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Chapter 10: Tremors

Even after the building stopped shaking, Weiss remained on guard, waiting for their doom. That flash of lightning and the ear-deafening thunder it brought with it had been enough to shake her very bones, but the aftermath was eerily silent. She stood with Myrtenaster raised, heart hammering as she waited. Everyone inside the building had frozen in anticipation as well.

And then…

A red blur crashed right into Weiss and knocked her over in a tangle of limbs and wet clothes.

"Gah!"

"Ruby!?"

"S-Sorry!"

They sprawled on the floor in a heap of limbs and wet clothes.

"G-Get off me!" Weiss pushed and hit Ruby in the chin, but with combined effort they managed to untangle enough to get back to their feet.

"I'm sorry, Weiss…" Ruby held her head; she was bleeding from her nose again, but at least she was back on her feet.

"Just watch where you're going. What was that anyway?" Although she looked annoyed, Weiss' expression quickly became one of worry.

"If you mean the lightning strike, I think it might be my fault."

Weiss' searching gaze made her feel smaller and smaller. "Well, you did kind of zonk out back there."

"Zonk…?" Ruby blinked, but Weiss didn't elaborate nor comment the choice of word. She straightened her coat and brushed her fingers through her soaked hair while glancing back to the old classroom. That prompted Ruby to look as well. The windows separating the classroom from the hallway had shattered, and inside the room stood Jaune. His eyes were red and Ruby's stomach curled into a tight knot. Ren was sitting on the floor beside an upturned desk, with Nora's head in his lap, and stroked her shock white hair. Oobleck sat hunched beside them, talking maybe, though Ruby couldn't make out the words. The bones jutting from her body and the strange, twisted anatomy her limbs had taken on aside, that was Nora in Ren's lap, and judging from the heaves of her body, she was sobbing.

"I…" Ruby started, but didn't know what to even say. Her eyes flickered from the scene and that's when she saw Coco, nestled in the armpit of another Grimm, one which looked disturbingly familiar despite the one missing arm.

"Is, is that Fox!?" Her voice grew raspy as tears welled in her eyes. "Oh no…"

Weiss sighed and put a hand on her arm, just as Oobleck left the room and saw them.

"Glad you could join us again, ms. Rose. What is going on out there? Are you alright?"

"I - it, there was… grrr, whatever! The Grimm are leaving, so we have to save Fox and Nora!" Ruby nearly shrieked with stress, but Oobleck faced her in complete calm.

"This is not an ideal situation, and completely undocumented. We are doing what we can, but the presence of their teammates and partners seem to help calm them down for now."

"She didn't even try to fight us," Weiss said in a very tight voice, "it looked like she was having a panic reaction."

"A good observation, ms. Schnee, you are correct. I do not believe your comrades inhabit any ill will towards us as of yet. This leads me to believe the transformation simply hasn't consumed their soul entirely yet."

Ruby rounded on him. "You can help them, right? We can find a cure and – and make them come back to normal?" Her voice rose again and the Grimm Fox responded with a rumble of a growl, making Coco slap his side.

Oobleck watched them solemnly. "I can make no promises, except one. I will do my very best. It is my duty, and my own greatest wish. It's what Port would want too."

Ruby hung her head. She didn't know what she'd expected, a definite 'they'll be fine' seemed a bit too optimistic. She wanted to go in there and apologize, but it felt like she would intrude upon some sort of bubble, even if it were team RNJR. Most likely, Nora wouldn't want to… see her right now.

She didn't even know what had happened back there, really.

"Um… doctor Oobleck? Is there… more than one way that… someone can be infected?"

He adjusted his glasses, and Weiss shot her a weird look, but Ruby just stared at the floor with shame churning in her heart.

"That's a possibility I have yet to explore," Oobleck said. "Why, we know far too little about the situation to make an accurate assumption, but any doubt should be taken seriously. The easiest way to determine a possible infection would be through a blood sample."

Ruby shrank back, ears burning, and muttered something inaudible, but Weiss shot her one pointed look and then faced the doctor.

"In that case, I think it would be best if you checked both me and Ruby."

Ruby blinked twice. "Weiss?"

"Just to be safe. After all, we were both out there fighting, and there's no telling if we've contracted a few cuts and bruises. Besides, you've been bleeding all over the place since the start."

She flushed as red as her cloak, but didn't protest when Oobleck brought them back to his office. The process was quick, and it wasn't long before the doctor could take a look through his microscope. Weiss glanced at her partner, noting the way she held her breath. Whatever had happened out there, it had hit Ruby hard.

"Mmmh…" Oobleck looked up after several tense minutes of waiting.

"Is… something wrong?" Weiss asked, suddenly feeling nervous.

He sat back. "No, everything's fine. That is to say, there are no signs of any black blood cells like in the case of ms. Valkyrie and mr. Alastair. However," he added, "ms. Rose, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to study your blood sample a bit closer. Given your nature, it may lead us to some explanation as for why you stay uninfected even when you bleed."

"Uh, oh, o-of course!" She hadn't expected that, and now her stomach did a weird flop. "Do… you really think it could help?"

He watched her solemnly, making her squirm. "Only time will tell."

"...Right." She let her gaze fall, only to look back up when Weiss took her hand.

"Let's go, Ruby. We still need to find the others."

"Oh no, Yang! Is she alright!?"

"You'll need more than a lightning strike to take out that brute. Besides, she was pretty far from our position. A wise decision, for once."

XXX

They ran across the school grounds as fast as they could without slipping, and a quick survey of the grounds told Weiss that the Grimm had indeed pulled back. It was still surreal, but nothing about this situation made sense anymore. For one thing, how had Ruby unleashed something like a lightning strike while still standing on her own feet?

The girl in question did look out of it, had been ever since she crashed into Weiss. And the question about infection… Weiss knew she'd have to dig, but right now, it was all about getting inside and getting dry.

The cafeteria had become somewhat of a sanctuary during the battle, with refugees huddled up along the walls and by the tables. That was also the most natural place to gather for those who'd been outside, if nothing else then because of the warmth it provided.

Weiss and Ruby found Oscar already running among the tables, trying to help wherever he could. When they arrived, he showed them a spot by the wall and handed them one of the spare blankets. Weiss took charge with drying the worst of the water out of their hair. Ruby squeaked a protest when Weiss began rubbing her head, but that didn't buy her any mercy.

"I don't need you getting sick on top of everything else!"

Oscar brought them all bowls of cold soup – leftovers from breakfast.

Now, Ruby wasn't exactly known as a quiet person, but Oscar had certainly taken to become quite talkative himself. It had come to the point where Weiss actually preferred her hyperactive partner over the boy, not that his personality was a problem in and of itself. It just baffled her how anyone could talk so much about so little.

"I was so surprised when the alarm went off—" or "I-I really enjoyed our sparring match earlier, maybe we could, uh, do it again sometime?" blush "O-Oh, I nearly forgot, Qrow told me he's got some secret moves he hasn't shown anybody yet, maybe we could convince him to share?"

After a range of different topics failed to make Ruby talk beyond a few one-word sentences, Weiss took pity on the boy and engaged him in talk herself, leaving their redhaired friend to stew for a while.

It wasn't until Blake arrived and dropped the folded Crescent Rose in Ruby's lap that she snapped out of it.

"You forgot this," Blake said. She was soaked from top to toe, leaving a trail of dripping water and a puddle where she stood.

"What about Yang!?" Ruby immediately asked.

"Already in the shower. There's only cold water left, but she says it's no problem for her."

"Cheater," Weiss whispered under her breath, and then sneezed.

"We really should be getting out of these clothes too," Ruby said worriedly. "I have a change of clothes here at school, but what about you guys?"

Oscar nodded feebly, while Weiss and Blake exchanged glances.

"All of my luggage is at Ruby's house," Weiss said.

"Well, we do have a few extra White Fang uniforms that're about your size."

"Are you kidding me?"

XXX

After drying off, changing and getting what food they could into their system, team RWBY, Oscar and Jaune wound up gathering in the headmaster's office. Like Weiss had assumed, the adults wanted a debriefing and to make new plans while they still could.

Nobody knew how long it would be till the Grimm launched another attack.

"Well this is a sucky situation," Qrow started while still rubbing his hair with a towel.

"What are we going to do?" Weiss asked, seemingly the only one of the group willing to speak up at the moment. Jaune and Ruby, the ones who'd normally take the lead, both seemed too busy with brooding over Nora's condition. She couldn't blame them, but they needed to focus forward.

Qrow eyed her with one raised eyebrow, and she shuffled awkwardly. "It was the only clothing available." She tugged at the white sleeve, slightly too long.

"I'd like to see papa Schnee's face right now," Qrow snorted.

"Well I wouldn't," she muttered, hugging herself as to hide the White Fang uniform she'd ended up in. The black pants felt incredibly uncomfortable.

"Aww, leave our newest recruit alone," Yang flung an arm around Weiss' shoulders. "She's part of Weiss Fang now!"

Blake facepalmed and Weiss scowled at the blonde, who only winked back.

"I wish you were hit by that lightning now."

"Tsh, that thing? Sure, it fried a few Grimm and scared off the rest, but was hardly enough to raise the hairs on my arms."

"She shrieked," Blake added dryly. "Really loud."

"And now I wish I was there to hear that."

"Please, focus." The headmaster of Signal spoke up, as low-pitched as always. "First of all, I wish to thank you all for participating in the defence of Signal Academy and the refugees."

"That's our job, boss man!" Yang said.

"Indeed. It seems you've taken to your jobs well, ms. Xiao Long, ms. Rose." His eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. "I admit, you were both equally… promising while you attended Signal."

"Aw, stop it." Yang blew him off.

"I'm not sure he meant that entirely as a compliment, Yang." Blake stated calmly.

"As such," the headmaster of Signal continued, "I believe it is within your power to help alleviate the situation. We," he paused, "that is to say, Qrow, Glynda, Taiyang and myself, have discussed this at length. And we believe the most strategic choice for us is to follow the council's plan. We cannot afford to risk more attacks like this one. Signal may have escaped relatively unharmed, but the city of Patch also need our protection and there is only so much a handful of hunters can do."

Weiss lowered her head, Yang's chipper attitude washed away, and Blake's face set in a hard expression.

"We will do what we can," the White Fang commander answered. "But please, let Yang come with me."

The headmaster looked her in the eye. "I understand your plight, ms. Belladonna. We will grant this request."

Blake relaxed quite a lot at that.

"W-What about us?" Jaune asked, catching their attention.

Qrow shifted. "You guys were originally meant to help guard southern Vale in case the Grimm decides to move in while we launch our own attack, but with this shit going down, I figure you'd rather stay with your team."

"Qrow, we did not discuss this."

"Kong, look at the boy. He's crushed enough as it is. Tear him from his friends and all he'll do is fall apart on the battlefield. This way, he can at least help defend Signal and Patch should the need arise."

Headmaster Kong snorted, but didn't oppose. Instead, he turned back to the younger generation.

"Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee is to launch an attack into Forever Fall and draw the attention of the Grimm as well as stopping any new invasions into Vale. First thing tomorrow morning, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long and the White Fang will infiltrate Beacon and set up the transmitter on top of Beacon tower. You will all fly out to the safe house today, so I suggest you prepare what you need before that. Our main priority right now is to contact the outside world and report our situation. Any questions?"

XXX

It was a right out blessing to change back into her own clothes once they reached the Rose-Xiao Long residence. For once, Weiss also thanked her big suitcase for housing not only clothes, but also shoes better fit for the muddy ground they were sure to encounter in Forever Fall, as well as a rainproof coat. Laying it all out and ready for their leave, she joined the others in the living room soon after. Blake was reading a book, curled up in a corner of the sofa in a soft-looking black pyjama, and Yang was in shorts and t-shirt, doing push-ups on the floor.

"Do you have to do that here?" Weiss scrunched her nose.

"Can't handle the view?" Yang purred, earning herself a roll of eyes. "You know how it is, with great power comes great sexiness!"

"That's not a saying I'm familiar with."

Weiss sat in a chair opposite the couch, and looked at Blake. "You seem to be in a better mood now, Blake."

The faunus lowered her book slightly to peer above the edge. "I've prepared the White Fang, now all we can do is our best."

"Plus we're going together!" Yang suddenly jumped at her from above the couch, wrapping an arm around Blake's throat. "It'll be just like Beacon days!"

"Gah! Yang!" Blake protested, pulling at the arm constricting her breathing.

"Yaaaang, don't strangle your teammates," Ruby chippered as she came out of the kitchen carrying a tray with plates and utensils, as well as the casserole containing last night's leftovers. She'd donner a black tank top and pajama pants for the occasion. They'd be leaving for Vale soon enough, but that was a couple of hours away for Ruby and Weiss and still several more for Blake and Yang. For now they were all prepared to enjoy a moment of peace.

They all sat – Yang squeezed in between Blake and Ruby – and soon they enjoyed the heated remains of yesterday's mysterious fish pot thing. Except, Weiss noticed, Ruby lapsed back into her quiet self from earlier.

Enough was enough. She set her bowl on the table.

"Guys?"

Before Weiss had done more than open her mouth, Ruby spoke instead.

"Yeah? What's up, Rubes?" Yang immediately turned her attention to her younger sister.

Under their scrutinizing stares, Ruby shrank back into the couch. "I just… can't stop thinking about Nora."

Weiss frowned. "That you attacked her?"

Ruby cringed. "That's…"

Yang, being closest, pulled her into a hug. "Hey. It's alright. It was a stressful situation and she did turn into a… thing. You stopped her from attacking someone else, right?" She looked at Weiss and Blake for backup.

But Weiss frowned. "That's not it."

"Huh?"

Weiss ignored Yang and stared at Ruby, who didn't meet her eyes. That only confirmed her suspicions. "That's not what's eating you up, is it?"

Ruby began stuttering. "I-I… no. I mean, I do feel guilty about attacking her, without knowing the whole picture, but…" she clenched her bowl tighter, "it's… my fault she ended up like that in the first place."

Everyone stayed quiet this time, waiting for her to elaborate.

"It's just… I saw the nevermore coming. I could have stopped it, and I think Nora expected me to, that's why she didn't watch that side… she thought I'd be there for her. But I didn't, I couldn't move at all." Her eyes glazed over. "I-I think there's something wrong with me."

Ah. That explained the question for Oobleck.

"Ruby…" Yang's voice, for once, was calm. She rubbed Ruby's shoulder with her hand, acting like the caring big sister she was. WIth a pang, Weiss remembered Winter, and looked down at her own bowl with stinging eyes. "We've been fighting, what, nearly nonstop for three years. You can't perform flawlessly every time – none of us can!"

"No, Yang, please listen to me." Ruby grabbed Yang's hand, holding it still, and met her eyes. "I think… I think I'm sick." Ruby stood, pulling out of Yang's embrace and began pacing the floor. "There's something wrong! I mean, why else would I lose my temper and get angry for no reason?"

Yang cocked her head. "That's called PMS."

Blake snorted into her book.

"No!" Ruby threw her arms up. "I keep getting these nosebleeds, there's these weird spots in front of my eyes, there was that crazy lightning strike I don't even remember, and I have nightmares where this voice keeps talking to me! That's weird, isn't it?"

"Jokes aside," Weiss shot a glare in Yang's direction, who grinned sheepishly, "it's not uncommon to experience stress-related symptoms in our situation." She could tell her partner was far too wound up to accept that as an answer, even if it were the truth. They all had their share of things to deal with after this long, and by no means did she expect the post-war period to be easy on them, but it all came down to how they handled it when it came.

"Arrg, you guys don't get it!" Ruby yelled, folding her arms and pouting.

"Sorry Ruby, but there's just no way anything could corrupt you," Blake stated from behind her book, snuggling her toes underneath Yang's thigh.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're just too cute, Rubbles!" Yang cheered.

Ruby's face grew entirely red, and before she could go off on a tangent, Weiss spoke up. "Ruby, while I agree the lightning was odd, I've been thinking…" All three of them turned to look at her. "It's not entirely impossible that something happened when you killed the dragon. Perhaps the storm we're seeing is actually a continuation of what was started back there?"

"Um," Yang said, "you mean the black clouds is the Grimm, and the lightning is what, Ruby's subconscious still trying to beat it down?" She blinked. "That's sick."

"You don't have to tell me," Weiss flushed at having even suggested it, "but do you have a better idea?"

"Rubes unlocked a new powerup. Heavenly Silver Eyes Flash Thunder! Calling down the wrath of the gods at will! Oh, or the moon! Imagine if you could use that to just burn Remnant clean of Grimm!"

"That's even stupider," Blake commented.

"And supercool!"

They all stopped talking when Ruby stomped her foot. "Guys! Stop joking around! I'm serious here!"

Sharing a look with Blake, Weiss took the word. "Ruby, I don't mean to make light of your situation, but we did already ask Oobleck, and he said your blood sample was fine."

Yang's gaze snapped from Weiss to Ruby, and Blake frowned.

It looked like Ruby was torn between yelling more and giving up in defeat. Finally, she sighed. and slumped. "Yeah… I know. My body isn't changing either, and with Nora and Russel it happened so fast. I'm being overdramatic, aren't I?"

"Just a bit. But there is a real risk here, and we don't know how this infection works, exactly. If either of us feel off," Weiss looked from Ruby to Yang and Blake, "we have to take it seriously."

Yang stood and strode over to Ruby, pulling her into a hug. "Sorry sis, I know this is stressing you out. To be honest, I'm freaked out too. We're just so close, you know? It feels unreal. Just know that I'm here for you, always."

Ruby wrapped her arms around Yang in return. "I know, I'm sorry. We can do this. After all," she pulled back and pumped an arm with a grin, "we're team RWBY, the best team to never graduate Beacon!"

"Yesh!"

"How very uplifting…"

I have a very simple goal: Finish this story before volume 5 airs. That was my goal when I set out to write it back in May, and it still is.

We've still got a few chapters to go.

Next chapter: Fracture.

Thanks to everyone who reviews, you really make my day!

Guest: Thanks for pointing out the blunder with Weiss' knight, I somehow wrote it as the shield and sword kind of knight even though I've seen it numerous times... fixed now!