At first glance, the pharmacy almost felt abandoned. The once neat and organized shelves were in a distorted mess. The already paint-chipped walls now had cracks that went all the way from the floor to the ceiling. The floor itself was distorted beneath Ruby as she walked, and the ceiling looked like it could cave in any minute. Finally, the lighting was much dimmer than the first time she'd set foot in this place. Aside from the exposed wires on the inside, Mantle's collapse did a number on the power lines outside. The blinking lights were powered only by a nearby generator in the corner, where the garbage can used to be. That, too, contributed to the overall disheveled feel of this place.
The air was so filthy that Ruby had a coughing fit after her first deep inhale. It was too quiet. The whole place looked and felt like something in a warzone, not a place to rest. As far as she was aware, it really was. The quiet atmosphere was betrayed only by the sounds of heavy snoring. It was the middle of the night, after all. As much as she wanted to just run inside and hug everybody, a part of her wanted to stay silent and let them rest. She would've just laid on the nearby couch if she didn't hear Yang's voice from the other room.
"I can't sleep, Blake. I'm gonna go back out again."
"Yang?" Ruby gasped, tripping along the distorted floor.
"Ruby?" Yang exclaimed from the other room. A large gathering of footsteps quickly approached her. It was easily more than one person. Meanwhile, the sounds of muffled whining just barely reached Ruby's ears. When Yang came from the dark of the other room and saw Ruby on the floor, she wasted no time scooping her up and hugging her…hard.
"Oh my god! Ruby!" Yang exclaimed, tears freely falling from her face. "I thought…I thought I lost you!"
"Yang," Ruby choked out from her tears…and her compressed spine. In her numb, yet also sore state, Ruby saw two more figures through the strands of Yang's hair. One had a long white braid; the other had short black hair with cat ears. "Weiss…Blake…can't…breathe."
"We thought you were dead!" Weiss exclaimed.
"Aaaah…legs…numb," Ruby choked out until Yang loosened her bear hug. "I…I'm sorry. I was taken…and…Salem…she…"
Words failed Ruby now; she could only cry the joyful tears of reunion. Even in the midst of a city brought to ruin, her nightmares of losing those she loved was over…for now.
"Hey! Would you people keep it down? Some of us have to get up for the morning shift!" another familiar voice yelled from the other room.
"Nora!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Ruby?" another voice yelled.
"Jaune!"
She was already getting exhausted by all the attention. Three more people around her age pushed themselves from the door, excited…and a bit tired; a blonde male, a shorter female with orange hair, and a male with long black hair with a magenta streak on his left. Their hug was much less crushing…and much more wobbly.
"Jaune, Nora, Ren. It's okay. I'm okay," Ruby said, more tears drifting down her cheeks.
"You had us worried sick! We looked everywhere in that murky world and…" Nora exclaimed, trying to sound angry, but ended up yawning mid-sentence.
"We thought we'd lost you," Jaune added. Ruby noted the sags under his eyes. He was tired. His whole team was tired. They were dressed in pajamas, clearly groggy from getting out of bed so suddenly.
"Where's everybody else?" Ruby asked.
"It's their turn to go on patrol," Jaune said.
"Patrol? Wait, what's going on? I thought the city was destroyed," Ruby asked.
"It was," Ren answered.
"Ruby, how did you escape from Evernight?" Blake asked.
"Well," Ruby said hesitantly, folding her arms behind her back. "I had a little help."
"Don't just stand there," Maria's voice was heard from the door outside. "It's cold out, and this old lady still has three more hours ahead of her."
The door thrust open, revealing a silhouette with a stature similar to Ruby's, but with a red hue in its eyes. Unnerved by this mysterious presence, the other three members of Team RWBT immediately unholstered their weapons and prepared for a fight.
"Wait!" Ruby yelled, spreading her arms out in front of her teammates. "It's okay! She's with me!"
"She?" Jaune asked.
Grimm Ruby stepped into the pharmacy, barely visible by the flickering light. Its foreboding red eyes and gray skin belied its anxiety. The way its head fidgeted all over its surroundings save for the people in front of it highlighted its true feelings so much more.
"Uh…hi," it said. Everybody save Ruby, Maria, and Grimm Ruby itself stared blankly with confusion in their eyes and agape mouths. Grimm Ruby squinted, anticipating an outburst.
"Hey, Gruby. You remember the team, right?" Ruby asked.
"Gruby?" Weiss squinted.
"It looks just like…" Yang muttered, looking at Grimm Ruby with unbelieving eyes. "Who is that?"
"And why does it look like Ruby?" Blake added.
The rest of the group grew more and more nervous with each passing second. Grimm Ruby could feel that much emanating from everyone. In an attempt to seem more endearing, it folded its arms behind its back. Judging from the stares, it clearly wasn't working.
"Yeah, this is awkward," Grimm Ruby muttered in defeat.
"Everybody?" Ruby said, stepping in to greet her other self properly. "This is Gruby. She's, uh…another me."
Though their initial reaction was far from the heartwarming expression of gratitude that its original self received, Grimm Ruby noticed an improvement when Weiss and Blake lowered their weapons…by dropping them to the floor with utter shock on their faces.
"Another…you?" Jaune asked.
"Wwwwhen did you get a twin?" Nora added.
"Uh…you want to answer that?" Ruby whispered to her Grimm self.
"I think they'll listen to you more," it whispered back with a nervous look. Ruby took a deep inhale to address the bizarre story as quickly as possible.
"Salem had me taken to her castle, then tortured me...somehow, and I got these horrible nightmares in my mind, then everything went blank until I woke up and saw...other me carrying me in some freezing middle of nowhere. The Grimm were constantly following us and I didn't have Crescent Rose, so I was stuck with just my eyes, but other me made her own scythe out of Grimm and it has an eye and it cries tears that are like acid and everything around her burns with this evil-looking fire when she moves faster than walking speed."
Everybody stood silent; their body language stiff and their faces incredulous. That clearly left more questions than answers. Even the original Ruby could sense how ridiculous everyone thought the events of the last few days were. She didn't even get to the part about the village and the Atlesian ship yet.
"So…you saved her?" Blake inquired.
"Yeah," Grimm Ruby answered. "I couldn't just let her die. I don't care what I am. What Salem did to her was sick!"
"Is that right?" Yang's mood lightened. "Then I should thank you for keeping my little sister safe. Wait, if you're another Ruby, does that make you another little sister?"
"You know, we had a little talk about that," Grimm Ruby said. "It got weird."
"And just what are you anyway?" Weiss asked, still suspicious.
"I…" Grimm Ruby hesitated. A cold self-loathing crept in its heart. "I'm a Creature of Grimm."
Everyone's faces, save for both Rubies, went pale. They tried to hide it. Their very occupation mandated that they fight the Grimm without hesitation, yet Grimm Ruby could feel the collective spark of fear from the very idea of being close to such a creature. The awkward quiet only caused Grimm Ruby to grow more nervous. From its point of view, it was as if the very friends it traveled and bonded with for years suddenly turned on it. That wasn't really the case, but the feeling of it was very real.
"What?" Jaune whispered, barely breaking the silence.
"You're Grimm?" Nora added.
"Yeah," Grimm Ruby said shamefully. "I'm like…a new age Grimm. Faster, stronger, uh…scarier. Really scarier. I rose from the pool, the one Ruby mentioned. It's what all the Grimm Salem conjure up come from. She…filled me with all her memories and—" Its face contorted into a vile grimace. "—worse. She tortured Ruby, made her relive the worst moments of her life over and over! I still feel them; the nightmares, they're always fresh in my mind!"
In its anger, dark flames formed beneath Grimm Ruby. The already distorted floor quickly went black from the flames. When it saw the alarmed faces of everyone else, including Ruby, it realized what it did and backed away. Weiss quickly retrieved her weapon and conjured an ice glyph to put out the fire.
"What are you doing?" Blake exclaimed.
"I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," Grimm Ruby said in a whimper, going from nervous to remorseful. It slowly back into a corner, away from the flickering light; its only visible feature being the pair of red eyes cautiously watching the others. "That fire's like a part of me I have to contain! It comes out when I let out my anger…or move fast…or if I'm just not careful."
"So you're liable to burn someone at the most inopportune time?" Weiss bluntly asked.
"I…" Grimm Ruby tried to speak, but stopped when it remembered that very thing happening to Ruby's arm. It could only slink back into the dark corner, unable to face Weiss or offer a response.
"Weiss, she's not a monster," Ruby said. "She just…looks like one."
"I'm not judging her on her looks," Weiss countered. "We just saw its feet burst into flames. It's not rude to want to keep your distance, it's smart. You know, this is just like when we first met all over again. I swore that you were a hazard to my health."
"You mean when I literally exploded a hole in front of Beacon?" Ruby asked, unable to withhold her smile.
"There was fire then, too, and I think some ice," Grimm Ruby added, peeking from the dark corner. Weiss glanced at it, displaying open surprise at its intimate knowledge of the embarrassing event.
"You do have her memories," she said. "That's actually really concerning. If she knows that, then what doesn't she know about us? And while I'm at it, what doesn't Salem know?"
"Weiss, stop!" Ruby exclaimed. "She's not working for Salem!"
"That doesn't mean Salem couldn't use her!" Weiss countered. "If your…clone knows everything you know, Salem probably does. Think about it. Your dad's living alone on your island. She could go after him to get to you, and maybe your little dog, too."
"Uh…well," Ruby muttered, unable to retort.
"And what about the Grimm we saw in Ironwood's office? The Seer?" Weiss added. "Salem spoke to Ironwood through it. She saw you; she could hear you. And if Salem could see and hear through other Grimm, what are the chances that she could see and hear through the eyes and ears of this—" She made a hand gesture toward Grimm Ruby. "—'new age Grimm.' Salem could be listening in on us right now!"
Grimm Ruby's mouth went agape. Of all the possible dangers that went through its mind, this wasn't one of them. Weiss was right, though. She had every reason to think Salem could be listening in on their conversation…assuming the God of Darkness that spoke to it earlier wouldn't intervene with his own agenda, but that wasn't any more comforting. It saw Ruby trying in vain to defend it, but all that came from her mouth was inaudible blubber. Even she knew Weiss wasn't wrong.
"Hey, I don't want to be the cause of any fighting between you two," Grimm Ruby said, holding its claws out in the light. "I'd understand if you never wanted to lay eyes on me again."
"I don't know," Yang mused. "Seems like the clone didn't do anything wrong. She didn't choose to be created like that, plus she saved Ruby. We can't blame her for this."
"But Weiss does make a good argument," Blake added. "Even if she is like Ruby, can we really trust a Grimm?"
"I already did my own test with her," Ruby said. "She passed. She remembers everything about my life, even the things I keep to myself. There's no way she's a monster."
"But you do have a plan, right?" Blake asked with concern. "What if she does turn on us?"
"I…" Ruby muttered.
"She could kill me," Grimm Ruby interjected, its red eyes visible from the shadows once more. "Silver eyes, remember? I'm Grimm. She could literally kill me just by looking at me funny. I should know. They…really hurt."
"Oh," Ruby chuckled. "Yeah, that was an accident."
"But you're still alive," Jaune said, clearly unconvinced.
"Yeah, well…my body turned to stone when it happened…twice," Grimm Ruby explained.
"And your body's not stone now," Nora said, also unconvinced.
"Actually, both times it happened," Grimm Ruby said hesitantly, looking at Ruby. "I was able to draw strength from…someone else's…suffering and negativity to free myself." It looked at everyone else's eyes, realizing what it said, and quickly stuttered. "Y-you know, like other Grimm. I could replenish myself by killing other Grimm."
"That's really weird," Yang said with a raised eyebrow. "'The Grimm that hunts other Grimm.' It'd make a good movie."
"Well, they are drawn to me, so it's kinda unavoidable," Grimm Ruby said.
"So you inexplicably start fires, restore yourself when something's hurt, and Grimm are drawn to you?" Weiss said in a deadpan tone. "You're not doing much to win me over."
Both Rubies wanted to say something else in Grimm Ruby's defense, but they've reached an impasse. They didn't trust Grimm Ruby, and no idealistic speech was going to change that. It was that simple…or perhaps not. It might have been that simple in Ruby's eyes, but Grimm Ruby could gauge each individual level of negative emotion, including doubt.
Weiss distrusted it the most, but her heart was also plagued by feelings of sorrow toward the fate of her home. Atlas fell; her home, her family, and the Dust company. It was all gone. Furthermore, it fell on Mantle and took the homes of thousands of others as well. She had more than a good reason to be distrustful of anything related to the witch responsible for invading Atlas. For that reason, Grimm Ruby could emphasize.
Blake wasn't so plagued, but a lifetime of hiding her Faunus heritage and her time in the White Fang left her with a cynical outlook. There wasn't very much in the way of real mistrust, however. At least, it wasn't any more mistrust than she'd give to any other stranger. It was probably just a need to play things safe.
Yang was mostly just confused about the whole thing, but considerably less negative than the others. No doubt, the sudden reappearance of her sister made her very happy, but Grimm Ruby couldn't sense positivity.
The three members of Team JNR were much harder to read. There was a little mistrust, but mostly just physical exhaustion. Of course, Grimm Ruby's ability to sense negativity didn't contribute to its knowledge of that. They simply looked and sounded exhausted.
"So, what do we do?" Ren asked. Ruby took notice of this. He barely said anything about all of this.
"We'll follow your lead," Blake reluctantly added. At least, she trusted the original Ruby.
"She saved my life. We worked together. We fought together and—" Ruby said, curling her hand into a fist and holding it to her heart. "—we share the same soul."
Everyone else reacted with quiet surprise. Their faces looked so solemn and confused.
"Uh…why'd everybody get quiet?" Ruby asked.
"That's the first time you've ever said something like that," Yang explained. "'You share the same soul.' That doesn't sound very Ruby-like."
"Well, maybe…but it's true," Ruby shrugged. Her voice grew more stunted and awkward. "I mean, we have the same thoughts, the same memories, the same personality. I mean, she's even a dork over weapons! Salem did…something…to me, and made her; made her too well, that is. Pushing her away would be like…like pushing away a piece of myself…I think. I don't really…know how else to say it. She isn't just a copy of me; she is me!"
Grimm Ruby picked that moment to step out of the darkness to stand beside Ruby. Its open stance and honest expression allowed everybody to see it for what it was, fearsome visage and all. A part of it hoped they would understand with time. It remembered Ruby's friendships with them all; their bond. It couldn't bring itself to just abandon them, especially when things are so grim.
Both Rubies extended their arms; hand and claw opened. Their stances matched one another the way a being of light would cast a shadow. Grimm Ruby nodded to the others; a single bestial grunt to assure them of its allegiance. It was Ruby, but forged by tools of Destruction, not Creation. That's what it wanted to say, but it didn't sound very Ruby-like. It felt too awkward to say out loud. Their facial expressions and relaxed posture from the others suggested a resigned acceptance. Forging the bonds that were never broken would take time. They weren't officially "allies," but who can say what the future will bring.