Once she had made up her mind everything fell into place. She and Cardin took the elevator to the top floor and got out of the compound. He was as annoying as ever and she couldn't believe how happy she was about that. Over the next few months they hunted Grimm, ate fantastic food, laughed a lot, bickered more and everything just felt right. She avoided watching the news since it was mostly about the end of the resistance. Though she felt a bit guilty about that and despised the implant she had to allow… it was worth it.

The world really was at peace with Ozpin in charge. Everyone lived comfortably and had a sense of fulfilment as they were allowed to follow their interests. Of course the Grimm were always around and while Ozpin kept a few as 'pets', there were many still posing a threat to the people so there was never a shortage of work. She died a few times when she and Cardin got in over their heads but always woke back in the bedroom of the lovely little house she had bought.

Everything was wonderful until she heard a broadcast on someone's scroll while they were eating at a cafe. The leaders of the resistance were refusing to cooperate after their capture. They were to be executed as dangerous criminals. Immediately her only thought was rescuing them. She didn't know all the council members all that well but she liked them and she couldn't let him kill Yang and Glynda!

"You're not going to go after them, are you?" Cardin asked, frowning.

"I have to."

"No." He said sharply. "They made their choices just like you did. You just made the right choice."

"It was the selfish choice, not the right one." She snapped, standing. "I don't care if this is a dream, I can't just let Yang die like that."

"You realize you will fail." He said.

"Don't care." She left him at the table and made her way to the prison everyone was kept in. The guards recognized her the instant she was within sight and they were ready - but they were not trained hunters. She disabled rather than killed where possible as she fought her way through the building in search of the friends she had abandoned. The whole time a rational little voice in her head screamed at her that she was being stupid, they had nowhere to go if she freed them. All of them had implants and could be tracked easily. There was no way to free them, only delay the inevitable.

She ignored it, the guilt that had been quietly building up in the back of her mind had surged forward and taken over. Even if she failed, she had to try. By the time she got to the right floor of the right wing, every official knew what was going on and had prepared. She found herself surrounded by furious guards. As she fought her way through, she watched as they shot each of the captives through the bars. Her sister, Glynda, Jaune, Book…. one by one they died. Then the guns turned on her.

She woke in the harsh, mocking light of the medical lab, on the narrow hospital bed she thought she would never have to see again. It wasn't long before a doctor hurried in and began poking and prodding, taking her pulse, blood pressure and watching her eyes.

"How are you feeling, Ruby?" He asked cheerfully as he went through the checks, apparently satisfied with the results of each. "You've been unconscious for almost a week. Everyone's been worried."

She didn't bother responding. It didn't matter.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his smile fading. He didn't relax when she nodded. "I'll be back soon."

Would Cardin come again or had she messed up bad enough that he was lost forever? She curled up, pulling the thin blanket tight around her. She wanted to go back… she wanted that normal life, the one that should have been. Her and Cardin killing Grimm and yelling at each other over petty disagreements. It had been so perfect.

"Ruby?" She closed her eyes as Yang entered the room. "Are you okay?"

"Where's Cardin?" She asked, unable to stop hoping.

"Oh, Ruby…." Her sister sighed and sat next to her. "He died a long time ago."

It meant nothing. He might still show up but Ruby didn't want to say that out loud and deal with the unpleasant conversation that would surely follow. "Uncle Qrow?"

"He's still at Signal." Yang said bitterly. "Ozpin blackmailed him or something and he refused to join the resistance."

"Yang…"

"Yeah?"

"Kill me."

"What?!"

"I hate the dreams where I wake up here. If you kill me I may wake up somewhere better."

"Are you insane?!"

"Even in my nightmares you're too nice to kill me." Ruby sighed, almost smiling as she looked over at her horrified sister. "It doesn't matter. I'll die soon enough… or kill everyone. Either way, I'll wake up again."

Yang backed toward the door looking as if she was about to cry. Ruby sighed as the door closed behind her. Of course Yang wouldn't help. She hated the dreams that didn't end when she acknowledged them. She'd probably be stuck here alone for a few days again.

Even though she woke up recently, she was exhausted and closed her eyes again. She knew she wasn't physically tired, it was all mental and emotional but that knowledge didn't change anything. Going through this again and again, having no choice but to face her own personal torments… she felt drained, hollow. She didn't want to go through it again.

"Ruby?" Book's voice pulled her out of the shallow sleep she had been floating in. She shrank away involuntarily, remembering that time in the elevator. That cruel smile...

"What?" She watched him warily. As usual, he looked worried. His ears were tilted back, his tail still. He was as good an actor as Ozpin…

"Yang said you may need to talk. You scared her pretty bad. What happened?"

"Same thing that always happens." She sighed. "I'm trapped in a nightmare and it's only a matter of time before things get worse. I hate this room…"

"This isn't a dream, Ruby." He said firmly. "You're awake."

"It never looks like a dream, never feels like one." She shrugged. "Someone always assures me I'm awake and then terrible things happen and I wake up again. I just want to skip that part and wake up again. I don't want to be here."

"What terrible things happen?" He asked gently as he sat in the chair beside her bed.

She shifted closer to the wall, deciding to tell him the truth. At best he would back off and at worst he would kill her so she could wake up. "Well, there was one time you admitted to working for Ozpin, said the trigger phrase and turned me loose in the Courtyard. It always seems to end with me killing people or someone killing me so… just… skip to the 'killing me' part so I don't kill anyone else."

Book watched her silently, his dark brown eyes filled with pain. "I would never do that…"

"I didn't think so, either. Just kill me so I can wake up again. I'm tired of these conversations."

He gave a small nod and quickly left the room. Ruby forced herself to relax and wait patiently. Some time later he returned, his expression carefully controlled. He held a syringe. "This won't hurt. You'll just go to sleep."

"I don't care if it hurts. I'm used to it." She shrugged.

He carefully injected her and held her hand as the liquid spread to bring a comfortable numbness into her awareness. "Please, Ruby… don't ask me to do this again."

She woke in her room but she wasn't alone. Yang, Sky, Dove, Jaune and Book were on the far side of the room talking quietly. Yang's eyes were red and puffy, she had been crying.

Different… She sat up and frowned, unable to hear them. Had Ozpin finally gotten in? Had he killed someone Yang cared about? "What's going on?"

Five sets of eyes turned to her, all held varying degrees of worry and wariness. Book was the first to approach her. "Are you feeling better?"

She shrugged. "Depends on what's going on."

"We're almost ready to launch an attack." Jaune said as he joined Book nearer the bed. "Do you think you will be able to join us?"

Ruby shrugged again. "Probably not a good idea but it doesn't really matter, so sure."

"Why not a good idea?" He asked, frowning.

"Everything goes wrong." She answered, swinging around to stand and reach for Crescent Beacon. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow. I'll go over the plan with you after dinner. Until then you should spar with your sister and make sure you're ready for battle."

She nodded and started to walk toward Yang but Book caught her arm. "Ruby… I know you think this is a dream but please, treat it as if it is real, okay? Don't seek out death. We can win with you to help us."

She nodded. It wouldn't hurt to humor them. The closest she'd gotten to a real fight against Ozpin's forces was when she tried to save everyone from death. It would be interesting to see how far they got before she woke up.

Yang looked worried but they went to the training level to practice. By dinner she was exhausted and gladly ate, though she wasn't paying enough attention to notice what was on the plate. As soon as she was done Jaune took her back to the training room and led her to the shooting range.

"We have to test something before plans can be made concrete. Step into the booth and shoot only the pictures of enemies on the range, understand?"

She nodded and shifted Crescent Beacon to its gun form. When she entered the booth she heard the door lock behind her and as she looked to the range she heard a voice in her ear. "Hello, Red."

She clutched her weapon tighter as the fear rose up and took over her mind - she was looking down the alley but this time there were civilians cowering around Torchwicks' men - at the far end she saw him with a terrified hostage. Without hesitating, she took aim and started shooting.

"Don't."

She scowled at the condescending order. "Shut up, Cardin!"

The alley faded and she took a deep breath and put her weapon away. Cardin was dead… She scrubbed away a tear as the door unlocked and opened.

Jaune stepped in and hit a button to bring the targets closer. "Sorry about that, Ruby. I know it's an unpleasant experience but we had to know."

"Know what?" She scowled. He pointed and she looked at the targets. Half of them had holes in them, all uniformed men. The most tattered of them was a picture of Ozpin, the picture of Weiss beside him was unblemished.

"We weren't sure the reassociation would work. Now that we know it has we can go with the better of our plans. Come on, time to meet the assault team." Jaune smiled, leading her back to the elevator.