03/01/2020 UPDATE: It lives! I have divvied the story up into more manageable chapters - the newest chapter is the last update of this batch; there is a more detailed A/N at the end of it describing my (good!) plans for this fic.

Pre-Chapter A/N: Not much to say here other than a great amount of thanks to Unseen Lurker, whose story "Of Red Petals and Black Feathers" quite literally inspired the hell out of this one. This story is posted with his consent - and I cannot express my thanks enough.

So. My first foray into the RWBY fandom. Let's see how this goes, eh?

Strength of an Honest Soul
Chapter 1

Upon a canvas of pure white snow slowly drowning in a rising tide of writhing darkness and grim violence, a little red Rose ran for her life.

Tiny legs carried the girl as fast as they could through the bare forests of Patch, as silver eyes darted side to side, scanning the ominous claw-like branches around her. Her breath escaped her in soft and panicked gasps as she kept one foot before the other, traversing the small island's forests with practiced ease born from countless back-and-forth trips. One tiny, clammy hand gripped the shaft of a mish-mash of tools and bits and pieces resembling a scythe, dragging the weapon she'd cobbled together in her father's tool shed behind her and leaving clefts and trenches in the snow as a crimson cape much, much too large for such a small girl fluttered behind her – one of the few splotches of colour on the stark monochromatic landscape.

Even from here, she could hear the klaxons and alarms wailing, sending signals of threat and ominous news as far as even the small island's coast.

A litany of growls accompanied the distant mechanical howls, and the sound served only to spur the little red-clad girl onward ever faster.

With a soft hup the little girl vaulted over a fallen trunk, keeping her eyes forward as the ever-sinister snarls and rasps and howls and growls danced amidst the blackened bark of the trees behind her. She'd been at her mother's tombstone when the first alerts had sounded in the distance, a klaxon she'd rarely heard signalling an influx of monsters terrifying and fearsome. With a final goodbye – at least for one meeting – she'd sped into the forest at a breakneck pace, leaving only tracks in the snow and rose petals in the wind as evidence she'd even been there in the first place. And yet, her path through the forest, one she'd travelled so many times before, had disappeared under a veritable ocean of jet-black fur and bony white masks.

She had never seen so many Grimm in her short life…

A reckless part of her at first wished to fight, to do as the heroes in the stories had done and vanquish the black beasts where they stood. Upon seeing more gaping maws than she could count and more glaring eyes than she could hope to hide from, however, she wisely decided to bolt; she hadn't even started at Signal Academy yet – even if she did have a somewhat passable weapon on hand. She couldn't fight against those numbers; not yet, she told herself stubbornly.

So there she was, a tiny girl with a weapon much too cumbersome to wield, wearing a cloak too big to be reasonable while running from the largest influx of Grimm that the denizens of Patch had ever seen.

The small, small of part of her that hadn't been stricken by fear wondered just where they had all come from.

No sooner had she allowed this thought to come to pass when a thunderous, almost deafening crack sundered the muted, distant ambience around her. The sudden staccato boom elicited a yelp from the red-clad girl, and the briefest, briefest lapse in focus lead to her stumbling to her knees under the sudden sonic assault. The shoddy scythe flew forwards, embedding itself in the ground.

Panic-stricken silver eyes scanned the snowy carpet, and widened when the slightest shade of red bled into the harsh whiteness around her. Pale moonlight gave way to intense copper bloom as the once pure snow turned sickly under alien light, and only then did the little girl notice the rumbling growing ever louder.

Then came the howls, and the growls, and the barks and the snarls and the beastly chorus of a horde of Grimm, and before panicked silver eyes could blink the sea of black surrounded the little red girl completely. Jet-dark fur and bony scowls stretched as far as her tiny eyes could see, and for but a moment fear had sunk its venomous fangs right into her heart, paralysing her completely. A soft whimper attempted to voice hope, attempted to scream for help and pray her uncle would come cleaving through the horde to save her again.

But he did not come.

And the Grimm, amazingly, did not attack.

Huddled on the ground with her cloak drawn tight around her, the little red Rose dared to glance up at her assailants. Not one of the terrible, bony sneers was directed at her. Not one of those open, serrated maws was moving forward to chomp down on her. No, the deep, murderous gazes of the beasts of Grimm were all directed upwards, at the fractured, shattered moon above – and only then did the little girl in red realise that the copper taint blooming on the snow was growing ever deeper, ever brighter.

Fearful silver eyes glanced up, at the same anomalies that seemed to enrapture the soulless Grimm…

…and those same eyes widened to their limits when they beheld the great clusters of fire descending to the earth.

Roiling clouds of hellish orange inferno barrelled towards the rising, writhing sea of Grimm, trailing ominous red smoke and bits and pieces of charred debris in their wake. The closer the great fists of fire came, the more agitated the creatures of Grimm grew. Lupine snouts bore fierce snarls and ursine bellows rang above the cacophony of wolfish songs, and all the while the flames drew ever closer.

Curling up where she sat, and drawing her cloak ever closer, the little girl in red squinted at the growing bullets of flame, hoping the creatures around her didn't divert their attention from it.

And then, just as the flames shone at their brightest, silver eyes beheld monstrous scowls, serrated fangs and armour twisted and sinister enough to make her quiver even more.

And finally, little Ruby Rose shrieked as the bombs of fire slammed into the shifting masses of Grimm…

…and Hell itself unleashed its chaos onto the forest around her.

In essence, they were a force of ruin – Destruction incarnate, some would say. The soulless beasts of Grimm, bearing the colour of oblivion itself and masks ever so similar to one of Creation's most feared executioners. They were beings of darkness drawn to all that is wrong and unholy, monsters utterly void of empathy or morality, that lived for nothing but the destruction of what precious few remained in the Third Kingdom. With fang and claw, they fought with every ounce of the ferocity that made them so feared in humanity's eyes.

Yet… despite it all, despite their numbers measuring an unfathomable amount and their ferocity striking fear into the hearts of even the bravest of Man's children…

…they were still horribly, horribly outmatched.

For even the oldest of the beasts of Grimm were but pups in the eyes of the Second Kingdom.

Fang and claw was met with fire and steel, courtesy of beings wielding such power the very beasts of extinction were trampled underfoot. Demonkind matched the bloodthirsty roars of the Grimm in equal, almost greater volume, and their own smouldering glares and bared fangs caused even the soulless monsters of darkness to falter. Wielding magic and skill honed by millennia of fighting the First Kingdom's finest, and weapons that had not dulled a bit during the ceasefire between kingdoms, they advanced on their ambushers not with fear or trepidation, but with wrath, rage and scorn.

And thus, the hounds of war were loosed.

On one side were the beasts of Grimm – soulless and ferocious and unrelenting in their destructive existence.

On the other were the warriors of Hell itself – ancient, dark and bloodthirsty as ever portrayed by history, and furious and overwhelming in their strength.

And caught between the two warring sides, none the wiser, was a young, innocent little girl in red – woefully unaware of the fate awaiting her.

It's okay to be afraid, she told herself as she darted from thicket to thicket, from upraised knoll of roots to upraised knoll of roots in her mad dash to escape the deafening chaos around her. It's okay to be afraid, it's okay to be afraid. Uncle Qrow said so – it's okay to be afraid.

Despite being so young, she had been afraid many, many times before. She had been afraid when her mother had disappeared, after embarking on a mission fit only for super-cool super-awesome Huntresses, only to never come back. She had been afraid whenever her father would usher them inside as distant alarms signalled an influx of Grimm on Patch, cutting into her playtime with Yang and Zwei. She had been afraid – especially afraid – when one of Yang's friends had accidentally cut off a lock of her blonde hair (their house still creaked in some places).

And yet, she couldn't quite recall a time where she was as panicked and fearful as she was now.

At least a part of that fear, she reckoned, was because of the new monsters in the forest – the ones who were butchering the Grimm as though they were nothing.

Ruby didn't rightly remember where they came from. She remembered an explosion, and she remembered screaming as the explosion went off, as the painful scratch in her throat now reminded her. She remembered falling flat on her face –

Then everything went crazy, she thought with a grimace. Trees whizzed by as she ran, dragging her weapon behind her. Snowy hills rose and fell, but the Grimm – and their attackers – seemed to be everywhere.

Every now and then, her eyes would fall on one such an attacker, one versus many as the Grimm tried to overwhelm and trample. She beheld monstrous visages; giants standing more than double her own height, wearing spiky armour and wielding massive weapons – massive enough to put even Uncle Qrow's scythe to shame. Lipless mouths bared ugly yellow fangs, and their eyes blazed hatred at whatever Grimm was mad enough to attack them.

They were strong, Ruby realised with an audible gulp; strong enough to beat the odds – and the Grimm – through nothing but brute force.

A tree before her splintered under the assault of a giant, saw-toothed axe, and Ruby yelped, hopping back as half a Beowolf flew over her head. The monster before her, blue-skinned and bare-chested, roared with a fury that matched the half-a-dozen Beowolves attacking it, and the swings of its axe caused gusts of wind to kick up small puffs of snow as it went.

Not that way, not that way, Ruby thought quickly, springing to her feet and sprinting in another direction, leaving another flurry of petals in her wake. She zipped through trees again, ignoring the roars and death rattles around her as she tried her best to escape the never-ending sea of war. A Beowolf yelped to her left, and her peripheral just barely caught sight of a flying carcass, and to her left she heard one of the armoured monsters growl as claws scraped against armour.

A hill of snow before her exploded as an abnormally large Beowolf managed to tackle one of the evil-looking fighters through a tree, and with a loud 'eep!' and a quick roll to the side Ruby just barely managed to avoid getting flattened. More Beowolves followed the scuffle, emerging from the trench in the snow, fangs glistening and eyes gleaming.

Not that way either! Ruby thought erratically, darting to the side to avoid the confrontation.

Trailing petals wherever she ran, Ruby zigzagged through the warzone, never once losing her cool despite her youth and inexperience – and despite the loud yelps and wails she'd often let out after barely avoiding stumbling into a full-on battle to the death between the two sides. Occasionally the little Rose would have to hide in a stray pile of fallen leaves or in a hollow beneath one of the blackened trees as the fighting seemed to converge on one spot before moving on.

The Grimm had become absolutely mindless – sometimes they even attacked each other.

There was something seriously wrong about that.

Gotta get back, she thought as she zipped between battles. Gotta get back, gotta get back. All she had to do was get away from all the fighting and somehow make it back home. Then everything would be alright – Dad and Uncle Qrow would come and get rid of the Grimm and all these other uglies, and she'd be safe and sound, playing with Zwei and eating cookies and strawberries and maybe even working on her weapon, despite her lack of understanding so far.

The thought almost – almost – made her smile despite the situation.

She dug in her heels, suddenly, skidding to a halt just as one of the uglies hurled a Beowolf away with one hand. The lupine monster flew by her so closely she could almost feel its fur tickle her nose. With a frustrated groan, Ruby altered her course again just before another small pack of Beowolves leapt through the trees, and sped around the sudden battle, keeping her head down and her sprint steady.

There's so many of them… Again, she altered her course as the forces of Grimm converged on another group of uglies in front of her. Despite the Beowolves' numbers, the uglies seemed to fight better as a group – already, the corpses were piling up around the four warriors, forming a morbid wall that was used to funnel the remaining Grimm. Gross… Ruby shuddered as she sped past, propping her weapon up on her shoulder to allow herself easier movement.

She heard a loud yelp, suddenly, to her right – and against her better judgement, turned her head to look at the scuffle. With a loud splat she nearly tripped over her own feet as a large glob of Grimm ichor splattered all over her face. Ew! Gross, gross, gross, gross… She pawed at her face as she ran, just barely seeing enough to dodge the trees in her path as she scrambled to get the icky gunk off her face. She blew her nose quickly to get that part of her face clear, only for the inky substance to slip into her mou-It's in my mouth, it's in my mouth, ew, ew, eeewww! She started sputtering and spitting as she tried to purge the foul stuff from her mouth.

In her panic, sadly, she forgot to pay attention to where she was going.

Her forehead collided with steel with a resounding thud, and with a mixture of a pained groan and a pitiful whimper Ruby spun in place once before falling flat on her back, kicking up snow as she landed. Her dazed state all but evaporated, however, when a dark steel boot slammed down in front of her. She had mere moments to realise she had sprinted headlong into one of the uglies before an axe almost as silver as her eyes glinted ominously as it was raised high into the moonlight. Piercing, sickly yellow eyes locked with her own, and she yelped as the monstrous warrior before her roared, baring fangs and sending reverberations through her ears. With a hateful gaze it readied to strike –

…and then, it paused, its roar dying down and leaving only Ruby's low wail of fear to echo through the trees.

"…I-I-I-I'm sorry?" Ruby ventured, eyes wide, her hands still raised before her in a placating – and somewhat surrendering – manner.

With a snort, the ugly warrior sneered at her as it lowered its axe, its lipless fangs still set into a sinister sneer. Scaly gray features and a face that almost, almost seemed pig-like looked down at her, seeming almost contemplative if it weren't for the fact that the beastly being looked just about ready to smear her across the snow.

Ruby flinched as the warrior spoke, its voice deep, raw and bloodthirsty and its language sounded like someone actually took violence and formed it into words. Its language was completely alien to her, sounding aggressive and scary and every single word he said just made her want to sink deeper into the snow and why isn't he stopping?!

"I-I don't understand!" She said weakly, trying her best to look pleading and confused instead of terrified.

The pig-person opened its mouth again, but anything it might have wanted to say died out as a loud howl shattered the relative silence around them. A blur of black shot past it, claws raking across scaly flesh and dented steel, but this just seemed to make the pig-person angrier; it caught the offending clawed limb in its free hand, and used it to hold the Beowolf in place as that ominous silver axe cleaved through it. Another Beowolf leapt at the pig-person, only for an outstretched hand to catch it right around its throat. The Grimm was gracelessly slammed down into the snow, before a downright monstrous punch made the wolf-thing almost fold in on itself with a sickening crunch of bone.

The pig-person looked to Ruby again, eyes narrowed, and spoke once more, in that same raw, violence-hungry tone.

"Flee, human."

That, she understood.

Without a peep, Ruby nodded meekly, before disappearing in a puff of rose petals.

This is so weird! Ruby thought despairingly as she darted from fight to fight, easily skirting around the brawls by way of her recently-discovered Semblance. Between the uglies suddenly appearing and killing Grimm by the dozens, and the Grimm themselves going so crazy that they'd actually start attacking each other, Ruby's mind was a mess. After evading the fourth major brawl, where some Beowolves actually ignored the uglies in favour of attacking any other Grimm they came across, Ruby wearily decided to give up on figuring stuff out.

I just want to go home…

Her legs were even starting to ache.

Another harsh bark of violent language met her ears, and she skidded to a halt behind one of the bare trees so she could see whether or not she'd have to change course.

A group of six uglies stood before her, not too far away – close enough for her to see the various wounds covering them, and the various corpses of both Grimm and ugly warriors around them. They were surrounded by a fresh pack of Beowolves, each snarling and flexing their claws as though eager to tear the monster-men apart. With baited breath Ruby waited, for the battle to start – when the two sides were focused on each other, she could easily slip by unnoticed.

And just before the Beowolves could commence their attack, a low, distant, yet intense sizzling sound interrupted the tense stand-off.

That sound was all warning the unknowing Grimm received.

Hellish red-and-black fire blazed into the left-most Beowolves – it was a torrent of roiling tongues of flame that drowned out the very yelps of the beasts it reduced to ash in a blink. The sheer intensity of it stung at Ruby's eyes as she watched, and her vision was suddenly blurred by tears brought on from the brightness. She could only just make out a colossal black figure leaping from the trees and hurling itself into the fray with a roar that made the snow around her quiver and the ground beneath her feet tremble. A large, square object Ruby immediately recognised as a shield slammed flush into a group of three Beowolves, and the force behind it hurled the monsters clean out of the clearing, and from behind the shield, a fiendish spear struck home, piercing the hearts and throats of any Grimm foolish enough to stand in its path.

Not waiting a moment longer, Ruby started to circle the battle, dabbing at her eyes with the edge of her cloak. The clarity of vision she had regained allowed her a better look at the latest warrior to join the fray. Obviously the leader, Ruby thought as she kept her gaze on the battle while she scurried from cover to cover. The Leader was monstrous – standing almost Ruby's height above its already giant peers, and almost four times the girl's own width, the severe-looking plate armour and hellish-looking spikes only served to make the beast-man look that much more menacing. From beneath a bark-like mask, two violet eyes were narrowed with rage, and the behemoth's head was covered by a helm topped by two enormous curved horns.

Ruby gulped. That wish to just disappear into the snow until the fight was over was coming back.

Yet even this did not deter the little girl. As the uglies fought on, their vigour and drive renewed by their Leader's appearance, Ruby kept creeping from blackened tree to blackened tree, careful to move really slowly and really carefully, so as not to draw the frenzied Grimm's attention as they tried to dogpile the alien warriors. The Leader, she noticed, stood head and shoulders above its peers – each bash from its shield shattered the bones of numerous Grimm, and each crescent sweep of its spear batted the soulless monsters aside.

It would have been, in her mind, an absolutely amazing sight, had circumstances not rendered her fear-stricken.

She was almost halfway to the next tree, though, when her silver eyes witnessed a peculiar sight.

In the midst of the battle before her, a curious light caught her eye. It was a completely random sight, seeing a dull golden light radiating from a small(ish) pouch on the Leader Ugly's belt. Even if there wasn't a battle raging, it would be just barely noticeable. So why, then, did it catch her eye?

And why, why couldn't she look away?

Pretty, she thought in a trance as she gazed as the dull light. It seemed to glow brighter the longer she looked at it – warmer, too. It was as though she could feel the warmth of the dim light splaying across her face. It felt so… comfortable. Like all her worries were just… disappearing, as she gazed at it. Fear became contentedness, panic became peace and a dopey smile formed on Ruby's lips as she felt the light tugging at her, dragging her into the clearing. It called to her, welcomed her with its warming rays, and idly Ruby felt her arm move as she stretched a hand out before her, wanting just to graze the calming light –

She jerked suddenly, and shook her head, breaking the sudden stupor that had overcome her, and immediately the sounds of battle returned.

A Beowolf corpse flew over her, and a scuffle to the left pelted her with snow. She counted less than ten feet between herself and the Leader Ugly, and panic wrapped its cold fingers around her tiny heart.

She had wandered right into the fray – and now she was surrounded on all sides, her hand still outstretched towards the glowing light before her.

She let out a low whine of panic when the colossal black figure before her spun around, and the whine itself died out the moment furious violet eyes locked with her own silver ones. The Leader Ugly's glare made a ball of cold form in the pit of her stomach, and even though the bark-covered mask obscured it, Ruby could almost sense the sneer on the creature's face. "I… I wasn't going to – I didn't mean…" She fumbled with her words as the Leader's presence grew that much more imposing – the warrior rose to its full height, towering over every other living thing. Its shoulders were squared and its fierce gaze was set, and despite the lull in combat, that door-sized shield remained at the ready.

Then, with a brutal swing of its arm, said shield was hurled in her direction.

Ruby dove forward with a short shriek, her scythe dropping into the snow once again as the giant chunk of steel soared over her. Though her eyes had been screwed shut in fright, she could hear the shield slamming into two Grimm behind her – the snapping of bone almost made her feel nauseous. The shield fell to the ground behind her with an audible thud, and the pitiful whine that followed signalled a third Grimm wounded in the attack.

The ground under her shook then, and footsteps thundered towards her – steel hissed through the air, and the sound of a weapon piercing flesh sent another Grimm to the grave, its corpse slamming down right next to her.

Fearfully, she looked up, her lower lip quivering – whether from the cold or something else, she didn't know. Those violent violet eyes still glared at her, disdainful, judging and callous.

And yet… the giant's spear was embedded firmly into the chest of the Grimm beside her.

What was believed to be an attack on her had instead saved her.

"…I just wanna go home…" She said, her voice escaping her in a weak moan as she remained on her knees, staring at the abyssal monster before her.

The Leader's eyes seemed to narrow as it gazed at her. Just a hint of calculating contemplation flitted between the rays of hatred and condescension – before they finally blinked. The armoured warrior loosed a monstrous sigh, and with a quick yet mighty jerk of his arm, it ripped the spear from the Grimm's corpse, and turned.

"Leave then, human," it spoke, its voice deep and rumbling. "Leave and do not look back. Speak of this with no one."

"…O-Okay…" She mumbled, clumsily patting at the snow in search of her scythe as she tried to stand again. Her legs wobbled under the attempt, and biting cold finally registered in all her limbs, but that didn't stop her – it wouldn't stop her. Not now. Not when she was so close to home…

An image flickered in her mind's eye – an image of Yang, and Dad, and Zwei, and suddenly it was as though she could feel home's warmth.

That alone spurred her on.

Howls from the darkened forest accompanied a harsh bark of orders from the Leader Ugly, and the lesser warriors quickly formed a half-hearted barricade around Ruby's path. Their weapons were raised and their fangs were bared – for some reason, these evil-looking things were helping her escape.

The Beowolves stormed through the trees and snowy undergrowth the moment Ruby took her first step – their numbers had increased, and they seemed even more frantic.

Ruby wasted no time in reaching the edge of the clearing, even when the collision of forces almost deafened her. Claws and fangs scraped against armour and shields, and axes and swords hacked into flesh and bone – and yet, not once did the warriors allow even a single Grimm to lay its eyes on her.

She broke out of the clearing and into the undergrowth with an almost relieved huff. Her legs ached as she walked and her lungs burned with every breath, and still, Ruby managed to force herself onwards. A part of her felt a surge of childlike glee upon realising all those painful exercises with Yang were paying off.

Suddenly she felt grateful her sister had included her in 'getting ready for Signal' – even if Ruby couldn't properly use a scythe yet. Baby steps, Dad always says.

The conflict behind her rose in volume, and she found herself looking back while struggling to free her foot from a very, very stubborn tree root. She gasped slightly when saw no less than nine Beowolves attempting to gang up on the Leader Ugly – hideous scrapes covered once smooth, black armour, and one of the colossal horns atop the helmet was even chipped slightly.

And yet, despite the odds, the monstrous warrior kept slaying Grimm by the handful at a time.

Then Ruby saw it – a lone Beowolf, larger and bonier than the rest, hanging back, slinking in the trees and hiding in the formation's blind spot. It kept its form tensed and readied, waiting for the ideal moment to strike – and before Ruby could even yell out a warning, the Alpha darted forward, flexing its claws as it went right for the Leader's unguarded back.

Her breath caught in her throat as the Leader noticed the attack, and managed to evade just as the claws would have slashed at the clasps of its dark armour – but the Beowolf's attack lashed at the Leader's hip nonetheless, and its claws raked at that ever-glowing little pouch dangling from the belt.

Ruby's eyes unwillingly followed the small linen bundle as it soared through the air, ripped from the Leader's belt by a relentless swipe and propelled forward by the Grimm beast's considerable strength. A part of her willed herself to look away, knowing exactly what happened last time she looked – but before she could screw her eyes shut and willingly jerk her head away, the torn linen slipped off the object, fluttering into the breeze.

Once more, light captivated Ruby – only this time, it was much, much brighter.

With a loud thunk the orb landed a few feet ahead of her, rolling forward and bathing the blackened trees in a dazzling lightshow before coming to a stop against a steep hill of snow. The ethereal glow from the bronze sphere painted the white canvas beneath it pure gold, and once more Ruby found herself walking towards it, enraptured by its dazzling display.

She really should have been heading home by now, she thought drowsily as she stumbled towards the orb. But the lights looked so pretty… and it was warm, warmer than even her cloak could be at times. She fell to her knees mere feet from the orb, and felt the warmth envelop her. The light seemingly whispered in her ears, wordless sounds of soothing calm, and Ruby felt her eyelids grow heavy as she reached out to grab hold of the orb.

The Leader Ugly dropped it, after all, she thought drowsily – wouldn't it be rude not to give it back?

She heard the warriors roaring behind her – both in a language she didn't understand and one she did. They sounded so very, very distant – had she been any sleepier, she thought, she wouldn't hear them at all.

And just as a fearful cry of "Do not touch that!" exploded from behind her, her fingers grazed the warm bronze.

Her drowsiness was blown away in an instant. Pain – cruel, merciless, icy cold pain – shot through her entire body, running right up her spine and blasting clean into her skull. With a wordless cry of agony Ruby dropped flat on her face, hand still grasping the bronze orb, as her sight tore itself apart. Through jolts of numbing pain and twisting agony her vision flashed, what was once a spectrum of colour becoming an amber hue as splotches of colour blurred on the golden canvas.

She saw a verdant forest, an almost overwhelming scene of green, being swallowed by shadow – one wave coming from below, and another descending from above, drowning the eight figures haplessly caught in-between.

She saw crashing waves and bright moonlight, as beams of white from a fractured moon danced across jewels and crystals of all sorts and sizes, just before a deafening explosion pierced the centre of the dazzling array, sending blotches and blurs of red, white, black and yellow scattering.

She saw silhouettes of people walking hand-in-hand, dancing and laughing and giggling and twirling as candlelight burned around them, casting shadows across the figures wearing sinister smirks and malicious, slanted eyes.

And finally she saw a glow – a wicked, sizzling flare of light from two sinister eyes, perched atop a flowing red dress pulsing with amber-hued power.

With a violent jerk of her head and a pained yelp, Ruby pulled her hand away from the glowing orb of bronze, taking ragged breaths as she willed the pain assailing her head to dissipate. Both hands clutched at her temples as agony pulsed through her head, and only through gritting her teeth did she manage to keep from whining from the hurt. The pain quickly turned into numbness, and soon Ruby found herself breathing normally. She opened her eyes, and turned to look at the orb again – only to stop herself this time, before another series of pains attacked her. What… What was that…? She thought in a daze as she stumbled around, trying to get back on her feet. What did I just see…?

That orb was dangerous… It had the power to ensnare whatever being chose to look at it, and could hurt them greatly with as little as a glancing touch.

No wonder the Leader Ugly was the one to carry it… It must have been an object of great importance.

She turned back, looking at the battle raging in the distance. The brawl had reached its climax, it seemed – what remained of the small pack of Beowolves that had ambushed them assaulted the Uglies with abandon. Several of the armoured warriors had fallen in the fight, leaving only two to fight beside the black-clad leader. Although the howls and growls and roars in the distance meant the war between sides was still raging, it was obvious this battle was coming to a close – and with the Leader still seeming hale and hearty, the predicted victor was obvious.

She had to stop herself from looking right at the orb again, keeping a hand raised to block it out of her vision just in case she slipped. She could always leave it there, she thought. It's not like the thing was bothering anyone, after all. But if it could call out to people like that…

What if it went missing, and someone else – someone from Patch, even – found it?

What would happen?

Her bottom lip quivered as she felt renewed conflict within her.

Any other person would have left the orb there, to be lost in the snowy undergrowth, and forget it about – it wasn't their problem after all, was it? But Ruby Rose wasn't any other person – she wanted to be a Huntress.

She wanted to help people.

And while she was almost sure those ugly, armoured warriors didn't count as 'normal' people – how could they, looking and speaking like that? – they had showed her kindness, however violent they sounded while doing so. Ruby wasn't a fool, despite being so young – she could barely swing a scythe, so she knew she couldn't help them fight. With the large number of Grimm about, she wasn't sure she wanted to, either… But if she could help the Leader, just by returning the orb to it, wouldn't that be enough?

After all, the Leader – ugly as it was – had saved her life.

Surely that warranted a kindness in turn…

She whined as the pondered what to do, alternating her glances between the fighting warriors and the bronze orb – or at least, the general area where the orb lay, still hidden by her upraised hand. A part of her really, really, really wanted to run off, go home and just forget about everything that happened. Maybe she could even convince herself she was dreaming. But on the other hand… There was that nagging voice in the back of her head, reminding her: she had been helped.

Dad always said it was 'the right thing to do', helping people who helped you.

With a tired, almost frustrated groan, Ruby reached her decision – she pulled off her cloak and, mumbling a barely audible apology to the weathered garb, tossed it in the direction of the orb. It landed the way she had wanted it to, completely covering the bronze sphere. To her immense relief, she saw her cloak was much less transparent than the old linen pouch; barely a hint of the golden light escaped through the red fabric. Taking a deep breath, Ruby strode over and scooped the orb up, cloak and all. The crimson garb pooled in her hands, spilling through her tiny fingers, and it was so bunched up Ruby would have been uncertain she was even holding it had it not been for that solid weight hidden within the cloak's folds.

She gave the bundle an experimental squeeze – and noticed no jolts of pain or lances of agony.

She released a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

Whew. Well, that's one part done.

Now she just had to –

A tree crashed down to her left, the sudden thundering boom making the girl jump a good few feet in fright. Wide, quivering eyes beheld the fallen trunk, and suddenly Ruby was made painfully aware of the monstrous shadow looming over her. Gulping – loudly – she turned, already preparing to face the Leader Ugly. She was so close. Just give the orb back and run. Simple. Just give the –

She flinched when she finally saw the warrior's form. Its dark armour was littered with scrapes and dents, one horn atop its helm had been broken clean off and some parts around the bark mask's one eyehole had chipped away, revealing inky blue skin beneath the purple glowing eye. She gulped, seeing the same look of violence and rage shining in those eyes despite the injuries, and unconsciously she took a step back. "I… I wanted to give it back…" She said, somewhat lamely.

The Leader's eyes narrowed, scrutinising her in a way that made her want to sink into the snow once again. "You touched the orb," it spoke, clearly, in a way she more than understood. There was a very, very strict undercurrent to the monster's rumbling voice, one that made Ruby take yet another step back. "What did you see, human?"

"N-Nothing!" Ruby answered honestly. "A forest, I think? Y-Yes - a forest, and shiny rocks and people dancing. I… I didn't understand, I still don't understand…" She said, taking another step back as she saw the monster's eyes narrow even more. Its cheek moved, in a way suggesting it was frowning. "…Please don't hurt me…"

The monster's stare persisted for but a moment longer – before its violet eyes fluttered closed and it loosed a tired sigh. "Even if you do not understand," it spoke slowly, "you must know that nobody may know of what happened here. Do you understand that, human?" Ruby, to her credit, managed to nod without squeaking. The Leader held out its gauntleted hand, with the fabric of the lost linen pouch lain over it – it had apparently retrieved the little bag already. "Give it here, then."

Gulping once, Ruby quickly scanned the giant warrior's posture. For what, she didn't know – wariness merely told her to. It didn't look like it was going to attack her. Sure, it still had that giant spear in hand, but it was pointing to the sky. It was all but planted in the snow. Nodding meekly, she took one step forward, then another, slowly extending her arms as she walked.

And just before she came close enough to drop the artefact into the Leader's hand…

…her finger grazed an exposed part of the orb.

It was minor this time – a quick jolt of pain followed by the shortest flash of premonition. On an amber background she saw a detailed silhouette of the Leader's form; it reached out and took the orb from her, its giant hand wrapping the opened linen pouch around it –

And its other hand surged forward, driving the tip of that horrid spear right into Ruby's –

With a yelp she hopped backwards, one arm pressing the red bundle to her chest as the other hand grasped at her throat, a panicked, almost instinctive attempt to grab at a wound that wasn't even there. Her yell had put the warrior on edge – it had taken a step back, and had a look of alarm on its face – but Ruby didn't care.

Her hand still clutched at her throat, her breathing crazed and laboured.

Tears stung at her eyes, and she tried blinking them back.

This thing… This thing was going to kill her.

"What?" The warrior's tone was cautious, alarmed, even. "What did you-"

"You liar!" Ruby shrieked, ducking her head down and shooting forwards in a burst of rose petals. She bolted through the opening between the giant's legs, adrenaline fuelling her surge forward as she ran, ignoring the Leader's alarmed cry. Her sudden disappearance should buy her enough time to shake the thing off completely. She could get home, then, and hide the orb – maybe bury it in the backyard or something, she didn't know.

She snaked in-between the blackened tree trunks, yelping when she heard the deadened oaks and firs behind her shattering under the Leader's pursuit – an enraged pursuit at that, going by the roars he was uttering. She didn't dare look back, or to her sides. She focused solely on escaping the forest and the war within it, and finding help – Dad and Yang and Uncle Qrow could protect her from the ugly fighters, right?

She heard howls around her, and the sounds of fighting. She altered her course slightly, hoping to evade the battle she might be approaching, and kept skirting around the larger trees she came across.

Then, be it through fear-fuelled mania or teary eyes, she misjudged how high one of the exposed tree roots had reached.

Her foot snagged on the offending root, and Ruby yelped as she was sent tumbling forwards. The snow cushioning her fall broke away, and the young girl started sliding down a snowy hill, uttering a series of yips and short screeches as she almost cartwheeled towards the bottom. Her arms clutched the red bundle to her chest in a vice grip, making sure the orb itself was pinned sturdily enough to prevent it from flying out of her grasp, until she smashed down on the snow of an exposed clearing with a loud 'oof!'. The fall took most of the wind out of her sails, and she thought there might be a bruise on her chest where she fell on the stupid, stupid ball, but not even that could keep her down.

Ruby was back on her feet within moments.

And yet, just before she could rocket off in a burst of her Semblance, one of the trees surrounding the small clearing crashed inwards, and that giant, familiar figure landed in the centre once more, kicking up snow as it landed.

Ruby took several steps back as she locked eyes with those violent purple orbs again. She tried to frown in defiance despite the tear tracks running down her cheeks, and tried to puff out her cheeks too. The Leader Ugly gazed at her with a mix of anger and confusion, but didn't say a word. Instead, it merely steadied its spear once again, and grabbed hold of its linen pouch with its other hand.

"I do not know what madness overtook you," it spoke, its tone venomous and stern. "Nor do I care. I… I will not hurt you, child. I cannot hurt you." It took a step forward, and Ruby responded by taking a three steps back. It frowned at this. "You do not know what danger rests in your cloak," it said darkly, taking another step forward, and again, Ruby responded by taking three steps back. Her back bumped against the cold, dead bark of a tree, and despite her most valiant efforts her glare faltered, turning into a hopeless look of despair. "No tragedy needs to come from this, human," the Leader said warily, stopping in its tracks. The arm that held the spear suddenly extended to the side, and with a clink of an armoured hand, the weapon was released, and it fell to the snow with an audible thud. "Just give me the orb," it spoke, holding out its hand, "and we can forget this ever happened." It paused, looking at her. "Do you not yearn for home? For your family? You are closer to them than you think – just give me the orb, and I swear to you, on the Council's name, I will let you leave."

Ruby had no idea what council the Ugly was referring to – Dad had talked about one sometimes… Uncle Qrow had, as well. If… If this monster knew them, then… then maybe it wasn't going to try and kill her after all? She made a pained face as she weighed her options. The vision of the attack was still fresh in her mind, as was the ghostly sting in her throat.

An outright brutal explosion in the distance cut off her train of thought, and both she and the Leader whipped their heads in the direction of the disturbance. No fire, no smoke – but the crimson light blazing through the trees and obscuring everything near its source was almost blinding to the two. Another explosion followed, and the bright crimson light was matched and almost snuffed by rays of silvery-black that seemed to glow, swallowing light instead of emitting it.

Then came the cries, and the screams, and the wails.

Ruby gulped as she listened.

What had once been a war had turned into a slaughter.

And throughout the cacophony, throughout the sounds of massacre, throughout the sounds of rending flesh and snapping bone, of shattering bark and groaning wood, of steel on steel and sizzling fire – the loud, threatening neighing of two warhorses rose above it all; an animalistic chorus to drown out the din of the dying.

"Two…" the Leader mumbled. The word made Ruby turn her attention back to him, and her heart dropped right to her stomach when she saw all the rage and hatred and fatigue in those once sharp purple eyes had turned into nothing but pure, primal fear.

"W-What's happening?" Ruby asked worriedly, looking from the Leader to the slaughter in the distance, and back again. "Wh-What is that?!"

"Nothing that will aid us," the Leader replied sombrely. His head whipped back to her, eyes manic with terror. "Please, little one… Our time runs short. Give me the orb!"

Ruby regarded him warily, eyes quivering from fear and exhaustion. "Y-You… You promise you won't hurt me?" She asked meekly, keeping the crimson bundle containing the orb pressed to her chest.

"The future is not set in stone," the Leader replied, taking another step forward. "You saw a possibility, little one – a possibility I would die to avert!" His voice rose by several octaves as he spoke. "Hurry… If those steeds reach us, then… There will be blood."

That was enough to spur Ruby into moving, despite her fear and trepidation. Slowly, she moved forward, step by trembling step, keeping the bundle pinned to her chest. The Leader saw this, and readied the small linen pouch – it was held open in such a way that Ruby needed only to drop the small bronze thing into it. Halfway there Ruby extended her arms, wincing slightly – Yup. Definitely a bruise… - but kept a firm grip on the bundle nonetheless. She counted the steps as she went – twelve steps to go, twelve steps before she could turn her back on this and just forget.

Eleven steps.

Ten steps.

Nine steps.

Eight steps…

And just before she could take the seventh step, the shadows themselves came alive.

With bloodthirsty howls, the creatures of Grimm flooded into the clearing. Spittle oozed from their gaping maws and their red eyes stretched so wide they looked downright insane. Any semblance of a pack formation had been thrown right to the wind. The Beowolves wanted blood…

…and this time, Ruby realised with a loud wail, they wanted hers.

The Leader before her roared and sprang to action, closing the distance between them with three swift, lumbering steps. Its armoured arm shot outwards just as three Beowolves leapt at Ruby, and as a result their claws met dark steel instead of tender human flesh. With a loud bellow, the Leader used its arm to hurl the Beowolves out of the clearing, catching another by the leg with its free hand and using it as a club to bludgeon the other Grimm away.

Ruby panicked at the sight of the Grimm – she had hoped they wouldn't notice her, but it seemed her luck had finally come to an end. Pinning the bundle to her chest with her right hand, she moved her left to seize her scythe, so she could at least try to fight back, however poor she was at the time. Her hand, however, grasped nothing but air, and with a whine of horror Ruby realised she had left her scythe at the spot she'd recovered the orb.

Another mighty swing of the Leader's fist sent another Beowolf crashing into the woods, and its free hand had scooped up its spear. Several crescent swipes cut down the Grimm by scores, and a few more well-aimed thrusts dropped those Beowolves clever enough to know how to evade.

Despite all this, however, the Leader was quickly being overwhelmed.

With panicked breaths, Ruby scurried about, trying to evade the few Beowolves that prioritised her over the armoured warrior. She'd duck into the hollow crevices beneath the trees, scampering out the other side just as Grimm claws raked at the ground behind her, and she kept her body tensed and ready to drop to the ground at a moment's notice, evading any who took the chance to lunge at her.

But already, the adrenaline started to leave her – at the worst possible moment – and once again, fatigue and numbness set in.

Ruby's movements started getting sloppy. She'd knock her head and scrape her back whenever she dove into those nooks beneath the tree roots, and it would take her precious seconds longer to rise to her feet whenever she would evade the Grimm by dropping down. They started circling her, as though they smelled her weariness, and her tired silver eyes conveyed naught but panic as they corralled her to the centre of the clearing.

After a particularly tumultuous struggle returning to her feet, Ruby blinked tiredly – and noticed she was surrounded.

Seven Beowolves circled her, cutting off all avenues of escape, growling and snarling as they moved. She could hear the Leader behind her – if she wasn't hearing things it sounded like he had even more to deal with. Despite it all, though – despite the growing fear and fatigue, and despite feeling like she could fall over at any given moment – she still clutched the red bundle to her chest.

Her legs gave in, suddenly – her knees shook and wobbled and collapsed under her miniscule frame, and Ruby found herself kneeling almost waist deep in snow. Yet another Beowolf's disintegrating carcass flew over her as the Leader Ugly tried to fend off the insurmountable odds, but those surrounding Ruby barely paid it any mind. They kept circling her, tongues lolling about as they loosed ragged, bloodthirsty breaths.

She fumbled with the red bundle in her hands, dropping it to the ground as she worked towards re-doing her cloak. Despite the cold numbing her fingers and the panic tugging at her tiny heart, she worked deftly – or as deftly as a seven-year old could – to turn her trusty red cape and the orb held within it into something she could use, if only just to keep the Beowolves away until the Leader won his fights.

So frantic and panicked was she that she completely missed the fact she'd stopped referring to the demonic warrior as it.

A Beowolf reared back then, ready to lunge, and Ruby finished not a moment too soon – just as it surged forward, Ruby poured as much strength as her tiny self could muster into her arm, and swung the cape-and-ball combo as though it were a flail of sorts. It managed to strike the lupine beast clean on the snout, and against all odds and logic, the beast yelped and hopped back. The end of her makeshift flail thumped down into the snow, and with almost herculean effort Ruby managed to pull it back and ready for another strike.

She swung again as another Beowolf made the mistake of coming too close – what had once been whimpers and groans of terror had turned into grunts of exertions and small, adorable noises of determination, and once again those silver eyes had settled into the tiniest of frowns. A third swing dissuaded another Beowolf from coming too close, but Ruby now realised the lupine monsters were getting tired of playing games. This was made more than evident when she swung her flail for the fourth time – a Beowolf that had grown quite agitated from the cat-and-mouse tempo slashed at the hastily created weapon, and its claws raked giant openings across the red fabric.

Ruby couldn't precisely place the sound she made when she saw her beloved cloak torn apart, nor could she place the noise she made when she saw that ever-alluring bronze orb tumble to the snow.

What she did realise, without a doubt and despite the orb's hypnotic glow already taking her, was that she had been all but forgotten by the Grimm – their manic red eyes left her and locked onto the glowing sphere the moment it had left her cape's crimson constraints, and their mania seemed to increase tenfold at the sight of it. All seven of the maddened beasts leapt at once, fangs bared and claws arced, intend on reducing that bronze sphere to nothing but tiny little shards.

Several paws struck in unison…

… And with a loud tink, a single claw pierced the flimsy bronze metal – and what was once golden light shone the colour of blood.

For a fraction of a second, the orb glowed red in defiance of the attack; the sudden crimson light illuminated a sneering face engraved into the steel, a four-eyed monstrosity baring three rows of fangs at whatever being was foolish enough to strike it – and as the orb seemed to howl with rage, the light burst outwards with enough force to make a sound akin to a thunderclap.

Ruby went from smiling dreamily to screaming in surprise as a shockwave the likes of which she had only read about in tales of the Huntsmen of old erupted from the now-red sphere before her. The orb's hypnotic spell vanished as a wall of snow rose around the whirlwind of force enveloping her, and the Grimm that had once surrounded her were outright cut apart by the force before being hurled into the forest around them. The force from the sudden shockwave made Ruby's eyes water, and it was only through sheer force of will, through that adrenaline rush accompanying the realisation of renewed, perilous threat that she managed to keep her eyes open.

The crimson light intensified yet again, and to Ruby's horror she realised that the orb was slowly flaking, and cracking apart in the forest's snowy embrace. The engravings and etchings lining the bronze surface shifted and danced and moved like water – before reforming into a frowning, four-eyed face, menacingly smirking right at her.

Then she heard a laugh from the orb, and that smirk seemed to grow that much wider for it –

And there where it lay, half-buried in the snow in the eye of a phantasmal storm, the orb exploded.

Ruby's head whipped back with such force she felt the muscles in her neck getting sprained. The crimson light surged into her eyes, stinging and burning as it started blotting out her vision. Her mouth was open, she realised, but she didn't know if she was screaming – she knew only the violent pain in her eyes that cut right into her mind.

The last sight she saw before the crimson light completely swallowed her surroundings was Remnant's shattered moon hanging above her, almost sombrely.

And as Ruby Rose's mind lost itself, however briefly, to the Past, the Present and the Future…

…Creation itself bared its secrets to her.