Hello!
Thank you to all of you who supported me, I hope to not disappoint. Anyway, in this chapter some stuff gets explained.
I'm really bad at these notes, so too the chapter!
Yang, Weiss and Blake return to their dorm, and Yang knocks. No response. "Look, Ruby, we need to come in, at least to grab our stuff, okay?" Still no response. Yang starts to get agitated and opens her mouth to say more, when Blake turns the handle and opens the unlocked door. "Oh."
Blake sighs. "Yang, do you really think Ruby would be able to sit still in our dorm for six hours straight?" She says sarcastically.
"Good point." Yang replies and the trio walk in. The room was exactly as it was when the last saw it, all the beds were made and all of their stuff was piled neatly where it belonged. "Where do you think she is?" Yang asks, a sliver of concern seeping into her voice.
Blake shrugs. "Who knows? She can take care of herself, Yang." Yang's shoulders slump, acknowledging the point.
"I just hope she's back soon and safe." Yang says, and Blake puts her arm around the girl to reassure her.
"Let's play a game!" Weiss announces. They both look to her in confusion. She smiles back at Yang. "You're worried, so let's play a game! It'll be fun and will stop you being worried for a while." She states. Blake looks to Yang, who looks to Blake, before the two just shrug agreement.
"So… What game should we play?" Yang asks cautiously.
Weiss squeals and jumps up in excitement. "YAY! Game time!" She dashes back and forth in front of the two girls, who had sat down on Blake's bunk. "Wanna play truth or dare?" She asks, standing in front of them, staring innocently and pleadingly at them, like a child who is asking their parents for a puppy.
"Okay." Yang says, while Blake just nods.
Yang opens her mouth to continue, but is cut off by Weiss. "OK! Yang, truth or dare?"
Yang opens her mouth to respond, before shrieking in horror and leaping out of the bed, being caught by Weiss before she hits the floor. Nora sits on the bed, her features as obscured as they had been that morning, her hand outstretched, having just grabbed Yang's shoulder.
"WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!" Yang yells at her, her eyes turning red and the room's temperature rising by about ten degrees almost instantly.
Ever on the ball, Weiss adds "Aw… Game time is over isn't it?" She sounds utterly broken, and tears are beginning to form on her eyes as she sits down on her bunk, and Yang sits on the floor.
"The Director requests your presence." She states simply, before simply vanishing.
"HOW IS SHE DOING THAT?" Blake growls angrily. It was infuriating to see someone so stealthy even she couldn't track them. Blake had a strong sense of pride in being the stealthiest of their year, probably even their school, and was livid that someone else was going to take her title.
The door is flung open, and Jaune dashes through. "Sorry! Sorry, Sorry, Sorry!" He repeats, gasping for breath. "I keep forgetting whenever I even imply I want something she'll get it. All I said was I wondered if you guys knew anything about what was affecting Weiss!" He said, finally regaining his breath and standing up straight. "Sorry to have bothered you!"
"It's fine." Blake says, chuckling. "Besides, it was funny to see Yang react like that." Yang, having calmed down slightly, averted her gaze, an out of place look of embarrassment crossing her face. "But, to answer your question, I have no clue about whatever it is." Jaune nods.
"WHY'D YOU RUIN THE GAME YOU MEAN MAN?" Weiss yells, crying and grabbing his legs. Jaune barely manages to keep his balance. Blake quickly rushes over and pulls Weiss from him, placing her down on the Heiress's bed. Weiss makes a noise of discontentment and looks away angrily, crossing her arms.
"Sorry I couldn't be more help." Blake says.
Jaune nods. "It's fine, I can't expect you guys to know everything. Well, I'll be-"
"I know about it." Yang says quietly. Jaune and Blake both jump, swivelling to face her in surprise.
"You do?" Jaune asks incredulously.
Yang's face turns res as she grips her knees tightly, clearly embarrassed. "Hey, you didn't have to seem so surprised that I knew something for once." Yang replies quietly. She sounds more upset than angry.
Jaune's face also turns red. "Sorry! It just came as a surprise. Usually it's Blake and Weiss who know things and I should just stop talking shouldn't I?" He says, averting his gaze to the floor.
"Well Yang, could you tell us what you know about it?" Blake asks.
"O-okay." Yang replies uncomfortably. "But once I start, please don't interrupt me or I'll lose concentration." She looks for confirmation from the two, and when they both nod, continues. "It's a curse, known as Immunda Extremus. It is almost always harmless, and temporarily alters the way any afflicted think, starting out very small and gradually can change anything about you. Usually, it will only cause slight difference, but that depends on how close you are to the source: The person who was the first to be afflicted.
Only those exposed to the source during its dormant state, which is basically before it starts changing anything, can be affected severely. A Prime example is Weiss, who is behaving in a child-like and irresponsible manner, which is the polar opposite of her normally reserved, privative and cold way of acting." Yang finishes, having said that very fast, and, seeing how confused Jaune is looking, sums it up. "In other words, a magic disease that affects how you think for a little bit." Jaune nods, and Yang smiles, glad she got her point across.
"I'm impressed, Yang. Where'd you find this?" Blake asks.
Yang looks up to her and gives her a smile. "When I took Weiss to the hospital and the nurse said she was physically fine, I researched to see if there were similar cases in the case, and was able to find out what I know through extensive research. Apparently it's pretty unknown."
"You? Research?" Blake asks, chuckling, and once again Yang averts her eyes, embarrassed.
"That's not all I found, you know." She adds, causing Blake to stop her chuckling and pay attention to the blonde. "I figured out who the source is, and teams RWBY and JNPR are the nearest to the source, meaning we will be hit hardest." Jaune looks up, clearly troubled.
"So… There's something hurting my team and there's nothing I can do about it?" He asks, and Yang nods.
"Also, it is without a doubt one of the most infectious diseases ever to exist." She adds.
"WHAT?" Jaune yells. "AND YOU'VE JUST LET US SIT HERE WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS IT?" He jumped to his feet, looking cross. As did Blake, and both were standing there demanding an explanation. Yang curled into a ball at the sudden outbreak, as if trying to disappear.
"We... it isn't possible for us to not be infected, unless you haven't been within a ten meter radius of any of your friends in the last month. Continued exposure doesn't affect how severe the case is." Yang whispers, and the two calm down. Slightly. Slightly regaining her confidence, she continued. "Even if you weren't infected before now, the moment you walked into the room you would've been."
"Then how come I'm not feeling any different?" Blake asks demandingly.
"The… Once infected, a party is completely unaware of anything strange with their behaviour. Everything they do feels normal. Plus, is gradually builds up, it is pretty rare for it to just… happen."
Blake felt a sinking feeling in her gut.
"Yang…" Blake asked. "How did you come across this information?"
"I studied records of past outbreaks." She said without hesitation. That settled it.
"Yang… Do you think you're being affected?" Jaune asked, caching on.
"No, I… Well, statistically speaking I probably am." She says nervously. "Thinking back on it, I have been unusually nervous around you guys. But keep in mind, it is just as likely your behaviour is being affected, and as you would be completely unaware of it, generally speaking, it would be hard to tell." Blake opens her mouth to reply, but Yang leaps up suddenly, placing her hand over her partner's mouth, silencing her. "Shhhh, Weiss is asleep." She says quietly, pointing to the Heiress, who is snoring softly. "We'll continue this conversation tomorrow. Good night." Jaune nods and leaves, and Blake, after one last concerned look to Yang, lies down and goes to sleep.
Blake wakes to a very faint sound. She rolls over, and starts going back to sleep, when the sound comes again. She twitches in annoyance. The sound is just loud enough she can't ignore it, but too quiet to identify. She sits up, mumbling under her breath, and looking around, can't see the cause of the disturbance. That is, until a strand of long golden hair falls past her, drifting gently towards the floor. Blake leaps out of her bed, looking up and seeing something that confirms her worst fears. Yang sits on her bed, holding a pair of scissors. Her hair has been cut, and now rests just above her ear.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?" Blake demands, still drowsy and her thoughts not quite forming properly.
Yang yelps in fear and falls backwards off of her bed, landing on her feet, and looking at Blake in fear. "M-my hair is in the way and impractical, so I c-cut." She says. Blake stares at her maliciously, and she backs into the corner.
"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT! YOU LOVE YOUR HAIR!" Blake demands loudly, and tears start forming in Yang's eyes as she presses herself to the wall.
"WILL YOU TWO PLEASE BE QUITE? SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!" Weiss yells from her bed.
The words take a second to register in Blake's head. "Weiss?" She asks.
"WHAT!" Weiss yells in reply.
"Are you back to normal?"
Realising she won't be getting any more sleep, Weiss angrily gets out of bed, rolling onto the floor, and just then Blake's question registers. "What do you-" she starts, before remembering the events of the previous day. A look of horror crosses her face, and she slowly begins to back towards the door.
"Don't worry Weiss, we won't hold your actions against you." Blake says reassuringly, trying to calm down the mortified heiress. "Do you remember Yang's explanation yesterday or will I have to tell you what's been happening?" Blake asks.
The question gives Weiss pause. She stands there, looking confused, before a look of realisation comes across her face. "Ah, yes. I do." She chuckles nervously. "Well, at least that means you guys won't be teasing me with that, because I'm sure some of the things you'll do will be just as embarrassing!" She says cheerily.
Blake sighs. "Looks like it isn't completely out of your system yet, Weiss."
"What? HOW DARE YOU!" She demands, causing Blake to chuckle.
"That's more like it."
"So, anyway, what was the cause of all of the ruckus?"
Blake points to the ground of her bed, where most of Yang's hair lays, and then to Yang, who is still crying in the corner. Weiss looks back and forth between the two, as if failing to comprehend what was going on.
She looks at Yang, then the hair on the floor. Then back at Yang, then to the hair on the floor.
"Did she…" Weiss starts.
"Yep." Blake responds.
A malicious grin forms on Weiss's face, and she quickly picks up her scroll to take a photo, only to be stopped by Blake.
"Weiss, if you don't want me to bring up how you behaved, you should pay the same respect to Yang and me, when it starts to inevitably affect me."
Weiss sighs. "Fine…" She says, before quickly taking one anyway.
Blake stares angrily at her.
"This is only as insurance, should I ever need it." Weiss says stubbornly, staring back at Blake, before her features softened slightly. "Don't worry, I won't use it unless I absolutely have to. I promise."
Blake sighs. "Fine." Yang stands up slowly, and walks towards the two, her eyes red from crying.
"Please don't yell at me for whatever it was I did." She says nervously, causing Weiss to grin and Blake to give her a reassuring look.
"So, where's Ruby?" Weiss asks, noticing the absence of their leader. As if on cue, the door creaks open quietly as Yang shrugs, and Blake responds with "She's been gone since yesterday."
"Oh, there she is now." Weiss says, causing the two to look back at their leader. The door finishes opening, revealing the figure behind it, and Weiss takes a step backwards in fear. Blake holds her breath, and Yang lets out a squeak.
A deep mist is pouring through the door, shrouding the figure that stands there in its eerie glow. It seems to be radiating from Ruby herself. She is barely recognisable. Her cloak has been dyed a black darker than night, and her face is almost completely concealed by its shadow, except for her eyes, which are glowing blood red. In her left hand is Crescent Rose, which also seems to have been dyed black, with the occasional splash of silver to emphasise it.
Underneath her cloak, where a combat skirt and a shirt usually rest is a set of some type of armor. The armor is a dull grey, with streaks of black running down the front and sides, and covers Ruby from chest to toe in its metal plating.
Getting over her shock at her leader's appearance, Weiss steps back towards the girl. "Ruby Rose, where have you been?" She demands, giving the girl a stern look. The twin dots of red move upward until it is clear they're looking at Weiss. Ruby growls like a cat of some sort. More like a lion. She lifts her scythe up until the blade is pointing at Weiss.
Weiss steps back, afraid. "I – U-umm – I mean…" She stutters before Ruby cuts her off with another low growl, walking directly towards her. Weiss wilts backwards, her eyes opening in fear as the girl moves her scythe until it is resting on the heiress's shoulder. Ruby moves it minutely, and a small cut forms on Weiss's neck, before the girl walks off towards her bunk, sheathing her scythe.
Yang, who strangely seems completely at ease with the girl, grabs her bag of school supplies and jogs out of the dorm, heading down the hallway.
"Yang, where are you-" Blake says, beginning to jog after Yang. Suddenly, Ruby was there, standing between her and the door, gripping her arm tightly enough that Blake winced. Blake instinctively starts to struggle, only for Ruby to grip tighter, until Blake is sure her arm is about to break and stops. Ruby loosens her grip a little bit, and stares down at her.
"What do you-" Blake starts, before looking down and realising she is in her pyjamas. "O-oh. Thanks." She dashes back inside, quickly changing. She turns back to Ruby, only to notice the girl wasn't there. She looks down the hallway, and at one end of it is the girl, walking slowly and confidently down the hallway, a trail of mist following her, her scythe unsheathed, and looking very intimidating.
She turns back to the trembling heiress, who has sat in silence the whole time, her wound already having stopped bleeding, and only a few drops of blood had escaped. "Come on Weiss, let's go for breakfast. We have classes soon." She calls to the heiress, who doesn't seem to notice she had said anything. Blake sighs. "If you don't come I'll have Ruby fetch-" before she could get any further, Weiss yelps and bolts up, changing in a second and dashing out the door.
Well, that's that. It took me an amazingly long time to write, given how it's only a few thousand words. Anyway, by my estimate there should be two/three more chapters.
Also, the previous after story note had a joke in it. I am not sorry that characters were behaving OOC, it was intentional.
