Ruby sighed contentedly as she finally, after days of hard work, painted the last details on Icy's hair and finished the painting that would soon be on display for very respectable and wealthy men and women to see and judge. She cringed as these thoughts entered her mind and tried to push them away.
She took a step back and admired her work with pride and joy. She admired it for way too long as her eyes lingered on the three girls painted on the canvas. She definitely captured their essence, probably too well. Ruby could swear Darcy's gold eyes were actually shining under the sunlight entering the room.
As her eyes swept across the painting, the door suddenly opened, startling her so much that her first instinct was to blast whoever had entered the room. Luckily, Ruby missed by an inch and instead put a hole in the door, definitely traumatizing the redhead who was the main target of the attack.
"Bloom, holy shit, I'm so sorry." Ruby apologized, running to hug her sister.
"I'm never entering this room without knocking ever again." Bloom said, hugging Ruby back. "Why are you so on edge?"
"I didn't want anyone to find out I'm painting that." Ruby answered, pointing to the painting.
"Wow, that's beautiful Ruby. The painting, not the Trix."
"The Trix are the painting." Ruby teased.
"I mean like the colors and... the lines... oh, you know what I mean." Bloom huffed making Ruby laugh.
"Thank you, Piglet."
The redhead used her magic to place the painting by the window and cast an invisibility spell on it so that it could dry without anyone seeing it.
"You know they will see it eventually, right?" Bloom asked, as she watched Ruby gather up her painting tools and putting them back in their respective places on her drawer.
"No they will not. I'll figure out a way to make them somehow blind to this painting. I might learn a spell for that or something." Ruby said, removing the apron she was wearing to not get her clothes dirty with paint.
"Are you seriously putting your friends under a spell just to hide an amazing painting? I know it's the Trix, but it's also the perfect example of how talented you are. I'm sure they would be proud of you." Bloom said, hiding the real reason she wanted people to see the painting. More specifically Ebony.
"They can be proud of this one." Ruby said, showing Bloom the other painting of the dark phoenix.
The older redhead opened her mouth to argue, but the words died in her throat as her eyes landed in the painting.
Bloom stared in awe as she found herself completely speechless and the only sound that came out of her mouth was a squeal.
"You like it?" Ruby asked, laughing at her sister's reaction.
"Like it? Ruby I love it." Bloom yelled excitedly. "That's incredible. I'm astonished. Wow. My sister will be a famous painter."
"Let's no exaggerate, yeah?" Ruby said, secretly freaking out as much as Bloom, if not more.
"Exaggerate? Are you kidding me right now? Ruby you have a talent out of this world. I promise you, you'll be the next Picasso."
"Alright, calm down. At the very least I'll be the next Georgina Clapham."
"Who's that?"
"Exactly." Ruby said, giggling when her sister rolled her eyes at her. "Did you come here to get anything?"
"Huh?"
"Why are you here?" Ruby repeated laughing. "You're usually with the girls after school."
"Oh, yeah, right. Uhm, Professor Avalon told you to go to his office for your session. You're late."
"Session?" Ruby asked, confused.
"Yeah, the one you're supposed to have every month to lock away your dark magic. Remember?" Bloom reminded Ruby, laughing as realization suddenly hit her sister and she bolted out of the room in a panic.
Ruby ran through the hallways of Alfea as fast as her legs allowed her to, completely ignoring Griselda shrieking that she couldn't run in the halls. She took a turn and ran down the hall until she stood in front of the double doors leading to the Professor's office.
She waited a few seconds to catch her breath before knocking on the door softly. Avalon told her to come in without missing a beat.
"I'm so sorry for my delay, Professor. I got caught up with something and totally forgot about today's session. I swear it won't happen again, I..."
"Ruby, please, relax. I'm not mad and you're only a couple minutes late." Avalon reassured her with a patient smile. "Please take a seat."
Ruby took a nervous breath before following the Professor's request and taking a seat at one of his sofa's. This time, Avalon didn't waste any time to get the sleeping dust along with the Blue Lotus, Wild Dagga and Lavender that he set on fire. The aroma filled Ruby's nostrils, making her dizzy and forcing her to lie down.
I'm 80% sure he's drugging me but, why not? It's been a while since my last hit
"Tell me, what do you believe might bring out the darkness in you?" Professor Avalon asked calmly.
"I don't know. I haven't really thought about that. Sorry." Ruby said, sighing.
"It's alright, Ruby. How about you tell me what has been making you so forgetful? What's been troubling your mind lately?"
"Uhm, I guess I haven't slept well these last few nights. I've been having series of nightmares every night. About Lord Darkaar."
Avalon's interest seemed to grow at that last statement. He looked down at the Fairy, his eyes sparkling with a curious glint mixed with something Ruby couldn't quite make out. It almost seemed like... fear? But, why would the Professor be frightened by her confession?
"Do you want to tell me about these dreams?" Avalon asked keeping his kind smile.
"Not really. They're personal." Ruby said, eyeing the man suspisciouly.
Avalon chuckled, but his grin faltered. It was a very quick motion, barely visible, but Ruby noticed it, getting more warry of the Professor than before.
"I totally understand. Dreams are something sacred and one of the few things that are actually our own. I won't force you to tell me." He said, taking a fist full of the sand in his hand. "Now, please close your eyes. Let's begin."
"Not creepy at all." Ruby commented before closing her eyes.
Once again she felt the sleeping dust fall on top of her which made her fall into a deep slumber. She accidentally inhaled the dust, causing her to sneeze.
"Bless you." A voice said behind Ruby. She flinched and turned around quickly only to be met with her bloody doppleganger.
"Ugh, you again." Ruby said, rolling her eyes.
"Did you know that you sound like a cat when you sneeze?" Dark Ruby mocked, smirking.
"Don't you fucking smirk at me like that. If I sound like a cat when I sneeze, then you also sound like a cat when you sneeze 'cause, guess what, we're the same fucking person."
"If we're the same person, then why am I cooler than you?" Dark Ruby asked, crossing her arms.
"Cooler than me? Why? Because you look like fucking Carrie?" Ruby said, eyeing her dark copy up and down. "Ok that scene was literally the coolest part of the whole musical, but that doesn't mean anything."
"You done?"
"Yeah, because I can't remember anymore how did we go from talking about cats to talking about Carrie. And I don't even remember why we started talking about cats in the first place."
"Alright, let's get this shitshow started."
Dark Ruby snapped her fingers and the black void around them began to shake, causing Ruby to lose her balance and fall on her butt. When she looked up, they were in another room, some kind of nursery, with two expensive looking cribs in the middle. Ruby got up and walked towards them. One of the cribs was empty, but the other contained a sleeping redheaded baby whose face was covered in hundreds of freckles and who was wearing a cute pink onesie with a picture of a Fairy on it.
"Is this me?" Ruby asked her doppleganger who nodded. "Damn, I was adorable. I still am, but those are some really cute round cheekbones. Look at that cute baby fat."
"Are you done fawning yourself?" Dark Ruby asked, annoyed by the girl's antics. "This is your 'dream'. The one you had a few weeks ago."
"Why did you air quote the word dream?"
"Because it's not a dream. It's a memory that was pushed back." Dark Ruby explained.
"Technically it is a dream. It was a bunch of thoughts, images, and sensations that I had when I was very much asleep. That's a fucking dream."
"Can you stop goofing around?" Dark Ruby shouted.
"Shh, you'll wake this cutie pie." Ruby whispered, smirking tauntingly at her copy.
"She can't be woken up because we're not actually here. Now shut the fuck up or I swear to God I'll cut your tongue off." Dark Ruby threatened.
"We are in my mind. Can you even do that?"
"Wanna try and see?"
"No thank you?"
"That't what I thought, now hush."
Ruby rolled her eyes, but did as she was told.
A few minutes passed and the redhead was starting to get bored, but before she could express her annoyance the door to the nursery opened and a brunette man and a redhead woman entered the room. Ruby's eyes widened as she loooked at the woman approach the baby with the brightest smile she had ever seen. A smile filled with warmth and love. A smile of a mother.
"Mom." She whispered, watching her carress the baby's red hair as she began humming the sweet and soothing melody that as been filling Ruby's dreams.
"Goodmorning, my sweet Ruby." The woman said as she stopped singing. "Oritel, come say hello to our daughter."
Ruby's eyes shifted to the man who approached his wife and kissed her cheek before looking down at the baby with an equally warm and loving smile as the woman, however his grin was also brightened by protectiveness.
"Dad." Ruby whispered, her heart tightning so much that it was as if someone was squeezing it to the point it might burst.
"My beautiful daughter. You sure had a long nap." Oritel said, reaching for his daughter's hand.
The baby laugh and grabbed his father's much larger hand and that was all it took for a salty river of tears fall down Ruby's cheeks and land on the floor. She knew the endearing scene would soon be over, but she made the most of every moment with an open heart.
Ruby always told everyone, including herself, that she didn't care for her birth parents, that they abandoned her and if they didn't want her then she didn't want them, that she didn't long for them. But she did. As much as it pained her to admit it she thinks about Oritel and Marion every day of her life, wondering where they are, if they're alive and if they would ever reunite. And now, as she watched her father do silly faces at the baby who laughed joyfully, she began questioning it all over again.
Ruby reached for her mother's hand, but as she touched it she didn't feel anything. No matter how hard she held it she just couldn't feel it. She couldn't feel warmth, or cold or even soft skin. Nothing. Because it wasn't real, her parents weren't real, no matter how much she wished they were.
"Oritel. Oritel, her arm." Marion said, oficially ending the dream and beggining the nightmare.
Ruby wiped her tears and looked down at the baby whose arm veins were turning black. The ground began shaking, but this time she was ready and held onto the crib as Oritel quickly picked up the baby before the mobile could fall on her. The couple stepped back and the man held his daughter tightly as she bawled her eyes out. The walls cracked and the bookshelf filled with fairytales fell, breaking to pieces.
"I saw this happening already, why are you showing me this?" Ruby asked, turning back to her doppleganger.
"You didn't see everything." That's all Dark Ruby said before looking back at the three with a wicked smirk on her lips.
"Oritel." Marion said, suddenly breathing heavily.
Ruby turned around and her eyes widened as she saw some kind of black blood leaving the baby's body through her eyes, her mouth, her nose and her skin. The baby screamed in pain that faded as soon as the blood stopped leaving her body. The black mass floated away from the three and began shaping itself and chaging colour.
"What are you, creature?" Oritel shouted, drawing his sword and assuming a fighting stance.
Ruby's blood ran cold as an evil cackle emanated from the black energy, which had turned red in some places. Soon the dark blood was satisfied with its form and solidified into Lord Dakaar himself.
As Dakaar laughed he pointed one of his claws at Ruby; not baby Ruby, though. He looked directly at the real one and cackled.
"You. I'm coming back for you."
Darkaar transformed into a black phoenix and dodged Oritel's sword attack. As his sword sliced through the air, the room went up in smoke and the two Rubys were back in the dark void of before.
The real Ruby fell to her knees and sobbed, covering her mouth with both hands. Her body was shaking violently as she drowned in a wave of guilt and fear.
"No." She said, shaking her in denial. "It-It's not-not true."
"Oh, but it is." Dark Ruby taunted, walking towards her doppleganger. "You were way too weak to have that much dark power inside of you so you chose to release it. This is all your fault. "
"No, it's no-not my f-fault." Ruby said, looking up at herself with puffy and red eyes.
Dark Ruby pouted mockingly as she cupped her copy's cheek. She crouched down and moved her face closer to Ruby's, smirking evily.
"Then whose fault is it? Who else made Darkaar?" Dark Ruby asked. "Because it clearly weren't the Three Ancient Witches. Stupid hags could never do such thing. To create a being as powerful as Lord Darkaar is needed a great dark power, greater than anyone else's." Dark Ruby stood back up again and grabbed Ruby's chin, forcing her to keep her chocolate eyes on her bloody ones. "You can deny it all you want, but you're responsible for Layla's suffering, for the Pixies' suffering and for the future downfall of the whole Magic Universe."
Suddenly, an all-too-familiar evil laugh echoed through the void, sending a chill down Ruby's spine. Dark Ruby forced the kneeling girl to look to the side and there she saw Darkaar cackling with an army of Shadow Monsters behind him.
"Go on, slay your demon. The demon you created." Dark Ruby said, letting go of Ruby's chin and stepping away.
Darkaar took a step closer to Ruby who immediately stood up and took a step back. All of her confident demeanor had vanished, replaced by fear, doubt, and anguish as she retreated with every step Darkkar took forward.
Every bone in her body was telling her to fight, to finish what she had gone there to do, but her body didn't respond and did the exact opposite.
"I didn't do that, you-you're just mess-messing with me." Ruby sobbed as her hands shook violently.
"Do you really believe that?" Dark Ruby asked.
Suddenly, Dakaar appeared right in front of Ruby and raised a claw. Just like in the other dream, it touched her chest right above her heart, and just like that, it changed back into its original form of black blood, but instead of entering Ruby's chest, it covered her entire body. She tried to shake it off and run, but it was no use. It crawled down her torso and up her neck, consuming her completely.
As the blood reached her mouth, Ruby tripped and fell backwards, but instead of hitting the ground, she fell into an endless pit, and the last thing she saw before the black blood covered her vision was her Dark Copy smiling down at her victoriously.
Ruby woke up in Avalon's office screaming. She screamed so loud that she didn't hear the glass in the windows shattering from her uncontrolled magic.
Avalon rushed to her side and tried to calm the girl who was crying and breathing rapidly. "Ruby, what happened? What did you see?"
The Fairy didn't answer him and pushed him away. She tried to stand up, but ended up falling to her knees. She felt asharp pain in her chest and it became even more difficult to get any air in her lungs.
"Ruby, please I need you to breath for me. Deep breaths." Avalon said, trying to calm her down, but he didn't succeed. The pain and guilt she felt was unberable.
Ebony. She thought. I need her.
The Fairy closed her eyes and teleported out of the Professor's office and when she opened her eyes again she was on the floor of her girlfriend's bedroom.
Ebony, who had been reading a book on her bed, was startled when Ruby suddenly appeared in her room, but she quickly ran to her when she saw the state she was in.
"Baby, what happened?" Ebony asked, hugging the redhead close to her. "Didn't the session go well?"
"No." Ruby said, sobbing loudly.
"Hey, it's ok. You don't need to lock your magic in one go. Slow and steady wins the race right? That's an Earth saying, isn't it?"
"It's not that." Ruby said, her voice brittle and shaky. "I-I did something. It-It's all my fault."
"What's your fault?" Ebony asked, cupping the redhead's cheeks.
"Everything." Ruby said. "I-I cr-created him. I-I made him."
"Who?"
"Darkaar." Ruby shouted, making Ebony flinch. The brunette looked at her wide-eyed and removed her hands from her cheeks. "I created Lord Darkaar."
"What? Why would you do that?" Ebony asked, surprising Ruby with her acusatory tone.
"Do you think I wanted to do it? It was an accident." Ruby said, looking at her girlfriend in disbelief.
"An accident? How do you create an whole being by accident, Ruby?" Ebony shouted, standing up and stepping away from her girlfriend. "And not any being, but an evil being that wants to kill us all."
"Do you really think I need you to make me feel even more guilty right now?" Ruby yelled, feeling betrayed.
"How do you want me to react to this? You created, Darkaar." Ebony yelled back, whispering only his name so her suitemates wouldn't find out.
Ruby didn't say anything else, she just stared at the girl she once loved without even recognizing her. The Ebony she remembered wouldn't make her feel worse. The Ebony she remembered would support her, tell her that it was ok and that they would get through this together, maybe even make her laugh, no matter how unlikely that seemed given the pain she was feeling. The Ebony she remembered was always able to make her laugh. That was the girl she loved, but she wasn't there anymore.
Without uttering another word, Ruby teleported away, but she didn't go back to the room she shared with her sister and Flora. She came back to a room she hadn't been in a while. A Nightmare Before Christmas themed room.
She layed down on the large purple bed and stared up at the ceiling completely emotionless. She didn't have the strength to cry, she didn't have the strength to be angry. The only thing she felt was a strong pull on her heart that caused her sharp nail to find its way down her arm.
And just like that, with one dark red line across her wrist, Ruby's newly found happiness went downhill.