"You want to run through," Weiss deadpanned.

"Yep."

"Are you trying to get us killed?"

"Not at all! I have a plan," Ruby proudly proclaimed. Weiss waited.

"Well, what is it?"

"Oh, right. You've got a full supply of cyan Dust, right?" Weiss nodded. "We run as far as we can, using our auras to shield ourselves from Wind, and then you make us shelter out of ice so we can rest and recharge! It's hot, but we shouldn't need more than an hour or so to get back into tip-top shape, so we won't need to worry about the ice melting through. When we're ready, we break out of the ice and keep running. Rinse and repeat until destination reached," Ruby finished, looking quite self-satisfied.

"There's a major problem with that plan," Weiss began.

"Oh?"

"We don't know how big the desert is! What if I run out of dust?" Weiss shouted. "We'll be stranded out there with no shelter, and we'll both die!"

Ruby froze for a moment, as if the thought hadn't even occurred to her. She recovered within a few seconds, though, and put on a winning smile. "That's not happening. We can both move pretty darn fast if we need to, so I don't think we'll come close to running out even if it's as big as the forest. And besides, Tree said that it was really hard to die in this place; we might not even need aura to get through."

Weiss grunted and turned away slightly. "I still don't think we should go. It's too big a risk to take."

"And what do you suggest we do, then?" Ruby asked, genuinely curious.

"I…" Weiss stumbled, "I don't know. I just… I hate being in situations like this. There's no good choice, no right path to take. I'm not used to it."

Ruby surprised her partner with a hug. "I know it's hard, but don't forget: we're a team, and there's nothing we can't accomplish together."

Weiss tensed up in the hug, but slowly relaxed and returned the gesture. "You're such an idiot," she said, trying in vain to hold back a smile. They remained in contact for a few moments until Ruby pulled away.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

The duo returned to the edge of the desert. Things seemed to have calmed since they had retreated, but Ruby felt a malevolent presence watching her that could only be Wind.

"He's waiting for us," she noted.

"And we're ready for him," said Weiss. "Let's go on three. One… two… three!"

The girls broke into an all-out sprint, perfectly in sync. The instant they set foot in the sand, the wind picked up and quickly became as strong as the heaviest winds they had experienced the first time.

FOOLS, screamed Wind.

Ruby grimaced. "He's not playing around this time!" she shouted. Weiss barely heard her, despite being only a few feet away.

"Just keep moving!" returned the other girl.

It was difficult to keep track of their progress. Even as they ran, the wind pushed them back; the sand beneath their feet constantly shifted, and they could hardly see, anyway. Despite their obstacles, Ruby was certain that they were moving forward quickly. Her aura prevented any new cuts from forming and protected her eyes from the millions of grains of sand that assaulted her. She was tempted to jump into the air and use Crescent Rose to propel her forward, but she was worried that, if she did lose contact with the ground, she might be lifted up high, never to return to the earth. It was a terrifying thought, especially given the nature of this desert's only inhabitant, who would be delighted to have a toy to play with. This prospect gave her additional resolve; her steps dug deeper into the sand and pushed her harder forward. Weiss needed to push herself similarly to keep pace with the younger girl.

Sand was not the only weapon Wind employed. The constant gale that whipped about the girls was accompanied by an uninterrupted stream of profanity, threats, and insults. Occasionally, the psychotic verbal rampage was ousted by a more comprehensible voice, but one no less hateful. He told savage tales of his own merciless killings of humans during the war - no detail was spared. More than once, Ruby and Weiss had to force down bile that had risen to their throats. When the murders had been recounted, the frenzied profanity immediately returned.

They'd been running for at least an hour when Ruby slowed slightly to check her scroll. As she had feared, both herself and Weiss had aura meters in the red. She stowed the scroll and hit Weiss' arm. She nodded in understanding, before removing Myrtenaster and charging the blade with Dust. Both girls came to a stop, and Weiss thrust the rapier into the sand at their feet. The girls crouched down as a dome of ice about four feet high formed around them. Only a tiny hole in the top was left open to allow for air to breathe.

Ruby and Weiss sat opposite each other, breathing heavily.

Ruby threw up.

To her credit, she managed to keep it off herself and her partner, but Weiss still gave her a disdainful glare. The older girl kicked some sand over the offensive substance, before leaning back against the ice and closing her eyes.

"Sorry," Ruby grimaced. "I don't deal with blood very well - or descriptions of it, I guess. I tried to tune him out, but… it was so hard. How could he be so brutal?"

"I suggest you stop thinking about it. Close your eyes; you need beauty rest more than me, anyway," Weiss remarked.

Ruby raised her hands as high as she could with the low ceiling. "Such creative talent, wasted on insults! I want at least three high-quality jokes before we make our next run, missy."

"You already know that's not happening," Weiss dismissed. "And don't call me missy. Just quiet down and get some sleep."

As Weiss settled in further and tried to look asleep, Ruby decided that she probably wasn't going to get anything out of the other girl. She got comfortable and closed her eyes, trying to make herself believe that she could sleep, but… her thoughts continued to wander back to the horrific images that had been forced into her mind by Wind.

As time passed, Ruby tried her best to distract herself by playing games in her head, singing silently to herself, and sketching pictures in the sand. Every break, every pause she took was instantly filled with the same nightmarish image of Weiss and herself, mangled almost beyond recognition and sliced to ribbons in the red-stained sand. Every second that picture was held in her mind, she cursed herself for being so weak. Why couldn't she just push Wind's words out? Weiss wasn't having any trouble.

In the end, Ruby kept her distress to herself. Her self-distractions were silent so as to not bother the other girl, and, though it was the longest two hours of her life, the hole at the top of their makeshift shelter finally began to expand as the ice melted. Ruby kicked Weiss awake, pointing at the now-visible sky.

"We need to be ready to go."

Weiss nodded as she took out her scroll for a last-minute aura check. Her own aura was back to nearly maximum capacity, but her partner's was worryingly low - just over half, still represented by a yellow bar. She gave a concerned look at the younger girl, but decided not to breach the subject when they would be so soon be thrust into the chaos of the desert once more.

Ruby busied herself with some deep breathing exercises that Blake had taught her, trying to prepare herself for another bout of physical and mental torment.

"Are you ready?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah," Ruby lied.

"Then let's go!" Weiss kicked the side of the half-melted ice dome, shattering the wall, and dove outside with Ruby on her tail.


A/N:Twice now I have been recommended to fuse each pair of chapters together to make for more bulky updates that include story progress for both pairs. If I were to change to this method, it would slow down updates significantly, but I would still put out around the same amount of story over time. Please let me know in a review or PM if you would like me to switch to this method or stick with what I've been doing, so I can get a better idea of what would make for a higher quality reading experience. Thanks in advance!