RWBY Through Worlds

168: The Powerless

"For the last time, that's not it," Mercury said.

Ruby gave him the saltiest look of disbelief you could imagine, especially from such a large-eyed, innocent-looking girl.

It was actually pretty funny, but Mercury didn't want to show it.

"Then what?" Ruby said. "I think I would know."

"You're an expert on it, huh?"

"Well...no," Ruby said. "But I've been working on it for weeks now, trying to think of people I care about, and the good memories usually make it easier, but sometimes it doesn't seem to matter. The first time, I wasn't...I was just thinking of how horrible it was that someone died. So maybe it's not that by-the-book, but...well, I think it's like Miss Likstar says--not all negative emotions are actually bad. So maybe the fear of losing someone isn't always a negative emotion. Maybe that's why it activates the Eyes too."

"I don't like how these things have to work by some wishy washy thing like that," Mercury said. "Seems like they force you to be something you don't want to be."

"You never thought about it?" Ruby said. "Maybe not being a jerk all the time?"

"Not really. I'm comfortable the way I am," Mercury said. "And anyway this dumb power won't change anything."

"I don't understand you," Ruby said. 

"Did you always want to have them?" Mercury said. "You didn't seem that focused on it before."

Ruby hesitated. "For a while I didn't know what to think about it," she said. "Maria finally brought it up again, with the Apathy. That's when I realized that it was probably just the Silver Eyes that saved us there. I got more interested after that. Isn't that what happened to you?"

Pause.

"They seem like a hassle," Mercury said.

"Are you just worried that you won't be any good at it?" Ruby said, frowning 🙁. "Is that it?"

Well...she wasn't entirely wrong.

"I don't want to be good at it," Mercury said. "Like I want to start caring if people die. That's stupid. People are going to die anyway."

"You--" Ruby began, then stopped. Then she sighed. "Well...if that's true, why didn't you kill Emerald?"

"Huh?"

"We all know what really happened." Ruby sounded pretty flat for her. "Even if she didn't tell us. It was the only thing that made sense. You were on assignment to kill her, right? Since she switched sides. And Hazel too."

"Actually, no, Salem wanted Hazel alive." Mercury made the mistake of basically admitting she was right. "I think she wanted to torture him for deserting first. Emerald wasn't that high on her list, since she mostly just worked for Cinder anyway."

Ruby tilted her head. "And you didn't go through with it. Then you saved her on the train, right?"

"Look, I can't explain what happened."

"What were you thinking?"

"Nothing!"

Silence.

"You're not the least bit curious?" Ruby said.  "Come on...I'll leave you be if you just answer me."

"Oh, really? Is that a promise?"

"I can try," Ruby said. "I just want to know."

"Why?"

"Because I can't understand how you did it!" Ruby lost her temper again. "It makes no sense. You have nothing in common with me or my mom! My mom was really kind and brave and noble, and I've always tried to be those things, and you've never cared about any of that! I don't know how you did it. But if there's something that I'm missing, I have to know. For me too, so I can get better! I have a lot of people I want to protect."