I do not own the Maze Runner Trilogy.

"Hey, I'm a broken machine

I can do anything

I've got nothing to hide

Now I start to dream

I'm a mechanical thing

With a layer of shit

And nothing bothers me now."

—Broken Machine by Nothing But Thieves

Ruby had no idea how long they kept her in that room. Days? Weeks? There was no way for her to keep time; WICKED had taken her watch whenever they 'fixed' her arm. For some reason, there had been no more dreams that she shared with Minho, and a small part of her was relieved. She didn't want him to see her like this; WICKED had made her into something less human, and the very idea disgusted her.

Every day, they would open a slot at the bottom of the door and give her her meals, and despite not wanting to, she would give in and eat them every time. The only other thing she had to do was to exercise and get used to her new arm, and that's what she did. The walls were littered with small craters as she tested the strength of her arm. Soon, she had gotten the hang of it.

Finally, the door opened.

Ruby had played out the scenario in her head so many times; how she would rush at whoever came through and run out the door, but she was surprised to find herself standing completely still as the Rat Man entered the room. Something told her that the invisible barrier was back up.

"Good morning Ruby," he said formally, walking towards her. When he stopped, he folded his hands neatly behind his back, studying her intently.

Ruby snorted. "Yeah?" She scoffed. "What's so good about it?"

"Don't worry; you'll be hearing plenty of positive news today. Trust me."

"Trust you?" Ruby asked coldly. She wanted to scream, to yell, to punch someone, but she knew better. She had to wait, bide her time. "You lock me in here, turn me into something less than human—" she wiggled her metal fingers for emphasis, "—and you expect me to trust you? You chose smart kids, remember?"

"Yes," Rat Man responded after a beat, "we did choose intelligent subjects. But, on a more important note, do you think this is something we enjoy? That we find happiness in making you suffer? It's all for a reason, one that will soon become clear to all of you." His eyes were wide and his jaw was clenched so hard that Ruby could see veins poking out on his neck.

Ruby snorted. "Whatever, stick."

"You should be thanking us," Rat Man said once he composed himself. Motioning to her prosthetic, he continued, "You had lost too much blood, and that arm of yours was too far gone to salvage. We gave you a new one, a better one. The metal used was a recent development before the whole world fell apart; it hadn't even gotten to the market yet. It's an alloy composed of of steel, titanium, chromium and platinum. They called it avelite."

Ruby didn't say anything. She just clenched her jaw, glancing down at the thing attached to her body. "So, what now then?" She asked finally, tearing her eyes away from the metal arm.

"I came here to tell you that you're leaving here today."

Staggering back, Ruby cursed herself for the bit of hope that entered her involuntarily. "How can I believe you?" She demanded quietly.

The Rat Man nodded his head from side to side, considering her question. "You don't have to, I suppose," he answered finally. "But it's the truth."

Ruby sighed. "Why lock me in here at all, then?" She didn't even feel angry anymore; she was just... empty.

"Variables," Rat Man responded simply. He walked back to the door, opening it. "Now come on, let's get you cleaned up. And just so you know, you're being watched. Try anything and there'll be consequences."

Ignoring his last statement, Ruby followed him out of the room and back into the real world, back to reality.

He had given her half an hour to shower and some new clothes for when she finished. As she dried off with a towel, she found herself surprisingly glad that they had given her a sweatshirt that was a few sizes too big. She pulled on a sports bra, the maroon tank top, and the maroon sweatshirt. Then, faded jeans and tennis shoes, and even a watch. It was a new one; her old one had been covered in blood from her arm.

As she glanced in the steamy mirror, she stiffened when she saw the foggy image of her metal hand peeking out from under her sleeve, and she quickly pulled the sweatshirt down to cover it. What would Joan, Harriet, Sonya, and Malala say when they saw it? What would Aris say? Hell, what would Frypan, Newt, and Thomas say?

God, what would Minho say?

Ruby felt sick. Why would they accept her like this? She wasn't even her anymore. She was just... less. There was no way anyone would accept her like this, and she understood it completely. She didn't accept herself, either. Glancing at the mirror one last time, she grit her teeth and stalked out of the room, her hair still damp.

She ignored the Rat Man as he lead her down a hallway, only stopping when she saw a door leading to a room that was cracked open. She could hear loud chatter coming from the room, and she knew that's where the others were. Apprehensively, she stopped short when she got to the door, swallowing nervously.

"All of your friends went through similar tests for this phase of the Trials," said the Rat Man. He didn't seem to notice her anxiety as he pushed open the door.

As Ruby stepped in, she felt relieved to see so many familiar faces. Those from Group A and B were there, smiling and laughing, and it almost made her smile, too.

"Ruby!"

Suddenly, she was attacked with a hug from the side, and Ruby thanked whatever god was up there that Joan hugged her right side and not her left. She didn't want to explain her arm yet.

"It's good to see ya shank!" Frypan called from a row of seats where he sat next to Newt and Minho. Near them, she could see Harriet, Sonya, Aris, and Malala.

She finally let her emotions spill out, and she grinned uncontrollably, hugging Ruby with her real arm. "It's good to see you kid," she whispered as she buried her face in Joan's hair. When she put her down, Joan grabbed her hand, pulling her over to Minho.

"See?" Joan called out in her thick accent. "I told you she would be fine!"

Minho chuckled at her, but his eyes were locked on Ruby. "You were right, kid," he murmured, smiling softly. "Good that." He studied Ruby carefully, and his eyebrows furrowed when he saw her sleeve coming down to cover her left hand.

"Hey" Frypan began, seeming to notice the same thing. "What's goin' on with your arm?"

Feeling anxiety bubbling up in her stomach, Ruby cleared her throat. "Uh, nothing," she answered, looking down. "I'm fine."

"That's the biggest load of bloody klunk I've ever heard," Newt interjected, scowling at her. "You were covered in blood and passed out. What's wrong with your buggin' arm?"

Ruby paused, looking to where her left arm once was. "That's the thing," she said quietly, "it's not mine. Not anymore." Quickly, before she could regret it, she reached over and pulled up her sleeve, revealing the metal prosthetic. "They had to amputate it," continued Ruby, looking at the ground, her shoes, anywhere but the faces of those she considered her friends.

Suddenly, she felt someone grab the metal arm carefully. Startled, Ruby looked up to see that Minho had gotten up from his seat and had grabbed her hand with his, studying it intently. Ruby held her breath, waiting for him to tell her to get the hell away from him, that she wasn't the same Ruby he knew. And she would understand. If she could, she'd tell herself to stay away from her. Unfortunately, she was stuck with the arm.

"Looks pretty badass, Ru," He told her finally, smirking a little, bringing her out of her thoughts. "You still look great." With that, he began walking back to his seat, pulling her with him.

"Maybe it'll help us beat the klunk out of these slintheads," Newt said, leaning his head back and glaring at the ceiling.

Ruby gaped. "I—what?"

"Whaddya mean, 'what?'" Newt demanded, looking at her, unimpressed. "You're still you, shuckface."

Minho nodded, gently letting go of Ruby's metal hand, choosing to glance over at the doors, which were opening once more.

"Well, I've been shucked and gone to heaven," crowed Minho. "It's Thomas!"

The others cheered in agreement, and Ruby found herself clapping along, ignoring the blunt pain on her right hand that came with slapping it against metal.

Thomas grinned uncontrollably like Ruby had, until he saw Teresa. His smile dropped as they stared at each other, but he was brought out of it when Minho and Newt made their way over to him, slapping him on the back. Giving them a small smile, Thomas moved past them, going to Teresa. The two followed him, and Ruby found herself making her way over to them as well.

"That's almost as sweet as that time she slammed the end of a spear into your shuck face," she heard Minho say as she made her way closer. She held back a laugh.

Frypan laughed, adding, "True love indeed. I'd hate to see what happens when these two have their first real fight."

"Amen," Ruby snickered, standing in between Minho and Newt. "That'll be what kills us all."

Thomas rolled his eyes, about to respond when Rat Man came into the room. "Everybody take a seat," he ordered, clapping his hands as he made his way through the aisles. "We've got a few things to cover before we remove the Swipe."

Everyone faltered at Rat Man's words. Remove the Swipe?

Minho tensed next to her, and she grabbed his hand. Not looking away from the WICKED man, Minho squeezed her hand tightly.

Rat Man stood at the podium, gripping the sides. Forcing another smile, he spoke again. "That's right, ladies and gents. You're about to get all your memories back. Every last one of them."

A/N

I am so so sorry you guys! I haven't updated this story since March! My computer's been acting weird, and it's been getting increasingly difficult to use it. Supposedly my parents will let me take it to get it fixed sometime next week.

To the two guests that commented, thank you both so much for reading this, and I hope this chapter was up to par!

Anyway, what do you guys think? If you thought that I just blew off everything with Ruby's new arm, don't worry; there's more to come with that! Also, if you enjoyed this chapter, be sure to follow, favorite, and/or review!

Love,

Nell