Disclaimer: RWBY and all religions not owned by me. We're almost done.
The seconds ticked by slowly, as if trying to buy her extra time. Blake could see a clock mounted on the far wall of the small apartment they'd appropriated as a base of operations but she ignored it as best she could, all save for the obnoxious sound of the second hand. Two months- they'd gone two months without a single Demon showing up to take Weiss back. They both expected as much when the last link fell away, a sign that the Pride Demon had truly broken free. No one would come to take her back, for she no longer belonged there, but the collar remained. It, too, would fall away in time, but that would take much longer. Seeing it around her neck, cracking and crumbling, brought a little smile to Blake's lips most days, happy to see her companion so close to achieving the freedom she sought… however, now it served as a problem. Without the steady flow of Demons seeking her out, the Fallen Angel hadn't been able to send any of them back, leaving her with just one stake left to use. For two months, she'd tried tracking one down to finish the deed, but to no avail.
Though, if she were being honest, it wasn't entirely because no Demons had been in the area.
"Blake?" She turned away from the open window, gaze falling on her companion, standing beside the sofa. "Shouldn't we be out looking?"
"No," she replied, leaving the window to sit, coaxing Weiss down with her. "We've both tried reaching out and we've set the traps everywhere. There's no Demon in the city, or even the state." Leaning back, Blake allowed her eyes to close. "All that's left… is to wait."
The deadline loomed ahead, inching closer with every tick of the clock. She was given one mortal year, and she'd nearly achieved her goal… but there wasn't time to finish her mission. A month ago, when they both realized their tactics would no longer work, they should've parted ways. The Demons could still sense where Weiss was- she couldn't hide from her kin- and that made both of them easy to avoid. Blake knew- how could she not?- but she'd been stubborn.
She didn't want to abandon her companion.
"What will happen to you?" She cracked an eye open, seeing the worry shining bright in blue eyes.
"I don't know," she replied, a sigh escaping her lips before she sat up, turning her face away. "It doesn't matter now. I just… want to spend what remains in peace."
Weiss didn't speak, didn't move for a few moments, but then she got up and left the room, bringing an ache to the Fallen Angel's chest. She could be such a coward; she'd wanted to at least spend some of her remaining time with the liberated Demon.
She heard Weiss' return before turning her head to catch sight of the Demon reclaiming her spot on the couch, the last stake clutched in her hands. The inscriptions lightly glowed as her skin smoked faintly, reacting to the blood thudding through her veins. Despite being liberated from Hell, Weiss would remain a Demon throughout her days, and Blake thought it sad that she would never get the chance to marvel at the architecture of churches and temples the way mortals could. Against all odds, the Pride Demon seemed especially entranced by the creations mankind sculpted with their own hands. She probably would've loved seeing the inside of a cathedral.
"What are you doing with that?" The Fallen Angel quickly reached over, plucking the stake from her companion's limp grip. She couldn't hold the thing too tightly or risk seriously injuring herself; the weaker her connection to Hell, the less quickly she could heal from injury. They'd found that out not too long ago, and the memory still brought a pain to her chest.
"You need to banish one more Demon." She curled her hands into loose fists, trying to hide the blisters that covered her palms from carrying the blessed object. "Lucky for you, there's one close by."
Blake quirked a brow, curious. "Where?"
The silence that followed confused her for a moment, only until Weiss turned to face her fully, tilting her chin up as her mortal disguise fell away, retaking her Demonic form. Her left horn had snapped off completely months ago, leaving nothing more than a jagged circle above her left eye, the scar something she couldn't dispel even in her disguise. Her tail hung limply off the sofa, hands in her lap, and that's when it clicked, forcing the Fallen Angel to her feet as she backed away.
"Weiss, what are you- you're not seriously suggesting-"
"I'm still a Demon, Blake." She glanced down at her hands briefly. "The stake will work."
"No." Shaking her head, the Fallen Angel hid the stake behind her back in a fruitless attempt to discourage her companion. "That's not an option."
"Why not?" Weiss furrowed her brows, bristling. "I escaped once; I can do so again."
"I don't care!" Blake grit her teeth, not allowing her companion's wounded pride to sway her. "I'm not sending you back there, not after everything you've done just to be free." She shook her head, a sigh slipping past her lips. "And that's only if you're sent back to Hell. The chain is gone; what if banishing you sends you… somewhere else?"
"There's no place in existence that remains hidden from an Angel's eyes for long," she replied, tail flicking slightly, a testament to how little she believed that herself. "Either way, when your deadline is up, one of us won't… be here anymore." Weiss stood up, turning to face the Fallen Angel. "Between the two of us, my existence relies only on my own ability. We have no idea what the Highest Angel will decide your fate to be." She gestured towards the stake. "It won't kill me- it's not that powerful- and wherever it banishes me to, I am strong enough to leave. In the process, you'll get your wings back."
They fluttered of their own accord, called out in response to Weiss' transformation. Just as broken as before, just as useless, but she couldn't be motivated to care. Although she was trying valiantly to present the option as sound and logical, they'd spent enough time in the other's company for Blake to see the cracks in her facade; Weiss wasn't sure if she was telling the truth. The stake might not be powerful enough to outright kill a Demon under Hell's command, but without her chain, she had nothing solid tying her to any plane, not even this one. If banished from it… there would be no telling where she'd be sent, or if she truly had the strength to survive the banishment anyway. "I don't want them, not for so high a cost."
"There is no cost." The Demon stepped forward, reaching out to grab her wrist and pull the stake out into view. Carefully, she maneuvered the point until it rested at the center of her sternum, barely exerting any pressure. "It's what we've worked so hard for. You can return to Heaven, and I will find my way back to the mortals' world, eventually. We'll both get what we want."
Blake had the power to resist allowing the stake to come to bear, but she didn't, her shoulders falling with the realization that Weiss fully believed it to be a fair trade. Truthfully, driving the stakes through Demons' chests had long ago stopped being about potentially returning to Heaven for her. Once, she'd nearly forgotten to use the damn thing at all, too busy drowning a Lust Demon in holy water to think clearly, righteously enraged at the vile things he'd suggested as Weiss' punishment for running away from their master. If her companion hadn't come rushing in with the stake at the last second, she'd be even further away from her goal.
Now, she wished she was, if only to have another reason to dissuade the Demon from her argument. As it stood, she had only one option left.
She lifted the stake up, as if to strike, but turned instead, putting every ounce of energy into tossing the blessed, blasted thing through the open window. Where it landed, she didn't care, as long as it was gone. "I'm not willing to take that chance."
"Blake!" Her companion tried to brush past her, probably to retrieve the stake, but the Fallen Angel grabbed her by the hand, her expression turned pleading.
"Weiss, please." A gentle tug brought the Demon away from the window, allowing her to grab Weiss' other hand. "It's over. My fight… it's over." She glanced at the clock briefly before returning her attention to her companion, a small smile on her lips. "I don't know what will happen when the deadline passes, but I know how I want to spend what time I have left. Please. Give me this."
Just as she expected, Weiss looked crestfallen. For a Demon, she could be remarkably selfless, not only volunteering to deliberately expose herself to lure in her kin for Blake to banish but in other ways, too. She would exert her will over mortals sometimes, blinding them to her stealing food and goods for the homeless. She would make a someone with a bit too much pride stumble or trip, especially if they were being rude to someone else, and she seemed to especially enjoy doing so whenever hot coffee was involved. Perhaps Heaven would frown on her methods… but her intentions seemed far more altruistic than one would believe possible.
"If… that is your choice…" Blue eyes drifted down, staring at the floor between them. "Is there anything I can do?"
"Yes," Blake replied, waiting until her companion lifted her gaze before smiling. "Dance with me."
"You're joking." Weiss blinked, apparently surprised when the Fallen Angel released one of her hands so she could slide it around the Demon's waist, bringing them closer. "Apparently, you're not."
"I'm not." They'd seen the mortals do it enough. Dancing with or without music, turning in circles for seemingly no reason- a bizarre practice, but one she'd felt tempted to try. Although somewhat hesitant, Weiss ultimately acquiesced, the two moving in tandem to a nonexistent beat around the apartment. Her tail trailed after her for a little while before it began to disappear, hiding beneath her disguise. "Don't."
"Excuse me?" Now, the Demon seemed even more perplexed.
"You don't have to hide yourself away." A sad smile touched her lips. "This might be the last time you look like yourself in front of another for a long while. Enjoy it."
Weiss watched her for a moment before chuckling with a shake of her head. "You are a very strange Angel indeed, Blake." Their eyes met. "I'm glad I found you."
"Same," she replied, allowing the single word out while locking half a dozen away. She could utter some of them, she decided, but not all, to spare them both. Instead, she pulled the Demon closer, mindful of her horn, and fought valiantly to keep the words she yearned to say from escaping. Weiss would live until Heaven and Hell went to war, and perhaps even after that; she was strong, cunning, and stubborn, and it would take more than war between Demons and Angels to bring her down.
Eventually, Weiss truly settled into the embrace. One clawed hand came to rest on the Fallen Angel's shoulder, the other still firmly in her grip, and her tail curled around their waists protectively, as if she could avert the coming outcome through sheer will alone.
"Is there a chance they'll take your wings entirely?" The Demon eventually spoke, softly, as they continued to drift around the apartment. "Turn you into a mortal?"
"There's a chance, yes." She actually didn't know. She hoped, of course, because then she might be able to see Weiss again… but she'd never heard of it happening before. Angels, fallen from grace, typically either ceased existing altogether… or were banished to Hell. "If I do come back as a mortal, will you look for me?"
"I'll do better than that." The tail around her waist squeezed tighter. "I may not be a Hellhound, but I can track rather well. I'll find you again."
"Good." It was a flight of fancy, truly. In all likelihood, she'd be cast down to the pits of Hell to become the most reviled of creatures: a Felled Angel. But Weiss managed to escape Hell, through sheer tenacity. If the worst came to pass, she'd remember how strong the Demon in her arms had been to do it first, and follow in her footsteps. "I'll look for you, too."
"You might not remember me."
"How could I forget?" Amber eyes darted to the clock. She'd never told her companion the exact deadline… but now that she had mere seconds left, it didn't seem right to withhold the information. "It's almost time."
"Already?" Weiss drew back to look at her, though the pressure of her tail didn't recede. She looked away, briefly, and turned back with that same sharp look in her eyes as when they first met. "You'd better hold true to your word. Look for me, and I'll look for you. We'll find each other. Even if I have to go back to the bowels of Hell to track you down, I'll find you."
Surprise flashed across her expression for a moment before she ducked her head. "You knew."
"Of course I did," she said, softly, even as her slim claws slipped beneath the Fallen Angel's chin and tipped her head up, so they could see each other's eyes. "No matter what- horns, wings, or neither- you'll always be Blake to me."
Blake could feel the pull in the center of her chest at odds with the light growing at the edges of her vision, calling her back to Heaven. Carefully, she let loose two of the words she'd held onto so hard before. "Goodbye, Weiss."
As the light took her, she held onto the last three with all her might.
Author's Note: Short and dumb; sometimes, ya just gotta get to the point.