The Seventh Circle

by Obsequium Minaris

[Faunus!Ruby] Ruby was taken from her family at a young age, and indoctrinated into becoming a killer. Now, ten years later, she escapes to Beacon Academy... but is she truly free? Surrounded by remnants of her past and trapped in her own trauma, she must learn to overcome her guilt, lest she be consumed by it.

24. Chapter 24

The Seventh Circle

Chapter 24

---

It didn't take long for them to reach Atlas' airspace. They had managed to commandeer an airship from Vale, which made the whole trip a lot easier – a few days, and that was it. Soon enough, clear skies turned to overcast and snowy, and ahead of their ship, the floating city loomed.

Seeing it, Ruby felt a deep pit settle into her stomach. Someone seemed to notice this, as they put a hand on her shoulder. Turning, Ruby found Weiss, who was looking at her with concern.

"Are you okay?" Weiss asked.

Hesitantly, Ruby nodded. "Fine, it's just… bringing back some bad memories. I haven't been back to Atlas since..."

She trailed off, but her meaning was clear; Weiss understood completely, if her frown was any indication.

"That's not who you are anymore, Ruby," Weiss began. "Let it go."

"...I know," Ruby conceded. "I won't ever go back to being that person again if I can help it. But that doesn't stop the memories."

"Those tend to stick around, unfortunately," Qrow chimed in as he approached them. "I still remember the people I killed when I was in the tribe. They stick with you, no matter how hard you try to forget. But it's not about forgetting, I think – it's about acknowledging what you've done and deciding to carry on being a better person anyway."

Ruby considered his words for a moment before nodding. "...Thanks, both of you."

She meant it, too – it was amazing how a few simple words could help put her fears to rest like that.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the short-range radio in the airship suddenly coming to life.

"Unidentified aircraft, you are entering Atlesian military airspace. Identify yourself, or we will fire upon you," said the soldier on the other end of the intercom.

"Easy there," Taiyang said from the cockpit. "We're here to see Ironwood – we're Huntsmen from Vale."

"We have no record of any meetings for the General today, especially not with anyone from Vale," came the response.

"Hey now, let's not do anything hasty," Tai said calmly. "Look, I'm a professional Huntsman – Taiyang Xiao Long. The General knows me personally. Can you get someone on the line with him? I don't mind waiting just outside your airspace until I have clearance, if that's what it takes."

The line was silent for a few seconds, and for a moment, Ruby was afraid that the radioman was going to refuse and send the military after them – after all, aside from Vale, all of her experience with the military had been from the wrong end of a gun. But thankfully, her fears were unfounded.

"...Very well," the radioman conceded. "Hold here. Do not move, or you will be fired upon."

Instantly, Tai engaged the auto-hover, leaving the airship floating there. Ruby watched him breathe a sigh of relief before he turned back to them, grinning.

"And you all doubted me when I said I had a silver tongue a few days ago," he said.

"I'd be less doubtful if you had managed it without dropping Jimmy's name," Qrow commented.

"Oh, ha ha." Taiyang rolled his eyes. "We all know that if it'd been you up here, they'd have fired everything at us."

Qrow opened his mouth to respond, only to be cut off by the radio coming to life again.

"Confirmed," the soldier said. "You are cleared to land. Go straight to the landing zone and do not deviate from that path."

And with that, the line went dead. Taiyang wasted no time in doing as he was told, flying the airship over to the designated zone. The landing gear came down and the cargo bay dropped, letting them all out. Immediately, the chill hit them, causing all of them except Weiss to bunch their winter gear up around themselves.

All around them were soldiers, each one of them armed and leering at them, as if daring them to make a move. Ruby felt a chill go through her, and not because of the cold.

One of the soldiers – an officer, by the looks of things – ran over to greet them as they stepped out of the airship. He stopped in front of them, and Ruby made sure to take note of the rifle slung over his back, as well as who he was looking at. His gaze ran over all of them for just a moment before settling on Taiyang, who he seemed to presume was the one in charge.

"Taiyang Xiao Long?" he asked.

Tai nodded. "That's me."

"Excellent," he said. "Come with me – the General would like to see you."

Despite being deep inside what she once would have considered enemy territory, Ruby couldn't help but feel somewhat reassured by those words. Ironwood was a reasonable man, after all – if anyone would listen to them, it was him.

---

"I can't help you right now," said Ironwood.

Qrow scowled. "What do you mean, Jimmy? The White Fang is right here, on your doorstep, and you're not willing to do anything about it?!"

"Being willing has nothing to do with it," Ironwood replied. "It's being able to deal with it. I have a million different things to deal with at the moment and nowhere near the amount of manpower I need to get through even a fraction of them."

"You mean you can't spare some troops even to investigate?" Tai asked.

"Not at the moment, no." Ironwood shook his head. "I don't think you understand just how badly Vale has bled us dry. During the worst of it, I was losing entire platoons in a matter of minutes, and that was before my androids turned on me. Add in the fact that a good chunk of my forces are currently helping Vale rebuild and most of the rest are needed to guard Atlas, and I can't spare much of anything for you, especially not when you have no proof that the White Fang is even here."

"They're here," Ruby said sternly. "I know they are."

"Enlighten me, then," Ironwood said. "Because I fail to see how they could have gotten past us. We would have noticed their movements at some point, so the fact that we didn't-"

"Is a critical mistake on your part, though not one you had any control over," Ruby retorted. "You said it yourself – you're short-staffed. You can't trust that your men will be able to carry out your orders the way you need them to, not anymore at least."

Ironwood fell silent as he considered her words, and Ruby continued.

"We've been hitting White Fang encampments," she informed him. "The things we've dug up there indicate that they're headed for Mantle, if not already there. They've got plenty of men, armor, and weapons to do a lot of damage to Atlas. If they manage to knock Atlas out of the sky somehow-"

"It could be like another Vale," Ironwood finished, his voice grim. Slowly, he nodded. "...Alright, I'll allocate whatever resources I can towards this immediately. Hopefully we can take care of this before it becomes a problem."

"And what do you want us to do?" Weiss asked. "We're here, and we don't intend to sit idly by and simply let the White Fang make moves unopposed."

"Right now, I need you to do something else for me," Ironwood implored.

"Name it," Yang said.

"It's a simple mission – Grimm extermination in the Dust mines" Ironwood explained. "That's not why you're here, I know, but it's important – as long as the mines are occupied by Grimm, nobody can work there. Given that most of the miners are Faunus-"

"You're afraid they'll be angry enough at being forced out of work to start sympathizing with the White Fang," Pyrrha realized.

"Unfortunately," Ironwood said with a sigh. "Their anger isn't exactly misplaced – Mantle tends to be ignored by Atlas when it comes to matters of politics. This is just the most recent thing that could push some of them over the edge. Clearing the mines wouldn't be much, but if it could help deny the White Fang some extra support, it's something that needs to be done."

"Then we'll do it," Ruby announced. "Will it just be us?"

Ironwood didn't even have to consider her question before he answered. "Yes, unfortunately. I can't spare anyone else to take care of this job, otherwise it would have already been dealt with.'

Ruby scowled. That was about what she had expected, but she still didn't like it. Still, she nodded. "We'll get it done."

"Excellent," he said. "In the meantime, I'll have some of my Specialists look into what's going on in Mantle. Maybe they can find something out. When you're done with this, come see me again."

Ruby nodded once more, and the ten of them took off.

---

The mines looked about as Ruby expected them to look – a darkened mine shaft, lit by lanterns filled with Fire Dust crystals, as well as the various Dust crystals that lined the walls. It was barely enough that her human friends would be able to see, while her and Blake's night vision meant that navigating would be no problem for them.

"I'll take the front," Ruby announced. "Blake, would you mind taking the rear?"

"Not at all," Blake said. Peering into the mine shaft, she added, "Looks like it's wide enough for about three of us to go shoulder-to-shoulder."

"Then we'll do something like that – me and you on our own, then a group of two, followed by two groups of three," Ruby said. "If we get attacked, we break formation to defend ourselves. Sound good to everyone?"

Nobody voiced any arguments, so Ruby motioned for them to follow her. They did, all of them falling into the proper formation as they each took their first steps into the mine shaft.

Stepping into it, Ruby couldn't help but find it somewhat eerie. It was clear that the work site had been abandoned very quickly – loose items such as lamps, helmets, and tools had been tossed to the ground haphazardly, no doubt left to rot as their owners ran for their lives to avoid the incoming Grimm. Some of the power tools looked like they hadn't even been turned off when they were left behind, simply dropped there and left to run out of batteries on their own.

"Man," Jaune whispered. "This place gives me the creeps."

"What kind of Grimm did Ironwood say we'd be looking for here?" Nora asked.

"He called them Centinels," Qrow replied. "Big, centipede-looking things. Very nasty."

Pyrrha shuddered. "Ugh… I can't stand big bugs."

"You and me both," Weiss said. "What did he say was the best way to take them out, again?"

"Attack the underbelly," Yang stated. "They're armored on the outside, sort of like a Boarbatusk. That means that the underbelly is the only real way to hurt them." She cast a glance over at Ruby. "Well, unless you've got a really big gun, like Ruby does. That thing will probably do a number on them, armor or not."

"Regardless, you'll want to be on the lookout," Ruby said without looking back. "These things travel in large groups, and they can burrow underground. If we're not careful, we could end up walking right into a big nest of them."

This time, it was Weiss that shuddered. "You had to say that..."

After that, the conversation died down, the group instead deciding to focus on their mission as best as they could. They continued to carefully move through the mine shaft as fast as they could, taking note of where they were headed. Ironwood had informed them that they would likely find the Centinels at the end of the primary mine shaft, since that was where they had first started appearing, which meant that was where they intended to go.

Eventually, the ten of them emerged into a bigger room, one that was full of a lot more equipment. From what Ruby could see, this was where the workers brought back all the Dust crystals they mined – they were all collected in bins according to the type of Dust they were, then carted away to one of the nearby refineries.

The entire room was absolutely laden with equipment and Dust. There were scales, all kinds of shovels and picks, lamps, mine carts… the list went on and on. The Dust, meanwhile, was piled high inside some of the mine carts. Seeing that, Yang moved over to one and looked inside, letting out a low whistle as she did.

"Geez, that's a lot of Dust," she commented. "How much do you think it's worth?"

"Depends on the grade," Weiss chimed in. "Some Dust is more potent than the rest. That's the really valuable stuff – the kind that gets reserved for either the military or the highest bidder. What you have there is your standard, garden-variety Fire Dust, though a lot of it. With that much, I'd say you're probably looking at just under… hmm… maybe fifty-thousand lien."

"No fooling?" Yang asked. "...You think they'd notice if a few crystals went missing?"

Weiss seemed about ready to humor Yang with a response when Ruby looked around a corner, then exhaled heavily.

"I've got a body, here," she said.

Cautiously, they all followed after Ruby, trying to find what she saw. True to her word, there was a body there. It was a Faunus worker, who seemed to have had a large chunk torn out of his torso. Some of them – Pyrrha, Nora, Weiss – winced at the gore and looked away, while others bowed their heads in silence. Qrow frowned, then knelt down to get a better look.

"Seems like a bite of some kind," he reported. Standing up, he shrugged. "Definitely Centinels. Looks like Jimmy was right, after all."

"Great..." Weiss said, shuddering.

Yang placed a hand on her shoulder in sympathy. "Come on, let's hurry this along. The sooner I can get out of these tunnels, the better."

None of them argued with her. Moving forward, they found themselves forced to change their formation to two people walking shoulder-to-shoulder as the mine shaft narrowed. Again, Weiss shuddered.

"How do the workers do this…?" she muttered. "It's so… tight, and claustrophobic."

"They're used to it, mainly," Blake reported. "Most of them have nowhere else to go outside of Mantle. For the longest time, Atlas and Mantle were safe due to the extreme conditions keeping the Grimm out. It's only recently that the Grimm have adapted enough to become a problem. Before then, the foremen could leverage the fact that Mantle was safe to get their workers to go along with whatever was demanded of them."

Weiss frowned, then shook her head. "That isn't right… my father had better hope I don't get a chance to see him while I'm here, because there'll be hell to pay if I do."

Blake nodded in agreement. After that, the chatter died down. Thankfully, the path widened up ahead, allowing them to once again fan out. Emerging from the mine shaft, they found themselves in another staging area of sorts, where it looked like the raw Dust crystals were transported. Tracks on the ground led to another mine shaft, which seemed to go deeper underground.

Seeing it, Tai frowned. "Right, I don't like the looks of this. Let's think of a plan before we-"

He never got the chance to finish, as the ground suddenly started to shake. Instantly, all of them readied their weapons. Taiyang tensed as the shaking intensified before finally leaping away, just moments before a large, centipede-like Grimm erupted from the ground. It was joined soon after by several others, all of which wasted no time in descending upon them.

Instantly, the ten of them scattered, going in whichever direction would help them stay away from the monsters' deadly jaws. Ruby looked to her side and found herself next to Weiss. The two exchanged a glance, and just like that, a plan was set into motion.

The next time a Centinel came for them, Weiss trapped it with one glyph before throwing down another. Ruby sprinted towards it using her semblance, readying her scythe in the same motion. The glyph sent her flying through the air, her scythe trailing behind her. There was no resistance as the razor-sharp blade cut through the Grimm's neck like a hot knife through butter, instantly killing it.

Ruby continued to soar through the air, her movement almost unimpeded by the contact Crescent Rose had made with the Grimm. She found herself rocketing towards yet another Centinel; the Grimm opened its jaws, intending to swallow her whole, only to catch a grenade from Nora that sent it reeling. Ruby quickly fired off several rounds to help stall her momentum before finally landing, digging her blade into the ground to finally come to a stop. She was just in time to see Pyrrha bring down another Centinel by cutting it in half, and Jaune finish it off by stabbing it straight through its bone mask.

And just like that, the fight was over. Ruby looked around just to make sure, but that was it – all the Grimm had been defeated. There had been five of them, but now they were all dissipating into smoke.

"Well," Weiss began, "that was fairly anti-climactic."

"That's what happens when you spend so long training," Tai said as he jogged over to them. "But don't get comfortable – Ironwood said this place was infested with them, and that means there's definitely more than five. I wager that this was just the welcoming party, and the rest are deeper in the mine."

Jaune's expression fell. "Great..."

"Cheer up, dear leader!" Nora chimed in. "This means more booms!"

"Yeah, about that," Qrow cut in, motioning towards her grenade launcher. "You might want to be careful with where you point that thing, since this is a Dust mine and all. The last thing we need is for you to launch a forty-millimeter at a Grimm, only to miss and blow us all to kingdom come by hitting a stray Dust crystal."

Nora's only response was to grin sheepishly. Tai cleared his throat, then motioned for the rest of them to follow.

"Come on," Tai said. "We still have a mine to clear."

Nobody said anything in opposition. Instead, they all formed up on him, following closely behind. Ruby and Blake stood on either side of him, keeping watch with their night vision.

As they moved along, Ruby noticed something in the darkness. Squinting, she was able to make out several security cameras mounted along the walls, which curiously seemed to still be active if the small red lights on them were any indication.

"Hey, Weiss," she called out, getting her friend's attention. "Do we know who owns this mine?"

"Likely the same person who owns almost all the other mines in Atlas," Weiss replied. "My father, of course."

Ruby didn't even bother trying to hide her displeasure at that, nor did Weiss. And it wasn't just because of the implication that Weiss was connected to the mine, however much they both disliked that fact – rather, it was that Ruby could tell that the cameras watching them couldn't mean anything good.

She wasn't sure what they meant, but she knew better than to trust anything controlled by Jacques Schnee.

---

It was hours later when the ten of them emerged from the mines. Night had fallen, as expected; they had known that this mission would take quite a bit of time. It had left them all tired, fatigued, and low on ammo, but it had overall been a success. The Grimm had been cleared, and it was now safe for the workers to return. That should have been the end of it.

They were surprised when, upon exiting the mine, they came face-to-face with what looked like several squads of Atlesian soldiers and Specialists, backed up with airships and other heavy vehicles.

Ruby was the first out of the mine, and she found herself forced to cover her eyes as a bright light was suddenly focused on her.

"What the hell is this?" Qrow asked, falling in alongside her.

A speaker from one of the airships started to blare, and they got their answer, and it wasn't one any of them expected or even wanted to hear.

"Ruby Rose, by order of the Council, you are hereby under arrest for capital murder."

---

Ruby stared at the walls of her cell, despondent. It had only been a few hours since she had last been here, but it felt like so much longer, possibly because she knew that unlike last time, there wouldn't be an easy escape for her here. She was sure that Ironwood would try his best to get her out of this, but as much as she trusted him to try and help her, she found herself uncertain as to her feet. He may have been the type to forgive and forget, but she somehow doubted that the others in the Council would be as willing.

Her friends and family had tried to help, of course. The instant that the military had announced their intentions to take her into custody, they had all sprung into action to defend her. Ruby had no doubts that they would have willingly taken on all of Atlas to keep her safe, but she couldn't allow that to happen – they were here to save Atlas, after all. They would need the full cooperation of the military in order to do that, and they couldn't risk antagonizing them or the Council over something like this. Thankfully, they had all held themselves back after she had announced her intention to come quietly.

And true to her word, she had. She hadn't put up an ounce of resistance when the military police had surrounded her with weapons drawn, then disarmed her and once again placed her in aura-canceling handcuffs before putting her in a Bullhead and whisking her back to Atlas. And that was where she had been for the past few hours – no visitors at all aside from the guards who were there to keep an eye on her. For the first time in months, she was all alone.

The thought made her pull her cloak tightly around herself. She had spent years retreating within herself to try and hide, and it had taken a lot of effort and love to get her to open up again. Being alone like this… it felt wrong, after all the time she had spent surrounded by people who cared about her. She wasn't about to break down or panic, but it wasn't comfortable at all. She really wanted to see her sister, or her father, and the fact that they were most likely being kept away from her due to Atlas' red tape was worrying.

The truth was, she was scared. For the first time since Vale, she was actually scared of something. No matter what she did, the worst-case scenario continued to play through her head, refusing to leave. What would she do if the Council refused to be lenient with her? She knew what sentence her crimes carried, as did her friends and family. What would happen if they decided to punish her to the full extent of the law? She had no way of knowing until she actually made it to the Council, and that was driving her mad.

There was the sound of a door opening just outside her cell, followed by footsteps approaching her. Ruby turned away from staring up at the ceiling to look over to her cell door instead. Part of her hoped it would be one of her loved ones, even if she knew it wouldn't be. When Ironwood finally came into view, she was disappointed, but not surprised.

"I'm sorry," he began. "I should have known better than to think that the mines would be free of cameras. I should have provided you with a disguise, or-"

Ruby shook her head. "It's not your fault," she said softly.

"I disagree," Ironwood replied. "I sent you on this mission without considering the consequences. I should have known that the Council would be aware of who you were, and seek to punish you accordingly for it."

Ruby said nothing. Ironwood sighed, then reached out and began to input a password into her cell's keypad. The cell doors opened, and he motioned for her to follow him.

"Come with me," he said. "The Council wants to see you."

Ruby offered no protests, instead rising from the metal slab that was serving as her bed and walking over to where Ironwood was standing, her head held low and her ears drooping the whole time. She stopped in front of him, then offered him her hands. He grimaced, but said nothing as the handcuffs were once again placed around her wrists. He didn't need to say anything, though – his discontent with the whole situation was clear enough.

The cuffs locked into place, and Ruby couldn't help but shiver as she felt her aura suddenly shut down. No matter how many times it happened, she would never get used to feeling so vulnerable.

Ironwood took the lead as they walked, leading her to a military police cruiser. She settled into the back of the car, and him in the front passenger seat; she noticed that the driver was none other than Winter Schnee. They locked eyes, but neither of them said anything to each other. Instead, Ruby turned away, looking out the window as the car started up and began to move.

The car ride was spent in silence, with the only noise coming from the news report on the radio. Thankfully, she received a small mercy in that the news seemed clear of anything to do with her. She wasn't sure if there was some law about that or not, but she wasn't going to question it – the last thing she needed right now was the notoriety that came with being a mass murderer. Whatever the case, she was free of the media, and as small a mercy as that was given her situation, she would appreciate it nonetheless.

Eventually, the car stopped in front of a large, ornate-looking building. The structure was flanked with guards – human, Faunus, and mechanized, all heavily armed. Clearly, this was the Atlesian consulate building. Ironwood and Winter wasted no time in stepping out of the vehicle and gently pulling her out, and then they were walking, Ruby's heart pounding the whole time.

With everything happening around her, this felt more like she was walking to her own execution than anything.

The building ended up being even more ornate on the inside, and even more filled with guards – all of them human, she noted, and all of them carrying SDC-branded equipment – not too unusual given who the main supplier of Atlas' Dust and weapons was, but even military made allowances for those who wanted to use their personal weapons, if they had them. The fact that every single guard she could see here was carrying SDC-issued equipment was unusual.

Finally, she found herself in the Council's chambers. Her family and friends were already there, up in one of the higher sections, and all of them held back by guards; she gave them a nod of recognition, but didn't dare do more than that.

She was too afraid of the Council to risk anything else.

The Council was… well, about what she expected. There were five seats, with one of them being empty – Ironwood's, she presumed. Besides him, there were two people dressed in professional clothes – a light-skinned man and a dark-skinned woman – plus another woman dressed more casually. And as for the last…

If the others were intimidating, then he was terrifying, if only because he actually had a reason to personally hate her. From what Weiss had told her, she wasn't exactly close with him, but the fact that she had directly targeted his family and his business had to be worth at least some of his ire.

Or, if the look he was giving her was any indication, a lot of his ire.

Jacques was glaring at her with nothing less than pure malice. Whether it was because she had targeted Weiss or because she had cost him a portion of his bottom line was irrelevant; the fact was, she had at least one member of the Council against her already, and in this situation, that counted for a lot.

And then Jacques spoke, shattering the silence that had settled over the room when Ruby had stopped in front of them.

"James," he said, "explain why you saw fit to even let her out in the first place."

James seemed unperturbed, as if he had expected this question. "She claimed to have valuable information for us."

"And that warranted letting a murderer out to roam the streets?" Jacques demanded.

"Given what she informed us of, yes," James said, unshakeable.

Jacques clasped his hands in front of him. "Then perhaps you could explain to the rest of us?"

"I'd like to, but it's classified," Ironwood replied coolly.

One of the other council members – the dark-skinned woman – raised an eyebrow. "Classified from even the Council?"

Ironwood nodded. "Indeed, Councilwoman Camilla. I can't explain too much, but we are looking at a massive security threat, one that we believe is very credible. I have the Ace Ops working on it already, as well as the rest of the Huntsmen and Huntresses from Vale."

They all knew who he was referring to, even if he hadn't outright said it. The Councilwoman – Camilla – seemed to understand that, as did the other man. They both looked over at Ruby's friends and family, who glared back, as if daring them to condemn Ruby, knowing that doing so would lose them valuable support.

Jacques, on the other hand, seemed unconcerned with that. "Regardless, the fact remains that you let a murderer out. What if she had killed again?"

"I can assure you that she would never do that," James replied.

"And why is that?" Jacques questioned. "Because she told you she wouldn't?"

"Her word ought to be good enough given the circumstances, but if you must know, I think the fact that her family is now holding her accountable ought to satisfy you."

Jacques scoffed at that. "Satisfy me? I won't be satisfied until she's behind bars, at the very least."

The other man on the council suddenly cleared his throat. "What Jacques means to say is that we are all interested in seeing justice being done, no matter what that may entail."

The remaining woman scoffed. "Please, Councilman Sleet, don't act like this is anything else besides what we all know it is. This is all just a distraction from what's really important."

Jacques turned to her, his eyes narrowing. "Yes, Robyn? Is there something you wish to tell the rest of us? Perhaps a reminder about how whatever we do for Mantle isn't good enough for you?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," Robyn said, sitting up a bit straighter. "I just wanted to point out that I have been requesting that Atlas send troops to clear out the mines for at least a week now, and have been stonewalled every time. Yet this girl and her friends were able to do it in a single day, no questions asked. Weird, don't you think? Especially when you consider how quickly the army descended upon those very same mines when they found out who she was."

"Your point?" Jacques asked, impatient.

"Oh, I'm just saying that it's odd that Atlas was unable to find the manpower to clear the mines for an entire week, yet as soon as they found something that actually affected them, they were able to scramble together several platoons, some mechs, and some air support. It's almost like Mantle is getting shafted yet again," Robyn said, sarcastically.

"Robyn," Camilla admonished. "I get that tensions are high between Atlas and Mantle right now-"

Robyn scoffed at that.

"-But the military response to the mines is not the subject of today's meeting," Camilla finished.

"And what is, if I may ask?" Robyn questioned. "From what I can see, the purpose of today's meeting is to railroad a girl into getting screwed by the Atlesian court system. Forgive me if I'm more than a little skeptical of what's going on here, unless you actually expect me to believe that someone as young as her is capable of what you're accusing her of."

"Ask James, then," Jacques said.

Robyn sighed tiredly, then turned to the General. "James, is it-"

"It's true," Ironwood said, his voice full of regret. "All of it."

Robyn blinked, surprised. She turned to Ruby for clarification, and Ruby shrank beneath her gaze, her ears drooping.

Yet again, she found herself at an impasse. Part of her wanted to deny everything, but she doubted whether or not it would do any good – after all, Ironwood had already confirmed it. Denying it after that would likely only make things worse for herself.

Slowly, she nodded, and then in a small voice, she spoke.

"...It's true," Ruby admitted.

"Ruby, no!" she heard Yang shout. The blonde went to rise to her feet, only for her father to gently place a hand on her shoulder and keep her there.

Robyn seemed unsure of what to think. "...So, all those stories-"

Again, Ruby nodded. Robyn blinked, surprised.

"Gods..." she muttered.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Jacques asked, impatient. "She admitted it. This ought to be open-and-shut."

"You know it's not that easy," Camilla stated. Turning to Ruby, she said, "You shall have your day in court. Until then, you will be placed in our custody."

"That's bullshit!" Yang shouted, rising to her feet. "How do you have the authority-"

"I think you'll find that our authority is far greater than the Vale Council's," Jacques replied. "And a good thing for that, too – otherwise, we might have ended up in the same situation as Vale right now."

Yang went to say something else, only for her father to once again gently grab her by the shoulder. She turned to him, exasperated, and he simply shook his head. Ruby watched them before lowering her head.

"It's decided, then," Sleet announced. "The trial will commence in a week from now."

Ruby said nothing even as her loved ones erupted in a chorus of shouts from across the room. Thankfully, none of them went to try and free her even as she was led back to the police cruiser outside. It wasn't like they could have made her situation even worse for her, but the last thing she wanted was to have them risk themselves.

---

"You've got a lot of fucking explaining to do, Jimmy," Qrow growled.

His voice left no room for argument. Him and Tai were staring Ironwood down, both demanding an explanation for what had just occurred. Ruby had been arrested, taken away from them for a second time in their lives, and they could do nothing but watch. It didn't take much to see that both men were far beyond livid about it – rather, they were teetering on the edge of being nothing short of apocalyptic.

Ironwood held up a hand. "I know, and I will. Calm-"

"If you tell us to calm down again, I will personally reach over this desk and choke the life out of you," Tai threatened.

Across from them, Winter tensed, but otherwise did nothing. Ironwood gave her a glance out of the corner of his eye before shaking his head, and she very reluctantly stood down, her hand slipping off the hilt of her sword.

Ironwood sighed tiredly. "It's my fault, I know. I didn't expect that Jacques would have cameras in the mines, or that he would still be looking for her."

"That's ridiculous," Qrow stated. "You know her history here."

"Yes, and I also know that it was years ago, that she isn't to blame for any of it, and that there ought to be no sense in still continuing to look for her after all this time," Ironwood added. "I knew that Jacques was a petty and vindictive man, but I didn't think it was this extreme."

"Then you clearly don't know Jacques as well as you think you do," Qrow grunted. "Right, Winter?"

Again, Winter tensed, before she slowly nodded. "...He's right, Sir," she said, sounding as if she had to force the words out. "Father is… intense when it comes to matters of the SDC and the White Fang. Even if Ruby Rose is not to blame, he will still do his best to hold her accountable."

"And I should have realized that better than I did," Ironwood said. "Truthfully, I should have known that two years wouldn't be enough time to let her fly under-the-radar. I would have appreciated getting some heads-up before you brought her here."

"Yeah, next time we'll just fucking ask the White Fang before they shut down the entire damn CCT," Qrow spat. "Look, I'm not saying this is all on you – we brought her here, after all – but you're the one who sent her to the mines. Now tell us how we can get her out of prison before they execute her."

Next to Ironwood, Winter's eyes narrowed. "Atlas would never execute a child."

"That's bullshit, Ice Queen," Qrow said with a snarl. "They've wanted Ruby's head on a spike ever since she started cutting your soldiers and politicians down to size. Her being sixteen isn't gonna stop them. They'll try her as an adult, find her guilty, and then lead her out to a firing squad. Unless you actually expect me to believe that they'll be lenient towards a former White Fang member who admitted to killing scores of people?"

Winter was silent, which told Qrow everything he needed to know. He went to go back to cussing out Ironwood, but Taiyang beat him to it.

As opposed to his old friend, Taiyang simply seemed tired. "James, just… tell us how we can fix this. What do we need to do?"

To his dismay, the General shook her head. "Truthfully, I don't have an easy answer for you."

Taiyang was dismayed. "Isn't there something you can-"

"I wish," James replied, his voice dripping with regret. "Believe me, I wish I could. But I'm on thin ice as it is. After what happened in Vale, with the AK-200s turning on our own men, my poll numbers took a dive they still haven't recovered from. And given enough time, I'm sure the media will learn all about how I let Ruby out the first time, and they'll sink even lower. If I make a move to help her, I risk losing my position via recall."

"And that's supposed to make this okay?!" Qrow shouted. "You made this mess, so fucking fix it already!"

"Qrow," Taiyang said gently. "James is doing what he can. His abilities are limited at the moment, but he can still help. But if he gets recalled, there's nothing he can do. Moreover, Remnant as a whole will be far worse off for it. I don't doubt that whoever they promote to replace him, they won't be nearly as friendly with the other Kingdoms as James has been."

"Not to mention the real concern," Winter reluctantly admitted.

They all knew what – or rather, who – he was referring to. None of them said anything about it, but they all knew, and on a certain level, they all agreed with him.

That meant their hands were tied, then. There was very little they could do.

Sighing, Taiyang looked back to James. "I know your powers are limited, but what can you do to help her?"

"I can ensure she's treated properly and fairly," Ironwood stated with confidence. "I will provide her with the best legal counsel I can find, and I will make sure that she isn't coerced into anything. We've only got a week, but that should be enough to throw together a capable defense."

"Give it to me straight, then," Qrow said. "What are the odds that she walks?"

Ironwood said nothing, but he didn't have to. His expression told the whole story.

It was a story that none of them wanted to hear, but that they all expected.

Qrow and Taiyang exchanged a glance with each other. It only lasted a moment, but that was all they needed. The meaning was perfectly clear for both of them.

If their hands were forced, and if it came down to either Ruby or Atlas, then they were going to pick Ruby every time.

---

"There has to be something we can do!" Yang shouted. "I'm not just gonna sit here while they keep her behind bars!"

There was a loud crash as yet another piece of furniture was splintered. Weiss flinched, but otherwise didn't back down as Yang continued to destroy the room they had been given.

"Yang, I know you don't want to hear me say this, but you're not helping right now. Calm down."

"Calm down," Yang echoed. "Calm down?! Do you have any idea-"

"Yes, I do," Weiss insisted. "We all do. And you're not making it easier to try and think of a way out of it. Now, are you going to keep breaking things, or are you going to actually try and do something constructive?"

Yang stayed there for a bit, weighing her options. Weiss wasn't surprised when she eventually relented, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes before opening them, showing that the red had faded back to purple. Slowly, Yang put down the chair she had picked up and dusted herself off before crossing her arms, then looking at the rest of them.

"I'm listening," Yang muttered. "If anyone has something, now's the time."

Weiss looked around at everyone else. Truthfully, she wasn't sure what any of them would be able to come up with – of the seven of them, nobody had thought of anything helpful just yet. They simply couldn't think of a way to get Ruby out of prison that didn't also result in antagonizing the rest of Atlas.

Part of her felt like she should have known better, but in her defense, even Winter had seemed surprised when Jacques had ordered that Ruby be arrested and stand trial for her crimes. Neither of them had ever expected that Jacques would be so petty. And it truly was pettiness – Weiss knew that her father couldn't care less about what had happened to her; rather, he was more concerned with getting revenge on Ruby for cutting into his bottom line, and by extension, his power and reputation.

Next to her, Pyrrha suddenly cleared her throat.

"I know it isn't what anyone wants to hear, but I'm not sure what our options are besides letting Ruby have her day in court," Pyrrha said. "We can't exactly walk in there and break her out – not if we want to keep Atlas on our side."

Nora huffed. "Who cares about Atlas at this point?"

"Nora," Ren chastised.

"What? We're all thinking it," Nora said. "If they're willing to throw her in jail, or maybe even do something worse, over this… well, is that really a kingdom worth saving?"

"...Much as I hate to say it, I can't agree with you," Blake said, shaking her head. "We can't blame the people of Atlas and Mantle for what the Council – or, more specifically, one man on the Council – is doing. I hate what Ruby's going through just as much as the rest of you do, that I'll readily admit, but I'm not ready to condemn the rest of Atlas to suffering the same as Vale did just because Jacques Schnee is being stupid."

Nora looked away angrily, but seemed to acquiesce. Ren gently put a hand on her shoulder before turning towards everyone else. "There must be something we can-"

"There isn't," Yang interrupted, her voice harsh. "And we all know it. We'll do nothing, because that's all we can do. We're stuck sitting here and waiting, all while Ruby is locked up. The only thing we can do at this stage is wait, and frankly, I'm sick of it. If something doesn't change soon, I'll-"

"Stop," Jaune suddenly said, in a tone that was very much not his own. Everyone turned to look his way, and it only took an instant for them to see that this wasn't Jaune speaking at the moment. "Do not go and do something you'll regret, Miss Xiao Long."

"That's easy for you to say, Ozpin," Yang retorted. "It's not your sister who's rotting in jail."

"No, just the daughter of several of my brightest students and closest friends," Ozpin replied. "I may not be as close to her as you are, but I do still care. And that's why I'm telling you that if you go after her right now, you will be making a huge mistake."

"Oh, yeah? And how do you figure that?" Yang asked. "The way I see it, Ruby's on track to end up with a bullet in the back of her head if we don't do something soon. So, I say we stop acting like there are any other options and-"

"That isn't what she would want and you know it," Ozpin pointed out.

Instantly, Yang fell silent. She stared at Ozpin in surprise, but he didn't back down.

"You all know that I was Miss Rose's therapist during her time at Beacon, back before I died," Ozpin began. "I like to think that let me see what her mind is generally like – how she thinks and feels. I can't reveal too much to you for fear of violating her privacy, but I can tell you this: Miss Rose is one of the most genuinely empathetic people I have ever met. I'm not sure if it's a product of her harsh upbringing, something she got from Summer, or a mixture of the two, but the fact is that for all the bad she was forced to do in the past, she very much dislikes seeing other people suffer."

"And what does that have to do with anything?" Yang questioned.

"Simple: I can tell you that purely from knowing that much about her, she would hate the idea of all of you granting her freedom only to damn the rest of Atlas in the process," Ozpin replied. "And make no mistake, that's exactly what would happen – if you were to break into where she's being held and set her free, you would essentially be declaring war on Atlas."

Yang hesitated. "But Jacques is only-"

"One man, sure, but he's also a member of the Council, which means that his word is law," Ozpin explained. "You cannot subvert the authority of one of the Council members. Even if you were successful, the rest would fall in behind him, because the instant someone goes against their authority, it threatens their power. You would essentially be forcing them to send the entire military after you. And I know what you're going to say next," Ozpin said, interrupting Yang as she tried to speak. "You're going to say that even with the entire military after you, it's still good odds if it means getting Ruby out. Assuming that's true, what then? Do you truly think you'd be able to make it out of Atlas? The entire military would be after you from the second you broke her out. And, for that matter, think of the White Fang – if the military is busy dealing with you, what's to stop the White Fang from beginning their assault?"

Yang fell silent. Her brow was furrowed in anger and frustration, and she was clearly at war with herself as she tried to think of some way she could respond to Ozpin, only to fail every time. Ozpin, for his part, seemed genuinely remorseful that he was putting into words what they all were finding so hard to accept.

"The truth is, none of us can do anything but wait," he said. "Not unless we want to put the lives of everyone in Atlas at risk. And while you may consider that a fair trade, Miss Rose does not."

Again, Yang was silent. She looked to the rest of her friends for help, but none came. Nobody knew what to do aside from simply waiting.

The only time Weiss could remember feeling as helpless as she did now was when Vale was falling.

---

Twenty. Twenty-one. Twenty-two. Twenty-three.

For what had to be the seventh time today, Ruby found herself staring up at the ceiling, counting all the small divots and imperfections in the concrete. It was boring and tedious, but there was a method to her madness – with her personal items and scroll having been confiscated, she had nothing else to do. More importantly, for as long as she was busy keeping her mind occupied with something else, she couldn't focus on just how bad things had gotten for her.

Twenty-four. Twenty-five. Twenty-six.

She had tried to sleep, but that hadn't worked – she was so worried that sleep had refused to come, and instead her mind had been plagued by thoughts of what the future might hold for her. Her court date was in a week, and until then, she had nothing to do but wait and think.

And for someone like her, with a past that was covered in blood, waiting and thinking was torture.

Ruby paused in her counting long enough to reach into her pocket and pull out a small prescription bottle. Uncapping it, she withdrew two small pills and popped them into her mouth before swallowing, then putting the bottle back into her pocket.

Atlas may have been keeping her prisoner with the intent of putting a bullet through the back of her head, but they weren't complete monsters. As much as they had to have wanted her dead, they had still seen fit to let her have her medication.

With her pills taken, Ruby resumed the task she had started just a few seconds ago.

Twenty-seven. Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. Thir-

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door to the holding cells opening. Instantly, Ruby looked up in surprise. There was no way for her to tell the time, but she knew that it wasn't the guards bringing her a meal – she had just eaten about an hour ago by her estimate. No, this was a visitor of some kind. She had no idea who, given that her family and friends had not shown up yet; presumably, they hadn't been allowed to see her. That just left the question of who.

And as it turned out, it was the very last person she expected it to be.

"Jacques Schnee," she said, venom leaking into her tone.

He stopped in front of her cell, hands clasped behind his back and a satisfied look on his face. "Ruby Rose," he said in reply.

"Why are you here?" she spat.

"Why do you think?" He said, his tone neutral. "I wanted to talk to you."

Naturally, she supposed. Unfortunately for him, she wasn't in a talking mood, least of all with the man who was responsible for her being locked up in the first place. Ruby laid back down on her bed and turned to face the wall, intending to tune him out or otherwise indicate that she wasn't interested.

Of course, Jacques had other plans.

"Oh, come now," Jacques said. "Don't be like that. I thought you would have enjoyed the chance to speak freely to me, given who you used to work for."

Ruby's expression darkened, but she chose not to let him see it. She wasn't about to dignify him with a response – from what Weiss had told her about him, Jacques lived off of that sort of thing. And as much as Ruby had more than a few choice words for him, she knew that none of them would change anything.

To her delight, Jacques actually seemed somewhat disappointed with her decision to pretend like she wasn't there. It wasn't enough to make him leave or even to just shut him up, but it was a start.

"Well, I suppose that if you won't say anything, then it falls onto me to carry on this conversation," he stated. "You won't mind, I'm sure."

Again, Ruby was silent, which he seemed to take as her giving her blessing for him to continue. Unfortunately.

"Five years," he said, his voice low. "You tormented my company for five long years. Do you have any idea just how much you cut into my bottom line? How many valuable men and women I had to replace, all because your people were having a tantrum?"

Ruby said nothing, both because she knew he was just trying to get a rise out of her and because part of her agreed with him, if for the wrong reasons. It was obvious that he couldn't care less about the lives she had taken compared to the impact she'd had on his profit margins, but that didn't change the fact that she regretted killing all those people in the first place.

If Jacques was annoyed at her silence, he didn't show it. Instead, he continued speaking.

"Finally, you're where you belong," he gloated. "It's fitting, I think – a rabid animal, trapped in a cage. And soon enough, you'll be put down like one, too."

Ruby again said nothing. This time, Jacques seemed annoyed with her.

"Surely, you must realize the extent of what you're going through, yes?" He asked. "You're facing the death penalty, you mutt. The sentence hasn't been levied yet, but that's what the prosecutor will pursue – your crimes are too great for anything less."

Ruby wasn't dumb enough to think that justice was blind in Atlas. She knew that they weren't going to have any mercy on her, even if she had been underage when she had committed all her crimes. They didn't care; that particular detail would be lost in the bigger picture of Atlas capturing one of the most prolific mass murderers to ever walk its city streets. They would put her in front of a biased jury, list off every single crime she was being charged with, and then hit her with the harshest sentence they could in order to make an example out of her – a living, breathing sign of what happens when you make as big a mockery out of Atlas' defenses as she had.

Truthfully, she couldn't entirely disagree with that assessment, either. Maybe she had gotten off too easy, what with having everyone tell her that none of it was her fault. That didn't justify Atlas making an example out of her, and she certainly wasn't prepared to die, but she could at least understand where they were coming from.

Jacques furrowed his brow. "Say something, damn it! Unless you expect me to believe that you're deaf in addition to repentless."

Ruby sighed, figuring that it didn't make a difference what she said. Jacques had come here for a reason, and he wasn't about to leave until he got what he wanted. She wasn't about to give it to him, but she was done taking his abuse.

"What do you want?" she asked.

Hearing her voice seemed to please him, if only because he knew that he had at least some power over her now. "So you can understand me," he said. "I was worried I would have to start barking."

"That's not necessary," Ruby replied. "We speak the same language, and I don't just mean in terms of words."

Jacque raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah," Ruby replied. "After all, on a certain level, we're kindred spirits – we've both had our fair share of traumatizing Weiss."

He seemed taken aback by that. Jacques stared at her, as if unable to believe that she had just called him out. For the first time, Ruby's expression changed, to one of disdain.

"Did you honestly think she wouldn't tell anyone?" Ruby asked. "That she'd keep it a secret for her whole life? She's a lot stronger than you think she is."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jacques hurriedly said.

"Denying it, then?' Ruby questioned. "I'm not surprised, though I have to question why you're doing it. Are you afraid of someone finding out?" Her eyes narrowed. "Or maybe you're afraid because you understand how close Weiss and I are."

"This is absurd," Jacques replied. "I am-"

"Lucky that you're so rich and powerful as to be untouchable," Ruby interrupted.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Jacques demanded.

"Exactly what you think it means," said Ruby. "You don't care about Weiss so she doesn't talk to you, but if you ever get the chance – not that you will any time soon – you should ask her what happened to the last people who hurt her, back at the Vale Self-Defense Force bunker. How many guards do you have at your mansion, by the way?"

Jacques froze for a moment, taken off-guard. "...If you mean to imply that you could cut your way through my security team-"

"Imply?" Ruby questioned. "I've already cut my way through one of your security teams, and that was three years ago. I'm a lot stronger now. I wonder if the quality of your guards has improved much since then?"

"Is that a threat?!" Jacques demanded.

"No," Ruby specified. "It's a promise."

Ruby rose to her feet, then walked over to the bars of her cell. Jacques swallowed nervously, taking several steps back. Ruby reached out and wrapped her hands around the bars, then stared at him, her silver eyes blazing with fury.

"You're lucky you're as rich and powerful as you are," she spat. "You're lucky my friends want to help Atlas rather than let it burn to the ground. Most of all, you're lucky that Weiss isn't anything like you wanted her to be, because if she was, she'd have told me to kill you a long time ago for what you put her through. And back then, before I made a promise to stop killing, I would have made it slow and painful." Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "And trust me, if you ever lay a finger on Weiss again and I hear about it… I won't kill you, but I'll make you wish that you were dead."

Jacques was speechless. For the first time, his calm, smug demeanor had vanished, replaced with one of fear as he ran Ruby's words through his head. He kept scanning over her face, looking for some sign that she was bluffing, but she was being nothing less than absolutely truthful.

After several seconds, Ruby relaxed, letting her expression falter. "It's funny, how some people change while others stay the same," she mused. "I tried to kill Weiss, yet she's now one of my best friends. We trust each other implicitly. At this point, we're more like sisters than anything. I think it says a lot about the kind of man you are that she'd rather love someone who tried to murder her, than you."

"Enough!" Jacques shouted. "I didn't come here to be lectured to by an animal!"

"Then why did you come here?" Ruy asked. "To gloat?"

"I came to inform you of the difficulties you face, and to offer you a way out, should you desire," Jacques specified. "Of course, I can always rescind this offer, if I feel so inclined."

Ruby waved him off. "Then rescind it and stop wasting my time, because I don't care about whatever you're offering me."

She turned away and began to walk back towards her bed. Jacques watched her go, gritting his teeth. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew an envelope and held it against the bars.

"These are the documents for a signed confession," he stated. "Standard procedure for anyone facing criminal court in Atlas. All you have to do is explain your crimes in writing and sign your name, and I can take the death penalty off the table. You'll be in prison for the rest of your life, of course, but-"

"I'm not interested," Ruby said without looking back, as she climbed into her bed.

"You'd rather die, then? That can be arranged, I suppose." A smirk crossed his face.

"No, I'd just rather not give you the satisfaction," Ruby said, causing his smirk to vanish. "It's clear to me what you're trying to do – you come in and talk down to me, then threaten me with the firing squad unless I fess up to every single crime you're trying to hit me with. You end up with an ironclad case, and then as an added bonus, you slip the judge a little incentive to hit me with the death penalty anyway."

"So certain of that, are you?" Jacques asked.

"Of course," Ruby answered. "You're not nearly as clever as you think you are, Jacques. If I've learned anything from Weiss, it's that you're nothing more than a petty, pathetic man on the world's biggest power trip. None of this was about your case – it was about you proving that you're better than me, and trying to scare me into licking your boots in the hopes that you'll be lenient with me. Unfortunately for you, I'm used to it – someone a lot tougher than you spent years doing the exact same thing to me, over and over, and in ways that were far worse than anything you could come up with."

"Is that so?" Jacques asked.

"Of course," said Ruby. "Unless you think a thirteen-year-old is just naturally able to eviscerate a squad of your private security."

"So you admit it, then," Jacques accused.

"Why bother hiding it?" Ruby shrugged. "I know you're not wearing a wire. For all intents and purposes, this conversation never happened."

Jacques fell silent again. Ruby turned back towards him, this time allowing her hateful expression to take on a smug edge. "Like I said, you're petty, and on a power trip. You were so certain I'd break and grovel at your feet for my life that you didn't bother to have a backup plan in place for if I refused to play along. I've got news for you, Jacques: tougher men than you have tried to kill me. One of them even succeeded for all of about five minutes before I came back. I'm not afraid of you, and you know what? Neither is Weiss. And that must really piss you off more than anything else in the world."

"You insolent brat," Jacques hissed. "I'll see to it that your blood stains the snow crimson."

"It already has in the past, multiple times, but you're welcome to try again," Ruby said. "I just hope you thought of a contingency for when Weiss comes after you, unless you were so arrogant as to think that she was still the same little ten-year-old afraid of being slapped around, even after she cut you out of her life?" Ruby shook her head. "She knows you're the one responsible for all of this. All of my friends and family do. And if you think you can arrange for me to die and get away in one piece afterwards, then you don't know my family and friends. Most importantly, you don't know Weiss. Not anymore, at least."

Again, Jacques grit his teeth. "This isn't over," he promised. "I'll have you begging at my heels yet, like the little dog you are. I have not yet begun to show you the hell I can put you through."

With that, he turned and began to walk away. Ruby watched him go, amused. She knew she should have held back, but getting the chance to openly talk trash to the man who had abused one of her best friends was too good to pass up, no matter how much she had resisted at first. Besides, the result would be the same either way – she was going to trial, and unless Ironwood came through for her, she was going to die.

Compared to that, she doubted that Jacques had anything capable of really harming her.

---

A few nights later, Ruby found that her insomnia from her days at Beacon had returned. It wasn't for the same reason, but it was back all the same. She knew why, of course – despite putting on a brave face, it was tough knowing that she could possibly be dead by next week.

It was funny, how she had spent so many years prepared to face death at any given moment, only to now be terrified by the fact that it was happening all over again. Maybe part of that was knowing that this entire situation was out of her control, but the real reason was that back then, she'd had nothing to live for. Now that she did, the thought of leaving them behind was agonizing.

So, rather than even try to sleep, Ruby stared up at the ceiling again, her mind wandering back to the times she had spent with her family and friends. It was a coping mechanism, something to keep her mind off what was going to happen soon – tomorrow, in fact; the first day of her hearing started tomorrow, she recalled – but it was the only thing under her control at the moment.

Outside her cell block, she heard footsteps. At first, she thought nothing of it; it was likely just the guards exchanging shifts, or possibly a janitor cleaning up. That all changed when the motion-activated lights out in the hall flickered on, bathing her cell in light.

Instantly, Ruby was on her feet. She didn't know what was happening, but whatever it was, it didn't make sense – she wasn't allowed to have visitors unless they had been approved by the Council, and so far, the only ones who fit that category were Atlesian personnel.

There were more footsteps, and finally someone stopped in front of her cell. To Ruby's surprise, it was a guard. He stared at her from behind his visor, the fact that the upper half of his face was hidden from her doing nothing to hold back the sheer hatred she could see emanating off him.

"You have a visitor," he said, a sneer crossing his face. "Councilman Schnee's orders. Enjoy."

Ruby didn't have any time to ask what he was doing, as he turned and left without giving her a chance to say anything. As he walked away, Ruby heard another, much softer set of footsteps coming down the hall. She had little time to wonder who her visitor was before they came into view, and immediately, Ruby felt her heart skip a beat.

It had been a few years since they had last met, but Ruby would have recognized the girl anywhere. For just a moment, Ruby wondered if her visitor would remember her as well, but she got her answer when the girl locked eyes with her.

Even her young age couldn't stop the change that came over her when she stared into Ruby's , her expression changed, from fearful to blank, as if she didn't know what to think. There was a spark of something else in her gaze, though – pure, unyielding hatred.

The last time Ruby had seen someone age so fast, she had been looking in a mirror after her first kill.

And in that moment, Ruby knew exactly who she was staring at. She felt herself involuntarily step away from the bars of her cell, a loud gasp escaping her as tears filled her eyes. The whole time, the girl stared at her, staying completely silent. Ruby felt herself begin to tremble beneath her gaze, and it only got worse when the little girl opened her mouth for the first time.

"My name is Alyssa Ivory," she stated, her voice flat, yet filled with malice all the same. "And you're the one who killed my parents."

Ruby stared at the girl – Alyssa – in shock, uncertain about what to think. For some reason, the only thing she could think of was how ignorant she had been to have not recognized the girl in front of her. It wasn't as if she looked all that distinctive – long silver hair that flowed down to the middle of her back, with the end done up with a black scrunchie; pale skin, as befitting someone who spent most of her time indoors due to the harsh winter environment in Atlas; deep green eyes that stared at Ruby with nothing less than absolute hatred; all tied together with a dark blue winter jacket and coveralls, and black snow boots – but given that she represented the impetus for one of Ruby's suicide attempts in the past, the fact that she hadn't recognized the girl was odd. Maybe that was a testament to how far she had come from the person she used to be, but at this point, she didn't care.

She was too busy falling back into old memories.

The scene before her started to change. Ruby watched as Alyssa began to regress backwards in age, turning from the malice-filled seven-year-old in front of her to the scared five-year-old that Ruby remembered her as. Her cell block turned into a residential house, one scored with battle marks all across it, and boasting two freshly-killed bodies in the center, both in varying states of mutilation. The stench of blood filled her mouth and nostrils once more, and it took everything she had to swallow the bile that rose up in her throat.

She blinked, and just like that, everything changed once more, this time going back to normal. Alyssa was back to being the seven-year-old that Ruby knew she was at the moment, and her fearful expression had once again given way to loathing. Ruby swallowed a second time, now out of nervousness rather than an attempt to quell her sudden stomach sickness. Her mouth opened, but the words died in her throat before they even had a chance to form.

What would she say to Alyssa? What could she say to Alyssa? There was nothing she could think of that would ever even begin to make this okay. 'I'm sorry' was a true enough statement, but she could tell that Alyssa didn't want to hear it, and Ruby didn't blame her for that. After all, true as it was, that did nothing to fill the hole in Alyssa's heart; if anything, it would have only served to assuage Ruby's guilt.

Alyssa seemed to catch on to her inner struggle, and after a few seconds of watching Ruby war with herself, finally spoke.

"You don't know what to say, do you?" she asked.

That was a question, which was good – Ruby could answer that. Again, she swallowed nervously, then shook her head. Alyssa was unperturbed, though.

"That's okay," she assured. "I'll just talk, then. Not like you can do anything but listen."

For a seven-year-old, Alyssa was surprisingly sharp. Then again, perhaps that was Ruby's doing – no doubt she had been forced to grow up very quickly after seeing her parents get cut down right in front of her. Ruby certainly had, after seeing her own mother be murdered.

And wasn't that an uncomfortable thought? The two of them were more similar than Alyssa knew. The only difference was that she had made the right choice, and Ruby hadn't. That just made Ruby feel even worse, however – it felt wrong, that she would be the one to have a family to go back to despite all the evil she had done, while Alyssa likely had nobody despite being good.

Alyssa had to know that Ruby was struggling internally – the expression on her face showed that while she wasn't exactly comfortable with it, she also didn't entirely dislike it. Again, Ruby didn't blame her – for the longest time, she had wanted to see the people who had killed her own mother suffer. No doubt Alyssa had dreamed of this day ever since she had seen her parents be murdered.

"Their names were Malcolm and Amanda Ivory," Alyssa said. "Dad was a Specialist; Mom was a soldier. They met by chance, bumping into each other on a base one time. Dad ended up accidentally spilling his coffee on Mom's uniform, and as an apology, offered to pay for her dry cleaning and for a meal at an expensive restaurant for her. She agreed, but only if he came with her. Turns out she had been admiring him from afar for a long time, and saw this as her chance to be noticed. And that was how my parents got to know each other."

Alyssa suddenly sniffled, bringing a hand up to wipe at her eyes. Ruby stared, frozen. Not too long, that had been her. Seeing this from the outside, and knowing she was responsible for it… 'uncomfortable' didn't seem like nearly strong enough of a word to describe how she felt. Ruby already felt awful, but seeing Alyssa start to cry just made her feel downright horrendous, and not for herself – not when she knew she deserved to feel this way. Rather, she felt bad for Alyssa, having lost the people who were most precious to her at such a young age.

"They had me a few years after that," Alyssa stated, her voice trembling. "They were… amazing parents. They always put me first, above everything else. I was their entire world. Mom ended up retiring from being a regular soldier and took a desk job in the military instead, because she was so scared of both of them being lost on a mission, and leaving me parentless."

Left unsaid was how much that had been in vain, but that was fine – Ruby got the meaning regardless.

Alyssa went on. "Dad was often away, but he always made sure to make it up to me when he got back, usually by taking me somewhere to do something with him. The last thing we ever did together was go ice skating together." She choked on a sob, and her shoulders began to heave. "He… he was terrible at it, but… he said it was worth it, just to see me having fun..."

This time, Alyssa had to take a few seconds to compose herself before continuing. She let herself sob for a bit before wiping at her eyes. This time, when she spoke, she looked down at the floor instead of at Ruby.

"...He had just come back from a mission when you killed him and Mom," Alyssa said, her voice growing somber. "We were all going to go ice skating again as a family the next day, but-"

Again, she took a few seconds to compose herself, but it wasn't because she was sad. Rather, Ruby saw her lips curl back in an angry snarl, exposing her teeth. Finally, Alyssa looked back up at her. Her expression had changed, the sadness replaced with a smoldering hatred.

"-But we never got the chance," Alyssa growled. "You took that from me. You took them from me. Because of you, I will never get to see my parents again. My final memories of them will always be of them being lowered into the ground. And you have nothing to say about that."

That last line took Ruby by surprise. She felt her heart skip a beat, and looked at Alyssa in surprise. She was still crying, but this time, it was out of frustration, as if she couldn't believe that Ruby wouldn't even try to atone for what she had done.

For what felt like the millionth time, Ruby had to swallow again, this time to choke back a sob that rose up in her throat. She had to say something – anything – that would serve as a proper response to Alyssa; she was owed that much, at least.

Knowing that, Ruby lowered her head, unwilling to make eye contact any further due to just how painful it was. "...I'm sorry," she said softly.

"...That's it?" Alyssa asked in disbelief. "You killed both my parents right in front of me – made them suffer, too – and all you have to say is that you're sorry?"

"...I have nothing else I can say," Ruby replied, her voice quiet. Her ears drooped, and she felt tears come to her eyes, though they weren't for herself. "There's nothing I could ever say that would make things up to you. You have every right to hate me."

"I know I do," Alyssa said. "Jacques let me know that much."

The name took Ruby by surprise. She looked up at Alyssa, though she regretted it after seeing how Alyssa was looking at her. Still, she didn't dare turn away.

"You didn't really think Jacques would keep me out of the loop, did you?" Alyssa challenged. "He does a lot of charity work for Atlas, you know. That's how I know him. He donated a lot of money to the orphanage I live at, and even came to visit once. He's a very nice man."

That figured – Jacques would want to do whatever he could to cultivate his public image in case any scandals came along; it would make buying the SDC's PR response a lot easier for the people of Atlas, who were really the only people who mattered when it came to doing the company harm. The other Kingdoms could complain about his conduct all they wanted to, but none of them had the resources or reach to hurt the SDC the same way Atlas could if Jacques ever got on their bad side. Of course he would do his best to endear himself to the Kingdom his company was incorporated in.

"Did you really think he'd keep me out of the loop?" Alyssa asked, causing Ruby to shrink in on herself. "He knew about the person who killed my parents – knew it was you. He offered me the chance to come visit you if I wanted to. I said yes, because I wanted to hear your reason why."

That wasn't the only reason, and Ruby knew it. She had no doubts that Alyssa was wearing a wire, especially if Jacques had been the one to give her this chance. It was a low blow on his part, using her like this, but Ruby didn't care. Bringing it up to Alyssa wouldn't change anything, so there was no point to doing it.

Still, she had to admit that it was a clever move on his part. If he had suspected that she'd be reticent to discuss her crimes in-depth, this was a good way to get her to fess up to them – she'd be forced to balance giving Alyssa the answers she deserved against the task of not incriminating herself, which simply wasn't possible. She was going to have to pick one or the other.

And the way Ruby saw it, that decision had already been made for her simply by virtue of her being placed in this cell. Atlas had laid out their plans for her, clear as day. As far as Ruby was concerned, she was going to require a miracle either way. At least this way, if she went to her grave, she could do so knowing that she had given Alyssa the answers she deserved.

"...He sent you here for a reason," Ruby stated, so quietly that her voice was almost inaudible. "What do you want?"

"I want answers," came Alyssa's response. "I want to know why you did what you did. Above all else, I want to know why it had to be my parents. What did we ever do to you?"

That was difficult to answer, even if she knew how. Still, Ruby knew that there was no part of her that would have been able to resist giving Alyssa her answers, unsatisfying as they may be.

Ruby looked down at the floor with tears in her eyes, but she blinked them away, unwilling to let Alyssa see her cry. When she spoke, it was slow and deliberate, to leave no room for Alyssa to mishear.

"...There was no reason," Ruby admitted. "Not really. Your parents were part of the Atlesian Military, and that was enough."

Alyssa was silent for a moment as she processed everything. For a brief moment of time, the only thing Ruby could hear was the buzzing of the fluorescent lights overhead, but in an instant, the stillness was completely shattered.

"That's it…?" Alyssa asked, her voice trembling. "Y-you killed my parents because… because they were in the military…?"

Her tone betrayed her sense of disbelief, and Ruby didn't blame her – couldn't blame her.

"...I'm telling the truth," Ruby stated. For the first time, she chose to look up, only to regret it when she saw Alyssa's tear-streaked cheeks. She didn't dare look away, though – not when she deserved every ounce of the piercing glare Alyssa was giving her. "My mentor – Sienna Khan – thought that-"

"I don't care..." Alyssa said, softly. She shook her head. "I… I don't care about your mentor. This is about you, not her. You're the one who killed them, n-not her. I want to know why you did it."

Ruby blinked, surprised. Once again, she lowered her head.

"...Because she told me to," Ruby admitted. "That was all it took. Sienna sent me on a mission, told me who had to die, and provided transport. I did the rest."

Alyssa's body began to heave with sobs. She was on the verge of breaking down, but somehow, she kept it together. Whether she was doing that purely out of hatred for her, a genuine desire for answers, or some combination of the two, Ruby couldn't tell.

It was over after a few seconds, though. Then the malice was back, in full force. Once again, Ruby shrank beneath her glare.

In any other situation, this would have been ridiculous – an ex-assassin being brought to heel by a girl less than half her age. But the fact was that despite all her training, Alyssa was the one who held all the cards here, not Ruby. Worse than that, Alyssa knew it, too. Ruby wasn't sure if that was because of Jacques or if she was just that sharp; the former made the most sense, but the latter wouldn't have surprised her.

It felt like an eternity passed as those few seconds ticked by. When they did, Alyssa brushed the tears from her face before once again fixing Ruby with her green-eyed stare, again seeming to look right into her soul.

"...I don't know what I expected," Alyssa admitted. "I thought, maybe… maybe there was a reason why. I thought that if I knew, it would make sense – make it hurt less. I thought..."

Alyssa trailed off again, a lump once again filling her throat. That proved to be too much for Ruby to take. She grasped the bars of her cell, staring at Alyssa with a pleading look.

"You have every right to hate me," Ruby stated. "I understand, and I won't deny you that. Neither will anyone else. What I did to your parents, to you..." She shook her head. "...It's horrible beyond words. I won't blame you if you hate me for the rest of your life. I wish I could take it all back. I know what I did was wrong – hell, I knew it was wrong even when I did it-"

"Then why?!" Alyssa snapped, making Ruby jump back in surprise. "You knew it was wrong, yet you still went through with it! If you knew you were the bad guy, why kill them anyway? Why not let them capture you, or-"

She trailed off, but her meaning was clear. Once again, Ruby lowered her gaze down to the floor.

"...I wish I had," Ruby said quietly. "Believe me, I do. I have no excuse for-"

"Yes, you do!" Alyssa shouted. "Otherwise you wouldn't have fought so hard! So, why?! What kept you going?!"

Ruby closed her eyes, taking a breath before opening them again. "...Fear."

Alyssa was taken aback. "Fear…? Fear of what? Of my parents?"

Again, Ruby shook her head. She reached for her shirt, pulling it up enough to reveal the scar on her stomach. Alyssa stared at her, this time out of shock rather than hatred or disgust. Seeing the effect she'd had, Ruby let her shirt fall, then sighed.

"...But that isn't an excuse," Ruby said emphatically. "Nothing can excuse what I did, especially not something as simple as fear. I won't even try to justify what happened to your parents, because I can't."

For the first time, Alyssa didn't seem to know what to think. Instead, she seemed numb, as if she hadn't expected things to get this complicated. Slowly, she took a step back.

"...Y-you're a monster," she said softly. Ruby flinched at the word, but otherwise didn't respond. "T-this… it doesn't change anything."

"Nor should it," Ruby replied. "Like I said, you have every right to hate me. I'll never try to take that away from you."

"Then… do you admit it?" Alyssa questioned.

That proved it, then – she was, in fact, wearing a wire. Truthfully, the prosecution probably had everything they needed already. This was just a formality – a way to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that she was the one responsible. A small part of Ruby told her to refuse to answer, but it was drowned out by the part reminding her that it wouldn't make a difference.

Slowly, she nodded. "Yes. I'm the one who killed your parents, Alyssa. And for what little it's worth, I'm sorry."

Alyssa said nothing in response, instead staring at her with tear-filled eyes. The two gazed at each other even as Ruby heard the door open, and saw Jacques enter the room. He was quick to head to Alyssa's side, flanked by several soldiers, and took her by the hand.

"You did good, Alyssa," Jacques said gently. His tone filled Ruby with rage.

He was treating Alyssa better than he had ever treated his own flesh and blood.

Alyssa sniffled, then looked up at him, a hopeful look on her face. "Will that be enough?"

"More than enough." Jacques reached out and ruffled her hair. "Let's get you home, now."

Alyssa nodded, and the two of them began to leave the building. Ruby watched them go for a few seconds before deciding that there was one more thing she had left to say. It wouldn't be much, but maybe it would count for something.

"Alyssa," Ruby said.

Surprisingly, the two of them immediately paused and looked back, both of them looking confused, though Jacques also seemed annoyed. But he wasn't Ruby's concern. Focusing on Alyssa, Ruby swallowed her fear.

"...Sienna Khan is dead," Ruby stated. "I made sure of it myself. It isn't much, but..."

Ruby trailed off, unsure of how else she could respond. Alyssa seemed to know, though.

"You're right," Alyssa said. "It isn't much. But it will be when you join her in a few days."

And with that, she turned and began to walk out of the building again, leaving Ruby alone. Ruby watched her go, somehow feeling even worse than she had before.

She had played right into Jacques' hand, but at this point, she didn't even care.

---

My apologies for the really late update, everyone. Shit really happened, to both me and Panda. We basically both got caught in completely separate yet equally debilitating circumstances that kept this particular chapter from being worked on for a long-ass time. This thing basically sat there untouched for two months because of personal issues I was having, and then because of personal issues Panda was having. Even now, neither of us are completely satisfied with how this one turned out, but you've all been waiting long enough for something, and this fic has to get finished at some point, so here it is.

That aside, I can confirm that I haven't been doing nothing during since April. Didn't accomplish much until the beginning of June due to those aforementioned personal issues of mine, but ever since the start of last month, I've been hard at work on the rough drafts for the upcoming chapters of this fic, and they're coming along nicely. I've made good progress on them, though they obviously aren't yet fit for human consumption and need to be edited before they can be released to the world for public viewing. Hopefully the next one won't take as long as this one did.

As for the chapter itself… honestly, I'm not completely satisfied with it, but I'm also sick of fucking looking at it. It's dirty, it's disgusting, it's not pretty, it's probably not even officially finished by my standards... but I've gotta get it off my hard drive before I go insane, so here it is. The first chapter of the Atlas Arc, which will be very different from how the show handled it. Not to throw shade at the show itself, of course – normally I'm partial to doing that for comedic reasons, but in this case it's simply because I started writing (but not posting) this fic between V5 and V6, before we really knew much about Atlas. You'll see a few familiar faces, of course, but you shouldn't expect things to go anything like how they did in the show. That goes for all of the future chapters from this point, by the way – Mistral and Vacuo won't look like the show's renditions of them, either. I feel like I've said that a few times before, but what's a bit of repetition between friends, right?

Anyway, that's all I've got for now. Sorry if this chapter isn't as polished as some of the other ones have been. I'll try to do my best with the next one, though I can't make any promises until both Panda and I are able to get back on track properly. No idea how long that'll take, but we'll both be doing our best to get everything straightened out as fast as we can.

You've all been very patient with this fic's highly inconsistent schedule so far, and I hate to have to ask you to keep doing that, but know that I really appreciate it, that I'm working as best as I can, and that this fic will be finished even if it's the last thing I do. Thanks again to all of you for sticking with me, and I hope to see you in the next chapter when it drops.