Hey everyone, I'm BassDS, and I'm making my first jump into RWBY fanfiction; and this is the first thing I've actually written in almost a year, with my other work being HEAVILY neglected, but I've been working on other things in my spare time.

So...if there's one thing I've learned from this community in the 3 years I've been a part of it, it's that EVERYONE has their own ship that they are loyal to death to. For me, It's gotta be Lancaster. Now don't get me wrong, I'm also an Arkos person as well...but...Cinder's arrow to Pyrrha's chest kinda stopped that in its tracks, so Lancaster was my backup, and I just absolutely LOVE this pairing. Plus from what I heard, Monty shipped it as well (may he rest in eternal peace), and if so, then I guess I boarded the right boat.

But anyway, this just one of several Lancaster ideas I've had jumping around in my head, and I just had to get it out there, so for those that ship Lancaster, this one's for you, but I will say it's a small story, but everything will come to a close in the chapter after this; this was meant to be a one-shot, but let's just pad it out a little. No harm in it, right?

Confessions

Part 1: Reunion

The past 24 hours had been hell; at least it seemed like that to Jaune as he sat near the bed beside him, his eyes trained on its occupant as he looked up upon Ruby's face as the young woman remained in a comatose-like state. He raised his hand as close as he could to move her bangs away from her eyes as he tried not to strain himself as he felt the sting of the burn he suffered at the hands of Cinder Fall; burns he took as he shielded Ruby from her attack that had meant to kill her. The fact he was even alive after that was a miracle, but in the end, it allowed Ruby the chance to finally put an end to Cinder and release the Fall Maiden's power...it was very likely if Ruby ever regained consciousness, she would inherit the powers; after all, who wouldn't have their destroyer in mind in their last few moments of life.

Part of him was at ease now, at least somewhat. With Cinder gone, Pyrrha was avenged at last. It didn't make it any easy that his first love was still gone forever...and now his second laid before him, and the thought of losing her as well plagued his mind.

He wasn't sure when these feelings began to come about; and it made him feel conflicted: how could he fall in love with someone when he hadn't even noticed the affections of another? He was ignorant of Pyrrha's feelings for him, and here he was with his feelings for Ruby. It was such a stark contradiction to him.

His train of thought wander back to what led him in this current situation...Cinder had been one thing, but Salem was another; and when it was time to take her down, needless to say it was rough; everyone had been tossed around like ragdolls. Ren and Nora took quite a bit of punishment; just as Weiss, Blake and Yang did, but in the end, Ruby was the deciding factor in the struggle; tapping in to the power of her Silver Eyes to erase Salem from existence and unshackle Remnant from her influence.

Said act was what left the young girl in the condition she was in currently.

"Hey, you doing okay?" came a voice as Jaune turned his head to see Yang walk into the room.

"I suppose...waiting really sucks. I'm just hoping she wakes up soon...but I'm not scared to admit part of me is worried she might never wake up..." Jaune said as he gripped the bed sheets.

"She'll wake up." Yang said as he place her hand on his shoulder. "Ruby's strong...I guess she always has been. After Beacon fell and I had practically given up on everything, Ruby chose to fight on despite the odds and everything. Heh...it's kinda weird having to look up to the younger sibling." she lamented as she looked over at her metallic arm.

"What makes you sound so sure?"

"She's tough...guess she must have gotten that from our mom." Yang smiled as she looked down at Ruby. "I know she's fighting, and she won't give up. And neither should you, got it?" she said as she turned at him.

Jaune could only smile. "I got it."

"We'll all be in the lobby if you need us." Yang said as she headed out the door.

"Thanks." he replied as he looked to Ruby before his eyes gazed out the window.

"Anything yet?" Blake asked Yang as she came back into the lobby.

"Still the same, but this is Ruby we're talking about."

"You sound so confident..." Weiss replied as she paced back and forth; trying to keep herself busy.

"Well in these situations, you need to be optimistic. Not much else you can do."

"I suppose you're right. I've just never been on edge like this before..." Weiss added.

"Well, when you think about it," Blake spoke up, "considering the life you had before you came to Beacon, with being sheltered and all, it's not too far off to say Ruby was one of your first friends."

'Valid point." Weiss replied. "I take it Jaune is still in there?"

"Hasn't left her side. That boy's in love."

"Ruby in a relationship...THAT is hard to imagine." Weiss pondered.

"Are you sure?" asked Blake as she looked to Yang.

"Oh yeah, I could see the look in his eyes. Jauney-boy's in love with my little sis." Yang grinned. "I am SO going to enjoy tormenting her about it." It then occurred to Yang it was a bit more quiet in the lobby as she looked around. "Where's Ren and Nora?"

"Hospital Pancakes." Both Blake and Weiss said in unison.

Ruby felt as if she had walked for an eternity as she made her way across the snow-covered field as she looked ahead, it seemed like it would never end.

As she walked further, the snow began to rapidly melt around her as roses began to grow up from the ground around her.

"Umm...okay, it's probably safe to classify this in the weird department..." she muttered. "Where am I? Last I remembered was Salem...and after that..." she groan as she held her hand against her head.

"Well...considering you tapped into your full potential, it was a lot for your mind to take in, and it overwhelmed your entire being. Believe me, I know the feeling." came a voice as Ruby's eyes widened as the voice sent shivers down her spine as she slowly turned to see a white-cloaked figure as their hands rose up and pulled back the hood as Ruby finally turned to face them fully as her eyes came into contact with her mother's. "Hello sweetie...it's been a long time."

"M….mom..." Ruby muttered as she found herself froze in shock.

"Well...aren't you going to give your mother a hug?" Summer smiled.

"Mom!" Ruby cried as she finally willed herself to move as she ran toward Summer and embraced her as hard as she could. "I've missed you so much..." she said as she began to cry as Summer held her close.

"I've missed you too, my little gem. Yang and your father too..."

"This...this can't be real…." Ruby sobbed softly.

"Well...it's your subconscious, and we're linked because of the power of our eyes, so you tell me if I'm real or not." Summer laughed a bit.

"I...I'm not even sure what to say..." Ruby said as she wiped her tears away. "I wasn't expecting anything like this."

"No, I suppose not." Summer said as she moved her hand to the side of Ruby's face. "My baby girl's changed so much...just look at you."

"A lot's happened...guess you could say I didn't have much of a choice but to grow up early. Being a Huntress was my dream; I wanted to be just like you, Mom. I just never expected all this to happen."

"I know, Ruby...I'm mostly to blame too. You've had to walk in my footsteps and do what I couldn't...but in doing so, you've help to lift the darkness around Remnant, and I couldn't be more proud of what you've done." Summer smiled as she say down in the rose field.

"So...you said my power overwhelmed me...You've had this happen before?" Ruby asked as she sat next to her.

"Oh yeah...that was a doozy. Your father, Uncle Qrow, and Yang's mom Raven and I were on a mission; we dealt with wave after wave of Grimm. Needless to say we were overwhelmed. That was the first time my powers awakened. It was like I blacked out, and when I came to, they were beside my hospital bed. Turns out I had been in a coma for twoweeks."

"Well...I mean, I was out for like three days from what Dad told me…" Ruby said as her mind wandered back to the Fall of Beacon...seeing Cinder fire an arrow right into Pyrrha's chest before she was turned to dust.

"Well anyway, enough about all this." Summer said as she didn't want to dott on the subject, especially if her time was limited. "Tell me about you these past couple of years; how's your father and sister doing?"

"Dad's doing fine. He was kinda out of it for a while after...well you know..."

Summer felt a ping of guilt in her body. "Tai..."

"Yang's been Yang, of course, doing almost whatever she pleases...at least it was like that up until she lost her arm..."

"She what!?" Summer asked, worried about her step-daughter.

"Oh don't worry, she was in bit of a slump but she's over it now. Got a cool metallic arm now." Ruby spat out, trying not to cause her mom any concern.

"Well...as long as your sister is fine..." Summer replied a bit worryingly. "Yang always WAS the wild one of your two..."

"Well...if it helps, she did a good job in looking after me and everything else back when Dad was teaching at Signal. And we had Uncle Qrow help out from time to time."

"I take it he still has that flask always filled up and on him at all times?" Summer asked.

"Yup."

"Typical Qrow..." Summer could only sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "So...what about you? Any boys you got a crush on, or any that pine after you?" she asked, eager to find this out.

"Umm...well..." Ruby looked away and blushed a bit. "Kinda...but it's complicated...he doesn't know, but I think his heart already belongs to someone who's out of his reach forever..." she said as she felt the guilt wash over her. "And it's my fault..."

"I think I know what you're feeling, Ruby. When Yang's mother left her and your father, I moved in to help take care of her, and to try and get Tai back to normal; being team leader and all, I had to look after my teammates...but the more I was around, I began to fall in love with your father, but I was hesitant because I thought he wouldn't be interested in me, thinking his heart was still loyal to Raven. Little did I know, he was falling in love with me too. And in the end, here you are: our little baby girl." Summer smiled as she hugged Ruby.

"What should I do, mom?" Ruby asked as she looked up at her.

"Act, Ruby. Don't wait. Otherwise, you'll end up regretting it." Summer confided to her as she laced her hand with Ruby's as her daughter rested her head on her shoulder.

Some time passed before Summer spoke up as her body glowed lightly. "It's time for me to go now..."

"I want to say I don't want you to...but I know you can't..." Ruby said solemnly.

"We'll meet again one day, I promise. I can tell you this though...you'll be back home soon...but there's something you still need to do here."

"What do I…?"

"You'll know soon. But I guess this is goodbye, for now at least." Summer said as she hugged her daughter as hard as she could and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Ruby...never forget that, I know I can never make up for not being around when you needed me, but I am sorry."

You don't need to apologize, Mom, we're huntresses; it comes with the territory." Ruby proclaimed as she hugged her back. "I love you, Mom."

Summer smiled happily as she began to fade away before vanishing completely; leaving Ruby alone in the rose field.

Ruby stood for a moment before she finally looked up, and over in the distance, a tree sat in the middle of the field.

"That...wasn't there before. Then again, it's not like this place is normal." she said as she looked around and made her way toward the tree as the wind blew the autumn-colored leaves.

She pondered what her mother had said and wondered what it was she still needed to do.

"Hello again~!"