Frozen Rose

by Slasher71

Weiss is subjected to a repeating nightmare. A nightmare that involves Ruby dying to save her. Weiss is forced to face her own fears but unwilling to tell her partner about them. Soon Weiss is pushing herself away from the rest of Team RWBY. But when a situation occurs that makes her nightmare a very real possibility, she'll have to face it head on. **Happens after Volume 1

A/N: For quick reference, this story occurs at the end of Volume 1. Anyway, not going to say anything more. Please enjoy.

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It was never supposed to be like this. She had come to Beacon with a clear and simple objective. To be the best at everything she did. To be the top of her class; to be the best fighter...to do everything simply better than everyone else. However, she should have known better from the very first day when she met the simple and somewhat ignorant girl named Ruby Rose. Yet, Weiss Schnee couldn't find reasons to regret the team she ended up on...or to even feel angry about Ruby being the leader. Professor Port had been quick to point out several reasons why Weiss didn't qualify to be a leader. And she after a while began to see that she agreed with those reasons. And more so after spending more time with the leader, she could see why Ruby had been chosen. It had simply been her pride making her incapable of seeing it.

As frustrating the naive nature of Ruby made it for her at times, she was reliable and had become a comforting presence in Weiss' daily life. It was also the reason her recent dreams had been bothering her so much. No, not dream, it was a nightmare. In the nightmare Weiss had been captured by an unknown individual. Kept from her weapon or access to dust and then shackled to the wall. Making her unable to do anything and giving her full view of the scene that would soon follow. Weiss would be forced to watch as Ruby, her would be hero, broke through the guards meant to stop her. Her elegance and somewhat brash style of fighting had her take them down with relative ease. Then a cloaked figure would appear to face off against Ruby, one of considerable skill. It was more fearsome when the cloaked figure held off Ruby's scythe with nothing but a knife. The figure would easily defend against Ruby's assault and getting in small hits on the leader over and over again. Weiss knew what would come next.

Weiss would find herself yelling, "Leave you stupid dunce! Leave me here!" Ruby ignored her and continued her fight with the cloaked figure.. Weiss would eventually reduce to begging for the girl dressed in black and red to abandon her. She didn't want to see it, just like she saw it ever single night. Every time the result was the same because Weiss could do nothing to stop it. Ruby continued to press forward against the cloaked figure. She manages to find an opening and capitalizes on it, knocking the cloaked figure to the ground. Ruby thought she had won, she would smile and head towards Weiss. Only Weiss would already be in tears seeing the attacker she had supposedly beaten to appear behind her and bury their blade straight through Ruby. Her blood would splatter against Weiss and then Ruby would slump forward against her. Her head against Weiss' shoulder and Weiss keenly aware of when her partner and leader, Ruby, took her last breath and her heart stopped.

Weiss would jump up in her bed with tears flowing freely down her face and her bed a mess, along with the cold sweat. Despite possibly of being seen with the flow of tears she would immediately come out from her bottom bunk to ensure Ruby was still sound asleep on her bed above her. She counted herself lucky that both Yang and Ruby were heavy sleepers. Blake had either pretended not to notice her situation or had equally not been awoken by Weiss waking up. Still this was not a routine anyone should get used to.

Over the years, in her life, she had seen family members and others in her life die. So why was a nightmare about Ruby haunting her so much? The answer was far more simple than Weiss would ever care to admit to anyone, even herself. She had grown attached to Ruby, no probably beyond just simple attachment. It wasn't just Ruby but everyone on her team had become special to her.

It wasn't how she had planned for her time at Beacon to go. Weiss had planned to come here and focus on her impact she could achieve. Top grades was a given. Be the top performer for all practical exams. Get on a Team that had known commodities that could be recognized, each a name that was guaranteed for success. All methods in which she wanted to use to gain success, and in a method that didn't involve riding the curtails of her Sister or Father. She wanted to achieve it on her own. But those kinds of plans always leave out a key element that always changes things. The relationships with the people around her. No amount of planning could change those encounters with Blake, Ruby or Yang. Or even the members of JNPR for that matter.

She still didn't know her teammates that well after all this time. And part of it was her intentionally not opening up to them. On the surface it would seem to them that she only wanted to focus on her studies. But the more that happened the more she found each member of RWBY to become increasingly important to her. And it became increasingly hard for her to keep that distance in place. She had revealed a number of things about herself along the way. Yet all of this was not something she thought could ever happen to her. Because of this, new fears and doubts were constantly in Weiss' mind.

Weiss had always been used to getting her way. She grew up in an environment where she wanted for nothing. But because a lot was expected of her she spent more time with tutors than making friends. When she had gone to school she had ended up with no real friends. No, instead it was more like a wall surrounding her, keeping her distant from those around her. Yet despite how her life had been so far, Ruby Rose changed everything for her.

Ruby Rose was a girl that had gotten into Beacon two years early. And not because she knew someone or had a relative that had somehow gotten her in. It wasn't a handout or a mistake on anyone's part. No, Ruby Rose got into Beacon because of her ability and skill in fighting. Unlike most people, Ruby had real combat experience, not just what she had experienced at her other school, Signal. How could Weiss not respect her just on this alone? Ruby was still learning a lot in the education portion of their training because she had been moved ahead two years. Once you put her on a battlefield, she was like a completely different person. She made a lot of mistakes and her fighting style still had room for improvement but so did Weiss. However, Ruby could adapt and change on the battle field, making her able to handle a lot more situations than even Weiss could.

Ruby had become something important to Weiss. And yet, Weiss, was still trying to sort out how the whole friend business was supposed to work to begin with. She hadn't really been close to anyone before. How could she be more supportive? How could she be a better value for the team? If they were successful and proved themselves then the rest of her plans would still work out. She'd show her Father how capable she was and could go down her own path. She would find it here at Beacon, with Ruby and the others.

The dichotomy of the school at Beacon was one of the most renowned in the entire world. Beacon developed hunters and huntresses by teaming them up and having them face challenges together which taught them much more than just being able to fight the creatures of Grimm. They had to communicate, work together and overcome all problems together. It is something that could not be taught in a classroom. Weiss understood this at a theoretical level but didn't truly understand until she had experienced it firsthand. While it happened at other schools as well, only the best school would work for Weiss' plan. That was why Beacon was where she came. More than that it also got her further away from her Father and room to be more independent and not have to watch over her shoulder.

She quickly learned in her time at Beacon, that her views of life had been extremely limited. And the world was a lot broader than she had ever known before. Learning about Blake being a Faunus and an ex-member of the White Fang had pushed her up against the hard ideals that had been ingrained into her since she was a child. Now Weiss was confused. Blake was far from being a degenerate or a rapscallion or all the descriptors she often compared the faunus of the White Fang to being. Her rash judgment on Sun Wukong had been a typical reaction among her family. The continued argument between her and Blake after that had been an eye opening experience for many reasons. Its when in that tense argument she learned that Blake was a faunus.

Weiss knew there was a lot she didn't know. That in everything there was always a different side of the story she hadn't heard. She needed to be more open and more accepting of others. To listen and challenge herself to not take things at surface value. The White Fang was not a completely unified organization. And its directions had eventually changed, making many Faunus leave their ranks to escape. The change had been subtle, from a group that protested for faunus rights...to a organization that felt it had been ignored long enough, became violent. They became terrorists. So faunus that had only sought peaceful solutions and wanted nothing to do with such wanton violence, left. Blake was one of them. She sought a different life, one where she could maybe be herself and protect what she thought was right. A huntress was an ideal goal for such a life and for her to get in was a feat within itself. Weiss only realized that Blake coming here was a much greater risk than she could have imagined.

Blake had taken a chance to come to Beacon. Put her faith in her skills to carry her forward. She hid her heritage due to fear of discrimination. That fear came because of people like Weiss. People that just blindly accepted things as just the way it was without questioning on if things should be that way. All things that Weiss had never thought about. She had been stupidly narrow minded. She was different now.

She was positive the source in her change of veiws stemmed from Ruby herself. The girl in red had a big heart, one that had an effect on her team mates. So when Weiss looked at Ruby as she slept, she couldn't help but feel two very conflicting emotions. One of them being the frustration that came from things deviating so far from her original plans when she came to Beacon. All because of this one girl. And the second, how glad she was to have Ruby and the two other girls from Team RWBY in her life.

Weiss wasn't sure how long she had stared at Ruby now. She had finally calmed herself enough from her nightmare and was sure she was no longer dreaming. Ruby was safe in her bed. Although the image and feelings of Ruby dying in her nightmare were still on the edge of her mind. She turned around and saw the other two team members asleep in their own bunks. Blake was all snuggled up like a feline towards the wall of her bed. And Yang just sprawled out with her every limb as if she needs to ensure every inch of the bed was covered by her. Her blanket she must have kicked off and was nearly falling off her bed on the end of it. And while Blake didn't make a noise as she slept, Yang would occasionally let out a snore. Ruby, on the other hand, had fallen asleep with her books open again. Weiss let out a sigh although she allowed a small smile as she looked back to her slumbering partner.

Weiss took a moment to collect Ruby's books and homework, careful not to disturb or wake her. Then took all of it over to one of the desks before returning back to Ruby's side and tucked the younger girl in to her blanket. Weiss then moved back to the desk and took the next twenty minutes to look over and correct Ruby's homework. After the corrections and adding a few more notes to hopefully help the young girl she proceeded to quietly organize Ruby's desk so she would easily find her work when she finally woke.

She then gathered a change of clothes and took a few steps towards the door but stopped herself. Images of that horrid nightmare quickly returned to her. Weiss just couldn't seem to shake it from her mind this morning. She moved back to Ruby to try and ease her mind. Instead she had to quickly look away when the image of Ruby covered in blood overwhelmed her. Those moments when Ruby was trying to save her in the nightmare. She shook her head and tried once more to calm her thoughts. It had to be okay, that situation in her nightmare could never happen. As long as she took the appropriate steps to ensure it wouldn't happen.

"Weiss?" Blake's tone was low, aware of the other girls still being asleep and obviously still waking up herself.

"Good Morning, Blake," Weiss said softly but only slightly turning towards Blake. She didn't trust her voice or her appearance at the moment. Weiss did eye that Blake was without her bow. All it did when she saw this, was remind her of words Blake had said before. Discrimination was still a factor that couldn't be ignored. The fact that the only place Blake left her bow off or felt safe enough to do so was in the safety of their dorm room made Weiss feel worse about her initial behavior against faunus. Weiss was ultimately undecided if she had simply been ignorant or the facts or if she had simply been ignoring the truth of the situation for her own convenience. Of course, she had known all about the mistreatment of the faunus and her Father…well that wasn't something she cared to think about at the moment, or ever. Weiss instead avoided further eye contact and gathered up the rest of her clothing. "Sorry did I wake you?"

Blake didn't respond to that question and instead countered with one of her own, "Everything okay?"

Weiss then realized she must have given away in the tone of her voice that something was bother her. She moved towards her desk and glanced at the mirror. Her face was red as if she had been crying for a while. That was likely true but she hadn't really noticed just how much she had cried from the result of the nightmare. Just thinking about the reason behind the appearance she had brought the images to the forefront. Considering how frequent her thoughts kept focusing on that nightmare, it must have been true. She probably looked like a complete mess, "Just a bad dream." Weiss finally supplied before taking a few steps towards the door. "I think I will go ahead and take a shower. I'll meet you and the others at the cafeteria for breakfast."

She put a hand on the door but Blake spoke once more. "You sure you don't want to talk about it?" Blake pressed. This was part of the promise they had made at the docks some time ago. Shortly after Weiss had learned the truth. She had told Blake she didn't care she was a faunus, or a former member of the White Fang. Weiss didn't like her teammates hiding things from her. Not when they needed to be able to trust each other. Because their lives were in each others hands when they fought. And Weiss wanted to be someone that all of them could rely on when they absolutely needed to. So she should be more forthcoming about her own problems. But no, not this. This was all just caused by a stupid reoccurring nightmare. She would find a way to cope with this. This wasn't something she needed to burden her teammates with. She could handle it.

Weiss turned the doorknob and opened it, "I'd rather just try and forget about it. We do have a practical test to ready for." She wasn't trying to be dismissive to Blake but her talking like this wouldn't be out of the norm for her. With her school uniform in hand she then finally excused herself from the room. Blake would probably bring it up again later. At the very least, Weiss knew that Blake would take note of it. Talking about the nightmare would simply bring those thoughts and feelings too close to the surface. More so than they already were. Talking to Blake or any of the other about it would likely result in Weiss succumbing to tears. The last thing she needed to do was become even more emotional over this nightmare. All she needed to do was calm herself and push it from her mind.

The nightmare was ridiculous anyway. All she had to do was ensure she was never taken or held prisoner. She could easily control a variable like that. Unfortunately as the daughter of the Schnee Dust Company President, there was always a possibility that something like that could happen to her. Or the very least that a group of individuals would attempt it. Even with her training to be a huntress, she wasn't naive enough to dismiss the possibility of being targeted. Everyone was susceptible to having moments of weakness, moments of vulnerability. Avoiding those moments was all she needed to do. Yet she needed to be realistic and accept the fact that it was still very real possible for that to happen. As long as she was attentive it would be alright.

However the nightmare refused to leave her thoughts as she entered the shower room. She locked the door behind her and placed her uniform on the hook behind the door. A lingering set of questions was creeping into her mind. What would her team do if she were to be taken hostage? Weiss Schnee being kidnapped. Would team RWBY really come for her like in the events of her nightmare? Ruby Rose, she would most definitely charge in head first without thinking. She could just see it. Ruby getting the news that Weiss had be taken and she would be running out the door. It was her nature and something that Weiss chastised the girl because of it. It was a part of Ruby that she respected because she wished she could do it herself. And Weiss felt conflicted because knowing that Ruby would charge off to save her was something she actually loved. There wasn't anyone in her life before she met team RWBY that would ever do such a thing.

Her sister Winter would likely want to save her, but she wouldn't do so without permission. After all Winter was part of the military. Her Father would only save her if it would hurt his reputation if he didn't. An Mother...well...

She pulled her hair free from the scrunchy from her hair, then pulling her pajamas off. First her shirt and then pants, followed by her bra and panties. Weiss took a couple steps towards the shower before stopping and looking at the mirror. Her hand unconsciously went to the scar by her eye. The scar was like a symbol to her, and something to show for her dedication to make her life her own. The reason she had the scar was unimportant, but the motivation that came after that was what pushed her to follow this path. The path that led her to Beacon. She took in her naked body for a moment and could remember just how easy she likely had it growing up. Her skin, a silky smooth perfection. Indications of how much money could do to perfect your body. Lotions, and creams and many other assorted products gave her porcelain like skin a flawless smooth look. Because of this her breast seemed to pop out more, even them being a clear indicator of how well cared she had been in her life. She was shaved clean from top to bottom, smooth, flawless, just like a doll. That was why she had to escape, why she had to make it on her own.

Her body was an indicator of her heritage, and the difference she had compared to the others. What would Blake say if she saw her full pampered self? Blake had known difficulty, trying to survive day to day. Weiss' problems had been different. Her life had been built around lies and deceit and the constant danger that came from being a part of the Schnee Family. Relatives died, threatened or kidnapped in a attempt to get ransom or leverage against the Schnee Dust Company. Weiss was but a chess piece on her Father's board. If Weiss wanted to be free from that then she would have to find a way to do just that.

She had come to Beacon with just that motivation. To become a huntress and to separate herself from her Father and the Schnee Dust Company. Then maybe it would set her down a path that would make her able to shape the name Schnee to something she could be proud of. But that meant there were risks she would ultimately have to take. However because of that reoccurring nightmare all of that had become secondary in her thoughts. Instead she was consumed by a illogical fear.

Weiss finally went over to the shower and turned on the water and adjusted the water to be hotter than normal. The sound of water hitting the tiled floor became a comfort to her as it drowned out the silence. However it also broke the last of her composure. She saw the image once more. Ruby, bleeding, falling against Weiss as she takes her last breath. Weiss chained to a wall, can't reach out to Ruby. She can't help her, can't touch her. This girl...this young girl who had showed up in her life. "Ruby you reckless and dunce of a girl...you are..."

Weiss had to support herself by putting her hand against the shower. She finally stepped into the shower as the hot water went over her. This did exactly the opposite of what she had hoping. A careless mistake. She clenched her hand as the water washed over her. Her vision was now only of Ruby's blood coming all over her. Weiss found herself screaming as she stumbled against the shower wall and slid down to the ground. "RUBY! RUBY! NO! PLEASE NO!" Weiss screamed into her own arms as the nightmare came at her all over again. She was helpless against this. How could she combat something like this when the images refused to fade. "YOU CAN'T DIE!"

Tears flowed endlessly now from her eyes as her screams turned into cries. The shower continued to go, the sound her only comfort. Comfort that the sound would drown out her sorrows so that they wouldn't escape this room. Weiss let go of her composure completely and lost herself in the sorrow and pain that the nightmare gave her. Perhaps doing so would push her past it. So that no one else had to know just how important the girl, Ruby Rose, had become to the Ice Queen.

---

Ruby had to force her eyes open. She didn't want to wake up. She still couldn't quite get the hang of getting up in a decent amount of speed. Funny, considering her semblance was speed. She yawned and stretched as she sat up in her bed. Her blanket that covered her fell away from her and slid off her bed as she did so, albeit unintentionally. Well, now that she thought about it, when had she gone to bed? Hadn't she been studying? She found herself confused for a moment when she looked over to her desk and saw the stack of books she had been using last night all neatly stacked on it.

She stumbled off from her bed to the floor, landing with a bit of a thunk. She went over to the desk, curious as to how it got there. Ruby knew it wasn't her. Sitting down in her chair she flipped open the first book that had her homework and got her answer. There was only one person that did this. Weiss had put all her books away for her. And as she looked over her homework she realized Weiss had also made corrections to it and placed textbook page numbers by each of the questions. Obviously so Ruby would look at where the answers were so she would also learn where she should be looking for the answers. Weiss had been doing stuff like this a lot lately. Ruby appreciated but it seemed to be something that came out of nowhere. She was not awake enough to be wondering about this stuff.

"Good Morning Sis!" Yang said only a second before engulfing Ruby in a hug from behind her and picking her and her chair up in the process. Ruby was used to this despite not being fully awake.

"Morning, Yang," Ruby couldn't help but smile from Yang's enthusiasm and general morning energy. It usually didn't take Ruby long to gain her stride in the morning. She finally looked about the room for her other two teammates. Both Blake and Weiss were missing. Ruby frowned slightly, even with Weiss being so supportive and helpful to her, she was often gone in the mornings until class started. It wasn't like Ruby expected her partner to wait for her but maybe it was a sign that she needed to work on getting up earlier.

"Blake is grabbing us breakfast and she told me that Weiss would meet us down there and went to shower. She takes forever to shower apparently because I went and showered and was out before her," Yang shrugged after answering her unasked question. She finally relented her grip on Ruby "Come on, get dressed so we can get going. I'm starving."

"Alright," Ruby said closing her school book. She looked at the clock they had on the wall. Based on the time, she should be able to go eat and then come back to finish going over the homework. She also would need to thank Weiss for going through it for her. Ruby had hoped she could have Weiss go over the material with her this morning anyway. But was Weiss okay? Ruby felt as if she might be part of the problem and her partner was avoiding her. Did she always spend a long time in the shower? And how early did Weiss typically get up at? It wasn't like Weiss getting up and doing all she had done would have been done in a small amount of time. Weiss had to have easily spent a hour or more going through Ruby's homework. And Weiss was very detailed in the notes she left behind. Ruby felt she needed to delve into this a bit more, "Hey Yang?" Ruby started as she went over to the closet to pull out her school uniform. "Has Weiss always gotten up so early or taken a long time in the shower?"

"Can't say I ever really noticed, I'm usually the last to get up. But I want to say she has certainly been taking her time in the shower lately," Yang said thinking about it for a moment. "If you're worried about it, you should ask her. I'm sure she'd talk to you."

Ruby wasn't sure she believed that. Sure things had gotten better between all of Team RWBY lately. Especially after Blake had opened up to them and told them she was a faunus but there was still a lot of unanswered questions left in the air. Weiss had hinted a bit about her past and how the White Fang and their activities had made things difficult at home. But how it affected her had not been answered. Not to mention Blake and Weiss relationship still seemed strained to her. Weiss had said she didn't care about Blake's past as long as Blake had insisted that she had no involvement with them now. But Ruby knew it was much more than that. There were things people couldn't forget. And Ruby knew there was much about Weiss that she didn't know. Things she wasn't sure she had earned the right to ask about either. Ruby also had to acknowledge that she was wrong on this account to and it could be something completely different. But Ruby knew that something had definitely not been right with Weiss as of late.

Ruby didn't have much room to talk either. But that was because she still wasn't sure how she felt about things in her own past. She was sure that even Yang had things she didn't want to talk about either. All of them in Team RWBY had something they didn't want to bring up or linger on. At the same time, they were all just starting to really know each other. And there was so much more for them to consider. For one, they had a practical test coming up. And not a normal one either. And as it seemed to be the standard at the school, none of the teachers were about to reveal exactly what the test was or how it would work. That alone should take up the most of Ruby's mind. But coming up with a plan without knowing the challenge was like throwing darts at a target while blindfolded without first seeing where the target was or what it looked like.

She quickly changed into her school uniform and hood. Putting her pajamas in the dirty laundry hamper and then quickly making her bed. After that she did a quick inspection around the room and noticed the Weiss bed was still in a bit of dishevel. Ruby leaned down and noticed the the sheets were in a unusual mess and her pillow looked like it had seen better days. Weiss was ever the perfectionist, so it seemed out of character that she would leave her bed in such a state. And something about the state of her pillow was bothering Ruby too. She shook it off and quickly made Weiss' bed as well. Putting it exactly as the Ice Queen made it every morning.

The Ice Queen was hardly an accurate nickname for Weiss. What were some of the other ones? Snow Angel had been something Jaune had used when he had hit on Weiss. Hardly a good way to get on someone's good side. Ruby had attempted to think of a good nickname that maybe Weiss would like but really came up with nothing. All it did was cause Ruby to visualize Weiss in all her glory in her mind.

Weiss had that long, beautiful white hair that Ruby couldn't help but admire. Her pale complexion of her skin only seemed to show how perfect her skin was. Her nails were also perfectly trimmed without a single flaw. Ruby felt that Weiss was easily the most beautiful and elegant girl in all of Beacon. Though there was one thing that always caught Ruby's eyes when she looked at her partner. The crooked scar down her left eye. Out of everything that could grab Ruby's attention, that was what always grabbed her. She felt somewhat bad about it because she knew that Weiss took great care of her appearance. After all she was incredibly beautiful. And it must have taken a lot of work to uphold that appearance. Still what had created that scar? What was the story behind that?

What also worried Ruby was the hardships that Weiss had to face. And it was obviously worrisome enough that Weiss wasn't going to share that with her. Ruby could only assume that it was something wrong with herself. Maybe Ruby just wasn't strong enough for Weiss to trust with that information. She knew she needed to just keep trying to catch up to Weiss. She had been moved up a couple years because of Professor Ozpin moving her up but she still had to catch up with her academic knowledge. In order to really get caught up she needed to get to a point where she didn't need to rely on Weiss help to understand a subject. She knew continuing to drag behind the others academically was hardly going to gain her any favor from her partner.

Then again her partner had been quite distant lately, and Ruby didn't know how to approach her as a result. Only for the fact that Ruby wasn't sure if Weiss would ever confide in her. Honestly the whole situation had been making Ruby depressed.

"Come on, Ruby. You ready? I doubt Weiss is really going to acknowledge that you made her bed though," Yang was just teasing but Ruby frowned. She took another look at Weiss bed that she had now made it as pristine as possible to mimic how Weiss usually made up her bed. She eyed the pillow, something about the state of it was now really bothering her. She turned back to Yang and walked to her.

"Alright, lets get going," Ruby nodded before the two of them left their dorm room behind. It didn't take them that long to get down to the cafeteria, but walking through the brisk morning air had made Ruby wake up a bit more. Well, she was still trying to wake up as they made it to the cafeteria and sat in Team RWBY's usual spot. Jaune and Pyrrha sat there but seemed to be the only ones there so far.

"Good Morning, Ruby and Yang," Pyrrha welcomed them with a smile, she was fully dressed and seemed more wide awake then most of the school. Heck she always seemed ready for combat. I wonder if that was ever a problem for Jaune. "You still look tired, Ruby."

"Yeah, I guess," Ruby said as she yawned being unable to hold it back. She really needed to get better at managing her time with studying. It would probably save time if she could just study with Weiss. Except it wouldn't be that great for Weiss, who was much smarter and probably the best at school work out of everyone in Team RWBY. Well, Blake did pretty well, and Yang seemed more like someone that would coast by on her school work but even she was pretty good at staying caught up. Ruby did her best on her own. After all she didn't want to hold back her team, and until she could hold her own with them in class it was better she studied alone. Recently though Weiss would correct her mistakes but only when Ruby had fallen asleep. And then Weiss would pretend she had done nothing for her. Well maybe not pretend but she would never talk about it.

Jaune yawned as well a moment after Ruby had, "Don't do that, yawning is contagious you know."

"Sorry," Ruby apologized but Jaune waved her off and offered her a smile.

"Nah, don't worry about it. It's hard enough for me to wake up in the morning anyway. Just ask Pyrrha," Jaune quickly explained.

Ruby wasn't sure if it was the continued thoughts of what may be wrong with Weiss that kept her slow moving this morning or that she really was still tired. Things got a little livelier as Blake, Ren and Nora came up to the table with a large plate of pancakes. Blake had taken the precaution of ensuring Nora stayed away from the syrup, forcing the other girl to carry all the plates and silverware for the two teams.

"Blake, don't be such a sourpuss, I just want a small taste," Nora pleaded as she placed the plates and silverware on the table.

"And leave no syrup for anyone else? I think you can wait," Blake said as she moved to the other side of Yang and sat down, placing the syrup in front of her.

"Aw…you're no fun," Nora frowned and crossed her arms as she and Ren sat opposite of their own teammates.

"Pancakes? Is this meal really well balanced enough? We should ensure we are getting a complete and balanced diet to be prepared for the upcoming practical test," Weiss appeared from seemingly nowhere as she sat down next to Ruby. Despite the young heiress words she took up a plate and using a fork put two of the pancakes on her plate. All while not really giving much attention to Ruby. Ruby couldn't help but look at her partner that seemed to be ignoring her once more. Had she done something to anger her?

Ruby found herself zoning out for a while as the others around her spoke. She had been so afraid she wouldn't get along with anyone when she arrived at Beacon. Having gotten into the academy the way she had. Feeling that many people might feel like she didn't deserver to be at Beacon. She was sure that she would be segregated in some fashion from people that were meant to be her peers. That hadn't happened. Although, Weiss had initially wanted nothing to do with Ruby. But things happened so quickly at the schools opening test. Maybe that was how it was meant to be. The world was always changing so why should it be any different at school? Especially when they were all training to hunt monsters. What was wrong with her this morning? She did feel more sluggish than usual but was that it? It likely might have to do with Weiss more or less ignoring her lately.

After a moment a nudge came from her side and she turned to see Weiss giving her a disapproving glare. Wait had she somehow heard her thoughts? Weiss then indicated to the empty plate in front of her, "Ruby, you need to eat. Because you were so slow you don't get any syrup since Nora ate it all." Weiss clearly not happy with the girls' antics gave a glare to Nora.

"But it's just sooooo yummy!" Nora said with a giggle. "I can't help myself."

"Come on, you saw that Ruby hadn't gotten hers yet. You could use some lessons in restraining yourself," Weiss said obviously annoyed.

"It's fine Weiss. I'm not really hungry," Ruby said softly. She normally would have been first to stack her plate with food. So when she glanced over at Weiss she also noticed a concerned glance from Yang and a few others. Yeah, she was definitely out of sorts this morning. However she couldn't deny that Weiss being concerned about her like this made her a little happy.

"It is not alright, Ruby. Do I need to lecture you about how important it is for you to have breakfast? Especially with our practical exam coming up. And you staying up so late studying doesn't help your health either. It's give and take, Ruby. If you aren't getting enough sleep then you should at least make sure you are eating right," Weiss was glaring at Ruby again before letting out a sigh and forcibly putting a couple of pancakes on Ruby's plate. "I don't find it acceptable for our team leader to not be taking care of herself."

"Weiss, why don't you just tell her that you're worried about her?" Yang spoke as more of an off-hand comment.

Weiss didn't refute the point but instead took it as an opportunity to turn it on Yang. "And why aren't you more worried for her? You're her elder sister aren't you? I shouldn't have to be the only one looking out for her. She is the leader of Team RWBY after all. The test coming up is a practical one, so our health should be all of our number one concern." Weiss was quick to turn back to Ruby. "Come on, eat."

Ruby looked at her teammates and realized Weiss wasn't going to let it go so Ruby picked up her fork and started to eat. The conversation around her erupted back to life when she did so. With Weiss taking a moment to ensure Ruby was eating the food in front of her. Ruby found herself slipping back into her own thoughts again. If the next test was practical, that meant they would all be out on the battle field again. Normally Ruby would be excited for a test like that. The battlefield was what she excelled in. Still the groggy feeling didn't seem to be going away. She just felt like something was really off with her this morning. As Team leader she needed to get over this in some fashion. At the very least put up a front so her team members wouldn't worry about her. If Weiss was being so concerned over her as to break her usual silence towards her, then she needed to step up.

The rest of the morning went off well enough. Although Ruby didn't really pay much attention to the action around her. She knew she needed to somehow break out of her mood but something just felt wrong. And the test would be coming up faster than she cared for it to. She went back to the dorm room after breakfast and lost herself for a time in studying. Going over the homework with Weiss' notes went a long ways in her understanding the material. Weiss was at her own desk, seemingly absorbed in her own studies. Blake was in her bed reading a book, as she was often seen doing. And Yang was sitting down on the floor next to Blake's bed and looking like she was attempting to study.

Ruby looked to Weiss. Her hair in its usual side pony tail. Everything about her appearance was perfect and beautiful as it always was. Weiss focused on her work taking notes as she flipped through her different books. Had she done something to make Weiss upset at her? To make her not be able to trust her. Like Yang had said, she just needed to talk to Weiss about it. But no. Not right now. She was busy and it was almost time for class.

A moment like this for Team RWBY was one that Ruby always enjoyed. She allowed herself a small smile as all four of them relaxed before classes and the rest of the day would begin. She wasn't so sure why she felt so down today, but things in her life were good. Ruby was confident she'd be able to shake it as the day went on. So for the moment she would simply focus on one thing at a time.

---

She drummed her fingers on the table impatiently as she watched other Teams eating dinner. Where had the others gone to? Even the JNPR team hadn't arrived yet. It was possible the team members had met up on the way here and were simply taking their time. Weiss was at her limit of tolerance for the day. Starting with a ridiculous nightmare and her subsequent breakdown in the bathroom had not been the greatest of starts. Then Ruby's somber mood for the day hadn't helped her either as it made it impossible for Weiss not to get involved to try and do something to help Ruby. Her partner's enthusiasm was often something that helped Weiss through the day, so to see her the way she had been today had bothered her more than she liked. If she wasn't her usual self then Weiss would end up slipping as well.

She already knew that Ruby was quite aware of Weiss putting distance between them. Hopefully she wasn't the cause for Ruby's mood today.

"There you are, Weiss," Blake appeared on the side of Weiss with a slight smile.

"Blake, where are the others?" Weiss was not even hiding her frustration. Though she was starting to believe she might be at fault for this. Well she was mostly okay with that if it was indeed the case.

"On the way. Yang dragged her sister off to shower, I guess," Blake shrugged. Weiss though that was probably a good idea, it might help Ruby. "My guess is she's trying to cheer her up. Well you know how Yang tends to do things."

"Well, Ruby needs to get it together since that test is only a couple days away," Weiss muttered as she noticed Pyrrha had entered the cafeteria. More than likely meaning that meant the rest of the JNPR team would be joining them soon enough.

"You haven't exactly been yourself either, Weiss," Blake commented rather bluntly.

"I'll be fine," Weiss avoided her gaze and was likely too quick to be defensive. All she would succeed in doing was confirm Blake's suspicion.

"Look I know you are worried about Ruby. You should talk to her. And I mean, really talk with her, Weiss. You spend too much time hiding what you are feeling," Blake spoke plainly as Pyrrha, Jaune, Ren and Nora could all be seen approaching from the other side of the cafeteria to where they were sitting.

"You're one to talk," Weiss countered Blake. It came out colder than she intended but she had committed to dealing with her own problems herself. Her concerns weren't real, they were just the result of a nightmare.

Blake sighed but did not deny it, "I never said I wasn't guilty of it. But this is what we're trying to get better at, right? To trust each other as a team."

Weiss nodded, "You're right. I'm not really worried about Ruby, per say. I just haven't been able to shake the bad dream I had. So I'm just out of sorts today. Nothing serious, I promise." She freely admitted this to Blake. She didn't have to admit the details of the nightmare she had occurred nearly every night for this last week, but she wasn't lying or hiding it from her. And the thought of admitting to Ruby how important the younger girl was becoming to her was hard to see herself ever putting into words. Thinking of how badly she had broken down in the shower room this morning, she couldn't see ever talking to anyone about that.

"Where's Ruby?" Jaune asked as team JNPR took their usual spots across from them.

"She'll be here soon," Weiss said offhand as she got to her feet. "I'm going to go get some food."

Weiss ignored the questioning stares from the people at the table as she headed towards the other side of the cafeteria to get her dinner. She found herself more annoyed now. Blake was perceptive and saw through Weiss actions throughout the day. She had more or less told Blake the truth of it. But just not the details. She was sure Blake would be understanding about having such nightmares and just wanting to move past it on your own. It was hardly something that need to be made more prevalent to the team. She still wanted some time alone, but after Ruby had the day she had, Weiss was going to make sure the girl ate properly at at least one of the meals today.

Weiss had wanted to talk to Ruby, but she never knew how to do that. She wasn't good at talking, especially when it was to people that called her friend. It was still a foreign concept to her. After all, she had been taught for her entire life, that she needed to be keep herself well-guarded. Telling no one anything for a simple reason. Because knowledge was a weapon that could be used against you. And all of that brought her back to her nightmare. That ridiculous and idiotic nightmare that continued to affect her, regardless of what she did. It simply would not go away. Images of it had continued to flash in her mind, and each time it threatened to consume her thoughts.

It didn't matter what Weiss wanted. If she were to be honest, she would love to call herself Ruby's best friend. To be able to talk to her and tell her anything and everything. To do their nails together and talk about cute boys. Yeah all the things she had openly mocked when they had first met. But in truth it was something she had always wanted to be able to do. But that wasn't allowed for her. Wasn't appropriate for someone of her status. And then there was the other fear that often gripped her. The one fear that the nightmare was reminding her of constantly over the last few days. People that would use the ones she cared about against her. That was the real truth of it, and why the nightmare refused to go away. Ultimately her true fear was coming about because of how close she had become to Ruby and the others.

She wanted to follow her own path. She didn't want to live her life worried about friends and family and have the thought of who was going to disappear this year. But what if someone had come to Beacon? What if they had been observing her to determine who her friends were? Any of her fellow members on Team RWBY would be viable targets against Weiss. However she was keenly aware that Ruby would make the most likely target. There was no other reason why Ruby was the primary one she saw die in her nightmare. Because she knew the death of Ruby would likely traumatize her more than she ever wanted to admit.

She shook her thoughts away for the moment as she gathered a plate for the buffet style serving they had in the cafeteria tonight. What had Ruby eaten today? She more or less forced herself to eat breakfast because of Weiss' insistence. More than likely she hadn't gotten a good balance of food at all. What was she talking about? Her leader thought a good lunch was a dozen chocolate chip cookies. And she also believed that Weiss didn't know about her stash she hid in the back of the top drawer of her desk either. If she was going to remain in top shape she needed to be more mindful of her diet. With these thoughts in mind she gathered up a collection of different food and headed back to the table where the others were. Ruby and Yang had finally joined them at the table.

Ruby seemed to be smiling which was a major improvement over the majority of the day had gone. They were all talking rather cheerfully and Weiss looked down at the food she had and then placed it in front of Ruby. It halted the conversation they were all having and they all looked at her. Ruby gave her a puzzled look.

Weiss was hardly in the mood for them to give her this kind of look, "Don't give me that look. I am simply ensuring that you are getting a well-balanced diet. I can't have you malnourished when the test comes up. Now eat." Weiss then simply turned around and headed back to get her own food without regarding the looks everyone else was giving her. Everyone had their own way of expressing concern, but Weiss couldn't afford to do more than small gestures. Maybe she was just being overly paranoid? It was the only real way that she felt she could express concern for Ruby. And right now it was just hard for her to look at Ruby for the same idiotic reason she was in this mood. Looking at Ruby only prompted visions of that damn nightmare. Ruby covered in blood, and dying against Weiss.

Whenever she thought she was over thinking it she would see it all once again. Images of her nightmare, Ruby dead and the young girl's blood all over Weiss. That was why she had to maintain things as they were. She could prevent anything from happening if she wasn't close to them. If she kept her distance from all of Team RWBY. Then maybe they wouldn't try to rescue her if she was kidnapped. If Ruby was mad at her or didn't think Weiss cared then maybe she wouldn't do something so reckless. She would be safe and wouldn't chase after her. Maybe she wasn't being the most successful in that regard. Ruby wasn't an idiot and would notice all Weiss had done to help her, even if she was trying to dismiss it as her just doing it for herself. After all their grade was collective, so she only did as well as the worst member on their team.

Weiss mindlessly filled her plate with food, mimicking what she had given Ruby and returned to the table, sitting next to Ruby without so much as a thought. She didn't pay attention to the others and only spared a look over to ensure that Ruby was eating. Fortunately it didn't seem like Ruby was against it and was eating with the usual appetite that Weiss was used to seeing from the young girl. The chatter, laughter of those around her only seemed to deepen her own thoughts and fears. It was this, this right here that she wanted to be a part of. To join in the conversation, to laugh, to be friends with her teammates. Yet, she couldn't be. Not if she wanted to protect them from the dangers that came from being close to her. Or maybe she was simply protecting herself from the dangers that came with trusting others.

"Weiss, are you okay?" it was Ruby. It was stupid of her to think Ruby wouldn't notice Weiss' bad mood. She only just noticed how hard she was gripping her fork.

"Of course, I'm fine," Weiss said as she took another bite of her food. Turning away from Ruby. Then she felt it on her cheek, a tear escaping from her eye. She quickly wiped it away, suppressing the buildup of emotions or attempting to. This was definitely not something she needed. Was she seriously this affected by a reoccurring nightmare? Why? And why was she unable to even look at Ruby? She couldn't handle this.

"But Weiss you were…"

"Mind your own business!" Weiss yelled and slammed her fists on the table and was definitely more commanding than she intended and saw Ruby shrink back in response. Everyone else at the table was looking at her again and even conversations in groups near them had stopped as well. Weiss temper had flared up and was beyond saving. The only way for her to save face and not give up the ghost that she was holding something back was to leave. She got up from the table and grabbing her food she walked away. She didn't dare look or acknowledge anyone else from the group. No, simply moving to the other side wasn't going to be enough. Weiss took her food and left the cafeteria.

This was how it should be. If she didn't make a clear line, if she didn't separate herself from them, then her nightmare would only be an inevitable end. Weiss feared the solitude more than anything else. She could handle being disliked or hated if they were able to still work together. It was much better than the alternative. But the possibility of her team being brought into the dangers that came with the Schnee family refused to leave her mind. That it was possible that someone could target them to get to Weiss. She could not live with that. She would not see her friends be used as a tool. And most of all, she did not want to see any of them hurt because of her, just because of who she was. Because of the name Schnee. Too many had been hurt enough because of that name, be it the faunus or the other members of the Schnee family. So Weiss would continue to push Ruby away. She would continue to separate herself from her and her teammates. As much as she longed to be a part of the group, to do all the things that friends do. There was a single truth that Weiss could never change. Her loneliness was what saved others. Within her solitude, no one could be used to harm her and no one would be harmed to be used against her. She was saving them by doing this.

If this was the truth, if Weiss knew that this was the right solution, then why? Why did it hurt so much?

---

"She is such a spoiled brat," Yang commented, which had Ruby shaking her head.

"I don't think so," Ruby spoke softly. She couldn't think that way considering all Weiss did for her without ever asking for it. Everything that Weiss did, that she never wanted to openly admit to Ruby, she had done to help her.

"I have to agree with Ruby. Despite Weiss' words she has been taking care of your sister, Yang. I'm more concerned as to why her actions and her words seem to contradict each other," Blake said from the other side of Yang. If Blake had noticed it then it just made Ruby wonder more as to why Weiss was being so cold to them. It wasn't a simple task to learn something when it was something that someone was trying to hide. But what was she trying to hide from her? She had been so forth coming with wanting to be an effective team and now, something had changed. Whatever had changed had caused her to now do the opposite. She was separating herself from them.

"What do you mean?" Yang asked her partner.

"Weiss has been looking over Ruby's homework as well as making sure she is eating correctly and probably half a dozen other things she tries to hide. It's more like she doesn't want us to know that she actually cares," Blake let out a sigh. "That wasn't the first time she has cried today either."

"She was crying before?" Ruby asked. She was used to Weiss not telling her much of anything but was Weiss really okay? And why wouldn't she talk to her? Did she do something to make Weiss angry? Maybe she just wasn't someone that Weiss trusted. Because of her grades? Because she was younger? Was it something that Weiss felt she wouldn't understand? Ruby felt it could be any number of reasons.

"She said it was a bad dream. And she took that moment to go take a shower," Blake locked eyes with Ruby. "Whatever it is, it's shaken her up pretty bad. Bad enough that, she has spent most of the day trying to anger all of us."

"Anger us?" Ruby couldn't seem to remember it being that way. Everyone had bad days, so maybe this was just Weiss having one. But even if that was what it was, it still worried Ruby.

"Well she's already good at that normally, why make extra effort?" Yang shrugged. "But Blake, why would she want to anger us?"

"I don't know. It was just the feeling I got from her today. She was polite to me this morning but after that, she's just been trying to push my buttons. And she knows some good ways to really get me angry at her. Yet she was still mindful of how she directed her comments to me. Look, all I am saying is that something is wrong with her and she is trying to manipulate us so that. Well, maybe make it so we don't care what happens to her," Blake shook her head as the three of them walked through the courtyard and off towards the dorm building.

Ruby stopped and looked up at the moon. "Is it something that she thinks we can't handle?" Weiss didn't want her to care? That wasn't something people usually did. Or wanted.

"That might be part of it," Blake nodded. "Remember what she said about her childhood?"

"You mean when the two of you were arguing about the White Fang?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, it's bothered me ever since then. Weiss comes from a powerful and influential family that is known everywhere. And just as Weiss said, she's a victim. It is only a matter of time before someone personally targets her," Blake spoke softly and the three members of RWBY said nothing for quite some time. It wasn't something they had to consider before. The White Fang and their interactions with Roman Torchwick hadn't really been about any of them. No they got involved to interfere with them. RWBY as a team or any individual of the team had never been a target. It had all just been happenstance.

However, Weiss Schnee would be a powerful bargaining chip to use against the Schnee company. She wasn't sure exactly the way her family worked, but she had too imagine that they would be prompted to action if Weiss was hurt or something else entirely. It led Ruby to a different line of thinking.

"She must be afraid. That something will happen to us," Ruby spoke softly feeling that the weight of those words brought a truth to her partner that made Ruby somber. Weiss had to be lonely. She wanted to be friends, right? But she must felt like she couldn't. Anyone that became her friend would be in possible danger. Someone that could be used against her. Especially if groups like the White Fang that openly went against the Schnee Dust Company. How could Ruby help against that? It wasn't something that she could fight against.

No, it was something that would always be present in Weiss' life. People thought it was crazy that a Schnee would train to become a huntress. It wasn't like she ever wanted for anything in her life, right? She could have stayed at home and become successful without any need for coming to Beacon. She was also rather talented outside of the battle field. She had a singing voice that many would kill to have. And she had success with singing as well. Yet, here she was at a school training huntsman and huntresses, for reasons they still didn't really know.

If she was afraid of the dangers presented to her friends, then maybe she honestly hadn't thought this far ahead. As well prepared as Weiss Schnee had always been, maybe the friendships she had started to build with them was something new to her. Something that had never been a part of her plans. An oversight to potential risks she could encounter. Friendships and relationships that she realized could be used against her and could put them all in danger. Was this it? Was this what Weiss was hiding from them? If it was, it could be any number of reasons. One of them being, telling them this meant admitting it to herself that Team RWBY was important to her. Admitting to them.

"What should we do? She's determined to suffer on her own. I'm sure she would have realized sooner when we had to make teams that this problem would come up for her," Yang shook her head. "This is messed up."

"More than likely she is a little like Ruby. Being a huntress is what she always wanted. And probably even making friends and just enjoy being a girl for a while. Despite being the heiress for the Schnee Dust Company, she's here training to be a huntress. Something she doesn't really need to do. I mean…" Blake paused and moving in front of her two teammates. "I think for now we just go on as we usually do."

"If Weiss is hurting, then I don't want to just do nothing," Ruby was somewhat surprised that Blake would suggest they just carry on as if there was nothing wrong. "I want her to, to talk to me about this. I know if she did then…"

"Then what, Ruby?" Blake interrupted her. The tone was more accusatory than Ruby expected. "Even if she came to us and told us everything, that wouldn't remove the truth of the situation. Anyone close to Weiss is a potential target. That is more than likely why she is so torn about this. Not to mention it means she would have to openly admit that she cares about us. You know exactly what she would do if you rushed up to her and demanded answers."

Blake was right. Weiss would never open up to Ruby about the truth, about what was really weighing on her mind. And Ruby wasn't sure she had earned the right to ask. She still wanted to go talk to Weiss and wanted to get this all out in the open. Maybe they were overreacting about this whole situation and Weiss was just having a bad day because of the bad dream she had. Weiss was just genuinely in a bad mood today and there was nothing to worry about. However, if they were right about this then Weiss was carrying a heavy weight on her shoulders. One she felt she had to carry all on her own. Ruby couldn't imagine having to separate yourself from people you wanted to be friends with. Not just to save herself but the people that could potentially be victims just for knowing and being close to Weiss. And it wasn't right. She deserved to be happy. She deserved to have friends.

How could Ruby possibly convince Weiss that she could come to them? Come to her? That even if there was a chance they could be hurt that, it was something her team was willing to risk. Ruby especially since she had tried so hard to become Weiss' friend. Yet whenever she felt she had made progress, things seemed to revert to how they were before. Was it because of Weiss constantly checking to ensure she didn't get close to anyone? How was she supposed to make her open up when Ruby had such a hard time understanding why people would do that to Weiss?

It wasn't even about Weiss. It was the Schnee Dust Company and how Weiss could be used to harm the company and her Father who ran it. That was the most likely truth about this whole situation to begin with. Even if Weiss wanted nothing to do with her Fathers company. She could still be used as a tool against him. There had to be a welcome balance to where Weiss could be happy. Maybe Ruby was wishing for too much and being too idealistic. But she knew it wasn't wrong for her to wish for the happiness of her team.

How lonely had Weiss' life been up to this point? What was she trying to do here? Was she trying to find a way to not be dependent on her family's namesake or did she have a greater aspiration that led her to training to be a huntress? There were so many questions that Ruby wish she knew the answer to. Ultimately, she likely needed to earn more trust. She needed to prove to Weiss in some form or another that she could be trusted. Ruby just had no idea exactly how she was going to do that.

"I think for now we should spend some time thinking about what to do," Yang finally spoke, seemingly, the most unsure of what to do of everyone. "And like Blake said we should just go on as we usually do. And let Weiss do what she does."

Ruby nodded. She didn't like it but she didn't have a better idea. "Yeah, but if she talks to me then I'm going to be honest with her. I am not going to lie to her."

Both Blake and Yang looked at each other and shared a smile before the two looked back at her. "Of course, Ruby," Blake seemed happy with her answer.

"You are her partner. I like to think if she is going to come to anyone it would be to you," Yang added.

If Ruby couldn't know why Weiss was so troubled at the moment, then she would wait and stay with Weiss until she was ready to talk. Then eventually she was sure that Weiss would tell Ruby the truth. She could only hope that it would be enough to support her partner. Ruby hoped that the Ice Queen knew she was waiting for her, if only she took the chance and talked to her.

---

"The point of this test is to see how well your team has evolved as a unit. You are to proceed through the forest of Forever Fall. Within the forest you will find four puzzle peices. Retrieve them and return here. Your grades will be based on your ability to work as a group. You have 8 hours to complete the task. Now get into your positions," Ozpin's instructions were short and to the point. Not much to go on, but that seemed to be par for the course when it came to Ozpin.

Weiss settled into her position with Ruby to her left and her other teammates to her right. Things had gone back to normal recently even with Weiss taking extra care to keep her distance from the others. The only thing that bothered her was that she was increasingly aware of the distance between her and Ruby. Weiss was well aware that her teammates knew there was something up with her. She needed to ensure she didn't bring her team down as a result of her own selfishness. She had focused more on her training and exercise to make sure she wouldn't be a hindrance despite her seperating herself from the team slowly. She needed to find equilibrium in order to balance with the team.

However, instead the nightmare had only increased as of late. To the point that Weiss was afraid of falling asleep. Not only because of the reoccurring nightmare, but that one of those nights she might wake up in tears, or screaming. If that happened, there was no hiding from her teammates just how badly something was weighing on her mind. Even now the heavy bags under her eyes told everyone how little sleep she had been getting. She needed to push all of that out of her mind and simply focus on the task in front of her.

She could do this. Weiss was positive she could do it all. Then one day, after all of this, she could tell her team the whole truth. Maybe then she could finally be true friends with all members of RWBY. For now it would have to remain where it was as merely a dream. A fond dream that she cherished greatly. Perhaps the thought of being able to tell them was just a dream as well. There was no way she could ever assume she would get away from being in line to take over the Schnee Dust Company. Unless for whatever reason Winter took over, but Weiss doubt that would ever happen. Still the name Schnee meant something to her but it wasn't the name that her Father was building. Her image of the Family name was much different. But to do anything about it she would have to become stronger still. Much stronger than she was now.

The signal to start came and Weiss took off in a sprint, following behind Ruby as they ran into the forest of Forever Fall. She would hold up her end of the team and make sure everything ran smoothly.

"What's the plan, little sis?" Yang called out.

"Weiss and I will head out towards the North. Blake and you can head towards the south and we'll try and find clues for the puzzle pieces. Be careful and fall back if there are any creatures of Grim that you aren't sure you can handle. We can regroup by signaling our positions into the air. So make sure you pay attention to sounds of combat around you," Ruby was quick to give out the orders. "Look for anything that seems out of place."

"Got it," Blake said and then veered off towards the south.

"See you soon," Yang said as she ran off with Blake.

Ruby immediately changed her own direction towards the north and Weiss followed behind her. Eight hours was a long time to have in order to complete a test. How much trouble could they come across? Was it something more than just the creatures of Grimm? Well, it possibly could have to do with the puzzle pieces themselves. And how were they even supposed to find them? Fanning out and covering as much ground as possible was a decent strategy coming from Ruby, but would that be enough? Weiss wasn't here to question Ruby's decisions. She was just more concerned about them being able to finish their test. Plus, while Ruby had seemingly done better with her diet as of late, Weiss was still concerned about Ruby.

Weiss had still continued to have the same nightmare, with them even being slightly different on occasion. But really they were all still the same. Each time she was taken and every time Ruby came to save her but she would die in the attempt. It was an image that Weiss couldn't get out of her head no matter what she tried. Now it became normal for her to take medication to ensure she got enough sleep but only to be woken with a nightmare early in the morning. She would then get up and check over Ruby's homework and slip out to the showers before anyone else got up. Sometimes she would find herself crying in frustration while in the shower and other times she would barely feel anything at all. She knew that this whole thing was not healthy. And she didn't have a right to lecture Ruby about keeping herself healthy when she couldn't take care of her own wellbeing. The lack of a full nights sleep was going to get to her eventually. She was positive that it was having a negative effect on her aura and ability to use her glyphs. Not to mention she knew that negative emotion often lured in Grimm. She couldn't keep herself in this state but she couldn't do anything about it right now. Weiss shook those thoughts and focused them back to the task at hand, she would simply deal with one thing at a time.

Ruby suddenly came to a stop in front of her, which Weiss did as well and pulled up Myrtenaster in a defensive stance as she took a quick look around. Ruby seemed to have her eyes on something.

"What is it?" Weiss asked.

"It looks, like an entrance to a ruin," Ruby said pointing off into the distance.

Considering how dense parts of the forest of Forever Fall could be, Weiss was impressed that Ruby could see anything but sure enough when she looked she could see a doorway of sorts in the distance. The two of them started walking towards it, being more cautious as they approached it.

Ruby approached the entrance and ran her hand along one side of the doorway. "There are some deep scratches here. Looks like there was quite a battle here. And looks like whatever door was here was forced off a long time ago." Despite Ruby being two years younger than her, she still found herself impressed by her observational skills when on a battlefield. She was hopeless in a social situation but give her a weapon and an enemy to fight and she truly stood out. She had questioned her acceptance into Beacon for quite some time even after fighting along side her in the initiation but Weiss could begin to see the qualities that made her a better leader than she could be. Qualities that obviously Ozpin had seen.

While Weiss generally saw Ruby as clueless and a bit of a klutz, that really only applied at school or social interactions. Ruby, was like a completely different person when they were out in dangerous situations. In the wilderness Ruby was observant, noticing small details and putting things together much faster than Weiss could. It wasn't something she really cared to admit. Professor Port had pointed out much of her own flaws, much to her dismay. Ruby was much more apt to lead, all Weiss could do was support her to the best of her own ability. And she wanted to protect Ruby, even if she couldn't quite understand her own motivations for doing so. The nightmare she kept having didn't help that. It had actually increased her desire to protect the girl. Because a part of her wished she could be more like Ruby. Just like there was a part of her that wanted to be close friends with Ruby.

"We should take a look. It is a pretty noticeable landmark. It would make an ideal place to hold one of the puzzle pieces," Weiss said, speaking out loud what Ruby had probably been thinking.

"Alright," Ruby picked up a decent looking stick and looked like she was trying to find an easy way to light it. Weiss sighed and took it from her. As much as she secretly kind of wanted to watch the girl struggle to light a stick on fire. It was kinda cute when Ruby was trying to figure something out.

Weiss placed a quick fire rune on the end of the stick and it lit on fire. While a bit unorthodox it would be enough to serve its purpose. She held on to it and took a step into the dark entrance, "Come on, Ruby."

"Okay," Ruby nodded and took the lead as they both went into the entrance. It was a short hall that quickly turned into a spiraling staircase. Then when they got to the base of the stairs, the whole underground seemed to open up before them. "Whoa."

That was one way to say it. Weiss couldn't seem to find words appropriate to describe it. It was a gigantic area but at the center were a pedestal and a singular item. The rest of the area was difficult to see as most of it was cloaked in darkness. Weiss noticed something along one side of where they stood and moved towards it, putting the torch to what seemed like…before she could finish her thought; flame erupted and quickly went down what looked like a small wall. The indentation that was on the top of the wall must have held some kind of oil or fuel. The fire went down and wrapped around the area down at the bottom, a large circle that surrounded the pedestal and then back up to the other side to where the two girls stood.

"I guess we don't need this," Weiss said as she put out the fire on the torch and threw it to the ground.

"Looks like we found it," Ruby said as she started walking towards the pedestal.

"Well, we found something. Whether it has to do with the test or not is something else," Weiss said as she fell in step behind her making sure she was still alert.

They approached the pedestal and finally got a decent look at what the item on it was. And it looked like a puzzle piece. Only a rather big one.

"That Ozpin. I thought it would have been something more…" Weiss struggled to come up with a good word to cover her frustration.

"…unique?" Ruby suggested.

"Or anything other than just a large puzzle piece. Then again I guess if you aren't going to give any clues you can't make it too difficult.," Weiss crossed her arms. "Anyway, is there a clue to where the next piece is at?"

Ruby had picked it up and was turning it over in her hand. "It's got a symbol on the back. Well, it just looks like the letter T." She handed it over to Weiss.

Weiss looked at it for a moment. Sure it looked like a T, but it was too long to be seen as a T. "Maybe it's a map and the location of each puzzle piece is at the end of each point."

"Yeah but there is supposed to be four pieces," Ruby said seemingly not satisfied with what Weiss had said. Still it wasn't like there was anything else that could be interpreted from the piece. "Alright well, let's get out of here."

Weiss nodded as the two of them started walking towards the exit. She felt that this was probably too easy. Why would Ozpin give them eight hours to complete it when they had found the first piece so quickly? Were the other ones harder to find? Or maybe the others were being protected by creatures of Grimm. If that was true then… "Ruby, maybe we should regroup with Blake and Yang. If we have a decent idea of where the others are then it might be safer."

"You're probably right. The other ones will most likely be protected by creatures of Grimm, or something that would have made Ozpin put such a large time on the completion of this test," Ruby had come to the same conclusion. It made Weiss want to smile a bit but thankfully in the dim light of the ruins it wouldn't be spotted.

It didn't take long for them to reach the surface and back into the forest. This time they headed south. The moved back into a run, which Weiss didn't mind but she didn't have the stamina as Ruby did. Still she had decent stamina, it was just in a fight she used a lot of energy when using her glyphs. The two of them came to a stop in a clearing. A few moments later, Blake and Yang appeared from the other side.

"Looks like you two had the same idea we did," Blake said as they approached.

"Man, if all the pieces are that easy then that time limit was not needed at all," Yang commented as she came over and pulled her sister into a half hug.

"So I take it that you two found a puzzle piece as well?" Weiss tried to ensure that they were more focused on their task.

"Yep," Yang said pulling out the piece and tossing it to Weiss.

Weiss took a moment to look over it. It was like the other one and had its own marking, but it was a diagonal line. She walked over to Ruby and pulled out the other puzzle piece straight from Ruby's pocket and then placed the pieces together. The two markings lined up giving it a fourth line and a possible destination. "If this is right then there is another piece to the east and the south-east. Assuming that this is supposed to indicate a location."

"Well it is consistent so far. You two found yours in the North, and us the South, and we simply went north so I think we can assume that the two of them were more or less lined up. We should be somewhere near the middle between the two. So I guess we should just start heading east," Blake surmised looking at the others to confirm her.

"With what little we have I think it's the right choice," Ruby said. "Let's go."

The four girls started walking off towards the east. There was no point in rushing it after all, and it was possible that the first two were simply intended to be easy to find. Wasn't this a bit too easy though?

Weiss hung back a bit as the other three were trying to theorize on what Ozpin's intentions had been for this test. She had her own thoughts on that but she wanted to keep her distance. She just needed to focus on the mission. If she didn't she might say something to give them all the wrong impression. Or throw away her work to make distance between her and the other members of RWBY.

She watched the others as they all continued to talk and passing the puzzle piece between them. Watching Ruby here was a comfort to Weiss. The girl was incredibly different when we weren't in a classroom. She was confident, thoughtful and absolutely brilliant when she took charge and led the team into battle. She was so amazing to watch in a fight that sometimes that Weiss would get distracted watching her. Her semblance was speed and probably what Weiss was surprised at was how she often left rose petals in her wake. There was a primal elegance to how Ruby was on the battlefield. She was more reactionary to the events on a battlefield, moving in reaction to the enemy.

Ruby was strong. No simple enemy could ever defeat her. Weiss felt more outside of Team RWBY now than she ever had before as she watched the three absorbed in conversation and slowly getting further away from Weiss. Was she really okay with this? Tearing herself away from people that she knew she could trust. "Ruby..." Weiss breathed as she came to a stop and felt herself having to fight off tears and the frustration she had been building since she had decided to separate herself from her partner.

Weiss suddenly took an uneasy step forward. She was confused as she looked up she saw the others walking away from her but she felt dizzy. Then a pain hit her, she reached up to her neck and then pulled something out of it. It was a small arrow? No it was a dart. Her vision blurred, and her strength quickly was fading. She had been attacked and she fell forward. But someone was there to catch her. How had something gotten past her aura? Was she too preoccupied to not realize what was happening? No! No this can't happen! Now exactly what she had feared was actually happening. All those nightmares and it was coming true? She was given no time to panic or warn the others. She had no way of knowing who had taken her as the world around her swirled into darkness and her consciousness quickly faded.

---

Weiss could feel her whole body ache as she slowly began to regain her consciousness, she opened her eyes and found herself in a place that she didn't want to be. It was some sort of building. There wasn't much in the way of lighting except for the line of windows on the far side that clearly showed trees within the forest of Forever Fall. What did that even mean though? Was she still in the forest? Was her being taken a part of the test? No, that didn't seem likely. If Ozpin wanted to do a test with a situation like that then it would have been something he clearly communicated at the beginning. Then she saw him.

"Did you enjoy your little nap, Ms. Schnee?" A man with black hair walked from the left side of the room and right in front of her. He was wearing mostly black clothes but they had a very familiar mark on his left sleeve. The White Fang.

Despite all of her fears were coming true she said nothing. Weiss needed to stay focused and not let her emotions get the best of her. She quickly looked to her right and left seeing that both of her hands were restrained. She was hung up against something like a cross. And she had no movement at all. Even her feet were securely tied to this cross. If Ruby was to come then it would be exactly like her nightmare. No, she couldn't think about that right now. She was very securely locked in this position and all she could do was look around. Her attention finally went back to the man. If he was a faunus then he hid it well.

"Nothing to say, hmm?" the man grinned. Was he proud of having her captured? But why wouldn't he just leave with her rather than stay in Forever Fall? Weiss needed to stay logical. She needed to keep her mind focused and look for weaknesses or anything else she could use to her advantage.

"Sir?" Another individual showed up. This one seemed to be in what was more or less the standard White Fang combat uniform that hid his face. "We finished scouting the area."

"And?" the man asked impatiently.

"The test last for another two hours. We might be able to escape if we follow the north eastern trail. The students from Beacon don't seem to be going that far," the scout reported.

Two hours left? She would have been gone for five hours then. Had Weiss really been knocked out for that long? Did that mean she had been successful? Had she separated herself from Ruby enough so she wouldn't come after her? That was good, that was what she wanted. So why? Why did it feel so horrible? No, this was how it needed to be. For now she would deal with the people in front of her.

"And what about the other members of her team?" the man asked the scout.

"We don't know, we weren't able to find them," the scout reported.

"Normally I wouldn't care but they are not to be underestimated. It might be possible they were tracking you," the man looked to Weiss. "I doubt they will approach carelessly. They wouldn't want their dear friend to come to any harm, would they?" He grinned and put his hand up to Weiss' cheek. She tried to resist but the man was strong. "Curious as to where we are taking you?"

"Not particularly," Weiss stated averting her eyes.

"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter to you. However, there are plenty of people in your life that will be very interested on to where you are going. I'm sure your Father is going to be very interested in your welfare," he turned and walked away. Weiss seriously doubted that her Father cared for her more than being shamed by having his daughter kidnapped. Whether the man gave a damn as to if she were hurt was a different matter.

"What is this about? Money? Revenge?" Weiss demanded.

"To be frank, money. I'm sure you have a general idea of how much money it takes for the Schnee family's company needs to run on a daily basis. The White Fang is no different you know. What better way to hurt an enemy and gain what we need?" his grin remained on his face when he turned back to Weiss. That was assuming he could get what he wanted from her Father. Weiss wouldn't put it past her Father to just abandon her.

"Who the hell are you?" Weiss asked. She was going to try and get as much information as possible, assuming she could make him give up any.

He quickly moved back up to Weiss and whispered, "My name…is hardly what you should be worried about, sweetheart." His hand moved and Weiss felt pain erupt across her face. He had slapped her but she didn't have the capacity to react to it. She felt blood moving down her face. Was he able of bypassing her Aura? But how was that even possible? Maybe it was just a result of the tranquilizer they had used on her.

Pain was not something new to her. But she sure as hell wasn't about to show anything to a man whose only goal was to simply make sure that the White Fang didn't fall into the red for their monthly budget. Unfortunately she knew her Father would pay any ransom demands that were made when it came to her. But it wasn't out of any Fatherly affection towards her. It would be for the reputation of the company. After all, would they follow a man in charge that would willingly give up their daughter? No, of course not.

Being kidnapped was not something you could really prepare for, but she knew it had always been a possibility. It was why she had tried to manage her relationship with the members of RWBY. She had been careless in the first few months. She had never been in a situation where she would actually have friends. But being on a team was something new and a dynamic she hadn't been sure how to manage in the first few months. Before she had realized she had grown to care for each member of the team. Then the nightmares started. A reminder of the reality of her life. Something she had carelessly forgotten. Now it was too late.

Now she was in that very situation she had feared. She needed to focus, take in all the details. While the man was distracted she did a quick search. Myrtenaster was nowhere in view. It could be held behind her, which was out of her point of view. Or it could be in an adjacent room. Without it, her glyphs were difficult to use but not impossible. She wasn't really thinking of escaping, it would all be over fast enough. She would be taken away from Vale, to an area under White Fang control and then the demands and details would be sent to the Schnee Dust Company. And then the switch would be made and things would more or less go back to normal. Except her Father would probably pull her from Beacon and restrict her from doing anything. That meant she would have to re-apply to Beacon and go through the whole thing once more. If that would even be allowed.

Except she wouldn't be on Team RWBY. She would never fight alongside Ruby ever again. She could live with that. She didn't need to get Ruby involved in the political world that her Father's company was a part of. Weiss would always be a political target as long as she was the daughter and heir to the company. Something she wasn't really proud of, but a fact she could never avoid. It was just the reality of her world.

She was aiming to become a huntress for a simple fact. So that she could be acknowledged based on her own ability and not the notoriety she had for being her Father's daughter. It seemed that there was no escaping that reality. She was bound to be a victim just like the other countless members of her family. All the others that had been lost.

"Ruby," she mouthed but no sound actually coming from her. She was bombarded by images of the silver eyed girl that had come to be her partner. She was so frustratingly awkward in social situations, never seemed to pay much attention in class and always seemed to be goofing off at the worst times with her sister. Many times Weiss had gotten angry at her. So many times she felt that the scythe wielder was only a hindrance to her and her goals. But now Weiss could not handle the thought of being separated from the girl.

Weiss knew she was crying before she felt it fall down her cheek along with the blood that came from the scar that had now been reopened thanks to the black hair man in front of her. Ruby showed her how focused and determined she could be when she needed to be. She studied more and did her best to cover the educational gap she had because of moving up two years. She was even reading books to help her learn how to better lead a team and battle tactics. That was why Weiss went out of her way to make sure Ruby's work was correct. If her partner had been putting in that much effort then Weiss felt like she needed to make sure that Ruby was going to keep making progress. Weiss wanted to be the one to support her. After everything that had happened between them, why had she pushed her away? That was the last thing she ever wanted and yet, here she was. All because of nightmares, things that were merely dreams. Merely a collection of her fears. She feared losing Ruby, so she what? Did it herself? Forced herself away from the one girl that had done nothing but do her best to be accepted by her? When had anyone ever put so much effort into impressing me that really only wanted one thing. To be her friend. Why couldn't she have just been honest with herself? She didn't want Ruby to die trying to save her. She wanted to protect the one person that had gotten close to her without some selfish intention.

Weiss couldn't handle this. If she never saw Ruby again...Ruby would believe that Weiss didn't trust her. Didn't trust her with the truth. Because she had been too scared to admit the possibility for herself. And now, it was too late.

"What's this? Is the great daughter of the Schnee Dust Company owner actually scared?" the man laughed and roughly wiped her tears away and smeared her blood more across her cheek.

"Scared?" Weiss found her composure quickly as this man irritated her greatly. How dare he touch her or mock her. She laughed, actually laughed, which quickly brought back her confidence. "I don't scare. And no one, especially you, has the right to ask me that question."

"Seems like you finally found your fighting spirit," the man seemed more amused than anything.

"If I was you, I would be getting ready for a fight," Weiss saw his eyes dart away. "Then again isn't that why we are still here? Isn't it because you can't track down the rest of team RWBY?"

"I'm hardly worried about your little team of cheerleaders," he growled.

"Ha, you're not worried about three girls that are the top of their class at an Academy that trains monster slayers? If you are telling the truth then you are an unbelievable idiot," Weiss saw him move towards her and braced for the hit. It stung, that was an easy way of putting it. But Weiss simply took it without letting out a sound. And glared at him when he stepped back from her.

"You know nothing of the world, sweetheart. When did you ever wonder when your next meal was going to come? We worked hard at our jobs and still, we were discriminated. Not even getting a fair wage from your precious Dust Company that made sure you wanted for nothing! Faunus starved and were beaten to death as a result of what your family has done!" His anger was loud and his Faunus heritage began to show. He had ears like a wolf and a tail to match. Black and white were his colors.

"Don't presume to know me or my family. Do you think actions like this are going to change people's minds? As long as the White Fang continues to act like terrorist then that is all they will ever be treated like. What do you think it is like for the Faunus that continue to work hard every day to try and change people's minds about them? Did you know that there are several Faunus at Beacon that are treated with equality and respect because of their actions? People may still be prejudice, but that isn't something that goes away overnight. It takes time, and it takes patience on both sides. But every day the White Fang commits a criminal act, all of their hard work is buried underneath it. Violence only begets more violence!" Weiss had never vocalized these thoughts before. Thoughts that had been rummaging through her head ever since her confrontation with Blake. Blake had more or less been right. She had been judgmental. After all she had only ever seen one side of the conflict. But Blake, she was different. She believed in equality, she did not believe in violence. She had more or less been used for her skills and she refused to be a part of it any more. That kind of courage, it was on a level that Weiss could never compare to. The respect and feelings she had for Blake changed a couple times that weekend. Yet Blake had been another of her teammates that she had pushed away. Because it was that kind of courage that Weiss still lacked.

The anger on this Faunus reached its boiling point. He pulled out a blade, a dagger with some sort of long black ribbon attached to it. He turned and stabbed it into her shoulder. Weiss bit into her inner lip to suppress a scream this time. "You do not have the right to talk about equality when the Schee Dust Company has done so much to the Faunus."

"I don't?" Weiss somehow managed to keep the pain from her voice. Instead the pain allowed her to be more focused. "One day the Company will belong to me, so why the hell shouldn't it be me? Maybe I want to be the one to change things."

"You little…" He pulled out the dagger and went to stab her again. Weiss met his gaze head on, challenging him with his every motion. Then a hand came and stopped him.

"Char, this is just wasting time," the White Fang foot soldier tried to get his commanding officer under control. "Plus we shouldn't harm her anymore."

"Yeah, wouldn't want to harm your precious meal ticket, right?" Weiss commented. Sure, being snarky wasn't the best idea in terms of self-preservation. Especially since he had already shown his willingness to hurt her. That hardly mattered to her. If she died in the hands of the White Fang then it would push the fragile peace back into war. More innocent people would die, but maybe that was what was needed. Her Father was always about an eye for an eye. Leveling the playing field and stacking it in his favor. Her death would serve as a perfect tool for her Father to gain political leverage. It wasn't a good solution, but there was little Weiss could do about it if she died. She wouldn't be able to apologize to Blake or Yang for the things she had said in order to keep them at a distance. She wouldn't see that idiot Ruby ever again or that brilliant smile of hers or hear her voice. Never see her trying to hide a plate of cookies from Weiss thinking she had pulled a fast one on her. Would never see Ruby passed out on her bed with a collection of school books and paper around her from a night of all night studying. She would never get the chance to tell Ruby the truth of how Weiss really felt. "I'm sorry guys…I messed up."

"You damn right you did," came a familiar loud yell followed by a distinct gunshot and then a White Fang grunt came crashing through the door.

"Yang? Is that really…?" Weiss was crying again. She didn't deserve this. She wanted to protect them. "What are you doing? You have to leave! Please don't! Take Ruby and get out of here!"

"That isn't normally how you'd greet someone trying to rescue you," Yang adjusted her hair as she vaulted forward and over another grunt. It was simply amazing how Yang moved in such a tight space. She used her weapon, Ember Celica, to an amazing effect, allowing her to dodge and maneuver in this place that shouldn't be possible. She used it to jump up to the ceiling then twist her body on the ground so she touched the ceiling with her feet and then propelled down taking out another grunt.

Weiss had lost sight of Char…when had he disappeared? "Yang, be careful, there is still another…"

"Too late!" Char came out of almost nowhere and dashed straight for Weiss. He was going to kill her. That meant that he had to have no confidence in being able to take out Yang or the other members of RWBY and get Weiss out of here. Killing her would at least accomplish something. At least that was what Weiss believed. But he was stopped as Blake knocked the dagger up and spun around catching Char in the gut. While he crouched she flipped backwards kicking him in the head, but that wasn't the end. Blake used her Shadows to attack again and again before knocking him back and clean away from where Weiss was. Blake stood protecting Weiss against a member of the White Fang. Weiss felt herself smile despite herself, the sentiment of what Blake was doing was not lost on her.

Weiss knew who the other individual was before she saw her. An all too familiar scent drifted to her. The smell of roses and probably a bit of chocolate chip cookies. And then she saw Ruby, her concerned eyes looking over Weiss. And was quickly looking how to free her from the cross.

"Ruby, no! Please you have to get out of here as fast as you can. I don't want you to get hurt," Weiss pleaded, no longer holding back her emotions. The images of her nightmare suddenly came rushing to the forefront of her mind. "Leave me and go, please."

A flash of anger crossed Ruby's eyes, "Shut up." The words made Weiss thoughts stop. Never in her time with Ruby had she ever been this cross with her. But Weiss didn't have time to think about that right now.

"I don't care if you hate me. I can't let you get hurt. If you stay then…" Weiss words were stopped as Ruby removed one side of her restraints and pain crossed her. She fell forward but Ruby caught her and quickly removed the other side. Her body lacking any real strength, she collapsed into Ruby's arms. Unable to fight against the girl in red.

"You think it is okay to go off and shoulder this by yourself? You really think you could just separate yourself from us and we wouldn't go after you? Our relationship is stronger than you give it credit, Weiss," the angry look in Ruby's eyes only made her tears increase even more. She had never lost control of her emotions like this…had never truly cried in front of others.

She saw it before Ruby did. Maybe it was because of the angle…or it had been just the right time for her to look up. Char had slipped by Blake and Yang. The dagger flew through the air…Weiss didn't have to guess who was the target. After all, she had been dreaming about it night after night. It had haunted her for so long now. However, she wouldn't allow it to happen. Weiss reached into her hair and pulled out a small vial that was hidden within it. Using all of her remaining energy she slammed it down, breaking the vial and a familiar glyph appearing. Ice spread quickly and upward, creating a wall between her and Ruby's attacker.

Ruby was stunned for a moment, not knowing what had happened.

Weiss felt so incredibly weak and sleepy and cold. Still she smiled, "I stopped it, you're safe. You're okay, Ruby. Thank goodness." Weiss brought her hand up to Ruby's cheek not realizing her hand was covered in her own blood.

"Weiss?" Ruby's eyes became frantic.

"No…no…you're supposed to smile…you…dolt," Weiss used what energy she had to ensure she was still smiling. "You…aren't allowed to die. All that matters to me…is that you live. Don't ever change...Ruby. I'm sorry…I…pushed…you..a…way."

Ruby wasn't smiling. Weiss was sure she was yelling something. But it seemed so far away now. She did it. She had saved Ruby. Her nightmare may have come to pass but in reality she had been able to do something and change the outcome. Even if this were to be her last moments she couldn't have been happier. She had changed the nightmare. This was a much better outcome. Weiss continued to smile as her mind slipped into unconsciousness.

---

"YANG! BLAKE! PLEASE HELP!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. She grasped for Weiss hand, she was so cold. The bleeding! She needed to stop the bleeding. Her tears wouldn't stop. She constantly had to wipe her eyes to be able to see. She put her hands on the wound at Weiss' shoulder. It wasn't stopping, why wasn't it stopping? "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no." she said so rapidly that it probably came out as something indecipherable.

Blake and Yang were at her side in only a few moments. The one who took control of the situation was Blake. She stepped forward and motioned for Yang to take Ruby. She pulled out Gambol Shroud and undid the ribbon, and actually pulled it from her weapon. She ripped open Weiss' clothes to better show the wound. All three of them gasped at how much blood she was losing. In a quick motion Blake quickly wrapped the wound up tight and layered it so that it would minimize the blood loss. She leaned down and checked if Weiss was still breathing.

"Is she okay? Please tell me she'll be okay. I don't…I can't lose her," Ruby pleased.

"She is still breathing but she's lost too much blood. She isn't going to get any better unless we get her back to the city and fast," Blake looked over to Ruby. Blake carefully picked up Weiss and looked at her for a moment before looking back to Ruby. "Do you think you can handle getting her back?"

"You are the fastest," Yang added as she stepped towards Blake and looking at Weiss. "Thank you for saving my little sister." She breathed and then bent down and kissed Weiss' forehead.

Blake moved over to Ruby and put Weiss in her arms. "Be quick, but be mindful of her. We'll finish up here and meet you back at Beacon."

"I'm sorry. I'm not being much of a leader right now," Ruby apologized.

"We're a team, Ruby," Blake smiled. "Right now, saving Weiss is more important than anything else."

"Now get going," Yang said nodding towards the exit.

Ruby shifted Weiss in her arms and then took off in a sprint. Of course, she was the fastest, her semblance was in speed. But now she needed to be faster than she had ever been. Out the door she ran by a collection of unconscious White Fang members she had taken care of before entering the compound. Now she made her way straight to where the professors were waiting.

Weiss had never felt so fragile, looked so vulnerable in all the time that Ruby had known her. This girl hid so much of herself, not out of spite, but to protect herself and the ones she cared about. Her defense mechanism was to wall herself off. No, that wasn't quite right for a comparison. It was more like she surrounded herself in rose bushes, using their thorns to hurt anyone that got to close. And used an icy disposition in order to further that gap. So she would be beautiful, but safe.

Ruby wish she knew why. It wasn't like Weiss had changed who she was at any point. She had just been more careful in moderating her friendships as time had went on. Despite how helpful Weiss had been to Ruby, she had never been able to properly thank her for all of it. And then now. Now, when Weiss was the one that had needed the help. She had expended so much energy to protect Ruby. Ruby was so confused by the actions of the girl that she held in her arms. Before she went unconscious. she was smiling and had touched Ruby's cheek. It was such an intimate action and so much emotion had been coming from Weiss. It was as if there were so many things that the girl was trying to convey to Ruby. She had been so happy to have saved her when Weiss was the one that needed saving. She had been so selfless. Weiss hadn't cared at all what was happening to her. And that was very different then the perception the Ice Queen often gave.

She had wanted to help Weiss. Wanted to help her carry the burdens that she carried on her own. But Weiss never allowed it. She never allowed anyone to help her. No…Weiss helped Ruby in so many ways but she was never allowed to reciprocate and return the same to her. Ruby hated it. Weiss wasn't allowed to die, not when she didn't even know how important Weiss was to Ruby. And how much she wanted to be there for her just as much as Weiss had been there for Ruby. She felt unworthy of the attention the girl had given her. She hadn't earned it, that was why she had been trying so hard. To impress Weiss, to show her she could be the leader that Weiss felt she deserved. But she was only as successful as she was because of the heiress.

Ruby needed to save Weiss. Needed a chance to tell the girl everything she felt. Her insecurities and fears and how she hated being at a distance with her. She wanted to be friends, true friends. One that she could trust with her deepest, darkest secrets. And maybe she could be trusted with Weiss' insecurities and fears in return. And maybe she would still have a long way to go to earn that trust. But she couldn't stand the way things had been lately. She wanted to be closer to Weiss and really get to know the girl that had gone so far to save her life. She knew the individual people called the Ice Queen had much more to her than she wanted to admit.

It felt like she had taken too long to get back. But she finally broke through the clearing and to Professor Ozpin. Personnel were standing by and as Ruby came to a stop, they quickly approached to take Weiss from her.

Reluctantly, Ruby gave over Weiss but stayed close, "She was stabbed with a dagger in her shoulder and she used a large portion of her power to protect me. I…I don't know how long she has been bleeding. She needs blood and…"

"We understand. Just leave it to us now," one of the women replied and pushed Ruby away.

"No, please. Let me stay with her…it's my fault she is…" Ruby started but was interrupted when another individual grabbed her shoulders. Weiss was taken in to a tent that was set up, possibly as a medic tent. Ruby guess it would be normal to have one set up just in case. Still as she watched Weiss disappear from her sight.

"It's okay Ruby. She's in good hands now," It was Pyrrha. She looked back to see the rest of team JNPR behind her. "We're here for you now. Have faith in Weiss that she'll pull through."

"Pyrrha is right. I think you know Weiss better than anyone. Do you think she will die this easily?" Jaune asked trying to comfort her.

Ruby felt her shoulders slump as the energy she had quickly left her. "I was with her and she was taken. She was right behind me and I didn't notice at all! I thought I was doing what she wanted and giving her space." She could feel it, the guilt of not being aware of what had happened. If only she had been paying attention. Why hadn't she just stayed at Weiss' side and refuse to let her separate from her. How had she not noticed that her partner had been taken? Ruby felt tears finally escape as she could no longer hold back the fear and anxiety that was overwhelming her. Her strength gave way but Pyrrha and Jaune were there to catch her.

"Everything is okay, Ruby. She's safe now," Pyrrha continued to try and comfort her.

Ruby hardly felt like cheering up though…everything did not feel okay. The thought that she could lose Weiss was overwhelming her. How did she not realize how important Weiss had been to her up to this point? She should have tried harder to learn what Weiss was hiding. Maybe then she could have been able to protect her.

She could hardly imagine what it was like for Weiss and the environment she had grown up in. Had she been close to her parents? Had she been close to relatives that had become victims of the White Fang? Regardless of how the Schnee Dust Company treated its employee's…Weiss was a girl who had simply been born into the Schnee family. Yet because of such a fact she was just as much a target as the members of her family that actually ran the business. Ruby couldn't claim to know anything about that situation because she had much to deal with in her own family. There was something that she felt she could understand though. She knew what it was like to be alone…to feel that she could never get close to someone ever again. At Signal Academy she had made friends…and with the help of her Uncle began to excel as a fighter. For the first time she finally felt like she was able to live again…like she had finally found a way to move forward.

It wasn't long after that she was brought to Beacon…two years early. At first she was sure she wouldn't fit in. That she was too inexperienced and wouldn't able to find friends. With those concerns…she still somehow became a leader of team RWBY…and Weiss initial disagreement with it had slowly changed. Despite everything Ruby and Weiss got along better than it might look to other people. And now an unescapable fact came over Ruby. She could not imagine a life without Weiss in it. Weiss who showed she cared in a much different way than the others in her life. And even when Weiss was yelling at her, Ruby could see the concern in Weiss' eyes. She would never waste the time to lecture her if Weiss didn't care for Ruby. And when Yang called Weiss out on it, she never denied it. If anything, Weiss was an expert at deflecting those types of comments. She was more than adept at navigating their social circle. It shouldn't be surprising; after all, Weiss was probably used to a number of big social functions because of the Schnee Dust Company.

Ruby wished she could know why Weiss came to Beacon. A girl that was more or less set for the rest of her life, didn't really need to become a huntress. Like anything though…there was probably a reason…a clear purpose that had brought Weiss to this school at this time. Maybe she wasn't intending to take over the business…or something else. Ruby wanted to know but it was something she wasn't sure she had a right to ask. She had failed Weiss after all.

After all the time that had passed…she still hadn't been good enough as a leader. Hadn't learned enough to be able to look for warning signs in her group members. She had not been aware of her surroundings enough to know that they had been followed and being watched. She was always a couple of steps behind…Never quite on pace with everyone else. She needed to change that. Ruby had to increase her training…so that Weiss would never be taken again. She would make sure that even against her will…Ruby would not let Weiss fight this battle alone. Not because they were just teammates…but because Weiss was a very important friend to Ruby. More than she would have ever considered before.

Ruby wasn't sure how long she had spent thinking about all of this but after a bit of time had passed, Blake and Yang came emerged from the forest.

"We're back," Yang announced as the pair came over to Ruby.

Ruby looked up at them and found that the members of team JNPR had actually been around Ruby the whole time she had been thinking about Weiss. Was she really so worried that she hadn't noticed her friends here to support her?

"How's Weiss?" Blake asked.

Ruby shook her head, "They haven't said anything yet. She's been in there a long time too." The worry that crossed her face must have been obvious. The tears that escaped certainly didn't help her either.

Yang stepped forward and enveloped her in a hug, "Don't worry, Sis. She'll definitely pull out of this."

"The man that kidnapped her is named Char Cole. I never interacted with him when I was a part of the White Fang, so I can't say what he was like then. It seemed like he didn't really care about any pay off he could have received if his treatment of Weiss was any indication. He was quick to retreat after he had tried to attack Ruby," Blake said explaining this more to Pyhrra, Jaune, Ren and Nora than to Ruby.

"So he's still out there?" Pyhrra asked.

"Yang and I tried to find him, but he covered his tracks pretty well," Blake sighed.

"So in the mean time we should watch over Weiss carefully," Ren took a few steps towards the trees of Forever Fall before turning back to the group. "You don't think he would be bold enough to attack here, do you?"

Blake shook her head, "No, but there is no reason for us to assume he wouldn't either."

"Wait," Ruby was struck by a sudden thought. "If Weiss was his only goal…then wouldn't her dying be a problem for him?"

All eyes turned to Ruby. Blake must have quickly come to the same conclusion, "I know what you're saying, Ruby. But do you really think he would let her go back just so they could stabilize her?"

"It would be faster for him, and also ensure that her treatment was done right so she would be stable and be able to be transported. More than likely because the people he should have had to treat her might have been taken out by us," Ruby looked to the others. "If I'm right…he plans on taking her as soon as they're done." Ruby then moved with a clear purpose. "Blake, I need eyes on the medical tent. Anything that seems out of place or suspicious then I want you to call it out."

She nodded, "Good idea." Then without another moment Blake jumped up and was gone.

"Yang, see if you can't cover the forest and for anyone that might try to go into it. The rest of the Beacon students should be coming back, but there shouldn't be anyone going into it," Ruby was heading towards the medical tent.

"Sure thing, Sis. Look…be careful, okay? That Char guy is fast and with his weapon can handle small spaces a lot easier than you can," Yang pulled Ruby into a hug for a moment. "Weiss did everything she could to protect you. She'll get mad at you if you get hurt after what she did."

"I know," Ruby said and enjoyed the embrace with her sister for a moment before pulling away. "Weiss has probably seen many people get hurt while protecting her. I'm not sure she ever felt compelled to protect someone else before…or why she wanted to protect me. But I won't let her die…there is too much her and I haven't said."

"You two are important to each other. Everyone here knows that," Jaune said as he walked up to Ruby and Yang. "We'll help out too. Nora and Ren will help keep an eye out for everyone around this area. Phyrra and I will stay close to the medical tent."

"Thanks Jaune," Ruby managed a smile. "I'm going to go see if I can see her yet."

"Alright. Jaune and I will be on guard out here," Phyrra gave a comforting smile.

Yang gave a smile before giving a mock salute and heading towards the edge of the forest to do what Ruby had initially asked her to do. Ruby made her way to the tent and was stopped by Glynda Goodwitch.

"Ah, Ms. Rose, I was about to come find you. Weiss is stable now but resting. If you want you can come in and sit with her. Professor Ozpin thought you'd want to," Glynda was quick to get to the point as usual.

"Yes, thank you Professor Goodwitch," Ruby said with a slight bow of her head and was ushered in by Glynda and left alone. She walked over to the solitary bed that held Weiss.

As she approached she noticed that Weiss' clothes had been removed and she been changed into a light blue gown that must had made it easier for the medics that had cared for her. The blood had been cleaned from her and she was breathing much better than before. Ruby walked to the side of the bed and checked to make sure Weiss was well covered and didn't feel cold to her. Her hair was down…probably when they were cleaning her up. The stab wound was all cleaned up and properly bandaged. Blake's ribbon was not here, probably taken with the rest of the blood stained clothes for wash.

Weiss looked so peaceful…for now she was getting blood put back into her as Ruby noted the blood bag and the hose that went from it and to Weiss' arm.

"I'm so sorry, Weiss," Ruby said in a whisper and she sat in a chair next to the bed. "I'm supposed to be your partner…the one that is there for you…to be someone you can come to and rely on. But I failed you…in the end you had to save me again." It was just like their first battle together when going against the Death Stalker…she had foolishly charged towards it thinking she could prove herself to Weiss and the others…but Weiss had saved her then when the Nevermore had pinned her down.

"Don't be an idiot," the voice belonged to Weiss.

Ruby found herself looking into the light blue eyes of Weiss. "Weiss!" She jumped up and Ruby put her arms clumsily around Weiss. "I was so worried I had lost you…You had lost so much blood and…"

"But I didn't so stop it," Weiss said as she pushed Ruby off her. She looked around for a moment, "Are we back at school?"

"They had a medical tent set up at the starting point. I got you back here as fast as I could. Umm…how are you feeling?" Ruby asked suppressing the urge to hug Weiss. At the moment she wanted to just hold the girl and make sure she was really here…that she really hadn't lost Weiss.

"I'm just a little light headed. Probably just from the loss of blood," still Weiss stubbornly sat up in her bed. "What happened to that man? Char of the White Fang."

"Blake said his name was Char Cole. He made his escape after he had tried to attack me," Ruby stopped just thinking about that moment. Weiss had pleaded for her to leave…she was so concerned about saving Ruby and not herself. "Weiss…did you really think I would ever leave you behind? We've done so much together…how…how could you just do that?"

Weiss turned away from Ruby, "You want to know? I think I owe you that much." She sighed heavily. "My life has been what one might expect from a rich family. Always getting what I want…and never really worried about how my needs would be met from day to day. But there is a price to everything. Money doesn't make problems go away like a lot of people would believe. Sure I didn't have to worry about where I would sleep or if I would eat the next day, but the problems I encountered were different."

Ruby nodded. No one grew up without facing problems and challenges, but it was something that was different for everyone. In a world filled with creatures like the Grimm, and organizations like White Fang…there were certainly a lot of problems that could occur because of that. Weiss continued.

"I never had any friends. My Father is paranoid, so hanging out with other children just wasn't something that was allowed. Only time with my cousins whenever they would visit, and often times, we never really saw eye to eye on what we thought was fun. Outside of my daily lessons I wanted to venture outside…see the world; see how my Father's company really was a part of the world. I was so proud to be a Schnee. Except parts of my family were often targeted…kidnappings, attacks, and even murder was done against all parts of the family…all because we bared that same name, Schnee. I didn't know why…I couldn't understand it. How could people hate us so badly? I only ever saw it from one perspective…so when I learned about the Faunus I could only hate and dislike them. Even after learning more about the war and the unfair treatment they had been in…I still held them responsible for my childhood. Hearing month after month about new attacks against my family or about raids on the company's shipments. I was just angry," Weiss shook her head. This probably wasn't the easiest topic for her.

"You weren't allowed any friends because of that?" Ruby asked trying to bring it back to Weiss' original point.

She nodded, "Still, I had my own goals. And I knew that if I became a huntress I would also be quite capable of protecting myself and manage to go out to the Schnee Dust Company sites around the world. I could be helpful to my family…and maybe take my own steps to protect them. But I never knew what it was like to have a friend. Not really anyway. I thought I knew but it all changed when I came here to Beacon. I met you, Blake and Yang. Turns out I had no idea what it was like to have a friend. I had this perfect plan, you know. I was going to get in with the right crowd…ensure my success and have perfect grades and be popular. All the things I had fantasized about at home. When I got here, I found out I really didn't know what I wanted. I was ignorant and didn't realize what fighting Grimm would really be like. When we fought the Death Stalker and Nevermore during the initiation…I was in over my head. If it wasn't for you Ruby, or the others I wouldn't have made it this far."

"None of us would, that's why we're a team," Ruby said softly.

"I know that now," Weiss quickly said but stopped herself for a moment. "I don't have to tell you about things you already know. You have always been trying so hard to be friends with me. I thought it was because we were partners. Naturally we should get along because we were going to be with each other all through school. And I hated that for the longest time…but over time…when I see you putting so much effort in to make up the difference in education because you were moved two years ahead…I wanted to help you…wanted to support you. I had all the best trainers…had spent years studying to get to here. But I had the money and the ability to get what I needed…and was never a question on if I would get into Beacon…only when. But you, Ruby, you were skipped forward two years, not because of influence or anything like that…but based on your skill and talent alone. You know you still have a lot to learn and you don't shy away from that but embrace it. You were chosen to be leader and maybe you didn't know what to do with that at first but shortly after you took it seriously and begun looking for ways to improve yourself."

Ruby found herself blushing hearing Weiss saying this, "Weiss…I…just didn't want to let you down. I know Beacon was important to you and…"

"Idiot," Weiss hand grabbed Ruby's chin and forced her to look up at her. She was leaning over the bed to do this. "You don't get it. All my life I have been surrounded by people that gave up…that when it got tough they would seek the easy way out. Before I knew it…this dunce of a girl before me had become something more to me than just an annoyance. I thought that you would ruin my perfect plan for Beacon…or rather that you had ruined it. But no…you became my friend…someone that is…irreplaceable to me."

"The same goes for me, Weiss. I don't know what I would do if you weren't around," Ruby said softly looking into Weiss eyes despite her embarrassment and the odd butterflies in her stomach.

Weiss smiled for a moment and then let go of Ruby's chin and looked away, her smile replaced with a more somber look, "Then a month, maybe two months ago I started having a reoccurring nightmare. And in each one I watched you die as you were trying to save me. Save me from someone who had kidnapped me. It haunted me and because of it I was more conscious of how close we had become as friends…and the others. I had been so focused on school and the team that I had forgotten a constant danger that is always around me. That I can be targeted to be used against my Father and the Schnee Dust Company. With the images of that nightmare and that thought in my head…I thought it would be best to distance myself from everyone. That way if I was ever really in danger…maybe…you wouldn't try to save me. Then there would be no chance in my nightmare ever coming true."

Ruby suddenly got up and pulled Weiss into a hug, "You aren't supposed to tackle this stuff alone. Sometimes you're the one who is the real dolt you know."

"Who are you calling a dolt?" Weiss was quickly offended.

Ruby pulled back and touched Weiss nose with her finger, "You. Do you really think there is anything you could do that would stop me from going to save you? Even if you hated me…even if I hated you. I could never sit by and do nothing."

Weiss shook her head, "I know that."

"Then why? Why did you push me away?" Ruby pressed.

"I was scared, Ruby!" Weiss said her composure disappearing. "I'm still scared that you'll get hurt or worse just by being close to me. I can't lose you, not ever! I don't want to lose you…I don't want to lose any of you. I just…I can't imagine a life without you in it. And if that means I had to sacrifice my friendship with you or whatever future we could experience together then that's fine. I can handle it…I can do it alone…as long as I know you're safe…as long as you aren't a target I can be happy with that!"

Ruby turned her eyes to the floor, "Is it because I'm not strong enough?"

"Huh?" Weiss stopped taken by surprise by Ruby's words.

"I don't want you to push me away…I don't want to be the outsider looking at you and wonder if you're okay. If I have to train every second of every day in order to be strong enough to be by your side, then I will. But I won't let you decide what is best for us on your own!" Ruby was interrupted as she felt the intrusion of an individual. She was on her feet and had Crescent Rose out as she stood defensively in front of Weiss' bed. "Who's there?!"

"Who indeed?" an individual appeared before them. The last one that either Ruby or Weiss wanted to see here. "Oh, I'm sorry. Were you two having a moment? Sorry but I don't have time to come back later." This was none other than Char Cole. He openly had his knife in hand.

"How did you get past the others?" Ruby kept Crescent Rose aimed straight at him. There was no room in this tent for Ruby to do anything other than shoot him. Add the fact that Weiss was incapable of moving from where she was due to her injuries and things were not in their favor. Ruby had to prevent him from getting close to her, that meant she couldn't move from where she was. She had to stay between Weiss and Charles.

"Hmm?" He looked for a moment as if he wasn't sure what she was talking about. "Oh right, I suppose you probably did have your friends guarding her or something." He rolled his eyes. "It doesn't matter, lets just say I came here directly."

"Your semblance is teleportation?" Ruby readied her weapon to fire, but once a fight started she wouldn't have much room to fight. Weiss was much more capable of fighting in tight places than her. She found her grip tighten on her weapon either way.

"Close enough," he shrugged and nonchalantly switched his knife to his other hand. "Either way, I'll be taking her back."

"And how do you expect to get me out of here, exactly?" Weiss kept a cold stare at Char. Ruby wasn't sure if Weiss was buying them time or not but Char seemed willing to play along.

"Do you really think that once I had you that anyone here would be capable of stopping me?" Char leveled his eyes with her. "Surely your friends care about your well-being enough that they wouldn't risk you getting hurt further. Especially since they know how injured you already are." So that was his game? Using Weiss' state as his advantage to prevent anyone from trying any heroics.

Ruby tightened her grip on Crescent Rose. As much as she wanted to deny it, it was the truth. Ruby would never risk hurting Weiss further than she already was. That was also why she couldn't give up any ground right now. One mess up would be all it would take for Char to get a hold of Weiss. And Ruby couldn't allow that, not now. Not after she was beginning to see just how important her partner had become to her. But it seemed she needed to be stronger than she was to protect her. To be worthy to be standing next to her.

"You will not lay a hand on her," Ruby's voice came out as a growl.

"Oh? It seems I've struck a nerve," his lopsided grin just infuriated Ruby further. "What a funny little girl you are..."

He was going to make his move. Ruby had to be extra careful with how she handled this. She kept her eyes trained on him but attempting to keep his entire body in view to look for subtle motions. If she could somewhat predict his movements then she should be able to counter him. But she needed to be careful. He had tried to kill her before. To him, she was expendable. Weiss was the target he wanted to keep alive, everyone else was just an obstacle in his path he would have no problem taking down.

More than likely the only reason he allowed her to be taken back was for her to receive medical care. Although he was the reason she had been hurt to begin with. He probably had a real short fuse when it came to anger.

"If I go with you, will you promise not to hurt this girl?" Weiss voice shattered Ruby's concentration.

"Huh? Weiss, what are you saying?" Ruby couldn't stop and looked to her.

"Only if she doesn't make an attempt to stop me before I have you," he said with a tone that Ruby didn't trust.

"No, Weiss, you can't..." Ruby started to plead but Weiss cut her off.

"Shut up!" Weiss gave her a sharp look. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I know what you would do to help me but, you need to learn to pick your battles. And right now is a fight you would lose."

No, it was more than that. Ruby knew it. Weiss was trying to protect her the only way she felt she could. But Weiss was also right. If Ruby messed up on her opening move of the fight she would be incredibly vulnerable. Her Aura was strong but that didn't mean that Char wasn't incapable of bypassing it and killing her. Weiss had been very adamant on protecting her, even using a hidden vial of dust and the last of her Aura and semblance to protect her earlier. And Ruby was just supposed to stand aside and let her go? Just let this man who had harmed her so easily take her?

"I can't. I can't lose you, Weiss," Ruby's voice came out as a whisper.

Weiss slowly got to her feet and winced as she pulled the IV from her arm. She took a couple steps away and towards Char. Ruby felt her heart beating faster and faster as a panic started rising in her chest. She couldn't...she couldn't let her leave with this man. Not now, not after they were starting to really open up to each other.

"Looks like she can be taught," Char's grin made Ruby's skin crawl as a result. Every step made Ruby's heart beat faster. Her mind raced trying to come up with something, anything, any kind of solution that could stop Weiss from stepping away from her.

"How can I guarantee that you'll keep your word?" Weiss asked as she stopped just out of reach of Char. Ruby needed to find something she could do to save Weiss. Right now, Weiss was so vulnerable. She only had on the simple gown they had put her in while they treated her. Weiss had no shoes on and even her hair was down. She was so defenseless, more than she had ever really been before and she was going to just hand herself over to him? To save Ruby? It was...unacceptable.

"You can't," he laughed. Ruby clenched her hand, if she was going to do anything then now was...

Wait, her current path was...had she done this on purpose? Weiss had lined herself a certain way to be clear of any obstacles and Ruby made the decision quickly and gathered her semblance. And before Char could do anything she had moved. In one motion, she let go of Crescent Rose and then jumped forward, gathered Weiss into her arms and straight out of the tent. Ruby came sliding to a stop with Weiss in her arms and into the open. She was close by to where Pyrrha, Jaune and Yang were currently standing.

"Ruby? Wait, why do you have Weiss?" Yang was about to object to her actions more but Ruby cut her off.

"It's Char, he somehow got into the camp and tried to take Weiss," Ruby said looking down at Weiss. For once Weiss wasn't objecting to the situation as Ruby was holding her in her arms. Instead she was openly holding on to Ruby.

"Sorry, Ruby, I don't have strength to stand right now," Weiss was actually clinging to her at the moment. "Thank you, for saving me." Ruby saving her had been the plan from the beginning. But Ruby felt it had taken her too long to realize what her partner had planned. Weiss had lined herself up perfectly to ensure that Ruby had a clear line of travel outside of the tent.

"Oh dear, that wasn't a part of the agreement," Char came walking out of the tent. "I guess that means I can't guarantee the safety of any of your friends."

His entrance prompted for Pyrrha, Jaune and Yang to stand defensively in front of Ruby and Weiss.

"You come charging in the middle of our camp and still think you have the advantage? Aren't you just the overly confident type?" Yang slammed her fists together. "Sorry but you aren't getting past us."

Char laughed as he flipped his knife in his hands. "Oh, this is a problem. A bunch of school children thinking they are capable of stopping me? Oh I am just trembling in my boots," he settled into a stance in a aggressive manner. Pyrrha and Jaune pulled out their weapons and shields As Yang's own weapon quickly expanded to its battle form.

Ruby would be unable to do anything but she readied herself to move. Weiss still hanging on to Ruby's neck stirred and pulled herself up so she was closer to the side of Ruby's head, "Be careful, he can bypass a person's aura. But you see his knife? How it has a ribbon attached to it? I thought at first that maybe it also had a gun form or some other function but that isn't it at all. He needs to have it there."

Weiss whispered but her energy quickly diminished and her weight shifted as she went limp against Ruby. "Weiss? Weiss?" Ruby moved her to look at her but she was breathing fine, so likely she had passed out. Still what had she meant? If his power, his semblance, was to be able to bypass auras but his ribbon was attached because...the thought came up quickly in her mind. Of course, he can only do so because of the ribbon. He channels his semblance into knife through the ribbon. He gives himself an illusion of his range being limited by using a knife, but he can inflict the same amount of damage and force by using his semblance even when throwing the knife.

Yang charged in, firing a shot from her gauntlet as she jumped in at him. But her shot went past him and into the tent behind him as he moved to the right. He moved forward.

"Watch out! His attacks ignore aura!" Ruby yelled.

Yang landed and Char had an open strike...but his knife was deflected back as it was suddenly stopped as Pyrrha threw her shield to protect Yang.

"Better be careful blondie, without your friend there you'd very much be dead right now," Char had a twisted grin as he pressed his attack on Yang. Yang had enough time to be able to counter him properly but she instead worked solely on defense. He was fast but Yang was able to keep up.

"Yang!" another voice called out. In response Yang went into a back flip and used her weapons to send her flying into the air. As she did another individual took her place and attacked Char with an amazing ferocity. Blake was attacking with quick strikes and creating multiple copies of herself and keeping Char guessing and finally pushed him back. At the same time Yang charged right back into the fray and added her own powerful strikes to keep Char occupied. The two moved in a unified attack that was awe inspiring to watch. It was something only two well coordinated partners could do so.

Yet Char was able to continue to deflect their attacks. Although he wasn't able to counter attack because of the speed of Blake's attack, but she couldn't keep this up for that long. And likely that was the moment he was waiting for.

"Bla..." Ruby started but stopped when Jaune put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. Back up will be here soon," Jaune said after a moment.

Ruby only glanced at Jaune for a moment to see the comforting smile he had on his face. When I looked back I could tell that Blake was starting to slow. That was when Ren came rushing onto the scene with his weapons. But it wasn't just him. He open fired as Blake was grabbed by Yang and out of the way. Char jumped back to avoid the gun fire...just where Ren's partner had predicted.

Nora hit Char squarely in the chest and with the press of a trigger sent him flying and to the edge of the forest where he slammed into a tree. We all moved as the others quickly made a half circle to where Char was. Pyrrha and Juane stepped in as well.

"Oh ho, not bad students. Subtly directing your opponent into an unavoidable and powerful strike. Very good," Char was laughing as he got to his feet. While his clothes were now ripped and tattered, he stood as if he had not just been hit by Nora's weapon. His sideways grin was twisted. And then, he attacked in the next instant. His knife went through the air, the others went to block it but it somehow bypassed them and came straight towards Ruby.

The attack never reached her. The knife was deflected with the entrance of another individual.

"Professor Ozpin?" Ruby was surprised. Had he deflected it with his cane? Either way he stood in front of Ruby and Weiss.

"Char Cole, or by his given name, Charles. You have spent far too long here on my school's property. I suggest you leave before I'm forced to do something far more drastic," Ozpin voice carried perfectly well.

"Guess that teaches me for playing too much," Char pulled his weapon back. "Well then, I suppose this is it for now. But next time, even you Ozpin won't be able to protect your precious students."

Then he was gone, as if he had never really been there at all.

---

Weiss definitely was feeling better after some significant amount of rest and another bag of blood put into her. She was weakened a bit, but she was definitely okay enough to be moving around again. It was nice to be out in the courtyard and enjoying the sun once more. Even the wind felt a lot better than it had before. She was currently sitting down on a bench in the courtyard. For once she would try to enjoy something simple.

Weiss knew what would come next, contact from her Father and he would probably try to convince her to return home where she could better be protected. She would refuse him, of course. She was exactly where she wanted to be. There was just an aspect that she needed to accept. And a burden she couldn't handle alone.

"Weiss are you listening?" Ruby was sitting next to her on the bench in the courtyard.

"No, sorry, my thoughts are wandering," Weiss admitted.

"About what?" Ruby asked.

"Just about how long it will take for my Father to come here and make a big scene and demand I be put in protective custody or go back home with him and all that goes with it. Honestly, I really don't want to deal with him," Weiss sighed already tired of that subject. "You were talking about the test results, right? But we didn't finish did we?"

"On the contrary," a new voice entered. None other than Professor Ozpin himself. "Glad to see you are doing okay, Ms. Schnee."

"Professor Ozpin?!" Weiss was a bit startled and attempted to sit up a bit straighter.

Ozpin chuckled, "Please relax, and I wanted to let you know that Team RWBY passed with flying colors."

"We passed?" Ruby spoke the same question that echoed in Weiss' head.

"Remember what the point of the test was? It was to test how well your team has evolved as a unit. Your team dealt with the crisis that happened and prioritized Weiss over everything else. You made good decisions and were able to capture the ones responsible in the end as a result. While it was not the test I had planned for you. It was a real situation that you all managed to pull through," Ozpin gave them a smile.

"But I panicked and I shifted some of my responsibilities to the others when Weiss was hurt. I wasn't being the leader I should have been," Ruby admitted which surprised Weiss. Was it something that happened while she was unconscious?

"That is something you will learn over time, Ruby. But that is why you have a team. When one of us stumbles then someone else is there to pick us up. That was today's lesson. Something I think all of you have learned, isn't that right, Weiss Schnee?" Ozpin directed his gaze to her, she merely nodded. "Excellent. Please make sure you get a proper meal before turning in tonight. For now enjoy the rest of your day."

And then the two girls watched as the Headmaster of Beacon walked away.

"I guess there is nothing to worry about then," Weiss said as she looked out into the flowers that were in the courtyard. Ozpin played it off as such but more than likely he was still on guard for Char. Capturing him hadn't been possible between us. There was something about him that was unsettling. Maybe because his semblance was unsettling. Not to mention his speed, as if he was just...transporting himself. Weiss shook her head, there was no use thinking about it. Hopefully he was someone we wouldn't have to worry about for some time. Not to mention Ruby would likely come up with a few crazy plans to try and counter him. But that was something she could think about on another day.

Ruby was fidgeting next to her, "Weiss, you aren't going to leave Beacon, are you?"

Weiss looked over to the silver eyed girl and raised an eyebrow, "What are you saying? Of course, not. Don't be ridiculous."

"It's just that if your Father wanted you to leave so you were safe and..." Ruby was asking because she wanted to know and it was probably something she was torn on personally. Weiss could just imagine the conversation that was going on in Ruby's head. One half was okay with Weiss leaving if it meant she would be safe. And then the other was the side that wanted to be with Weiss. So Weiss decided to poke a little fun at Ruby.

"And what do you think I should do?" Weiss asked.

"I dunno. Whatever makes you happy, or safest…" Ruby rambled not sure which side of it to take.

"Well that is the problem, isn't it? What makes me safest is not the same as what makes me happy," Weiss said which her words finally got Ruby to look at her. Seeing the thoughts Ruby had clear across her face made Weiss feel better. Although honestly she too openly wore her emotions on her sleeve. "When I first came here I didn't think about my happiness. I just wanted to learn the skills I thought I needed. So I can forge my own path."

"And now?" Ruby asked looking hopefully into Weiss' eyes.

"Now I can't leave. I mean what would happen to you if I left? Blake spends a lot of her time reading so she may not be the most dependable for when you want to study. I mean she can help you but then she gets drawn into a book and she'll forget you are even there. And Yang, well, I think that girl needs to spend some time studying herself. So the best solution is just for me to stay to look after you. Or you may never get fully caught up," Weiss said matter-of-factly.

Despite how happy Weiss' words appeared to make Ruby, she still appeared to be hesitant about something, "But Weiss...what if you get targeted again?"

"You mean, when I get targeted again," Weiss corrected and sighed. "Ruby, I should be the one asking you this. Even though you know what difficulties could occur because I am my Father's daughter, could you still be my friend? Even knowing that you could one day be a target as well?"

"Of course!" Ruby was quick to answer. "No matter what happens. We have to face it together, right?"

Weiss nodded, "It hurts me to think about it. I don't want to see you get hurt, or Blake and Yang either just because we're friends. But I can't imagine a life without you, any of you." Her voice dropped down to a whisper, "Especially you, Ruby." After everything that had happened, she could never have imagined this was what Beacon would be for her. This wasn't just a school, it was her home. A place she could smile, could laugh, could have fun. All because of the girl next to her.

"I'll always be here for you, Weiss. That's what partners are for, right?" Ruby said as her own voice dropping to a hushed tone.

"No," she shook her head. "It's what best friends are for."

As she expected Ruby pulled Weiss into a hug. "You're the best best friend I could have ever asked for."

Weiss let herself enjoy the warmth and fragrance of Ruby as the girl continued to hold her. "You are my first and best friend I could ever wish for. Thank you for coming to save me."

The sun would soon be setting and another day at Beacon would be coming to a close. Weiss knew all along that being a huntress would be a long and hard road to walk on. But she had always imagined she would have to travel that path on her own…and live in a world of solitude. But now she knew differently. She had many friends that while they may disagree at times or even fight each other…in the end they would still protect and defend the other. It was not something she had ever known until she had come to Beacon.

Maybe her heart had been frozen all this time. Waiting for the right reason and time to thaw. It took a rose to get through her frozen heart and give her reason to thaw. A girl she had saw as a dunce and a dolt but now was the most irreplaceable existence in her life. And while there was still a long ways to go, she knew she would be fine as long as Ruby was with her. No matter what may happen. Weiss would protect Ruby Rose. And maybe one day she would be brave enough to tell Ruby the three words that her heart held for her partner. But for now this would do.

"Ruby have you been keeping up on your studies?" Weiss asked.

Ruby froze at her question. Well, she was still a dunce after all but Weiss wouldn't have her any other way.

---

A/N: This is a re-write of a one shot I did quite a long time ago. Well, it isn't a complete re-write but the conclusion of the story was basically entirely scrapped and re-written. Most of it was because I didn't like the original ending. It didn't feel quite right, but this one has a ending that feels just better over all. Anyway, lets talk a bit about the story.

I really enjoy the dynamic between Ruby and Weiss. Weiss after a point goes from completely against it, to being incredibly supportive. Well as much as she can be, but I was always more interested in their social class differences and what it would eventually play into. Something that is coming into play with Volume 4 starting soon though we only got a sneak peek at it in the previous volumes. Seeing Weiss' Father and his whole character could make me want to change this fic all over again, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. And I've gone off topic again.
I wanted to explore the aspect of Weiss that I feel like doesn't get explored that much. And I think its because its not something that is easy to understand. On the outside you believe you have everything you could ever want, but more often than not, it is far from the truth. However, the problems you face are a lot different. For one, its harder to make friends, after all everyone treats you differently. And it usually gets split a couple ways, either people want to ridicule and insult you because of the wealth you come from, or people try to get close to you in order to use your influence and money. It's rare to find people that will truly see you as an individual if they know who you are and where you come from. Of course this is also the reason why Ruby makes the best partner for Weiss after all. Ruby doesn't really care about any of that, and she simply want to be friends with Weiss. And its something that Weiss initially doesn't know how to accept. Maybe not completely at any rate.

So Weiss having nightmares about Ruby dying was how it really started. I mean, think about how dangerous the world of Remnant is. Creatures of Grimm and a terrorist organization around? And Team RWBY is constantly running in with some kind of danger would be enough to cause people to have nightmares. Although for Weiss it is a bit more specific. Given Ruby's nature, Weiss knows that Ruby dying to save her would be something that Ruby would possibly do as reckless as Ruby can be. And how she can be driven by emotion. Plus I am a sucker for the emotional side of things.

Nightmares are rough on you, especially if they keep coming back. This is me speaking from experience. For a large part of my youth I experienced nightmares that hardly made much sense to me at the time. It was always the same though, and it wasn't until years later when I had the same nightmare again that I finally realized it had everything to do with my own personal struggles. For Weiss it is much the same...within the nightmare are a compacted number of issues that she has been thinking about. Her feelings for Ruby...and also the reality of what has happened to family members because of her name. How her family is continually targeted. Well I mean we don't know the details of that specifically but a few comments seem to indicate that to be the case. So I wanted to expand on that. Either way I had a lot of fun with it.

Well I hopefully managed to keep you entertained. Feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think.