This is a Beta Test?! - A Literally Broken System

RUBY

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Eating into her orange, Ruby knew very well that her ward had just stolen from someone with a bit more standing than she had hoped for him to target. Fresh fruit was a luxury, even for some of the higher echelons living in Vulcan, and she could only hope that nobody managed to tail Garnet back down to this small pigsty of a home she scrounged up in a day or so.

It hadn\'t always been like this. She knew more than enough to live well beyond their current means. Hell, she probably even had enough connections to never go hungry if she ever so desired to go down that route. Only... she didn\'t. Or rather, she couldn\'t. No... There was too much risk involved in showing herself...

"Sis?"

Holding onto her scowl, Ruby looked up to her liar of an adoptive little brother. Not that she blamed him for resorting to such methods, but the gall on this kid to brazenly lie straight to her face was rather annoying at times.

"Yeah?" she asked as she turned to face him.

"Is... Is it any good?"

Ruby blinked at the stupid question she just heard. "Of course, it\'s good. You bought it, so it tastes even better."

Better was an understatement. It almost felt like years since she had gotten to eat real food. Rotten fruits and vegetables had a certain kick to them, but nothing would ever beat fruit so fresh it still had juice in them with every bite. It was such a luxury that she was pretty sure they could\'ve just sold it at a higher price in the black market and bought more loaves of bread with the proceeds.

"W-Well, better eat more of it before I decide to take a bite," Garnet stuttered out a playful threat. "I might just eat \'em all!"

Shaking her head, Ruby dropped her scowl for once, flashing the kid a small smile as she answered, "Go ahead then. Nothing\'s stopping you."

Predictably, Garnet hesitated, his longing gaze towards the stolen bag telling her that he really wanted to eat more than the already half-eaten loaf of bread in his hands. Well, it was only natural. He was a growing kid after all.

"Don\'t be shy. You bought it, right?" she pointed out, her scowl returning as she sucked on the orange in her hands. "Eat as much as you want."

As per usual, Garnet scowled at her words. And with good reason too. She knew for a fact that she wasn\'t eating correctly for a woman of her size. Add to the fact that she was crippled due to that blasted disease, she could tell that her time was going to come sooner rather than later. Knowing that, she had no need for that much food anymore, especially if it would be better off being fed to Garnet so that he could grow stronger.

"What\'s wrong?" she asked further, having noticed her brother\'s constant hesitation. "Go on. Take one. You need it more than-"

"Stop saying that!"

Ruby blinked at the sudden outburst. She had never heard Garnet raise his voice at her like that... Almost in response, her scowl deepened further. Her heart knew that he was simply trying his best, but she knew better. There was no saving her from this nightmare.

"Oh?" she challenged, raising an eyebrow at her young ward with a questioning look. "You think you can talk to me like that now, huh?"

"Y-Yes! I\'m tired of seeing you suffer for my sake!"

A pang of guilt wormed its way into Ruby\'s heart. Still, years of obsolete courtly manners and useless lessons on noble politicking made it easier for her to hide her worry and fears under the cold mask of disdain and indifference. She wouldn\'t ever show that side of her to anyone, not even to him.

"It\'s not fair that I always get to eat! It\'s not fair that I always get the good stuff while you force yourself to eat the rotten garbage!"

Garnet unloaded all of his misgivings, Ruby simply sitting back as she let him air out his suffering. She knew she was responsible for most of them. Hell, she even encouraged it to happen by letting her illness progress too far without any proper help. Her legs were practically useless now, the bones in them having turned into brittle glass that she could barely move.

​ "Why?! Why even bother raising me if you\'re going to make me suffer seeing you like this?!"

Ruby sighed, letting her mask slip for a short second before putting it back on. It would seem that Garnet needed another reminder as to why she was letting herself go like this.

"Look at me, Garnet."

The boy averted his gaze, his tears starting to become clear despite the little light they were getting from the nearest coal lamp.

"Don\'t make me turn your head to look at me, boy," she growled. "Even while I\'m like this, you know I can do it."

Begrudgingly, Garnet turned, his eyes showing a look that knew what she was about to do. Wordlessly, she pulled down on her tattered dress, her chest starting to shine as the little light that was available hit the parts of her skin that had already turned to glass. Taking a deeper breath, she exposed her bare chest, her heart beating for all to see through the clear glass that covered the insides of her chest.

"I\'m already wasting away," she sternly reprimanded. "I\'m practically half glass. And once the crystallization reaches my heart, then I\'m practically dead."

Crystallization Syndrome was something that she once heard from her back when her life hadn\'t been a nightmare of trying to survive from day to day. It was said that only a single bloodline could be affected by such illness, and for her to have it meant that she was a part of that accursed family.

The moment the symptoms first appeared, she knew that her days trying to live among the Republican elites were numbered. Her parents were quick to shun her, even though they themselves were obviously also a part of that accursed family. No... They said that the blood within her was too strong... that she had some kind of claim to a throne that no longer existed.

"I\'m not going to waste food on myself when you can put it to better use," she chided him, her eyes burning as she spoke. "I didn\'t raise you just so you can-"

"Can what?! Watch you die right before my eyes without even knowing what to do?!" Garnet cut her off, his own anger fueling his tirade. "I don\'t even know what\'s wrong with you, Sis! I\'ve tried speaking with a few of the healers around in the slums, and even they don\'t know what\'s happening to you!"

Ruby\'s eyes widened, "You spoke of me?"

"I\'m sorry... I know you told me not to seek help, but I just can\'t help it!" Garnet remorsefully yelled out, his tears flowing freely down his cheeks. "I thought that maybe... Maybe they can help you!"

The guilt in her chest flared up even more as she stared at her foolish brother. She had never expected to take him in the first place, but a part of her simply couldn\'t leave the boy on the streets without any sort of direction. If she didn\'t have long for this world, then she could at least leave some kind of memory of her to someone... Or... maybe that one foolish part of her still wanted him to enact her revenge on her behalf.

"Garnet, you didn\'t have to do that," Ruby sighed, her tone significantly lessening in its intensity. "Nobody knows how to fix this. Nobody in the entirety of Vestyge can."

Yet another lie she had to spin... She was sure that the knowledge to properly treat Crystallization was buried somewhere deep within the Vestygian capital\'s vaults. Not that she\'d ever be able to reach it...

"Then I\'ll take you out to the Deep!" Garnet declared. "I\'ve heard that Marquee has those magical-"

"Enough!" she couldn\'t help but raise her voice, stopping Garnet from speaking any further. Her voice almost trembled, a hint of her own fear escaping her lips as she spoke. "You\'re not going to take me out of this place. Not when it\'s still too dangerous."

"I\'ll take us to the docks," Garnet stubbornly replied. "From there, we\'ll stow away. Maybe even-"

"For the last time, I said no!"

Ruby was panting as she glared at her stubborn little brother. The look on his face showed that he wasn\'t going to drop the subject any time soon, however, and she knew that- Wait... "What\'re you doing?"

No answers were given to her as she watched Garnet grab the bag of food and sling it over his shoulder. He then stood behind her wheelchair, her wheels squeaking as she was pushed out of the shack.

"Garnet?!"

"I\'m not taking no for an answer, Sis," he answered with conviction. "Not anymore..."

This... This wasn\'t happening...

With fear beginning to override her senses, Ruby\'s facade cracked as she darted her eyes towards every nook and cranny they passed. They shouldn\'t risk it, but what was she supposed to do?

She was utterly powerless....

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Sticking to one chapter per day for now. At least until work eases up. I\'m not exactly earning much from writing...