Deep within the labyrinth we see a boy passed out on the ground as a bit of blood falls from his head. A scythe lays a few feet from him. He has black hair with red tips.

This boy is Reuben Xiao Long, or as his close friends and his sister call him, Ruby; just to tease him. Reuben is wearing a long black-sleeved shirt with a high collar and red trim on the sleeves. He's wearing black pants. He also is wearing a pair of black combat boots with red laces, red trims around the top, and red soles.

His outfit is topped off by a red hooded clock fastened to his shoulders by cross-shaped pins. He has a large silver bucked on his wide black belt, which is slung around his hips on an angle.

Reuben groans and opens his silver eyes. "W-Where am I?" He sits up with a dry cough. "Am I still in the Great Orcus Labyrinth?"

Reuben stands up with a little struggle and then looks around. He stands at a total of 5'4'' (164.5 cm.)

He then hisses in pain and brings a hand up to his head and feels the gash on it. 

Then a red aura surrounds him and the gash on his head slowly seals up and heals. He then wipes the blood off his head, then looks up to the ceiling and sees a large hole. 

"Oh, how am I going to get back up?" Reuben looks around. "Where's Hajime?" Reuben goes over to his scythe and picks it up. "Hajime!" He yells. "Hajime, where are you?!"

Suddenly a deep growl is heard behind Reuben and he shrinks and lets out an eep sound. He slowly looks behind and sees a large white Saber Tooth looking cat stalking towards him.

Reuben swiftly turns around and readies his scythe. "Nice Kitty, kitty." He starts to back up as the Saber Tooth gets closer and closer. 

Suddenly the cat opens up its mouth and lets out a loud roar that sends sound waves towards Reuben.  He swiftly brings up his arms in defense and activates his red aura. 

The sound waves slam into him and start to push him back. He grunts as he plants his feet firmly into the ground below him. The sound waves stop and Reuben lowers his arms, only to see the Saber lunging at him.

"Oh Crapwaffles!" 

Reuben plants his right foot on the round and swings his scythe as he pivots to the side. His scythe blade cutting clean through the Sabre's neck as it flies past him.

The Saber Tooth's body lands with a loud thud behind Reuben and its head lands next to him. He lets out a sigh of relief only to shrink down as he hears howling nearby.

"Oh, crumbs."

.

.

Heiligh Kingdom
Training Grounds, 10 days before

Reuben swings a wooden scythe at a wooden target. "I just had to look cool and choose the scythe." He swings again. "I couldn't have gone with something easier instead of looking cool." He slams the wooden scythe into the ground and uses it as leverage to kick the dummy in the face, sending it flying back a little. 

Reuben wipes some sweat from his head. "Man, why can't I be like Yang. She just has to punch everything." He thinks back on his status.

Name: Reuben Xiao Long/ Age: 17/ Sex:(Yes) Male/ Level: 3/Job: Huntsmen

Strength: 25
Vitality: 15
Defense: 45
Agility: 60
Magic: 12
Magic Defense: 12

Skills: Aura, Language Comprehension, Petal Burst. 

(Sorry, I don't know how I would do stats that well.)

"Yang's stats are so much better than mine." Reuben mutters as he runs towards the wooden dummy. "But I can't rely on her, I must become strong myself!"

.

.

Present.

Reuben cuts down a white rabbit as it appears in front of him. He has a couple scraps and bruises. "They just keep coming."

A loud roar echoes behind him and he takes off running, away from the scary noise.

.

.

Great Orcus Labyrinth
Entrance, 7 days before

Reuben and his class stand outside the Labyrinth.

"Listen up!" Meld Loggins, the Knight Commander, yells. "Everyone helps each other in the Labyrinth. No matter what, got it?"

"Got it!" Everyone yells.

Reuben shifts with nervousness, but a arm wraps around his shoulders.

"Oh, don't worry baby brother." Yang, Reuben's older sister smiles, who stands at 6 feet. (182.8 cm.)

"Just stay behind me and you'll be fine." Yang cracks her knuckles.

"I- uh..." Reuben sighs. "Not this time Yang, I'm gonna prove to everyone that I'm just as good as you."

Yang smirks. "Oh, really? Trying to one up your older sister?"

Reuben nods confidently. "I'm gonna surpass you one day."

Yang smiles and gives a thumbs up. "I look forward to it, Ruby."

Reuben blushes in embarrassment. "Don't call me that!"

.

.

.

Great Orcus Labyrinth
20th floor.

Reuben slices a weird looking reptilian monster in half and flicks the blood off his blade.

Behind him Kouki Amanogawa saves Hajime from another reptilian monster. "I'll keep everyone safe!" The 'Hero' states.

"Thanks, Amanogawa-kun." Hajime rubs his wrist.

Daisuke Hiyama walks over to the two. "Why're you bothering with a sword? You're still totally useless."

Reuben walks over. "I still have to see you land a single hit on an enemy."

Hiyama scowls at Reuben. "Shut up, runt." He then starts to sweat as he notices Yang glaring at him from the side. "Tch." He looks to the side.

Kaori Shirasaki and Shizuku Yaegashi walk over to Hajima.

"Are you okay, Nagumo-kun?" Kaori asks.

"Yeah." Hajime replies.

Reuben turns around and holds a hand out to Hajime. "Lets get you up."

Hajime smiles as he grabs Reuben's hand. "Thanks, Ruby-kun." He says as Reuben helps him up.

Reuben blushes. "Please, don't call me that."

"But it's a cute nickname, Reuben-kun." Kaori giggles.

Reuben just sighs in despair and brings his hood up to hide his face.

"Tch." Hiyama is not happy.

Amanogawa then speaks to Hajima. "You just have to work, harder, Nagumo. If I were you, I'd be using every scrap of free time to train

Kaori and Shizuku notice a large blue glowing crystal in the ceiling above the group.

Reuben then notices the crystal. "Wow, it's so blue and shiny. I wonder what it is?"

Hiyama looks up and smirks. "Is that..."

"That's a glanz crystal." Meld informs. "You don't see big ones like that all too often. It's apparently a pretty popular engagement ring stone."

"It's beautiful!" Kaori smiles.

Hiyama starts to scale the wall up to the crystal. "Well, then, I'll go grab it!"

"Hey!" Meld yells. "Don't go off on your own! We haven't even checked to see if it's safe!"

Hiyama reaches the crystal and grabs it with a big smirk on his face. Suddenly the crystal glows purple and blinds everyone, once the bright light dies down everyone finds themselves on a large bridge.

Everyone begins to panic slightly as a large magic circle appears at the other end of the bridge and an army of skeletons appear, along with a behemoth. 

Reuben's eyes widen in fear and he backs up slightly. 

Great Orcus Labyrinth
65th floor.

"It's a trap! Get back!" Meld yells and he turns around. "Get to those stairs, hurry!"

A battle ensues as the skeletons charge towards the party.

Reuben ducks under a sword swing from a skeleton and then cuts it in half with his scythe. Yang smiles as she grabs the heads off two skeletons and smashes their skulls into the floor.

"O God, grant me thy speed needed to save thy beloved children!" Reuben suddenly turns into a cloud of petals as a red magic circle surrounds him. He flies over to Hajime and returns to normal and slices through a skeleton that was going to attack the unaware boy. Rose petals fall around Reuben.

"H-Huh?" Hajime sweats as he notices the skeleton fall to teh ground next to him. "T-Thank's Reuben." Said boy nods.

The behemoth makes it way towards the party.

"Get a move on!" Meld yells to everyone. "I'm not going to let you die here!" A few other knights stand beside him as he starts to cast a spell. "O God, grant thy beloved children thy divine protection from all wishing to cause them harm, let the soil at our feet become divine ground that keeps our enemies at bay! Hallowed Ground!"

A large blueish bubble surrounds everyone and prevents the Behemoth from getting closer. It roars as it pushes against the dome as blue sparks fly out once and a while.

But after a few seconds the Behemoth breaks through the defensive spell and slams down onto the bridge, and it starts to collapse. 

"Reuben!" Yang yells from the back of the party.

Hajime slams his hands into the bridge and uses Transmute on the bridge as he stands in front of Kaori. 

"Nagumo-kun!" Kaori calls out.

"Hajime?" Reuben questions.

"Run! Now's your chance!" Hajime says.

The Behemoth roars as Hajime's uses Transmute to slow it down. Meld walks over to the three. "You all right, kid?!" He asks Hajime.

"This won't hold for long, Captain Meld! G-Get Shirasaki-san, Xiao Long-kun, and yourself to safety!" The behemoth roars as it starts to break through the walls Hajime created. "Hurry!"

"I swear, we'll rescue you." Meld grabs Reuben and Kaori and leads them away.

The Behemoth breaks through Hajime's wall.

"Get out of there, kid!" Meld yells. "We'll cover you! Ready everyone?"

All the students hold their hands out. "Ready!" Blue magic circle surround their hands.

The Behemoth breaks through Hejime's defneces. "Run, kid! Hurry!" Meld yells.

Hajime turns around and starts to run. "Got it!"

"Come on, Hajime!" Reuben yells.

.

.

Present

A Wolf's corpse slams into a wall and leaves a large blood stains it slides down.

"Damn damn damn!" Reuben yells as he slams his scythe into the wall next to him.

Reuben has scrapes, bruises and a couple open wounds around his body. Bags have started to form under his eyes as he takes deep breaths.

His stomach growls as he keeps moving and he licks his capped lips. He drops to his knees and lets go of his scythe and wraps his arms around his stomach.

"So... hungry. So thirsty." Reuben groans in pain. "How long have I been down here fighting. Hours? Days? Weeks?"

He then growls in anger and slams a fist into the ground. "It's their fault! It's all their fault. They probably don't care that me or Hajime fell down, all they care about is themselves!"

Reuben looks over to the nearby wolf corpse and his stomach growls. "No." He shakes his head. "Too dangerous." 

Reuben slowly gets up and picks up his scythe. "Need to find Hajime." He starts to walk off with a limp.

Reuben then pulls out his status plate.

Name: Reuben Xiao Long/ Age: 17/ Sex:(Yes) Male/ Level: 20/Job: Huntsmen

Strength: 472
Vitality: 425
Defense: 653
Agility: 730
Magic: 408
Magic Defense: 408

Skills: Aura, Language Comprehension, Petal Burst. Iron Skin. Reap and Sow. Sacrificial Sweep.

"I've leveled up a lot." Reuben mutters. "Even gained a few skills."

.

.

Flashback.

"Fire!" Meld orders and all the students fire off magic bolts that slam into the Behemoth. "Second volley, fire!" The students fire again, but the Behemoth keeps on moving.

"Hang in there, Nagumo-kun!" Kaori yells.

"Yeah, hang in there kid!" Yang yells.

Daisuke smirks as his spell changes directions and slams into Hajime, sending him to the ground.

"Hajime!" Reuben yells as the Behemoth stands over his friend. 

The Behemoth brings it's head down and tries to skewer Hajime with it's horns.

Everyone starts to yell as the bridge starts to collapse. 

"Nagumo-kun!" Kaori ties to move forward, but Shizuku stops her.

"Don't." Shizuku says.

"Hajime!" Reuben yells as he watches his friends and the behemoth fall off the bridge. He growls as moves forard.

"Reuben no!" Yang yells and she reaches out towards her younger brother,but he turns into a cloud of petals and flies past everyone.

Everyone starts to yell at Reuben to stop.

"Kid, don't do this!" Meld yells in shock.

Reuben ignores everyone and flies off the side of the bridge and down towards Hajime.

"Ruby-Kun!I" Hajime yells in shock.

Reuben nears Hajume and he returns to normal and holds his hand out to his friend. "Grab on!" Hajume reaches out and grabs his hand.

Reuben then uses his Petal Burst and starts to bring the two back up towards the bridge, but as they near the top a large stone slams into Reuben's head, forcing him to cancel his spell.

Reuben's silver eyes widen as he and Hajume start to fall back. Blood falls from Reuben's head.

"Reuben!" Yang screams in horror as her brother and his friends disappear into the depths below. Tears start to fall from her eyes.

The Night Before.

Reuben is slowly walking back towards his room in exhaustion. "So tired."

"Late night training?" Yang's voice says from the side.

"Eep!" Reuben jumps a little and looks to the side. "Oh, Yang. You scared me."

Yang chuckles. "That's what siblings are for."

"Har har. And yes I'm training hard, unlike you."

"Hey, I work hard!" Yang defends her self.

"Then why did you get held back a year?" Reuben raises an eyebrow.

"... Shut-up." Yang pouts.

Reuben chuckles and hugs his sister. "I'm just glad to have a sister like you."

Yang smiles and hugs Reuben. "And I'm glad to have a brother like you."

.

.

Reuben is limping along a corridor, using his scythe as a cane. "Aura broke, it'll take a while to recharge." Blood trails behind him from a large gash on his right leg.

Reuben sighs to himself as he looks around with his dull silver right eye, his left is close as blood surrounds it.

"No one's coming to save me... Why am I still even fighting then? What have I done to suffer like this? To fight none stop... I barely have the strength to keep moving."

A loud roar echoes behind Reuben and he grunts as he picks up the pace.

"I just want to go home... Have mom's cookies, have dad show us videos of his old fighting days. Have Uncle Qrow tell us stories of his travels around the world. Have Auntie Raven bring cool gifts. Have Yang comfort me when I'm scared from nightmares!" Tears start to form in Reuben's eyes.

Reuben comes to the end of the corridor and stops at the edge of a cliff. He looks down only to see a large fall and a big pool of black liquid at the bottom. 

Reuben turns around and starts to walk back, only for a large white bear to come out of the corridor. Reuben just glares at the bear as it stands on its hind legs and roars at it.

Reuben yells as he readies his scythe and runs forward. "Reap and Sow!" His scythe glows red as he swings it and cuts open the bears stomach, but a few large gashes spear around his body at the same time.

The Bear roars in pain and swipes at Reuben as its guts start to spill out. Reuben, having no strength to move, gets hit and thrown into the air as blood flies from the large gash on his chest.

'Is this it?' Reuben asks in thought as he flies off the side of the cliff. 'Is the pain finally over?'

Reuben flies down towards the pool of black liquid below him as blood seeps out of his wounds. 'It looks like I won't become stronger than you, Yang.' 

Reuben slams into the pool of black liquid and slowly sinks below the surface. His dull right eye slowly closes as he sinks. His scythe lands next to him and sinks with him.

The black substance around him starts to move into his wounds. 

Reuben sinks into the dark abyss, where no light escapes.

They say when you stare into the abyss, it stares back. And it is true.

"What do we have here?" A mature and calm female voice echoes through the black abyss.

Reuben opens his right eye more.

"A mere child has fallen into my creation? What a pity."

Reuben sees a figure in the darkness, staring right at him.

'I must be in hell.' Reuben closes his right eye.

"Hmmm. I sense something I haven't felt in a long time... Maybe you could be the one to reunite me with my old friend, even if this is all that's left of me." The female voice chuckles. "OH, you'll do just fine, but let's make some changes so you could bring some entertainment."

Reuben's skin starts to slowly turn pain as the black substance starts to push into his wounds as it starts to cover him and his scythe.

"You shall bring me, Goddess Salem, to see her lost friend; one last time. Oh, you shall need a new name too. Hmmm... how about Ruby Rose."

.

.

.

The area around the black pool is devoid of any life, nothing dare ventures to this place. Suddenly a pale clawed hand slams onto the edge of the pool as a black scythe is thrown out of the pool. A second black boned hand comes out of the pool and slams onto the edge of it.

Two large pale horns come out of the water as a head of black hair with red highlights on the end follows. A female pulls its self out of the pools with a grunts as his black eyes with red irises looks forward.

The female drags herself across the ground with animalistic like grunts. After dragging herself a good meter away from the pool she rolls onto her back with a grunt and looks up, as her chest heaves up and down. 

The black water pours off her body.

"What... happened?" The female asks, with a slight gruffness in her voice. "I... I fell in...after the bear attacked me... and I'm not dead?"

The female stands up, standing at a total of 6'2'' (188.9 cm.) She walks over to her scythe and picks it up, which is a couple feet taller than her.

The female looks down to her pale right hand. "Am I still Reuben?" She the looks up and a smile slowly forms on her face. "No, Reuben was someone weak. I'm Ruby Rose."

Ruby starts to laugh which then slowly turns to maniacal laughter. "YES YES YES! Reuben is dead and I'm his reincarnation! HAHAHA!"

A white rabbit hops into view from across the pool and Ruby's head snaps to it as it stares at her. Her black and Red eyes bore into the rabbit. Ruby sniffs the air and smiles. "Oh, are you scared little one?"

Suddenly Ruby appears in front of the rabbit as black and red petals fall around her. "You should be."

The Rabbit tries to move away but Ruby grabs its head and rips it off. "Awww, no candy." She opens her mouth, showing many razor sharp teeth and she starts to eat the rabbit head. "Oh, so good!" Blood splatters everywhere as she tears into the head.

Blood surrounds Ruby's face as she finishes eating it and she simply licks the blood off her face. "Delicious. Let's see if there's anymore!"

She then takes off running with her massive scythe at the ready. "I'm going to kill anyone who dares to mess with me! HAHA!"

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(So what do you guys think of the first chapter?

Also should this be a Yuri book, and if so. Should it be a Yuri Harem, or just one or two lovers. And who should they be?)

(Also this is just a trail run, if people don't like it, I'll take it down.)

04-15-2023

3274 words