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Act II
Scene 20:
Resurrection
A/n:
So, some of you guys might be surprised.
Some of you might not know why I said that.
After I posted Scene 19 on Friday, I moved apartments.
In the new apartment I was moving to, the internet was supposed to be set up when I got there.
It wasn't.
So basically, the WiFi was broken, and the earliest they could come in to fix it was Monday.
So, for the weekend, I am without internet. Since I hadn't uploaded this Scene to yet, I thought I was just going to have to wait until Monday or Tuesday to post.
But, just for you guys, I managed to MAcGyver A way around it.
I hope your happy.
Also, I have to say, I love you guys. I just passed the 150 follower mark, and I'm almost at 100 favs. I've also gotten an unbelievable number of reviews for each Scene I've posted, and I love it.
It gives me the energy to keep writing this dark tale.
So, yeah, here it is.
The much hyped Scene 20: Resurrection
I'm not sure it's perfect, but I still love either way.
I recommend Listening to Monster by Imagine Dragons while reading this. It's a rather fitting theme song for Ruby.
It's actually a rather fitting theme song for Pyrrha, too, but I kinda like it with Ruby a little more.
Either way, think of it as the theme song for this Act.
But that's enough out of me.
Enjoy the story.
Glynda pov
Was I wrong? I questioned myself.
I was sitting there, next to Ruby's bed, looking at her as the machines surrounding her beeped and hummed in rhythm. She was covered with a bedsheet, an oxygen mask attached to her face. Her eyes were closed, and the rise and fall of her chest was barely noticeable.
She truly looked like a doll right now.
The last time I had seen her like this, I had resolved to try and save her from what had brought her here, to save her from the people that had done this too her. But now, here she was, laying here again, hurt and on the edge of death.
And it was all my fault.
If I had left her with her family would she have been better off?
No. I realized. She would have been dead within a week. There was no way I was going to leave her with that monster.
But, I could have still done something different. Something that didn't end in this, that didn't end with us coming right back to the start.
No, actually.
We weren't back at the start, because she was even worse than before.
I convinced Ozpin to tell her team a censored version of the truth, no sense in worrying them any more than I needed to.
After her team explained what happened, in quickly became apparent to me that whatever she had done had taken its toll on her.
Considering what happened to her brain, the doctors were honestly surprised her body was still alive. After all, her brain had lost a significant portion of it's original mass, being cooked and melted. She should be dead.
Clinically, they determined she was brain dead, and that she would never wake up from her coma.
Then…they noticed something.
Somehow, her brain was putting itself back together. The only explanation was that her Aura was slowly, carefully, repairing the damage done to her. How this was possible considering she was clinically dead, they didn't know. All they knew was that the MRI's were showing slow, but significant brain growth and repair.
Once they told me that, I put the pieces together and figured that something similar to this happened to her the first time we met. It simply wasn't on this scale. Back then, she had been knocked unconscious for a few hours.
Now, she had been thrown into a death-like sleep for days.
Honestly, they weren't sure when her brain would be fully back together, but they guessed it would probably take about a week. A week of her just…laying here, barely alive.
And it's my fault.
Then, the door to the room opened to a doctor reading a clipboard, pale green clothes and a white coat. His dark blue name tag read Dr. Gartrefu in white. He looked up from the clipboard, scanning the room for half a second before his eyes landed on me.
"Ms. Goodwitch? Ms. Totenrot's Aunt, correct?" He asked.
"Correct." I affirmed, standing to shake his offered hand.
"You already know about the…interesting…situation with her brain, correct?" He asked, lowering his arm.
"Yes." I said.
"And you've only just recently obtained custody of her, correct?" He asked again.
Technically, I'll have legal custody of her in a few months, but I do have custody of "Lilith Totenrot."
"Correct." I affirmed again, somewhat warily this time.
Where is he going with this?
"What were the circumstance that placed her in your care, if I may be so bold?" He inquired.
I frowned slightly, not liking where this was going. Was he suspicious?
Still, it's why we had a cover story.
"Her village was attached by Grimm. They killed everyone in the village, except for her, and she barely managed to escape with her life." I answered in an even tone, trying to keep the tension out of her voice.
He responded with a loud, sad, sigh.
"That explains that." He said tiredly.
My frown deepened at that and I stiffened, my heart skipping a beat.
"That explains what?" I asked
"Your niece has…" He began, glancing at the girl in question.
"…Rather significant scaring on her body. It looked to be from some kind of large animal attack, but if what you're saying is true, than it makes sense. Grimm would explain it." He finished.
And suddenly, the temperature in the room plummeted as the air filled with dread and fear.
"What…" I said, my voice barely a whisper.
"I'm not surprised you don't know about the scars. They…aren't pretty. I doubt she really wanted to show them off. Honestly, it's a wonder she's still alive, but considering what her Aura's doing for her brain, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised it could do the same for her body." He explained.
But…it's just supposed to be a cover. It wasn't supposed to have actually happened. I thought frantically, horror filling my mind.
I could only guess that the scars are from whatever happened to her to make her so hollow, to the event that caused her family to begin to crumble.
Is this why you agreed to this cover? Because it was so close to the truth? I wondered, staring at the poor girl.
"I can't really show you most of them, but you can see from looking at her arm," He began, uncovering the sheet over her right arm.
"That the damage she suffered was rather…extreme." He finished.
As he did, I got up from my position on her left side in order to see what he was talking about. Once I did, I was unable to suppress the shocked, horrified, gasp that escaped my lips.
Starting at around her wrist, there were small, thin, pale scars that trailed up her arm. As they did, they grew and grew. By the time it reached her elbow, they were angry red grooves rent into her skin, four deep, jagged, lines tearing their way through her alabaster arm. In addition, there were additional, smaller, slash marks perpendicular to her arm, as opposed to running along it.
Combined with the two large, grisly, bite marks along her arm, it was a gruesome sight.
"They look rather old, but considering what her Aura is doing with her brain, I'm willing to guess that's why. It's also probably the only reason she can still use her arm." He commented.
I was too shocked by the revelation to respond.
I had so many questions for her. For this hollow, broken, doll of a young girl. But they would all have to wait until she was awake again. They'd have to wait until she brought herself back from the dead. But the biggest question in my mind was for myself.
What can I do to stop your suffering?
A week later
I was sitting back in the same hospital room, staring at her, wondering what I could do to help her when it happened.
Suddenly, there was a shift in the atmosphere in the cool white room.
The shadows suddenly felt longer, darker, and filled with…something. The light felt brighter, harsher, more intense, and more powerful. The already cold room felt like it dropped just a few degrees lower, just low enough to be uncomfortable. That's when I knew.
She was back.
Without wasting another moment, Ruby's silver eyes shot open, immediately flitting to my position, sitting in corner in the room. She slowly rose up from the bed into a sitting position, blinking her hollow eyes a few times, shaking the tiredness from her small form.
When she was done, she looked back to me with those eyes, making the deepest parts of my psyche churn uncomfortably. But I ignored them, instead I focused on the overwhelming feeling of relief flooding me at seeing her awake again.
"Ruby…" I said to her, trying to talk over the lump forming in my throat. "You're awake."
With that, she directed her attention back to me. But something was…off.
Her hollow silver eyes normally held all her emotions, but now they were blank. They were devoid of emotions, and her face was completely unreadable.
Just like an empty doll.
"Ms. Goodwitch." She said cordially in an empty voice.
Momentarily thrown off by how incredibly hollow she seemed now, even more than normal, I couldn't help but worry if she wasn't actually all better.
"Ruby? Are you…are you okay?" I asked hesitantly, worried about the answer.
Instead of responding, she just stared into my eyes, boring into them. It felt like she was gazing into my very soul, trying to read into me, to judge me, before giving a response.
"Ms. Goodwitch…" She finally began, "Why…why are you here?"
"What?" I recoiled.
"Why are you here? Sitting in this room, waiting for me?" She asked again, looking at me carefully, taking in every inch of my body, searching for…something.
"What do you want from me?"
"I-I…" I began, trying to find a way to respond to her questioning.
For some reason, I felt that these words I said would carry incredible weight, and that I needed to be careful in response.
"I…care about you Ruby, deeply so. I know you don't quite…understand that, but I do. When you didn't get on any of the transports, when you didn't get out of the forest with the rest of us on Initiation, I felt like a piece of me died inside. I felt like I had failed you." I admitted.
"Then, you were alive again. You were back, but you were broken, and I felt responsible. I had tried to save you from your father, to give you a better life than your family had given you, and yet, at the end of the day, you were in the exact same place as before. Laying on a hospital bed, inches from death." I continued.
Then I paused, gathering my wits as I prepared to broach the next topic, hoping that I didn't push her past what she felt comfortable with.
"Then I learned of your…scars." I began
She flinched, looking away from me as she unconsciously began to rub her right arm.
"And I saw your arm…" I continued, my voice barely better than a whisper.
Still, she heard it. She heard it, and froze. I could hear her voice hitch in her throat as she realized what it meant.
"And…" She trailed off with an open question, still unable to look at me. Her voice was tight, and despite her attempts to hide, I could tell she was scared.
"And…they looked painful, agonizingly so. It's a miracle you can still use your arm at all." I said.
In response, her jaw clenched tightly, and her hands balled up into tight fists.
"Y-you didn't see everything." She said, more of a statement then a question.
"No, I just saw your arm. I wanted to respect you privacy and you dignity. I didn't need to see them, I know enough." I answered.
"No…no you…" She began, each word forced from her mouth, "You need to see them."
And with that, she moved her hands to her hospital gown, beginning to attempt to take it off.
"No! Ruby, I don't. You don't need to do this, I alre-…" I began to protest, rising from my seat.
But the words died in my throat as her gown came up over her chest.
Some part of me that was still the headmistress of Beacon was concerned about the indecency of what she was doing, of stripping in this room, of what anyone would see if they looked in here.
But, there weren't any windows in this room, so no one could see from outside. There wasn't even a camera inside.
Even if they did, all seeing her do this did to me was cut a deep gash inside my heart.
My blood chilled, and my breath was caught in a lump in my throat. I didn't even know what to say about the sight in front of me, what I could say to make it better. I thought I knew what had happened to her, I thought I knew her pain, that I could begin to understand it. But, as my stomached churned at the sight of her bare body, I knew I had been wrong.
I had been so very wrong.
Her bland, dark colored underwear protected the modesty between her legs, but Ruby never really wore a bra, never seeing the point considering her body hadn't undergone the changes that would necessitate one yet. But, she had always refused to allow me to see what she was talking about, to even attempt to help her.
She was always quite shy about her body. Always wearing long sleeves, always wearing dark clothes that wrapped her entire body up, veiling her pale skin.
Now I could see why.
The network of scars on her arm, the gashes, the large, jagged, bite marks that ran up and down her right arm didn't stop at her right arm. They continued, extending up to her right shoulder.
And from there, they went everywhere.
Her chest was a mass of ugly scars, a mess of horrendous lacerations and indelible reminders of the past.
A past where she had been eviscerated, nearly torn limb form limb.
There was barely a patch of skin on her chest that was free of the ugly scars, each one more gruesome, more telling than the last.
Deep, red, grooves were raked across her stomach, chest, and side. Savage bite marks were carved into her left shoulder, her collar bone, chest, and right abdomen. The rest of her chest was littered with crisscrossing and overlapping old wounds.
The scars terminated abruptly before her legs and left arm. They slowly fell away as they rose up to her throat, but it was clear that it hadn't been spared from the brutal experience her chest had. At the ends, the scars faded somewhat, not standing out quite as much against her porcelain skin as the more angry red ones did.
I wouldn't notice the scars at her wrist or top of her neck if I didn't see where they started, honestly.
Just thinking about what she would have had to have gone through to get these scars, what state she would have been in before her unusual Aura managed to take hold, made me sick to my stomach.
I couldn't stop thinking of a broken and bloody Ruby, barely on the edge of life, her chest torn open and her arm in bloody ribbons.
I tried to swallow the rising bile in my throat, shaking my head to push the nightmarish images from them.
After a moment of looking at her shredded body, at withstanding her blank silver gaze, I finally tried to say something.
"H-how? How are you…?" I trailed off, not wanting to even say the words, for fear of bringing up those thoughts again. For fear that once I said it, it would suddenly be so much more real.
"How am I still alive?" She guessed, tilting her head.
She paused for a moment, considering her answer, before finally responding.
"I don't know, really. I should honestly be dead." She said in an empty voice
Then she looked away from me, looking toward the far wall, and said, "As a result of what happened, I was taken away. I went away for a while. When finally I came back…I was different."
Then, she clenched her fists again as she said in a tight voice, "Everything was different."
"Different, how?" I asked cautiously, not sure if I wanted an answer
"I'm not really sure I'm human anymore." She admitted
"How can you say that?!" I exclaimed, thinking that the venomous thoughts of her father had polluted her own mind. That with how often her father called her a demon, she had started to believe it herself.
In response, she gave me one of her pointed looks. The looks that suddenly made you feel as if you were talking to a wise old woman, not a little girl, as if you were the ignorant child in need of an education.
"Humans aren't supposed to survive having their brain melted." She shot back
"They aren't supposed to come back from this." She added, gesturing to her scarred body.
And with that, my argument died in my throat. I could see why she might think that, and as it was right now, I couldn't find a way to argue against that. But that didn't mean I thought it was true.
"You are human, Ruby. I don't care what your father says, you are not a demon." I said resolutely.
She looked me in the eye again, gazing into my soul once more, measuring the weight of my words. Finally, after a second of tense silence, she responded.
"We'll see…" She mused, doubtful, but not denying it outright.
Still, it was a chance. It was a way in, and I would find a way to take it, to prove to her that she isn't the demon her father thinks she is.
But, I didn't know how to do that now. I needed to think about it. Right now, her scars were too jarring, they took up too much of my thoughts. On that note, I decided to try and broach the subject again.
"How-why did this happen?" I asked.
"Grimm." She said, a measure of aching sadness in her silver eyes. "Grimm, and a web of mistakes no one could take back."
Then she looked away again, pain in her eyes as she said, "I really don't want to talk about it."
That was fine. I didn't want to push her somewhere uncomfortable, I didn't want to abuse the rare measure of trust she had gifted me.
What I had learned was more than enough to make me sick to my stomach. By all rights, this girl should be dead. I can only assume that it was by virtue of her unusual Aura, Aura that could put her brain back together after it had been cooked inside her skull, that she's here today.
I can't imagine that it was any better for her. This little sharing session probably dredged up some dark, terrifying and painful memories for her. The fact she seemed to exuding more emotions than usual was a testament to that.
"Do they hurt?" I asked, wondering if we could do anything about them, if she needed painkillers or anything.
She shook her head as she grabbed the hospital blanket, "No."
As she began to wrap it around herself, she continued in a voice as hollow as her eyes by saying, "Actually, I can barely feel anything anymore."
"You can't feel pain?" I frowned.
"Not…exactly. It's more like it's…duller…more distant, less intense." She answered with a thoughtful expression, trying to figure out how to say it best.
As she continued to wrap the blanket around her, my mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. I wasn't sure what to do. I felt…lost…by this revelation. I had wanted to help her before, when her father tried to kill her, when I thought I could understand what she was going through, but this?
I didn't even know what to say to this.
This was a tragedy, one she didn't deserve, and one that destroyed her life.
"I'm sorry." I finally said in a low voice, unable to look her in the eye.
"Why?" She said curiously with a tilted head. "You couldn't have done anything about it. It happened when I was a child. You didn't even know I existed. You played no part in it."
"I know, I just…I just wish I could go back and do something to protect you from this pain. You didn't deserve this, no one does. And, I wish I could have done something about it." I admitted.
"Even now, I want to help you, but…I don't even know where to begin. I feel like I'm so far out of my depth, and I don't know what to do. I feel like I've failed you, after promising to give you a better life." I continued, pouring my heart out to the broken girl as I stared at the ground at my feet.
Then I saw a pale hand on my knee, and looked up to see Ruby giving me a curious look.
"You shouldn't. Life is pain, that's just a fact of living. But, sometimes things happen, people come into your life, and it eases the pain. It makes life worth living. That's all you need sometimes, a warm candle in the hungry dark to make it through the night. A little shade in the burning sun to make it through the desert." She said sincerely with those silver eyes.
"I…thank you, Ruby." I said with a weak smile, touched by her words. "Thank you."
In way of response, I saw the corners of her mouth curl upwards ever so slightly, and her hollow eyes fill with a measure of light.
After she showed me her scars, I left to get her some clothes to change into. When I returned with her school uniform, I had reorganized my thoughts enough to bring up some questions I had for her. Questions that had been de-railed by her scars.
So, as she changed into her uniform before me, I asked her.
"What happened in that Forest? What happened when we first met?" I asked
"Both times you passed out, bleeding from your orifices. This time, the doctors said your brain had melted. You should have died out there, you should be dead. Why?" I asked, desperate for answers.
"Why, how is this happening?" I implored.
She sighed, emotion once again flickering in her eyes.
"It's…my semblance." She answered.
"Your semblance?" I questioned.
"I think." She said, her face twisting ever so slightly in confusion.
Now I was really confused.
"You think?" I asked.
"Well, it's not like anyone came out and told me everything about Aura and Semblances." She countered with a frown.
"Lucifer didn't tell you?" I asked, still unsure about the existence of this "Lucifer" she spoke of.
"No, Lucifer tends to be…cryptic. He doesn't like to tell me everything, instead preferring to either have me experience it myself, or give me the clues and let me figure out the answer. He says I'll learn better that way." She answered with a shake of her head.
I could see where this "Lucifer" was coming from, I suppose. Sometimes learning hands on was the best method. Still, if Ruby wasn't even sure of her abilities, than I have to criticize his technique.
Then again, her semblance could simply be hard to understand. Perhaps he simply didn't really know how to teach her.
"So, then what are these abilities of you semblance? And what does it have to do with your brain being melted?" I asked.
"I'm…honestly not entirely sure what my semblance is. There are several…abilities… I think it's given me, and I'm not sure what their relationship is with each other." She began.
"But…they all have a cost." She said.
"What kind of …cost?" I asked worriedly.
Somewhere deep down, I probably knew where this was going. The signs were everywhere, I just didn't want to think about it.
Then she turned back to me, a sad, yet resolute look in her eyes.
"Every time I use my semblance, it gives me brain damage" She stated.
"I usually call the effect blowback, but the amount of damage I incur upon myself varies depending on the difficulty of what I'm doing."
I had figured it was something like that. It certainly explained a lot. Still, I had never heard of a Semblance with a cost other than Aura.
"Does this have anything to do with your Aura?" I asked.
"Kind of." She began, a thoughtful look in her eyes.
"My Aura will end up healing nearly any brain damage I incur, but, as you can see, that takes time. Usually a good night's rest will heal up the average amount of damage I take in a day." She explained.
"The average amount? If your semblance is hurting you, killing you, you should only use it in the most dire of circumstances! There shouldn't be an average amount!" I cried out, furious at the idea that she can just casually say that she incurs an average amount of brain damage in a day, and not care about it.
She sighed, likely in response to how riled up I was getting in her stead.
"But that's the thing" she began
"I can't turn it off." She said with a frown.
"What?" I whispered, taken aback.
"My semblance is always on, in some way shape or form. It's like thinking, really. I can't stop it, I can only direct it and control how much I think." She said.
"So…you mean to say…" I began, unable to say the words in sheer horror of what she was saying.
"Every second of every day, my brain is slowly deteriorating, and I'm slowly dying. It's constantly at war with my Aura, which is desperately trying to repair my brain and keep me alive. Usually it's net loss for me, so by the end of the day I really start to notice it." She explained.
Then she stopped, pausing to think for a moment, before turning back to me.
"It's funny, really. I don't get tired anymore, I just get headaches." She mused with a sad smile.
"Then, what happened during Initiation?" I asked, wondering what she did there that was so different.
"I pushed myself too far. It's one of the inherent problems with the brain damage I get. The more I incur, the less I can think things through, and the more likely I am to use my semblance recklessly, which will incur more damage. It's a vicious cycle, really." She explained.
Then she paused, frowning ever so slightly about something.
"I might have been fine if I went in with a fresh brain, if I had gotten a good night's sleep. Instead, I went into it with a massive headache, something that was simply exacerbated by what I did in there." She added.
I scowled at the implication of that. It sounded like this brain damage was tragically unavoidable. It was only something that could be mitigated, not stopped. That said…
"What do you mean you can't turn your semblance off? What is it?" I asked, returning to the question I asked earlier.
"Again, I'm not sure what specifically it is, if it is any one thing. I've had to figure it all out myself, so my knowledge is a little spotty." She frowned
"But, I think the thing it does constantly is two things." She began raising a hand.
"First, I believe it give me perfect memory. I remember, every part of every moment of every day, with perfect retention. I think my semblance works to…copy or reinforce my memories as I get them." She says, ticking off her index finger.
"Second, I can sense some kind of…energy...in things." She continued, ticking off her middle finger to join her index.
"An energy?" I questioned with a raised brow.
I wasn't entirely sure that was her semblance. It sounded similar to what those well versed in Aura manipulation and sensing are capable of.
That said, that's something that a veteran hunter should be able to do, not a 15 year old girl.
"I'm really not sure how to describe it. I rely on it almost as much as my eyes, sometimes more so, but I'm not sure how to explain it to someone who doesn't have it. It's like trying to explain sight to a blind man." She said, her eyes filled with a measure of frustration.
I can certainly see why it would be hard to explain. It's often hard to develop and explain this skill to students. So, I tried to see if we were talking about the same thing.
"Is it like a…warm light emanating from someone? Something you can feel, something you can see all around you, regardless of where you're looking? Something that's different for each and every person you meet?" I asked.
She tilted her head in thought for a moment, pondering my words, before she looked at me again.
"Kind of, yes. It feels different depending on how they're feeling, too. It's like...sound, but not. Everything has a different sound, and you can learn a lot about something by listening to it." She said, trying to explain it.
Sound…
I can certainly see why she might make that comparison. It was a fair one. Sensing with one's Aura was very similar to hearing with your ears, but instead you heard with your very soul.
"I don't think that's your Semblance, Ruby, I think that's a technique called Aura sensing." I began.
She stayed silent, but by the way she tilted her head at me, gazing at me with her inquisitive silver eyes, I could tell she wanted me to continue.
"Aura sensing is an advanced technique for huntsman and huntresses, and is similar to listening with your very soul. The fact that you've accidently developed the skill is nothing short of extraordinary. Normally it takes years of intense training and knowledge of one's soul to develop." I explained.
"The fact that you've already unlocked that ability speaks volumes about your potential with Aura manipulation, and by extension, Dust manipulation." I added.
"Dust manipulation?" She asked.
"That's how I tend to fight, with Aura and Dust. When we get back to the school, we can try to train you in it, if you want." I suggested.
The way she looked with wide, brightly lit eyes filled with hope and wonder was all the answer I needed.
"Yes, please." She said cordially.
I smiled at her, glad that I found something else I could really help her with. I honestly hoped she did take to it, so few did, after all. Most tended to use large guns, blades, and force to pulverize the enemy. Sometimes it felt that using Aura and Dust in combat was a dying art. An art I happened to be an expert in.
But still, I had to know something.
"But, Ruby, why were you so worried about telling me this? I can understand your scars and Aura, but if I knew about your talents, about your semblance, whatever it may be, I could have helped you with it earlier." I asked.
With that, her tiny smile curled into a frown.
"It's…it's because of something else I can do with my semblance. I can…do things to people. I'm not entirely sure what it is, but it scared them." She said, "
"Why?" I asked.
"Because, it ignores Aura." She answered.
"What?" I questioned, confused
"The thing I can do, it ignores Aura. It doesn't matter how strong you are, how fast you are, or how much Aura you have. As long as I know you're there, I can do it to you." She clarified with a frown.
"Do…what?" I asked, not sure if I wanted to know.
She frowned slightly, her hollow eyes searching for the right words to describe it.
"I…I can make people…understand. No, I can make them…feel?" She said, unsure of her own words.
Then, with a shake of her head, she looked back toward me with determined eyes.
"Let me show you."
And with those four words, I began to hear the faint buzz of static in my ear. It started to grow, slowly but surely, until suddenly-
Ding!
On instinct, I reacted to the sound, turning in my chair to see source of the sound behind me.
And found myself standing in a kitchen.
The cabinets were made of a warm brown wood that helped to try and breathe life into the room, and the white tile floor felt cool on my bare feet. Golden light filtered in from the kitchen window, warming the room up with its presence.
I knew that Dad and my sister were out of the house, leaving me to myself, something they seemed to do more and more since they took me out of school.
So, I had decided to experiment, and from the sound of the timer going off, it was done, and time to see the results.
I took in a deep breath, inhaling the smell of warm, melted chocolate and baked dough.
I walked over to the oven, turning it off before opening the door.
In my rush to see how they turned out, I neglected to put on any oven mitts. Not that it would really matter to me.
I reached in, grabbing onto the metal cookie sheet, still hot from the oven, with my pale bare hands. As I pulled it out, I idly thought it should probably hurt a lot more than it did. In reality, it just felt very warm, not painfully hot.
After pulling it off the oven rack, I struggled to keep it up. So, instead I just put it down on the lowered oven door. Once there, I took the opportunity to look at my hand. Sure enough, I could see burns developing on my skin, but just as soon as they popped up, a small red field filled with black and white sparks, like static, enveloped them, healing them.
Turning back to the experiment, I observed how it had gone.
The cookies had turned out…lopsided. Frankly, they were a little ugly. Then again, considering what was going to happen to them, it didn't really matter how they looked. So, now there was only thing left to do.
Test them.
So, I bent down, reaching for one in the corner, and picked a cookie up. I felt how warm it was through my skin, and it only really felt a little cooler than the hot cookie sheet to me. Then I put the chocolate chip cookie up to my mouth and bit into it.
Instantly, my tongue exploded with the sensation of warm, delicious cookie dough and chocolate chips. As I moved my jaw up and down, I could feel the soft cookie come apart and turn into a delicious, chocolaty paste in my mouth. I closed my eyes, savoring the delectable flavor, and swallowed.
As the sweet sludge made its way down my throat, warming me to my core, one thought ran through my mind.
Perfect.
And with that one thought, I could hear that quiet buzzing again.
And when I opened my eyes again, I was back in the hospital room with Ruby sitting on the hospital bed in front of me.
What was that? I thought questioningly, concerned by what I had experienced.
I knew it was fake, that it was just an…illusion…of some kind.
That didn't remove the fact I could still taste the warm remnants of a chocolate chip cookie on my tongue, that I could still feel the way it warmed me to my core.
"That was a memory from Tuesday the 12, in May, when I was 10." Ruby explained
"It was my first time baking…and one of the happier memories I have from after I came back." She said looking down, rubbing her arm again.
"Did you like it?" She asked in an unsteady voice, not meeting my eyes.
She was trying to hide it, but she was nervous. My opinion really mattered to her.
"It was…beautiful." I complimented, seeking to comfort her.
Her head turned to me, a light blush on her pale cheeks, and her hollow eyes lit up with suppressed joy.
"Really?" She dared to hope, the smallest of sincere smiles growing on her face.
"Yes." I said sincerely, unable to hide a small smile from her.
It was the first time I had seen her so happy. Sure, sometimes there was a measure of pleasure or joy in her eyes at times, but never did she feel with such intensity.
It was from that moment that I vowed to bring that side of her out more often.
An hour later
We had boarded a Bullhead on it's way back to Beacon. Ruby had fallen asleep again, saying that the display of her abilities in the hospital had drained her enough to warrant the rest.
I can only assume that the more passive abilities of her semblance, or whatever it is, deactivate or fall away as she goes to sleep, giving her brain the rest it needs to repair itself. She was leaning up against me in the plane, and I couldn't help but stroke her head of crimson-black hair as she lay against my side.
Her…semblance…was unusual, about as unusual as her Aura.
If it even was a semblance.
Her semblance should not be doing what it was to her. Semblances where extensions of our Aura, of our souls. The main reason they were so large and varied.
As such, Semblances were supposed to only cost our Aura. Instead, hers cost her very life, her very ability to think. Something I had never heard of before.
In fact, it sounded like her Semblance and Aura were at war with one another, if anything. Something that simply didn't make any sense from what I had learned about either.
This warrants investigation I thought with narrowed eyes.
During any free time we could accrue, we would need to investigate her Semblance. As much as I was worried about how this would hurt her, I couldn't tell her to not use her abilities. Apparently they would take their toll whether she tried or not. So, all we could do was figure out how to use them best, and to try to mitigate the damage.
I sighed, realizing that I had incurred a significant amount of work upon myself. It would be a miracle if, between school work and helping Ruby, I had any free time to myself.
Still I thought, as I looked down at her quietly resting form.
I think it's worth it.
Before she fell asleep, however, I informed her of the status of her team. She seemed to accept it well enough, not that I really expected her to do much of anything different.
Afterwards she told me that she was probably going to take me up on my offer to stay with me.
When I asked why, she said she'd rather not say, only that she felt more comfortable if she was around someone she could trust while she slept.
Even still, we would have to find a way to get her to bond with her team outside of classes, but I wasn't sure how. Especially in light of her effect on people, and her way with words.
But, that was an issue for later.
Then, I decided to inquire about Lucifer again, to see if I could get a more straight answer this time.
Instead, she gave me quite the cryptic response.
"Who is Lucifer?" She reiterated, looking at me questioningly.
Still, there was a measure of mischief in her eyes. She looked away from me, instead directing her gaze out the window of the Bullhead, to the night skies around us.
"Sometimes, he is a man…" She began
"…Other times, he is a snake…" She continued, a small smile beginning to blossom on her pale lips.
"…Sometimes, he is what you love most..." She said, turning back to me
"…And others, he is all you hate." She finished, looking at me with those hollow silver eyes, now filled with cunning wisdom.
And with that, she soon fell asleep next to me, disavowing me from inquiring about it any further.
It vexed me, honestly, how odd she could be at times. Sometimes, she seemed to act as the child she appeared to be. Others, she seemed like she held wisdom far beyond her years. One second, a scared little girl, the other, a hollow doll, pretending to be human like the rest of us.
But it didn't matter.
I don't care what you are, Ruby. I thought, stroking those messy locks of hers.
I swear to do all I can to protect you from any more pain.
Taiyang pov
"Why can't you find her?" I could hear her ask.
"I don't know, it's like she just disappeared." I answered, pacing around the room as I wracked my brain for any ideas.
"She needs to pay." She insisted.
"I know, I know. I just don't know where she could be."
"What about when you last saw her? When she got away?" She asked
"I can't remember. I know she got away, I just can't really remember what happened after I got to the hospital." I explained.
Then I grit my teeth as a distinct possibility came to mind. "I bet that demon bitch used her powers on me. It's the only explanation." I seethed angrily.
"We need to find her." She said.
"I know." I said through grit teeth as I leaned over a desk, the wood creaking under my clenching hands.
"We need to fix this."
"I KNOW!" I roared at her, throwing a half filled bottle of cheap beer across the room.
She flinched as the bottle flew past her, shattering against the far wall.
"Calm down, Tai." She said, trying to comfort me.
"We'll find her, I know we will." She began, walking over to me.
"We'll find the demon that took our dear, sweet, Ruby from us..." She began, looking up at me with those loving silver eyes, "…and tried to take me from this world."
"And when we do…" She continued, drawing her favorite knife from her white cloak, "We'll make her pay with blood."
"We won't stop even if she begs us. She deserves nothing less than living hell…" She said in that oh so sweet, soft, caring voice I knew and loved. She gazed at her blade with a soft smile as she ran her fingers along the curved silver edge.
Then, she turned back to me with that loving smile that made my heart flutter, made my soul melt, and said, "Isn't that right, my love?"
I smiled back at her, at the light of my life, brought back into it. "Yes it is. We'll make her pay with every inch of skin on her."
"We'll make her pay, Summer. We'll make her pay."
A/n:
Dun Dun Du
And that's the end of the introductory Arc for Act II
The next scene we get into actual school stuff.
So, I revealed a bunch of stuff about Ruby, and dumped a little peek at how her father's doing.
That's all I really want to say on that matter, I'd really prefer not to accidentally spoil you.
Now, earlier, I promised I would tell you all where I'm heading with this story, so I will.
First of, since the end is so far in the future, it's a little fuzzy what's specifically going to happen.
But, I have two things I know are Not going to happen.
First off, Ruby isn't going to magically reconcile with her family, resolve all the issues, and go back to beign the kind, sweet, Ruby we all know and love. She isn't going to stop the bad guy, Cinder or Salem, by convincing them to change their ways/ seducing them to enter her harem by virtue of her irresistible cuteness. Everybody isn't going to make it out of this story perfectly happy and dandy, with only a small slap here or there to ruff them up a bit We aren't ending with a cacophony of wedding bells as everyone professes there love to one another, and people get magically pregnant because magic.
I think of that as the rainbow barf ending, and it's not happening.
On the reverse side, the complete inverse isn't happening.
Ruby isn't going to conquer the world by Cinder and Salem's side as their daughter/lover. Cinder isn't going to loving stand over Ruby as she eats/rapes her friends and family in front of her. Ruby isn't going to murder literally everyone who even looks at her wrong, and she isn't going to be a deranged violent sadistic psychopath with a love of bathing in her opponent's blood as they scream her name in agony. She also isn't going to be Cinder's slave/pet thing who she unleashes on her worst enemies.
That one's the rainbow barf of darkness, and it isn't happening either.
Now, I'm not saying none of that is happening entirely. I might use elements of both of those paths, parts here or there toned down a few levels. I'm not saying she won't reconcile with Yang, and I'm not saying she won't aid Cinder.
As for what will happen, I have three different general end paths I want to be at as we get to the end, at least at this point. It could change in the future. Each has very large differences from the other, but only require a few key points going differently.
None of them are explicitly good or evil paths, they just trend toward different areas. In Mass Effect terms, one is a more Paragon path, one is a more Renegade path, and one is a more Neutral path.
That's all I'm really saying on that matter. Just trust I know where I'm going with this.
If you feel like I'm teasing the shit out of you with this Yang and Ruby meeting thing, then I kind of am.
The sisters are going to meet when they meet. Nothing you guys say can really change that.
Still, from the reviews, most of you seem to accept that to some degree.
That makes me feel good.
In any case, there are three more Arcs in this Act, and the finale should be...explosive.
Also, I need your comments on how I did with this Arc, specifically the posting.
I could keep doing this, where I write an entire Arc, or 4 scenes, before I post them in a burst, all inside a week.
Or, instead, I could post one Scene a week in a steady stream, while also keeping a healthy backlog.
If I do the one where I post all the Scenes in a week, then it's going to be at least a two weeks until I post again.
If I do the more consistent stream of Scenes, then I should be able to post inside a week.
Let me know how you guys feel about that.
That's about it.
See you later.
