(Well, starting up Volume 4 and yeah after putting some thought into it I realize that this Volume will be filled with shorter chapters, as we all know that this Volume was about character development, you will join up with Ruby eventually but these first few parts will be about your entire team, Raiden, and you in separate POV's, your team will mention you occasionally and....well Raiden, eh you'll see. Well, enjoy! Or don't I don't care.)

(Volume 4) Part 1: Lost in Thought

1 Year After The Fall Of Beacon

Broken...that was the first thought that came through your mind...You're suspended in a completely dark blue area...where are you? You look around as you can't do anything because you're floating in the room, your hair waving upwards. You don't know what to do, you don't know where you are, you can't tell which way is up and which way is down, you don't know where your friends are, where Rai-...at the thought of Raiden you feel empty yet sick...what did they do to him...You curl up into a ball and place your arms around your knees and let yourself be overwhelmed by the darkness surrounding you

You(Whisper):"Help..." You just barely manage to whisper...nobody came "Please...somebody..." You feel tears building up in you as you dig your nails into your arms "Ruby..." her name just escapes out of your mouth, you don't even know why. All of a sudden you feel a faint warmth coming from your chest, you stop holding onto your knees and stare at the golden light in your chest. You feel your vigor returning "I got to get back to the others..." You look around as you notice that far from you, there is a faint golden light, You try to warp over to it, but nothing happens.

You:"Huh?" You try bursting you eyes with flames, but nothing happened, you try to Conjure, nothing happened...just what is this place? "Hello!?" You try yelling out towards the light, no response, other than the echoes from your own voice. You're just floating there...and now you're annoyed. "WHY AM I FLOATING!?" You yell angrily, though at who you don't know. "SOMEONE GET ME DOWN FRO-" All of a sudden you feel something heavy and you slam onto the ground "GAH!" You hold your right arm as you landed on it, and it's already fragile enough so...it hurts.

You slowly sit up as you notice the faint light getting a bit brighter, Out of nowhere a male voice booms through the room.

???(Echo):"So this is him?" You get up defensively as the loud voice echoes around the room. You look around frantically trying to find the source of where the voice came from

??? 2 (Echo):"Yes it is. NO THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A RANDOM GUY WHO MANAGED TO GET INTO THIS PLACE" Now a female voice echoes around the room aaaannnnddd you're confused and panicking great.

You:"WHO'S THERE!?" You yell as all of a sudden you feel your Marasuma in your hands? Wait what? No matter you hold it defensively.

???(Echo):"This is why I can't stand you, anyways He seems young."

??? 2 (Echo):"That's because he IS young." Seems like they're ignoring you...now you're annoyed and confused

You(Echo):"CAN SOMEONE ANSWER ME!?" You begin to walk towards the golden light...only to realize you can't move? Your legs are stuck in place "The hell?" You try squirming and pulling on your legs but they won't budge...welp...good luck

???(Echo):"So we're supposed to leave Serpent to a child?" Your eyes widen at the mention of Serpent.

??? 2(Echo):"Well we can't wait any longer."

You(Echo):"You guys know about Serpent?" You say more calmly...the voiced pause for a bit "Please! Tell me what you know about Serpent and Salem!" No response...the faint golden light fades away as you look around. You try moving your legs again and see that you can, well that's one problem out of the way. You look back at your chest and see that the light coming from it is getting brighter. "Uh...is that supposed to-" Without any warning a massive beam of light engulfs you and flinch as you close your eyes.

You open your eyes to see that...you're in a completely massive golden area...it seems to never end. It hurts your eyes just to look around because of how bright it is, well luckily you're still on the...ground? It doesn't even look like you're on any surface...

You(Echo):"WHERE AM I!?" No response still... "Hello!?"

??? 2(Echoing):"Sorry, the old man is skeptical when it comes to people." A bright light comes from the ground as a giant Golden Leviathan bursts from the ground. You stumble backwards as fall to your back as the Leviathan continuously rises from the ground, you stand in awe as the Leviathan's tail spreads throughout the entire area...closely looking at it the Leviathan is beautiful in an absolutely terrifying way, you stand there completely wide-eyed and jaw dropped as the Leviathan's massive face lowers down to stare at you "So, you must be the new Chronicle."

Salem's Palace (Raiden's POV)

(Before I start Raiden's POV I just want to specify that Raiden is pronounced like R-i-den or R-EYE-den like in Metal Gear Rising, not Ray-den like in Mortal Kombat, sorry I realize that many more people know about Mortal Kombat then Metal Gear)

I stand by my master as he sits alongside Cinder who lost one of her eyes due to the girl with Silver Eyes...-what was her name?- , Watts who is on his Scroll, Hazel who is currently resting in his chair, and Tyrian crouched on his chair...I don't like Tyrian, his delusions about Salem has made me lose all respect for him...but I have not lost my fear for him, his insane behavior is the reason I've never spoken out of turn, that and because master would kill me. I've already failed him back at the fall of Beacon with my failure to capture and kill my weak little brother. It should have been easy, my brother's mind and heart should've broken after my master...reminded me of who I really am...a slave to both him and Salem. Though neither of us expected the Leviathan herself to intervene, but her intervening cost me my weapon, and my pride...now I'm supposed to fill the role of Doragon since Serpent grows weaker, and I'm going to be stuck with this until we find (F). (Doragon((Pronounced Doh-Ray-Gon)) is Serpent's version of Chronicle essentially basically where Serpent chooses a vessel and overtakes him or her to empower itself, the Man in the Cloak and Raiden were going to take you to Salem so she could implement Serpent into you and forcing the Leviathan out, they would kill you afterwards and your body would fully become the host for Serpent and become Doragon, they would then capture Leviathan and then- oops don't want to reveal everything just yet eh?)  

I hear a snap I glance up to see Cinder with her fingers up as Mercury and Emerald walk over to her, Mercury get nudged by Emerald who then stands next to Cinder...

Watts:"Yes, yes, keep your posse in check." Mercury grunts and makes a move toward Watts, but Emerald holds him back.

Watts:"You hear that? Silence." Master glances at Watts as Hazel gives Watts an unimpressed glance. "I've half a mind to thank the little girl that bested you."

Tyrian:"If I were you, I'd hunt her down."snicker "Find her and, well, she took your eye, didn't she?" Cinder stares at Tyrian while he cackles. Cinder tries to speak but only manages to make quiet grunts...I forgot that she lost her ability to speak. Emerald leans in to hear her.

Watts:"Pathetic. Why did you even—" He stops as we hear the sound of a heavy metal door being opened. The doors open and everyone stands as Salem enters the room. She glides alongside the table with soft footsteps before reaching the head of the table on the opposite end of my master. Salem stops while facing a portrait.

Salem:"Watts." Watts stands at attention while looking toward her.

Salem:"Do you find such malignance necessary?" She turns as she gestures for everyone to sit down

Watts:"I apologize, ma'am. I'm not particularly fond of failure." Everyone sits down

Salem:"Then I see no reason for your cruelty towards young Cinder. She's become our Fall Maiden, destroyed Beacon Tower, and most importantly, killed dear Ozpin. So I'm curious, to what failures are you referring?"

Watts:"Well, the girl with the Silver Eyes. And the Chronicle's failed capture."

Hazel:"Yes. We've dealt with Silver Eyed warriors before. And we planned for the capture of the Chronicle for months, How is it that novices were able to best us?"

Watts: "My thoughts exactly. Even without her new power, it should have been effortless. And the fact that the Leviathan seems to have awakened in the Chronicle it has made him a greater threat to us." I glare at Watts as he simply narrows his eyes at me.

Salem:"It is because of the Maiden's power. Make no mistake, Cinder, you hold the key to our victory. But your newfound strength brings with it a crippling weakness. Which is why you will remain by my side as we continue your treatment. As for the boy, his awakening will only delay the timetable for our plans but nothing more, Leviathan tends to care too much for her servants, and that shall be their downfall." Cinder lowers her head as Emerald looks at her in sympathy. They haven't told me much about their plans in Haven or anywhere else, it's going to be just as bad as Beacon I'd imagine

Salem:"Dr. Watts, you are to take Cinder's place and meet with our informant in Mistral."

Watts:"Very good."

Salem:"Tyrian, I want you to continue your hunt for the Spring Maiden."

Tyrian: laughs "Gladly."

Salem: Hazel, I'm sending you to the leader of the White Fang. Adam Taurus has arranged the meeting. The boy continues to prove loyal. Ensure that Sienna Khan feels the same."

Hazel:"As you wish."

Salem:"And Ardyn, you are to continue searching for the Chronicle. The boy with you shall stay here until the final preparations for becoming Doragon." I lower my gaze...that's gonna suck...I miss Ya-, no I can't reminisce about her, she was only there so I could fit in more...right?  

Ardyn(Man in the Cloak): "Yes, mistress." Cinder raises a finger, Emerald doesn't notice this gesture at first.

Emerald:"Oh!" She leans in to hear her. Cinder "speaks" into her ear. God reminds me of well me when I couldn't speak...it makes me wonder though, if Salem healed my voice, then why can't her voice be fixed? Might be because mine was a simple infection and hers was...destroyed I guess. Emerald straightens.

Salem:"Speak, child."

Emerald:"She wants to know..." she hesitates for a moment "What about the girl?"

Watts: scoffs "What about her? Seems to me that this is Cinder's problem, not ours." Cinder slams her fist onto the table and glares at Watts, he simply grins at her.

Salem:"That's enough. Tyrian?"

Tyrian:"Yes, my lady?"

Salem:"Spring can wait. Find the girl that did this to Cinder." Tyrian giggles excitingly and claps "And bring her to me." He freezes and groans disappointedly before pouting for a second, then looking back up at Salem with a shrug.

Salem:"Because of your efforts, Beacon has fallen. And Haven will be next." Everyone rises. Tyrian snickers at Cinder and points to his left eye.

Tyrian: laughing wickedly "Eye for an eye." Tyrian goes into an uncontrollable fit of manic laughter, while Cinder grits her teeth...Am I sure about this? I have to...can't go back and I can't run, well this is my life now...be safe little br- gah what is wrong with me? I keep forgetting, little bro did this to me...don't worry, I'll get payback soon enough

At ??? (Your POV)

Leviathan:"So, you must be the new Chronicle?" You sit in terror as the Leviathan's face lowers towards you "You're a lot smaller than I thought you'd be..." You are now both annoyed and terrified "So...what's your name? I mean I know it but I want to hear you say your name, you know?" You tremble in fear not responding due to shock "Oh um...I guess my true form is pretty intimidating um..." The Leviathan shines brightly as she begins to become much smaller and form into a small ball of light "Better?" The shock is passing you but now you're confused

You(Trembling):"W-who are you?"

Leviathan:"Oh I'm kind of the mystical, sorta immortal deity living inside of you, I am Leviathan...but you can call me Luna." As she says that the ball of light morphs into a woman...as the initial light fades out you see...that she looks exactly like your mother instead her hair is pure white and she's wearing a gold dress. "Is that better?"

You(Shaking a little):"Why...do you look like my mom?"

Luna:"Oh, well I can change my appearance to look like anyone, so I decided to look like a person you trusted and cared for." Your shock has passed but now you feel...horrible...looking at a woman who looks exactly like your mother hurt you more than it should've...mostly because of your already fragile heart...

You:"I..." You stop as you can't stop looking at your mother's eyes...it's not even her but you feel your sadness building up

Luna:"Oh...I'm sorry, should I change my form?" You nod slowly as you look down. A flash of light comes from her and you look up to see...that she looks like Ruby now...except instead of Ruby's typical black hair with red tips at the end, it's now a pure white color, where Ruby's hood and outfit is usually has now been replaced with a beautiful golden dress, and Ruby's Silver Eyes have been replaced with a cosmic blue. "Is...that better?" You look at Luna for a while...where is Ruby...

You(Hesitant):"I...yeah, that's...better." You look up at Ru-...Luna as many questions go through your head. "Anyways, my name is (F/L) but you already knew that."

Luna:"And I'm Luna...wait I just said that." You smile lightly

You:"You know for a mystical being you're really...down to Remnant if you know what I mean." She looks at you confused "You don't act like you're high and mighty."

Luna:"Pssh, nah, I tried that and it doesn't fit my persona, being thousands of years old has taught me that being melodramatic gets you nowhere, anyways I'm sure you have many questions?" You nod

You:"Yep."

Luna:"Then fire away."

You:"Well the most important question I have is, where are we exactly."

Luna:"In you." You get confused

You:"What do you mean by that?"

Luna:"I mean we're inside your Soul." You...stand there for a moment

You: Breaths in sharply "WHAT!?" You immediately look around at the golden area surrounding you

Luna:"Yeah um...you essentially are just seeing the inside of your Soul."

You:"I-I, but...HOW!?"

Luna:"Well you know about me and that I reside in your Soul, you also draw your power from your Soul which holds both me and Cole." Wait...

You:"...Uh...Cole?"

Luna:"Oh, he's the old man who was talking earlier, the dark place you were just in was where he resides, he's uh...not too big on welcomings, you saw the faint light and that was just me seeing what was going on."

You:"So...who IS Cole exactly."

Luna:"Ah, he's the Ancient King of the Glaive."

You:"...Oh..."

Luna:"Yeeeeaaaaahhh, he's dark and brooding and such." God Luna is reminding you TOO much of Ruby and that scares you...and she ALREADY is appearing as Ruby, though at least their voices aren't the same. "

You:"Well um...onto my second question, where is the REAL me at? Wait...this is the real me, um, my real BODY I mean."

Luna:"Oh, right." The area around you changes as now it shows you lying on a bed with a few medical machines hooked up to you...where are you? It doesn't look like your apartment. Also why is there a giant beam of light coming out of your chest? "You are in the Xiao Long household."

You:"Wait...Xiao Long as in...YANG!?" The area shifts over to show Yang sitting on a couch, you are somewhat startled to see her arm is still gone...you just...didn't want it to be true. Now another thought crosses your mind "Wait...where's the rest of my team?"

Luna:"They're all scattered throughout Remnant, would you like to see them?"

You:"Yes ma'am."

The area begins to change as now it's showing Weiss looking outside of a window dressed in a fabulous new outfit, the entire area surrounding her is white so...Ice Queen must be in her castle huh? Poor Weiss, from what you've heard, her father isn't exactly father-of-the-year material since when you asked her about how she got her scar she told you that when Weiss was gonna head off to Beacon her father made her fight a Geist Grimm in armor to prove herself...yeah. The area shifts again to show Blake who is also in a nice looking new outfit as she is about to head onto a ship, going to Menagerie? Going home you guess? Now you miss your old memories with your family. And finally switches over to the person you've been worried about the most, Ruby, she's still has her hood but her attire is different, it looks good on her...she looks older too...how long have you been out? You then realize that's she's...up in the air looking down on...is that a Geist Grimm? Wow the battle looks intense as Team JNPR is helping her? You don't see Pyrrha anywhere, maybe she's doing something else at the moment. But all of them are wearing different outfits, 'cept Jaune...M'kay. The area shifts back to it's proper golden self and now you're confused, where's Raiden?

You:"Wait, you didn't show Raiden."

Luna:"Well...that's because I can't find him, sorry. But he's with Salem now..." Your heart hurts a little

You:"Oh...well..." You stay silent for a bit reminiscing about Raiden before shaking your head quickly "How long have I been out, because everyone looks older now."

Luna:"Oh just a year." ...

You:".....WHAT!?!?" You look at her wide-eyed. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN A YEAR!?" Luna sighs

Luna:"When I intervened when your brother stabbed you, I kinda...exploded your Soul in a sense. It was the only thing I could think of that wouldn't kill your brother. But when I did that it left your mind and soul scattered. So I had to fix it and it took a while to put all of the pieces back into place, and still your Soul isn't completely back together." Huh...well that makes sense you guess.

You:"Oh..."you look at your hands, your right one is still trembling and has scars from your surgery covering it. "Last question, how do I get out."

Luna:"You got to wait until my treatment for your Soul is done."

You:"So...I'm stuck here?" She nods and you place your hands on your head and sigh "Great...do you know how long it'll be until I can leave."

Luna:"Well, you're awake now so it'll be a few more weeks I'd say." You just realized that Ruby must be 16 now...which now makes you 17? You don't know WHAT day it is exactly so...yay? Wait ha your one year anniversary passed? Crud...

You:"So, what do I do until then."

Luna:"We train. You see your power is much more...complex then you might think, you know how when you switch into your divine lightning mode when you're angry or prideful?" You guess she means when your eye fills with electricity instead of fire "Well that's your Ancient King side inside of you reacting, when your flame turns white it's because you're defending someone or something or doing something for the good of others and that's my power being drawn out to you. But you've only unlocked a small portion of what we have to offer, your 'Flare Smash' proves that. You're unlocking your magical properties but you have barely managed to unlock your physical properties."

You:"Physical properties?" She brings up her arm as it glows and golden scales form on it...oh that's so cool.

Luna:"Your skin can become as tough as mine if you focus on my power, if you focus on Cole's power then your skin will shin like armor and be as tough as diamond. If you focus on both, well...you won't have any trouble destroying your skin or with getting stabbed in the chest again..." You give her a 'really' look "Oh, I'm sorry, too soon?"

You:"Nah, you're fine but..." you look down at your hands "Where do I start? I need to be able to protect my friends...and be strong enough to bring Raiden back" You clench your fists and look up as a black light lands next to Luna and all of a sudden half of the area surrounding you turns into a light blue as the light shifts into a man, he slowly looks up at you, he's in his mid 40's as he is...the spitting image of you, except...older. The Old Man who you suspect is Cole bursts his eyes as white flames flow and two massive Glaives conjures in each hand. (If you search up Glaive Prime, that's what it looks like)

Cole:"Well then, let's begin, Chronicle."

(Many more questions will be answered later on, well, hoped you all enjoyed!)