章 1913: 143
Chapter 143
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"Dearest Ruby… I'm sorry I was gone for so long. It took me more time than I thought it would to get back to you. I've missed you every single day that I was gone, and although I had you with me in spirit because I had Crescent Rose with me, it doesn't compare to seeing your beautiful, amazing face again. You… are my wishing star. My beloved. You are my guiding light, and the one that I wish to stay with forever and always. Every day that you remain in this sleep of yours, I think I die a little inside, knowing that I cannot touch you, cannot hold you, cannot sleep with you in my arms. I miss our kisses, I miss the hugs. I miss hearing your voice, and although I hear it every time I replay our memories of our time together, I miss you more and more the longer I go without your true voice…" Penny paused as she spoke to the still, quiet form of her dearest love, Aura pulsing against the crimson crystal separating her from the one she loved most in the world.
She wanted to break the crystal, smash it apart and destroy it, pull Ruby from the prison that she was in, hold the girl in her arms again… but she couldn't. Whatever was going on with the crystal, almost an entire year of waiting hadn't done anything to it. Nothing scratched that crystal rose for all that the rest of the castle seemed to be as stable as high level grimm hide. Penny thought that it might be the actual representation of Ruby's indomitable love and heart- and if that was true, then she didn't dare damage it. Even if it wasn't true, Penny was reluctant to do anything beyond simply pressing her hands against the smooth, glassy surface and trying to communicate with the sleeping form of her love. How long had it truly been?
She knew exactly how long it had been. Months, almost a year now. It hurt Penny's soul, being so close, yet so far away.
"A lot of things have happened since you've been asleep, my dearest beloved. Your uncle Qrow has become the interim headmaster of Beacon, and Professor Goodwitch took Teams CMNE and JNPR on a worldwide trip shortly after you fell asleep. Blake, Yang, and Weiss left for Menagerie, and last I heard they have successfully convinced High Leader Sienna Khan to formally disavow Adam Taurus' actions as a breach of the White Fang's stated goal. While I do not know if she believes this personally, the Vale White Fang's actions in recent months- that is, helping with smaller reconstruction efforts and working with the Vale Council to ensure the rights of the faunus in the city- seem to have won them back some of the good will that Adam's White Fang lost. I believe Blake's father, Chieftain Ghira, is also helping in this endeavor again. I left for Atlas for some time, and I regret it in every way. General Ironwood wanted me to become the Protector of Mantle, a symbol of everything that the Atlesian Military could do for the people in the crater city, but I did not want to hold a meaningless title just to quell thoughts of rebellion," Penny continued on, her forehead pressing against the cool, slowly pulsating crystal as she continued to feed her Aura into the blood red depths, as though searching for Ruby's soul within. The air was thick with the scent of roses and spring, and Penny didn't know if it was from her own upgraded sensors or if her presence had truly done something to the castle. The spikes and thorns around her seemed softer, gentler. They wound around her ankles in thin little vines, gently winding around her feet and legs and pulsing slowly with a deep, blood red.
The ceiling above flashed in time, as though it were a heartbeat- a deep, dark red with flecks of green within.
Penny sighed, pressing a gentle kiss to the crystal surface, right above where Ruby's lips were- separated from the kiss of her love by at least a meter of blood red, seemingly organic gemstone. It was unfortunate, but… it was the best Penny could do. There was no way into the flower itself, no way to do anything to it. She took a step back, then, the vines allowing her to move without hindrance as she pulled the newly upgraded form of Crescent Rose from her back and twirled it with a flourish. "My dearest beloved… I'm so, so sorry that I couldn't save Crescent Rose. Not entirely. When we struck the Wyvern together, too many components were damaged, too many parts were held together with grimm fibers. The entire thing fell apart and as much as I wish that you alone had been the one to handle the extension of your soul, your baby, I… I did my best. She's new, now. Everything I could manage to add in, I did. Every upgrade, every swapped component. I cleaned up the laser array too, made sure the battery arrays were just as strong as mine. I know you'd want Crescent Rose to be the best she can be… I just wish that I could have done that while preserving your Aura imprint. There's still much to be done, I think… but she's still yours again. I hope you'll forgive me for it."
She set the weapon down- a massive thing that utterly dwarfed Ruby in size, a weapon so ridiculously large and powerful that it would have made the original design look utterly miniscule. It made a heavy clank as it touched the odd, black floor, and Penny simply watched as twirling, creeping, sinuously writhing vines covered it one by one and dragged it away into the ground- sinking as though caught in pitch.
Ruby's image changed, then- no longer was she simply hanging in the middle of the crystal rose, hands wrapped limply around one of Penny's swords and looking as though she was asleep. Instead, the entire rose seemed to… writhe . It moved slowly, the crystalline material growing and shrinking in odd places, the entire throne room rumbling and twisting as the material within changed. Something… grew brighter. Penny's Aura flared, brilliant green tracing along the entire world around her as she continued to pump her Aura out into the world.
The scent of spring was matched by a wind full of rose petals, twisted black vines dissolving into smoke as massive windows erupted out of the darkness, bringing with them scintillating shafts of light in brilliant colors. Penny watched, awestruck as the changes progressed around her- scared and worried and yet dumbfounded and amazed in equal measure. The windows above brought light to the room, the floor shifting from writhing black to bone white shot through with streaks like marble. The castle became cleaner, the lines straighter. Beautiful swirls of red began to chase through the lines as the darkness within gave way to mottled marble, swirls of light and dark arranging themselves in such a way that the architecture of the castle loomed and became utterly grand. Ruby details- crystalline and shimmering- caught the light, reflecting the sun around the room as the afternoon light caught the stained glass and made the light shining down on her sleeping beloved feel holy.
In a way, Penny couldn't describe it as anything other than a scene straight out of a fairytale.
The stained glass windows were many, shifting and melding in and out of existence as the room stabilized- a central rose in the shape of Ruby's emblem in red. Penny and Ruby's first kiss rendered in abstract. Crescent Rose's construction. Team RWBY's Initiation. Penny's introduction to Beacon. Their first date.
On and on and on, Penny watched the throne room expand and the entire castle shudder around her, vaulting walls and ceilings opening up the previously claustrophobic room while the windows continued to show memory after memory after memory after memory.
And then-
Everything collapsed.
Became smoke- curious and rainbow colored before fading into an odd mix of black and white that swirled around a central node- a twisting, swirling tornado that eventually opened and dissipated and revealed…
Ruby.
Ruby Rose.
Her wishing star.
Her beloved.
Penny gasped quietly at her love's new appearance, trembling slightly as the scene itself unfolded before her- Ruby, laid upon a raised dais decorated in roses and vines, carvings of their happy memories together etched into the ruby red crystal. Between her hands now and lying on her chest where once a single piece of floating Array had been was the form of Crescent Rose- inactive and yet seething with the feeling of Ruby's soul. The sword itself, now, was impaled at the head of the dais, forming a structure almost like a holy altar. Ruby seemed older now, her hair different- changed. She was… taller. More mature looking. Her cape spilled over the edges of the dais and curled in the wind like a tide of bloody red.
The sun shone down on the two of them, and Penny couldn't help but be drawn to Ruby's pale, soft lips.
She'd read a story once, about how a prince awakened his sleeping true love with a kiss.
"I miss you Ruby. I know you're awake in there somewhere… I really, truly, hope this works…" Penny murmured softly, whisper quiet as she made her way to Ruby's side and leaned over- relishing in that first touch of her hand against Ruby's soft, pale skin for the first time in so, so long- before pressing her lips against Ruby's own.
And then…
Notes:
Almost there....
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