The first strike was quick. Almost a blur, but your eyes were sharp from your time as Red Ember. The blow was heavy to your arm, but the blood inside of your veins thickened and heated up. Your skin may of been split open, but no blood came out. It just healed itself. You stood up from your squatting position, but immediately stumbled back. Vertigo.

"Shit!" You cursed, falling to your butt. Your face blanched. Sylvia took this advantage and jumped on top of you, jamming an arrow through your hand. Compared to what you were feeling internally, the pain of your palm being impaled was close to nothing.

"You're unlocking new abilities, Y/n," she said, her face mere inches from yours. "But you don't know how to control them. That's bad, you know." Your lip was raised in a snarl, though you didn't know it. The red ring appeared again. Red blood shot out of your chest like a spike. Sylvia reacted before that, and jumped away in time. You reached over and ripped the arrow from your hand before you sat up. Deep, slow breaths left your mouth, your face slowly returning to its normal complexion. The blood splattered to the ground in front of you.

'It's been a while since I've used this... great, I am rusty. Annoying shit.' You thought, a scowl on your face representing what you were feeling. The smug smirk that was present on her face only made your blood boil. Literally. Your skin began to turn light red, and steam. You almost looked like a titan.

"I feel as if you don't even know how you're doing that," she said, noticing you slowly moving to your knees.

"You're not that far off," you replied, taking a deep breath before sighing slowly. You stood up, your head feeling better. "What is it you want? Kenny isn't attacking right now. Why are you here?" You were stalling for time. You were not feeling 100%. Not yet.

"I told you, Kenny's only a partner. Not my boss. He doesn't control what I do, though I know he wants to," she replied, reaching behind her and pulling an arrow from the quiver.

"You... when did you upgrade your weapon?" You questioned, noticing the arrow was different in appearance.

"It didn't take long. Honestly, I expected it to take at least a week, but the Boss has good connections." She shrugged lightly, pulling the bowstring back. You waited. The slightest shift of her fingers, and you already reactivated your eye. You deflected the arrow with your sword, sending it flying to the side. A barrage of arrows headed your way, but you defended yourself against them, running towards Sylvia. When she knew the arrows wouldn't be enough, she struck first. It was dark, even for you. There was no moonlight, no torch light. You were fighting with instincts and senses.

"You're a heavy hitter!" She exclaimed, aiming her leg at your face. You blocked it with your arm before wrapping it around and throwing her over your shoulder. She landed on her back, a sharp gasp leaving her mouth. You jumped away from her after. She laid on the ground, her breathing raspy and labored. She made no move to get up.

'Is she having an asmtha attack or something? I didn't throw her that hard.' You thought. Crimson was coughed out of her mouth. Your brows furrowed in confusion.

'Is she choking on her own blood?' You thought.

"No, she's ill," a new voice interrupted your thoughts. Your head snapped to the side and a familiar redette was suddenly standing next to you.

"When did you get here?" You asked.

"I've been here the whole time. I was just waiting," she replied, "Sylvia Haun has a disease that slowly shuts down the internal organs. It's terminal. There's no cure. She will die at some point." As much as you tried to hide it, she didn't miss the way you attempted to calm your breathing. You looked tired. You felt tired.

"I see you used the Hell Eye," she commented.

"Obviously." Was your blunt reply. Ruby walked over to Sylvia who was still gasping for air. She stood over her. A black knife appeared from no where, and she crouched down. You watched from the sidelines. Ruby slowly brought the knife down to her chest, but instead of impaling it, the blade melted into her chest and was absorbed into it.

"Huh?" The sound came out of your mouth before you realized it. She stood up, grabbing Sylvia's collar. With a swift throw, Ruby launched the albino-haired woman over to the other side of the path.

"There. Now we have no interruptions," she said, walking closer to you.

"What did you do?" For the first time in your life, you took a step back.

"I killed her. It was painless, if you're wondering," she replied.

"I wasn't, but good to know," you said, eyeing her carefully. Ruby turned her head to the side.

"Amalasanda," she called. The woman walked out from the shadows and appeared onto the path, holding a lantern in one hand, and a suitcase in the other.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh!!" She exclaimed, almost jumping up and down. "I can't believe it! It's you!" She ran up to you and shoved the lantern in your face.

"I've heard so much about you! I can't believe you're standing in front of me..." She cooed. You pushed the light from your face.

"Why are you here?" You asked, pushing her away from you.

"This is the inventor that created the prototype guns," Ruby spoke up, standing next to the blonde.

"Wow." That one word was so sarcastic it almost hurt. Amalasanda placed both the lantern and case on the ground before popping it open. The first thing you noticed was the red and silver design.

"These bad babies..." Amalasanda grabbed them and stood up, turning around to face you. "... are the Eclipses! The Solar and the Lunar! Both are caliber 1, holds ten rounds, and are two pounds." She held them out to you. You looked at them for a few seconds before slowly reaching out. Your fingers slid across the smooth, cold metal. When she let go, you could feel the difference in weight. Your old guns were not this heavy.

"Explosive bullets. Nitroglycerin infused bullets that explode on impact. If you need more, Amalasanda will have them," Ruby explained. You studied the twin guns, noticing how clean cut they were. Not like the shotguns the Military Police had, or the shitty flare guns the Survey Corps had. "Now." Ruby took a step in front of the older blonde.

"Time for you to live up to your end of the deal."
You lowered your arms and stared at her.

"Alright. A deal's a deal," you agreed.

"Your father and mother, F/n and M/n L/n."
Just the mention of your parents names made your mood drop.

"What about them?" You questioned. You didn't know if Ruby sensed a change in your voice or not.

"I am knowledgeable that you killed them, but where are their bodies currently?" That question took you aback.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I have a feeling your parents had connections with the man who's sending all these people after you," she explained. You let a quiet sigh slip past your lips.

"The last time I saw them, they were in the old building where the cult used to be. In the underground. I don't know if they're still there," you replied. Ruby nodded.

"Alright. I'll take you for your word," she raised her hand in the air and flicked her fingers. The sudden, violent flapping of wings drew your attention to the crow who zoomed out of a nearby tree. Your eyes were drawn back to Ruby as she reached into her cloak.

"Here," she said, pulling out an old, ragged book. "Consider it a token of my appreciation for keeping Hanji in control."

"What is it?" You asked, carefully taking it from her. Ruby took a step back.

"Read and you'll find out." That was all she said before the two of them turned and began walking back down the path. You stared at their backs for a while before averting your gaze to the book. You opened the front cover, and dead smack on the first page, there it was.

SYMBOLUM DEKLODO

You snapped the book shut, your gaze shooting up to stare in front of you. Oh hell no. Oh. Hell no. Ruby did not just give you a book about the cult that tortured you for five years. Yet, looking down at your hands again, she did. You didn't have time to read it. You had to regroup with the others. Now, or it'd be too late.

'Ain't that just a son of a bitch.'

Ja ne!

{Ruby Red}