A/N: It seems I completely forgot to post a chapter on Sunday. Oops.
But here it is now.
So I hope you all enjoy. See you at the end. Maybe.
Ruby felt like she was floating. It was dark and cold. Was she dead? No, that didn't seem right. She was glowing but it was slowly being swallowed by the void around her. She was being swallowed by the abyss.
She did the first thing she could think of.
Run.
Run as fast as she can in the endless darkness. Follow the path she was on and eventually come across a light at the end of the tunnel. She was always warned not to go into the light but just this once, she wanted to escape the darkness she'd been in for so long now. So she did, running straight into the light at the end of the tunnel before her glow disappeared forever.
Now she faced a mirror. Her eyes were silver. As they should be. But they were slowly becoming red. Her head looked to be different too. That was it, she had no wolf ears. And no tail either. She was as she should be. A normal girl with normal knees.
But she was still glowing and it was still slowly being snuffed out by the creeping darkness.
"This is how you should be. This is your soul, your true self. The way you are really shaped compared to your corrupted body." A voice to her right said, startling her.
She turned around abruptly to find a young man with short, brown, shaggy hair wearing what looked to be very old armour.
"Who are you?" She said, her voice sounding clear and slightly echoey.
"I am Ozma. You called me here." He said, gesturing around him.
"I did? Where are we?" Were Ruby's next questions.
"We are between two worlds. Between my own being and yours. It is everywhere but nowhere. Not quite in existence but it is still there in the shadows and smallest corners of light." Ozma explained cryptically, confusing the young girl.
"I don't understand. Why are we here?"
"I believe you are here for the truth of your partner's family. I am here to show you those truths." Ozma replied, already turning around and walking the other way.
"Wait! What truths? I don't understand what you mean!" She shouted after him, hesitating to follow before deciding that she should.
"I hope you are ready to see into the memories of Alexander Schnee. They are important and you may find them useful. Especially in terms of helping your partner." the strange man said as a door appeared out of nowhere.
He opened it and beyond was a very different world. Ruby hesitated again, this time for much longer, standing just before the doorway.
"What is that place?" She asked as she looked into the strange world beyond.
"It is a world rife with more Grimm and Reapers than the world ever thought possible. It is the world far in the past from your own. It is also where the Reaper's War ensued." Ozma expounded, gesturing to the world beyond the door.
"But it looks so peaceful. If I step in what will happen to me?" She was sceptical, feeling like it was a trick but at the same time feeling like the man before her was familiar to her.
"It looks peaceful but it is not. This is a time where the majority of humans do not possess an aura or a semblance, completely relying on Reapers to protect them from the countless hordes of Grimm." The familiar man paused, seemingly thinking about his next words. "Once you step through, this door will shut. You must finish the memory sequence. You will not be harmed by anyone and no one can see or hear you. But, be careful who or what you touch. And before you ask, I cannot follow you in. I am not permitted to do so."
With that, Ruby took a breath, wanting to ask more questions but she could tell she didn't have long so stepped through the door. She turned around and watched as Ozma disappeared like smoke drifting in the wind before the door shut and vanished in thin air.
The young Reaper turned back and found herself in a grand hall of white and light blue, magnificent marble reflecting the fire torches and candles artfully scattered around.
Her attention was drawn to the light blue snowflakes on every other marble tile on the floor. It was the Schnee emblem.
Two voices drew her attention to the grand staircase, two men with snow white hair slowly descending. One of the men's eyes flickered up and all Ruby was reminded of was the glaciers of Solitas' Northern Sea.
Both men shared eyes of blue and hair of snow and looked so similar they seemed to be identical twins.
That theory was soon dashed as the young Reaper tuned into their conversation.
"But Father, we have to help them. It is our duty to do so. We are supposed to protect them. I cannot just stand around and do nothing while they suffer from Mother's Soul Corruption." The one on the left said, walking down a few steps to get in front of the other man.
"Alexander, I cannot allow you to attempt to purify them. It's too risky. What do you think will happen to you? And what if the pool cannot purify you?" The man on the left replied, not looking very happy with the argument.
"Father, you know as well as I do that I will be fine. I have never failed a purification. The hardest I have done is on a pure-blooded Reaper when they have gone too far. We both know it can be done. And besides, would you allow me to do it if it was my own son?" Alexander said, Ruby nodded along, agreeing with her partner's ancestor.
The man didn't reply and simply waited for the next part of the argument.
"Father, if Salem corrupts anymore humans and I just stand around doing nothing, we will lose the war. You know I cannot purify everyone. My eldest son cannot help either as he has not unlocked his abilities yet. Father, please. Let me help this once." Alexander pleaded, holding his hands in a begging gesture.
Ruby listened intently and filed away the information she'd just learned. Whoever this Salem person was, maybe she was the cause of her partner's condition.
The unnamed man sighed heavily before responding. "Fine. Do it. But if you are corrupted beyond purification, we may as well surrender against Salem." He said, giving up on the argument.
"Thank you Father."
The memory cut out then, the room reshaping and moulding into another grand room. This one however, did not need any torches or candles as the pool of water in the middle emanated a glow like no other. It was ethereal and beautiful, drawing the young Reaper in with its soft chiming.
"Father, I told you this would happen." Came Alexander's voice from the other end of the pool.
He was holding a bundle in his arms. It moved ever so slightly.
"I know, and I am sorry." Came the other man's voice.
Ruby watched as Alexander slowly descended the steps of the pool, the bundle squirming in his arms. As soon as he was in waist deep, he placed the bundle atop the surface. The water began to glow even brighter, blinding the young Reaper.
She didn't want to look away but couldn't help doing so when the pool grew too bright to see.
Alexander began to softly speak to the child in his arms as the glow lessened and what looked to be Grimm essence flowed into the water before glowing and disappearing.
"This pool will only ever purify a Schnee. It will only give us our light back when our souls have been darkened. We can use our own abilities to purify humans, faunus, Reapers and Grimm but we must use this pool to bring our light back before it is too late. We know not of why Reapers cannot step into this pool but we do know that it is a gift from the God of Light. Never mistake your power for anything less, my son."
Gurgles and garbles drifted up to Ruby's ears as the child in Alexander's arms spoke in his own way. Ruby found herself smiling and then the memory cut off and changed.
She was now in a huge library with Alexander. He was walking towards a gate. Strange place to put a gate.
He revealed a key and fit it into the lock and turned it. The gate swung open but he didn't stop there. Ruby followed him into a smaller room beyond the library and watched as the white-haired man rushed over to a bookcase and pulled a book out half way.
A secret, well hidden door opened up on the floor. The young Reaper followed Alexander to the entrance and descended countless steps into a dark tunnel where it seemingly stretched on forever, twisting and turning until finally they arrived at the pool.
Alexander didn't stop there, continuing on to another hidden room. He pulled another book, a familiar looking journal from its place off a bookshelf. He proceeded to the back of it and to Ruby's shock, ripped out the last few pages before stuffing them into his pocket and hiding the rest of the journal in a crack in the wall.
The memory cut out and this time, Ruby was back in the white room, the mirror back in front of her.
She reeled at the sight of herself.
An arm of Grimm. White mask of bone adorning her face. Both eyes as red as the blood that ran through her veins. Her skin blotchy and black in places including her chest and shoulder.
"You are running out of time. You must wake up and find the pool for both you and your partner's sake. She does not have long left until Salem claims her." Ozma's voice said, coming from her left this time.
She didn't even look this time, knowing he would appear out of nowhere.
"What exactly was Alexander?" She asked as she inspected herself in the mirror.
"He was a full-blooded Reaper like yourself. He was a unique being. He and his son possessed the incredible ability to take away the corruption in a human's, Reaper's, faunus' or even a Grimm's soul and replace it with light. Of course, he had a few setbacks where he had to use the Pool of Purity to erase the corruption now inside himself. All Schnee's possessed this ability until Reapers became so scarce, the family had no choice but to humanise the bloodline." Ozma explained, stepping around Ruby and standing behind her.
"So does that mean Weiss has the same ability?" She asked as she watched the man watching her.
"Maybe, maybe not. But know that she can use the Pool of Purity to replace Salem's scourge with the light of the God it was used by." The strange man expounded, beginning to disappear like smoke again. "It is time for you to wake up. Know that you are safe when you do. Take this temporary gift before I go. It will serve you well until you find the Pool of Purity. Goodbye Ruby Rose. I will see you soon." He said, pressing a hand to the middle of her back before he vanished again.
Ruby sighed as a warmth spread through her being. She felt lighter and happier than she had ever been. She tried not to think of where she could be when she woke up. At least she knew she was safe. That was a good thing. She closed her eyes and took a slow deep breath, the world around her dissolving into nothing.
***
The young faunus awoke with a start, sitting straight up and breathing-
Normally?
"It is time for you to wake up. Know that you are safe when you do." The voice of Ozma echoed in her head.
She was safe. Wherever the hell she was. She looked around and found she was in some sort of hospital wing. Weiss was on the opposite end, thankfully unconscious. Ruby really didn't want a repeat of what had happened before- she didn't actually know.
The sound of shuffling feet drew her attention to the doorway. Blake stood there looking shocked.
"Find the pool for both you and your partner's sake." Ozma's voice rang out again.
"Err...Hey Blake. Could you get Winter for me. I need to ask her something." Ruby said out of the blue, startling the cat faunus back into reality.
"Um...sure. Give me a few minutes." Blake replied, turning around.
"Actually," the younger faunus said, causing Blake to turn back around. "Could you just take me to her? It's really important."
The older faunus simply stared for a few moments, seemingly not being able to comprehend what her team leader was asking of her. She then nodded and approached, then helped Ruby off of the bed and through the corridors of what the young Reaper soon realised was Schnee Manor.
The white and light blue colours gave it away but time.
They slowly made their way to a ridiculously large living room where Yang, Winter, Zwei and a butler spoke between themselves.
When they noticed the Ladybug pair, Zwei trotted over and greeted them. Yang stood to help her partner with Ruby whilst the butler and Winter stayed back. The butler's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as he was given his first look at Ruby's condition. Grimm arm and all.
"Ruby, what are doing out of bed? I assume you only woke up around thirty minutes ago." Winter said as Ruby sat down on a very comfortable recliner chair.
"More like ten minutes ago actually. I wanted to ask you where your library is." The young Reaper replied nonchalantly, sitting back and sinking into the cushioned seat.
The Specialist stared at her in disbelief before gaining control of her facial expressions.
"Why do you need the library if I may ask?" She inquired, confusion still shining in her eyes.
"I know where to find the solution to help Weiss."
And that was all it took for Winter to stand from her seat and then kneel in front of Ruby, her back turned the younger girl.
"Jump on and I will carry you to the library." The Specialist said as her cheeks tinted pink.
Ruby obliged, climbing onto the older woman's back and trying to avoid digging her Grimm claws into the woman.
Blake and Yang snickered but soon straightened their faces when Winter shot a glare their way.
"Not a word of this to anyone." She said, the pink on her cheeks darkening slightly as they finally set off for the library.
The corridors of the manner twisted and turned and Ruby realised that the twists and turns of the tunnel below were practically the same but the opposite way.
Schnee Manor was built over the top of the Pool of Purity. But why?
Another question for another time as the small group finally entered the oversized library. It looked exactly the same as when she'd followed Alexander through it in the memory-dream-thing.
Winter walked to the center of the room and stopped, kneeling down again and letting Ruby off.
The young Reaper immediately went to the back of the large room where sure enough, there was a locked gate. The exact same gate from the memory-dream-thing.
She grabbed two of the bars on it and shook it but found it locked as tight as it was hundreds of years ago.
"That has always been locked, even as a little girl. We were forbidden from going through it. Hell, we were forbidden to even stand this close to it." Winter said from behind Ruby.
"Is there any other way to open it without a key?" The young faunus asked, turning to the Specialist.
"Afraid not. I'm certain there is no key for this gate." The older woman replied, crossing her arms in thought.
Another voice joined in, echoing around the cast room. "There is a key. I hid it from your Father a long time ago."
Everyone in the room swivelled towards the new voice. Blake, Ruby and Yang sighed in relief but Winter did the complete opposite and tensed.
"Mother, what are you doing here?" Her voice was as tense as her shoulders.
"I live here. Did you forget?" Winter and Weiss' mother responded snarkily.
"You're drunk. What is it you want, Mother?" The Specialist's tone was bitter and resentful, the scowl on her face showing how much she didn't want to be speaking to her mother.
"Ha! I'm always drunk, Winter. You should know that by now. What, with your father being such an arsehole. Who wouldn't want to be constantly drunk around that incompetent prick."
Mrs Schnee said, laughing at the whole thing.
Ruby tried to suppress a giggle but failed miserably, as did Blake and Yang.
Winter sighed. "Mother, just tell me what you want?"
"Oh let's see. A new loving husband? Insurmountable wealth? Oh I already have that. I don't know, Win. But I do know what you want. You want the key to that gate." Willow Schnee said, swaying on the spot slightly. She then giggled at her eldest daughter's expression, making her huff in annoyance.
"Well do you know where it is? You said you hid it from Father a long time ago." the elders Schnee daughter replied, sending a glare towards the giggling bumblebee pair.
They didn't stop, evidently enjoying what was going on between the Schnee matriarch and Winter.
"Oh so you were listening." The older woman giggled again. "Yes, I have the key. And I know where it is." She paused as she rummaged in a hidden pocket of her dress pants.
"And here it is."
The Schnee matriarch then threw the key, Winter catching it with ease. "Thank you, Mother." The Specialist said and turned away to unlock the gate.
Everyone watched in anticipation. But nothing else happened.
Ruby chuckled. "You didn't think something spectacular was gonna happen did you? It's what's hidden below the Manor that's spectacular." She said and led the way through the gate towards the book she'd seen Alexander pull out.
She did the same as he did, pulling it out half way. The book slid back in on its own and the room rumbled as ancient cogs turned underneath.
It took a lot longer for the hidden stairwell to open up compared to the memory-dream-thing and when it did, everyone looked at Ruby in a mix of puzzlement and wonder.
"How did you know about this? Hell, how did you know about the gate?" Winter asked, completely befuddled as she approached the stairwell.
"When I was unconscious, I was shown memories of your ancestor, Alexander Schnee." Ruby explained, smiling at the small group before her.
To be fair, they probably thought she'd gone crazy. Oh well.
"I see. You can lead the way then." Came the surprising but still sceptical reply from Winter.
With that, Ruby took to the stairs with Winter, Yang and Blake following behind. She was still thankful for the ability to see in the dark. She felt pity on Yang and Winter for not being able to do so.
That was soon put to rest as the young Reaper felt Winter's hand on her shoulder. She was about to shrug and the thought she probably shouldn't. The older woman might take it as Ruby trying to shake her off.
So off they went, going around the twisting tunnels until an ethereal glow emanated from the end of it.
Winter let go of the young faunus' shoulder, now being able to somewhat see.
The pool was as beautiful as the first time Ruby saw it in the memory. It glowed in the exact same way and chimed softly, drawing her in. She shook her head to clear it before walking over to the far end where the steps descended into it.
"This is The Pool of Purity. I was told only the bloodline of Schnee can step into it. Reapers cannot and it's not known why. But, if Weiss were to be put into this pool, the corruption would be taken away. She'd be back to her normal self." Ruby explained, gesturing to the water in front of her.
Winter hummed as she thought of a question. "How do you know so much about this pool, where it was and about Alexander Schnee?" She finally asked after several moments.
Ruby had her answer ready. Even if she ended up sounding crazy. "Like I said, I was shown some memories of his. It turns out he really was a Reaper. But, he wasn't like me. Put it this way, I can absorb the life force of Grimm for my own gain, to increase my strength and power. Alexander had something similar but so different and unique. All Schnee's had the ability until the bloodlines were 'humanised'." She explained, kneeling down and placing her hand over the glowing water. It hummed and chimed louder than before. It almost felt like it was burning her hand.
"What was this ability then?" If the Specialist was sceptical before, she definitely was now.
"It was to Purify the souls of the corrupted. Humans, faunus, Reapers and even Grimm. In simpler terms, he could absorb the corruption and replace it with the purity from the God of Light. There is a downside though... Alexander had to bathe in this pool every time he used his abilities." Came the next explanation from the young Reaper as she swapped hands to hover over the water. This time the burning sensation was instant and she pulled back, hissing in pain.
"But would the pool help Weiss?" Winter asked, wanting clarification. She was beginning to get annoyed and had started to pace the room.
"Yes. It should. She's a Schnee right? So are you. You'd have to be the one to put her in. I can't do it. I think I know why corrupted Reapers can't go into this pool though." The young Reaper said, standing up again and walking over to the pacing woman, intentionally standing in her way. "Please, it's the only chance we have to help her."
They stared at each other for a few moments. Ruby was about to look away when an idea popped into her.
She let her lip tremble and her eyes widen in a puppy dog pout. Something she hadn't done since she was a small child.
"Fine. We will try it but I want to do some research first." The older woman said, looking away from the adorable expression on the younger girl's face. Although, she would never admit that fact to anyone. Ever.
"Fine by me. Everything you wanna research should be in that room over there." Ruby said, her voice cheerful as she pointed to the not-so-hidden room.
With that, the quartet walked into the room, the non-faunus two struggling to see in the dark again. Luckily, Winter produced her scroll this time and everyone followed suit. Soon enough they were reading piles of incredibly old books from a lost era.
They found all sorts of information about the world from centuries ago. Most of them thought to be simple fairy tales and others had valuable information that confirmed some of the stories they'd all been told as children.
Winter had found the information she wanted, scanning through several books at once with each of them containing different but very similar stories of the Pool of Purity. Some books called it the Fountain of Youth, others named it the Lake of Eternity but more often than not, it was named the Pond of Light. The descriptions of each were practically the same- a body of water that glowed with the purity of light and its chims soft and pulling you into its embrace. It was exactly the same as the one in the other room.
Ruby, Blake and Yang looked at and read anything and everything they could. The books they couldn't read were in languages they didn't know. The Old Atlesian books, Ruby devoured easily.
Time was easily taken away when reading a good book. Or books, in their case.
A/N: So that's that chapter done and dusted. I haven't actually got much to say today. So I'll leave you all to whatever you're gonna be doing.
See you next time with Chapter 19. I don't have a name for it yet. XD