CHAPTER X

Sin

Weiss swallowed as she crept down the halls, Myrtenaster in her left hand, torch in the other. She resisted the urge to call out to her companions, neither of whom she had seen or heard from in...how long had it been? Two hours? Three? There was a noise further down. It would probably be best to ignore it. But what if it was Bedivere? He might need her help.

Who am I kidding?

It would be more accurate to say that she needed his help.

She continued exploring the castle. At this point, it was impossible to tell which way she was oriented, whether she was heading for an exit or toward the depths of the structure. There were a few stairwells she had passed, but she had held off on descending or ascending any of them until she could figure out a basic layout of the place. That was hours ago.

This is worse than a maze,she thought as she arrived in what appeared to be a dining hall. Upon further inspection, she determined that there were no clues to be found here and continued on her exploration.

Another hour had passed. Still no sign of anything. No Bedivere, no Yang, not even any of those monsters from outside. She was completely alone in here. She opened the door to a bedroom, shutting it behind her. Maybe she could use this place to rest for a little bit. Four hours of searching such a creepy place without a single soul to be found. Even without any fighting or running to do, four straight hours of maximum adrenaline was incredibly exhausting.

She lit up a number of torches in the room along with several candles on the bedside table. This was a nice room, fit for nobility. She put out her hand torch and took a seat on the bed, wondering what the other two were up to now. Were they safe? Yang could handle herself as well as Bedivere could. But without their respective powers intact, it was hard to say.

She caught a glimpse of herself in a beautifully decorated mirror, looking back into her own pale blue eyes.

Alone.

Isolated.

Who am I?

—

Yang reloaded as she took cover behind fallen bookshelves with Ruby. She had taken down two of the monsters, but there were plenty more. Without her aura, she had to rely on ranged attacks and extremely well-planned punches.

"I'm sorry for just weighing you down like this," Ruby said.

Yang turned to her. She was huddled in a corner, pulling her knees into her chest, sobbing. "Hey, what's up with you?"

"Nothing," she sniffled.

"Just because you lost your scythe you're just gonna give up?"

"Sorry."

"That's enough apologizing. You can still fight, you know."

"I can't."

"Ruby, get a hold of yourself."

"This place, Yang, it's...it's cursed. I don't think we can get out of here."

"Don't think that way. We'll get out. We always do."

"Against the Grimm and the White Fang, but this? Have you ever seen creatures like those?"

Yang peeked over the bookcase. These monsters were radically different from the ones outside, much gorier in appearance and incredibly vicious. Fortunately their blood didn't seem to be acidic.

"How much longer are we gonna last against these things, Yang? You're gonna run out of ammo soon."

"I'll beat their heads in if I have to," Yang said, bumping her fists together before emerging from her hiding place, leaping over and attacking one of the monsters with a flurry of punches and kicks, downing it for good. She darted to another creature, using the same blitz tactic and shooting the third right in the head. "C'mon, Ruby! We're getting outta here!"

—

Weiss felt the urge to fall asleep. The bed was so comfortable, so soft and warm.

Warm.

She looked at the mattress, immediately gasping and hopping off of it. The bed she had been sitting on was a mass of flesh. She looked around. Other items around the room had also been transmuted into macabre versions of themselves, torches made of bone and meat, chairs made of human skin with faces for armrests.

"What is this?" she said, just barely keeping the volume down.

She turned to the mirror. Her reflection looked like her, but when she raised her hand, it did nothing, continuing to stare at her. She picked up her torch, lighting it up with Myrtenaster before carefully approaching the mirror.

"What are you?" she said to her reflection.

The apparition said nothing back. Its only action was to watch her every move. There was one thing in particular Weiss noticed about this reflection. It seemed perfect. Almost too perfect, free of all blemishes, pimples, split ends, dirt and sweat. Even the scar over her left eye was missing.

"Are you supposed to be me?" she asked it, getting no response.

Okay, it's time to leave this room, she thought as she retreated from the grotesque bedroom.

The hallway hadn't been altered, which was good. The torches she had lit were still burning as well.

What was with that room?

She continued forward, searching for Bedivere and Yang.

—

There was no doubting it that time. Yang had caught a glimpse of her mother as she was in the midst of fighting. Once she finished off the monsters trying to get to her and Ruby, she went off in pursuit of Raven.

"Mom!" she yelled out.

"You saw your mom?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, you didn't see her?"

She shook her head.

"Ugh, this place sucks!"

"You're telling me."

Yang checked her gauntlets. She was running low on ammunition. Her right arm was also sore. Probably from that hit earlier. She felt a warmth flowing down her thigh. Blood.

"Damn it," she said as she tore a piece of her jacket off to fashion into a makeshift bandage. "We could really do with our auras right now."

"Yang?" Ruby said.

"What's up?"

"Why do you think this is happening?"

"You mean the spooky castle that sucked away all our aura?"

"And people disappearing. And the monsters."

"Ruby, you're asking the wrong girl. I'm just as confused as you."

"I've had some time to think about it. I think this place is...hell."

"Huh?"

"We're being punished."

"For what? We've done nothing wrong!"

"Sure we did. We couldn't save Beacon Academy. Professor Ozpin is dead. And we lost Pyrrha."

Yang stopped in her tracks. Ruby was right about all those things. They were all too weak to save anybody. They lost a lot of good friends that day and even more innocent bystanders. Even now, that gigantic Grimm was still perched atop the communications tower, drawing even more Grimm to the academy, ensuring that it would stay uninhabited for the foreseeable future.

"Even still," Yang said. "I'm not gonna fail anybody else. I'm gonna at least keep you safe, Ruby."

Her little sister gave her a smile. Ruby wasn't a little girl anymore either. They had both been through a lot. Too much. More than any person should have to go through.

"C'mon, let's go look for your Crescent Rose," Yang said.

Ruby beamed before hopping to her sister's side.

—

How long had it been now? Five hours? Six? It felt more like days. Weiss stumbled up against the wall as she climbed one more flight of stairs. She dropped her torch beside her before pulling her legs up close.

This was always how it felt. Completely alone. Surrounded by family, acquaintances, and servants, and yet she was always alone. Her friends from Beacon were the only exception, the only place she belonged. And even still, they couldn't understand how she truly felt. Only one person filled that role.

And he was gone, nowhere to be found.

Had she lost him forever? Maybe the effect of the summon was temporary and he had returned to wherever he came from. She could try summoning him again, but that wouldn't work, not without her aura. Even if it did work, what were the odds that she would get exactly him back? What guarantee did she have that she'd get him back and not some other iteration of him? Or just plain old Arma Gigas?

No alternatives would do, not this time. She needed him back, and for more reasons than she was willing to admit.

She hid her face behind her knees, catching herself let out a sob, which she quickly suppressed. No, she was not going to cry, not now. She'd find him and everything would be all right again.

But would it? Would it really be all right again? Would she really find him in this godforsaken place?

She sighed heavily as she picked up her torch and Myrtenaster before continuing up the stairs.

—

"How many steps was that?" Ruby panted.

"We're just about there, Ruby, just hang on," Yang said.

"Your mom really runs fast."

"Still not as fast as you if you were able to use your Semblance."

"Yeah, too bad."

Upon reaching the final landing, they came upon what appeared to be a garden full of red and black roses.

"A garden?" Yang said. "Way up on the...what is this, fifteenth floor?"

"Hey," Ruby said. "Isn't that your...?"

"Mom?" Yang said, taking a step closer to the figure up ahead.

"What are you doing here?" Raven's voice echoed.

"Long story, but what are you—"

"Of course you'd get lost in here yourself. You've always been so bullheaded. Maybe you get that from me."

"What? Look, first of all, Weiss and I came here to help people, which obviously was a trap by whatever it is that's in here to keep us locked up and—"

Without warning, Raven drew her sword and attacked. Yang only barely managed to block the strike with her gauntlets.

"Mom!" Yang cried out. "What was that for?"

"A test. To see if you are worthy."

"This is stupid! Let's just get out of—"

There was no reasoning with her right now. All Yang could do was get on the defensive, dodging and blocking and using the layout of the room to her advantage. All she had to do was land one good punch. If her aura was gone, her mom's would be inactive as well. One solid punch to knock her out. Or at the very least, prove her strength.

—

Maybe this was her true path. Maybe walking alone was her destiny. The life of a Schnee was never a normal one to begin with. In spite of his immense wealth and power, even her father was a lonely man, always on guard and skeptical, characteristic of a shrewd businessman. Whitley was no different, just as cunning as their father, just as willing to make the hard choices in life. Although, Weiss wondered just how hard the choice was to rob her of her inheritance.

Winter was no different. Even though she was an incredible soldier, she was still separated from her fellow warriors by the Schnee name. She was expected to excel and when she did, there was only empty praise. After all, excellence was the default state, not something to aspire to.

Weiss opened another door, finding herself amidst flames. It was the castle courtyard.

What? This doesn't make any sense. I've been climbing stairs for the past—

There was a scream up ahead and Weiss broke into a sprint toward the sound. People needed saving. And she was going to save them.

She dodged a burning wooden beam as it fell, moving as quickly as she could. There were bodies everywhere, all of them torn apart. She readied Myrtenaster for battle against whatever might come her way. Even missing her aura and without use of her Semblance, she was not going to give up.

She spotted a burning building. The shadows of people trapped within appeared to be dancing. She ran to the entrance, switching the Dust cartridge on Myrtenaster to ice, unleashing a frost upon the doorway and extinguishing the flames. There was a lone boy in the middle of the room, covered from head to toe in soot. She grabbed him and fled out the front door before the house came crashing down.

Even if I can save just one.

She set the young boy down on the pavement. Upon second inspection, she realized that this wasn't just some village boy. She was staring into the face of her younger brother.

"Wha?" she stuttered. "Whitley! Why are you here?"

He opened his eyes just enough to see her face. That was all he could manage before he succumbed to the smoke inhalation.

No! This is all wrong! Why is he here?

She shut her eyes, pushing out tears. There had to be a mistake. There was something wrong about this.

More screams from the right. She quickly placed a kiss on her brother's forehead before dashing to the next house. She might not have been able to save him, but she was not going to lose someone else.

The fires were too hot to approach and she had to use Myrtenaster again to extinguish the flames. But it was already too late. She spotted a man and woman leaning in the back corner against one another, both lifeless. Both bore the likeness of her mother and father.

Weiss fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face. There were no words for this, any of this. Why was her family here?

I...I can't save any of them...

There was another cry from outside. She turned her head to the sound. Despair rooted her to the floor. Another cry. She felt heavy as she used Myrtenaster to clear a path through the flames for her. Wiping tears from her eyes, she made her way to another house, from which sounded gunfire and roaring.

Grimm.

Her feet carried her quickly to what she figured to be the town hall. There was a battle going on inside. Three Grimm near her were already downed and evaporating into nothing. She looked further in, spotting the shadow of a woman fighting against a Grimm. The creature got her with a swipe from its claws and she let out a yelp before collapsing.

That voice! "No! Winter!"

Weiss dodged flames and leapt over obstacles to get to her sister. She made quick work of the Beowolf Grimm before running to her sister's side.

"Winter!" she cried out in tears.

Her sister gave her a sorrowful look before reaching out with a bloody hand.

"No! Winter! Don't leave me!"

"Weiss..." her elder sister managed. "Keep...moving... Don't...ever stop..."

"You're not gonna die here! Not like this!"

She swung Myrtenaster hard, pulling the trigger at the same time and unleashing a snowstorm all over the inside of the building. She picked up her sister, struggling as she shouldered her out of the building and to safety out in the street. Winter managed one last smile before lying completely still.

Drained of all her energy, Weiss fell back, dropping Myrtenaster beside her. She had failed again. And this time, the loss was more real than she could ever imagine. She truly was alone now. Her family was all gone. Her friends were all gone. The flames snuffed out every last bit of hope she once had. All that enveloped her now was pure and unbroken despair.

—

"Mom!" Yang cried out. "You have to stop this! There's no reason for this!"

"There is every reason for this, Yang," Raven insisted as she continued assailing her daughter without a shred of remorse. "If you can't fend for yourself, the world is gonna swallow you whole. How do you expect to protect your sister when all you can do right now is defend?"

"Ugh! Listen to yourself! You're not making any sense!"

"Grow up, Yang! You thought that you could just skate your way through life searching for a thrill and there wouldn't be any consequences? Here's your wake-up call!"

Yang blocked against a downward strike with both of her gauntlets, barely managing to push back against her mother's sword. She had forgotten how strong Mom was after all these years. Still, she wasn't gonna be beaten that easily. She went for a low kick, managing to trip her and send her off balance. Yang spotted something to the side, a metal pail. She kicked it toward her mother, distracting her just enough to land a solid hit on her chin.

Raven stumbled back, wiping blood off the side of her mouth.

"C'mon!" Yang said. "I landed a hit fair and square! Could you stop this already?"

She brought her sword back up to bear.

"Mom!"

"The fight never ends, Yang. It never ends."

Raven went into the offensive once more and Yang fought for her life. It was nearly impossible to land that first blow earlier. Right now it felt as though it were actually impossible. Evade. Run. Hide. Behind the pillar. Run. Counter. Block. Evade. She couldn't manage anything other than defense.

"And now to finish this!" Raven said as she attacked with a thrust.

Her sword connected. The blade's thirst for blood was quenched. But it wasn't Yang's blood it drank. In horror, Yang turned to her little sister. Ignoring the danger her mother posed, she immediately ran to Ruby's side, cradling her as she collapsed in a bed of black and red roses.

"Ruby!" Yang screamed. "No, no, no, you are not doing this!"

"Y-Yang?" Ruby managed.

"Ruby! Please!"

Ruby took her sister's hand in hers. "Just...find Crescent Rose for me...okay? Keep her...safe..."

Yang's vision was blurred with tears. She couldn't be losing her sister. No way.

No.

Never.

Impossible.

It was exactly like all those years ago. She dragged her sister around in search of her mom. But this time, Uncle Qrow wasn't here to get them out of her mess. No, this time, Ruby paid the price for her stupidity.

God damn it!

"Why did she have to get in the way?" Raven said, her voice incredulous.

With an awful cry, Yang found herself turning toward her mother, fist flying at full force. Before she realized it, her hand was embedded in her mother's chest, the force of her punch completely pulverizing her heart beneath her sternum. Raven coughed out blood before dropping her sword and collapsing to the ground.

"There..." Raven coughed again. "That's more like it..."

"No! Mom!" Yang cried.

"Enough of that, Yang. You have...to be strong."

But what was the point? There was no one left to be strong for.

"Be strong for me, Yang. And never stop moving...forward..."

As her mother passed away, Yang found herself in a stupor. In the span of seconds, she had killed her sister and mother, two of the most important people to her. The pain was too much for her to bear and she started shrieking at the top of her lungs, the only way she could figure out how to cope.

—

Weiss didn't stop crying for a long time. Winter was gone. Dad was gone. Whitley was gone. Everybody was gone. All she could do now was wait until those flames caught up to her and put an end to the Schnee name.

Weiss, what on earth are you doing?

Whose voice was that?

Are you really just going to sit there and do nothing?

It felt like forever since she last heard that voice.

What was that you said about doing something for yourself? Being someone? Bringing honor back to your name?

That was all in the past. She had already failed to do any of those things.

Is that really true? No, it isn't. So go on, get up, get out there. And no matter what, keep moving forward!

There was a shriek in the distance.

The Weiss I've come to know would not simply ignore that voice.

But even if she did get up and go, she'd still fail to save that person.

You are as stubborn as ever, do you know that?

But what could she do?

You have your weapon, don't you?

She looked to the side. Myrtenaster was sitting beside her.

That's right. You still have the ability to fight. So go and fight. Because it is not the goal that matters in the end, but that you fought, that you never gave up. That is what it means to be a hero.

Weiss stood up, determination masking her anguish. She listened for another cry for help and it came. And without another thought, she rushed to the sound.