The inside of the ship brought some terrible memories. It looked exactly like the one Ruby and her team stole from Argus to get to Atlas…and the one that they stole from Atlas after the Relic of Knowledge was stolen. Just sitting in the seats long enough gave both Rubies terrible flashbacks over the events of Atlas; the multiple assassinations that took place at Robin's victory party, Penny getting framed for the murders, and of course, Ironwood's decision to declare martial law and abandon Mantle for the sake of protecting the Relic of Creation. However, that was nothing compared to the gigantic fleet of Grimm that descended upon the floating city…and Salem herself made her appearance for the first time.
That was the night that Ruby finally came face to face with the immortal witch…completely at her mercy and taken to the World of Darkness. That was the night the Reaper was spawned; made to be an instrument of evil, yet chose another path. And now, seemingly out of nowhere, an Atlesian ship shows up. Now that Ruby had time to take in what was happening, she wondered if this was truly a blessing. The terms that she and Ironwood parted on were bad, to put it kindly. Now that she was on one of their ships, it made her wonder. Would she be jailed for going against him? Would they put the past behind them? It's been two whole days; was the battle already over?
Meanwhile, the Reaper's thoughts were, for once, different from Ruby's and much more single-minded. They all revolved around the two survivors lying in the seats opposite of where it and Ruby sat. They were still comatose, to be brought to a place to receive medical aid and hopefully, some mental therapy. In the meantime, they were to be safely on the ship…mere feet from the Reaper. The quiet suspicion of believing itself responsible for the bloodbath at Aisufurawa made it extremely nervous; even Ruby noticed its fidgeting claws.
"Hey," she said, putting her hand over its shoulder. "You okay?"
It stopped shaking and gave her a weak smile. It was still too afraid to say it; to face the thought of innocent blood on its claws, so it said nothing. The pilot climbed in with the rest of them soon after.
"Okay. Just finished my rounds out there. Gotta say…it's different from any Grimm attack I've ever heard of," he said, then looked at Ruby. "You did say it was a Grimm attack."
"Yeah," Ruby said, unsure of his suspicion. "We fought a horde of Apathy."
"Funny," he said, sounding unconvinced. "I've never heard of any Grimm arming themselves with our own weapons and using them against us."
The Reaper gasped; its eyes widened with fear.
"Their own weapons were stained with their blood. Furthermore, their wounds matched the shapes of the weapons. If I didn't know better, I'd say they killed each other," he explained, then turned to the Reaper. "What about you? You willing to back up her statement?"
The Reaper couldn't even face him, let alone respond. It couldn't bear to look at the survivors. It could only put its claws under its teeth and muffle its mouth. Ruby looked upon its reaction with dread and answered in its place.
"She's been through a lot. So many people died in front of her."
Ruby also suspected that there was more going on in that village than just the Apathy, but she wasn't keen on letting an Atlesian soldier in on the whole story. Last time she was in Atlas, she was caught breaking her uncle Qrow and Robin Hill from their prison transport. They were arrested on suspicion for the murder of Clover Ebi, the leader of the Atlesian Ace Operatives, but the military didn't have time to imprison them before Salem's attack. She could still be on the wanted posters, for all she knew. And besides, her suspicions might be wrong. At least, she hoped they were.
"Right," the pilot said. It was hard to read his expression from behind his helmet. He climbed into the pilot's seat. "I guess you're not the only one who needs to explain themselves. You see, I used to serve the Atlas military, but there's a reason I took one of our ships all the way out here. You both sit tight. I'll explain myself on the way."
Ruby's eyes rose with quiet concern. What did he mean by "on the way?" Did he already know who she was? Was he here to help her or take her into custody? If she thought she had another option, she might have considered leaping out of the ship before it took off and finding another way back to Atlas, so she hoped for the best. She couldn't just throw this guy out of the cockpit and steal yet another ship; she doesn't know how to fly them.
While both Rubies were focused on their own worries, the ship rose from the ground and began its flight under the pilot's command.
"Before I do, though, I'd better tell you that those two aren't coming with us," the pilot said, his eyes remaining on the cockpit. "This should be confidential, but Atlas has seen better days. We're gonna make a stop in Argus along the way. It's not far from here."
The Reaper was quietly relieved that the two villagers wouldn't remain, but like Ruby, it kept that information to itself.
"Really?" Ruby tried to sound surprised. "What, uh…what happened to Argus? I mean, to Atlas?"
"You already know," the pilot said after a pause. Ruby gasped, thinking she blew her cover. "You saw it. The election, the heating grid, the general…and the Grimm. The old lady said you'd be alone out here."
Now Ruby was confused. Old lady? Were there any old ladies in the Atlesian military? Before she could ask, he kept talking.
"She your twin sister or something?"
Both Rubies looked at him in response, but neither answered.
"I saw the resemblance before I sat down, but those eyes…" he said. "It's like I was just staring at a Grimm. I mean, I know Huntresses like to express themselves, but that cosplay's a cut above the rest. Freaks me out just looking at her."
Now both Rubies looked at each other. The Reaper almost felt silly being so worried about being outed as a Grimm in public and stifled a laugh.
"I know she looks like a monster, but she's a Huntress," Ruby said with a smile. "I knew her my whole life."
The Reaper couldn't help but smile back. Despite being the near spitting image of Ruby, it had usually been her that roused it out of its deep worries rather than itself. It was strange, really. It had her memories, her personality, her moral compass…but it didn't have that spark of hope she had. For the short time it had existed, it was either angry and depressed, angry and afraid, or just angry. It just couldn't stay positive the way she could.
"Thanks, Ruby," it whispered.
"Right," the pilot said. "Anyway, I'm here because I owed her a favor. She saved me from the Grimm when I was a kid, then all of a sudden she shows up, prods me with her cane, and demands one favor: find you. She said something about an 'Evernight Gate' all the way out in Mistral's northern coast."
"Evernight?" the Reaper muttered. Aesthetically speaking, the place it was first created had a perpetual night. The pool it walked through to get to Remnant; that could have been one of these "gates."
"She was persistent, I'll give her that much," he said. "If Atlas hadn't already—"
His explanation was interrupted by a beeping noise coming from the cockpit.
"Great, now what?" he said.
"What's going on?" Ruby asked.
"More Grimm," the Reaper answered, looking at the back of the plane. "It's like feeling…vibrations of hate around me. No, not vibrations. More like…wings!"
Ruby looked out the back window to see a swarm of Grimm flying behind them. They all have black bodies in three segments along with four transparent red wings and two antenna. On the bottoms of their bodies, they have jagged pincers and a stinger. They were Lancers; an entire swarm of them, complete with a Queen. In the brief moment it took for them to notice their presence, they had already assembled an attacking formation.
"Freakin' Lancers behind us!" the pilot shouted. "We just started flying! How'd they find us so quickly?"
"They're probably drawn to me," the Reaper whispered with a shade of guilt.
"I'm packing missiles, but they only fire in front of me," the pilot shouted. "They're gaining on us, so I'm gonna turn around and engage!"
"We'll watch your back," Ruby said. "Got any weapons on board?"
"Couple of guns in the back, in the lockers under the seats," he said, then threw a small key ring with a single key at Ruby. "Here!"
While the ship was turning, she quickly grabbed it and unlocked one of the footlockers. Meanwhile, the Reaper held the two survivors on the seats to keep them from sliding during the pilot's aerial maneuver. The sound of scraping metal came from outside. When it looked out the window, it saw that some of the Lancers already latched themselves on the right wing.
"They're taking apart the wings!" it yelled. When Ruby retrieved the gun from the footlocker, she was disappointed to find out it was one of the rifles that the soldiers of the Atlesian military use, along with a few clips of Dust. Nothing unique like the Huntsmen weapons; it only made her miss Crescent Rose even more.
"Standard issue military," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "All gun, no heart."
She considered just using her eyes instead, but there were many Lancers all around the ship. If they were as organized as they appeared, one could easily get to her during the interim between uses. The boring military rifle could keep a swarm at arm's length more easily for the time being. With it in hand, Ruby tossed the Reaper the key and took a second to inspect it. The one good thing about "ordinary" weapons; it was easy to find where the safety slider and reloading mechanisms were. She slid open the side door to find the Lancers clawing the wing with their pincers.
All doubts begone; back to the war,
This is the day we've waited for.
Lining up the sights on the rifle, she fired three Flame Dust rounds square in one of the Lancers' eyes. When its body burst into flame, it quickly lost its footing and fell off the ship.
Our fairy tale life has evolved;
Nightmares and pain shall be resolved.
She pulled the trigger again and three more rounds were fired; two struck the other Lancer, the third struck the ship's wing.
Guilt and despair; caught in their hold,
Our story has yet to be told.
Meanwhile, the Reaper picked up the key, only for a Lancer's stinger to penetrate the ship's hull nearby as it was about to unlock the other footlocker.
Conflict started with two brothers,
Their powers transcend all others.
Out of a violent instinct, the Reaper sank its claw into the Lancer's body and tore off its stinger. Its anguished buzz fed the Reaper's inner desire for destruction, but also served as a warning for the rest of the Lancer swarm. When the Lancer's stinger-less remains fell from the ship, the tips of the Reaper's claws sparked with a dark flame, to its confusion.
Next came a girl in a tower,
Saved by a hero in her hour.
When the pilot turned his ship to face some of the approaching Lancers, he pushed some buttons on the nearby console.
Then his illness took his last breath,
Who knew it lead to so much death?
"Eat this!" he yelled. Six missiles fired from the ships wings, striking only two Lancers directly. Other Lancers were caught in the splash damage from the two missiles that struck and left disoriented, but the other four missed their targets entirely.
Given the fateful task by Light,
He was reborn as a wizard,
Repeatedly deceived his herd.
The Reaper went back to unlocking the footlocker…only to find that the key in its claw snapped to pieces. In vain, it tried to unlock it with a fragment of the key. When that failed, it looked up at Ruby, wondering how it can help without burning someone, or the ship itself, by accident.
Fell in the bubbling pool of Dark,
Feared by all as a mighty witch,
Really just a cruel, spiteful bitch.
Another three shots, and Ruby picked off another Lancer. She was quickly getting used to the gun. The Lancers seemed to recognize that their numbers were falling by her hand, however, as a number of them latched to the other wing, where the Reaper was. Ruby still had her hands full with the other side. Noticing all of this, the Reaper quietly let out a growl, wanting to climb across the ship's wing and tear the Lancers apart personally. It only restrained itself because its claws might damage the ship's wings even—
Locked in conflict with each other; the greatest stakes,
Began with immortals and gods; and their mistakes.
The Reaper finally realized the stupidity of what it was doing. It discarded the ruined key and simply sank its claws into the footlocker itself, which was pried open with ease. There were also flame Dust cartridges like the ones Ruby got. After a moment to inspect the gun, load it, and turn the safety off, it rolled its eyes, silently agreeing with Ruby: all gun, no heart.
We're products of their arrogance; without a prayer.
And now we must clean up their mess; our cross to beaaaaar.
The Reaper slid open the other door, its claw bending the metal a bit. Taking a moment to aim, it fired three shots…only to graze one of the Lancers' wings. It fired three more shots, but once again, its aim was off and it only struck its armored body. The Lancers scattered away from the wing before it had a chance to fire again.
"It's a burst shot!" Ruby yelled in the midst of combat, noticing the Reaper's difficulty with the rifle. "Way different from Crescent Rose. You have to lead your shots further with moving targets, too."
"I…I'm trying," the Reaper muttered. Something was definitely wrong. It remembered being a much better shot with Crescent Rose in Ruby's memories…only to realize that its claws were much different than her smaller human hands. That's when it clicked: these claws were like wearing gauntlets with knives attached, yet the gun was built for human hands. No wonder aiming with it felt so awkward.
"There's the queen!" the pilot yelled, aiming his missiles at a Lancer larger than the rest. "I'm taking her out!"
He fired another volley of missiles, but some of the surrounding Lancers flew in contact with them to intercept them, giving their lives to shield their queen. One of the missiles exploded too close to the ship itself, rupturing the front of the hull and cracking the glass.
Ruby saw two more Lancers fly toward another wing and took aim. Her next burst struck one in the eyes and killed it instantly, but the other hid itself between her line of sight and the missiles on the wing. Firing here would risk igniting the missiles and damaging the ship. She moved toward the front, where the pilot is, to get a better shot.
Meanwhile, the Reaper's scythe began squirming due to the fighting around it, despite being wrapped around its back. Like any Grimm, the Reaper could sense its desire for destruction; it knew the scythe wanted to join in, even against its fellow Grimm. Swinging it around would be too risky in an enclosed space like the interior of a ship in the air. The chance of hitting someone or the ship's hull itself, with flames or blade, was too great to even consider it.
"No! Bad scythe! Bad!" it spoke to its scythe like one would speak to a misbehaving dog.
Another two Lancers flew at the ship from behind, where the Reaper could get a clean shot. Without worrying about hitting the wings, it fired several bursts and ended up hitting them both all over their bodies. As they fell to the ground below, it smiled, knowing it wasn't completely hopeless with a man-made gun.
"You want some more? Huh?" the pilot yelled. Ruby noticed the missiles on the wing where the Lancer hid had extended. She saw it impale one of the missiles with its stinger, then her eyes widened with horror.
"No! Don't!" she yelled, but to no avail. He fired them…or at least they would have been fired, had they not exploded and taken the ship's wing with them due to the Lancer's interference. The entire ship tilted on its side, causing both Rubies to slide toward one of the open doors. The Reaper sank its claws in the ship's floor to keep from falling out entirely. Ruby's back landed on its skull with a metallic clang and the impact caused her to drop her gun out the door. The two comatose survivors were further back on the ship, away from the sliding doors, but they still fell to the side of the ship.
"Ouch! Owowow!" Ruby yelled in pain.
"You…kay?" the Reaper asked with its face muffled under Ruby's cape.
"No, your head's like a cactus…made of titanium." she complained.
"Crap, crap, crap!" the pilot yelled, trying desperately to turn the ship upright in spite of the lost wing.
Ruby slowly lifted herself off the Reaper's skull, grimacing in pain. A few strands of its hair stuck to her cape like needles, but at least there wasn't another burn. Opening her eyes, she could see the ground was at least five hundred feet below her. If she wasn't so preoccupied with the Lancers, she'd consider jumping off the ship. She'd practiced landing strategies back at Beacon, after all. The three parachutes attached to the back of the pilot's seat wouldn't be much help either. Even if the pilot and the survivors jumped out, they'd be easy pickings for the Lancers.
Speaking of which, they attached themselves to the ship from all sides, shredding the frame with their pincers. That was when Ruby saw it: the gun the Reaper was using is caught on the edge of the now shredded wing. If it could climb down a little bit, it could reach it and then there would be a way to cover the pilot and survivors during the plunge down.
"Gruby!" she yelled, pulling off the cape from its face and pointing at the gun. Without another word, it understood what she meant. It inched downward ever so slightly to reach it. When it did, its foot burst into dark flames. The Reaper's eyes widened, but it was helpless to do anything. At first, it didn't understand what the cause was, but the reason was soon made apparent. Due of the speed in which the ship was moving, its skin would invariably combust the moment it came in contact with the air. Worse, the flames spread toward the back of the ship…where another wing with unused missiles were.
Without a wing and prayer; the situation is dire,
Soaring in the hornet's nest; our dreaded trial by fire.
The missiles exploded on contact with the flames. Also, the remaining gun was also loosened by the force of the explosion and fell off the ship. Amusingly enough, however, the loss of that wing balanced the ship, and the force of the explosion also forced it back into an upright position.
Fighting amongst each other; leads us to dissolution.
So let us cling together; it's our only solutiiiiion.
The Reaper looked down at its sizzling leg with a look of guilt, but this self-pity didn't last long when it saw Ruby pull herself off the floor. It was ruptured from the explosions, which made it difficult to stand.
"That was the last of the missiles!" the pilot yelled. "I can't fight back!"
"Get as far away from them as you can!" Ruby yelled. "I've got a plan!"
The rest of the Lancer swarm, queen included, closed the distance between them and the ship. Despite the pilot's best efforts to escape them, the ship was too damaged to fly at optimal speeds.
"I can't shake 'em!" the pilot yelled.
"I know," Ruby said confidently.
No longer is this black and white,
Ruby reached the emergency door on the back of the ship and opened it. The entire door broke off the hinges and the Reaper pulled Ruby back up and carried her in its arms, making sure to keep her from slipping again.
Perfect union of Dark and Light,
Facing the now exposed backside of the ship, the two saw the rest of the swarm closing the distance in front of them.
Our voices lead this epic fiiiiight,
"I got the same plan. Ready?" the Reaper asked.
"Yep," she answered. No words were needed. No explanations were due. The Reaper positioned its feet between the ruptured indents on the floor to keep from sliding, while also making sure not to be too close to the air outside. Its left claw held Ruby by the chin, facing outward to avoid cutting her. Its right arm supported the weight of her body while its right claw held her arm, being careful not to touch her burn. Ruby's legs bent upward around the Reaper's shoulder in the shape of a scythe to keep herself steady. With her silver eyes facing the swarm of approaching Lancers, the Reaper moved its face over her head to "aim."
The Reaper held Ruby like a gun. It slid its left palm back and forth across her neck and made a gun cocking sound with its mouth. Ruby's eyes glowed with light in response.
The future is built…before our eeeeeeeyes!
"BANG!" she yelled. The light from Ruby's eyes engulfed the entire swarm of Lancers, petrifying them all with a single "shot." The Reaper squinted its eyes away from the light, but kept her steady. Like a rain of boulders, the Lancer swarm fell to the ground and shattered on impact.
"What the hell?" the pilot asked in astonishment. "How did we just survive?"
Both Rubies glanced at each other, silently asking each other who should answer. Ruby stepped out of "gun mode" and carefully made her way to one of the seats that weren't damaged by the Lancer attack. The Reaper stayed in the back corner, away from the emergency door and any potential gusts of air that could start a fire.
"All part of the job," Ruby said, slouching on the chair with exhaustion. "We're used to it."
Despite all the setbacks and the worries, things didn't end as badly as they could have. This wasn't like Aisufurawa; nobody died. Even the two survivors were still breathing after all of that. With a low growl of relief, the Reaper was able to smile.