Most of the day after that Grimm attack and the subsequent retelling of the horrible ordeal that led to Grimm Ruby's creation was spent quietly. Everybody needed the rest after such an exhausting series of events, and little was done beyond salvaging any sources of heat possible, whether they be complex machinery or simple bonfires. Atlas was lost, but something could be done to keep the precious few alive long enough to transfer them to another Kingdom. Maybe Mistral? It's a lot warmer down there. At the very least, more and more airships had been coming to what's left of Mantle, despite Atlas' fall. It might have had to do with the announcement Ruby made to the world about Salem's involvement. Her plea for help did, in fact, go answered after all.

As most of the work now didn't involve protecting lives or killing Grimm at the moment, there was little anyone in her group could really do beyond keeping some fires lit in the more fractured parts of the city…or simply starting some fires themselves until the remnants of this city was completely evacuated. Even then, there were still those old and stubborn few that wasn't initially willing to leave what's left of their home. Instead, most of Ruby's time was spent learning to deal with her newfound trauma, though it was obvious none of her friends could offer much solace from something like that. It was different from losing an arm, a school, or a loved one.

On the day Ruby was freed from that torture, she could only recall tiny remnants of it at best. It was difficult to even grasp what had transpired then, which made her wonder if it was anything more than a nightmare. Most of her attention was on the Grimm copy of herself that saved her life, as well as the task of traversing Remnant for a couple of days until the two were found. As a result, her mind didn't wander much beyond how everyone else was handling things without her. The only times she could start to recall that torture was in her nightmares, but she'd always wake up in a sweat before she could form the whole picture.

"Ruby? Ruby!"

It was only after Grimm Ruby told her and everyone else that it all came back to her. The sad thing about it is that Ruby herself asked her Grimm self to tell her, even against its wishes. It was only now that a part of her wishes she would take it back and be rid of this trauma. That part wishes she had just listened and remained in ignorance, yet another part of her would have just kept asking and needing to know; anything to make sense of those bits and pieces that haunted her dreams. Now that she got her answer, that nightmare would occasionally flash in her mind, regardless of whether she was asleep and awake.

"Ruby! Wake up!"

Ruby would remember the helplessness that crept in her heart moments before the Tartarus Grimm made her theirs. She would remember Salem's honeyed yet cruel words as they forcefully lodged themselves to her head and made her relive the worst days of her life. She would remember how degrading it was when they caressed every inch of her body, including the places no person should ever be allowed to touch. And finally, she would remember that moment when she had completely lost control; when her muscles would move on their own and her tears would flow freely, yet her body felt numb and her senses were dulled.

"Wake up!"

That was the worst part. It left behind a sense of powerlessness that no failure to save her friends, or even the Relics, ever could. And she was disgusted with the way she felt. To be more receptive of her own trauma than the pain everyone else went through made her feel selfish. She tried to be better than that; to take her mind off of it and move forward. It was her obligation as a leader to stand tall again and learn from the mistake that put her in that predicament.

"RUBY!"

And then something would make the entire nightmare flood her mind all over again. Once more, she felt powerless, numb, and violated. The whole world around her faded and she heard Salem's voice in the darkest depths of her mind.

"Have you ever imagined a moment where every inch of your heart, your body, and your mind could be stripped from you so spectacularly?"

"N-no…" Ruby mumbled.

"Ruby, wake up!"

"Not even your mother could bear it."

"No! M-mom!" she cried. More tears freely flowed from her eyes.

"To truly destroy one's hope, you do not watch them die."

Ruby couldn't stop screaming now. It was all so surreal, so vivid, that she felt she was enduring that hell all over again. In her confusion, she flailed her arms and legs repeatedly, trying to free herself from the Tartarus Grimm that "bound" her. She felt them clutch her face. They were surely going to invade her mind again.

"You must watch them…submit."

And then it was happening again. The Tartarus were taking what they wanted, leaving nothing sacred to her. Her voice grew quieter with each scream as her throat grew sore. As it did, another voice continued to call out to her; one that was desperate and caring.

"It's me, Ruby! It's me!"

Ruby could swear she recognized it, but couldn't quite fathom where. Whoever it was, it contrasted with what Salem was doing to her; so much so that the Tartarus began to lose their grip over her.

"Open your eyes!"

When she did so, she saw Yang's warm and caring face above her. It became clear that the "Tartarus" that clutched her face were really her sister's hands. She pulled Ruby into a loving embrace, who was in turn, grateful to be alive. More tears flowed from both sisters as Ruby shook uncontrollably in Yang's arms.

"Y-Yang…" she muttered.

"I'm here for you," Yang assured. "It's okay."

"I-I'm sorry," Ruby whispered in her sister's shoulder. "I-I didn't mean to—"

"It's not your fault," Yang whispered back.

"I-I have to be stronger. I-I can't…"

Ruby couldn't finish what she wanted to say. She couldn't give her sister, let alone her entire team, the strength and bravery she owed them as a leader. It shamed her inside. She was supposed to be better. She wasn't allowed to be a failure.

"It's okay," Yang said after a few seconds. "I've always got your back, sis."

"This…" Ruby said, taking several breaths. "This is harder than I thought. I…I mean…I know I'm okay. I know…I didn't really lose a limb, but…it's like Salem…took something from me."

"I know," Yang said, sitting down with her sister and cradling her in her arms.

"Y-you…you do?"

"Look," Yang showed her sister the prosthetic arm she'd received after the Fall of Beacon. "I lost a part of me, too. A piece of me is gone and it's never coming back. Ever since that day, I used to see things, too. Sometimes it was a katana or a mask, but I'd see…him. Sometimes I still do."

"Yang…"

"It's not gonna be easy. It's never gonna just…be behind you, but…" Yang warned her sister as the latter looked at her, "after a while, it doesn't hurt as much. You start to get used to it, realize that you're stronger than that, then gets easier."

Ruby gave her sister a smile as the latter put her prosthetic hand over hers. She knew she had to get past this, but a horrific realization went through her mind. Yang's expression turned into worry as she saw her sister's blank face.

"Ruby?"

"Mom," she whispered. "Do you think…Mom went through the same thing?"

Yang couldn't respond. She couldn't dare to answer the question, but it's obvious what the answer was. Ruby wasn't the first Silver-Eyed Warrior Salem experimented on. The Hound, or who he used to be, came before her, and it was doubtful that he was the only one. As she considered how long Salem was actually alive and how rare people with silver eyes actually are, the implications were horrific. Yang's silence and fearful realization spoke volumes, as Ruby broke down and sobbed on her sister's shoulder. Before long, Yang couldn't hold back her own tears any longer. The two stayed like that for several minutes, uncaring of the cold air around them. Yang's Semblance did its part in keeping her sister warm. Her glowing hair was like a campfire; a beacon of light in this dreary and cruel world.

"Your, uh…hair is really warm," Ruby said awkwardly.

"I used to do that for you when you were little," Yang said with a smile, then frowned a little, "after we lost Mom."

"Yeah," Ruby started to speak, but paused briefly. "Uh, you think…you think Gruby feels the same way?"

Yang said nothing, but a angry grimace formed in her face.

"She told me once…about what I went through," Ruby said with sorrow. "It's like she lived through it herself. She was actually…born from what Salem did to me."

"Ruby, I…I don't know what to think of her," Yang tried to explain, struggling to even keep a straight face. "I just look at her and…the things I saw her do…she…she tore a Grimm's head off! With her teeth. And she has your face. I…I know I usually try to make light of tough situations with jokes and puns, but that was just a whole new level of 'screwed up.'"

"Yeah," Ruby admitted after a brief delay. She couldn't deny it. "I've seen her fight. It is kinda scary to watch."

"And it's not just your face," Yang continued. "She is you! I mean, most of the time. When she's not fighting, she's you. But when she is…" She paused as her whole body shivered with disgust, "it's like…she's actually worse than the Grimm. And seeing your face on that copy…with so much anger and hate in her eyes…it's like watching my baby sister make a deal with the darkness."

"Yang…" Ruby said, gently caressing her sister's forehead.

"I'm sorry. I know Salem made her that way. I know it's not her fault, but I…get scared of her…of what she could do if she slips up. And it's not just me, it's everybody. We're all watching out for that…fire that comes out of her. She burned you! She almost burned Blake! Who wouldn't be freaked out?"

"I…yeah. I guess you're right."

"And it's worse when I'm actually with her," Yang said, curling her flesh hand. "I…I don't know if it's just how she scares me, but just being near her…it makes me want to break someone's jaw."

Ruby moved her head off her sister, looking at her with worry. That didn't sound like Yang. Though she was typically hot-headed most of her life, she wasn't cruel.

"Come on," Yang said, standing up and pulling her sister with her. "We've still got work to do."

"Yeah," Ruby agreed, letting her sister pull her up. She was still shaken from her delirium. When she looked ahead, she saw the very thing that caused her to hallucinate. Her muscles seized up again, but Yang's continued embrace kept her grounded this time. She slowly calmed down and got a closer look at the cause of her flashback. It was a loose wire sticking out of one of the heating machines. The wire was black and had metal prongs at the end, so it looked like a Tartarus tentacle. That was all it was. Something as mundane as a wire had just sent her into a traumatized mess.

It also reminded her what they were doing outside in the first place. They were salvaging a heater. That's it. Their task was equally as mundane as the wire. Nothing should have went wrong. It wasn't even real Huntress work; just something that any able-bodied person could do to help for the time being. There was just a lot of ground to cover, which necessitated every Huntsmen, ex-military, or able-bodied local to split into groups to salvage what was left of the city like vultures, assuming there were any vultures that could live in the cold.

The two took their time, lifting the heater with one sister carrying each end. They carried it toward one of their hover bikes with the intent to have any usable parts transported to the crater. As unusual as it is to having technology hooked up in what's essentially a giant hole, the people of Mantle had to learn how to salvage and use whatever Atlas threw away since long before its fall. Ironically, it was their unfair treatment at the hands of the Atlesian Elites gave what few lives remaining the resourcefulness and fortitude to survive.

As much as this differed from Huntress work, learning skills like this could be useful as a prelude to their trip to Vacuo, which their uncle once considered to be a barren and desolate wasteland. Granted, the people there contend with extreme heat among other dangers as opposed to extreme cold, but that was beside the point. If the Relic of Destruction was still in Shade Academy, the next move would be to get as many Huntsmen there as possible to protect it. With the hope that the Headmaster there might not be as disappointing as the last two, Ruby would have to accept their situation as it is and make do.

"Hey, Ruby?" Yang asked, having thought of something that might take her sister's mind off what happened to her. "Remember your eleventh birthday, when you got that weapon magazine as a present?"

"Yang! Don't remind me!" Ruby whined.

"And then Dad caught you staring at the male models holding the scythes…"

"Yang!"

"And he freaked out and snatched the magazine away, telling you not to read it until you were older!"

"I…I was admiring the weapons, not the…I mean…" Ruby stuttered. "He…Dad shouldn't have given me that magazine in the first place!" She slouched and touched her index fingers together. "How was I supposed to know that magazine had filth? I was eleven."

"It wasn't filth," Yang said with a smirk. "The guys had pants on. There was nothing explicit."

"Well, it was filthy enough to scare Dad!"

"Please, you know how dads are!"

"Yaaaaang, please stop," Ruby begged, unable to withhold her urge to smile. Yang noticed this and felt some relief. Even if it was for this one moment, she made her sister think about something else…even if it was a bit embarrassing. This wasn't the first time Yang had brought that up. It was their special "sister secret." Nobody else outside of the family knows about it, not even Weiss or Blake. Having just thought about it now, it just occurred to Yang that Grimm Ruby also knew about it, due to possessing the original's memories. Whatever misgivings she might have for the copy, she would have to at least make it promise to keep that embarrassing moment a secret from everyone else.

Just as the two were about to place the heater on the back of the hover bike, Ruby stepped on a frozen puddle that formed by a nearby pipe. The puddle cracked under the weight of her foot with a loud crunch. Once the now shattered puddle caught her eye, she saw her cracked reflection and her limbs instantly shuddered, and not from the weight of the heater. Her grip over her end of the heater loosened and she fell to her knees; her gaze remained entirely focused on her reflection. Just like that, the awkward embarrassment in her face gave in to horror once more.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled, putting her arms over the heater to keep it from falling on her sister. The sight of her cracked reflection reminded Ruby of that moment when her own spine curled upward against her will; when the large ornate windows of Salem's castle shattered all at once after one final scream. Against any and all logic, a part of her made her believe she was right there, hearing them shatter right now. It made her so cold and numb all over again. Tears fell freely from her eyes as the silver color in them grew dimmer than usual.

"Stop it!" Ruby yelled and clutched her head, partially aware that it's all in her mind, but lacking any real control over her thoughts. Yang raced around the hover bike to her sister's side once more, uncaring of the heater that struck the cold ground. It survived worse already. She cradled her sister, letting her tears and mucus drip on her shoulder.

"I…I'm sorry," Ruby sobbed. "I…I don't…m-mean to…to…"

"It's okay," Yang whispered, no longer able to withhold her own tears. Seeing her brave and heroic little sister and team leader reduced to such a state was something she never could have imagined back in Beacon. When their precious school fell, it was Ruby that chose to move forward and keep fighting while Yang stayed home learning to cope with the loss of her arm. In a way, Ruby was the one that inspired her to move forward at all. Her father was also a positive influence, but where would she be right now if her sister hadn't been so strong, or worse, died at Beacon? Probably still at home, in her own private hell; one that Ruby was now in. It was now Yang's turn to pull her out of it, again and again if she had to.

From Ruby's perspective, her shame only grew. She could remember the brave boast she made to the world one day: that no evil, no enemy would defeat her. No matter what, she and her team would stop it. It was sad…no, pathetic to behave like this; for Salem to, even now, have such power over her.

"Have you ever imagined a moment where every inch of your heart, your…"

"No…more," Ruby sobbed. Part of her refused to let herself remain a victim to such evil, yet she was constantly assaulted by these thoughts through the most innocuous things. This was exactly the opposite of how things were supposed to go. Not too long ago, she declared that there would be no more self-pity. As the hours passed, however, it became increasingly clear that her Grimm self was right. What Salem did to her wasn't going to just go away on its own, and no inspiring speech would make it better. She needed help. Fortunately for her, she had a whole team willing to offer just that…once they've finished their own jobs around Mantle, that is.