It was hellishly dark, just as the red cloaked girl predicted. If it weren't for the peculiar amount of arched candles lined in a horizontal row along each wall, it would probably be impossible to tell where she was going. Other than the candles—they were probably powered by someone's magic—the word 'ruin' definitely suited this place. Forestry grew in randomized places, walls had crumbled so devastatingly that hallways that looked like they could lead to new areas were completely blocked off, and smashed pots littered the floor at the walls edges. Ruby briefly scavenged the clutter, scanning for any jewels or other goods left behind, but quickly abandoned that hope.

If there were riches still in a place like this they would probably be deep within. If she were lucky, she'd stumble across a few gold coins to afford a pet-friendly inn at the next town.

"Zwei!" Ruby yelled, wincing as her voice echoed off the walls and rang in her ears. "Where are you?" she spoke a little quieter so her brain wouldn't shake in her skull, but loud enough that anyone down the hall and around the corner would still hear her.

Unfortunately, what did hear her wasn't Zwei.

Instead, what turned the corner up ahead were two boar-like beasts about half Ruby's height. They each had thick, black fur, thin, blood red eyes, bleached bone masks covering their foreheads down to the tip of their snouts, and twin tusks that were as tall as they were.

Ruby's eyes almost bulged out of her head, a jolt of wonder and fear striking her heart. At first she thought she was seeing things, but there was no mistaking those bone masks.

Those beasts... were Grimm.

She couldn't believe it. She had only seen Grimm in drawings in her uncle's old history and mythology books. They were unmistakable because of their bone masks, just like a rattlesnake was recognizable from its tail, and were said to be the most blackened of every monster type since the times of the ancient gods. Grimm had no purity in their hearts; no sense of mercy or forgiveness. All they knew was rage and wouldn't stop clawing you until you were nothing but meaty chunks molding on the ground.

But Grimm were said to go extinct two hundred years ago after the Great War. Why on Remnant were they in a place like this?

And then they saw her, and they didn't hesitate for longer than five seconds before they roared and charged at her, their beastly cries and their hooves trampling stone vibrating the walls at such a high pitched screech that it took everything Ruby had not to fall to her knees from the pressure on her brain. She knew if she did that everything would be over for her.

But she wasn't going to die here. She didn't escape those warlords back home just to die here. And she wasn't going to let Zwei die here, either.

When the Grimm were only a few metres away from the red clad girl, one of them started rolling at her at breakneck speed. Ruby held her ground, her glare never breaking from the black furred beast, akin to the crazies who liked playing chicken with bulls for fun. At the last second Ruby sidestepped, the Grimm rolling too fast to be able to turn. Ruby gripped a tusk of the remaining boar running at her normally and used its speed and momentum to fling it at the Grimm that continued rolling away because it couldn't stop.

The two Grimm crashed into each other with an animalistic cry and they both slammed into the wall next to the entrance, the echo sounding like an earthquake. It was so loud that Ruby couldn't avoid covering her ears this time in fear of losing her hearing forever.

When she finally pulled her hands away her ears were still ringing, making it hard to hear, but Ruby could still make out a rumbling. What was that? The echo should be gone by now.

But then a crack split the wall the Grimm had hit like lightning, and a stone large enough to crush the teenager fell two feet in front of Ruby and instantly she knew.

Cursing to herself, Ruby dove out of the way just as large chunks of the ceiling and higher walls crumbled down and covered the area she had just been fighting the Grimm. She kept her arms over her head as a safety measure, even though it was damn obvious that wouldn't save her if a colossal chunk of granite plummeted on her body.

Ruby remained huddled on the ground until the shaking stopped a few minutes later. She cautiously opened her eyes and rubbed the dirt and pebbles off of her clothes and skin before lifting her head and feeling her breath catch at the damage in front of her.

The entrance was entirely blocked now, even to the smallest of creatures. There was a large splatter of crimson under the left side of the pile where the Grimm recently loitered, a torn tusk and leg covered in blood and dirt a few feet away, no doubt separated on impact. The rocks had stopped falling just a few feet from where Ruby was currently positioned.

Ruby shivered once she realized that something like this had almost just killed her. She had survived through so much worse—the fire sorceress that charred her village literally held her by the collar at one point—yet something this mediocre, this pathetic, had almost killed her.

But instead, she got to walk away with nothing more than a gash on her cheek.

So she did just that. No matter how confused she was at the sudden appearance of Grimm, or the anxiety that had built knowing that the only entrance to the ruins she knew of was completely blocked off, she had to push through and keep walking. She didn't have a choice. She had to find Zwei.

She refused to give up hope and die here. Her mother, who had died fighting warlords to keep Ruby safe, would never forgive her if she died here.

She had to keep going. She made a promise to herself that she would continue her mother's fight; that she would wipe out all the warlords that threatened the land, especially the ones that tarnished her village, so she could not allow that journey to end here. Everything she ever went through would be for nought if she gave up hope here.

So Ruby shook her head, wiped the blood off her cheek with the back of her hand, and followed the candles down the only path that wasn't blocked off.

The rest of the ruins looked basically the same as the entrance in terms of design, except that these areas were more spacious. There were different levels of floors to walk on, reachable either by unstable looking stairs, climbable walls and platforms, or breakable floors—the last she learned the hard way and fell directly on her behind, no doubt leaving a large bruise.

The brunette had run into a few more boar-like Grimm but she learned her lesson from last time and instead of using the environment to her advantage, she just beat them to death with her fists. Although she had never fought a Grimm before and hadn't specifically studied their physiology, she quickly found that she wouldn't have needed to; they were animals, monsters, and they had weak points just like every other opponent. She aimed swift chops and punches at their necks, knowing one good strike could either shatter their windpipe or leave them winded enough for Ruby to land enough blows on their head to cause fatal brain damage.

With her level of training, these beasts were nothing more than an inconvenience. These couldn't have possibly been the beasts that annihilated over half of Remnant's population two hundred years ago.

Then, just as Ruby finished off the last boar in a herd, she heard a large crash from an area a few floors above her. At first Ruby was worried more of the ruins would collapse again, and from her position on the bottom floor she would be entirely screwed, but it was evident after a few moments that nothing like before was going to happen.

But, once again, Ruby heard the crash, louder than it was the first time. Ruby rested a hand on the stone wall and tilted her head up at the long, open space, focussing to hear any other details.

The scrape of a sword. Boots on stone. A voice.

Ruby's silver orbs widened. Was there someone else in here?

Ruby wasted no time wall jumping up the narrow passage, the action causing her legs to ache but she had practiced doing this so many times in the alleys back home that she had grown used to the feeling.

Once at the top floor she gripped the ledge and pulled herself up, running quickly but carefully down the surprisingly well lit hallway until she got to a more open space.

Inside, there was a fight going on. A pretty brutal one, too. There were three colossal, bear-like Grimm, at least three or four times Ruby's height, truly making the boars from before seem like ants.

And by their feet, their opponents were three of the most beautiful girls Ruby had ever seen. It was impossible to notice little details from Ruby's distance, but it wasn't hard at all to tell the girls apart.

One of them had snow white hair tied in an off-centre ponytail and was gracefully swiping at the bears' legs with a rapier in her left hand. Her other hand was conjuring some sort of magical glyphs around the area, but Ruby couldn't tell what they were for. The girl fighting near her with giant yellow gauntlets was moving much more franticly, a small lute strapped to her back, her wild golden mane flowing around her form like fire. In fact, maybe it was fire. The last girl with long black tresses stood further away from the other two, holding up a lit lantern that seemed to be attacking the bears on its own while the girl herself casted supporting spells on her teammates.

Collectively the three mysterious girls managed to defeat one of the Grimm, but the remaining two were quick to retaliate. Snow White was so busy slashing at the ankle of one bear she forgot about the other, and Golden Fire barely had enough time to push her teammate out of the way to take the brunt of the hit herself, crying out in pain as an enormous claw sent her flying backwards. Snow White looked as though the blonde getting hurt caused her physical pain, and then formed a blue glyph behind herself and used it to shoot herself forward, catching the much taller blonde in her arms and softening her fall.

Meanwhile, Black Magic was trying to get the bears' attention, firing random spells in their direction to take their focus off her downed friends. But it only worked for one of them. One bear suddenly charged at the magic user while the other continued to creep towards Snow White and Golden Fire, the two girls still on the ground from the crash. Both were trying to get up but a part of Ruby knew they wouldn't make it, especially not when Black Magic was in peril now, too.

Ruby didn't even have to think twice about what she did next.

The brunette closed her eyes and let them roll back, only for an instant. And in that instant she saw a black, vast space, and directly in the centre was a tiny rock platform. Resting on that platform was her uncle Qrow drinking from a flask. He seemed to notice her presence because he winked and held up the flask in her general direction, which would have made her cringe a few years ago but she was more than used it by now. Then Qrow's form turned into a bright white light, and when Ruby opened her eyes that same white light manifested into a red and black scythe in her hands.

With a battle cry, Ruby lunged herself at the Grimm charging at Black Magic, who was having trouble keeping it at bay and was in the most imminent danger. The fire in the black haired girl's lantern was swiping at the beast with long, vicious strokes, something Ruby didn't have the energy to comprehend, and while the attacks seemed to be hurting the Grimm they didn't seem to be slowing it down.

But Ruby took pride in her speed. No one was faster than her.

Just as the Grimm was about to snap Black Magic's head off with its jaws, Ruby zoomed by with her scythe held skyward, the angle of the crescent blade slicing the Grimm's head clean off its shoulders. Ruby looked back to see its head crash onto the floor, Black Magic's eyes—a vibrant shade of amber—widening only a bit in surprise, but she was still mindful enough to jump out of the way of the blood spewing out of the corpse's neck as it collapsed, creating a dark puddle around the wound.

The brunette smirked at the girl and gave her a thumbs up. Black Magic didn't return the look or the gesture, instead looking back over to her teammates and not fully restraining a gasp.

Ruby's eyes widened, cursing herself for momentarily forgetting about the other two in her pride. She hastily looked over at the other girls, Snow White and Golden Fire just getting back on their feet now with the final Grimm inches away from them, growling and ready to stain its claws crimson.

Just as Ruby was about to rush over and help them, she noticed Black Magic mutter a few non-English words and then outstretch her hand in the direction of her friends. A soft green glow enveloped her ghostly pale hand and then shot outwards, manifesting itself into a barrier between the Grimm and the white and blonde haired girls. The beast's claw ripped at the barrier, but clearly underestimated its capabilities because its nails all chipped and its arm flew backwards in recoil, the beast howling in sudden pain.

The green barrier disappeared as quickly as it came—clearly it was only meant for a one-time use—so Ruby knew that now was the time to deliver the finishing blow.

Clearly Golden Fire was planning to deliver it, because a wide grin stretched across her face and then she positioned both her arms so her elbows bent upwards at her hips, fists facing skyward. Snow White seemed to know what this meant, too, and stepped back to give the blonde room, her rapier held steadily in case she was forced to use it. Then the blonde let out a low war cry, one that gradually rose in volume to the point where it sounded mystical, and then bursts of golden light spiked around her form like lightning bolts, as if it were her inner vigour taking a physical form. These pulsations of power gravitated towards her bulky, steel gauntlets, blanketing over them like harsh ocean waves, and then she rushed at the Grimm, pulling her arm back and then letting her fist connect with its black furred chest, the impact so powerful that Ruby could hear every bone in that thing's body shatter.

Everything stopped for a moment—even Ruby felt herself stop breathing—and once the delay was over a violent circle of wind rushed out from the attack, cracking the stone beneath them and sending Ruby's cloak in a frenzy before the beast was sent flying backwards at breakneck speed. As it flew, Ruby decided to once again hold up her scythe at just the right angle in the path of the Grimm, the beast being split in two down the middle. This caused both halves to soar in slightly different directions, but they both connected with the stone wall on the left side of the large room, the beast who was feared two hundred years ago splattering into nothing more than fleshy chunks.

Ruby took a brief moment to inspect her surroundings—to make sure there were no more Grimm in the area, and to make sure the girls she just helped wouldn't try attacking her next—before she sighed and stood up straight. It would make sense to talk to them now. Would be kinda weird if she just moved on without saying anything. Ruby never really had any friends growing up, so, naturally, she was socially awkward. She always said the wrong thing at the wrong time or never said anything at all when literally anything at all would be helpful.

So she decided to try. Maybe these girls were looking for an exit as well and they could all look together. They seemed like capable fighters after all, dripping with mysterious and unique powers. But right when Ruby was about to introduce herself—

"Yang Xiao Long!" Snow White screeched, speed walking up to the blonde girl who was still wincing from the voice. "Why on Remnant would you aim that beast in that girl's direction? You could have killed her! What were you thinking?"

"It's not like I did that on purpose," Golden Fire replied with a small laugh, running her hands through her waist-length hair and fixing all the tangles that probably emerged thanks to the fight. "Besides babe, she's walking around with a freakin' scythe. Virgin-warriors don't go walking around with a scythe that big."

"Still," the white haired girl huffed, crossing her arms, "just be more careful." Then her hard expression swayed a bit, Snow White gazing at Golden Fire from the corner of her eye. "Are you okay? You took that hit for me. I didn't ask you to do that."

Golden Fire smiled, cupping Snow White's cheek. "You would never need to ask," the blonde replied in a soft tone that betrayed her gaudy actions from earlier. "I almost lost you once. I'm never letting that happen again."

The white haired girl looked like she wanted to reply but ultimately said nothing, choosing to simply nod instead.

Ruby was already regretting her decision of sticking around to talk to these people. She had no idea who they were. Clearly Snow White and Golden Fire were close and Ruby felt awkward just witnessing the scene. Maybe if she were subtle she could still sneak away...

"Wait."

Black Magic's voice was quiet but everyone heard it, all eyes on the black haired girl who had turned to look at Ruby who was backing away, making Ruby freeze on the spot.

"Hey, what's the big hurry?" Golden Fire called out to Ruby, widely gesturing with her arm for the brunette to come closer. "You're a badass with that scythe and I wanna know your name!" When Ruby didn't move for several moments, the blonde added, "Don't worry, I don't bite anyone except for Weiss."

"Yang!" Snow White squawked, smacking the blonde's shoulder as her cheeks blossomed pink.

Ruby felt a blush rise in her own from the implication. She was inexperienced, but not ignorant.

"Ignore them," Black Magic advised lowly, a hint of a scowl on her face. "That's what I do."

Ruby nodded, not sure what to say yet. She decided to approach the girls, though. They seemed friendly enough, but she kept a hand tight on her weapon just in case.

Once she was close enough, she noticed details about all three of them she never would have perceived from far away. Golden Fire had beautiful shades of lilac orbs and her tan arms were covered in old wounds, burns and scars crisscrossing together. Her sandy brown vest and darker shorts left her midriff exposed, a black tribal tattoo circling her bellybutton.

Snow White literally looked like an ice queen, her knee length dress and high heeled boots the colour of her hair and she had an assortment of crystal jewelry decorating her clothes and body, including dangling earrings, a necklace, and studs all over her rapier's leather scabbard. There was a pink scar slashed vertically along her left, ice blue eye, something about it standing out far more than any of Golden Fire's numerous past injuries.

As for Black Magic, Ruby realized from up close that her black hair wasn't actually her hair, but rather the pelt of a panther she wore over her head that reached down to her waist. Only a few strands of her real black hair were visible from the front, twin strips that draped her chest. The rest of her outfit was black as well, from her buttoned up vest, elbow-length makeshift fingerless gloves actually made from black ribbons, shorts and low heeled boots. The only garment that defied this trend were her stockings, which were black at her hips but faded to purple at her ankles.

This made her flawless, porcelain complexion and catlike amber eyes even more noticeable and Ruby stopped herself right there because wow it was not time for that. She didn't know this girl; she didn't know any of them. They were still potentially dangerous, even if they fought Grimm together. Ruby couldn't let her guard down by thinking about how pretty Black Magic was.

Dammit, she was doing it again!

"Well, I guess I'll start this off," Golden Fire began with a grin, shaking Ruby out of her thoughts, "my name's Yang." She gestured towards Snow White. "This little icicle is Weiss. Or as I like to call her, Weissicle."

The white haired girl huffed. "I'm perfectly capable of introducing myself, you dolt. Also, what kind of introduction was that?" Golden Fire—er, Yang—simply grinned and stuck out her tongue, producing a sigh from the blue eyed girl before she looked at Ruby. "I'm Weiss Schnee. A pleasure."

That made Ruby's eyes widen a bit, but she bit her tongue before she said something awkward like she usually did. She recognized that last name, as no doubt most people would. She didn't know much about the Schnee family, other than they were royalty and were rumored to have been enforcing faunus slave labour for hundreds of years.

Ruby never liked to judge people on first impressions alone or just because of some rumors, but she couldn't help but wonder what a young girl from such a prissy, high-class family was doing in a gritty place like this with two people so visually different from her.

"And what's your name?" Ruby asked Black Magic.

The black haired girl didn't reply, nor was she even looking at her. A hand rested on her hip, another holding her lantern as she gazed at something that was apparently fascinating on the wall.

"That's Blake," Golden Fire—Yang—answered in the other girl's stead. Damn, it was gonna be hard calling these girls by their real names. Ruby had gotten so used to the cool nicknames she made up for them. "She doesn't talk much. Not a social butterfly, this one."

"I just prefer to be alone," Blake spoke up, though quietly. Then she finally looked at Ruby, making a shiver travel down the brunette's spine, and she held up her lantern. "This is Adam."

The fire inside the lantern swished back and forth for a moment, almost as if it were waving or nodding to her, before settling and behaving like regular fire should.

Ruby blinked, unsure of what she just heard or saw. "Um... what?"

Yang laughed. "That reaction never gets old," the blonde said through her chuckles. "Blake is a shamaness. Adam is an animal spirit that lives as a flame inside of Blake's lantern. As long as the flame is lit, they can fight together and communicate telepathically."

Ruby furrowed her brow, attempting to understand the farfetched information she was just told. "That sounds a bit..." she began, uncertain how to finish. She didn't want to accuse Blake of lying, or of making Adam up. That would be rude. After all, Ruby did literally see that fire attack the Grimm on its own, not to mention how it 'waved' to her not a moment ago, but that could just be because Blake was a magic user and controlled that fire herself.

"He used to be this," Blake stated, pointing to the panther pelt on her head. Her amber eyes hardened. "He wasn't ready to go, so I transformed his soul into this." She held her lantern a little higher, the gentle glow of the flame gleaming in her eyes. "We've been together ever since."

Honestly, the story still sounded a bit unbelievable. But at the same time, it inspired a sense of wonder. Of companionship. And there was something in Blake's eyes that made Ruby want to believe her.

"Are you two friends?" Ruby decided to ask.

The question seemed to startle Blake because the black haired girl gave her this pointed look, as if she were meddling in things she shouldn't be. The magic user was silent for so long that Ruby thought she wasn't going to answer, but then she replied:

"Until these two idiots barged into my house, he was the only friend I had."

That tugged on Ruby's heartstrings a bit. She sounded so lonely. Just how long had she lived like that before she met Yang and Weiss? How long was Adam with her in panther form before he became a living flame?

Ruby still had a lot of questions about that. How was Blake able to save him from passing on? Why couldn't he have a physical form? If his flame went out, then what? Would he be dead for good? Or would he come back when more oil was added to the lantern?

"Oh my God. Weiss, did you hear that?" Yang asked before Ruby had a chance to ask Blake anything, the blonde sounding astonished.

Weiss raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. She glanced around the area, probably more to humour the blonde than anything else, but ultimately saw nothing. "What?" she questioned.

"Blake... just indirectly called us her friends!" Yang launched herself at the black haired girl, trapping her arm in-between her large breasts and cuddling it. "You've never admitted it out loud before. I'm so happy to know what you finally think of us!"

Blake made a disgusted noise. "Get off of me," she growled, but despite the cold words she didn't actually sound that angry. She shrugged Yang off and looked away, a very tiny blush rising to her cheeks. "Idiot," she muttered.

Ruby couldn't quite stifle her laugh, which caused all three pairs of eyes to be drawn back to her. She froze under all the sudden attention, wishing for probably the thousandth time now that Uncle Qrow had taught her how to be social just as profoundly as he did martial arts. Would have saved her a lot of trouble up until now.

"Forgive me," Weiss began, her voice sounding a little guarded, "but you haven't introduced yourself yet, and you also still have your weapon drawn. In regular circumstances, I would conceive you as a threat. Is that what you are to us?"

"No, no, no, no!" Ruby hastily replied, waving her free hand frantically. "I'm not here to hurt you guys, I promise! I wouldn't have helped you fight those Grimm if I wanted to hurt you. I had to be sure you guys weren't a threat to me, either, and..." Ruby's eyes darted in all directions, quickly trying to think of some sort of excuse that wouldn't make her seem untrustworthy, "... and if we're doing introductions, everyone should be introduced."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"Well, I'm Ruby," the brunette introduced with a smile, hoping it didn't look as awkward as she felt before she motioned to her scythe, positioning the blade away from the girls to look less like a maniac, "and this is my uncle, Qrow."

All of them were silent for at least a minute, causing uncomfortable giggles to spring from Ruby's mouth. "Um... what's wrong?"

"... You had trouble believing in Adam," Blake began slowly, "yet your scythe is your uncle."

Ruby winced. She hadn't thought of it like that. That did sound a little weird.

"He... wasn't always like this," Ruby began, having trouble finding the words to explain, instead buying time by allowing her scythe to disintegrate, disappearing in a flash of white light. She seemed to pique their interest, though, so it gave her the bravery to continue. "He raised me, taught me how to fight. I'd be nowhere without him. But one day..." Ruby hesitated, not wanting to think about those times. "He got hurt really bad. And, I don't know how exactly, but I just knew I was able to save him. I have this... power, inside of me. There are certain people in this world born as 'Incarnations,' and all of those people I can absorb into my mind and call upon them to fight with me, if they are willing, of course. Uncle Qrow was one of those people. Now he lives inside my mind, in my Inner Realm, and he manifests as a scythe whenever I call upon him."

At first it was silent. And then Yang laughed. Really hard. So hard it felt forced, but Ruby didn't appreciate it all the same. It made her feel small; made her feel like she was making things up even though she wasn't. She really did have this special power, even if she didn't fully understand how it worked yet.

Once Yang's laughter died down, she asked, "You can't be serious. What kind of story was that?" Ruby glared at her, causing Yang to flinch and then nervously scratch the back of her neck. "You... are joking, right? Like, that's crazy."

"Yang," Weiss scolded, causing the blonde to instantly shut up. The white haired girl gave Ruby an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Ruby, but I also find that... a bit hard to believe."

"I'm not lying!" Ruby protested. "I know it sounds weird, but it's the truth. I'm not making things up or casting a dumb spell or anything—I can't even cast spells! I really do have this special power. I don't know why I have it or how long I've had it for, but it's there."

Yang and Weiss glanced at each other, looking unsure. They still didn't believe her. Ruby made herself look like a fool in front of them even though she really was telling the truth. Why did no one ever believe her? Why did she always mess up any social situation she'd ever been in?

This was why she never had friends growing up.

But then Blake approached her, coming so close that Ruby felt the need to hold her breath. The shamaness held her hands up, fingertips nearly brushing Ruby's head but never quite touching, and then she closed her eyes, leaving herself vulnerable. What on Remnant was she doing? Ruby was a little scared to move, to be honest. Was Blake trying to cast a spell on her? That wouldn't be very nice.

Still, it felt... warm, being so close to her, even though she still didn't really know her yet. Ruby wanted to know her. She wanted to know all of them. She really wanted to make friends for the first time, even if that happened to be with mysterious girls fighting monsters in a creepy old ruin.

Ruby was never one for the normal way of life, anyway.

Then suddenly Blake's eyes shot open and she backed away, creating distance between them.

"A-Are you okay?" Ruby stuttered, not sure what just happened.

"What did you see?" Weiss asked, both her and Yang running to Blake's side to support her.

"She isn't lying," Blake murmured, taking a deep breath to regain her aloof composure. "There was a black space, as deep as an abyss. There was a flat, rock platform, like a meteorite had been cut in half. And... there was a man on it."

Ruby perked up, recognizing that Blake was indeed referencing to her Inner Realm. How on Remnant did she know that, though? What sort of powers did this girl have? Was it really only telepathy, or something more? "Did he have spiky black hair? Grey shirt? Tattered red cloak?"

Blake's eyes flickered to Ruby's. "Yes," she replied, her voice calm but still carrying a sense of wonder. "Also he was... drinking?"

Ruby snorted. "Sounds like my uncle."

"Blake, c'mon, you can't be serious," Yang continued, scratching her cheek. "You realize how ridiculous you sound, right?"

Blake gave her a pointed look. "You believed me about Adam the moment I told you."

"That's because..." Yang struggled for words and looked at Weiss. Said girl looked down, her bangs now covering the entirety of the scar on her eye.

"Guys, hey, hey," Ruby said, trying to calm them all down. "Look, I have no idea what's going on and it's not my business, and it's okay if you don't want to believe me about my uncle, but shouldn't we keep moving? I lost my dog in here and I need to find him."

"Shit, really?" Yang questioned. "Sorry, Ruby, we rambled for a bit. We'll help you look for him."

Ruby's eyes brightened. "Really?"

Weiss crossed her arms. "Finding an exit would also prove useful," the white haired girl mentioned casually. Then she glared up at Yang. "Why are you never so eager when I ask you for favours?"

"Because your favours involve lectures and history lessons. You know I have a short attention span, babe," Yang replied with a smirk, wrapping an arm around Weiss's waist and pulling the much shorter girl against her side. "Besides, this is about a puppy, Weiss. A puppy! I know you love puppies."

"B-Be quiet, you brute," Weiss reprimanded, her voice starting off harsh but quickly losing its aggression, her face burning red as she let Yang hold her.

"And I hate them," Blake hissed. "But we'll help you find him anyway. We'll probably find the exit when we look regardless."

"If we can't, couldn't we just use the way we came in?" Yang asked.

"Eheheh, about that," Ruby laughed nervously, playing with her fingers. "I might have accidently caused a cave-in at the entrance when I got here. Skirmish with the Grimm and all that."

"So you've potentially trapped us here," Weiss sighed. "How wonderful."

"Don't be so pessimistic, Weissy," Yang said with a smirk, pulling the shorter girl closer, "there has to be another way out. There's always a secret exit in places like these."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience."

"I was very wild before you met me." Yang wiggled her eyebrows. "I can prove it to you tonight, if you want."

"How about no?" Weiss replied angrily, huffing and walking away.

"Baaaaabe, don't be like that!" Yang whined, following after the white haired girl like a whipped animal.

A hefty, revolted shutter ran through Blake but she followed her friends all the same, albeit more slowly. Ruby hurried to catch up with the shamaness, keeping her pace.

"How long have they been... together?" Ruby asked, hesitating to say the word 'dating'. Somehow, that word didn't seem appropriate, even if it was correct.

"Probably long before I met them," Blake replied drily, tucking some rebellious black tresses behind her ear. "I haven't asked."

Ruby nodded shyly, not pushing the question. "Why are you guys in here, anyway?" she asked instead.

Blake paused mid-step, but only for a moment. It was so instantaneous that Ruby thought she imagined it.

"People chased us in here," the shamaness replied. "Thanks to those Grimm from earlier, they ended up like that." She pointed at several corpses wearing white masks that littered the area, causing Ruby to nearly choke on her own saliva. How did she not notice those before?

"Why... Why were they chasing you?" Ruby eventually choked out, finally tearing her gaze away from the dead, torn to bloody piles, to meet with Blake's amber pools, but those darkened eyes didn't look at her.

Blake never responded, so Ruby decided she probably didn't want to know the answer.

Several hours past without any sign of Zwei or the exit. They fought a few small hordes of Grimm, way less threatening creatures than the bears from before, but the fights still proved to Ruby that not only did Weiss, Blake and Yang fight well together, Ruby also found she fought well with them. They complimented each other's strengths, covered each other's weaknesses.

They were a good team.

They searched every inch of stone and pottery and shrubbery they could, slicing through thick vines veiling the path and hauling aside large boulders, but each new path just seemed to lead to familiar rooms. The stone walls and candles and wilted flowers all looked the same. All they managed to coin was a few lien, barely worth anything nowadays.

After a few more hours of endless searching they decided to call it a night, settling in a large room after they had searched the perimeter for enemies and traps. Using some smaller stones, vines, and a few random pieces of wood, they set up a fire pit, and Yang allowed a secret ability of hers to shine through. Her lilac orbs shifted red and suddenly her hair glowed brighter and brighter until it was literally producing flames. Yang bent over, allowing her tresses to graze the wood until it caught fire and then pulled away, simmering down until her hair was back to normal and nothing but a wave of steam remained.

Ruby supposed she wasn't seeing things before when she thought Yang's hair was on fire. What an interesting ability. Either that girl really cared for her hair or really didn't.

They all sat around the fire for warmth, littering their possessions all around them to get more comfortable, to own the space. Between the four of them all they had to eat were two buns and a handful of berries, so they split the buns in half so they could all have some and divided the berries equally. It wasn't much and Ruby knew she would be hungry in the morning, but it was better than nothing and would give her enough strength to keep searching for Zwei tomorrow.

A sad look entered Ruby's eyes. Poor thing. He must be so scared, roaming this place all by himself. Why did he even run off in the first place? He must have heard something, or sensed something. Dogs could usually pick up on those things when humans couldn't, after all. Maybe he heard Weiss, Blake and Yang fighting and guided Ruby in here so she could find them. Nah, that seemed too coincidental. Maybe there was something else in here, something Ruby had yet to find. Maybe Zwei would be there when she found it.

Or maybe he was eaten by Grimm already.

Ruby shook her head, forcing such dark thoughts away. She couldn't think like that. Even if Zwei was just a dog, he was smart. He knew how to outrun the bad guys, even trick them when necessary. He'd gotten Ruby out of more than one bad scenario before.

"You okay there, Rubes?" Yang asked from across the fire.

Ruby chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "Rubes?" she echoed.

"She makes up stupid nicknames for everyone. Just ignore her," Weiss advised.

"Harsh," Yang mumbled, pouting. Then she looked at the brunette. "Still wondering if you're okay, though."

"Huh? Oh yeah, yeah, I'm good. Just thinking about Zwei. My dog," Ruby quickly added, pulling her knees against her chest. "He's been in here alone all day. I hope he's alright."

"Animals are strong," Blake said, her voice and the softness of her tone surprising Ruby. "He'll be fine."

Ruby still wasn't entirely reassured, but she believed that Blake believed, and something about having the dark haired girl on Ruby's side made her feel... safe. Weird.

"How did you and your dog end up here, anyway?" Weiss asked, eating the last of her berries.

"A game of tag gone wrong?" Yang offered with a small grin, earning a smack on the arm from Weiss.

"No, no, nothing like that," Ruby laughed, but the sound quickly turned dry. "Remember earlier when I was talking about my uncle Qrow?" Her three companions nodded. Ruby opened her mouth to speak more, but instead bit her lip roughly and looked away. It really hurt remembering about what happened. Normally Ruby was courageous in the face of battle, but that day... that day she was a coward.

The day Ruby was gazed upon by a woman with eyes like molten metal, Ruby realized she was a coward.

"H-Hey," Yang stuttered, the sound seeming so unusual coming from Yang's mouth, whose voice was normally so confident and brash, "you don't need to tell us if it hurts to remember. We all have bad memories."

"We only just met today," Weiss said, agreeing with Yang. "No one will force you to say anything."

Blake nodded, her panther pelt falling a little lower on her head, shadowing her catlike eyes. She didn't say anything, but that simple gesture spoke volumes to Ruby, more than words ever could.

"No... it's okay," Ruby said, giving them all a weak smile. "I need to tell someone. I might not get another chance. I don't know why, but... I feel like I can trust you guys."

The other girls gave her encouraging smiles... well, Blake didn't, but there was an inviting warmth in her eyes all the same. Even though Ruby hadn't known these girls for more than twelve hours... were they friends? They felt like friends. Ruby wanted them to be friends, and friends shared things with each other. Good and bad.

Plus, even though Blake seemed to believe her about the Incarnations and her Inner Realm, maybe Weiss and Yang would too if she explained the first time it happened to her with her uncle. Maybe then they could understand why it was so important that Ruby wanted them to believe her, and why she wanted to discover why she had these powers and how she could use them to help people.

Ruby swallowed thickly and hugged her knees tighter against her chest, praying to every divine being that she wouldn't mess this up.

"I'm fifteen. Uncle Qrow has taken care of me since I was a baby, since my mom died fighting against warlords when I was a child." Ruby took a deep breath. She barely remembered her mom, but it still hurt to think about her. "Apparently my mom was really strong, but even she fell in battle. Uncle Qrow didn't want the same thing happening to me, so he started training me in martial arts. He fought with a scythe primarily so he let me practice with one sometimes as well. He was always so silly, chasing girls around town and drinking himself into a stupor... but he was always so kind. He always looked out for me; wanted the best for me. I was shy growing up and didn't know how to talk to people so I never had any friends, but Uncle Qrow was always there for me so I wasn't lonely. Zwei was abandoned by an abusive family and we adopted him into ours when I was ten. He was scared of us at first, which makes sense, but soon he was even joining in on our training sessions. We taught him how to recognize bad guys and what to do when they appear. He was always such a smart dog. So playful. I can't lose him." Ruby almost sobbed, but she stopped herself.

"Three months ago," Ruby continued around the lump in her throat, "my village was attacked by warlords. They burned everything. Killed everyone. One had a top hat and a cane. Another had multi-coloured hair. Two of the second-in-commands were also there. One was a girl with green hair and the other was a boy who fought with his feet.

"But the one I remember most of all... was the leader." Ruby shivered from the memory. "Every one of her footsteps left fire. Whenever she pointed at someone, they melted to ash. And when she approached me and looked at me with those... those eyes, that look in her eyes... I've never felt that scared in my life. I never knew a human being could be that terrifying until that moment. I thought she was going to kill me. She probably would have... if Uncle Qrow didn't get in the way.

"He took the blow for me. He couldn't move. But he was still alive, even though I knew it would only be for a few more minutes. And in those last few minutes as he looked at me, I noticed this soft glow illuminate his body, almost like an aura. I don't think anyone else could see it. And after that... I felt this connection with him. Obviously I was already close with him, but in that moment... I felt like he and I could become one. Like we could fight as one. That I could save him, if he let me.

"And he let me. I felt his essence enter my spirit, and all of a sudden his body transformed into a scythe, one that I knew was mine to wield. This gave me some courage—not a lot—but just enough to defend myself against the woman. She beat me pretty bad, but for some reason she left me alive. I still don't know why. She told me to run and I did. I hid for at least a day before I came back, making sure all the warlords were gone before I did. Nothing was left of my village except a pile of ash.

"I found Zwei under a pile of boards, though, and managed to save him. I want to avenge my village. I want to know why that woman left me alive, and why she attacked my village in the first place. I want to learn more about my power to absorb people, about why I've been given this gift and why certain people are born as these 'Incarnations.' I want to know if there's anyone else out there that can do what I do. I want... no, I need to know why I have these powers, why this Inner Realm has developed in my mind, and how I can use these powers to help people. Even though Uncle Qrow doesn't have a physical body anymore, what I did still saved him. I need to know what that means."

Ruby didn't realize she was crying until after she finished her story. She didn't mean to talk that much. It was probably hard to follow. She literally told them her life story. Who does that after only knowing someone for a day?

She wiped her eyes. They felt red. They were probably red. As red as that leader's dress that day and Uncle Qrow's broken, bloody body and Ruby felt herself about to lose it again—

"Ru... Ruby... Ruby!" Said girl's head finally snapped up at the sound of Yang's voice, just in time to see the blonde walk around the fire and envelope her in a tight hug. "It's okay. That woman isn't here. No one's going to hurt you. You're safe with us."

"... R-Really?" Ruby murmured, her voice muffled against Yang's chest. She felt the other girl nod, her chin brushing against Ruby's scalp.

"Really, really. I promise you're safe with us."

And Ruby truly did feel safe in that moment. Not just because of how warm Yang was, or the strength of her scarred arms around her, or the sincerity of her words.

But when Ruby pulled back a bit and looked into those lilac eyes, she realized that Yang's body was covered in a soft glow. An aura.

Just like her Uncle Qrow.

Was Yang also... an Incarnation?

Yang smiled at her and pulled away, heading back to her original spot across the fire, and the moment they stopped touching Ruby could no longer see Yang's aura. Did she even see it in the first place? Maybe she only imagined it. Her vision was still a bit blurry, after all.

... That looked a little too real to imagine, though, but it would probably be best not to bring it up for now. At least not in front of Weiss and Blake. She could ask Yang about it later.

"S-So," Ruby started, wiping away the rest of her tears and taking a deep breath to destroy the remnants of shakiness in her voice. "What's the story with you guys? How'd you all meet?"

The three girls glanced at each other, sharing this look that screamed that they didn't know where to begin, or if they even should. Ruby huddled in on herself. Maybe she shouldn't have asked that. Just because she was willing to spare the details of her past doesn't mean they were.

"Well, I guess this starts with me," Weiss began, surprising Ruby more than a little bit. She didn't even expect an answer at the point, let alone Weiss, out of the three, being the one that originated the group to begin with. "As you are well aware, I am a Schnee. I'm heiress to my father's current position, but I..." Weiss sighed. "I want no part of it."

Ruby tilted her head. "Why not?" the brunette asked. Personally she never understood all the royalty and rich kid stuff. Ruby and her uncle never had a lot of money and they were happy despite that. Did the Schnee's wealth put a lot of strain on Weiss somehow? After all, if Weiss eventually got to take over her father's position one day, she'd be considered one of the most powerful and influential people in Remnant. Did Weiss not want to be that person?

"I did want to, at first," Weiss admitted. "But... you remember those warlords you mentioned, Ruby? The one with the cane, the one with multicoloured hair, and their leader?" Ruby nodded, not liking where this conversation was heading. "I can recognize them from those descriptions. I know their names."

"What?" Ruby shouted, unable to help herself. "Who are they? Do you know where they are?"

"Calm down," Weiss ordered sternly. "Their names are Roman, Neo, and Cinder. They're dangerous, but you don't need me to tell you that. I only saw them once, but... they were in my home, and they didn't hurt any of us. And that's reason enough for me to believe that my father has some sort of ties with them." Weiss shook her head furiously, her teeth pressed tightly together. "I want nothing to do with that.

"A few months later, my older sister, Winter, was kidnapped." A worried gleam shone in Weiss's eyes. "That gave me all the courage I needed to finally leave my heritage behind. That happened over a year ago. I've been looking for her ever since."

"And on her travels, she ran into me!" Yang announced, pointing to herself with her thumb, a silly grin on her face. "I was a simple travelling bard at the time, wandering from town to town, and I happened to hear this beautiful voice in the woods—"

"Phht," Weiss snorted, looking too amused to even be embarrassed at the noise she made. "You? Just a travelling bard? More like a petty criminal running away with her tail between her legs."

"Hey now, that's not very nice." Yang pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "Okay, so maybe a few guards were after me..."

"More like an entire city's squadron." Weiss looked at Ruby, holding her pale hand in front of her face to block Yang from seeing her expression. "This brute causes trouble everywhere she goes. She got so drunk that she lost control of her hair and burnt down every tavern in the town."

"And running away from that debt I owed didn't seem to solve many problems cause Weissy here lectures me about it every chance she gets," Yang whined, acting like she was the victim here. Who could cause such a big mess and still consider themselves the victim?

It did sound funny, though, and perfectly like something the blonde would do.

"I really am a bard, though," Yang continued, un-strapping the lute on her back and holding it in her lap, gently plucking a few random strings. The sound was more pleasant than Ruby was expecting. "Been playing this baby since I was nine years old. I sing, too, but Weiss is much better than me, so after we startled travelling together she sang my songs instead. Helped ring in the lien."

Ruby smiled, unable to help herself. "I'd love to hear you guys perform sometime." The brunette gazed directly at the blonde. "What inspired you to start?"

"My dad," Yang replied, easily dragging out a few notes that created a joyous harmony. "He taught me everything I know. How to fight, how to play, how to pick up chicks, everything."

Ruby and Weiss's faces went the same shade of red, but Weiss took it a step further and smacked the blonde's shoulder. Just how many times had she hit Yang today? Was that even considered abuse?

"Next time you see Taiyang, tell him he's a brute, too," Weiss huffed.

"Awe, I love you too, babe," Yang cooed, pulling Weiss into her lap and nuzzling her snow white hair. Weiss struggled for a few moments, but soon gave up resisting and simply relaxed in her partner's hold, letting her head fall onto the blonde's shoulder.

"What about your mom?"

Ruby regretted the question the moment it passed her lips because the entire atmosphere seemed to tense right up. Yang's expression went blank, Weiss tightened her hold around her girlfriend, and Blake, who hadn't said anything for awhile, looked away entirely, like she would rather be anywhere but there right now.

"She abandoned me when I was a baby," Yang replied. It was clear that she was trying to sound like nothing was wrong, but there was an utter emptiness and sense of betrayal in her tone. "I have no memories of her. But that's okay, because I had my dad. I never needed a mom."

Ruby saw right through that denial, but she didn't say anything because there were a few shameful times she felt that way about her own mom. Her mother left her to fight against the warlords and then never came back. Uncle Qrow was the one who raised her and gave her a real home. If not for him, she probably wouldn't even be alive.

But she wouldn't be alive without her mom, either. Her mom risked everything fighting evil, to protect innocent people, to protect her daughter. How could Ruby blame her for that? Sure, she wished she had gotten to spend more time with her mom, and she wished she was still alive right now, but her mom did what she thought was right and it wasn't fair to condemn her for that.

Ruby had no doubt that if Yang's mother truly did leave her when Yang was so young, she probably had a good reason for doing so. No parent would leave their child behind if they felt they had a choice. And even if Yang forever despised her mom for leaving her, whatever the reason, Ruby guessed that Yang truly did want to meet her mom. Even if she only got to talk to her for a few minutes it would be enough.

Gods only know what Ruby would do for five more minutes with her mom.

"How about you, Blake?" Ruby asked the shamaness, deciding to switch the flow of conversation since she felt too awkward speaking to Yang directly after that little incident. A suspicious look in Blake's eyes proved she knew exactly why Ruby had asked that, but she didn't fight her on it. Even if the black haired girl didn't seem impressed with the question, she did seem thankful the conversation was pushing away from Yang's past.

Then Blake shrugged. "I hated people. People hated me. So I lived alone on the outskirts of my village. Spent my days practicing my spells and talking with Adam. I know that probably sounds boring, but I was content." Then the girl in the animal pelt glared at her two cuddling companions, who both just now seemed to be recovering from the talk of Yang's mother. "And then Yang barges into my house in absolute hysterics, carrying Weiss who was unconscious and close to bleeding out. I would like to point out I had no idea who they were at the time so I was furious."

Ruby's brow furrowed at the story, and she gained the courage to meet Yang's gaze again. "What happened?" the scythe-wielder asked.

Yang let out a heavy breath. "Weiss and I were attacked. They wounded us pretty bad before we managed to get rid of them. Weiss took the most of it. It's how she got her scar."

That word made Weiss twitch and bury her face in Yang's neck, as if she were ashamed of her injury. Yang tenderly pushed her away so she could hold her white bangs to the side and leave a gentle kiss on the scar above her eye, making Weiss blush.

"I keep telling her that it isn't ugly and it's actually a physical representation of her bravery, but I don't think she believes me yet."

Weiss turned redder at the words—Ruby didn't think it was from embarrassment, though—and then she buried her face in Yang's neck again. Her shoulders shook like she was about to cry, but a sob never broke past her lips.

"At the time, I was terrified Weiss was going to die," Yang continued, running her long fingers through Weiss's snowy tresses, "so basically I panicked and carried her to the first house I could find. Honestly it was pure luck that Blakey just happened to be talented in healing arts."

Blake nodded in agreement. "I didn't like strangers barging into my house, but it was the first time someone had ever asked me to use my magic to help them. So I did. I couldn't just let her die. Of course, however, I never once implied that we were friends," Blake growled at the other girls, more at Yang though, Ruby noticed, "yet they dragged me along with them anyway, spewing nonsense of the Sun being good for my skin."

"It is!" Weiss argued.

"You're paler than I am."

"I'm a descendent of the Ice-Bloods, what do you expect from me?"

"Blake looked so lonely in that house, so I had to take her with us!" Yang announced, completely ignoring the other conversation happening around her. "I told her I could never repay her enough for saving Weiss, but the least I could do was be friends with her forever!"

Blake raised her hand lazily. "I don't like my end of the deal so far," she muttered quietly.

"Still so cruel," Yang moaned, earning a comical pat on the head from Weiss.

Ruby giggled. "You're all so different," the brunette noticed, "but it's obvious you all are really good friends. Even if you deny it," she added, glancing at Blake, causing the magic user to roll her eyes. "I don't want to say I'm happy things turned out the way they did, 'cause it's obvious we've all suffered, but... I'm glad our paths led us here today. I'm happy I got to meet you guys. I wish we could've met a long time ago."

The three girls smiled in response, and that was all Ruby needed to see to know they agreed.

A few moments passed in silence, no noise other than the cackle of the fire echoing off the walls, and then Ruby shivered, a cold chill running right through her. She hugged her cloak tighter around her body and scooted closer to the fire, trying to warm up.

"You cold, Rubes?" Yang asked a bit worriedly. Ruby nodded. Then a strange grin stretched the blonde's lips from ear to ear. "Never fear, because Yang Xiao Long has a solution." The bard held out both her scarred, muscular arms. "Group hug!"

"W-What?" Ruby stuttered, startled at the suggestion.

"Why do you always do this, Yang?" Blake sighed.

"Because Weiss gets cold easily and you always look like you need a hug," Yang replied, still grinning. Then she nudged the white haired girl in her lap. "Make room for the others, Weiss. You're hogging all the heat. Ruby's coldest right now so she gets the middle."

Weiss sighed. "You just indirectly tried to call yourself hot, didn't you?" she asked, a question that didn't need an answer. Yang parted her lips to reply anyway, but Weiss covered her mouth with her hand to muffle any words that came out. Then Weiss scooted out of Yang's lap, instead curling herself against Yang's side and trying to hide her smile as the blonde wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Yang is literally a human furnace, though," Weiss said to Ruby, "so other than just wanting to cuddle three girls simultaneously, Yang's offer is logical."

Yang nodded hastily numerous times, as if trying to prove this offer had no ulterior motives. Then her gaze turned to Blake, her eyelids drooping sultrily. "Come here, Kitty..." Yang purred, the words rolling off her tongue as she patted the free spot next to her.

Honestly, Ruby didn't think Blake would cooperate. The idea of a group hug with these three unbelievably breathtaking girls made Ruby feel weird inside, so Ruby could only imagine how someone as aloof as Blake felt about it. So she was surprised when Blake sighed and said, "I hate you," to Yang, before crawling over and sitting down next to the brawler. Yang smirked and snaked her arm around Blake's waist, removing all space between them by pulling her flush against her side. Blake grumbled and looked away, a tinge of pink on her cheeks, only visible because of the paleness of her skin.

"You're next, Ruby," Yang said, stretching her legs outwards to give Ruby a spot to sit between them. "Come join our love nest."

Ruby blushed despite herself, even when knowing they were just words. It was actually an innocent offer. They were all just being friendly; trying to keep her warm. Friends hugged and cuddled, right? Nothing wrong with that. It was just hard for Ruby, because that hug Yang gave her earlier was the first form of physical affection Ruby had been shown in months. Ever since she absorbed Uncle Qrow's essence, she hadn't gotten close to anyone. There hadn't been time. Ruby didn't have the ambition to try and form relationships.

But she wanted that to change, and these girls were giving her a chance to do so.

So Ruby swallowed her nervousness, scooted between Yang's legs and leaned back against the girl's front. Immediately Ruby understood what Weiss meant when she said Yang was like a human furnace, because wow was she warm. It was like fire ran through her veins instead of blood, yet her skin never quite burned; it was similar to the pleasant warmth of a bath prepared at just the right temperature. Ruby felt her cheeks heat up simply from how nice it felt, a smile spreading her lips.

Then Weiss and Blake both laid an arm across her as well. Never touching or grabbing, simply resting at her waist, so that all of them could be connected in this moment.

Ruby's face became redder. She couldn't believe this was happening. She couldn't believe how warm they all were, how safe she felt cuddled between them, how it felt like she was destined to be with all of them. For some reason, in that moment, Ruby felt like this moment with the girls went beyond physical touch; it was like their souls were connecting and understanding each other.

And a moment later, Ruby realized why she felt like that.

Ruby noticed an aura, a soft glow, surround Yang's outstretched legs, the same aura that Ruby thought she imagined before when Yang hugged her. Not quite believing her eyes, Ruby turned her head and noticed the rest of Yang's body was glowing just the same. Another glance down at the arms lazily encircling her waist proved Weiss and Blake were surrounded by that aura, too. Just like the aura her uncle had the day he was going to die.

None of them seemed to notice the gentle glow surrounding them. But Ruby did. And even if her eyes truly were deceiving her, the connection she felt with their souls at the moment, the draw she felt to them, couldn't be denied.

All three of them were Incarnations. If they were willing, Ruby could absorb their essences into her Inner Realm. They could fight together any time. Ruby could save them from dying if things ever took a turn for the worse. They could be together, always.

But how would they react to hearing that?

Ruby's expression grew more and more conflicted the more she thought about it. Yes, she wanted to be with them, and yes, it would be amazing to always fight alongside them because of their amazing teamwork, but she knew she couldn't force them to do this. Ruby wasn't even fully sure how her powers worked. All she knew was that all three of them would have to agree to abandon their physical bodies and live in Ruby's Inner Realm unless she called upon them. Ruby couldn't even imagine what that was like.

If they did that, then they may have to give up a lot of their goals and aspirations in life. Weiss could no longer look for her sister on her own. She'd have to trust in Ruby to guide her in the right direction. Yang might not be able to perform as a bard anymore. Blake may not be able to practice her spells. Honestly, Ruby could be wrong about all of that, but she couldn't be sure. Maybe things wouldn't change all that much. But at the same time, maybe they would change entirely.

Besides, what if something went wrong? What if she hurt them? What if she didn't know how to fix it?

"I can hear the gears in someone's mind turning, and for once I don't think its Weiss's," Yang thought aloud, earning a huff from the white haired girl. Her voice was right next to Ruby's ear and the ticklish sensation sent a chill down her spine. "Whatcha thinkin' about, Ruby?"

"O-Oh nothing, don't worry about me," Ruby stuttered, cursing herself because she knew she just gave herself away.

Blake gave her a thoughtful look. "Are we making you uncomfortable?" she asked quietly, carefully.

Ruby felt Yang flinch behind her, as if the question physically harmed her. "I'm sorry," the blonde immediately said, sounding guilty, "I didn't mean to—"

"No, it's not that," Ruby said quickly with a shake of her head to ease Yang's worries. "This is... nice, actually." She leaned deeper into Yang's front, resting her hands over Weiss's and Blake's. The aura glowed through the small spaces between Ruby's fingers, as if she were holding an enchanted gemstone. She'd never held a girl's hand before, and it made butterflies swarm low in her stomach. "It's just..." Ruby took a deep breath, trusting that her new friends wouldn't get mad at her. "Do any of you feel... different right now? Feel anything out of the ordinary?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Do you feel something?"

Ruby nodded slowly. "Yeah." The brunette released a deep breath, turning around so she could look into all of their eyes, but never losing physical contact. "And I was wondering if any of you felt it too?"

Yang wore a puzzled expression and scratched her cheek. "Might help if I knew what weird feeling I'm supposed to single out," she commented. "Can you be more specific?"

"I-I don't know," Ruby stammered, feeling a small panic in her heart but forced herself to remain as calm as possible. "It's... warm, I guess? It's not a bad feeling, it's just unfamiliar. It's like... feeling a connection to something, but you're not sure to what or what it means. It would probably feel different to you than to me."

That seemed to catch Blake's attention because her amber eyes slanted. "Why would you assume that?" she asked. She looked angry, but sounded more intrigued than anything. "Unless there's something you're not telling us."

Ruby faltered under that gaze, under those words, and knew she would have to confess. It would eat her alive otherwise. She probably wasn't making any sense to them right now. The gleam in Blake's eyes made Ruby assume the black haired girl had an inkling of what she was about to say, but Ruby knew it was her responsibility to say it, even if the idea of doing so scared her. She didn't want to lose her potential new friends just because of her strange powers, and could do nothing but hope they would be understanding about this, whether they agreed to be absorbed or not.

"Remember how I told you about my powers?" Ruby asked, already knowing the answer but she had to start somewhere. After she received three puzzled nods, she continued, "Weiss and Yang, I know you two probably still don't believe me, but I really did become one with my uncle. He's an Incarnation, and because he's an Incarnation, I saw this glowing aura around his body. I was able to connect with his soul, absorb his essence, and now he resides in my Inner Realm and I can call him to aid me anytime." The brunette swallowed thickly and licked her lips. "Right now... I can see that same aura around all of you."

It was silent for a long time and Ruby's heart was beating so loud and so fast she was surprised it wasn't echoing off every wall in this ruin. She felt like she was suffocating. All of them were looking at her with these expressions somewhere between empty and shocked, disbelieving and at the same time wondering if they should believe, and for the love of God one of them had to say something or Ruby thought she would have a heart attack.

Eventually, Yang spoke up, but the words she said didn't settle Ruby's heart any.

"So... what? You're saying we're all part of this 'Incarnation' possy? That you can absorb us?" the blonde questioned. She didn't sound convinced, but there was this tone in her voice that didn't sound completely sure of her denial. A part of her probably thought it was true, but maybe she was scared of that possibility.

Ruby nodded. "It's hard to explain it, but I can feel this connection with all of you right now when we're close like this. It's like... I can see your essences shining through; see the pathways of which our souls can intermingle. And if you were willing... yes, I'm fairly certain I could absorb you."

"When you say absorb," Weiss started, looking confused and a little frightened, "what exactly does that entail? It sounds like you would eat us or something, or erase us from existence."

"No, no, no, nothing like that!" Ruby retorted with a frantic wave of her hands. "I guess absorb isn't the best word to use. It sounds dirty. And kinda scary now that I think about it. I don't know much about my powers yet, but if I had to try and describe how it was with Uncle Qrow... his soul remained completely intact, but also became a part of mine. He is still his own person, but has also become a part of me."

"So if we agree to do this with you, which I'm not saying we will," Blake said quickly when her words caused three pairs of eyes to look at her differently, "what would happen to us? Would we get transported to that place I saw in your mind? Where I saw your uncle?"

"Yep," Ruby answered, gaining a bit of confidence. Even if they didn't want to do this with her, she was satisfied she could at least talk to them calmly about it. "That's my Inner Realm. Uncle Qrow is the only one there right now, but now that I know more Incarnations exist in the world... I can see that place growing much bigger, and gaining many more residents, if people are willing, of course. I can visit my Inner Realm at any time to interact with my uncle or ask him for help, so I have no doubt I could do that with you guys, too. And since he's technically residing in my mind, he can speak with me whenever he wants, too. That communication is never shut off." Ruby winced. "Most of the time I have to hear his drunken ramblings, though. It's not fun."

Weiss chuckled despite the hesitancy in her eyes. "Reminds me of a certain someone..." she murmured, slowly looking at Yang. The blonde stuck her tongue out at her girlfriend playfully.

But then Yang's expression became much more sober. "Look, Ruby," she began, the words shooting a pang of anxiety through Ruby's chest, "I actually am starting to believe you. You don't seem like the type of person who could keep up a lie for this long, or a lie in general, actually." Ruby blushed at that, even though it wasn't anything to be embarrassed about. "But... that's a huge commitment you're asking us to make, you know? That's life-changing. You even said yourself you don't entirely know how your powers work yet. What if things don't work out as you say?"

"I..." Ruby sighed. "I don't know."

Yang nodded, already looking sure that she would receive that reply. "I consider myself a free spirit. It would be hard for me to give that up. I don't want to say I don't trust you, Ruby, but there are a lot of unknowns here."

Weiss nodded in agreement with the blonde. "I'm sorry, Ruby," she said, the regular icy glare in her blue eyes replaced by an apologetically soft look, "but I have to agree with Yang, for once. I'm... flattered you feel this connection with me, with all of us, and that you want to fight alongside us, but... my main priority is finding my sister. I can't let anything come before that. And how am I supposed to find her if I'm stuck inside your head?"

"I know, I know," Ruby said, rubbing her face and taking a deep breath, slowly exhaling it through her nose to calm her nerves. Her hands were shaking. She tried to stop them but found she couldn't, so she just held them together in the folds of her black skirt. "I was never planning to force any of you into this. I just... really wanted you all to believe me. That's all. These powers are still new and scary for me and I just... don't want to go about this alone. And when I noticed your auras I just thought you all had the right to know, and the right to make a choice."

Blake gently squeezed her shoulder, earning Ruby's full attention. Her amber, catlike eyes darted back and forth between Ruby's. "I believe you," she murmured, making Ruby's heart flutter. Blake always seemed to be on her side, for some reason. "We'll think about it, okay?"

Ruby nodded, resting her hand on top of Blake's and smiling when the girl didn't pull away. "Okay."

The four girls took turns sleeping in shifts, one person guarding the area at all times. Blake was on guard for the first two hours, then Ruby for the next two, and when Ruby had gone to sleep, Yang had taken over.

Ruby roused from her sleep thanks to a louder than usual cackle in the fire pit. Ruby's eyes weren't adjusted to the darkness, other than the dim light of the remaining fire, but she could hear Weiss groan softly in her sleep and shift her weight, her ponytail brushing against Ruby's back, which gave her an idea of her surroundings. Through blurry eyes she saw Yang's bright yellow hair lighting up to fuel the fire, causing Ruby to squeeze her eyes shut again at the sudden light. If Yang was still on her shift, either Ruby hadn't slept very long or Yang was taking Weiss's turn for her so the white haired girl could keep sleeping.

That was kind of sweet, actually. From what Ruby had gathered about Yang so far, she was brash and spoke without thinking sometimes, but her heart was ultimately kind and she put the safety and happiness of her friends before all else. Ruby respected that.

She also gave really warm hugs. That was a bonus.

After she prepared herself, Ruby opened her eyes fully, the larger fire helping her regard and understand her surroundings.

It also helped her regard that Blake was sleeping right beside her, facing her, so close that Ruby could feel her breath on her lips.

Ruby instantly turned red, panicking so hard that her body couldn't even move. Then she realized she couldn't move because she was trapped beneath Blake's arm that was draped around her waist. Gods. She faintly remembered falling asleep next to Blake, but they had been facing away from each other. They absolutely were not this close before. Ruby was not that bold, not even close to that bold.

But now she was stuck like this. Stuck looking at Blake's adorable sleeping face—she didn't look nearly as stressed now—stuck feeling Blake's warm puffs on her face, stuck feeling Blake's gentle hand on her hip.

Ruby started to fidget. She couldn't take this. She couldn't handle being this close to Blake. She was so pretty. How did they even end up like this? Did Blake do it consciously once Ruby fell asleep? No, no, no, no way, it had to have happened by accident once they both passed out. It was clear Blake didn't like being close to people.

But Ruby wanted to be close to her. She wanted to touch her; brush her hair out of her eyes, cover her hand with her own. Goddammit, she was able to hold Blake's hand before and Blake was awake then. Why was it so hard now?

Ruby shook her head. She couldn't think about this right now. She couldn't handle it. She didn't know how to handle it, so her eyes darted away from Blake searching for something, anything, to distract her.

And, wow, did she find a curious distraction.

From Ruby's position on the ground it was hard to make out any details, but she could see a woman standing at the edge of the room, in the entrance of a hallway they hadn't travelled yet. She was clad in red and black armour, carried a katana on her hip, and had a hair style very similar to Yang's but the colour was more similar to Ruby's own. The woman also wore a white mask that covered her entire face and it reminded Ruby oddly of the Grimm.

She thought only White Fang members wore masks like that. Unless this woman was in the White Fang. Then it was possible they were all in big trouble. That woman looked strong, and many White Fang members were violent without reason, blinded by their rage of being discriminated for centuries.

Just as Ruby was about to jump up and materialize her scythe, she heard Yang murmur something under her breath that made Ruby's heart skip a beat.

"Mom?"

Ruby had never heard something said so brokenly before. If she hadn't heard it herself, she never would have believed Yang could sound like that.

The woman seemed to react to the word, running down the dimly lit hallway at a speed that rivaled Ruby's own before she disappeared around a corner.

"Mom!" Yang yelled, charging after the woman.

"Yang!" Ruby shouted after the blonde, but Ruby was never graced by a backwards glance. "Dammit." She moved Blake's arm off of her. "Guys, wake up!" the brunette demanded loudly, dumping a large pile of rocks on the fire to snuff it out.

Blake was up in an instant, but her movements were more sluggish than Ruby was expecting. The girl draped with a panther pelt yawned widely and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She looked really tired.

Weiss soon followed suit, stretching and adjusting her side ponytail. "Can't a girl get a little beauty sleep in here? What's all the yelling about?" she complained, standing up and brushing off her dress. Her ice blue eyes darted around, and instantly she was on alert, worry and fear seeping into her expression. "Where's Yang?"

That question seemed to wake Blake up the rest of the way, too, the girl now on her feet, her pupils almost looking like they were forming catlike slits.

"She just randomly chased some woman down that hallway!" Ruby stated. "I don't know who she was, but I think she's part of the White Fang. Yang thinks it's her mom."

Blake visibly flinched. Ruby couldn't blame her, but it still seemed a little strange coming from the quiet girl.

"That idiot!" Weiss screeched, her rage echoing off the walls, but it wasn't hard to decipher how scared she suddenly was. She drew her rapier and summoned a glyph to shoot herself down the hallway at supersonic speeds.

Ruby and Blake nodded to each other, Ruby summoning her scythe before the two girls followed their friends down the hallway.

Just what on Remnant was Yang thinking? That woman couldn't have really been her mom, could she? Yang herself said that her mom abandoned her when she was a baby, so there's no way Yang would even know what she looked like.

But Ruby knew that Yang truly did want to meet her mom, no matter how much Yang avoided saying it. If she were willing to run off without them just in the hopes that that woman could have been her mother, that spoke volumes about Yang's true feelings and how she had bottled them up for too long.

After traversing a ridiculous amount of zigzagging corridors, Ruby and Blake ran into Weiss and Yang in a large room with a high ceiling and an even deeper drop, standing at the edge of a stone arching bridge that had a gap in the middle too wide to cross by jumping. The woman in armour was nowhere to be seen.

"Dammit, where did she go?" Yang fretted, probably more to herself than any of them. Her eyes flashed red and then back to their usual lilac several times, followed by a lone spark of energy slithering over her back for a moment before disappearing.

Ruby's gaze dimmed the longer she looked at the blonde. Seeing that woman really did startle her.

"Yang!" Weiss practically shouted, causing the blonde to flinch and her eye colour to remain normal. She looked down at Weiss worriedly; the white haired girl softened her tone and laid a hand on Yang's arm. "Yang, calm down. I'm going to look around, okay?"

Yang took a deep breath and eventually nodded, taking a step away from the ledge of the broken bridge.

Then Weiss held out her hand and summoned a small, circular glyph at her feet. Ruby still had no idea how those things worked, other than being able to propel Weiss forwards at high speeds, but apparently they could be used as solid platforms as well, because the glyph was now floating with Weiss still on it. The white haired girl kept her arm outstretched and steady—probably how she was controlling the movements of the glyph—and used her makeshift platform to travel to the other side of the bridge and inspect it.

Ruby could tell from where she was that there used to be a useable entranceway on the other side of the bridge, possibly even leading outside, but a cave-in had made the door inaccessible. It had probably been like that for years; maybe even centuries. Weiss scavenged around that area for a bit, probably looking for any hidden clues or devices scattered amongst the debris, but ultimately found nothing.

Weiss travelled upwards next, all the way up to the ceiling, again searching for anything out of the ordinary, but there was nothing there either other than stone walls and loosely hanging vines.

The white haired girl returned to the other three girls and widely expanded the diameter of her glyph. "Get on," Weiss ordered all of them, "we're going down."

"Ah yes, let's descend into the dark abyss," Blake mumbled dryly. "Sounds like a great plan."

Weiss huffed. "Do you have any better ideas?"

Blake simply shrugged, her panther pelt falling further over her face as she calmly stepped onto the glyph. Yang was quick to follow, standing close to Weiss.

Ruby slowly followed their example, relieved that she didn't fall right through the glyph even though it was clear it could already support the weight of three people. It probably had nothing to do with the durability of the glyph, though; more than likely it was Weiss's control over it that mattered.

But the blue eyed girl didn't seem at all encumbered at the extra force on her glyph. It was actually really impressive, though Ruby didn't tell her that. Weiss probably already knew how amazing she was.

Weiss slowly took them down, the glow emanating from her glyph illuminating their path. Ruby tightly held her scythe in front of her, ready for anything that might jump at them from the shadows, but the ride was surprisingly quiet and uneventful.

When the four of them were on solid ground again, Ruby was astounded at how bright the area was compared to the rest of the ruins. When she glanced up she couldn't even make out the bridge they were standing on before, but down here everything was in clear view. There were an excess amount of candles on the walls, their flames burning larger and brighter than all the others, illuminating the entirety of the room.

It basically looked the same as the rest of the ruins in terms of design, other than three distinguishable things. One was the remains of the broken bridge in the middle of the room, crumbled into millions of chunks and fragments from its descent in another time. The other was an extremely large Grimm statue on the other side of the room on the left side of an entranceway with a small set of stairs leading upwards.

And the last thing... was that Ruby could see light flooding in from just beyond those stairs. Natural sunlight.

That was the exit. They could finally get out of here.

And as elated as Ruby felt, a part of her was also confused. Did that White Fang woman purposely let Yang see her... so she could lead them to the exit? Was she trying to help them? What would she gain from that?

Ruby shook her head. No time to think about that right now. She wanted to get out of here; see the beautiful blue sky, feel the Sun's warmth on her skin, smell plantation that wasn't toxic for once. Plus, she couldn't find Zwei anywhere in these ruins, so she had to hope that he found this exit too and she would be ever closer to finding him once she was out that door.

"Guys! Sunlight!" Ruby cheered, pointing in the direction of the stairs. "That's the exit! Let's go!"

The other three looked just as thrilled by this news as her, and they all rushed to the stairs.

But they didn't quite get there.

Because once they ran past the Grimm statue, it started to shake, so intensely that Ruby thought the whole room would start shaking as well. And then the statue exploded, but not in the way Ruby expected. Instead, only the outer layer of the statue cracked and flew away, dust and stone fragments cluttering the area... to reveal a very real, very alive Grimm underneath.

That thing had never been a statue to begin with. It turned to stone as it slept, waiting for its next prey. Despite herself, Ruby felt her knees shake a bit as she stared up at the beast. It was a bear Grimm, similar to the trio they had fought before, but this one was at least twice the size of those, acting like a guardian to the exit.

Ruby wanted to yell at the girls to run for it, but found she didn't have a voice. Her friends looked just as shocked as she did, feet digging into the ground and weapons raised but looking frightened. They all knew they wouldn't be able to escape without fighting this thing. If they tore away their eyes for a second, it could all be over.

The Grimm slowly opened its blood red eyes, drool stringing down between its teeth that had to at least be the size of Ruby's body. And once it noticed them, it stopped moving slowly. It roared and lunged, its large claw aiming for all four of them at once.

Ruby swore that claw was about to dig itself into her forehead, but a green spherical barrier generated in front of her and the other girls just in time to save her life. Blake's magic, no doubt. Ruby stared at the claw in fear for a moment, the limb so close to her face she could make out every individual hair on its palm, every crack on its nails, before she finally came to her senses and jumped back a safe distance, scythe held outwards.

She couldn't believe she let herself get so shaken up. If it wasn't for Blake, she would literally be a stain on the floor right now. Ruby gripped her scythe tighter, disappointed in herself. Sure, this thing was huge and powerful, way more so than any beast she had fought before, but she was confident in her skills. Confident in what her uncle had taught her.

And she was confident that, with Weiss's, Blake's, and Yang's help, she could take that thing down.

At least, until she finally looked at them.

They were terrified. Their eyes were wide and their lips were parted, their cheeks looking three shades paler than normal. Weiss and Yang hadn't even drawn their weapons yet, and even though Blake had outstretched her arm to cast the barrier, her limb was shaking so hard that Adam's lantern was rattling.

"Guys, c'mon!" Ruby called, loudly enough to snap them out of their shocked state, three pairs of frightened eyes now looking at her. "Get ready! We can beat this thing!"

That seemed to do the trick. At least a little bit. Blake's hold on her lantern solidified and Weiss and Yang finally drew their weapons and looked back at the beast. That was better. Ruby still thought something looked off about the three of them, though; such a fear of battle didn't seem natural for them. Even when they were losing the battle with the bear Grimm yesterday before Ruby showed up, they didn't looked scared. They looked determined.

They didn't look determined now.

But Ruby didn't have time to question them about it because a sound similar to a crack shooting through a window echoed throughout their small, protective dome, assaulting Ruby's eardrums. The brunette groaned, the echo of the noise so painful that she struggled to keep her eyes open and her hands away from her ears, but if she gave in to her weakness she would've missed how the barrier was now covered with spider web fractures that sprouted from the claw continuously scraping the barrier.

And in the next moment, it shattered.

The sound was akin to tiny bombs exploding in Ruby's eardrums, so loud she could barely hear Blake cry out and get thrown back as her magic was forcefully dispelled.

All that really registered in Ruby's mind after that was that everything turned to chaos.

The brunette jumped to the left, barely avoiding getting her cloak snagged on the claw coming at her. Weiss charged at the threatening appendage, slashing at its wrist and fingers with her rapier, leaving an aftermath of frost and ice crystals on its fur. Her attacks seemed ineffective, though, all remnants of her elemental powers dissipating in moments, only seeming to annoy the beast. The Grimm used that hand to form a fist and launch it at Weiss, and the white haired girl barely had enough time to form a glyph in front of her to brush the assault to the side.

This threw the beast a bit off balance so Ruby tried to take advantage of the situation by swinging her scythe against its smallest finger, intending to slice it clean off, but instead her weapon got jammed in the muscle so tightly she couldn't pull it free.

The monster groaned—from at least a little pain, Ruby hoped, to prove she could actually hurt it—but clearly it wasn't slowed down because, in a swift motion, it used its wounded finger to flick Ruby away, the brunette instantly losing grip on her weapon and crashing hard on the stone ground. She coughed violently, suddenly winded, and her shoulder ached from the rough fall. She hoped she hadn't dislocated it. She wouldn't have time to fix it right now, and damn did she dread every time she was forced to do so.

The brunette quickly got back on her feet, just in time to see her scythe still penetrated in the monster's digit fade away into nothingness, blood spurting from the wound now that there was nothing to seal it. Ruby frowned, only remembering now that if she was away from her weaponized Incarnations for too long they would be transported back to her Inner Realm; she wouldn't be able to call upon them again until their spirit was fully reformed there.

That would take at least a few minutes. Maybe more. Maybe one minute too long.

She raised her fists instead, keeping them loose and ready. She didn't fancy the idea of taking this beast on without her scythe, but she was confident in her hand-to-hand abilities as well. Uncle Qrow trained her in both specialities, after all, and she took all his lessons to heart. Against a human sized opponent, she wouldn't have much trouble. Most of the time her opponents couldn't even land a hit on her. Being small and quick helped with that.

But this thing was huge. And, somehow, just as fast as it was big. She wouldn't be able to take this thing on alone.

Silver eyes glanced to the left to see Yang wildly charge at the beast, yelling strange profanities and other incomprehensible words in a way that didn't seem to suit the blonde. Yes, Yang was hyper, had a temper, and seemed to like letting her fists do most of the talking... but this was too much, even for her. Every feral punch with her gauntlets against the beast's feet proved she was scared. Every impatient flame that poured out of her hair onto its fur proved that she wasn't paying enough attention to what she was doing.

She was frightened, probably still in shock from the whole situation, especially about that White Fang woman, and it was clear she was letting her emotions control her actions.

She wasn't fighting nearly as well as she was yesterday.

"Yang, you have to calm down!" Blake shouted, seeming to have the same thoughts as Ruby. The brunette saw the shamaness step up near Ruby and hold out both her arms. Her left hand glowed a strong yellow and remains of the broken bridge and other boulders in the area floated upwards in small portions, blanketed in the same glow as her hand. Her fingers flicked outwards, the debris soaring at the Grimm's masked head, while from his cage Adam almost seemed to roar, his fiery essence shooting outwards in a lengthy trail and striking the beast anywhere he could.

Their combined assault made the beast back up one step, and then another, but then it held its ground and began to push back.

"Yang!" Blake shouted again when the blonde didn't respond.

"I can't!" the blonde yelled back, her entire length of golden hair catching fire for a moment as she struck the beast with more force. "I... I have to get out of here! I can't—"

Her speech was cut off as the monster kneed her in the stomach—more like her whole body from how big it was—and the blonde immediately hacked up blood, her eyes returning to lilac and her hair losing its heat in a puff of smoke. In the next second the impact sent her soaring back like a cannonball.

"Yang!" Blake cried, getting in Yang's path and using wind magic to slow her fall, but ultimately the blonde still crashed into her, sending them both tumbling to the floor.

"Yang!"

"Blake!"

Weiss and Ruby both shouted over each other, rushing for their downed companions. Weiss helped Yang sit up, supporting her with a hand on the small of her back as the blonde swiped the blood off her chin.

"I'm fine," Yang grumbled, her hair steaming. She still looked furious, but Weiss's touch seemed to stable her at least a little.

Ruby helped Blake up as well, getting a silent nod as thanks. The black haired girl didn't look injured, thankfully, other than the bruise her body was probably faring from being sandwiched between the floor and almost six feet of hard muscle.

Then a sick, crunch like sound erupted from the Grimm on the other side of the area and Ruby was instantly on her feet, standing protectively in front of her new friends in a defensive position.

"What the fuck is it doing?" Yang asked as she and Weiss both rose to their feet as well, weapons at the ready once again. Hopefully the blonde wasn't expecting an answer because Ruby wasn't even sure where to begin. Ruby stared at the beast, watching its fur bristle, its red eyes glow brighter, desperately trying to figure out what it was about to do. If it charged at them, though, she would be ready this time.

She wasn't ready for its back to split open like a bear trap, muscle, blood, and bone all shuttering and shifting position in the open air. Its spine manifested into a bone rectangle on its gaping back, seeming to form some sort of symbol or portal on the exposed, fleshy tissue that somehow didn't appear to cause the beast any discomfort.

Ruby also wasn't ready for three large, orange, spherical lights to float out of the bone portal and for each of them to transform into three smaller bear Grimm, the same size as the ones they fought yesterday.

And in the next instant the largest Grimm's back molded back together, its bones linking back into a spine and its muscles conjoining once again until it was like the event never occurred.

But it did occur. That big Grimm, the Mama Grimm as Ruby decided to dub it, essentially just gave birth to more of those things. Perhaps the Mama Grimm was the source of the rest of the Grimm treading these ruins, but even if that were true, where did she come from? How did she get here? Had she truly been hiding since the Great War, slowly and secretly re-establishing the Grimm infestation?

Ruby didn't know. She may never know. But she didn't have time to think about it, because now they had four opponents to face instead of one, all of them roaring, elongated claws ready shred them down to mere strips of flesh.

Ruby shivered from fear, but only for a moment. She could do this. Her team could do this. It was the four of them versus the four of those beasts. It was a fair fight now, that's all. Nothing to worry about. If they worked together, they could do this.

But her teammates didn't look nearly as confident as her. Any courage they regained after being initially frightened was lost again. All three of them were shaking, eyes wide, weapons clattering in their grasp.

"Don't be scared, guys," Ruby said, raising her fists closer to her face. "We can do this. I know we can."

She knew her words would sound hollow to them, but she said them anyway in hopes it would help them fight. She knew they would fight. But she was worried they, again, wouldn't fight to the best of their ability. Something had been holding them back before and Ruby knew that, whatever that something was, it wasn't gone yet.

The three smaller Grimm rushed at them, Mama Grimm following shortly after. Ruby was going to propose to her teammates to break apart and surround one at a time, finishing each one off separately with a combination of their powers. It would be risky, but it would be more effective than each girl taking one Grimm on individually. If they had trouble doing that yesterday, no doubt it would be just as ineffective of a tactic today.

But it seemed her teammates had a completely different outlook than her, because although they did split up, they stayed that way. Weiss, Blake, and Yang all headed for a different Grimm, drawing them away from each other for three individual battles, leaving the Mama Grimm for Ruby.

"Guys, what are you doing?" Ruby yelled, too concerned about them to be scared or angry at being forced to fight this monstrosity on her own. "We have to work together!"

"We're trying, Ruby!" the white haired girl's shrill voice responded, only landing one good strike on her opponent's arm before she was forced to dodge and block multiple times.

"What? That is not what this is!" Ruby yelled back, using her supernatural speed to circle around the Mama Grimm and sprint towards the bear attacking Weiss, striking the back of its knee with her palm to force the beast to lose its balance, letting Weiss cover a large chunk of its abdomen in solid ice. "That is what working together looks like. We won't get anywhere otherwise!"

Weiss scoffed. "I can take care of myself. I don't want nor need your pity help."

"What?" Ruby questioned, flabbergasted and saddened at Weiss's tone. "That's not what I'm trying to do here!"

"There's too many of them, Ruby!" Yang called out, an ethereal quality to her voice that proved to Ruby even before she looked that Yang's eyes were glowing red and her hair looked akin to magma. "It'll take too long to finish them off individually, and we need to go!"

"Being in a rush to find that woman is no excuse to throw yourself and your friends into danger!" Ruby yelled back, cursing quietly as the Mama Grimm quickly appeared behind her. She hopped back a few paces, guiding the large beast away from her teammates. A claw swung down on her that was too big for her to dodge, so instead she unleashed a barrage of punches at the threat. She managed to break one of its nails, and quickly gripped the flat edge and crawled on its hand. She thought back to every anatomy textbook she'd ever read, praying for a small miracle as she punched as hard as she could where she hoped a pressure point would be in the beast's wrist. She thanked her lucky stars when the beast cried out and its legs buckled under it from loss of motor control, and Ruby hastily climbed up its arm as it fell and then jumped off, roughly landing on the back of the Grimm the blonde was facing. She looked at Yang over the bear's shoulder, watching the blonde's gauntlets heat up and make loud bursts with every punch the brawler threw. "You can't let this control you, Yang! You're putting Weiss and Blake in danger!"

"What do you know?" the blonde fumed, teeth exposed and snarling and genuinely scaring Ruby for the first time. How was this the same girl who held her so tenderly only a few hours ago? "You don't know anything!" Yang continued, eyes bright with fury, the words weak but her voice powerful.

"I know that this isn't who you are!" Ruby argued, struggling with her grip on the Grimm's back as it began thrashing, trying to shake her off.

A pained cry to their left caused both of them to look over to see Weiss on her knees, rapier out of her grasp and crimson running down her arm.

"Weiss!" Yang cried, a multitude of emotions crossing her face as her eyes switched back and forth between red and lilac.

"Go help her!" Ruby yelled. "I got this!" Yang complied and rushed over to aid her girlfriend. Ruby placed her remaining hope in Yang calming down enough to save Weiss because now she had her own problems to deal with. The Grimm finally tried grabbing her with its claw, which was difficult to dodge given her current situation. She leapt lower, and then higher, her arms getting tired from how long she had to grip its fur. One of its nails managed to snag her cloak and Ruby felt her heart in her throat. Luckily as it tried to drag her away, the nail ripped through her hood but nothing else, leaving the Grimm slightly confused.

And vulnerable.

Ruby climbed up until she was on the beast's shoulder, then she had one foot on its collarbone and one hand on its masked face for support as she thrust her fist into its bright red eye socket. She felt her fist splatter the eye beneath, jelly-like remains on her knuckles as she pulled back her arm, and the beast immediately discharged an animalistic shriek, clawing at its face and stumbling around before eventually falling to its knees.

The brunette hopped off the panicked beast, rolling to soften her fall, quickly glancing over at Weiss and Yang. Weiss was back on her feet next to her girlfriend, weapon in hand and it looked stable despite her injury, so she must've not been hurt too bad.

A glance in the other direction proved Blake wasn't faring as well. Apparently she managed to blow the Grimm's right arm off, but it was still gaining ground on her. Adam was attacking it furiously, like the very thought of that monster getting too close to Blake made him want to break the lantern that contained him, but Blake herself looked exhausted. Her one arm was supporting the other that held up Adam's lantern, limbs trembling, and she was breathing heavily. Having her barrier destroyed earlier and having no chance to recover her mana since entering this place must finally be catching up to her.

"Blake! Hang on, I'm—"

Ruby didn't have a chance to finish as she felt all her breath leave her lungs along with a liquid too dark to be spitting from her throat. Time seemed to move in slow motion as she looked over at what hit her to see the Mama Grimm's leg outstretched and her foot on her shoulder, pushing forwards in a kicking motion. As soon as the slow motion faded away, Ruby faintly heard distorted voices shrieking her name before she shot backwards like an arrow, soaring through the air and tumbling against the ground before crashing into the remains of the bridge, a cloud of dust and dirt surrounding her.

She groaned lowly, too much in shock from what happened to do much else. Her entire body hurt and for a moment she couldn't move it. But she could move her mouth, and for the moment she hoped it would be enough.

"He—" Ruby coughed from the dust in her throat before licking her lips, tasting a metallic tinge, and swallowing once. "Help Blake..." she said. Too quiet. Way too quiet. They wouldn't hear her. She took a deep breath and then yelled it despite knowing how much it would hurt, "HELP BLAKE!"

She coughed violently again, her lungs aching. She shivered from the pain, hoping that nothing was ruptured or broken. It didn't feel like it. She hoped so, anyway. Everything just hurt.

She slowly sat up, still unable to see thanks to the dust cloud around her. She immediately yelped from a sharp pain in her shoulder, realizing now it really was dislocated. Dammit. That should be the least of her worries, though. Somehow, after such a blow, she was still alive, and her friends were still alive. At least for now.

But who knows for how much longer if she didn't get back out there.

She coughed once more, raising herself on shaky legs. Deep breaths. One foot forward. Then another. Just a few more.

There. She was out. She could see again. She could breathe again.

"Guys, are you..."

She was wrong. She couldn't breathe again. It turned out Weiss and Yang did manage to hear her because they were with Blake now... but they were also surrounded by the three smaller bear Grimm. Even though each Grimm was wounded in its own way, they were closing in on the trio, all three looking frightened and exhausted.

Those monsters were too close to them. They were only a few metres away. Now they were only a few feet away. Ruby wouldn't be able to get to them in time. Even with her speed—even if she could still run full speed after that attack, all her muscles were screaming at her—she wouldn't get to them in time.

She ran anyway. She had to try. She tripped and scraped her face on the ground, then got up and kept running. She noticed the Mama Grimm charging at her from the right. It would get to her before Ruby would get to her friends.

But she still kept running. Every step hurt more than the last but she kept going because, dammit, it couldn't end like this! She had only just met them! She made friends for the first time and they were going to be ripped away from her, left to rot and be forgotten in these ruins.

And even more than Ruby's own reasoning for not wanting to lose the three of them, she didn't want them to lose each other. Weiss and Yang were so close, and even though Blake seemed to keep her distance, it was clear she was close to them as well. They were all so special to each other; willing to go lengths for each other that most people related by blood wouldn't even consider doing for each other.

They were family. A scared, hurt, broken family that Ruby refused to let die here because they had to recover and love each other forever. Weiss had to find her sister. Yang had to find her mother. Blake had to keep her friends, and hopefully gain many more in the future.

They couldn't die here!

"Use me, kid," a voice murmured in Ruby's head, the brunette recognizing it as Uncle Qrow calling out to her from her Inner Realm. "Use me."

Sensing that he, indeed, was spiritually ready to be summoned again, she mentally thanked him before sprinting faster and holding out her arms. A red aura surrounded the girl, like crimson fire, something Ruby didn't understand but she didn't care once she felt her scythe materialize in her hands. She could feel something about her body changing; limbs shifting, altering, teeth growing unbelievable lengths, and her vision distorted then suddenly changed to black and white, then a multitude of bright colours, and then she could suddenly see everything, every individual fur on the Grimm, every strand of Yang's mane, every tear in Weiss's eyes, every fang in Blake's mouth.

And Ruby didn't care about anything that was happening to her at the moment because she still couldn't make it to them in time, which meant she only had one shot. The Mama Grimm was right beside her now, arm raised, so if she didn't make the shot now everything would be for nought.

She didn't even think about it. She jumped up and let out a fierce cry, spinning around and feeling this strange new energy envelop her weapon as she threw her scythe like a boomerang at the three Grimm, praying to every Divine in existence that her weapon would behave like a boomerang just this once.

It span through the neck of one Grimm, its lifeless corpse falling and staining Weiss's hair and outfit red. It got the next one, too. And then it completed its full arc, decapitating the last Grimm before spinning back towards its owner.

The nail of the Mama Grimm's claw lodged itself in her shoulder just before her scythe came back around, its spin chopping the nail right off its furry finger but leaving it wedged within Ruby's body. An explosion of that unfamiliar red energy, like fire, erupted from around Ruby's form; not a large one, but enough to send the large Grimm flying backwards several metres.

Ruby landed on her feet, scythe next to her, eyes wide. She wasn't sure how she should be feeling right now. Nothing really made sense. Thanks to that strange power burst it seemed like she managed to save her friends, all of which were gaping at her and covered in litres of blood, all three looking more horrified and guilty than she had ever seen anyone look before. Why were they looking at her like that? They were the ones who looked silly, with tangled hair and ruined makeup and layers of blood that hopefully only belonged to the Grimm other than small injuries.

And then feeling started coming back to Ruby's body. She felt so tired, so sore. Then there was a dull ache in her shoulder, one that quickly expanded to a sharp pain. She looked down, only remembering now that she had been stabbed with that thing's nail and it was still inside her. She stared at it for a few moments, almost transfixed by it, transfixed by her blood cascading from it, before she finally whined in pain and fell to her knees, trying to clutch at the wound but there was nowhere to clutch. It hurt so bad, so bad, so bad, and holy fuck she wanted to rip that thing out of her but she knew that thing was the seal keeping her from losing too much blood. The thing causing her this much unbelievable, searing pain, what tore her muscles apart and pierced through bone, was her potential lifeline at the moment.

With every new wave of pain she had to repeat that to herself like a mantra because, by the Divines, she wanted this thing out of her!

She felt other hands on her and at first she panicked, looking up and around like a wild, frightened animal, before relaxing at the close, worried faces of Weiss, Blake, and Yang. Ruby calmed, letting out a deep breath that turned into a moan of pain. She bit her tongue, teeth sinking deeper in the slithering muscle with every fresh surge of agony, trying to conceal how much it truly felt like lava was running through her veins.

"Are you okay?"

Ruby couldn't tell who asked. They probably all did, several times over. Yang had shifted behind her to support her weight, keeping her upright even though it hurt. Weiss was by her side, touching Ruby's sweaty forehead with those amazingly cold hands of hers, the cool sensation an absolute blessing. Blake was in front of her, catlike amber eyes in slits as they examined Ruby's injuries, focussing most heavily on the obvious one. If Ruby knew that the nail had to stay in the wound, no doubt Blake did too with her knowledge of medicine and healing arts. Ruby trusted that Blake could heal her wound and prevent any infection from spreading, but she also knew they didn't have time to do that right now.

Mama Grimm was still grounded from the energized explosion around Ruby that sent it hurling into the wall, but it wouldn't be down for long. Not long enough for Ruby to heal. Not long enough for them to escape safely.

"This is our fault," Blake murmured, the panther pelt falling further down her face as she tilted her nose to the ground. "You got hurt because of us."

"What?" Ruby muttered, eyes widening at how much it hurt to simply talk. She slowly reached forward and grasped Blake's hand, desperate for the physical contact with her. "No, don't say that. This is nobody's fault."

"Yes it is," Yang spoke thickly from behind her. "It is someone's fault. It's my fault." The blonde paused and Ruby could feel the other girl trembling. "All my fault..."

"Yang..." Weiss murmured softly, her expression pained.

"It is!" Yang shouted, the loudness ringing in Ruby's ears, but the guilt and sadness in those words made Ruby's heart hurt more than anything else, her chest tightening. "I'm the one who blindly followed after someone who I thought was my mom! Hell, she's not even here now! Maybe I just imagined her and got us into this mess for nothing. And then I lost control of my temper like I always fucking do and now, because of me, someone I care about got hurt again!"

"Yang," the white haired girl spoke firmly, "what happened to me back then wasn't your fault. My scar is not your fault."

"I should've been stronger for you!" the blonde continued to argue, every word piercing Ruby's chest further and further, deeper than the nail in her shoulder could ever reach. "I was weak, and didn't know how to control my anger, and because of that one of them slipped past me and he... before I could kill him, he..." A sob burst through Yang's lips. "And now... because of me... because I'm still weak... I put all of you in danger. And now Ruby, she's..."

"Stop it," Weiss replied determinedly, her face hard as she rested a hand on Yang's shoulder, effectively making the words die in Yang's throat. Then the heiress lost her tough expression, instead being replaced by one of insecurity. "I'm to blame, as well. Ruby only wanted to help me earlier, but I was selfish. Felt like I had something to prove even though grouping together would have kept us safest." Weiss met Ruby's eyes, a vulnerability in them that hurt Ruby's heart as much as Yang's words. The cool thumb still on her forehead stroked the heated flesh underneath. "I'm sorry, Ruby. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be dead."

Ruby's eyes flickered back and forth between Weiss's. "C'mon, Weiss," Ruby said between a few coughs. "You're strong, and you're super smart. I'm sure you would've been fine without me."

"Except she wouldn't have," Blake spoke, gaining the attention of three sets of weary, pained eyes. Ruby thought Weiss would have been angry at the blunt argument of her weakness, but she didn't look angry at all. In fact, she looked like she agreed with the shamaness. "None of us would've. You sacrificed yourself for us, Ruby. You knew that Grimm was going to get to you before you got to us, didn't you?" Ruby didn't reply, but it was clear she didn't need to. Blake released a sharp breath, her eyes crinkling and her voice thick. "You knew you could've died but you saved us anyway."

Ruby nodded and gave a tired smile. "You three are the only friends I've ever had. I don't want to lose any of you. I don't want any of you to lose each other." She broke eye contact with Blake to look up at Weiss, then at Yang, and then nearly doubled over during a coughing fit, one especially painful with the object protruding from her shoulder. Her companions all shuffled a little closer, their warm presences making Ruby's stomach flutter despite the excruciating pain. She leaned back slightly against Yang's front, reveling in the softness of her skin, the hardness of her muscle, and her gentle heat that combined in such a way with the coolness of Weiss's touch that really proved how well those two were together. "I want to spend so much more time with all of you," Ruby added, a whisper.

"We don't deserve to be called your friends," Yang muttered bitterly and brokenly, her breath just above Ruby's ear, "not after leaving you to fight that thing," she gestured to the remaining Grimm thankfully still on the ground, "on your own. Not after yelling at you like I did. Not after... all those terrible things I said to you earlier." Ruby blinked slowly, trying to decipher what Yang was referring to, but the blonde beat her to it. "You bared your soul to us. You told us your life story, about this power of yours, and I... I laughed at you. You were scared to tell us the truth and I laughed at you." Yang draped her arms around Ruby's waist, holding her so loosely it were as if she were afraid to touch her; afraid she didn't have the right to. "The fuck kind of friend does that? Why would you want to be friends with us?"

"Because when you all held me when I was cold, I've never felt safer in my entire life."

Yang's shaking ceased, and Ruby's companions all looked at her in various amounts of astonishment.

Ruby chuckled. "I lost my dog, I'm trapped in a ruin filled with monsters that should be extinct, and I ran into three girls who I thought were crazy at first. But they let me travel with them, even after learning I essentially trapped them in these ruins forever. They let me tell them my story, even though we just met, and they listened to my words even if they didn't believe me." Ruby closed her eyes, enjoying the closeness of the other women. "And when we all cuddled together... I felt so warm. So safe. Like I belonged with them. And even though they couldn't see it, they were glowing. They were glowing a gentle blue that proved they could become one with me, if they wanted to." Ruby opened her eyes. "Just like right now."

All of their eyes widened and looked at each other. Ruby knew her friends couldn't see it, but their auras were visible. They were gentle and warm and proved that, even after all this mayhem, the link between them had not been severed. These three girls were so unbelievably special and Ruby wanted to fight alongside them forever if she could, even if some of those fights led to situations like this.

Because, even though she got hurt, her friends were there for her.

"You are all so strong," Ruby admitted, smiling at all of them. "You were scared today. It happens. Fear can make people do things they wouldn't normally. Things they regret. But together, you are strong." The brunette smirked. "Strong enough to kick fear in the butt."

Weiss and Blake stared at her for a long time, and Ruby couldn't see Yang's eyes from her position but could only assume she was doing the same. She flushed slightly from all the undivided attention, the silence reminding her of how close she really was to all of them right now. It made her heart beat faster, her blood pump quicker, the pain in her shoulder stronger.

She really wanted one of them to say something. Maybe Ruby herself said the wrong thing? Damn, maybe she shouldn't have mentioned the glowing thing. They seemed unsure about it the first time she mentioned it back at their campsite, so why did she think such a thing would bring her friends any sort of reassurement now?

She really did say all the wrong things, didn't she?

Then Weiss stood, her glow fading, her cool touch leaving Ruby's skin—much to the brunette's disappointment—to brush the grime off her outfit, only to scoff when she remembered that she was practically covered head to toe in blood already. That wasn't coming off any time soon. With a huff, the white haired girl said, "Well, we better get this over with, then."

"Huh?" Ruby questioned, gazing at Weiss in confusion. Silver eyes fell to Blake's face when she noticed the shamaness nod, feeling Yang do the same on her shoulder, both girls agreeing with whatever Weiss meant.

Blake cupped Ruby's cheek, surprisingly sharp nails gently brushing her skin. "We're gonna make this up to you," the black haired girl spoke, eyes briefly wandering Ruby's injuries before deeply looking into Ruby's orbs again. "Let us protect you this time, okay?"

Ruby swallowed nervously at this gorgeous girl's closeness, but nodded, trusting her. Trusting in all of them. She leaned into Blake's touch for a moment before the shamaness stood up next to Weiss, her glow disappearing as well.

The red clothed girl felt Yang shuffle behind her until she picked Ruby up in her arms, the pain excruciating for a moment as her body bended in a way that her shoulder didn't like, but Yang was quick to sit her by an upright, broken pillar further away from the remaining Grimm, gently giving her leverage against it. It was cold against Ruby's back, which honestly felt pretty good, but not nearly as good as Yang's previous warmth.

"Stay here," the blonde requested softly, brushing Ruby's bangs out of her eyes, "and hang on until we kick that thing's butt, okay? Then we'll figure out what to do about your wound, I promise."

Ruby nodded, displaying a small smile. "I believe in you, Yang."

The blonde blushed slightly, ducking her head to avoid Ruby's gaze and then she ran back over to the other girls, Ruby watching every step as her aura finally faded away as well.

"Alright girls," Ruby heard Yang shout, the blonde slamming her gauntlets together in a rush of energy, "ready to kick that thing's ass?"

Weiss and Blake nodded, tiny smirks on their faces, so much more confident than how they looked before.

Mama Grimm finally rose, looking disoriented and weaker since Ruby's unintentional attack that slammed it into a wall, but its ferocious roar proved it still had plenty of fight left in it. It slowly walked towards them, growling, before breaking into a rush, heavy footfalls depressing the stone beneath.

Yang grinned. "Alright! I wanna finish this fucker with one punch!" The brawler looked towards her small, white haired companion. "Think you can slow it down for me, babe?"

Weiss huffed. "Just who do you think you're talking to, you brute?" Weiss held her rapier out in front of her and generated a glyph behind her, one of her feet stepping back as if she were about to break out into a sprint. "I'll stop it from moving entirely."

Then the glyph shot Weiss forward like a bullet, her body a white blur as ice crystals emerged on the ground behind her movements. She slashed at the Grimm's ankle, a large chunk of ice trapping its foot to the floor. The beast cried out in confusion, then roared in anger, using its claw to smash the ice. Weiss didn't look surprised, though. In fact, it looked like she expected the move. She formed another glyph behind her and used it to slash the monster's shoulder, freezing it as well. The monster clawed at it again, effectively getting rid of it, but then Weiss formed another glyph. Then another. And another. She didn't stop until the Grimm was surrounded by a sphere of glyphs, composed of at least thirty of them.

Somehow Ruby could see Weiss's confident grin from all the way where she was sitting before Weiss shifted within her makeshift cage, the moment her feet touched one glyph she would move like lightning to another, moving so fast she was nothing but a white blur, her blade striking the beast with every new glyph she travelled to. It didn't look like her attacks were doing much damage, but they didn't need to.

Every new attack brought new ice. The monster couldn't get rid of all of it, and Weiss was moving too fast for it to hit her. Just like she said she would, Weiss had stopped the monster completely in its tracks.

Giving Yang the chance to deliver the final blow.

The blonde seemed to notice this as well, her eyes shining red as her hair became pure fire, floating within the sheer energy that swirled around her form.

"Can you power me up even further?" Yang asked Blake, her voice sounding just as inhuman as it always did when she took upon that form.

Blake seemed to consider the question for a moment. "I need to save my remaining mana for Ruby," she admitted, making Yang's face fall with surprise and confliction. But then Blake smiled, her expression both mysterious and alluring, as she held up her lantern. "But I'm sure Adam would be willing to help. Think you can handle him, Yang?"

The blonde guffawed, cracking her knuckles. "I've handled everyone I know quite well, thanks," she spoke in tone that made Ruby shake her head and giggle at the same time. "Let's see if he can handle me." Yang pounded her chest with her fist. "Give me all you got, Adam! Let's obliterate that thing together!"

The flame in Blake's lantern roared to life, rushing out of its cage and diving into Yang's flaming hair. The blonde screamed, the sound rich and piercing, and it scared Ruby at first, thinking Yang was in pain, but there was a large, open mouthed smile that kept growing larger as more and more of Adam's essence entered her.

She wasn't screaming from pain. She was screaming from raw power.

With a final wail Yang spread out her arms, stopping the power flow coming to her, now just letting it fall off her body in waves. Her hair literally looked like magma at this point, waving in ripples around her body, and her eyes were pure red, no white portions in sight. The last time Ruby saw Yang looking close to that, Yang had given in to her anger.

But now, Yang was in control. And the only time Ruby had ever felt this level of power from anyone was when that warlord leader had held her by the throat. It was hard to believe, even though she was both seeing it and feeling it. Just what was Yang? Hell, what was Adam? Who did he used to be, truly? How was he able to give Yang such an incredible power boost? Yang was strong enough normally, but this... this was an entire new level.

She looked like a mixture between a goddess and a demon.

And she looked awesome.

"Throw me?" Yang asked Blake, her innocently pleading tone a complete contrast to how she looked and how deep and demonic her voice had become. It sent a thrill through Ruby for reasons she couldn't describe. She really wished she could be fighting with all of them right now.

Blake rolled her eyes, but complied. The ribbons wrapped around one of her arms magically loosened, Blake gripping one end while the other tied to Yang's elbow. Yang jumped back a bit and ran in a large circle around Blake to gain momentum, Blake groaning as she used Yang's movements to her advantage, spinning along with the girl and eventually lifting Yang's weight from the ground. Blake spun around a few more times, raising Yang higher and higher, spinning faster and faster, before she released the ribbon and Yang was sent flying directly at the Grimm's chest, fire trailing behind her like she was conjuring the pathway to Hell itself. The blonde raised her fist and let loose a distorted war cry.

Ruby wasn't sure if the noise was from excitement or if it was meant as a warning for Weiss—probably both—but the white haired girl quickly dissolved her glyphs and hopped over to Blake to get a safe distance from Yang and the beast. The Grimm just got rid of the last of Weiss's ice before it looked back up to see a ball of fierce yellow energy rocketing towards it, and at that point it was too late.

Yang's right gauntlet slammed directly into the Grimm's chest, and for a moment nothing happened. It was silent, so much that Ruby could hear her own heartbeat, despair hitting her like a landslide for a second at the thought that their plan had failed.

Then everything happened concurrently.

With a rush, the Grimm's body exploded, blood, organs and bones splashing all along the floor and walls, the force of the blow sending all other remains of the beast flying backwards and splattering against the wall until there was nothing of it left but crimson remains. The energy of the blow continued to flow from Yang, causing a dust storm in the entire room, Ruby, Weiss and Blake all covering their eyes. Wind whipped every which way, Ruby's hair and clothes flying in every direction, the chaos lasting for at least two full minutes before she finally deemed it safe enough to open her eyes again.

And in that moment, Ruby felt a lot of things. Some of those things she understood, while others she didn't. She definitely understood that her shoulder hurt a lot more thanks to that dust storm, the nail twitching in her wound and bits of dirt irritating it, but she didn't blame Yang for that. Yang herself probably didn't predict something like that would happen. Ruby also couldn't even begin to describe how proud she was of all of them, how well they fought when they worked together, focussing on the strength they all had left remaining rather than forcing themselves to do something their bodies couldn't handle.

And as Ruby's eyes scanned over her teammates to check if they were okay, Ruby noticed something. Yang was back to her normal form, but she looked absolutely exhausted. Weiss was breathing heavily as well, leaning against the blonde. Adam had returned to his home in Blake's lantern.

And the panther pelt covering Blake's head was gone. Blown away by the dust storm, probably.

Blake had cat ears.

When Blake had noticed Ruby staring she froze, instantly reaching up to cover them, hide them, anything, but it was too late and the black haired girl knew it. Ruby had seen them and was transfixed by them.

Blake... was a faunus. And the entire time, Ruby had no idea.

Blake tried to keep her expression neutral, but it was clear in her amber eyes—catlike amber eyes, really, that should have been a huge hint right there—that she was absolutely horrified. Clearly, she hadn't intended for Ruby to find out. At least not yet. Not in these circumstances.

When Weiss and Yang hurried back over to Ruby and kneeled down to support her again, Blake followed once picking up her panther pelt, but her footsteps were hesitant. She looked more scared now than she did throughout that entire fight.

She immediately kneeled down in front of Ruby and examined her wound, refusing to look her in the eyes. "We have to get this out of you for me to properly heal it," she spoke, her voice firm. Then her tone softened, her feline ears flattening slightly against her head. "It's going to hurt."

Ruby nodded. She wasn't looking forward to the pain, but she expected it. "Hold my arms, just in case," Ruby advised with a small smirk. "My natural instinct is gonna be to punch you."

One of Blake's cat ears flicked. "Noted."

Yang shuffled behind Ruby and gently folded her arms behind her back and held them firmly. "Is that too tight?" the blonde asked.

"Nah, it's good," Ruby reassured her, waiting for Blake to finally look her in the eyes before she said, "go for it."

Blake nodded, biting her lip. She probed the oversized nail for a moment before finding a good place to grip the object, and then yanked it out with a slick rip.

Ruby cried out in severe agony and attempted to thrash, but Yang held her down, keeping her as still as possible. The brunette calmed after a few moments, a few sobs breaking past her lips before all three of the girls went about comforting her. Yang gently massaged where she had been gripping her arms, Weiss once again held a hand to Ruby's forehead, cooling away the excess sweat, and Blake instantly went about reforming the skin and muscle tissue in the gaping hole in Ruby's shoulder.

It took at least half an hour—probably closer to an hour, actually, Ruby couldn't keep track of time very well right now—for Blake to finish up on her wound. As much as she could with her current mana, anyway. The shamaness ripped off a bandage she had in her bag and wrapped it around Ruby's shoulder, tying it tight.

"Avoid putting any pressure on it for awhile," the black haired girl advised. Her pointed eyes looked up at Ruby seriously. "That means no fighting. Let us do that for you, if the situation calls for it. I'll look at your shoulder again tomorrow when my mana is restored." Then Blake glanced over at Weiss. "You injured your arm, didn't you? Want me to take a look at it?"

Weiss shook her head. "Thank you for your concern, but I'll be fine. This scratch is nothing compared to what Ruby is going through. As long as I put a bandage on it, it will heal naturally."

Blake nodded, accepting the answer. Then she looked to the blonde. "What about you, Yang? You took a few rough blows."

Yang waved off her concern. "Adam's essence took most of the pain away, honestly. That power up was intense. I'm tired and sore, but that's basically it."

Blake nodded again, briefly gazing at the flame in her lantern in wonder before focussing on Ruby once again.

Ruby sighed, her body sore, but relief ran through her now that everything was finally over. She leaned back against Yang, quickly realizing this may be her favourite spot in existence. "You all were so cool," Ruby admitted with a giggle. "I knew you guys could do it."

"It was all thanks to you," Yang said, snuggling Ruby from behind. Ruby was about to retort, but Yang beat her to it. "Really, it was. You saved all of us. You gave us our confidence back. Don't know how, but you did." She ruffled Ruby's hair. "You're like our little miracle, Rubes!"

Ruby laughed weakly, pushing Yang's hand away, brushing her now messy bangs out of her eyes. "I just don't like seeing anyone sad, that's all," Ruby stated. Her own words made her look at her black haired companion in front of her. "By the way, Blake..."

The faunus froze. Weiss and Yang did, too. Looks like those two only realized now that Blake's secret was exposed. Clearly they already knew about it, but they also knew that Ruby didn't.

But now she did.

Blake looked up at her, defiantly but fearfully, seeming to prepare herself for any verbal assault Ruby would throw at her.

"... Can I touch your ears?"

Blake blinked. Then she blinked again.

"Um... what?"

Ruby turned a deep scarlet once she realized what she asked. "A-Ah, I mean..." Silver eyes glanced around, trying to find a way to explain herself, the flabbergasted looks on Weiss and Yang doing nothing but flustering Ruby more. "They just... look so cute. And fluffy. And really, really soft and I just... gah, what am I saying? I-I'm so sorry, just forget I said anything please!"

Ruby squeezed her eyes shut, too embarrassed to look at any of them. She could feel the fire in her cheeks. She just made it unbelievably obvious that she was attracted to Blake, and... even though that was extremely true, she didn't mean for it to come out like that. Now they're all gonna think she's a pervert. Good job, Ruby.

"You're... not mad?"

The vulnerable tone in Blake's voice made Ruby open her eyes again, her heart hurting at the strange, sad look on Blake's face.

"Mad?" Ruby questioned, tilting her head. "Why would I be mad?"

Amber eyes widened, as if the question was illogical. "Faunus are... said to be evil. That we're born with these features because of sins we performed in a past life."

"What? Phht," Ruby snorted, "that's so dumb. People don't actually believe that, do they?"

No one answered her question, and her smile fell as she looked around at all of them. "Right?"

Yang looked away. "One of my best friend's was a faunus," she admitted. Then her gaze darkened. "He was killed for it."

That chilled Ruby right to her core. She looked over at Weiss, but the look on her face wasn't any better.

"My family has enslaved fauna for generations," Weiss said, gritting her teeth. "Racism has been drilled into my head since birth. The things some people say are just..." She shook her head. "I refused to be a part of it."

Finally, Ruby looked back to Blake. "Is... is this why people hated you? Why you lived on the outskirts of your village?"

Blake's eyes searched hers for a moment before she gave a hesitant nod, as if debating what to say next; debating what to reveal. "... Yes. They didn't want someone like me in their village."

Ruby huffed, frowning. "Well, all those people are crazy. I think you're awesome, Blake. Just 'cause you have two sets of ears doesn't make you any less of a person. Who comes up with discriminative stuff like that, anyway?" Then Ruby's frown melted away with another blush. "They really do look super soft, though."

Surprisingly, Blake blushed, too. "You... really want to touch them?"

Ruby blinked, not expecting the question. "O-Only if it's okay with you," Ruby stuttered, her face nearly matching her cloak at this point.

Blake bit her lip and glanced around, looking at Weiss and Yang briefly, before letting out a deep breath and leaning slightly forward, angling her head towards Ruby. "Just... be gentle, okay? They're sensitive."

Ruby inwardly squealed, reaching out to softly, very softly, run her fingers over one of Blake's black cat ears. It twitched under her touch, before folding towards her head. Ruby revelled in the softness, the fluffiness, then began to gently scratch them. Blake immediately closed her eyes and leaned further into the touch, a low sound emanating deep within her throat.

"Guys. This is the best day ever."

The cat faunus opened her eyes, looking unimpressed with Yang's tone, but didn't move her head. Ruby was too hypnotized with Blake to turn her head, but she heard Yang's words all the same.

"Why's that?" Weiss asked, sounding as unimpressed as Blake looked. "Last I checked, getting trapped in some ancient ruins and taking a shower in Grimm blood wasn't on my list of favourite things to do."

"Open your ears, Weissy!" Yang said with a toothy grin. "Blake is purring. I've been waiting for this moment since I met her."

"Shut up, Yang!" Blake hissed, cat ears flattening in embarrassment as she pulled away, wrapping her panther pelt back over her head. Ruby pouted at the sudden lack of soft fur on her fingers, but let her arm fall without vocal complaint.

Weiss sighed, leering at the blonde. "Why do you have to be such a brute all the time?" she asked.

"I'm being serious right now, Weiss!" Yang replied. "Like, I know you purr when I touch you, too, but this is different."

"YANG!" Weiss squawked, roughly smacking the blonde's shoulder, making the brawler laugh.

Ruby blushed at the implication, but her face was already red enough that it couldn't get much worse. Blake's blush was beginning to die down, though, replaced by a wistful look. It looked like she was thinking really hard about something, or trying to sort out her emotions.

"Blake?" Ruby asked softly, effectively breaking Weiss and Yang out of their little lovers' quarrel. "Are you okay?"

The black haired girl glanced at her, something swimming in those amber depths that Ruby was having trouble deciphering. "I think so."

"You think so?" Ruby echoed, tilting her head.

"Well, you're probably hella tired. You used up almost all of your mana," Yang commented, moving her arm from around Ruby's waist to poke Blake's nose.

"Yeah, but that's not what I'm referring to," Blake said, frowning as she swatted Yang's hand away. The blonde stuck out her tongue at the faunus, returning her hand to Ruby's waist, her thumbs rubbing gentle circles that made Ruby's heart flutter.

"Then what is it?" Weiss asked.

Blake let out a deep breath through her nose before golden eyes met silver. "Thank you, Ruby," she said sincerely, her voice like silk, and Ruby could already feel herself smiling at the words. "You've already done so much for me. For us," she corrected herself quickly. "But I never would have imagined you'd accept this about me, too. I really trust that I can call you my... friend."

Ruby beamed at the words, feeling a happiness that she hadn't felt for a long time. Knowing that Blake trusted her and considered her to be her friend, God, it was almost too much. It was so relieving. Ruby really liked Blake and wanted to spend so much more time with her, so knowing that Blake kinda felt the same way was heartwarming.

Then Blake glanced down nervously, a ghost of a blush on her cheeks. "And..."

Ruby leaned in closer to Blake. "And?" she probed gently.

When those amber eyes looked up at her through those thick, black eyelashes, Ruby felt her heart stop.

"I want to become one with you."

And then Ruby's heart slammed hard against her ribcage, again and again, so loudly she couldn't hear anything else. Blake's amber eyes never looked away despite the nervousness in them, and Ruby found she wouldn't be able to avert her gaze even if she wanted to. Ruby parted her lips to say something, anything, but her throat was suddenly very dry.

Did... she really just hear that right?

"... Damn, Blake," Yang chuckled over Ruby's shoulder, "you move fast. Took Weiss and I months to reach that stage."

"YANG!" Weiss's shrill voice echoed in the ruins, along with another slap somewhere on Yang's body.

The faunus glared at her blonde companion, her fangs—cute, tiny, adorable fangs, wow!—gleaming dangerously on her lower lip. "That's not what I meant, Yang, and you know it."

Ruby perked up, eyes widening when it finally dawned on her that this might really be happening. "Then..." Ruby started shyly, "are you saying that..." She bit her lip, afraid to say any more in case she was wrong.

Blake smiled—it was uneasy, but full of determination, and laid one hand on top of Ruby's. The aura around Blake immediately appeared, bigger and brighter than ever before, something warmer and even more inviting about it now.

"As a shamaness, I'm interested in seeing this Inner Realm of yours and how it operates. And as your friend," Blake squeezed Ruby's hand, "I want to travel with you and help you learn about your power. We're in this together from now on. So long as you'll have me, of course."

Ruby's smile stretched so big it almost hurt. A tear fell from the corner of her eye—she didn't realize how wet her eyes were until now—but Blake was quick to wipe it away. Ruby nodded, over and over again, and squeezed Blake's hand in turn, not trusting her voice at the moment.

"Blake, are..." Yang paused, struggling for words, "are you serious?" The blonde didn't sound upset, not like Ruby expected her to be in this situation. She sounded more conflicted than anything else; confused about how she should feel, or what she should do.

Blake nodded. "I get now what Ruby meant when she talked about feeling a connection with us. I feel it, too. Like I'm meant to become a part of her. Or, maybe I was a part of her from the start but got lost somewhere along the way." The black haired girl paused for a moment, tilting her head curiously at Yang. "Are you saying you don't feel the same when you look at Ruby? Or are you just scared of considering the possibility?"

Yang opened her mouth then closed it again, looking away, her hands clenching into fists on Ruby's waist.

"I feel it, too."

Everyone turned to look at the glyph user, all surprised at her words. Yang more so than anyone.

"Weiss?" Yang murmured.

Weiss nodded at the blonde, and then looked down at Ruby. "I'm not sure what it is about you, but... I just feel like I can trust you. You sacrificed yourself for me. You didn't treat me any different when you learned my last name. You... look at me the way Yang does, sometimes, and that... makes me really happy."

Warmth spread throughout Ruby's chest, so much that she thought she was going to cry again. She couldn't believe this was happening. First Blake wanted to join her on her journey, and now Weiss was considering the possibility, too? It was so hard to believe. All of them were originally so against it. They were scared, and Ruby didn't blame them for that. Hell, she was scared herself. She still was, and she could tell they were, too.

But the fact that they're even considering it filled Ruby with more happiness than she had ever felt.

"So," Weiss continued, voice quiet and soft, "I'm willing to help you... explore these so called powers of yours. But on two conditions."

Ruby nodded. "What are they?"

Weiss's gaze fell to the floor. "If I'm going to be transported to this Inner Realm of yours, I'm not sure how long I'm going to be there. But as I've stated before, finding my sister is my main priority. So," ice blue eyes once again met silver, "if I agree to this arrangement... will you look for her for me? And when you find her, or clues relating to her, may I be released? Temporarily, at least?"

"My mind isn't a prison, Weiss," Ruby said gently, taking hold of one of the white haired girl's hands. "Of course I'll help you find your sister. And of course you could leave whenever you want. I'm not trying to take any of you prisoner or anything. If the connections I felt with any of you weren't genuine, I probably wouldn't be able to absorb your essences, anyway." Ruby squeezed her hand. "I was able to become one with Uncle Qrow because we trusted each other undoubtedly. He could leave my Inner Realm at any time and go on his way, but he's chosen to stay with me because it's where he feels he belongs."

Weiss sighed. "It just... sounds so illogical. And the most illogical part of the whole thing is that I actually get it. I feel like I... belong with you, Ruby." That made the brunette blush, but Weiss was quick to harden her tone. "But that brings me to my second condition." Weiss land a hand on Yang's shoulder, never leaving Ruby's gaze. "I'll only agree to become one with you if Yang does, too."

"What?" Yang asked, her head whipping to the left so fast that Ruby got a mouthful of golden locks. And the fact that Yang didn't even seem to notice when Ruby spit out her hair, getting saliva on some of the ends, truly proved how distracted Yang was at Weiss's reveal.

"Yang," Weiss said with a sigh, "this strange, unreasonable attachment to Ruby—to her soul, at least—you feel it too, don't you?"

"Umm... I mean..." Yang scratched the back of her neck nervously. "Maybe? I don't know. I'm feeling a lot of things right now and none of them really make sense."

Ruby turned out of Yang's hold so she could look at the taller girl, finally getting to see the true uncertainty in those lilac orbs, so different from the fierceness of her red ones from earlier. "Then talk about them," Ruby suggested gently. "That's what I always do when I'm confused about my feelings."

"I'm not... very good with words..."

Weiss smacked the blonde's shoulder. "You stop that," she ordered roughly, her tone leaving no room for objections. Blue eyes softened. "Do you have any idea how beautiful your lyrics are for the songs we perform?" Weiss shuffled closer to Yang, laying a land on her thigh. "Your words can be very proficient, Yang, and can mean everything when said to the right person."

Ruby nodded fervently. "Just say whatever's on your mind!" the brunette offered.

The blonde seemed to contemplate the suggestion, her eyes closing and her finger drumming a slow, continuous beat on her arm. This lasted for a least a minute before she opened both her eyes and her mouth in simultaneously.

"When I hold you, Ruby... it kinda feels like I'm holding Weiss. It's weird, but also makes me feel... warm. Like knowing that I can keep you safe effectively keeps me safe, as well," Yang admitted, Ruby's cheeks warming at her words. "I feel... conflicted, I guess. Weiss and I have been through so much together, and I never want to lose her. And then you come along and I start feeling these weird... things, I can't really describe what they are. All I knew was that I felt this unexplainable attachment to you, but it developed so suddenly I didn't want to believe it was natural. It seemed too weird for me. And now everything is weirder. I don't want to leave Weiss, but I don't want to leave you, either. It feels like I'm destined to be with both of you, in different but similar ways. And now Weiss is saying she wants to become one with you, and I think I kinda do too but I don't know why or what that really means, so my choice here should be obvious but... it isn't. It should be but it isn't."

A tear fell from Yang's eye and she sucked in a shaky breath, staring at Weiss intensely. "I'm scared that we'll lose our bodies forever," she admitted to her girlfriend. "I'm scared that somehow this is going to separate us. I... I can't lose you, Weiss. I don't want to lose any of you."

Weiss's lips were on Yang's in an instant, the kiss soft but firm, a form of reassurance. When Weiss pulled away she didn't go far, instead choosing to lean against Yang's forehead with her own.

"Now you listen to me, you brute," Weiss began, her tone solid but her expression warm. "We have fought too hard to get where we are today. We've gone through Hell and back to get where we are today. And if I thought this agreement with Ruby would compromise everything we've been through, I would never have spoken up about it. Instead, I'm chosing to speak up about it because I believe, for some reason, we belong with Ruby. Us, together, with Blake, too, belong with Ruby. She feels like home to me, more than the home I lived in for over seventeen winters. And I believe that Ruby can guide us to where we want to be. She mentioned she was after Cinder and the other warlords, correct? Then the chances are higher that we'll run into my sister and your mother along that path, as well."

"Besides," Blake added, scooting closer to all of them and squeezing Ruby's hand that was still in her grasp, sending butterflies fluttering in Ruby's stomach, "we all fight better together. And this way we'll always be together, physically and spiritually."

Yang actually laughed at that, but the sound was soothing rather than mocking. "Wow, Blake," Yang started, still giggling a bit, "never thought I'd hear you say something that corny about friendship." Then she grinned. "Ruby's really gotten under your fur, huh?" That comment earned her a harsh, catlike glare, but the way it kept Yang laughing made Ruby grateful.

She really hated seeing Yang sad.

Once Yang's giggles died down she sighed, turning her head to look at Ruby with a serious look. "When you call upon your uncle to fight with you, he only ever materializes as a scythe, right?" The brunette nodded, tilting her head curiously. "Will it be the same with us? Will we turn into weapons for you to use in battle, or will we come out here as... us? Like, the way we are now?" Her lilac gaze roamed her small group of friends. "I want to fight alongside all of you again."

"That... I don't know the answer to," Ruby replied slowly, honestly. There was no point in lying. Ruby wanted them to feel safe, and lying would never be the right way to do that. "As I said, I still don't know much about my power. I've never had anyone to teach me. I don't know if anyone ever could teach me. But simply being with you three has given me way more info about myself than I had before." Ruby smiled, looking at each of them. "And I have a good feeling there's still so much more I can learn from all of you."

Blake nodded. "I'm here for you, Ruby. I know what it's like to feel alone, to feel like no one understands who you are or what you can do. But from now on, you won't be alone. I'll stay with you for this journey for as long as you'll have me."

"I concur," Weiss said. She turned her head to look at the blonde. "Yang?"

The brawler glanced once at her girlfriend, and then down to the floor. Yang still looked conflicted, but Ruby could see the uncertainty in her eyes slowly getting pushed away.

"It's just... hard for me," the blonde confessed slowly, rubbing the back of her neck. "I'm so used to being independent. Suddenly being asked to rely on someone else to this level is difficult for me to come to terms with, you know?"

"Yang, no one is forcing you to do this," Ruby said, frowning gently. "If you're not comfortable, please don't force yourself. I won't be offended or anything, and I'm sure Weiss and Blake wouldn't be either." The two girls nodded in agreement. "I wouldn't want you to do this unless you're sure it is something you want."

"Just... give me a minute to think about it, okay? Let me hold you for a moment and think about it, okay?"

Ruby blushed, her body warming at the request, and she opened her arms for Yang. The blonde slowly embraced her, one arm around Ruby's waist and another over her shoulders, and buried her face in Ruby's scalp. The brunette felt butterflies rampage in her gut, and she focussed on the gentle thump of Yang's pulse next to her ear to calm down. She wrapped both arms around the taller girl's back and held her close, wanting to reassure her in some way that she was safe, and that Ruby's opinion of her wouldn't change regardless of the conclusion she reached.

Yang held her for much longer than just a moment, but Ruby didn't complain because she still couldn't believe how good it felt being held in the taller girl's arms. Yang's arms felt like the safest place Ruby had been since before her village was destroyed. Yang was so strong, and so implausibly warm, so much that it made Ruby sleepier than she already was thanks to the previous battle, and Ruby felt she could fall asleep in this position if her heart wasn't pounding a mile a minute.

Yang sighed atop her head, Ruby's short locks fluttering briefly and brushing against her cheeks. Ruby shuddered and buried her face deeper into Yang's neck, surprised at the slight increase of Yang's heartbeat. And then Yang released a light laugh, Ruby unable to see why as her gaze was occupied with tan skin and golden hair.

"Come here, girls," Yang giggled softly.

Ruby looked up and caught the way Weiss and Blake were looking at them, and then the embarrassed look that crossed their expressions from being caught. But they soon shuffled over, Weiss on one side of Yang and Blake on the other. They all giggled and held each other, cheeks warm and chests even warmer.

"Alright, alright," the blonde relented with a laugh, untangling herself from the pile of limbs. "I'll do it, y'all convinced me."

Ruby perked up just as much as Weiss did. "Really?" the brunette asked.

Yang nodded. "Wherever Weiss goes, I go. And I'd be heartbroken without my favourite kitty cat, too," the blonde remarked, smirking at Blake, earning a glare and an eye roll from the faunus, but both gestures were playful. "Besides," Yang continued, "I think Weiss is right. If you're hunting down those warlords, Ruby, odds are you'll at least come across clues about the people we're looking for, too. And," lilac eyes glanced down, "if that woman really was my mom... then..."

Ruby squeezed Yang's hand. "It might be painful to admit yourself, but there's nothing wrong with wanting to see your mom."

Yang looked back up at her, hesitation in her orbs for a brief moment before it was replaced with a resolute strength. "Yeah. I want to ask why she left me behind, if nothing else."

Ruby nodded. "I'll help you find out, I promise."

Yang nodded in turn. "Well," the blonde released a shaky sigh, "let's do this thing, Rubes. I'll go first to make sure it's safe for the others. How exactly does this work?"

Weiss shook her head before Ruby could reply, taking Yang's free hand in her own. "We're going together," the white haired girl clarified. Yang looked like she was going to argue, but there was sureness in those ice blue eyes that made Yang hold her tongue and eventually nod, the brawler leaning forward to kiss her cheek. Then both girls looked to Ruby expectantly. The brunette let out a deep breath through her nose to calm herself and then stood up carefully, mindful of her recently patched shoulder, and the other three girls followed her example. Yang and Weiss stood directly before her while Blake waited a few paces back.

"Thank you both for this. Really. I know that, even now, it probably seems hard to believe, so thank you for trusting me," Ruby said sincerely, holding out her hands. Weiss and Yang each took one while still holding hands themselves. Ruby smiled at the warmth of their touch and the beautiful blue glow around their bodies, lighting up the room like two fae in a dark forest. "Close your eyes and open your minds. I'm going to use the connection between our souls to form a pathway to my Inner Realm. Once you see that pathway, just... follow it, I guess. That's the best way I can think to explain it. My Inner Realm will look how Blake described it before, with the vast space and floating meteorite and stuff, so don't be surprised at the isolation of the whole thing." Then Ruby chuckled. "But don't worry; Uncle Qrow will be there too, so you guys won't be alone. Plus, even now I can hear his voice, so I'm sure I'll be able to hear yours too, as long as you call out to me."

Her white and yellow clad friends nodded, both girls sharing a sweet kiss that lasted much longer than their one before. Ruby didn't look away because honestly the sight made her happy. Weiss and Yang were so different from each other but they made love seem so easy, so natural, and Ruby was so happy for them.

With a quick glance at Blake, Ruby wished she could have a relationship like theirs one day.

When Weiss and Yang parted they looked at Ruby, eyes shining and lips curved upwards in small, breathtaking smiles. "We're ready," Weiss said.

Yang nodded with a grin. "Show us your world, Ruby!"

Ruby grinned back, waiting for her two friends to close their eyes and relax before she did the same. She focused her energies, starting from her Inner Realm and reaching forward until her spirit found those of her companions. Their spirits reacted to hers nervously, but Ruby reassured them with warm energies and a clear, open path to her realm, the path bright and protected from any negative influences that would dare interfere with the ritual. Yang and Weiss's spirits huddled close together and slowly approached the path, spinning around each other briefly before following the path. Once across, Ruby's essence approached them and they all swirled together in a combination of soft, warm lights and love.

When Ruby opened her eyes only Blake remained with her in the underground ruins, but her hands were still warm from Weiss and Yang's touch. Ruby smiled and squeezed her hands into fists, cherishing the lingering touch and relishing the warmth that was fluttering in her heart like a butterfly at the new additions to her soul, making her feel more complete than ever.

"What happened?" Blake asked quietly. "Are they okay?" She didn't necessarily sound scared or that she was going to back out of her promise herself, but she did seem genuinely concerned about the wellbeing of her friends. As Blake was a shamaness and had to deal with spiritual matters all the time, Ruby could understand Blake's worry of something going wrong.

"They're fine, Blake," Ruby reassured, her voice soft but more rejuvenated than it ever had been, every nerve in Ruby's body vibrating with bliss. "They're—"

"Ruby?" a voice said from within Ruby's head. It was quiet, careful, and most definitely Weiss. "Can you hear me, Ruby? Are you there?"

Ruby smiled, signaling with a finger for Blake to wait before she closed her eyes again. "I'm right here, Weiss. I hear you loud and clear," Ruby replied telepathically.

"This... this is real," the brunette heard Weiss continue. "I'm still real. And... my arm isn't bleeding anymore." Ruby's smile widened at Weiss's clarification, looking through her mind's eye into her Inner Realm so she could see her friends, but not manifesting her spiritual body. Weiss and Yang looked exactly the same as before, but both were checking over their bodies to be sure, probably still accepting how they really were still real and with bodies of their own. Uncle Qrow was standing off to the side, shaking his head and taking a swig from his flask.

"We made it, babe!" Yang shouted excitedly, running up to Weiss and spinning her in the air, planting kisses all over her face. Ruby giggled aloud, probably making Blake raise an eyebrow at her, but Weiss just looked too cute as she pretended to not like the attention. Yang put Weiss down and slung an arm over her shoulder, looking up to the black sky—probably her way of trying to look at Ruby. "Tell the kitty to hurry up; the energy is amazing in here! Every part of my body just feels... so fucking awesome right now! All my injuries are gone, too! It's euphoric, man!" Ruby laughed, feeling euphoric herself at how much of Yang's confidence had returned to her now that the ritual had been completed. Lilac eyes shifted to Ruby's uncle. "Plus this dude's got booze! Party time!"

Uncle Qrow groaned. "Tell your lovers to get their own booze, Ruby."

"L-L-Lovers?" Ruby stuttered, feeling her face light up like a bonfire.

"Are you okay?" she heard Blake ask, jolting Ruby out of her mind's eye to see the black haired girl staring at her curiously. "Were you talking with them?"

Ruby released a deep breath, trying to push her uncle's words out of her brain. "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay," Ruby sighed, calming down and smiling at Blake, stepping closer to her. "Weiss and Yang are okay, too. They made it there safely." The brunette giggled again. "Yang's trying to steal my uncle's alcohol."

Blake snorted. "That sounds like Yang. You really don't want to see her drunk, though."

Ruby smirked. "I'm sensing a story there. Do I want to know?"

"No. No, you really don't."

Ruby used the back of her hand to cover the giggles flowing out of her mouth and the remains of them caught in her throat from the look in those golden eyes, intense as miniature stars, as they stared at Ruby. The scythe wielder bit her lip, shuffling her feet nervously. "Do... do you still want to...?"

"Yeah," Blake said with a nod, stepping closer until their chests were almost touching. Ruby could feel her heart pound against her ribcage, Blake's eyes and her voice and her closeness making Ruby's knees weak. "I want this." The shamaness then held up her lantern. "As long as Adam can come, too."

Ruby giggled again, feeling some tension leave her body. "Of course he can, he's a part of you," Ruby replied, bending over slightly to be eye level with the flame swirling in Blake's lantern. "As long as that's okay with him."

The flame bounced around inside the lantern, looking excited, before briefly and playfully twirling around Ruby's head, never close enough to be dangerous, before returning contentedly to his place in the lantern.

Ruby giggled playfully, standing up straight again. "I'll take that as a yes?"

Blake grinned softly, a rare look for her that made Ruby's breath stop. "He's more excited for this than anything I've ever seen." Blake's eyes softened. "Thank you for asking him. Since he's become like this, no one really... acknowledges him."

Ruby nodded, understanding. "He's your friend, Blake, which means he's my friend, too."

Blake smiled at her in a way Ruby had seen Yang smile at Weiss and the red clad girl thought she might faint, but shook her head when she remembered she had something important to do.

"Are you ready?" Ruby asked softly, holding out her hand. "The process will be exactly the same as it was for Weiss and Yang. I'll establish the pathway and you follow it to reach me, okay?"

Blake nodded, gripping Ruby's hand firmly but gently and closing her eyes. Ruby closed her eyes too, preparing herself to begin the ritual.

"Ruby?"

Said girl's eyes fluttered open at Blake's voice, not expecting to hear it again until she reached her Inner Realm, and her silver eyes widened further when she felt petal soft lips press against the corner of her mouth. It was over the moment Ruby had registered what happened, and when Blake pulled back her cheeks were slightly pink.

"Thank you," Blake said shyly, "for wanting to be with me."

Ruby didn't trust herself to speak yet, instead slowly wrapping her arms around Blake's form, burying her face in the taller girl's neck, Blake's hair and the fur on the panther pelt tickling her skin.

"Always," Ruby whispered when she felt Blake's free arm wrap around her waist and hold her close. "Always."

Both girls closed their eyes, and finding Blake's soul was even easier than finding Weiss and Yang's had been. Blake's was so bright, so full of energy, proving not only her spiritual awareness and compatibility, but the strength of her connection with Ruby. Ruby could feel Blake's warmth all around her, in her body and in her soul, and once the spiritual pathway was constructed Blake's essence rushed to her and embraced her, a rush of energy and warmth exploding outwards from them, so intense that Ruby had to open her eyes.

She was by herself now. Silver eyes looked all around the area, acknowledging the remains of the Grimm, the blood splattered on the ground and walls, debris in areas it wasn't originally; all the remains of the battle were there, all the remains of her friends' existence in the physical plane, but now Ruby was the only living thing remaining.

She was alone.

But as she touched her fingers to the warmth lingering on the corner of her mouth, she knew she would never truly be alone. She had made three beautiful friends, all of whom made Ruby feel things she didn't know she could feel, and her whole body was tingling with bliss at becoming one with them. She could feel parts of them in her soul now, all of their strength, passion, and willpower, and could also feel their individuality.

They were alive. They were still together. Now they were together with Ruby and they all looked happy. Nothing about the ritual went wrong, and this sense of completion in Ruby's heart, of feeling whole for the first time, taught Ruby a lot about her mysterious powers.

This is what people always meant in those fairytales when they talked about soul mates. Those stories always made the concept seem so wonderful, so beautiful, but the actual conjoining of souls, of people who cared for each other this deeply, went far beyond those inferior descriptions of happiness.

Ruby felt at peace.

"You made it, Blakey!" Yang shouted from within Ruby's Inner Realm, Ruby closing her eyes to observe the blonde launching herself at the faunus and snuggling her.

"Get off me," Blake grumbled, cheeks warm as she shoved Yang away, the grin on the blonde's face never dissipating.

"Hey, you're the girl I saw peering into my niece's mind earlier," Uncle Qrow remarked, stepping up to her and looking her over. "Does it feel any different now that you're here?"

Blake stared at him for a moment before saying, "Yeah. Instead of feeling like a cursed dimension occupied by a single drunkard, now it feels like home."

Home. Hearing that word, especially from Blake's mouth, made Ruby's heart do somersaults. She knew after hearing Blake's past that the faunus never really felt at home, being pushed to the outskirts of her village and all, and Weiss and Yang felt similarly about the places they had lived as well.

If her little Inner Realm could make them all feel like that, then Ruby wouldn't need anything else in life. Knowing that she could make someone feel that safe would make Ruby content enough.

"Speaking of home," Weiss spoke up, pointing at something behind them, "look."

Four heads turned to see a modest sized house now resting on the ground behind them, all looking bewildered at how it got there and why it was there.

"Uh, Ruby? Mind explaining this?" Yang asked, scratching her head.

"THAT'S MY HOUSE!" Ruby screamed excitedly, her mystical voice echoing in the vast space. "Uncle Qrow, it's our old house!"

"It sure is, Kid," Qrow said, rubbing the scruff on his chin, looking just as confused as everyone else. "Does this mean I can sleep on a bed now instead of a rock?"

"I have no idea, just go and see!" Ruby gushed quickly, still in disbelief of what she was seeing. Her home was definitely burned down by the warlords all those months ago—it felt like so much longer than that—but to see it suddenly standing strong again, looking like nothing had touched it since that fateful day... Ruby was overwhelmed.

The four occupants of her mind ventured inside, marvelling at how clean everything was, how everything was how Ruby left it. A fire was burning in the fireplace, there was fresh fruit and bread for them to eat even though such things were unnecessary in their forms—Ruby would know, as her uncle did nothing but drink. Speaking of that, she noticed her uncle check the place under the floorboards where he kept his secret stash of booze, and all of it was there. All of it.

Ruby had no idea how or why this was happening, but she was so, so thankful. After months of nightmares and physical, mental and spiritual exhaustion, things were finally going right.

"Hey, it's my lute!" Yang announced, seeing the instrument on the couch. The blonde hurriedly sat down and wrapped the strap over her shoulders, plucking a few strings. "I totally just remembered now that I left it at our campsite when I ran off. Ruby, how did you get this here?"

"I have no idea," Ruby replied honestly, her voice still containing tones of excitement. "I really have no idea what's going on here, but this is awesome! Honestly I was a little worried you guys might get bored or uncomfortable all cooped up on that rock all alone, and the next thing I knew my house was here! This is just," she paused to hold in a sob, "too much."

"Come join us for a bit, Ruby," Qrow suggested, taking a small sip from his flask. Yang eyed him excitedly before he groaned and finally relented the drink, letting the blonde finish it off with a sigh of contentment and a groan from her two friends. "You've been on the road for a long time now. Don't you want to sleep in your own bed again, even in your spirit form?"

"I do. So much," Ruby agreed with a sigh. "And I will. Later. Right now I want to get out of these ruins. There could still be more Grimm here, and I still need to find Zwei."

"Hope you find him, Rubes," Yang said, tapping her foot on the wooden floorboards as she found a rhythm in her improvised song.

"Be careful, Ruby," Weiss advised with a smile that melted away any icy contours usually on her expression. "Come join us once you find your dog and you know you're safe. If anyone deserves to be in this house right now, it's you."

"She's right," Blake concurred, looking upwards to where Ruby's voice emanated the most. "And if you need us, we're here for you."

Qrow, Weiss and Yang all nodded in agreement before all sitting around the fire, listening to Yang's song. Weiss began to hum to it softly.

"Thank you. All of you." Ruby said softly. "I'm so happy I got to meet all of you."

Her companions all smiled, and Ruby wished she were a talented artist so she could paint a picture of the scene because nothing had ever looked so perfect to her in her life. This was her family, safe and happy and willingly staying with her. They all wanted to be with her.

And Ruby wanted to be with all of them forever.

Ruby hummed Yang's tune as her consciousness became aware of the physical plane again. She opened her eyes and smiled, the warmth of all four of them a permanent tattoo in her soul.

Yeah. She felt at peace.

Then she heard a bark, a quiet but sharp sound. Ruby spun around wildly, trying to find the source of the noise, before a corgi popped its head out from behind a rock in the corner of the room.

"Zwei!" Ruby yelled in relief, the dog running to her at the call of his name, the red clad girl meeting him halfway. She dove to her knees and petted her dog all over, the tiny animal licking her dirty, and still sore, hands. "Where have you been, boy? You scared me half to death!"

The corgi barked happily, his tongue hanging lazily out of his mouth. Ruby sighed, letting it flow through her whole diaphragm as she relaxed, leaning back and scratching behind one of Zwei's ears. Doing so reminded her of Blake's ears, Blake's eyes, her skin, her hair, voice, everything breathtaking about the girl. Ruby felt herself blush and smile simultaneously.

"I have a lot to tell you, boy," she said with a chuckle. "You'll probably never believe me."

Zwei gave her this look that seemed too intelligent for a dog before barking happily again and running around in circles. Then he suddenly darted for the exit, speedily jumping over any blood stains and severed furry limbs.

"Where are you going?" Ruby shouted, jumping to her feet and rushing after him. "Not again! Stop!" Her cries were fruitless, the corgi leaping up the stairs and into the daylight. Ruby chased after her dog, but this time with a smile, a thrill in her heart, and a warmth in her soul. As she finally escaped those ruins filled with ancient monsters, the ruins where she got to meet the other fragments of her soul, the greatest friends she could ever ask for, the sunlight warmed her face and Ruby called after her corgi one more time.

"Zwei, wait!"

A/N: I love every single one of you that read the entire thing. I hope it was a fun journey. Any comments and feedback would be very much appreciated! I'd very much like to hear your thoughts about this universe and about my story in general. Have a good day everyone :)