Hello! After 2 long years I have finally returned to writing. I know some of you may no longer be interested in my work, but I am hoping this chapter is the first in a more... continuous line of chapters. Thank you all for your extended support! I do seriously hope that you like this chapter, although it may be short. Don't forget to follow, review, or whatever it is that you do!

With love,

Mindful Rose


Like a Nightmare Come True

Weiss' POV

Darkness surrounds me. I stand alone in the void, slowly looking around. But at what, I wonder? There's nothing here. I look to my feet. They look like they're standing on something, but I feel nothing below them. Come to think of it, I can barely feel anything at all! I slowly bring my arms up to wrap them around my chest, gripping my arms as if I were cold, but I feel nothing.

Suddenly, a bright light flickers before my eyes. I stand, paralyzed with fear, as a small object dances in the distance. I squint as I try to make out what it could be. If only it weren't so far away! I take a step, and its as if life itself is flickering. My whole world goes from darkness to pure white, and then disappears. I take another step. Once again the whiteness pierces my eyes, but this time the image stays with me. Snow is falling, and judging from the inch or two covering the ground, I'd say it's been that way for a while. I search for the floating mystery, only to see that it is no closer. Tears fill my eyes as I hobble towards it, but they never reach the ground. Each step feels longer than the last, but I walk until I can walk no longer. I fall to my knees hopeless and, dare I say, helpless. The world disappears back to nothing.

I hear a faint cry. A small, but oddly cute voice. It takes me a moment to discover the source. The object has drawn considerably closer. The smell of roses draws my attention.

Ruby?

My eyes shoot open.

My team leader is directly above me, holding me in her arms. She can't stop saying my name. My chest feels tight, and it hurts as I try to breath. I guess that must have been too sudden, because as I exhale she gasps.

"Weiss? Weiss it's me!"

My mouth moves by itself, but makes no sound. Ruby pulls away, still clutching my shoulders. I stare tiredly at her, taking in every detail. Her face is twisted from the various emotions she must be feeling. Her silver eyes are wide and quivering, tears line her cheeks. I can't help but smile as I force words out of my mouth.

"Ruby. Why are you crying?"

She says nothing else, but wraps me in the tightest hug I've ever felt. It kinda hurts, actually.

We stay like this for a long while before my memory decides to kick in. My dreams come back in force. The forest, the Grimm, the darkness. It takes me all of one second to superimpose those images to the ones I see now. The forest is the same. The falling of fresh snow is the same. The danger is the same.

"Do you have any idea how much you've sacred me?" The crimson girl spoke loudly and with a soft anger. I tried to object, but she cut me off. "I've been searching all day for you!"

The snow starts to fall. "We have to go," is all I can force myself to say.

"What?"

"Can't you feel it?"

"Weiss, what are you talking about?"

I'm cut off by a steady roar in the distance. The low, otherworldly tone slices through the wind and rattles my ears. I grab Ruby instinctively, expecting to make a quick escape back to the safety of our dorms.

"The Grimm." I warn, "They're coming. We have to run!"

She looks towards the empty forest. The world falls silent as the dark creatures advance through the trees, piercing their red eyes through the shadows.

A whole pack of them has seemingly made its way into the clearing now.

I hear the sounds of sliding metal. Our leader obviously has no intention of running away. She lowers me back onto the ground. I look up to see the shadow of her scythe, and at once I am both in awe and terror.

"No, Ruby, you don't understand! Don't do this! We have to get back!" I say.

Ruby looks back, but steps forward anyway. Using strength I didn't know I had, I lunge for her ankles. She stops and looks into my eyes. I must look pitiful, but she ignores it.

"Don't worry, Weiss," she says with the determination of a true Huntress, " I'll protect you."

With that she dashes towards the horde, leaving behind only rose petals. I can only watch as she cuts down one beowolf after another. Each time narrowly avoiding attack from the next enemy. Although I'd never noticed before, the leader's reckless fighting style has a sort of elegance in it's brutality. Her strikes are smooth and fast, and they are just as deadly.

Through the gunfire and sounds of metal against monster, I can hear a mechanical humming in the distance that fills me with fear. Large footsteps crash through the trees and are getting closer by the minute. Ruby continues her assault on the seemingly endless supply of darkness, but I can see fatigue piling up. Her movements have slowed, and she isn't darting between enemies with her semblance anymore. If my nightmares are correct, I know she can't fight this new threat.

I try to scream, but I know she can't hear me. The mechanical beast rips through the tree line, arm cannon drawn. I take a good, long look at this death machine. Two large legs supporting a full-metal cockpit and two monstrous arms. Each arm fitted with a whole series of equipment, most of which I can't recognize. The pilot's seat is shrouded by black glass and plates of armor, obscuring the real face behind the machine.

I watch helplessly as the walker lines up its arm cannon and fires. Time seems to crawl as Ruby is sent flying from the explosive round blast. She slides across the ground and stays still before slowly getting back up. She attacks with renewed vigor, taking several slashes at the monster. Her assault his cut short by a swift punch which once again sends her reeling back. The cannon on the machines arm spools up and fires several shots. Most miss, but the bullets that land take their toll, and Ruby's aura quickly depletes.

My nightmare has superimposed reality. Just as I had seen before, I watch with desperation as the beast bends it's legs, arming a great fist for what I know is the final blow. I force a glowing white glyph under myself using my own semblance and with it catapult my body towards the deliverer of certain death. I draw my blade and aim its point directly at the opaque glass cockpit. I watch as its fist comes to greet me, but I don't care.

If there's anything I can do to change my future, I'll do it.

I barely feel the metal fist as it collides with every inch of my body. I am sent flying back at Ruby, and I slide to a stop mere inches behind her. All this time, she still hasn't moved. I cry helplessly as my dream unfolds before me. Her body is lifted high into the air, but this time her eyes do not move. They remain open just barely wide enough for me to make out the lifelessness withing the silver. I reach out to the machine as it turns and walks away.

I return to darkness.