After a silence that seemed to last an eternity, dawn finally came. The Reaper sat in the same rotted location it was in since its temper flared…literally. It never moved. It never made another sound beyond that warning about never harming another innocent. It simply sat alone with its thoughts with poignant eyes on its scythe.
Meanwhile, Ruby slept still throughout the night. Her mind filled with a vision of black tentacles wrapped around her body. She heard the sound of her own voice screaming uncontrollably, followed by the echoes of shattered windows.
"Gaaah!" she yelled, snapping her eyes open. She took a couple of breaths and calmed down. "Hah...ah...okay. It's only a nightmare."
When she turned her head toward the sunrise, she briefly flinched and covered her eyes. Her body was sore from having slept in that cave the whole night; it left her stiff. Out of a lack of awareness, Ruby stretched her sore limbs, only to agitate the wound that the Reaper's scythe left on her arm. The sharp pain forced her to clamp down her wrapped wound with her hand. She quickly glanced at her Scroll and reacted in quiet dread. Even at 100% Aura, the wound never healed.
Ruby stepped outside; her free hand kept the sun out of her eyes. Only the cold remains of the makeshift fireplace stood on the plateau. There was no sign of—
"Other me?" Ruby called out. The cold made her body shiver. "Where is she?"
It didn't take long for her to find it, considering it sat in the one rotted part of the forest that was overlooked by the plateau. Her eyes were naturally drawn to such decay; it stuck out like a sore thumb.
"What are you doing down there?" Ruby yelled. "Are you…okay?"
The Reaper came out of its thoughts and looked up at Ruby. After a moment to get its bearings, it silently wondered how much time passed.
"Yeah, I'm," the Reaper's voice lowered, "never better."
"I can't hear you!"
"Never better," it said louder. It climbed up the sheer cliff of the plateau, which was about 18 feet up. The scythe in its hand dug into the cliff like a pickaxe while its free claw kept it from sliding down. It moved slowly and carefully, making sure not to leave behind any more flames.
"Why were you just sitting down there?" Ruby asked.
"I told you," the Reaper answered as it climbed. "I didn't want Grimm to be drawn to you, so I stayed away."
"That spot," Ruby said, referring to the rotted part of the forest. "It's like someone sneezed on Dust crystals and left a huge crater. What even did that?"
"Grimm," the Reaper said matter-of-factly. "The most terrifying Grimm I've ever seen. That was responsible."
It reached the top of the plateau and pulled itself up, ignoring the hand Ruby offered. As far as the Reaper was aware, the lack of protection that Aura provides against it might have caused her hand to be crushed to pieces with a squeeze.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" Ruby asked with concern. "You didn't have to fight it by yourself. I could've helped you."
"You…might still have to," the Reaper whispered with a pang of guilt.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It's…no, it's nothing," the Reaper tried to portray a sense of confidence. "I've never been better."
"You sure?" Ruby asked. "You were keeping watch the whole time, right?"
"Yeah."
"Aren't you…tired?" Ruby squinted.
"Uh…no," the Reaper said with a noticeable delay. "No, I'm not. Huh."
It took until now for the Reaper to realize the implications, but it wasn't exhausted from staying awake the whole night…not even a little bit. Nervous about what its very existence could bring to the world, yes, but it definitely wasn't tired.
"Maybe…Grimm don't need to sleep?" the Reaper guessed. "I mean, they only eat because they choose to, but they don't have to, so maybe. I mean, I don't look tired, do I?"
"No," Ruby admitted. "But you seem…off. You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah," the Reaper couldn't even look her in the eye. "Never better."
It couldn't say it. After everything that happened last night, the Reaper couldn't find the courage to bring up what happened last night. It was bad enough when Ruby knew Salem built it. That caused enough fear as it is. It knew deep down that keeping secrets made things worse, but how could it explain the fact that it was destined to be a harbinger of destruction by the God of Darkness himself? Even if that aligns with the goal of defeating Salem, where does that leave the rest of the world?
After an eternity of war with Salem, there was finally a real chance of ending it and bringing true salvation to the world, but would it last? All it would take is one person unwilling to obey the rules that the gods made, and the cycle could begin all over again. Would the God of Darkness have it hunt that person down as well? A constant cycle of destruction that the deity that orchestrated its very creation would only take glee in such a thing. That doesn't even mention the possibility of that salvation being instantly wiped away by a petty deity that lost a bet.
A bet. That's what the true meaning of life was for the people of Remnant; to satisfy a bet. If every religious person that looked up at the stars and believed in destiny ever learned how ridiculous the truth was…the Reaper didn't dare think of how many Grimm would show up from the negativity. Would the Grimm still unleash destruction to the world on behalf of their true god, as opposed to Salem? Would destroying her even change anything in the long run?
The two "roses" walked aimlessly for hours across the cold snow, both distracted. For the Reaper, it was the events of last night. For Ruby, the thought of seeing her friends and family again…and eating something besides frozen berries. Compared to yesterday, the weather wasn't as frigid; it wasn't snowing, but the two were still lost. The quiet and grim worries that plagued them both to the point that neither paid attention to the other…and the Reaper stopped in front of Ruby, only for her to walk into it.
"Sorry," they both said in unison and briefly paused. That moment when they both say the same thing at the same time was still awkward.
"I...still can't find any sign of a village," the Reaper admitted. "I'm sorry. I dragged you into this."
"Aw, it's okay," Ruby tried to sound optimistic, but couldn't hide her worry. "I'm used to long walks across the continent. I hear that tree bark is tasty this time of year."
The Reaper looked at Ruby with a deadpan silence and shook her head. Even Ruby thought that was too fake after a pause to think about it.
"Yeah, that's not…helpful," Ruby said with a sigh. "We're lost."
She saw the look of guilt over the Reaper's face and silently berated herself for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. This wasn't the time to mope.
"We're gonna be fine," Ruby said with more optimism. "We've been in worse situations than this and survived. Well, I mean you haven't actually been around for that long. I mean—"
"It's okay," the Reaper interrupted. "I'm not worried about me."
That statement stopped Ruby cold. She looked at her Grimm counterpart with open worry. As much as the Reaper wanted to take back that statement, it was the truth. It didn't value its own life. It turned its sad gaze away from Ruby and continued onward. Ruby couldn't leave it like that, even if their predicament was its fault. That's not how a good Huntress was supposed to act. With a pause, she decided to do what they both wanted to avoid since yesterday: the awkward getting-to-know-you stuff.
"What's it like?" Ruby somberly asked. "Being a Grimm."
The Reaper was briefly taken aback by this question. It tried to find the words that properly articulated the answer. After that moment, only two words came to mind.
"It's horrible," the Reaper said. It wanted to keep it as simple as possible, but the thought of yesterday also came to mind for it. This was a good opportunity to get it over with.
"Uh," the Reaper spoke more deliberately. "Maybe…I should use…more words?"
"And," Ruby spoke with just as much discomfort. "Maybe…we can talk about this…while…we're walking. You know, just in case we—"
"Yeah, yeah," the Reaper agreed. "No point in standing out here in the cold."
The two gave each other another awkward look before they continued their trek.
"Okay, I guess a good place to start is the beginning," the Reaper said. "For me, the beginning was when I rose out of that pool. You remember how I said I remembered how you relived the worst moments of your life?"
"Yeah," Ruby nodded.
"Well," the Reaper paused. "I remember everything else, too. I remember living on an island…with a dad and a sister. I remember the fairy tales my sister would read me every night when I was young. I remember wanting to be…a hero who saves everyone, like in storybooks."
This description left Ruby's mouth agape. The Reaper was describing her life.
"I remember the first day of Beacon…and how amazing it was to be surrounded by so many weapons," the Reaper blinked in realization of what it said. "Oh, and other Huntsmen, they were cool, too. I also remember…"
The Reaper paused and displayed noticeable discomfort, which quickly turned into anger and despair. It stopped walking for a moment and looked down at its knees.
"I remember what I said to my sister that day. I told her that I didn't want to be any kind of knees," the Reaper seethed with anger. "I just wanted to be a normal girl with normal knees!"
Dark flames formed under the Reaper's feet due to this outburst, which melted the snow around it, though it wasn't in any discomfort. It took a moment to calm down.
"I…I remember going through so much suffering…so much loss," the Reaper spoke with sorrow. "I remember having to move forward through it, one day at a time, and then…I was abducted. I thought I was gonna die, that I was never gonna see my friends again. Instead, I had the worst moments of my life forced in my mind, then I woke up…and saw…me…on the other side of the pool."
The Reaper stared down at its claws; its scythe gripped tightly in its right.
"Then I looked at my hands…and saw these…sharp…things where my fingers used to be," the Reaper could barely articulate the words. "I saw my reflection on the pool…and that's when I knew, I wasn't me at all, that the life I remember isn't even mine! I…I look at my knees sometimes and…I…I just—"
"I'm sorry," Ruby quietly interrupted. "I didn't know."
"Being a fake wouldn't be so bad if I just…wasn't so…angry," the Reaper gritted its teeth with rage. "I'm so angry, all the time! No matter what, I always think about hurting someone. I…I can't help it. I feel like there's this…monster inside me, and it makes me want to take these things and dig them deep into someone eyes 'til the blood comes out!"
Ruby's eyes widened in shock at the graphic description of its claws.
"I spend every waking moment keeping that monster locked away, deep inside me," the Reaper's voice softened. "I can hold it back, but it's always there. It's always…clawing at me from the inside. It never stops and it's always so angry…and hungry. Hangry…it's—"
"The desire to destroy. You really are Grimm," Ruby interrupted with a sad tone. "Have you ever…lost control?"
The Reaper paused, not out of remorse, but fear. It would choose death if it hurt an innocent, unwillingly or otherwise.
"I…no. No, I never lost control," the Reaper quivered with vulnerability. "At least…not yet, but…I'm so afraid of that. I have to be so careful, especially around people. Every time I move really fast, like my legs or arms, this fire comes out of my body and burns everything I touch. I…I remember how fun it was to be faster than everyone and move all over the place. It was my Semblance. I can still move like that, only now I can't run without the risk of setting someone on fire. And my eyes…they're so different than what I remember."
"You mean like my silver eyes?" Ruby asked, ignoring the obvious fact that the Reaper's eyes were clearly red.
"Mine are…different, the Reaper explained. "They're like the opposite of silver eyes, you know? Your eyes destroy Grimm and protect life. Mine kill people, but don't work on Grimm."
"Huh," Ruby muttered. "We're kinda like two sides of the same coin. Wait, how do you know they kill people? I never seen you use them."
"Tyrian tried to stop me from getting you out of Salem's domain," the Reaper explained.
"You fought Tyrian?" Ruby asked with shock. "By yourself?"
"I murdered him," the Reaper admitted with shame. "All I had to do was look at him and think really hateful thoughts. It's…so easy for me to hate, so easy to make it a habit! Nothing should ever have this kind of power! It's too easy to abuse!"
The same thought occurred to Ruby, albeit without the awkward pause that would usually come from thinking the same thing at the same time. Normally, she would try to make the other person feel better about themselves, but it was still hard to have complete confidence in this Grimm.
"Can I…ask you something?" Ruby asked.
"Sure," the Reaper answered.
"You said you have my memories…that you remember living my life, but there's still a chance that Salem might have messed with the way you understand them," Ruby explained. "I still don't know if I can trust you. I just need to be sure, so…when I stood against the Leviathan and used my eyes on it, what was the very last thing I thought of before I turned it to stone?"
"The very last thing?" the Reaper reiterated.
"Please just tell me that much," Ruby pleaded. "Just tell me…why it meant so much."
After a brief delay, the Reaper nodded in understanding.
"It was your mom," the Reaper answered. "The last thing you thought of was your mom. You thought of her alive and well and…happy…and that made you happy, more than anything. She's the reason you wanted to be a Huntress. Even after everything, she's still your hero. Every time you run into a problem and don't know what to do, you think to yourself 'what would Mom do?' It's...it's your way of being close to her."
Ruby was taken aback by the answer, barely holding the tears back. Her lips trembled and she gave the Reaper a smile.
"Well, that and Huntsmen and Huntresses are so much more exciting than the police," the Reaper concluded.
"You are me," Ruby said. "In every way."
"No, I'm not," the Reaper shook its head. "I'm a Grimm. I always have been."
"No, you're not like those monsters," Ruby tapped the Reaper's chest. "You've got a heart, and a soul! I can feel it!"
It stared at her in astonishment. This was nothing like the way the God of Darkness spoke to it. Even toward a copy of her, Ruby saw value in it.
"I…I don't…Ruby, how can you trust me?" the Reaper asked in disbelief. "I got us lost, I burned your arm, and I don't think it's gonna heal. Why…aren't you afraid of me?"
"I never told anybody those details," Ruby explained. "About Mom, I mean. Even when my friends see me use my eyes, they don't know what goes through my mind each time. I keep that stuff private. It makes me emotional even talking about it…but you knew. You even told me what she really meant to me."
Tears formed in Ruby's eyes, which she tried to laugh off.
"There's no way you're a monster," Ruby declared with a comforting smile. "I refuse to believe that. No monster could understand things like that! You're your own person."
"You said that same thing to Oscar…about being his own person," the Reaper said with a forced smile. "He had his own personality, even before Ozpin came in his life. I don't."
The smile quickly faded from Ruby's face.
"This isn't my personality. It's yours," the Reaper tapped its skull. "Your memories, your feelings, your life. That's the only thing separating me from a monster. I don't have any original thought in my mind. I wasn't even given a real name."
With that, the Reaper attempted to go back to walking. It was just about done with this exhausting getting-to-know-you stuff.
"Then you can have my name," Ruby spoke with heartfelt sincerity. This stopped the Reaper in its tracks. It listened in quiet anticipation. "I'll share it with you."
The Reaper's eyes widened at the sentiment, but its back still faced Ruby.
"You said that you're a copy," Ruby said. "That means you're just as much 'Ruby Rose' as I am."
The Reaper finally turned around and looked at her squarely in the eyes. Its limbs trembled with conflicting emotions.
"I guess you'll wanna be able to tell us apart," Ruby said innocently. "How about…Gruby? You know, Grimm Ruby, but for short?"
No vocal response came from the Reaper's lips. All that came was the gentle smile of something that was truly accepted as someone.