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"You did that on purpose, didn't you? Brought me along so I could carry everything." Ruby asked as her feet ached with the final step she took before sitting down on one of Weiss' insanely comfortable couches.
They had spent the entire day shopping and for someone who seemed to enjoy the luxury of being pampered from time to time, Weiss certainly had no problems walking all over the entirety of Atlas.
Then again, Ruby was the one carrying all the bags because, as Weiss put it, she had the arms for it.
Glancing up from her new spot on the couch, she could see a familiar scowl on her partner's face and she knew exactly where the next sentence was heading. "Are you seriously moving through the living room of the Schnee manor in your combat boots?"
"Well," Ruby lifted her feet off the ground. "I did yesterday?" She reasoned but was met with an indignant huff.
"You were injured yesterday, I made an exception based on the urgent needs you had."
Ruby felt a strange warmth at the memory of how concerned Weiss was for her. When they were at Beacon she used to put so much energy into having Weiss like her, to being able to call Weiss her friend. Those walls seemed to crumble just before Beacon did. It was a relief to see that the years apart hadn't rebuilt them. Perhaps it was Weiss' own loneliness that drove her, but if Ruby were being honest, Weiss was even more affectionate than she'd been during even their final weeks at school.
"I'm sorry, I'll take them off." She said as she sat up with a groan. Before she reached the laces, Ruby had a pressing thought return to the front of her mind. She could see that empty black figure chasing her, no matter how much she enjoyed her time with Weiss, the truth of her looming hunter wasn't going to go away. She was putting Weiss at risk with each minute she stayed here. Even shopping today was risky, it put the entire city in danger and it was selfish. She was being selfish—it just felt so good to be around Weiss again. To be cared for, in Weiss' unique way.
Ruby had missed her partner more than she'd known. It would be too easy for her to give into this comfort, but she knew she couldn't.
"Are you planning to remove them with your mind?"
Taking a breath, Ruby stood up from the couch. "No, I uh…" She couldn't look Weiss in the eyes. "I think I'm going to go." She put on her best smile and looked up to see a pair of severely angry blue eyes staring back at her. "I can't thank you enough for all of this, the clothes, the food and healing my cut and giving me a good night's sleep. It's been…so good to see you again." Ruby finished with an even brighter smile and waiting for Weiss to say something. Instead she was met with the same upset look as Weiss crossed her arms in silence. She was mostly certain that Weiss wasn't going to attack her, even if she looked like she might, but Ruby still made sure she felt the weight of Crescent Rose on her back just in case. "I uh…Weiss I…"
"Do I matter so little to you?"
It wasn't the words that hurt Ruby, it was how bitterly Weiss said them. "What? How could you think that? Weiss last night was…"
Finally, Weiss looked away from her, shaking her head. "Apparently not enough for you to treat me like the partner and...friend I thought I was." Weiss was visibly tensing, Ruby could see her hands squeezing tightly against her arms. "I always knew you were childish but this…this is just stupid."
That word, something about the way she said it brought Ruby back to being fifteen again and trying to make this girl her friend and being cut off at every turn. She narrowed her eyes and clenched her fist. "I'm trying to keep you safe." Ruby growled. "I'm doing my best, Weiss. I'm trying to keep everyone safe!"
"You can't!" Weiss screamed so loud her voice strained and Ruby recoiled. "You cannot keep everyone safe! You are not strong enough!" Weiss took a threatening step towards her. "When I found you in that bakery, you were a mess. You were hurt, your aura was gone and last night you were so emotionally worn down that you had a panic attack and cried in my arms until you fell asleep! Are you telling me that if you came across Cinder or any pack of Grimm or that…thing that is hunting you that you could do anything to properly defend yourself?"
"Weiss," Ruby wanted to be angry but her voice broke. She'd been living like this for so long that it was impossible to see any real end in sight. If she were being honest, her own search for answers had stopped months ago. All she was doing was running and surviving, hoping to stumble onto something that might help her. Help what? At this point she didn't even know. She just had to keep that thing occupied and keep anyone she cared about away. "I just want to keep everyone safe." She whispered aloud and lowered her head.
She heard a sigh from the girl standing across from her and a moment she saw white boots standing just in front of hers. "Ruby, look at me." Weiss gently demanded and Ruby peeked up through the hood of her lashes to see Weiss was extremely close. "If I let you leave; I am…terrified that the next time I see you, I'll be burying you."
It would have been easy to lie, to tell Weiss that she had a plan—that all of this was leading to something good. It would have been easy—instead, she faltered and her mouth fell open but no words escaped. The truth was, she had no plan, all she had was her semblance and speed to keep her running long enough to let everyone else be safe for as long as possible.
Perhaps one day she'd no longer be able to run, and she could fight and fight and maybe stop this thing chasing her. Maybe that would be enough and she could die heroically, just like Yang had told her her mother did. She could make the sacrifice to give those she loved peace.
That would be enough for her.
"I won't do it." Weiss said and Ruby snapped out of her thoughts. There were tears in Weiss' eyes, they didn't belong there. No, Weiss wasn't meant to cry, she was too strong. "I will not let you leave, I will not let you go alone and I certainly will not let you give your life away. You are my partner. You mean too much to me. I won't lose you again."
Ruby swallowed down the thick lump in her throat. "It won't stop, Weiss. It's coming for me and it will be here soon and it won't stop. You haven't seen it, you don't know. It's not going to care how we feel. It will tear this castle down until it finds me. Your staff, your cooks…you—you'll all be killed." As the thought of those people dying for her own selfish want to feel safe crept further and further into Ruby's gut, she was abruptly disturbed by a sharp pain on her forehead. "Ow!" She cried and looked up to see that Weiss had thumped her. "What was mmff—" suddenly, a pair of lips was pressed against her own.
Ruby made a noise against Weiss' lips but she couldn't begin to explain what it was. A muffled squeal that turned into a whimper. Weiss was kissing her! She was being kissed by Weiss Schnee and it was as if every nerve on her body caught fire. She felt her knees start to shake and the ground beneath her might split at any moment and swallow them both.
She had yet to respond. She didn't know how, both from shock and lack of experience. This was her first kiss and though it wasn't how she'd imagined it; it was certainly memorable.
Just as Ruby was about to reach out to touch Weiss, a pair of hands pressed into her shoulders and pushed her away. "You absolute dunce!"
Ruby's lips still burned with the contact but Weiss looked like she was ready to start screaming at her. "Weiss I—" she took a breath and saw that Weiss was just as flushed as she felt. "What…was that?"
The suddenly angered expression on Weiss' face turned to one of worry and confusion. "I—I don't know. I was just so upset and you're so…annoying! I had to do something. I had to…" she sighed and ran a hand harshly through her hair, effectively removing her side ponytail and letting her long, white hair cascade down her back.
"You kissed me." Ruby muttered as she touched her lips and saw Weiss give her an apologetic look and nod. It was, without question, the last thing she expected to happen from the conversation they were having. Ruby had thought about kissing Weiss at total of twice in all the time she'd known her and both of those were on the cheek. Once when Weiss promised to be her best teammate and the other was when she finally found her after getting off the ship where Torchwick was eaten. Perhaps the second time she might have kissed Weiss on the lips, but she was really stressed out and almost died.
Now, they had kissed, not at all on the cheek, and Weiss seemed as unsure about as Ruby was.
"I did…and I apologize, Ruby. I shouldn't have done that. As someone who does not like having their personal space invaded without permission what I did was wrong. I just…panicked. I can't—won't let you leave this house alone."
"You kissed me." Ruby muttered absentmindedly.
Weiss rolled her eyes. "If I knew it was going to make you non-functional I would have done it when I met you and stopped you from blowing me up!"
All Ruby could process was that Weiss had kissed her. She kept saying it over and over in her mind but it still didn't really make sense. Weiss Schnee was the heiress to the largest producer of Dust in Remnant. She was rich beyond anything Ruby could ever imagine. She was elegant and refined and all those other silly words Yang would use to describe her (complain about her) in the early days of their time at Beacon.
Ruby knew that she was not at the same level as Weiss, not even close. Ruby ate cookies by the handful, she cut her hair with a blade and enjoyed s'mores over a fire more than any of the finely cooked foods Weiss had ever mentioned. Yet, Weiss kissed her. Weiss initiated a kiss between them which could only mean that Weiss had wanted to kiss her.
Which meant…
"Do you like me?"
Blue eyes went wide as Weiss' face flushed. "Of course I like you, you are my partner and friend."
"You kissed me."
Weiss groaned. "Will you stop saying that!"
Ruby shook her head. "No. You…you kissed me and you don't kiss partners and friends, not like that. You—do you have feelings for me?" Even as she asked the question Ruby wasn't entirely sure that was even the right way of phrasing it.
Any worries she had about that were removed when a frightened look crossed Weiss' face. "Th—that's preposterous! I was merely caught up in the emotion of the moment. I haven't seen you in a long time and you're foolishly risking your life as if you mean nothing when clearly you mean something to—those who care about you! I lost control for a moment but I do not think it is anything to dwell on!"
One of the things Ruby picked up on when it came to Weiss was that if she was nervous or unprepared for a difficult conversation, she rambled and threw out haughty remarks to defend herself. With most people, the tone and the arrogance she tried to show would drive them away.
The one person that had never worked on, was Ruby. "Weiss," she put a little more bass in her voice, letting Weiss know she was in no mood for games.
The look she received in return made it clear that her point had been made. Weiss' defenses dropped and she stared at her hands. "I spent much of my free time thinking about you, all of our team. But you…you were there every day—most days you were the first thing I thought of in the morning. I tried to imagine what it would be like to see you again—it was only ever in my imagination, I never dreamed I would. I was here and you were gone…I assumed you were becoming everything you were meant to. I assumed that you had forgotten all about me, I accepted it." Ruby wanted to interject, it was in her nature to step forward and remind Weiss that she could never forget her. However, it was clear that Weiss wasn't finished so Ruby restrained herself. "Then all of the sudden, there you were with your red cape and I expected you to be exactly as I remembered…but you weren't." Weiss was extremely tense and Ruby could see the conflict in her eyes. "You were annoyingly taller than I am, your hair was longer than I remembered, which I hate by the way because it frames your face perfectly and it's incredibly distracting. You have these…muscles and curves that are equally distracting and I've found it hard to concentrate and sometimes even breathe when you're around me and I don't know what is wrong!"
Ruby had never seen Weiss so unsure of herself and her feelings. Even through all the times that Weiss seemed out of her element with the things Ruby dragged her into, not once had Weiss been so shaken.
Yet, all Ruby could do was stare with her mouth hanging open. Weiss Schnee…was attracted to her.
"Weiss I—"
Suddenly, something loud, almost ear shattering, sounded throughout the room. Ruby had to cover her ears from the invading noise and when she looked at Weiss, she was pale and stricken with worry.
"No," Ruby could only see Weiss' mouth move, she didn't hear her speak.
"What is it?!" Ruby shouted but was barely able to hear her own voice over the raging sound.
A moment passed and Weiss strode over to close the distance between them. "It's the alarm!" Ruby felt her legs start to shake, a tightness built in her throat, making it hard to breathe. "Ruby someone is trying to break in."
"Miss Schnee!" A new voice entered the room and Ruby could barely register that Weiss had walked away from her.
It's here…it found her. Found them. It's going to kill them all, kill Weiss.
"No…no, no." Ruby shook her head and instinctively removed Crescent Rose from her back.
"Athos! Fetch me Myrtenaster at once!" Weiss commanded and Ruby saw the burly man wearing his big, fancy hat rush off as Weiss returned to where Ruby was standing. "It's past the initial line of security posted outside. Ruby we must prepare to—" Weiss' sentence stopped as the electricity in the manor cut off—the alarm shutting down and leaving them in an eerie silence. "The power? What in the name of Remnant is—" Before Weiss could finish, Ruby wrapped her hand around her mouth.
"Shh," she silenced her partner and started to back away. When Athos returned with Myrtenaster in hand, Ruby held up a finger to her lips to silence him. However, the motion gave Weiss time to slip away.
"Ruby what are you doing?" Weiss asked but kept her voice quiet to heed the warning. She stepped over and took her weapon from the guard, spinning the dust chamber and testing her grip. The way she held her weapon, Ruby could tell that she had kept up her training as best she could here. It certainly didn't look unfamiliar to her.
The ground shook beneath them, as if a part of the foundation below them had been torn apart. Weiss stumbled as the entire manor rattled.
"I should have left. I should have kept running." Ruby muttered. It was too late now, she was trapped in this place with this thing and Weiss was here. "Weiss stay behind me!" Ruby grabbed for her coat and jerked Weiss backwards.
"Ruby stop! We will fight together! As a team!"
Ruby shook her head. "You don't understand, it won't work! You haven't fought this thing, you don't understand! It's not a Grimm and it's not a mech. It will tear you to pieces, Weiss!"
She wasn't sure if her words did the trick or if it was the horror in her own eyes, but when Weiss looked at her, she saw the fear settle in. "Athos?" Weiss called to her guard. "See what's going on. Bring more of your people here. We can overwhelm it with force."
At once, the man turned and rushed away.
If he was going towards the noise, towards the destruction, then Ruby knew she'd never see him again. Her eyes began to scan the room for escape. She couldn't run away from Weiss now, it was too late—the thing would kill her because she was in the way.
"How high up are we?" Ruby asked as she moved towards a large window behind the couch. "Do you think the fall would kill us?"
"What?" Weiss trotted over towards her and peeked out the same window. It was at least two stories, the fall wouldn't kill them, but the concrete below might do some damage. "Ruby we can land with our weapons, we landed in the forest don't you remember? This thing is messing with your psyche, you're not thinking clearly."
"Of course I'm not! Weiss you don't—" A deep, guttural scream sounded and Ruby turned in a flurry as Crescent Rose came to life. She held it in front of her, chamber aimed at the small entrance way. At her side, she could see Weiss preparing her own weapon.
When Ruby tried to take a step in front of Weiss again, she was grabbed by the hood and pulled back. "Stop that." Weiss took a step forward. "Now, I'm a bit out of practice, but I think this might be a good way to start. Ice flower?"
Despite her own uncertainty, Ruby nodded and spun her scythe before driving it into the ground. This floor was not nearly as stable as the concrete of the streets where they'd last done this, but it held well enough. The glyph formed in front of her, she always marveled at how beautiful they were. The light shone and Weiss' presence was strong at her side. Ruby cocked the chamber and waited.
The entranceway to the room was barely lit from the light outside. So many of the windows in this place were blinded shut—the outside light clearly not favorable to the Schnee's.
"We'll slow it down and then we run, okay?"
"Ruby you cannot run forever." Weiss countered.
Ruby just wanted Weiss to understand—running was all they could do.
A thump came from the entranceway and they both turned to see the limp body of Weiss' guard Athos come rolling into view. Ruby saw the blood first, it poured from his throat, staining the white uniform he wore. His hat was gone and the once determined look in his eyes was replaced by the fear of his final moments.
Weiss gasped at her side and Ruby was glad for it. Maybe now Weiss would understand.
The next time Ruby looked towards the narrow entranceway, she saw it.
The figure stood tall and steady. It was shaped like a human but the armor it wore was black and dangerous—Ruby swore it looked different every time, as if it was alive all it's own. The mask it wore was black and emotionless, just two red and glowing eyes staring back at them. It carried a large, red blade that Ruby had felt before. It sliced through the entirety of her aura as if it weren't even there.
Seeing it again, knowing it was this close, Ruby was frozen and could barely hear the sounds of Weiss calling her name.
"Now, Ruby! Fire now!"
On reflex, her finger twitched against the trigger and the bullet broke the silence of the room. The combination of her gun and Weiss' glyph sent a stream of ice towards the monster. When it struck, Ruby waited for the ice to settle and lock in—instead it merely exploded against it's skin, sending ice and water all over the floor.
"No," Ruby groaned as she pulled the trigger three more times, each one resulting in the same, useless attempt. "No, no, no!" Ruby pulled her scythe from the ground and charged. She was furious. This thing had come to Weiss' home, it had taken away Ruby's life, her freedom and she couldn't even slow it down, not once.
"Ruby!" Weiss call was ignored as Ruby charged forward. She attacked quickly, slicing her weapon downward. The narrow hallway was not a great place to fight but it left little room for distance. However, the creature had enough time to easily dodge her first attack and send a sharp swing towards her. Ruby deflected it with the back of her weapon and turned fully to swing again.
Each attempt was met with resistance, whether it be from the red blade it carried or the armor it wore. Even when Ruby felt like she'd landed a blow, it bounced off the black material as if it were nothing.
They went back and forth, trading swings and Ruby felt herself struggling to keep up with the flurry of attacks sent her way. She used her semblance to keep enough speed dodge them all and eventually the fight spilled from the narrow hallway to the large living area.
When Ruby lifted her scythe again to strike, a foot found its way into her stomach and drove her backwards hard. She fell into one of the tables, made of glass of course, and shattered it completely. Her aura kept any of the shards from penetrating, but the fall hurt regardless.
Pushing up, Ruby reached out and grabbed her weapon again. Before she could find her footing, the thing was right next to her. She wasn't fast enough; she was never fast enough. The red blade hung in the air above her, it was going to cut through her aura and end her life right here.
A white glow shimmered in the sky and Ruby looked beyond the warrior to see a glyph at the ceiling. Weiss leapt towards it and pressed her footing against it. A moment later, she darted downward with Myrtenaster in hand and struck.
Their attacker was unprepared but not at all phased when Weiss' blade crashed down. It was enough to draw its attention and Ruby found her footing with Crescent Rose in hand and dove into the fight.
Weiss was sudden, her strikes were quick and furious as she spun like a ballerina. She hit the point of her blade into every place she could think of, she was searching for a weak point. To Weiss, there had to be a weak point. Ruby swung her scythe towards the things back but just before her blow could land, it turned and used a free hand to grab the weapon at the hilt and tear it from her hands.
It was too strong—too fast.
Ruby was suddenly struck with the blunt end of her own scythe and it sent her to the ground again. Her eyes were clouded as she tried to regain focus, but she could still hear the efforts of Weiss fighting. She was fighting alone, fighting this thing.
No, Weiss run! Ruby tried to scream but her voice was lost. She dug her hands into the ground and pushed up to stand again. She had to help Weiss, she had to fight.
Just before she found her footing, the sounds of battle stopped and Ruby felt her heart drop into her stomach. The next thing she heard was metal falling effortlessly against the hard floor.
Myrtenaster
When she finally turned around, Weiss was disarmed and held by the throat with her feet no longer touching the ground. She was kicking, still trying to fight, but Ruby could see the terror in her face. The beast was not focused on Weiss though, only her, as it had been when she fought with Jaune. He was only ever a distraction, just like Weiss—it only wanted her.
Ruby knew what she had to do. She couldn't run anymore.
"Okay," she put up her hands and nodded, fighting to push away her fears. She wasn't ready to die, no matter how often she thought she might the idea of actually dying and not getting to see those she loved again was terrifying. But she would, right here right now, if it kept Weiss safe. "I—I surrender. Please let her go."
"Ruby!" Weiss pleaded with a strained voice. "D—don't!"
Tears spilled down Ruby's cheeks at Weiss' pleas. She thought of the kiss, it wasn't ten minutes ago that Weiss had kissed her. Whatever it meant at the time, right now it felt like the best moment of her life. If it was the only kiss she ever had, it was more than enough.
Suddenly, Weiss fell from the grip of the monster and landed hard on the ground. The offer had been accepted and Ruby ducked her head, ready to accept her fate. Weiss was safe and if she was gone then no one else would be hurt because of her.
Just as Ruby felt the presence of her stalker loom over her, a horrifying and unworldly shriek filled the air.
It came from the monster.
Looking up, Ruby watched her attacker fall to a knee, still making that awful sound. It was in pain.
As she glanced over it's shoulder, she saw Weiss still lying on the ground, but she held Myrtenaster in hand and had driven it's tip right into the heel of the beast.
Somehow, Weiss had found a weak point.
In a flurry, Weiss bounced onto her feet and scooped Crescent Rose from the ground. She threw it at Ruby who barely had time to react and catch it.
The next thing she knew, Weiss had wrapped her arms around her and they were jumping out the window.
