Ladies and gentlemen, I am MardukWritInd and I'd like to welcome you to the second of my "RTX Outfit-inspired" fics, this time putting the focus on everyone's favorite cookie-loving protagonist.

Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth

I used to believe in fairy tales.

In great heroes who fought for what was right and vanquished evil.

But then I saw what really happens to a hero when things get hard.

How quickly that valor can become venom.

How the brave can turn bitter.

I used to believe in heroes.

But now all I see are hypocrites.

Ruby Rose would be traveling the outskirts of Haven, having gone ahead of her teammates who were still a good distance behind her now. Grimm activity had increased since the collapse of Beacon Academy and the complete shutdown of communications between nations, they had become more aggressive and emboldened for reasons she didn't grasp and the three month journey from Patch to Mistral had been a perilous one for the crimsonette and her new teammates.

The members of the now former Team JNPR: Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren, and herself were now united by both the pain of loss and the need for answers in the wake of the attack on their once cherished Academy.

But as the hooded Huntress traveled the forested areas outside the city, it wasn't just the hunger for answers that drove her, nor was it the Grimm who were now attacking the city below her even as she unfolded her Crescent Rose and leapt into the fray of chaos happening below.

"I can sense him here, there's no way this many Grimm could be around without a huge source of negative emotions being at the center." She would quickly dispatch of a pair of Beowolves which had attempted to rush her upon landing before running forward to engage the remaining Beowolves, her silver eyes now hardened orbs of determination as she fought against the creatures of darkness. "You can stop hiding now, we've always been able to sense each other even before Beacon collapsed! I know you were at our home when I finally came to, why aren't you with Yang? She needs you-"

She would gasp as an Ursa reared up behind her in the middle of her ranting and was now preparing to bring its massive claws down upon her, only for the reaper to react and decapitate its head. "As I was saying…" Ruby would stop speaking as the decapitated Grimm split in half before her eyes, not knowing what had caused the extra damage.

"You were saying that your bonehead of a sister needs me, which I find hilarious since she was the one who had your pops kick me out." A voice would echo throughout the walls of the abandoned city, but it was one she was very familiar with as she rested her weapon at her side while he made his way out of the tower in front of her. "Love the new outfit Little Rose, very much like a red riding hood come to life." The crimsonette would bristle at the venomous tone mixed within his compliment, time had clearly done little to mend the wounds he had suffered that day.

"Can't say the feeling is mutual hon, isn't the black cloak a little cliché?" Ruby would give a lopsided smile as she saw a familiar lock of silver beneath the black, it was a good sign that maybe some part of her friend still existed beneath the brooding façade. "Come on now, I've showed you what I've got going for me. Don't I get something in return?" She would place her friend hand on her hip while flashing a more pleasant smile at him, receiving a sigh of sorts before a gloved hand would undo the clasp binding the cloak to his person.

"I hate that you still very much know how to push my buttons Ruby…" The cloak would fall to the ground before dissipating into wisps of black smoke: The wolf Faunus known as Bálor Moonlight now stood across from her, the lone lock of silver hair now proved to be a stark contrast to the mane of black hair flowing behind him. Although as her eyes roamed down his form she noticed other subtle differences to his appearance: Gone were the casual clothes associated with the young man she once called a friend, the black jeans replaced by stark black military slacks and a pair of steel-toed boots adorned with his new emblem: A scarred wolf biting down on a thorn-filled rose. His upper body would reveal much more of the same color scheme as he had traded in the colorful wrestling t-shirts for a form fitting top with not-so cleverly disguised plates of armor that shimmered in the moonlight. But perhaps the most disquieting part of his altered appearance was the grotesque burn that now adorned the right side of his face, her body shuddering as she briefly remembered his small clash with Cinder Fall after they both had witnessed the tragic passing of Pyrrha Nikos. She had remained frozen in shock and pain, while he had been overtaken by rage and leapt in to fight. An action which cost him dearly as the raven-haired easily knocked him away with a fiery backhand to his face, sending him screaming in agony as the smell of burning flesh filled her nostrils.

Before the headache erupted into bloom and the world went white.

"I'm so sorry." Her silver-eyes would feel with tears as she nervously took a step forward to embrace him, stopping once she saw the aura of black forming around him. "If I hadn't frozen up then-"

A sword would lash out at her quickly, causing her eyes to widen in shock before stumbling back and falling back onto the ground.

"If you had jumped in then we wouldn't be having this conversation right now dammit!"

Balor would return his sword back into his hand before summoning the remaining two with a flick of his wrist as they hovered beside him, his lone amber eye glowing as the right eye remained closed. "I was lucky enough to get away with a burn after what that witch did to Pyrrha, lord knows what she would've done to you!" His hands would tremble visibly as the anger surged through his body, taking a breath as he forced himself to be calm. "Why are you even here, last I heard you were traveling with what's left of JNPR. I doubt you'd pull a Blake and just go AWOL on them."

Ruby would wince upon him referencing Blake's abandonment, standing up and retrieving Crescent Rose as she turned to face him with a more determined glare on her face.

"You sound just like Yang, you're counting out Blake just because you're angry with her. There must be a reason why she left-" The crimsonette would block his sword before leaping away as the now black-maned wolf Faunus charged into fight her, using her speed to move behind him and wrap her arms around his waist. "Just stop it! I know you're angry, and hurt, but going around Remnant attacking people isn't how you work through this!"

The red-hooded girl would cling to her friend as tightly as her arms would let her, she had already seen two of her best friends die during the Vytal Festival: Penny, an artificial girl from Atlas was torn apart via an accidental burst of power by the now deceased Pyrrha Nikos, who was the second death for her to witness as Cinder had used her powers to literally render the once proud spear maiden to nothing but embers that would carried away by the wind, her partner had been whisked away to Atlas by the hands of a father who sought not only to protect the crumbling image of his own company by his own daughter as well. Even her own sister had taken to falling into despair following the loss of her friends, her school, and her arm who would later take to telling the younger woman that "sometimes bad things just happen".

"I'm not gonna lose you too! I've already lost enough friends because of what happened three months ago and I'm not going to let what Cinder did to you change things between us!" Tears would fall down Ruby's cheeks an she did her best to keep him from attacking her, although that did little to keep him from breaking out into a fit of laughter as she finished talking.

"You honestly believe THAT'S why I'm doing any of this, because Cinder Fall maimed me?!" The amber-eyed wolf would flare his Semblance outward, knocking the young Huntress away before turning to face her. "You're really naïve if you really think that a burn scar and your sister roasting me like a pig on a spit would drive me to start hunting Grimm and Huntsmen alike!" His swords would hover around him as he assumed a fighting stance, giving the crimsonette Huntress time to get to her feet as the black aura flared out and pulsed like a beating heart.

"Th-then why?!" She would hold Crescent Rose at the ready as she stood across from the man who once saw her as a friend and lover, but now resembled the heartless beast from his own checkered past. "Aren't we all supposed to be on the same side fighting the Grimm, and what about Cinder?!"

Bálor would shake his head firmly as he pointed his blades at her, having forged them from what remained of the ruined Atleasian weapons that had rampaged throughout Vale and Beacon Academy. "Do you really think anybody's on friendly terms after what happened?! Border Security's been tightened everywhere, humans are even more distrustful of the Faunus, and God have mercy on poor Atlas right now because they got the worst end of the deal. It's anarchy there!" He would notice the hesitation flash across her face upon mentioning Atlas, knowing full well that thanks to the fall of Beacon that Ruby had been unable to contact her former partner. "Weiss is fine love, I did a little job for the SDC a while back and they're holding things together as best they can. She misses you dearly."

Ruby would smile slightly at the thought of her lost friend, even though the heiress and the wolf had never gotten along at all during their time as students, it was clear that he had enough respect to personally convey a message for her on the younger Schnee's behalf.

"I'm glad to know that she's doing okay, I miss her too..along with Blake and Yang and everyone else we lost that day." She would look at him cautiously, even as his weapons seemed to follow her every twitch. "Have you heard from any of them..the others I mean?" The cookie-loving girl hoped that since he had made it to Atlas and back in one relatively one piece (although his current outbursts of mania left her more than concerned.) that he may have caught wind of her missing teammate in the course of his travels.

Balor would run a hand through his black mane as he tried to keep from laughing at how quickly her priorities shifted from preparing to fight him, to once again acting like they were two friends catching up on old times. "Incredible, I tell you that I've spent the last three months killing off Huntsmen and Grimm and yet all you wanna know about is that damn cat." He would throw up his hands in frustration as two of his blades flew down to meet him, even as was still watching the red-hooded girl's hopeful expression. "I guess it wouldn't even matter if I told you that the people I killed had all lost their way and were now extorting from the people they wanted to protect, more like the common thug than Huntsmen and Huntresses!"

"So, basically you?" The crimsonette would smirk as she saw his angry expression falter and become one of confusion, causing her to giggle as he tried to compose himself. Clearly for all his fiery talk about how people were afraid and deceitful, he still had some trust left in her to show his true feelings that he usually kept trapped behind one gimmick or another.

"Please, I'm a mercenary woman! I do what I do for money, not because of some great lofty ideal like being a great knight in shining armor. That's Jaune's schtick anyway."

The wolf Faunus would twirl his weapons and let out a small growl as he stepped forward whilst baring his fangs. "Speaking of dear old Jauney, you two have gotten awful chummy lately."

The crimsonette would roll her eyes before hefting her scythe at the ready as the fair-haired knight in question had always been a sore subject for her friend, Yang had once chalked this behavior up to jealousy.

"If Jaune and Pyrrha weren't already so close, then there's a pretty good chance that you two goofballs might have ended up together. And since wolves are so territorial about their mates in the first place, well..it's self-explanatory there sis."

"Are we really about to stand here and have this argument again, how many times do I have to say it before it gets through that jerky crusted head of yours: Jaune and I are just friends!" She would begin rushing in to meet his swords with a quick slash of her Crescent Rose, before sidestepping the lone solitary blade that had been floating around him and trying to land a spin kick as he leaned back just out of her range with a cocky smirk before using his Semblance to send his third blade to strike her in the back. "Way too slow for your usual style." She would wink before disappearing in a flurry of roses before the sword would reach her hood, causing the startled wolf to fight off his own weapon before feeling the pointed edge of her scythe at his throat. "Are we done with our little temper tantrum?"

Bálor would snarl as he felt the bite of Crescent Rose at his neck, not expecting her to keep him in such a precarious position instead of trying to take him head on as she would have in the past. "…You've gotten better Rubes, I gotta say that you've definitely gotten the best of me…From three months ago!" He would flare out his Semblance to forcibly wrest Crescent Rose from the younger woman's grip before backflipping over her and readying the blood red wristlets that he had hidden up his sleeves which quickly unfolded into a familiar pair of dragon-headed gauntlets. "Ya know, because I was holding back in the good old days." He would telekinetically return her weapon to the crimsonette before taking another fighting stance as his swords returned to their sheathes, the grin on his face dissipating as he mentally prepared himself for the true battle even as his opponent was now realizing just what he was planning to fight her with.

"Those are Yang's weapon's..how would you even have them, there's no way dad would let you back inside the house after kicking you out!" Ruby would examine the weapons covering his hands closely, the usual golden color had been replaced by a stark and almost blood red color, the fangs on the dragon's "head" were now protruding outward to act as small piercing weapons, and she suspected that the ammo was no longer the usual shotgun/incendiary combo that her older sibling favored using. "I swear to God, if you hurt any of them I'll-"

The wolf would roll his eyes in disgust at the younger woman's insinuations as he took a few practice jabs at her shadow, finally re-assuming his stance before hardening his own gaze. "I told you already, I'm a mercenary..not a goddamn thug. Your family is perfectly fine, took every fiber of my being not to peek in on Yang while she was showering though." His mind would briefly sink to the gutter as he imagined the brawler in the comfort of a steamy shower, even with one arm she was still very much a vision of loveliness.

Ruby would sigh as she readied Crescent Rose for a second fight, loading up an ammo clip as she felt the air around them grow heavy with the tension permeating from their hearts. "And this is why I chose to travel with Jaune instead of following you into the darkness: He knows what he wants, he's honest and sweet, he wouldn't make jokes like that."

Bálor would snarl audibly at her words, in one sense he was finally satisfied to see that his suspicions towards Ruby's feelings for Jaune were confirmed. But at the same time, he could feel his own heart beginning to falter with the weight of a second abandonment from his not so little rose.

"Well..it's nice to know that you've pretty much destroyed my last reason to give you quarter." He would close his eyes and finally let go of the last vestiges of his happiness, the black aura enveloping him in its familiar cloak as his blades also rose to join him in battle. "I could stand here and say that I won't ever stop loving you, but that would just make me both a liar and a thief now would it?" With those words and a final tear shed for who he used to be, the black-maned wolf would charge forward and attack the crimsonette who was already charging forward to meet his blades with her scythe.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune Arc would find himself racing through the halls of the Beacon's tower, in reality he knew that much of that place had been destroyed during the attack on Beacon and that the structure he now found himself running in was very much a facsimile created by his own troubled heart. It was the beginning of a very long nightmare that he had been suffering from since beginning his journey alongside Ruby and the others, and even though their bond had allowed him to endure the harder portions of Pyrrha's death. But this nightmarish chase would continue to torment him nonetheless.

"Stop it Jaune, you already know how this twisted journey happens. You've been going through this for a while now: First we run through this stupid corridor for what seems like forever, then we meet up with Pyrrha who's fighting some freaky fire witch."

As sure as his own quick-witted mind could prompt it, the fair-haired knight would find himself standing at the top of Beacon tower where his now deceased partner was doing her best to hold off the raven-haired pyromancer attacking her, even using the shattered gears of the tower to try and bury the witch who seemed to escape the trap with a burst of power. "Then Pyrrha tries using her shield to counter this woman's arrow..only to…" He would watch on in horror as the arrow in question seemed to phase right through the spear maiden's shield and puncture her ankle, sending his beloved to one knee as her aura reserves seemed to vanish entirely.

Jaune had witnessed this outcome every night, and despite the claims that had stated that he was in control of his own dreams could do nothing to change what would come next.

"Why can't I look away, why is it that I'm forced to watch the death of someone I truly care about every single night?!" He would cry out in agony as the raven-haired woman delivered a final arrow to Pyrrha's heart, before placing her hand on the top of the dying woman's head and destroying her in one final show of power as Pyrrha's body scattered off into the wind, leaving only the crown she wore in her hair as a final memento of her existence. "And here comes the usual villain spiel when she claims that I'll never be able to stop her and that she's coming for me next."

Jaune would square up his shoulders as the woman turned to face him with a sultry smile upon her face, even as he wished he could decapitate the woman with all his heart.

"Tonight is the night that red riding hood falls, devoured by her pet wolf, cloak and all."

This would prove to be enough of a shock to cause him to bolt awake with a gasp, feeling the sweat trickling down his face as he tried to collect his thoughts and remember just where they were. "That's right, we're outside a town in Mistral that we're going to investigate for Grimm the next day." He would sigh and lean back tiredly as he gazed up at the stars, wondering why this dream startled him so much on this occasion.

"The bit at the end was so strange, something about red riding hood being devoured by a wolf. What do you think it means Ruby-" As Jaune turned to speculate on the strange ending with his new partner, he would be shocked to find her sleeping bag empty and her scroll active as he leaned over to see what she had been investigating.

"These are all articles about sightings of a wolf Faunus in Mistral, but why would she be so intrigued in a wolf?" His speculation would stop as he heard a rumbling in the distance, suddenly worried about his friend's well being as he quickly grabbed Corcea Mors and prepared to head off in the direction of the rumbling.

"Between that stupid dream and now Ruby going missing, I have a very bad feeling about all this!"

Ruby couldn't understand what she was now facing in the streets of the abandoned city, her friend now chasing her with the same frantic need to destroy that he had displayed during his encounter with team CRDL in the past.

"What in the world am I fighting now, because it sure as hell isn't any friend of mine!" The crimsonette would yelp as she narrowly avoided one of his swords and tried to counter with a spinning slash, only to find that he was now in midair and unleashing a hail of shells from Yang's stolen Howling Dragons which she quickly evaded by running up the side of a nearby building and rushing to meet him in midair as he had finally stopped to reload his spent cartridges. "You may have the advantage in arsenal but I'm still faster!" She would use her Semblance to once again sneak behind him, only to be met by one of his swords as the black-haired wolf let himself freefall to the ground.

"You really think I'm stupid enough to fall for that cheap trick again little girl?!" There was no mistaking the pure malice in his voice as he finished reloading the gauntlets and opened fire once again, only to growl as a flurry of roses were left in her wake. "That's a new one-" His instincts would cause him to leap forward as a shot barely missed him, quickly sniffing the air as he ran as fast as he could to avoid her sniper fire while tracking the scent of rose petals on the wind. "If she thinks I'm going to be stupid enough try to go shot for shot with her, then she's got another thing coming!" He would immediately begin scaling the buildings while trying to get a fix on her hiding spot, only to met by a twister of rose petals surrounding him. "Wh-what the hell?!"

Ruby would watch from atop the nearby clock tower as the wolf Faunus was ensnared by her trap, if this were a mock battle then she would almost certainly be applauding her own ingenuity at baiting him into falling for it. "I'm sorry…I love you." She would ball a fist in anger as the twister bore down upon him, a deafening howl being heard in the distance as she turned away to sob quietly to herself. "I shouldn't have said what I did, I should've tried harder to save you!" Ruby would slump down to her knees and let the tears fall, her mind flashing back to the happier times of their relationship with one another.

"It's…not…over!" His voice would echo upon the streets of the empty town as Bálor slowly floated to the ground, his swords and hitting the ground before he did as the cloak disappeared from his body once again. "I won't..let myself..be defeated like this!"

Ruby would look down at the streets below her, shocked to find that the black had left his hair to make it a familiar silver once again. "How did he even survive that, not even Grimm could stand up to that trap!" The hooded Huntress's body would react quickly as she disappeared in a burst of speed to help her now weakened friend, wrapping him up in a tight embrace even as he struggled to push her away once again. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..I'm so sorry!"

Bálor would let out a weakened growl as he tried to squirm out of her grip, even as she kept on muttering apologies to him for the battle they had just had. As if she insisted on shouldering the blame for all of it, even though he knew himself to be the sole instigator of their battle. "You..idiot…you were only defending yourself. Stop…apologizing!" With a burst of anger, he would finally send Ruby away from him, struggling to stand up as both of the tired combatants heard someone calling for the crimsonette.

"Ruby! Ruby sound off if you can hear me!" Jaune's voice would be loudly calling out to her, even as he desperately searched for her through the ruined city. The raven-haired woman's warning to him being a constant reminder of what kind of peril could await him, something that pushed him to run harder through the streets.

"Seems like your knight in shining armor…has finally arrived to save you." The wolf would smile weakly, ignoring the painful protests of his body as he retrieved his weapons.

"It must be nice…to have someone who loves you, treasure that…feeling." He would groan and let out a few curses as he forced himself into a run, the knight's panicked calls getting way too close for his liking.

"I…I'm here Jaune!" Ruby would call out to him as loudly as she could, her voice barely managing a strangled croak before remembering the pouch of water she'd tied to her waist, drinking greedily from it even as the familiar blue slacks of Jaune Arc finally rounded the corner.

"Ruby!" Jaune would smile in relief as he found his cookie-loving companion sitting down on the city streets, although that same relief would soon be replaced by dread as he observed the growing bruises on her face, as well as the various cuts along her body told him that she had endured a battle with something besides the Grimm on this night. "Ruby..what happened to you, what happened..to this place?"

The crimsonette would shake her head quietly as she gathered her thoughts and began to stand on her feet once more, unlike Bálor she had suffered relatively less damage during the course of their battle.

At least in the physical sense.

"Ruby, say something..I know that not even the Grimm could cause this kind of damage! It's too precise!" The fair-haired young man's pleas would fall upon deaf ears as she began to walk past him, deciding to grab her hand and stop her before she could get too far away. "Aren't we partners now, doesn't that mean that we don't keep anything from each other and-" His plea would be cut short as the reaper's lips touched his, at first he was too stunned to realize what she was asking of him. But as her lips once again connected with his own, he remembered the reason that he had raced down there alone: To protect one of the few people who were holding him together during what was arguably the toughest struggle in his life, and while she was generally safe and sound for the most part, it was clear to him that something had happened to push her to need this level of comfort.

"It's just like what happened with Pyrrha the day Beacon fell, only this time..I'm not gonna let Ruby face whatever this is alone, I'm going to protect you with every fiber of my being!" With that silent declaration, Jaune would wrap his arms around the smaller woman and return her kiss in kind. Both of them knowing that such actions would inevitably change the dynamic between them, whether it would turn out to be for the better or not was something that only time could tell.

I honestly wish I could say that the one was a labor of love that I'm proud of, and from a certain storytelling standpoint I am. I put forth whatever feelings I had at the time into this fic whether they be good, bad, or indifferent. I tried to channel what little I've seen of Volume 4 into it without it turning into something crazy. I honestly don't feel like I fully accomplished that.

But that's neither here nor there, and as much as I'd like to keep ranting and raving on my emotional gunk, I'm gonna catch what's pretty much my only meal today then crawl into bed before starting Weiss's fic tomorrow.

To those that like what I do, whether straight RWBY fic or crossover I say thank you and I hope that you continue supporting me.

To those that don't, I can only offer my sincere apologies and hope that you find a fic you do like.

Until tomorrow folks.