Neo felt as though Ruby's eyes were piercing directly into her soul itself.
'Ruby, wait,' Glynda shouted out, 'I understand you're angry, but surely there must be some other way! Surely you don't have to kill her!'
'Are you arguing with our decision?' Ruby said menacingly, turning to look at Glynda as she spoke.
'I'm not trying to provoke you. I'm just saying that surely there must be some other way than killing her,' Glynda tried to bargain, however Ruby was having none of it.
'Be quiet or you'll join her,' Ruby threatened, Yuki also shooting Glynda a warning glance.
Walking slowly towards Neo, Ruby put forward an interesting statement to the girl.
'Hey Neo, did you know that when a human merges with a powerful Grimm, they gain the ability to use a second semblance? Specifically the semblance that the Grimm would have possessed.'
Neo understood perfectly what the reason behind that statement was. She was going to be Ruby's test subject, the sacrificial lamb to discover her second semblance. Turning back to look at the others, Ruby gave them a warning.
'I'd stay back. I don't know what this second semblance does, so it might be something destructive.'
Neo trembled in fear. She knew she was going to suffer a painful death for angering Ruby, and she was entirely helpless to stop it.
'Do you have anything to say?'
Before she knew it, Ruby was right in front of her.
I'm already screwed, she thought. Might as well go for it.
'Yeah, I do. Go to hell, bitch.'
Furious, Ruby swung her scythe down on Neo's shoulder, digging deep into her flesh and carving the collarbone in half. Neo stayed completely quiet, but the contorted expression of pain betrayed her. Aura flowing through her hands and scythe, Ruby swung again, this time digging into her other shoulder, but Neo began screaming the second it made contact. Ruby found it strange considering the girl had made no noise from the first hit, so she wondered why before realising just what was happening.
I see, so this is the Grimm's semblance.
True enough, unbeknownst to all but Neo herself, she began to hallucinate, sharp spikes of pain ringing through her body in areas Ruby hadn't even touched. It felt as though the flesh was being ripped from her bones, but when she looked it was still there. Thousands of white-hot needles stabbing her in the eyes, making her vision go hazy. But again, when that was over she realised she was fine.
'That's quite the semblance,' Yuki stated, impressed by the power Ruby possessed.
I'll leave her like that for a while, Ruby decided to herself, leaving the girl in endless agony as she walked back towards Glynda and Yuki.
Trying to stifle her sadness over Fenrir's death, Ruby clenched her fists and was about to say something before Glynda beat her to it.
'Why did you become a Grimm, Ruby?'
'I had my reasons. I'd rather not speak about it, if it's all the same with you.'
'It was Yang, wasn't it?'
'I SAID SHUT UP!'
Ruby herself seemed surprised at her outburst, and Glynda knew that she had hit the nail on the head with her guess, deciding to be quiet both for her sake and Ruby's. Regaining her composure, Ruby began to speak again as though nothing had happened.
'Yuki, you wanted to speak with me as well, didn't you?'
Turning to Glynda, Yuki gave her an order that surprised her.
'Leave us. You're free to go.'
Glynda took her opportunity and decided to let them have their talk alone.
'So, Yuki, I get the feeling that we both wanted to talk about the same thing.'
'As do I.'
Growing frustrated at the girl still screaming behind her, Ruby picked up Crescent Rose and fired it, the bullet instantly destroying Neo's brain.
'Sorry, she was getting quite annoying. Anyway, back to our chat. There's something I want to clarify with you first. You know what that is, don't you?'
'Yes,' she simply replied.
'Are you Weiss?'
After a brief pause, Yuki answered once again.
'…Yes.'
Ruby breathed a sigh of relief at having been correct in her prediction.
'Thank god,' she said happily, 'at least I can leave the world without any regrets then.'
'As can I,' Yuki responded with a smile.
Preparing herself for what she was about to say, Ruby found herself growing nervous in front of the snow girl.
'Alright, here goes. Yuki… no, Weiss…'
She gulped as she tried to force the words out.
'Weiss, I… uh… I'm…'
'You're what?' she replied in a teasing tone. Ruby realised Weiss already knew what she was going to say.
'I'm… I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU!'
Her face was painted an adorable flush of crimson at the confession, her eyes tightly shut as though not wanting to see her response. When she finally opened her eyes, Weiss simply stood there with a pleasant smile.
'W-what…? Say something! Do you… do you like me back, or…?'
'Don't tell me you really didn't notice it?' Weiss said playfully, as though there was some obvious fact that Ruby had missed out on.
'Notice what? Notice what!?'
Ruby was getting worried that she'd missed an obvious clue of some kind before Weiss calmly explained it to her waiting ears.
'I have no problems with killing or harming humans, no matter who they may be. You understand that, right?'
'Yes,' Ruby replied, unsure of where she was going with her explanation.
'Now, think back to when you were at that facility. When Glynda was mere feet ahead of me and you showed up to save her, I could have killed you both right there and then. I've never had a problem killing anybody before, but when it came to you… something within myself stopped me from even trying to harm you. At that moment I realised just how madly in love with you I must have been thanks to Weiss' memories, and I didn't even realise it myself.'
She looked almost sad as she spoke, before saying something that surprised Ruby even more.
'I'm going to give control of this body back to Weiss. The real Weiss. That way the two of you can make up for everything you missed out on since you were separated.'
Tears began to well up in Ruby's eyes. An act of kindness for the sake of being kind coming from a Grimm was unheard of, especially one of Yuki's power. When she threw herself into Ruby's arms, the scythe wielder knew that the Weiss she knew had come back to her.
'You're such a dolt!'
Both of them cried in each other's arms, the two Huntresses-turned-Grimm unbelievably happy at being able to convey their feelings after all this time.
'God, Weiss… I missed you so damn much! I never thought I'd get to even speak to you again, let alone meet you!'
'Me too, Ruby… I'm happy that I can tell you how I feel at last. And… I'm sorry for what I did.'
'What do you mean, 'what you did?''
'I'm sorry for taking my own life. It was selfish of me, and… it was stupid of me, too. I almost missed out on talking with you like this because of it.'
'Hey, don't be silly. You have nothing to be sorry for. After all the stuff I've seen people go through, I can imagine what would drive you to that state. It hurts just thinking about what they might have done to you…'
'Hey, that's all in the past now. We can save dying for after we've sorted out all our thoughts and feelings.'
'Yeah…'
Ruby and Weiss looked into one another's eyes, both of them longing for each other before sharing a powerful kiss, one to make up for all the time they had missed.
They continued like that for at least a minute, their tongues exploring their lovers mouths as if to never forget the feeling of being together.
'God, I love you Weiss.'
'I love you too, Ruby.'
Their heads pressed against each other, they stood in blissful happiness, before Weiss seemed to be growing impatient over something.
'What's up?'
'Nothing, it's just I… we…'
'Come on, you can tell me Weiss. No more hiding things from each other.'
Muttering under her breath, she pouted adorably. And even though it was barely a whisper, Ruby could make out the faint sound of Weiss talking.
'I think we should make love…'
Ruby's eyes lit up, both at the immense cuteness displayed on Weiss' pure red face and the happiness at the suggestion.
'I do too, Weiss. Come with me. I know exactly where we should go.'
The two of them walked for around a week, before finally arriving at their destination.
'This is…' Weiss began, looking up at the majestic building in front of them. Even after being partially destroyed it still retained an air of dignity about it.
'Yep,' Ruby answered gleefully. 'This is Beacon. But it's not as though we're just going to do it in the front entrance. Let's go to our dorm one last time.'
They both knew what each other was thinking, specifically their thoughts involving life after this.
'It's such a different place when it's empty,' Weiss said.
Of course, she was only here for the initial attack. She never met team CFVY here like we did.
Ruby was used to the solitude, having already seen it once it didn't come as much of a shock to her. Even through all the carnage and destruction however, their dorm room was practically untouched.
'All this time this room has been fine… it feels so nostalgic. Almost like when we're in here, it never happened,' Weiss said wistfully.
Ruby lay Weiss down on the bed, and giving her a kiss on the forehead she told her to stay where she was, leaving the room to go get some things. After a brief period of time, she returned with a box of scented candles and a match, placing them around the room and lighting them.
'I never knew you were such a romantic, Ruby,' Weiss teased, to which Ruby pouted. Taking a sniff of the air, Weiss commented on her choice of candle. 'Strawberry scented? It's quite nice.'
Ruby climbed on top of Weiss, staring down into her eyes. She looked so helpless, it made Ruby want to tease her a little bit.
'You know, maybe we shouldn't do this after all,' Ruby said playfully as she got off the bed, to which Weiss cutely and silently begged her to stay.
'Oh alright, you win,' she said, returning to her previous position, giving Weiss a passionate kiss on the lips.
'You're so beautiful, Weiss.'
'The same goes for you,' she replied with a smile.
'No I'm not. I have all these weird black marks on my body. How is that beautiful?'
'I couldn't care less about how you look on the outside. To me, you're beautiful both outside and in.'
Ruby began to tear up from happiness at the words her lover was saying.
'Thank you…'
As she leaned in for another kiss, Ruby's hand adventurously slipped between Weiss' yukata, garnering a cute gasp from the white-haired girl as Ruby's fingers delicately stroked her most precious place.
'Ah… Ruby… that's…'
'Shh…' Ruby hushed, although it was more like an order. Even Ruby was surprised at how dominant she became when it came to things like this. Opening Weiss' yukata some more, she lowered her lips to one of her nipples which was poking out after the pleasure she had just felt, a single finger slipping inside Weiss as she did so which brought with it another lustful moan.
'Ruby… that feels so nice, Ruby…'
Happy that her partner was enjoying the stimulation, she carefully slipped a second finger inside feeling Weiss' insides convulsing as she did.
'Weiss, are you…?'
Before she could even finish, a high-pitched squeal came from the girls mouth as her juices flooded Ruby's fingers and the bed sheets alike.
'You came so fast,' Ruby said, surprised. 'That's really adorable.'
'Don't call me adorable,' Weiss said timidly, trying to cover her face out of embarrassment.
'Hey Weiss, move your hands a second,' Ruby said, the white haired girl doing so only to have two of Ruby's fingers thrust inside her mouth, still wet with her own juices. Both the scent and taste drove her crazy, desiring more pleasure. However, she pulled Ruby down onto the bed and clambered on top of her, desperate to be the one in control.
'Alright, I'll let you take the lead,' Ruby said confidently, Weiss growing frustrated at how in control Ruby was. Turning around, she thrust her lower body towards Ruby's lips, leaning over to enjoy the taste of her lover. Both of them began to lick the other, unable to stifle the pleasant noises that were coming from them as they were filled with rushes of pleasure.
'You taste delicious,' Ruby teased, to which Weiss replied, 'so do you.'
The two girls continued like that for a few minutes, both feeling waves of pleasure building up deep inside them.
'Weiss, I'm gonna…!'
'Yeah, me too!'
As the two of them came, their juices covered each other's face, but they didn't care. They were just so happy to finally be able to consummate their love after all the time they had missed.
Getting off the bed, the two of them decided to take a shower which to their surprise was still working.
'Oh yeah, this place has reserve water and power in cases of emergency, doesn't it?' Ruby realised, faintly remembering being told it at some point, probably while she was half asleep.
The two of them showered, relishing their first touch of warm water in a long time.
'So,' Ruby began, 'I think we both know where we go from here, don't we?'
'Yeah,' Weiss solemnly replied. All traces of that happiness they had shared moments ago was now gone, both of them knowing what came next.
'You don't deserve to have to live your life in suffering, Ruby. You don't have to punish yourself anymore.'
'And you don't deserve it either. You were forcibly brought back from the dead.'
The two of them stared into each other's eyes one last time, sadness overwhelming them as they hugged each other. Picking up Crescent Rose, Ruby held the blade against their necks.
'I can't do it, Weiss.'
Her hands were trembling, and she couldn't bring herself to pull the trigger.
'We've both earned a peaceful rest. Don't worry, I've already been dead once. When you die you never forget the good memories you had when you were alive. It's the most peaceful thing you can imagine. It's a bit dark though. Not much light after death,' she joked, trying to lighten the mood.
'Then let's go,' Ruby said as she took a deep breath.
'Let's go to the dark world.'
Pulling the trigger, both of their lives ended in an instant, and the two of them passed over, leaving all their horrible memories behind, only the happy times remaining.
They passed over to the dark world, only the blissful happiness remaining.