Ruby's eyes drifted open slowly, and she started to take in her surroundings. She was still in the sterile hospital room, lying down on the soft hospital bed. The world around her was bleary; sights melded into messes of color and shape, and noises blurred into a dull hum.

The sounds of the television helped wake her up, and after a few seconds of staring blankly ahead, she remembered what had happened.

She groaned as she pushed herself up, feeling the needle in her right hand. She was thankful for the medicine, of course, but she hated needles.

Something else moved in the room, and Ruby turned her head groggily to face the source of the sound. Before she knew what was happening, her vision was filled with a wild mane of yellow hair, followed by two strong arms wrapping around her neck, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Hey! You're awake! How are you feeling?"

Ruby blinked a few times before realizing what was going on.

"Oh, hey Yang. When did you get here?"

Her sister leaned back, smiling, "Oh, you know, last night. You were sleeping, and I didn't want to wake you up. Weiss and Blake came by too, but I told them to go and get breakfast. They'll be back after they finish, so no need to worry about that. And hey, you get to go back today! That's got to do something for you, right?"

Despite her sister's wide smile, Ruby saw her eyes flick to her side. It was only for a second, but Ruby immediately felt her heart sink. She turned her head to the side, and looked down at the stump of a cast that had replaced her left arm. It was barely more than six inches long, and still ached deeply where the surgeons had to cut the bone.

She still couldn't believe what had happened, it was all so fast. After the tournament arena had been overrun by Grimm, Ruby had been cut off from her teammates. She had tried to escape into the underworks, the supply closets and storage rooms, but she had been a wreck. Seeing what happened to Penny…

Her breath caught in her throat, and she tried to think about something else.

She must have stood out like a neon sign to the Grimm, as her hiding spot only worked for about a minute. After that, an Ursa had clawed through the thin door, and began mauling her. She'd done her best to fight, but without Crescent Rose, there was nothing she could do to fight back. Even the strongest aura could only protect a Huntress for so long. By the time the others had reached her, most of her arm had been ripped from the rest of her body.

It was strange, Ruby didn't remember when her arm had actually come off. She could only remember the Grimm's jaws closing around her elbow, cracking the bone and shaking her around like a ragdoll. The doctors said she had probably been in shock. Thinking about it made her stump hurt, so she looked back to Yang.

"At least I don't have to worry about that new grip for Crescent Rose, right?"

She had meant it as a joke, but there was an ugly truth underneath. She couldn't be a Huntress now. Not with one arm, and especially not using a scythe. what was she going to do now? Her whole life had been dedicated to becoming a Huntress. Now she had nothing.

Tears started to well in her eyes, but before they could fall down her cheek, Yang leaned forward, hugging her tightly.

"Ruby, don't even think like that. You're still alive, so you've still got a chance. You're the strongest, smartest, most determined person at Beacon, maybe even in the world. Nothing is going to stop you. And besides, if you need help, I'll be right there for you. We all will be."

Ruby started to shake as sobs racked her body, burying her face in Yang's shoulder and pulling her closer with her right arm.

Why? Why had it have to have been her? She wouldn't wish it on anyone else, but why did it have to happen at all? People kept saying that she should be thinking of herself as lucky. People died at that tournament before the Grimm were all exterminated. They'd died, and Ruby couldn't save them, like she was supposed to. Maybe she wasn't good enough to be a Huntress anyways. Maybe this was for the best.

It felt like hours that the pair held each other, neither one knowing what to do. Even Yang started to shake the longer she held Ruby, as memories of their childhood flashed through her mind. The energetic, loving, and innocent little girl Ruby had always been seemed to be threatened now, the Ruby she held wasn't the Ruby she'd known all these years. Nothing had ever gotten her down like this before. She didn't know what to say, or how to help her. The Grimm had been pounded into dust, she'd made sure of it, but what else could she do?

After what felt like an eternity, the door behind Yang opened, and there was a small knock on the frame. The sisters disentangled themselves, looking to see who it was that had come.

"General Ironwood?" The confusion in Yang's voice was clear over the scraping of her chair as she stood. "What are you doing here?"

Ruby wiped her face with her blanket as quickly as she could before reaching to her right to grab a tissue. As she brought it up to her nose, out of habit, she tried to bring the other hand as well. There was a second of hesitation as she waited, before remembering that she would have to do everything one-handed from now on. She blew her nose, then put the tissue by her side, looking back towards the two visitors.

General Ironwood wasn't looking at Yang, but rather at Ruby. She couldn't be sure whether he was looking at her face or her arm, but either way, his expression was hard to place. It was pained, but she thought she saw some regret as well, like he felt guilty.

She couldn't blame him for what happened. It wasn't anyone's fault. No one could have seen it coming.

He stared at her for a few moments, like he was thinking of what to say, before Yang stepped between them, saying, "Can I do something for you, Mr. Ironwood?"

He seemed to snap out of whatever thought he had been stuck in, and looked down at Yang, clearing his throat.

"I'm sorry; I'm here to speak with your sister. I think we would both appreciate being given some privacy."

Something heavy stuck in Ruby's chest, but when she saw Yang's fingers curl into a fist, she spoke up. "Yang, its fine. Just go wait outside. I'll be fine. I promise."

Yang looked between the two, giving Ironwood a suspicious glare, before nodding to Ruby and walking towards the door. "Right outside," she repeated, looking directly at Ironwood as she did so.

The door closed behind her, and Ironwood took a moment to watch her go.

"That's quite the sister you have there," he said over his shoulder. "Hard to believe she would do what she did in the tournament." Before Ruby could say anything, he held up a hand and turned to face her. "Not that I can say anything about that, so please, save your effort."

Ruby breathed out a deep sigh, glancing back down at the stump on her left.

"What do you want? I've already told everyone what I saw."

He shook his head, and pulled the chair closer to the bed, taking a seat. "I'm not here to ask you more questions, Ruby. I'm…" his voice trailed off, and he paused. "I'm here because of Penny, in a sense."

Ruby's eyes widened and her body shot upright.

"Where is she? Is she alright? Can I talk to her?"

Ironwood held up a hand again, shaking his head.

"No, that's not exactly what I meant. She told you about her creator, correct?" Ruby nodded, and he continued. "He's a very kind man, and on top of that, he's very passionate. He looked at Penny like she really was his daughter, and she spoke very highly of you. Suffice it to say that you've made quite the impression on him, and he wants to repay the kindness and support you showed Penny. He heard about the injury you've taken-" he nodded towards the cast, "-and wants to try his best to repair the damage. His work in the field of cybernetics has been revolutionary, as I'm sure you're aware, and I have the utmost faith in his abilities."

Ruby could only stare back, blinking slowly. Repair the damage? Her arm had been totally destroyed, then amputated. There was nothing left to repair.

Her confusion must have shown on her face, because he started to respond to the question she hadn't asked yet.

"He gave me a brief description of what he had in mind, but I think it would be best if he were to explain it himself. You're to be released later today, correct?"

Ruby nodded, and Ironwood continued. "Well then, if it isn't too much trouble, you could come by and talk to him for a little bit. Just talk to Ozpin, and he can arrange transport to my flagship. I'm sure you would like what he has to say."

The Ruby stared silently back, not sure what to do. Ironwood nodded awkwardly, glancing towards the door and standing from the seat.

"Well, I'm sure you've had a stressful couple of days, and you want to spend time with your sister. I'll be waiting, if you take me up on this. It could keep you at the head of your class, even in spite of your injury."

With that, he turned and left. Ruby watched him go, her eyes gradually widening as she went over his words in her head. Cybernetics? That couldn't possibly mean what she thought it did, could it? And was she really going to meet Penny's father? It was certainly strange to think about, she had never imagined the man who had built her friend.

Moments after Ironwood had gone, Yang came back into the room, rushing over to Ruby's side and taking a seat on the side of the bed.

"Well? What'd he want?

Explaining it didn't take long, and by the time she finished, Yang looked almost as confused as Ruby felt. Yang was silent for a moment, before finally speaking up.

"Well? Are you going to do it?"

Ruby's mouth opened, but she hesitated. "I… Yang, I don't think I really have a choice. You know this is the only way I could still fight. I can't use Crescent Rose one-handed, and especially not with my right arm."

Her sister sighed.

"Ruby, you've fought your whole life to be a Huntress! I mean, if you really think this is the only way, I don't think you can pass this up. You never let anything stop you before. " She put a hand on Ruby's leg, then leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Ruby again.

"Whatever you do, I'm behind you two hundred percent, alright?"

Ruby's body started to shake again, but she returned the hug as best she could.

"I know."

It was half an hour before the other members of team RWBY arrived at the hospital, and as they walked in, Ruby smiled, genuinely happy.

Blake and Weiss looked about as well as they regularly did, if a little tired. They didn't waste any time in pulling other chairs around the bed and taking their seats around her, asking how she was doing and how the nurses were treating her. She told them the same thing she had the other days; that it was all fine, and the nurses were very nice. Every now and again, she would glance down at the cast, still conscious of the dull ache.

Every time she did, Yang would become much more talkative, taking the others' attention away from her for just long enough for her to get her focus back into the conversation. She appreciated it, but it didn't feel good that her sister had to do that for her.

They talked about all kinds of things; how classwork had been reduced in the wake of what happened, what little of the remainder she had missed, how team JNPR wished they could come visit but wouldn't be able to make it, and what they'd all been doing in Ruby's absence.

The whole time, Ruby wondered if she should tell them about Ironwood's offer. She wanted to know what they would think, but didn't need any more doubts about it put in her head. What if something went wrong? What if it was more dangerous than Ironwood let on?

But they were her friends, and almost like a second family to her. She had to tell them.

"So, guys, what if say, hypothetically, there was a way for me to get my arm back? Well, not my arm, but you know, an arm."

For a few seconds, everyone was silent. Weiss and Blake both averted their eyes, not wanting to be the first to say anything. When it became obvious that Yang wasn't going to say anything, the two looked at each other, thinking quickly.

"Well-" Weiss was the first to start, "-I would urge you to take the opportunity." Her eyes narrowed. "Why? Is there something they could do for you? A prosthesis, or something like that? If you're thinking about it, Atlas has made some major strides in the field of cybernetics. Integrating mechanical limbs into organic bodies might be a tough thing to study, but I have heard from Winter that it is always something the military has pushed for, so soldiers wounded on the battlefield can still return to having some semblance of a normal life."

Ruby turned to Blake, who nodded. "A prosthesis would make sense, but maybe there are other options you could take? Or at least look into before you make your final decision?"

Ruby nodded, but didn't think about what 'other options' were available. None of them would allow her to get back in the fight as well as this.

"Well, General Ironwood came by while you guys were gone, and talked to me about it. He said that the man who built Penny wants to do something for me, since I was so nice to her. He didn't say exactly what it was that he wanted to do, but he said that it could keep me doing well in Beacon. All I have to do is talk to Ozpin about getting to his flagship, then I can talk to the guy."

They looked surprised. Ruby had to admit, she hadn't expected it either, but she was getting more and more excited just thinking about it. Maybe she didn't have to give up on being a Huntress after all. Maybe it would even be kind of cool having a prosthesis.

What would it look like? More importantly, what would it feel like? Her main concern was functionality. As long as she got an arm back, she was happy.

"I think I've made up my mind. As soon as we get out of here, I want to go see Ozpin."

Yang smiled, saying, "You got it. No problem, right guys?" She looked to the others, who nodded.

"Alright, as soon as the Doc says you can go, we're out of here."

Ruby took a deep breath, calming herself down. She didn't have anything to worry about. Her friends were still there for her, and maybe things weren't as grim as they had seemed.

It was about another half an hour before any hospital staff came by, and when the door did open again, it was the doctor who had been making sure Ruby was alright. He asked her to stand, take a few steps, do a few small tasks with her right arm, then nodded.

"Alright, everything appears fine. If you have no further concerns, I think you're clear to go. The clothes your friends brought for you are in the drawer over there. Make sure to sign out with the nurse at the desk before you leave."

She thanked him for everything he had done, and he thanked her for being strong through it all. She didn't think she had been, but it felt good to hear anyways. Everyone but Yang left the room to let her change out of the hospital gown.

It felt good to be putting on her regular clothes again, but as she reached down to tie her boots, she realized that it wasn't quite as easy as she thought it was. Without saying a word, Yang stepped forward, and started tying them for her. A twinge of annoyance shot through her, not at her sister, but at the fact that she needed the help. At least it wasn't for long.

She stepped out of the room, conscious of the sleeve dangling limply on her left. I mild feeling of relief came over her when Weiss stepped forward with safety pins, folding the sleeve up and pinning it in place. She gave Ruby a kind of awkward smile as she did so, before stepping back to make sure it looked good. Ruby assured her it was fine, and Yang made a sarcastic comment about Weiss being a perfectionist.

The walk back to Beacon was surreal, to say the least. Ruby felt like she was in a dream as she walked next to Yang, hearing the others talk amongst themselves. Every now and again, Yang would turn and ask her if she was doing alright, and she would nod, and the group would continue.

when they reached the campus, they walked past the dorm building. There would be plenty of time to get settled back in once she got her new arm.

The elevator ride to Ozpin's office seemed longer than normal, but as Ruby bounced on her heels, she couldn't think of any place she would rather be. When the doors finally opened, Ruby was the first out.

Ozpin was seated at his desk, turned away from them. Ruby waited for the others to step out of the elevator before clearing her throat and speaking, noticing that her voice had gone up an octave.

"Excuse me, Professor Ozpin?"

He turned, raising an eyebrow and pressing a button on his scroll before placing it on his desk.

"Ruby?" He said, standing. "I must admit, you are back on your feet much faster than I expected. How are you holding up?"

Ruby shrugged, causing her stump to lift. "It's not that bad. It's just…" Her eyes drifted to the cast, and she knew how ridiculous she sounded. "Well, okay, maybe I shouldn't really be walking around yet, but this is important. Mr. Ironwood said to come and talk to you. It's about my arm."

Ozpin nodded, responding, "Ah, yes, we discussed the matter briefly before he visited you. You're here to take him up on the offer, I presume?"

She nodded excitedly. "Of course! How could I not? Why would you think I would even have to consider..." Her voice trailed off, and she cleared her throat. "I mean, yes Sir."

Ozpin nodded again, standing by the side of his desk and putting his hands behind his back.

"Yes, James might come off as rather cold, but he can only stand to see so much suffering. He remembers you, of course. And I may have talked about the potential I saw in you several times. I'm glad you decided to accept. I thought you might be interested."

Ruby smiled, saying, "Thank you, Sir. It means a lot to me. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't be a Huntress."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, leaning some of his weight on his desk. "There are plenty of careers helping people. Perhaps none have quite the charm or adventure we Huntsmen and Huntresses have the pleasure of experiencing, though. In any case, I would like to tell you that there is no shame in what happened to you. If you require some excused absences, I'm sure I could find the time to send the teachers a message."

Ruby nodded and smiled, saying, "Thank you, Sir."

Ozpin took the opportunity to lean over his desk, picking up a steaming mug and sipping its contents. As he did so, he turned his head towards the window he'd been looking out before, and Ruby followed his gaze.

Ironwood's flagship floated outside the city, casting a shadow over the Emerald Forest. From this distance, it seemed to simply be hovering there, doing nothing except for waiting, but Ruby could only imagine the hurried military personnel rushing from station to station, trying to work through the fallout of the tournament.

She shook her head, returning her focus to the world around her. She had to move on.

After a few seconds, Ozpin turned back around, and tapped the screen of the scroll he had set down. With a few flicks of his finger, Ironwood's face appeared. For a brief moment, a dull ringing emitted from the device before a small click interrupted it, and Ironwood's voice came through the speakers.

"Ozpin? What can I do for you?"

He leaned forward, knitting his fingers together as he spoke. "James, I have some good news about your deal with Ruby."

Ironwood sounded slightly relieved when he answered. "Ah, very good to hear. I'll send a bullhead over immediately. Her friends will be coming with her, I assume?"

Ozpin glanced up at the others, and Yang didn't hesitate in saying loudly, "Count on it!"

Ozpin smirked as he looked back down at the scroll. "Well there you have it, James."

Yang's hand came down on Ruby's shoulder, and she turned her head to find her sister giving her a wide smile. "Two hundred percent."

Ruby put her arm around Yang's waist, pulling her into as much of a hug as she could manage. Yang hugged her back for a few seconds, then turned Ruby back around when Ozpin started to talk again.

"The General is sending transport now." He pocketed the scroll as he spoke. "You might be able to catch it just as it lands if you hurry."

Ruby didn't need any more than that. With a high pitched squeal, she practically exploded towards the elevator, jamming her entire hand into the button by accident. The others followed quickly, turning and rushing after her. The doors dinged as the slid open, and Ruby stepped in, bouncing on her heels as she waited for the others to get in.

Once her team had assembled, she pounded the button to take the elevator down, and she doors began to slide shut. Ruby looked through the narrowing crack, seeing Ozpin's smirk break out into a light chuckle, shaking his head as he turned away.

The ride down seemed significantly longer than it had been on the way up.

When the doors slid open again, it was a challenge for Ruby to not immediately start sprinting off towards the airfield. Yang was obviously aware of this, as she had a hand on the back of Ruby's hood, just in case. It wouldn't be the first time she'd gotten a little too excited, she had to admit.

Through the entire walk to the airfield, Ruby felt like a dog being walked. Granted, she was the one pulling on the cape as she walked, but she couldn't help herself.

As they came to the airfield, Ruby saw a bullhead coming down for a landing. She almost choked herself into unconsciousness as she struggled against the cape. When she finally gave up, Yang pulled her back, hiding her laughter.

"Ruby, stop! You're going to kill yourself before we even get there."

The pace of the group did increase, though, which Ruby was thankful for. As they drew closer, the cockpit slid open, and the pilot waved them over. The engines died down, and he called out, "You Ruby Rose?"

Ruby nodded, and he gestured to the fuselage. "Get in! You get the special taxi!"

The side doors of the aircraft slid open smoothly, and the team piled in. Ruby had to let Yang go first, then take her hand to pull her up. She hoped the others didn't look, but she could practically feel their eyes on her back.

Once everyone was in, Yang leaned towards the cockpit, saying, "Alright, good to go."

He gave a thumbs up before putting his hands back on the controls and bringing the engines back to life. The doors slid shut again, and after speaking a few brief words into his comms, lifted the craft back into the air. The ride was slightly bumpier than Ruby expected it to be, but she couldn't complain. Not with something so wonderful so close to happening.

She could hardly sit still. Her leg bounced up and down incessantly, and her right hand tugged at the sides of her cape. Yang started to talk to the pilot, but after the first few words, she lost focus. She was too excited to keep her head out of the clouds.

The craft leveled out after a few minutes, then started to slow as the pilot turned his attention back to the skies. Through the windshield, Ruby could see Ironwood's ship getting closer and closer, until it finally seemed to swallow them up as they were brought down into the hangar.

One last jolt rocked the aircraft as it set down. The doors opened as the pilot said, "Here we are. The General should be waiting for you."

After thinking him, the group disembarked from the bullhead, finding themselves in a wide hanger bay. They barely had time to take it in, though, as a voice called out from about twenty feet away. "Ah, Ruby! "

they turned to find Ironwood walking towards them, but not only him. By his side, there was a man none of them recognized. He peered over the rest of the group before focusing on Ruby, smiling warmly. There was something more than simple good-natured old man, though. He looked at her with some degree of familiarity, like he had seen her before.

As they walked closer, Ruby got a better look at the man. He was a little shorter than Ironwood, but not by much. A few wrinkles played across the round face, and a bald spot seemed to be sprouting at the top of his head. His clothes were different from what Ruby had expected, either the same kind of white suit Ironwood wore, or something a little more practical, like what blacksmiths and machinists had.

Instead, he had on a simple white lab coat, with his hands buried deep in his pockets. Before Ruby could say anything, his mouth opened, and he began to speak.

"You must be Ruby, Correct?"

She nodded, and he offered a hand out to her. "I'm Penny's father."

Ruby shook his hand, not sure what to say. She hadn't expected him to be right there. Did she look okay? What was there to say to the man who had made one of Ruby's best friends?

"Um… hi."

He chuckled, putting his hand back in his pocket and stepping back. "A pleasure to meet you, Ruby, it really is. I only wish that we could have met under better circumstances." His face fell slightly, before he made an obvious effort to smile again. "After I heard what happened to you at the tournament, I knew there was something I could do for you."

He turned to Ironwood, saying, "James, I believe I can take things from here. I think you can go back to the bridge now."

Ironwood raised an eyebrow, but nodded his head. "Whatever you say, Tecwyn. You four, behave yourselves."

With that, Ironwood turned to leave, and the other man motioned for them to follow. "Come on, then. You're here for an operation, after all!"

Before they could respond, he started to lead them towards the opposite end of the hanger towards heavyset door, an armed guards on either side. As Tecwyn approached them, they shuffled slightly to the side, and the door opened.

"Uh, excuse me, mister Tecwyn? You haven't actually told me anything about the operation yet. I mean, I kind of assumed what you're going to do, but you're going to explain, right?"

He looked over his shoulder, giving her a small smile. "Of course I will, but Penny always told me about how excited you got over things, and I have a rather deep appreciation for theatrical flare. We aren't far from my workshop, I can show you there."

Ruby looked at the others, who all had doubtful looks. The man was obviously very enthusiastic, if somewhat eccentric. Ruby trusted him though. He couldn't be all bad if he'd made Penny.

After another minute of walking through corridors brought them to a door that seemed thicker than the others, and was labeled "lab." As he approached it, he pulled a small keycard from his pocket and held it up to a scanner at the door's side. It gave a small beep before opening.

The room inside was larger than Ruby had expected, and more resembled a machine shop than any lab Ruby had seen. He walked in, and immediately Ruby's eyes were drawn to a clean metal table. On top of the table, something was covered by a small sheet. Tecwyn's almost jogged over to the side of the table, motioning for Ruby to follow him as he did so.

She obliged, giving a puzzled look as she did so. Before she could ask a single question, he grabbed a fistful of the sheet, throwing it off with a theatric flourish.

Ruby gasped. On a small stand, an arm sat, completely still. For a second, Ruby thought it was her own arm, it looked almost exactly the same. The only thing that signaled differently, other than the lack of ripped flesh and horrendous damage, was the narrow mass of metal and wires that protruded from the shoulder joint.

She put a hand over her mouth and turned towards Tecwyn with wide eyes. He smiled, nodding, and gestured towards it. "Go ahead, take a look."

She wrapped her fingers around the wrist carefully, lifting it off the stand. It didn't weight much more than a normal arm, and she could feel muscles beneath the surface, just like a real arm. Even the skin felt real, aside from being a little too elastic. She gave it a soft squeeze, and could easily feel the metal alloy that was replacing the bone. The frame also didn't have the same shape of a normal bone; but that probably wasn't needed for it to work.

"With a two hour operation, I can have this grafted onto your body and functioning just as well as your natural arm. Maybe even better. The alloy frame is lightweight and far more durable than bone, and the artificial muscle can easily match the power of your previous arm. It can interface flawlessly with your nervous system as well; so much so that you might even forget you have it!"

A smile broke across Ruby's face as she turned it over, examining every detail. Every finger joint was precisely aligned, every knuckle moved smoothly, even the wrist glided like it was the easiest thing in the world.

She held it up to her stump, and realized something about its structure.

"Why does it go all the way to the shoulder? I didn't lose that much of my arm." To demonstrate, she wiggled her stump.

Tecwyn hesitated for a second, then nodded slowly. "Well, yes. Removing a certain amount of what's already there will be necessary, but there would be major structural weakness if it wasn't attached more firmly. If that's a problem, I could modify it as you wished, but that would take time, and hinder the performance. This is the optimum layout, I can assure you."

Ruby glanced back at the others, who were keeping a respectful distance of several feet, looking to see what they thought. Unfortunately, they seemed to be just as lost as she was. She looked back down at the arm, and held it to the stump again. If she didn't get this done, she could kiss her dreams of being a Huntress goodbye.

She swallowed down the lump in her throat and nodded.

"Alright, let's do it."

Tecwyn smiled, and motioned for her to follow him. "Very good! Now, you should come with me, and the rest of your team can find something to entertain themselves in the meantime, I'm sure; Especially on a military airship. Just don't make Ironwood too mad, good?"

They nodded, and the pair started to walk towards the back of the lab. They came to what looked more like a surgery room than anything else, though large computers and server cabinets lined the room instead of the surgical equipment Ruby had expected to see. A flat bed sat in the middle of the room, beneath an almost blinding light that shone directly down onto it.

Ruby recognized an anesthetic machine and vital signs monitor sitting to one side of the bed. She had seen more of those than she would have liked in the past few days.

Tecwyn started to explain what he would do as he readied everything, washing his hands, cleaning the arm, and turning on machines. It sounded like the same kind of thing Ruby had already heard from the other doctors; only now with the added step of putting something back in the place of what was removed.

The longer he talked, the harder Ruby's heart seemed to beat. This was really going to happen. She wasn't a lost cause.

As he started to wrap up his preparations, Ruby's mind started wandering in erratic directions from what it would feel like, to modifications for Crescent Rose. The last train of thought held in her mind until a question came to her mind, and in her nervous state, there was nothing to stop her from speaking it instantly.

"Do you think I could modify this thing myself? Like putting on a gun or an ammo compartment or something? I'm kind of a huge weapon freak, so I think I could handle it."

Over the sound of a sink behind her, Ruby heard him chuckle. "Ah, yes, you built your scythe yourself, didn't you? Impressive work there, really. You're talented, but your talent won't make modifying this easy. I've heard it said by Hunters that your weapon is an 'extension of yourself'.' Well, this isn't an extension, it is yourself. You could potentially modify it, of course, but not without some significant learning first. I'll tell you what-" he stepped to the side of the bed, looking over the machines to make sure they were on and functioning properly. "I'll give you my research on the subject. Technically, I'm not supposed to do that, but more technically, anyone involved in my research has permission to access the full breadth of my work. We'll call this a study, shall we?"

He looked over his shoulder to give Ruby a wink, and she nodded. "Thank you! It really means a lot to me!"

He turned back to the machine, saying, "It's the least I could do. Now, I believe everything is prepared. Ready to start?"

Ruby swallowed again, shakily nodding her head. "Y-yeah!"

She removed her cape, hanging it on the corner of one of the many servers before climbing onto the bed, laying down flat and trying to keep herself calm. She was in good hands, she was sure, but that didn't make her any less nervous.

"Now, I'm going to put the mask over your face, alright? Simply breathe normally, and count back from ten."

A plastic mask came down over her forehead, followed by a high-pitched hiss as gas flowed through. She took a long, deep breath, and started to count.

"Ten… Nine… Eight..."

Before she could get another word out, everything went black.

Author's Notes:

More to come. If you likes what you saw, leave a review!