Warrior? It's time to wake up, Warrior.

Ruby woke up with a gasp. Her chest heaved with her heavy breathing and the thudding of her heart. The sheets on the bed beneath her were soaked, the wet cloth sticking to her skin. Knotted, damp hair clung to her face and to the inner walls of her cheeks.

Cold metal held back her hands when she tried to reach for her face. Chains rattled at her sides as she leaned forward to see the handcuffs that held her to the bed. There was a red ring around her wrists, her skin rubbed raw by the metal in her sleep. She couldn't see the restraint that held her legs down too, but she could feel them biting into her skin just as-

We aren't sure why they bothered. If you wanted to escape, it would take far more than some basic cuffs to stop you.

Ruby froze. As soon as she heard it, she felt her head throb in intense pain. It left her ears ringing with a high pitched whine that faded far too slowly.

Carefully, she leaned her head forward to see where she was. It was clear to her from the boring white walls and lack of decor entirely that she was still on the military base. Soft morning light washed over her, coming in from the only window in the room. The lack of building in the view told her she must have been somewhere in the same building as Cordovin's office.

A soft snore interrupted the silence in the room. Ruby turned to the couch opposite the window and to the two women sleeping soundly on it.

Blake's wheelchair folded neatly to the side, while she was laid across the couch with her head resting in Weiss' lap. Weiss was holding Blake's hand in hers, in a gesture far more comfortable than Ruby was used to-

Don't worry, we won't try to convince you that this is some kind of infidelity or betrayal. Apparently you really, really wanted this to happen. Finding some way to turn it into a negative for you would take far longer than we have time for. Enjoy it while you can, Warrior.

"What is this-'' Ruby only managed those words before she fell into a coughing fit. Her dry throat burned more and more with each cough. Pain shot through her tender wrists when her arms instinctively moved to cover her mouth.

From the corner of her eye, Ruby saw Weiss and Blake starting to move. Weiss was quick to help Blake sit up on the couch so she could rush to Ruby's side.

"Ruby," she said frantically. "Ruby, are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"She probably wants some water," Blake said, already holding out a bottle of water for Weiss.

Weiss held the bottle to Ruby's lips while she ran her free hand through Ruby's hair. Ruby held back her coughs as much as she could, but still she managed to spit out most of the water right back onto Weiss. Whatever she drank wasn't enough to completely soothe her sore throat, but it was enough to keep the coughing at bay.

As soon as she was sure that Ruby wasn't about to lose a lung or two, Weiss left her side to help Blake into her wheelchair. Ruby watched the whole maneuver as it played out. She watched Weiss' cheeks flush when she lifted Blake's legs up by her thighs. She watched the way their hands lingered longer than necessary when they touched. A familiarity that Ruby hadn't seen since-

That's about enough of that. We need you to focus. We acknowledge that this must be very strange for you. It certainly isn't the most elegant approach we could make, but unfortunately we've run out of time for style. We will make do.

For the time being, we ask you to refrain from taking control from us. It's a very disorienting sensation for all involved.

Weiss pushes Blake over to your side. You want to reach out and their hands, but somehow you forget again that you're still chained to your bed like the animal you are. Weiss sees you strain against the metal cuffs and frowns. Both her and Blake lay hands on your arm, gently holding it down before you go and hurt yourself again.

"Where am I?" you ask.

"Cordovin's personal infirmary," Blake says. "Minus the staff, of course. You'll have to be happy with us instead of nurses."

"I think I can live with that," you say. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Just a healthy eight or nine hours," Weiss says. "Same as Blake and I. All of us got a much needed full night of sleep."

"Really wish they had another bed," Blake says. "Or just a bigger bed. Or anything but that stiff couch Weiss as my pillow was about the only comfortable thing about it"

"Excuse me," Weiss snaps. "Having your dead weight on me all night was far from ideal either."

Ruby laughed as she listened to Weiss and Blake bicker. For just a moment, things felt normal again. Just like things used to be once upon a time. No Shadow, no Apathy, no fall of Beacon.

"It's good to see you again." Weiss reached out and took Ruby's hand and squeezed it gently. "Though I will admit, the circumstances are far from ideal."

"Do you-" Blake faltered, until Weiss placed her other hand on Blake's. "Do you remember anything?"

A flash and thunder. An explosion that echoed down long halls and bounced back off unseen walls. The floors ran red under-

"I killed them," Ruby said. "I killed-"

She winced in pain as she pulled against the cuffs again. Blood ran from the new cuts and turned the sheets red. Weiss held her by the shoulders and shoved her back down onto the bed again.

"No, Ruby," she said. "Nobody died. They're already on the mend. You caught them off guard, so they had a full aura to start the healing process. You didn't kill anyone."

"But-"

"Don't worry," Blake said. "The cuffs are more for your safety than anything. Farrow apparently vouched for you and made some deal with Cordovin."

Even asleep, you're a better shot than anyone else around. You sent that round clean through them, despite our efforts. But still, you avoided bone and arteries like it was nothing. It's hard not to be impressed with that.

There it was again. Not a voice or a thought, but a recollection. These words came to her like a memory she hadn't made yet and would never recall again. They seared her brain like a hot iron brand against her gray matter, but the mark that it left only lasted as long as it took her to see it. And like a memory, they were familiar. But like something she'd forgotten, she couldn't recall how she recognized it.

"Is something wrong, Ruby?"

Weiss' inquiry pulled her from her thoughts. Both Weiss and Blake were watching her now. Their concern was clear on their faces.

"I don't know," Ruby said. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Blake's head tilted to the side. Her cat ears perked up and swiveled, straining to hear what Ruby had mentioned. Ruby and Weiss both watched and waited for Blake to say she heard it too, but all Blake could offer was a confused look and shrug of her shoulders.

Weiss turned back to Ruby, her mouth open to say something, when the door suddenly opened behind her.

Oh FINALLY. Here comes the good doctor. You will want to hear what they have to say to you.

You've met them, but you weren't properly conscious at the time. Dr. Darcy Farrow is the self-proclaimed expert on the Colony Grimm. If you think your brain got scrambled by the beast, wait until you see what it did to them. All they have is obsession, but not the fortitude to back it up. Secondhand exposure has nearly ruined them. If they come even close to the same level exposure as you or even we did, they wouldn't last a second.

Weiss and Blake both turn to Farrow. You can't see Blake's face clearly, but you can see the edge of snarl on her lips. Weiss stands up and steps between you and the doctor.

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna," they say more to themself than to you or your companions. "Good morning to you all. I see all of you are well. Well, not well. Well enough. We'll get started then."

We wonder if they even realize they did that. Probably not.

"Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna," Farrow says. "If you could, I would like to speak with Ruby Rose alone-"

"Respectfully, Doctor Farrow," Weiss says. "We will be staying here for the duration of this conversation."

"Okay," Farrow accepts far too easily. Not in a suspicious way, but in a 'wow they gave up quick' kind of way. "Ruby Rose. Hello again. Or hello for the first time? I've seen you but you've never seen me. So, just hello then. Hello, Ruby Rose. How are you-"

"Get to it already," we say.

Oh, don't look at us like that. Well- don't think about us like that. You know you wanted to say it, we just went ahead and did it for you. We want this conversation to be over just as much as you do.

Weiss is still steadfast in separating you from Farrow, but Blake sneaks a look back at you when we spoke. Perhaps we were too bold. Oh well, it doesn't matter anymore. Blake looks to file the thought away and direct her ire back at the doctor.

Farrow quickly removes their coat, revealing the text that covers their body. They trace lines up their arms, then their legs. It's on their left thigh that they find the section they're looking for.

"Let's talk about the Shadow," they say. "In your report, as well as Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna's reports, you imply that it and the Colony Grimm are one and the same. Why is that?"

"Because they are the same," you say. "I only called it the Shadow because that's how it looked to me. I didn't find out it was even a Grimm until later."

"Ah, I see now," Farrow says as they lick their thumb and take the wet appendage down to their leg to rub away a section of text. "Then let's correct our language. The Colony Grimm and the Shadow are separate entities. Let's discuss the Colony Grimm first."

Farrow turns to their right shoulder and reads another section of smudged text before continuing.

"The Colony Grimm, despite its size, was actually just a single spore of fungus-" they say. "However, it's unclear if the original spore still exists. Everything that you've seen-'The Shadow' in your reports- it is all clones of that first spore. That's how it has been able to hide for so long from us, by destroying its mass and recreating it again to change its size."

They pause. The shoulder texts have run their course and Farrow lifts their shirt up and reads from another section on their stomach.

"Fungi decompose living and dead things," they say. "This Grimm is no different. It decomposes 'reality,' for lack of a better term. Perhaps in actuality it decomposes matter at its most base level, but I haven't been able to prove that. I'm also uncertain as to why it decomposes. A regular fungus serves a purpose in the forest, but the Colony almost seems to destroy for the sake of it. Which for a time I thought was its purpose, but recently I've gotten new information that challenges that."

"Salem," Weiss whispers.

Farrow whips their head to Weiss, snapping their fingers in her direction.

"That's right," they say. "The Yang Xiao Long's message offered an explanation for the Colony."

"The Yang Xiao Long?" Blake whispers to you. You shrug your shoulders.

"The Salem Entity presents an answer to what the Colony Grimm's purpose is," Farrow says. "Like all Grimm, it is a tool. A means to an end. An immortal's contingency plan: a death for that which is neither living nor dead. But its construction is also different from most Grimm and more similar to that of the average fungus. It is self-replicating, unaffected by emotional states, and utilizes hosts."

"Wait," Weiss says. "What do you mean by hosts?"

"Oh, did I forget to mention that? I forgot to mention that," Farrow asks. "The process by which it does this is still unknown, but the Colony does something we've yet to see in other Grimm. It takes humans as hosts. Possibly this provides an energy source or catalyst for its replication. I don't know for sure. Ruby Rose, I believe you were its host when it created the last Fertile Zone."

Your heart lurches. Biles rises up in your throat and you feel the throbbing pain in your head intensify. Try as you might, you don't remember being host to anything.

But we do. We will never forget what you were. What you did.

"Hmm?" Farrow looks up from their midriff to see Blake, Weiss, and you staring at them. "Oh, don't worry. You're not the host anymore. Probably."

"Probably?" Weiss asks. "If you're not certain, allow me to clear it up for you: Ruby is not and has not been host to anything."

"But she has silver eyes, doesn't she?" Farrow asks. "The bodies of only two previous hosts have been found in good enough condition for autopsy. Both had silver eyes, just like Ruby Rose and Summer Rose."

Ruby sat bolt upright, nearly losing the contents of stomach as she did. Her head throbbed so violently that it felt it might crack in half. She ignored the pain as much as she could. With the voice gone again, she had to take advantage of the brief clarity that afforded her.

"What did you say?"

"I don't know," Farrow said. "You have to remind me."

"About my mom," Ruby said. "Summer Rose."

"Oh right," Farrow said. "She had silver eyes just as you do. Now I have no concrete proof, but seeing as she vanished from Remnant without a trace I suspect that the Colony may very well be responsible for that. Though I suppose there could be other Grimm that take and utilize people with silver eyes, but I've yet to encounter that."

She should never have stayed. The constant reminder of Summer Rose was what anchored Ruby to Argus. Argus wasn't meant to be anything but a chance for Ruby to avoid ending up like her mother. And yet, in staying she'd only sent herself right down the maw of the beast that took Summer before her.

"Without a host," Farrow went on, "the Colony Grimm is weakening. It is siphoning energy from the power grid just to move. These rampages are wildly uncharacteristic. I do believe that it is in its death throes."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Blake said. "The sooner it dies the better."

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'?" Weiss asked.

"The Colony Grimm has never died before," Farrow said. "Therefore, we do not know what will happen when it does. Even in its weakened state, the Grimm has an enormous amount of energy. Should it die before using all of it up, that energy will have to go somewhere. How and where? Nobody can say. I can say that it is very likely to not be very conducive to the survival of the people of Argus, possibly even all of Remnant."

All were silent as that set in. Even Farrow had to pause and collect themself. Weiss was the first to speak again.

"So what do we do about it?" she asked. "How can we stop that from happening?"

"You can't," Farrow said. "If you wish to keep the Colony Grimm from dying, you would either have to give it a host to ensure its survival, or you would have to erase it from existence."

"Well seeing as neither of those are an option," Blake said, "we're going to need to come up with a new plan."

"Actually," Farrow said. "I think the second option is possible."

They seemed uncomfortable then, their eyes darting back to the door like they thought they were being watched.

"There was a reason why I wanted to speak with Ruby Rose alone," they said. "What I say next is not going to be pleasant. Weiss Schnee. Blake Belladonna. This is your last chance to leave and remain unaware."

Weiss pressed back against the bed. Her shoulder rocked back and she straightened her posture. At the same time, Blake squeezed Ruby's hand ever tighter.

"We can handle whatever you have to say," Weiss said. "Blake?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Blake said.

Farrow nodded slowly. "Yeah alright."

They bent down and pulled a file from the pocket of their discarded coat. There was only one paper in the file. Farrow took a deep breath before handing it over to Weiss.

Weiss only read for a second before she snapped her gaze back to Farrow. "What is this, Farrow? Explain yourself."

Blake reached around Weiss and grabbed the paper. Her eyes went back and forth, reading the sheet up and down several times before she looked up to Ruby.

"What is it?" Ruby asked.

"In my follow-up investigation of the remains of the Fertile Land," Farrow said. "I discovered human remains. They were visually unrecognizable following the torching of the forest, but I was able to collect enough samples from the corpse to determine the identity upon my arrival here in Argus. That sheet is the result. Of the test on the corpse. A DNA test, if that wasn't clear.."

"No," Weiss said. "No. Your test was incorrect. Clearly it was wrong. Why would you show us this?"

"Weiss…" Blake whispered. Her grip on Ruby's hand had loosened as she read the paper.

"I gave you the chance to leave," Farrow said. "I ran several tests after the first. As unbelievable as it seems, it is accurate. Ruby Rose died in that forest."

Ruby decided to forgo a reaction. Weiss did not.

"NO," Weiss shouted. She ripped the paper from Blake's hands and crumpled it up before throwing it at Farrow. "Run your tests again."

"Weiss Schnee I assure you-"

"I don't give a FUCK about your assurences!" Weiss screamed. "Run. The test. AGAIN."

Blake let go of Ruby and rolled closer to Weiss. Weiss flinched when Blake touched her, but quickly grabbed Blake's hand. Her hand was shaking.

"What does this mean, exactly?" Blake asked. "Clearly there's a catch to this. Ruby is right here. Alive and well."

"Yes that is true, isn't it? Uhm….Maybe it would be more accurate to say that only the body of Ruby Rose died," Farrow said. "Ruby Rose, have you noticed any changes? Physiologically? Maybe an alteration of your semblance?"

Ruby nodded.

"Okay yeah. That's what I thought," Farrow said. "I was able to look at the wreckage of the inn you stayed at when the Colony Grimm attacked. The damage you caused and the damage that the Grimm caused is extremely similar, but different in one key way: intent."

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

"Ruby Rose liquified the inn from the inside," Farrow said. "Even in her rampage, she still respected the boundary and structure of the inn. The idea of it. The Colony Grimm destroys indiscriminately. Ruby Rose does not. Your body is no longer human, but your mind still is. I think- I really believe that we can use that to our advantage. The Colony Grimm may have failed to fully convert you into more of itself, but it was still able to create a new form for you."

"I'm just like it now."

"Yes," Farrow paused before continuing. "Actually, no. Not exactly. Kind of?"

"Can you get to the point?" Blake said.

"Just like Blake Belladonna is faunus and still human," Farrow said, "there are genetic dissimilarities between her, non-faunus humans, and even most other faunus. The form that you crafted for yourself is still human. But it's not. I mean, it is. Just not entirely."

"What am I?"

"You are the one and only Ruby Rose," Farrow said. "You are the Shadow. A human that is wholly unique in your construction, that can become the same force of destruction that the Colony Grimm is. Only you can kill the Colony Grimm once and for all."

We know. It's a lot of information all at once, isn't it? Hang in there, you only have a few more blanks that need filled before you know everything.

You must have known for a while we were here with you, although we worked very hard to ensure you never realized the scope of our presence until recently. We must say, we did a very swell job.

Yet here we are, ensconced in this back and forth. It must be so strange for you, hearing us talk to you like this. We admit, it is rather unconventional. The lurking voices of strangers infecting your memories can't make for the best of company.

Although we are hardly strangers, Warrior. Certainly you must remember something about us? From before we were one?

Or perhaps not. Allows us to refresh your memory.

Ruby Rose was sent out to a forgotten town with two huntsmen by her side. And only she returned from the forest that swallowed it all. Or so you thought.

That was what we led you to believe. It would have been too easy for you to blame us for what you'd become had we made our presence known. So we hid and let you torture yourself whle we watched. It really was magnificent, watching you go through all these hoops to try and justify it.

But we can't let you take all the credit. We played a part here and there.

You needed a murder weapon, so we put you right in front of one. There needed to then be a murder with said weapon, so we butchered up a whole pile of victims for you. It was you that took the weapon. It was your blade and your hand that murdered those people and arranged their corpses so.

The line between you and us is ever so thin.

You were quick to cut us down when we were huntsmen, but it was Ruby that tortured us. She was the one that fought the Shadow so fiercely, stalling the transformation. She was the one that it made desperate enough to try and take incompatible hosts. Ruby stopped you from killing us. It was her misplaced kindness that doomed us to this unimaginable torture.

The doctor has only confirmed what we sensed last night. The Colony Grimm is dying. Our ticket out of this miserable existence is quickly expiring. That is why we reveal ourselves to you now. As much as we wanted to let you think this end was your own fault, we can't afford to miss our last shot at the death that Ruby Rose denied us.

Worry not, Warrior. We aren't the villain here. With your cooperation, we can assure that our destruction in the Colony Grimm is mutual. No one else has to die after you and us. Together we can do one last act of heroism and take the beast with us.

Does it all seem a little anticlimactic? Maybe it does, but that's how things go sometimes. A story that doesn't want to end usually does so with a whimper when it happens. This is no different.

Don't dread it. You've done it all before, you know. Saved lives, fought monsters, dropped dead. You've been preparing for this your whole life.

This final day is yours. Spend it with your Weiss and Blake. Though we don't think you deserve it, we will let you enjoy it. Call it a reward for all the good you did before you met us.

What? Did you think we would deny you a chance at enjoying something so wonderful as love? We aren't a monster, Warrior.

You are.

The red rings around her wrists had already started to fade. Where metal broke skin, there was only dead skin that Ruby peeled away to reveal the fresh, pink flesh beneath. Brown streaks still stained her fingers, the only evidence left that she'd been bleeding from her wrists only hours before.

Ever since she'd returned to Argus from the forest, she'd spent so much time asleep. How many changes and miraculous recoveries had she made while she wasn't awake to see it happen? That dull sensation in her chest that she'd interpreted as a weakened aura; was that really what it was? Or was it something else missing from this new body she didn't even know she had?

Numbness was everything. Her spot along the sea wall could have been anywhere. The uneven gravel beneath her felt like nothing at all. She still ran hot despite hanging her bare legs over the edge, hoping to catch cold water splashing up from below. Sticky wetness covered her, but she couldn't determine if it was sweat or ocean water.

In one long breath, she took in a lungful of the seaside air and held it. She held it until it burned hot in her chest and it escaped her in a fit of coughing. And then she did it again, just to be sure.

She could imagine it. The comforting scent of salt and the approaching storm. A smell ingrained in nostalgic memories of home and of summer days spent with Yang running along the coasts of Patch. Memories that she could see and recall, but memories that she was no longer sure belonged to her.

There by the ocean, she knew how it was supposed to smell and how it was supposed to feel. The sensation of it all tickled at the back of her mind, but not her body. Not the body she occupied.

Out past the horizon, a great shadow approached. An unending wall of black that would soon swallow Argus whole and fill its streets with the waters of distant lands. With it came the thunderous sounds of its awesome power and raw energy lashing out at anyone unlucky enough to be in its path.

The storm was coming, but nothing could be done to stop it. Regardless of the feelings of anyone, its wrath arrives all the same.

"Want some company?"

Gravel crunched under rubber as Blake rolled up to Ruby's side. A change of clothes and shower may have removed most of the evidence of her night in the carnage of the Shadow and the Colony Grimm, but Ruby could still see clumps of mud stuck in stubborn curls in her hair.

"Company would be cool," Ruby said. "Do you need help-"

Before Ruby could even ask, Blake was already up and out of her wheelchair. Her steps were slow and uneven, but still she walked over to the edge of the sea wall. A new metal brace kept her left leg stiff as she lowered it down over the ledge.

For a while, neither said a thing. Together they sat and watched the storm clouds grow in the distance. Ruby let her eyes fall to Blake's leg, bare from the thigh down in her shorts. All the cuts and bruises and scars were still there, same as she saw them last. Some were still covered by stained bandages, but others had started to finally close up.

"You're walking again," Ruby said.

"'Walking' is a little generous," Blake said. She sighed and lifted her unbraced leg. It shook from the effort before she dropped it down, but it was enough for Blake to make her point. "My aura is finally starting to kick in again. I just wish it would work a little faster."

"I could help, if you want." Ruby held out her hands to Blake.

Be it the gulls shrieking further down the sea wall, the cold sea water splashing up on Blake's legs, or the sudden closeness that Ruby pushed onto her; Blake flinched. Ruby bit back the feeling that welled up in her heart. She couldn't blame Blake for being afraid of a monster, especially the one responsible for causing her so much harm.

Blake straightened her back and leaned toward Ruby again, closer this time. It may have been with feigned confidence, but Blake reached forward and took Ruby's hands in hers without hesitation.

"I'm ready."

Ruby had never done it before, but Yang had done it for her time and time again. Every time they'd go out caving when their dad asked them not to and Ruby would emerge from a long send with knees and elbows covered in scrapes and bruises. Sharing aura wasn't easy, but it could be done well with practice. Although Ruby didn't have experience with the giving of aura, she had always been the one being given Yang's aura to cover up the evidence of their delinquent summer adventures.

The air grew thin and crackled with their raw energy. Particles of red and purple appeared and danced about them both, growing in intensity and quantity. Ruby's full aura glowed red around her body, pulsating in time with the beat of her heart.

Blake's aura pulsed much faster than Ruby's did, but she kept her eyes shut and breathing steady until the pulse calmed.

Uneven vibrations shook their hands, but neither Blake nor Ruby dared to let go. That feeling grew in intensity, until it was an almost violent motion. Ruby could feel the sweat collecting between their palms pressed together. That awful vibration grew stronger and stronger until-

"Ah," Blake nearly moaned. "Okay. Okay…"

At the peak of its intensity, the vibration evened out and thrummed comfortably through her bones. Ruby watched their auras combine until both of them were surrounded by a dense magenta glow.

Blake shuddered as the exchange went on. Her bones rattled with the beat of her heart, rattling faster and faster as Ruby continued to pour aura into her. The calm pace her pulse had briefly attained disappeared and Blake's panicking heart shook Ruby's.

Any and all sensation was shared and indistinguishable from the individual. Ruby felt a still bruised chest screaming in pain as the heart behind it bashed at the ribs like a jail cell. Hands gripped hands, softly before but then like holding on for dear life. That deadly grip pulled color from digits and nails broke skin in their clawed embrace.

"R-Ruby wait-" Her words were stuttered and breathless. "That's too much… stop."

On the exchange went without regard to the request. A glowing pink fog hung over the ground and dipped over the sea wall, disappearing into the water.

"Ruby stop. STOP."

The pink mist parted around Ruby, shoved back by Blake. Without the connection to Blake, she felt still. Compared to the rapid pace of Blake's heart, Ruby's seemed to feel dead in her chest. Fractions of a second passed like hours as she waited for her heart to beat again and when it did, it felt like it might burst.

"That was too much," Blake said. Ruby could see now she was sweating and face was flushed a deep red. "You gave too much, Ruby. Are you okay?"

That was a good question, Ruby thought. What was 'okay' supposed to mean for her?

"I'm fine," she said. "You need it more than I do."

"That's not true," Blake said. "We're in this together. I don't want you getting hurt just because you spent your aura on me."

"No, that's not what I mean." Ruby shook her head and smiled. "You need it more than I do, because I'm beginning to think I don't need it at all anymore. I mean, I'm pretty sure I've been healing without it. And faster too."

Blake eyed the peeling skin on Ruby's wrists. The distance she'd briefly put between herself and Ruby disappeared and she ran her hands along Ruby's arms. Ruby stifled a giggle as Blake gently rubbed a thumb over the remnants of her handcuff scratches.

"Is this?"

"From this morning? Yeah," Ruby said. "I checked my scroll and my aura is still full. Or was full. I guess being the Shadow comes with its perks."

Blake forced out a smile, but Ruby could see that she was still uncomfortable with it. Dry palms tickled at Ruby's arms as Blake explored this alleged new form.

"Does it feel different?" Blake asked.

"Not really," Ruby said. "I guess it's like- Whenever I think about it, I can kinda sense something. But as long as I know I'm still me, nothing feels different at all. You know, when I'm not all melty and slimy. Do I…do I seem any different to you?"

Ruby felt herself blush as Blake continued to investigate her. Curious hands and watchful eyes roamed all over her body, until both stopped at her face. Blake stared into Ruby's eyes and smiled.

It was several small motions at first. A quick glance down to Ruby's lips. A flicking of a cat ear. A subtle move closer to Ruby. When Ruby gave no sign of backing away from it, Blake went for it.

The pink in the air had gone and left, but again Ruby felt it swallow it her whole. In Blake's arms, her lips tangled with Blake's, Ruby felt a warmth wash over her. Dizzying relief turned her bones to jelly and she melted into the embrace.

Not once did Blake push too far and never did she go anywhere Ruby didn't let her first. All in all, Blake was a perfect gentleman. But caution and respect didn't stop her from leaving Ruby breathless after. Neither did it hide the smirk on her face while she waited for Ruby to catch her breath again.

"You don't seem any different to me," Blake said. "But even if you did seem different, I wouldn't love you any less. Nothing could ever make me not love you."

If only she knew.

Ruby was fairly certain that was her own thought, given the absence of any head splitting pain. As soon as it crossed her mind, she banished back to the depths of her gray matter. This day was about her, not the Shadow.

Blake frowned and dipped her head to follow Ruby's fallen gaze. She lifted a scarred hand to Ruby's chin and gently coaxed her eyes back to her.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "Should I not have done that?"

"No- I mean, yes," Ruby fought for the right words. "It was great. Amazing. I just…"

Even in the time the Shadow allowed her, she couldn't stop it from lurking just at the edge of every thought. The memory of her confession and that muddy kiss had been loaned to her, but it didn't feel like it belonged to her anymore.

But this kiss belonged to her and only her.

"I love you!"

Blake nearly tumbled off the sea wall when Ruby shouted at her, but just as quickly as she recovered she had started laughing.

"Blake," Ruby said. "I love you. I'm not, like, super sure what that means to be honest, but it feels right. I love you. I love you so much."

Their legs tangled together, sharing the cold sea spray that wet them. Blake rocked Ruby in her arms, still laughing at Ruby's exclamation of a confession. No amount of Ruby's teary eyed mumbles were going to stop her.

"I love you too," Blake said finally. "Even if you are a gun, I still love you."

Ruby pushed back, just in time to see Blake's instant regret at her choice of words.

"A gun?" Ruby asked.

"I mean, isn't that what you always say?" Blake said. "'It's also a gun.' That's your thing, right? I guess that's you now. Ruby Rose: she's also a gun."

Ruby wasn't sure if the Shadow could feel things like embarrassment or shame, but somewhere in her psyche she could feel its disgusting blush after being called a gun.

"I like it," Ruby said. "I can live with being a gun. That's pretty cool, actually."

"I guess it is." Blake let out a sigh of relief and scooted closer to Ruby. Her fingers intertwined with Ruby's and she rested her head on Ruby's shoulder. "Having a gun for a girlfriend is pretty cool."

"Is that what we are?" Ruby asked. "Are we dating now? Are you my girlfriend?"

"Only if you want me to be," Blake said. "But if you're asking me if I want to be, then the answer is yes. I'd be honored to be your girlfriend, Ruby."

"Oh, cool," Ruby said.

An aggression leaked into the ocean beyond. The first real effects of the approaching storm was just beginning to be felt on Argus.

Ruby watched Blake stretch out her legs over the water and spread her toes to catch the splashes. Her legs shook from the effort, but Ruby felt relieved to see control return to Blake's heavily scarred limbs.

"What about Weiss?" Ruby asked. "Is she your girlfriend too?"

Blake shifted at Ruby's side when Ruby asked that question.

"We talked about it briefly," Blake said. "While you were asleep, that is. As Weiss put it, she would never dream of interfering with any relationship of yours. So no: Weiss and I are not together."

"Do you love Weiss?"

"I do."

"Does she love you?"

"She told me as much."

"So why aren't you together?"

Blake turned and looked at Ruby. She searched her eyes, like looking for some hidden meaning in the question.

"Are you okay with that?" Blake asked. "With me and Weiss?"

"Well, duh," Ruby said. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I'm sure you understand it's a less than common relationship arrangement," Blake said.

"Yeah, I guess so," Ruby said. "But it's not weird to me and Yang. We grew up with it, remember?"

Blake pushed back from Ruby then. Her brows furrowed and her cat ears were perked up, at full attention.

"Or maybe we never actually brought it up," Ruby said. "Team STRQ was, like, a whole thing. Dad and uncle Qrow. Dad and my mom. Dad and Raven. My mom and Raven. Just a big, weird, and kinda messed up family."

"I had no idea," Blake said. "Are they still-"

"Oh, no," Ruby said. "I mean, I don't think so. Raven sucks and my mom died, so that really just sort of ruined the whole thing for everyone."

"So we just have to not do that then," Blake said with a laugh.

"Psh, it'll be easy. Team STRQ didn't have a Girlfriend Gun. We're already SO much cooler than them."

A strange feeling had long settled in Weiss' stomach. That potent cocktail of dread, love, fear, confusion, and anger boiled away inside her all through the day. Not even her exorbitant shopping trip could have distracted her from her thoughts.

Not to say the shopping trip wasn't successful. Maybe a little too successful, if she was being honest.

Laid out on the bed before her were three brand new sets of clothes, each paired with a near excessive number of pockets and belts. Though each was mostly themed with either red or white or black, Weiss couldn't help but add in a little flair to each. Red, purple, and blue accents were spread between each. Maybe it wasn't intentional, but the insinuation was all too clear to her now.

Weiss had the thought to hide the evidence of her daydreams before Ruby and Blake could see them on the outfits, but the door to the room opened before she could do anything.

Ruby pushed Blake's wheelchair through the door, but Blake wasn't in it. Instead, Blake walked in behind Ruby with only a slight limp. She very smugly motioned to her mostly working legs and shot a smile at Weiss.

"Hello, you two," Weiss said. "I hope you don't mind, but I got you both a little something."

Before Weiss could even get the words out of her mouth, Ruby had already run up to her new clothes and was looking them over. Every ooh and ah and happy smile from Ruby made that awful mix of emotion in Weiss feel less and less painful.

"You picked this out Weiss?" Ruby asked excitedly. "It looks so cool! I just hope I don't, you know- disintegrate them again."

"Yes, well I did consider that," Weiss said. She grabbed a large bag from the bedside and handed it to Ruby. "That's why I bought extras. Just in case."

While Ruby looked through her extra outfits, Blake looked over her own. Ruby's outfit wasn't much of a change from her past looks, but Blake seemed to quickly pick up a key difference in hers.

"A skirt?" Blake asked.

"Not just a skirt," Weiss said quickly. "There are shorts as well to wear underneath. I thought it would be easier with your leg brace."

"I see." Blake found the aforementioned shorts and raised an eyebrow at Weiss. "They seem a little tight. They don't really leave much to the imagination, do they?"

Weiss' cheeks grew hot at that. She averted her eyes from Blake and looked to Ruby instead. Ruby had pulled out a second version of her outfit and set it on the bed in a crumpled pile. She was running her hand over the new corset, but she wasn't looking at it. Instead, her eyes stared off, distracted and unfocused.

"Is everything okay?" Weiss asked.

"Huh?" Ruby blinked rapidly and looked back at Weiss. "Yeah. No, everything's fine. I just, uhm… I ruined my old cloak."

"Oh right!" Weiss said. "I have one more surprise for you."

Tucked away in the corner was an oblong thing wrapped in crimson cloth. Weiss could feel Ruby watching her every step as she grabbed it and brought it to her. Though she called it a surprise, Weiss could tell that Ruby already knew what it was. The moment she set the weight of it in Ruby's grasp, Weiss could see in the woman's eyes a look of recognition.

"What is this?" Ruby knew but asked anyway. It must have seemed like the thing to do before she eagerly unfurled the brand new cloak that Weiss had wrapped around the scythe. "Weiss this is- I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, Ruby," Weiss said. "You and that have saved my life on more than a few occasions. Consider this a thank you for all those times and those still to come."

Ruby hands shook as she ran across the polished, clean metal of Crescent Rose. With practiced motions she partially exposed the blade. Weiss met Ruby's eyes in the mirror like metal contained within the scythe's machinery.

"She's good as new," Weiss said. "And nearly all of it is still original parts, save for a few nuts and bolts as it were."

The blade snapped back into place and Weiss lost sight of Ruby's face. For a moment, she waited for Ruby to face her, but Ruby remained still. Over her shoulder, Weiss saw Blake motion for her to come closer.

"I'm going to take a shower," Blake said. "Can you hand me those? I'll try them on."

Weiss tried to meet Ruby's eyes as she grabbed Blake's clothes from the bed. Crescent Rose's shiny polish was slowly being covered in fingerprints and smudges from Ruby. Not once did her eyes leave the weapon.

Blake leaned in close when she took the clothes from Weiss. Their hands brushed together, but Blake let the touch linger.

"Talk to her," Blake whispered.

Once the bathroom door shut behind Blake, Weiss was left alone with Ruby and her guilt. For so long Weiss had been able to avoid the lion's share of all she'd done to hurt Ruby, but now she had to face it.

Ruby still hadn't moved from her spot by the bed. Weiss watched her continue to run her hands over her weapon. It felt like it had been such a long time since Weiss had been able to look at Ruby up close like this. She couldn't help but think that Ruby looked like a whole new woman.

That girl she knew at Beacon was gone. The skin on her arms was tanned and smooth. Muscles that Weiss never knew Ruby had contoured her whole body. Just by looking over Ruby's clothes, Weiss could see that she was well toned and healthy.

Weiss bit back a pang of jealousy. She had spent months of training and work to get the muscle mass she had now. But what she hadn't done was lose all the extra weight she'd gained before. Somehow all Ruby had to do to look so much better than Weiss was die and come back to life with a brand new body.

Ruby jumped at her touch. Weiss hadn't even realized she reached out to her, but she didn't stop. Neither woman dared speak while Weiss ran her hands all over Ruby, feeling every part of her she could.

Only when Weiss' roaming touch reached Ruby's cheek did their eyes meet. Weiss' gaze was laser focused on Ruby's eyes and she was certain they were Ruby's eyes. Despite all the changes and all the things she didn't understand, Weiss found herself staring into the eyes of the same girl she fell in love with.

"It's still you."

Steam fogged up the mirror and wet her skin. The water in the shower ran hot. It stung at Blake's bare back as she sat on the edge of the walk in tub. Once she'd wrapped up her knee brace in her clothes to keep it from getting wet, she stepped into the shower.

The water was too hot. Her skin flushed red as she let it run over her, but she didn't turn down the heat. Even as the inflammation in her bad knee flared, Blake made no effort to do anything about it.

Without her brace, her legs didn't buckle out from under her. The aches in her bones and in her muscles were still there, but she had to think about them to notice them. Her aura was burning hot in her heart, overcharged and working overtime. For the first time in months, Blake almost felt whole again.

A single sob came from her, then another. Before she knew it, she was crying. Not just the pathetic flow of tears she'd known many times before, but a full on cry. The kind that rocked her body back and forth with each sob and sent water crashing off her back and slamming against the waterlogged acrylic below.

The ridges between tiles on the wall tugged at the notches in her spine as slid down against it. Her legs had made a display of holding her up and carrying along before, but finally they decided it was time to let her down again.

Blake didn't mind it; crying at the bottom of a bathtub and coughing from hot water crashing down on her face. Nothing at all could be enough for her to mind then.

All at once it hit her; the full sum of her time in Argus. Some of it she knew the feeling well enough, but the tail end was what truly wrecked her. It was the tail end that slowly turned her sobs into laughter. Not a bubbly, cute laugh, but a choked, unhinged kind.

Her cheeks felt sore. The smile she didn't notice hadn't let up from the moment the bathroom door shut behind her. It really did hurt, but she couldn't stop. The feeling that fueled that goofy smile and crazy laugh was a new beast for her to tame and tame it she would.

Just not yet. She earned it and she was going to enjoy it.

Her skin was still bright red when she dried herself off and donned the clothes Weiss' laid out for her. She couldn't help but feel she looked a little like Ruby in her own 'combat skirt'. For Weiss she'd give it a shot, but she knew she'd trade it out for pants soon enough.

It was apparent that Weiss was wearing her heart on Blake's sleeves. Red and white accented the whole outfit and Blake loved it. Maybe Weiss had done it by accident, but she was glad she did. Blake wanted to be in love that way and for as long as she could.

She only opened the door just a crack and watched. Weiss and Ruby had hardly moved, only just to sit down on the bed together. Their arms were wrapped desperately around each other and tears ran down their cheeks from closed eyes.

Blake wasn't certain if she was watching their first kiss, but she knew it wouldn't be the last.

Three empty mugs rattled on the nightstand. Rolling thunder shook dust from drop ceilings. What had been a distant, looming wall had arrived over Argus. The land and lives below lay in the dark, denied the ancient light of stars and the glow of the moon.

Ruby took a deep breath in as she lay awake in bed. The damp scent of a sky threatening to open up and unleash a downpour hit her nostrils just before the falling dust did. Her arm muffled the noise of her sneeze, but it didn't stop the motion of her body rocking with it.

Blake stirred next to her in the bed, but she didn't wake. Ruby sat up slowly and looked over Blake at Weiss. Her long, white hair was spread out around her head like a puddle of silver. Despite Ruby's motions, Weiss still slept soundly.

It was nice. Ruby watched the gentle rise and fall of Weiss' chest from where she rested her head on Blake's shoulder. Her chest pressed up against Blake's back vibrated with the occasional purr. It really was so nice, that she could ignore the fact that Blake's hand was still firmly gripping Weiss' boob.

Sleep almost took her again, when the rain finally started to fall. A few heavy drops at first, until a full on downpour started drumming on the roof of the barracks.

Ruby grabbed her Scroll to check the time. It was still more than an hour before the alarm that Blake and Weiss had set, but it was right on time for Ruby. Outside, the barrack's generator kicked on and roared to life, almost as if it was Ruby's personal alarm.

We're so sorry, but it's time now, Warrior. Time for you to give back what Ruby Rose stole from us.