Another update, because I figured I should keep working on this while I'm on a roll. Enjoy!
They speed away into the snowy wilderness, leaving the farmhouse burning behind them. Ruby doesn't remember ever being so relieved to get out of a place before.
Even more relieving is that everyone seems to have broken out of the depressive spell that had fallen over them. They still look tired, and worried, but not quite as exhausted and hopeless as this morning. Brunswick Farm is behind them, and with any luck, so is any chance of them giving up on their mission.
Ruby still feels scared, and confused, and lost, unsure of what to do in these strange circumstances she's stumbled into, but having a goal to strive for makes her feel a bit better.
Maria still has the book from the house that she was reading from last night. She sets it in her lap and starts flipping through the pages. "The apathy," she mutters under her breath. "I should have recognized the signs sooner."
She seems to be deep in thought, and Ruby hates to interrupt her, but curiosity about what happened back in the tunnels is gnawing at her. "Mrs. Calvera?"
"Please, child, call me Maria," the older woman insists, waving a dismissive hand. "I'm not that old yet."
"Maria, then," Ruby corrects herself. "How did you know what to say back there to make—to make me be able to do that?"
"To activate your silver eyes, you mean?" Maria replies. "Well, child, I had silver eyes as well, before I lost them and got these." She taps the side of her mechanical eyes for emphasis.
"My eyes?" Ruby frowns in confusion. Her head is aching, and exhaustion threatens to overwhelm her, but right now she's determined to get some answers. "You're saying I could do—whatever that was—because I have silver eyes?" She'd grown up knowing that having silver eyes was unique, since not many people had them, but she'd just figured that they were rare, not that they could somehow give her special powers.
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying." Maria frowns at her. "Didn't anybody tell you about the power of the silver-eyed warriors?"
"No." Ruby shakes her head, wincing as it aggravates her headache. "At least, not that I can remember."
Maria's frown deepens, and she mutters something under her breath. "Well, I guess it's up to me to fill you in then." She pauses, looking Ruby over. "We'll have to discuss it later, though. I don't appreciate when people fall asleep while I'm talking."
Ruby wants to protest, but she can't deny that she's struggling to stay awake and keep her eyes open. The events of the morning have completely drained her energy.
The last thing she hears before she drifts off is Maria's murmur of "Get some rest, Ruby."
"Welcome to Argus!"
Ruby jerks awake when she hears her sister's triumphant announcement. She has no idea how long she's been asleep for, but apparently long enough for them to make their way to the border city. She shifts slightly in her seat, attempting to stretch out cramped muscles. It'll be nice to get out of this cart and into civilization after the past two days spent in the snowy wilderness.
"It's okay, Ruby," Weiss assures her, apparently interpreting her stretching as nervous fidgeting. "We're in Argus now, so we'll finally be able to meet up with the others. Hopefully Jaune will be able to fix your memories and then things can go back to normal."
Weiss sounds confident, but her words only make Ruby more anxious. A knot of apprehension begins to form in her stomach. Her unease only grows as they pull through the gates of the town.
Everyone had seemed so hopeful when they'd explained the plan to her. It makes sense; Jaune's semblance allows him to extend his aura to others and help boost their healing abilities. Boosting her aura should help her to finish healing and restore the memories she lost.
Hopefully.
She can't help but wonder what will happen if Jaune can't bring back her memories. Everyone is already leaning on her, looking to her for what to do next, even when she's lost and confused without her memories. What if she can't get them back, but everyone still looks to her to be the leader? They want their Ruby back, the one they can turn to for advice and leadership, not her. She won't be much help to them like this.
If this doesn't work, everyone is going to be so disappointed.
She gets out of the trailer in a daze, lost in thought and moving on autopilot. What if this doesn't work? What if she—
"Ruby!" Her train of thought is interrupted by someone shouting her name. She turns around to see a blond boy waving frantically and running towards her. "I'm so glad you guys made it!"
He skids to a stop in front of them and reaches out to Ruby. She stumbles back a step. "Ruby?" Jaune frowns, tilting his head slightly. "Is everything okay?"
"I, uh—" she stutters, gaze fixed on the snowy ground at her feet.
"Jaune," Yang cuts in. "We've got a problem."
They hurry back to the place where Jaune and the others have staying—she thinks he mentioned that it's his sister's house? The journey passes in a blur. Ruby barely notices the city sights passing by her window, too busy answering the endless questions being thrown at her.
She's really getting sick of people staring at her.
"You really don't remember us?" the redheaded girl—Nora, that's her name—asks again, her eyes wide. Ruby nods mutely.
"Give her some space, Nora," the dark-haired boy next to her scolds. So her name is Nora. And Ruby thinks his name is Ren? Whatever his name is, she's grateful that he stepped in.
Nora takes a step back, sulking. "Sorry Ruby."
Ruby manages a smile. "It's okay."
Jaune's sister seems nice—from what little Ruby sees of her before Jaune tells her that they need to talk privately. Her house is lovely, spacious and cheerfully decorated. Ruby makes a mental note to tell her that before forcing herself to focus on the conversation at hand.
"So, can you do it?" Weiss is asking Jaune, her voice brisk and impatient.
"I don't know," Jaune replies hesitantly, an uncertain frown on his face. "I mean, I've never done anything like this before. I only just discovered my semblance, remember? I don't have a lot of experience using it yet?"
"But does it sound like something you'd be able to do?" Blake chimes in, her golden eyes serious.
"I—guess," Jaune replies slowly. "I mean, if it's like when I healed Weiss, then I should be able to do it. I guess it can't hurt to try."
"Attaboy, Jaune, that's the spirit," Yang praises him, before becoming more serious. "Alright, Rubes, lets give this a try."
Reluctantly, Ruby pushes herself up from her spot on the couch and steps over so that she's standing in front of Jaune. Her stomach still feels uneasy, and she swallows hard.
"Ready?" Jaune asks, shooting her what she thinks is meant to be a reassuring smile.
She nods slightly. "Yeah," she replies quietly. Might as well get this over with.
"Okay. I'll get started." Gently, he places a hand on either side of her head. She closes her eyes as she feels his aura merging with and amplifying her own. It feels odd, but not bad, an unfamiliar warmth. It washes over her, and Ruby waits to feel a change, to feel her lost memories coming back—but nothing happens.
The warmth recedes, then dies down, and Jaune releases her head and steps back. Upon opening her eyes, she can see the stricken look on his face, and knows that he can sense it too: it didn't work.
"Well?" Weiss demands impatiently. It reminds her of Yang, the way she tries to disguise her fear and uncertainty as anger. Speaking of Yang, what is her sister going to think—
"I'm sorry," Jaune says, forcing himself to meet Weiss' eyes. "I couldn't do it. I can't give Ruby her memories back."
So I kind of lied about the amnesia being temporary. Whoops!
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