A warm and gentle rhythm, a steady beating that sustained the small and fragile life, two tender fingers pressed gently into the soft wrist, feeling the rushing blood in his veins and counting the young boy's pulse. Soft silver eyes looked down at him, the red tent set aglow with midday light, his chest rose and fell under his loose, worn out white shirt. Ruby guessed that he had to be pretty young. Probably no older than fourteen, likely younger.

Fifty-one beats per minute. It's a little low… I think. His breathing is a little slow too. He's been out since I followed the mayor's truck, a good twelve hours now. With a soft release of breath she gently put his hand back down on the blanket folded beneath him courtesy of her boyfriend. Her gaze was sad and somber as she reached up, running her fingers through his short, curly dirty-blonde hair. He looked like he was just sleeping but a small mark from a needle puncturing his arm recently told her otherwise.

Is he going to make it? A voice with worry equal to her own but subdued echoed through Ruby's mind.

"I don't know." It was painful to admit, Ruby hated just how powerless she felt. She could still clearly remember her body taking the Mayor's life to save the child, even if it wasn't her at the time, she felt everything, even the way his heart sprayed blood from his severed hand. "I'll keep checking his vitals the best I can every hour to see if he's improving."

I'll leave that up to you. Still, I hope he wakes up soon, not only for his sake but ours. We can't carry him around all the way to Mistral. She was blunt, but she had to be. Ruby wasn't the most pragmatic person and she felt it was up to her to be the voice of hard reason.

"I don't think I want to know what the alternative would be." A long sigh escaped her lungs while she continued to gently pat his head. His hair was soft but oily and his face looked so peaceful, far removed from the painful reality he would wake up to.

I'll let you know if it comes to it, don't worry, we still have time. If we happen upon another village we can leave him there, though, this far away from the Kingdoms…

"Yeah, it's not looking good. I'll leave that up to you, but for now we don't have to go anywhere. We've had a long night and a rough morning, we'll stay here, rest for the night and get an early start tomorrow." She was the leader now, she didn't have Roman or Cinder to fall back on, her team's life was in her hands… So I need to start acting like it and listen to my team, especially her, since the other's probably won't. It's funny, the me from just a little more than a year ago probably wouldn't even recognize me now. I bet she'd be disappointed that she isn't growing up to be a hero like she always wanted. I bet Mom would be disappointed too…

Are you okay? Clear thoughts couldn't pass from Ruby to her counterpart but feels permeated the psychological barrier between them effortlessly both ways and she could clearly feel Ruby's depression like a frigid wave.

"It's nothing… I'm fine." Lies between them were fruitless, Ruby knew that but this wasn't just a lie, it was a lie to herself. I've done too much, I don't have the luxury of regret. Mom, Dad, Uncle Qrow, all the people that brought out the best in me from before, they can't have a place in the life I'm moving forward towards. I can't have it both ways, the happy family I loved and grew up with as that sweet and innocent little girl or the family I gained after I lost my memory, the ones who can embrace what I've become. I made my choice the day I left home with my team… just like before, I'm choosing to move forward.

"Hey… can I come in?" A hesitant and nervous voice spoke up from behind her, snapping Ruby from her thoughts as she turned around, the sunlight that streamed in from the opening of the tent sparkling in her ruby earrings dangling on shining gold chains from her ears.

"Hi Yang." Her sister's unexpected arrival did nothing to alleviate the sorrowful, downcast look on her face or the notes of depression in her voice. "It's Mercury's tent so…"

"So are you… you?" At that, Yang invited herself in, her eyes shifting awkwardly between her sister and the young boy as she kneeled down beside him across from Ruby.

"Yeah, I'm Ruby right now." Finally, a tiny but sincere smile graced her lips. It wasn't often she got to see her big sister so awkward, she couldn't help but find it endearing.

"Oh, okay." They had barely slept and Yang wasn't sure she had the capability to process everything that was happening. She, Mercury and Neo all agreed that they would support their leader, knowing what she had been through… But I still can't help but be worried.

"Is she, you know, listening right now? Or something?" She wanted to be tactful as much as she wanted answers, she wasn't sure she could do both.

"Mhm, she's always listening, as long as we're awake. She's also watching, I'm the same when she's in control too. It's weird but kinda cool." Now Ruby felt awkward, unable to meet her sister's eyes as she shifted in place, looking back down at the boy between them as she struggled to find a way to fill the uncomfortable silence that was beginning to span between them.

"So is she like your evil twin or whatever? She does things like she did back in that village so you don't have to feel bad?" Worry was practically dripping from Yang's voice and Ruby knew she didn't mean anything bad by it but she could instantly feel a wave of hurt and discomfort coming from her counterpart inside their mind.

"No!" Ruby blurted out, her head snapping up and her eyes staring directly into Yang's with passionate intensity. "That's not it… she's not bad, or at least, she's not worse than me. She cares about me and she knows that I have a hard time killing so she does it for me sometimes, but I promised not to leave all of the bad up to her. She's her own person, it's like she said, my soul fractured in two and now there's me… and then there's her. Two different people, I can't really explain it any better than that."

Ruby, she doesn't even believe I'm real… I don't think you should keep trying to convince them. I knew this would be how it would go. In what Ruby could only describe as a psychic sigh of dejection she heard her counterpart's resignation and hopelessness through the entirety of their being. She wished so hard in that moment that she could hug her, but all she could do was send waves of comforting feelings to her counterpart, letting her know that she wasn't alone.

"She's sad... she thinks you don't believe she exists, like I'm making her up." Her expressions were subtle and restrained but her eyes hardened as they fixed on her sister's. "Do the others feel that way too?"

"We're just trying to understand what this is. We're worried for you and confused and-"

"And you think I'm not!?" Yang flinched back at the sudden outburst, her eyes growing wide as she looked into Ruby's now shimmering silvers. The small leader's teeth were bared and gritted and her fists were balled up tight, a vast reservoir of emotions that she had held back from her team, her counterpart and herself was destroyed in an instant and both she and Ruby could feel everything with unbearable intensity.

"I'm scared! I'm scared! There's another person in my head! How am I supposed to- what does this mean!? I'm confused and I'm afraid and I don't know what I'm doing!" Yang watched in nothing short of shock as Ruby sat trembling across from her. She had never seen such desperation and fear and anger explode from Ruby before… and she couldn't blame her.

"I- I don't know how to deal with this any more than you or Neo or Mercury or her! I'm just- I'm just trying to keep our team together! I can't be scared, I'm the leader now, I have to protect you! All of you!" Those last three words weren't merely spoken, they were shouted, both outwardly and internally, screaming it loud into the totality of her mind, hoping the feelings and sincerity they carried would reach her counterpart.

"Hey," Her eyes and voice were as soft and gentle as her touch, her hands wrapping tight around her sister's, her arms reached out over the sleeping boy. In her chest Yang felt the gnawing of guilt and self directed anger while her thumbs tenderly stroked the sides of Ruby's palms.

"Just because you're the leader doesn't mean you have to put everything on yourself. We're supposed to support each other and no matter what… you're still my little sister. I decided that the day we left home, I'll protect you no matter what." A girl that look so confused and afraid looked up to Yang, she seemed nothing like the cold Ruby from the train or the Ruby she was traveling with or even her counterpart… It's her, she's not lost, she's just changing. I still have my little sister, she's growing up right in front of me but I still need to be there for her.

"I came with you, knowing what you've done and what you could still do because I realized that, as messed up as it was, I cared about you more than the people you hurt. So even if it means getting blood on my hands, you can count on me." Her grip tightened and her eyes became so hard and serious, conveying the gravity of the words waiting on her lips as she stared straight into Ruby's big silvers shimmering in awe and gratitude for her sister's love. "Both of you. Both of you can count on me."

"Yang…" She could barely see now, her vision was completely clouded by tears of overwhelming relief and happiness as she held her hands as tight as she could. All she wanted to do was throw her arms around her sister but the unconscious child between them meant that all she could do was smile and sniffle, wiping away her tears with her wrist, never letting go of Yang's hand or the sense of comfort they gave.

"Hey, could I talk to her?" Yang's request drew an instant look of surprise and happiness to Ruby's face, slightly disbelieving but also hopeful as she stared bleary eyed at her sister.

"You want to talk to her? Really?" Cautiously optimistic, Ruby watched her sister grin, a reassuring look that told her that she was genuine, but something in Ruby's heart, or perhaps her counterpart's, was still afraid.

"If she doesn't want to I guess I understand, our reaction wasn't great but whatever this is, we need to support you and make sure you're okay. How can we do that without her? I mean, she wants to take care of you too right? Besides, I want to get to know our new teammate!" Yang, as usually was shining like the sun. She had a warmth that just made people around her feel safe and both Ruby and her counterpart could feel that so deeply and intensely that their guard was melted away like it was nothing.

"Okay," Ruby wore the most thankful and ecstatic smile Yang had seen on her in a long time and that at once made her happy… but also sad, knowing the time and distance apart the two have had over the last year.

"She wants to meet you too." Yang felt Ruby's hands gently slip out from hers as her sister's demeanor changed, everything about her at a fundamental level shifted. Within their shared body Ruby felt her grip on physicality waning, going from a corporeal existence to one of thought while her body was given to another of her own will while she descended into their shared mind.

"Is that… you?" Yang suddenly felt the slightest pang of regret as her discomfort rose, Ruby's eyes had become harder and colder, wary of the woman sitting across from her to the point of her posture becoming more defensive, her body turning slightly to its side facing Yang.

"Yeah, it's me. Not Ruby." She didn't look comfortable in the slightest, somewhere between nervous, scared and preemptively hostile.

"So you're the one that killed the mayor and saved this kid right?" It was the strangest feeling, it wasn't something she picked up on much the first time Ruby brought her counterpart out because of how emotionally charged everything was but… Now, it really doesn't feel like I'm talking to the same person at all.

"I killed the mayor, Ruby took the kid and ran. I can't use her Semblance so…" Slowly but surely she was letting her guard down, not least because she could feel Ruby willing her to make friends with her sister despite her reservations.

"Why did you kill him instead of knocking him out or anything else?" She didn't plan on making this an inquisition, she didn't want to put Ruby's counterpart on the defensive. I have to know if she's dangerous. Then again… how dangerous is Ruby?

"He made us both angry and the Grimm were surrounding us. He said that giving them a sacrifice would help protect their settlement, we figured he deserved to play that part more than the kid who just lost his family." Finally, her eyes as hard and cold as ice softened for a moment as they looked down at the boy between them. "I probably didn't have to, but this had been a practice for a long time, throwing away grieving survivors to the Grimm. Ruby and I both agreed that we should kill him, I had our body at the time, so I did it."

"So, Ruby wanted to kill him too…" That was something she just couldn't wrap her mind around. No matter what happened after Ruby lost her memories Yang couldn't see her sister killing someone, even when she was nearly killed by Ruby herself.

"Don't think bad of her, no matter what she felt, I could tell the top priority to her was saving the kid." She looked earnestly up at Yang, trying to convey the certainty she felt to Ruby's sister. I wish it was as easy to share feelings with others as it is with us.

I know, kinda sucks being separated from people like that when you're trying to tell them something that's hard to express, I was never great and dealing with people either.

"So… what did it feel like?" Yang shrunk back and immediately averted her gaze, looking down at her silvery metal hand, moving the fingers slowly into a fist. "I said a minute ago that I would follow Ruby and protect you both even if it meant getting blood on my hands… but I don't really know what that means."

"Mercury and Neo have killed people before, they don't have a problem with it, they might even enjoy it. Ruby killed people when she had her memory gone and now it seems like she doesn't have much of a problem with killing either from what you've said. Then… there's me." Her head shook lightly, dispelling the growing, burning hate that was welling up in her chest as she thought about the man that took her arm and what she would do if she found him. "I've never killed anyone, I've killed a lot of Grimm but people… people have lives and a past and family and friends, people who feel pain and love and fear, once you take that life, something precious and unique is gone. I understand that much and if it came down to it, I might do it but I need to know, since we're going down this path, whatever Ruby chooses… what's it feel like?"

"Can I tell you a story?" She spoke up with a voice that was gentle and compassionate even while her expression remained nearly impossible to read but her eyes looking patiently to Yang.

"I… guess?" Now Yang was wary, what kind of story could answer her question. Was she evading it? Was the answer so terrible that she didn't want to say it directly? She said that both her and Ruby wanted to kill him… is it possible they both enjoyed it? Is that why she doesn't want to tell me? To keep me from thinking of Ruby as a monster?

"Back before Ruby got her memories back and we were working for Torchwick, not long after we fought Blake, Sun, Penny and Thistle at the docks, Mercury and Emerald brought us… well, I guess her, but I was sort of there too. Anyway, Ruby, Mercury and Emerald went to a book shop in Vale to take care of a problem. His name was Tukson."

My first kill… Ruby's thoughts echoed with solemn understanding between them. I wish someone had a talk like this with me before I did what I did. I still remember how cold and numb it felt afterwards.

"Tukson was a Faunus, a member of the White Fang. He tried to defect, to run away. We couldn't allow that, he would have been a liability to Roman. So Emerald and Mercury decided to take it into their hands and Ruby tagged along. She was afraid, she knew what was coming but she was determined to help Roman, somehow, she thought by at least being there and watching, maybe she could become okay with the things she would have to do for him." As the story went on, Yang couldn't be sure what unnerved her more, the place she knew this story would end, or the fact that the teller of the story was smiling as she recounted it.

"Emerald questioned him, she had fun with it, playing with him, knowing what she was going to do. Ruby admired her confidence back then, even a little envious. When it became apparent to him that he was going to die he decided to fight. It looked like he would attack Emerald or Mercury first but instead, he looked right at Ruby. He jumped and she reacted. He died painfully, he didn't have aura protecting him, Inferno Crescent did a lot of damage and it was messy…" Her smile faded… mostly. Her eyes watched carefully for Yang's reactions, she could see horror, empathy and sorrow but surprisingly, no disgust or disdain for her or Ruby.

"Ruby was destroyed by that, it broke something inside of her that can never been repaired. It changed her, killing him was the point where everything clicked about the life she was choosing. Sometimes we still get flashes back to that day, they're really vivid but over time, what it made her feel has changed too." She could feel a tugging within her soul as Ruby recoiled from that last revelation. She knew it was something Ruby didn't want to acknowledge herself let alone have it revealed to her sister… But she needs to be ready for it if they days comes.

"So what you're saying is, it gets easier?" That look, those eyes full of hope and fear and sadness and pleading that looked up to her made her want to reach out and hold Yang, striking a powerful pang of empathy and caring in her heart.

"It did for us, still, it took a long time to okay with it." She wanted to reach out and at least take Yang's hand, to hold it and try to offer some physical comfort while she had a body to do so, her own hand even raised up slightly… before falling back down as she looked nervously away, her fear getting the better of her. "But it did get better. Everyone is different but you're strong, it might haunt you for a while but you'll find a way to be okay with it. I think for Neo and Mercury, killing more helps them be okay with it, that's why they like it, especially Neo. I'm not saying you'll be like them but no matter what, we'll support you too and get you through it if it ever comes to that."

"I've been stressed out about it and now, seeing you or Ruby bursting into our room in the middle of the night covered in blood… I guess it made me realize what side we're really on and what my team… my friends, are capable of. If I don't want to hold you all back, if I want to protect you, I have to be able to do it, because I know some day it's going to come to that." Yang reached up to her face, her cool metal fingers brushing aside stray strands of her long, blonde hair before she rubbed her artificial palm over her face, wiping away sweat and easing her stress and worry with her own touch.

"Ruby is going to do everything she can to make sure that doesn't happen to you but when it does, and it almost definitely will… at least you're in good company." She smirked, forcing her hand to move despite her fear, reaching out, again hesitating for a moment… before taking Yang's metal hand in her own, feeling the connection to another person like a breath of fresh air relieving all the built up tension she felt.

"Yeah, at least there's that." Yang gave a soft, thankful but true laugh, gently tightening her grip around the hand that held hers. "Thanks for talking with me, I'm glad you did, I think I understand you a little better now even though I kinda let it be all about me. Sorry about that heh-heh…"

"Don't be, I'm glad I could help." A bright and very pleased smile shined from her face while her fingers took in the texture of the smooth metal that made up Yang's prosthetic limb. It felt like Soul Eclipsor but warmer and… softer some how, like it channeled some of who Yang was through it.

"Can I ask you one more question?" Yang seemed a lot more like her old self, bright and confident, it was like a weight was lifted off of her from her talk with Ruby's counterpart and all three of them could tell that they all gained something from their time together in that tent.

"Sure, I guess." She tilted her head curiously at Yang, begrudgingly bringing herself to let go of the brawler's hand.

"Do you have a name?" Yang couldn't help grin at the perplexed and surprised look on her sister's face.

"A name?" It made sense, between her and Ruby there wasn't much of a need for names since they shared a mind and body but she could understand how it could be confusing for people on the outside.

"Yeah, you know, what do we call you?" Yang looked eagerly but patiently at the young woman sitting across from her, getting a small kick out of how flustered she began to look.

"Um… uuuh…. I don't-"

Red.

"What..." Suddenly her eyebrows raised and her eyes grew wide with such a wide breadth of powerful emotions that Yang couldn't begin to decipher them.

Red, your name can be Red. Ruby's voice spoke to her from within their mind, happily and simply giving the name to her counterpart. Though her voice sounded so normal to her, she could feel what she could only describe as waves of acceptance and affirmation coming from Ruby, reaching out to her like a hand to pull her up.

"What's wrong? Does Ruby have an idea?" Yang could only guess but the sudden shift that seemed to come out of nowhere in her new teammate's demeanor seemed like something her sister would be responsible for, she could almost imagine her voice chiming out a great idea with such simplistic certainty that it would illicit such a reaction.

"R- Red… my name's Red." Red shrunk back, looking shyly away from Yang while her cheeks tinted a soft shade of pink.

"Isn't that…"

What Roman called us. I think it fits. Ruby couldn't have sounded more pleased with herself.

"Welcome to the team then, Red." Yang reached out her hand, her real hand, the one of soft, warm skin, watching while Red looked nervously at it… before slowly extending her own hand, instantly feeling a difference in the warmth she felt, even down to the subtle pulse running pushing the blood through her veins.

"Thank you…" The happiest smile she had ever wore pulled at her lips, she couldn't even meet Yang's eyes as she shook her hand but her heart felt like it could explode with bliss.

Roman Torchwick… in the end, you got what you wanted huh? Like you said when they were taking you to prison, I was your backup plan. You didn't trust Cinder and you knew that I would keep Ruby safe. Now, I am. She couldn't help but give a halfhearted laugh at the way their story had unraveled since then, and the fact that someone she hated with the greatest intensity she had ever felt for anyone had now become someone she wanted to thank, for taking care of her little sister.

"What's wrong?" Red gave her teammate a worried look but Yang merely shook her head.

"Nothing, but can I talk to my sister? There's something I sorta promised I would tell Ruby a long time ago that I don't think I have yet." It was long overdue, the hatred that had kept her from it was gone and now, she wanted to give Ruby some sense of closure, knowing now just how painful a loss she suffered when Roman died.

"Sure." Red gave a firm nod before relaxing her body and then, once more, her eyes softened and her entire being seemed to change in some fundamental way. She didn't need to be told, it was her sister.

"Do you remember when you and Torchwick brought the Grimm into Vale with that train?" There's wasn't a hint of accusation or misgiving in Yang's voice or smile but still, Ruby looked defensive.

"Yeah, I remember. I attacked you on the train, then fought Weiss and Thistle and then-"

"Torchwick was captured." Yang deliberately skipped over the parts she felt were inconsequential now, getting a visible look of confusion from her sister. "I confronted him just as they were taking him onto the airship to be brought to prison. He wanted me to give you a message, I don't really understand it but I think you might."

"W-what was it?" The leader's voice wavered as her throat tightened and her heart ached. She reached up to her head without even thinking, her fingers grasping at the brim of the hat that Roman had given to her just before…

"He said; 'Tell her she was right. I didn't want to lose her.'" Those words hit Ruby immediately and powerfully like the hardest impact imaginable, shattering her heart.

All the grief she never truly processed, all the pain and sorrow and longing to have someone back who was gone, all of it came back like a tsunami. Her fingers squeezed tight on her hat while her lip quivered over clenched jaws. She remembered it so clearly, just before she left Roman and Neo to fight Team WYBT, she remembered their conversation. Crystal clear droplets rolled down her cheeks while her body quietly convulsed with weak and pain filled sobs.

I know… I know you didn't Roman. I always knew you cared, no matter how bad you were at- at showing it. No matter what anyone else thought… no matter what you asked me to do. I- damn it! Why couldn't I save you?! Why!? All those people I killed and I could save even one! The one person who saved me… and I couldn't do anything but watch you die.

"Ruby… I'm sorry. I'm sorry you lost him." Yang's head and gaze fell solemnly, giving her sister room to grieve while she analyzed the why those words felt leaving her lips. I really mean it too. I hated Mercury for what he did during the tournament, I hated Neo for keeping Ruby from me and I hated Torchwick for taking her from me in the first place. Now? Mercury is a good friend who pulled me out of the worst place I had ever been in, he's my sister's boyfriend and he's a smart ass but I care about him. As for Neo… well, she and I… I don't even know, but she's a good partner and I care about her too. Just now, I've finally forgiven Torchwick for everything. I don't hate my sister for what she's become. I guess it really is this easy to go down this path, how can I hold it against Ruby when I'm doing the same thing for the same reasons?

"Hmm…" A tired and weak groan filled the tent snapping Ruby and Yang from their turbulent storms of emotions, Ruby hastily wiping away her tears, forcing back the grief in her heart for another time as she turned her still blurry gaze down to the source of the sound.

"Hey, hey! Are you with us?" Ruby spoke loudly and clearly, grabbing his wrist in one hand while softly patting his cheek with the other, taking his pulse while trying to bring him more into alertness.

"W-where…" Before he could get another word out he fell into a coughing fit, his throat painfully arid.

"Yang, get some water for him." Ruby looked up, still counting his pulse, trying to do whatever she could to take her mind off of her aching heart and onto helping the child.

"Got it!" At her leader's command Yang rushed out of the tent to fetch a canteen of water, leaving Ruby and the boy alone.

"Hey, it's okay, you're safe here." She smiled as his golden brown eyes fluttered open, her middle and index finger pressing gently into his wrist to catch his heartbeat. Still seems low, I wonder what they gave him?

"W-where… is… my… sister?"