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Chapter 43: Hopelessness - Helplessness

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Without even thinking, Myrtenaster was in her hand a a blue glyph flashed. A torrent of ice and cold surged forth, unrestrained and furious.

It wouldn't work. It didn't work.

Like weak waves against the hull of a ship, it crashed in front of him. Icicles sprouted like deadly lances from an invisible wall, turning on her but barricading them from each other.

All the while, he didn't move. Not even a breeze disturbed his hair.

But Weiss didn't care.

All she needed was for him to stay away.

Rushing over to her fallen partner, she nearly slipped on the ruined wood slick with bright red blood.

Rivers ran from every wound and Weiss felt sick just looking at the mangled body. Swords. So many swords protruded from nearly every inch of the once fair flesh.

Weiss hesitated.

She didn't know what to do. First aid? That was never her strong suit and what aid could be given to someone more metal than muscle?

Gulp.

Sweat dripped down her forehead as her fingers twitched forward, desperate for instructions to save her friend while her mind blanked out.

What should I do?! H-how-?!

She knew. She knew she had to do something! Every moment she wasted was another moment Ruby was dying!

Ring. Ring. Ring.

"This is Schnee," her father's voice drifted from behind the wall of ice. She vaguely sensed that he was by his impossibly balanced desk and speaking on the phone. "Send up a construction crew. My office requires renovations," his smooth and calm tone spoke.

"Yes, sir," she heard a woman's voice.

"…" he stayed silent for a moment.

"Send up a medical team as well. I can't have her dripping blood all over the workers," he added as a mere afterthought.

The sheets of ice fell into the chasm as if string upholding them were suddenly severed all at once. A resounding crash as everything below was buried in a small avalanche. Only small snowflakes drifted softly between them as Weiss rounded upon him with a glare.

Every danger sensor in her blared. Her partner was hurt. Ruby was hurt! And the one who hurt her was right there!

A part of her raged forth, but the calmer and more fearful side kept her in check.

So she did as she always does under pressure and rationalized.

First remove the blade in her throat. Careful not to damage her any further or sever her arteries or veins.

Fingers inched forward in trepidation.

Wait! What if the blade is stemming her bleeding?!

Weiss panicked and nearly jerked her arm back. Her eyes wide with fret and worry, her mind frozen at the impasse.

"I would advise leaving her to the professionals," her father spoke as if Ruby was merely a leaking faucet. "Your actions will do more harm than good, as always."

Weiss gritted her teeth so hard she heard the creaking bones in her jaw.

Yet she couldn't find fault with that. She didn't know enough to help Ruby and removing the swords would only serve to exsanguinate her.

Her eyes couldn't help but look back at the one sword lodged in Ruby's throat. Skewered straight through and pinning her entire head to the wall, Weiss could only pray that it missed all major arteries and veins, though the flourish of red that spilled forth made her heart sank.

Even if Ruby wasn't pinned up against the wall, Weiss wasn't sure CPR was viable given all the blades in her chest. Many of them slipped accurately between each rib, and each precisely locked to deal as much internal damage as possible even without movement or disturbance.

What could she do?

As she kept staring at Ruby, despair and helplessness threatened to drown her.

What could she do?!

Not even two minutes passed before the doors opened and a small team headed by a grey-haired doctor rushed in. They took one look at Ruby and a few recoiled in horror. The head doctor walked up with a grim expression and checked her vital signs.

"No good," he shook his head. "She's lost far too much blood for resuscitation."

In the medical field, there were methods to ensure resources, time, and efforts were not wasted on those who could not be saved. Among them signs of irreversible death.

Severe bleeding.

Small, frail body.

At least eighty percent of her total blood volume.

"Her body temperature has also dropped below-"

"N-no," Weiss whispered as cold terror and desperation started to freeze over. "Y-you have to at least try!"

"I'm sorry," he tried to reason with her. "With this much blood-"

"Then give her a full transfusion!" Weiss shrieked.

"What's her blood type then?!" he shouted back. "Even if we knew and had that amount of blood here, she's too far gone!"

Even if things seemed hopeless, weren't doctors supposed to do all that they could no matter how slim the chances?! Weiss felt her bile rise. Was it because Ruby was a Faunus? Was that it?!

"Enough," the cold voice of the patriarch silenced the room.

Seated behind his desk, a pen scrawling across important documents, the old man was not even the least bit interested in the events unfolding before him.

"You will remove her from this room and operate on her to stem the bleeding," he commanded without even bothering to look up. "If she fails to survive, declare her dead, dispose of her, and be done with it."

"S-sir…" the doctor nervously nodded to his assistants who looked green.

They carefully approached Ruby, all the while Weiss bit back her snarls.

She wanted to lash out. Oh how she wanted from the careless tone her father took. As if his work was far more important than saving someone's life. How casually he treated life. How easily he ripped it from others.

But his command moved the doctor to act on Ruby.

Weiss knew all was not lost.

Even with this sickening amount of blood. Even if Ruby's heart and breathing had stopped.

She had seen Ruby recover from injuries that would cripple someone.

Even… even if this was too much for Ruby to heal fully… even if she would be imperfect. Weiss' hand drifted slightly towards her eye. As long as Ruby was alive-!

More than five paramedics worked with the doctor to remove the swords as gently as they could, treating Ruby as if she was still alive, though none of them held much hope. Proper procedures dictated that they try to minimize blood loss, though there was no longer much left to lose.

Wheeling her out on a stretcher, Weiss hurriedly followed them.

Her father called out to her, making her hesitate and bite down hard on her lip to the point she bled.

NO!

Her mind screamed at her and she focused on keeping up with the stretcher.

"I need you to tell me about the patient," the doctor spoke gravely as they ran. "Name, where I can find her medical records, everything!"

"Ruby Rose! Beacon!" Weiss shouted and returned her attention to Ruby's blood matted face and hair.

That's right. Weiss thought. Come on Ruby! You've been through worse than this!

But honestly? She couldn't think of a moment when Ruby was this close to death.


Beep. Beep. Beep.

Upon wheeling Ruby into a room, a pair of hands stopped her.

"Wha-?!"

"I'm sorry, Miss," one of the nurses spoke nervously. "Please let the doctors and nurses work." He offered a small smile, "I-it might seem hopeless now but-"

She quickly cut him off with a glare.

She didn't need his false reassurance. Especially not when he didn't even believe it.

Shaking his hand off her shoulder rudely, though she no longer cared, she fished out her scroll, quickly calling Yang.

As her fingers brushed across the smooth surface, a small trickle of red smeared on the device.

Eh?

Seeing the blood made her vision swim. Dealing with her father twice in one night. Exhaustion from her earlier work. The rush of emotions Ruby was putting her through.

Her vision shifted as her eyes lost focus. The keys on the scroll pulsed and doubled, tripled in her sight as vertigo claimed her senses and she crashed to the ground.

Slowly, she awoke.

Her eyes blinked weakly as she tried to remember what happened.

… … RUBY!

She jumped out of bed and rushed down the hall. She didn't care who was in her way and the various servants working had to jump out of the way as she threatened to flatten them, even with her small frame.

Once more, she arrived in front of the doors her partner laid behind.

A long and withering glare at the door guarded by two nurses who flinched when she glanced in their direction.

They were only doing their jobs, her rational mind told her.

But they were also standing in the way between her and Ruby.

Not that you were able to do anything…

Disgust rose up as her thoughts reminded her.

"Weiss!" Yang's voice cried out and she heard their footsteps rapidly approaching. "What happened?"

"You two…" she murmured. Upon closer inspection, she saw the nurses freeze up and that located right next to their heads were two fist sized indents that cracked the drywall.

"You didn't come back yesterday and we couldn't find you," Blake explained.

Small dark bags under their eyes told her they were up all last night trying to find her and Ruby.

"When we found them standing outside like this, we tried asking them, but didn't receive an answer so Yang tried… err… her persuasion." Blake shot Yang a dirty glance. "Didn't work."

"Weiss…" Yang spoke levelly just above a whisper. "Where. Is. Ruby?"

"S-she's… hurt," Weiss breathed out as Yang grabbed her shoulder.

"Where. Is. Ruby?" Yang repeated.

Her eyes glowed red and her hair gold.

"GAH!" Weiss gasped in pain. Her shoulder groaned as Yang steadily applied more and more pressure. "Y-Yang…!" Tears formed in her eyes as pain lanced up and down her arm.

"Yang." Blake called out and placed her hand on Yang's arm, calming her down.

Weiss rubbed her shoulder gingerly, knowing there would be five fingerprint size bruises later. "When I got there… she was hurt really bad."

"I-" her voice choked up. "T-there was so much blood… I didn't know what to do!"

Seeing the usually proud heiress this distraught, Blake did what came naturally and pulled her into a hug.

"Shh…" she shushed softly. "Calm down Weiss. Just calm down and explain."

Weiss took another moment to steady herself before pushing away. She couldn't afford to be weak. Her two teammates were still in the dark about what transpired and she was the only one capable to explaining.

"I rushed into… my father's office," Weiss hissed out, disdain for even having to mention her relationship. "I heard an explosion and I needed to stop the fighting. Instead, I found Ruby impaled against the wall."

"Impaled?!" Yang and Blake screamed.

"Yes impaled!" Weiss screamed back. "No less than twenty blades, okay?! I freaked out! I hesitated! And then they-!" Weiss jerked her head sharply to indicate the medical team near them, "Were about to abandon her to death before my father stepped in and told them to operate on her!"

"Wait, wait," Blake clutched her head. "…What?"

"Ruby. Fought. My. Father." Weiss hissed out each word venomously. "She. Lost."

Her fists clenched so tightly they shook in worry and fury.

She rounded on the two nurses. "Report."

"Err…" the two shared nervous glances. "P-please understand! T-the doctor did everything he could but-!"

"Is Ruby in there?" Yang asked simply.

"…" Weiss knew what would happen if she answered. And yet she couldn't find herself too opposed. "…Yes."

Two seconds later, splinters were strewn across the hall. The hinges were smoking and mostly melted. A door that was supposed to open inwards towards the room had been forcibly ripped out, demolishing the frame and was used to swat the annoying nurses out of the way.

Yang stepped into the room.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Ruby laid in a bed, completely unmoving while a machine hooked up to her recorded her heartbeat.

"Hmm?" the doctor from yesterday looked up at them and was about to shoo them out when he saw the murderous look Yang had.

Wisely he kept his mouth shut.

While Yang and Blake rushed over to the young girl's side, Weiss walked up to the doctor and repeated ghastly, "Report."

He remained silent and just slid her a small folder contain several sheets.

They detailed the events of last night after she fainted from shock and exhaustion. He had done all he could… but it wasn't much.

While not hopeful that Ruby would survive, the medical team did all they could under the pretenses that she could be revived. The doctor was surprised that he was asked to 'treat' a Faunus, under the impression that their kind was hated, but it was the wishes of their employer. Still, he had already set aside his phone to call the mortuary once the operation was 'finished'.

On the way to the room, he had one of the nurses take a blood sample to test for blood type and bring in the transfusion equipment.

However, they were all shocked when they laid her on the bed and inspected her wounds. She still wasn't breathing nor did her heart beat, but from the wounds, she shouldn't have lost that much blood. Were there less or less severe?

Even stranger, with numerous blades having punctured her lungs, they expected the lungs to have collapsed and be drowning in her own blood, but they found only dregs of red. Enough to be a concern, but not so much that they couldn't drain away safely.

They started to try and reconnect some of the larger severed blood vessels, particularly the carotid artery and jugular vein that received a small incision from the blade. Luck? Or skill? The blade avoided severing them completely but just enough to induce massive bleeding. Lack of splitting from the erupting pressure led them to believe that her blood volume at the time of the attack had been drastically low, that she had been bleeding out since before then. Perhaps this was even the final blow.

But they witnessed a miracle that none of them saw coming.

All through the night, they watched in fascination as her other arteries and veins realigned with minimal assistance.

The doctor contacted Beacon's infirmary to ensure the blood types matched and that there wouldn't be other complications.

After the transfusion process began successfully, he began reading through her records and was astounded by what was there.

He began the operation not expecting her to even be alive. A request to do all he could for a corpse, which wasn't much.

And yet… after reading the various scrapes she had gotten in, broken bones, laceration, frostnip, asphyxiation, third degree burns, and so forth, he found himself silently cheering her on to make it through this tribulation, despite her Faunus heritage.

But… the lack of pulse and breathing was still a large issue. They couldn't perform CPR if there wasn't any blood in the system and they were worried about compressions to the chest agitating the wounds.

With her healing this quickly though, he ordered that the moment she received an adequate amount of blood from the transfusion, they would perform CPR to return enough oxygen and blood to her brain.

When that moment came, a nurse shrieked as Ruby's chest rose ever so slightly. One millimeter.

They all held their breath as Ruby took hers.

Weak.

Slow.

Ever so weak.

But constant.

Two fingers on her wrist. Almost missable, but undeniable.

They attached an electrocardiogram monitor to observe the changes.

At first erratic. Spiking as the chambers pumped weakly out of sync with one another. But the differences soon dampened. Almost as if regulated, her heart sped up and slowed at certain intervals until the chambers once again found balance.

After that, it was simply a matter of waiting.

From the unthinkable, she had managed to subvert death. The doctor was not certain if she would have been able to have done so while impaled, but… she had proven them all wrong once… nothing to say she couldn't do so again.

Weiss closed the folder and walked back over to Yang and Blake.

"She looks okay," Yang whispered.

Thankfully, Yang hadn't seen what Weiss had. No doubt had Yang been the one to find Ruby, the entire manor would have been in flames by now. Not from her semblance or incendiary gauntlet rounds, purely by her fury and rage.

Cautiously and surreptitiously holding the folder behind her back, Weiss hesitantly reached out with her free hand and brushed Ruby's bangs softly. Dried blood had hardened but the slight warmth Weiss felt from her forehead was enough to put her heart at ease.

"I-I knew you'd b-be okay," Weiss whispered as her voice hiccuped slightly, tears and relief freely falling from her eyes.

Words spoken now to reaffirm what she had faltered last night.

A small tug from Blake indicated that they should leave so Ruby could rest for now.

This wasn't the first time they had stood beside their fallen leader. After getting shot by Torchwick, Ruby had spent an entire week in a coma.

Of course, that had been due to complications slowing her healing. As of now, they all had high hopes Ruby will awaken soon.

Weiss had spent that entire week beside Ruby, though denying it whenever anyone asked.

No doubt she would do the same now.

As the two nurses crawled out from the wreckage of the door, Weiss stood before them, glaring down.

"I want this door fixed within the hour," Weiss commanded. "Get reinforced steel bars on every window in that room. I want guards stationed out this door and around the perimeter. No one gets in, no one goes out. Got it?!"

"B-but we're just nurses, not-"

"Get. It. Done." Weiss' tone challenged them to defy her.

Weiss turned on her heel and stalked back to her room, Yang and Blake following closely in tow.

"What's with all the security?" Yang asked. "You don't think your dad will…"

Weiss glared out of the corner of her eye. "He's one reason…"

"Speaking of which," Yang declared as she pounded her fist. "Where is he?! I'm going to pound his face in!"

"Stop." Weiss' voice turned low and threatening.

"Wha-?"

"You have nothing to gain from that," Weiss huffed.

"Sorry Weiss, I'm with Yang on this," Blake muttered. Though her facade was far calmer, Weiss could feel the tranquil fury beneath the surface. Coursing wrath beneath a still surface. "Someone needs to teach him a lesson!"

"Yeah!" Yang exclaimed as Blake supported her.

Of course Blake would. Not just as a leader and teammate, Ruby was a sister to her as well. A fact Blake carried proudly not because they were Faunus, but because of the sacred and precious trust and bond they placed in each other.

"You two…" Weiss began, her teeth clenching together. "Are compete idiots."

Heat radiated from Yang. "What?! He hurt Ruby!" Her glower intensified as her face distorted in anger. "Worse than we've seen, and I know you're hiding the extent."

"Because I knew this was how you'd act!" Weiss cried exasperatedly.

"I don't care if he's your father-!"

"YANG XIAO LONG!"

Weiss rounded upon them, her expression murderous. Blue eyes froze blood and thought with a single glance, her indignation knew no bounds.

"Do not think for even a fraction of a second that I want to do any less than eviscerate that excuse of a man- no, that monster in human skin! Do not think that you are the only one who's angry and frustrated right now! And do not think that your righteous fury can do anything!

"Did you believe Ruby just stood there and let him attack? You didn't have to see her skewered by no less than twenty blades and bleed half a lake while all you could do is helplessly stare and pray and hold back every fiber of your being from running him through because he just near killed your leader, one of the fastest if not the fastest person you know, in the span of a few minutes if not seconds!

"So stop entertaining inane, idiotic, and utterly imbecilic ideas that you can even match him!"

Weiss breathe haggardly from her tirade.

"Ruby's already hurt…" she gritted and forced herself to look at them in the eyes. "I don't want you getting hurt as well."

"…Weiss…" Yang whispered softly and reached out a hand.

Weiss quickly turned away, having said her piece and needing a moment to recompose herself. Her normally cool aloofness completely shattered by the harrowing events and loneliness of the past weeks. "We can't…" Weiss gulped, swallowing another burst of emotions. "We can't fight him head on like that. We'd just end up like Ruby."

Yang grimaced and thrusted her hand to the side, blowing out another portion of the wall from all the pent up energy and frustration.

"What can we do then?!" Yang desperately exclaimed.

"…" Weiss remained silent for a moment. "We do… what Ruby would have wanted done."

"What Ruby…?"

"She wanted to help the Faunus workers… that's why she's in this mess in the first place," Weiss sniffed. "Did you record what you heard last night?"

"Yes," Blake answered. Everything up until the point where they heard a resounding explosion that broke up the connection was recorded and stored safely away along with a backup.

"You have a plan?" Blake quirked an eyebrow, not knowing what Weiss was thinking.

"No," Weiss said simply. "I have a bluff… Using what Ruby gave us."

Blake and Yang simply looked at each other confusedly.

"Err… how sure are you it'll work?" Yang asked worriedly. Bluffs were never guaranteed and against someone like Weiss' father…

"We can't match him in physical fight, so we'll have to bet getting even a small semblance of victory through words," Weiss explained. "Not as if that's easy either, but if anything goes wrong… at least we won't be hospitalized."

Ruby's miraculous healing aside, if any of them received those kinds of injuries, it was unlikely they would be alive. Weiss shuddered at the morbid thought that her father was more than capable and willing of demonstrating just how true that statement was.

"So you're going to use what Ruby was wagering… ah!" Blake's eyes went wide as she realized where Weiss was trying to attack.

Embittered that they cannot feasibly inflict physical pain on him, Blake understood then. Weiss will attack not his pain but his pride. Perhaps for them it would be a hollow victory at the cost of their leader, but when Ruby awakens, to hear that her injuries were not for naught would surely make her happy. To hear that countless Faunus were treated better because of her would balm those wounds better than any retribution they could inflict upon him.

And maybe that was the real victory.

"You really think it'll work?" Blake questioned.

"I'm trying to think of his counter-arguments," Weiss sighed. "I can't think of any that he could possible say… and we do have a trump card if you want to call it that."

"What are you guys talking about?" Yang asked, feeling left out of the loop.

"Weiss is going to try and force him to go through with his part of the wager," Blake explained and Weiss curtly nodded. "Think about what he said. What were his conditions?"

"For Ruby to… move him?"

"Exactly," Blake smirked. "We'll beat him at his own game." She offered a wry smile towards Weiss, "Though I have to say, you were eerily similar to your dad just then."

"Ugh… don't remind me," Weiss groaned. "Where did you think I learned rhetoric from?"

Although she hated it, she had to admit there was a certain rush of superiority from pointing out condescendingly an opposition's ignorance. Questions that forced them to pause and think while points were hammered unrelentingly. A straightforward assault that left no room for counter-arguments as they are simply not given enough time.

And yet it works.

The arguments do not even have to be correct, but their audacity and difficulty in counters tend to end an argument immediately. She absolutely hated it, that something wrong could still be passed off as right.

"Is your dad always this extreme?" Yang complained. She didn't want to have to deal with talking to him, preferring to just fight it out. She knew there were times when words were better than fists, but all of her emotions were running rampant with no release. She could understand Weiss' logic, though a part of her still wanted physical vindication for Ruby.

"…" Blake thought for a moment. "Twelve snipers, two car bombings, and countless other attempts."

When the two looked at her, Blake bowed her head in apology. "The White Fang has tried to… remove him from the picture in the past. Needless to say, they all failed."

Weiss nodded. "A high caliber sniper round to the right temple. Everyone ducked and when the dust cleared, they found an impacted bullet. Completely crumpled from its own force."

"Walking through explosions and heavy machine gun fire without even a falter," Blake continued. "I had only heard stories from the older members but…"

"Now do you get understand why we absolutely can't fight him?" Weiss looked to Yang. Why I couldn't... why I shouldn't have ever let Ruby out of my sight!

"Yeah, yeah," Yang grumbled. Just because they had good reasons didn't mean she had to be happy about it. "He's a monster…"

"The only time I think he let his guard down…" Weiss reminisced slightly. "…was with my mother…"

"You give your mother far too much credit," a cold voice chilled their spines. Walking up calmly, the air around them distorted and thickened. "My guard is always up."

"Just who we wanted to see," Yang snarled and cracked her knuckles menacingly.

"More talkative are you, Yang Xiao Long?"

Perhaps it was because the moment she saw him, her anger flared and it was only through impressive self-control that Ember Celica was not already planted in his jaw. At the same time, the pressure she felt attempting to crush her was nothing compared to the explosive force within that told her to rampage at the one who had hurt her sister.

Weiss heard the tell-tale sound of Ember Celica sliding into place, unlocking to their battle gauntlets. Even Blake had moved Gambol Shroud into her off hand, her main firmly grasped around the hilt.

"Father," Weiss stated simply, hoping that her friends understood her tone to stand down. She tried to put his earlier words out of her mind and focus on their current objective. "We wish to discuss the terms of what happened last night."

"…" He remained perfectly silent, a sign of allowing her to speak.

"Last night, Ruby engaged you in… an exchange under the conditions that if she made you move even one micrometer, you will improve the working conditions and life of the Faunus."

"I did not expect her to be able to talk so soon after her vocal cords were slit," he spoke offhandedly, ignoring the rounds loaded into Ember Celica's firing chambers. "Or, were you observing remotely?"

His eyes told them he knew. His first statement was purely to provoke them.

Weiss won't bite.

She won't reveal her hand fully yet, but she needed to show that they had evidence so that he couldn't pass it off as hearsay.

"Blake," she called out. "Explain what you heard last night."

"…" Blake kept a cautious eye on the man in front of her, unable to read what might be filtering through his mind. "After Ruby confirmed the terms, she rushed forward to move you."

"Rather unsportsmanlike, a preemptive strike," he spoke easily.

"You offered the agreement without setting a start time," Weiss pointed out. "The terms were in effect the moment Ruby agreed. She didn't have to wait."

Blue eyes flashed, both Weiss' and her father's.

She could feel the sweat running down the nape of her neck. She couldn't afford to let him gain control of the conversation and steer it into more favorable waters. Everything he says will have to be shot down immediately.

"…Very well," he acquiesced. "Continue."

"Immediately after, Ruby moved back and you attempted to slash her with a sword."

Blake had heard a small sound in the background of air distorted. It was similar to something small and thin moving very fast through the air. Given his preference for weapons, she took a stab and guessed it was a sword to avoid implicating that they had only audio clues.

That would also explain the quick taps they heard of her retreating footsteps.

"And so you violated your terms!" Weiss indicted. "The only condition was to move you one micrometer, without any specifications of direction or if it applied to your whole body."

"…"

"Do you deny it?" Weiss pressed.

"…no…" was his slow answer and Weiss breathed out a sigh of relief.

"And?" his question gave her pause.

"W-what do you mean 'And'?" Weiss' mind rushed around again, unable to comprehend where he was going with this.

After pointing out that he broke the rules and having him admit it, that was supposed to be it! She had prepared for numerous counter-arguments such as the implied rule that his whole body had to move, that his arm was only a part of himself the same way one would not consider a single strand of hair a full person, or even the semantic argument that he chose to move and that Ruby had done nothing to force him to move.

But he admitted his loss, and yet he hadn't given up the argument.

"Suppose you are correct: I lost," he stated levelly. "Now enforce my penalty."

"!"

Weiss could only stare at him in shock.

Truly, they were naive. They had expected him to keep his word… because that's what they would have done.

Weiss heard the blood pounding in her ears. This was what she hated about his style of argumentation. Even when wrong, even when admitting his loss, he still won.

Weiss bit her lip. It was a long shot, but she still had one last bluff to force him.

"You've spoken your piece," he interrupted right as she opened her mouth. His eyes gazed coldly. "Now it's my turn."

"You have your evidence, and if you are intelligent, will have it recorded and backed up. Based on the evidence, you have pieced together what happened last night and allowed me to confirmed the events to the point where your argument shows my complete loss."

Weiss felt fear as he continued.

"Should I fail to uphold my end, you plan on utilizing the backup to expose me to negative campaigning, resulting in what would be a long and arduous legal labyrinth as I try to justify placing Ruby Rose in mortal danger."

He casually exposed her final bluff.

It still stood that he gravely injured her with more than excessive force. Weiss couldn't possibly think of how he could spin that into his favor. No matter the court, if they were Faunus or human, even they would have to see the gravity of what he did.

"However, Ruby Rose attacked me unprovoked and I merely responded in self-defense."

An outrageous claim.

So outrageous, Yang burst out in rage.

"YOU CALL THAT SELF-DEFENSE?!" she roared and her arm pulled back.

Click.

The round was primed and the hammer cocked.

Fire and blood surged in her arm.

And she couldn't move a muscle.

Literally.

Not just her arm, her breathing was stopped.

Eyes wide and panicking, she felt her mind slowing from the lack of air. Weiss and Blake stood stock still, also unable to move.

"Your argument supports this," he calmly spoke. "As you said, the match was over the moment I moved my arm." His eyes glinted sharply. "Thus every action afterwards falls under an unprovoked attack as she attempted everything from throwing my own weapons at me to collapsing my floor."

"But… you… never… told… her…-!" Yang gritted out with her last breaths, forcing her way through the ungodly pressure as she felt a vice grip over her entire body.

"Is it my fault that she did not realize the end of the match? For the same argument you made that I lost in that moment, you must also accept this outcome."

Wordless. Useless.

Weiss' mouth could only open and close slightly at what was revealed before her.

So that was what he meant.

Regardless of whether you succeed or not.

Her mind reeled. Was this all planned out? Did he really think this far ahead? That after everything had happened, they would have challenged him and so he acted in such as way as to avoid all implications?

"Is that all?" his tone had a hint of disappointment, as if he expected more. "You lack the information to corner me. You lack the foresight to outmaneuver me. You lack the power to enforce me."

Weiss wanted to stop him. Wanted to say something back that could salvage their argument.

But she couldn't think of anything from the counter her returned.

Even if they were to make this public, what he said still made sense. Logic. Timing. If they implicated him on charges of excessive use of force in self-defense, would that even be feasible? With Ruby as a Faunus and the technicality of the match having already ended, they could just as well find her guilty of an unprovoked attack. Even more so considering her recent history….

He stepped pass them, releasing his stranglehold on Yang and causing her to crumple to the ground. Conscious, but just barely.

"I will not help them," he stated clearly. "I have yet to be moved."

Blake coughed but immediately rushed to her side to help her partner breathe.

Weiss could only stand like a statue. Her eyes paralyzed and unseeing.

As he receded, "You have played chess, Weiss. The victor is not one who knows five moves ahead of his opponent. I only need know my next move. The correct move."


Extra:

Retreat.

After that, they retreated to her room. It was all they could do, shambling down the hall like broken dolls.

The side effects of whatever he did wore off soon enough, but that didn't stop the hollow feeling inside of how they had completely and utterly failed.

In fighting and in words. How could they possibly hope to face that monstrosity?

The two bumblebees were collapsed on her bed. They held out better than the first meeting, but any time spent in his presence was exhausting, even for her.

Weiss shook her head ruefully and settled on the large bed as well, welcoming the darkness that greeted her eyes.

Yang and Blake were near her, yet she still felt cold.

By the time she opened her eyes again, she found silvery moonlight streaming in through her windows.

They had slept the entire day away, and Weiss couldn't find any fault with that. After having to see Ruby so quiet and dead to the world, they had to deal with her father.

She still felt some of the fatigue.

Looking over at the two still on her bed, she understood why she was cold.

Aside from Yang hogging all the blankets, the two comfortably curled up against each other, taking refuge in the others' warmth.

She crossed her arms and shivered slightly. The scene reminded her of her missing partner, her missing friend… her missing Ruby…

The darkened skies reminded her it was just about time… and she quickly but quietly made her way down to where Ruby slept.

The door was repaired and two men in suits stood outside, as per her orders earlier. They nodded when she approached and asked to enter.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

A dull flatline.

"Why am I not surprised?" Weiss muttered, partially darkly, mostly exasperatedly, and a bit in relief.

The curtains rustled gently in the midnight air at an open window.

She approached and saw a short trail of blood from the bed ending halfway towards the sill. The reinforced steel bars she ordered laid uselessly on the ground, teeth marks clearly visible on the torn ends.

Ruby was gone.


Am I safe? I hope I'm safe.

Wow! I got to speak to an amazing amount of readers this week and your thoughts and observations are just wonderful! The conversations I had were super fun and I hope to have more with you all in the future.

Some of you came really close to guessing his semblance and I think one or two outright got it! Congrats and hopefully we'll see or get explicit details of it later on.

Ah~ Papa Schnee... even his logic is ice cold and harsh. But at least Ruby is... okay? Weiss is starting to predict how Ruby behaves though.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and will look forward to the next!