It's nice to be back with this collection. Backing away from the Pyrrha grief, I thought I'd delve a bit into another prediction of mine. Out of all the villains, I feel that Emerald has the best chance of getting a redemption arc at some point. Now, in reality, I think it will take a long time for her to join the group and that a lot of Cinder's plot will be revealed through her. However, since I don't know the details of what will be happening with Team RNJR and don't have too many specific predictions concerning Cinder's plan, I'll keep those vague here. The main focus of this chapter is the very beginning of Emerald's redemption and a look into her psyche. Enjoy!

Emerald took the first watch that night, but she was distinctly aware of at least one pair of untrusting eyes fixed on her. She resisted the urge to roll her own eyes. If they don't trust me, why even bother letting me keep watch? A week had passed since her encounter with the recently formed "Team RNJR," and she was still shocked that she was alive.

She had been running blindly through the forest, unable to think straight, unable to keep the tears from her eyes. Cinder was gone. The woman she loved was gone, and dark confusion came crashing in to fill the void that was left. Without the cold confidence of her mistress, it was all too easy to see the horrors around her.

Every destroyed building, every scream cut short, every Grimm seemed to be saying: "You did this. You helped. This is your fault." Her dreams were haunted by the blank eyes of that surprisingly-lively android, by the sick glee on Mercury's face as he recorded the death and destruction that surrounded them.

After the explosion that froze Beacon, Emerald had fled. She had fled from Mercury, from the Grimm, from the cries of despair. She hadn't escaped, though. The guilt had followed her as surely as a Beowolf that had caught her scent.

When she ran into Ruby Rose and what remained of Team JNPR, she had been completely numb. When the group attacked her, she didn't fight back. When they interrogated her, she told them everything. She told them what she knew of Cinder's overall plan. She told them about the part she had played in the framing of Yang and in Penny's death (Ruby had looked particularly murderous after that). She told them what little she knew about Salem.

When she had no more answers to give, she waited for them to kill her. They had every right to do so, after all. She could see the grief and anger in their eyes. She could see the ghosts of Penny and Pyrrha in their suppressed tears. While Cinder had been the mastermind, Emerald had been vital to the plan. Her illusions had led to the breaking point. Knowing this, she closed her eyes and waited.

Nothing happened.

She had looked up again, seeing uncertainty on their faces. "Aren't you going to kill me?" To her surprise, the four seemed confused by the question. She realized that they had absolutely no intention of killing her.

Thinking back, she was still stunned. Did they have no sense of vengeance? Ruby at least should have wanted her dead for the direct role she had played in Penny's death. It was clear that, on some deep level, the younger girl wanted to do just that. Emerald could see that, even if Ruby herself didn't. But, no. They had looked at her as if killing her wasn't even an option.

They let her go.

Emerald spent the following day following them from a distance until Ren caught her. When asked why she was staying near them, she asked to travel with them. When she had been with them, telling them what she knew, she had felt a temporary lessening of her overbearing guilt. Maybe, just maybe, if she helped them, she could make it disappear entirely. Or, she'd be killed. Either way, this horrible mental torture would end.

Though nothing should have surprised her at that point, she was shocked when they hesitantly agreed.

Of course, they didn't trust her. That was apparent even now. Whenever she locked gazes with one of them, they would quickly look away or return her glance with a glare. Ruby in particular looked at her with a vivid mixture of anger and sadness.

She heard a rustle from Ruby's sleeping bag. "If you don't trust me to watch, you can take over," she called, her voice flat and resigned.

Ruby froze before giving up her façade and sitting up. Of course Emerald had noticed she was awake. She was a trained thief and killer, after all. "I don't," she muttered. Even now, looking at Emerald filled her with a deep sense of anger and hatred. Its intensity almost scared her.

Emerald nodded and started toward her sleeping bag. "I'll sleep, then. Hopefully, you can trust me to fight Grimm."

"Well, you did help summon Grimm to the city," Ruby said, her eyes flashing.

"True," Emerald allowed, sitting down by her bag. "It doesn't make me their friend, though."

Ruby watched the older girl's impassive face, feeling the hot rage within her becoming more intense by the second. How could Emerald be so calm? How could she even live with herself? Did she really regret what she had done? True, she had seemed pretty eager to die when they had interrogated her, but that could have been due to Cinder's frozen status. Ruby thought about Penny, remembering what Emerald had said about the illusion she had made. Not only had she killed an incredible person, but she had placed the guilt for the crime on Pyrrha, who carried that burden in her gentle heart until her death mere hours later.

When Emerald had offered to join them, Ruby had been adamantly against it. It had been the other three who had voted her down, saying that they needed any help they could find and that Emerald's limited information could prove useful. She had eventually conceded, understanding that saving the world as quickly as possible was more important than revenge. Still, her trigger finger twitched instinctively whenever she looked into those red eyes.

What made it worse was that Ruby had previously thought that Emerald was cute. She remembered blushing like a moron when the thief had complimented her team's performance. She had fallen for that fake-nice act, along with everyone else.

"Why?" she found herself whispering. When she looked up, Emerald was looking back at her, expression unreadable. "Why did you do it? What did you get out of it?"

Emerald's heart had hardened significantly over the years, but the constant suffering around her had caused several recent cracks to appear in her armor. Ruby's sad, confused voice, which she would have easily ignored in another time, now seemed to pry open the stone exterior of her soul and stab the darkness within. She felt compelled to give an honest answer. "Cinder."

Ruby gaped. "Cinder? That's it? What could she have over you? Were you threatened?" She thought back to Roman's ominous words before his death. "Did you think you had no other option?"

"No," Emerald sighed, staring at the ground. "I know you probably don't understand, but I loved Cinder. I still do." She shrugged helplessly, fully aware of how stupid and pathetic she sounded. "I would have done anything for her."

Ruby wanted to shoot this girl. She wanted to fly into a rage. She wanted to feel the hatred within her fill every fiber of her body. Instead, she just shook her head numbly. She had read books where people had done strange, sometimes awful things for love. Hearing something like this in real life, however, was almost surreal. It couldn't be the truth. Yet, she couldn't detect any deception in Emerald's words. And why would she lie about something like this now, when she had nothing to gain?

Emerald watched Ruby patiently for a moment before continuing. "She found me on the street and gave me a purpose. She was the first person who looked at me like I was worth something. She promised that the suffering would be worth it in the end, that the world would shift so that everyone would have an equal chance."

"An equal chance at what? Death?" Ruby snapped.

Emerald shook her head. "I didn't know all of the details. I just knew that she had a plan to make the world better, and that the sacrifice would be necessary." She took a deep breath. "If she was still around, I'd probably still be helping her. Without her, though, I can't…" She paused, remembering the screams that had echoed through Vale. "She was able to explain things to me. Without her, I just see people getting hurt. I can't see the bigger picture. I was never smart enough for that."

Ruby's brows furrowed. There was something strange about the way Emerald was talking, but she couldn't put her finger on it. "What do you mean 'not smart enough?'"

"Cinder understood things," Emerald explained. "She saw the big picture. It's why she was in charge. I don't have her grand vision for the future. All I could do was trust her." Her eyes grew hazy as she thought back. "She always knew best."

"How could you love someone like that?" Ruby asked, still trying to wrap her head around Emerald's words. "Someone that cruel and evil?"

"She was only cruel when she had to be!" Emerald shot back, feeling some venom returning to her voice. Ruby couldn't understand Cinder. No one really could. Emerald was the closest to knowing her, and even she didn't understand.

Ruby flinched in surprise at Emerald's words. She stared at the older girl for a moment before letting out a quiet gasp of realization. When Emerald had snapped just then, her hand had gone to her cheek. She didn't even seem to realize she was doing it.

"…Was she ever cruel to you?"

Emerald's spine stiffened at Ruby's question and she folded her legs up so that her knees covered her chest. It was a defensive position that she was used to assuming when Cinder had scolded her. "Only when I was out of line." Her eyes were narrow and she stared at her feet as she lowered her hand from her face. Ruby couldn't understand her relationship with Cinder. It had been special.

What would she do if she knew what I was doing now? For a moment, Emerald's vision blurred with tears. She'd call me a coward. A coward and a traitor. She wiped her eyes hurriedly.

Ruby watched Emerald silently. For the first time since the thief had joined them, she was feeling something besides hatred for her: Pity. Growing up, her father and teachers had talked about abusive relationships. She had seen posters and books and other things that pointed out the "warning signs" of stuff like that. From the self-deprecating talk, to the subtle excuses, Emerald was definitely showing some of those signs. The abuse in whatever relationship had existed between the two had been emotional and likely physical if Emerald's hand on her cheek was any indication.

It didn't excuse what she had done, but it at least explained it.

"I don't expect you to understand," Emerald continued, still not meeting Ruby's gaze. "And I don't expect you to forgive me. I can't even guarantee that I'll still be an ally in the future. That's why you're better off killing me."

Ruby's finger twitched, but it was more out of habit than anything else. Looking at this confused, blindly-trusting girl, she felt her hatred fading away. "No," she replied. "I don't want to kill you."

Emerald blinked at the younger girl. That edge of rage that had colored every interaction with her was gone, as was that deep, inner wish for vengeance that she likely hadn't been aware of. Those silver eyes were looking directly at Emerald. They were sympathetic, almost sad. Somehow, that felt worse. Emerald couldn't bear to look at them.

"I just don't understand you people," she sighed, unfolding her sleeping bag and lying down with her face toward the darkness of the forest rather than the dwindling fire. She fell into a light, fitful sleep, a confused frown still decorating her face.

Ruby watched Emerald for a few minutes. She tried and failed to summon that anger, feeling slightly relieved when it didn't appear. Anger had never been her strong suit. Maybe that was a weakness, maybe not.

"Maybe, you'll understand someday," she whispered. As she said this, she realized that she hoped she was right.

So, I have a lot of headcanons concerning Emerald. I'm convinced that she loves Cinder deeply, either romantically or as an admired older figure. The backstory episode also told me a lot. I keep thinking back to that one scene when we don't see anything, but just hear Emerald getting slapped for questioning Cinder. That alone tells me the nature of their relationship. I can definitely see Ruby's gentler personality being a positive influence on her if she ever joins with them.

I also see a distinct possibility of a romance between Emerald and Ruby way, way in the future, due to their interactions in Volume 2 and Ruby's subtle crush in episode 1 of Volume 3. I don't think RT put those in just for the hell of it, after all. There's not much basis for it right now, but I think it's definitely a possible endgame, considering the signs I've seen so far. Again, I feel that comparisons between the unhealthy relationship Emerald had with Cinder and the healthy one she could potentially develop with Ruby can be made.

It would also lend greatly to Ruby's character development. Seeing her come to forgive Emerald for a seemingly unforgivable action and seeing Emerald develop her own conscience and seek atonement for what she did would be really interesting. I definitely will be typing more chapters on this subject in the future.

Please review, but don't flame. Cinder doesn't need any help. Feel free to share your own predictions. I'd love to hear them. Peace out!