So here we are again. I'm not sure what to call this honestly. Is it the Arc 2 or Book 2?
It's certainly long enough for it, but I feel that would be confusing.
Besides I'm not exactly sure how long this will be. It might be shorter, but I've got a feeling it'll be even longer than the Beacon Arc.
Not exactly sure if that's crazy or not but we'll find out I guess.
Okay, I've broken into a tangent so I'll get back to the actually story and say here we go! The beginning of the second Arc.
I hope you're ready, there'll be more magic, bigger breaks from Cannon and if I'm fast enough, I might even overtake it soon.
Not that it really matters, I expect this to be a whole lot different from what you're used to.
Lets go.
...
Remnant.
A world full of despair, filled with horrors yet undiscovered and creatures more terrifying than ever could be imagined.
A world so fragile, thrown into chaos.
At this time, the powers of man are lost, divided amongst themselves after the fall of one of their Beacons, their hopes.
And hope is one of their greatest strengths. It is almost pitiable, to see such a species cry out in mourning of its own, to see them turn their backs on each other like they have time and time again throughout the annals of History.
Perhaps this civilisation, one that had garnered so much potential even amidst its failures, will follow the rest and fade away, as if it were nothing.
Perhaps it is too early to tell… but the seeds have been sown, and the peace that the people have treasured for nearly a century is about to shatter.
Whether humanity can last another war, while the Creatures of Grimm return to their old power, while lost tales resurface and being from long ago breathe new life, only time will tell. Only time will tell if Humanity is truly deserving of the property they have been granted.
If they can see past the false truths.
If they can band together as they did so long ago not under one, but many.
If they can rekindle the spark of hope.
And…
Even then, forces beyond their ken will look on.
Waiting.
Learning.
Judging.
I wonder what they will decide.
…
…
Sunlight was what woke Ruby.
It was what woke her from a dream already fading from memory.
A dream she knew, she had before. It was all she dreamt about since Beacon.
The same thing.
A field of gold, under a white sky, and person, face shrouded in shadow on a hilltop.
It left her numb, for those few brief moments she felt nothing, as if on a cloud, at peace.
Before reality came crashing back, and her body throbbed with pain, reminding her that she was awake.
And the last remnants of the dream would vanish.
She opened her eyes and let out a long, tired breath.
As if summoned, and Ruby was sure it was no coincidence, her bedroom door opened. Neo pushed in a wheelchair she gotten -stolen - from somewhere and parked it beside her bed.
She closed her eyes again.
"How long were you waiting outside?"
Three taps, one for each hour. She'd overslept again… something becoming almost routine now.
"What... time is it now?
One tap. She'd slept past noon… again.
Ruby sighed. "Don't you have anything else you could do?"
No response, not like she expected one. It wasn't like Neo could answer more complicated questions with a few taps.
What she did get however, was the feeling of two hands raising her up to sit straight. She winced at the contact, even as Neo tried to be as careful as she could, her back arched in pain as fingers brushed her back.
Rub kept her eyes closed, if only so she didn't have to watch as Neo gently pulled off her overshirt and clothed her in a clean one.
Ruby forced the bile that built in her throat back down.
Having to be dressed by someone else. It made her sick, that she couldn't even do that herself now.
She'd tried. At the start she'd tried.
She'd writhed on the floor for an hour afterwards before anyone came to check on her.
Her body just wouldn't let her. She could barely raise her arms, either of them.
Neo had decided she'd be the one to help her get dressed in the mornings.
Ruby hated her for that.
It was stupid, it was childish and ridiculous, but Ruby couldn't help how much she hated Neo for it.
She didn't say anything, didn't try an convey it is anyway.
But she knew Neo felt it all the same.
But, Neo being Neo, she ignored it. She didn't act like there was anything wrong, didn't act like the person she had to dress in the morning was disgusted at her presence.
Because she knew that Ruby was disgusted with herself too.
When Neo was done with what Ruby thought was a frankly degrading process, she lifted the younger girl into the wheelchair and steered her out of her room.
The smell of breakfast (lunch) met her nose as she entered the kitchen, and her dad turned to smile at her as she entered.
"Hey sweetie," Tai said, lifting a plate of hot food and setting it on the table as Neo pushed her to the table. "I saved what was yours so eat up."
"or don't" Roman, who was sitting across the table with a mug of coffee in his hand, shrugged. "I could go for another snack."
Taiyang glared at the thief. "You are already mooching off me enough. You got breakfast, if you want more then work for it."
Roman shrugged. Ruby thought he looked odd without his hat, but he wasn't the type of person to wear something like that indoors, so instead she was assaulted with his bright orange hair every time she saw him. Really, hispresence here was one of the things keeping Ruby going, even despite the seemingly constant bickering between him and her father.
"What am I supposed to do, work an honest job? Even if that didn't clash with my style, I'm still a wanted criminal you know? Not the sort of thing that helps at an interview."
Tai grumbled something under his breath, but left it.
While they were distracted with each other, Ruby shifted in her chair, reaching for a spoon to-
"Agh!"
Neo was next to her an instant later, even before the utensil clattered to the ground.
Ruby help back a whimper as her fingers spasmed and seethed as her right hand sent bolts of pain up her arm.
"Ruby!" her dad gasped, rushing over to her. A pointless gesture considering it left him with nothing to do but let his hands hover over her lightly.
"What happened? A voice asked, as a head of silver hair pocked through the doorway. "Somethin' break?"
"No," Roman scowled, eyes tearing away from the younger girl to glare at mercury. "What are you doing in the living room anyway? Can't you be helpful or something?"
Roman resolutely ignored the hypocrisy in his words.
Mercury just shrugged, as he moved to sit down at the table too. "Was watching the news," he said as he kicked his feet up and rested them on the table. "Not much of a change really, people are still crying about having to move outta the city. Some of the news channels are even blaming Huntsmen for not protecting them well enough."
Tai scoffed. "Of course they are; people always find others to blame to make themselves feel better."
"I dunno," The assassin shrugged. "Some of it's a little ridiculous. One was even talking conspiracy theories about how the Huntsmen did it so people would have to pay more protection against the Grimm."
"Seriously?"
Ruby ignored the conversation around her, mostly due to the fact she was glaring at her plate.
While they talked about what was going on in the outside world, Ruby couldn't even pick up a spoon! She was pathetic, completely useless.
And what made it worse, was that Neo had picked it up, and slowly began feeding her.
It was humiliating, like she was a child.
The logical part of her mind told her Neo was helping her, that there was no maliciousness behind it and that she needed it.
It was there, and probably the only thing keeping her from snapping at the multi-coloured woman.
It still didn't make it any better, nor the fact that she knew resisting, refusing to eat would make her seem like even more of a child.
So she opened her mouth, letting Neo feed her slowly.
The food… was disgusting.
For some reason, some reason she didn't know, didn't care to know or didn't want to, the food tasted like ashes in her mouth, like it had for the last week.
Everything she ate tasted the same, like ash.
She wanted to spit it out, throw it up and scrub the taste off her tongue.
But again, that logical part of her mind told her she needed to eat. So she forced it down without a word as Nero fed her another pile of ash-flavoured food.
"Sounds just like them," Roman groused as he took a sip from his mug. "They can't exactly blame the Grimm for tearing down the Coliseum, as much as they want to."
Mercury shook his head. "Nah, even if they could they'd blame the Huntsmen. If they didn't people would turn on each other. The way they look at it it's better to have somebody to focus on that go crazy. They're blaming the White Fang too, it's just that they were doing that before and…"
"And this is the biggest tragedy people have experienced in living memory." The thief sighed, before giving the silver-haired teen a suspicious look. "How do you know about this stuff anyway? I didn't think a killer would be interested in that sort of stuff."
He got an eye roll in response. "My dad was a master assassin. He was training me to be the same, made me learn how to get people to hate each other to make a mark easier. It was pretty good advice, he taught me some good stud before I killed him."
Taiyang blanched at that, and once again probably forced himself that these criminals had saved his daughter, so they couldn't be as bad as he thought they were.
It was hard though.
"Anyway," the blond parent said, moving the conversation away from patricide. "Do you know where Cinder is? I haven't seen her since this morning."
"She said she was going hunting." The teen told him. "Emerald went with her because… well she's Emerald. They should be back any-"
Whether it was bad luck or amazingly timed; at that moment the front door opened and the two individuals in question entered. Cinder carried a sling over her shoulder, hooked on it, a few rabbits with tell-tale arrow wounds marked between their eyes.
Emerald too had game, a pig, amazingly, that she left outside.
Roman eyed it from where he sat. "How did you manage to bag that thing?"
The younger thief smirked proudly. "Skill. That, and tricking it into seeing nothing instead of the two of us coming for it."
"You must be so proud." Mercury drawled sarcastically.
"Coming from the guy with no pride."
"Oi!"
There was a pause, as the others in the room noticed the sudden tension. They turned, to see Ruby and Cinder, staring at each other.
Their gazes were unreadable for a moment, until the older of them looked away, and murmured. "We need to talk about this now."
Roman sighed. "Guess we're doing this now. Fine."
Ruby showed so confusion as everyone sat at the table, but said nothing as Cinder sighed.
Neo and Roman sat on either side of her, Emerald, then Cinder, then Mercury and her dad were next. There was a noticeable space missing.
"We have months." She said. "Not even a year, just months. We need to… to figure out what we're going to do about…" she glanced to her side, Ruby caught her gaze before she could hide it.
"Me." The girl mumbled. "What about me?"
"You're hurt kid." Roman told her, oddly saving Cinder from answering. "Real badly. I've seen dead people in better shape than you and you know it. If you're going to work through this we need to figure out how."
Ruby slumped at his words. She knew he was right but it just made her feel… tired.
"So what do you want me to do?"
"Just… just confirm a few things," her dad said, showing a file. It was a medical one. "And listen to what the doctor's think about it?"
"I've…. Been to the doctors?" Ruby frowned.
"Not officially." Roman told her. "One of my uh 'contacts' was a 'doctor' that looked you over when you were out of it. We didn't know if you would actually make it so…" he trailed off. Ruby nodded reluctantly. She could understand that, even if she didn't like it.
He nodded in return. "Right, so we'll start with the most obvious one. Hey blondie, pass me that."
Taiyang did so, and Torchwick flicked through a dozen or so pages before he found the one he was looking for.
"Right, so, your arm. Can you take the wrapping off it Neo?"
The girl nodded and did just that. Again, Ruby had to stop herself from arguing that she could do it herself… because she knew she couldn't.
When it came off there were a few sharp intakes of breath. From her dad, Cinder and surprisingly Emerald. Neo, of course stayed silent, but the murderous glare she sent Cinder's way let them know exactly what she thought.
Everything below her elbow was blistered and red; a sheet of unhealthy red kin. Her hand had a thick line running straight down, on both the front band back of her palm. It was blackened and charred with crusted edges along the wound.
It was a sword wound.
Roman inhale deeply, before deciding that wasn't enough and took out a cigar. He lit it, and took a calming drag.
She set the file down on the table, along with an image. It was Ruby's arm again.
But it was… far worse.
The limb was blackened all over, as Ruby had expected. It had looked that bad in the beginning. But this picture showed worse.
There were patches of skin missing, in places, flesh was gone and in its wake she could see yellowed pus and exposed bone.
It was disgusting.
Ruby had seen gore.
But realising she was looking at her own arm.
It made her sick.
"The doc said it looked like fourth and fifth-degree burns in this pic." Roman explained. "When your Aura kicked in it got to work on trying to save your arm. The doctor predicted it might go down to a first-degree burn if you were lucky. From the looks of it I think it might be a-"
"Second-degree burn." Mercury supplied. Then when the others gave him a look he added. "What?! Not ever assassination is meant to be found out. Sometimes it's meant to look like an accident."
"The more I hear the less I want to know." Roman muttered. He shook his head. "Anyway, yeah, the kids right. It's moved down to second-degree burns which… is good and bad. The uh, good news is that your arms not gonna fall off any time soon. The bad news is that because you Aura 'healed' your arm, it brought back the nerves in it, meaning you can feel pain." He bit his lip. "and there's another thing…"
Ruby looked up at him. "What else could there be wrong with it?"
"It… the doc didn't know why, but after a week your arm… just stopped healing. I don't know what that means exactly or why but-"
"It was because the fire wasn't natural." Cinder whispered. The others turned their attention to her now, even as she refused to meet their looks.
"The flames were brought about by magic, not by dust, or a semblance or some other kind of fuel. Here's a… a flavour to them that does more than just burn. Coupled with the face it worked from the inside it… it is possible it will not heal anymore. That it did this far is a miracle on its own."
Ruby swallowed. "So… you're saying… it could be stuck like this? That I could be stuck like this?"
The silence was enough to answer her question.
Ruby felt a familiar bile in her throat and she choked back something angry.
"What am I- what am I supposed to do then?" she grit out, ignoring with everything she could the wet feeling that ran down her cheeks. "What… I can't even use a… a fucking spoon! How am I supposed to do anything? I- how am I supposed to fight!?"Roman didn't have an answer. Cinder didn't have an answer. Her dad didn't have an answer. But.
"I… well there might be something." Mercury tired. Ruby looked to him with a spark of hope that made him wince. "I don't know… I mean… you could always…"
He glanced down.
At his own legs.
Ruby's face darkened.
"No."
"It's not that bad," he assured her. "It was hard to get used it at first but it was better than having no-"
"No."
Cinder bit the inside of her mouth. "Mercury… isn't wrong Ruby. It might be the only way you can-"
"I said NO!" she snapped. A second later, before anyone could think to protest more, a thing blade sank into the table. Neo threatened them with a furious glare of her own. The statement was clear.
Ruby said no.
Cinder perhaps was the only one not swayed, and even with the glare the multi-coloured girl sent her she spoke. "How do you expect to fight then? You can't use Crescent Rose with one hand."
Ruby grimaced. "I think of something. I'm not cutting off my arm just because it doesn't work. It's a part of me. I'm not losing it."
"Sorry." Mercury murmured, scratching the back of his head. "I shouldn't have said it."
Ruby closed her eyes. "Don't be." She sighed "You were just trying to help. I just… I'd rather not replace my arm. I'll think of something." The fell into an awkward silence, and again, Cinder couldn't meet Ruby's eyes once again.
"…Right." Roman said to break the moment. "Well, that wasn't the only thing the doctor of mine went over. The rest of you isn't as bad, but it'll still take a while for you to… get back up to speed I guess is a way to put it."
Taiyang clearly wasn't enjoying what he was hearing, judging by the way his face contorted. But even so, he was the first one to speak up again. "What does that mean exactly?"
"Well…" Roman hesitated, running a hand over his head. "I'm not exactly sure what he means, but nothing's permanently damaged. It's more like… I don't know what this means, he' written her that it's like you've had a stroke."
"What!?" she gasped.
"Give me that." Her dad said suddenly, taking the file himself and reading through it quickly. His face was firm for a moment, before slowly relaxing. Just a little.
"It's not an actual stroke, thank god." He glared at the thief. "Read it properly next time."
"Well?" Ruby urged. "What does it say?"
"The shocks disrupted how your body reacts to input, not your brain." Her dad explained carefully. "When you try to do something, say, move your arm, or feel something foreign touch you, it sends signals all over. Your muscles contract erratically and you feel spasms because of it. It can go away eventually, but you'll have to… 'Relearn' to do everything; walk, run, grab, fight… and everything else."
"Huh," Roman blinked, surprised. "I didn't think you'd know something like that blondie."
Tai shook his head. "When I started… getting better I got worried about what might happen to Yang, especially when she said she wanted to be a Huntress. So when she went to bed every night I took a course; basic medical training. I'm not a doctor, but I can diagnose physical damage, maybe treat the less dangerous ones."
Emerald, who had been mostly quiet this who time, blinked. "That… sounds nice. I mean… wow."
"What?"
"O-oh um, nothing sir. Just… loving father material… new experience for me I think."
"Really?" Roman drawled. "That's all you had to say? That you have absentee-daddy issues?"
Emeralds scowl was livid, and for good reason. Ruby glared at the older man.
"Roman, stop it. I know you're annoyed but leave Emerald out of it."
Neo nodded, and Roman shot her an indignant look of betrayal.
Ruby turned to the green haired girl, who looked surprised at the sudden defence.
"Is that all you wanted to say?"
"U-um no, actually, I think, well, I'm not positive, but I think I could, help maybe?"
"What do you mean?"
"My semblance," she explained. "Its illusions, but, not the way Neo does it. I'm not sure how to explain it but, I don't just do an appearance thing – I can – but it's like I put illusions into a persons mind. I can make them see, hear, smell and feel things, or, the opposite."
"And, you think that can help?"
Emerald nodded, surer of herself this time.
"I'm not sure about how I'd make you walk, but if I put an illusion on you I could I don't know, help with signals through the body. I mean, I think. I'll have to try it out."
Ruby stared wide-eyed at her.
"That's amazing! You can really do that?"
"I think so." She said. "It might take some practice to get it just right but-"
"Thank you!" Ruby cried, and in that single moment she could ignore the pain, that one second, to lean across and clasp Emeralds hands in her good one. "Thank you thank you thank you!"
Emerald blushed a dark shade of red.
The moment past and Ruby winced, pulling back.
But as she did, she realised the lancing pain had become dull, and looked shocked once again when Emerald sent her a feeble grin.
Ruby smiled back in full. It was a start.
"Well then." Roman coughed, suddenly uncomfortable for reasons Ruby was unsure of. "You two should probably start on whatever that is. Neo, what are you gonna- watch them? Okay, fine." He shook his head. "Welp, there's stuff about the rest of us, so we should probably get to looking over our own cuts and bruises, not like I expect them to be much worse than that."
Neo was already being steered away from the table by Neo, as Emerald followed quickly behind, eager for some reason to be of help.
Her dad sent her a smile of his own that made her feel better.
"I'll get something for you to drink later, you girls should take the spare room on the right two doors down the hall. It's empty now, but I can probably get it fitted as a rehabilitation room or something if you'd like."
Ruby nodded.
She still felt tired.
Exhausted even.
But she felt better than before even if just a little.
"Thanks dad."
…
…
Cinder frowned. She'd been doing that a lot lately. It had replaced the constant sighing, but she was sure that if she didn't have Aura it might have aged her prematurely all the same.
As it was, she felt it was necessary, because after Torchwick had finished going over what his two-bit criminal associate had said about their wounds, he'd pulled her to the side to talk alone with her. As it was, they were in the hallway while the others got about to doing things.
Even Mercury was being helpful and had gone into two with Taiyang to buy materials.
Mercury!
"Well?" she prompted, eager to be away from the thief. They had a tentative alliance before, now, she wasn't sure what it was.
Torchwick was quiet for a moment, before he leaned back against the wall, and took out a new cigar. He didn't light it, just stared at it, as if inspecting it's creation.
"What's your deal?"
Again, a frown. "What?"
"You heard me." the thief grunted, but repeated it all the same. "I asked what your deal is. Why are you helping the kid?"
"You know what Torchwick. We were friends when I was-"
"Yeah, yeah I know how you met, explains a lot of things now that I think about it, like how you picked up two trays. A streetrat-pickpocket and a kid assassin down on his luck. Real charming, thought you could be some sorta messiah for them or something. Cute."
He stared hard at her. "No, I want to know why you're here now. So far all I've heard about this Salem thing is that they're some kind of bass and you joined up with them."
Cinder crossed her arms under her breast, shifting slightly. "I did."
"See, it bugs me, cause, you were supposedly one of the good guys, and sure you were trapped by the bad guys but you said she gave you the choice to leave and you didn't. she dangled power in front of your face and you turned your back on the kid."
Cinder's eyes flashed, but she pushed down on her anger. "Ironic hearing assumptions of loyalty coming from you Roman, considering you did the same at Beacon right at the end just like me."
He scoffed. "Don't compare us Cindy. You and your buddies were tearing apart a city. Not only is that crazy, but it's pretty fucking different than deciding between joining some monster and staying with them."
She hissed. "What would you know about my choices Roman? How could you possibly understand?"
"Oh I understand alright. You got greedy and joined up with her because you wanted what she could-"
"Do not-" A snarl flew from her lips. "Do not assume to understand at all. You have no idea what it was like."
"Oh yeah?" he questioned. He received another snarl, as Cinder stepped closer to him, face to face, barely inches away.
"Yes." She took a breath, all the time retaining the eye contact she held. "Let me explain something to you Roman. Salem is not of humanity. She is not Faunus, and she is not human. I'm not entirely sure she is even Grimm. But I do know this. Even through a screen, that seeker or whatever Grimm it was, I could feel it, and when I met her in person, it became all more clear:"
The look in Cinder's eye was almost reverent, enough to give Roman pause and listen.
"Do you know what a god is Roman? All the deities and beings that Humanity has worshipped for millennia, even the ones the might be real, I've never met. I met Salem and let me explain to you Roman, if you were ever in her presence you would get down on your knees and bow."
"I'm not the type to-"
"It won't be a choice." She snapped. "Every fibre of your being, your very soul will order you to prostrate yourself, because that is what you do to creatures like her. To things like her. Salem is a God. Maybe she came with the Grimm, maybe in the beginning she was just another one of the Dark god's creations, but when I witnessed her I knew what she was. So when she offered me a hand, a chance to serve her I took it because my soul begged for it."
She was closer now, just to burn it into his mind.
"You think a maiden is powerful? Ozpin once possessed their power, all four of them. He had power and experience even before his most recent death that I'm sure could have matched them, coupled with the power he uses to live eternally, whatever it is, not to mention whatever else he's done with it. All of that, and he still could not defeat her. He failed. Every. Single. Time.
Cinder slumped back, letting out a breath.
"She has an endless host of Grimm at her command, and powers I likely know nothing of… I… I don't think we can beat her. I don't think that even if all of Humanity joined together that we could beat her. I think we squandered that chance aeons ago."
Roman looked away. He thought for a moment in silence, before turning back to her.
"If she's so powerful, why did you switch sides? Why did you save the kid?"
This time, it was Cinder's turn to look away, but by the time she did, Roman had already caught it.
The look of disgust on his face was apparent.
"You've got to be fucking with me." He whispered and shook his head. "You hurt her, burned her, mutilated her and you- you seriously feel that way about her?"
"I-"
"Don't." he spat. "I don't trust you Cinder. After all I've seen from you I'll never trust you. I only care about three things in this shit world; Myself, Neo and the kid. The fact that you have these… whatever you have, about her doesn't make me like you or trust you… but I know right now I don't have a choice."
He shook his head again, walking away, but before he did fully, he paused and turned back to her.
"There's something wrong with you Cinder. Something deeply wrong."
…
…
It was a fortnight before Ruby was able to properly manipulate her legs again.
Not move, not stand, manipulate.
She could feel a tingle in her toes, yet she couldn't move them with consistent control.
She could however, move her legs.
Not the way they should be able.
Not like she used to.
They felt like thick, heavy trunks.
It was like they were there, but not actually there. Ruby wasn't sure how that made sense exactly, but it was the best she could do to describe it.
Either way, she still couldn't stand, not without aid.
Fortunately, Emerald had been there every day for the last two weeks, by her side and just in reach should Ruby ever need her.
Still…
"Okay, let's try this again."
Ruby nodded slowly, as if mentally preparing herself.
She glanced to the side, into the mirror.
Her Dad had been serious about fitting it as a rehabilitation room: there were tow metal railings in the centre, something she wasn't familiar with in name, to help people walk, or practice too, there was a window to the outside on one side, and an entire wall taken up by a mirror on another. The rest of the room was pretty much empty, other than a few weights set up in the corner. They, like the railings, were untouched.
Ruby just hadn't got to that point yet.
"So," Emerald said. "I've cast an illusion, how does it feel?
Ruby bit her lip and lifted her left hand. There was still the feeling that something wasn't right. It still hurt, but in lieu of throbbing, it felt as if Ruby could feel her blood flowing through her body, right underneath the skin.
Her skin felt tight, numb. She clenched, unclenched, clenched.
"Weird." She said. "but not as bad… let's try it."
Emerald reached out her hand, and with her good hand she took it gently. The younger girl winced. It stung, like running her hand across nettles.
But not unbearable. She let out a grunt as she got her feet out under her, as far away from the wheelchair as she could manage
And pushed.
She pushed and pushed as hard as she could.
Her grunting turned to groaning, and the occasional whimper or whine as she rose higher and higher.
All the while she held onto Emerald with one hand, and the other, hung limply by her side.
It was an effort.
It didn't take effort.
It was effort.
Ruby's breathing grew laboured, and she felt her skin burn.
She wasn't sure if it was physical, or she was just angry.
Something as simple as standing, taking all she had,
"You know, it's strange." Emerald told her suddenly. "I didn't think I'd help you with this."
"W-what?" she murmured, half-listening as she forced herself to stand taller.
Emerald was trying to distract her, or at least take her mind off it and onto something else. She let her speak.
"When I first heard about you, it was from a conversation between Cinder and Watts... I heard that you were someone special, and I didn't see the big deal."
"Y-yeah?" she gasped.
She saw Emerald nod on the edge of her vision as she looked down.
"Yeah. I… I think I was jealous. All she had was a name, she hadn't even talked to you in however-long but you had Cinder's attention. I hadn't even met you and I hated you with everything I had." Ruby didn't respond. Whether it was because she chose not to, or didn't know how, Emerald continued.
"I grew up on the streets before Cinder found me. It was kind of pathetic. I mean, I'm two years older than you, but by the time she found me I was still older than you are now. Looking back, I should have made something of myself but…" she shrugged. "I guess I just didn't have an idea, a scope of what I could do. I was barely fed when she found me, actually, I think the day before she did I'd had the biggest meal I'd had all month. Some kid didn't want their leftovers in a restaurant. They dumped it out and I got first pick."
"I… don't know what to say."
The thief rolled her eyes. "Then wait until I finish. Listen, I didn't know a lot of people. My life was always on the streets. I never went to an orphanage, wouldn't have, the kids there never found parents that cared about them… anyway, I'm saying that all I remember is stealing to survive. In alleyways, in trash cans, in gutters. I don't remember my parents, but if they had me, they must have tossed me down the river the first chance they got I guess."
"Emerald I-"
"And then I met Cinder." Emerald interrupted. "She gave me a life, a chance. Sure it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. I'm not stupid or amoral. I know Cinder's down some horrible things, made some bad choices but it's still better than anything I could ever have dreamed of."
The Reaper swallowed. "Why… Why are you telling me this?"
"You haven't talked to her all this time. Every time you two come within a few feet of each other you look the other way. Every time she realises the two of you are in the same room she leaves. You're scared of her… aren't you?"
"I… I don't know. i…. I just…" she trailed off, but Emerald just nodded.
"I get it. Cinder did something to you that was just… it was evil. It's something you'd have nightmares about, and then the next thing you know you're begging her to help you and she does. I'm not going to blame you for being scared of her, hel, I see Cinder as… well she's special to me, but I'd understand if you hate her."
Emerald sighed. "She understands too. It's why she hasn't talked to you about it… I think Cinder's afraid too."
"I… I guess so." Ruby looked up, and despite herself, a small smile played at her lips. "You know… I don't mean this in a bad way, but I didn't think you'd be so… thoughtful."
Emerald snorted. "Someone has to be around her. Listen Ruby, everybody in this damn house has bugged the hel out of me all week. All that fake kindness and niceness. I mean, your dads the exception but mostly because he's hot-"
"Ew."
"And in case you couldn't tell I don't do all that smiling stuff. It's weird, puts me off. Neo smiles nearly all the time and you know what she's like."
"Um…."
The other's have been all over you, right? Being kind and understanding…it's been bugging you too right?"
Ruby looked away, but she did eventually nod slowly."
Emerald smirked. "Thought so. Sometimes you don't want their sympathy… you just want them to get to the point or be brutally honest with you."
"And what about you?" Ruby challenged. "You said you didn't like me. Aren't you basically acting the same as the others now?"
She received an eye roll in response.
"I can't hate you because that would make me feel like crap. You're that pathetic it has to be some kind of crime."
Despite herself, and the insult, a laugh escaped the younger girl. Emerald shot her a knowing look.
"That's what I thought. Listen, right now, you're a mess, if nobody else is going to say it, I will. But as weird as it is, as weird as you are, I like you. Cinder might still care a lot about you, maybe even more than me but hey, I think I can see why in a way too so it's not like I care. I don't know what it is, you're just fun to be around, even right now, acting like a depressed loser and all."
Ruby snorted, then giggled, and giggled some more, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably as she tried in vain to hold back her mirth.
Emerald was grinning now. "Yeah you heard me loser, you suck, I suck, just for different reasons. I was a starving orphan, and now I have to babysit a girl who's practically a cripple, you were on the run most of your life, and then got tortured and burned. We're both in a shitty situation am I right?"
Ruby couldn't help it. She laughed and laughed and laughed until she was out of breath, and then she laughed some more. Until her stomach hurt, until her cheeks ached she felt something wet against her face.
And then it died down, and she smiled.
"Thanks Emerald." She said. "I… I think I needed that."
Emerald smiled back, genuinely. "Yeah, just don't mention it." Her smile grew a little more. "By the way, we should probably sit you down now."
"Uh?"
As if a spell had been broken, Ruby's legs began to shake frantically, and Emerald caught her as she collapsed, setting her gently back into the wheelchair. She was breathing heavily, panting, and sweat poured from her face, and nearly every other part of her body. Her body ached, in a painful, but somehow satisfying way.
"Have you-" She paused, catching her breath. "Have you taken the illusion off yet?"
Emerald shook her head. "Not yet."
Ruby nodded to herself. "Can you… give me a few minutes before you do?"
"Sure."
The room was filled with nothing but Ruby's laboured breathing. Constant and strained, but satisfied somehow.
"You did alright." Emerald said suddenly. "Twenty minutes passed like nothing."
"Twenty?" Ruby echoed, surprise evident in her voice. "Huh…" she panted. "Felt…. Like a lot less."
"Well, it is kind of a small amount of time. At least for something like standing I mean."
"Yeah," she agreed. "But it's a start."
"Hhm…It's a start."
"Are you two finished in there already?"
"Mercury," Emerald turned, scowling at the silver-haired teen as he poked his head through the door. "What do you want?"
"I'm bored."
"What are you a child?"
"Noooooo~"
"Ugh…"
"Come on." The teen groaned. "I got a movie we can watch. The news is all that's on except for kids channels, and those are so mindnumbing I feel like it makes me dumber."
"They don't make them like they used to." Ruby agreed.
"Right!? Come on, it's supposed to be like, a pretty good action movie. Spruce Wills is in it."
"Oh! Wasn't he in Dye Hard?"
At that moment, Neo suddenly appeared from who-knows-where with a bucket of popcorn in her arms.
Nobody was going to ask where she'd gotten it.
"Fine." Emerald sighed. "We'll see how bad Merc's tastes are."
There was a cough from the door again, and the four of them turned to see Cinder, standing uncertainly in the doorframe.
"May… I have a word with Ruby?"
They criminals shared a look, but after a moment, realised there wasn't much they could say as to no, and filed out.
Not before Neo gave the Maiden a warning look of course.
"That woman." Cinder Muttered. "I'm so much stronger than her and yet she still finds some way to scare me."
"I think that's just Neo being Neo."
Cinder swallowed, and turned to Ruby.
The younger girl looked back, nervousness playing on her features, even as she forced them down.
"Ruby," Cinder tired. "I-"
"Don't." only for the girl to stop her.
Cinder looked agonised.
Ruby closed her eyes and sighed. "I… I don't know exactly what you're going to say, but if it's to apologise then… then don't. you made the right choice in the end and that's… that's all that matters."
Cinder looked away, and nodded.
It was an avoidance. They both knew it. Sooner or later, they would have to speak to each other. Not just about what had been down, but what they would do, and what they wanted.
They both knew it would be a long, dangerous topic, and that it would hurt.
But for now, they had decided it would wait. For later.
"Thank you." She whispered.
Ruby shrugged, wincing at the pain in her shoulders. With Emerald gone, so was the illusion.
Damn, it hurt.
"Let's… just go watch a movie."
"Alright."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Cinder… I… I kinda need you to push me."
"R-right!"
...
...
There we go, the start of something big.
Personally I'm excited about this Arc and what I've got planned.
All the characters I've wanted together will be after all this time. Ruby and her merry band of law-breakers are just the first example of this.
I've got a lot to show, character to build up, characters to destroy and all of that good stuff!
For now though, I'd like to know what you think might happen in future chapters. They'll just be guesses obviously, but if you're close, I'll let you know.
I'd also like to say that regarding this chapter and certain points -for authenticity sake - I did so research on both burn types and depression, as well as other mental afflictions.
On the burns, I'd warn you that if you go fact checking what they might look like, do so at your own risk. I'm not one to get queasy at guts and gore, but even then I can say burns 3rd degree and beyond are truly horrific to look at... so... just be warned.
Secondly, on Depression. I did my research as best I could, though I know it is a sensitive topic and one that shouldn't just be thrown around to make a character feel deep or tragic. I hate that in stories. if things like that are added, they should be done so will proper care and understanding of how it works. that being said, I'd like to ask that if any of you know more about this, ideally not through experience, then I'd appreciate it if you would discuss it with me, so I can paint an accurate portrayal of it.
With that said, if you haven't already be sure to follow, Favourite and Review.
Hopefully these next few chapters will give you all an insight on how big things have gotten.
Until then!