"Do you… do you think your father will agree…?" Ruby asked timidly, the confidence she'd had before giving way to cautious realism. She doubted Penny or Ciel could replicate the process and create a new body for her as Pietro had done for Penny, let alone several like the robotic ginger apparently had.

"Well… Papa has been looking for more subjects to undergo the process," Penny shrugged, "He just hasn't been able to find many that were compatible."

"Compatible?" Ruby's heart dropped. From the sounds of it, there was a chance she would be denied through no fault of her own. Was the process too gruelling? Would her weakened body hold her back once more, denying her the chance to discard it completely?

Penny caught on to her diminishing spirits and gripped her hands more tightly, giving a firm shake of her head, "It's not like you're thinking. Most people don't want to give up their real bodies, and many that do… aren't exactly the heroic type…" she eyed Ruby with hesitant hope, "What would you do with a new body?"

Ruby breathed out a sigh of relief, closing her eyes for a moment while the hole in her chest pieced itself back together. She reopened her eyes, staring into Penny's while a small smile tugged at her lips, "All I've ever wanted was to be a Hero. I'd save everyone I could…"

"Good!" Penny chirped excitedly, "I don't see any reason why Papa would deny you if that's the case."

The room was quiet for a moment while Ruby silently cheered, her smile now unleashed fully, along with her rekindled hope. 'I can finally make my dreams come true!'

"What about your family?"

Ruby froze, the smile dying on her lips at the words Ciel had spoken into the momentary silence. Recent events had blinded Ruby to the dangers the Grimm had imposed, not to herself, but to her sister.

"Do you have a scroll!?" Ruby asked the two other girls in the room, eyes frantically darting back and forth between them. Ciel nodded and reached into her back pocket to pull out her own, handing it to Ruby who immediately opened up the dial pad. Her fingers flew across the keys, typing out the number she had been forced to memorize by heart so long ago in case anything happened.

Ruby finished dialing the number and then paused, hesitating as her panic began to clear and give way to more rational thought. 'Yang was at the shop… and has her aura unlocked… That Grimm couldn't have hurt her…'

The scroll slackened in Ruby's hand, drifting down to rest in her lap as she clutched it in both, 'What if… What if I didn't tell her…?' Ruby was so close to gaining what she had always dreamed of, and Yang would be one of the only people capable of talking her out of it. 'I could wait until after they've fixed me… I could show up in person, on my own two feet…!'

The thought of Yang suffering until then twisted Ruby's stomach to no end. Hadn't she always believed her sister would be better off without her, though? What was Ruby's life even worth? She was a hindrance. A mere blemish on the perfect life her sister could otherwise be living.

'I can't risk letting her talk me out of it,' Ruby thought firmly. She glanced back down to the scroll and moved her finger from the call button to 'end', closing out of it altogether.

Ciel's eyebrows raised as Ruby handed her the scroll back, "You aren't going to check in?"

"N-no… I'll wait until after…" 'After I'm not a burden on them anymore...' Ruby wiped the tears away that had been beginning to gather in the corner of her eyes, thinking of how devastated her family would be. It had to be done, though. 'Even if I need to die first… I want to be the one helping others, not the one that needs to be taken care of.'

Ciel pocketed the scroll with a troubled frown, then returned to wiping down what remained. After a few minutes, she gave a satisfied nod and helped Ruby into the clothes she'd brought. It was only a mild struggle, Ciel appearing used to helping in such a way. Considering what she'd learned of Penny… perhaps they had been friends, even before the change?

Once she had been dressed fully, Ciel stepped back to examine her work, "We'll get something tailored for you in time. That's just going to have to do for now."

Ruby looked down on herself and couldn't help but let out a weak laugh. The officer's uniform was mostly white and grey, made up of a grey undershirt, white button up long sleeve, and grey slacks that were all oversized for her frail body. Ciel wheeled the chair into place in front of her, then moved her into it with Penny's help.

"You look good!" Penny stated happily, moving ahead to hold the door open for them as they wheeled Ruby out, "We should go find Papa, then find you a room! You're going to be staying here a while, after all!"

"H-how long will it take?" Ruby asked, afraid of keeping her family waiting too long. She wasn't expecting Pietro to make a body for her overnight, but if it was going to take months…?

Ciel was the one to answer, giving a small 'hmm' to herself as she thought on it, "The Professor took years to create the first body for Penny, along with the technology required to transfer her soul into it. Some… recent research helped with that last bit, at least. Penny has only been as she is now for a few months. Now that he's done it once, it shouldn't take nearly as long."

"Are you his assistant? How long have you known Penny?"

Ciel let out a small laugh of her own, and shot the robotic ginger a warm smile, "Penny and I have been friends as long as I can remember. She started getting sick around the end of our Elementary years. I wanted to help any way I could, so I'd still visit whenever my parents would let me. Once I unlocked my Semblance… the Professor was very keen on keeping me around."

Ruby brightened. She loved to learn about the different Heroes in the world, and about the powers that had allowed them to rise above the rest. She'd always wondered what her own Semblance would have been, if she'd ever been able to train as her sister had.

"What is your Semblance?"

Ciel shrugged, "The Professor calls it 'Stasis'. I can stop time within a small area, along with anything that might be in it," her eyes shifted over to Penny sadly before dropping to stare at the floor, "It was really useful in the later days, when Penny was… losing time..."

"Ciel saved me!" Penny chipped in, grinning back at the mocha skinned girl and helping to raise her spirits once more, "Papa wouldn't have been able to complete his research in time without her help."

"That's amazing…" Ruby stated in wonder, giving Ciel a firm nod of approval, "Can you show me?"

Ciel let out a short chuckle, "Not at the moment, unfortunately. I can only use one at a time, and I'm already dedicating it to something else."

Ruby sighed in disappointment, "Maybe some other time then… You said this ship was a science vessel? What else do you research now that Penny has a new body?"

Ciel's eyes darkened, her mouth twisting into a thin line, "The Grimm… The only way for the Professor to convince them to allow his research was if it was in service to the cause. He needed funding, and because of that, couldn't turn Penny into a normal girl. Atlas wanted a weapon, after all…"

"But I'm really strong and cool and I can fly and shoot lasers and-!"

"That's not the point, Penny," Ciel shook her head, "I'm happy that you're happy, but… this life isn't what your father wanted for you."

Penny looked to the ground and kicked her feet against the tile, nervously messing with her hands as she did so, "I know… I've tried telling him that I wouldn't want it any other way, but…"

Ciel nodded, "He thinks you're just trying to make him feel better about it."

"Anything beats this," Ruby stated, gesturing down at herself in the wheelchair, "Besides, who wouldn't want to be a Hero!?"

"It's a dangerous life," Ciel replied, "Luckily, the Professor took all the precautions he could in outfitting Penny. He even made her spare bodies, like I'm sure you've seen."

"Can you transfer to a new one if you get destroyed?"

Penny smiled lightly, but shook her head, "If my body gets destroyed in the field, then I'll die for real unless my core is salvaged. Otherwise I have to use the pod to change bodies."

"All the more reason to make sure she's got the best tech possible," Ciel added.

"That Grimm was enormous. I'm surprised you managed all on your own!"

Penny's cheeks reddened and she waved her hand dismissively, "It was nothing, really."

"Nothing!? It took out a bunch of rooftops and half the park when it crashed!" Ruby had to stop herself, feeling her breath coming out heavily from the excitement. She took a few moments to relax while Penny rubbed a hand against the back of her head in apparent embarrassment, "Do you think Pietro will give me the same things?"

Ciel interrupted Penny before she could speak, "I doubt it. If Atlas lets him use you as another subject then it'll be under the guise of further testing. I wouldn't be surprised if he gives you an assortment of bodies with different abilities. It was another reason we needed to find the perfect subject. Some of the experimental tech is… fairly powerful, to say the least. It wouldn't do well to put it in the wrong hands."

'That sounds good to me!' Ruby thought excitedly.

The end of the current hallway came into sight around the bend, a heavily fortified door set into the end of it along with a pair of Atlas droids that flanked either side. Ruby's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of them, never having seen them in person before.

'Is that what I'll look like… underneath?' Her eyes darted between the droids and Penny, trying to compare both their size and stature. Fortunately, it appeared as if Penny had been built into something else entirely, as she was shorter and much more lithe. Thinking back to the inside parts she'd seen, Ruby guessed that they also hadn't been all that similar either. Penny was far more advanced than the regular droids, even without her soul.

Ciel raised her voice, speaking aloud to the droids as they approached, "Officer Soleil, requesting permission to enter with Project Penny and Guest."

A red line appeared in the droid's visors, sweeping back and forth as they heard and then acknowledged the request. They stepped to the side, allowing their small group to enter into a fairly spacious room. Not unlike Penny's bedroom, this one was similarly decorated along the walls with worktables, tools, and spare parts. Along with those, however, were an array of displays all connected to a rather large computer console.

Pietro finished typing something out as they entered and turned his chair to face them, pointed crab-like legs shuffling through no visible commands of his own, "Ah, glad to see you! I was about to alert the authorities that a pick up was required. Do you know your home address?"

"Oh… um…"

"Actually, we were thinking that Ruby should stay, Papa!" Penny blurted out hurriedly, causing him to pause in the act of dialing up what likely would have been the local police department.

"Stay?" Pietro frowned in confusion, then looked between Penny and Ruby with a worried crease to his brow, "You weren't thinking…?"

Ruby nervously played with her fingers in her lap, gaze downcast before raising back up to Pietro, pleading, "P-please… It's all I've ever wanted… and… I'll use my powers to save people! I want to be a Hero, and this is the only way!"

"My dear girl, what about your family? The people that love you? It… was no easy task, doing what I needed to for Penny. She would have died otherwise, though. You at least could live a normal life."

Ruby's hands tightened in her lap, fingers weakly digging into her palms as they shook, "...Normal? What about this looks 'normal' to you? Normal people can walk, normal people don't need to be waited on hand and foot, normal people have the power to help others! I don't want to live like this!" her eyes raised, fighting back tears while glaring fiercely at Pietro, "I don't want to be a burden! I want to be the one that saves people, that takes care of others!"

Ruby deflated after her outburst, hands raising in vain to try and hold in her tears. She rubbed her palms across them over and over, only for the wetness in her eyes to return a moment later. Her chest shook, threatening to let loose a series of choked sobs that she wouldn't be able to stop once started.

Pietro sighed heavily, sounding like a man defeated, "I have one requirement…" He waited for Ruby to calm before continuing, silver eyes clearing long enough to look up and see the tortured expression on his face, "You have to tell your family. At least one of them. Give them a chance to talk you out of it. I won't let this continue otherwise."

'One of them…?' Ruby held the back of her wrist against her eyes, thinking while allowing the sleeve to help dry her tears. She let her hand drop and looked back to Pietro, nodding weakly, "Okay… I can do that. Do I need to… call them here…?"

Pietro nodded, "I won't accept your request if it isn't in person."

"Ciel? Can I see your scroll again?"

Ciel retrieved the scroll from her back pocket once more and handed it to Ruby, who just then noticed the comforting hands that both girls had placed on her shoulders. Ruby thanked them both with a quivering smile and opened the scroll, typing out a different number than the one she had previously.

Ruby's hand hesitated overtop the final button for only a moment before she pressed it, bringing the scroll up to her ear tentatively. The dial tone played once... twice... Everyone waited on baited breath until it finally clicked, announcing that the call had finally gone through.

"Qrow Branwen speaking. Who is this?"

Ruby swallowed her panic, "U-Uncle Qrow? It's Ruby…"

"Oh, hey kid! Who's scroll are you calling from? I didn't recognize the number!"

"Um… that's… not important at the moment. Are you still on your mission…?" Ruby's hand clutched one of the buttons on her shirt tightly, trying to focus on what needed to be done.

"I will be in a day or so. What's up? You don't sound so great… Is everything alright?"

"I… I need you to come meet me, as soon as you can. Stuff happened and… You can't talk to Dad or Yang, okay!? They can't know! You just have to come meet me!"

There was a long, drawn out pause before Qrow came through once more, his voice dripping with apprehension, "Ruby…? What's going on?"

"Th-they said I need you here in person. Please, Uncle Qrow… I can explain once you get here… I'm… I'm on the Spirit of Dawn," Ruby looked up questioningly at Pietro, unsure of exactly where in the city the tarmac was located. He wrote quickly on one of his screens, large enough for Ruby to read, "On the… 'Lagoona'? Airstrip."

"Isn't that…?" Qrow sighed, "I'll be there as soon as I can, Ruby. I'm in Haven, so it's going to take me the better part of the night to get to you."

"Y-you don't need to abandon your mission for it… I wouldn't want you getting in trouble…"

"No. I won't be able to concentrate on anything else if you aren't with Tai or Yang. See you soon, kid."

"S-see you soon!" Ruby replied in false cheer, her finger immediately moving to end the call. She held it limply in her hand for a moment, staring at the screen before handing it back over her shoulder to Ciel with a muttered, "Thanks…"

Pietro looked at Ruby with a measuring gaze, rubbing his chin through his thick beard with one hand, "So, you chose your uncle? I believe I recognize the name, Qrow Branwen. Has some connections with Ironwood, if I recall correctly."

Ruby nodded, "Yeah… Uncle Qrow tries to avoid the limelight, but he's captured more villains and killed more Grimm than most Heroes."

'And he's never told me no…'

Pietro nodded, offering up a comforting smile, "I'll accept his opinion, in that case. Until then," his eyes shifted to Ciel, who snapped back to attention, "See to it that Miss Rose is placed in one of our spare rooms and taken care of. It's sure to have been a long day, and I suspect tomorrow may be just as tiring..."

"Yes, sir," Ciel bowed her head for a moment before turning Ruby's wheelchair back towards the door. They exited without another word, Penny leading them once more down the hall and taking a different turn than the one they'd come from.

"Do you think you'll be able to talk your uncle into it?" Penny asked quietly, sparing Ruby a worried glance.

Ruby sighed, staring down at her hands in her lap, "I think so… He loves me like my dad and Yang do, but…" she shrugged uncertainly, "He's around less often, so I think he feels guilty sometimes... If he did say no, it would be the first time."

"Well… whatever happens tomorrow, I hope it's for the best."

"Me too…"

They continued on, turning a few more corners before a high pitched, yet quiet alarm began to sound from somewhere behind Ruby's head. She turned in confusion to see the watch on Ciel's wrist emanating a faint light and emitting the sound. Ciel's face grew nervous for a moment, and both she and Penny picked up the pace after sharing a look with each other.

After rounding another turn, Ruby could see another heavily guarded door. Four droids stood outside it, along with a single male researcher that looked up as they approached. He was dressed like everyone else, though held himself with an air of dignity. He had short black hair, with a stripe of grey along either side that started just above his ears, and sported a thick black mustache.

"Finally, you show up! What were you thinking waiting this long!?"

Ciel handed Ruby off to Penny and stepped forward, dipping her head once more as she had for Pietro, "Sorry, Doctor Watts! We got caught up with something else and-!"

The Doctor cut her off with a glare, raising his hand to press it against the scanner, "I don't care for your excuses! Just use your damn Semblance! It's already been awake for the last ten minutes!"

"Yes, Sir!" Ciel spoke in a rush, stepping into the room quickly and leaving the others to wait outside. While the door remained open, Ruby was in no position to see past either the droids or Watts, who stood in the door and watched the proceedings.

There was the sound of keys vigorously being pressed from within the room, then the release of a pressurized airlock. Immediately, Ruby felt something itching at the back of her mind, her worst fears and doubts flooding to the surface and creating a piercing pain behind her eyes.

"Do you think you can hold me forever!? When my brothers and sisters come to free me, I'll-!"

The voice was sourceless and grating. It appeared from all places at once, but most firmly from within Ruby's own skull. She could feel it crawling within, scraping its way through her thoughts and memories with no regard for her own mind attempting to block it out.

As suddenly as it had begun, it ended. There was another sound of rushing air, and the pressure in Ruby's mind vanished, replaced by a dull ache that caused her to bring her hand up and massage her temple.

Ciel exited the room and closed the door behind herself, giving a small shake and rubbing a hand up and down her forearm, "There. It should be locked in Stasis for another twelve hours. Sorry, Doctor..."

Watts was rubbing at his own temple, similar to Ruby, "I don't need your apologies. I need you to be here on time. We still don't know as of yet how powerful their psychic abilities are. Just because your dear little Miss Polendina isn't affected does not mean you can slack off."

"I didn't mean to, really… It won't happen again."

Watts appeared to relax as the pressure began to fade, allowing everyone to breathe easier while the lingering effects were no longer sustained, "See to it that you don't." He nodded firmly and left, walking up the hallway they had come from in the direction of Pietro's room.

"What was that?" Ruby groaned, finally able to relax as well and raising her eyes questioningly to Ciel.

Ciel stood up straighter, but avoided Ruby's eyes as she spoke, "It's part of our research. We can't tell you unless you've been accepted into the program. Until then…" her gaze returned to Ruby with an apologetic frown, "It's safer if you don't know."

"But… I could hear it speaking…"

Ciel grimaced, "Even that may be too much to know. Forget about it for now, if you can. Focus on what you're going to tell your uncle tomorrow."

Ruby nodded her acceptance tentatively, and the three set out once more. It was only a couple more minutes before they found their way to a long hallway, doors spread along each side in short intervals. Ciel checked her scroll while Penny pushed Ruby along, finally stopping in front of one door in particular and placing her hand on the scanner in order to open it.

Penny stopped the wheelchair next to the door, "Place your hand on the scanner, too. That should let the system register you as one of the room's occupants."

"Oh, okay," Ruby raised her hand up from where she sat and rested it against the pad, feeling a slight heat beneath as the scanner swept back and forth in either direction. The door made a small chime sound, the word 'Registered' now displayed across it.

Penny wheeled Ruby into the small room. As she had expected before, there was a bunk bed set into the wall like a medium sized alcove, lightly furnished with a white mattress, blanket, and pillow. Aside from that, there was a single desk in the opposite corner and a shelf set into the wall above it. The rest of the room was barren, only offering up five feet of space in either direction.

"It's a little… cramped…"

Ciel nodded, "Most of the space on the ship is dedicated to the various facilities. The crew's room and board is left to the bare minimum, unfortunately. You'll get used to it soon enough though."

Ruby smiled, "I'll get used to it, huh? Sounds like you think I'll be staying."

"Papa didn't say no!" Penny said happily, "That means you have a better chance than most!"

"Just make sure to convince your uncle," Ciel stated lightly, then gestured for Penny to push Ruby closer to the lower bunk, "To that end, you definitely need your rest. It's already… nine, and I doubt your uncle will take that long to get here."

Ruby accepted, though part of her wished to stay up and talk to Penny more on what she was potentially going to go through. 'There will be time for that later on, though…' As long as she convinced Qrow, then she'd have nothing to worry about.

Ciel pulled the blanket back, then helped Ruby to at least take off her button up shirt. Being naked in front of strangers twice in a day was more than she could handle though, and she waved Ciel off, choosing to remain in her grey top and slacks.

The two girls helped her on to the mattress, stepping back to let her position herself beneath the blanket. Ruby got as comfortable as she could in the strange bed, feeling a definite lack of cushioning compared to her own at home, and sighed tiredly.

"Thanks… Will the two of you be there with me tomorrow while I'm trying to convince my uncle?"

"Of course!" Penny replied easily, giving a mock salute, "It'll help to have me there. Then your uncle can see that it really isn't so bad!"

Ciel was silent for a few moments longer in thought, "If you want me to be, then I will. I don't know what assistance I can really offer, though. This will be between you and your uncle in the end. The final decision rests with the two of you."

Ruby did her best to suppress a yawn and nodded her understanding, "You're right. I'll need to be at my best!"

Penny headed for the door and pressed a button so that it would slide open into the wall, letting out a final cheer of, "Goodnight, Ruby!" before disappearing out of sight.

Ciel smiled to show that she shared the sentiment and stepped out as well, turning off the light before allowing the door to close behind them and leaving the young girl alone in the darkened room. Ruby rolled on to her side so that she was facing the wall, allowing her eyes to drift shut.

After the day's events, she was truly tired. Her mind wandered to painful thoughts of Yang and her father, wondering what the two of them were doing. Had her father found out yet? Had they tried contacting Qrow?

'I hope he doesn't accept the call…'

The last thing Ruby needed was for her entire family to march on to the ship and take her away before she had a chance to be fixed, a chance for Fate itself to be righted.

Ruby's heart sank in her chest, knowing that no matter what, the two blondes in her life would be devastated regardless. There was no good solution to her problem. They would simply have to bear the pain until she could reveal herself to them, and begin life again as the new and improved Ruby Rose.

With those thoughts weighing heavily on her mind, it was an hour later before the frail girl finally managed to find her way into a restless sleep.

Arthur stumbled out of the pub, barely managing to catch himself against the railing and saving himself from a nasty tumble down the steps. He leaned against it and groaned, feeling the piercing headache that had returned and refused to leave no matter how much he drank.

'Follow me~'

The whisper of a thought passed through his mind, causing him to stir from his slumped position and take a look around. It was late, an hour or two after midnight, and the Vale streets around him were entirely desolate. Tall halogen street lamps flickered in their sockets, drawing his attention further down the sidewalk.

'This way~'

Another whisper. Arthur blinked blearily in confusion, but found himself putting his feet in motion. He wanted to walk in this direction. It was where he needed to go in order to find some relief from the sharp pain gnawing at his mind.

"Hello?" Arthur's own voice surprised him, some small part of his conscious mind fighting against… something. That panic began to seep into his movements, slowing his steps to a halt after walking only a dozen feet from the pub.

'Safe~'

The singular word had a mesmerizing effect, the panic fading once more into the background and becoming a mere annoyance that was easy to ignore. Arthur's steps continued slowly, finally bringing him to the end of a dark alleyway.

'Enter~'

The incessant voice in the back of his mind screamed, stopping Arthur in his tracks after only a single step. Something was wrong… something was very wrong.

Before he could fully recover and regain control of his own mind, wispy black tendrils shot out from the dark interior of the alleyway, wrapping around Arthur's body and pulling him in with a strength that he could not resist. He had only a moment to glimpse the black, fog-like creature, and see the bone white mask that decorated its head where a face should have been, before he opened his mouth to scream.

Immediately, that fog suffocated him. Arthur could feel it choking him, working its way down into his insides while the voice became louder, the whisper raising to a shout.

'Submit~, submit~, SUBMIT~!'

Arthur's eyes rolled into the back of his head as the final tendrils disappeared down his throat, the mask itself changing into the same incorporeal form in order to enter his body and possess his mind. He found himself no longer in control, a passenger to the whims of the Grimm that had taken over his body.

The Grimm raised the hands that had belonged to Arthur Watts, looking itself over while a wide grin spread across its face. It paused a moment after, tilting Arthur's head to the side while sifting through his memories.

"Aaaah…~ I knew I smelled one of my kin on you~ You shouldn't have left them awake for so long. We were able to hear their call~" the creature spoke with Arthur's mouth, though its thoughts pounded far more incessantly, "The Spirit of Dawn, was it~? Why don't we pay it a visit?"

Arthur wanted to scream, but lacked the control to do so. He could only retreat inside his own mind, fleeing from the talons that pierced into his subconscious and fed off the information held therein. It was pain beyond pain, yet nothing he did helped to keep the creature at bay.

The Grimm threw Arthur's head back, letting out a silent call that echoed across the city of Vale. Through its additional senses, Arthur could feel the connection it made with one, two… five others, each answering the call and repeating back a single word that focused on where he knew the Spirit of Dawn to be.

That single word sent a shiver of dread down his spine.

'Kill~'

Thanks for reading,

- Sybaen