Prologue: Remnant's Resonance
(Thank you, everyone, for like my au and thank @melancholyofinvisibleshores for the ideas. So for bad writing. Blood and Gore warning)
All I remember was bright light, then a pitch black sky with no moon, yet the trees cast shadows, the leaves to color of blood.
My body was stuck to the ground like glue, and it’s only when my brain started waking up that I could move my limbs at all. Then came the pain.
The throbbing in my head as if someone had taken a hammer to my skull, my hands on fire, but they were too numb to notice any of this until the world came into focus.
It was so cold.
So very cold.
Where.... am I
Where is everyone......
What happened to Remnant.....
Did the plan work.....
did it not.....
No. It had to have worked.
I'm not dead. It was just a hallucination. An illusion brought on by exhaustion. That's all it was. A figment of my imagination. Just a dream. My subconscious must be going mad from trying to make sense of everything that has happened. I just gave to open my eyes to confirm, yet when I moved my neck, an intense, piercing, shooting pain shot through every nerve ending in my body that made me cry out in agony, clutching at my chest and screaming until tears streamed down my face.
What's happening to me?!
Why can't I move!
What has been done to me?!
How will I ever get out of here?!
My mind screamed.
This isn't real!
This isn't real! My inner voice repeated, trying desperately to convince myself that it wasn't real.
But it was really alright. I was stuck in some kind of forest with no clear path leading anywhere. Wait? This looks familiar....am I in the Everfall forest? But how did I get here?
Ruby quickly sat up as all her memories flooded back to her. Everything she had done and what she knew about came flooding in. Her teammates, their mission, her friends, Fighting Salem, everything.
She looked around for anything that could help her escape this place. The trees, trees everywhere! They seemed to cover every available inch of land within sight. There didn't appear to be a way to climb them even if there was a path she could see in front of her.
Nothing.
Just endless foliage all around her. Pain started to spread through her lower abdomen, which prompted Ruby to try and sit more upright.
The pain intensified, making her grip her stomach tightly in order to stop herself from screaming anymore. But the pain kept spreading through her whole body, and before she knew it, she was crying uncontrollably again.
The pain then went up her body to her lungs and throat, and she couldn't control it anymore! She put her hand over her mouth as she felt something coming out of it ..something red... blood.
No no no no no NO!
I don't want this to be real!!
Please, God no!
Don't take this from me.
I can't handle anything else right now!
Not today! Not now! Please! Someone! Anyone, please help me!!! Help her!!!! Save her!!!!!!!!!!!
She threw up in her hand as she continued sobbing loudly, feeling helpless as her entire body shook from a wave of grief.
As the last thing that left her lips was 'Please no, please no', she let go. After everything she had experienced that night alone, she finally allowed herself to collapse onto her side, curling into a fetal position as she continued to scream in anguish.
Her blood landed on the snow like a crimson waterfall, and soon, her body grew colder with each passing second. Soon enough, she began shivering violently as cold sweat dripped down her face and fell onto the ground.
She looked down at her bloody throw up and noticed a gold scepter adorned with intricate engravings.
"How did that come out of me?" Ruby thought as she picked up scepter. It was as big as her hands. She puts the Relic on her belt loop as she she looked around at her surroundings once more, still seeing nothing but forest, trees, and more woods.
Nothing changed.... was that opening always there?
Ruby squinted her silver eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever had caused her such extreme discomfort, hoping it would disappear like the rest of the scenery. It didn't, though, even after staring at the dark horizon for nearly 30 minutes without seeing a thing.
The only difference between the surrounding forest was the large patch of ice where she had thrown up, and her blood stained the snowy landscape.
"Why is her grave her?" Ruby had the get up. She had to see if it was true.. If she truly was Summer's grave.
She struggled to get up, using her hands and arms to push herself upright against the tree trunk that supported her. Each time she tried, the pain got worse.
Every time she took a step towards her late mother's grave though, it stopped. Like the pain was somehow negated by the snow. Or maybe... it was because of the ice covering the ground.
Either way, it made her feel better. She was getting somewhere. She had to keep moving forward, one foot in front of the other, no matter how painful or agonizing it might be. Ruby was strong, tougher than she looked, she reminded herself as she pushed forward, trying to ignore the pain radiating throughout her whole body.
"Summer Rose / Thus Kindly I Scatter." Read her mother's grave stone. She read them slowly as she limped forward.
She stared at the letters etched in the smooth white rock, feeling her legs start giving out under her. It hurt so much. All of her muscles ached, especially her legs and arms. And she felt hot and cold. She was sweating profusely, and she couldn't seem to control her shaking.
She leaned against the gravestone, placing one knee to the ground and using it for support before she slumped down to the ground, letting herself fall to the ground in a heap, the everything was on her mind, she just want to talk to anyone at this point.
"Please. Where are you? Are you okay? Are you scared? Am I too late?"
Her silver eyes looked up over the cliff edge, and her eyes widened in fear. A large pool of ink-black liquid that fills the lake below her glowed a deep red as blood spilled from the edges. It ran over the rocks, forming a wide pool of thick black ink before spilling out into the frozen waters of Lake Everglade.
As she watched, horrified, a large unknown grimm jumped from the surface and swam towards her, grabbing onto the edge of the stone.
They are far more terrible than every Grimm she has ever encountered, and they are advancing towards her, their murmurs forming discernible words now:
"You are Little Red Riding Hood! Little Red Riding Hood, you are! You play with the birds, the bees, and the woods! Your name is Little Red Riding Hood! Your name is Ruby Rose!"
Hearing her name spoken by the Grimm company is what breaks Ruby out of her stupor. In a heartbeat, she activates her semblance and zooms out of the clearing.
"Don't run Ruby. Everyone misses you. We're so glad you decided to come back. Come on home now!" the grimm voices called out in unison. One of them added, "It's okay now. We miss you very much." before fading away completely. "We'll be waiting for you. We love you."
Ruby felt tears run down her cheeks, as another thought crossed her mind:
What have I become...?
@weiss-royal-schnee @surefootcleric
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