Hey there everyone!

Are you ready to laugh, cry, and just be generally happy/upset? I know I am, 'cause I wrote this story and have done this to myself.

So, I've been lurking for a while on the RWBY side of , and I've been loving every minute of it. So much so that I decided to contribute! Yay! Bring out the confetti!

...I forgot the confetti...

So, like everyone else here, I don't own RWBY or its characters. I don't really plan on bringing in OC's really, though I might to fill in empty spaces in the story (Papa and Mama Schnee, extra teachers, non-generic people to beat up, etc.). So I guess any OC's are mine? IDK don't push me on this, I'm new here.

Anyways, let story time begin!

She said hi - Narration

I should say hi - Thought

"Hi!" - Speech

Chapter 1: Rosebud

Everything hurt. Not just in the sore, 'just worked out' kind of hurt. No, Weiss felt as though she was literally on fire from head to toe. She groaned, trying to recall what could be causing this very thorough agony.

We were in Mountain Glenn on that mission from Beacon. We spent the whole bloody day exterminating Grimm, which was tiring and boring and stupid and…ugh just the worst. I was sore after that, but then we went to sleep, so that couldn't be it…

Oh wait, we had to go save Ruby. She had fallen into that cavern city underneath. There were some White Fang grunts and a train with bombs. Yang, Blake and I went to go stop the train while Ruby and the Professor beat the crap out of the grunts up top. I fought that big motherfucking fau-…evil man with the chainsaw sword. I was winning and then out of nowhere he grabbed me and threw me like a ragdoll. That hurt…a lot. But I still had my Aura so that didn't last long.

Then we got up on top to escape from him and Roman. Yang met us up there as well; she looked like she had seen better days but was otherwise okay. Ruby and the Professor joined just a second later. Before we could talk, Blake saw the end of the tunnel coming up far too fast for comfort. Thinking quickly, I created that ice cocoon that Winter showed me way back. I remember feeling the train hit the wall and then…

Yeah, it was definitely the train that did this.

It was always trains. White Fang stole Dust and tech from SDC trains. Atlas requires trains to get across the city, and they always used to shake and make those ungodly screeches. Father would spend all evening making model trains, ignoring her and Winter and their mother. And now she had been nearly done in by one. When Weiss inherited the SDC, she decided she would make it her life goal to eradicate all trains forever.

Dust-damned trains...

Now Weiss had a dilemma. She'd had her eyes closed this whole time, not daring to look and see what that stupid train (trains!) had caused. She could feel some of the pain subsiding (barely) and her hearing was starting to slowly return. She heard some car alarms, something crumbling nearby her, some strange growls, etc. It was a cacophony of noises really, and the heiress strained to make out what was happening. She heard gunshots at random intervals and some roars that sounded suspiciously like Grimm. Suddenly she heard a yell of rage that sounded suspiciously like-

"RUBY!"

Weiss' eyes shot opened as she jolted to a sitting position. She immediately regretted that choice, given the immense surge of agony that ripped through her. She felt a light trickle of blood coming down from her forehead, just over her left eye. The wound had most likely caused her unconsciousness in the first place, though from the feeling it was healing slowly thanks to her Aura, weakened as it was. Silently cursing, the heiress took a quick stock of her surroundings. There was a giant hole in the ground across the courtyard in front of her. The hole was surrounded by train cabs and various creatures of Grimm were stumbling out. So that must be the breach the White Fang were aiming for. Bloody terrorists really did a number here…

Weiss noticed the Grimm seemed to be congregating in the center of the courtyard, though there appeared to be some kind of opening in the very middle. She couldn't really make out what was going on in there, but briefly she spotted a flash of red and silver, followed by half a Beowolf flying into the air. Quickly looking around again, she noticed the streets leading into the courtyard had been blocked off. The automated city defenses had raised four-story steel walls from the roads, completely caging the beasts into this square.

Well, almost completely, as Weiss turned around to see the street entrance directly behind her. It appeared the engine cab of the train (Trains!) had flown across the courtyard and landed on said street. That kind of explained how she had flown so far, but that was far from the worst of it. The stupid train (TRAINS!) had somehow managed to land perfectly on the wall-raising system, jamming it and preventing the seal from being completed. If the Grimm stopped doing whatever the hell they were doing in the central area, they would have free reign to get into Vale proper. The chaos of such a situation was terrifying. Luckily, she saw a Bullhead marked with the Atlesian army logo flying towards her at high speed. Perfect, all they have to do is drop those combat drones in here and those Grimm will be short work. Then I can go home and work on that anti-train plan….

The sound of an immense cannon, the streaking of a bright blue light, and the explosion of her salvation quickly brought the heiress' dreams to an abrupt and horrifying halt.

The wreckage plummeted down, rebounding off of a 4 story shop and crashing to the street with an ear-piercing screech. Weiss gaped dumbly at the carnage in front of her before whirling around to find the source of the light. Looking at the top of a multi-story apartment building to her left, she saw what appeared to be a huge Dust cannon emplacement with an SDC logo on its side, each with a gunner and a guard dressed in conspicuous black and white. In fact, Weiss saw a similar emplacements on each building of the courtyard, all trained outward and manned by the same White Fang grunts. Where the hell did they get those cannons? How long have they been planning this? What the damn Dust is going on here?

Her eye's widened in terror when she realized one of the White Fang guards to the right of her position had seen her. The grunt quickly picked up some kind of scoped rifle and began to take aim at her. Weiss tried to get up and run, but she could barely twitch her legs, her lower back erupting in fiery torment each time. All she could do was weakly raise her arms to try and protect herself while dragging herself away. She knew that, even if her remaining Aura could probably stop one bullet, the next one would do the job.

She saw the muzzle of the rifle flash just before her vision was suddenly interrupted by a bright red cape. Weiss heard the sound of the bullet striking metal, only to be followed by a much louder and closer gunshot. The cape fluttered out of the heiress' vision, revealing a black and red combat skirt fluttering in the wind. Beyond that, two small hands gripped an enormous gun-scythe, smoke lightly trailing from the barrel. Weiss glanced upward just as the wielder spun around, the heiress' eyes coming to rest on the face of her leader, Ruby Rose.

Ruby's hood was up, covering her hair and forehead, her bangs flitting out just under the edge. There was a line of dried blood coming from her nose, and the leader's right cheek seemed to have a light cut on it. She was panting slightly, and her normally zipped up collar had somehow come undone, leaving her neck and collarbone exposed. Her top had some rips around the chest and stomach, recently healed wounds showing underneath. Her leggings were in a worse state, with barely anything left. Her boots were blackened, likely from Grimm blood (it had happened before).

Weiss, however, noticed little of this. Instead, time seemed to stand still as she gazed into Ruby's eyes. She had expected to see bright silver irises swirling at her just like always. Maybe there would be tears, maybe happiness, maybe even hardened determination. Ruby had always been very expressive with her looks, those puppy-dog eyes absolutely demolishing any resistance. The heiress sometimes even found comfort in those silver globes, their childlike innocence reminding her of simpler times.

What greeted her instead was a hollow, dead grey. Her leader had a vacant expression and seemed to be staring directly through Weiss. It was starting to freak her out, Ruby was never like this. There was no comfort in these eyes. "R-Ruby?" Weiss stammered slowly. The leader just continued to stare emptily into the space between them, her hood rustling in the wind. "Ruby, stop, your scaring me…" Ruby's head tilted to the left slightly, as if sizing the heiress up. "Ruby, stop right now!" Still no response. Just that vacant, endless stare of dead grey.

"RUBY!" Weiss screamed as loud as she could.

The crimson leader blinked suddenly and started. When her eyes reopened Weiss saw the familiar molten silver once again. Ruby took a sharp breath and then spoke "Weiss? Weiss! OhthankgodyouwokeupIwassoworriedyouwerethelastoneandyouwerebleedingandIthoughtyouweredeadand…" Ruby trailed off for a few seconds. Normally the heiress would have been annoyed by the sudden onslaught of words, but for now she was just glad her Ruby was back.

The moment didn't last though, as there was a sudden roar that shattered the brief peace. Jerking to the left, Weiss looked on in horror as a dozen or so Beowolves came charging at them. Turning back to her leader, she noticed Ruby looking at the oncoming enemies as well. Weiss felt her breath catch; Ruby's eyes had returned to that same deathly grey. "Stay here, don't move" she heard the leader mutter. Before Weiss could say anything in response, Ruby dashed from her sight, leaving only a gust of wind and a few rose petals in her wake. Weiss went to watch the combat, but something cause her eye first. Hanging from the top of the building was the White Fang grunt who had tried to shoot her. At first she thought Ruby had struck him unconscious with her return shot. Squinting, however, she saw that where the back of the Faunus' head should have been, there was only a gaping red hole, red blood spurting from it at regular intervals. There was no doubt; Ruby's shot had killed him.

Weiss felt bile rise in her throat. Her leader had killed someone, in cold blood, with those eyes. Weiss shook her head; it must have been a mistake, there was no way Ruby would ever willingly kill. She was too kind, too innocent, to do something so cruel. The grunt must have ducked into the shot in error or something. Yeah, it was the fault of the filthy terrorist, not her Ruby. Wait, my Ruby? Why did I think that? It's not like she's mine or anything. I mean she's my partner…and my closest friend…and I feel like don't know what I would do without her some days…ugh, no, not right now, we'll deal with that later.

But Ruby didn't seem to react or anything. She would have said something if she had missed. He couldn't have dodged either, Ruby never shifted her scythe after aiming and there's no way he could move faster than Ruby's bullets without an Aura and semblance. He definitely didn't have an Aura though, if he did then that shot wouldn't have killed. If she didn't say anything, and he couldn't have dodged, then that means it was an intentional shot. Ruby meant to kill him. Ruby meant to kill him. OH OUM RUBY MEANT-

Weiss forcibly tore her gaze away from the dead Faunus, ending the downward spiral of her thoughts. She forcibly convinced herself that Ruby wasn't a killer as she attempted to track the crimson reaper. This was harder said than done, as her partner was moving at a pace she had never seen before. Ruby was a quite literally a blur, and every Grimm said blur passed by found itself missing limbs, organs, or was just plain outright dead. At first Weiss thought Ruby was going to force the whole black horde back into the breach alone, but after a few more moments she realized that the Grimm were gaining ground ever so slowly. Eventually, they would reach the empty road behind her and spill out to terrorize the city of Vale.

Weiss knew she had to do something. It was her duty as a Huntress (in-training, but still) and Ruby's partner to protect those who could not protect themselves. She couldn't even stand though, relegated to watching the vicious combat unfold in front of her. Searching frantically for some answer, some edge that she could use, her gaze caught once again on the accursed train engine behind her. The heiress knew she was not going to be moving that hulking collection of scrap of metal anytime soon. If she was at full power, she could possibly summon a massive repulsion glyph to shift it out of the way. As it stood though, she barely had the Aura left to create some regular ones and stay conscious.

The heiress then caught sight of a silver glint on the underside of the train engine. Looking closer, she saw her rapier, Myrtenaster, was impaled in some kind of large fuel tank. Weiss dragged her self along the ground, wincing in pain, trying to get close enough to the blade to grab hold. After an agonizing minute, she was close enough to reach the blade. Quickly grabbing it, Weiss yanked and was rewarded with the freedom of her weapon. At the very least now she could fight, though not being able to stand was a serious detriment to her fighting abilities. Glancing once more at the tank, she noticed a trickle of dark blue Dust falling to the ground.

Weiss' brilliant mind suddenly shifted into full gear. Vehicles often used condensed Ice Dust in small quantities to assist in cooling internal systems and to lubricate brakes. A train would have a much more that a small amount to keep it running smoothly, and it appeared this train stored its reserves in the tank here. Furthermore, since the White Fang had obviously not been too keen on applying said brakes, it appeared this tank was still almost entirely full. Weiss estimated there were close to 30-40 gallons of condensed Ice Dust sitting there.

If Weiss Schnee knew anything, it was how to use Dust to its maximum effect. She could work wonders with just a few vials of the stuff. Having straight up gallons of her preferred element meant that she had a…assload of options, for lack of better words. Or she would, if she still had all her Aura. As it stood, she was probably had one big move left in her, if only just barely. And Weiss new exactly which one to use.

"RUBY, GLACIER!" She yelled at the reaper as she went to cut at the tank. Ruby never stopped moving, but the heiress caught a brief pause as the reaper flitted across her vision. One means yes, two means no…yep, she's on board. It took Weiss more slices than she would have liked to open the metal, her weakened state certainly not helping. Eventually though she had more than enough of the deep blue Dust at her side, ready for usage.

Pointing Myrtenaster towards the street entrance to the courtyard ahead, Weiss focused and called upon her Semblance. Eight glyphs appeared in two half circles at the opening, one just ahead of the other. The heiress felt a new wave of pain flow through her; her Aura was running on fumes by this point. She felt like she could pass out at a moments noticed, but her resolve to protect Ruby held her steady. Slowly and with great effort, Weiss began to infuse her remaining Aura into the ever-growing pile of Ice Dust next to her. Once it was empowered, she focused on merging it with her glyphs. It was a grueling process, made worse by her lack of Aura. Each gallon felt as though she was pulling a truck with her bare hands, but she gritted her teeth and persevered. Slowly, the glyphs changed from white to a baby blue, deepening in color with each moment. Eventually they reached a deep ocean blue, signaling that the next phase was ready.

"Ruby, phase 2!" she called as she steadied herself. Within half a second the crimson reaper was at her side, Crescent Rose shifted to its rifle mode. Almost instantly Ruby began firing, intent on keeping the oncoming horde at bay. Weiss watched in awe while attempting to gather the very last dregs of her Aura to activate the glyphs. She had seen her leader fire rapidly many times, but never with this much speed. It reminded her of an auto-turret, watching Ruby fire twenty-five shots at twenty-five separate targets, each change in aim accompanied by a few errant rose petals. Before the tenth bullet casing had even hit the ground, the crimson leader had loaded a new magazine and resumed her rapid fire assault. It was mesmerizing, the beauty and precision of her actions wasting nothing. Tearing her view away, Weiss finally gathered the remaining Aura she needed.

"Now!" Ruby stopped firing the second Weiss released her energy. All eight glyphs activated simultaneously, pointing forward and generating a massive concave wall of ice nearly 10 yards thick and 4 stories tall. The new barricade spiked outwards toward towards the courtyard, completing the seal and trapping the Grimm within.

Weiss sighed in relief as her task was complete. Glancing at her scroll for the first time since waking, she noticed only the barest sliver of red remaining for her Aura. One more second, one small hit, and she would be out cold with a broken Aura. Ruby's was sitting at about 15%, just starting into the danger zone. "Well, that worked better that I could have possibly hoped for. Can you help me up Ruby, I've been having trouble standing on my own for some reason. We have to get out of here and – RUBY!"

Weiss' speech was rudely interrupted by her leader abruptly heaving her off the ground. She was being held in Ruby's arms bridal-style, a rather embarrassing position to say the least. Right as she was about to screech at Ruby to put her down she felt them take a step forward. In the next instant the world around her blurred, the force of the sudden forward motion ripping the air from her lungs. They moved for only a second or two before coming to a halting stop, Weiss nearly flying out her leader's arms. She began heaving, her body desperate to get more air after its brief and abrupt denial.

"Oh Dust, Weiss I'm so sorry! I was so focused on getting us out of there that I forgot to warn you. Are you okay? I know the speed isn't for everyone, I didn't mean to hurt you…" Ruby began to ramble as Weiss struggled to compose herself. Panting heavily, she looked around to see them on a sidewalk next to some kind of corner store. Immediately in front of her and Ruby was a Vale PD van, its back doors wide open. Inside she caught sight of a poorly bandaged Blake and Yang lying unconscious on the floor, Dr. Oobleck passed out on a seat near the front. To the left of the van were two Vale police officers walking towards them. Across the street she noticed a few other Vale PD vehicles attempting to set up an impromptu barricade of sorts.

"Ruby…its fine…I'm okay...what's going on?" Weiss forced out, trying to get her breathing under control.

"Oh, yeah, these guys are with the police! They're going to the hospital with the injured." Ruby said cheerfully as she lowered the heiress into the van gently, propping her up in a sitting position.

"Good, I could use some ridiculously strong painkillers and the world's biggest nap right now." Weiss mused while glancing over at the BY pair. "Are they going to be alright?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, they'll be okay. Burnie and Geoff here fixed 'em up with what they had. Once their Auras kick in they'll be better in no time!" Ruby nodded her head towards to two officers who grumbled in reply.

Weiss sighed again in relief, then looked back at her leader. For the first time, the heiress truly saw how tired Ruby was. The crimson girl was leaning on the van door, panting dryly. Her legs and arms seem to be shaking slightly, and there were a few new cuts on her clothing, some of the wounds actively knitting themselves. Weiss tried to shift herself to make room for Ruby, but without the use of her legs she was only able to shuffle a few inches in. "Well, what are you waiting for you dolt? Get in so we can get the hell out of here"

Ruby turned to look at her, the heiress noticing a brief look of surprise flitter through her face before being replaced by a said smile. "Uhh, yeah, about that…"

"Ruby…"

"See, someone's still gotta seal that breach before more Grimm get in. As cool as the Glacier maneuver is, it's not going to hold those monsters in forever…" As if to prove her point, a sudden and ominous cracking sound reverberated through street. "Oh no, that's not good. Anyways, I got some of the officers here to lend me a bunch of the earth Dust they brought. I figured I would charge it with Aura, throw it in the hold, and shoot it or something. Hopefully it'll be enough to at least seal it temporarily.

"Ruby no…" Weiss could feel a knot in her throat as she realized what was going on.

"Then after that I gotta disable those turret things somehow. Otherwise the Atlas forces and other Hunters won't be able to get close enough to kill all the Grimm and they'll get out. I don't think the police here can stop an entire Grimm horde by themselves." Ruby stated, before turning and looking around the door. "No offense or anything though guys." A faint 'It's cool' was heard in reply.

"Ruby please…you can't…" If she goes, she'll die! She can't, not when were so close! She can't leave me!

"After that, I gotta get back to killing Grimm, since the backup won't be there immediately. I'm sure I can keep them busy for long enough. And then…no, wait, that about sums it up actually." The reaper mused, counting her tasks off on three fingers to make sure.

Another crack shook the air, causing them both to tense up slightly. "Dust-damn it, I have to go know. Weiss don't worry, Burnie and Geoff will get to you all to safety." Ruby made to turn and leave, only to be halted by a hand holding hers in a vice-grip.

"Ruby Rose, you stop that this instant! You are going to get in this car and WE are going to all get to safety!" Weiss shouted, feeling tears begin to well up. Ruby turned around and the heiress looked straight into dead grey eyes filled with a resigned sadness. "Stop…STOP…STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT! STOP LOOKING LIKE YOUR LEAVING!" Weiss began to scream and cry, never letting go of Ruby's hand.

"Weiss, I…I can't…I have to-"

"NO, DON'T SAY IT! DON'T YOU DARE SAY YOU'RE GOING TO LEAVE ME, OR SO HELP ME I'LL…I'LL…" Weiss tried to say something, anything to keep Ruby from walking away, but could only sob incoherently. I can't let her go. If she leaves, she won't come back. She has to be here, I want her to be here, I NEED her to be here.

Suddenly, her thoughts and sobs were interrupted by a soft feeling on her lips. Her eyes, closed from the tears, shot open to find Ruby's lips pressed to her own. For a moment, Weiss was lost to the feeling of the crimson girl's passionate kiss, Ruby's arms bringing her into a tight embrace. Weiss could feel so much emotion pouring out from her, so much exhaustion, fear, regret, love. The heiress could only stare in stunned stupor as their kiss finally ended, their hands still tightly entwined.

"Weiss I…I've wanted to do that for SO long, you have no idea. Like, back in the dorm when you said you'd be there for me, and it's only gotten worse. Finally, I can say I've had my first kiss, and with the most beautiful girl on Remnant to boot!" Ruby said as she grinned widely. Weiss could feel herself blushing madly as she steadied herself. A quick look at her partner made her realize that, even though they had just shared such a startlingly intimate moment, Ruby was not going to be staying. A brief flicker of molten silver, of life, passed through her eyes before returning to that damnable grey. "Ruby…don't go…I don't want you to leave me…please..." She croaked out weakly, holding onto the girl's hand as though it would disappear if she let go.

"Weiss, I'm…I'm so, so sorry." Ruby whispered softly as she brought her other hand to Weiss's cheek, caressing it gently as tears fell anew.

"I love you, all of you. Don't ever forget that."

These were the last words the heiress heard before Ruby brought her hand from Weiss' cheek, flicking her in the forehead. Weiss felt the Aura-enhanced impact and saw a shimmer of light blue cross her eyes, realizing with a sudden shock that Ruby had just broken the last of her own Aura. Immediately, her body went limp, refusing to obey the screams of her mind. Ruby, no, RUBY! But the crimson reaper simply placed her hands across her lap, the sad smile leaving her tired face. Ruby turned and said something to the two cops, Weiss unable to hear as her consciousness began to fade. Ruby please don't go… Her partner then turned and closed van's back door, then turned to leave, pulling Crescent Rose behind her. Ruby… Weiss tried to stay awake, but she could see the darkness creeping in on her vision. She barely felt the van start, desperately watching through the back window as the most important person in her life took a runners stance.

Weiss saw beautiful red rose petals falling in the air. Then, nothing at all.

"RUBY!" Weiss screamed as she shot up, eyes wide and frantic. She was in a white room, with white walls, on a bed with white sheets. She heard the low beep of machinery to her left and felt the slight of an IV tube on her left wrist. A hospital. She was in a hospital. Why was she-

"Weiss, oh my Oum you're alive!"

Turning suddenly to her right to find Blake and Yang sitting at her bedside, staring at her intently. She noted to tight bandaging on the cat Faunus' head and the crutches propped up against the blonde brawler's seat. She nearly started to cry at the realization that her friends were okay and here. Wincing slightly, she propped herself up to a sitting position, noting that her legs seemed to be responding somewhat dully to her brains commands.

"Oh man, I'm so glad you're okay! The doctor said your Aura was busted and that you'd be out for a while, but he was talking about it being like a whole day and a half!" Yang busted out, a huge smile plastered on her face.

"A day and a half? How long was I out for?" Weiss groaned out as she rubbed her face, trying to recall why she was here. She felt a bandage as she passed over her forehead, with a pad of sorts just above her left eye.

"Only about 12 hours or so I think. That's probably a new record for Aura Break recovery or something." Blake stated with a wry grin.

Wow, I've been out for that long? What the Dust happened? Why does it feel like someone is missing? Weiss thought, trying to collect her thoughts. We were on the train, and it breached into Vale. Then I woke up and there were Grimm and White Fang. And then…! Weiss suddenly gripped her head as memories came flooding back from the previous events. Yang and Blake looked with sudden worry at her reaction. "Hey, Princess, is everything alright?" Yang asked cautiously.

"Guys?" Weiss asked, turning to the two. They noticed the tears in her eyes and the strain in her voice as she spoke,

"Where's Ruby?"

Guys, it's okay...

I FOUND THE CONFETTI!

*fweeeeeeee* (Confetti limply falls to the ground)

...Right, gonna work on timing next...time...ugh.

All in all though, I had a lot of fun writing this. Or as much fun as you can have when you're breaking hearts. George RR Martin fun I suppose.

So yeah, this is not a Oneshot, I totally want to continue this and I totally have an outline for a looong story. I can't promise an update every week though, since my writing process is usually to imagine the ENTIRE chapter as an episode, then write it down, then proofread. So it could be, like, a while between chapters. Mercy pls.

Finally, I'm just gonna lay down a few expectations going forward real quick

1. No Maidens - Look, I like the concept of Maidens. No seriously, I think its a neat concept and it adds a real element of mythos to an otherwise flat, albeit super tech-savvy, world. That being said, I just don't have it in me to write THAT story. I'll leave the Maidens to the experts at Roosterteeth (that would make an excellent resume addition; expert in magical girls and magical girl subsets).
Besides, by time we get to the Maiden part of the show, VERY few people would be stable enough to be safe with such power.

2. Whitey-tighty Roses and BEEEEEES - Yeah, so the info blurb up top did not lie, this is a Whiterose/Bumblebee story. But don't mistake this for a happy-go-lucky sort of thing. Will there be happiness? Yep. Will there be sadness and hurt? You bet your tits it will (You have tits, don't worry. If your ripped AF and can't see any, refer to them as stealth tits and move along)! Just like life, love, lust, and heartbreak are not easy. This is only amplified when you live in a world that mixes guns and things. You have been warned...again?

Anyways, I look forward to any reviews, follows, and/or favorites! And I look forward to seeing you next time in...

Chapter 2: Wilting Roses, Gathering Snowflakes