Ruby was finally asleep. Yang supposed she should be glad about that, but she was still worried about the younger woman. It had not even been an hour before the tossing and turning began. Ruby was panting as her skin clammed up, and she broke into a cold sweat. Yang and Blake all but held Ruby down as she cried and twitched in the bed.
"What's happening?" Yang asked when a nurse came in to see what was going on.
"Nightmares, probably," She replied cooly. "All those drugs in her system have probably done some damage to her mind. She's going to be very cranky when she wakes up, I'm sure," the nurse wrote something down and made her exit after recommending that they should keep a water bottle ready for Ruby when she eventually comes to. Yang could feel the hours drip past her as the sunlight was replaced with the artificial luminance from the ceiling.
Weiss would come and check in on them periodically, bringing some rations with her while they all just watched Ruby; no one knew what to say. But, of course, Weiss being an officer meant she could only give a few minutes before going back to do whatever military officers do. Before leaving, Weiss gave Yang and Blake a comforting squeeze on their shoulders, saying that she will check on Ruby in the morning. It was another hour before Blake stood from her chair as well.
"It's getting late; we should get some sleep as well," Blake walked over to Yang and held a hand out to help her up, but Yang just kept watching her little sister.
"Go without me; I'm not going to leave her alone," Blake was about to say something when Yang beat her to it. "She's been alone for too long, and you heard Weiss; if she does something and we're not there to stop her, they'll just kill her without trying to help at all. Someone needs to be here when she wakes up,"
Blake looked between the two of them and sighed before shaking her head lightly. "Neo will be upset with you,"
Yang chuckled lightly and nodded. "Yeah, I know. But it's for a good reason,"
"Yeah, I know…." Blake sighed once more before gently running her fingers through her blonde hair, nails gently scraping across her scalp and instantly settling the anxiety that's been festering in her stomach. The moment was heightened when Blake leaned down, and Yang caught her lips with her own. It was light, no more than a peck, but it meant the world to her.
Blake pulled back finally and pressed her forehead against Yang's before sighing lightly. "I love you," Blake whispered to her.
"I love you too," Yang replied while running a hand down Blake's arm and holding her hand tightly. Even with her Aura pulsing through the prosthetic arm, Yang could hardly feel Blake squeezing back. When Blake finally retreated from Yang, she instantly missed the feeling as her fingers slipped out of Yang's grasp. With a sigh, she watched as Blake pulled the canteen from her pouch and set it next to Yang's chair.
"Try to get some sleep,"
"I will, promise," Yang said with a smile. Blake headed through the door with a nod and closed it behind her; when she passed the observation window, Yang could not help herself. "Miss you already!" She called out. Yang knew Blake heard it because she saw the Faunus roll her eyes and shake her head.
The silence stretched on into the night. Since she would be there all night, Yang decided to get as comfortable as she could. Pulling Blake's chair around, Yang propped her feet up on it after taking her boots off and hissed when she disconnected the artificial arm from her body. She hated the sensation of her nerves being cut off like that, but her arm was starting to feel heavy, and her shoulder was beginning to throb. Although without her Aura, the false arm lost its brilliant yellow and turned back into the shiny chrome. Even with all the technological advancements Atlas has made, it was still mind-boggling that they created studies and understood something intangible as a person's soul.
Yang's wandering mind was interrupted when her scroll chimed with a notification. Checking the device, she saw that Neo had texted her. She opened the message with a small smile and saw a picture of the woman pouting in the self-photo with a caption that read "You did this" Yang only laughed as she typed a message back to her.
"Sorry, but I need to make sure Ruby is safe. I promise to make it up to you,"
"Promise?"
"Whatever you want, I promise,"
Neo replied with a heart that made Yang's heart soar. She was so lucky to have two women in her life that she loved so dearly. "Be nice to Blake," Yang quickly typed out to Neo, only to get a mischievous grin emote in reply. Yang knew Neo would behave for one night at least. Pocketing the scroll, Yang let out a sigh as she got as comfortable as she could in the chairs.
With one last look over at Ruby, she tried to get at least a little bit of sleep in. Gently setting her arm on the floor, Yang tucked her other arm under the stump and closed her eyes.
Dreams of red and anger filled her mind. Demons disguised as people with sick grins and sharp, bloody blades. Yang was glad that she was woken so quickly from her nightmares whenever Ruby made a noise in her sleep. Yang wondered if she was going to get as bad withdrawal symptoms as Ruby with her alcoholism. But, of course, Neo still had her flask, meaning she could not even take the edge off as a headache began to creep in.
A sharp gasp tore through the silence, and Yang nearly fell out of her make-shift bed when Ruby shot straight up. Her eyes were wide, and she was breathing deeply. She probably just woke up from a nightmare as well.
"Ruby?" Yang called out gently, only for the woman to snap her attention to Yang. Her eyes searching for something before focusing on her and launching herself out of bed and against the wall. Getting to her feet slowly, Yang raised her hand and tried to calm her. "Hey, easy now. It's okay, it's just me,"
Ruby was backing herself into a corner, so Yang stopped her advance and stood well away from her. "Where am I?" Ruby asked quickly.
"We're in Atlas; you're safe here,"
"Safe?" Ruby grabbed her head and shook it as she fell to the floor. "This is where the enemy is; Atlas is the enemy!"
"The war is over, Ruby," Yang said as she crouched down to Ruby's level. "There is no more enemy, no more fighting. I promise,"
Ruby just stared at her and shook her head. "She's lying to you; all they do is lie," Her voice became gravel as her eyes hardened and focused on Yang.
"I'm not lying to you, please, I promise!" Yang could feel her throat tightening as Ruby refused to believe her. Yang was met with steel eyes as Ruby's whole body shook. Yang stood up from her spot with a sigh and walked back to where she had been sitting when Ruby woke up. Slipping her arm back into place, she tensed up to prepare herself when the component connected to her nerves. When the pain was gone, she moved her arm around a bit before picking up a bottle of water that Blake had left her.
Turning back, she approached Ruby again and sat down across from her. Remembering what Ruby said about the cookies, Yang opened the canteen and took a few sips from it before closing it and sliding it across to her sister. Yang watched as Ruby's eyes bounced between Yang and the water in front of her. Then, like a caged animal, she snapped up the bottle, tore the lid off and downed the water far too quickly.
"Hey, hey! Slow down!" Yang tried to grab the water from her, but Ruby just slapped her arm out of the way and pushed herself deeper into the corner. Yang was forced to back off, even when Ruby began to choke and cough on the water. Checking her scroll, Yang saw that the morning would be coming soon. She told Weiss and Blake that Ruby was awake and was torn between hoping it would not take long for them to get here and them getting as much sleep as they could.
"What are you doing?" Ruby asked when she finished the water.
"Just telling Weiss and Blake that you're awake," Yang said as she put the device away. Looking back at Ruby, she saw her eyes darting around before landing on Yang. Before she could ask Ruby how she was feeling, Ruby launched herself at Yang.
Yang tried to block, but she was sitting on the floor and easily knocked on her back. Struggling with Ruby on top of her, fists rained down to Yang's head until she finally caught her arms. "RUBY! STOP IT!"
"YOU ARE THE ENEMY!" She screamed as she struggled to keep up her assault. Finally, Yang bucked her hips and drew her knee under Ruby and managed to kick her off. Quickly rolling to her feet, Yang watched Ruby collect herself and stare at her with murder in her eyes.
"Give it up, Ruby. You've never beaten me in hand to hand, and I doubt it's going to start now," Yang said as she brought her hands up as Ruby began to pace, looking for an opening. "Just sit down and let us help you,"
Ruby responded by stopping at the bed, grabbing the blanket off of it, and throwing it at Yang as she began her next charge. Yang quickly caught the sheet, but the distraction worked, and Yang felt Ruby's fist connect to her face. Yang felt the flick of flame in her soul as she let Ruby get another punch in before catching her wrist before the third punch connected. Then, spinning her around and slammed Ruby against the wall with her arm twisted behind her back.
Putting all of her weight against her sister, Yang grabbed Ruby's other hand, twisted it behind her back, and held her there. Ruby continued to thrash and try to free herself against Yang's hold, growling and yelling in the effort. "Just stop it!" Yang tried as she held Ruby in place.
"I WON'T LET YOU HURT HER!"
"I'm not going to hurt anyone; who are you protecting?"
"Ruby!"
Yang felt her stomach drop when she said that. Yang stared at Ruby as she managed to look back at Yang. Yang could see the steel in her eyes, but she also saw someone else behind those eyes. Someone Yang did not recognize. "Who are you?" Yang finally asked.
Ruby managed to turn her head as far as she could and bared her teeth at Yang. "I. Am. Death."
Yang just stared at the woman before her. Tears slipped from Yang's eyes as she could not believe what she heard the words coming from her little sister. "No! No, you're not, you're Ruby Rose, and I love you!"
"SHUT UP!" Ruby shouted back as she managed to push herself from the wall and twisted around enough to free herself from Yang's grip. "All you do is lie and fail. If you loved her, then she would not be like this!" Ruby shouted as she gestured to the empty bed. Before Yang could say anything back, Ruby blinked a few times before all the fight left her body. Her shoulders slumped, and she hung her head. Even her voice had lost the deep gravel it had moments before as she cried into her hands.
"Please stop," Ruby cried softly. "If you're not here to kill me, then just let me die…." She turned and began to walk to the bed and sat down on its edge. Yang watched numbly and completely confused by the sudden change in her tone and body language.
"Ruby, don't talk like that," Yang walked up to her. "I'm not going to let you die. I'm here to help you!"
"You've done enough!" Ruby quickly jumped to her feet, the gravel back in her voice as she quickly pushed Yang back. "You want to help her? Fuck off and die!"
Yang just stared at Ruby in front of her. Again, everything about her changed. Her eyes were full of hate and anger as she pushed Yang back with surprising strength. "I'm not leaving you again,"
"Bull shit!" Ruby shouted back. "How about you get another drink and leave us the FUCK ALONE!"
Yang could not move. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she could not argue with anything she said. Her alcoholic addiction had cost her so much, it even up costing Yang her own sister. "I'm sorry, Ruby,"
"Sorry doesn't help her," Ruby's cold voice filled the air. "Not anymore,"
Behind Yang, she heard the door to the isolation cell open and a gasp of a surprise coming from someone behind her. "Ruby!" It was Weiss. She saw the woman appear next to Yang as she felt a hand on her back. Then, looking to her side, she saw Blake give her a small smile as their attention was drawn to Ruby.
"Stay away from her," Ruby growled as she took a more defensive stance.
Weiss looked at Ruby with a confused look before glancing over at Yang for any answers. "Something's wrong with her," Yang managed while she wiped her eyes. "She thinks she's someone else,"
"I AM DEATH!" Ruby proclaimed as she lifted her hands up and gestured wildly. Yang saw a few red petals formed around Ruby, only for them to fade away into dark red ashes, then that faded away just as quickly. While everyone tensed up, remembering what happened the last time Ruby began to manipulate her petals, the only one that looked truly afraid was Ruby. She looked at her own hands and backed up another step, giving her as much room between them as she could.
"You don't have your Aura; you can't hurt us with your semblance," Weiss said as she rested her hand on the pommel of her weapon.
"I don't need my semblance to strangle you," Ruby growled as she looked between the three of them.
"Do you really think you can hurt us?" Weiss asked as she folded her arms.
"I won't let you kill her," Ruby growled again as she put herself into position to try and rush past them. The door was open, and all Ruby needed to do was break free. But, even then, there would be nowhere for her to go. Yang knew there was only a skeleton crew on board, plus the AceOps that was supposed to execute Ruby if they felt the need to do it.
The situation quickly got out of hand, Yang was ready to intercept Ruby with Blake at her side, but then Weiss stood a little straighter and took a step forward before speaking. "If we wanted you dead, we had plenty of chances before now," Ruby backed up a little more and looked back to her side at nothing while Weiss continued. "We had you subdued in Mistral, in a coma and strapped to a bed for days. We don't want you dead. We're trying to help you," Weiss pleaded with Ruby.
"They're right, you know," Ruby said softly, only for her head to snap to the side and growl back at herself. "Shut up,"
"No! Look at her!" Ruby pointed to the empty bed and then slowly looked towards it. "She's sick, she's hurt, and you promised her to protect her!" Ruby jabbed her finger into an empty space in front of her, her eyes unfocused and talking to herself. Each word that was spoken and replied to broke Yang's heart more and more.
Just how broken had Ruby become from this war?
"They are the enemy!"
"YOU ARE THE ENEMY!" Ruby yelled back at herself. Yang could see something different in her eyes this time; it was not the angry steel but a softer tone. "Every decision you've made has only hurt her! Your obsession with bloodshed has gone too far! They are offering Ruby help, and you are trying to kill them!"
"Everyone I kill is one less person that will try and kill her!"
"And what will happen when you finally get your wish? What happens when everyone is dead? When we are the last ones on this damned planet? What then? Will you turn on me next? When will you stop!?" Silence filled the room as Ruby quickly turned back around and stared intently at the wall before shaking her head.
"Everything I've done has always been for her!"
"Then let them help!"
Silence hung in the air as Ruby tensed her jaw and began to pace before swinging around and pointing a finger at the air. "If anything happens to her, I'll kill you," She growled before taking two steps in the other direction and stopping. Everyone watched as Ruby turned back and quietly walked back to the bed and sat down. A moment passed before she began to cry her eyes out and held onto herself. After everything that just happened, Yang was unsure if she should get close to Ruby, but she needed to risk it.
"Yang," Blake quietly tried to get her to stop, but Yang flashed her a forced smile.
"Just be ready, just in case,"
Weiss and Blake just nodded as Yang slowly walked towards the crying girl. "Ruby?" Yang called out to her softly. Ruby lifted up her head and looked at Yang, and she could see the light in her silver eyes.
"I'm sorry!" Ruby cried out as she threw her arms around Yang. Yang flinched, thinking she was coming in for another attack, only for Ruby to push her head into her shoulder and cry even harder. Yang wrapped her arms around Ruby and sat down on the bed to comfort her. Ruby clung to Yang, and her whole body shook as she cried so deeply her voice began to give out.
"It's okay, Rubes, we're right here. We'll get through this," Yang kissed her head before looking up at her friends, an apparent worry in her eyes. Blake and Weiss shared a look and began to walk towards them.
"I'll find someone who specializes in… this," Weiss spoke softly as she wrapped her arms around Ruby as well. Blake joined in and brushed her face against Ruby's shoulder.
"No matter how long it takes, we will be here with you every step of the way," Blake whispered before kissing Ruby's head as well. Even as Ruby began to calm down, Yang, Weiss and Blake shared a look, and Yang wondered if they could actually keep these promises.
A/N: Hello everyone!
Once again, I'm sorry this is taking so long between chapters. I feel bad for it taking longer and longer to actually get these chapters out. It's getting harder and harder to get my head in the right space.
To everyone that posts comments, I'm so so so sorry that I haven't been replying to them lately. Its this cycle of "sees a comment, waits to reply to it," Then it stretches long enough where I think its too long and it would be kinda awkward. So I'm really really sorry about that.
If you enjoyed, leave a Favourite! If you already have, leave a comment! I love reading them and I love replying to them. This story is also posted on AO3 under the same name. So if you read there as well, come show your support!
And as always, thank you for taking time out of your busy days to read my slice of madness!