(RWBY) Black: The Color Of Wilted Roses

The Red in the Sky, The Season to Come - Part I

[Ruby]

No one knows who I am here. Or maybe they think that "the Misguided Manslayer Ruby Rose" died. Either way is fine by me.

I was polishing Crescent Rose alongside Tyrian. We were getting ready to take down Ironwood. However, I didn't feel any anxiety until I saw Weiss, watching me with worry. I felt ashamed. I knew that she was scared, scared of me and my actions. I hope wasn't too late to say sorry. And I hope the hoarseness from my throat went away.

"Hey Weiss," I said in a casual tone, approaching her. She looked at me like a deer spots their predators. "You know I love you, right? No matter what, I'll always love you."

I flashed a genuine grin at her, but she returned it with a weak smile.

"Of course! I love you too, Ruby," Weiss responded hesitantly.

Ugh, there it is again. That feeling. The guilt. Every time I'd feel it, I got nauseous. It would just fall like dominoes, reminding me of the things I did to get this far.

You ruined families, you tore people's lives apart, how could you believe you could stay with her?

I took a deep breath. "Um, Weiss, I'm, I'm sorry for... For what I did."

She nodded quickly, rubbing her forehead. " I know, I know Ruby, I know. It's - It's nothing, okay? I'm fine."

Look at yourself, Ruby. You won't even admit to yourself that you are a problem. How could you let Salem corrupt you like this?

"No," I said quietly.

Weiss looked surprised. "Huh?"

I grabbed my head and shook it, trying to get these thoughts out of my head.

It was her. It was Weiss' fault for this.

Now you're blaming again. Ruby, you know who did this. You know-

I got pissed. I stood up and grabbed Crescent Rose.

Weiss got up and slowly started walking backwards. "Um, Ruby, please stay calm."

I looked at her and closed my eyes, trying to calm down.

"I gave you shelter, food and protection. I gave you a maid, and I healed you!" I opened my eyes, glaring at her. She looked at the ground. "And yet you can't even say 'thank you', or 'I love you', right? I wouldn't be like this if you didn't get hurt!" Tears streamed down my face, and I noticed Neo and Tyrian both cleared rhe room.

Why is she acting like this to me, does she love me anymore? I stopped, my rage disappearing. "...do you even love me anymore?"

I sniffled, steeling myself for Weiss's response. "Be honest," I said.

With a face of hate and pain, Weiss uttered one word: "No."

I clenched Crescent Rose tighter than before. "I don't - I don't want to see you again! I don't want to be with you, I don't want to be near you! You're a monster! You're not the Ruby I loved back at Beacon,  you're... you're one of them! A monster!" 

I was heartbroken. I couldn't say anything back. I just turned and left the room.

Whatever doubts I had was washed away by Salem as she urged me to kill once more.

[Blake]

This place was like a graveyard. The field was littered with dead trees, both standing and fallen, holding onto the dried soil beneath. Ironwood brought us here to help protect him. The outside of the structure we were guarding was a simple corrugated iron shed. We were outside waiting as he drank tea by the worn window, descending into whatever deep fortifications he had set up for himself.

"Blake..." I turned to Yang, her irises a relaxed purple-blue. "Will we be able to save her?  Can we bring her back to us?"

I said nothing. We wouldn't be able to bring her back - at least, not the the Ruby we know. We'd have to live with the knowledge of her crimes for the rest of our days, and it's not something I'd ever look forward to.

After a long pause, I spoke. "We'll save her. We have to, don't we?" I pulled her into a tight hug. I knew how much pain she's in. We would've stayed like this forever had I not caught something out the corner of my eye. I let go and readied myself, as did the others. The shadows were Grimm, which didn't get any closer to us.

Jaune activated his shield. "What do you think is up?"

"I don't know," began Nora.  "Maybe we scared them away with our power!"

Sun let out a light chuckle. "Heh, or our good looks."

I shook my head. "No... it's not that."

Everyone went silent and looked toward the rustling in a shadow. I pulled out Gambol Shroud and drew a bead, my finger resting on the trigger. From the shadow came three figures: Neo, Tyrian, and...

...Ruby.

"Ruby!" Yang ran out towards Ruby; I put my arm out to stop her in time.

"Yang," I began, "Don't you see? Look at her!"

Yang ignored my warning. "Please Rubes, don't do this, we can - we can..."

Yang looked at me for support. I shook my head. There's no getting to Ruby, not anymore. Hearing Yang cry tore everyone apart. Even among the more idealistic of us started to look around and realize the gravity of the situation.

Then, I saw Ruby whisper to the other two. Neo disappeared and Tyrian came charging at team SSSN to my left. Ruby glared at us with a subtle smile, walking with deliberation in each step. Behind her in the shadows I saw a large amount of beowulfs, keeping their distance. 

Then, she changed moods, with her face frowning. "I'm sorry." The hairs on my neck stood up, not at her use of the phrase, but her tone... It was genuine.

Ruby stood still, not even drawing out Crescent Rose. "I can't take back what I did. To the people I hurt. To the people I killed." She dropped to her knees, and held her head in her hands. "Im a monster!"

Every single person was taken aback by her sudden outburst - even Tyrian, who stopped mid-sprint in surprise.

"She doesn't understand that I have to do this! The urge to draw blood! She left me, and I'm going to fucking kill you all!" Ruby's face of grief turned into the face of a killer. She pulled out Crescent Rose and lunged at me with high speed. I dodged at the last second, with Ruby rolling on the ground behind me.

Out the corner of my eye, the entirety of team SSSN was engaged with Tyrian, who dodged and weaved through their attacks with worrying dexterity.

"Ruby," Nora cried out, "Get a hold of yourself!" Nora didn't want to fight her; no one did. 

Ruby stood up and with her semblance, she scattered in petals, getting behind Nora. In one motion she hit Nora in the back, breaking her aura completely and audibly dislocating the latter's shoulder. Nora hit the ground head-first and went limp.