...

"Do you believe in destiny?"

"Yes."

"Ah!"

"PYRRHA...!

...

A teenage girl woke up with a start, quickly sitting up. She looked to be around fifteen years-old, and she wore a red hooded-cape, a black and red dress, black leggings, and black and red boots. Her hair was ebony dripping red, and her wide eyes were shining silver. She was on a couch in some sort of motel-room, and she suddenly gasped as she found that she wasn't alone - there were three men watching her from a table. One was a middle-aged man, one was probably a few years older than her, and one was around her age.

"W-what's going on?" The girl asked timidly, looking scared as she sat up properly on the couch and turned to face them. "Where am I?" The middle-aged man stood and crossed his arms.

"Currently, we're in the outskirts of Los Angeles."

"Um... Where?"

"L.A.?" The older boy offered, and the girl looked confused. "Kid, your accent's American, and every American's heard of L.A."

"What's American?" The girl asked, tilting her head to the side. The three exchanged glances. "W-who are you?"

"... My name is John Winchester." The man spoke up, looking back at her. "These are my sons, Sam and Dean. You got a name?"

"Ruby." The girl replied timidly. "My name is Ruby Rose."

"Now that we have that little formality out of the way..." John slammed a huge red and black device on the coffee-table in front of the couch. "What is this?"

"Crescent Rose!" Ruby smiled, looking relieved. "That's my weapon!"

"Weapon?" Dean scoffed, raising an eyebrow. "What is it? A club?" Ruby seemed offended by this assumption.

"No!" Ruby told him sharply, then she stood and gestured to the weapon. "May I?" John raised his guard, his eyes narrowing. "It's okay! I may still be in training, but I'm the best there is when it come to Crescent Rose! I made her, after all!"

"You made this?" John asked, then he shook his head. "Look, kid - you just told me that this thing is a weapon. I'm not sure that I would feel right, letting you handle it with my boys around." Ruby blinked, then frowned.

"I'm going to be a Huntress." She protested quietly. "I would never hurt innocent people. It's going to be my job someday to defend the world." She looked down at Crescent Rose forlornly, and John watched her for a long moment before sighing.

"Okay, kid... Show us this world-saving weapon." He told her, and Sam and Dean quickly stood and raised their guard. Ruby picked up the weapon with ease, surprising the Winchesters, then the girl walked out into a more open area of the room and activated some sort of mechanism that morphed the device into a huge...

"SCYTHE?!" Sam asked, taking several steps back. Ruby smiled brightly, hugging the weapon.

"It's also a fully-customizable, high-impact sniper-rifle." The girl announced excitedly. "I'm a Huntress-in-training, and I forged her while attending Signal Academy. Someday, when I graduate from Beacon, Crescent Rose and I are going to defend th world."

"Huntress? Signal? Beacon?" Dean asked, seeming awestruck. "AND YOU MADE THAT THING?!" Ruby glared lightly at the boy.

"Crescent Rose isn't a thing!" She protested, folding it back into its collapsed-form. "She's a work of art..." Sam nudged his older brother.

"Don't insult the giant scythe-gun!" He hissed, glaring. Dean cringed, and John raised an eyebrow.

"What's all of this about Huntresses and Signals and Beacons?"

"Signal was my primary combat-school, where I learned to fight monsters." Ruby explained, and the men's eyes widened. "I graduated two years early and started attending Beacon. Now, I can kill a whole pack of Beowolves alone, easy. And, I'm getting pretty good with Ursai. I also decapitated a Nevermore with my team's help, but I really am best with Beowolves." The girl in red began babbling. "Ren's great at killing King Taijitus, Weiss took out a Boarbatusk, Blake was a lifesaver against Creeps, Nora dealt the final blow against a Death Stalker, Jaune decapitated an Ursa Major, and Pyrrha..." Ruby's face suddenly fell. "Pyrrha."

"Kid?" Dean asked, confused. Ruby suddenlydropped her precious weapon, falling to her hands and knees and staring at the floor in disbelief.

"Pyrrha... I was too late..." Ruby was shaking slightly as her eyes teared up. "O-oh, gods... Cinder shot her... She turned to ashes, a-and I couldn't do anything..." The Winchesters exchanged glances, becoming concerned. "And Y-Yang..." Sam walked over and kneeled next to Ruby, worried.

"We found you in a crater, far outside the city... Can you tell us everything, Ruby?" He asked quietly, and she looked up at him as tears continued to fall from her eyes. "Where you're from, what everything you've been saying means, about these monsters? What's the last thing you remember before coming here?"

"I got to the top of the tower, and I saw Pyrrha..." Ruby's silver eyes hardened. "And Cinder. And then, everything went white... I remember my head hurting." Sam nodded slowly, his brother and father watching with skeptical curiosity.

"Okay, okay... Now, what about the rest of my questions?"

"Um... Should I talk like I'm explaining it to a three year-old, or-?"

"How about like you're explaining it to an alien?"

"An alien?" Ruby asked, confused, then she slowly nodded and wiped her tears away with her sleeve. "I-I think I can do that... It'll b-be like one of the books Y-Yang used to read to me..." Sam helped Ruby stand, and she grabbed her scythe before the tall boy helped her over to the couch and sit down. She looked up at him, nodding in thanks, then she looked over at Dean and John worriedly.

"Hey." Sam spoke, and she looked back at him as he smiled. "It's fine, Ruby. You can just talk to me, okay? You don't have to be scared." Ruby blinked, then slowly nodded.

"O-okay..." She agreed, then she took a deep breath. "... An alien?"

"Yeah. An alien."

"Alright... I come from a planet called Remnant." Ruby began, and Sam kept his expression neutral. He had wanted Ruby to focus on him so that she wouldn't see Dean and John's reactions, as they probably weren't going to be as calm and understanding as he was trying to be. "Remnant is composed of four kingdoms and one territory. The kingdoms are Atlas in the north, Vacuo in the West, Mistral in the east, and Vale. Menagerie is a territory in the south that has the densest population of Faunus, which are basically humans with an animal-trait and extra abilities, but Faunus are allowed all over Remnant since the Faunus War - which resulted in them getting most civil rights. Unfortunately, Faunus still struggle in some areas of the world, especially Mistral and Atlas. They're usually fine in Vacuo, but there can still be really racist humans in Vale. Because of the discrimination and hate, a group called the White Fang rose as a group of peaceful protestors and demonstrators, but they've turned violent in the last five years and have begun attacking humans."

"Are you a Faunus, Ruby?"

"No, but I have a lot of good friends who are Faunus." Ruby told him, starting to calm down a little. She assumed that this whole 'alien' thing was some way to help her get her thoughts together. "My one teammate was even a member of the White Fang once - but she left when they went bad so that she could pursue a better life and a better future for Faunus-kind as a Huntress." She looked down, frowning. "I hope she's okay..." Ruby looked up at Sam again. "The four kingdoms are currently in a time of peace, aside from the White Fang attacks. The peace was forged eighty years ago during the Great War, which was fought because Atlas and Mistral outlawed shows of creativity and individuality and Vacuo and Vale fought against them. Vacuo and Vale won and brought about peace and freedom, resulting in people picking up the habit of always naming their children for color in continued shows of rebellion. The four great combat-academies - Shade in Vacuo, Atlas in Atlas, Haven in Mistral, and Beacon in Vale - were also founded as a result of the war, allowing the Huntsmen and Huntresses to train and unite in the ongoing war against our common enemy, the Grimm."

"Grimm?"

"Grimm are monsters." Ruby explained, and Sam blinked. "No one knows where they come from or what they are exactly, but they're believed to be soulless creatures of darkness. They come in many forms, they only attack humans and do it for the sake of the kill - not for food -, and they are drawn to negative emotion. This is another reason why Remnant has to stay in times of peace, to make sure that the Grimm don't grow stronger. Huntsmen and Huntresses are trained from a young age to fight the Grimm and protect civilians from them."

"They teach children to fight them?"

"Well... Yeah." Ruby replied, shrugging. "I've been training with my Uncle Qrow since I was eight years old. Some people start even younger than that. By the age of twenty or twenty one, most people are fully-realized Hunters. I'll be nineteen, since I was able to skip two years and go right to Beacon."

"So, you're a prodigy?"

"I-I don't wanna brag." Ruby blushed, looking down. "I think that I got accepted early because I'm one of only two capable scythe-wielders in the world. The other one is my Uncle Qrow, who trained me in everything from fighting to Dust-application."

"Dust?"

"Yep." Ruby drew a large red crystal from her pocket, smiling. "Dust." Sam blinked, surprised. "These crystals store elemental energy. No one knows where it comes from, either - but just about everyone uses Dust. It powers all pieces of technology, it's fuel and it's ammunition. Remnant couldn't function without it."

"Elemental energy?"

"Yep. This is fire-Dust. If I threw it down on the floor, this whole room would go up."

"... Please, don't."

"Oh, don't be silly." Ruby waved it off, putting the crystal away. "I've been told that I'm a dolt, but I'm not stupid or crazy." Ruby took a deep breath. "So, those are most of the basics. What am I forgetting..? Oh!" She suddenly grinned. "Aura!"

"Aura?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow. "Like, good vibes?" Ruby shook her head.

"No, aura. The physical manifestation of the soul." She began, and Sam blinked. "Everyone has aura, every living thing - animals, people. Only rocks and Grimm don't have aura." Ruby looked down at her hands. "Huntsmen and Huntresses unlock their aura and use it to help them fight. As a result, aura manifests itself as a sort of temporary shield around the body and a very special ability connected to the user's personality."

"Ability?" Sam inquired, frowning. "Like what?"

"Well, um..." Ruby looked away, thinking. "My teammate, Blake, could be shy and introverted at times. She also had a bad history with running away whenever things got bad." Sam raised an eyebrow. "Her ability, or semblance, manifested as the power to create clones of herself that would hang in the air after she was long gone and distract an enemy while she either snuck up and attacked or retreated." Sam blinked, surprised. "My sister, Yang, has a violent temper - but she also has this thing where she thinks that she has to always be strong so that she can protect others, so she never backs down. Her semblance lets her absorb any blunt force that her body takes, multiply that power by two, and launch it back at her enemy in an attack. Her hair glows like fire, and her eyes turn red - it's why people call her 'dragon'." Ruby looked up, smiling lightly. "My friend, Nora, is always happy and energetic. Even when she's sad, she does her best to be happy for other's sakes. So, her semblance allows her to absorb electrical attacks that would immobilize or even kill most people and use it to charge her body up, making her strong, fast, and even more energetic than usual."

"What about you?" Sam asked, genuinely curious. "Can you show me?" Ruby blinked, then looked away, smiling awkwardly.

"It's nothing special. It just proves he ditzy and scatter-brained I am."

"How?"

"Well..." Ruby looked at him, grinning, then she was suddenly surrounded by a vortex of crimson rose-petals. Sam's eyes widened as the vortex became like a bullet that zipped around the room before returning to the couch and turning back into the shy teenage girl. "I call it Scatter."

"I can see why..." Sam stared at her, stunned. "And you can do that because you unlocked your soul?"

"Yep!" Ruby nodded enthusiastically, smiling. "It really helps with using Crescent Rose. Speed plus a scythe? My uncle told me it would help me a lot as a Huntress."

"... Who are you, Ruby?" Sam asked, and she blinked. "What's your story?" Ruby blinked again, then hooded her hands and looked at Sam.

"My name is Ruby Rose. I'm from Patch, an island just off the coast of Vale." She began quietly. "My mother's name was Summer Rose, and my father's name is Taiyang Xiao-Long. My older half-sister, Yang Xiao-Long, is the daughter of Taiyang Xiao-Long and Raven Branwen. Taiyang, Summer, Raven, and my Uncle Qrow Branwen were on a team together while they were training to be Hunters at Beacon. After they graduated from Beacon, Raven had Yang with my dad before she ran off and vanished. My mom and dad had me, then my mom went on a mission and never came back." Ruby's hands twisted slightly in her lap. "My dad was never the same after that, and my sister had to sort of step up and take Mom's place. My dad was only really happy when he was training my sister or on special occasions, and my uncle had a drinking-problem that he managed to move away from only while he was training me. They were broken, and they didn't want us to end up like them." Ruby looked down. "Yang wanted to become a Huntress because she wanted to be strong enough to hunt her mother down and demand to know why she left. I wanted to be a Huntress to be like my mom, my dad, and my uncle - and to be like the heroes in the books that Yang and Dad would read me. Those stories made them smile, so I thought I could grow into something that would make them smile, too."

"Oh." Sam spoke quietly, frowning at the girl. "So, you trained."

"Yep." Ruby looked up, smiling again. "Uncle Qrow taught me everything he could, and when I was thirteen, I began school at Signal and designed and forged Crescent Rose. I spent two years there, then Professor Ozpin from Beacon met up with me after the Deputy-Headmistress got footage of me stopping a robbery in downtown Vale and he asked me to come to a Beacon two years early, so Yang and I got to go together. I passed initiation and became the leader of Team RWBY. It was me, my partner Weiss, Blake, and Yang." Ruby gave a small shrug. "Weiss wasn't too nice at first, especially after I became the leader, but she warmed up to us eventually. Things got pretty heated when she learned that Blake used to be in the White Fang, but Weiss got much better - really." Ruby looked over at her weapon. "The whole year was a blur. I didn't think that I would be able to make any friends, but Team RWBY became my family and I grew really close with Team JNPR - Jaune, Nora, P... Pyrrha, and Ren. I also made these other friends: Velvet, Sun, Neptune, and... And Penny." Ruby took a deep breath. "We stopped a lot of bad-guys together, foiling the plans of the White Fang and their ally, Roman Torchwick. We thought we were making a difference... Then, the time came for the Vytal Festival Tournament."

"Tournament?" Sam asked, blinking. Ruby looked down.

"It was meant to be fun, to celebrate the union of the kingdoms. But these people, they arranged for people to be hurt in the arena - hurt badly. My sister was tricked into making it look like she had attacked someone for no reason - they even made it look like she broke his leg, but he was fine! A-and then... They killed my friend, Penny Polendina." Ruby's eyes teared up. "The White Fang and the Grimm attacked, a-and we ran out to defend Beacon and Vale. Blake got hurt, Yang lost her arm, I-I don't know what happened to everyone else, a-and I..." Ruby closed her eyes. "Penny Polendina was torn to shreds at the center of an arena. Roman Torchwick was eaten alive by Grimm. Pyrrha Nikos - one of the strongest, kindest, and bravest Huntresses I have ever met - was shot in the heart and reduced to ashes... And all I could do was watch." Ruby looked up at Sam, tears still falling from her eyes. "The last thing I remember before waking up in here is my head hurting, and a bright white light. And I... I think I heard Cinder screaming." She raised a hand to her forehead as she hung her head, closing her eyes. "I..."

"... It's okay, Ruby." Sam told her quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's over. You're safe, and I have a feeling that you won't have to worry about any of that ever again. No Cinder, no White Fang no Grimm." Ruby looked up at him, confused. "Ruby... The planet we're on is called Earth." Ruby blinked, surprised. "We are in the city of Los Angeles in the state of California in a country called the United States of America. There are no Grimm, Faunus, aura, semblance's, Huntsmen, or Huntresses here." Ruby's expression flashed with disbelief. "And we don't know how to get you home."

"You're... You're kidding, right?" Ruby asked, and Sam didn't respond - he just gazed at her forlornly. "You... You have to be! No, this is Remnant! It has to be Remnant, I-! My friends need me! My family needs me! My teammates need me!" Ruby stood up, and Sam stood up with her. "They're hurt! Vale is in ruins, Beacon is in ruins! I have to get back there, I have to help them! Someone has to tell them what happened to Pyrrha!"

"Ruby, please-"

"I-I have to go home!" Tears filled Ruby's eyes again. "Let me go home! I have to go home! My dad, my sister, and my uncle can't lose anyone else! I have to go home!" Ruby tried to leave, but Sam stepped in the way and she bumped into him. She went to step back, but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. Her eyes widened as her body tensed. "I-I..."

"Ruby... I'm sorry." Sam said quietly, closing his eyes. "I really am." All went silent for a moment, then Ruby closed her eyes and relaxed against Sam's body as she began to cry. Sam held her close, then he opened his eyes and looked over at his father and brother. They had guns drawn, their eyes narrowed, but they blinked as Sam shook his head, frowning. "It's okay, Ruby... You're going to be okay."

"... Yeah." Dean was first to lower his weapon, and John looked at him with a light glare. "Don't worry, kiddo. Sammy and I won't let anything happen to you. We'll get this straightened out." John remained silent, then he sighed and shook his head.

"Alright, Ruby Rose... It's time for us to get down to explanations." He spoke, and Ruby looked up at him. "If you're going to be living on Earth, there are some things you're going to have to know about." Ruby sniffled, reaching up and wiping some of her tears away.

"L-Like what?"

"... Our world's monsters."

That night, after the opening explanations on monsters and Hunters from Earth were done, Ruby was curled up under a blanket on the couch, sleeping. The Winchester's sat around a table, frowning at the girl, and John finally let out a small sigh.

"I had Bobby do some research." He told his sons, and they looked at him attentively. "Everything from her story, from 'Remnant' to 'scythe'. Only one thing got any decent results... Silver eyes." The boys blinked, surprised. "There have been a few accounts of people with grey or silver eyes. The trait is oftentimes associated with things like powerful warriors and people who are excellent marksmen."

"Case in point, silver-eyed girl with a sniper-scythe." Dean noted, and Sam nodded. "So... Bobby didn't find anything that could prove that the kid is a threat?" John shook his head.

"Nope... But we shouldn't let our guard down, with her. We don't know anything about her kind aside from what she's told us, and she could have left things out or added things in."

"I don't think she was lying." Sam protested quietly. "What reason would she have to lie to us? I mean, you saw her face... She's scared."

"We still can't take any chances, Sammy." Dean frowned, crossing his arms. John nodded, looking over at the girl again.

"That's right. I can't see us letting her just walk away anytime soon, either. Dangerous or not, the kid still doesn't know anything about our world - and whatever she is, there could be creatures out there that would want to get their hands on her. Demons, for one, could find this whole aura thing to be of interest, or even a threat."

"Imagine creatures with a built-in shield." Dean agreed, frowning. "That wouldn't be good, for any of us."

"... You want to keep her with us." Sam realized, his eyes narrowing as he looked at his father. "So that if anyone gets that kind of power, it's you." John went silent as even Dean looked at the man in disbelief. "Dad, she's-"

"Our responsibility." John finished for his son. "And we are going to ensure that she becomes an ally, not an enemy. As of right now, the girl's dangerous - she could turn on us at any time. We need to make certain that she either joins us, or that she doesn't ever get the chance to join anyone else."

/\/\/\/\

"She has arrived."

"Excellent."

/\/\/\/\

Two days later, Ruby blinked in surprise as she hugged her collapsed scythe to her chest, looking up at the bearded man in the baseball-cap looking down at her skeptically. The man lowly looked up at John, raising an eyebrow.

"This is your dangerous alien warrior?" He asked, perturbed. "I've seen a lot of kids who have turned into creatures over the years, but I've never seen anything like this. You sure she's as deadly as you said?"

"Show him the scythe." John ordered, and Ruby blinked before unfolding her scythe, expertly spinning it before slamming the tip into the ground. The man took a few steps back into the scrapyard that surrounded his home, then he became curious and stepped forward to examine the weapon.

"Huh." He blinked, then looked at Ruby. "May I?" Ruby blinked, then smiled and nodded as she held out the weapon so that he could examine it. "Well, I'll be. Based on the scope and the magazine, I'd assume that it's also a gun."

"A fully-customizable, high-impact sniper-rifle." Ruby agreed, nodding. "Crescent Rose is also just a normal high-impact gun, and she can become a sort of spear. I made her all by myself when I was thirteen, though it was my uncle who taught me how to use her properly."

"You're an engineer, then? A mechanic?"

"Yep." Ruby smiled brightly. "My sister and my dad taught me how to fix things like vehicles and appliances, but my uncle taught me everything I know about weapons. He had a scythe that was also a gun and a broadsword."

"Alright, kid." The man stood up straight. "Mind if I ask you some questions? Just want to hear everything for myself, you know?"

"Um, sure! I'd be happy to explain, Mr..?"

"Singer. Bobby Singer."

Bobby walked out of his kitchen to face the Winchester family. Ruby was still in the kitchen, munching on some cold pizza, and Bobby sighed as he looked at his friend and the boys.

"I tested everything I knew on her." He said, and they blinked. "And she complied... She's clean. If she's not human, she's nothing I've ever seen before." He crossed his arms. "And I don't think she's a threat. Not to people, that is."

"You're certain?" John asked, and Bobby thought on it for a moment. Then, he sighed and nodded.

"Yeah. Girl's harmless, just shaken-up... I suppose we should start getting her acquainted with this world."

"There's really no way to send her home?" Sam asked, frowning. Bobby shook his head.

"None that I know of. And whatever brought her here is beyond me, too. This whole thing doesn't make a lick of sense."

"She tell you the same thing?" John pressed, and Bobby raised an eyebrow. "A girl turns to ashes, she screams, there's a bright light, the murderer screams - then, nothing?"

"Yep. Some girl called Pyrrha Nikos was the vic, if I heard her right." Bobby agreed, nodding. "Murderer was Cinder Fall, rotten bitch by the sound of her. Shot Nikos in the heart and used some sort of ability to reduce the poor kid to ashes."

"And Ruby's got that petal-thing and the built-in forcefield?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow. Bobby nodded, and Dean sighed and shook his head. "This is all sorts of crazy..."

"You think it's crazy?" Bobby asked, raising an eyebrow. "Imagine being the kid who was tossed onto a different planet. At last you're still here with your family, boy... She's lost everything." Sam frowned, looking back at the girl in the kitchen.

"Can I go and talk to her?"

"Sure." Bobby said first, before John could reply. "She told me about what went down when she woke up... I think you and I are one and two on Ruby Rose's most-trusted list. Dean is number three." John blinked, then watched as Sam stood up and went over to the kitchen.

"Hey, Ruby." Sam sat down across the girl. Ruby blinked, then gestured to the pizza.

"Want some?"

"No, thanks." Sam replied, then he gave a small smile. "I'm really sorry about this. Are you doing okay?"

"I'm fine, just..." Ruby looked down. "My sister, my dad, my uncle, my friends... They needed me. Am I really never going to see them, again?"

"I don't know." Sam admitted, and she looked up at him. "But it's looking that way."

"Oh." Ruby looked down again, then closed her eyes. "Okay..." She slowly opened her eyes, then she looked up as she became determined. "That's not gonna stop me." Sam blinked as Ruby stood. "I became a Huntress because I want to help people. If I can't help people on Remnant, I'll just have to learn all I can about Earth so that I can help people here." Sam stood, and Ruby looked up at him. "I've grown up thinking that ghosts, ghouls, and werewolves were fairytales. Stories about things that were almost as bad as Grimm, but much more complicated. Here, they're real and they're taking innocent lives. You and people like you do whatever you can to stop them... Can you teach me how to do what you do?"

"I, uh- Sure? I mean, we all can." Sam gestured to the other men. "Bobby's the best with lore, Dad's great with weapons, and Dean's awesome with hand-to-hand combat. I can show you how the internet works and how to properly research for a case, and we can all teach you about Earth... But maybe you should take a few days to adjust before we start-"

"I don't need to adjust." Ruby frowned, placing her hands on her hips. "I need someone to put me to work, teach me how to fight and how to help people in this place. That's the only way I'm going to feel like myself, again."

"You think it will be that easy?"

"No... But it's how my family tends to do things when things get bad." Ruby admitted, and Sam blinked. "My dad lost two wives - my sister's mom ran away when things got too hard and my mom died - and he became a teacher so that he could make sure that it wouldn't happen to anyone else. My uncle lost his sister, one of his best friends died, and his other best friend fell into a depression, and he became a teacher and an alcoholic - but he also protected my dad, my sister, and I and he taught me everything I know about fighting. My sister lost her mom and my mom, and she set herself goals to keep herself going and looked after me..." Ruby crosssed her arms. "No one's around to look after me, anymore. So, I'm going to have to do what they did if I want the pain to go away... It worked for them. It'll work for me." She looked up at Sam. "I can't be a Huntress anymore, so I need you to teach me how to be a Hunter... Will you help me?"

"... Yeah." Sam nodded, smiling. "I will." Ruby immediately beamed, the tension leaving her body.

"Alright." Bobby walked over, giving a small grin as he clapped his hands together. "First things first... Kid, you're going to need clothes that are a bit more practical. A cape and a dress will only get you killed, out there." Ruby blinked, surprised, then deadpanned lightly.

"One, I love my hood. Two... It's a combat-skirt!"

/\

Ruby's eyes widened, her jaw falling open in surprise.

"I've never seen a store this big, before." She admitted as she gazed up at the Wal-Mart. The Winchester's and Bobby blinked, and Ruby looked over at them. "How big is your kingdom to be able to afford buildings this large with only one story?"

"Uh..?" Dean raised an eyebrow. "This isn't a kingdom. It's a country." Ruby raised an eyebrow, confused. "You know? Congress? Democracy? The people get a vote?"

"Huh?"

"... Oh, geez." Sam sighed, shaking his head. "Ruby, the whole world is covered in scattered countries and kingdoms. Everything is divided up and populated, except for maybe Antarctica."

"What?" Ruby asked, confused. "What about the wilds? Places on the world that don't belong to anybody, where plants can grow and animals roam free without any real risk of being hunted? That way, your planet won't divide and run out of resources so quickly. If things ran the way you say, there would be starving people in the streets! Whole populations going hungry!" The men didn't know how to reply, and Ruby's eyebrow raised. "I don't understand. There are, what? Millions of people on your planet?"

"Billions." John corrected, and Ruby's eyes widened in disbelief. "And yeah, a lot go hungry."

"... Oh, gods." Ruby raised a hand to her forehead, taking deep breaths. "This is insane..."

"Easy, easy." Sam placed his hands on Ruby's shoulders, smiling awkwardly. "Deep breaths. Calming breaths." Ruby took a deep breath and nodded, and Bobby sighed and shook his head.

"This is going to be a long day..."

Ruby walked out of the Wal-Mart with bags filled with clothes, taking to Sam with a frown as the other three followed them.

"Whoa. Your world is kinda messed up." She admitted worriedly. "The temperature is getting warmer, the sea-levels are rising, people are starving, the rate of violence is yikes. How do you stand it?"

"We kind of have to."

"Isn't anyone trying to change it?"

"Yeah, a lot of people are. But other people just don't seem to want to listen."

"Hmm." Ruby frowned, looking down. "My friend, Blake, wouldn't like this place. Things are bad for the Faunus on Remnant, but I bet they would be a lot worse here. The White Fang would be terrible..."

"Yeah, well-" Sam gave a small shrug, grinning awkwardly. "We're dealing with one of the world's problems, aren't we? So, at least things aren't worse." Ruby blinked, then smiled.

"Yeah. I guess you're right... So, silver for werewolves and shapeshifters."

"Yep."

"Salt and burn and iron for ghosts."

"Yep."

"Cut off vampires' heads."

"Yep."

"Headshot for ghouls."

"Yep."

"She's doing better." Bobby noted as he watched Sam and Ruby going over monster-killing methods. "But still, it'll be a while before she can really start to fit in and do the job right. If you have to, you can leave her with me and I'll do my best to get her head on straight."

"Actually, I was thinking that she could come with me and the boys." John told him, and Dean blinked. "She could learn from experience, like they did." Dean looked down, then took a deep breath and looked at John.

"I think Bobby's right." He said, and John blinked before looking over at his youngest son. "As she is now, she'll just slow us down. It's too dangerous. No, we should wait until Bobby's gotten her competent with the lore and book-research, and then we can think about bringing her along... Sir."

"... You make a good point, Dean." John gave a stiff nod, then he looked at Bobby. "It wouldn't be too much trouble?" Bobby shook his head, giving a small smile.

"No, John. It'll be fine. And who knows? Maybe I can learn more about this 'aura' stuff while I'm teaching her."

"Good." John nodded, frowning. "Do your best with that. It could prove useful, on a hunt... I'll give you three weeks. Sound good?" Bobby nodded, looking over at the girl.

"Sounds good."

/\/\/\/\

"They are acclimating her to this world."

"If that is their wish, there is nothing that should lead us to be against it. The activity will keep her sharp, ready for the role she must play."

"If that is your belief, then let it be so."

/\/\/\/\

Three weeks later, the Winchesters walked through Bobby's front-door to hear the man laughing. They followed the sound to the kitchen and saw that he and Ruby were working on some sort of large suitcase-shaped mechanism at the table, and Ruby was grinning as she looked up at Bobby.

She was wearing a black t-shirt with the image of a crimson rose on it, a red and black flannel, blue-jeans, Black fingerless-gloves, and black combat-boots. A pair of goggles had been looped under her black and red hair and shoved up onto her forehead, and her silver eyes glinted.

"So, I pull this lever, and-" The device suddenly turned into a massive gatling-gun, and Ruby smiled deviously as she hefted it onto her left hip. "Say 'hello' to the salt-round gatling-gun!"

"Amazing." Bobby looked over the device in wonder as the Winchesters stared in disbelief. Ruby nodded, smiling as she collapsed the weapon back into a briefcase and set it on the table.

"Yep! I modeled it after a weapon that belonged to a friend of mine, Coco Adel. It can shoot one-hundred and twenty salt-rounds per minute!"

"Okay, yeah - I admit, this is a fair trade for that silver edging you had me do for your scythe's blade." Bobby nodded, grinning like a kid on Christmas. "You can make more weapons like this?"

"Yep!" Ruby nodded enthusiastically. "Just give me access to a forge and the materials for the device and the molds, and I can make whatever you want! I really, really want to make weapons based off of my sister's gauntlets so that Hunters can disguise their guns as bulky bracelets and just punch to POW!, blow a ghoul's head off!"

"... John." Bobby looked up, surprised. "Boys." Ruby looked over as well, and she smiled and waved.

"Hey!"

"... Whoa." Dean slowly grinned, nodding in approval. "Nice going, Rubes. Salt gatling-gun? Never thought I'd see that..." Ruby smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.

"I-it was just an idea I had. It might make hunting safer, you know?"

"Ruby's been building in all of her spare time since you left her here." Bobby explained, gesturing to Ruby. "I've learned by now that everything she builds can transform, and it's typically 'also a gun'. So far, her weapons are only any good with ghosts and werewolves and the like, but I'm thinking that her ideas are going to really help out Hunters."

"Hear me out." Ruby raised her hands, smiling. "Salt-filled hula-hoops." The Winchesters blinked, surprised. "Holy-water water-guns and humidifiers." John raised an eyebrow. "Iron rings so that you can punch ghosts." Sam started to grin. "Go to a locksmith and have him remake your car-keys in silver so that you can stab a monster with the same thing you use to drive your car!" Dean laughed, and Bobby chuckled.

"She's been writing ideas like these down, and I've been passing them along to any Hunter who's contacted me. So far, all of her methods are proving effective." Bobby crossed her arms. "And I've been showing her how to man the phones, provide cover, and quickly look into the lore... She's good at it, John."

"What are you saying?" John asked, frowning. Bobby looked over at the girl, then looked back at John.

"The girl can go out hunting whenever she finds a case and feels up to it." He replied simply. "But I think that, for now at least, she will be the most-helpful here - forging weapons and coming up with these ideas... I've asked Ruby to stick around." The Winchesters blinked, surprised, as Bobby looked over at the girl with a grin. "She can used the yard for the scrap she needs for the weapons, and she can use what she learns in the lore I have stored here to create user-friendly ways to deal with monsters and ghosts."

"Yeah!" Ruby agreed, folding her hands behind her back and rocking on her heels. "I think that Bobby and I can really make some cool stuff that can help you guys! Like this!" Ruby grabbed something from the counter and, in a burst of red petals, she was standing in front of Dean. She smiled, holding the object out, and Dean blinked before taking it.

"A machete?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Ruby smiled deviously.

"Not just any machete. That machete is made of iron to help with ghosts, and watch this!" Ruby took the machete back and showed Dean three buttons on the handle. She pressed the grey one with her thumb, and the top of the blade suddenly split as the head of an axe suddenly unfolded from within. Dean's jaw dropped, and Ruby beamed. "Grey button for the silver-tipped blade, to help with werewolves and shapeshifters!" She pressed the grey button again, then the brown button to reveal another axe-head. "Brown for the copper, to help with rakshasas!" She pressed the brown button again, then the yellow button to reveal yet another axe-head built into the blade. "Yellow for the gold, to help with banshees!"

"Whoa!" Dean gaped as she handed the machete back to him. "It's a machete and an axe?"

"What did I tell you?" Bobby chuckled lightly. "They always transform." He looked over at John. "What do you say?" John remained silent, seeming a little perturbed...

"I think it's a great idea." Sam smiled, and everyone looked at him. "I mean, look at what she's done in such a short time. In a year, she could revolutionize hunting. We could start to actually win against these things."

"He's got a point." Dean agreed, gesturing to Sam and then gesturing to Bobby. "They both do." John was silent for another moment, then he nodded.

"Fine." He agreed, and Ruby did a fist-pump. "But only as long as she isn't a hinderance to you, Bobby." Ruby looked over at Bobby, smiling brightly.

"Yes! Now, we can finish those designs for the panic-room!" She announced excitedly. Bobby blinked, then he gave a small chuckle.

"Yeah. I suppose we can..."

Ruby and Sam walked around the junkyard together. They were silent, then Ruby looked up at Sam.

"Are you... Really okay, with me staying here?" She asked, frowning. "I know you were looking forward to showing me stuff."

"Yeah, well - Bobby's the best." Sam looked back at her, grinning lightly. "He'll make sure that you become a great Hunter, and hey - some of your ideas could end up saving us. Stay here, Ruby - stay safe, and train."

"Hm." Ruby hummed, smiling. "Thank you, Sam." She looked up at the sky. "You know... The last sentence I remember hearing before I came here was Pyrrha's last ever. I ran up the side of that tower, and I heard her... She asked Cinder a question, Do you believe in destiny?."

"... Do you?"

"I think that I'm starting to." Ruby replied quietly. "And this... This might be mine, Sam. Coming here, helping the Hunters, helping you - this might be what I'm meant to do."

"... Are sure you're going to be okay?" Sam asked, frowning. Ruby looked back at him and nodded enthusiastically.

"Yep! And I'm going to make sure that you will be, too."

/\/\/\/\

...

"She's safe from the Winchester's scheming, then?"

"Yes, Michael - she is in the care of the Hunters' lore-keeper."

"Good. And they have no idea as to what she is truly capable of, Raphael?"

"No. They have searched, but they have found nothing of substance. There was some concern when they thought her eyes to be a point of interest, but the other has been discrete."

"Excellent. Now, we must simply wait. They shall not be long, these twelve years."

"Indeed. The Lord's instructions were clear, and all has come to pass as He said it would."

"So... The others are here?"

"Yes. And those left behind are seeking their passage as we speak. It will not be long, at all... Castiel?"

"Yes?"

"Your assignment, are you keeping up with it?"

"Yes. The vessels and the Silver-Eyed Warrior will be safe, and Michael's sword will be ready for him when the time comes."

"Good, Castiel. Do not fail us."

"I won't. You have my word."

/\/\/\/\

Two years later, a twenty-one year-old Dean Winchester ducked so that a seventeen year-old Ruby Rose could leap over him, yelling and swiping her scythe. The skinwalker snarled just before it was decapitated, its body crumpling to the floor as its head rolled off to the side. Ruby stood up, taking deep breaths before collapsing her scythe and attaching it to the clip at her side, hold there by a black cross-body strap.

"Whoo!" The girl shouted, laughing tiredly before looking up as Dean stood up straight. "Looks like that was the last of them!" A seventeen year-old Sam stood from where he had been knocked aside and walked over, the two brothers grinning as Ruby smiled and placed her hands on her hips. "Thanks again, for coming when I called."

"Any time, Rubes." Dean assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You've saved our tails, before. It was high-time that we returned the favor." Sam nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, Ruby. It was no big deal."

"Hm." Ruby hummed softly, smiling, then she rolled her shoulders back. "Well, we better head back to the scrap-yard before the bosses throw a hissy-fit."

"Oh, Bobby's already pissed." Dean assured her as they walked out of the warehouse. "Then again, that tends to appen when you send a group-email saying 'Goodbye, cruel world' to all of us with no further explanation outside of some coordinates." Ruby rolled her silver eyes as she walked over to her motorcycle - a cherry-red 1997 Triumph T595 Daytona - while the boys veered off towards their black 1967 Chevy Impala.

"I thought it was funny."

"You were the only one." Sam assured, then Dean started snickering. "... You and Dean were the only ones." Ruby laughed awkwardly, looking back at the brothers as she put her black motorcycle-jacket on and grabbed her helmet.

"Sorry, I guess?"

"It was fine, Rubes." Dean chuckled, wrapping an arm around Sam's shoulders. "Sammy just worries about you a lot, with his big squishy heart." Sam deadpanned as the two laughed, then rolled his eyes as he looked at Ruby.

"You're never gonna let me live this down, are you?"

"... Nah." Ruby decided, putting her helmet on before climbing onto her motorcycle. "What fun would that be?!" The engine revved, and Ruby drove off into the night. Sam blinked, then sighed as Dean began snickering again.

"Shut up."

"Fine. But know that everything that you don't want me to say is gonna be running through my head the whole drive back to Bobby's."

"DEAN!"

/\

Ruby was on her back on the floor of Bobby's garage, tinkering with a old truck. She hummed softly as she listened to music being played through her headphones, the volume being too loud for her to hear the angered shouting coming from just outside the garage in the lot.

Once Ruby was satisfied with her work, she slid out from under the truck and walked over to a worktabke to remove her grease-smeared gloves. Once that feat had been accomplished, she reached up and removed her headphones-

"FINE!" A voice snapped, and Ruby looked up in surprise as Sam suddenly stormed past the garage. Dean ran a few steps after him, his eyes wide.

"Sammy?! SAMMY!"

"Huh?" Ruby blinked, surprised, then she frowned as she set her headphones on her neck and slipped out of the side-door of the garage. Once she was outside, she used her semblance to dart after Sam.

When Ruby found Sam, he was curled up inside of a ruined car, hugging his knees to his chest. Ruby frowned as she slowly approached and opened the shotgun door, sliding inside before closing it and gazing worriedly at the boy.

"... Sam?" She asked softly, and he looked up at her. There were tears in his eyes, and he seemed angry and sad and scared all at once... "What happened?"

"I... I told them that I wanted to go to college." He admitted quietly. Ruby blinked, then sighed and crossed her arms.

"Oh... What are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna go." Sam replied, and she looked over at him in surprise. "This life... It's mine, and I won't let them rule over it any longer. I get to make my own choices, they don't get to decide who I am or what I'll become."

"... At'a boy." Ruby smiled, and he blinked before looking up at her. "I knew you could do it."

"... Come with me." Sam pleaded quietly. "I... I don't want to do this alone." Ruby blinked, surprised, then she slowly nodded.

"Okay." She replied, and Sam's expression lit up. "Bobby had me going to online school, anyway. My GPA's high, so I'll take my SATs and- whoa!" Ruby blinked as she was suddenly pulled into a hug, then she closed her eyes and hugged back. Sam rested a hand on the back of her head, closing his eyes.

"Thank you, Ruby."

"You're my best friend, Sam... It's no problem."

/\/\/\/\

"They have parted ways."

"This is how it was written, Castiel. Fear not."

"Understood."

"Turn your attention to the safety of the Michael Sword. Lucifer's vessel may be left to the Silver-Eyed Warrior, for now."

"How long until she understands her power, here?"

"We have been very careful, Castiel. Even the forces of Hell know better than to let her see what she is before her proper time. Soon, she will know - and before the time comes, she will understand her strength and know how to use it."

"What of the other? You never mentioned her role, or the roles of the revived and those who are soon to come."

"Worry not, Castiel. They will all play their part."

/\/\/\/\

Ruby and Sam were wandering the campus of Stanford College with wide eyes. Orientation Day was wild, there were crowds of people everywhere. Normal people who led normal lives...

"Whoa." Ruby smiled, her eyes shining. "It reminds me of my first day at Beacon." Sam looked over at her, giving a light grin.

"Excited?"

"Nervous." Ruby admitted, her smile turning sheepish. "You?"

"... Happy." Sam answered, looking around. "Really, really happy." Ruby hummed, then she blinked as an older red-haired girl and a peppy orange-haired girl passed her in the crowd, the silver-eyed girl turning and frowning.

"Hey-" Ruby blinked again, and they were gone. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"You okay?"

"... Yeah." Ruby replied, a little tense. "Just... Remembering, I guess."

Sam and Ruby continued to wander the campus, and Ruby stopped to buy a t-shirt at a stand. Sam hadn't noticed and kept walking, and he strode out into a street. He hadn't noticed a car heading his way, and he blinked in surprise as he looked up and saw it coming at him.

"Gotcha!" A voice shouted, and he was suddenly grabbed and pulled out of the way. Sam's eyes widened as the person dragged him over to the sidewalk and looked at him.

"Whoa!" Sam looked down at the man who had helped him, stunned. "I-I... Thank-"

"Sorry, friend." The man tipped his hat, smirking as his green eyes glinted. "See you around." Before Sam could say anything else, the man vanished into the crowd.

"I..." Sam blinked, and Ruby walked over with a bag, seeming oblivious of what have happened. "Did... Did you see-?"

"You okay?" Ruby asked, raising an eyebrow. Sam hesitated before he looked over at her, giving an uneasy smile.

"Yeah." He replied, placing a hand on her shoulder. "... Thanks, Ruby. You being here, it means a lot to me." Ruby beamed up at him.

"No problem... I'll always be there for you, Sam."

Well... I think that went much better, this time around.

Though, in all fairness - last time around, I pulled a "Fairy Tail" and skipped seven years in my story without a very solid explanation of all that had happened in that time. So, I think this wins either way.

This time around, you see character and relationship development! Yay!

I own nothing. Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!