So, here we are again, at the beginning of a new story.

As usual, special thanks go to my good friend Chaos Productions for his input and help in shaping my tales.

I find the amount of Magic cross-overs here on fanfiction to be severely lacking. I have taken steps to fix that with my other story, and End to Corrosion (which WILL be continued in time. For those of you've who liked it, be patient, it's a work in progress), and a while back, this little idea popped into my mind, so I decided to make it happen.

I have a story where Ruby's pretty much her canon self.

I have a story where she's almost the complete opposite.

So why not one where she's somewhere in between?

And thus we have Trough the Eternities.

See what you guys think about it.

Enjoy.

/

It was the end of Fall, and Winter was fast approaching.

All throughout the island of Patch, most of trees had already shed their foliage, giving the usually idyllic looking forest that covered the land a rather bleak appearance. Grey clouds gathered overhead, blotting out the sun and further turning the landscape into the image of a desolate waste. No sound could be heard, not the song of birds, not the rustling of the wind through the trees, as if the forest slumbered to escape the coming cold. A silence that was suddenly broken by the faint squeaking of turning wheels.

A small figure trudged through a trail in the forest, a young girl, with hair that shone like gold arranged into a pair of adorable pig-tails, and eyes of pure Lilac that gazed at the path ahead with steely determination. She was far away from the beaten path, and certainly far away from any place that a child her age should be. Not that the girl cared about that, mind you. No, Yang Xiao Long was a girl on a mission.

Not too long ago, the seven-year old had come to learn about some unpleasant truths.

Her Mother, Summer Rose, the woman she and her little sister Ruby adored, who had always been there for them when she could, had gone away on a mission, and never returned.

But, as revealed by their heart-broken Father, Summer was not her Mother, only Ruby's.

Her true Mother, Uncle Qrow's sister, had left very shortly after she was born.

These revelations had resulted in so many questions… Who was she? What was she like? Why had her Mom left Dad? Why had she left her?

No answers were forthcoming. Dad, broken as he was by losing someone he loved yet again, simply shut down when asked, and Uncle Qrow would just avoid or quickly change the subject, even when he was acting funny after drinking. It frustrated little Yang to no end.

Soon, the blonde decided that if they wouldn't tell her, then she'd find out by herself.

She searched everywhere she could, from old photo albums to asking the neighbours. Most of the time nothing came of it, but eventually her persistence paid off. A framed picture hidden away in their attic gave her a lead, a hint of a place where she might find traces of her quarry.

And now, after waiting for both Dad and Uncle Qrow to be away from home, that place was her destination.

The young girl sighed as she briefly stopped to rest and look again at the picture to gain her bearings.

Yup, the woods around seemed to match, she was on the right track.

A slight shuffling made her look back to the small cart she had been dragging, where a red cloak covered the sleeping form of her little Sister, who was adorably turning in her sleep. The older sister couldn't help the soft smile that spread through her face at the sight, though it was soon replaced with a conflicted expression. Not for the first time, the blonde wondered if bringing the toddler along had been the best idea, but quickly squashed the notion.

Above all else, Yang had to find the truth about her Mother, and there was no way she could leave Ruby alone with no one to care for her, so this was the only option.

Really, what was the worst that could happen?

So thinking, the little girl ignored her growing exhaustion and pressed forward into the darkening woods, turning wheels once more breaking the eerie silence.

/

'Well, this is it…'

As the sun was growing lower in the horizon, they had arrived at a house in the woods, a place that had obviously not seen human visitors for many years, looking so rundown that a breeze might send the whole thing crumbling down.

But even if it had grown old, it was definitely the place of the picture.

Despite being so tired she could barely stand, the young girl grinned in excitement.

A couple of minutes to rest, and she'd be looking up and down the place. She was one step…

"Grrrrr…"

Her excited musings were interrupted by a vicious, monstrous snarl, and three pairs of baleful points of light that pierced the darkness of the entryway.

...No.

Yang's eyes widened as a dark figure seemed to step forth from the shadows themselves, confirming the fearful thought blonde fervently wished was wrong. A large, lupine creature, covered in pitch-black fur, adorned with protuberant spikes, plates of white bone and a skull-like face, whether it was a mask she truly could not tell, glared at her with hateful eyes, red as blood. Two smaller creatures followed it out of the darkness, flanking the obvious leader of the pack.

Grimm. There they stood, growling and drooling, as if to mock her resolve to find this place where answers might be found.

The young girl gritted her teeth in desperate frustration. Not now, not when he was so close…

"…Big Sis?" A quiet, mumbled voice spoke, filling her heart with unadulterated dread.

Oh, no. Nononononono…

With growing horror, the blonde dared to spare a single quick glance behind her. Little Ruby was awake, sitting on the cart as she drowsily rubbed the last remnants of sleep out of her eyes.

"Where're we…?" The younger girl mumbled once again, as she drowsily glanced at her surroundings with an adorably confused expression. Then the growling grew louder, drawing her attention to the beasts standing a few meters away, all drowsiness quickly leaving her face.

"Yang…?" She repeated, only this time in a tone of uncertainty and fear.

As if reacting to their growing terror, the largest of the beasts stalked forward, eyes alight with mindless, hateful malice, a guttural growl reverberating through its muzzle, almost mocking, as if daring these little morsels that had wandered into its lair to try and run.

It was then the full weight of the desperation of their situation truly dawned on Yang. Two girls in the middle of the woods, all alone, one too young to do anything, the other too exhausted, no other human beings even remotely close, faced with the bane of Mankind…

What had she been thinking?!

And just as it seemed it couldn't get any worse, her terror reached a whole new level, when she realized the monster wasn't even looking at her.

No, its eyes were firmly locked on the frightened Ruby.

Exhausted, and knowing that even if she wasn't it wouldn't make the slightest difference, all that Yang could do now was stand between her sister and the approaching monster, glaring a desperate glare at the approaching dark figure.

The Beowolf stopped, staring down at the blonde child that stood in its shadow as if only now noticing she was there. For a few long moments it made no movement other than slightly turning its head…

…Then it knocked her away with a contemptuous swipe of its claws.

"YANG!" Ruby cried out in helpless horror, as she saw her Big Sis crying out in pain and flying through the air, small flickers of red following her.

What was going on?! This should not be happening. It was all wrong. Monster shouldn't be hurting them. Big Sis shouldn't be bleeding.

The blonde girl hit the ground, and the two smaller beowolves began stalking towards her. Dazed, Yang struggled to lift her head, gazing at her younger sister with a guilty, anguished expression.

"Run… Ruby, please… Run…"

A shadow fell upon the red-cloaked girl, and fearfully she looked up.

There she was, the lamb before the wolf, and the dark beast let loose a howl of pure, primal hate.

Then, it raised its arm, fully intend on crushing the helpless girl before it.

"RUBY!" Came her sister's terrified shout, as the creature swung.

In another time and place, help had arrived before things got to this point.

In another time and place, little Ruby might have run, and found help from unlikely sources.

In this here and now, the young girl was frozen in fear, wide silver eyes staring at her impeding demise.

'No. No… This is all wrong. It shouldn't be like this… Help. Yang. Mom. Dad. Uncle Qrow. Anyone. Please help. Stay away. Run away. No, Help, Mom, Dad, AnyoneNononoStayawayIdontwantotdiepleasegetawaypleaseanyonehelpmegetawaypleaseHELPME!'

And it was then it happened.

A miracle.

A one in a million.

For when faced with this horrific moment of inescapable terror, when her desperate plea for escape or salvation echoed throughout her heart, her mind and her Soul…

…A Spark within the very core of her being ignited in response.

Ruby yelled out her panic, and as the beowolf's claws were about to make contact, a mighty flash of light made the world go white.

The Beowolves howled in disorientation and pain, as if the brilliance was scorching to them. Even Yang was forced to cover her eyes.

As quickly as it appeared, the light faded, and the blond hesitantly looked up, hoping against hope that her little sister was alright.

Her heart sank at what she witnessed.

The Beowolf Alpha lied on its back, its jaws open in an expression of shock and agony, its body stiff yet crumbling, as if it had somehow been burned to cinders and then frozen almost instantly.

All around the little red cart, myriad rose petals were scattered, and a small pile of them stood atop it.

But of Ruby herself, there was not sign.

No…Please, No…

So absorbed was the injured blonde in the scene, that she didn't even notice the other two beowolves recovering from the disorientation the light had caused them. Noticing their alpha was no more, the beasts lost all pretence of restraint, pouncing on the remaining young girl.

A flash of steel passed between them, and as the figure of a positively wrathful Uncle Qrow passed between them, the beasts faded into black smoke, dying so fast they hadn't even realized it.

The creeps that had dared to harm his niece dealt with, the fury on the raven-haired man's face quickly turned to concern as his eyes fell on the girl, and immediately he was by her side, checking for injuries.

"Hey, squirt." He said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. "Damn, you took a nasty hit, but it doesn't seem too serious. It'll leave a mark, for sure, but you'll live…"

The girl didn't answer. She didn't respond to his prodding. She didn't even seem to notice he was there.

As the man looked in the direction she was blankly looking at, a sudden dread began building up inside him.

Oh, No…

"Yang." Despite all his efforts, Qrow's jovial tone cracked. "What was that light just now? And where's Ruby?"

At this, the girl finally moved, crawling over towards the empty cart. Slowly, fearfully, she reached out and grabbed some petals in her hands.

She stared at the little pieces of flowers in her palms.

Red.

Red like blood.

Her sister's blood.

All because of her.

Tears that had been barely restrained until now flowed freely, as what little control she had left vanished and Yang broke down crying.

Understanding what this meant, Qrow gritted his teeth in anguished frustration as he reached out to hold the devastated girl.

He had been too late.

Ruby was gone.

/

Somewhere else, Winter had seemingly never stopped.

It never did in the Dragon's Throat.

Roiling winds and snow passed over a truly desolate landscape of craggy terrain and frozen tundra, and with their passing a perpetual wailing sound could be heard throughout the land.

In the skies above, dark clouds thundered across the skies, blanketing them in massive yet distant storms. If one strained their eyes, they could almost glimpse at something moving within the dark nimbus. Then, through the mighty thunder crash, a figure burst through the misty cold, a green, furred, primal looking reptilian beast, its form shimmering from some inner source of heat, a row of antlered horns adorning its head, and reptilian wings keeping the creature aloft in the air currents. Seemingly realizing that it had come to be, the creature roared to the heavens to mark its presence in the world, and then set the skies alight with a massive stream of scorching, devouring green flames. After a few exultant, almost playful, twists and turns through the air, the beast turned and headed south, in answer to some unseen call. Hunger, most likely.

The being was a dragon, and on Tarkir its kind ruled supreme.

Wherever the Storms went, there they followed in its wake.

Down beneath this spectacle of the skies, a gargantuan crevice split the tundra, its teeth jutting out to the heavens like the gaping, hungering maw of the world itself. Near the canyon's gaping edge, a strange structure stood, a gargantuan, rocky formation, which jutted out in as spiral towards the sky, almost as a winding stairways to reach above the clouds.

At this place, if one travelled deep within this wound on the world, they'd find ruins could be seen, shattered remnants of what once had appeared to be strange, geometrical constructions, with walls inscribed with strange runes and symbols. A passer-by that considered them otherworldly would likely never know just how right he was.

And right now, a being lay amongst these ruins.

A figure so alike the one who had just come into being far above, and yet so different.

Majestic couldn't begin to describe it.

It was much larger, for one, with a long, sleek, almost serpentine body, its every move sinuous and graceful, and yet strangely humanoid in purpose.

Its whole form shone in an ethereal, jade green, and with each movement it made, each little shift in position or measured movement of a clawed hand, it shimmered and left wispy trails of mist behind, as if it was not fully corporeal.

Its pinions were massive, each almost a large as its body, and they were feathered, the majesty of a hawk rather than the foreboding of a bat.

Pleats of scaled skin, carved with runes, jutted from the sides of its long neck, giving it an appearance not unlike a hooded cobra's. Large, almost crystalline horns sprouted from the top of its head, jutting out to the sides before curling backwards at the tips, giving the whole ensemble an appearance not unlike a crown.

And its eyes, rather than savage or vicious, shone with an intelligence and wisdom that was far, far more than human.

The dragonling above had been a new-born, while this one was ancient beyond measure.

Indeed, it was because of Ugin that all the other dragons on the plane of Tarkir could exist. He was their forefather, their progenitor, their beginning and if circumstances hadn't been altered by the actions of another, their end.

But above all else, Ugin was a Planeswalker. One of the select few who could cross the chaotic nothingness of the Blind Eternities and walk upon the countless worlds of the Multiverse.

And right now, he was annoyed.

Ages ago, the dragon a worked alongside two fellow Planeswalkers, the vampire Sorin Markov and Nahiri the lithomancer, in order to contain a grave threat to every plane of existence, the world devouring Eldrazi.

An agreement had been made between that should the eldritch beings ever threaten to escape their containment on Nahiri's home plane of Zendikar, they'd reconvene to prevent that from happening.

He never had the chance to, for shortly after that debacle, he had been ambushed in his own plane by fellow draconic Planeswalker Nicol Bolas, who believed him a threat to his power.

The battle had been fierce, the skies trembled and the wrath of Tarkir itself had been brought to bear against his foe, but in the end through deceit and treachery, Bolas had bested him, striking him down and leaving him for dead.

And die he did… or at least would have, if the time-travelling Planeswalker Sarkhan Vol had not intervened and saved him, stopping an entire timeline from ever coming to pass.

Still, his wounds were grievous, and for a millennia Ugin slumbered to recover.

Only very recently did his old ally Sorin release him from this sleep, and he had brought with him grave news.

In his absence, the Eldrazi had been released, due to the manipulations of Bolas, as Vol later informed him.

Immediately, the Spirit Dragon sent the vampire to find their third ally, for without her containment would be impossible, and immediately headed for Zendikar.

There, he met Jace Beleren, a younger Planeswalker, one of those who had been responsible for the Eldrazi's escape, who had since been searching for ways to undo his mistake. The dragon had imparted upon him the knowledge needed to trap the Titans, and urged him against his goal of slaying them, for despite the monstrosity of their ways, despite the countless worlds that had been lost to their mindless hunger, the creatures were still a part of the Multiverse, and their destruction may well result in devastating consequences.

His warnings went unheeded.

And against his expectations, Beleren and his allies actually managed to vanquish the two lesser Titans, Ulamog and Kozilek.

Zendikar had been saved, but the demise of the Butcher of Truth and the Infinite Gyre echoed throughout the Blind Eternities, and Ugin feared that, no matter how long it took, the consequences would be felt indeed.

As much as the dragon couldn't fault the newest generation of Planeswalkers for their desire to save those in need, their short-sightedness angered him, and he had made his displeasure known to them even has he congratulated their success.

Truly, there was no force in all the Multiverse more dangerous or capricious than Planeswalkers. So many times before had such recklessness brought about disaster…

But now, the situation still had one loose end to deal with.

Emrakul, the last and mightiest of the Eldrazi Titans, had not been present for the debacle in Zendikar, having abandoned the plane a good while before.

And despite his best efforts, despite all his divinations, any attempts at tracking her had failed. The implications were foreboding to say the least.

Had the Aeons Torn felt the demise of her brethren?

Was she actively masking her presence?

Such possibilities merited further investigation, but where to sta-

Suddenly, the dragon's musings were interrupted by a loud, neighing noise that carried over the howling wind. Looking up, Ugin quickly identified the culprit.

An ethereal figure crossed the skies above. Rather than wings, the creature that resembled some strange cross between deer, horse and goat ran through the air, tendrils of alabaster light following in its wake.

A kirin, he noted. Mystical creatures, as old as he and just as much a part of Tarkir. They were also elusive, and only ever revealed themselves to herald the arrival or departure of beings of significance.

So, what brought this one here?

As if to answer, the wards he had placed around his Sanctum flared to life, and the spectral sentries he had deployed began converging in a point in the tundra not too far from where he now stood.

A Planeswalker had made his or her way into Tarkir, and a powerful one at that if his senses did not deceive him.

The dragon frowned. Had Bolas returned to ensure his demise? No, powerful as the mana signature he was feeling was, it didn't hold a candle to his old foe.

As far as he knew, Vol and Narset were still on Tarkir, and they wouldn't be separating anytime soon by his reckoning.

Beleren and his allies knew better than to approach him for the time being, and Sorin knew better than to return without Nahiri in tow.

So the newcomer wasn't likely to be anyone he was familiar with, but that just meant he had no way of gauging their intentions.

With but a thought, Ugin commanded his sentries not to approach the intruder.

He'd see for himself what this was about.

Avian pinions stretching wide, the dragon took to the skies, and swiftly made his way northwest, where he sensed the new arrival.

Where the kirin had been heading towards, he noted.

As he flew, his eyes scanned the land, looking for signs of the intruder's presence.

There. A spot of Red against the stark white of the snowy tundra.

As he approached, however, his draconic senses caught something that confused him, something that he really wasn't expecting to hear.

'…Crying?' The dragon thought in slight bewilderment.

The spot grew to become a bright red hooded cloak that covered a small figure that was slumping forward, its hands covering its face as it sobbed in apparent distress.

Ugin landed a slight distance away from this curious sight, as softly as he was able, and still the winds caused by the beat of his wings drew the hooded being's attention. The form looked up, the red hood falling back…

And the Ancient Dragon found himself gazing at a pair of small, teary silver eyes, which stared back uncertainly.

A slight widening of his own was the only outward sign of the surprise Ugin felt.

…A child? The power he had felt, the one that could match veteran sorcerers, was coming from this human youngling?

He observed the child further. A girl, with a pale complexion and dark hair that reddened at the tips. Her clothes were of a style that somewhat reminded him of his vampiric ally, maybe she was a denizen of his home plane of Innistrad?

The young one's face was stained with trails of tears, and even now as she stared up at him in undisguised awe, the occasional sniffle could be heard.

Observing all this, Ugin quickly understood.

She had just Planeswalked for the first time, and had found herself on Tarkir, so close to his lair, by mere chance.

The Dragon could feel some sympathy for her. The igniting of the Spark, caused by deep emotional and physical stress, was seldom a pleasant affair. All the signs pointed to this being yet another such case, and for it to happen to one so young…

He also couldn't help but notice that, as scared and confused as she looked, the girl didn't seem to feel threatened by him.

Curious…

"Greetings, Little one." He greeted politely. Her eyes widened at hearing his voice and she seemed to shrink upon herself.

"Don't be afraid, Little one, I mean you no harm." He ventured again, trying to sound as non-threatening as a dragon could. Ancient and wise as he was, Ugin had to admit he had little knowledge of how to interact with children, his dealing with Sorin and Nahiri's bickering aside.

His words seemed to work though, as the girl dared to look at him once more, and the Spirit Dragon raised an eyebrow as her expression grew annoyed, and her cheeks seemed to puff up.

It was… strangely endearing.

"M' not little." She mumbled petulantly. "M' Ruby."

"Hhm?" Ugin prodded.

"Ruby Rose. That's my name. I am 4 years old!" The girl introduced herself with a cheer, her mood switching so fast Ugin found himself caught a bit off guard. He considered the name. It didn't seem to follow naming conventions of any plane he was familiar with, but it did seem fitting.

"Who are you?" The girl asked interrupting his musings, and replacing them with new ones. Who was he? Not "what" or "where am I"?

He decided to indulge her.

"I am Ugin, little Rose."

The young one blinked, then tilted her head, her eyes never leaving him.

"No, you're not."

…

…

"…Beg pardon?" The dragon asked at length, the quick denial throwing him for a loop.

"You're not, Silly." She replied with a giggle. Then she got up and began walking towards him, somewhat unsteadily, but without a trace of hesitation. Then she latched on to his leg.

"Now you are!" She exclaimed cheerfully as she grinned up at him.

...It took longer than Ugin cared to admit to process this unusual interaction and the boldness of this little thing.

An expression somewhere between bemusement and annoyance on his face, the Spirit Dragon moved his tail, placing its tip between the girl and himself in an effort to dislodge her. She latched on to it, and was carried slightly above the ground back to the spot she had previously occupied, kicking at the air and giggling all the while.

"Not hugging, Child, Ugin. My name is Ugin." The dragon replied sternly, making sure to enunciate so she's understand. "Now then, Ruby… Do you know how did you come to be here?"

The girl opened her mouth to answer, but no words came out. Slowly, her cheerful expression shifted to confused, and then steadily back to frightened.

"I… I don't know…" She whispered uncertainly. "There… There was a girl, she was hurt… and… a monster… and I just wanted to get away…"

Her Spark had ignited in the awake of an attack by some creature, which had likely ended the life of this other girl accompanying her. Physical danger and emotional stress, two of the main criteria for such events.

"Do you know where you lived?"

The question set the girl to thinking, and for a few long minutes she remained silent, and expression of effort on her small, pale face.

"N-no…" The finally replied, in a tone of defeat, bordering on panic, tears once again threatening to spill from her eyes. "I don't know…"

It would seem that the trauma she had suffered had led to a mild amnesia, a reaction Ugin had witnessed a few times before. Sometimes the mind was made to forget in an effort of self-preservation.

Seeing the girl like this, once again on the brink of tears, stirred a strange feeling in the Spirit Dragon, an uncomfortable sensation at being the one who had made those tears flow.

What could he do, though?

Briefly, he pushed his senses out into the Eternities, hoping to find the path she had walked to find herself here, but it was no use, the trail had long since gone cold.

The girl had avoided the immediate danger she was in, only to fall into a whole Multiverse of them. Young as she was, the odds of survival were nigh non-existent. And while the raw power she unknowingly exuded spoke of a potential for magic seldom seen in any place he knew, without learning control it would just be a danger, and for now it just made things worse, for it would draw to the child those who would seek to use it for their own ends.

Her future looked bleak. Unless…

…

…Not so long ago, the Spirit Dragon had berated the recklessness of the younger Planeswalkers, berated the rashness in which they took action, their knack for not thinking ahead and considering the consequences of their actions.

…What if he taught her?

Beleren had not heeded his wisdom, not entirely at least, but maybe if he taught this one from her tender age… Taught her how to use Magic, how to think, how to respect the balance of all things in existence…

The girl would live, and the Multiverse might yet have another force ensuring its continued existence.

…Yes, there was merit to the idea.

And while many had sought out Ugin's wisdom throughout the Ages, never had the Spirit Dragon taken on a student. It could come to be an enlightening experience, for the both of them.

Yes, this course of action felt like the correct one, the dragon concluded with a nod.

"Well, then, Little Rose, would you like to come with me?"

"U-uh?" The girl eloquently replied in confusion, after briefly rubbing her eyes to stop the incoming tears.

"I may not know where you come from, but I know what you are. After all, you and I are the same. Our kind is known as Planeswalkers."

"Planalkrs?"

"Planeswalkers, Little one. We are very few, but we can do something no one else can." The dragon lectured. "For we can travel through the many planes of the Multiverse. I don't know where you come from, but I know that now you're on Tarkir, my home realm."

At this the girl finally seemed to register her surroundings, first looking around at the tundra, and then gazing up at the sky, where a Dragon Storm was beginning to rage, her expression once again of awe.

"You have taken your first step into a much larger world, Little Rose. But you are young an unprepared. If you wish, I could teach you what you need to know, what you need to survive."

"A-and what is that?" She inquired uncertainly. She was not entirely trusting, clever.

"Magic." He replied.

"Magic?!" She exclaimed with that excited anticipation only a child could pull off.

"Indeed." Was his answer, the runes along his neck flaring as he called upon the mana of the world, just a small trickle of it.

In front of the girl, the small, misty form of a dragon appeared, flying around her as she stared in shock.

"Wooooow…"

"So, what say you, Little Rose?"

Apparently his approach had been the correct one, as Ruby seemed to forget all the things that where bothering her and looked up at him with unrestrained glee and excitement.

"Yes! Yesyesyes! Please, teach me Magic!"

Ugin couldn't help but marvel at the child's exuberance, for try as he may he could not help but feel affected by it.

"Very well then, Little Rose." He lowered himself to an all fours stance and stretched out his hand, prompting her to sit on it. "Come then, we have much to do."

The girl all but skipped to him, and then they were on their way.

Despite himself, the dragon smiled.

The next few years promised to be rather interesting…

"I'm cold."

…

"We'll find some warmer clothes for you."

"I'm hungry."

"Food as well."

"I need to use the potty."

…

…What had he gotten himself into?

/

What, indeed.

And there we have it folks. Planeswalker Ruby, raised by one of the Top Dogs of Magic the Gathering, none other than the Spirit Dragon himself.

Those familiar with my other stories will probably know how I tend to remain relatively close to canon while adding my own spin on things. This time around, however, there'll be some bigger changes going on. If you'll allow me a bit of a teaser, you guys are in for quite a big surprise a couple or so chapters down the line. ;)

Hope you guys enjoyed this idea, and I'll cya all on the next one.