Reaction time on Weiss's ship, following the last chapter, and Ruby's diagnosis.

So, I have a Tumblr page now. I'll be reblogging the creations of people much more talented than I am, as well as linking to my RWBY stories. Hit up Kalico37 on Tumblr if you're interested.


As the doctor filled her in on the details, Weiss felt a sadness clawing at her heart. She felt like she was a teenager again, watching as her mother succumbed to a heart attack right in her arms. And when Velvet uttered phrases such as, "no known cure," and, "died suddenly", Weiss honestly felt like shedding a tear. But there was no way she would ever let herself be seen as so weak, especially when it wasn't even her illness to experience.

Weiss wondered what Ruby was thinking while the doctor laid out the details of her affliction. Was she sad, too? She didn't look it. The silver of her eyes wasn't even silver, more a dull grey. But she kept her mouth in a hard line, and looked straight at Weiss, as if gauging her reaction.

When Velvet eventually finished speaking, no one in Weiss's office moved, for at least a minute. The silence felt deafening, smothering the three of them under the weight of its cold blanket.

Weiss looked up at her guests. "Doctor," she finally said.

"Yes?" Velvet asked.

"You want to keep Ruby under observation in the medical bay until we can deliver her to ground level. Is that correct?"

"It's not vital for me to keep an eye on her, but it is recommended if our next landing is going to be some time away, yes."

"You won't have to worry about that, because our next sojourn isn't going to be for a while as it is." To Ruby, she said, "We'll transfer you to one of my medical research facilities, where you will stay pending further developments. You will be cared for, and my team will work around the clock to help you, to find solutions for you." She opened a scroll and typed out a set of coordinates in a message to her pilot, telling him to get the airship there by morning.

"If I may interject," Velvet said, "what sort of objectives are we looking at here, ma'am?"

Weiss clucked her tongue twice before responding. When she did, it was with a certain deliberate weight. "The long-term goal is finding a cure to this supposedly 'incurable' disease. I believe that we can find a cure. Researchers in the past simply ran out of money and didn't want to spend any more on a minuscule percentage of the population, so they gave up on it. We won't give up. I won't give up. I will see this thing beaten, and I will pour as many resources as I can into it. But that's the long-term goal.

"The short-term goal is to get you back in the picture as soon as possible, Ruby. I don't know how, but I'm hoping that the ground team can unearth something that can keep your symptoms at bay."

"What?" Ruby and Velvet said in unison.

Weiss continued, "I'm willing to let you go for medical care for the time being. It will take some extra time to adjust my plans, and Yang and Blake will need to adjust as well, but I'm hoping that we can pull of this next stage with you on the sidelines. All that being said, I am not willing to let this thing run its course without you. I still need you by my side when the time comes, and I'd rather that you be at the best condition possible, even if that is pharmaceutically-assisted."

"That sounds like a terrible idea. A risky one," Ruby said.

"But alas, a necessary one," Weiss said. "We'll make landfall at the facility at first light. Doctor Scarlatina's nurse, Marron Reed, will accompany you, and he will remain with you until such time as you are able to return."

Ruby nodded. Velvet wasn't as quick to acquiesce. She stepped forward. "Ma'am? You're transferring Marron as well?"

"She needs someone who has been in the facility before. There are two medically-qualified personnel on this airship, yourself and Reed, who have been to the facility before. You, Doctor, are needed here."

"With all due respect, ma'am, that leaves me stretching a bit."

"I have the utmost confidence in your abilities, Doctor. Why else would I have brought along a doctor the same age as myself? Because I've seen your work, and I've experienced your work first-hand. You will be fine. And if those of us on the ground are lucky, then you won't have much to worry about at all."

"But that doesn't-"

"You're dismissed, Doctor. Thank you for supporting Ruby just now."

Velvet hesitated like she had something else to say, but thought better of it and walked out of Weiss's office.

Weiss stood, and shimmied around her desk to the other side, where Ruby still sat on a chair in front of it. Weiss sat in the chair next to her, and stared at her. "I won't lie to you," she said. "There will be extensive testing. You will likely get sick of it. But just remember that it's all to help you. Remember that, when you find yourself in pain, that we'll be doing all we can to make you sure come out of this for the better."

"I'm sure you will," Ruby said.

Neither of them said anything for a few moments after that. Weiss knew that Ruby was too smart to buy any other condolence and reassurance she would otherwise offer, and Ruby knew that there was nothing they could talk about that would make her feel any better.

Unless... She took Weiss's hand and squeezed. "Do you remember..." She cleared her throat. "Do you remember when, just after your family took me in, you asked me when my birthday was?"

Weiss sighed. "Yes. You said you didn't know, and I dragged you to Mother, and then I said, 'Mother, Ruby doesn't have a birthday! We need to make her birthday the same as mine, now!'" she said, affecting her voice to make it sound high-pitched. In her normal voice, she asked, "Do you remember what I said next?"

"I do. 'Don't you get it, Mother? It was meant to be!'"

Weiss laughed. "The philosophy of a six-year-old heiress."

"And from that point, we shared the same birthday." Ruby squeezed Weiss's hand again. "You know, I never did find out what my real birthday is."

"Really? Why?"

"I don't know." Ruby shrugged. "Maybe because it doesn't mean anything to me. I owe my youth to you and your family, Weiss."

"You don't owe me anything."

"Yes, I do. I was just another street-kid, left in the cold by parents who didn't give a damn about their five-year-old daughter. That day, when I grew the balls to walk up to your mother and beg for food… back then, I didn't know that it was going to be the best day of my life. She had no reason to take me back to your home, and to this day I'm still not sure why she did, but I'm always thankful for that day. I mean, granted, your father was absent a lot, which was understandable, but life gave me a home, a new mother-figure, and a girl who I still consider to be my older sister."

Weiss smiled, blushing slightly. "Stop it."

"I'm serious. Maybe that's why I kept the same birthday you and your mother gave me when I was five; because I knew in my heart that that date was a connection to the restart that was given to me. And didn't that restart come with some good times."

"We definitely had our share of memories." Weiss chuckled. "A time, when we were seven and six, comes to mind for me. It was the middle of spring, but this particular day, I remember it being rather chilly.

"I walked outside one day and found you sitting in the garden by yourself. That's all you were doing, just sitting on the lawn and looking up at the sky. So I watched you for about a minute, and then you raised your hands to the sky and laid all the way down in the grass as well. So then I asked what you were doing out there, and you said that you were trying to catch a cold so you'd be more like me."

"The philosophy of a six-year-old girl searching for something good in life," Ruby said. "But even so, I don't know what I was thinking then. Why would I want to be more like you? To master the art of arrogance?"

Weiss snickered. "Was I really that bad?"

"'Bad'? Please. You were a loud, pushy, tiny little thing. You used to yell at me all the time when we were that young."

"It never seemed to bother you, the way I remember it."

"No, because I knew how to swing my arms," Ruby said simply.

"That's right! So you were just as bad as me."

"I... don't have any reason to refute that argument."

"And I could never hit you back, because you'd just hold me away with your arms. You're a year younger than me, and you were taller than me until our teenage years. How unfair was that?"

"It was a beautiful arrangement, in my opinion. You berate me and I don't say anything. I take a swing and you can't hit me back. That equals itself out, doesn't it?" Ruby said, coughing.

Immediately, Weiss felt the concern flooding back. She furrowed her brow and touched Ruby's arm. "Are you okay?"

"Given what I've learned about myself today, I don't think I am, no." Ruby closed her hand over her mouth, coughing into it.

"I'll have you taken to the medical bay immediately. You can stay there overnight until we make landfall." She stood, but was roughly pulled back into the chair.

"No," Ruby finally said, seeming to get ahold of her composure again. "No. Not now, anyway. Tell me, when are you going to talk to the others about this?"

"It depends on how early in the morning it is when we get to the facility, but likely once you've left. I believe that if you're still around when they hear the news, they will simply want to spend more time around you. I don't want that to happen, because I want to put them to work in Analysis until we reach a breakthrough, and I don't want them to miss anything important because they're distracted. You understand, of course."

"Fine. I guess, just as long as you tell them everything they want to know about it. Since I came on board, I've noticed that transparency isn't one of your strong suits."

"You will all know what is necessary when the time comes."

"Right there. Vague. But, you had your reasons for keeping your cards close when you wiped my case, and I'm sure you have your reasons this time around as well, so... I trust you."

Weiss was taken aback. "Thank you. That means a lot."

"Does it?"

"Well, you changed. When I found you again, when you were 19, and I'd just busted you out of your case. Remember? Of course you do, we were only talking about it roughly a week ago. You weren't the cheerful younger sister my family adopted. You were different. Withdrawn, difficult to deal with, brooding. You constantly looked like you had the world on your shoulders. You were 15 when you disappeared from the mansion, Ruby. What happened in those four years to change you so much?"

Ruby didn't speak for some time. In a quiet voice, she eventually said, "I don't know. I went away for four years to deal with some issues. I slew my beasts, so to speak."

"Now who's being vague?" Weiss countered. "It's okay. I don't expect you to tell me so soon. That would be inconsistent with the Ruby I rediscovered in the forest five years ago, wouldn't it?"

"If you think so."

"Are you confident?"

"About?"

"You know. Everything."

"Am I confident that one day I won't have this illness? No. Not yet, at least. Am I confident that you'll succeed in your goals without me? I don't know, because I don't even know what your goals were with me. What do you want me to say, Weiss?"

Weiss said nothing.

"I think I'll go and get some sleep now," Ruby said, standing up.

Weiss stood up, and wrapped her arms tight around Ruby. "I won't see you when you leave. You'll be out of here too early for that."

"I know," Ruby whispered.

"But don't think this is the last time going to see you. You'll be back with us eventually. I'm not done with you yet."

"I know."

"Okay?" Weiss released Ruby and took a step back.

Ruby nodded. "Okay."


Blake chewed on the inside of her cheek. It left a tingling feeling, and it gave her something else to focus on, rather than Velvet's constant muttering and stomping around the med bay. She'd awoken an hour ago to find her doctor in this mood, and she'd sat mostly in observant silence, once interrupting to ask for something to eat and drink. The meal was partaken in like silence.

She figured that the reason for the doctor's mood was likely to do with Ruby, and whatever had transpired in that situation, but she wondered exactly what had been said, what had been done to create the tension Doctor Scarlatina was displaying. She didn't want to ask, though. She figured that she would find out soon enough, anyway.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that? What do you need my patient for?"

Both pairs of Blake's ears perked. Velvet was talking into an intercom, and a voice was buzzing indistinctly on the other end.

"I see... tell Miss Schnee that my patient will be along shortly." Velvet lifted her finger off the intercom button, and twisted around in her chair. "Blake, Miss Schnee wants you in the briefing room. She and Yang Xiao Long are already waiting."

"What about Ruby?"

"My guess is that she won't be in attendance. Not for some time, anyway."

Blake shimmied out of her bed.

"Hang on, I'll get you something to wear again," Velvet said.

Blake followed her into the other room, which she'd found out the day before were her doctor's quarters. She slipped out of her robe as Velvet rummaged for some nondescript attire.

Velvet paused. "I'm sorry, by the way."

Blake frowned. "Why?"

"Because you're a few days post sustaining your injuries, and I've been ranting to myself and neglecting your care."

"That's fine. It'll only be a few weeks anyway, like you said."

"Even so... this situation with Ruby has overshadowed it all, I'm afraid."

"Are you any closer to telling me what happened to her?"

Velvet held up a black jumpsuit, and nodded at Blake to step into it. She considered Blake's question and sighed. I suppose she'll find out sometime today anyway. "I'm afraid that Ruby has developed an illness which will see her indisposed for the immediate future," she said, helping Blake slide her arms into the sleeves. "Miss Schnee knows the whole story now, and I'm assuming that whatever she has to say will be more relevant to you anyway, so I'll leave that to her." She zipped up the jumpsuit, and slid a pair of boots onto Blake's feet.

"Thank you," Blake said.

Velvet stood. "It's my job. And you've been a good patient so far."

"'So far'?" Blake smirked, standing as well.

Velvet shrugged, and picked up the discarded robe. "We still have the next 14 days together, at least."


"Updates," Weiss announced to her two partners. The briefing room was always a large, conference-room-style area, with its massive, round table in the centre and the chairs surrounding it. Ruby's missing presence only served to remind Weiss of just how spacious and empty a room it actually was.

"About Ruby?" Blake asked.

Weiss nodded. "She's gone."

Yang leaned forward, shocked. "What? But-"

Weiss held up her hand to stop Yang. She then proceeded to explain the details of Ruby's disease, just as Velvet had done for her the previous night. "She was moved from this airship at zero-four-thirty, to a medical research & care facility I own. She'll be there until further notice.

"Which is why," she said, changing tack, "we need to discuss adjustments for the coming weeks."

"I thought we were waiting for Analysis to find something," Blake said.

"We are, but that's not really relevant. As I was saying, the coming weeks will prove challenging. The next few especially. For you, Yang."

"Why's that?" the woman in question asked.

"Are you aware of the extent of Blake's injury?"

"My arms are broken-"

"Fractured," Weiss interrupted.

"Fractured," Blake corrected, "and I'm going to be out for a few weeks, at least."

"I didn't know any of this."

"Do you blame us for not telling you in the debrief yesterday? Or do you blame yourself for not asking?" Weiss said. "Maybe you're right whichever you think. But that's not important. What is important is that in the case of field assignments, I will be relying heavily on you until Blake recovers and I am able to spread the workload somewhat. If Analysis drags their feet, and we don't get anything new until Blake does recover, then it obviously doesn't matter and you two can share the work anyway. But of course, I'm hopeful that they find something soon, and I have an idea as to how they can get the best out of their process."

"How's that?"

"I'm putting you both in Analysis until something comes up. Yang, you will be on station, working on the team, and I'm also putting you in charge of the team. I'm sure your experience with STF will prove useful in that capacity. Blake, your immediate position will be cut down to a minimum, on account of your arms. Initially, I was going to have you both working together in charge of the team, but I've decided against that. Now, instead, you will work directly with Yang."

"What does that mean?" Blake asked. "Am I supposed to sit around and wait for Yang to find something?"

"For now, yes. You can hardly do any work until the casts come off, and you're going to be spending time floating and rehabilitating. You'll have a say in how we proceed, of course, and we will consider your counsel, but you're no use in a practical sense if you can't use your arms. So that's how it's going to be until that point; come back to me once you get them off, and we'll discuss the matter."

Blake gave Weiss a dark look, but relented. She saw the point that was being made; she just didn't really want her situation to render her useless.

Satisfied, Weiss rose from her chair. "Now, follow me, if you will. I'll introduce you, give you the crash course."


Ruby struggled to feel comfortable within the snow-white interiors of the facility. With how much she knew about Weiss, and how paranoid this entire operation had made her appear, it seemed odd to Ruby, that such a place was in the heart of Vale's central business district. But that's indeed where it was, a tall tower stretching into the sky like the others in the CBD.

She didn't know how much time had passed since 4.30 AM, when Weiss's ship had touched down several miles from the city. From there, she'd been whisked from the decks to an unmarked car, which had taken herself and Marron into the city, and to the building. On arrival, the first area they went to was security. After being checked through, they'd entered a small room which resembled a lobby. Marron had told her to sit, and then ventured off through a side door to "take care of business", as he'd put it. That was a while ago, and Ruby was getting skittish that nothing seemed to be happening.

She'd been given a few tidbits of information from a desk-riding, receptionist-type woman, who had red hair pulled into a tight ponytail; the building was officially known as the Schnee Medical Research Facility, nicknamed the "Blizzard Centre" by its employees – Ruby squirmed in her seat, and not just at the thought of such a horrendous nickname –, the facility had outgrown its former location in the Schnee Dust Company headquarters, moving to the current building following its rapid growth, and the scientists, techs, and doctors that worked in the facility were some of the best that the world had never heard of.

Of course, Ruby thought. If Weiss was truly the person Ruby now perceived her to be, then it only made sense that the non-disclosure agreements here had their own non-disclosure agreements on top of them.

She stood up, and began pacing the lobby. The receptionist occasionally flicked her gaze over, as if she'd agreed to keep an eye on her, but otherwise seemed focused on the screens in front of her.

The door cracked open, and Marron strode back into the lobby, a file and a tablet under his arm. "Miss Rose! Sorry about the wait."

Ruby crossed her arms. "What was the hold-up?"

Marron looked up at her. "No hold-up. Just standard procedure. When I say that I'm sorry about the wait, I say it because I know that standard procedure takes some time here." He gestured for her to follow, and waved to the receptionist, who smiled at both of them as they left. "You understand that this place is incredibly secure, and the protocols it has to operate under must be followed to the letter. Regulations on pharmaceutical experimentation and all that, not to mention the utilization of some of the curative properties of Dust. Miss Schnee has a great interest in the success of the research and treatments carried out here, and we all want to keep it running smoothly for her, I'm sure." He led her into an unoccupied elevator, and entered a code into the keypad. "You know you're the first person that this facility is going to run treatments on, on-site, for a year or so."

"What happened to the last patient housed here?"

Shrugging, Marron tapped his foot as the elevator continued its ascent. "No clue."

Ruby didn't quite know how to respond to that, so she simply said nothing. Before long, the elevator car slowed, and a buzz sounded from a speaker above them, followed by a calming, female voice announcing, "Floor 6 – Patient Quarters."

The door opened into a short hallway with only a few doors lining it. Noticing Ruby's confusion, Marron said, "Like I said, this facility doesn't house a lot of patients."

"I see."

They walked down the hallway, stopping in front of the second door. "This will be your room," Marron explained, opening the door. "You have basic hospital-room furnishings, and you have a bathroom through that door." He pointed to a door in the corner of the room.

"Is this room monitored?" Ruby asked, following him inside. She swayed uncertainly on her feet.

"Surveillance cameras in the top corners, and one on your bedside cart. That one is usually required for those patients with more visible symptoms, such as skin problems, but given your condition, its optional. Also, you will have doctors and nurses coming in to check up on you, perhaps more often than you might like. I recommend just letting them do their job. The less of a fuss you make about them, the quicker they can finish their routines and leave you in relative peace. Understood?"

Ruby nodded, desperately trying to fight a rising wave of nausea. The building had far too much white for her liking; she mentally cursed Weiss for thinking that the color was a good idea.

"Alright then," Marron said. "Take a moment to relax. I can see you struggling right now, and I think you'd want to meet your carers properly, rather than having them scramble up here because you've passed out. Also, feel free to take some time to put away your belongings. I see you didn't bring much."

Ruby glanced at the rucksack she carried, which contained mainly clothing. "This is what I went on Weiss's ship with."

"Oh," Marron said, scratching his head. "Very well, then. I'll wait outside the door. When you feel ready, meet me and I'll accompany you down." He held up his tablet and turned to the door.

"Wait," Ruby said.

Marron looked at her. "Yes, Miss Rose?"

"Where are you staying?"

The question surprised Marron. Everything that he'd seen or heard about Ruby told him that she was a little introverted. Isolated, preferring not to strike up a personal attachment with anyone. So many times he'd seen her onboard the ship, being engaged in conversation by someone who didn't know what they were getting into. She would maybe hold the conversation for a few lines, perhaps as a courtesy, before leaving with a flat tone and indifferent disposition. Should he have expected that she might try and engage him in a personal exchange?

"This is an unusual situation, one that doesn't commonly find its way here," he said, deciding to answer the question anyway. "When patients do come here, they usually get dropped in on their own, without an escort. As such, there are no designated 'visitors' quarters. Until I am told otherwise, I will be staying in the room next door, to the left of this one. The one furthest from the elevator."

Ruby processed the information, and nodded.

Marron pushed the door open, and walked out. "I'll be waiting."

Ruby sat down on her new bed, and rubbed her eyes. She was having a trying time so far. The feel of the entire building was cold, and sterile. It didn't immediately inspire hope in her. Rather, it just made her want to curl into a tight ball while the white walls and white floors and white ceilings pressed in around her. But, she couldn't forget why she was here. Because Weiss believed that help could be fast-tracked, because Weiss still needed her.

So, rather than curl up into a ball, she stretched her arms over her head, and shook them loose. So, this is my new home. This is going to be my life. From now on, and just for now.


I feel that it's important to keep Ruby a part of the story, even given her situation. So from here, the story will diverge somewhat. The main focus will continue to be on Weiss, Blake and Yang, but I can promise that Ruby's time in care will also be explored, periodically.

Again, that Tumblr page is Kalico37. I don't normally plug this much, but I would like to see the page eventually gain some momentum, while I still try and learn the ropes of the website.

... Truly Yours, Kalico.