Nothing but quiet dread had enveloped both Rubies for the next few minutes. All remaining thoughts of reunion and hope were lost in the wake of what just happened. For Ruby, she didn't know whether to think the pilot might kill someone in his manic state…or if her Grimm self might kill him first. That dread quickly faded when she heard a familiar elderly voice from the radio.
"This is Manta 2-4. I see you've entered our airspace. What's left of it anyway. State your intent. Over."
Ruby immediately gasped and rushed toward the radio, ignoring the pilot entirely. She knew exactly who this was.
"Maria? Maria, it's me!" she exclaimed.
"Ruby? Has my hearing gone bad or—"
"No, it's me!" Ruby exclaimed, fumbling the radio transceiver in her hand briefly. "I…I'm making my way back! I…I…Over?"
"Ruby?" Maria said cheerfully. "Hahah! Ruby!"
"My team? My friends? Are they…uh, over?" Ruby said awkwardly.
"Leave the jargon to the professionals. Over."
A sigh of relief left Ruby's lips. At least Maria was okay, and by the sound of her voice, the others were, too. She must be communicating from the other ship she and Pietro stole from Atlas shortly after Ironwood's fall from grace. That's the only way she could have noticed their ship so quickly. That sudden rush of emotions made her unable to vocally respond. So much had happened in such a short time that she didn't even know what to say next.
Meanwhile, Grimm Ruby noticed the pilot glancing over at Ruby with a cruel anger in his eyes and acted immediately. His hand twitched, like he was about to strangle her, but the sentient Grimm extended its scythe between him and Ruby, so that the blade would act as a warning. He saw the bulging eye from his seat and glanced back at Grimm Ruby, who glared at him with bared fangs and glowing red eyes. The scythe itself exuded a tear that left a acidic burn on the floor of the ship, which did well to intimidate the pilot into complying with Grimm Ruby's silent demand.
"I can see you from here," Maria said. "There's a large strip of road about a few feet southwest of what's left of that old pharmacy. You remember the place, right? It's where I used to go to get my eyes fixed. You can land there and we can catch up…assuming we're not having our hands full again."
"I'm not flying the ship. Actually, I'm—" Ruby said, then stopped when she turned toward the pilot…and saw Grimm Ruby's scythe in between them followed by the pilot's whole body shivering. Instantly, she felt pangs of guilt over what Grimm Ruby had to do. At the very least, it wouldn't have to be doing this for much longer. Despite whatever was happening to this man, both Rubies owed him a great deal of gratitude. She just hoped he would be in a better mood to receive it.
It didn't take very long for the pilot to land the ship where Maria instructed, even though neither Ruby actually told him where it was. Probably another link between him and the old Grimm Reaper, but that story could wait. When the ship did land, Grimm Ruby disembarked immediately. It felt guilty having to terrify the man the way that it did, and didn't want to stay another second. Ruby, on the other hand, tended to him…after he opened the cockpit and fell to the ground below.
"Are you okay?" Ruby asked with concern, but kept her distance just in case he became violent again. Instead, he laid still with the left side of his face embedded in the ground and vomited. She quickly turned away her face in disgust. "Ew."
Meanwhile, Grimm Ruby was far enough away from the ship to see the other one land nearby. It remained still, neither approaching the ship or fleeing from it. It didn't know what to say or how it would react when they eventually saw it. It did, however, glance back to the ship they flew in, wondering what Ruby was doing. Its attention remained in that direction until it heard Maria's voice break its focus.
"So you are still alive! That sure was a close one, huh?" she said, prompting Grimm Ruby to look at her. She looked just like in Ruby's memories: an elderly woman with dark skin and long silver hair with a single braid. Maria wore a full-length dress consisting of a dark blue top with full sleeves and a skirt comprised of alternating light and dark blue layers. The ensemble was complete with a walking stick comprised of a natural wooden shaft with an ornate blue skull on the top. "You know, I never doubted you for a moment. And to think some of the others spent the whole day moping, all ready to throw in the towel and sing elegies about you."
"Oh…uh, yeah," Grimm Ruby said, slightly confused. It wasn't doing anything to hide its appearance from Maria, yet she didn't seem to react to it.
"Well, let's not just stand here all night," Maria said, twirling her stick and pointing it to the pharmacy that Ruby met Pietro in during her first time in Atlas. If her memories were of any indication, the pharmacy had seen better days than now, though it was still in one piece. That couldn't be said for all of the buildings that were crushed under Atlas…literally.
"It's quiet," Grimm Ruby said. Something was off; it expected much more negativity for what was, for lack of a better term, the ravaged remains of Mantle. There was none; not even a single Grimm. There was nothing at all…save for the green lights that traced along the night sky. At first, it thought the lights were just aircraft seen from thousands of feet below, but the lights moved too quickly to be aircraft. It was only after the lights soared closer that Grimm Ruby noticed a silhouette that contrasted the fractured moon. "Wait. I remember that light. It's—"
Before it finished, the silhouette descended from the sky and hovered just over the ground with rocket thrusters implemented in their boots. The figure's long orange hair contrasted with their white and green Victorian dress.
"I…I know you," Grimm Ruby said in awe. "You're…Penny."
The figure looked at Grimm Ruby, and she gasped with eyes that shined with joy. A clear look at her face confirmed its thoughts; it was Penny. Before it could say anything, she leaned forward a bit.
"Sal…" Penny said, crouching a bit.
"Huh?"
"U…"
"Uh…"
"Tati-aaah?" Penny exclaimed, gleefully sprinting toward Grimm Ruby at high speed…only to stop mid "tations" with a confused expression. "Oh. I apologize. You greatly resembled someone I—" She stopped and tilted her head a bit. "Ruby? Are you Ruby?"
"Of course it's Ruby!" Maria exclaimed with a cheeky grin. "I told you all, didn't I? There's a reason we never found a body. I knew she wasn't dead!"
"Actually, I—" Grimm Ruby muttered quietly.
"Ons!" Penny exclaimed, finishing her earlier sprint toward Grimm Ruby. She leaped and activated her jets again, rocketing forward and tackling Grimm Ruby, who slides a few feet across the ground, but it otherwise standing. "It is such a pleasure to see you again! Oh, but there are many things different about you since we've last met, Ruby my friend."
"Huh," Maria said. "Now that you mention it, there is something different about you."
"Uh…yeah," Grimm Ruby said, turning its gaze. "You finally noticed."
"Your voice is a bit deeper, if you ask me, and you're spewing more negativity than anything I've ever seen," Maria said, her prosthetic eyes narrowing. "You've picked an inconvenient time to go through puberty, child!"
Grimm Ruby's mouth went agape and blinked repeatedly. Of all the responses it would have expected, this wasn't one of them.
"Huh?"
"Well, it would explain everything," Maria said, shrugging her shoulders. "You might seem placid on the surface, but my preflexes don't lie. You're practically about to burst on the inside."
"Maria, I do not believe that physical maturation would explain the color of Ruby's skin and eyes. They are very different." Penny asked, and Maria's prosthetic eyes widened. "Even my sensors are fooled into believing she is a Grimm."
"First cosplay, now puberty?" Grimm Ruby muttered. Was there really that much refuge in the audacity of a sentient Grimm?
"What color?" Maria asked. "Ruby, what is she talking about?"
Before Grimm Ruby could answer, the original Ruby came into view from the back of the ship she disembarked from, carrying the now sick pilot over her right shoulder and left arm.
"H-hey! Maria! Penny! Oh my gosh! Penny! It's me! I…" Ruby shouted while dragging the pilot, then whispered to herself. "Careful, careful."
"Ruby?" Penny asked, tilting her head in confusion again.
"Careful! He might still be crazy!" Grimm Ruby exclaimed. Its limbs were coiled inward, about ready to pounce on this guy until Ruby gently set him down.
"It's okay," she said, stopping to catch her breath. "He's…fine…kinda. Penny, Maria…I was—"
The pilot quivered his lips in an attempt to respond, but collapsed to his hands and knees and vomited.
"Two Rubies? I have absolutely no idea what's going on." Maria said, glancing back and forth from one Ruby to the other. She noticed the pilot wobbling over Ruby's shoulder, barely standing. "Coop? How did you…oh never mind. Look, I know you've got about a whole idealistic speech about never giving up to say and I've got about twenty questions about 'the twin that you never brought up before,' but maybe the rest of those kids will sleep easier knowing I was right."
"You were—" Ruby was about to ask, only to be stopped by Penny.
"Ruby, what has happened? We thought you had died. Our friends, my father, your uncle, your sister. We couldn't even find your signal."
"Meaning we couldn't find your body," Maria said in an 'I told you so' tone. "Which is why I knew you weren't dead. See? Coop came through for us after all."
"And where did this other Ruby come from? Do you have a twin sister with gray skin that may be going through 'the puberty?'" Penny asked, looking at Grimm Ruby with her finger on her cheek.
"Huh?" Ruby said shortly after her mouth went agape and she blinked repeatedly. "I mean…Penny, it's not…the strangely inappropriate thing you think it is. She's, uh…another me…that, uh…"
Grimm Ruby frowned, turning away. It knew she was trying to hold the terrible explanation off for as long as possible.
"Let's not stand out here all day," Maria said, walking away from the group. "It's cold outside!"
Both Rubies paused, staring at the nonchalant old lady, then glanced at each other and shrugged. They've already went through stranger moments than this anyway.
"Uhhhhh," the sick pilot moaned, lying stiff on the ground. Penny ran to him without delay, placing her hand on his shoulder.
"Are you okay?" she asked. He responded with more moaning, giving her more reason to worry. She quickly cradled him over her arms and lifted him up, then looked at both Rubies. "We have so many things to catch up about, but it seems we will have to wait. I must get him to a hospital and I am still on duty."
"Wait, I thought Atlas had fallen. Isn't Mantle—" Ruby said.
"Dependent on Atlas? In a way, it is. It had certainly seen better days, but unlike Ironwood…" Maria said, looking at Penny. "Some people take the job of protecting lives more seriously. Even after everything she went through, she refuses to just give up. She's more the Protector of Mantle than the military ever was, if you asked me."
Ruby smiled, watching her robotic, but very real, friend. Penny walked a few steps with the pilot in her arms, where Grimm Ruby was standing. When the two were close enough for the pilot to look into Grimm Ruby's eyes, he screamed hysterically.
"Please remain calm. I'm here to—" Penny said, looking down at him with worry, then paused when her eyes caught Grimm Ruby. "Oh…I understand now. You do look like a Grimm. Your face must have frightened him."
"Yeah…that must be it," Grimm Ruby replied with a frown, turning away. Penny didn't know the real reason he was so terrified. It didn't have the courage to explain it right now. It didn't even have the courage to tell anyone else that it really was a Grimm. Sooner or later, the truth was going to come out, and there was no telling what would happen when it did. If it weren't for the fact that Grimm Ruby, like the original Ruby, was eager to continue her journey…their journey as Huntresses, it would have crept away from the city the second that the plane landed in Mantle.