Continued from last chapter…

Ruby sat alone in a secluded corner of the command room, lost in her own thoughts. Misato was running down the procedure for how they would take down the angel with Shinji and Rei. Blake and Weiss were talking to each other about who knows what. Yang also sat alone, lost in thoughts of her own. She decided that being alone wasn't very interesting and decided to join her younger sister. "You doing OK?" she asked.

"No," said Ruby honestly, "I'm…well…worried." Yang sat down, looking staring at the monitor in the distance. She glanced down to see that her younger sister was definitely not okay. Her normal, cheery face was all but gone; her head drooped so low it practically touched her knees. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap. When she looked up at her elder sister, her melancholy demeanor was only made worse by her face. Her eyes were barely open; her mouth was trembling; and she looked as if she were on the verge of tears. "Yang…we could die tonight." Those words hit Yang like a brick. She recounted the nightmare she had experienced her first night in this strange place and began to wonder if it was some kind of foreshadowing. She imagined the angel coming down and blasting her sweet, innocent sister to oblivion. There'd be no body; nothing to say goodbye too; only memories. Yang fought hard to hold back tears. She could see her sister was already losing. She wrapped her arms around Ruby and began to sob, with her sister soon following suit. "Oh…Yang! I'm so scared!" cried Ruby through tears.

"Me too," said Yang sobbing. Misato watched both of them from a distance. Was this what it was like to feel helpless? To feel no sense of hope…of peace? She thought of Shinji and Rei and the burden they now shouldered. Ruby was right: all of them could die if Shinji and Rei failed. She had faith in them, and she knew that they wouldn't hold back. At least…she hoped they wouldn't hold back. If they were going to all die tonight, she at least wanted to die proud of the ones who had worked so hard to save the world. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. It was almost time, and she needed everyone to be at their best. She walked over and put her hand gently on Yang's shoulder. "Hey…it's almost time." Yang looked up and sniffed, wiping her nose. Misato offered some tissues from her pocket so Ruby and Yang could dry their tears. Once the two of them calmed down, they stood up to watch the inevitable battle. They could see lights begin to blink off as Japan's power shut down. Blake and Weiss turned from their conversation to see what was transpiring. Misato addressed everyone. "Alright! It's almost time! I want everyone to do their very best tonight! No holding back!" She glanced around at all the members of team RWBY, "I know this is hard for all of you, but I can't have anyone crying during this mission. If you want to cry after the battle, I won't stop you, but right now, I need all of you to keep it together, got it?" Everyone nodded their heads. Misato began to issue commands for both EVAs to launch. Soon, both units 01 and 00 were on the surface, staring down at the newest angel. Ruby moved closer to get a better look. It looked like one of those cheep 3D effects from a 90s video game; a large octahedron with nothing else to define it externally. This is what hurt Shinji? Ruby thought to herself. She didn't need to wait long to get her answer. Japan's military had begun firing at the angel using dummy tanks and airships. The angel took no time to respond, quickly disposing of all of them. With the angel distracted, Shinji took firing position. Rei held a shield up in case the angel decided to attack unit-01. Shinji took special care to make sure the angel hit the target. However, the angel quickly took notice and began to fire at unit-01. Rei quickly held the shield up to protect Shinji and his EVA. Ruby paled at seeing the shield quickly melt at the angel's onslaught. If Shinji didn't act quickly, Rei was done for! Please Shinji…save her! Ruby held her breath as Shinji fired the positron cannon. It was a direct hit! The angel caught fire and was rendered defeated. Everyone cheered loudly. Team RWBY waited anxiously to hear the status of the two pilots. Shinji seemed to be in good condition, but what about Rei? Unit-00 stood motionless, and Misato seemed to be unable to reach her. Everyone waited nervously to hear what had become of Rei. Shinji made his way to unit-00, forcing the entry plug out of the machine. He got out to see if Rei was alright. Of course, outside of his EVA, he couldn't contact NERV inside, so he would have to give the report when he came in. Everyone waited to see what Shinji would say when he returned. To everyone's surprise, he eventually came in with a limping Rei in tow. Ruby gasped and leapt for joy, quickly hugging Rei and crying tears of joy. Blake and Weiss both smiled, and Yang swelled up with pride. The mission was a success. Ruby looked up from her tears to see something unusual; Rei was smiling. Shinji was smiling too; proud of his most recent accomplishment. "I've never seen you smile before, Rei," said Ruby.

"Ikari told me to," said Rei in her usual flat monotone. Ruby didn't care that Rei still seemed to be uninterested in her own well being. She was alive, and that was all that mattered. The remaining members of the team eventually joined them. "You were both amazing!" said Yang.

"Yeah…both of you did great!" said Blake.

"Both of you performed marvelously," said Weiss. Shinji beamed with pride, and Rei's smile seemed to get bigger, though it may have just been Ruby's imagination. "Hey!" Misato made her way towards the group, "I know we're all celebrating, but it's late. We need to get home and get to bed!" Everyone groaned in disappointment. Shinji and team RWBY made their way out of NERV and back to Misato's car. Shinji had already changed out of his plugsuit. The ride home was uncannily quiet. Everyone was glad that the mission as a success, but the lingering question of 'what if?' still stuck in everyone's minds; especially Ruby's. "Hey Shinji? Were you scared?" asked Ruby.

"Yeah," replied Shinji, "You?"

"Well, I was more scared for you and Rei…especially Rei."

"…because of what she said?" Ruby didn't answer. She glared out the window; Rei's words to her swimming in her head. If I die, I can be replaced. The more Ruby thought about it, the angrier she got. How could anyone have such little regard for their own life? It seemed inconceivable. "I don't know why Rei would say something like that," said Shinji, "Her life is very important. It's much more important than mine." Ruby glanced over to see that Shinji was also staring out the window. The melancholy way in which Shinji said that last part made it seem like….Ruby stared at the floor. Was everyone this miserable? Soon, everyone arrived home, and it wasn't long before the others started to notice Ruby was not alright. "What's wrong, sis?" asked Yang.

"I…just want to be left alone!" said Ruby crisply.

"Ruby, this isn't like you," said Weiss.

"Yeah," concurred Blake, "I've never seen you like this." Ruby looked at all of them; her face red and her eyes quickly brimming with tears. "You know what's wrong?!" she screamed, "None of you appreciate what you have! Do you know what it's like to lose someone you love? Do you? You think your lives don't mean anything, but they mean so much to the people who care about you! When someone's gone, it hurts! It doesn't just affect you!" Yang gently put her hand on Ruby's shoulder, but she pulled away. "No!" she screamed, "Just leave me alone!" She went into her room and slammed the door behind her. "Um…what was that all about?" asked Shinji. Yang sighed, "A lot of things. Look, let's all sit in the kitchen. We need to have a long talk."

To be continued…