Inferno

"Wh-where am I?" Ruby opened her eyes weakly, looking down at the crimson pool surrounding what used to be her legs. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, Her legs, her very body, missing. They were such an important part of who she was. As a scythe user, Ruby had an uncommon reliance on the ability to re position herself and her versatile weapon in battle. She had spent years, almost her entire life training her whole body to move alongside the deadly blade as one, harmonious unit. To strike fear into the very hearts of creatures created by fear itself. Now, now all of that was gone, snatched away in an instant by this undetected, unholy monstrosity. she couldn't move, she couldn't fight, she couldn't… protect her team.

"W-what happened to.." Ruby frantically looked around her environment, trying desperately to locate the beast that had done this to her, not that she would be able to do anything even if she did. She was so weak from the blood loss, she couldn't even muster the strength to use her semblance if she had to. "Bzzzzzzz, Bzzzzzzz, Bzzzzzzzz" she was able to make out a faint buzzing noise in the distance. Her scroll! A few yards away her communication device had been thrown away from her when she was attacked. "Nnngh" Ruby strained herself to her very limit to try to sit up and start inching towards it, "RUBY? RUBY IM COMING!" She heard the faint, panicked voice of her beloved sister through the small speaker in the distance. "Yang", Ruby thought deeply to herself, was she going to die here? Was she ever going to see Yang's glowing yellow hair again? Had she shown her how much she loved her over the years? Was she ever going to get to repay her for everything she had sacrificed. Through their childhood, through Beacon, through the entire Salem crisis. Yang had always been there. "Am I going to be able to be there for her?" "What if this creature is still here? What if Yang doesn't know about it?" That thought scared Ruby more than anything, that her sister would fall in an attempt to save her. She.. she had to warn her. "Agghh!" Ruby summoned all her strength to start inching towards her scroll. Every foot forward seemed like a mile, At this rate, Ruby knew she was going to pass out again before she made it, but she didn't care. Ruby had always put her team first, and she was always going to, even to her dying breath if she had to. As she was struggling to stay conscious, a thought drifted into her mind, one so potent and painful it would not dare to let her give up. "M-mom?" It felt like a dagger in the heart to ponder. Did a similar fate befall her sweet, perfect mother, Summer Rose? Is that why dad refuses to talk about it? Was she alone, cold, unable to move, her team unable to save her in time? Tears started rolling down Ruby's cheeks as she struggled to make progress, "MOM I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Ruby screamed aloud, half choking on her words. Suddenly, as if responding to her cry, she heard something behind her, a quiet but powerful breathing.

Ruby stopped, frozen, She knew what it was. That horror that had mangled her, that had taken away everything. Was here to finish the job. She knew that no one would be able to get to her in time to stop it. "I-im sorry everyone…" she muttered quietly to herself. "I wasn't… strong enough". *rumble* Ruby felt the ground start shaking as the massive beast began to move closer towards her. Every step was like a miniature earthquake. How could something this massive exist? How did she miss it? Ruby slowly turned around, she was not going to spend her final moments as a coward. She was going to face down the thing that would end her. She turned her head and was aghast at the sight of this creature. The mouth alone was enormous, the biggest she had ever seen. *drip, drip* blood was oozing out of its mouth, she could still make out it chewing that which was once a part of her. Then she turned her gaze to its eyes, its dead, black, void-like eyes. She would put every ounce of life she had into this glare, she had always heard stories as a kid, of the Silver-eyed Warriors, How they could kill a grim with a single glance. "I guess.. I guess they were wrong." she thought to herself as her blade-like eyes attempted to cut through the beast with her stare. Qrow, Her father. Everyone had put so much faith into this "gift" that she had. A special trait bestowed first to her mother, and now her. And it was not enough to save either of them. If anything, this seemed to make the massive, dark form angry. The pace of its movement quickened, and it was now coming at her at a frightening speed. As the thundering of the ground got more intense. Ruby finally closed her eyes. She had fought, For so long.. So many battles. So many friends lost. So many families she had seen destroyed by these grim menaces. And now she was nothing more than the next in line. *CRASH, CRASH, CRASH* The Grim was almost on top of her, it had to have been just a few feet away when suddenly, *BANG* *CRACK* She heard what sounded like a gunshot, then massive bones breaking right in front of her, all was silent. The only audible noise was what sounded like… crackling.. No.. Burning.. Right beside her ear. She felt a cold, metal arm touch her back as she slowly opened her eyes. Immediately Ruby had to squint her eyes back down from the absolute intensity of the brilliant, burning yellow light, aurating all around her. After a couple seconds she was able to make out the image of her sister. Yang, crouching right next to her. Oddly, the beast was many yards away, It had been sent flying across the floor backwards even after being at full charge! Ruby glanced up at the tear-covered face of her sister, she looked into her eyes. This red… Ruby had seen her sister in pain, and angry many times in her life. Her eyes would always light up the most lively crimson, as if to warn everyone around her. However.. she had never seen her sisters eyes glowing so fiery hot. It was as if all the hatred, all the pain she had ever felt was being channeled directly through her gaze.

"Y-yang-" "Don't speak" Yang replied cutting her off abruptly. "You need to save your strength" A small grin suddenly came across Ruby's face. She was so incredibly lucky to have Yang as her sister.. "I don't deserve her" she thought. "RUBY!" She heard a familiar voice from behind them. It was Weiss, running at full glyph-enhanced speed towards them. When she reached them Yang immediately placed Ruby's head into her partners lap. Weiss suddenly started to summon glyphs around Ruby's thigh-region, her hands were shaking, but she appeared to be stopping the bleeding somehow. Both of them watched as the yellow beauty slowly stood up, her fiery ribbons tracing singed patterns onto the ground as she walked forward. "Yang… my sword" Weiss said firmly, fear still ever so clearly present in her voice. Knowing what she meant, Yang picked up Weiss' Rapier and discharged a small yellow dust capsule marked "I Burn" Slowly, Yang lifted up her right arm beside herself, saying nothing. A series of mechanical clicking noises followed as her artificial limb made an array of adjustments that the other two had never seen before in all their years of fighting. After she inserted the capsule into her arm, it closed around it, and started to glow a hot yellow in the center. The heat that was building inside and Yang's arm began to release some sort of smoke or steam. She was in a dead eye lock with the monster that had savaged her sister. It was still recovering from the incredible blow it had just been dealt. She was out for one thing… "Payback".