RWBY: Crimson Shadow - Undead Huntress

Chapter 4: One Step Too Far

Chapter 4:One Step Too Far

There's dread in the air, a feeling that has never existed until this night. All the creatures, be them bugs, animals, or even Grimm, stay silent as the time passes for fear of what will happen if they make a noise. Only one being doesn't fear those consequences, and that's due to them being asleep. However your senses are starting to come back to you, starting with the twitching of your fingers. Feeling flows through the rest of your arm, and then the rest of your body. You slap your forehead, attempting to wake yourself up.

"Gah... I... blegh..."

You roll over onto your stomach and push yourself onto your knees. You lazily look around, trying to find your sword. It's not even a foot from where your hand was, so you swipe it up and sheathe it on your back. You get on your feet, rubbing your head and looking around. Soon enough you realize the giant cut through your armour, blood sullying the white where the destroyed armour is. You drag your hand across your chest, your fingers falling into the crevasse to touch your skin, then back to the armour. This motion reminds you of what happened and how you got this injury. Another thought quickly pushes itsway to the front of your mind.

"Ruby!" You shout to yourself.

You close your eyes and lock-on to your village, then leap to it. You're at your parents gravestones, but you don't mind them since you immediately run to Ruby's previous location.

"Ruby! Ruby, are you awake!" You shout as you turn the corner.

Your heart drops the moment you don't see Ruby there. You frantically scan the area, hoping that she'll be in eye-sight... but she's not. She's gone.

"Ruby! Ruby!" You scream, internally begging that she'll respond.

But she doesn't.

You fall to your knees as your failure washes over you. You couldn't beat whoever that woman was, and you couldn't keep Ruby safe. Now you have no idea where either of them are, or even if Ruby is still alive. You can't bear the thought of Ruby being dead because of you... but something makes you doubt that. The way that woman almost seemed to summon Ruby's aura during your fight. She needs it, maybe. She wouldn't have Ruby's aura if Ruby was dead. That's the only hope you can cling to at the moment.

You look back to her previous location, latching to some desperate hope that she'll be there. She isn't, of course, but your second glance reveals something you didn't notice before: the book. The book you "borrowed" from Glynda is lying on the ground around where Ruby was. You slowly get to your feet and walk over to the book. It's open to a page that... well you didn't read it, but there's one phrase you recognize. It's the same phrase Ruby used when you were standing at your parents' stones. When she first did it, you thought she was just making it up. Now, it seems, she opened up some sort of scenario that's put her in danger, and you're going to have to fix it like always.

You grab the book, your only lead, and think on your next move. The only person who would know how to counter, or even explain, whatever Ruby did is Glynda. Though that means admitting you sto-borrowed her book. But that's a small price to pay if you can find Ruby again. With a goal in mind, you close your eyes and focus on Beacon. You traverse through the forests, passing blurbs which you can only assume to be Grimm, until you can finally lock onto Beacon. Once you do, you leap to the airpad.

You let out a huff once you know you're home, but there's no point in waiting around. You open your eyes and start moving, but you give yourself pause when you see smoke, fire, and fellow students littering the ground, all unconscious. The first person you run to is Jaune, who's against a pillar. You sprint to him and slide into a kneel beside him. You place your hand on him and shake him to try and wake him up. Thankfully his eyes open and he starts moaning, his body waking up.