Hello, everyone! Been a while, huh? Writer's block sucks. I knew where I wanted to go, but didn't know how to get there. It suddenly came back to me when I went at it again, though! Thanks for all your patience and I hope you enjoy!
"This is a very one-sided fight, you know.."
Ruby frowns, her grip on Crescent Rose tightening as the woman chuckles as if nothing was happening. "You think we care? You're goin' down!"
The woman's icy eyes look upon the pair, an almost predatory grin on her face. "Who said this was one-sided for me, Rose?"
Before Ruby's expression can change, Mrs. Schnee is on them. She slashes quickly at the red huntress, kicking her in the gut and blocking a hard shot from Weiss. A spinning attack sends them both backwards in surprise, making the elder Schnee smirk.
"I still have more than enough to silence you."
Weiss is the first to her feet, slashing with skillful efforts to break the confident woman's defense. She breaks off her attack and ducks as Ruby leaps over her, smashing her scythe toward her fiancé's attacker with a yell. The ground within the radius of her strike is shot up around the Schnee, causing her to barely dodge the slicing blade of the scythe. She isn't quite as lucky in dodging the slash from Weiss that follows, blood droplets flying through the air as it connects. Seeing the blood, the former heiress quickly goes for weak spots left open from the staggering with a growl of anger. She only manages a few shots before the elder Schnee parries and kicks her away to create some distance. Not giving the Schnee a chance to breathe, Ruby smashes her with a hard strike of her shoulder before starting to spin Crescent Rose in her hands.
"Just as I suspected, you're STILL too slow and lumbering with that thing.." The woman sneers as she regains her posture, blocking every shot from the huntress.
"That's because you haven't seen what I can do, yet!" Ruby yells, swinging harder with every shot as the sound of the weapons connecting rings through the air.
Soon, Weiss joins in the assault and both of the huntress furiously try to strike the grinning women. She only seems to be amused now, somehow blocking both of their shots with ease. In fact, she starts laughing as she pushed back.
"I expected just a little more from both of you. I shall admit that it is a bit sad that the white rose shall be destroyed.." She parries Weiss' sword downward into the ground, landing a kick to her face. As she spins around from the kick, she thrusts her sword into Ruby's stomach. "So easily.."
Ruby releases a pained gasping noise as the cold metal punctures her flesh, earning an even wider smile from the white haired woman. The smile is short-lived, turning to an expression of brief surprise as Crescent Rose slams hard into her face. The force of the blow sends her through a nearby wall of the manor, giving Ruby a bit of time to breathe. "Well... She's continuing to surprise…" She breathes, pressing her hand to the bleeding wound.
Weiss is by her side as soon as she gets up, eyes immediately flashing to the wound on her fiancé's stomach. "Ruby, are you..?"
"I'm fine, Weiss. We'll have to worry about it after we take her down.. She's not going to stop." Ruby grunts, pushing back the pain on her body. "C'mon, she's not gonna stay down long!"
"Wait, Ruby!" Weiss yells as the redhead dashes into the newly made hole in the wall, immediately being hit with a blast of ice that pins her against the wall. Mrs. Schnee steps toward her, bits of paint and shards of wood sticking to her hair and skin.
"You are quickly becoming quite the nuisance to me, Rose."
"That's how I know I'm doin' my job."
"Cute." The woman scowls, quickly moving forward and stabbing into the huntress' stomach again. "But, it grows old."
Ruby cries out as the sword is twisted inside, a snarl coming from her attacker. Her body struggles to break free from the thick layer of ice pinning her to the wall, the tearing of her flesh not making it any easier. Weiss comes in through the hole in the wall, immediately slashing at the woman who is currently trying to disembowel her lover with a furious yell. Mrs. Schnee is forced to pull the sword out in order to block the angry shot, a splash of Ruby's blood flying off the sword and flicking on Weiss' face. This only serves to increase her fury and results in a red sword slamming into the vile woman, sending her through a nearby table. A loud crash is heard as the expensive contents of the table fly into the air, the wood snapping into halves. The former heiress runs back to her pinned fiancé, breaking the ice off and catching her when she falls.
"Ruby, you idiot, I told you to wait!" Weiss says, frantically checking over the wound on the redhead's stomach.
"..hind.. you.." Ruby gasps painfully, a shaking hand raising Crescent Rose.
"What?"
"Behind you!" Ruby yells, letting off a round from her scythe that hits a charging Mrs. Schnee dead in the chest.
The woman releases a hard cry as the round sends her back against the wall, cracking it slightly. Before the Schnee can remove herself from the wall or Weiss can stop her, Ruby moves Crescent Rose behind her and lets off another shot to launch herself forward. She smashes the recovering woman with her shoulder, the wall breaking under the force and sending both of them sprawling to the floor. Blood drips from the wounds on her stomach, splashing on the floor and earning a pained groan from the redhead before she goes limp. Mrs. Schnee recovers from the attack, slowly getting to her feet and shaking off the pain.
"You little bitch.." She growls, limping toward the downed huntress before an already angry Weiss attacks. Knowing that her fiancé will not stop pushing herself, she aims to take her down before Ruby can get herself into more trouble. Raining blow after blow from her sword onto the defending woman, the pale girl snarls as she finally lands a diagonal slash across her mother's chest.
"You want to hurt her?!" She yells, following the slash by landing a surgical strike to the right knee that brings the woman down to her left. "Don't you ever touch her!"
She, surprisingly, starts to laugh as she looks coldly up to her daughter, an evil grin across her face. "You should know, Weiss... I never lose." She says as a pair of large arms wrap tightly around Weiss' throat, knocking her weapon from her hand.
It's Weiss' father, who has somehow woken and escaped from his confinement. He growls as he pulls her away from her mother, squeezing so hard that it causes the pale girl to choke and cough. As soon as he lets go, he lands a hard strike to her face that knocks her to the floor. Her mother rises to her feet, a little shaky on her wounded leg. She watches as her husband lands blow after blow to their daughter, a crunching being heard as her nose is broken. He proceeds to brutally beat his daughter for an uncomfortable length of time. Well, not for Weiss' mother, who seems completely fine as she watches the incident.
"That girl really has made you an imbecile, my daughter.. a disappointment. Dear, why don't you give Weiss a time-out? Pick her up."
The man grunts in response, smashing his daughter against the wall by her throat. His large hands grip her slender neck tightly, giving no space for air. Weiss struggles to free herself, her small frame able to do little against him. She releases a desperate gagging sound as her vision starts to cloud, small hands clutching at her father's wrists. The blood flowing from her nose dribbles down her face and onto the hands that choke her, filling her mouth with the taste of blood.
"How does it feel, my darling girl? I can see that light in your eyes starting to fade… Speed this up, will you? We still have the other girl to deal with." The elder Schnee says with a frown. " I hope you don't blame me, Weiss.. I do love you... You are my daughter. Well, you WERE my daughter. But, you brought this upon yourself, after all. Time to put out the small blight on the Schnee legacy.."
Weiss' eyes start to roll back as the father forcefully chokes her, her grip on consciousness slipping away as she gives weakening strikes to his hands. Her lungs burn from the lack of oxygen, tears starting to fall from her eyes. She can't die like this, not like this!
"Goodbye, my daughter.."
The father suddenly cries out roughly in pain, the hook of Crescent Rose impaling him through the chest. If the Schnees hadn't been so occupied with their daughter, they would have seen Ruby slowly making her way to her feet and clutch her scythe tightly. Despite the immense pain in her stomach, she had moved speedily up to Weiss' father when she saw what he was doing to Weiss and stabbed through him without a second thought. She growls as she pulls it out, slicing the vile man nearly in half as he falls to the ground. He's dead before he hits it. The only other sound he makes is a dying gurgle as he falls. The bloody body lies on the polished floor, the huntress breathing heavily. Ruby's angry eyes move to the mother as she shakes the blood off Crescent Rose in a quick motion.
"Wrong blight." She hisses, silver eyes filled with fury.
Weiss falls to her knees, grasping at her bruised throat as she coughs and gasps for breath. The blood dribbling from her nose spatters on the floor as she tries to breathe, the broken area starting to swell a bit. When Ruby goes to help her, the elder Schnee flees from the room as fast as she can with her limp.
"W-Weiss, are you alright? I-I'm sorry, I should have waited!"
The pale girl releases a shaky breath, pain evident in her hoarse voice. "I-I'm alright, Ruby.." She slurs, her beautiful face swelled and covered in blood. "You killed him."
Ruby looks solemn, eyes avoiding the mangled body to her side. She wraps her arms tightly around her fiancé, squeezing her. "I-I know. I had to, Weiss, he was going to kill you!"
Weiss nods, slowly and gingerly making her way to her feet. She coughs again, clutching at her throat. "I know you had to, and I'm grateful. I could feel myself slipping…"
The pale girl looks down at her father, no emotions readable on her face. It's hard to feel sad for someone who just beat you to within an inch of your life. But, should she? He was her father, after all. She limps over to Myrtenaster, hand clutching the handle tightly. "We have to… to finish this…"
"W-What?"
"Mrs. Schnee won't stop until the blight on her family's legacy, the unworthy seed, is erased. If we leave now, she'll just keep attacking until she's successful... Until I'm dead."
"But, Weiss, you're hurt…"
"So are you, Ruby. So am I; so is she. We.. can't let her get away."
Ruby is hesitant to continue with Weiss in such a state, biting at her lip as the pale girl's eyes look down the hall her mother fled to. Ruby's own injuries are rather extensive, as well. Both the beating she took much earlier from the father and the two stab wounds to her stomach are starting to wear on her. Crashing full force through a wall probably didn't help matters, either.
"You're right, Weiss.."
"Now, let's get going.." The pale girl states, limping as she follows the small trail of blood that her mother left behind.
They trace it back to a small room, white and clean except for the blood on the carpet. A soft sobbing is heard as they open the door, Mrs. Schnee sitting on the ground with her face in her hands. Her body shakes with her cries, tears flowing down her cheeks. Weiss looks down at her in confusion, eyes widening.
"What have I done?" She cries, suddenly becoming aware of the two girl's presence. "H-He's dead.."
"After you tried to have him kill us." Ruby says with narrowed eyes.
"I… I know… God, I took this too far…"
"You think? You tried to kill your own daughter! What kind of mother DOES that?"
"No mother fit to call her daughter… A demon would be an angel compared to what I've done."
"Why did you do it, then? Why go through all this?"
"You don't understand.. Ruby. Weiss is our only child and the Schnee line.. has always continued. No matter what. Violence and intimidation is what keeps it going. My own father did this to me… Beat me when I didn't do what I was told.. I never wanted.. never wanted to be like that.. But, there's a devil in my genes.. and a family line that must be upheld. He would do unspeakable things, if I didn't keep you here."
Weiss finally speaks, her voice quiet and unsure. "G-Grandfather would? But, he's so-"
"Docile, I know. He looks kindly. But, there's a fury behind that smile.. He only comes down once a year, but.. He was furious to know we even let you date that girl. He knows how to keep me in line."
"I-I didn't even know.. He was always kind to me."
"That was an act, Weiss… Something he used to get what he wanted… To manipulate."
Weiss' mother looks up into her daughter's eyes, watery and terrified as she looks at the extent of her daughter's injuries. It's as if she's looking at them for the first time. It's as if the death of her husband finally made her open her eyes, only to find the world to be twisted and confused. Like the world is all wrong. It breaks Weiss' heart, making all her anger disappear and be replaced with sorrow.
"Your beautiful face…"
Weiss bites her lip as she looks over the broken woman, a sympathetic look on her face. "I'll live. I've had wounds like these before."
"God, I'm sorry, Weiss. I know you could never forgive what I've done.. I'll never expect you to. I would never forgive someone like me.. never. But, trust in the fact that I will leave you alone. Just go. Escape from this line while you can. Don't become like me." The woman's head falls as she cries, face raw with emotion.
Weiss slowly walks over to her mother, falling to her knees next to her. "Maybe not right away. You tried to kill her… I won't forget that. I'll never forget that… But, maybe, in time.. I'll come to accept you once more. To see you as my mother, again. I'm not going to say that this will immediately change. We… We have a lot of things to go over before we can be normal. But, I'm… I'm willing to try."
Mrs. Schnee looks at her with tearful eyes, her breathing ragged. "Oh, Weiss… You darling girl…" She sniffs. "How could I have done this to you?"
"We're going past that now. It's time to start over. Time to heal. It will take time, but… we can get past this. " Weiss says softly, moving to wrap her arms around the shaking woman with a comfortable hug. She sniffles and accepts it, hugging her daughter for the first time in years. Ruby, who has been watching silently, allows a small smile to come to her face at the sight. She was skeptical, at first, but the woman was now genuinely crying. Her face was so raw with emotion, her face so terrified. This was going to turn out okay. This could be ended with no further bloodshed. The woman cries into her daughter's, wetting her shoulder with remorseful tears.
"W-Weiss.. I'm sorry.. I'm so sorry.."
The pale girl softly pats her shoulder, trying to calm her down at least a little bit. Mrs. Schnee looks up to her daughter, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "Weiss?"
"Yes?" She asks, allowing a small smile to come to her face.
"It was all an act…"
"Pardon?"
"I will see you in hell, Weiss."
"What are you-"
The feeling of cold steel and pain flash through her as she is suddenly stabbed through the chest, a snarl coming from her mother as Weiss cries out in pain. Blood flows off her chest and pools onto her white clothing as the sword is twisted and viciously torn from her small frame.
"It was ALL an ACT, you stupid, stupid girl. Why would I EVER need your forgiveness?" She laughs coldly, her face twisted into a grin.
If Weiss and Ruby hadn't been so focused on the woman's sobbing and apparent remorse, they would have noticed her hand grasping at Myrtenaster as it lay unused on the ground. Both of their faith and good hearts had been their downfall. As Weiss slumps to the ground, Ruby moves quickly forward with Crescent Rose drawn. The room is filled with laughter, the triumphant and crazed laughter of Mrs. Schnee as her daughter lies bleeding next to her. A sickening crunch is heard, giving way to silence as a desperate huntress moves to her fiancé.
"W-Weiss!" She says, shaking hands moving to turn her lover over.
The pale girl is making a strangled gasping sound as blood flows down from the stab, another deadly wound to add to her already growing list of them. Her eyes are starting to look glassy, not seeming to look anywhere despite being so intense.
"Weiss, you're gonna be alright, okay?" She says, trying to keep her fiancé from going unconscious.
"She… tricked me… again.." Weiss gasps painfully, eyes slowly starting to close.
The last thing she hears are Ruby's frantic cries for her to stay awake, the world spinning all around her until black swallows up her vision.