EYE FOR AN EYE

-Immoral-

Ruby could see the flames burn.

The flames of hell.

Yes, that was, hell itself.

Yang was her personal hell, where she would purge her wrongs, where she would be punished for her sins, for killing Ruby Rose and turning her bright future into just that, a false copy. She'd taken all the values she'd been raised with and thrown them to the ground, crushed them, over and over and over again. She had taken the memory of her mother, her heroism, and destroyed it too.

She promised to be like her, to be a hero, but no, she did the opposite.

Now her values were stained, her thoughts were contaminated, her existence was far from salvation.

How could she be saved?

No, she couldn't, because she had lost her purity, her innocence, and now her mind was wrapped in repulsive, bloody thoughts. She closed her eyes and remembered that day, where she saw Cinder incinerate from the inside, right before her eyes, and she wished that it had been her that made her burn, not her mother's eye, using pure light like that was so wrong.

The itch in her eye socket grew, those thoughts increasing that unpleasant sensation.

That wrong eye, her cross.

She had lost what made her strong against the darkness, and now she had to deal with it.

Exactly, Ruby had lost some light.

Her remaining eye was the only thing that kept her alive, that allowed her the path of redemption.

Now she could pay for her sins, she could be punished, and so she would rise to heaven.

She knew her smile widened, because she noticed her own expression in the reflection of her sister's bloodshot eyes.

She saw Cinder burn, paying for her sins, for everything she did, for all the deaths she caused, and now, she herself, was going to pay in the same way, a living hell was going to consume her, and she wasn't afraid, of course not. She didn't feel pain, she didn't feel any fear, and it was clear to her that any other person, in her place, would be terrified.

But it wasn't like that.

She was close to redemption, so she had to thank the Gods for giving her the chance to pay.

Yang's metal hand was still holding onto her cloak, but it stopped, letting her go. Now nothing was holding her, then, Yang's teeth clenched, and so did her human fist.

When the blow reached her, more than pain, she felt her body light, perhaps too much.

No.

No!

That was wrong.

It had to hurt, it had to burn, it had to burn her whole.

How was she going to redeem herself if she didn't receive a punishment?

Her body fell meters further.

She hadn't realized the intensity of the blow, it hadn't felt that way at all, not even when she broke the ground behind her back. She stops for a moment, looking around, where she was laying, feeling the loose earth now in her body, in her hands.

She had caused a disaster.

Breaking everything around.

But no, it was still not good enough.

It was a strong blow, she was supposed to feel it, to feel the pain, then why?

Why it wasn't enough to make her squirm in pain?

Right, it wasn't enough, just like that.

That punishment wasn't enough to make her pay, of course.

She got up, quickly, feeling energized.

She was a bigger sinner than she thought. One hit, two hits, it wasn't enough. She needed more, she needed to feel more. She needed to somehow appease the incessant itch on her face. She could simply bring her hands to her face, both hands, and use her nails to scratch the entire bandaged area, but no, she couldn't, that was too easy, and if she was there, feeling that heat, it was because she was going to redeem herself.

Or maybe wasn't enough because it wasn't her time yet.

Not yet.

Ruby felt her fingers burn, the skin under her nails aching to reach her face, but instead moved her hands to her weapon.

Her sinful weapon.

Yes, Crescent Rose had to apologize for her sins too. They shared the blame, so they must share the punishment.

Yang started to move closer, ready to continue.

She prepared herself for the attack, and although she should have accepted it head on, it was impossible.

Her most basic instincts compelled her to fight, to swing her weapon, to defend herself against her attacker, no matter who it was. It was something embedded in her head, after years and years of fighting. She was a huntress after all, a corrupted one, but a huntress nonetheless.

The screeching sounds of metal clashing between Crescent Rose and Ember Celica echoed in her ears, and it was so typical in her life, in their lives, the sound of battle, that it felt right.

Yes, she was a villain, she wasn't going to be easily consumed or incinerated, not yet, not yet.

It was wrong, it was very wrong, but she couldn't be helped.

She still had a lot to sin for, she still wanted to do a lot, and if she redeemed herself now, then she wouldn't have a second chance. There was still a lot of trash left in the world, and she knew that no one she knew had the guts to become a murderer.

But she did, she could, she already was.

She had sacrificed her own humanity, her innocence, in order to kill, and she wanted to do it again, yes, she longed to feel that again, to burn them, to break them.

Her body itched to murder them.

And that evil woman was next.

The one who destroyed the light in her life, in the whole world.

Ruby felt her cross burn under the bandages, but she didn't care. She also felt the hole in her face itch, craving her nails madly, but she didn't care. She was going to keep feeling it, until she had nothing to fight for, until she had no one to hate, to execute any evil.

Wait…

Was she executing?

Wasn't that something a hero would do?

To make the villains pay for their crimes?

Wasn't that a redemption in itself?

Her body, used to battle, felt like she was losing ground, but she wasn't going to let herself lose, not easily, if she lose against her own punishment, her own hell, how was she going to kill the others? Salem? The evil? How was she going to beat them all if she was this weak? She must surpass Yang, she must surpass everyone. She was no longer going to let someone else catch her prey, no, it would be her, it has to be her, she must be strong enough to be the one who will destroy them all, without anything or anyone else winning the merit.

If she was going to fall to the bottom of the abyss, it was going to be because of herself, it was going to be her own actions, her own doing.

She was willing to get dirty, now that she tasted sin, she couldn't get bored.

She had become Cinder to kill Cinder, and now that sentence was beginning to make sense. She really had become like that, but not with her stupid and petty reasons for doing evil. Cinder wanted to have power, to be superior, but in the end, she just licked Salem's hand.

No, she wouldn't be like that.

She won't depend on anyone, she won't ask anyone's permission, she will achieve her goals on her own, with no one holding her back.

Not even her sister.

They all will lick my hand for mercy.

She shot to the ground, and soared through the skies with the recoil of the gun.

It never felt so immoral to do such a thing.

Her place in the world was on the ground, deep inside, in hell itself.

And now she was in the sky, in heaven itself.

She fired, over and over again.

No one will to stop her.

No one will to control her.

No one will take away her freedom.

The new power inside her veins.

Now it was her silver eye that began to sting, but she didn't stop looking at Yang as she stayed in the air, shooting at her.

That eye was her mother's, it was like a sign, a sign from her mother.

Her mother, no one else's.

Of course, I haven't forgotten about you, mom.

That was her path, her new path, her new revenge.

She was going to discover the truth and she was going to do whatever it takes to get it, and then, she was going to get rid of the one who destroyed the one she loved and admired the most. The light in her life, in the world.

She was going to kill them all, until she stopped feeling that thirst.

Ruby felt like she was there for hours, in the sky, shooting at Yang, using the recoil of Crescent Rose to stay there, in position, but the bullets ran out, there were no more in the cartridge and she didn't have any more to spare. So, she started to fall.

She didn't even make the move to use a landing strategy, or a single thing, letting herself crashing into the ground again, where she should be, sounded perfect.

But she didn't touch the ground.

She heard Ember Celica's cartridges rumble, ready to be fired.

So, when she was about to hit the ground, Yang's fist reached her body, firing the cartridge right into her chest, an explosion surrounding them.

And she felt absolutely nothing.

Nothing at all.

Yes, I no longer feel any pain.

She only felt the burning sensation on her face, on her cross, and the itching in the hole in her head, nothing more.

There was no punishment, there was no redemption, not yet.

Not yet…

So, it was like that, right? She still didn't have permission to pay for her actions, the Gods gave her time, she could get even more muddy, and then she would pay with her body, with her pain, with the lashes on her back and the humiliation of having damaged a girl as innocent as Ruby Rose was.

I would pay, but not now.

The hole that her body left against the dirt was even bigger than the first. She had broken even a few concrete seats with the force of the impact, but she felt absolutely nothing.

Just as she didn't feel her soul, her Aura, nonexistent.

She felt nothing but bliss during that brief fight, but now she felt something different, and it was regret. She was sure that Weiss was going to be angry at her, they had made a mess, and not only that, Atlas was also going to reprimand her, and not like she wanted to be reprimanded for.

Ruby didn't want Weiss to get mad at her.

Weiss is the only one who understood her, she mustn't lose her.

She looked at Yang, her eyes, now lilac, shining with the ecstasy of landing a good hit, but seeing her, still alive, seemed to trigger her anger.

There was something about that gaze, and she understood it.

It wasn't enough.

The thirst.

The anger.

The need to destroy.

Yang had also been contaminated. She was her sister, of course she was going to be contaminated because of her. Were they on the same corrupted path now? If Yang could kill her little sister, then she could kill anyone. Yes, that was the personality she needed with her, the one that would give her the determination to destroy everything.

Together, they will reach the top.

Join me, sister.

Let's end the world.

Together.

Yang stopped, her fist now still in midair. She noticed confusion in the lilac eyes, but they quickly understood what was happening.

She could notice that symbol that she remembered so well, the glyph she saw many times, and also fought many times using that symbol as her unconditional support, allowing herself to increase her own abilities, her own speed.

Ruby had seen it from the beginning, and had grown fond of its existence.

That symbol could give her even more power, power she needed to achieve everything.

Weiss's glyph glowed black, brilliant, and she found herself smiling at the mere idea of seeing it tinted in that color, as well as she remembered when, in the past, it was tinted red, of blood, of sin, of death.

And she loved it.

She wanted to see it like that again, longed to see it like that again.

Weiss was a sinner too, they could do it together.

Both of them would be stained red.

As partners, as a team.

She heard Weiss yelling at Yang, angry, they seemed to be arguing heatedly, but she no longer made sense of what they were saying, it had no relevance whatsoever. But she forced herself to pay attention to them, as the itch in her socket was starting to grow once more and she didn't want to scratch it having them there. It was a sin she would only commit in solitude.

However, she had learned that a little pressure on her wrong eye was enough to soothe the itch.

At least for a moment.

"You can't attack her in that state, she doesn't even have her Aura activated, you're a brute!"

Weiss's voice rang out as she felt her approach, as she helped her up, again, and she accepted the help, since she had no feeling in her legs, useless one more time. Yes, she didn't feel much pain, but Yang's blows must have hit her body accurately enough to destroy her insides.

So, she really had no Aura protecting her.

Now that she thought about it, yes, her sister was a jerk for fighting her like that. You can't attack someone who doesn't have an Aura, someone who is not at their full power, at least not if you don't want to kill them.

That was bad, too bad, too bad, big sis.

Still, that was exactly what she expected from her sister, from her bloodline.

To be not afraid to kill.

To burn.

She looked at Yang, as she felt Weiss help her move, with the intention of taking her back to her room.

And…

She saw guilt in Yang's eyes.

No.

No!

No!

That was wrong, so wrong!

She felt disappointed, she probably couldn't even hide it. Her face expressing it precisely.

You can't feel guilt, Yang.

Guilt is equal to weak.

Weak is equal to coward.

You must kill without looking back, you must do everything possible to fill your own thirst for revenge, for blood. You are angry with me, yes, I understand, therefore, you must punish me, you must hurt me, make me bleed, make me feel all the pain that you felt because of me, for my fault.

Maybe Yang hadn't been contaminated after all.

Yang didn't have what she needed.

The cowardice was still there, on the surface, just like on her biological mother.

Cowards.

This world is full of cowards.

So, she stopped looking at her sister, and focused on the path to the hospital. Because of Yang, she was going to have to stay there even longer, wasting time recovering when she could be outside, looking for information, whatever it takes to accomplish her mission, to get closer to the truth, closer to Salem.

Fulfilling her goals.

Unleashing her revenge.

She hadn't made it out of the hospital today, nor had she paid for her immorality.

What a useless day.

Now she just had to wait.

And wait.

A little more.

Only a little bit more.

A/N: So, it seems that Ruby won't recruit Yang into her revenge plan, into her path of darkness, at least not soon.