Morning captain! It seems I can get a chapter out this week. Its late but hey it better than no chapter at all right? Well as always feel free to leave tips and suggestions. Enjoy. :)

Chapter 3: Regret Written in Red Pt. II.

Weiss sat in the bullhead along with 25 Schnee Dust Company security guards along with 25 combat androids. She fiddled with Myrtenaster. It's been years since she had laid eyes on it.

Ever since she became head of the Schnee Dust company she never had to draw the rapier yet Ruby had insisted that they upgrade it, several times. It still resembled a rapier but that was the only similarity it shared with it's original. It had double the dust capacity as it's original and twice as many dust chambers. The blade had been permanently infused with ice dust causing it to freeze any wound it inflicted and would leave ice crystals inside the opponent's blood stream. Instead of being entirely white the rapier itself is etched, from handle to blade, with red and black lines that resemble rose thorns.

Weiss held Myrtenaster up, watching the first rays of dawn bounce off its newly polished surface.

*Ruby please be ok.* Weiss thought.

"Ma'am we're approaching the village. ETA 5 minutes." The pilot called from the cockpit.

Weiss gave a nod before getting out of the co-pilot seat and made her way to the bullhead doors.

"Attention!"

The group of 50 humans and androids gave a salute.

"At ease," Weiss, "We will be arriving at the village in 5 minutes. Prep your equipment and prepare for combat. We don't know what's out there."

The bullhead became buzzing with activity. The sounds of weapon mechanisms filled the once silent bullhead. Androids were checked and Weiss loaded a dozen dust vials into her rapier.

"We have arrived. Prepare for drop!" the pilot called from the cockpit. The bullhead launch bay opened up and the security detail dropped out systematically until Weiss and pilot were the only ones left on the bull head.

"Be careful out there Weiss." the pilot shouted over the wind that whirled through the open bullhead doors.

"I'm not that rusty Velvet," Weiss said as she approached the open door, "I'll see you in a 48 hours. Don't be late." With those words she took a step into thin air and began the plummet to the ground 300 feet below. As she descended she took in the view of the village.

Well it couldn't be called a village anymore. Most of the houses were blackened ruins. The small walls around the village were nothing more than mounds of rocks and rotting wooden posts. Not a single building was still standing. As the ground got closer Weiss formed a glyph at her feet and slowed her descent until she landed on the ground. One of the guards walked up to her.

"These burn marks aren't fresh ma'am. They look weeks, hell, months old." the guard said has he pulled off his helmet, revealing familiar bright blue hair.

"Are you sure Neptune?" Weiss whispered as she visibly paled.

"!00%. What the hell happened here? Grimm can't exactly start fires on their own, especially in a town in the middle of nowhere without electricity or gas lines," Neptune said as he turned around and shouted, "Fan out! Look for survivors. If not..." he hesitated for a moment before saying, " At least find their bodies..." They began the search at noon.

Everything will be fine. There's nothing to worry about. This is Ruby we're talking about.

4 hours into the search they found nothing. No bodies or no survivors, hell they couldn't even find dust in the small dust store at the middle of the town. They began searching the area surrounding the town.

Everything will be fine. There's nothing to worry about. She's probably hiding somewhere.

She held her breathe. Silence filled the air, only interrupted the rhythmic sound of a shovel hitting dirt. They found something 1 mile out away from the town. On top of a hill next to the dirt road that led to the village sat a makeshift grave marked by a wooden cross. They pulled the body from the grave. A sigh of relief escaped from Weiss. It wasn't her. They searched on. It was 8 hours since they had started.

Everything will be fine. There's nothing to worry about. Maybe...

It was 1 hour after midnight. Neptune walked up to Weiss.

"The rest of the guys are exhausted Weiss. We've been searching this place for 13 hours. I don't think we're going to find anything." Neptune said as he sat on a large boulder, " I mean look at this-" His hand landed on something metallic.

"Weiss! Get over here. You might want to see this."

Weiss rushed over and Neptune placed the object into her hand. She took on look at it and nearly dropped it. In her hands she was a red scroll. It was battered, cracked, and covered in a layer of moss and dirt but she recognized it. It was Ruby's scroll.

"Hey Weiss? Weiss?" Neptune put a hand on her shoulders.

"Call Velvet and send this back to the labs. See if they can find anything from this." Weiss mumbled.

"Weiss are you-" Neptune asked before Weiss cut him off with a shout.

"DO WHAT I PAY YOU TO DO AND CALL VELVET." Weiss screeched, tossing the device at him before she stomped back towards the tiny outpost they set up at the village. Everything felt numb. She couldn't even feel the freezing night air that she was usually sensitive to.

She is fine. Everything will be fine.

Then why is her scroll here and not with her?

She walked on, deep in thought and unaware of what was in front of her. She walked right into a tree branch.

"Gah! What-" Weiss looked up and froze. There on the branch was a piece of cloth, swirling in the wind. On that piece was white snowflake, stained with a large splotch of red. Weiss collapsed into a sobbing mess, weeping in front of torn cloak of her lover.

Everything was not fine.

~Present Day: Weiss's Office~

Blake slowly pushed the door open, taking a peak inside before walking in. It had become a routine at this point, an unhealthy one yes but one nether the less. Everyday around 1:20 she would check on Weiss, who around this time would start drinking the liquor she hid around the office. This all started 3 days after they found Ruby's scroll and cloak. Over time the drinking got worse and her alcohol tolerance wasn't any better either.

"Weiss-" Blake ducked as a bottle of vodka flew over her head.

"BLAKE JUST GO AWAY." Weiss screeched from her desk. Her eyes were bloodshot and red. Her hair was no longer in its usually bun but flowed messily down her back and over her shoulders. On the desk were 4 bottles of vodka, 3 of which were empty.

"Weiss you can't keep doing this-" Blake ducked again as another bottle sailed over her head.

"GET OUT BEFORE I FIRE YOU, YOU FUCKING CAT!" Weiss screamed again as picked up another bottle.

Blake stomped over and grabbed the bottle from the drunken heiress.

"Fire me then." Blake hissed with a glare which quickly melted upon seeing how much the Schnee had deteriorated.

Weiss stared at her with shocked expression before putting her head on her desk and buried it into her arms. Moments later Blake could hear quiet muffled sobbing.

"Weiss I didn't mean it," Blake said as she wrapped her arms around the broken Weiss.

"I-I'm sorry Bla- *hick* Blake. I just, *hic* I-."

"It's alright Weiss. Its okay." Blake whispered to the sobbing Schnee as she patted her head. After a couple of minutes the heiress passed out and Blake carried her to the hidden bedroom inside the office. She put Weiss down on the bed and wrapped Ruby's tattered cloak around the heiress.

Not many people noticed but Blake saw. Weiss was colder and more distant then when she first got to Beacon. She never went outside anymore. The once colorful office was now painted a cold white, there were no flowers nor paintings. It was just like how she saw the world, colorless and lifeless.

Outside the snow fell heavily just like the day she found out that Ruby was gone. The white powder fell slowly, covering a hollow grave.

Again sorry for the late chapter. I'll give you guys something extra special next chapter! As always feel free to leave tips and comments and I'll see you guys next time. Also early Merry Christmas or any winter holiday you celebrate. :) My gift to you guys for the winter holidays wil come with the next chapter.