The Queens of Remnant - Chapter 38 (Patreon)

She was an idiot.

Ruby told herself that over and over as she raced to the Badlands with every ounce of spark she possessed.  Traveling down the mountains from Atlas had taken longer than she’d hoped - the treacherous conditions invited a horrible accident if she didn’t tread carefully - but she prodded her spark into overdrive the instant that she reached semi-thawed ground.  Trees, bushes, and wildlife disappeared in the blink of an eye as she soared past, the force of her element knocking snow off of branches in large puffs of white behind her.  All the while, she scolded herself for her stupidity.

She thought that she had more time.  She thought that the Phage would progress slower with the stress of the war off of Yang’s shoulders.  She thought that Cecelia would behave.

That was Ruby’s biggest mistake.  Cecelia had always been and would always be built for chaos.  She thrived on it.  She reveled in it.  No amount of distraction or pacification could ever keep her from diving right back into it.

Ruby should have known that ending the war and leaving Cecelia in Vale wouldn’t end well.  She just thought that she had more time.  Now, she could only hope she had enough time to salvage...something.

The temperature gradually rose as the snow dwindled and greenery expanded.  Soon, Ruby started sweating in her thick jacket, which had been the only thing keeping her warm in Atlas’ wilderness but now overheated her.  Regretfully, she paused her relentless sprint, slipped out of the coat, and hung it on a nearby branch.  After a quick look around, memorizing the landmark-less location as best as possible, she carried on without it.

She hated leaving it behind - it was a gift from Weiss, and she treasured it - but it would only slow her down from here on out.  And, after the whipsaw of emotions she’d just suffered - first, thinking Yang had been killed, then learning she was still alive but fading fast - she couldn’t let anything slow her down.

She couldn’t let Yang go without saying goodbye.  She didn’t want to let Yang go, period, but she couldn’t let Yang be alone when it happened.  After all the times Yang had been there for her...she wouldn’t be stuck out here in the middle of nowhere when her sister needed her.

As desperation sank its claws deeper, she spotted something between the trees up ahead.  Her mind hardly processed what it was before she skidded to a stop and dove behind a thick cluster of thorny shrubs. Even though she hid from view, she could do nothing about the strong gust of wind she’d been carrying in her wake.  It surged past her, bending tree branches and tearing off leaves before fading into the distance.  In the otherwise tranquil weather, the sudden whirlwind caught the attention of the Atlesian Knight standing not twenty feet from her hiding spot.

“Hm?” Ruby heard him remark before footsteps crunched across the ground toward her.

Afraid to move a muscle, she searched for an escape route and finally noticed the camp nearby.  Even more Knights lingered around, blending into the white wilderness so well that she’d nearly flown right over them in her haste.  The war was officially over, but the news probably hadn’t reached the Atlesian army yet.  She could fly around, but he might spot her, and they might decide to pursue.  They wouldn’t catch her, but what if they chased her all the way to the Badlands?

Leading a one versus who-knew-how-many battle straight into civilians was a horrible idea, so she held her breath and waited while the Knight searched for the source of the disturbance.  He’d probably fought against other wind sparks like hers, which was why the sudden gust of wind raised his alarm.  Trying to lessen that suspicion, Ruby focused on the air around her and sent several lighter ‘breezes’ his way.  By varying the speed and intensity, she hoped that he would just think it was some random wind making its way through the forest.

Fortunately, she was right.  Several long seconds later, he grunted and trudged back to camp.  Sighing in relief, she waited a little longer before carefully skirting around the rest of the group and continuing at a more moderate pace.  The rest of the army must be hiding in the trees, and she didn’t want to accidentally stumble into them.

But she didn’t see another soul as the forest thinned, granting visibility and the freedom to sprint onward at a pace few could match.  The wind in her wake ripped smaller branches from the trees and tore plants from the ground, but she didn’t slow down.  If anything, she only pushed herself harder when she finally reached the wide-open plains between her and the Badlands.

Vale towered in the distance, rising above the valley like a glittering jewel in the sky.  Not knowing what was happening beyond those walls, but knowing the type of person Cecelia could be, Ruby felt like her heart was being torn in two.  Duty pulled her home - the people of Vale needed her now more than ever - but her heart pushed her to Yang.  She would help Vale as soon as she could.  She would give them everything she had left.  But right now...she needed to find her sister.

She had to find Menagerie Township first, but she couldn’t remember where it was.  Was it in the middle of the Badlands?  Was it the settlement furthest from Vale?

Pausing in the middle of a large, barren field, she looked at the towns spread out in front of her and tried to recall the map of the Badlands they had in the office.  She and Yang referenced it often when determining where the armies were or where the most recent battle had been fought.  She must have seen Menagerie on there somewhere and, before the war, visited once or twice.

With her heart racing and her breaths leaving in quick gasps, focusing was difficult.  But she could almost see it now...the name was longer than most.  It had been written in two lines - Menagerie on top and Township written below.  It was unique because…

Suddenly remembering the most distinctive part about Menagerie, she quickly found her bearings and took off for what she hoped to be the right place.  Memories of her previous visits returned as she spurred herself faster, whipping across charred crop fields and through overgrown woods like a tornado. Her spark was fading - she was nearing the point of complete exhaustion - but she knew where to go now, and she had to get there as fast as possible.

Before the war, Menagerie was one of the largest settlements in the Badlands.  Its central location helped it trade with its neighbors while also granting easy access to several sparkling streams crisscrossing nearby.  It was a quaint, easygoing area, and the residents had been extremely helpful and gracious. But the most memorable thing about Menagerie was the enormous oak tree located just outside town.  The landmark was so recognizable that it had been drawn on the map - Ruby had commented on it once or twice.

As soon as she spotted that giant tree in the distance, her heart raced even faster.  It was almost as if her heart could sense Yang’s presence and was calling out to her, letting her know that Ruby would be there soon, begging her to hang on for a little longer.

Only after reaching the giant tree did Ruby slow her pace to avoid damaging the frail buildings along the outskirts or alarming anyone with her frenzied arrival.  She carried on at fast walk instead, glancing up at the towering tree as she passed underneath. Charred branches suggested that it had caught fire at some point, but it still stood as tall and proud as ever.  More importantly, small green shoots were popping up everywhere, forcing their way through the darkness and covering the tree with life.  In several years, it would be as vibrant as Ruby remembered.

Following the bumpy, stamped-dirt path into town, she hoped that the same vibrancy would soon apply to Menagerie as a whole.  Like the rest of the Badlands, Menagerie had seen better days.  Many of the houses looked ready to collapse at the first stiff breeze.  Garbage piled at the edge of the streets.  Most of the windows were either boarded up or broken.  And there were hardly any signs of life to be found.

Hurrying along the deserted path, Ruby searched for anyone to ask for directions.  If Blake brought Yang here, they must be in hiding somewhere.  The Badlands wasn’t the safest place to travel these days, especially for Ruby and Yang, who could easily be blamed for the destruction.  Plus, if Cecelia found out where Yang was…

Ruby had to find Yang first.  Once she did, she could protect her sister from whatever Cecelia planned next.

“Hello?” she called out after walking several minutes in eerie silence.  Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a window curtain move.  By the time she turned that way, however, everything was still.

She understood that people in the Badlands didn’t trust outsiders, but she needed directions.  If she couldn’t find anyone to talk to, how was she supposed to find Yang?  Would she have to search every building on her own?

Dreading that possibility, she headed further into town and kept her eyes peeled for anyone to talk to.  Her impatience grew with every lonesome step but, just before she resorted to flying from door to door, she spotted a middle-aged woman ducking out of a nearby building.

“Excuse me,” Ruby called out, raising one hand and jogging over.  “Can you help me?  I’m looking for someone -”

The woman shook her head and retreated into the building, closing the door and locking it with Ruby standing on the front step.  Unsure if that was a ‘I can’t help’ or just a ‘I don’t want to talk,’ Ruby shook her head and hurried on.

Not much further, she spotted a young man lugging a pail of water across the street.  Determined to actually ask her question this time, she waved a hand for his attention.

“Excuse me!”

When he took one look at her and turned away, she used her spark to zip in front of him and stop his retreat.

“I don’t want any trouble,” he said, quickly backing away from her, but she raised her hands before clasping them in front of her.

“Please,” she begged before he ran off.  “I don’t mean to scare you.  I’m just looking for someone named Red.  Have you heard of him?”

For a split second, he looked like he might just walk away.  Ruby would let him leave; she would never force anyone to help if they were too scared to do so.  But for whatever reason, whether it was the desperation in her eyes or pleading in her tone, he gave her a second glance.  He didn’t trust her, that was obvious from the way he subtly backed away, but he paused.  After several torturous seconds of silence, he said, “You should ask the Resistance.”

Relief and hope surged through Ruby’s veins.

“Do you know where they are?”

Again, he looked like he would rather be anywhere else, but he nodded over her shoulder instead of racing away.

“Other side of town.  You can’t miss ‘em.”

“Thank you,” Ruby said.  Tears of gratitude welled in her eyes, but the young man didn’t linger.  He simply nodded once before heading wherever he needed to go.  Ruby, meanwhile, hurried in the direction he’d pointed her in.

If the Resistance was here, they could lead her to Blake.  At least, the one named Red should be able to.  And once Ruby found Blake, Yang would be nearby.

Finding the Resistance turned out to be easier than expected, as Ruby reached the far side of town and found a group of men hauling buckets of debris out of a well.  Their loud conversations and noisy work flew in the face of the quiet permeating the rest of Menagerie, but Ruby embraced the sounds of life as she approached.

As impatient as she was, she had heard enough stories about the Badlands to know that a group of strangers had just as little reason to trust her as she had to trust them.  Being so few in number, they didn’t scare her, but she also didn’t want to put herself in a potentially harmful situation. Two of the workers noticed her when she was still some fifty feet away.  They paused what they were doing and nudged their fellow workers, who also stopped and stared as she walked up to them.

“You lost, Miss?” one of them asked once she was close enough.

“You probably shouldn’t be out here by yourself,” another added.  His eyes flicked around as if scanning for trouble before returning to her.  “Things might be better around here, but some folks might take a look at you and decide to fall back into bad habits.”

When he nodded to her, she glanced down and understood what he meant.  She left Atlas in such a hurry that there hadn’t been time to consider what she was wearing or where she was going.  Even though she rarely dressed as regally as some expected, her clothing was still night-and-day more expensive than anything seen in the Badlands these days.  No wonder people took one look at her and hurried the other way.

“I’m looking for Red,” she told them.  When they immediately shared glances, a giant breath of relief swept through her.  “Sun sent me,” she added, doing her best to control her spark as it fluttered through her veins.

They recognized Sun’s name, too.  Still, they looked at each other as if unsure what to do.  A well-dressed stranger appearing out of nowhere couldn’t be a common occurrence, but she knew who to ask for by name.  Eventually, one of the men waved her after him.  For a split second, she hesitated.  She wasn’t sure if she could trust him either but, having no other choice, followed him away from the well.

“Red’s been working in the barn,” he explained while the other men got back to work, though their quieter voices implied they were hypothesizing about who she was or what she wanted.

Ruby, meanwhile, kept her wits about her as they approached a large wooden building.  After his comment about people falling back into ‘bad habits,’ she didn’t entirely trust where he was leading her.  When he opened one of the wide doors and motioned her through, she gave the room a wary glance before stepping inside. In front of her, three more men worked on a large piece of farm machinery.  From the tools in their hands and grease marks covering their arms and clothes, they were attempting to fix it.

“Hey Red!” the man escorting Ruby called out.  “Someone’s looking for you.”

“Who the hell’s looking for me?” one of the men responded before setting a large wrench on top of the machine.  After wiping an arm across his brow, he turned around, saw Ruby, and frowned.

“I am,” Ruby replied while he wiped his hands on a dirty rag and walked over to her.  “Sun sent me.  He said you could help me find someone.”

Up close, Red was fairly tall.  Ruby had to tilt her chin to look up at him and resisted the urge to step back to better meet his gaze.  He stared at her for a long time, either sizing her up or evaluating her intentions, before asking, “Who’re you looking for?”

“Blake Belladonna.”  Ruby’s hope returned when recognition sparked in the man’s eyes.  “I need to find her as soon as possible.”

“What business do you have with Blake?”

Ruby understood their suspicion.  She was a stranger and an obvious outsider asking to be taken to their leader.  For all they knew, she was an assassin sent to kill Blake.  None of them wanted to be responsible for letting that happen on their watch, but she also couldn’t tell them exactly what was going on for fear of word getting back to Cecelia.

“It’s an extremely personal matter,” she said, hoping they sensed her sincerity.  “You don’t have to take me to her, but if you could just let her know I’m here.  Please, I need to find her as soon as possible.”

Thinking about Yang, who Blake must be with right now, Ruby set her hands over her heart to stop the aching.  She was close; she just needed these people to show her the way.

After staring at her for several more seconds, Red nodded and said, “Alright.  Follow me.”

Ruby hardly processed the positive response before he walked out of the barn, and she hurried to catch up.  They passed the well, where the other men glanced at her in the midst of their work, before carrying on to the far side of town. Farmland became more and more visible as the buildings grew further apart.  Still, Red kept walking, and Ruby cautiously matched his pace.

“You must be pretty important,” he commented as the edge of Menagerie neared.  “She said you’re the only one allowed to see her.”

Red stopped so abruptly that Ruby nearly ran into him.  She flashed to the side at the last minute, but he thought nothing of it as he turned toward her.

“She’s holed up out there.”

When he pointed at a small cottage sitting on what must have once been a small farm, all of Ruby’s barely suppressed emotions rushed to the surface.

“Thank you, Red.”  She smiled at him, earning a nod in return, before flying out to the house on her own.  The porch steps practically disappeared under her feet as she rushed to the front door and quietly knocked.  After waiting several seconds, she knocked again.

“Blake,” she called out at the same time.

Her impatience expanded exponentially knowing that Yang was separated from her by a few flimsy walls.  She was so impatient that, as soon as the door opened, she raced right past Blake and into a small, warm living room beyond.

“Ruby,” Blake exhaled, locking the door behind her.

“Where is she?”

Ruby didn’t wait for an answer before she started opening doors.  The first revealed a closet.  The second, a bathroom.  The third had to be a bedroom - that had to be where Yang was.

But the instant Ruby touched the handle, she yelped and jerked her hand away.

“Ruby.”

Before Ruby tried the door again, Blake stepped in front of her.

“Please listen to me,” Blake whispered, her eyes imploring Ruby to heed her words.

The scalding door handle had shocked Ruby into waiting, but acknowledging Blake did nothing to reassure her.  Blake looked nothing like the strong, proud Resistance fighter who’d shown up in Vale what felt like a lifetime ago.  The dark circles under her eyes implied that she hadn’t slept recently, and her slouched shoulders suggested a crushed spirit.

The gravity of the situation suddenly landed like a boulder on Ruby’s heart.

“She’s in a lot of pain...” Blake whispered, her gaze lowering to the floor before drifting to the door.  “She’s still aware sometimes, but her spark...”

When tears shimmered in Blake’s eyes, she briefly closed them and shook her head.

Even without further explanation, Ruby understood what Blake was trying to tell her.  When she walked through that door, she wouldn’t be greeted by her lively, energetic sister.  She wouldn’t find the teasing, fun-loving girl who always had a smile and who taught her almost everything.  That girl was likely gone, or nearly so, and coming to terms with that awful truth now, or at least acknowledging it, might keep her from breaking down and making Yang feel worse.  It would still hurt like hell, but...she should brace herself.  It was Yang, but it wouldn’t be Yang.

“I understand...” she whispered, though her bottom lip quivered before she clamped her teeth down on it.  Blake studied her for a long time, as if judging her preparedness, before taking a deep breath.  She then used her spark to turn the handle and push open the door.

Blake stepped into the stiflingly hot room first, but Ruby hesitated before following.  The windows were open and shaded by black cloth that cut out much of the light, but the breeze did nothing to combat the sweltering heat.  It didn’t help that the room was small, offering the heat little means of escape. Sweat instantly prickled the back of Ruby’s neck, but she forgot all about the overwhelming warmth the moment she saw Yang.

“Look who I found,” Blake whispered while moving aside so that Ruby could walk further into the room.

Ruby hardly made it two steps before fighting the urge to cry.  And not simple tears of sadness - she wanted to curl up on the bed next to Yang and bawl her eyes out, letting Yang hug her and assure her that everything would be alright.

But Yang couldn’t do that anymore.  Raising her head already looked like too much effort, as she barely tilted her chin forward.  If the dark circles under Blake’s eyes suggested fatigue, Yang was beyond exhaustion.  Once-vibrant lilac had darkened to near red.  Enviable blonde hair was damp and clumped with sweat.  Her inner radiance, which had always made her a force larger than life, had abandoned her.  And her smile...her smile was nothing more than a fleeting twitch at the corner of her mouth.

Forcing a flimsy smile, Ruby went to Yang’s side.

“Hey,” she whispered, grabbing the chair beside the bed and dragging it closer so that she could sit.  She wanted to hug Yang but being this close was already almost too much.  The heat rolling off of Yang’s skin was so hot that Ruby used her spark to protect herself, creating a thin buffer of air to keep the heat at bay.

“Ruby...”  Yang’s fingers moved as if she wanted to lift her hand, but her arm never left the bed.  “Is it really you…?”

“It’s me, Yang,” Ruby whispered while taking Yang’s hand.  It burned to the touch, but she didn’t let go.  “I’m sorry it took me so long…”

“It’s ok…” Yang said before taking a deep breath.  She winced as it rattled through her chest, sounding painful and unfulfilling at the same time.  “There’s…something I need to tell you...”

Tears instantly welling in her eyes, Ruby laughed and brushed one away.

“You think?” she said while those tears began to fall.  Soon, she could hardly see as her vision swam with them.  “I already knew, Yang.  I’ve known...I’ve known for a while.”

Yang’s brow briefly rose - she must have truly believed she’d been fooling Ruby this whole time - but her eyes quickly filled with regret.

“I’m sorry...”

“Please don’t be sorry...”  Ruby sniffled and wiped her eyes, but the tears quickly returned.  “I’m the one who’s sorry.  I shouldn’t have been gone for so long.”

Remembering all the traveling she’d done, all the dead ends she’d followed, all the fruitless time wasted, a soft sob slipped through her lips.

“I thought I could find a cure...” she admitted.  “I searched everywhere, but…”

As soon as she saw the understanding in Yang’s eyes, she looked down and wiped away more tears.  Even now, on death’s bed, Yang was going to forgive her.  Yang was going to say that everything was alright when it wasn’t.  Because Yang never thought about herself.  Yang always worried about everyone else.

Just once, Ruby wished that Yang would put herself first.

“It’s ok, Ruby...”

“It’s not.  I should have been here with you.”

Ruby couldn’t possibly stop her tears now, but she met Yang’s gaze anyway.  Her heart was broken, but her words tumbled out faster as she grappled with the biggest mistake she’d ever made.

“I should have been here with you,” she repeated, her lip quivering as her despair grew.  “I never should’ve gone to Atlas.  I should have been here.  Why - why did you let me leave?  Why didn’t you tell me to stay?  You know I would have stayed.  You should have told me to stay.  I…I should have stayed.”

Thinking about all the time she’d lost, all the moments they could have shared, Ruby dissolved into tears.  Yang lifted a hand but never got close to touching her shoulder.

“I’m -”

“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry,” Ruby interrupted, knowing that was exactly what Yang was about to do.  “Don’t.  Please.  This isn’t your fault.  It’s...” As a horrible feeling swelled in her chest, she looked down and muttered, “It’s mine.”

More tears fell to her lap, and she didn’t know when they would ever stop.  For the longest time, she’d convinced herself that she could find a cure.  That she could save Yang.  But now, seeing Yang like this, the consequence of her failure became real.

“Ruby...”

Trying to pull herself together, Ruby wiped her eyes and looked up.  Once their gazes met, Yang mustered a weak, tired smile.

“This isn’t your fault...” she said softly.  “We needed someone to go to Atlas...and you were the best choice.”

“But before that.  All those times I left you in Vale -”

“Ruby...” Yang said again, this time with a small head shake that looked more painful than it was worth.  “I’m grateful...for every day we had.”

More tears swam in Ruby’s eyes when she grasped what Yang was trying to say.  Yang didn’t want to focus on what could have been.  She didn’t want to dwell on how horrible this was.  With so little time left, she wanted to remember the good times they’d had.

After taking a small gasp of breath, Ruby tried to smile.  It was hard - it was really, really hard.  All she could think about was how unfair this was.  How terrible it was.  How she didn’t want to lose Yang now or ever.  But she would never deny Yang’s unspoken request, especially at a time like this.

“I signed the treaty,” she whispered instead.  It didn’t seem to matter much anymore, but she wanted Yang to know that the war was over.

“That’s great,” Yang replied, her words hardly more than soft sighs.  “I knew you could do it.”

Yang’s confidence only made Ruby want to cry more.  Yang always believed in her, even when she didn’t believe in herself.  What would she do without that constant support?  How could she possibly keep living the way she always had?

Those selfish worries flew from her mind when Yang winced.  The heat pouring off of her suddenly shot up in temperature, hot enough to burn if Ruby didn’t have her spark.

“You should wait outside…” Yang got out through gritted teeth.  “It’s not...safe.”

“I’m not leaving, Yang.”

Ruby hardly got the words out before Yang doubled over in pain.  Her hands gripped the covers while her spark surged to life, making her skin glow an unnatural red as waves of intense heat rolled off of her.  Ruby struggled to keep the extreme fire at bay - her spark versus Yang’s while Yang’s raged out of control.

Then she heard it - the low, guttural moan coming from the back of Yang’s throat.  A sound so painful and filled with agony that it immediately unleashed the tears that Ruby had been trying to hold back.

“I’m not leaving you again...” Ruby whispered while those tears streamed down her cheeks, but Yang didn’t hear her.  Yang couldn’t hear anything.  Not as superheated air burst out from her.  Not as her moans became howls of agony and flames licked across her knuckles and raced down her wrists.

Blake poked her head into the room before her footsteps raced across the living room and out of the house, but Ruby couldn’t turn away.  She knew what the Phage did.  She’d seen it happen so many times.  But sitting here, watching Yang suffer the unspeakable, she’d never felt so...helpless.

When Yang’s cries quieted ever so slightly, Ruby felt a glimmer of hope.  That glimmer disappeared when Yang’s red, tear-filled eyes locked onto her and filled with the most indescribable disbelief.

“M-mom?”

The word crushed the remnants of Ruby’s heart into pieces, and ground them into dust when Yang’s tears spilled over.

“Mom, I’m…s-scared...” Yang whispered, this time reaching for Ruby’s hand while Ruby struggled to hold back her sobs.  Blinking away tears, Ruby carefully held Yang’s burning hand and offered a fleeting smile.

“I know, Yang.  But I’m here now, so don’t worry.  Everything’s -”  Voice breaking, Ruby paused and cleared her throat before whispering, “Everything’s going to be ok.  You’re going to be ok.”

Ruby didn’t know if Yang could process the words, or even hear them, as she curled into a ball and softly sobbed against Ruby’s hand.  Her spark surged from her in powerful waves of hot air and coursed through her veins as deep, angry red, but Ruby didn’t pull away.  She just cried and let Yang clutch her hand, knowing that she had nothing else to offer.

Hearing footsteps rush across the living room, Ruby turned toward the door and felt her heart jump when Blake hurried into the bedroom with a young woman who looked remarkably similar to Weiss.  With the same white hair, clear blue eyes, and determined expression, she could only be Winter - Weiss’ sister.

Under better circumstances, Ruby would introduce herself.  From Winter’s glance Ruby’s way, she would too.  But Yang was her priority right now, as she hurried to the other side of the bed and set a hand on Yang’s arm. Nothing happened for several long, agonizing seconds, but the room eventually began to cool.  Yang’s whimpers eased as a layer of ice crept across her skin, but the pain never went away - it remained visible in her clenched jaw, scrunched eyes, and small gasps for breath.

Just when Ruby worried that the ice was too much for someone to bear, Winter lifted her hand and shook her head.  “I wish I could do more...” she whispered while sitting on the other side of the bed, a subtle chill still emanating from her.  The cold offered a small relief to the fire raging in Yang’s heart, but the relief disappeared when Yang’s spark surged back to life, forcing Ruby to strain against the sudden onslaught of heat while Winter shot back to her feet.

As bad as the first time had been, this time was worse.  Winter hardly formed the layer of ice on Yang’s skin before it disappeared with a hiss of steam.  Howls of agony soon followed, the sound breaking Ruby’s heart while she sat there in tears, unable to help.

“Yang, please hang on,” she whispered, knowing her sister couldn’t hear her but needing to say something.  “You can do this.  Please...please don’t leave me...”

She wasn’t ready to let go.  Not now.  Not ever.  But even with Winter’s help, the Phage refused to stop.   It refused to release its hold over Yang’s spark.  Yang had done nothing to deserve such agony, yet Ruby was forced to sit there and watch, tears streaming down her cheeks, as it tore her apart.  It was true, what they said: the Phage didn’t care who you were, what you’d done, or how many people cared about you.  It only wanted to end your life.

If Ruby could give her life for Yang’s, a queen’s for a queen’s, she would.  But the Phage wouldn’t even accept that.

By the time Yang’s torment passed, the room fell deathly silent.  Ruby’s heart had shattered into a million pieces, scattered so far and wide that she couldn't possibly put it back together again.

“Ruby…”

When Yang finally opened her eyes, Ruby mustered a fleeting smile.  Normally cheerful lilac eyes had darkened and were so filled with pain that Ruby could hardly stand to look into them.  Normally radiant skin glowed an unnatural, scary red, as if live embers burned just underneath.

Leaning forward, suffering another wave of heat in the process, Ruby set her hand on Yang’s arm.

“It’s going to be ok, Yang,” she whispered.  “You’re going to be ok.”

Those were lies.  All lies.  Ruby knew that now more than ever before.  Yang knew it too, but she nodded - nothing more than a tilt of her chin - and closed her eyes.  She looked exhausted, but her spark had finally subsided.

Based on Blake and Winter’s grim expressions, Ruby knew that it had only subsided for now.  Sooner or later, it would return.  It would grow stronger, more uncontrollable.  The cycle wouldn’t end until...

“I’ll give you some privacy...” Blake whispered before heading to the door, but Ruby quickly reached out and stopped her.

“Please stay.”  Sensing Blake’s uncertainty, Ruby offered a small smile.  “If you can, please stay with us.”

Blake’s gaze followed Winter out of the room before she nodded and sat on the edge of the bed.  The proximity demanded an incredible effort to withstand, only adding to her exhaustion, but she didn’t complain.  Ruby, meanwhile, held Yang’s hand as silent tears began to fall.

It wasn’t supposed to end like this.  She was supposed to find the cure.  She was supposed to save her sister.  The only thing she did was fool herself.

Confronted with reality, she was finally forced to face a future without Yang.  No more late-night discussions on the state of Vale.  No more joint decisions.  No more teasing the advisors.  No more laughing over their meals or exploring Vale together.

Yang was going to die.  And, when she did, Ruby wouldn't just lose her last remaining family.  She lost her closest confidant.  Her biggest supporter.  Her best friend.

It wasn’t supposed to end like this...but it would, regardless of how hard she’d tried to stop it.