A few hours had passed since the Reaper left the village to "hunt down the Grimm." Ruby already suspected the truth behind its departure, but she remained behind to tend to the two remaining survivors. The first thing that came to mind was getting them off the cold, hard ground and on to warm, soft beds…which was easier said than done. It turned out that dragging bodies, even one at a time, was quite taxing for her. Not only physically, given her petite figure, but emotionally as well. This reminded her of the frightening moment she had to drag her poisoned uncle across the continent, only she had help from Team JNR at the time.

Now Ruby was alone in this ruined village, with only her worries to keep her company. As often as she reminded herself to stay positive and hopeful, even she felt pessimistic after all of this. It was hard to justify that "things would be okay." Strangely enough, there was one small thing that was going her way right now. Ever since the Reaper left, the pain that resulted from her burn ebbed away. The wound was still there, of course, but it didn't hurt to move her arm around. What was also strange was how comfortable she had been from the Reaper's presence, given that it was still a Grimm and one of Salem's creations, no less. Even her friends and family wouldn't believe it if she told them. It had only been two nights, but she felt like she had known it her whole life. In a way, she had; the two did have a lot in common.

Ruby avoided passing by the corpses in the center of the village and took a detour around the inn when she dragged the two survivors; she couldn't bear to look at them. Even thinking of the traumatic sight brought tears to her eyes, and she couldn't afford to fall apart now. When she finally got the two settled on beds, (thankfully, she didn't have to climb stairs) she happened on a small apple on a nearby desk. After dealing with the separation of everyone she held dear and one life-threatening situation after another, it seemed ridiculous to think about something so mundane.

And yet… the apple told a story. There was a bite mark on it, which suggested that it belonged to someone, but they didn't bother to finish it. There were no bodies in the room before she dragged the survivors in, sleeping or dead, which suggested that the apple belonged to a guest that stayed for the night. There weren't any other belongings lying around, which probably meant that they were fortunate enough to leave before the Apathy descended upon the village. Maybe they were just in a hurry to leave and forgot about it?

Another thing this single apple revealed was the fact that the room hadn't been cleaned. Normally, a guest room would be kept tidy just in case someone needed a place to sleep in their travels. The Apathy's presence would, of course, render whoever's responsible for room service to be too tired to do anything. The beds were also messy when she dragged the survivors on them, which further proved the point. Nobody would have come here, put an apple on the desk, and then left the room, all under the effects of the Apathy.

Ruby wondered if there were any records of when guests came and left. If she could find that and the cleaning schedule, it might be possible to pinpoint the exact moment that the Apathy came to—

"Oh," she said when her stomach growled. In the midst of all that adversity, it was easy to forget the simpler things…like how it's been two days since she had real food. She hastily grabbed the apple and took a huge bite, followed by another. She was normally averse to thievery, but it's not like anybody would mind.

"I'll never get back to fighting Salem on an empty stomach," she muttered. Discarding the empty apple core, she looked around the inn for a pantry. Luckily for her, it didn't take long to find it. Using her scroll's flashlight to look around, she discovered many bottles of wine and alcohol in the basement. She sighed in annoyance; it was just like Brunswick all over again.

"I'm just really tired and I really, really hate this place," Ruby said in a tone that mimicked Weiss' voice.

"Aw, come on, Weiss. I know it's hard now, but we'll pull through like we always have!" Ruby said. "We've just got to work together. We'll make the world better. I know it!"

"Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale," Ruby said in a tone that mimicked Blake's voice.

"Well, that's why we're here! To make it better," Ruby said.

"Oh, I am so proud of my baby sister!" Ruby said in a tone that mimicked Yang's voice. She wrapped her arms around herself like she was giving someone a big hug and closed her eyes.

"I'm so proud of my team, too!" Ruby said, returning the "hug." She opened her eyes to see that she was still alone. Her smile faded when her mind came back to reality.

"Aaand I'm talking to nobody," Ruby said. "I'm really starting to lose it."

Further exploring the pantry, she found another cupboard with tightly rolled bags. Inspecting one of them, she let out a yelp when she realized what it was.

"Bread!" she cheered with wide eyes. She unwrapped the loaf and gobbled it like a ravenous beast. Not stopping with the bread, she raided another cupboard and found peaches in a bottle. Prying the metal lid off, she hastily guzzled the contents, letting the water leak out from her mouth. Then, she dropped the bottle, guzzled another one, and wiped her mouth.

"See, Weiss," Ruby muttered between breaths. "Didn't even need salt." She paused. "And I'm still talking to nobody."

She went back upstairs to check on the survivors. They were still comatose, but they weren't leaking mucus or saliva anymore. They almost seemed…peaceful, like they were just sleeping. The sight relieved Ruby to some extent; maybe she did save a few people after all. This left her with a new worry, however. How could she explain to them what had happened? How could she tell them that their own friends, their own family, murdered one another in some hate-induced frenzy? In fact, how could she tell them that they too fell under this state? What if they killed some of their own? How would they live with that?

Answers for another time; she was exhausted. The last two days have been such an ordeal and Ruby needed rest. She plopped on the other bed in the guest room, not bothering to even take off her shoes or cape, and closed her eyes.

She found herself in a dark room with a purple tint. The only thing that stood out were the glowing red eyes that pierced the darkness. Soon, black tentacles came from all direction and wrapped around her body, immobilizing her. She felt something...very wrong, and she screamed. The glass floor beneath her shattered and she fell for what felt like hundreds of feet, only to land on a patch of grass completely unharmed.

She stood up and found herself in front of a familiar gravestone on a cliff that overlooked the ocean. The feeling of grass under her bare feet, the smell of cookies in the air, and the beautiful sunset in the sky, it all felt like home. It was Patch, her home, and she was standing in front of her mother's grave. Her surroundings were eerily quiet, but she could make out a single word: "Rosebud."

Several gusts of white summer leaves blew through the air all around Ruby and coalesced into a pile, which morphed into a tall figure wearing a white robe. She tried to respond, but the words wouldn't leave her mouth. She tried to move, but her limbs remained still. The figure turned around and revealed her face; it looked just like Ruby's. It was her mother.

All of Ruby's thoughts focused on her; she'd forgotten about everything else. She wanted to hug her, to say all the things she needed to say, but she still couldn't move or speak. She couldn't even blink or turn away. She was just there. Her mother looked at her with a deep sadness, but that was nothing compared to the most pervasive words she'd ever heard in her life.

"Your mother said those words to me."

The grass turned brown and the sky turned dark. Tears came down her mother's eyes and she reached out toward Ruby, but the cruel and painful voice destroyed the moment.

"She was wrong, too."

Her mother burst into the white summer leaves that formed her, leaving no body behind. The entire cliff collapsed, taking the grave with it, and the world grew dark. The ground beneath her rumbled and she heard a much kinder voice bellow in the wind.

"I never meant for this to happen."

"Moooom!" Ruby screamed. Tears came from her eyes when she jolted up from the bed. She was back in the inn. It was a nightmare; a movie without a happy ending. She took a breath and calmed down. "Keep getting these nightmares."

Daylight came through the windows; the sheer brightness of the light meant she'd slept well past the sunrise. Taking a moment to collect herself, she got out of bed to look at her feet. They weren't bare like in the nightmare; she never took off her shoes.

Her attention shifted toward the two survivors that laid on the other bed; they haven't even moved. Even their disheveled poses were the same as when she dragged them on that bed. A more optimistic way of putting it was that they weren't getting any worse. She stood up to get a closer look when a sharp pain spiked through her arm.

"Yeow!" Ruby yelled, clutching her burn wound. She grimaced, having thought that the pain might have actually went away. "Ow, ow, ow!"

Ignoring her burn as much as possible, she shuffled toward the survivors.

"Hey, you two okay?" she asked, prodding and shaking them, but to no avail. "Hellooo? Rise and shine. I've got cookieees."

That last part was a lie, but Yang once got her out of bed after a particularly bad night with that method. She put her ear over each of their chests; at least their hearts were still beating. After a second to think, something that her dad used to do when she felt ill came to mind, and it gave her an idea. She scrounged through all of the desks, cupboards, closets, potted plants, and secret buttons she could find; she never did find any secret buttons though.

"Where's a glass of milk, a video game, and an inspirational poster when I need it?" she muttered. Kung Fu Ninja Ultimate Slayer Death Battle 2 always worked for her, but these two might have different favorites. Everybody's got their own tastes. Her search lead her to a small infirmary that, now that she found it, made her wonder why she didn't go through it last night.

A quick once-over through the closet and drawers was all Ruby needed. She didn't find any milk, video games, or posters, but she did find something more old-fashioned inside the closet: medicine. She grabbed every single bottle and carton at once and carried them to the bed she slept in.

"Let's see…antiseptic, mood swings, anti-pre-ticks, can-na-bees," she muttered, reading each label out loud. Her attention turned to the wrappings, syringes, and inhalers in the bundle and she already grew nervous. "Hehe…how hard can this be? Let's see, you both are…sleeping…I think."

A loud gust came from outside, but Ruby ignored it, focusing on what she's doing…whatever it was. She looked behind one of the bottles to see if there were any instructions, but she found only a list of contents.

"Ben-zall-con-ee-um chloride, ben-zeth-on-ee-um chloride, chlor-ox-ile-en-all," she read slowly, only to stop at the third ingredient. It was no use. The big words were making her head hurt. She tried to stay calm on the outside, but inside, she was panicking. Even if they looked peaceful now, what if they stayed that way until they just died? Meanwhile, the loud gust from outside only grew louder. It was enough to make her stop and look outside.

"What's going on out—" she shouted, then stopped when she saw an airborne ship in the sky. To her relief, it was flying toward the village. "Oh my god."

Ruby quickly climbed up to the top of the inn and balanced herself on the slanted roof. From the look of the ship, it almost appeared Atlesian. She didn't have any idea what an Atlesian ship would be doing in a village like this, but she didn't question it. She waved her arms, ignoring the pain from her burn, to get the pilot's attention.

"Hey! Over here!"

Tears of joy came down Ruby's eyes when the ship descended. This was the miracle she needed. With a happy squee, she slid down the roof and landed on the ground. Before she could run where the pilot could see her, she noticed the Reaper watching the scene from the corner of her eye. It stood by the trees surrounding the village; its body half-concealed by the branches. Her attention went back to the ship when she heard it touch the ground. She sprinted toward it and waved some more, as if it wasn't already obvious she needed help. The cockpit opened and she heard a man's voice.

"Place looks like hell. Are you the Huntress?" he asked. Ruby didn't recognize the man's voice, nor could she get a good look at him, but she was too desperate to be cautious now. Questions like "Why did he ask if I was a Huntress?" and "Why didn't he just ask if I was okay?" didn't register in her mind.

"Uh…yeah," she answered. "I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose! I've been lost for days and I don't have my weapon and I fought a bunch of Grimm with my eyes and I can't read the backs of those medicine bottles and…and—"

"Yeah, it checks out. I can't believe it. The old lady was right on the nose after all," the pilot said. "What happened here? You said there was a Grimm attack?"

"Yeah! I…we just fought them," Ruby said. "Most of the people here died, but I was able to save two. They're not moving, but they still breathing. They need help. I put them on a bed in the inn."

"Right," he answered, unusually nonchalant about the whole ordeal. He walked out at a normal pace, far too slowly for what someone in an emergency should do. "Hop in the back. If you want a drink, there's some in the back, but don't touch the one next to my seat."

He wore an Atlesian uniform with his face obscured by the helmet; Ruby's suspicions were right, but why here? How far away was she from Atlas right now?

"What's wrong with that one?" she asked, ignoring her internal concerns. The pilot briefly stopped to answer.

"It's mine. You can't have it."

Ruby looked at him, dumbfounded. She asked a stupid question. Before she boarded the ship, she saw the Reaper still standing by the trees. It was difficult to tell from this distance, but it seemed like it turned to leave.

"Wait. There's someone else with me. She's…" Ruby said, then paused. She couldn't just tell this guy that her new friend was a Grimm. She'd sound crazy. "She's a Huntress, just like me."

Technically not a lie, especially that last part. The pilot was already inside the inn when she said that. He probably didn't notice…or care. He didn't seem all that concerned. Ruby sprinted with her Semblance to reach the Reaper in seconds and stopped on a dime.

"Hey!" she said.

"Ruby," the Reaper responded and turned around when it heard her from behind.

"Um…about last night," they both said simultaneously, only to pause when things got awkward.

"I'm sorry," the Reaper said. "When I saw I sensed Grimm, I—"

"It's okay," Ruby said, then pointed at the ship. "Look, someone's here to help. Everything's gonna be fine now."

"Yeah," the Reaper gave a sad smile. "You, uh…you can go back to your life now. I bet you'll get back to your team now."

Ruby gave it a worried look and reached her arm out, only for it to look away.

"Gruby, why don't you come with me?" she asked.

"What?" the Reaper asked with worry. "I…I don't—"

"The fight against Salem didn't just stop while I was gone," Ruby declared. "Getting back to my team is only the start. Once we do, it's back to fighting Salem. We have to stay together and…I want you to fight with us. We came this far because we worked together. We had each other, and I know we'll have a better chance if we try together. Please."

"Ruby," the Reaper said somberly. "The people here were afraid of me. When I killed the Apathy, the family I saved didn't thank me. They just ran from me." It looked at its claws and clenched them. "That little boy…called me a monster. What if…everyone else is afraid? What if I hurt someone else like I hurt you? That scares me so much."

"I know," Ruby said. "I'd feel the same way if I were in your shoes…er, feet. Shoes? Feet? Do Grimm wear shoes?"

"What if someone dies because of me?" it asked. Its mind was too preoccupied on the sudden hatred that befell the villagers and what might have caused it to have any hope.

"If you want to be held back by your fears, that's your choice," Ruby said bluntly. "You want to go through life avoiding everybody, that's your choice. But birds that don't hatch just die in their eggs. So I hope you choose—"

"—to break out," the Reaper said in unison with Ruby. "That's right. I remember. Black Queen village. We were attacked by the very villagers we tried to save. They lost faith in Huntsmen after the Fall of Beacon. Do you…do you think the Huntsmen will just try to kill me on sight?"

"Well, I can't speak for every Huntsman…and we are trained to kill Grimm," Ruby said. "But I know my team. Our team."

The Reaper's gaze instantly lit up when she said "our team."

"I know they'll do what's right," she said. "And so do you…because we have the same memories. They're your friends, too. You know you can't abandon them."

Ruby held out her hand again. After a moment to think, the Reaper returned the gesture, being careful not to let its claws touch her skin. The two shared a smile and looked toward the ship…and the poor man that had to carry two comatose villagers by himself. Before they took the first step on the fight ahead of them, a nearby pile of summer leaves scattered across the air by a gust of wind. The leaves caught their attention; they were just like the leaves in Ruby's dream, only green.

"You're thinking of her, right?" the Reaper asked.

"Who?"

"You know who I mean," it responded, its gaze never leaving the leaves. "She was the reason I came back."

Ruby looked at her Grimm self in both amazement and confusion, and it looked back.

"Ruby," the Reaper said. "I saw her too."